The Reaper Virus (Novella): Sarcophagus

by Barnes, Nathan

  The ferocity of the attack was unrelenting. Some clung to their faith while staring into a sea of evil. “God hasn’t forsaken us. There is a reason to all things,” muttered the woman from New York.”

  A man two rows behind her had different thoughts, “how the fuck do you figure?! Have you looked outside? There is no God here.” His comments didn’t receive any rebuttal. The future had cast a shadow on their outlook that even faith could not escape. Weakness prevailed in bodies unaccustomed to rationing.

  Someone asked, “can we hit the gas? I mean…. this bus is enormous. Who’s to say we can’t push through the parked cars and the crowd? Maybe we can at least get off the bridge to make a run for it.”

  The second runner stood shaking his head, “Frank said that wouldn’t work. The cars don’t have enough room to move for an opening. If we weren’t on the bridge then it might.”

  “Who cares what Frank thought?!” Yelled a man in the middle passenger side, “we’ve got nothing to lose at this point.”

  Scattered voices simultaneously tried to speak over the unending racket outside. Finally the first runner shouted for attention, “NO! Shut up already. What happened to trying to make them forget about us? You all are making them want to tear in here more than ever….” They quieted down so he too lowered his voice, “we can’t plow through the parked cars. Frank knew this, which is why he didn’t think to leave us the keys. I saw them clipped to his belt when we went out for supplies. Fact of the matter is that we’re not going anywhere. We also can’t assume that anyone is coming to help us. Now is the time we prepare to help ourselves.”

  A woman asked, “What should we do?”

  He got quiet, searching for answers to a question with no happy answer. Then he tried to sound strong for them, “I don’t know… pretty sure we’ll need to find some weapons.”

  Another moment of tense silence passed before the man near the bathrooms commented, “everything we had was lost this afternoon. Unless someone is holding out, we’ve got nothing.”

  “I know we can make it. We’re strong people. Use your shoes, your fists, and your feet. Anything you can. The sun will rise in less than four hours. With some daylight I’m sure we can find a way to get out,” the runner spoke as if he was trying to convince himself at the same time.

  Fate exercised its cruel timing then as a groan from warping metal punctuated their planning. The metal frame of the entrance flexed under the constant barrage of pressure from the outside. All conversation ceased. They listened in sheer terror to see if their fears were coming to fruition.

  A sharp ticking noise took over where the howling steel left off. In response the antsy flashlight-toting woman illuminated the front of the bus. It showed the petrified onlookers a growing web of cracks spreading on the side of the windshield where a bullet previously punctured. They saw the jackets tacked over the door shaking violently as the door grew weaker with every passing second.

  Two men and one woman leapt to the front to hold the door closed. The dead landed on the bus with the frequency of a hailstorm. Their peaking barrage sent tremors pulsing from the floor all the way to the people inside. Ava sat with her mouth agape, frozen in fear by all that unfolded around her. Her teeth chattered with each jarring of their protective shell. All she wanted was to be brave, to show her favorite person on Earth that she’s stronger than the scary things they were running from. Now, as their world loudly trembled, the little girl in a fluffy purple jacket felt afraid.

  She stared up at her mother who stood at the end of their seats. “Mommy,” Ava said. Her tiny voice couldn’t compete with the berserk crescendo. As her courage fell, so did tears. Then she grabbed hold of Jessica’s hand and pulled for attention.

  Jessica didn’t know what to do. There was no room for panic. Fear replaced all emotions. Those around her began praying. They latched onto one another paralyzed by what seemed inevitable. Pandemonium covered every inch of their shelter both inside and out. She stood there, taking it all in, refusing to believe that the end had come. Then the thought of that end polluted her mind. Visions of her and her precious girl being consumed by the creatures brought bile bubbling in the back of her throat. That’s when she felt the tugging on her hand.

  She sat back down and Ava knew her voice would at last be heard. Her little lips drew near her mother’s ear as if it was a guarded secret. “I’m scared, Mommy,” the tear-glossed girl said.

