by Aline Riva
“Oh my god...” she stepped back in horror, “She's dead! Did you...did you do this?”
“Yes,” Justin said proudly as his eyes glittered and he clamped a strong hand about her throat, crushing her windpipe, “Yes, I did!”
Sylvia fought weakly, but as he raised her off the ground and her shoes kicked at thin air, there was an audible snap, and he lowered the dead woman to the floor, bent back her broken neck, sank to his knees and tore out her throat, drinking deeply of her blood. The task was over with too quickly, leaving him craving more, but as he looked to the body of Samantha, he saw she had still not returned...Where was New Samantha?
Justin wasted no time, dumping the body in the bed, covering it with the quilt and leaving Samantha's hair trailing over the pillow. Then he took a sheet from the cupboard and placed it on the floor, laid Samantha inside it, rolled her up, then scooped the body into his arms.
While the others were having lunch and chatting about the trip and unaware of the horror that was unfolding, Justin made his way out of the hostel, staying close to the shadows thrown up by the hillside away from the fall of the sunlight as he left the settlement, a lone figure clad in black, carrying the dead girl wrapped in a sheet as he headed out far into the icy wasteland.
Much later as the sun began to set, the others were in their rooms, some were going through pictures shot earlier that day, while a few were chatting, and some were sleeping, finding the first full day with time outside in the frozen arctic very tiring. David had sought out Sylvia to ask how Samantha was doing, but the only sign of Sylvia was a note left at reception that said she had checked on the girl and took her some soup.
“Maybe we should look in on her?” Tara suggested as David read the note again then left it on the desk.
“No,” he said, “She's in quarantine for a reason – it really won't help if any more of us get sick. This is the arctic, we'd have to hope for the best with the weather to schedule an emergency flight out...Best leave her until we hear from Sylvia.”
“Well I told the others Samantha has to be left alone,” she replied,. “Even Ryan got that. No one wants to get ill in a place like this...”
Just then, in the room beyond the reception area, where there was a small office, through the open doorway, they heard the silence broken by the crackle of a radio as it quietly played to itself, vague voices had softly been chattering as the station stayed tuned in to where Sylvia had left it, but now it sounded different, louder...
“I repeat,” said the voice, “This is an emergency broadcast to all channels.”
They exchanged a look of alarm, then David went first and Tara followed, going behind the desk and into the back office where David closed the door, sat down at the desk and adjusted the dial on the old radio, making the channel's audio much clearer.
Tara leant on the desk as David sat there, listening intently:
“....that it must now be accepted that unthinkable has happened – despite warnings of possible contamination which were initially denied, it must now be confirmed that the affected batches of vaccine M0-RBD-1 were world wide. Once again I confirm, do not attempt physical contact with the infected, as distressing as it is, those who have died because of infected attacks which are now know as Morbid incidents, are strongly urged to burn their dead. It is the only way to stop the virus mutating, scientists have confirmed the virus is at its most dangerous when the dead are infected, they will rise and they are no longer loved ones, friends or family but one and the same of a terror that we have yet to defeat. This is the last broadcast today. A reminder all channels are on lock down with restrictions, the safety guidelines will be played on a loop from midnight. This disease has spread faster than any known virus and is the new pandemic. Two days of this have seen life as we know it thrown into chaos. Borders are closed, ports are closed, curfews in place the army are doing their best. Burn your dead. Burn them....”
The channel was slowly wiped out by static and David turned the dial back and forth, trying to regain the signal as he looked to Tara with a confused expression.
“What the fuck did we just listen to? What the actual fuck was that about?”
Tara's face was pale as she shook her head, thinking it had to be the isolation of the arctic that had made her get genuine chills on hearing that obviously fake news bulletin...It couldn't be real, it just couldn't...
“Must have been some radio play... a horror story! It did sound convincing, though!”
She shivered, then she laughed and shook her head.
“I guess it's easy to get spooked out here...don't you think so, too?”
He frowned, his gaze still fixed on the radio that no only gave of the hiss of static snow.
“Wait...” he said, and took the radio from the table, then as he sat there, he switched channels and stations, turning the dial carefully, until he caught another English speaking channel:
“All sea and air ports are closed. I repeat, all countries world wide are on lock down. This is a world wide pandemic. The public are advised to stay in their homes if secure enough - if not, go to a designated public place of safety. Leave the hostility to the army. Do not challenge the diseased or the Morbid. Burn your dead... All sea and air ports are closed. I repeat, all countries world wide are on lock down -”
“It's playing on a loop!” David said in surprise.
“On another channel,” Tara added, starting to worry despite the fact that it seemed ridiculous to be scared by what was obviously a very realistic - and popular – radio play...
David tried again, this time reaching a distant, barely audible channel, but as he tuned it, a woman's voice came through over static:
“No one knows why. No one knows how it could do this to us , to our world, in less than two days. But the sick became the infected and those they killed came back, and they went on to kill again and again and now it's a war between them and us and all we can do is pray we can stop this hell on earth...They blame the vaccines, but maybe it's more than that...maybe it's God's judgement on this evil world, the dead shall cleanse the planet instead of the Lord bringing another flood...Pray with me...” the channel faded out.
