Jeremy jabbed his hand through the gap, reaching for my throat. His arms were covered in bite marks and scratches. His fingers were raw, skinned down to the knuckles. He snatched my jacket lapel and dragged me towards the door. I tripped over my high heel, which I’d pulled off at the same time as my pantyhose. Reflexively, I snatched it up from the floor and stabbed Jeremy in the forearm with it. I burrowed the heel right into his flesh, creating a hole about the size of a dime.
Jeremy let me go. He tried to spit in my face but he missed. He said, “I hope they get you, you stupid cunt.”
Seconds later, Jeremy was howling. It was a bloodcurdling sort of howl—true anguish—so I was sure they’d reached him. The door shook inside the frame as they launched their attack. I could hear Them, smacking their lips, eating Jeremy. I bit down on my wrist to stop myself from screaming.
A dead weight thudded against the other side of the door. Thump . . . thump . . . thump. Eventually, Jeremy stopped shrieking.
Some minutes later, the doorknob clicked and turned. I leaped at it and pulled it towards me using every ounce of my strength. I held my breath, waiting. Whoever it was eventually gave up.
I’ve been left alone ever since.
The lights went out about twenty minutes after Jeremy was attacked, so I’ve been using my laptop to see. I’ve still got 67% power, so I think I’ll be okay for a while.
While I’ve been sitting here, I’ve had some time to think about the changeover times of the infected. I find it perplexing that some, like Keisha, transformed instantly, but then there were those, like Mike and Salvador, who took a bit more time. I’ve come up with some theories. I don’t think the delayed transformation has anything to do with the age of the person. Perhaps it has something to do with sex o
They got me, Adam!
One of them got in.
I was attacked. She bit me. I’ve been bitten. Oh my God.
I’m bleeding.
Okay, okay, okay . . . I’ve got to get it together. I’m going to keep going until the bitter end. I want you to know everything that’s happened, Adam, should this email ever get out.
I love you and Karen so very much.
I was attacked roughly five minutes ago, about 1:53PM. Don’t worry, I’m safe again . . . Well, I’m as safe as anyone can be trapped in a supply closet with only pantyhose for a deadbolt.
I’ve got my wound wrapped. I sucked at the bite mark and spat out the blood right after it happened. You know, like how people suck out the poison from rattlesnake bites? I’m not sure if I’ve managed to prevent anything or if I’ve only made things worse for myself by getting the blood in my mouth, but I had to do something.
At least I can say I tried, right?
Since I’ve been honest this far, I should probably tell you that I’ve briefly toyed with the idea of suicide. I do NOT want to turn into Them. Imagine if I ate somebody?
But not to worry. Even if I did want to kill myself, which I don’t, I have no way of doing it. I don’t exactly have a lot of options in here. I seriously doubt that drinking printer toner or slicing my wrists with paperclips would get the job done swiftly or sufficiently. Even if I managed to construct a noose out of my shirt, I’d have nothing to hang myself from except the sprinkler head in the ceiling. And I’m guessing it wouldn’t hold my weight.
I’m so scared, Adam. I am so sacred.
It was Lauren who bit me. It was my fault. I was untying the pantyhose on the shelf end so that I could take up the slack and strengthen the knot. Every now and then, one of Them would thump against the door. It was making me nervous. The knot was difficult to get undone, so I really had to work at it. My hands were slick with sweat and shaking, and I lost my hold, knocking a box off the shelf. The box hit the floor and pens clattered out everywhere. Lauren must have heard it.
Lauren was halfway through the door before I even realized that she’d gotten in. I grabbed my high heel to stab her, but she was much faster than Jeremy. She bit me, and I could immediately feel the burn of her toxin entering my system.
Like a bee stinger.
I fought hard. I finally managed to drive my high heel through Lauren’s eye and she let go immediately. But the damage had been done. She left right after her attack, with my heel still sticking out of her face.
Wowza
My head is REALLY hurting. I’m hoping it’s just a byproduct of my terror and not the infection
but I don’t want to fool myself.
I’m a goner
I’ll have to sign off soon. But, before I do, I want to finish telling you my theory. I’ve noticed that smokers and people
who
I’m definitely infected. I feel the change happening.
It hurts so damn much. sorry adam
I am so sorry. a
adam
The pain is indescribable. Like a fever.
