Dead and Forsaken (8 page)

“
Don’t do it man! He
has kids.” I told him.

“
Fuck this racist mother
fucker and his family!” he shot back.

“
He might be a jerk but he is
still a human being like you and me.” I explained.

“
This redneck thinks that I
am a wetback!” he answered. “So you know he don’t
care about your black ass.”

“
Me being black ain’t
got shit to do with this.” I told him.

“
They got you fooled b
ro
.”
he answered. “You being black has everything to do with this.”

“
Nobody has me fooled and you
better remember that.” I stressed.

“
White people don't care
about you or me.” he screamed. “We are in the same
boat.”

“
The only thing that matters
is that you’re a criminal and I am not.” I told him.
Sandoval had the
deputy in a death grip but at least he took the gun out his mouth. I
had my gun pointed at him from about four feet away. Sandoval
grabbed a handful of his hair and slammed his head into the room #
10 door. We were concentrating on each other and did not see a large
set of hands reach out the door. As it flew open all three of us
turned and got the shock of our lives.

The
four hundred pound man who I thought died earlier was standing in
the doorway. His skin was very pale because blood was no longer
circulating to the tissues in his body. The man’s eyes were
crazy and frosted over. He looked at me then turned his attention to
the deputy.

“
GRRRRRR!”

Sandoval
let the deputy go and took a couple steps back.

“
What the fuck is your
problem?” said Sandoval.

The
man gripped the top of the deputy's head in his large hand. Then he
swung his right arm over and knocked Sandoval down. With leg braces
and handcuffs on he could not catch himself. He fell hard bumping
his head on the tile and dropped the deputy's gun. The large man
picked the deputy up off the ground with both hands. The deputy’s
eyes were fixated on the man’s drooling mouth. His eyes
widened in terror and anticipation of pain. Then the deranged man
bit down on the officer’s chin and lower jaw.

“
GNAAAW!”

He
used his teeth to peel the skin off the deputy’s face like an
orange. Waves of pain coursed through his body. The large man
swallowed each mouthful. Blood poured from the deputy’s face
covering his tan uniform. It also splashed on the man’s
hospital gown.

Sandoval
raised his hands to shield his face from the splatter. I do not know
what caused the man to go crazy but he was definitely not dead. “Put
him down right now Mister!” I yelled. I struck the man
several times with the butt of my gun and he dropped the deputy.
Before he could turn I speared him with my shoulder and knocked him
into the door frame. He swung his arms around knocking my gun out my
hand. I backed up and he lurched forward.

“
Stop right there!” I
screamed.

“
GROOOWWWL!”

He
ignored my commands continuing to stumble toward me.

“
I am not going to tell you
again.” I repeated. “Stop and get down on the ground.”

I
extracted my baton and took a couple of warning swings in his
direction but he was not scared. Joe one of the larger techs tried
to grab the man but he ended up on the ground. The large man fell on
top of him and pinned him to the ground. The man tried to bite him
but Joe stuck his forearm under his neck to keep him at bay.

“
Help me!” cried Joe.
“Get this motherfucker off me!”

I
ran over and kneed the man hard on the side of his head. I knocked
him off Joe but he did not stay down long.

“
GRRRRRR!”

“
Are you fucking kidding me?”
I said to myself. “What the fuck are you on dawg?”

He
pulled himself up using one of the beds in the hallway. The bed had
a terrified mother and her son in it. The large man’s body
cast a shadow over their bed.

“
Not my baby!” begged
the woman.
She pushed her son against the wall and shielded him with
her body

“
GROOOWWWL!”

“
Get the fuck away from
them!” yelled Sandoval.
I jabbed and struck him at least a dozen times in his legs and
lower torso with the baton. He wobbled a little but did not go down.
After that he abandoned the mom and her son and started to move
in my direction.

“
Let’s see how hard
your head is!” I laughed.

I took a couple of steps back and swung with all my might. The blow
hit him in the middle of his forehead. The polished steel opened up
a gaping hole rocking him backwards.

”
That’s what I’m
talking about!” laughed Sandoval.
Two more blows to the fresh gash sent shards of skull into
his brain. He ended up face down.

