Petite and delicate, Faith had straight golden blonde hair that flowed like silk to the small of her back. She was soft-spoken, seldom thought poorly of anyone, and was consistently kind to everyone with whom she came into contact. Endearingly naïve about the ways of the world, Haven always felt like she needed to look out for her younger sister.
Haven tied the towel snugly around her body and headed to her side of the room, the half painted in deep crimsons that stood out in stark contrast to her sister’s baby pink half. She sat down at her antique desk, opened her laptop, and pulled up CNN.com. Combing through the tangles in her damp hair, she scanned over the various news articles, trying to find something of interest. She paused at one of the titles.
“Several Bitten by Vicious Attacker at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.”
She was about to click on the link for details when she heard a knock on the door.
“Thought you girls might like to go on a walk?” Rosemary Summerhill asked as Haven opened the bedroom door. The girls always joined her for her nightly walks. It was a tradition since their adolescence. Tradition or not, however, Haven refused to let her walk alone at night.
While almost eighty, Rosemary still had a stamina for life that rivaled most young adults. Haven sometimes worried about her grandmother’s insistence to maintain a very active lifestyle, although deep down, she knew it was what kept her so vivacious in her old age. Nearly every day of the week, Rosemary kept herself busy with some kind of activity, whether it was woodcarving, dancing, taking Zumba classes at the local YMCA, singing in the church choir, or going out to the shooting range to shoot her .38 Special revolver that she purchased at the local gun store as a Christmas present to herself.
“Love to, Grandma. Just let me get some clothes on,” Haven replied, turning away from the door.
She walked back to her room and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from her closet. She squeezed the remaining water from her hair with the towel and put it into a loose braid.
“Faith, are you coming?”
Oblivious to her, Faith bit her bottom lip in deep concentration as she took notes and highlighted her book. Haven lightly tapped her knee. “Come on, bookworm. We’re going for a walk with Grandma.”
Faith smiled and closed her book. “Sure.” She glanced around the room. “I just have to find my shoes.”
Once they were ready and out the door, Rosemary took her granddaughters by the hand.
“Haven, I know it’s been hard for you out here while you look for a decent job, but I’m glad you’re with us,” she said. “It wasn’t the same without you when you were abroad.” Haven squeezed her hand, and Faith nodded in agreement, planting a sweet peck on her grandmother’s cheek.
Rosemary’s eyes widened as though remembering something. “I forgot to tell you. Did you girls read the paper today? I read the most absurd thing, and quite honestly, I wish I could un-read it. This young man apparently tried to eat some people at the Atlanta airport, including a med student from Boston. Thank God you flew into Columbus.” She shook her head. “This world keeps getting crazier and crazier.”
“I know, I saw that when I went on-line. I didn’t read the details, but if he’d bitten me, I would have bitten him right back!” Haven said in earnest.
“That’s awful. What would make someone do something like that? Drugs, like that guy in Florida?” Faith murmured.
As the pair walked in silence, mulling over the disturbing information, the neighborhood suddenly seemed darker and more eerie. They lived outside of the town, far enough from the hustle and bustle, but not quite out in the sticks either. One side of the road that ran through the neighborhood was surrounded by a dense forest. On the other side sat dozens of houses, some that snaked into small cul-de-sacs.
“Well, maybe he was sick. Sounds like rabies,” Haven finally proffered.
“You know, I have a theory about these things… Times are getting more dangerous, sweetheart. Wars are everywhere, and people are killing their own kind. Natural disasters are reducing countries to next to nothing. Our economy is still in a big rut, jobs are scarce… people are getting desperate. I think we’re in the end times. It’s getting worse and worse out there. Who knows what led that man to bite those people, but regardless, I don’t like it. What’s worse is that it doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident. I keep reading about similar stories taking place all over the country.” She thought for a moment. “We need to get some supplies at the store. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while now, but after reading about the crazy things people are doing nowadays… I’ve waited long enough.”
