were thrown back into the closed position, hitting Carl in the face and causing all of the men to jump back in surprise. Luckily the doors to the stockroom were made to swing into the store, so that full carts could push through them. Whoever, no whatever, was on the other side had only succeeded in closing the doors against the jam.
“Shit,” growled Carl as he reached up to make sure his nose wasn’t broken. He felt a trickle of blood on his lip as he mumbled, “Lock the damned doors!”
Frank was quick to comply with that directive. He held the doors closed and twisted the dead bolt to lock them securely as fists pounded against the other side and said, “The rest of the store must be infested.” To which Carl nodded, even though Frank had simply stated the obvious.
“Good thing you came up with the plan to come in the back door, Carl” commented Luke, a thin blond man in his thirties. “This is like taking candy from babies.”
“Let’s just hope it stays that way,” said Carl as he got to his feet. “You can stay here and guard this door, Luke. You too, Joey. The rest of us will try to get upstairs and check that out.”
“Sure thing, boss,” said Frank.
Just then they heard new and strange sounds coming from the other side of the door. The pounding on the doors stopped, but the noise behind them increased. Carl froze and listened to the sounds of combat beyond the door. He heard the impacts of at least one weapon on flesh, a sound he had only recently come to know, and a few high pitched exclamations that sounded human.
“Unlock the door,” said Carl firmly and Frank swiveled back from the door with a dubious look on his face. “I think someone is alive in there,” Carl explained. “Open those doors! Now!”
Chapter 3: Fame and Misfortune
“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything” – Albert Einstein
Scott felt totally spent as he climbed down the stairs from the vehicle deck to the First Crew Deck where the sickbay and marine biology lab were located. The Sovereign Spirit didn’t have a real hospital, but Michelle had insisted that they carry a ship’s doctor and have a fully equipped emergency room when she agreed to bring their family and friends on a round the world cruise. It had been an expensive addition to the ship, but Scott was quite glad now that he had agreed to her ultimatum. The marine biology lab had been added at the pleading request of his niece who wanted to be a marine biologist – and also because Scott harbored personal desires to study the ocean and everything in it. That lab was now assigned to Professor Bernhard and his assistant for their zombie research activities.
Scott ignored the “Z Lab” – as some were now calling it – and went straight to the ER. Knocking once, he opened the door and walked in to find out how Clint was doing. Scott was hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. Dr. Grace Greenburg was sitting at her desk in the ER’s anteroom, working on the computer. She looked up and gave Scott an unreadable smile, displaying sadness and hope at the same time.
“Welcome home, Scott,” she said. “I’m glad you made it back alive and in one piece, which is more than we can say for your friend Clint.”
“Is he alive?” asked Scott abruptly.
“Oh yes,” she replied confidently. “He’s alive, but certainly not in one piece, is he? I hear that you were the one who performed the amputation.”
“That’s right, Grace,” Scott answered slowly. “And I’m sure I did a horrible job of it.”
“Actually, it’s one of the better field amputations I’ve seen, although I must admit
“Shit,” growled Carl as he reached up to make sure his nose wasn’t broken. He felt a trickle of blood on his lip as he mumbled, “Lock the damned doors!”
Frank was quick to comply with that directive. He held the doors closed and twisted the dead bolt to lock them securely as fists pounded against the other side and said, “The rest of the store must be infested.” To which Carl nodded, even though Frank had simply stated the obvious.
“Good thing you came up with the plan to come in the back door, Carl” commented Luke, a thin blond man in his thirties. “This is like taking candy from babies.”
“Let’s just hope it stays that way,” said Carl as he got to his feet. “You can stay here and guard this door, Luke. You too, Joey. The rest of us will try to get upstairs and check that out.”
“Sure thing, boss,” said Frank.
Just then they heard new and strange sounds coming from the other side of the door. The pounding on the doors stopped, but the noise behind them increased. Carl froze and listened to the sounds of combat beyond the door. He heard the impacts of at least one weapon on flesh, a sound he had only recently come to know, and a few high pitched exclamations that sounded human.
“Unlock the door,” said Carl firmly and Frank swiveled back from the door with a dubious look on his face. “I think someone is alive in there,” Carl explained. “Open those doors! Now!”
Chapter 3: Fame and Misfortune
“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything” – Albert Einstein
Scott felt totally spent as he climbed down the stairs from the vehicle deck to the First Crew Deck where the sickbay and marine biology lab were located. The Sovereign Spirit didn’t have a real hospital, but Michelle had insisted that they carry a ship’s doctor and have a fully equipped emergency room when she agreed to bring their family and friends on a round the world cruise. It had been an expensive addition to the ship, but Scott was quite glad now that he had agreed to her ultimatum. The marine biology lab had been added at the pleading request of his niece who wanted to be a marine biologist – and also because Scott harbored personal desires to study the ocean and everything in it. That lab was now assigned to Professor Bernhard and his assistant for their zombie research activities.
Scott ignored the “Z Lab” – as some were now calling it – and went straight to the ER. Knocking once, he opened the door and walked in to find out how Clint was doing. Scott was hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. Dr. Grace Greenburg was sitting at her desk in the ER’s anteroom, working on the computer. She looked up and gave Scott an unreadable smile, displaying sadness and hope at the same time.
“Welcome home, Scott,” she said. “I’m glad you made it back alive and in one piece, which is more than we can say for your friend Clint.”
“Is he alive?” asked Scott abruptly.
“Oh yes,” she replied confidently. “He’s alive, but certainly not in one piece, is he? I hear that you were the one who performed the amputation.”
“That’s right, Grace,” Scott answered slowly. “And I’m sure I did a horrible job of it.”
“Actually, it’s one of the better field amputations I’ve seen, although I must admit
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