Contamination Box Set [Books 0-7]

by Piperbrook, T. W.

  He eyed the knife holder. In his haste, he’d already passed by it. He could lunge toward it, but that would put him in harm’s way. The creature stood beside it, mouth hanging open. He needed to get out of the house.

  He reached behind him, found the door handle, and stepped back into the garage. He slammed the door closed, then used his keys to lock it. The creature smashed against the other side, but the door held. For now.

  Dan’s cruiser was where he had left it, and the garage door remained closed. He ran to the car door, fumbling with the keychain. He saw his house key, his locker key, and a slew of others. Where the hell was the car key? Focus, his mind screamed.

  The creature pounded on the kitchen door, shaking it in the frame. Dan located the key and slipped it into the lock. The car was open now. He flung open the door and hopped inside, and then promptly shut it behind him.

  Bam! The kitchen door caved in, whipping against the wall and off the hinges. The creature was loose in the garage now, heading towards the car.

  Dan cried out in surprise, turning the key in the ignition.

  The car fired up, and he revved the engine. He reached up and hit the garage door opener, watching it open behind him in the rearview mirror. The creature was at the driver’s side window, just inches away. Its breath fogged up the glass, and it pounded on the window.

  “C’mon, hurry up!” Dan screamed at the garage door.

  He threw the car in reverse and hit the gas. The car inched backwards. Dan looked behind him and then rammed on the brakes.

  Howard’s police cruiser was parked in the driveway, directly behind the garage door. There was no way to get the cruiser out of the garage. Julie’s Subaru Outback sat to his right.

  The creature hissed at him through the window, its nails scratching on the glass. Dan glanced in his rearview again. The three other things from the front yard had stepped into the garage, and were heading for the cruiser. He looked down at the ignition. The key to the Outback dangled from the chain.

  He needed to get to the other car. And fast.

  Dan ripped the keys from the ignition and climbed into the passenger seat, knocking over a coffee cup on his way. His gun was on the seat, but it was useless without bullets. He tucked it into his holster anyway, then reached for the door handle. He paused to look around him.

  The creature to his left had begun moving around the front of the cruiser. Three others approached the passenger side. The Outback was just a few feet away. If he didn’t get out of the cruiser soon, he would be trapped. Dan opened the door and leapt out.

  He grabbed hold of the car key and threw it into the Outback, but it was too late. One of the creatures ripped at his shirt collar, tearing him away from the vehicle.

  “No!” he shouted.

  Dan threw his elbow back and felt it connect with a face. The attacker fell backwards, knocking into its companions, but the three barricaded any escape from the garage.

  He was surrounded.

  Dan dropped to the floor and pulled himself underneath the Outback. As he did, he heard something clatter onto the floor behind him. Damn, he thought. My keys. From underneath the car, he saw a parade of shoes stepping around them. His pulse beat through his body, sending a rush of blood to his temples.

  Dan wiggled his feet, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. He reached his arm out slowly, but the keys were too far away. He inched towards them, balling his feet and pushing off the garage floor. He could almost reach them. He strained his fingers, watching them leave the protection of the vehicle and enter the open garage. He had almost made it when a cold, fleshy hand grabbed his wrist.

  One of the creatures was on the ground, looking back at him with dark eyes. It hissed and pulled on his arm.

  “Get the hell off of me!”

  He wrenched his hand back, wincing as the creature’s nails scratched his wrist. The other things dropped to their knees and reached underneath the car, inspired by their companion. Dan pulled himself towards the other side, avoiding four sets of hands that were now clawing to get to him.

  He glanced towards the passenger side of the vehicle. The garage wall was empty, providing a few feet in which he could maneuver. There were no sets of feet on that side. For now, the coast was clear. He edged himself sideways, and stood up quickly on the opposite side.

  One of the creatures roamed towards the trunk, blocking a quick exit out the front of the garage. He looked around, searching for another option. On the back wall, he spotted the gardening tools hanging neatly from their pegs. Amongst them was a pitchfork.

  Dan made a dash for it. The creatures had given up on the car and were headed his way. He grabbed the pitchfork from the wall and swung it in front of him.

  “C’mon you bastards!”

  One of the creatures made a grab for him, and he propelled the tines deep into its stomach, sending it reeling backwards. He pulled back on the handle, watching a rainfall of blood soak its shirt. It staggered, momentarily off balance. He turned the pitchfork sideways and swung it like a baseball bat, propelling the creature into the side of the Outback.

  He squeezed past it and towards the back of the garage. The others were by the trunk, and he gored the first in the neck. It toppled backward, but Dan persisted, plunging the weapon into the mass of flesh behind it, striking each in turn. The creatures tumbled backwards, hitting the floor, and he stood over each of their bodies, ramming the garden tool into one after the other until all movement had stopped.

  When he finished, Dan realized he was screaming. He looked down at the creatures, whose bodies were now covered in gaping holes, fluid spilling from their insides. In all his years on the force, he had never killed anyone. In fact, he often prayed that he would retire before getting the chance. He had seen plenty of dead bodies, but none that had met their demise at his own hands.

