Dark Recollections

by Chris Philbrook

  After that, I started my building to building sweep of the entire campus. Most of that is pretty mundane by my standards now, but there was a couple of interesting… occurrences. I’ll detail those last few things in a journal entry shortly. I’m not sure, but I think my next entry will be my plan.

  No promises though Mr. Journal. I have a hard time keeping those lately.

  -Adrian

  Soccer Mom

  Stacey closed her eyes and leaned back, resting her head against the park bleacher bench behind her. The sun was still coming down on her face and it felt good to be outside. She could hear all the kids running around on the soccer field right in front of her, and with all the other parents right here she could let her guard down and relax for a minute. She hadn’t gotten a break all day, which was usual for summer when you have two little ones at home. No school for the summer meant no rest for mom.

  Stacey felt something small and soft hit her in the stomach, and she sat back up again. On the grass directly in front of her was bright yellow spongy football. Her six year old boy Tommy was running straight at her full tilt, eyes fixed on the ball he had just likely thrown at his mom.

  “Mom! Throw me the football!” Tommy stopped ten feet away and threw his hands up like pro receiver, waiting for an incoming missile.

  “Brace yourself buddy!” Stacey hollered, and gunned the football as hard as she could at her son. It left her uneducated hand like a banana being shot out of a cannon. It tumbled end over end and sailed ten feet above her son’s head. She laughed at her attempt, but Tommy yelled in dismay and ran after the ball. Moments like this were the reason Stacey had kids. She could re-experience the world through their innocent eyes every day, and be rewarded with their triumphs almost more than they were.

  Her little daughter, only 4 years old this month was one town over at her husband’s mother’s place. Little Sarah just loved grammy, and today they were exploring one of the area’s most enticing tourist traps, the Butterfly Museum. Sarah would be talking about butterflies for a month nonstop, but at least it gave Stacey a break, and it gave grammy some precious time with her granddaughter.

  Stacey looked around the field and saw a dozen kids all frolicking in the summer sun. It was late June, midweek during the waning summer vacation, and these kids were enjoying every second. In another week the parents would start the back to school shopping, and not long after that the little ones would be marched right back to their educational prisons to learn how to be bigger kids someday. As much as Stacey loved her kids, she craved some peace and quiet at the house. Normally when the kids were at school or daycare she had the run of the house. She could do laundry, clean, prepare some food, and maybe even sit down and read a decent book. Summers meant all of that was either off limits until the kids were asleep at night, or done with two kids hanging off of her like barnacles during the day.

  She laughed to herself quietly and shrugged. It’s not like she didn’t know what she was getting into. Just then her cell phone went off in her purse, and she pulled it out and answered it. It was her husband.

  “Babe, where are you and kids?” He asked her seriously.

  “I’ve got Tommy at the park playing ball with some kids, and Sarah is with your mom at the Butterfly Museum. What’s up? Something going on?” Stacey could sense some anxiety in his voice. This scenario happened a lot, especially when something was happening around town. He was the Chief of Police after all, so he always knew when something was up. Frequently he would call and fill her in on the dangerous happenings around town.

  “Something very bad is going on. You need to get Tommy, head to the grocery store, and buy as much food as you can. Food that’ll last too. Canned stuff. Buy lots of water too.” His voice broke suddenly and he went silent.

  “Honey what’s wrong?” Stacey leaned forward on the bench after hearing her husband’s voice crack. Something was VERY wrong.

  “Dad’s dead.” He choked out.

  Stacey remained silent for several moments, tears welling, looking at her son playing, trying to figure out what the hell to say to her boy or her husband. “I’m so sorry David. I don’t know what to say, what happened?”

  “You watch the news at all today?” He asked after sniffling.

  “No, been busy with the kids, was there a shooting at the shop?” Stacey dug a tissue out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes to clear the tears away.

