Ellie spied a good sized, rounded, gray rock in the sand, baking in the sun. She picked it up and nearly dropped it. It was so hot that her fingertips were burning. Ellie quickly set the rock down. Using her foot, she scooted it in place to keep the heavy door propped open.
A couple minutes later, Ellie emerged from the bathroom feeling a hundred times better. She was about to round the building when she heard the familiar guttural growl of an infected person. She froze in her tracks. A man with a bushy black beard stumbled around the building obstructing her view of the SUV. Golden eyes glared at her through puffed up white skin.
Her mind racing, Ellie stood completely still, trying to figure out her next move. Run past the infected man to the SUV? She’d probably never make it. The infected seemed to take on extraordinary speed and agility. Run into the desert and hope that he didn’t follow? Again, he’d be too fast for her if he pursued her. Bathroom?
The man lifted one side of his upper lip exposing brown, tobacco stained teeth. Ellie nailed him as a chain smoker. Shifting her eyes left to right, she knew she needed to do something fast, before he added the color of her blood to his stained teeth.
Without so much as a blink of an eye, Ellie sprinted to the bathroom. The rock was still in place, propping the door open. She grabbed the handle and tried to slam the door closed, but the stupid rock was in the way. The man’s arm reached in and grabbed the side of her shirt. Ellie screamed, while leaning into the door. The damn rock was keeping it from closing. With her foot she kicked at the rock, but she was also leaning her full weight into the door, to try to keep the man out. The rock wouldn’t budge. He was clawing at her shirt, snarling wildly. Ellie could hear the stitches go as the material ripped apart. The man managed to shove his other arm through the gap and grabbed hold of her hair.
Screaming, Ellie swung at his hand with her fist, trying to get him to let go of her. In the process, she’d accidentally shifted her body weight and the man came stumbling into the bathroom nearly taking them both down to the floor. He still had a hold of Ellie and slammed her up against the bathroom wall, one hand tangled in her hair.
The rotten stench of his putrid breath penetrated her senses. The rock had moved in the struggle and the door slammed shut, bathing them in darkness. Ellie screamed out again and fought with all her might. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Her knee connected with the man’s genitals but it didn’t seem to affect him. Her hands came in contact with the man’s face and she dug her fingernails in as he tried to chomp down on her neck. She could feel her thumb push into one of the man’s eye sockets, with a horrible squishing sensation. She continued to push until the man released her, bellowing out in pain, before his teeth were able to make contact with her skin.
At that moment, sunlight blinded Ellie when the bathroom door flung open. Mike was standing just outside the restroom. The infected man, with one good eye, turned towards the light like a magnet and charged at him. The door slammed shut again. This time Ellie was alone in the dark. Bang! Chills coursed through Ellie’s body at the deafening sound of the gunshot. Her knees suddenly felt weak. She could feel sticky blood on her hands. Her back slid down the wall until her rear-end made contact with the cement ground.
“You okay?” Mike asked, after propping the bathroom door open.
Ellie didn’t answer. She couldn’t seem to find her voice. Her body was shaking and tears were rolling down her cheeks.
Mike crouched down in front of her. He placed a hand to her cheek and gently wiped away a tear. “It’s okay now.”
Ellie nodded. That’s all she could manage to do. And even that, seemed like a challenge.
“Did he hurt you?”
Ellie shook her head, no, even though she wasn’t sure. She didn’t think he had hurt her. At the moment she was too numb to know. She wasn’t feeling any pain. Not physical pain, anyway. Was she in shock? Maybe.
Mike looked at her bloody hands, torn shirt, and disheveled hair. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Ellie let him help her to her feet and lead her over to the sink. He turned on the tap and in stunned silence, Ellie stood there as he began to wash the blood off her hands.
***
The golf cart was working out better than Amanda had hoped. Her nerves were beginning to settle the further away they got from the hospital. She kept looking behind her expecting to see them being followed by people with crazy sci-fi ray guns, but so far no one was.