  Dan turned his head and vomited on the garage floor, letting the pitchfork clatter to the ground. When he was finished retching, he dragged the bodies from behind the car, clearing a path to the outside.

  He retrieved the keys and started the Outback. He threw it into reverse, and sped down the driveway and out into the road.

  Somewhere, his daughter was in danger. He just prayed to God he wasn’t too late to save her.

  14

  The little girl took off running, and Howard chased after her. His attention had been on the cellphone, so she’d taken him by surprise. It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t get far. The phone vibrated again in his hand, but this time he slid it into his pocket.

  They’d been standing next to the side of a house when she took off. A few trees lined the perimeter, and she had slipped through them to the neighboring property. He clutched his gun, unsure of what he might run into. The plan had been set in motion, and soon the streets would start to fill with the infected. The contamination has begun.

  Ahead of him, Howard saw a small shadow slip around to the front of the house next door. Although he only caught a quick glance, he was pretty sure it was Quinn. He thought for a second about abandoning the chase, about letting fate take its course. Sooner or later, she would run into one of them, and that would be the end of it. Saving her now would only delay the inevitable.

  Five years ago, when he had moved to St Matthews, Howard had tried to keep to himself. There was no use in befriending any of his co-workers or socializing with the townspeople—not with what he knew was coming. He tried to focus instead on his training, on honing his physical and mental abilities. After a few years, he had let his guard down.

  He had started engaging in the occasional barbeque, a monthly game of pool. The town’s fate was sealed, he thought, so he may as well make the most of his time there. The Agent leaders had said to blend in to the community—to act as natural as possible.

  Howard felt a tinge of pity for Dan and his family. He had
grown closer to them than he had intended. But nobody would escape the contamination. He needed to remind himself of that fact. Helping them now would do nothing.

  He would be the only survivor in St. Matthews.

  Still, he did intend to find the girl and bring her back to her father—it was the honorable thing to do. And Howard liked to think he was an honorable man. He’d give them a fighting chance.

  He rounded the corner of the house and stopped short. Two shadows hugged the siding. The smaller figure lay in the grass, shielding her face and whimpering. It was Quinn, and she was cornered.

  The larger shadow turned to face Howard. Its face was a blackened mess, and it snarled at him. Howard drew back his arm and punched the thing in the head, sending it to the ground. It squirmed, trying to regain its footing, and he aimed his gun between its eyes.

  Howard pulled the trigger, and Quinn screamed. The creature went still.

  “Let’s go, Quinn! If you run again, I’ll leave you out here. You understand?”

  The girl nodded.

  “Get up,” he said, softening his tone. “I know this is difficult, but this whole thing is something that needed to happen. The world needs this.”

  She averted her eyes and followed behind him. He didn’t expect her to understand. How could she? She was just a child. He would be glad when all of this was over and done with.

  He reached for his phone and read the message that had come in earlier.

  Head back to the station and await further instruction.

  Howard signaled for the girl to stop as they approached the front of the Lowery residence. The garage door was open now, and the lights from inside spilled out over the driveway and illuminated the yard. The interior was covered in blood, and he saw what looked like the bodies of several infected. Howard’s patrol car was still in the driveway, directly behind Dan’s. Julie’s car was gone.

  He looked at the little girl, watching her eyes fill with hope.

  “Stay quiet,” he said.

  Howard crept across the yard and looked through the front windows. The dining room was a mess of broken furniture. The table had been turned on its side, and the chairs were toppled over. Julie’s body lay underneath the wreckage. One of the dead things was next to her. He glanced behind him, but Quinn was standing in the middle of the lawn where he had left her. He held up his hand so she would stay put.

  The living room was equally destroyed—the TV had been knocked over, and the couch was halfway across the room. However, the place appeared empty. Dan had put up a fight. Howard wasn’t surprised, given the officer’s track record on the force. Maybe that was why he hadn’t turned into one of them yet. Perhaps his body was keeping the infection at bay.

  He looked back at Quinn again. She, too, seemed to be holding her own. But it was only a matter of time. He motioned toward his cruiser in the driveway.

  “Let’s go.”

  A pair of high beams suddenly lit up the driveway, and Howard shielded his eyes. A car was coming toward them down the road. He wondered if it was Dan.

  As the vehicle approached, he could make out two shadows in the front seat, and the outline of police sirens on the roof. There was only one other patrol car unaccounted for. Mickey’s. He cursed under his breath, wishing things didn’t have to be so complicated.

  The cruiser barreled up the driveway and onto the lawn, and then stopped. The windows were down, and he could hear the young officer shouting from inside the vehicle.

  “What the fuck? Get off of me, man!”

  The passenger was one of the infected, and it clung to Mickey’s arm, tearing into the side of his neck with its teeth. The officer cried out in pain, struggling to break free, but unable to undo his seatbelt.

  “Help!” he screamed.

