Twenty Five

Angie walked down the hall as quietly as she could. Park was behind her doing the same. Kristen and Mr. Paulson were behind Park. Kristen looked up and down the hall, saying nothing. Mr. Paulson had his chair on the lowest setting, moving slowly and quietly.

Angie slowed to a halt as they approached a doorway to their right. The doorway to the hospital chapel. It was open and Angie could hear groaning. She held up a hand and the others stopped.

"Fuck," whispered Park. "More?"

Angie leaned forward and looked into the chapel. A group of corpses knelt near the altar. They were facing to one side, chewing on something on the floor. Angie saw bare legs and the bottom of a hospital robe. The rest was hidden behind a pew. Blood covered the bare legs.

"Yeah," whispered Angie. "More."

"Shit on this," whispered Mr. Paulson. "Just shoot them and let's go."

"We've been over this, dick-neck," whispered Park. "We don't have enough ammo for that."

"They're looking the other way and they haven't heard us," whispered Angie. "Let's just get past them and go. The cafeteria's just up ahead."

"Oh good," whispered Mr. Paulson. "I was hoping for some more of your fuck-awful food"

"Now, Dad," whispered Kristen. Her voice, even in a whisper, sounded hollow.

Angie said nothing, looking back into the chapel. The corpses still had not noticed them. She nodded to the others and they moved forward. They slowly and quietly crept past the doorway. The only sounds were the groaning of the feeding corpses and the soft whir of Mr. Paulson's chair.

A few steps later and they were clear of the room. Angie relaxed a little but stayed slow and quiet. They all made their way farther down the hall.

Eventually, the hallway opened into the cafeteria. Two rows of long tables ran along the center of the room, with several chairs at each one. At the far end of the room was another door, opening back into the hallway.

"Okay," said Angie, stepping over to the nearest table. "We can take a second to regroup." She set down the half-empty alcohol jug and undid the belt holding the remaining full ones to her waist.

She looked over at Park. He was taking his rifle off of his shoulder and looking around. She stepped over to him and spoke softly. "What did you mean earlier?"

He frowned at her. "What?"

"You said something about getting your wish if we ran out of ammo and died."

He looked around and rubbed his stubble. "You heard that?"

"Yeah," said Angie. "And we don't need that kind of..."

"Look, I didn't really mean you. Or them. I meant me."

Angie frowned.

"Listen," said Park, quietly. "Before we came here, before I brought Moe to the hospital I mean, I was planning on killing myself."

Angie blinked.

Park nodded. "Probably would have used this very same fucking rifle to do it, too." He shook the rifle in his hand and set it down on a nearby table.

"Why didn't you?"

Park shrugged. "Got distracted."

Angie looked down at the floor and chuckled. "You know, before tonight I would have asked you why anyone would want to do such a thing. Now I almost have a hard time understanding why someone wouldn't."

Park smirked at her and she smirked back.

"So why do you keep going?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know."

Park dug a box of ammo from his hunting jacket. He gave the box a little shake and cursed. "I'm damned near out."

"Same here," said Kristen, following Mr. Paulson as he wheeled his chair over to where Angie had set the jugs of alcohol.

"We'll just have to be smart," said Angie, stepping over to Mr. Paulson.

"Can't be something you're not, honey," muttered Mr. Paulson.

"Dad," said Kristen, quietly. "Hush."

Mr. Paulson whirled the chair around to face Kristen. "Stop telling me to hush! Have you stopped for a second to consider how roundly fucked we all are? We've got the hillbilly, the maid, the cripple and you. And what the fuck have you ever been good for? You couldn't even put your goddamned husband out of his goddamned misery!"

Kristen took a step back, her mouth open. Her eyes were wet.

Angie slammed the jug of alcohol down. "Keep it down. They will hear us."

"You shut the fuck up too!" Mr. Paulson roared. "You stomping around like you're somehow in fucking charge! You could barely manage my fucking bed pan as it was! You're so fucking stupid I'm surprised your kids haven't been taken away already!"

Angie circled the wheelchair to face him, not sure what she would do but sure it would be bad. She stopped when she heard groans coming from both doorways.

"Great," she said. "Good job."

Corpses staggered into the door at the far end of the room. The corpse at the front, a woman in a bloody dress, hissed and lurched at them.

"Shit!" said Park, leveling his rifle at the woman and firing. The woman's head snapped back and she crumpled. "We don't have enough ammo for this!"

Groans came from behind them. Angie spun to see more corpses stumble through the door at their backs. A man with no pants was chewing on one of the bloody legs Angie had seen in the chapel. He bit free a red chunk from the top of the leg and chewed.

Angie spun back to face Mr. Paulson. He was quiet, looking back and forth from one group of corpses to the other. "Any ideas?" she said.

Mr. Paulson said nothing, looking back and forth.

"I said any ideas!" she shrieked at him. The approaching corpses groaned from both sides. She felt her sanity slipping.

"He's just an old man!" yelled Kristen, wiping tears from her cheeks.

Angie turned to Kristen, her hand raised to smack her. She stopped, saying nothing.

"Remember that part when I said we were running out of ammo?" said Park, turning to face the other way and shooting the leg-carrying corpse. The corpse dropped the leg and fell.

Angie turned and grabbed the edge of the table nearest to her. "Here," she said. "Push the tables together."  She shoved the table up against the next table in the row. "It'll buy us some time."

Park nodded and slung the rifle over his shoulder. He grabbed chairs away from the tables and tossed them aside. He and Angie pushed two more of the tables together.

