A World Reborn: The First Outbreak

by Chris Thompson

  The Reborn, taken completely by surprise, were slow to react to Melissa’s sudden attack and weren’t able to return fire in her direction until she was already back behind the cover of the doorframe. Melissa’s shots, however, had struck the sports bar window in several places and, as the infected pressed against it, it began to crack and fracture. The rising cacophony of moans was quickly eclipsed under a second salvo of gunfire, but the Reborn’s barrage of bullets harmlessly hit the wall around the doorway where Melissa was taking cover. She waited, holding her position until the impacts slowed down, and then she turned awkwardly and stuck the gun around the corner so that she could fire blindly in their direction, before pulling back quickly after squeezing off only a few rounds, just before the Reborn blasted in her direction once more.

  Melissa shifted further away from the doorway as a chunk of masonry flew off. She needed that window to break and so far, it sounded like it hadn’t. The Reborn were solely focused on her, and that was a massive problem. She sidled back up to the edge, standing up so that she could attack from a different angle, then she waited for a lull in the gunfire, and when it came she leaned out quickly and fired. She was aiming in the direction of the window, where she could see huge, precarious cracks, but as she thought, the glass hadn’t broken. Melissa shot off as many rounds as she dared before getting back into the shelter of the doorway - then she heard it, in the middle of the motion back into cover, the glass shattered; to be followed almost immediately by the frantic calls of the Reborn to get the infected under control. She’d done it, and, as she’d hoped, the sound of the gunfire and the window breaking had forced the infected into action. Melissa felt a moment of triumph, but that was quickly crushed under another salvo spraying against the walls around her. She hunkered back, waiting for the right time. She could hear them yelling to each other to get the infected back, but it seemed as if the sound of gunfire was proving too much of an aggravation for the collar’s to override and they were no longer docile. Melissa waited for the gunfire to break off entirely and peeked quickly around the corner.

  About twenty of the infected were moving in the direction of the gunfire, the sound attracting them like moths to a flame, with more quickly surging towards the broken window. The Reborn were grappling with them, trying to prevent them from spilling out, pushing them with their guns to stop them approaching the barricade, but they were unstoppable. So far, however, none of them had openly attacked the Reborn. Melissa needed that to change. She quickly aimed and fired at a group of the Reborn, hitting one perhaps two in the arm and sending a mist of blood into the air; and that seemed to be the catalyst the infected needed. They began snapping in the direction of the Reborn, their focus shifting to the bloodied soldiers more than the sound of the gunfire which erratically erupted. Melissa moved back into cover, and while a few shots hit the wall near her, the majority of the bullets were no longer aimed at her. They were firing on the infected, exactly as Melissa had hoped.

  Risking one more look around the corner, Melissa saw that the infected were clambering against the barricades the Reborn had erected to protect themselves. There were many more of them now that the smell of blood was in the air. She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed there were more than forty forcing their way towards the Reborn. A soldier had his arm grabbed and was slowly being dragged away, with multiple infected holding onto his limb and trying to get him to their waiting, snapping mouths. Melissa saw there was one raised stone planter between her and the fire alarm, and she broke into a run to try to reach it. Her leg was starting to hurt more, but she pushed back the pain as she knew slowing down would be the worst thing in the world right now. She dived into the shelter of the planter a second before a stream of automatic gunfire would have cut her down. Once behind the planter, she slid into an awkward, prone position, and looked to her right. Across the way, maybe thirty or more feet from where she was, she could see the casino infected. They were getting agitated and the barricade penning them into the casino was wobbling, but she figured they needed more stimuli to become ravenous enough to break through. She looked at Jim through the bloody acrylic and saw he was starting to stir. She didn’t know how to get to him, but she didn’t want to leave him behind either.

