Outbreak of the Living Dead

by Aaron Guerra

  “I can’t. I have to tell Sarah and James about Jen. They think we‘re still together at my house,” said Kim as she looked at the man. Susan started to walk down the street while leaving the two behind.

  “We might bump into them along the way, which reminds me,” he said as he walked back to her with his hand slowly moving up to his chest.

  “My name is Tristan, what’s yours?” he asked. The girl smiled, with her hands fidgeting by her sides.

  “It’s Kim! Kim Kohn,” she said with a smile.

  The Sheriff of Little Bow had parked his truck near the entrance to the city. The place was known as Crimson Falls. The height from the buildings in the background amazed the man. He rarely left Little Bow, so seeing stuff like this was always a treat. But during his current situation, he couldn’t admire it like he usually would have. He quickly exited his vehicle when Terrance finally drove up from behind. The young officer had looked around carefully with his eyes scanning the entire town.

  “Sir, is this Crimson Falls?”

  “Yes it is son, yes it is,” Bruce said.

  Smoke covered most of the sky above the city. It was darker than the road they took to get here, and the horrible rotting smell was all over the place. There were scattered remains of some people along the roads. A few vehicles were turned to their sides as the fire danced among some them. The sheriff looked around some more before turning back to face his officer.

  “Terrance, we’re here to find some answers that could help us discover what the hell is going on,” said Bruce. “I believe the cars that collided with each other from outside our town originally came from here.” The officer gave out a weak smile to the sheriff.

  “Sir, what if there’s no one left but the monsters?” Terrance had asked. The sheriff had returned to his truck to start it up when he heard some people screaming from the distance.

  “That’s probably some survivors that need our help. Now let’s go!” Bruce had quickly said. Terrance started his vehicle again as the sheriff entered the entrance to the dark city. The officer shook his head when he heard more of the constant screams that echoed throughout the darkness. Terrance couldn‘t help but let out his opinion for himself to hear.

  “Hell no! We should be driving our asses out of here! You want to go into the spooky place with no power? Okay, here we go. Shit,” Terrance had said with an angered face.

  Sarah had looked up to see James at the exit with an unknown man over his shoulder. She was using a ladder as a weapon to keep the creatures from getting to her.

  “James!” Sarah had yelled out loud. “Help me!” The officer carefully placed the unconscious man against the wall by the door. Quietly, he made his way down the steps to see a few of the rotting bodies trying to get her from the sides. There was a heavy looking box near the bottom of the stairs. He bent his knee’s and lifted it up with his strength before tossing it to a few of them. The monsters had grunted and groaned when they were forced against the hard cold floor. More blood started to spill out of their mouths from the weight of the box that crushed their upper bodies. That attack only took a few of them out, but there was still a few more of them standing. Sarah used all of her strength to push the metal ladder against their chest to shove them back. In the process she couldn’t help but fall down from the lack of energy she had left. James started to stomp his boot through their skull’s while covering his nose from the horrific rotting stench that escaped their brains. The female officer started to climb up from the floor to get away from the creatures that were still trying reach for her.

  She took a couple of steps back before she pushed her weight against a large tower of boxes. All of them came tumbling down onto the ones that were still crawling on the floor. Their bones were crushed as the dark blood pooled under the heavy cardboard boxes.

  “I’ll make sure to stay on your good side from now on, Sarah,” James had said in a joking manner. She couldn’t help but smile at his remark. Sarah started to walk along the nearest wall to stay clear from the bodies down below on the floor.

  “We have to escape this place and meet up with Jen,” she said quietly enough for him to hear.

  James looked at her, then to the floor before saying, “I just hope they‘re both alright.” She noticed that he wasn’t carrying his firearm neither.

  “Hey! Where’s my shotgun?” she had asked him. “Don‘t tell me you forgot your pistol too?!”

  James looked up to the exit with the brief massacre memory coming to him.

