Outbreak

by Paul Carberry

  Eric managed to free himself momentarily, but instantly he felt another hand dig its nails into his leg. The creature clawing at the ground as it inched itself closer to Eric’s leg.

  The fiend reached out and this time he had two hands on Eric’s pants, and like a bat out of hell began to pull himself closer. Eric frantically shook his legs in a desperate attempt to get free from the deadly grip.

  Eric could feel the ice cold fingers dig into his calf muscle, causing Eric’s leg to recoil abruptly, pulling the man closer. Froth and spit spraying from the monster’s jaw as it continued to snap open and shut, salivating at the prospect of sinking his teeth into flesh.

  Eric twisted his body in one last attempt to get out of the man’s grasp, but no matter how hard he tried, Eric was unable to shake the man’s clutches. Eric flailed around in a furious attempt to gain some semblance of control over his attacker. As Eric rolled over, he felt something hard poke into his backside. It was his revolver.

  Eric kicked at the man’s face in an effort to keep his snapping jaws away. Eric just needed to buy himself a little space in order to make an attempt to reach his weapon.

  Somehow, Eric managed to reach his right arm under his back and grab his gun while keeping his upper body propped up on his left elbow. As Eric pulled the gun out from beneath him, the metal made a clattering, chaotic echo as it scraped across the pavement.

  Eric sat upright and thrust the barrel of his gun into the deranged, diabolical grin that had once belonged to a living person. Pure terror took control of Eric as the cold, dead eyes and snapping jaw were inches apart from the revolver, showing no fear at the imminent threat that waited for him.

  The man ignored the weapon that was inches away from his forehead, all that mattered to him was getting a taste of flesh. It was almost like primal instinct had just kicked in, the creatures head jerked back, his lifeless glare chilled Eric to his very core.

  Eric’s primal instinct kicked in as his brain sent the impulse to his trigger finger. Eric felt like he had no control over the horrendous events that were rapidly unfolding, his thumb pulled back on the hammer and his finger pulled the trigger.

  BANG!

  Chapter 10

  Underground

  Jason woke up to a throbbing headache, he had no idea where he was. It was an abnormal chamber, it reminded him of a prison cell, or something much worse. The small area had a foul, spoiled smell that reminded Jason of a decomposing animal.

  As Jason strained to sit up, the pain began to pulsate and flutter even harder. The room began to spin, Jason’s vision blurred, and even the tiny trickle of light from the window across his cell was enough to make his headache worse. What the hell had happened to him? Jason tried to remember the course of events that transpired since he had arrived on Fox Island.

  “Hello!!!”

  Jason shouted out, but there was no response, just his own echo. Jason moved over to the Plexiglas wall that formed the front of his cell, but there was nothing except an empty corridor on the other side.

  Jason pounded his fist against the glass. It only took a few minutes for a guard to make his way down the hallway. The sentinel glared at Jason through the glass, a fully automatic machine gun dangled from his neck, the tight black strap cutting into his neck muscles. He wore a large, puffy black bulletproof vest with the Pharmakon logo embroidered over the left pocket. He was wearing a pair of grey army cargo pants that had been tucked into his shiny, black army boots.

  “Let me out you son of a bitch!” Jason barked at the security guard. Jason watched the man move his lips, but he must have been behind soundproof glass, Jason was unable to hear the man’s voice. The guard reached out to a panel on the wall, and pushed a button on the wall just outside of the cell.

  “It’s sound proof, sir. You should save your voice. You will only be heard from when we allow it.” The distorted voice squeaked through the intercom that was located in the ceiling of Jason’s new found personal hell.

  The guard turned and began to walk away.

  “Why am I in here?” Jason screamed at the man as he turned his back to Jason and walked away.

  Jason was isolated from the rest of the world. Left alone with an unsettling silence, a sour stench and his thoughts. Where was Tracy? Why was he locked away down in this hellish prison cell? What the fuck was happening?

  ***

  Eric sat on the tailgate of the ambulance, looking at the blood stain on the pavement where the victim’s body had rested.

  The forensic team had taken hours to show up last night. Eric had grown tired sitting and waiting for them, but he was obligated to stay until they arrived.

  The night had been extraordinarily long, the cold and rainy dampness did nothing to elevate the circumstances Eric found himself tangled up in. He was glad the morning sun was beginning to rise now, maybe the yellow sun rays would bring him some warmth.

  Eric looked over at Amanda as she placed some empty shell casings in a giant plastic bag as evidence. When the CSIs had arrived, they apologized for being so late, but they had been busy reviewing the evidence from a possible murder case. The paramedics had transported the man from the cabin earlier, Nick had said they had taken the man’s vitals at the scene, and had already declared him dead. The same lunatic Eric had just killed, this was completely fucked up.

  Eric looked at his cell phone. 8:25 am. Dana would probably be straightening her hair right about now, getting ready for work. He dialled home to let her know he was ok, the phone rang until the answering machine kicked in.

  “Honey, it’s going to be a while before I get home. Just wanted to let you know I’m ok. I’ll talk to you when I get home.”

