Lakewood Memorial (7 page)

Angie opened her mouth to react, then noise
came from the ambulance. Max and Pete crawled out of the open back
doors. Wet cords dangled from Max's open throat, bouncing limply
against his gore-soaked chest as he staggered. Pete groaned. The
flap of skin that had been Pete's face flapped slowly with each
step he took. Thick dark blood ran down his neck and shoulders.

Angie bit her lip. “Is that happening?”

“
Yeah,” said
Freeda.

“
Shit,” said
Angie.

“
We need to go,” said
Park. Moaning grew from the waiting room.

Angie nodded. “There's two other side exits.
Follow me.”

They ran.

Angie led them down the hall to the nurse's
station at the center of the hospital. It consisted of a long desk
with two computers and three chairs, abandoned and empty.

Park entered last, helping Moe along with
him. “Which way?” he said.

“
One second,” said Angie.
She moved to the door they had just come through. It was solid
glass with locks at the top and bottom. She closed the door and
locked it.

“
These doors are
reinforced glass,” she said. “This way they can't follow us or get
to the patient rooms.”

“
I'm so glad I know that,”
said Park, adjusting Moe's weight on his arm. “Which fucking
way?”

Angie turned, taking in the three other
hallways that went off from the nurse's station. She chose one.

“
Here,” she said, pushing
past Freeda and heading down the hall. The others
followed.

They rushed past several patient rooms.
Patients sat up in their beds, looking confused and worried.

“
Is something wrong?” said
one, an older woman with several IVs.

“
Everything's fine,”
yelled Angie as she ran by. “Everyone just stay calm. And whatever
you do, don't open the locked door at the nurse's
station.”

Park snorted. Angie cast a glare back at
him.

“
As soon as we get out of
here,” she said, “we'll call the cops to come rescue the
patients.”

“
Yeah,” said Park. “I'll
get right on that.”

They were halfway to the exit door when a
group of crazies burst in.

“
Shit!” yelled Angie,
stopping.

“
Where the fuck are they
all coming from?” said Park.

Screams came from all directions. From the
patient rooms. Crashing glass echoed through the hallway.

“
The windows!” said
Freeda.

“
Oh god, no!” yelled
Angie.

“
We gotta move,” yelled
Park, already rushing Moe back the way they had come.

“
We have to save the
patients!” said Angie.

“
There's too many of those
crazies,” said Freeda. “We have to run!”

Angie looked at Freeda. Behind Freeda, Park
was fighting off a crazy. Blood ran from the crazy into the patient
room it had come from. Patients were screaming. Crazies were coming
up the hall from behind.

Angie swallowed. “Shit. Let's go.”

She and Freeda ran up the hall. Angie
stopped halfway to Park and stared into a patient room. The older
lady with multiple IVs was splayed across her bed, head facing the
door. Her head hung back over the edge of the mattress, empty eyes
staring at Angie. A toddler was atop her. He had the woman's gown
lifted up and was chewing on one of her breasts. He tore free a
hunk of skin, fat and blood. He chewed and looked at Angie.

“
Angie!” came Freeda's
voice from up the hall.

Angie turned to look. Freeda was struggling
to pull a crazy from Park. The crazy was snapping its teeth inches
away from Park's cheek. A second crazy was coming up behind
Moe.

Angie ran to help. She reached Moe first and
pulled him away from the crazy's reach. Moe was covered in
sweat.

Moe blinked slowly, looking very
confused.

“
Sir?” said Angie, feeling
his head. It was very hot. “Are you alright?”

“
Shit!” yelled Park. Angie
turned to look. The crazy, a bodybuilder with huge muscles and a
hole where his nose had been, was close to biting into Park's neck.
Freeda was holding the bodybuilder back, pulling on his arm so hard
she was leaning backward. It didn't look like she could hold him
much longer.

Angie grabbed Park and pulled the other
way.

