by Dia Cole
I grabbed his arm. “Are you crazy? There are five of them. You’ll get yourself killed.”
“We can’t do nothing.”
“We have to get Eden. Family first.” I threw one of Gran’s favorite sayings at him and squeezed his arm harder.
The man on the ground stopped moving. The crowd seemed to lose interest. One by one, they stood and looked our way.
“Step on it,” I shouted.
Reed shifted, pressed the gas pedal, and the van shuddered down the street.
I glanced back at the crowd stumbling after us. The vacant looks on their bloody faces made every hair on my body stand on end.
Reed’s hands were shaking as he switched gears. “I take back my earlier comment. What are we going to do?”
I dug my fingers into the fuzz escaping from the holes in my seat. “We have to get out of the city.” Our neighborhood was in the seediest part of the Valley. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it’d likely be ground zero for whatever the hell was going on. Staying would be suicidal. Remembering Duncan’s offer made my pulse slow. “Duncan offered to take us to his cabin. We’d have to meet him back at the house by nine.”
“It’s got to be already after eight-thirty how can we—”
I waved my hand to cut him off. “We’re here. Crap. It’s a madhouse.” News vans and cars clogged the street in front of the two-story building that the city court shared with the police department.
Reed pulled up as close as he could to the entrance, and stopped the van. “I don’t see anywhere to park.”
I opened my door. “Just wait here. If the police make you move, circle the block. I’ll get Eden.”
“But—”
I jumped out of the van before he could argue. Clutching my purse to my side, I crossed the street.
It looked as if a press conference was going on. A large black man in a police uniform stood in front of a bronze German shepherd. No doubt, the statue was a tribute to the K-9 officer the department had been forced to put down due to the canine flu legislation.
A gaggle of reporters with their microphones outstretched surrounded the man. They shouted questions at him.
“Chief Foster, what steps will the department take to control the Z-virus?”
“How is the department responding to reports of marauding mobs attacking people throughout the city?”
“Is it true that officers shot three patients at the hospital earlier this morning?”
I hurried past the media circus to the twenty-foot-tall glass doors looming ahead, but their questions followed me.
“Is the department prepared to address reports of increased gang activity in the South Valley?”
“Soldiers from Fort Drexel have been seen patrolling the streets. Is martial law in effect?”
Mobs? Gang Activity? Martial law? It sounds as though the world’s going to hell in a handbasket.
My hands trembled as I used all my strength to push the heavy glass doors open. My boots squeaked on the tile floor as I stopped in my tracks.
How could I’ve forgotten about security?
A large metal detector and two officers, one beefy guy and one bald guy, blocked the entry into the lobby.
The beefy officer pointed at the conveyer belt. “Put your purse on the belt, ma’am.”
I set my purse down and watched it move under the bag X-ray scanner.
He waved me forward. “Step through the metal detector, please.”
Damn. I had my father’s knife tucked into my waistband.
“Ma’am.”
I felt the blood leaving my face.
No doubt carrying a weapon into a police department was a crime.
“Ma’am, please step through.”
Not knowing what else to do, I walked through the detector.
Beep.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. Could you please step to the side and empty your pockets?”
Sweat dripped down my neck. I pulled the insides of my pockets up so he could see they were empty. “I have a belly button ring, it probably set it off.” Hoping to distract him with a little flesh, I pulled up the black tank top I wore under Reed’s flannel shirt. The red gem hanging from my gold tassel belly button ring winked under the fluorescent light.
He didn’t look convinced or even mildly enticed by the sight of my abs. He grabbed a wand and waved it over my body. As the wand closed in on the small of my back, it let out a shrill noise.
“Turn around, ma’am.”
With a sinking sensation in my stomach, I complied.
The officer slowly raised the hem of my shirt.
My heart was beating so fast, he had to hear it.
What the hell do I do now?
Visions of being arrested danced in my head.
A scream inside the lobby drew the officer’s attention.
An older man was on the ground, spasming and flopping around in a pool of blood.
The silver-haired woman with him cried out, “Help. My husband’s hurt.”
“Stay here,” the officer ordered before running into the lobby.
Realizing that the bald officer manning the X-ray machine was also distracted by the commotion, I snatched my purse from the end of the conveyer belt and booked it into the lobby.
A growing ring of people surrounded the man on the floor.
“What happened?”
The older woman had a shaken look on her face. “I don’t know. We were waiting to file a police report and Ernest collapsed.”
The old man stilled. Blood continued to flow from his head.
I felt terrible for him and his hysterical wife, but there wasn’t anything I could do. I sidestepped the crowd and walked up to one of the glass windows near the front of the lobby.
“I’m here to bail someone out of jail,” I said to the middle-aged, curly-haired woman on the other side of the glass.
She continued staring over my shoulder at the drama unfolding behind me.
I rapped my knuckles on the glass partition.
The woman shot me an annoyed look. “What’d ya want?”
“I’m here for Eden Walker. She was one of the protesters arrested last night.”
