V-Virus Infected 1
Jacky Dahlhaus
Folla Fiction Publishing
This book was previously published under the titles Succedaneum (January 2016) and Living Like A Vampire (October 2016).
eBook ISBN: 978-1-913592-51-6
Print ISBN: 978-1-913592-61-5
Copyright © 2019 by Jacky Dahlhaus
Book cover design by Linda Gold, edited by Jacky Dahlhaus
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the writer, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
follafiction.com
This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Other books written by Jacky Dahlhaus:
V-Virus Infected Prequel
(previously published under the title
Releasing a Vampire)
V-Virus Infected 2
(previously published under the title
Raising a Vampire)
V-Virus Infected 3
(previously published under the title
Killing a Vampire)
Short Shockers
Short Shockers Vol. 2
(Newsletter Readers Only)
To receive exclusive writing material, sign up to Jacky’s newsletter at:
Jackydahlhaus.com
Folla Fiction Publishing
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
V-VIRUS INFECTED 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
V-VIRUS INFECTED 2
V-VIRUS INFECTED 3
V-VIRUS INFECTED PREQUEL
CONNECT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Acknowledgements
First of all, I’d like to thank my children. Without them telling me to write down my dream, I wouldn’t have begun writing and wouldn’t have known the enjoyment it gives me.
A big thank you to my friends Ruth, Suzie, Bob, Chris, and especially my mother and Dr. Chloe Alexander, who all proofread my first draft and encouraged me to keep writing.
Thank you to all my friends at the One Stop Fiction Authors’ Resource Facebook Group and my special friends Stephanie and Kathleen. Their critique and suggestions have been invaluable. You all have been a tremendous help and a source of encouragement. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Last but not least, I couldn’t have done any of this without the love of my husband. Your never-fading belief in me is inspiring. I love you.
Jacky Dahlhaus
V-virus Infected 1
Jacky Dahlhaus
Chapter 1
Like everybody else’s, my life changed forever during the 2004 event that became known as Black October. All of a sudden they were there; once normal humans now bitten by the infected and acting like vampires. The infection made them UV-sensitive, giving them an epileptic seizure when they came into contact with sunlight. More importantly, the infection made them thirsty for human blood. As they swarmed the world in packs, they sank their teeth into as many humans as possible. If they didn’t drain you completely, and you survived the attack, you became an infected.
That was the name we gave them; infected. At first, we called them vampires, and it was funny how the media adopted vampire terms from modern books and movies. If only these monsters glittered in sunlight and were vegan. A bioscientist interviewed on TV had explained that these so-called ‘vampires’ weren’t the living dead at all. The virus didn’t kill them, just made them into a sort of modern-day vampire. Hence they called the virus ‘the V-virus,’ with the V obviously standing for ‘vampire,’ and those who were infected were simply called ‘the infected.’
It was surprising how fast the epidemic spread. As suspected, airplanes transported it around the globe, and once earthbound, it spread like wildfire. Infected attacked the big cities first, leaving only death behind and taking their ‘newborns’ with them to attack the surrounding countryside. On the news, they compared it to a fast-spreading virus like the common cold. Whatever was causing the infection, it was exponentially worse than what anyone had ever seen in history.
The media had little time to give us more information on the outbreak as the infected managed to overrun communication networks within the first week. All information updates ceased. The only form of communication left unaffected was via CB radios. In other words, the infected didn’t seem to be mindless hordes. They were on a mission and had a plan. Unlike the people in my new hometown, Bullsbrook, where had I just gotten a job as a science teacher.
There seemed to be three types of people here. The first type believed the stories they heard and fled as soon as they could and as far away from the cities as possible. The second type believed that something was happening but weren’t ready to leave their homes just yet. They boarded up their homes and raided the food stores as if they were expecting a hurricane to pass through. The third type thought it was just another form of mass hysteria, caused by none other than the media. They continued living their lives as well as they could.
We all became cut off from what was happening in the rest of the world. It was as if we were living in the dark ages again with everybody fending for themselves, trying to do what they thought was right. It didn’t take long before the threat of the infected reached us in Bullsbrook, and my life changed forever.
