The Orphans Series Vol. 1: The Orphans

by M. Evans

  He pulled up slowly to the curb in front of his house and put the car in park. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, thinking of the story he would have to tell and how impossibly insane and horrible he was going to come off. The chance Ellie's forgiveness would ever come was something he couldn't fathom.

  ****

  The slow moving car outside had caught Thompson's attention. He walked to the window. Looking out, he smiled, assuming Lennon was in the front seat. To no one, he whispered, "Good God, he caught him. Thank the Lord we can get this day over with." He set his radio on the table as he checked his pistol again.

  He told the teens sitting on the couch to stay seated as he was going to step outside for a moment and he would be back. Neither of them had any intentions of waiting for him or letting him roll off with Shaun's dad if they could help it.

  Sheriff Thompson stepped outside. His jaw dropped as he stared at the wreck of the car in front of him. He saw everything, taking it all in, and it looked horrible. Both taillights were smashed, and there was what looked like blood all over the windshield and car hood. There were bullet holes in the windshield. He rubbed his hand through his hair, happy nonetheless now he didn't have to go to Des Moines to pick him up. He walked up slowly, getting nervous as he started focusing on the driver, coming to a harsh realization that it wasn't Lennon. Instead, it was the man that they were supposed to be arresting.

  Frank was still collecting his thoughts, taking a minute for himself for the first time in as long as he could remember. He hadn't seen Thompson coming up to the side of the car. Thompson swung open the driver's car door, catching Frank off guard, and had already pulled his firearm to point it directly at Frank's head. Thompson screamed, "Get out of the car now! Don't make any quick movements!"

  Frank scooted himself out without the use of his hands, wiggling his ass until he could get both feet on the ground. Thompson went back and forth looking at Frank and then at Lennon in the back seat of the car. Frank stood slowly watching Thompson who looked stressed--small town sheriffs had little experience with things like this.

  "I need to tell you something, and I need you to remain calm," Frank began. "It's going to sound insane."

  Thompson grabbed him by the shoulder and led him to the front of the car. "Get up against the hood, Frank! I don't want to hear anything!"

  Frank tried forcing some weight back on his hand, but the officer kicked Frank's feet to spread them a few feet wider and made him lose his balance. Thompson grabbed the back of his shirt collar and slammed him down on the hood, pulling his cuffs, placing a handcuff on Frank's left wrist, and holstering his gun and finished securing Frank's other hand tightly.

  A commotion in the back of the car caught his attention. He backed up, yelling, "Stay there and don't move!" He scooted to the side and went to open the door.

  Frank shouted, "Don't open that door! He's Turned! He's going to--"

  Thompson pulled on the handle, not looking at Frank and ignoring everything he was ranting about. Thompson asked, "Lennon? Lennon? Are you okay?"

  Both teenagers peered out the window, glued to it and shocked at what they were seeing. "No matter how pissed I am," Ellie began, "I still don't want him to get arrested!"

  Shaun nodded saying nothing, hoping Thompson didn't do something stupid like shoot his dad.

  Thompson looked in the backseat and saw what looked like a bloody fellow police officer lying there. He reached in, shaking his side and trying to bring him around. He didn't so much as twitch. Thompson stared Frank down. "What the hell did you do to Lennon!? What happened in Des Moines!? I'll throw you in jail and bury the God damn key if you've hurt him!"

  Frank tried to sound calm and rational, and not as insane as he knew the explanation would be. "There was an outbreak at the lab. It spread to Des Moines. You have to get that door shut before it's too late.... He'll kill us both!"

  Thompson looked at Frank lying face down on the hood. "Kill us!? Are you kidding me!? For God sakes, you moron! What's he going to do!? Get us in his sleep!?" Thompson clicked on the shoulder radio, "All available units ... all available units ... I have Frank Fox in custody and we need medical transportation immediately for Detective Lennon."

  "If we can just talk for a minute, I can explain! Please, Jerry! I'm begging you listen to me, damn it!"

