by Stevie Kopas
James grabbed the remote off the table and lowered the volume on the flat screen. The family had little by the means of nicer electronics, but James made sure his kids had the entertainment he thought they deserved. And by deserved, he made sure they had enough to keep the other kids from making fun of them when they came over. Times had been tough since Nina had given up the long battle to breast cancer 3 years earlier, but James took up a second job and had tried to keep his children as comfortable as he possibly could since having to move into the apartment in the city. “Look kids,” James started, wringing his hands, unnerved by the conversation he was about to have. “I know it doesn’t seem so serious to ya’ll, right now, but whatever’s hittin’ this country,” he glanced at Veronica to make sure she was listening, “it’s hittin’ us awfully hard, and happening right outside.”
Veronica was the ace of the two children; fantastic grades, excelled in track and basketball, a nice group of friends. She was a natural born leader with a good head on her shoulders. Isaac on the other hand had failed his sophomore year in high school and was kicked off the football team for poor test scores. His friends were into heavy drinking and experimenting with drugs and James had to struggle to keep him from following suit. Before the country’s current crisis had even erupted, Isaac was enduring his second out of school suspension of his Senior year. One more, the principal had warned, and he was out.
“So there’s a sickness. I get that.” Veronica twisted a strand of her hair nervously, catching onto her father’s uneasiness. “But isn’t it just gonna pass? I mean, I know what they’re sayin’, they’re sayin’ people are attacking one another, eating one another. But who in the world just decides to start eating their neighbor?” She put an emphasis on the word eating as she continued talking. “But seriously, this just sounds like Isaac said, a bunch of hype they’re tryin’ to get us to buy into. I mean, I’m okay with them cancelling school and all, but there’s been three accidents on our street in two days and they’re not even cleaning it up. Why are they tryin’ to scare us like this?” She looked over at her brother, who was busy with his phone despite knowing it would not work. “If they’re tryin’ to scare us, it’s working a little, but I don’t see the point in shutting our internet off.” She rolled her eyes and sat back in the chair when she was done speaking.
“I know, I know it seems crazy and pointless,” James started, “but if this is as serious as they’re making it out to be, then we need to just be patient and concentrate on the important stuff. Maybe right now, we need to take it seriously, just in case it is.” He noticed his son wasn’t paying attention and thought of Eliza, his son’s girlfriend. “Look kiddo, I know you’re worried about her,” Isaac looked up at his father with a scowl.
“I don’t even know where she is.” Isaac mumbled. “There’s a bunch of crazy shit, sorry, stuff, happening out there and she could be anywhere!” Isaac realized he was raising his voice and thought of his mother, she always taught them that when family discussion was in order, they never, under any circumstances, raised their voices at one another. “I’m just pissed is all dad, I wanna check in on her.”
“I know son, but you need to realize Eliza is more than likely with her mom and dad, and she’s probably having a similar conversation with them like we’re having right now.” He placed a reassuring hand on his son’s from across the table. “What you two need to be concerned about right now though, is each other. Not your friends, or girlfriends or whoever, you need to worry about the people sitting next to you.”
“Well yeah dad, I know that. But are you ok?” Concern suddenly haunted her voice.
“I’m ok, V.” James answered with a smile. “I’m not worried about me. What I’m more worried about are the two of you being able to handle what we’re supposed to be prepared for. James got up from the table, taking the remote in his hand. He motioned for the kids to follow him to the living room and have a seat on the couch.
He turned to the local news, cutting off the recycled politically correct garbage for a more honest channel and clicked the volume up a couple notches.
The local news anchor, an extremely slender and very beautiful black field reporter’s face filled the screen. She stood in the county baseball field and spoke about the current status of Oceans County affecting the local sport season, as if trying to take the edge off of what was soon to come. The way she spoke seemed serene, almost normal, as if she knew the whole thing was just a hoax to begin with. While she was speaking, a fight had broken out behind her and was escalating quickly. The screen immediately cut to an in studio anchorman announcing breaking news.
“As we have been discussing,” the pale faced anchorman announced, “we have breaking news from government officials. A curfew of 6pm will be enforced in accordance with yesterday’s announcement of a state of emergency. Any person seen on the street after the restricted hour will be taken into police custody. On a national level, the president has announced that a nationwide school and job suspension be put into place. Any person outside of their homes between the hours of 6pm and 10am will be detained by local authority. Between authorized hours, we are urging you to remain in your homes regardless unless absolutely necessary.”
Veronica scrunched her nose up at the news report she was hearing, “Are they serious? They can’t be serious.” She looked nervously at her brother who shook his head in response. He was obviously angrier about this than he was about his cell phone.
“Government and CDC officials will be on hand at local markets and pharmacies to monitor the distribution of goods to local residents. These scheduled supply handouts will be on a first come first served basis between the hours of 10am and 6pm. Again, we need to urge you that unless absolutely necessary that you remain in your homes between authorized hours. We also need to remind you that any non-government official found on the streets between the hours of 6pm and 10am will be taken into police custody.”
