“I’ll let the doctors explain.”
The officers left the room and a short time later, a lady walked into the office to see them. She was on the taller side, dark beautiful skin, short hair, round cheeks and full lips. She wasn't wearing a lab coat, but her demeanor gave away her profession as an expert in the medical field, she wore grey slacks, and a tan blouse. When she entered everyone ceased their conversations and awaited her remarks.
“Okay everyone, my name is Dr. Aubrey Washington, I'm going to be asking you a few questions and check your vital signs.”
Jamal stepped to the middle of the room with youthful enthusiasm.
“I’ll volunteer to go first.”
Jake snickered in the background, Sheila rolled her eyes and laughed. Dr. Washington smiled but quickly returned the group to reality.
“Let me tell you what we know, whatever was in those bombs were nothing like we’ve ever seen. Everyone who was affected exhibited the same symptoms, elevated heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing, not just a little elevated, the numbers we saw typically constituted a medical emergency. We don't know how, but it also turns people violent and somehow deadens pain receptors. We don't yet know if it's contagious, so if any of you have had close face to face contact with the infected, we need to know so we can monitor and quarantine you.”
Jake and Sheila both look over at each other, you sure whether to tell the doctor they had very close contact with the killers during fights.
“I take it by the looks on your faces, you two have been exposed? I need to check you.”
Dr. Washington took their temperatures and vital signs, both had elevated numbers but only slightly. She opened her door and called out into the hall for Officer Smith.
“These two need to be quarantined.” she turned to the group tried to reassure them.
“This is purely precautionary and for everyone’s safety until we know what will happen.”
Officer Smith escorted the two out of the office, into the stairwell and up to the third floor. There were offices up there that they cleared out for the purpose of keeping people in quarantine. She opened the door and let them in. There were two armed police officers outside the office, Jake and Sheila began to sense the true gravity of the situation, they were not just quarantined, they were being detained.
Invaders
Out in the bay, ships began to make their way towards the piers, Michael was unable to identify them from his position. The sun had retired for the day, his night vision goggles were of little help at that distance. He would need to get to the piers if he wanted a better look, but he would risk being spotted...or killed by the infected.
Whatever was used on the people below worked quickly, the streets were crawling with murderers. He donned his pack and removed his 9mm pistol from its holster, he screwed on a silencer that he had in his cargo pocket as made his way back in the building. He pushed the button on the elevator...nothing, he would have to descend the skyscraper by stairwell.
Michael began the long descent with his weapon in his hand, there was no telling what he would encounter. He made it safely to the lobby, he stopped at the threshold of the stairwell and scanned the dark lobby danger. Quickly, he moved to the front doors, there were dozens of wandering killers on the street. He didn't want to attract too much attention with a vehicle, he could be more stealth on foot. No more than an hour before, he watched as the mob swarmed a metro bus that was no doubt trying to flee the city.
He waited for an opportunity to move, then the mob had thinned out. He opened the glass door slowly and darted toward a car in the street. His footsteps were light, he was as quiet as an insect. When the nearby infected were looking away, he ran west toward the water. The street he was on was clear...until he reached 3rd avenue.
Five infected civilians roamed into the intersection just as he approached, he had no time to hide. They gave chase immediately. Michael ran down the street toward the piers, he was still a few blocks away from the water front. Fear jolted his heart when he looked over his shoulder, they had cut his half block lead down to nothing in seconds. He turned and fired.
Two shots to the chest of one the infected, he didn't even lose a step. He fired a third time to the head, the man dropped, but the others were on him before he could take aim. He broke hard to his right, sending the killers off balance. There was a restaurant on the corner, he needed to find a way to slow them down enough so that he could take them out one by one.
Their speed was incredible, it was foolish to think he could out run them. He began to regret not finding a vehicle when he left the skyscraper… “Stupid.” He burst through the doors of the restaurant and jumped behind the counter, as soon as they entered the front door, he’d pick them off...that was the plan anyway.
The first man ran in, a clean head shot, no problem; the second man stumbled in, he fired twice to the chest. The man jumped over a table, never taking his eyes off Michael. As he got close, Michael fired a round into his head. Dead. The last two were already inside by the time the second dropped, he fired at the third who was already within a few feet, he was too close to take aim. Michael emptied the gun into the man's chest just before the fourth leaped over the counter and took him down.
They beat his face and body; their strength as inhuman as their speed. He tried to grab hold of the man's arms as he swung, and pull him in close to take a break from his punches. He was too strong, he ripped his arm away and continued the beating. The blows were starting to daze him, it wouldn't be long before he would be beaten unconscious.
He got a break, the man he shot in the chest finally succumbed to his wounds...they can still bleed out. He turned his head and searched among the receipts, trays and cash...he found a fork. He grabbed it and stabbed repeatedly at the side of the killer’s neck, until finally the blood squirted from his artery. He just needed to survive until the man bled out, he reached up and did his best to deflect the man's strikes.
Michael squirmed and kicked trying to defend himself as the killer's blood drenched him, the man’s arms became too slick with blood for him to keep a grip on him. After about a minute, the man became slow and weak, he collapsed onto Michael. It was a quick and painful lesson learned, he needed to find a vehicle.
