Paradise Lost: Tales of the Dead Tropics

  ****

  When I left Dave, I was feeling a little worried. He had started to run a mild temperature. Bites are notoriously full of bacteria. After giving him a dose of antibiotics, I made him promise to go home and rest. He assured me that he would head out after checking on Bob.

  As I made my way down the hall, I ran into Emma. She was bouncy with wide eyed excitement. "Those miners are completely insane, I'm afraid! It took six of us to get them into in the isolation beds. A couple of the nurses even got bitten, nothing serious, mind you. Now we've all got to wear protective gear around the patients." She chattered on eagerly as an avid audience of nurses grew around her. "We can't even sedate them; nothing seems to work. Poor things seem to be mad with the pain."

  "What's the treatment plan?" A nearby nurse asked.

  Emma shrugged. "Standard procedures but it will take a while to see if it is working. In the meantime all we can do is try to make them comfortable."

  "Anyway, I have to get back." She looked over at me. " Meet you at lunch, Lori?"

  " You bet. You know how I love cafeteria food. Highlight of my day."

  Laughing, Emma wagged her finger at me. "Still living on the edge, I see."

  I returned to the office and took a quick look at the board. Several people had presented with symptoms of possible encephalitis but that always happened when an alert went out. People started seeing serious symptoms in the common cold.

  The sound of a rough cough startled me. I was surprised to see Bob leaning against the doorway and alarmed to see how unwell he looked. I hurried over and pressed my hand to his forehead. It was burning hot. His eyes seemed bleary as he tried to focus on me.

  "Hey Lori, I think maybe that bugger gave me some nasty infection..."

  "That, or you're on the grog again." I took his arm firmly and led him back inside. He lay down gratefully on the bed. "How long have you been running this fever?"

  "About half an hour, I suppose. And I've got a hell of a headache." He groaned. "I've been trying to find someone to give me some damned pills so I can go home to bed."

  I sniffed derisively even as my thoughts raced through the possibilities. Could this be encephalitis? Could it even develop this quickly? "You're not going anywhere, mister, at least not until you've been seen by another doctor."

  Bob moaned in protest. "What did I do to deserve that?!"

  I poked him lightly. "If you can still make jokes, there's hope for you yet."

  I left him dozing while I hunted down a doctor. Dr Bennett stood at the nurse's counter filling in a form, and with a little persuasion, agreed to examine Bob. As I went to follow her, she shooed me away. "The triage nurse could do with some help. The waiting room is filling up with neurotic parents and hypochondriacs who are convinced that they've got this encephalitis bug." I gritted my teeth and left her to it. Truth be, there was a backlog of sniffling, groaning patients in the waiting room now, and I knew that Bob was in good, if irritating, hands. I'd always found Dr Bennett with her Margaret Thatcher hair and condescending attitude a pain but I couldn't fault her expertise.

  After sending home two patients with the cold and referring another patient who actually could have the virus, I noticed a sudden flurry of activity as nurses and doctors rushed past my door.

  "Excuse me." I murmured to the young girl I was with and hurried out. In the hallway, there seemed to be struggle going on. I heard a groan that sent a chill down my back. The young girl peered around me. "What's going on?"

  I glanced down at her. " I don't know. Probably nothing but I am going to check it out. Stay here."

  She nodded obediently and backed up.

  I had a lump in the pit of my stomach as I heard that drawn out moan again. It couldn't be. As I neared, I saw that the staff had someone pinned on the floor outside Bob's room. Dr Bennett stood near by, her perfect hair mussed, face flushed and deep scratches on her cheeks. She glanced up at me and acknowledged silently what I had dreaded: it was Bob struggling on the floor under two men and two women.

  "What happened?" I rushed forward to help them. Dr Bennett grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Sudden aggression, disorientation...he tried to attack me and then a nurse."

  I opened my mouth to respond when there was a scream of pain from one of orderlies. "The son of a bitch bit me!" He leapt up clutching his neck and I saw Bob looking up at me. But it wasn't Bob. Gone was the sardonic, wiry man I had worked with for years and in his place was ...blankness. With the pasty skin and the dead eyes, I knew without doubt that he had been infected by the same virus that had ravaged the miners.

  Bob's empty eyes shifted to the woman holding his left arm.

  "Don't let him bite you!" I called out. " He - he might be infectious!"

  The woman squealed and released her hold, scrambling back. The remaining two men struggled to hold Bob down as he grunted and writhed and snapped viciously at them. "Hey, I can't hang on much longer!" One of the men pinning down Bob cried out. "Jab him with something, will you?!"

  Dr Bennett grabbed an injection off a nearby trolley and pumped the full syringe into his thigh. "He should be out in a couple of minutes." She said with satisfaction. I knelt beside her, pinning down Bob's convulsing legs. "Dr Bennett, if this is the same virus as the encephalitis patients, sedation probably won't work."

  "Where the hell is security?!" Dr Bennett yelled before turning to me in irritation. "Well, we can't very well sit on him indefinitely, can we? Go find security, will you? He needs to be properly restrained before he hurts someone else or himself."

  I ignored the flare of anger and edged around Bob cautiously. As I passed the injured orderly, I paused to tell him to disinfect the wound and get checked out immediately by a doctor. If this was the virus, it had taken less than two hours from the time of the bite for the infection to reach Bob's brain. That was impossibly fast. Maybe Joe was right about the threat of an epidemic, after all. I suddenly wished I could talk to him. I feared a doctor would treat such a suggestion with ridicule. After all, maybe Bob had been exposed on an earlier job.

  I hurried on. For some reason, there was not a single security guard on the floor. I decided to head upstairs to the isolation ward. Chances were the guards had been called in to deal with more outbreaks of aggression.

  There was no one at the outside nurses' station, odd in itself. Nibbling on my lip tentatively, I pushed the doors open. The silence that greeted me was unnerving at first, but the sound I finally heard chilled me to the bone. I didn't know what I was listening to at first but as it got closer, I suddenly realized what it was.

  Screaming.

  Panicked, desperate screaming getting closer and closer.

  4

  Instinctively I hit the security alarm beside the door before racing into the ward. The hallway was completely deserted. Images flashed across my eyes like snapshots. A mop in a pool of water. A chair overturned. Records spilled on the floor. Coffee cup smashed. Bedding spilling off a trolley. What had happened here?

  My ears were assaulted by the sounds of people's panicked cries ahead of me. My heart began to thump. I reached over and picked up the mop. Quickly I unscrewed the head, leaving me with a solid piece of wood to wield, if I needed to. And I had the feeling I would need to.

  I sent up a quick prayer that security would respond soon and started to move down the hall. The screams had stopped to be replaced by even more disturbing sounds. Thumps, bangs, whimpers and growls merged with cries of pain and terror. Swallowing convulsively, I clutched my pole tightly and peered around the corner.

  A sight beyond imagining lay before me. It was a few seconds before my brain could even make sense of the images it was seeing. But when it did register, I couldn't breathe. Bodies lay scattered along the length of the hallway. Five, six? Hunched over the closest ones were three blood-covered men. For a moment I thought they were trying to help the fallen i
ndividuals and then the truth dawned on me with horrifying clarity. They were eating them. I blinked rapidly to clear my eyes but still they continued to tear chunks out of the fallen bodies and chew the meat with such relish, that bile rose in my throat. Their pale skin was splattered with the blood of my colleagues! The blood was in their hair, their clothes, their nails.

