Zombie's Amiss

Zombie's Amiss

CHAPTER ONE

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain splattered on the windshield as the wipers desperately tried to keep up. I couldn't see ten feet in front of the car as my headlights flickered. Great start of a great story huh? Well, it didn't happen like this at all. My story begins on a perfect summer day. You know the one. Eighty five degrees, sun shining, the top down on my convertible, wind blowing through my hair. Yeah, that's what I am talking about. Little did I know, it was the last normal day I would ever have.

I was coming off I-75, headed into Corbin, going to work. I had the radio blaring when the news came on. Unusual for this time of day, but I didn't much pay attention to what the radio host was saying until he stated, "Something is amiss in the local hospitals. News reports are stating zombies.... Hey Trish is this a joke? I'm sorry listeners I'm trying to figure out if this in another bath salts case or if this is.... OH MY GOD!!!!! It's real. I'm getting the fuck out of here." The radio went silent. Every station was quiet. And then it all sunk in. I work next to the hospital. I had patients to get to and fast!

I sped my car into the nursing home. Ran inside and looked at the screens. So far it seemed pretty tame around the nurse's station. Reba was playing from the day room, residents gathered around smoking their cigarettes and talking amongst themselves. My heart was pounding. And everything here didn't seem any less ordinary then the day before. No one had any idea what had just transpired over the radio.

I ran up to Jenny Hart, the Director, and told her what I had heard. And yet, she laughed at me. I was appalled. I gathered everyone I could on the nursing staff. They laughed as well. I ran into the day room and asked if I could turn it to the news. The residents said they didn't mind. I turned it on LEX 18 and there was the horrific scene I had imagined as I was driving in my car. Bodies were everywhere. People was screaming and running in every direction. The anchorwoman, Sally Hinkle, was speechless and crying. Out of nowhere one of those things latched onto her. The camera man threw the camera at it, but all it did was hiss and bear his teeth, blood pooling out of his mouth, as Sally lay at his feet. No one came to her rescue. The camera man ran the other direction.

I turned around to face all my CNAs and realized we were in trouble. None of us had any real medical training. We knew how to take care of live people who were in all stages of care, from Alzheimer's to broken bones. We had a few nurses that knew how to heal with open wounds, but how were we going to survive this?

It's a good thing I read Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide. Not sure how much help it was going to be in a nursing home. We had no guns and no real weapons. First thing I began doing, giving orders.

"Jessica, Block that door in the day room. Let's close all the blinds in all the rooms. EVERY ROOM!"

"Hey what is going on here?" Tina came scurrying from her office. Big lady.

"Zombies are on the loose and I am trying to save these people lives. Is that ok with you?"

"Kara, don't get smart with me. And what the fuck do you mean zombies? Do you think I am a fucking idiot?"

"You really don't want me to answer that. And besides don't take my word for it. Look at the television."

Most of the news crew had laid down their cameras and has either been eaten or bitten. The streets of Lexington was littered with bodies and soaked in a river of blood. I flipped through the channels and every channel was showing different towns and the same results.

"Kara!"

I turned around to Sera Thompson, pretty girl no brains. "I shut all the blinds in the resident's rooms. Some of them are really starting to freak out. It's on every channel."

"Just turn off the TVs. That's all I know to do. We have got to block all these doors."

"With what?" Brenda Carr asked, looking around wildly.

"Use the chairs and the empty beds."

"Kara, there are no empty beds."

"Then grab whatever you can find. Come on people we have to keep these residents safe." I really had no idea what to do. I had no one to call to help save the day. My name is Kara Miller and I am only a CNA.

CHAPTER TWO

Hours went by. Most of the tables and chairs had been stacked up in front of the doors leading out to the chain link fence. We left the doors open to the court yard so that at least the residents could go outside and not be out in the open. Unless the zombies could scale a building, I was pretty sure we were fine. We locked and threw couches in front of the main foyer doors. But if they got in from there the double doors were left as they were. They had no locks and swung open both ways. I just prayed nothing made it in from the front doors.

