Chapter Three:
The Zoo

Mercy Hospital Basement Safe House
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
October 19, 2009

Before Roxy continued her tale, she took a quick moment to explain her status. All the while, she kept a protective hand on the Hunter nuzzled up beside her much to Francis' voiced disgust. Of course, it took little effort on Roxy's part to ignore the over-tattooed man.

"So, you're not exactly a full-fledged doctor?" Bill observed, showing his attention to detail, "Not that credentials really matter now that civilization has been hijacked by zombies, but…"

"No, they really don't," Roxy concurred pleasantly, "but you're right. Educationally, I needed four more years in college to obtain my PhD and take the title of 'Doctor,' but through experience, I can claim the title without a degree…well, at least that's how my colleagues felt about it…"

Oklahoma City Police Department
Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Circa September, 2009

As Mahmoud had predicted, the police station had been ravenously overrun; the Infection had spread like wildfire throughout the majority of Oklahoma in just a matter of hours. Inside the station, the small team of hospital personnel carefully maneuvered through wreckage and annihilated bodies as they headed down towards the armory, which due to the small structure of the building would probably not have much to choose from—especially if any other survivor groups had thought to come through. A soft moaning echoed through the halls.

"What was that?" Angelica whispered.

"If I were to chance a guess," Stephen responded, "I'd say a few Uniforms decided to stick around for dinner."

Mahmoud waved his hand in front of them to gain their attention and then meticulously placed his forefinger to his lips telling them to remain silent. He led the way until they reached a rather large doorway at the back of the station, its double doors barely hanging on by their hinges. The moaning was incessantly louder through here. I'd say more than "just a few" infected cops are down there, Roxy thought to herself, clutching the crowbar she had picked up just outside the hospital as the five survivors entered the broad hallway towards the armory. This hall also branched into various offices, and when Roxy chanced a peek into one, she made mote of how many infected occupied them. She quickly turned away before she could be noticed by the aimlessly wandering zombies. Then, after gaining Mahmoud's attention, began communicating in sign language.

[There are about half a dozen in each one] she said [If they become aware of us while we're out in the open, we'll be no match for them.]

[We must remain calm] Mahmoud signed back [As long as we avoid making any loud noises and stay out of sight, we will be fine. Come along…the armory is just a few more feet down that way.]

They all followed Mahmoud the rest of the way, taking great efforts to sneak by the groups of infected without alerting them. Fortune was on their side when they reached the armory and found it vacant of any living being, zombie or otherwise. Still, Mahmoud was not ready to risk speaking out loud, so he signed.

[Before we go any further] he said [how many of us actually know how to handle a firearm of any kind?]

Everyone except Allison raised their hands in response.

[I used to go deer and squirrel hunting with my aunt] Roxy confirmed [I can easily handle a hunting rifle or double barrel.]

[Armed self-defense classes] Angelica said [I'm fairly decent with a pistol or two.]

[I'm an advanced skeet shooter] Stephen inputted [I can also handle a double-barrel.]

[I've never handled a gun in my life] Allison admitted [except for a water pistol, but I highly doubt the zombies are appreciators of water sports.]

[Certainly not] Mahmoud could not retain his smile [I'll teach you some basics when we are all safe.]

[Wait] Angelica said [are you even qualified to teach firearms?]

[Not that legalities matter in these dark times, my dear, but yes: I am legally licensed to teach people how to use a gun, and I have personal experience with military-grade weapons from my mandatory two-year service in the Iranian army. However, story time will have to wait. Let us arm ourselves and get out of here.]

Mahmoud approached the gate that blocked off the armory only to find that it had an electronic locking mechanism to prevent unauthorized access. The Persian sighed in annoyance then turned to the others.

[Looks like we don't have a choice] Roxy signed.

Mahmoud shook his head; [No, we do not] he said [Breaking the lock will set off the alarm and lead every Infected within hearing range to us, and…and it will also prevent us from relocking the gate once we get inside, so…]

[So] Roxy picked up the thought [at least two of us will have to hold the gate shut.]

[Impossible] Stephen contradicted [even if all five of us were holding the door, against a thousand plus horde of psychotic zombies would overrun us in an instant!]

[Not if we move quickly. Just follow my lead, and once we're in, Roxy, Stephen, and Angelica will hold the door while Allison and I find a way to barricade it. Are we agreed?]

