Devouring The Dead (Book 1) (4 page)

As much as he wanted to,
DI Benzema knew he could not stop and help. He ran toward the hospital defying his natural instincts. People lay dead or dying in front of him: on the road, the pavement, and the grassy knoll in front of the hospital. He saw fighting outside the tube station that had developed into a brawl involving at least fifty people. As he ran, he dodged anyone that reached for him or called out for help. He had strict instructions to get to the hospital; he had to find Doctor Garner. As the DI ran through the shattered doors of the hospital, he heard the whirring blades of the helicopter approaching above. He had to hurry.

Inside the hospital entrance
, he skidded to a halt. The receptionist lay over the front desk, her innards pooled around her. The floor was awash with blood and it was eerily silent compared to the cacophony outside. He saw the sign for Intensive Care and ran. They had received a phone call from Doctor Garner that the patient had shown up here about two hours ago. Doctor Garner had told them that he was holed up in Intensive Care with vital information; the only way to stop the infection spreading.

DI
Benzema ran through the corridors past empty beds and bodies. Sickly green walls were splashed with bright red blood and occasionally he slipped; pools of blood had been left to collect unattended on the tiled floor. The Doctor’s call had apparently been taken very seriously. The DI had heard that orders had come from a very high ministerial level and that the Doctor was to be extracted immediately. Benzema knew that was code; the information was to be extracted and the Doctor was just a bonus. The army was flying in to take him out - they just needed someone on ground level to get the doctor up to the roof. DI Benzema knew the area better than anyone on the beat. He had grown up here and lived and worked in the area his whole life. In this very hospital, about three floors above where he was now, his own son had been born.

They had not wanted to attract too much attention and lose Doctor Garner
, so had decided to send DI Benzema in alone at first. There was little time to assemble a taskforce anyway; the situation was spinning rapidly out of control and the Doctor was a priority. Emergency services were stretched beyond the breaking point already across the city. The DI heard more sirens outside and hoped his backup was coming. Reaching Intensive Care, he stopped and called out.

“Doctor Garner? Are you here? It’s the police, I’ve come to help!” With the adrenalin pumping through his body
, he had to force himself to stop running and just listen. He wanted to explore the hospital, throw open every door, and find the Doctor quickly. He didn’t know how long he had before his location would be compromised.

Suddenly
, there was a clatter of footsteps running toward him from behind a set of double doors and DI Benzema braced. He gritted his teeth and subconsciously balled up his fists.

“Thank God, you’ve got to get me out of here!” said Doctor Garner
, running through the doors. He had a dishevelled appearance and his eyes looked about wildly all the time. His white coat flapped around his tall frame, making his entrance all the more dramatic.

“Doctor Garner?” said DI
Benzema relaxing slightly.

“Yes, yes. You’re the cavalry I take it?”

“DI Benzema, at your service. Are you ready, Doctor? We have to get you to the roof right now, there’s a chopper waiting for you. Is there anyone else here?” The DI took hold of the Doctor’s arm.

“
No, I’m afraid everyone is gone; metaphorically and literally, if you get my drift. I’m the only one left. I’ve got the information though, don’t worry.” Doctor Garner patted his pocket proudly.

“
We can probably take the lift; it goes right to the roof. It should still be working,” said the Doctor.

Brief
introductions over, the DI and the Doctor ran to the lift and waited impatiently for it to appear. The sirens and screaming outside had not abated; the sound of death was very close. As the lift arrived, the doors opened and a hospital orderly, slumped against the doors, fell out.

“Good Lord
. The poor fellow’s neck is broken,” said Doctor Garner. As they stepped over the body and into the lift, the dead orderly sat up and grabbed Doctor Garner’s leg. He bit clean through the Doctor’s trousers, breaking the skin, and ripping out a chunk of the good Doctor’s leg. The orderly noisily chewed the bloody tissue and muscle as the Doctor cried out in agony and collapsed into the lift.

