“What do you mean you don’t think so? You saw the wound when you bandaged it right?”
“Well, yeah. Duh, it had glass in it. It looked like he might have scraped it on some metal.”
“Yeah, a window on the cruiser was busted, so that’s how it must have happened.”
Rebekah rushed to the aid of the shaken up mother and daughter who was yet to enter the house uninvited – standing in the garage. She escorted, seated them, and grabbed two towels that she'd drenched with cold water. She gave the mother one, and cleaned the daughter's face and hands herself with the other, while the mother brought herself back to her senses.
“Are you alright, Syn?” Rebekah asked.
“What? Mike asked.
"Syn," the woman softly responded, as she brushed Sharon’s hair with the palm of her hand obsessive compulsively, voice much different from her original impression. "Syndi Oates...” then she turned to Rebekah. “What's happening to us?" she said, her eyes bulging with tears.
Nervous and clearly a wreck, she took a few moments to calm down before telling us her story. She said that her husband had been attacked as they left for North Warwick Hospital and they've been captives of their own home ever since. In return, we told her just about everything we knew about the effacing and our strategy for survival. We offered her safety and our friendship; and then Jon entered the living room and stood distant from the group, his right forearm bloody and bandaged. It looked pretty bad, similar to the old man that pushed the shopping cart the other day.
"What happened back there?" I asked Jon, who had the look of someone who'd just seen a ghost.
"Nothing." he said bluntly. "Them damn things just appeared outta nowhere and surrounded me. I couldn't get out the damn car till you both got there. After you," he pointed to Mike, "opened the door and started shootin', they went toward the house and I tried to make a break for it." Jon grabbed his bloody bandage, "Cut myself being clumsy somehow, taking out a few of those things that hung around."
"What happened with you guys out there?" Rebekah asked of Mike and me.
I answered, "We found out how to move around them." I told the group.
Suddenly, the diesel engines of multiple vehicles approaching outside of Rebekah's home shook her chandelier. We made our way to the second level and remained quiet, looking thru the mirror she had set up to see the outdoors undetected. I witnessed a convoy of two black Hummers and one black XLT Cadillac truck, a Black RV, a Jeep Wrangler with four armed soldiers in riot gear, and an empty, caged transport unit followed by two black commercial vans pass by and make their way further up the street.
Moments later, you would become aware of it for blocks; screeching, eerie sounds. It was the sirens, flooding our ears for at least 3 seconds and stopping, and then repeating itself three more times before finally coming to a rest.
It was silent.
I stood to my feet knowing what was taking place, and said, "They’re calling them. You hear it now, Mike? I told you I heard a siren."
Mike moved closer to the window, but hadn’t said a thing. He knew then I wasn’t hearing things.
Maria and Ann followed Mike.
Rebekah backed into the darkness of her room.
Jon held on to his wound.
Sharon clutched onto her mother’s hand.
Syndi, frightened, exclaimed, "Calling them for what—"
And almost instantly after her outburst, a thunderous brigade of gunshots rang out on the streets for the next thirty seconds or so before only sounds of small arms fire, and then finally – once again – there was an alarming silence. I anticipated what was to come next.
We all stood impatiently in Rebekah’s family room. I felt an immense cold chill rush through my body that had me on edge, panning up and down the street, searching for anything out of the ordinary. If there was anyone left in Diamond Manor they were still hiding out and probably afraid, not knowing who was shooting at what. But in the end, the blinds across the street, in a one flight residence, shook rapidly; as if someone had just released them. And from another home the door cracked; but not a sole was visible.
“I guess that got their attention.” I said.
At last, I kept my ears tuned in to the muffled, deep and groggy older man's voice thru a bullhorn. He said, "Attention, residents of the Diamond Manor section. Do not be alarmed, we are here to assist you. I have been commissioned by the Mayor, in her name, Rhonda Sherwood, to decontaminate this area and all that surrounds it; and within all of the city limits. My name is Master Sergeant Steven Sworn. Please… carefully make your way to Florence and Cartwright in an orderly fashion. Do not be alarmed. We have disinfected this section of your city, but to make sure the threat has vanquished from this area, we would need your full cooperation. Transport vehicles will ensure your safety to a secure health facility, administering the vaccine to anyone who has been or might be infected by this extremely contagious pathogen. Do not be alarmed. We are here to assist you."
