J. Knoll - Zoe, Undead

Colonel Halstead smiled and nodded, confirming, "The Cavalry's finally showed up." He turned around and shouted, "Okay, everyone get to your assigned fire teams and stand by to assault the stairwells! Nobody is to go lower than the second floor. I don't want any friendly fire incidents down there. We're taking this hospital back!"

A cheer went up and everyone turned and raced toward the last secure stairwell.

As Zoe started that way, the Colonel grabbed her arm and stopped her, and he shook his head as he insisted, "Not this time, Princess."

"But I want to help!" she cried.

"You have," he assured. "I want you to stay with these doctors you rescued and make sure no moaners get by us. You're going to sit this firefight out." He cupped her cheek in his big hand and informed, "We almost lost you once, Kiddo, and I'm not ready to risk you again."

She watched him turn and stride with purpose toward the stairs, then, when she felt someone take her shoulders from behind, she half turned and looked into Doctor Caswell's eyes.

Rachel smiled and said, "We both want to thank you for what you did. You didn't have to put yourself at risk for us like that."

Zoe shrugged and countered, "I like you guys."

With a bigger smile, Rachel wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her as tightly as she could, and Doctor Kavorski joined them, embracing both of them.

As Zoe did her best to hug them back, cringing as one of the tanks fired its main gun again, she admitted, "I was kind of in a hurry and might have forgotten my bra again."

Both doctors laughed and Rachel assured, "I think we can overlook it this time."

Zoe nodded, then she pulled away and looked to Doctor Caswell, asking, "Is Snowflake still downstairs?"

CHAPTER 15

The next couple of hours was all about reclaiming the hospital. The promised reinforcements wiped out all of the zombies of every kind around the hospital, on the first floor and into the basement. Fire teams from those already there cleared the hospital floor by floor from top to bottom, and by the time the reinforcements arrived at the second floor, Colonel Halstead's Zombie Response Team had already cleared the top four and half of the second. From there, guards were posted and squads were sent down each hallway to ferret out the last of them.

By evening, the hospital was secure again. Most of the zombies in the city had laid siege to the building, and all of those involved were killed. In the streets outside, where the worst of the carnage had taken place, dump trucks and front end loaders were at work scooping up the thousands of bodies to hall them away. Other teams, wearing yellow hazardous material gear, carried bodies on stretchers and gurneys outside to be disposed of with the rest.

Zoe found herself in for something she did not like: More tests. Though she understood, she had really wanted to help hunt down the last of the zombies. She was grateful, however, that these tests got her out of cleaning up the bodies, a job she considered icky and gross.

By the following morning, order had been restored and the base at the hospital was returning to normal. The assault team that had reinforced them found a nearby hotel and laid siege to it, taking it over in a couple of hours, and this is where they would establish their own base and soldier's quarters. The plan was to take the whole city back, building by building, and rescue any survivors who remained.

A meeting between Colonel Halstead and the general who had led the charge was convened in the hospital's conference room where they always held their meetings, but this one would include the doctors and their favorite subject.

When Rachel, Zoe, and Doctor Kavorski entered the office, Colonel Halstead sat where he always did, the lieutenant to his right and the general to his left, and they all stood as the door opened. Also there were Josh and Morgan, and Alfred Knox, who found himself in charge of the civilian volunteers, and they all stood as well. Zoe was still in her pink tee shirt and denim shorts, and she still wore Sergeant Morris' cap and had her hair in a long pony tail behind her.

Zoe's eyes found the general and she raised her chin slightly as she studied him. He was a tall, strapping fellow with white hair, bushy white eyebrows and a thick jaw. His eyes squinted slightly and his green and tan camouflage uniform seemed to be in perfect order.

He raised his chin to the girl and asked, "Is this her?"

"Yes, Sir," the colonel confirmed. Beckoning to Zoe, he ordered, "Come on over here, Private."

With a little nod, she complied, but walked with hesitant steps. Stopping a few feet away from the general, she found she could not make eye contact and instead glanced about as he studied her.

With a nod, the general stepped toward her and extended his hand, saying in a deep, imposing voice, "My name is General Garza. I've heard a lot about you, Miss Templeton and I must say it's an honor to finally meet you."

She shook his hand and still would not look at him, but she did sheepishly correct, "Colonel Halstead likes to call me Private Princess now."

Laughing under his breath, the general nodded again and folded his hands behind him, conceding, "That will work just fine, Private." Extending his hand to the chair beside his, he pulled it out for her and offered, "Please. Have a seat."

Zoe glanced back at Rachel, and when she got a reassuring nod, she looked down to the table and sat down.

When she was seated, everyone else followed suit.

Colonel Halstead folded his hands on the table and looked to Doctor Kavorski, demanding, "Well, Doctor? What did you find out?"

Raising his brow, he reported, "What she subjected herself to almost killed her, but we tested her extensively last night and this morning and… It seems that the virus is gone from her cranial spinal fluid. Her entire nervous system seems to be clear of it. In fact, we couldn't even find it anywhere in her saliva, either. She's not even contagious anymore."

"And the rest of her?" the General asked.

Rachel replied, "A weakened form of the virus is still in there and she is still very much infected. For all practical purposes, she still is a zombie. She will heal quickly, not feel the pain of injury and have every other advantage a zombie would have, but at the same time she remains conscious and retains all of her cognitive abilities. The infection even reversed her autism to an extent, not all the way, but she actually made some degree of progress there."

With a nod, the colonel observed, "That's the good news. Now, do you think it will take her over completely?"

The doctors glanced at each other, then Doctor Kavorski shook his head and looked back to the colonel, then the general. "That's not even a possibility anymore. Whatever happened in the sauna created a new relationship between her and the virus, and now they are living in an apparent symbiosis. They've effectively become one organism. Zoe is among the undead, but she is still, in many respects, very much alive."

Zoe leaned toward Rachel and whispered, "That's good, isn't it?"

Doctor Caswell patted her arm and smiled as she assured, "That's good."

"What about this vaccine that you meant to make based upon her antibodies?" the general asked.

Raising his chin, Doctor Kavorski proudly announced, "We're well on the way and our research has uncovered some extremely valuable information that we can use to fight this virus. We really don't even need her for this phase anymore. What we've learned from her has already been invaluable."

With a nod, General Garza looked to the colonel and informed, "Sounds like things are well in hand here, Colonel. Since she clearly does not pose a threat and seems to want to help us win this war against the zombies," He looked to her and continued, "I'm going to leave the disposition of Private Princess here in your hands. We're going to have our hands full with this war, young lady. Are you up to the challenge of helping us protect humanity?"