“Why didn't he say anything?” Marcus wondered. What a weirdo, he thought. He turned the radio on, then pressed the scanner button. The scanner only picked up a couple of clear stations. He reached up and searched, himself. He heard, mostly static. “ What is going on today?” he blurted out.
5
He stopped on a station that came in clearly. “Finally.” he said. On this station, some men were talking. One of them asked the other, “Peter, what is going on out there? Be honest.” The man called Peter answered, “ We don't have any definite answers, right now. All that I can say is that the government is trying to get it under control. We need to be cautious around those that we don't know.
If you see anyone with a lank look, walking funny, or not acting right. Call the authorities. Do not make contact. That is the best way to protect yourself, right now.” The host replied, “ So, they are able to control this, then?” Peter said, “ Yes, they are. Just be cautious.” Marcus pulled into his driveway.
THE GRANDCHILDREN
Pearl Ogden stood in front of the stove. She was making spaghetti for dinner. Her grandchildren were over, and they loved spaghetti. The children practically lived with her and Rob. Nine year old Bella, and seven year old Lola, were home from school. There was some new illness going around. The area school had sent the students home suddenly, and canceled classes for the rest of the week. Seventeen year old Josh, the oldest of the three, was on his way home. His school was also canceled, without warning, after some faculty and students were involved in a scuffle. At least, that is what the faculty told the parents. Rob and Pearl did everything with their three grandchildren. Their parents, Curtis and Melanie Ogden, were always traveling to keep the family business going. They were currently out of town on business. The three children even had their own bedrooms at their Grandparents' home. They spent more time there, than in their own home. Pearl heard her cell phone buzz. She stopped peeling potatoes, and picked up the phone. She looked at the screen to see who was calling. It was a number that she didn't know. She usually ignored calls coming from phone numbers that she did not recognize, but she had the urge to answer this one. She swiped the screen, then held the phone to her ear. “Hello.” she said. Immediately, she heard Josh yelling frantically into her ear, “ Grandma! Grandma, come get me! Hurry!” Now concerned, she asked, “What is it, Josh? What is wrong?” He sounded Terrified. “ Please, Grandma? Hurry!” She replied, “ Josh... Calm down and tell me where you are.” Now, Rob stood behind her. He looked equally concerned. “ What's wrong, Pearl?” Josh blurted out, “ By the old hardware store. Grandma, keep the SUV doors locked, and don't stop for anyone. Even if, they look hurt. “ Pearl was not just concerned. Now, she was afraid for her grandson. Josh was a very mild mannered person. Except for the football field, he never acted out dramatically. She knew that he was serious. She said, “ Stay there, Josh! We're coming to get you. Then, you can tell me what is wrong.”
6
Rob had walked into the room in mid-call, he studied the look on his wife's face. The sound of urgency in her voice told him that Josh was in trouble. Before she could explain, he yelled into the living room, “ Come on Girls. We need to go pick up Josh.” The two girls scrambled to the kitchen. “ Where is he, Grandpa?” asked Bella. Pearl said, “ By the hardware store. Come on. I'll finish this, when we get back.” She turned to the stove and turned the burners off. The pans were already covered. She scrambled to get her things. Rob whispered, “ What is it?” Bella came walking into the kitchen. When he saw his grand-daughter come into the room, he dropped the subject. The family walked out to the SUV, climbed inside, and made their way towards the old hardware store. As they approached a red light, Rob slowed down the vehicle to make a stop. Pearl had noticed that a large group of people were gathered near the intersection. As she focused on them, she saw a clearer view. Some of them were bloody, as though they were injured. Some just looked creepy. They staggered, instead of walking in a straight line. Some of them looked ….gray. She remembered the fear in her grandsons' voice, as he warned her to keep the doors locked, and to not stop for anyone. Rob also noticed the group. He blurted out,” Some one had a hard night. Or, a whole lot of someones....” Pearl felt very uneasy. This group did not look right. The whole group turned to look at the vehicle. Before they came to a stop, the whole group …. in sync with each other started to head towards them. Pearl pushed the lock button down. The locks on all doors clicked. Lola said, “ They look scary.” Bella said, “ Grandpa. I think that we better get out of here. They are coming here.” Rob, who was staring at the coming mob, was already thinking that he should just run the red light. He tried to calm his grand-daughters down before the disturbed