  Melissa crawled towards the edge of the planter and waited. She wasn’t sure how many more shots she had in her current clip but hoped it was enough to get to the corner of the sports bar. She shifted so her knees were under her, allowing her to rise up on them and fire at the Reborn not engaging the infected, forcing them into cover. A pain-filled, horrified scream cut through the air, followed by more frantic yells. Melissa couldn’t see through the throng of the infected, she could only imagine they’d managed to take a chunk out of the Reborn they’d been dragging. Melissa quickly took aim at the Reborn she could see and fired at them, making them hunker down behind cover. The sound attracted the attention of five or six of the infected who were coming through the broken window, but they soon refocused on the Reborn when they began firing wildly into the crowd advancing on them. Melissa stood up and began hurrying towards the fire alarm. The way the infected were moving, they were soon a wall of cover between her and the Reborn, so she reached the alarm without any difficulty. She stopped, panting, and reached for the lever. She snapped it out, then down and the sound of the alarm, loud and terrifying in its suddenness, exploded through the air. Nearby, the cacophony of the infected rose as though they were enraged by the sudden, terrible sound drowning out almost everything else. They attacked the Reborn with renewed aggression, the smell of blood and screams of whoever had been bitten providing the fuel for their assault as the noise neutered the lingering effects of the collars. Her attention was drawn towards a loud clattering that came from the casino across the way. All of the sounds had driven the casino infected into a frenzy too, and they had forced the weakened barricade to break down. Now they were spilling out, shuffling, hurrying as fast as their seemingly stiffened limbs could carry them. Melissa saw sprays of blood erupting from their bodies and heads, with some of them dropping down and being trampled on by those behind, and she knew the Reborn were firing on them. She looked at Jim, wondering if she had time to reach him. He didn’t deserve it, but she couldn’t just leave him to be attacked by the infected, so she slung the weapon to her side on its strap and hurried over to him. She knelt beside him, glancing up and seeing the approaching horde of hundreds of the infected before pushing him forward to turn her attention to the binding around his hands. It was a plastic tie, like the one used on her wrists during her capture, and she reached swiftly for the knife in the sheath on her vest and worked to cut him free.

  Jim was slowly regaining consciousness, moaning as he tried to focus, and then jolting suddenly awake when her knife accidently cut into his skin, drawing blood. This seemed to rile up the closest of the infected and twelve suddenly seemed to break into a hurried shamble towards them. Melissa had seconds at best before they were on them. She managed to snap the plastic tie and he slumped down; screaming aloud.

  “Shut up!” Melissa yelled fiercely, still hoping she could get him away but knowing his cries would attract the infected and lessen her chance of success. As she feared, two of the infected dropped low and began crawling towards him. Melissa grabbed his arms and tried to turn him around to begin dragging him. However, though the infected were dropping dead nearby from the bullets flying over her head from the Reborn, she still needed to stay alert to the danger to herself, and it was while she was trying to keep an eye on her surroundings that Melissa stumbled and fell backwards. She accidently let go of Jim in the process, who screamed aloud in fear and pain once more.

  Melissa rolled onto her front, now facing the door to the utility corridor, and getting up onto her hands and knees, reached back to grab one of Jim’s hands so that she could pull him towards it. She moved tortuously slowly, inching towards the planter that measured the halfway point, while bullets flew overhead and the infected dropped dead to her left, each one dying clo
ser to Melissa than the last. The screaming, flailing and bleeding Jim was attracting more and more attention, but Melissa gritted her teeth and carried on... until she came to a sudden, unexpected stop. Looking sharply over her shoulder, she saw that one of the infected had grabbed Jim’s leg and was attempting to pull him away from her. Then a second descended on him, and then a third took a hold of his chest. For the moment, the infected were more focused on Jim and the meal he represented and were ignoring Melissa, but she knew that wouldn’t last.

