Zombies! (Episode 4): The Sick and the Dead by Ivan Turner Read Free Book Online Page A

depression that came with the debilitation was something for which Heron had not been prepared. He was now beginning to cope with that. So he felt better emotionally even if his body was less than one hundred percent.
     
    Finally there was the smoking. He'd given it up as soon as the diagnosis had come through, dropped it on a dime. What other choice had he had? But it hadn't been easy. You can't smoke for almost thirty years and then just quit. Well, he supposed some people could. Some people just never became truly addicted. He didn't understand it but he knew it happened. There was this guy once… Never mind. From Heron, the addiction was finally receding. He still wanted a cigarette. After meals. On his walks ( ironic ). In the car. Especially in the car. That had been the thing between him and Stemmy. Stemmy had always let him drive and Heron had rolled down the window and smoked in the car. Now that was gone. And so was Stemmy.
     
    Rubbing his bald head, he felt no stubble. Chemotherapy again. It was almost a bonus, not having to shave his head. After all, shaving one's head is no picnic. He wondered if the lack of maintenance would force him to become lazy. Maybe he'd just let the hair grow back when it was all over.
     
    If he lived that long.
     
    Heron's morning routine was pretty bland. He went to the toilet, brushed his teeth, showered, shaved if it was necessary, dressed, and went downstairs for a cup of coffee. With shaving the routine took him twenty six minutes. Without it, he was under twenty. Since the surgery, he'd been a bit slower. It took him longer to get out bed, longer to get out of the shower, longer to dry off. But it wasn't too much longer and he could probably just chalk it up to age. At some point, he would return to himself and that was the concept that was moving him emotionally in the right direction.
     
    "Good morning," he said to his wife as he went into the kitchen. "I didn't expect you to be home."
     
    She was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and her laptop. She spent a good many hours on it, reading the news from across the world, comparing the prices of furniture, electronics, groceries, houses in different states, houses in different countries, and anything else that drove the market. It was a hobby of hers. In all of his years, Heron had never met a woman who was so interested in finance. And it wasn't just prices. Alicia was an expert on money. She could write a detailed report on the types of currency used in just about every nation across the globe. She kept up with the changing values on a daily basis. The complexities of exchange rates and interest rates and economic heart rates were child's play to her.
     
    "My first appointment is at 11:30." Alicia was a realtor, and a damned good one. "What's your schedule like?"
     
    He shrugged, pouring himself a cup of coffee and sitting down across from her. She did not look up from the screen. "I've got to check in at the precinct, make sure Culph is doing his job right."
     
    "Will you be going to Push Ups ?"
     
    He hesitated, not sure whether or not this was a sore spot between them. "I suppose," he said finally, not bothering to elaborate.
     
    "How is she?"
     
    He breathed in. "Not great."
     
    "Mmmm," she muttered, still not looking up.
     
    Since the crisis at Sisters of Charity , Heron had developed sort of a friendship with Abby Benjamin. His first two encounters with zombies had involved her. A month before, she had given him and Stemmy their best lead into finding out the identity of the zombie killed by Shawn Rudd. That lead had panned out and their investigation of Larry Koplowitz's home had cost Stemmy his life. At Sisters of Charity , it had been Abby who'd brought in the infected man that caused the crisis. She'd been trapped in the ER with a few other people, not all of which had made it out alive.
     
    The connection between the zombies and Push Ups was one that could not be ignored. Though other zombies