looking group staggered any closer. He looked up at the light, which turned green. He exhaled, “Thank you, God.” He accelerated as fast as he could, leaving the creepy mob behind. The girls both turned around to watch the mob reach for the vehicle, as it passed them by. Rob said, “ That was weird.” Pearl said, “ We should not stop, anymore. Josh sounded a little spooked. He told me to keep the doors locked.” Rob looked over at her, as though he was assessing what that meant. They came to the parking lot that lead into the old hardware store. “ Where is he?” asked Rob. Pearl looked around the lot. “ He said, that he would be here.” Suddenly, they heard frantic knocking on the back passenger-side window. A surprised Lola, jerked her head towards the window. It was Josh. It looked like he was in a panic. She opened the door and slid over to the middle. She stared up at her older brother, in confusion. Josh, frantically dove inside the vehicle, and slammed the door. “Hurry Grandpa! Go home!” Rob asked, “ What is wrong, Josh?” He turned around to look at the young man. Josh had sweat around his hair line. Josh, who was visibly afraid, then answered, “ We have to get out of here.” Pearl asked, “ Are you going tell us what is wrong? And, why you called me from a phone number that belongs to someone else?” Josh said, “ My phone is gone, Grandma. I dropped it. Hurry. We need to go home and call Mom and Dad.” Lola now, spoke to her brother, “ Josh, were those creepy people chasing you?” Josh looked down at her, “ Yes, Lola. It's okay, now. But, from now on, we have to stay inside the house. Okay?” Pearl and Rob exchanged a concerned glance. Pearl said, “ The creepy people are gone now, Lola. We are safe.” Rob, who knew that something was unusually wrong, started to speed to get them home. “We're going back to the house. Then, you and I are going to talk. He looked back at Josh. Josh stared out through the window. Rob noticed that no one was around. At this time of the day, the streets should be filled with vehicles, he thought. They passed one car on the way home. As they approached the turn off that led to their place, they witnessed a man being attacked.
7
Rob slowed down, “What the hell?” Josh blurted out, “ Don't stop! Keep going, Grandpa!” Rob ignored him and stopped, anyway. The children began to watch. Lola yelled, “ Hurry, Grandpa! I want to go home!” Bella cried, “ Grandma, let's go home and call the police. Please?” Josh yelled, “Grandpa, lock the doors! We need to go home!” They all heard a thump coming from the back of the vehicle. Rob looked through the rear view mirror. He could see a disturbing looking manpressing his face against the SUV window. The girls turned around. They started to cry. Josh yelled, again, “ Don't get out Grandpa! They aren;t human! Go! Go!” Rob watched the man from the mirror. He pushed his bloody face up against the back window, as he clawed it it. It was more than obvious that the man was not right. He saw the look of terror on Josh's face. Pearl tried to call 911. “As she heard a busy signal, she held the phone in her hand. She just stared at it, for a moment. Rob blurted out, “ Pearl, you have to tell them what you see.” She replied, “It's busy. Go home. Get us away from here.” She turned to her husband with a look of panic on her face. Rob repeated, “ It's busy?” The girls watched in horror, as the group knelt over the man and started biting into his flesh. Pearl turned to see the man clawing at the back window. “Rob! Get us out of here!” She looked at crazy man trying to
claw is way into the back of their vehicle. Then, at the man being attacked by the other crazies. They acted like animals. Bella grabbed her sister around the head, and covered her eyes. “ Grandpa, I want to go back home.” Josh comforted the girls, “ Don't look, Bella. Grandpa, we need to get out of here!” Rob knew that something was terribly wrong. Now, Pearl understood why Josh was so afraid. Rob sped home. He pulled into the garage, which was attached to the home. He pushed the button and closed the large door. He shut the vehicle off and sat in his seat, while staring at the steering wheel. He said, “Girls, go with Grandma. Josh. I need your help with something out here.” The girls were quiet, now. But, they were still visibly, shaken. He looked at his wife and said, “ Pearl, lock all doors and windows. Call Curtis and Melanie. Tell them that we need them home, now. Tell them what we saw. Do you understand?” She shook her head up and down, “ Come on, Girls” The two young girls followed Pearl into the home. As soon as they were inside, Rob turned to his grandson. “Josh. What happened? Did some one like that attack you?” Josh didn't know what to say. He started to stutter, “ They got Ryan, Grandpa.” Rob cut in, “ Who got Ryan? Tell me everything that happened.” Josh said, “We figured, since there is no school this week, that we'd get some extra time in at the gym. After our work out, we started heading home. We were walking up 76th street. And cut