Permanent Ink: Deadwalkers (Zombie Outbreak)

by RWK Clark

  The situation was terribly out of control.

  The nurses huddling in the corner were literally worthless. They were in such a panic that there was no talking to them. They simply cowered, cried, and screamed periodically. Little Megan Casperson was handling the situation far better than those grown women were.

  Moss held her iron, ready for anything; Reese had his bat, Hilliard his letter opener, and the male nurse stood ready with a mop handle. Sweat poured down all of their faces, and their hands trembled from the adrenaline that was coursing through their veins. The monster was wedging his body into the large, splintered gap in the door, and the other two behind him were clawing at the opening.

  Reese hesitated for only a second. He rushed at the door and swung his bat hard, connecting at first with the monster’s shoulder. It screamed loudly and its macabre smile faded fast. It then shot Reese a furious look, then began to force its way through harder and more persistently.

  “Hit it again!” Megan’s voice cried out. Little Megan was still in the corner, but her crying had stopped. She was now watching the adults and the monsters closely, cheering for those who were fighting for their lives. “Again!”

  Reese acted on the shout, and drew back the bat once more. This time when he swung the bat it hit the monster full-force in the side of the head. Its mouth and eyes flew open in what appeared to be shock. The side of its skull almost crumbled as it caved in, exposing a brain that was covered in greenish slime.

  The monster collapsed in the gap, stuck there; it looked to be dead.

  “The head!” Hilliard shouted. “Go for their heads!”

  Now the other two monsters grabbed hold of the one in the door and began to clumsily pull and tug on him, trying to get him out of their way so they could advance. Reese drew back yet again, preparing for the next one. None of them would have to wait, though. When the two monsters were able to get the first out of the door his body took a large, splintered slat of wood with it. Now the gap was more than twice its original size.

  The creature closest to the door began to punch it and kick it. In its already weakened state it gave way easily, leaving the group in the room completely open to their attack. Reese approached the second one and swung once again, but this time the monster dodged the bat, and it surprised the man. The bat flew out of his hands and hit the wall across the room.

  The zombie, even in its damaged, moronic state, didn’t miss a beat. It came at him quickly, with speed and what appeared to be grace. In seconds it was on the janitor, and he fell backwards to the floor from the weight of the monster. It landed hard on top of him and grabbed him by the hair of his head. It buried its teeth in his cheek and easily ripped the flesh away, paying no attention to his blood-curdling screams.

  Kyle Hilliard rushed forward then. He straddled both Reese and the monster right at their heads, and with one rapid swoop he buried the letter opener right into the monster’s temple. The thing’s entire body stiffened immediately. It began to seize and twitch, then it collapsed on top of Reese, who struggled to push the thing off of him.

  Meanwhile, both Diana Moss and the male nurse were violently attacking the third monster. It was already lying on the floor just inside the office, and they were hitting it in the head with their weapons over and over. Its head resembled a broken egg, the brains and fluid spilled out in a puddle all around.

  “Stop!” Hilliard yelled. “We have to get out of here right now!” He glanced down at Reese, who was sitting up, calmly touching the bloody hole in his cheek. “I mean, now!”

  Dr. Moss dropped the slime-covered iron to the floor and raced over to Megan Casperson. She gathered the girl up in her arms and headed for the door. The male nurse and one female were on her heels, but the other was still sitting on the floor, her hands over her ears, screaming at the top of her lungs.

  “We have to go!”

  Reese opened his eyes and turned his head to the screaming female in the corner. A smile started to come over his face. That was all it took for Hilliard to pick up and bolt from the room full-force.

  He noticed that Moss was headed for the stairs. “No, Diana! The elevator! They are going to be using the stairs!”

  The group ran for the elevator and pushed the ‘UP’ button. While they waited for it to come from the second floor Hilliard ran back and looked through the door to see Reese sitting on top of the nurse. He was chewing, his face covered in blood, and making terrible crunching sounds. He ran back.

  “The change is too fast,” Hilliard said just as the elevator door opened.

  Two people were inside, one a nurse and the other a man in a suit. She was crying and he was trying to comfort her, but both appeared normal. The group crowded onto the elevator, and Hilliard began to frantically push the button for the sixth floor over and over.

  When the door closed he turned to the two newcomers. “Are you both okay?”

  “Yes,” the man replied while the woman sobbed. “What the heck?”

  “It’s a long story,” Hilliard said. He turned to Moss. “We are going to six, where the main conference room is. It is solid, with heavy oak doors, no windows. We should be safe there, and there is a television as well.”

  All of them watched the numbers as the elevator rose, concern about stopping cemented in their minds. At six Hilliard said, “Okay, the conference room is to the right, first set of double doors. Make a beeline for it, and don’t stop for anything. We don’t know who is going to be there.”

  The doors opened to complete silence. Hilliard pressed the button to keep the doors open and poked his head out: there was nothing and no one to be seen.

  “Okay,” on three he said. “One… two… three!”

  All of them took off like a shot. One of the conference room doors was slightly open, and Kyle grabbed it and held it open so the others could get in easily. Then he flipped the light switch and closed and locked the door.

