Free Psych Ward Zombies by James Novus Page B

Snickers bar!” Chester said, miming the action of shoving food into his mouth. He shook his head with agitated frustration and started to pace around the room. “This is crazy, man! Just plain crazy! ”
    Chester’s experience in the wrestling ring had made him an expert fighter. However, nothing in the ring could prepare him for seeing a fellow orderly get eaten by zombies. In the moment of intense stress, he had turned to his fighting instincts to get him through it. Fighting had always been how he dealt with things. Now that the fight was over, he did not know how to handle himself. He turned to his other coping mechanism: food.
    While Chester got washed up and went looking for his stash of cheese puffs, Janet went to get him some clean clothes. Dave remained at the nursing station, staring into space. His mind could not comprehend what was happening. He felt detached from reality, like in a dream, but he could not convince his brain to wake up. He pinched his leg, hoping to prove to himself that this was not real. The pain in his thigh was disappointingly authentic. He looked at his watch. It was half past three o’clock in the morning. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.
    Dave stood up and walked to the restraint room to check on Luther. His path took him by Amber, who was still standing by the handrail where she was tied. The straitjacket held her arms folded across her abdomen and the hood was covering her face. Although she did not move, Dave could hear her raspy breaths from beneath the hood. He kept his distance as he passed by.
    He arrived at the restraint room where Mel was supposed to be looking over Luther. Mel was never particularly reliable, and Dave had witnessed him sleeping on the job numerous times in the past. It therefore came as no surprise that Mel sat slumped in his chair with his head down. He was snoring loudly. The sound of Mel’s snoring resonated in the sparsely appointed room, mixing with the wheezing sound of Luther’s breaths. In fact, the two noises sounded nearly alike. Dave took a hard look at Mel. He almost roused him, but decided to let sleeping frogs lie. Luther’s status did not appear to have changed, so he seemed stable for now .
    Dave headed to his office to be alone and collect his thoughts. He unlocked the door and entered. By habit, his hand went to the light switch beside the door, but flicking the switch yielded no results. The room remained dark. It was strange being in his office and not hearing the usual hum of the computer.
    Dave dropped his keys onto the desk and sat alone in the dim light that crept in from the hallway. He folded his forearms together on his desk and slumped forward with his head on his arms. It was the middle of the night and he was exhausted. His eyes drifted shut. He was soon asleep .
    He had only slept for about a half hour before the slumped position caused his neck to ache. He awoke and raised his head, feeling mildly refreshed from the short nap. He looked at his cell phone, although there was still no signal. In his sleep-induced haze, he had to check himself again to make sure he was not in a dream. He yawned and staggered out of his office, pulling the door shut behind him.
    Back at the nursing station, Janet and Chester sat slouched in chairs. They were both fast asleep. Dave smiled to himself knowing that he was not the only one who needed a nap. He looked down at the desk and saw the walkie talkie sitting unattended. He patted his empty belt and realized he had left it sitting there when he had tried to call D Ward earlier. A red LED flashed with regular intervals and a symbol of an empty battery was visible on the display. Dave put the radio on his belt anyway, hoping the battery would last until reinforcements came in the morning. The day shift would start arriving just before six o’clock, so he only had a couple hours to go.
    He walked down to the restraint room while stretching some of the tension from his shoulders and