Containment: A Zombie Novel

by Hippsley, B. A.

  He was pretty sure the attacks were also connected to the blackout. They could have brought the infected people to study. What would happen if they were used as some kind of weapon? His mind was on fire with conspiracy theories. This was big, the biggest thing he’d ever discovered. But the trouble with this place was that no one would ever listen.

  He walked slowly up and down Harris Street, his mind reeling under the implications of this revelation. Outside the flower shop, he saw just the type of guy who would listen. Emmett walked up to Chris Emery. Now here was a man who knew about everything.

  “Hi Mr Emery, what you make of all this? I got me a theory that...”

  “Hank Emmett has a theory, now this, I must hear.”

  “Its Jimmy, Hank’s my Pa.”

  Something was wrong here. Emmett looked at Emery; he was a mess. His grey hair was standing up on one side of his head, as if he’d just got up and he had a few days’ worth of stubble on his face. But the strangest thing of all was that he was still wearing his pajama top. However, none of that was Emmett’s problem, he was on a mission and fit to burst.

  “I think that the blackout and the attacks are linked ...”

  “Absolutely dreadful about Ruby. She is...or rather was, one of my students. Who could have done such a horrible thing?”

  “Well that’s what I’m trying to...”

  “A lot of people about Hank, is there a game?”

  “Game? No, they’re headed to the town hall or the police station – waiting for official word, I suppose.”

  “Official word? No, you’ll find they’re protesting the war. Outrageous! Should never have got involved.”

  “Syria? But we pulled outta there last year.”

  “Syria? What’s Syria got to do with anything? I’m talking about the Vietnam War. You’d know that if you paid attention in class, Hank Emmett. Now I’ll see you Monday, have a good weekend.”

  Emmett tugged at his ear lobe and rolled his eyes as he watched Emery walk away down the street with his blue and white pajama top sticking out of his pants. That was the thing with this town - nobody ever listened to Emmett. Take last week, for instance. He’d met Sarge in Wal-Mart and was busy explaining some of his pet theories on JFK’s assassination. He’d just started to explain away the second shooter theory and how Oswald had used a teleport, when suddenly Sarge had gone crazy, chasing him from the store with a rolled up fishing magazine.

  The only reason he’d stopped was because Benny Arnold, the manager, had chased after Sarge because he hadn’t paid for the magazine. When Emmett looked back, Sarge, Benny Arnold and the guard were laughing at his expense. Well they’d be sorry when the

  G men got them. Of course, he could always tell the cops but even they weren’t interested.

  Yesterday he’d been advising a bunch of people about leaving the town as one of the safest options, when Gerard Benteen came raging up like a bull, purple-faced and cussing. Benteen had threatened to charge him with ‘subversion and incitement to cause panic’ and a whole lot of other stuff he’d never heard of. What a disgraceful way for a lawman to behave. Emmett wanted to report it to Eastman but he’d disappeared as well.

  Emmett neared the station house and was surprised at the large crowd of people gathered there, with the same worried faces. They wanted answers. They needed answers. Bernie’s Burger Bar and Spinelly’s Kool Ices had set up in the street. God bless America and free enterprise. He’d give Kool Ices a try later, but the burgers were best left alone, he’d heard stories about where Bernie got his meat. From the other side of the street he could see Firth and Benteen standing on the steps of the jailhouse. Were they going to say something? he wondered. Then they disappeared inside. Yeah, that was the thing with Armstrong, no darn communication.

  ****

  Benteen and Firth were standing in Eastman’s office, Benteen behind the desk and Firth in a state of agitation. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a table knife.

  “Look Gerard, I know things are rough at the moment and it’s all on you, but you gotta get people back up there. My boy’s still missing.”

  “Preciate that Mayor. Under the circumstances it ain’t safe for anyone going up there.”

  “Yeah, that includes my boy, damn it. Gerard I want boots on the ground up there right now!”

