Read The Zombie Chronicles - Book 2 (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) Online
Authors: Chrissy Peebles
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The Zombie Chronicles - Book 2 (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (13 page)
We walked to the front of the building and entered the stuffy, empty room. It was the typical, run-of-the-mill doctor’s office waiting room, decorated with colorful portraits, giant plants, a fish tank, and a stack of outdated magazines. A couple of women were arguing at the receptionist’s desk.
“
What do you mean I didn’t pass the exam? I’m in perfect health!” said a stick-thin woman with a long, blonde ponytail. She was in tight, black jeans.
“
You know why,” said a lady dressed in white, holding a clipboard.
“
The scratch? I told you I got that from my elderly mother, who has Alzheimer’s. She fights me when I have to wash or change her. As a nurse, you should understand that.”
“
It’s our job to protect Kingsville residents at all costs. Surely you understand, ma’am, and we can’t just—”
“
No, I most certainly do not understand! This is just an excuse to keep me out—to keep me from finding my sister!”
“
I’m afraid you’re going to have to leave, or I’ll phone security.”
The woman stepped closer. “You said my sister didn’t check into this town, but I know for a fact that she came here to visit her best friend. Why don’t you just let me talk to Lucy Mandell? Have her come outside the gates for a few minutes if you won’t let me in. Please! I need to see her!”
“
You can’t prove that your sister ever made it here in the first place,” the nurse said. “With all these zombies running around, how could she? People are killed every single day by those horrid things.”
The woman rummaged through her oversized black and gold purse and pulled out some flyers. Meeting my gaze, she handed them to me. “Have you seen my sister?”
I peered down at the smiling face of the missing woman. “I’m sorry. I’ve never seen her before. But we’re new to this area, just passing through.”
We all looked at the flyers, just in case, and offered our support and encouragement.
“
I understand,” the woman said. When I tried to hand the papers back to her, she held a hand up. “No,” she said. “Please keep them and pass them out around Kingsville if these nuts will let you in. Somebody has to know what happened.”
The door burst open, and a group of military uniform-clad men rushed in. The nurse pointed to the woman, and the men briskly escorted her out before she could get another word out. The door shut with a
click
.
The nurse threw on a pair of gloves from her pocket and grabbed the flyers from me. “The woman had a scratch, and she touched these. They’re contaminated, and I have to confiscate them, if you don’t mind.”
“
A scratch? But that’s not how the virus works,” Nick said.
If the nurse really thought they were contaminated, I had no doubt she’d be ushering me into some kind of decontamination area, because I had touched the flyers. I didn’t believe her for a minute.
The
pseudo nurse
scowled
, lines creasing her
forehead.
“If you don’t agree with our protocol, you’re more than welcome to leave.”
Nick shook his head. “No, I—”
Lucas cut him off before he could say anything to make matters worse. “Protecting Kingsville residents is very admirable. She had a scratch, and you shouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“
Absolutely. Let’s get started, shall we?” asked the nurse, handing Lucas a form with “Kingsville” on top in big, bold letters. “Please state why you’re here and answer all the questions. While each one of you fills that out, my other colleague and I will start the exams. Who wants to go first?”
I raised my hand. “I guess I will.”
Chapter 15
The nurse handed me a blue gown and led me to a small exam room, where she asked me dozens of questions. After writing everything down, she gave me time to change. She listened to my heart and lungs, like the typical physical in a doctor’s office, checking my entire body from head to toe.
“
There’s a scabbed-over wound on your wrist,” the nurse said. “What happened?”
I touched the area, and it didn’t hurt one bit. “I fell into a hole, and a piece of concrete fell on me.
It’s not a bite. I can promise you that.
”
“
I know. Zombie bites don’t scab over. They fester into seeping wounds.”
Val’s wound came to mind, because that was
exactly what had happened to her. At least in that, the nurse was telling the truth. I decided it best to casually slip in Tahoe’s name.
Like us, he would have had to go to the clinic for an exam before
entering the city. “Have you been busy? I bet you get a lot of visitors wanting sanctuary in your awesome town,” I said, doing my best to suck up to her.
“
Nobody in three days,” she said.
“
My friend Tahoe’s supposed to meet us here today. He has a big, fluffy beard and brown hair. You can’t miss him. Plus, he was hurt, so I think he’d need antibiotics and fresh bandages.”
“
Hmm. Nobody with that description has checked into the clinic.”
I bit my lip. “Are you sure?”
“
Of course. Who could forget a name like Tahoe?”
Dead end. How did Tahoe get in without going through the clinic?
I wondered.
Maybe he has connections in the military, or did he elude security and hop the fence?
My guess was that he slithered in like the snake he was, the scamming backstabber.
The nurse picked up her clipboard and looked at me. “Just a few more questions and we’ll be done. Let’s see… Do you have any family or friends around here?”
