January 13th, 2009 [Closed]

As if realizing for the first time that he is babbling to himself, and acting all "rain man". Henry visably calms himself down, and stands up. Wiping the blood from his face, he turns to Officer Taylor.

I'm fine.... A little freaked about almost dying, but fine. I need a rag, and some rest. Does anyone have any aspirin, or... a bottle of scotch? I'm going to head back to the conference room, and lay down for a bit... Sorry about freaking out like that.

Ow... my head is pounding... I must have really taken a shot. I definitely remember getting hit, but I think he really screwed me up...

Spoiler:

"I asked Karl and didn't get an answer, not sure he knows."

George looked down at the eaten young man, hanging on to that fire in his belly.

"If nothing else, grab the sheets off the beds and we can use them for bandages. Oh... I didn't see but look for a mini-bar. If you see one we can the stuff from as many of them up here as we can."

George griped his axe, trying to will the strength into his arms. He looked to the group to see if they were watching.

"If you guys don't want to watch... I understand... just don't go too far... okay?"

Spoiler:

Jimmy turns his head as George completes the gruesome deed.

"Well, lets look around for some food and I guess we should take that kid down to the others. Oh God.....should we say something for these two here? I mean, they were people.....

"Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again"......they probably don't want to hear that one......

One zombie "dead" and another only hours from reanimation, your small group stands in the hallway, covered in bits of flesh, chips of bone, and all manner of bodily fluids. Blood soaks into the carpet and walls around the scene of your struggle with the zombie.

With the chaos of battle subsiding, your senses clear, and you finally can make out the formerly human form hiding inside the zombie lying at your feet. In life, this man would have been powerfully built, squat in stature, with wide, muscular shoulders.

The dead boy, now beheaded, looked to be maybe 16 years old before he became the zombie's meal. Large portions of his neck and chest were savagely gnawed away in the zombie's disgusting feeding.

As Jimmy mutters a lonely litany over the ruined corpses, others of you begin raiding mini-bars and rooting through the belongings left behind by hotel patrons before they either abandoned the hotel entirely in a desperate attempt to flee the city, or before they moved down to the conferencce room with the other survivors who trickled into the hotel on a nearly daily basis, before the doors were barred.

You think you remember one of the fellow conference room refugees referring to himself as a doctor or one sort or another. Maybe with a little assistance, or the right tools something could be done for Henry's injuries, which look to be extensive. The right side of Henry's head was already swelling up from a bad-looking bruise, and blood was slowly trickling out of Henry's ear.

Spoiler:

George leaves behind his grisly handy work in the hallway, his bloody fire axe still clutched in his hand.

He entered the room with the broken door to search for supplies.

As he searched the room, he made his way slowly to the small bathroom and tried the faucets.

Spoiler:

Ugh...these poor....people? Well they were people and for that I am truly sorry. Kelly lowers her head and prays that once they were "infected" they knew no more pain. If it were me that were infected I hope they'd chop my head off to. Better that than me infect others. Kelly looks towards Henry, "We need to get you some help. I know there was a doctor down there of some sorts. Why don't you go and lay down and I will get him up here. We can probably find more things to get you patched up around here and we will not freak everyone out...I mean we do look...well look at us." Kelly looks at Harry and gets George to open a door. She goes to Harry and tried to guide him into the room.

Spoiler:

With the look of a person who is just losing their adrenaline numbness, Henry follows Officer Taylor into a nearby room, and searches for a bed to lie down on.

Thank you Officer. Sorry I jumped the gun.

Simon sighs and then his hands begin shaking.

Christ, and I didn't even get a chance to swing...and I'm shaking like a leaf.