  “We got us a maniac up there attacking people. He’s already killed one of our kids. I’m sure as hell not risking any more of our folk, until we get us a new plan. Now I’m sorry but that’s the way it’s gotta be.”

  Benteen was trying to hold his temper; it was a downhill battle. He’d just about had enough of this fat, bald, pain in the ass. For two pins, he’d throw him in the slammer, Mayor or not. However, as the senior, in fact the only peace officer in town, he had to respect the man’s status.

  “I know Brad’s not here to tell you what to do, but for this one time maybe you could manage a thought all by yourself and damn well get up there and look for Conrad!”

  Benteen glowered back at Firth – this was typical. He was used to getting what he wanted. Even allowing for the fact his son was missing, it was clear that Firth had put others in harm’s way for his own ends. Benteen had a responsibility to uphold the law and keep the people safe. He was not about to send anyone into the mountains without a revised plan. If there was some nut out there then he’d need armed rescue teams and folks who knew how to use firearms - not just gun owners, who brought them out every other Sunday, but folks who could look after themselves. George Lee had shown him some 9 mm slugs he’d got from the RV site; it was unlikely the things Eastman or Ben had seen could use guns. That meant somebody else could be on the loose.

  “Look, you may not respect me but you sure as hell are gonna respect this uniform. Now, no one’s gonna go up that God damn mountain till I get me a plan!”

  “Now, see here you...”

  “Anybody got a beef with one of my officers best come see me first, Tony.”

  Both antagonists whirled round to see Eastman standing in the open doorway with Anne Lenski just behind him. They were hot and tired and Eastman was in no mood to mess about. He walked across the room to stand alongside Benteen.

  “I’ll let you boys talk,” said Anne as she hurriedly left the room.

  “Okay, I’ve told the people outside, we gonna have a meeting in about twenty-five minutes in the Town Hall. Gerard, what’s happening here?”

  “Well Brad, we got us all kinds of situations. I called the teams back ‘cause as well as those freaks, I got reason to think there’s someone armed up there. I can’t put other folk at risk but...”

  “Whatever,” said Firth, “but you ain’t worried about Conrad. He’s still up there on his own and you two are sitting doing nothing!”

  “Faced with a whole bunch of unknowns, Gerard’s right. Nobody’s going up there. Do you want our people coming back in body bags? Tony, I don’t like the idea of one of our kids up there with all this going on, but we gotta have a plan.”

  “Then just let me and some guys go up there. Damn it, I gotta do something!”

  “I can’t do that and you know it. We only got a few hours of good light left. By the time we get organised and up there, that light is gonna fade. That means we’ll be searching in darkness. We’ll go at first light, organised and with a plan.”

  The logic finally sunk in and Firth slumped into a chair holding his head in his hands. They were right; by the time they got up there they would have lost the light.

  “Brad what you want me to do?”

  “Just go home; you look done in. Try and get back for the meeting but nobody’s gonna blame you if you can’t. Tony, if Bridget wants a scalp, tell her come get mine. You done all you could up there.”

  Eastman watched as Firth nodded his head, dragged himself from the chair and trudged out of the office. Closing the door, Eastman looked at Gerard. There was a lot to go through and hardly any time to do it.

  “What we got?”

 
“We brought Ruby back, all the bits we could find. We got some other developments too. Firth found an RV – looks like some violence went down. George Lee dug up some 9 mm casings at the scene; it looks as if they were machine guns. No bodies, just blood. Then Sarge and Marv Glitzman ran into two of them things you met with.”

  “How’s the boy? I mean where’d he been all this time?”

  “After the attack up on the road, when Ruby got killed, he led the other kids to safety and then went for help. He followed the river to town, killed one of them things and came across Sarge. A regular hero.”

  “Marv Glitzman did all that? Where’d he think Conrad went?”

  “Ah, well that’s it you see. Conrad cut out after Ruby died and ran into the woods, arms in the air, screaming like a blind faggot at a weenie roast. But there’s something else we got to look at.”