Chapter 5
9:52 pm
Charles was awakened by a loud crash down the street, he sat up in bed and listening intently to ascertain if it was just a dream or a real threat. He heard gunfire throughout the neighborhood and distant screams, he got up and walked over to his window. Charles’ bedroom was in the front of the house just over the living room, he had a clear view of the street in front of the house. He peeked through his blinds and immediately noticed a bright orange light coming from the left, the source is just out of his sight.
More concerning to Charles were the people running for their lives and the savages chasing them. Their once quiet little neighborhood had become a scene of a disaster movie. Charles watched as chaos unfolded in front of his bedroom window, he felt safe in his room unable to understand at such a young age the danger they were really in.
The house across the street to the right of Anna’s erupted in violence, Charles could hear screams and yelling. The front door opened on the yellow 2 story home and Mrs. Wilson and her daughter Beth, ran out into the front yard. Beth was the same age as Charles, they went to the same school. She was a cute little redheaded girl with freckles, they played together in the neighborhood frequently.
Mrs. Wilson was screaming on the front lawn for her husband Mark, she was pulling at her hair and then collapsed to her knees. A man bolted through the front door with speed no normal person would have time to react to, he leaped from the porch and went airborne diving right at Mrs. Wilson. He collided with her on the lawn right in front of Beth, she watched as the bloody man stabbed her mom repeatedly with a knife. Mrs. Wilson tried to fight back but she was no match, she clawed at his face and kicked as hard as she could, but the man kept stabbing her in the chest an
d neck. It only lasted 15 or 20 seconds, her screams went quiet, her hands went limp and she turned to her daughter who stared helplessly in tears screaming for her mom. Her body went lifeless and the killer focused in on Beth, she was only a few feet away and all alone.
She turned and ran, Charles could see horror in her face, he stood and watched, frozen in fear. She made it to the middle of the street before the killer caught her and plunged the knife into the back of her neck, she collapsed to the ground and the killer slashed at her mercilessly. Charles broke into tears and ran from the window out of his room and to his mother's down the hall. He burst through the door and screamed:
“Mommy, mommy, he killed Beth...Mr. Wilson, he killed Beth and Mrs. Wilson right outside.”
“Oh my God, okay, baby I need you be quiet okay, we don't want them to hear us.”
Charles buried his face in his mom's chest and whimpered, she held him and leaned over to the window to the left of her bed and peek out into the night. The killers were close, and they were tearing through houses looking for kills as if it were sport, she knew they needed to leave the house as soon as possible.
Lisa stood up and took Charles by the hand, practically dragging him down stairs. She woke Anna on the couch and told her to get ready to leave. She told Charles to grab his coat and put on his shoes, she did the same and then grabbed her keys from the counter, a couple of plastic bags and began filling them with canned goods from the pantry. Anna got her shoes on and looked through the blinds at the neighborhood, she gasped and quivered as she raised both hands to her mouth. She backed away from the window, horrified and in disbelief.
Lisa filled the bags with as much food as she could, then she gave one to Anna. She picked up her phone from the kitchen counter and headed to the front door, a loud bang on the door startled her, then it was followed by a brick through the adjacent window. She whispered for everyone to go upstairs, and began to climb the stairs after when the bag of canned goods ripped open from the bottom. She dropped the bag and ran upstairs assuming the cans made enough noise to alert the killers to their presence, she knew they needed to hide quickly.
At the top of the stairs was access to the attic with a pull-down ladder, when she reached the second floor she jumped up and grabbed the rope to pull the door open, she jumped again to grab the rope for the ladder and pulled it down. She pushed Charles up the ladder first, followed by Anna, then she went up. She pulled up the ladder and closed the door just in time hear the front door crash open.
The attic was old, dusty and uncomfortable, they sat on support beams and pink insulation. They could hear the savages destroying the first floor of their home searching for them, Lisa held Charles in her arms and closed her eyes, praying they would leave. The killers ran up the stairs and began searching for them in the bedrooms and hallway, they flipped over beds and kicked in doors. They searched with the aggression you’d expect of a unit of FBI agents in a suspected drug house.
The noise died down and they heard the footsteps of the killers heading downstairs and out of the house, it had seemed they escaped death once more. Lisa told Anna and Charles to stay put, and that she was going to see if it was clear. She pushed the door open, dropped the ladder and slowly climbed down in the darkness. The house was a mess, there had to have been at least 10 of them to completely destroy the house in such a short amount of time. She had to watch her step as she walked into Charles’ room to take a look out the window.
Savages were still everywhere, and houses were on fire, including the one next door to their right. The smoke billowed from the houses and began to fill the streets, obscuring her view. She headed out of the room and down the stairs carefully and slowly. The first floor was just as trashed as upstairs, she didn't see any savages. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen and headed back upstairs to Charles and Anna. Charles looked out of the attic and saw his mother coming up the stairs, she told him to come down quietly.
Once they were all down, Lisa laid out the plan.
“Okay, we can't stay here, it isn't safe anymore. I think if we can get out of the city, we’ll be in good shape.”