The few cooks we had on this shift took note of how much food we had and how long it would take for us to run out. Same as for the nurses and the resident's medications. We had one month. That was it. Just one solitary month. Again I prayed it was long enough for everything to be over. For us to be safe.

We had back-up generators for if the power went out. But the maintenance man had gone home early that day. Family emergency. None of us knew how long the generator would last. For all we knew we'd only have power for a week.

Most decided to carry on like nothing was wrong. Paperwork began. Nurses went on their rounds of passing meds and doing regular treatments. CNAs made their rounds and some were even cutting up with the residents. Partly to keep them calm, partly to keep from going insane with worry. None of us knew how the outside was.

The phones were down, not like anyone was on the other end to answer or call. Cell phones were a waste. No one had any service. All we had was battery operated radios that the nursing staff kept on hand. Still no weapons of any sort. Sure we had scissors and I guess if we had enough nerve we could stab a zombie in the eye, but I highly doubt any of us were in any state to try that.

I could feel the panic curling up and leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Some of my coworkers must have noticed my deep thought because they gathered around me as I sat on the floor.

Jessica asked, "Kara, are you ok? You're looking paler than normal."

"Honestly, No I'm not. I mean none of us really are. Jess, you have kids. And no way to know what's going on out there. Tina, you have a husband and grandkids at home. I'm going sick as the panic is settling in. And you all act like it's just a normal day."

"What would you have us to do then?" asked Sera. "I mean really? What else do we have left? We all saw how bad it is. We all know what's going on and all we have is each other. So stop thinking this is all about you, you selfish bitch. Get off your ass and do something. All you've done since you came in is give orders and now of all times, now you wanna have a pity party. Well guess what, Kara? No one gives a shit about yourself made pity party. Now you have a hall to take care of."

"Wow, Sera. You actually said something smart."

"Fuck you! Just because I have issues with words at times does not make me stupid you fucking cunt. Have you ever thought that maybe I had more to say if you'd stop acting like such a bitch all the time?"

"Hey, I will not have you all fighting in here in front of these residents. Most of them don't even know what the hell is going on. The least you could do is do your damn jobs and shut up!" Jenny screamed at us.

Sera was right. I run all over these girls. I'm always giving orders so I can slack on what I really should be doing. I finally came to realize, at that very moment how big of a bitch I really had been over the past few months. I had been riding Sera since her first day in orientation. I always thought she was just some stupid girl who didn't know her ass from her head. I had been wrong.

"I'm sorry, Sera. You're right."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are. Come on lets go check on Paul Deacon. His lights been on for the last fifteen minutes."

We walked down the long corridor to Paul's room. I kept apologizing for my behavior and being an inconsiderate jack ass. At least I had her giggling by the time we reached Paul's room.

"Hey Paul. Is everything ok Pap?"

He was holding his call light for dear life. He was shaking all over and all he could do was whisper. "It's not what you think. It's not what you think."

Sera ran out of the room and screamed to the top of her lungs. "Jenny, get up here now. Paul's room"

Jenny came running as fast as should could. On arriving to Paul's door she realized he was going into shock. She ran over to his bed and tried to calm him down. His skin was clammy and cold. He looked like he was only a step from death's door. But Jenny just kept telling him it was alright. He just kept whispering those horrible words. "It's not what you think"

About thirty minutes later Jenny came out of the room. "He's resting. At least you all hollered when you did. That could have been a bad situation we didn't need right now. Sadly enough we still have a lot to figure out. We have two nurses, and five CNAs in this wing. We're gonna have to get some rest. So we need to figure out who's gonna take watch and who's sleeping and who is going to make rounds. Either way, we are all in for a long night."

I spent the rest of the day going through inventory and trying to keep everyone else calm. Yet I was the one who had the melt down. This wasn't who I was supposed to be. I was supposed to be the hero. Wasn't I? That's how I had envisioned the zombie apocalypse. I was supposed to know exactly what to do and how to handle everything as it came. But in the end, I was just like everyone else. Scared. I need a fucking cigarette.

