Zombies! Episode 2 - Abby's Bad Day by Ivan Turner Read Free Book Online Page A

would have
a job and everything was more expensive. Deep down he knew that he
only wanted to even the playing field between them. It was a
selfish and childish attitude.
     
    Martin left the gym without further
acknowledging Whitaker. Over and over he played his conversation
with Abby in his mind. People dying and getting up didn't make any
sense. It sounded like a zombie movie. Of course, there were those
rumors of zombies in Manhattan, but that was just internet fluff.
No respectable news agency had done a report on it so Martin had
dismissed it. But the sensational always has a way sticking in the
back of one's mind. It tickles the adventure nerve. But what sounds
so exciting over the information superhighway is simply terrifying
close up.
     
    Zombies! It would explain why the media had
been blocked off from approaching the hospital and why there was no
information about what was going on. If it weren't utterly
fantastic, it would explain everything.
     
    Trapped in the emergency room. She had said
that, too. Trapped by zombies.
     
    There was a throng of people approaching the
barriers but Martin was not to be deterred. He was a big man who
seldom used his size to any advantage but today was a very special
day. Allowing the frustration of the past several months to fuel
his ardor he pushed forward eliciting angry snarls from people he
would never see again. It took him almost five minutes to go forty
feet but he finally pushed his way up against one of the blue
wooden barriers. The officers stood with their backs to the crowd
and did their best to ignore the shouts and calls. At the front,
Martin was mostly surrounded by microphones and cameras. The
reporters had been the first on the scene and had gotten the best
seats.
     
    "Hey!" Martin called out to the nearest
officer. The officer did not turn to face him. "You listen to me. I
need to get through. My wife is trapped in that hospital."
     
    The officer would have probably still ignored him if the surrounding media hadn't suddenly taken a great
interest in him. All of a sudden, all of the microphones and
cameras were being aimed at him. Questions were being fired his
way. Is she a patient? Have you spoken with her? Do you know why
there's such a huge police presence here?
     
    "Shut it, you jackals!" Martin shouted at
them, oblivious to the cameras. With one arm, he swept the
microphones away from his face and ducked under the barrier. The
approaching policeman was on the radio, no doubt calling for
backup.
     
    "Sir, you have to stay on that side of the
barrier…"
     
    Martin lowered his voice and spoke directly
to the cop. "Unless you want me to tell the newsmen that my wife is
trapped in the ER by zombies , you'll let me through."
     
    The officer, a young black man with a flat
nose and thick eyebrows, suddenly looked uncertain. Another
officer, this one much older and much heavier, was approaching. The
first man spoke into his radio again. "I've got a man here who says
his wife is trapped in the ER by zombies."
     
    There was some static and then an answer but
Martin couldn't make it out.
     
    "What's your wife's name, sir?"
     
    Martin calmed. "Abby. Abby Benjamin."
     
    The officer repeated the name into the radio
and was given a series of instructions.
     
    "All right, sir," he said. "Follow me."
     
    ***
     
    TODD Mayfield was holed up in an
alcove near a service exit. In the intervening minutes between
Heron's first being informed of Mayfield's location and his orders
to track the guard, he had tried three exits, all of which were
manned by security personnel on the inside and police on the
outside. To his credit, Mayfield wasn't doing anything rash or
stupid. His panic had long since diminished so all he was doing was
sitting down on the floor and taking a breather. When Heron walked
up to him, he just looked up.
     
    "Is it because of this?" He held up his hand
and there was blood on the knuckles.
     
    Heron nodded.
     
    Mayfield shook his head. "Of all the