Parish

by Nicole Murphy

  “Come on, Jaime.” Wren stood up and pulled the small boy by his hand. He wiped the snot bubbling from his nose with the back of his free hand as he followed his sister into the kitchen.

  “Hurry, Dad!” Wade cried as he grabbed a screw driver from the open bag, running he made it to the nearest door and began to pull the pins from the hinges. “We have to get all of the windows covered down here. I think the second floor will be okay, but we need to work fast!”

  “Alright, let’s do this.” Jack grabbed another screw driver, a hammer and filled his packets with nails. Together they removed the doors to all of the downstairs closets and began to move them to the windows. Hoisting the doors up over the glass and curtains, Jack began to hammer them into the wall while Wade held them in place. Wren was running to and from the living room, dumping candles and batteries she was carrying in a makeshift pouch at the bottom of her shirt. Jamie followed closely behind his sister, not carrying anything, merely looking terrified as he watched everyone working.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Jack, Wade, Wren and Jamie sat in the living room. All of the windows and doors were blocked off, except for the front door. Jack had his Beretta sitting on the coffee table, within arm’s reach in case anyone who was uninvited decided to come through the door. The silence was heavy, the emergency alert still scrolling across the television provided little comfort.

  The local news came on suddenly, causing them to startle. The woman on screen looked terrified, although she was obviously attempting to keep her fear under control and remain composed, it appeared to be a battle she was failing miserably.

  “Good evening, I’m Katarina James and this is a WRSQ special report. If you are just tuning in Marshall Law has been declared by President Andreas. There is a mysterious illness that had reached epidemic proportion in a matter of hours. Little is yet known as to the source of this illness or the effects it causes. We have reached out to the area hospitals in search of answers and have yet to reach anyone available for comment. Wait…” Her hand went to her ear. “We have just received word that our field reporter Jay McMurdaugh is on scene outside of St. Katherine’s hospital. Jay, can you tell us what you have been able to find out?”

  “Katarina, I have never seen anything like this before in my life. Pan behind me!” He spoke to the camera man as he stepped off screen. “As you can see the military is here and have blocked off all entrances into the hospital. We can hear the screams from those inside from where we stand across the street. We do not know at this time, how many infected are inside. I can tell you moments before we went on air an ambulance came roaring up to the gate here, and they were denied entrance. The passenger they were transporting, literally leapt out of the back, stumbled and then collapsed. Fearing the worst, Dave and I tried to offer our assistance but were turned away by the paramedics. The man who we saw die, sat up and growled before attacking a female paramedic. Katarina, it seems insane to say this but we saw a zombie, we saw this man bite into the woman’s neck and proceed to eat her.”

  “Jay, you’re telling our viewers that the comment made by the President is in fact, accurate?” Her eyes were wide.

  “Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying. Hold on, something is going on, we can see the soldiers posted at the gate running towards the hospital.” Jay side stepped to allow the camera to have a better shot. Indeed, there were a dozen soldiers running towards the hospital. Suddenly gun shots rang out, the camera man ducked down, showing nothing more than sidewalk. “Run, run Dave!” Jay was screaming and the frantic running showed on the screen, shots of the ground and blurred cars were shown. “Oh my god, whatever is inside there is getting out! Katarina! Oh God, get somewhere safe, it’s not safe here….IT’S NOT SAFE!” The feed went dead.

  “St. Katherine’s is where mom works.” Wren wrapped her arms around herself.

  “She’s alright. She’s alright.” Jack repeated picking up the phone and dialing his wife’s cell number. He held it to his ear, the ringing on the other end could be heard by all of the children. She didn’t answer. “She’s not picking up. It’s okay, she’s probably already on her way home. Wade, run upstairs and look out of one of the windows, tell me what you see.”

  “Alright,” Wade nodded as he sprinted up the stairs, pulling his khakis up as he took the stairs two at a time.

  “How long do you think it will take before the army gets everything under control?” Wren asked as she grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the couch and covered Jamie.

  “There’s no way to know for sure. We’ve never seen this before, but I’m sure they working as fast as they can.” Jack replied as he eyed the stairs waiting for Wade to come back down.

