Dead, but Not for Long (18 page)

“I’ll oversee that part,” Dr. Doune said at once. “It will be difficult with the tiny,
outdated lab we have, but I’ll do what I can. I’d need an assistant or two that
could help out. They wouldn’t need to be there all the time but I’d need
someone available to do some running around so my time can be spent on the research.”

The lab was a sore subject with Dr. Doune. The hospital was small and there was much debate
over how to use the limited space. There had been a battle over downsizing the
lab in favor of a maternity and pediatrics ward and Doune had fought it, tooth
and nail. The opposition had argued that most of the lab work could be
outsourced but that the neighborhood needed the maternity and pediatrics wards.
He had disagreed, pointing out that the new hospital, which was less than a
mile away, had both a modern maternity facility and a top rate pediatric
department. Having those same departments in St. Mary’s was redundant and a
waste of space, in his opinion. He’d been overruled.

Autumn was eating some mashed potatoes at a table with Lindsey, half listening to the conversation.
Her hand shot up when the doctor mentioned testing. She was sure this would
involve blood, and flesh.

“That sounds cool! We’ll help!”

Lindsey stopped chewing and looked at Autumn.

“Unless you’re just way too busy,” Autumn added sarcastically.

“I don’t think it’s an appropriate job for a girl your age to be doing,” Lindsey stated.

“What, you think I’ll faint at the sight of blood? You heard him. We’ll just be running around getting stuff.”

Lindsey had never felt comfortable around Dr. Doune. There was nothing she could pin down,
but there was something about him that made her nervous. She hated the way he
looked at her. Not like he was undressing her with his eyes, but like he was
filleting her. Autumn was right, though. She wasn’t that useful right now and it would give her something to do.

“Well, Doctor,” she asked, “can you use us?”

“You’ll do,” Dr. Doune said. The girl was undoubtedly a patient, so she might have health
issues, but if she got sick, he’d just find someone else to take her place. The
woman worked in the hospital though he wasn’t sure where. He’d seen her before
and was quite sure she wasn’t a nurse. He searched his brain and was able to
recall seeing a name tag on her once before. Physical Therapy; so she had to be
fit from working with patients. Perfect. He didn’t think that she would be the
type to complain about hard work.

“I’d like to start getting set up right after the meeting.”

He pulled out a small notebook and began to jot down some notes. Looking up, he said, “I heard
that you were able to detain one of the infected persons on the third floor. I’d like to examine
him since he may be able to give us some clues as to the nature of this outbreak.”

“Uh, that might be a problem,” said a voice from near the doorway.

Doune turned to look at the biker, waiting for an explanation.

“I kind of finished him off,” he admitted.

“I’d still like the body,” Doune said. “It won’t be quite as helpful but it’s better than nothing.”

“Well, I kind of tossed it out the window. Sorry,” the biker said, sheepishly.

Doune sighed and turned back to his notes.

“Anything else?” Jack asked. Nobody replied, so he announced that the meeting was over. Some of
the attendees immediately left to get back to their stations, while others
began to talk amongst themselves. Jack approached Lindsey as she was finishing her lunch.

“Can I see you privately for a second?”

“Sure,” Lindsey said, getting up from her seat.

“Hey!” Autumn yelled. “No secrets!”

“Adult stuff,” Jack replied.

“Oh, gross,” Autumn said, turning her attention back to her meal.

“I’d like you to keep an eye on Dr. Doune, if you don’t mind,” Jack started. “The guy’s a
genius, but the board has investigated him a few times for unethical behavior.
Never pinned anything on him, but you may want to watch him. If you see him
doing anything questionable, tell me or Keith.”

“Sure,” Lindsey assured him. “Honestly, the guy gives me the creeps.”

“You’re not alone,” Jack said as he walked away. He pretended not to notice Doune watching as he left.

Nick Doune had noticed the little discussion between Jack and Lindsey. He was used to it and
had an idea what the security officer was saying; the usual warnings about his
lack of ethics. In general, ethics were nothing more than a hindrance to his
work, in Nick’s opinion, but he was careful not to step over the line. The last
thing he needed was to end up in prison with a bunch of lowlifes. Of course,
things had changed now. The old rules might quit being relevant before long and
if that happened, it would open a whole world of possibilities to him.

