Fatal Reaction, The Beginning

by M A Hollstein

  “I’m gonna take you to the hospital,” he explained softly. “Okay, Buddy? We’re gonna go get you some help… make you all better…”

  Benjamin continued to growl, but he didn’t move. He stayed in one spot, leaning against the wall. Blood streaked the white paint behind him. Bill spied the boys’ fingerprints within the bloody mess. He must’ve been grasping at the wall through his constraints. His stomach ached.

  Frightened, yet feeling odd about being afraid of his own son, Bill stepped into the closet and put his hand on Benjamin’s arm. Heat radiated through the thin material of his blue and red Superhero pajamas. He was burning up.

  “Come on, son.” He gently tugged at his arm to try to get him to walk. Benjamin didn’t move. “Let’s get you to the hospital.” Bill now pulled at his son’s arm. The growling deepened and Benjamin threw his weight at his father, lunging at him. Not expecting the reaction, even though he felt he should have, Bill stumbled, almost tripping over his own two feet. He caught himself before hitting the ground. Ben snarled while gnawing at the fabric of the thick gag, unable to attack, trying to bite into his father’s side. Bill grabbed hold of his son around the waist, tossed his slight body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and rushed out the front door to the car. He was having a difficult time holding onto the wiggling, snarling, hot body. He was worried he’d drop him. Once he got to the car, he reached for the handle to open the backdoor. It was locked.

  “Shit!” he swore. The keys were in his pocket. He set the boy on the ground in the driveway next to the car as he plunged his hand into his pocket. He grabbed the keys as Benjamin tried again to attack. His mouth was biting furiously at the thick cloth.

  Bill pushed the button on the alarm, disarming the car. He forced his son into the backseat, pushing hard against his chest to keep him still enough to seatbelt him in. “I’m doing this for your own good,” Bill said. He pressed his wrist against his son’s forehead. Ben’s skin was so hot that it felt as if it were on fire. “I love you, son. You’re gonna be okay. Promise. I’m gonna run inside and get a few things. Be right back.” Bill shut the door, locking his son inside. He sprinted back into the house to grab his wallet and Benjamin’s favorite teddy bear. Not thinking straight, he forgot the gun.

  ***

  Mike walked back to his car, leaving the bodies behind in the desert. He tried not to think about it. He did what he had to do. The woman was infected. Just as her husband had been. He hadn’t had much of a choice. It was best to put her out of her misery. And at the same time, he’d prevented another human from being attacked or infected or both. Shaking his head, Mike stared straight ahead. Life had suddenly thrown him a curve ball. Hell, it’d thrown everyone a curve ball. When he woke this morning, this was the last thing he’d ever expected to happen. If someone had predicted this widespread outbreak, he’d have never believed it. This was like something straight out of a horror movie.

  With his gun in hand, Mike kept his ears and eyes open. His senses were on high alert. Never in his life had he ever been this on edge. And he’d been in some extremely precarious positions. Nothing could have or would have ever prepared him for something like this. He thanked his lucky stars to have a gun and that he was an expert marksman. Before becoming a sheriff, Mike was in the Marine Corps. After he’d put in his four years, and two deployments, one being to Iraq, he’d decided to get out. Not sure of what he wanted to do with his life, but knew he didn’t want to be a lifer in the military, he’d decided to put his expert shooting skills to work in a different profession. He had decided to go into law enforcement.

  When he’d left Camp Pendleton, his last duty station in San Diego County, he’d gone to the sheriff academy in Los Angeles. He’d put in a couple of years in the city, before moving to a small town just outside of Las Vegas. Enjoying Nevada, hoping to get a little closer to the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, he’d applied for a job. After a while of trying, he’d eventually been offered a job. Unfortunately, he didn’t work in Las Vegas, as he’d once hoped, but worked the stretch of acreage between the Nevada and the California border.

  Mike pushed his way through the desert shrubbery and stepped up onto the asphalt. He could barely make out his car in the distance. He hadn’t realized how far he’d followed the couple. A rustling noise out in the distance caught his attention and Mike stopped walking. Turning towards the desert, he stood and listened. After a few moments, he heard some yipping. Coyotes.