The woman typed something into her computer. “Her hearing hasn’t started yet.” She jabbed her finger at the closed navy blue doors to my left. “Court’s running behind today.” She nodded in the direction of some nearby metal benches. “Go ahead and take a seat.”
Sit? Like hell.
I wouldn’t be able to relax until I saw that my sister was safe. Chewing on my thumbnail in frustration, I walked over the blue double doors. They were locked. Through a small window in one of the doors, I could make out a hallway where a group of women wearing black-and-white striped jumpsuits stood in a long line. They were handcuffed and their feet were shackled. Several bored-looking jailers stood beside them.
I scanned the line and quickly found Eden standing over another prisoner who was slumped against the wall. Eden’s dark brown hair was a rat’s nest and it looked as if she hadn’t slept in days, but she looked incredible compared to the redheaded woman she was trying to help. That woman was as pale as a corpse and when Eden tried to help her to her feet, she swayed back and forth. As Eden called for one of the jailers, I got a better look at the redhead. Black veins ran up the length of her throat stopping just short of her chin.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
The woman is infected.
The jailers barked something at Eden.
She shot them a dirty look and smoothed the infected woman’s carroty red hair back from her face.
“Get away from her, Eden,” I shouted through the window.
Damn it. She can’t hear me.
If only I can get her attention.
I yanked the handle on the door. It didn’t budge.
The sound of people murmuring had me glancing back.
Two paramedics, a tall thin white man and a short dark-skinned woman, rushed into the buildi
ng and over to the crowd.
“Get back,” barked the beefy officer to the people around the fallen man.
The people moved back, allowing the paramedics access.
The female paramedic surveyed Ernest. “What happened?”
The older woman wrung her hands. “I don’t know. Ernest said he wasn’t feeling well, and then he keeled over.”
“He hit his head pretty hard,” added the officer pointing at the growing pool of blood.
The male paramedic knelt down next to the man and pressed his fingers against the man’s throat. “I’m not getting a pulse.”
“He’s dead. Oh my God. He should’ve never gotten that vaccine,” screeched the older woman.
Another victim of the canine flu vaccine?
Feeling a chill skate down my back, I rubbed my arms. People were dropping like flies. And, if they followed the same course as Cami, soon they’d rise again.
I need to get my sister out of here ASAP.
The officer grabbed the flailing woman’s arm. “Calm down, ma’am. Everything is going to be okay.”
Ernest twitched and spasmed.
The male paramedic looked down at Ernest, his hand still on the injured man’s neck. “What the hell? I still can’t find a pulse.”
Icy dread washed over me. I knew where this was going. “Get away from him,” I cried.
10
Every head in the lobby swiveled in my direction.
I gulped, feeling the scrutiny of a dozen pairs of eyes. “He’ll attack you. I’ve seen it before.”
The paramedics gave me blank looks.
“What’s she talking about?”
The officer took a step toward me. “Hey, didn’t I tell you to wait back over there?”
Ernest made a gurgling sound. His eyes flew open.
The male paramedic leaned over him. “Relax, sir. Can you—”
Ernest lurched up and clamped his jaws around the paramedic’s throat.
People screamed.
“Let him go. Now!” shouted the officer.
Ernest ripped out a hunk of the paramedic’s neck.
Blood sprayed the crowd.
Ernest’s wife fainted.
The paramedic collapsed on his side, his hand clamped to his neck. His eyes were wide with shock. Blood poured from his wound.
The female paramedic cried out and dug through her medical bag. “I’ve got you, Todd. Stay with me.”
Horror glued me to the floor.
It’s happening all over again.
Still gnawing on the paramedic’s flesh, Ernest staggered to his feet. He stared at the people around him with filmy white eyes.
The officer motioned for everyone to get back. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the old man. “Get down on the ground.”
I wanted to tell him his words were useless. Whoever Ernest had been was gone. The creature left in his place wouldn’t respond to orders. But it wasn’t as if the officer could’ve heard me over the panicked crowd.
The bald officer left his post at the X-ray machine and rushed over. He was shouting into his radio.
Ernest growled and lunged for the beefy officer.
The officer fired repeatedly.
Bullets slammed into the old man’s chest. Impossibly, he kept coming.
Both officers opened fire on him.
The doors in front of me flew open.
Startled, I jumped to the side, barely avoiding being trampled by the jailers.
They joined the other officers, forming a semicircle around the old man.
I caught the edge of the blue door before it closed and darted inside. Not knowing if the door would lock from this side too, I braced it open with my foot.
A sea of anxious female faces greeted me. It was clear the prisoners didn’t know what the hell was going on.
A harried-looking man wearing glasses and a suit stood at the front of the hallway. “Back in line, ladies.”
He was drowned out by the sound of gunfire from the lobby.
My gaze swung to my sister whose eyes widened when she saw me.
“Lee, what are you doing here?”
“Getting you out.” I waved her over. “Come away from that woman.”
She looked down at the redhead who’d sunk to the floor. “Claire’s sick and no one’s helping her.”
