Viral Misery (Book 1)

by Watson, Thomas A

  When a soft knock sounded, Wendy moved down the hall and stepped over a body. Keeping her finger off the trigger of the spear gun, Wendy held it up like she would any gun; aiming where she looked.

  Reaching the stairwell, Wendy opened the door and almost coughed as the stench of death washed over her. Suppressing the cough, Wendy eased the door open and slipped inside to close the door softly behind her. Thankful for the emergency lights, Wendy stepped over and around the bodies in the stairwell as she headed down.

  When she reached the level she wanted, Wendy froze when she heard a muffled thump below her. Waiting for several seconds and not hearing it again, Wendy gripped the door handle to open the door when she heard the thump again below her.

  Letting the door handle go, Wendy rounded the stairwell landing and headed down, hearing the thump several more times. Each time she heard it, the thump sounded further away into the ship as she went down the stairs.

  Stopping two levels lower, Wendy froze at hearing a voice. “Come on, girls. I need to play with you.” The voice was male and was definitely on this level. “I played with Timmy and now it’s your turn.”

  “Fuck,” Wendy breathed out. More than once she had doubted the twins about Anthony but now, she knew they had been telling the truth and not talking about some hallucination.

  Gripping the door handle, Wendy gently eased it open. “Girls, you’re making me mad. Uncle Anthony needs to break you in,” Anthony grunted and Wendy heard the thump again. Now that she knew Anthony was further down the hall, Wendy peeked out the door and saw the doors along each side of the hallway were open.

  Glancing further down the hall, Wendy saw a rather round figure stepping out of a room with a long pole. Pulling her head back, Wendy felt her pulse speed up. “I’m going to find you,” Anthony sang out and Wendy heard the unmistakable sound of a card being slid into a card slot and a door opening.

  Easing up to the door jam, Wendy eased one eye out and saw Anthony walking into a room. When he walked out, Wendy studied him for the first time. The twins had described a hound of hell, but Anthony couldn’t have been more than five-foot-five. Wendy knew he was shorter than her five-foot-six.

  But Anthony was fat, a very round fat, and balding. Only a thin strip of black hair rounded his head and Wendy dropped her eye back to Anthony’s body. She was almost certain that Anthony’s girth would surpass his height. Seeing Anthony dressed only in shorts and sandals, Wendy knew that any other time, she would have had to suppress a laugh. His arms and legs while big, were out of proportion with his girth. In her mind’s eye, Wendy saw him working behind a desk.

  “Timmy loved the games,” Anthony said, moving to another door to shove a card in and tried to open it. The door only opened an inch as the privacy latch engaged. Pulling the pole up, Anthony put one end in the opening.

  “Oh, are you girls being bad?” Anthony cooed and then gave a grunt, leaning against the pole. The door flew open, thumping against the wall and answering Wendy’s question of where the thumps had been coming from.

  Wiping his forehead, Anthony stepped in the room. When he was gone, Wendy looked down the hall and saw Anthony was only halfway through searching the row of rooms. Pulling her head back when Anthony stepped out into the hall, Wendy took a few breaths to calm herself.

  If she hadn’t gotten sick, Wendy knew she could’ve kicked Anthony’s ass with her bare hands. He may have the weight and might be a little stronger, but she and Arthur had both trained in hand to hand. But she was still weak and couldn’t just go down there and kick his ass.

  Hearing another door open, Wendy peeked out the door and watched Anthony walk into another room. Looking down the hall, Wendy saw a few dead bodies under the emergency lights. “I want to see little twin pussy,” Anthony called out as he stepped back into the hall.

  A coldness spread over Wendy that she wasn’t prepared for when she heard Anthony. Watching Anthony check two more rooms, Wendy glanced across from the stairwell to an open cabin door. When Anthony stepped in the next room, Wendy eased out the door and closed it softly, then stepped into the room.

  “It will only hurt for a little while,” Anthony chuckled, stepping back into the hall.

  When Anthony opened the next cabin’s door and walked in, Wendy eased two more cabins down and stepped in the room before Anthony came back into the hall. “You can’t hide forever,” Anthony said, opening another door and it stopped as the privacy latch held. “It’s only us now,” Anthony sang out, putting one end of the pole into the door. “I took care of the others, so they can’t interrupt.”

