Outbreaks

by T. L. Frost

  “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you two.” Said Steve as he passed cups of water around, taken from the supply in the coffee machine. “Was beginning to think I was the only one left.”

  Natalie and Peter drank it gratefully, the cool water easing their throats, sore from the fire’s thick black smoke.

  “We were in my brother’s garage not far from here.” Replied Natalie leaning back in her seat “One of the other units nearby caught fire, we had to get out of there.”

  Steve nodded “I saw the smoke from the entrance yesterday. I haven’t been outside since this nightmare started, those things are everywhere.” He rested his elbows on the desk, hands covering his eyes as he recalled what had happened “I was working the nightshift, mainly just playing loops of music, weather reports, that sort of thing. Not many listeners late at night. In the morning I went to the canteen, the manager was there sick and almost unconscious.”

  Steve paused as he thought back, head shaking slightly as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying.

  “I was worried, very worried. Tried to call an ambulance but there was no reply so I went into the canteen’s kitchen to get him some water, that’s when Mike burst in.” He went silent for a minute and Natalie waited, letting him speak in his own time.

  “His face… those grey eyes looking around, searching. I just froze, couldn’t believe the change in him. Then he screamed, I’ve never heard anything so terrifying in my life. All I could do was watch as he ran, snarling at the station’s manager. He was biting and clawing, big chunks of flesh… blood everywhere…”

  Natalie and Peter just listened as he spoke, both having seen similar things but not wishing to talk about them. Steve went silent, looking down at the desk, despair on his face.

  “Is that who we heard in the canteen?” Asked Natalie after a while.

  Steve nodded “Mike, the security guard. Big guy, heard him smashing against the canteen door once when I walked past to look outside, thought he was going to break through.”

  “So you’ve been locked in here since then?” Asked Natalie.

  “Yeah, really thought I was the only one left until you two showed up.”

  “What about food?” Asked Peter looking around “Don’t suppose you have any here?”

  “Sorry, all out.” Said Steve “Finished what was left in the vending machine yesterday, won’t mind if I never see another bar of chocolate in my life.”

  Natalie and Peter nodded in agreement.

  “What about the canteen?” Asked Natalie “Won’t there be food in there?”

  “Oh sure.” Replied Steve “You just have to get past a big, flesh eating zombie.”

  “Still, if we could get rid of him…” Began Natalie.

  Steve shook his head “No way would I go in there, he tore the manager to pieces with his bare hands… and teeth. Would be suicide. Think I’d rather starve.”

  Natalie rubbed her chin, thinking. Looking around the studio to see if there was anything useful but saw nothing much.

  “What if we don’t try to kill it?” Said Natalie, an idea forming. “We just need it out of there.”

  “What are you thinking?” Asked Steve.

  “We need something to lure it away, noise, movement, maybe a person.” She looked at Peter when she said this.

  “No way!” He replied “I’m not being zombie bait for anything!”

  “Yeah maybe not.” Said Natalie “I doubt if it would chase you anyway, you’re all skin and bones.”

  “I might have something…” Said Steve and he led them into another room.

  It was filled with electronic equipment, some in pieces, some boxed and labelled.

  “I was in here trying a portable radio transmitter we have but the power went off before I could contact anyone.” Said Steve as he rummaged through the equipment.

  “That could be useful if we could find a power supply.” Said Natalie as she examined the device which was sitting on a work bench.

  “That’s what I thought, been working on it but no luck yet.” Steve pulled a box from a high shelf “But while I was in here I noticed these.”

  He opened the box, inside were four walkie-talkies. Pulling one out, he looked at it carefully.

  “Runs on batteries and we have plenty of those lying around.” He said “They have a number of different frequencies you can select.”

  Natalie took one and inspected it.

  “Steve you’re a genius.” She said “Now let’s go find some batteries.”