  A groan drew my eyes to the victim closest to me. It was a man laying on his back. Wrinkled face, grey hair...it was Dr Wilson. Oh my God, he was still alive! His eyes fluttered as he moaned again. The man kneeling over him - no, not a man, no human being could do that - the maniac leaned over and buried his head in his victim's chest, ripping pieces of flesh off with his teeth. As he flung his head up, I recognized the dark hair and blank eyes as the first miner I had seen coming in.

  Slowly I pulled back. For a long moment, I stood pressed against the wall paralyzed. I was terrified of moving, for fear the maniacs would hear me. Then a new sound. A door slammed and footsteps ran up the hallway towards us. A feminine cry of despair as whoever it was realized what she had run into. I took a deep breath and forced myself to peer around the corner again.

  Emma, dear bubbly Emma, stood a few feet from the scene of the carnage. Beside her stood a young man with glasses who looked vaguely familiar(Ken?). Slowly he reached over and grasped her hand and started to edge backwards and the maniacs stopped their dining to stare at them.

  Behind them, a young woman came through the doors, and then another. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I saw the now familiar pale saggy skin.

  Emma glanced behind her and cried out again. They were trapped and they knew it. Without thinking, I flung myself around the corner.

  "Hey! Come and get me!" I waved my pole and jeered in a foolhardy attempt to distract the maniacs long enough to allow Emma and Ken to escape. "What are you waiting for, you ugly bastards?"

  As the maniacs rose clumsily to their feet, I felt a thrill of satisfaction that my plan had actually worked and they were coming after me. Then - sheer terror. They were coming after me. Shit, shit, shit.

  "Catch!" I hollered and flung my pole like a javelin towards Ken. Without waiting to see if he caught it, I turned and ran for my life. The doors loomed ahead, 50 meters, 40...If I could get through, I could bolt it and get help.

  A raspy growl echoed through the hall just behind me. Oh God. 30 meters. Please God. A door suddenly opened at the side and a bloody figure stepped through. I cried out and veered away from it. I caught a glimpse of ashen skin and a half chewed face. I banged against the far wall and fell over an overturned chair. The woman lurched at me, hands clenched into claws. From the corner of my eyes, I saw the other maniacs moving towards me. I grabbed the chair and heaved it at the woman in desperation. It didn't even slow her down; she reached down and grabbed my ankle. Screaming, I kicked violently at her face with my other foot until she released me. Scrambling to my feet, I pelted desperately towards the doorway.

  20 meters. Suddenly the doors flung open and the wonderful sight of our security men greeted me. I pushed past them as they spread out across the hallway. "There are people down there that need your help!" I gasped. "Please hurry."

  "Don't worry, miss" An older man smiled at me. "We'll have this under control soon."

  I clutched his arm. "They're completely insane! They're eating people!" He blinked and patted my hand reassuringly before moving off.

  I drew back and tried to control my trembling limbs. I took in the scene. The woman missing half her face was reaching for a young security guard who pointed his weapon and shouted at her to stop. Two other maniacs were being circled by two armed officers while another two continued down the hall. I prayed that they were in time to save Ken and Emma.

  Suddenly a shot rang out. My head snapped around to see the young security guard had fired a warning shot above the woman's head.

  "What the hell, Jack!" The security officer standing next to me, yelled out. "These are patients! Use your taser!"

  I watched on as the guards fired their tasers - with absolutely no effect. And in those precious wasted seconds, the maniacs reached out and grabbed the officers. The woman sunk her teeth eagerly into the young guard, Jack's arm and tore a chunk out. He screamed in disbelief and tried to fend her off. Further down the hall, the two guards were grappling with the two maniacs that I suddenly recognized as the miners I'd seen brought in.

  Cries rang out as the struggles became increasingly desperate. The maniacs ripped into any part of the body they could reach- hands, ears, neck.

  "Do something!" I shouted despairingly at the officer beside me. A quick check identified him as as the officer in charge. "Biggs!"

  Biggs shook himself and pulled his gun out. "Shoot, shoot! Defend yourself if you have to!" He strode forward and and tried to find a clear shot. The woman with a jagged hole where her lips once were, pulled Jack close and sunk her teeth into the his cheek. He screamed again but seemed helpless to fight her off. Biggs pulled her away and aimed his gun at her. "Don't make me do this, lady."

  She bared bloody teeth at him and lunged forward. He shot her in the chest. She stumbled back a few steps then moved towards him again. In incredulity, he shot her again. Again she reached for him. Desperate, he pointed his gun at her head and pulled the trigger. The woman collapsed instantly like a marionette, a bloody mess where her head had been.

  The senior officer stared at her fallen body in disbelief. Around him, panic took hold as shots rang out without effect. "They aren't stopping!"

  Horrified, I watched the older officer who had comforted me, drop his gun and stagger towards us. His yells became garbled and blood poured from a ragged wound in his throat.

  Do something! Stepping forward, I yelled at the top of my voice. "Shoot them in the head! It works!"

  Another guard took up the cry. "Go for the head!" A cacophony of gunshots followed as the three standing men desperately targeted the maniacs' heads.

  As the noise died away, the officers stood surrounded by the corpses of the maniacs. They gazed at each other, stunned into somber silence. Suddenly, the sound of a woman's scream brought my head up sharply. Emma! She ran towards me from the far end of the corridor, waving her arms frantically. "Run! Run!" Behind her, I heard shots being fired and then Ken and the security guards came bolting around the corner. They were looking over their shoulders and yelling, "Move! Move!"

  In the moment of frozen inaction that gripped me and the others, I saw them - a throng of blood-splattered creatures staggering around the corner. It is an image that will forever be burned in my memory. A doctor with arms that ended in bloody stumps; a security guard with intestines dragging on the floor; a young dark-haired woman with a gaping hole where her abdomen once was. Doctor Wilson stumbled behind her, oblivious to the gaping hole in his chest. One of the guards turned and fired wildly at them. A bullet slammed into the chest of a middle-aged woman in a nurse's uniform. She fell back into the crowd. And then she stood up.

  "Help the wounded!" Biggs yelled, snapping everyone out of their paralysis. "Get going!" He grabbed the Jack's arm and pulled him up. We followed the other guards carrying the older injured man through. I rushed back to hold a door open. I waved at Emma and the others. "Come on!"

  She was so close, I could see the flush on her cheeks and the terror in her wide eyes. Not far behind her were the men and oh, so close, too close, were the monsters. Their missing limbs slowed them down, thank god, but they kept coming...

  "Hurry, Emma." I murmured and held my hand out to her. Her eyes met mine and she reached for me. I closed my fingers around hers and swept her into a tight one-armed hug as I continued to hold the door open.

  "Am I safe?" She whispered pleadingly.

  "For now." I answered truthfully as I watched the boys drawing closer over her shoulder. And then they were through, and the guards were bolting the doors shut.

>   5

  A gurgled cry drew my attention. The older guard was lying against the wall. The nurse in me kicked in. I grabbed a kit from the nearby counter and hurried over to examine them.