  Thompson was growing angrier by the minute and becoming more irrational. "It's Sheriff Thompson, Dr. Fox, and I'll thank you not to tell me what you want and what you don't want. Now maybe you want to tell me what happened to Lennon, and why you stuck an axe through your assistant, Rogers?"

  Frank frowned, shaking his head, looking into the back seat, knowing Thompson was past being reasonable. He watched what he hoped wasn't happening. Lennon started to raise his head and was soon sitting up in his seat.

  Thompson had his head turned, cursing that he couldn't make any sort of radio contact.

  "Will you look at him please!?" Frank pleaded. "Just look at him, for God sakes! Shut the door!"

  Thompson came back to Frank, determined he wouldn't fall for any of his fast talk. He was smarter than that. He wanted to make sure he got it right so he pulled out his laminated Miranda rights card and started to recite. "Maybe if I read you your rights, you'll know enough to shut up. You are not in charge, do you understand me? You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent...."

  Ellie and Shaun, still watching from the window, jumped when they saw Lennon sitting up in the seat. He put his arm to his mouth and started ripping off chunks of skin from his arm and chewed them.

  Ellie whispered, "I think I'm going to puke. Am I really seeing this?" She gripped Shaun's forearm as Lennon started to make his way slowly out of the back seat. "What's wrong with him?"

  "Uh ... my guess would be a lot. Do you think he's sick?"

  "He's eating his own arm! What do you think!?"

  They watched as Lennon crawled out of the car. Jumping to the pavement, he got his feet under him and stood sniffing. They noticed the blood running from his eyes. His clothes were soaked in it as well. He found what he was smelling and rushed for it. He licked his lips and, as he looked like he was going to lunge at the two men, the teens started pounding on the window screaming for everything they were worth. Unfortunately for Sheriff Thompson he was trying his best to ignore them and the pleas of Frank which could have saved him.

  Lennon jumped into the air, landing on Thompson's back, ripping into his neck and clawing at the back of his head. Blood gushed and squirted everywhere. Frank pushed off the squad car with a foot, launching himself, and the force from his body into the men now behind him threw them off balance. Frank tripped and landed on his back. Trying desperately to get back to his feet, Thompson's keys came unclipped from his belt and slid a few feet in front of him as he was being eaten alive. Frank rolled on his stomach seeing the keys in front of him and dropped his head, knowing he'd never make it.

  Ellie screamed and smacked Shaun on the arm. "Oh, my God! We need to save him! What are we going to do!?"

  "We're not going out there! Are you kidding me!? Look at him! What are we going to do!?"

  Ellie glared at him. "Well, if you're not going to do something, I will!" She marched for the door, determined.

  Shaun rolled his eyes. "I hate my dad! I really hate my dad! Damn it, you're a pain in the ass too, Ellie!" He ran for the front door and pulled her back. "Stay here!" He ran out the door, yelling back, "Lock it! Who knows what that thing will do!?"

  Ellie clicked the bolt and watched Shaun from the side window. "Like he needed to tell me to lock it. I can't believe he thought I was going to go out there!"

  Shaun sprinted for the mayhem in front of him, clueless what he should do.

  His dad screamed, "Shaun! Get the fuck back in the house now! Turn around now, Shaun!"

  Shaun ignored him running as quickly as he could pumping his arms diving and rolling snatching the keys hoping the few feet to his dad and helped him up to his feet. Lennon looked up
growling at him and going back to the intestines he was feasting on. Shaun rolled his dad and screamed, "Turn around! Turn around now, dad!"

  Frank didn't need to be told twice, and let his son unlock his cuffed hands. "You know you don't listen worth a damn! Get back to the God damn house now before I kick your ass!" Shaun went to run between the front of the car and Lennon to get back, and Frank yelled, "No! Go around the back, for God sakes!" Frank pulled on the door handle as he watched his son run back to the house, diving for the front door as Ellie unlatched the bolt to let him into safety.

  Frank pulled on the handle of the passenger door, immediately sighing and cursing himself for having locked it. He watched what once was Lennon going insane with hunger and tearing at everything he could--less than ten minutes ago he was comatose and lying in the backseat as docile as a baby. Frank looked to the house to see Ellie staring in disbelief.

