Part XXI

Soon enough they had cleared all the rooms until they finally got to the one they were almost avoiding. Sure, now they were certain that nothing was going to jump them on the way there, but they were scared of facing whatever it was moving the door.

"Wait" Kurt whispered as low as he could, going inside one of the empty rooms and taking a remote. Going back to the hallway he threw it at the door and held Puck's arm as they waited.

Nothing happened, but the door stopped moving.

"What were you trying to accomplish with that?" Puck whispered angrily.

"To avoid a close confrontation with something that might be able to bite us" Kurt whispered back, never taking his eyes off the door, a door which had stopped moving.

Then, slowly, a bloody hand gripped the door frame. Puck gasped and Kurt aimed sure to kill whatever it was on the other side of that hand, if it turned to be one of those zombies then he was going to shoot no matter who it was.

Gradually, the top a head appeared, weird looking eyes glancing at them before hiding again.

Puck looked at him with a weird expression, both of them trying to understand what had happened.

"Was that… a shy zombie?" Puckerman whispered, looking like he didn't know if he should freak out or laugh out loud.

"Maybe is someone who got infected" Kurt replied, shrugging. "At least we know it won't attack us before asking our names"

Together they walked closer to the room and peaked inside. The loud slam of the bathroom door closing was the only indication they had of where, whoever it was, was hiding.

"Hey, are you ok?" Puck asked while opening the curtains and letting the sun come from outside the windows. "What's your name? How old are you?"

"I'm Stanley, I'm twelve. You aren't crazy like them?" a tiny voice said from inside the bathroom.

"Like who?"

"The ones that come at night, they smell awful and they growl" the voice explained. By then Kurt could tell that it belonged to a little boy.

"No, we aren't. Did they bite you?" Puck asked, both of them dreading the answer already.

"I was… I was under surgery when people disappeared… I… They never finished it, I guess…"

"What do you mean?"

"They didn't… stitch me up… I kind of… I'm half done…" the little voice said, and Kurt felt that he was about to pass out. All those days had passed and this kid was walking around with an open surgical wound?

"We are not doctors, I don't think we can patch you up, boy" Puck said, getting closer to the door.

"I- It's ok, I guess? I haven't died yet… I don't think I will ever die…" Kurt just had to hear that to get closer to Puck and just move it closer to him and as far as possible to the bathroom door.

"How bad is your wound?" Puck asked, trying to shake Kurt's hand.

"It's pretty bad… I was getting a new kidney… and I think something bit me while I was under the anesthesia" the boy said, and that was enough to finally make Puck do what Kurt was asking him to and get behind the bed, the closer they could to the door without bolting out of the room. "Do you… maybe… Do you have anything to eat? The nurses disappeared too and I haven't been able to get anything to eat since Friday morning. And I'm afraid to go down because of the crazy ones"

Puck just stared at him with something like despair in his eyes. They both understood now that, whatever had happened to that kid, he was doomed to become one of the zombies out there. There was no other reason to explain why he hadn't died yet while having a surgical wound like that. At the same time, though, it was a great way to get some answers. This kid seemed to have more contact with those things than they had.

"How it is that the… crazy ones… haven't done anything to you yet?" Kurt asked, using the same words the kid had used.

"I leave the door closed at night; usually if they can't see you they leave you alone… and light kinda blinds them, that's why they don't go out during the day… At least I think so"

"Why did you have your windows covered, then?" Puck asked, fearing the answer.

"The light was hurting my eyes too. The sun is getting brighter each day"

"Can you wait for us a little?" Kurt said, before pulling Puck with him to the hallway.

They both stood there for a couple of minutes, looking at each other and the room behind them. Kurt didn't exactly know what was going on in Puck's head, but he was fairly sure that the kid wasn't going to get out of that room as he should. He was infected, way more than Lauren must have been when they found her, and that kid was going to be dangerous soon if the way Stevie had eaten his sister was any indication.

"We have to do something about him" Kurt said, even if he didn't have a clue on what they could possibly do.