“I was thinking, exactly that. I promise. I am working on how. As soon as I can get across the street, I'll know if the Sandovals want to team up.” Renee said.
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She looked out of the window. Aside, from the gruesome car show, all of the dead were gone. She felt nervous. Chloe walked away. She went to her room and started to go through her things. Renee stared out through the window, again. She felt like she was in a dream. She felt like a caged animal. How would she get out, while keeping the kids safe? And now, the boys had gone out there. She understood why. But, she was worried about them. Suddenly, she saw her neighbor walk outside. He was carefully looking around. He was a military man. She watched, as he looked around the corners of his house. Then, peeked around the bushes down the street. He pulled out some binoculars.
He looked in all directions. Then, down the street, in the direction that the horde had gone. Renee wanted to go out and speak to him. But, would he want to venture away from this place? She kept watching. He turned and started walking towards the car with the dead ones inside. It looked like he was studying the scene. Then, she saw Jose and Ben coming back in Ben's, father's car. The car moved past Aidan, and slowed down. They stopped where Aidan was standing. Jose stepped out of the car, and had started to talk with Aidan. Ben pulled the car into the driveway. Now, Renee was curious.
“Please, don't let those things come back.” she whispered. She continued to watch, as they spoke. It looked like they were pointing down the street. Then, one of the dead ones, came out from behind a house. Renee started to yell through the closed window. “ Get away from there!” She ran to the front door. As the door swung open, they all watched as Aidan stepped towards it, and stabbed it in the eye. It fell to the ground. Renee was yelling from the open door way.”Run! Ben, Jose, Aidan! Run!” The three males all turned around to look for her voice. For a moment, they stood there and stared at her. Chloe ran into the room. “Mom! What is wrong?” Jose, Ben, and Aidan walked towards her. They came up the front steps. Aidan blurted out, “ Jeez, Renee. Be quiet. Will you? You are going to draw them back here.” Renee answered, “ I am glad you are alright, Aidan. But, you should not get too close to those things.” She was breathing a little easier, now. Chloe asked, “ What is going on? Hey Aidan.” Aidan said, “ Hey, Chloe.” He looked at each one of them. Chloe said, “ So you have met Ben and Jose, I see. ” She pointed to her friends. They all looked scared, and exhausted. He turned to Renee, “I have only been back for a while. Do you know when this all started?” She shrugged, “ I think, this week. I am not sure. But, none of us knew about it until everyone started getting attacked.” He replied, “ Yeah. It's crazy out there. You should all stay inside.” He looked around the room. “Where is Marcus?” Tears welled up in Renee's eyes. She whispered, “ One of those things bit him. He didn't make it.” Aidan felt sorry for her. He said, “ I'm sorry, Renee. I didn't know. I have only been back for a few weeks, and have not had a chance to visit with a lot of people. Then, yesterday...” He lost his train of thought. He felt like he was in a dream, as he thought about what had happened the last twenty-four hours. An expression of dread came over his face. He looked around the room, again. Renee, noticing his distress, continued, “ I know that this is a terrible thing to come back home to... “ Aidan cut her off, “ Renee, this is not like anything that I have ever seen. Can you tell me exactly what happened with Marcus?” She awkwardly answered, “ A day after he was bitten, he went to the hospital. The soldiers were there. They killed him, Aidan. They were executing people. They killed Ellen, too.” Now, Aidan was intent on finding out details. He asked, “ Ellen, too? When did he get bit? Where? What were the symptoms that made you bring him to the hospital? Where the soldiers there when you first arrived?” Chloe started crying, as she walked out of the room. Ben went after her. Jose added, “ My Mom, too. And, Ben's parents. But, he won't admit it. They never came home. Mrs G. let us stay here.”
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Aidan said, “ I'm sorry about your Mom, Kid. Was your mom bitten, or was it something else?”
