The Living Dead (Book 1): Contagion

by L. I. Albemont

  The following transcript is taken from the video debrief of James Michaels CPO.

  CPO Michaels: “We were all prepared for a routine trip. The sea was rough and it was cold but escorting a disabled cruise ship should have been a cakewalk compared to chasing down our usual dope racers. We knew the ship’s last port of call was Aruba. Our orders were to raise the crew by megaphone once we were close enough and advise that we can help them with a repair operation or arrange a tow into harbor. We did not plan to board the ship. Once we arrived, we received no response from anyone on board and at that point prepared to board using grappling hooks.

  Interviewer: Did anything look suspicious initially?

  CPO-1 Michaels: We observed no damage to the exterior hull and no, nothing gave a clue as to why this ship was disabled. We let one of our new people ascend first, the rest of us followed without difficulty. The deck was clear of passengers. One of the first areas we came upon down there was the infirmary. The rooms had some damage, broken glass cabinet fronts, gurneys overturned, bottles of medicine scattered. Most disturbing was the amount of blood we observed, splashed on the walls and pooled up on the floor. Bloody shoeprints led out of the area. No bodies though. No one could bleed that much and just walk away. We assumed someone had moved the bodies into a storage area. We proceeded up the ramp leading to the Promenade deck. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on one of those ships but this one had hot tubs, waterslides, swimming pools, climbing walls, amazing. Here we observed more damage, smashed double glass doors, with blood on the jagged shards still in the panes. I was in the lead at that point and detected movement farther up but it was hard to see because of the curving slope of the ramp. Then the smell hit us. It was a thick coppery smell of blood and rotten meat. Smears of blood, gouts of blood, were on the walls and saturating the carpets. As we moved up the corridor, we saw framed paintings knocked from their stands and trampled, covered with blood. Then we saw our first survivor. Just around the bend, a woman knelt over a man lying prone on the floor. We moved in to offer assistance and the woman turned. Her eyes were white, clouded over with some sort of film but she definitely could see or at least sense us. That was the first time I heard that awful moan they make. She rose awkwardly to her feet and we saw that she was missing a huge chunk out of her neck and jaw and held a string of what looked like intestines in her hand. Gobbets of flesh hung from her mouth and dark clots of blood saturated her t-shirt. Again, that smell threatened to overwhelm us as she staggered our way. In my mind, I knew she was beyond help and dangerous but I couldn’t bring myself to raise my sidearm. I mean, we don’t shoot civilians. In my entire career, I’ve only had to pull my weapon a few times. For some reason she stumbled past me and came at Gionti, one of the newbies. He was trying not to hurt her and hold her off at the same time but dear God… (The session briefly discontinued here)

  Resuming… She came at him so hard she slammed him against the wall. He held her off at arms length. Her jaws never stopped snapping and I heard her teeth clicking together. He lowered one arm to try to pull his P229 and she got her teeth into his hand, biting down hard. Gionti screamed, brought his weapon up and shot her in the chest at point blank range. She went down. Then she got back up. She launched herself at him again and this time bit a chunk out of his neck. Blood poured from the wound; she’d severed an artery. Impossible to tie a tourniquet on someone’s neck; I had to watch him bleed out. By then the corridor had filled with more of them, attracted by all the commotion I guess. We all pulled our sidearms at that point and took several of them down. The problem was, they wouldn’t stay down. I shot both kneecaps out of a teenage boy; he just kept coming. Our weapons were of limited use in such close combat. Part of our failure was our reluctance to shoot injured civilians; we just couldn’t wrap our minds around what we were dealing with. Several of my men were overwhelmed and went down. Those monsters crowded around them, ripping chunks of flesh out of their bodies and gobbling them down. I kept my back to the wall as much as possible, yelling for the men to regroup. We were probably down to five still standing. I called for a full retreat and began backing out towards the entry doors, dragging Gionti with me. Three of the passengers followed us; two grabbed Gionti by the legs and pulled him back into the carnage. The third one, an older man in pink and green checked shorts with a gaping hole in his abdomen lunged at me. I shot him in the face, taking out the entire top of his head. He went down and I didn’t see him get back up. I felt hands grab my ankle and I looked down. A woman, wearing a swimsuit and swim goggles, was trying to gnaw through my boot. I didn’t even think about it; I stomped her head as hard as I could. She must have already been rotten because her head just caved, that rotten, black liquid going everywhere. Now I couldn’t see any of my men standing at all, there were no shouts, no gunfire, just that horrible moaning and slurping wet sound as the passengers continued to feed. I heard gunfire behind me. One of the two seamen left on the cutter, Seaman Mazerski, had come aboard after hearing gunfire break out. He covered our retreat back down to the boat with his M14. Back on board I radioed and updated the Chief on the situation-

