Thunder rolled in the distance.
If the east was clear, they could all make it onto the turnpike and have an easy route to their homes. Dan spun the truck’s wheel around to head back toward the campus entrance where the sign stood wrapped in shrubbery.
Suddenly, a female voice cried out. “DAN! DAN!”
Then, a male voice. “DAN!”
It sounded like it was just up the path toward campus and, just as Dan started pushing his foot down deeper on the gas pedal toward the parking lot, Emily and Jon appeared from around the bend.
“Hey guys, the road is clear toward the east!” Dan yelled out as he eased off the gas and turned the black dial on the dash, bringing Luke Bryan to a mute.
Emily and Jon sprinted up to the window, both out of breath.
“Dan! Kevin’s passed out!” Emily said, just before noticing Mark sitting in the passenger seat. Her eyebrows curled.
“What happened to Kev?” Dan asked.
“We were walking back to the dorms when he said he felt really tired and needed to stop. Then, he collapsed onto the ground by the crosswalk. Mark didn’t pick up his phone. We thought you left us!” Emily explained between breaths. Her eyes were jumping from Dan to Mark.
“Shit!” Dan cursed as he gave his steering wheel a slap. “Mark was saying he was tired, too. I thought he’d just lay down for a sec on the curb there, but I had to drag him in the truck myself. You’re sayin’ the same happened to Kev? All a sudden lost his energy?”
They both nodded.
“Where is he?” Dan asked.
The thunder was approaching.
“By the ambulance on the crosswalk,” Jon said.
“Alright, alright. I’m gonna pull up by the walkway to the library there. We gotta take Mark back to the library. Same with Kev. C’mon, let’s go!”
Jon and Emily ran ahead as Dan followed. Mark didn’t utter a word. Not even a snore as the truck stopped in front of the white, concrete path.
“Jon, can you grab his legs?” Dan requested. He clicked off the seatbelt, making it whip around Mark. Then, he placed tight grips on Mark’s limp wrists. Jon held Mark’s ankles as he stepped up on the truck’s bar, waiting for Dan to slide him off the seat.
“Ready, Jonny?” Dan asked.
Jon nodded. His heart was going a mile a minute.
“Ok. One. Two. Three!”
Dan and Jon lifted Mark’s body down from the seat. It was a little heavy for Jon, but Dan was strong enough to take most of the slack. Let’s make this quick.
“You guys need any help?” Emily asked. Her eyes focused on Mark to see if he was waking up during any of this. He wasn’t.
“No, thanks. We got ‘em,” Dan replied. “But howsabout you grab the baseball bat from the bed? It’s in that box, just click the handles out.”
Emily climbed up on the back of Dan’s pickup. Inside the large titanium container was a toolbox, some pieces of 2x4, and a baseball bat with LOUISVILLE SLUGGER written in chipped and almost illegible black ink.
“Is the library door unlocked?” Dan asked.
“No,” Jon said. “Kevin locked it.”
“You get his key?” Dan asked.
“Oh, dammit! No. It’s in his pocket,” Emily answered, feeling dumb that she didn’t think to grab it. She let out a breath and smacked the bat into the palm of her other hand. “When Kevin fell down, Jon and I panicked!”
“Ah, shit! Well, we will have to drop him off first and grab Kev then,” Dan grunted.
They were now coming up the concrete path that connected the parking lot to the campus as small droplets of rain began their descent. Dan was walking backward with his grip on Mark’s arms. Jon was keeping up the pace as best he could. Emily started sprinting up ahead of them. She headed for Kevin with the bat swinging around in her hand.
“Did you say the roads were clear?” Jon asked Dan between adjusting his grip.
“Yeah. We should be able to get to the turnpike at least. I didn’t go too close to White Haven. Looked pretty much taken over. The whole place looks turned on its ass.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t see any other survivors?”
“No, I didn’t. A couple of crashed cars though. People were all dead inside. Wasn’t too pretty.”
Dan and Jon walked up around the concrete path and were now standing in front of the library doors. The bloodstained glass and doorknob dried to an almost black color. They placed Mark’s body on the ground. When they released their grips, his body slumped but remained breathing at its regular pattern. The two of them started toward Emily and where Kevin’s body lay.