  Frank turned away from the car and brought an elbow hard back towards it hitting it with all he had and not even denting it. He stepped back two feet and ran up putting the heel of a boot through it once ... then twice and it shattered. He reached in, hitting the unlock button, and swung the door open. He found the pistol and aimed it for Lennon's head. He pulled the trigger twice, both bullets going through his skull. The areas of the street around him that weren't already red with blood were now fully covered. Behind him, the leaves in the yard which were only orange seconds ago were now red as well.

  ****

  Greg grabbed Tina by the arm while a fresh pack of girls ran by craving the fat gym teacher running ahead of them, losing ground quickly to the turned girls.

  Tina yelled, "Do you have a plan here, or are you just kind of winging it!?"

  Greg pulled her across the parking lot running hard. "Oh, yeah!? I'm winging it!? If that CB in the car doesn't work, my plan is screwed! I just want people with guns to come blow those things away!"

  Tina sprinted the best she could in her stylish shoes. "Sounds like a solid plan...!"

  He got to the squad car, shoving her in head first, following her quickly, and pulling the door shut. Greg hit the automatic locks. Sliding a hand up to the ignition and hoping to find the keys in, he felt nothing. He hit the dash once and then checked under the seat and the visor to be rewarded with no hidden set of keys.

  "We're stuck. Did we, like, die and wake up in a zombie movie or something? The volleyball team goes to Ames and comes back as flesh-eating monsters? That doesn't even sound like a good movie."

  Tina looked at him shaking her head. "I don't know. It's scaring the shit out of me right now! There has to be a better explanation for this, but I'll be damned if I know what it is."

  "Did you see their bleeding eyes and arms and how pale they were? If they hadn't ripped off their arm flesh then we'd never be able to tell the difference between them and a normal person until they started eating you."

  Tina pointed to the radio. "Weren't you going to call in some people who could come kill those things?"

  Greg looked at the shotgun locked in place. He punched in the eight digit code his dad had set for all of the police cruisers in town--the idea being a cop didn't want a fellow officer to be in trouble because he didn't know the code to the shotgun lock. He popped it open.

  Tina asked, "What are you going to do with that thing? Do you even know how to use it?"

  Greg pumped the forestock down to make sure there were shells in it. He grabbed the extra shells out of the glove box, shaking them loose and shoving them into his jeans. "I've been shooting since I could walk--my dad thought it would help me build character."

  Tina had never touched a gun before. "Did it help you build character?"

  Greg smiled. "Nope, I'm still a delinquent, but I'm really good at shooting."

  "Well if those things come after us, prove it, alright?" Greg frowned and she added, "I'm sorry. If you don't think you can handle it, then don't worry. We can ... hide or something."

  Greg shook his head. "Oh, no. If one of those things comes within a foot of us, I'm putting the bead on 'em and squeezing the trigger--no hesitation.

  "There's something wrong with your thought process, Greg."

  Greg poked his head up to look around. There was carnage everywhere. Then he saw what he couldn't believe--there was a fresh flood of SUVs and minivans brining unsuspecting parents who had been stuck in traffic. Not that Greg knew, but these were upwind of the accident and hadn't suffered the effects of the gases.

  "We need to do something or those people are going to be slaughtered!" He noticed people, who were being eaten alive just a short time ago, were now up and walking amongst the others as though unharmed, but reaching down and ripping chunks out of their own arms. Greg could see they also had bleeding eyes. "Those things spread! It must be something contagious! All those people who got attacked earlier are up now!"

  "Yeah, but maybe it wasn't so bad, and that's why they're up. I mean, can they really kill everyone?"

  "I'm sure a few people got away, but I'm just saying that the people I'm talking about have a hole in their stomachs! Like I can see their back bones--literally!"

  "Call for help. Watching this isn't helping anything."

  Greg reached up and unhooked the radio mike.

