Dark Grace (11 page)

“What do you mean?”

“I went to lift its ass into the bag and the fucker lifted its damn head and growled,” said Nathan, obviously shaken. I would never have thought he’d be afraid of anything like dogs.

“It was a zombie?” Boggs asked for clarification.

I nodded. Boggs moved closer to me and we wrapped our arms around each other. He kissed me on the cheek.

“You ok?” he asked.
“You’re trembling.”

“I’ll be fine.
It’s just adrenaline. Let’s get this finished so we can get Gus over here.”

“I saw a back door at the end of the hallway we came in through.
Let’s bag this bastard up and get it out of here,” said Nathan with disgust in his voice.

“I didn’t notice a door,” I said.

“It was dark. I promise it’s there.”

“I believe you,” I said.

“Boggs, if you plan to help go back into the big storage room and put some gloves on.”

Nathan nodded at me and we went back to work.
I nudged the rotten dog carcass with the metal end of my hammer, just to make sure it was really dead this time. It was lifeless, so I returned the hammer to my waistband and held up the bag again.

“Nate?”

“Huh?”

“How about if you hold the bag at the end of the table and I’ll just shove it off into the sack?”

He looked at me, perplexed.

“Well, I’m sure I can manage to shove it off, but it might be too heavy for me in the sack,” I explained.
I was actually trying to spare him from touching it in light of his fear.

He managed just a hint of a smile.
“Sounds good.”

I handed over the sack and moved to the head end of the dog.
“Ready?”

“
Yeah.”

Nathan held the biohazard sack up at the end of the table, ready to catch the pile of fur, guts, old blood, maggots, and stench.
I pulled at the cuffs of my gloves to make sure they were all the way on, and then pushed at the shoulders of the canine. It was much stiffer than I had expected. I never would have guessed it had lifted its emaciated head only minutes earlier. I put one leg back to achieve a forceful shove and began to move the body toward Nathan. As I gained a few inches, Boggs returned.

“Zo, want me to take over?”

I shook my head no, but didn’t speak. The stench that resulted from the movement was overwhelming. Thick sludge was left behind as the carcass moved along the metal surface of the table. There were remnants of fur and skin mixed in with the fluids left behind by death. A clump remained behind, still attached to the dog, and slid along with it. It was shriveled and globular. Looking closer, I realized it was the eyeball from the socket that had been against the table. I choked back vomit, and continued to shove. The dog was nearly halfway off the table, and Boggs went ahead and put his gloved hands on it and helped topple it the rest of the way into the sack that Nate was holding. Unable to hold back, I threw up on the concrete floor. I could hear Boggs and Nate tying the sack shut as I was retching. Boggs was coughing and I could hear Nathan grumbling under his breath.

“C’mon, Zoe, let’s take a break from this room,” said Nate. I wiped my mouth on my own bare arm.
Boggs was holding the bundle of dead dog and I eagerly followed him out of the surgical suite as Nathan held the door open for us.

“Let’s just carry it all the way to the back door,” insisted Boggs.
“Fucking get rid of this bullshit.”

Boggs led us back to the hallway.
I brought up the rear.

“Ok, we’ll need to do this quick.
There’s no way to know what’s out there when we open the door. Boggs, I’ll stand back with my gun ready. Zoe, I’m going to have you open the door and then step way back.” He turned to Boggs. “I say just throw the fucking bag outside.”

As we neared the door at the far end of the hallway, we all stopped to listen.
Nate put his ear up to the door for several long seconds.

“No noise,” he whispered.

I stepped forward and wrapped my hand around the door pull. I looked back at both men. Boggs had positioned himself so that as soon as the door swung inward, he could chuck his heavy load outside. Nate was just behind him, his gun readied. It left me room to open the door and immediately back up unobstructed. Nathan nodded, indicating he was ready. I turned the deadbolt, took a deep breath, and pulled the door inward. The light from outside was blinding. The fresh air was exhilarating. I hurried backward and out of the way, and held my pistol toward the doorway. I heard the sound of the biohazard sack and dog remains hit the pavement of what I assumed was an alleyway. I wasn’t able to see beyond Boggs due to the bright sunlight. Within moments the door was shut again, and Boggs engaged the deadbolt once again.

“Good fucking riddance,” he mumbled.

“Ok guys, here’s the plan,” announced Nathan. “We’ll get the girls over first. Zoe, if you and Susan can work on cleaning the mess up in the surgical room Boggs and I will get Gus over here.”

“I’ll go start now,” I offered.

I walked away, back down the hall to the lobby. As I left I heard one of the guys knock softly on the doorway to the Smoke Shop. I hustled to the operating room, grabbing a bottle of bleach from the wire storage shelves just before I entered. I doused straight bleach onto the metal table, and onto the floor. I decided to let it sit there and try to wash it away later. The combination of bleach fumes and rotten flesh burned my nose and eyes, so I left the room behind, making sure the double doors were shut.

Now standing in the storage room, I began looking for potential sources of water and any windows that might open.
I heard footfalls from the lobby and decided to see if I could help in any way.

“Hi Zoe,” whispered Jane.
“Eww, yuck,” she said as she wrinkled her freckled nose. “You stink.”

I winked at her.
“Yes, I do. Girls, stay here in the lobby, ok? We need to clean up a mess in the back of the building before you go back there.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” asked Susan, who walked in during the conversation.

“I have some bleach soaking a mess in the very back room. I’m trying to find towels, water, and any windows that might open for fresh air.”

“The guys are bringing Gus in.
We should try to find a place for him to lie down first.”