Everyone nodded, though in reality they were reluctant and more than just a little bit worried. Roxy handed her crowbar to Mahmoud who wedged it in between the lock and the door itself and began to pry it apart.

"Get ready," Mahmoud whispered, "almost there…and…"

The alarm was blaring before the broken lock even hit the floor. Just as instantly, the angry growling and screeching of a multitude of Infected flooded the entire station in a deafening roar. The five survivors hurried into the armory, and while Roxy, Stephen, and Angelica pressed themselves up against the steel door, Mahmoud and Allison quested for weapons and barricading equipment. It was not long before the three on the door became oppressed by the hundreds on the other side. They felt themselves being pushed, unwillingly giving ground to the horde, but somehow they managed to push back. We can't keep this up, Roxy thought, feeling herself slip, there's just no way!

"Dr. Shahabaz!" Angelica screamed, "Whenever you can spare the time, we could really use some help!"

"Sawed-off!" Allison then yelled, "Catch!"

Roxy looked up to see the shotgun flying towards her. Instinctively, she straightened up and reached for it. Catching it, she was very relieved to see that Mahmoud remembered to load it first. In her excitement, she forgot about the door, and the loss of her weight against it was all the zombies needed to get in.

"Shit!" Stephen yelled as he grabbed Angelica by the upper arm and dragged her towards the gun racks.

Roxy stayed by the door and began picking off infected as quickly as her weapon would allow, sometimes killing two or three with one bullet when they were close enough. Finally, she heard gunfire emanating from the back of the armory where the rest of the team was. She recognized the sound of pistols and a double-barrel shotgun. There was also rapid fire. Mahmoud must've found an AK-47, she thought, that'll come in handy. She began moving towards the others, taking down Infected as she went. All of a sudden, she could not move any more as something long and slimy wrapped around her throat and upper body, pulled her to the ground, and began dragging her further and further away from her friends.

"Somebody help me!" she called out trying desperately to keep whatever it was from strangling her, "Hurry, please!"

The closer she got to her captor, the more tied up and constricted she became, and when she was close enough to see it, she wished she had not looked. Its face was partially covered by a cluster of tumors making it short one eye, and a haze of green smoke hovered about its being. It tried to claw at Roxy causing her to let go of the strange appendage around her neck in an attempt to block the attacks. The mutated Infected took the opportunity to tighten its grip on her, blocking her airways and silencing her cries for help. The other, lesser Infected quickly turned their attention on her, fighting amongst each other over who would get the kill. Roxy was not really concerned with them, but with the one choking the life out of her, though the lack of oxygen coupled with the surrounding smoke was making it harder to think clearly. She began frantically searching her pockets for something which to cut herself free until she found the scalpel she had thought to bring from the hospital. She was not even able to touch blade to tentacle before the weapon was randomly swatted from her hand.

"Fuck!" she managed to choke out as she continued to struggle for breath.

Only a few feet away, the sound of gunfire was becoming faint, and Roxy began losing hope of surviving this encounter. Then without warning, the lesser Infected became disinterested in Roxy and ceased to beat on her as they all turned tail to chase something up the hall. Ten seconds later there was a rattling explosion that sent Roxy and her captor careening into the wall. The mutant seemed to have been knocked out the explosion prompting Roxy to make an attempt for her knife which had miraculously landed nearby. She was still constricted by the tentacle—which she realized was actually its tongue—but it had become loose enough for her to at least take a breath as she slowly crawled towards her blade. There was no telling if this thing would wake up any time soon, but Roxy was not willing to take the chance. She reached for the scalpel only to find that she was too far away, like a dog on a short leash. Damnit! She thought, Come on! It's right there! With all her might, she reached but with no luck…then there was a voice.

"Roxy?" it was Stephen, "Roxy? Are you all right?"

At that moment, the mutated Infected came to. His movements gave Roxy just enough slack to grab her blade before being pulled back for the Infected to finish what he had started. As Roxy moved to cut herself loose, she saw Stephen.

"Don't just stand there!" she shouted, "Shoot it! Damnit, do it now!"

But the man hesitated, frozen in fear by the sight of this zombie. In frustration, Roxy managed to slice the tongue off and pull the rest of it from around her neck and body. The zombie wailed angrily as Roxy made a mad dash for her shotgun she had dropped earlier and landed a perfect headshot to her former captor. The body fell to the ground in a lifeless heap, releasing a billowing cloud of noxious, blinding fumes. Hacking and temporarily vision impaired, Roxy shoved Stephen back into the armory where Mahmoud and the others managed to turn it into a makeshift safe house. Once safely inside, Roxy violently pushed Stephen into the wall prompting Angelica and Allison to hold her back. Stephen made no motion to defend himself.

