by Jack Hunt
“Hippie shit,” Miles said.
“Yeah.”
“Well. You can raise them but you can’t choose their boyfriends.”
“What about Mikey?” Hal asked.
“Oh you know him, he’s ten going on eighteen. Bright kid. Should do well as long as he doesn’t…” he trailed off as the field came into view. It was empty. There was nothing unusual. They paused at the corner of the building to make sure the coast was clear before jogging over to the huge running track that encircled a field used for football. As they got closer they noticed deep tracks in the grass where a vehicle had sped away, tearing up the soil. They followed the ruts to the center of the field. There, they could make out the indentations of a helicopter’s landing skids. Miles dropped to a crouch and stared at the blades of grass. There was blood, a lot of it, but no bodies.
“Where did they go?”
Hal scanned the landscape.
“Maybe Nate was wrong. Maybe they were injured,” Hal said. “Perhaps—”
“It didn’t happen?” Miles asked looking up at him. “You saw the blood on him.”
“Yeah, and I know Nate wouldn’t harm anyone.”
“It’s been thirty years.”
“For you,” Hal said looking down at him. “The rest of us kept in touch.”
“C’mon, Hal. You know my—”
“Work. Yeah, Jenna told me.” He took a deep breath. “Look, it’s possible the helicopter came back and took the bodies.”
Miles cocked his head, and raised a brow.
Hal shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just throwing it out there,” he said. “Whatever happened, we should head back. I kind of feel exposed.”
Miles gave a nod as he rose to his feet. “I’ll call the cops. Do you have your phone?”
“Where’s yours?”
“Long story, Jenna took it.”
Hal took out his phone and handed it to Miles. He took a snapshot of the scene with the flash on, and then dialed emergency services as they broke into a jog. No one answered. “Okay, that’s weird.” He phoned again but got the same response. He kept on trying as they came around onto Cottonwood Street. The line was tied up giving him a busy signal.
He was about to try the internet when Hal nudged him. “Miles. Look.”
A police cruiser had crashed through the surrounding fence of the tennis court and come to a standstill; the engine was still idling. Strobe lights were off and the driver’s door was wide open. They hurried over, stepping over downed fencing, and took a look inside. It was empty but there was blood on the window. Miles slipped into the driver’s seat and picked up the mic and tried to get through to dispatch.
He held down the button and spoke. “Come in. Anyone there?”
No answer. Nothing but static came back. He checked the console for a gun, and popped the trunk to see if there was anything they could use. Barring a duffel bag full of civilian clothes there was nothing, though he did manage to nab a tire iron. “You see anyone?” Miles asked.
Hal shook his head.
Except for the rumble of the engine it was silent.
“What the hell is going on?”
They hurried back to the emergency exit and banged on it a few times. Grady opened the door and they stumbled inside, quickly sealing it behind them.
“Well? What did you see?” he asked.
A few others who’d learned of where they’d gone crowded around, curious or ready to mock them.
Miles looked at Nate with a deadpan expression. “There was no one out there.”
“What?” Nate stared back in shock. “There has to be.”
“I’m telling you there was no one there. But there was blood.”
“See. I wasn’t lying,” Nate said running a hand over his head.
“But you weren’t exactly telling the truth. Now were you, Staples?” Wayne said, chuckling.
“Hold on,” Hal said, pointing at Wayne. “There were no cops or burners, however, there was blood, and we did find a police cruiser around back that was abandoned. We tried to get in contact with dispatch but got nothing.”
Miles brought up the photo on the phone for others to see.
Those surrounding them crowded in to see.
“I’ve seen clearer pictures of Bigfoot. What the hell is that meant to be?” Wayne snorted as Paige Roskin stormed over and pushed people out of the way.
“Listen up, Miles. Now we didn’t go to all the trouble of arranging this reunion to have you and your bozo friends screw it up. Now I don’t know what kind of prank you are playing but it stops now. You hear me!?”
He thumbed the screen of the phone and ignored her, more interested in what he was able to pull up on the internet.
“Are you listening to me? Is anyone listening to me?”
“Paige. Back off,” Grady said.
Her nostrils flared as she charged off.
“All right, guys. Look, I’m all for a good laugh…” Wayne chuckled, “but c’mon. I think you guys are stretching this out a little too far.”
“Like you care? What are you even doing here, Crawford?” Nate asked.
Wayne stared at him. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have come.” He turned and called out to his slender companions. “Let’s go, ladies.” They headed for the main doors.
“You won’t get out, the doors are locked,” Grady added.
“You’re joking?”
“Miles. Anything?” Hal asked coming up behind him.
“I’m looking. I figure if that medevac was here, there would be some report of what happened. Perhaps Washoe Sheriff Department has posted something on their Twitter.” His mind wasn’t thinking outbreak, or anything beyond Gerlach. Sure, the circumstances were odd, even unsettling but…
Thud, thud, thud. “Yo! Open up!” someone cried out.
They all turned on a dime to the sound of possibly three, maybe four frantic people outside. It was a solid emergency door so there was no way of seeing who was out there without opening it. Courtney, who’d appeared seconds earlier ready to take over where Paige left off, took off toward the door with a severe expression only to be stopped by Nate. “Back off!”
