Lakewood Memorial (21 page)

"Fast, too," said Park, reloading his rifle
with the few bullets he had left. He tossed the empty ammo box in
the trash. "Or it'll just be a question of deciding if the fire or
those fucks outside kill us."

Wisps of smoke came under the door.

"Fire..." said Angie, then looked around.
She ran over to the toilet and snatched up the plunger.

Park snorted. "You gonna plunge their brains
out with that?"

"Not quite." She twisted the rubber end off
the plunger, leaving only the wooden handle. She stepped over to
sink and opened the cabinet underneath. She started rooting around
in the cabinet.

"I've been thinking," Park said, checking
the rifle over.

"Yeah?" said Angie, still looking in the
cabinet.

"About why I haven't offed myself yet. You
talking about your kids got me to thinking about my girls. They'd
be about fourteen by now. When we get out of here, I'm gonna find
them. See how they are."

"And how their mother is?"

"Can't say I give a fuck about that. But I
guess I'll have to see one to see the other."

Angie found what she was looking for,
pulling out a white hospital-issue hand towel. She straightened and
wrapped the towel tight around the top of the plunger handle.

"The hell...?" said Park.

Angie took out Park's lighter. She put the
plunger handle under her arm and used both hands to snap the
plastic casing of the lighter open.

"Hey!" said Park.

"I'll buy you another one," she said. She
took the plunger handle from under her arm and poured the lighter
fluid over the towel wrapped around its top. "Now, open the door
and clear me a path."

Park raised his eyebrows and pushed himself
away from the door. "I think I know what you got in mind. You sure
about this?"

"Have to be," she said.

"Okay, then."

Park opened the bathroom door and stepped
back. A corpse was waiting just behind the door. Park leveled his
rifle at the corpse's head and fired. The corpse's head exploded
and it fell to the floor. Angie leapt over the falling corpse and
ran out into the hallway, heading to the left. Toward the fire.

She felt relief that no corpses were waiting
for her. She heard them groan from behind and she heard Park
firing, keeping them at bay. How many bullets did he have left?

The smoke stung her nose and eyes as she ran
closer to the flames. She hoped no corpses had managed to keep
ahead of the fire. She hoped she wouldn't meet a corpse before she
found the outer edge of the flames.

To her relief, she met the fire first.

The heat was overwhelming. She saw still
corpses, their brains cooked from the heat, lying about ten feet in
front of her. Kristen's torn body was among them.

She ignored that as best she could and
shoved the plunger handle, towel-end first, into the fire. The
towel burst into flame. Angie turned and ran back up the hall, her
makeshift torch flashing as she pumped her arms.

Park was aiming for another corpse when she
arrived back at the bathroom door.

"Don't waste the bullet!" she yelled,
swinging the torch at the nearest corpse. The corpse caught fire.
It and the others backed off, back down the hall.

"Well, fuck me!" said Park, lowering the
rifle and wiping his forehead. "I half-expected you to burn to
death."

"Not yet," she said. "We got kids to get to.
Let's move."

* * *

"There it is!" said Maylee, pointing through
the trees. The hospital parking lot was lit up just down the hill
and across the road. The other side of the hill was free of trees,
cleared long ago by road construction. It was a clear run.

Dalton let go of Maylee's hand and started
running down the hill. "Come on!"

Maylee gripped her bat and followed.

Her legs pumped under her as she ran through
the tall grass of the hill. Dalton was just a few feet ahead. The
way was clear. They would be there any minute now and Mom
would...

Dalton cried out and fell to the ground.

Maylee didn't have enough time to stop. She
tripped over Dalton and sprawled out onto the grass in front of
him.

She rolled over and saw Dalton struggling
with a fallen corpse in the grass. It was a man in a ruined
business suit. Bones protruded from his limp legs. He had one good
arm, clutching at Dalton.

Maylee leapt back to her feet and swung
golf-style at the man's head. It snapped to one side and he let go
of Dalton.

Dalton stood and looked at her. "You're
getting scary with that bat."

"Saved your ass," she said, then ran,
motioning for him to follow.

