The Neuropathology Of Zombies by Peter Cummings Read Free Book Online Page B

but I wouldn’t really know until I saw the hospital. I thought to myself “ Maybe we’lcatchabreakandendthisthingfast ,” but something in the pit of my stomach told me I was in this for the long haul.
    I sat in the helicopter, next to the General, cradling the precious samples. The microbiologist and the virologist were across from me, and the technician sat on the floor. Dr. Allen stayed at the barracks to keep an eye on Igor.
    The chopper lifted off the roof and I craned my neck to see out the window. The streets were full of dead bodies, staggering aimlessly in all directions. A few of them stopped and looked up at us as we flew overhead. From above it was easy to see that there was no way to drive through the small town. The helicopter was the only way to move around, the streets were overrun by Driftwood.
    A minute or two later we circled around the hospital. It was larger than I imagined, the five stories towered over the surrounding buildings. The General began to point out various strategic landmarks, such as the two main entrances on either side, and the loading zones in the rear. It gave me comfort to see Marines stationed along the roof. The exterior of the building was swarmed by zombies, most of them were crowding the main doors.
    We stepped out of the helicopter and walked down a staircase that led into the hospital. We descended into darkness and the only sound was our feet on the metal stairs. A single beam of yellow light shown from a Marine’s flashlight. The soldier leading the way opened a heavy steel fire door and waved his hand for us to enter the hallway. It was pitch black. A small amount of light leaked in from the patient rooms lining the corridor casting a soft glow on the laminate floor. The alarms of various medical devices chirped, begging for attention. Through the shadows I could see the nurses’ station. A television flickered with static, gray snow. The Marines brought our group to a stop.
    “OK, everyone, welcome to St. Marie’s Hospital. We don’t accept insurance or credit cards, we’re a cash only operation!” laughed a babyfaced soldier holding a large machine gun. “Why don’t I give you a tour and you can tell me where the best place for you to work might be. I don’t know anything about hospitals, hate ‘em and no offense, I hate doctors, too! You will have an armed guard with you at all times, no wandering around alone,” he continued.
    “We need some lab space,” I replied. “Is there a directory? Maybe we can find the pathology department.” I looked around the hallway, searching for a sign.
    “I’ve got something better than that, Doc, I’ve got the blueprints!” the Marine replied, unrolling a poster sized tube of paper. He studied the drawing for a few seconds, “Here it is, first floor, to the left of the elevator, near the operating rooms.”
    We walked a little further down the hall and into a large central foyer. Corridors led off in three different directions. Small tress and wooden benches lined the circular enclosure. The walls were glass and I could see down to the first floor. A small amount of natural light crept in from the floor below. We stopped at the elevators and I hit the down button. The bell chimed and the doors opened. We stepped inside.
    We came to a stop on the floor below, a burst of bright sunlight pushed through the space between the doors as they opened. Soon the elevator filled with a warm glow. My eyes were blinded for a second, all I could see was a white haze. Slightly disoriented, I stepped out into the main lobby. I could hear loud banging on glass, and as my eye sight returned I could make out the black outlines of bodies crowding the main entrance; their arms raised, fists clinched, and beating on the glass doors. We watched for a moment.
    Our tour guide motioned for us to follow him, “Come on, it’s not nice to stare, plus we don’t really want to get them riled up, bad enough they know we’re here. I think