Chapter 2
Amanda wasn’t sure what to do. Her boyfriend was in pain, doubled over, and moaning. Filled to the brim with nervous energy, she paced back and forth on the other side of the door. There was nothing she could do for him, short of taking him to the hospital, but he refused to go. He was so freaking stubborn. Why won’t he just go to the hospital? She knew why, but still, she wondered if he’d rather die than take a chance of possibly going to jail. Glancing over at the TV, she shook her head. All day, reports of a dangerous epidemic had been broadcasted. Since it’s considered extremely contagious, people were warned to stay indoors. What good would it do to be trapped indoors if my boyfriend is infected? For all she knew, at this very moment, he was spreading the goddamn disease to her. Enough was enough!
Flinging open the bedroom door, she glared at Jasper. He was clutching his stomach. “That’s it!” she said, hands on hips. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“No!” he moaned. “It’s just the flu, baby.”
“Just the flu?” she said, stomping a foot down. “Have you seen the news? People are dying! You wanna die?”
Jasper groaned.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Jasper looked up at her. His forehead had broken out in a sweat. “I swear, it feels like food poisoning.”
“That’s why you need to get to the hospital, you moron. Get up!”
“Don’t call me a moron, bitch!”
“Get up!”
“There’ll be police… I can’t.”
“I think the police have got their hands full. They ain’t gonna be lookin’ for a small timer like you. Now get up!” Amanda kneeled down, slid her arm around his waist, and tried to heave him to his feet.
“Who you callin’ small timer?” he groaned. “Ugh… Fine,” he said, pushing her away from him. “Let’s go. My head hurts and I feel like I’m gonna puke.”
“Don’t you get sick in my car,” she said, sliding open a dresser drawer to snatch Jasper’s gun before leaving the bedroom and entering the living room. “Where’s my purse?”
Jasper leaned against the wall for support. Amanda spotted her purse on the kitchen counter and slipped the gun inside of it. She grabbed her keys from a hook on the wall. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Jasper wrinkled up his brow and spat at her, “They won’t let you in with a frickin’ gun! What are you? Crazy? You wanna put us both in jail? Leave the gun here!”
Frowning, Amanda glanced at the gun in her purse and then made a snap decision. “I don’t care.” She shook her head. “It’s going with us. You’ve seen the news. I’m not taking any chances. I’ll take the heat for the gun. We need protection.”
Jasper glanced at the TV. People were rioting; buildings were on fire, the usual panic when something major happened. “Yeah… okay… just leave it in the car. Ugh!” He doubled over in pain. “We need to get there… quick!”
“No, duh,” Amanda said, grabbing hold of his arm and guiding him out of the apartment building and over to her older model blue Toyota.
They made it to the car fairly quickly, even with Amanda balancing in her new four inch gold strappy heels. She clutched the handle and opened the passenger side door so that Jasper could get in. She was relieved when he easily slid into the seat. She closed his door and looked around. The neighborhood was quiet except for the sound of ambulances and police sirens.
Amanda found it hard to believe that according to the news, people were rioting and the city was going straight to hell, not too far from there. Unfortunately, the hospital she wanted to go to was located smack in the middle of all the mayhem and she was a nervous driver. Southern California traffic always frightened her. Nevertheless, she didn’t have much of a choice. Jasper needed her.
Amanda took in a deep breath to steady her nerves and got into the car. “Here goes nothing,” she said, starting it up. They weren’t even four blocks away when Jasper started fussing and yelling at her.
Amanda did her best to keep her temper. She kept telling herself that he was sick and to ignore the name-calling.
“Oh, God,” Jasper groaned, clutching his middle again. “Hurry it up, will you!”
“I’m trying! Just hold your horses!”
“You drive like a frickin’ granny!”
“If you’d listened to me earlier, we’d already be there by now!” she spat back, turning right at the street light that’d lead her into town. She hopped onto the freeway, drove a few miles and got off on the exit leading to the hospital. Her heart sank as she hit a sudden wall of traffic.
“I think I’m gonna puke!”
“We’ll be there soon.”
“I…uh…I don’t think, I…” Jasper began to cough, bile rising in his throat.
“Roll your window down!” Her eyes darted from car to car. No one was moving. Up ahead, she watched as the light turned green. Still, no one was moving. Several angry drivers were laying on their horns.
“Uhnnn!” Jasper moaned. Amanda was about to tell him again to roll down his window, but because he looked so miserable, she decided not to say anything. She’d never seen him ill before.
Rolling down her own window, Amanda unlatched her seatbelt and stuck her head out. “Hey!” she yelled at no one in particular. “What’s the hold up? Move it!” Not knowing what else to do, she blew off some frustration by joining in on the chorus of horn honking. Jasper’s moaning was getting louder. Listening to him was driving her crazy. She needed to get him to the hospital right away. The damn traffic wasn’t even moving. Suddenly, Jasper threw open his door.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a panic, tucking her long blonde hair behind her ears. “You okay?”
