She turned on the computer. When it loaded, it was still set on the site that she had been on. She started the video. He took the laptop from her hands. He sat back in shock, and just watched. He was silent for a long time. After the last video stopped, he said, “ Nina. You cannot stay here, alone. Do you have any family around here?” She said, “ No. I am trying to get the neighbors here, in the morning. For a community meeting. I was thinking that, we could all put our heads together...” He cut her off. “I don't know what this is, but it is not good. I just made it out of the military. I have never seen anything like this. Nina, a few weeks a ago, I received two calls. One, from a superior officer that I do not know. And, the second, from a fellow soldier. I didn't call back right away, because I just wanted to take it easy for awhile. Now, I know why they called. Neither, were calls, they were a re-call. If there is a national security issue, martial law, a foreign attack, etc. We are to be re-called. I didn't take it seriously. I expected “my” Superior to contact me in that situation. Now, seeing what we saw today, I think this is something much worse than I knew.” Nina responded, “ Aidan... there are kids that live here. Their parents need to know what's going on, so that they can keep them safe.” He said, “ Okay. I will come back and check on you in the morning. Don't go out alone, until we know what this is. Don't open the door to anyone that looks sick. Okay?” She actually felt safe, by him telling her this. She shook her head up and down. “ Yes. I would like that. Thank you.” He said,” I need to get back. My aunt is home alone. She is still shook up.” Nina said, “ Yes... Of course. Please, give Mrs. S. my best.” He stood up and walked towards the door. She followed him. Before opening the door, he turned to Nina, “ Keep this locked. Can I get your phone number? I don't know how long service will be on. If this is martial law, or a contiguity of government game, all services will off in a matter of days. I'll
text you before I come. Okay? And, keep this door locked. No matter what you hear outside of it.” She said, “ Yes, let me get a pen and paper.” He stood by the door and waited for her. She smiled to herself, went back into her living-room, then came back with a piece of paper and pen. She scribbled down her cell phone number. She handed him the piece of paper. She swallowed, “Thank you. You don't have to do this.” He took the paper, closing his hand over hers, and pulled up her arm. His eyes never left hers, while he took the pen from her other hand, and wrote his cell phone number on her arm. He said, “If anything happens, call or text me. If you can get through, I will come and get you. Okay?”
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She didn't know what to say. She felt awkward. She felt connected to to him, even though she didn't know him that well. She had spent a few years talking to Mrs. S. She had enjoyed the woman's company, and had heard a lot about Aidan from from the older woman. She washed all of her larger items at the laundromat, and used the dry cleaning services, regularly. Nina had shared with the woman that any family that she had left, was far away. She said, “ Sure. Yes. Thank you.” He turned to leave. She said, “ Aidan.” He stopped and turned towards her. “Be careful. Those guys were definitely from the government.” He said, “ You bet! Lock this door.” He left, closing the door behind him. She locked the locks on the door. She turned around and leaned on the door. She felt afraid, again. She thought about earlier events. She prayed that Aidan made it home alright. Goosebumps came up on her arm. She went to bed and buried herself under her blankets. Aidan turned down his street, and could not believe his eyes. There were dead bodies and zombies everywhere. He swerved around bloody zombies lunging at his car for a whole block. When he came closer to his place, he saw the remains, of what looked like people. Or, what was left of them. He pulled into the driveway. He stepped out of the car. He pulled out his firearm. He walked towards the military supply truck that was still running. He slowly, walked around the back of the truck. He could hear a growl. As he came around the corner of the truck, a zombie came at him he shoved it backwards. It stumbled backwards. Another came at him, from the side. It grabbed him. He threw it down onto the ground. He remembered what he had seen on the videos. He shot it in the head. The other came back at him. He struggled with it. It tried to bite him. It was snarling and snapping it's teeth, as it tried to take a bite out of his face. He was too strong, and was able to hold it back. He pointed the gun upwards into it's throat. She shot up, into it's brain. It fell dead. He looked around. He could see a horde down the street. They had heard the gun shots, and now, were coming. He looked into the supply truck. He jumped into it and backed it into his driveway. He knew that there would be supplies in the back. He didn't know what the military had been moving, but knew that there could be something there he might be able to use. He looked down the street. They were coming. They moved slow. He jumped out onto the ground, then ran back to his car. He started it and backed it further back into the driveway, so that it lined up with the side of the house. He exited the car and went back to the truck, then moved it back further back. After shutting it down, he went to the back of the truck, and examined the back of the truck. He could see boxes. He had hoped that there were some weapons inside. He looked around the back of the truck. He found a couple of crates that had been pushed up against the back wall of the trailer of the truck. He opened a crate. “Bingo!” He found a crate of weapons. They were M-4's. He opened the other, it had ammunition, and magazines to match the weapons that he had found. He speed-loaded the magazine with the bullets. He knew that he'd better hurry. Then, snapped a magazine in one of the guns. He had thirty bullets. He jumped off of the back of the truck, and ran to the front yard. He stopped, in awe. He saw a slow-moving, horde. He almost could not believe what he was seeing. There was no way that he wold be able to shoot all of them. It looked like half of the city was coming upon him. He climbed back into the truck, and pulled the crate to the edge of the truck bed. He pulled the crate out onto the ground. Then, he climbed back into the truck, and pulled the other crate out onto the ground. He could hear them growling, now. It sounded like a sea of growls. It was dark, but the street lights were on. His aunt opened the front door, “Aidan! Hurry! Get inside! Hurry Mijo!” Aidan pulled the first crate to the door. He shoved it inside.