The golf cart had been useful with the traffic jams and crashed cars. A few times, she’d worried that they’d have to get out and walk, but somehow, Bill had managed to get them through tight spots. And so far, they hadn’t come across any infected people on the road. Well, not ones still alive anyway. Most of the cars were abandoned or the owners dead.
Amanda tried not to dwell on the death around her. She tried not to think of Jasper being amongst the dead. She tried to focus her thoughts on getting away from the hospital, and getting away from the people, or aliens, or whatever the hell they were that wanted to kill them. She still couldn’t wrap her head around what Liam and Susan had told them. Could it be true? Was this infection brought to Earth by aliens? Was the human race truly dying out? How many people were left? Maybe Susan and Liam were delusional. Maybe not. Maybe she was the one that was delusional. She didn’t know anymore. She felt as though she didn’t know anything. And she didn’t really care at this point either. Thinking about it was distracting her. Right now, she needed to concentrate on finding shelter. She just wanted to get home. Once she was home, she’d be able to think more clearly, and figure out what to do next.
“Hey,” Bill said, snapping Amanda out of her thoughts. “Where do you live?”
“Just a few more miles down the road. How ‘bout you?”
“Same,” Bill answered, remembering his wife. He couldn’t go back home. He couldn’t take Benjamin there. Not until after he’d taken care of things. He’d have to go back alone and… He didn’t want to think about it. It just didn’t seem real. And he didn’t know if he had the strength to see Joanna that way. He wondered if Benjamin remembered what he’d done. Bill prayed that he didn’t, but he found it odd that Benjamin hadn’t been asking for her. Bill prayed that Benjamin would never learn the truth.
Amanda gave Bill directions. When her apartment building was finally in sight, her heart leapt in her chest. She couldn’t believe they’d actually made it. She made it home.
Even though she was excited to be home the street was vacant. No one was around. Everything around them was abnormally quiet which really bothered Amanda. She kept expecting someone to jump out and attack them. Bill turned into the parking lot of the apartment buildings. They were spread out amongst rolling hills, trees and grass.
“I’m in the G building,” Amanda said, pointing in the direction of her home. She noticed that the golf cart was now moving at a snail’s pace.
“Needs to be charged,” Bill said. “I’m surprised the battery lasted as long as it did. Who knows when it was last charged?”
Amanda frowned because she doubted her building had electricity since it was out everywhere else. She was hoping to be able to use the golf cart to get around town when needed. There was too much traffic congestion in spots for a regular sized vehicle. However, she was more than thankful to have made it home before it died. “I didn’t realize it was electric.”
“Not sure if we’ll be able to charge it…”
“We’re almost there.” Amanda pointed to her building, next to a fenced in grassy area with bright red benches and obstacles for dogs. “It’s the one near the dog park.”
“Nice complex,” Bill said, pulling into a vacant parking space.
“Yeah, it’s okay,” Amanda said. “Expensive as hell. But what isn’t out here?”
“You won’t have to worry ‘bout that anymore.” Bill got out of the cart and grunted, straightening his back. He then looked at Benjamin who was sound asleep in the backseat. He gently shook the boy’s
shoulder.
Amanda watched as Bill then touched his son’s forehead. She knew he was checking for signs of a fever. He looked up at her and grinned. She returned the smile, knowing that was a good sign. Bill was stiff in his movements and Amanda could tell he was in a lot of pain. She wondered what’d happened to him, but hadn’t the nerve to ask. When things settled down, she’d start asking questions.
“Why don’t you and Benjamin stay with me for a while? I have a spare bedroom,” she offered, nodding at the building. She didn’t want to be alone in her apartment. She also worried about how Bill and Benjamin would make it home now that the battery had died in the golf cart. Bill had stated he didn’t live far from there, but regardless, he’d have to walk.
Bill glanced down at his son and then up at Amanda. He hadn’t been sure where they were going to go since home wasn’t an option. “We won’t be putting you out?”
“Of course not,” she said. “Besides, I think it’s better for us to stick together for a while. You know, until we know what’s going on.”
“Thanks.”
