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Jessie pointed towards the concrete and the machinery the men were using to move them. Ray said, “They are closing off the University. They are going to use that for their base. We need stay away from here. Soon, anyone that crosses paths with them, may be stopped and taken into custody. Or worse.” Mary said, “ I don't like this. We should go over to the Police Station and ask what is going on.”
Ray said, “They won't tell us anything. Even if they really know what it is. We need to get home and lock everything down, and I'll get on the radio and see if there is any chatter.” Mary said, “We need to go to the store. Maybe, there is someone inside that will tell us if they have heard anything.”
Ray said, “ Okay. But, don't bet on it. We need to make it fast. If there are any military or black vehicles present, we'll need to pass.” They all got back into their cars and drove to the Bigmart. When they parked, they saw a group of people fighting. There was a police car there. But, they could not see the officer. They saw a few people standing around, they were just gawking. The two couples got out of their cars and walked towards the doors. As they were walking, Ray said, “ We need to get in here and get out. Jessie, you and me should grab some stuff, while they get what they need. Babe, get extra.” Amy said, “ Okay. “ She looked worried. Mary and Amy walked towards the entrance to the store. Ray and Jessie stood there for a minute. Jessie asked, “Okay. What is it? I know it is not good. I know that when the military is setting up road blocks that, it's never good. But, you look really worried. So does it have anything to do with all of the attacks out there?”
“I don't know. Been a lot of talk on the radio. Mostly, stuff happening in other cities.” Ray replied. Jessie cut in, “ Stuff has been happening here, too. So, how bad do you think this is? The look on your face indicates to me that you think it will not blow over soon.” Ray looked scared. He said, “ Jessie, I have a feeling it's very bad, and getting worse by the hour. Do me a favor, get your radio on when you get home. Keep it on. Will you? Also, make sure your doors are locked. If you see military in your neighborhood, it is already too late. If you see military too close to your place, get to our place.” Jessie studied Ray. In all of the years that he had known Ray, he had never seen him look so worried. He said, “ Okay, Ray.” The two men turned and walked towards the store. They went inside, grabbed a cart and started to do a little shopping. They heard some yelling, and things hitting the floor. They followed the noise. It was Amy and Mary. A crazy man had attacked Amy and they were both trying to fight him off. Ray and Jessie ran to Amy. Ray pulled the man away from his wife. He threw the man into the shelf. Cans of food fell to the floor. Some people had come to the end of the isle. They were pointing, and covering their mouths. Amy had stumbled back into the shelf, then fell onto the floor. Jessie helped her get up. She was crying. After getting up on her feet, Jessie noticed that she was bleeding from her arm. She tried to wipe the blood off with the bottom of the flannel blouse she was wearing. Jessie loked over at Ray, who was now wrestling with the man. Mary took some tissue that she had in her purse, took sister's arm, and started to wipe away the blood. When she removed some of the blood, she saw that the wound was a bite. She turned around and watched Ray and the man. Now, Jessie was jumping into the fight, in an attempt to subdue the man. She said, “ It's a bite. It's okay, Sis. We need to get this cleaned up.” Amy was visibly shaken. She said, “ I saw him watching us as he came closer. I didn't think that he would bite me.” Mary said, “ I know. Me either.” Mary yelled, “ Hey! Can we get some help over here?” A man came running up the isle. He was out of breath. He said. “I am sorry. We have half of the crew out sick. What happened here?” He looked at Ray, Jessie, and the man. They had gotten a hold of his arms and were holding him face down. The man didn't speak. He snarled and growled. He was trying to bite Jessie.
