by L. J. Cuff
Hunters
Chapter One
The burgundy roof erupted in flames. They quickly spread across the eaves, fanning down the wooden siding. The rising smoke quickly covered the full moon. There was no sound apart from the crackling of the fire engulfing the two storey farm house.
Suddenly, something slammed into the glass on a second floor window. The shrubs in front of the house swayed. A dark figure emerged, limping to one side as if injured. A lamp flew through the air, shattering the glass and sending it trickling down to the ground. The figure moved forward and slumped down onto all fours.
A sheet-covered arm emerged from the window, breaking the remaining glass and letting it fall to the ground beneath. The woman quickly sat herself down on the window frame, as if it was a ledge. She swung her legs over to the outside and paused. She took in a deep breath.
The dark figure sat and waited. It was wearing the tattered remnants of a suit, grimacing as it watched the window.
“Ok… I can deal with one… I’m strong e—” The woman’s words of reassurance were quickly interrupted as she saw three more figures emerging from the bushes. Her lips trembled with fear. The virus had seemed insignificant at first, only affecting less than one percent of those exposed. All over the news, the governments of the world and the talking heads on tv had assured us would quickly run its course, but it seemed that with each passing day, these infected, or ‘zombies’ as the media had started to call them, were growing.
That was a year ago. It seemed like another lifetime.
The four figures crouched down side by side, ready to leap at a moment’s notice. They watched the woman as she turned back to the room then looked at them. One of them grunted upwards and limped to the front.
The woman stiffened her arms, preparing to leap. Suddenly, the heat from the room flared up, and seared the skin on her back, causing her to shriek out in pain. She lost her footing and fell to the ground directly in front of the infected. They slowly moved forward, surrounding her as she curled herself into a ball.
Gunshots sounded out from behind. Three turned and began moving towards the origin of the gunshots, while the one in the tattered suit was undeterred. It pulled her close to him and opened its mouth wide. She kicked it in the knee, knocking it to the ground. It quickly got up on all fours and shook its head. It grunted in the woman’s direction while circling her. She stood up and watched it as it crawled around her.
Suddenly, it pounced, knocking her backward. It opened its mouth wide. Just as it was about to sink its teeth into the woman, she rammed a stick into its mouth. It turned to spit it out and was quickly lifted from the ground. The woman looked up and saw two people in hazmat suits holding the infected struggling viciously against them.
“There’s another one here,” One of the men called out as the pair took the man over to the waiting van.
The woman moved herself backwards as she was approached by a woman in another hazmat suit. She opened her mouth as if to speak but no words came out. Her hand shook as she held it out for the other woman to stop.
“You’re not one of them, are you?” The woman in the hazmat suit asked.
The woman shook her head.
“What is your name?” The woman in the suit asked, bending down.
“Beth,” The woman shakily responded.
“Ok, all clear.” The woman in the hazmat suit stated and walked away.
Beth began tearing up. She stood up on shaky legs but quickly found it difficult. Just as she was about to collapse, she felt a pair of hands holding her up.
“What the…?” She called out, looking up at a paramedic.
“It’s ok… Everything will be ok…” The paramedic helped her to the ground.
Within moments, they placed Beth on a gurney and brought over to a waiting ambulance. She looked to her left and saw the four zombies being loaded into a special unmarked van.
“Where are they being taken?” The woman asked one of the medics.
“Don’t worry about them, they are well taken care of,” The medic responded before putting an oxygen mask over the woman’s nose and mouth.
She took in a few deep breaths and felt her eyelids become heavy. They loaded her into the back of the ambulance. Lifting her head up slightly, she could see the drivers get into the front. The street lights raced before her eyes as they began picking up speed.
“What did you just give me?” The woman called out but the medics didn’t hear her.
Soon, the woman was overtaken by sleep.
* * *
Eric glanced between the six monitors before him. Each one had a different purpose but they all showed the exact same thing. There were no signs of life in the young man that was lying on the gurney.
“All clear,” He stated as he scooted his chair over to the side to get a better look.
The young man was yet another victim of the epidemic. He was in good health until suddenly when he contracted the virus then it quickly changed. His breathing slowed to almost non-existent, the same as his heart rate. But unlike many others, he did not awaken after a week of this. His blood flow, the one test that has been accurate with this virus, stopped completely.
“Ok, the victim today is named Ernest Yin.” Abby lifted the young man’s arm into the air. “There is a purple laceration on his upper forearm, indicative of a self defense bite mark.” She replaced his arm on the gurney.
“You know, that’s right in line with the behavior of z…” Eric began with a sly smile.
“Don’t say it… That name doesn’t do it any justice…” Abby’s voice echoed over the radio.
Eric took a sip of his coffee. “Come on, you can’t say you don’t want to see the headline, ‘scientists stop zombie apocalypse’, can you?” He chuckled slightly as he spoke.
