Outbreak

by Paul Carberry

  As they pulled into the gas station Eric could feel the rage burning up in his veins. When the ambulance rolled to a stop, the rage began to wash over Eric, turning to waves of guilt. He was angry that he brought this danger upon his parents, they would have been safe if Eric did not lead a group of people to their doorstep. They wouldn’t have gone out for gasoline. The guilt was almost too much to bear as it rested on his conscious like dead weight. What if something happened, how would he live with it?

  “You know, Kenny is going to turn even if he doesn’t die!” Ted added.

  “What do you mean?” Calvin looked at the man, puzzled.

  “All it takes is a bite, the virus will be too much for his immune system to handle.” Ted sounded solemn.

  “How the fuck do you know that?” Eric questioned.

  “Uhmm… it was on the news” Ted sounded suspicious, as if he was searching for the proper answer.

  “I never heard that.” Eric was unsure of Ted’s answer.

  “Me either,” Calvin weighed in.

  “Weren’t you in the drunk tank last night?” Ted hurled the insult directly at Calvin.

  “Fuck you man!” Calvin was pissed.

  “I’m not letting Kenny become one of those monsters!” Ted threw open the door.

  “You two fill up the ambulance, and those gas cans.” Eric pointed to the gas cans his parents had brought with them. “Then load up the back with as much food as possible.” Eric was barking out orders now, he stepped out of the ambulance leaving Nick and Calvin to carry out their duties.

  “Man, I’m not letting you go in there alone,” Eric called out to Ted.

  “Here, take this.” Calvin handed the axe over to Eric. “You two go in there and get your parents out of there.”

  The wooden axe handle felt cold in Eric’s hand. The weight of the axe was made heavier by the burden that it carried, this would not be an easy task. Eric and Ted headed into the gas station. The front window had been shot out, glass scattered all over the pavement, blood drops stained some of the glass shards next to the building. As Eric pushed the door open he could hear his parents’ reassuring voices trying to calm Kenny down.

  “Mom, are you ok?” Eric called out.

  “We are over here,” Stella responded from behind the counter.

  As Eric looked over the counter his eyes fixated on Kenny’s leg. Sweat rolled down Kenny’s forehead and soaked into his beard. Heat was radiating from his body, steam rising from his skin. Big bags had formed under his eyes. Eric looked down at his mangled leg, the white linoleum floor was covered in deep red blood stains.

  “Jesus!” Eric was mortified by the horrific scene, Eric held out his hand to get his parents away from Kenny.

  “Help him!” Stella sobbed.

  “We will. Let’s get you outside first.” Eric urged his parents outside. Ted stood in front of Kenny, the tire iron grasped tightly in his hands. “Get out to the ambulance, please.”

  Jack and Stella walked out of store. “Here we go, everything is going to be ok now,” Jack said as they walked through the doorway.

  “Ted…” Eric looked down at Kenny, blood still pouring from the wound. The only thing that was worse than this was the thought of him turning into one of those monsters. “Are you sure he’s going to become one of those monsters?”

  “I’m positive, haven’t you seen it happen?” Ted’s voice was full of certainty. “Just let me take care this…” Ted’s eyes seemed to be hiding something.

  “What the fuck is this guy talking about?” Kenny looked up at Ted, confused and disoriented. “I’ll be fine.”

  “He will turn if we don’t do this, it’s too dangerous to leave him.” Ted began to raise the tire iron above his head.

  Eric reached out and grabbed Ted’s arm. “Hold on!” Eric pointed to Kenny’s hand, Kenny was reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

  “You mind? One last taste, please. If you have to do this let me have one more puff…” Kenny lit the cigarette. “I don’t think I’ve seen a zombie with a smoke yet,” Kenny chuckled.

  “Hey man, let’s get out of here.” Eric walked to the other side of the counter. “He’s no harm to us if we just leave him here to die.”

  “You get out of here. I’ll make sure it gets done.” Ted remained in front of Kenny. “It needs to be done.”

