Containment: A Zombie Novel

by Hippsley, B. A.

  “You got em right here; you’ve been looking at them all morning.”

  “Brad, what I have here are two dead bodies. Dead bodies that have been shot. I’m talking about the two attackers.”

  “They are the two attackers Anne.”

  “Don’t tell me those two attacked anybody, they’ve been dead about a month or more.”

  She must have got it wrong; they were ill maybe even dying, but they were definitely not dead.

  “Anne when the suspect shot these two they were still very much alive and moving about.”

  “Brad that’s not possible, it’s just not. I’m telling you, the degree of decay on the two bodies means that neither of them would be able to function enough to move about, let alone attack anyone.”

  Eastman knew what he’d seen, but he also knew that the state of them was the same kinda mess he’d seen on bodies fished out of the creek after a month or more. “I ain’t gonna argue with you, I know what I saw and when they got shot they was still moving and …”

  Just as he was about to explain further he was cut short by the ringing of Anne’s telephone.

  “Yes...oh Conrad...have you got the results? Right, well what have you got? Look, either you know what you have or you don’t. There’s no ‘not sure’.”

  Eastman could see by the reaction on Anne’s face that something was not as it should be. She wore a deep frown and was uneasily rubbing the top of her pen against her cheek.

  “I’ll come right away. Conrad, don’t show anyone else.”

  As she replaced the receiver her eyes darted from the telephone to Eastman’s and his instincts told him all was not right.

  “What’s up Anne, bad news?”

  “Conrad found something with the toxicology on those bodies. He wants to see me.”

  “Yeah, well let’s go take a look at what he’s found then.”

  Both left for the health center lab without saying a word. Eastman hoped that they’d found something to shed a bit more light on this mystery, but he’d a feeling that things were going to get a whole lot more complicated.

  ****

  The lab was a small well-lit box of a room. The strong smell of disinfectant permeated throughout. A set of large windows overlooked the car lot, bouncing sunshine off the medical equipment onto the far wall. As Eastman and Dr Lenski entered, Conrad Brown was drawing the blinds to cut out the hot sun.

  “Conrad where are the slides?” asked Dr Lenski.

  It was obvious that she did not want to waste any time. Brown looked over at her and pointed a long finger at the worktop area, nodding a brief acknowledgement to Eastman at the same time. The worktop was littered with various types of medical equipment and near a powerful electron microscope was a set of blood slides.

  “Doctor, the slides are from each of the three bodies you examined earlier and they’re from exactly the ‘bloods’ that you gave me. I just want you to know, there are no mistakes.”

  “Why would there be?”

  “You best check for yourself, that’s all I’m saying.”

  Brown rubbed the sweat from his forehead. Although Eastman had no idea what either was talking about, it was part of his job to judge people and situations. This guy Brown was like a cat on a hot tin roof. Was he trying to hide something or was he scared at what he’d found? Whatever, it was plain to see that he was a worried man.

  Dr Lenski placed the first slide under the powerful lenses and adjusted the magnification back and forth. After a few seconds examination, she replaced the slide with the other two samples. Moments later she shook her head, looking directly at Brown.

  “What are these? Where’s the slide from the bodies gone, Conrad? These aren’t even proper blood samples. I don’t know what these are!”

  Her tone was sharp and irritable. “Doctor, I’ve checked and re-checked and these are the ‘bloods’ you gave me.”

  Brown’s reply seemed almost desperate as he tried to convince Dr Lenski he’d done his job.

  “Look, here are the phials you gave me, they’ve still got the samples in them and this is your writing. I know what you’re thinking because I thought it too. But as crazy as it looks, the samples are right.”

  Dr Lenski looked long and hard at Brown. Then she took the samples from him and placed them under the microscope. After further examination she puffed out a long breath.

  “This is incredible…you’re right Conrad…I…I have to agree. I’ve never seen anything like this before! I’ll need to run further checks but…”

  Eastman looked at Anne. She’d discovered something but he couldn’t fathom any of it and he needed a straight explanation from her.

