Contagion: The Rising

by Carter, John

  Rory looked down and found a partially eaten hand, “Guys? I found something.” He tried to keep his voice down and motioned to Tony.

  Kayla walked over and continued in the same direction, “There’s a foot over here.” She grabbed her binoculars and looked towards the horizon. She immediately found a small hill and ran to it. “Over here, guys.” She motioned for them to follow. The hill revealed another lower valley and a makeshift tent city. She looked through the binoculars to see who or what was out there. “What the hell? They look like bandits.” She handed the binoculars over to Jeremiah, who reached her first.

  Jeremiah looked and focused on their movements, “They may look like bandits but I don’t think they’re human anymore. Their movements are so erratic.” He handed the binoculars over to Tony.

  Tony looked, “Well it looks like they’ve sensed us here. There’s a group of them heading this way.”

  The other bandit Riser held Emma’s head down as Riles tied her to the table. Chloe watched as Emma struggled with her arms being held and pulled. Emma’s face twisted when her injured arm was pulled.

  “Are you enjoying this, Chloe?” Trevor smiled as Chloe shrugged. He stood nearby and patted Emma on the head, “What makes you so different?”

  “Other than intelligence?” Emma mocked Trevor as one of the bandits continued to twist her injured arm, causing her to scream. “I get it. I get it.” The bandit stopped. “I meant other than that rancid smell?”

  The bandit looked at Trevor who shook his head, “She wants me to lose my cool, but I won’t give you the satisfaction, Emma.” The bandit sniffed the dry blood on her head.

  “Go ahead, taste my blood. I’m sure you’re not going to like it,” Emma taunted the bandit who licked her head and immediately started coughing.

  “What the hell did you do?” Trevor attempted to calm the bandit down. The bandit fell to the floor and started to convulse.

  “Well, I guess you have the answer right there,” Emma lifted her head to peek over at the bandit. “I would explain why he’s about to die but I don’t think you’ll quite get it.”

  Trevor walked over to her and held a knife to her eye, “Tell me.”

  Emma smiled, “Fine. But you’re not going to like it.”

  Lefty walked back to the tent and found it empty. He searched through the area and couldn’t find Dani. He walked over to the entrance and faced towards the fire barrel. Dani quietly appeared behind him with her hidden weapon fully extended in her hands. Lefty heard her heart beating quickly and turned around. Dani immediately severed his head from the rest of his body with a double bladed slice to the neck. She looked around and dragged his body into the tent. She wiped the blades on Lefty’s uniform and headed behind the tent.

  Sarah and Rory fought off two of the bandits as they rushed at them first. Tony and Kayla ran down to the makeshift tent city attacking the next two in line. Mark ran over to Sarah and Rory as they dispatched a pair of twin bandit Risers.

  “They are Risers!” Rory yelled as Mark pushed an attacking bandit Riser down and severed it’s head.

  Jeremiah followed Tony and Kayla as they reached the first tent and found a dead Riser in it. Tony looked closer and realized it was Dani, “Dani’s alive.”

  Kayla looked around, “But where are they?”

  Dani made it to where Trevor and Chloe had Emma tied down. She waited and listened at the tent entrance.

  “What do you mean sugar?” Trevor backed away from Emma, and he looked down at the bandit Riser lying on the floor motionless. He crouched down and checked on him, “What the hell am I doing? He won’t have a fucking pulse. He’s already dead.” He laughed to himself.

  Chloe rolled her eyes, “She’s diabetic, moron. And with the slightly deader Riser at your feet, I’m pretty sure she can kill all of us if we feed on her.”

  “Thanks for the breakdown, Chloe,” Emma managed to gesture a thumbs up.

  “Who the fuck’s side are you on?” Trevor snarled at Chloe. She walked over to Emma and snatched Trevor’s knife from him.

  “I’m on yours, of course,” she smiled. “But I have a condition for you.”

  “What?” Trevor asked as Emma glanced up at her with a puzzled look. Chloe quickly sliced Emma’s injured arm and flicked the blood at Trevor’s face. He yelled as he rubbed his eyes.

  “You’ll make it worse if you rub your eyes,” Chloe snapped as she pushed him back. Riles stood at Emma’s arms and watched as Trevor fumbled with his face.

  “What the hell are you waiting for, you idiot? Kill them both,” Trevor commanded as Riles remained still and watched Chloe. Trevor thrashed around and finally fell to the ground. He screamed as he attempted to claw out his eyes. She walked over to him and plunged the knife deep into his head. Riles backed away and ran out of the tent. Dani rushed in with her knives ready to separate Chloe’s head from her body.

  “Wait, Dani. No,” Emma protested as she attempted to move. “She just helped us.”

  “I know, but I still don’t trust her,” Dani said as she moved in between Chloe and Emma.

  Chloe smiled, “You shouldn’t, but I’m still part human as it seems.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  Chloe sighed, “Jeremy was protecting you, as he normally would have with anyone. It wasn’t your fault that he died.”

  Dani helped Emma with the ties on her hands and body. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Dani helped Emma to her feet. Emma held onto her arm as it continued to bleed.

