Now It Begins

by Gary M. Chesla

  “Trust me,” Adam added, “It is never like this around here. There is usually so much traffic around here that it takes me an hour to cross the bridge and get to the motel every day.”

  They drove to the traffic light at the corner of Gulf Drive and Cortez Road, the road that went over the Cortez Bridge.

  “Just remember if we get stopped,” Adam said. “If we get stopped remember your name is Andrew.”

  “Don’t worry,” Dave replied as he studied the deserted side streets, “I won’t forget. I don’t want to get into trouble.”

  “I think we are already in trouble,” Adam added.

  “Stop the car,” Dave yelled as they were driving through the intersection. “Look out on the bridge.”

  Adam stopped the Land Rover in the middle of the intersection and stared down Cortez Road and out at the bridge.

  The draw bridge was still raised high into the air so no one could get across. It was a quarter mile away, too far to see clearly, but close enough to see that something strange was going on out on the bridge.

  The soldiers stationed on the bridge were down behind their vehicles, guns raised, but they were all focused on what was taking place out in the middle of the bridge where the draw bridge had been raised.

  They soldiers weren’t paying any attention to the intersection behind them as they stared out at the center of the bridge.

  Thousands of people were crowded against the raised part of the drawbridge on the other side.

  “Do you see that?” Dave asked.

  “There are thousands of people out there,” Adam replied, “and it looks likes people are being pushed over the sides of the bridge and into the water.”

  “This is sick,” Dave said, “Let’s keep moving before the soldiers notice us.”

  Adam started driving out Gulf Drive.

  “There are people getting killed out there,” Adam said, “but why?”

  “Hell if I know,” Dave replied. “Why would people want to get over to this island so bad that they would be pushing others off the bridge to get here?”

  “It makes me wonder what is going on over on the mainland,” Adam exclaimed. “I want to go home but I don’t want to get across the bridge that bad.”

  As they drove further up the island on Gulf Drive, the sounds of gun shots and explosions began to get louder.

  What had been faint sounds off in the distance were now starting to sound as if they were only a few blocks away.

  Adam drove the Land Rover a few more blocks until he came to a police road block.

  The officers were getting into their patrol cars.

  As Adam stopped the car, one of the police cars pulled out and sped past the Land Rover.

  The officer in the other car got out and ran over to the Land Rover as Adam rolled down his window.

  Before Adam could say anything, the officer started shouting.

  “You guys need to get out of here,” the officer said.

  “We just got word that the army is getting over run. What’s left of the army is going to be coming this way any minute. They plan on trying to regroup down by the Cortez Bridge. You don’t want to get trapped up here.”

  “Who is over running the army?” Dave shouted out.

  The officer just looked at Dave and Adam.

  “You haven’t heard?” the officer asked nervously as he kept looking over his shoulder towards the north end of the island.

  “If we knew we wouldn’t be asking,” Adam replied, “The power is out, the TV doesn’t work and we haven’t heard a thing about what is going on.”

  The gun fire was now getting much closer. A few close explosions shook the Land Rover.

  “Just get down to the southern end of the island as fast as you can and get inside somewhere, now!” the officer ordered as he ran back to his car and jumped inside.

  The police car then sped past Adam and Dave.

  Adam looked at Dave not knowing what to say.

  Suddenly soldiers began to move out of the side streets and onto Gulf Drive a few blocks in front of where Adam and Dave were parked.

  They were firing their weapons off into the side streets.

  An army truck came in their direction and screeched to a stop fifty feet in front of Adam’s car.

  The soldiers began to run towards the truck and get in the back of the vehicle.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Dave said.

  “That’s what I was just thinking,” Adam said as he swung the Land Rover around and began to speed down Gulf Drive, back in the direction from where they had just come.

  As they drove back down near the Cortez Bridge, soldiers were pushing cars out onto Gulf Drive, making a roadblock.

  A soldier waved them through as another group of soldiers pushed two more cars out onto the road to complete the blockade.

  Three more army trucks were now coming up Beach Avenue. Other soldiers were running around the cars, getting their weapons ready as they took their positions behind the roadblock.

  “Are we at war or something?” Adam asked as they sped down Beach Avenue.

  “It looks like it,” Dave replied, “but who are we at war with?”

  “It’s a great island,” Adam added, “but who would want to invade Anna Maria Island? There is nothing here but tourists and I don’t even know if there are any of them left now.”

  Adam began to slow down as they neared First Street, their turn to go back to the motel.

  “Drive down to the Longboat Bridge,” Dave suggested.

  “Why?” Adam asked.

  “The other day Maggie and I drove down there,” Dave replied, “The soldiers had that bridge blocked too. I want to see if there are people trying to get across to the island from Longboat Key now too.”

  “I guess it is worth a look,” Adam said. “There are only three bridges off the island. It would be my guess that it is the same down there too. If it’s the same down at Longboat, then what?”

