Ellie took in the sight of her home and suddenly felt both emotionally and physically exhausted. Even though she was surrounded by death, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She walked over to the kitchen, grabbed the paper towels from the counter, and began to clean up Max’s mess by the front door.
“I’ll go unload our stuff,” Mike said. “Go get yourself cleaned up and relax a bit.”
“Unload?” Ellie asked. “Are we staying?”
“For now,” Mike said.
Tension released from Ellie’s shoulders as relief washed over her.
Day 10
Chapter 27
A week had passed since returning home. Amanda was saddened by the turn of events, but also happy that the week had been pretty much uneventful except for the car with the loud base she’d heard a couple of times driving up and down Mission Avenue in the middle of the night. Hearing the booming base of rap music gave her the chills. Whoever was driving the car was up to no good. Bill had told her not to worry about it. If they kept to themselves, they’d be alright.
Other than that, everything was still eerily quiet. So far, they hadn’t come across anyone else alive or infected in the apartment complex, but they also stayed close to their own building. The complex was quite large and Amanda couldn’t fathom that everyone was dead. She was sure that those still alive were doing what they were doing; keeping to themselves and hoping everything would go back to normal. Eventually they’d come out of hiding when they ran out of food.
They had scavenged all of Amanda’s neighboring apartments in her building for food and supplies. The bodies Bill had come across, he’d dragged over to the dog run, doused them with lighter fluid and burned them. Amanda worried that the smoke would draw attention. But so far, the car with the loud base hadn’t made an appearance during the day. She prayed it stayed that way.
Amanda had wanted to be strong enough to help Bill with the bodies, but couldn’t get herself to do it. The smell alone made her throw up. She hated herself for being such a wimp.
Bill had explained that if they left them to rot, it would become a health hazard. If they were planning to continue to stay in her apartment, they needed to clear the dead around them to keep from spreading disease, which made perfect sense to Amanda. The last thing she wanted to do was have to look for a new place to live. She’d been burning incense in her apartment to help cover up the smell of death, and spraying Lysol to hopefully kill off any germs. While Bill worked on clearing the neighboring apartments of bodies, Amanda went in after him and removed food items and other useful items. She felt bad taking other people’s things. It felt like she was stealing from them, or stealing from those that had vacated their residence. What if they came back home? Every time she entered an apartment, she said a silent prayer for the person that lived there. She’d realized that she’d been saying a lot of prayers lately.
Benjamin had fully recovered from the virus. There was no sign that he’d ever been sick except for a slight hint of golden yellow outlining his irises. He stayed inside the apartment, only coming out onto the balcony from time to time to sit in a lawn chair. She and Bill were doing their best to shield him from the atrocities of the new world. Amanda had supplied Benjamin with books, coloring books, crayons and toys that she’d found in other apartments to help to entertain him. Recently, she’d overhead him asking his dad about his mother. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Bill had explained to Benjamin that his mother was in heaven. Amanda wanted to ask Bill what had happened to his wife, but didn’t. She could tell it was a sore subject. Bill had never mentioned whether or not she’d become infected, and Amanda didn’t feel it was her place to press him for answers when he was grieving. Instead, out of respect, she kept her questions regarding his wife’s death to herself, and did the best she could to comfort Benjamin.
That afternoon while standing in the kitchen making peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, Amanda was thinking about the hospital. “Do you think that this virus… or infection… is from aliens?” she asked Bill who was sitting on the couch in the living room, taking a break from clearing apartments. He was thumbing through an old Newsweek magazine he’d found. The loaf of bread she’d been using to make their lunch was stale, but still edible. Being that she couldn’t eat wheat, she smeared peanut butter on a rice cake for herself.
Bill chuckled at Amanda’s question. They hadn’t discussed the cause of the infection since leaving the hospital. “Don’t tell me you believed that bunch of bull shit?”
Amanda scowled at him. She didn’t appreciate being laughed at or talked down to. “You have a better explanation?”