  As Eric walked away from the building the broken window allowed him to hear the sickening thud as Ted slammed the tire iron into Kenny’s skull. Eric listened for minutes as Ted drove the heavy metal tool into its desired target over and over. After the initial pop, the following blows seemed to land into soft, wet flesh, Ted must have smashed his skull to a million pieces. Eric fell to his knees, the sound made him want to vomit.

  Nick did his best to hold him up but the uncontrollable urge to throw up took over his body. Eric’s stomach contracted so violently that he couldn’t avoid puking. The contents of his stomach were propelled on the pavement in front of him, splattering back into his face, Eric heaved over and over again until his stomach dry-heaved, clenching and recoiling at the disgusting sounds from inside. Ted must have lost his mind, he was dangerous. Eric could not help but wonder if Ted was going to become a problem.

  After several minutes, Ted finally emerged from the gas station, he was a bloodied mess. Eric could have sworn Ted was licking the drops of blood from his lips. Eric felt uneasy about bringing Ted back around his family.

  ***

  Father Jon stared up into the clouds, mouthing a silent prayer to himself. Father Jon pondered what lay above those clouds, lately he deeply questioned his faith. How could God let this happen to them, why was he left here to rot in hell with these other heathens?

  “Father, may we speak” Tina interrupted his thoughts.

  “Of course, my child.” Father Jon had no idea why the young girl would want to talk to him, just hours earlier she had accused him of trying to kill her.

  “I’m sorry… about what I said to you earlier.” Tina looked down at the grass. “I… I understand why you acted like that.”

  “All will be forgiven child.” Father Jon continued to look up to the clouds.

  “Thank you.” Tina sat down next to him. “I am afraid for my life.”

  Father Jon wanted to sound faithful. “Trust in the Lord, he will take care of you.”

  “Really, I think he may have stopped caring about us.” Tina sounded bitter. “I think he left us here to suffer for our sins.”

  “He is testing us, the strong will survive.” Father Jon thought about how often God had tested his chosen ones.

  “Really? Is that what you believe?”

  “Yes! Of course, you would believe too, if you kept the faith. God will lift us up to the promised land.” Father Jon sounded righteous.

  “So you think all of this will be written in the next version of the bible?” Tina was defiant.

  “Yes, I do. I have faith.” Father Jon tried his best to ignore Tina’s blasphemy. A vehicle could be heard, rumbling towards the cabin, they both walked towards the driveway. As the ambulance pulled into the driveway Father Jon could not help but be discouraged by the looks on everyone’s face.

  “Is everything okay?” He called out.

  Eric stepped out of the ambulance first. “Fucking great, Father.”

  Nick stepped out of the ambulance next, walking past Tina and Father Jon without saying a word. Eric’s parents stepped out of the back, but walked in the opposite direction. Seemed like they were headed towards the neighbour’s cabin. Calvin stormed out of the back carrying the axe on his hand, his knuckles bone white from how hard he had clutched the handle. Finally, Ted appeared. His face had a sick, twisted smile on it. It made Father Jon cringe just to look at him, Ted looked like a demon. Carnage was smeared all over his face, Ted wandered towards the lake to wash his face.

  “Where’s Kenny?” Father Jon asked as Eric walked by.

  “Heaven, I guess that’s what you would say F
ather.” Eric pushed past without an explanation.

  “Must be because he was a smoker, I guess?” Tina mocked Father Jon as she walked over to the lake to join Ted.

  Chapter 30

  In The Weeks After

  “I don’t know if we can trust him,” Eric spoke up at the table. Dana, Jack, and Nick sat around the kitchen table. “I mean, did you see the look on his face after he killed Kenny? It seemed like he enjoyed it.”

  “I know, but what can we do?” Nick interjected. “What about his little girls, we can’t just cast them out.”

  “Well, we could have him stay in the neighbour’s cabin,” Jack spoke up. “It is getting crowded here.” He looked over at the couch, Jason was still unconscious.

  “I don’t know what to do.” Eric looked to Dana. “I don’t feel safe with Ted around.”

