Plagued

Plagued Read Free

Book: Plagued Read Free
Author: Nicola Barnett
Tags: Zombies
Ads: Link
broken, like over-sized acne spots.

On the inside of her arm was a small IV cannula that was stuck to her arm with
sticky tape. There was a stand next to the bed with an empty plastic bag dangling
from it that once contained saline, a pipe led down to the floor where it laid
unconnected. She carefully unstuck the unused cannula from her arm and pulled
it out, wincing at the mild stinging as the small pipe freed itself from her
vein. She placed her hand over it trying to stem the trickle of blood that
escaped. Am I in the hospital ?

As she sat there in the bed inspecting her body, the door opposite her creaked
open. Sarah gasped and pulled the covers right up to her neck as a child would
do to escape the bogeyman in the closet. Panic shot through her as an elderly
man holding a jug, shuffled through the door. He looked up at her with the same
shocked expression as the one on Sarah’s face.

The man looked at least seventy, with long greying hair tied back behind his
head. He wore a dark red night robe and a pair of dusty, brown slippers. After
a few seconds, his startled expression changed into a relaxed smile that was so
wide all of his large, obviously false teeth showed on display. This made Sarah
more anxious and her hands began to tremble.

“My, my! What a surprise!” he said, his voice crackling and weak, “You're
awake! You nearly frightened me to death, my dear!”

He chuckled soundlessly and walked towards her bed, jug in hand.
     
    Sarah recoiled in fear, pushing herself so far
back onto the bed that she sat on the pillow. She darted her eyes around the
room, looking for somewhere to run, if she could run at all.
     
    “Oh my! I'm sorry!” he said, backing away from her
slowly. “I should probably explain; you must be more scared than I! My name is
Albert England. I've been looking after you. You had an accident. Sort of...”

He walked towards her, more cautiously this time and leaned over the end table at
the side of her bed. As she watched, he poured the contents of the jug into a
glass with a shaky hand and gave it to her. “Drink this, you must be really
thirsty.”

She grabbed the glass, realizing just how thirsty she actually was and gulped
it down. Her lungs began to burn and she choked some of the water back up.
After a small coughing fit, she drank some more, slowly this time, giving her
body time to digest it.

“T—thank you,” she said, hoarsely. The quaver in her voice made her wonder how
long it had been since she last spoke to anyone.

“You are very welcome. Now, I'd better explain myself,” the old man said,
gently.

Sarah sat up straight and finished the last of the water, looking at him
nervously. She searched his face, trying to pick up any memories she could but his
face was not familiar to her.  

“I am Albert, as I said. I've been taking care of you for the past six or seven
months; it's hard to tell just how long it’s been these days. I'm not certain
just how much you remember about what happened to you — to us all — but my
son, Mark, found you lying in the street not far from here just before all this hell started,” Albert said, his voice breaking.

“Mark. I think I remember him,” Sarah said, clearing her throat. It was still
hoarse and painful to swallow but the water had lubricated it a little. “Last
thing I remember, we were going somewhere...” she paused, frowning in thought. “To
the hospital! There were people attacking each other! Please, tell me that was just
a dream!”

“I wish I could, dear, I really do,” Albert sighed, his eyes downcast, “but I
can fill in the blanks in your memory. There is much to tell. Firstly, you are
still in Winding but the world has changed since you last saw it and,
unfortunately, not for the best.”

He sat gently on the side of her bed and looked her in the eyes.
     
    “You see, that... day something awful
happened. We still don't know why or what. But there was an outbreak, some kind
of disease or virus

Similar Books

My Lord Vampire

Alexandra Ivy

Safe Word

Teresa Mummert

Oedipus the King

Sophocles, Evangelinus Apostolides Sophocles

Larkspur

Dorothy Garlock

Paris or Bust!: Romancing Roxanne?\Daddy Come Lately\Love Is in the Air

Jacqueline Diamond, Jill Shalvis, Kate Hoffmann

The White Death

Daniel Rafferty

Bad Guys

Anthony Bruno

Daddy's

Lindsay Hunter