“Yeah,” he said, tossing the magazine onto the coffee table. “Something much more believable, like an act of terrorism or government conspiracy.”
Amanda didn’t reply. Instead, she changed the subject by calling Benjamin into the room. “Ben, your sandwich is ready!”
Benjamin opened the door to the guest bedroom that he and his dad were sharing. Amanda set the sandwich down on the small wooden table in her eat-in kitchen. Bill joined Benjamin at the table. Amanda handed him a sandwich.
“I’m thinking of checking out the grocery store on the corner,” Bill said.
Amanda gnawed on her bottom lip. She worried about leaving the safety of the complex. “You think it’s safe?”
“Probably,” Bill said, taking a bite of the sandwich. “I’m thinking of picking up some charcoal. Put that grill to use that I found.”
“We don’t have any meat. I’m sure everything at the store is spoiled.”
“We can grill veggies and some canned goods.”
“If there are any vegetables not growing mold.”
“Won’t know, if we don’t try. Plus everything tastes better on the grill. We’ll stock up on water, too.”
Amanda nodded. So far the water was still running, but who knew when that would come to an end. She also worried about the safety of drinking the tap water. “There’s a hardware store over there too.”
Bill raised an eyebrow. “That should be useful.”
When they finished their lunch, Benjamin went back to his room to continue building with the large bin of Legos Amanda had found for him. Bill went back to work on the apartments. Amanda was clearing the kitchen table when it happened. The lights began to flicker on and off, there was a buzzing noise, the air conditioning unit kicked on, the television set clicked on, and her microwave beeped.
“Oh my God!” she screamed.
Benjamin came running out of the bedroom. “The lights are on!”
Amanda smiled at him. If the electricity was up and running, that meant things were going back to normal. She ran to the front door to go find Bill. Bill was bounding up the stairs in her direction.
“Electricity!” he said, grabbing hold of Amanda at the top of the landing and giving her a great big bear hug. They were both laughing. Benjamin came running and joined in the group hug.
“I can’t believe it!” Amanda shrieked. She’d never felt more excited in her life. Then everything grew dark, it was as if a big storm suddenly moved in out of nowhere, blocking out the sun.
“What the hell?” Bill ran down the stairs and looked up at the sky. He stood there in stunned silence staring upwards.
“What is it?” Amanda asked.
Frightened by the sudden darkness, Benjamin grabbed hold of her hand.
“Bill? Bill… what is it?”
Not taking his eyes off the sky, Bill muttered, “Maybe I was wrong.”
***
Ellie was walking Max around the complex while Mike showered. The water was cold, but they were both thankful for still having running water. So far Ellie had only found one of her neighbors alive. Throughout the week, she and Mike had knocked on all of the doors in the complex. Still, that didn’t mean they were all dead. A lot of people had vacated the premises when the virus hit. Ellie knew this by how empty the parking lot was. Generally there wasn’t enough parking for ev
eryone that lived there and people ended up having to park on the street. Also, she wouldn’t be surprised, if there were survivors hiding in their homes, too afraid to answer their doors. Would she answer her door to a stranger and risk becoming infected? Probably not. If Mike hadn’t been there with her, she’d probably stay hidden, too.
Knocking on Mrs. Marshall’s door, she and Max waited on the doorstep. When the door opened, Mrs. Marshall peered out at them. She’d been completely oblivious to the virus infecting people and what was happening around her. Mrs. Marshall was in her eighties and lived alone. Ellie believed that she may have been suffering from some sort of dementia. “Are you here to clean?” the older woman asked.
“No,” Ellie said. “I’m your neighbor, Ellie. I live just around the corner from you.” She’d had this same conversation with Mrs. Marshall yesterday.
“My phone’s not working,” the woman complained. “And my electricity is out.”
“I know,” Ellie said. “That’s why I’m checking on you. I brought you something to eat.” Ellie carried in a plastic grocery bag filled with food.
