by David Menard
“Lets go people!” Burt yelled as he started running up the aisle. Cindy was more familiar with the landscape so she caught up with him and took the lead. She had an idea, the electronic section was near the back so they could grab some two way radios. This was on their way to the emergency exit in the back of the store. The radios would come in handy in the future. She led the group towards the back and stopped to grab the equipment. She did not bother with batteries because John had some in the store. As they were about to leave they heard a scream.
Cindy looked back and saw John on the floor. He was bitten in the ankle by one of the monsters. John managed to kick it back revealing the identity of the zombie. It was Wallace Green, at least half of him anyway. The entire bottom half of his body was eaten away, only his torso remained. He was crawling on the floor ravenously, his entrails falling behind him as he did it. Cindy was going to throw up, but contained herself for the time being. She swiftly approached her fallen comrade. She pulled John away from Wallace and leveled her gun to Wallace’s head and killed him. I am sorry you became one of them. Goodbye my friend.
“Come on, lets go,” Cindy told John as she started to pick him up. He managed to run slightly with his injured ankle, but he could not keep up with the rest of them. Cindy ran to Anthony’s aid when he was faced with multiple targets. Cindy and Anthony started shooting away to prevent some scattered zombies from getting near them. The horde from outside crashed through the doors only minutes ago and had already caught up. John wobbled to the best of his ability, as the other four survivors were fighting off the undead. The intruders were closing in on John as his movement slowed even more as he tired. Cindy glanced back and saw John was slowing down, the sea of zombies upon him. One of the infected pulled John to the ground. Cindy took a few strides toward him before Burt held her back.
“He is done for, he has already been bitten and if we take him with us they will catch us and kill us all. We have to go now,” Burt said strongly yet gently. He grabbed Cindy’s arm and forced her to run with him.
“Noooo! Let go of me!... John!...... Burt let me go!” Cindy screamed trying to fight off his grip. Burt was dragging Cindy as she planted her body to try and pull away from him. Anthony grabbed her other arm and they dragged her together as she kicked to get free. “Anthony, please, let go. I beg of you! We need to save him! PLEASE!” she pleaded to no avail, tears cascading down her face.
“Cindy! Keep Gabe safe! Aaargh- FUCK! You can make it! Just go!” John called out to his friend. The undead were feasting on his legs and back. He watched, horrified as his friends exited the store. A tear rolled down his cheek as he placed his pistol to his head. “I love you Gabe.”
BANG!
Chapter 20: The Abomination
Four days ago….
Bruce Williams created a dreadful outbreak that was tearing the town apart. His dream to prevent death only opened up Pandora’s Box, creating more destruction in its wake. Bruce was sitting in Jennifer’s office collapsed against the metal drawers, her corpse laid in front of him, unmoving. The Washington monument was protruding from her eye, inverted. Bruce’s eyes started to move under his eye lids.
“I’m alive?” he announced to himself. He looked at his pale skin, his body felt like it was on fire. He couldn’t move, sickness had settled in. He could feel the cold sweat covering his face. Gunshots and the shattering of glass awoke him from his slumber. The bites killed everyone else, so how am I alive right now? Everyone else turned within minutes of infection. Could it have been the inhibitor?
Bruce contracted prostate cancer a few months after discovering his Inhibitor. Once diagnosed, he raced to his lab and injected himself with the inhibitor. The T-217 attacked cancerous cells, curing him. Now it apparently slowed down the infection caused by the Cytoposine. If he could get to his lab, he could start reverse engineering the composition of the compound and utilize the inhibitor to cure the maddened assailants. He sat, immobilized for an hour, drifting in and out of consciousness when he heard footsteps. The door opened, revealing Marcus Alyson, Jennifer’s father and Chief of Staff.