David's throat went tight as he placed the now silent radio on the table and looked to Tara.
“That was too fucking weird,” he said quietly, “Channels miles apart, all talking about some kind of...living dead taking over scenario? This is nuts, I need to call out...she's got communications back here...”
As he went over to the far wall, where there was a powerful radio communications device, he switched it on and began to patch a call through to Chile.
“Come on...” he said as he waited for the channel to clear.
Static hissed back, filling the room loudly.
He hit a switch and spoke into the microphone.
“This is East Pinnacle Settlement, attached to landing site twenty-one...do you copy, over?”
Static hissed in reply.
He repeated the question, followed again by static.
“Maybe the weather's bad or -”
“No,” he said, turning from the non responsive communications system, “And look at this...” he indicated to a TV, its screen static and blank.
“No signal. Everything's down! Whatever happened, went on after we boarded that flight.”
Tara gave a gasp, her head spinning as she tried to take in the impossible – the thought that all the broadcast had claimed was true...
“This can't be right...this can't happen...”
“Anything can happen,” David replied, “technology advances, science advances, governments get greedy for results, vaccines can go wrong...”
He stopped there as they looked at each other in horror, recalling how Justin and then Samantha had fallen ill – both recipients of the vaccine, the same vaccine they had all been given.
“We need to check on the others!” he said, “Not just Samantha and Justin – everyone...any one of us could have the infection!”
<
br /> Fear shone in Tara's eyes, then there was no time to think about it, no time to let the horror of the situation sink in as David raced from the room and around the desk, making for the stairs. Suddenly Tara felt a surge of panic at the thought of being alone, far from home, with the possibility of something terrible lurking.
“Wait for me!” she called, and dashed from the back room.
Megan was alone in the wash room, a towel wrapped about her as she stood by the mirror, she had just cleansed her face, then she put the cleanser back in her bag and paused to inspect her reflection, smoothing a stray lock of hair from her face, then as she was about to turn to the showers, she caught a movement. A door to a cubicle shifted, she frowned, guessing it couldn't be a breeze because this was the arctic, hardly a place to keep a window open... She looked about the room:
The older showers had curtains. The newer ones, over the far end of the room, had doors. The shower curtains hung still, the other doors were pulled close but not shut, and then the one on the end moved again, just a fraction, a tiny, slight movement that she just about caught...
Her eyes narrowed.
“That's not funny! Ryan? Are you being a prick? If this is one of your dickhead pranks it's bad timing with Samantha not well!”
The door had fallen still. It was ajar and all she could see within was shadow. Then something moved, a small, slight movement again, this time just behind the door, as if the prankster wanted to be seen...
“You fucker!” she snapped, and went over to the door and pulled it wide open.
As it burst out with a roar, she sucked in breath, but no scream would come as she staggered back from the sight of Matt, his flesh turned dry and brittle, his throat torn out yet still he could make that terrible sound that seemed to come from deep in his chest as blood shot eyes set on her as he lunged, slamming her to the ground. Long trails of flesh and bloody veins and shredded, dried up muscle dangled from his throat, a fraction from her face and stinking like hell as he pinned her down. His clothing was spattered with blood and dark fluid, his mouth was open impossibly wide as he held back her head by the hair, baring her throat as she pushed up against him, but he didn't feel like a person any more, he felt cold and solid, like a lump of clay with incredible strength as she struggled to keep him off her throat.
It was then she managed to scream.
The door burst open, David's face paled in horror as he stared at the creature that had Megan on the floor. It turned its head, and in that moment he realised the thing with its throat torn out and flesh as blue-white as the Arctic itself, used to be Matt...
“What's going on? Oh my god...No...No!” screamed Holly, as Tara pulled her back from the doorway sharply.
“Matt!” David yelled, “Don't do it!”
The thing that used to be Matt was still holding down the terrified girl as it looked at him, dead mouth yawning as its eyes blazed with a terrible need to satisfy its hunger.
“Matt...” he said again, meeting the creature's gaze as he hoped it couldn't sense fear, because he had never seen anything like this and he was shaking, he was terrified, he had no weapons and that thing was not his student any more...
“Let her go...let...her....go,” he said carefully, hoping the maintained eye contact meant there was something left of Matt inside what he had become.
The dead, reanimated corpse blinked, looked at him intently.
David held out his hand in a steadying motion.
“Okay.... that's good...let her go...just let go...”
Matt's corpse raised its head higher from Megan, falling silent, watching David. Megan was still pinned down, gasping and sobbing.
“Let her go,” David said again, taking a cautious step into the wash room. Somewhere outside the door there was a panicked commotion going on as Tara firmly told them all to be calm, and to go to their rooms and lock the doors. Holly was sobbing.
“She''s my best friend!” she wailed,.
“Go!” Tara said sharply, and then he heard no more, and could only look into the dead eyes of Matt as he continued to hold Megan down.
