Fatal Reaction, The Beginning

by M A Hollstein

  Ellie tried her best not to make a sound but her foot slipped a bit and her tennis shoe crunched on the brittle desert foliage. She held her breath hoping they hadn’t heard her.

  “What was that?” asked the big guy, nearest her.

  The skinny guy was now digging through her luggage in the backseat. “What?” he asked.

  “I heard somethin’.”

  “Probably just a coyote. They’re everywhere out here. Need some panties?” The skinny guy teased. “Ain’t nothin’ worth takin’ in here.”

  The big guy kept staring in Ellie’s direction. She prayed he couldn’t see her through the shrubbery. She knew if he looked hard enough, he could.

  “Nope,” he snapped, shaking his head. “Not a coyote. They ain’t that dumb.” He stepped off the asphalt and into the sand. He took a few steps toward Ellie, his shoes crunching on the dried sagebrush. “I think we’re being spied on.”

  The thin man emerged from the car, plastic grocery bags in his arms. “What? Where?”

  “In these here bushes,” he said, taking a couple more steps, getting closer to Ellie.

  She sucked in a breath.

  “So?” the other guy said. “Who cares? Let’s go find us a car. This one ain’t no good.”

  “I don’t like people who spy…” the big guy said. “Need to teach this hombre a lesson…nosy son of a…”

  “Come on,” the other guy said. “Just leave it. Whoever it is, they’re stuck out here just like us. Who gives a crap if they’re spying on us?”

  The man chuckled. “I need to take out some of my frustrations, otherwise I’m a gonna snap. You want me to snap on you? Huh?”

  “Well, then, hurry it up already,” the skinny guy said, impatiently. “Do what you have to do. These grocery bags are heavy.”

  Petrified, Ellie jumped to her feet. The man was getting too close. He stopped. Moonlight highlighted the left side of face. His expression frightened the hell out of her. She didn’t like that he seemed amused. “Well, well, well,” he chanted. “What do we have here? This is much better than I expected.”

  “Please,” Ellie said, taking several small steps back. “Don’t hurt me. Take whatever you want from my car. It’s yours. You can have it all.”

  The man chuckled again. He licked his lips, his hungry eyes looking her up and down. “I’ll for damn sure take what I want.”

  “Aaagghhh!” Unexpectedly, the skinny man over by the car let out a horrific scream.

  “What the…!” The large man turned to look over his shoulder. His friend was being assaulted in the street. “Carl? Carl!”

  Ellie immediately recognized the growling and shrieks. It was the sound of someone being attacked by one of the infected. Unfortunately, the sounds were becoming all too familiar. The animalistic guttural sounds made her skin crawl.

  Not waiting to see what was happening; Ellie took this opportunity to get away. She ran in the direction she had planned on traveling to the motel. She was never a good runner and the sand seemed to be slowing her down, but she forced her legs to move as fast as possible. She wanted to look back, but was too afraid. What if the man is chasing me? What if there are more infected people around? What if I’m attacked next?

  More screams, yells, and growling traveled on the still night’s air. Ellie kept running, refusing to look back.

  Chapter 9

  Amanda ran in the direction of the hospital. To her relief, but also her horror, no one was around. Cars were left abandoned in the street. A few dead bodies littered the sidewalk. She tried her best to dodge them, praying that thing wasn’t still chasing her. Several cop cars with their lights still flashing, and a fire truck, were parked in front of the hospital, abandoned.

  Where is everyone? she wondered. She ran up the steps leading to the front doors of the hospital. She grabbed hold of the door and shook it. Even though the lights were on, the doors were locked. She peered in the glass doors. Scattered papers were strewn about the entrance hall. She glanced in the direction of the waiting room. There were several people seated in the chairs.

  Looking behind her, she made sure she hadn’t been followed. No one was there. She shook the door. Hospitals didn’t have closing times, did they? Maybe they did. She probably needed to go around the building in search of the ER. The Emergency Room was surely open. She bet they’d be able to tell her whether or not Jasper had been admitted. Then she’d see if she could use their phone. She’d call her friend Tina and ask for a ride. Well, if Tina could even get to her. Worst-case scenario, she’d at least be able to take refuge in the ER waiting room until morning.