through the park. When we made it to Front Street, a couple of guys came up on us. Guys like the ones, that we just saw. They jumped Ryan. I tried to help him. He fought them off. Then, we ran down Ridge Street. I turned down the alley. I thought that he was behind me. When I turned around, he was gone. I went back up the alley to look for him.” The teenager looked as if he would cry. He put his head in his hands. Then, he continued talking, “ I saw a larger group...It was a mob, Grandpa. They were all piled on something. When I made it closer, I realized that, they were all on top of Ryan. He was covered in blood. Then, more came, they all covered him. I could not even see him anymore. I started to call the cops. I got a busy signal. Some of them came after me. One guy grabbed my arm. I dropped my cell phone, when I struggled to get away. Then, like twenty more came out of nowhere. They all came for me, Grandpa, I ran until I saw the hardware store. I saw a man walking through the parking lot. He asked me, if I was okay? I told him I needed to call for a ride. He let me use his cell to call Grandma. I told him to be careful.” Josh looked like he wanted to cry, but could not.
8
Rob thought about what Josh had said. He knew that he was telling the truth. Josh noticed how quiet his Grandfather was. He asked, “ You believe me, right?” Rob said, “ Yes, Josh. I do believe you. We need to secure the house. Try to get some news on what this is. I'll need your help. We will need to keep everyone inside and safe. Okay?” Josh said, “ Yes, Grandpa.” Rob continued, “ We have an advantage, living on the edge of town. But, we need to keep watch over the property. Are you with me?” Josh nervously said, “ I'll try, Grandpa.” Rob patted the boy on the back.” Come on, dinner is almost done.” The two walked into the house. Pearl looked worried. “ Curtis is not answering.” she told Rob. They had a quiet dinner. After wards, Rob asked Pearl to inventory their food and supplies. Then, he tip-toed back into the garage, and listened to his ham radio. He listened to several conversations about the dead rising and eating people. He even took part in some chatter about what to do to fight them off. He didn't tell Pearl what he'd heard. He would sit her down tomorrow, and they would protect their grandchildren.
Kyle Morgan slipped away from his unit. Everyone was to be ready to head out at 1600 hours. He would drive to Rockford, Illinois. That was where his parents lived. It would be an hour drive from his unit that was temporarily held over in a make shift base at the McCormick Place, in Chicago. As he drove the interstate, he noticed almost no vehicles on the road. He passed one vehicle, and saw only one other on the opposite side the whole time. When he came off of the interstate, he noticed that the streets were littered with debris. He saw a large crowd of people stumbling around, up ahead. They were under a street light. He knew who and what they were. He had had a bad feeling about his parents, for a while. He turned at the next corner, to avoid contact with the infected mob. He saw multiple vehicles that appeared to have crashed into trees and other vehicles. There were no people inside the vehicles. He knew what that meant. It meant that they crashed to avoid one of those things. Or, a mob of those things. Then, exited their vehicles, to be attacked by the mob. He made it to his family home. He pulled into the driveway. The whole house was dark. He had a feeling of impending doom in his gut. “Please God....Let them be okay.” he whispered to himself. He looked around, then exited the vehicle. He went in through the back door. The smell hit him, like a ton of bricks. He felt like he could not breath. He already knew what he would find. He was determined that he would not leave his parents as living dead. As he stood inside the back door, he focused on an overturned kitchen chair. It lay next to the kitchen table. He had to stand there for a moment, just to catch his breath. He felt like he wanted to cry. He made his way through the house. He crept into his parents' bedroom. When he saw the sight of his parents dead bodies laying on the floor, he fell back into the wall. He slid down to the floor. He just cried. After hours of sitting on the floor in a trance, Kyle stood up. He focused on the bullet hole in his father's' head. He made his way to the living-room. Then, his father's office, to look around. It was there, that he saw an open window. Whoever did this, came in through that window. His father must have surprised the intruder. He went back into the bedroom. His mother lay on the floor, next to the bed. His father, lay on the floor in the middle of the room. Both of his parents were still in their pajamas. He looked through the closet. Where is the gun? He thought. His father's gun was missing. It was engraved with the initials J.M. on the handle. He buried his parents, James and Lora Morgan in the back yard, in the middle of the rose garden. Then, drove back to base.