Stepping over to Lindsey, he said, “Well, if Jack is done warning you about me, we can get on
with our business and see about getting the lab set up.”

Lindsey started to speak but Autumn interrupted her.

“Do we get to dissect anything? I can’t wait to take biology in high school. We’ll get to
dissect a frog. I saw a dead frog once, well, kind of. It got run over by a
car, so there wasn’t much left of it. It was cool. You could see its guts and everything! Can we dissect a zombie?”

The child had potential, Dr. Doune thought, raising an eyebrow. As long as she didn’t talk
all the time they should get along just fine.

“Exactly what I plan to do,” he told her. “And I have no problem with you assisting as long as
you follow my rules precisely. The last thing we need is to have you
accidentally infect yourself and to create another little ‘zombie.’ You’ll
see,” he added, “frogs are quite boring compared to humans.”

Lindsey and Autumn followed Dr. Doune to the lab next to the ER while Jack went outside to
check on the fortification progress. Two men were quickly laying block in the
window openings and several people were bringing in more cinder block and
mortar. The glass main entrance had already been closed off, making a metal side
door the new entrance. Occasionally a shot would ring out and a body would drop in the parking lot.

“Must be running out of food,” Snake said, approaching Jack. “They’re coming more frequently and
I’m seeing a lot more of them in the streets. Glad we’re well-armed now.”

“Once we get this finished, I suggest we pull the snipers,” Jack replied. “If this thing
lasts as long as I think it might, we may need to go easy on our ammo.”

“I’m with you, Dude,” Snake answered, “no reason to keep shooting if we’re all closed up.”

Jack looked at the parking lot for a moment in contemplation. “Maybe this is a stupid idea,
but how hard would it be to wall in the parking lot?”

Snake thought about it for a moment. The hospital walls already covered two sides, so it
would only take two walls, though it was a large area.

“Moose, come here for a minute!” he yelled to the big biker that was doing most of the masonry work.
When Moose had first joined Snake’s posse, his name had been Tom. Since Moose’s tall stature and thick build
coupled with his blond hair reminded Snake of Moose Mason in the old Archie comics, he was immediately given the
moniker. When Snake had learned that the man worked as a mason, he had found it even more fitting.

Moose scraped the mortar off his trowel and walked over.

“Yeah, Boss?”

Snake asked him the question Jack had posed.

Moose paced off the parking lot and came back to scribble some notes down. He had a little
trouble with the math, which was not his strong point, so Snake helped. After
some discussion, Snake nodded and turned back to Jack.

“We can do it. We’ll need a whole lot more supplies but it sounds like the place they got the
block and mortar from had plenty more. Moose thinks he can teach a couple of
the guys to help lay the block and the others can help mixing the mortar and
carrying the block around. We’ll also need some of them to keep the dead back.”

“We may not even need it if this gets resolved soon,” Jack said, “but I’d like to have a plan in
case it doesn’t.”

“Just say the word if you want to do it,” Snake said.

~*~

“Wonderful,” Doune said, looking around the lab.

The room had been thrashed, with microscopes laying on the floor in pieces and other
equipment destroyed as well. Someone had made an effort to clean the blood off
the walls and floor, but it was going to need a lot more work.

With the help of Autumn and Lindsey, the room was cleaned and sanitized to Doune’s strict
standards. Lindsey had been a little surprised when the doctor had helped. To
her, he seemed like the type that would think himself above menial labor.

“We’ll need an operating table,” Doune said, running a hand through his hair as he paced the
room. “And restraints, as well as surgical tools. If the two of you can find a
table, I’ll go up and get the tools I’ll need.”

Without waiting for an answer, he made his way to the top floor, where he had a small office he
used when he was at the hospital. He opened his notebook on his desk and began
to gather the tools he’d listed, checking each one off as he did so. The last
thing he grabbed was his laptop before closing his door again.

