Dead and Forsaken (16 page)

“
Why!” I asked. “Do
you think they abused their authority?”

“
No I thought they
abused my ass! Why do you think I tried to shoot my way out of
here?” He stressed while imitating someone cutting his throat.
“I would have ended up dead if I went back to jail.”

“
That’s a fucked up
story dog! No wonder you tried to pull a Shaw shank redemption.”
I told him.

We
sat there and just talked like old friends. He was just Carlos and I
was Kevin. Earlier tonight we were about to kill each other. Life
has a funny way of changing in the blink of an eye. Tonight forced
us to bond together. We shared sweat, blood and a common enemy.

“
Hell no. That was not a
touchdown! He never got his toes down.” he declared.

“
You can say what you want
dawg. The replay did not lie. Toe tap baby! Two hands plus two toes
equals seven points for the Steelers!” I said while making the
touchdown sign with my arms.

“
That should be the Cardinals
Super bowl and you know it!” he said shaking his finger at me.
After a few minutes I told him to keep an eye on things and went to
check on the other doors. Joe the tech and a young college student
from India were sitting close to the registration window. They were
down on the floor just out of sight. The dry blood splatter and
smears still coated the glass.

“
Do you guys need anything?”
I asked.

“
We just want to get out of
here!” Joe answered. “But if you’re buying I'll
take a six pack of beer, a twelve gauge Remington and a box of
shells.”

“
Praise Shiva to that.”
added Kahleem. “But do you know what is really going on?”

“
I know what this is!”
said Joe. “Just like 9-11 it's probably some of your damn
terrorist friends!”

“
I told you before!”
yelled Kahleem. “I am not a Muslim and all Muslims are not
terrorists!”

“
Don’t get excited
man!” he said. “I’m just busting your balls!”

I
left them and walked down the dim hall to the ER’s back doors.
When I got there Randy the maintenance man was sleep in a chair with
a large canvas tool bag on his lap. The paramedic that was with him
was sleep too. He was down on the floor resting his head on a balled
up sheet. I walked up on Randy and tapped him on the shoulder. He
jumped up and dropped the large pipe wrench out of the tool bag.

“
What the.....?” he
yelled while throwing punches. “I damn near pissed on myself!”

“
Bro you can’t fall
asleep on a night like tonight.” I said with a frown.

“
I am sorry man. I worked a
double today!” He said. “I must have dozed off!”

“
I understand bro but if
those things break in here then we are all dead!” I shot back.
“A lot of people are counting on you!”

“
I am sorry partner!”
Randy responded.

“
If you are tired then take
turns sleeping.” I answered. “And you get your ass up!”
I said kicking the paramedic in the foot.

Afterward
I cursed him out. He was the first line of defense.

“
I don't think I can do it!”
said the paramedic. “I don't know if I can take someone's
life.”

“
Their already dead.” I
responded. “And if you don't kill them they'll kill you!”

I
made sure both of them understood how important their job was before
leaving them. We had to keep our guard up. Then I headed back to the
double doors. On the way back down the hall I passed the Pastor
patiently counseling three patients and two other women. Maria's
nurse friend Carmen was also there. He spoke in a comforting voice,
prayed with them, and took their confessions. He told them that when
someone dies they are granted the blessings of heaven or condemned
to the damnation of hell. The last time I saw Maria she was trying
to help that orphaned little girl get to sleep.

“
I know you are scared!”
said the Maria. “But you have got to get some sleep! Tomorrow
is going to be a long day.”

The
horde murdered the girl’s sister in the waiting room. Maria
was trying to ease a little of her sorrow and help her through the
night. The orphaned girl laid her head on Maria’s lap. She
stroked the little girl’s hair until she nodded off. Maria was
a sweet and caring young woman. I really liked her. I do not know
what she saw in me but I was glad that she saw it. How could she
care about me? The only thing I was good at was taking lives and
her job was to save them. Carlos was still standing watch when I got
back. It was just a little before 2:00 am. He looked tired and his
eyes were bloodshot. I told him to go get some sleep. He went to the
room where I had gone to think so he could get some sleep. After
standing up for about an hour I sat back down on the floor with my
gun in my hand facing the door. I sat up straight trying to stay
awake. It was hard so I leaned my head back against the wall. After
a while almost everyone was knocked out. Doctor Black fell asleep in
his office. He leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on his
desk. The half-empty bottle of Captain Morgan sat on the desk next
to him. The other doctors slept on the couches in their lounge. The
four resident sleep rooms were also occupied.

