by Stevie Kopas
“We are urging people to stay in their homes as a state of emergency is being declared in the following counties.” The news anchorman went down his list and gave details of what steps government officials were taking to ensure the safety of its citizens.
“I can’t believe they don’t have this shit under control yet. It’s pretty unnerving.” Lulu stared nervously at the screen. Random acts of violence and rioting had started popping up around the country over the last few days and nothing seemed to be getting better. The once busy city of Haven had suddenly become a ghost town over the last week as tourists cut their September vacations short and the peaceful upper class community had suddenly turned into a city of mayhem.
Zach stared down at his cell phone, no signal. “Hey do you have Wi-Fi?”
“Yeah, the password is on the back of the modem over there.” She pointed to the edge of the counter and walked over to the couch, plopping down on the soft blue cushions. She grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels. “God, it’s the same thing on literally every channel.”
“I think your internet is out.” Zach picked up the modem and hit the reset button. “Did you pay your bill, Lu? I’m not getting any internet connection.” He gave up on the modem and pulled his phone out again. He punched in a number and hit send, only getting three short beeps. He looked down at his phone. ‘Call Failed, Try Again?’ He frowned and hit send again only to get the same response. Lulu continued flipping through the channels and finally stopped when she hit HBO and a fuzzy screen with no sound greeted her.
“What the fuck? We don’t pay for premium to not work.” She threw the remote down onto the coffee table and grabbed her phone.
Zach looked at his cousin, “Is your phone working?”
“No.” She saw the worry in Zach’s face. “Did you try restarting yours?” He nodded in response.
She picked up the remote again and searched the channels for useful information other than the repetitive ‘stay in your house’ speech. Michelle entered the room and avoided eye contact with Zach, making a beeline for the coffee pot. She rolled her eyes at the TV, she was so sick of the news already.
Lulu stopped on a channel with a field reporter downtown discussing that citizens were not happy about the government’s decision to cut all cell phone and internet services. “Emergency officials are encouraging those of you with landlines to please only use your phone to notify authorities if you come into contact with anyone showing signs of sickness or violence. Please do not leave your homes at this time, local hospitals are filled to capacity. If you or anyone you know are exhibiting signs of dangerous or abnormal behavior, please simply notify emergency personnel and do not leave your place of residence.”
Michelle made a face of disgust, “Sickness? What the hell? I thought this was all a bunch of political protesting or some shit.” She rinsed a coffee mug and began pouring slowly, eyes still on the TV. Screams suddenly erupted from somewhere off camera and the field reporter yelled “Get this on tape!” The camera swung in the direction of the screams as a large group of people poured out of a nearby office building and began savagely attacking anything near them. One of the women in the group looked directly at the camera. A voice was heard, “We should get out of here.” The camera came back to the reporter but he was already running in the direction of the news truck. The cameraman quickly panned back in the direction of the attacks just in time to catch the crazed woman leaping onto him. The camera went down but did not shut off. Violent screams and growls filled the air, yelps of pain and prayers to God went unanswered as the woman ripped out the cameraman’s throat.
II
Michelle hadn’t stopped pouring the coffee and couldn’t peel her eyes away from the insanity she was witnessing on the local news station. Coffee flowed up and over the rim of the mug and onto the counter. The hot brown liquid spread out and down over the edge, dripping onto her feet. “Shit!” She slammed the pot down and jumped back. Lulu and Zach were startled by her outburst and Zach rushed to the paper towels, spreading them all over the counter in an attempt to sop up the coffee.
Lulu remained on the couch, her eyes filled with tears. “What the hell just happened?” The feed had gone dead on the station and the words ‘Please Stand By’ took its place. Michelle couldn’t find her voice. She knew something out of the ordinary had been going on the last few days but she didn’t realize how serious the situation was. Just last night their big group of coworkers were out drinking and partying since the only thing open were the local dive bars and then suddenly this morning people were murdering each other in the streets only a few miles from their apartment complex. Zach and Michelle locked eyes but she looked away in Lulu’s direction.
No one could have guessed that the two women had only known each other just shy of seven months. They both worked as stylists at a swanky salon and became fast friends when they met. They shared all the same interests and liked partying probably a little too much. When Michelle broke things off with her ex three months ago it just so happened that Lulu was looking for a new roommate and ever since then they were practically inseparable. Lulu’s cousin Zach joined them and their other coworkers for a night out on the town the previous evening and one thing led to another, the end result a familiar outcome for Michelle, a complete stranger in her bed.
“I need a cigarette.” Michelle opened up one of the cabinets and reached in behind a stack of spices.
Lulu wiped tears from her face. “I thought you quit?”
“So did I.” Michelle bumped into Zach as she walked by, she couldn’t help but give him a dirty look. Just what I need, stuck in this goddamn apartment with this guy, she thought to herself as she unlocked the door to their back porch.
“Are you sure you should go outside right now?” Zach pushed his glasses up on his face.
