Life Among The Dead (28 page)

“
It doesn’t matter. I already look like shit, don’t I?” She asks.

The weary soldier looks at his wife and sees the most beautiful woman on the planet. She has actually never looked more radiant to him than she does at that moment.

“
Absolutely,” He says. “I was just wondering why I went through all the trouble to come and get you.”

She slaps his shoulder.

“
Bastard.” She laughs before kissing him.

Dan helps his wife dress. He just grabs random articles from her suitcase. He can’t match colors very well to begin with, let alone in the dimly lit room. He kneels before his wife as she leans on him. He holds a pair of her underwear for her while she lifts her legs into them. She has to pack gauze into the crouch to protect and dress her stitches. Most women tear a little bit during delivery.

“
I love you.” Dan tells her.

“
I love you too.” She replies. The hands Heather holds on her husband’s shoulders can feel tension. She knows he is worried about something. He is getting her top ready for her. She stops him with a palm to his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“
There’s a lot of stairs, and those things are everywhere.”

“
We’ll be fine.” She assures.

“
Just stay close to me. No matter what, I want the two of you near me.”

“
Of course.” She trusted him to see them through this. This man, who is currently putting nursing pads into her bra, is going to save the day for her.

Heather groans when she puts her bra on. Her breasts are uncomfortably swollen with milk. They had already bought a larger one for her during her pregnancy and it looks like they will need to get an even bigger size, if such a thing is possible considering the current state of the world. She lifts her arms over her head and her husband slides a tank top down her body.

“
Put on a sweater.” He tells her. “It’s cold out there. I have to check on the others.”

Dan exits the room and is greeted by a mob of people he doesn’t know, and really isn’t too concerned about. He tells them the bus is ready and their faces light up. He takes stock of who is in his party.

A single mom stands alone holding twins. A family of four stands together, along with their older generation of beaming grandparents. He spots several groups of three, young parents holding an infant between them. Dan notices one couple stands before him without any bundles of joy at all. The thin nurse is holding a swaddled newborn and the heavier nurse still holds the shotgun. Roughly thirty people are now depending on him to get them through this.

Babies cry at random intervals, the people mutter amongst themselves. Dan can hear the dead moaning in the hall beyond the frosted glass. Below all of the noise he can hear a rustle.

“
What is that?” He asks the nurses.

“
What’s what?” The older, less friendly, nurse answers him with a question while screwing her face into a sour expression.

“
Is there anyone else on this unit who isn’t here with us now?” He asks.

“
One mother didn’t make it.” The younger nurse replies solemnly. “This is her child. We locked her in one of the rooms when she…”

“
And, we have two kids in incubators.” The old nurse states. Her expression becomes grave.

Dan believes the mother to be the source of the rustling he hears. One thing puzzles him.

“
Where are the doctors, and all your other staff?”

“
The ER.” The mean one tells him. “They pulled all available staff down there one by one. Cindy and I are all that’s left up here.”

Probably the last staff members in the whole hospital,
Dan adds internally.

“
Ok, listen up.” Dan addresses the group. “I will lead the way, my wife and son will follow, and then the rest of you. Taking up the rear will be… Nurse holding shotgun.” He points at the jaded healthcare worker, making no apologies for not knowing her name.

“
We have supplies we need to bring.” Nurse Cindy interjects. “Diapers, medicine, formula, bottles…” Dan interrupts the list.

“
Pack it up. Anyone not holding a child, or a firearm, will haul the shit we need.” Dan sees the older nurse is giving her shotgun to a gray haired gentleman.

“
I have no idea how many are in it.” She says to him before heading behind the nurse’s station. Dan finds it a little odd.
Who gives away a shotgun during a zombie holocaust? No one.
He follows her. The old medic is packing supplies into duffle bags with the hospital’s name on them.

“
I’m staying.” She tells him without stopping her current task. Long yellow cans of formula are stuffed tightly into the canvas totes.

“
Why? You haven’t been bitten.” Dan says. “Have you?”

“
We have two children who can’t leave their incubators. Someone has to stay behind.”

Nurse Cindy places her hand on her co-worker’s shoulder. The mean one pats the hand gently and her expression turns to a warm smile. Her demeanor softens.

“
Child, I’ll be fine. I was born in this hospital, and I have worked here for almost thirty-five years. Besides, you guys can come back for us. The little ones need to put on some more weight before they can go.”

A woman, from the couple Dan had observed had no children with them, becomes irate. “My babies? Why can’t my babies come? They have to.” She screams.

The seasoned nurse walks to her making a soothing sound almost like a gentle stream. “They won’t survive out of the incubators. Not only were they premature, they are twins as well, far too small to leave. They must stay.”

“
How long?” The mother is crying.

“
Just a few weeks.” The nurse tells her. “The generators will keep the pods running.”

The father now becomes outraged. “Can’t we all stay?”

Everyone looks to Dan for the answer to that question. He simply says. “No.”

“
This is bullshit!” The man screams. “It’s not fair.”

“
Then stay here with them. Yelling is just going to rile those things up out there.” Dan points to the frosted glass. Shadow figures pace in the background while a few slap their palms against the pane.

“
Look,” The nurse defuses the situation. “You two go on. A couple weeks from now you can send someone to get us. We won’t go anywhere.” She finishes with a smile.

The couple seems torn about the decision they must make. The husband whispers his opinion into his wife’s ear and she crumples against him, lost in tears.

