The Infected (Book 1): Jim's First Day

by Joseph Zuko

  “You heard the man,” I lay back down onto the granite.

  Sara gives into the fact that this has to be done and takes the lead, “Lets clean this out,” she picks up the bottle of alcohol and a pack of gauze from the medical kit. She pours a little alcohol onto the pad.

  I grab Devon by the wrist and pull him closer to me, “This is going to hurt. A lot and I’ll need you to hold me still,” I wait for him to nod at me so I know he understands.

  “Okay, Okay,” he looks over to Sara. She is ready with the gauze to clean my forehead. I fold my hands across my stomach and Devon puts all of his weight down on my arms.

  “Sorry,” she gives me a tense smile. Every muscle in my body is flexed.

  “Let’s get it over with,” I give her a wink. She puts the gauze to my forehead and I scream out at the top of my lungs. I start sweating immediately. My body convulses. I fight to keep myself on the table. All I want to do is punch everyone in this room and we have not started on the stitches yet. This was a really bad idea. I can’t keep my hands on my stomach anymore. I grab Devon.

  “Dude, you’re hurting me,” he struggles to free himself from my grip.

  “Don’t call me dude!” I yell in his face. It feels like Sara is peeling my forehead off. My legs kick down onto the countertop.

  “Stay still!” she commands. I focus on one of the animals on the wall. It is a squirrel, perched on a tree branch. It is amazing how life like it is. I think to myself at least I am not the stuffed squirrel.

  I get into a zone and let go of Devon. She is done cleaning the cut and has the thread strung onto the needle.

  “Now what?” she asks Calvin.

  “Start at the top and make the stitches even. You want the skin to meet up and not overlap,” he turns another page of his book. The guy is a fast reader. At least I am not the stuffed squirrel.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah,” the pain is so bad I can only speak monosyllabic. I look up at her and our eyes meet. The alcohol still burns in my forehead. Her eyes are dark brown and she is one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen this close up. Her hair is beyond red and her skin is alabaster white and lightly freckled. She looks like an Irish beauty queen.

  I put out my hand and Devon takes it. We hold each other’s grip like we are about to arm wrestle. Sara moves in close with the pliers in each hand and the needle is ready to go. I close my eyes. She pulls the needle through my skin.

  “FFUUCCKK!” I call out. At least I am not the stuffed squirrel. I can feel her work quickly, but it is not fast enough. The needle pops in and out of my skin. Suddenly Frank is by my side. He stands next to Devon. My eyes open as soon as I feel his presence. I glance at Devon. Oh boy, the look on his face. I am squeezing his hand so hard that he looks like he is the one with a needle going in and out of him.

  “Where are we going?” Frank asks. It is like he has no concept of what is going on. I can’t answer him. I feel my eyes blink wildly, but my mouth will not open.

  “Where do you live? Where is your family?” he asks again. He leans close. His eyes are blood shot. His breath smells of cheap coffee and expensive beer, “Think about it. Tell me where is your family.”

  My mind flashes to my family and my street address. I am not saying I don’t feel the string pulling through the hole in my head, but suddenly it does not hurt as bad.

  “We live off Mill Plain and 136th,” the words burst out of my mouth. I see what he is doing.

  “The kids, how old?”

  “Valerie is five and Robin is two.”

  “That’s a good age. Mill Plain and 136th? That’s not too far, about four or five miles. You’ll be home soon,”

  “Done,” Sara says. She snips the thread and goes to work wrapping a bandage around my skull.

  “Thank you. Thank you. I need a few minutes before you start on my leg,” I loosen my grip on Devon. She finishes taping up the bandage and I sit up. I feel the wrap around my head and it seems secure. I look over at our host. He turns another page in his book, “Have you heard anything about what’s happening in Vancouver?”

  “No, I have not,” he readjusts his glasses.

  “You know there is an infection?”

  “Yes, but I do not have any current knowledge as to the state of our city,” he looks up at me.

  “Don’t you wanna get out of here?” Devon asks.

  “Where would I go? I am not able to protect myself from this plague. I would not dare inconvenience your party with my care. So I will stay put. This is my home. My wife died in this house and I will join her soon,” he says quite matter-of-factly. He knows what he wants and has come to terms with it. I guess I can admire that. It is his time and he is not going to fight it.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” I pull up my pant leg and look at the damage done by the rock. My tattoo is ruined. I will not cry any tears over that, but the wound is jagged and longer than I thought it would be, “Shit!” I lay back down onto the countertop.

