Andrea
Andrea Tomlinson sat quietly next to the aisle in the dirty bus. An empty seat sat to the left of her. She sat near the center of the bus. She never liked sitting too close to the front or the back. She watched as the driver of the bus bounced up and down and left and right listening to tunes that bled into his ears from earphones. He seemed a little too happy to be driving a city bus in a depressed little town like Kingsboro.
Kingsboro was always a podunk little town stuck in the south central palm of Michigan. Jobs were moving out and economy was quickly getting worse. The residents fought over the reason. It was the president, it was the governor, it was killer bees from Mexico—Andrea really didn’t care why the town was falling apart she was only interested in finding a job.
Through the large bus windshield she watched as a young man, cute from a distance of 20 yards, stood at a bus stop. He had his hands in his pockets and watched as the bus approached. Andrea noticed his hair was trimmed short and he wore an ironed shirt and pants. They were not starched but neat.
“He looks like a recent military veteran,” she thought. That gave him extra cuteness points.
The bus stopped with a jolt and the front door opened. The man— the young veteran walked in and immediately smiled.
“Did he see something he liked?” She thought curiously then it hit her. She was staring at the man. He thought she like him. She looked down at her naked knees. She adjusted her short red skirt and shuffled her coordinated heels upon the dirty bus floor.
“How are you doing?” The man asked as Andrea pretended not to she him. “May I sit here?”
Andrea said nothing and just stared at her knees.
“Miss?” He asked.
He said “Miss”. She added a couple more points then looked up. He had a nice face, thin and sculpted. His eyes were young and blue and his hair was brown.
“May I sit here?” He asked again.
“Yes, sure,” She said with a nervousness that was surely noticeable.
“Thanks,” he said and stepped over her knees and slid into the seat next to the window.
As soon as he sat down he began to ramble. Something about computers and processors and how difficult it was. The man’s points whittled away as he pronounced each three to four syllable word over and over. The man continued to babble until the bus jolted to a stop again. Andrea stood and stepped out into the aisle way. A woman she did not see almost ran into her from behind. Andrea apologized quickly and walked toward the front of the bus. The man followed close behind. She had hoped he would of stayed on the bus but what could she do. Another man unavoidably attracted to her and she would have to deal with it.
Nancy
Nancy Smith, sat in the back of a dirty city bus. In front of her sat several other passengers going about their business of laughing, joking and whatnot. The temperature of the bus always seemed to reach ten or twenty degrees higher then the temperature outside. Today is was 82 degrees.
“It would be nice to have a steady job, a steady paycheck and a steady place to live,” she thought.
She received the e-mail several days ago.
Looking for a nurse to care for patients at a research center. Interested in individuals that enjoy a challenge, or want to make a difference in peoples lives. No background check. 1 to 2 years experience.
Nancy wanted to make a difference but it wasn’t what interested her. It was the no background check. She had a checkered past that seemed to follow her. She was never at a job for longer then 3 months, if she even got the job.
“Don’t think about that,” she warned herself sternly, “maybe this is the one.”
Hope filled some of her empty heart but the stern look on the judge’s face and the reluctant verdict fought to take any hopeful gains away from her.
“I wasn’t convicted of a crime,” she thought, “it wasn’t a crime. I did the right thing.”
The bus slowed then stopped with a jolt. The driver laughed loudly. His gleeful cackle bounced throughout the steel and glass walls of the bus. Nancy stood up quickly. She began toward the front of the bus to tell the driver what she thought of his joke when a woman step out into the aisle in front of her. Nancy stopped centimeters from the back of the woman’s head. The woman’s blond hair brushed her face as she turned to apologize. Nancy smiled and accepted her apology. She allowed the blond woman and the man she sat with to move into the aisle and move toward the front of the bus. Nancy followed them out of the bus and was certain that she was going to say something to the driver. She approached the driver but only scowled at him. The driver smiled, the center two teeth under his top lip were missing and he seemed to have a corneal ulcer in his right eye. The infection, usually caused by a bacterium, caused the eye to look cloudy. Nancy smiled back, she again wanted to say something to the driver but she could not. She stood staring at his eye.
“Is there a problem?” The driver asked with noticeable uncomfort then looked forward through the front windshield.
“I’m sorry,” Nancy said, “I noticed your eye and wanted to recommend you get it treated.”
“Your so kind,” the driver said sharply, “I’m going to close the door are you getting out?” Nancy had offended him and she immediately felt awful. She turned and walked ashamed down the bus steps. She stepped upon the ground and the driver closed the door. The door slid closed with a thump that startled Nancy. “Was this how her day was going to start?”
A familiar Cadillac sat ahead of her. There was a large dent just behind the passenger door.
“Obviously, Dr. Stein still didn’t notice my accident two weeks ago,” she smiled slightly then stopped.
“Is he working here too? I think I see him sitting in the driver’s seat. I should see if he’s ok.”
Dr. Daniel Stein
Sitting in his car, Dr. Daniel Stein, recently retired from Kingsboro Mercy Hospital, thumbs through the Kingsboro Times.
He laid the paper down upon the passenger seat and glanced out the windshield at the bland, gray rectangle that was the Kingsboro Research and Development Co. He glanced at his watch—another twenty minutes to go.
He went over in his mind all that had happened in the last weeks. There had been the purchase of the hospital by Dallas Truman, a local real estate tycoon, the thorough investigation and analysis by the FBI, then the appearance of what would be called a freak.
Dr. Stein stared out the windshield wondering why his life had taken such a strange unexpected turn. He disappeared into thought and the busy hallways of the Kingsboro Mercy Hospital replaced the bland exterior of his new job.
“Can you believe they are going to force me out,” Dr. Stein had said with disbelief as he walked quickly through the hospital front hall with Andy Koffman. Andy was still a resident but when they met for the first time they became quick friends.
“I’m so sorry they are treating you like this Daniel,” Andy said
“I just don’t understand why? I’ve been here 25 years and you are barely a doctor.” Said Dr. Stein.
“We may never understand—,” Andy began but never finished. A large argument ensured behind the white curtain an ER triage unit. Soon something burst and left a dark stain upon the curtain. Andy and Dr. Stein began toward it when an irate patient, covered in blood, stepped from the curtain. He looked at Dr. Stein, his expression deadpan and his eyes cloudy. He then thrust his arms out and felt for a heavy wooden chair that sat outside the unit. He grasped it and with enormous strength tossed it at the two men. Dr. Stein ducked and fell to the floor. The heavy chair hit Andy full in the chest and he collapsed under it. Dr. Stein looked back to see his friend unconscious, under the chair. He began to stand when an IV line, with pole attached, just missed his head. Several people, staff, patients and security converged and surrounded the man. Three men in black suits burst into the ER from the right of the patient and grabbed him. The man threw them off him easily then proceeded toward the nurse’s station. He tore it apart. The large desk portions he through over his head. The chairs, he threw, flew with such force that anyone caught with one was dead. Dr. Stein lay on the floor looking back. Andy lay under the large chair still motionless.
“He’s probably dead,” Dr. Stein, said to himself as he began to slide backward to get a better look. Paper and computer equipment flew across the room. A flat screen computer monitor hit a surgeon in scrubs dumb enough to run across the hallway. The monitor hit him in the side of the head and broke his neck. The noise was disturbing. A loud crack and the surgeon fell to the floor. The three black suited men stood against a hallway wall not moving. They looked terrified, scared to even move a muscle. The people that initially gathered had all but left. The hallway was empty except for Dr. Stein, three men in suits and bodies’ dead or unconscious. After the nurse’s desk had been destroyed and thrown over the hall the man fell to his knees and then fell forward. Dr. Stein, stood and pulled the chair from on top of Andy. Andy’s chest was sunken and his face was mangled but he was alive.
“Someone get me a gurney,” he shouted. A nurse appeared from a far room and grabbed the first one she could find. She quickly pushed it up the Dr. Stein and they preceded gather Andy up. The three suited men, stood against the wall for a short time longer then rushed over to the irate patient. They talked quickly and seemed to be smiling.
“What the hell are they smiling at,” Dr. Stein said loudly. The nurse hadn’t heard him. She began to push Andy toward a room. Dr. Stein stood watching the men. They were inspecting the man as he sat face first on the ground.
“Dr. Stein?” Said the nurse.
The drab building, Kingsboro Research and Development Co., reappeared. A thin woman with long red hair stood outside Dr. Stein’s car.
“Dr. Stein, your going to be late,” she said with a smile.
Dr. Stein looked at his watch and it was five minutes to 5:00 in the morning.
“Oh, hell,” and he opened his drivers door. He straightened his black tie and began to walk quickly toward the building. He stopped and looked back. The redheaded woman was walking toward a large city bus. The driver stood outside the front door smoking a cigarette.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Character Paragraphs
Sitting in his car, Dr. Daniel Stein, recently forcibly retired from Kingsboro Mercy Hospital, thumbs through the Kingsboro Times.
He laid the paper down upon the passenger seat and glanced out the windshield at the bland rectangle that was the Company. He glanced at his watch—another twenty minutes to go.
He went over in his mind all that had happened in the last couple days. There had been the purchase of the hospital by an unknown billionaire—his thorough vexing of all hospital staff. The appearance of what would be called a freak, and his untimely termination or retirement.
(fix this) Untimely termination—
“Who terminates a 35-year veteran on an argument about treatment,” he said to himself as he stepped from the car.
He closed the car door and straightened his black tie. He buttoned his white Kingboro Mercy Hospital coat due to a brisk wind and began toward the building.
The Company had called him 24 hours after he was let go. They offered him a job at half the pay.
“Why would you take that?” He asks.
Dr. Stein thought about this for several minutes as continued to walk toward the building. The buildings exterior was gray painted bricks. Its roof was flat, for the most part. The aluminum slates that made up the roof were curled on each end.
He had no answer—Dr. Stein just seemed to resign to the pressure of working. He had always enjoyed just working. The money was just a bonus. The Company offered a bit of a challenge. Work in a research environment. Care for patients with unknown illnesses. Make a difference. These short sentences said it all. Especially the last one, make a difference. Dr. Stein had been trying to make a difference for years but he got caught up in all the politics entwined into the hospital system.
II
Nancy Smith, sat in the back of a dirty city bus. In front of her sat several other passengers going about their business of laughing, joking and whatnot. The temperature of the bus always seemed to reach ten or twenty degrees higher then the temperature outside. Today is was 82 degrees.
“It would be nice to have a steady job, a steady paycheck and a steady place to live,” she thought.
She received the e-mail several days ago.
Looking for a nurse to care for patients at a research center. Interested in individuals that enjoy a challenge, or want to make a difference in peoples lives. No background check. 1 to 2 years experience.
Nancy wanted to make a difference but it wasn’t what interested her. It was the no background check. She had a checkered past that seemed to follow her. She was never at a job for longer then 3 months, if she even got the job.
“Don’t think about that,” she warned herself sternly, “maybe this is the one.”
Hope filled some of her empty heart but the stern look on the judge’s face and the reluctant verdict fought to take any hopeful gains away from her.
“I wasn’t convicted of a crime,” she thought, “it wasn’t a crime. I did the right thing.”
The bus slowed then stopped with a jolt. The driver laughed loudly. His gleeful cackle bounced throughout the steel and glass walls of the bus. Nancy stood up quickly. She began toward the front of the bus to tell the driver what she thought of his joke when a woman step out into the aisle in front of her. Nancy stopped centimeters from the back of the woman’s head. The woman’s blond hair brushed her face as she turned to apologize. Nancy smiled and accepted her apology. She allowed the blond woman and the man she sat with to move into the aisle and move toward the front of the bus. Nancy followed them out of the bus. She was certain that she was going to say something but when she approached the driver she only scowled at him. The driver smiled, the center two teeth under his top lip were missing and he seemed to have a corneal ulcer in his right eye. The infection was caused by a bacterium and caused the eye to look cloudy. Nancy smiled back, she wanted to say something to the driver but she could not. She kept staring at his eye.
“Is there a problem?” The driver asked then looked forward through the front windshield.
“I’m sorry,” Nancy said, “I noticed your eye and wanted to recommend you get it treated.”
“Your so kind,” the driver said sharply, “I’m going to close the door are you getting out?” Nancy had offended him and she immediately felt awful. She turned and walked ashamed down the bus steps. She stepped upon the ground and the driver closed the door. The door slid closed with a thump that startled Nancy. “Was this how her day was going to start?” She asked herself concerned greatly that her day was going to snowball downhill from here.
III
Andrea Tomlinson sat quietly next to aisle in the dirty bus. An empty seat sat to the left of her. She sat near the center of the bus. She never liked sitting to close to the front or the back. She watched as the driver of the bus bounced up and down and left and right listening to tunes that bled into his ears from earphones. He seemed a little too happy to be driving a city bus in a depressed little town like Kingsboro.
Kingsboro was always a podunk little town stuck in the south central palm of Michigan. Jobs were moving out and economy was quickly getting worse. The residents fought over the reason. It was the president, it was the governor, it was killer bees from Mexico—Andrea really didn’t care why the town was falling apart she was only interested in finding a job.
Through the large bus windshield she watched as a young man, cute from a distance of 20 yards, stood at a bus stop. He had his hands in his pockets and watched as the bus approached. Andrea noticed his hair was trimmed short and he wore an ironed shirt and pants. They were not starched but neat.
“He looks like a recent military veteran,” she thought. That gave him extra cuteness points.
The bus stopped with a jolt, as the driver often did, and the front door opened. The man— the young veteran walked in and immediately smiled.
“Did he see something he liked?” She thought curiously then it hit her. She was staring at the man. He thought she like him. She looked down at her naked knees. She adjusted her short red skirt and shuffled her coordinated heels upon the dirty bus floor.
“How are you doing?” The man asked as Andrea pretended not to she him. “May I sit here?”
Andrea said nothing and just stared at her knees.
“Miss?” He asked.
He said “Miss”. She added a couple more points then looked up. He had a nice face, thin and sculpted. His eyes were young and blue and the hair, that he had, was brown.