“I’m sure it will be fine, Grandma. You shouldn’t stress over it.” Haven raised her arm and flexed in jest. “Plus, if anyone ever tries to hurt you, I’ll make them wish they hadn’t,” she joked.
Rosemary patted her arm. “I don’t doubt it. You’ve always been my tough little cookie. God bless the man you marry.”
They linked arms as they walked, their laughter filling the cool autumn air.
As they headed back to the warm comfort of their home, Haven looked up and admired the clear sky full of twinkling stars and realized that moments like these were some of the many things she would greatly miss when she moved to the city.
***
The ride to the hospital had made Erin feel very nauseous. She had already vomited twice, the first time on the poor paramedic’s shoes as he attended to Ryan. She blamed it on the horrors of the day. Her nerves were getting the best of her.
Ryan had lost a lot of blood, and Erin was extremely worried about him to the point that she’d chewed her nails down until her fingertips bled. After tearfully calling her parents and telling them what had happened, they had changed course and rushed to the hospital to meet them there.
Erin sobbed into her sleeve. The whole evening had been traumatic, and she was still in shock over what had happened.
She stared as if in a trance at Ryan’s leg, which had been bandaged by the paramedics. Before they had arrived, she had been able to see clear to the bone. However, what was perhaps more terrifying was the lower half of Ryan’s face. They had put an oxygen mask over his mouth, which had caused him a great deal of pain since there was nothing there but exposed, ravaged flesh. Raw hamburger meat.
He no longer resembled a human being. He looked like a monster.
Erin stifled back her tears in case he could hear her. She pulled her sleeve over her hand, which burned and stung painfully. She had almost forgotten during all the commotion that she, too, had been attacked.
She knew she would be okay, but sadly wondered how he would ever recover.
Ryan feebly reached over and took her hand. He hadn’t spoken to her since before the attack mostly because it was excruciating to do so. She leaned over to him and kissed his hand.
“They’re going to make you better really soon, baby. I’m so sorry, so sorry!” she cried.
Ryan’s face had lost most of its color, and his skin had taken on a disturbing ashy green hue. Erin stroked his forehead tenderly and looked at the paramedic who was checking his vitals.
“Excuse me, sir, but he feels so hot. Is that normal?”
The young man took Ryan’s temperature. His solemn face couldn’t hide his surprise. “To be honest, he’s running a really high temperature. Not to worry though. He’s probably just fighting an infection.”
Erin nodded numbly.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the hospital, and the couple was ushered into the emergency room. Ryan was looking worse by the minute, his fever spiking unnaturally high and his body shaking in convulsions. He had vomited several times, and when Erin saw the obsidian color of the bloody liquid, she shrunk back in horror.
She waited anxiously while the doctors tried to help him as best they could, but it seemed like whatever had been transmitted through the bite was unstoppable in its destruction.
“Ms. Reynolds, we’re going to have to ask you to step out for a m
oment, please,” one of the nurses said, gently leading her to the door.
“What do you mean? What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Erin cried, trying to wriggle out of the nurse’s grip.
“We’re doing the best we can, ma’am. We’ll let you come back in as soon as we can stabilize him.”
She led Erin to the hallway and closed the door. Erin stood there staring blankly at the little window looking into Ryan’s room.
Her parents, Harry and Pauline, arrived moments later, their faces lined with deep concern.
Erin rushed into their arms and sobbed.
***
Mike Holst stepped out of his car and walked up the driveway to his home. It was nearly eight o’clock, and he was beyond exhausted. He’d gone to the hospital for a quick tetanus shot and now wanted nothing more than a warm meal and a hot bath before climbing into bed with his wife.
He unlocked the door to their suburban home and was greeted by the delicious smell of grilled steaks and roasted potatoes.
Chelsea Holst leapt through the living room to greet him, throwing her arms around his neck with a sigh of relief.