Kristen was just standing there, staring at the approaching corpses.

"Get your ass over here!" yelled Park.

Kristen glared at him but rushed over. After a few seconds of pushing and tugging, they had put four of the long tables together, creating a raised platform.

"Everyone up!" yelled Angie.

Park jumped up onto the platform and grabbed Kristen's arms.

"But Dad!" she said, pulling back.

"But your ass!" said Park, grabbing her arms tighter and wrenching her up onto the platform.

Mr. Paulson wheeled himself over to the side of the platform. Corpses were closing in on him from both sides. "What the fuck?"

Angie hopped up onto the platform. The corpses coming from behind reached the tables. They reached for Park and Kristen, but the platform was too wide. One corpse, a fresher-looking one, began climbing onto the platform. Park kicked him off. The others were too rotted or too wounded to quickly climb.

Angie stepped over to Mr. Paulson and looked down. The corpses were getting closer.

"What the fuck! You lousy bitch!" He screamed up at her.

"Dad!" Kristen said, rushing toward the edge of the table. Angie pushed her back, so hard Kristen almost fell off the other side and into the waiting arms of the corpses. Angie looked down at Mr. Paulson.

"I said any ideas!" she shrieked down at him.

"No!" said Mr. Paulson. The corpses were getting very close now. "No, goddammit, no!"

"Park," said Angie, "help me."

She knelt and grabbed Mr. Paulson's arm. Park came over and grabbed the other one. They wrenched Mr. Paulson up onto the platform. He landed in the center of the tables, unable to stand.

"You be more careful with him!" yelled Kristen, leveling her gun at Park.

Angie looked down at Mr. Paulson. "I am sorry. But never say anything like that to me again. Me or your daughter."

Mr. Paulson glared up at her but said nothing.

Park kicked at another corpse that was beginning to crawl up onto the platform. "We don't have enough bullets for all of these!"

A corpse grabbed Mr. Paulson's legs. He screamed as the corpse dragged him toward its open mouth.

"Dad!" yelled Kristen, moving her rifle toward the corpse. She fired just as the corpse leaned in to bite. The bullet caught the corpse in the temple. The corpse grunted, then slid off Mr. Paulson and onto the floor.

"Goddammit!" yelled Mr. Paulson. "This is it, assholes! We're dead!"

Another corpse grabbed Mr. Paulson from behind. He screamed. Park was busy kicking at another corpse. Kristen spun and pulled the trigger on her rifle. Nothing happened. "Oh god!" she said. "I'm out!"

The corpse that had hold of Mr. Paulson pulled itself further up onto the platform. It moaned ecstatically and pulled Mr. Paulson toward its mouth.

"Shit!" said Angie. She reached above her and pushed at the panel covering the florescent lights. She pulled the panel free and tossed it aside. Mr. Paulson was struggling with the corpse.

Angie pulled free her belt, letting the jugs of alcohol tumble to the platform. She wrapped the belt around her hand and grabbed hold of one of the florescent tubes above her. She wrenched it free and slammed it into the head of the corpse that had hold of Mr. Paulson. The glass tube shattered and the corpse faltered, letting go. Angie screamed and shoved the broken end of the tube into the corpse's face. It stuck and held. She kicked the tube and knocked the corpse to the floor.

"How many shots you got left?" she asked Park.

"Not nearly enough," he said, reloading the rifle.

She nodded and picked up one of the alcohol jugs. She turned to Kristen. "Give me your scalpel!"

Kristen said nothing, getting the scalpel from her pocket and giving it to Angie.

"What are you doing?" said Park, cocking the rifle.

"Watch," said Angie. She held up the plastic jug and stabbed it with the scalpel several times in several different spots. Alcohol began leaking out of the slits.

"What the hell..." said Mr. Paulson.

"Shoot!" Angie yelled, flinging the jug into the air toward the exit door. Alcohol spilled out of the jug as it flew. Park followed the jug with his rifle and fired just as it was suspended over the bulk of the corpses blocking their way. The jug exploded into a fireball and fell on the corpses below. The corpses groaned more loudly and started scattering across the room. Flaming corpses hit other corpses, setting them alight.

"I thought they don't feel pain," said Kristen.

"They don't," said Park. "But they're afraid of fire!"

In a few more seconds, the corpses had scattered enough to clear a path to the door.

"Get Mr. Paulson!" said Angie, kneeling to get the last two full jugs of alcohol. She ran to the edge of the platform and leapt off.

Park slung his rifle over his shoulder and stepped up to Mr. Paulson. He knelt and lifted him up off the platform.

"Put me down!" yelled Mr. Paulson. "I'm not a child!"

"Be careful with him!" yelled Kristen.

Angie ran to the wheelchair. The flaming corpses were stumbling around and groaning. Angie grabbed the chair's controller and wheeled it around to the front of the platform. One of the flaming corpses, more decayed than the others, fell over and was still.

"Huh," said Park. "Fire does kill them eventually." Then he hopped off the table, Mr. Paulson in his arms.

"Shit!" said Mr. Paulson as Park landed. "Be careful."

Park said nothing, putting Mr. Paulson back in his seat. Mr. Paulson glared at everyone, adjusting his robe and grabbing hold of the controller.

Angie looked around the room. The flaming corpses were spreading the fire fast. Soon the room itself would be ablaze.

Kristen jumped off the platform. "Are you okay, Dad?"

"All of you fuck off!" said Mr. Paulson.

"We gotta go," said Angie, leading them to the exit door and back to the hallway.