by R. A. Neely
"So you know the interview earlier?"
Jackson snorted. Of course he knew. He was her cameraman.
"Okay, silly question. But the point is that the interview was basically the mayor trying to stop the populace from panicking."
Jackson sat there unsurprised. Shirley frowned at him, "You don't looked surprised."
Jackson shrugged. "Doesn't take half a brain to see that doctor wasn't really saying anything. Plus, the questions you asked should've tipped off anyone paying attention."
Shirley nodded. "Well what's really going on is that there is an outbreak. There's way more cases than what Pendleton admitted to."
"How are they keeping all this quiet?"
"The mayor asked them to."
"How's that work?" he asked.
"My understanding is that cities all across the country are doing it."
Jackson nodded. "That makes sense. If they're gonna be able to stop this a panic is the last thing that they need."
Shirley nodded. That was remarkably similar to her thoughts.
"How do you know all this?"
Shirley gestured, drawing attention to her diamond engagement ring.
"Okay, that makes sense. So what happens now? This can't be what you've been sitting here staring about this whole time."
"It's gonna get bad. I mean really bad. The police aren't going to be able to stop this. They simply don't have the bodies. So it's going to spread."
"And once people realize they've been lied to..."
"They'll riot. Add that to the outbreak and I don't know if our city will recover."
"Alright, this is sad and all but it's not like you can control any of this."
"The...infected are becoming violent in many cases."
"Violent how?"
"Some people have died."
Jackson whistled. "Wow. How could you sit on that? That's like story of the year, easy."
"I was told if I mentioned the extent of the crisis I'd be out a job." She paused. "Sitting here talking about it though, maybe that isn't such a big concern."
Jackson nodded. "If it’s as bad as you say, getting out of the city probably isn't a bad idea."
"Well it's happening everywhere. So where would you go?"
Jackson shrugged. "I'll figure something out. I really appreciate you telling me all this Shirley."
"Wait. I didn't tell you all this just for you to go fend for yourself. I want you to come with me."
"Come with you where, Shirley?"
"There's a shelter. It's stocked with food and supplies. I want you to come with me."
Shirley watched as a calculating look entered Jackson's eyes. It passed quickly though. Maybe she had imagined it.
"My invitation lets me bring my family."
"I'm not your family, Shirley."
"It doesn't matter. They've accounted for the space."
Jackson shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll make my own way if they turn me away."
"So, as far as why I've been sitting here. I feel like I should've said something during the interview. How many people are going to die thinking things will be fine in a few days?"
"They did threaten your job."
"Does that really matter if people are dying?"
Jackson shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. If this gets cleaned up, maybe you don't want to have bit the hand that feeds you."
"What would you have done?"
Jackson thought for a moment. "I don't know. But I think it comes down to doing whatever helps you look at yourself in the mirror."
"Alright, so-," a series of screams interrupted her. Shirley's eyes widened in fight.
Moving quickly, Jackson turned off the lights and pulled the blinds down. A second later he locked the door. He then moved the blind a fraction and peered out.
"What's -," Jackson held a finger to his lips and responded in a low whisper. Shirley had to learn forward to hear him.
"It isn't pretty. Looks like some of your sick people made their way up here." He looked at her. "What are we calling them by the way? Zombies? No that doesn't work. They're clearly still alive."
Shirley matched her voice level to his. "Well they're sick, so infected I guess."
Jackson nodded as he looked back out the window. "That works. Simple, efficient even. So the infected found their way up here and they're attacking people." A piercing scream punctuated Jackson's statement.
Shirley jumped. She looked at Jackson. How was he taking this so calmly? He stood there watching this like he was watching a game on t.v. How is he not freaking out right now?
"What's happening now?"
"One just got bit. Looks like he got lucky."
"How's that lucky?"
"Well, after he got bit the infected shoved him and he hit his head. Looks like he's unconscious. The lucky part is the infected moved on to someone else."
"How can you be so calm?" she asked.
Jackson glanced at her before turning back to the window. "You know that I spent some time in jail?"
"Yes," Shirley replied.
"For now let's just say that jail taught me how to survive. Panicking isn't gonna help us get out of here."
"How are we going to get out of here?" Strangely, she found herself drawing strength from Jackson. During their time working together, she was the one in charge. The roles were reversed now. Jackson was on charge here but it didn't bother her. She felt he would keep her safe.
"For now we'll wait. Hopefully the infected will move on once they're done. Then we can head towards your shelter." He left the window and walked towards her.
"Let's get on the floor," he said as he sat down. "Less chance of being seen that way."
Shirley nodded and quickly complied. Seeing the fear in her eyes, Jackson tried to reassure her.
"We'll be fine. No reason to take unnecessary risks though."
"Okay. What do we do while we're waiting?"
"Sleep," Jackson replied. At her look he explained. "I don't know how hard it'll be to get to your shelter. Don't know when it'll be safe to rest again when we leave here. So for now, we sleep."
I guess that makes sense Shirley thought. Shirley removed her suit jacket and made a pillow out of it. Jackson sat with his back against her desk and closed his eyes.
"We'll sleep a few hours and then I'll see if the cost is clear."
