by Barone, Cenz
Melissa came out of the office area as she asked “What’s happened”. Nancy stood up and said “Help me get him into the office” she was demanding as Cherie tired though she was moved and tried to help up Kenny as Nancy went to the other side of him. Kenny was scared and said “Just let me die, I can’t go on. Put a bullet into me. I do not want to be one of them”. Melissa with worry said “Was he bitten by one”. Cherie answered “A dog attacked him”. Melissa confused said “A dog, in here. What the fuck?” Laura saw how fearful he was and he was fighting at them “Let me go, I don’t want to die. I don’t want to turn into one” he protested as he now clung onto Nancy and begged her “Put a bullet in me”. Kenny was losing control and in total shock, Nancy said as much “He has lost it” she could see in his eyes he was far gone, only his adrenaline keeping him awake and strong. They manhandled him and took him inside, he was so weak but he could not fight the women off as he was giving up. They moved with him and dragged him into the office where the other civilians were, all of them sitting around conscious something had happened. When Nancy saw them she in irritation said “Thanks for your fucking help!”
She led Cherie with Kenny and put him onto a table the items of stationary which crashed onto the floor. The other civilians stepped back seeing the blood and thinking Kenny was bitten. Cherie was concerned thinking he would soon turn into an infected even though had Kenny not interceded between Cherie and the dog. Cherie would herself have been likely bitten or injured. Kenny’s body went into shock and he began to spasm again. Elise stated “He’s turning into one” this made everyone panic and step back, but Nancy shook her head and said “He’s not, he was not bitten”. Nancy shouted to the new arrived civilians, demanding answers “Anyone of you people a Doctor, anyone with medical experience?” nobody answered so Cherie screamed “Answer her for fucks sake!” nobody did again.
So Nancy had to take charge again and shouted at Melissa “Get the medical kit, it is in my backpack near the radiator by the television” Nancy watched as Melissa went to get it and brought the medical kit back. Kenny was screaming “Kill me, don’t let me be one of them” Nancy reassured him and said with her voice raised “Nobody is going to kill you, you are not going to die” then Cherie was upset thinking that could have been her in Kenny’s position because everyone had seen this happen a few times to others. Laura was too traumatised to move as memories of the house flooded back to her and how Claire turned with Mark and Billy following suit, she also recalled how Paul descended into death less than an hour after being bitten by one of those people. Baxter was hovering in the background unsure what to do, he felt inept but no different to the others, and it was only Nancy who had her wits about her that kept them together.
Melissa opened the medical kit for Nancy and then Melissa stepped back. Nancy held Kenny by the shoulders as Cherie assisted. “Cherie tighter” said Nancy as she down but Cherie was hesitant to do so as Nancy stated “It is not a fucking bite he was not been bitten, just grab him” and it was not a bite as Cherie stepped into her role better and held him down. “Kenny keep calm” a soothing voiced Nancy said but he was shouting and wrestling “Hold his feet!” shouted out Nancy, growing angered that many people within the office were not stepping forth to help. Finally one of the other civilians, the man in the lumber jacket stepped forward and did so, and then Kenny’s eyes glazed over as he passed out in fright after taking five heavy deep breaths.
He went still and Nancy, Cherie and the civilian in the lumber jacket stepped back, easing their grip “Is he dead?” asked Elise, fearing he would rise up. Nancy shook her head and surveyed the wound around his neck as she said after checking the pulse on his neck “No, he is not dead”. Cherie now studying Kenny said “But he will be soon won’t he?” Cherie was unsure but Nancy again disagreed and replied “No, he is lucky, the wound isn’t that deep, but I got to cover it up” Cherie strongly protested “Anyone injured by those things turns, they get infected”. Nancy was ignoring her as she used the bandages and placed it on his throat, she was expert in how she applied it, all her training coming into action. She then took out some needles and placed within a sedative, she placed the chemical within his neck wound as she spoke to the group “This will just relax him. It will help the pain and make him rest”. Melissa spoke “But if he has been infected by them, if he has been bitten”.
