EIGHTEEN

Gary was seen staggering out of the main door that led to the morgue. A nurse
helped him to a seat inside the waiting room before finding Hazel.
She had just finished doing her rounds when a breathless Julie appeared in front of
her.
“I need you to come with me now. Gary’s not well,” she gasped.
“Hey, Julie, calm down and take a deep blast of air.” She held the younger nurse’s
arm as she breathed in deeply. “Now tell me again what you just said, but slower.”
Julie controlled her emotions and explained what’d just taken place. Hazel was
surprised to see Gary in a traumatised state when she saw him because he’d been fine when
she’d spoken to him about half an hour ago.
All Gary could see in his mind was the sight of those evil beings, and he looked like a
petrified, lost, little boy. He wanted to shut his eyes, sink deeply into another one of those
daydreams, but he’d no chance of achieving it. Hazel sat next to him.
“Talk to me, Gary. Tell me what’s wrong. Are you in pain?” She glanced down,
noticing his footwear was missing. “Where are your trainers? Where’d you leave them?”
All he could do was let out a distraught stare before pointing towards the door. The reality
kicked in. He burst out crying, and thick, fast tears streamed down the sides of his cheeks.
“Look, I can’t help you unless you talk to me,” Hazel said.
An unexpected burst of shouting spilled out of Gary’s mouth.
“Don’t let anybody go to the morgue. The dead have come back to life again. They
killed Colin and they’ll kill us all if they escape.”
This speech rushed from his lips, but the impact frightened the women. Julie seemed
more affected, but Hazel had her own assumptions on Gary’s state of mind. Her first
reaction was a drug related one.
“What are you trying to tell me?” she said, while shaking him. “Colin’s dead. Is that
what you’re telling me?”
Gary didn’t answer back for at least ten seconds.
“Promise me…you won’t…go…down there,” he stuttered. He grabbed onto Hazel’s
arm with a strangle-like strength, and would end up hurting her if he didn’t let go.
“I promise I won’t go there, but I need you to tell me more about what you saw.”
The words messed with his emotions, and the stress from his lucky escape was now
too much for his body to deal with. He fainted. Hazel released her arm and looked over at
Julie.
What’s he going on about, and were there dead bodies roaming around inside the
morgue? Hazel wondered, while she and Julie made Gary comfortable on a long seat.
The final answer on Colin’s condition was still unknown, but she’d be stupid to go
down to the morgue to find out. Hazel didn’t know what was going on, but she knew Gary
would be out of a job if he was on drugs. She couldn’t get anything out of him, so had no
choice but to inform the police about this. She might regret it and look as stupid as a
penguin wearing a dress, but it needed to be done.
Julie was given the task of phoning the police while Hazel thought of other important
issues. The young nurse rang the station and spoke to George.
“One of our workers reckons there’s dead people come to life down in the morgue.
They may’ve murdered someone.”
George burst out laughing. This information was too silly for him to take seriously.
He shouted over to Wayne and repeated what he heard, but the sergeant didn’t react in the
same way; instead, he was stunned by the news. Blake was still at the station and George’s
stupidity had probably blown it for Wayne’s latest story about the deaths of the Smythes,
but luckily, Blake wasn’t listening in on the conversation. Wayne glared at George, and if he
was Medusa from Clash of the Titans, then George would’ve been turned to stone. The old
officer sheepishly handed over the receiver before joining Blake.
Wayne apologised to the worried caller for George’s reaction.
“Tell me what happened?”
“Gary told Hazel that dead people were walking around in the morgue. She’s
worried because he has collapsed. What do we do?”
Wayne knew that Mike wasn’t around, so he had to act like the chief and be
professional over this.
“Keep the area around the morgue clear. Don’t let anybody go down there. I’m
coming over to check it out.”
As the nurses discussed the situation, another member of staff headed for the same
door leading to the gruesome and twisted figures. He opened it and slipped past. His name
was Clive, a young college student, with long, greasy, dark hair. He’d been working part-
time in the Pathology Department for a few weeks. It fitted in nicely to his routine, as he
studied during the day.
He walked along the corridor, entered the lift and closed the large, metal shutters, but
the screeching noise triggered the recently immobile creatures into action, and they were on
the move again. Clive was on his way to the morgue to drop off some blood samples for
Colin, but the zombies smelt his arrival long before he arrived.