  Benteen rubbed his jaw awkwardly before continuing. “Marv and Britney Patrick swear Conrad pushed Jenha Galway at one of them creatures.”

  “And?”

  “So after it took a chunk outta her, he left the others on their own.”

  “Does Firth know about this?”

  “Just you, me and the kids.”

  Eastman sat back in his chair, deep in thought. That girl was in a bad way; the thought someone would have deliberately caused her suffering annoyed the hell outta him. If this was the case then Conrad would be in serious trouble, just the same as if he’d thrown her to a mountain lion. This put a whole different slant to the picture, yet they still had to bring him back. It would be best if they kept this to themselves a while, at least until they’d more evidence. He looked over at Benteen and gave a friendly nod.

  “So, do you really think we got us a maniac up there?”

  “Could be, but I thought that folks would take to the maniac notion rather than the zombies. Where the hell are these things coming from anyways?”

  “Don’t know buddy, but I captured two up at Ben’s farm. We gotta bring them back...”

  “Hold up there, what you done Brad, arrested them?”

  “Anne thinks there’s a possibility of a cure. So we need them alive.”

  “What about you? You think she can set things right?”

  “Don’t know, but the thing is, she thinks so. If she’s right, then every one of them we kill is murder. There’s gotta be a better way. I want you to get a team together and fetch those two back here. But be careful.”

  Benteen sucked in deep and shook his head.

  “How in hell you suppose I’m gonna do that? These damn things are killers!”

  “We can use that gear we catch dogs with; you know the poles with the hoops on. Twist it around the neck and use the pole to control them. You gonna need to cover up and use heavy duty gloves. It’s not gonna be easy but it’s not impossible. One other thing, don’t take chances; if you gotta kill them, aim for the head.”

  “There’ve been reports of a helicopter thereabouts.”

  “Yeah, we saw it up at the farm. It looked like one of them search types, you know, like the ones we use.”

  “Reckon it saw you?”

  “It was a way from us but yeah, it couldn’t have missed. Listen I’m gonna get ready for the meeting. Anne’s agreed to cover the medical stuff; I’ll go fetch her in a bit.”

  “You want me to tag along Boss?”

  “Nope. You watch the store and organise some guys to round those things up.”

  Benteen nodded his head and watched Eastman leave the office. The thought of trying to round up two of those things worried him. He had no issues with doing it himself; he’d just grab the dumb freaks and throw them in a horsebox. What worried him was that he’d need to get others to do the job while he sat on his butt. Kicking his boots off, he shut his eyes and sighed deeply. Man, he could do with a beer right now.

  ****

  Ethan Mason had the misfortune of bumping into Will Yardman on the way to the town meeting. Will Yardman was a redneck troublemaker. He never had a good word to say about anyone. Ethan knew Yardman from school and never liked him. For the past ten minutes or so, Yardman had talked at him about his restricted views of the day’s search. Mason had lost count of the times Yardman had said ‘I would have done it this way or that way.’

  In reality the man did nothing; he was on welfare and lived in the house his parents had left him. Periodically, Mason nodded his head or shrugged his shoulders, feigning interest; it was best not to aggravate the guy. Ray Johnson had also been drawn into the one-sided conversation but he stood to one side. Every so often, Mason looked at him and raised an eyebrow or rolled his eyes.

  “And look at that Sarge, now everyone thinks he’s a freaking hero. What the hell for I gotta ask you?”

  “Well Will, he did bring that boy home and...”

  “Ray, you dumb blob. That kid was only up the damn road, he’d have soon come back without that ape. Hey no offence there, Mason. He sure ain’t no hero.”

  “Well, they gave him the Silver Star.”

  Mason looked at Yardman. “That gotta count for something.”

  “You boys forget he let four of his guys burn to death in that bushwhack?”

  “Hold up, Sarge was exonerated of all charges.”

  “I don’t know what zonorated means. But I know a no good coward when I see one, sure enough.”

