Apocalypse Hearts

Chapter 5 - The Safe Passage

Sally immediately checked on the unconscious lady. "What happened to her?"

"She's my wife. In a coma for three weeks now. I knew that she must not be taken off the machine, but some patient attacked us all of a sudden," the man cried, "I cannot leave her there." He continued crying.

His wife lay cradled in his lap, her face pale, lips black, and motionless. Alon and Ronald noticed the fresh blood stained under the sleeve of the man's shirt. Alon poked Sally's arm and used his mouth to point to the husband's sleeve. Sally knelt beside them and checked his bite. It was a small tooth scratch. Then she searched for the pulse of the wife she already knew she wouldn't find.

"It's starting," the husband said with a faint, defeated smile, "I can feel it. I saw them turn. I know."

Tears welled in Sally's and Camille's eyes. The husband looked down the corridor, seeing other people, terrified, waiting.

"Go on," he said softly, "Leave us here. Thank you for saving us. There are many others in the rooms. But can I ask you one last favor?"

"What is it?" Mang Ben asked.

"Please tie us together. Both our hands and feet… Together. I don’t want to leave her when the time comes."

Alon and Ronald removed the shoelaces from the husband's shoes. Alon double-checked Ronald's knot and tightened it securely. As requested, the husband and wife lay with the former’s arms wrapped around her spouse.

Sally bowed her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered and walked away.

Camille clasped Sally's hand. They looked at each other and wept silently. The group continued walking.

Minutes later, “Where does this corridor lead to, Mang Ben? Where are we going?” Alon asked.

Everyone stopped. Waiting for answers. Mang Ben touched the wall.

“Beyond this wall is the Dietary Services. We actually have not spoken about a plan since this whole chaos started,” Mang Ben said, then paused for several seconds, “but it would be better to have food and water for us to think clearly and have energy.”

People murmured, agreeing.

“That’s a good point, Mang Ben. We don’t know how long we are going to be here,” Alon remarked.

“To answer your question, this maintenance corridor has access to every department of this hospital. This key…” Mang Ben put up the key hanging from his neck and showed it to everyone, “is the mother key of all entrance and exit doors in this tunnel and the hospital. In case you didn’t notice, every door here has a small keyhole like a backup keyhole.”

“So, we can get out of here through a door near the exit doors?” Sally asked in a lowered voice.

“Yes.” Mang Ben answered in an equally lowered voice.

“But the doors are not beside the exit doors of the hospital. These are usually located in the corner walls or in the middle of a long hallway.” No one spoke.

"The canteen stores bottled water," Mang Ben continued, "Canned goods, rice, cooked food, medical gloves, cleaning alcohol, first aid supplies,” He looked at Sally.

Sally glanced toward the dark tunnel. “How far are we from the nearest hospital exit?”

Mang Ben unfolded the blueprint. “We are just two hundred fifty meters away from the nearest hospital exit. But it will be on the other side of a short hallway,” he said.

“Let’s plan how to get food and water in the Dietary Services first. There could be infected people there, so we need to plan. Who’s coming?” Alon asked.

“I must,” Ronald said right away, “Able-bodied men must come, too.” He scanned all the people.

“I will come,” Sally said.

Ronald did not argue. The guard, other relatives, and another paramedic volunteered, ten in total.

The plan was to go out to the Dietary Service, get as much food and as much water as they could. Camille and the others would just wait at the opening and receive the supplies. Mang Ben will also stay with Camille.

“If there is an infected, what shall we do?” the relative asked.

“Remember, they are most likely attracted to sounds. We must look after one another. Someone has to make a sound if the infected is too near to someone to distract them,” Ronald said.

“I have to say this, but we need to be alert and careful. We must not make any sound if there is no infected in that area. Unlike the nurse before, there are infected people who run fast. I saw them with my eyes,” Alon warned.

“Yes. I saw our guard stand and run towards me before I entered the ER,” the thought of it sent chills down Camille’s spine.

“Let’s go now,” Sally said.

They walked about ten feet and looked at the door. The smell changed; there was less disinfectant, more cooking oil. It had the lingering scent of a place where people had eaten two hours earlier. The familiarity made everything feel worse. They felt the hunger.

Mang Ben stood beside another steel service door. Everyone followed. He put his ear by the door, listening. They didn’t hear a thing. Slowly, Mang Ben inserted the key. A thin rectangle of light shone beneath the door.

They noticed that the main entrance of the Dietary was blocked by big tables, chairs, and some steel cabinets. Someone was inside the kitchen. Then they heard whispers.

"Keep it closed!"

"Portion the water!"

"My husband is still outside!"

Sally's heartbeat quickened. "They're alive." She told Ronald.

"Hello. We're hospital staff," Ronald said in a very low voice.

The whisper stopped. Ronald stepped forward. "My name is Ronald. I'm a medical intern. We're with nurses, patients, relatives, maintenance, and guards."

Still, no whispered voices.

"They don't trust us," Alon said in a low voice. “Let’s get food now.”

They all moved. They picked up bottled water, bread, canned goods, fruits, water, milk, whatever they could eat immediately. Someone approached cautiously. A woman's trembling voice came through the closed pantry.

"How do we know you're not rabid?" The question hung in the air.

No one had an answer. Ronald looked at Sally. She understood immediately. She slowly raised both empty hands.

"My name is Sally Rivera, RN. My friend Camille, RN is also here with us. And you probably know Mang Ben our maintenance supervisor. We're trying to get people out through the maintenance corridor."

“Mang Ben? Where is Mang Ben?” the trembling voice of a girl said excitedly.

Another voice, an older male, talked. "If we open, will the infected hear us?"

Mang Ben answered from behind Sally. He went out of the wall. "Eventually, they will hear us. So, get your a*s out here, Mario, or we're all going to die here while waiting for you to come out.” Mang Ben sounded exaggerated but in a low voice.

A short, whispered chuckle could be heard from the pantry. Finally, the lock clicked. The steel door opened no more than two inches. One frightened eye looked through the gap. Recognizing Mang Ben, the door opened wide. Inside the kitchen, nearly twenty people huddled behind overturned tables.

They were dietary staff, janitors, housekeepers, an electrician, and cashiers. Even a security guard whose left arm had been wrapped tightly with a torn tablecloth. They looked so scared, caught in the worst day of their lives. Sally quietly exhaled. She felt happy seeing many not unalive.

Mang Ben peeked inside. “You guys really know where to hide.” He said, smiling.