“May I sit here?” He asked again.
“Yes, sure,” She said with a nervousness that was surely noticeable.
“Thanks,” he said and stepped over her knees and slid into the seat next to the window.
As soon as he sat down he began to ramble. Something about computers and processors and how difficult it was. The man’s points whittled away as he pronounced each three to four syllable word over and over. The man continued to babble until the bus jolted to a stop again. Andrea stood and stepped out into the aisle way. A woman she did not see almost ran into her from behind. Andrea apologized quickly and walked toward the front of the bus. The man followed close behind. She had hoped he would of stayed on the bus but what could she do. Another man unavoidably attracted to her and she would have to deal with it.
He laid the paper down upon the passenger seat and glanced out the windshield at the bland rectangle that was the Company. He glanced at his watch—another twenty minutes to go.
He went over in his mind all that had happened in the last couple days. There had been the purchase of the hospital by an unknown billionaire—his thorough vexing of all hospital staff. The appearance of what would be called a freak, and his untimely termination or retirement.
(fix this) Untimely termination—
“Who terminates a 35-year veteran on an argument about treatment,” he said to himself as he stepped from the car.
He closed the car door and straightened his black tie. He buttoned his white Kingboro Mercy Hospital coat due to a brisk wind and began toward the building.
The Company had called him 24 hours after he was let go. They offered him a job at half the pay.
“Why would you take that?” He asks.
Dr. Stein thought about this for several minutes as continued to walk toward the building. The buildings exterior was gray painted bricks. Its roof was flat, for the most part. The aluminum slates that made up the roof were curled on each end.
He had no answer—Dr. Stein just seemed to resign to the pressure of working. He had always enjoyed just working. The money was just a bonus. The Company offered a bit of a challenge. Work in a research environment. Care for patients with unknown illnesses. Make a difference. These short sentences said it all. Especially the last one, make a difference. Dr. Stein had been trying to make a difference for years but he got caught up in all the politics entwined into the hospital system.
II
Nancy Smith, sat in the back of a dirty city bus. In front of her sat several other passengers going about their business of laughing, joking and whatnot. The temperature of the bus always seemed to reach ten or twenty degrees higher then the temperature outside. Today is was 82 degrees.
“It would be nice to have a steady job, a steady paycheck and a steady place to live,” she thought.
She received the e-mail several days ago.
Looking for a nurse to care for patients at a research center. Interested in individuals that enjoy a challenge, or want to make a difference in peoples lives. No background check. 1 to 2 years experience.
Nancy wanted to make a difference but it wasn’t what interested her. It was the no background check. She had a checkered past that seemed to follow her. She was never at a job for longer then 3 months, if she even got the job.
“Don’t think about that,” she warned herself sternly, “maybe this is the one.”
Hope filled some of her empty heart but the stern look on the judge’s face and the reluctant verdict fought to take any hopeful gains away from her.
“I wasn’t convicted of a crime,” she thought, “it wasn’t a crime. I did the right thing.”
The bus slowed then stopped with a jolt. The driver laughed loudly. His gleeful cackle bounced throughout the steel and glass walls of the bus. Nancy stood up quickly. She began toward the front of the bus to tell the driver what she thought of his joke when a woman step out into the aisle in front of her. Nancy stopped centimeters from the back of the woman’s head. The woman’s blond hair brushed her face as she turned to apologize. Nancy smiled and accepted her apology. She allowed the blond woman and the man she sat with to move into the aisle and move toward the front of the bus. Nancy followed them out of the bus. She was certain that she was going to say something but when she approached the driver she only scowled at him. The driver smiled, the center two teeth under his top lip were missing and he seemed to have a corneal ulcer in his right eye. The infection was caused by a bacterium and caused the eye to look cloudy. Nancy smiled back, she wanted to say something to the driver but she could not. She kept staring at his eye.
“Is there a problem?” The driver asked then looked forward through the front windshield.
“I’m sorry,” Nancy said, “I noticed your eye and wanted to recommend you get it treated.”
“Your so kind,” the driver said sharply, “I’m going to close the door are you getting out?” Nancy had offended him and she immediately felt awful. She turned and walked ashamed down the bus steps. She stepped upon the ground and the driver closed the door. The door slid closed with a thump that startled Nancy. “Was this how her day was going to start?” She asked herself concerned greatly that her day was going to snowball downhill from here.
III
Andrea Tomlinson sat quietly next to aisle in the dirty bus. An empty seat sat to the left of her. She sat near the center of the bus. She never liked sitting to close to the front or the back. She watched as the driver of the bus bounced up and down and left and right listening to tunes that bled into his ears from earphones. He seemed a little too happy to be driving a city bus in a depressed little town like Kingsboro.
Kingsboro was always a podunk little town stuck in the south central palm of Michigan. Jobs were moving out and economy was quickly getting worse. The residents fought over the reason. It was the president, it was the governor, it was killer bees from Mexico—Andrea really didn’t care why the town was falling apart she was only interested in finding a job.
Through the large bus windshield she watched as a young man, cute from a distance of 20 yards, stood at a bus stop. He had his hands in his pockets and watched as the bus approached. Andrea noticed his hair was trimmed short and he wore an ironed shirt and pants. They were not starched but neat.
“He looks like a recent military veteran,” she thought. That gave him extra cuteness points.
The bus stopped with a jolt, as the driver often did, and the front door opened. The man— the young veteran walked in and immediately smiled.
“Did he see something he liked?” She thought curiously then it hit her. She was staring at the man. He thought she like him. She looked down at her naked knees. She adjusted her short red skirt and shuffled her coordinated heels upon the dirty bus floor.
“How are you doing?” The man asked as Andrea pretended not to she him. “May I sit here?”
Andrea said nothing and just stared at her knees.
“Miss?” He asked.
He said “Miss”. She added a couple more points then looked up. He had a nice face, thin and sculpted. His eyes were young and blue and the hair, that he had, was brown.
“May I sit here?” He asked again.
“Yes, sure,” She said with a nervousness that was surely noticeable.
“Thanks,” he said and stepped over her knees and slid into the seat next to the window.
As soon as he sat down he began to ramble. Something about computers and processors and how difficult it was. The man’s points whittled away as he pronounced each three to four syllable word over and over. The man continued to babble until the bus jolted to a stop again. Andrea stood and stepped out into the aisle way. A woman she did not see almost ran into her from behind. Andrea apologized quickly and walked toward the front of the bus. The man followed close behind. She had hoped he would of stayed on the bus but what could she do. Another man unavoidably attracted to her and she would have to deal with it.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Chapter 1 re-edit Sept 08
Kingsboro Epic
Chapter 1-- New Employees
The long dark hallway just inside the entrance to The Company was quiet at 7:59. As the seconds ticked by the darkness prepared for the new day.
8:00 began the workday. A large steel blue door opened and light illuminated the hallway in front of it. The florescence lights above the hallway lit up and the day began.
Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Daniel Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander walked through the dark blue door and into the nondescript hallway. They stood together off to the left of the door.
"Did you notice no one walked to the left down this hallway?" Andrea Alexander said, as she watched 200 or so people walk to the right into a maze of perpendicular hallways.
Nancy Smith, stood beside Andi and look to the left down the hallway. She noticed a single door painted darkly at the end of the hall. There was a small bulb lit above the door. No other doors are within the hall, just faded plaster walls and a paint strip down the center of the floor.
Nancy brushed long brunette hair from her face and answered, "I wouldn't call it a strange thing."
The rest of the group looked to the left and stared into the hallway. Curiosity peeked like a child in the refrigerator.
"How's it going?" Said a voice from behind them. The group jumped in unison and turned toward the voice. A small Latino man dressed in a sharp black suit and light blue shirt approached the group smiling.
"Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander," he began professionally.
"I'm Dr. Ruiz. Follow me," he said.
"Wait," Andrea Alexander asked then added. "What's down that hallway? No one walked down that way."
Dr. Ruiz hesitated slightly, "There are some storage rooms and other rooms that aren't used," he said.
"But there is only one room down there," she countered.
"Lets continue," Dr. Ruiz stated, ignoring her comment.
The first hallway was on the left. It was well lit with several people walking in and out. Derrick Adams, the new resident IT specialist, spotted a man standing by himself outside a doorway on the right.
"Hey, what's going on Kerry," Derrick said.
The man looked. The large sacks under his eyes were drooping and wrinkles were prominent upon his middle-aged face. When he saw Derrick he smiled and waved.
"You know that man," said Eric Hoyt sharply. He was a large man with a square jaw. He fit better in the Secret Service then in a Research and Development company.
"Why do you ask?" Said Derrick suspiciously.
"Don't know," replied Eric Hoyt, "just curious."
A muffled argument burst from an opening door at the end of the hall. Suddenly, the glass within the door burst outward and a man in black slacks fell through it. Everyone within eyesight gasp but no one went to investigate. The man sat unmoving within the door. A door burst open from somewhere and men rushed out into the halls. The clamor of heavy leather boots announced introduced the Company guards. The guards pushed through Dr. Ruiz and the group of new employees. They rushed up the hall and stood in front of the door at the end of the hall.
Doctor Ruiz stepped in front of the group. "The conference room is in the last hallway..." He began.
"...all the way to the right, down the hall. Go in and pick a chair. I'll meet you in a few."
Dr. Ruiz walked toward the commotion. The group stood watching for several minutes then, lead by the women, they began to walk down toward the conference room. They said little till they sat in the conference room.
The conference room was a large room, lit brightly, with four tables pushed together in the center of the room. Three black overstuffed chairs were pushed neatly under each table. Nancy Smith and Derrick Adams entered first and walked around the table. Nancy Smith sat on the left and Derrick Adams on the right. Andrea Alexander, Dr. Stein and Eric Hoyt came in last and sat closest to the door.
"What brings you here, Andrea?" Nancy Smith said trying to avoid talking about the situation down the hall.
"I'm not really interested in small talk," Andrea said with no contempt but no interest in the conversation, "I want to know what happened down the hall."
"It simply looked like an argument," said Dr. Stein.
The group looked at him. He was the oldest of the group. He wore a white doctor's coat with a small insignia on the right chest.
"Your probably right," Andrea said.
"Alright, group," said Dr. Ruiz as he stood within the doorway, "Let's get this started."
The meeting lasted only 30 minutes. Dr. Ruiz explained the history of the company; it's procedures and safety guidelines. He introduced the head of each department by picture only. He intended to have them visit but because of the commotion they were not available. He dismissed the group and they left for their perspective positions.
Derrick Adams stood outside the door of the conference room waiting for Gary Minux. He was head of IT for The Company.
Gary Minux stepped from the main hallway and began toward Derrick.
"Hi, welcome to the Company," said the man. He was a small man with a large forehead and thin hair. He spoke in a quiet, almost bored tone.
"My name is Gary Minux and I am the Technology Director. Come with me," he said.Friday, August 22, 2008
Chapter 1 Addendum
"Hi, welcome the the Company," said a small balding man in a quiet, almost bored tone.
"My name is Gary Minux and I am the Technology director. Come with me," he said.
As Derrick began to follow the small man Dr. Rebecca San Mario stormed out of the conference room.
"You have some balls," she shouted back into the room as she slammed her fist on the wall outside the room. She pushed past Gary and Derrick and disappeared down the hall.
"Hey," Dr. Ruiz shouted from the doorway. "Don't tell the director what I said."
Derrick smiled and said, "Did you just come on to her?"
Dr. Ruiz glared at him. His face was pale.
"You are the man," Derrick said as he laughed hard.
He repeated this several times as he began to follow Gary again.
"I wish I was just coming on to her," Dr. Ruiz said quietly as the color returned to his face and his lips pursed. He then disappeared back into the conference room.
"My name is Gary Minux and I am the Technology director. Come with me," he said.
As Derrick began to follow the small man Dr. Rebecca San Mario stormed out of the conference room.
"You have some balls," she shouted back into the room as she slammed her fist on the wall outside the room. She pushed past Gary and Derrick and disappeared down the hall.
"Hey," Dr. Ruiz shouted from the doorway. "Don't tell the director what I said."
Derrick smiled and said, "Did you just come on to her?"
Dr. Ruiz glared at him. His face was pale.
"You are the man," Derrick said as he laughed hard.
He repeated this several times as he began to follow Gary again.
"I wish I was just coming on to her," Dr. Ruiz said quietly as the color returned to his face and his lips pursed. He then disappeared back into the conference room.
Chapter 1 First Draft
Chapter 1-- New Employees
The long dark hallway just inside the entrance to The Company was quiet at 7:59. As the seconds ticked by the darkness prepared for the new day.
8:00 began the workday. The clock struck 8:00. A large steel door opened and light illuminated the hallway in front of it. Seconds after, the florescence lights above the hallway lit up and the day was beginning.
Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Daniel Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander walked through the dark blue door and into the nondescript hallway. They stood together off to the left of the door.
“Did you notice no one walked to the left down this hallway?” Andrea Alexander said, as she watched 200 or so people walk to the right. Most of them walked a ways then turn left or right into their elected hallways. Andi, as she liked to be called, was a blond woman, taller then most, confidant and a newcomer to the nursing field. This was her first job.
Nancy Smith, stood beside Andi and look to the left down the hallway. She didn’t notice anything unusual down the hall. It was dark and a single door stood in the center of the hall. There was a small bulb lit above the door. a 40-year-old veteran nurse and mother of three, brushed back long brunette hair from her face and answered.
“I wouldn’t call it a strange thing,” she said.
The group looked to the left and gazed into the hallway till it disappeared into darkness.
“How’s it going?” Said a voice from behind them. A small Latino man dressed in a sharp black suit and light blue shirt approached the group smiling.
“Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander,” the man began as he read the groups names off a clipboard.
“I’m Dr. Ruiz and I’ll show you around,” he said, his voice broken with a hint of Mexico.
“Can you call me Andi?” Andrea Alexander asked then added. “Could you tell me what’s down that hallway? No one walked down that way.”
