The jeep engine was not quiet and it attracted attention. A nightmare parade of infected straggled out of side streets and parking lots, following her. She glanced back at Daniel. He was looking down and talking softly to himself. She couldn’t catch the words.
They approached the intersection with Beaumont. A surging horde filled the street near the hospital. She couldn’t get through that; they would overwhelm her. She pulled quickly into the parking lot that circled the courthouse and turned around only to see that any retreat was out of the question. The street had filled behind her, leaving them stranded in a sea of corpses. She backed the jeep closer to the building and looked around desperately. She glanced at Daniel. He was still looking down and whispering. She leaned back to listen.
“Too slow. They left me. Too slow, they left me, they left me.”
The crowd closed in. She could make it to the front doors of the courthouse but would they be open? What would she find inside?
She had no choice. “Unbuckle your seatbelt sweetheart and get ready to run as fast as you can. We have to-
A ripping sound came from above. She ducked as the ragtop of the jeep split open above her head. Hands came through, tearing the hole wider. She grabbed the knife from her boot and plunged it up through the canvas.
“Ow, stop it. What are you doing?” The voice sounded aggrieved. And familiar. The hole continued to widen and a face came into view. It was Charles.
“Hurry up gorgeous. We don’t have a whole lot of time.” As he spoke the first of the infected reached the jeep and began to rain blows on the windows. Daniel flinched but didn’t look up. Virginia put the knife away, climbed into the back seat and unbuckled him, lifting him up to Charles who pulled him out the top. The jeep began to sway slightly as the press of the infected grew. She shrugged into the backpack and stood on the seat, pushing her head and shoulders up through the hole. She had inadvertently backed under the fire escape running down the side of the courthouse. Charles was already halfway up the ladder, holding Daniel under one arm. He called down.
“Look around you.”
She looked. The jeep was swamped. Grabbing the shotgun in one hand she climbed, following him to the roof of the building. Daniel reached for her as soon as she gained the top. She put the shotgun down and took him in her arms. Kincaid waited on the roof, holding a shotgun by his side. Virginia walked over to say hello. Charles pulled the fire escape ladder up and walked back over to them. He held one hand under his jacket.
“That hurt, Virginia.”
She reached for his hand and saw a deep slice in the palm.
“Charles, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know, I thought you were one of them. Let’s go in the building and get the first aid kit. I’ll bandage it for you.” Taking his arm she pulled him toward the roof top door. He pulled her back.
“Not in there. We lost this building to them last night.” He gestured toward the door which she now saw was chained and padlocked. “We’re next door.” A door was laid across the narrow space between the courthouse roof and the town library next door. She looked at it dubiously. He grinned. “It’s a catwalk but it’s sturdy. Trust me.” He picked up her shotgun and he and Kincaid walked quickly across. She followed, holding Daniel tightly. Once safely on the library roof they stopped and looked down. The streets teamed with the moaning, moldering throng. In the distance the French Broad River twisted through the hills like a shining silver ribbon, teasing her with its elusiveness. Route 531 roughly followed that ribbon.
“How did you know I was down there?”
“I didn’t know it was you. We saw the jeep come down the street and knew whoever was in it couldn’t make it past the hospital. We were ready to mount a full-scale rescue when you turned around and backed under the fire escape. That made it easy to get over there and climb down for you. Let’s go in. They (he gestured down) get more excited when we’re outside.” They opened the door and went down the stairs.
The Wells Public Library was the town’s oldest building. Constructed of locally mined granite in the early 1800’s it was originally a church, then an orphanage for a while in the 1930’s. Graceful arches divided book sections. Wall niches that once held statues of saints now housed computer stations. Heavy, oak double doors guarded the main entrance and the windows were narrow and high up. The children’s section was in the apse and when he saw it, Daniel wriggled out of her arms. He ran over to the brightly colored shelves under stained glass windows. Charles and Virginia watched him.
“Is he ok?”
“Not really. He thinks his parents abandoned him this morning. They had already turned but he doesn’t know that. He’s lucky they didn’t kill him but there’s no good way to explain that to a child. Is there a first aid kit here? Let me see your hand.”
“I’m finally holding hands with Virginia Dare. Be still my heart.” The words were joking but the look in his eyes was not.
“Be serious. This is a deep cut. I’m going to check the offices. There should be a kit somewhere.”
In an office behind the circulation desk she found the first aid kit. She didn’t see Charles when she first emerged but finally located him in the reading room, sprawled on one of the deep leather chesterfields that made this room so inviting. He was pale and his eyes were closed.
She sat beside him and opened the kit. His hand didn’t look like it had bled very much and that worried her. While he grimaced she dabbed him liberally with the last of the peroxide then wound gauze around his hand before taping it in place. She looked up to find him watching her intently.
“Ok?” she asked.
“Ok.” He smiled. “When did you last eat? We have some food here but not much.”