  “I’d stay away from that,” Emma pointed at the blood trail she was leaving. “What’s next?”

  “I’m sure we will,” Chloe shook her head. “Nothing. We’ve grown accustomed to hunting Risers.”

  “Maybe we can come up with a cure?” Emma said as Jeremiah and Mark stormed the tent. “Guys, please. It’s okay.”

  “What the hell is she?” Mark pointed at Chloe.

  “Are there still more out there?” she ignored Mark and asked Jeremiah. He nodded as Kayla and Tony walked in. “Jeez, you brought the whole group I take it?” Emma motioned for them to walk back outside. Dani held onto Emma as they followed the group. Chloe stood outside and waited for Emma. “We shouldn’t be a problem for you anymore.”

  They started to walk back towards the highway. Emma stopped and turned back, “You know where to find us if you need something.”

  Chloe smirked and watched as they disappeared over the hill. She frowned as she found that most of the bandit Risers either died or deserted her. “Well, I suppose I can find new ones.” Riles came out of hiding and stood behind her.

  “Chloe?”

  “Riles. Are you here to help?” She turned to face him as he nodded. “Well, let’s rally the remainder of the troops. I have a few words to share with them.”

  Chapter 17

  Emma looked over the valley and watched as the cool wind chilled the rest of the ground slowly as winter had settled in. Sarah walked over to Emma and sat next to her. “So, what are you thinking?”

  Emma leaned back onto her arms, “I think we should stay. I’ve heard Canada gets pretty cold right now, and I can hardly handle this cool breeze, let alone negative temperatures.”

  Sarah smiled and nodded, “That sounds like a great idea. Kayla, Tony and Dani will be heading up to Canada for the spring and coming back after summer.” Rory walked out of the bunker along with Tony.

  “Hey, I think it’s time for the switch,” Sarah looked over to Rory, who smiled but covered his chest by crossing his arms. Tony shook his head after he suggested that Rory get a thicker jacket. “I swear he never listens.”

  Emma smiled as they both walked in to the bunker. “I’ve got to stop by and visit Jeremiah.”

  “Sure, go ahead and ‘visit’,” Sarah laughed and continued to walk towards the triage room. “I’m going to sleep.”

  “Goodnight Sarah,” Emma said as she waited at the lab’s doorway. She searched for Jeremiah through the room of lab equipment and finall
y found him moving near the sea of beakers.

  Jeremiah looked up from the papers he had been rifling through the past week. “Hey, how was it?”

  “Not bad, no movement or anything,” she said as she kissed him. A sudden noise from the bunker door caused them to jump. They rushed over and found Rory and Tony carrying Mark inside.

  “What happened?” Jeremiah asked as he checked Mark.

  “I don’t know, he was stumbling up the hill,” Rory walked him over to the triage room. Dani rolled in another gurney and they helped Mark lay down.

  “It looks like he’s been bitten,” Tony rolled up his sleeve.

  “Shit,” Sarah looked down as Emma looked away.

  Jeremiah held Emma as she blurted out, “We can try giving him insulin and drop his blood sugar.”

  “It might not work, Emma!” Rory yelled as she pulled away from Jeremiah. She grabbed the nearby box of supplies and quickly prepared a small dose of insulin.

  “We have to try,” she slightly pushed on the plunger to release some of the bubbles. “His stomach is the quickest way.”

  “She’s right,” Jeremiah pulled up Mark’s shirt and noticed the purple veins popping out of his abdomen. “Emma, it might be too late.”

  “No,” Emma plunged the syringe into Mark and gave him an eight unit shot. “That should drop it quickly.” The purple veins slowly disappeared as Mark opened his eyes, which were still their normal shade of brown. “Mark?”

  His eyes darted to her as he grabbed her arm and bit down on it. Emma screamed as Jeremiah grabbed her machete. Mark’s eyes rolled back as Sarah was able to grab Emma and pull her away from Mark’s grip. They watched as Mark convulsed violently after biting Emma. Sarah held Emma on the floor as Dani tended to her arm.

  “Take her to the lab,” Jeremiah yelled. Sarah and Dani walked Emma over to the lab and sat her on the stool.

  Jeremiah ended Mark’s convulsing by hitting him twice in the head with the machete. He dropped it to the ground after the second hit and rushed over to the lab to check on Emma. “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know,” Dani said as Sarah attempted to grab Emma’s arm.

  Emma pushed Sarah’s hands away from her, “Don’t touch me.”

  Jeremiah slowly approached her and crouched down, “Can I see your arm?” She looked at Jeremiah and volunteered her arm slowly. He examined it and noticed the bite wasn’t as severe as they had thought. “It’s already healing?” Emma nodded.

  “What does that mean?” Sarah watched as Jeremiah gave Emma control of her arm.

  “She’s okay. It means she can’t be re-infected, because she already had it in her,” Jeremiah sighed as Emma got closer to him and hugged him. “She’s a carrier.”

  Tony walked over to Jeremiah, “We have to bury Mark.”

  “Yeah, we can do that now. It’s nearly morning,” Jeremiah as he ran his hands through his hair. “I need to make sure she’s okay.” Tony nodded.