"What the fuck, Steve?" Roxy shouted wrenching free of the other girls, "you picked a fine time to freeze up!"

"I-I-I-" the man stammered, "I didn't—I mean, I just—"

"We will not survive long if we can't even trust one another to watch our backs!"

"Yeah…yeah, y-y-you're right. I'm sorry…it's—it's just that—"

"The mutations are faster than we thought," Mahmoud offered, "I was not expecting these 'Special Infected' to be in our area this soon. The one that attacked Roxy must have been a 'Smoker.'"

"Obviously," Roxy muttered under her breath then spoke up, "Mahmoud, are we certain it's not an airborne virus? Steve and I inhaled a fair amount of the smoke that thing left behind."

"We are doctors, Roxanne. Let us try not to identify the Infected as 'things.' They are still people—extremely sick people, but people nonetheless. To answer your question, I'm positive it's not airborne, however," he took hold of Roxy's wrist and examined the multiple cuts and contusions in her skin she had sustained from the struggle, "you may have to be quarantined for a little while…just in case."

"Where are you going to keep me?" Roxy asked softly but sarcastically, "There's no place to go but back outside where the Infected are swarming just waiting for easy prey."

"I'm not going to send you to the wolves. There is a room over here where we will be able to observe you safely from the outside. We will have to barricade the door, but I figure you understand that."

Roxy nodded silently. Maybe it was a mistake to release those Infected in the hospital, she though regretfully, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have jeopardized myself. Suddenly, she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Angelica standing next to her.

"And what if she turns?" Angelica asked.

"We…" Mahmoud hesitated, "we will have to leave her behind."

"That's not fair! If it wasn't for Roxy, we wouldn't have known what CEDA was up to. She believes in a cure more than any of us, surely we could do better than just leave her behind!"

Roxy suddenly found herself smiling in spite of her situation; "Nah," she said, "I knew the risks venturing out here, and the possibility of getting infected was one of them. However, if I do happen to turn, at least do me the respect of putting me out of my misery."

Mahmoud laughed at this as he doctored Roxy's wounds with antibiotic ointment and gauze wrap he found in one of the first aid kits; "I'm sorry," he chuckled, "I'm sure you didn't mean to be funny, but for someone who got over-zealous against euthanizing a roomful of Infected, you sure chose an odd way to go."

"There's a difference," Roxy shrugged indifferently, "they didn't ask for death, and they were told they were going to be cured not killed. As for me, I already know there isn't a cure yet, and there's no telling how long it will take to find one. It wouldn't be safe to let me live."

"If that is your wish, then far be it from me to dishonor it."

Once he finished patching Roxy up, Mahmoud directed her to the isolated room and gave her the provisions he felt she would need for the night. The police station was well-equipped to accommodate several overnight stays especially that of recently-arrested individuals, so it was fairly easy to find supplies.

Roxy settled herself inside the small room which seemed to be little more than an expanded storage closet. She dug through the supply pack Mahmoud had provided her and pulled out a digital thermometer and a couple twin-wrapped packages of ibuprofen. If I am infected, she observed and diagnosed, the first sign will be an abnormally high fever then persistent migraines accompanied by acute vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound. If nothing else, I might at least be able to ease some of the suffering I may endure. She made a pallet for herself on the floor and set a timer to remind herself to check her temperature every hour. After checking it once and finding it normal, Roxy curled up in her makeshift bed and fell into a deep but uneasy sleep.

The Next Morning

The next morning, Roxy was awakened by an insistent pounding on the door. She sat up, yawned, and rubbed her eyes sleepily. For a moment, she forgot where she was, but when she saw all the opened packs of medicine surrounding her on the floor, her memory jogged.

"All right, all right!" she shouted groggily, "I'm up! Stop with the banging!"

"Roxy?" Stephen's voice reached her ears, "You're still you?"

"Yeah, I guess…" No thanks to you, "and I'm hungry. Did the cops around here believe in doughnuts or what?"

The response came in the screeching of furniture and other random objects being removed from the other side of the door. Roxy was immediately greeted by four familiar faces filled with concern and relief at the same time. Mahmoud approached her first to personally check her vitals and pupil dilation. Testing normal, Roxy found herself being embraced by the older man resulting in the others forming a group hug around her.

