Altanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
10:45am
Patrick's head slammed against the steel wall of the ambulance as it made a sharp turn across the intersection and shattered the speed limit. As he regained his balance, Patrick held onto the dying woman's arm and wrist to monitor her. The ambulance came to a screeching halt which nearly threw everyone to the bloodied floor of the ambulance.
"What was that?!" the nurse whimpered as she attempted to look out of the windshield. She could see the red lights of the ambulance reflecting off of angry monstrous faces armed with poles and any other scrap they could use as a weapon. They slowly marched toward the immobile ambulance as their howls reverberated throughout the highway. They were the only thing standing in the way between them and the hospital in the distance.
"Goddamed hooligans is what! They won't move!" said the driver in frustration as he slammed onto the breaks and pushed his hand against the horn and siren, resulting in a deafening cacophony.
The ambulance began to rock as the maddened protestors outside began hitting the sides of the ambulance.
"Her heart rate is slowing! Hurry up!" Patrick yelled through his containment suit.
"We're never gonna make it like this. I've got an idea though! Somebody get me the sheriff on the line! Dial!" yelled Harrison as he took off his surgical mask and quickly threw the phone at the nearby nurse. She wiped the blood off her hands and quickly dialed as Harrison's grumpy demeanor worsened with the stress.
"Hello? Yeah this is Harrison with the CDC, we need escorts to get to the hospital, stat! We've got a VIP and they need immediate medical attention" Harrison barked through his bloody Nokia.
"Her EKG is not normal….I'm going to hit her with the defibrillator, were losing him!" the nurse said hurriedly as she charged the pads and slammed the dying body of the patient. The patient suddenly jumped up after the second shock and spewed a bloody mucosal soup straight at Patrick, who luckily still had his full containment suit on. Her bloodied blonde locks fell back down on the mat she was placed on and her hazel brown eyes closed once again.
"What the fuck…ew. I can't see jack shit…" said Patrick as he wiped the blood off of the screen of his mask with his gloves.
Suddenly the crowd became belligerent and began reaching into the ambulance in an attempt to enter through the back. One of the men in the manic crowd slashed the two back tires of the ambulance.
Harrison reached out for his pistol as the back doors gave way to the bloodthirsty mob.
"GUN IT!" screamed Harrison as he fired shots into the crowd.
The ambulance screeched as it picked up speed and ran over numerous people in the crowd. The back tires sparked, igniting dry wood and other combustibles strewn all over the abandoned streets. Harrison looked back out into the gloomy distance as they closed the doors of the ambulance once more. In the distance, Harrison could see the three unlucky bastards that had taken the heat from his pistol. Despite this, the cancerous mob continued chasing after the ambulance on foot in a desperate attempt to secure a ride past the military checkpoint that had been placed in front of the hospital.
Just then, two police APCs arrived from the hospital checkpoint and crossed paths with the fleeing ambulance. As they passed by, the mob began throwing Molotov cocktails at the APCs, severely damaging one but not before they began opening fire into the crowd, causing them to retreat back into the city outskirts.
"Holy…cow." Patrick said in disbelief as he saw one of the damaged APCs finally give out and erupt in flames. The burning bodies of the drivers crawled out and began rolling in a desperate attempt to quell the flames.
"They did what they had to. They're doing their job, we're doing ours. " Harrison said reassuringly as he stuffed his contaminated phone in a plastic baggie. He then took off his gloves and threw them in as well.
"I know." replied Patrick. His thin lips puckered up in anticipation as they finally neared the hospital. "How's she doin'?"
"She's stable…for now. But the growths in her throat are causing blockage and applying pressure to her chest cavity. We might just make it in time to help her." Replied the nurse.
"We better, she's our only lead." Harrison replied pensively as he stared at the blood stained woman and put on a fresh pair of latex gloves.
The ambulance finally crossed the checkpoint and barely managed to make it to the hospital. Waiting for them was not only a team of doctors ready take in the bloody girl, but the sheriff who was red with rage at losing an APC.
Patrick hopped off the ambulance first and handed Harrison the IV he was holding. The sheriff quickly walked up to the ambulance, visibly disturbed but more angry than anything.
Harrison then handed the sheriff the baggie with his phone. "Burn this shit for me, will ya? Thanks for the save." he said as he held the IV attached to the dying woman and rushed into the dirtied hospital with the doctors.
In confusion and rage, the sheriff stared at the bloody baggie for a good second and then chased after Harrison, who was halfway through the door already.
"And who the FUCK is this VIP that I had to lose an APC out there against those animals?!" he said as threw down the baggie onto the pavement and gestured toward the bleeding, hyperventilating girl.
Patrick turned to him and replied, "That VIP is our Patient Zero."