“
The bigger they are the
harder they fall bitch!” I yelled.
I kicked
him in the head and face repeatedly smashing them into mush. The
flowing blood formed an outline of his large body. He was down for
the count and was not getting back up. I looked down the hall and
Sandoval was getting up off the floor. He picked my gun up and
pointed it at me. He smiled at me kind of sneaky and then started to
frown. I thought he was about to shoot me.

Then he shouted out “Get the
hell out the way!”
I lunged to the
left and fell over a wheel chair. From the floor I looked up and
realized he was looking behind me at a scraggly looking woman
covered in blood.
During the
fight Sandoval saw her shamble out the doors following two medics.
The EMT's had left earlier but came back because one of them forgot
his EMT trauma bag. When they went into the trauma room
transportation had not picked the woman’s body up yet. She was
still on the table covered up with a sheet. They had their backs to
the woman looking for the bag when she rose up and climbed down off
the table. Neither one of them heard her dragging her foot across
the tile floor.
She had
turned bluish green in the face and was very pale.
The
woman lunged at one of the medics without warning.

“
GRRRRRR!”

She
bit down on his arm viciously tearing his bicep off. She repeatedly
bit chunks and swallowed his flesh.

“
MUNCH!
MUNCH! MUNCH!”

The
other medic shoved her to the ground and helped his partner out of
the room. As they walked away in shock blood squirted from the
injured man’s arm. It dangled by only the bone and tendon. The
woman followed the smell of blood until the scent got stronger. Then
she pinned his partner against a gurney and violently attacked him.

“
GNAAAW!”

He
suffered painful bites to the right side of his head. The woman put
her mouth over the paramedic’s ear biting it off. She slurped
it down her throat and let out a primal roar. “Growwwl!”

She
dug into his throat spraying his blood on her face.

“
Eeeyouch!”

The
man pushed her away and grabbed his neck.
Sandoval
fired the gun at the medic’s crazy attacker but missed.
“BANG!” The recoil rocked him backwards and sent his
cuffed hands into the air. It almost knocked him off his feet. The
gun fire didn't scare her it just brought her closer. He adjusted
the gun in his handcuffed hands and fired several more shots. “BANG!
BANG!” The hot ejected casings fell onto Sandoval before
clanging against the floor. This time the 9mm rounds hit her. The
force of the impact spun her around. Her body slumped to the
ground. The bullets shattered her jaw and pierced her temple. I
stood up and looked around the to see blood everywhere. Then I
turned to Sandoval. He lowered the gun and sat down on an empty bed
in the hall. I walked over to him and stood in front of him.

“
Nice shot convict!” I
told him.

Sandoval
pointed at the large man and said. “You did okay too
rent-a-cop.”

“
I need that gun back
convict
.
”
I told him.

“
There is some crazy shit
going on around here cop.” he said. “I think I'm going
keep it.”

“
That is not going to
happen.” I told him.

“
I helped you out!” he
responded. “Damn you think you would be thankful and shit!”

“
Trust me.” I answered.
“I appreciate you stepping in but you’re still a
prisoner.”
I
held my hand out and he placed the gun in it. We both had a grip on
it and stared at each other. After a few seconds he let go.

“
I will make sure I put in a
good word for you at your trial.” I promised.

“
That’s bullshit and
you know it bro!” he said as he stood up.

Then
I placed him in one of the holding cells. I checked the deputy’s
pulse only to find he was dead. I remove his duty belt ammunition
and placed his gun
in my waistband. I
surveyed the mess and radioed Hernandez.

“
I don’t know what the
hell’s going on but we have multiple people down in the ER
main hallway.” I explained.

“
I will call Phoenix PD and
see if they can get some officers out here.” He responded.

“
And see if you can get the
rest of the guys on the radio or one of the cameras!” I told
him.

“
No problem.” he said.
“I will call you back when I know something.”
The staff rushed in and
began emergency care on the wounded. Up and down the hall I observed
people that were visibly upset. Some of them had fresh wounds. Most
of them were from people falling down or tripping over stuff while
trying to get away from the killers. Both of the paramedics were
dead after the assault. The staff worked on the other victims. Some
of the nurses cried at the horrible site. Thick puddles of blood
were everywhere. A janitor and several housekeepers used mops and
buckets to try and remove the fresh blood from the tile. Mopping
it only smeared it across the floor and made things worst. We
wondered what could cause perfectly sane people to snap out and
start killing people.

“
They must have been on
drugs?” cried a nurse.

“
Did they have mental
problems?” a doctor asked.