“Doctor, can you check on one of your patients?” a nurse named Amelia asked him before he had
the chance to leave.

Sighing, Nick took a few minutes with the man before ordering a change in medications.

“What happened in this meeting?” Amelia asked, having opted to stay with the patients.

Doune gave her a quick summary, anxious to get back to his research.

“Don’t you forget about your patients,” she said sternly. “I know how you get with your research.”

“Amelia,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“And don’t you roll your eyes at me, Mr. Brain Surgeon. If you don’t come back to check on
them in a few hours, I will come down and get you. You know I will.”

“Dr. Brain Surgeon,” he said. Amelia was the best surgical nurse that Doune had ever
worked with, so he tolerated behavior from her that he wouldn’t accept from
others. He had a hard time keeping nurses since he tended to offend them on a daily basis.

“I’ll be back. I promise,” he said. With the help of one of the CNAs, he gathered up the rest of
the items he needed and took it all down to his new lab.

~*~

“Wait!” Eric yelled.

Cheri stopped and looked back at Eric. Her face carried an expression of total hopelessness
and Eric felt a rare spark of compassion well from deep within him. He could
see just a bit of the truck as the dust settled far down the road. He looked at
the children, their faces flush with fear, and he decided that he was tired of being a coward.

Cramming himself into his recently compacted police car, he headed down the road and stopped a few
yards short of the truck. He got out and cautiously surveyed the scene, one
hand reaching to check for his pistol stuck snugly in his belt. The vehicle had
caught the drainage channel on the side of the road and had rolled several
times before settling on its roof in the ditch.

Eric pulled the pistol from his belt and raised it cautiously in front of him, knowing that
Miguel could well have become like the others. He made his way carefully down
the small hill to the truck. Stooping over, he peered through the shattered
glass. The broken glass was covered in blood, but there was no sign of Miguel.

Standing upright, Eric breathed a sigh of relief until he heard the guttural moan and
felt the hot breath on the back of his neck.

~*^*~

“Perfect,” Doune said, when he saw the operating table and the straps. He looked at Lindsey and
said, “Why don’t you lay down and we’ll try out the straps, just to make sure they’ll work.”

Lindsey shuttered to think what would happen if she complied. Sure, Autumn was there,
but Lindsey was beginning to wonder about her, too. She imagined herself with
her chest cut open and Autumn gleefully commenting, “Look! I can see her heart beating!”

“Not a chance,” Lindsey said, abruptly declining the Doctor’s request.

Dr. Doune put the restraints in place so that they’d be ready when the time came. He turned
to look at Autumn and said, “Assuming you’re old enough to read and write and
can do it legibly, can you add a few things to my list?”

He pulled out the notebook he always carried and handed it to her.

“I can write pretty good, but the spelling may not be perfect. If you want perfect, you can hire a secretary.”

Doune mentioned several additional items that were needed from other areas of the hospital and Autumn wrote them down.

“With the resources that are available, most of my research will just be observational,
unfortunately,” he commented. “Perhaps at some point it will be possible to
bring back some equipment from my private lab, but until then I’ll be spending
a lot of time watching the infected and studying their behavior.”

“How far away is your lab?” Lindsey asked.

“A couple miles from here,” he replied, “on the outskirts of the city.”

When Autumn was done, she put the list down and looked at Dr. Doune.

“My mom and dad died in a car wreck a few years ago. Do you think they’re zombies now? If they
are, maybe we could figure out how to cure them.”

“Do you have any idea what they’d look like by now?” Dr. Doune asked her. “Believe me, you
wouldn’t want them tucking you into bed at night.”

“Zombie parents wouldn’t scare me,” Autumn said expressionlessly. “You should have seen some of
my foster parents.”

She got a rare grin from Nick for that one. Just as he’d thought before, the child had potential.

“Well, sorry to disappoint you in that case,” he said, “but I think if there is a cure, it’ll
be more of a vaccine. I doubt that it will ever be possible to reverse the
damage that’s already been done. It doesn’t usually work that way.”