“Shut up Mike.” Mark said as he turned and whispered, “You get the girls scared and they’re going to want to leave just as soon as we got here.” Mike smiled back at Mark, “But if we get them scared enough they’re going to want to stick close to us, right?” They both smiled and continued walking into the darkness, using flashlights to light the way.
Mike continued with his ghost stories, using an ominous voice, “There were two 18 year old girls, who were roommates and met two guys in Salt Lake City, on a Tuesday night. The four went to a movie and then embarked on an all-night drive. They drove into the mountains of Salt Lake City, then to Wendover, Nevada, on the Utah border, then to Delle, then to a sheepherder’s cabin in the desolate hills near Great Salt Lake.”
“It was mid-morning Wednesday by now and the car settled into deep mud on the primitive road and stuck. One boy 17, the driver, asked the two girls to help push it out. As the sheriff of the Tooele County told it, the girls refused, got out and said they were going to hitchhike a ride back to Delle. According to his friend, one of the males had been drinking heavily and became enraged.”
“He grabbed a hammer and chased the two girls down the side of a slope. His friend watched in horror. “After about 10 minutes," His friend told police, "he came back and told me he killed the girls. He asked me to help hide the bodies". The murderer’s friend bolted, fearing for his own life. He alternately ran and walked the 14 miles to Delle, taking more than 3 hours. There he burst into a cafe and gasped, "There are two dead girls out there.”
“Police drove him back to the stalled car on the lonely hillside. Moans led them to the victims, lying partially buried under rocks, tumbleweed and pieces of tin. "At first we thought it was sheep we heard, "Gillette said. The girls were rushed to the Old Tooele Hospital in critical condition. The girls underwent emergency surgery; both girls were fighting for their lives. The murderer was never caught and the two girls, later, died in the hospital. It is said that the two girls still haunt the hospital and are still walking the hospital, trying to find their murderer.”
Mike held the flashlight up to his face and screamed. “Come on Mike these stories are lame.” The group walked into an old autopsy room located in the center of the basement section of the hospital, “Cool, look at this place!” Mike opened one of the doors that was used to hold the deceased bodies and pulled out a long sliding metal tray.
He slid it back into the locker and slammed the door shut, “Sure, now days, the hospital isn't used as a hospital. It is used as a haunted house put on by Asylum 49, during the month of October. It may seem kind of odd that a haunted place is used as a haunted house for some, but to me it makes perfect sense. Rocky Mountain Heath Care owns the building and uses the other half as an elderly care center which Asylum 49 gives a large amount of proceeds to, for every event they put on. If I owned this building, I would investigate the hell out of it.”
They threw out blankets and sat down with them and began drinking more. Samantha was not drinking and was becoming more frustrated at the three others, “I’m going to take a look around.” She got up off the blanket, grabbed a flashlight and walked out of the room. She walked down the hall and began walking in and out of rooms. From inside the next room she was about to enter, but heard a loud noise come from the room. She stopped in her tracks and began breathing heavily, “Come on guys, this isn’t funny.” She walked slowly towards the room and the noise came again, “Seriously, fucking knock it off.” She turned to walk back to the autopsy room, when a shadowy figure jumped on her from behind, tackling her to the ground.
It all happened too fast for her to scream and by the time the others realized how long she had been gone, she was dragged back into the room where the shadowy figure came from. There was slurping and chewing noises coming from the room. Kim, Mike and Mark were back in the autopsy room, “Where the hell is Samantha?” Kim exclaimed as Mike was trying to kiss her, “I’m sure she just found some cool hospital shit in one of the rooms.”
Kim got up and stood with the flashlight, looking back at Mike and Mark. Mark stood up, “Let’s go look for her Mike.” The three walked from the autopsy room, “Samantha?” Kim called out. There was no answer, so the three walked forward into the hallway. “What the fuck is that?” Mike shined his flashlight on the floor in front of them, revealing a large pool of blood and a smeared blood trail into one of the pitch black rooms.
Mike walked forward into the room and shined his light inside. At first, there was no indication of a problem, until he shined the light in the corner. In the corner of the room, draped over Samantha’s body, was a large bloodied body, pulling and chewing on her flesh. “Shit!” Mike screamed, and turned to the others, “Run!”
“What? What the hell is it?” Kim yelled back, with extreme panic and worry in her voice. “Something is eating Samantha!”
“Bullshit.” Mark replied, grabbing the flashlight from Mike, walking over to the door and shining the light inside. The light shined upon the creature eating Samantha, “Fuck!” Mark ran back to Mike and Kim as a horrible screech came from the room. The three ran from the room and out of the hospital. They ran through the perimeter fence and to their car. Kim turned to Mike and Mark, “What should we do?” Mike turned to Mark and Kim, “You guys go home. Pretend nothing happened and I’ll report it to the police.” The three agreed and later that night, Mike reported the incident from a payphone. “911 emergency, what is your emergency?”