He turned to his aunt, still pleading with him, while she was held the storm door open. “ Get inside!” He ran back to get the other crate. The zombie horde was in front of his house, now.
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Rosa was terrified. He pulled the crate to the door. He shoved the crate inside, and slammed the storm door shut. The dead were coming into his yard, now. He locked the storm door. He closed the inside door, and locked it. He stood in the fan-shaped window and watched the dead horde creep up the street. They were everywhere, his yard, the neighbors yard. As he stared outside, Mrs. S. hugged him. She was crying and shaking. “Oh, Aidan! I thought they had gotten you! I was so afraid.”
He hugged her back. “I am sorry, Tia. We need to turn all of the lights off.” He turned around, and started to turn off the lights, one by one. He went to the window and closed blinds. He peeked through a slat. A few of the zombies were wandering around his front yard. Others were wandering along the street. He had noticed that, just like the people in the videos had stated, they followed paths, movement, and light. They really were mindless. He said, “ It's like a nightmare. They wander around like they have been lobotomized.” He watched, as they kept staggering around.
He was more focused on the few that had come up into his yard. He didn't want them getting into the back yard. He was hoping that they would wander back towards the street. He said, “ Tia. Howlong has this been going on? What happened?” She replied, “ I am not sure. I heard gunshots. I went to the window and saw some soldiers. They were shooting those things. They were being attacked. Two of them left in a truck. It was horrible, Aidan.” He rushed from window to window, locking each one and closing more blinds. He turned to his aunt, and whispered, “ We have to be quiet, Tia.” They may be coming back this way. Can you stay here for a minute?”
She looked terrified. “Yes. What are you going to do, Aidan?” She shook her head up and down. He said, “Okay. I'll be right back.” He walked into the kitchen. He checked all of the windows and locked the back door. He ran down to the basement and locked the windows. He took some duct tape, and garbage bags, then taped them over the windows. He ran back upstairs. He ran to the living room window, and peeked through the blinds, again. He said, “ Tia. We have to wait them out and see if they come back.” She agreed, “I know, Aidan. I have been watching for a while. Those things are not people. Not anymore. You're right, when you say that we need to be quiet. They follow people. They seem to know who we are. You know? The difference between us and them. Aidan said, “ I know, Tia. For now, we keep watch.”
RENEE, CHLOE, BEN, AND JOSE'S STORY
Ben, Jose, and Sean sat outside their high school during lunch. They were watching a video on Jose's cell phone. In the video, a crazy woman was attacking another lady on the street. The police had her surrounded. Both women were on the ground. The attacker was kneeling down over the other older woman. It looked like the attacker was biting the other woman. The woman on the ground was struggling and screaming. Her arms were flopping all over. People were pointing, and yelling in the back ground. The police had their guns drawn on the attacker, and were yelling at her to stop.” Put your hands where we can see them!” they ordered. She stood up, turned around and stood there for a minute. Her eyes fixated on the police. Jose said, " Man! Look at this crazy lady!" When the three teenagers saw the blood all over the woman's face, they were all shocked and disgusted.
