The Clock Runs Down: Half Past the Apocalypse

by Joe Kelly

  But what else could it be if not a virus? he asked himself not sure if he really wanted to know the answer. Whatever it was it was spreading quickly and the failure of the police to get the situation under control was ominous. At some point someone will use a nuke or nukes, he thought uneasily.

  “Here is the list of area sightings again” Jill said. They both watched the scrolling names. Then she paled “ that’s right by my Condo. Makes sense I guess with Vanderbilt being right there.” Jared lifted an eyebrow but didn’t say anything if her condo was in the area with Vanderbilt she must make some very good money. Funny that he had never really asked her what she did for a living.

  After a moment of watching the list scroll Jared gently tapped the screen as his location came into view. “Looks like nothing near my place yet” he said.

  “You live outside the city.” she asked, surprised to note the location he had checked. She was sure at some point he had mentioned it but she had forgotten.

  “This place can be fun at times. But living around here with all the idiots, druggies, drunks, criminals and respectable city folks is just a bit much for me.” He gave a strained smile the news he had seen pretty much killed his sense of humor and good mood.

  He tried to ignore the uneasy feeling that time was running out. He felt a need to get his butt home, secure the place and wait till his friends showed up. This was Jill, damn it. “Look, It’s not going to be safe here in the city. If you need a place to stay. I have plenty of room, just till they get it back under control” He said knowing she would most likely say no to the offer and not really believing that control could be restored.

  “Thanks, but I need to see if it’s bad near my place and get some of my things together. I will probably stay at my sisters if I can't get to my house.” She said as he reached into his bag and pulled out his wallet. Extracting a card, he passed it to her, “that’s my address and Cell number. Though I don’t think the cell phones are going to keep working for much longer if this gets worse.” He said thinking of the fires and damage he had seen on the news in London and Paris. “But if something happens and you need a place. Come out, all my friends and their Girlfriends, wives and Fiancée’s will be showing up and there's plenty of food and water.”

  “Thanks, I mean that, ” she said softly the world was changing to fast and she just couldn’t adapt fast enough. Home was her condo and she couldn’t see abandoning it, surely they would get things under control. Deep down she didn’t believe that but the dying world still had a grip on her thinking and she couldn’t let her self believe that. Not yet at least.

  Glancing at the card, she saw the Legend “Stone and Crew. Guides, outfitters and authorized firearms dealers.” In all the conversations they’d had over the last four years he had mentioned owning his own business but had never said exactly what it was. He had never really asked her what she did either, which struck her as really funny. In stress and fear fueled way at any rate. If she had actually laughed she knew it would have sounded like she had gone insane.

  Jared wanted to linger but he knew that if this was as bad as it looked every moment he wasted standing here could be critical. “Good luck” He said after a second he didn’t want to leave her. He gently touched her shoulder for a moment as if he were going to pull her to him, then his hand dropped. What he wanted to do was to grab her and drag her to safety if she refused to go. She can take care of herself far better than most people, Jared thought.

  “You too” Jill responded half wishing he had pulled her to him with a silent sigh of regret turned and headed for the women’s locker room. Jared wondered if he would ever see her again.

  The locker room was half empty; the gym members that remained looked worried as they hastily dressed eager to get back to the questionable safety of home and whatever friends and family they had.

  Jared kept finding himself looking up at the locker room entrance half expecting to see one of the infected… no, call it what it looked and acted like, a fucking zombie. He told himself almost angrily. Even if they aren’t really zombies they damn sure look and act like a zombie and that more than anything scared him badly.

  He didn’t bother with a shower the thought of being naked and half blind with soap in his eyes when one of those things showed up was more than he wanted to deal with at the moment. If he ended up getting bit, wandering around as a naked zombie wasn’t how he wanted to be remembered.

  He almost jumped when the door to the locker room opened and five men entered. They looked nervous, but had that I'm not going to stop my routine for anything attitude written all over their faces. Tired of feeling figuratively naked he reached into his bag and pulled out his HK SOCOM Mark 23 .45 caliber pistol, and placed it on the bench next to his bag before pulling on a pair of tan Cargo pants.

  Some of the newcomers looked at the pistol nervously as they began to dress for their work out but not one made a comment. Despite their Bravado, they were as worried about what was going on as anyone else with half a brain. But not worried enough to do the smart thing and head back home, Jared thought. How many people were dying or going to die because they refuse to change their routine. Determined not to look cowardly or because they just couldn’t accept that something could happen to them.

  Jared was breaking Allen’s rules about no firearms just by having it in the gym. But at this point, he didn’t care what the rules or the law might say. He clipped the pistol to his waistband ignoring the shocked stares of the new arrivals. He pulled on his Hi-Techs. The old kind of Hi-Techs without the zippers on the sides that blow out after a week of just walking thankful that they were speed laced. Combat boots for the win, he told himself.