“What do you think happened to him?” Jon asked while wiping sweat from his forehead, using the bottom of his T-shirt. The cool water droplets from the sky felt nice.
“He said he just needed to sit down for a moment. Said he had some chips and water but that wouldn’t make someone react that way. I mean he’s out cold.”
“Yeah, that’s strange. Kevin didn’t even respond to us. We asked if he was ok but before we knew it, he was face down in the road. He almost hit his head on the side of the ambulance.”
Emily was digging into Kevin’s pocket when Dan and Jon arrived at the crosswalk that connected the campus to the dorms. The lights on the police car and ambulance, which now seemed faded, still flashed underneath the clouded sky. Kevin was face-down on the asphalt with his head just a few inches away from the ambulance’s tire. No one checked again, but Michael’s body was still in the back of police cruiser.
“Alright, I got the keys. You sure I can’t help lift him up?” Emily asked pointing with the bat, the keys clutched in her other hand.
“No thanks, we will be ok,” Jon replied.
Before they picked him up, Dan rolled Kevin’s body over. His glasses were smashed inward and there was blood coming from his nose. As he slept and breathed through his nose, more blood seeped out of his nostrils. Dan looked over by the tire to see that his nose bleed formed a small puddle of red.
“Ready, Jonny?” Dan said. “One. Two. Three!”
Kevin’s body was limp. Like Mark, he was breathing and not reacting to anything they did. The body seemed lighter to Jon because Mark had more muscle on him, and Kevin matched Jon’s slim physique. Weird. It’s like I’m carrying myself. Kevin looks like my long-lost twin brother.
Emily led the way as Jon and Dan took Kevin’s body back to the library.
“This shit’s gettin’ worse by the second, huh?” Dan said. “You think we’re gonna pass out next?”
Jon didn’t know, but the thought of going down wasn’t helping his crazy anxiety.
The rain now fell steadily as thunder cracked over the air.
Chapter NINETEEN
A Late Night Surprise
“Don’t tell your mother about this, okay? Let me be the one to bring it up to her. If she finds out how much I paid for this, my ass is grass. Got it?” Big Jon whispered.
Little Jon nodded.
It was almost one o’clock in the morning. Little Jon was still in his T-shirt and jeans that he wore to school and Big Jon was in his khaki slacks and dress shirt with his health insurance company’s logo above the front pocket. Blue and red swirls around GUIDING LIGHT INSURANCE.
They were both standing underneath a white chandelier that dangled over the dining table outside of the kitchen. The long cardboard box sat in the center. It read REMINGTON in black lettering on top. Packaging tape covered every side.
Big Jon began to cut into the tape using a knife he got from one of the kitchen drawers. He sliced straight lines along the middle of each piece. He cut right through to the folds of the cardboard case. When he finished, he placed his fingers on the sides of the box and brought them up so it would open nice and clean.
“You wanna open it?” Big Jon whispered while nudging Little Jon with his elbow.
“Sure,” Little Jon replied. He placed his fingers on the sides and lifted the cardboard top.
Chapter TWENTY
>
Back at the Library
Mark and Kevin’s bodies lay behind the help desk. Emily propped backpacks behind their heads to keep them elevated and took Kevin’s smashed glasses off of his face. She placed them on the help desk and shoved wads of tissues into Kevin’s dripping nostrils. Both guys were sound asleep. They looked identical to the bodies out the by dorms, Michael’s body in the police cruiser, and the fat guy in the bathroom stall.
“You think they caught something from the rest of them out there?” Emily asked.
“I don’t think so. If they’re sick, I would be too. I was touchin’ those bodies out there more than he was. It wouldn’t make sense I don’t think,” Dan replied. Then, he thought for a moment. “Howsabout allergies? Anything they ate or drank that caused a reaction?”
“All I saw him have was a bottle of water. If he ate or drank anything else, I didn’t see it,” Emily replied. Jon had the same response.
