Watcher in the Darkness, Book 3: Imprisoned

Chapter 37, Part 1

I never would've guessed that people sneaking into a quarantine zone would be an actual problem. The presence of the National Guard at the county hospital proved me wrong. Armed soldiers covered almost every exit, including the roof. I guess freaks and idiots are everywhere.

On the other hand, I was there to sneak into a quarantine zone.

The black scrubs Karen had given me didn't reach my ankles. They were tight through my hips and shoulders, and showed my stomach every time I reached above my head. Being far less curvy than her mother, Karen swam in the floral scrubs she'd chosen for herself. Well, it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

For once, the fog came in handy as we crouched outside the kitchen's back entrance. We said nothing, both of us on edge as we waited for the door to open. At last, a tall, thin man covered in gang tattoos and piercings backed into the alleyway. Nodding in time to the music that blared through his earbuds, he propped open the door with a milk crate. He sang under his breath as he hoisted several bags of trash into a garbage trolley. He didn't notice us lurking behind the dumpster, or that we slipped inside the second his back was turned.

I've never enjoyed the smell of hospitals. Hospital kitchens are a hundred times worse. The steam from the stock pots thickened the stench of disinfectant and overcooked vegetables. Our heads down, we walked as fast as we could without drawing attention to ourselves. Karen led me past the shelves of canned goods and the stainless steel prep line. A middle-aged, heavyset black woman in pink scrubs gave us the hairy eyeball as we approached. Her hand on her hip, she opened her mouth to say something, but we were already through the swinging doors.

Karen turned left, then we walked by several offices, labs, and the gift shop. Every door was closed, their windows darkened. The woman behind the desk in the main reception area didn't so much as glance at us. No one said a word as Karen pressed the button to summon the elevator.

I have no idea how human beings came to be the dominant species on this planet. They're all so unobservant, they should've been eaten by sabretooth tigers.

"Did you notice?" Karen said as we waited.

"Yeah." A sign on the front desk had said that the third and fourth floors were practicing 'extreme isolation precautions.'

"That's where they've set up the quarantine," she said. "That's where we're going."

The doors opened to an empty elevator car and Karen let out a breath, sharing my relief. We climbed inside, then Karen pressed the button for the third floor. A few seconds later, the doors opened to absolute chaos.

Karen and I looked at each other. It appeared as though every doctor, nurse, orderly, and public health official in the tristate area was on deck for this crisis. I took a deep breath, bracing myself, then we plunged into the madness. Karen turned left again, then waved for me to follow.

No one noticed us duck into a room labeled UTILITY. Karen shut the door behind us, then snatched a pair of scrubs off the shelf. "Here, put these on," she said as she tossed them to me. She turned her back to give me some privacy. "They'll fit better, and they're unisex."

"What do you want me to do with these?" I said, holding up her mother's scrubs. It felt wrong leaving them there. It wasn't as though Karen's mother could afford to replace her work clothes.

Karen shrugged as she pulled out better-fitting scrubs for herself. "Just leave them. I'll figure out how to get them back to Mom later."

She wouldn't and we both knew it, but it couldn't be helped. When we'd finished changing, Karen reached up to tie a surgical mask around my face. Even though she seemed to know what she was doing, I couldn't help but ask, "Okay, so what's the plan here?"