Author's Notes:
After seven chapters of mostly people having chats, tea and baths, I now attempt to earn the horror classification for this story. Some of the descriptions are influenced by episodes of the documentary series 'Inside Nature's Giants'. Especially the one with the exploding dead whale (look it up, it's wonderfully gross). Apologies for typos. It's late and my eyeballs are tired. Reviews are wonderful!
Warnings:
Gore, graphic horror, swearing and Red Shirts.
References:
Quiet as a mouse pissing on cotton is from Heist (2001). I believe an acceptable substitute is 'ant'.
Thirty-five minutes after the security detail first arrived at Welwyn Hospital, the entire mission team of eight, plus Ron and the captured zombie, were gathered outside the MRI clinic.
Alec Mercer was already configuring the computers that would process the scans. Inside the MRI suite, Mira Khan prepped the area to receive Ron first, followed by the zombie. As planned, Ron was put into medically induced Petrification. Both Ron and the zombie had been transported on stretchers via Leviosa, though markedly greater care had been taken in moving Ron.
Malfoy was leaning against a wall, one leg bent under him, booted foot leaving a black mark upon the powder blue wall. His fingers idly drummed against the stock of his shotgun. Hermione sincerely hoped he had remembered to put the safety on.
She walked over to inspect Ron, who had blankets tucked around him. He was pale and very still, but discernibly breathing. "Did Padma say how long it's safe to keep him like this?" she whispered Honoria.
"Three hours," Honoria replied.
"That should be more than enough time provided you take him home as soon as Dr Mercer is done scanning him," Jason Lam said. The medical student produced a pair of scissors and began cutting the zombie's clothing off. It was a hard, disgusting and sticky task.
"Well, that's the plan," Richards confirmed. He turned to Elizabeth Kent and Hermione. "I'll be in the lobby. As discussed, I want you two ladies positioned at stairwells at either end of this floor. Anything moves, you let me know. Anything tries to come up here, you torch the shit out of it, do you understand? If it makes it out of the stairwell, do not use Incendio or it's going to be like chasing down burning piñatas…"
This image required a moment of quiet contemplation to truly appreciate.
"What's a piñata?" Honoria Cloot asked.
Hermione explained.
"Oh," Honoria said, wrinkling her nose. "Well that sounds nothing like a zombie."
At that point, Jason Lam had succeeded in peeling off the zombie's trousers. The sound of this was nearly as bad as the ensuing stench. The creature's bloated body had apparently escaped the confines of its ripped trousers and had swollen around and through the fabric. Removing the fabric caused small sheets of skin to come off.
"Wow. I can smell that from in here," Mira Khan informed them, from inside the scanning room.
Mercer left the observation room to speak to Jason. "Don't forget to check for ferromagnetics. He may have piercings that have been covered up by bloated or injured flesh. While you're waiting for Ron to finish, run a Garrett wand over the big guy, here. Just to be doubly sure."
"Look at this haircut," said Jason, "It looks like he goes to the same barber as Richards. If he's military. I don't think piercings will be a problem."
Hermione was frowning down at the zombie's bloated, suppurating lower torso. "Is that going to be an issue when he's scanned? Apart from making the chamber really sticky?"
Mercer slipped on his glasses and had a closer look. "Nope. His head is perfectly intact. The injuries to his lower half look like high-impact trauma. Judging from the positioning, he was probably hit by a car. See here? His hips are out of alignment."
"I can't even see where his hips could be," Hermione muttered.
"The room's ready," Mira Khan said. She was holding her forearm up over her nose to combat the smell. "You can bring Ron in now."
"Alright, people. We all know what we have to do," Richards said. "The sooner we're out of here, the better."
Hermione set off for her end of the corridor. She turned her head to see the Cowboy speaking to Malfoy. Richards must have temporarily turned off his link to the communication system, seeing as Hermione could not hear what he was saying. In due course, however, Malfoy raised his eyebrows and then looked up at Hermione, bemused. If she were a betting person, she'd put down money on Richards just threatening Malfoy with death and dismemberment if he tried anything sneaky.
Worryingly, Malfoy gave her a small smile and a jaunty salute just before she closed the stairwell door behind her.
As it turned out, Richards had sent Malfoy to the roof.
"Because we need a pair of eyes up there and he doesn't need a wand for that," was all the Cowboy said, when Hermione questioned the decision.
She had opinions regarding this particular idea, but she trusted that Richards knew what he was doing. Over the communication system, Mercer was speaking to Jason Lam, the two men quickly and quietly discussing ROIs and functional overlays and other things that were well beyond Hermione. In the scanning room, Ron was already in position on the table, his head inside a coil and noise-cancelling headphones on his ears to protect them from the loud drumming inside the scanner.
"Report," Richards barked through their headsets.
"It's as quiet as a mouse pissing on cotton, sir," said Kent.
Hermione reported the same, though with less flair for simile. For a moment, she didn't think Malfoy would make a contribution, but then he said, "I think I can see my house from here."
"You mean the one in Wiltshire? That's some good eyes you got there, Malfoy," Hermione said.
