When they got back to the room they found Brad watching a news story. "I thought you were going to get to bed," said Sarah sitting down next to him.
"I couldn't sleep and besides, there was something on about the fire and the bus that left here earlier. The fire has now completely blocked off the road and the bus was destroyed when it was caught in the flames about seventeen miles from here. No one survived. The bodies were all accounted for but were so burned up they couldn't be identified by many physical means. The accident was blamed on the driver because it seems that the bus crashed before the fire reached the road," Brad finished.
"Well, that's sort of odd. Someone could have been infected when they got on the bus. Well at least it was burned. The virus can't spread now. It's 8:30; I'm taking a shower and going to bed. Don't be too loud," said Sarah.
"Okay, no problem," Jess answered.
"I'm right behind you," Brad said turning off the T.V. and following Sarah.
Jess walked over to the window and watched the town as it began to slow with the days' end. There were a few cars on the roads and a couple people walking down the sidewalks. Most of the shops and other small buildings were dark; CLOSED signs hung in their windows. Some of the lights in the houses on the far edge of town began to go off as people went to bed. Only the sun seemed to want to stay up; it's warm rays peeking out, as if it were still midday.
She turned from the window and walked into the kitchen. She sat down at the table with a glass of water. Her thoughts kept going back to the men in the room at the station and of the mission tomorrow. Knowing that there was nothing more she could have done made little difference to her.
She heard Sarah and Brad get into bed about ten minutes later. She finished her water and followed them, though she was sure she wouldn't get much sleep.
10
Back at the police station, past the security guard sleeping at the front desk, past the stairs, down the hall, behind the sealed door, three creatures wandered blindly around, their rotting, bloody flesh falling to the floor in pieces.
Flesh. Human flesh. That's all they wanted. That's all they needed.
They stumbled around chairs and the desk, not very much aware of their surroundings.
Flesh.
11
12:00. 'Ugh, I have got to get some sleep,' thought Jess. She rolled over in her bed and watched Sarah as she slept. 'How are we going to get out of town if the fire cut off the road?' she thought.
Jess got up out of bed and sat down at the kitchen table. The sun was still out, hovering just over the horizon. It would start its accent up into the sky soon. She sighed and stared out at the town. Nothing moved. Everything was closed except the police station, the hospital and a store on the east side of town.
Suddenly something caught in the corner of her eye. There in the street three blocks away was a figure, moving way to slow to be normal. It lumbered slowly forward as if it were drunk. She couldn't make out the condition of its clothing or skin.
Finally she tore her eyes from the figure. It might just be some drug addict walking down the road. Even if it was a zombie there wasn't much she could do about it from there and she couldn't go around shooting a gun in town at the middle of the night.
She heard a muffled pop and looked up just in time to see the figure drop to the ground. Whatever it was, it had been shot. The lights in the buildings around the area where it lay began to turn on.
Jess could make it over there in no time, she was sure of it. She quietly got dressed, grabbed her jacket and went out the door. As soon as she was outside she began to run.
About ten minutes later she arrived at the scene. There were people all around and police were investigating what had happened. She was glad she had stuck one of her false ids in the pocket of her jacket earlier. She showed it to a security guard and was allowed past the tape to investigate.
The body sat in a black bag. It was rotted and falling apart, like it had been dead for a very long time. She put on a pair of gloves that were handed to her and checked the teeth. Very sharp, very dangerous, definitely not human… at least not anymore.
It was a zombie and whoever had shot it had prevented the virus from spreading for now. The body would need to be destroyed though. If it weren't, it would still be possible for the virus to spread to those who came in direct contact with it. That presented a problem, unless she could somehow persuade the police to let her take the body. Then she could destroy it and be back in the hotel room before morning.
She looked around for a car or something that she could use. She noticed that there was a van parked on the side of the road with the keys sitting on the dashboard. Sometimes she loved people who didn't think much.
"Um, sir?" asked Jess. "I am Dr. Allard. I will need to take this body in for testing," Jess said showing the officer her I.D.
He looked uncomfortable for a moment as if he wasn't sure about her and then asked, "Okay, where is your vehicle?"
"Right over here," she said pointing to the van.
"Alright, we'll be done here in about ten or fifteen minutes. We'll load the stiff in your van then," the officer answered.
"Thank you sir," Jess replied walking over to the van. She opened the door and grabbed the keys. She opened up the back and when no one was looking, loaded all the stuff that was inside out onto the sidewalk. About ten minutes later the officers were loading the body into the van.
"Thank you again officer," Jess said climbing into the van and starting it up.
"No problem doctor." he said shutting the van door and walking away.
Jess drove into the outskirts of town and unloaded the dead creature from the van. "Now, how do I burn you up?" she wondered aloud.
She walked back to the van and looked in at the seats. She noticed lots of papers and bags and a container that looked like it was holding gas. She opened the door and sure enough it was full of gasoline.
'These people were strange keeping gas in their car like this but okay,' she thought as she covered the body with the paper and the gasoline.
When everything was ready, she threw the empty canister back into the van and took her lighter out of her jeans' pocket. She lit up the gasoline and then immediately jumped into the van and drove off. She parked the van where it had been (the street had once again been deserted) and walked back to the hotel.
When she got back into the room Sarah and Brad were still asleep. It was 2:00 in the morning. She got undressed again and got back in bed.
'Two hours until mission time. I best get some rest,' she thought finally drifting into sleep.