Infection Series (Book 1): Preservation

by Nelson, S. L.

  Tim cleared the hallway that held most of the offices. He didn’t like that the building was square shaped. He had to be careful of walking around the corners, worrying about bumping into someone and creating a mess. They didn’t even have those mirrors up like they did at hospitals. He was halfway down the first lab hallway when a putrid smell assaulted his nose.

  Tim smacked a hand against his nose and mouth in an attempt to prevent the smell from entering his body. “What in the world is that smell?” He exclaimed out loud.

  He followed the smell to the lab with the only observation room. His eyes watered as he crossed the threshold. The Chimpanzee was standing, facing the corner away from the cage door. Tim stood in the doorway staring intently into the cage, too shocked to move. The smell was emanating off the creature. The body was bare; chunks of debris littered the floor of the cage. Tim did not want to guess at what could be on the floor. Instead, he started to back out of the room, intent on getting someone to explain what was going on when he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye.

  “Dr. Allen!” Tim rushed toward the observation room and grabbed the door handle, yanking on it several times before realizing that it is locked. Turing the bolt on the handle, Tim opened the door.

  Tim didn’t see Dr. Allen move behind the door as he was shaking the handle, “Dr. Allen, are you ok?” Tim exclaimed, rushing into the room.

  “Dr....AHH!” Tim felt a cold slice across his cheek as Dr. Allen grabbed at him. The warm trickle of blood was sliding down his skin when Dr. Allen bit into the cords of his neck. Tim shoved at Dr. Allen, slipping to the ground; he placed a shaking hand to his throat. Dr. Allen stood over him, chewing on the tissue torn from his body.

  “What?” was a gurgle in Tim’s mouth as he shuffled on an elbow and knees to get out the door.

  The chimp pulled at the bars of the cage, emitting short bursts of growls from the back of its throat. Tim left a pool of blood every time he stopped to pull his body across the floor, his movements slowed as the infection raced through his cells. His breathing became labored and he could feel a heat pooling in his pants as he vomited the honey oats he had for breakfast.

  Tim tried to call for help but the blood and vomit mixed together to create a thick barrier in his mouth.

  Dr. Allen followed Tim out of the small room, lowering himself to the ground, he reaching for Tim’s leg. This time, the pain of torn flesh was not acknowledged as Tim lay on the floor, eyes turning black.

  Dr. Allen stood, sniffing the air when Tim came back with a resounding screech.

  Chapter 22

  Dr. Hollowman fell to the floor as a screech echoed through the halls.

  “Oh God, NO!” Scrambling to her feet, she clawed at her doorknob and rushed down the hall toward Dr. Allen.

  She reached the corner where the halls intersect, pausing a moment to gather her breath and her courage. The piercing smell of ammonia slipped up her nostrils, causing her eyes to water. In the background, she could hear the commotion of early morning lab technicians breaking from their daily routines to find out what was going on in the lab.

  Dr. Hollowman couldn’t believe her mistake. Why didn’t she seal the front doors? She should have told Samuel and Dennis to call everyone and close for the day.

  “WHAT THE HELL TIM! GET OFF ME! OWW! HELP!”

  The cry for help shocked Dr. Hollowman into action. Laying flat on the ground, she pulled herself forward enough to peek around the edge of the wall. She watched in terror as Tim sliced and tore at another lab technician, the ruckus pulling Dr. Allen from the confines of the lab.

  She lay there motionless and watched as the two infected pulled flesh from the lab tech. Their movements were precise, ripping and tearing at the flesh of the stomach, pulling out the fatty lining that protects the organs. She inched forward on her belly, trying to get a better view of the eating patterns when she felt a hand grab her ankle.

  Dr. Hollowman’s scream was muffled by Samuel’s hand. She looked toward her feet to see that Dennis still had a hand wrapped around her ankle and the other at his mouth, motioning her to stay quiet. They stayed still, fearing that any noise they make would attract unwanted attention. When there was no sound, Dr. Hollowman gently shook her foot, quietly asking to be let go. Samuel helped Dr. Hollowman stand when they heard a screech followed by three more.