“
Why would they attack
the people that are trying to help them?” said a patient.

Dr. Black went to talk to the
social worker. The two of them would be responsible for notifying
the families of the victims and attackers. All around the ER people
who witnessed the attacks huddled in groups of twos and threes.
Something like this sticks in your mind. You'll never forget it.
Whispers about the attack spread around the hospital via E-mail and
text messaging. I was halfway down the hall when I saw Dr. Sanchez
come out of exam room # 6. She helped a nurse that had blood on her
out of the room. A strange looking preacher followed them. He made a
cross in the air and then closed the door behind them.

“
What happened? Are you
okay?” I asked.

“
I fine Kevin. Just help me
with her.” she said.

“
I see that the devil has
been to work out here too!” Pastor Harrell said as he looked
around. Maria told me about the horror that took place in room # 6.
I knew we were in trouble. A dedicated loving son killed his own
mother in cold blood. Two other patients that came to the ER with
similar bite injuries also went crazy and started killing innocent
bystanders.

It
was just like what happened in Tucson. Without test results we
wouldn't know for sure. The only other thing they had in common was
that they were recently declared deceased.

“
Kevin I saw both of the men
in exam rooms # 6 and # 10. Trust me they were both dead!”
Maria explained.

“
She is right officer they
both had no pulse and stopped breathing.” added Dr. Black.
“They were clinically dead.”

“
What about the lady brought
in by Phoenix fire Dr. Okonkwo?” I asked. “What is her
story?”

“
She was declared dead on
arrival after getting to the hospital. I called her time of death
myself.” He explained.

“
I am a logical man so none
of this made sense.”

“
No offense doctor but dead
people do not just rise up and start walking!”

Dr. Black assembled all
the doctors and the charge nurse in the doctor’s lounge to
discuss everything that happened. I went too. There was something
that we were missing. When I got inside they were all watching TV.

“Everyone
watching or in the sound of my voice I have new and vital
information.” said he announcer in a dry monotone voice.
“This
is a message from the Emergency Broadcast System of Arizona. We are
interrupting this regularly scheduled program to issue a disaster
warning. The bodies of the dead are returning to life and attacking
the living. At first glance they may appear lethargic or intoxicated
but don’t be fooled. They may be slow moving but they are
persistence. The only way to kill them is to destroy the brain or
separate it from the spine. These individuals only desire is to
gorge on human flesh. Stay locked in doors and off the street if at
all possible.

Evacuation
shelters have been set up and are listed on the bottom of the
screen. Most of them have been set up at area high school and
college gyms. Evacuees are asked to bring their own food and
supplies. This is not a test! Once again this is the Emergency
Broadcast System. The EBS was activated to keep you updated with
information and informed with instructions. 911 calls are flooding
the police and fire department switch boards. Please report any eye
witnessed acts of violence or murder.

Anyone
that was bitten is highly contagious. Bite victims suffering from
the disease will be in a dazed and trance like state. They will also
exhibit extremely violent behavior.
We will update information as it becomes available. I repeat the
dead have begun to rise!
Scientist and doctors
from the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, GA have confirmed these
reports. The victims will die after a two to six hour incubation
period. When the deceased return they will start biting and randomly
attacking the living.

There
is no cure and the mortality rate is one hundred percent. Everyone
bitten will die only to rise again to kill someone else. The CDC is
still classifying the undead as infected and are treating this as a
disease. We have survived outbreaks and epidemics in the past but
this is genocide. The only thing that can stop them is massive
trauma to stop their brain function. They feel no pain. The dead
will show no mercy. The forsaken as they are being called kill and
eat the flesh of the living. These creatures are dangerous and will
attack the living on sight. This could be the end of mankind.”

I put my arm around Dr. Sanchez
and pulled her close. I saw the look in her eyes and wanted her to
feel safe. The world that we knew just changed forever. A group of
friends and relatives of the patients saw the broadcast too. They
gathered at the registration window asking questions. Most of them
were skeptical about what happened. Back in the ER a patient
approached me and Dr. Sanchez.

“
Is everything alright
officer?” she asked. “We just had a little situation
that’s all Miss.” Dr. Sanchez replied.

“
Why is this happening to
us? Are we going to die?” asked the woman.

“
I don’t know why
this is happening but I am sure everything will be alright.” I
stated.