  Peter crawled along slowly. The space between the ceiling and roof was tight and filled with all sorts of cables and pipes. He was being as quiet as possible so it took him a while to reach the space above the canteen. Steve was poking his head up into the space, pointing a small torch to light the way a little. Peter signalled that he was in place, then gently lifted one of the ceiling panels, light filtered in from the canteen. The scene below was a blood bath. Steve had not been exaggerating when he had said the security guard had torn the manager of the station apart. Pieces of him were piled in a corner, a pool of dried blood formed underneath, the smell was terrible and Peter tried to hold his breath. The security guard, his uniform covered in more dried blood and pieces of gore was slowly wandering around the canteen. He kept going back to the pile of body parts that had once been the manager but never touched them, just giving a low moan and turning away. He circled the canteen, round and round, head scanning left and right, grey, inhuman eyes always searching. Peter watched and waited until he had passed the door and started back to the bloody pile, then signalled to Steve who nodded and signalled to Natalie.

  “Right then.” Said Natalie to herself.

  She switched on three of the walkie-talkies, a low squawk sounding as each one came to life and then she opened the door from the studios and entered the reception area. Walking as quietly as possible, she passed the canteen door, a moan from the other side causing her to pause. She placed the first walkie-talkie on the security guard’s desk and headed for the main door, placing the second on the ground next to it. Checking around, she couldn’t see anything moving outside so she pulled out a wedge from her pocket, pushing the door open and jamming it underneath. The door held fast. Checking around again she quickly placed the third walkie-talkie outside and away from the door, feeling exposed the whole time. Hurrying back inside, she moved quietly but quickly back inside the door to the studios, closing it and leaning back against the cool wall with a sigh of relief.

  “Well that wasn’t so bad.” Said Steve joining her.

  “That was the easy part.” She replied pushing herself away from the wall.

  Steve returned to his position watching Peter in the roof space, ready to pass on the signal. Peter raised his hand, watching the zombie in the canteen carefully, he needed to get the timing just right. He turned his head and waved, a signal which Steve copied. Natalie nodded and opened the door again, moving into the corridor she stopped outside the canteen, pulling out another wedge and taking a deep breath, she turned the handle and pushed open the door. There was blood everywhere, a strong smell of rotten flesh washing over her, making her want to back up, the security guard was leaning over a blood soaked pile, Natalie could see an arm sticking up from it. Opening the door wide, she pushed the wedge under it and jammed it into place with a kick. The hinges on the door creaked in protest and Natalie dropped to the floor, hidden behind the tables as the zombie turned and looked. Natalie froze, the slightest movement would be seen but she had no choice as the zombie took a step towards her, then stopped. Behind him came a loud rattle, something had fallen from the ceiling, hitting a window causing the zombie to turn back. Natalie saw Peter’s hand poke out through a gap there and wave, she took the chance, stood and backed up quickly into the corridor and a few quick steps later she was back behind the studio entrance.

  “You weren’t kidding when you said he was big.” Said Natalie as Steve returned again “I wouldn’t like to try outrunning him.”


  “You see why I never tried to get in there again.” Replied Steve nodding.

  They waited behind the door to the studios, watching the corridor until eventually the security guard came out, eyes searching, causing them both to duck out of sight.

  “He’s coming this way.” Whispered Steve nervously.

  “Let’s hope this works then.” Said Natalie picking up the remaining walkie-talkie and turning it on.

  Steve was about to stand up and look through the glass in the door when a loud bang came, shaking the door, the moaning of the zombie just on the other side. He turned and nodded at Natalie. Squeezing the button on the walkie-talkie, Natalie tapped and scraped her fingers across the built in microphone. The amplified scratching and tapping coming from the corridor, bringing more moans from the zombie as it turned to look. They could hear the moans moving away as the creature walked towards the security desk, hand grasping at the walkie-talkie there. Natalie changed the channel on the one she held and the second walkie-talkie, next to the door, burst into life.

  “Hey Mikey!” Came her voice from the corridor as she spoke into the microphone “Over here big boy!”