Within minutes they were across the street
and into the parking lot.

* * *

Angie turned the corner first, holding the
torch in front of her. Park stepped out behind her. He had his
rifle at the ready, sweeping right and left, looking. Lights
flickered. The alarm blared. The smoke was getting thicker around
them.

A corpse came for them. Angie slammed her
torch into the corpse's head. The corpse caught fire and fell to
one side, struggling to get away from both Angie and the flame on
its face. A second corpse came for Angie before she could bring the
torch around for another blow. Park fired over her shoulder. The
corpse's head crumpled inward and it fell.

They walked a few more feet unmolested. A
corpse lumbered up to them. A large, muscular man who looked
imposing even dead.

Angie blinked at him. "Ed?"

* * *

Maylee hit the parking lot first and kept
running, heading for the entrance.

"Hey!" said Dalton, turning to run to the
left.

Maylee stopped and cursed. "Dalton! What the
fuck? We're here!"

She looked and saw Dalton running to a
police car. A door was open. The light bar was still flashing. "A
cop, Maylee!" said Dalton, almost to the car. "He can help!"

Maylee sucked in her breath and ran after
him. "Dalton, no!"

Dalton reached the police car first. Maylee
could see a cop, slumped over in his seat. "Officer?" Dalton said
just as Maylee reached him.

The cop looked up and opened his fogged
eyes. He hissed at Dalton and reached for him.

Dalton screamed and jumped back. "He's one
of them!"

"What a surprise," said Maylee, pushing
Dalton back and raising her bat.

The cop leaned forward, still reaching. His
torso separated from his legs and fell forward into the parking
lot. Blood and ropes of intestines fell out after him.

Maylee and Dalton jumped back in disgust.
Maylee whacked him on the head and his jaw slammed into the
pavement. She heard a "crack" and the cop was still.

She turned to Dalton, about to speak, then
stopped. Moans came from behind where Dalton stood. Dalton heard it
and moved to Maylee's side.

"Shit," said Maylee. She leaned into the cop
car, doing her best to ignore the bottom half of the cop, and
turned on the headlights. They flooded over an approaching group of
corpses.

"Oh crap, Maylee, we gotta go," said Dalton,
tugging at her hand.

"Not yet. We can't lead these things to
Mom." Maylee grabbed the keys in the ignition and started the
car.

She straightened back up and pulled her hand
free of Dalton.

"What are you doing?" said Dalton.

"This," said Maylee. She grabbed the cop's
torso and carried it back to the car. She leaned into the front
seat and shoved the torso onto the gas pedal. The engine roared.
She pulled the gearshift into drive and jumped back.

The car lurched forward, ramming into the
approaching corpses. Groaning and crunching came from in front of
and underneath the car.

Maylee turned back to Dalton. "Now we can
go."

* * *

Angie stepped back as the corpse of Ed
lumbered forward. The smoke around them was getting thicker. The
alarm blared. The lights flickered.

"Ed?" said Park. "From the diner?"

Ed groaned and blinked clouded eyes at them.
He had a horrible bite wound on his right forearm. The center of
the wound was black and thick fluid oozed from it.

"Yeah," said Angie.

Park pointed his rifle at him. "Shall
I?"

"I got this one," said Angie. She swung the
torch at Ed. Ed groaned and stepped back, swinging his arms at the
torch. The torch hit Ed on the wounded arm. The fluid from Ed's
wound ran over the flame. The flame sputtered and went out.

"Shit," said Angie.

Ed bit at her, raising a hand to grab.

Park fired. The bullet slammed through Ed's
hand and into his skull. Ed let out a long hiss and fell over.

"Shit," Angie repeated, looking ruefully at
her ruined torch.

"How much further?" Park asked.

Angie squinted through the gathering smoke.
She could make out the edge of the doorway to the emergency
room.

"Just up ahead."

* * *

Maylee ran across the parking lot, heading
for the door.

She skidded to a halt when she saw the large
hole where the ambulance entrance had been.

"Damn," said Dalton, pulling up next to
her.