“
No. Our helicopter crashed, and we’re just trying to get back home to Ohio.”
“
Does anybody know you’re here?”
“
How could they? It’s not like I could just phone home. What kind of question is that anyway?”
“
It’s a new protocol, that’s all. Nothing to be alarmed about.”
Warning bells rang in my ears. The soldiers had asked us the very same question. Why?
Why did I tell her nobody knows we’re here? What am I thinking? And, furthermore, why do they care?
That right there should have been my cue to hightail it out of there,
because something sure seemed off. She continued asking questions that made no sense, giving off more and more bad vibes.
I wanted to run away, but knew I couldn’t
.
The nurse’s smile suddenly faded, and she held her head.
“
Are you okay?” I asked.
She waved a dismissive hand at me. “Just another migraine.” She pulled a white bottle out of her pocket and swallowed a few white pills. “I’ll be fine.”
“
Maybe you should go lie down in a dark room. That’s what I do when I—”
Her eyes bulged. “I said I’ll be fine!” she snapped.
“
Sorry.”
“
Just shut up, okay? Be happy you’re healthy, Dean, and that you don’t have a throbbing headache like me. You easily pass the Kingsville inspection. Here!” She threw an orange paper with a black eagle stamp on it. “Stay out of trouble. Kingsville has a very strict policy and doesn’t tolerate criminal activity of any sort.”
“
I swear we’re not troublemakers, ma’am.”
“
I hope so…for your own sake,” she added in an ominous tone. “You can go now.”
“
Thank you,” I said, leaving the room, following the hallway back to the waiting room.
Nick motioned me over. “Hey, we’ve got a big problem,” he whispered in my ear.
“
What?” I asked.
“
They somehow know we had a sixth person in our party. The soldiers musta called over here with the list of names they jotted down. They wanna see Val next.”
“
Crap!” I said. “What’re we gonna do?”
The door creaked open, and Jackie shot me a smile as an elderly nurse led her back to the waiting room where we were. That nurse looked a whole lot nicer than the crank I’d had.
“
So did we all pass or what?” Jackie asked.
“
They want Val,” Nick said under his breath.
I smiled. “But I have a brilliant idea.”
“
What?” Lucas asked, walking over.
“
Jackie can be Val.” I motioned Jackie to the bathroom. “Change up your hair.”
“
I like that!” Nick handed her a handkerchief from his pocket. “Pull your hair back and make sure you see the other nurse, the one who didn’t examine you.”
“
That’ll be the crank I just had,” I said. “She says she has a migraine, but she’s a real headache herself.”
She smiled. “Not a problem.”
I bit my lip hard, wondering whether it was going to work or not.
Jackie came out with a bandana over her head, but it was the older nurse who came out and called Val’s name. We all exchanged shocked, panicked looks, certain that there was no way Jackie would be able to trick the nurse who’d just examined her.
“
Oh my gosh!” Claire said. “Nurse! Nurse! Come here!” She pointed to a colorful fish swimming around in the reef.
The nurse rushed over. “What?”
“
You’ve got yellow-tailed damsels in here. Why?”
“
Somebody donated them yesterday,” she said. “I love their vivid blue bodies and vibrant
yellow tails.
Aren’t they spectacular?”
“
For about five more minutes,” Claire said. “Your volitan lionfish will eat them in a heartbeat. You’ve got to get the yellow-tailed damsels out of there…quick!”
The nurse gasped. “Leo will eat them?”
“
You bet! He’s a carnivore.”
“
You must be right,” the nurse said, gazing into the tank. “We’re missing about two or three of them already.”
“
I’ve had fish all my life,” Claire said. “Those two breeds are incompatible.”
The door creaked open, and the cranky nurse peeked her head out. “Where’s the last patient?”
“
You’ll have to examine her,” the old nurse said. “I have to save these fish! Leo’s snacking on them, eating his own kind like one of those darn zombies!”
Jackie slipped over to the door and hurried in before the older nurse realized what was going on. Claire helped the nurse scoop out the blue fish and place them in a different tank with less threatening neighbors. The nurse seemed impressed when Claire told her she and Jackie had a twenty-five-gallon reef tank back in New York City. The two of them laughed and chatted, and I knew Claire had won her over with her sweet charm and all that fish talk. I was impressed with all the tips she gave the nurse for taking care of a large aquarium. She really knew her stuff about fish.
I paced the floor for the next twenty minutes, and finally, Jackie came out holding her orange slip.
“
I’m going to Hollywood!” she whispered in my ear.
I laughed at the
American Idol
reference and wrapped my arms around her in a hug.
Nick grabbed my arm. “We gotta hurry up and get outta here, before they figure out our bait-and-switch.”
The nurses wished us well, and we hurried to the truck, with our stamped orange cards in hand.