  “Dad! Dad!” Wade came running down the stairs, stumbling over the last few and falling onto the landing. “There’s no one outside, it’s just empty.”

  “The news didn’t say where to go. Where would they have gone to?” Wren asked.

  “Trying to get out of the city no doubt. There are too many people in cities, it makes it a lot more dangerous.” Jack replied as he helped Wade onto his feet.

  “We’re not leaving though, are we?” Jamie asked from under the blanket.

  “No, son, we’re staying right here and waiting for your mother. If we leave she wouldn’t know where to find us right?” Jack smiled weakly.

  “Right. We have to wait for mom.” Jamie nodded, closing his eyes he laid down.

  “Dad?” Wren whispered as she stood up and walked over to Jack. “What if…what if Mom can’t come back?”

  “She will. She’s a tough lady, don’t underestimate your mom sweetie. Wait and see, she’ll be home.” Jack pulled his daughter into his arms and looked to the door, praying his wife would come in any second and tell them that everything was under control.

  “Do you hear that?” Wade asked moving to the door.

  “What?” Jack asked. Wren and Jack looked to Wade who was waving his hand to hush them up so he could listen. “I think it’s the neighbors.” Wade laughed.

  “What could possibly be funny at a time like this?” Wren asked, walking towards the door.

  “They’re talking to their dogs. Right smack in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and they’re taking their dogs outside for a shit!” Wade began to chuckle so hard tears formed in his eyes.

  “Maybe they don’t know what’s going on.” Wren furrowed her brow. “Dad, if they don’t know we have to tell them!”

  “Wren I don’t think it’s a good idea to go outside.” Jack shook his head.

  “So we’re just going to leave them in the dark and let them get eaten when the zombies get here?” Wren shrieked. “We can’t do that, Dad! We have to tell them, we have to help!”

  “Calm down.” Jack sighed. “I’ll go but you two stay put, do you understand me?”

  “Yeah, yeah we’ll stay here. Just please go and warn them. They’re nice people, please.” Wren nodded quickly. Jack looked back to his sleeping child then to his twins. Taking a deep breath he grabbed his Beretta and went outside.

  There was an eeriness that was palpable on their once lively street. Front doors were left to swing in the wind, garage doors opened and items deemed unnecessary were strewn everywhere. Jack’s eyes skimmed over the perfectly manicured lawns, and he frowned. Streetlights were glowing, once comforting, giving them light in the dark a way to chase away all of the unknown darkness seems to always contain. Now the lights felt ominous and even threatening.

  “Come on, go potty!” The neighbor pulled at Jack’s attention.

  “Hey!” Jack reluctantly refocused his attention on the Fishers. “What are you guys doing?”

  “Hi Jack, I’m trying to get these damn dogs to listen so Ellen and I can get out of here. Ellen!” Mitch turned to yell over his shoulder, his long black hair swinging in its ponytail.

  “I’m coming! Geez!” Ellen yelled as she ran across the yard towards their car, holding a few bags in her hand.

  “I was afraid you hadn’
t heard.” Jack shook his head.

  “No, we heard. We were just waiting for everything out here to settle a bit before making a break for it.” Mitch looked up and down the street nervously. “Why are you still here, you have those kids to worry about?”

  “We’re waiting for my wife.” Jack motioned down the road with a nod of his head.

  “Didn’t you see the news? St. Katherine’s is overrun. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Mitch frowned and gave his a sympathetic look.

  “No, she called earlier. She’s going to catch a ride with the National Guard.” Jack forced the thoughts that his wife may not be his wife anymore out of his mind.

  “I hope she does, friend, I hope she does.” Mitch picked up their fluffy white Shih-Tzu, and patted her on the head gently. A soft growl came from behind the small cluster of bushes on the other side of their entrance way.

  “Chevvie! Chevvie, come on you stinky bastard!” Mitch yelled calling for their third, rather smelly black dog. Jack looked past his neighbor and spotted the blind dog roaming in circles. “Dammit, Chevvie!” Mitch started walking towards him when all of a sudden a hand came out of the bushes and grabbed hold of the dog causing it to let out a terrible yelp. A moment later a mangled looking face followed the gray hand. There was no color in its lifeless eyes as it bared its teeth.

