by Brett Abell
His friends laughed at this and Charlie, of course, smiled and blushed a little. Yes, it would be cool if his friends were gone and it was just the two of them, but an opportunity like this could not be passed up, whereas the girlfriend would always be there … not that it wouldn’t have been amazing.
Charlie held up the container, and his friends stared at each other, none of them giving a shit yet.
“Don’t you realize what this is?” Each of them shook their heads slowly in confusion.
“Christ, guys, this is God in a bottle! This is from the CDC. Every lab geek in America would happily hand over their left nut to get a hold of this sample. You guys are not giving the respect that this bottle deserves.”
Charlie waited patiently for one of his friends to ask what was so special about it. What is it going to do that any of the other fifty samples the lab received each day can’t do?
Charlie dramatically held the case in the air. “This could be a plague, some sort of disease that is incurable, yet they sent this shit on accident, I think. I don’t know … maybe the professor is in with somebody at the CDC, but regardless, my happy ass is going to be opening it and you guys get a front row seat to whatever it is.
“There’s a good chance that we’ll know pretty quickly what it is just by taking a quick glance, but we have to be safe, and we have to keep this box shut until we’re ready to open it. We need to use rubber gloves to get everything out and then lock everything down before we begin.”
Lisa frowned. “Baby, it sounds like a really stupid idea. Are you sure that this is safe? I mean, it literally says ‘do not open’ on the label. They always seem to mean that when they put that on things like this. I mean, you’ve seen the movies where it says don’t open and then, like, ten minutes later, all those people in the room are turned into zombies and shit, and they walk around, eating people.”
Charlie shook his head, not laughing. “Hell no; I don’t know if this is a good idea … probably not, but just like I told you last night, Lisa, you know that I need to start getting some serious props from the professor or he’s never going to get me a recommendation letter, and I’m never going to go anywhere. You know what that means for the two of us, right?”
Lisa sighed. “That you are going to be some sort of dog food developer, or hairspray consultant, and making jack shit?”
Charlie nodded, shivering at the shit aspect of a bachelor’s degree with no decent recommendation from a professor, equating to a career that was lackluster at best. “How sexy does that sound to you?”
Lisa said, “Uhm, not at all? Go ahead; go for it. What’s the worst that can happen?”
Floyd wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, Kimberly, kissing her neck and saying, “We are going to see some cool shit, huh?”
Kimberly shrugged. “Baby, I’m not into this science shit. It’s so boring. I get why Lisa is into it; it’s beneficial for her if he finds something amazing. It’s less impressive to me. I can think of, like, a million things that I’d rather be doing.”
Floyd kissed her neck some more, wrapping around her tight and said, “What did you have in mind, sinner?”
She squealed as he bit on her neck. She reached behind her, rubbing her hand up and down on his groin. “We could just go upstairs to the pep rally.”
Floyd laughed, trying to stand in a way where his friends wouldn’t see his manhood portrayed as it grew. “Hell no. I’m not going up there to watch those dumbshits cheer on about their awesomeness for being able to catch a piece of inflated pig’s ass and run down the field.”
She melted into him, leaning backwards, and rubbing her hands in his hair behind her head. “Who said anything about doing the pep rally? I was thinking that we could disappear underneath the bleachers and maybe you could rub my shoulders.”
Floyd shook his head. “I’m not missing this to give you a back rub.”
Kimberly turned around lifting up to his ear and pulling at his ear lobe with her teeth. She said, “Even if I was on my knees?”
Floyd’s legs quivered and he said, “See you guys later. Good luck not infecting everyone in the world.”
He practically dragged Kimberly out of the room and up the stairs. The roar of the crowd echoed down the hallway and through the open door.
Lisa watched until the couple was out of sight. “Wow, those two are really … special.”
Tim stepped up, shutting the door and turning around laughing. “Sorry; I just had to make sure they weren’t doing it in the hallway. With those two, it wouldn’t surprise me a damn bit.”