  Interviewer: Did you make the recommendation to torpedo the cruise ship?

  CPO Michaels: No, it is my understanding that order came directly from the Pentagon.

  Interviewer: Based on what you experienced, would you have recommended torpedoing the ship?

  CPO Michaels: That is difficult to say. If we could have been sure those things would have been ripped to shreds by a torpedo, I would have said go ahead. They were very hard to take down. The only ones I feel sure I put down for good are the ones I got in the head. I can’t help but wonder if they can swim.

  Interviewer: Did you make any other observations that you think might be relevant?

  CPO Michaels: Those things didn’t bleed when we shot them. Just going on that and the smell of rot, I’d have said a bunch of walking corpses attacked us.

  End of Session 2

  Chapter 4

  This alarmed us all again, and terrible apprehensions were among the people.

  -Journal of the Plague Year

  Virginia awoke the next morning to the sound of an owl hooting outside. Instinctively she reached out to the other side of the bed to find only cool, smooth sheets. That woke her up completely. Climbing out of the warm bed she turned on the TV for the local news and saw that several businesses and most schools had closed due to weather. Snow covered the streets in the subdivision and there was no traffic moving. The light on the answering machine flashed.

  “Mom, it’s me and Greg. Grammy and Granddad took us to Chuck E Cheese for supper and guess what? I got a comb for a prize from skeeball. One of Miss Alice’s (a much-loved doll) eyes came out and I can’t find it. I’m supposed to tell you Greg needs his blanket. I miss you and I miss Dad. I want you both to come here together when it’s time to pick us up. Please? Ok, Greg wants to talk.” She could hear Anna whispering to her brother then her son said, “Wub oo.” The call ended.

  She caught her breath at the sound of their voices. When they were away, she missed them so much it hurt. She still checked on them at least once a night, sometimes standing over them and just breathing in all that sweetness and peacefulness. She heard the pain in her daughter’s voice when she asked for both of them to come together to pick them up and it made her feel sick inside.

  The mantel clock showed just after six o’clock so she decided to wait before calling them back. She ground coffee beans, started the coffee maker and, as the aroma filled the kitchen, she called her boss’s number at work, leaving a message that she would be out today. She idly thought about scanning the classifieds for apartments again but her mind shied away from thinking about it. Big, dark, clouds were banking in the western sky and trees tossed in the rising wind. Pulling up her homepage she saw that, along with the weather forecast predicting the snowstorm, there was a report of a building on fire in downtown DC. A tsunami had hit the gulf coast in the dark early morning hours. She
clicked on the video and viewed, awestruck, cars floating amidst rooftops in the flooded streets of New Orleans. Hundreds of people were reported dead and thousands missing.

  She checked her e-mail. She had the usual forwards from family and girlfriends from school. She also had three forwards from her (almost) ex husband. Curious, she opened these first.