  “Well yeah, but that’s the least of it. There’s some kind of sickness spreading all over the place. It makes people all kinds of crazy, and they attack everyone around them. Someone infected came to the store, and long story short, Dad got bitten. The bites of the infected spread it.” David sounded like even he didn’t believe what he was saying.

  “That’s crazy. Your father died of a bite? Is this like rabies?” She was just about back together emotionally now.

  “Not exactly. Danny shot one guy that was sick, but that guy’s son had been bitten earlier. The kid bit two of the EMT’s who responded, then he bit Dad. It was damn horrible Stacey. Phil, Dad’s best friend wound up shooting Dad so he wouldn’t get sick and bite anyone else.”

  Stacey shook her head in complete confusion. This wasn’t happening. This was something that happened in bad horror movies, and books written by people from Maine. She just exhaled in response to the news. Her mind couldn’t work fast enough to think of something appropriate or useful to say.

  “Look honey,” the Chief said to his wife, “this is spreading like wildfire. The state police are blockading the interstates, and the major hospitals are now quarantine zones. Things are going to get really bad, much worse than just Dad dying. This is end of the world bullshit. We need to get a bunch of food and water, and get the kids home immediately.” He was back in cop-mode now. Authoritative, and strong.

  “Okay, I can go get Sarah and your mom, then go to the store, then go home.” Stacey gathered her stuff up and started to wave at her son, but her husband cut her off.

  “No. You get Tommy and go to the store. I’m headed to the museum to get Sarah and mom. I’ll meet you at the house. Once you get to the house, you lock all the doors, and you get the kids and yourself upstairs, and you lock yourselves in a room. Don’t answer the door for anyone. And you know what? Get the spare pistol out of the gun case in the closet and load it.” David sounded sure of himself. That made her feel a little better.

  “Oh…. okay.” She said back to him. She didn’t like guns at all.

  “I just cut the entire force loose. Everyone needs to get home and take care of their families. That’s the priority right now. Stacey I love you, and I will see you in an hour or so. Once I get Sarah.” The Chief said.

  “I love you too, you be careful.” Stacey started to crack a little again. They both hung up at the same time.

  *****

  Stacey did everything she could to hide the phone call and all the bad news it contained from Tommy. He was a little peeved they had to leave the field so suddenly, but this wasn’t too unusual with his Dad being Chief. Frequently David would call Stacey and interrupt their plans so this wasn’t all that out of the realm of normal. Today was a different situation though.

  Stacey drove her small SUV confidently down Main Street to the grocery store. She noticed traffic seemed a little heavier than normal, and people were certainly driving a little more recklessly. At the main lights in town she watched two cars run the light, and it set off the policeman’s wife in her. Stacey had half a mind chasing them down and giving them hell for driving so ignorantly. She also saw several homes along the way with boarded up windows. It reminded her of the vacation David, her, and the kids took to the Florida Keys a few years ago. They had a hurricane warning and the whole resort area was boarded up in hours. The storm missed them, but she never forgot the feeling of panic as the world seemed to come to a complete stop from something she couldn’t control. Stacey was getting that same feeling again right now. She wondered to herself how all this had happened right in front o
f her without her knowing. Ignorance certainly wasn’t bliss today.

  Despite the jerks on the road she made it all the way to the grocery store unscathed and parked in a decent spot near the front. She got Tommy unbuckled and out of the car seat and kept an eye on everyone around her. It was late afternoon, maybe 5ish, and the parking lot was super busy. It was like the Saturday before the Super Bowl, or right before Thanksgiving or Christmas. Very unusual for a late June day. She took stock of all the people pushing overloaded carts out of the store to their cars as she and Tommy walked across the parking lot and into the store. Apparently she and David weren’t the only ones with this plan.

  Stacey swung her son’s hand as playfully as she could and chatted about his time at the field with his friends. It helped her forget what was going on, and also served to keep her son from noticing the subdued panic going on all around them. They jumped on the sidewalk, hands held in unison near the entrance to the store, and started towards the automatic doors. Just as they finished laughing at their silliness, there was a loud yell from the parking lot.