Charlie was doing everything he could to not bounce in place. “I can’t wait any longer, people. I’m going to shit myself if I don’t open this case up. I mean it; it’s like a freaking winning lotto ticket here, and I’ve got it in my hand, waiting patiently to check the numbers.”
Tim laughed. “So you are saying you’d like to maybe go get a bite to eat before you check your winning numbers?”
Charlie looked at Lisa, who was biting her lip to contain the laughter and said, “I kind of hate you both right now. Not in the ‘I still love you’ way, just the ‘you both really suck’ way.”
Lisa said, “Well, that is just lovely, honey. I guess you want to cuddle with your hand tonight?”
Tim followed up with, “Honey, you are breaking my heart. Charlie, you can’t mean those harsh things that you say.”
Charlie ignored their ploy at trying to piss him off, took the box over to the containment table, and locked it into place. Tim and Lisa watched as he moved meticulously around the room after locking it in. He fired up the computers and the microscope then double-checked that the ventilation was still on.
Tingles went down his back as he inserted his hands into the rubber gloves that went into the inside of the chamber. He tried to remain as serious as possible but couldn’t shake the feeling of a kid on Christmas morning and his smile showed it.
“God, I wish there was something that got me as excited as he gets about science,” Lisa whispered to Tim.
Charlie opened the case, revealing a single test tube labeled with the letters CDC on it and in red letters the single word DESTROY. Lisa and Tim walked to the side of the case and Tim asked, “Why would they ship something that they were going to destroy? Doesn’t that seem just a bit stupid to you? Why not just do it there instead and remove the possibility that maybe it could—I don’t know—get lost in shipping?”
Charlie shrugged. “Hey, it’s probably just some government protocol. The good news for us is that I get to check it out.”
Charlie untwisted the heavy-duty tube and poured the smallest sample out. He set the tube and cap down as well and turned on the feed to the microscope. Charlie ran through a list of commands that would help analyze it and his shoulders drooped.
“I think it’s just a flu sample, damn it. Look at what it’s doing. See how it looks like it’s eating something? It looks exactly like the flu; whoop de fucking do.”
Lisa said, “Well, it could have been worse, right?”
Charlie sighed. “Yeah, but it would have been cool to have been something different, something we’ve never seen before.”
Lisa came up, hugging him from behind. “You know what? Let’s go catch the end of the pep rally. Maybe seeing Steven waddling across the stage will make you feel better. If it doesn’t, I promise I’ll take you home and improve your outlook on things.”
“Come on, let’s go.” She pulled him by the hand toward the door.
Charlie flicked off the switch on the ventilation as they headed out, and Tim said, “Hey, you don’t wanna put that stuff away before we go?”
Charlie shook his head. “I’ll come back later today and do it, there’s nothing to worry about. What’s gonna happen? Someone gets the flu and has the shits and pukes for a few days?”
They walked the stairs to the auditorium, stepping over a pile of kitty litter that looked to be where someone had puked on the floor.
Dean Reed sat
on the large wooden platform, clapping his hands with the student body. The cheerleaders in front of the stage were doing their routine as the football players made their way up the steps and found a seat. Steven sat down, unsuccessfully trying to find a way that didn’t feel like an elephant was sitting on his balls. He tried to smile, but the pain from below and the shit that he was going to have to deal with from Christy was going to be never-ending, making this one of the shittiest weekends ever. He knew that his parents would be here soon as well, and that the four of them going out for dinner would only escalate things. He heard the dean speaking but as he sat there trying to focus on his words, he began feeling like he was in a tunnel. He looked around in a daze. He didn’t know what was going on with him; the best comparison was that he felt completely stoned.
He looked over to his friend Billy, the team’s quarterback, and tried to mouth the words, “I don’t feel so good.” Nothing but a drunken slur came out.