“Shit!” DI
Benzema pulled out his hastily approved firearm and put three bullets in the orderly’s head. The dead orderly fell backward and the Doctor’s blood trickled from his mouth. DI Benzema didn’t know if the orderly was likely to get up again, but took no chances, and kicked the body out of the lift. He pushed the button to take them to the roof.

“What
can I do, Doc?” DI Benzema bent over as the Doctor tore a piece of material off his gown and wrapped it around his bleeding leg.

“
Call me Robert, for starters. Not much else I’m afraid. Just get me out of here.” Doctor Robert Garner winced as he applied pressure to the wound on his leg, trying to stop the bleeding. “Shit that hurts. Just get me to the roof. I need to...”

Doctor Garner drew in a quick breath and grimaced with pain. The infection was spreading rapidly through his bloodstream, coursing through his nervous system.
His leg went into spasms and the Doctor had to concentrate just to retain consciousness. He watched the numbers on the wall light up: three, four, five, six...finally they reached the roof.

“
I’m Harry, okay? I’m going to get you out of here. Just try to take it easy, you’ll be out of here in a minute.” DI Benzema stood up as the lift doors opened out directly onto the roof. Gusts of rain blew in and an armed soldier was stood right outside, his weapon pointed straight into the lift.

“Thought you had taken the scenic route.
I presume this is Doctor Garner?”

“Yes, but he’s hurt, so...” The DI stood aside as two burly soldiers, ignoring the gale bellowing across the rooftop, picked the pale Doctor up and carried him to the helicopter.

“Don’t suppose you know what’s going on?” said the DI to the armed soldier. He stood in the doorway, forcing the lift doors to stay open.

“No idea.
‘National Security’ or some such bollocks.” The soldier turned immediately and ran after his colleagues. No sooner had they all gotten into the helicopter, than they were up in the air, the pilot steering them expertly and safely off the roof. As he stared up into the sky, DI Benzema wondered what the hell he was going to do now.

* * * *

“This is stupid, why should we sit here all day not knowing what’s going on?” said Parker. It had been an hour since Jillian had burrowed down into her office to find out what was happening.

“
Look, if we go down to the second floor, we can get out on the terrace and have a look see. Not to mention a quick fag. I’m not waiting anymore, this is a waste of time. She can’t make us stay here. I’m going now,” he said and got off the sofa from next to Tom.

“Take you
r umbrella, mate,” said Freddy. The rain was lashing at the windows and only seemed to be growing in intensity.

“If Jillian wants to know where I am,”
Parker said, putting his jacket on and checking the pockets for cigarettes, “then you can bloody well tell her. I’ll be back soon.”

Tom watched as Parker strode across the office and left. He seemed calm, despite the situation.
Desperate for a cigarette, but level headed. Tom reasoned that if there was an outdoor area on the second floor, it would be a good idea to check from there: safe enough to see down without getting into any danger. The rec’ room had been awash with ideas about what was going on and with no information coming from their esteemed leader, Jill, a hundred possibilities had been mooted. Amber thought it was a lot of fuss over nothing and that they’d all be home by tea time; Jackson and Freddy agreed that it was probably a dirty bomb let off by one of the Arab factions. Brad suggested it was an alien invasion and Jenny was worried the government had created a superbug that was making its unstoppable way around the world, turning everyone into bloodthirsty zombies.

“Hold up, I’ll come
, too,” shouted Cindy. She ran out and Tom watched as the woman grabbed a shiny red raincoat on her way. He got up and went to the water cooler to refill his cup, leaving the rest of the group to continue their gossiping. A man, Brad, was there by the water cooler, as if waiting for him.

“That’s Cindy,” said Brad to Tom. “Don’t
worry, I don’t expect you to remember everyone’s names. Cindy has a major crush on Parker, but she’s wasting her time.”

“
Brad, isn’t it?” said Tom smiling, shaking hands. “Tom Goode.”

“You’re sure having
an interesting first day, buddy,” said Brad, shaking Tom’s hand.

