10 Minutes From Home | Book 1 | 10 Minutes From Home

by Howard, Bill

  I felt better knowing that Thom didn’t blame me anymore, as I had been partially blaming myself for a time as well. I was just uncertain as to how to approach him about it. I figured I should just give him time and see if he came to me about it. I couldn’t force it. Maybe by the time we got to Thom’s house on the other side of the Altona Forest in Pickering. Maybe once he got home, gathered some things and felt connected to something again, he would be ready. The next hour and a half was uneventful. I could hear quiet conversation between Ellie and Thom talked every so often, but it was hard to make out what they were discussing.

  Just before we reached Altona Road, we heard a commotion coming from a backyard, yelling and crying. It sounded like a man and a woman. We gathered together and decided to check it out. If someone needed help, we couldn’t just keep walking. We approached the backyard through the woods and came up to a wooden fence surrounding the backyard. We all had our weapons drawn, and as Thom and Ellie covered our backs and kept Max quiet, Clive and I drew close to the fence. It was one of those staggered board fences, so we were able to peer through to see into the backyard. From our vantage point, we could only make out the woman; she had her hands over her face and was crying loudly as the man shouted at her. He was shouting something about her being unreasonable, about how they had to do it. We didn’t know what the ‘it’ was, but it was really upsetting the woman. The man seemed exasperated and looked like he had been crying as well. The woman kept repeating no, over and over again through the sobbing tears. Then she screamed that she was staying and ran back into the house through the patio door. I shifted my position to get the man back in my sight. He looked tired, distressed. He was holding a hunting rifle in one hand. He just stood there, then after a few minutes he went back inside as well. We were about to leave when Ellie raised her hand. We all stopped and froze. She whispered low.

  “Listen.”

  We did. At first I thought maybe she was losing it as I didn’t hear anything, but then there it was. A low, quiet crying, but not from one of the people we just saw. No, this sounded like a child. A very young child. We looked through the fence again, but saw nothing despite the fact that the small voice seemed to be coming from the backyard. We huddled together to decide what to do. The cry didn’t seem like a regular child’s cry. There was pain in it. We were concerned. Then, as we talked, we heard another one. This one seemed deeper, slightly older, but still a child. Same tone, same manner, almost a whimper. We decided we had to make sure they were okay. Clive and I talked Ellie and Thom into staying where they were, to watch the house. We would climb over the fence and see if we could make out anything through the windows. We got over the fence and scrambled across the yard, stepping over kids toys along the way. We passed a sandbox, a plastic pool, and what looked like a mound of freshly dug dirt. We reached the back of the house and stayed low, keeping below the windowsills. The smaller of the cries came again, and we could tell from where we were that it was coming from the basement windows. We looked at each other with concern, then got on our hands and knees in the grass and pressed our faces to the windows. We couldn’t make out much, the basement was dimly lit, but from the faint glow of a naked bulb hanging from the ceiling, we could make out some furniture in a small room, and a doorway leading out. I pushed against the right side of the window, seeing if it would slide over, and it did. I pulled the screen out and nodded to Clive that I was going in first. I got on my stomach and put my feet in first, lowering myself into the room. Once I was in I took a quick look around the room, and then helped Clive down. We both drew our guns and approached the door. With one hand out, Clive pushed it open revealing an unfinished hallway, wooden studs showing on all sides. There was a staircase going up and another door at the opposite end of the hall. We carefully entered the hall and approached the second door, Clive keeping an eye on the staircase and the closed door at the top of it. When I reached the door, I heard whimpering from the other side. I grasped the door handle and turned it slowly, then pushed the door open. The room was pitch black, save for the light from the hallway now spilling in. The room seemed totally unfinished; there was no furniture, just a furnace. However, there was something in the middle of the room, something large. Clive stepped in behind me and felt the wall for a light switch. He found one and flicked it on. Clive glanced past me at the metal cage in the middle of the room and made the sign of the cross over himself.

  “God in heaven.”