  “Gina totally lost it and started shooting everyone upstairs, including Mr. Grant,” James said before continuing. “I tried to get through to stop her, but the freaking door wouldn‘t budge.” Knowing the risk was high, she still wanted to retrieve the weapons they brought from the police station. “Sarah, no!” he said to her face to face. “We have maybe three handguns in the car along with more ammunition. We don’t needs those weapons! Not anymore…” She took a deep breath before agreeing with him. They were dirty weapons now that have been stained with innocent blood. Sarah wasn’t sure if she would’ve been able to use it knowing that. James had slowly placed his hand on her cheek while smiling at her. She started to feel her face getting warm as her heart began to pulse faster from his touch. He slowly removed his hand before facing the exit again. “Let’s go get our friends and get the hell out of this town,” he said. James went up the stairs first to see that the man was still unconscious by the wall. He knelt down and lifted him over his shoulder once again. Sarah followed after him down the hall with the broken glass scattered on the floor. She was able to see the creatures still feeding on the remains of the workers that tried to escape outside.

  “Those poor bastards…” she said sadly.

  Chapter 3

  The two police officers from Little Bow were driving down the road in Crimson Falls. Sheriff Bruce Matthews and Officer Terrance L. Jones carefully drove past a lot of wreckage in the streets. The entire place smelled like burning hell even when the windows were rolled up tight. Terrance was about three feet behind the Sheriff‘s truck, but he noticed that his own vehicle suddenly stopped in the middle of the street.

  “What the hell?” he had said while looking around frantically. “What’s going on?” Terrance asked himself. The gas tank was empty from what he could tell when looking around for the cause of his vehicle‘s sudden stop. He contacted the Sheriff through his radio while nervously looking all around to see if any of those freaks were coming for him from the shadows. “Sir! I’m out of gas!” Terrance told him through the radio. “The damn car won’t run on fumes anymore. I must‘ve been out before we arrived here.” The Sheriff stopped his truck in the middle of the street before reversing it to where the police car was parked.

  “Damn it!” Bruce had said with an angry tone in his voice. “I tell these morons to gas up every morning! But do they ever listen to me? No!” Terrance had cautiously exited his vehicle while keeping a sharp eye for any movement outside. He walked over to the passenger’s side of the truck before opening the door. Finally sitting inside, he quickly closed the door and locked it.

  “I’m sorry sir!” Terrance had apologized to his superior. “I think Paul took my car last night as a joke for leaving him the bill at the bar the other day.” Bruce tightened his grip around the steering wheel as he tried his best to remain calm.

  “Bunch of morons,” said Bruce in a low calm voice. The officer in the passenger seat nodded slowly, agreeing with the man. The sheriff started to drive deeper into the dark city.

  “Sir, what information can we possibly obtain by coming to Crimson Falls?” Terrance had asked with a curious expression on his face. “Just look at it! It‘s completely destroyed! It doesn‘t even seem like any survivors are here!” Bruce was too busy driving through the debris to really pay attention to him. He kept his concentration strictly on the road as he hoped that nothing sharp would blowout a tire. But with a loud pop, the right front wheel on Terrance’s side went flat. Bruce turned the vehi
cle into a large parking lot near a grocery store.

  “Damn it!” yelled the sheriff. “You broke my concentration, rookie! Now look at us! We‘re stuck here for now!” Terrance had sat up quickly while glaring at his superior from the crap he was spewing out.

  “EXCUSE ME?! IT’S MY FUCKING FAULT YOUR SHITTY DRIVING GOT US STUCK?! WELL, EXCUSE ME!” Terrance had yelled in a sudden outburst. The officer had gripped the door’s handle, forcing it open as he stepped out. “I’d rather be out here with these ugly ass mother fucking monsters, then spend another second with your uncontrollable angry ass any longer!” he told him.

  The sheriff was glaring back at him with his eyes narrowing from the rage he was holding inside. Terrance continued to lash at him with more force in his words.

