Survival Series (Book 1): Survival

by Hawkley, D. E.

  More than once I woke up patting my body in panic, afraid I too was on fire. I wanted to talk to Dr. Harron to vent about my dreams and the fears they invoked, but I soon came to remember as my brain reached full awareness of the waking world that Dr. Harron was dead; so, I cried instead.

  When the alarm went off, the old wrist watch that Dr. Harron had set up to go off at 7am every morning, I just laid and stared at the wall. I didn't want to get up and face the way the world was - not alone. But I knew, Dr. Harron had set the alarm so it had to be turned off; it would not shut off on its own.

  I wondered, if I had died, would the alarm have continued its annoying chirp until the battery died. It was a depressing thought; somewhere an alarm was beeping, waiting for its owner to wake up and shut it off, but no one was alive to do so.

  Picking up the old watch I looked at the time; it was 7:23am. I pulled the small pin, disabling the alarm for good. “If an alarm goes off and no one's alive to hear it,” I said as I shoved the watch in my pocket. “Did it even make a sound?”

  Retrieving food, I tried my best to avoid the doorway that led back out into the ball; to where they laid, dead. I wondered what had become of Benjamin, what had Michael done to him? I racked my brain for answers it would not give up to me. Perhaps my brain had blocked it out; could it have been so horrifying that my own brain thought I couldn't handle remembering it.

  Unless I managed to climb, with a broken leg no less, the elevator shaft and see for myself; I was not likely to know anytime soon.

  After a breakfast of dry cereal and an apple, along with warm apple juice, I set about keeping my thoughts busy. Part of me knew that I needed to go clean up the mess beyond the door and it was that part of me that kept me from doing so.

  “What if Kyle does show up?” I spoke out loud to no one. “He might think I'm some psycho who just lost it and snapped.” I replied to myself, answering my own question. I knew I needed to move the bodies that laid out in the hallway. I had planned to move them the night before, but I had been overwhelmed and cried myself to sleep.

  Taking a deep breath, I gathered up what I would need to clean up the bodies and the blood. I wanted to run out the door and just kick Michael's dead body over and over again. He had taken Dr. Harron and Benjamin, leaving me alone. However, besides making the mess I had to clean up bigger, nothing would come from it; and so, I didn't, I simply slipped into the coroner’s outfit that I found in the office and headed out into the hallway.

  The smell was overpowering and more than once I was forced to empty what little contents were in my stomach. The lab, where I was moving Dr. Harron and Michael's bodies had a small pile of rotting corpses in the center of the room; the bodies of those who had died during the attack when the stairs collapsed.

  I didn't want to put Dr. Harron in there. He was a good person, he was my friend, and he deserved a proper burial. While I knew his body deserved more respect, there was nothing I could do to offer it. Michael's body I threw in the rotting room, he didn't even deserve it that good; but, as there was no better for Dr. Harron, there was no worse for Michael.

  After Michael's body was toss in with the rotten flesh of the others, I slammed the door closed. Turning aside, again, I emptied what was left in my stomach. I had decided that Dr. Harron would get a better farewell than being left to rot forever beside the man who had killed him.

  I retrieved a gurney from down the hallway and moved Dr. Harron’s body onto it, rolling it down towards where John Does were cremated if the bodies were not claimed. So many things went through my mind as I took that walk, pushing the body of a mentor and friend. I wanted him to just wake up, to say that it had been a mistake, that he was alive. I knew that was not going to happen. It was just another goodbye I would have to deal with.

  “I wish it had been me,” I said as I pushed the gurney. “What good can I accomplish in this world that you would? You would have been a much better asset to Kyle - if he shows up.” Reaching the door to the crematorium I pushed it open slightly to make sure that it would be safe to enter, it seemed safe enough; as safe as any place could be in this world anymore. “Shit,” I thought as I pushed the gurney through the door. I needed to go back and gather up whatever I could find something to light the fires. The gas value was nothing more than a turn of a switch, but the fire was an electric spark and there was no electricity going through the hospital except for the emergency pack which only powered the emergency lights.