When Billy looked Steven’s direction, he noticed that his eyes were open, but there didn’t seem to be anyone home. Steven looked down at the other players; they all looked the same. The dean stopped speaking and was giving a thumbs up to Steven and Billy, motioning for them to come up. They both stood but as they tried to walk, the two boys looked like they had cinderblocks on their feet. The crowd watched suspiciously, thinking there was a good chance the two were fooling around, knowing the jokers that they were. They wobbled to the front of the stage, and by the time they made it, there was only one thing on their mind: the need for food. Neither had ever been this hungry in their entire life.
The dean stood, hand out in front of him, getting impatient with the two boys’ games. He reached out, grabbing Billy’s hand and shaking it enthusiastically. Steven never stopped stumbling forward. The dean smiled awkwardly as his personal space was invaded. “Oh, for god sakes, Thornbrugh, I need a speech from you two, not a god damn kiss!”
Steven stared, wanting to stop. He didn’t know what these feelings were or what this hunger was that hit him until they had completely taken over. He leaned in even further, mouth extended, and tore into Dean Reed’s neck, bringing back a flap of skin hanging from his mouth. As he chewed happily, blood dripped down his chest and onto the wood stage.
The dean screamed as he gripped his neck. When he tried to pull his hand out of Billy’s grip, he couldn’t. The quarterback bent down and ripped into his forearm. The student body sat in their seats laughing hysterically and cheering while the dean screamed for help, blood spraying everywhere.
The students stood in the bleachers amazed at the extent that the dean was going to, to play along with the Halloween game festivities. They ran for the stage, smiles on their faces. When the bleachers sounded like they were going to explode, Floyd, using every ounce of willpower in his body, pushed Kimberly back from his waist, zipping up his pants. He said, “What the fuck is going on up there?”
Kimberly said, “Well, that was an awkward finish.”
Floyd held up a hand and ran to the edge of the bleachers, where he could see the stage and the student body rushing it. He looked back at Kimberly, yelling, “Get up! We gotta get out of here. There is something messed up going on.”
Kimberly rose to take a look and saw the two football players covered in what looked like blood. “It’s just the jocks doing something stupid to rile people up for the game this afternoon.”
Floyd thought about it, but from his many experiences being required to go and talk to the dean about his stupid actions, he could not see the man playing along with anything remotely fun. “I don’t think so, baby. Come on, let’s get back down to the lab.”
Floyd pulled on her hand, trying to motivate her to get moving and she yanked her hand back away from him. “I’m not going anywhere; this is great.”
Floyd tried again and she adamantly pushed him away. “I said no, dickhead. Now let me watch, this is hilarious.”
Floyd stood impatiently watching as the rest of the football team rose from their seats and stumbled forward. The students were now up against the stage, cheering and screaming like deranged people. He watched as Kimberly pushed past him, running with the crowd. The team fell off the stage, the students catching them, thinking they were trying to crowd surf. The screams intensified as the players were passed from hand to hand. They flipped over facedown, biting each and every wrist they could. The blood sprayed into the air like erupting geysers. The players disappeared as students retracted their hands and dropped the boys, which only gave plentiful bites of thighs to be had. Floyd squinted, trying to see what was happening and knew a school this size would never do something so awesome.
The students who had rushed forward were now trying to push backward, but the kids who hadn’t figured it out yet were still trying to get to the stage to see the dean and the star athletes putting on the show. The dean had started convulsing on the stage, as had many of the student body. When they stopped, they lay still for a moment before rising back to their feet slowly and stiffly.
Floyd yelled to Kimberly, who was fighting her way toward the front. He watched as fear replaced her excitement; it was too late to turn back once she figured out what the others had. He saw her disappear, and when he saw her again, she was running for her life and screaming his name. He saw the effects taking place in seconds and turned to run from the gymnasium. The students were pouring out of the doors, all of them holding cell phones to their ears and typing frantically.
