Outbreak of the Deceased (Book 1): Immediate Survivors

by Barone, Cenz

  Two of the new arrivals, the two women stood up. The middle aged woman said “I want to go” and the younger woman said the same as Niles nodded “Okay” Niles once more looked at the others “Anybody else? This might be your only chance”. Nancy had made her mind up but it was on the others to make their own decision, Nancy would stay regardless if it was just her, such was her strength of conviction in her decision. So Bob now called out to Gage “Gage, are you coming mate, let’s get out of here” as Gage walked towards him and disagreed by replying “It is too risky mate. I want to take my chances here. Hopefully someone will come and get us out, give us proper help. Besides, I don’t fancy going back out there just yet”. Nancy turned to the rest of the people, the two new arrival women had gone with Bob, Nick and James to the front near the soldier. Nancy said to Cherie in the corner on the desk minding her own business, Cherie, Grant, Melissa and Laura “If you people want to go, if you think it is a better option for you personally then you should go now”. Grant turned to Elise who shook her head as Elise said “I don’t want to go. I will wait here. At least it’s safer inside here”. Baxter was quiet in the backdrop, keeping himself to himself again.

  It became clear nobody else wished to go so Niles looked at Nancy and said “Good luck to you Nancy, I hope you don’t regret not coming” and she replied “I hope you don’t regret leaving”. Nancy moved forward “I will let you out the front door” as Niles disagreed and said “No, don’t bother, that will lead us into the courtyard, we will go down the way I got in, using the ladder stairwell from the roof, it will give us a better hidden view of the courtyard and surroundings. Besides, it will give us more cover between the smaller buildings to get into the woodland and then to the mechanic station”. Everyone was ready to go as Nancy asked before Niles went “What about Steve, he gave me orders to come here and was...” Niles interrupted her and stated “Steve bolted, he ended up getting a ride with the army captains, a few of the seniors did”. Nancy was shocked and looked it as Niles said to her “I told you, everyone is looking out for their own interests now”. Nancy felt disgusted because the reason she had remained within this building was due to Steve’s orders, his insistence and not only did he leave but he did not even bother to send a message to Nancy. She felt physically sick.

  Niles now turned and said to those going with him “Come let’s go” then those in the office watched as Niles, James, Bob, Nick, the soldier and the two women all followed Niles down the corridor of the 9th floor and they heard their footsteps echo until they were near the distant stairwell that gave direct access to the rooftop and up they went. Grant moved towards Nancy and said “Shouldn’t we go and see them off in case...” Nancy turned to him and replied “It doesn’t matter there is no door up there just a ladder, those things outside, I have not seen any of them climb. Just leave it”. Nancy walked in the middle of the room and thought about her decision not to join Niles, she did not regret it and felt like in this building not only was it secure and locked down but there were resources within of value. Nancy knew there was a kitchen area down below and upstairs and there were many other useful items for their usage so they could remain here for a significant period of time. Nancy now went towards a side room of the office and took her radio to listen into the communication between those in the university as Niles had shared and also try and communicate with others.

  Thus, this only left Elise, Grant, Cherie, Laura, Melissa, Baxter and Gage behind, with Kenny passed out in the sickbay room adjacent to the main office. Gage, Laura and some of the others were by the office windows looking outside, checking on the differing dead things as they were called now, those murderous people roaming aimlessly, they could see them banging on the triple steel windows and steel doors, unbreakable were they in not just the building they were in but other buildings in other parts of the university. While other ones of the dead things were motionless and staring around in solitude, their behaviour was so hard to understand.

  Time went on at this point and it was around 1 hour since Niles and his group had long since gone so the group listened to the radio as the radio was broadcasting information at set points. Cherie and Gage had also brought a television from a quiet room on the 9th floor and plugged it up in the office so it gave the group more means to access information, and the press releases were still incoming but the information and frequency of it in terms of studio presentation was more frazzled. Safe in studios the media personnel were still it seemed fighting through and passing on information to those surviving in the country.

