Clifton Falls: A Zombie Story [Part 1]

by Taylor, Lee Andrew

  “I’m sorry, but he won’t be able to go past this point,” he said, staring at Chris. “He’s not authorised.”

  Mike scrunched his face and nibbled his lip.

  “He’s with me.”

  “But I’ve been told not to let any press enter the morgue to snoop around.”

  “Really?!” Mike snapped, feeling his head pound again. He didn’t need this right now. “This particular member of the press is helping the police.”

  “But still,” the doctor replied, feeling extreme pressure. “I have my orders.”

  Mike waved an index finger in his face. “You can take your orders and---"

  “Calm down,” Chris interrupted, smirking. “He’s only doing his job.”

  Mike did.

  He apologised to the doctor before looking over his shoulder, seeing more people in white coats walk down a corridor.

  “I’m not going to tell you again,” Mike said, facing the man. “He’s needed, so he stays.”

  The doctor nodded shyly and moved away, allowing them to carry on walking.

  “Bloody hell, man, you sure told him,” Chris said, grinning.

  But Mike wasn’t finding the situation as funny.

  He still wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing by letting Chris hang around him, but they were too close to the morgue entrance for him to have doubts now.

  “I want to see everything that you write,” Mike ordered, closing in on the room. “And keep your mouth shut.”

  “But what about asking questions?”

  “I’ll do that…Your job is to take notes only.”

  Chris frowned as they caught up with the doctors, but three, chalked out outlines of people on the floor stopped him in his tracks.

  “Wow!” he shouted, taking notes. “This has just got real for me.”

  “Now keep it real because it is,” Mike said, seeing the doctors enter the morgue room. “Time to get serious.”

  He looked at the door again to see Wayne leave the room, noticing his shirt sleeve missing and his arm wrapped in a bandage.

  “All right, chief, we’ve had a busy night,” Wayne said, glaring at Chris. “What’s he doin’ here?”

  “Never mind him. What the fuck’s happened to your arm?”

  “Jason shot me by accident, but I’m fine. I’ve had the bullet removed.”

  Mike’s face burned red with anger.

  He was still tired, but after hearing that one of his officers shot another was close to running off to find the culprit. Jason wasn’t one of his favourite recruits. He’d been in trouble more times than any other constable, so hearing this was the final straw. Mike had now the ammunition to rid the force of the unreliable man.

  “Where is the little shit?!” he blasted towards Wayne, shaking with rage. “I should never have given him a weapon…He’s a fuckin’ lunatic.”

  Wayne gawped at Mike chewing on his lip like he was about to rip it off.

  “Calm down,” Wayne softly said, holding out a hand. “It wasn’t his fault…Serious.”

  “Then who’s fault was it?”

  Wayne filled Mike in on most of the recent events from the past few hours, including how he’d been shot; happy to see him calm down.

  “You see, it was an accident…He was scared for his life.”

  “Is he okay?” Mike asked as all thoughts of sacking Jason were erased. “I can’t lose more of my officers.”

  “Yeah, he’s fine. Well, apart from a few broken fingers he is…I’ve sent him home to rest.”

  Chris kept out of the way but listened intently as he jotted down more notes. He was still lost with some of the information but it still sounded interesting to him. He smiled to himself after reading over the notes, loving the feedback on how Wayne and Jason fought with the naked corpses; knowing that news would be a hit with readers. But he stopped when Wayne glared at him again.

  “Mike,” Wayne said. “Are you going to tell me why this sleaze bag is here writing stuff down?”

  Wayne pushed Chris after the reporter smirked at him, so Mike stepped between them before fists were thrown.

  I knew this would happen, he thought, pulling Wayne away. But I don’t blame him for wanting to punch Chris.

  “I’m helping,” Chris happily said, smirking again. “I’m one of you now.”

  “You’re not and never will be one of us!” Wayne screamed at him. “You’re a vile man who almost cost the chief his job.”

  Mike gripped onto him as he tried to reach Chris, but the reporter wasn’t fazed. It was like he was getting off on it, enjoying every second.

  “Hey! Hey! Hey!” Mike yelled, freezing the men with his words. “We don’t have time for this…So shut up and do your jobs.”

  “But, chief…”

  “No, Wayne, we need him.” Mike let him go before shaking his head at Chris. “We need to put aside the hatred between us and use our energy for what we need to face.” He tapped Wayne on the shoulder before adding, “We need someone on the inside…Someone who can sneak around unnoticed.”

  “He’s a sneak alright,” Wayne said with a sigh. “But I’m still not sure about this.”

  “It’s okay to be worried. I’m worried also.” Mike turned to face the door again. “At least we know where he is if he’s helping us.”

  “But I thought we were keeping the public out of it for now?”

  “Too many people know something isn’t right, especially those who work here, so it’s a bit late to remain quiet.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” replied Wayne as he moved towards the door to be followed by a still smirking Chris.

  ***

  They entered the room to find it full of important people from the hospital’s career ladder plus over-qualified health care workers from outside of town; all gathered around a table. Mike couldn’t see why? But he could hear them discussing amongst themselves about what to do with something lying on the oblong, sturdy shape.

