Chapter 21

I was roaming the streets of an empty city. I had killed those workers after climbing up a ladder in that tunnel. Now I had wandered into this city. There was paper thrown all over the streets most of it seemed like newspapers telling of outbreaks occurring. Cars had crashed into buildings, and a few bullet-riddled bodies - though not possible to tell if they were zombies or caught in the crossfire - were all that was left populating the town. I was moving slowly past a strip mall. As I was by a television store, one of them came on. I turned to view a reporter with bandage wounds around his head.

"Is it on?" he asked someone off the screen. "Does it still work? Okay. If anybody is watching this, please listen. My name is Kyle. I'm not a reporter, just a survivor. I'm with several military officials, and they wanted me to broadcast this message worldwide: We have won. The zombies have been eliminated. They want you to stay indoors for just two more days so that they can get rid of any small stray packs. They're taking me off the air now. Good luck everyone." The screen went blank, and shortly after, the message repeated itself. I walked away angrily and hissed loudly.

I was the first one awake. I stood up and stretched. I had left the door at the top of the tunnel open so a little light came in. I saw Travis and Kate sleeping. Kate was holding Travis tightly and resting her head on his shoulder. I smiled and walked around a little bit.

I decided to check the surface again. I climbed the ladder to the manhole and looked out. I was actually surprised to find the hospital still there. I still didn't believe this was almost over. I climbed back down to join Kate and Travis.

Kate was awake by now. She had stood up and stretched. Travis was awake as well, but he saved his energy and remained sitting.

"Good morning," said Kate cheerfully. "I want to see this for myself if you don't mind." I moved out of the way and looked towards Travis.

"Oh I'll look later," he told me.

I sat down next to him as Kate climbed up and out of sight. Travis handed me another package of jerky.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

There was a brief silence. "So we're almost done," I said.

"Yah," he answered. "It's weird."

"It is. What do you think will happen if we get rescued?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything. Do you think it's weird to kind of be sad about this?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "If by 'this' you mean the end of the world, then 'sad' is an extreme understatement. If by 'this' you mean the end of our journey, then I'm not sure what you mean."

"Through this whole trip down the tunnel, I couldn't help thinking about Kate."

"What's so bad about that?"

He paused for a moment. "I would have never met her had this never happened."

"I know," I told him. "The same is with me and Amanda."

It was quiet again. I wished I could give him some advice, but my mind was preoccupied by the memories of Amanda which already seemed so distant. It remained quiet until we could hear the clang of foot against metal as Kate returned. She climbed down slowly, and she wiped her hands on her pants when she got to the bottom.

"Let's get out of here," she said with a smile.

I stood up, and we helped Travis to his feet. Kate went up the ladder first. Travis was holding himself up with the rails. I lifted him up as Kate pulled at his hands for the first few rungs. I eventually had enough room to get under him. I had Travis sit on my shoulder as I climbed slowly and carefully towards the top. Kate was helping lead the way.

We managed to get into the small room at the top after a long while. Travis rested for a moment before finally peeking out for the first time into the city. He smiled and simply nodded. I decided that I would lead the way this time. I took an extra second to make sure I had everything.

I lifted the manhole cover up and off, letting much light into the room. I put my weapons out onto the street first. I hoisted myself out of the hole, and I got to my feet. The clean air felt nice. After these weeks with no pollution, everything felt clean.

I turned back to the hole and took Travis by the hand. I pulled him up as Kate pushed from underneath. I pulled Kate out next. All of us took in the fresh air at once. I grabbed up my guns, and suddenly began to feel dizzy. I assumed that it was from the bump on my head. I just shook it off and ignored it.

Kate helped me get Travis to his feet again. We began our final journey forwards. Our finish line was the hospital. There was not a body in sight, or at least none moving. Corpses lined the streets. I didn't know whether or not they were zombies that had already been killed or just the lucky humans that managed to die before they became infected.

