Journal of the Undead (Book 1): Littleville Uprising (39 page)

It didn’t take much for them to piece together what had happened. When Lucy heard the zombies coming, she’d climbed the tree but the branch broke, and she fell into the pit.

Emma asked the major for help as she riffled through her pack. She secured a length of rope around her waist and gave the other end to Frank.

“Here, tie this around your waist and lower me down in the pit,” Emma’s voice wavered but she tried to act as if she wasn’t afraid. “Before you argue, this is the only way. I could never pull you out, let alone you and Lucy, so we don’t have any other choice. It has to be me. Otherwise, there was no point in coming out here.”

Frank reluctantly agreed as he tied the rope around his waist. With white knuckles, Emma clutched the rope and held her breath as she inched lower into the pit. Once her feet were firmly on the ground, Emma inhaled deeply. She tugged her pistol from the waistband of her jeans and fired a shot into the heads of the nearest zombies before she knelt next to Lucy and hugged her.

“It’s okay, Lucy. We’re gonna get you out of here,” Emma promised as she gingerly stroked Lucy’s head. “Can you wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight?”

Tears spilled down Lucy’s scratched and bloodied cheeks as she nodded yes. Her icy fingers laced behind Emma’s neck and locked in place. Emma’s arm slid under Lucy’s legs and the frightened child shrieked in agony. Snarling, she shoved Emma away. Emma pulled back and evaluated the situation. For the first time, she noticed Lucy’s left leg was misshapen and twisted beneath her. She firmly cupped Lucy’s face and ordered her to stop trying to bite.

“You’re not one of those monsters!”

Lucy sobbed and held her injured leg while Emma rummaged through her bag and covertly stuffed something into her pocket.

“Major, I think Lucy’s leg is broken. I’ll need to give her a pain killer if we want to get her out of here. Is that alright?”

Getting the major to agree was the easy part. Lucy’s fear of needles was the real challenge. Emma shrugged off her jacket and bundled it around Lucy’s shivering body, knotting the sleeves to hold it in place. Lifting the end of one sleeve, Emma raised it to Lucy’s mouth and told her to bite down. Lucy did as she was told but eyed Emma suspiciously. When she caught a glimpse of the syringe, she tried to pull away. The wad of fabric muffled Lucy’s squeal of protest.

“I’m sorry, Lucy, but we don’t have any other choice. You’re in too much pain for me to lift you. I have to give you a shot,” Emma explained, firmly but patiently.

With wide eyes, Lucy frantically shook her head. Apologizing, Emma tugged the back of Lucy’s waistband down just enough to expose the flesh. With a quick pinch of the skin, Emma slipped the needle in and depressed the plunger. It took some time for the medication to kick in so Emma kept her distracted. Once Lucy’s rigid body went limp, Emma scooped her up. Frank hauled the girls up without difficulty and hugged them both once they were safely on the ground.

“Is she unconscious? What did you give her, Emma?”

“She’s fine. Toradol is relatively mild but for someone so small the effects are stronger. It should last for a few hours so we have plenty of time to get her back and fixed up before it wears off.”

Frank insisted on carrying Lucy although Emma warned it could do more damage to his shoulder. Holding his little princess close, Frank kissed the top of her head and marched back to the compound with Emma jogging at his side.

While Emma and Frank were away, chaos had broken loose inside the compound. The boys had searched every inch and found no trace of Lucy. Evan’s plans to defy protocol were overheard by his oldest cousin, Dave, who felt obliged to disclose their plans to Ray. Furious, Ray ambushed the boys on their way to Doc’s office. Ray’s threats grew harsher while Evan continued to hurl insults and taunts at his uncle. Fearing it may come to blows; Jimmy wedged himself between Evan and Ray and tried to make peace. Outraged by Dave’s betrayal, Michael decked his older brother. He jumped on top of him, unleashing his fury.

“Mikey, stop it!” Rachael pleaded as she tried to separate her cousins.

In the squabble, Rachael was accidentally knocked down. Charging through the crowd, Matt lifted Rachael from the floor and carried her to a safe corner.

“Stay here, where you’ll be safe. I’ll try to break them up.”

