Dead and Forsaken (21 page)

“
So that's your plan?”
asked Joan. “To wait them out!”

“
Won't they eventually
decompose and rot away?” questioned Randy.

“
That's correct!”
answered Dr. Okonkwo. “The problem is that by then there won't
be enough of us alive. We'll be dead too!”

“
Listen
up everyone we have to find another way out this room!” I
demanded. “If we don't then this room will become our coffin.
Our only hope is to get out of here and go to the security
communication office. If we stick together we can make it by
avoiding the main hallways and using the smaller side corridors!”

“
He is right! We have to
stick together and kill anything that gets in our way!” said
Carlos.

I
wasn't sure how much time had passed but after brainstorming for a
while someone finally spoke up.

“
I think I know how to get
out of here!” said Randy.

“
Don’t just stand
there! Start talking idiot!” demanded Dr. Green.

“
Give the man break!”
Carlos yelled. “If Randy has an ideal then lets allow him
speak! That door is not going to hold forever!”

“
Just what the world needs
a janitor with feelings and a Mexican convict with a gun!” Dr.
Green said with a smirk.

We
were all getting a little edgy but his behavior was starting to
agitate Carlos and everyone else. Carlos walked past Blair and
stopped in front of Dr. Green. There was no need for them to
exchange pleasantries or beat around the bush. It was clear they did
not care for each other.

“
If you keep running your
mouth the world is going to have a rich white doctor with my foot up
his ass!” said Carlos.

He
looked like he was about to beat Dr. Greens ass and who could blame
him. I was eye fucking him myself so hard that if I had mutant
powers his head would have exploded.

“
Save all that
testosterone for those things trying to kill us!” said Maria.

Blair
grabbed his hand and he walked away. Carlos kept his eyes on Dr.
Green but went to the other side of the room to calm down. Dr. Green
walked up to me and poked me in the chest.

“
Officer Robinson you
might want to get your convict attack dog under control!” he
responded. I grabbed his wrist and bent it backwards.

“
Iiiihhheee!” he
responded with a grimace.

“
You should keep that
mouth of yours shut before someone shuts it for you!” I told
him.

The doctor pulled his hand free and
walked away trying to shake off the pain.

“
Randy!
What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“
Before
they remodeled this room there was another exit door that lead to
the back hallway. If I can find it we can use my tools to cut a hole
in the drywall!” he claimed.

I
stared at him and then looked around the room.

“
Don’t just stand
there! You heard the man! Let’s find that door!” I
shouted.

I
didn’t know if it would work but at least it gave people a
chance to stretch their legs and focus on something other than their
own problems. Randy, Joe, George and Kahleem went to the back of the
room and began tapping on the wall trying to hear if it was hollow.
They moved the around the counters and felt behind the cabinets.
Everything was knocked over and pushed aside as they frantically
searched the room.

While
that was going on Maria fed the kids some Oreo cookies she found in
a drawer. Hopefully it would sustain them for a while. She found a
partially eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich too but they
weren't that desperate yet. They quickly ate their cookies, while
looking at the old man sleeping. I walked over to them and Maria
introduced us.

“
Kids this is Kevin! He
is going to get us out of here!” she said.

“
Hey guys are you ready
leave?” I asked.

“
Yes sir!” answered
Latia. “What about you? Do you want to go home big guy?”
I asked while rubbing Alex’s head.

He
nodded up and down while stuffing the last cookie into his mouth as
I got down on one knee.

“
I need you to stay close
to me and do what I say!” I told them. “I am going to
get you home!”

“
See I told you there was
nothing to worry about!” Maria told them.

“
That foot doesn’t
look too good!” Anne told Dr. Okonkwo.

By
then he could barely walk but put on a brave face.

“
Don’t worry about
me I’ll be fine!” he told her. “I just need to
wrap it up.”

He winched every time he had to put
any pressure on it. Anne could see the pain on her colleague’s
eyes.

“
Let
me see what I can find!” she said as she got up to dig through
the mess in the back room.

Anne
searched around and found a roll of left behind blue painter’s
tape. She used the tape to
wrap
the doctor’s ankle. She was not a medical professional but
knew how to wrap ankles from doing her own. She was runner when she
was in college.

“
Thank you Anne!”
said Dr. Okonkwo. “I could not have done a better job myself!”

“
It’s the least I
could do!” she responded. “Most doctors’ look down
their nose at everyone but you were always nice to everyone!”

“
Being a doctor does not
make me better than anyone else!” he told her.

“
I guess somebody forgot
to tell Dr. Happy then!” she said glancing over at Dr. Green.

They
both laughed and she helped him get his shoe back on. Twenty minutes
later the group searching for a way out had good news.

“
Hey! I think I got
something!” said Kahleem.

He
tapped the wall several times with his ear against the wall.

“
Watch out! Let me get by
you!” said Randy as he pressed his way pass him.

Randy
placed his ear against the wall and listened. He knocked three times
before lifting up his head and smiling.

“
This is it man! He found
the spot!” he told me. “Somebody pass me my tool bag!”

Carlos
grabbed the canvas bag and placed it at Randy’s feet.

“
There you go dawg!”
Carlos told him. “Knock a hole in that thing!” “We
need to get through that wall right now!” I explained.

“
I understand!” he
responded. “Just give me a second.”