  Gage was thoughtful and through the silence voiced similar sentiments the others in the group had done during their own quiet time in front of the television, as he said “It is amazing isn’t, look at the press, they are covering this like it’s still not a big deal even though they are telling us dead people are coming back to try and kill the living. Our loved ones and friends, just regular people turned into psychos. Following the same teleprompting scripted line but just a different context related to what is happening. It’s unbelievable, hell is coming to Earth and those assholes are still thinking about presentation. Typical” Gage said as he drank some hot tea. Grant felt the same, he recalled watching it in the house and how it seemed so surreal just listening and watching the scenes when it was delivered in such a sterile way. Gage muttered again “It is so typical” he then tried to get some sleep.

  Elise was lying on Melissa’s shoulder, both girls resting up against each other. Laura meanwhile was sleeping on the desk with a blue sleeping bag over her, a sleeping bag found in one of the storage rooms on this floor. Nancy was propped up against the wall while Baxter was yawning with ease as he listened to the reports, nobody worried about the downstairs area because it was all bolted up and secure. Grant had himself by this time laid across a desk from the chair he sat at, his hands in front of him with a desk light on over him. Cherie was the most alert by being awake and standing up, but had been moving back between where Kenny was and the group.

  There was a sense of calm and comfort returning following the people who left with Niles, some of whom caused problems for the group, however perverse this calm was it was enhanced by the fact the bottom floor was in their control and Nancy herself had the keys to open up everything and she had kept them secure to her person. Especially since Baxter earlier on had swiped them from the table and inflicted his own suicidal mission on the first floor dead things. As the group settled in once more, they braced and hoped this long night would finally come to an end and morning would come, without any further surprises.

  The radio was left playing quietly in the darkness of the upstairs office, and the lights were all off as Nancy had stood up and began putting off the desk lights, including the one near Grant who was fast asleep. Nancy went towards the window overlooking the courtyard and saw the moon light piercing through the clouds, the dead things were now lesser in number outside and appeared to move somewhere else. Nancy went back to the wall and rested against it. It was totally quiet now.

  The wooden desks and chairs adding a rather formal repugnant odour to the shelf like feel of being in such a place, the walls adjourned with certificates and achievements of the university and security squad of the university personnel, none of which mattered now. The radio continued to broadcast on, at a low-key sound “All anyone can do is keep calm, as hard as it is to. So much is going on out there and as long as you are safe, inside a room or house with all the doors locked, you will be safe, again do not draw undo attention. But to reiterate, anyone bitten will fall sick and die, they will come back and try to attack you. There is no cure or way to stop this as of yet, so all are advised to isolate those who are bitten, and do not let them remain close to you, even if they are your family and friends. We hope the situation will resolve itself but all we can do is advise you all, and go on what we are being told” and so it went on.

  Chapter 23 - The Walking Wounded

  Kenny was in a small room with fluorescent lights making his entir
e body blue. His eyes gradually opened as he coughed up some blood, it splattered on the floor when he turned to the side and he felt dizzy. He shook his head and stared around at his strange surroundings. He had his black jeans on and his white t-shirt was covered in blood. He stared at the walls and felt extremely nauseous. The walls were green coloured and he was lying on a slanted chair, the tables within the room were silver coloured and resembled a mini-hospital. His memories came back concerning what had happened and he was motioning unsteady on his feet. Kenny was breathing deeply and his hand went to his throat, he rubbed it and felt the bandage, there was also confusion within him, to do with how long he had been asleep for. He saw the door near him and made his way to it. The buzzing of the illuminated lights provided the only auditory noise

  As he walked out of the small medical centre, he stood facing a lighted corridor, a long one, with doors on only the left side. Kenny made his way along the corridor pressing his body up against the wall for support. He kept rubbing his throat and he felt sick. He came to the midsection of the corridor, and glanced back from where he came, his head was spinning so it was hard to focus. He now opened the door which creaked slightly and provided entry into a small room, he was staring into a small lounge, there was a TV screen, a table and four chairs “A rest area?” he muttered. Kenny made his way out of the room and back down the long corridor, he still felt drowsy from the drugs he was given by Nancy, they were calming drugs, designed to lower his heart rate and prevent him going further into shock, he recalled the situation with how he was put under but it was blurry, his balance was not right but he felt like he was much better. He took off his top and found he had a bandage from his throat going along his neck to the side of his shoulder, his chest was also marked and he had been bandaged up beyond the original throat injury. Kenny asked himself “Was I injured elsewhere”.

