by Urban, Ami
***
Dr. Wood and I roamed the empty halls of the West wing. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Dr. Wood.”
His expression changed into an unreadable one. He’d been silent and evasive since we’d first spoken in the OR and I was starting to grow concerned of his motives. Why? I didn’t know.
“Yes, it was…a difficult time. The…explosion caused a lot of loss. We were triaging patients left and right, but… Well, you saw the town…”
I stood straight. “How do you know we’ve back to Braycart?”
His eyes told me a story I couldn’t quite put together. But I didn’t think his next statement was a lie. “I just assumed. You were very protective of your files. Did you get them back?”
For some reason, my first instinct was to fib. “I did not. Everything was destroyed.”
He nodded, a solemn gesture. “Yes. It was.” He paused for a long while. Our footsteps echoed, bouncing off the gleaming white walls.
“Tell me, Dr. Reynolds…”
I met his gaze. It was serious. Full of questions. And perhaps secrets.
“How did the four of you survive?” Everything behind his eyes swirled into an unrecognizable emotion.
“Well, we ran. We found a bunker underground and stayed there for quite some time.”
Wood nodded, staring at the floor and not me. “We’d thought you’d all been destroyed in the explosion. It’s…good to know you’re all still healthy.”
“What about you?” I asked the question in my quietest tone.
His gaze was still on the floor, watching the square tiles slip by beneath our shoes. “Since I’m the only doctor left in the CDC, it was imperative I survived. I was able to escape on an early drop helicopter.”
So that’s what those planes were carrying.
“Which brings me to why I’m here.” He finally met my gaze, dark eyes dull in contrast with the whites. Stooping, he rummaged around inside his pack. Then, he handed me a sheet of paper. It whispered against the dark skin of his hand as I took it.
I spent a moment studying it. It looked official. There was the CDC seal in the corner. Except I couldn’t believe what I was reading.
“From the office of the President?” I asked aloud, glancing up at him.
He nodded once. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I didn’t realize there was anyone left in the White House.”
His tone turned dark. “Oh, they’re there.”
I held the paper at arm’s length to read better. “You’re conducting an investigation into the outbreak? Isn’t it over?”
He sighed, rubbing a large hand over his face. “If you remember correctly, Dr. Reynolds, we decided not to treat individuals too far gone.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“So, you do know they were using experimental techniques at this very hospital to eradicate the virus after symptoms began exhibiting.”
Inhaling, I recalled bits and pieces of prior conversations with Brendon. “I’m aware, yes. There’s a group of survivors who are being treated for PTSD. However, it wasn’t experimental treatment. It was the very same treatment we developed but used more vigorously.”
He bobbed his head. “Then you’re aware some of these individuals were given medication months after infection occurred.”
Again, I posited my affirmative.
“That’s what I’ve been asked to investigate.”
“I don’t understand.”
He sighed heavily, as if speaking to me were a burden. “The entire investigation is confidential, and I could get in a lot of trouble for even telling you this much, but I respect your work, Dr. Reynolds.”
“Well, thank you.”
Pausing, he cleared his throat. “The CDC is conducting an investigation into the methods this hospital uses to treat its patients. All I can say is that this hospital wasn’t set up by us. It’s not affiliated with the CDC at all and we have no idea what goes on here.”
“Yes, I noticed it wasn’t listed on the website. So, all you’re doing is conducting an investigation to ensure the hospital is up to standard?”
He blinked. “It’s more than that, but essentially yes. Some of your patients will be transferred to my care. And unfortunately, their files will be locked from use by any unauthorized party.”
“Meaning me?”
“Yes.”
“Very well.” I sighed. “You can set up in our second OR.”
“This also means that I’ll be present for any matters pertaining to the facility.”
“Of course.”
“I must warn you that things may change after the investigation is concluded.”
I cocked my head to one side. “How?”
His mouth pulled into a straight line. “I’m afraid I can’t divulge much more than the changes being hierarchal in nature.”