  “I think if there was anyone he wanted to kill, it’s Calvin.” Dana looked out the window. “Besides, he wouldn’t do anything with his children here.”

  Maybe Dana was right, but Eric still felt uneasy. “Well, we still need to figure out what to do about food for now. We don’t have enough to last a week.” Eric looked over at the fridge. This morning they rationed the eggs to one per person, a dozen eggs disappeared in one shot. Jason would be hungry when he did finally wake up. Things were becoming desperate. They needed to do something now.

  “We could check the nearby cabins, loot the empty ones. I know Sam was on vacation in Florida when this happened.” Jack stood up and buttoned up his jacket. “I’ll take Calvin with me, Nick you should take Ted and head up the beach.”

  “What about me?” Eric felt like he should be helping.

  “You need to rest your ankle, just for a day or so.” Jack opened the door to the cabin and headed outside.

  “It’s fine Eric, we need you to get healthy before we head to the police station.” Nick followed Jack outside.

  “Why don’t you get some rest dear? I’ll make you a coffee.” Dana placed her hands over Eric’s.

  “Coffee, sounds good!” Jason had suddenly awoken, the prospect of a cup of joe was all he needed.

  “Well, glad to see you’re feeling better.” Eric walked over and sat in the recliner across from Jason. Eric filled Jason in on the events of yesterday while Dana made them coffee.

  ***

  “Christ, this is getting old fast.” Calvin poked his head in a cupboard, rummaging for food. All he found was two cans of beans and a box of crackers. “People don’t keep their cabins stocked right before they lock it up for the winter.” Calvin hurled a can of dog food across the floor.

  “Patch could eat that.” Jack grabbed the can and placed it in his backpack. “Besides, you have a better plan?”

  “We need to head into town.” Calvin reached his hand into the back of a cupboard, clutching for a can. “We would find more food there.” He pulled out the can. “Irish Stew! Dibs on this.”

  Jack let out a hearty laugh. “Best thing we found in three days!” Jack opened the fridge, completely empty. “Besides, it’s too dangerous in town.”

  “So you’re going to let Eric go into town, but not me?” Calvin reached deeper into the cupboard, finding another can of stew.

  “Yes, he’s a cop. He can take care of himself. You can go with him if you want.” Jack slammed the fridge door shut.

  “Doesn’t seem like I was invited.” Calvin was disappointed when Eric told him he had to stay behind. Eric wanted someone to keep an eye on Ted, who had been acting strange ever since he had killed Kenny.

  “You know why Eric asked you to stay?” Jack put his hand on Calvin’s shoulder. “He trusts you, and Ted refused to go with them. If Ted stays, Eric needs someone strong to stay behind, to protect the rest of us.”

  “I know, I’m just getting hungry.” Calvin’s stomach growled. At least he had found that can of Irish Stew. “It’s getting dark out, we should head back.”

  “Holy shit, we are going to eat like kings tonight!” Jack stood in front of an opened cupboard.

  “What did you find?” Calvin was intrigued.

  “Jackpot!” Jack stepped aside and Calvin stared in awe at the stack of canned foods. “There has got to be fifty cans here.” Jack started to shovel the food into the backpack.

  “Kings indeed.” Calvin went over to the cupboard to help secure the treasure they had just stumbled across. It was going to be a good night back at the cabin.

  ***

  Bright white lights shone into Tracy’s eyes, they nearly blinded her, but the heat from the bulb felt good against her skin. The cold sea air made the hull of the boat unbearably cold. Tracy watched as the man in the white hazmat suit occupied himself with something on the counter, probably another injection for them to try out. The first few days had been the worst, she had felt vulnerable and violated. Whatever they were testing on her must have been working. Several other test subjects had disappeared when it was their turn, and were never returned to their cells after.

  When Elliot left, she was relieved when he returned hours later. His nose had bled profusely shortly after they returned him, one of the doctors said it was just a common side effect. There was nothing common about any of this. Tracy never suffered any of the side effects that the others suffered. One woman had her hair fall out and her skin began to show sores after her treatment, she was the first prisoner to die in her cell, but not the last. An elderly gentleman convulsed violently before dying abruptly in front of everyone. Most of the people who died, passed away in the lab.