  The odd sounds of the surreal yipping and yapping that the coyotes made at night were something he’d never been able to get used to. Even after the three years of living in the middle of the desert, the sounds they made still unnerved him. Pushing forward, he headed for his patrol car. He hoped Ellie had made it to the motel. His next stop was to check in on her.

  ***

  With tears in her eyes, Ellie was two doors away from the end of the building. The motel was small and she was running out of options. The longer she stood out in the open, the more frightened she became.

  “Come on,” she begged, trying to open the door with the first of the three cards she had in hand. The lock wouldn’t accept the keycard. Fumbling, because her hands were shaky with nerves, Ellie dropped the cards. They fell onto the pavement and a tear rolled down her cheek.

  Don’t lose it now, she told herself. Keep it together.

  She wondered if it’d be hard to break into one of the rooms. Maybe she could pry open one of the windows. She looked around at the darkness surrounding her. With what? What could she use to pry open a window? It wasn’t like there would be a crowbar just lying around. Would there? She could always go back to the office. Maybe check out the supply closet. There had to be a supply closet. She remembered the closed door in the hallway. She bet there might be something in there she could use to pry open a window. Then she thought of the maids. Whoever cleaned the rooms would have to have access to all of the rooms. There must be a master key. Nevertheless, did she want to chance going back into the office to look for it? She stared warily in the direction of the office. Chills washed over her as she thought of the old man in the break room. Every few seconds she had been glancing back at the office and so far no one had had come out. No one was following after her. Maybe she could go back inside. Maybe it was safe.

  Ellie scooped up the key cards from the ground. She wasn’t sure which one she’d already tried on the door. She grabbed one and slid it into the lock above the handle. The light lit up red. She put it on the bottom of the cards in her hand. Maybe the cards needed to be activated before they worked on the doors. She wasn’t sure. She had no idea how the stupid things worked. She took the second card out of the stack when she heard something. It was the unmistakable sound of shoes crunching on gravel. Glancing over her shoulder, her heart began to race. Someone was walking across the vacant parking lot. Whoever it was had seen her. There was no mistaking that. She was standing beneath a security light. There was no hiding.

  Heart racing, Ellie slid the second card into the slot. Click! The light flickered green. Unable to believe her eyes, Ellie slid the card a second time. Green! She pushed down the handle and the door flung open.

  “Hey!” the man crossing the lot picked up speed. Ellie could see him running towards her. Quickly she entered the room and slammed the door behind her, hearing it clicking locked. She slid the security latch and leaned her back against the door. She stood in the dark as her eyes adjusted. The window was to her left, the curtains open. Ellie grabbed the wand and pulled them shut just as the man began to bang on the door. She could hear him yelling at her to open up.

  Finding her voice, she yelled back. “Go away! Leave me alone!”

  “Let me in!” he yelled, still banging on the door.

  “I’ll call the police!” she yelled back. She prayed the man would leave. What does he want with me? He wasn’t infected. He seemed coherent. The others she’d come in contact with seemed to lose cognateness when infected. Unless, of course, he was newly infecte
d. All kinds of questions raced through her mind. What if this guy was just paranoid and looking for shelter for the night? Maybe he was just trying to find a place to hold up until this epidemic passed. After the two men that’d tried to hijack her car, she wasn’t about to take any chances with helping this guy. She was too afraid to take chances with trusting anyone.

  “I just need a place to stay!” the guy yelled. “Let me in!”

  Ellie leaned her back against the door. She was afraid that the man would somehow get it open. She could hear him working at the handle.

  “The office is open,” she yelled back. “Get your own room!”

