Mia turned slowly towards Katie. Her eyes welled up, and she pulled the dangling toothbrush out of her mouth with a shaking hand. Mia’s mom had been one of the first patients in the trial study for the ‘revolutionary scientific breakthrough of the century.’ At first, it had been going well. There were improvements. There was even hope for a full recovery, but as the doses increased, the side effects became more apparent. Now, Mia had just seen a sneak peek at what was going to happen to her mother. Katie’s heart sagged as she hugged Mia tightly through her sobs.
Katie’s phone started ringing in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw Kacey’s face on the screen. She hadn’t kept in touch very well with her little sister since school had started back up. Guilt settled in the pit of her stomach. Kacey was in high school now. She played the flute in the marching band and was on the debate team. She had texted Katie a few times this semester and asked if she could make it to her recital or come watch her debate, but Kacey had been so overwhelmed with her classes that she had never even texted back. The guilt twisted in Katie’s gut as she slid her finger over to ignore the call from her little sister. She focused on rocking Mia gently. The rhythmic swaying helped to calm them both. Katie could feel warm tears seep into the shoulder of her t-shirt. Her roommate’s muffled cries were punctuated with sharp inhales as Mia’s body tried desperately to remind her to breathe. Katie’s phone rang again. “I’ve gotta take this.” Katie’s voice was gentle and comforting, but the guilt squirmed in her stomach, “I’ll be right back, ok?” She gave her roommate an extra tight squeeze and handed her the teddy bear that was laying on Mia’s pillow. Mia curled up on her bed and squeezed the bear to her chest, still rocking slightly. She reached out and took the picture frame from her bedside table and ran her finger over her mom’s face. The glass had a light sheen of moisture from remaining humidity in the room. Her fingertip caused the glass to squeak as it skidded along the surface. The picture was from Mia’s high school graduation. She and her mother had the same dark hair and the same slender build. People had always teased them that they could be sisters, but that was before the cancer had taken hold.
“Hello,” Katie half whispered into her phone, “Kace, this isn’t really a good--what? Wait. Slow down. Who’s doing what now?”
Kacey’s voice was panicked, “Some of the patients escaped! CDC has put up roadblocks and the town is under quarantine. They’re attacking people! The news said they’ve already had two confirmed murders, and at least five are injured. Mom’s out of town on business, and dad isn’t answering his phone. I’m scared, Katie. I dunno what to do.” Katie could hear her sister begin to hyperventilate.
“Whoa, hold on.” Katie was trying to process all of this at once. People like that guy on TV were out roaming the streets, killing people, and Kacey was home alone. “Ok,” she said trying to kick herself into adult mode, “lock the door. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Don’t let anyone in. Promise me.”
“I...I promise.” Kacey’s voice faltered between her quick, shallow breaths.
“I mean it, Kace. No one.” Katie hung up the phone. Her thoughts were racing. She had been a crappy sister the past few months, but this was more important than her studies. When it really counted, she had to be there for Kacey. The guilt in her stomach writhed and solidified into a formidable foundation of determination. Katie let out a slow, deep breath as she allowed the situation to sink in.
“Hey, Mia,” Katie walked gently back to Mia’s doorway trying to remain calm for her friend’s sake, “I gotta go. Kacey needs me right now...are you going to be ok? Do you want me to call someone for you? Jack, maybe?” Mia’s boyfriend wasn’t the best at emotional support, but at least it was something. Katie’s heart thudded and drummed against her ribs, but her external, placid façade remained in place.
Mia sat up still clutching her ragged, tear-stained bear, “Would it be ok if I just came with you?” Her voice was meek, and she looked so vulnerable.
Katie looked at her and weighed the options. This could be dangerous, and Mia wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with that right now. She wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be left alone either, though. If Katie left Mia behind, she would be worried about her and wouldn’t be able to focus fully on taking care of Kacey. There was a rumble outside and the sound of screeching brakes. “What the hell?” Kacey strode over to the window. Military jeeps had started to form a perimeter around the campus. “Shit. Mia, grab your crap. We have to go.”