The nineteen year old sensed something wasn’t quite right as soon as he exited the
lift.
Why are there bloody footprints everywhere? he wondered.
He continued, as he thought someone might be playing a trick on him. He walked to
the main entrance with a cheeky smile, ready to surprise the practical joker. He waited for
something to happen, but nothing did. There was a turning coming up, and it was there that
he thought the prankster would be waiting for him.
With a tiptoeing approach, the man neared the bend, sucked up enough air to
produce an explosive roar, then jumped out shouting: “YAAAAAAAAHHHH.”
In front of him stood three, un-dead monsters. The recent attempt at scaring now
backfired, leaving the poor man stricken with an attack of fear swallowing up his body
movements.
Vincent was about three feet away from him. The scream sent a ringing through the
creature’s eardrums, confusing it.
“YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH,” the reply came from the copycat zombie who still had
Gary’s I-phone in its hands.
Clive dropped the blood samples and the eager strangers watched the red liquid
splash at different angles, as the test tubes crashed to the floor.
One of the zombies rubbed a finger over the escaped juice, and slowly entered the grotesque
digit into its mouth. The tingling, sweet aftertaste began again, as the hunger button
switched back on.
They moved closer to the human, but couldn’t grab him. Clive was numb to speak,
but was still able to think. Vincent blocked the route that the human came from, so the safest
place was the morgue room.
He slipped passed the slow beings, entering the chosen room. Once inside, the door
was closed on the strangers. The agitated human searched for something heavy to jam
against the barrier, but had no chance of attempting this without the zombies getting in, so
Clive sat and pushed his back against the door, hoping his bodyweight would be enough to
stop the trio of filth from entering. He was too involved in finding a way of stopping the
zombies from smashing the door against his back to notice what was on the ground next to
him. The force of the slamming hurt and Clive didn’t like this one single bit. The crazed,
sadistic groans slipped underneath the crack of the door, penetrating the shaking man’s
breathing pattern. It was enough evidence to suggest that these beasts weren’t going to give
up easily.
Clive felt the seat of his trousers becoming dampened, and he slowly looked down,
facing a sticky puddle of blood surrounding him. He now stared in the direction of Colin’s
work desk. He seriously contemplated on rushing over to use the phone, but the only thing
stopping him was the fear of moving.
The chewed up body twitched. The virus had taken effect, waking it again. The
twisted shape moved its head from side to side, snapping teeth together as it did so. Clive
desperately tried kicking out at the latest member of the freak show, but struggled to
maintain full control and stop the others from sneaking in.
The zombie grabbed his right ankle, and used the body-part in an attempt to close in
on him. This movement caused the man to sway his attention away from blocking the door,
and the ugly monstrosity became top priority.
“What the hell are you doing with my leg?” he shouted, while trying to shake off the
beast.
With no time to think, the hospital worker clenched a fist, punching the head of the
creature a few times. The pounding motion forced the beast to release the grip.
Clive’s next move was to push his footwear into the face of the awkward pest. If this
creature could still read, then it would see the shoe-maker’s symbol just before his foot
crashed against its forehead. The zombie rolled across the room as the kick cracked its jaw.
The door opened slightly. The power of the three corpses was too much for this one man to
hold off now, and he needed a fast plan.
Clive scanned the area for an escape route, and spotted an extremely large, white
sheet covering one of the tables, the ends touching the floor on all sides. He manoeuvred
away from the danger-zone and hid under it. He watched the blackened shadows of the
unclothed zombies from beneath the cloth barrier, as they walked back into the room. The
man listened closely to the shuffling noises of their movements, and the tiny growls that
escaped their mouths. The zombies were definitely communicating with each other. Clive
gulped nervously after spotting a bloodline leading to his hiding place. He’d left behind a
bum-shaped, crimson coloured pattern on the tiles, but so far, the creatures hadn’t noticed.
He had the perfect opportunity to make his escape now they were back inside, so he
raced out from under the table, catching the zombies off guard. Clive shot past them and
neared the door, but un-noticed by him, the pain in the arse, chopped up zombie had
reached out, gripping onto one of his shoes. This time he wasn’t so lucky. He fell backwards,
cracking his head against the floor. The young man was completely knocked out.