“We’re on the second floor, I’m sure it’s fine.” She stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind her quietly. The wail of sirens greeted her. She scanned the parking lot below her and it seemed as if everything in their neck of the woods was fine. She couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary other than the fact that not a single person was outside on such a beautiful day. No one walking their dogs, no kids riding bikes or playing on the swing set across the lot. She fished her cell phone from the pocket of her pink cropped sweatpants and lit a cigarette. No missed calls, no texts, no notifications. The phone had zero bars and was absolutely useless to her. She angrily slammed it down on the railing, shattering the screen. It fell to her feet and she kicked it away, the $200 device meaning nothing to her at that moment. She ran her fingers through her still damp hair as she smoked, pulling a long lock in front of her face and scowling. The highlights were fading and she had planned on touching them up at work whenever the salon reopened. She let the pink strand fall back into place and jumped at the sound of a window shattering in the building next to hers. She leaned out and looked over to her right, seeing nothing but then jumped back in as she heard screaming and three loud gunshots.
“Fuck this.” Michelle threw the cigarette out over the balcony ledge and hurried back inside. “Did you hear that?”
Zach was on the couch with his arm around his cousin, consoling her. “Hear what?”
“Jesus, are you not paying attention to anything? The building next door, somebody is shooting.”
“Oh god, I can’t deal with this.” Lulu sobbed into her hands.
“Come on Lu, it’s gonna be alright.” Zach’s voice was extremely calm and soothing.
“Dude, they’re talking about some kind of infection.” Lulu looked up at Michelle through wet eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know, it’s all bullshit now on the news. Scrolling messages, prerecorded emergency warnings from earlier. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“How safe is this building?” Zach wiped his glasses clean with his gray t-shirt.
“Safe from what?” Michelle asked him, her hand
s on her hips.
“I don’t know, like, from the psychopaths we saw on the TV? Or the people shooting guns next door?”
“Well I don’t know. If somebody wanted to get in here badly enough they could find a way. We’re upstairs, so I guess that makes it a little safer.” She rubbed her temples. “Look, I don’t like hearing the sound of gunshots in my apartment complex okay? To me that’s not very fucking comforting.”
“What are we gonna do, Michelle? We don’t have a landline, we can’t call the police.” Lulu’s voice was muffled as she spoke. She was curled up on the couch with her face resting between her knees, her small stature made her look like a child.
“Should we go check on your neighbors?” Zach got up from the couch and walked toward the front door.
“Fuck no! What are you stupid?” Michelle ran to the door and stood in front of it. “This isn’t really one of those situations I want to be the good guy in. That kind of shit is gonna get you killed. Did you not hear me say I heard gunshots?” She was raising her voice now, with every word she was angrier with him. She didn’t understand the situation, she had no control over it.
“Well what do we do then? Do we just stay here? Do you even have anything in this place other than coffee and beer?” Zach folded his arms across his chest.
The trio were startled by a blood curdling scream from outside followed by gunshots that Lulu and Zach heard for themselves this time. Lulu jumped up and rushed to the window, pulled a shade to the side. A low moan escaped her lips followed by more crying. The other two joined her at the window and looked out into the courtyard. A woman carrying a child was running toward the parking lot, three psychotic looking people chased after her. Michelle and Lulu recognized the woman from the building next door.
“It’s Janice! We need to do something!” Lulu cried out.
“No, shut up!” Michelle put a hand over Lulu’s mouth and held her still. The child in Janice’s arms was screaming at the top of his lungs. Janice kept frantically looking behind her and didn’t notice the two that had come running up in front. She collided with the first of the attackers and they bounced off one another and fell to the ground. The child went flying out of her arms. “Oh my god.” Michelle whispered and watched with horrified eyes as the first three attackers ripped the child apart. His screaming ceased as blood shot up into the air and onto the assailants. Janice wailed and kicked at the two men who were literally biting chunks of flesh from her body. She tried desperately to get to her son but was soon eaten alive.
Lulu dropped to the floor and vomited between sobs. Zach backed away from the window, shaking, his hands on both sides of his head. Michelle stayed at the window, the shade drawn, her eyes fixated on the scene in the courtyard.
III
No one spoke. Lulu curled up on the couch and stared at the television, awaiting an anchorman to appear on the screen and inform everyone that the situation was under control. Zach cleaned up Lulu’s vomit and joined her on the couch. Michelle had retired to her room and sat in her computer chair by the open window. She was serenaded by the sounds of the chaos outside. A Diet Coke can sat on the window sill and acted as her makeshift ashtray. She thought of her parents, her sister, all of her other family members and friends. She couldn’t help but wonder if they were safe, but decided that worrying about it was useless and wouldn’t change the situation. She was in Florida, they were back home in Chicago. If the rest of the country was in any sort of similar situation as Haven, there would be no way she could get to them safely.
She spent quite some time by herself in her room, smoking by the window, staring at nothing. She racked her brain for a plan, trying to figure out what they should do, where they should go. She wondered what the roads were like, whether or not they should even attempt to leave town. There was no way that they could stay where they were, she hated to admit it but Zach was right, they had nothing of sustenance in the house. A few cans of soda, beer and a couple snacks. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food, she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. She dropped her cigarette into the can and headed for the kitchen. Lulu was still blankly staring at the TV set and Zach sat with his head back and his eyes closed. He opened them when Michelle entered the living room and watched as she ignored him and went to the pantry.