  “I don’t know,” Dave answered, “I’m curious to see what it looks like over on the other side of the bridge.”

  “What do you mean what it looks like over on the other side?” Adam asked as he started to drive faster.

  “I want to see if there are people trying to get over to Anna Maria from Longboat,” Dave replied. “Maybe we can find someone down there that will tell us why they are coming here. Why all of a sudden Anna Maria Island has become the most popular place in Florida. Why people are dying to get here.”

  “I’d like to know why everyone seems to be out of their minds?” Adam added.

  Adam drove the final six blocks to the Longboat Bridge.

  He had to stop the Land Rover a few hundred feet before the bridge.

  There were about fifty soldiers lined up behind a meg-shift roadblock made from abandoned cars and army trucks.

  The soldiers were lined up behind the cars, shooting at the people that were coming up out of the channel around the bridge.

  The soldiers were firing round after round at the swarm of people that staggered out of the narrow shallow channel. People were coming out of the water and up on the beach. The mob then staggered out onto the road, undeterred by the soldiers.

  The soldiers fired into the front of the moving wall of bodies, but very few of the people fell to the ground.

  The ones that did fall were quickly trampled by the wave of bodies that followed.

  The crowd just kept coming.

  “One of the soldiers yelled, “Fall back!”

  The soldiers began to break ranks and run towards their trucks.

  Adam and Dave looked past the mob of people.

  There were thousands more walking off the drawbridge and falling into the water.

  The beach on the other side was also packed with bodies, shoving and pushing into the ones in front of them as they all slowly staggered into the water.

  A soldier ran up to the side of the Land Rover.

  “You guys better get the hell out of here,” the so
ldier said, “Those bastards are coming, we can’t stop them. You better go find someplace to hide.”

  Dave wanted to asked why the army felt they had to kill these people to keep them from coming over to Anna Maria Island. But as Dave stared at the oncoming mob, even from this distance, something seemed strange about how they moved.

  They also looked like they had all been through hell. But after falling off of a bridge, crawling through mud and sand, being shoved and pushed by all the other desperate people around them and then being shot at by the army, what did he expect them to look like?

  Adam and Dave stared at the grotesque bloody and mangled bodies that were making their way out of the water, coming in the direction of their car.

  The bodies jerked backwards as the soldier’s bullets tore through their flesh. From this distance it was difficult to see, but it appeared that body parts shattered and pieces of flesh flew into the air or dropped to the ground as the soldiers continued to shoot into the crowd.

  The large mob of people coming up around the bridge continued to get larger, not smaller despite all the efforts of the soldiers to stop them.

  The people didn’t look like they were armed or even trying to fight back, but it didn’t look like they were too concerned about it.

  They didn’t seem to be concerned about too much of anything.

  They just kept coming.

  Adam finally snapped out of his trance.

  “I don’t believe this,” Adam yelled as he turned the car around and started to speed back towards the motel. “Who are they? Why do they just keep coming towards the soldiers and why are the soldiers shooting at them? Those people don’t even act like they know the soldiers are shooting at them.”

  “I couldn’t get a good look from where we were but there was something strange about those people. The way they walked and looked was all wrong. What the hell is wrong with those people might be a better question?” Dave added. “And I don’t think those people really cared what the soldiers were doing. I’m not sure if they even knew the soldiers were there or were trying to stop them. This is something out of a damn horror movie.”

  A few blocks up the road, the soldiers began to set up another blockade where the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the inter-costal waterway pinched inland on each side of Gulf Drive.

  Dave and Adam could hear the sound of gunfire starting again as they drove back towards First Street.

  Chapter 9

  Adam pulled into the Pelican Post parking lot. The tires on the Land Rover screeched on the pavement as the car slid to a stop.

  “Get inside and push something heavy against the door,” Adam said. “The army doesn’t seem to be able to stop the flow of people getting on the island. Those crazy people or whatever they are could be coming through here before much longer.”

  “I wish I knew what’s wrong with those people?” Dave replied. “They are acting like animals. Hell, everyone is acting like animals.”

  “I think we are going to find out before long,” Adam replied. “From what we could see, it looked like that crazy mob will be up here before long. I honestly don’t know what to expect. They all looked like zombies or robots. Nothing seemed to faze them. They just kept coming but I just don’t understand what’s wrong with them. Something just isn’t right. Maybe the army is right, these people could be dangerous.”

  “If they weren’t dangerous before,” Dave added, “after being shot at all day, they are probably dangerous now. That or at least really pissed off.”

  “Yea, and it’s probably a good idea that we don’t let them know we are here,” Adam replied.

  “Do you think we would be better off if we all stayed together?” Dave asked.

  “I don’t know,” Adam replied, “I thought about it on the way back. You could be better off being on the second level. On the other hand being up there you could end up being trapped. The same goes for my unit on the ground level. I just don’t know. For the time being, let’s just stay where we are until we see how things work out. When we determine which is better, one of us can move later.”