"Okay, guys," Roxy protested, "Guys! Guys! Can't breathe now!"

They all backed off apologetically, but Mahmoud continued to examine her; "Were there any complications at all?" he asked methodically, "Temperature changes? Swelling? Pain?"

"Nothing major; my temp spiked several times through the night, but it was never over one-oh-one point two degrees—nothing a little ibuprofen couldn't handle."

"I see. Roxy, I believe you are immune to the effects of the virus. This could work to our advantage when formulating an immunization or even a full-blown cure. Now this is not to say you couldn't still carry the virus and spread to someone else, so be meticulous when washing your hands after doing anything—all of us. We must get back to the lab and run some tests before the military arrives."

"Do we still want to stop by the zoo for tranquilizer guns?" Allison asked.

"Yes, but we must be careful. The Infected do not seem to be fond of the daylight, but that will not deter them completely from attacking if they spot us."

The conversation continued, but Roxy was not concerned with the "game plan" at the moment, as her focus was on the prevalent grumbling in her empty stomach; "Um, excuse me," she demanded, "I hate to put a damper on the celebration here, but unless we get some nourishment into our bodies, we won't even have enough strength the crawl to the zoo."

Everyone quickly agreed as they suddenly realized their own hunger and began ravaging the area for food. Angelica peeked out the small window of the newly-barricaded armory door and, seeing no Infected around, she informed the others; after all, the only way out was back the way they came in. Mahmoud slowly and quietly removed the steel bar barricade from the door, and they all stepped out of the room. He had instructed everyone to revert to sign language just to be safe and also to make directional signs on any visible surface pointing the way to the safe house they had set up. It was imperative that any and all able survivors have access to vital resources to aid them on their way to evacuation.

The police station was completely deserted after the skirmish from the night before. Other than the dead bodies of zombies strewn about the floor, there was absolutely no sight or sound of the Infected anywhere. This allowed the five doctors to explore every inch of the station in relative peace. They found food and water in mini-refrigerators in various offices of former cops, and once they took their fill, they stocked the safe room and left the station behind.

The streets were fairly quiet save for the random song of a Mourning Dove or buzzing of insects. Most disheartening were the vultures circling overhead and vicariously swooping down to pick at the rotting corpses scattered about. Still, the birds and insects were a subject of interest to Roxy.

[Why don't they seem affected by the virus?] she signed to the others.

[Rabies] Allison answered [only affects mammalian organisms, so naturally, birds, bugs, reptiles, fish, and amphibians are immune.]

[Makes sense…it doesn't explain why I'm immune, but I'll just bet the zoo won't mind us taking a few test subjects.]

[We'll discuss it later] Mahmoud cut in [when we can speak freely.]

He pointed to a large double-gate that marked the entrance to the zoo. It was chained up so tight that even an assault tank could not get through in less than five tries, and the vertical bars left climbing the gate out of the question. Stephen patted Mahmoud's shoulder to get his attention then thrust his thumb at a felled steel ladder a few feet south of the main entrance. Mahmoud nodded then signaled to the women to follow. The two men hoisted up the ladder while the ladies climbed up and over the wall. Then Mahmoud went over while Stephen spotted. Finally, Stephen climbed up, and once he made it to the ledge, he kicked the ladder away and jumped down to the other side.

"Well," he said aloud as he dusted himself off from the fall, "that was easier than I thought it would be."

When no one responded, Stephen turned around and immediately saw why. Staring the five survivors down hungrily was a large male lion that appeared to have broken free of its enclosure. It was foaming profusely at the mouth mingled with the blood of a recent kill. Its mane and body were afflicted with mange which the animal more likely than not had prior to contracting the Green Flu virus, the effects having been sped up afterwards. No one dared to move or speak, fearing the reaction of the infected animal as it snarled and gnashed its teeth at them. Somehow, they managed to stand their ground. In normal circumstances, the lion would have become disinterested in stationary target, but he was clearly in pain and driven mad—and these were clearly not normal circumstances. Mahmoud slowly moved his hand towards his gun, but the cat saw the motion and sprang! Everyone split in opposite directions as the beast pounced, slamming into the brick wall behind them. The impact did not even phase the creature as it quickly regained its footing and prepared for round two. However, before it could even move, a single gunshot was hear and saw the lion fall hard. Because it was a shotgun, everyone looked at Roxy.