  Letting the doors close behind me, Dr. Harron waiting on the other side, I headed back towards the morgue. It had taken almost all day to get everything cleaned up and move the bodies. I needed to get Dr. Harron’s body cremated before anything else could go wrong. Reaching the morgue, I heard a loud screeching roar echo from somewhere upstairs in the hospital followed by the sound of banging, a sound that echoed down the elevator shaft.

  Quickly I searched around for something, anything to use as a weapon. Whatever had made that noise was on the first floor, above me, and it sounded like it sounded like it was hammering on the elevator doors.

  After searching frantically, I found the scalpel that Michael had used to kill Dr. Harron and the broomstick that was used to kill Michael. If I could find a way to attach the scalpel to the broomstick it would give me a weapon with a bit of reach.

  I slowly moved towards the elevator shaft; the doors were open just enough for a person to slip through. As I drew closer, I heard a scuffling somewhere up above.

  Bang!

  The sound of a gun going off resounded through the darkness in the shaft causing me to jump; my heart felt as though it was in my throat. There was a moment of silence before someone, or something, slammed into the bottom of the shaft. It was definitely someone they were gurgling and flailing before falling silent.

  I gasped my hand over my mouth. I couldn't believe it someone had been shot and fallen down the shaft, dying at the bottom, impaled on the crumbling pad. Backing away from the elevator I noticed the glow of a flashlight glide across the body - it was Benjamin, he was horribly disfigured.

  Flashbacks filled my mind of Benjamin attacking Michael, the struggle and Michael driving a scalpel into Benjamins eye. I had screamed and run away from the altercation. Someone had chased me and as I reached the elevator - Michael shoved me - that's how I fell, I thought to myself. Michael had tried to kill me, but Benjamin had stopped him. Dr. Harron said Benjamin knew that Michael was psychotic and was going to end the threat.

  The sound of something slamming into the elevator door caught my attention drawing me back into the present. There was someone still up there and it didn't sound like they were alone.

  Thud! Thud! Thud!

  Something slammed against the elevator doors. They were trying to get through. There was a creaking sound and then a scream. The scream ended as the person it had come from slammed into the bottom of the elevator shaft, barely missing the crumpling pad.

  I stayed away from the elevator, waiting and listening. The pounding on the doors above slowed down and stopped; whatever had been up there moved away, its heavy footsteps fading into the distance. When I was certain whatever had been pounding was gone, I slowly inched towards the elevator doors to see who the second person was.

  The man wasn't that old, but he looked like he'd been through hell. At first, I thought he was dead as well, but he groaned before falling silent. Climbing down slowly, protecting my leg as best I could, into the bottom of the elevator I checked for a pulse, it was there but just barely. The fall had rendered the man unconscious.

  Quickly I searched for any sign of who he was and finally found an old faded black wallet in his pack with provisions. I noticed the fun shoved into his waistband and took it before flipping open the wallet.

  “Kyle,” the first name caught my attention immediately. “Oh my god,” I said stuffing the gun and wallet into the backpack. Kyle had travelled across city to find me and while I knew nothing about the man, I was excited to have another living persons comp
any.

  There was no way I would be able to get Kyle out of the elevator shaft, not with a broken leg and him unconscious. Searching Kyles backpack, I took a bottle of water and some food out before placing it under his head like a pillow. I would need to wait for him to wake up to move him.

  A quick check revealed that Kyle had been luckier in his fall than I had been, he had no broken bones. Leaving Kyle where he was, I slowly climbed back out of the elevator shaft. I still had to finish cleaning up and to give Dr. Harron a respectful farewell. Kyle wasn't going anywhere, and I could check back on him until he woke up.

  Retrieving the lighter from my backpack in the morgue I returned to the crematorium where Dr. Harron's body lay waiting. Moving the turned close to the pulled-out tray I rolled Dr. Harron onto it. It was just like a large oven. As soon as he was inside, and the fires lit it would reduce him to ashes.