Mike responded in a nervous voice, “Yes. I think I saw some people sneaking into the Old Tooele Hospital about an hour ago. They might be causing some trouble out there.” The 911, emergency dispatcher replied, “I’ll send a patrol car over there now.” Before Mike hung up, he replied, “Tell the officer, I think I saw them going into the basement.”
He quickly hung up the phone and went home. The officer responding to the scene, drove by the hospital and looked around the premises and reported back to dispatch, “Yes this is Deputy Saunders, at the Old Tooele Hospital and looks like we have a prank call on that report of teenagers sneaking inside.” The dispatcher responded, “Roger Deputy I have another report about some kids being attacked by some creep, who got hit by a car after trying to flee the scene.”
“I’m on it dispatch.” The deputy turned his car around and drove into the distance, towards the next report.
Chapter Twelve
The following day, the town had been overrun and many people were scattered around town, trying to begin to understand what’s going on. They showed up at health centers, the police and sheriff’s office. The town’s people were informed to go home and secure their homes, gather food and emergency supplies and that there was a scheduled meeting with General Raymond, from Dugway Proving Grounds. The meeting was taking place at the high school auditorium. The residents spread the word and reverse 911 calls were being made to all the residents about the meeting and the situation happening in the town.
General Conrad Raymond stood at the perimeter of the base and watched as hundreds of vehicles were being prepared and loaded with supplies. The directive he had received from his commanding officer was to secure the town and prevent any citizen from leaving. This was coming as the order for declaring martial law was given to the general. He was also ordered to an inquiry regarding the escape of the compounds after the town was secured. This was the final operation if the general was to regain the trust of the higher-ups who gave the authority to proceed with the CU1 and OU2 compounds. He was not going to fail and if that meant the option of black-ops, it was going to remain an option. He would contain and control this outbreak by any means necessary.
The general gave the order and the operation to contain and quarantine the town was underway. The vehicles rumbled through the main entrance of the facility and headed to the town of Tooele. Dust filled the air as the trucks, tanks, Humvees and military transports rolled out. The transports were carrying troops and trailers filled with fencing, barriers, lighting and building supplies. Mult
iple helicopters were whirring, as their rotors began spinning.
The helicopter engines were soon at full speed and lifting off the tarmac, slowly rising into the sky. The general walked across the base and climbed into his personal helicopter. He watched, as the remaining vehicles and helicopters left the base. He placed a headset radio over his mouth and pulled the helmet down on his head and pulled back on the controls. His helicopter lifted off the ground and in the direction of the convoy.
The general watched, as the vehicles crossed the south end of the Desert Mountain range and through the town of Rush Valley. After twenty minutes, the general flew pass the town of Stockton and north towards Tooele. The vehicles began splitting into two groups, one going west and the other, east to begin establishing a secure perimeter around the town. At certain points vehicles stopped, the soldiers climbed from the back of the transports and began laying fencing and barricades around the town. Within the hour, the general had established military checkpoints on the roads, fencing and checkpoints across the desert terrain and lighting structures to light up the desert terrain at night.
The general’s helicopter landed near the town and a jeep, along with eight other fully armed Humvees, pulled up to the general’s helicopter. He walked over, climbed into the jeep and looked at the driver, “take me to the high school.” The convoy pulled off as the remaining soldiers stood post at the perimeter checkpoints.
The town was now under full lockdown and certain citizens trying to leave, on the interstate, were turned back towards the town. The general arrived at the high school and climbed from his Jeep. The soldiers in the Humvees rushed out and around the gymnasium, establishing their show of force to the town people in attendance.
The general gathered all the residents of Tooele into the high school gymnasium. The meeting was in the recreation room, where the basketball games took place. There was hardly enough room for everyone to fit, but people were pressed up against each other to try and see what was happening and why the meeting was called. People were led up to the sides, above the court and onto the court itself surrounding a podium, at the far end of the court, near the exit. The armed soldiers and other personnel were wearing protective gear and breathing masks, with their weapons and crowd control gear, out in front of them.
The general began, “I am declaring a state of emergency in the town of Tooele. A governmental declaration and suspending normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alerting Tooele citizens to change their normal behaviors and ordering government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. I am suspending rights and freedoms, even those guaranteed under the constitution. Your rights and freedoms may be suspended during this emergency, for instance, freedom of movement and anyone from leaving the town will be mandatory.”
The residents began to moan and grumble, others broke into outbursts of protest against the idea. The soldiers, inside the room, stepped forward and fortified their positions around the podium. The general continued, “Article 4 to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, permits states to derogate from certain rights guaranteed by the ICCPR in “time of public emergency”.”
“Any measures derogating from obligations under the Covenant, however, must only be to the extent required by the exigencies of the situation and must be announced by the State Party to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The European and American Conventions on Human Rights have similar derogatory provisions. No derogation is permitted to the International Labour Conventions.” The residents were forced to leave the high school and escorted back to their homes. Some of the residents resisted and some were detained and taken to a secure location for testing.