“Um, my place is ‘round the back,” Amanda said, staring at the apartments. She was feeling a little anxious about walking around the back of the building. Everything was too quiet. “That window up there,” she said pointing to the side of the building, “is my room.” She then forced her swollen knee to bend as she slid out of the passenger seat. She tried to stand on the outside of her foot to avoid putting the wound flat against the asphalt. She was still worried about getting the wound infected, if it wasn’t already. Under her bathroom sink, she had hydrogen peroxide, and in her medicine cabinet, she had a few antibiotics that she never finished from her last sinus infection. Once they were inside, she’d make sure to clean her foot, bandage it with whatever she might have, and take a dose of Erythromycin. She hated the stuff because it killed her stomach, but it was better than the alternative. “I don’t have my key…”
Bill stared down at Benjamin and then at the building. He was debating on letting his son sleep, since the place seemed safe enough, while they found a way into the apartment. But then again, maybe he should wake him. “Do you think it’s okay to leave him here for a bit?”
Amanda looked around. Her eyes noticed something on the other side of a red painted bench within the dog park. Bill followed her gaze. It was a body of a woman. There was no sign of the dog.
“I wouldn’t leave him,” she said, still eyeing the body. “Just in case…”
Bill agreed. The body was all he needed to sway his decision. He grunted as he hoisted Benjamin onto his shoulder. He limped behind Amanda, following her around the building. She stopped at the bottom of the first set of stairs. “The one on the left is mine.” She looked at Benjamin, his eyes still closed. “Has he always been a sound sleeper?”
“No,” Bill said. “I think it’s…” He was afraid to say too much. He didn’t want to frighten Amanda by bringing up the infection. He had nowhere to go and didn’t want her to turn them away.
With her swollen knee and injured foot, Amanda awkwardly climbed the steps to the door. Bill stayed at the bottom, holding Benjamin, watching her. She tried the door. Just as she thought, it was locked. There were no accessible windows without a ladder.
“It’s locked,” she muttered. “We could try the office. They have keys to let themselves in for repairs and stuff.”
Bill eyed the balcony. “Is the sliding door unlocked?”
Amanda hopped down the stairs on one leg and stared up at the balcony above. “I doubt it. But maybe…” She’d been in such a hurry to get Jasper to the hospital that she may have left the door unlocked. It was doubtful, but worth a try. “I’m not sure I can get up there.” She was afraid of heights, but was desperate to get inside. She didn’t like being out in the open where an infected person could get at them. Not that she was seeing or hearing anyone, or anything, except for some birds in the trees behind the complex. There was a small canyon of trees, grass, and hills directly behind her building. Late at night, yipping of coyotes could be heard roaming the canyon.
“If you can take Benji,” he said. “I can…”
Amanda could see that Bill was struggling with his pain. He didn’t let on, but she could see it in his eyes and his stiff movements. Even with her injuries, she was in better shape. “Let me give it a try first. If this doesn’t work, I’ll see if anyone is in the office.” Even as the words tumbled from her lips, she doubted anyone would be working in the office. She wondered how many people were even in the apartment buildings. And just how many were still alive? It freaked her out to think about it. She’d noticed that the parking lot wasn’t as full as normal. She bet a lot of people tried fleeing from the area when the virus hit.
Hoisting herself over the fenced in patio of her downstairs neighbor, Amanda wondered if anyone was home. She’d never really spoken to her neighbors except for a quick hello or good morning from time to time. The woman that lived downstairs was a single mom with two school aged children and a very loud baby that cried all the time. She’d often see the woman wearing green scrubs. Her guess was that she was a nurse, but she wasn’t sure. There was also an older Hispanic woman that didn’t speak much English staying there a good portion of the time, watching the children. Amanda believed she was the nanny.
Standing on the patio, Amanda’s curiosity got the better of her. She walked up to the sliding glass door. The beige plastic vertical blinds were pulled closed, but there was a gap where one of them was turned and hadn’t shut properly. Amanda cupped her face with her hands, shielding her eyes from the sun, and leaned against the cool glass. She couldn’t see anything. Without electricity, it was dark inside. The only light coming into the room was through that small gap in the blinds.