  “Jesus, RUN!” Dennis whispered harshly.

  “Wait, I have to get the results from the samples I took last night!” Dr. Hollowman dashed across the hall and ran to the computer. “Oh, it’s still printing.”

  Samuel started shifting from foot to foot, agitation growing with every second that passed. Dennis kept watch in the hallway, sneaking looks back as Dr. Hollowman started to gather the handful of papers that was spitting out of the printer.

  “I’ve got them!” She snapped, “Let’s go!”

  They raced from the room as people started to gather in the hallways.

  They could hear people asking each other, “What is that noise? and What is that smell?” as the group raced down the hall.

  “Get out of the building!” Samuel urged as he passed each group.

  “Samuel, get Veronica and Cody and their group of the building. Dennis, grab as many people as you can and get out. Don’t go back toward the labs. It is too late for anyone there.” Dr. Hollowman flinched as she heard two more people scream and beg for help.

  “I have to get the samples that I collected. We cannot leave without it.” Dr. Hollowman watched Samuel and Dennis head in opposite directions, “Be as quiet as you can and try to stay alive.”

  Samuel and Dennis nodded their understanding, making their way down the hall together then splitting up to save as many as they could..

  Dr. Hollowman burst through her office door. Grabbing an empty box off her filing cabinet, she started to shove papers and files into the bottom. She reached down and unplugged Peter’s laptop when something came crashing through her door.

  “What is going on?” Jenny yelled.

  Fear made Dr. Hollowman drop the laptop, causing a crack to spread along the cover. Retrieving it from the floor and dropping it into the box she repeated, “Get out, stay quiet, get somewhere safe.” She stopped to look at Jenny, “Don’t help anyone that is being attacked. It’s contagious.”

  Jenny watched as Dr. Hollowman pulled out a medical bag from the refrigerator in her office and carefully placed it into her paper box.

  “Jenny, there is no time to explain more...” Dr. Hollowman was cut off by the sound of death.

  Jenny did not hesitate, she turned from Dr. Hollowman and rushed toward the front entrance.

  With the blood samples secured in the box, Dr. Hollowman raced out the door after her.

  Chapter 23

  “Shut and lock the door!” Cody exclaimed as the echoes of several screeches racked down the hall.

  Matt and Colby ran from the bathroom, scrubs hastily put on, hair soaking wet, “Matt, get your shoes and jacket on. We’ll have to leave our clothes.” Colby urged.

  Veronica watched as the brothers gathered supplies and prepared to evacuate. Searching the room, she pointed to the row of glass along the wall, “Do those windows open?”

  Lucas and Caleb raced toward the bank of windows facing the West, pulling up blinds and searching for releases.

  “This one here,” Caleb pointed out, “It swings open from the top, we can slip out of the bottom.”

  “Grab your gear, we’re leaving out of the back exit,” Jake ushered Matt and Colby toward the exit, watching as Caleb and Lucas slipped through the crack in the window.

  “We’ll if Lucas can fit, I’ll have no problem,” Jake mused. Lucas and Jake were the same height. However, Lucas had about 20 pounds of muscle on top of his frame.

  “Ok ladies, out you go,” Cody was helping Bethann and Dana through the window when something slammed against the door.

  The noise startled them, causing Cody to lose his grip on Bethann, dropping her
to the ground. Veronica turned toward the door, pistol in hand, ready for the onslaught of infected.

  “Please, open the door, it’s Samuel,” he whimpered in a hushed voice.

  Jake and Cody rushed to unlock, allowing Samuel into the room. Too late, they saw the blood all over Samuel’s legs.

  “Shit, he’s bit,” Jake barked as he pulled his own pistol from his waistband, taking aim at Samuel’s head.

  Cody locked the door after Samuel fell into the room. He too, pulled his weapon and stood waiting.

  “NO! NO! I’m not I swear!” Samuel pleaded as he dropped to the floor and pulled up his pant legs, “I slipped in the hall, there was...” Samuel sobbed, “Tina...they bit through her neck, her head was severed, I...I slipped on her blood.”