I understood. I’d been made Chief of Medicine and it was going to be taken away from me at the insistence of the CDC. Why did they always manage to ruin my career?
February 19 – Jack Reynolds
It was around lunch time when I met my sister outside Huntington House. She was clad in nice workout clothes, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. A clipboard rested under one arm. She looked ready to conquer the world.
“Hey, Aunt Raychel.” Lexi high-fived my sister as she filed past toward the van that’d carry us all outside the town limits. Several other people were piled inside. I recognized none of them. Up the driveway, two silhouettes shuffled toward us. When a bright patch of sun fell over them, I saw the surgeon guy with another kid closing in.
“He’s going too?” I asked, pointing at him.
Raychel’s cheeks turned a hint of pink. “What? He’s a dandy! He needs to learn to protect himself!”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes. “It has nothing to do with the fact that you want to spend the whole trip making eyes at him, right?”
“None whatsoever. Besides, I did you a favor by getting him away from your wife. He worked with her for two hours before telling her he loved her. It took him weeks to say it to me.” She smiled as he approached us, giving me no time to let her comment sink in. “Hey, stranger.”
“What up, Queen?” He gave her a side hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then, he turned to me. “Hey, Dood! How’s the knee?”
“Actually better, thanks. I can put a little weight on it.”
He smiled. “Awesome! The steroids are workin’!” Then, he draped a hand across the new kid’s shoulder. “This is Cyrus. He’s a ward of the state.”
“And no one’s told me what that means yet. Am I a superhero? Do I get a cape?” The kid’s blond hair flopped against his forehead as he spoke. Kinda funny. I’ll give him that.
We all squeezed into the van, my sister at the wheel. When Lexi and the new kid introduced themselves to each other, I swear I saw something in that girl’s eyes. No wonder my sister wanted to bring her along. I’d have to keep an eye on the boy.
***
“Oh, no you don’t.” I stood behind Lexi and snatched the semi-automatic from her hands, pushing the magazine release and stuffing the rounds in my pocket. She spun around, looking like I’d just slapped her across the face.
“Hey!” She crossed her arms over her chest, no doubt fuming because I’d embarrassed her in front of her new boy friend.
We’d stopped just outside the city limits at a shooting range. Blasts of guns went off all around. I admired Raychel’s teaching practices. She kept safe. But Lexi wasn’t going to be using guns. Not now. Not ever.
“There’s a time and a place,” I said, waving the gun in front of my face.
Raychel passed by, snatching it out of my hands. “Yeah! It’s here and now!” She held out her hand. “Give me the magazine.”
“You didn’t say anything about guns when we talked about this.”
She tossed me that saccharine smile. “You didn’t ask. I figured it was inferred.”
I stuck my index finger in her face. “She�
��s not learning to use a gun.”
My sister used the back of her hand to push my finger away. “Okay, rude. Don’t you want her to be able to defend herself?”
“Yeah!” Lexi’s hands were on her hips now, her cheeks flaming. “Why don’t you want me to be safe, Uncle Jack?”
“Hey!” I turned toward her. “You can kick ass with your bare hands.”
“But she can do it better with a gun.” Raychel pointed out the obvious.
“Nope.” I reached for it again, but she held it away from me, high above her head. Damn our father for giving her the genes to make her 5’11’’.
“Come on, Jacky!”
“No way, Ray Ray.”
She rolled her eyes. “Look, Daddy taught me to use a gun when I was ten.”
“Me too!”
“So, then you know I know what I’m doing?” She stretched out her palm again and beckoned for me to give her the magazine. “Trust me, Jacky! Please?!”
Goddamn her. She knew how to push my buttons just like our mother did. I sighed, then dug in my pocket for the magazine, handing it back to her with much hesitation. With an excited yelp, she grabbed it, shoved it back into the gun and handed it to Lexi. The girl took it, tossed a look at Cyrus, then the two of them took off toward the range.