It must’ve been another minute before he re-opened his eyelids. His head throbbed
and it felt like someone was drilling inside his brain, but he was able to see. He knew he
should move, but he couldn’t do it. His legs wouldn’t respond to his commands.
Clive witnessed two figures sitting either side of him and they seemed to be eating
some kind of meat.
The canteen wasn’t open until the morning, so how did they get this food? he
thought.
His eyesight drifted to the area around his legs. Puddles of blood formed and it didn’t
belong to any of the creatures. The shock from the bump on the head had placed his body in
a mild state of temporary paralysis, but now the pain was on its way. These monsters tore,
bit, and ate the flesh from his limbs, while he bellowed from the excruciating, sickening
throbbing. The noises produced echoed along the hallways, drifting to the upper part of the
hospital.
Wayne entered the building and was closely followed by Jason. He was looking forward to
wiping out some of the creatures behind Nash’s death. They timed it just right, as the
torturing squeals were still faintly heard.
Hazel and Julie rushed out of the waiting room, meeting up with the officers.
“Did you hear the screaming?” Hazel asked, with a slight nervousness.
“I think everyone in the hospital heard it.” Wayne wasn’t impressed to hear that
someone else had been attacked. “I told Julie to make sure no one went down to the
morgue.”
The young nurse raised a hand.
“I’m Julie, and I don’t know why anyone else went down there.” She was determined
to stick up for herself, but knew she was partly to blame for what happened. “I placed a sign
on the door and I’ve been keeping an eye on it.”
She truly believed in the words. Everything had been done to perfection, but even
perfection had a way of letting you down.
“So how come someone’s screaming?” snapped Wayne.
Julie was put on the spot and she wasn’t coping.
How can he go from being a supportive helper on the phone, to this? she now
thought.
“I don’t know.”
Hazel wasn’t standing for this verbal questioning from the officer. Her staff member
didn’t deserve the third degree and she interrupted the man, telling him to back off. After a
swift thought, Wayne left the young woman alone and concentrated on sorting this latest
mess out. After a few serious words with his partner, they were ready to face the
unexpected.
The nurses stood back. Wayne reminded them to keep everyone away, and then
fighting a feeling of dread, he and Jason slipped through the doorway to continue the
mission.
“Right, let’s get this sorted out quickly and efficiently. I don’t want you shooting like
a madman, as we don’t know if there’s anybody still alive down there,” Wayne said, as the
door closed behind them.
There was no need for a reply. Jason knew what was needed of him. He checked his
weapon, making sure it was loaded, and followed Wayne until they reached the stairs
leading to the level they required.
The officers stood close to each other upon reaching the bottom of the staircase. The
monotonous noises made by the zombies increased with each step the men took. They
halted, but there were no visible signs of the creatures. Trails of blood, including bloody
footprints, were enough evidence that they were nearby.
Gary’s I-phone was spotted lying on the ground. Jason picked it up and placed it
inside his jacket pocket.
They neared the corner where Clive had bumped into his killers. Wayne cautiously
peered around it, witnessing a mutilated body. Sitting beside the corpse was one of the
monsters. It had torn both eyes out of the dead man’s face, and tried placing them into its
own, empty, eye sockets. This latest victim of the zombie brigade wasn’t going to return as
an un-dead corpse because one of the mad freaks had broken into the victim’s head,
removing the brain.
Wayne turned around to face his partner then stuck up an index finger to indicate
that one of the monsters was up ahead. The sergeant plucked up courage and jumped out of
his hiding place. Jason did the same, backing the other man up. Wayne aimed his gun at the
creature, but the beast wasn’t able to see what was about to happen to it. It did however
know that someone was nearby. The smell of human flesh alerted its angry side again, and a
nasty snarl rasped from its mouth.
 Wayne fired a bullet smack bang into the centre of the ex-banker’s forehead. The
insides splattered against the wall behind it.
“Well, that’s easy,” he said, smiling with relief.
The officers walked past the two corpses, but Jason suddenly turned around to face
the blood-splattered mess of a being. He still had a touch of anger and it needed exercising.