  “That’s not what I read,” Mason countered heatedly. “Sarge rescued his team despite being shot up and he couldn’t get at the others because of the crossfire. Now that’s a fact.”

  “Says who, boy?”

  “Says me!”

  Sarge grabbed Yardman around the throat in a vice like grip.

  “For the record, Willy boy, I lost two of my team trying to get them guys’ outta that wreck. I wasn’t about to lose any more. I knew they was still alive ‘cause I heard them screaming; I still can. I’m gonna take that to the grave. That’s my punishment. You ever bad mouth me again; I’ll tear your rotten heart out!”

  Sarge released him, gave him a cold stare then calmly walked away. Yardman fell back against the wall, gasping for air. Mason looked at Yardman’s ashen face then noticed a damp patch spreading from his crotch. You didn’t mess with people like Sarge. Both Mason and Johnson walked away and headed for the Town Hall.

  ****

  “So, you’re telling us that there are more of them things running about,” Tom Price called out from his seat. “Well just how many?”

  Eastman and Anne Lenski were sitting on the stage. Eastman looked out at the densely packed hall. He was feeling the heat, but it must have been near unbearable amongst the throng of people.

  “Tom, like I already said, the attacks support there being a number of these people out there. But if you’re looking for a number… I can’t tell. We gotta have more evidence.”

  Bob Galway stood up. “How many more people must die before you get that evidence? My child is in the hospital. How many more are gonna end up there? What are you doing to sort this out?”

  “Bob, I know you’re upset, but I’m doing the best I can with the resources I have. I’m gonna need to bring in some extra measures. From today onwards, I’m introducing a dusk to dawn curfew. The only people on the street will be those with legitimate business. And the patrols will now be armed.”

  “Sheriff Eastman, since Mayor Firth is not here, I have to ask you as a town councillor, have you discussed these ‘extra measures’ with him?”

  “Miss Redman, I know this sounds kinda heavy but we need to be ready for anything. At the moment we’ve been lucky, these people – or creatures – have only attacked outside the city limits. Now I want us ready if that changes. But no, I haven’t asked Tony as yet.”

  “Well my farms outside the city limits Brad, and Alice and the kids are a mite worried about all this,” shouted Buck Willis.

  Eastman looked over at Buck and Alice sitting with the two kids, Julie and Ron. There could be a problem with the outlaying homesteads. In fact, it’d been some time since
he’d seen Mike and Susan Goodman. He shot a quick glance at Anne, this was more difficult than he’d imagined. He could’ve done with Firth or even Benteen. The buzz of the gathering had risen in the last few minutes, sounding more and more like a swarm of angry hornets. He watched as Lenny Kovak pushed his glasses on his head and rose from his front row seat. Now here was trouble.

  “Sheriff, for the last ten minutes or so, we’ve sat here and listened to you, but there’s a lot you’re not saying. Benteen told us he thought there was a maniac on the loose. So is there some nut as well as these things to contend with? And have you established a connection with the blackout yet?”

  “I can’t comment on that first question and as for the second part, we have no direct evidence to support that notion.”

  “What about the helicopter and drones that’ve been reported, any comments there?”

  “Dr Lenski and I both saw a helicopter up at Ben’s farm, but as yet we’ve had no contact from the outside.”

  “Where are these things coming from? What are they?”

  Eastman looked over at Rudy Goldsmith.

  “All the bodies we’ve recovered are people from outside of town. So whoever they are they’re from away. Why the hell they’ve pitched up here I don’t know. As for what they are, I’m gonna hand you over to Dr Lenski.”

  “Hello. Now I’ve heard a lot about Ebola and even rabies over the last few days. Since the Ebola catastrophe some years back, strict medical checks are in place that identify all traces of Ebola. No one wants a repeat performance of all that. So I’m happy to tell you, it’s neither. Nor is it airborne like the common cold. All my evidence so far tells me this virus has to be ingested into the bloodstream from direct contact with body fluids and blood. But other than that, this is a completely unknown class of disease. It is however, highly contagious and deadly.”