  Jake stuck his pistol back into his waistband and reached for Samuel on the floor, just to come up short of touching him, “Go change, we don’t know if just having blood on you can infect you.”

  Samuel’s stopped sobbing and his face went white, looking down at his hands and legs. He lurched from his sitting position and raced to the bathroom. They listened as the showers turned on and watched as steam snaked from the doorway.

  “We don’t have time for this!” Ian sneered from the window, “We need to leave, NOW!”

  Veronica and Cody looked at each other, they knew that they had to leave but to leave someone behind to die was a hard choice to make.

  Thankfully, they didn’t have to make that choice. Samuel slid on the wet tiles from the bathroom, pulling a long sleeved t-shirt on with one hand, while the other helped to pull on shoes. The steam followed him from the bathroom, he hadn’t taken the time to turn the water off or use a towel.

  Once more, the door to the sleeping quarters rattled, on the other side was Dennis. Samuel hitched a breath at the sight. It was evident that Dennis had put up a fight. His hands were torn open, and there were scratches all over his face and neck. Dennis stood against the glass, eyes black as coal, seeming to stare at nothing and everything. They stood frozen for just a moment, sadness filtering through their hearts at the man they had known.

  Samuel jumped when Dennis hit his head against the window, the movement catching Dennis’s eyes. They all tensed when Dennis opened his mouth, expecting an ear shattering shriek.

  Nothing happened. His vocals must have been shorn when he was attacked. Taking the luck they just received, the four slid through the window and out into the early morning air.

  Chapter 24

  “The plan is the same. We are heading North to Veronica’s dad.” Cody replied to Ian’s inquiry of what they were going to do now after two hours of walking.

  They left Alwath Center, trying hard to block out the sounds of death and resurrection. They made it four miles out of town before they felt safe enough to rest. It was still hot for August; thankfully, Wisconsin has plenty of trees for shade.

  “Are you serious? This is going bad fast.” Ian roared, “We need to get somewhere now and lock ourselves in.”

  “Listen, we’re already on Highway 16, toward Portage. That will intersect with 39. We’ll try to avoid water crossing if we can help it. On a good day with a car, it takes about 9 hours to reach the compound. If we average 30 miles a day, we will get there in just over two weeks,” Veronica estimated.

  “Two weeks! We’re not going to make it two days if we don’t find a better way of travel.” Ian stormed about, kicking rocks and spitting on the ground.

  “Does anyone have a working phone?” Cody asked, pulling his cell from his duffle bag. He found a charger in one of the lockers this morning but didn’t have the time to charge his battery. “Check news casts, see if there is any talk about what’s going on.”

  “Nothing local, but I found the news clip that Dr. Hollowman saw last night.” Caleb announced.

  Everyone crowded behind Caleb. Bethann held Veronica’s hand as she watched her mother describe the scene. They watched as the camera captured the people from the movie theater that were bitten by Pete, attack the emergency responders. Everyone was quiet as they watched Bethann’s mom drive away with the infected running after their van.

  “That’s it? There is nothing else?” Bethann asked.

  Caleb shook his head, “This isn’t like the movies. It will take longer for this infection to spread, especially if people do not come into contact with the infected.”

  “Well, now we have to deal with infected people on the South and West side of Columbus.” Ian mocked, “How long do you think it will take?”

  “Hey, Jake? Can you send a text to Cindy, let her know where we’re at and that my phone is dead.” Cody requested.

  “For now we are ahead of the tide, let’s keep it that way,” Veronica gathered her pack and started walking Northwest again.

  “I think we are about eight miles from Wyocena, we can talk with the police there and stock up on supplies,” Cody announced to the group as they gathered their packs and followed Veronica.

  “No response from Cindy yet. We should keep texting just to let her know the direction we are heading in. Just in case she can catch up to us.” Jack commented as they walked along the highway.

  “Should we worry?” Dana questioned.

  “No. There could be any number of reasons why she hasn’t responded yet.” Caleb offered. “We ran into some trouble, she may have too. I’m sure she is fine. We will just keep texting her and wait for her to show up, like she usually does.”