  They locked eyes. Jessica replied, “everything is going to be fine, baby. I’m scared too. But I know that as long as we’re together, everything is going to be fine.”

  Several feet away the three people who rushed to keep the door closed were struggling. The horde became louder than they’d ever been. Their vile song of moans and growls had reached a volume rivaling that of a freight train. Through it all Jessica heard a long whine of metal followed by glass shattering.

  The woman at the front screamed, “we need help! The door is about to give!”

  No one budged. Fear or perhaps cowardice kept them in their seats. Hope was so far removed that they’d rather await death’s arrival than fight its advance. Jessica frantically looked around, stunned that all but the three fighters at the front had conceded.

  She bent over to Ava, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Earmuffs… now! I’ll be right back. Close your eyes and cover your ears until I sit back down. I love you, my sweet, brave little girl.” Ava hesitated. Her face glistened with tears; finally tipped her head, closing her eyes and covering her ears.

  Jessica shot from their seat towards the front. Her eyes had adjusted enough to the lack of light that she kept herself from tripping along the way. What she could make out near the driver’s seat made her feel about as hopeless as the rest of the retreat group. The coats tacked over the bus door bulged inward as hands vigorously pawed at the other side. Black ooze dribbled down inside from the intruding arms. Any serrated effects of the broken glass acted as no deterrent.

  The three defenders pushed against the door with all their might. One of the men saw Jessica standing above the recessed exit stairs. “If the door folds then we’re done,” he uttered. He strained so much that his words were choppy. “Come push on the center joint!”

  Both halves of the long folding door threatened to give way at the crease. Those on the inside pushing to keep it extended knew that they would die if it were to fold. Chewed fingers entered every gap created in the door seal. The horde pushed and pulled without any coordination, only enticed by the promise of living flesh on the other side.

  Crackling sounded to Jessica’s left. She peered over her shoulder to see the spider webbing of the windshield had completely overtaken the sections visible above their makeshift covering. After being violated by the bullet, the once sturdy composition of the glass succumbed to a constant battering. Its shatterproof design now crinkled like a translucent net of razors, ready to flop inward.

  Her heart palpitated as if it tried to flee her body. Constant discord from the noises of her mind with the maddening volume surrounding them pushed Jessica passed a point of anxiety. Shock set in and she felt removed from herself; like a lucid nightmare gnawed at reality. “I need to go back to my daughter,” speaking normally and to no one in particular. “My daughter needs me.”

  Then the entire bus listed towards the undead advance with the side facing the train bridge actually lifting an inch off the ground. The cause was a cataclysmic combination of structural failure joining a climax of viral determination. It was almost like the infected mob gained a single second of coordination to apply their synchronized effort onto the door.

  When the coach righted itself the door blew off its hinges. Without folding in the middle as designed, those pushing their backs against it had no warning of the immediate separation. The woman that originally called for help and one of the men were launched into the crowd. They were readily welcomed outside the bus like an animal dropped into an overstocked tank of piranha. It happened so instantly that screaming w
as a luxury they were robbed of.

  Popping the door and two warm bodies into an area jammed with walking corpses formed a temporary gap like a puddle displaced by a stone. The pause gave Jessica and the remaining man enough time to turn towards the cabin. Jessica reached the top of the stairs as the man was yanked back by several snapping jaws and overzealous hands. It was then that she saw Ava standing at their row. Their eyes met again. Both faces shined through the darkness with a sheen of tears. Jessica smiled at her baby girl.

  She opened her mouth to yell that she loved her but was robbed of the words. Instead, a shocked gasp replaced it as she was pulled from the metal cage. Suddenly she felt the cold night air nipping at her face as pain from their teeth seared across her body. Her thoughts went to her daughter, back to the dream where it was bright and happy.

  No sound escaped her lips until the sinuous movement that came with her death turned her face towards the breached entry she had emerged from. In a brief gap she saw them spilling into the bus. The pain in her heart was worse than the torture being inflicted to her body. Jessica’s last breath released as a scream so loud it escaped the unholy horde. Her sorrow echoed far beyond the boundaries of the clogged bridge.