Nancy sighed as she ignored Melissa and the others who were now arguing amongst themselves. Only Cherie, Laura and Baxter were not arguing, Baxter remained in the shadows observing. After Nancy injected him and when she placed all the liquid inside, she saw Kenny’s body relax a little more, ease up in tension. His left eyes opened and then fluttered for a while before he fell into a deep sleep, the last words he consciously heard around him were Nancy who said to the group “It’s going to knock him out, his wound is nasty but it is not a killer wound”. Kenny was now unconscious.
The people were arguing about keeping him inside as Elise said “Nancy, back at the house something happened to the people we were with, they were injured and they turned into...” Nancy glared at Elise that made her go quiet as Nancy trying to make her view clear shouted “This is not a bite! You were there Elise, you saw it, the dog’s claw cut him and he has just reacted strongly”. Cherie in defence of Elise said “But any injury, the dog was infected so Kenny will be”. Nancy sighed, amazed at the heartlessness of the people, Laura was just quiet observing as Melissa pressed “They have a point my friend Paul he was attacked and died after 45 minutes and Claire she...” Nancy interrupted her “Were they bitten?” Melissa just nodded in reply to Nancy who now stated “He was not bitten. Do you think I would bring up a person who potentially is infected to change into one of those things to endanger us all, to die up here?” nobody answered.
Then Nancy lowered her collar and showed them a mark, it was just a graze, a vicious scratch with a large bandage, she tore it off and they all saw a slice, a deep graze as she said “My first night on patrol during this nightmare. I was grabbed by some fucking man possessed like he was on drugs. He tried to bite me but only his hands gripped me near my neck and cut me deeply, I am alive. Loads of my colleagues had similar wounds, only those who were bitten did not make it and died as quick as your friends I am sure. So enough about him being infected, do you understand?”
Again nobody said anything, the man in the lumber jacket himself had similar wounds and a few other civilians did, as Nancy looked at them and said “You were assaulted by them to weren’t you people?” the civilians most of them bruised and marked did not reply, their own selfishness shining through as she said “I thought so. A bite is what does you in, that is what I have learned and seen. You people are really something else. You come here and then eagerly wish to sell out someone else out, with no effort to help”. Elise said in her defence “I did not mean it like that” annoyed Nancy shook her head and stated “Whatever, I don’t care”.
Nancy still acting professionally overlooked Kenny and said to the group who Kenny arrived with “Are any of you people his friends, maybe girlfriends” everyone shook their heads because now Nancy was unsure about what their relationship was to each other. Cherie said “We were all brought together when your people found us”. Nancy just nodded and went to Kenny and placed her hand on his forehead as she remarked “Well he will need attention, somebody to stay with him. He could go into shock when he awakens but he will be okay, he will sleep for a while”. Cherie instantly volunteered “I will do it” all looked at her, Cherie thinking about Kenny stepping into save her from the dog, and realising how heartless she was being in her sudden fear of wishing to get rid of Kenny for fear he was infected but Cherie after the shock wore off realised Nancy was right and Cherie witnessed it herself. Kenny was not bitten. Nancy then said “We will move him into another room, there is a sick bay to the side” Nancy staring ahead to the far end of the room “We will take him down there, you stay with him”. Cherie then stated “Besides it will be safer than going down
there again”. Baxter was still watching quietly from the back, listening in.