Matt smiled then turned to rejoin the melee, but Rachael caught his arm and pulled him back.

“You didn’t give me a chance to say thank you,” she said coyly as she cupped Matt’s face and kissed him.

“ENOUGH!” Doc bellowed and everyone froze. “You!” Doc shouted, pointing at Evan. “Get your ass down to my office now! Take Rocky Balboa and Romeo with you.” He pointed directly at Mike and Matt to designate their new nicknames. “Jimmy, Kate, would you please see that they find their way? David, stay where you are; I want to take a look at your nose; and Ray, I need you to give me a hand.”

Evan, Matt, and Michael were escorted down the hallway while being reprimanded by Jimmy and Kate.

“What’s that?” Kate asked, seeing the partition blocking the hall to the exam rooms.

“That wasn’t up earlier,” Evan gasped. “Where’s Emma?”

Matt pushed ahead and ran to the gate.

“There’s a note,” Matt announced pulling a sheet of paper from the glass. “Oh, crap! Who the hell is Madge?”

“There’s no one here named Madge.”

“Emma’s note says, ‘Maj. and I went to find Lucy,’ so who the hell is Madge?” cried Matt.

“Let me see that!” Evan demanded as he snatched the sheet of paper from Matt’s hand.

Doc,

Maj. & I went to look for Lucy. Don’t worry, we’ll find her!

-Emma

“That’s not Madge, you moron, it’s the abbreviation for major,” Evan snapped. “Weird. Maybe she meant Captain Giovanni? Where is he?”

“Nah, he’s back in the common room,” Mike replied. “He’s the one who pulled me off of Dave.”

“You kids need to stop trying to take matters into your own hands,” Jimmy lectured. “If you boys hadn’t been acting like fools, Emma never would have been able to slip out!”

“Yeah well, if Uncle Ray wasn’t such a chicken-shit we would have already found Lucy and brought her back. Emma wouldn’t have had to go anywhere!”

“Evan! Watch your mouth!” Frank barked, stopping all of them in their tracks. “Is that your influence, Emma?”

“Frank?” Kate gasped. “Lucy?”

“She’ll be fine, but I think she broke her leg,” Emma explained. “Jimmy, would you go get Doc for us? Evan, go fire up the x-ray machine, it takes a while to warm up. Kate, there are warming blankets in the supply closet. Would you bring one for Lucy? You’ll need to put on a mask, gown, and gloves before you can come in though. Matt, I’m starved, and Lucy will be too; would you and Mike go find us something to eat?”

Frozen in place, they all stood there gaping at her.

“Why are you all standing there? Didn’t you hear me?”

“NOW!” bellowed Frank. They all scattered, except Kate.

“Frank, is that really you?” Kate whispered, pressing her hand against the glass.

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m finally home. I need you to be strong now for Lucy. Go get those blankets and the protective gear. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Frank carried Lucy into the exam room and set her carefully on the bed. Emma filled a basin with warm, soapy water and cleaned Lucy’s wounds. She pulled Lucy’s wet clothes off and dumped them into a biohazard bag to be incinerated and then slipped a clean gown over the sleeping child’s head. She said nothing, but Emma was worried. The thick, viscous fluid that oozed from wounded zombies was splattered all over Lucy’s clothes and face.
Could Lucy get infected that way?
Emma wondered. She tied a tourniquet on Lucy’s arm and felt for a vein. An IV needed to be started. Pausing for a second, she took a deep breath.

“If you don’t think you can do it, wait for Doc,” Frank urged.

“I can do it. It’s just … Lucy really hates needles. She’s going to be so mad at me when she wakes up,” Emma sighed.

The IV was started, blood drawn, and vitals taken by the time Doc entered the room. Kate, Evan, and Matt followed at a distance, trying to stay out of the way.

“So, Jimmy tells me you two decided to take a little stroll.” Doc’s sarcasm was thicker than usual. Then, turning to Emma he added, “Do you really have so little regard for your condition?”

“I’m fine, really, and now Lucy will be too!”