“A bad storm is coming. I can feel it in my bones. Electricity can go out with a storm.”
“Yes, it can,” Ellie said, not arguing with her. Yesterday, she’d spent a long time explaining the situation. However, it didn’t do much good. Mrs. Marshall obviously didn’t remember their conversation.
“When are you going to start cleaning?” she asked. “This place needs a good scrub.”
“I’ve only dropped by to check on you.” Ellie smiled and put the items she’d brought with her on the kitchen counter. She opened a bag of chips and poured some onto a plate next to a Nutella sandwich she’d made with stale bread. “Here, I brought you lunch.”
Mrs. Marshall eyed the sandwich and the chips. “The other lady is a much better cook. That looks like crap.”
“Well, I’m not your cleaning lady or your cook,” Ellie explained, ignoring the old woman’s harshness. “I’m your neighbor.”
Mrs. Marshall sat down at the table and noticed Max for the first time. He was sitting by her chair, staring up at her plate, and then at Mrs. Marshall with big brown eyes. “Whose dog is that?”
“He’s mine,” Ellie said, opening a bottle of spring water and setting it down on the table. “Max, stop begging for food.”
“I’m allergic,” Mrs. Marshall snapped, glaring at the dog. “Get him out of here! You can’t bring a dog to work with you. I’ll have a word with your agency as soon as the phone lines are up.”
“You ready to go home, Max?” Ellie patted the little Corgi Terrier mix on the head, ignoring the useless threat. “I’ll check on you again later.”
Mrs. Marshall huffed and complained under her breath. As Ellie was walking to the front door, Max following close behind, the lights began to flicker. Max growled, spooked by the sudden onset of electricity.
Ellie looked around the room, startled. She hadn’t expected the electricity to ever come back on. That had to be a good sign, right? Excitement coursed through her veins. Maybe things were beginning to look up.
When Ellie opened the front door, Max raced down the stairs, into the sunshine and began to bark. He looked upwards toward the sky. Mrs. Marshall got up from the table and peered out the front door after them. The sky suddenly grew dark, encompassing them in shadow.
Ellie ran over to Max who was still looking at the sky, growling and barking. She’d never seen him act like that before. She looked upwards. An enormous space craft, unlike those she’d seen in movies, hovered over them, blocking out the sunlight. Ellie couldn’t believe her eyes.
“See?” Mrs. Marshall said, looking up at the sky, her vision not what it used to be. “I told you. A bad storm. I can always sense when something bad is about to happen. I feel it deep within my bones.”
Ellie gnawed on her lower lip. She felt it too. And this was only the beginning.
About the Author
M.A. Hollstein resides in Southern California with her two wonderful children and her spoiled pup, Dougal. Under the name, Michelle Ann Hollstein, she’s the author of the paranormal mystery series A Lost Souls Novel, the quirky and comical Aggie Underhill Mysteries, the Fantasy Trilogy, The Niberia Chronicles, and the new nonfiction series, Who Says You Can’t Paint?
You can visit her website at www.MichelleHollstein.com
to learn more about her books and to view book trailers.
Fatal Reaction was edited by Laura Martinez
http://mtmc2editingandformattingnook.blogspot.com/
Fatal Reaction
The Beginning
Survival
Books written under the name
Michelle Ann Hollstein
A Lost Souls Novel
Awakened Within
Beautiful Beginnings
Cheating Heart
Ghostly Gig, A Lost Souls Short Story
Ms. Aggie Underhill Mysteries
Deadly Withdrawal
Something’s Fishy in Palm Springs
Maid in Heaven
A Hardboiled Murder
One Hell of a Cruise
A Prickly Situation
Vegas or Bust
Dead Ringer
The Haunted Address, An Aggie Underhill Short Story
The Niberia Chronicles
Niberia
Ashes to Diamonds
Hidden Identity
Nonfiction
Who Says you Can’t Paint?
Night Crashes
Joshua Tree
Serenity
Escape
Fatal Reaction, The Beginning Page 23