Dead in Love

by Colby Van Wagoner

  He raised his arms up reaching for the director, one of the MPs fired his weapon, striking the doctor directly in the forehead and scattering blood and brain matter across the shiny, hangar floor. The doctor's body fell to the ground, blood pooling just below his head. The general turned to the MP’s, “Get some bio-containment cleanup crews in here and seal off the hangar. Wake everyone up and begin testing every soldier, scientist, employee and family member on the base. There’s no telling what the doctor did, or if he spread the infection further than himself.”

  “Yes sir.” The two MP’s ran to the communication phone in the hangar and begin to report the incident. The director looked at the general concerned, “This is getting out of hand general. Your ability to rectify this will determine the success of your career.” He turned and walked away furious about the escalated situation, which had now begun to affect the facility directly.

  Chapter Twenty One

  The late night news was broadcast as a special report. The first broadcast interrupted and stated, “The military is claiming that a voodoo cult has infiltrated the small Utah town of Tooele. They claim that they are in a joint operation with the town’s local law enforcement. Residents have nothing to fear and the military ensures that martial law and containment will be swift.”

  The newscaster turned to a camera close up, “What do we know about Voodoo? Voodoo has come to be associated in popular culture with the lore of Satanism, zombies and “voodoo dolls”. Zombie creation has been referenced within rural Haitian culture, but it is not a part of the Voodoo religion proper. How it became known as a method of cursing an individual by some followers of what has come to be called New Orleans Voodoo, but more appropriately Hoodoo, is unknown. This practice is not unique to Voodoo or Hoodoo, however, and has as much basis in magical devices such as the poppet and the nkisi or bocio of West and Central Africa.”

  The news caster then paused, as another view came on the screen. There was a live reporter standing outside the town of Tooele. The city limit sign reflected in the background as the reporter began a report, “The military is calling this a cult that has infiltrated the town and apparently spread a virus somehow. Now this could very well be considered terrorism, but with so many people living in the town, they are not taking any chances.”

  The reporter ran her hand through her hair to keep it from blowing in her eye and continued, “There is a practice in Haiti of nailing crude poppets with a discarded shoe on trees near the cemetery to act as messengers to the otherworld, which is very different in function from how poppets are portrayed as being used by Vodou worshippers in popular media and imagination, i.e. for purposes of sympathetic magic towards another person.” “Another use of dolls in authentic Voodoo practice is the incorporation of plastic doll babies in altars and objects used to represent or honor the spirits, or in pwen, which recalls the aforementioned use of bocio and nkisi figures in Africa. Although Vodou is often associated with Satanism, Satan is rarely incorporated in Vodou tradition. Mississippi Delta folksongs mix references to Voodoo and to Satan.”

  “Hoodoo, also known as conjure, is a form of predominantly African-American traditional folk magic that developed from the syncretism of a number of separate cultures and magical traditions. It incorporates practices from African and Native American traditions, as well as some European magical practices and grimoires. While folk practices like hoodoo are trans-cultural phenomena, what is particularly innovative in this tradition is the "remarkably efficacious use of biblical figures" in its practices and in the lives of its practitioners.”

  As the reporter answered the questions asked by the newscasters in the studio, picketers were chanting in the background, “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise, You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy, your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead, Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while, until his wrath has passed by!”

  The reporter, in the field was starting to have trouble hearing the questions and changed the subject, “As you can see there are many religious people out here, concerned about the growing frustration and fear regarding a cult coming into their town. Some reports from the people living here are that there are people walking around, looking as though they are dead, or zombies. Now there is no way to confirm or deny this the local law enforcement has no comment on the situation.”

  The religious gathering continued to quote random scriptures and the camera zoomed in on another person, as he was screaming a quote, “Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through.”

  The reporter came back into view of the camera and stated, “Well, that is all we have for now, out in Tooele, Utah. If there is any update or further news, we will be here live to report.” The special news broadcast broke and the regularly scheduled programs continued.

  An international news program came on television with its host, Dave Wellington and his guest scientist and religious correspondent Leonard Phillips. The host began speaking, “I’m Dave Wellington, welcome to our special news report. Having a strong community relations program is important not only because of what opposition may mean for a facility in Utah, but also because of the potential impact on the facility’s ongoing reputation. The impact of an incident within an environment lacking in trust can extend far beyond the easily identified direct harm and can include long-term costs often not considered in cost-benefit analyses. Damage to the reputation of one facility may even have a ripple effect than can impact other facilities of the same nature.”