The three family members watched and listened in awe as the news report continued. They saw the downtown of their own city transformed into some sort of military zone as the local news flashed footage of different sections of Columbia Beach City onto their television. Barricades were set up, the high school that Veronica and Isaac attended downtown was turned into a temporary medical facility and people rallied around the edges, screaming and protesting the actions (or lack thereof) the government was taking. The news reiterated the fact that officials were arresting rioters by showing people being pepper sprayed and put in handcuffs and zip ties.
The pale faced news anchor returned to the screen. “As we’ve previously stated, if you come into contact with anyone exhibiting signs of violence or infection, please isolate the victim and contact your local authorities. Do not leave your homes to go to the hospital for any reason. Local hospitals have been closed to the public. Please contact the authorities and medical personnel will come to you.”
“So they changed sick to infected.” Isaac stared absent mindedly at the screen, his voice flat.
“And the closed the hospitals?” Veronica couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“What exactly are people being infected with?” Isaac looked at his father.
James had no answer for his son. He continued to watch the screen as an advertisement from the CDC on the importance of hand washing came on.
“I don’t understand.” Isaac grabbed the remote from his father and began channel flipping. Veronica stood behind the two of them, nervously chewing her fingernails. With every channel Isaac turned, the same thing was repeated over and over, only in different words and by different people. He stopped briefly when he spotted an interview with a local attorney.
“This is your biggest case of the year, in what ways do you feel the current crisis will affect the trial, Mr. Eckhart?” The pretty blonde reporter shouted over the crowd around the courthouse.
“So what, we’ve got a curfew and we’ve got a bunch of nuts running around. It’s good for business.” the co
cky attorney responded, “I’ve yet to see any government regulation predict my clients’ fate in court.” The lawyer quickly shuffled his client and assistants through the crowd, raising a hand and shooing off any other reporters with further questions.
“See?” Isaac looked at his father, “that guy seems okay with everything.” James ignored his son’s remark and took the remote back.
James continued flipping through the channels when Veronica yelled for him to stop. To her dismay, the horror of the television screen displayed her friend Dee’s entire subdivision engulfed in flames. Firemen ran about the streets attempting to put out the massive blaze and reporters shouted above the ruckus. It looked as if though every house was ablaze. Before the network had the chance to cut the broadcast, a resident of the community, which resided just a few miles from Veronica’s apartment building, managed to grab the microphone.
“Get out! They don’t have it under control!” The reporter whose mic had been stolen fought with the crazed resident to gain it back. “I’m telling you! Get out!” The man screamed and slammed his fist into the male field reporter’s jaw. “They’re killing everyone! Eating everyone! It’s spreading! They don’t know how to stop it! You need to get out of the city!”
No matter how hard the mad man of the burning subdivision had tried to get his message out to the people of Columbia Beach City, the network had cut the feed, and Channel 23 went offline for good.
III
It was as if the entire world had changed in a just a few hours. Nobody had slept that night the local news networks cut their broadcasts. National channels stayed on, but were no longer reporting live. Generic messages were put up in place of news anchors’ faces apprehensively instructing people to stay wherever they were and await the arrival of emergency and military personnel. Every radio station played the same emergency broadcast as the last. The public was told to remain in their homes and isolate themselves from those who were exhibiting signs of bizarre or violent behavior. Any A.M. radio stations that were broadcast were full of crazies quoting bible verses and begging the sinners to repent. There was no useful information anywhere.
The day wore on and Veronica watched the devastation unfold in the streets below her bedroom window. People chased one another down the street, screaming and attacking whomever they could get their hands on. The violence and amount of people in the streets doubled over night. The residents of the city were tearing each other apart. Car wrecks littered the street and smoke was on the horizon. The mad man’s words from the last news cast she would ever see echoed through her brain. “Killing everyone. Eating everyone.” She felt the presence of someone behind her but couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the scene in front of her.
“It’s almost dinner time pumpkin, come on away from the window.”
Veronica didn’t turn to look at her father. She felt a swell of emotion come and go and thought for a split second that she would cry, but it was replaced once more with shock and emptiness. “Are they really eating each other, dad?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
James walked over to his daughter slowly and placed an arm around her shoulder, gently pulling her away from the window. The curtain gracefully fell back into place and the horror from the outside world was gone from Veronica’s view, but not from her mind. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know darlin’, but you’re gonna be just fine ok?” He stepped back to look at her face.
She met his gaze and mustered up a smile, she always felt like a little girl again in her father’s arms. “Thanks dad.”
“Come on now, let’s go bug your brother.”
Veronica and her father entered the living room to find Isaac staring at the television set. “Did you memorize that emergency message yet, son?” James walked to the kitchen and began to strain spaghetti in the sink. Isaac didn’t respond. Veronica walked toward the sliding glass door that led to the balcony but her father stopped her before she could resume the previous position from her bedroom window. “No ma’am, I need you to go on ahead and set the table for me please.”
