The Lost Journal (A Secret Apocalypse Story) by James Harden Read Free Book Online

grabbed the patient by the hair and pulled him out of the way, throwing him to the other side of the room. Gordon’s eyes were closed. I checked his pulse. He was alive but he had been knocked out cold.
    The receptionist heard the gunshots and moved up to the door. "What the hell’s going on?"
    "That patient," Drake said. "He completely lost it. He attacked us. He charged us."
    The receptionist stood in the door way, with her hands covering her mouth. She was in a state of shock. We all were.
    It happened so fast. We had no time to stop and think things through. No time to warn the patient that we were authorized to use deadly force if necessary. He was too quick.
    We called it in right away. Requested a containment crew ASAP.
    They arrived in a couple of minutes. A whole group of guys in yellow HAZMAT suits.
    They secured Gordon to a stretcher and took him away for overnight observation at the hospital.
    After the shock had worn off, Franco moved outside to give a full report to the containment crew.
    The gunshots must’ve aroused the suspicions of some the locals because there were a few people milling around the front of the reception area, trying to get a look. Drake told everyone to back the hell off. He didn’t bother with politeness or courtesy. He just started yelling and swearing at people.
    I found myself alone in the bloody, messed up operating room. It was only then, when everything had calmed down that I noticed someone else in the room. A nurse. She was lying in the opposite far corner, behind the doctor’s desk and an overturned patient bed.
    She was lying on her back. Her breathing was rapid. Her chest was rising and falling in short sharp breaths. Her head was resting in a pool of blood. Her blonde hair was soaked red.
    I looked around for someone, anyone. But I was alone.
    The other guys had moved back out of the room. Franco and Drake were still talking to the containment crew. I was about to go and get someone, maybe the receptionist, or another nurse or another doctor.
    But then I heard the woman whisper to me.
    I walked slowly towards her. Her neck had been ripped open. You could see her throat, her esophagus. Blood was flowing and oozing out on to the floor. It was very dark. It seemed to be coagulating right before my eyes.
    "Are you all right?" I asked.
    Yeah, as soon as the words left my mouth I felt like such an idiot. I can’t believe I said that. Of course she wasn’t all right. Half of her neck was missing. She was bleeding out. She was dying a slow and painful death right in front of me. But I said it anyway. I don’t know why.
    She whispered something again.
    I couldn’t hear her, so I leant in closer.
    "Please," she said. "Please."
    "It’s going to be OK," I lied. "A medical team is on their way. They’ll be here in a couple of minutes."
    "Please," she repeated. "Kill me."
    She began shivering, her legs started to twitch. "Please, kill me."
    Strangely, the wound in her neck had stopped bleeding altogether. The pool of blood around her head had turned black, almost solid.
    Her eyes were becoming more and more blood shot.
    "Please, kill me."
    I stood up and took out my side arm and aimed the barrel at her forehead. I thumbed the safety off. I hesitated.
    Franco entered the room with a couple guys dressed in yellow HAZMAT suits. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked.
    "She’s hurting," I answered. "She’s dying."
    The guys in the HAZMAT suits stood at the entrance to the room, refusing to come any closer.
    "Has she been infected?" one of them asked.
    "What?"
    "Has she been infected?" he repeated.
    "I don’t know."
    "Has she been bitten?"
    I looked back at her neck. It was a complete mess. "I... I don’t know. Possibly."
    "Dispose of her."
    "Excuse me?"
    "Kill her. A headshot is the only way."
    The woman looked at me with her blood shot eyes, pleading. I placed my index finger on the trigger of my sidearm. I held my breath.
    I’m looking at my watch right now, counting the