  Sara gets a new bit of gauze and pours alcohol onto it.

  “My hand can’t take anymore. It really hurts,” Devon keeps his distance.

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry if I hurt you,” I give the kid a smile. Frank steps up and offers me his hand and I take it, “Go ahead.” I tell Sara.

  She puts the gauze to my leg and oh mama it hurts. I squeeze Frank’s hand and he squeezes right back. This guy has one hell of a grip. She gets it cleaned and Devon hands her the threaded needle. Devon holds down my leg as Sara starts to stitch. I bite at my lips. At least I am not the stuffed squirrel.

  “What’s our plan?” Frank questions help keep my mind off my leg.

  “We keep walking.”

  “It is five miles to your house. You want to walk all the way there?”

  Tears stream out of my eyes and down the side of my face. The cut on my leg is so jagged that it is very difficult for her to sew up. At least I am not the stuffed squirrel.

  “I do not believe you will be able to just walk out of here,” Calvin rejoins the conversation.

  “What do you mean?” Frank questions.

  “I will show you when she is done,” he turns another page.

  “Almost there,” Sara snips the thread and starts wrapping my leg.

  Everything inch of my body hurts and I feel exhausted. I am drenched with sweat. Frank helps me sit up and pats me on the shoulder. Devon is right there with a fresh beer.

  “Thank you,” I sound like I am dead, but at least I am not the stuffed squirrel. I slide down off the countertop. I take a long drag off the bottle of beer.

  “Show me what you’re talking about.” I limp away from the kitchen.

  Calvin puts his book down and he fights to get up out of his chair. I follow him to the front of his house. He pulls back a curtain. I step up to the window to look. The front yard is beautiful of course. There is a private driveway and at the end of the driveway is a twelve-foot tall wrought iron fence. On the other side of the fence is a horde. A hundred infected monsters claw and press against the fence. My heart sinks. What am I going to do now? Is there a horde this size outside the front door to my apartment?

  “We’re fucked!” Is the only thing I can muster.

  “Yes, you are.” He pats me on the shoulder.

  Chapter 13

  The monsters push and pull at the iron fence. The metal groans under the weight.

  “Why are they trying to get in here?” I whisper it to myself.

  “That is my fault,” Calvin refills his pipe.

  “What?” I turn away from the window and face him.

  “I saw one out there a few hours ago. The news said they are extremely deadly so I thought it would be a good idea if I took care of it. I got my old rifle and I shot at it from my bedroom window. Well, I missed,” he again holds up his shaky hands, “I used all the ammo I had for the old rifle, but it only seemed to get their attention. After about twenty minutes of shooting there were thirty of them out there. Most of those poor
souls are my neighbors. My apologies. I was not expecting company. I do not want any of you to worry. Even if they get through the fence the windows are safety glass. Every single window on the main floor could take a bullet and hold up.” He lights up and puffs smoke everywhere.

  “If they can push open that fence they can push open a window,” Frank joins us in the foyer.

  “How do we get out?” Sara steps up to the front window to get a better view. Calvin thinks about it as he takes a deep drag off his pipe. From outside there is a loud sound. I couldn’t make it out at first so I step closer to the window next to Sara. The gate swings open. A chunk of brick has given way from the column that holds the locking mechanism. The sound we heard was five or six bricks falling to the concrete driveway.

  “Damn it!” I throw my hands up and walk away from the door. Calvin reaches out and turns the bolt, locking it solid. The infected slowly push open the iron fence. The bottom of the gate grinds across the stone. They fall over each other and spill out onto the yard. In a minute they will have this place surrounded.

  “What do we do?!” Sara backs away from the window. Devon reaches out and holds her shoulder.

  “It’s okay. Jim will think of something,” they look over at me. I face them.

  “I don’t…” I stammer. The infected stomp up the porch. I turn away from the group and limp back into the living room.

  “Hey!” Frank shouts after me. I head for the kitchen and they follow. Fists pound at the front door. I pick up my backpack and spear and I open up the back sliding glass door that we entered though. I stick my head out the door and there is already a group of them back here.

