Mad World (Book 1): Epidemic

by Samaire Provost

  Jacob and DeAndre had made it to the van. They had unlocked it and were getting Mike into it. Risa ran up to them and scampered into the back of the van like a terrified kitten. Jacob glanced back at us and gasped. Then he reached into the van. I groaned. Why couldn’t he come help us? Paula was hard to move. When he emerged from the van with his father’s shotgun and began running back to us, I suddenly understood why. Caitlyn saw what was happening too and, straining to get a better hold on Paula, began to run even faster. We were nearly there when Jacob caught up to us … and ran past us. Gasping in surprise, I looked back as I ran and saw that Holly had stumbled and the zombie was nearly on her.

  “Go help them, we can get Paula into the van,” Caitlyn said as we reached the vehicle. DeAndre had come back out and was helping her with Paula. I turned and dashed back to Holly and Jacob. Just as Jacob reached her, Holly stood back up and took two steps toward us, but it was too late. The zombie leapt as she tried to escape and landed half on her, arms reaching to her waist and pulling her to the ground again. She landed hard on her belly and cried out.

  Just as the zombie was grasping at her and growling, trying to bite her, Jacob caught up to them and leveled his shotgun at the zombie’s head.

  He fired.

  The resulting blast blew half the zombie’s head away, splattering both Holly and Jacob with blood, brains and bits of dark grey flesh. The grotesque figure in the dark suit and blue tie fell backward and lay partially on top of Holly. Jacob leaned down to grab her arm, to drag her out from under the disgusting mess. I grabbed her around the waist, and we pulled her out, but just then we heard more growling.

  It was coming from just a few feet away – a second zombie was nearly upon us.

  “Jesus!” Jacob exclaimed, straightening up and cocking the shotgun once again. As the zombie ran up to us, Jacob let loose another round, catching the zombie in the midsection. The creature fell to the ground moaning. We got Holly to her feet and stumbled to the van. Somehow, the zombie picked itself up and began hobbling toward us. I looked back, disbelieving.

  “I shoulda hit it in the head, it’s the only thing that seems to stop them,” Jacob mumbled as we piled into the van and slid the door shut. As I settled into the driver’s seat, the zombie fell against the side window of the door we had just closed. It banged the window hard with its fists, making a hollow sound on the inside.

  “Here!” Jacob yelled as he tossed me the keys. I caught them and fumbled to put them into the ignition. Why didn’t these things go smoothly in an emergency? I finally got the key in and started up the van. As the engine rumbled to life, I quickly threw it in gear. I wanted to get the hell out of here fast. Glancing back, I began to reverse out of the parking lot.

  All of a sudden, fists pounded against my driver’s side window. Three other zombies had joined the one pounding the other window and were now trying to break through mine. One grabbed at the side windows and another held tight to the door handle, pounding hard at the window, inches from my face.

  “Oh, hell no!” I exclaimed, accelerating backward and screeching out of the parking lot, burning rubber. Two of the zombies fell to the ground, and a third tried to grab hold of the side-view mirror. I dragged it along for a few dozen yards before it fell off to the side. I sped down the road so fast the van wobbled from side to side as I maneuvered down the street. I had had enough. Every one of that stampeding crowd could fall to the zombies as far as I was concerned. Ellie hadn’t deserved to get trampled to death, and Mike and Paula hadn’t deserved to be injured by a crazed mob. I drove fast back the way we had come, finding the freeway in minutes. I turned onto the southbound entrance and accelerated down the road, wiping the tears from my eyes.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I brought the car quickly up to freeway speed, took a shuddering breath and reached for my water.

  What an ordeal.

  “Alyssa,” Jacob said quietly, “We have a problem.”

  Slowing down a little, I glanced back at him, a foreboding feeling gathering in my gut. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Jacob came up to the front and settled into the seat beside me. “Keep going,” he said. “We need to get out of the city.”

  I glanced over at him. He almost seemed afraid to tell me whatever it was he had to say. It must be bad, I thought.

  I waited.

  “It’s Holly.”

  My stomach fell. Her baby! I waited in silence for Jacob to continue.