  "Call for help" I snapped at Biggs as I ran by. Kneeling by the older man, I struggled to stem the flow of blood from his neck but I saw the light of life already fading from his eyes. Within a minute, he was gone. I stood up. "I'm sorry. He's gone." I quickly moved over to the young man. His wounds were more serious but not immediately life threatening. I worried that he was going into shock.

  As I knelt beside the lad, Emma moved to join me, her red hair falling over her face. "You saved my life, Lori. I can't believe that you risked your life like that!"

  I shrugged, embarrassed, as I worked on the boy. "Momentary madness."

  Emma grinned, and with a professional eye, quickly assessed the situation in the room. Her smile faded as her eyes settled on the dead guard.

  "How long has he been dead?" She pointed.

  I frowned, puzzled. "A few minutes. Why?"

  Emma stood up, agitated. "You've got to get him out of here. Now!" Her blue eyes appealed to the other guards. "The ones who have been bitten turn quickly when they die. Hurry, we don't have long!"

  Even as she spoke, I saw the dead man's eyes snap open. His lips peeled back and he lunged at a blond guard near him, sinking his teeth into the man's calf.

  "Get him off, get him off!" The guard screamed, fumbling with his gun. Biggs stepped forward, coolly pressed his gun against the side of the dead man's head and pulled the trigger.

  Biggs turned an icy blue eye on me. "Either you are a shitty nurse who can't tell when a man is dead, ma'am, or I just iced a corpse. " He closed his eyes briefly. "I don't suppose there's much chance you're a shitty nurse, is there?"

  I shook my head wordlessly, pushing myself to my feet. "He was gone."

  Biggs sighed and turned away. "Not sure how I am going to explain this away if there is an inquiry. Then again, not sure there's any way to explain any of this..."

  He passed Ken as he gathered his remaining able officers for a conference.

  "Thanks." Ken's sensitive face was drawn and pale. "That stick allowed me to hold off Jan...those creatures until the officers arrived."

  I accepted his thanks with an awkward nod. It was hard to feel proud when I had abandoned them and run like hell.

  The stocky sandy-haired guard (I privately nicknamed him B1, with his pointy head and spiky hair) sent to make a call trotted back from the nurses' station, looking unsettled. "I can't raise anyone in admin, or down in ER, the office..."

  Biggs scowled. "Everyone's spread so damned thin today. We've been dealing with outbreaks of aggression all over the hospital in the last hour -" He stopped abruptly as the same appalling thought occurred to all of us. What if this was happening all over the hospital?

  "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, folks." He turned to a bald man calmly chewing gum. "Jim, go get a visual on what's happening downstairs in ER."

  Jim nodded and turned to go.

  "And make it quick."

  Jim snorted. "Count on it."

  My head was spinning. Surely we were overreacting. There was no way this craziness could be happening all over the hospital?! Emma looked pale. Ken murmured, "Just a few of those creatures took out our whole staff and security guards. If this disease has spread..."

  "We don't even know if it is a disease." Emma said without conviction.

  "Disease, mass hallucination, act of God. Whatever it is, it kills people and then brings them back with an addiction for human flesh."Ken said dryly. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it would be bad if it has spread."

  Emma shuddered. I wrapped a protective arm around her. "We are all aware of what's at stake here, Ken." My thoughts raced. What about the children's ward? ICU? Most of the patients in this hospital would be unable to defend themselves!

  Ken deflated and looked sheepish. "Sorry. Bit stressed."

  I couldn't help myself. I laughed out loud. "That's seems the understatement of the day."

  Ken grinned and Emma giggled nervously.

  The sound of moans filtered through the doors. We sprang up nervously. "We need to move." Emma's voice trembled. "There are so many of them. What if they get through?"

  "We need to know what we are dealing with before we go anywhere." Biggs came over to stand in front of Ken and Emma. "Fill me in on what happened up here. The more I know, the better I can deal with the situation."

  Emma nodded and took a deep breath, watching the doors anxiously.

  "I was lucky." She smiled a little, aware of the irony of that statement. "The miners died within minutes of each other. We left them on the trolleys while we cleaned up. I was in the next room getting supplies, but Alana and Jan were in the room with the bodies..." She swallowed and looked away. "I heard them screaming and when I ran in, Jan and Alana were on the ground and two of those monsters were eating them, chewing on their faces, their stomachs."

  Emma squeezed her eyes shut as the memories slid over her. "I ran back into the supply room and locked the door. They came after me and banged on the door for a while. I just prayed and prayed and then I heard them move away. They were making grunting sounds, like they'd gone back to ...eating. And then the screams from the other rooms started." She shuddered. " I hid in the cupboard until I heard Ken calling my name."

  Ken's mouth tightened. "I was in the men's when it started. When I came out, the others were already dead or dying. That's how quickly it happened. When I trying to get out, I saw Jan and Alana dead on the floor and the supply room door shut; I thought maybe, just maybe, Emma was still alive." He looked at her with a half smile. "I had to know for sure."

  She returned his smile. "I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life. I might never have let you go if I hadn't seen... "

  "What?" Biggs tried to urge gently.

  "Jan and Alana. They sat up." Tears filled her sapphire eyes. "No noses, lips, cheeks, stomach but they got up without any sign of pain." She bit her lip. "I knew that they were dead. Yet there they were...walking."

  Ken continued. "When I felt her body tense, I turned around, and they were coming at us." He shook his head at the memory. "Thank God their faces were so messed up that they couldn't see very well 'cos they tripped over some boxes. I just grabbed Emma's hand and ran right past them."

  Biggs frowned. "So your walking dead theory is all based on those nurses having more resistance to pain than you? Jesus."

  "No!" Ken exclaimed. "We saw others - hell, Brian was dragging himself along the floor - and he'd been torn in half." Ken choked and looked away.

  "Go look through the door window, Biggs, if you didn't get a good look earlier." I said steadily. "But I think you already know the truth in your gut."

  For a long moment, no one said anything.

  "Yeah." Biggs answered heavily. "Okay, then." He turned to leave.

  "Biggs." I said, unsure of what to say but knowing I had to say something. "One of the paramedics was bitten this morning. He began showing all the same symptoms as these things, shortly after. It's probably nothing to worry about." I hastened to say. "The majority of people who are exposed to an encephalitis virus never go on to develop any symptoms but we really need to get these guys treated. Just in case."

  He absorbed this new information silently and then shook his head. I heard him mutter as he strode away, "I knew I shouldn't have got out of bed this morning."

  It seemed to take forever but it was probably only five minutes later when Jim returned. He entered the room at a trot, which immediately sent my alarm bells ringing. I sat up, heart beating faster. "Time to relocate, folks." He said, in his deadpan way. "We've got dead people heading our way. Most of the ER, if I am not mistaken."

  6

  "How long have we got?" Biggs barked, doing a quick count
of his remaining bullets. I exchanged a long look with Emma. I knew she was thinking of all the people we'd worked with every day, just as I was. Was it possible that they were all dead - or one of these creatures?

  Jim raise a brow. "Five minutes if we're lucky. The stairs were proving a bit of an obstacle but I wouldn't count on that stopping them for long."

  "Right." Biggs turned to look at all of us. "Considering the loss of communication, we have to assume most of the hospital is lost. We need to concentrate on getting out of here alive now."