I stepped out in the court yard, the air was chilly. Spring had just arrived only a few short weeks ago. Jenny was already there, puffing on a cigarette and lounging in one of the wicker chairs. Night had fallen, and it really made you wonder if anyone else was doing the same as we were.

"I thought I'd be more scared than this. I mean listen to those things."

I lit up my cigarette and sat in the opposite chair. "It's eerie isn't it? I always imagined what I'd do in a situation like this. I expected more chaos than what really happened. I don't know how any one in my family is doing. And that is what really scares me. The not knowing part."

She blew smoke out of her nose, looked at me, and slightly above a whisper, "That's what scares us all, kiddo."

With that our conversation went dry. She got up, patted my back, and went in. I threw my cigarette down, no longer satisfied and went in.

Sera and Jessica was in the process of making cots for the ones who were to rest for the night. Tara and Jaise, was helping put residents to bed. Tina decided to let Jenny and Jaise rest while she took night watch, along with Tara and myself.

Jaise hadn't been in the facility long. All in all, he seemed to love his job as a nurse. Took pride in calling himself Mr. Nurse. Odd sense of humor, good looking.

Tara and I had taken to being friends quite fast. No sooner than I trained her, she was coming to my house and hanging with me. We always knew how to bring each other out of the "sloop" as we called it. It's those days where you're not sure you really want to go on with life any more. We were a good team. We held on to our friendship like thorns on a rose. I could feel her tension even though she kept a smile on her chubby cheeks.

"We're all feeling it, hun. I know how you're feeling." We were walking in to a resident's room, making rounds.

"What are you going to do? If those things get past the fence, we're all going to be eaten."

"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm not in the room." Mary Grindstaff said.

"Oh, mamaw, what are you whining about now." I stuck my tongue out. She just smiled and shook her head. I loved this woman like she was my own grandmother. She took interest in everyone's lives. Wanted to know if we were married, going to school, how many kids we had, and why we chose to "wipe asses" for a living. She was always there to lend an ear or even a shoulder to cry on. They tell you not to get close to the residents when you first start working at a nursing home. But if you have any kind of heart in you, you realize you can't keep from it. Most of these people are dropped off, never to see their family members again. We few people are who they get to know. We become their family. And they become ours. Lord, if something happens to these people, I'll never make it out with my sanity.

"I know you girls think that I don't know what's going on out there. I'm stuck in this bed. Can't even stand if I had to. I know your all are doing whatever you think is best, but I tell y'uns now. I've had more surgery's than I can count. I've had strokes and heart attacks, but even still nothing has had me more scared than I am tonight. So, Tara, you're not alone in this, honey. Granny's scared shitless over here. Now come here and hug me, at least let me pretend everything's going to be okay." I wanted to cry, but all I could do was sit on her bed and hold her tight. I wasn't sure who needed the hug more, me or her.

We finished our rounds and made small talk with Tina the rest of the night. It was hard to find anything to joke about. Nothing was normal anymore. Everything that we were used to was now gone.

We could hear the zombies outside the fence, moaning and groaning. Some even were growling at times. I really had no idea what the next day would bring, but we needed to figure out a plan on how to get out of this mess.

"What do you think caused all of this? I mean who would have thought that anything like this could have happened? I just don't know what to do. I'm supposed to be a leader and yet I don't know a damn thing to help us out." Tina stated.

"It's ok, Tina. None of us really knows what to do at this point. We'll just have to work together and stay alive." Tara exclaimed

Six couldn't come fast enough. Tara went and woke the others up so that we could get some sleep. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was gone.

CHAPTER THREE

I awoke with Sera's voice in my ear. "Don't move." I could hear those things like they were right beside me. I barely opened my eyes when I felt movement close by. I bolted off my cot screaming my head off ready for a fight. And then the laughing started. "You Bitch!"

Everyone around was doubled over from laughter. How could anyone pull pranks at a time like this, like my stress level wasn't high enough. Sera and some of the residents decided it was a good idea to make moaning noises to wake me up.

"I'm sorry, but you really should have seen your face."