“What is it?” Mia walked up to the window and saw the insignia on one of the vehicles. “Why is the National Guard here?”
Katie grabbed her backpack and dumped its contents on the floor. “Some of the Recusant patients escaped the hospital,” she said while shoving an extra hoodie and a couple bottles of water into her bag. “Kace said they were putting up quarantines. Mom is out on business, and she can’t get ahold of dad.” Katie paused, “Do we have any weapons?” It was such a weird question to hear herself asking.
“Weapons?” Mia looked at Katie quizzically. “We have steak knives, but that’s about it. Did...did she say which patients?” Mia had followed Katie into the kitchen. “Why do you need a weapon?” Mia’s second question was an afterthought. Her mind was focused almost entirely on one uncertainty: Was her mother one of the escapees?
Katie stopped rifling through the silverware drawer and looked up at her friend. Mia was pale as she clutched the edge of the counter. “No,” Katie’s voice was empathetic, “she didn’t say any names, but some of them have already hurt people. I just want to be prepared. Get together some clothes and anything else you want, ok? We have to leave before they get us all blocked in. We can call the hospital when we get to my parents’ house and check on your mom.”
Mia nodded meekly and went to her room to pack her things. Her arms stayed still at her side as she walked, trancelike, into her bedroom. Katie went back to looking through the kitchen drawers. Spoon, spoon, fork. “Where the heck are all of our frigging knives?” She mumbled to herself. She opened the dishwasher which was packed full of dirty dishes. The smell of caked on food busted free from the opening. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Katie wrinkled her nose, pulled out two of the cleanest looking knives in the silverware section, and started scrubbing them in the sink.
“Remain calm. Everyone stay in your dorms.” A voice echoed from a speaker outside.
“Let’s go, Mia!” Katie yelled from the kitchen while she wiped the knives off on a dish rag. She slung her backpack over her shoulders and grabbed a ball cap to cover her short, messy hair. Mia came out of her room with a duffle bag strap swung across her body. Her wet hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her green shirt was darker where her hair had dripped on it, and the hems of her blue jeans were frayed. Katie handed her a knife.
“You really think we’re going to need these?” Mia held the knife pinched between her middle finger and thumb like it was a dirty diaper she couldn’t wait to throw away.
“I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it,” Katie said matter-of-factly as she opened the dorm door and poked her head out into the hallway. Students were wandering to both exits trying to see what was going on outside. Katie held open the door and let Mia step into the hall before following. She turned and looked around their room before closing and locking the door behind them. The click of the lock had a ring of finality to it. Katie grabbed Mia’s shoulders, turning her so that they were looking one another in the eye. “Stay close.”
Mia nodded and tried to conceal her panic. The two of them shouldered past their classmates until they reached the glass door that led to the campus grounds. A crowd had already gathered. “I guess no one told the National Guard the best way to get college kids to go somewhere is to either tell them not to go there or offer them free food,” Katie said under her breath while she kept an eye on the commotion. There was a soldier placed every two feet across the main entrance to the campus. They kept shifting nervously. Their posture
was casual, and even from this far away Katie could tell their boots weren’t up to spec. She grew up as a military brat. Her dad was a Marine, and they had lived on military bases most of her life. These weren’t combat-tested soldiers, hardened and ready to kill if necessary. These poor guys had barely made it out of basic. They looked like they should be at a frat party, not lined up like a firing squad. Katie tightened her grip on her knife and kept it close to her side as she and Mia walked in the opposite direction from the crowd.
“Miss? Excuse me, miss?” One of the soldiers had spotted them.
“Keep going. Don’t look back.” Katie grabbed Mia’s arm and pulled her along faster. They were almost off the grass. The sidewalk was only a few feet away.