I told Dr. Sanchez and the woman
what they needed to hear but I did not know if I believed that
myself. Besides I had a bad feeling this was just the beginning.

******

Outside in the parking lot
one of the janitors was sitting in his truck. He went outside to
smoke weed. He was with two female housekeepers. He noticed a bunch
of people moving across the parking lot. The group bobbed and weaved
through the maze of parked cars. They were bumping and tripping over
each other. He thought it was a bunch of drunks coming from a
neighborhood party. Their break was almost over so they finished
getting high and got out of the truck. When the first drunk got
close enough the janitor held out the weed pipe.

“
Damn dawg!” he joked.
“You should have smoked weed then you could still function.”
“GRRRRRR!”

Was
the only response he heard from the tall thin teenager wearing dirty
sweat pants. One of the housekeepers grabbed the pipe away from the
janitor.

“
Screw him! He has to get his
own.”

They
all started laughing as she raised the pipe up and hit it. She was
in the middle of taking a toke when the teenager in the front with
an unwashed face grabbed her arm and bit down hard.

“
CHOMP!”

His
head snapped back leaving a hole in her wrist. Blood squirted from
the wound.

“
Aaahhh!” She screamed
in pain as her coworkers ran away.

More of the other drunks inched
closer to her attracted by the smell of fresh blood in the air. The
other housekeeper only got a couple of feet before she was stopped
dead in their tracks. All of the friends ended up surrounded in the
blink of an eye. The crazy crowd of drunks circled them like a pack
of lions. They closed in on them moaning and growling.

“
GRRRRRR!”

The janitor punched one of them in
the face.

“
Take that vato!” he
shouted.

The
heavy set drunk on the other side bit him on the shoulder.

“
What the hell you bite me
for?” he said pulling away in pain.

He
took off running but glanced back only to see the two women
disappear after being consumed by the crowd.

“
CHOMP!
CHOMP! CHOMP!”

He
heard their screams followed by a roar.

“
NOOOOOOOOO!”

“
GROOOWWWL!”

The terrified and panic stricken
man sprinted across the asphalt as the blood of his friends was
splattered on the ground. He ran until he made it to the south
entrance glass doors. Then he closed them and turned the power off.
The janitor peered through the glass doors trying to catch his
breath. He leaned forward with his hands on his knees gasping for
air. Blood slowly flowed down his arm. The drunks followed close
behind him. They moved using a stumble. Walked with limps and
lurched into the lights outside the entrance. Even behind glass they
seemed to be able to detect the sweet smell of blood emitted from
his wound. The janitor saw the deformed bloody faces of his
attackers. From head to toe bruises, cuts and bites covered their
bodies. Fresh blood seeped out the corners of their mouths and was
caked on their hands since they had recently fed.

“
GROOOWWWL!”

They
covered the glass with red hand prints and smears. As the janitor
looked into the frosted dead eyes of the killers on the other side
of the glass urine ran down his leg and soaked his shoes. The crowd
grew large but he was too scared to run. Sweat made his hands clammy
and underarms soaked.

“
BANG!
BANG! BANG!”

On
the other side of the glass dead hands and fists created an offbeat
drum like rhythm that grew louder and louder. Cracks and fractures
began to form in the glass. Soon the glass started to tremble and
buckle under the weight of so many bodies.

“
BANG!
BANG! CRASH!”

A
waterfall of glass showered the janitor. Large shards rained down on
him leaving cuts and gashes. People in the hall came to see about
all the noise.

“
What’s going on?”
asked a sleepy looking man on his way back from the vending machine.

The
army of killers surged slowly forward. The first lady that came
stumbling through the door had half her arm hanging off. The man
that slowly followed her had blood all over his face and pieces of
his chest missing. A rag tag group of deformed bloody misfits
followed close behind them. There was no way to tell who these
people had once been. They groaned, snarled, and grunted like wild
animals. The creatures spotted the injured janitor as he tried to
flee. Their pace quickened as they got closer. The janitor ran past
the other staff and visitors in the hall.

“
Run dammit!” echoed
behind him as he passed them.

A
doctor from the OR and a nurse from the burn unit saw the group’s
injuries and rushed over to help the misfits. The forsaken broke off
their pursuit of the janitor and attacked their new prey.

“
GNAAAW!”