  He donned a black T-shirt then slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door, his right hand hovering near his pistol as he stepped into the gym proper and saw it was almost empty. If those five guys stayed, they would be alone, Jared thought, everyone else was leaving. He silently wished them luck and started for the front doors.

  He stopped only long enough to check on Allen who didn’t seem surprised to find Jared entering his office. Jared knew it was bad when Allen didn’t even frown seeing the pistol he wore. A small TV sat on the corner of his desk and the news was on. So that might explain his lack of anger over the pistol. Alan knew how bad it was getting out there

  “I was going to let you know what’s going on but I see you know already” Jared said tilting his head towards the TV.

  “It doesn’t look good does it?” Allen asked looking uneasy. Allen was not the kind of man to worry easily Jared thought.

  “No, it doesn’t. If… If you need a place Allen you know where I live. I might only be there for a few days and then head out. I plan on giving it enough time to see if they get this under control before I head for the hills. But If I do head out I’ll leave a map on how to find us.” Jared said, his hand unconsciously brushing the holster he wore.

  Alan noted the gesture but said nothing about the pistol or Jared's breaking the rules. Alan knew deep down inside that the situation out there was already out of control. Besides he knew Jared had a cool level head and the military training to use a firearm without going bat shit nuts.

  “You and the dirty dozen?” Allen asked almost smiling using the nickname the band of friends had earned years back. Alan had spent quite a bit of time with the group over the last few years and liked them all. “I’m not surprised you guys have a plan in place”

  “Can’t leave my friends behind, now can I?” Jared said with a ghost of a smile. “Don’t stay here Allen, those windows won't keep the… rioters, the infected out. And you’ll end up trapped upstairs.”

  “You were about to say zombies weren’t you?” Allen asked his face pinched.

  Jared nodded slowly, “it’s as good of a description of them as any and more accurate too” Jared replied with a shrug of his thick shoulders.

  “Maybe your right about that, and thanks. If it gets bad enough I will try to get to your place.” A
llen said. Jared knew Alan was lying.

  This was Allen’s home and place of business. The only place he had left after his wife had died six years ago. He didn’t plan on going anywhere. Jared didn’t argue, he already felt like the clock was running down and he really didn’t want to be here when the buzzer sounded.

  “Good luck Allen” Jared said softly. Wishing there was something he could say to convince Allen to come with him. But there wasn’t and that was that.

  “You too Jared.” Allen said with a tired smile, as his friend walked out of the office for what Allen suspected was the final time. Alan sighed and rose from his desk, he had a lot to do to try to secure his business from the Rioters and needed to get started.

  Jared would always remember the day the world ended. The sun was riding high in a clear blue sky. A gentle wind stirred the trees in the parking lot and the smell of cappuccinos from the coffee stand down the strip filled the air. It was the kind of day, that all you really wanted to do was go hiking or ride four wheelers.

  But he could also feel an edge to it, hard to describe even to himself. But there was a heavy electric feeling in the air that set his nerves to jangling like a five-alarm alert. It was like something was building up, a dark and malignant power, its time almost here.

  He suddenly remembered an old poem he had read in high school by Yeats.

  The darkness drops again; but now I know

  That twenty centuries of stony sleep

  Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

  And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

  Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

  “save them Jared” his dad had said in that dream. How is that even possible, it was just a dream. There is no way my dead father was warning me about this.

  Next thing you know some watery tart will be lobbying swords at me, he thought as his sense of the absurd surfaced for a moment.

  The feeling of a clock running down came to him again as he walked slowly to his Truck, eyes sweeping the parking lot for any threat, old habits and training coming to the fore once more as he needed them. He moved quickly but carefully assessing threat potentials but saw nothing that truly alarmed him.

  Things seemed out of whack however; the people he could see were moving quickly heads turning alertly. Across the street, a steady stream of people were leaving the stores and heading to their cars. In the distance, he heard the distinctive crack of gunfire, almost lost in the noise of traffic.

  The traffic on the street in front of the gym was heavier than usual for this time of day. Some of the passing cars were loaded with suitcases and boxes. Many people doubted the official news story that the problem was under control. So, they were heading out to safer areas. Maybe they felt the same thing he did, time was running out.

  Reaching his truck he opened the door then jerked around as he heard screams and shouts of alarm from the nearby coffee shop. Jared waffled for a moment then tossed his bag into the truck and slammed the door then turned and ran to the coffee shop to see if he could help.

  Most people ran from danger, for better or worse it had never been a part of his nature. He hated bullies, and believed in helping others when it was in his power to do so and he had been like that since he had been a kid. The white knight complex as his little brother Eric called it. He had never been able to decide if it was a curse or a strength.

  People were streaming out of the fancy faux French doors of the coffee shop and into the outdoor sitting area with its brightly colored umbrella covered tables. Most kept moving into the parking lot for the questionable safety of their vehicles. As he watched a woman was knocked to the ground by the panicked fleeing customers, she landed heavily and curled up with her arms over head to protect herself as people ran over her trying to escape.