  “She had the cut from the mob back at the Observatory, and when she fell on the grass, she was scraped up pretty bad on her elbow,” he said.

  “Yes? Is she okay now?” I said, not understanding.

  Jacob sighed and looked down. Swallowing hard, he continued.

  “The zombie that jumped her was bleeding a lot and was covered in fluids. It got all over her when the creature was on her. Then I shot it and further sprayed her with … fluids from it,” he said. “Her skin and clothes were soaked with that crud. Its blackish blood was all over her cut.”

  It was a moment before I realized what he was trying to say. Then it dawned on me: Holly might be infected.

  Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Okay. Well, let’s see,” I couldn’t think.

  Jacob said, “I think the first order of business is to get out of the city. We have no idea which areas are safe, so we should assume all areas are compromised. I say we drive south or east and get as far from L.A. as possible.”

  I nodded. “Are you sure she’s infected? Try and clean her off. There are water bottles in the back. Get her into dry clothes and just throw the dirty stuff out the window. Try to clean that cut. It’s a small chance, but maybe she’ll be okay.”

  “If the cut didn’t go through all the layers of skin, she may have a chance,” DeAndre said, coming up to the front. “The cut is looking good, I cleaned and bandaged it. I personally don’t think she’s infected.”

  I turned and looked toward the back of the van and saw Holly sitting up and talking with Caitlyn. She seemed fine and normal. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Let’s hope you’re right, D,” I sighed, suddenly exhausted. “Not only for her sake, but for her baby’s,” I finished.

  Nodding, DeAndre moved back to the rear seat. Jacob glanced at me and said, “You okay to drive?”

  “I think so. Although I sure could use about three days of sleep,” I said, grimacing. I could feel the exhaustion coming in waves, washing over my entire body, but I tamped down the feeling, determined not to slow down until we were safe.

  “Someone get on the iPad and find me a hospital, either going toward San Diego or Phoenix,” I said. “I’m putting a couple hundred miles between us and L.A.” Preferably one not flooded by zombies, I added in my head. I drove south on I-5 and tried to think about something other than Holly’s baby. On the one hand, I trusted DeAndre’s judgment about her wound. On the other, I had a very bad feeling about the situation.

  Jacob reached for his tablet and lifted the black rectangle out of the side panel where he had stuck it earlier. “I need to plug it in anyway,” he said. He pulled the car adaptor out of the glove compartment, plugged everything in and got to work. Glancing at me with sad eyes, he said, “This’ll keep me busy, hopefully get my mind off the crap situation we just got out of.” He smiled grimly and lowered his eyes again to the tablet. After a few minutes, he looked up.

  “I think we should take the 10 freeway out to Arizona. We don’t know the situation in San Diego, and they diverted everyone east. Mike, Paula, and Holly will be okay for a few more hours. Their bleeding is stopped and none of them is in shock.

  I nodded tiredly and began to look for the I-10 turnoff from I-5 southbound. I felt my body calming down as I drove. It had been flooded with adrenaline from the freakish afternoon we had just had, but now as I became calmer, I felt myself becoming very drowsy. With a sigh, I realized I hadn’t slept in 48 hours. I began to fantasize about lying down in a soft bed and falling asleep.

 
“HEY!!” Jacob said loudly as he grabbed the wheel. I had dozed off and the van had veered toward the side of the road.

  “Oh my God, I’m sorry,” I mumbled. Bringing the van to a stop at the side of the road, I put it in park and turned to the others. “Who’s good to drive?” I asked.

  “Never mind them. I can drive, Alyssa,” Jacob said as I moved to the side seat. He slid behind the driver’s wheel and handed me the iPad. “You should try to sleep. It’ll be at least six hours before we get to Phoenix.”

  Nodding, I buckled myself in and looked back to the others; most of them were in various states of slumber. We were all so exhausted. Glancing down at the iPad, I thought about doing research on our situation and the West Coast retreat to Arizona, but my eyes were burning and my head felt so fuzzy. All of a sudden I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I had no more energy to fight it, and I fell soundly asleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Wake up, Alyssa,” Jacob said as he gently shook me awake. I woke up and saw we had pulled off the freeway and were in a hospital parking lot. The others were gathering Paula and Mike together and exiting the van. Holly jumped down onto the asphalt and seemed fine, talking with Caitlyn and helping Risa down. The sun was just setting against the desert landscape.