"Wasn't me," she shrugged.

"No, it was me," said a tall, well-built man off to their right, "Follow me, survivors. It's not safe out in the open, as you know."

The small medical staff followed the man without question into a reinforced and barricaded animal pen that had been in disuse by the zoo for some time. Along the way, Roxy took notice of each enclosure in the park. The vast majority of the animal population had been shot down due to infection, but there also seemed to be just as many mammals that were unaffected by the Green Flu. The rest of the animals were non-mammalian creatures, quite immune to the virus as Allison had predicted they would be.

Inside the safe room, the guide re-barricaded the door and turned to the visitors; "Good to see a few more human faces," he said as he removed his fedora and set his gun aside, "The name's Richard Daily. Most people call me—um, used to call me, 'Race.' I was the senior animal handler here at the zoo for the past fifteen years. You are?"

"I am Dr. Mahmoud Shahabaz," the Iranian said, "senior medical scientist at Oklahoma City Hospital. These are my colleagues: Doctors Stephen Knox, Allison Drew, Angelica Pedro, and Roxanne Dominic."

Roxy moved to correct her title but Stephen discreetly stopped her; "Just go with it," he whispered, "he'll be none the wiser."

"Doctors, huh?" Race scoffed, "Fine job you did containing that virus."

"That wasn't our responsibility;" Mahmoud informed him calmly, "CEDA was given jurisdiction over all things concerning this epidemic, and the hospitals and science labs had no say in the handling of the situation."

"Figures. CEDA can't do anything right. So, what brings you here? One would think it wiser to avoid a zoo in times like these."

Mahmoud then explained their situation and plan. Specifically, he laid mention to their need for tranquilizer weapons for safely catching Infected. At Race's skeptical look, Mahmoud emphasized that his team were doctors and that their top priority was saving lives including those of the Infected. Furthermore, he explained how close they were to finding a cure, calling attention to Roxy's apparent immunity to the virus and that through studying other immune creatures, they might be able to perfect that cure. Race did not seem very impressed, but he did appear convinced, which was all the team needed.

"I see," he said, "Well, I can easily hook you up with some top-of-the-line guns, but the zoo only has a limited supply of darts on hand. I…kinda used most of 'em to deal with Infected: human and animal alike."

"Can't we use common hospital syringes?" Angelica asked.

"If you have the skill, I suppose you could modify one of the older models to do that. Otherwise, you can easily get more darts at the hunting shop two blocks east of here. I'll give you half of what I got, and that should hold you for a while. Also, if you seriously think some of these animals are immune, take some with you. I don't kill what's not trying to kill me, so there's plenty to choose from."

Race lead them back out through the zoo towards the storehouse where the weapons were kept, popping off random Infected here and there. There really were not very many zombies to worry about within the zoo's walls, so the survivors disregarded potential ambush spots. The noon sun also seemed to discourage most of the lone prowlers. Suddenly, Roxy felt something on her shoulder.

"Oh, shit!" she screamed as she violently shoved it off her.

"What is it?" Race turned around quickly to see what was going on.

"Something jumped on me! It's over there!"

Roxy pointed in the direction she had pushed her assailant. Race pushed forward slowly into the shadowed area to investigate then laughed when her heard angry chittering.

"Oh, it's just you, Danté," he smiled, "Come out here, boy."

The man held his right arm akimbo to allow a black and tan Capuchin monkey onto his elbow. Even though no one else was laughing, Roxy blushed slightly in embarrassment from being scared by a monkey. Regardless of having been thrown from Roxy's shoulder, Danté jumped straight from Race's into Roxy's arms.

"He likes you, Dr. Dominic," Race said, "Danté was the only member of his family to not be affected by the virus."

"He's cute," Roxy admitted, "at least now that I know what he is."

"Feel free to take him with you; he's gonna follow you anyway, and I highly doubt the zoo will notice him missing. All right, we keep the tranquilizers in here. Take what you need, just be careful not to overload yourselves. The last thing you want to be is live bait."

By the time the doctors gathered what they needed, the sun had gone down. Race then insisted that they all stay the night in his safe house; "I'm sure you already know they are more active at night," he said, "and the zoo's high walls won't keep them out for long. They're probably getting restless right now, so let's head back. I've got plenty of space and food."

There were no hesitations as zombies could already be heard just outside the walls. Sleep would not come easy that night, but at least it would come at all.