“I’m fine for now. Daniel probably needs something though.”
“Mrs. Alvarez and her daughter took him in hand. I think he’s eating a pop tart. We‘re living on vending machine bounty.”
“Who is Mrs. Alvarez?”
“The custodian. She was working here last night when everything went all to hell. Scared her almost to death when we came in through the roof top door. When things started looking bad I sent my deputies home to their families. Kincaid chose to stay. We were holding out on the fourth floor of the courthouse, secure and locked down but those things had already taken over the rest of the building. This old library is one of the most defendable buildings in town. I brought my prisoner over with me. Couldn’t leave him there.”
“Carson? Who would have thought his story would hold this much water? I feel bad not believing him.” Virginia felt her fear spiraling again. “I can’t stay here. I have to get to Springfield. My children are there and I haven’t been able to reach them since this started.”
“531 is closed.”
“I know, I know, but I thought I could get through with the jeep. I’ve got to find another vehicle now. Charles, what do you plan to do? It seems safe here but you’ll need food soon.”
“Right now we still have water and electricity. I’ve been trying to monitor the news but media sites aren’t being updated. People are still blogging though. It’s the same everywhere: hiding from those things, hoping for rescue, but rescue by whom? No one has heard anything from the president since that first announcement. Some folks have seen military vehicles coming and going but not stopping to help anyone. And the infected- more of them every hour. Come with me, I need to show you something.”
He led her up a side stair to a landing with a large window that looked directly into the 2nd floor of the courthouse. Windows were filled with nightmare images of the shambling dead trapped inside. She thought of her plan to run in there with Daniel and shivered.
“Now look at the hospital.” She looked down the street and saw bodies pressed against those windows as well.
“We’re surrounded here. The number in the street increases every time those things accidentally open a door or fall out a busted window. The hospital was hit hard from the start. I can’t calculate the number of dead trapped in there.
You couldn’t have picked a worse area in Wells to drive into.”
“I had to come this way. It’s the only approach to 531. My neighborhood was overrun and staying there wasn’t safe either. You called them dead. So you think they’re dead, not sick?”
“Look at them Virginia.” Outside the window snow covered most of the ground but that didn’t bother the creatures out in it. A tall blond woman wearing only a t-shirt stumbled by on legs chewed to the bone. Judge Lane, still in his black judicial robes, crawled past the town fountain. His lips and nose were gone, leaving him with a hideous, permanent grin. There weren’t many children. Maybe there wasn’t enough left of their small bodies to reanimate. “How can they not be dead?”
“I’m not disagreeing. I think they’re dead too. They seem to start to rot inside as soon as they get infected. The decay process is incredibly rapid and the smell is horrible. I’m not sure but I think to really stop them, you have to destroy the heads.” She recounted some of her experience with Bill and Portia.
“That’s what I’m getting online too. People are calling them zombies. It fits, no matter what they really are. If what I’m reading is true, they may already be the new dominant form of Homo sapiens. Do you think God finally got tired of us and decided our time is done?”
There was a soft startled intake of breath behind them. They looked down to see Daniel, eyes wide, looking out the window. Virginia stepped quickly in front of him, trying too late to block the view.
“They’re in their pyjamas too.” He was right, some were. “Is it pyjama day?”
“No Daniel, there’s just something wrong with them and they don’t know any better. We have to stay away from them. They’re the dangerous people I told you about.”
Daniel nodded and went back to the main floor. He looked so little holding on to the banister as he went carefully down the steps. She thought of their narrow escape and shivered.
“I don’t understand why they don’t eat each other. Why is it they go after living flesh but not each other?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they just like fresh meat. Where is your husband? He wasn’t…?”
“Eaten? No I don’t think so. He was probably still in D.C. when all this hit and I know it got bad there. I’m trying to not think about it because there’s nothing I can do. That reminds me though, do you still have internet?”
They did. She logged on and checked her email. No new emails from Ian. She opened the email with the attachment she sent earlier and Charles read Bill’s documents while she looked out the window. The infected still wandered the streets, apparently aimlessly now. They bumped into each other randomly but made no move to attack. They weren’t recognizing each other as a food source or at all. She shivered again and turned away.
Charles didn’t look up but spoke. “I put your shotgun up on the shelf behind the set of Britannica. It’s a good idea to have a weapon handy at all times, even though we’re pretty secure in here. So did you read all of this?”
“No, just the first few pages. Things got a little intense at my house last night.”
“They’re attracted to sounds. I’m guessing hearing remains their strongest sense. Corneas will dry out quickly after death as will the mucous membranes in the nasal passages. The inner workings of the ear are more protected. I wonder if they feel pain?”
“I wonder too. The cold doesn’t appear to bother them. They must feel hunger though. On that subject-- I forgot to tell you. I have dried fruit and other food in the backpack I brought in if you think anyone might be interested.”