  “Shit.” I pull my head back in and slide the door shut. I barely get it closed when their bloody hands and faces slam up against the glass. I re-lock the door and turn back towards the group. It is too late, we are already surrounded. Calvin shuffles back into his kitchen and opens his fridge. He grabs the last Indian Pale Ale from the shelf, picks up the bottle opener and pops the cap.

  “Where did you meet your wife?” Calvin takes a long swig.

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “Your wife. Where did you meet her?”

  “We don’t have…”

  “We have a few minutes,” he cuts me off. I have to clear my head for a second and walk away from the monsters pounding at the window behind me.

  “I was eighteen. It was my first day of college. To be a full time student you needed to take twelve credits. I had eleven and was looking for a one credit class. I found a one day a week karate class and signed up for it last minute. I got to the class and there she was, tall, thin and bright red hair. She wore jean cut off shorts. Shortest shorts legally allowed, full on Daisy Dukes. She had just moved from Arkansas and had a sweet little Southern accent. I was hooked,” I look around the room at the group and they are all sporting smiles. It feels good to talk about something positive after the day I have had. My mind feels clear and able to think straight again. Calvin downs the last of his beer.

  “What about you? How did you meet your wife?” I ask him. There is a very loud smash at the door. We hear the wood crack under the pressure.

  “We do not have time for that,” he takes the last puff of his pipe. The banging at the front door is louder and harder than before.

  I limp to the front of the house and on the other side of the door is a giant bear of a human. Seven feet tall and four hundred pounds, crashing into the front door over and over again.

  “Frank!” I call back into the living room. Frank already has his gun drawn. He aims at the monster as Calvin reenters the foyer.

  “Wait!” Calvin cries.

  “What’s wrong?”

  SMASH!

  “Bullet proof glass. I told you every plate of glass on the main floor is bullet proof. You shoot that and it will bounce right back into this room.”

  SMASH!

  “He’s gonna bust down the door!” Sara gets her machete up and ready for battle.

  “Upstairs,” Calvin is on the move and heads back into the living room. He picks up his book from the shelf and tucks it under his arm.

  We follow him down the hall away from the living room.

  SMASH!

  Calvin steps into a doorway. It is an elevator. An elevator in this house? Calvin must have really done well for himself.

  He puts his hand up and stops us from entering.

  “Weight limit, stairs around the corner,” he hits the button and the doors close in our faces.

  SMASH!

  We race down the rest of the hall and up the flight of stairs. Calvin steps out of the elevator as we crest the top of the stairs.

  SMASH! THUD!

  The door falls to the floor of the foyer and they are in. At the top of the stairs is a large bookshelf that holds Calvin’s trophies and treasures.

  “Devon, help me!” I get on one side of the cabinet and Devon gets on the other. We push hard and the bookshelf tips, Calvin’s trophies slip and crash to the floor. It hits the stairs and tumbles down to the first landing, blocking the stairs. The infected are in the living room. Blood falls off their bodies and onto the hardwood floor. Black colored ooze drips from their open veins and splatters over the light carpet. They knock over tables and chairs. Like their only goal is to destroy everything. What a shame. This house was beautiful. They see us at the top of the stairs. We follow Calvin down the second story walkway that overlooks the great room below.

  Calvin opens a door and we file in behind him. It is the master bedroom. The room has high vaulted ceilings. There is also a couch and loveseat set and some large, heavy dressers in this room. Calvin locks the door behind us. Devon and I grab a dresser and slide it over to the bedroom doors. Sara and Frank grab the loveseat and push it next to the dresser. It will hold them for a while, but now what? We can’t stay up here forever and there is no way to fight through them.

  “How do we get out of here?” Devon whispers. I shrug my shoulders at him and look to Calvin. He gives me the same look. Frank is over by a window.

  “Hey,” he says faintly. I join him. The window is up high about four feet from the carpet. There is a lower section of roof under us. It is a ten foot drop down and at the far end of the roof are a couple of sun windows.

  “Calvin, what’s down there?”

  “The garage,” it hits him and he reaches into his front pocket. “Here, you can take my car,” he hands the key to Sara.

  “If we get down onto the roof I bet we can get in through the windows,” Frank holsters his gun. I pop the lock and slide the window open. Frank and I work to get the screen out.