We moved in silence. The only sound that could be heard was that of our feet coming against the pavement. We searched in all directions, cautious of any zombies that might have been left behind. In the process, the hospital ahead began to come closer and closer.

I didn't feel like I was walking anymore. I felt as if we were standing on a moving walkway that was taking us along for the ride. I still couldn't believe that we were almost done. My mind wandered off to imagine what life would be like after this.

"Alright," Travis whispered. I didn't expect any noise, and it made me jump a little. "We're here."

We all stood and looked at the emergency room doors leading into the hospital right ahead of us. Travis put all his weight towards Kate, and I held my rifle in position. I was going in first.

I put my hand on the bar of the door. Before I pulled it open, I remembered my last visit to the hospital. My brother and I were in a car accident. He was driving, and I had fallen asleep. He had leaned over to mess with me, and he didn't realize the car swerved slowly into oncoming traffic. He never saw the van coming. I was the only survivor of the whole accident. My brother, as well as the elderly couple in the van, had died. I shook my head and pulled open the door.

The place was silent. A hospital is never supposed to be dead silent, but today was another first for us it seemed. I moved slowly inside with the rifle set so I could fire it if I needed to. I didn't focus on anything specific. I kept my eyes steady for any type of movement. I was ready for any type of surprise that might occur.

The zombies had definitely been here. I could tell there had been a fight. Bodies lining the floor didn't surprise me. What changed was that some of these had instruments stuck into their bodies. There was an obvious struggle. The walls were scratched and dented. Some doors had slight bends to them. What intrigued me the most was bullet holes in the wall.

I walked up to a bullet mark. I looked through it and saw into the next room. The bullet must have implanted into a wall of the next room. Through the hole I saw a man in a doctor's uniform barely on a table. He had wounds in his arms. It looked as if he had slashed his wrists.

I turned back to finish my search. I could hear the door behind me open. Travis and Kate climbed in and let the door slam loudly behind them. After a few moments of silence, I figured that we were safe. Any nearby zombie would have heard the door slam. I lowered the rifle and began to browse around.

"Where would a radio be?" Kate asked.

"I don't know exactly," I answered.

Travis grunted before he spoke. "I'd imagine that a 911 operator would radio over. Maybe we should check near a bunch of phones."

The plan seemed to be flawed, but it was the only thing we had to go on. I led the way down each hall to make sure they were clear.

"Wait!" called Travis. I turned around to face him. "Let's check this to see if it helps." He moved unsteadily towards a wall to examine a map of a fire escape procedure. I looked around near me as Travis checked the wall. I saw a handheld radio on a counter. I walked over and grabbed it. It was one of those limited range radios that looked as if it only went to one other radio.

"What's that?" Kate asked. I handed it to her and started looking for the other. "A walky-talky?" she questioned. I rummaged around the counter searching for the other. I knocked papers and folders over the floor. I couldn't find it at first. I kicked the garbage bin at the end of the counter in anger, and I spotted the radio which had fallen behind it. I snatched it up and turned back to Kate. Travis had come back.

"Let's split up," I suggested. "I'll keep looking for a radio. You and Kate go find some supplies to help you with your legs." I told Travis. He looked to Kate and they nodded together.

"There's an emergency room just down the hall," he informed me. "We'll be in there if you need us."

I waved the handheld. "Keep yours on."

Kate nodded and the two moved out of sight. I continued my journey alone. I held the rifle close to my chest, and I attached the radio to my waist. I had to step over bodies every once in awhile. Overturned carts became obstacles in my path. I was moving slowly. I didn't need to rush anywhere, especially if I didn't know where I was going.

I turned down a hallway and found myself in what looked like it used to be a waiting area. A vending machine was lying facedown. Chairs had been thrown around. A plant had been knocked over, leaving a small pile of dirt. Windows had been broken inward. Glass covered parts of the floor.