“True, true,” said Tom
watching the cool water fill up his glass. Brad had piercing blue eyes and a firm shake. Tom hadn’t noticed before, but Brad had quite an imposing presence. He was tall, tanned, and toned; the typical blue-eyed American boy-next-door.

“So you think Parker will find much down there?” asked Tom.

“No idea,” shrugged Brad. “But Cindy will suck his prick off given half the chance.” Brad laughed at his own crude joke and Tom, not wanting to appear rude, faked a laugh back.

“Say, I’ll give you a head’s up on everyone. Forget the cowards who ran, you’ll probably never see them again anyway.” It was Tom’s turn to shrug; Brad had an unusual sense of humour.

“That’s Freddy – super nerd, but super intelligent. Next to him you got Jackson; he’s pretty cool. He knows everything about everything, which is useful at times, but he can get annoying. Over there, you see the redhead? That’s Jenny. She keeps herself to herself and loves cats. A little too much if you ask me. Those other fat chicks next to her? I have no idea what their names are.”

Tom nodded his head in acknowledgement as Brad listed the
names of the remainder of the staff who were in the rec’ room. When he didn’t know their names, he just used nicknames: Big-tits, Pimple-face, and one short, stocky, fellow, who Brad named Elma Fudd. Tom forgot many of the names straight away.

“And
, finally, you see the blonde by the window over there looking at her reflection? That’s Amber. Loves herself, but with her tits, why not? I fully intend to fuck the
hell
out of her by the weekend, so hands off, buddy. You can get yours later.”

Brad nudged Tom and winked, letting out a small laugh. Tom wasn’t sure how much of a joke this was supposed to be and just nodded in agreement.
It was certainly proving to be an unforgettable first day.

* * * *

“Wait up!” called Cindy, skipping down the stairwell after

Parker.
She caught up with him two floors down.

“Cindy, you shouldn’t be here. We don’t know if it’s safe,” said Parker. He had volunteered to
go downstairs hoping for some solitude and a cigarette in peace. With the storm going on outside, he wasn’t sure if they would be able to see anything of use anyway.

“You’ll protect me though, eh
, Parker?” Cindy beamed and winked at him, wrapping her red raincoat around her. The stairwell was cold. Parker couldn’t help but smile. Cindy looked like a child, her gleeful manner only outshone by her ridiculously brightly coloured coat. He knew she fancied him and they got on well, but he saw her more as a sister.

“Okay, come on then,” he said
giving her an over-the-top wink back. Parker began down the stairs with Cindy following. All the way down, she chatted to him: about the rain, the exciting stuff they were going to see outside, and what she was planning on buying at the weekend at the flea market. She bounded after him happily, forgetting the day’s troubles. Parker let her chatter away, unable to interrupt, thinking mostly of the cigarettes waiting in his pocket.

As they entered the second floor
, the sound of the howling wind became stronger. Parker was surprised to see what a mess the café was in; chairs and tables overturned, trays and rubbish strewn around the floor and food left abandoned and uneaten. It was like the Mary Celeste, he thought. He walked into the centre of the room and called out.

“Hello?
Anyone here?”

Only the wind and the rain answered him.

“Look at the storm, Parker, it’s so loud and...so thick!” said Cindy. The wind was slamming huge drops of rain against the windows. The sky, although it was still morning, was nearly black. Cindy peered through the glass. “I can’t see a thing,” she whispered.

“Come on,” said Parker, “let’s go
out onto the terrace and see if we can see any better.” He took a cigarette out and pushed it into his mouth. Zipping his jacket up to his chin, he took Cindy’s hand.

“Don’t want you getting blown away,” he muttered. He was genuinely worried that a single gust would be enough to send her over the edge and onto the street below. It wasn’t easy replacing sisters. Cindy took his warm hand and her heart beat a little faster.

“Thanks,” she said timidly, and pulled her hood over her head so only her face was showing, peeking out like a rabbit from its warren.