Dr. Ruiz hesitated slightly, “Sure, I’ll called you anything you like. He looked down the hallway and paused.
“There are some storage rooms and other rooms that aren’t used,” he said then turned.
“This is exciting,” said Derrick Adams, a 6-foot, twenty-some, IT specialist. He walked in front of Dr. Stein. Dr. Stein was the oldest of the group. He was dressed in a white hospital smock with the Kingsboro Mercy Hospital logo sewn onto the left breast.
Eric Hoyt was the last of the group. He was a large man with a square jaw and the posture of a ‘Last Action Hero’. He looked over his shoulder one last time before the group disappeared around a corner.
“Coming up is the Administration hall,” said Dr. Ruiz. “Human Resources, Finance, Research and Development and the Director’s office are in this hallway.”
The group passed the hallway. A thirty-year old man stood just outside a doorway watching the group passed. Derrick Adams threw up a hand and waved. The man returned the wave.
“You know him,” Hoyt asked. He was gruff. His statement was short and accusatory.
“He’s my cousin. He got me the job,” Derrick Adams said with a smile.
“Up next is the patient hallways,” Dr. Ruiz said. “The patients take up the majority of the room in the building. I think its 4 maybe 5 hallways. The conference room is in the last hallway all the way to the right. Walk down there and pick a chair. I’ll meet you in a few.”
Dr. Ruiz turned left and headed down one of patient halls. The group continued down the hallway and turned to the right.
The conference room was a large room, lit brightly, with four tables pushed together in the center of the room. Three black overstuffed chairs were pushed neatly under each table. Nancy Smith and Derrick Adams entered first and walked around the table. Nancy Smith sat on the left and Derrick Adams on the right. Andrea Alexander, Dr. Stein and Eric Hoyt came in last and sat closest to the door.
The group of five sat in the conference room quietly for several minutes. When it became unbearable the women began to talk.
“What brings you here, Andi?” Nancy Smith said smiling.
“A car and about 50 dollars in gas,” Andi said with a pleasant grin that showed a set of perfectly kept teeth.
“I hear you there,” Nancy Smith replied, “the price of gas is outrageous.”
“How about you guys?” She asks.
“Well Nancy,” Derrick Adams begins man full with confidence. “I just came from a technical college outside of Detroit. I finally got my degree. This is my first job outside college.”
“Good for you Derrick. How about anyone else?”
Dr. Stein stared at the table as if ignoring everyone else sitting in the conference room. Eric Hoyt just looked at Nancy and grumbled something unintelligible.
“Guess not,” Nancy said with some disappointment.
The room door opened and Dr. Ruiz stepped in. A beautiful woman, in her 30’s, followed him. She had red hair that fell over her shoulders and a slim manicured face.
Dr. Ruiz stood in front of a large white board and the woman stood confidently beside him. She was dressed in a mauve power suit. She held herself like a woman on a mission.
“This is Dr. Rebecca San Marino,” Dr. Ruiz began. “She is head of Research and Development and your introductory rules and procedure lecturer.”
Dr. San Marino, an accomplished woman, was single-minded in her endeavor to achieve ‘great things’. She pursued each project with the vigor of a lioness. She became head of Research and Development within 6 months of signing her application. She secured her reputation with the Department of Defense assignment. The assignment will net The Company up to 25 million dollars if successful.
“Welcome,” Dr. San Marino began with a pleasant smile, “The Company is a multibillion dollar research facility. We research experimental drugs for private enterprise and for the military. There are several procedures that must be adhered to. If not it will result in immediate termination or worse, criminal prosecution.”
Dr. San Marino emphasized the last two words, obviously attempting to make a point or a threat. The group responded with little interest. Dr. Stein looked forward but seemed lost in thought. Eric Hoyt seemed uninterested and the other three were in various stages of boredom.
“First procedure is patient care,” Dr. San Marino began.
“The patients within these walls,” she said this as she spread her thin, tan arms outward, “are in the process of a medical study for Cancer. These patients are accessible and will be your main focus. Each one of you has their own job in regards to these patients.” She placed her arm back to her sides and began to walk from the front of the room toward the door.
“Patient care is our number one concern. The other concerns are employee attendance and ability to do your jobs,” she said this, accentuating her words venomously, as she passed by Eric Hoyt and Dr. Stein. Both men sat up a little straighter and stared forward. As Dr. San Marino walked slowed around the table and toward Derrick Adams the men followed her with their eyes. With Eric Hoyt and Dr. Stein paying attention, Dr. San Marino explained the attendance procedures, pay schedule and hours. After this she dismissed the group and they filed out into the hallway.
“She’s a ball-buster, ain’t she?” Derrick Adams said to Eric Hoyt with a slight smile.
“She’s a tough woman,” Eric Hoyt replied then added, “I’ve met my share of tough women.”
“I bet you have,” Derrick Adams stated, “Uhm, what are you doing here? What’s your job?”
“Security,” Eric Hoyt said.
“Oh, well sure. I should of know that,” said Derrick Adams.
Eric Hoyt smiled. It was a warm smile that indicated there was more to him then what he seemed to put on.
The group began to disappear throughout the building, each person going to his, or her, superior. Derrick Adams stayed next to the door of the conference room. He had not been told who to contact and where to go. Dr. San Marino and Dr. Ruiz were inside the room discussing rumors about some project.
“How could you accept a project like that?” Dr. Ruiz asked.
“How could I not,” Dr. San Marino replied.
The long dark hallway just inside the entrance to The Company was quiet at 7:59. As the seconds ticked by the darkness prepared for the new day.
8:00 began the workday. The clock struck 8:00. A large steel door opened and light illuminated the hallway in front of it. Seconds after, the florescence lights above the hallway lit up and the day was beginning.
Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Daniel Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander walked through the dark blue door and into the nondescript hallway. They stood together off to the left of the door.
“Did you notice no one walked to the left down this hallway?” Andrea Alexander said, as she watched 200 or so people walk to the right. Most of them walked a ways then turn left or right into their elected hallways. Andi, as she liked to be called, was a blond woman, taller then most, confidant and a newcomer to the nursing field. This was her first job.
Nancy Smith, stood beside Andi and look to the left down the hallway. She didn’t notice anything unusual down the hall. It was dark and a single door stood in the center of the hall. There was a small bulb lit above the door. a 40-year-old veteran nurse and mother of three, brushed back long brunette hair from her face and answered.
“I wouldn’t call it a strange thing,” she said.
The group looked to the left and gazed into the hallway till it disappeared into darkness.
“How’s it going?” Said a voice from behind them. A small Latino man dressed in a sharp black suit and light blue shirt approached the group smiling.
“Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander,” the man began as he read the groups names off a clipboard.
“I’m Dr. Ruiz and I’ll show you around,” he said, his voice broken with a hint of Mexico.
“Can you call me Andi?” Andrea Alexander asked then added. “Could you tell me what’s down that hallway? No one walked down that way.”
Dr. Ruiz hesitated slightly, “Sure, I’ll called you anything you like. He looked down the hallway and paused.
“There are some storage rooms and other rooms that aren’t used,” he said then turned.
“This is exciting,” said Derrick Adams, a 6-foot, twenty-some, IT specialist. He walked in front of Dr. Stein. Dr. Stein was the oldest of the group. He was dressed in a white hospital smock with the Kingsboro Mercy Hospital logo sewn onto the left breast.
Eric Hoyt was the last of the group. He was a large man with a square jaw and the posture of a ‘Last Action Hero’. He looked over his shoulder one last time before the group disappeared around a corner.
“Coming up is the Administration hall,” said Dr. Ruiz. “Human Resources, Finance, Research and Development and the Director’s office are in this hallway.”
The group passed the hallway. A thirty-year old man stood just outside a doorway watching the group passed. Derrick Adams threw up a hand and waved. The man returned the wave.
“You know him,” Hoyt asked. He was gruff. His statement was short and accusatory.
“He’s my cousin. He got me the job,” Derrick Adams said with a smile.
“Up next is the patient hallways,” Dr. Ruiz said. “The patients take up the majority of the room in the building. I think its 4 maybe 5 hallways. The conference room is in the last hallway all the way to the right. Walk down there and pick a chair. I’ll meet you in a few.”
Dr. Ruiz turned left and headed down one of patient halls. The group continued down the hallway and turned to the right.
The conference room was a large room, lit brightly, with four tables pushed together in the center of the room. Three black overstuffed chairs were pushed neatly under each table. Nancy Smith and Derrick Adams entered first and walked around the table. Nancy Smith sat on the left and Derrick Adams on the right. Andrea Alexander, Dr. Stein and Eric Hoyt came in last and sat closest to the door.
The group of five sat in the conference room quietly for several minutes. When it became unbearable the women began to talk.
“What brings you here, Andi?” Nancy Smith said smiling.
“A car and about 50 dollars in gas,” Andi said with a pleasant grin that showed a set of perfectly kept teeth.
“I hear you there,” Nancy Smith replied, “the price of gas is outrageous.”
“How about you guys?” She asks.
“Well Nancy,” Derrick Adams begins man full with confidence. “I just came from a technical college outside of Detroit. I finally got my degree. This is my first job outside college.”
“Good for you Derrick. How about anyone else?”
Dr. Stein stared at the table as if ignoring everyone else sitting in the conference room. Eric Hoyt just looked at Nancy and grumbled something unintelligible.
“Guess not,” Nancy said with some disappointment.
The room door opened and Dr. Ruiz stepped in. A beautiful woman, in her 30’s, followed him. She had red hair that fell over her shoulders and a slim manicured face.
Dr. Ruiz stood in front of a large white board and the woman stood confidently beside him. She was dressed in a mauve power suit. She held herself like a woman on a mission.
“This is Dr. Rebecca San Marino,” Dr. Ruiz began. “She is head of Research and Development and your introductory rules and procedure lecturer.”
Dr. San Marino, an accomplished woman, was single-minded in her endeavor to achieve ‘great things’. She pursued each project with the vigor of a lioness. She became head of Research and Development within 6 months of signing her application. She secured her reputation with the Department of Defense assignment. The assignment will net The Company up to 25 million dollars if successful.
“Welcome,” Dr. San Marino began with a pleasant smile, “The Company is a multibillion dollar research facility. We research experimental drugs for private enterprise and for the military. There are several procedures that must be adhered to. If not it will result in immediate termination or worse, criminal prosecution.”
Dr. San Marino emphasized the last two words, obviously attempting to make a point or a threat. The group responded with little interest. Dr. Stein looked forward but seemed lost in thought. Eric Hoyt seemed uninterested and the other three were in various stages of boredom.
“First procedure is patient care,” Dr. San Marino began.
“The patients within these walls,” she said this as she spread her thin, tan arms outward, “are in the process of a medical study for Cancer. These patients are accessible and will be your main focus. Each one of you has their own job in regards to these patients.” She placed her arm back to her sides and began to walk from the front of the room toward the door.
“Patient care is our number one concern. The other concerns are employee attendance and ability to do your jobs,” she said this, accentuating her words venomously, as she passed by Eric Hoyt and Dr. Stein. Both men sat up a little straighter and stared forward. As Dr. San Marino walked slowed around the table and toward Derrick Adams the men followed her with their eyes. With Eric Hoyt and Dr. Stein paying attention, Dr. San Marino explained the attendance procedures, pay schedule and hours. After this she dismissed the group and they filed out into the hallway.
“She’s a ball-buster, ain’t she?” Derrick Adams said to Eric Hoyt with a slight smile.
“She’s a tough woman,” Eric Hoyt replied then added, “I’ve met my share of tough women.”
“I bet you have,” Derrick Adams stated, “Uhm, what are you doing here? What’s your job?”
“Security,” Eric Hoyt said.
“Oh, well sure. I should of know that,” said Derrick Adams.
Eric Hoyt smiled. It was a warm smile that indicated there was more to him then what he seemed to put on.
The group began to disappear throughout the building, each person going to his, or her, superior. Derrick Adams stayed next to the door of the conference room. He had not been told who to contact and where to go. Dr. San Marino and Dr. Ruiz were inside the room discussing rumors about some project.
“How could you accept a project like that?” Dr. Ruiz asked.
“How could I not,” Dr. San Marino replied.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Kingsboro Chronicles
This is what I got....
Title: The Kingsboro Chronicles
7 Monsterous stories
1. With these stories I would like to put together a collection of stories that builds knowledge of the town of Kingsboro.
2. I want to create a town of utter terror. I want to know how people deal with such an awful situation.
3. I want to create a fan base for future novels...ie... The Zombie Epic.
4.
I need to select 7 stories
i.
The Voodoo Priestess
ii.
In Service of Him
iii.
The Restaurant
iv.
The Mermaid
v.
????
vi.
????
vii.
????
This is what I need:
I need an Introduction/Forward. I need a narrator for the entire collection. I have the stories down but I cannot think of anything else.
Title: The Kingsboro Chronicles
7 Monsterous stories
1. With these stories I would like to put together a collection of stories that builds knowledge of the town of Kingsboro.
2. I want to create a town of utter terror. I want to know how people deal with such an awful situation.
3. I want to create a fan base for future novels...ie... The Zombie Epic.
4.
I need to select 7 stories
i.
The Voodoo Priestess
ii.
In Service of Him
iii.
The Restaurant
iv.
The Mermaid
v.
????
vi.
????
vii.
????
This is what I need:
I need an Introduction/Forward. I need a narrator for the entire collection. I have the stories down but I cannot think of anything else.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Chapter 1 -- New Employees
Chapter 1-- New Employees
The long dark hallway just inside the entrance to The Company was quiet at 7:59. As the seconds ticked by the darkness prepared for the new day.
8:00 began the workday. Seconds after the clock struck 8:00 the only door opened and the light illuminated the hallway in front of it. Seconds after that the florescence lights above the hallway lit up and the day was beginning.
There were 200 employees working for The Company. Today was nothing different. Today was, though, the first day for five employees.
Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Daniel Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander walked through the dark blue door and into the nondescript hallway. They stood off to the right and against the wall away from the door. The remaining employees filed into the building and walked past to the right.