Anna, disappointed in Lisa's plan, argued back.
“The news said the freeways were parking lots and the military wasn't letting anyone leave until they could contain the threat.”
“Anna, the military is nowhere to be found.”
“I’m not leaving my husband behind, you said we could go look for him.”
“I can't take Charles back into the city, you don't know how bad it is.”
“Well then I'm staying, he may come looking for me. I can't leave without him.”
Lisa didn't want to leave Anna behind, she was certain to die alone in the house. Nevertheless, she had to protect her son, so she tried to compromise with her. She volunteered to take her to the Hospital where the rest of the group were trying to go, if anything, she could get more information or find refuge there if there was nowhere to go.
They agreed on the plan and gathered their things to leave. Lisa looked outside to see if the driveway was clear, when she saw an opening, they hurried out to the green Ford truck. Anna sat in the front and Charles in the back-passenger seat, Lisa entered the driver's side, started the engine and reversed into the street. Four of the possessed killers ran out of the house behind them toward the truck, she shifted into drive and slammed on the gas. The truck spun its tires briefly and finally pulled away, but not before two of them could get a hold of the truck and jumped into the flatbed.
Lisa sped down E. Highland dr. Toward the Queen Anne hill, she swerved as sharply as she could on the narrow street, trying to make the savages fall out of the flatbed. One of them was armed with a brick, a white woman with blue hair in a blue sundress, she shattered the back window with the brick.
Charles unfastened his seatbelt and tried to crawl up front with Anna, but the woman grabbed him by the back of the shirt as she dived into the backseat. Both killers were in the backseat of the car with Charles trying to beat him, they pinballed around clumsily from Lisa's erratic driving. She approached the Queen Anne intersection with high speed and tried to turn wide down the hill, the back end of the truck lost traction and they slid sideways into the intersection. As they slid to the far end of the intersection a pair of headlights appeared in front of them, it was another vehicle speeding up the hill. It collided head on with the Ford truck and caused it to flip over onto the sidewalk and come to a rest on its roof.
Lisa was hanging upside down in the driver's seat, she couldn't see Charles and she was badly shaken up from the crash. One of the savages reached around her neck and began choking her, she reached for Anna’s unconscious body as she dangled from the passenger seat. As she fought for breath, she saw Charles lying on the sidewalk a few feet away from the truck, he was motionless and vulnerable, and she could do nothing to help him. As her vision blurred she saw a figure move toward her son's body, she reached toward him and tried to scream. Darkness.
10:03 pm
Xavier jumped out of his bed and picked up his rifle, he slept harder than he thought would. He put the backpack on his shoulders, 9mm on his hip and grabbed his keys. There were noises coming from the front of the apartment, Xavier wasn't alone. He raised the barrel of the rifle; right hand on the pistol grip, left hand on the just below the barrel on the magazine well. He opened the door and began walking slowly out of his room, he made it a few steps into the hall before a killer stepped out in front of him from the kitchen. He fired one shot, then its head snapped back as it collapsed to the floor. The shot was loud, he knew it meant more trouble as he made his way to the car. Xavier hurried past the kitchen into the living room, three more appeared at the door. He fired a head shot at the first, it went down. The other two immediately rushed him. He fired center mass at one armed with a baseball bat, he absorbed the shots and swung the bat at Xavier. He backed up into the hall avoiding the bat and firing twice more into its torso before the 3rd one tackled him to the floor. The killer with
the bat collapsed from its wounds, the third killer was on top of Xavier rendering his rifle useless. As the savage beat him, Xavier pushed up with his left arm trying to deflect as many blows as he could while reaching for his 9mm with the right arm. He pulled the pistol from its holster and fired one shot to the killer's head, he fell lifeless.
He rolled the savage off him, holstered his pistol and picked up his rifle. He readied the car keys in his left hand, pushed the unlock button and moved swiftly to the front door. The area was swarming with the possessed, two stood in the stairway between him and the car. He fired a headshot at one who stood at the bottom of the stairs, the second one was already sprinting toward him, he fired several shots center mass and dropped the target. Xavier ran down the stairs toward the car, checking to his left and right for more of them. 30 to 40 feet away to his right, four more sprinted toward him. His better judgment was not to engage but instead quickly get in the car. He opened the door, got in and closed it just before they swarmed the car. He locked the doors, took off his backpack and started the car.
Xavier reversed the BMW out of the parking space, burned rubber out of the apartment complex and made a right down Queen Anne Blvd. He threw his rifle in the passenger seat and put both hands on the wheel, the drive out of town would be rough. He saw a pair of headlights approaching quickly from down the hill toward him, just as he was about to enter the W. Highland dr. Intersection, a green pickup truck slid past the front of his car collided head on with vehicle traveling uphill.
Xavier slammed on his brakes and stopped the car; he wanted to check for survivors, but time and numbers were not on his side and he probably couldn't provide help without becoming a victim himself. Just as he decided to leave he saw the body of a young boy lying on the sidewalk, Xavier couldn't bear the thought of leaving an injured and innocent child for dead, so he picked up his rifle and exited the car.
Savage Mist Page 6