  “What?! DID I OFFEND YOU SHERIFF OF LITTLE BOW?! WHAT MAKES YOU THE BOSS OF ANYONE IN THIS FUCKING SITUATION?! THE POLICE FORCE BACK THERE IS PROBABLY ALREADY DOWN! IT’S JUST ME AND YOU! WE DON’T EVEN KNOW IF THE OTHERS ARE ALIVE!” Terrance yelled. Bruce reached over for his gun on the left side of his belt. But before he could use it on the man, a horde of the hungry creatures came rushing out from the darkness. They easily lifted the officer away with his screams for help echoed throughout the area. They eagerly carried him away into the pure dark that light dared not wish to step foot in.

  The old man in the driver’s seat could hear Terrance crying for a moment until nothing at all. No sound of his whimpering voice or of them eating his flesh.

  “That son of a bitch forgot to close my damn door,” said Bruce. He had reached over to shut it himself. “Guess his death came in handy. None of those things are coming back for me.” Bruce had exited the truck from his side before closing the door as quietly as possible. The sheriff started to walk towards the Grocery store that his truck was facing. He was able to notice that some light from within the building began to flicker. It wasn’t large enough to light up the place, rather it was the size of a flashlight near one of the windows. “I believe someone in there is alive! My luck must be changing for the better now,” he quietly said to himself. He gripped his pistol tightly while running on down to the building where he was getting the signal.

  Bruce assumed that the front doors to the store were going to be barricaded and locked up, but they were unlocked and opened too easily. The Sheriff had looked around the dark wide area, only to see a young man wearing a red apron over his casual clothing. He looked like he was working at the place when Crimson Falls was overrun by the monsters. Slowly the young man had stepped forward to the officer in uniform.

  “Wait, there’s only just one of you?” said the young man. “I thought I heard another person outside! Is he alright?” The sheriff started to aim his pistol at the person now.

  “He was just killed after that pointless little rant of his out there,” said the sheriff. The young worker had lifted his hands up fast while taking a step back. “Hold on!” said the new face.

  “Don’t shoot! I don’t mean any harm to you buddy!” he said. People came out from the back to stand beside the guy in the red apron. Most of them were scared residents of the city that were seeking shelter from the outbreak.

  “Officer, please don’t hurt him!” said an older woman. “He saved us all!” She took a few steps to the man with the gun while carrying an infant in her arms. “If it wasn’t for him, none of us would be alive right now,” she had said.

  The man with the red apron slowly lowered his arms after hearing the comforting words from her.

  “Can you see now officer? I’m one of the good guys here,” said the young man again. Bruce took a deep breath before lowing his firearm.

  “Alright then Mr. Good Guy,” said the sheriff. “Let’s get this one thing straight. I’m the Sheriff from Little Bow. Now can somebody tell me what in the hell is going on here?” Many of them had looked to each other, then to the older woman in the room. She took a step closer to give the baby to a teenage girl. The woman looked outside one of the windows that wasn’t boarded up.

  “It started almost a week ago,” she said low enough for them to hear. “We were all here, shopping like we normally do for things we needed at the time. This gentlemen here was working the cash register when one of those…things came staggering inside. We thought it was a homeless man that was wounded from a fight outside, but those wounds and that horrible smell he had,” said the older woman. She closed her eyes, shaking from the grim reminder of the horrid stench. “It was clearly not possible for him to be walking around with such a large gaping hole in his chest. His heart wasn’t even there! How can someone be walking around like that?!” the woman had said while trembling from the thought. Bruce had placed his weapon back into it’s holster before he walked over to one of the large boxes to sit on.

  “So you’re saying that you don’t know shit about this either. I drove over here to find answers damn it!” said Bruce.

  The old woman turned to the man in the red apron again. She allowed him to take it from there. He started to clear his throat from light coughs into his fist before speaking.