He thought about Nash again, and the sight of one of those things was enough to send any
man crazy.
The pumped up constable pretended that the zombie was still alive.
“Hold on, Wayne, it isn’t dead. I just saw it move.”
Before the sergeant could respond, Jason had placed his gun tip against the blood
soaked head of the corpse, and pressed the trigger. ‘BANG’. Another hole was placed inside
the monster’s forehead, as the side of its face caved in. If the first shot didn’t alert the other
walking dead, then this one was sure to. Both officers remained with their backs facing the
morgue entrance so didn’t know, or suspect at this time that there were more of these
creatures nearby. Jason stepped back. Wayne remained close but felt confused as to why his
partner would shoot the beast again.
The other infected zombies shuffled out of the morgue room. One of them bit fingers
off a torn away limb, whilst the other still had a mouthful of Clive’s brain. Jason watched
them carefully and waited until the human arm dropped to the floor in front of him before
making his move. He dodged out the way of the zombie before jostling it to the ground.
He was about to fire his gun again when he was taken by surprise by the corpse of
Nash wrapping its arms around his stomach. In the ensuing chaos, his gun went off by
accident and a bullet was embedded into Wayne’s left arm, knocking the unlucky man over
the dead corpses. The sergeant’s weapon catapulted from his grip. He was now faced with
the zombie of Frank, as it crawled along the ground, aiming in his direction. The monster
had a great opportunity to strike the defenceless man, but instead, rose to its feet, shuffled
past the officer and headed down the corridor to find food dressed in a different kind of
uniform. Without realizing it, the two officers had given off the same smell only these
creatures noticed. This was the driving force behind the zombie’s motives, as it followed the
odour. This time the stairs would have to be attempted for the beast to reach its destination.
Jason wrestled with the other zombie, and was very lucky not to have been bitten. He
bashed the back of his head many times against the beast’s face, but this wasn’t working as
the zombie kept the grip extra tight. Wayne had no choice but to let the other monster make
some distance, after seeing his partner in deep trouble.
“Hold on, mate, I’m on my way.”
He got up, flinching from the pain. Blood escaped down his arm, trickling down his
hand and dripping off the fingertips.
Jason and the monster toppled over, until they were wrestling in front of Wayne. The
constable was trying to adjust his gun in order to shoot the annoying freak, but couldn’t
manoeuvre it into position because the monster’s arms were still tenaciously wrapped
around his own.
“I can’t keep it away for much longer; you have to hurry,” screamed a very
frightened, frenzied man.
Just at that moment, the zombie released the grip and became a statue for the next
five seconds. The creature switched back to police officer mode, as Jason’s voice acted like a
magic wand. The living officers noticed a weird twitching around the face of the re-born
thing. These signs were enough evidence that brain activities reminded the monster of what
it used to be, and it smiled.
Jason began to crawl away from the danger area. Wayne retrieved his gun then
rushed over to help him. He reached out a hand, Jason grabbed hold of it, but the beast
pounced again, grabbing hold of him.
“Fuck me, Wayne, it’s got me again.”
 Wayne needed to sort this situation out before the second creature found the exit.
“Put your head down. I’m going to blast its fucking head off.”
“But you can’t; it’s Nash.”
For some bizarre reason, Jason didn’t want to see one of his colleagues, alive or a
dead version, being shot at.
“Stop thinking like that. Nash has gone. Whatever that is, it isn’t him.”
Jason was distracted by Wayne’s words, but had to refocus quickly onto his ex-colleague as
he felt a nasty, stinging pain near to his right hip. It was the faintest of bites, but it drew
blood all the same. Jason ducked and Wayne shot the creature. It then released its hold on
the officer and lay on the ground in a furrowed heap.
“Is it dead?”
“I hope so, buddy. I hit the sucker in the head, and as far as I’m concerned, in the
head means it’s dead.” Wayne’s concern was for his partner now. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. It’s just a flesh wound…”
He stared at Wayne’s injury, and was a touch embarrassed by what he’d done.
“Your wound looks much worse. You do know it was an accident.”
Even though Jason was a loose-cannon with a gun, Wayne knew that he’d never
meant to hit him.
“Of course I do.” He hugged his friend with one arm, showing there were no hard
feelings. “Anyway, best if we get you checked out.”