She thought she could hear the smile in his voice. "One of many houses, Granger. I have a townhouse here in London, but I do miss the Manor."
"It's still there," Hermione told him, as she peered down the stairwell and once again noted the thankful bounty of nothing.
"An acquired Ministry asset, I presume?" Malfoy asked. "It's a wonder you haven't taken it apart and sold it off, piece by piece."
"Well there was that whole business about the DMLE team that was sent to catalogue your late father's vast collection of Dark Arts goodies. They went missing for three days and then re-emerged, understandably distraught, in Jamaica. After that, the DMLE put the equivalent of Muggle police tape around the place until they could figure out what to do with it."
The communication system relayed his low, soft laughter. "That is gratifying to hear."
"Everyone, we're ready," Mercer interrupted. "Commencing scanning now."
Elizabeth Kent spoke at nearly the same time. "Sir, we have some movement on the west end. I can hear it, but I can't see what it is. Sounds like it's coming from the ground floor, though. Are you picking anything up?"
Through her headset Hermione could hear the sound of a door opening and closing in a cavernous space and thought it could have been Richards going to investigate the lobby stairwell.
"Gotcha," said Richards. He then cast a spell Hermione was unfamiliar with. The effects, however, were all that mattered. There was a brief moment of panicked screeching, a dull thump, and then Richards's voice again. "People, the hospital's deserted, but we may have some free-range visitors wandering the corridors. Keep a sharp lookout and let's dial it down a notch, OK? No loud noises."
The remaining forty minutes passed by without incident and Hermione was relieved to hear Mercer's update: "We're done with Ron. Richards, unless you require anything more of her, Honoria would like to Evaporate back to Grimmauld Place with Ron now."
Mira chuckled. Hermione had to smile.
"That's Disapparate, Doc. But yeah, Cloot, get that boy home."
"Good luck, everyone," said Honoria, and then she and Ron were gone.
"Alright, bring in the big guy," Mercer called out.
Only, the specimen proved difficult to move. The original levitation spell cast by Dr Wallen and Professor Yoshida was wearing thin, causing the stretcher under the zombie to buckle slightly from the immense weight of the creature. In the waiting area outside the scanning suite, Mira re-cast Leviosa in order to stabilise the load, but then began to have difficulties in pulling away the stretcher as it had adhered to the zombie's exposed flesh. The team listened to several minutes of Mira's laboured breathing before Mercer spoke.
"Jason, I think you'd better give her a hand."
Lam presumably joined the young Mediwitch, but after about ten minutes, he said, "Richards, we're going to need a third person to help Mira move and position the specimen, while I get the scanner ready."
Richards grunted his assent. "Granger, you go. I'll move up to your location."
Hermione opened the heavy stairwell door and then gently shut it behind her. She quickly jogged to the waiting area and assisted Lam and Mira by removing the stretcher first. It took yet more skin off their specimen, but that was of no consequence. Lam then left to go inside the scanning room to ready the table and head coil. Hermione noted that it was indeed difficult manoeuvring the large zombie through the narrow corridor leading to the scanning suite.
"Jason?" Mercer asked. "What's the hold up?"
"Nearly there," Lam called out. He opened the double doors for Hermione and Mira, as they slowly levitated the zombie into the room.
A substantial quantity of fluid was leaking from the creature's torso, creating a slimy, slippery mess along the carpeted floor. Mira trod in a puddle and grimaced. "My trainers," she moaned.
"Hold up." Hermione stopped cold. She was frowning down at the zombie.
"What is it?" Mira whispered. But now even she could see the problem. The zombie was moving, seemingly convulsing in mid-levitation.
Lam was standing by the machine, watching. "I'm coming over."
"Jason, stay where you are!" Hermione ordered. "Petrificus!"
It didn't work. Petrification wasn't the problem. The zombie lurched upwards, while still remaining mostly horizontal. It began to spasm wildly, its large body fighting the confines of both the levitation and petrification spells. More fluids ran out of the body, dropping to the floor in a slimy, yellow cascade. It was like pulling the stopper on a beer keg.
"What's happening in there?" asked Richards.
The zombie's abdomen distended upwards; the skin stretched to the point where it was tented. There was a hissing noise of escaping internal gasses and then something small ripped out of its stomach and hurtled towards the twelve-ton magnet housed at the opposite end of the room. The thing narrowly avoided embedding itself into Jason Lam's startled face.
Plink.
"What the hell…" Jason said, as he approached the item, which was trying desperately to burrow inside the machine.
Mira sagged against Hermione. "That was scary…"
"Damn it, Granger! What's going on?" Richards demanded.
"It appears there was something metallic caught inside the specimen. It came out as we entered the scanning room. No one was hurt," Hermione said, with a sigh of relief. She addressed Lam. "Jason, what is it?"
He was peering very closely at the item in question. "I'm not sure. It looks like…some kind of metal loop? Like a broken key ring or something? A pin…"
That meant nothing to Hermione, but Richards was suddenly screaming at them.
"Get out of there! Run! Move! GRENADE!"
Hermione grabbed Mira and practically threw her back out into the corridor.
Mercer was shouting. Richards was shouting.
The world exploded.