“Did you noticed noone walked to the left down this hallway?” Said Andrea Alexander, a blond woman, taller then most women. Andrea was a confident newcomer to the nursing field. This was her first job.
Nancy Smith, a 40-year-old veteran nurse and mother of three, brushed back long brunette hair from her face and answered.
“I wouldn’t call it a strange thing,” she said.
The group looked to the left and gazed into the hallway till it disappeared into darkness.
“How’s it going?” Said a voice from behind them. A small Latino man dressed in a sharp black suit and light blue shirt approached the group smiling.
“I’m Dr. Ruiz and I’ll show you around,” he said, his voice broken with a hint of Mexico.
“Before we leave,” said Andrea, “what’s down that hallway. No one walked down that way.”
Dr. Ruiz hesitated slightly but then said confidently, “There is some storage rooms and other rooms that aren’t used.”
Dr. Ruiz turned and walked toward the right.
“This is exciting,” said Derrick Adams, a 6-foot, twenty-some, IT specialist. He walked in front of Dr. Stein. Dr. Stein was the oldest of the group. He was dressed in a white hospital smock with the Kingsboro Mercy Hospital logo sewn onto the left breast.
Eric Hoyt was the last of the group. He was a large man with a square jaw and the posture of a ‘Last Action Hero’. He had a 4-year degree and a nursing certificate. He looked over his shoulder one last time before the group disappeared around a corner.
“Coming up is the Administration hall,” said Dr. Ruiz. “Human Resources, Finance, Research and Development and the Director’s office are in this hallway.”
The group passed the hallway. A thirty-year old man stood just outside a doorway watching the group passed. Derrick Adams threw up a hand and waved. The man returned the wave.
“You know him,” Hoyt asked. He was gruff. His statement was short and pointed.
“He’s my cousin. He got me the job,” Derrick Adams said with a smile.
“Up next is the patient hallways,” Dr. Ruiz said. “The patients take up the majority of the room in the building. I think its 4 maybe 5 hallways. The conference room is in the last hallway all the way to the right. Walk down there and pick a chair. I’ll meet you in a few.” Dr. Ruiz turned left and headed down one of patient halls. The group continued down the hallway and turned to the right.
The long dark hallway just inside the entrance to The Company was quiet at 7:59. As the seconds ticked by the darkness prepared for the new day.
8:00 began the workday. Seconds after the clock struck 8:00 the only door opened and the light illuminated the hallway in front of it. Seconds after that the florescence lights above the hallway lit up and the day was beginning.
There were 200 employees working for The Company. Today was nothing different. Today was, though, the first day for five employees.
Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Daniel Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander walked through the dark blue door and into the nondescript hallway. They stood off to the right and against the wall away from the door. The remaining employees filed into the building and walked past to the right.
“Did you noticed noone walked to the left down this hallway?” Said Andrea Alexander, a blond woman, taller then most women. Andrea was a confident newcomer to the nursing field. This was her first job.
Nancy Smith, a 40-year-old veteran nurse and mother of three, brushed back long brunette hair from her face and answered.
“I wouldn’t call it a strange thing,” she said.
The group looked to the left and gazed into the hallway till it disappeared into darkness.
“How’s it going?” Said a voice from behind them. A small Latino man dressed in a sharp black suit and light blue shirt approached the group smiling.
“I’m Dr. Ruiz and I’ll show you around,” he said, his voice broken with a hint of Mexico.
“Before we leave,” said Andrea, “what’s down that hallway. No one walked down that way.”
Dr. Ruiz hesitated slightly but then said confidently, “There is some storage rooms and other rooms that aren’t used.”
Dr. Ruiz turned and walked toward the right.
“This is exciting,” said Derrick Adams, a 6-foot, twenty-some, IT specialist. He walked in front of Dr. Stein. Dr. Stein was the oldest of the group. He was dressed in a white hospital smock with the Kingsboro Mercy Hospital logo sewn onto the left breast.
Eric Hoyt was the last of the group. He was a large man with a square jaw and the posture of a ‘Last Action Hero’. He had a 4-year degree and a nursing certificate. He looked over his shoulder one last time before the group disappeared around a corner.
“Coming up is the Administration hall,” said Dr. Ruiz. “Human Resources, Finance, Research and Development and the Director’s office are in this hallway.”
The group passed the hallway. A thirty-year old man stood just outside a doorway watching the group passed. Derrick Adams threw up a hand and waved. The man returned the wave.
“You know him,” Hoyt asked. He was gruff. His statement was short and pointed.
“He’s my cousin. He got me the job,” Derrick Adams said with a smile.
“Up next is the patient hallways,” Dr. Ruiz said. “The patients take up the majority of the room in the building. I think its 4 maybe 5 hallways. The conference room is in the last hallway all the way to the right. Walk down there and pick a chair. I’ll meet you in a few.” Dr. Ruiz turned left and headed down one of patient halls. The group continued down the hallway and turned to the right.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
First Edit (Zombie Epic)
First thing, first: I need a name for this novel. Zombie Epic just doesn't do it.
Second thing, second: I need a name for the company. I can't just call it The Company.
They do live near the town of Kingsboro, probably in Michigan since I live here.
Anyways, here is my first edit of the Prologue.
P.S. The original version is still posted on the blog. Just back out of here and scroll down.
PROLOGUE
An intern, dressed in a light blue hospital uniform, pushed open the door to the executive break room.
“Dr. Ruiz!” he shouted, “something has gone terribly wrong.”Dr. Tony Ruiz sat in a large overstuffed chair in the far corner of the room. He stood and quickly tossed a large cup of stale coffee into the sink of the break room. The intern immediately turned and ran out of the room. Dr. Ruiz followed. The two men ran down the long straight hall from the executive break room to the administration offices. The men passed the administration offices and stopped at a set of double doors. The doors stood partially open. The large wooden doors were pointing outward toward the men. A large man lay in a pool of blood. The pool extended from under the man to an adjacent hallway to the right. The man’s head and shoulders were out of sight.
“What happened,” Dr. Ruiz asked.
“I don’t know, the patient was acting fine but then began to get sick. He fell to the floor between the doors then began to seize.”
“Where were you taking him?” Asked Dr. Ruiz suspiciously. The intern began to smile then sat a large hand on the hallway wall. His hand was larger then normal. His fingernails were yellowish and long.
Dr. Ruiz felt everything about this intern was wrong. His large hands, wide smile and overly muscular features spoke of a soldier not a medical intern. There were rumors of a Defense Department project downstairs.
“Something about soldiers,” Dr. Ruiz thought.
The intern stood quietly thinking, his smile quickly fading. He seemed to be searching for an answer. A shiver of fear wiggled up Dr. Ruiz’s spine as he became more confident that the intern was a patient from downstairs. The experimental ward was locked down. How could’ve this man escaped.
“Thank you for letting me know about this. I’ll take care of the rest,” Dr. Ruiz said. “Why don’t you go lay down? You look unwell,” Dr. Ruiz added quickly then realized that what he said was a mistake.
“Why do you want me to lay down?” Said the intern. A snarl appeared and grew upward like a thick red infection. Dr. Ruiz then noticed the intern’s large teeth under the thick lips.
“I just figured you were in shock and could use a rest.”
“No,” the intern shot back, “you just want me to fall asleep so you can experiment on me.”
The snarl fell from his face. The intern held his lips together tightly and his face began to redden. Dr. Ruiz noticed the interns large hands began to clench. They looked like large meaty hammers under his wrists.
“I don’t,” Dr. Ruiz began as he tried to find some identification on the young mans chest. “You’re not going to try anything on me,” the young intern shouted while hitting his chest firmly with his hammer-sized right fist.
“Are you a patient?” Dr. Ruiz asked.
“No, I am a doctor,” said the young intern defiantly beginning to approach Dr. Ruiz.Dr. Ruiz was still frightened, but took a boxers stance. He was a champion boxer at Kingsboro High School a few miles away. Of course, this was nearly 30 years ago. The intern stepped forward and Dr. Ruiz stepped back, not wanting to fight.
“What are you doing?” The intern said pointing at the man within the doors, “Aren’t you going to help this patient?”
“I need to know how you escaped from Ward 26,” Ruiz asked as he backed away a few more steps. He was going to lead the intern into one of the room within feet of the door.”I didn’t escape,” shouted the intern. His face continued to redden and his large red lips practically disappeared. Large yellow rotten teeth bared like a dog about to attack. ”You are going to hurt yourself,” Dr. Ruiz warned. Attempting to dissuade the intern from attacking. “I am going to hurt myself?” The intern exploded. He stopped approaching and stood angrily shouting. ”You experiment on us.”
“You hurt us.”
“I’m going to worry about hurting myself.”The intern rushed Dr. Ruiz, leaving little time for Dr. Ruiz to land a punch. Dr. Ruiz fell into a gurney sitting against the hallway wall. With his left leg and arm twisted within the legs of the gurney he was helpless to defend himself. The intern approached with a murderous look that could frighten even the heartless. Dr. Ruiz tried desperately to free himself as the intern bent over him and raised a meaty fist to bring down upon him. From somewhere near, Dr. Ruiz could hear footsteps sprinting toward him then a grunt and a crash. A large attendant had tackled the intern and they were wrestling upon the floor. Dr. Ruiz freed himself and quickly stood. He wanted to help the attendant who was having a terrible time restraining the intern. ”Get out of here!” shouted the attendant after he landed a crushing blow to the interns face. ”I can help you,” shouted Dr. Ruiz.”No, get out of the hospital. Go...,” the attendant said as he finally seemed to have the upper hand. He had managed to work the intern into his belly and held the young mans arms under his own. The attendant stepped upon the interns back like a mountaineer at the peak of a mountain. ”Go, damnit,” the attendant demanded. Dr. Ruiz turned and began toward a hallway. An awful crack and groan made his stomach wretch and he wanted to turn back but didn’t.
Second thing, second: I need a name for the company. I can't just call it The Company.
They do live near the town of Kingsboro, probably in Michigan since I live here.
Anyways, here is my first edit of the Prologue.
P.S. The original version is still posted on the blog. Just back out of here and scroll down.
PROLOGUE
An intern, dressed in a light blue hospital uniform, pushed open the door to the executive break room.
“Dr. Ruiz!” he shouted, “something has gone terribly wrong.”Dr. Tony Ruiz sat in a large overstuffed chair in the far corner of the room. He stood and quickly tossed a large cup of stale coffee into the sink of the break room. The intern immediately turned and ran out of the room. Dr. Ruiz followed. The two men ran down the long straight hall from the executive break room to the administration offices. The men passed the administration offices and stopped at a set of double doors. The doors stood partially open. The large wooden doors were pointing outward toward the men. A large man lay in a pool of blood. The pool extended from under the man to an adjacent hallway to the right. The man’s head and shoulders were out of sight.
“What happened,” Dr. Ruiz asked.
“I don’t know, the patient was acting fine but then began to get sick. He fell to the floor between the doors then began to seize.”
“Where were you taking him?” Asked Dr. Ruiz suspiciously. The intern began to smile then sat a large hand on the hallway wall. His hand was larger then normal. His fingernails were yellowish and long.
Dr. Ruiz felt everything about this intern was wrong. His large hands, wide smile and overly muscular features spoke of a soldier not a medical intern. There were rumors of a Defense Department project downstairs.
“Something about soldiers,” Dr. Ruiz thought.
The intern stood quietly thinking, his smile quickly fading. He seemed to be searching for an answer. A shiver of fear wiggled up Dr. Ruiz’s spine as he became more confident that the intern was a patient from downstairs. The experimental ward was locked down. How could’ve this man escaped.
“Thank you for letting me know about this. I’ll take care of the rest,” Dr. Ruiz said. “Why don’t you go lay down? You look unwell,” Dr. Ruiz added quickly then realized that what he said was a mistake.
“Why do you want me to lay down?” Said the intern. A snarl appeared and grew upward like a thick red infection. Dr. Ruiz then noticed the intern’s large teeth under the thick lips.
“I just figured you were in shock and could use a rest.”
“No,” the intern shot back, “you just want me to fall asleep so you can experiment on me.”
The snarl fell from his face. The intern held his lips together tightly and his face began to redden. Dr. Ruiz noticed the interns large hands began to clench. They looked like large meaty hammers under his wrists.
“I don’t,” Dr. Ruiz began as he tried to find some identification on the young mans chest. “You’re not going to try anything on me,” the young intern shouted while hitting his chest firmly with his hammer-sized right fist.
“Are you a patient?” Dr. Ruiz asked.
“No, I am a doctor,” said the young intern defiantly beginning to approach Dr. Ruiz.Dr. Ruiz was still frightened, but took a boxers stance. He was a champion boxer at Kingsboro High School a few miles away. Of course, this was nearly 30 years ago. The intern stepped forward and Dr. Ruiz stepped back, not wanting to fight.
“What are you doing?” The intern said pointing at the man within the doors, “Aren’t you going to help this patient?”
“I need to know how you escaped from Ward 26,” Ruiz asked as he backed away a few more steps. He was going to lead the intern into one of the room within feet of the door.”I didn’t escape,” shouted the intern. His face continued to redden and his large red lips practically disappeared. Large yellow rotten teeth bared like a dog about to attack. ”You are going to hurt yourself,” Dr. Ruiz warned. Attempting to dissuade the intern from attacking. “I am going to hurt myself?” The intern exploded. He stopped approaching and stood angrily shouting. ”You experiment on us.”
“You hurt us.”