"It's fine Henry. You did a great job. I just want to make sure you're okay," Kelly reassures him. Seeing Simon shaking Kelly looks at him, "Simon, if you can search a couple rooms and gather any food, medical supplies and bottled water that would be great. You can gather the stuff in this room, but I want you to keep an eye on Henry as well until I get back." He's shaken up. Giving him something to do and occupy his mind might calm him down a bit. Kelly helps Henry into the room and looks for some towels to wipe off as much "gore and blood" as possible. She doesn't want to alarm anyone any more than she has to. This seems like a good team I have up here. People that are willing to pitch in and help. We need to focus on getting food etc. for everyone. I don't want to have to expend time and energy calming down the masses.

Kelly looks towards George, "The other injured boy...do you think we need to keep him quarintined for a little longer...you know, just to be sure? We can see if the doctor can take a look at him to. Also, if we can find a garbage shoot or anything maybe we should get rid of these...corpses. With any luck the garabage shoot leads to a incinerator. I am going to go get the doctor."

Spoiler:

George turns at the Officer voice, his face is pale.

"Yeah, Let's leave him where he is for now. He's down at the end of the hall. We can keep Henry in this room. Get the doc to look at Henry first." George glances over, just now realizing how bad Henry was injured in the fight.

"Then after he looks over Henry we'll see to the boy. I was just looking for some linens so we can carry the... bodies away."

His voice steadies as he continues.

"When you get the doctor ask Karl about the garbage chute. Keep it quiet if you can. Personally, I'd be more happy taking them up to the roof and chucking them off. The chute may just lead to dumpster down in the basement."

Taking a few deep breaths, Simon nods back at the officer and slowly moves off to search the rooms; not noticing the bits of gore and brains on his shoes.

Jimmy looks for some sheets or blankets to cover the bodies with, or to use to transport if that's the plan.

"I think we need to be careful as we are searching the rooms, don't get too separated, there might be more of these zombies in these rooms."

As Kelly ran back down the first floor to marshal any medical assistance she could find, the rest of you escorted Henry into the nearby room to lay down before gathering sheets, food, and water from nearby rooms.

During your scavenging, Simon comes across what appears to be a well-stocked first aid kid, tucked away in one of the suitcases you rifle through. It's likely that anyone with the right skills could use this to help clean up the unconscious boy, as well as Henry.

Additionally, each mini-bar is well stocked with food, soda, and water. It's difficult to tell how long you could feed 50+ survivors on their contents, but it will certainly do for the time being.

---

"Officer?" Karl looks at Kelly as she enters the conference room once again. "Oh God, don't me you're the only one who made it?"

Everyone in the room is looking at Officer Taylor, some with expectant hope, others with resigned terror. Some of them stand at the officer's entrance.

Spoiler:

Kelly steps inside the conference room to catch her breath. She looks over at Karl, "No, everyone is okay. Henry needs a little patching up. One of the boys seems to be okay." Kelly just avoids mentioning the other boy. She looks over towards the girls and tried to avoid eye contact. Kelly scans the room for the person she thought was a doctor. She looks at him and says, "We do need someone with a medical background we have 2 people that just need a little medical attention. I will escort you up there if you can help us." As Kelly waits for a response she turns to Karl and quietly says, "Karl, do you know what happens with the garbage. Is there a chute. Does it just go to a holding point or in there an incinerator somewhere for garbage?"

The doctor looks genuinely shocked that Officer Taylor had singled him out. Flabbergasted, he stands up and mutters, "B...but I'm just a p...podiatrist. W...what can I possibly do?"

While the doctor tries to figure what to do with himself, Karl whispers back, "Far as I know, Officer, the garbage chute just drops into a large dumpster, underneath the hotel. Why?"

Just then, Grace puts her hand on Kelly's arm. "Officer, I used to be an emergency room nurse. Is there something I can do to help?"

After picking the various foodstuffs that he could find, Simon returns to the room where Henry lies injured. Setting the first aid kit next to the bleeding man, he says, "I'm sorry. I should have come up with you. Maybe that way you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

The pain seeming to subside a bit, or shock setting in, Henry looks a lot more comfortable, and relaxed.

No worries man... I was stupid to run up there like that. I hope I have the chance to redeem myself...

