"I need you too." She said. "I know this all seems so crazy. It's the end of the world and here we are laying in bed talking about love but that's what separates us from those deadfucks out there." They had been thinking the same thing. Matt pulled her tighter to him but he couldn't pull her tight enough.

"What's our next move?" she asked after some time.

"Once Zack is healed up we head out. Rainbow Lake is only another 30 or 40 miles. The road north should be free of abandoned traffic and we can make good time. With any luck we could be at the cabin in only a couple of hours."

"What is it like up there?" she asked.

"There's a small town, Kittewa."

"That's a strange name." Susan said.

"Some kind of Indian name or something... It's a small hick farm town but there's a bunch of millionaires that have homes up on the lake. Most are only used during the summer for water skiing and horseback riding and during the winter for skiing. But a couple of my friends inherited a good-sized cabin up there. There is only one road that leads to the lake and circles all the way around. Thick, forested mountains surround it. We can fish and hunt as well as go on supply raids. Evanston is less than twenty miles away. We can stock up over the next few months and hole up for winter. No zombie is going to make it up there after a good snowfall. While we wait for spring we can figure out our next move."

"You make it sound so easy." She said with a chuckle.

"It won't be easy. But what other choice do we have?"

"We could always stay here." She said.

"We could. But our treasure would only last for so long. We still don't know what we have or how much Zack's medical bill is going to cost us. Besides, I don't trust the military..."

They were just dozing off to sleep when the phone on the table began to ring, startling them both.

"I can't believe the phones are still working." Susan said sleepily. For a moment Matt was afraid to answer it. He hadn't heard a phone ring for months and the sound seemed almost alien to him.

"Hello?" Matt said into the receiver.

"This is Jenkins."

"How did everything go?" Matt asked suddenly awake.

"We scored big. Even after the tariff we still have several tons of food and other goods." Jenkins sounded ecstatic.

"I can't believe that the city militia is just going to let us keep it."

"That's how they do business here. It keeps people going out on salvage runs and coming back with a fresh influx of goods."

"What are we going to do with all of it until we are ready to leave?"

"We can rent storage here at the warehouse. I'm having them load the vehicles back up right now. Ron and I should be there in awhile. We can talk then." Matt hung up the phone as the line clicked dead...

Chapter 23.

Sunday, June 24, 2001 Park City, UT 11:53 AM.

Zack awoke from his dream with a sense of dread coursing through his veins. The foggy tendrils of the nightmare were already evaporating from his mind and before he could take hold of them they were gone.

He was in another hospital room. When had they moved him? The last thing he remembered were those burning red eyes gazing into his followed by a rushing wave of darkness. The curtains were open and sunlight streamed in, warming his face. He wore a clean gown and there was an IV, burning his hand. The next thing he noticed was there was no pain in his arm or side and his breathing was quiet and easy.

Either I'm better or I'm dead.

He reached his hand under and touched his wound. A clean, small bandage had been applied. It ached sharply when he applied pressure. Not the fiery agony of last night but the ache of mending flesh. The wound in his arm was also bandaged, but he felt no pain from there.

He held his burning IV up to his face for closer inspection. His hand was bruised black all around the IV and the flesh was swollen. He grabbed the IV with his other hand and tore it out, his hand flooding with a pleasurable release of pressure as the needle came free of his vein. He tossed it aside and massaged his swollen hand.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly sat up. Hot pain seared into his left side but it was manageable, and he came to an upright position. His head spun momentarily and with a flash of light and an electric pop that only he could hear, all of his senses seemed to come to supersensitive life. His vision sharpened until he could see the slightest color variation in the wallpaper. His hearing magnified with a loud ringing and he could head the nurse outside his room, several paces down the hall approaching. His skin became so sensitive that he could feel the smallest thread of the gown in contact with his skin. Where a moment ago the smell of antiseptic had been overwhelming now there was a miasma of different scents; he could smell the fresh air outside his window, the pot of coffee brewing at the nurses station further down the hall, the stench of death wafting from another wing of the infirmary and half a dozen other that he couldn't place. Like wise he could taste the antiseptic in the air, the sour residue of several scouring detergents. And in his mind, tugging like an ox was a presence of... Something! He wasn't sure what it was, but it was pulling his towards the window.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He stayed sitting, resisting the urge to go to the window for fear of what he might see. Another mental tug, and this time behind his closed eyes a white flash, and a momentary glimpse of something reptilian... Slime... Two burning red eyes... Another mental tug, only this time less severe. More like a soft pull. Zack resisted easily.

What's happening to me?