“I’m going to worry about hurting myself.”The intern rushed Dr. Ruiz, leaving little time for Dr. Ruiz to land a punch. Dr. Ruiz fell into a gurney sitting against the hallway wall. With his left leg and arm twisted within the legs of the gurney he was helpless to defend himself. The intern approached with a murderous look that could frighten even the heartless. Dr. Ruiz tried desperately to free himself as the intern bent over him and raised a meaty fist to bring down upon him. From somewhere near, Dr. Ruiz could hear footsteps sprinting toward him then a grunt and a crash. A large attendant had tackled the intern and they were wrestling upon the floor. Dr. Ruiz freed himself and quickly stood. He wanted to help the attendant who was having a terrible time restraining the intern. ”Get out of here!” shouted the attendant after he landed a crushing blow to the interns face. ”I can help you,” shouted Dr. Ruiz.”No, get out of the hospital. Go...,” the attendant said as he finally seemed to have the upper hand. He had managed to work the intern into his belly and held the young mans arms under his own. The attendant stepped upon the interns back like a mountaineer at the peak of a mountain. ”Go, damnit,” the attendant demanded. Dr. Ruiz turned and began toward a hallway. An awful crack and groan made his stomach wretch and he wanted to turn back but didn’t.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Last post from 6 week project(Zombie Epic)
One of the woman screamed and instantly the group realized that their hope had been sucked from the room by a tall ‘man-beast’ standing outside the glass walls. The ‘man-beast’ was thin. The skin over his chest tightened every time it breathed in. It’s eyes were black and its nose missing. It’s mouth was large and full of long yellow teeth.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Said Doctor Ruiz as he slowly backed away from the door.
“Bar the door,” said Hoyt as he grabbed a bookshelf and pulled. The shelf full of books fell to the ground and the ‘man-beast’ growled. He wrapped a set of long fingers around the thin bar that served as the door handle.
Hoyt threw the shelf into the thin bars on the other side of the door. The ‘man-beast’ pulled the door hard and the shelf held.
“Grab another shelf!” Hoyt yelled.
Doctor Ruiz ran over to the same shelf and grabbed the higher shelf causing the books to fall over him. A couple larger books nearly missed his head but he didn’t care. He handed the shelf to Hoyt who looked at him and smiled.
The ‘man-beast’ growled loudly and wrapped his other hand around the other bar and pulled. The shelves bent and began to splinter.
“We need more wood!”
Doctor Ruiz ran over to the shelf but was beaten to the shelves by Doctor Adams. Doctor Adams pulled the lower shelf and tossed it to Hoyt. The ‘man-beast’ pulled on the doors and the tow pieces of wood continued to splinter. Hoyt attempted to slide the wood through the bars but the wood already in the door handles prevented him from sliding it in.
“We got to pull the doors back.”
Doctor Ruiz and Hoyt grabbed one door. Doctor Stein and Doctor Adams grabbed the other. The nurses stood toward the back of the office.
The men pulled the door but the ‘man-beast’ was strong. It was like pulling a large train forward. They had no chance to hold the doors close, let alone pull.
The wood cracked and splinters burst forward. The men held the door bravely and fought for footing on the tiled office floor.
Suddenly, from the left side of the hallway another ‘man-beast’ tackled the one pulling on the doors. The doors closed hard and the glass shattered. Several hundred shards of sharp glass cut into the men as they fell back. The ‘man-beast’ wrestled in a corner of the hallway. They tore at each other viciously.
“We have to run,” Doctor Adams shouted. He sprinted through the doors blood staining his coat in several places. The others followed him quickly. As the nurses passed the ‘man-beast’ stopped wrestling. The one that held the door lay on the floor, its flesh and ribs in pieces. The other jumped at the women and snatched the new nurse named Amy Wo. It killed her with a quick swipe of his hand across her neck. Nurse Alexander and Nurse Smith screamed and sped up. The ‘man-beast’ that lay on the floor stood slowly. It’s flesh and ribs dangling. Blood fell from his body and covered it in red. It began toward the women slowly then moved a little faster.
“Help us,” the woman screamed in unison.
The men ran ahead as quickly as they could.
“Down here!” Doctor Adams shouted as he jutted down a hallway to the right. The others followed.
The group ran through at least a mile of hallways. They searched desperately for an exit but found none.
“I’ve got to stop,” said Doctor Stein as he leaned against a hallway wall. Doctor Stein was the oldest of the group. Sweat traced lines down his strained face. The others slowed then stopped. They leaned against the hallway walls behind them.
“What do we do now?” Asked Nurse Smith, out of breath and slowly sliding down the wall to the floor.
“I don’t know,” Doctor Adams answered. “We have to find the exit.”
“I don’t understand why we can’t find the exit. It should of been around here,” said Nurse Smith.
“We were in a bit of a panic,” Doctor Adams began, “its always been kinda tough to find.”
Hoyt paced back and forth in the center of the hallway.
“Don’t they have signs pointing to the exit?” He said.
“Yea,” Nurse Alexander said, “They are green with white letters.”
“That’s right,” Doctor Stein confirmed as he stood from the wall.
“They were screwed into the wall just under the ceiling.”
The group searched the hallway for the exit signs. The walls were painted a blue tint. The tint was an neglected, industrial tone often seen on battleships. They walked back toward the Administration hallway cautiously. The hallways were quiet as usual, no sign of the ‘man-beast’. The signs were posted just under the ceiling and screwed into the wall.
“Wait..wait,” said Nurse Smith as she stared at a lighter squared section of the wall.
“It looks like a sign used to be here,” she said.
“Your right, why would they take down the signs,” said Doctor Ruiz as he turned and looked up.
“Do you think they wanted us to become lost?” Asked Nurse Smith.
“If I recall right,” began Hoyt, “management talked about removing the signs incase the soldiers broke out of there holding cells.”
“...and you didn’t feel the need to tell us this,” she shouted.
“No,” Hoyt said confidently then added, “I didn’t know it would be important till we started running.”
“And while we were...” she began but was interrupted by shouting in the hallway in front of them.
Doctor Ruiz, Nurse Smith and Hoyt raced through the hallway and into the next. Doctor Adams, Stein and Nurse Alexander stood in front of a gray door.
“This is the exit,” said Doctor Stein, “I’m sure of it.”
“The problem is that it is locked,” said Doctor Adams.
“We’ll have to bust it open,” Hoyt said.
Strangely, he then pushed forward threw the men and began tugging on the door. He looked like a rat panicking in a small cage.
“This is got to open,” he said several times as the door resisted. The noise from the door reverberated loudly through the hallway.
The group never heard the grumbles or the heavy footsteps coming from the Administration hallway. The ‘man-beast’s’ walked slowly, strategically. One was on the left side one on the right of the hallway. They stalked their prey till they were just out of sight. The group stood around the door watching Hoyt. Doctor Adams, Stein, and Nurse Smith stood in a triangle formation toward the back. Nurse Alexander stood beside Hoyt but not to close. Doctor Ruiz stood on the other side of Hoyt. He was the first to see them approaching. They approached like hungry animals. They were upon the group within an instant. The ‘man-beast’ on the right grasp Nurse Alexander and began to drag her away. The ‘man-beast’ on the left grabbed Doctor Stein. The ‘man-beasts’ grip was light. It was the same beast that was tore up minutes before. Doctor Stein managed to pull himself free and then kicked the ‘man-beast’ in the chest. The ‘man-beast’ fell to the floor screaming. The other ‘man-beast’ stopped for several seconds, looked back then sprinted into the hallway with its prize.
“We have to rescue Nurse Alexander,” pleaded Nurse Smith.
“We can’t fight those things,” said Doctor Ruiz.
“We can’t leave her,” Nurse Smith begged as she began to cry.
“Lets go,” said Hoyt as he began to disappear into the hallway.
“What about this ‘man-beast’?” Doctor Adams said as he watched it struggling to stand up. When Doctor Stein kicked him it broke several of his showing ribs and seemed to of displaced its hip. It laid upon its back on the hallway floor.
He, Doctor Stein and Nurse Smith gave it a wide berth as they followed Hoyt and Doctor Ruiz.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Said Doctor Ruiz as he slowly backed away from the door.
“Bar the door,” said Hoyt as he grabbed a bookshelf and pulled. The shelf full of books fell to the ground and the ‘man-beast’ growled. He wrapped a set of long fingers around the thin bar that served as the door handle.
Hoyt threw the shelf into the thin bars on the other side of the door. The ‘man-beast’ pulled the door hard and the shelf held.
“Grab another shelf!” Hoyt yelled.
Doctor Ruiz ran over to the same shelf and grabbed the higher shelf causing the books to fall over him. A couple larger books nearly missed his head but he didn’t care. He handed the shelf to Hoyt who looked at him and smiled.
The ‘man-beast’ growled loudly and wrapped his other hand around the other bar and pulled. The shelves bent and began to splinter.
“We need more wood!”
Doctor Ruiz ran over to the shelf but was beaten to the shelves by Doctor Adams. Doctor Adams pulled the lower shelf and tossed it to Hoyt. The ‘man-beast’ pulled on the doors and the tow pieces of wood continued to splinter. Hoyt attempted to slide the wood through the bars but the wood already in the door handles prevented him from sliding it in.
“We got to pull the doors back.”
Doctor Ruiz and Hoyt grabbed one door. Doctor Stein and Doctor Adams grabbed the other. The nurses stood toward the back of the office.
The men pulled the door but the ‘man-beast’ was strong. It was like pulling a large train forward. They had no chance to hold the doors close, let alone pull.
The wood cracked and splinters burst forward. The men held the door bravely and fought for footing on the tiled office floor.
Suddenly, from the left side of the hallway another ‘man-beast’ tackled the one pulling on the doors. The doors closed hard and the glass shattered. Several hundred shards of sharp glass cut into the men as they fell back. The ‘man-beast’ wrestled in a corner of the hallway. They tore at each other viciously.
“We have to run,” Doctor Adams shouted. He sprinted through the doors blood staining his coat in several places. The others followed him quickly. As the nurses passed the ‘man-beast’ stopped wrestling. The one that held the door lay on the floor, its flesh and ribs in pieces. The other jumped at the women and snatched the new nurse named Amy Wo. It killed her with a quick swipe of his hand across her neck. Nurse Alexander and Nurse Smith screamed and sped up. The ‘man-beast’ that lay on the floor stood slowly. It’s flesh and ribs dangling. Blood fell from his body and covered it in red. It began toward the women slowly then moved a little faster.
“Help us,” the woman screamed in unison.
The men ran ahead as quickly as they could.
“Down here!” Doctor Adams shouted as he jutted down a hallway to the right. The others followed.
The group ran through at least a mile of hallways. They searched desperately for an exit but found none.
“I’ve got to stop,” said Doctor Stein as he leaned against a hallway wall. Doctor Stein was the oldest of the group. Sweat traced lines down his strained face. The others slowed then stopped. They leaned against the hallway walls behind them.
“What do we do now?” Asked Nurse Smith, out of breath and slowly sliding down the wall to the floor.
“I don’t know,” Doctor Adams answered. “We have to find the exit.”
“I don’t understand why we can’t find the exit. It should of been around here,” said Nurse Smith.
“We were in a bit of a panic,” Doctor Adams began, “its always been kinda tough to find.”
Hoyt paced back and forth in the center of the hallway.
“Don’t they have signs pointing to the exit?” He said.
“Yea,” Nurse Alexander said, “They are green with white letters.”
“That’s right,” Doctor Stein confirmed as he stood from the wall.
“They were screwed into the wall just under the ceiling.”
The group searched the hallway for the exit signs. The walls were painted a blue tint. The tint was an neglected, industrial tone often seen on battleships. They walked back toward the Administration hallway cautiously. The hallways were quiet as usual, no sign of the ‘man-beast’. The signs were posted just under the ceiling and screwed into the wall.
“Wait..wait,” said Nurse Smith as she stared at a lighter squared section of the wall.
“It looks like a sign used to be here,” she said.
“Your right, why would they take down the signs,” said Doctor Ruiz as he turned and looked up.
“Do you think they wanted us to become lost?” Asked Nurse Smith.
“If I recall right,” began Hoyt, “management talked about removing the signs incase the soldiers broke out of there holding cells.”
“...and you didn’t feel the need to tell us this,” she shouted.
“No,” Hoyt said confidently then added, “I didn’t know it would be important till we started running.”
“And while we were...” she began but was interrupted by shouting in the hallway in front of them.
Doctor Ruiz, Nurse Smith and Hoyt raced through the hallway and into the next. Doctor Adams, Stein and Nurse Alexander stood in front of a gray door.
“This is the exit,” said Doctor Stein, “I’m sure of it.”
“The problem is that it is locked,” said Doctor Adams.
“We’ll have to bust it open,” Hoyt said.
Strangely, he then pushed forward threw the men and began tugging on the door. He looked like a rat panicking in a small cage.
“This is got to open,” he said several times as the door resisted. The noise from the door reverberated loudly through the hallway.
The group never heard the grumbles or the heavy footsteps coming from the Administration hallway. The ‘man-beast’s’ walked slowly, strategically. One was on the left side one on the right of the hallway. They stalked their prey till they were just out of sight. The group stood around the door watching Hoyt. Doctor Adams, Stein, and Nurse Smith stood in a triangle formation toward the back. Nurse Alexander stood beside Hoyt but not to close. Doctor Ruiz stood on the other side of Hoyt. He was the first to see them approaching. They approached like hungry animals. They were upon the group within an instant. The ‘man-beast’ on the right grasp Nurse Alexander and began to drag her away. The ‘man-beast’ on the left grabbed Doctor Stein. The ‘man-beasts’ grip was light. It was the same beast that was tore up minutes before. Doctor Stein managed to pull himself free and then kicked the ‘man-beast’ in the chest. The ‘man-beast’ fell to the floor screaming. The other ‘man-beast’ stopped for several seconds, looked back then sprinted into the hallway with its prize.
“We have to rescue Nurse Alexander,” pleaded Nurse Smith.
“We can’t fight those things,” said Doctor Ruiz.
“We can’t leave her,” Nurse Smith begged as she began to cry.
“Lets go,” said Hoyt as he began to disappear into the hallway.
“What about this ‘man-beast’?” Doctor Adams said as he watched it struggling to stand up. When Doctor Stein kicked him it broke several of his showing ribs and seemed to of displaced its hip. It laid upon its back on the hallway floor.
He, Doctor Stein and Nurse Smith gave it a wide berth as they followed Hoyt and Doctor Ruiz.