“Get out of the way!”
Nate shook his head.
The people outside continued pleading. “Come on! Open up. Hal. It’s me, Abe Walker! Let us in.”
“Abe?” Hal hurried over. Nate stepped in front of him. “It’s okay. It’s the deputy. I know him.”
Nate reluctantly stepped to one side and Hal opened the exit. Five people squeezed in almost at the same time, a Washoe County deputy, and four burners, their bodies covered in a fine layer of desert dust, a couple with blood on them. The burners were decked out in dust goggles, colorful clothes, sparkly backpacks, shorts, and one of them women wore a faux fur frock. They were out of breath and collapsed in a heap the second the door closed.
“What happened?” Nate asked, immediately demanding an answer.
“Give me a second to catch my breath,” Abe replied, placing a hand against the wall and panting hard. He scanned the room, fear in his eyes. “We need to lock this place down, now.”
Six - Trapped
The fear in the room was palpable. Someone killed the music, and the atmosphere shifted as everyone clambered toward the authority figure. “Are you sure you locked every entry point?” Abe asked.
“Positive,” Grady replied. “The front, side, and the rear which leads into the main school.”
Deputy Walker looked every bit a veteran of the department. Hard lines on his face, tanned skin from spending too many days in the burning sun.
“Can someone tell me what is going on?” Paige asked, crossing her arms as if this was infringing upon her rights.
“I don’t know,” Abe replied.
Nate stepped forward “But I saw you on the field. What happened?”
Sweat trickled down the side of Abe’s face as he pulled out a chair from one of the tables and slumped down. He pulled out his firearm a
nd reloaded it with a fresh magazine as he spoke. “Care Flight was meant to take the body of Beau Hardin to Reno.”
“He’s dead?” Hal asked.
Abe nodded. “Found behind Joe’s place. Eyes gouged out, multiple wounds to his throat.”
“It was burners, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know, we hadn’t got that far in the investigation. I’d made arrangements for a medevac but they were tied up with trips to Burning Man. Apparently something big happened and there were a number of calls requesting medical assistance. It took them hours before they responded.”
They all looked toward the group of burners who were huddled together in shock.
“Can you get me a drink?”
“Water?”
“Something stronger.”
Carrington got Abe a beer, and he downed it in one go before wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “Anyway, besides Beau’s death there was nothing else out of the ordinary. So we’re waiting for the medevac and that’s when they rushed us.”
“They?” Molly asked.
Abe looked at her. “Burners.”
“You think they were on drugs?” Hal asked.
“I…” He looked at a loss for words. “I don’t know. They wanted to get on that helicopter. When we told them to get back, they attacked us without provocation. We had no choice but to open fire. There were too many, they just kept coming. I managed to get to my cruiser and get out of there but there were more around the building. I… crashed and…” He placed his head in a hand. It looked like shock was finally setting in.
“Where did the bodies go?” Miles asked.
He shrugged. “The helicopter? I saw it in the distance come down. They must have got them out. I only hope they survived.”
“They didn’t,” Nate said. Abe looked at his bloody shirt as Nate took a few steps back.
“Why?” Molly asked. “Why did they attack?”
“I don’t know… but I know there are a lot of them out there and—”
“You know… who cares? I’m getting the hell out of here, and if you’re smart you’d do the same,” Tom Daniels said, turning toward the main doors.
“I’m going with you,” Edwin added, not far behind him.
“Brie, let’s go,” Tom bellowed at his wife but she was hesitant to leave. “Come on.”
She gave Jenna a concerned look then followed him.
“Don’t go out there,” Abe said getting up. “It’s not safe.”
“And you think staying here is? Good to see you all but I’m not sticking around for the final curtain.” Tom hurried over to the main doors which were only secured using a latch at the top and bottom. He unlocked then pushed the doors open. He stared out into the darkness. Tom took hold of his wife’s hand and burst out the doors while Edwin watched from the doorway until he felt it was safe to go for his vehicle.
Under the illumination of streetlights they watched as Tom made it safely to his pickup truck and hopped in. His wife got in the other side and looked back at them through the window. The engine roared to life and they spun out at a high rate of speed. Satisfied that the coast was clear, Edwin and his wife, Shelly, followed suit.
Everyone watched with bated breath, expecting to see the same. Hope spread as others began to consider leaving. The idea soon shattered when Edwin dropped his keys. Shelly stood waiting on the passenger side of their vehicle in view as Edwin ducked down to pick them up. He reappeared, smiling and holding them up.
A flicker of relief could be felt by all.
And then it happened.
Like a team of football players, burners emerged from out of the darkness launching an attack on Edwin. As he vanished below the SUV, a bloodcurdling scream cut through the night and Shelly sprinted back toward the school. Miles stepped forward and opened the door and all of them beckoned her to hurry.
“Come on. Come on!”
Abe shouldered his way to the front and extended his gun, firing off a few rounds at those in pursuit. It wasn’t enough. She wasn’t going to make it.
“Shut the door. Quick!” others yelled.
Miles knew if he didn’t do it they’d all be endangered.