  "If we get to the roof, there's a ladder on the side we can use to get down." Emma spoke up eagerly. There were nods all around.

  "Okay, let's head to the elevator." Biggs snapped.

  I snorted. "Oh I don't think so." He turned to glare at me but I met his eyes defiantly. "Think about it. We have no way of stopping the elevator from stopping at any of the above floors. If the upper floors are lost, as you put it, we could find ourselves being delivered straight into the arms of those monsters." Just the thought of it caused a shiver to run down my spine.

  Jim grinned appreciatively at me. "She's got a point there, Biggs."

  Biggs grunted a reluctant acknowledgement. "Stairs it is, then. Let's go!"

  As our small group headed in the opposite direction to the ER, I couldn't help glancing nervously over my shoulder. The thought of being trapped in these narrow halls with those creatures made me feel sick. I blocked the thought and focused on where we were going. The hallway was really only wide enough for three people walking side by side. Biggs and Jim were cautiously leading the way followed by Emma and me. Behind us, Jack was being assisted by Ken while B1 and his mate, the blonde guard who was bitten in the calf, were keeping a close eye on the corridor behind us.

  Up ahead, I could see the surgical wards looming. Biggs and Jim slowed down as we approached the doors and brought their weapons up. Biggs nodded at Jim, who slid along the edge of the wall and carefully peered around the wall. I held my breath as he pulled back again.

  "Looks clear. Five patients lying in bed. "

  Biggs nodded. "Move on, folks."

  "Wait!" I grabbed his arm. "We can't just leave them here! They're sitting ducks."

  The sudden compassion in his eyes made my heart contract. "There's nothing we can do for them. They can't get out of bed and we can't protect them. Our ammunition won't last five minutes in a confined space like that."

  Emma suggested. "If we lock the doors..."

  Biggs glanced at her. "You know those doors weren't designed to withstand significant pressure, like a horde of dead people pressing on it."

  "It will at least give them a chance." I said grimly.

  "Well, you'd better hurry!" yelled B1. "Here come the fucking zombies!" I jerked around to see a mass of dark figures appear at the top of the far stairs. They dragged, stumbled , lurched and fumbled over the steps. It occurred to me that it would have been an amusing sight in normal circumstances. Then the momentary humor fled as the creatures appeared to catch sight of us. Like a locust plague, the mass of torn figures surged down the hall towards us.

  The others bolted down the hall. "Come on, Lori!" Emma called desperately over her shoulder as I hesitated.

  "Damn it!" I grabbed the doors and pulled them shut, flicking the lock. I sent up a quick prayer that the ...zombies ...were too stupid to work out how to work the lock and then ran after the others.

  Oh God. Another ward. A quick look behind me turned my guts to water as I saw the horde was catching up. The pressure of the zombies pouring up the stairs seemed to be forcing the front ones to move faster. Some fell and were trampled, but not enough to stem the flow. I knew I didn't have time to lock all the doors and to my shame, I kept running past the wards. I starting screaming over and over "Lock down! Lock down!" in the hope that any remaining staff or able patients would lock the doors. I knew that the doors wouldn't withstand a determined onslaught by the zombies but with their current focus on us, maybe it would be enough.

  I caught a glimpse of a startled nurse standing at the door to the Oncology ward. "Lock the doors!" I yelled at her. "Lock down!" I don't know if she listened to me. I hoped she did. Nurses are trained to react quickly and ask questions later.

  Ahead of me, the group slowed as we reached a T-junction. The fact that we had seen no sign of the zombies so far filled me with hope that we might make it to the roof without trouble; that maybe the problem wasn't even widespread and that there was a perfectly legitimate problem with the phones. However, the sight that greeted us as we turned the corner dashed that hope as if it had never been. Blood pooled on the floor and dripped down the walls. Sheets lay scattered on the floor of the ward across from us. I caught a glimpse of a bloodstained mattress hanging off a bed. The complete absence of movement or sound made the scene surreal.

  The stairs waited temptingly at the end of this suddenly endless corridor. Behind us, the susurrating moans of the zombie horde brought an image of a pine forest I had grown up near; the sound the wind made as it blew through the tops of the trees. Haunting. Mournful. Unstoppable. I shivered.

  Beside me, B1's mate (B2, I nicknamed him immediately) looked over his shoulder anxiously. "What should we do?"

  Before anyone could answer, slow moving figures started emerging from the wards ahead of us. By the pajamas they wore, they were - had once been - patients. Now they stared at us with empty, implacable eyes and the ugly pallor of the dead. I barely noticed the gaping wounds that marked their bodies as they moved towards us.

  We backed into a tight circle, trying to keep an eye on both sides of the corridor. "Any ideas would be welcome, guys." I joked, trying to calm my panicked breathing. I could hear Emma sobbing quietly behind me.

  "Nothing for it but to shoot our way through this group, I reckon." Jim said dryly, nodding at the figures ahead of us. "A handful of them, a handful of us. Seems a fair fight."

  B1 laughed a bit hysterically. "Oh yeah, real fair."

  Jack suddenly spoke up for the first time since he'd received his injuries. "Someone take my gun." He held it out towards us. "My arm is...burning. I, I don't think I can shoot." I noted with alarm the flush in his cheeks. Ken stepped forward and took the gun, checking it in a surprisingly professional manner. "Let's do it."

  "Wait!" I cried. Crossing the hall, I opened the janitor's cupboard and pulled out a broom. Holding it at an angle, I snapped it with my foot and handed one half to a startled Emma. I quickly removed the broom head and smiled grimly as I wielded the jagged piece of wood like a dagger. "Now I'm ready."

  7

  As I plunged my stake through the eye of an old lady, I experienced a moment of pure surrealism. How did a day that started out with porridge and babies become about fighting for my life? How could I, who had never killed anything bigger than a cockroach, be driving a stake through another human being? Reality came crashing back as the old woman collapsed at my feet, only to reveal another creature behind her. As its blood-stained hands reached hungrily for me. I screamed involuntarily and scrambled backwards into Jim's broad back. Swinging around quickly, he immediately assessed the situation and shot the zombie charging me as casually as if he were playing a carnival game. The zombie went down like a piece of lumber, giving me a few precious seconds to regroup.

  Emma cried out and I saw that one of the creatures had grabbed her by the hair. Her eyes were wide with terror as she clutched her stake and struggled to turn around. Without thinking, I jumped over the fallen zombie and launched myself at the creature. We crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs. With desperate strength, I forced its head away from me while I struggled to sit up. Releasing my hold suddenly, I grabbed my stake with both hands and plunged it with all my might through the eye of the zombie as its teeth bared in anticipation. Blood and viscous goo splattered over my hands as the body stilled under me.

  "How are we going?!"
Biggs yelled as he blew a hole through the head of another zombie. Around his feet lay a growing circle of bodies. It felt like we'd been struggling with these zombies for hours but it must have only been a few seconds. Jim coolly responded. "Almost clear on this side." A few feet away, B1 and B2 surged forward, blasting zombies with gusto, as Ken followed closely behind, supporting the injured boy with one arm.

