by Tim Moon
"Is she taking George too? He also got bit by this guy," said Gavin, nodding toward Brown Beard.
"I haven't seen him for a while." Riley looked around nervously. She held her hands up when she didn't see him. "In the bathroom, washing up perhaps?"
"We should find him," said Gavin. "He got injured trying to help us out."
Riley nodded and stepped away to speak into her radio.
"And find out when the cops are coming, please. I don't want to sit here all night," Gavin added.
Deacon adjusted his posture. "George will be okay. That guy's a beast." He grinned wide beneath his thick beard.
"I saw the way he handled that guy." Gavin smiled. "Thanks again for the help, man."
"My pleasure, it's better to take them down here than in a cramped airplane."
They both chuckled.
Other passengers stood around watching and snapping pictures. A dozen or so people had formed a crescent around the bodies on the floor, staring. Blood had splattered onto the marble where Kelly's fingers had been bitten off and a trail of droplets led through the checkpoint.
Riley looked at the passengers for a moment.
"Okay folks; let's get you lined up and through security. No sense keeping you held up," she said.
Her message didn't resonate right away. Then one man stepped away and started getting his carry-on ready.
A small, ragged cheer went up and people clapped their hands. Then all of the passengers went back to preparing to pass through security.
Doug, another lead officer, took down passengers’ name and phone number, in case the police wanted to ask them questions.
Gavin just sat on Skinny and watched all the commotion. He adjusted his position and looked down at the guy. His pale face didn't show any discomfort. The man's eyes were unsettling. Gavin stared at them, caught up in the strangeness of them, until his eyes went out of focus. Then he blinked and looked away.
Deacon nudged him with his elbow. "How long do you think this will take?"
"I'm not sure. The cop, or one of the others, should have been here by now," Gavin said. "How long until your flight leaves?"
"I have plenty of time - more than an hour. Just curious is all." Deacon adjusted his position and rubbed his right knee.
Probably nursing an old injury, thought Gavin.
Deacon saw Gavin watching him, but he didn't say anything.
"I understand," Gavin said, clearing his throat. "I'll see if we can get someone to take over from us."
Gavin thumbed his mic and requested an update on the airport police. Then he asked if someone could take over holding the two attackers.
Riley walked up and looked down at Gavin. "The dispatcher said all of their officers are busy. They put a call into the Anchorage P.D. for us but they sounded busy too. The dispatcher said it might be a while before any officers can assist us."
"What the he- What's up with that?" Gavin said, correcting himself. He scowled, with his mouth dropped open and his face burned, even though he knew she had no control over it.
Riley shrugged. "I don't know. They don't explain their business to us."
"So what does management say we should do with these guys?" Gavin gestured at the two men on the floor and held an arm out in question. "Deacon can't do this forever; he has a flight soon. And I can't hold both down by myself."
"As you know, we're not authorized to detain passengers like this, but management realizes that we can't let them go for safety reasons. The Federal Security Director is consulting with his legal counsel, but says we should be fine considering the circumstances." She sounded like a policy manual.
"How could all of the airport police and the Anchorage Police Department be too busy to arrest two guys? That's crazy," he said. "What's going on out there?"
Riley shrugged again. Her eyes were wide and empty-looking; she was clearly at a loss.
"Must be something big to keep them all so busy," said Deacon.
Gavin and Riley looked at Deacon. It sounded ominous the way he said it.
"Count George and me in until the cops get here," he added. "The boss will understand - legal matters and all."
"Thank you," said Riley.
"Good man." Gavin patted Deacon on the shoulder and wondered how this would all play out.
71
A POLICE CRUISER rolled up and parked in front of the airport.
Gavin noticed their flashers from where he still sat, atop Skinny. The attackers had calmed down somewhat and neither one had spoken. But if either he or Deacon moved too much the men would begin to buck and squirm under them trying to get up.
"Thank goodness," said Deacon, heaving a big sigh of relief.
"It's about damned time." Gavin had kept track and they'd been sitting guard for almost twenty minutes since Riley had spoken to them. His butt was getting tired. His legs ached from alternately being folded beneath him or angled up in a squat position.
A pair of officers jumped out of the patrol car and ran inside with their guns in hand.
Gavin waved his hand. "Over here guys, it's just these two." He gestured down at Skinny and Brown Beard, both of whom began making an awful moaning sound.
Gavin and Deacon looked at each other questioningly.
The men kept moaning, the awful stench of their breath rising to hit Gavin. He fought the urge to gag.
The pair below them squirmed like snakes, pushing with their feet but going nowhere.
One of the cops entered the checkpoint and approached Riley, who looked very concerned and confused about what to do about the drawn weapons.
The other police officer approached Gavin and Deacon. He spoke briefly into his radio and then holstered his pistol. The lights on their car continued to flash red, white and blue on the walls, reflecting off the windows and floors like a patriotic dance club.
"What's going on with these two?" said the officer. "Are they infected?"
"Um...I'm not sure what you mean by infected. But they both attacked one of our officers and one bit off her fingers," said Gavin. He grabbed Skinny's arm to hold on as the man squirmed beneath him. “I think someone drove her to the hospital.”