  “Help me move a couple of these tables in front of the doors, will you?” he asked the man in the suit. “It would be best to reinforce it as much as possible.”

  Diana noticed a large window at one end of the room. “I thought you said there were no windows!”

  “None that are accessible from inside the building, obviously,” he replied. “That one gives us a view of the outside, and we are on the sixth floor, Diana. We’re safe.”

  While the men moved the tables, Diana put little Megan in a large, leather chair by the window. She then walked over to the big window and opened the blinds a bit. Down below it looked so peaceful. There was nothing in the parking lot but cars. Not people, not monsters. At the head of the main drive, at the entrance, she could see orange cones and flashing red and blue lights: the police. There were also fire trucks and a few people within view, but not many.

  “I don’t see any of the monsters down there,” she said.

  Hilliard put down his end of the second table, positioning it firmly against the first. He then wiped the sweat off his forehead and replied, “Well, we are on lockdown. They probably have the issue contained in the hospital. It is a relief to know that, anyway.”

  She nodded. “I’m going to turn on the television. We need to know what’s going on for sure; no second guessing.”

  “I agree,” the man in the suit said.

  They all found chairs to sit in while Diana got the television going. It immediately came on to a special news broadcast. She turned it up so they could hear, but not loud enough to attract any attention from outside the conference room.

  “According to local police, the situation is indeed dire.” A blond woman with a slight smile was relaying the situation at Suburban Medical in Thornton. “The hospital has been on lockdown for several hours now, and no civilians or officers have gone inside as of yet. Suburban is surrounded with armed police while city officials discuss how the problem is going to be dealt with. Also, with the release of the news that the Aspen Lumiosa pen is to blame for the outbreak, the entire town of Monte Vista has bee
n shut down and all outlets in and out of it have been blocked off. Here’s Ray Donovan, on location at Suburban Medical Center. Ray?”

  “Thanks, Emily.” The picture changed to a male anchor who was obviously outside the hospital. In the background were countless police and other emergency vehicles. “As you can see, the Suburban Medical Center here in Thornton is under lock and key, and authorities and medical assistance are surrounding the entire medical campus. The outbreak, according to the CDC, has been caused by an infectious ink which was released a short time ago by Aspen Stationers Supply in Monte Vista. The entire town of Monte Vista, is on quarantine in their entirety, but only Suburban Medical Center is shut down in this area.

  “There is no need for anyone to panic, according to authorities. The pens have all been taken off the shelves, so as long as you do not destroy any pens you will reduce the risk of exposure to you or your children, and therefore you should be safe. If you have one of these pens please call the number on the screen for collection procedures. Infection becomes apparent almost immediately, according to the CDC, so if you or your friends or loved ones have shown no sign of infection, you are safe. They are working to not only create an antidote, but also to clean up the problem in all infected areas of the state. Reports have also been made in Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. If you come into contact with an infected person, attacking the head is the only way to stop them.

  “Stay with Fox 31 for all the latest updates of the Lumiosa crisis. Back to you, Emily.”

  Diana turned the volume down and looked at the others. “Well, at least they figured out what caused this, and they are working to find a solution. I just wish we could get out of here.”

  “That’s going to take some time, obviously,” Kyle replied. “They have to figure out how to get the infected ones under control, or they run the risk of them getting out in public.”

  The man in the tie spoke up. “It seems pretty futile to me. How the heck are they going to get rid of all of them, and be sure that they have?”

  Everyone was silent for a minute, then Megan spoke up in a soft voice. “I say we keep watching the news. It’s not for us to worry about right now.”

  Diana turned to the girl and smiled. She ruffled her hair with her fingers and said, “Come here, little one. I think you might be the only sane person here, don’t you agree?”

  Megan only smiled and snuggled against Diana. The girl was right: they all needed to worry about staying safe, and let the hard work be done by the police. After all, that was what they were for.

  Hopefully they figured things out before it was too late.

  Chapter 20

  Monte Vista now labeled as ground zero, was undergoing a ‘clean sweep’.

  After extensive meetings, which rendered no real solutions, there was really only one conclusion to come to. It was disappointing to say the least, but even Mayor Donnelly had to agree. His entire town had gone into hiding, and no one was safe. Sure, they knew the cause of the issue, but no one could seem to figure out how to reverse it. Just standing at the window in his office was enough to send jolts of panic through his body and the bodies of everyone who had a half-way decent view.

  The infected had to be destroyed; it was as simple as that. But how? How could it be done?

  What if someone was out wandering the street that wasn’t infected, wouldn’t they be harmed in the efforts? Well, according to Mel Potter of the Department of Defense, no one had any time to worry about that. All of the citizens of Monte Vista had been warned, more than once, as a matter of fact, to stay inside under lock and key. Even the high school had been offered for safety. If someone was out ‘wandering around’ it would be their own fault if they were caught up in the solution, whatever it was.

