Lexicon

. sorry, I’m exaggerating. But there are a lot. A real lot.” He swallowed over and over. “How could there be so many? I mean, what did she do? How could she kill
everyone
?”
    “Take a break.”
    “Fuck!”
    “Campbell. You need to calm down.”
    “I can see the hospital. It’s just up the road. The road that’s fucking full of bodies.”
    “You can come back. You don’t need to do this today.”
    The kid took a shaky breath. “Yeah, I do, Eliot.”
    “It’s not that important. Forget about Yeats.”
    There was a snuffling sound. Eventually Eliot identified it as laughter. “You have definitely been away too long, Eliot. No question. ‘Forget about Yeats.’ Jesus fucking Christ.” He sucked air. “There’s a lot of damage here. Cars on the sidewalk. I saw this on the satellite pictures, but up close it’s . . . more real, I guess. On the computer they just looked badly parked. Like everyone was in a real hurry. But . . . they hit things. They’re all . . . all somewhere for a reason.” He swallowed. “Almost at the hospital. Looks . . . smaller . . . than I expected, actually. Like a library. I can see the entrance to the ER. Ambulance out front. I mean a van. A paramedic van, up on the curb. Front of the ER’s all glass, but I can’t see inside.” He heard the kid stop. “It’s real dark in there. Or grimy or something.” He hesitated. “I’m going around to the main entrance, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “It’s just, I don’t think I need to mess with this black room if there’s another way in.”
    “Agreed.”
    “Okay. I’m coming up on the main doors. Shit. I don’t even know if this is better.”
    “Tell me what you see.”
    “Bodies. Desiccated bodies, piled against the glass. But I can see inside, at least. I’m at the doors. There’s . . .”
    “What?” He waited. “Campbell?”
    “There’s a sound.”
    “What kind of sound?”
    “I don’t know. Shut up a second; let me listen.” Time passed. “Like a hum.”
    “A person?”
    “No. Like a machine. Something electronic. But that can’t be right. There’s no power here. It’s not that loud. I’m going to open the doors.” There was a scraping. He heard the kid gagging. “
Fucking hell.
”
    “What is it?”
    “The
smell
.”
    “Stop where you are.”
    “Okay. Okay. I’ve stopped.”
    “Look around. Tell me everything.”
    “Seats. Reception desk. Shit on the walls.”
    “Shit?”
    “I mean stuff. Ads. Get your vaccinations. Eight out of ten mothers experience postnatal depression. When was your last prostate exam.”
    “What about the sound?”
    “Oh. Yeah, that’s flies. Ten billion flies.”
    “Stand there a minute.”
    Time passed. “She’s not here, Eliot. I told you. If there was anything bigger than a squirrel moving around in here, we’d know it.”
    “Rabbit. There are no squirrels in Australia.”
    “No . . .” The kid broke out in laughter. “No squirrels? Are you shitting me?”
    “No.”
    “Well maybe I’ll fucking move here! It’s starting to seem like fucking paradise!”
    “Keep it together.”
    The kid’s breathing came harsh and ragged. “You’re right. You’re right.” He steadied. “I’m going in.” There was a scrape. The ambient noise altered, thickening. “I’m inside.”
    “Tell me everything.”
    “There are lines on the floor. Colored lines. Man . . . well, I guess I’ll follow the red one. For Emergency. There are so many bodies . . . it’s hard to avoid them. Jesus fuck. I am never getting this smell off me.” Shuffling. “Doors are propped open with bodies. I’m in a corridor. It’s getting darker. The, ah . . . yeah, the lights don’t work. Just confirming that. There’s . . .”
    “What?”
    “There’s a skull with an ax in it.”
    “An ax?”
    “Yeah. A red ax. For fighting fires. I can see where someone pulled it out of the case. Someone broke the glass and took the ax out and buried it in this dude’s head. Hey? Eliot?”
    “Yes?”
    “I’m taking the ax. Okay? I just . . . I’d feel better if I had it with me. So I’m going to put down the phone for a minute to pick up the ax.”
    “Okay.”
    The phone went
clunk
. He heard the kid grunting, then a brief squeal. “You there?”
    “I’m here.”
    “I got it.” The kid laughed. “I just pulled a fucking ax out of a skull.” He exhaled. “I feel better. I feel kind of badass. Hey. I just had an idea. I’m going to take a picture of this shit, send it to