Amanda then turned and made eye contact with Bill who was watching her.
“Anyone home?”
Amanda shrugged. “Can’t tell.”
“I’m going to sit on the steps,” he said, walking over to the staircase. “Ben’s getting heavy.”
“Okay.” Amanda then eyed the door to the outside storage unit. Each apartment had a small storage room off the patio and balcony. It also housed the air conditioning. Amanda kept her Christmas decorations, fake tree, bins of files, a few tools and a dolly in hers. Maybe the neighbors had a stepladder. Amanda grasped the handle and was surprised when the door opened. She kept her storage room unlocked, too, but being that this unit was at ground level and hers was upstairs, she figured it’d be locked up tight. Opening the door, she peeked inside. There were a lot of beach toys, shovels, pails, etc., a few unmarked storage boxes, and two folding chairs. No ladder.
Amanda grabbed one of the folding chairs, tucked in the back of the unit. Unfortunately, when she yanked it, she’d caused an avalanche of toys to come clattering out of the room and onto the pavement.
“You okay?” Bill called to her from the stairs.
“Yup!” Amanda said, unfolding the chair. “Knocked over a few things.” Carefully, Amanda stepped up onto the chair, using her good knee, while holding onto the patio wall.
Bang! Bang! Crash! A loud thrashing from inside the downstairs apartment startled her. Frightened, she grabbed hold of the wall to steady herself. The blinds inside of the downstairs neighbors’ unit moved all over. Someone was banging against the glass door.
“Oh my God!” she shrieked.
“What the hell?” Bill rushed to the patio, peering over the wall at the sliding glass doors. “Someone’s in there!”
Amanda watched as the blinds were being ripped away from the glass door. A puffed up white face with golden eyes and dark hair stared at her from inside. The infected woman began to bang and paw at the glass trying to get at Amanda. It was the woman Amanda believed to be the nanny. “Oh my God!” she screeched, forcing her swollen knee to bend. She scrambled up onto the wall and was now gripping the bottom edge of her upstairs balcony. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get the strength to pull herself up.
“No! I’ve got it!”
Benjamin began to awaken due to the commotion and squirmed in Bill’s arms. Bill set the boy down. With rapid movements, the woman began to pound on the glass trying to get outside. “Amanda,” he warned. “If she gets through that glass… I don’t want…”
“I know…” Amanda clutched hold of the balcony and tried to pull herself up. She was balancing on her tip toes. She was just able to grab the wooden slats. If she could only just pull herself up a little more, she’d be able to swing her foot up there and climb up. “I’m almost…”
There was a loud cracking sound. Amanda’s stomach leapt into her chest as the woman came barreling through the broken glass. She looked down in horror as the woman, cut and bleeding from her wounds inflicted by the glass, came after her.
“Amanda!” Bill yelled, drawing the attention of the infected woman to himself. “Run, Benji,” he said to his son while nudging his back. “Now! Up the stairs!” Benjamin clutched hold of his dad’s leg, refusing to let go. “Now, Benji! Up the stairs! Now!”
Benjamin let go of his father and ran up the stairs. He crouched down near the door at the top of the landing and buried his face in his hands, crying.
Amanda kicked her feet. She’d accidentally knocked over the chair and was hanging from the upstairs balcony. She reached up, grabbed the next wooden slat and somehow managed to pull herself up a little higher, but not high enough to be out of reach. Kicking hard, her foot accidentally came in contact with the side of the woman’s head which drew the woman’s attention away from Bill and back to Amanda.
Without thinking, Amanda’s foot pushed with her full weight against the top of the woman’s head, giving herself just enough oomph, to propel herself upwards to another rung in the wooden balcony. The woman then clawed at Amanda’s foot, fingernails raking her skin. Amanda shrieked. Bill grabbed the largest tree branch he could find and swung it at the infected woman, whacking her in the back of the head.
Fatal Reaction, The Beginning Page 21