  “She’ll show up just in time for lunch,” Jake quipped, sneaking a wink at Matt and Colby.

  The trek along the road was quite. A few cars passed, honking at the large group of people. One of the pickup trucks slowed down, “You all ok? Need a ride?” The old man in the cab offered.

  “We’re on our way to Wyocena, we appreciate the offer.” Cody motioned for Caleb and Jake to get the group into the bed of the pickup truck. Cody and Veronica hopped into the cab with the old man.

  “Why is such a big group of people walking along the highway? Why don’t you have a car?” the old man asked.

  “Do you live in Columbus?” Veronica asked.

  “Yes, just a mile back down the road. I’m on my way to visit my son in Eau Claire.” He replied.

  “My name in Cody, this is Veronica and we are trying to get ahead of a contagious infection.” Cody explained.

  “Did you see that news clip that was on the late news last night?” Veronica asked, at his nod she continued, “It was real. We were in the theater when the outbreak started, we called it in.”

  “What we didn’t know at the time was that it was an infection that is spreading. My roommate created the infection on accident; he turned himself into a monster, a creature that had infected several people before he died.” Cody gazed out the front window, remembering the first hours of the outbreak.

  “Are you guys pulling my leg?” He chided, “There is no way that the government would let something like that get out of control. From what I remember, it’s kill first, ask questions later.”

  “There are definitely secrets in the military but I don’t think they would be able to hide this,” Veronica responded, “Besides.....”

  Pounding on the window startled Veronica, causing her to turn around to peer at Jake.

  “He needs to speed up, now!” Jake shouted through the glass, raising an arm to point behind them.

  Waves of cars were heading toward them. Cars, trucks, and minivans were fighting each other to stay on the road. When one vehicle spun out of control, another quickly took its place on the asphalt.

  “What in the world is going on back there, it looks like a derby match?” the old man muttered.

  “Cody, I think the infection finally spread, people are running,” Veronica grabbed on to Cody’s shirt, squeezing and twisting the material.

  The cars started to gain momentum, rushing fast toward the old pickup truck. Honking and swerving as they passed each other. Several vehicles were full of people, hanging out of windows, stand
ing on side steps of pickup trucks. Many were wide-eyed scared, holding on to each other as they tried to run toward safety.

  Others vehicles were pictures out of horror stories. People fighting off infected inside their vehicles, not knowing what to expect when their loved ones were bitten, as they raced along the road.

  “Jesus,” Cody yelped as a car banged into the tailgate of the truck, swerving to the right to pass spitting up gravel and grass from the shoulder of the highway.

  The pickup bounced around like the ball of a pinball machine. The force and speed making it hard for the people in the back of the truck to hang on. Jake grabbed onto Bethann as she wrapped her arms around Matt. Dana and Lucas held on to Colby as another round of cars did their best to knock them off the road.

  “Cody! Semi!” Caleb hollered from his position at the tail of the truck.

  Cody watched as the semi cut through the wave like Moses parting the Red Sea. It swerved from side to side, the bounce of the vehicles keeping it on the road. As the semi neared, they could see the driver convulsing in his seat, jerking his arms about, head hitting the driver side window.

  Veronica didn’t think for one second that they were safe in the pickup. She stared out the back window, helpless as she watched her friends bounce around like a pile of rocks. She held her breath as a minivan picked up speed, trying to outrun the semi as it barreled straight for it. The minivan was close enough that she could make out the shapes of children strapped into car seats, a woman holding onto the roll bar as a man gripped the wheel, desperate to get away.

  The semi driver gripped the wheel in a moment of spasms and jerked the wheel hard. The momentum of the truck jackknifing the semi, pulling the trailer sideways, causing it to flip up on one side, teetering on the edge of the nine tires, eventually falling on its side. The semi’s forward motion decreasing as it skid across the asphalt.

  The crack of glass and the loud crunch of metal was deafening.

  Adrenaline pulsed throughout the cab and bed of the truck.