  “Get some sheets tied up,” I order Sara and Devon. Calvin shuffles over to the couch and turns on a reading light. He opens up his book to the bookmark. Sara and Devon find a closet and pull out a set of sheets. They work at tying the ends together. I open a closet to pull down two wooden dowels. This must have been Calvin’s wife’s closet. It is bursting full of lady clothes. I struggle to take two dowels full of clothes down. Once I get them free I grab a stack of sheets. I tie one of the sheets around the pieces of dowel.

  “Make another set for the window into the garage,” they move quickly and get to work on it.

  “What about Calvin?” Sara pulls a knot tight.

  “He can’t climb out the window,” Devon tosses the next set of sheets to the floor.

  “What do you want us to do, Calvin?” I ask. He looks up from his book.

  “I want you to find your family. I am good here. I only have four more chapters to go and I am done with this old book,” he gives us a smile. The monsters are loudly tearing at the bookshelf on the stairs. They will be at the bedroom door soon.

  “They will get in,” Frank says in despair.

  “I am not overly worried about it. Now go and be safe,” Calvin pulls out his hearing aids and that is that. He can’t hear us beg to save him. He can’t hear the monsters banging down the door to kill him. It is just him and his boo
k. I walk over and take a knee. I reach out to shake his hand. He grabs my hand, his shakes uncontrollably. I can’t tell if that’s how bad it normally is or if he is terrified.

  “Thank you,” I say loudly.

  “You are welcome,” he answers a little louder. I get back to my feet and help my crew prop up the dowel as an anchor in the windowsill. We toss the sheets out the window and help Sara up. She has a good grip on the sheet and slowly lowers herself. She lands on the roof and stands one foot on either side of the apex. The infected are milling about on all sides of the garage. They have not noticed us yet. She steadies herself, and then steps away from the sheet. Devon and I tuck our spears onto our packs. Frank and I help the kid up into the window. They are at the bedroom door. They got passed the bookshelf. Sara is halfway to the sun windows. Devon has hit the roof. We toss him the other dowel and sheets. He catches it and turns to follow after Sara. There is a large BOOM at the bedroom door. Both Frank and I jump from the sound. Calvin didn’t notice. He must be very deaf to not hear that one. Our big friend is here and he hits the door with everything he has.

  I give Frank a boost up into the window. He is off balance because of his heavy bag and has a hard time getting a good grip on the sheet. I hold his hand as he grips the window frame. Frank gets his feet planted against the side of the house. He is about to let go of the window to grab the sheet when the big monster punches through the door. My head snaps around to see what happened. Calvin jumps up from the couch. My grip on Frank’s hand slips. He slides out the window and down the sheet. He lands hard on the roof and slips to his butt. Calvin shuffles off to lock himself in his bathroom. The big guy punches another hole in the door. I look out the window and Frank holds onto the peak of the roof with one hand and his bag with the other. He almost lost the bag of guns and ammo.

  “DEVON!” I shout down to him. He turns and sees that Frank is in trouble. The infected notice that they are on the roof and they move toward the garage and claw at the siding. I grab a chair and stick it in front of the window and climb onto it. The big monster pushes the bedroom doors open. The dresser and love seat only slow him down. I get both legs up and out the window and look back at the monster. He is fully in the bedroom and trucks right for the window. I am not ready to let go of the solid wood frame and grab this flimsy sheet, but I can’t wait anymore. It charges like a bull for the window. I let go of the frame and grab the sheet. I slide down quickly. The monster hits the window so hard he breaks the dowel and I fall to the roof. It is a five foot drop. I was not ready to free fall. The infected giant blasts out the window and shards of glass rain down on us. He is so big that he can’t fit out the window. Only his head and shoulders stick out. I stare at it the whole time I fall. My feet hit the same sloped side of the roof and they slip out from under me and I land on my ass. It kills my ankle and I yell out in pain as I quickly twist and catch the peak of the roof with the tips of my fingers. I am on the other side of the peak from Frank. I pull myself up. Devon gets to Frank and grabs his wrist. I get the tip of the roof up under my armpits and reach out for Frank to pass me the heavy bag. I get ahold of the bag and Frank grabs Devon’s other hand. We fight to get ourselves upright. I straddle the roof and hand the bag back to Frank.