The Darkest Part of the Night

by David Spell

  “No problem. You gonna to leave your company credit card with me?”

  “Not a chance,” she laughed. “Hand me your phone and I’ll put in a couple of numbers.”

  He unlocked his smartphone and handed it to her. She went to his contact list and created two new contacts and handed the phone back to him.

  “Just call me if anything big happens and I’ll make the notifications. I created a contact for Admiral Williams. He’s my boss at the CIA and is the Assistant Director for Operations. If, for some reason you can’t reach me and it’s a situation like we’ve been dealing with, call him. I told him that I’ve cleared you. Also, if you can’t get me, let Doctor Martin here at the CDC know what’s going on. I put his number in your phone, as well.”

  “But, now that that’s out of the way,” said Rebecca, “I mainly just wanted to get you alone with the door closed.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “That sounds like Inappropriate Workplace Behavior.”

  “Very inappropriate,” she said with a smile.

  Northeast of Atlanta, Tuesday, 1430 hours

  For the last three days, there had been an increasing number of zombie sightings in the neighborhoods around Peachtree Meadow High School. By Tuesday morning, there were reports of infected people throughout the area that the high school serviced. The police were attempting to locate and to deal with these with limited success.

  With the public’s awareness of the zombie virus and the with the horrible tragedy at the school fresh in everyone’s minds, people were calling 911 to report zombies upwards of a hundred times a day. Many of these calls were one neighbor calling on another neighbor who was just out walking their dog or getting some exercise. Others were legitimate calls but the zombies had disappeared by the time the police had gotten there. In some cases, the police did encounter an infected person walking around in one of the neighborhoods.

  Contrary to popular belief, the average police officer is not a crack shot. Many police departments only require their officers to qualify once a year with their firearm. Police are trained to shoot center mass chest shots. These will work most of the time in normal situations. With zombies, they don’t work at all. Officers were now reporting that many of these infected were running in pursuit of their victims. Police were not having much success making head shots on these running zombies.

  More officers had been bitten and infected before they could make a close range head shot. Even officers armed with rifles or shotguns were not able to stop the zombies because they just didn’t have the training to shoot moving targets. Responding officers were becoming hesitant to even get out of their police cars. The SWAT Team had been decimated the previous week and the casualties in the ranks also continued to rise.

  The Chief of Police requested that the CDC Response Teams respond and help them secure one of the bigger neighborhoods that appeared to be on the verge of being completely overtaken by the infected. The county government had also requested the National Guard be activated. Chuck had taken the call and had mobilized the two teams to respond. Getting the National Guard there would be a longer process. McCain had his men on the scene within an hour.

  The CDC teams met with several police officers, their sergeant, and lieutenant near the high school. The command post was in a park that backed up to the subdivision with the largest number of reported zombie sightings. The sergeant and lieutenant had a map and showed Eddie and Chuck the layout of the neighborhood. McCain already knew the subdivision from serving as a local police officer in that area.

  “Do you have any officers that want to go in with us?” Chuck asked.

  “No,” the LT replied. “Sorry, but our guys are pretty gun shy right now. We’ve had six officers get bit in the last couple of days and the funerals start tomorrow for all the guys that we’ve lost over the last week. There are several funerals every day this week. We just don’t have the protective equipment you guys have,” he said, nodding at their kevlar jackets.

  Chuck had asked Rebecca to order those after their first zombie encounters a couple of weeks before. The kevlar jackets and pants were similar to those worn by motorcyclists. The kevlar was not thick enough to stop bullets but it had worked several times to protect the federal officers from getting bit. The kevlar-lined gloves they wore were common with police officers everywhere.

  “I understand,” said Chuck. “Do you have an extra radio that we can use in case we need to talk to you or your dispatcher?”

  “That we have,” said the sergeant, handing Chuck a radio. “I only have one extra but it’s set to our channel. Any people that you guys can rescue, try and get them back here and we’ll get them somewhere safe. We’ll transport them to friends or family in the area.”

  “Will do. Just tell your guys that if we call for help to please come running.”

  After checking the map, Chuck and Eddie decided to enter the back of the subdivision through the park. It would give them some cover and concealment as they approached. There were multiple reports of groups of zombies trying to force their way into occupied homes. The local police had a loose perimeter set up but were not responding to any 911 calls for help now that the CDC officers were on the scene. No one else wanted to get infected.

  One of the officers who had gotten attacked the day before had had his police car surrounded by them. They had smashed out the driver’s side window. He shot several but got bit in the process. He ended up using his police car as a weapon and ran three of the creatures over as he escaped. Other officers had to shoot him after he turned into a zombie himself.

  The police were trying to cover a large area and just didn’t have the manpower to be everywhere zombies were reported. As the 911 calls continued to come in, it became clear to Chuck and Eddie that this was going to be an intense rescue mission. They needed to get people to safety before the infected broke into the houses where they were hiding.

