Read Online The Zombie Whisperer (Living With the Dead) by Jesse Petersen - Free Book Online

was a nurse once upon a time. Well,
almost
a nurse.”
    “I
almost
feel better,” I muttered.
    Though to be honest, almost medical training was better than what most people had out in the wilds. I’d often wished I’d
almost
been anything in the healthcare field during the months since the outbreak.
    To my surprise, she laughed at my quip and motioned for Robbie to go. “I don’t think any of us want you involved in this.”
    “I have tests to run anyway,” he grunted with a half-wave. “See ya.”
    “Stupid Kid,” I sighed as I propped a hand behind my head. “He acts like this is no biggie. I’d forgotten how annoying he can be.”
    “Eh, he’s thirteen… almost. Even with the world the way it is, I don’t think he gets it entirely. Ramifications don’t always stick at that age,” Nadia said as she turned plugged in her machine and started fiddling with settings. “Hence drug use, crazy driving, teen… um, pregnancy.”
    She broke off with a blush.
    “So what are you going to do?” David asked, his voice cracking as he watched her set up.
    She glanced up at him and this time her smile was softer, more reassuring. “The first thing I’m going to do is an ultrasound. It’s not invasive, we’ll just do a scan basically and see if we can get a look at the fetus.”
    Dave nodded, but when he took my hand, his fingers were cold and clammy.
    “It’s fine,” I reassured him even as I flinched when Nadia started pushing my shirt up and spreading cool goo on my abdomen. She pressed a wand to my flesh and suddenly an image appeared on the screen.
    It wasn’t that interesting really. Just a big cavern that was my stomach, I assume.
    “I don’t see anything,” Dave said, his voice suddenly filled with hope. “Maybe Sarah’s just wrong. Maybe she has that gymnast thing.”
    I jerked my face toward his. “Gymnast thing?”
    “You know, where they get so skinny they don’t have a period anymore.”
    I laughed. “Honey, I ain’t that skinny.”
    Nadia smiled too. “No, actually…” she moved the wand a little and then pointed to the screen. “There. See that?”
    Both of us leaned forward and I caught my breath. There in the picture was the image of a… well, it was a baby. A real live baby and it wasn’t exactly the bean I’d been expecting. It was kind of… big.
    “Oh my God,” Dave whispered, though I couldn’t tell if it was ‘oh my God, get it out’ or ‘oh my God, look at a baby I made’ in his tone.
    “That’s her. Or him,” Nadia said, her smile wide despite the circumstances. “Huh, you said you thought you were three months along?”
    I nodded. “Yeah, three months ago is when all my normal womanly fun stopped.”
    She pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything else about her question. “Want a print out? I think this machine does that.”
    I nodded. “Please.”
    She messed with a few buttons and then a picture popped out of the machine. She handed it over and I stared at it as she continued to roll her wand over my belly.
    “So what do you see beyond that there really is a baby or something in there?” Dave asked.
    When I looked up I noticed he wasn’t looking at the baby picture. Like, at all.
    “Well, there is a heartbeat,” she said, pointing to a flutter on the screen. She turned a dial and suddenly there was a faint sound, sort of like a wub, wub, wub that filled the room. “But-”
    He jerked straight. “But?”
    “It is a bit slower than I would expect,” she said. “Especially given the stress you’re under, Sarah.”
    I nodded. Okay, so my baby had some kind of slow heartbeat syndrome. It could be that, right?
    “Does that mean it’s a zombie?” Dave asked.
    Nadia shrugged. “I’m going to be honest and tell you, I don’t know.”
    “Well, do you know how far alone I am?” I asked.
    She stared at me for a second too long. “Um…”
    “What? What is um?” I asked, my voice elevating.
    “You say you noticed a shift in your cycle three