  Amanda knocked on the glass to see if she could attract the attention of one of the people sitting in the waiting room before running around the building in search of the Emergency room entrance. She didn’t like the thought of running around in the dark with infected people lurking about. Her mind returned to the man in the alley. She looked over her shoulder in the direction she’d come from and shivered. The street was abnormally quiet. At least she hadn’t been followed. Or at least she hoped not. Again, she wondered where the police officers and firefighters went. She pushed the thought from her mind. She didn’t want to acknowledge their disappearance and what it meant. Right now, she clung to the hope of the hospital giving her some sort of refuge even with what’d happened earlier. She was sure it was just a fluke thing, some of the infected people escaping and going all crazy like. She was sure the hospital would have things under control now and know how to help people, people like her Jasper. They’d be able to treat him.

  Amanda turned her attention to the waiting room and knocked on the glass hoping to get the attention of one of the few people sitting there. No one moved. She wondered if it was loud enough. Her knock sounded a bit weak. Balling up her hand into a fist, she pounded on the glass leaving marks, smudging it with the oils of her skin. She then grabbed the door and shook again, trying to make it rattle.

  “Oh, come on,” she said, banging again on the door. This time she banged so hard her hand felt as if it were bruising. The people in the waiting room had to have heard her. There was no way they didn’t. She then pounded again. Are they ignoring me?

  Finally, to her relief, she noticed someone wearing scrubs walking down a hallway to the right.

  “Hey!” she yelled into the doors, now using both hands to bang on the glass. “Hello? Please! Can you hear me?”

  The man in the scrubs stopped walking.

  “Oh, thank God,” she muttered. Someone had heard her. She couldn’t wait to get inside. It was getting chilly outside, being so close to the ocean, with the breeze kicking up over the water and blowing inland. And obviously she had deeper concerns than just the weather that was causing her to feel chilled. The entire spread of infection, or whatever it was, was totally creeping her out. She wondered again if a hospital full of sick people would be a wise place to take refuge for the night, especially with what had happened earlier. Not that she had many choices right about now.

  She could still picture in her mind that infected woman escaping the hospital and then attacking the security guard right in front of her. She looked over her shoulder again at the street littered with vacant vehicles. She shrugged, not knowing what else to do. She hoped that whatever had taken place there earlier was now under control since everything seemed quiet. No one was running around screaming. No infected people were attacking people. Even though she told herself that everything was under control, deep in her gut, she knew it wasn’t. She just didn’t want to believe it. Cops and firefighters don’t just leave their vehicles abandoned on the streets.

  Amanda returned her attention back to the inside of the hospital. She was desperate to get inside. Standing out in the open was making her more nervous by the minute. The man in scrubs was still standing there in the hall. She wondered if maybe he hadn’t heard her after all. What was he doing?

  “Hey!” Amanda called while making a fist and pounding on the glass door. “Hello? Can you hear me
?”

  The man’s head snapped to the side. Amanda watched as he turned around. It looked as if he was trying to figure out the source of all the noise.

  “Out here!” she said, shaking the door. “My boyfriend is inside. Can you let me in?”

  The man lifted his head and stared in her direction. Amanda waved at him. He began to sprint down the hall towards the door. It took Amanda a second to realize what was happening. The man leapt over a row of chairs in the waiting room with animalistic movements. As he grew nearer, she could see the puffed up distortion of what used to be his face. She took a step back away from the door as the man ran into it. His hands curled and clawed at her, his face snarling, pushed up against the glass. Hot breath steamed up the smooth cold surface. Amanda screamed, jumping backwards as his yellow eyes made contact with hers. Next to him, another snarling man in a police officer’s uniform pushed his face to the glass too. Drool and steam from hot breath spread across the door as he snarled, biting threateningly at her. More infected people began to crowd around on the other side of the glass doors. Either they were locked inside the building, or they didn’t know how to open the doors. Either way, Amanda wasn’t planning on hanging around to find out.