  Eric could not shake the grotesque image of the deranged man’s eyes out of his head. It just kept replaying over and over in his mind, like it was on repeat. Every time Eric closed his eyes he watched the bullet enter through the front of the skull and explode out of the back in a firestorm of blood, brain matter and bone fragments. The victim’s body violently twitched, a tiny trickle of blood ran down his forehead before he collapsed onto the pavement, a trail of skull and brain fragments sprayed across the pavement behind him.

  No amount of rain could wash the horrific, appalling mess from the asphalt. The stain would become a permanent part of Eric’s memory every time he would pass by this section of town by the old train tracks, a reminder to him of his mistake. Had he acted too impulsively? Could he have saved this man?

  “Okay Deputy, we just need to get into the van and we’ll be on our way.” Amanda had startled Eric, he had not heard her creeping up to him.

  Eric pushed off the edge of the ambulance and stood erect. Amanda handed Eric back his service revolver. “You get the serial number ok?”

  Somehow he felt naked without his gun. Like all of a sudden the world had changed and it was a vital to his safety. This terrible incident was going to change his life forever.

  “Yes, we got it no problem. I’m sorry, we had to run the number against your file. It’s protocol.” Amanda looked into the back of the ambulance. “Where is Nick?”

  “He is just over there on the phone, trying to find out if Henry is going to be ok.” Eric pointed to Nick, who was standing up by the light pole just ahead of the ambulance. “You going to be long in there? We need to get this place cleaned up before someone sees it.” Luckily it was a quiet town, but eventually someone was going to pass by here.

  “Won’t be long at all. Albert has already called the cleanup crew. I just need to get a sample of the victim’s blood.” Amanda climbed into the back of the ambulance to gather the evidence. Eric looked over at Nick and walked over to see if he heard anything regarding Henry.

  “How is he doing?”

  “They managed to stop the bleeding. He should be fine, but he has developed an extremely high fever.” Eric began to wonder if there was some virus running rampant through the hospital. Phillip had come down with a fever as well. There seemed to be something strange taking
place in the town of Corner Brook.

  ***

  Finally, the headache was subsiding. Jason rubbed his forehead, and felt the hard lump that had caused his headache. The murkiness began to lift from his mind, like fog raising from a lake in the early morning. With every passing moment, he was starting to remember things more clearly. It was all coming back to him slowly.

  Jason had found the source of the putrid smell under the bed. There was a pile of leg bones, tiny morsels of flesh still hung from the bones, but not enough to identify what kind of animal that they had once belonged to. What made Jason worry the most was the teeth marks in the bones. What kind of animal were they feeding in this cell, and why was it locked away down here on this island? What kind of experiments were they running on Fox Island?

  The rays of light from the window was shining brighter now, the sun had risen higher into the sky, Jason figured it must be nearing noon. Jason looked out the window, all he could see was a bright, blue sky. The rain clouds had disappeared hours ago, and the sun had finally made his long anticipated arrival. Jason had no idea what part of the island he was on, but not knowing where Tracy was worried him even more. He dared not mention anything to the guard about her just in case they did not know that she was his wife. He did not want to endanger her anymore than necessary. He couldn’t help but picture her trapped in the cell next to his… or worse!

  While Tracy was in her meeting with Mr. Purchase, Jason had decided to go for a walk around the island to pass the time. Jason loved the outdoors, and it was not very often he had an opportunity to be this close to the ocean. It was a welcome change of scenery from the usual trees and hills he was so used to. The salty taste of the ocean air on his tongue, and the scent of the breeze as it blew in from the ocean was a wonderful sensation. The seagull’s caw was quite different from the birds he was used to hearing.

  Jason remembered making his way down the rocky shore on the west side of the island onto the beach below. It was low tide at the time. As he walked along the beach the sand felt strange under his feet. Jason recalled seeing a trail that led to the south side of the island, and admiring the beauty of the ocean as the waves crashed against the rocky shoreline. The rolling of the waves seemed endless, and the sun had cast an orange glow across the water. Mists of ocean water sprayed up as the waves broke against the rocks.

  When Jason reached the south side of the island he found an entrance to the research facility. The trail led right to the door of a large hanger bay. Jason couldn’t remember why he went into the hanger bay. Something had lured him in there. His headache was nearly gone now, but as he tried to remember more about what had taken place, his head began to methodically throb again. What had caused him to walk through those giant metal doors? Jason could picture the door in his mind, it was built into the hill on the south side of the island. The jagged rocks all around seemed to protect everything inside. The metal door was about the size of a two car garage, and was beginning to rust from the spray of the waves that crashed into the shore just below.

  There was a child inside the cargo bay.

  Jason had seen the kid out of the corner of his eye. The poor little boy looked terrified. Jason followed the kid through the doors. When he looked around he witnessed the kid being pulled, kicking and screaming deeper into the facility. What kind of man would do that to a youngster? Jason had ran towards the metal door as it was closing, barely getting inside before the metal door clanged shut behind him, there was no sign of the man or child. There were five ATVs and two large black trucks in the hanger bay, the pavement floors were as bare as the metal walls. Everything had recently been scrubbed clean, the scent of bleach drifted heavily in the air. The only thing in that room that drew his attention was the red steel door with the words CAUTION: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY BEYOND THESE DOORS

  Jason noticed the key card reader next to the door had a yellow light glowing from it. He walked over to the key card and read the words light up on the keypad blockage in doorframe.

