Free Pestilence: The Infection Begins by Craig A. McDonough Page B

shrieked. The lights in the hospital went out.
    “Jesus!” Sanders also called to the deities.
    “Hang on. Don’t move, the generator should kick in any moment.” Tilford remembered the emergency training drill from last year and the detail about the generator. It would also keep patients hooked up to life-saving devices alive; well, that was until bloodsucking infected ghouls were let loose.
    “They shut off the phones, now they’re cutting power. Bastards, fucking bastards!”
    “Who shut off the phone or cut power… what are you talking about?” Sanders wanted to know if Delaney knew more than she’d let on.
    An electronic hum was heard through the walls as the generator powered up; within moments the emergency lighting came on in the corridor, bathing their view in an unearthly yellowish glow.
    “How far down is the security office?” Delaney avoided the nurses’ question by asking one of her own. There would be time later; she hoped.
    “Down that hallway. It’s the first on our right.” Sanders answered. With the lights back on the goal of reaching the security office became paramount.
    “Let’s make a run for it, huh?”
    “We don’t know what could be waiting for us… and I don’t fancy running headlong into a group of these things, y’know?” Tilford understood Delaney’s excitement, she was an exciting woman in many ways, but he knew that if they made a run for it Childs would be left behind. No, they had to stay together, safety in numbers and all that. Nurse Childs was a likeable person with a bubbly personality, and he was sure she’d taken more than her far share of taunts over the years. For better or worse, they were all they had. As they neared the first doorway of the patient room, Tilford held his hand up for the others behind him to halt. He edged along the wall, the sinews in his neck bulging as he strained to look inside the darkened room. He motioned for them to follow along. “Just slide against the wall, easy, easy does it.”
    Childs slammed her three-hundred-plus pounds against the wall, resulting in a loud thud. Tilford’s eyes bulged and his stomach muscle’s tightened. Delaney bit down on her bottom lip, while Sanders eyes shot daggers at Childs. In the dim light, Nurse Childs could only offer a silently mouthed, “sorry”.
    “Come on, we need to—” Tilford began but the sound of a voice, a woman’s voice, caught him midsentence.
    “Help me, h-e-lp…”
    Tilford reached out and grabbed Sanders by the arm, pulling her back. “Wait, wait, we don’t know what’s in there.”
    “There’s a woman in there, begging for help. We have to!” Sanders sounded frantic in her answer.
    “Damn…a flashlight or two…some weapons, maybe a platoon of soldiers.” Delaney muttered. She’d coped well so far, trying to stay alive can keep you focused, but nothing was going right and they still hadn’t come close to finding a way out. They weren’t in a good position, she knew that much. Tilford heard her but said nothing, he realized she was starting to struggle. They didn’t have any weapons or a platoon of soldiers not even a boy scout group but no one was callous enough to abandon a woman crying out for help.
    “Get behind me.” Tilford waved with his free hand.
    If a bloodsucker was inside the room, then maybe, he reasoned, maybe the women could run to the security office while he occupied himself with the ghoul. He didn’t like the idea of playing hero, but he didn’t have much in the way of choices.
    I bet if Nurse Childs body slammed them, that would fix ’em… but good! He allowed a tiny smile to creep onto his face over his comical thought. He motioned with his open hand three times in the air as if pushing against an invisible wall; stay there, stay there. If any infected charged from the corridor, they’d have nowhere to go but inside the patient’s room. Options were fewer and fewer.
    Shit!

Nine
    “ Y es , sir, of course, sir,” Calgleef told