  “Kill me! Please!” Jim pleaded as the first one sank its teeth into his broken leg, ripping free a chunk of bloody flesh and fabric. It didn’t seem as if he was going to turn, and the second infected also sank its teeth into his leg, Melissa froze for less than a second, trying to decide what to do. She hadn’t wanted to kill him, despite what he’d done, but she didn’t want him to be left to be eaten alive either. She realized the only thing she could do was to give him the mercy of a quick end, and so she snapped back into the moment. Releasing Jim’s hand she rolled onto her back and pulled free the pistol on her leg, and after a fraction of a second’s hesitation, fired one clean shot into the top of his head, just as another infected began ripping into his thigh and another into his neck. Jim died instantly, blood pouring from his wounds, and the infected immediately lost interest in him. Now, they were focused on Melissa, who represented a source of sound, and smelled of blood and fear. As they directed their attention towards her, the ones who had been consuming Jim crawled over his twitching, dead body in an attempt to reach her. Three were almost standing over her as she scrambled quickly backwards, having no time to stand up. They were advancing quickly, and the Reborn were no longer firing on them as consistently as they had been, no doubt distracted by the overwhelming force coming from the sports bar.

  Melissa knew she had to get to her feet and run. There was no point in fighting them here, not now and not from this position. She continued to retreat until she felt her arm brushing up against the planter, which told her that although she had moved as quickly as she could, she had barely outpaced them as they weren’t much further away than they had been. The encroaching infected horde was rabid and she wondered if her plan had perhaps worked too well. Swiftly, she rolled onto her side and hoisted herself up in one, smooth motion. She heard gunfire behind her and just hoped to be fast enough to avoid it as she sprinted straight for the door to the utility corridor. With less than a few feet to go, she felt an impact hit the armoured vest on her right side. She was winded, knocked slightly off balance and hit her shoulder against the bullet-marked doorframe. Hastily, she scrambled through the doorway and slammed the door behind her; hearing as she did so fresh bullets impact against the door. Breathing hard, Melissa leaned against the wall and checked herself, making sure the vest had caught the bullet as she hoped and she wasn’t in fact bleeding. Relieved to be unharmed she reached for the radio to inform Roy what had happened.

  “Roy? I set off the alarms.”

  “So I hear. Did everything go to plan?”

  “As best it could.”

  “What happened to Jim?”

  Melissa swallowed hard before she answered. “He’s dead. I tried to drag him with me, but the infected got to us before I could get him back to the corridor. They were eating him and he pleaded with me to kill him. So, I shot him.”

  “Understood.” Roy said simply. She wasn’t sure how to interpret his hollow response, but didn’t want to deal with it just then.

  “I’m continuing on. I’ll get back to you.” Melissa concluded and clipped the radio back onto her belt. She brought the assault rifle up and ejected the clip. It had less than five shots left in it, and she decided to not waste her time with just a few shots. She tossed it to the floor, pulled a fresh clip from a pocket on the vest, slammed it into the weapon then proceeded down the corridor towards, she hoped, the backstage of the theatre.

  When she arrived at a pair of doors marked “Backstage” Melissa was breathing more steadily. She’d overcome the exertion of reaching the fire alarm and the gun battle she’d endured, although her side still hurt where the bullet had hit the vest, as well as owning a nagging, stinging pain in her bitten leg. She was almost certain there’d be some Reborn on the other side of the doors so she carefully pressed her ear against the right one, listening intently for signs of habitation. It was difficult, as the fire alarm was loud - as were the sounds of gunfire nearby - but she was certain she heard movement of some kind. Melissa wasn’t sure what to do next. There was some kind of conversation happening, plus a number of men moving about, but she couldn’t get a clear insight on how many there were inside the room. Charging in would likely be suicide, but on the other hand, she couldn’t wait forever. Eventually, the Reborn would decide to execute the hostages or, worse, they’d retreat and leave them for the infected. Melissa looked back up the corridor and saw a utility closet and briefly wondered if there were some supplies she could use in there, something that would be suitable for a distraction. Then the answer presented itself. The other door was pulled open and the Reborn soldier with the computer tablet stepped out. He was distracted, focusing on the screen, and didn’t notice Melissa pressed against the right-hand wall. She froze, held her breath, and waited for him to pass, and once the door swung shut behind him, lunged. She let the assault rifle fall from her hands, to hang from the strap across her shoulder, wrapped her left arm around his neck and yanked hard. The tablet computer clattered the floor and his hands flew up to wrap around her arm. As he struggled against her arm-lock, she pulled the pistol from her holster and jammed it into his back under the armoured plate of the ballistic vest.