Abby turned to look at Eric through the window then began shaking her head. “Zombie apocalypse? Don’t you think you’re being a little melodramatic?” Her voice crackled. She turned on a small circular saw and began cutting into the man’s skull.
Just as Abby removed the top of the young man’s head, the gurney began inexplicably shaking.
“Please keep a steady hand, folks, we really need this all in one piece,” Abby said as she carefully put the instrument down, reaching out for a scalpel.
“We’re not moving it,” Martha responded.
Abby sighed and looked up from her tray table then looked down. Martha was correct, no one was touching the gurney to make it move. Abby stepped to the side to get a better look, it was as if the young man on the table was moving. Eric noticed the activity in the room and turned to look over the monitors in the room.
“Eric? What’s happening?” Abby asked.
“I’m not sure, everything is still showing no activity…” Eric turned on and off his monitors in a vain attempt to make them capture something.
“Well, there’s something happening,” Abby stated as she stepped back.
“This is a first, there’s nothing on any of the monitors…” Eric responded.
Abby looked back and forth between the body and the monitor.
The man’s eyes opened and he began frothing from the mouth. He turned to look at Abby almost as if to ask her a question. Suddenly, his eyes rolled back into his head and he began convulsing. Abby watched in horror as his hands gripped the sides of the gurney. Then, just as it had begun, everything completely stopped.
Abby stepped forward and touched the man’s hand but found no movement. She checked for pulse and again, his skin was ice cold.
“Is it just me or…” Eric began.
Abby interrupted, “Or did he seem to get better until he died a second time? Yes, that’s what it looks like…”
“That’s not exactly what I was going for but… Ok…” Eric stated as he sat down in front of a computer and began tapping away.
Abby shook her head again as she removed the man’s brain and put it into a nearby container. She looked up to see her colleagues removing his other major organs and placing them into similar containers.
* * *
Mary watched as a group of infected made their way up her driveway. Her delicate nose touching the tip of the boards currently blocking the window into her attic. She slowly placed her hand next to her, carefully taking the small remote control into her hand.
She paused as she saw them make their way across her flower bed and to her front window. They tapped the glass, lightly at first then with more force. She could hear a low pitched growl coming from one of the infected before they all stepped back. They spread out across the yard then returned to the window.
Mary leaned forward slightly to get a better view, causing one of the boards to creak. One of the infected instantly looked up. It lunged itself forward, continuing to stare up at Mary’s boards. It was almost as if the infected could see straight through them. Frightened, she pulled herself away from the window and covered her nose and mouth with her hand. She could hear them grunting more forcefully outside. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.
She finally managed to control herself enough to open her eyes but the room was now dark despite it being the middle of the day outside. Glancing over to the window, she could see the culprit – one of the infected was standing in front trying to peek inside. She stared down at the floor and stayed perfectly still. The infected stood up, pounded at the window three times, and then looked inside again. It growled as it squished its nose up against the glass.
Suddenly, Mary could hear a van pull up outside. She watched as the infected stopped looking inside, opting instead to look down at the street. The doors opened and almost immediately, people in hazmat suits got out, holding up stun guns. The infected got down on all fours and growled. They slowly moved left and right matching the people in the hazmat suits.
The one standing in front of Mary’s window climbed onto her roof and ran to the other side of the house with one of the hazmat suit people giving chase. Mary took in a deep breath and resumed her place at the window.
She watched as the infected were cornered against her house. The hazmat people prepared their stun guns and brought them close. Just as they were about to move forward, there was a growl from behind. The one that had run away lifted a branch into the air and hit into the three wearing hazmat suits.
As they lay on the ground, more infected closed in. Mary watched as the three that were once wearing hazmat suits were unceremoniously stripped of all their clothes. They screamed for help as they were held down and one by one their heads were bashed in with a rock. Mary held her hand across her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks.
* * *
“So what do we know so far?” Abby asked as a blank screen appeared on the wall.
“We know their heart rate reduces to almost zero,” a red haired woman to her right responded.
Abby typed in the information causing it to appear on the screen.
“The illness lasts only ten days before it seems to disappear but causes cardiac arrest in everyone,” Eric stated.
Again, the statement appeared on the screen.
“What about how it’s transmitted?” Abby asked looking over to her left.
The young man stammered, “Mostly through saliva but there seem to be other methods as well because of the twenty-four hour incubation period…”
Eric glared at the young man. “So we don’t know for sure, huh?”
“Well, I can’t exactly experiment with anything… The mice keep dying…” The man stated staring back at Eric.
“Ok, moving on… So do we have any ideas on how to stop this?” Abby inquired, looking at the young man then at Eric.
Eric opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the sprinklers turned on.
“What the…?” Abby called out as she stood up.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Eric shouted, grabbing Abby and running out the door.
They ran together down a long hallway towards the exit. Just as Eric opened the door, a truck came roaring in. Abby screamed as she watched Eric fly down the hall from the impact. The others from the meeting took a step back as they saw the truck reverse out of the building.