“Hmm.” Dan rubbed the bottom of his scruffy chin hair. Then he took his hat off to scratch his sweaty head as he pondered what would cure this uncertainty.
It was silent for a moment, except for the sound of heavy raindrops landing on the roof of the library.
“What do we do now?” Emily asked, and that was a great question.
Dan answered by asking another question. “Well, shouldn’t we wait until they wake up or somethin’? I mean, we’ve been with em both the whole time. They didn’t get bit or anything. Maybe they’re just out cold for the time bein’. They gotta wake up at some point, right?”
“What about the guy in the bathroom?” Jon asked. “What do you think he’ll be like if he wakes up?”
“That’s what the bat’s for.” Dan chuckled, but not in a good way. “But we can’t just let these two guys lie here. We oughta stay with em here or put em in our cars and go.” Dan was making good points, but neither Emily nor Jon could decide what to do. Another episode of silence came as the three of them sat by the bodies. Their hearts pumped with anxiety.
“What if we wait until tonight?” Emily asked. “We can still eat and drink from the vending machine. The doors are locked. We got your bat. How about that?”
“You think that’s such a good idea? Maybe we’ve already spent too much time here,” Jon said. He was hoping more for putting the bodies in the cars and leaving. Better yet, leaving without the bodies. No, no. That’s not right. They helped me. His mind went back to his parents and wondered if they were still alive. His phone hadn’t rung and there were no other notifications or emails on the screen.
“You got a better one?” Emily asked, pointing the end of the bat at Jon. Her eyes became fierce for a moment. The cuteness lost. Jon’s lip quivered, but he couldn’t muster up a response before Dan chimed in.
“We can carry them to your truck. We can even use my car,” Jon replied.
“Jonny, I understand if you want to leave but we have no idea what’s happened to ‘em. We oughta wait and see. I know you want to get back to your folks, but it seems we are safer here than out there. I mean, who knows what triggered this. Could be somethin’ in the air!”
Jon didn’t argue.
Dan continued. “I figure all of us want nothing more than get our asses out of this fuckin’ place, but it wouldn’t be fair to have Mark and Kev not get their chance. Alright? What if it was us? You wouldn’t want to wake up to find yourself all alone, right? I can’t guarantee we can make it all the way to our places outside of the turnpike. Our best bet is to wait for these fellas to get up. We can give it a few more hours and that’s it. Then we will get right the hell outta here regardless. Alright? But we can’t just throw ‘em in the back of the truck like they’re slabs of hog. Hell, even if piggy boy in the bathroom stall wakes up, and he doesn’t wanna tear our heads off, we can take him with us!”
“You’re right, you’re right,” Jon said, and Dan was right. Jon wouldn’t want to be left alone in the library or thrown in the back of some pickup truck as he napped in a bizarre slumber. “What if something like last night happens again?” He motioned over to the quiet news broadcast that displayed what it had been like since he got to the library.
“The doors are locked and we’re well protected. As far as I can tell, if we don’t let anyone in, we will be ok. Right, Em?” Dan asked, winking over at Emily.
“Hell yeah, we are!” Emily smiled. She looked cute again.
Chapter TWENTY-ONE
It Starts Again
The hours passed as the storm raged on. Outside, the grey sky began to fade darker as the sun was of no more help for the day. The three students sat on the carpeted library floor beside the sleeping bodies of Mark and Kevin. The news still played on the computer screen, but the volume was too low for them to listen to it. Last they paid attention, the news people reported that last night’s events were happening worldwide. Paris, France was being overrun with maniacs. Countries in Africa were in utter chaos.
Then, the power went out. CNN cut to black for good. Darkness fell all around the three college students.
“Shit!” Emily cried out.
Click. The emergency lights came on. Above the entrance, in the corners of the first floor, and in the back by the vending machines and bathrooms were circular, florescent lights that beamed from plastic mounts.
“It’s alright, least we ain’t in pitch-black,” Dan said.
Jon wanted nothing more than to get back to his house, but for the time being, it felt kind of calm. Faint lights and sounds of water outside mixed with thunderstorms. Relaxing. Mark and Kevin remained at ease.