  Mayor Donnelly and his assistant, along with Charles Cole and his sidekick, were in the mayor’s office having a conference call with Mel Potter, General Abel Monroe of the US Army, Chief Master Sergeant Michael Abano of the Air Force, US President Richard Baker, and the president’s advisor, Steven Holt. Together they were brainstorming for the best possible solution, one that would allow them to wipe out the infected while simultaneously causing as little harm to the healthy public as possible.

  So far, they had nothing.

  “Do you have an estimate of how many people may be wandering the streets there in Monte Vista, Donnelly?” The president’s tone was one of both frustration and confusion.

  Donnelly took a deep breath. “No, I really don’t. I would like to believe that with police captain Hertz’s team on patrol there are none, and that all of the civilians have followed the directives we have issued, but who’s to say?” Just than gunfire rang out in the street out front of city hall, audible enough to be heard on the conference phone.

  “Well, sir,” interjected General Monroe, “We can hardly move forward with any kind of plan of action if you have no idea what the heck is going on in your town!”

  Michael Abano finally spoke as well. “I agree. Even though we have no concrete plan, we really can’t even put one together without knowledge of the current town status.”

  After listening for a moment Charles Cole got the feeling that a full-fledged argument was on the horizon. “Listen, listen. Men, with all due respect, I don’t see how you can expect the mayor to know much of anything. The truth is, he himself has been locked down just like everyone else. Let’s go with what we know.”

  “What do we know, Cole?” President Baker asked.

  Cole cleared his throat. “We know that the ‘deadwalkers’ are seeking human flesh. We know that the town has been on lockdown for some time. We know that there is, as of yet, no antidote for the infection. And we know that the only way they can be stopped is by destroying the head. No other damage will stop them; none.”

  “So, what do you propose?” This question came from presidential advisor Steven Holt. “You realize that any solution we come up with here will likely be implemented in the other locations. Monte Vista is in deeper than anyplace, and we even have an entire hospital on lockdown in Thornton. We need to come up with something, and fast.”

  Mel Potter spoke. “Any solution runs the risk of civilian casualties, men. War, it’s that simple, and we all know it.” The Secretary of Defense paused. “It has been proven time after time, battle after battle, and this one is no exception.”

  The men were all quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time. General Monroe finally spoke, and when he did his tone was very firm. “With Monte Vista being in the worse condition, with the ‘deadwalkers’, as you refer to them, running the streets, we need to take action that is direct and forceful. I have an idea, but none of you will like it much. Personally, I don’t see any other option.”

  “Well,” President Baker said after Monroe paused. “Out with it, man!”

  “Okay,” he continued. “This is what I think: they are wandering around, they are fighting with each other, and they are searching for any living human they can find to attack and eat, correct?”

  “Correct,” the mayor replied.

  “I say our infantry men suit up. I say we send them out, up and down every single street, and I say they plant a bullet in the head of everyone they encounter showing symptoms. Shoot first and ask questions later,” Monroe concluded.

  Now all the men went into thought mode. True, the mayor considered, they had come up with no alternatives. They could not continue to simply hide out and hope for the best; they needed to eliminate the threat, and they needed to do it fast. It wasn’t as if they could bomb the areas, or set it on fire. No, Monroe’s solution seemed to be the most reasonable and acceptable out of all the considerations, which had been few.

  “I like it,” Mayor Donnelly said.

  President Baker asked, “What about concern for the public?”

  “Well, as you mentioned, everyone has been told to lockdown,” he replied. “What other options do we have? I mean, realistically we have none, and no one can seem to think of anything safer or better
.”

  Baker was silent for a long moment, and no one interrupted his train of thought. Finally, he said, “Fine. Monroe and Abano, I want you to confer with the others and work out a plan of action. Both branches need to put armed troops together and have as many as you need flown in to the affected cities. I want the entire plan ready to go by sunrise tomorrow, understood?

  “Yes sir,” rang throughout the room.

  “Fine. Report back to me by twenty-three hundred hours,” Baker concluded. “I want to hear that everything is a go the next time we speak.”

  With that, the president abruptly ended his side of the call.

  Chief Master Sergeant Abano spoke up. “We will confer by telephone and formulate a plan of action for the troops. We will call when we call the president tonight, so remain by the phone, understood?”

  “Absolutely,” Donnelly said. The call was completely disconnected, and he turned to Steve Holt. “Get the latest maps out, stat, Holt. We don’t have any time to lose.”

  All at once the men took action, and the planning of ‘Deadwalker Clean-up’ began.

  ∞

  Captain Hertz’s press conference had gone very well; he had managed to professionally stress the importance of the public remaining safe at home, while answering the press’ questions without sparking panic. Surprisingly the streets cleared up quickly.

  Hertz sent officers around the city, armed with high-powered rifles, to see if they could identify any of the murderous ‘people’.

  Randy Carstens had spoken with the FBI, and then the CDC. He gave them all the information he could, though he didn’t think that any of it would truly help their purpose: the complete eradication of the monsters which the Lumiosa ink had produced. They did make him aware of one thing they had learned: the creatures could be destroyed only by destroying their heads. Otherwise, complete and total evasion would have to be the tactic until the government came up with a solid plan of eradication.