  Dave Wellington turned to a close up camera and continued, “A deadly, but unidentified virus has been reported to have taken over a small town of Tooele, Utah. The military and CDC has quarantined the town and declared martial law. Reports of infected town members and additional perimeter quarantine by the town’s local police force and militia have also been reported. Joining me now is our stations religious and science correspondent Leonard Phillips. Leonard, what are your thoughts on all this?”

  Leonard Phillips, an older, gray haired man wearing glasses, came into view of the cameras, “While accurate, detailed message content is necessary, it is likewise important to recognize that trust, transparency, competence, and avoiding secrecy are essential for effective risk communication.”

  “If the public is distrustful of officials because of credibility problems, past history, or social alienation, even the best-designed risk communication efforts may be unsuccessful, or impeded. Therefore, it is important for the military and CDC to report what the exact viral infection is, and what they plan on doing to combat the virus and prevent further spread and death to community members.”

  “Overall, communication must be a proactive dialogue that addresses the needs of diverse audiences and stakeholders, starts from the earliest planning stages of an outbreak and continues through project operations. There are three key elements to the development of public trust. One is to perform in a way that merits public trust. In this case, that means maintaining and continuously improving practices that protect the public from infectious disease.”

  “A second element is communicating those practices to the public in an open, transparent fashion. The third element is listening to public concerns and addressing them when appropriate. As far as we know the military and the CDC have not addressed the concerns of the citizens of the town and the breakdown of trust will most likely result.”

  Dave Wellington interrupted, “Leonard, there were also reports of a possible terrorist type, voodoo, gypsy cult that was traveling through the town and caused this outbreak. What is the likelihood this initial report is valid?”

  “The dominant worldview in hoodoo or voodoo is usually strongly Christian. Historically there has been an Old Tes
tament strain in hoodoo/voodoo thought. This is particularly evident in relation to God's providence and his role in retributive justice. For example, though there are strong ideas of good versus evil, cursing someone to cause their death might not be considered a malignant act.”

  “For example, one practitioner explained it as follows. In Hoodoo and Voodoo, anything you do is the plan of God understand, God has something to do with everything you do if it's good or bad, He's got something to do with it, if it is meant for you, you'll get it. However, I doubt that the influence of some group of Voodoo practitioners could have the ability to cause a widespread infection, large enough for the military to initiate a quarantine of this size."

  “In Voodoo, not only is God’s providence a factor in the practice, but Voodoo thought understands God, himself, as the archetypal Voodoo doctor. On this matter it is stated, the way we tell it, Voodoo started way back there before everything. Six days of magic spells and mighty words and the world with its elements above and below was made. From this perspective, biblical figures are often recast as hoodoo doctors and the Bible becomes a source of conjugational spells and is, itself, used as a protective talisman.”

  “The goal is to allow people access to supernatural forces to improve their daily lives by gaining power in many areas of life, including luck, money, love, divination, revenge, health, employment, and necromancy. As in many other folk religious, magical, and medical practices, extensive use is made of herbs, minerals, parts of animals' bodies, an individual’s possessions and bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, urine and semen.”

  “Contact with ancestors or other spirits of the dead is an important practice within the conjure tradition, and the recitation of Psalms from the Bible is also considered magically effective in hoodoo. Due to hoodoo's great emphasis on an individual's magical power, its basic principles of working are generally felt to be easily adapted for use based on one's desires, inclination and habits.”

  “The Bible and religions have always warned this day and these days would approach. Zechariah 14:12 - Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will shrivel in their sockets, and their tongues will decay in their mouths. On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will fight against each other in hand-to-hand combat. Matthew 27:52-53 - And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves.”

  Leonard Phillips held up the Bible and looked into the camera, “Whoever carries this book with him is safe from all his enemies, visible or invisible; and whoever has this book with him cannot die without the holy corpse of Jesus Christ, nor drown in any water, nor burn up in any fire, nor can any unjust sentence be passed upon him. So help me. The 6th and 7th Books of Moses are a European Grimoire that is purportedly based on Jewish Kabbalah, though it actually covers little, if any, relation to Kabalistic thought. It contains numerous signs, seals and passages in Hebrew that are supposed to be related to Moses' ability to work wonders.”

  “Isaiah 26: 19-20 - But your dead will live; their bodies will rise, You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy, your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead, Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while, until his wrath has passed by!” Dave Wellington shifted the focus, “Well, regardless of what is going on in the town, we will keep you informed of any further developments.” The newscast ended.

  I was sitting in my front room, thinking back to before the quarantine, before the outbreak and the way things were. I was just Baxter Allen, the farmer and simple man, worrying about my daily routine and the simple things in life. I was tending my crops, watering and cultivating them and then selling them at the farmers market and being with my dogs. Why would something so horrible take over the woman I was growing to love and then the woman I love, kill my best friends?