“Careful,” he heard Tara say in a shaken voice as she stood behind him.
“Get out of here,” David said in a low voice with out a backwards glance, keeping his eyes locked with Matt's, “I don't know what he is but he's not Matt as we knew him...he's dead...should be dead...something ripped his throat out...How is he still alive? Just go, Tara....fetch help...”
She said nothing in reply, and he did not hear her leave, instead she stepped back slightly, taking in a shaken breath.
“you should run,” he said, addressing Tara as his gaze stayed locked with matt's corpse.
Megan was still sobbing.
“please..” she gasped, “help me....”
“Let her go, Matt, just let go, okay?” David said again.
Matt's head snapped back to his victim.
“No!” David yelled, but the jaws were clamped down, cutting off Megan's scream as Matt threw his head back, tearing out her throat as a spray of blood spattered the wash room, hitting tiles and spurting over the ceiling.
David stood there, paralysed by shock as the creature that used to be Matt sunk its face into Megan's torn throat and begun to feed, drinking deeply and greedily.
Someone was tugging at his sleeve. He turned his head and saw it was Tara, whose face was also pale as terror shone in her eyes.
“She's dead,” she whispered, “You can't help her now...”
The creature was still feeding.
David stepped back, slammed the door of the wash room and slammed across two heavy bolts on the outside, top and bottom. It wouldn't last long, he knew that, but hopefully long enough..the shock was over now, his mind was coming back together and he had his military past to thank for that. He looked up the corridor.
“Everyone out, now!” he yelled, “Hurry up, we're heading for the ice. Now, people, let''s go!”Then he looked about the corridor, saw an emergency fire fighting kit on the wall and smashed the glass, taking out an axe.
“Hurry up!” he yelled again as the doors began to open and the students began to rush to make ready their escape.
“I'll grab our stuff,” said Tara.
He gave her a nod and she ran off up the corridor. Then David stood there alone, axe in hand, watching and waiting outside the locked door while inside, the creature continued to feed.
Chapter 6: The Cavern of Ice
They were running past him, each member of the group dashing in their heavy outer wear and ready to face the frozen wastelands, in the moment the horror had exploded into realisation, they had been ready to run. He was thankful to see that no one had lagged behind as they dashed down the stairs, they were all ready and had most likely started to prepare to leave as soon as he had urged them to go back to their rooms. With hindsight telling them to lock themselves in was probably bad advice, David guessed – but despite his military training, he had not been trained to deal with blood drinking, flesh biting stinkers...or occasionally referred to as Zombies...his first zombie...How the hell did anyone deal with their first encounter? Zombies belonged in horror movies, in fiction, not in reality. This was insane...
But the reality could not be denied as he heard the sound of bones crunching behind the locked door as the creature continued to feed.
“Wait by the door!” Tara called down to the others as she dumped his boots and outer clothing beside him.
“It's still feeding,” he said as he glanced at her, breaking into a sweat as he kept a grip on the axe.
“Get ready – we have to leave...someone has to go and get Samantha..I'll do it. Just get dressed, put the bloody axe down and wrap up, David! We're going outside!”
He nodded, dropping the axe and hurriedly starting to dress for the sub zero temperatures. As she ran off towards the end of the corridor where Samantha had been left alone in quarantine, it occurred to him that Tara, who had at first been terrified, was quickly pulling herself togeth
er. He was glad she could handle a crisis, because he was sure he would need her help – they had students to protect... He dressed as fast as he could, all the while glancing to the axe on the floor and then back to the locked door, remembering it would only take a second to grab that axe if that thing tried to break through...
David looked up the corridor.
“Hurry up!” he called to Tara, and she looked back, nodded, then opened the door and went into Samantha's room.
A matter of seconds passed between Tara entering the room and then screaming. David grabbed the axe, looked to the open doorway at the end of the hall, horrified to see Sylvia, clearly dead with her throat torn out and a wild look in her eyes, making a lunge for Tara, who who bolted out the door.
Then the wash room door in front of him bounced against the strong frame as the creature locked inside crashed against it.
Tara's face was panic stricken. Sylvia's corpse was running after her...Oh shit, these things could run?
“We're all fucked...” David whispered, then he looked to Tara.
“Just run!” he yelled, “Get to the others!”
Her terror stricken gaze made contact with his, then she was off down the stairway.
The corpse gave a roar as it came at him. He stepped into the middle of the corridor, grasping the axe with both hands as the creature made a lunge, tried to forget she used to be human and raised the axe, swinging it through the air. The blade sliced through the neck of the creature, sending the body into a stumble, then a fall as the head flew sideways, slamming into a wall and hitting the floor as its eyes rolled and its jaw snapped one last time. He was breathless from the effort, and from the shock, of the fact that he had just killed his first monster – not only that, but a monster he had once known as human...
The body was still now, grey-green fluid was pumping out of the neck and the creature was definitely dead. He turned from the gruesome scene as the door to the wash room vibrated with another hard crash, but the bolts stayed firmly in place. Axe in hand, he hurried down the stairs to where the others were waiting.