  Jeremiah walked back to the lab and re-examined Emma’s arm again. He found that the wound was reduced to pink scarring as it had before. He softened his voice and looked to Emma, “Look, we have to bury Mark out in the valley.”

  She nodded, “It was too late.”

  “Yeah, it was,” Jeremiah held her close as Sarah walked into the lab.

  “Ready?”

  “Yeah,” he helped Emma up and followed Sarah outside to the valley. They covered Mark’s body and paid their respects. A sudden wail behind them caught them off guard as a Riser jumped out and rushed toward them.

  “I’ve got this,” Emma said as she quickly grabbed her machete and sliced a part of her arm. With the bloody edge, she ran towards the Riser and stabbed through it’s torso. The Riser tumbled back as Emma pulled the machete away. It struggled for a few seconds as it convulsed and quickly stopped moving.

  “That’s your girlfriend, man,” Rory nudged Jeremiah while Sarah stood in shock and smiled.

  Jeremiah smirked as the rest of them stared at Emma as she walked back to join them.

  “What?” She moved the loose strands of her hair away from her face and motioned to Tony. “Carry on, sir.”

  A young soldier ran up a flight of stairs and pushed another soldier out of the way as he walked into the hallway.

  “Excuse me,” the other soldier stopped in his tracks. The young soldier continued to run through the hall and reached a large lobby. The wood paneling of the office surrounded a single desk at the front as he stepped through the heavy wooden double doors. The smell of mahogany lingered in the air as he inhaled deeply. The overall feel of the lobby and office was directly from the sixties or seventies. The shag carpet that lined the floor cemented that idea.

  Lost in thought, the lady in front of him occupying the desk smugly asked, “May I help you, Lieutenant?”

  He snapped out of it and looked over to her, “Is the Major in?” She looked up at him annoyingly and motioned him to continue on his way in as she buzzed the doors open. He rushed through the second set of heavy double doors and found the Major going through a mountain of papers.

  “Johnson? What’s the problem?” the Major looked over his scattered paperwork piled on his desk.

  Johnson caught his breathe and stood at attention, “Sir, we’ve found something on the video.”

  “Excellent,” the Major sat back in his chair. “Where is it?”

  “Well sir, it’s here.”

  The Major smiled, “Even better news.”

  A loud alarm blared as another officer, Lieutenant Mason ran in. “Sir, someone has breached our security. The men, sir,” He caught his escaping breath, “They’re being ripped apart.”

  The Major quickly walked over to a small console and pressed a red and blue button at the same time. The wall it sat at opened and revealed twelve monitors. They watched as what appeared to be a group of Risers take their time in attacking and killing each soldier they encountered. One of the monitors revealed that one single Riser was giving instructions, almost commanding them to attack each one.

  “I’ve never seen them so organized, Sir.” Johnson stared at the monitor as one of the bodies was flung at the camera. “What are we going to do?”

  “Catch them,” the Major said with his arms crossed.

  “Catch them, Sir?” Lieutenant Mason looked over to the Major. “Are you serious, sir?”

  The Major quickly took out his side arm and shot Mason in the head. His facial expression remained as he was surprised with the sudden shot. He flew back and landed against Johnson. Johnson held onto him as his mouth dropped. He looked down and dropped Mason’s body to the ground. The Major pointed the gun at Johnson, “Decide now, Johnson?”

  “Sir, please. I’ll get the rest of the men and attempt to catch them,” Johnson said as the Major holstered his side arm.

  “Good,” the Major replied as he turned his attention to the monitors. “Oh and Johnson, tell Anderson that he’s now first lieutenant.”

  Johnson stood at attention as a knock at the doors surprised them. He drew his weapon and looked over to the Major. The Major motioned for Johnson to grab the doorknob. Johnson’s hand shook as he grabbed hold of the doorknob and unlocked the deadbolt. He opened the door and couldn’t see. The electricity was off in the whole building and the emergency lights had failed to turn on. The room was covered in darkness and the lady at the front was no longer there. He searched the room slowly but found nothing. The Major watched as Johnson made his way back to the office. A sudden noise caught Johnson’s attention as he aimed his gun in every direction. Shots rang out as Johnson was knocked to the ground, he yelled and pleaded for help.

  “Major Wilson! HELP!” Johnson’s voice sounded muffled as the Major closed the door and bolted the lock. He backed away from the door as the Risers rushed at the door.

  “Get the fuck away from me!” he yelled as he wildly shot at the door. A puddle of blood appeared under the door. “I told you to get away from me.” He walked over to the door and unlock
ed it. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he opened the left door. Johnson’s body fell onto him as a bandit Riser pushed the body. The Major screamed as the Risers entered the room. They waited and watched him as he cowered into the corner of his office.

  “Well, go ahead. Attack. That’s what you’re going to do,” the Major yelled as Chloe walked in.

  “Oh no, Major,” Chloe stood by Riles looked over at her. “This is far more of an attack.” She motioned to Riles and the bandit Risers led him away. She walked over to the flickering monitors and smiled.