July 30, 2010

"Lisa! I need prep work on patient twenty. He's about to go in for surgery." Hadrian Thompson, while not the most masculine, still held authority in both his tone and his posture. Everyone respected him. "Get the anesthesiologist in here pronto! And don't forget to check his charts this time, please." He said with a smirk, enjoying the blush it caused in the busty brunette. It had been a very long shift, and he wished for nothing more than to go home with his sons and fall into a deep sleep.

"I'll get right on that, Sir!" Lisa replied, still blushing red. Hadrian smiled and nodded before walking into the patients room. The patient was older, in his late eighties. He had come in about a week ago with severe stomach cramps. He had a fifty-fifty chance of making it through the surgery, but the old man was stubborn.

"Thank you, Lisa." Hadrian left her to do as she was asked. Walking in to Patient Twenty's room, he smiled at the man residing in the bed. "Hello Mr. Jacks. How are you today?" Hadrian asked as he moved towards the patient to check his vitals.

"I'm as well as can be expected, all things considered, Mr. Thompson." The patient replied.

"Well that's good. The nurse will be in here in a moment to get you prepped for surgery." He reassured the patient.

"Thank you, Doctor." The patient responded right as the doors opened to admit the nurse.

"We're ready Dr. Thompson. I'm here to transfer the patient. You need to be getting to the prep room. Go on." The nurse shooed Hadrian out of the room. Hadrian walked down the hall to get ready for the surgery. Thank God it's the last surgery for the night, was all he could think.

"Hello, my beautiful boys. Were ya'll good for the nice ladies?" Hadrian asked his sons. They, of course, couldn't respond seeing as they were only a year old, but he still loved to talk to them. He picked both his children up and settled them on his hips, making his way to his car.

He buckled them into their car-seats gently before sliding behind the wheel of the '04 Buick Enclave. Just before he could close the door, he heard a scream. His head jerked up, his eyes falling on the woman being torn to shreds in front of the building. His instincts took over and he quickly slammed the door before taking off, leaving behind the sound of squealing tires and the smell of burnt rubber.

He swerved madly, trying not to hit the panicking pedestrians, before making it into the street and quickly setting off for home. He checked his rearview mirror, looking at his sons. He met two pairs of frightened violet eyes, though neither child was screaming. Seeing a traffic jam, he quickly veered to the right, deciding on taking back roads home. They lived quite a ways from the city after all. And with what he saw happening, and the panicking people, he didn't want to be stuck there for an undetermined amount of time, possibly putting his babies at risk.

He turned the radio on, quickly finding the Atlanta station. What he heard made his skin crawl. "-ies. I am sorry to say that the government is putting the city under quarantine. Any one that has been bitten in the last twelve hours is to report to the nearest hospital. The bites are infectious and will quickly turn you mad without proper medical attention. You heard me right, people. The dead are walking." Hadrian knew he was lucky to get out of the city so quickly. His instincts have never lead him wrong before.

He continued driving, hoping that they made it safe.

Hadrian pulled into his drive way, made it through the gate, and into his garage. Grabbing his boys, he ran to the front door, unlocked it, and dashed inside. He bolted the door before taking his boys in to the living room and setting them down in their play pen.

"Now boys, I want you to stay here while daddy works on the house, okay?" Hadrian asked his boys, trying to keep his voice calm so as not to upset Micah or Dante. Getting spit bubbles in response, Hadrian quickly walked off with a chuckle. He ran around the downstairs of the house, making sure all the outside doors and windows were locked before he dashed to the basement to get some ply-boards and nails and a hammer. Having to make several trips before he got it all into the living room, he started to board up the windows. Eventually running out of ply-boards that fit well, he had to make due with some two-by-fours and other boards he had left over. Well there went the boards for the new cabinets, Hadrian thought bitterly.

By the time he was finished, it was nearing four a.m. He looked over at the twins only to find them sleeping. Dante was curled around Micah. They were both sucking on their thumbs, making them look adorable. Watching them sleep in their innocence, Hadrian started to cry. He kept quiet, so he wouldn't wake the boys. He was used to it though, so it didn't bother him.

Flashback

July 30, 1992

"I told you to be quiet boy!" The obese man yelled. The child quivering in fear before him only served to anger him more.

"I'm sorry, papa. I'll stop, I'll stop, I promise." The small child cried out. Anger flashed through the man's eyes.

"I told you not to call me that!" The man roared. He took the belt he had clenched in his hand and whipped the boy across the back, causing the small child to fall to the ground with a scream. His father continued to rain blows down on him. Sometimes hitting his back, yet sometimes hitting his head or his legs.

The fat man seemed to get angrier and angrier with every plea or cry that left the child's lips. The child's screams turned hoarse, before quieting altogether. The man didn't stop hitting the poor child until the boy collapsed unconscious. When the fat man finally unclenched his hand from the belt, the child's body was reduced to a bleeding mess.

When the child opened his violet eyes, it was so dark he couldn't see. He thought he had gone blind before he noticed a sliver of light peeking from a crack in the bottom of the door. He could hear booming laughter coming from the direction of the living room. That must be papa, the boy thought.

Hadrian tried to shift himself so he could sit up, but quickly gave that plan up when searing agony speared throughout his body. He let his body slump back onto the floor before finally giving into the tears that had been threatening to fall since he woke up. Why? That simple question stuck incessantly into his mind. Why?

He was four years old.

Present

July 31, 2010

Hadrian's quiet sobs wracked his tiny frame. The world had gone to shit, he had two babies to take care of, and he hadn't slept for two days; what else was going to happen. Glancing up, he looked at his children through bleary eyes. He needed to stay strong. If only for them, he needed to keep it together.

So he stood and started packing.

Hey guys. So, I'm sorry about having to rewrite this. But I have a much better story planned with this. Not only that, but the original was written almost three years ago, and I couldn't really remember what I was doing with it. So, here you guys go! Hopefully ya'll like this. Please review and let me know what you think. Reviews keep authors inspired. It lets us know someone is actually reading their story.