“Goddamned animals,” the officer said. He thumbed his radio and said, "Dispatch, we have one bitten, unaccounted for - a female TSA officer. Possibly in route to the hospital.”
Gavin saw his nametape, which read "T. Bailey".
George came around the corner slowly, finally returning after cleaning up in the bathroom. Deacon smiled when he saw his friend come into view.
"He bit my friend George on the thigh too," Deacon said, waving at George.
"Correction. Make that two bitten. One female TSA Officer and one male civilian," said Officer Bailey.
"There he is," Deacon said, jabbing his thick finger in the air. "That's George."
Officer Bailey looked to where Deacon pointed.
George's leg didn't look good. Blood stained his pant leg around the small tear and drops had run down his leg and soaked through the cotton from the inside. He was limping and his face was deathly pale.
"You okay buddy?" asked Deacon.
George didn't respond.
“Sir, stay where you,” Officer Bailey said.
Gavin gasped when he noticed George's eyes; they were just like the two men they'd detained. But, how?
"He's one of them," said Gavin softly.
Deacon shot him a glance then looked back at his friend.
The cop must have heard him or noticed his eyes too, because he pulled his gun.
George leaned forward and grabbed Deacon, ripping his shirt.
"What the hell, man?" said Deacon. He pushed George, who stumbled back a couple of steps. Deacon stood up.
Officer Bailey pulled Deacon away and shouted at George. "Sir, back up. Now."
Then he yelled to his partner, "We've got an infected."
George regained his balance. He took a step toward Officer Bailey, who was now the closest person.
Officer Bailey fired two shots. Bang. Bang. No hesitation between the shots.
One hit George in the throat and the other emptied his skull. His massive body slumped to the floor.
A pair of short surprised screams came from women on the checkpoint, followed by exclamations and curses from a few of the men.
Gavin's eyes widened at the sight. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He was frozen in place, gaping at the police officer.
Deacon scurried backward like a crab. He was muttering something inaudible.
Gavin had no idea how close the two men were, but he couldn't imagine seeing one of his friends get shot like that.
Suddenly both officers were standing there. The other officer double checked that George was down for good. Officer Bailey radioed in that he'd "taken down one infected."
The other officer, "J.S. Vasser" according to his name tag, yelled to lock down security. Riley was still too stunned to question the shooting, but she didn't move. She'd frozen in place.
Sensing her conflict, Officer Bailey said, "These people are infected. We don't know what it is, how, or why, but it makes them unresponsive and very violent. We've had dozens of attacks today. Trust me; it was the only way to stop him."
Riley just nodded her head. "What can we do?"
Officer Vasser gave her a look that said, "What did I say?"
Gavin cut in. "What about these guys?" He gestured at the men still zip-tied on the floor. They were both thrashing about on the floor, as furious as ever.
The noise must have riled them up.
Officer Vasser looked at them then glanced around the checkpoint. "We can leave them, but let's move them outside of the security gate."
Officer Bailey looked at Riley and said, "Can you get ready to lower the gate?"
"Yes. Yes, I can," said Riley, with a small measure of confidence. She hurried off to get the key.
“We’ve got to secure this front area,” Officer Bailey said.
"Change of plans. Let's put these two in the car," said Officer Vasser. He pointed at Gavin. "Give me a hand."
It was not what Gavin expected to hear.
Officer Vasser helped Gavin drag the two men away from the checkpoint, being careful not to get bitten. Then they hauled Skinny up, with Officer Vasser holding his hands and Gavin carrying his legs and they carried him to the car. It was cold outside, so they were quick to open the car door and shove Skinny inside. They repeated the process with Brown Beard, but it took a little longer. By the time they’d finished both men were breathing hard from the effort. Steam poured off of their bodies in the frigid night air.
"He's a big fucker," said Gavin, glancing at Brown Beard through the window.
"No shit," said Officer Vasser with a smile. He clasped a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "Thanks for the help."
"Yeah, no problem."
They walked inside, grateful for the warmth.
"Okay, you get inside security while we clear the lobby. Who has keys to lock the front doors?" asked Officer Vasser.
"It should be airport administration," said Gavin with a shrug. "Check at the ticket counters."
He wasn't too sure; he'd never seen the airport lock the front doors before.
Strong metal gates rattled as Riley lowered and locked them into place. They provided a secure barrier between the concourses and the unsecured public side of the airport.
Gavin's stomach sank. He knew the gates would keep the infected people away from them, but he felt trapped. He wanted to find Dari if she was still there and get out of the airport as soon as he could.
He mumbled a prayer to himself.
Mac came up next to Gavin.
"This is some shit, huh?" Mac said quietly.
"Yeah, some real, deep shit."
"Well hero-boy, Riley wants us on a patrol to check the C concourse," said Mac. "Steve and John have B concourse."
"John?"
"Yeah, right?" said Mac with a smirk. "You should have heard him try to talk his way out of it."
"Let's go," said Gavin, rolling his eyes.
Mac turned to leave while Gavin glanced out into the lobby one last time.
72
WITH THE CHECKPOINT closed and the security gate, locked there was nothing to do but stand around gossiping. Most of the officers waited there for orders to come down from management.