  “Holy shit!” Ellen screamed, just then the head opened its mouth and sunk its teeth into the dog who was still wiggling wildly in an attempt to get away from the monster. “Mitch! It’s eating him! It’s eating him!”

  “Get in the car, hurry!” Mitch pointed to their brand new sports car. “Here, take Bunnie and let me grab Hughey. Hughey! Come on boy, come on!” Their third dog seemed to stop mid-shit and run as fast as his small frame could carry him. He jumped in through the open door of the car. Ellen was clamoring to get in and shut the door. “Jack, you need to get out of here it’s not safe, it just ate my fucking dog man!”

  “We’ll leave as soon as Emily gets here.” Jack backed up onto his own lawn to clear their driveway.

  “Suit yourself man. Good-luck.” Mitch didn’t pause any longer than he had to before he followed Ellen into the car. The engine roared to life, throwing it into reverse he backed out of the driveway as fast as he could. An elderly woman shuffled out into the road, her eyes were white and she had blood dripping from her toothless mouth which opened and closed as she growled. She turned to the noise of the car and began to move forward. Jack heard Mitch yell from the car. “Goddamn zombie, make me ruin my car!” He floored the gas pedal and tried to go around the woman, but clipped her with the front corner of his vehicle sending her flying. The sound of her head hitting the concrete was identical to the sound a cantaloupe would have made a dull thud. Jack grimaced and lifted his arms to shield himself from the sight.

  The woman who was sprawled out on the ground twitched and began moving. Her eyes landed on Jack, who was still standing on his lawn staring in disbelief at the woman. She growled and began crawling towards him, her arms out stretched and fingers opening and closing in an attempt to grab him while still at least forty feet away. Jack turned quickly and ran back into his house. He slammed the door behind him and leaned all of his weight against it as he took long, slow deep breaths. Vomit was pushing up into the back of his throat and he fought the urge as it began to burn his eyes.

  “What happened Dad?” Wade asked as he ran over to his father.

  “They’re outside, two of them…maybe more.” Jack replied as he sank to the floor. “I just saw the neighbor’s dog get eaten.”

  “OH!” Wren cried, both hands flying to her mouth.

  “They knew, they were just waiting for everything to calm down before they left. We cannot go out there.” Jack shook his head. “I’m going to keep trying to get ahold of your mom.”

  “I can hear something outside growling, are you sure the dog was eaten?” Wade asked as he pressed his ear to the door.

  “Yeah, I saw it. It’s not a dog, it’s them, they growl like animals.” Jack took a deep breath as he pulled himself up. He picked up the phone and dialed, held it to his ear and tried to dial again. “The phones are dead.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t have stayed.” Wren shook her head.

  “We didn’t have a choice. Look, maybe you guys should go get dressed, quietly. Put on something sturdy, grab your sports stuff too like the helmets and whatever. I can’t see how they wouldn’t help. Grab Jamie some stuff while you’re at it.” Jack sat the phone down.

  “Okay.” Wade looked at his sister.

  “Look out the window while you’re up there. See if you see your mom.” Jack lifted his eyes to his children who both nodded before going to the stairs.

  Five hours earlier…

  “Doctor?” A plump nurse walked over to Emily and stared her down. “I can’t stay here, I have family you know.”

  “We all have someone Monica, we have to make sure the contagion doesn’t spread.” Emily replied.

  “Spread? It’s a fucking wildfire! There ain’t no containing it now!” Monica bellowed, her fat face pinched up.

  “It’s our duty to try, besides the National Guard is posted outside, they’re here to help us.” Emily picked up a clip board and looked over the papers.