***
Shirley opened her eyes. For a split second, she thought she was walking up like on any other typical day. Then she wondered why the ceiling looked different. A moment later, all her memories came crashing back. She sat up with a sigh of disappointment. Was it too much to ask that all this has just been a crazy dream? That she was at this moment actually in her king size bed at home?
Shirley looked around and saw Jackson standing at the window. Was the cost clear? She'd be happy to be on her way out of here.
"Is it safe to leave?" she asked in a low voice.
Jackson shook his head. "Not yet," he replied in kind.
"There's still one out there that I can see,"he said moving towards her.
"Is it leaving?"
Jackson shrugged. "We might be able to sneak past it. I'd rather not fight it without some kind of weapon if I can help it."
Shirley nodded. That made sense. She was completely reliant on Jackson for her safety right now. If he wasn't ready then she wasn't budging until he said so. She'd probably have been caught up in that initial attack if he hadn't been in her office. She could imagine herself opening her door to see what was happening and that would have been that.
"I did see something interesting though," he said. "Remember the guy who got knocked out earlier?"
"Yes. You said he was lucky because the infected left him alone."
Jackson nodded. "Turns out he wasn't lucky. Looks like he's one of them now."
"What?" Shirley asked, a bit louder than she'd intended.
Jackson held up a finger for silence. He moved back to the window and peered out. The infected was on its fe
et and shuffling around the room. Looks like it hadn't heard them.
Jackson left the window and returned to Shirley's side.
"Didn't hear us," he said quietly.
Shirley hung her head in embarrassment. "Sorry," she said in a low voice.
Jackson shook his head. "We're fine. But like I was saying, he's moving around like the ones that attacked.
"How can that be possible?"
"How can people be running around acting like animals?" he asked with a shrug.
Carol nodded. "Point taken."
"Might be the bite though. Everyone else attacked is still on the ground. He was the only one that survived an attack as far as I could tell."
"Are you sure it's the bite?" she asked. "What if it's airborne or something?"
"Were already in trouble if it's airborne." At her look he explained further. "If it's airborne we've already been exposed or probably will be when we leave this office."
Shirley nodded her understanding.
"We'll wait a few more minutes and then try to get out of here," Jackson said.
"What about the infected?"
"If it doesn't leave we'll just have to try our luck. We can't stay in forever. We don't have any food or water."
Shirley nodded. "Alright. I'm ready when you are."
Jackson nodded and they spent the next few minutes in a companionable silence. After around fifteen minutes the creature still hadn't left the room and Jackson decided it was time to act.
"I think we should go ahead and make a break for it," Jackson said.
Shirley nodded. "How do we get past the infected?"
"We'll try to sneak past. If he notices us, I'll take care of it."
"Okay," Shirley replied and she got up from the floor. She shook out her jacket to get some wrinkles out and then quickly stopped when she realized how pointless that was given what had happened today. What was the point of being wrinkle free when there were people running around trying to kill you?
Jackson motioned for her to come closer. "Ready?" he asked.
Shirley nodded.
"Alright, stay close."
Jackson quietly turned the handle and opened the door wide enough for them to slip out. He stealthily made his way out of the office. Shirley took a moment to remove her heels, then followed after him. Jackson glanced at the creature and saw that it was still shuffling around the room. So far so good. They made there way over to the stairway when Shirley glanced towards the creature and tripped.
She managed to catch herself and prevent a broken nose but the creature had heard them. It roared and started running towards them. Jackson helped her to her feet and pushed her behind him. Spying a briefcase, he picked it up and readied himself to meet the infected's charge. Jackson stepped to the side as the creature reached him and gave it a solid blow to the head with the briefcase. The creature was knocked flat on his back and Jackson moved closer to take advantage.
Shirley watched in awe as Jackson delivered several brutal blows with the briefcase to the infected's head. After the third blow, it stopped moving. Jackson dropped the briefcase on the infected and slowly walked towards Shirley. He appeared hesitant at the look on her face.
"Hope that doesn't bother you, but I've no intention of dying anytime soon."
Shirley shook her head. "It doesn't bother me. I'm just amazed you took care of it so easily."
Some of the tension left Jackson's shoulders. "Good. 'Cause it'll probably be some more of that before the day is done. Just so you know, I'll do the same if anyone attacks us, infected or not. Hope that's okay with you."
"I feel safe with you, Jackson. You do whatever you need to to protect us. I'm a practical woman. I'm not gonna faint at a little blood."
Jackson nodded. "Alright. Let's get going then."
"Wait," Shirley said, "there's one thing I can do before we get out here."
"What's that?" Jackson asked.
"I can warn everyone about this."
Jackson looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. That'll give some people a chance. Let's do it."
It didn't take them long to get everything set up. Fortunately, the equipment they needed had survived the attack from the infected. Shirley thought to make herself more presentable but changed her mind. Better that her viewers saw her as she was so they would take this seriously. She took her seat at the anchor desk and waited for Jackson to give her the signal. He counted down from three on his fingers and nodded his head.
