Mania of the Zombies Book 44

Chapter Nineteen-Austin, Texas II

Austin, Texas,

8 March, 2014,

11:00 PM.

Chief Avery Westhoof watched the man's body lie on the slab.

"Is he dead?", he asked Big Cloud Sky, the Native American Chief. The Chief shook his head. He watched the man's white colored eyes.

"He's alive",  he answered.

"No, that's impossible".

"He is in the recurrent isolated sleep paralysis state. Or RISP's. Oh, that is a real medical condition. It is a wonder of Mankind".

"And he is not a Zombie?".

"No, it is something we can treat. Zombie behavior is different. If a human gets bitten by the Undead...the flesh is broken. The white cell count is down; the red blood cell count is scattered throughout the bloodstream; the skin dies...There's no cure".

"Is there a name for the Zombie mania?".

"No. The word 'Mania' derives from the Greek 'μανία'. It means 'Madness'. And 'Frenzy'. And 'μαίνομαι'. To vent your rage at someone".

"What can we do?".

"This is a endless cycle of horror. Once you're dead, you die. I had a case in which a boy was killed in the Texas heat...

"...He rose from the dead without any Zombie bites. He suffered from Polycythemia vera. He died from massive blood clots in his left leg".

"So, he was inbetween life and death".

"Death is death. But, in some cases, death is the beginning. You think he'll rise from the dead? We need to take him to the Morgue for an autopsy".

"Sure...Is the paramedics here?".

"Yes! Everyone want to take pictures of the body. The Forensics team are pissing me off. We must take him now".

"Do it! The CSI people are trying to order us around".

"Not here! We take care of our own in the Reservation. But, when something worse happens, the white man comes to help us".

"Don't worry, Chief. We'll take care of Storm Rider".

"His name is Stephen in your World".

"Yes, let's finish up here...We need to go to sleep".

"I agree. My wife is itching to get me to bed". And, as the body was taken into a black colored body bag...and photographed...and taken into the back of the Ambulance...a hot wind blew from the south...and seared the Texas ground...as if the Devil had made his mark on the Native American soil...and angered the other gods in the process.

***

Texas Hospital,

11:33 PM.

The Doctors watched the body of Storm Rider.

"He has Polycythemia vera. They killed him. Some people say that he is a Zombie". Chief Westhoof told Doctor Robert Fleur, MD, Director of Infectious Diseases.

"We'll bag him...and take him to the Isolation Ward. We can't let him contaminate everyone". He rubbed his grey colored beard with his right hand.

"No, of course not. We think the mania has spread to New York...and Louisiana. Parts of Europe have also been affected".

"Yes, the evacuation. Total crap! But what am I to do? Sit around while the US Military do the same to Texans".

"I hope not!". Once the body was taken to the other room, the hot wind blew into  the Hospitals air vents. And, as a consequence, it caused all of the dead bodies to come alive. As the Doctor and Chief left the room...and closed the door behind them, the raving Undead smashed their tomb-like prison inside the Morgue...and rose from the dead...then begun to batter down the glass windows with their rotting, dead, hands.

***

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