All looked to Nancy who now stared around in silence, she felt so alone and helpless, finding these civilians useless. So she with command said “I want you all to listen to me okay. I am still a police officer and all I want from you people is co-operation. I am not trying to make your lives difficult or boost my own ego by bossing you around, all I want is just for you to listen to me when I say you have to trust me when I say certain things. I admit I don’t know fully what is happening but I know enough to have kept myself alive on the streets far longer than you have because when you have all been hiding. I have been out there trying to help people. So right now, all of you are to stay on this floor and not venture outside, there are so many of them out there and I cannot get in contact with my colleagues. Everyone just needs to hold up here for a while, maybe, and hopefully later on somebody will come. If anyone is alive out there, they will know I am here”. She now went to her radio on the table and lifted it up and pointed to a red button “You see this, it is a panic signal, it is sent out to a HQ far from here which will tell others in the vicinity my location. And it will keep beeping until a colleague of mine is given the code and they will come for us” Nancy was bullshitting this was not the cause of the radio but she had to try and make sure these people were calm, she feared losing control”.
Nobody said anything to her as she now tried to reassert another point “We have new arrivals” looking across at the civilians who arrived with the soldier and she said “I trust none of you were bitten, you meant what you said about being injured like Kenny has been right, no bites, just attacked” all of them nodded, those who were in a state to, but most were forlorn and quiet. Nancy could not do anything other than take their word and judge them on how they appeared, none showed any symptoms of the infection or virus, the words used to describe or think of it were so casually interchanged, everyone seemed to have a different explanation for it.
She now said to them “We have loose cannons here, firstly that man Grant, I want someone to look out for him and find him, try and calm him and bring him back. He will be on this floor somewhere, and I am going to lock that soldier upstairs on the roof, he wants to be up there so much, he can have it. I do not want that man back down here causing any trouble” nobody objected, none felt safe around the soldier who was still on the roof. “Now about Grant” Nancy said as she sat on the chair looking at those who were brought up with Grant as she asked “Now I know you don’t know Kenny but do any of you know Grant at all?”. Elise stepped forward and said “He is a work colleague of mine”. So Nancy asked Elise “Can you just look out for him, I don’t want him doing anything crazy, you understand” Elise just nodded and replied “I do and he will be okay. He just needs time alone. It is why he walked away” Elise was defending her co-worker and friend. Nancy then remarked “That’s dangerous being alone like this” she stood up from the chair and walked away, she did not bother checking the weapons were out of sight because she was through caring about every detail, now she was thinking of personal survival and just wanted to get some alone time herself.
Laura now asked Elise “Is Grant really going to be okay” and Elise answered “He is just really shaken like everyone is”. Then the man in the lumber jacket asked Elise “Why does he hate holding guns so much” she felt insulted for Grant by some of their questioning, not so much those she knew from the house but the civilians who just arrived, and the man in the lumber jacket had a snarky tone to his voice so Elise said “How the fuck should I know. I work with him, I don’t live with him. For all I know his father was shot when he was a boy by a robber”. The man in the lumber jacket did not say anything else he just grunted, dismissing her words and Elise did not want any speculation around Grant as she said “I hate guns to, who doesn’t hate them”. Elise went away and towards the coffee machine. She was thirsty.
Melissa stood there listening in as the man in the lumber jacket went to the people he arrived with and spoke with them. Melissa felt far less safe right now than she did before the new civilians arrived, and the soldier up top scared her, like he did the others. Cherie was beside a passed out Kenny and overlooked him as she covered Kenny’s throat lightly with her hand, touching the fresh wound where he was attacked and was now bandaged up. Laura appeared on the opposite side of the table Kenny was on, his eyes shut and she looked down at him and then at Cherie who was studying him.
Cherie said relaying her thoughts to Laura “He tackled that dog before the dog was going to attack me. He jumped between it and me” Cherie shook her head, retelling Laura what happened, and Cherie felt relieved and guilty, but also thankful Kenny did that act. Laura whispered “I am amazed he is still alive” as Cherie replied “Me too” Cherie was thinking it not only could have been her but should have been her in his place. Laura now leant over and whispered again to Cherie “What about those people, who came here with the soldier, do you think any of them are really bitten, or are they hiding it from us and they are just telling us they are not”. Laura paranoid from the house incident as Cherie glanced over towards their side of the room and whispered back “Who knows, it’s hard to tell, only a strip search will find out and I don’t think anyone will volunteer for that, let alone wish to carry it out. All we can do is watch each other, see who changes or not. Besides none look infected, so that’s a good sign”.
