A woman's handbook to apocalyptic survival

Betty-Sue

When Betty-Sue woke up, it was just like like any other morning, lying next to her husband as the sun peeked in through the window. Her long red hair flowed down off her back and over her shoulder.

"Morning, sweetheart," Her husband rested his hand on her back, rubbing her shoulder blade with his thumb.

"Good morning, sweetums," She reached back and gave his hand a squeeze. After 3 years of marriage, they were still as in love as they were on those first few dates. "I have to get up and go to work," She said standing up. 

"Can't you stay for a little bit? The sheets are still warm," He persuaded.

"I'd love to, Jamie, but you have to take care of Alex," She reminded. As if on cue, in a separate room Alex started crying.

"Coming, Alex," Jamie said. He stepped out of the warm comfort of the sheets and left to take care of Alex. Betty-Sue smiled at him as he left. He really was the perfect husband. Not very many men would put up with being a stay at home dad while his wife went to work as a doctor. 

Betty-Sue slipped into her dress and walked out to the stairs where she converged with Jamie. He had Alex cradled on his arm, who was dressed in a onesie covered in little tractors. They shared a kiss and walked down the stairs together. While Betty-Sue was fixing breakfast for herself and Jamie was strapping Alex into his booster seat. 

"Betty, I'm gonna make a pot roast for dinner, so call me before you leave work okay?" Jamie said. 

"Alright, honey," She had quickly eaten her breakfast and grabbed her briefcase. "I'll see you tonight, Jamie," She kissed him and then leaned down and spent a moment cooing over Alex. "Bye baby, have a nice day with daddy," Then she dashed out the door. The house was surrounded by a neat white picket fence and in the driveway, there was a blue Muntz(that's a car). Betty-Sue was very proud of that car. She had picked it out herself when she and her husband had first gotten married. 

Betty unlocked the car but before she stepped into the car something caught. She saw a face peeking out of a window. It was her neighbor, Ah Cy LI. Even though they lived less than a hundred feet away from each other, they never talked. Betty-Sue waved and smiled. Ah Cy di not return the gesture. She turned away from the window and Betty saw a shadow under her jaw. Betty looked after her with pity. Her husband was an angry man that hated the world and took it out on his wife. Betty had tried to talk to her about getting help, but she didn't want help. Sadly, there was nothing she could do.

Betty and her husband lived in a white, picket fence community, and the street she pulled out onto was lined with perfectly trimmed lawns. It was only 5:00 o'clock and very few people were out and about. No cars passed her as she drove down the street. When she arrived in the city it was a little more lively. People were hurrying down the streets on errands and a few cars lazily drove past. The hospital was about twenty minutes away from Betty-Sue's house and she soon pulled up in front of the big grey building. The parking lot was already full of parked cars. She parked in her designated parking space and walked into the hospital. She shared a greeting with the receptionist and met up with the night to staff to pick up her case files. 

The first case was a druggy with an odd skin rash. She approached the room where a cop was standing at the door.

"Good morning Doctor," He said politely. 

"Good morning officer. Are you the arresting officer?" Betty-Sue asked.

"Yes, Mam. I picked him up at 1:30 last night. He was a causing a disturbance at a local bar, attacking the patrons," He replied.

"Looks like it took quite a lot of sedatives to settle him down," Betty noted looking at his chart. "Maybe he'll have calmed down a bit by now,"

"I hope so, mam, it took four officers to restrain him," The officer informed her. "I'd better accompany in the patient's room,"

"Alright officer," She replied. She took out a keychain from her lab coat and unlocked the door. A man in his mid-twenties was strapped down to the table with leather restraints. She took one step in and was overwhelmed with the smell of rotting flesh. She covered her nose with her hand and in the doorway, the officer was looking sick. "Did he smell like this when you brought him in," Betty asked. 

"No, Mam. I would have noticed," The officer said earnestly. 

'Well, I guess he has more than just a rash,' Betty-Sue thought to herself. 

She collected a couple of masks for her and the officer before returning to the room. She approached the man slowly, the officer hanging back behind her. She carefully pulled back the sheet covering him and frowned. His skin was grey and slimy and smell like a meat locker that had lost power for a week. She snapped on a pair of rubber gloves and touched his skin. It was very slimy. While she was examining it, the man's eyes snapped open. 

"AHHHHHH!!" He yelled at Betty-Sue and she jumped back in surprise. He continued to yell at her and strained against the restraints. 

"Sir calm down, it's alright. Are you in pain," He didn't answer, only continued to scream at her. As he yelled, a tooth flew out of his mouth and landed on the ground in front of her. 

"Good God!" The officer exclaimed. The man was shaking violently and pushing against the straps. 

"I need 10mls of Benztropine!" Betty shouted out the door. Before anyone could arrive with the sedatives, there was snap as one of the straps snapped. A moment later, the rest of the straps broke. He was up in a moment and rushing at Betty. She turned, frozen in place as he lept at her.

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Remember, all credit for the idea goes to the tumblr post. Don't know where it orginated but here's a link to the pin https://www.pinterest.com/pin/592997475913028984/ . I'd advise going to check it out. Please vote and review if you want me to write another chapter.