  The men were suited up and ready to go. Chuck had alerted Rebecca by phone of what they were doing. Eddie had the guys in a circle and was briefing them about what the mission was going to be. Chuck stepped away from the CP and joined them.

  “What else, Chuck?” asked Eddie.

  “I asked them to get a van or small bus and have it standing by near the entrance to the subdivision. We’re going to need a way to get the people out of there and to safety other than having them run for it. The lieutenant said he’d try and take care of that but he couldn’t promise me anything. We’ll probably have to walk them out to start with.

  “Let’s stay disciplined with our shooting. We’re going to be surrounded by homes and we don’t want any friendly fire incidents. We have eight addresses right now where people are in their homes and asking to be rescued. We may find more victims as we get going.”

  “Any of their officers going in with us?” asked Andy.

  “No,” answered Eddie. “The LT said they’ve had six more officers get bit and infected in the last two days to go with all of their other losses from last week at the school. They’ll man the perimeter for us and will be our last hope if we get in trouble.”

  “Then we better not get into trouble, amigos,” said Luis.

  Northeast of Atlanta, Tuesday, 1500 hours

  The federal officers slipped through the hundred yards of woods between the park and the subdivision. The first address that the police dispatcher directed them to was in the rear of the neighborhood. They could see the house from the edge of the woods about seventy-five yards away. There were at least ten zombies in the yard and on the front porch. The rest of the area appeared to be clear.

  McCain directed them up the street until they were hidden behind another house. They moved quickly but cautiously through several yards until they were across the street from the house with the zombies. A head count showed twelve infected crowding onto the front porch or on the steps leading to the porch. A few more were walking across the yard to the house.

  The banging sound of the creatures slamming into the door ec
hoed down the street. Soon, the sound of glass breaking was also heard as the infected smashed out the windows on the front porch. Yesterday, these infected were neighbors. Now, they were monsters intent only on killing.

  Chuck called the police dispatcher and told her to have the residents go to a back room in the house. He didn’t want any stray rounds to hurt anyone inside. The high velocity rifle rounds from their M4s could penetrate the heads of the zombies and keep going.

  “Fleming, Smith, and Jones, start engaging targets. Start with the low ones in the yard and try and get those on the porch to come investigate. After we kill them all, let’s see if we can get these victims back out the way we came in.”

  “What about the bus?” Eddie asked.

  “I haven’t heard back from the sergeant. And when it comes in from the front, it’ll alert the zombies and may lead them to us. If we can get these guys out quietly on foot, let’s do that. Everybody else watch our flanks while they shoot.”

  Andy, Scotty, and Jimmy stepped out from the behind the house across the street and started shooting zombies. Six quickly fell with bullets in their heads. The ones on the porch heard the suppressed shots and moved towards them. Three of them fell over the porch railing in their efforts to get at the officers and the other three fell down the six steps in a tangled heap of arms and legs. They weren’t nearly as coordinated going down as they were going up.

  The last six all managed to get to their feet but they were easy targets and quickly joined the others, sprawled in the yard with shots to the head. The team waited before approaching the house to see if any more infected would be drawn to the noise. The three shooters quickly reloaded with full magazines.

  After almost two minutes, McCain gave the signal to approach. “Luis and Eddie, can you guys make contact with the residents and let’s get them out of here? Everybody else, watch our back.”

  Garcia and Marshall climbed the steps to the front porch and knocked softly on the front door. They could see that the glass for the two front widows was smashed out. The window frames were still in place but it would not have been much longer before the zombies had forced their way into the home.

  A young Asian woman came to the door. She was crying and holding a sleeping baby.

  “Ma’am, we’re here to get you to safety. Who else is with you?” Eddie asked.

  “My mother and my father are also here. Where will we go?”

  Eddie pointed to the wood line behind him. “We’re going through that little patch of woods into the park. The other police are waiting there and they’ll help you get to some place safe. We need to go. There are other people in here who need help.”

  “I need to pack some things first,” she said.

  Eddie and Luis looked at each other. “We’ll give you five minutes,” Marshall said, “and then we’re leaving you. You need to hurry.”

  She turned and rushed back into the house. Eddie went and located Chuck and told him what was going on. McCain nodded and called the police dispatcher. He told her to tell whoever else called for rescue that they needed to have whatever they were taking with them packed and ready to go. There was no time to wait while people packed up their possessions.

  Shots rang out from the next street over. The shots sounded like they were coming from inside a house. Gunshot after gunshot echoed down the street. Chuck counted fifteen shots. After the last one, there was a pause and then a piercing scream.

  “Oh, that doesn’t sound good,” said Scotty.

  “Eddie, the way behind us still looks clear,” said Chuck. “Why don’t you and your two guys get these people to the police. The rest of us will go check out the shooting.”

  Marshall nodded and stepped back up on the porch. Luis joined his teammates and said, “Let’s go save some more people. Or shoot them.”