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They stared in disbelief at the phone. Ben blurted out, " Damn! What the hell? " Sean added, " She's a cannibal!" They sat there and watched the police shoot the woman down, as she tried to attack them, too. They watched the phone, while Jose scrolled down to another link, clicking on another video. Now, they watched a similar scene. This time, in California. They watched the blood and gore. Then, Jose found another video. This time, from Saudi, Arabia. He found one from London, England. All the same kind of scenes, but with different players. Then, they watched a video from a net-channel news show. On the show, the speaker told of how there had been an epidemic of crazy people attacking people all over the globe.... for weeks. The report was about how the attacks were happening all in the same way. Only, the news outlets reporting very few of the events did not seem to think that it was out of the ordinary. That was the last video they watched. After wards, Ben said, “ Okay. It's weird, but we can't do anything about it.” Jose added, “ Uh, Yeah. It is weird. I think people here are starting to act crazy, too.” The other two boys watched him and listened to him speak. He continued, “Man, the other day I was outside. I went out to the car, just to bring in some groceries for my Mom. And, I saw a guy staggering around in circles, down the street. All of the sudden, I saw him turn around and walk up onto the grass and behind some bushes. At the time, I just thought it was some drunk guy. Until, the next day.” Sean asked, “ Why?” Jose replied, “ Because, Mrs. Daniels lived there. The yard where the drunk guy was. It was Mrs. Daniels' house.” Ben asked, “ Dead, Mrs. Daniels?” Jose blurted out, “ Yeah! Dead Mrs. Daniels. And, that is not all.” Jose looked over his shoulder. Sean cut in, “ What.... what else happened?” His eyes were huge with wonder. Jose started to whisper, “ I over heard my Mom talking to her friend, who is a nurse in the Emergency room at County Hospital. She told my Mom that Mrs. Daniels was half eaten, and was awake and growling. She said that, the old woman kept grabbing for everyone around them. They had to strap her arms down. I don't know what else. It was just too freaky.” Ben and Sean turned and looked at each other for a few seconds. Then the three of them exchanged a concerned glance back and forth. They all stayed silent until the bell rang, meaning time to go back to class. They all stood up and went to their classes without saying another word to each other..... Later... Ben sat in class listening to his math teacher explain the daily lesson. He looked around the class. It was half empty. Many students were out sick. He was so bored, he hated math. He stared out of the window, thinking about what he and his friends had seen on the net. He was not only thinking about the videos, but many others that had been going around online. He noticed a guy walking around the parking lot. He was staggering around in circles. As he watched, he also saw Mr. Hermillio walking to his car on the other side of the lot. Mr. Hermillio pulled his keys out of his pocket and aimed at his car. He pushed the unlock button on his remote. As he approached his driver side door, he focused on the wandering man. It was obvious that the man was not right. Mr Hermillio yelled something at the man. The man stopped and turned towards Mr. Hermillio. Mr. Hermillio stood there watching the man start to walk and stumble towards him. It looked like he was talking to the man as the man attacked him. Ben sat up straight in his seat. Someone yelled, “Look! Some guy just jumped Mr. Hermillio! ” Everyone jumped out of their seats and ran to the window. One of the students yelled out in shock.” Look! He jumped Mr. Hermillio! Mrs. Nolan stood behind her students, as they watched in horror. Her co-worker was knocked to the ground and attacked by the man in the parking lot. In a panic, she ran to her desk. She grabbed the phone and pushed a few numbers. She blurted out, “ Carol! Call security! Don is getting attacked in the parking lot outside.” The voice on the other end of the line said something to Mrs. Nolan. Mrs. Nolan stared out the window.
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She kept watching the crazy man continue to attack, and bite her co-worker. She said, “Alright. In the auditorium?” She listened for a moment. She continued to stare out of the window, in shock. Just then, they all saw a police car pull up to where Mr. Hermillio was being attacked. It looked like he was not moving, anymore. The crazy man had already torn into his throat area, and it looked like he was biting Mr. Hermillios' mid- section, now. Mrs. Nolan placed the phone down onto the base. She could not take her eyes off of the terrible sight. She said,” Okay, Kids. Show is over. Everyone is going home early today. She picked up her purse and grabbed her cell phone off of her desk.
You all need to go to your lockers and get your things. Those of you that ride the bus, you will have fifteen minutes to go to your bus. Those of you that get a ride, go to the auditorium so that you can call your parents.” Ben saw people running back and forth in the hallway, through the window on the classroom door. As he turned back towards the other window over looking the parking lot, he saw several military vehicles pull up where the attack was taking place. He stood up and got in line to exit the classroom. Once in the hallway, he looked for Sean and Jose. He saw Chloe, she looked confused. He half-ran towards her, while pushing his way through the crowd of students. He yelled, “ Chloe! Wait!” She saw him from down the hallway. They had not talked in weeks. They had decided to take things slower, since their last argument. When he came to where she was, he took her hand and led her to a corner. He said, “ Something is way wrong, Chloe. Have you been on the net? We have to get out of here! Mr. Hermillio just got jumped in the parking lot. It looks bad. The military showed up.”
She said, “I know. I saw them, too. They were over by the mall, yesterday. I went with my Mom. We saw them putting up fences. Big fences. My Mom turned around, real fast. Then, after that, I was chased by some crazy lady. She was growling at me. It freaked me out!”
“Why didn't you call me?” She said, “ I dropped my phone. My Dad gave me a new one.”