“I’ll come back to this later then. No one has complained but something besides candy would taste good. Do you have soup?”
“Dried packets of chicken noodle.”
“That will be a feast. You’re going to be a popular addition to our little group here.”
“I‘m blushing.” Charles laughed and left the room.
Virginia sat down to search the net. The Red Cross website was still up and had been updated yesterday! She was surprised how heartening it was to find a familiar organization still functioning. She was less encouraged when she read the posts.
Beijing, March 3 (Xinhua) - The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC)
Despite official denials, evidence of the existence of what is being called Virus Z continues to mount in Beijing. Journalists cite a recent announcement by the Ministry of Health concerning travel restrictions. Certificates of health are now required for all citizens wishing to leave the city. Such certificates cost up to 8 million yuan and for those who can pay more, are available without a medical exam. Rumors exist of armed checkpoints on major roads but are not yet confirmed. Offices of Party officials have not responded to requests for information and some offices appear to be abandoned. Houses in the exclusive Zhongnanhai residential district, where many high-ranking party officials live, are conspicuously empty.
Small clinics in the Jiuxianqiao slum district report sporadic gunfire in and around Forth Street and are requesting additional workers and supplies to deal with the expected injury cases. A large number of people have congregated in the area but their purpose there is unclear.
Galkayo, Puntland March 4 (Somalia) - Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS)
Staff evacuations continue throughout the affected zone that now includes Ayn. Present focus of the operation is to remove all workers and those in their care. This may prove to be beyond our resources as the situation on the ground changes hourly.
Children, especially female children, are being “sacrificed” to the infected. Local warlords are sending raiding parties to orphanages to collect as many children as possible. Our attempts to halt this practice have failed and we are not able to defend or evacuate all the orphanages. Many locals continue to believe the blood of a virgin is a cure for the disease and we fear the sacrifices, of one type or the other, will continue.
She clicked on BBC radio online just in time to hear the famous quote from Sir Edward Grey, "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." Apt but depressing. The announcer continued.
“We have an update for you concerning the tube tunnel safe zones. Reports of infected outbreaks in Eastcote have forced evacuation of the Ruislip safe area. The designated zone that extends from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Amersham was still secure at last report. Only those who can pass the canine checkpoints shall be admitted.
We have just been advised that we shall be shutting down operations at this location. BBC Leicester and BBC Cardiff will continue to broadcast for the present. I leave you with the words of one of our countrymen who, like ourselves, survived a very dark episode in British history.” Winston Churchill’s deep, rumbling voice, with its distinctive lisp, flowed out of the speakers.
‘We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind, We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, What is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory - victory - at all costs, victory, in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be realized, no survival for the British Empire. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men.’” Westminster chimes rang followed by silence.
Overwhelmed by sadness, she put her head in her hands. She felt exhausted and didn’t know why. Voices from the main part of the building floated in through the doorway and she stood to go join the others. The room swayed suddenly and she put her hand out to steady herself. Somehow, her hand missed the carrel entirely and just managed to grasp the computer mouse, dragging the keyboard with it as she fell to the floor. Her head hit the flagstone floor hard and all went dark.
Chapter 11
All their predictions ran upon a most dreadful plague, which should lay the whole city, and even the kingdom, waste, and should destroy almost all the nation, both man and beast.
-Journal of the Plague Year
Voices came and went
in the mist. Some were familiar and comforting. Others made her want to flee farther into the murkiness surrounding her.
“You have to do it now! We’ll carry her out on the roof and shoot her in the head then dump the body in the street.” She didn’t like this voice.
“We don’t know what’s wrong with her. She may not even be infected. The wound I found in her side didn’t look like a bite and the redness and swelling have gone down since I cleaned it. This isn‘t the time to start acting like savages but I gotta tell you, I‘m thinking about throwing you in the street if you don‘t get out of here.”
Virginia heard receding footsteps and then a dog barking. She tried but couldn’t move her arms. Someone placed something cool and wet on her forehead. She opened her eyes.
“Welcome back. I hoped you would be awake for supper. I made my specialty. Chicken noodle soup served with tap water and Starburst, fresh from the vending machine, for dessert.” Charles smiled at her and took the wet cloth from her head.
“Am I paralyzed?”
“No, just tied up. Sorry about that. There was a chance you might be infected and well- you know.” He untied her arms and legs and she sat up carefully. Her side felt sore. She looked down at herself and saw she was wearing a man’s leather jacket and no shirt. Someone had replaced the bandage on her side. She clutched the jacket closed and looked up at Charles.
“Don’t worry. I washed your shirt out in the bathroom sink. It should be dry by now. That gash in your side broke open and looked like it was getting infected. You were burning up and we were out of peroxide. Luckily, the librarian was a secret drinker. We found a bottle of Stoli in the locked desk drawer in her office. I used it to clean the wound.”
“How long have I been like this?”
The Living Dead (Book 1): Contagion Page 8