  Glancing back, I saw the first of the zombie horde coming around the corner. A young woman in shorts, most of her left thigh and chest missing, ambled towards us. Oh God, a toddler moved unsteadily on little legs beside her, both arms chewed off. A woman in a nurse's uniform, her face so messed up that I couldn't tell if I knew her or not, followed. In another thirty seconds or so, the horde of tearing hands and teeth would be upon us.

  "Guys!" I yelled in warning, my heart thumping so hard that I fleetingly wondered if there was a limit to how much terror a heart could bear.

  "Out of bullets!" B2 called out as he flipped his gun around and viciously pistol whipped a zombie away from him.

  "Move it!" Biggs yelled. I scrambled to my feet and saw the way ahead was clear. A few zombies continued to stagger out of the wards towards us but we could make it past, if we were quick.

  Grabbing Emma's hand, I raced down the hall towards the stairwell, dodging the outstretched arms of the remaining zombies. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ken and B1 carrying the injured boy alongside us. I could hear Emma's labored breathing as we ran determinedly towards our only chance of freedom. Finally, the stairs beckoned just a few feet away. A quick look over my shoulder showed the boys close behind - and immediately behind them, the pressing horde.

  Emma and I reached the stairs and paused to let Ken and B1 through first with the injured man. As we turned to follow them up, a scream rent the air. I jerked around to see B2 being dragged into the horde. Teeth descended upon him and started tearing chunks of flesh from his body. He screamed again in agony and terror.

  "Do something!" Emma shouted desperately. Wordlessly, Jim turned around and took careful aim. A shot rang out and B2's cries abruptly stopped. As Emma stared at Jim, aghast, he shoved her up the stairs. "Go." We turned and ran up the stairs as the zombies reached for us.

  To our relief, the stairs slowed the horde's implacable onslaught, allowing us time to reach the next floor safely.

  "Which way now?" B1 puffed. Jack was looking pale and spaced out as he hung limply between Ken and B1.

  I nodded to the right. We hurried quickly but cautiously down the hallway. There was no sign of violence but the heavy silence was forbidding. As we reached a corner, I pointed to the right and whispered. "There it is." Midway down the hallway, I could see the stairwell to the roof.

  As we quietly moved off, I suddenly noted where we were and stopped in my tracks. The others paused and looked at me quizzically. I felt sick to my stomach as I realized what I was going to do. "I'm sorry, guys. I have to check on the children's ward. If there's a chance that any of them are still alive..." I tried to swallow the lump of fear in my throat. "I'll catch up with you as soon as I can."

  Trembling, I clutched my stake hard and headed down the left hallway. My brain screamed at me to turn around and I wanted to, God knows, but I just couldn't live with myself if I left helpless children to the mercy of those monsters making their way up the stairs.

  "Shit." I heard quietly behind me, and turned to see first, Jim, and then Biggs and Emma hurrying after me. "Let's make this quick."

  B1 looked at us incredulously. "Are you kidding me?" He tried to whisper harshly. "We haven't got time for this!"

  I nodded. "I know." Turning, I trotted quickly down the hall without waiting to see who was following. This was my mission and I could not blame any of them for not coming.

  As I neared the entrance to the children's ward, I slowed and strained my ears for any sign of movement within. Nothing. I felt Jim's breath in my ear. He nodded at Biggs who swung past with his weapon at ready. My heart sank as he sucked in his breath quickly. I followed him as he slowly entered the ward. To my surprise, I saw the whole group was still with me, even though B1 was glaring at me furiously.

  My heart broke. Bed sheets lay bloody and tangled on the beds and strewn across the floor. A sob escaped my lips as I saw a broken, torn body lying in a cot. Its head had been ripped off its little body.

  "Okay, can we go now?" B1 whispered too loudly. I nodded wordlessly. As I turned to go, I heard something. A rustle. I held my hand up abruptly as I strained to hear it again. There! In the bathroom.

  "It's one of them!" B1 said, raising his gun. The men lined up their weapons as I ran forward and pulled at the door. It was locked but there is always a reverse lock for staff access. I flicked it and pulled open the door. There, huddled in the bathtub, was a girl, maybe 8 years old. Her eyes flew up to mine in terror as she scrabbled back against the smooth edge of the bath.

  I flew forward to soothe her. "It's okay! See, I'm normal, like you." I stuck my stake in my belt, grabbed her hand and pressed it against my warm cheek. "See?"

  The fear dissipated from her eyes as she searched my face. Then, she flung herself at me and buried her face in my neck.

  "Can we go now?" B1 demanded edgily. I picked the girl up in my arms and we headed for the doors.

  "Too late." Jim murmured, flinging up a hand to halt us. He peered around the corner and pulled back quickly. "They're here."

  8

  "Shit, shit shit!" B1 glowered malevolently at me and unceremoniously shook the unconscious boy off him. Ken carefully laid the lad down on the floor. "Maybe the doors will be strong enough to withstand them."

  Biggs shrugged. "Not much choice at this point." B1 turned to glare at me pointedly.

  "We have to hide." The little girl suddenly spoke up, her voice shaky. "If they can't see us, they can't find us."

  We turned to look at her for a long moment and then we all moved quickly. Jim quietly shut and locked the doors while Ken dragged the young man out of sight. Although I knew that the bathroom would make a better hiding spot, I baulked at not being able to see what was going on. Instead, I pressed myself and the young girl against the wall beside the door, as did the others

  I held my breath as the moans and shuffling neared us. A little hand slipped into mine. I glanced down to see the little girl's eyes were shut tightly as she gripped my hand. Squeezing back lightly, I tried to calm my breathing.

  Go by, go by, go by. I begged silently. A body banged against the door. Emma gasped audibly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Biggs' hand instinctively reach up and cover her mouth. I held my breath, waiting to see if she had been heard. Endless seconds passed. There was no change in the intensity of the noises in the hall. Slowly, I released my breath, daring to hope that we might make it.

  Then, unbelievably, a yell erupted from within the room. Frantically, my eyes sought the source. It was B1! He was struggling to kick Jack away from him. Blood poured from his calf and I realized, with dread, that the young man was gone. In his place knelt a vacant eyed, slack jawed monster with blood dripping down his chin. B1 shot us a desperate look, half apology and half horror. "Get him off me before I off him!" As everyone froze, I strode over and, placing a foot in the young man's chest, pushed him over. As he reared up, teeth bared like an animal, I pulled out my stake and drove it through his eye with deliberation. I flinched as gunk shot up and splattered across my cheek.

  "What the hell?!" B1 exclaimed. I shot him a miserable, defiant look as I stood up and tried to wipe the mess off my face.

  "He'd turned. He was one of them. Couldn't you see that?"

  Before he could reply, a flurry of bangs commenced against the doors. They bulged open and through the gap between the doors, we could hear the undulating moans and eager growls of the zombies as they gathered around our room.

  "Guess that means our cover's blown."
Jim commented drily, popping a gum in his mouth.

  "What are we going to do?" Emma said, her face ashen as her eyes darted to the slowly widening gap between the doors.

  "I'm thinking." Biggs snapped, his grey eyes searching the room.

  "Maybe we can lock ourselves in the bathroom." The little girl whispered as she made her way to my side again. I knelt down so I could meet her brown eyes. "It's a good idea,... what's your name?"

  "Jessie." She said it so quietly, I could barely hear her.