  Quickly glancing over her shoulder, she stumbled and grabbed hold of the railing next to her. Thankfully, she caught herself before falling down the cement steps. She wasn’t sure what she should do next. She’d have to find somewhere else to go, and quickly. She wasn’t sure how long the doors would hold them as more and more people appeared.

  Afraid to go very far in the dark, Amanda eyed the abandoned police car not far from the hospital and had an idea. She wasn’t sure if it was a good one, but it was the only thought that came to mind.

  Chapter 10

  Mike raced down the freeway toward the state line. He tried to call it in to dispatch, but the lines were still tied up. Several tries later, his phone completely cut out. Nothing was working. Not even his scanner. He had no means of communication with anyone, whatsoever. Regardless, he took it upon himself to continue in that direction. The state line wasn’t too far from his current location.

  As he drove, he wondered if he’d done the right thing leaving that infected child with Jimmy to watch over until the paramedics arrived. He would’ve stayed with the kid himself if he hadn’t received the distress call from that girl, Ellie. God, he hoped he’d done the right thing.

  Mike floored the accelerator, picking up speed. From what Ellie was telling him, the border patrol was being overrun with the infected. What in the world was going on? His mind drifted to Jimmy’s words… the world’s gone to shit and we’re all gonna die. He shook his head. Could this really be the end? Has the whole world gone to hell? He didn’t like the thought of that and pushed it from his mind. He wasn’t going to let Jimmy’s negativity sink in.

  Bad things happen all the time, he told himself. In his line of work, he’d seen it all. This too shall pass. He then wondered if Ellie had ever made it to the motel he’d suggested. She seemed like a nice enough girl. He’d hate for anything bad to happen to her. And the way things were progressing with this so called epidemic, the chances were pretty high that something bad could happen.

  Swerving into the left lane, up ahead, Mike noticed a car parked on the opposite side of the highway. As he passed by it, he thought he recognized it.

  “What do you know?” he muttered, slowing down and making a sudden U-turn, skidding through the sandy divider. As he slowly drove up behind it, he realized he was correct. He did recognize it. It was Ellie’s car. He could see the driver’s side door had been left open and the dome light was on. As he pulled up closer he stopped suddenly when he noticed a body, or what was left of a body, in the middle of the highway.

  Mike turned on his hazard lights and hopped out of his car, gun ready. “What the hell?” he cussed while cautiously approaching the body. He eyed Ellie’s car, and then the dark desert. He stopped walking and stood still for a moment, listening, before deciding it was all right to take a few more steps forward. Once he felt he was close enough, he nudged the body with the toe of his boot. Nothing happened. He switched on his flashlight to get a better look without getting too close to the body. He wasn’t going to take the chance of feeling for a pulse. Normally, he’d kneel down and get a better look, but since this epidemic broke out, he’d become more cautious. The last thing he needed was to be attacked if this guy wasn’t actually dead. He shined his light on the man’s face. Well, what was left of his face. It’d been mauled pretty badly. But the good news was that it didn’t look distorted. That was a good sign. It meant that this guy was just battered and probably not contagious. The asphalt around him was slick with blood. A large chunk of flesh had been ripped from the man’s throat having caused him to bleed to death.

  To be on the safe side, Mike nudged the guy again. He lifted the victim’s shoulder with the toe of his boot and let it fall back to the ground. He waited. Nothing happened. Almost positive that this man wasn’t going to jump up to attack him as soon as he turned around, Mike cautiously headed over to Ellie’s car. He stuck his head in the door and glanced inside. Keys were still in the ignition. He then glanced down at the ground. Something caught his eye. He shined his light on it. A can of instant soup was near his foot. He then spotted two plastic grocery bags and food items scattered in the road. His stomach clenched as he derived at a conclusion.

