Free Zombies! (Episode 9): The Changing of the Guard by Ivan Turner

was trying to wriggle free.
     
    "Calm down," Heron said, leaning in. "Let me help you."
     
    When the patient turned her head, Heron jumped back in alarm, nearly tripping over the hospital gown. There was no patient there. Just a zombie.
     
    Two orderlies rushed inside quickly. They were wearing rubber gloves that reached halfway up their biceps. Together, they managed to restrain the right arm and lift the gurney. The woman struggled and struggled throughout the whole ordeal, trying to use her pinned arm, and snapping with her teeth.
     
    When it was over, one of the orderlies noticed Heron. "Sorry you had to see that."
     
    He shrugged. "Do you have a phone charger?"
     
    The orderly hesitated a moment.
     
    "I need to call my wife," Heron explained.
     
    The orderly nodded. "I'll see if I can scare one up."
     
    Heron thanked him and left the curtain area. He was badly shaken. The zombie strapped to the table had seemed so pathetic, like a rabid animal. Heron hadn't been disgusted or angered, just saddened. Was this the new humanity?
     
    A few minutes later, Naughton and Luco came back into the Ward with giant smiles on their faces. Heron was still standing outside of his curtain, wishing badly for a cigarette. He knew what their expressions meant but didn't have it in him to smile back.
     
    "Let's go inside," Luco said, ushering him through the curtain. "I don't want anyone to hear this."
     
    They moved inside and Heron sat down on the bed. "It's gone, right? There's no more infection."
     
    Luco nodded. Jesus, even she was happy for him. What was the world coming to? "I'm going to need to run a lot more tests to find out the cause but…"
     
    "I already know the cause."
     
    This stunned both Luco and Naughton. They stared at him, waiting for further explanation.
     
    "It's the cancer. Apparently, nothing beats cancer. Not even the zombie plague."
     
    Naughton was shaking his head. "Wait a minute. The cancer's gone. You had surgery and chemotherapy. You're in remission."
     
    Heron shook his head. "My latest series of tests showed that it had survived and spread."
     
    "When did you find out?"
     
    "This morning."
     
    Luco, gripping the clipboard that held his chart said, "Well, you're free of the infection anyway. I can't determine what effect it's had on you until we run those tests. Why don't we head up into the hospital so we can do them properly?"
     
    Heron nodded. "I'll just get my things."
     
    He shuffled about the place, gathering up his things, wondering whether this was good news or bad news. He didn't tell Naughton that he had gotten bitten intentionally. Now that the infection was gone, he had to face the cancer again. Unlike when he'd been given the news that morning, he didn't feel free or elated. He wasn't frightened, though. Just depressed. Taking on the zombie infection had been his Hail Mary. He'd attempted to beat the cancer with something stronger but it turned out that cancer was the strongest of all.
     
    As he double-checked to make sure he had all of his things and grabbed his dead cell phone, he realized just how unfair it was that he hadn't yet called Alicia. What would he tell her now? Though he could see how eager Luco was to get him upstairs for tests, he didn't think he could wait any longer. He borrowed Naughton's phone and ushered them out of the enclosure. Taking a deep breath, he made the call.
     
    ***
     
    When Ludlow returned to the Zoo , he was feeling far less sure of his intentions. The rational side of him had scurried away and was hiding in a deep dark corner of his mind. Paul was back on duty and standing just inside the corridor when the doctor entered.
     
    "Hi, Rudy," he said. "You all right?"
     
    Ludlow shrugged. "Stress, you know?" To most of the staff, Ludlow was a high profile geneticist who had signed on to assist Dr. Luco. Only a handful of people knew his real connection to the zombie plague. That in and of itself was an additional weight upon his shoulders.