Mike chuckled. “Hey, I told you I’d be fine. My arm hurts like crazy, but they gave me a tetanus shot and some meds for safe measure. I think that considering all of today’s adventures, I got out of it pretty unscathed.”
Chelsea fought back tears. “I knew you would, but still… That was so scary, seeing the footage from the attacks. I wish you would have let that other security guard take care of it.”
She walked back to the kitchen.
“Chels, come on. He’s an old guy. What did you want me to do? Let that damned lunatic eat him?”
“Better him than you! You’ve got a family to take care of, Michael!” She always used his full name when she chided him.
He sighed. “I know that. But I figured between the two of us, we could handle it.” His stomach churned. “I’m starving. Is dinner ready yet?”
Chelsea began setting the table. “In a few minutes.”
Mike took off his jacket and examined his small wound. It was looking worse by the hour, but he rationalized that as dirty as human mouths were, he was bound to get some type of infection. Hopefully, that shot and dose of antibiotics would help.
He shrugged his shoulders absentmindedly. “Hey, where’s my little man?”
“He’s in his crib. Dinner is almost ready. Wash up.” Mike headed towards the baby’s bedroom. Chelsea poked her head around the corner of the kitchen and added, “Before you touch him, you wash your hands real good, understand? I don’t want our baby catching anything nasty. Hospitals are breeding grounds for germs!”
Mike took a detour to the bathroom and scrubbed his hands thoroughly. He had to admit he wasn’t feeling the greatest, but he didn’t want to alarm Chelsea more than necessary. Already, she was wound up pretty tightly about the day’s occurrences. Still, even the slightest motion sent a searing pain up his arm. If he didn’t feel better by tomorrow, he’d go to the doctor.
He walked to Tyler’s bedroom. The baby cooed when he neared the crib and threw his tiny, chubby arms in the air gleefully.
Mike picked him up and kissed his rosy little cheek.
“Hey, big guy. Daddy missed you today! You would have been proud watching your dad take out the bad guys.” Tyler giggled and put his hand to Mike’s face. He bounced up and down in Mike’s embrace.
Mike smiled. No matter what happened during the day at that crazy airport, Tyler had a way of making all of his problems and worries disappear. Although he and his wife had a rocky relationship, they always agreed on one thing: Tyler meant the world to them.
He gave the baby a gentle hug and set him back down in the crib. Then he turned on the night light and headed back to the kitchen.
Suddenly, Mike jolted forward clutching his torso as a wave of nausea came over him. His vision blurred, and he felt the blood rush to his head. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He put a hand on the wall to steady himself, but he ended up knocking a family photo off instead. It fell to the tile floor with a loud crash.
“Mike, are you okay back there?” Chelsea called out from the dining room.
He slowly straightened himself, forcing the panic out of his voice. “Uhhh, yeah. I’m fine.”
He leaned against the cool wall to catch his breath, ignoring the shards of glass from the broken frame beneath his feet.
“I’m coming.”
***
The Reynolds family had been waiting for over an hour while doctors operated on Ryan. The white-washed walls, bright fluorescent lights, and sterile smell of the hospital were anything but comforting. Erin sat curled up on a stiff, cold chair, wrapped up in her mother’s oversized sweater, and rubbed her eyes with her uninjured hand. While her palm had been cleaned and bandaged, it burned and throbbed painfully. However, Erin’s mind was elsewhere. She absentmindedly chewed on her fingernails, something she hadn’t done since she was fourteen, and stared blankly at the wall in front of her.
Erin’s father walked over to her and handed her a Styrofoam cup of steaming coffee. She had just reached out to accept it when the nurse rushed from the room.
Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the exhaustion and sadness in the nurse’s expression.
Erin stood up quickly along with her parents, and Harry rested his hand on Erin’s shoulder as if to offer silent support.
“What’s wrong? How is he?” she asked quickly, eyeing the nurse’s face with suspicion.
The nurse looked at her hands nervously. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Reynolds,” she stammered. “We lost him a moment ago.”
