by Shawn McLain
“What else can I do Mom?” He asked as she sat on the floor next to the couch and helped her husband get a drink. She looked up at him shaking her head. “I can get the comforter from my room.”
“I’m ok guys, seriously. Just a bad bug.” Reg tried to calm them. He coughed then smiled, “besides, that thing will only get me sicker. When was the last time you washed it?” His laugh turned into more coughs.
“If you are not better by tomorrow I am taking you to the doctor and that is that.” Wes smiled as his mother lay down the law. “Now get some sleep. I’m just going to read for a bit. Wes I’m sorry but I need you here to help and… I...I’m just happy you are home. In case I need something.”
“It's ok Mom. I’m worried about the old guy too.” He knew she didn’t need him home to help but needed his support. He headed up to his room listening as Reg broke out into another fit of coughs that ended in a moan. As soon as he closed the door to the bedroom his phone rang, It was Beth.
Downtown
Dave and Bridgette had just finished unpacking the last boxes in their first apartment together a couple of days ago. It wasn’t much but it was theirs. Located above a dance studio on the third floor of an old building downtown, the rent had been just right for the young couple moving in together right after graduating college.
They liked the location downtown and the lack of neighbors. Of the four apartments only two others were occupied. This suited the young couple just fine as they liked to play their music loud and have a good time. Today the apartment was quieter than normal. Bridgette had come down with the cold that had been going around. Dave watched the news, where the commentators posed theories, argued over the causes, and showed maps projecting the spread. The east and west coast where already covered in red dots. New York was completely covered in solid red. He looked from the TV to his laptop. The stories on the internet did not help calm his fears. The web was reporting deaths and some weird stories about people suffering from heavy fever that caused them to act crazy and attack doctors and loved ones.
Swine Flu, bird Flu, whatever flu, Dave didn’t really care. What he did care about was Bridgette and she was very sick. Bridgette was cold no matter how many layers of clothes and blankets she was covered in. She also had a horrendous headache and stomach ache. Dave was staying home from work to take care of her. She had always been a bit sickly and frail so Dave was not surprised when she got ill. She was lying in their bed coughing and Dave had given up on the news and was now in the kitchen making her some tea.
“Dave…” she called. Her voice was very weak and could barely be heard. Dave had been listening and hurried to the bedroom. “I really feel terrible. I think I need to go to the hospital.” She moaned then started to cough.
“I’ll get your coat ok, be right back.” He ran to the hall closet, her coat wasn’t there. He remembered she was already wearing it to beat the chills. Shaking his head in frustration he grabbed his coat for her and hurried back to the bedroom. It was quiet.
“Bridge? Bridge!” He yelped at her motionless figure.
Dropping the coat to the floor he rushed to the bed and felt her wrist. She didn’t seem to have a pulse. He leaned over her to check for breathing. He couldn’t feel anything. He put an ear to her chest praying to hear a heartbeat. No sound came. “Bridge? Bridgette?” He asked, finally yelling her name.
Her eyes flew open, relief washed over Dave. Her eyes watched him as a sound escaped her throat. Dave leaned over to hear what she was saying. Relief turned to terror when she lurched forward sinking her teeth into his neck. Blood sprayed over her lips and across the wall. He jerked away in agony and fear. Stumbling back he stood straight up, his hand flew to his neck and the severed artery spurting blood over the walls and bed. Dizzy he turned to run from the room but she caught him by the arm, pulling him back to the bed. He fell over across the bed, knocking her girp free. She was on him in a second biting him in the face.
Dave tried to fight the small woman off of him but his blood flowed freely from his neck onto the comforter. Grabbing his hand and biting off a finger Bridgette chewed the digit like a chicken wing. Dave’s eyes darkened as he died. Down the hall an older couple watched the news. The burning buildings in Pittsburgh mixed with the reports from New York and LA had them frightened. The screams, then absolute quiet coming from the new tenant’s apartment was enough. Frantically they packed, now was the time to get out, get out before panic made it impossible.
Bad News
“Hey, how’s your Stepdad?”
“Not so good. He is really sick.”
“I just heard that school is canceled Monday. Can you believe it? The news was saying this is a pandemic or something. People are sick all over the place.” There was a hint of fear in Beth’s voice.
“Yeah Mom said the stores were running out of cold medicine and water and all kinds of stuff. You’d think there was a snow storm coming. Like eggs, bread and milk. I guess French toast will get you through. How did Steve’s meeting go?” Wes asked
Beth sighed, “Not too good I think. Steve was really down when he got home. He and Dad had another fight about it.”
There was a long silence on the phone then Beth spoke again. “Wes, I…I’m sorry…”
Wes stomach dropped she was going to dump him already. He knew it.
“Wes?”
“Yeah I’m here.” He morosely replied.
“What’s the matter?”
“You’re gonna end it aren’t you? You realized you just want to be friends but I don’t know if I can be just friends now.” Wes huffed.
“Wait what?” Beth asked confused, “Are you dumping me Wes?”
“No…you’re not dumping me?”
“Ok listen.” Wes cringed at Beth’s annoyed voice, “Let’s get something straight right now. Your self-doubt has never been one of your endearing qualities. I am not going to spend our relationship validating you.’