  Department of Homeland Security

  ***Internal distribution only***

  Code AS42023

  Homeland Security Advisory System Threat Level: Yellow-Elevated

  On Tuesday, March 21, United Airways flight 244, traveling from Punta Cana International Airport, to D.C., Dulles, was diverted to the Miami International Airport (MIA) due to an unruly male passenger. While flight 244 was in the air, the passenger reportedly attacked and bit one female flight attendant. Other passengers noted the subject’s behavior and restrained him until the plane landed and members of the Miami Dade Police Department were able to take him into custody. Both he and the flight attendant were taken to a local hospital for medical evaluation. One male passenger involved in subduing the unruly passenger was treated at the scene for a small bite but refused transport to a local hospital and continued on to Dulles.

  The unruly passenger is a resident in the state of Maryland returning from visiting family in the Dominican Republic.

  The flight landed at DIA without incident at approximately 1:10 p.m. (EST).

  Pending further developments, this will not be treated as a terrorist issue.

  She clicked on the second email.

  Department of Homeland Security

  ***Internal distribution only***

  Code AS42023

  Homeland Security Advisory System Threat Level: Red-Severe

  Updated 3:00 p.m. (EST)

  Passenger removed from plane in Miami declared dead 2:30 p.m. (EST) Female flight attendant hospitalized with sub normal temperature, since lapsed into coma. Miami area HS agents dispatched to Mercy Hospital requested SWAT team assist. Situation is fluid at this time and status unclear. HS agents dispatched in the DC metro area to take previously bitten male passenger into protective custody.

  Her sense of alarm rising, she opened the third.

  Department of Homeland Security

  ***Internal distribution only***

  Code AS42023

  Homeland Security Advisory System Threat Level: Red-Severe

  URGENT UPDATE 3:30 P.M. (EST)

  Viral outbreak: suspected Haitian origin. Patients present with subnormal temperatures and vomiting, slipping into comatose state from which they revive violent and dangerous. Patient removed from flight earlier today mistakenly pronounced dead. He revived in Mercy Hospital morgue in Miami, attacking morgue attendants. Communication failure with SWAT team previously dispatched to site and status of situation still unknown.

  We fully expect this scenario to play out in other hospitals treating victims from the Caribbean area. We are currently trying to locate and contain all such instances. HIGH likelihood of failure due to volume of refugees from the earthquake zone.

  Best course of action appears to be isolation and restraint of all victims, even if they do not present as violent initially. Victims noted to have ambient room temperatures and no discernible pulse. Obviously one method of transmission is from bite by infected. Other forms of transmission possible but not verified at this time. Information and advisories for physicians and hospitals are being prepared and will be distributed through normal channels. Warnings to the general public are being prepared and will be broadcast. The State department is also working with other nations, as this must be considered an international crisis.

  ***

  Virginia closed the browser. She knew Ian would never send her these e-mails unless something was seriously wrong. He was circumspect about his job and she always knew there were aspects of what he did that he couldn’t talk about. He was trying to warn her. Not sure what to think she went to her bedroom, pulled on jeans and a sweater, then went back to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. As she walked by the television the Breaking News screen came on and the image changed to the White House briefing room. It looked different. The podium wasn’t centered on the dais and the usual American flag was missing or else out of camera range. As she watched, an aide moved the stars and stripes closer to the podium and into view. The reporters in the room were not seated and milled about talking amongst themselves. A woman walked into the room and stepped up to the podium. Looking tired and strained, her hair pinned up haphazardly, she wore a dark green military uniform that needed pressing.

  “Thank all of you for waiting, welcome. I am Major Catherine Whitford with the United States Army.” Donning a pair of reading glasses, she read from a prepared statement. “It is with heavy heart that I inform you that one of our nation’s finest medical facilities, Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the site of an outbreak of what we believe to be a viral illness introduced into the facility by victims from the Haitian earthquake zone. Efforts made to contain the infection within the biohazard portion of the facility failed and as a result the facility has been sterilized. While we believe this successful sterilization has eliminated the threat of further infection within the immediate radius of the DC area, the danger of new cases still exists. As most of you are aware, in acts of incredible selflessness, citizens of countries from around the world rushed to the aid of Haiti, transporting victims to regional hospitals around the Caribbean and here in the U.S. These acts of kindness have, unintentionally, greatly facilitated the spread of a virus now suspected to be pandemic. Symptoms include subnormal temperatures and copious vomiting followed by coma from which they revive extremely violent. If your neighbors or loved ones appear infected they must be restrained before they reach the violent phase. We have no other treatment protocols at this time.” She removed her glasses and looked up. “I have time for a few questions. Yes, in the blue jacket. I apologize that I don’t know your names.”