  “How long did I sleep?” I asked, still groggy.

  “About two hours, give or take. It’s about 7:30,” Jacob said. “I decided to stop here in Indio at Kennedy Memorial. We need Paula, Mike and Holly checked out. Paula passed out again about an hour ago, and Mike’s leg is broken or dislocated or something, he says he can’t stand the pain. And I want Holly’s arm checked out. She says it’s not bothering her, but.…” His voice trailed off.

  I nodded and blinked the sleepiness out of my eyes. Even two hours of sleep had refreshed me, I decided, jumping down out of the van. Scooter and Blackie whined and begged to come with us, but after a few minutes on some nearby grass, we put them back in the van. We had enough on our hands just taking care of Paula, Mike and Holly.

  “Holly, how are you feeling?” I asked. I saw that she had cleaned herself up nicely, and had on new jeans and a fresh t-shirt.

  “I’m feeling fine. My arm isn’t even sore,” she said, smiling.

  I hugged her and swallowed back tears of relief. “I’m so glad. How is Baby doing?” I asked.

  Holly looked down at her protruding belly and patted it gently. “I think he’s doing great. While I dozed, he was moving a lot. I’m about three weeks from my due date, so I’m going to have them check everything here, but I’m sure he’s just fine.”

  I reached over and tousled Risa’s hair. “And how’re you holding up, Sweetie?”

  “Pretty good, but I’m hungry,” Risa answered, looking up at me.

  “Well, then. Let’s see what kind of grub we can rustle up for you at this joint,” I said. I held on to Paula’s right arm, and Caitlyn took her left. Holly took Risa’s hand in hers, and we looked back at the guys.

  “Mike’s leg’s swollen up pretty bad, I’m going to get them to come out here with a stretcher for him,” DeAndre said.

  “I’ll stay with him, you ladies go on ahead. We’ll meet you inside” Jacob said.

  Nodding, we turned back toward the Emergency Room entrance and slowly made our way into the waiting room. Risa and I sat with Paula as Caitlyn and Holly went up to talk to a nurse. I saw DeAndre come in and do the same, then head back out, followed by two nurses with a stretcher for Mike. Looking back into the room, I spied several vending machines in the corner.

  “Risa, look: there are some snacks. Here,” I said, handing her a few dollars, “go and bring me back something and get yourself a treat, too.”

  “What kind of snack do you want, Alyssa?” Risa asked.

  “Surprise me,” I said, smiling.

  She nodded and went over to investigate the machine’s offerings. I sat back and put my arm around Paula, who was really looking out of it. The blood on the back of her head had dried, and her face was mostly cleaned up, but she needed to be cared for. I sighed with relief, feeling glad that Jacob had stopped at this hospital. We had been ill-equipped to handle our friend’s injuries.

  Looking around the Emergency Room, I saw there were only a few other people here, and no sign that the infection had touched this area of California. Indio was apparently so far out of the large city areas that it had remained unscathed. Before Risa could come back from the vending machine snack, a nurse approached me with Caitlyn. She performed a cursory exam on Paula, then brought a wheelchair over and we got her into it.

  “You’re going to be okay, Paula,” I said, looking into her eyes. “These people are going to fix you right up.” I straightened and nodded to the nurse, who wheeled Paula down the hall to be examined.

  “Holly went in to get checked,” Caitlyn said, sitting down.

  “That’s good. I hope everything’s okay with the cut on her arm, and her baby and everything,” I nodded, yawning and leaning back to stretch, my hands on the back of my hips.

  I sat back down with Caitlyn, and we both yawned simultaneously. Laughing, we leaned against each other and rested. I saw the nurses bringing Mike in on a stretcher and stood up and went over to see what was going to happen with him. They wheeled him through the lobby and down into the hall toward the exam rooms before I could catch up with them.

