Psych Ward Zombies by James Novus Read Free Book Online

doing my job. Besides, I’ve been looking for an excuse to try out the ‘Super Cheetah Pounce’. It’s my patented take-down move!” Chester’s nickname happened to be “The Cheetah”. Surprisingly, this nickname was derived from his affinity for cheese flavored puffs, and not from his physical prowess. His fingers were usually stained bright orange from his habitual snacking on cheese puffs. Dave recalled the orange fingerprints on the syringe earlier and realized that Chester must have been the one who had handed it to him .
    Although his ‘Cheetah’ nickname had been derived from his eating habits, Chester was actually an impressively strong man. Underneath a thick layer of body fat there was an amazing amount of muscle. His job as an orderly involved a lot of sitting around and gave him plenty of opportunity to ingest junk food. But Chester had another, more physical, part-time job. He was an aspiring professional wrestler. His time outside the hospital was usually spent practicing his wrestling moves. His large size and overgrown beard gave him an intimidating presence in the ring.
    “I do appreciate it. If I can ever return the favor, I will.” Dave eagerly shook Chester’s hand, feeling sincere gratitude. As the two men turned to go about their business, Dave glanced down at his own hand. It was now tinged bright orange. He wiped the dust on his pants and grinned.
    Dave spent the next few minutes filling out forms and then went back to the restraint room to check on Luther. Janet was already there, observing the sleeping behemoth. She whispered, “He hasn’t stirred in a couple minutes, but he’s snoring pretty good. ”
    Since Luther no longer posed an immediate risk, regulations dictated he would need to be released from the restraints. He would be allowed to sleep on the bed with the door open and the straps removed. Dave and Janet carefully removed the restraints and facial hood, being careful not to wake Luther in the process .
    Suddenly Janet stood bolt upright and shot Dave an accusatory stare. Her nose was scrunched in a look of disgust. Dave noticed her expression but did not understand. He raised his eyebrows and mouthed the word, “What? ”
    Janet pinched her nose shut with her fingers and chastised Dave non-verbally with her facial gestures .
    Dave correctly guessed that Janet must be smelling some sort of odor, so he took a strong whiff of the air around him. The smell was like a punch to the stomach, reeking of rotting sewage. He stifled a gag. Dave pointed his finger to his chest and shook his head, disclaiming any responsibility for the stench.
    He and Janet both turned in unison to look at Luther, who lay on the bed sleeping like an angel. Dave grabbed Janet’s arm and led her out into the hallway.
    “Looks like the big boy pooped himself. I guess you’d better clean him up. ”
    He gave Janet a ‘gotcha’ smile and scampered away before she could think of a response.

Chapter Five
     
    The amount of paperwork involved in a new hospital admission was tremendous. On top of this, the amount of paperwork related to restraining a patient was twice as bad as a simple admission. Tonight Dave had his hands full, but he was trying to get it all done as quickly as possible. It was after four o’clock, so he was officially covering the entire hospital now. He desperately wanted to have all his tasks on B Ward done before any other crises arose. It took him a solid hour to get the paperwork done, but fortunately his pager was silent. Janet approached him as he closed Luther’s medical chart.
    “Mister Stinky didn’t have a load in his pants. I think he just smells bad in general,” she said.
    Dave was not terribly surprised. “Well, I guess personal hygiene in jail really isn’t very good. With a shower and fresh clothes, he’ll soon be smelling like a rose again. I’m sure our noses will all look forward to that. How’s he doing now?”
    Janet said that Luther had been cleaned up