“Um sorry…you were saying?” Wes heart was beating really fast. He had been dating Beth for almost fourteen hours and had already made her angry.
“What I was saying…Well I hadn’t been much of a friend to you since I started dating Corey and I wanted to apologize for that.”
Wes interrupted again, “Beth you don’t have to…”
“Wes I have to explain things ok.” She huffed again. “I made a mistake to go for popularity over substance. I’m sorry we didn’t do this sooner.”
Wes smiled, “Yeah I know what you mean…I’ll work on the self doubt thing.”
“You better. We’ve been watching the news and Dad is getting really worried. ” Beth explained.
As they spoke Wes kept trying not worry about the coughing and hacking coming from the living room. He also ignored the pictures on the TV. Hospitals overrun, stores picked clean, pharmacies looted and burned, people protesting outside of pharmaceutical companies demanding drugs. “Yeah I know how feels.”
“Listen, Dad thinks it might be a good idea to get out of town. He says to tell you that if things don’t get better soon we are going to come get you guys.”
“I don’t know, Reg is really sick. I don’t think we can move him.” Wes stated listen to the coughing.
“I think Dad…um meant…only you and your Mom.” Beth hesitated. Wes didn’t answer. “Wes, the stuff on the news. The sick people have been doing stuff…”
“No Beth, no. Not Reg. he would never hurt us. Never. He promised. Let me know where you are and we’ll meet you when Reg is better.” Wes shook his head. She couldn’t be serious. The silence on the phone only accentuated the coughing from the living room. “Beth…I gotta go.”
Worse News
“The CDC is now discouraging the public from using hand sanitizer as it seems to speed up the rate of infection.” The male news anchor stated as the female anchor took over in a dramatic serious tone. “Coming up next on your six o’clock news, our top story is the continuing team coverage of the flu epidemic. We’ll have all the la
test closings and cancelations including this evening’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Detroit Lions.”
Steve McDaniel looked up at the clock and noticed it was getting close to time to go to work. His father sat with him in the living room watching the end of 5:30 news. “This is crazy.” Mr. McDaniel muttered. “This new flu epidemic is completely out of control. The government should have had some kind of plan in place. Two weeks ago there were reports of the Epidemic in Asia, then last week it showed up in New York and in a matter of days it has spread across the country.” He said as the advertisement spoke of whiter teeth in two weeks.
Steve nodded, “The Speed at which this thing has spread and the lack of information has a lot of people panicked.”
“So many people are already sick that local hospitals and governments can’t get help to people who needed it. Many businesses and services are already closed. This is only causing more people to panic.” Mr. McDaniel’s annoyance was clear in his tone.
“I heard there were reports of riots in some of the larger cities and there were strange rumors coming out of Europe and Asia that there was a complete breakdown in law and order. Some of the more populous places like Mexico City are under Marshall Law.” Steve noted without much concern.
“Your new car is waiting for you are Draydon’s ford.” The cheerful announcement concluded followed by the theme music for the newscast.
The six pm news started with reports from Moscow. The international reporter explained the situation there. Anyone trying to leave the city or who were out on the streets without a pass were being shot on sight. Tokyo’s uninfected were being evacuated to the other islands and even to Korea. Rumors had spread that it was a terrorist attack gone wrong. This lead to violence in Detroit against its Muslim population leading to rioting and the fortification of several city blocks by the Muslims. The Detroit police were unable to respond because of so many officers being ill. The Fires had been burning for three days already. The Mayor and Governor had requested the National Guard help but what they had received very little assistance as the army was spread so thin already.
Steve threw the magazine he was reading on the coffee table and stood up. “Where are you going?” Questioned Steve’s father, the concern evident in his voice as he eyed Steve.
Steve laughed. “The schools might be closed but the distribution center is open.”
“I really think you should stay home.” Replied his father. “I think we need to be ready to get out of town if things go bad. I told Beth to have Wes and his mother ready, but since Reg is sick they don’t want to leave.”
“Dad, I’ll be fine.” Steve shrugged.
“Things are starting to get bad. I want to be sure you’re safe.”
“Seriously Pops, we live in the most boring city in the state. What do you think is going to happen?” With that Steve gave his father a smile, a pat on the shoulder, and headed down the hall toward his room.
Steve walked the short hall to his bedroom. The door to the room next to his was halfway open. Steve pushed it the rest of the way and leaned against the doorframe. He looked in at his younger sister and shook his head smiling. She was lying on her back one knee up with her other leg crossed over it bouncing her foot. Her long hair lay in loose curls fanned out on her pillow. She was reading.
“You still reading that?” He asked. No answer came. “I thought you’d make it through a kiddy book like that quicker.” He goaded. Beth looked over the top of the book. Steve was smirking at her. He knew calling it a kiddy book would annoy her.
“This is the third book in the series and it is NOT a kiddy book.” She responded.
“I thought you girls were into the mopey vampires not the kiddy wizards.” An aggravated huff was her reply. He knew he was getting to her so he persisted. “Ya know I hear the vampires are all sparkl….ow!” He was hit by a pillow thrown with excellent aim.