  After a little while, the banging stopped. She hoped the man decided to give up and leave her alone. Her heartbeat began to stabilize and her breathing slowed down. Exhausted, Ellie slid down the door, until her rear-end hit the floor. She stayed there, sitting on the floor, staring into the dark. She was too afraid to leave her spot by the door and didn’t want to chance alerting anyone else to her presence by turning on a light. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the corner of the wall where the door and wall met. Within minutes, exhaustion had taken over and she’d drifted off to sleep. It wasn’t long before the sound of something scraping interrupted her slumber. She kept hearing it. The noise continued to grow louder until the unmistakable sound of a window sliding open in its tracks awoke her.

  On all fours, Ellie scrambled across the room towards the bed. She got to her feet and snatched a lamp from the nightstand farthest from the window. Several times, she yanked hard at the cord until it finally snapped, releasing the plug from the wall. She thought of maneuvering herself next to the window and taking her assailant by surprise, whacking him upside the head when he entered. She could attack him before he attacked her. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t be expecting her to attack first. Instead, she just stood there, on the far side of the Queen-sized bed, holding the bulky lamp in her hands. The heavy drapes moved, letting yellow light from the security lamp outside filter into the room, as the bulk of a large man climbed through the opening.

  Rush him! she thought. Take him out while he least expects it! Do it now!

  Ellie’s feet didn’t move.

  Now! she told herself. Do it now!

  Ellie still couldn’t force herself to do anything. It was as if she’d lost all control of her body. In fact, she wasn’t even sure she was breathing. She tried, but she couldn’t even make herself scream. She just stood there like an idiot, clutching the stupid lamp, frozen in her tracks, while the voice in her head screamed at her to do something. Anything! Why the hell couldn’t she move? She needed to do something. This man was going to hurt her. She couldn’t just stand there and not do anything. What the hell was wrong with her? Move, damn it! Move! the voice in her head demanded. Now!

  The drapes slid over to the side and Ellie could clearly see her assailant. He was now in the room with her. He stood just inside the open window, the light at his back. He was sizing her up.

  “You should’ve let me in,” he said, and then he charged at her.

  Ellie’s feet jumped into action without having to be told what to do. She hadn’t even realized she was moving. Somehow, she and the oversized lamp, made it into the bathroom. Immediately, the ceramic lamp slipped from her grasp and hit the tiled floor, shattering everywhere. Leaning her full weight into the bathroom door, she locked the handle. Ellie patted the wall near the sink and found the light switch by the counter. The man aggressively shook the door handle and banged on the bathroom door.

  “What do you want?” Ellie hollered. “I don’t have anything!” She glanced around the bathroom. There was no window to escape through. Only a fan and vent in the ceiling which were way too small. She spied a minuscule bar of soap still in the wrapper, two miniature bottles; one with shampoo and the other conditioner, a tube of lotion, and a couple of individually wrapped plastic drinking cups. Nothing that’d help her. The rubber sole of her tennis shoes crunched on the pieces of the lamp as she spun around the room looking for a weapon. She yanked the white towels from the rack, tossing them onto the floor and grabbed hold of the bar. She tugged at it, hoping it’d come loose from the wall. She could use the bar in self-defense. She pulled again with all her weight, and the damn thing refused to budge. It must’ve been bolted into a stud.

  Bam! The man rammed the door. Bam! Bam!

  Ellie’s foot crunched again as it slid a bit on the scattered pieces of ceramic. Reaching down, she grabbed a shard of the shattered lamp. It was the closest thing she had to a weapon. She grasped it in her hand and could feel the sharp edges threatening to slice into her skin. Eyeing the towels, she spotted a washcloth and wrapped it around the end she was holding. She took a few steps away from the door, flipped the light off, hoping it’d give her the advantage, and waited for the lock to give way.

  ***

  Pulling up in front of the motel, Mike drove through the small vacant parking lot. There was only one vehicle parked there. He thought of Ellie’s car abandoned on the highway and the piece of shit, infected man, he’d stumbled across. He wondered if Ellie had ever made it to the little run down motel. Mike noticed the light on in the office and parked his car. He sat there for a moment, thinking about what he was going to say. He figured he’d start with whoever was working the nightshift and ask if Ellie had checked in. What was Ellie’s last name? Had she told him? He wasn’t sure. Guess he could just inquire if an attractive woman in her twenties with long brown hair in short shorts with legs that… No, he told himself. The world is falling apart around you, and you’re thinking about this girl’s sexy legs? What the hell is wrong with you? Pull yourself together!