  “Kyle made it,” I said to Dr. Harron. I knew he was dead but talking seemed to help. “He crossed the city to find me; only he fell down the elevator shaft as well. So, did Benjamin. I finally remembered what Michael had done to him.” I tried desperately to block those memories from resurfacing again. “Kyle was lucky though, no broken bones. I hope that's a good sign. I really wish you were still here. Tell Benjamin I'm sorry for what happened to him and, that I'm sorry I can't give him a better send off like I am for you.”

  Crossing Dr. Harron's arms across his chest I placed a crumpled piece of paper into his hands. I would have to light it and hoped it ignited the gas. There was no other way to light the burners.

  “I guess this is goodbye,” I said tears threatening to spill over again. “I promise I'll try to be the person you think I can be.” Pushing the tray into the oven I sniffed to make sure there was no gas leaks. Smelling nothing, I lit paper and closed the heavy door. “Goodbye my friend,” I said and turned the know that released the gas. The flame from the paper did exactly what I had hoped and the has ignited.

  I watched for only a moment as the flames engulfed Dr. Harron's body and then I could watch no more without risking crying again. “Goodbye,” I whispered before leaving the room pulling the door closed behind me.

  Kyle was unconscious for just over a day and a half. I slept with the morgue door slightly ajar so I could hear if anything came near the elevator on the floors above. It also served to let me hear if Kyle had come to.

  When my alarm went off waking me up, I heard Kyle groaning. Jumping up from my makeshift bed I ran to the elevator shaft and shone my flashlight into the darkness. Kyle lifted a hand to block the glare.

  “Kyle,” I said hesitant. “It’s me, Joanne.”

  “Joanne,” Kyle groaned. “Are you alright? Augh,” he managed. I could tell he was in a lot of pain.

  “Stay there,” I said. “Don't try to move, I'll come down and help you.” Slowly I started down into the bottom of the elevator shaft again - for the second time in two days. “You have no broken bones, I checked while you were unconscious; but you make still be very tender and have other injuries.” Reaching Kyle, I knelt down beside him. “Here,” I said holding out his gun for him. “I borrowed it in case whatever had been on the upper floor with you had tried to come down.”

  Leaning down I put out my hand and motioned for Kyle to grab it, but he was hesitating to look at my leg. “It’s fine,” Joanne said. “I can brace with my good leg; at least get you into a sitting position. I may not be able to lift you out of the elevator shaft thought.”

  “Alright,” Kyle said reaching up and taking my hand. It took a bit of effort, but soon enough Kyle was standing. “I am surprised that fall didn’t kill me,” Kyle said. “Like this fellow. Oh, wait, did you know him?” Kyle must have seen the look on my face when he jerked a thumb at Benjamin's body impaled on the crumple pad. I said nothing and simply looked at the ground and nodded. “I am so sorry, I didn't know. Is this what you meant by it would be easier to explain what happened to the others?”

  “Let’s get out of this elevator and I’ll explain,” I said. “It’s a long story and I don’t want to be where something can jump down on us without any warning.” I let Kyle go first, helping as much as I could to get him out of the elevator shaft. When he put out his hand to help me, I hesitated a moment before grabbing it and letting him pull me out. The world and the people in it were so much different now. I had become fast friends with Benjamin and Dr. Harron, and they were both dead, just like everyone else I had ever known. For now, I needed to put up barriers, I couldn’t let myself become friends with anyone, I couldn’t go through losing someone else.

  I led Kyle to the morgue where we had set up our makeshift camp. Retrieving new batteries, I handed them to Kyle for his flashlight before sitting down near the mortician’s desk which had become our table. There was so much to tell and still bits and pieces I did not remember. When we were settled, I started a small fire in the metal garbage can and hung food over the fire.

  “It’s not much,” I said. “But Benjamin, the security guard you saw dead in the elevator, he was resourceful. Always had great ideas to make things a little easier in this, whatever the hell it is world now, hell I guess.” As the food cooked, I began at the beginning, what had happened when the hospital was hit and how Dr. Harron, Michael, Benjamin, and I had come to be in the basement of the hospital. While we ate, I continued with the night my leg got broken and Michael’s break from reality. Finally, as we sat after eating, I told Kyle of the death of Dr. Harron and how he sacrificed his life so that I might live, just as Benjamin had. “He told me there were two kinds of people in this world now; those who will do anything, including killing others, to survive; and those who would die trying to save others. Dr. Harron wanted me to the be the third kind.”

