Jamarcus was startled at the firefighter’s voice and spun around to see who was talking to him. “Shit, Cordova, it’s you,” he said with relief when he saw the familiar face. “Man, I don’t know what happened to him. He was reaching into the car to get the door open and he says that the T.C. victim bit him. Look, right there.”
Cordova glanced down at Antonio’s bandaged arm. The blood was already dripping from the soaked dressing. “She bit him?”
“Yeah, and then he gets sick and pukes…and loses control of his bowels.”
Cordova reached down and placed his hand on Antonio’s forehead. “Fuck, he’s burning up!”
“I know,” Jamarcus said with a worried look in his face. “He’s reading at one-oh-one right now.”
“Hey, Tony, can you hear me?” Cordova asked the ill paramedic. “It’s Cordova.” He nervously glanced over at Jamarcus and then looked back down at Antonio.
“Yeah man, I can hear you, but I have this weird ringing in my ears,” Antonio replied in a weakened voice. “I feel sick. It feels like I drank acid or something. And my muscles…they’re tightening up and going into spasms. It fucking hurts!”
“Alright buddy, hang in there. We’re gonna to try to get you some help.”
“Get me out of here,” the wounded medic pleaded. “I’m starting to lose feeling in both my arms,” he whimpered.
Jamarcus and Cordova exchanged puzzled glances.
***
“Okay, so tell me again,” the third firefighter said, “if she was dead, how did she crawl out of the car?”
“Why don’t you guys do something instead of just standing there and talking about it!” a bystander shouted. He was a long-haired man who was wearing a tie dyed shirt with a peace emblem across his chest. “She’s probably dying right now!”
The two officers who had arrived with the fire truck approached the crowd and began to push them back away from the intersection. The motorcycle officer joined them in their efforts.
“Shit, look, she’s moving now,” Adrian said as he pointed to her.
Slowly and agonizingly, the lady dragged herself a few more yards before she drew her knees up under her. The pavement ate away at the skin; she was left with bloody knee caps, but the once-dead woman seemed to ignore the pain. She then rose to her feet and stood there for a moment as she wobbled unsteadily. Her right arm dangled freely and something seemed odd about the right side of her chest. It looked distorted, almost as if it had been flattened. She looked around at everyone and it appeared as if she was trying to get her bearings or her senses. In a jerky motion, she turned her head back towards Adrian and began to moan as she reached for him. Adrian could see blood caked around her mouth. Her yellow blouse was also stained with blood and her short khaki shorts were torn on the left side. Her left buttock was exposed and the officer felt embarrassed for her.
“Here, let me help you,” said one of the firefighters as he approached her. “I’m firefighter Tran and he’s Firefighter Hargus. We’re here to help you.” Tran, the son of a Vietnamese father and a Caucasian mother, had inherited his dad’s stature and his mom’s green eyes. Standing at just five feet and four inches, the accident victim was as tall as the firefighter.
Fearing that she was going to lose her balance and fall, Tran stepped up to her. He placed one arm around her waist to steady her. Wary that her right arm was fractured, he made sure to avoid putting any pressure on it. “Let’s go over to the ambulance. They can help you there.” He took one step towards the rescue unit and looked over at Hargus. “I guess she’s not dead after all,” he said, chuckling.
As Tran was about to take another step, the woman leaned her head against his and sank her teeth into his exposed neck. With her left arm she gripped his torso. Tran screamed out in pain and a stunned Hargus yelled, “What the hell!”
With her jaws locked tight onto his neck, Tran struggled to break free. He punched and slapped at her and he screamed again as he felt his skin tearing. Adrian and Hargus grabbed her by the waist and both began yelling for the woman to let go. Startled by the screaming and shouting, the motor officer turned his back to the crowd to see what was going on. Sensing trouble, he took off running towards the commotion. Not knowing whether to follow the cycle cop or stay with the crowd, the other two officers began to back away from the onlookers and slowly back-tracked into the intersection.
What the fuck is going on?” the cycle cop asked.
“She’s biting me!” Tran screamed in excruciating pain. “Get her off of me!” Tran’s blue t-shirt was getting drenched in his own blood.