"Thanks so much Tara. Your idea?"

"Oh yeah." Still laughing.

"Well I guess it was worth it. Just remember Hopscotch, payback is hell."

"Ooooh, call me hopscotch one more time and I'll throw a brief at your head. A dirty one."

"You've already done that. Can't play the same card twice." And just to prove how childish we were, we stuck our tongues out at each other. Yep, that's us. Tara and I had a special kind of friendship. I am eight years older than her. I saw her more of my little sister. I loved her. No matter how weird our relationship got or how crazy of stuff we got into at the end of the day I still loved her.

I came upon the others as they were coming up with contingency plans on the chance that one of the creatures made it inside. Jaise carried a clipboard, writing down ideas for improvised weapons; bra sling shots, PVC pipe bombs, chemically made torches, using syringes as squirt guns. The list just kept going. At this point, nothing was too crazy of an idea. None of us knew if those things actually could get in, but it was on our minds nonetheless.

The rest of the day went on as normal... well, the new normal anyway. The residents would be out of cigarettes tomorrow and there would be repercussions. Most of the smokers had no idea what was going outside their bedroom windows. We just told them the noises they heard was the wind or someone had their television too loud; whatever came to our minds. What else were we supposed to do? These people depended on us, if we lost our heads, we'd all be dead.

I went out in the court yard to smoke my last cigarette. The sun beat down on my skin as I sat in the lounge chair. Jenny came out to join me. "We have got to stop meeting like this. People are going to start talking, Jen." I said half humorously, but it came out dry. Apparently our senses of humor had been the first casualty.

A scream sounded from somewhere inside. Jenny and I threw our cigarettes down and ran back in. Everyone was gathered outside of Tina's office. "What's going on?" I yelled.

"It got in! It got in!" Tara yelled back, terror sharp on her features.

I looked through the small window located on the door. There pacing back and forth was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen. Judging by her disheveled and torn clothing it had been a woman once. One side of its lanky blonde hair lay matted against the skull with dark, clotted blood. The scalp was clearly visible on the other as if something had violently ripped chunks of it out. The skin was a mottled grey.

A grinning smile formed by two large slashes in her jaw greeted me. I could see lumps of skin clinging to the darkened teeth. Its eyes locked with mine, and a terrible scream came from its mouth, blood spraying the window. It slammed up against the door which caused us all to jump back.

"Someone give me a chair to stick under this knob," I said, shouting the order sharply at the girls around me just standing there as if in a daze.

"What if that's not enough?" someone said.

"Just get me the fucking chair!" I shouted, bracing my shoulder against the door to keep the horror inside.

Julie handed me a chair from the dining room. I turned to the group and stated, "We need to get these weapons started. We can't use fire. If we do the whole office will go down with it. Maybe we could use the legs off of a table and one of us go in and stab it in the head."

"Really? You wanna go in and try that?"

"Hey, do you have any better ideas?"

"I say we light that thing and let the sprinklers take care of the office."

"Okay, so who's going in there?"

"Jaise, you're the strongest."

"Oh fuck you! I'm not doing it. There's no way I am going in that room. What if it bites me?"

"What if several of us go in? Two of us hold it down while Jaise smashes its head."

"I told you, I am not going in that room. You all are fucking crazy. I say we leave it alone. Maybe it will turn around and go back out the way it got in."

"And what if it leads others in there? Have you thought of that jackass? Then what the fuck are we supposed to do? That chair is not going to hold a horde back."

"Guys! Guys!"

"What Julie? What the fuck do you want now?" I turned around just as the door flew open.

I couldn't breathe. My heart was in my throat as that thing lunged for Jenny. She punched it in the throat and got away just as it regained its composure. It was hunkered over with its arms spread wide as its head kept going between us. Trying to decide which one of us to go after. Its eyes locked on Kara. She was backed up again the wall, nowhere to go. She was frozen. It screamed and lunged. I screamed and ran, knocking her down hard. I hear her arm snap. I glanced up and turned on my back scooting away, the creature nearly on top of me. Then, its head fell in my lap. Blood sprayed everywhere. I screamed but couldn't move.