Is he crazy? Do not be alarmed? We are here to assist you? After I just heard at least a thousand shots empty off in the city streets? Anyone who fell for that was insane right along with him.
I heard a footstep and shifted my head in the direction of Syndi.
Syndi held her daughters hand, looked around the room, and desperately said, "I have to go. I'm sorry." and started backing out the room. It seemed as if she didn't want to leave, but felt it was the right thing to do.
"After everything we told you?" Ann said.
"I'm terribly sorry." Syndi said before slowly leaving out the room.
"Look!" Maria pointed out the window.
We all looked as Syndi continued her journey down the stairs. I couldn’t believe she was headed out there; not with her daughter. People were coming from out their homes, shaken and frightened, peeping heads outside of doors to make sure the coast was clear for them to actually step out. Others looked as if they were just happy to be outside, thinking they were being rescued. Couples, singles, and families followed the voice in the bullhorn. A man wearing a cashmere sweater that was stained with blood from the neck stumbled as he made his way through debris; a mother and her three children, two boys who looked to be teenagers, and the girl about Sharon’s age, all huddled together while the mother shed tears. Another woman further down the street was crying at the door, holding a baby in a light, blooded blanket. Then I heard the garage door open and shut below us, on the first level.
Maria said, "I can't believe they're all falling for it," shaking her head.
When I turned around, Syndi and Sharon were gone. And Sworn’s voice continued to echo through the streets of the Diamond Manor section. By then I stopped paying attention; we all did. And we talked through his speech.
"They're all going to die, you know." Rebekah calmly mentioned as she stood by the window, pointing at the child snuggly wrapped in the lightly blooded blanky. "And we can't do anything for them."
Maria and Ann stood beside each other, still gripping sweaty palms.
Then, Mike raised his head as if he was praying, took a breath and said, "We can. We can go out there and tell everyone to go back inside, that it’s a trick."
“Why didn’t you stop Syndi?” I asked Rebekah.
“Why should I have? She made the choice on her own. Forcing her to stay would have made her feel weak. She would have eventually made her way out of here, or she would have wished she had.”
"… and you will receive food, clothing, shelter and treatment if needed." The Master Sergeant ended.
I see Syndi and Sharon on the sidewalk, the stumbling-drunk man wearing the blood-stained Cashmere not far behind, and then I looked back down the street and seen a young couple running up the block. Who knew what was about to take shape out there?
"Take your equipment off, Dale. We have to see what's happening." Mike said, taking off his gear in a hurry, only keeping his hunting knife.
"Well I'm going, too." Jon added.
"And me,
" said Ann, letting loose from Maria's firm grip.
Maria snatched Ann's hand back and argued, "Stay with me."
"She's right." Mike said. "We'll be back soon enough."
I knew Syndi and Sharon were in danger, and the man in the blood-stained Cashmere moved as if he'd been bitten. And after I seen more than enough people for me to head outside and blend in with the crowd, I dropped my gear and headed down the stairs and out the door.
Once we were outside, I seen that the running couple had slowed down, and when they passed us, I asked, “What are you running from?”
“Someone was watching everyone from the roof top; squatting like an animal.” The woman replied, pointing back in the direction they’d raised from.
I looked to the roof but didn’t see anyone or anything; my only thought was Fisher, crouched in attack mode. I turned to see that Mike was sneaking up close to the man in the Cashmere. The man in the cashmere stood straight up and started to twitch rapidly, his joints began to jerk erratically, and he began to moan. Then, as Sharon turned around, and Mike shoved his large, ridged blade into the man's skull, out the view of everyone else. The man in the Cashmere sweater hit the ground.
Sharon screamed. Syndi turned around in shock, and then quickly and forcefully covered her daughter’s mouth, hoping that she wouldn’t draw much attention.
Jon and I made our way to Mike.