His swollen hand began to itch with a burning tingle. He grimaced in pain and looked at his hand. Bloody saline was pouring from the IV wound, running down his arm before dripping onto the clean bead linen. The hot, prickly pain was almost too much to bear, but Zack took several deep breaths and the pain slowly subsided. He contemplated calling a nurse for help, but only for a microsecond. The last thing he wanted was for a nurse or doctor to see what happened next.

The wound sputtered as the last of the saline water exited his hand. Then, before his eyes, the flesh there bubbled just slightly and the burning itch grew to a white-hot intensity and the small puncture wound healed closed and scabbed over within three seconds. The pain faded as quickly as it had come, replaced by a tingling flood of euphoria.

What is happening to me?

Zack had a hard time distinguishing between his fear and his shock.

What happened to me at that motel in Summittown?

Another mental blast hit him like a wave of icy cold water. His body stiffened and his mind cringed. He remembered this from Summittown. Another icy mental wave crashed over his psyche. In his mind he could see the reptilian thing again, its head like a snake with burning red coals for eyes. It was leering over him. Looking into his eyes... His soul... Its scaled, leathery skin covered in slime. It leaned closer, its foul breath taking away what little he had left in his lungs...

He opened his eyes and found himself standing at the window. When had he crossed the room? Had he blacked out? Cold tentacles of fear were writhing in his gut as he looked out the window. Another mental tug pulled his glance up to a forested mountainside. He felt an oily static slowly creeping into his mind and his vision blurred and for a moment he seemed to be standing out there, on that forested mountainside looking back down at the hospital. He blinked several times and his vision cleared. The mental static leaked out of his brain and he felt one final psychic tug, and saw a flash of those sulfur eyes once again before the presence was gone, merely a faint psychic imprint somewhere out there on the mountain.

It's out there... Watching me.

Zack was suddenly glad he was alone in the room. Were he to tell anyone what he was experiencing they would have surely though him mad. And maybe he was. Maybe his fever had caused permanent brain delusion? But he didn't think so. He looked at his hand where the IV had been. The scab was already dried and melting into pink flesh as he watched! He lowered his hand and took several deep breaths.

His stomach rumbled loudly, accompanied by a sharp pang of hunger. He tried to remember the last time he had eaten. It had been on the bus, a couple hours before they had made that fateful stop for gas and been attacked by rogue soldiers. He had been wounded and Frank had been killed. And that was at least two days ago, or was it three? His stomach rumbled again and he winced at the cramp. He needed food, now.

He walked across the room and opened the door. He stepped out into the hall, immediately catching the attention of a passing nurse.

"Do you need something?" she asked him politely.

"I need food." He said.

"Where is your IV?" she asked with a frown.

"I took it out. It was burning my hand."

"You shouldn't have done that." She said. "You should have pushed the call button and one of us would have come."

"I don't need an IV, I need food." He said. "I haven't eaten in days."

"Sir, lunch is in half an hour. You need to return to your room and I'll be back in a minute to put another IV in."

"You are not putting another IV in my hand." Zack said. "I just need some food. Then I want my clothes. My friends will be here soon to pick me up."

"Pick you up?" she cracked a smile. "You were only admitted a few hours ago. Now please sir, return to your bed. I'll see if the doctor will come in and speak to you."

"I don't need a doctor." Zack snapped. "I need some food." An older nurse approached, coming to assist the less experienced woman.

"Is there a problem?" she asked with a tone of authority that said she was used to being obeyed.

"Mr. Thomas has pulled his IV out." The younger nurse said. The older woman shot him a lightning bolt glance.

"Mr. Thomas we are trying to help you. You must return to your bed at once."

"I am not a prisoner here am I?" he asked, suddenly angry and defensive.

"No sir you are not. But you are a wounded man. In case you didn't notice you have been shot." Her voice was at the edge of patience.

"I'm sorry." Zack apologized. What had come over him? He should be lying in bed, waiting to be attended to by one of the nurses instead of being a belligerent asshole in the hallway. "I'm just very hungry. I haven't eaten in a long time and it's made me somewhat delusional."

"You must lie down. You may have torn your wound. Let me do a wound check." She led him back to his bed, followed by the younger nurse. Zack peeled back the top of his gown and lay back onto the bed. He looked down at the small white bandage on his left ribcage.

"It doesn't appear to have been bleeding. Now let me see you hand where the IV was."

"It's fine." Zack said. "I don't mean to be rude but I'm not letting you put another one of those in my hand." She gave him another sharp look but said nothing. "How long have I been here?" he asked.

"Since about eight o'clock this morning." He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was noon.

