Chapter 5
The road to hell
Dr. Dorn stood before the judge dressed in an orange jumpsuit, leg and waist cuffs. Standing beside him was his lawyer Cara Hamilton, a tall thin lanky woman with a long ponytail. The bailiff called out the case and the judge asked the defendant’s plea.
“Not guilty your honor,” Hamilton replied.
“From what I understand, your client made a full confession yesterday, why are you pleading not guilty today?” the judge asked.
“We contend his confession was coerced your honor,”
“Fair enough, I set bond at one million dollars,” the judge said and struck his gavel. “Next case.”
Dr. Dorn was led back to the courtroom exit by deputies Pam Reed and zombie officer Matthew Shultz followed by his lawyer. As they left, Hamilton made some comments to Dr. Dorn and they parted ways. The two officers and Dr. Dorn walked down the hallway surrounded by reporters trying to get interviews and pictures. Dr. Dorn reveled in the attention.
One of the reporters shouted, “Dr. Dorn, why did you do it?”
Dr. Dorn paused to address the reporter. “Do what?” Dr. Dorn asked with a grin.
“They call you the surgeon of death, how does that make you feel?” another reporter asked.
“I feel fine, how about you?” Dr. Dorn replied as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
The deputies rushed Dr. Dorn down the hall and to the staircase to get away from the reporters who were following close behind. Down the stairs they went and out the front door to the waiting patrol car.
“Is it true you cut out Dr. Newman’s heart and threw it against the wall?” a reporter shouted.
Dr. Dorn raised his hands as far as the chains would let him and shrugged his shoulders. “You’ll have to ask him,” Dr. Dorn replied.
Once in the patrol car, Pam pulled out and drove away from the courthouse towards the jail. She liked the excitement of her job and hoped her makeup and outfit looked good on camera. She wore an especially short skirt today and her favorite six inch black heels. “How did I look?” Pam asked Matthew.
“Like a whore,” Matthew replied.
“You’re jealous because you look like death,” Pam replied pissed.
“Back in my day, a woman who dressed like you would have been treated much differently.”
“I bet, back in those days you owned everyone and everything. Things have changed zombie boy, get used to it,” Pam replied.
Dr. Dorn decided to get in the conversation. “I think you look great,” Dr. Dorn said.
“Thank you,” Pam said with a smile. She looked back at the doctor in her rear view mirror through the steel mesh that separated the front and back seats.
“Didn’t Dr. Newman do some work on you at some point?” Dr. Dorn asked.
“Don’t get me started,” Pam replied. She turned and was no longer heading towards the jail.
“Where are you going?” Matthew asked.
“I need to stop at home and get something,” Pam replied.
“You can’t do that, we need to get him back in his cell.”
“I’m on the rag and need to get my tampons, ok?” Pam asked.
“Don’t they have those in the women’s bathroom?”
“I have an extra heavy flow, I can’t use those.”
“You can go to the store after we put him back,” Matthew said. He was getting nervous and a bit angry.
“If I don’t get them now, you’ll be washing blood off these seats,” Pam said. She was lying, she wasn’t on her period at all, and she was attempting to kidnap Dr. Dorn.
“You better call the sheriff then.”
“I won’t take long, keep your panties on.”
“Its procedure to call dispatch, and you know that!”
Pam refused to reply and kept driving towards the edge of town.
“You don’t live anywhere near here,” Matthew said as he looked out his window.
Pam kept going, heading out of town and onto the gravel road that took her farther and farther away from the law enforcement center.
“What’s going on?” Dr. Dorn asked.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe,” Pam replied.
Matthew didn’t know what to do. Should he pull his gun on his coworker? “Pam, you need to turn this car around now!”
“Matthew, you can go along with me or get the fuck out of my car.”
“Explain to me what you are doing,” Matthew said.
“Fine, Dr. Dorn did me a huge favor, he killed that fucker who botched my boob job.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I had my tits done two years ago, Dr. Newman did the surgery and fucked it up bad. When he was done I had one D cup and one DD. Almost an E cup. He refused to correct the problem and I tried to sue him but I couldn’t afford a lawyer on my pay.”
“That’s malpractice, what lawyer wouldn’t jump at that?” Matthew asked.
“Dr. Newman fixed it in his charting to make it look like it was my fault. He wrote a note stating that I was told that there might be a difference in the size and that I agreed anyway.”
“Did you sign anything?”
“I signed the authorization for the surgery, but he put the note in after he fucked up,” Pam said. “So I was screwed.”
“Are you serious?”