  "Jessie, we would probably be safe in there but we'd also be trapped with no way out. We won't be able to get food or help." She nodded but I don't think she really understood.

  As I looked around for inspiration, my eyes fell on a cursing B1 as he tried to stem the flow of blood from his leg with the corner of a sheet.

  "We can make a sheet rope and climb down the side of the building!" I offered excitedly.

  The others looked at me and then at each other. Biggs permitted himself a grim smile. "Unless anyone else has a better idea...?"

  Swiftly, we gathered all the sheets in the room, bloody or not. As we knotted the sheets together, we kept an anxious eye of the doors which already seemed to be at bursting point.

  "Hurry." Biggs muttered through gritted teeth. No one responded to the self-evident statement. Within minutes, we tied on the last of the sheets.

  "I think it should be long enough." Emma declared. "We're only three floors up."

  "Only." grumbled B1 as he limped over to the window and pushed it open. We gathered the thick rope of sheets and carried it to the window.

  For the first time since this disaster began, I had the chance to see what was happening in the outside world and it devastated me in a way nothing else had today.

  Up to now, I had managed to convince myself that this ...plague...was isolated to this hospital, that we would get out and be able to establish a quarantine. Above all, I had managed to persuade myself that my family was still safe. That belief shattered with a single glimpse through the window.

  Across the road, I could see people running. Not the usual joggers and young people playing ball which were a normal sight on the esplanade, but desperate people running for their lives as a hundred, two hundred of the zombie creatures poured into the picturesque park. Mothers ran with toddlers in their arms. Backpackers batted at arms that grabbed at them. Children, chubby faced babes, stood in the middle of the beautiful lawn and cried miserably as pitiless figures encircled them. I sobbed in despair and fell back from the window. Those poor people. Michele. My babies.

  B1 glanced at me cursorily as he threw the rope through the window. Biggs tied the other end off to a bed post and then dipped his head at Jim. "You'd better go first. Try and keep the area clear." Jim nodded and swung his leg over the sill.

  Emma touched my arm and brought me back to the present. "Are you okay?" She rolled her eyes, acknowledging the stupidity of the question in our present situation. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding. I had to stay focused if I wanted to get out of here and find my children. Nothing else mattered. The press of a small body against mine reminded me of another responsibility I had taken on, and I resolved fiercely to keep Jessie safe, too.

  The sound of a nail hitting the floor brought our eyes jerking back to the doors. "Shit, shit, shit!" B1 yelled. "I'm getting out of here! He grabbed the rope and clambered out. As another nail flew out, Biggs grimaced. "He's an idiot but I think he has the right idea, folks." He waved his hand. "Women and children first, of course."

  Another place, another time, I might have argued with him but not today. After Emma tentatively swung herself over the windowsill, I grabbed Jessie and sat her on the ledge. She squealed and clung to me. "No, Jessie." I said firmly. "This is no different than climbing the rope at the playground. Just climb down as if you were showing off to your friends at the gym or something." She swallowed and nodded, and turning around, started clambering down the rope as if it were a beanstalk. I stifled an involuntary laugh and followed her, although with a lot less agility. My arms immediately started screaming in complaint as my legs scrabbled to get a grip on the rope.

  Glancing below, I saw Jim had reached the pavement safely. His descent did not seem to have attracted any unwanted attention, thankfully., allowing him to pull out his weapon and stand guard in the alley. Above me, Ken paused on the windowsill; I guess he was worried that the rope wouldn't bear the weight of more than 3 people at a time.

  Thump! My eyes met Ken's aghast eyes as the doors finally burst open under the pressure of the horde. From within the room, I heard Biggs curse loudly and start firing wildly. Pulling out his gun, Ken began shooting shakily into the crowd.

  "Get the hell out, boy!" Biggs yelled. Ken hesitated, then swung his other leg over the ledge and started clambering down the rope. I shook myself out of my momentary paralysis and kept moving downwards as the sounds of battle flowed over me like boiling oil. Biggs' furious yells and curses floated over the moans of the zombies as he fired shot after futile shot. Then the shooting stopped and the screaming started.

  9

  A whimper escaped my lips as I tried to block the horrific images that accompanied the screams. Four feet from the ground, I let go of the rope and stumbled a bit before regaining my balance. Jessie rushed forward and clutched my skirt anxiously. Wrapping an arm around her thin shoulders, I looked around at the others. Silent tears poured down Emma's face as Ken moved up beside her and gripped her hand tightly. B1 watched the road but I could see him flinching at each scream. Even normally impassive Jim looked grim. None of us said anything as we listened to the screams fade and finally cease.

  B1 murmured "and then there were five" - he paused as he glanced at Jessie "and a half..."

  A line formed between Jim's bushy brows as he came close to frowning. "Shut up, Roy."

  B1 shuffled his feet. "Just saying..."

  I couldn't speak, tears choking my throat. Biggs had been loud, short tempered and bossy but he'd also been brave and honorable, and ultimately, had sacrificed himself for us.

  "I don't know how much more of this I can take." Emma's voice trembled. How much more could any of us take, I wondered. How much fear, pain, death can any person bear before they break? It felt like I had been drowning in a sea of terror for an eternity. Even greater than my desperate desire to live was the unbearable fear for my children. It wrapped, like heavy chains, ever tighter around my heart with each passing minute. Were they safe, were they afraid, were they crying for me somewhere?

  Ken started to speak, stopped and cleared his throat. "So what do we do now? We can't hide out in this lane forever."

  Jim nodded. "We need to work on getting a vehicle and finding a safe location." He looked around at us. "Any chance one of you has a car handy?"

  "I was late this morning so I'm parked just across the road." I offered dryly, " but I don't think it will help us, seeing the car keys are in the ER staff room."

  Jim sighed. "Okay, let's see what the situation is out front."

  Cautiously, we moved down the alley, keeping as close to the wall as possible. Every excruciating step of the way, I kept expecting to see the monsters appear in the lane. As we neared the front, Jim waved at us to stop. He inched forward carefully and peered around the edge of the hospital wall for a few seconds. Pulling back, Jim looked at us impassively. "Well, there's good news and there's bad news."

  B1 (Roy, I corrected myself) snorted quietly. "This whole day has been bad news!"

  Jim ignored him and continued. "There are at least fifty or sixty zombies milling in front of the ER."

  "I really hope that wasn't the good news." Ken responded drily as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

  Jim allowed himself a little smile in response. "There are four ambulances pulled up at the front. I'm guessing, with all the chaos this morning, that at
least one of them ..."

  "still has the keys in them!" Emma finished excitedly.

  I pushed past Jim to take a look for myself. Just as Jim had said, the front of the hospital was full of dull-eyed zombies shambling aimlessly. Two ambulances were stopped randomly in the driveway while another two were parked further away. Trolleys lay overturned and, scattered on the ground, were pieces of a body. Or bodies. A zombie stood nearby, gnawing on a hand. I tried to block out the scene as I calculated the difficulty of getting to the nearest ambulance. It was clear that we would have to go right through the zombie horde. Shiiiiitte.

  I met Jim's deadpan expression as I drew back slowly. "What do you think, ma'am?"

  "Piece of cake." Even to me, my voice sounded strangled.

