Although he had come down here to speak with Leon, Evan didn't want to leave the scene in this unseemly state for others to stumble upon. Peering around the lobby for a suitable cover once George and Simon departed, nothing suitable for that immediate purpose caught his attention. The front lobby bore no spare sheets to drape over the unmoving corpse and its associated remains. But he did recall there were curtains and tablecloths in the common room that would probably be suitable for covering the body.
Already there were some people talking within the hallways, asking each other what had taken place. A girl Evan didn't recognize tentatively appeared at the top of the stairs, slowly looking around what she could see of the lobby as she called out hesitantly. An uneasy tone was in the small voice as she locked frightened eyes on the vacant glass doors. No doubt also noticing the vomit and small trail of blood upon the floor. Then she shifted her attention to regard Evan with suspicion. "I heard something a minute ago. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. But you probably don't want to come down here." Evan replied as he hastily moved out of view from the stairs. He skirted the edge of the inert zombie's remains as he made his way towards the nearby light switch and flicked it off. "Things are a little unpleasant down here right now."
"What happened? Did it get inside?" Came the same frightened voice, the person to which it belonged now out of sight but stepping down to get a slightly better vantage point.
"Nothing. Just ah-" Evan hesitated to speak, reluctant to really say much about what had just happened. While the confrontation was resolved without any bites, the idea someone purposefully let a zombie inside was a little unnerving. It was more than that, it was stupid to even take such a risk when others were in the building. "It was an accident, but it's been taken care of. And he didn't bite anyone."
"Oh." Came the response. The figure paused upon the stairs, then retreated back the way she had come, speaking to someone else.
The battered figure was now a lumpy shadow in the scant lighting provided by the nearby corridors, upstairs and the eerie lighting in the park blocks outside. Carefully hurrying around the body and the blood, Evan felt an uneven step he later realized was due to stepping upon a stray tooth.
Running to go to the common room, Evan stopped before the door and saw George in the hallway leading to the left. He was sitting partway down the hall and leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. The same exit Evan had used when he ventured outside. George still looked rather shaken and breathed heavily, the thick stench of blood and vomit within the lobby had not reached here yet.
Inside the glass doorway to the common room, the black girl who was out there just moments before saw Evan and began to approach to let him inside. She had been speaking to a couple others, Erin and Jorge, probably about what she had just seen. With his initial shock faded, Evan now recalled her name was Chloe. She along with the others she was speaking to she had helped with the building census.
Evan called to George as he waited for the door. "Hey, George. Are you going to be okay?"
George nodded his head as if he were uncertain and spoke without opening his eyes. "I watched a video like that once. Someone got their head cut right off. Shit, that was much worse."
"Well, try not to think about it. I've got this." Evan entered the common room with a nod to the girl that let him inside and ran to the nearest table.
Hastily removing the tablecloth, he ignored the voices of the few people in the room speaking to each other and the low sound of the television still playing the news broadcast at the far end of the large room.
Although Evan was too busy to count how many people were here, he recognized Leon's voice from close by as he was about to rush off with the bundled, thick fabric. "Need any help?"
"That would be good." Evan sighed. "But aren't you afraid?"
"If you're sure it's really dead, then I don't see the harm." Leon spoke plainly, his slightly older age showing in his gruff voice. He scratched idly at his bald head. "Besides, I've probably seen worse before. I was a combat medic."
Evan paused a moment, skeptical, but glad for the assistance. Together, they returned to the lobby and the two of them set to work doing what they could to cover and remove the remains, then clean up what was possible.