She leaned her head up against his chest. “ What is going on, Ben?” He kissed her forehead, and said, “ I don't know, but they want us out of here. Come on. Let's get out of here. We need to find Sean and Jose. Have you seen them?” He took her hand and started leading her away. She said, “ No. I have not seen either one of them. Sean was not in English class, today.” Ben said, “He was outside at lunchtime. Wonder what happened?” He looked around for his friends. There were a lot of kids walking around in the hallway. Those that had showed up for school that day, anyway. Many were scrambling to get their th
ings from their lockers and get to their buses. Some, were walking straight out the first door that they saw. As Chloe and Ben walked down the hallway, they came to a set of double doors. They turned through the doors to exit to the outer doors just outside to the right. As they exited through the first set of doors, there was another student standing there. They surprised him, and he turned to face them. It was Justin Garcia. He had a blank look on his face. They immediately noticed that, his skin looked funny. He had rubber tied around his upper arm, with a needle and syringe sticking out of his arm, just above the elbow. He was not even trying to remove it. He had dark- purple circles under his eyes. He looked really sick. Ben blurted out, “ Justin, what are you doing here? If the teachers see that needle, you are in big trouble. They are sending us all home early.....Justin?” He snarled back. Both Ben, and Chloe turned and looked at each other, then back at Justin. He slowly walked into a lunge, right at them. He reached towards them. They were so stunned by the look on his face that they froze for a moment. When Ben realized he was coming for them, he grabbed Chloe and pulled her out of the way. They escaped his path just before snarling Justin could grab either of them. Ben shoved him as hard as he could in the opposite direction.
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Justin fell back into the corner. Ben took Chloe's arm, and said, “ Come on! Hurry Chloe. We need to get out of here!” They both ran out the double doors. As soon as they got outside, they saw many of the kids that had come to school walking to the buses. There were some that were walking home. Some, were walking to cars that they had driven to school. Ben took Chloe by the hand, and said, “Let's go this way. Do you see Jose or Sean?” She shook her head. “No. I don't see them.” They saw the police blocking the area in the street in the direction that they normally went. Chloe said, “ Look! We can't go that way. They are stopping people.” Ben said, “ Let's go back the other way. We'll have to go around.” They headed the other way. Chloe said, “ Why do they have the street blocked off? And, why are they driving SUV's? Did you see the guys in the black SWAT get up?” Ben said,” I know. This is bad. We need to get home fast.” Ahead of them, they could see that a fight was taking place. Some kids had gathered in a circle to watch. Some kids were egging it on. One of them yelled, “ Kick his ass, Joey!” Some were laughing. Some were talking amongst themselves. Chloe heard a girl ask, “ What is wrong with him?” As they came closer, they saw Justin Garcia. The needle was gone, but the rubber was still tied around his arm. Some said, “ He is high, again. What did he take this time?” The boy that was shoving Justin, stopped. He was laughing because he shoved Justin to the ground. Just got up, and as the boy turned around, Justin grabbed him and bit him on the arm. He drew blood. Now the boy was yelling, “ What the hell are you doing?” The boy started to punch Justin in the face. Every time Justin fell, he stood back up and went back for the boy. The last time, Justin latched onto the boy. He bit him in the arm. The boy yelled, “ Hey!” Then, threw Justin to the ground. The students were yelling,” He bit him! Did you see that?” Ben said, “ Come on! We need to get away from here.” Chloe could see that nothing about Justin was right. And, things were getting more intense. She followed Ben. They made it to the corner, a few blocks from the school. As they continued to walk home, they heard sirens from more than one source. They came to Broad street. Chloe's house was right around the corner. Ben sent texts to Jose, then Sean, to ask where they were. A few minutes later, his cell phone beeped. Ben pulled his cell out of his pocket. He tapped the phone, then read the message from Jose; We'll meet you at Chloe's. It's crazy out here. Police are everywhere! Ben and Chloe made it to her house, and they rushed through the iron gate, then up the sidewalk and stairs. They were both spooked. Once on the porch, Chloe pulled some keys out of her purse. Ben waited for Chloe to approach the door, then he followed her. Chloe opened the storm door, Ben held the door open, while looking over his shoulder. Chloe unlocked the front door and stepped inside. She held the door open, “ Hurry Ben!” He followed her inside. She closed the door and locked it. She turned, and called out to her mother, “ Mom. Are you here?” She walked into the living room area. She tossed her purse onto the sofa, as she walked into a hallway, with Ben following. She yelled, again, “ Anyone here? Dad, you home? ” She was relieved to be inside. She wanted to tell her parents everything that had happened after school. She walked into the kitchen. There was a note on the kitchen table. Both her and Ben sat down, while she read the note. It read; Chloe, took Dad to the hospital. He had an accident on the way home. Be home later. Food in the oven. Love you, Mom.
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