"This is Shirley O'Hara, reporting live from WKJ TV. I'm here to deliver a message. If you saw my interview this morning, I want to let you know that was only part of the story. The truth is that we're facing an outbreak. Those infected become extremely violent and will attack anyone around them. I have only barely survived an attack here at the station myself."
Shirley nodded towards Jackson and he took a moment to pan the camera around the room.
"As you can see, it was a brutal attack. The infected broke onto the floor and killed everyone. I don't know if anyone survived. I do not know when or if government authorities will regain control of the situation. Keep yourself safe. If someone you know is bitten, you need to get away from them as soon as you can. I've seen firsthand that the bite spreads the infection. Good luck, Emerald Falls. Be safe."
She nodded again and Jackson cut the camera.
"All good?" he asked.
Shirley nodded. "That gives people a chance. The rest is up to them."
Jackson nodded in response as she left the anchor desk. He led her to the stairway and took a moment to listen for infected on the other side. Hearing nothing, he opened the door and headed down. They reached the main lobby without incident but they saw the signs of the infected attack here as well. Bodies were in several places around the room. The receptionist sat slumped in her chair, not even having a chance to run when she was attacked.
Jackson shook his head at the carnage. "Poor bastards. Never had a chance."
Shirley grimaced. Better them than her she thought. The infected attacking everything in sight is probably the only thing that let them survive that initial assault. This was sad sure, but she wouldn't lose any sleep over it. She'd felt obligated to warn the city about the infection. People deserved a chance to defend themselves. But form this point on, she wanted to survive herself. She normally didn't show this side of her to anyone. It was okay to be ambitious, but if you appeared callous then people would look down on you. Not that she saw herself as callous, just practical. She felt she could trust Jackson though. He was the only thing keeping her safe so she had might as well be herself.
"Better them than us," she replied.
Jackson looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and nodded. "Fair enough. How do we get to this shelter of yours?"
"It's near city hall."
Jackson snorted. "Fitting. Mayor has to be the first to get to safety and all."
Shirley smiled. "Fair enough. On the bright side, it's only a few blocks from here."
Jackson nodded. "Alright. I want to look around first. See if I can find something to use as a weapon."
Shirley nodded. "What should we look for?"
"Anything really. Scissors, letter openers, a broom stick if the shaft looks sturdy enough."
Shirley nodded again and they started looking behind the receptionist's desk. Their search turned up a pair of scissors and a roll of duck tape.
"Can you do anything with this?" Shirley asked.
Jackson nodded. "I can improvise a knife outta that. Let's keeping looking though. I don't want to be that close if I don't have to be."
They extended their search to a few side rooms but didn't turn up anything else useful. James was disappointed but figured it would have to do. Motioning for Shirley to follow he lead the way to the rear exit of the building. Going out the front would be faster but he didn't want to draw attention from any infected that were out there. That didn't mean the rear exit would be safe. There could easily be infected millin
g around out there. But hopefully there would be less of them.
"You ready?" Jackson asked. At her nod he opened the door and stepped outside. Fortunately there was no sign of infected. Following Shirley's instructions he lead them towards the shelter, sticking to alleyways and back streets. They managed to reach the shelter without running into any infected. The shelter was a nondescript building. One would walk past it without giving it a second glance. They approached the building and met a sturdy steel door.
Knocking got no response. Just as she was about to yell in frustration she noticed a scanner of some sort mounted on the wall next to the door. She tried her hand but that didn't seem to work. She then remembered the invitation she'd received. She fished in her pocket and breathed a sigh of relief when she touched it. She then placed the invitation face down on the scanner and noted a white light move across. There was an audible click and Shirley was able to open door.
Stepping inside they found themselves in a long hallway. They were met by a man dressed in black fatigues. He had a rifle slung across his chest, Shirley wasn't sure what kind as she had little experience with guns. The guard had a clipboard in hand and asked for her name.
"Shirley O'Hara," she replied.
The guard nodded as he perused the list. "Alright, I've got you here. And this is?" he asked looking towards Jackson.
"He's my guest," Shirley responded, "you wont see him on the list."
The guard nodded. "That's fine. Name?"
"Jackson Barnes," Jackson replied.
The guard made a note of some kind and gestured towards the end of the hallway. There was an elevator flanked by two more guards dressed in the same way as the one they were speaking to.
"Proceed to the elevator. You'll be directed to a bunk. Rations are at six tonight."
Shirley nodded and led Jackson towards the elevator. One of the elevator guards nodded at them and swiped a card which caused the elevator to open. There was another guard waiting within.
He nodded towards them and hit a button on the panel. "You folks are lucky. They'll be closing down the facility soon."
"What if you haven't made it yet?" Shirley asked.
The guard shrugged. "Don't know the answer to that. Just heard we'll be locking down soon."
Any further conversation was interrupted as the elevator came to a stop. They entered a large room. Shirley looked around and thought it looked big enough to hold several hundred people. One side of the room consisted of rows of bunks. There were families milling around having already staked out space. The middle of the room appeared to be a common area of sorts. There were several tables with various games ready to be played. The right side of the room had a number of partitions around maybe seven feet high. Bathing area maybe? The sound of someone clearing their throat caught Shirley's attention and she found herself looking at a middle aged woman wearing brown slacks and a matching shirt.