“If Ray hadn’t stopped us earlier, Emma wouldn’t have had to go anywhere!” Evan ranted again. “Just because he’s afraid of the dark doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”

“That’s
Uncle
Ray and don’t be an ass, Evan!” Doc snapped angrily. “If you punks would have done as you were told, Jimmy, Anthony and Ray would have left and been back long before Emma knew Lucy was missing. Did you really think we were going to stand by and leave little Lucy out there all alone? We were waiting to make sure you weren’t going to do anything stupid. Your poor mother has enough to worry about.”

“Why didn’t he say so?” Evan asked.

“Maybe because he knew you wouldn’t let it rest. You would have insisted on going too. Or maybe, because HE DOESN’T ANSWER TO YOU!” Doc yelled. “Either way you owe him an apology, mister.”

Evan hung his head in shame so Emma quickly switched gears, giving Doc the rundown of their patient’s vitals. She told him her speculations about Lucy’s broken bones. Upon examination of her leg, Doc concurred.

“The x-ray machine is on and ready. We’ll be back in a couple minutes,” Emma said, releasing the wheel lock on the bed.

“Maybe you should let me take the x-ray,” Doc said with more than a hint of concern.

“I can do it.”

“Yes, but exposure to radiation can be harmful to children,
and babies
.”

“I know. I’ll make sure Lucy’s body is covered with the lead apron,” Emma said confidently. “We’ve studied this a million times. I know all the precautions.”

Annoyed that Emma wasn’t taking the hint, Doc decided to lay it out for her.

“Pregnant women shouldn’t be exposed either,” Doc pressed.

“Well, I don’t think we have to worry about that. I’m sure Lucy isn’t pregnant,” Emma joked as she gave the bed a shove.

“I wasn’t talking about Lucy!” Doc hissed as he stepped in front of the bed.

Emma stopped. Her head cocked to the side like a confused puppy and her eyebrows rose questioningly. Matt looked at Doc, then at Emma, before he hauled off and punched Evan squarely in the face.

“You knocked up my sister?” Matt accused.

Evan looked up from the floor at his assailant while blood gushed from his nose and leaked through his mask. Emma gasped and dropped to Evan’s side. She tipped his head forward and applied pressure to Evan’s nose.

“Are you insane?” Emma shrieked at her twin. “What is your problem? I am not pregnant!”

“Cut the crap, Emma,” Doc growled. “I found the pregnancy test. The positive pregnancy test you hid in the trash.”

“Emma? How could that happen?” asked Evan.

“You see, Evan, sometimes when two people really love each other,” Matt began sarcastically.

“Shut up!” both Emma and Evan shouted in unison.

“How could you do this?” Matt fumed.

“I am
not
pregnant!” Emma insisted. “I administered a test this morning.”

“Nice try, no one else has been anywhere near the hospital wing today. Except for …”

Doc paused. Emma looked at Doc intently and nodded. He yanked Emma to her feet and pulled her into the hall. Slamming the door shut behind him, Doc spun her around to face him.

“How can I trust you?” Doc demanded. “You’ve been lying to me all day. You’d better not be throwing Tara under the bus because you’re too spineless to accept the consequences or I swear you’ll be sorry.”

Emma’s eyes stung with unshed tears. “I’m telling you the truth. Regardless of whether or not you believe me, it’s still the truth.”

“Why wouldn’t she come to me?” Doc muttered.

“Seriously? It would be like going to her dad and asking for a pregnancy test. Look how you acted when you thought it was me.”

Doc sighed; Ray would not take the news well.

“Looks like Evan and Matt aren’t the only ones owing an apology. I really am sorry, kiddo. I should have talked to you first instead of calling you out like that.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“It is to me,” Doc insisted, pulling Emma into a hug. “Now, what’d you say we get the films on Lucy before the Toradol wears off?”

When Emma and Doc entered the exam room, Evan was still mopping up his own blood. Emma glared at her brother as she rushed to help him.

“Seems I made a mistake … Emma isn’t pregnant,” Doc announced.

“Not that it’s anyone’s business,” Emma sneered as she pointed at Doc and Matt. “But we’re
waiting
.”

Matt gave Evan a heartfelt apology but he shrugged it off.

“No worries, I would have done the same thing if it was my sister.”