What Remains (Book 3): Epidemic

by Barrett, Tyler

  Screaming at the infected horde around her, drawing their attention, “Come get me, you bastards!”

  Firing once more, drawing a good portion of them, her plan was working. Running past them, she shoved a few of them out of the way, while dead hands reached for her. Evans couldn’t let them grab her, too many people were counting on her to just lay down and give up.

  “Hey! I'm right here!”

  Calling again, the horde that surrounded her was thick, but she saw a brief break in the bodies, taking her chance. Slipping through the crowd, finding herself on the other side of the airstrip, she was close to the barracks. Running with all she had in her, Evans crossed the distance to the building quickly. An infected man in his fatigues blocked her path to the entrance to the building, but she didn’t have time to stop. Shoving the soldier out of the way, Evans pushed onwards. The door was busted wide open, but the horde of infected blocked her path from returning the way she had come from. Having no choice, she entered the barracks.

  The interior was semi-dark, but she could see well enough to make her way through the floor. Evans found the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time. Her side exploded with pain from overusing her muscles but ignored it; she had to.

  Aaaaahhhh, it hurts so much! All I want is somewhere nice and quiet to lie down and let the virus take me. I'll lock myself in one of these rooms. Make sure I don’t have a chance to infect someone else once I turn.

  Making it to the fourth floor of the barracks, she ran down the hall. Evans stopped as one of the creatures emerged from a room nearby. Checking the door to her right, she found it unlocked and opened it.

  Slamming the door behind her, she tried to lock it, discovering that there wasn’t a lock. Evans scanned the room, spotting a dresser, moving quickly to shove it in front of the door. Black spots appeared in vision as she fought the pain from her bites, shoving the dresser against the door. Collapsing against the dresser, she used herself as support against the door.

  The door shook as the infected person in the hall slammed their hands against the door, trying to force it open. With the combined weight from herself and the dresser, the door didn’t budge. She felt weak, the fiery pain spreading from her bites as the virus worked its way to her brain was almost too much. Breathing heavily, she felt as though someone had hit her repeatedly with a truck. The sun shone bright and warm upon her face through the window across from her, and it was a pleasant feeling.

  Evans closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds outside. She could hear the constant, but steady gunfire. She knew that they were still fighting and smiled. As long as she heard the gunfire someone was still alive; someone still had a chance. Ultimately, she had only slowed the horde down, but it had given them valuable time that the group needed. She hated herself for being so careless, after making it so far.

  That was so stupid of me…so close to escaping, and I made such a silly mistake. Why didn’t I give myself enough room to properly check around the corner of the hanger? I'd still be down there still firing my rifle, amongst the living. What’s done is done, though. I know that. There’s no returning from a bite, the virus is too aggressive to be stopped.

  Evans was so focused on thinking about what could have become that she almost didn’t notice the silence for a few moments. The gunfire had stopped.

  Was everyone dead? Were my efforts in vain?

  Then like a chorus of angels singing, a thunderous roar of the helicopter’s engines firing was loudly heard. Evans opened her eyes, pulling herself up from the ground.

  Dragging herself across the room, Evans leaned against the window, spotting the tarmac below, filled with infected. In the distance, she could see the helicopter as it slowly raised from the ground. Joy filled her as she saw the helicopter lift high in the air and then take off, heading into the distance. Evans smiled but began to feel light-headed, as her legs gave out.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Evans opened her eyes just for a moment. She didn’t know how long she had been out for, but the sun was no longer shining through the window, now just a dim glow. Her clothes were drenched with sweat, and she shivered, wiping her face, her skin felt as though it was on fire. It wouldn’t be long now before the virus took her. Evans tried to think of the happiest moment in her life, but before she could, she passed out once more.

  Waking up sometime later again, it was no longer bright and sunny outside. Evans coughed heavily, trying to breathe, finding that it was hard to do so. She tried to lift her head and found that it weighed more than she could lift. Her bones ached, and she felt weak. It was clear that her body was losing to the virus and slowly shutting down. Evans pleaded to god to end her misery. She would be trapped inside the room, unable to hurt anyone unless they freed her, at least.

  Evans accepted her fate to the virus, knowing that soon she would die, then not too long after, become another infected person. Her breathing became more labored, heavy. Each breath was a challenge, and Knowing eventually, she wouldn’t be able to draw another one. She chose to enjoy each one until her last. It at least meant she was still alive for the time being. Feeling her lungs depress, trying to suck more air in but failed. She gasped, finding nothing. Panic set in, her chest burned, but nothing entered her lungs. This was it. Her last moments and she was afraid, afraid of the unknown.

  Will I be aware when I wake up? Will I know who I am? What if I'm gone, gone for good? Was there an afterlife, heaven, and hell?

  Evans slipped in the ever-growing darkness that enveloped her senses. The void took hold.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  She felt the warm sunlight on her face and opened her eyes. Evans was afraid, knowing the last time she had been conscious, the virus had its hold on her.

  Is this my answer to all the questions I had? Am I now trapped as an infected? I can feel everything, though, my body is sore, and my bite wounds hurt like hell. Something isn’t right. I don’t feel dead, I just feel like shit.