So this is what it feels like to die....

Kelly looks at the podiatrist. "I am sorry doctor, I did not realize. Grace here was an emergency room nurse. I think she'll be able to help us. Please, accept my appologies. I did not mean to alarm you."

Kelly looks back towards Karl and whispers, "We have to dispose of the zombie somehow and don't want to risk it coming...back to "life" I suppose or whatever it is that happens. We'd rather it be out of this building or incinrated so we don't have to worry about that. We want to keep this as a safe zone for now. If there is nothing else I know someone suggested throwing it off the roof...Unfortunately that's may be what we have to do." Kelly's face pales a bit at the thought.

Looking at Grace and addressing the room or whomever is listening, "Yes, you can definately help us Grace. Why don't we head up there. It looks like everything is okay here. We did find some food and water. There were mini-bars in some of the rooms. We'll be back down with some of that. We are going to have to ration and be smart about it of course. Are there any of medical needs we need to be aware of? If we need to be looking for anything else let me know" Kelly waits for a response.

As the Officer briefed the gathered people in the conference room below; upstairs, George re-enters the room where Henry is lying on the bed with Simon at his side.

Without speaking, the thin blond haired man enters the bathroom. Outside, the other men can hear the bathtub filling up along with the sound of the shower curtain being ripped from it's hooks.

George walks from the small hotel bathroom and goes back to the hall and begins wrapping the body of the dead teenager in the plastic sheet.

Jimmy helps George wrap up the bodies. Occasionaly, stopping to gag and swallow back vomit.

It's not a person any more, don't think about it Jimmy. Just shut your damn mind off and cover them up.

"No, there are certainly no pressing medical matters here, Officer. Raquel and Julia, the two girls, seem to be fine. Just a little shaken up. One of our our older...residents seems to be coming down with a bit of a cold. That's about it," Grace says with a tight, worried smile.

"I've got the key to the roof here on my key loop," Karl says, gesturing to the large bronze-colored hoop at his hip, populated with what must be close to fifty keys of varying shapes and sizes. "You want me to come with you, too, Officer? In case...you have to dispose of anything? Though...the dumpster is outside the hotel proper...just street level, with a dumpster, a garbage chute, and a short alley that meets the road."

"Karl, thanks for offering. That would be great if you would come with us. If nothing else, you know this hotel better than any of us and that will be very valuable. Grace, they were going to be looking for first aid supplies in the rooms, if you have anything else you need to bring, go ahead and grab it. We should get going."

Kelly turns to the rest of the group, "We'll be coming back with some supplies, food and drinks. Whatever we can find. Take care of each other!"

Kelly turns and looks at Grace and Karl, "Ok guys. If you're ready...follow me."

Grace shrugs her shoulders dismissively. "I'm wearing everything I came here with, Officer, so I'm ready to go." She moves towards the double-doors leading out into the upper lobby, with Karl close behind.

"Ready as well, Officer. Lets go." Karl holds his keyring in his hands, as if to use it was a weapon. Fear is plain in both his, and Grace's eyes.

Reaching the third floor without incident, Karl and Grace follow Officer Taylor to the room where Henry was recovering. Knocking three times, Karl, Grace, and Kelly wait for the door to be opened. "Karl here, fellas," he says through the door.

Startled, Simon jumps a bit at Karl's voice, before moving to open the door to let the others in.

At least we don't have to worry about people trying to get in. Zombies can't talk.

George sees the group arrive on the third floor. The Cop, Karl and some woman who's name he didn't know went into the room where Simon was keeping an eye on Henry.

"This is becoming a real vacation spot," George thought to himself with a laugh.

George motioned over to Jimmy as they put the bodies at the far end of the hall, near the elevator.

"Jimmy, I think they brought a doctor, or someone, up for Henry."

George walked back the room where everyone was meeting. He nodded to the officer and Karl when he entered the room. He went back into the bathroom and turned off the water on the now filled bathtub.