  He shut the door and walked around to the other side of the automobile. He looked out at the vast, quiet desert and stepped off the asphalt into the sand. Again, his stomach clenched and he hoped that Ellie was all right. He wondered if she had been smart enough to head towards the motel on foot. He stared in the direction of the motel and shined his flashlight on the sand, looking for footprints. He frowned. It looked like several sets of footprints. Not that he was a tracker but at least two sets, maybe more. He looked up at the moon and then out at the street where he’d left his car. He figured he should take a drive over to the motel he’d recommended and check on her. He bet she was there or at least headed over there. Poor girl. She must be frightened out of her wits. Hell, any sane person would be.

  Shit! I gotta get to the border, Mike thought. But then again, he figured that there probably had been many distress calls before the phone lines went down. He was positive they’d have lots of help over there by now. They wouldn’t really need him. He’d check on Ellie, and once he knew she was safe, he’d then swing back around. He could do both. Hell, he wasn’t even supposed to be on duty still. Therefore, it wasn’t like he’d get in trouble. It wasn’t as if he had anyone to report to. He’d been cut off from dispatch. All he could do was wing it. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to the girl because he didn’t check on her. He’d feel like shit if he didn’t at least try to help her.

  Mike spotted the nearby shrubbery and decided to do a quick search. He shined his flashlight over the bristly shrubs and sagebrush to make sure Ellie wasn’t lying there injured. He walked further into the desert. He was now several feet away from the asphalt. Dried plants crunched under his feet. He was relieved not to see any bodies as his flashlight swept the surrounding area. Once satisfied, he switched off the light. The moon lent more than enough light for the walk back to his car. He headed towards the asphalt when something gripped his ankle, startling him. Chills raced up his spine.

  “What the…!” Mike hollered, jerking his steel-toed boot. The heel smashed into something hard. A loud howling shriek shattered the silence around him. Mike’s stomach jumped into his chest. Fumbling with the flashlight, Mike quickly switched it back on. In the light, he was surprised to see a burly, dark haired man with wild yellow eyes staring up at him from the ground. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to miss him when he’d swept the area in search of Ellie. Unnerved, Mike stumbled back aiming his gun at the yellow eyes. He shined his light over the man’s body inspecting him. The man tried to lift himself up from the sand. It was apparent that the heel o
f Mike’s boot had made contact with the man’s face. Thick, dark blood gushed from his nose.

  “Stay back!” Mike warned, glaring into the other man’s golden eyes. “I don’t wanna have to shoot you.”

  The man tried to lift himself again, and then sunk back into the sand. He lifted his head and squinted at the brightness of the flashlight.

  “Do you know who you are?” Mike asked. He knew that once someone was infected, they grew delirious as the fever increased.

  The man growled. Struggling, he pulled himself up into a sitting position.

  Mike took another backwards step.

  The man groaned, clutched his stomach and doubled over. He heaved into the bushes. Mike cringed. He’d seen this too many times today. He knew all of the symptoms leading up to the change. There was no doubt about it. This man was definitely infected. He was in the middle of changing into whatever the hell it was that people were changing into…sick, deranged, dangerous lunatics. Soon this man would lose all self-control and begin to attack.

  “Shit!” Mike swore. He hated dealing with this crap. There was no paramedic to call. So there was no way for him to help this man. Yet, he couldn’t shoot him without a reason. Morally, he couldn’t do it. The man would have to try to attack him. However, if he didn’t shoot this guy and left him on the side of the road, the man would either spread the infection to other people he came in contact with or he’d brutally rip them to shreds.

  Mike took a couple of backward steps in the direction of his patrol car while keeping his eye on the infected man. He wanted to keep a safe enough distance between them. Coughing and sputtering, the man continued to clutch his stomach and moan in misery.

  “Did you see the woman driving this car?” Mike asked, close enough to Ellie’s sedan to pat the side panel. He knew it was probably useless questioning this guy, but did it anyway. He hoped the man was still coherent enough to understand. “Hey!” Mike barked, trying to get the man’s attention. “The woman… the one driving this car… Did you see her? Is she okay?”