by Lucas Coon
He placed the phone back on the desk and turned towards the door. He needed to discuss the plans with Darren and Kayla as soon as he possibly could, at this point it was becoming dire. He opened the door to the office and looked out into the cubicle that they were staying in. He saw Kayla and Lilly still asleep on the floor, but didn't see Darren there with them. He glanced around the room from where he was and noticed him staring out the window, several feet away from his family. Mitchell walked down the middle aisle and joined him. They both stood staring out onto the empty city. Neither one of them said anything for several moments, nor did Darren acknowledge Mitchell's presence. The sky was as blue as ever; Mitchell noticed that the clouds from earlier that morning had subsided, and the sun was beating down with full force. He saw a group of pigeons flying around near the building across the street. They were definitely in the tallest building on the block. He could see the roofs on almost every building around and realized that this was the first time he had stopped to look out this window. It wasn't a whole lot different than the office window, but it was more open. The skyline was more viewable from this angle. Plus he hadn't seen any pigeons from where he was sleeping. He glanced at everything nearby and marked a few interesting places. He also noted that, had they not all been running for their lives, the fast food restaurant next door was having a buy one get one free sale on all breakfast sandwiches.
His silent observations were met with something that he hadn't felt since he found his safe haven; he felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead. He wiped it and looked at his hand to make absolutely sure that it was, in fact, sweat. This was a surprise. From the minute he walked into this office, with the exception of the two times he had a gun pointed at him, he had felt incredibly comfortable. He stopped for a second to really feel the air. It was much warmer than it had been. He turned towards Darren.
"The air conditioner stopped working last night. I don't know when, I don't know why, I just know that ever since the sun came up it's been getting warmer and warmer." Darren didn't break his focus from the window. He crossed his arms and tilted slightly towards Mitchell. "It just keeps getting worse doesn’t it?" Mitchell wasn't sure if this was a rhetorical question or not. He wanted to answer him, but he had no idea what his answer would've been. In his opinion, yes it was all getting worse but, to remain optimistic, every cloud has to have a silver lining. "Don't answer that." Darren lifted the burden from Mitchell. He was worried that he may have made his dilemma obvious. He straightened his face and cleared his throat to re-establish a calm demeanor. "Mitchell, let me ask you something serious. Do we stand a chance in hell out there?" He turned his head to look at Mitchell. He assumed that he was supposed to answer this question.
"I think that we could make our way out there, yes. If we stick together, and only get out there during the day, we could probably survive. Why do you ask?" Mitchell knew why he asked, he just wanted to hear it directly from Darren.
"Well, with the AC not working, and us having no food, I've been thinking that we need to get out of here. This place has held us safe since day one but now I'm feeling like we'd really be pushing the limits if we stay here for much longer." Darren was right. If Mitchell had one bar left for himself. He wasn't sure how many Darren had gotten away with, but he knew that, between the three of them, there was no way it was going to last. He wasn't even sure if they had anything left at that point in time.
"Well, there are a few places you and I could scout around here to try and get food, but I agree. We need to find someplace else.” He paused to consider whether or not this was the right moment. “I actually wanted to talk to you about where we could go. I don't want to drag you guys into something worse than what we already have, but I need to get to the hospital and--"
"And you want us to help you see if Aria is there?" Darren interrupted him. This was unlike him. Mitchell wondered if he wasn't keen to the idea.
"That's right. I think that if we stick together we have a better chance at surviving this whole ordeal. I'm guessing that she's still there. That's where she was heading, and I would bet that she's taking refuge like we are." He stopped, and thought about the phone call. "I called her phone this morning and got a call back."
Darren stepped back in amazement. “She called back?"
"I'm not sure. The voice was really quiet. The only thing she, err, they said was “help me”. If she's there, and if that was her, then she needs my help. You understand that I have to help her." He nodded towards Kayla and Lilly. Darren got what he meant. As a man that believed in protecting those he loved, he could see where Mitchell was coming from. "The only problem is that I don’t know where the hospital is, nor how to get there."
"If I had to guess, I'd say that were only a few miles away from the hospital. I never counted it but I know it wasn’t that long of a drive from here to there." Kayla stepped into the conversation. Neither of the two men had realized that she was even awake or listening. "That may be a good idea. I would guess if there was any other place out there that was a safe zone, the hospital would probably be it. I remember them having an underground bomb shelter there. That place was crazy secure for a hospital" She obviously knew quite a bit about it.
Mitchell looked at her, then back at Darren. They were eye-locked again. Mitchell guessed they were probably communicating telepathically right then. He kind of felt awkward standing near them when they were doing this.
"You're right." Darren sighed in agreement. "We should make plans to head in that direction. We need to really sit down and think about this though. We are going to be taking our five year old daughter out there into the madhouse and risking all of our lives. We can't just rush out there like we've been doing. This needs to be well thought out and we need to have a backup plan, in case any of us don’t make it." Darren didn't want to say that, but he knew he had to. They all knew that there was a high possibility of one, or all of them falling victim to the infected.