“And the same goes for you,” Jason replied.
“The good news is; we’re in the right place for that.”
Both guys were able to produce a smile again, and felt lucky to be alive.

The last zombie was able to make some distance, as it sniffed the air for an escape route. The
men were so caught up in the emotion of surviving an attack that they let the beast slip
beneath their memory radar. The monster had climbed the stairs and neared the end of the
hallway, leading to the exit door.
The corpse of Nash got up again. Somehow, the bullet ripped through the skull at an
angle, bypassing the brain completely. The zombie moved towards the men, blood trickling
down its head. They stood watching, as moaning sounds irritated them once more. All
memories of this once being one of them were rubbed out now, as both men opened fire.
Both weapons emptied all bullets. The metal objects split open pieces of the zombie’s face
and head. The monster collapsed again, and this time it wasn’t getting up. The officers said a
quick prayer in an attempt to free Nash’s soul from the clutches of the evil side.
The other beast tried desperately to make its escape. After a few seconds of fumbling
with the door handle, it stopped, seemed to think, and then placed a hand over it. A delicate
twist later and the handle flopped down. The door opened, but the zombie seemed very
confused as to which direction to take. The area was clear of all human activity at this time,
and a hint of total disappointment channelled out of its emotions. Hazel was responsible for
no one being around. There may be a shootout in the morgue, but there’s also living patients
needing attention, so the staff pretended that everything was okay.
The zombie moved through the opening, twitching its nose, as a smile developed on
the horror mask of a face. Flesh was nearby, but which door was the unlucky victim behind?
The room where Gary slept was the destination point for this bloodthirsty creature.
The zombie remained twitching as it shuffled towards the room. The slobbering, groaning
beast glared at its prey through the small window in the doorframe before opening the door.
A minute later and the officers exited the morgue to find no distinctive clues on
where the monster had gone. If it still had blood on its feet then the prints weren’t showing
up on the carpet. Wayne took control of the situation, ordering his partner to take one route
while he took another.
 The receptionist was back behind her desk chatting with Hazel. Wayne spotted them
and rushed over.
“Nurse, I need to speak to you?”
Hazel moved away from the other woman and followed the officer to a quiet corner.
“Is everything okay now?” she replied, looking troubled.
How was Wayne going to explain this without freaking her out completely?
“Promise me you won’t say anything to anyone else about what I’m about to tell
you?”
“You have my word. What’s happened?”
“Frank isn’t dead anymore. He’s escaped from the morgue and is up here
somewhere.”
Of all the theories as to why Wayne was on edge, Hazel hadn’t thought of this one.
The woman was totally gob-smacked. A quick explanation was needed now. The officer told
her about the dreaded virus being passed from victim to victim, and she was able to fit the
pieces of this jigsaw together.
“I knew it was a human’s bite-mark, but I’d no idea that it was from a dead person.”
She glanced at the ground and noticed the man haemorrhaging all over the carpet.
“Did you know you’re bleeding?”
“I’ve been shot. My partner’s gun went off by accident, and I got in the way.”
“You should learn to dodge bullets; it’d be better for you.”
“Very funny, I’ll get it fixed when Frank’s dead again.” Wayne looked over at the
other woman. “Do you think your receptionist saw anything?”
“She’s just come back off her break. We walked down together.”
There was a brief moment of no talking between the pair. Wayne looked over at his
fellow officer while Hazel used this time to remember something from earlier.
“So, Gary wasn’t lying about the walking dead. Everything he said was real.” The
nurse feared for her own safety and started shaking. “Who was it that screamed down
there?”
“I don’t know, but he was one of your staff.” Wayne was eager to find the man who
escaped the monsters. “Where’s Gary now?”
“He’s in the waiting room.”
“Will you come with me to talk to him?”
Hazel agreed, and they began to walk together.
Jason was close to finding the creature, after he’d followed a deafening and
heartbreaking scream coming from the waiting room. As he approached the noise, he was
joined by Wayne and Hazel.
“Jason, close that fucking door. Do it quickly.”
The words were too late, as Jason reacted in horror to the sight that met his eyes.