  This infection is growing beyond the control of the military and the CDC and the whole United States government combined. They created the virus, allowed it to escape and now have no ability to control it, or reverse it. I guess I should start fortifying my defenses, since those zombies made it through the first time. There will be no reason more couldn’t break through my weak perimeter and attack me in the future. I would need traps, lots and lots of traps.

  I spent the majority of the afternoon building dead falls and large snare traps. If I could get the majority of the infected that break through the perimeter fence to fall in the dead falls, I would be able to save ammunition. Shooting some of them would still be a necessity, should they get caught in the snares. With numerous dead falls and snares set about the ranch I approached the tool shed to return my equipment, taking a long drink from my water bottle.

  I washed my face with the well water, in a large water container, near the shed and walked to the door. As I opened the door, an infected man jumped from inside the shed and knocked me to the ground. I watched as it approached me, stood over me. I began to lose consciousness, when I saw a figure jump from behind the infected man, tackling him to the ground. After that, I blacked out.

  When I woke up, I was lying on the couch in the front room. It was still unclear what had taken place, since the last thing I remember was a zombie jumping me from the tool shed. Who was the figure that jumped onto the zombie that attacked me? I slowly began to gain my bearings, looking around the room, trying to see if there was any evidence to answer my questions.

  After five minutes, I was able to pull the weight of my body up on the couch and discover Laylianna crouched in the corner of the living room, eating some raw meat off a Styrofoam container. She used her hands, shoveling the meat into her mouth and seemed calm, the apparent infection, which was there before, was starting to fade. She must have pulled the meat from the fridge I had in the basement. I didn’t even think to lock the fridge. Her skin was gaining its color and the protruding veins were now beginning to return to normal. Was the initial infection losing its grip over her?

  I walked into the kitchen watching my back and making sure that Laylianna would not attack me. I went to the sink and splashed more water on my face. I would still not be able to trust Laylianna, after all she killed my dogs. She walked into the kitchen, nervously moaning and making indistinct sounds, still unable to vocalize. What would she say is she could speak? I reached for a rope that was sitting just next to the microwave. Laylianna must have watched me pick it up, because simply she held out her hands. She was being submissive, allowed me to tie her hands and walk her back down into the basement. The chains were broken through, bent and pulled from the large pipe, connected to the wall. I remembered a technique that we used in the army to hold even the strongest captive. I tied Laylianna with the restraint technique and put her on the couch, I would return later to check on her.

  As I walked from the basement and turned around, she was giving me a look as though she was sorry for everything that had happened. I went to flip off the light and she moaned. I turned to see the look of fear in her eyes, if she felt fear then she must still have emotions for me, maybe even still love me? I mean hell, she saved me from being attacked, killed and even eaten by one of the infected zombies in my back yard.

  I left the room and returned to the upstairs to do some more research. Maybe even watch a movie, just get my mind off of things and try to relax. There was a large goose bump on the back of my head and a large gaping cut across my forehead. It was time for a little rest and relaxation, with some first aid and ice for the back of my head. After I fixed up my wounds, and ate, the couch was looking mighty inviting. I fell onto the couch and was immediately out.

  The following morning I woke to the sound of a man screaming on the front porch. I jumped from the couch with a massive headache and ran to the front door. Laylianna was crouched over a mailman dressed in a mail uniform. What the hell was the mailman doing delivering mail? “Please help me!”

  Laylianna was ho
lding the man to the ground and had not yet bitten him, her instinct to kill was fading away, but how did she get loose from the restraints? I had those tied so tight that even the men with superhuman strength, back in the Army couldn’t break free of that knot. The mailman started talking, “We are still delivering the mail to the rural areas. The threat in the surrounding areas, during the day, is minimal. Please, why is she looking at me like that?”

  The mailman pushed at her hands and it triggered something in Laylianna, she ripped into the man’s neck with the ferocity of a wild animal. “No!” I screamed, but it didn’t deter her from stopping. Within seconds the mailman was bleeding from the main artery in his neck, Laylianna was covered in blood and chewing on the flesh. I returned inside the house and waited until she was finished.

  I passed back out, on the couch and woke up later that afternoon, maybe it was a concussion. Regardless, now I have to clean up a mess on my porch. Walking to the front door, I recognized the front door was closed. That is strange, I thought to myself. I opened the front door and the mailman was gone and there was also no blood.

  Laylianna was back in the basement on the couch; she looked up at me and pointed, “Back yard”. She spoke, it was unclear and indistinct, but she said backyard. I went to the backyard and soon discovered a new grave. Laylianna dug a grave and buried the mailman, covering her tracks or maybe she just remembered me burying my dogs, regardless, she had memory function and showed emotional response, at least in her facial expressions.