Remember that Medieval torture device we saw in that wax museum in San Francisco? It’s like that, but not metal and there are no rats and of course I’m not made of wax. I guess nothing is. Nothing but fruit and candles and museums and paper
You understand? What I mean to tell you is that it’s feels like there’s a vice gripe on my skull and
I’m thinking we should paint kitchen sun yellow Kelly did her bedroom in that banana and it’s really
so sorry
my love
Adam. fever is taking over
I’m try to keep going by I am feeling a little oven on my four head.
nopleasenononono… OhGodAdam it burns like fire Like a tire on fire Like fire tire fire tire
can you change my flat tire
give Kar a hug and a mouth
I love you so much ILOVEEYOUUU
CBJA.DKVGIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKIVOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
cont.
FIELD REPORT (A-29)
—CLASSIFIED—
CONT.: While it was against procedure, I felt that it was prudent to take Sally Roberts into the lab for additional study. She was a perfectly preserved specimen of A-29, since the cabinet had kept her confined to the supply closet and she did not come into contact with others after she was infected. I did not feel she posed civilian danger, since the lab is inside the Arcohe quarantine zone and Roberts was and continues to remain in a comatose state. It was a judgment call on my part, and it should be noted that both Private Jason Thomas and Private Carey Reiken did not agree with my decision. I take full responsibility for the breach of protocol, and any reprimands should be directed my way.
Both Bean’s vaccine and Virus A-29 have shown substantial results in the lab. If honed, I believe both could have vast practical applications that would benefit future military undertakings. Our A-29 subject does not respond to pain stimuli and appears invulnerable to extended starvation. These qualities could perhaps be useful to soldiers in remote combat situations. Bean’s serum, as I mentioned previously, has a very short incubation period. It could be applied as biological defense in combat, since it would greatly incapacitate the enemy. Again, this is only if A-29 were honed. The results of A-29 are far too unpredictable in its current state, which is why I would like to continue my studies of the virus and of Roberts.
My team and I are currently working to formulate an inoculation against Virus A-29 so that those exploiting it would be protected, if it were applied as a biological defense—an “antivenin.” Regardless of its final intended use, I nonetheless feel it would be judicious to develop an A-29 antivenin as a failsafe, considering Arcohe’s swift devastation.
Given its close proximity to Arcohe, I am requesting a location change to Blakenwall Military Training Center and permission to continue my Roberts trials inside the main research facility.
These are my complete findings as of today. Please let me know how you would like my team to proceed.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Advice
Hello Stan.
I need your advice on something. I’m not really sure about the proper protocol for reporting the type of issue I’m having, or if this is even your department, but I’m hoping you might at least be able to point me in the right direction.
Harrison Bean, the PhD candidate I’ve been supervising here at the lab, has not met with me all week. He has many allergies and is prone to illness, so at first I didn’t think anything of it. However, he’s typically very responsible and it isn’t like him not to show for so many consecutive days without at least sending word.
I started calling Harrison’s cell a few times a day since Tuesday, and it always went straight to voicemail. This morning, I found the number for Harrison’s girlfriend on his list of emergency contacts, and when I called her she informed me that Harrison has been missing since Monday. A police report has been filed, even, so I think they suspect something bad has happened. I really hope not, because Harrison is a nice kid.
Anyway, I got to thinking about Harrison’s projects. He’s been coming to the lab a lot on his own during the weekends, so I thought if I checked the sign-in sheet I could maybe help police narrow down the time of Harrison’s disappearance. According to the sign-in sheet, Harrison hasn’t come to the lab since last week. But here’s where it gets weird. When I checked the cold storage, I found that 20 samples of the Alzheimer’s vaccine Harrison and I have been testing were missing. Harrison would have no reason whatsoever to take samples outside of the lab, and even if he did want to try to work on the vaccine from home he’d have no reason to take so many. One or two, maybe. But twenty, no way.
I think I should notify the police about this. I’m almost sure it’s not connected to his disappearance, since nobody would have reason to hurt or kidnap Harrison over the vaccine. The cold storage units don’t have locks on them, so it could have just been a student or somebody from the cleaning crew looking to get high, not that an Alzheimer’s serum would help them with that. It wouldn’t be the first time pharmaceuticals have gone missing from the lab.
Still, you never know.
I understand, though, that you might be worried about how this would reflect on the school. Also, you may have concerns about losing future grants if word got out that research has been lost. I know this is a great concern of mine.
Any advice?
Thanks, Stan.
—Giles
---
Dr. Giles Bunton
Montague University
Department of Biological Sciences
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Advice
Hi Giles.
I really appreciate you checking with me before moving forward.
Yes, I think we should notify the police about the missing samples. It might cause a media uproar (if there’s anything Americans love, it’s university scandal), so I’ll need to talk to Cindy over in Public Relations before we make any calls.