Zombie Epic Update July
Posted an updated version on Impnow.com. Working on posted the same version on MySpace blog. Need to work on edited version to post on Everything The Magazine e-zine.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Zombie Epic Update
I stopped posting updates but to let you know I reached the 5000 word mark. BUT
Lets be honest here. My writing project failed. BUT
I have over 5000 words to start my project. I still plan on finishing the book.
I have just started to reedit the work that I have begun. I'm going to replace Doctor Adams with Doctor Ruiz. I am going to turn the Doctor Adams character in Derrick Adams, IT guy. (They say write what you know)
I've got to write the beginning of the novel.
This may be the best chance I got to finish. Its still got legs.
Lets be honest here. My writing project failed. BUT
I have over 5000 words to start my project. I still plan on finishing the book.
I have just started to reedit the work that I have begun. I'm going to replace Doctor Adams with Doctor Ruiz. I am going to turn the Doctor Adams character in Derrick Adams, IT guy. (They say write what you know)
I've got to write the beginning of the novel.
This may be the best chance I got to finish. Its still got legs.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Zombie Epic Part 2
Suddenly the rest of the group rushed past the office door. Doctor Adams rushed to the door and stepped out. The group quickly ran around the barrier of gurney and down the hall. They stopped at the director's door and rushed in. Doctor Adams followed them down the hall and approached the director's door. The group chattered loudly.
"Oh my god," said one of the nurses.
"Why would he do this?" said someone, possibly Doctor Stein.
Doctor Adams opened the door and was instantly hit with the smell of gun powder. The group, including the three that stayed back, hovered around the director's desk looking down.
"What's going on?" Doctor Adams said.
"The director just shot himself in the head," said Nurse Smith as she stood beside the desk.
"I heard the shot, ran to the room then Doctor Ruiz ran to get you guys. He was dead instantly," she continued.
"It wasn't like we all liked him," inserted Hoyt as he walked from behind the desk and around the group.
"Come on, man," complained Doctor Ruiz in his Mexican-tinted accent, "he was a man and he deserves a little respect. I think he has a wife and kids, don't he?"
"A couple, I think," Doctor Adams replied.
"What are we going to do?" Asked the Asian woman. She was around five-foot tall, dark hair and seemed to smile alot.
"I don't mean to sound rude," began Doctor Adams, "but what's your name?"
"Amy Wo," she said smiling wider.
"Amy, that's my daughters name," he added.
"We are going to have to call the police, I guess," said Hoyt from near to office door.
"We can't," said Doctor Adams.
"Why's that?" Hoyt asked but then began to press his face against the window.
"My god," he said, "guys come here, quietly."
The group, lead by Doctor Adams walked quietly to the glass wall at the front of the office. Doctor Adams looked out and was stunned.
Two men, in torn blue scrubs, had pulled Kerry Anderson from his room. They were beating him violently.
"We got to help him," said Doctor Adams as he approached the office door.
"No, we can't," said Hoyt as he held him back.
"What do you mean, we can't," Doctor Adams shot back.
"Shhh, be quiet..," Hoyt warned, "they can hear very well. We don't want them coming over here."
"Who the hell are you and why do you know so much," Doctor Adams asked pointedly but in a quieter tone.
Hoyt ignored him and continued to watch the men beat on Kerry.
"We can't just stand here," Doctor Adams demanded. His voice rose slightly accenting his anger.
"You killed one before why can't you go out there and kill another," he asked.
Hoyt looked at Doctor Adams. His strong facial features had fallen from their confident former position. Hoyt's eyes shifted quickly from straight ahead to outside into the hallway and back. Doctor Adams picked this up and looked out into the hall.
To his horror the two men had began to tear into Kerry's body. Doctor Adams watched as the men swiped at Kerry's chest easily opening up the tissue and then shoving it into their mouths. With the tissue in their mouths they twisted their heads like hungry dogs tearing the meat from the bones of their prey.
Doctor Adams coughed and turned. He pushed his way through the group and put his face into the trash can beside the directors desk.
Hoyt followed him and quickly stood beside him. He waited till Doctor Adams was finished and apologized.
"I am so sorry Doctor Adams," he said, "I am just trying to save as many people as possible."
"Trying to save as many people as possible," Nurse Smith began as she stood in front of the desk.
"Are you some sort of FBI agent posing as a male nurse?" She asked not expecting the answer he gave her.
"I am an undercover agent. Been here six months investigating everything."
"Really," she said with a mixture of shock and awe.
Doctor Adams stood upright and wiped his mouth on his white coat.
"I've seen you in the hallway," he said, "always working. You always had a place to be."
"I've been all over this complex. I know just about everything." He began to walk back to the door. The group split, like Moses to water, as he passed.
"I was about to report all my findings when I was busted by the director. He saw me snooping around in the 500 building around Section 3. He sent these 'man-beasts' at me."
He pointed to the men eating Kerry Anderson outside in the hall.
"Where did these 'man-beasts' come from?" Asked Doctor Ruiz. Doctor Ruiz stood behind him watching the men outside.
"Created by Project New World as super soldiers. From what I understand these super soldiers purpose is not for world dominance like in the movies. They are created to cause as much damage as possible. Once killed they live on to destroy everything and everyone in their path. The only way to kill them is to destroy the brain. Of course the Pentegon's great idea seems to of backfired like in the movies."
"So what do we do now?" Doctor Adams asked.
"All we can do is wait and hope they don't know we are here."
"Oh my god," said one of the nurses.
"Why would he do this?" said someone, possibly Doctor Stein.
Doctor Adams opened the door and was instantly hit with the smell of gun powder. The group, including the three that stayed back, hovered around the director's desk looking down.
"What's going on?" Doctor Adams said.
"The director just shot himself in the head," said Nurse Smith as she stood beside the desk.
"I heard the shot, ran to the room then Doctor Ruiz ran to get you guys. He was dead instantly," she continued.
"It wasn't like we all liked him," inserted Hoyt as he walked from behind the desk and around the group.
"Come on, man," complained Doctor Ruiz in his Mexican-tinted accent, "he was a man and he deserves a little respect. I think he has a wife and kids, don't he?"
"A couple, I think," Doctor Adams replied.
"What are we going to do?" Asked the Asian woman. She was around five-foot tall, dark hair and seemed to smile alot.
"I don't mean to sound rude," began Doctor Adams, "but what's your name?"
"Amy Wo," she said smiling wider.
"Amy, that's my daughters name," he added.
"We are going to have to call the police, I guess," said Hoyt from near to office door.
"We can't," said Doctor Adams.
"Why's that?" Hoyt asked but then began to press his face against the window.
"My god," he said, "guys come here, quietly."
The group, lead by Doctor Adams walked quietly to the glass wall at the front of the office. Doctor Adams looked out and was stunned.
Two men, in torn blue scrubs, had pulled Kerry Anderson from his room. They were beating him violently.
"We got to help him," said Doctor Adams as he approached the office door.
"No, we can't," said Hoyt as he held him back.
"What do you mean, we can't," Doctor Adams shot back.
"Shhh, be quiet..," Hoyt warned, "they can hear very well. We don't want them coming over here."
"Who the hell are you and why do you know so much," Doctor Adams asked pointedly but in a quieter tone.
Hoyt ignored him and continued to watch the men beat on Kerry.
"We can't just stand here," Doctor Adams demanded. His voice rose slightly accenting his anger.
"You killed one before why can't you go out there and kill another," he asked.
Hoyt looked at Doctor Adams. His strong facial features had fallen from their confident former position. Hoyt's eyes shifted quickly from straight ahead to outside into the hallway and back. Doctor Adams picked this up and looked out into the hall.
To his horror the two men had began to tear into Kerry's body. Doctor Adams watched as the men swiped at Kerry's chest easily opening up the tissue and then shoving it into their mouths. With the tissue in their mouths they twisted their heads like hungry dogs tearing the meat from the bones of their prey.
Doctor Adams coughed and turned. He pushed his way through the group and put his face into the trash can beside the directors desk.
Hoyt followed him and quickly stood beside him. He waited till Doctor Adams was finished and apologized.
"I am so sorry Doctor Adams," he said, "I am just trying to save as many people as possible."
"Trying to save as many people as possible," Nurse Smith began as she stood in front of the desk.
"Are you some sort of FBI agent posing as a male nurse?" She asked not expecting the answer he gave her.
"I am an undercover agent. Been here six months investigating everything."
"Really," she said with a mixture of shock and awe.
Doctor Adams stood upright and wiped his mouth on his white coat.
"I've seen you in the hallway," he said, "always working. You always had a place to be."
"I've been all over this complex. I know just about everything." He began to walk back to the door. The group split, like Moses to water, as he passed.
"I was about to report all my findings when I was busted by the director. He saw me snooping around in the 500 building around Section 3. He sent these 'man-beasts' at me."
He pointed to the men eating Kerry Anderson outside in the hall.
"Where did these 'man-beasts' come from?" Asked Doctor Ruiz. Doctor Ruiz stood behind him watching the men outside.
"Created by Project New World as super soldiers. From what I understand these super soldiers purpose is not for world dominance like in the movies. They are created to cause as much damage as possible. Once killed they live on to destroy everything and everyone in their path. The only way to kill them is to destroy the brain. Of course the Pentegon's great idea seems to of backfired like in the movies."
"So what do we do now?" Doctor Adams asked.
"All we can do is wait and hope they don't know we are here."
Monday, June 2, 2008
Zombie Epic
(4311 words)
6 week writing project (The zombie epic)
“Doctor Adams!” shouts an intern soaked in blood, “something has gone terribly wrong.”Doctor Adams tosses a large cup of coffee into the sink of the break room and follows the intern out the door.They break into a run to quickly cover the distance between the break room and the exam room.”What happened,” Doctor Adams asks.”I don’t know, the patient was acting fine but then began to get sick. He fell to the floor then began to seize. Before I left to get you he began to change.””Change into what, my boy,” asked Doctor Adams.”I don’t know,” said the intern, his ashen face tarred with fear. ”It’s alright young man, I take care of the situation. Why don’t you go lay down. You look unwell.”The intern stopped. Doctor Adams noticed that the young man’s eyes were bloodshot and a dark half-circle was painted under each eye. ”Why do you want me to lay down?” Said the intern with an accusatory tone in his voice.Doctor Adams stopped and turned around. ”I just figured you were in shock and could use a rest,” said Doctor Adams.”No, you just want me to fall asleep so you can experiment on me,” the interns small round face tightened. His lips became small, thin pencil marks below his nose. ”I don’t,” explained Doctor Adams trying to find a name tag on the young mans chest.”You’re not going to try anything on me,” the young intern stated while hitting his chest firmly with his right fist. ”Are you a patient?” Doctor Adams asked becoming worried about his safety.”No, I am a doctor,” said the young intern.Doctor Adams began to walk toward the young man. He wanted to get behind him. Doctor Adams was very capable of restraining almost anyone. As long as he could get behind the subject. The intern followed him and would not allow Doctor Adams to get behind him. ”What are you doing?” The intern asked loudly. ”Young man I need you to stand still,” Doctor Adams insisted as he closed in on the intern.”No,” the intern shouted as he began to walk backwards toward an adjacent hallway. ”You are going to hurt yourself,” Doctor Adams warned.The intern’s anger returned and he shouted, “I am going to hurt myself?” ”You experiment on us, you hurt us and I am going to worry about hurting myself.”Suddenly the situation turned and the intern began to rush Doctor Adams. Doctor Adams stepped back and fell into a gurney. With his left leg and arm twisted within the legs of the gurney he was helpless to defend himself. The intern approached with a murderous look that could frighten even the heartless. Doctor Adams tried desperately to free himself as the intern bent over him and raised a meaty fist to bring down upon him. From somewhere near Doctor Adams could hear footstep sprinting toward him then a grunt and a crash. A large hospital guard had tackled the intern and they were wrestling upon the floor. Doctor Adams freed himself and quickly stood. He wanted to help the guard who was having a terrible time restraining the intern. ”Get out of here!” shouted the guard after he landed a crushing blow to the interns face. ”I can help you,” shouted Doctor Adams.”No, get out of the hospital. Go...,” the guard said as he finally seemed to have the upper hand. He had managed to work the intern into his belly and held the young mans arms under his own. The guard stepped upon the interns back like a mountaineer at the peak of a mountain. ”Go, damnit,” the guard demanded. Doctor Adams turned and began toward a hallway. An awful crack and groan made his stomach wretch and he wanted to turn back but didn’t. The hallways were numerous and hard to maneuver. He walked quickly and began toward the Directors office. The office sat on the far southern corner of the large compound. As he walked farther away from the incident near the operating rooms he began to slow his pace. The halls were quiet and orderly. The thick room doors closed and locked. There looked to be no epidemic problem or a reason for him to hurry.Doctor Adams rounded a corner and then made a right down the administrative hallway. The Directors office sat on the right side. He passed the Research and Development Offices on the left. He glanced inside the rooms as he passed. Norman Oswald sat behind his desk and looked up as Doctor Adams passed. He waved and Doctor Adams returned a wave. Within the next room a couple doctors sat on small chairs facing away from him. A large desk sat in front of them. They seemed to be waiting for Doctor Rebekah San Marino who was not sitting at her desk. The last Research and Development office was empty except for a few chairs tossed in the middle of the room. The next set of offices was Finance. The Finance department had four rooms. In the first room on the right of the hallway sat Kerry Peterson, behind his desk and talking on the phone. He seemed strangely animated arguing into the receiver. The remaining rooms up to the director’s office were empty. Doctor Adams approached the director’s door. The director was a balding fifty-year old man, small in stature by appearance only. Doctor Adams knocked on the glass pane of the office door. He watched as the director waved him in with a flick of his small wrist. Doctor Adams opened the door and immediately caught the potent scent of cigars, many cigars. He approached the large desk that sat in the center of the room and sat down. ”No, no no...” said the director as he spoke to someone on the floor. “Everything is under control. You don’t need to send any help.”He listened for a few minutes smiling as he did. ”Please sir, you know I’ll let you know if I need help.” He listened again as he nervously wiggled a yellow wooden pencil on his desk. ”I’m sorry sir but I have a visitor and have to let you go,” he said.He listened, continued to smile, and then hung up the phone. ”Hold on,” the director states as he stands and walks to the large window in the back of the room. Below the window is a bookshelf crammed with binders dated in black ink. The director scans the book and finds a binder with the date May 5, 2008. He pulls the binder from the shelf and walks back to his desk. ”What can I do for you Mister Adams?” He said as he sat carefully down into his chair. ”Uhm...” Doctor Adams began struggling to organize his thoughts. ”There was an incident down the hall near the examination room,” Doctor Adams began. ”So I’ve heard,” said the director to Doctor Adams surprise. The directors smile fell and was replaced by concern. ”I was almost killed,” Doctor Adams, continued, “a patient pretending to be an intern approached me with an emergency and then tried to kill me. He said he we were hurting him.” The director stood from his chair and paced back and forth behind his desk. The concern in his face seemed to weigh him down greatly. ”I did tell you there was a risk with this job, didn’t I,” the director said as he continued to pace. ”You did tell me,” Doctor Adams acknowledged, “but I want to know if there is a bigger problem.” ”A bigger problem?” The Director asked as he stopped pacing and looked at Doctor Adams. ”The guard that saved my life told me to leave the hospital,” Doctor Adams said.