  Swinging open the door, Mike slid out of his car. He stepped up onto the walkway, and was about to pull open the office door, when he heard some loud banging. For a second, he stood there listening. It was coming from the other side of the building. He was about to shrug it off and enter the office when he heard it again.

  “What the hell?”

  Curious, Mike headed in the direction of the sound. He kept his hand on the butt of his gun. He followed the sound until he reached an open window. The screen had been sliced open with a razor blade. He stopped in front of the window when he heard a loud cracking noise like wood splintering and then a woman’s scream rang out from inside the room.

  Mike grabbed hold of the curtain, yanking it and pushing it further aside to see into the room. He’d left his flashlight in the car.

  “Sheriff!” he yelled, as he climbed through the open window. “Stop what you’re doing!”

  The light drifting into the room from outside was just enough to see a bed and two-night stands. Across from the bed was a dresser with an older box television set resting on top. Mike heard a woman’s sobs, coming from where he assumed was the bathroom. They were being muffled.

  Mike switched on the light next to the door. A lamp closest to the window lit up, bathing the room in a soft incandescent light. He noticed the other nightstand on the other side of the bed was missing a lamp.

  A man’s gruff voice answered him. “What’d ya want?”

  Mike took a few steps towards the bathroom. “I heard a commotion in here.”

  “Everything’s fine,” the man said. “The little woman and I are havin’ a discussion. You’d better leave now.”

  Mike took another step towards the dark bathroom. “Sounded violent to me,” he said. “I’d like to talk to your wife.”

  “It’s none of your business,” the man said. “Tell him you’re fine.”

  Mike heard the woman’s sobs.

  “Tell him!”

  Drawing his gun, Mike stepped closer to the bathroom. The door was open. The man suddenly wrestled a woman out of the bathroom. One arm was encompassing her waist. He was jabbing something sharp into the side of her neck.

  Mike stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized the woman’s face. The woman was Ellie. Tears streaked her rosy cheeks. He could see blood on her chin. H
er bottom lip was swollen and had been split open.

  “Stay back,” the man warned. “Or I’ll cut her. I ain’t goin’ back to jail. You ‘ere me! I ain’t!”

  “I’m not here to take you to jail,” Mike said, gun trained on the man. “Let her go.”

  The man chuckled. “I know how this works. I ain’t no dummy. I let her go and you take me to jail. I ain’t doin’ that!”

  “You don’t let her go…” Mike said, “I’ll shoot you.”

  “You ain’t gonna shoot me,” the man laughed. “You can’t. It’s against the law. I have no weapon.”

  “Believe me, I’ll shoot your ass,” Mike warned. “If you haven’t noticed, things aren’t the same. There aren’t any more laws.”

  The man’s eyes shifted to the open window and then the bolted door. He pushed the ceramic shard against Ellie’s throat causing her to wince. “I just want outta here,” he said.

  “Let the girl go,” Mike coaxed, noticing the man’s bulging brown eyes shift again. “I don’t care what the hell you do.”

  “She’s goin’ with me,” the man said, taking slow, clumsy steps toward Mike. “For insurance…” He was now eyeing the door, the choice of his escape. Ellie shrieked as the shard punctured her skin.

  Mike primed his gun. “Last chance.”

  Suddenly, the man pushed Ellie at Mike. She stumbled over her own two feet, slamming hard against him. Mike caught her in his arms. The burly man unlatched the door and ran. Mike didn’t bother running after him. More than likely, the infected would take care of him.

  “You okay?” He tilted Ellie’s head to the side and checked her neck. Luckily, she only suffered a small puncture wound and a few surface scratches. As far as he could tell, she was okay. Nothing needed stitches or medical attention. No bones appeared to be broken.

  Ellie, shaking uncontrollably, wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder. Then the electricity went out.