  “ Major, Maria Torres, Washington Post. What do you mean by (she paused to look down at her notes) ‘the facility has been sterilized?’”

  The Major paused for a second, “This morning, at 4:25 a.m., a tactical bombing of Walter Reed Army Hospital was conducted. The 6900 block of Georgia Avenue is still burning at this time. City and military firemen and security have cordoned off the site. The fire is completely contained and has not spread to any other buildings.”

  “Major, Adam Beleau, Associated Press, how is the disease transmitted?”

  “At this time we know for certain the virus is transmitted by bite. There may be other ways to contract the disease but we are still conducting tests and cannot confirm other forms of transmission at this time.”

  “Ma’am, Brian Gates, Huffington Post. Does everyone bitten contract the virus?”

  “Our information at this time indicates the transmission rate is 100%.”

  Exclamations broke out around the room.

  “Major, Lindsey Hudson, Newsweek. We know that many pending Haitian adoptions were fast tracked in the aftermath of the earthquake. Should these children be considered potential carriers?”

  “The best answer to that is yes. Anyone from the earthquake zone should be treated with extreme caution, including relief workers. We also have reports of refugees fleeing the island in boats that marine police with British overseas territories have intercepted. These people are in holding facilities but their health status is unknown.”

  “Major, John Garret, Fox News. Where are the evacuees from Walter Reed being kept and how long will they be quarantined?”

  “No one was evacuated from the facility.” There was a brief, shocked silence as everyone took in what that meant. “I apologize but I have other obligations this morning. We will continue to provide updates with new information as it becomes available. Please, pray for our country and for our world.” Reporters continued to shout questions as the Major exited the room.

  Virginia sat back on the sofa, stunned. For a few seconds ever
ything went dark. She put her head down and took deep breaths. She knew that Ian sometimes liaised with the military on security projects and hospitals were one of his areas of concern and she frantically tried to remember if he had ever mentioned anything about Walter Reed. Hands trembling, she grabbed the phone and called his cell. The phone rang twice then went to static. Remembering the e-mails she pulled up her inbox to check the time they were sent, praying they posted after 4:25 this morning. That would show he was still alive after the “sterilization.” Scrolling quickly, she found the times; all were sent last night before ten o’clock. Ok, she told herself, that still doesn’t mean anything. He might never have been at the hospital at all.

  Chapter 5

  All their predictions ran upon a most dreadful plague, which should lay the whole city, and even the kingdom, waste, and should destroy almost all the nation, both man and beast.

  -Journal of the Plague Year

  She found her shoes, grabbed her coat and purse and headed for the car. Like a lot of people, she had considered stockpiling food and supplies in the event of some sort of national emergency but never gotten around to it. When H1N1 was making headlines even the Mayo Clinic website recommended keeping a two-week supply of food, water, and medicine and she began to save some water then but lost interest. She pulled out of the driveway too quickly and the car slid sideways on the snow for a few seconds before she was able to correct for the icy conditions. Repeatedly dialing her in-laws’ number she only got an out of area message. The mountains played havoc with cell phone reception at times. To her relief the roads were passable and not crowded. She pulled into the supermarket parking lot where the vendor trucks were still unloading their early morning deliveries. Grabbing a shopping cart from one of the outside carrels, she approached the Crystal Springs deliveryman. Stinging pellets of ice blew against her cheeks.