Dr. Dorn spoke up, “I remember that, he fucked up those augmentations all the time. You weren’t the only woman he pissed off.”
“I heard,” Pam said. “It would cost me another six grand to fix what he did and I didn’t have the money. I cursed that fucker every day after I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror.”
“But you don’t look uneven to me,” Matthew said.
“I wear pads to even them out,” Pam said.
“Oh, I never noticed.”
“So Dr. Dorn did me a huge favor in killing that fuck. I think I own him something for that,” Pam said.
“You’ll never get away with this, he’ll get captured and you’ll go to jail for kidnapping. And what do you think I’m going to do? Just sit here and let you do this?” Matthew asked.
“I’ll admit I haven’t thought this all the way through, but I can’t let my hero die for doing what needed to be done.”
“You need to stop the car,” Matthew said.
“If I do, you’re getting out,” Pam said. “You can’t use deadly force to stop me, I’m not threatening your life.”
“What makes you think I’ll get out?”
“I don’t think you will, that’s why I’m not stopping the car.”
“This is pointless. Stop while you're behind. This will only get worse.”
Pam thought about what Matthew said. In her heart she knew he was right and that her ill-conceived plan would fail. At this point, she’d be arrested for kidnapping and would be put in a cell next to Dr. Dorn. “This isn’t right, when people get what’s coming to them that should be it. Dr. Dorn doesn’t deserve to be punished.”
“Dr. Dorn also killed four other people that night.”
Pam pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park. Frustrated, she hit the steering wheel with her hand and began to cry. “This is so fucked up,” Pam said in tears.
“I’m calling for backup,” Matthew said.
“Who are you going to call? We only have one patrol car and the sheriff doesn’t come on duty till six.”
“I’ll call dispatch.”
“No, don’t,” Pam said.
“Why not?”
“I’m too far gone to go back now. I’m not going to spend the next ten years of my life in prison,” Pam said and clicked the unlock button on her door. Once the button was pushed, all the doors in the patrol car were unlocked, including the doors that held Dr. Dorn prisoner.
“What are you doing?” Matthew asked.
“I’m letting him go,” Pam replied.
Matthew fished for his gun and pulled it
out. He tried to relock the door but Pam blocked his access. “Nobody move,” Matthew said.
The doctor spoke up, “We seem to be at a standstill.”
Matthew reached for his radio microphone keeping an eye on Pam and his gun pointed at her chest. He pressed the button and said, “Dispatch, I need assistance on 745 road one mile north of town. Send backup, I have an officer attempting to kidnap Dr. Dorn.”
“Please repeat,” the dispatcher said over the radio.
“I have an officer attempting to kidnap Dr. Dorn, please send back up to 745 road one mile north of town.”
“10-4” the dispatcher replied.
Dr. Dorn smiled and rattled his chains. “Did you know the sheriff before he hired you? I mean back when you guys were on the wagon trail?”
“No, I never met him before,” Matthew replied.
“I talked to your sheriff, offered to help him out with your zombie condition.”
“I know, he told me.”
“I can help you too,” Dr. Dorn said.
“No thanks, I’m fine,” Matthew replied.
“You realize you won’t last forever. With your delayed healing, one good trauma and you won’t heal back.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“I can help you.”
“I spent twenty years at the university, they treated me like I was an eggshell. They said there was no way to fix what happened.”
“If that’s the case, why take a job with such a high risk for injury?”
“There wasn’t a lot of opportunities out there for zombies, I took what I could get,” Matthew said.
“I’m offering you an opportunity now,” Dr. Dorn said.
“What can you do that the university doctors couldn’t?”
“Gene therapy.”
“They tried that.”
“Things have come a long way in the last few years. I know people who can help.”
“You’re bullshitting me to get away,” Matthew said.
“Once I’m back in jail, there won’t be another chance. One good fight and you’ll be living in pieces.”
Matthew knew the doctor was right. If his arm was cut off it would continue to live on due to the way his cells used oxygen. He could in fact live on indefinitely in many pieces. This would be a life beyond hell, living on forever in separate parts. As long as his parts found a food source, he would become the monster he dreaded. “Pull out,” Matthew said.
“What?” Pam asked.
“Drive, now, before they get here!”
Pam put the patrol car in drive and took off down the gravel road. “Where am I going” Pam asked.
“In two miles, turn right, head seven miles till we get to the Henderson hog farm and pull in.”
Pam followed Matthews’s directions and headed towards the Hog operation. “What are we going to do there?”
“I know the owner, he’ll hide us,” Matthew replied.
“So will everyone else that’s working there today,” Pam said.
“It’s all I have right now,” Matthew said.