Bang. Bang.
Two shots fired, followed by a volley of shots that sounded like a Gatling gun. I watched as the bullets found their mark. Blackened Green goo splashed on my legs. I bit my tongue, trying not to scream as I felt the chemical reaction of their blood on my feet and legs. I whimpered.
“Almost there. Stay awake.” Scott caught his second wind. I watched the smaller brutes, five and six, collapse. The winner of the beast brawl leaped at us. Its white eyes focused on nothing but us. I couldn’t do anything but watch as it got closer. Scott twisted. A steel door slammed behind us. A loud thud followed, and I heard snarling.
My eyes took time to adjust from the brightness of the outside. I heard Scott gasping as he took a moment to catch his breath. “I need Ipsty-4 for her burns,” Scott stated. “Ward 4. She’s malnourished.” Someone cut the bindings, and I felt Scott gently lay me on a moving bed as they walked towards their destination.
I couldn’t let go. I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t know these people. I knew Scott. He smiled. “It’s okay. You’re safe here. I’m following behind. I need to give my debrief to the docs, so they can fix you up.” I furrowed my brow but nodded. “You can sleep now if you want.”
I felt a reprieve from the pain as someone poured a cooling salve on my legs and feet as the bed moved into a sterile-looking room. The white walls gave me a headache. Someone wrapped my legs and feet, and I felt another IV inserted into my other arm. People spoke around me, but my eyes searched for Scott. I tried to sit up, but two people pushed my shoulders back to the bed.
“Hunny, I need you to stay still.” A woman wearing a light blue mask spoke near my right side. “The IV has meds, water, and some nutrients. Can you tell me your name?” She asked. Her forest green eyes reminded me of my father; I felt I could trust her.
I tried to speak, but only air escaped my lips. I felt a tear fall and shook my head.
She touched my arm; I flinched. “Sorry. I know this is scary. Can I ask you some questions while we wait for the doctor? If not, that’s okay. Rest if you need it.” As she spoke, my eyes felt heavy. I tried to nod, but then I closed my eyes.
When I opened my eyes, Scott entered with a trolley. “Good Morning Sunshine.” His lips formed a smile. Loose scrubs hid his athletic body. He looked rested. I wondered how long I slept.
I grimaced. I was not a morning person.
“No. Okay. How about a name?” He tried.
I opened my mouth, but only air came out. Tears prickled.
He rushed to my side. “It’s okay little one; we can play a game instead. You have been asleep for a little while now so your body could heal, and let’s see if you can move your fingers.”
They felt like lead sausages, but they moved.
“Perfect. It probably feels weird. Your muscles need some time. The doc will soon explain some exercises we need to do to strengthen your body. We will also try some light treatments to hopefully help repair your leg and ankle muscles. Did you want to try some food?”
At the sound of food, I raised my eyebrows. Scott pushed a button raising the bed slightly at an angle, placing me in a seated position. My back hurt from the change, but it dulled after a moment. “Too far?” He checked.
I shook my head.
“You have to be on a bit of a bland diet for a bit, so I’m sorry to say your meal isn’t too exciting.”
I rolled my eyes. Anything would be better than vending machine foods, trail mix, and granola bars.
Scott smiled. “Shall we start with some mashed potatoes?”
I nodded. The burst of flavor made me moan, and I couldn’t help it. Before all this, potatoes are my favorite food group. I watched Scott’s eyes grow wide before recovering, accentuated by clearing his throat. I cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Not many people appreciate my recipe. I put vitamins and pea protein powder in it, but it’s fantastic for your body.” He explained, but something told me he reacted to something else. I smirked.
“How’s our patient doing, Nurse Curcuma?” An older woman with long gray hair came in with a broad smile, and she placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder.
“Hi, Dr. Frost. She’s doing great. Some mobility in her fingers.” Scott replied for her. He gave her my stats, and the doctor nodded.
“Well, I would hate to keep calling her Patient 44. Any chance of a name?”
He shook his head. “Maybe tomorrow after the first laser treatment, she’ll be strong enough to write.”
The stern doctor smiled at me, finally speaking to me and not Scott. Scott spooned some more mashed potatoes in my mouth as she told me about the various exercises. She didn’t linger long. She checked my vitals, spoke with Scott about therapy options, then left to see her next patient.
“We are at Fort Orden. It’s actually an old fallout shelter. There are about two hundred people here, mostly military. We looked for survivors like you all week, but you are the only one from the city so far. We found a few from rural areas in tornado shelters, but the cities were pretty much picked clean. We were so surprised when we found your heat signature with the satellites.”
I wanted to say so much. I wanted to know how long I slept, and I wondered how many other places like this existed.
A deafening explosion ripped me from my thoughts. The whole building shook.
Scott shot up and out. I watched the door looking for clues. All I noticed, a red light started to flash. When Scott returned, his face was blank. He shut the door and dropped a radio on the rolling cart. “Sorry about that. They are all over it, but we are in damage control mode just in case. We are hunkering down here for a bit.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
He sighed. “I can’t give you more info, but let’s start some exercises in case we need to move.”