9
ROSE FOX; INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST
The CDC official sat at his desk. He stared back at the journalist. He regretted allowing her into his office. Ms. Rose Fox, grilled Dr. Mamoud about the new vaccines, and the adverse side effects they were having on the public. She had information that he never knew she, or any journalist, should have been able to find. "Dr. Mamoud, you are entrusted by the American people to tell the truth.... To protect them from harmful epidemics. There are news reports in India, Africa, and Iran about people who have received these new vaccines dying, and or, exhibiting strange behaviors. One of the reports about the symptoms include, attacking people for no apparent reason. You have a duty to protect the American public. Or, at the very least, warn the public if there are illnesses out there that could cause them harm. So I am asking you, again...Is there a link between the new vaccines and a mutated epidemic?” Dr. Mamoud curtly said, " Ms. Fox, I do not know where you heard all of this. But, this office has nothing to say about vaccines that, we do not produce. Now, please, allow me to show you the door. He stood up, walked to his office door, then opened the door. He turned and looked at Rose Fox. He said, “Good-bye, Ms. Fox.” Rose knew that she had to accept defeat, for now. She walked out of the office. He didn't see her grab his appointment book off of his desk while his back was turned. She walked past him without saying a word. He closed the door behind her. He walked to his desk, picked up his phone and called the Department of Homeland Security. He said, “ We have a problem. It is that journalist woman, again. She has been poking around, and she knows about LN1. I am not sure how much information she has. But, she knows what it's been doing to people. She is pushy. You need to take care of her. If the news about this get's out, they'll string us up.” He listened for a moment. “ I don't care. Clean up your mess. If it keeps spreading, we won't be able to keep it from becoming news.” He set the receiver down onto its base. Later, that evening, Rose sat at a booth in Serino's Cafe. She had an appointment with a contact inside the Medical Association. She looked up, to see a man standing over her. He had a br
ief case in his hand, and was nervously clutching it. He asked, “ Are you Rose? Rose Fox?” She stood up. She extended her hand, and said, “ Yes... Mr Tobias?” He responded, “ Yes.” She replied, “ Thank you, for meeting with me. I know the position this has put you in. I appreciate this. Really.” He shook her hand and sat down. He looked over his shoulder. He said, “ No, Ms. Fox. You don't. But, I'll get to that. I feel like it won't matter for much longer, anyway.” She thought that was an odd statement. Rose awkwardly smiled, and waited for him to get comfortable. As he lifted the case up onto his lap, then opened it, she placed her elbows up on the table. She folded her hands under her chin. She was nervous, but didn't want to show it. She asked, “ May I look at some of the documents you have? “ He handed her a stack. “Can I copy any of them?” she asked, “ He said, “These are all for you. I have other copies.” She continued, “ Aren't you afraid they will come after you?” She started to rifle through the documents.” Something on one of the documents caught her attention. Her mouth dropped open, from shock. She put one hand over her mouth, for a few seconds. She felt sickened, then rifled through the photos for a long time. She said, “ Mr. Tobias. I was under the impression that this was about a virus caused by bad medicine. These people are... well, they look like they were eaten, or torn apart.” He said, “ Eaten.”
Living Dead 2.0 Page 2