As I moved forward, I remembered when I had to sit and wait. People were rushing back and forth, taking care of many patients, and all I wanted to know is if my brother was going to be alright. I could remember stretchers being pulled quickly past. They led my sight down the hallway to where a doctor with a clipboard walked slowly towards me.

I shook my head from the memory. I continued to move along slowly. I stepped over the fallen machines. The glass cracked under my feet as I stepped on it. I could see bathrooms at the end of the hall, and a few doors that didn't seem to lead anywhere lined the sides. I turned down the next hallway.

This was a short hallway. Heavy steel double doors marked a dead end. There were no windows on the walls. The doors didn't seem as if they led out anywhere. No light escaped through the gaps. I figured that everything suspicious is worth looking at. I grabbed a handle and pulled the door wide open.

The creak echoed off the cement walls on the other side of the heavy doors. I was staring into a parking garage. the only vehicle I saw was an ambulance. I looked left and right quickly, but nothing else seemed important.

I was just about to leave when a memory struck me. While I was in the ambulance with my brother, the driver kept receiving directions. I remember he was using a radio. The radio was inside that ambulance. It had to be.

I moved slowly towards it. I noticed that dried handprints had been stained to the sides and back. They were made with blood. I saw dents on the front bumper. I figured it must have had to hit a couple people to get here. A headlight was broken, and the wheels looked very dirty. I moved towards the driver's side door. There was a dent in the center of it as well as more dried blood. I reached for the door handle.

There was a continuous beeping sound as I opened the door. It surprised me at first. I climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door. I leaned my head back as the sound stopped. The seat was very comfortable to me. I almost felt like sleeping, but I had to stay awake. I had to use the radio.

I searched around me briefly. The keys were in the ignition, but they were turned all the way. The ambulance had been left running since the start of the attacks, but it had run out of gas by now. There were several switches on the dash board. Some were labeled as the sirens, and others had numbers and letters I didn't understand.

I spotted a small black CB radio in the middle of the ambulance. I reached for the radio. It didn't look like it was on. I checked the box and pressed a button. A green light turned on, and I could hear a light static. I pressed the button on the handheld part of the radio to speak.

"Is anybody out there?" I asked loudly. I covered my ears as I could hear my voice bounce off the cement walls of the garage. I heard myself over and over. The radio was on some sort of megaphone setting. I shook my head trying to get the ringing out.

"What the hell was that?" I heard Travis say. I grabbed the radio from my waist. I pressed the button to talk into it.

"You heard that?" I asked.

"The whole damn city heard that!" he exclaimed through the other end.

"Sorry," I said. "I found a radio. I'm just trying to figure out how to use it."

"Well keep trying," he told me.

I put the small radio on the passenger seat. I turned my attention back to the CB radio. I leaned down to look at all the switches and knobs. Many were for different channels. I saw a switch labeled 'All channels'. I flipped it on. The static volume coming through seemed to increase in a volume a little. I pressed the button on the side again.

"Hello?" I asked quietly, testing to make sure I didn't make myself deaf. "Is anyone out there?" I asked a little louder. I released the button to wait for a response. A few minutes passed by. The only answer I had received was static. After another few seconds I tried again. "Hello? If anybody is alive please listen. We're in the hospital. There are three survivors here including myself. One of them is severely wounded. We need help!" There was still no answer. I hung the radio back on its original spot.

I grabbed up the handheld from the seat next to me. "No luck here." I reported. "How's it going on your end?"

"We found a huge binder full of medical information," Travis answered. "Did you know I was only a step away from needing my leg amputated?"

I laughed. "No. Sounds like you're doing alright then?"

"Yah. It seems Kate can understand this stuff a lot better than I can. I feel like I'm getting a physical."

"Yah I bet. I'm just going to try again in a few minutes."

"10-4," Travis answered with a fake accent.

"Whatever." I tossed the handheld back into the passenger seat. I leaned my head back against the head rest and sighed. I just relaxed in the seat and fell into a deep sleep.