The room shook so hard I felt it in my teeth. I didn’t feel good about this, especially when the base went silent after an hour. Another nurse came in with sunglasses and a weighted blanket. When she looked at me, I remembered the green-eyed nurse from before.
“Hi. I’m Nurse Jackson. We are going to start some laser therapy on your legs. I need you to put these glasses on to protect your eyes.” Scott shook his head, took them from the other nurse, and put it on her face. She made an ‘o’ face and wordlessly apologized. She must be new, I assumed from her chipper voice. Her eyes didn’t look worn. Unlike Scott and I, she stood with her back to the door. We kept our eyes on the only exit.
I enjoyed hearing about the base while they gave me my regimen. Nurse Jackson worked at a nearby hospital. She told me she was on an emergency transport when beasts arrived, killing her city. The news talked about how the virus spread quickly. At the time, there was no known treatment or cure. They needed to fly the patient, a high-profile military officer, to a different military hospital. The plane diverted here when the creatures showed up at the hospital. My assumptions proved correct when Nurse Jackson admitted being a nurse for two years and did cleanup work like cleaning bedpans. Scott, a military medic, spent most of his time handling medevac and triage in war zones.
That night, I awoke to hear a fight on the other side of the wall of my room. The modicum of safety I started to feel slipped away, yet again.
“She’s infected.” I heard a loud, deep voice, and I heard more tussling.
“Her medical status is not your concern, but I can assure you if there were additional symptoms, she would not be here. She was up all day yesterday, and no changes.” Scott said.
“They always change. You have no right to endanger the rest of us on a whim.” The same deep voice bellowed.
“She seemed very lucid, Mark.” It was Nurse Jackson’s voice.
“What do you know? You weren’t out there.” Mark must be the voice I didn’t recognize.
“You were out there for three days, Mark. She was out there for at least a month. I saw her scars from the poison spittle all over her body, some of which have healed. I have run tests on her blood, and there’s a high tolerance for the poison.” I recognized the voice belonging to the gray-haired doctor from earlier.
“What are you doing in there, Doctor?” Mark’s voice went up an octave. “You better not be making more of those creatures.”
I heard a slap. “How dare you.” The doctor opened my door and locked it. Dr. Frost’s tears ran down her face. “Sorry.” She cleared her windpipe.
There were sounds of scuffling again and pounding on the door. The doctor flinched at the sound.
“If you don’t leave this area, I will escort you to the brig.” Scott’s dominating voice vibrated behind the closed door.
“No need for guns. I’ll go.” Mark’s voice trailed away.
I’m not sure if she tried to distract herself or me, but she gave me a small smile. “How are you feeling?”
I shrugged. My legs, ankles, and feet felt numb, and I didn’t feel it when they changed my dressings. Dr. Frost took my vitals as if she was in zombie mode.
“Mark is just scared. He’s a civilian, and people can sometimes get that way when they don’t understand. He needs to cool down. Scott will keep an eye on him for us until I can speak to the base commander about the incident. I want you to do two more laser treatments.” She gave me a shot in the IV. “You are a tough cookie. Just keep fighting this, and I’ll look for other therapies we can try.”
I nodded. But my eyes stayed on the door.
I got a week of peace before my second treatment. Nurse Jackson, Scott, and Dr. Frost rotated shifts checking on me, feeding me, and part of me felt they were standing guard. I never saw Mark. Nurse Jackson brought in the cart with the laser. She laid the sunglasses over my eyes. I smiled, knowing the nurse would spill. She didn’t disappoint. Nurse Jackson told me how Mark ended up being arrested and thrown in the brig for the base’s protection while undressing my legs. She heard he tried to steal a helicopter. She snorted.
“I guess the idiot thought if he could get to the pilot seat, he would be able to intuit the controls.” She giggled, shaking her head as she unwrapped the bottom layer. The smell wafted by, causing me to puke. Her eyes went wide as we both watched the yellow custard-like pus drain from my wounds. “Umm. Let me go get Dr. Frost.” She covered it back up without changing the dressings and left everything.
Scott entered walking with intention. He gave me a small smile, but I saw his nose widen as he tried to ignore the elephant in the room. “Let’s get you cleaned up a bit, okay?”
He wiped the vomit. I was thankful most of my breakfast went on the blanket covering my body and shoulders. He found a new blanket in a cupboard. I watched him steady himself before lifting the bandage just as Dr. Frost walked in, followed by Nurse Jackson. Dr. Frost sucked in air. “Fuck.” The foul word escaped her lips. “Tell no one else. Got it?” The nurses nodded somberly.
The rancid smell enveloped the small room. Dr. Frost turned on the ventilator, which helped then immediately left. Scott gave me new medicine via IV.
“This may hurt. We need to remove the infection. Take deep breaths. I gave you some drugs to knock you out just in case.” I watched him as he pantomimed breathe in. Both nurses put on thick gloves as he spoke next. He counted to three before the room started to disappear, but not before I saw Scott scoop out a handful of wobbling custard.