Erin’s expression crumbled, and she collapsed into her father’s arms.
“It was so unexpected…” the nurse’s voice trailed off as Erin turned from her father and ran to Ryan’s room. Her parents followed her solemnly.
Erin entered a dimly-lit room and staggered to the bed, taking in the gore surrounding her. The bed was covered in black bile and chunks of something that could only have been pieces of Ryan’s once healthy organs. She fell onto Ryan’s lifeless corpse, sobs fiercely shaking her body as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head next to his.
Her parents stood behind her, comforting her with whispers of condolences.
The room was silent save for the sound of Erin’s sobs and desperate pleas.
The doctor came in wordlessly and took off his glasses. “I don’t know what to say. We’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m so sorry, but… there was nothing we could do.” He clasped his hands in front of him and stared at the ground.
Erin’s parents began speaking with him in hushed tones, turning their backs away from their daughter and her deceased lover.
They failed to notice Ryan’s eyes suddenly open, all color drained from them. They failed to hear the low hissing moan escaping his newly animated form. They failed to see his hands, once motionless and hanging limply from the side of the bed, slowly reach up and grip Erin by her hair, fingers clawing and tangling in the blonde waves.
At first, Erin stiffened in shock. Her expression of sadness was abruptly replaced with one of relief and joy as she lifted her head from the pillow. However, once she faced him, her eyes meeting his vacant, lifeless, hungry gaze, she let out a short scream.
Almost immediately, Ryan opened his shredded mouth and lunged forward, yanking Erin’s head back so that her neck was bared to him. Her parents turned in time to witness Ryan sinking his gore-covered teeth into their daughter’s soft, delicate neck.
Blood spewed high into the air as Ryan closed his jaws, grinding his teeth together to pull free the flesh. Erin’s shrieks of horror were quickly reduced to gurgling wheezes as she struggled against him.
Pauline was screaming. Harry rushed over to his daughter and began yanking her free from the zombie’s relentless feasting. It was a gut-wrenching tug of war as Ryan viciously gripped her twitching body closer towards him, chewing through Erin’s jugula
r vein, while Harry desperately pulled her in the opposite direction, crying as he realized his daughter was dying. Her blood sprayed over both of them.
In one final pull, Harry felt Erin break free and heard an awful snapping sound as she fell backwards onto him. Her eyes were wide open, frozen in shock and horror. Her clothes were soaked through with her own blood. Her body twitched and went limp.
She wasn’t breathing.
Pauline ran over to her daughter and screamed in agony. The doctor was on the room phone a few feet away, yelling into the mouthpiece for security. They weren’t answering.
“Erin, honey. Wake up, sweet pea,” her father cried softly as he cradled her in his arms.
“My baby!” Pauline wailed hopelessly, collapsing on the floor next to Erin’s motionless body.
The doctor noticed that the man on the bed was slowly moving to the edge, its eyes hungrily following him. He backed away slowly, but tripped over one of the chairs. There was no mistaking that the zombie was now stumbling in his direction. He scrambled to his feet, his hands frantically searching for the door knob and the promise of escape. The corpse was only a few feet away. It held out one arm and moaned loudly, dragging its once injured leg behind it. The doctor breathed a sigh of relief as his fingers brushed against the door handle and hurriedly turned it.
He barely made it out the door. “Oh, thank God!” he murmured as he staggered into the hall, leaving the Reynolds to their own devices. He started to head to the people who had gathered to investigate the commotion. He threw one look over his shoulder, and to his horror, realized the monster was following him. Gasps and screams erupted in the hall.
“NOT ME!” he screamed. “Leave me alone!” Clumsily, he tumbled over a waiting stretcher. This time, he did not get up. The zombie was on him in an instant, tearing him apart and greedily stuffing its mouth with his innards.
In spite of the myriad people in the hall, no one came to his rescue.
The Good, the Dead, and the Lawless: The Undoing Page 4