"Before that, we need to get something to eat so we don't starve. Darren, I think you and I should make another trip, this time to one of the restaurants or food places around here." Mitchell wanted to make sure that they all had the same ideas in their head. Gather food, then head to the hospital. He knew this may be a day or two, but it was worth it if they found Aria and got to a safer place.
"Right. I think that you guys should head across the street to one of--" Kayla's thought was cut off by the sound of a hand pounding on a metal door. They all turned to face the entry way but none of them moved at all. The pounding grew louder and more desperate. It was followed by a frantic voice.
"Help! Somebody help me! Please let me in! I don't want to die!" The voice was that of an older female. It was raspy and terrified. Mitchell knew the feeling. He guessed that she was feeling the same thing that he was when he was pounding on that end of the door.
"Kayla, grab my gun." Darren pointed in the direction of where he had rested his shotgun. Kayla swiftly grabbed it and handed it to him. He situated his hands on it, ready to fire if necessary. Mitchell wasn't sure of what he was supposed to do in this situation so he stood back and let Darren take control.
"Are you infected?" Darren shouted back at the voice.
"No! No, please let me in!" Mitchell could hear her crying in the way she yelled. Darren walked over and reluctantly opened the door. The woman shoved her way through the entrance and shut the door tightly behind her. She then hunched over and began to cry harder. Mitchell wasn't sure if this was because she was scared, or because she was finally safe. Darren was about to raise his gun and speak to her when Kayla interrupted him.
"Wait! Claire?" Kayla stepped forward to examine the older woman. Mitchell maintained his distance but made an effort to observe her as well. She was a shorter woman, larger in girth and looked to be in her late fifties, possibly sixties. Her hair was short, curly and blond, though there was a high possibility that it was dyed. Based on his examinations, Mitchell had no idea how she could possibly have gotten away f
rom the infected and managed to get up here. She just didn't seem physically fit enough to outrun a hungry, parasite infected, person. Being his size he was barely able to outrun them. He was fairly confident that they had just found an easier target. Claire looked up in shock to hear her name being said.
"Oh my goodness! Kayla?!" Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open in shock. “Oh, thank the heavens you're alive!" The older lady walked over and wrapped her arms around Kayla as tight as she could. This caught her off guard, but she was accepting of it. "It is so good to see you dear!"
"How did you get here? Were you out there?" Kayla was having the same thought as Mitchell.
"After I heard that we were all supposed to evacuate, I came here instantly. I heard that downtown was going to be the first place the military would seek survivors, so I figured I'd be safe here. I've been living in one of the conference rooms downstairs." Mitchell thought back and realized that the room with all the wrappers and bottles must have been hers. Then why hadn't they seen her when they were down there? "I'm guessing it was you boys that came down there yesterday and stole all my water. When I heard you coming in, I ran and hid in the janitor’s closet. I thought you guys were looters or those nasty creatures out there. Once I heard you guys leaving, I watched you go up the stairs. I saw this young man's nasty spill and you guys save him. I was going to come up at some point last night, but with all the things that were crawling around here, I stayed until morning." She seemed sincere. "I'm just glad to see people again. I haven't seen anyone in what feels like a lifetime." She sat down on the chair near the doorway. As she leaned to sit she let out an uncomfortable grunting sound.
"You've been here this whole time then? You haven't seen anyone else make their way in? No survivors or anyone?" Mitchell wasn't sure why Kayla was asking since they'd been there for about the same time.
"Honey, I didn't know you people were up here until yesterday. Aside from you folks, the only other people I saw was a couple leaving yesterday. He was a large bald man and his wife was shorter with black hair. She seemed timid and he seemed angry, so I didn't want to sneak up on them and ask for help. They were talking in some language that I didn't understand, but I know they were saying something about the West County Middle School."
Mitchell didn't want to hear that. Not only did thinking about Aya and Abram's fate upset him, it made it even worse that they were heading to the middle school in the same group as the high school he taught at. If Abram's kids went to Western County Middle, his oldest probably would have been one of his students in the next year or two. He looked away from the crowd for a moment to hide his pensive expression. He maintained his diverted glance but continued listening.
Claire turned towards Darren. "Honey, will you please put that gun down, it is making me incredibly nervous." She tilted her eyes upwards at Darren. She had no authority other than being older than him, but he listened. He placed it down on the shelf space beside him and crossed his arms. He looked at Kayla with a certain aggression. It wasn't anger, but it was in the same vein. Kayla looked back with the same glare. 'Again with the telepathic communications.' Mitchell didn't like that they kept doing this because it was pushing him to believe that telepathy was possible and that these two had mastered it. "I'm sorry, guns make me uneasy. My husband is a cop and I absolutely hate it." She looked at the couple staring at each other. "Kayla?"
"Oh, sorry. The man that was holding the gun over there is my husband, Darren. This is Mitchell, he showed up the night before last and over in the cubicle sleeping is my daughter Lilly." Kayla introduced everyone quickly to get it out of the way.
"No, I'm awake mommy." Lilly chimed in from where she was.