  The cage looked to be a dog kennel, a rather large one. Inside it were three children, seeming to be in the three- to five-year-old range. Their clothes were dirty and they were all lying on the floor of the cage. Their heads were either buried in their arms or turned away from us. The whimpering was loud now that we were in the room with them. I took a step towards the cage and stopped. One of them, a little girl it seemed, raised her head from her arms. She turned towards us and looked up, a sad, sullen look on her face. Her hand came up and reached through the metal cage, stretching out as far as she could to us. I took another step just as the girl opened her mouth and screamed, her eyes going wide and revealing shocking yellow irises. The other two children jumped up, both of them--another girl and a boy--started screaming as well. Their yellow eyes seemed to radiate almost as much as their screams and they all started snapping like trapped raccoons. Both Clive and I stumbled backwards into the hallway where we were met by the man from the backyard running down the stairs. He raised his rifle to us and we held up our hands in protest, shouting for him not to shoot. Thankfully he didn’t, but was shaking and panicked nonetheless. His wife stood at the top of the stairs with a large kitchen knife in her hands, looking terrified. We quickly explained that we were just concerned when we heard children crying. After a moment or two of shouting back and forth over the harsh wails of the children, the man motioned for us to drop our guns to the floor and come upstairs. We did as we were told. Once upstairs, we followed the man as he walked backwards into his kitchen. A loud bark from Max startled the man and he turned quickly to see Ellie and Thom on either side of his wife with their guns drawn. He lowered his gun and raised his hands. I spoke up.

  “Okay, let’s all just put the guns away. No one wants to hurt anyone here.”

  Ellie and Thom lowered their guns, and I suggested everyone sit down at the table. Ellie settled Max down and the dog lay on the floor beside her. The couple sat down and introduced themselves as Stephen and Kelly. They were both on the verge of hysteria, faces red and wet with tears. Clive walked back to the basement door and closed it, slightly muffling the continued din from the caged children. We congregated in the kitchen, and got Stephen and Kelly calmed down. After getting them some water and giving them some time, they told us their story.

  When the outbreak happened, Stephen was on his way home from work early, having decided to pick up the kids from an afternoon play date and bring them home to surprise Kelly, who had been home that morning feeling ill. When talking to her on the phone after lunch, she stated she was feeling better, and that she was just going to putter around the house for the rest of the day. Stephen thought an early dinner and a night out for the whole family would be a nice break. He picked up the kids, and was informed by the mother who was looking after them that it was probably a good thing that he stopped by early as a few of her kids were not feeling well. Stephen gathered his kids, Austin who was five, and Katie and Barbara, who were three-year-old twin girls. All three of them looked pale and were listless. Stephen thought maybe a night in was looking better than a night out. He stopped by the video rental store and let the kids pick out a couple movies, then headed home. Around four-thirty that afternoon, after the kids had a short nap, Stephen and Kelly were preparing dinner when they turned on the TV in the kitchen. That was when they heard the news of the outbreak. About ten minutes into the newscast, with their eyes glued to the small screen, Barbara cried out from the bedroom. They both ran to the room where the twins were lying in their beds, Katie still asleep and Barbara sitting up s
creaming. They took her into the kitchen to calm her down, and after some serious struggling with their seemingly—suddenly--stronger daughter, Barbara lashed out at Stephen, trying to bite his arm. As they held her down and Kelly picked up the phone to call their doctor, Katie came running into the kitchen and leapt through the air towards her mother, knocking her to the linoleum floor. The family had a large Golden Lab named Charley, who was in the backyard at the time, but was now at the patio door barking and scratching at the glass. They managed to get the kids off of them, and had them in bear-hug grips. They took them back to the bedroom and shut the door, bracing it closed from the outside once they were in. They were both terribly frightened at the behavior of their twins and were not sure what to do next. Kelly tried calling 911 and their doctor but she couldn’t get through to anyone. Stephen let the dog in, who immediately ran to the bedroom door and kept barking. Almost simultaneously, Stephen and Kelly thought of Austin.