  His lips quirked momentarily before resuming its expressionless state. "Our options appear pretty limited. We can head down the other way and hope to find a car there or we can make a run for one of these ambulances."

  "Jesus!" Roy exclaimed incredulously, if softly. "How is that even an option! We try the other way, of course!"

  I shook my head determinedly, holding Jim's bland gaze. "We know that zombies are pretty slow moving. True, if we all tried to run through that crowd, the chances are that most of us wouldn't make it. But one or two fast people could dodge them and make it to the ambulances. Then they would pick up the others. Theoretically."

  "Theoretically." Jim agreed. "So, who wants to volunteer?"

  "Shit, not me!" Roy replied vehemently. "Like hell I'm going to run towards any frigging zombies! You're crazy!" He looked around him for support. "Am I right? It's lunacy!"

  Emma rolled her eyes but her normally rosy complexion had paled considerably. "You really think we have a chance?"

  I swallowed hard and nodded. I couldn't believe I was even contemplating running through a crowd of zombies but I had to be the one behind the wheel. It was the only way I could be sure of being able to find Michele. What if the others didn't want to go rescue her? What if they had families of their own they wanted to help? I had to be in control of the car so I could make the call.

  Putting up a shaky hand, I said "I'm not the fastest runner around but I am pretty good at dodging and weaving." I smiled weakly. "Years of playing touch footy with the guys."

  Emma looked petrified. "Are you sure, Lori?"

  No! "I've got as good a chance as any of you. Maybe better."

  The contemplative way Jim was looking at me made me feel a little uncomfortable, as if he could read my mind and see the completely selfish reasons I had for volunteering.

  "Okay." He nodded slowly. "You're only going to get one shot at this, ma'am. If they manage to surround you..."

  I bobbed my head jerkily. "I know." I could feel sweat dripping down my spine and my breath quickening.

  A movement to my side caught my eye and I was mortified to realize that I had forgotten about Jessie. Kneeling, I took her hands in mine and tried to smile confidently. "I'm going to be back with the car in a few minutes, Jessie. You wait with these guys and be ready to jump into the back of the ambulance as soon as I pull up. Alright?"

  Her solemn brown eyes took in my whole face. I had the unnerving feeling that she thought it was the last time she would see me. She nodded and squeezed my hands. "You have to run really fast, okay?"

  I grinned. "Like my butt is on fire!" She grinned back at me and then moved over to join Emma and Ken.

  I stood up and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this."

  The City

  1

  Time to go. My legs were shaking so much, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to take another step, let alone run. Taking a deep breath, I bit the bullet and charged around the corner, focusing on the nearest ambulance. It was parked haphazardly in the driveway only about thirty feet away, but it felt like a mile. The zombie chewing on a hand turned to stare at me as I raced past him. I hurtled over the scattered body parts and past the dozen or so zombies standing around. My peripheral vision picked up hands reaching for me on the right. Squealing, I dodged left and almost ran straight into the arms of a blood-spattered nurse. Her glassy eyes looked at me with indifference even as her hands clutched hungrily at me. I shoved her away and darted around, my heart pounding hard enough to burst. A sharp left, a twist around, dodge right, straight run...only ten feet to go. I was almost there!

  No, no, no! Pale, stumbling figures spilled from either side of the ambulance to form an unwitting, deadly barricade before me. Slowing, I looked around me and saw a wall of stumbling bodies closing in on me on all sides. Desperately, I looked for something that could help me. My eyes fell on a nearby trolley lying against a pillar. Reaching over, I pulled it in front of me. With a snarl of pure adrenaline, I pushed the trolley before me like a snow plow, knocking zombies over, left and right, and pinning several against the side of the ambulance.

  As the zombies pulled themselves to their feet and fumbled with the trolley, I wrenched the door of the ambulance open and clambered inside, closing the door quickly behind me. With trembling fingers, I fumbled for the keys but, to my dismay, they weren't in the ignition. Where are they?! Desperately, I searched the floor but it was useless. The keys weren't in the ambulance.

  I sat up to see grey arms reached through the window. Gasping, I scrabbled over the seats and fumbled with the handle of the left door. As I pushed it open, cold hands pulled me out onto the gravel. A circle of dead, impassive faces stared down at me. Screaming, I kicked out with every ounce of strength I possessed and felt sudden, wonderful, freedom as the creature holding me lost its grip on me. In complete, mindless panic, I jumped to my feet, shoved my way past a young girl and bolted for the next ambulance.

  Please let this one have keys, I prayed. It was parked over the curb and had obviously been abandoned hastily. Zombies converged on me in every direction except the curb side upon which the ambulance was perched. A hedge ran along the curb blocking the creatures, giving me a tiny opportunity to escape. When I reached the ambulance, I wrenched the passenger door open - and froze in a moment of sickening dread. A zombie sat before me on the passenger side. He turned his head and looked at me with dark, soulless eyes. His lips peeled back from his teeth and he launched himself at me. I cried out and jumped back, knowing it was too late. Only, to my desperate relief, the creature did not reach me. He fell heavily onto the pavement before me, the bloody stumps that remained of his legs scrabbling futilely at the ground. Still, he reached up for me. I leapt over him and scrambled into the driver's seat. Please, please, please.

  I don't think any sound ever sounded sweeter to me in my entire life than the jingle of car keys that greeted me as I fumbled with the ignition. With a cry of pure joy, I turned the engine over and threw the ambulance into reverse. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a face coming through the window at me. A grey-haired man, with torn flesh where his features once were, launched himself at my throat. Screaming, I wrenched my head to the left and pressed down hard on the accelerator. The head disappeared abruptly from the window as the car screeched backwards.

  Shaking with adrenaline, I braked hard as I watched the man slowly sit up. With a surge of pure malevolence, I put my foot down hard on the accelerator and sent my wheels right over his head, relishing the sound of his head exploding. Take that, you bastard.

  With sheer vindictive pleasure, I tore through the crowd of zombies before me as I headed for the alleyway. They flew to the side or fell beneath my wheels with eerie silence. Women, men, some nurses whose faces I knew well - I rejoiced as each one fell beneath my wheels.

  Jim jumped out as I pulled up. Pulling the back doors open, the others piled quickly into the back of the ambulance. I watched the approaching zombies through my rear view mirrors and couldn't restrain myself from yelling pointlessly. "Hurry up!"

  With a slam of the doors, Jim hurried around and jumped into the passeng
er seat.

  Wheels squealing dramatically, I roared away from the hospital - and towards my daughter. Jim looked at me and I saw a hint of admiration in his eyes. "Good job."

  Emma slid the window behind me open, as the vehicle surged forward. "Oh Lori, you were fantastic!"

  The adrenaline that had fueled me was draining now, leaving me feeling shaky. "Thanks, guys. All in a day's work, really." I knew I sounded distracted as my thoughts turned to my oldest child. How would I find her? I didn't have my mobile with me. I didn't allow myself to think for a moment that she wasn't okay. She had to be.

  "So, where are we going?" Jim's gravelly voice interrupted my thoughts. I glanced at him defiantly. "Central. I'm getting my daughter."

  A long pause and then he nodded. "Do you know where to find her?"

  I laughed a little hysterically. "Not a clue!"

