Dead in Love

by Colby Van Wagoner

  Over the next hour, Amy walked from room to room infecting unconscious patients and scattering the nursing staff throughout the hospital. The man from the morgue reanimated and reached up from the autopsy table, pulling himself to his feet. Missing an eye and his throat tore out, he stumbled towards the doors and burst through them, grabbing a janitor cleaning the floor. He bit into the janitor’s back, chewing and pushing the man to the ground.

  After finishing with the janitor, the man stood up and walked into the basement hallway of the hospital and into the main power room. He walked to a machine and tripped over a metal pipe on the ground, falling into a large breaker box. The power box sparked and flashed from the impact and the remaining power boxes sparked and flamed until the power to the hospital turned off.

  Emergency lighting flipped on, as the back-up generator kicked in but it was only single emergency lights. The lights and exit signs flashed on and off as more and more infected people stumbled into the hallways. They walked towards the main lobby of the hospital, attacking and biting nurses, doctors and other members of the hospital staff. Some people were escaping and rushing out the front doors. They ran into the streets and into the darkness of the night.

  A police car was patrolling near the hospital and saw the people running down the street. He switched on his lights, red and blue flashing lights lit up the surrounding buildings. A nurse ran up to the window of the patrol car and hit her hands on the window. The officer rolled down his window, “What’s going on?” The woman gasped for air and replied, “Something happened in the hospital, the power went out and unconscious and sick people started walking down the hallways attacking the staff.”

  The officer looked towards the hospital and turned back to the woman, “Get home and stay there.” He put the patrol car in drive and headed towards the parking lot. “This is Deputy Larry Meakins. I need backup at the hospital, reports of an unknown disturbance.” The dispatcher called out over the radio, “All available units respond to a possible disturbance at the Mountain West Medical Center.”

  Larry pulled up to the front of the hospital and was soon joined by two other patrol cars. The officers climbed out of the cars and walked over to Larry’s car. Larry stepped out of his car and looked over at the front door, shining his spot light through the glass.

  There were doctors, nurses and patients standing next to the glass, staring out at the officers. Some were covered in blood; others were on the ground crouched over bodies, apparently eating them. “What do we do Deputy?” One of the police officers asked Larry. Larry looked over at the officer and nervously responded, “We go in and find out what’s happening” his voice shaky and cracking.

  Over the radio, Larry made another call into dispatch, “This is Deputy Meakins, we are at the hospital and it appears we need additional units and possibly calls to other surrounding hospitals for assistance.” He waited for a response over the radio and the dispatcher called out, “Roger Deputy, can you give me anything else?” Larry waited and watched as the people in the hospital were now all standing at the windows staring at the officers.

  “We have wounded, but they are just standing at the windows. We are going to try and make contact.” Larry walked from the patrol car and towards the front of the hospital. He stepped up the curb and pulled his weapon from the holster. Dispatch replied, “Proceed with caution Deputy.” He reached up to his should and pressed the receiver, “Roger dispatch.”

  Larry and the other two officers slowly walked to the door, raising their flashlights to the windows. The lights revealed the faces of the hospital staff and patients, some of them covered in blood and others missing pieces of flesh from their skin, others had been dismembered. Larry pressed the revolving door forward and began to walk through it. The revolving door slowly turned, as Larry pressed against the glass. The patients and hospital staff saw Larry entering the hospital and slowly made their way to the revolving door.

  Inside the opposite section of the revolving glass doors was two patients and a nurse. They rushed forward and smashed against the glass. Larry fell backwards and lifted his gun and flashlight at them. Their hands pounded against the glass, leaving stains of blood behind, the sound echoing though the sections of the revolving door. The revolving section of the front entrance was keeping the other three infected trapped.

  Larry called out to the other officers, “Don’t push open the revolving door, something is wrong with these people.” The other officers rushed to push the revolving door back and free Larry. Larry rushed out of the revolving door and back to his patrol car.

  After ten minutes, more officers were on the scene, along with emergency response teams. After all the radio chatter, the Dugway Facility had intercepted the transmissions and was now considering their own response. The general sat in his office listening to the transmissions with another colonel and another director, from the department of defense. “We are going to have to intervene at some point general.” The director spoke out over the radio transmissions. “I know.” The general replied, “I know,” he repeated, staring out a window across the tarmac of the base. Helicopters, planes and other various military vehicles were lined up. The general had a feeling those vehicles would all be seeing action, very soon.

  George, who was infected by his girlfriend Melissa, was now wandering the outer perimeter of the town and walking through corn fields and empty desert terrain. His motor skills were slightly improved and he was able to move quicker than before. George had attacked Dave, the store clerk and Amy in the corner store, earlier in the week.

  The moon was now shining over the town and reflecting a bright blue glow on the sidewalks and roads. George made his way across a field, breaking through a fence. The fence was thin and he easily made his way through it. Some of the barbed wire cut through the skin on his arms, but no blood came from the wounds, it simply tore the flesh away.