  They ran to Austin’s room and cautiously looked inside. As they cracked the door open, Charley ran into the room, and started barking ferociously. They opened the door further to see Austin up against the wall on his bed, bright yellow eyes staring at the barking dog in front of him. The young boy barked back loudly and Charley backed off, turning around to leave the room. As soon as the dog turned, Austin jumped off the bed, the mattress springing him out and onto the back of the dog. Austin wrapped his arms around the dog’s neck and bit into the golden coat. Charley yelped and tried to bite at the child, but the boy’s grip was too strong. Stephen and Kelly were mortified and Stephen tried to pull Austin off the dogs back. He couldn’t budge him. Austin continued to bite and tear and the dog gave in, slumping over onto the carpet. Austin raised his head, his face bloody, and howled at his parents. They quickly backed out of the room and slammed the door. They didn’t know what to do at this point. The newscasts were recommending that people try to kill anything infected that attacked, but they couldn’t harm their own children; surely there was some sort of treatment or cure in the near future. Kelly came up with an idea that she was horrified to even suggest, but that she thought would be for the sole good of her children. Stephen was resistant, he seemed physically repulsed by the idea, so much so that he ran to the washroom and threw up. Nevertheless, he knew they didn’t have a choice, the bedroom doors wouldn’t hold securely enough, and their rooms had windows that could be very dangerous. So they devised a plan to keep the children secure until such a cure came to be. Stephen set up the large cage they had for Charley at the bottom of the basement stairs, where Kelly waited, holding the gate open. Stephen then opened the bedroom doors as he ran down the hall, crying loudly as he did, prompting the infected children to chase him down the basement stairs. Once he was down a few steps, he dove off the stairs and over the cage onto an old mattress. The kids ran down, slid on the cooking oil that had been smeared on the steps and tumbled into the cage with a loud crash. Kelly slammed the door shut and slid in the padlock. They had successfully captured their own children.

  When we had heard them arguing in the backyard, they were debating the fact that Stephen wanted to leave to go find help; he thought Kelly would be safe with the kids for the time being if they barricaded the house. Kelly didn’t want Stephen to leave, fearing he would never come back. Stephen didn’t think they had any other options; he didn’t want to just sit and watch his children die in a dog cage. This had been a repeated argument over the past day or so, but Kelly insisted Stephen not leave, that he had no idea what he would have to face out there on his own.

  As we stood in the kitchen listening to their incredible and horrifying story, Stephen brought up the idea that he could accompany us, just until he found a way to contact the military, police, or anyone that could help them. We told him that, from what we had seen, there might not be the kind of help he was looking for out there. He heeded our words but wanted to come anyway. Kelly agreed that he would have a much better chance and be much safer with a group of people, especially armed people. We concurred and agreed to let Stephen come with us. We gave Kelly one of our weapons and a good supply of ammo and helped her secure the house. We headed out the front door, and left Stephen and Kelly alone in the kitchen to say their goodbyes. Once outside, we made sure Kelly had the door bolted and secure, then made our way back into the woods to head for Thom’s house on the other side of the forest. For a good fifteen minutes after leaving, we could still hear the cries of Stephen’s children carrying on the air like distant dogs barking. Stephen’s tears didn’t stop until much later.

  CHAPTER 30:

  STEPHEN JEFFREY WINTERS

  Stephen Jeffrey Winters was born May 1, 1971, in Red Deer, Alberta. His father, George, and mother, Greta, ran a hardware store together in Red Deer for the entire 40 years of their marriage. The store was small, but had a ferociously devoted clientele that crossed generations of families in the Michener Hill area of the city.

  As a child, Stephen spent many hours at the Red Deer Bird Sanctuary, located not far from his home. He always had an interest in animals, eventually leading to an education and career in veterinary medicine.

  Stephen worked at a vet clinic in Red Deer through his teens and after he started studying veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, he volunteered his time at local clinics whenever possible, partly to increase his experience, but mostly because he just wanted to help the animals. It was his true passion.

  Stephen first met Kelly Ann Whitfield at the Bird Sanctuary. They were both regulars, and eventually they noticed each other and struck up a casual conversation. After a few unofficial lunch dates, Stephen asked Kelly out on a real date, dinner and all. Even though they took things relatively slowly, both of them knew the first time they spoke at the Sanctuary that there was a spark, a mutual attraction that defies explanation or reason. Once Stephen started at the university, he rented a small apartment in Calgary and asked Kelly to move in with him. She agreed, and took a job at a stable just outside the city. Kelly had a passion for animals as well. She grew up on a ranch in Red Deer County, and she loved horses. She was quite the rider too.