I
stayed at the double doors sitting down on the floor. The noise from
gunshots was gone. The hospital was silent. The only noise came from
a single scream or the moaning and moving around of the dead. At
about four o’clock Carlos came back to the doors.

“
Kevin I got this man.”
he said. “Go ahead and get some sleep!”

“
Thanks man.” I told
him. “I need a couple hours to rejuvenate.”

I
went down the hall to my thinking room. I took off my uniform shirt
and sprawled across the bed. The rest of the hospital was deserted
and silent. It felt like this was all only a dream. There was so
much to think about and take in. Until tonight I wasn't sure if I
really wanted to live or die. Now all these people were depending on
me. I drifted in between imagination and reality and fell asleep a
couple of minutes later.

After few hours the sun
rose over the eastern ridge of the Superstition Mountains just like
it did every morning. The light punched a hole in the darkness
covering the desert. The rising sun bathed the valley in its golden
rays. Normally you could hear dogs barking but today they were
silent. When I woke up I was on my side and Maria was on her back in
the bed cuddling next to me. I never even heard her come in. The
sunlight lit up the hall and shined through the top of the glass
double doors. The light from the hall reflected through the cracked
open door. I looked at my watch and it was 6:30 am. Today was the
first morning after the night of terror. The sun rays fell on
Maria's face and she was glowing like an Alex. I ran my hand threw
her long hair. It was soft and silky to my touch. I thought about
waking up next to her for the last couple of weeks. I never thought
it would happen like this. It was always after a night filled with
dinner dancing, and too many eight dollar drinks. She had taken her
bloody white lab coat off and was wearing scrubs underneath.

The
tight fitting scrubs hugged every curve of her body. Her shirt had
slipped up a little and I could see that she had her belly button
pierced. Her hair had fallen down in her face. I brushed it behind
her ear reveling diamond studs that matched her belly ring. That is
when she opened up her beautiful seductive eyes and looked up.
I immediately found myself staring into them.

“
Good morning beautiful!”
I told her with a smile.

“
Good morning to you.”
She said smiling back.

“
I was surprised to see you.”
I told her. “I didn't think we would be reunited this soon!
When did you come in?”

“
I could n 't get to sleep.”
she responded. “So I came to find you.”

“
I guess you found me!”
I said.

“
Yeah I guess I did.”
she said rubbing her hand on my chest.

I leaned in and kissed her deep
and strong. She closed her eyes and kissed me back. A few seconds
later she started purring like a cat and pulled me closer. I ran my
hand up her thigh and stopped at her butt. I reached my arms around
her and squeezed it in both hands. It was firm but not hard. You
could tell she worked out. She responded by sticking her tongue into
my mouth. My heart was racing and more than my temperature was
rising. I took my right hand and stroked her stomach. Her creamy
brown skin was smooth against my fingers. I moved my fingers along
her panty line inadvertently letting my hand slide inside. Her
mouth opened wide as she began thrusting her hips upward grinding
them against my hand. Then I removed my hand and started making
circles with my fingers tracing her bellybutton. I could feel her
body quiver. She started to moan and bit down softly on my bottom
lip.

Slowly
I slid my right hand under her shirt and moved upwards until I
reached the edge of what felt like a lace bra. Then I pulled away
from the kiss and began to suck on her neck. I could feel her warm
breath on my cheek right before she started lightly flicking her
tongue against my ear lobe. When I lifted my head and looked down at
her she opened her eyes and licked her lips. That’s when I
slipped my fingers under the lace and got a hand full of her perky
breast. She moaned loudly as I softly squeezed it. By the time my
finger brushed over her nipple she was biting her own lip. The
nipple was plump and hard. I pressed it between my fingers and thumb
twisting them slightly. Her body trembled and her breathing got
heavy. She liked what I was doing to her and I liked the way she
reacted. Things were rising to a fever pitch.