  Dave nodded then ran up the steps to get inside the cottage with Maggie and Joey as Adam ran towards his unit.

  “Good Luck,” Dave yelled over his shoulder.

  “Sergeant, get me the Saratoga,” Major Bill Thompson ordered.

  “I’m trying Sir,” the Sergeant replied. “We haven’t had any response from the Saratoga in the last twenty-four hours, but I’ll stay on it. I don’t know why they aren’t responding. In fact there is no chatter of any kind on any of the frequencies.”

  “I can’t believe how fast this operation has gone to hell,” the Major muttered.

  “It’s been a real cluster-fuck, Sir,” the Sergeant replied. “But there was no way we could have anticipated any of this. There is some real crazy shit going on, but you will figure it out Sir.”

  “If we don’t get some reinforcements soon,“ the Major replied. “There won’t be anyone left to figure out anything.”

  “Holy shit!” the Sergeant swore as he looked at his radio.

  “What is it Sergeant?” the Major asked.

  “I’ve got someone on the Saratoga, Sir.” The Sergeant replied. “Their voice took me by surprise and scared the hell out of me.”

  The Major grabbed the receiver from the Sergeant and gave the Sergeant a disgusted look.

  “Saratoga, Major Thompson here,” the Major said.

  “Major, this is Chief Petty Officer Davis,” was the reply.

  “Where the hell have you guys been?” the Major shouted. “I’ve been trying to reach you for the last twenty-four hours.”

  “Sorry Major,” the Petty Officer replied, “but we have had our hands full.”

  “Can I speak with the Captain?” the Major asked.

  “Sorry Major,” the Petty Officer replied, “the Captain is dead.”

  “Dead, what happened?” the Major asked.

  “No time to explain now Major,” the Petty Officer replied. “What is your situation on Anna Maria Island?”

  “I’m losing the damn island,” the Major replied. “I need reinforcements, supplies and the Saratoga’s assistance and fast. If I can’t get that, I need to have my men evacuated as soon as possible.”

  “Major I was hoping that I could get your assistance,” the Petty Officer responded.

  “Right,” Major Thompson said sarcastically. “I estimate I can only hold our position for another thirty minutes before we get overrun. We have nowhere else to fall back to, this is it.”

  “How much of the island do you still control?” the Petty Officer asked.

  “Depending on your definition of control, none of it,” the Major said then added. “At the present time we occupy a ten block area from the Cortez Bridge down to Eighth Street on the south end of the island. But we won’t be able to occupy that area for much longer without help.”

  There was a long silence on the line.

  “What do you need to maintain you position?” the Petty Officer asked.

  “I need someone to take out the bridge on the north end of the island. They are swarming onto the island over that damn bridge. We’ve regrouped a dozen times today and they have us pushed back all the way down to the Cortez Bridge,” the Major replied. “Second, I need someone to take out the bridge on the south side of the island to Longboat Key. They just breeched our blockade by the bridge and they are pushing north. They are squeezing us from both directions. We are also getting low on ammunition. The Longboat Bridge needs to be taken out on Longboat side and not on our side. The channel is shallow there. If the bridge can be dropped on the Longboat side, hopefully the debris will create a barrier and keep them from walking out into the channel.”

  Again there was a long silence.

  “I know the Saratoga has its own problems to deal with, but we have lost all communications with the chain of command,” the Major said. “If I don’t get some help and soon, the island and my unit will both be lo
st.”

  “If I can take out the bridges, what else would you need to keep control of the island?” the Petty Officer asked.

  “If those two bridges can be taken out, those things won’t be able to keep getting on the island,” the Major answered. “If we could get more ammo and few hundred more men, we could start to retake the island. It wouldn’t hurt if you could manage to take out any large groups you would see wandering around on the island. Right now those things are everywhere.”

  “Major,” the Petty Officer said slowly, “We are losing the Saratoga. Last night our helo brought back twenty survivors from Sarasota. Some of them must have been infected. By this morning the entire ship below deck had been overrun. We are trying to keep them below deck but we are losing that battle. Our best estimate is that we can only keep control of the ship for another hour. There are only about fifty of us left that can do anything,” the Petty Officer replied. “We too have lost all communication with anyone except you. The mainland is a living hell, there is nowhere safe to go on the mainland. I was hoping to bring what men I could save and evacuate to your position.”

  “Unless you can take out the bridges, coming here would be suicide,” the Major responded. “We could use the extra men, but until we stop the flow onto the island, fifty more men won’t do a damn thing.”

  “Understood Major,” the Petty Officer answered. “I have three pilots remaining in our group. There are two helicopters and one F-18 that we might be able to get in the air with a little luck. If I can pull it together on my end, we should arrive at your position in the next thirty minutes. Set off some flares in about twenty minutes so we will know where you are and where it is safe to land.”

  “I’ll set the flares on the beach at our position near the Cortez Bridge,” the Major replied. “Bring all the ammo you can carry. We are going to need it.”