MORTUUS

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"Next up is zombz, basically your typical zombie and the most dangerous of all the Rabids, Rabid Zombies. The kind that attacked you." She said, staring at me intensely.

I heard noises and I figured Ray and Jay were in the building. "I guess they are here." Karen said, confirming my thoughts.

"Habits huh." She asked however, it didn't sound like a question to me but I still nodded. Then everything went silent as she got to work, nothing but her occasional hmm.

I tried to keep my eyes on what she was doing but my neck wasn't having it and since I couldn't gauge how much I could turn my head without snapping it, I stopped trying to look altogether besides seeing a needle go through the skin of my arm made me a little queasy.

I paid my attention to the surroundings and saw that the door was wide open and I had a full view of the main entrance, this door however was closed. I could feel my thoughts drift and I held still, I didn't want to think about it. Being in denial was the only way I could go through this right now, accepting it was an entirely different matter.

I still had my eyes on the main entrance when it pushed open with a loud bang. Karen swore. I wasn't sure if it was because of the loud noise or because I jerked. "Sorry," I said and turned to glance at her, forgetting the intruder for a few seconds.

"Don't apologize, this is not your fault. Melvin!" She turned her neck more than a hundred and eight degrees and my eyes nearly popped out of my socket. She held this position as she yelled at him.

"What is wrong with you?! Don't show up banging the door! Where did you go?" She threw all the words at him at once. It was weird to see her mouth move with all that force whole her body remained stiff and in position. Her hand held the needle and thread as my hand rested on the surgical table.

Taking my eyes off her, I turned to look at the figure that by the sound of his footsteps was closer than before. I tried to keep my face as bland as possible but my eyes betrayed me ever so slightly. He was short.

I'm not the tallest of people and I do not like to size them up but there was no pretending that Melvin was of average height. My first thought was that he was a child but I could see the age on his face, he looked no younger than his twenties and I meant late twenties.

"Don't yell at me Karen, it's unbecoming." My eyes widened further, his voice was a shock, nothing about him prepared me for what he sounded like. Not his soft appearance and certainly not his height.

His hair was tied in a ponytail and he had on blazers, it was a very odd sight. His voice however was even weirder, deep baritone that would scare me shitless if he called out to me in the dark.

"Don't tell me that when you leave and come as you want." She took her eyes away from him and concentrated on my arm, picking up from where she left.

He doesn't stop walking until he stops directly in front of me. "My name is Melvin. What's yours?" It took me almost a full second to realize the question was directed at me.

"What are you doing?" Karen asked before I got a chance to respond, eyeing Melvin furiously.

"Introducing myself, you should have done that but obviously you would rather be rude."

"Rude?" She gasped and looked away from him. "Pay him no mind Raquel."

"Rather, pay her mind." He interrupted. "What's your name?"

I was certain he had heard Karen call my name but I didn't argue. "Raquel, nice to meet you, Melvin."

He stretched out his hand for a handshake but stopped himself midway. "Same here Raquel. What are you doing Karen?"

"Brushing my teeth," she replied menacingly. Not even bothering to look up as she spoke. At this point, she was basically done with my arm and was doing the finishing touches. He rolled his eyes but didn't say more and began to walk away. "Don't go far Melvin, I'll need you soon."

"Okay, I've heard. I'm in my office if you need me." He slowly walked out of the room and walked towards what I assumed was his office. I stared until I couldn't see him anymore.

I looked over at Karen, she was cutting the thread and staring at her work satisfactorily. I looked down at my arm and cringed. It was like a kid had gone to work on my arm. I knew it was a good job because the ones I've seen in movies were more horrible but I couldn't help but be appalled.

Karen on the other hand looked too pleased with herself. She picked the cotton wool mixed with the same liquid and began to dab on my face. I squinted my eyes as she got to work, trying not to shake my head too much. She was done in a few seconds and paused to look at the wounds.

"I can't stitch this," she sighed. "They are too small." For some reason, she looked infuriated. I wasn't sure if it was because she wanted to stitch my face or because this was done to my face.

"Oh, what can be done about them?" I asked softly not sure what else I was to say or do.

"That's not for me to worry about Melvin will figure that out. You'll go to him as soon as I'm done. Is there anywhere else you think you've gotten injured?"

"The back of my head I think," I replied almost immediately. It had been all I could think of since she started working on my arms. I was half afraid I would lose my hair because of it.

"Okay, let me see." She didn't wait for me to show her instead she went around the chair I sat on and raised my hair to get a look at my scalp. A scream emanated from her lips closely followed by a series of curses.