She
reached her petite manicured hand in between my legs and got more
than handful of my manhood. She quickly pulled her hand back and
starred at me. Her mouth was open wide and her eyes were glowing in
excitement. From her reaction I could tell she was pleasantly
surprised. It seemed like things were about to get serious when we
heard voices in the hall outside the door. I pulled my hand out from
under her shirt and sat up.

“
We will finish this later!”
I told her while climbing out the bed.

“
Do you promise?” She
asked while pulling her shirt back up to flash me.

“
Trust me I won’t
forget you or them!” I told her pointing at her chest and
smiling. She threw a pillow at me
and laughed as I opened the door. After one last boyish grin and a
wink I left the room.

*****

America’s sixth
largest city had one and a half million people. Most of them fled
the city or ended up dead. Now the streets were empty and silent. At
least until the shooting and screaming starts back up. Pockets of
citizens fought for the lives of their families. They tried to turn
boarded up bedrooms and garages into temporary panic rooms. Whole
families huddled together in barricaded buildings. They climbed out
on their roofs armed with rifles and shotguns. They realized that
they were alone. Their initial shock and terror had morphed into
anger. Most of them were upset at the inability of elected officials
and the police to protect them. All the gas stations were out of
gas and the Sky Harbor Airport closed down. Small fires still burned
and a large cloud of smoke rose over downtown. Trash and liter
covered the streets. No cars were moving and no people are outside.
The undead shambled around every neighborhood hunting for the
living. Everyone that survived last night’s attack was hiding
out of sight. Other desperate souls wandered the streets crying out
for loved ones or any sign of help. Monsters were fictional movie
creatures but last night they became real. All resemblance of
civilization deteriorated. Several half-eaten bodies were scattered
around the hospitals main entrance and the ER’s glass doors.
Several ambulances still sat in the bay. Their paramedics were
missing. Several other cars contained the mangled bodies of people
that were seeking safety at the hospital. The burnt out shell of
what was once a car was still lying on its side. The neighborhood
around us was lost to flesh eating barbarians.

******

Inside the hospital they
wandered the halls picking off survivors. At the same time in the ER
the rest of the survivors were waiting in a long line to get
breakfast. Everyone praised the nurses and the rest of the staff.
They did their best to take care of everyone. The survivors felt
like they were on their last legs. Most of them were operating on
little or no sleep. They appreciated the dedication of the staff. We
were in a desperate situation that caused people to try and drown
their worries with booze. A few of them were hungover from a
nighttime snack of Captain Morgan. Including Dr. Black who had dark
circles around his blood shot eyes. He had blacked out drunk after a
long night of drinking. Anyone hungover was a little leery about
what they had to eat. The staff found a box of fresh peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches and a box of cookies in the doctor’s
lounge a few hours later. The doctors had to work through dinner
sometimes when it was busy. It was a quick snack for them to eat in
between patients. The survivors got their food and sat down on the
floor in the main hall. It was not your mother’s homemade
breakfast of bacon and eggs but after hours trapped in a hospital it
tasted like it. The survivors said that it was better than nothing.
They also found cases of water and Gator aide in the paramedics
break room. The hospital provided it to them as a courtesy.

“
At least they fed us!”
an older man joked.

“
That was the only good thing
that happened since I got to this hospital!” replied the man
next to him in line.

Carlos
was eating a sandwich walking down the main hall. He saw a cute
blonde girl with a cast on her left arm trying to open the bathroom
door. She got the door opened but dropped her water bottle. She
tried to bend down and pick it up but looked like she was in pain.
She gently touched her right side. She looked like it really hurt.
He stopped in front of her to pick it up.

“
Sweetheart let me get that
for you!” he said picking up the water.

“
Thank you for your help but
my name is not sweetheart!” she said with an attitude.

“
I am sorry.” he
responded. “I did not mean anything by that baby girl!”

“
Besides I don’t talk
to strangers!” she shot back.

”
What is your name?” he
asked. “You can at least tell me that!"

“
Well you can believe that
it’s not baby girl!” she said rolling her eyes.

“
Damn girl!” he shot
back with a smile. “Can’t you tell when someone is
trying to be nice to you?”

He
sounded sincere but she still didn’t believe anything he said.