"Jaise! OMG! You killed it. You killed it." Jenny kept screaming.

I threw the severed head and got up off the floor. I ran toward Jaise. I had never been so happy to be alive. He pointed a sword at me which stopped me in my tracks.

"Come any closer and I swear I'll kill you!"

"What the hell, Jaise. I was just going to hug you! You just saved my life."

"Not with you covered in blood!"

I looked down at my clothes soaked in the creatures black blood. I fainted.

CHAPTER FIVE

I stumbled out of sleep only to find my coworkers all standing far away from me. I guess, thinking that maybe I might turn into one of those creatures. I sat up and opened my mouth to speak, but I had no idea what to say. I could just imagine how ironic this whole thing seemed, me sitting on the floor covered in some black ooze and I had just passed out. Ha! I drew my leg up so I could stand when Jaise yelled, "Now you just stay right there Kara!" Still pointing the sword at my head.

"What the hell is your problem, Jaise?"

"Look at you! How do I know you're not going to turn into one of those things?"

"Tell you what, if I do you can chop my head off. Fair deal? Besides where the hell did you get a sword anyway?"

"That'd be me my dear."

Paul Deaton stood with his shoulder pressed against the day room doors. It had been the first time I ever saw him out of his room. He looked older somehow; like he had aged more the last two days. Is that even possible?

"Paul, where did you get a sword?" I asked, my head cocked.

"Darlin' I've had that sword before you were ever born." A look passed over his face, like a distant memory had settled there. He let out a sigh and walked away.

Jenny helped me to my feet. "Thanks."

"You're welcome small fry. Just promise me you won't turn into one of those things." She said in my ear.

"I'll do my damnedest not to."

I went down the corridor into the laundry room. I grabbed a few things off of the cart that we keep clothes that have no name or have been donated to the nursing home. It was nothing that I'd ever just go out and buy, but right now, I just wanted clean clothes and a shower.

After a shower and throwing my clothes away, I rejoined the group. They ended up locking the door in Tina's office and putting the desk up against the door that the zombie came through that lead to the outside. A heavy feeling hung in the air, one that begins to smother someone. I began to realize we may not make it out of this building.

I went to check on Paul to see how he was doing after the day's events. I walked into his room to find him sitting on his bed crying. I went over and put my arms around him. "It's ok Pap."

He let out a heavy sigh, "Close the door."

So I did. We were completely alone. He still had the same distant look on his face. I went over and sat on the chair next to his bed. "Is that better?"

"Yes". He whispered. "I need to tell you something, but once I tell you it can never be untold. Therefore, I have to know I can trust you. I feel I can." His hands rested in his lap. "Kara, you are a brave girl. I just watched you take action ever since this all started. But it's only going to get worse."

He began telling me story about his childhood. How he knew he was different than most people. He could see things that others could not. Feel things as others couldn't understand. He learned how to use the forces of nature to do his beckoning. And he learned he was not the only one.

"You see, there were a lot of us at one time. But many wars against Necromancers and other unworldly creatures has left us very few. And now, now we are needed and I am too old to be chasing down mystical beings and dead people."

"So you're telling me you're a wizard? Ok, then why didn't you just wave your hand and kill that thing today?"

"Because, I physically can't. I'm too old."

"You're fifty-five. Your chart told me."

"Ha! Child, all charts can be deceiving. I am three hundred and fifty-five."

"Bull shit!"

"Here look at my sword again." He pulled the sleeve off the sword. It was dated 1768. I had to admit. It was impressive. The metal was smooth and sharp. I didn't know a thing about swords.

"Can't you buy these over the internet?"

"I suppose one can. But that's not how I got mine."

The door opened and Tara came in. "I was wondering where u went. We've been looking for you. Pap, how are you feeling?"

"Dear Tara, I'm as grand as the Grand Canyon flooding with water."

"What?"

"Never mind. Pap we'll catch you later. Finish this talk later?"

"Of course, child."