  “Mind letting me in on this big discovery?”

  Turning to face him on her swivel chair she eased herself off the seat and went to a bookcase, selected a book and gestured him to join her. She placed the heavy textbook on the nearby worktop and leafed through the pages. Looking at Eastman she pointed to a photo.

  “Brad, do you know what that is?”

  He looked at the image; it was a photo of something that had been magnified many, many times but he had no idea what it was.

  “Nope, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”

  “It’s a healthy human cell. No matter who you take a cell from, if it’s healthy it will look like this. Even diseased cells will appear similar.”

  Lenski took Eastman back to the microscope and placed one of the blood samples for him to examine.

  “Now you look, tell me what you think that is Brad?”

  Eastman adjusted the eyepiece to enlarge the image clearly enough to identify. The object looked nothing like the picture in the book. It was a dark, bruised colour, not so defined as the cell in the picture and with faint wispy tendrils. It looked plain ugly.

  “Is it a cell or something? It doesn’t look like the picture … I don’t know…”

  “Ten out of ten Brad, it is a cell but that cell stopped being human some time ago.”

  Eastman was now confused. She’d said even diseased cells still looked human and yet she’d just said these cells were not human. What the hell was she going on about?

  “Anne take it slow, it’s been a long day.”

  “Brad, whatever source contaminated these bodies it has mutated, or taken over if you like, the very cells that makes up our bodies. Whatever they are, these bodies are no longer human!”

  Chapter – Five

  Taylor was sitting on his bed staring at the bars of the cell. He was in a world of hurt. Worst of all he knew it was his fault. Not because of the shootings, that needed doing. No, it was because he’d been dumb enough to help that damn fool girl. He should’ve just kept on walking but no, he’d had to get involved, again.

  That was his problem. Like the man at the road accident or the girl being mugged some months before. In the war, he’d hated the casual indifference to killing from both sides. He’d been forced to detach himself from the situations he’d encountered in order to survive. Killing was not an easy thing to do but being killed would be far worse in his book. By and large this strategy worked. But for now, he was locked up in Jerksville USA.

  These rednecks had no idea what was hanging over their heads. He’d been dumbstruck when the cop had tried to arrest the creature. He smiled as the image of the thing in a court room on trial flashed into his head. Had his reactions been that different when he’d first come across these things? The bottom line was, from the cops’ point of view, he’d simply murdered two people in cold-blood and done it with a cop’s gun.

  It worried him that some small town quack would likely blunder about with the bodies and infect half the town. Well, he’d more pressing matters to contend with. When these clowns managed to reconnect to the world they’d get to know all about him. It wouldn’t be long after that, that ZerTon would come for him. The thought filled him with utter dread. He needed to escape; there was no way he was going through all that again.

  “Hey Benteen. What gives with thi
s crummy dump? You hillbillies forget to pay the telephone bill?”

  There was no response; he’d have to raise his game plan a notch. He needed to provoke this ape and fast.

  “Is that the official line or don’t you understand the question? I mean they don’t keep you around for your deductive skills. You’re just a heavy in a uniform.”

  To Taylor’s dismay, Benteen just sat looking through a pile of reports, completely ignoring the attempts to provoke him.

  “What’s wrong, Eastman keep you on a chain too long? He hasn’t let you beat on anyone today? Would you like to beat me?”

  “Close your hole, hobo. All I can hear is blah-blah from you.”

  “Aw, I get it. You used to get beat on. Your redneck Pappy done break your GI Joe? Or maybe it was Barbie?”

  Benteen slammed his hand down on the desk, the noise echoing like a pistol shot in the concrete room. Then he spun himself around on his swivel chair and glowered at Taylor.

  “You got one hell of a lot to squawk about, considering you’re behind my bars. Ya low-life bum!”

