I came to like the everyday hustle and bustle of the factory-like place I knew as my new home. It was okay. It was busywork. Anything to distract them and me from the horrors outside, like the Red Death. Whatever it took to not think of the terrible plague that had destroyed lives. Coping was usually never good, in any instance of the word. This wasn't any different, even with the things shambling around outside. They hid everywhere, as I learned. That's why I was entranced at the Labs. Why I felt that calling. That everything would've been okay, if I just went to it... I now knew their effect on people, how they took them and turned them. Any normal person, any weak-willed person of the flesh or mind would be a walking piece of propaganda for their campaign. Another number to bolster the ever terrifying growth of poison in our world. But we were okay. For now. 
I sat up and adjusted myself in the old rickety chair of the nursing wing. Waiting for Lera had now become a pastime for me, loathe as I am to admit it. The small girl was the only person I knew or wanted to know apart from Daniel, and both of them were born out of necessity. Still, I couldn't give up the quiet conversations or the longing glances. It was a reminder of what once was. A reminder of me. I closed my eyes and sighed. Lera was usually very busy, that much certainly didn't change. She took a few minutes to complete her morning rounds and we were off. "Do you know anything about those guys Daniel talked to yesterday?" I asked her, forgoing any greeting. She shrugged in response and pulled down a wayward sleeve. The two of us left to meet the survivalist group. I was somewhat surprised to see them all sitting there expectantly looking towards us. It was a far cry from the way they appeared the day before. "We're going to need a cadaver." I stated, emotionless. I flicked a scalpel in my left hand. I couldn't lie to myself. I was excited for this. It wasn't everyday you got to cut up a fresh corpse full of a raging pathogen that caused God-knows-what, destroying the body in the process. There were various systems that made up the body; I would have to see what this thing did to break all of them down. Like I said, not an everyday thing.
"So, what? Just go out and shoot one to bring it back?" The one that had addressed Daniel asked. I assumed him to be the leader, or at least the most outgoing in their little posse. Nobody else seemed to talk, or want to for that matter. I related intimately. "Sure." I said noncommitally. He turned and barked a few orders and gave a few hand gestures. I took their prepartion time to return to Lera and make small chat. "Good morning? Any rowdy patients?" I stirred up. Lera's eyes gleamed. On second thought, it was probably the mask. I handed her a second scalpel absently. "You'll need this, wallflower." I offered softly.
She took it slowly and responded to my query. "No, not at all, Frederick. My morning was nice," Her quaint voice bequeathed me. I noticed she lost her stutter around me. Was she beginning to warm up? I smiled. Who needs models when you have cuties like this? A tap on my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts. "We're ready, sir," He saluted. The others followed suit instantly. "No, no, none of that." I waved a hand. "I'm not your superior and I'm not your sir. What are your names and what do you do? I'll start. I'm a scientist. That's why I said "cadaver" and not "zombie" like any other normal person. Next?" Someone held back a snicker. There were four of them in total. The leader, I came to know as Rodolphus. His second, Leonard. The rookie, Nathan. And finally, Jack. Jack was, well, nobody really knew what he did officially. But in the field he was a jack-of-all-trades, being your man for whatever job you needed him for. The efficiency of this in a scavenger outfit was an excellent idea.
Rodolphus sized me up during the introductions. I wasn't much, just a measly dude in a lab coat. If anything, I looked more pathetic than intimidating. Sizing me up was practically a compliment, as far as I was concerned. Maybe it was just standard practice. Lera gave up trying to say what she was or what she did after the fifth try. I laid a hand on her shoulder and told her it was fine, and nobody pursued the thread.
Last-minute checks were done, and soon our merry band was out the door.  It was good to know the ways out of the building. From the door, turning left would lead to a series of twists and turns, finally concluding to a dead end, with several barricades and shelter opportunities if a firefight ever arose this close. Turning right from the door was a quick exit, like a fire escape but better. It was a straight ladder down onto a measly exposed rooftop, then you followed the plank-bridge onto the next roof, and it kept going until you reached the corner building, where there was a hatch and ladder waiting. I didn't like it personally, because it could just mean any old bad guy could mosey on in, but Rodolphus assured me. There were guards posted on both sides, left and right. How comforting, hmm? Straight ahead gave me a sense of deja-vu. Long hallways and flickering overhead fluorescent lights leading to cracked doorways and mossy walls. Breathing the stuff when I passed it did not make me feel better. Masks didn't cover everything. I didn't want to be out here, anyway. But a job was a job. I had to work for my daily bread. After the walls, there was a giant foyer with an auditorium connected, leading outside. This is the way we took, going from room to room seamlessly. Footfalls landed safely and resolutely without fear. There was a confidence in this team. One gained through years of experience and management. They weren't pushovers.
