Read Dead, but Not for Long for Free Online

grabbed the phone with a shaking hand, trying to explain to the
dispatcher what was happening.
    “Hurry!” she screamed. “They’re killing people here!”
    The other nurse ran to try to help the patient, but one of the men turned on her,
grabbing her around the waist as he brought his mouth down to her neck, taking
a large chunk before starting to chew.
    ~*~
    As Jack got closer to the lobby, he started passing some very agitated people, all
running away from the ER. When he arrived, he could see why. The room was
filled with screaming people being chased by slow moving, partially-eaten
maniacs. Eric was backed onto a desk in a corner by three of them. He was
swinging wildly at them with a severed limb, casted at the foot. The plaster
appeared to be breaking off in chunks and some of it was hanging from strips of
gauze. Jack, who was the only guard on shift certified to carry a firearm, pulled his gun
and warned the attackers that he would shoot. The three crazed men didn’t even
acknowledge the warning but kept trying to reach Eric.
    Jack did not want to use his gun unless he had to and he certainly did not want to
shoot an unarmed man in the back. When one of them lunged at Eric and almost
grabbed him, Jack realized he had no other choice. These were no longer humans
and they were going to kill Eric if he didn’t do something immediately. He
yelled one more warning then he had no choice but to fire. A round landed
directly in the back of one of the crazed attackers.
    The lunatic reacted with a jerk and seemed to fold over backwards. To Jack’s
surprise, the man continued trying to grab Eric. His broken back made him
appear to be engaging in some diabolical game of limbo. Ignoring Jack’s
commands to stop, he continued reaching for Eric with malevolent intent.
    ~*~
    Keith put the phone down, frustrated. He’d tried several different numbers and nobody
was answering. He changed a bandage on one of his patients and then decided to
go to the administrative offices himself since he couldn’t get through to anyone.
    Instead of answers, what Keith found on the first floor was chaos. The minute the
elevator doors opened, he could hear loud voices coming from the south hall
where the cafeteria and ER were located. Granted, it was Friday, but it was too
early in the day for the weekend madness to begin.
    The hospital was L-shaped, with a large open area at the intersection of the wings
on each of the five floors. The elevators were in this area, along with either
a nurses’ station or, in the case of the first floor, an information desk. For
the first time since he’d worked at St. Mary’s, Keith found the information desk unmanned.
    He hesitated for a moment, glancing toward the south wing. His instinct was to go
see if help was needed, but he turned the other way, reminding himself that his
job was to take care of his patients, not to handle security matters. Turning
toward the west wing, which housed the administrative offices, he planned to
report the incident in room 329 and get back to his patients as quickly as
possible. As he made his way down the corridor, he ran into a secretary who had
her purse and was running for the lobby.
    “Hey, wait a second,” Keith said, stopping her. “We have a problem upstairs and
nobody is answering their phones. I’m supposed to report it.”
    “Upstairs, too?” the woman asked, glancing around nervously. “Was someone attacked?”
    “Attacked and eaten,” Keith said, turning his head back toward the lobby when he thought
he heard someone scream.
    “Something bad is happening,” the woman said, glancing over her shoulder. “We’ve had
people coming in with horrible bites. Community Hospital just called and
reported they’ve had the same thing. Everybody is going home to check on their
families and I’m doing the same.”
    “We’ve got patients here to think about,” Keith said.
    “Too bad,” she said, fear in her eyes. “I’ve got kids at home. They come