“
Goddamit, this fucker's
strong!” said Park.

And he was. The crazy inched closer. Soon
his teeth would find skin.

“
For fuck's sake,” came
Moe's thick, slightly slurred voice. Moe reached down and grabbed
one of the crazy's legs. He pulled and the crazy toppled over,
letting go of Park.

They all looked at the crazy for a second,
watching it writhe and groan. It was struggling to get up.

“
Why didn't we think of
that?” said Freeda.

Groans came from all around. The screams of
the patients were fading.

“
We gotta get,” said
Park.

“
Yeah,” said Angie. “Come
on.”

They ran back toward the
nurse's station, Angie willing herself not to look in the patient
rooms.
We'll call the
cops
, she told herself.
We'll call the cops and they'll rescue the rest
of the patients
.

They reached the nurse's station. Angie
turned and shut the glass door to block the way they had come.

“
Those nut jobs can come
right through glass!” said Park.

“
I told you,” said Angie
as she locked the top and bottom of the door. “These are reinforced
glass. They're stronger than the windows.”

Moe threw up on the floor.

“
Fuck!” yelled
Park.

“
I'm okay,” said Moe,
swaying and wiping his mouth.

“
Fuck you are,” said
Park.

“
Come on,” said Angie.
“This way.”

Angie leading the way, they rushed down
another hallway. Heading for another exit door at the end of it.
Patients looked at them as they passed.

“
If anyone has a phone,”
yelled Angie, “call the cops! Stay in your rooms and don't open the
nurse's station...”

Crazies burst in the door at the end of the
hall.

Angie skidded to a halt. “No!”

Glass crashed all up and down the hallway.
Patients shrieked.

“
No!” Angie
screamed.

“
They're surrounding the
hospital!” yelled Freeda.

“
Everyone out of your
rooms!” yelled Angie. But she knew from the screams it was too
late.

She looked back toward the nurse's station.
Park was pulling Moe that way as fast as he could. Freeda was
staring at Angie.

“
Come on!” said Freeda.
“We have to go!”

“
The patients...” Angie
started, weakly.

“
It's too late,” said
Freeda.

Then a little boy burst from a patient room.
He shrieked and sobbed but looked unhurt. He nearly collided with
Angie.

“
Whoa, hey,” said Angie,
trying to sound soothing despite the chaos around. She put a hand
on the boy's shoulder and looked at him. She did her best to ignore
the approaching crazies behind him. “Are you okay?”

“
My mom!” yelled the boy.
“They're eating!”

“
Who...” Angie started,
then Freeda screamed behind her.

Angie let go of the boy and turned. A crazy
had snuck up behind Freeda. He looked like a truck driver, complete
with mutton chops. One of his eyes dangled from its optic nerve,
bouncing off his cheek as he struggled with Freeda.

“
Freeda!” yelled Angie,
moving to help. Then the little boy screamed. Angie turned to see a
woman wearing a hospital gown closing her hands around the boy's
head.

“
Mom, no!” yelled the
boy.

“
Oh god!” yelled Angie,
reaching for the boy. Freeda screamed and Angie turned back. The
trucker's teeth had almost found skin.

Angie looked at the boy, then back at
Freeda.

Back at the boy.

Then she ran to help Freeda. Her chest was
tight as she grabbed the trucker's hand and bent his middle finger
back. She pulled until the finger let out a harsh 'pop' and gave no
more resistance. The trucker didn't respond.

Angie and Freeda struggled
with the trucker. Somewhere behind them, the boy was
shrieking.
Oh god, oh Jesus, I'm
sorry
, Angie thought. She grabbed another
of the trucker's fingers and broke it backward. The trucker's face
showed no reaction, but his grip was now loose enough for Freeda to
wriggle free.

“
You okay?” said Angie,
still holding the trucker's hand.

“
Yep,” said Freeda,
putting a foot on the trucker's side and shoving. The trucker
toppled over and Angie let go.