  When Anthony let out a grunt, Wendy peeked around the door jamb and saw Anthony was facing away from her as he pried against the door. ‘Blam’ sounded as the door flew open and Anthony waddled inside quickly.

  Stepping out into the hall, Wendy dodged four bodies and she crept down the hall as fast as she could. Darting into an open door of a room Anthony had already searched, Wendy leaned back against the wall, hearing Anthony step back into the hall.

  Moving down the hallway, Anthony started whistling softly and then opened up another door. When he stepped in, Wendy moved into the hall. Before Anthony came back out, Wendy was only two doors away when she ducked back inside.

  Not risking a look, Wendy heard Anthony open several more doors, getting further away. When she heard a door being held by a security latch, Wendy peeked out and quickly eased back. Anthony was facing her as he put one end of the pole into the door to pry it open.

  When the door gave, Wendy glanced out and saw Anthony was nearing the end of the hall. There were only five doors left on each side of the hall. Moving out into the hall, Wendy again closed the distance, darting into the room next to the one Anthony was searching.

  Holding the spear gun in both hands, Wendy stayed back from the door but kept her aim in the center of the doorway. Afraid Anthony could hear her heart beating, Wendy tried to calm down but heard the heavy breathing of Anthony as he stepped back into the hallway, still whistling softly.

  In the hall, Wendy heard Anthony put the card into the next door slot. When Anthony tried to open the door, it stopped as the privacy latch held. Lowering the spear gun, Wendy was certain this door didn’t open toward her so Anthony would have to face away to pry it open.

  Leaning around until she could see out, Wendy saw Anthony’s back to her as he put one end of the metal pole in the gap. Stepping out into the hall, Wendy raised the spear gun and aimed at Anthony’s back ten feet away as she took two steps closer.

  When Anthony leaned against the pole, Wendy squeezed the trigger. The sound of the release and impact were almost simultaneous. Letting the pole go, Anthony gave a cry as Wendy watched the spear sink under his left shoulder blade and disappear.

  Stepping back, Wendy pulled the light rubber band back until it locked as Anthony stumbled into the wall and looked behind him. “You fucking cunt!” Anthony yelled out and then gave a cough that spewed blood out onto the wall and over his chest.

  Still stepping back, Wendy pulled another spear from the holder on her leg. Putting it on the rail of the spear gun, Wendy finally looked up to see Anthony looking down at his chest. The head of the spear was sticking out from under one of his flabby pecks.

  “Damn, you have bigger tits than I do,” Wendy said, finally stopping and aiming at Anthony. Judging where the arrow had come out, Wendy was certain she had hit Anthony’s heart. She had been bow hunting enough to know Anthony was on borrowed time and she could outrun him with the injury she had given him.

  Trying to stand upright, Anthony pushed off the wall only to stumble over and crash into the opposite wall. Very little blood was coming out of Anthony’s chest but as his lung filled with blood, Anthony started coughing and spewing blood out.

  Anthony took a step toward Wendy and crashed down on his face. Like a seesaw, Anthony’s legs flipped up as his belly provided the pivot point. Using his arms, Anthony pushed against the floor until he was on his side and blood rolled ou
t of his mouth.

  Stepping closer, Wendy aimed the spear gun at Anthony’s face. “I’m a nurse and will stop the bleeding if you tell me where Timmy is at,” Wendy told him with her voice quivering in anger.

  Spewing pink blood across the floor, “Deck four, room one oh seven,” Anthony coughed out.

  Lowering the spear gun, Wendy turned around and headed for the stairs. “Help, I told,” Anthony coughed out, reaching a flabby hand out.

  Glancing over her shoulder at Anthony, “I have to make sure you weren’t lying,” Wendy told him, walking down the hall. “How many adults did you take care of?”

  “Three, but they were already dying. I just ended their misery,” Anthony coughed, spewing out blood as Wendy continued walking away.

  Reaching the stairs, she headed down until she reached deck four. Walking out, she wasn’t surprised to find all the doors open. Rounding the hallway, she stopped at the only closed door she had walked past to see 107 on the door.

  Taking out her card, Wendy opened the door and stepped inside. The spear gun fell from her hands at seeing a small body tied spread eagle on the bed. Stumbling back, Wendy started dry heaving. Glancing up and seeing the large wounds on Timmy’s young body and the gray cast of his skin, Wendy straightened up, fighting the revulsion.