Wayne and Hazel also peered into the room where Gary had been sleeping, but he wasn’t
asleep anymore. The mad zombie had brutally ripped out the man’s tongue, and while the
shocked human screamed, it sadistically bit into his face and neck, leaving the poor man
bleeding to death while the monster sat, eating the extracted organ.
The officers shook free from staring and were back on top of the situation.
“Wayne, do you want me to shoot it?”
“No, mate, the noise will attract too many witnesses and you’ve used up all your
bullets. We have to find another way of making that thing extinct.”
Even though Hazel remained stunned by what she saw, she was still able to help. She
noticed the fire extinguisher.
“Will that be any good to you guys?” she said, pointing to it.
Wayne nodded, and told her to stand outside and keep watch. She was just in time, as
the receptionist was on her way over. Hazel put out her hand to stop the other woman,
leaving Wayne and Jason to do their job.
 Wayne rushed over to retrieve the device.
“Right, out of my way, Jason, this could get messy.”
The monster remained seated when he lifted the red object in the air. With a crazy,
sadistic vision escaping its eyes, the beast remained munching on its catch. The weapon
crashed down with an almighty force against its head, splitting the skull, but it took another
two strikes before the creature stopped moving. The dead man’s tongue remained in the
jaws, as the final groaning sound escaped.
The two men stared at this latest killing. Hazel entered the room again.
“Is it over?” she asked Wayne.
“No, it isn’t. The dead man’s been infected with the virus and will rise from the dead
unless we fuck up his brain to stop the transformation.”
“You’re getting good at this,” Jason said.
Hazel took this chance to slip in a few words of her own.
“I don’t know much about whom or what these things are, but I may have an idea
about how you can dispose of the bodies. You could take them to the incinerator room to be
destroyed.”
She’d gone from a caring leader in the hospital industry, to planning ways of
eliminating dead corpses in the space of a few minutes. Surely, when she woke up the next
morning and remembered all of this, she would feel sick to the stomach.
Wayne needed to make plans if this was going to be successful.
“Hazel, I’ll need you to keep the receptionist occupied while we dump these
corpses…”
She nodded and left the room. It was now Jason’s turn to listen to orders.
“I’ll need a mobile bed, equipped with blankets. We have to hide the bodies.”
“No problem, I’ll find one,” the pumped up constable replied.
The ugly mess made Wayne feel uneasy, as he was left alone in the room. He knew
his partner would be back soon, but he didn’t know how long it would take before Gary
returned as one of those things. It seemed a very long time before he heard Jason return.
Hazel had ordered the receptionist to take another break, leaving the path clear to help Jason
locate a bed and return with him, but the task of lifting the dead was down to the men. She
would be the guide and nothing more. A sheet was placed over the corpses to hide them
from view.
Hazel led the way, followed by the weary looking officers pushing the bed. A few
bystanders watched them pass by, but an arm flopped from beneath the sheet, causing a
couple of people to point stares in Hazel’s direction. She glared at them. After realizing what
the staring duo gawped at, she changed her complexion to a polite sorry. The arm was
replaced beneath the covers and Hazel watched the curious bystanders until they were out
of sight. The crazy trio finally reached the destination point.
A furnace fire will soon roar like a raging, hungry dragon. Hazel controlled the temperature
and knew how hot it needed to be before the corpses would disintegrate. Wayne and Jason
placed the macabre looking bodies onto the sliding tray, but Gary’s corpse shook, and it was
now a rush job to push the tray inwards before the latest zombie attacked. The large, heavy
door slammed shut, as the humans stood back, watching the colourful flames attack the
intruders.
A crazy movement from the now transformed monster was witnessed, as it banged
its face against the extremely thick glass. Eyes of death sent nightmare looks into the three
humans, and Hazel couldn’t help staring at the darkened blood patches form bubbles as the
creature tried spluttering words from the tongue-less opening. It knew what was happening
and if everyone remained silent, then there was a great chance that the final screams would
penetrate through to the outside, allowing them to hear.
Suddenly, the extremely hot fire sliced through the corpses. The re-invented Gary’s
face melted in front of the watchers, and its staring eyes popped against the glass. Hazel
couldn’t look anymore; she turned, walking away, as the furious fire left just crumbled up
bone and mashed up piles of ash.
Wayne looked over at the others.
“Now it’s over.”