  The words echoed into the night, bouncing into the garage and past the mound of dead bodies inside. Howard stood motionless, watching his fellow officer flail uselessly at the creature.

  “Do something!” Quinn cried out from behind him.

  Howard walked to the driver’s side of the vehicle and raised the gun. The creature paused mid-bite, its teeth covered in fleshy residue. He squeezed the trigger, firing a round into its head. The thing collapsed into Mickey’s neck, falling into the wound it had created.

  “Fuck, man,” Mickey whispered, blood gurgling through the side of his opened neck. His eyes were wide, and his arms convulsed at his sides. He reached out for Howard. “Help me, please…”

  Howard turned away and walked towards his cruiser.

  “In the car,” he barked at the girl.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Back to the station.”

  “Is my dad there?” Her lips trembled.

  Howard looked at her, but didn’t answer. His eyes were devoid of emotion.

  15

  Dan scoured the streets of St. Matthews, searching for any sign of his missing daughter. From Shunpike Lane, he looped around to Treetop Place, and then to Archibald Avenue. He gripped the steering wheel, hands shaking. He tried to dispel the image of his dead wife on the dining room floor.

  Julie was gone.

  He felt the salty sting of tears hit his lips, and he wiped his face with his sleeve. But Quinn was still alive. She had to be. He pictured his daughter, out on the streets, perhaps fighting for her life just as he had been moments ago. Where could she have gone?

  He wracked his brain, trying to determine Quinn’s thought process. She was a smart kid—probably smarter than most her age. He held out hope that she had been able to find assistance.

  But what if the entire town was infected? What help would there be then? And why hadn’t he been stricken with the disease—whatever it was? He looked down at his hands, and then glanced at himself in the rearview mirror. Maybe he was moments away from turning into one of the things himself.

  Dan shivered and forced the thought from his mind. Whatever the reason, he was still conscious, still himself. At least, he thought he was. And as far as he knew, so were Quinn and Howard.

  Dan patted his pocket. His cellphone was still there. Thank God. He pulled it out and dialed his senior officer’s number. The call went straight to voicemail.

  “C’mon, man!”

  He dialed again, but with no luck. He scanned his phone for any messages or voicemails, but none had been received. He tucked the device back in his pocket and then looked back at the road. About a hundred feet ahead, just beyond his headlights, he saw a glimmer of movement.

  “What the hell?”

  A few shadows darted from left to right, and he wiped his eyes to ensure his vision wasn’t distorted. A yellow sign passed on his right.

  Pedestrian Crossing.

  25 MPH.

  Dan flicked on his high beams, and then held his breath. A swarm of creatures was in the road, arms hanging at their sides, marching toward a figure lying on the curb. A few were on their knees, ripping into it. Pulling out the person’s insides, he thought. He hit the brakes, coming to a stop just fifty feet away. Their heads seemed to turn in unison.

  There had to be about twenty of the things.

  Dan threw the car into reverse. The creatures ran at him, hissing and spitting in an attempt to get to the Outback. He revved the engine, and the car rolled backwards, but not fast enough. One of the creatures tore at the driver’s side mirror, ripping it clean off the vehicle. Another flailed its arms at the hood. Others flanked the passenger’s side, banging on the windows.

  Dan shouted at them, swerving the wheel in an attempt to throw them off. He felt the tires run over a pair of feet, and saw one of the things fall. He stomped the brake, bringing the car to a halt, and then threw it into drive. The things pounded harder on the windows. He hit the gas and sped forward.

  He aimed the car straight ahead, w
here a few stragglers had begun to congregate. They raised their arms and moved towards the vehicle.

  “That’s right, keep coming!”

  Dan plowed into three of the things, hurling them over the hood of the Outback and back onto the pavement. The others had fallen behind, unable to catch the speeding vehicle.

  Suddenly he was free, driving into the night, the chaos behind him. Even with the windows up, he could still smell the pungent odor of blood and decay finding its way through the vents. He rolled down the window, but only to a crack. What has this world come to?

  His cellphone rang, and his heart skipped a beat. He answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  A voice whispered from the other end.

  “He’s got Quinn.”

  Dan looked down at the phone. It was Mickey.

  “Who has her? Mickey, are you ok?”

  “H-Howard has her. They’re headed to the station.”

  Mickey’s voice sounded labored, as if he was speaking underwater. Dan felt a wave of nausea creep over him.

  “Where are you?” Dan asked.

  His friend paused.

  “Don’t t-trust him, Dan.”

  The call disconnected.

  16

  The little girl squirmed in the backseat of the cruiser. Howard had put her there to ensure she wouldn’t try running again. He would bring her to the station, and then he would contact her father. Fate should take its course from there. He hoped they didn’t meet up again—for their sake.

  So far, the streets were empty. Either the infection was still spreading, or the residents were elsewhere, searching for victims. Howard felt a tickle in his throat, and coughed into his hand. He looked down, expecting for a brief moment to see blood on his hand. Just like his mother had seen years ago, when she had been diagnosed with cancer. But he knew better. He’d been careful.