"There," Maylee said. "I bet that's where
Mom's headed for. Easiest way out. Come on."

Maylee took a step forward just as a cold
hand closed on her arm.

She screamed and spun around to face the
corpse. It was a balding man in a doctor's coat. His intestines
spilled out of his front, going between his legs and trailing
behind him.

"Doctor Gordon?" said Maylee, recognizing
him from the few times she had been with Mom at work.

Doctor Gordon groaned and black blood
spilled from his mouth. He reached for Maylee.

Maylee screamed and slammed the bat against
his head. Dr. Gordon stumbled to the side and fell. Maylee stepped
over and slammed his head again. And again. And again. Dr. Gordon
was still. Maylee kept slamming down on his head.

Maylee screamed as she brought the bat down.
"I am so fucking sick of these fucking things!"

"Maylee..." said Dalton.

Maylee kept slamming down. The bat rang
against the pavement. Dr. Gordon's skull was all but completely
gone.

"Maylee.."

"What?" Maylee hissed at Dalton, turning to
him and panting. Then she looked around. Corpses were coming out of
the hole in the side of the hospital. Toward them.

* * *

Angie and Park crept to the entrance to the
emergency room. They both cast quick glances around the edge.

Corpses filled the room, wandering around
and groaning at nothing. Angie recognized a few patients and a few
aides among them. All dead and all hungry.

Angie and Park pulled back.

"Shit," said Park.

"It's still crammed full of those things,"
said Angie. "How many bullets you got left?"

Park checked, then looked at her.
"Fuck."

"What?" said Angie.

"One."

The lights flickered and went out.

* * *

"Shit," said Maylee, backing away from the
corpses pouring out of the hole. "Let's take the main door after
all."

She and Dalton turned to head that way. More
corpses came from that direction, hissing and moaning.

"Crap!" said Dalton.

"Here," said Maylee, lifting Dalton up on
the hood of the nearest car. "This will buy us some time to think."
She climbed up after him.

Dalton clambered to the roof of the car and
looked around at the corpses. "Think of what?"

Maylee joined him on the roof and looked
around. "I don't know."

The parking lot lights flickered and went
out.

* * *

Angie and Park crouched in the darkened
hallway. The alarm had stopped when the lights went. Angie could
hear groaning and could smell smoke. All was dark.

She fished out Freeda's cell phone and
flipped it open. The pale blue light from the display lit up Park
and the immediate hallway. The display showed her last received
call. Brooke's cell phone.

"How long until the back-up generator kicks
in?" said Park.

"Not long. Less than a minute. But what the
hell do we do when it does?"

Park rubbed his stubble, looked at his
rifle, then back at her. "I got an idea."

* * *

All around Maylee and Dalton was dark. The
moon was gone. Maylee could hear corpses surrounding the car. She
could smell them. They groaned and scraped at the metal of the
car.

Dalton clung to Maylee. "What are we going
to do?"

She blinked away tears. "I don't know."

* * *

"Are you insane?" said Angie.

Park shook his head in the pale blue light
from the cell phone. "Listen, I do two things. Three if you count
jacking off. Cars and guns."

"The ambulance isn't a car, Parker," said
Angie.

"Close enough," said Park.

The lights came back, dimmer than before.
The fire alarm started blaring again.

"And there's the generator," said Park,
grinning and standing. "Come on."

Angie stood. The smoke was thick. The
corpses groaned from the emergency room. They were running out of
time. "We're both going to die, Park. You know that, right?"

"I know no such thing," said Park. "Make
some noise!"

Park ducked around the corner and entered
the emergency room.

Angie sighed and ran in after him.

Corpses groaned and turned to Park. Angie
started screaming and waving her hands.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Fuckers! Over here!"

Some of the corpses groaned and came for
her.

"Hurry!" she yelled and the corpses closed
in around her. She was cornered.

* * *

Park looked around the emergency room as he
entered. Angie started screaming and waving her arms, drawing some
of the corpses away.

He looked at the ambulance. He was facing
the front of it. He could see the crushed head of the dispatcher
under the front wheel. He was looking for something. Which side
would it be on?