Randy
reached in the bag and pulled out a hand held rechargeable drill. In
seconds he punched a pencil size hole through the wall and looked
inside.

“
Well don’t leave me in
suspense!” I told him. “What is the verdict?”

“
I think we are good.”
said Randy. “Just let me take down this outer piece of
drywall.”

Randy
reached back in the bag and pulled out a hand held oscillating saw.
He used the drill hole as a starting point for the blade and cut
down toward the floor. A small cloud of drywall dust formed. It
covered his face and hands. “If you keep this up we won’t
have to worry about getting eaten alive.” said Kahleem. “We
will just choke to death!” “Quit complaining and let him
do his job!” said Joe. Then Randy cut an incision from left to
right before turning the blade and cutting down toward the floor
again. He finished by making a cut from right to left before pulling
the blade out the wall. The dry wall dust caused the children to
cough and sneeze. Randy wedged his hammer’s forked side in
between the cut section and the solid wall. Rocking the hammer back
and forth he pried the cut section free. Before it fell on the floor
Joe grabbed the board and leaned it against the desk.

“
When we get out of here I'm
going to let my parents know how much I love them!” blurted
out Blair.

“
If we get out of here I'm
going to eat the biggest prime steak I can find!” said Carlos.

“
Fuck that!” said Joe.
“When I get out of here I'm going to call up the baldest broad
I know, get a big bag of weed then have sex and get high as hell
until I forget all this crazy shit I have seen!”

“
Yeah that does sound better
than a steak!” responded Randy.

It
took fifteen minutes but now we all stood their looking at the two
foot wide by three foot long cut out hole in the wall. The hole was
in between two support beams in the wall. “Are you sure this
is the spot?” asked Joan.

“
This is defiantly the right
area!” said Randy. “I just need time to cut open this
other panel!”

Everyone
let out a low cheer or sigh of relief except me and Carlos.

“
Let’s not
get too excited just yet!” I told them. “We still don’t
know what’s on the other side of that wall!”

“
What if one of those dead
people is on the other side?” asked Maria. “Every trip
outside comes with its own set of drama.”

“
We could walk right into a
trap!” said a visibly terrified Blair.

“
Don’t worry!”
Carlos told her. “I will not let anything happen to you!”

“
If we are going to do this
we all have to all be on the same page!” I explained. “The
hallways leading out of here are filled with mindless homicidal
maniacs!”

“
What about the old man and
him?” asked Anne while pointing to Dr. Okonkwo.

“
We can use a sheet to carry
the old man!” said George. “I can help the doctor!”
replied Dr. Green.

George
walked over to the old man and could see he was still having trouble
breathing.

“
Guys I think we have a
problem!” After a quick check they realized what was wrong!
His heart was giving out. “It’s too late! He’s
dying!” said Maria. “His breathing is getting even
shallower. Even if we were rescued he wouldn't survive the
evacuation.”

“
That’s a shame!”
Joe said. “We were so close to getting out of here!”

“
Don’t mourn for him my
son!” Pastor declared. “Soon he will be in a better
place!”

“
Damn padre!” said Dr.
Green. “If you insist on spitting out all that Jesus gobiddy
gook tell us something that can help us!”

Joan
and Maria fluffed his pillow and covered the old man with a sheet to
keep him warm. The pastor gave him his last rights and anointed his
forehead with a small bottle of oil from his pocket.

“
Don't look Alex!” said
Latia.

She
covered her brother’s eyes so he wouldn't see the man dying.

“
This situation is getting
worst!” stated the Pastor. “Would anyone like to confess
their sins?” Blair revealed to him and the rest of the group
that she was pregnant. Like any teenager she was scared of what
effect that would have on her future. She wasn't able to take care
of herself and now she had to bring a baby into a world filled with
the rising dead. The pastor prayed for her while Carlos wrapped his
arm around her shoulder. When he finished he asked if there was
anyone else.

“
I would like to confess
Pastor!” said George. “I'm gay!”

“
Your gay?” asked Joe.
“But you said you like NASCAR just like me!”

“
Yes I like NASCAR!”
George replied. “And I like men too!”

Joe just stood there with a
confused look on his face. Randy looked at Joe and shrugged his
shoulders before going back to work. The Pastor did not approve of
his way of life but still anointed George's head. He knew that in
the eyes of the Lord all sin was equal. He told George to renounce
his homosexual tendencies and ask God for his forgiveness. Other
people also had their own secrets to confess.

“
I am a virgin!”
said Kahleem. “We don't believe in sex before marriage!”

“
Where the hell am I?”
asked Joe. “Are we in the twilight zone? It's the end of the
world and I'm stuck with Clay Aiken and Gandhi!”

Maria
asked me what we were going to do about the old man.

“
I don't think we have a
choice!” I replied.

It
was a hard decision but we had to leave him behind. It was stupid to
risk our lives for a man that was so close to death. They did all
they could do but he was still going to pass away. Randy punched a
hole through the outer wall with the round side of the hammer. He
felt a slight breeze as the fresh air rushed inside. When the hole
was big enough he tapped around the rest of the drywall with a
hatchet. Then he pushed with all his might and the section gave way
as he tumbled forward. He carefully scoped everything out from down
on his knees. The back hallway was empty but all of the noise caused
the undead ghouls to start beating on the door again.