As some of the citizens walked down the center of Main Street, two figures came from around a corner. They were infected and the group of citizens moved in closer together and walked on the other side of the street. The infected men came walking towards the group of people. As they got closer, a Humvee sped around the corner and in between the people and the two infected men. Two people walked around the Humvee and down towards the corner, the two infected zombies rushed at the two people, attacking them and pinning them to the ground.
They tore away their clothes and began ripping into their skin with their mouths. The soldiers from the Humvee jumped down and ran to the attack, raising their weapons. They immediately opened fire at the infected, cutting them down after firing bursts of contained shots. After the soldiers ceased fire, the remaining citizens ran from the scene and returned to their homes.
The general secured the surrounding suburbs and headed off to the hospital. The CDC had already arrived at the scene and was working with the police to contain the hospital. The general pulled up to the hospital in his Jeep, followed by two additional Humvees, “Who is in charge here?”
A member of the CDC and Sheriff James walked over to the general’s Jeep, “General, I’m Jerry, this is Sheriff James. We are working the scene together.” The general shook their hands and replied with stern authority, “This is a military operation now and I have been given the authority to declare martial law on the town. You have all been here since the outbreak?”
“Yes general” Both responded. The general looked at them both in the eyes and responded, “Then you are all to remain inside the military perimeter, until further notice.”
“You can’t do this general, we aren’t infected. There is nothing wrong with us.” The general pulled away from the hospital and drove towards the operations center, on the perimeter edge. The operation received its directive to not allow anyone in or out of the perimeter, unless they were authorized by the general.
The day passed and it was now dusk, the town’s power was still supplied; however, all communications, radio and internet service were disconnected and scrambled, to prevent the town’s people from communicating with the surrounding towns.
At the highway checkpoint, to the north of the town soldiers stood guard and had the lights shining on the surrounding terrain. In the distance, a truck revved its engine; it was a group of men looking to break through the checkpoint. They sped up and charged at the blockade, screaming and hollering from the windows, “You can’t do this to us, we are free citizens!”
The truck came within 100 feet of the blockade when the tires popped and caused the vehicle to spin out and come to a stop. The roads had been set with tire spikes and the truck never had a chance to make it even close to the checkpoint. The men stepped from the vehicle and began walking towards the soldiers.
One of the soldiers called out through a megaphone, “Turn around and return to town, or you will be fired upon. We are authorized to use deadly force. I repeat, turn around and return to town or you will be fired upon.” One of the men continued walking forward and taunting the soldiers, throwing his hands up in the air. The sergeant, in charge of the checkpoint pointed his weapon and fired two warning shots near the men. The men ducked, turned and ran into the distance, back to the town.
Chapter Thirteen
That night a group of cavers pulled into the parking area around the Nutty Putty Cave. Car lights reflected across the landscape, illuminating small sagebrush bushes and dried grasses. They devised a night climb, planning to enter the cave for an entire weekend cave expedition.
The group jumped from their vehicles, hooting and hollering with excitement, “This is going to be amazing!” The leader of the group yelled out. “I am so excited for my first climb,” another member exclaimed with enthusiasm. They pulled their bags from the back of the trucks and began preparing their climbing gear. The leader of the cavers began explaining the rules, regulations and history of the cave.
“Nutty Putty Cave is the most heavily visited wild cave in Utah. Using a light counting sensor the annual visitation is estimated at over 4,909 visits, twice the combined visitation to all of the other Utah wild caves. The main concern in Nutty Putty Cave is safety. A large percentage of the visitors are not properly prepared. They do not w
ear helmets, carry extra lights, or seek proper leadership or training. The fixed ropes for the short climbs in the cave are worn through their shields in a matter of months.”
“Often trails of blood and other human waste, litter the cave. In 2004, the problem escalated with two full rescues occurring over Labor Day weekend. The local Utah County Sheriff’s office and the owners, the Utah State Trust, initiated a meeting between the Boy Scouts of America, Brigham Young University and Timpanogos Grotto to find some solutions to decrease liability risks. The visitation data gather has been a helpful tool in guiding the actions to implement proper cave management practices in this popular cave.”
“Visitation data was collected through two methods, a light sensing data-logger and a cave register. A HOBO Stowaway light intensity logger was used to collect maximum light intensity readings every 15 minutes. The logger was then placed into a clear HOBO submersible case and hidden in an out-of-reach location with the light sensor facing towards the cave’s main path. A flip-top cave register was placed on the surface to record demographics, such as group affiliation and visitor’s locality.”
“An advantage of collecting visitation data through a data-logger is that the data can be filtered by date, days of the week and 15-minute time slots. When studying the data graphed by time intervals, visitation trends can be seen. Surprisingly, almost all of the possible 15-minute intervals within a day recorded some visitation. The surface cave register recorded the percentage of the cave’s usage by organized groups.”
Dead in Love (Dead Series) Page 13