Zombies! Episode 1 - Shawn of the Dead by Ivan Turner Read Free Book Online

can't
mandate the testing without a state of emergency and we don't have
near enough of a problem to warrant that."
     
    "Did you check with other police forces
around the country?"
     
    "For zombies?" the captain declared
incredulously. "If the mayor caught wind of it, or God forbid the
governor…"
     
    Heron interrupted him smoothly. "We need to
do the right thing here, Lance. This plague may not be airborne but
it still has a very effective way of travelling from person to
person. And the Koplowitz family didn't get the disease from a
bite. They got it from each other and one of them got it from
somewhere else. That means it's out there and this blood test
(accentuated by the fact that Dr. Luco was just then sticking the
needle into his arm) is more than just a precaution."
     
    Lance Naughton leaned back and thought for a
moment. There was silence as Dr. Luco finished the test and took
the vial of blood back to her microscope.
     
    Naughton wasn't a stupid man but he'd never
had the sense to be a really good detective. Like Heron he had
people skills. Solid if not spectacular police work had earned him
the respect of his peers. Savvy had gotten him the rest. Not that
he didn't deserve it. Naughton didn't lose any sleep at night
wondering if he was truly cut out for the job. He could very
effectively lead and had won the respect of most of those
underneath him as well as the press that hounded him.
     
    "I'll put in a call to the CDC," he said
finally. "At the very least, it will make them aware of a new
disease."
     
    "Is there anything else?" Heron asked.
     
    Naughton shook his head. "You've been through
enough. Why don't you take a load off while we wait for the test
results?"
     
    This time Heron shook his head. "I'm going to
go and be with Stemmy."
     
    At this, Luco looked up. There was an
expression on her face that was both definable and yet
indescribable at the same time. At that moment, Heron saw things
through her eyes. He saw Zoe Koplowitz and Stemmy and he saw
himself. He did not like what he saw.
     
    "It could be a long wait, Anthony," Naughton
said to him. "Are you sure you want to put yourself through
that?"
     
    "He shouldn't be alone."
     
    Whether by design or instinct, the captain
didn't even give consideration to the simmering Luco when he gave
Heron his permission. There was really no other option. They were
partners, Heron and Stemmy. They had been partners for years. They
were friends.
     
    ***
     
    HERON was given a folding chair and
strict instructions to stay out of the room. Of course , he
thought. I wouldn't want to get the zombie plague.
     
    As he approached Stemmy's room he couldn't
help but notice that the little girl was still curled up on the
floor by the bed. She looked up at him as he passed, made that
curious sniffing motion again. Heron shivered a bit, then moved
past.
     
    Stemmy was back in bed, seemingly asleep.
Heron spied his phone on the nightstand.
     
    "I'm with you, buddy," he whispered. "I'm
with you."
     
    He unfolded the chair and set it in front of
the window. Sitting down, he put his head in his hands and began
his long wait.
     
    He didn't know how long it was before he
looked up. He must have dozed off, Stemmy's presence bringing him
slowly to wakefulness. The detective was standing up against the
window, his hospital gown hanging oddly off of his frame, his IV
stand tipped over on the floor behind him. The tube still trailed
from his arm. Stemmy's head was cocked at an odd angle and his eyes
seemed vacant.
     
    Heron went cold.
     
    "… anthony …"
     
    The voice was so low that he wasn't sure he'd
heard it.
     
    "Stemmy?"
     
    The eyes seemed to come back into focus
beneath a film of sweat. His neck muscles bunched and he
straightened. When Heron looked at him he saw pain. Agony.
     
    "Stemmy…"
     
    "… my family …"
     
    Now he could see the lips moving, ever so
slightly. Stemmy was still alive. There was still air in his
lungs.
     
    "I'll look after them,"