You’re probably right about it just being some kid looking to score dope. But while we’re on the subject, why don’t you put in a maintenance request to have locks installed on your storage units and I’ll make sure the overheads are approved.
Since it’s so late on Friday, Cindy has probably already gone home for the weekend. Let’s just wait until Monday afternoon to make the calls. This will give Cindy some time to get her ducks in a row. It doesn’t seem that you have any vital information in regard to when Harrison was at the lab, so waiting a couple of days isn’t going to hurt. But if we go through all this trouble and then I find out that little pissant has just gotten tired of summer school and has been off backpacking around Europe trying to find himself, he won’t even be able to get a PhD from an online university based out of Swaziland.
I’m hitting the course this weekend. Fancy a couple rounds of golf?
—Stan
---
Stanley J. Connley
Montague University
Dean of Students
CONFIDENTIAL
URGENT
July 11, 2014
TO: Jonathan Brigham
FROM: Gary Pitt
SUBJECT: A-29 Surveillance
John,
I have just intercepted electronic communication from Bunton. He has discovered the missing samples at Montague and he now has suspicions about Bean’s disappearance. He is talking. He has already contacted a colleague of his, Dean of Students Stanley J. Connley. They are planning on going to the police with this on Monday afternoon.
I don’t need to tell you how catastrophic it would be for us if this got out, especially since half the grants Bean and Bunton used to develop the serum were federal. We have already committed to the Arcohe indoctrination, so we can’t get cold feet now. I don’t like this any more than you do, but you need to send men over to Wilton to take care of this.
Thanks.
G.P.
ANSWERS FOR ARCOHE:
Source of A-29 Epidemic Revealed
By Bruce Thompson
Wilton Weekly Gazette
(Display Week of: September 1, 2014)
Arcohe, New Jersey — While it has been almost a decade and a half since the 9/11 attacks, America’s “War on Terror” is far from over. In a statement delivered on Aug. 30, the day Arcohe officially opened for repopulation, New Jersey Governor Jerry Skeers revealed that the virus responsible for taking 1725 innocent American lives has ties to Islamic terrorist organizations.
A-29, the bloodborne pathogen that devastated Arcohe in early July, is new to U.S. soil. It has, however, been employed by Middle Eastern extremists for decades under a different Arabic name, which has a loose English translation of “rebellion.”
Dr. Steven Woods, an epidemiologist who worked closely with the military during the A-29 outbreak, has confirmed its origins. “I’ve witnessed devastation like this only one other time during my career, and that was when I was serving in the Middle East. Villages of civilians, mostly women and children, wiped out in a matter of days.”
While no formal charges have been filed, Ahmed Abubakar al-Wuhayshani, an Iraqi national attending Montague University on study visa, has been brought in for questioning. Classmates of al-Wuhayshani describe him as “quiet and guarded” and say that he “likes to stick to his own kind.”
The reason behind the attack is still unknown, but Governor Skeers assures Arcohe residents that he’s working closely with the White House to apprehend those culpable for the savage acts against the community.
New Jersey citizens are encouraged to report all suspicious acts to local authorities.
+EMERGENCY
BULLETIN+
THIS IS NOT A DRILL! BREACH OF SECURITY ALERT!!!!!!!!
This is Dr. Steven Woods reporting from Research Facility 1 . . .
Roberts has escaped from Blakenwall!
I am requesting immediate armed assistance inside Research Faculty 1.
Soldiers and scientists . . . Bodies everywhere. Everyone is dead!
Roberts awakened from her coma . . . A-29 has been released into the public. There is grave civilian danger.
REPEAT: Roberts has escaped Blakenwall.
Somebody please come help me! I am barricaded inside Workspace A. I am unarmed!
Good Christ the dead are waking
the dead are waking they are coming
somebody please help me
send somebody to workspace a
help me
somebody ple
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Special thanks to all those who continue supporting my work: my amazing family, friends, and readers. You know who you are. I love you guys.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sloan Archer has been writing fiction since childhood; her first works were dark short stories inspired by howling coyotes on her family's farm, penned while Sloan was in grammar school. When Sloan isn't creating novels, she enjoys world travel, painting, and live music. She res
ides in Los Angeles.
WHERE TO FIND SLOAN:
Website: www.sloanarcher.net
Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/SloanArcher
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SloanArcher
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdqmyTIGoaagopFBNOznwLw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SloanArcherWriter
The Lone Zombie of New Jersey Page 4