  “Third kind?” Kyle said. “I thought there were only two kinds of people.”

  “There are,” I said. “Or so he believed. He wanted me to become the third kind. The one that does what is needed to survive and help others survive too.” Kyle nodded in understanding, but I wasn’t sure if he did understand; Dr. Harron said those words to me and I barely understood them. “So, tell me about your journey across the city. How did you get here? What is the outside world like now?”

  I listened quietly as Kyle told me about his journey. Escaping his home to see what the world had become and finding his neighborhood, an ex-police officer, changed into something else, something that had killed his own family and tore apart their pet. Kyle explained the look in the man’s eyes, that he was still human, but not human and the look brought more fear to Kyle than anything else.

  Shivering I got up and retrieved two cup and coffee from the food stash and began boiling bottled water over the small fire. Kyle went on. I learned of his encounter in the park with what he simply called the four and the shame he felt for not doing anything to save the young girl who lost her life before his eyes.

  “There was little you could have done,” I said trying to be comforting. “You would likely have lost your life and she would have died in any case. Do not blame yourself for that.”

  Kyle smiled weakly at me, I don’t think he was convinced. Taking a deep breath, he continued the events that took place between his bunker at his house and the hospital. I listened intently as he talks of the second encounter with a man much like his neighbor and his use of the gun he had found.

  “It looked like a small black bug,” Kyle said. “It was just sitting on his neck and when he died it fell off and scattered like ashes.”

  “Do you think it has something to do with the bombs and what the world has become?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Kyle said.

  From there everything he talked about was related to the hospital itself. The ambulance and it’s missing contents. I explained that we had not left the hospital since the bombs hit, whoever had taken the contents of the ambulance had not come into the hospital, or if they had we did not know it. It was then that Kyle went quiet, as though he was trying to choose the words to explain the
next leg of his journey. Finally, he spoke.

  “Your friend, Benjamin was it,” Kyle said.

  I nodded.

  “I found him in one of the rooms upstairs,” Kyle said. “I thought he was one of them until I noticed he had been mutilated by someone. He seemed to be calling something, drawing something out. As he headed towards the elevator he was thumping on the wall and then banging on the elevator door. I didn’t see what it was he was calling down towards the elevator. I am sorry, I shot him, but it was the only way to get him to stop banging. It didn’t help, whatever he was trying to get the attention of came anyways. I didn’t get to see it,” Kyle said. “I jumped to the elevator ladder and it broke. The next thing I remember is waking up in pain and you were there.”

  “When I heard the gunshot and then saw Benjamins body, I remembered Michael attacking him,” I said. “Before that I couldn’t remember what had happened. I tried to clean up as much of the mess as I could, from the fight between Dr. Harron and Michael, I didn’t want you to think I was some psycho who had killed the others with me. That is the reason I said it would be easier to explain what had happened in person. I knew that if someone had explained my situation over a radio, I would never have made my way over to them.”

  Kyle seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before speaking. “I still would have come,” Kyle said. “I needed to see that there were still people alive in this hell. Even if it was a risk to my own life, I needed it to keep my sanity in tactic. Do you think you can travel with your leg like that?” Kyle pointed at my cast.

  “I, I think so,” I said. I was caught off guard by the question. “Why?”

  “I don’t think that thing that Benjamin was calling has left the hospital,” Kyle said. “From what I’ve gathered of the mutated humans I have come across, they are somewhat territorial. Also, the loud crash it made coming from the upper floor to the first floor makes me think it’s something big. Eventually it will make its way down here and I don't want us stuck sitting here waiting to die. If you can travel, I say we get some sleep and then in the morning we head out. There are a few things I’d like to get from my bunker at my home and then maybe we can find a working vehicle and get out of the city.”