“Come on. It’s down here.”
I followed her down the dark hallway to the end before she stopped at the last door on the right. I watched her hand shake as she reached for the knob and slowly turned it. My heart raced in my chest, drowning out the silence with the constant ‘whomp, whomp.’
The door screamed in protest as she swung it open. She backed up and locked eyes with me.
“After you and be careful.”
“Of what?”
“You’ll see.”
Looking around, I couldn’t spot a thing until I looked in the far back corner under the window.
“What is that?” I asked and spun on her.
“It was a cat at one time.”
“A cat?”
“Yes.”
“Is it dead?”
“I think so. I haven’t heard it move around in here for a little while now,” she said and hung her head. As hard as it was for her to see the people going through that, it had to be killing her to see an animal with it.
I moved slowly in case it wasn’t dead and made sure I had a clear way out if I needed it. The little grey cat was sprawled out across the hard floor and it wasn’t moving. The fur was matted and wet in places. It wasn’t with water though; the thing was covered in blood. Looking closer, I saw it was missing a front paw. The bone of the leg protruded out of the empty space where it should have been. Pussy pink fluid oozed from the open wound and pooled on the floor. Its tail was missing and so was a chunk of the back leg. None of that was as bad as what I found on it next.
It had been a male cat and in its mouth lay its testicles. Mangled, ripped, and chewed up. The cat died choking on itself. White foam was drying on the mouth and the eyes that had been budging out were starting to sink in.
Marissa turned to walk out of the room before I saw her crying. I moved closer and poked the thing with my pen. It didn’t move.
“Poor cat.”
I heard Marissa outside talking to someone and my attention turned to that.
When I heard the screams I froze. I knew that voice, it was Cammy. The little girl my Grandma used to babysit. I raced to the hallway and saw the man blocking her from where I was and leaped without thinking.
Laying on top of him while his bloody, puss filled arms tried to reach around and get me, I fought to keep him from reaching her.
I wasn’t sure how smart my heroic move was, but she was a child and I had to defend her.
CHAPTER FOUR
Seeing that Jake had taken down the man who’d tried to attack me, I knew he needed my help. Jake had always looked out for me. He and the other guys in the neighborhood always saw me as Keith’s kid sister. The last time I ran into him, he didn’t act any different. He didn’t care that I did two years in community college or that I was no longer the kid they used to threaten bullies to leave alone. It wasn’t the time to try and explain that either. It was time to help the guy who’d always looked out for me.
I watched the man struggle to reach Jake. The pus and oozing liquid seeping from his hands was smearing on the floor. Jake wasn’t wearing a hazmat suit or the protection the others were. I wasn’t sure about how the virus passed, but I had seen enough to know touch was a bad thing. Not having any other choice, I looked around quickly and tried to find something I could use as a weapon of some sort. My eyes locked onto a computer monitor sitting behind the nurse’s station. I didn’t think. Instead, I threw myself over the counter and dragged the cord free from the wall.
I wheeled around, holding the monitor over my head. “Jake move, NOW!” The instant Jake pulled himself off the man on the floor, I tossed the monitor, watching as it connected to his head, splashing blood, thick greyish brain matter, and chunks of bone and hair all over me.
“Cammy, freeze!”
I hadn’t thought the move through. My first instinct had been to protect my friend. Had I caused myself to contract whatever the hell was tearing through our town? Would I turn into the ravenous mess my father and brother had?
“What do I do?” I asked, trying to fend off the panic attack I could feel creeping its way up on me. I took deep breaths, hoping I wouldn’t freak and pass out in the yucky stew of brain juice I’d left in the floor.
“We need to get her decontaminated.” The nurse I’d been talking to spoke up. “I don’t see anything on her skin yet, but we don’t have time to wait.”
“Cammy. Don’t touch your face. Stay away from the blood and fluids. Move slowly to your right so we can get you down the hall, okay?”
I looked up at Jake seeing the concern in his warm, brown eyes. I didn’t have any words; instead, I did as he said and slowly began navigating the spreading infection spilling from what was left of my attacker’s head.
I slipped into autopilot. The blood smeared walls, the pained patients crying out for help, they were all vaguely there in the back of my mind, but all I could think about was myself. Sure, it was selfish as hell, but I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to give up.
“I’m going to suit up and help you, alright?”
The sound of Jake’s voice penetrated my spaced mind, pulling me from the deep recesses where I’d slipped, thinking about the pain and the flesh-eating sentence I’d given myself. I nodded my head in answer then followed him as he stepped into a room with plastic surrounding it. “What is this?” I asked feeling myself start to tremble.
“This is the quarantine area we set up. Don’t expect it to be perfect, we didn’t have much time. We do have a decontamination shower though. Marissa and Matt will wash us down since both of us came into contact with him.”
I looked around at them then made myself register what he was saying. Contact. At home, Keith went crazy and attacked my dad, but Dad had already started breaking out with the sores before Keith reacted that way. What if this thing didn’t need touch to spread? We may all have already been infected.
“Strip your clothes. They’ll go to an incinerator.”
I pulled off my shirt, then slipped off my shorts. Standing there in my bra and panties, I suddenly felt completely exposed. I didn’t like it. “All of it?”
“Yeah,” Jake answered as he started pulling off everything he was wearing. I knew I didn’t have any other choice when I saw his boxers hit the floor. “Once we’re inside the shower, I need you to look me over, any of the places I can’t see for myself, and make sure you don’t see any boils or sores. Anything out of the ordinary, point it out. Don’t freak out, but I’ll be doing the same with you.”
“Alright,” I agreed as I reached behind me and unhooked my bra, letting it fall to the floor, followed by my panties. I waited until Jake moved through the maze of hanging plastic then followed after him.
“Jake, I’m taking the clothes to the incinerator. Marissa will be out here,” I hear a voice call out from behind us.
“Matt, be careful out there. The patients are hitting the madness stage,” Jake instructed the man behind the voice. “Marissa, start the showers.”
I wanted to shrink away. I didn’t want Jake’s eyes rolling over me like I was some kind of specimen instead of a human. It was the nature of the beast though. I sucked it up, held up my arms, and turned slowly in a circle to allow him to inspect every portion of my body. When I finished, he gave me the thumbs up, then followed my lead, taking the same position. I caught myself praying he wouldn’t be infected. I also found myself turning beet red at the idea of looking at him.
“Don’t think about it, Cammy. I need you to help me with this, okay?”
I breathed heavily, then moved closer so I could see him better. Each freckle sent a wave of panic through me at the possibility he might have been infected. When my examination ended, and he was in the clear, I felt tears stinging my eyes.