“
Everyone go to your rooms and get only what you need.” The old nurse instructs. Dan and the nurse watch everyone disperse throughout the suites. Nurse Cindy follows the families to pitch in with any help they may need. Dan helps pack the baby supplies.

“
What’s your name?” He asks her making small talk.

“
Rita.”

“
Rita, are you sure you don’t want the shotgun?” He asks her. Something still doesn’t sit right with this for him. “You will be here for weeks with them.” Dan points at the menacing silhouettes.

“
The generators won’t last for weeks, son. They’ll only last another few days at the most. They’re a temporary means of running the critical systems until power is restored.”

Dan doesn’t know Rita, but what she is doing seems to him to be the bravest thing anyone has ever done. He feels sad.

“
Don’t you worry about me. I have lived a long life. I have seen the world. Well, I’ve seen the parts I’ve wanted to see.” She smiles. “But, if my children are all gone, along with my husband, and my sisters, I am happy to join them.”

“
What about the twins?” Dan asks.

“
I won’t answer that question out loud.” Her eyes turn to steel as she hefts boxes over to the door the survivors will be using for their escape. Dan leaves her to see his wife and son again. He desperately wants to hold the two of them, and never let go.

#

“
Here’s the deal.” Dan tells the group of reconvened survivors. “Keep quiet. Stay together. Don’t get bit. If you are bitten, you stay behind. It should be smooth sailing all the way to the loading dock, but don’t let your guard down.”

The line of huddled families winds away from the door. Nurse Rita stands by the portal ready to close it the moment the last person leaves. The last in the procession is the gray haired man who now wields the shotgun. His family is amassed right in front of him.

Everyone is weighed down with luggage and bags of supplies. Even woman holding babies have a bag slung over one shoulder. Dan has Heather’s overnight and a full bag of formula crisscrossing over his chest. The 9mm is tucked away for now; he will lead with the rifle.

They all follow Dan’s beam of light as they blindly travel down the dark hall as a living train. The conductor had given his wife a candle so that with just peek back he can know she is there. They are coming up on the blood bank. The kids are starting to wail. Dan knows he can’t hush them like he could an adult. He wants to rush his family passed the door, but Heather can’t go any faster. She can only manage a hurried waddle still being sore from the delivery.

The soldier is relieved when he finally gets his wife and son out of the tunnel and into the unfinished section of the west wing. They all file through the sparse halls to the stairwell. The babies are all crying as moms and dads make gentle shushing sounds and sing ineffective lullabies.

On the second floor Dan leads them to another staircase, the final stretch. All the infants are bawling their heads off, even Vincent. Dan looks at his son who is red in the face from the strain of his caterwauling. They reach the plywood divider at the bottom of the stairs. Even over the kids’ tantrums, Dan can hear the moaning of the dead.

Most of the women waddle like penguins towards the stairs, Dan notices, except for Nurse Cindy and some of the older ladies. There can be no rushing them passed this point, and there is no stopping now.

The slow moving train of survivors extends up the stairs as Dan leads his wife and son out onto the loading dock. Each person through the door holds it for the next having to pass the flimsy temporary wall, the only thing standing between them and the dead.

The survivors who have made it to the dock are met in the alley below by more reanimated corpses. The zombies extend their arms up, trying to snatch the living souls who back away out of their reach. The population of the dead outnumbers the ammo of the living.

“
It couldn’t be easy, could it?” Dan mutters.
It could be worse,
he considers, feeling around in his pockets for inspiration.
Muzzleloader ammo?
He feels the primers and pellets. He considers the gauze sling might make a decent fuse. Dan sees a small plastic baby bottle in the bag Heather carries. He takes it and kneels down to work his plan.

Everybody’s stomach drops when they hear a sudden high-pitched squeak. It is the sound of nails creaking as they are forcibly freed from wood. The sound tells them something bad is about to happen. Some of the survivors are still making their way down the stairs.

55

Back on the fourth floor a door opens in the dark service halls. A small figure stands in the opening and peers into the darkness. A larger form comes up behind it and snatches it up.

“
Billy, what are you doing?” The bigger shadow asks.

“
I thought I heard something.” Billy explains. “It sounded like babies.”

“
You have to stay with the others. Someone will come for us. We just have to be careful.” He is the only adult left on the pediatric ward. All the other staff had been pulled away during the day to help out in other areas. His day has been spent trying to keep the children safe and calm. He told them what he hopes are not lies: “Help is on the way.” “We will be fine.” “You will see your folks again soon.”

They play games by candlelight as they wait for salvation. One boy taught the kids how to play flashlight tag. Snacks helped to boost morale, but their supply is dwindling, nobody had come that day to restock the pantry.

His mission of keeping hope alive in them is daunting, since hope has long since died in him.

56

The plywood is coming away from the wall as the last of the survivors pass. A hand reaches out from the widening space and grabs the ponytail of one of the moms who is holding her child. She screams for help as the baby starts to cry.

The older man with the shotgun rushes to her side. He is too late. The wooden wall crashes to the floor under the weight of the deceased. A pile of undead bodies forms in the stairwell. The zombies climb over one another trying to reach the woman and her baby who disappear under the mass of hungry corpses. They are lost in an avalanche of the dead

The man fires the 12 gauge into the heap as he retreats backwards to the door the others have exited. His shots are wild and ineffective. He doesn’t hit any of the ghouls that rise to their feet in any vital way. His gun runs empty.

Dan works his crude device as the last man through the door closes it and leans his weight against it to hold back the dead. He wedges his foot at the base and shouts for someone to help him. He is able to raise only one volunteer.