Chapter 2
On Friday night, October 15th, 2004, Sue, Charlie and I, three new teachers at the Bullsbrook high school, sat in The Celtic Frog, the local bar. We occupied the corner booth that we had made our own since we had arrived in town two months ago. The bar was the only place that appeared to continue as usual since the start of the infected pandemic a week ago. The bar owners, a couple called Abby and René, still served
drinks, and the usual patrons hung off the bar or sat in their usual seats.
There were, however, numerous new customers. They were refugees escaping the city. The first ones arrived six days ago, but their number had steadily grown. In the beginning, nobody thought anything of it. It was just an unusual time of the year to get vacationers. As the news reports became increasingly scary, more and more people arrived, and today the biggest wave hit. The conversations of the newcomers were hushed and anxious. We could hear snippets of horror stories about people being chased, herded, and slaughtered like cattle. My friends and I sat huddled in our corner booth, whispering, discussing what to do next.
Suddenly we heard a commotion. I had heard a man talk loudly minutes before, but now people shrieked and cried. The three of us raised our heads to find out what was happening. A cluster of people were gathered around one of the newcomers.
“They’re watching a camcorder,” Sue said.
I pushed her to move as I wanted to know what was on the camcorder that would make people cry like that. “Well, come on,” I said, “get going. I want to see it too.”
She stood up and got out of the booth, followed on her heels by me. Charlie got up as well, and the three of us joined the wailing people.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Oh my god,” said Abby. She wiped tears from her face with one hand as she grabbed my shoulder with the other. “You’ll have to see it to believe it.”
She pushed me to the front of the crowd. An old man, I guessed in his sixties, with a rather saggy build and a haunted look on his face, held a camcorder with its viewing screen out. More people tried to see the recording, but the ones who had already seen it were reluctant to move. Apparently, they needed to see the footage for a second time to convince themselves what they had seen wasn’t a figment of their imagination. The old man backed up the recording and restarted it. What I saw scared the hell out of me.
The movie clip started off with a younger couple in a happy pose at a restaurant. The camera was then handed, I presumed by a waitress, to the man of the couple. He continued filming the woman. It must have been her birthday or some other celebration as the man gave her a present and, after a big hug to the man, she began unwrapping it. I couldn’t hear what was being said.
From that one scene of happiness, it turned into one of chaos and slaughter. The infected stormed into the restaurant, their fangs clearly visible, grabbing customers and waiters alike. The lucky lady who had been unwrapping the present screamed when one of the infected grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away. She fought back. The camera movement became erratic, as if it was being used to hit the woman’s attacker. I saw the arm of the infected move in the direction of the neck of the camera man. The camera then followed the movements of the man’s hand as he fought to get the arm off himself. You could see the infected laugh—he actually laughed—before pulling the woman he was still holding close to him. Her eyes were now glazed over; she was in shock. The infected sank his teeth into her neck, watching the man as he did it. The camera movements became more erratic as the infected dropped the woman and turned his efforts to the man holding the camera. We couldn’t see what happened next as, in the struggle, the camera was launched and landed on one of the other tables, in a plate full of pasta. Over the top of spaghetti, I saw the people in the restaurant become the dish of the day.
“Where did you say you found the camera?” someone in the crowd asked.
“In a little town halfway down the road to Portland,” said the old man loudly. “I was looking for food and found it lying there, in the pasta. Nobody but dead bodies there anymore. The infected had already left.”
“Why didn’t you stay there? How did you get past the infected?” asked someone else.
“With a big, fast car,” he replied. “I was lucky to have missed the infected attack, working in my cellar and my hearing being bad, but my wife didn’t survive.” Tears filled his eyes. “I’ve come to warn you. I’ve lost my reason to live, but you still have a chance to save yours. I want people to know what’s coming for them. Y’all have to get outta here! They’re coming!” His voice was thick with emotion, his eyes wild as he frantically looked around at the gathered crowd.
I looked over my shoulder at Sue, then at Charlie standing beside me. They seemed as shocked as I was. People called out more questions to the old man, but I wasn’t interested in his answers. I’d heard enough. We returned to our corner booth, too traumatized by the images to speak for a while.
School had been suspended until further notice earlier that day. Most people had taken their children out of Bullsbrook during the past week, anyway. So far, the threat had seemed far away, and we had all thought it would be dealt with before it spread. These people and these images told a different story. It wasn’t going to be safe here for much longer.
