Nick
Nick stood there with his phone against his ear. Fighting started to break out in the crowd. There were more sirens in the distance getting closer. He turned heading back the way he came to the hotel. Before he could explain to his wife what had just happened, more shots rang out. He didn’t turn around but could hear screams. Instead he picked up his pace to get as far away from this chaos as he could.
“Honey, I have to call you back once I get back to the hotel,” he stammered.
“No! I can tell something’s happening and I’m not getting off this phone until you are safe in your room” she disagreed.
He could hear the concern in her voice. “Okay I’ll keep you on the line,” he said, nodding.
“Honey, you have to come home as soon as you can! It’s on the news! People have a disease!” his wife sounded scared.
“Val, it’ll be okay,” he said, trying to calm her down while trying to remain calm himself.
“Amber and me have been watching it all night! The Portland protests turned into riots. There’s outbreak everywhere of a disease making people act like they have rabies!” His wife wasn’t even taking breaths and was just working herself up. Nick quickened his pace away from the noise behind him.
“The people with the virus are becoming violent and attacking people, honey! Not just strangers but neighbors and family members,” she said, scared. He could tell his wife was on the verge of crying.
“Honey!” he said sternly “I need you to try and stay calm, Amber needs her mommy focused until Daddy gets home” he said calmly.
Nick was almost halfway back to the hotel already, listening to what his wife was telling him was on the news. It made a lot of the crazy stuff he’d seen today make sense. A lot of people had been acting erratic all day. Nick didn’t watch the news, or he would have pieced it together already. These weren’t all coincidences so he would have taken better precautions. Nick could hear shouting from up ahead. It was people outside the restaurant he saw on his way to the store. This time however they were on his side of the street.
“Are you almost back to the hotel?” Val asked.
He put the phone down by his side as he approached them cutting her off. There were six of them throwing the outside patio chairs at the small window panes of a jewelry shop. As he approached the group, Nick moved slightly towards the road. He didn’t want to be between the group and the windows. As he was passing them one turned to him.
“Hey!” one of the men barked.
“The po-po still all down there?” another asked.
Nick looked back the way he came then back at the men. “Yeah,” he said softly.
The man's face lit up then the group of men all started laughing. The man slapped Nick on the shoulder then got back to vandalizing the jewelers.
As Nick walked away from them, he put the phone back to his ear, “Sorry, honey, streets are getting pretty rough,” he told her. Even though he was trying not to worry her, he knew she wasn’t stupid. Amber was probably staring at her mom wondering what was going on.
“I’m almost there though, honey” he reassured his wife. He had only one more corner to turn to be on the same block the hotel. As he did a bunch of police officers were standing outside of the hotel putting on riot gear. One of them turned looking at him as got close to them. The officer looked down at Nick’s Target bags. Another officer gave him an up and down look then nodded at him to pass. Nick hurried with a forced smile and looked further up the street. There was another group of officers getting into their riot gear, too. This was going to be a long night and clearly what was happening in Portland wasn’t just happening there. He walked into the hotel lobby which was still empty minus the girl manning the check in desk. She smiled as he walked towards the elevators as if oblivious to what was happening. He raised the Target bags and smiled a thank you.
“Almost there,” he said stepping out of the elevator, letting his wife know he was that little bit closer. He knew if he didn’t her anxiety would kick in. He could tell by her awkward silence how worried she was for him to get back to his room safe. “Here!” he said, swiping his key card.
Once inside the room he dropped his bags then threw himself on the bed.
“I love you, honey,” he told her softly. He could tell she was smiling on the other end of the phone.
“I’m going to catch the first train home in the morning and say fuck the meeting, shit has just got too crazy here and if shit’s starting to hit the fan down there too, I need to be home with my girls,” he said with a smile. Not forced, this was real. The thought of being back at home curled up on the couch with those two was everything. All hell could be breaking loose outside, and he still wouldn’t care.
” Oh, Amber will be so happy, honey! You have your apocalypse bag, right?” his wife asked with a fake chuckle. He could tell she was being strong, and this was good for Amber. He knew if what was happening here was a sign of what was happening in other places, too. Then something big was going down and shit probably was hitting the fan. He needed to be back there ASAP, his sense of preservation and the survival of his family was kicking in.
“Yup, got my EDC get home bag,” he told her.
“I’ll let you go honey; I’m going to carry Amber to bed and snuggle up with her” she told him.
“Honey…” he started calmly “Listen, tomorrow I need you to pack some bags, enough for a week and go into my shop and load up on some supplies then if I’m not back by 5:00…” he paused for a second thinking about how to say it. He needed to word this as to not worry his wife any more than he could tell she already was. “I want you take Amber and head to your sister’s.” he said. There was silence and he could tell she was about to object. He continued, “At least I trust the people in your sister’s area, she’s out of the way in the country with Mark and it’ll be easy for me to get to you there if the freeways are busy,” he said.
