Desolate The Complete Trilogy

17



“Ready?” I asked Emily.

“Yes,” she replied and buried her face in my neck.

“Remember, hold on tight and keep your eyes closed.”

I was standing by the back door, holding Emily in my arms and dreading the next thirty seconds. First, we had tried to exit the hospital through the front door but found it locked from the inside with a chain. Apparently, whoever was in charge didn’t trust the standard door locks to keep the angry mob outside at bay.

The only other door I could find to the outside was blocked by a car that tried to pass on the sidewalk and got stuck. It was the door Emily used to get in, so I could open it far enough for her to squeeze through, but my fat head couldn’t make it. I tried to convince Emily to go through that way and stay put until I got to her. But she insisted we stuck together.

That left the back door leading to the corpse-filled courtyard as the only exit. I was especially annoyed seeing as how I was clean for the first time since I woke at the crash site. I didn’t want the smell of death soaked into my new clothes. I was sporting fresh medical scrubs and Emily wore a clean T-shirt that hung down to her knees like a dress. It was the closest thing I could find to her size after rummaging through some of the staff lockers.

After cleaning up with a few jugs of distilled water and baby wipes, Emily and I had slept in the hospital room the night before. I felt fully rested and ready to get the hell out of Boones Run. My plan was simple: leave the hospital, find a car with some keys and a tank of gas, and head for the coast.

“All right,” I said with my hand on the door knob. “Let’s rock.”

I opened the door to the courtyard and walked into morning air filled with decay. I moved as quickly as possible through the maze of bodies as the stench stung my nose and sweat poured down my face. I felt Emily’s head lift from my shoulder and a whimper escaped from her lips.

“Don’t look, Emily. Hold on, we’re almost there!”

I managed to reach the back gate, without tripping over a body, and pushed it open. We entered the alley and I lowered her to the pavement.

“We made it,” I gasped.

We only took a few steps toward the street when the scuffle of footsteps behind me caught my attention. I turned just in time to see a shovel before it hit me square in the face.