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The clerk walked over to the end of the top shelf. He took a package of zip ties down, then ripped the bag open. He said, “ Here. We need to tie him up. The cops take forever to get here when this happens.” Mary repeated, “When this happens?” He looked up at her, as he helped the other two men tie the crazy up. He said, “ Yep. Four times this week. I called the police, but the line is busy. I'll keep trying, though. Don't want to keep this nut job here all day.” The three others all exchanged looks. “Come on, Sis. We should get you to the E. R., and get this cleaned up.” Ray asked, “ What is your problem?” He kept punching the guy in the head. Jessie had to pull him away from the man. Jessie blurted out, “That's enough, Ray!” He pulled Ray backwards until they both stumbled into the shelf, knocking more food down onto the floor. The man said, “ I'll call the police, again.” He stood there, attempting to call the emergency line. With no success, he ended the call and put his phone into his pocket. He turned to Amy, “Are you okay, Miss?” Mary said, “ He bit her. Look!” She picked up Amy's arm and held it up so that the store clerk could see. Now, she turned her attention to the attacker. “You Jerk!” She glared at the man rolling around on the floor, still snarling. He was looking in their general direction. But, didn't even acknowledge her. All of the sudden, they heard screaming from another part of the store. They all turned in the direction of the noise. Ray and Jessie exchanged looks. The clerk looked afraid, and disgusted at the same time. They all heard a voice on his two-way radio. It was another store employee. “Uh, Bobby... we have a real big problem. We need to clear the store out, fast.” He said, “What is it Natalie?” The voice responded, “We have a mob attacking customers over in Housewares. It is out of control, and I can't get the police on the line. I sent everyone that showed up today over there, but....” He pushed the button in and spoke over the voice. “What the hell? Keeping calling the police.” He turned to Ray, Amy, Mary, and Jessie. “Excuse me. He will have to stay here for a few minutes. I will be right back.“ He turned and ran in the direction of the commotion. Ray frantically said, “Come on. We need to get out of here.” They all turned and headed for the exit. Ray had Amy's good hand , and was bolting while the others tried to keep up. Jessie said, “ What is going on?” They passed by the commotion, and stopped for a moment. It was complete chaos. People were being attacked by other crazy people. The people attacking looked like the people they had seen earlier. They were not talking, had no weapons and staggered. And, they were trying to bite their victims. And, no matter how many times they were hit, showed no signs of feeling pain. The only thing that their victims had on them was that they moved very slow. Jessie and Ray exchanged a concerned glance. The women stared in horror. Jessie said, “ We need to get them to the cars, then come back in and help them. They walked the women to the cars. They went to Jessie's vehicle. Amy and Mary jumped into their seats. Ray said, “ Keep the doors locked until we get back.” When the doors were closed and locked, the two men ran back into the store. When they arrived back at the scene of the mob attack, they saw the clerks and the victims still trying to fend off the crazies. Jessie blurted out, “Don't let them bite you!” They pulled many of the zombies away from several women. Several people had been bitten. They were acting like animals. Ray blurted out, “This is like a bad movie. Everyone that can, run!” Several of the people ahd already exited the store. Some that were freed by Ray and Jessie ran or limped away. They fought as hard as they could to keep the creepy attackers from biting their victims. No matter how many times they pushed them away, or threw them down, the crazy people kept getting back up. Finally, a policeman came running up. He yelled, “Get back!” He started immediately firing at the zombies. The people started to scream and run. Ray and Jessie dove behind a rack. The policeman shot the attackers in the head.
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When all was quiet, the officer yelled, “ Who was bit? Who did they bite?” He was still holding his gun, while nervously shifting his aim at anything that moved. The man was spooked. Some of the people peeked from behind their hiding spots. They were afraid to come into full view of the policeman. Ray said, “ Officer. Thes
e people are victims. No need to still be on edge. Why don't we talk?” The frantic policeman ordered, “ Everyone! Let me see your hands!”
They all slowly stepped into view, and complied. He went from person to person, checking for bites. He said, “ All of you with bites, get over there. A medical team is on their way to treat you.” He pointed to one area of the store. They all complied. The officer asked, “Did any one who had been bit get away?” Ray said, “ We came in to help. Don't know how it started. What do you think happened, Officer?” He studied the officer. He knew that the police are supposed to ask the victim what happened, except for now. Ray was careful, not to mention Amy. The officer stared at him. “ A few minutes later, a haz-mat team came running into the grocery store. They started to set up equipment inside the grocery store. A man with a clip board started taking names. When Ray and Jessie realized what they were doing, they waited until the officers' back was turned and slipped down an isle way. Every exit that they saw was closed off, or had a guard posted. Ray sent Amy a text message; Don't come inside! We will come out through the back. Ray watched the government set up for a while, then whispered, “ We have to find a back room with an exit, or a window.” Jessie was getting spooked now. It was more than obvious that something really bad was going on. He asked, “ What the hell is going on?”
Ray cut in, “I don't know. But it ain't good. We have to get to the car before Mary and Amy try to walk into the store looking for us.” They tip-toed up and down several isles to get to the back of the store. Once they made it to the back of the store, they looked slipped into the warehouse. They looked for an exit. The docks were open. They could see men walking around outside of it. They were wearing haz-mat suits. They went into another room. Jessie blurted out, “Look!” He was pointing up at a window that was around seven feet high. They would have to climb on something to get out through it.
Jessie was already looking for something to climb onto. He found a large metal drum in the corner. He said, “ Hey. Help me out, will you?” Ray followed him, and helped him roll the drum at an angle towards the window. Ray said, “ We need to get it under the window. You go out first. I'll follow you. Make sure there are no cops or military out there, first.” Jessie said, “ Okay.” He climbed up on the barrel. He looked through the window. He pushed it open. When he knew the coast was clear, he climbed up and slid over the bottom frame. He jumped down onto the pavement below. He loudly, whispered, “ Come on, Ray.” A minute later, Ray came jumping down. He said, “ Come on. We need to get out of here.” They ran to the end of he building. As they came around the side of the building leading to the parking lot, they saw the few people that were there, being attacked from every direction. Several police and military personnel ran outside to help. They started firing at the attacking mob. Jessie and Ray ran tot he vehicles, ducking between other vehicles on the way. Ray pulled a man off of one woman who had a bite on her shoulder. He threw him to the ground. Jessie grabbed a woman who was attacking an older woman and threw her down to the ground. Some of the people who were being attacked made it to their vehicles. Ray yelled, “ There are more!” Jessie saw him pointing to where the mob was coming from.