  “You da BIG man. Or is it just your fat mouth that’s big? Come on, no one to stop you now is there?”

  With a low rumble, Benteen rose up from his chair and drew himself to his massive height. He fixed Taylor with a wild stare and advanced towards the cell, fists clenched and arms rigid at his side. This was it, thought Taylor.

  “I’m gonna tear you a new ass, you God damn freak!”

  “Hold up there Deputy,” called Eastman from the doorway.

  He was walking into the room with Dr Lenski. Benteen shrugged his huge shoulders, grunted and moved away from the cell. “Sorry Brad, but that boy’s got some mouth on him.”

  “Well, that’s good, ’cause he’s going to need it. Can you get someone over to Mike Goodman’s place? They’ve reported trespassers.”

  “Sure Brad. See you later, Doc.”

  As Benteen left, Eastman shot him a reproachful glance. Gerard was not the best person to baby-sit this guy. He looked at the hobo; this drifter was a dangerous unknown. It was obvious that he’d just tried to play Benteen. Anyone crazy enough to want to pick a fight with him was very dangerous.

  “Okay drifter. Dr Lenski here wants to ask you some questions. You’d do best to cooperate.”

  Dr Lenski looked him up and down. “I’d like to know more about these bodies we have. They’ve got some peculiarities about them. I don’t understand.”

  Taylor shifted his position and stretched out on his bed with his hands behind his head. Then he turned his head to look at Dr Lenski, giving her a long stare before he answered.

  “They’re not safe, even dead. Even then, they can still get you. Sort of complicated, Doctor.”

  “You said that they were contaminated, contaminated with what?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Don’t poke about with things you don’t understand.”

  “Why not let me be the judge of that?”

  “I’ll tell you this. Don’t think you’ve seen the last of these things. Take my advice. Burn those damn bodies. Now if you don’t mind, it’s kinda noisy in here and I need some shut-eye.”

  “Wait, I need more if I’m going to…”

  “Don’t waste your time; he’s not gonna say any more.”

  Both Eastman and Lenski walked out of the room and into the hallway. Eastman knew it was pointless to continue to question the guy. Besides, there was work to be done.

  “Anne, I’m going to talk to Rose Gane, see what I can come up with. Then I’d better start sorting out the volunteers.”

  “I can’t believe that guy not wanting to help us. Yet he warned us about the contamination. What do you think he meant about not seeing the last of these things?”

  “Hate to think, but he knows a lot more than he’s letting on.”

  Despite the heat, she shuddered as a sudden chill swept over her.

  ****

  Eastman was sitting in his office with Benteen when Dr Lenski walked in.

  “Is it true what Clara just told me about that girl Brad, has she left?”

  “I went to the hotel and Mrs Jackson said the girl left a few hours back. Took all her gear and slipped out. I’ve sent some of my people out, but she could’ve gone anywhere.”

  “We have to find her. She’s going to be confused with all that’s happened.”

  “Look Doc, there’s miles and miles of nothing out there, if we knew where she was at then we’d go get her,” Benteen said.

  “Gerard’s right, she could be walking, she could’ve hitched a ride and I don’t have the manpower or the resources to mount a search. I’m sorry.”

  “So what, you’re just going to let her go?”

  “Anne, don’t forget this girl is a material witness to three murders, if I could find her I would. If everything were normal then I’d put an APB out, hell I could even call for the county chopper. State Troopers would set up roadblocks. But we’re on our own. I got to think about the people here.”

  Dr Lenski nodded and lowered her gaze. She knew Eastman was perfectly right but hated the idea of this vulnerable girl alone in the wilderness.

  “Okay it’s time for the meeting. Gerard, you’ve got the store until I get back. Anything up, you know where I’m at. You gonna come, Anne?”

  “Yes, but I’ll sit in the audience if you don’t mind. There’s nothing I can contribute at the moment.”