  On the night of his graduation, Stephen proposed to Kelly beside a pond in Anders Park, and she was more than happy to give her hand. Three months later they were married at the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Red Deer. About a week after their honeymoon in Arizona (Kelly had always wanted to see the desert), Stephen got a call from a former schoolmate. James Jacobs--JJ in school--had moved back to his home in Pickering after graduating from U of C, and wanted to start up a business. James had a real talent for business, graduating at the top of his class, and thought of Stephen after some research showed a need for an upscale veterinary clinic. He wanted Stephen to be co-owner with him and to head up the medical staff. After talking it over, Stephen and Kelly decided it would be a great opportunity and accepted the offer. Within a month after the decision was made, they had bought a house in Pickering and had opened the clinic two months later.

  The clinic was an immediate success, and their life in Ontario flourished. Stephen became quite well-respected in the veterinary community in a very short time. He was heavily involved with the local humane societies and offered his services to them when needed. Kelly worked at the clinic as an office administrator for a while, until she got pregnant and they had Austin. She then worked from home while raising Austin, doing all the bookkeeping for the clinic, as well as for a few other businesses she had picked up as clients. Two years later, after planning to have one more child, they got the surprise of Katie and Barbara, unexpected twins. Their life in Pickering was a good one, with three happy healthy kids, two successful and fulfilling careers, and a happy home.

  On a chilly September evening, Stephen got a call from the local humane society that they had been tipped off about a household where many pets were possibly being neglected. They asked if Stephen could be on call for them in case any of the animals needed immediate attention. Stephen was more than happy to oblige, and went one ste
p further by offering to go to the house with the investigations officer. The children were already in bed, so Stephen kissed Kelly and left to meet Lynn, the investigator, at the address he was given. Upon arriving at the house, Lynn was already waiting for Stephen and they approached the front door together. From as far away as the sidewalk, the smell of pet urine was evident. Lynn knocked on the door, but there was no response. She tried the doorknob and the door opened. Lynn stepped inside first, and the odor emanating from the house smacked them in the face. Stephen stepped in behind her and they both called out for anybody that might be home. As soon as they were in the hallway, at least six cats came running in from other rooms, all of them looking like strays with unkempt, matted hair. Stephen peered into the living room, which was virtually empty. There was an old TV stand, but there were just cables lying on it that were connected to nothing. Upon further investigation, it seemed like the house had been recently abandoned. There were open cupboards in the kitchen with things missing, no clothes in the upstairs dressers. The house was disgusting, cat feces and urine everywhere, on the floors, the walls, the furniture. There were litter boxes scattered everywhere, but they all looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in months. Lynn called in to the humane society and asked that they send some vehicles and help over to get all the animals rounded up, and Stephen continued a look around to do a count of the animals. With Lynn upstairs, Stephen walked through the kitchen and found a door that seemed to go into the basement, but it was padlocked. He went back into the kitchen, got a large kitchen knife, and used it to pry the latch off the door. It popped off without much effort and Stephen went into the basement. The basement reeked just as bad as the rest of the house, but was very dark. At the bottom of the stairs, he found a ceiling light fixture with a chain dangling from it and pulled it on. Light flooded the room, where more litter boxes were strewn about, and at first look, about four cats lay deceased on the floor, with other impossibly skinny ones walking around listlessly. Stephen was appalled that anyone could treat animals in this manner, and continued his search. There was one more room in the back of the basement, kind of a makeshift cold cellar. Stephen grasped the heavy handle and pulled the door open. Inside the small cold room were two little children, a boy and a girl, both as thin as could be and half-naked. They both had dirty, bruised skin and their ribs were far too visible through their thin flesh. They both sat together on an old twin-sized mattress in each other’s arms. The looked terrified to see Stephen, but he knelt before them and hushed them, trying to comfort them and tell them everything would be fine. As he reached out his arms, both children drew all the strength they had and instinctively fell into his embrace. Stephen was crying at this point. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone. He thumbed in a 911 call, then just sat and held the children until Lynn came down and discovered them all together. Lynn burst into tears as well, and fetched some water from the kitchen for the severely dehydrated kids. After what seemed like an eternity, paramedics showed up and started to take care of the kids, getting them to the hospital while Lynn and Stephen gave statements to the police.