miserable life out of him, but there were a lot of patients in the hospital, and after what she and Tilford had just witnessed, that would make for a lot of meals for the infected.
“What did he say?” Tilford could tell by the frown on her face the phone call hadn’t provided any assurances.
“Not anything that’s going to help us. But believe me, he knows about this. He—”
“Oh my God! Oh my f-f-f—” A nurse at the station counter, frantically trying to call 911, jumped out of her seat and pointed toward IC, then collapsed.
A dark-haired orderly in blue scrubs staggered through the double doors from IC. Bent over with pain, his skin was a pale chalk-blue, and a pinkish liquid frothed from his mouth. He forced himself toward the counter at the nurses’ station. With the last of his strength, he stood up, revealing a mouth-sized hole on the side of his neck. Several teeth marks were also evident on his exposed skin.
“They, they…” The orderly pointed back to IC, but his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his knees wobbled and he collapsed, dead.
“Come on, we have to move!” Delaney told those present, and conscious, aware the longer they waited the more difficult it would be.
To escape.
“The patients, what about the patients?” Beth Sanders said as she backed away nervously from the counter.
“We don’t have time, Nurse, we have to get out before we’re next.” Delaney pointed to the pale blue corpse.
“She’s right, Beth, we’ve got to go.” Tilford backed up the doctor from the CDC. He was impressed by her medical acumen but more so by her ability to make logical decisions under these conditions, and she wasn’t bad on the eye for her age. “Let’s take the stairs to the second floor. We might be able to block it off.” He motioned toward the stairway to the side of the aisle behind the counter.
“Okay lead the way,” Delaney told Tilford, then directed Nurse Sanders to follow. “Come on, Nurse, we have no choice!”
“All right, all right, but what about Nurse Childs?”
Childs was the nurse who had collapsed on seeing the orderly stagger from IC. She was known throughout the hospital for her jovial personality and also a love of dough-nuts. She weighed in the vicinity of three hundred pounds, and along with Delaney, Tilford and Sanders, was the only staff member in the vicinity. Delaney took a hard look at Childs, then looked questioningly at Tilford. She was going to leave this decision to him.
“If we can’t rouse her, we won’t be able to carry her up the stairs,” Tilford had to be practical, their lives were at stake.
This was a tough decision, but it was made for them when three infected patients burst through the door from IC.
“Oh shit!”
“Exactly, Nurse, now let’s GO!” Delaney grabbed a handful of Sanders’s uniform and pulled her toward the stairs. The last vision she had was of the three blood-eyed ghouls as they descended upon the orderlies’ body. Delaney didn’t think that morsel would occupy them for long, considering that he looked to be drained of blood, but she thought the discovery of Nurse Childs would present a fine offering.
Sick. Sick. She shook her head to remove the heartless notion. It’s survival of the fittest now, survival of the fittest, she reminded herself.
They started up the steps when an authoritative voice called from behind.
Gerard.
“Wait, you there, wait for me. Do you—” Gerard called out to Delaney but stopped when he saw the three infected hunched over the orderly biting chunks of flesh from his body, then drawing the red liquid in. “Oh my fucking… what in the name of—”
The three infected stared at the hospital CEO, their eyes filled with blood, which was also smeared over their faces. Slowly they rose in one motion but remained bent over at the knees and hips, like a coiled snakes about to strike.
In a flash all three covered the distance between themselves and Gerard. The hospital CEO
“What did he say?” Tilford could tell by the frown on her face the phone call hadn’t provided any assurances.
“Not anything that’s going to help us. But believe me, he knows about this. He—”
“Oh my God! Oh my f-f-f—” A nurse at the station counter, frantically trying to call 911, jumped out of her seat and pointed toward IC, then collapsed.
A dark-haired orderly in blue scrubs staggered through the double doors from IC. Bent over with pain, his skin was a pale chalk-blue, and a pinkish liquid frothed from his mouth. He forced himself toward the counter at the nurses’ station. With the last of his strength, he stood up, revealing a mouth-sized hole on the side of his neck. Several teeth marks were also evident on his exposed skin.
“They, they…” The orderly pointed back to IC, but his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his knees wobbled and he collapsed, dead.
“Come on, we have to move!” Delaney told those present, and conscious, aware the longer they waited the more difficult it would be.
To escape.
“The patients, what about the patients?” Beth Sanders said as she backed away nervously from the counter.
“We don’t have time, Nurse, we have to get out before we’re next.” Delaney pointed to the pale blue corpse.
“She’s right, Beth, we’ve got to go.” Tilford backed up the doctor from the CDC. He was impressed by her medical acumen but more so by her ability to make logical decisions under these conditions, and she wasn’t bad on the eye for her age. “Let’s take the stairs to the second floor. We might be able to block it off.” He motioned toward the stairway to the side of the aisle behind the counter.
“Okay lead the way,” Delaney told Tilford, then directed Nurse Sanders to follow. “Come on, Nurse, we have no choice!”
“All right, all right, but what about Nurse Childs?”
Childs was the nurse who had collapsed on seeing the orderly stagger from IC. She was known throughout the hospital for her jovial personality and also a love of dough-nuts. She weighed in the vicinity of three hundred pounds, and along with Delaney, Tilford and Sanders, was the only staff member in the vicinity. Delaney took a hard look at Childs, then looked questioningly at Tilford. She was going to leave this decision to him.
“If we can’t rouse her, we won’t be able to carry her up the stairs,” Tilford had to be practical, their lives were at stake.
This was a tough decision, but it was made for them when three infected patients burst through the door from IC.
“Oh shit!”
“Exactly, Nurse, now let’s GO!” Delaney grabbed a handful of Sanders’s uniform and pulled her toward the stairs. The last vision she had was of the three blood-eyed ghouls as they descended upon the orderlies’ body. Delaney didn’t think that morsel would occupy them for long, considering that he looked to be drained of blood, but she thought the discovery of Nurse Childs would present a fine offering.
Sick. Sick. She shook her head to remove the heartless notion. It’s survival of the fittest now, survival of the fittest, she reminded herself.
They started up the steps when an authoritative voice called from behind.
Gerard.
“Wait, you there, wait for me. Do you—” Gerard called out to Delaney but stopped when he saw the three infected hunched over the orderly biting chunks of flesh from his body, then drawing the red liquid in. “Oh my fucking… what in the name of—”
The three infected stared at the hospital CEO, their eyes filled with blood, which was also smeared over their faces. Slowly they rose in one motion but remained bent over at the knees and hips, like a coiled snakes about to strike.
In a flash all three covered the distance between themselves and Gerard. The hospital CEO
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