“Here, help me grab her!” Adrian screamed to the cycle cop. The confused officer looked in bewilderment at Tran’s attacker, taking him a moment to register what Adrian was saying.
“Man, just punch that bitch!” Hargus yelled to the officers. “Or shoot her!”
***
Jamarcus and Cordova could hear yelling and screaming coming from outside of the ambulance. They both craned their necks to see what was going on. To their surprise, they saw that the woman from the crash was now standing next to Tran, and it looked like the two were wrestling with each other.
“Man, what the hell is going on out there?” Jamarcus asked out loud. He could see Adrian and Hargus huddled around the struggling couple as the cycle cop punched at the woman’s head. Jamarcus heard people from the crowd yelling at cursing at the officer and firemen and he saw a multitude of hands raised above the mass of people. They were holding cell phones and were video recording the bizarre scene unfolding in front of them.
“Hey what are you doing?” one spectator screamed at the officers and firefighters. “Stop hitting that lady.”
“But she’s biting the fireman!” Hargus yelled back.
“Well, you don’t have to hit her like that!” shouted another woman.
“Shit, get her off of me!” Tran screamed again. He had been able to reach up and grab ahold of his attacker’s head as he tried to keep her from tearing his flesh off of his neck. He was also cognizant that she was dangerously close to biting into his carotid artery.
“Police brutality!” screamed the man with the tie dye shirt. He kept having to brush his dirty long hair from out of his eyes. “Quit hitting her, you fucking pigs! You fascists!”
***
“What’s happening to me?” Antonio screamed out to Jamarcus as another flash of pain gripped him. “My stomach feels like it’s on fire!”
“I don’t know man…I don’t know what’s happening to you!” He looked over at Cordova and yelled with desperation, “What the hell is going on with him?”
“Fuck, I don’t know man. It looks like he got exposed to something in that car.”
Jamarcus looked back out at the crowd and saw the group of first responders surrounding the woman. Finally, with one combined adrenaline-fueled yank from the men, the woman was sent sprawling to the ground. Tran turned and limped a few feet before falling down to the asphalt. He clutched at his bleeding neck. His fire pants were splattered with red blotches.
Unfazed at being thrown to the pavement, the woman got back to her feet. Her knees were bleeding and the skin on her palms was now bloody road rash. This time, she looked at the crowd and headed straight for the man with the tie dye shirt. She moaned and stumbled towards him. Not knowing the danger he was in, he said, “Come here, lady, we’ll get you out of here.” He reached out for her and she grabbed him by his hair, pulling his head down towards her mouth.
Completely caught off guard, he didn’t have enough time to fight back and she bit down onto his ear and upper cheek. With a scream and a yelp, he pulled away from her and took off running into the crowd. The woman quickly swallowed whatever flesh she had been able to chew off and she then turned towards the concerned jogger.
Paralyzed by fear, the jogger froze as the blood-soaked woman grabbed onto her. The white-eyed lady took two quick bites from the athlete’s bicep and backed off, chewing the flesh like a cow would chew its cud.<
br />
“What the fuck!” Jamarcus yelled as he and Cordova struggled to keep Antonio from jumping off of the gurney. The sound of people screaming and shouting was growing and it sounded like something terrible was happening outside. He stood up and walked towards the rear doors. “What the fuck is going on out there?”
“I don’t know,” Cordova answered. “Whatever it is, it sounds crazy though.”
“What is it?” Antonio screamed as he sat up and clutched at his stomach. “I can’t really see anything.”
“Stay with him,” Jamarcus said to Cordova. “I’ll be right back.” Jumping down out of the ambulance and closing the doors behind him, Jamarcus sprinted over to the officers and the firemen. They were kneeling down next to Tran. “What happened to him?”
“That crazy woman bit him!” Adrian said as he pointed to the lady. She was now stumbling after other bystanders, but the crowd had smartened up and they were side-stepping the slow moving attacker. The injured jogger was quietly walking towards the ambulance as she clutched at her shredded arm. She was in shock.
Jamarcus looked at the jogger as she walked past them. “And what happened to her?”
“She got bit too!” Hargus said.
