She looked up at him. "Bob, when was the last time we had that much fun?" She turned her eyes back to the two kids and shook her head. "The whole time we were testing I could hardly get them to exchange two words between them. It wasn't until I was administering psych tests on Zachary that either of them began to open up. Then I got them in there and left the room and that started to happen. I mean, seriously. When was the last time either of us had that kind of fun?"
Raising his brow, Doctor Kavorski replied, "I don't even know." He looked down at her, to the many papers she had stacked up in front of her. "So, what did you find there?"
"Zoe's medical files," she answered. "Her parents were thankfully very thorough about keeping up with her mental and medical needs." She looked back to the young people who still played in the examination room. "I tested them both. Zachary is mildly autistic as well and he does not appear to have been formally diagnosed. He didn't even know what any of the tests were for." She laughed under her breath. "Zoe kept trying to walk him through them and I finally had to send her out on an errand so that I could finish with him. I retested her as well." She looked back up to the other doctor and raised her brow. "She's shown marked improvement since her last exam, which was only seven months ago. She's improved across the board and really shouldn't have. In fact, I've noticed recent changes in her behavior that aren't consistent with Asperger's Syndrome."
Doctor Kavorski raised his chin, prodding, "Like?"
"Her tactile defensiveness, for starters," Rachel reported. "Not only does she not cringe every time someone touches her, but I've seen her seeking out contact with people."
"Certain people," he corrected.
"There's that," she conceded, "but she's also reasoning things out differently, she said the loud noise of the guns going off does not bother her as much as it did… Bob, according to my tests, her autism has reversed to some extent, and I think the virus that brought on her zombosis is responsible."
Kavorski looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, then he looked into the room as Zachary tugged on her hand and pulled her nearly out of her chair. "That kind of social behavior… You may be on to something, Rachel. It failed to reprogram her brain and it would seem that she may have some unexpected benefits of its efforts." His eyes slid to her. "You are recording your findings, aren't you?"
"Of course!" she scoffed. "If we all live through this I want to be the first in the medical journals!"
He laughed and shook his head.
A commotion at the end of the hallway drew their attention and they both looked that way, and Doctor Caswell stood as they saw soldiers rushing toward them, pushing gurneys down the hallway, gurneys with injured soldiers and others on them.
"Get them to the secure area!" one of the soldiers shouted. "We've got two here who've been bitten!"
"Oh my God!" Doctor Caswell breathed. She wheeled around the desk ahead of Doctor Kavorski and ordered, "Get them to Containment, stat!" She looked to the room where Zoe and Zachary were standing in the doorway, and the concern in their eyes, the fear that was there, prompted Rachel to order, "You two stay in there. We'll be back for you as soon as we can!"
Zoe peered out of the room, watching the movements of the people and doctors as they disappeared with the injured soldiers behind a set of double doors. Zachary looked around her and there was a certain intensity in his eyes when Zoe looked up at him.
She felt anxious as she asked, "Weren't those the soldiers that went to the power plant a little while ago?"
Still watching after them, he nodded. "I think my Dad went with them."
"Do you think something happened?" she asked in a near panicked voice.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "Something bad."
Zoe and Zachary burst through the door to the stairwell and ran to the center of the rally area where at least twenty soldiers were wearily checking weapons, pulling off vests and backpacks and helmets. None were talking and Zoe turned a few times as she glanced around for someone she knew, and finally saw a soldier she recognized, one who had driven one of the Strykers on the mission to the school.
"Excuse me," she offered, clasping her hands together as he looked to her. "Where is Sergeant Morris?"
He stared blankly at her for long seconds, then he looked away and shook his head. "He ordered us back, Princess. He and about six others are on their own at the power plant."
"What?" she breathed.
Another soldier turned to them and reported, "We got jumped as soon as we got into the power plant. They got inside of our perimeter and were all over us before we knew what was going on."
Still another slammed his pack down and grumbled, "I've never seen moaners move like that before."
"Mad-dogs?" Zachary demanded. "Is my Dad still out there?"
The first solider nodded, just staring down at his pack, and he found himself unable to speak.
"We have to go get them!" Zoe insisted. She looked around her, seeing that none of the soldiers or volunteers were even looking her way. "Come on!" she cried. "We can't just leave them there! We have to go get them! It will be dark and we can't just leave them!"
"They're going to try and get the power back on," a soldier behind her informed. "We just need to regroup and we'll try and get them in the morning."
She wheeled around and shouted, "It will be too late then! We have to go and get them now!" She turned and tugged on the Stryker driver's arm. "Come on! We need to go help them!"
He still would not look at her, and bowed his head. "We lost four people out there already. There are just too many of them and too many places for them to come out of. We can't afford to lose anyone else." He shook his head, then turned toward the stairs. "You just need to face the inevitable, Princess. Do it now and it'll be easier later."
"I won't!" she screamed. Looking around her, she saw a few of the men looking away, and her lips slid away from her teeth as she spat, "He wouldn't leave any of you out there all alone."
Zoe yanked the door to her room open and stormed inside, right to her night stand. Her belt and vest were still on the bed and she picked up the belt first, pulling it on, then she clipped the pouches into place.
Zachary entered the room behind her as she forced her arms into the vest and began to fasten it at the front. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm going to go help them," she insisted. "I'm going to go. The zombies don't bother me so I can get them bullets and go help."
"That mad-dog was sure bothering you," Zachary pointed out. "It sounds like they have more of them at the power plant."
"I don't care!" she cried. Looking to her teddy bear, she raised her chin slightly, then she pulled the drawer of her nightstand open and withdrew her revolver, finally turning to him as she shoved it into the holster. "I'm going. I'm not going to just let him die out there."
Zachary just stared back at her for long seconds, then he nodded and informed, "I'll need to get my shotgun, then we'll need a ride. I think the power plant is a few miles from here and it's too far to walk."
She was taken aback and did not know what to say, finally managing, "You… You're coming with me?"
With a shrug, he confirmed, "My dad's out there, too, and I can't just let you go alone. You could get hurt or killed." He looked away from her and added in a low voice, "And I kind of like you."
Zoe turned her eyes down, again not knowing what to say, but she finally managed, "Even though you know I'm a zombie?"
"I don't know," he mumbled. "I still think you're only part zombie. I just think… You're a cool girl and I have fun with you and I shouldn't let you go get the other guys alone."