“Jose. It's, Jose. She was bitten, too. Then, she became real sick. One day, I thought that she had fallen asleep, she stood up and chased me. I ran out of her room, slamming the door behind me.” Jose said. Aidan repeated, “ I'm sorry, Jose.” Renee cut in, “ A few days ago. I took him to the E.R. Just in case. They kept him, and when I went to pick him up...” She looked down. Aidan turned back to Renee and said, “ Renee, I didn't know about Marcus. I am sorry. But, I need you to think.... Did you see any soldiers or military in the area before you took Marcus in? If so, how long ago?” She hesitated. “Maybe, at the store. But, that was last week. They were shopping, too. That is why I really did not think anything of it.” Aidan asked, “ Did you see how many of them there were? Vehicles, anything out of the ordinary?” she said, “ No. they were just buying groceries.”
He said, “I received two calls from military people within the last two weeks. Whatever this is, they knew about it before they arrived here. You all need to stay inside. I have to go check on someone, then I'll be back. I am working on getting us out of here. You should all consider leaving here. If they still have numbers, they will be going door to door and confiscating weapons, food, water, medical supplies, or gas. Virtually, anything you have. And, if they are killing those in the hospitals, they will kill everyone. Keep these doors locked and keep your heads down. I have to get Nina and I will be back. Give me, until later today. If I don't get back. Will you go get my Aunt? Please? ” Renee said, “Yes. Of course. Maybe, she could come here while you are gone? We are planning on getting out, too.
We are trying to figure it out. We have property out in the country and I am going to my mothers to get her, first. You and Rosa are welcome to come with us. I was going to try to sneak over and talk to you, but those things kept coming back.”Aidan answered, “ She might feel like a burden. Not sure if she will come here, right now. But, we are getting out of here, soon. I am going to try to convince Nina to come with. I am going to scout a little more. Then, I can figure something out about all of this. I don't know who is out there. Soon there will be desperate people. Some good, some bad. Don't bring any attention here, at all. Keep as quiet as you can. Keep the lights down at night.” He turned around to leave. Renee said, “ Thanks Aidan. Be careful out there. You and Rosa come here if you need to.” He said, “ You guys, too. You lock the doors. I'll see you later today.” He left, and closed the door. Renee watched him get into his car and leave.
THE JENSONS' STORY
Twelve year old Tyler, and nine year old Tessa Jenson were walking home from school, like they did every day. From a distance, they could both see a man walking on the side walk. All of the sudden, another man attacked him and the two started fighting. Then, there were several more people attacking the man. Tessa and Tyler came to a halt. Tessa reached up and grabbed her brothers' arm. "Look, Tyler!”
Her eyes were fixated on the scene that was unfolding before them. He answered back, “I know. Let's cross the street. Keep walking. Don't stare. If they come towards us, run to the door.”
“I'm scared, Tyler.” They walked as fast as they could. They were both in a panic. As they came to their house, they hurriedly turned and made their way up the drive way.
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They made it to their front door, opened it, and both children dove inside. Tyler slammed the door shut. He stood with his back pressed to the door, his chest heaving. Tessa said, “ We need to call Dad.” They both heard sirens. Tessa ran to the living room window, and peeked through the blinds. She blurted out, “Tyler look! The police are there. By the man that got beat up.” Tyler commanded, “ Tessa, get away from the window! They weren't beating him up. Didn't you see them? Mom! Mom, are you here?”
Their mother, thirty-seven year old Dawn Jenson, came walking down the stairs. Dawn had been divorced from their father, Tom Jenson, for a year. She said, “ Hey! What is all of the yelling about down here?” The woman
saw her daughter peeking through the blinds and out the living room window, as though, she was on a stake out. “What are you looking at Tess?” Tyler, who was looking nervous and fidgety started to cut in, “ Mom, tell her to get away from the window.” Dawn turned her attention to her noticeably unnerved son. Then asked, “What is wrong? What happened?”