  ****

  Frank took a look around. His neighbors were staring out their windows, looking shocked. They all had cell phones next to their ears. He walked toward their house, slowly taking in Thompson. The neighbors stayed put in their homes, scared to come out. Thompson who was kicking his feet and having convulsions. Instead of stopping to assist, he pointed the gun at his forehead, firing twice and barely stopping his approach to the house. He blamed himself--had he taken care of Lennon he would have not have had to make this choice. Ellie was beating on the window and screaming. The neighbors were staring at their unresponsive cell phones--there would be no calls for help today.

  Shaun screamed at Frank and beat on his chest. "What's wrong with you!? You shot Greg's dad, for God sakes! You didn't even try to save him!"

  Frank gripped his son's hands and held them. "I'll tell you what happened, but you need to settle down! There's a hell of a lot more than you know going on here! Don’t you think I would have saved him if I could?"

  "Then enlighten me! What the hell will I tell Greg what happened!?"

  Frank let go of Shaun's hands as they went into the house. "Just settle down! There was an outbreak--a kind of manufactured disease. I can't explain it. It hit Des Moines, but it isn't here yet. Because it spreads from blood, a bite, even a scratch maybe--I don't know all the details--but it's worse than cancer. That's why I shot Greg's dad. We need to get out of town, and we need to do it now!"

  Ellie yelled, "Wait! It's in Des Moines!? We need to go back and get my mom!"

  "I'm sorry Ellie, but there's nothing left to go back and get. She's gone. I tried to save her, but it was too late ... it spread too quick."

  Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "So, something attacked her? Like the detective out there did? And she changed into one of them? But can't we still save her? It's my mom!"

  Frank put what failed to be a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It happened. She isn't who you knew. She ... she isn't your mom anymore. If we went back, she wouldn't know it was you. She would look at you and you'd be nothing but her next meal."

  Ellie fell to her knees, crying uncontrollably. She slapped at Shaun who tried to console her. She stopped after a few minutes sitting up against the squad car's wheel and wiped her face with a clean handkerchief that Frank had handed her. "I ... I don't understand. How does something like this happen? Who ... who would make something like that?"

  Frank looked at them. He opened his mouth to try to explain when Sergeant Thompson's radio squawked. They heard Greg's voice coming over the radio and they looked at each other. Shaun quickly reached to grab it but Frank slapped his hand and then when he reached for it again slapped him on the side of the head. "Damn it, Shaun! Those things'll kill you without hes
itation and they won't even think about it! Just leave the radio and go grab some clothes and provisions! Did you hear anything I just said?"

  Shaun rubbed the side of his head--it was the first time his dad had ever laid a hand on him. He yelled, "Yeah, I listened, dad! You said shooting them in the head stopped them so what the hell's wrong with speaking to Greg!?"

  Frank opened his mouth and then shut it. "You're right ... you were listening, but I don't want any more delays--there's no telling who's infected. If Greg's been out there, then he could be one of the Turned, too. If one bites you, then you're one of them, and you put everyone you know and loves you in danger!"

  Frank reached down and picked up the radio from the table. He only clicked the button because of the guilt he was feeling about Thompson. "Greg, is that you?"

  Greg was confused. "Who is this?"

  "Greg, it's Frank. Shaun's dad. Where are you? What's wrong?"

  Greg was quiet. "What's wrong? We went to the school rally, but the buses came back and crashed!"

  Frank was feeling impatient, wanting to get away. "Greg, are you safe? Where's the officer whose car you're in?"

  "I don't know. The girls jumped out and started attacking ... killing everyone!"

  "Killing everyone? The girls' volleyball team?"

  "Yeah! They came out of the bus and they all had bloody eyes, pale skin and rips in their arms! I don't know what happened to them, but it was horrible! The deputy that tried helping them is dead! They made their way through the parking lot in minutes, and killed almost everyone! But they're all getting back up! But dead!"

  "Answer me honestly, Greg. Have you been bitten ... or attacked by one of those things?"

  Greg quickly responded, "No! No, we haven't been touched. We just want to get the hell out of here! Tina's with me, too!"