“We have to get away,” I said. “We have a better chance of survival if we get away from the crowd.”
“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better if we stayed here?” Sue’s dreadlocks bounced as she spoke. She shifted in her seat.
I scanned the bar’s customers. There were so many new faces. There was so much fear.
“You saw the tape.”
“I think,” Sue said, “that we have a better chance if we stand with the people from the town. More manpower.” Her southern accent sounded thicker than usual.
My eyes drifted back to Sue as I let her words sink in. I pursed my lips.
“I don’t agree. What do you think, Charlie?”
Sue and I both turned to look at Charlie. Being a dwarf didn’t diminish his presence and, being ten years our senior gave his vote more weight. The low lighting cast dark shadows on his face, accentuating his dark mood.
“I agree with Kate. Even if all the people in town worked together, we could never stand up to the numbers that the infected must have gathered by now. Let the army take that fight. We need to get out of here and hide until this situation is dealt with by the authorities.”
I followed Charlie’s stare and waited for Sue to respond. Finally, she nodded, her dreadlocks bouncing again.
“You sure?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’s right. Better to hide than to fight.”
“Okay, so where do we go?” Charlie asked.
I pressed my lips to my thumb. I’d bitten off too much skin next to my nail while listening to Charlie. It was bleeding, and I shut my eyes to deal with the sharp pain. Immediately, the image of my parents and sisters flashed in front of my eyes. I still didn’t know their fate. Last night, I’d hardly slept as I was tormented by nightmares of possibilities, and the resulting tiredness didn’t help me think any clearer. I couldn’t do anything for them at the moment, so I concentrated on deciding where to go. Even though Charlie, Sue, and I had lived in Bullsbrook for over two months now, we still didn’t know the town or the surrounding area very well.
“Hey, maybe we can go to the campground,” Sue said.
Charlie and I raised our eyebrows at her.
How in heaven’s name did Sue know about a campground? She wasn’t what you’d call ‘the camping type.’
“I’d asked around about where to find an affordable place for my parents to stay as my place is too small to accommodate them. They want to come and visit me over the Christmas break,” she explained. “My neighbors told me about it. They said it’s along the river north of town. It has cabins for rent at reasonable prices, and they said a small cabin could easily sleep the three of us.”
My face lit up.
“That’s a great idea. They might have a camp store too, with long-lasting food supplies.”
My thoughts drifted off to movies with underground fallout bunkers. Heaven only knew how long this infected pandemic was going to last. When my attention came back to the conversation, I realized neither Sue nor Charlie had commented on my practicality. They were too excited about the campsite.
“Yeah. Best of all, it’s off the main roads,” Charlie said, s
taring into his own private universe while rubbing the stubble on his chin. Then his eyes snapped back to us. “We better go there as soon as possible. We probably aren’t the only ones who came up with the idea.”
“Are we going right now or tomorrow morning?” Sue asked. She shifted in her seat.
I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. A surge of fear gripped me. It was as if a giant hand squeezed my insides, pushing adrenaline into the far corners of my body. This was really happening. It wasn’t a figment of my imagination, nor something happening to someone else. The idea of leaving Bullsbrook, my beautiful new hometown, made the whole dreadful situation suddenly so much more real. Sue was waiting for an answer, and a decision had to be made. I shook off the dreadful feeling.
“I’d sleep better if we left tonight,” I said.
Charlie slammed both his hands flat on the table. Sue and I jumped in our seats.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go home, pack our stuff, and meet at Kate’s. She’s the only one with a car.” He stared us down until we both agreed. “And only pack the essentials,” he added as he leaned forward toward Sue.
“What?” she asked innocently, shifting her eyes from Charlie to me, seeking back-up against his insinuation.
“Don’t get carried away, Sue,” I said. “My car may have five doors, but that doesn’t mean there’s a lot of space in the trunk.”
Sue opened her mouth in protest but couldn’t find a good excuse. Charlie chuckled.
The two of them hurried to finish their beers while I left mine untouched since I was going to be the driver. We paid our bill and went on our way.
Chapter 3
As I walked back home from the bar, I decided to ask my neighbor and landlady, Mrs. Babcock, to come with us. I couldn’t leave the old woman all on her own. Just before I knocked on her front door, I saw the curtains move.
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