The group indulged in more snacks and drinks. Perhaps staying was the right decision.
All three of them tried to call their families from their cell phones but without success. They had been trying all day with the same, depressing results. Dan even tried calling Kevin’s parents from his phone, but it was password protected. No way in. Then, they tried 911 a few more times but still that automated message played. It told them there were too many incoming calls.
Mark’s phone buzzed a few times in his pocket. He was getting more text messages from his sister, Jessica, who left her Maryland apartment to drive up to White Haven College to get her brother. She couldn’t get a hold of her other family members, and when Emily texted her back explaining what had happened, she called panicked.
“What do you mean you can’t wake him up!?” Jessica shouted from the phone. She was behind the wheel. An occasional ticking sound of a turn signal could be heard behind her impatient tone.
“He collapsed all of a sudden while we were outside. We’re safe in the library at the moment and are gonna wait and see if he’ll–”
Jessica’s shouting interrupted Emily.
“That’s unbelievable! Jesus Christ!” A car’s horn blared on Jessica’s end of the call. “Get off my fucking ass!” There was a pause. “I’m sorry. Hello?”
“We’re still here. Is everything ok?” Emily replied.
“These assholes behind me are tailgating way too close and they won’t go around. Hang on.” It sounded like Jessica put the phone down. She screamed out of her window at the car that was closing in behind her. “Go around! AROUND! HEY SHITHEAD!”
HONK. Then a loud CRASH blared from the phone. BANG BANG SMACK RUMBLE SKID. Jessica’s phone sounded like someone put it in a blender, making it bounce and smash around. The noises ended after a few a moments and Emily, Dan, and Jon all looked at each other with their eyes wide. It was silent. They kept looking back and forth between one another. No more noises came from Jessica’s end of the call. A car wreck, Jon thought. The person behind her must’ve slammed into the back of her car and sent her into a spin. She must be…
“Jessica, are you there?” Dan asked, trying to be calm. But Jon could tell in their eyes that both Dan and Emily knew what had happened. There was still silence. No sound coming from the phone. The three of them remained in locked eyes until Jon looked over and saw the large man from the bathroom stall standing before the
shattered glass of the vending machines. He was a shadow beneath the emergency lights.
Thunder rumbled.
“Woah man! Are you alright?” Dan asked the large man as the three of them jumped up from the floor. You could hear all three of their hearts racing in their chests.
“What the hell happened? Why’d you leave me in the bathroom stall?” the fat man said. He spoke in an irritated voice. His face was red and moist with sweat that caked his forehead. It glistened beneath the lights.
“We didn’t leave you in there. You were there when we got here, sleepin’,” Dan replied. Fear was injecting itself into his words, which made his voice start to sound like he was laughing a little. “Why were you sleepin’ on the toilet all day?”
The fat man began to walk closer toward the three of them. “You got some problem with me? Huh? You gonna punish me for what I did to the window? You leave me in there so you could wait for the cops to show? JUST TRY AND TAKE ME!” The irritated tone was now moving up to a rage-filled level.
Emily walked backward with her eyes still fixed on the large man. She lifted her hand behind her and grabbed Dan’s wooden baseball bat that leaned up against the back of the help desk. The large man stepped closer.
“What are you talkin’ about?” Dan asked. The man stepped even closer now. “Hey, look we don’t want any trouble alright? There’s enough going on out there in the world. Let us help you out.” Dan extended his hands out like he was trying to ease the situation and to calm the fat man down. It wasn’t working. Especially not when the fat man threw a punch at Dan, which Dan blocked most of with his hands. “Hey! Hey! Calm down now!”
Emily CRACKED the baseball bat on top of the fat man’s head. Jon closed his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. Dan pulled his head back. The wood came down in a vertical slam like she was playing that game at the carnival where you hit the scale with a hammer, hoping to send that piece of metal up to ring the bell. She rang his bell with a loud THWACK. The fat man’s body hit the floor. Soon after, blood began to pour out from the top of his head through his baseball cap and onto the grey and blue patterns of the carpeted floor.
When the Sky Goes Dark Page 11
