If these contagion carriers, these revenants, have pumping
hearts... One, it means they’re ‘alive’––and anything alive can be
killed, I told myself . But also....
It was too new an idea. I concentrated on the fourth body.
It failed to trigger Occam’s litmus.
So it’s not you.
Five, now.
My mind was still working on the idea.
There were certain cells that were ‘programmed’ to die. This
was a scientific fact. They were programmed to click off, like binary. Yes, no.
Yes––
The fifth body, a Jane Doe, had holes in her neck. There
wasn’t much time. Some of these had died almost forty-eight hours ago.
Sometimes it took a while before authorities found them. That’s why I came each
night. I didn’t want any of them ‘waking up,’ getting anybody. It was like
waiting for a vampire to crawl out of the grave.
The Jane Doe tested negative for the Suck. However, she did
have holes at her neck. Whoever this vampire was, he had nearly drained her
dry. I managed to get a few drops.
The litmus remained neutral. It did not turn black.
I dropped the used syringe into the waste container, and
then looked at her. The cops had bagged her hands. She looked... messy . She also looked young. Early
twenties, at most , I thought.
I noticed the large gashing fang wounds.
The medical examiner would notice them. No doubt he had
witnessed several similar wounds, in the past.
That made the vampire who was doing the killing dangerous.
He was thumbing his nose at the Lenoir. At me .
He was not existing silently. I replaced the shroud and turned to number six.
Only it wasn’t there anymore.
It was staring me in the face.
“Oh... crap...”
I was flying backward through the air, crashing into one of
the gurneys, the contents of which fell on top of me.
I got to my feet, my V-neck torn, and looked at the Fast
Walker. It had to get through me before it could get outside.
It came at me. I didn’t have any of my weapons. We crashed
through the swinging set of double doors, into the hallway. It landed on top of
me. Saliva dripped from its fangs. I rolled over on top of it, both hands on
its shoulders. It was still caught in the white bed sheet coroners sometimes
used to transport dead bodies.
There were no vampire bites on its neck. That meant whoever
had killed it had not contracted the disease. It had been merely resurrected by
the boker. I could see the victim’s black gums, silver-like teeth; its diseased
tongue lolled in its mouth. It snapped.
As far as strength went––the zombie had it.
I was stronger.
Nobody could see us; the hallway was empty. The elevator was
right there. I got an idea. Before I could act upon it, however, the zombie
twisted abruptly, and I was thrown off balance.
It happened. When the revenant had twisted, it caught me
unawares. The energy in my body was still directed downwards.
My body dipped. I could see its eyes roll back like a
shark’s. In that moment, it was interested in one thing only, ripping my flesh
off. It nearly succeeded in biting me. Instead it howled in agony. A
high-pitched keening sound that was sure to have traveled throughout the
morgue.
The locket I had around my neck that belonged to Halsey
Rookmaaker had fallen out of my torn T-shirt and stuck to its forehead.
I got hold of the white bed sheet the zombie was tangled in,
and cinched it quickly about the zombie’s throat, then hit it hard with one of
my elbows––there was a huge burn mark where the locket had touched
its skin, which was smoking.
Getting to my feet, I pulled the zombie up with me and
proceeded to walk it to the elevator. For a Fast Walker, it did what I told it
to. We were almost there, when an orderly appeared.
He was coming out of a closet marked rifornimenti di pulizia , pulling a large cart laden with cleaning
supplies. I saw earbuds poking from his ears. The janitor was listening to
music on high volume.
I pushed the button for the basement, praying the elevator
was empty and the
hearts... One, it means they’re ‘alive’––and anything alive can be
killed, I told myself . But also....
It was too new an idea. I concentrated on the fourth body.
It failed to trigger Occam’s litmus.
So it’s not you.
Five, now.
My mind was still working on the idea.
There were certain cells that were ‘programmed’ to die. This
was a scientific fact. They were programmed to click off, like binary. Yes, no.
Yes––
The fifth body, a Jane Doe, had holes in her neck. There
wasn’t much time. Some of these had died almost forty-eight hours ago.
Sometimes it took a while before authorities found them. That’s why I came each
night. I didn’t want any of them ‘waking up,’ getting anybody. It was like
waiting for a vampire to crawl out of the grave.
The Jane Doe tested negative for the Suck. However, she did
have holes at her neck. Whoever this vampire was, he had nearly drained her
dry. I managed to get a few drops.
The litmus remained neutral. It did not turn black.
I dropped the used syringe into the waste container, and
then looked at her. The cops had bagged her hands. She looked... messy . She also looked young. Early
twenties, at most , I thought.
I noticed the large gashing fang wounds.
The medical examiner would notice them. No doubt he had
witnessed several similar wounds, in the past.
That made the vampire who was doing the killing dangerous.
He was thumbing his nose at the Lenoir. At me .
He was not existing silently. I replaced the shroud and turned to number six.
Only it wasn’t there anymore.
It was staring me in the face.
“Oh... crap...”
I was flying backward through the air, crashing into one of
the gurneys, the contents of which fell on top of me.
I got to my feet, my V-neck torn, and looked at the Fast
Walker. It had to get through me before it could get outside.
It came at me. I didn’t have any of my weapons. We crashed
through the swinging set of double doors, into the hallway. It landed on top of
me. Saliva dripped from its fangs. I rolled over on top of it, both hands on
its shoulders. It was still caught in the white bed sheet coroners sometimes
used to transport dead bodies.
There were no vampire bites on its neck. That meant whoever
had killed it had not contracted the disease. It had been merely resurrected by
the boker. I could see the victim’s black gums, silver-like teeth; its diseased
tongue lolled in its mouth. It snapped.
As far as strength went––the zombie had it.
I was stronger.
Nobody could see us; the hallway was empty. The elevator was
right there. I got an idea. Before I could act upon it, however, the zombie
twisted abruptly, and I was thrown off balance.
It happened. When the revenant had twisted, it caught me
unawares. The energy in my body was still directed downwards.
My body dipped. I could see its eyes roll back like a
shark’s. In that moment, it was interested in one thing only, ripping my flesh
off. It nearly succeeded in biting me. Instead it howled in agony. A
high-pitched keening sound that was sure to have traveled throughout the
morgue.
The locket I had around my neck that belonged to Halsey
Rookmaaker had fallen out of my torn T-shirt and stuck to its forehead.
I got hold of the white bed sheet the zombie was tangled in,
and cinched it quickly about the zombie’s throat, then hit it hard with one of
my elbows––there was a huge burn mark where the locket had touched
its skin, which was smoking.
Getting to my feet, I pulled the zombie up with me and
proceeded to walk it to the elevator. For a Fast Walker, it did what I told it
to. We were almost there, when an orderly appeared.
He was coming out of a closet marked rifornimenti di pulizia , pulling a large cart laden with cleaning
supplies. I saw earbuds poking from his ears. The janitor was listening to
music on high volume.
I pushed the button for the basement, praying the elevator
was empty and the
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