“Jennifer! Are you okay?” He announced in the office, surveying it. He was in his office up on the balcony when the mayhem started. When he heard the screaming, he walked out and peered at the pandemonium. He witnessed unfathomable acts of violence as he stood at the railing. He saw his daughter limping towards her office when the assailants ascended the stairs and came after him. He confined himself into his office and waited for rescue. “Jennifer? NOO!!!,” Marcus screamed as he finally laid eyes on his dead daughter. His hands trembled as he knelt over her, tears raining onto her bloodstained lab coat.
“Ma-Ma-Marcus,” whispered Bruce, his breathing strained. His dead arms laid on either side of him and his neck was tilted to the side. He looked through half closed eyes at his colleague.
“Bruce? Did you do this? WHY DID YOU KILL MY DAUGHTER YOU SON OF A BITCH? Marcus screamed. He walked over and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him violently.
“Sh-she changed.” he coughed a few times as he said this. He tried to clear his throat and continued. “Cy-Cy- Cytoposine. It ca-caused th-this,” Bruce managed to say before erupting into a coughing fit. “T-217. It might….stop the transformation,” he explained with all his effort. His face was all but white, beads of sweat caused his face to glisten.
“So your new compound caused this? Cytoposine turned my staff and my daughter into monsters?” Marcus glared at his colleague, trying to understand. His eyes were bloodshot. “Your cancer inhibitor may be able to reverse this?” he asked making sure he understood. Bruce merely nodded as Marcus stood up and exited the room.
He returned with a small box, the contents of which clinked together. It was filled with test tubes. Marcus leered over to Bruce and sifted through the box. He withdrew three needles and extracted a purple compound from three test tubes. Bruce looked up in horror. Marcus clearly misunderstood him.
“Marc-us. No. Cyto-” he started to whisper as he was cut off. His colleague glaring at him.
“Yes I am well aware this is Cytoposine. And yes I understand that this caused the mass murder in my lab. You see Bruce, I don’t give a shit. The infection has already spread into the town and my daughter is dead. Dead at your hand,” he explained insidiously. He stepped towards the immobilized scientist. Holding the three syringes in hand. “Bruce, you killed my daughter twice. You stripped her of her humanity and then you stabbed her in the FUCKING EYE with a paperweight.” his face shook as he spoke, his face red with anger. “Now you will live, a husk of a brilliant scientist. You will be a ghost, left to rot in eternal prison.” he spoke softly to Bruce as he stabbed the three syringes into his neck. “This is your legacy,” Marcus added menacingly as he stood up, straightened his jacket and exited out the room closing the door behind him.
Bruce’s heart palpitated, his eyes dashed side to side as the liquid fire rushed through his veins. His skin turned grey, his eyes now jaundiced, as his heartbeat slowed. A few moments later it came to a complete stop. Bruce’s consciousness faded, carrying with it a solution to prevent further outbreak. Bruce Williams was now dead.
A small dosage of Cytoposine reanimated a cat and subsequently created a viral outbreak. Human trials were the next step that never came into fruition. The compound’s reaction in the human body was unknown, Marcus Alyson was blinded by rage. An incredibly intelligent man overlooked these important facts, leading to his demise.
The excessive amount of Cytoposine started combining with natural growth hormones in Bruce’s body causing him to jerk violently on the floor as he reanimated. His biceps became massive, ripping the skin covering them. His fingernails started growing rapidly on his left hand, they were now thicker than an average finger. Each nail was sharper than a razor blade. His right hand, the predominant during his life, enlarged to the size of a basketball player’s, becoming tactile. His incisors became fanglike and enlarged like a tiger. His leg muscles tightened and toned, a
llowing for optimal agility which would result in incredible speed. Bruce Williams was transforming into a perfect killing machine.
The dead scientist received a shooting pain in its head. It reached up to grab at the invisible pain, by doing so it stabbed its eye out and slashed off half of its face. Bruce Williams let out a high pitched shriek that sounded more animal than human. He then let out a roar and rushed the door that held him captive. The door broke to pieces from the sheer brute strength of Bruce.
