Zombies! (Episode 4): The Sick and the Dead by Ivan Turner Page B

that particular horror had faded into memory. During the entire ordeal, she could think of nothing but her two year old son, Sammy. He'd awakened that morning with fever and an upset stomach. The minute she had seen Karl the zombie get off of that table, the minute she had realized what he was and how he had become that way, she'd feared that Sammy had been infected with the zombie plague. Even through the fighting and the running, it had been that notion that had worn away at her psyche. Nothing in her life had ever prepared her for the fear of losing her child. She supposed parents all over the world went through it every day. Every day another child was diagnosed with cancer or some other debilitating or fatal ailment. Every day another child suffered the worst indignities of which nature was capable. And every day a parent had to thrust her chin into the air, plant a smile on her face, and stare down her own helplessness. How did they do it, she wondered?
     
    "Here!" Whitaker thrust the papers into her hands and she almost dropped them.
     
    "What are these?"
     
    "Membership forms. I've signed up eight more people this morning."
     
    She looked at the disheveled pile in her hands. "Why are they all messed up?"
     
    "Because I dropped them three times just trying to get through this smelly crowd. Do you think you can do some work today?"
     
    A little bit of her grew angry at Whitaker's insolence, but the rational part of her recognized that he was right. She had to get it together or she was going to lose her job and that was not something she could afford. So she gave Whitaker a wink and set herself to the tasks at hand.
     
    It was ten minutes later, when she was finally in a groove, that the door opened and Anthony Heron walked in. Over the last few weeks, she'd had a fair amount of contact with the detective. He'd asked her to keep an eye out for any signs of other customers being infected. She'd agreed, speaking with him regularly and reporting nothing because, of course, the gym hadn't been very busy. People who are running from the city or barricading themselves in their apartments aren't really making time to go and have a workout. It also hadn't helped that the Department of Health had shut the place down while conducting their investigation.
     
    "Busy today," Heron noted.
     
    She nodded.
     
    "Something on your mind?" he asked just as she was wondering the same thing about him. His tone of voice was different from the usual.
     
    She was just about to answer when she caught a glance of Whitaker out of the corner of her eye. He was discussing something with the trainer but spared the time to flash her a disdainful look. A visit from Heron usually meant a break. They couldn't afford to be shorthanded right now.
     
    "I don't really have time to talk," Abby said, motioning toward Whitaker. Heron looked over and saw the expression on the kid's face. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen him looking so intense. Apparently, in recent weeks, Whitaker had developed a taste for hustle and bustle. He was attacking his job with gusto, almost showing ambition.
     
    Heron nodded, a bit disappointed, and turned to leave.
     
    "Just…" Abby called after him, stopping him in his tracks. She came out from around the counter and moved in close to him. "It's going to sound like nothing. It probably is nothing."
     
    "Let's have it."
     
    "One of our customers didn't show up for her regular workout today."
     
    "You're right," he said. "That doesn't sound like much of anything."
     
    She frowned. "You don't know Suzanna. She's a workout nut. I mean obsessive.""
     
    "So? There are any number of reasons why she might not have shown up."
     
    "I know, I know. But she was kind of sniffly on Friday when I saw her and Larry Koplowitz was her workout partner, and I think maybe more."
     
    Heron successfully hid his reaction. Larry Koplowitz had changed his life. He'd been the first zombie, killed on the street by Shawn Rudd. The