  “Hi, what’s going on with Mike?” I panted as I jogged up to them.

  “Not sure, but I think his leg is broken,” DeAndre answered, stopping to talk to me with Jacob. The nurses wheeled Mike out of sight. We all went back to the waiting room.

  “I should go move the van to a parking place and take the dogs out for some more exercise,” Jacob said. I nodded and plopped down into a chair next to the others. Risa was back and handed me a cold soda. I took it thankfully.

  “Thanks, Risa. This is actually perfect,” I said, popping the top and gulping half of it down. It was so cold it hurt my throat and woke me up a little, which was wonderful. I pressed the can to my forehead and cheek. God, it felt so good to do something so normal. Risa climbed up to my lap, and Caitlyn dropped her head on my shoulder. My eyes drooped as I finished the rest of the soda. I quietly put the can next to me, wrapped my arms around Risa as she snuggled against me, and rested my head against Caitlyn’s. We all promptly dozed off.

  Sometime later, I heard DeAndre and Jacob talking nearby about Mike. Opening my eyes, I sat up and caught Risa as she began to slide off my lap. Caitlyn was sitting up as well and rubbing her eyes.

  “Hey guys,” I said quietly, yawning and stretching, “any word on things?”

  “Yeah. The doctors said Mike’s leg is broken and needs a cast,” said Jacob. “They said Paula needed stiches and has a concussion. Her arm is being put in a cast, too. I think they said it was fractured in two places.”

  “They’re both going to be discharged after they get their casts on. We were just discussing leaving them here in this town and driving on to Phoenix to find our families,” DeAndre said.

  I sat up, straightening my shirt and nodding, “I think that may be the best thing to do.” I glanced around for Holly. “Is Holly still being seen?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure,” answered DeAndre.

  “I’ll go ask,” said Caitlyn, yawning and stretching her arms above her head. She got up and ambled to the nurses’ station, followed by Risa.

  “Have you guys asked about the infection? Have they heard anything at all?” I asked, turning back to Jacob and Mike.

  “I don’t know,” Jacob said. “This town is only about 100 miles from L.A. And it’s on the direct route to Phoenix. They had to have heard something.”

  “Let’s go ask,” I said, getting up and taking Jacob’s hand. We all went to the nurses’ station and joined Caitlyn.

  “Hey, we’ve just driven from Central California, stopped in L.A. and then arrived here,” Jacob said, catching the attention of the two nurses and a doctor at the desk. “Fresno and Bakersfi
eld had fallen to the plague and L.A., we found out, was severely compromised. Have you guys seen or heard anything about it out here? You’re just a couple of hours out of L.A. and when we left he observatory we were being chased by infected individuals.” “Wha?” said the doctor. The two nurses simply looked dumbfounded.

  “Yes, that’s about it, in a nutshell. The infected individuals all act like zombies. They attack people if you give them the chance,” I said.

  “Well,” said the doctor, “of course we’ve heard about the emergency, but we haven’t seen any cases of it here. I had no idea it had reached L.A.”

  “Oh, yeah. It’s in L.A,” I said. “That’s why we’re worried about Holly. She got infected blood and tissue all over her wound when she was attacked. We were running to our van, and a zombie jumped her. Jacob here took care of it, but, well, can you let us know how she is?”

  “What do you hear about the evacuations coming down the 10 from L.A. to Phoenix?” asked DeAndre.

  “We weren’t aware of any evacuations just yet,” said a nurse.

  Just then, a third nurse came out from the exam room hallway. “Miss White will be out in a few minutes, the doctor is just finishing up running some tests on her. She seems to be doing okay,” he said, writing on his clipboard.

  “Well, I’m going to wait out here, stretch my legs,” I said, gesturing to an enclosed patio with an open ceiling that was off to the side.

  I opened the door and looked up at the sky, past a few large plants that were arranged around the patio. The black, inky expanse was gorgeous. There were so many stars this far out from the city, and they all seemed to be winking at us. I felt a renewed sense of hope regarding Holly’s fate. And Mike and Paula were going to be okay, too. We were all going to make it out of this with just a few bruises and scars.