  He led the way, pushing through the crowd to get closer until his eyes widened at what he saw. It was one of those things, but its appearance was so deformed that he couldn’t identify it. It had parts of its anatomy missing; its right cheek had a massive hole in it and its stomach had been removed. It was snapping teeth at anyone who neared, but the sight of them through the hole in its face freaked everyone out.

  “What’s going on?” Mike questioned, knowing full well what was going on. “Who is this?”

  “Who was this you mean,” replied an upset nurse before coughing into her hand. “It used to be Colin.”

  Mike closed in, feeling sick to his stomach by what was on the table; shocked that it was indeed Colin.

  “But I was only speaking to him yesterday,” he nervously said, trying to get his head around how Colin was attacked. “Who found him?”

  “I did,” Wayne softly replied. “After I sent Jason home I came back down to find that thing writhing around on the floor, groaning like it was hungry.”

  “And you risked your life to pick it up?!” Mike snapped, thankful Wayne was okay. “It could’ve bitten you.”

  “But it didn’t…I got some hospital staff to help me strap it to the table.”

  Mike grunted under his breath as an elderly, thin man dressed in doctor’s attire stepped out of the crowd, smiling towards him.

  Now he looks important…Maybe he’s here to explain why the dead are rising? Mike thought, watching the man near.

  “Maybe I can assist you?” the man said, holding out a hand to be shaken. “My name is Victor Swanson. A qualified surgeon from the city hospital…I’ve been asked to attend and comment on the creature that’s in front of us.”

  Mike wasn’t impressed to find out that a snotty man from the city had known about this.

  “I don’t know why you’re here?” he questioned, grunting in anger. “I’ve got the situation covered…”

  Victor looked at his outstretched hand, impatiently waiting for Mike to shake it, but was soon feeling a sen
se of hostility towards him. He tried again to get a positive reaction, making sure Mike knew about it, but still, nothing happened, so he slowly lowered his hand.

  “…I seriously don’t need you people coming into my town sticking your nose in and telling me how to do my job…”

  Mike slowed his breathing and stared into space; counting back from ten inside his mind to quench his anger. He was extremely worried. He feared the truth had probably travelled across towns and cities, leading to a replacement heading in to take his job, but until then he was still the chief and everyone needed to know.

  “…My men and I are dealing with this.”

  Victor backed off to let Mike release his tension. He wasn’t a fool; he knew the chief was struggling. Had been since his world was turned upside down yesterday.

  “Before you bite my head off,” Victor calmly said, backing off some more. “I think you’ve misunderstood me…I’m here only as an advisor.” Victor talked like a teacher who was educating a class of students; his hands moving in synchronicity to gain Mike’s attention. “If you’re worried that others like me are coming in from the city then don’t be. This is all confidential.”

  Mike lowered his guard.

  He listened to Victor explain how he came about the news, sighing when Hazel’s name was mentioned. In a way, he was glad it was her and not someone else. Victor said she’d phoned him to ask for his help, and because she sounded scared and confused he couldn’t say ‘no’.

  “When Hazel told me about what happened here and that she thought there was a deadly virus being spread, I had to come quickly to help find a cure.”

  “But I thought you were a surgeon?”

  “I am,” Victor replied with a faint giggle. “But I’m also a scientist who deals in viruses.”

  Mike nodded.

  He turned to see Chris busily writing in the background before extending his search to seek out Wayne, pleased to see him just as engrossed as he was.

  “I hope you’ve found out why this is happening?” Mike asked Victor, flinching from the sound of the monster’s teeth snapping again. “Because this can’t spread to the outside.”

  Victor rubbed his chin. “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

  He explained more about what he thought the virus was and how it was passed on, but Mike got the feeling he was just trying to impress him. It was fast turning into a battle of who knew more, with Mike having a different theory entirely. He wasn’t convinced that Victor had the answer in the bag, especially after seeing him frown, but knew this wasn’t the time to see who had the biggest set of balls. He needed to trust that the man would do something useful.

  He saw Victor smile at the corpse-like it was a gift for Christmas; his hand lowering towards its mouth playfully as if he had no respect for who it used to be. It annoyed Mike, making him want to slap the man for his lack of empathy.

  “Watch, as the creature concentrates solely onto my hand,” Victor sadistically said, lowering and rising it. “It has no inners and is very much dead, but somehow it still needs to eat.”

  “We know that already…We just need to know why?” Mike asked in a huff, mesmerised by what was unfolding. “It’s not norm—"

  But the teeth snapping at thin air spooked him again.

  The crowd flinched and moved back, with most close to spewing from the thought of Victor losing his fingers. But he was quick to concede with his crazy action and placed his arm by his side.

  “A brain is a wonderful tool,” he said, smiling towards the crowd. “And without it, we’ll all be dead.” He moved away from the table as the zombie’s vision followed him, its eyeballs rolling from left to right to scare the closest watchers. “The brain is giving this monster the order to feed…Maybe that’s all it’s giving? Just a signal to hunt and kill.” Victor pointed at the chattering monstrosity. “I need to find out why it needs to feed and control its hunger.”