  Sitting up, she winced at the pain on her side. Looking around, she found herself in the same room as before. Evans hadn’t taken the time to really study the room previously, more concerned about the infection.

  It was a simple room that held a bed, a desk, and a dresser. It was fairly plain, just somewhere for a deployed soldier to call home for their time spent there. The walls were a light grey, with the United States Air force insignia painted on it. Whoever called this space their own didn’t have time to return it after the outbreak. The bed was still made, perfectly tucked in, and spotless.

  Evans stood up, holding her side, and looked out the window. Most of the infected she had seen the last time she looked through the window were gone, but a few remained. That answered two of her questions, she was still in the real world, and she was still alive. Those answers only spawned a new question; why am I still alive?

  She had been infected, there was no doubt about that, having the bite marks to prove it. But she was still herself and didn’t understand what was happening.

  Was this how it felt to be an infected person?

  Her stomach growled loudly.

  Does that mean I'm hungry, or am I hungry for…something else?

  There was only one sure-fire way Evans could be sure if she was hungry for food or not, she had to find some. If she hadn’t turned though, there was still the infected to deal with.

  She had to find out, shoving the dresser out of the way of the door, ready for the infected soldier to make his way inside. Backing away from the door, she waited. A few moments later, the door flung open as the infected soldier burst in, moaning deeply. Her heartbeat raced. Wait…her heart was beating, and she suddenly felt stupid. This infected was about to tear into her, and she hadn’t grabbed a weapon. Somehow, she had survived the virus and now was about to die because she hadn’t thought things through.

  Evans scanned the room, looking for a weapon, remembering she had her sidearm with her when she entered the room. Where was it? She didn’t have time to search for it and backed up t
oward the window. The infected soldier shambled into the room after her. Evans raised her hands, ready to fight the man off if she needed when something happened that perplexed her. The infected man stopped in the middle of the room and moved over to the bed, staring at the wall.

  The infected man completely ignored her, as if she didn’t even exist. Standing still, she held her breath, unsure if the infected man just hadn’t noticed her yet or was ignoring her. After standing still for too long, she eyed the door, deciding that she needed to escape either way, whether it was a fluke or not. Evans took off in full sprint, moving to the doorway faster than the infected man could turn around. She took off down the hall, making her way back down the stairs to the ground floor.

  Evans looked out the busted door, spotting several of the infected aimlessly wandering around. Looking around, she spotted a broken chair and grabbed one of the legs. It wouldn’t be a great weapon, but she wanted something to defend herself with. Slowly, she moved out into the open, waiting to see if the infected would notice her. She made sure to not make any noise and crept out into the open. Watching the closest infected to her, a woman, who seemed to be moving toward her, she noticed a difference.

  The woman seemed to just be moving toward her, not chasing her like the infected had previously. Before she had been bitten, the infected moved with purpose, hunted, until they either lost or captured their prey. Now they seemed uninterested in her, almost ignoring her. Evans still slowly moved through the crowd of infected, finding that none moved toward her.

  Looking ahead, she could see the hangers in the distance, wanting to see if anyone else had been left behind. Her focus was on moving head, and she didn’t see the infected on her left. They collided with each other, and Evans gasped out in surprise, catching herself, freezing.

  All the nearby infected stopped, turning toward her direction, moaning in excitement. Evans began to panic; she was no longer ignored. The infected wasted no time in moving toward her, and she raised her weapon, prepared to defend herself. The infected that had she run into was the closest, but again Evans was perplexed.

  The infected stood next to her but made no notion of attacking her, instead just staring at her, watching blankly. Evans lowered her weapon, starring back at the infected. The other infected got close to her and stopped as well. They didn’t attack her, and it left her wondering if since she had been bitten somehow, the infected could sense that she was also infected, and no longer something to chase.

  Is the virus self-aware? Could it sense when the person was infected? It would explain why the infected don’t attack each other and only go after uninfected.

  Evans moved through the group, and the infected started to shuffle around again. She was completely weirded out by what had occurred. The infected were drawn to her noise, but as long she didn’t make anymore, the infected seemed to ignore her. She still felt tension while amongst these creatures, but safer now. Moving at a slow walk toward the hangers, she wanted to run but didn’t want to have a bunch of infected following her.

  Crossing the tarmac, she found dead infected littered across it from their fight earlier. Nearing hanger, casings, and empty magazines were scattered everywhere as well, but she could see three bodies near the entrance to the hanger, where her friends had left the fueling truck. Figuring one would be Knight and the other Tiller, she wondered who the third person was.

  Whoever it was, their body was laying against the side of the fuel truck. As she got closer to the truck, she noticed it was Kinders. Kneeling next to the dead man, Evans saw that he had bite marks, and was loosely holding his sidearm. A bullet wound at his temple, and the brain matter splattered across the side of the truck told her he had shot himself after being bitten.

  Evans’ stomach dropped, realizing that she hadn’t given them enough time to save them all, and one person, besides herself, hadn’t made it. Reaching down, taking his dog tags, she put them around her neck with her own. Sighing, Evans got back up, looking at the other bodies, knowing what she had to do; she had to give them peace. Needing a shovel and spot to bury them, it seemed too much work, figuring herself too weak from the fever and wounds she had.