  ****

  The town hall was the heart of Armstrong. It had been one of the first buildings constructed and had grown over the years. In its day it had been a grand building but it had seen better days. The midday sunlight flooded into the hall through the high-set sash windows, illuminating the countless dust motes lazily drifting in the air and gleaming off the polished wooden floor.

  Eastman and Firth sat on the stage facing the assembled townspeople. The old hall had never been built to hold this volume of people. Eastman noted that many people were standing with still more outside. This situation was the biggest thing to hit the town since the Cuban missile crisis. Judge Carmille called order and handed the floor to Firth, who stood up and launched into his speech.

  “We woke this morning and found us in a communications blackout, that’s what this meeting was supposed to be about. Now we got us another situation. Three people died up at Hinckle Point this morning. That’s plain awful, but as mayor of this town I gotta look after our interests first. That’s just the way it is. The Sheriff here’s got the low-down on all that. Then we’ll get back onto this blackout thing. Sheriff over to you.”

  Eastman got up from his chair and looked out at the anxious faces peering back at him. Not only were these people worried about this bizarre situation they now had three murders right in their front yard. However odd the murders were, he would use plain and simple police procedure to deal with them, it was the other situation that could bring trouble.

  His glance fell on Lenny Kovak, the editor of the Armstrong Bugle. Problem was that nobody had told him that, as he sure as hell thought he was on the New York Times. Eastman knew full well this guy could be a real pain in the ass. He’d have to watch him.

  “At about 9:30 this morning Bill Merka and myself came across a dead body. During the course of this discovery the suspect shot and killed two men. This suspect is now in custody. There was also a female who was being treated for shock at the medical centre. She has since absconded. I got people looking for her but in the current situation; I’m limited to what I can do. Now, this is an ongoing investigation so I don’t have a lot to go on. But none of these individuals are local folks. I know this is big…”

  Kovak sat up and called out, “Sheriff, when you say absconded, had she been arrested? Is she a danger? Do you have any motives at this time? I mean any connections to the bank job in Burnsville last month?”

  “Lenny, you’re gonna give yourself a heart attack. Simmer down a while. This girl was a victim and poses no danger; I already said this is ongoing. Lik
e I was about to say, I know this is big news but it’s under control. Right now we got us another situation we need to deal with. That’s this blackout and that concerns all of us. The Mayor will say a few words about that.”

  Firth stood up and began his address.

  “At the moment we got us a situation we don’t fully understand. We got no communication with the outside world. But that don’t matter none, we come through floods, snow and a hell of a lot more than no Cable. I’m going to lead you through this. We all gotta stick together as a town. I got my people chasing the cause of this down and as soon as I got some progress I’m gonna let you know. We still got our power and we can use the old CB radios so we ain’t all done in and…”

  Kovak interrupted him. “Mayor, is it true that Deputy Koneg said that the town is cut off in both directions?”

  “Mr Kovak, saying things like that’s gonna get people spooked. We don’t want to cause a scare.”

  “I’m not looking to scare anyone; I just want the truth. Mayor, are we totally cut off? The people have the right to know.”

  Eastman could see there was a danger of the meeting degenerating into panic as people started to call out in concern. They wanted to know what had happened. Eastman rose and with a loud voice announced, “Max Koneg drove towards Burnsville but just outside our town limits is a huge crater blocking the highway. He tried going north toward O’Brien’s Ridge but most of O’Brien’s Ridge is now on the Highway. Both Highway 104 routes are blocked.”

  Eastman used the stunned silence to continue, “This doesn’t mean we’re trapped. There are tracks running through the countryside to Burnsville. But they’re only for those who know how to use them.”

  “That’s just great but what about the rest of us?” called out Oscar Majors.

  Eastman knew Majors from High School but he’d left town years back and gone to the city. He’d recently come back and taken over the General Store, after Mr Miller had died.Eastman could see that Sarge was getting agitated. Sarge was dressed in his combat fatigues and cut an imposing figure as he stood up and called out.