She quickly walked over to the window, and pulled down on one strip of her blind. She peeked through the open slat and watched with Tessa. She saw what looked like several police cars and an ambulance down the street. The group of police were wrestling with several other people, who were there. Two more police cars pulled up and stopped. The two officers got out of their cars and ran to where the scuffle was taking place. The police officers pulled out and aimed their guns at the group and yelled out some orders. The people were ignoring everything around them, and kept attacking the officers. Then, the two officers fired on the small crowd of rowdy people. Dawn and Tessa both let out a loud shriek. Tessa said, “ Mom look!” One man went down after being shot. Then, he rolled over onto his side and pushed himself up, then walked right back towards the police. Then, the second man did the same thing. Then, the third, the fourth. It looked like a lady was also shot. She, as well, slowly stood right back up and went after the policemen. By now, the policemen were being attacked for the second time, while shooting the rowdy group. It looked like several people, including one of the paramedics, had been bitten. Dawn remembered something that her sister had said weeks before, and she felt goosebumps rise up on her arms. The people who were shot, kept getting up. They kept walking towards the police. They ignored their commands, and tried to attack two more officers that had pulled up, after the last two. Now, there was a whole squad of policemen in riot gear. More ambulances came, too. Now, the police that were dressed in the riot gear were shooting. They fired on them over and over. The people kept getting up and coming towards the police. They heard the police yelling, “Get back! Stop where you are!” Then, one of them fired and hit one person in the head, and the rowdy guy stayed down. They heard more pops and a loud boom. Now, neighbors had gathered outside. Some, were screaming in shock over what they were seeing. Some, were recording with the video on their cell phones. Dawn's attention was pulled away from the scene by her phone ringing. She walked over to the end table and picked up her phone. She answered the phone, and left the room. As she walked out of the room, the children could hear her talking to someone. “When will I know about the new schedule?” Then, she stopped talking. After listening to the person on the end of the line for several minutes, she asked, “The whole department? How serious is this? Okay. Let me know when you hear something.”
She ended her call, and started to make dinner for the family. She made herself a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table. She started to slip into deep thought. The children were still anxiously, watching the scene that had unfolded from down the street. She called her sister, Rose. She was not answering. She had been wanting to call her for a few days, but had been so busy. Rose had warned her about things like this. She had not spoken to her since.
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She picked up the house while dinner was cooking. She walked back into the living room. Her daughter was still watching out through the window. She said, “ So, they are still out there, huh?” They all heard loud knock on the door. As she turned to go open it to find out who was doing the pounding, the door swung open. It was her ex-husband, Tom. He had used his old keys and walked in. He was flushed and breathing heavy. It looked as though he had been running. Dawn didn't want to alarm the children. He loudly asked, “Is everyone here? Dawn, call Granny and Rose. Tell them to stay in. Tell Rose to get out of the city ,now!” Spanky, sprung up. When he saw that it was Tom, he ran to greet him. Tom gave him a pat on the head. As he saw that they were all home, a look of relief came over his face. They didn't even pay attention to his car skidding into the driveway. Dawn stood there, in shock. “Tom, what are you doing here?” Are you drunk?” Just as she finished her question, she saw his guns. He had a handgun in his right hand, another in a holster and his shotgun in its bag. “Dad,” Tyler said, “ Some people were fighting on the side walk and the police came. And, they were shooting people.” The two adults completely ignored the boy. Dawn continued, “ Tom? What are you doing?” Tom realized that he looked a little crazy. The look on Dawn's face made that clear.
He looked down at the gun in his hand. He looked back at his ex-wife, “ Dawn, have you been watching the news?” Dawn answered, “ No. Why? Tom, are you losing it? Put those guns away!”
“Dawn! Turn on the news!” Tyler knew that his Mother had no clue about most kids being absent from school for the last week. She didn't know that the parks and places where kids played were almost empty, now. She didn't know what was actually happening, just down the street from her own home. She was clueless. The boy, took his cell phone and started to play a video on the net. He said, “ Look Mom.” He handed her his phone with the video already in play. It showed a mob of crazy people attacking, then trying to eat other people. There were police shooting at them, but they kept getting back up... and attempting to attack... just like the scene that she and the children had just witnessed. She took the phone from her sons' hand and watched in horror. She knew that the same thing had just happened a few houses down from her. She didn't want to believe it. She handed the phone back to the boy. She said nothing. They all watched her for a moment, to see what kind of reaction she would have. They did not realize it but, she was remembering a few day back, when she was driving home from work. She saw several police cars blocking a street. It looked like a fight that involved a lot of people. She saw two officers trying to handcuff a man who had blood all over him. Now, she was hard pressed about this. It was the same kind of scenario that she just watched on the video. It was what her sister had warned her about. Tyler studied his Mother, for a minute. Then, he picked up the television remote. He started pushing buttons. The television came on. He stopped on a channel with the face of a man speaking. He looked serious, and sounded scared. He maintained his composure, but the cracking sound in his voice, and the look on his face told another story. “Stay inside your homes and keep your doors locked,” he said. Tyler said, “ Look! People have been acting like they are nuts, all over the place, for weeks. Mom, Dad's right. Something is really wrong.” The voice on the television kept speaking. “ Your local Officials will aid the National Guard while they structure road checks. There is no need to panic. Director of the Intergovernmental Disease Agency, George Mustaffa, is stating that this is normal protocol for this type of bio-event. We will update the public, when further information comes into our studio. If you, or anyone you that know gets bitten, immediately go to your closest community hospital We will post a list of check in spots for your area after the program. For further information, you can visit www.govquarantinecheck.com “
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Tyler pushed some buttons on the remote control. Another channel showed another face reporting on Saudi Arabia. The face stated, “ All stations are down in the nation of Saudi Arabia, at this time. Our affiliates in the region have been offline for three days, now. More from the region, next time....”