  She instead grabbed Kinders’ body, dragging it over to the other two, laying them next to each other. Evans carefully posed them, closing their eyes, and folding their arms across their chests. She grabbed a gas canister from within the hanger and began to pour it over their bodies. Retrieving a flare from a nearby emergency kit, she stood before her dead comrades.

  Evans lowered her head, “God…if you are there…please give these men peace. Take their souls and guard them against the devil and the hell he has inflicted upon us.”

  She lit the flare, tossing it on their bodies, watching them burn, leaving no trace of the soldiers, the men they had once been. Holding the dog tags around her neck, squeezing them. She had to find another way out of the country. Something helped her overcome the virus, she could help stop this from happening to anyone else ever again.

  Chapter 24

  Kenji listened to Evans tell her story about waking up after the fever set in. He had never heard of anyone waking up after the fever took hold. He felt sorry for Evans, knowing that it would have been something insane to deal with on her own. Having no knowledge of what to do, how unknowingly being a carrier meant. She took so many risks to find those answers.

  She had at least given those fallen, those they were forced to leave behind, their rites. He hoped that they were somewhere looking down on them, proud of their efforts without them. Nothing had been easy for them since the outbreak, they all had skeletons in their closets or crosses to bear. He wished that he could change so much that had happened then, but the past was the past.

  “I’m sorry, Evans. I’m sorry we weren’t there to help you,” Kenji said with sad eyes.

  “It’s ok, Kenji. You didn’t know. Besides, at least I didn’t turn into one of those creatures,” Evans replied.

  “We can help you now, though. We can see what the Virus has done to you. If you want our help,” Kenji said hopefully.

  “That would be nice!” Evans said with a smile.

  Kenji rubbed his eyes, opening his canteen, taking a gulp of water, hoping that it would be someone else’s turn to watch her soon. Although his time spent with her just now was pleasant compared to earlier, he still didn’t feel comfortable being near her.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Evans smiled at Kenji, knowing that she couldn’t tell him the rest of the story; it was too much, too painful. She turned away from him, staring at the floor. The months after waking up, started off fine, but then…then bad things started to happen. Things she didn’t want Kenji or the others to know. There was much more to tell, but she didn’t continue it with Kenji.

  She relived it in her head. Every last detail had been permanently etched into her mind, everlasting. Escape wasn’t an option, and she figured Kenji also felt something akin to this, but to a lesser degree. Doubting if she shared the full story, Kenji still be sorry he wasn’t there to help?

  Chapter 25

  It had been a week since Evans had woken up back at the base barracks, and she had learned so much. The virus had attempted to claim her, but she won the fight. So far, wandering around the city, she lived off the food she found in shops. Since the infected left her alone, she was free to walk through the city unimpeded. It was an odd sensation being in a city with only the dead for company. Evans had no one to speak to, no way to express her human emotions. She still had to silent most of the time, because she didn’t want to draw the infected to her. Evans didn’t enjoy them any more than she had before being bitten.

  Even though I’m infected these creatures, are just disgusting sacks of rotting flesh and death. I am nothing like them. I want nothing to do with them. At least I can walk amongst them without fear, though.

  After watching the bodies burn, Evans decided that she needed to get on the move. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the base, knowing it was filled
with the infected, and wanted to try to find other people. Her chances of finding another way to leave Japan went up with the more people she had with her. Nearby the bodies, she spotted a couple of rifles lying on the ground. Picking one up, ejecting the mag, finding it still had seven shots. Slinging the rifle over her back, she wanted to retrieve her sidearm.

  Evans had returned to the barracks, and the room she had hidden away in. The infected soldier was still inside and moved ever-so-slightly when she entered the room. Looking around, finding that she had dropped her sidearm near the bed, probably when moving the dresser to block the door. She reached down and picked it up, finding the man staring at her as she came back up. Unsettled, she slowly backed out of the room.

  Once out of the barracks, she walked back to the entrance of the base, stopping at the gate. Evans was unsure where to start, but knew she needed to find more food and medical supplies. Her wounds weren’t treated, and she was sure if she didn’t take care of them soon, they would become infected with a host of other viruses. She didn’t want to die to another virus after surviving the one she just had.

  Planting one foot past the gate, and taking a deep breath, hopeful Evans would be able to find what she needed and people. Following the street, she passed two small car dealerships, their advertisement flags outside flapped in the wind. It wouldn’t be hard to find the keys for vehicles, but she didn’t want the noise that accompanied them. Evans made a mental note that if she ever needed to move on from the city, she would take one.

  She passed the small, yet odd-shaped buildings, most sharing the common color scheme of either white or a dark grey. One building stuck out as she went by it, red with yellow accents, noticing it looked like a bar of some sort. A few vending machines sat on the side of the road, ignoring them, wishing she wasn’t injured and decided it best to not push the limits of her body any more than she had already. Continuing down the street, the shops on the right side of the road turned into houses, she was tempted to check them but was worried about wasting time searching for medical supplies that may or may not be inside.