  Jason looked down at a child’s shoe, the kid must have lost his shoe in the struggle and it kept the door open. Jason pushed his way into the opening and picked up the shoe. In his furious state he never thought about leaving the door jammed open. The door slammed shut behind him, and the key pad glowed red and the words locked: enter key card taunted him.

  There was no escaping this place without help from someone who worked on the Island. The stairs led far underground. The florescent lights on the side of the hallways flicked and they emitted a low pitch hum. Jason walked down the steps about 100 meters. Near the bottom he saw another giant red door, but it was left ajar. There was another keypad on this door. As Jason stepped into the doorway the last thing he remembered was the butt end of a gun bashing into his forehead, then everything faded black.

  ***

  Eric and Nick stood up on the corner of the street, watching as more and more people gathered outside the yellow police tape. Word had spread quickly about the gruesome accident, and people had started to gather here trying to catch a glimpse of the excitement. Luckily, a few of the off duty cops who heard about what happened had arrived to help set up a barricade. Eric felt even luckier because they had managed to get the dead body removed from the street, and into a hearse moments before the crowd began to arrive. Eric could hear the rumours spreading through the crowd like wildfire about what had happened here last night. The rumour was that a robbery had gone terribly wrong, and the perpetrator had met his demise in a shoot out with the young deputy. If only they knew the real truth, that was something far more fascinating.

  Eric was not sure he knew the truth about what took place last night.

  “Has Henry shown any signs of improvement?” It had been hours since Nick’s last update, and Eric had almost forgotten about Henry in all of the commotion that was taking place.

  “He’s stable, but the fever is burning him up.” Nick sounded distant. “They say they are going to check for rabies!”

  “He’s alive thanks to you,” Eric tried to reassure Nick.

  “And you.” Nick turned towards Eric. “Whatever that man was on, whatever drugs he was taking, made him crazy. He bit Henry man. He fucking bit him!”

  “I know. It’s hard to believe, but we are going to find out what caused this man to go nuts!” Eric had a lot of confidence in both Amanda and Albert. He knew that they would find some trace of a new drug or rabies the man’s blood. Some new pill people were using to get high.

  The crowd was growing larger and larger by the minute, like a swarm of bees gathering around the nest waiting to enter. “Listen, about what I did… I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  “You had to do what you had to do man. If not, you’d be right alongside Henry!” Nick had turned back to the crowd. “These people are going to need you. They are going to need to feel safe after they hear what really happened here.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “FUCK!”

  Eric saw the news reporters pushing their way past the barricade. Eric ran over to cut them off as fast as he could. He could not let them catch wind what had really happened here just yet. They would find a way to tie it into what has been happening in the rest of the world which would create mass hysteria. Eric did not need wild stories running rampant through the town.

  “Hey you can’t cross those barricades! Get back, God Damn it!” Eric hollered at the reporters.

  “Anything you can tell us about what happened here!” The reporter wore a long, beige trench coat. His brown hair was unkempt and wavy, stubble still on his face. He must have just heard the news and got over here as soon as he woke up. Eric recognized him from the local news, Donald Bradford. This nuisance would have trampled his own mother to get the story, he acted like the paparazzi. Eric hated his slow, drawn out, monotone voice.

  “I said step back. Lieutenant Byrnes will answer all of your questions when he arrives. For now you have to get behind those barricades!”

  Where the
fuck was Frank? The old prick should have been here hours ago. The reporters grudgingly stepped behind the barricade.

  “Officer White, keep an eye on this asshole for me!” Eric called out to Officer White, who was dressed in his street clothes, and pointed to Donald. Officer White had been the first to respond to the call at the cabin, he had been home when he heard the call for the ambulance and made his way over.

  “Yes sir,” Officer White replied with a large grin on his face.

  Eric ran over to his squad car and jumped inside. He picked up the radio to try get a hold of Kathy back at the station. There was no answer on the other end at first. He kept trying until finally a voice came back on the other end.

  “This is Officer Jones, is that you Gary?” Eric replied.

  “Jesus Christ Eric!! You need to get back! Something is wrong. Fred and Frank have gone missing!”

  “Fuck!! I’m on my way!” Eric slammed the receiver down and started his car. “Officer White!” Eric called out. He revved the engine as James walked over. “I gotta go, something happened back at the station. As soon as they get this place cleaned up get everyone back there!”

  James’ face was puzzled. “Uhhm… Yes sir. We’ll clue up as fast as we can.”

  Eric pressed his foot down on the accelerator and did a 180 degree turn back towards the station and the tires sent a trail of smoke out as he raced down the road.

  ***

  Kathy watched as the nurses submerged Phillip into the ice bath, his fever was getting so high they were worried that it would burn him up, causing irreversible brain damage. Phillip was sweating profusely and hallucinating. They needed to take extreme measures to get his temperature down as fast as they could. Kathy put her hand against the glass window, tears began to run down her face as they poured more ice into the tub with her brother.