“Miss!” He was approaching them with his gun firmly grasped in both hands. The barrel gleamed in the afternoon sun as he held it upright. Katie could see him out of the corner of her eye. He had dark hair, and his broad shoulders were slumped forward slightly. His long legs were closing the gap. Katie quickened her pace.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream cut through the air. The crowd of students started scattering, and gunshots rang out. Katie and Mia instinctively turned towards the sounds and saw three people in St. Mary’s hospital gowns near the soldiers. It looked like one of the of the soldiers had tried to talk the patients into backing down, but they had lunged forward and bit him. The guardsmen were now firing at the patients. The bullets didn’t seem to faze them. The patients kept chewing on him, and chunks of his flesh made sickening, wet, smacks on the sidewalk as they tore him apart. The soldier who had called out to them earlier looked torn between returning to his ranks or securing the girls. He squared his jaw and locked eyes with Katie.
He sprinted determinedly towards her just as one of the patients grabbed a freshman girl and sank her teeth into the tender flesh of the girl’s shoulder. “Let’s move!” he yelled at them. His booming voice jolted Katie out of her disbelief at what was happening, and she followed him as he ran past. Mia was still shocked by the massacre that was unfolding in front of the school.
“Mia!” Katie yelled over her shoulder. Mia snapped out of her trance and forced her legs to move.
The three of them ran down Main Street until they were three blocks away from the college. The further into town they got, the more disaster they saw. Bodies were strewn between the stores. Some people were still alive. Thick, sticky blood spurted with every heartbeat from a man who was clutching a gash in his thigh. A pool of blood was forming quickly around him. Those who hadn’t been mauled by the Recusant patients were either trying to stem the bleeding of the living or taking this opportunity to loot for personal gain. The chaos brought out the worst in people.
Windows were smashed. Glass and fresh blood gleamed in the sunlight. Men and women fought in the streets for impractical items. A fifty-inch TV wouldn’t save them from the epidemic. Liquor wouldn’t fend off the attacks. Jewelry wouldn’t keep their loved ones safe. They were stupid and materialistic, and they were going to die. Instead of running or securing themselves in a locked building, they were out here stealing. Katie dodged past two men carrying a sofa out of a broken storefront window. Another man ran at her and tried to grab her bag. She swung around and drove a kick into his chest. He sprawled backward looking shocked and then scrambled away. No one and nothing was going to keep her away from her little sister, not this time. Katie looked up to see the soldier looking at her surprised and slightly amused. “What?” She asked defensively.
“No, nothing. Just surprised you landed that kick is all.” He said with a smirk. “Impressive. I’m Eric by the way.”
“Mia.”
“Katie.”
“Where are you guys headed?” Eric kept checking their perimeter. “Do you know anywhere we can ride this out?”
“We’re going to my parents’ place over on Oak Hill Avenue. My little sister Kacey is home alone right now, and she needs me.” Katie hoisted her bag higher on her shoulders and started winding her way through the bodies and the looters. Glass crunched under her sneakers.
Eric let Mia follow after her friend while he took up the rear, “My unit was called in after the police were unable to contain the situation. We were supposed to take the targets into custody. If that failed, the next order was shoot to kill. I never actually thought I would be put in that situation, though.” Eric paused for a moment, lost in thought. He had only signed up for the Guard to help pay for his college. In the back of his mind, he always knew it was a possibility that he would see combat, but he never thought it would actually happen. Eric’s face hardened as he thought about the decisions he made that had led up to this moment. “You live your life. You go out drinking, and you ignore the people you care about because you’re too tired or too drunk to deal with their shit, you know? Then something happens that makes you take a good hard look at yourself.” Eric’s voice filled with self-loathing, “You know the last thing I said to my mom? I told her I was too busy hanging out with my buds, and I would call her back later. Now I’ll probably never get to talk to her again. Not the real her anyway.”
Katie glanced over her shoulder at him and saw his name patch. “Lee? Your last name’s Lee?” She stopped walking. “Was your mom the nurse?”
Eric nodded. His mouth was a taut, thin line. His Adam’s apple quivered, “Every time I close my eyes I see that news footage of her getting bitten. She wasn’t even supposed to be there. She took an extra shift to cover for her coworker who wanted to go to her kid’s little league game.”
“My mom was a trial patient,” Mia said quietly. The two of them looked at one another sharing a palpable loss that made Katie’s heartache.
“We need to keep moving,” Katie said as a woman on the ground started twitching. “We may not have much time.”