Jasper leaned over and heaved his guts out onto the asphalt. Amanda watched as the stoplight changed from green to yellow to red. Not one of the cars had made it through the light. They were still at a standstill.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” She slammed her hands down on the steering wheel. “That’s it!” she yelled, flinging her door open and getting out of the car. She leaned in and grabbed her purse from the floorboard, keeping her gun with her. “Screw it! We’re walking!”
She marched around to the other side of the car; Jasper’s side. His door was still open and his head between his legs.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“I’m gonna get you to the hospital. Come on.” She did her best to step over the puke-spattered ground, she didn’t want to get it in her sexy sandals, while helping Jasper out of the car. She was truly worried about him. His face was so pale, that he no longer looked African American. His skin was almost as pale as her own. She’d never seen him sick like this before. He’d always been so strong and healthy. “It’s only a couple blocks away. Walking will be faster than driving.”
“What about your car?”
“We don’t need it.”
Jasper didn’t argue with her. He was too weak. Amanda looked over her shoulder to see a man in the car behind her shaking his fist at her. She rolled her eyes, flipped him the bird, and then helped Jasper weave through the traffic over to the sidewalk. He was dragging one of his legs, slowing them down.
“You okay?” she asked, looking at him. For the first time, she noticed what looked like a set of claw marks on his neck. The redness stood out amongst his pallor. Jasper didn’t answer. She could hear him gasping for breath as she practically pulled him along. She wanted to ask him about the marks. How’d he get them? They looked like they were made by a set of women’s fingernails and she was worried she already knew the answer. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. If he told her that he’d been fighting with his ex-wife again, she’d lose it. She’d dump his ass right there in the street. Jasper’s relationship with his ex drove her freakin’ nuts. If it was over, it should be over. There shouldn’t be a reason for them to even talk, let alone see each other, or argue. It’s not like they had kids together or even owned anything together
.
Amanda wondered why she continued to put up with his sorry ass. It was beyond her comprehension as to why she continued to see him. All he ever did was walk all over her. Half the time he wasn’t even nice to her. And she knew something was still going on with him and his ex. She wouldn’t at all be surprised if she were to learn that he was cheating on her. She knew he was no good, yet she kept dating him, anyway.
Why? Why was she allowing this to happen? She was an attractive woman with long blonde hair, green eyes, and was in pretty decent physical shape. She could easily rate a man that’d at least treat her with respect. So why did she put herself through this? Maybe she was attracted to the bad boy image. Or maybe she wanted to fix someone who was more messed up than she was. Heck, maybe she was just afraid to be alone. Whatever the reason, she just kept on dealing with him and all of his crap. At least he’s better than my ex-husband, she thought. Not that that was saying much. Her ex-husband was nothing but a piece of…
“Uhn,” Jasper groaned. His legs were barely moving.
“Keep going. You can do this. We’re almost there,” Amanda lied, trying to stay positive. She was lying just as much for her own sake, as she was for his. “We’ll be there soon.”
A sudden, ear shattering scream practically made Amanda trip over her stilettos. “What the…” Jasper leaned into her for support and groaned some more.
“Let’s keep walking… It’s nothing. Just walk,” she said, trying to keep up the motivation. “We’re almost there…” She was thankful that Jasper’s legs began to move a little faster.
The scream rang out again over the loud honking of car horns. From the corner of her eye, Amanda spied a woman in a black and red dress running down the middle of the street dodging cars. A dark haired man was chasing after her, snarling. He pounced on one of the cars, landing on the roof while reaching over the side, trying to get to her.
“Oh my God! Faster!” Amanda urged, practically pulling Jasper along. His weight was slowing her down and his right leg was barely moving. “Come on, baby! You can do this!”
The woman’s screams pierced Amanda’s ears. Other screams joined in and rang out all around her. People were opening their car doors to see what was happening. Amanda didn’t look back. She pushed on. The sidewalk was becoming crowded. Frantic people were running about, screaming.
A man in a black coat and sunglasses bumped hard into Amanda’s shoulder. “Watch it!” she snapped. The man didn’t apologize or even bother to acknowledge her. Crowds of people were closing in on them. Some were screaming, some crying, most were looking frightened and confused. “Move it!” Amanda screamed, pushing people along. “He’s sick! Move it! Get out of the way!”
People continued to swarm around them. None were paying her any attention. Through the throngs of people, she could hear more blood curdling screams coming from the street. A mother with two children rushed past her and one of the kids flew into her leg. Amanda stumbled, losing her grip on Jasper and he collapsed to the ground.
Chapter 3
Spotting Ellie’s blood splattered windshield and front hood, and then the body crumpled on the side of the road, the ambulance slowed down. The sheriff’s car slowed too and pulled over. The Deputy jumped out of the car, gun drawn. Ellie got out of her car and watched as the sheriff, gun pointed, cautiously walked toward the dead woman. He nudged the woman’s shoulder with the toe of his boot. He turned and nodded at two paramedics walking up behind him.
“She’s dead!” Ellie heard him say.
The paramedics pulled on thick black rubber gloves.
Ellie’s legs felt like Jell-O. Her knees were weak and she could feel her body trembling the closer she got to the dead woman. At any moment, she expected the woman to jump up and attack.