"OK sweetie." Kayla felt the need to respond to her. "Guys, this is Claire. She was a legal assistant here. We used to get together and go for a walk every Thursday on our lunch break with a group of other ladies from various departments. She was the only one that wasn't stuck up, so we got along pretty well."
"Oh Kayla, don't talk bad about the other girls. They just did their own thing." Claire scolded Kayla jokingly.
"Yeah, if by their own thing you mean making fun of people for not being supermodel material." Kayla rolled her eyes. "Anyways, you said your husband is a cop. Is he out there doing evacuations?" She said this with a sense of eagerness. She was hoping that the answer would be yes, because this may lead to him coming and saving them.
"I don't know honey. He was helping out at some quarantine area. The last I heard from him was two days ago. He said he was coming to get me and we'd be on the next train out but he never showed up. I'm just guessing that my Harold is in a better place now. He was a strong man, but since he's not here by now, I'm guessing he won't be here at all." She shifted her gaze to the floor. "It's alright though. I'd rather he be gone than fighting for his life out there." Mitchell agreed. It would be easier to be dead than being an elderly man fighting against a horde of hungry infected. He'd be the easy target in almost any case.
"Well Claire..." Darren spoke up finally. "...if you want to find a place to settle in for the moment, that'd be fine. There is plenty of room. The only occupied spots are the back corner and the office in front of it." Claire didn't look like she had anything but the clothes on her back. Mitchell knew that she was going to be a strain on their situation, but he agreed with Darren that it was best to help those they could. It was the philosophy he'd always held and it was one that he was going to try to maintain.
"Thank you honey, I appreciate it." She shyly looked up at them. "By chance, you guys wouldn't have any food here would you? I ran out and haven't eaten in a while." The three just looked at her sheepishly. It was obvious they didn't. "I didn't think so. Doesn’t hurt to ask though."
"We're actually going to be doing a scout mission today to get food. We're going to go ahead and make a trip outside to get supplies." Mitchell thought about whether or not he should mention the next leg of their trip. He decided against it; there would be a better time to discuss that with her later. "We were discussing things before you got here." He looked over at Darren. "Maybe you guys should talk with her and let her settle in for just little bit. We have until sundown, so there's some time in between now and when we need to leave." Mitchell wasn't sure why he was OK with pushing their necessary trip off until later in the afternoon, but he felt it was for the best. Maybe he could take some time to think about a plan while he waited.
"I guess that'll be fine. Kayla, let's get Claire settled and let her know what we're planning on doing, and anything else we know. Claire, maybe you know something we don’t?" Darren agreed. While Mitchell was still reluctant to believe having her in their party wouldn't be a hindrance on getting to the hospital, he also didn't want her to be left out. "Mitchell, you come up with a plan on our trip today, alright man?" Mitchell nodded and retreated back to his office. He left the door cracked and walked over to sit down in his chair. He picked up his backpack and set it on the desk. He looked at his phone for the time and to see if he had missed anything from Aria. It was a quarter after noon and there were no missed calls or messages. He was disappointed by that fact but wasn't surprised. After placing the phone back on the desk surface, he turned to look out the window again. He saw that the smoke billowing from over the horizon had faded and nothing else was on fire, which was promising. He looked down on the streets to see if there was anyone there; any military, cops, survivors, anyone.
What he saw was something that he didn't want to see. He looked down the road and saw a person walking around aimlessly; they appeared to be having a major body spasm. He watched attentively. Was this just a person, or was this an infected? The person started flailing like they were in tremendous pain. He wasn't really going anywhere but he was swiftly moving in all directions. This was definitely an infected, there was no way a normal human would move like he was moving. After several moments of blindly running around he stopped. He lifted his head upwards and looked like he was screaming at the sky. Mitchell squint
ed to get a better view of what was going on.
The man hunched over and was making a motion like he was choking. He violently lurched forward and Mitchell saw the insect slowly crawling out of his mouth. The man continued to lurch, the whole ordeal looked incredibly painful. After several moments, the parasite ripped its way out of the host’s mouth and on to the ground. It scurried to the nearest building to get out of the sun. Mitchell couldn't see for sure where it had gone, but it had definitely left its shell. He turned back towards the man, he was still standing.
"What the hell! He's...” Mitchell started to feel queasy. “...he's still standing?! He's still alive?!" The man turned and looked around confused. He rotated and faced in the direction of Mitchell. He looked up and Mitchell guessed that he could see him. He reached a hand up, as if to ask for help, took one step forward and collapsed. Upon hitting the ground, a pool of blood quickly poured from his mouth. Mitchell stared in disgust of the image he had just witnessed.
"He was coherent for that last moment before he fell. He was alive, even after being infected." Mitchell feared this thought. "This means they're alive. Any infected we kill is a person that's still alive and coherent." He continued his glare at the dead body on the ground. He didn't want to have to kill anyone. For any infected that he killed, he killed their potential to be cured, if there was a cure. He had gone on telling himself that they were already dead; that the parasite had killed the host after taking them over and nothing could be done. Clearly this was incorrect. Was there something that could be done to save them after they were infected?