  Knowing Timmy was dead, Wendy eased over to confirm it because she knew that it would haunt her if she didn’t. When her fingertips touched the cold skin, Wendy gave a sob while holding them on Timmy’s neck. Satisfied Timmy was dead, Wendy pulled out her knife and cut the restraints.

  Covering Timmy up with the bloody blankets, Wendy was certain this scene would be in her nightmares for the rest of her life and if there was reincarnation, her next one.

  Picking up the spear gun, Wendy stepped out into the hall and closed the door. Narrowing her eyes, Wendy jogged back to the stairs begging God or any power that was listening, that Anthony would still be alive when she reached him.

  Reaching the floor she’d left Anthony on, Wendy doubled over as she wheezed from the physical exertion. Bending over, Wendy coughed up mouthfuls of phlegm and spat them on the floor. It took almost ten minutes, but Wendy finally stopped coughing.

  Looking at what she had coughed up, Wendy was happy to see it wasn’t bloody.

  Walking out into the hall, Wendy saw Anthony had moved by rolling on his other side. “Motherfucker,” Wendy snarled, heading down the hall toward Anthony.

  She came to a stop as a small voice of reason sounded in her mind. ‘Don’t waste your shots. You might not be able to retrieve them and there could be more like him aboard’.

  Freezing in her steps, Wendy stared at Anthony. “Fine,” she told the voice of reason and set the spear gun on the floor. Grabbing her knife, Wendy flicked her wrist and the blade popped out with a satisfying ‘Thwack’.

  Raising her arm, Wendy dropped down onto her knees, driving the blade into Anthony’s neck. Even when Anthony didn’t move, Wendy yanked her knife out and buried it again. Crying out, Wendy kept plunging the knife into the corpse.

  When she stopped, Wendy saw a divot in the side of Anthony’s neck. Pulling her knife out, Wendy stood up and folded her knife. As she clipped it back in her pocket, Wendy noticed she was covered in blood. Not caring, Wendy looked at the corpse with disgust and then saw the tip of the spear sticking out of Anthony’s chest.

  Stepping into a room and over a dead body, Wendy dug in a suitcase. Grabbing a shirt, she stepped back in the hall and wound the shirt around the tip. Putting her left foot on Anthony’s chest, Wendy pulled the shaft out with a grunt, falling back into the wall.

  Taking the shirt off, Wendy shoved the bloody arrow into the holster on her leg. Walking over and picking up the spear gun, Wendy pulled the second strap back until it locked. Lifting her left arm up, Wendy wiped the blood off her watch and saw she only had a few hours until dark.

  She headed to the stairs and back up to the main concourse. Using a cart, Wendy loaded up water and then grabbed a small display of flashlights and batteries. Pushing the cart out of the store, Wendy stopped at a closet marked ‘Emergency Staff Only’. Swiping her badge, Wendy opened the door and grabbed large flashlights, knocking over a stack of life jackets.

  After leaving the closet, Wendy stopped in another store and grabbed some clothes for her and the kids. Glancing at the price tag of the shirts she’d grabbed for the twins, Wendy gave a scoff. “Thirty dollars for a t-shirt, are you kidding?”

  Filling the cart with other supplies, Wendy pushed it back to the stairwell. Then she headed down to the kitchen. Loading another cart up from the refrigerator, Wendy pushed it to the stairs and then ferried it up to her floor, one armload at a time.

  Then, she carried up the first cart she had loaded up one armload at a time. When she was done, Wendy glanced at the end of the hall at a window to the outside and saw it was almost dark.

  Walking down to the room she’d left the girls in, Wendy gave the knock and put her mouth near the crack of the door. “It’s Wendy,” she said in a low voice.

  Hearing movement behind the door, Wendy gave a sigh of relief as she stepped back from the door. When the door opened, Jo Ann and Sally gave a small cry to see the blood covering Wendy’s upper body. “It’s not mine,” Wendy assured them. “I found Anthony and he won’t ever bother us again.”

  “What about Timmy?” Sally asked and saw Wendy’s lips tremble.

  Shaking her head slowly, “He’s…,” Wendy whimpered. “He’s dead and please don’t ask,” Wendy finally forced out. Jo Ann and Sally stepped out and hugged Wendy tight, ignoring the blood.