  In the center of the cornfield and other garden areas, was a single level home. Inside, a family was preparing to go to bed. The kids were walking into their rooms and the mother and father were helping them get tucked in their blankets. The mother and father began to turn out the lights and settle into their own beds. George walked closer to the home, finding a comfortable hiding place, near some garbage cans. The father of the family had finished turning off all the outside lights and turned off the light, above the back porch, when George fell over the garbage cans. The cans crashed together echoed across the fields.

  The lights flipped back on, “Hello? Is anyone there?” The father yelled out from the sliding glass door and into the backyard. “Honey what are you doing?”

  “Stay there, I think the raccoons may be back.” He walked over to the corner of the house and towards the garbage cans. The cans had been tipped over and garbage was spread around the side of the house. “Damn.” The father whispered under his breath.

  He began picking up the cans and placing the garbage back inside them. George came from out of the shadows and moaned, as he grabbed the father from behind, biting deep into the back of his neck. The man struggled to get away from George, but it was already too late, he had been wrestled to the ground. George tore into the back of the man’s neck and pulled his head up, snapping the bones inside. He stood up and walked around the side of the house and into the back yard.

  He walked along the hedges, brushing against them and moving towards the back door of the house. The porch light was on and the back door was slightly open, “Honey are you out there still? Was it the raccoons again?” The woman stepped from the door and onto the porch. George was standing next to the door and grabbed her around the neck. She struggled to break free from his grip but George was too strong. He squeezed and lifted the woman off the ground, her legs kicking and shaking. The bones in her neck cracked as George continued strangling. After a moment, the body went still. George dropped her body to the deck, his bloody hands scraping across her cheeks.

  The commotion on the back deck woke up the kids. The lights in the h
ouse switched on and one of the boys called out, “Mommy, daddy what’s happening?” George turned and walked into the house. The two boys were in the hallway looking into the darkness. A shadow stepped from the kitchen and started walking towards the boys. The other boys called out, “Daddy?”

  George moaned as he walked down the hallway, the two boys screamed and slammed their bedroom doors shut. Crashing and banging sounds came from the house, as the two boys screamed, hiding underneath their beds. After a few moments, the screams went silent and the lights in the house went out.

  In the surrounding neighborhoods, strange shadows wandered in the darkness. There were more and more neighbors becoming infected and being attacked. Word was soon spread through the town that there were groups of neighbors playing tricks and pretending to be zombies. Some of the neighbors locked their doors and took the warnings to be signs of dangers. Others drove around investigating the reports and rumors.

  Most of the neighbors gave up and returned to their homes after not seeing anything. Others walked in the late hours of the night and were attacked and infected. The infected neighbors returned to their homes as the sun came up, while others went in search of medical assistance. Some called 911 to report various bites and attacks that were happening throughout the town. The military was now beginning plans for a complete quarantine of the town and declaring martial law.

  Chapter Eleven

  The following day the police were still investigating the incident at the hospital; they had quarantined the staff and patients inside, restricting any from escaping. Sheriff James, Larry and other officers were sealing off the hospital and the CDC had been contacted again regarding the people inside and their current condition. Sheriff James was in the back of the hospital, in a deserted alleyway. He was in the rear of the hospital on the loading dock searching for remaining victims and possible areas the people inside could escape. He walked to a door and checked it, discovering it was unlocked. He reached into a bag and pulled out a long chain, looping it through the door handle and wrapping it around a pipe, next to the door.

  As he reached down into the bag to pull out a lock, the door swung open and an infected doctor was trying to push open the door. Sheriff James jumped up to push the door back shut and the doctor reached out and grabbed his wrist. He struggled and broke free of the infected doctor’s grip, but was scratched as he pulled his arm free. He pushed the door shut and secured the chain and lock to prevent the door from being opened. He looked down at his arm and wiped away the blood from the scratch.

  Another officer walked around the corner, “Sheriff, are you alright back here?” Sheriff James pulled his sleeve down to hide the bleeding scratch and replied, “Yes, just had to secure this door.” There was banging on the door, the officer reached down and picked up the sheriff’s bag, “Come on we need to get out of here. This whole situation is freaking me out, you know, it is Halloween and all.”

  Halloween, the annual holiday observed on October 31, commonly included activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories and watching horror films. The infected neighbors were staying in their house, believing they had just caught a cold. They treated it like any other cold by taking medicine, drinking plenty of water and staying in bed. Their symptoms were that of the other infected and the compound was slowly moving through their system and taking over.

  Most of the other families in the town were carving pumpkins and hanging other Halloween decorations and discussing the origins of the holiday. The American tradition of carving pumpkins was recorded in 1837 and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century. The imagery of Halloween is derived from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature and classic horror films Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks and scarecrows were prevalent across the town.

