Fear- The Complete Trilogy of Horror Short Stories

by Lee Jones

  “This is an Emergency, Seek Shelter Immediately,” it reads. “ We need a ride wait here!” says James. He runs inside to the car rental kiosk desk to look for keys. He runs back out with a bunch of keys in hand. “Come on lets go!” says James. They get to the parking garage and James press the buttons on the wireless car remotes. One of the vehicles goes off and they locate the car is belongs to. James gets in the drivers side and Rochelle in the gets in shotgun. James starts the car and pulls out of the parking quickly screeching the tires.

  There are some parked taxi cabs blocking the roadway but James manages to navigate around them swerving in and out. They finally hit the road and start heading as far away as they can from the airport. Rochelle checks her phone for news. “Tokyo, London, Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles in a state of emergency,” says the broadcaster.

  ESCAPE

  They have managed to make it out alive. James turns on the car radio to the AM spectrum. Lots of white noise and static then turning the knob a voice cuts through the noise. “We have a safe house at Mercy Hospital. Food, first air, safe from the the infected.” “Infected? What could it be? Rabies, Ebola?” ask Rochelle. “No this is nothing the world has seen before”, says James. “It’s spreading fast like wild fire”, say James.

  Their car pulls onto the highway but the entire highway is littered with parked abandoned cars. They can’t drive through for miles that they can see the road is blocked. They will have to get out and walk. “Damn we’re gonna have to hike our way there”, says James. They park the rental car and get out. They now have to walk.

  Walking down the highway most of the cars are abandoned. “I need to see if my family is ok”, says Rochelle. She picks up the phone but now she has no cellular signal. Rochelle bites her lip. They walk for a few miles in the sweltering Georgia heat and make it to a shopping center. “Over there, there is a gun shop,” says James. At the top a sign read BLACKPOWDER GUN SHOP.

  The front window was smashed in it looked like it was already looted. They step over the broken glass inside to the gun shop. It turns out most of the place looted but they find a collection of shotguns locked in a glass gun case in the back. “I’ll look for a key, says James. He looks around for a key to open the gun cabinet.

  CRASH! Rochelle threw a brick at at the display case holding the long guns and pulls two guns out. She passes James a shotgun. “Well then, you know how to use that thing?’ says James. Rochelle inserts a round and cocks back her shotgun. They head out the gun shop and notice a grocery store in the same shopping center. “Lets check for food and water in that grocery store,” says Rochelle. The parking lot was abandoned, no other soul in sight.

  The front door was open. Rochelle slowly opens it and they walk inside. Most of the shelves are empty and the power is out. James signals Rochelle to clear the opposite side of the store. They slowly move in with careful not to make too much noise. James stops and finds some food left over on the shelf. Rochelle finds some medicines and first aid on the opposite side of the store.

  “I found food over here!’ yells James. As he is examining the items he feels a metal barrel touch to the back of his head. “Don’t you fucking move! Put your weapon down now!” says the voice behind him. James slowly put down his gun on the ground and puts his hands up. “Turn around!” James complies and turns around to face the voice. It’s an older man, probably 60’s. He has a pointed right in the James’s face. “What are you doing here are you infected!?” yells the man. “No no we here looking food and water we are completely healthy”, says James frantically.

  “Drop it!’ yells Rochelle. She has her gun pointed at the back of the strange man. The man slowly places his gun on the ground and turns around. James quickly moves out of the way.

  “We have some questions for you, do you know whats going on?” say Rochelle. The man has his arms raised in the air. “There was an outbreak, a virus. It has spreaded rapidly. Those that are infected have a ultra sense of sound and smell. They feed on the un infected,” says the man. “My name is Will by the way, I have food and water in the back”. Rochelle slowly lowers her gun. Rochelle glances at James.

  “Do you know a way to Mercy Hospital?” ask Rochelle. “I do but why are you going there?” ask Will. “There is a safe house there we need to get there,” say Rochelle. Will escorts them to the back of the store where is there is a small collection of food and water. Rochelle runs up and quickly opens the bottle of water and starts chugging it. James start drinking as well and open a can of beans and starts eating it.

  "We’re going to have to get there by foot all the roads I know of are blocked and impossible to drive through,” says Will. The group quickly packs a couples bags full of supplies. A small amount of food and first aid. They leave the grocery store and Bill shows them the way.

  NIGHTFALL

  It is now dusk and it is getting darker by the minute. They haven’t seen a soul for hours. Cars remain abandoned in the streets blocking the roadway. Stores have been broken into and looted. Rochelle, James and Will have been walking for hours. “Look we might have to get some rest somewhere and someone will stand watch,” says Will. They are in a nice looking neighborhood but everyone is gone. They find a 2 story house and kick down the front door. An an infected charges towards Will, and will takes a shot to the head and the body falls to the ground.

  “Lets clear the house before we settle in,” says Will. James heads up stairs to clear the 2nd floor of any infected. Will clears the 1st floor first the kitchen, living room, garage and back.

  “Clear!” yells James.