My voice rose in volume. “Get over here now, Eden.”
“But…but...” She motioned to her shackled feet.
“Hop if you have to, but get the hell over here.”
The shocked expression she wore as she hobbled over to me would’ve been comical under any other circumstances. “I can’t just walk out of here, Sissy. That’s a crime.”
The guy in glasses finally noticed me. “You can’t be in here.”
Ignoring the guy, I grabbed my sister’s arm and dragged her through the door into the lobby. “Since when did you care about upholding the law?”
She opened her mouth to say something, but clamped it shut when she caught sight of the officers standing over the old man’s prone body.
Ernest looked as though he’d been through a human-sized hole punch. He was riddled with bullet holes from his brown loafers to his bloody goatee. The top of his head had been blown off and the remainder of his face was unrecognizable.
More officers streamed into the lobby from a door on the opposite side of the building.
Damn. How can I get us through here unnoticed?
I glanced back at the blue door. There were no guarantees we could find another exit inside the building, and by now the guy in glasses might have some armed backup.
We’ll have to take our chances out here.
I pulled off the flannel shirt and wrapped it around Eden. “Hide the cuffs under the shirt and take short steps. Okay?”
She nodded jerkily.
Keeping a firm grip on her wrist, I tugged her forward.
We hadn’t gone more than ten feet before we caught the attention of a statuesque blonde officer. “Hey, stop right there.” She stepped away from the cluster of officers hovering around Ernest’s body and strode toward us.
Eden froze.
“Crap.” My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
What do we do?
Several scenarios ran through my head. Most of them ended with me in handcuffs or my bloody body next to Ernest’s on the ground.
The sound of screaming saved us.
The blonde snapped her head around and gaped at the sight of the male paramedic attacking his partner.
The female paramedic screamed as she tried to beat him back with her medical bag.
He clamped his jaws around her forearm and bit down.
Her scream turned into a shriek of pain.
Even from this distance, I could make out the vacant expression in the man’s opaque eyes. He’d turned into one of those creatures.
A sea of navy blue uniforms moved in on him.
At the same time, a large group of reporters rushed into the building. Several film crews pointed their cameras at the bloody body on the floor.
“Get the media out of here,” shouted the blonde officer.
This was our chance.
I tugged on Eden’s wrist. “Keep walking.”
Somehow I managed to pull her through the lobby and the mess of reporters who were being physically ushered outside by the bald officer.
Once though the glass doors, I took a deep inhalation. The crisp air tasted like freedom and newly baked bread from the bakery down the street. If not for the ambulance and police sirens blaring, I could almost relax.
I immediately spotted Gran’s bus parked behind one of the news vans.
I waved at Reed and dragged Eden over to the vehicle. “Come on.”
She stumbled after me. “Lee, you could go to prison for this.”
“Just get in.” I slid open the back door revealing two raggedy bench seats facing one another.
She stuck out her chin the way she always did when she was about to
pitch a fit. “This is insane.”
We don’t have time for this. Any second a cop can come over here.
I tightened my grip on her arm. “Don’t make me throw you in.”
Reed twisted around. “Hey, Eden. Everyone’s turning into zombies. It’d be a good idea if we got out of here.”
Eden’s mouth fell open. “Are you both high?”
Two police cars, lights flashing and sirens blaring, pulled in behind us.
A rush of adrenaline had me pushing my sister into the van. I clambered in behind her and slammed the door. “Go,” I shouted to Reed.
He shifted and the van slowly crept forward. He shifted again and reversed a few inches.
I slapped a hand onto my forehead. “Oh my God, we’re moving at snail speed. Reed, get this rust bucket moving.”
“What do you want me to do? We’re boxed in.”
I pushed the dirty curtain out of the way and peeked through the window. Thankfully, the officers were dashing past the reporters and making a beeline for station. My blood pressure fell a couple of notches.
Reed turned the van around and drove it back the way we’d come.
Letting out a deep breath, I sat down next to my sister and met her incredulous stare. “Don’t give me that look. You’re the one that screwed up.” I pursed my lips and thinned my voice. “Sissy, I promise no more protests. I’m just going to have coffee with friends tonight.” I finished my impersonation of her by flipping back my hair.
She blanched. “I can explain—”
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn right now. Reed, what time is it?”
He waved his hemp bracelet-covered wrist. “Like I wear a watch.”
Damn it. I had to know how much time we’d lost in the station.
Hopefully, we could still make it home in time to meet Duncan.
“Head home.”
“Okay.”
Eden jangled her cuffs. “How am I going to get out of these?”
“We’ll get some bolt cutters or something.” I’d bet my fluffy angel wings that Duncan had a pair. Duncan was usually prepared for anything.
Eden touched her neck. Her eyes widened. “Sasha’s collar. The police impounded it.” She glanced behind us. “We have to go back.”
“The hell we will.” Like many who’d lost their canine companions to the canine flu legislation, my sister had worn Sasha’s collar since the day animal control dragged the pit bull mix away.