  “Control its hunger? To not eat?” Mike questioned, becoming as lost as he was when he first spoke to the man.

  “No, no, no…I don’t think it will ever stop eating but maybe I can change what it eats?” Victor grinned like a madman obsessed over a person. “I have to say, I’m seriously fascinated by this find.”

  Mike’s blood boiled again and Wayne noticed.

  He knew his chief was on the verge of losing it with the pompous, non-caring fool, so closed in to calm him down. He feared Mike would shoot the zombie just to annoy Victor, but he couldn’t let that happen. The surgeon may have been acting like a spoilt prick but the thing on the table was important. It was the only one left as far as he knew to find answers from.

  He saw Mike send out eye stabbing glares towards Victor until the other man looked away. And Wayne smiled because of it. He knew Mike would now feel superior enough to go back to the task in hand and become one step closer to leaving the hospital.

  “What will happen to it?” Mike quickly asked Victor. “After you’ve extracted all the information.”

  “What do you think will happen to it? …It will be destroyed…”

  Victor murmured to himself as he suddenly walked around the room, waving his fingers in the air like he was drawing invisible shapes.

  “…The walking dead or whatever you want to call them have been invading this town since yesterday, so something must’ve occurred recently to account for it?”

  Wayne and Mike nodded but didn’t attempt to speak. They just wanted Victor to get everything off his chest so they could get back to work.

  “…We’ve had numerous murders that were linked with the same symptoms. All leaving people to be reborn again,” he said, rubbing his head. “There could be a virus that I’ve never heard of being spread through this town.”

  “But it’s over now,” Wayne popped up to say, pointing at the zombie thrashing about again. “That’s the only one left…I’m sure of it.”

  Victor licked his lips. “But you’re not a hundred per cent are you.” He shook his head at everyone inside the room. “If I don’t find out what the virus is soon then we could all die…”

  Everyone skipped a beat after the dreadful words echoed around the room, but they knew he was right.

  “…Have you guys given a blood sample yet?” Victor asked the officers.

  “I gave mine to Hazel last night,” replied Wayne.

  Victor raised his eyebrows at Mike.

  “I’ll give one before I leave here.”

  “Make sure you do…And please advise everyone else who has been in close contact with one of the infected to do the same.”

  Mike nodded towards Victor before turning to leave the room; closely followed by Wayne and a still jotting down notes, Chris.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Chris arrived at the news station gripping his notepad tight. He was nervous. He knew he needed to deliver on-air and to deliver well enough to convince the townsfolk, but also knew he couldn’t stray away from what was said before. He rushed past a few employees, not looking at them when they spoke; his heart smashing against his chest as he reached a room. He opened the door and sat down, grabbing a tissue from a box on a table to wipe his brow as he opened the pad.

  “You’re on in five!” shouted someone from behind the door. “Do you need any assistance?”

  “I’m fine,” Chris replied, shaking. “I’ll be there.”

  He breathed in deeply as he flicked through the pages, desperately searching for something he could use. But shook his head in anger at knowing he couldn’t.

  I can’t mention any of this. It’ll spook everyone out.

  He closed his eyes until finding his inner strength before allowing the confidence to flow back through his veins; happy to be the reporter that most people loathed again.

  He moved towards a sink and filled it with water, splashing it over his face to feel reinvigorated before drying himself and smiling at the mirror. “You’ve got this.”

  “Are you ready?” the person asked from behind the door. “It’s showtime.�
�

  “I’m on my way,” Chris replied, grabbing the notepad and slipping it inside his trouser pocket. “I’m right behind you.”

  ***

  He slowly sat at a newsdesk before smiling at a cameraman; nodding to say he was ready as the countdown for the news report began. He looked down at his notes then lifted his chin, smiling again as the introduction music played.

  “Hi, I’m Chris Maudlin and this is the news.”

  ***

  Blake was back at home, watching the report with anticipation as Karen sat beside him; both eagerly waiting for new information to arrive. They noticed Chris was stalling like a blanket had been thrown over the words he was meant to say, but, after a few more seconds his focus was back.

  “It’s thought that a strange virus was to blame for several mysterious deaths that happened in Clifton Falls recently…Those deaths are now being investigated by the health authorities…There is no reason to believe that the virus is still spreading but, to be on the safe side, you should be vigilant while the matter is being investigated.” Chris stared at the camera. “If you have been in close contact with any of the deceased then get a blood test, just to be sure.”

  Blake became emotional and Karen noticed.

  “Are you okay, love?” she asked, watching him turn away from the TV to frown at her.

  “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. I can tell…What’s wrong?”

  Blake glanced at Chris as more news was read.

  “There’s something odd about the reporter’s newsfeed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Vincent and Mary were the first to be caught up in this mystery virus so why did the police tell us something different the first time we asked?”

  “I thought that officer spoke to you about it at the station?”

  “He did.” Blake paused. “But the story changed from an electrical failure to them both collapsing after a game of twister.”

  It was now Karen’s turn to frown. “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

  “I know their deaths are connected to this virus, but I’m not sure how?”