“Wait for me before you do anything!” Raychel cupped one hand around her mouth to give her words more force. Then, she turned back to me. “You’re such a good Daddy! She’s going to be all ready for the supply search in an hour.”
“Just don’t get her killed, okay?”
She put a hand to her heart and took a step back, a shocked look on her face. “Me? I’d never!”
***
Déjà vu is a powerful thing. And as I stood outside an unfamiliar hotel building, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. Could’ve been the pool in the back. That fucking thing spoke to me no matter where I was.
“Okay, everyone!” Raychel waved her clipboard in the air. “You’ll be pairing up in teams of four. Just a reminder than no weapons will be used in the scavenger hunt. This is practice only. Have fun!” Once everyone had formed their groups, she came to me. “Why don’t the four of you start in the lobby?” Raychel put a hand on my arm. My sense of dread doubled as Brendon entered the front doors with Lexi and Cyrus.
“Please don’t make us do this with him. He’s too happy.” The whine in my voice caused me to internally cringe. What the hell?
“Some people would say that’s a good thing.” It was a sentence our mother said to me a thousand times as a youth. Under any other circumstances, I would’ve sneered.
“Yeah, I know. But do I have to be some people?”
Raychel’s eyes twinkled with humor. “I’m afraid so.”
I felt my own eyes roll back. “Fine.” I gave her a smile. It was easier to find humor since the steroid injections kicked in. “I’ll go with him. But you owe me.” I wagged my index finger at her. She smiled.
“I know.”
Then she was gone, and I was alone. About to enter a search party with a weirdo. A happy weirdo. A happy singing weirdo. I turned to face the hotel. Why had I agreed to this again?
At least it was better than letting him work alone with my wife. God, why would I even think that. Whatever.
If I make a break for it now, I can probably sit this one out.
I thought of my sister and what she’d told me. I knew she wanted Lexi to be able to defend herself, and I knew if I were the one keeping an eye on her, she’d do it right. I sighed, pushed a hand through my hair and followed them inside.
Lexi and Cyrus were rifling through something at the front desk. Brendon was nowhere to be found. I took a look around the dilapidated lobby. It looked like a bomb had gone off.
“Where’s our singing friend?” I asked, putting both hands on my hips.
“Kitchen.” Lexi didn’t look up from whatever they’d been doing. I sighed, wondering how he could leave them alone like that. We were supposed to be a party. With the aim of dragging him back to the front, I glanced around, spotting the door to the kitchen on my right.
Before trudging that direction, I warned Lexi to be on the lookout and to yell if anything came up. She looked at me like I was an idiot, but agreed, and I opened the double metal doors.
“En garde!” An oyster shucking knife was thrust into my face before I could react.
Using the back of my hand, I pushed it away from me. “Not the face, B.”
He stepped back, his brows low over his eyes, a sneaky smile playing on his lips. “Come on, Reynolds. I know you don’t like me!” He backed away, jabbing the shucker out in front of him every few steps. “So, let’s duel! Best pirate wins!”
I could only blink stupidly while he fumbled with a mess of aluminum cooking utensils behind him, before he found a silver colander to place atop his head. “Choose your weapon, scallywag!”
“You’re an idiot.” I watched as he tap-danced in an odd circle, singing a pirate song.
“What do you do with a drunken sailor? What do you do with a drunken sailor?”
“Throw things at it.” My palm closed around a bundle of utensils. Before I knew what I was doing, I’d wound up and tossed them all at him. He dodged my shiny weapons and kept singing, jabbing the knife back at me occasionally.
“Put him in the long-boat and make him bail her. Early in the morning.”
He was getting even more annoying. “How do I turn you off?”
“You can’t. I’ve had six threesomes in the last five years!” He tossed me a large pot which I caught just in time. “Put it on and fight me!”
I sighed. But gave in. And as soon as I had the pot on my head, I looked around for a weapon. Finding a ladle, I turned to him. “Touché!”
“Ah ha!” A smile spread across his face. “Now we duel!”