Thank you, Syndi lipped, but urgently turned back around and continued to press forward, as if the proof of Sworn’s lies was not ever present at that precise moment.
Mike stood in Syndi’s way and looked her in the eyes. "You're making the wrong choice, Syndi." he looked around. "I know they might sound like they're here to help, but we seen the type of people they really are; what they can and will do to keep this a secret. He didn't even say who he was working for. He’s lying about the Mayor. Look around you, don’t abandon your home."
Syndi answered, "It's not safe here. Why are you trying to make me stay somewhere I don't want to be?! I have to go… Now please" she said, and shuffled off up the street with Sharon held tightly, and looking at Mike.
Sharon appeared more afraid than Syndi, and stared as if she was being forced to do something she didn’t want to pursue. But that’s the thing with children, they don’t get a say-so with their parents. They’re to be as obedient as a pet, being clothed and fed by their caretakers. Mike didn’t think that way, he felt kids were supposed to speak their mind, and it was the adult’s parental duty to oblige the child’s wants and desires of whatever it was; to any extent deemed necessary. He believed children had that extra sense to quickly pick up on evil, being that a child is innocent. And he was to about to follow them until Jon grabbed his arm.
"Hey man." Jon began, sweat dropping like bullets. "I've been thinking. What if my daughter is at West Warwick?" His eyes were racing back and forward, "I can meet up with her. From what Rebekah said and I've seen, I still need to chance it for my little girl. She's all I got." He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I'll make sure Sharon and Syndi is okay… I'll go with them."
Mike looked at Jon, long and hard. He looked at him as if the three lives he'd help save was running out on him to commit suicide. Then he bid Jon a farewell; same as I.
I watched as Jon, Syndi, and Sharon as they made their way toward the end of the street. I wondered what was really going on, and if I could get a hold of one of those soldiers, maybe we could get the inside scoop consisting of a safe passage way through the city; something the cops couldn't provide us with.
Mike had something else on his mind. He grabbed his blade out of the man's skull, wiped it on his jeans and holstered it.
"Come on." he said as he began walking.
We tailed Jon, Syndi, and Sharon for a couple blocks, using the cars and other citizens as cover. More People were still in the city than I thought, and there was no telling who had seen the news and was still barricaded in their homes.
The Master Sergeant’s voice came over the bullhorn again, repeating his lame-ass bullshit speech. It was just tweaked up a bit with some different words here and there. "We know some of you might be scared..." The Master Sergeant continued, "But we have a safe facility to shelter and protect you from the infected..."
I pretty much tuned out the rest of his speech.
We were approaching the Florence and Cartwright intersection. There were hundreds of people. I spotted three groups of five soldiers with gas masks and machine guns; same as all the others from our previous encounter. The men in Hazmat suits assisting people aboard the back of the mobile transport was something new, as was the others in protective chemical suits piling up the dead bodies of the infected in the back of commercial vans. Was that what Rebekah and Jon mentioned about their encounters?
Syndi and Sharon were nearing the soldiers. Jon slowed down not far behind them, dropped to his knees and sat there for a moment. I knew all along he was lying about how he received his wounds. I didn’t want to call him out on it, but he was paling and showing significant signs that he was infected; like the old man that pushed the shopping cart; he was also sweating profusely the last time I seen him.
Jon ended up getting back to his feet and continued to walk toward the convoy while people avoided contact with him. They, too, knew he was shifting.
The last tad-bit of Sworn’s speech left a numbing feeling that didn’t sit right on my stomach. He said, "... And for those of you who chose to stay in your homes and refuse our support... the curfew will be enforced as the night falls, for safety purposes, and until the threat of the spread of this infectious disease is contained."
POP! POP! POP!
The woman walking with her two teenage sons and young daughter collapsed, and people began to run away from the convoy while others calmly stood and waited for Sworn’s orders, eager to be rescued; but ignorant to the truth.
"Back the fuck up!" the soldier that shot the mother of three screamed. "Everyone... back the fuck up!" he pointed his gun at the dead woman's children.