“He did? Well you probably misunderstood him,” the director said quickly.
“No I understood him quite clearly. I also understood the noise of bones breaking as I began down the hall.”
“What!” The director shouted as he placed his hands on his desk.
“Damnit.” The director immediately picked up the phone and began to dial a number. “You can do what you want Doctor Adams. Leave, stay, run away, I don’t care. Just get out of my office I have important phone calls to make,” the director stopped dialing and waited for Doctor Adams to stand.
Doctor Adams then turned and walked out of the office.
Zombie Epic Part 2
Doctor Adams stepped from the director’s office. The director waited until the office door was shut securely before he began speaking into the phone. Actually, from the looks of it, the director was screaming into the phone. As Doctor Adams stood outside the door he watched the director shouting into the phone. Doctor Adams began to feel helplessness, or was it fear? Did he fear what he had been doing the past few months? Was it torture?”
“No,” he replied to himself.
“This is important research. How else are were going to survive in this world without the gene implantation research he was trying to do?” Doctor Adams turned from the director’s door and began down the administration hallway. He passed Kerry Peterson’s room again and instinctively looked inside. The large man stood just inside his door staring at the opposite wall. Doctor Adams opened the office door.
“Is there something wrong Kerry,” Doctor Adams asked. Kerry Peterson had become a family friend several years ago. Kerry was actually the man that helped get him this job.
“Derrick,” Kerry began pleasantly using Doctor Adams first name, “I saw you heading to the directors office. What’s going on?”
“I was assaulted by a patient about an hour ago. A guard told me to run from the building. I was trying to figure out what was going on.” Kerry’s face went pale.
“A patient attacked you?” Kerry asked.
“Yea, it was pretty frightful. I thought he was going to kill me till the guard took him out. Then get this the guard broke the patients back.”
“My god,” Kerry said as he walked toward his desk. Doctor Adams followed.
“Do you have any idea what is going on around here?” Doctor Adams asked. Kerry said nothing and sat down behind his desk.
“I have an idea but nothing concrete. I can only pull bits and pieces of information from the financial coming and goings,” he finally said slowly.
“So what’s up?” Doctor Adams asked.
“The companies losing money hand over foot. We have spent over half a billion dollars in bad investments over a two year period,” said Kerry.
“What is this have to do with patients pretending to be doctors?”
“The company is getting lax because they are cutting cost.”“That’s a good reason but I don’t believe that’s everything,” Doctor Adams said.“What are you going to do?” Said Kerry.“Well I’m not an investigator or Nancy Drew or anything but if this involves my lively hood I have to do something.”“It may be that I will have to find another job.”“Uhm...” Kerry paused then continued, “you can’t leave the company.”“What are you talking about,” asked Doctor Adams.“You are contractually obligated to this company until you are released by the company,” Kerry said carefully. He looked a little apprehensive.“Contractually obligated!” Doctor Adams spat as his stood from he chair and began to walk around the room.“Is this a joke,” he asked not really expecting an answer.“No, its common practice for the company.”“Really, where is this paragraph in the contract?”“Under the signature, small type, of course.”“Yea, of course,” Doctor Adams said while he continued to pace.“How could you of gotten me into this crap?” Doctor Adams shouted, his temper pushed over the edge.“I’m sorry,” Kerry said just before he stood quickly and stumbled backward toward the window in the back of his office.A several loud crashes erupted from outside the office door and Doctor Adams looked. Metal gurneys began to pile up just outside the door. They came from the left side of the office and were tossed or pushed into the pile. After five or six gurneys sat in the hallway a large male nurse named Hoyt leapt over the pile followed by several others. There were six people total; Doctor Ruiz and Doctor Stein made their way over the pile dressed in the standard white coat. Three nurses followed them; Nurses Smith, Alexander and an Asian woman Doctor Adams did not know. They pointed toward the left of the hallway, some of them crying. The large nurse Hoyt seemed to take charge and shouted orders. ”We need to make this higher,” he said as he pushed to pile upward.
Doctor Adams walked to the office door and attempted to open it but Hoyt stopped him. He held up one of his large hands then made crude hand turning motions attempting to convince Doctor Adams to lock the office door. Doctor Adams locked the door and stepped back. The women screamed as something began to approach. The scream shot through the office like the glass door was not even there. They walked backward till they disappeared from sight. Doctor Stein began to follow them when Hoyt stopped him. The then stood behind the pile of gurneys and waited for whatever was coming to hit them. Doctor Adams watched from inside the room as the men braced themselves.Suddenly, a large naked man burst from the left side of the doorway and smashed into the gurneys. It reminded Doctor Adams of an attempted 1-yard dive at a football game. The doctors shoved the gurneys up and into the naked man stopping his dive mid-air. The naked man fell backward onto the gurneys. His back broke over a gurney that lay on its side. Hoyt rushed forward over the gurneys and shoved a thin glass rod through the bottom of the man’s jaw and into his brain. It was disgusting but apparently necessary.Blood splattered over the glass office door. The naked man lies in front of it. Doctor Adams turned to look at Kerry and found him crumpled and upon his knees in a corner.“What the hell was that,” Doctor Adams said loudly but Kerry was not listening.Doctor Adams pounded on the office doors till Hoyt shoved the body out of the doorway. Doctor Adams quickly unlocked the door and opened it.“What the hell is going on?” Said a booming voice from down the hall. The director stood, all four-foot nine of him, outside his office with his hands on his hips.
Zombie Epic Part 3
“Director,” said Hoyt, his large frame towering over the small director. “I think you owe us an explanation.”“About what,” said the director looking up at the male nurse confidently.“About your experiments.”“I don’t know what your talking about. I have no experiments. Everything that’s going on is known by all of these staff members.” The director pointed to everyone that stood behind Hoyt. “I’m sorry if you are out of the loop.”Hoyt laughed. A hearty chuckle that he bottled up quickly so as to make a pointed statement.
“I am so in the loop Director. I know everything. I know you have commissioned a select few to do behavior research and gene therapy. I know you have a grant from the Defense Department to do this.”“Is this true, Director?” Doctor Adams asked.“No,” he said defiantly.“Is it true that the company has been running in the red for the past two years due to bad investments?” Doctor Adams asked and the others gasp.“No,” the director said again.“Why don’t you stop lying to us,” said Kerry from within his office door. “I’ve seen the documents. I’ve got the proof.”The group, all eight staff persons, glared at the director but he said nothing, turned, and disappeared back into his office.“Can you believe that man?” Said Nurse Smith, a petite woman in her mid forties.“He has been nothing but bad news since he got here,” said Doctor Stein as he ran his thin hands threw the small bit of hair he had left on his head.“Kerry, are you alright,” Doctor Adams asked as he approached.“I’m fine, just a little shaken,” Kerry said his hands trembling.“Did you know anything about these experiments?” Doctor Adams asked. Hoyt, Doctor Stein and Nurse Smith approached.Kerry fumbled for words as he scanned the area around him. Blood covered the floor and the glass wall around the door. The body of the naked man laid awkward, face first on the floor.“I knew something was going on,” he admitted.“The defense contract came through my office several months ago. The director searched my office a couple days later when I had left for work. He found the paperwork and took it.”“How’d you find out he took it,” said Nurse Smith.“Rebekah told me,” Kerry said looking toward her office.“Speaking of Rebekah and the Research and Development office,” Doctor Adams began, “why haven’t they come out of their rooms?”“We should go find out,” said Hoyt and he began down the hall. Doctor Adams, Doctor Stein and Nurse Smith followed. Doctor Ruiz, Nurse Alexander and the Asian woman stayed behind talking amongst themselves. Kerry Anderson stood within the doorway of his office. He could not force upon himself the courage to step outside of it.They approached the first door, Doctor Rebekah San Marino, and stopped. They looked inside to see two doctors sitting in chairs in from of Doctor San Marino’s desk. Doctor Adams then noticed, which he failed to notice before, that the two were slouched forward slightly, their heads down.“I think their dead,” he said as he quickly opened the door. “Go check the other offices,” Doctor Adams shouted.
The others began to search the other Research and Development offices and Doctor Adams began to approach the two doctors in Doctor San Marino’s office. He immediately noticed the smell of gunpowder. Good-sized dark red stains ran down the back of the doctors white coats. Doctor Adams searched the office for a visible reason for the murders. The books were in order on the shelves. Perfectly kept and dusted. None of the many drawers that Doctor San Marino had set into the walls of her office were closed. There was no sign anyone was looking for something. Doctor Adams passed the men and walked around the large desk in the office. He noticed that Doctor San Marino’s chair had fallen over and several documents were scattered over the floor. The bottom left drawer of her desk was open and emptied. Something fluttered in the corner of the room. Doctor Adams walked slowly to the far corner of the room and bent down. Printed on company letterhead was an e-mail.
The e-mail stated that the sender was Col. Eric Price from the Department of Defense and that the ‘Changing World’ program would start May 5, 2008, which was three months from today. It stated several directives:
“This project is to be held under the utmost secrecy. No one is to know anything,” the directive began. “If you are suspected of knowing something deny it. If you suspect someone knows something...I won’t tell you what to do but this is of the utmost importance.”
“This research,” began the second directive, “will be perform thoroughly and will be reported to me on a weekly basis.”
The third and last directive was typed and red, the letter size was large and the type was bold.
“Under no circumstance is any patient involved in this research to be released, ever!”
It returned to 12-sized text, with black and un-bold text. “The patients will become permanent residents of this facility.”
“Who is Col. Eric Prince?” Doctor Adams asked himself.
“Who are these doctors that are performing these procedures and why haven’t I had a clue this was happening?”
“What is happening?” Doctor Adams asked as movement from behind made him jump. He turned around quickly and one of the men sitting in the office chairs was falling backward. With a loud thump he landed on the floor, a freakish sigh escaped from his open mouth.
“Alright, I’m outta here,” he thought quickly as he began toward the door. As he passed the fallen man he instinctively looked down. The man was definitely dead. His was skin pale or more of a chalk white. His chin was bruised where the blood had pooled from the downward position of his face. His arms were stiff. Still in positioned as if he was still sitting in the chair.
He suddenly thought, “How long have these men been here?” That was a curious question because just yesterday everything at The Company seemed to be going fine. Doctor Adams recalled walking through the administration hall once or twice to speak to Kerry Anderson.“Did he look into this room?” He thought hard.