"Did the people who dropped me off say when they would be back?"

"I don't know. An orderly brought you up from downstairs. And only the doctor has been in to see you." Zack gave up. She was going to be no help. Without another word she left the room.

Zack closed his eyes, trying to forget his hunger and frustration. Matt and Susan wouldn't just abandon him here at the hospital. He just had to relax and be patient and they would come see him. Would he tell them the things he was experiencing? Would they believe him? And if they did would they tell the doctor? Zack wasn't about to tell the doctor. They would subject him to a battery of tests and exams. And what if they found something? Would they quarantine him and do even more hideous experiments on him? Or simply kill him? Now he knew his mind was running wild and he was probably being paranoid but these things he was experiencing; enhanced senses, accelerated healing, psychic flashes, they were real. And as soon as his wounds were examined again the gig was up. He had to get out of this hospital right now! Before he could do anything the door to his room opened and the nurse wheeled in a tray of food.

"This should make you feel better." She said. She pushed it over his bed and left the room without another word. Zack's stomach gave a huge rumble and cramped with pain. Escape would have to take the back burner to sustenance. He inspected the food; Turkey sandwich with a green salad, fruit and milk. Zack wolfed it down like a starved dog, barely pausing to breathe let alone taste his food. And to his dismay it was gone too quickly and the ravenous hole in his stomach hardly seemed fed but the painful cramps had subsided.

Zack had just finished eating when the door to his room opened again and Matt and Susan walked in, the younger nurse behind them. Zack's stomach fluttered with relief. He knew they would come for him.

"Perhaps you can talk some sense into him." The nurse cast Zack a scolding look.

"How are you feeling partner?" Matt asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I need to get out of this hospital right now." He told Matt sharply.

"What are you talking about?" Matt looked at him oddly. "You need to take it easy for a couple of days."

"I can't stay in this hospital." Zack said.

"This is nothing like the university." Susan said.

"That's not what I mean." Zack couldn't bring himself to tell them. "I'm feeling a lot better. I don't want to stay in the hospital."

"You look much better that's for sure." Matt said. "But you were shot in the side a couple days ago. The bullet nicked your lung. You need to be in the hospital."

"I know I was shot but it wasn't as bad as you think. Look." Zack stood up. Matt and Susan both reached out, expecting him to fall. "I'm Ok!" he said, pushing their hands away. "That's what I'm trying to tell you." He walked around the bed and paced the room. "By some miracle the bullet missed anything vital."

"It hit your lung." Susan said. "I was holding you down while that doctor was pulling it out of you. That's why you were coughing up blood, because the bullet nicked your lung."

"If my lung had been nicked would I be able to breath this well?" Zack took a deep breath. It burned fiercely, searing through the center of his chest but there was no rattle of liquid.

"What has the doctor said?" Susan asked.

"I don't give a shit what the doctor says!" Zack snapped. "I'm not a fucking prisoner here and I'm leaving...Right now!" He was fuming angry. Why did they have to be so difficult? They were supposed to be helping him. But if he truly wanted their help he would tell them his real reason for wanting out of the hospital.

"What about your clothes?" Susan snapped back. "Are you going to walk out of here in that gown with your ass showing to the world?"

"If that's what I have to do." He retorted.

"What the hells wrong with you?" Matt asked him.

"Nothing! I just want to get out of the hospital. I'm sore as hell but I don't need to be here. I can rest on the bus just as well." He looked Matt in the eye, squaring his jaw, ready to fight. Matt nodded his head and back down.

"Ok partner. Have it your way. I'll go get your clothes." Matt left the room without another word.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Susan repeated Matt's question. "We are just trying to help you."

"I know. And you can help me best by getting me out of this hospital as soon as possible. I've recently had some very bad experiences at hospitals." Zack began to pace the room and Susan left it at that.

Matt returned five minutes later with Zack's clothes, the nurse and a young, dark-haired doctor wearing wire rim glasses.

"Don't even start on me!" Zack barked at the doctor. "I'm leaving right now. You cannot hold me against my will."

"But Mr. Thomas, you are seriously injured." The doctor said. "We are still waiting for your toxicology work to return. You may have an infection from your wounds."

"I'll manage." Zack took his clothes from Matt, peeled out of the hospital gown and began dressing. The doctor began to protest but Matt cut him off.

"You heard him. As soon as he's dressed we are out of here. Whatever his bill, we can pay."

"I wish you well." The doctor said with a tone of finality. He nodded at Matt then Zack and Susan before leaving the room. The nurse followed in silence

Chapter 24.