  Stacey only had to take one large step backwards to get a good look at what was happening. A middle aged man was walking across the parking lot only 50 feet from where they were, and he was frozen solid, hands up in front him as he yelled for a minivan to stop. The driver of the minivan, a woman Stacey recognized as a local, didn’t even hesitate or try to stop. The minivan hit the pedestrian square in the legs, and plowed over him like a speed bump in the road. The van lurched up and down as the wheels rolled over the poor man, crushing his body, breaking the limbs and twisting them into awkward angles. The driver didn’t stop after either, and sped away onto Main Street.

  Stacey immediately covered Tommy’s eyes before he realized what was happening. She stood there slack jawed, completely in awe of what just happened. Unconsciously she reached for her phone to call 911, but then she remembered that her husband had already sent the other officers home, and said two paramedics were either bitten or dead. What point was there at all in calling for help, who would answer now anyway? Multiple people in the parking lot immediately ran over to help the mangled man, and with Tommy with her, she was thankful for that. She had to get some food, and get out of downtown before this thing got any worse. More than anything though, she just wanted to get home and see her husband and daughter as soon as possible. She ushered her son into the store, and grabbed a cart.

  Inside was worse than the parking lot. There had to be three hundred idiots moving around the store at top speed, filling their carts with everything under the sun. She saw one older lady pushing a cart filled with cheap beer with all her might towards the checkout. No food in the cart at all, just cases and cases of the rotgut beer. Some people just have different priorities Stacey thought to herself. She had much different plans. David said get durable food, and that meant food in cans, so she put Tommy in the cart, and started to weave her way in between the mobs of people in the store, trying to get to the canned food aisle.

  As she passed the handful of aisles on her way there she grabbed some boxes of cereal, and some crackers. They’d stay fresh some time, and would be a good snack food for the kids. She also picked up a few bottles of juice on a display. The kids loved juice. When she finally reached the canned goods aisle, she had to wait. It was so packed with people trying to load their carts there was almost no space to move. After waiting nearly ten minutes she finally started to lose her nerve. In front of her, and at the end of the aisle, she could see that people trying to get into the aisle were preventing people from getting out of the aisle. She snapped.

  “Idiots! Get out of the way so they can get out of our way!” She hollered at the half dozen folks all jockeying for position in front of her. They turned, astonished a woman was yelling at them. She gave them her stern motherly look and two young men backed their carts away. A few people previously stuck in the aisle rushed out, relieved to be free.

  “See? We can’t all fit in there, let some more out.” She shook her head at the morons she was surrounded by. Poor Tommy was all flustered watching his mom get angry. She never got angry. A faint tear welled up in one eye as his six year old mind tried to wrap itself around what was happening. For the first time he was starting to realize that something was wrong around him. Stacey smiled at him and shook her head in that “can you believe these silly people?” way. He smiled back at her, and they both started to feel relieved.

  Stacey was still frazzled on the inside though. After another minute or two enough people had gotten out of the aisle that more folks could enter. Everyone seemed to be trying to get the same stuff. Heavy soups, canned pastas, and vegetables seemed to be the order of the day. She took a couple cans of everything, and made sure she grabbed extra chicken and beef broth. She could always make soups out of the veggies growing in the back yard garden at the house. Finally after fighting against the current she was done, but now she had her role reversed. Now she was stuck in the aisle while a whole new group of idiots tried to fight their way in. Two blunt forces for stupidity, butting heads yet again.

  She was just about to yell something when a giant man came around the end of the aisle she was near. He looked stern, resolute. Just seeing him assess the situation made her pause her second yell. He was tall, fairly handsome (if unshaven), and had an enormous shotgun in his half full cart. He seemed serious, and he seemed like he wanted in the aisle, and it was clear he wanted that now. She was instantly afraid he’d grab the shotgun and start threatening people to get out his way, but what he actually did surprised her.