Cherie sounding dazed and out of it as she said this. Laura then tried to contain her forthcoming tears as she wiped a tear from her eye and said “We have been rescued already but now we are waiting for rescue again, with a policewoman beside us and earlier on we were surrounded by the police and military. In a second rate police station on a university campus no less. Aren’t we meant to be safe here?” she voiced her frustration at Cherie, her blonde hair no longer as neatly brushed as it always was and her dark brown eyes fluttering in pain, her pretty face stressed out. As Cherie with her blue eyes and long dyed red hair merely observing her and did not say anything in reply. Cherie then went back to looking at Kenny, thinking this young boy who looked between 19 and 21 which was her age range was lying where she should have been. It was the closest she had come to being attacked by someone, albeit it an infected dog. Laura now voiced in total frustration as no comfort was found from anywhere “Fuck this. I am going for a cigarette” but then the door flung open and in walked Nancy who had been to another room on the 9th floor and held a bottle of whisky.
Nancy said as the people turned to see the source of the door opening “Yeah I am on duty but I am on a break so turn your eyes away when you see me drink, okay” she said without a care, her eyes spoke of the stress, she placed the bottle down onto the table, with the keys for the doors near the guns, and went towards a desk which was her own located place. The main lights within the office were switched off, with only the lanterns on some desks switched on. Nancy went near a radio and started to fiddle. She then went to get her whisky bottle and some shot glasses to bring back to the radio station, which she continued to fiddle with. Melissa went over to Nancy and asked her “Can I have one” Melissa thirsty for a shot of alcohol. Nancy nodded and used her hand to invite Melissa to sit near her as Nancy went to the radio. Melissa salivating at the sight of the whisky, even though she hated such strong spirits, she needed something strong right now.
The rest of the people were all in their own thoughts. Laura now asked Cherie, both still near the passed out Kenny “Did you manage to get through to your boyfriend? You were going to London to see him right?” Cherie found this a strange question as she replied “Laura, I have been stranded with you since earlier tonight. I don’t think I will see him or anyone else again if what we are experiencing is like it is in other part of the country, across the world. Besides London is likely worse” Cherie staring at Laura as though asking what was Laura getting at, it was hopeless to think beyond their situation. Laura had that same feeling so Cherie added “Do you think your family, your loved ones are a
live?” Laura conscious of her own family and friends up North said “Now I am definitely going for a smoke, I cannot deal with this conversation anymore” Laura walked away as Nancy noticed her move and said to Laura “Laura, where are you going?” Laura stopped as she turned around and most were looking her way, except Cherie who focused on Kenny, just staring at him.
“I am going for a smoke, you said not to leave this floor. I won’t”. Nancy answered “Alright. I locked in the crazy soldier up on the roof. He won’t get down so just take it easy”. Laura now sarcastically asked her “If I smoke in the building though, will I get arrested?” Melissa sitting near Nancy glared across at Laura as Nancy said “I am a cop drinking on duty. If you get arrested I get fired”. Laura then turned around and headed for the door, going through her pockets looking for her cigarettes and lighter. Baxter was near the door but Laura did not so much as look at it him, not because she was purposely ignoring him but because she was deep in thought, reflecting on how fast things had once more moved. Baxter watched her longingly leave, the girl he saw in university for over one year and it was like she never noticed him, even now despite their current interactions to this point. Baxter also felt useless and hopeless about the lift and also how he had not stepped up more, even though many other people around him, bar Nancy who felt compelled to do more due to her station, had given a lot. Meanwhile the rest of the people were just happy to be alive. Baxter though was contending with dark thoughts of hopelessness and he wanted to no longer feel them, but how.