  “Girls, I need your help getting the stuff,” Wendy said and they noticed she was breathing hard and could hear a wheeze rattling in her chest. They let Wendy go and Wendy waved a hand inside the room. “Get that cart we have inside. I need to lie down.”

  The girls grabbed the cart and Wendy saw Ryan asleep on the bed surrounded by pillows.

  It took three trips to bring the stuff into their room and they still had to use the flashlights to guide the cart around a few bodies in the hallway that the emergency lights weren’t near. Ryan woke up as they were relocking the door.

  As the twins moved to get Ryan, Wendy stepped in the bathroom and gave a startle at seeing her reflection in the mirror. Setting her flashlight on the counter, Wendy turned on the shower and was happy to hear and feel the water coming out. When the water never warmed up, Wendy stripped and gritted her teeth as she stepped under the cold water and washed off.

  Wrapping a towel around her body and another around her head, Wendy stepped out to see the twins playing with Ryan. Glancing around, Wendy smiled when seeing the twins had stacked the stuff around the room in neat piles. “Girls,” Wendy said, walking over and closing the curtains over the balcony door. Then turning around, Wendy stepped over to the bed and sat on the corner. “We don’t know if Anthony was alone, so you have to help me make sure the door stays locked.”

  “Okay,” Jo Ann replied with a sad expression. “Why hasn’t daddy or the others come back?”

  “I don’t know baby, but we have to wait until I’m stronger before we can risk leaving. Until then, we will wait,” Wendy said, reaching over and taking Ryan from Sally. “Was your daddy sick?”

  “Yes,” Jo Ann answered.

  “You’re leaving?” Sally cried out.

  Hugging Ryan to her chest, Wendy nodded. “Yes, and we will leave a note for your dad telling him where we are going because you can’t stay here.”

  The twins looked at each other and then back to Wendy. “Okay,” they said together.

  “Girls, at night if we have a light on in here, I want those curtains closed,” Wendy told them, motioning to the balcony with her chin.

  “So people can’t see us?” Jo Ann asked.

  “Kind of,” Wendy answered as Ryan curled up in her arms. “The emergency lights are on batteries and will go out soon. Any light on the ship will let others know we are here. They might be good or
they could be like Anthony.”

  Both girls gave a shiver and nodded. “How long until we leave?” Sally asked, glancing at the barricaded door. “It’s really starting to stink.”

  Looking at the twins with a gentle smile, “I’m hoping I’ll be strong enough in a week,” Wendy told them and both nodded.

  Sally glanced at Jo Ann and then turned back to Wendy. “Are you sure Anthony won’t get us?” Sally asked hesitantly.

  The smile left Wendy’s face as she nodded. “I shot him in the heart and almost chopped his head off with my knife,” Wendy answered, making the twins gasp. “If anyone tries to hurt you kids, they will have to step over my dead body to do it.”

  Jumping up, Jo Ann and Sally wrapped their arms around Wendy as she held a sleeping Ryan. Leaning over, Wendy kissed each one on the top of the head and then stood up. Putting Ryan on the bed, Wendy helped the twins into pajamas and helped them brush their teeth.

  When they were all in bed, Wendy turned out the flashlight and crawled in bed. Putting Ryan on her chest, Wendy felt a twin curl up on each side of her. Soon, they all drifted off to sleep as a new world continued to evolve.

  Chapter Twenty

  Babies and kids everywhere

  May 14

  Asleep on a pile of pillows, almost sitting up and hearing a soft coo, Arthur opened his eyes. Blinking his eyes, Arthur looked down at Nicole asleep on his chest with Lucas beside her, chewing on his fist. Glancing over, he saw Pam beside him on the bed and kicking her feet in the air.

  Looking at Nicole’s two-month-old frame beside Lucas’s four-month-old body, Arthur turned to six-month-old Pam. “I know you’re little, but you look half growed next to these two,” Arthur grinned.

  Seeing movement past Pam on the other side of the bed, Arthur looked up expecting the dogs and did a double take seeing two-year-old Robin and six-year-old Jim. Both were sound asleep, sprawled out over the bed.

  “Wonder when they came in?” Arthur mumbled, slowly getting out of bed with Nicole and Lucas in his arms. Very gently, he placed both back in the bed and grabbed a bottle off his nightstand with a ‘P’ written on it with marker. Two more were on the stand with ‘L’ and ‘N’ already made up.