  He leaned over and tapped another middle aged man on the shoulder, “Dude, move. They can’t get out.” His voice was low, authoritative. Not a threat issued, but a calm statement of fact backed by the same confidence she’d heard countless times in her husband’s voice. The young man took one look up at the bigger man and without even thinking about it, he backed his cart away.

  Stacey could see the big man had tattoos on his forearms going down to the wrist. They were colorful scenes of Koi fish, flowing water, and various tribal designs. Beautiful and scary at the same time. She was both entranced by, and apprehensive about this odd fellow. After getting the first man to move he simply went to the next person and repeated himself again. The message changed slightly every time, but it always had the same simple meaning; “move.” It was the most effective and subtle use of intimidation she’d ever seen. She found herself smiling at the show of charisma. Finally one last person pushing her way into the aisle remained for him.

  It was a 60ish year old woman, clearly suffering from a tragically shitty mood. She was cursing under her breath the whole time this was happening, and was pressing her cart against the back of another shopper in front of her. Just as the tall tattooed man walked up behind her, she impulsively reached over and scooped a dozen cans of food into her cart. It seemed to Stacey an action taken out of spite more than need. The tall man’s brow furrowed in disapproval as he watched her do it. By now Stacey could’ve left, but she wanted to see how this ended.

  “Ma’am, can you please back away a little so the folks in front of you can get out of our way?” He leaned over gently and said it just loud enough to be heard over the din of arguing shoppers and the beeping at the checkouts.

  “Go fuck yourself buddy, you’re not getting in there before me.” She snarled at him without even looking at who was talking to her.

  The big man just smiled, stuck his hands in the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt, and leaned in to her again. Stacey could feel his aura of intimidation almost physically flare up as he spoke again to the old lady, “Ma’am, I am NOT your fucking buddy. And if you don’t put some of those cans back you just scooped up, and get the hell out of the way for everyone else, I will see to it both your hips get busted right here in this aisle.” His voice was as calm as preacher’s at a Sunday wedding. That wasn’t a threat he’d just uttered. It was another statement of fact.

  The old lady finally looked over
her shoulder incredulous of the threat and the color drained from her face. You could see she hadn’t figured on the quiet voice coming from such a big, imposing man. She locked eyes with the huge guy, and he held firm for a moment, then smiled like a snake at her. This was a man who would do what precisely what he just said he would. The handful of people gathered nearby in the aisle all took an unconscious step backwards. The arguing died immediately as everyone waited for the old lady to respond. Time seemed to stand still.

  She licked her lips, never breaking eye contact with the giant stranger. She coughed a wet cough, a smoker’s cough, and looked down into her cart at the cans she’d just put in the cart. She grabbed some of those cans and put them back on the shelf. Her eyes darted around shamefully and she slowly backed her cart away, freeing up space in the aisle for people to leave.

  The big man nodded to the old lady in thanks, and turned towards Stacey and Tommy. Her heart jumped a few beats as he took her and her son in. Partly it was fear out of what he might say to her and Tommy, and partly out of excitement. He gave her a genuine, apologetic smile for what just happened, and then tussled Tommy’s hair. She could instantly see Tommy liked him. He was so much like his father, her husband. The big man made a show of presenting the open aisle for her exit, and he gave her a nod as they left the aisle. She looked once over her shoulder as she walked away and saw the big man was letting the old lady into the aisle ahead of himself. Despite being able to push his way ahead, he had kept his spot in line. She knew right then she liked him, and she knew he’d be just fine.

  The rest of her store experience was much more benign. The biggest battle by far was fighting through the canned goods aisle. The majority of the other aisles were clear of big crowds. She was headed to the checkouts to pay when she realized they were low on dog food for their beagle Scotty. Scotty could and would eat just about anything, but she figured while she was here she should get dog food. A couple minutes later she was in line, and a few minutes after that, she was unloading the cart onto the checkout belt with Tommy’s help. As she chatted with her son about how awful that old lady was to that nice man she saw him again.