“What about that bench?” asked Abbey, pointing to a long bench seat in the lobby that sat under one of the front windows.

“See if the cushion comes off, and we can put him on the floor away from the window,” suggested Susan.

“I’ll help!” said Jane.

The two girls set to work checking out the bench seat cushion. I was glad to see it came off easily; by the sound it was attached by Velcro.

“Just bring it to the middle of the floor, girls,” instructed Susan.

The girls laid it out on the floor just as Gus appeared, propped up by Boggs and Nathan. He was awake again, but looked haggard. My heart twisted in my chest.

“Lay him here,” said Susan.

She was proving to be a true friend and a good woman. My thoughts flickered over to Emilie for a moment, and I had to force her from my mind. I knew I had to hold it together and stay focused on helping Gus.

Boggs and Nathan helped lower Gus onto the makeshift bed.
It was narrow and too short for him, leaving his feet overhanging onto the floor.

“Abs, can you grab a seat cushion for Gus’ feet?” asked Nathan.

The pre-teen hustled in the task she’d been assigned, producing a smaller seat cushion. Jane helped lift Gus’ feet while Abbey tucked it under. Gus winced as his feet were lowered.

I knelt down beside him, and felt his forehead.
He was hot and clammy at the same time. He looked over at me, his eyes not quite focused.

“Hey,” I whispered softly.

“Hey,” he said back, his voice broken.

“How
ya doing?” I asked, running my fingers through his sweat-soaked hair.

“Been better,” he said before starting to cough.
He found my free hand with his and held onto it. “Infection’s setting in, faster than I expected. I need antibiotics, Zoe.”

I nodded.
“I think I found some in a cabinet. They’re in little glass bottles.”

He closed his eyes for a moment.
I thought he might be falling asleep again, but he opened them and looked at me. “Bring them to me?”

“I’ll get them,” said Boggs.

“I need you to look for IV supplies,” groaned the sick man that lay before me.

“Gus, I don’t know what to look for, or how to put an IV in,” I said

“I’ll help, it’ll be ok,” he said quietly.

“Ok.”
I kept my gaze on him, ignoring anything else around us. It was just me and him, in the moment.

As we locked our gaze on each other, and Gus’ grip tightened on my hand, I was vaguely aware of Nathan and Susan talking in the background.
Nathan was going back into the smoke shop to block the doorway leading to our current location, and Susan would wait for him at the back door to let him back in.

“Close your eyes, Gus, rest,” I soothed as I ran my free hand through his hair.

He nodded and closed his eyelids. I could tell he was getting sicker by the moment and I was so worried.

“Abbey?” I called to the preteen.

“Yeah, Zoe?”

“The room Boggs just went into.
Can you go back there and find the refrigerator? It’s a small one next to the wire shelves. Open it and see if there’s anything in there to drink that’s in sealed cans or bottles?”

“Sure.”
I kept my gaze on Gus, but saw her stand up in my peripheral vision.

“Can I go with?” asked Jane.

“Of course you can, sweetie. Both of you stay out of the room behind it though, ok?” warned Susan.

“Ok.”

The two girls scuttled around the reception desk and into the storage room beyond. Gus’ eyes flickered open.

“Hey, Zoe,” he whispered.

“Hey.” I forced a small smile.

“I’m cold.
And my stomach hurts.”

“Your bandages are getting pretty nasty,” I said.

“You should cut them off.”

I nodded.
“Let me just find some scissors, ok?”

“Sure.”

“You have to let go of my hand.”

“Ok, baby.
You got it.” He was starting to sound delirious.

I stood and walked behind the reception desk, hoping to find some basic office supplies.
There were several drawers, and I got lucky when I opened the first one. I found a bottle of Ibuprofen and a pair of scissors. There was also a bottle of water on the counter top. It was full and unopened. Thank you, God, I thought to myself. I gathered the three items and walked back to Gus’ side. Boggs was right behind me, along with the girls.

“He’s burning up,” I said.
“Boggs, can you help him sit up so I can get some Ibuprofen into him? I found some in the desk.”

“Sure thing.”
Boggs knelt down on the ground behind Gus’ head and helped prop his shoulders up.

“Gus,” I said, above a whisper.
You need to swallow these.”

He looked at me, his eyes still not quite focused.

“Hey, Zoe,” he said again, as if just seeing me for the first time that day.

“Open your mouth,” I insisted

He opened his mouth but seemed confused. He began chewing the pills, and then made a face of disgust.

“Here, sip.”
I held the bottle of water to his lips and tipped it up. Some dripped down his chin and growing stubble, which I wiped away with my hand. He finally started drinking deeply.

“’Kay, lay him back down.
I need to cut his old bandages off. Girls, it’s probably best if you don’t watch, ok? How about if you both go behind the desk and see if you can find some paper and pens or take some magazines from the table with you to read.” They followed directions quietly and without complaint.

“I brought the little glass bottles out.
I’m not sure what the medicines are, though,” said Boggs.

“Let me take a look,” said Nathan, who had suddenly appeared with Susan at his side.

“Where’d you guys go?” asked Boggs.

“I secured the door from the smoke shop side and Susan let me in the back door.
It’s not perfect but with some fiddling around on this side we should be able to get it secure.”

“Was the alley clear?” asked Boggs as he handed the small bottles over.

“Yup, just the red bag we threw out.” He was studying labels.

“Nate, do you have any idea which medication he needs?” asked Susan.

“This one looks good. Cephalexin. It covers a lot of bad bugs. I’ll take it back and get it ready. We’ll need a few more things, too.” As he walked behind the reception desk, I heard him quietly greet the girls.