We spread out from the exit and quickly surrounded a small crowd on a lower street. After Leonard had thrown a brick or rock or something, some of the few had followed the sound, splitting from the original group. It was interesting. They were like wild animals, or pre-historic humans. Clumped in masses, traveling as one, it was smart. Just made me hope none of those psy-fucks were around. Last thing I needed was to lose my shit in this. Or any of my team, I thought after the fact. It was significantly hard, pinning one away from the others without them noticing, but the veteran scavengers did it effortlessly. They made it look like it was a trip to the grocery store! A quick, blunt-force trauma wound was inflicted to the cranium, and I handed a pair of gloves to the pair handling the body. Didn't need to get infected ourselves, did we? We got back in minutes. The success of the mission made me wonder. Where would we conduct this? Where could we? Certainly not in the base, or anywhere near it. Didn't need any ignorant survivors breathing in anything or being exposed. I was reluctant to make any choice, yay nor nay. What should I do? I consulted Lera. "Where could we take the body?" I questioned. "Somewhere we can't be disturbed." I added firmly. This was not to be debated. She looked up at me the way a small child would their parent. I took in a deep breath and wished so many things to happen to me that instant it wasn't even funny. "Umm, there's a few backrooms the Wing doesn't use," She suggested mildly. I tapped my chin. "I'm not so sure about that, Lera. What if Daniel finds out we experiment on a body five feet from unhealthy people?" She frowned. "I-I guess you're right. I don't know, then. We could try the auditorium." She pointed to the large space around us as the team shuffled in awkwardly with the body. "No, too big." I mused. "Try the foyer. Smaller. Compact. Cut a section off. Problem is, we don't have any supplies. On the way back, keep your eyes peeled for a dark room or service desk or something." I shook my head in defeat. We had to figure out something! We already have the corpse, the cadaver, we just need a place to operate. And damn it, it was fresh! Can't let it get old. It's a prime sample! What if I didn't get another chance? I couldn't blow this.
"Rodolphus," I halted him and his squad. "Set up shop here." I motioned to the large hallway. Despite the inconvenience, it could work. Could.
I was expecting a splutter or a insult, but he remained silent and they did as told. Big green curtains impeded my view of both sections of the building, basically keeping us in and them out. The team kept guard while Lera and I cut into the cadaver. I assigned her to less tricky areas, such as the abdomen, where she insisted had only four sections: Left Upper, Left Lower, Right Upper, and Right Lower Quadrants. I told her she was wrong, that the abdomen had nine, and the girl was cowed in that simple sentence. In fact, the subtle mistake threw me off guard. I really was not prepared for it. It stoked an anger within me. This girl wouldn't stay a nurse like this. I'd have to take her under my wing. She was probably making chump change even before this shit-show happened. Why do you think surgeons get the big bucks? Not because the abdomen has four sections, but because it has nine! Nine! The stomach is not your entire midsection, it is a small elastic chamber! When all this was said and done, Lera would be a better woman, all things considered. It was for her own good. Fueled by this rapid-fire decision (also something I'd have to stress to her, reaction times), I slowed down the autopsy and beckoned her closer to view specific areas of the body. I told her to watch out for anything different or abnormal, such as lesions or macules, or anything raised on the skin. Anything that stood out. Whatever said, "Hey, I'm the source!" She was left to her own devices and the hallway we were in was soon in the back of my mind. "Ah!" Lera suddenly gasped. "I found something! Is it a tumor?" I stopped my incision halfway up the left arm and surveyed. She was pointing to a blackish mass that indeed looked like a tumor, with a blackened part of the body around it. "Looks necrotic. Know what that means, tomato?" She blushed at the nickname. "It means dead. It probably started around here. Cut this part away and bag it up. I'll look for anything else." I instructed. Things came nicely so far. I was pleased with our progress. Unfortunately, nothing else was found on the corpse. I'd have to get more at a later date, and see how the pathogen affected them as well. Oh, how I missed Danila. He'd be perfect in times like this. I needed a microscope or a similar appliance to properly view the skin she bagged up, but it wasn't time to get hasty or greedy. What we had was fine. I was glad. Lera and I took down the privacy curtains and we resumed our humble retreat back to the safehouse. I thanked Rodolphus and his team and we parted ways before I repeated the process with Lera. The shy nurse was fast becoming a very important ally. What else was she good at? After all, you can teach an old dog new tricks! Now, to see what causes tumors and dead tissue...