“You know I think that whiney girly stuff is crap!” She gave him her most menacing look. “Now knock it off!” She retorted.
“Just kidding sis, relax!” He laughed. Now that he had her annoyed it was time to finish the job before he left for work. “So, uh did Wes loan you that one too? By the way I never did ask, how did your date with him go?” He asked in a would be casual tone. She shut the book and glared at him for a moment then her face softened.
“Since you seem sooo interested, yes he did loan me this one as well” then she sighed, “We didn’t get together. Corey flattened his tires, then his mom wanted him to stay home to help her take care of Reg.”
“So that asshole Corey messed with Wes’ car?” He replied angrily. “His brother was a dick too.”
She returned to her book. “The immature jerk. Because that will win me back, destroying my friend’s property.”
“That asshole.” Steve mumbled.
“Yeah, He is.” She sighed.
“So why did you date him?” Steve fired up at once.
“What does it matter it’s over now?” She shot back. She wasn’t about to be lectured by her Brother.
“Well let’s see. He acted like he owned you. I never liked the way he treated you and he always looked down on us. You know all he wanted to get from you….”
“Yeah well he never got it!” She shot back angrily. “And even if he did it is none of your business!”
“That only made him try harder” Steve huffed. “And it is my business I’m your BIG Brother.” He straightened up to emphasize his height. She laughed at the gesture.
“You…Um I can trust you and Wes right?” Steve asked
“What do you mean?” She set her book aside and stared questioningly at her brother.
“I mean the more you… You and Wes have known each other forever… and you decide that he’s the one. But believe me sis. I mean Wes is great and all but he may not be the guy for you for forever and…I just don’t um think you should.”
“NO!” She cut in “not that, which again is none of your business, I…yes you can trust us.”
Steve began to turn toward his room, “Oh, well Wes is a nice guy and like a said you’ve known him forever. Hell, he used to be here all the time. I always thought you guys would be good together. I don’t know why you didn’t date him before.”
“I don’t know... He’s sweet but, well...I don’t know.”
“Oh was he not cool enough? Or is he really gay? ” Steve asked..
“What? No! He’s just.” She stammered.
“A geek” Steve stated simply.
“Yes, but that wasn’t it.” She defended.
“You’re a geek so it’s perfect.” He smiled.
“I am not!”
“Steven! You’re going to be late for work!” Yelled their Father. “And since you’re not going to college you need this job.”
“Don’t start Dad! I’ll go next year.” Steve grumbled.
“Great! So I can have two of you at school at the same time! Thanks for that. ”
“I thought you wanted me to stay home today?” Steve responded
“That was before you started to fight with your sister.” Their father sighed.
“We’re not fighting!” Steve and Beth both called. Then they started to laugh.
“We’ll talk when I get home.” Steve eyed his sister.
“Like I have to wait that long. You’ll call me on your lunch break. Get a girlfriend, loser!” She laughed.
“Love ya sis. Maybe I can set up a Lord of the Rings, Star Wars date for you and Wes.” he laughed and ducked out of the doorway as another pillow flew at him.
“Only if you play Dungeons and Dragons with us afterwards!” He heard her yell. “I know where you keep your twelve sided dice!”
The smile that had played on her lips slowly slid off as she picked up her book. Finding her page she stared but couldn’t start to read. Steve’s words had stung a bit. Why had she dated Corey and not Wes? She always told herself it was because Wes never made a move. It was easier to convince her
self that he just wanted to be friends than pursue something more that friendship. Was she really that shallow?
What is Going On?
The group had already surrounded the cabin, with more coming out of the woods. John loaded his shot gun and watched as they closed in. He heard their thumping shuffles on the wooden porch. Spying through a gap in the dusty blinds he noted that the main group continued past the tiny house along the wood line. John slowly inched his way back from the window. A cool breeze stirred the dust in the room.
Finger nails scrapped across the old metal screens. He readied the gun, aiming at the open window. There was a thump on the door followed by another. A slow pounding started on a window and the continued scraping on the screen had John aiming from door to windows. He backed further and further into his room. The curtains rustled in the breeze, causing John to spin back toward the open window.
The breeze brought with it a foul stench of decay into the room. A ragged finger was caught in one of the holes in the screen. Flies buzzed in through the hole as they crawled off the ragged flesh. Several pieces of skin clung to the barred metal. John blew out the breath he was holding. Then screen tore and grey green hand slid into the room. Sheets of flesh tore off while it reached in. Gagging on the stench and disgust John’s mind filled with terror. Rushing forward in panic and desperation he slammed the window with all his might. The hand broke free from its owner and flopped uselessly to the floor. The pounding on the windows and door increased.
Surveying the hand, John smiled. His relief was short lived as a window cracked. He waited for a moment, but the window held. He hurried down to the cellar. Returning with several boards and a hammer he hastily barricaded the door and windows. Grabbing boxes of shotgun shells out of the closet he loaded the gun to capacity. Shoving the barrel to the broken pane he waited until one of them pressed their face against the glass.
The air was filled with exploding flesh and the smell of gunpowder.