The three of them watched as their town descended into madness. It was insane to imagine that all of these bodies were your everyday grocers, baristas, and soccer moms. “How could three people cause this much damage?” Katie asked as they passed a minivan that had crashed into a stoplight. The light was flashing red.
“They didn’t.” Eric was looking straight ahead. His left foot was pointing forward, and his right foot was a pace behind. He slowly lowered his gun from its upright position and aimed it at something moving on the other side of an overturned truck.
Katie backed up slowly until she was standing beside Eric. “What do we do?” She whispered while keeping her eyes on the figure that was still only partially visible.
“See the alley to your left?” Eric’s voice was barely audible as he pushed his gun’s safety into the off position. There was a light click as it slid into place.
“Yeah.” Katie glanced towards the alleyway. Mia was still a few paces in front of them. She was shaking.
“You and Mia go that way. I’ll meet you between Spruce and Sycamore Street.” Eric had the gun pressed against his shoulder. His finger rested against the outside of the trigger.
Katie placed her hand lightly on Mia’s arm. Mia jumped at her touch, and when she turned around silent tears trickled down her face. Katie took Mia’s hand and tried to lead her down the deserted alleyway, but she wouldn’t move. She just looked back towards the truck.
That’s when Katie saw the person move out from behind the bed of the vehicle. She recognized the slender build, even without the dark hair.
“Mom?” Mia’s voice broke and she took a step forward. Her knife clattered to the ground. Her mom’s head tilted to one side and then slowly rotated to the other. “Mom!” Mia’s voice was pained and breathy. She struggled against Katie’s restraining hand.
“Mia, no!” Katie grabbed onto Mia’s wrist with both hands and dug in her heels.
Mia’s mom pulled her lips back to bare her teeth. Dried blood stained her mouth. Her hospital armband glinted in the sun, and her maroon gown fluttered in the breeze.
“Mom...mom, it’s me. It’s Mia. It’s me!” Mia’s voice pleaded across the street.
<
br /> What used to be Mia’s mom charged at them. Her bare feet scraped across the pavement with every step. Mia broke free from Katie’s grasp and ran towards her mom. Katie fell backward landing on tiny shards of glass that still littered the sidewalk. She watched as her friend raced towards the monster her mother had become.
A single shot rang out across the street. The silence immediately following it was deafening. For a single moment, the chaos around them was completely still. The bullet had gone straight through the skull. Mia’s mom staggered in mid stride. She dropped to her knees and then fell, face forward, onto the asphalt.
Mia screamed and dropped to her own knees. She started beating her legs and doubled over letting out the most primal sound Katie had ever heard. Mia began slamming her head into the pavement. The shrill keening escalated in volume as her grief mounted. Katie crawled over to her and pulled her upright. Mia tried to push her away, but Katie held her tight.
“Guys,” Eric said, “there’s more of them.”
His voice brought him to Mia’s attention. She elbowed Katie in the chest and scrambled towards him. Her grief doubled her strength. Katie grabbed her ankles, but Mia kicked her off. She got to her feet and rammed her shoulders into Eric’s stomach. He staggered backward a few paces before he was able to brace himself against her attack.
“Mia, it wasn’t her anymore!” Katie yelled at her. “Stop it! You saw her. That thing wasn’t your mom. She had blood on her mouth, Mia. Blood. Those people at the college, the ones who started attacking the students? That is what she had become. She was one of them.”
Mia turned from her attack on Eric and looked at Katie. “She was my mom.” Mia’s eyes were full of sorrow and desperation. She turned to look at her mom’s body sprawled in the street. This was the woman who had worked three jobs to help pay for her college, the woman who had put off her chemo treatments because she thought showing up bald at a high school graduation would embarrass her daughter, the woman who had sacrificed so much for her. She didn’t deserve this, to be gunned down in the middle of the street because some scientists in a lab created a horrible new drug. This wasn’t fair. She had given so much of herself, and now she was just lying there. She looked so frail and helpless. Mia walked towards her mother. She didn’t deserve this. That single thought consumed every part of Mia. She didn’t deserve this.
Our Dead Bodies [Anthology] Page 9