That was one of the qualities she admired the most in her father. No matter what was going on, he was as cool as could be. She quietly removed plates and silverware from the cabinets and drawers while her father opened a can of pasta sauce and finished preparing the family’s simple meal. She zoned out while cleaning a smudge off a fork and thought of her father’s behavior when her mother had passed. Even then he made sure he never fell apart in front of her or Isaac. If there was one person who could ever set an example, it was James. Everyone jumped when a loud crash was heard above them. Isaac was up off the couch and staring at the ceiling. James set the pot down and put a finger up to his lips. The trio was frozen in place. Waiting, listening. Another loud crash came moments later followed by a loud yell and frantic footsteps. Isaac started to say something and his father motioned for him to keep quiet. A door slammed and an animalistic scream was heard along with more pounding footsteps and what sounded like someone slamming themselves into the doors and walls of the apartment above theirs.
Veronica took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, shaking her head. Tears had snuck their way into her eyes and she blinked them away as she set the fork she had been clutching down onto the napkin before her. The noise upstairs continued relentlessly. “The people from the street,” Isaac whispered, “did they get inside?”
Veronica placed the third and final fork down on its cloth napkin. “They aren’t people.” She turned to look at her brother’s panicked face. “And they didn’t get in from the street. Somebody upstairs just didn’t follow directions.”
James nodded to himself, silently agreeing with his daughter yet mildly disturbed at how unfazed she seemed by it all, how hollow her voice suddenly sounded. How long had she sat at her window and watched the city destroy itself? He knew it was pointless to wonder what exactly was causing people to turn into savage monsters and attack the closest living thing to them, but he figured a teenage girl would at least be asking questions, not giving answers to her older brother. He filled each plate with the contents of the pot and decided it was better for him to thank his lucky stars that his daughter was smart enough to assess and understand than panic and react to things foolishly. She’d always been that way, even when her mother passed.
They ate dinner without speaking. The demonic screams from above them were joined by a man yelling for his life when the door to the room he’d sought safety in cracked from its frame. His screams eventually stopped and the apartment was silent once more. Veronica thought of Dee and her other friends, her teachers, and even the cute guy at the bagel shop down the street and hoped they were safe. Either safe or dead in the way that meant they wouldn’t come back.
Earlier in the day she watched as a man who could have been a linebacker was taken down by two men half his size in the middle of the street. People ran right by him, chased by others or in search of safety. The gun he had so desperately tried to fire into the faces of his attackers flew to the pavement as his arms were torn off by quick hands and hungry mouths. The large man’s screams fell on deaf ears as he bled out on the street. What seemed like only a minute later, the man struggled to his feet, armless and disoriented. Her mouth had fallen open at the sight she was witnessing. At first she wanted to call out to her father or brother, to have someone help this man who had somehow survived this brutal attack but she stopped herself as she watched him roar like a wild animal at a family moving slowly along the cross street to the left of her building. She didn’t look away. She couldn’t look away, as he ferociously chased them out of her sight.
IV
Another week passed before they ran out of food and the power had already gone out in the city. Hindsight 20/20, James shouldn’t have procrastinated on the grocery shopping.
“I think it’s absolutely insane and if you’re going to leave, we should just all go together and leave the city.” James had decided to make a food run to the small grocer around
the block and Veronica was not happy about it. She had protested and argued, begged him to get out of the city. Isaac sulked on the couch after being turned down three times when he told his father he was going to accompany him and suggested maybe running by Eliza’s.
“Now, you know what I already told you about Eliza. You need to sit tight and take care of your sister,” James had told his son. “I’ll be back before you know it.” But James knew damn well that Isaac was the one that needed Veronica to take care of him, and he hated to admit it to himself, but his son would only slow him down. James knew what he needed, knew exactly where it was, and knew if all went according to plan, he could be there and back within 10 minutes.
Veronica winced when she saw her father pull out his old Browning A-Bolt. “I don’t suppose you’ll be shooting any deer with that.” She tried to crack a joke and smile to hide the fact that she wanted to throw up all over the room.
“I don’t suppose so, V.” Her father nodded at her and she nodded back.
Isaac had joined them near the door now, still disappointed in his father’s decision not to bring him, but dreading the moment his father walked out that door. “You promise me I get to be the one that totes the rifle next time, old man.” He smiled at his father, wishing he wouldn’t go.
“Only if you promise not to whine like a baby girl.” His father smiled back at him and gripped his shoulder tightly. Veronica joined them at the door to embrace her father and soon thereafter watched him walk out their apartment door and close it behind him.
The apartment building halls and stairwell were empty as James left. He considered himself lucky that the dead could not turn doorknobs considering all the noises he’d been hearing from his neighbors over the past few days. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he exited the dark stairwell on the ground floor and approached the front door of the building, fearing what might be waiting to greet him on the other side.