  The zombie lost interest in the first walkie-talkie and moved to the door.

  “That’s it, here boy.” Said Natalie as she whistled into the walkie-talkie “Keep going.”

  When it reached the door Natalie changed channel again and the third walkie-talkie, outside the building, screeched in response.

  “Come on Mike, you can do it, nearly there.” Said Natalie watching from the door to the studio.

  The zombie walked out through the doorway, turning towards the sound as Natalie opened the studio door and moved down the corridor. Steve held the door open, ready in case she had to run back.

  “That’s it, follow the sound asshole.” Said Natalie as she saw the zombie move away from the door.

  As quietly as possible she moved to the entrance, keeping an eye on the zombie as it leaned over the final walkie-talkie. Pushing the door a little, it released the wedge which Natalie picked up, then slowly she closed the door, letting it gently click into place. She let out a sigh as she turned to give a thumbs-up sign to Steve who took two steps into the corridor, then froze, a look of fear on his face. Natalie turned slowly, the glass doors of the entrance were still closed, but on the other side, just a few inches away was Mike, the one-time security guard, now bloodthirsty, killer zombie. Natalie froze in shock as his grey, blank eyes stared at her through the glass, she tensed, ready to run as the zombie’s hand came up touching the glass, head turning slowly left then right, a low moan coming from its lips. Still not moving, Natalie squeezed the button on the walkie-talkie, again and again, crackling and whining came from the one outside and the zombie, Mike, turned and moved towards it again. Backing up, then turning and running through the door to the studios, she leaned against the wall, gasping for breath, not realising she had been holding it.

  “What the hell happened there?” Asked Steve in surprise “It didn’t attack!”

  Natalie laughed a little, tension easing out of her.

  “The doors.” She said “They’re mirrored glass on the outside.”

  Chapter 8

  The truck’s engine idled quietly as Merrick and the others sat watching the black smoke streaming over the garage. The air was thick with the smell of burning rubber and they had chosen a spot a few hundred feet away, parking next to an empty warehouse. Bridget and Dan were keeping a lookout in the back as Merrick watched the garage for signs of life, but the smoke only cleared occasionally in the gentle afternoon breeze.

  “It’s no good, I can’t see anything from here.” Said Merrick over his shoulder “I’ll have to go in.”

  “She can’t still be in there surely?” Asked Bridget glancing at the garage.

  “No way to know unless I go look.” Said Merrick as he continued watching the building “You wait here, stay out of sight, it won’t take long.”

  Bridget nodded and crouched low with Dan in the back of the truck as Merrick turned off the engine, taking out the keys and handing them to her.

  “Just in case…” He said.

  Bridget nodded in understanding “Be careful.”

  “What?” Said Chantelle in the passenger seat “You’re going out there? Are you nuts, she’s probably dead?!”

  Merrick glanced at her, jaw clenched “You stay here and keep quiet, if I hear one sound from you…”

  “We should get out of here now!” Screeched Chantelle, her voice rising.

  Grabbing a tyre iron, Merrick pointed it at Chantelle. “I said keep quiet, there are probably hundreds of those creatures out there, I don’t want you yelling and attracting them here!”

  Folding her arms and turning her head Chantelle just huffed and ignored him.

  Merrick climbed down from the cab of the Monster Truck. Keeping close to the wall of the abandoned warehouse he checked around as he came to the road in front of his garage, he could hear moans nearby but saw nothing, they were coming from ahead where the thick, oily smoke swirled lazily. Taking a few deep breaths he ran quickly across the road, his throat starting to burn as the air got thicker. He stopped, back against the wall of the garage trying to see ahead. The main shutters were closed, as were the shutters at the entrance. That left just the staff entrance at the side of the building. He waited, hoping the smoke would clear enough to see as he reached the corner, where a narrow alley ran up the side of the building, but there was little or no wind here, the alley sheltered by the building. He moved slowly forward, eyes straining and stinging in the acrid smoke, a moan came close by but he couldn’t pin point it. Reaching the door he found it locked and just as he was reaching for the keys a small breath of wind cleared the smoke enough for him to see a large arrow painted on the wall next to a white board. Coughing a little he reached for the board, then another hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

  “What the…” He said in surprise, trying to pull away.