The woman's eldest son charged the soldier; the soldier shot him dead before he could throw the first swing. Two more soldiers grabbed the other son and forced him to the ground, placing him in restraints, and the daughter was lifted up by someone in a Hazmat suit and taken to the transport.
Syndi and Sharon made their way in the transport line still attached to one another. Sharon's head was lowered, as if to avoid the chaos that surrounded them. Syndi, turning her head to spot Jon, threw a hand over her mouth and pushed Sharon closer to the truck, just inches away into the safety of the turtle-paced crowd of citizens;
Jon regurgitated. Then, he slowly approached a man in a Hazmat suit and attacked him, biting into the suits aluminized fiberglass and chemical barrier material; the nearest soldier to them shot Jon in the back of the head at point blank range without hesitation. Jon hit the ground, and the soldier turned his machine gun on the man in the Hazmat suit, putting a shatter-driven hole in his helmet’s shield; and the man in the Hazmat suit laid flat on his back.
"It's here!" yelled the soldier who had just murdered two unarmed men in front of everyone. “The virus is here.”
The engines on all the vehicles roared. The soldiers backed up to their vehicles, aimed their guns at the civilians; and one warned, “Don’t get any closer! Maintain your positions or we’ll be forced to open fire.”
Shots were fired from the other side of the convoy. Someone must have ignored the soldier’s orders.
The soldiers began loading up in their vehicles, ordering people to back away or get shot, and a few unlucky citizens chose death over trying to survive in the twisted and contaminated area. The rest ran free from the site.
People were being trampled. Five Bleeders came from the other side of the convoy, slowly headed for anyone breathed. They wasted no time scarfing down their innocent victims into nothing more than chewed-up scraps, while the soldiers pumped hot lead into the living, the living dead, and the deceased.
Syndi and Sharon rushed over the toppled people in front of them; like a few others who’d witnessed the massacre that encompassed them. The convoy began to move out, leaving the people to fend for themselves; and when the first half of the convoy cleared the street, we got our first glimpse of what they ran from. It was a union of at least a hundred Bleeders nearing, but directly behind Syndi, as she lifted Sharon aboard the transport. And the soldier aboard the transport non-hesitantly grabbed Sharon just as the truck began to move, knowing the mother was a goner.
"Noooo!" Mike yelled. "Look out! Syndi! Syndi!"
Mike and I both ran toward Syndi but were too late; the Bleeder grabbed her by the throat and began to chew into her flesh like a Lion to a Gazelle. The look in Mike's eyes was one of failure. And again, he raised his head to the sky as if he were saying a prayer.
An engine roared behind us. I turned around and seen that one of the Hummers made its way back. It pulled up directly behind us and the driver’s door opened. I looked to the license plate. It was Ann.
We got in.
"We have to get out the Manor." Rebekah confessed from the passenger seat.
"No shit!" I shot back. "What about the cops?"
"We put them out the truck a block over. Blindfolded…" Rebekah answered.
I've witnessed the deaths of my mother, father, and eight-year-old sister years ago. I couldn't do a thing to help them. But from the moment I seen through my own eyes, two people that I just met, die, two undeserving deaths, and an eight-year-old girl get shipped off to a healthcare facility by some guerilla army being controlled by a Master Sergeant Steven Sworn, I knew from that moment what I had to do.
Sharon was still alive. If there was really a secure healthcare facility, we didn't have much time to orchestrate an infiltration, but we damn sure had to try. And what did we have to lose by running up in West Warwick Hospital that we didn’t already lose years before the storm?
CHAPTER IX
We sped through the gates of Diamond Manor to get away from Sworn and his soldiers, and then dipped off the road onto a one lane backstreet. We only covered about fifteen square miles within the next couple hours, inching our way deeper into the heart of a city that was struck with corpses lying dead in the alleyway, gun shells and abandoned vehicles in the streets – some on fire – burning houses, and screams of, both, endangered citizens and the blood-thirsty, ravenous creatures that used to be on our side, until the diary of a mad man escaped from the pages of his composition notebook and into the real world, destroying everything by the work of sinister forces some people would have never thought to have existed, and others who waited for that time to come.
They Came With The Storm (The Effacing) Page 8