“
That’s what all men
say when they want something.” She told him. “Especially
crooks!”

“
Whoa! Whoa!” he told
her still smiling. “Hold on you don’t even know me like
that!”

He
couldn't help notice how beautiful she was even if she was being a
spoiled brat.

“
Good let’s keep it
that way!” she responded with a smirk.

“
Man you’re a tough
nut to crack.” he answered back. “I saw a woman in
distress and just tried to help. You think a real woman would see
that!”

“
You are absolutely
right! It was wrong for me to be so rude!” she said changing
her attitude. “It was a rough night for me.”

“
Dead people walking the
earth will do that!” he told her.

“
True plus I found out some
other bad news.” She said.

“
Is everything okay?”
he asked. “You're not bit are you?”

“
No not that!” she
answered while holding her stomach. “They told me I am
pregnant!”

“
That is a good thing. Trust
me blessings always come with babies!” he responded.

“
I can’t have a baby
like this!” she said with tears in her eyes.

“
Don’t worry everything
will be fine!” he said in low voice.

“
No it won’t!”
she said looking scared. “It will never be fine again!”

Overcome
with emotion she could barely look at him. She told Carlos that her
name was Blair. She was seventeen years old and was from Scottsdale.
Her father was a big attorney in the valley. Her mother was a
typical high society wife spending her days shopping and
socializing. They were the king and queen of Scottsdale society life
thanks to their lavish pool parties. They featured crates of crab
legs lobster tails and jumbo size shrimp flown in from the coast.
The only thing more expensive was the imported wine and top shelf
liquor they served to their other rich friends. She was the only
child. Gabby her nanny raised her. She met the child’s father
at a high school dance.

Bursting
with teenage hormones it was love at first site. Evan was a laid
back and fun loving boy. He was a senior and she was a freshman.
That was three years ago. The ASU baseball team kicked him off for
bad grades. That is when he started drinking. He stopped smiling and
cracking jokes. Blair told him that she missed the old him. He threw
a beer bottle at her head and then slapped her with the back of his
hand. That was the first time he hit her but not the last. Tonight
they were at the movies and he got jealous because a boy from school
spoke to her. She tried to tell him they are just friends but he was
still mad. He made her leave the theater ignoring the protest of her
friend. Outside in the parking lot he continued to curse her out.
Suddenly he grabbed her and twisted her arm so hard he broke her
wrist. A purple and blue bruise formed all the way up to her elbow.
She tried to get away and he slammed her into a metal fence. Then he
told her he was going to kill her for being a cheating bitch!

She
whirled around and broke free from his grasp but he caught up to
her. This time he punched Blair in the face leaving her
disorientated. Now she had a large bloody cut and her lip swelled
up. Another blow to the stomach made her collapse to the ground.
Evan kicked her violently making her spasm and cry out in pain. He
got scared after she began having trouble breathing. He brought her
to our hospital instead of taking her to a closer one in Scottsdale.
For some reason he thought no one would find out what happened if
they said she didn’t have insurance. When Blair arrived in
triage hunched over the nurses thought something funny was going on.
Every time they asked her a question she would look at Evan and then
she would answer. He hovered over her and never left her alone with
them.

When
Maria showed up Evan told her that Blair was robbed by a short
Mexican man. A couple of minutes later he changed his version of
the event. Now her attacker was muscular, built and black. Maria
also noticed Blair seemed scared and clearly uncomfortable with his
presence. The sinking feeling in her stomach made her call the
social worker. Evan started to get annoyed and overly sensitive
about repeatedly being asked to tell his story.

Growing increasingly suspicious
the hospital staff called the police and reported it as a domestic
assault. The dispatcher said it would take a minute for an officer
to get there because they were busy with a lot of calls that night.
Blair had a variety of aliments but also told her nurse that she had
not had a period in seven weeks. A blood test confirmed that she was
two months pregnant. Evan looked upset with her as he wrestled with
the consequences of his actions. He was not ready to be a dad. He
wanted to leave right away but staff said it would be awhile.
Concerned that it was some sort of trap he went outside to take a
smoke break and never came back. Maria put a cast on her arm and
kept Blair overnight for observation because of the fractured ribs.