She set a box of Oreos down on the counter and pulled two out. Zach joined her at the breakfast bar and she pushed the box toward him.
“Thanks.” He pulled a few cookies out for himself and opened the fridge.
“Can you grab me a soda?” Michelle asked, her mouth full of cookies. He pulled three cans out and handed one to her.
He walked back to the living room and set a can in front of his cousin. Her eyes didn’t move from the television. He grabbed her face gently by her chin and her eyes met his. He motioned toward the soda. “Drink something. Please?” She nodded and he popped open the can for her before returning to the kitchen.
Michelle slowly chewed the last of her second cookie. Zach stood beside her and put his hand on her back, “How are you doing?”
She flinched and shoved his arm away from her. “Don’t touch me.” He looked confused, maybe even hurt, but she didn’t care.
“What’s your problem?”
She laughed at the question. A genuine, hearty laugh. “Is that a serious question?”
He shrugged his shoulders, awaiting her answer.
“Everything is my problem.” She stormed off and stopped at the couch, looking down at her friend. “You need to get your shit together.” Lulu watched as she disappeared down the hall.
Michelle locked her bedroom door and started up the shower. She sat on the floor of the tub and cried until the water ran cold. When she was done dressing and drying her hair it was completely dark outside. She smoked another cigarette and returned to the kitchen. Zach had put a DVD in after giving up on getting any useful information from the news networks. Lulu was in the kitchen, heating up some Ramen noodles. Michelle grabbed a packet for herself and waited her turn. Lulu hugged Michelle tightly without saying a word. Michelle reluctantly held her in her arms, she was no good at comforting others. Lulu silently left the kitchen and joined her cousin on the couch, eating her noodles and watching the overrated comedy he had chosen.
Michelle brought her food with her to her room and closed and locked the door again. She ate in silence and thought about packing up and leaving in the middle of the night by herself. She thought about trying for Chicago, how easy it could be just going it solo and not having to worry about anyone else, but she couldn’t convince herself to leave Lulu here. It was almost as if Lulu had been reading her mind as a soft tap was heard at her door. She got up and opened the door.
“Can I come in?” Lulu looked even smaller than she normally did as she leaned against the wall outside Michelle’s room. Michelle waved her in and closed the door again.
Lulu scrunched her nose up at the bed in disgust, thinking of Michelle and her cousin together, and sat in the computer chair. Michelle crossed her legs on her bed and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. Lulu studied her for a moment, trying to figure out how she was so relaxed. “Is the world ending?"
Michelle chuckled and looked at her roommate. "The internet is gone. It might as well be ending."
Lulu pulled her feet up onto the chair and rested her arms over her knees. "What are we going to do?"
“Beats the shit out of me." Michelle closed her eyes again. "You got any bright ideas?"
"Maybe." Lulu shrugged her shoulders and looked down at floor, embarrassed of the plan she'd been rolling around in her head.
"Well let's hear it, Lu."
"We go to work. Like literally go to work. The salon.”
Michelle opened her eyes and made a face. “Why the hell would we do that?”
“Because the building is perfect!” Lulu suddenly sounded excited. “Think of the other stores that share the building with us! A jewelry store, a vitamin shop.” Her excitement grew with ev
ery word as she continued explaining her idea. "And there's a restaurant and a cell phone store. Do I need to keep going?”
Michelle snickered, “I hate to break it to you but cell phone service is non-existent and diamonds aren’t going to help you, no matter how much you like them.” She reached across the bed and grabbed her cigarettes.
Lulu handed the can of cigarette ashes to her. “No, you’re not thinking about this." She dropped her feet back to the floor and leaned forward on her knees. "The glass is shatterproof in both of those stores and what do you think they have? Secure inventory rooms. Hellooo? Safety? Ringing any bells?”
Michelle nodded her head, a line forming in her brow. Lulu had definitely piqued her interest. “Target is across the street. And there’s roof access too.” She was starting to work out the details of Lulu’s strange plan in her head when a long howl was heard outside followed by a series of growls and screams. “Shut the lights off, now!” Lulu jumped up and rushed out of the room, flipping the light switch as she went. Michelle heard her calling to Zach to turn everything off. She peeked out the window into the parking lot. There were a few people milling about, looking disoriented. All the other apartments she could see were dark. We must have been the only assholes with our lights on, she thought as she shook her head. Lulu returned to the room and stood at the window with Michelle, watching the strange behavior of the people in the lot below. They seemed to almost sniff at the air, wildly waving their arms and heads around.
“What do you think they’re doing?” Lulu whispered.
“You wanna go ask them?"
She looked at Michelle, her eyes full of fright. "Leaving suddenly seems like a really bad idea."
“Well,” Michelle took one last drag off her cigarette. “At some point we aren’t gonna have a choice."
IV
Michelle, Lulu and Zach spent the rest of the evening in the dark, working out their plan in the living room. Zach brought up the fact that they’d have to make sure they had supplies once they got to the gigantic outdoor mall that Michelle and Lulu worked at.