Reluctant but having no other choice, he slammed the door closed to the horror of Shelly who was around 10 yards away. What she didn’t know was her pursuers were much closer. One of them leapt on her back taking her down. With clumps of her hair in his hand, a man slammed her skull into the concrete multiple times until her face was nothing but pulp.
“Barricade the door,” Abe said pushing home the locks at the top and bottom as others ran back in and collected chairs and tables, anything they could use.
Every strike rocked him to the core.
One of the burners made it to the door and placed a bloody hand on it, streaking red down the glass. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her skin had welts and sores all over it. “Please. Let me in,” she said through the thick wired mesh glass. “I need… I need medical attention.”
Her desperation increased when no one responded. She raised her voice louder, repeating the request. “It’s okay, I just…”
“Do you think we should help…” someone said.
“No,” Abe bellowed.
Her body convulsed, and arched as if waging an internal war. She scratched at the sores on her skin, and yellow pus seeped out. “Please help me. I need help!”
Miles’ eyes drifted to the others who had vanished into the darkness.
She belted her hand against the window. “LET ME IN!”
It only got worse. She smashed her forehead against the pane of glass until it smeared with blood, then as if something else had caught her attention, she darted off to the left and disappeared out of view.
All of them stood there in shock, speechless for a moment, then Abe began directing people to stack tables and chairs against the doors and windows. “We need to make sure this place is secure. What’s your name?”
“Grady.”
“Show me the entry points.”
Jenna stood there beside Miles, staring out at Shelly’s lifeless body. “What the hell just happened, Miles?”
“I don’t know.” Miles turned and took off to find Abe and Grady. He didn’t make it far. Across the room Wayne was ripping into the burners.
“You must know what happened. The only ones out there were burners. And yet here you are acting as though you’re different? How?” He grabbed this skinny guy and hauled him to his feet and began shaking him. “Now you’re gonna tell me what happened or…”
Miles placed a hand on his shoulder. “Wayne. Enough.”
“Not until they tell us what—”
“It happened at the event,” a female burner came to her friend’s defense, rising from the ground. “Please let him go.”
“It’s okay, Sandy,” the guy said, trying to tell her to keep back.
She was petite in stature, blond hair pulled back with a few strands hanging loosely against her face. She had gold sparkles on her cheeks, a necklace made of silver stars and a black leather bra with matching shorts. She couldn’t have been more than twenty.
Wayne refused to release the guy until she told them.
She looked down at her trembling hands as if reliving it all in her mind’s eye. “We arrived at the gate sometime around noon on Monday. We were told they’d nearly canceled the event because a swarm of bugs or something had shown up the night before.”
“Bugs?” Miles asked, his interest piqued.
“Yeah. Apparently it happened back in 2015, you can find it online. They came out of nowhere, as if blown from the desert or dropped from the sky. Stink bugs, and smaller ones that bite. I don’t know what they were. Anyway, they let us in, said that it was being handled.”
“Did you see these insects?” Miles asked.
“Yeah, there were tons on the ground but they were all dead by the time we got there. Not long after we set up our tent, people began complaining that they weren’t feeling well — headaches, j
oint and muscle pain, chills, dizziness, fever and sensitivity to light. Over the afternoon, medevac helicopters were coming and going almost on the hour taking people out. That’s when we decided to leave. My sister Lisa here has a weak immune system due to Hashimoto’s and we can’t risk it.”
Miles looked at her dark-haired sister who had her arms wrapped around her knees and looked a little worse for wear. “She okay?”
“Yeah. Just scared. Tired. We made it back to Gerlach but had to abandon the vehicle when we got overrun by them. If it wasn’t for the deputy, we…” she trailed off as her sister began crying. “I’m sorry, she lost her boyfriend out there.”
Miles nodded. Using Hal’s phone he pulled up news and that’s when he got his first confirmation of what was happening. There had been multiple reports from the World Health Organization across the United States over the past few hours of what they were calling a flu-like illness. Hospitals had been flooded with cases of people coughing, and struggling to breathe. He thumbed through more news articles and that’s when he saw reports of violence. Miles played a video of a man attacking a nurse in a hospital, followed by another of a guy who was shot by police outside in the streets.
Miles hurried to find the deputy.
Hal and Nate went with him along with Wayne. Those remaining piled up anything that wasn’t nailed down against entry points. Abe wanted to see what was beyond the gymnasium so Grady had unlocked the door and they’d ventured out into a darkened corridor that snaked its way around the main building.
Miles found them a few corridors over at the far end of a hallway.
“Hey deputy. I think I might have an idea of what’s happening.” He handed over the phone and gave him a minute to watch one of the videos and scan through some of the online articles. As he was doing that he updated him on what the burners had told them about the illness.
“Well that makes sense, at least as to why the medevac was delayed.”
“My daughter is up there,” Hal interjected. All of them looked at him. Miles was quick to jump on that. “Now Hal, I know what you’re going to say but—”
Hal cut him off “If it was Mikey. What would you do?”
Abe scanned the windows and gave them a hard bang. “Reinforced but not unbreakable. Hal, is there a way up to the roof?”