  Halloween imagery includes themes of death, evil and the occult or mythical monsters. Black and orange, the holiday’s traditional colors could be seen all over the town. The town's children were looking forward to trick-or-treating, the customary celebration of Halloween. As the sun set, children were in costumes walking from house to house, asking for treats, with the question, “Trick or treat?”

  The children were unaware of the real message of the word “trick” referring to a “threat” to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. The majority of the kid’s Halloween costumes were modeled after supernatural figures such as monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches and devils. Halloween costume parties were taking place all over town and in the backyards of many of the resident’s homes. The common games they were playing were dunking for apples, where the apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin.

  The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films was also taking place at many of the Halloween parties. There were episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials, haunted houses and venues were set up to thrill and scare the people of the town. Most of the attractions were seasonal Halloween businesses.

  The holiday came in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples, caramel or taffy apples were the common Halloween treats were given to the trick or treaters, along with candy corn, candy pumpkins, caramel apples, caramel corn and novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats and worms.

  At one of the parties, there were groups of teenagers in a backyard home. The teen’s parents were out of town and the teenagers had spread the word about the party. They had gathered throughout the house, in the front and back yard. They were partying and running through the house and into the garage. They had carved pumpkins earlier in the night and were lighting them on the front porch of the house. They had them all lined up and were admiring their work.

  “Dude we rock!” One of the teens cried out, as he gave his friend a high five. From the tree line, a figure walked forward towards the group of teens moaning and calling out. He had his hands raised up in the air and was calling out in indistinct words. “What’s that guy’s problem?”

  “I have no idea. Dude were not kids, your joke isn’t going to work with us.” One of the other teens walked around the man and looked at his face, “Nice costume dude!” The man grabbed the teen and threw him across the lawn. “Hey man, chill out, what’s your problem?” The teens walked towards the man and pushed him.

  The infected man grabbed one of the kid’s arms and bit deep into the muscle of the forearm, tearing away a piece of flesh. “What the hell man?” The teen ran into the house, as the others ran to the porch and grabbed the pumpkins. Some of the other teens came running out of the house, as the word spread throughout the party a man had bitten someone in the front yard.

  They gathered in the front yard and began throwing pumpkins at the man. The pumpkins smashed against his and broke apart falling to the ground. The man continued walking forward towards the porch and the teens continued throwing pumpkins. Some of the candles in the pumpkins ignited the man’s clothes and flames slowly up his legs. One of the teenagers walked up behind the man and smashed a pumpkin on his head.

  The man threw his arms in the air, as the flames climbed up his shirt, they overtook the man. Another teen ran at the man and doused him with lighter fluid. The flames were shooting into the sky, as the man rushed across the yard with the pumpkin on his head, running into the street and smashed into the front of a truck. The truck’s driver slammed on the brakes, as the man on fire flew into the air, smashing into the asphalt. The flames slowly died down and the infected man became motionless.

  A group of teenagers snuck through the perimeter fence of the Old Tooele Hospital. They snapped open a latch leading into the basement of the hospital. The tunnels were dark, smelling of mold and decay. There were two boys and two g
irls, one of the boys nudged the other and broke into a conversation about the hospital, “Hey, you guys want to know about this place? In 1953, the Old Tooele Hospital was opened, with plans revealing a nursing home connected to the hospital. It would be connected by a covered walk and at the center of the unique six-sided central portion of the nursing home and nurses had headquarters. The chief of staff at the hospital just east of Skull Valley, said doctors have treated cases of infection and nerve disorders from Nerve Gas. State investigations at the center unearthed egregious problems including neglect of patients, insufficient staffing and inadequate training.” The group walked further into the hospital. One of the boys kicked a can, which bounced off the wall, echoing into one of the rooms.

  “Here drink this Samantha.” He pulled out a bottle of schnapps, handing it to Samantha. “I don’t drink Mike.” He gave the others a disappointed look, “Here Kim, take a swig.” Kim grabbed the bottle, “Fuck it. Drinking cheap liquor in the basement of a so called haunted hospital, turned into a haunted house. What could go wrong?” Samantha looked at Kim, “We could get busted and our parents find out we’re in the basement of a so called haunted hospital and we lose our weekend privileges.” They laughed and walked further into the maze of hallways.

  Mike continued escalating his scary stories, “Dr. Jerry Desmond was sued and Tooele Valley Regional Medical Center alleging malpractice during the delivery of the boy. The baby was severely and permanently injured when the doctor used forceps so hard that they fractured the skull. A jury awarded more than a million dollars to the family of the boy who suffered permanent brain damage, allegedly due to negligence on the part of the obstetrician delivering the child. The doctor supposedly came back to the hospital, after being fired and hung himself, just at the end of this hallway, in his office. Some people say his ghost wanders the basement looking for revenge.”