Her sister Roslyn and her husband Mark lived out in the Oregon country. With the only thing for miles being wineries, he had a good paying job in a paper warehouse in downtown Portland with an hour commute every day. It was a scenic drive so the roads should be clear. The lack of people where they lived was worth it.
“O-okay… I love you honey...I’ll see you tomorrow…before 5:00.” she emphasized.
He nodded smiling to himself. “Kiss Amber good night for me.”
“Honey...do you think things will really get that bad?” she asked him.
Nick laid on the bed looking out the window at the night sky, silhouettes of blue and red bouncing off the buildings still. He thought carefully about his next few words. If she knew he was worried she would start panicking and that wouldn’t be good for anyone.
“Honey, I think it might get a lot worse before it gets any better and honestly, if you went to your sister’s I would know where you were, and I could walk to you if I had to. Those are safe country roads and hills,” he took a deep breath. “All that stuff you made fun of me for buying, in my end of the world bag… that’s what it's for,” he told her smiling, hoping she was smiling, too.
He turned on the TV as he lay there, and the emergency broadcast system was on the hotel’s main screen. It was informing hotel guests that there was Martial law being declared. It listed states that were officially in a state of emergency. Oregon and Washington were on the list.
Nick sighed to himself looking at the screen, “Tell Amber I love her, and daddy will be home soon, if I can’t get home in time on the first train or they stop I’ll meet you at your sister’s.” he said.
“Honey, I need you to not stop for anyone, no matter who they are or how much help they need.” He told her. In times like this he knew survival came down to making split second decisions. To ensure your survival, you couldn’t second guess yourself. As things got worse, the worse people got and the fewer people could be trusted,
They said goodnight and Nick put his phone on the charger. Looking at the TV’s menu screen it scrolled
“hotel advisory” across the top then changed to info bulletins. It advised guests to stay in their room. If they have to leave to go straight to their destination. Then it said after checking out to go to one of the listed FEMA shelters. By pressing 1 on the remote you could be given a list of local help and relief centers. Nick knew how the government worked. He wasn’t a tin foil hat wearing kinda guy. He knew in times of natural disasters no matter how much notice the US Government had they still didn’t notify the public in time. This resulted in way more casualties that could have been prevented.
It happened at Katrina in New Orleans, and Harvey in Texas. That’s why when seeing the FEMA info on the hotel station when he turned it on, he’d tried to calm his wife and make a bug out meet up location. He knew they weren’t giving the public all the information. It was definitely bad, but this told him it was about to get much worse….
Alice
Alice turned on her loudspeaker, “Vancouver PD! Everyone on your knees with your hands on your head” she ordered. The group had already stepped back once she’d turned the spotlight on.
There were six of them, all teenagers. Four looked at the man then took off. The two left did as she ordered. A wave of relief came over her. When there was more than one person involved in a call, officers were required to call for additional units. She knew by how busy it was that there was next to no chance of getting back up. The man who was being assaulted was struggling to stand up. Alice got out her car and walked towards the two on their knees. One of them was a young girl. The girl was crying and wouldn’t take her eyes off the man. Tears were running down her face.
“Please! Please! Make him stop! He already bit me and tried to hurt me!” the girl begged.
The girl looked at Alice. Alarm bells were going off in Alice’s head. This girl was terrified, so she nodded drawing her gun. She had already seen enough biting for one night.
“Sir! I am asking you to put your hands on your head and lay back down on the ground!” She asked. The man stood upright with blood dripping from his mouth. The man’s face was contorted and severely beat up. The man just stared at her vacantly then started snarling.
“Now!” she ordered.
The man just kept snapping his jaws then turned his head to the girl, who was sobbing. The man was only feet away from the girl. Alice began walking towards them with her gun trained on the man.
She could make out what looked like gunshot wounds on the man’s chest. He had the same milky eyes and red swelling around his nostrils and eyes as her last suspect too. The girl shrieked, jumping forward from her knees as the man got closer. The girl was crawling towards her. Alice stopped but kept gun on the man. She didn’t want this girl getting too close to her either.
The boy jumped up from his knees punching the man. They both fell to the ground struggling.
The girl rolled over looking back at them. “Scott!” the girl screamed.
Alice stepped past the girl hoping to get a clean shot if she needed one. There was no chance as these two were to close for a clean shot. “Fuck!” she muttered to herself holstering her Glock.
Alice turned on her taser and it crackled as she stepped above the two. Before she could say anything, the boy let out a scream. The man was tearing into the boys shoulder with his teeth.
Alice grabbed the boy’s shirt, pulling him free. The boy scrambled to his feet holding his shoulder. “Stop!” she barked. “Get back on the ground!”
The man was oblivious and lunged towards her. The taser crackled as she stuck it into the man. Thousands of volts ran through the man as he tried to get up.
The man was shaking as the current ran through him. As if not phased, the man’s jaws still snapped at Alice, arms outstretched towards her. This wasn’t normal. She turned the taser off stepping back from the man. She turned to the two youths.
