The operating room was small and cramped. An overhead light teetered on the edge of going out, making it hard for the small group to do their job. Three men and a woman wore white lab coats with masks. Their gloves were bloody with a mixture of both dark-red and light-green blood. They toiled for three hours, sweating under the hot conditions because of poor ventilation.
“Nothing.” The word was full of despair. They had hoped to learn something new.
“How much longer, Doctor?” asked the lone woman.
“We’re done,” he said, “close and then kill the battery. We have wasted too much power already.”
“Yes, sir,” she said.
The men left while she cleaned up the mess. The last man to leave, Doctor Blake, thought about the dead zombie on the table and gave it a glance. She was safe, no need to stay and keep an eye on her. He left and joined his comrades in the hall.
“Where are you heading, Sam?” asked Blake to the first doctor.
“I’ve got three more stops and then I’ll be meeting you at Camp Vix,” said Samuel Thompson. He sighed. “We have to learn more about them if we are ever to defeat them. We have to take more risks.”
“No, old friend,” said Blake, “we merely need patience. Croft is right. They will eventually die out once they run out of people to infect.”
“You don’t believe that,” said their third, Doctor Lance Dixon.
“Look,” said Blake, “if no more people are available for them to infect, they start eating each other. That helps us. We stay behind walls and wait until it is over.”
“Then why not stay?” asked Dixon.
Blake shook his head violently. “Never!”
“It’s the new order, you know that,” said Dixon.
“Not for me,” said Blake. “There is a second plan, a better plan. It’s already in motion. They need doctors and scientists to help. Come with me, Lance. Abandon this foolishness. God would cry if he saw us behaving like this.”
Dixon shook his head. “Good thing he’s sleeping, isn’t it?”
It was Blake’s turn to shake his head. Thompson agreed.
“I’ll meet you at Camp Vix and give you my answer there,” said Thompson. He and Blake shook hands before he left.
When he had gone, Blake decided to try one last time. Dixon was a decent man. The times had changed them all, but he would be reasonable and see the folly in what they were doing. “Dix—”
The man held up his hand to stop him. He moved within Blake’s personal space to make his point clear. “I’m staying. This is survival, man. Give up those ridiculous notions and stay. This is not you, this is Croft. He is the only man who could spin a lie well enough for you to swallow. Stay Blake, stay and live!”
Blake turned trembling lips to his friend. A tear filled his eye. Whether for him or his friend, he didn’t know. One of them would be dead, somehow, someway, he knew it. “Lance,” he pleaded.
It was too late. Both had made up their minds and neither would change. All that remained was for them to hug and start the journey. He had packed his meager belongings earlier and had them at the door. Doctor Dixon walked him to the outer door of the hospital. Blake picked up his bag and slung it across his shoulder. He embraced again and together, they walked out.
Across the hospital stood more buildings. They walked down the road two blocks to their destination. After a block, Blake looked up and saw the tall wall. At its top were patrolling guards with M16 weapons. At eye level he saw armed guards on both sides of the road leading to a massive entrance gate. As he approached, all guards stood rigid, saluting. It warmed his heart and brought ambivalence about leaving.
Glancing at the wall, Blake’s thoughts went to prison, so many of his people inhabiting such walls. Did any of them make it out alive? He wondered. He scratched his bald head then moved forward.
Ahead, a man shouted from inside a small guard shack at the wall’s base. Heavy doors creaked open to the outside world. Though they breathed the same air, as the doors widened to the outside, Blake inhaled the air with revulsion. The stench that rode upon it made him gag to near vomit. How could he voluntarily go into it? He hesitated a moment, then moved forward. He gave a small nod in reverence to each side as he passed through their line. When he neared the guard shack, he stopped.
Doors to an armored truck flew open and he saw the soldiers within. Blake gave a slight bow after they filed-out in formation. They saluted the good doctor, he returned their high praise. These were all handpicked men who swore allegiance to Blake, Croft, and the children.
“We are honored, sir.” Their leader motioned for him to take a seat within.
Blake turned to his wayward friend. “Dix, come with me. You will lose your soul if you stay.”
Dixon shook his head, not wanting to meet his friend’s eyes. “I’ve already lost my soul, old friend. I don’t believe your plan will work the way they intend.” He held up his hands to ease Blake’s fears. “I won’t say anything. You have your chance and I hope it works. I just don’t believe that it will. Good luck, old friend.” They embraced and then Doctor Dixon turned and began his walk back to the hospital.
Blake stood and watched him for a moment then turned. Instead of getting in the truck with the soldiers, he motioned to the bus and walked to the side of the truck and went aboard the bus. His heart soared. On board were children of various ages, backgrounds, and sizes. The plan will work, he thought, it will.
“Good morning, children.”
“Good morning, Doctor Blake.”
Bright smiles can warm a damned soul. Blake hoped his will stay warm until the day he died.
“Give me a minute and then I have something for you.”
The caravan took off and as he sat and watched, he saw the large doors swing shut with their eerie sound. He had done it. He had left the safety of the Wyoming Free Zone on a journey that would take him into the heart of America. There would be few people along the route, but flesh-eating monsters who would love to devour the helpless children, they will be plentiful. He sat back to think. First they would go to the edge of the state and no man’s land, then they would need every soldier in the armored truck at their best. All had sworn to protect the precious cargo on board and soon they would be put to the test.
Blake pulled a book from his backpack. The journey would be long, a little reading could occupy a great deal of time. “Gather around children, I have a story you are going to love.” After they sat and eagerly waited, he swore to himself he would give his life ten times over for their safety. He began reading.