  “Alright you can put your gun down. I’ll stand watch for a few hours and then I’ll get some sleep”, says Will. James and Rochelle look at each other as if to hesitating trusting a man they just met. They both nod and head upstairs. In the one of the rooms Rochelle lies her back to the wall with the gun standing up next to her. James flops out in the on the bed. Fours hours have passed and James is awoken. He was snoring loudly. “It’s your turn,’ says Will. Will lowers his ball cap over his eyes and lies down. James steps outside on the porch and notices several infected roaming about but they do not notice him.

  The infected turn the heads towards James and start charging towards him. James points his gun and fires. The shotgun fire is too slow to keep up with the ever increasing hoard of infected charging at him. Will and Rochelle wake up from the noise and run out to the porch. They notice whats going on and start firing back.

  “Head up stairs!” yells James. The infected have gotten to close and James, Rochelle and Will all run up stairs. They climb through a window onto the roof. The infected have gotten inside the house and now climbing the the stairwell. Everyone firing away all they got at the hoard of infected. But everyone is running low on ammo. “I’m getting low on ammo we need to get out of here!” yells Will.

  All of a sudden a pickup truck pulls up to the house. A man leans out of the window and starts firing at the infected. “Get in!” he yells. Will, Rochelle and James jump from the second story roof onto the bed of the truck. The car pulls away just in time.

  GAME PLANE

  The vehicle is now driving off road. Rochelle is sitting in the back with James. Will is sitting shotgun. “Why did you save us?’ says James. “I owed an old favor to my friend Will here we served in battle back in the day”. My name is Zac by the way,” say the man. “We’re trying to get to Mercy Hospital”, says Rochelle. “Well right now all the roads are blocked it is impossible to get through. “I got a lodge just down this dirt road,” says Zac.

  They pull up to a house hidden away by trees and a dirt road. “Make yourselves at home,” says Zac. Everyone gets out the car and looks around. They all head inside to the kitchen. Everyone sits down at the kitchen table. "Who are hour friends?” says Zac. “This is Rochelle and James. I met them bucket a grocery store. They wanna to Mercy Hospital they say that’s where safe house is, “says Will.

  “How do you know for sure?” ask Zac. “We heard a ra
dio transmission, its are best hope right now,” says Rochelle.

  “Well, I’m gonna have to go with you too. I don’t have enough food at this point to get through a week now, my resources are about dried up” says Zac. Zac gets up and goes to the other room. He brings back a paper map and puts it on the kitchen table. With a marker he draws a path from they’re current location to the the hospital.

  “I was savaging out yesterday and found this area is flooded with infected. We are going to have to get past this zone as quietly as possible,” says Zac.

  HELL ZONE

  The gang has gone as far as the pickup truck will take them. They get out the truck, grab their bags of supplies and start walking. The hospital is a few miles away but the walking area is flooded with infected. Zac pulls out his binoculars and can see hoards of infected for miles roaming the streets. “Number one rule is to keep quiet as possible,” says Zac. “We’re taking the subway to get there. Everyone takes the stairs down to the station.

  It’s dark and there are no lights down there. It’s pitch black. Everyone switches on they’re flashlights. Careful not to make a noise. The station is abandoned and no one is there. They begin walking down the tunnel. Everyone is carrying a gun. They make it to the next train stop and can see several infected prowling about sniffing for a scent of fresh flesh. They shine they’re flashlights but the light seems to not bother the infected. Another infected appears to be finishing the last of a stray dog. The blood dripping from his face and the intestines splattered on the floor beneath it. The smell is unbearable. Zac has a vile of infected blood.

  “Here put this on your body it will mask you scent”, says Zac. Everyone smears a bit of it on their clothes. “The virus transmits only from blood to blood contact”, says Zac.

  Zac turns his head to everyone and puts his finger to his lips to signify silence. Zac keeps a flashlight on the infected to make sure nothing happens. They are about to clear the station then suddenly unknown to her, Rochelle’s foot kicks a glass bottle.

  Ching! All the infected in the train stop turn to look at them and beginning charging towards them. More infected appear to come from down the steps. Zac cocks his shotgun and begins firing. But there are too many at this point it is a horde of infected heading their way. “Run!” yells Zac to the others. Will, James and Rochelle begin running further down the tunnel.

  Zac gets bit by an infected on his shoulder. He turns and runs down the tunnel. He is hurt bad and he is bleeding badly. from his shoulder. He puts his hand over it to stop the bleeding. “Come on Zac”! yells Will. They continue running and make it tot the next train station and run up the stairs. They make it out to the street and into the back of a bar. They get inside the bar and locked the back door. Everyone is catching they’re breath. Rochelle takes a a bar towel, rips it up and fashions a tourniquet. She wraps it from Zac’s arm from his armpit to around his shoulder. Will brings over a flask of liquor found at the bar and gives it to Zac. “Here drink this,” says Will. Zac takes a long gulp then chokes and coughs. “Shit!” says Zac. “He got bit does that means he’s infected?” ask Rochelle.