The sheriff turned around. Eying Ellie, he raised his gun again. She stopped dead in her tracks. Not knowing what else to do, she raised her hands just like she’d seen people do in the movies. “She attacked a man at the gas station,” Ellie said, thinking the sheriff was extremely good looking, except for the way he was aiming his gun at her. That was sort of a turn off. “I was there.”
“Did she touch you?” he asked.
Ellie stared at him and wondered why he’d ask such a question. Did he think she murdered this woman? Ellie kept her hands up and took a couple of steps closer. Maybe he couldn’t hear her. “She attacked someone!” Ellie said, loudly. “She went all crazy!”
“Stay back! Don’t you move any closer!” he warned. “Did she touch you?”
Ellie couldn’t remember. Maybe. No. She didn’t think so. Would that make her a murderer if the woman hadn’t touched her first? She didn’t understand the question.
“No,” she said, finally. “I don’t think so. She killed a man. I saw the whole thing. And then she came after me.”
“You positive?”
“Of course, I’m positive!” Ellie couldn’t believe it. Why wouldn’t he listen to her? And why the hell was he still pointing a gun at her? She was obviously unarmed. Where would she hide a gun anyway? In the back of her shorts? She was frickin’ harmless. “I watched her attack him!” Ellie raised her voice as if that’d make him understand. “It looked like she was having some sort of allergic reaction and then went all crazy like.”
“I meant, are you positive she didn’t touch you,” he repeated. “You know, did she scratch you or bite you or anything?”
“Um, no,” Ellie said, watching the paramedics carefully flip over the body.
“Good,” the sheriff lowered his gun.
“We’ve got another one!” one of the paramedics yelled.
“Yup! Infected!” the other confirmed, examining the body.
The sheriff shook his head. He walked over to Ellie.
“What do they mean by infected?” Ellie asked, her voice barely a whisper. “What does she have?”
“We’re not sure, but it’s spreading like wildfire,” the sheriff answered. “The man she attacked; is he dead?”
“Um, yeah, I think so.” Ellie crossed her arms protectively over her chest. She felt chilled even though she was standing outside in the broiling desert sun. She worried about the talk of infection. She remembered patting the woman on the back. Surely, that wouldn’t be enough to spread it to her.
“You think so… You’re not positive he’s dead?” He frowned at her. “This happened at the gas station?”
“Yeah.” Ellie nodded. “I’m pretty sure he’s dead.” The image of the rabid woman gnawing a chunk out of his neck flashed before her eyes. She quickly pushed the disturbing thought from her mind. In order to think clearly, she needed to keep her emotions in check.
“Guess I’d better go check.” He turned to walk away. “We don’t need any surprises.”
“Wait!” Ellie called after him. “Is that it?”
“Yeah, you’re free to go.”
She watched as the paramedics wrapped the body in what looked like a thick plastic tarp.
“Don’t you need me to make a statement or something?” Ellie followed the sheriff, practically running to catch up.
“Nope,” he said, not turning around. “Go home!”
“But…” Ellie tried her hardest to keep up. The sheriff was headed for the gas station, gun drawn. “What is this infection?”
To Ellie’s surprise, the sheriff stopped walking and spun around on the heel of his boot. He scrunched up his forehead. If circumstances had been different, and she hadn’t known he was getting aggravated with her, she’d have thought he was pretty darn cute. He raised an eyebrow at her. “Where the hell have you been? Haven’t you been listening to the news?”
“I was in Las Vegas for the weekend,” she said, “with friends. I’m on my way home.”
“Guess it hadn’t hit Vegas yet. Lucky you. Where’s home?”
“Oceanside, California.”
“Oceanside.” The sheriff shook his head. “Los Angeles was hit first. Bet San Diego County isn’t much better right about now.
” He reached into his pocket and slid out a business card. “My advice to you is that you get in your vehicle and drive straight home unless you need provisions. Get them now. And once you get there, stay inside until this thing is contained. Understand?”
Ellie took his card. She glanced at his name, Sheriff Michael Wilson. She studied the seriousness in his hazel eyes. “Until what is contained?”
“We don’t know.” He shook his head. “The news is downplaying it. Hopefully it won’t last long. Call me and I’ll get a statement from you later. Right now, I’m up to my ears in calls like this. They’re all the same.”
“All right.” Ellie frowned. “Thanks for nothing,” she muttered just out of earshot, shoving the sheriff’s business card into her back pocket. She turned to walk back to her vehicle. Her hands were trembling. She hugged them over her chest. She wondered what in the world was going on. Her stomach lurched at the thought of what she’d seen. Were people really getting sick, going crazy, and attacking each other?
The paramedics were lifting the plastic wrapped body into the back of the ambulance. To her horror, she noticed several other bodies wrapped in the same fashion already stacked in the back. One of the paramedics hopped down, a grave look plastered across his face. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he muttered, shaking his head. He walked right past her as if she wasn’t even there.
“We’ve got another one!” yelled a paramedic standing by the open passenger side door. “Hurry it up!”
“I think the sheriff has another body in the gas station,” he replied. “It’ll need to be taken care of.”
Fatal Reaction, The Beginning Page 2