Marcus Alyson was almost out the lobby door when he heard the mahogany door to Jennifer’s office splinter into hundreds of pieces. Startled he turned and saw a beast sprinting at him with the speed of an Olympic runner. He gasped and threw his hands up in defense as the monster grabbed him with one hand and stabbed him through the face with long, sword like fingernails, killing him instantly. The monster hovered over its prey and began to feed a hunger that would not satisfy. Once it devoured Marcus Alyson, the monster stormed out of the lab and into the streets in search of flesh.
Chapter 21: Departure
The survivors regrouped behind Stenson’s, awaiting the rest of the group. Kelly and Melody opened the door and stepped outside, Gabe behind them. Upon seeing the extraction crew’s expressions, they realized the mission was not a success. Sometimes the most obvious of things are missed when you are not looking for them, this held true in this situation. Melody and Kelly surveyed the faces of their friends, unsure what was wrong. It was when Gabe saw his father was missing, that the girls understood. Gabe collapsed onto the ground, tears streaming down his face, he gasped for air. Melody dropped to her knees to support him and Kelly placed a hand on his shoulder.
“We need to go now! The fires won’t last forever,” Burt whispered softly indicating the burning bodies in the parking lot. He peered in each direction, ensuring the monsters did not hear them. He gripped his blood soaked machete.
“Gabe, I am so sorry. But we need to press on,” Cindy said calmly, trying to convince Gabe to carry on with the plan. She too realized that they needed to leave while they had a chance. Cindy was developing anxiety as they stood behind the store. The last time she was here, she was almost dinner.
“I-I-I ca-can’t! Da-Dad!” Gabe replied sobbing, gasping for air. His hands were covering his eyes as he rested his elbows on his knees. Melody looked up to Cindy, tears welling up in her eyes. She shook her head, indicating that there would be no way to continue.
“We hold up for one more night. We cannot afford a shaky hand out there. He will not be able to defend himself or anyone else. We will surely die if we try to leave now,” Anthony announced as he walked past Cindy and knelt in front of Gabe. “Let’s all go inside,” he added, bringing the mourning son to his feet.
The group sat in their usual circle, awaiting dinner. Burt and Anthonie cooked pasta on the roof, using a firepit that had been on sale prior to the apocalypse. They lit a fire and boiled the water using pans found in the camping section of the store. Melody and Kelly shared no words, only glances as they sat around the camping display, occasionally looking up to John’s office.
“Dad…..Why couldn’t you stay here?” Gabe spoke softly to himself, crying. He sat, alone in his father’s office. This was the closest he would be to his father again, he held a family photo in his hand. His father smiled with both his arms wrapped around Gabe and Marie. They stood in front of “the biggest buck in the forest” that John shot down that morning. Teardrops descended and splashed onto the glass frame. Footsteps materialized in the air. Gabe turned to view his visitor. It was Cindy.
“Gabe, your dad was a hero, he saved all of us here.” Cindy told the tearful teenager as she crouched in front of him. She placed her hand on his knee, trying to make eye contact. She felt the emptiness in the office. This store had been their home since the outbreak, now it was just a building. John made it their home.
“He always liked helping people. When it all started he tried to keep more people in the store, but they wouldn’t listen. Only Melody stayed. He and I locked the front doors and put up the sign to run to the back. He told me to be brave because others would need me to be,” he paused a moment, taking a deep breath. “He should never have gone. He was overweight and couldn’t run,” he added sorrowfully.
“Your father knew the mission was dangerous and that’s why he went. He wouldn’t put you or Melody in such a situation. You are his son and he did all of this for you. What I need you to do is to survive, just as he intended. If you just quit and stay here, he would have died for nothing,” Cindy added, compassionately.
“Thanks Cindy. I just miss him,” Gabe replied, transfixed on the picture. “Can you send Melody up here?” he added. Gabe had only one person left in his life, he needed Melody.
“Sure,” she replied softly as she tapped his knee and stood. Cindy stepped out of her departed friend’s office and joined the rest of the group. She did as instructed and sent Melody up to Gabe. The two of them spent the night in the office, not even stepping out for dinner. Sleep would be difficult for everyone. John’s death would haunt them and they would leave the safety of his store tomorrow, forever.
