In fact, right then, in the makeshift clinic, in the moments before the troubling turn of events becomes known, the overhead fluorescents pulse and waver with faltering current from the generators on the upper level. The waxing and waning of the light, as well as the incessant droning noises, are beginning to make the man named Rick nervous.
He sits on a gurney in the corner, watching Dr. Stevens wash up at the sink. The frazzled physician takes a deep breath and stretches his weary back muscles. “Okay,” the doctor says, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “I’m going home to take a nap, or at least try to. Haven’t really slept much in days.”
Across the room, Alice comes out of a pantry with a hypodermic needle in one hand, a vial of Netromycin—a strong antibiotic—in the other. She preps the needle and gives the doctor a look. “You okay?”
“Yeah, fine … fine and dandy … nothing a fifth of Stolichnaya won’t fix. Alice, can you just come and get me if something big comes up?” He gives it more thought. “If you need me, that is.”
“No problem,” she says, nudging Rick’s sleeve up and rubbing alcohol on the site. She injects another fifty cc’s into him, still absently talking to the doctor. “You go get some rest.”
“Thanks,” the doctor says, walking out and shutting the door behind him.
“So…” Rick looks at her as she holds gauze on his upper arm, sealing the injection site. “What’s with you two? Are you guys…?”
“Together?” She smiles wistfully, as though amused by a private joke. “No. I think he wishes we were, and honestly, he’s a nice man. Very nice, actually. And I do like him.” She shrugs, dumping the used vial into a waste receptacle, lowering Rick’s sleeve. “But I don’t care if it is the end of the world … he’s too old for me.”
The man’s face softens. “So you’re…?”
“Single?” Alice pauses, giving him a look. “Yes, but I’m not looking for anyone and you’ve got a ring on your finger, so…” She stops herself. “Is your wife still alive? I’m so sorry that I—”
“She is.” He sighs. “It’s okay. And don’t worry, I’m just trying to make conversation. I’m sorry if I sounded like I was…” Another sigh. “So you’re a doctor, too? A nurse? Paramedic? Something like that?”
She goes over to a cluttered desk, which is pushed up against the wall. She writes something in a log. “Actually, I was going to college to become an interior designer when the biters—walkers, whatever—made other plans for me. I didn’t really know any of this stuff a few months ago.”
“But now? How did you learn this stuff?” The injured man seems genuinely interested, if only in an idle-chatting-around-the-coffee-urn kind of way. “Did Dr. Stevens teach you?”
“Mostly, yeah,” she says with a nod, still writing notes on inventory, medicine dispensed, supply levels. In Woodbury, every commodity is limited—especially medicine—so Stevens has instituted a meticulous record system, with which Alice religiously keeps up.
In the pause that follows, the oncoming footsteps have reached the corridor outside the infirmary. Still distant enough to be inaudible to Rick and Alice, they approach quickly, purposefully, urgently.
“I’ve always been a quick learner,” Alice is saying. “Ever since I was a little girl. To be honest, I really just have to watch him do something once—maybe twice—and I can pretty much do it.”
Rick smiles. “Well, I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be.” She gives him a flinty look. “I don’t consider paying attention to be something special just because most other people don’t do it.” She pauses and lets out a sigh. “Did that sound mean? Did it make me sound like a bitch? I do that a lot. Sorry about that.”
“Think nothing of it,” Rick says, his smile lingering. “I didn’t take it that way. And you’re right, by the way.” He looks down at his thickly bandaged stump. “Most people don’t pay attention … to anything.” He looks at her. “They just cruise through life worrying so much about their own bullshit they don’t even notice the things that are happening around them.” He glances back down at his injury and lets out a dry little grunt.
She looks at him. “What is it?”
“I miss my wife,” he says softly, gazing down. “I just … I can’t stop thinking about her.” A long pause … and then: “She’s pregnant.”
Alice stares. “Really?”
Rick nods. “Yeah. She’s due in a couple months. Last time I saw her … she was … she was doing fine.” He swallows hard. “Thing about the baby, though … I don’t know if—”
Across the room, the door bursts open, cutting off his words. “Rick—get up! NOW!”
*
The man barging into the infirmary wears a faded bandanna, carries a high-powered rifle, and has muscular arms protruding from his sleeveless shirt, which is stained under the arms with flop-sweat. “Come on—we’ve got to go!” the man urges as he hurries over to Rick, grabbing him by the arm. “RIGHT NOW!”
“Wha—? What the fuck are you doing?!” Rick rears back, pulling himself away from this crazy person. Alice backs away, too, wide-eyed.
Martinez drills his gaze into Rick’s eyes. “I’m saving your life.”
Rick blinks. “What do you mean? How are you saving my life?!”
“I’m getting you out of here! I’m helping you escape! C’mon!”
“Let go of me, goddamnit!” Rick yanks his arm away, heart racing.
Martinez raises his hand in a gesture of contrition. “Okay. Look, I’m sorry. Okay. It’s just that we need to hurry. It’s not going to be easy getting you out of here without anyone noticing. Listen to what I’m saying. I’m gonna get you outta here but I can’t steal a vehicle—we only keep a couple gassed up and they’re too hard to get without being detected.”
Rick and Alice shoot panicked glances at each other, and then Rick looks back at Martinez. “Why are you—?”