  “You see sir, it’s like this. After that man came in here, he attacked my manager and literally tore off his face with just his bare hands. It didn’t take long before I snapped out of it and grabbed a mop to smack him right across the face with everything I had! My manager bled to death on the floor, and the telephones weren’t working either! We couldn’t get the paramedics or the police here,” said the young man in the apron. His voice was raising slowly, but he kept it at a certain level so that the things outside wouldn’t hear him. “We’ve been trapped in this store for a week. There’s no news on what’s going on in the city! I don’t even know if my family is still alive or not!” he said. The newcomer had stood up from the box as he looked at the entrance of the store.

  “Hate to break it to you son, but from the way it is outside. I’m surprised that anyone is still alive at this point,” said Bruce with a serious look on his face.

  The Sheriff slowly walked over towards one of the windows to look through it. All he could mainly see was the destruction outside. He was able to see a few of the creatures dragging whatever was left of his officer by the legs. The blood trail was visible for him, but he didn’t feel any sympathy for the man after what happened by the truck.

  “If you want to survive, then come with me back to my town,” Bruce had said before continuing. “It isn’t as bad as it is here, but at least there’s more people alive to help each other. We could get them ready to fight against these things and save it from the evil itself.” Everyone had looked to each other, then back to the sheriff again.

  “Sir, we can’t go,” said the man in the red apron. “We rather stay here where our families are! Even if they aren’t normal anymore. This is where we belong.” The young man in the red apron smiled as the others nodded from what he just said.

  “You are a bunch of fools,” said the sheriff. “Once those things know you‘re in here, they‘ll tear you all apart like they did to my boy!” Bruce walked to the entrance of the store to leave the building. But he wasn’t alone this time.

  “Hey, I don’t want to die in this hell hole. I’ll come along and help you save your town from these shit heads if you‘re willing to take me!” said a man’s voice. The sheriff turned around to see a six foot tall man standing beside him. He could’ve been a basketball player in college for all he knew.

  “Alright son, but don’t slow my ass down. My wife is still back there and I will not lose her like I did my son to those freaks!” said Bruce. The college student had rubbed his hands together from being eager to get out of the city.

  “Do you have a vehicle, sheriff?” said the tall man. Bruce had looked around the parking lot while shaking his head slowly.

  “No, the damn tire went out just over there. We need to find a working car to drive through route 45. I recall seeing an army of those rotting bastards in the desert,” said Bruce. He started to walk towards the parking lot as the tall guy follow
ed right behind him. “I didn’t quite get your name back there son, what is it?” he had asked. The tall man smiled as he held out his hand for a formal handshake.

  “It’s Phillip Sir! Phillip Blake,” he said excitingly during the handshake.

  Sarah was sitting alone in James’s police car. She watched as the man from the News Station was viciously torn apart outside. Three of the monsters were tearing through his chest in a ridiculously sloppy style as they ate his remains.

  “I could’ve saved him,” she had said to herself. “I just know I could‘ve.” She looked down to the handgun resting on her lap. It was a dark grey color that matched one of her jogging pants back at home. “It’s been one hell of a day, and I know it’s just going to get worse from here on out.” said Sarah.

  From straight ahead of the vehicle, James came walking out of a dark alleyway near the shopping district. It didn’t take him long to reach the car and quickly enter it.

  “I walked over to Kim’s house but I couldn’t find them there,” James had said with a displeased look on his face. “The front window was broken into…and there was a lot of blood covering the grass.” James held out a familiar badge with dried blood smeared on its surface. “I-I don’t think Jen made it,” James had said quietly. The woman to his right had slowly took the badge from him. She held it tightly against her chest with tears coming down her face.

  “What about Kim? Did-Did you see her there?” Sarah had asked him. He shook his head before placing a hand on hers to comfort.

  “I didn’t see neither of them there. I can’t say for certain if they’ve been brought back to life like the others or not,” said James. He waited a moment before turning the key in the ignition to start the car up. Sarah gripped the badge as hard as she could. She wished for them to be somewhere safe nearby.

  Some time passed as the officers drove down the shopping district. They were able to see nothing but bodies scattered across the parking lot. Most of the stores looked as though they were broken into or set on fire. It was probably due to the people panicking from the recent events that took place.