Patient Zero

Chapter 5

I sat up, incredibly confused but thankful to be free. I got off the bed, and fell, my legs feeling wobbly and unstable.

I pushed up with my arms, but they too felt like jelly.

And then it occured to me.

I hadn't walked or used my arms in months.

Eventually, I got up. I was shaking and sweating from the effort.

I felt a sticky substance on my body.

Looking down, I realized for the first time that I was wearing a hospital gown, and I also noticed that whatever part of my body had touched the floor was now drenched in blood and black goo.

I felt sick.

Holding the wall for support, I walked slowly over the splintered door, wincing as the sharp splinters poked into my skin.

I tried to ignore them, and walked into the hall, where pools of blood and black ooze stained my feet, making me leave footprints. It was sticky and thick, and the most disturbing part is it was somewhat warm.

I paused a moment, taking a deep breath. I looked around the hallway, the flickering lights, the whitewash walls with various liquids dripping down them, the bodies strewn about the floor, and all I could think was, "Why can't I wake up from this dream?"

I closed my eyes and pinched myself, hoping to wake up over at Byron's house and for everything to be normal again.

I opened my eyes. The only thing that was different about the grisly scene was the little boy walking toward me.

With a severed hand in his mouth.

As he walked by me, he looked up at me, his inhuman eyes oddly hopeful. I guess even zombie children can look cute.

There's a disturbing thought.

I kept walking. This wasn't a dream.

I looked into rooms as I passed by them. Most of the doors were closed and locked, so I looked in the windows. Some of the sights astounded me.

In one room, I saw about six zombies trapped, clawing at the door. The door wasn't budging, but from experience I knew that would change.

In another, I saw a family. A man, his wife, and their two sons. The sons were little, and quivering next to their mother. The father saw me, and our eyes met. His were full of fear, and he hugged his family close.

I moved on, not wanting to draw any attention to them.

The final room I saw, the door was wide open. I walked in, and saw bodies.

They weren't just strewn about like the other ones I'd seen so far.

They were stacked.

Stacked against the wall, one on top of the other.

Also unlike the others, these hadn't been eaten away as much.

These were the bodies of the zombies that had been killed so far,  I assumed. Upon closer inspection,  I saw the telltale red irises and black whites of the eyes. The eyes were cloudier the zombies I'd seen before. Probably because they were dead for good now.

At least I hoped they were.

I left that room, feeling even more nautious than I had before. I kept walking, and eventually I was in another part of the hospital. Looking at the sign and trying to read through the gore splattered across it, I gave up and wiped away what wasn't dried on so much it wouldn't come off.

MATERNITY WARD

Oh God.

I hesitantly walked down the hallway, too paralyzed with fearr to look in any of the windows until I heard a scream.

The room it came from was down the hall, so I ran toward it. The door was locked, so I peeked through the window. The people inside didn't seem to notice me, probably because they were all looking at the patient.

The woman had a bite mark with the skin around it quickly graying. She was restrained like I had been, except for her legs. She was screaming at the top of her lungs.

I could see the zombie that bit her, he was lying decapitated on the floor near the bed.

Her screams got louder, if that was possible, and the doctor pulled away with a gray baby.

I thought that meant it was a stillborn, but it opened its eyes, and they weren't human. He started gumming the doctor. I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry, I decided to just keep walking. All there was to greet me was more bodies.

I thought I was going to throw up, so I went into the closest bathroom. I heaved over the toilet, but nothing came up. After about 20 minutes of dry heaving, my body figured out nothing was coming up and stopped.

As I was preparing myself to leave, I glanced over at the mirror.

I had the telltale red and black eyes, the gray skin, and I was covered in gore.

I was a monster, just like the rest of them.