  “Mrs. Cook, how are you feeling today?” The man’s voice was altered by his respirator.

  “The same.” Tracy had given up pleading with them. No one listened to her, nobody cared.

  “That’s good to hear, you know you’re our most successful candidate.” The man was holding a giant needle in his hand.

  “Terrific.” Tracy faked enthusiasm.

  “It is, Mr. Purchase thinks you’re going to be the first one.” The man pressed the plunger on the needle as liquid squirted into the air.

  “First what?” Tracy really did not want to know the answer.

  “Super Soldier.” The man placed the needle in her arm and injected the warm liquid into her, it was a strange feeling. She could feel as the warm liquid spread throughout her body, reaching every inch of it. Tracy felt… stronger.

  ***

  Frank walked up the old dirt road towards another cabin. Most of the places he visited had been empty, but a few had people in them. Most people were glad to see him, the old lieutenant of the police department here to save the day.

  After two weeks Frank had managed to gather thirteen people into his new survival group. At first it was just Doctor Winston and Frank, alone in his cabin. The first two days they had gathered the supplies from the nearby cabins, stockpiling them in Frank’s cabin. Then as they started to find people, they began to house them next door at Byron’s old place. The last couple they found helped them expand into Doctor Winston’s cabin. So this little group had grown to include three cabins, making these scavenging trips even more important.

  As Frank neared the cabin he tried to recall everyone’s names. Riley and his younger brother Kevin… Beverly and her sister Elizabeth… George… Samuel… Theresa… Chris… Doctor Nathaniel Winston and a nurse who was visiting, Ruth was her name. Frank didn’t know where Nathaniel’s wife was. The newest couple was Gillian, and her younger brother Patrick. Frank was very proud of the growing community he was building. They had all been alone and scared when he found them, he was thrilled that people still depended on him. It made him feel like he was their leader.

  Frank found the cabin door was unlocked, his heart began to beat faster at the prospect of a new recruit.

  “Hello! Is everyone okay in here?” Frank called out before he pushed the door open.

  uuaarrrggghh aaarrrrrhhhg ggrrhhhhaa

  The moans of a zombie were the only response Frank heard. There would be no new recruit this time, Frank placed his
hand on the hilt of his revolver as he opened the door.

  A man dangled from the rafters of his cabin by the noose he attempted to commit suicide with. The man’s eyes had bulged out of their sockets, they darted back and forth trying to locate Frank.

  “Jesus Christ!”

  Frank pulled his hand away from the gun, and crossed his arms across his chest. “You know if you had just waited a few more days, you could have come to live with us.” He sat down on an old wooden chair to have a conversation with the creature, as it dangled from the rope attached to the ceiling.

  ***

  Ted and Father Jon walked up the beach ahead of Tina. They were chatting about some crap from the Bible, Tina thought it was foolish. She was glad not to be a part of this conversation. As the sun was setting, their shadows were growing larger. Tina bundled up in the winter coat that Nick had brought back on one of his scavenging trips with Ted. Even though Nick was kind and thoughtful, Tina was drawn to Ted. Ted was a bastard, but Tina knew he would keep her safe, no matter the cost.

  Tina looked out over the water and stopped to admire the orange hew that the sun cast across the lake, a loon could be heard far in the distance. A snowflake fell on Tina’s cheek, she looked up to see more falling from the sky. She picked a snowflake and tried to follow it all the way to the ground, but lost sight of it as it neared the water.

  A tree branch snapped in the distance, they must not have noticed that Tina had stopped to enjoy the snowflakes and left her behind. Tina tilted her head back and tried to catch a snowflake on her tongue.

  Snap

  Another tree branch cracked, this time it sounded closer. Ted must be coming back to make sure she was safe. Tina kept her head tilted towards the sky. The snowflakes continued to fall from the sky, heavier now. Making it easier to catch the snowflakes.