Angie turned. The boy was gone.

“
The boy...” she
started.

“
We have to go,” said
Freeda, putting a hand on her shoulder from behind. The crazies
approaching from the exit door were close now.

Angie swallowed, nodded, and turned to run
back up the hall. Freeda followed.

Further up the hall, Park and Moe stood with
a man who looked familiar. Park was yelling something. Angie
blinked and recognized the man. Sam Shuab.

Angie and Freeda reached the arguing
men.

“
Listen, shithead,” Park
was saying. “I don't give a shit about you or how the fuck you're
getting out of here. Now let me and my friend pass!”

Sam noticed Angie. “You! How the fuck do we
get out of here?”

Park took advantage of Sam's distraction and
pushed past him, pulling Moe with him.

“
Sir,” Angie started, “We
gotta...”

“
Thanks for all the help,
kitten shit!” came Mr. Paulson's voice from Angie's side. She
looked and saw him sitting in a wheelchair pushed by Kristen. Mr.
Paulson's oxygen tank was strapped to the back of the wheelchair.
Behind them, Mr. Paulson's room was in chaos. A crazy was stuck
halfway in the window, impaled on a large piece of broken glass but
still moving. Other crazies were trying to get in the window but
were blocked by the impaled one.

Sam turned to Mr. Paulson. “For shit's sake,
I'm trying to figure out the way out of here.”

“
Anj...” came Freeda's
worried voice from behind Angie. The crazies behind them sounded
very close.

“
Follow me,” said Angie,
pushing past Sam. “I'll explain.”

“
Who the fuck died and
left you in charge?” said Sam.

“
Everyone.”

She didn't look behind her, rushing to the
nurse's station and assuming everyone was following her. She was
right. She waited while everyone filed inside, then locked the
door. She hoped no one could see her hands shaking.

She turned. Park was heading down the one
remaining hall.

“
That way,” said Freeda,
motioning the others down it.

“
Freeda, wait...” Angie
started.

“
What the fuck!” came
Park's voice from the hallway. The others disappeared down
it.

Angie sighed and followed.

The others were standing, staring at the
empty hall. And at the lack of a door at the end.

“
There's no door!” yelled
Park.

“
This hall's on a hill,”
said Angie. “We only use it when the other rooms are
full.”

“
The windows!” yelled
Freeda, racing into one of the empty patient rooms.

“
How the prick am I gonna
get out a window?” yelled Mr. Paulson from his
wheelchair.

Freeda came back out, shaking her head.
“Those people. They're all along the walls down below. They just
can't get to the windows.”

Sam spun around, face deep red, and stomped
to Angie. And balled up his large hand and punched her in the
face.

“
Bitch! You trapped
us!”

“
Hey!” yelled Park,
letting go of Moe and running up. He punched Sam across the jaw.
“The fuck's your problem?”

Sam stepped back, sputtering. “Fuck your
mother's asshole, trailer trash. You know who I am?”

“
I do,” said Park, then
punched him again. “That's for the shitty truck.”

Angie's nose smarted. She felt blood coming.
Freeda ran over to her.

“
Shit, are you
okay?”

Angie started to nod when Moe swayed and
fell over backward.

“
Moe!” yelled Park,
rushing to him.

Muffled screams came from the nurse's
station. Angie wiped her bloody nose and ran to see.

Behind the glass door, the little boy was
lying on the floor.

“
Shit!” said Angie, then
went to unlock the door. She stopped, hand on the lock, when she
saw the crazies behind the boy.

“
Help!” the boy
pleaded.

The boy's mother, eyes empty and cold, fell
on the boy and bit into the back of his head. He shrieked and blood
sprayed onto the glass.

“
Oh god,” came Freeda's
voice behind her.

Angie slid to her knees. The boy grasped
weakly at the glass. Angie put her hand to his, no longer caring if
anyone saw her shake and cry.

Ten