The Jensons stared at the television in disbelief. Tom, abruptly said, “ I knew it! I kept telling you, Dawn. I kept telling you that they were going to do something. They have gone too far, this time.” Dawn, would have normally given him a dirty look. But this time, she gave him a blank, confused stare. He noticed the expression of fear on his ex-wife's face. Feeling terrible, he paused Then, continued, “Okay. I'm checking the back door. Are the windows locked?” He looked around at each one of them. Dawn, still in shock, answered, “ I, I don't know.” Tessa came to her mother and hugged her. The young girl buried her head into her mothers mid-section. She said, “ I am scared, Mommy.” Dawn grabbed her daughter, and hugged her back. She said, “ It is going to be okay, Honey.”
Tyler stood there, not knowing what to say. But, he realized
that this was serious. Tom said, “Ty, go check the windows. Make sure they are all locked, and if you see anyone outside, run back in here. Get me. Okay? ” Ty looked up at his Dad. He asked, “ What are we going to do?” Tom said, “ We are going to get through this. I will stay here, tonight. Tomorrow, we all go to my place. But first, we have to secure the house. Okay, Son?”
Tyler shook his head up and down. Tom could see that his son was trying to be brave. He said, “ Good. You start upstairs. I'll start in the back. Remember.... Turn the lights off before you get in front of the windows. That way, no one will be sure who is here, how many, or how old. Understand? Like we practiced with the guys.” Tyler agreed, “ Okay, Dad.” Now, Dawn was starting to understand that; maybe, all of Tom's crazy, end of the world-conspiracy-theories were not so far fetched. They had split up because his group of preppers were taking up all of his time. At one point, Dawn actually thought that he had been cheating on her. As the two males of the house checked windows and locks, Dawn remembered that her food was still cooking in the kitchen. She heard her phone, again. She picked it up and pushed the green phone icon. “Hello.” there was an automated voice on the other end of the phone. It was a recorded message from the school. “This is a message from the Jackson Consolidated School District. All school scheduling will be canceled tomorrow. The school faculty will contact the community at a later date to give further information for class re-scheduling.”
Dawn swiped the phone and ended the call. She looked around. Her daughter was sitting on the sofa, holding the remote control to the television. She went to the pot of food that was cooking on the stove. She removed the lid, picked up a spoon and stirred the food in the pot. She was worried, now. She thought about all of the people that had been missing from work the last week or so. What had happened to them? Were they sick, or worse? She knew that she owed her husband an apology. She had treated him terrible in the last year. Just then, Tom and Tyler came walking into the kitchen. “Okay. Everything is locked up tight. We need to be careful not to get in front of the windows. Those weirdos are attracted to movement, sound and light, too. Tomorrow, we go out to my place.” Dawn thought about the warning that she had gotten from her sister. She owed her an apology. She wanted to check on Granny. Dawn said, “ Okay. Chili is ready. Everyone wash up and come to the table.” Before dinner, she called her Granny.” Granny.” Granny said, “ Yes, Dawn.” “ She continued, “ I think that Rose was right. Please, stay inside. We are coming out tomorrow.”
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