***
“Lookin’ good, Dood!”
I had to admit… I had a lot of stupid fun with Brendon. While he seemed as though he was only about being silly and ridiculous, he had a lot of depth to him. He played almost every instrument known to man, he could do front and back flips, plus he knew almost as much as Lisa did about being a doctor. Finding out he was a huge pothead helped, too. And when he gave me a small edible he’d made himself, I knew we’d be fast friends.
And he was a pretty good instructor, too. He’d helped me learn where to plant my foot and how to swing my weight on the crutches. He didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives. I didn’t know why I’d let my sister get in my head.
There was a knock on the double metal doors, causing Brendon to jump. Lexi’s voice emanated into the room, muffled.
“You’ll have to speak up! I’m holding a ladle,” I called, causing Brendon to bust out a very loud, single guffaw.
“What.”
Uh oh. I tossed my weapon away in a hurry, motioning for Brendon to get rid of his as well. The pot left my head, ending up in the corner of the room, gaining me a quizzical look.
“That’s a ‘Lisa voice.’ Not in the mood for games. Notice the lack of question mark.” My words were hurried. I knew I needed to open the door and pretend we’d been busy. Brendon got his ass into gear, grabbing the second door handle. We opened it, finding an impatient Lexi and Cyrus on the other side.
We must have looked pretty dumb too, because she paused as soon as she saw us.
“What are you guys doing?”
“Nothing!” Brendon’s voice was almost too high – kind of like mine got whenever I lied. I motioned for him to take the stupid colander thing off his head. He noticed, causing Lexi to turn back to me while he slipped it off. I feigned ignorance.
“We were just looking for stuff.”
“Were you looking or playing?”
Brendon dropped his gaze to the floor. “Playing.” The words were so soft I barely heard them. Lexi gave a roll of her eyes.
“Well, everyone finished the scavenger hunt ages ago. We’re supposed to go back to the van now.”
/> A rumbling crash sounded above our heads and all attention turned to the ceiling. I was immediately on alert, reaching for my shotgun. But when my hand patted nothing but empty jeans, I knew we were screwed.
“Shit. Stupid scavenger hunt rules!”
“Maybe it’s just an animal.” Brendon’s voice came out soft, but I could still hear his whisper clearly. His gaze was fixed on the ceiling tiles. And that was when we heard the footsteps.
Thud. Scrape. Thud. Scrape.
“Fuck. It’s a zombie.” Brendon reached into his pocket, fumbling to bring out the oyster shucker. As he held it close to his chest, the footsteps followed a path toward a door across from us marked Stairs.
Thud. Scrape. Thud. Scrape.
“Okay, we need to stay calm.” I put my arms out, perpendicular to my sides. “Maybe it’s just a straggler from the search party.”
Thud. Scrape. Thud. Scrape.
“I don’t remember anyone in the party having a limp...” Cyrus leaned his head back to look at the ceiling.
Thud. Scrape. Thud. Scrape.
And then a cacophony of thuds and crashes sounded as whatever it was fell all the way down the stairs. Both doors opened a fraction of inch when the thing tumbled into them, causing a cloud of dust to puff out into the room. Then, they closed again and there was silence. We all stood in a circle, crouched down, arms out and waiting.
“Let’s just go!” Lexi whispered into the dust.
“If it’s a person, they could be hurt.” I stood straight. “We should help.”
“Are you serious right now? Have you seen one of those things?” Brendon’s whispers oddly carried quite far.
I shot him a glare. “We’ve almost been bitten multiple times.” I shook my head. “But didn’t you take, like, a doctor’s oath to save people or something?”
Brendon’s face scrunched into a sneer. “Feck the oath. Every man for himself.”
I pulled an audible breath through my nose, releasing it in a sigh. “We have to help.” I made my way toward the door. My back and knee groaned as I approached the opposite side of the room. Cyrus took a step back and Brendon looked like he was going to be sick. I swear the shade of his skin was something akin to Matcha.