The morning came quickly, clouds filled the sky. Rain came down in a torrent. The survivors departed the store, ready to escape the dead. The survivors circumvented the undead by walking behind Quincy’s and proceeding down the hill off to the side of the plaza. The group avoided the driveway by descending down the grassy hill to a side street. Once they were on pavement, they continued their journey via the main roads.
Each step the survivors took featured the sound of a foot submerging into a puddle. The sound of the rain hitting their coats was ominous, in fact it was one of the only sounds they heard. They procured rain jackets from the store before disembarking. Anthony walked slowly ahead of the group acting as a scout. Cindy walked with Gabe and Melody in the middle with Kelly and Burt bringing up the rear. They were approximately five miles from the town line, five miles from freedom.
Anthony saw a lone straggler and swiftly moved towards it and snapped its neck. The cracking of bone echoed. The group agreed to not fire unless they found no other way to fight off their assailants. They knew sounds attracted the undead; one gunshot could attract a horde. They passed a four way intersection when Burt turned to Kelly.
“What are the odds that this was all contained? And if it was, how do we are not walking into some military checkpoint, armed with gunman?” Burt asked making sure no one heard him. He spit onto the ground and spun his machete in his hand. He was well aware of standard military practices and knew they would likely encounter some form of resistance. He realized that there was a chance they were filtering out survivors, as the town was not illuminated with napalm.
“It’s the only chance we got. If soldiers shoot at us, we will shoot back,” she replied not taking her eyes off the back of Cindy’s head. “No one is keeping us in this hell hole,” she added matter of factly. Her face was stonelike, no one would keep her from freedom.
They group approached a structure on their left. This was the last building they would pass on their way to the town line, the high school. When they neared the building, a sign was visible in one of the windows. “Survivor’s Inside,”
“What do we do?” Melody asked looking to Cindy. Cindy walked up to the door and put her ear up to the door and heard nothing. She tried peering into the windows, but they had papers taped up, blocking the view. She turned to the group.
“We have to go in, they could still be alive,” Cindy said half heartedly. She figured they were all dead; but if they didn’t look they would have to live with that for the rest of their lives. She looked at the remaining survivors and saw Burt had something he wanted to say. He stared at Cindy and she knew he had to get something off his chest. “What’s up Burt?” Cindy asked out loud.
“We need to discuss some possibilities we will encounter as we near our destination,” he announced to the group. He stood beside Cindy shifting his gaze to each comrade.
“What if the infection is not limited to our town? Then what?” he asked them.
“We keep going, I refuse to give up,”Anthony announced, he was the most respected person in the party, everyone nodded in agreement. He looked directly at Burt and saw a small smile form under his beard.
“If it ends up being countrywide or worldwide, then we find a place and hold up in it. We make it our home, secure it and start growing crops,” Melody chimed in, surprising everyone. She was the last person anyone expected to have an answer or solution. Cindy gained new respect for the girl.
“Good. That is a plan I can get behind. I just don’t want to be left with our pants around our ankles if we find more assholes beyond the town line. Now,” he paused slightly and cleared his throat. “Kelly and I discussed this and I want input from everyone. There is a chance we come face to face with armed military forces, they may shoot at us. We may be be quarantined, this would be best case scenario and also worst case. We would at least know that the rest of the world is safe, but we might have to fight our way out,” Burt took a breath after that long winded announcement.
“I suspected something similar. We were told in the academy that during the events of a riot or quarantine, the police force would need to assist the military in building blockades. They wouldn’t kill civilians though, would they?” he asked naively. Despite his tribulations, he was still a rookie cop and wide eyed to the world.
“They will likely kill us if there is a blockade. If we were infected and lied about it, we would expose the population and take this thing countrywide. If we see Hazmat suits, we have a chance. That would indicate they are screening people. However, I think we all are carriers. Sharon became one and she was never bitten,” Cindy added. Her love for fiction caused her to research real world applications, it gave her better appreciation for books when they were realistic.