Both of them were dead in less than
thirty seconds. “Nooooooooo!” The janitor ran into the
ER waiting room and tried to get in the security door. Everyone else
was watching the new crisis update on TV and didn’t notice the
commotion. The news broadcast was showing aerial images of a police
barricade in Tempe. Another mob of the forsaken attacked the police
setting off an unstoppable chain of events! The video footage of the
attack was shot from a helicopter. Another camera man on the ground
filmed the county Sheriff coloring in the map of Phoenix and its
surrounding suburbs. Every hour he was getting new incoming
intelligence but question still remained. His men formed a line
standing shoulder to shoulder. The wall of deputies in riot gear
complete with guns, helmets, and glass shields marched toward the
approaching monsters. Residents and rubbernecking bystanders
foolishly pulled out their cell phones and started filming rather
than running away.

Concerned
officers tried to persuade them to leave. The deputies fired a
couple of shots over their heads but the forsaken did not scatter or
disperse. The creature’s spastic body movements were
determined by the scents in the air and sounds around them. With no
other option the officers shot volley after volley into the
stumbling dead. The officers did their best to put down as many
walking pus bags as possible. The forsaken slowly surged forward as
any that were killed were replaced by the creatures behind them.
The forsaken moved around the area in tightly packed groups of three
and four. All of them were scared from bite wounds and missing
limbs. The officers killed more creatures than they could keep track
of. The creatures reacted to sudden movements in their field of
vision. The dead feverishly attacked everyone they encountered. Long
periods of silence were followed by bursts of sporadic gunfire in
the distance from other officers. They witnessed their fellow
officers being ripped apart exposing bone and organ’s in some
cases. Soft tissues like the eyes ears and nose were the first to
go. The depleted squad of deputies couldn’t hold them back.
Outnumbered and running out of ammunition they were quickly circled.
They fired bullets and threw flash grenades leaving a trail of
bodies dead and living. It was like the whole city was coming down
on them. Bullet casings saturated the ground and grass. Gunfire
continued to ring out until all of them were overtaken.

******

With all that going on
there was no one at the registration window to let the terrified
janitor in. “Open the door you fools!” he begged.
“They’re right behind me!” None of the other
people paid attention as two dozen forsaken stumbled toward the
room. The helpless janitor pleaded for someone to open the door. He
watched as they drifted from left to right moving with the
coordination of a toddler learning to walk. “Please hurry!”
he cried. “You’ve got to let me in!” He looked
like a crazy man to everyone else. He turned around to see a young
woman standing in the middle of the room. She stared back at him
with a blank expression on her face. The girl was only in panties
and a bra. She had worked at a diner across the street and had
always greeted him with a smile. It was hard to tell she was dead
except for the golf ball size gashes on the back of her neck. Blood
splatter stains were also clearly present on her face and mouth. She
slowly shambled up to him. Her large breasts dislodged from the torn
lace exposing her protruding pink nipples. As he stared in disbelief
she inched closer to him. He began to cry loudly and
unapologetically like a child. By the time he decided to move it was
too late. Her breast pressed against his body as he used all his
strength to hold her head back. She snapped at him mashing her teeth
between moans.

“
GRRRRRR”

“
Get this bitch off me!”

The
janitor shoved her into the cinder block wall and tried to take off
running. She suddenly lurched forward at an accelerated pace and bit
into his shoulder.

“
CHOMP!”

The
janitor squealed in pain! Blood started pouring everywhere and
everyone else started yelling. The rest of the forsaken stumbled
through the door and attacked all the families inside. The smell of
blood and guts got them agitated and riled up just like flies
buzzing around shit. The forsaken showed no mercy, remorse, or pity.
A lot of people rushed out into the hall but had to turn back
around. The group from the parking lot was already inside growling
and gnashing their teeth together. The people were pushing on each
other but there was no way out. Everyone was screaming or trying to
hide. Several visitors ran into the bathroom to escape the rampage
but could not hold the door closed. The patient closest to the door
shrieked in pain as a set of sharp teeth from a bush bearded fat man
pierced his hand. A couple more of those things pushed their way
inside. The men, women, and children had nowhere to run. The small
bathroom became their tomb. They reduced every person they touched
inside to bones in several minutes. The rest of the forsaken out in
the waiting room ripped a boy out his mother’s arms and
assaulted them both. They pulled on the boys' legs until they came
off.