  “Stop!” Melissa hissed into his ear, and he froze.

  “Witness.” He stated softly.

  “What’s your name?” Melissa demanded.

  “Sebastian.” He replied, seemingly unruffled.

  “How many Reborn are in the theatre?”

  “A few. Some of my brothers have gone to battle the infected you unleashed from the casino.”

  “Care to be a little more specific?” Melissa asked. Sebastian laughed without humour.

  “Not particularly.” He answered.

  Melissa forced him to turn and walk towards the backstage door.

  “Don’t try anything. I don’t want to have to kill you or anyone else.”

  “They won’t care. Our cause is more important than any one person’s life.”

  Melissa gritted her teeth and hoped this wasn’t truly the case.

  “Open it.” She commanded, and Sebastian calmly reached out and pushed open the door, then the pair stepped forward awkwardly into the backstage area. Immediately, Melissa saw three Reborn soldiers. Their weapons were raised, aiming straight at Melissa and Sebastian.

  “Drop your weapons!” Melissa yelled, but the Reborn ignored her, and instead moved to spread around the room. She quickly surveyed her surroundings. On her left were three offshoot rooms that were signed male dressing room, green room and female dressing room, from closest to furthest. On her right a small staircase led, presumably, to the stage floor. Various lights, crates and pieces of decor were stacked here and there, but there was no sign of the hostages.

  “I said, drop your weapons!” Melissa yelled again, more dominantly this time. “Do it, or I’ll kill him!”

  “You’ve a lot to learn about threats, Witness.” One of the Reborn called back. “You need to have the will to carry them out.”

  “He’s right, Witness.” Sebastian taunted. “Perhaps you’re not strong enough to see what’s coming. And perhaps we’ve made a mistake placing our faith in you.”

  Melissa felt her plan deteriorating quickly. The fact that they were openly mocking her suggested they would soon attack. Fortunately, she had kept the door open with her heel, and made a quick decision. In one, smooth swift movement she took her arm away from Sebastian’s throat and grabbed the pin on the stun grenade on his vest, which she’d noticed when she first saw him, and pulled
it out, leaving the grenade still attached to his chest. She heard the grenade click as the safety bar broke away, and then reared back, kicking Sebastian forward and using that momentum to dive back through the door. She heard gunfire as she scrambled through, followed by a very loud, disorientating blast, which was followed by a horrified, agony-laden scream. The sound of the grenade made Melissa’s ears ring a little but she wasn’t as deeply affected by it as the people on the other side of the doors, so she got rapidly to her feet, snatched hold of the assault rifle at her side and forced her way back into the room. The three Reborn who had been waiting for her had been disorientated by the stun grenade: one had dropped to his knees, one was waving his weapon wildly - so Melissa dropped low just in case he began firing blind - and the third had ducked partially behind cover. On the floor, bloodied and writhing in pain, lay Sebastian, his body smouldering slightly.

  Melissa quickly started moving, heading into the doorway of the male dressing room for cover. As she did, she fired at the soldier behind cover. The first few shots hit his body armour, and a fourth clipped his shoulder. Seemingly less dazed by the stun grenade than his comrades he raised his weapon and shot in her direction. Meanwhile, the central soldier began firing erratically, his shots blasting holes in the walls and imbedding in doors as Melissa slipped fully into the cover of the doorway. She leaned around the corner and, lining up a quick headshot, executed the first soldier as he tried to get tucked back into cover. She waited as the central soldier completely emptied his weapon, firing at thin air. Hearing the telltale click of the empty gun, Melissa lunged out and fired a single kill shot, dropping him where he stood. She saw the final soldier aiming in her direction, and reacted instinctively, firing a pair of shots at the upper thigh of his left leg, causing him to cry out. As he collapsed, he dropped his weapon and instead took hold of his wounded limb. Melissa saw a rapidly expanding pool of blood forming beneath him and realized she’d clipped an artery. She walked over to him, took aim, and fired a single round at his head, ending his suffering and preventing his return as one of the infected.