A hospital is a place of hope for those in dire need, and so it became fitting that we called Kingston Valley Hospital our home during the zombie apocalypse.
The sheer lack of the undead outside the hospital was a growing concern of mine, but I tried not to let it deter me from what was important. The only thing that mattered was that my friends and family were still alive – and I wanted to keep things that way.
Once the main entrance was barricaded we made our way back to the cafeteria. When I entered the cafeteria, mom and Michelle looked up, but Fluffy was the one who got eagerly excited. He whimpered and ran over to me and I crouched down to greet him.
“Hey there boy.” I said.
His tail was wagging and his tongue hung from the corner of his mouth. He threw his front paws around my neck and I nearly lost my balance. He continued making whimpering sounds of joy as he licked my face.
“Did you miss me?” I asked and gave him a hug.
Dharma gasped, let go of her father’s hand and rushed over to Fluffy. She was excited, but reserved about petting him.
“It’s okay.” I told her. “He won’t hurt you.”
She carefully reached out and petted him. When Fluffy turned to her she smiled with excitement.
“I’ll leave the two of you to get acquainted.” I said.
I stood up as mom and Michelle walked over to me.
“You’re back.” Michelle said relieved, “We waited up all night.”
I was just as relieved to see her and so I grabbed her around the waist, pulled her closer and kissed her for what felt like an eternity. When I finally let her go, she gasped for air and smiled foolishly as if she did not want to kiss me in front of mom.
Mom stepped closer and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“Welcome back, son.” She said relieved.
I spotted Alex sitting over by the window, but something was different. Mom noticed that I scrutinized Alex’s appearance and smiled.
“We fixed him.” Mom said proudly, “Well, sort of anyway.”
Alex looked back at me, smiled and then slowly staggered to his feet. He was fitted with a prosthetic leg and was still getting used to it. He cringed his face a bit in discomfort and then slowly walked over to me.
“Hello Zac.” He finally said.
“You’re walking.” I said amazed.
Alex nodded and smiled shyly. I could tell that he was a bit self-conscious about the prosthetic leg.
“Your mom fitted me with the prosthetic.” Alex said.
I gasped and asked mom, “You went out on your own?”
“Michelle came with me when we explored the hospital.” Mom said in her defence, “It’s not like the place was overrun or anything.”
“But still.” I said, “I’d feel better if you did not do risky things like that.”
“I’m still the mother in this group.” Mom said, “It’s my duty as a mother to look after the injured or sick.”
I knew she meant well and she accomplished it, but I had the tendency to worry about her when I was not around to protect her. These people in the cafeteria were all I had left in the world and I wanted to protect them.
Mom took my hands and said, “You worry too much.”
“You’re all I have left.” I said sincerely, “I don’t want anything to happen to you… any of you.”
She ran her fingers through my wild hair and smiled warmly.
“We will be fine.” Mom said.
She looked into my eyes for a moment, gave me another kiss on my forehead and then she noticed Dharma.
“Who do we have here?” Mom asked.
Dharma seemed a bit shy and grabbed Fred’s hand. Though he was still hurting inside, he did not show it.
“Say hi to the nice lady.” Fred said to Dharma.
“Hi.” Dharma finally said, “I’m Dharma.”
Mom crouched down in front of Dharma and shook the girl’s little hand.
“Well hello there.” Mom said with a soothing voice, “You look just like your daddy.”
Dharma smiled and wanted to shy away, but restrained herself. Mom smiled at her one last time and then stood up as Henry came over to introduce himself.
“Hi.” Henry said, “I’m Henry.”
He shook mom’s hand.
“Nice to meet you.” Mom said and introduced Michelle and Alex, “This is Michelle and Alex.”
Henry smiled at Michelle and then glanced at Alex. Their eyes met and I am pretty sure they had a bit of a moment back then until Alex turned away and sat down.
“I’m fine.” Alex assured us, “I just need to sit down for a bit.”
“Do you like to draw?” Mom asked Dharma.
Dharma nodded and then mom took her by the hand and led her to the other side of the cafeteria.
“I found some crayons and paper earlier.” Mom said
Fred smiled as he watched them sit down at a table.
“She is very good with children.” Fred said.
I nodded and smiled. Of course she was good. She was my mom and I felt proud to be her son.
Michelle clasped her hands together and asked, “So what do we do now?”
I turned to her as she unclasped her hands and rested them on her hips. She smiled at me in a way that made my heart melt and my legs go numb. I zoned out for a bit starting at her like a love-sick puppy and then straightened myself out again.
“Zac?” She asked again, “What are we going to do now? Are we staying here? Is it safe to stay here?”
“I think we should stay here for now.” I said, “The glass doors are fortified and we have food and medicine in case Alex develops an infection or something.”
Michelle nodded and said, “I think we should all stay in one room though. We should make the cafeteria our home.”
I fully agreed and said nodding, “Henry and I will drag a couple of hospital beds in here and we can all camp out here.”
Michelle nodded then asked, “Oh and another thing; why are you shirtless?”