  Now Kenny reached the end of the corridor and heard voices on the other side, he pressed against it and used his body weight to open it, instead of his hands and then he arrived in the large office area. As the door opened the voices went quiet at hearing the sound of a creaking door, there he made eye contact with the group who were all around a table, each had turned back to look his way. He saw Grant, Elise, Nancy, Cherie, Laura, Melissa, Baxter and Gage. All of them standing in silence around the table, each were surprised to see him. Kenny asked as they all turned to him, as he stood in the doorway “What is going on? What happened to me? was I bitten?” he asked confused as they saw him hold his head “I can’t remember exactly what went down” Kenny added.

  Cherie was relieved to see him alive, she was growing concerned due to how long he had been passed out for, and she thought about him jumping between the dog and her and out of everyone else Cherie was checking in on him the most. Nancy bluntly told him “You nearly died Kenny, a dog scratched you, caught your throat, you also had an injury on your chest from the dog, nothing major but I covered it up. I had to sedate you, you were hysterical”. Nancy stood there observing him, as everyone waited for his reply, he was looking at his chest and rubbing his throat and he muttered “A fucking dog” he closed his eyes briefly and started to recall.

  Nancy answered him “The dog was infected. You should be lying down Kenny not up and about. I have been putting drugs into you since it happened” Nancy was careful not to tell him how long he had been passed out for. She then added “The drugs are still in your system”. As Kenny replied “I know. I can feel it but I need to stay awake. What are you lot doing though?”

  “We are planning on our next route” answered Grant, and then the group went back to looking at the map, leaving Kenny be. Only Cherie looked across at him, he looked so confused and lost. The group were talking amongst themselves and had been engaged in a long discussion before he came around. A few minutes went by as Kenny just stood there, listening to them barely able to make sense of it and also having his memory come back to him. “It’s been 3 days and no word, we should consider going somewhere else, maybe a more secure place” Elise suggested. “It’s impossible to find a more secure place better than this Elise. The doors are double steel, the windows triple glazing, we can be sure those things won’t get in here, not unless we let them” Grant told her.

  As Gage added his contribution “Maybe we could send some flares up, surely there will be some here”. This intrigued Nancy who stated “There are flares in the basement, that is an option but I think personally, we should stay put, it’s a secure building and there are still people inside the main university still. They might have had some structure and some order by now, those things out the courtyard are leaving, I have been watching them go one at a time”. Grant then supported Nancy “Leaving is out of the question, but we desperately need to make contact with someone else, someone anywhere, if that means sending a flare up or trying the radio again for those inside the university” in frustration Melissa said to Grant “That fucking radio, we have been trying for days” as Nancy said “It has just been 3 days”. But Elise now said aloud “Why has the noise almost gone from within the university, I have heard no gunshots, face it. It is a flare and hope for the best or wait here until someone comes and nobody will, or we make it ourselves, an effort for ourselves. I am struggling with what to plan”.

  Gage said over the silence “At least we have food” but Elise annoyed replied to him “I am done eating other people’s food. We have to try and get out of here. These 3 days have been...” Kenny now interrupted Elise, he was unable to take anymore from what he was listening in on and it was the mentioning of 3 days once more which caught his caught his attention, as he said “Wait, 3 days, we only got here a few hours ago, right” all were staring at him, realising they had to tell him, he looked bemused and could read their faces well enough to ask them “Have I been out for 3 days?” then Kenny noticed other people were missing as he said “Where are those other people who arrived, the ones with the soldier?”.