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When he saw them heading their way, he yelled, “ We have to go!” It looked like forty, or fifty crazed zombies were traveling in a pack. They were staggering towards them. Now, Ray and Jessie could tell that the pack of crazies, were dead. They looked dead. They moved like a dead person would, if their bodies were stiff and decaying. They had to force themselves to look away, while some of the haz-mat team fired at the dead crowd from the storefront. Now, was their only chance. They ran to their vehicles. Amy, had already seen them and gotten inside her and Ray's truck. Jessie and Ray dove into their vehicles. Ray yelled, “Go home! Grab what you can carry. Get to my place!” He slammed the door shut, just as a gray-purple pair of boney hands reached for him. Amy and Mary were both screaming from their seats. Amy yelled, “ Ray! Ray, hurry!” Mary watched Ray close the door just the zombie man tried to grab him. She turned to see more of the dead mob starting to circle around their vehicle. She screamed, “ Jessie! Go, now! Jessie, hurry!” Jessie was in a semi-state of horrified-panic- mode. He followed Ray, almost slamming into his truck from behind. They left as fast as they could. As soon as they made it to an empty side street, Ray pulled over. Jessie stopped along side his truck. The two men stepped out of their vehicles. Jessie grabbed his head, in distress. “Ray! Did you see those people? They looked like those maniacs that we saw on the trail.” Ray said,” Jess, I don't know what this is, but it's not looking good. Why don't you and Mary get your house boarded up, and come out to our place? Just til we know what's up.” Jessie said, “Our neighborhood is pretty quiet. I don't think anything will happen there.” Ray said, “Jessie, the grocery store is on lock down from the military! The grocery store!” Jessie stared at him for a moment. He knew that Ray was right. “I'll talk to Mary. But, where will we stay?” Ray said, “ We have the extra bedrooms. Bring whatever you want. Don't you have your Dad's RV?” Jessie siad, “ Yes, but I need to put some new hoses on it.” Ray stopped, and looked around. “ Jessie, there are no people around.” Jessie scanned the area. There were a few cars parked in driveways, but not one person walking on a sidewalk, or doing yard work. Not one child playing outside. It was just a little cloudy. Just enough, to look dreary. They both felt an eerie pang of dread run through them. Jessie said, “I need to talk to Mary. I'll talk to some of the neighbors, see what they know. I'll call you tonight.” Ray said, “ Alright. But, don't wait til it's too late. Keep your doors locked. If you two have to leave with the clothes on your backs, just get out to our place. If I hear any chatter on the ham, I'll let you know what ever it is. We better get going.” They climbed into their vehicles and went their separate ways. Later, at Ray and Amy's house, Amy went straight to the bathroom sink and washed her bite wound. Ray immediately, took out his guns and counted ammo. He went to the windows, measured square footage, in case he had to board up the house. He went to the basement and took inventory of their food stockpile. He went to the backyard, made sure the gates were locked and that all of the doors and windows were secure in the shed and garage. He went into the house. He yelled for Amy. “ Hun! “ He walked through the house. “Honey... How's your arm?” He didn't see her. He walked into the bedroom. She was walking out of the bathroom. She had a bandage on her bite. She was still spooked.“Ray... What happened at the store? People were going crazy.” She walked up to him and buried her head in his chest. He hugged her. “I don't know. But, we'll figure this out.” He took her chin in his hand, lifted her face up to look at him, and kissed her forehead. She started to cry. She was scared. “Did you see those people? They were biting the people that they attacked. It was a like a zombie movie.
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Ray, they all looked like the group that we saw back at the trail. What is happening?” He knew this was bad. He knew that Amy had been bitten. “ I don't know, Babe. We have to be careful. Keep everything locked up. Okay?” She said, “What about Mary and Jessie? Why didn't they just come straight here?” He responded, “ They are coming. They just need to get some of their things. Okay?” She shook her head up and down. She said, “Okay. I am going to make dinner.” He said, “ I'll go back into town, check out the neighborhood. See if there are any of those things walking around. You stay here. Okay?” She protested, “ No! Don't go out there by yourself! ” He thought about trying to make her believe that he knew what he was doing. But, he didn't know what was going on. He said, “Okay. Why don't you get us some supper started? I'll go listen on the ham. See if anyone knows what is going on.” She looked more at ease, “ Okay.” As soon as Amy was distracted, he took his hunting knife and Taurus, then took a cruise into town and around the neighborhood. Amy sent a text message to Mary; Where are you guys? A few minutes later, she received a response; At the house. Commotion down the street. It's blocked off. Military and haz-mat team there too. Be there soon. W
aiting for them to leave.
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