Abby turned to her right only to see the truck speeding up towards the opening. She jumped out of the way, tucking herself in under a desk. She could hear her coworkers’ screams from down the hall. She watched in horror as the truck reversed again.
She sat in complete silence, waiting to hear the truck’s engine but nothing came. Standing up slowly, Abby glanced over the damage that was caused. She made her way down the hall, carefully avoiding all the scattered glass.
After a few feet, Abby noticed her red haired co-worker lying on top of a desk. She stepped closer. Covered her mouth, she reached out for the woman’s throat. There was no sign of life in the woman’s body causing Abby to step back. She heard a slight moan coming from her right.
Climbing over a piece of the wall that was strewn before her, Abby finally made it into the back room. The place where the meeting she’d just had took place. She took in a deep breath as she stepped forward.
“Hello?” Abby called out, her voice cracking. She secretly didn’t want to hear an answer, she didn’t want to see another co-worker lying on the ground. She stepped forward again and called out, “Hello?” This time she was greeted by a small, almost inaudible moan. She stammered forward, towards the noise.
Lying in front of her was a young woman, dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans.
“Hello, what is your name?” Abby asked as she stepped forward.
The woman didn’t respond, she continued pushing at the piece of ceiling that was lying on top of her.
Abby stepped forward, taking a closer look at the woman. “Hello?” She asked again.
The woman turned to Abby with wild eyes and grunted. She lowered her head as if she were a cat on the prowl. Pulling herself completely out from under the ceiling piece, she placed her feet on the outside of her hands, ready to pounce. Abby took in a deep breath and held up her hand.
“We can help you… This is a place for helping…” Abby said as calmly as she could muster while stepping back.
The woman crawled forward, still keeping her head down. She matched every step back from Abby with a movement forward.
Abby looked to her left for a syringe or some sign of life but all she could see was broken lights and partially collapsed walls. She noticed a door a few feet away that led into an office. If only I could get to that, she thought, tracing for herself a path.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement. She immediately leapt to her right. Falling down to the ground, she watched as the woman also dropped to the side.
Abby lifted her head. “What the…?” She asked as the woman slightly lifted her head one last time then dropped it. Abby lifted herself onto all fours and noticed the furry, colorful end of a tranquilizer dart on the woman’s shoulder. She quickly spun around just in time to see a dart sticking out of her own chest. She could feel the world going dark around her as the effects set in. She fell to the floor with her eyes wide open.
“I’ve got two of them in here,” A man’s voice declared a few feet away. He carefully stepped closer to Abby, still holding his gun up to his ear. He kneeled down next to her and touched his hand to her throat. Feeling her pulse, he looked into Abby’s eyes. “Sorry about that,” The man said as he gently touched Abby on the shoulder. He pushed the button on his radio before speaking, “I think I hit a live one by accident.”
“Ok, we’re coming to get them,” A voice responded over the radio.
The man tapped Abby on the shoulder and brushed her hair out of her face. “Don’t worry, they’ll make sure you’re ok,�
� He said before standing.
Stepping towards the other woman, the man could already see what she was. She groggily lifted herself from the floor. She stood briefly in front of the man as if assessing what he was to her. She then turned to Abby and licked her lips.
“And this is why we should have stronger tranquilizers…” The man said lifting his gun back up to his ear.
The woman stumbled forward as she groaned an incoherent word. The man stepped directly in front of her and pointed his gun at her chest. She swung her arm in his direction then stumbled to the side.
The man cocked the gun and took aim. The woman lunged forward, falling onto the gun. She looked up at the man and smiled as she held the gun in her hand. The man smiled back and waved at her. Looking down, the woman saw the second dart sticking out of her chest then growled. She fell forward to the ground. The man stood back and watched as she pushed herself up. He then lifted his right foot and pushed her down.
“So where is the live one?” A woman asked from behind. The man pointed down at Abby then bent over and pulled his gun out from under the other woman.
“Do you have anything stronger for this one?” The man asked pointing at the woman that was still under his foot.
The woman sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, Ryan, none that are safe for humans,” She responded as she lifted Abby with another male colleague.
“These aren’t humans anymore… When will you people get that straight?” Ryan protested.
“When they stop breathing!” The woman stated as they walked out of the room.
* * *
“There are too many of them,” Ryan stated as he stood on a platform. Down below was a prison courtyard that once held prisoners but now housed the victims of the pandemic. They trolled the floor in packs, hiding in the shadows, away from the prying eyes of their would-be predators.
“I know but… More time is needed, ok?” Diane responded.
He turned to look at her, watching briefly as the light from the fire below flickered against her glasses. He could see her eyes wide with both worry and wonder, her lips pursed with determination.
He sighed audibly as he looked back down at the floor. “Another few are coming in now… I sure hope you guys are right about that cure…” He commented as a door to the far right opened.