6 week writing project (The zombie epic)
“Doctor Adams!” shouts an intern soaked in blood, “something has gone terribly wrong.”Doctor Adams tosses a large cup of coffee into the sink of the break room and follows the intern out the door.They break into a run to quickly cover the distance between the break room and the exam room.”What happened,” Doctor Adams asks.”I don’t know, the patient was acting fine but then began to get sick. He fell to the floor then began to seize. Before I left to get you he began to change.””Change into what, my boy,” asked Doctor Adams.”I don’t know,” said the intern, his ashen face tarred with fear. ”It’s alright young man, I take care of the situation. Why don’t you go lay down. You look unwell.”The intern stopped. Doctor Adams noticed that the young man’s eyes were bloodshot and a dark half-circle was painted under each eye. ”Why do you want me to lay down?” Said the intern with an accusatory tone in his voice.Doctor Adams stopped and turned around. ”I just figured you were in shock and could use a rest,” said Doctor Adams.”No, you just want me to fall asleep so you can experiment on me,” the interns small round face tightened. His lips became small, thin pencil marks below his nose. ”I don’t,” explained Doctor Adams trying to find a name tag on the young mans chest.”You’re not going to try anything on me,” the young intern stated while hitting his chest firmly with his right fist. ”Are you a patient?” Doctor Adams asked becoming worried about his safety.”No, I am a doctor,” said the young intern.Doctor Adams began to walk toward the young man. He wanted to get behind him. Doctor Adams was very capable of restraining almost anyone. As long as he could get behind the subject. The intern followed him and would not allow Doctor Adams to get behind him. ”What are you doing?” The intern asked loudly. ”Young man I need you to stand still,” Doctor Adams insisted as he closed in on the intern.”No,” the intern shouted as he began to walk backwards toward an adjacent hallway. ”You are going to hurt yourself,” Doctor Adams warned.The intern’s anger returned and he shouted, “I am going to hurt myself?” ”You experiment on us, you hurt us and I am going to worry about hurting myself.”Suddenly the situation turned and the intern began to rush Doctor Adams. Doctor Adams stepped back and fell into a gurney. With his left leg and arm twisted within the legs of the gurney he was helpless to defend himself. The intern approached with a murderous look that could frighten even the heartless. Doctor Adams tried desperately to free himself as the intern bent over him and raised a meaty fist to bring down upon him. From somewhere near Doctor Adams could hear footstep sprinting toward him then a grunt and a crash. A large hospital guard had tackled the intern and they were wrestling upon the floor. Doctor Adams freed himself and quickly stood. He wanted to help the guard who was having a terrible time restraining the intern. ”Get out of here!” shouted the guard after he landed a crushing blow to the interns face. ”I can help you,” shouted Doctor Adams.”No, get out of the hospital. Go...,” the guard said as he finally seemed to have the upper hand. He had managed to work the intern into his belly and held the young mans arms under his own. The guard stepped upon the interns back like a mountaineer at the peak of a mountain. ”Go, damnit,” the guard demanded. Doctor Adams turned and began toward a hallway. An awful crack and groan made his stomach wretch and he wanted to turn back but didn’t. The hallways were numerous and hard to maneuver. He walked quickly and began toward the Directors office. The office sat on the far southern corner of the large compound. As he walked farther away from the incident near the operating rooms he began to slow his pace. The halls were quiet and orderly. The thick room doors closed and locked. There looked to be no epidemic problem or a reason for him to hurry.Doctor Adams rounded a corner and then made a right down the administrative hallway. The Directors office sat on the right side. He passed the Research and Development Offices on the left. He glanced inside the rooms as he passed. Norman Oswald sat behind his desk and looked up as Doctor Adams passed. He waved and Doctor Adams returned a wave. Within the next room a couple doctors sat on small chairs facing away from him. A large desk sat in front of them. They seemed to be waiting for Doctor Rebekah San Marino who was not sitting at her desk. The last Research and Development office was empty except for a few chairs tossed in the middle of the room. The next set of offices was Finance. The Finance department had four rooms. In the first room on the right of the hallway sat Kerry Peterson, behind his desk and talking on the phone. He seemed strangely animated arguing into the receiver. The remaining rooms up to the director’s office were empty. Doctor Adams approached the director’s door. The director was a balding fifty-year old man, small in stature by appearance only. Doctor Adams knocked on the glass pane of the office door. He watched as the director waved him in with a flick of his small wrist. Doctor Adams opened the door and immediately caught the potent scent of cigars, many cigars. He approached the large desk that sat in the center of the room and sat down. ”No, no no...” said the director as he spoke to someone on the floor. “Everything is under control. You don’t need to send any help.”He listened for a few minutes smiling as he did. ”Please sir, you know I’ll let you know if I need help.” He listened again as he nervously wiggled a yellow wooden pencil on his desk. ”I’m sorry sir but I have a visitor and have to let you go,” he said.He listened, continued to smile, and then hung up the phone. ”Hold on,” the director states as he stands and walks to the large window in the back of the room. Below the window is a bookshelf crammed with binders dated in black ink. The director scans the book and finds a binder with the date May 5, 2008. He pulls the binder from the shelf and walks back to his desk. ”What can I do for you Mister Adams?” He said as he sat carefully down into his chair. ”Uhm...” Doctor Adams began struggling to organize his thoughts. ”There was an incident down the hall near the examination room,” Doctor Adams began. ”So I’ve heard,” said the director to Doctor Adams surprise. The directors smile fell and was replaced by concern. ”I was almost killed,” Doctor Adams, continued, “a patient pretending to be an intern approached me with an emergency and then tried to kill me. He said he we were hurting him.” The director stood from his chair and paced back and forth behind his desk. The concern in his face seemed to weigh him down greatly. ”I did tell you there was a risk with this job, didn’t I,” the director said as he continued to pace. ”You did tell me,” Doctor Adams acknowledged, “but I want to know if there is a bigger problem.” ”A bigger problem?” The Director asked as he stopped pacing and looked at Doctor Adams. ”The guard that saved my life told me to leave the hospital,” Doctor Adams said.
“He did? Well you probably misunderstood him,” the director said quickly.
“No I understood him quite clearly. I also understood the noise of bones breaking as I began down the hall.”
“What!” The director shouted as he placed his hands on his desk.
“Damnit.” The director immediately picked up the phone and began to dial a number. “You can do what you want Doctor Adams. Leave, stay, run away, I don’t care. Just get out of my office I have important phone calls to make,” the director stopped dialing and waited for Doctor Adams to stand.
Doctor Adams then turned and walked out of the office.
Zombie Epic Part 2
Doctor Adams stepped from the director’s office. The director waited until the office door was shut securely before he began speaking into the phone. Actually, from the looks of it, the director was screaming into the phone. As Doctor Adams stood outside the door he watched the director shouting into the phone. Doctor Adams began to feel helplessness, or was it fear? Did he fear what he had been doing the past few months? Was it torture?”
“No,” he replied to himself.
“This is important research. How else are were going to survive in this world without the gene implantation research he was trying to do?” Doctor Adams turned from the director’s door and began down the administration hallway. He passed Kerry Peterson’s room again and instinctively looked inside. The large man stood just inside his door staring at the opposite wall. Doctor Adams opened the office door.
“Is there something wrong Kerry,” Doctor Adams asked. Kerry Peterson had become a family friend several years ago. Kerry was actually the man that helped get him this job.
“Derrick,” Kerry began pleasantly using Doctor Adams first name, “I saw you heading to the directors office. What’s going on?”
“I was assaulted by a patient about an hour ago. A guard told me to run from the building. I was trying to figure out what was going on.” Kerry’s face went pale.
“A patient attacked you?” Kerry asked.
“Yea, it was pretty frightful. I thought he was going to kill me till the guard took him out. Then get this the guard broke the patients back.”
“My god,” Kerry said as he walked toward his desk. Doctor Adams followed.
“Do you have any idea what is going on around here?” Doctor Adams asked. Kerry said nothing and sat down behind his desk.
“I have an idea but nothing concrete. I can only pull bits and pieces of information from the financial coming and goings,” he finally said slowly.
“So what’s up?” Doctor Adams asked.
“The companies losing money hand over foot. We have spent over half a billion dollars in bad investments over a two year period,” said Kerry.
“What is this have to do with patients pretending to be doctors?”
“The company is getting lax because they are cutting cost.”“That’s a good reason but I don’t believe that’s everything,” Doctor Adams said.“What are you going to do?” Said Kerry.“Well I’m not an investigator or Nancy Drew or anything but if this involves my lively hood I have to do something.”“It may be that I will have to find another job.”“Uhm...” Kerry paused then continued, “you can’t leave the company.”“What are you talking about,” asked Doctor Adams.“You are contractually obligated to this company until you are released by the company,” Kerry said carefully. He looked a little apprehensive.“Contractually obligated!” Doctor Adams spat as his stood from he chair and began to walk around the room.“Is this a joke,” he asked not really expecting an answer.“No, its common practice for the company.”“Really, where is this paragraph in the contract?”“Under the signature, small type, of course.”“Yea, of course,” Doctor Adams said while he continued to pace.“How could you of gotten me into this crap?” Doctor Adams shouted, his temper pushed over the edge.“I’m sorry,” Kerry said just before he stood quickly and stumbled backward toward the window in the back of his office.A several loud crashes erupted from outside the office door and Doctor Adams looked. Metal gurneys began to pile up just outside the door. They came from the left side of the office and were tossed or pushed into the pile. After five or six gurneys sat in the hallway a large male nurse named Hoyt leapt over the pile followed by several others. There were six people total; Doctor Ruiz and Doctor Stein made their way over the pile dressed in the standard white coat. Three nurses followed them; Nurses Smith, Alexander and an Asian woman Doctor Adams did not know. They pointed toward the left of the hallway, some of them crying. The large nurse Hoyt seemed to take charge and shouted orders. ”We need to make this higher,” he said as he pushed to pile upward.
Doctor Adams walked to the office door and attempted to open it but Hoyt stopped him. He held up one of his large hands then made crude hand turning motions attempting to convince Doctor Adams to lock the office door. Doctor Adams locked the door and stepped back. The women screamed as something began to approach. The scream shot through the office like the glass door was not even there. They walked backward till they disappeared from sight. Doctor Stein began to follow them when Hoyt stopped him. The then stood behind the pile of gurneys and waited for whatever was coming to hit them. Doctor Adams watched from inside the room as the men braced themselves.Suddenly, a large naked man burst from the left side of the doorway and smashed into the gurneys. It reminded Doctor Adams of an attempted 1-yard dive at a football game. The doctors shoved the gurneys up and into the naked man stopping his dive mid-air. The naked man fell backward onto the gurneys. His back broke over a gurney that lay on its side. Hoyt rushed forward over the gurneys and shoved a thin glass rod through the bottom of the man’s jaw and into his brain. It was disgusting but apparently necessary.Blood splattered over the glass office door. The naked man lies in front of it. Doctor Adams turned to look at Kerry and found him crumpled and upon his knees in a corner.“What the hell was that,” Doctor Adams said loudly but Kerry was not listening.Doctor Adams pounded on the office doors till Hoyt shoved the body out of the doorway. Doctor Adams quickly unlocked the door and opened it.“What the hell is going on?” Said a booming voice from down the hall. The director stood, all four-foot nine of him, outside his office with his hands on his hips.
Zombie Epic Part 3
“Director,” said Hoyt, his large frame towering over the small director. “I think you owe us an explanation.”“About what,” said the director looking up at the male nurse confidently.“About your experiments.”“I don’t know what your talking about. I have no experiments. Everything that’s going on is known by all of these staff members.” The director pointed to everyone that stood behind Hoyt. “I’m sorry if you are out of the loop.”Hoyt laughed. A hearty chuckle that he bottled up quickly so as to make a pointed statement.
“I am so in the loop Director. I know everything. I know you have commissioned a select few to do behavior research and gene therapy. I know you have a grant from the Defense Department to do this.”“Is this true, Director?” Doctor Adams asked.“No,” he said defiantly.“Is it true that the company has been running in the red for the past two years due to bad investments?” Doctor Adams asked and the others gasp.“No,” the director said again.“Why don’t you stop lying to us,” said Kerry from within his office door. “I’ve seen the documents. I’ve got the proof.”The group, all eight staff persons, glared at the director but he said nothing, turned, and disappeared back into his office.“Can you believe that man?” Said Nurse Smith, a petite woman in her mid forties.“He has been nothing but bad news since he got here,” said Doctor Stein as he ran his thin hands threw the small bit of hair he had left on his head.“Kerry, are you alright,” Doctor Adams asked as he approached.“I’m fine, just a little shaken,” Kerry said his hands trembling.“Did you know anything about these experiments?” Doctor Adams asked. Hoyt, Doctor Stein and Nurse Smith approached.Kerry fumbled for words as he scanned the area around him. Blood covered the floor and the glass wall around the door. The body of the naked man laid awkward, face first on the floor.“I knew something was going on,” he admitted.“The defense contract came through my office several months ago. The director searched my office a couple days later when I had left for work. He found the paperwork and took it.”“How’d you find out he took it,” said Nurse Smith.“Rebekah told me,” Kerry said looking toward her office.“Speaking of Rebekah and the Research and Development office,” Doctor Adams began, “why haven’t they come out of their rooms?”“We should go find out,” said Hoyt and he began down the hall. Doctor Adams, Doctor Stein and Nurse Smith followed. Doctor Ruiz, Nurse Alexander and the Asian woman stayed behind talking amongst themselves. Kerry Anderson stood within the doorway of his office. He could not force upon himself the courage to step outside of it.They approached the first door, Doctor Rebekah San Marino, and stopped. They looked inside to see two doctors sitting in chairs in from of Doctor San Marino’s desk. Doctor Adams then noticed, which he failed to notice before, that the two were slouched forward slightly, their heads down.“I think their dead,” he said as he quickly opened the door. “Go check the other offices,” Doctor Adams shouted.
The others began to search the other Research and Development offices and Doctor Adams began to approach the two doctors in Doctor San Marino’s office. He immediately noticed the smell of gunpowder. Good-sized dark red stains ran down the back of the doctors white coats. Doctor Adams searched the office for a visible reason for the murders. The books were in order on the shelves. Perfectly kept and dusted. None of the many drawers that Doctor San Marino had set into the walls of her office were closed. There was no sign anyone was looking for something. Doctor Adams passed the men and walked around the large desk in the office. He noticed that Doctor San Marino’s chair had fallen over and several documents were scattered over the floor. The bottom left drawer of her desk was open and emptied. Something fluttered in the corner of the room. Doctor Adams walked slowly to the far corner of the room and bent down. Printed on company letterhead was an e-mail.
The e-mail stated that the sender was Col. Eric Price from the Department of Defense and that the ‘Changing World’ program would start May 5, 2008, which was three months from today. It stated several directives:
“This project is to be held under the utmost secrecy. No one is to know anything,” the directive began. “If you are suspected of knowing something deny it. If you suspect someone knows something...I won’t tell you what to do but this is of the utmost importance.”
“This research,” began the second directive, “will be perform thoroughly and will be reported to me on a weekly basis.”
The third and last directive was typed and red, the letter size was large and the type was bold.
“Under no circumstance is any patient involved in this research to be released, ever!”
It returned to 12-sized text, with black and un-bold text. “The patients will become permanent residents of this facility.”
“Who is Col. Eric Prince?” Doctor Adams asked himself.
“Who are these doctors that are performing these procedures and why haven’t I had a clue this was happening?”
“What is happening?” Doctor Adams asked as movement from behind made him jump. He turned around quickly and one of the men sitting in the office chairs was falling backward. With a loud thump he landed on the floor, a freakish sigh escaped from his open mouth.
“Alright, I’m outta here,” he thought quickly as he began toward the door. As he passed the fallen man he instinctively looked down. The man was definitely dead. His was skin pale or more of a chalk white. His chin was bruised where the blood had pooled from the downward position of his face. His arms were stiff. Still in positioned as if he was still sitting in the chair.
He suddenly thought, “How long have these men been here?” That was a curious question because just yesterday everything at The Company seemed to be going fine. Doctor Adams recalled walking through the administration hall once or twice to speak to Kerry Anderson.“Did he look into this room?” He thought hard.
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