  The Asian girl, her baby, and her two elderly parents were ready to go, carrying several bags. Eddie, Jimmy, and Alejandro pointed to where they were going and started moving them that way. Chuck, Andy, Scotty, and Luis moved to the sound of the gunshots.

  The same neighborhood, Tuesday, 1515 hours

  Melissa Owen had called her husband, William, an hour earlier. She didn’t work, choosing to stay home to look after their three year old son, William Junior. She had heard all about the zombie virus from the news but thought that it was just another exaggerated story to get people to watch and to boost their ratings.

  That morning, though, she had seen several strange people walking in the street in front of their house. The numbers kept increasing throughout the day. She had tried to call her neighbor, Brenda, who lived next door. There was no answer. Finally, Melissa had called William at work. He was an electrician but was working a job this week that was close to home. He told her to stay in the house and that he would be right home.

  As William pulled into his subdivision, he saw a police cruiser sitting near the entrance. The officer did not want to put his window down and only opened it a crack. “Officer, my wife called and said there are a lot of those zombie things in the neighborhood. Have you heard anything?”

  “There’ve been a lot of sightings and a few attacks in your subdivision. Be careful if you go in there. We can’t protect you,” the officer said.

  “You can’t come with me to my house?” he asked the officer.

  The officer put his window back up and shook his head.

  Shaking his head in disbelief, William got back into his van and drove to the rear of the neighborhood where their home was located. He had to dodge seven people walking out in the middle of the street, two of whom he recognized as living on his street. They all appeared to have blood on their faces.

  He saw others standing on people’s lawns and driveways. In one yard, he saw three people bending over what appeared to be an elderly man. William was driving fast but he would swear that it looked like they were eating him. As he pulled up to his own house, he saw two people in the street and two standing in his front yard.

  He pushed the button on the garage door opener as he turned into his driveway. He pulled into the garage and pushed the button again. The zombies in front of his house started running towards William’s van. The garage closed just as two of them got to it. They started banging on the garage door.

  William rushed into the house. “Melissa, William Junior?” he called.

  Melissa came out of the bedroom she had been hiding in and ran into her husband’s arms. “Where’s the baby?” he asked.

  “He’s fine,” she said. “I have him watching cartoons in our bedroom. He doesn’t know what’s going on.”

  The banging on the outside of the garage door got louder. William looked at Melissa. “There were some of them in front of the house. I got in and closed the garage just in time. Now they’re banging on it. I need to get my gun,” he said.

  He opened the bedroom door and saw William Junior sitting on the bed watching television. “Daddy!” the little boy said.

  “Hey, Junior, how’s my little buddy?”

  “Cartoons, Daddy, cartoons.” He held his arms out for a hug. William gave his son a big hug and kissed him on top of the head.

  “You keep watching cartoons and I’ll come back and watch them with you later, ok?”

  “Ok, Daddy.”

  William opened his closet and grabbed the gray plastic gun case off of the top shelf. He left Junior watching television and shut the bedroom door behind him. He carried the gun case back out to the dining room and sat down at the table. He pulled out his keys and found the one that unlocked the small lock on the case.

  Owen had purchased the Ruger P85 9mm pistol several years earlier. There had been some break-ins in the area and he wanted to be able to protect his family. He had shot the pistol a few times at a local range but he was no gun expert.

  He took the pistol out of the case and saw that there was already a magazine in it. He fumbled with it until he found the magazine release. The fifteen round mag was full of hollow point bullets. He slid it back
into the gun until it clicked and then pulled the slide to the rear and let it go forward, chambering a bullet.

  The guy at the gun store had gone over it with him but that was so long ago. He saw the second fifteen round magazine was also full of bullets and was laying in the box. He wasn’t sure if the gun’s safety was on or off. It was in the down position. He couldn’t remember if down was for ‘Fire’ or for ‘Safe.’

  “Do you remember how to use it?” Melissa asked.

  “I hope so,” he said. “I think we’re on our own. I saw a cop sitting at the entrance to the subdivision. I asked him to come with me but he just put the window up on his cop car and shook his head.”

  William decided not to tell Melissa about the three people that he saw who were eating another person a few streets over.

  “I tried to call 911 after I called you, but I just kept getting a recording,” she said. “I’m scared, William. I don’t want those things to get us or to hurt William Junior.”

  The sound of footsteps came from their front porch. Melissa had shut the curtains earlier. It sounded like there were several people outside their house on their porch. Something or someone bumped into their front door. The banging on their garage door had stopped and the noises were now coming from the front of the house.

  William looked at his wife and swallowed. He lowered his voice. “I promise you that I’ll protect you and William Junior. Now, you go back there in the bedroom with him. Pack up some clothes and stuff for us.”

  “But, what about you?”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m going to go have a peek out the curtains and see what they’re doing. It might even be a neighbor checking on us.”

  “You aren’t going to open the door?”

  “No, I’m not going to open the door. I’m just going to look out the window. I’ll keep watch out here while you get us packed and then we’ll get in the van and get out of here, ok?”