U.G.L.Y

by Rhoades, H. A.

  30.

  -Exodus-

  We were ready to move within 20 minutes. I gathered up the things I had left. Then I ran and joined the others at the staging area behind the main kitchen of the detention center.

  There were several rows of canned foods still stored in the area. Mostly stews, canned vegetables, and canned fruit. We were ready to evacuate, with several cases of food staged along side all the other gear. Hopefully we would be given enough time to load everything we had stacked into the vehicles that were waiting in an underground parking structure below the detention center.

  “Let me have your attention folks” Levitt said to the group. “I am going to go to the roof and announce our departure to our gathering audience. I will even go so far as to allow them access by dropping a set of keys to the outside door.”

  We all looked at him with tilted expressions. Why would he give them access to the building?

  “ Diversion” he said with a smirk on his face, “the objective is to get them to make as much noise as possible on the opposite side of the building from our escape path.”

  Levitt climbed to the roof of the building and joined the two marines keeping a vigil over the large group of marauders that had filled the alley. As Levitt had hoped, they were beginning to attract the attention of hosts that were now gathering outside the closed alley gates. They were hungry and angry and the gates were beginning to sway.

  “Hey fellas, hows it looking?” Levitt said to the men on the roof.

  “These guys are getting antsy and they want in pretty bad.”

  “Lets give them what they want” He said, then quickly detailed his plan. “Let me have that bullhorn”.

  Levitt cleared his throat, raised the bullhorn to his lips and spoke.

  “ladies and gentleman.” The crowd quieted enough to hear him. My name is Major Steven Levitt, I am commander of a medical transport unit. We are temporarily occupying this location and have decided to grant your group access. I will be dropping a set of keys that were recovered from the interior to you. There will be a key to the outside door on this keyring.”

  He stopped long enough to listen to some protesting and threats yelled back. They were demanding to be let in from the inside.

  “You will forgive us for allowing ourselves enough time to evacuate before you enter the building.” He said to the angry mob. “good luck to you all”. He tossed the ring of keys into the alley.

  Levitt and his men ran at full sprint to the roof access door and headed down the stars to the staging area. Access to the parking area was through two large sliding doors that opened onto a loading dock. Two marines stood ready to open these doors on command as Major Levitt and his entourage came running into the room.

  “Lets go!!” He yelled. We grabbed everything we could. I swung my pack over my shoulder and grabbed two cases of canned stew. My back twinged as I started to run towards the first vehicle I could see.

  While we were making our way through the parking structure in the alley, the marauders on the other side of the building were frantically trying to find a key on the key ring that Levitt had dropped to open the outside door. They were under attack now. The hosts had broken down the gates on both ends of the alley, as the number of hosts had grown into the thousands. They had set up a firing line on either side of the group facing the fences with several vehicles topped with 50 caliber machine guns.

  But they were overrun before they could reload after their first volley, and within only 15 minutes the entire group was killed. Few were turned, most were torn apart and fed on. The hosts were becoming more violent as the day passed. It seemed like they were feeding more frequently on the uninfected than at first.

  The slaughter of the marauders gave us enough time to load up our vehicles. As the caravan of five Humvee's and one large transport truck began its slow movement towards the light of the open street, we could see shadows moving quickly past the entrance to the parking area. Thousands of hosts were running towards the open alley down the block, running to feed on the overwhelmed humans in the alley. The lead vehicle increased its speed and the caravan slipped one by one out into the street. There were some hosts in the way but the lead Humvee rolled right over them, clearing a way for the rest of the vehicles.

  As we drove out of the city we watched hundreds more hosts run towards the open alley. I imagined a feeding frenzy with thousands of infected bodies piled on top of each other. Fighting for the last scraps of human flesh.

  After a short drive the lead vehicle pulled into a field on the top of a bluff overlooking the city and the sea beyond. From this vantage point we could clearly see the smoke rising from the detention center located downtown, near the wharf.

  “It looks like the entire building went up.” Levitt said, in a sullen tone. “I left those poor bastards as bait.”

  I looked over at him “They would have killed us and taken our supplies” I said.

  “I know” He pulled a cigar out of his pocket and ran it under his nose, “I know they would have. This is how we survive from here on.” He looked somberly at the cigar in his hand. “I don't have to like it though.”

  His thoughtful and sorrowful reflection of what had just occurred struck me in a way I hadn't expected. Till now I had been running and surviving. Hit hard by what I had seen and what I had lost. I was continuing to lose people I had loved. Even in Eve's case, the connection with her was unintentional but it was clearly there and her death was so traumatic and gruesome I felt it in my bones. This was how we survived from now on. We sacrificed others to live. Levitt had pointed out to me that we were losing our humanity.

  31.

  -Encampment-

  The camp was large, there were 20 or more tents set up across the field. There was a mess tent, sleeping quarters, and a medical tent with hot showers. It was a small mobile city.

