Evan had a rather busy, frantic day, but he hadn't even seen one of the zombies until now. He heard from others the news had shown a couple images and video fragments, but he had always managed to miss the showing. He was too busy making phone calls and checking the entrances to his own dorm in order to consider seeing actual pictures important.
Now a zombie was pressed up against the surface of the glass door, attempting to get it open. It was a chubby, short, bald man, maybe about forty years old. It was dressed in a formal grey business suit and had a small mark on its neck. A fine ribbon of dried blood ran down its neck and had created a small, rusty red stain on the front of the suit. Otherwise, he could have been healthy. It made a sound, a groaning moan as it opened its mouth. Its blank stare met Evan's eyes briefly as it watched him through the glass, rattling the doorknob against its lock.
The three newcomers gasped for air as they clustered together in the far corner of the lobby, staring at the front door. Evan noticed the large man had retrieved the metal pipe and was watching him angrily. "Okay, I think we're safe for now." Evan said as he backed away from the door carefully. "It can't get through."
"Thank you, thank you so much." One of the refugees said with a mild accent. She was a nice looking Asian about five feet tall, with long, straight hair and smooth skin, probably a college girl. She wore a heavy, dark blue coat with a long black skirt and leggings. She appeared to be the most physically fit of the three. "It came at us while we were trying to get to the car."
"Are you all okay?" Evan glanced between the group of people huddled in the back and moved away from the doorway.
"He, he tried to bite my arm." Said the other woman in the group with a stunned, shaky voice. She was a particularly curvy girl about five and a half feet tall with a light tan. Turned away as she was at first, her curly blond hair partly obscured her face. Even so, Evan thought she looked familiar. She could have been in one of his classes. "But he couldn't get through my coat." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with one hand.
The man with them was breathing heavily, his face red and sweaty. He was about average height and overweight by about a hundred and fifty pounds. He had pale skin that looked paler with his dark hair and wore thick rimmed glasses. He spoke in short spurts between breaths. "I'm okay. Just a scratch. When I pulled him away from Evelyn."
"You don't look fine." Said the heavy, tall man with the length of pipe. He took a step closer. "Is that a bite on your hand?"
"He has asthma." Said the Asian girl as she knelt beside her companion. "Are you okay Rob?" The overweight guy, Rob, nodded in reply without saying anything. He was inhaling deep and exhaling, making an effort to recover.
Since the commotion, Evan noticed a few new faces had arrived, a Hispanic man and woman from the hallway to the common room and a skinny black guy also holding a pipe lingering in the hallway to the exit on the other side of
the building. None of them seemed to be getting involved, so he didn't pay them any attention.
"The news says it spreads by bites. If he's bitten, we can't let him stay here. He'll need to go out the back and find another place to hide." The large man said assertively as he approached the gasping Robert. "And if anyone else is bitten, they need to go too."
"We're not putting him or anyone else outside." Evan said as he glanced sideways at the big jerk. "Let him catch his breath first and then we'll figure out what to do next if he's bitten."
The large guy postured threateningly for a moment, prompting Evan to ready himself to react. Something about his posture and size made him look like a football player. Eventually, he pointed to the nearby wall, plastered over with several faces and names. "I'm in charge of keeping everyone safe here, I'm one of the building-"
"Okay, try to throw him out." Evan stepped between the large man and Rob. "See what happens."
There was a moment of tense silence, broken only by the unearthly snarl from the zombie outside and Rob's rapid breathing. Evan kept himself ready, the heavy man nearly twice his weight, and quite muscled but evidently untrained for anything but raw physical force. The tension hung thick in the air as everyone stared at the confrontation. Eventually, the gasping faded into a more manageable breathing and Rob slowly got to his feet, assisted by the two girls.
Lucas ventured to speak first. "Rob, is it? He looks like he's recovered, Simon, it's just a small cut. He's not even really bleeding at all."
"If he's bitten, he needs to go." Simon said again, staring at Evan more than anyone else.
Evan could hear Lucas move, speaking quietly and guiding the newcomers away from the lobby, down the hallway to the common room. Evan remained, barring Simon's path from following them until they had moved a safe distance. Then he carefully moved after them and left Simon in the hallway. As he approached the entryway to the common room, the Hispanic man give him a covert, approving nod and a wave of welcome.
The Asian girl lingered in the hallway just before the doorway to the common room. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome." Evan said, almost reflexively as he entered into the chamber.