  He staggered backwards, pulling as hard as possible, until he fell backwards, raising the tyre iron instinctively in front of him. A large zombie in a security guard uniform fell on top of him, teeth biting onto the iron bar as Merrick pushed with all of his strength. The creature’s hands clawed at him, trying to pull his arms away. A shriek sounded from behind, sounds of arguing but he had no time to look as he fought for his life. His arms were tiring as he tried to keep the weight of the zombie from crushing down on him. He tried twisting and knocking the creature to the side but it held on, teeth gripping tightly to the bar even as some of them broke and splintered. Merrick gritted his teeth too with the effort, snarling back at the zombie as it slowly pressed closer and closer. Then its weight shifted as its head was knocked to one side. Merrick caught a glimpse of Dan standing there with a large iron mallet just before he threw his weight against the zombie and pushed, Merrick added his own strength and together they pushed the creature off him. Dan stepped around, bringing the hammer down hard on the zombie’s chest, the sound of ribs breaking making them both wince.

  “Step aside.” Said Merrick as he struggled to his knees.

  The creature tried to rise but Merrick swung the tyre iron hard, smashing it down across its face, caving it in, breaking bones and crushing the soft tissues, then he brought the iron back again as it continued to struggle, smashing it again and again into the destroyed face, until finally, with its head almost smashed in two, it stopped moving.

  “Thanks Dan.” Said Merrick catching his breath “I owe you one.”

  Dan just looked on in amazement at the dead creature’s face until Merrick stood and stepped back into the smoke, coming back quickly with the white board, which he read.

  “Come on son.” Said Merrick grabbing Dan and pulling him back to the truck.

  More shrieking sounded and Merrick swore as he heard Chantelle shouting and screaming. She was leaning into the back of the truck, struggling with Bridget and as Merrick climbed in he pulled her away.


  “What the fuck is going on!” He hissed “You’ll have every zombie for miles coming after us!”

  “She tried to take the keys!” Said Bridget, her hair ragged, some scratches on her face.

  “Are you fucking crazy?!” Said Merrick to Chantelle in disbelief.

  “I thought you had had it there, I was just trying to save us!” Shrieked Chantelle with a snarl.

  “She was going to leave you and Dan.” Said Bridget as she handed the keys to Merrick.

  Merrick just glared at Chantelle as he started the truck, slowly rolling it away from the garage, heading for a wide double-lane road, directly through the smoke. The truck quickly filled with the oily smoke and Merrick risked going a little faster, the engine growling as it picked up the pace.

  “Where the hell are we going?!” Said Chantelle loudly.

  Merrick drove the truck out of the smoke, seeing another painted arrow on the side of a building.

  “That way.” He said through gritted teeth.

  They drove down the wide road slowly, looking for more signs. Then they turned a corner and spotted the radio station, the sign saying ‘NAT’ clearly visible. What was also visible were the thirty or forty zombies milling around at the entrance, some banging on the glass doors, others crowding in behind them. Merrick backed the truck away slowly.

  “We can’t get in there through all of those things.” Said Bridget from the back of the truck.

  Merrick nodded “We need to get rid of them somehow.” He said thinking.

  He drove down another road, catching glimpses of the radio station through the gaps between buildings. Looking for another way.

  “What are you doing, get us out of here you moron!” Shrieked Chantelle “You’re not risking my life for your asshole of a sister!”

  Merrick stopped the truck, his jaw clenched as he fought to control his anger. Getting a quick look at the mob of zombies in front of the radio station, he saw some of them turn, moans rising as they sought the source of the new sound. Chantelle was oblivious to it all, her voice growing louder and louder. Merrick made a decision. Reaching across her he opened the passenger door.