The girl was still crying holding onto the boy. Blood was pouring down the boys arm from the bite on his shoulder.
“Shoot him! Please!” The boy begged. The look of terror was evident on the boy’s face.
She quickly drew her gun, “This is the last warning I’m going to give you! Stop!” she warned. Whatever was wrong with this man he wasn’t listening or feeling any pain. She dropped the aim of her gun to his left leg. The gun recoiled in her hands as she pulled the trigger. Chunks of the man's thigh flew out as the bullet tore through the leg. The man reeled then fell to the ground.
She stepped forwards slowly as the man lay on the ground, a gurgling growling noise coming from his throat. Alice couldn’t believe it as the man started to get up again.
She was able to get a closer look now at the wounds on his chest. Aided by her patrol cars spotlight they were definitely gunshot wounds.
The man was pulling himself towards Alice, dragging his newly shot leg behind him. Alice looked into the man's eyes. There was nothing there…nothing. She aimed her gun for his head. Then said to herself softly, “Stop...please…stop.” She was shaking but trying to stay composed.
“Shoot him again!” the boy screamed in Alice’s ear coming up behind her. This startled her and she squeezed the trigger. The man's head rocked back as the bullet connected. The man’s arms went limp. The lifeless body fell forward with a thunk. This time the man didn’t get back up. Alice holstered her gun turning to the two behind her.
“Why didn’t you stay back?” she asked the boy. She was angry at how the situation had ended. More annoyed that she was rattled and fired. She was usually better at staying composed than that.
The boy was looking at her with tears in his eyes. “You saw him!” The boy said waving his hand at the body lying on the ground. “He’d already been shot by some guy who took off and when we went to see if he was okay, he attacked Lilly!” The boy explained holding the girl close.
Alice could see they were both pretty shook up. She nodded “Okay, why don’t you both go wait over there by my patrol car,” she told them. She approached the body looking the man over.
He was wearing nice clothes she noted and appeared in his mid-twenties.
She rolled him over to check over his injuries. She looked at the gunshot entry wounds on the chest. There were bullet holes but also a couple of other wounds. They looked like defensive scratches. There was blood around the man’s mouth. Alice pulled some latex gloves out from her belt so she could examine the face even closer. She wanted to get as much information as possible. This needed to go in her report so they could identify just what this was. An autopsy would give more accurate detail. If this was something new, then any details she could get now would help.
Pulling open the man’s eyes, it was like he was blind. There was a milky white film over the pupils. This made sense as the light from the car didn’t seem to bother him. The jerking of his head when hearing people speaking was something blind people did. So, it seemed like the sound was a trigger.
The face wasn’t as veiny like the last guy. Pulling his lips apart he definitely had flesh in between the teeth. This made Alice’s stomach turn. It was definitely similar to something in Florida she’d heard about. She remembered a few years ago there was a man on bath salts.
A homeless man got attacked and his face chewed off. The assailant had to be shot multiple times after attacking the officers before he stopped. This had been brought up the other day because there had been similar cases recently. Now it had been her second similar case of the evening. Alice peeled the gloves off and put them in an evidence bag, knowing she might need them later as further evidence. She tried to radio dispatch but there was no reply.
She walked over to her car to try the dash mounted radio. There was just dead silence then static. So, she tried radioing another officer but the same thing. She could feel something was wrong as this wasn’t normal.
“You two get in the back,” She told the two kids. After zipping the body up inside a body bag, she got into the car. As she sat there looking out at the body bag in the headlights her stomach turned. If there was no contact wit
h dispatch, there would be no one to come and collect the body. This meant there were two options: leave the body here or take it with her. There was no reply on the radio for over an hour. An ambulance was pulling into the parking lot, so she fired up her roof lights to get their attention. It worked and the driver pulled up beside her.
“Hey” she said rolling down her window.
The ambulance driver leaned out his window “Hey what’s going on? Your radio working?” the driver asked.
She shook her head. “I need to head to Southwest to wrap up my last call and just going to take these two with me. Would you mind getting the CoD done on that body?” She asked the driver.
This driver was a regular who must have been on the same shifts as her.
The driver looked over at the body bag. “Uh sure, I’ll do the Cause of Death and fill in the paperwork then meet you down at Southwest and you can fill me in. Sound good?” The driver said.
“Thanks, Stefan,” she nodded, thanking him. She looked at the two kids still sitting in the back seats.
“I’m headed to Southwest anyway. You need your arm seen to and I want you both checked out in case that guy had something,``she told them. They both nodded from the other side of the steel cage between her and the back seats. She waved at the EMT’s getting out the ambulance as she drove off.
Turning back onto Mill Plain she put her lights on but not the siren. She wanted to get to Southwest as quickly as possible. “Thank you,” the girl said softly from the back seat. Alice shot her a smile in the rearview mirror.
“You’re welcome,” she replied.
When The Dead Rise (Book 1): The Outbreak Page 10