  “Damn do gooder crap will get you killed yet” he told himself as came to a stop just outside the low wall that enclosed the outdoor seating area of the coffee shop. He couldn’t see inside from here and part of him didn’t want to. He leaped the low wall and made his way to the woman on the ground. The sight of the pistol in his hand and the determined look on his face got through the panic of those around the woman who stepped out of his way.

  She was shaken, bruised and scraped but otherwise unharmed he saw as he clothes lined a man who was about to run over the fallen woman then helped her to her feet. The man he had knocked down was cursing angrily but it was obvious his outburst was driven by fear of what was inside the shop and was no threat, so Jared ignored him.

  A man in a dark suit stumbled out of the shop doorway. Panic on his face, he was holding a hand over his forearm, blood leaking between his fingers. “What happened?” Jared asked him sure that the man had been bitten.

  “Some asshole went nuts and jumped a woman. Bit me when I tried to pull him off” Jared wondered if the guy had seen the news, Jared should have shot him then. He couldn’t do it, not yet. They, the experts, might be wrong maybe not everyone that’s bitten becomes infected. He suspected before this was all over he would be able to shoot anyone bitten without a twinge of guilt. He hoped not though he didn’t want to be that man.

  Jared frowned in disgust as some of the people drew back, more scared at the sight of a firearm than the infected inside the shop. Idiots, total idiots he thought angrily as he stepped into the interior. The lights inside were off, he noted, unsure why and didn’t really care at the moment. He paused just inside the shop letting his eyes adjust to the dimmer light inside the shop.

  Most of the tables were to his right and many had been overturned. Cups, newspapers, and puddles of spilled coffee covered the floor . Here and there were purses or magazines that had been dropped as their owners fled in panic. A laptop lay on the floor its screen broken.

  A Teenage girl, blonde and terrified stood behind the counter her hands over her mouth, huge horror filled eyes staring over the counter at a man in a dark shirt and jeans who straddled a woman on the floor in front of the counter. Jared could smell hot coppery blood in the air. He glided forward, his every instinct screaming at him to just shoot the kneeling man, but without knowing what was going on he held his fire.

  The man had his back to Jared and was hunched over the woman. The kneeling man suddenly jerked his head from side to side, and Jared heard a wet tearing noise as the man straightened up. It reminded Jared of an animal ripping a piece of meat free from a carcass. Sickened at the thought and knowing it was correct, he centered his sights “ Hey asshole.” Not he admitted the best one liner. But it's what came out, so deal with it he thought.

  The man’s head cranked around almost mechanically. His hair was dark and matted with blood, his eyes were cloudy and sunken in the dark rimmed eye sockets. The skin was pale almost blood less looking. A strip of muscle and flesh dangled from its mouth. It was the right word, there was nothing human in those eyes Jared thought.

  It seemed like Jared stood there forever, fear and shock warring with the need to do something anything. But it took less time than a breath, and as he breathed out he stroked the trigger twice. The .45 boomed the noise battered his ears in the confined space. The first shot struck the zombie in the shoulder, twisting it around. The next round punched thru the things forehead and sent a spray of blood, bone and brain out the other side. It pitched over the body of the woman on the floor and lay still.

  Not the best shooting I’ve ever done, he thought, But I had to keep from shooting the girl accidentally. He didn’t even want to admit to himself that his aim had been off because of the shock at what he had just seen and the fear that had risen in him at the sight. Control Hoss, you can control it, it’s just like the battle field he told himself.

  “You okay?” He asked the girl who nodded fear had robbed her of speech. “Anyone else in here that might have been bitten?” He asked. She nodded again and pointed to the double doors at the back of the room that probably led to the prep and storage areas, and where the manager's office would be too.

  O
utside he heard more screams, and something crashed to the ground with a metallic clatter. Jared pivoted on his heel to look out the door without losing sight of the woman on the floor and saw the man in the dark suit who had bitten struggling with another man amidst overturned tables. The man on the ground was trying to keep the snapping teeth of the businessman away from his throat.

  A sudden shift of the zombie’s body weight and the struggling man lost his grip and instantly teeth latched onto his shoulder taking out a huge chunk. Blood poured out of the wound as the man writhed in pain. The dead business man's head dipped down again and bit into his victim's throat and ripped it out. How is this possible? Jared silently asked himself.

  Out of the corner of his eye Jared saw the dead woman in front of the counter twitch and jerk for a couple of seconds then sit up in a pool of her own blood. She had the same cloudy dead eyes of the man who had killed her. Impossible he thought but forced the shock and looming panic at seeing the impossible back into a dark part of his brain. Control he whispered to himself. Before the dead woman could stagger to her feet he shot her down. “Do you have a car?” He asked the teenaged girl who just stood there staring in horror, the authoritative crack in his voice shook her out of the almost fugue state that gripped her.