  “This is insane! I’m leaving! If you want to play martyr I sure as hell won’t try to stop you but I’ll be dammed if you’re going to force the rest of us to join you!” Monica spun on her heel and headed down the corridor leaving Emily to her work. She sighed and pulled a picture from her coat pocket. It was a picture of her, Jack and the children. In a rare moment they were all smiling and appeared to be happy. She ran her finger over the photo. The moment that made them so happy was no longer in her memory bank, no matter how much she tried to recall it, it wouldn’t appear. A lump formed in her throat as her thoughts turned to her family. She prayed they were safe.

  “Doctor DeLasalle!” A voice called out from behind an open door. “Doctor we need you in here!” Emily steeled herself and jogged into the room. A nurse was bent over a pediatric patient who was thrashing around.

  “What happened?” Emily asked as she darted to the bedside of the girl and attempted to hold her still.

  “I don’t know. I came in here and she was doing this.” The tiny nurse lifted her eyes to meet Emily’s. “I think she’s turning.”

  “Oh god, no.” Emily breathed turning her attention to the face of the child. Her once flawless ebony skin was turning mute and the color was fading from her eyes. “I need a soldier in here! I need a soldier!” Someone in fatigues ran into the room and stood at the foot of the bed.

  “What’s going on?” The man asked, his voice so deep it seemed to rattle the bones.

  “She’s turning.” Emily replied simply.

  “Alright, you go on, I got this.” The soldier motioned to the door. Emily and the nurse let go of the girl who continued her violent thrashing. They walked out into the hall, closing the door softly behind them, making their way to the opposing wall Emily put her arm around the young nurse. She buried her face in Emily’s shoulder and sobbed. Suddenly one lone gunshot echoed through the hall before silence fell again. The nurse squeaked and continued to cry.

  The door opened and the soldier walked over to them.

  “It’s done.” He said, adjusting his weight from one foot to the other.

  “Thank you.” Emily bit her lip as she smoothed the young woman’s hair. “What’s your name?”

  “Darla.” The woman grabbed her shirt and wiped her eyes with the collar.

  “Darla, everything will be alright.” Emily attempted to smile. The soldier continued to watch both of the women.

  “No it won’t.” Darla shook her head slowly as she lifted her arm for the Emily to see. Right between her wrist and elbow a huge chunk of flesh was gone, slivers were still clinging to the bone. Emily gasped. “She got me. I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

  “I’m so sorry.” Emily took a step away from the woma
n, the soldier reached out and gently guided Darla into the room he has just exited. Emily squeezed her eyes shut, as the door closed.

  “PLEASE, NO PLEASE! You don’t have to do this! I’ll be okay! Oh, god please I have a little baby at home! Please!” Darla was sobbing and begging for her life. Another shot rang out and the begging stopped. Emily allowed herself to collapse onto the floor.

  “Ma’am?” The soldier was addressing her. She lowered her hands from her face and looked up at the mountain of a man. “Ma’am, it wasn’t your fault.”

  “Are you all going to get this under control or are we all stuck here until we turn?” Emily dropped her head in defeat as the words left her mouth.

  “No ma’am, those aren’t our orders. Our orders are to secure the hospital, that’s all.” The soldier offered Emily his hand. “We’ll get it secured. You got family out there?”

  “Yes, you?” Emily asked.

  “Naw, it’s just me. I ain’t had no family since I was a kid.” The soldier smiled.

  “What’s your name?” She looked for a nametag but saw none.

  “You can call me Artemis.” He smiled, his teeth were a brilliant white.

  “Okay.” Emily laughed softly. “I’m Emily.”

  “Well, I would say it was nice to meet you but under the circumstances…” Artemis allowed his sentence to drift off.

  “Oh, no, I understand. I wish we would have met under different circumstances too.” Emily shook her head.

  “Well, I should go, I have to keep on my patrol. If you need me you remember to just yell Artemis and I’ll come running.” He hoisted his gun up higher on his shoulder.

  “Thank you, I appreciate that.” Emily nodded before turning and walking in the opposite direction. She heard the sound of his boots growing faint as he moved away from her. Shoving her hand in her pocket she pulled out her cellphone and turned it on. There were no bars, instead a little image of an old rotary phone receiver had a red mark across it indicating there was no service. Silently, Emily cursed her luck and continued on with her rounds.