  "You need to find a mobile. Then you can contact her." Emma said quietly from behind me. I nodded. But where would I get one?

  "My God." I heard Ken say softly. I blinked and saw what he was seeing. All along the esplanade, zombies moved towards us. Hundreds gathered along the green strip. In the cafes and shops that bordered the other side of the street, blood and flesh splattered the pavement, tables and chairs. Even as we watched, fresh bodies rose to join the walking dead.

  "How far has it spread?" Ken wondered aloud. I couldn't answer as fear for my daughter clenched my gut into a knot.

  Turning the corner, I saw the creatures staggering down the road towards the business district. To my amazement, I saw people, real people, still wandering the streets. My heart flared with hope. Maybe this madness hadn't reached Michele yet. Maybe I would be in time.

  Ahead, a young girl with a backpack turned towards the car. Long brown hair fell over her chest but it did not hide the gaping hole where her breasts once were or the glazed eyes. Deliberately, I swung the car over and drove the car at her.

 

  "What are you doing?" Emma gasped. Whatever it takes, I thought. The girl stood motionless as the car powered towards her. At the last moment, I twitched the steering wheel so that the the car only clipped the girl. Spinning, she flew several feet. Braking hard, I jumped out of the car and ran back to her. She lay faced upwards, the bloody hole in her chest mocking me as I knelt beside her. I pulled out my stake, waiting...Sure enough, her eyes opened and focused on me with the mindless stare I had become familiar with.

  "Sorry." I whispered, feeling a momentary ache for the girl she had once been, for the loss her parents had suffered. Before she could react, I plunged my stake through her eye with an ease that should have troubled me, but didn't. As the body stilled, I pulled her backpack off and rummaged roughly through it. My hands closed over a familiar shape and I pulled out a mobile phone. Sending up a fervent prayer of thanks, I ran back to the car.

  Dialing Michele's number, I sent the car squealing forward again. It rang once, twice, three times. Pick up!

  "Hello, mum." My daughter's familiar, long suffering, voice coursed through my body like red wine.

  "Are you okay? Where are you?" I yelled as I drove through a red light. Vaguely I was aware of a car crash on my right.

  "Um, sure, I'm fine." Michele sounded surprised and wary. "Why, what's going on?"

  I took a deep breath and tried to talk normally. "Is everything okay at the shops? Any trouble?" People running on my left. A sudden scream. I blocked them out as I focused on getting to the large shopping centre which was looming in the distance.

  "Everything's fine. Oh, there is something going on in the food hall. Hannah and I were just heading over to see what all the fuss was about."

  "No!" I screamed, my heart in my mouth. "You run the other way right now, do you hear?! Meet me out front if you can get there safely."

  Michele sounded scared now. "Mum, what's going on?!"

  I took another deep breath. There was no way to explain this situation in a few words. "Bad people, Michele. Very bad people."

  I heard a sharp intake of breath. "Terrorists? Okay, okay, we leaving now. Come quick, mum, please."

  "I'm three minutes away, baby."

  2

  A commotion in the back of the ambulance attracted my attention. In the rearview mirror. I saw Roy's belligerent face appear in the window. "If you want to get your daughter, that's fine, but you have no business dragging us along with you! We should be getting the hell out of town!"

  I gritted my teeth, ignoring a flare of guilt. "You don't like it, Roy? Just say the word and I'll drop you off on any corner you like."

  He scowled. "Like hell. I'm just saying - who made you captain?"

  "Really, Roy, really?" I glared at him through the mirror. "You want to argue about who's the fricking boss now?!"

  He had the grace to look a bit shamefaced as he mumbled "Just saying..."

  "Stow it, Roy." The bald man beside me said calmly, popping a gum in his mouth. "None of us are going to abandon family."

  I glanced at him gratefully as he pulled out his weapon and started loading it. "Last lot." He glanced blandly at me. "I guess I'd better make them count."

  As the large shopping Centre loomed a block away, the phone rang. I snatched it up.

  "Michele? Where are you?"

  Her whispered reply sent cold chills through me. "I'm hiding upstairs in Tosca's, mummy. We can't get to the stairs. There are people...killing people with their bare hands!" Her voice broke.

  "I'm right there, sweetheart." Did my voice sound as hard to her as it did to me? "Stay out of sight until you hear my voice."

  Jim cocked his weapon. "Trouble?"

  I nodded. People were pouring out the front doors of the large building ahead. Screams of terror and pain filled the air. Amongst the crowd, I spotted shambling, torn figures grabbing at panicked shoppers. I drove the car screeching up onto the curb, narrowly missing people and zombies alike. Reassuring myself that my trusty stake was in my belt, I flung open my door and took the outside stairs to Tosca's, two at a time.

  On the balcony, a zombie held a young blonde girl close, teeth buried in her throat. The blood poured down her dress as she stood in his arms like a lover, the light dimming in her eyes. Two more zombies appeared in the restaurant's doorway, stumbling towards me. One had been a teenage boy before he died and the other was dressed in the whites of a chef. As the freshly dead creatures came towards me, I felt, rather than saw, Jim's comforting presence at my back. "I'll handle them." He murmured. "You get your daughter."

  An agonized scream from within the restaurant sent me bolting past the zombies and inside. A woman in a floral dress chewed upon a body beside the door while another zombie sat near the kitchen bench gnawing on the leg of a large male tourist. I looked around desperately. "Michele!"

  Another feminine scream sent me running to the back of the Italian restaurant. As I neared it, I saw a zombie tearing at the face of a prone girl. A girl with honey hair. No, no, no!

  "Mum!" From behind a pillar, Michele launched herself at me, sobbing. "Mum! It's got Hannah! Help her!"

  I gathered Michele in my arms for a brief moment, absorbing the smell of her warm, live body. Thank you, God. Pushing her behind me, I approached the zombie cautiously. I didn't believe the girl was alive anymore, but she had been part of our lives for four years. I couldn't just abandon her. The zombie, a waiter, looked up with its unnervingly blank eyes, blood dripping down its chin.

  Something about that impersonal look infuriated me without measure. I picked up a nearby iron-wrought chair and swung it at the monster like I was wielding a baseball bat. It connected with a most satisfying thud, knocking the monster sideways. I brought the chair down on his head again and again. His features became a meaty mash but still I knew he persisted, if not lived.

  "Mum!" A squeal of dismay brought me around and I saw Hannah on her knees, face so torn she coul
d not see anything before her. Quickly, I turned back to the zombie before me and, planting my knee in his chest, I ended his miserable existence with a stake through the eye. Swinging around, I grabbed what used to be Hannah around the throat.

  "What are you doing?" My daughter's horrified whisper brought me up short. I didn't have time to explain all this to her, but I knew I had to try.

  "She's already dead, Michele." I looked her firmly in the eye. "They all are. Take a look around you." Michele looked around and saw the two zombies at the other end of the restaurant as they began to shamble in our direction. The large gaping wounds all over their bodies combined with their complete lack of pain said more than an hour's explanation possibly could have.

  "Oh my God." She whispered. While she stared at the approaching creatures, I silently finished off sweet Hannah with an ache in my heart that I feared would never go away. I had watched her grow up, seen her giggle and plot with my daughter, heard her dreams for the future. All ended with a piece of wood through her eye.