“Shit, that chick’s not just biting people, she’s actually eating what she bites off!” the motorcycle cop exclaimed.
“What!” Jamarcus screamed. “No fucking way!”
“Man, we gotta stop her!” Adrian yelled.
“I’ll fucking taze her,” barked one of the officers who had arrived with the firemen. He unholstered his Taser gun and chased after the woman. “Everyone get out of the way!” He activated the laser sight and aimed the red dot at her back, firing the weapon. With a loud pop, the two barbed probes shot out from the end of the yellow gun and penetrated through the woman’s shirt, embedding themselves into the skin between her shoulder blades. The woman didn’t react to the charge of electricity that was coursing through her muscles and she continued to pursue her prey.
“What the hell!” Adrian roared. “Are you using that thing right?”
“It’s not working!” the officer yelled. “It’s not having any effect on her. Look, I’m hitting her again…and nothing!” The befuddled officer was sending a second jolt through the attached wires, but still there was no sign that the woman was responding.
“Fuck it, let’s tackle her!” Hargus bellowed. He took off in a charge and smashed into her, knocking her to the ground. Tripping over her legs, the enraged firefighter crashed down onto the hard asphalt and was temporarily stunned.
“Cuff her!” Adrian shouted. Looking at Tran, who was now unconscious due to blood loss, he said to Jamarcus, “Stay with this guy. We’ll handle her.” He and the other three officers ran over to the crazed woman and began to struggle with her as they tried to get her hands behind her back. Regaining his senses, Hargus got to his feet and also helped the embattled officers. As the motorcycle cop knelt down next to her and tried to manipulate her left wrist in a pain-compliance technique, she grabbed his hand and pulled it towards her mouth, biting him across his knuckles.
“Fuck, she bit me!” he screamed out.
Hargus and Adrian had ahold of her other hand as the two other officers struggled to hold her legs down. “Man, this chick is super strong!” one of the officers shouted. “She feels like a fucking board, like we can’t bend her arms or legs!”
Shaking off the pain, the motorcycle officer grabbed for the woman’s hand again, this time making sure to avoid being bitten. As he gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, a stabbing pain shot through his injured hand. The sensation was so powerful that he stood up and backed away from the melee. He began to rub his bleeding knuckles with the thumb of his uninjured hand.
“You alright?” Adrian asked.
“Man, my hand is on fire. Shit!” The officer bent over as the pain began to race up his arm. Just then, a rumbling in his stomach announced the arrival of a spasm in his gut. Unable to contend with the pain, he fell to his knees and began to grab at his abdomen.
Jamarcus looked down at Tran and knew that he needed to get the bleeding stopped. He ran back to the ambulance and saw the jogger sitting on the rear bumper. She didn’t bother to look at him, but he could see dark vomit drooling down her chin. “Hey, are you alright?” he asked her. As he reached for the door handle, he could hear some sort of loud commotion coming from inside the vehicle. He opened the door that the jogger wasn’t sitting in front of and he stepped up onto the bumper. To his shock, he saw Antonio hunched over a battered and unconscious Cordova. He was pounding Cordova’s face with his fists and blood was splattered all over the interior walls of the vehicle.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jamarcus cried out. “Antonio, stop it!”
Antonio spun and faced Jamarcus. His eyes were wild looking and his blue uniform shirt was drenched with blood. He let out a shriek that sounded like it was clogged with phlegm. In an instant, Antonio was lurching towards his partner and he drove the crown of his head right into Jamarcus’s chest. The dumbfounded medic fell back out of the truck and landed on the pavement, causing the wind to get knocked out of his lungs. Antonio stepped out onto the bumper and briefly looked over at the silent jogger. After studying her for a moment, he turned his focus back onto Jamarcus.
Trying to catch his breath, Jamarcus rolled over to his side and rose to his feet as Antonio dove for him again. Jamarcus was able to dodge the attack and he raised his fist in a fighting stance. “Man, stay the fuck away from me!” Having some amateur boxing skills, Jamarcus could usually hold his own when they had to deal with combative or assaultive patients. He stepped to the side and as Antonio charged again, Jamarcus let loose with a combination that sent Antonio flying back and down to the ground.