Meanwhile, Gavin and Mac walked away from the checkpoint to carry out their security patrol. Gavin carried the radio that Riley had given them.
"That was some freaky shit," said Mac.
Gavin grunted.
"The way the cop just popped that guy. Bam. Bam." Mac exaggerated a shiver. "Like it was a game of GTA up in here."
"If you feel that way now, imagine how Patrick felt seeing...whatever it was he saw," said Gavin.
"Yeah I suppose, but I'm not the one running home with my lunch pail like a little pussy."
"Whatever. Keep your eyes open. I don't want to get chomped on just because you're too busy running your mouth." Gavin looked down B concourse. John and Steve were walking like a pair of old men. "Lazy bastards," he muttered.
"How do you feel?" asked Mac.
"I'm fine," said Gavin.
Following the shooting, most of the retail shops had started closing up. The exit gate had been locked so he had no idea where the staff thought they were going.
"You think we'll find any of the infected?" Mac asked, using a weird tone to emphasize "the infected."
"Who knows," said Gavin. "I wish they'd told us more. Like what the hell we're supposed to be looking for?"
There were maybe only a few hundred passengers at this time of night and most of the ones remaining would leave from the B concourse. Riley must have sent Gavin and Mac down C concourse because it was the biggest space to cover and she knew the other two guys were as slow as dead slugs.
A guy stepped out from inside the small snack/newsstand where he worked. "You guys know what's going on? I've been hearing crazy rumors."
"What kind of rumors, sir?" said Mac in an official sounding tone.
"Like people are getting attacked and the police shot a guy. I mean, I heard a noise, but shooting a guy? In the airport?" said the man. He threw his hands up. "It's hard to believe."
"Better believe it. This officer here," Mac said, gesturing to Gavin. "He helped another officer detain two attackers, before a police officer shot the third man."
"No shit?" The man's eyes were wider than headlights. "I mean - seriously?"
"Yeah, the cop blasted him like...bam, bam..."
"Okay, Mac that's enough."
"What? I'm disseminating vital information to the public."
"Let's go." Gavin looked at the man. "It's true but don't worry. We have everything under control."
"What should I do?"
"I'd close up and keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. Stick with other people, you know, safety in numbers," Gavin said.
Before they walked away, Gavin turned to the man. "Did you happen to see a police officer and some EMS guys head down here?"
"Yeah, sure did," he said. "It was a while ago; they went down there."
"Thanks for your cooperation."
"Sure thing, guys. Stay safe." He walked a few steps back to his cash register and started typing.
When they were out of earshot, Mac punched him in the shoulder.
"Dude, you totally cut off my story."
"You were just trying to rile him up."
"I am a speaker of the truth," he said. "They should hire me in D.C. so I can drop truth bombs all day."
Gavin laughed and it sounded weird, even to his ears, but the tension release was glorious.
Everything still looked relatively normal. No attackers, no victims, no endangered babies, not even so much as a piece of trash on the floor.
The radio clicked. "Patrol One, Patrol Two, this is Checkpoint. Be advised that Headquarters has notified us of a national emergency." It was Riley's voice, but she sounded dull and sha
ky. "This is not a drill. We have a national emergency. If you see anyone exhibiting the following signs, you are to report them immediately. Do not approach. The signs are: a stumbling drunken-like gait, bloody injuries, dark eyes lacking a defined color and white cornea and moaning or groaning. I say again this is not a drill. Please respond to confirm you have received and understood this message."
"Checkpoint, this is Patrol Two, we copy, over," Gavin said.
"Patrol Two, I gotcha. Over," said Riley. "Patrol One, acknowledge."
Mac looked at him. "Whoa, dude. It's the real deal, huh?"
Gavin nodded.
"Patrol One do you copy?" repeated Riley.
They kept walking. Gavin felt a little bit nervous but still confident that they'd be okay. Anchorage International Airport had good security and armed police officers; the security gates were closed and there weren't too many civilians, so the chance of having to deal with irate passengers was minimal. The passengers would be able to see that it was a serious situation.
Mac and Gavin had passed most of the shops, when the people who had been sitting relatively quietly at gate, until now, began to get up and move. They heard shouting and a few screams but it was muffled.
Gavin ran down the concourse towards the commotion with Mac right beside him. They had to see what was happening so they could report it to Riley.
Several people rushed out of a nearby bathroom. One was bleeding from the arm and the others just looked panicked.
"He bit me! Call the police! That crazy bastard bit me," screamed a man, clutching his arm to his chest. Blood ran to the floor from his elbow leaving a trail behind him. He turned and pointed at someone still inside the bathroom. "I'm gonna sue the shit out of you, man."
"Checkpoint, this is Patrol Two, we have an incident. We have one passenger injured; he says a man bit him," Gavin said into the radio. "No sign of the attacker, over."
No immediate response.
"Do you copy checkpoint?" he said. He didn't recall hearing Patrol One check in either.
"Shit," he muttered to himself.
Mac waved the man over and told him to go back to the checkpoint. Another passenger was already helping him, so Mac pointed them in the right direction and stayed with Gavin. At least, that's what Gavin thought at first.