  Cherie now informed him “They left three days ago with a policeman, they tried to escape” as Kenny gasped and said in shock “I really have been out for three days, but how?” Cherie now pointed to his chest “Kenny, you are bleeding, your bandages” he stared at his chest and saw the blood “Fuck” Kenny shook his head as he now asked them uncaring about the blood “Tell me what else has happened since I have been out!”. Grant told him “Not much mate. Like Cherie said the other people who were here have left, Nancy’s colleague came and offered people a chance to go with him, they took it. We’ve been just waiting around here and listening to the radio and television, trying to send messages out to people, the radio communication with people in the university is less and less”.

  Melissa scathingly said “Less and less you say, it may as well be non-existent, Elise is right we have to think about getting out of here” but nobody said anything to Melissa. Grant now finished addressing Kenny by saying “You should go and lay down mate. There is no point you standing around bleeding”. Kenny shook his head and was getting agitated as he repeated “3 fucking days and we are still here”. Nancy worried he would lose his cool again, she said to him “Kenny, you need to calm down”. Laura now had enough and said “I am done here. I will inform him about what has happened. You people do whatever you are doing, like it is helping us” she said in frustration and said to him “Kenny, come with me, you can eat something. I am starved. I will show you where we eat”. Kenny realising he had missed out on quite a lot.

  The group watched as Laura approached him as Kenny was staring back and he muttered “3 fucking days” he just could not believe firstly he was passed out for three days and secondly they were still in the building. Laura reached him and said sympathetically “Come on, come with me” she took his hand and led him towards the side room from the office which was the staff kitchen area they had made their own. Nancy sighed and turned back at the table and muttered “That’s one less problem. Hopefully now he can regain his strength and join us”. Gage remarked and asked Nancy “Join us doing what N
ancy. Playing make believe over this map”. Grant replied “He and I have a lot of experience doing that” in reference to them driving that darn van around the streets Grant meant, although his comment was unhelpful.

  Nancy did not bother to reply to Gage’s frustrating remark. Cherie though had enough as well “I am done to, we have been standing here and arguing for hours” Cherie walked away as Nancy asked her annoyed “Where are you going?” Cherie stopped walking and turned around and replied dishearteningly “I am going for a break. You people decide what happens, so long as it’s sensible I will agree to anything, I just want to get out of this building”. “Is there any way to come up with something sensible” Baxter asked the group around him. Cherie meanwhile followed the direction Kenny and Laura went, which was to the kitchen area. The group went back to consulting each other over the map.

  Meanwhile in the kitchen Kenny sat on a stool holding his throat, he was quiet lost in thought and Laura was the one prepping food. “It’s unbelievable isn’t” said Cherie smoking her cigarette. “What is?” Laura asked as she stirred some soup on the stove. Cherie replied “This situation, I mean have you heard any sirens, seen any helicopters or soldiers or police of any worth that suggests that this situation is going to be under control, even what we heard from the radio from those in the building it doesn’t inspire confidence, less so now considering it is quieter there than it was a few days ago”. Laura turned to Cherie and said “Nothing inspires much confidence I am afraid, absolutely nothing, especially those people outside arguing over a map like they have any idea what they are doing”.

  Kenny now coughed up some blood and both Laura and Cherie saw it, he said anxiously “This isn’t good” he wiped the blood from his mouth. Now Kenny asked them both “Are you sure I was not bitten?” Laura told him bluntly “If you had been you would not have lasted three days passed out. Your skin is not discoloured” Kenny rubbed his cheeks as Cherie then said “You did not get bitten Kenny” Kenny looked at her and asked “How can you be so sure, it happened so fast” as Cherie told him, with a tone of thanks “Because you saved that dog from biting me, you wrestled him. You saved me from being infected, the dog just scratched you”. Kenny went quiet recalling it and he began to recognise what Cherie was saying, Cherie just nodded her appreciation, her way of saying thanks. Cherie trusted Kenny more than she trusted any of the other people with her in this building due to what Kenny had done for her. She had a sense he could be relied upon to be around. Kenny merely nodded back to Cherie and went quiet.