“What’s the matter with you?” he screamed at his deranged partner. “I don’t want to hurt you, just stay away from me!”
Taking a step back, Jamarcus glanced around to see what was going on. He could see the officers and firemen still struggling with the accident victim, but a new commotion had erupted in the crowd. He caught a glimpse of someone with a tie dyed shirt and long, blood-matted hair. The man was running through the crowd, and everywhere he went, the people were scattering away from him. He then saw Tran. The bloodied firefighter was struggling to get to his feet and he was moving in a slow, exaggerated fashion. After getting upright, he stood there and staggered for a moment. He then began to lumber his way towards the fleeing people.
Jamarcus turned and made his way for the ambulance. Springing to his feet, Antonio gave chase. Reaching the vehicle, Jamarcus jumped into the rear of the truck and tried to pull the door shut. He noticed that the woman was still sitting on the bumper; mute and motionless. Taking the time to look at the woman caused him to take too much time in closing the door. Antonio jumped up onto the bumper and shoved his way into the ambulance. The attacking medic lunged for Jamarcus and shoved him on top of the unconscious Cordova.
With Jamarcus pinned on his back and over Cordova’s thighs, Antonio began to swing his fists at the terrified man, landing savage and vicious blows to his eyes and jaw. Jamarcus winced with pain and tried to tuck his chin into his neck to protect his face. Instinctively, he raised his hands to ward off the blows and he noticed through the pain that the attack wasn’t a coordinated one—it wasn’t like a boxing match and it wasn’t even like a street fight. Antonio was behaving more like some kind of out-of-control animal acting on aggressive, raw instinct.
Jamarcus was able to grab Antonio’s hands and he temporarily halted the assault. The deranged man shrieked and hissed and wailed as he began to snap at Jamarcus’s face in an attempt to bite him. The battered medic turned his head to avoid the menacing teeth and his vision landed on the obliterated face of Cordova. He could see bloody bubbles fizzing out from the man’s nostrils. He was still alive.
Antonio’s strength was overwhelming and Jamarcus was losing his hold on the man’s slippery and bloodied hands. His ey
es darted back and forth as he desperately looked for something that he could use as a weapon. He glanced a small green oxygen bottle in its rack. With a grunt and frantic scream, he threw his remaining strength into one desperate shove and he was able to separate himself from his assailant. He turned with just enough time to push off of Cordova, falling down to the blood-splattered deck. He wrested the metal bottle free, and while on his back, he smashed it into Antonio’s face.
Jamarcus could hear the disgusting sound of bones breaking as he delivered a second blow; this time to the top of Antonio’s head. The attack had some effect as Antonio tumbled back towards the doors. Encouraged by the turn in the fight, Jamarcus sat up and sprung off of the floor, swinging the bottle wildly. He was able to deliver one more well-placed strike across Antonio’s collar and he pushed him out of the ambulance. Antonio went tumbling down to the pavement, but as Jamarcus tried to pull the doors shut, the jogger grabbed onto the right door handle and tried to force her way in. She was screaming and shrieking unintelligibly and he saw that she had the same red blood-shot eyes that Antonio had.
Knowing that he only had a few seconds before Antonio resumed his assault, he raised his right leg and kicked the door with all his might. The jogger went tumbling down to the ground and Jamarcus was able to lock the doors. He moved over to the side door and made sure that it was secured. As Antonio and the jogger began to hit and bang on the rear doors, Jamarcus moved Cordova over onto the gurney and began to strap him down. The sound of shattering glass made him look back at the doors. Antonio was battering the windows with his fist and grimy streaks of blood were being smeared over the cracked pane.
Fueled by panic, Jamarcus struggled to the front cabin. He threw himself down into the driver’s seat and fumbled with the keys. Shaking with fear he heard several gun shots being fired from somewhere outside. He looked into his side mirror and saw a huge ruckus breaking out in the crowd. Adrian and the other officers were running for their patrol cars and the motorcycle officer was sitting on top of Hargus, smashing his head into the pavement.
A Glimpse Of Decay (Book 2): Staring into the Abyss Page 4