  “Possibly. We don’t know that much about the virus at this point”, says Will. James grabs a pool stick from the bar to use as a melee weapon.

  THE FINAL STAND

  James grabs the map from Zac. “Ok we are only ohh a mile a from the Hospital.” says James. “Yea but look at that horde of infected out there”, says Rochelle. They all look out the windows of the bar an can clearly see the biggest concentration of infected they have seen yet.

  “Lets make a move in the mourning”, says James. “Zac is going to need medical treatment as soon as possible we can’t wait till mourning for that to happen,” says Will. “You see that horde of infected out there! There is no fucking way we are getting through that right now!” yells James. “Zac got bit and we don’t know how fast this virus can really progress,” replies Will. Rochelle breaks up the argument. “Give me the map”, says Rochelle. She also takes the binoculars and looks out upon the horde.

  Directly across the street is a gas station. “I got an idea”, says Rochelle. She busts through the door to the gras station across the street. James and Will follow her. “We can set a trap, bait them in this area then set a fire. Then we can make a move,” says Rochelle. Everyone runs inside the convince store to grab gas cans. As many as they can. Rochelle grabs a lighter. The pumps are out on the gas tanks so they find the backup generator switch. “Alright once I turn this on it’s going to start attracting infected,” says Rochelle. She flips the switch and James and Will start filling the gas tanks.

  Infected have started slowly moving from down the street towards them. “Hurry!” yells Rochelle. They then splatter the gas all over the place. James places a line from the the inside of the gas tank to the outside and draws it out about 50 feet. “Alright come on”, says Rochelle. James leaves on an old boom box and turns the music all the way up. He leaves it in the middle of the gas station. hey back up and she trails a path of gas from the station to out in the street. Rochelle holds of the lighter, flicks it on and drops it at the end of the trail she just created. The fire quickly spreads from the street all they way to the station. The gang runs back to the bar to grab Zac.

  A large horde of infected come charging towards the gas station. Several get on fire burning dead infected flesh. Rochelle, Will and James get back into the bar and find Zac in bad shape. His health is getting worst. His flesh is turning swollen and black starting from the area of the bite going down his arm. The infection is growing and Zac seems weak. “Come one Zac this is our chance!” yells Will. Will helps Zac to stand up and they make their way out of the bar. Zac is struggling to keep up but they make it down the road.

  They make it to the hospital and find several infected roaming around the entrance of the hospital. James fires a few shots taking down a few. Inside they find the hospital is empty, and the power is out. They turn on they’re flashlights looking for any signs of help. “Is anyone here!?” yells Rochelle. They make it to the ER wing of the hospital. They can see lights on. A barbed fence gate is blocking the path into the rest of the wing. “Hello is anyone here we need help we have someone hurt!?” yells Rochelle as she bangs on the fence. Zac at this moment is leaning on Will to standup.

  A man in military boots and a rifle walks out from one of the doors from behind the fence. He walks right up to the fence. “Help we need help immediately we have an injured man!” yells Rochelle.

  “Is he infected? say the man. “He got bit” says Rochelle. “Then he cannot enter.” says the man. “We have come a long way, we really need your help,” says Rochelle.

  Suddenly, a female doctor comes from the end of the hallway and walks towards them. “Let them through this man needs medicine I can treat him,” says the female doctor. The guard opens the gate and lets Rochelle, Zac, Will and James in. The barded fenced gate closes behind them. They follow the doctor and she leads them to a ER room with a bed. They lay Zac onto the bed. ‘Thank you doctor,” says Rochelle.

  “I’m doctor Meyer, I’m studying this virus in my patients. I have valuable data. We need to get this data to the CDC but all lines of communication are down.”

  Doctor Meyer hand Rochelle a notebook. “We have to get this to the CDC it’s very important!.” says the Dr. Meyer. Rochelle, James and Will all look at each other. “Lets do it,” says Rochelle. “I’m going with her,’ says James. “I’m going too,’ says Will. They are taken to the main area of the safe house which is the cafeteria and two wings of the hospital. Many survivors are here. The guard shows them their stores. Everyone packs bags with supplies, ammo, grabs guns and the folder. They now have a new mission.

  To be continued…

  Stick around for Volume II of The Undead series.

  THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

  The lunar lander has touched down on the far side of the moon. Commander Walker is in his spacesuit and exits the lunar lander climbing down the ladder.
It has been 70 plus years since man has touched down on the moon but now a private space company has sent the first men to the moon. Science Officer Clay follows and steps down the lunar lander touching the lunar surface for the first time.

  They lower the lunar buggy and board it. They drive five miles to the edge of a large crater.

  They de board the lunar buggy and setup scientific instruments. Commander hears a transmission from Clay “Walker!” and then static.

  Commander Walker turns around and sees blood floating in the air. Officer Clay’s body lays lifeless on the ground. His spacesuit has been compromised.

  Vapor is leaking out, and the white of his spacesuit is stained red. The Commander moves as fast as he can over to Clay laying on the ground. He can see in his visor that his face is lifeless frozen with ice crystals, the glass smashed in.