  Levitt's group that had ventured into town, was relativity small, maybe ten marines. In the camp there had to be 100 marines, Navy and Army personnel. This was all that was left of more than four hundred military personnel that were transporting the sick from Seattle.

  After we arrived, I looked around for a place to settle in. Levitt pointed me towards one of the sleeping tents and told me I could drop off my things and get some food. When I was done, I was to make my way over to the command tent were he would show me all the data they had collected over the last couple of days. We had a short talk about our backgrounds and he thought I might have some incite on what was happening because of my research history.

  He wasn't wrong. After the first wave had hit I had done a lot of independent research on the fungus strain that had contaminated the drug that was put into the water supply.

  I had surmised that it wasn't the drug itself but rather a combination of the location of manufacturing and the delivery method that was used. The combination of the two had created a leap in evolution for the fungus.

  The drug company had used H-pylori bacteria as a delivery method for the drug. A live bacteria that had acted as a catalyst for ingestion into the digestive tract. My research had led me to believe that the bacteria had also provided a means for the fungus to survive in the human gut long enough to adapt to our physiology.

  At first the adaptation would cause a psychotic reaction which would lead to an event like the first wave. But with the ill, the time it took to turn, gave the fungus enough time to adapt and find a method of propagation. This made a human turn into a mindless monster, with the sole purpose of feeding to pass spores onto the next host.

  Levitt and I talked for several hours and as the discussion moved along, other senior members of the camp began to gather in the command tent. A plan of attack quickly came together and by nightfall the whole camp had orders to pack up first thing in the morning.

  Morning was too late. As the sun began to set thousands of hosts entered the field. There was no running, we heard no screeches to warn us. In a matter of minutes the entire camp was overrun. I didn’t remember very muc
h from the attack. almost as soon as I heard the first explosion I was knocked unconscious by a blast from an exploding vehicle.

  The next morning, the survivors collected the dead and buried the bodies. The infected were burned. The marines had lost 12 people.

  Three had been turned before being put down. The others were killed by explosives. A young female private from southern California was bitten and killed by another Marine. She was bitten on the shoulder and as she cried for help, she was shot in the head. The Marine that had killed her, was killed almost immediately after by an explosion. I remember hearing her scream as the host that bit her, tore the flesh from her body. I lost consciousness shortly after.

  Levitt walked out of a smoldering command tent. He looked tired and broken. He had suffered some injuries during the fight. His arms were burnt, a still bleeding cut was visible on his forehead.

  “Gather round folks” Levitt had some papers in his hand as he waved to the group. “We have gotten some radio traffic from Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado”.

  Cheyenne Mountain was an air force complex located deep in the mountains outside of Colorado Springs. Over the last couple of days the Air force had locked down the mountain and begun transmitting instructions over military bands. Levitt's group had picked up a set of instructions that directed any unit west of the Rocky Mountains to mobilize and regroup on a secluded plateau near Teluride Colorado.

  “A central command has been organized in Colorado and they are coordinating remote bases throughout the western United States. We have been ordered to collect survivors and head for a strategic placement on the west side of the Rockies. There is no other information at this point. After last nights attack, I am eager to get moving anywhere away from here. Lets pack it up and get the hell our of here. One hour folks”

  32.

  -Troop Movement-

  The journey would be long. Our destination was over 1100 miles south east, and we would be traveling through sparsely populated areas, across three states to get there.

  I couldn’t help but think that the trip might be a little pleasant. After all I would be traveling with an armed caravan. And if the weather was nice, the landscape would be beautiful. Traveling with Sofia would be nice to.

  The thought of spending so much time close to Sofia, tucked away in the back of one of the trucks looking out over the landscape began to feel very appealing. We had been talking and growing closer over the last 24 hours and even though there had been many brutal moments over that time, we had found some peace with each other.

  I gathered my things and helped load the cargo truck. I hadn't seen Sofia since the funeral service we had for the marines that were lost the night before. I set out to see if I could help her load her things when I came across the medical tent that hadn't been taken down yet.

  In this new world there were few comforts, but here in the camp, the Marines had set up hot showers, and they were located in the back of the medical tent. I blindly wandered into the tent not aware that the water was running because of the noise from the rest of the camp. As I wondered into the shower area I noticed the steam rising from one of the stalls and just as I turned the corner, Sofia stepped out of the stall in front of me.

  She was completely out of the shower and was reaching across the narrow path to grab a towel hanging on a hook.

  “Excuse me” She said startled, and a little angry.

  I was a little startled myself. I felt ridiculous for finding myself in this position. I stood dumbfounded in front of a very naked woman dripping wet from the shower. I couldn't take my eyes off of her though. I stood frozen in place.

  She looked intently at me and covered herself as best she could with her hands. I stammered and began to apologize. I flushed with embarrassment.