He pushed as hard as he could, but it was too late; the clusterfuck keeping him from leaving was going to kill him. He tried to push but hands clamped onto his shirt, pulling him back down. Floyd screamed as he felt warm saliva on the back of his neck. He quivered, anticipating the bites. He was not disappointed; the bites came and there were many of them. Tears flowed down his cheeks as the pain spread through the many bites on his body. He slipped on his own blood, going down hard as he tried pushing for freedom. He started convulsing, the lights in his eyes flickering until they went black. Once he started convulsing, his attackers stopped chewing and moved on to another unlucky spectator.
*****
Charlie, Tim, and Lisa made their way up the stairs to the auditorium. Lisa yelled, “Holy shit, would you hear them screaming? Christ, are they throwing money into the air?”
Tim laughed. “This school, are you kidding me? We just came out of a basement laboratory that is under a gymnasium.”
When they rounded the corner, they were speechless. The students inside the gymnasium—the few who were still able to run—poured out of the doors, screaming as though they were in a slasher film. The three students who were closest to them were missing chunks of flesh. Lisa screamed, “Oh my god, what the hell is happening? What happened to them?” Charlie shrugged and said, “I don’t know, but we sure as hell aren’t sticking around here to find out.”
In the back of his mind, he was thinking of the sample he’d opened and cursed, “Fuck, fuck, fuck, I … I … fuck, it might have been—”
Lisa slapped him hard on the chest. “It was that sample, wasn’t it? What kind of shit are you fucking working on down there?”
Charlie rubbed at the spot on his chest, trying to make the numbing feeling go away. “Christ, baby.”
“Do not call me ‘baby,’ Charlie. You are in so much trouble if this was you!”
Tim said, “Can we figure this shit out somewhere else?”
Lisa looked away from Charlie to Tim. “Where do we want to go? What are we going to do?”
“Let’s get back down to the basement; we should be safe in there until we find out what’s going on.”
*****
Earl walked up, pushing his cart with a smile; he was one stop closer to being done. When he handed his clipboard to be signed, the government employee stared at him, bending his head a bit to the side. “Hey driver, where is the last package? The one labeled X-74?”
Earl shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe in there? I got everything that was left on my truck, bu
ddy. There isn’t anything left to give you.”
The man flipped his chart open and read the description. His mouth dropped and the only words he spoke were not loud enough to be heard. Earl was getting impatient. “Hey, what’s the problem there, Jack?”
The man looked up, shaking his head. “This—this—oh my god, it shouldn’t have been shipped. Something must be wrong. Where the hell are you parked?”
Earl went to answer but the little man physically pushed him out of the way. He sprinted down the walkway for the truck and when he found it, he launched himself inside. Earl lost his mind when anyone but him entered his truck, and this little college-educated prick was no exception. He flew in after him, watching the little man for a moment and getting sicker and sicker to his stomach at the thought that something horrible had taken place, and that it was going to come back and shit right on his head.
Earl tried keeping his cool but it came out in more of an I-am-going-to-rip-your-head-off kind of tone. “What the hell are you freaking out about? What the hell did I deliver, and what happened? Is it important?”
The man laughed hysterically. “Is it important? Is it important? Do you know what was in that package? Do you know?”
Earl shrugged. “Well, if I did I’d probably be a hell of a lot more excited right now, wouldn’t I?”
The man said, “Where were you before this? Where else would have had medical specimens delivered today?”
Earl flipped through his chart, shaking his head. “Oh shit.”
“‘Oh shit’ what?”
“It probably got delivered to Middletown University. They have a biology department and this kid signed for it.
“What do you mean a kid? Are you being literal here?”
Earl held up his hands and said, “I’ll have you know that I’ve been a Democrat my entire life and damn proud of it. No, it wasn’t really a kid; it was some little college shit that signed off on it. I got the school department’s number right here. Do you need me to call my supervisor though? I mean, what are we talking about here?”