  She softened and began to smile at me. Without uttering a word she dropped her hands and her expression changed to a mischievous look. For that brief second I let my eyes scan her figure.

  She was incredibly beautiful. She was exotic, and her bronze skin was intoxicating as she stood in front of me, still wet from the shower. I studied her form. She had no tan lines, her curves were smooth and inviting. Her breasts held a teardrop shape and stood firmly off her chest. Her nipples were dark and erect.

  I hoped it was because she was excited to have me ravaging her with my eyes but I knew it was likely because she stepped from the hot shower into the cold air. I started telling myself to look away, and as I began to turn, I dropped my eyes to her stomach and to her neatly trimmed hairline. I felt an instant stirring in my gut and a brief but intense urge washed over me.

  “I am so sorry” I said sheepishly. “I didn't hear the water running and I am apparently to stupid to connect the steam with there being someone in the shower”.

  “Its quite alright Duncan.” I could hear playfulness in her voice “ I didn't mind, but next time its your turn”

  “Ahem!!” Janice, the female corpsman was now standing in front of me, tapping her foot with her arms crossed. “Are you finished?” She looked at me annoyed. “did you take a good look?”. Janice was not an attractive woman and was very manlike in stature. I think I was a little scared of her.

  “I uh, shit” I looked at the floor of the tent, mortified at being caught. She was playing with me, and she just took the opportunity to make me as uncomfortable as possible. “I am going to find something else... anything else to do”.

  As I walked away I could hear the two of them giggling behind the canvas curtain. Even in this mess there was some levity. I let the image of her naked form wash over my mind, smiling I ran off to help disassemble some of the remaining tents.

  Within the hour the caravan was loaded and ready to move. I climbed on a large transport at the end of the caravan and Sofia followed. We sat down on the floor in the back, surrounded by tents and sleeping bags. She looked at me, smiled, and leaned forward to give me a kiss. I felt like a little kid getting his first kiss from a girl.

  As the caravan moved out of the field we could see smoke in the distance from the burning detention center. There was several miles of road between us and the city. I squinted hard and I could just make out a wall of bodies on the road a mile or so away.

  “Holy shit” I said “ there are thousands of hosts running towards us.”

  Levitt knew they were coming. He hadn't said anything to the majority of the group because he didn't want to distract anyone from pulling camp and cause a panic. Only the patrols were aware. The caravan moved forward, keeping a pace fast enough to out run the approaching hosts.

  We spent the better part of the day traveling. Each mile took us further away from the city. We passed little towns along the way. Small rural communities that were made up of farmers. These towns hadn't been effected yet. Behind us were thousand of hosts that were migrating out of the city.

  We passed information on, telling people to get away from the main roads, to hide. There was little anyone could do. Some told us that this was the end of days and these hoards were gods messengers coming to take them. They were excepting the scourge as an act of god.

  33.

  -Human Nature-

  We had done this to ourselves. In an effort to continue to make profit, a human decision had poisoned the population of a city. We created a means for a lower life form to out evolve us. We are a stupid species, a species that would inevitably destroy itself to gain position and power.

  I remember reading just before the second wave began, that the World Health Organization had begun to get concerned that our society would quickly be facing the threat of a post modern medicine era. We had so freely overused anti-viral medications, that bacteria began to evolve to be resilient.

  There was a growing concern that drug companies would not make the investments in creating new forms of anti-virals because unlike other drugs, they were not a long term investment. The return on investment was too low. There was no profit to be made in killing staff infections or flu strains, just in creating drugs that peop
le would have to take for their entire lives. Drugs like tranquilizers and SSRI's, blood pressure medications and others.

  We had become a drugged up and controlled society. In parallel scientists had begun developing super bugs to test gene manipulation methods, and prove that infectious strains could be modified with just a few genetic code changes. Scientists were successful in modifying viruse's that spread only through contact, to propagate through the air. Potentially dooming our species if they were ever released. But this event happened first, this accident of adaptation that was a result of our own greed and stupidity.

  34.

  -Frozen in Time-

  As we approached Boise Idaho the convoy pulled into a small suburban community. The convoy drove slowly through the deserted streets. There were no cars on the road or people walking anywhere. There was no human presence at all.

  This little community wasn't far from the city. It was a quiet little suburb that had the feel of a Norman Rockwell painting. We made the assumption that hosts had moved through and the uninfected had evacuated. There was a eerie feeling as we went from building to building. All the stores were unlocked and merchandise was still on the shelves. I walked into a small restaurant and found cups of coffee and food still on the tables. People had run from here in a hurry.

  The column of vehicles had been parked in line about 50 yards from a train crossing that split the little town in two. I had made my way into a book store. Knowing that there was nothing of use for the group in there I couldn't resist browsing the book racks for something I hadn't read. Before this all began I had become an avid reader of science-thrillers.