Middletown Apocalypse

by Brett Abell

  “No homo,” Jack said.

  “Way too much homo,” Sammy said and jumped into the game.

  Jack glanced over at Sammy and frowned. “Shit. Your neck looks crazy horrible. At least now it matches your ugly face, though.”

  Sammy ignored his stupid friends. He just wanted to forget about the attack, even though the voice in his head kept telling him he needed to see a doctor.

  “I need to see a doctor,” Sammy said between shooting.

  “Why? You look fine,” Jack said.

  “You don’t have insurance and no money, either. And none of us have a car to drive you downtown. It’s too hot to walk, too.” Vinnie smiled. “You’ll be fine. You put a Band-Aid on it. What else do you need? They’ll charge you two hundred bucks to do the same thing. Relax. Just cover us so we can complete this mission.”

  Sammy nodded his head. Vinnie was right. What else could they do? He’d find some aspirin in the bathroom during a break. There was no way he would get a shot, and, if he didn’t go to the hospital, there was no chance of getting a giant needle shoved into his neck.

  He decided to ignore all common sense and the gross wound and kill some zombies and Nazi bastards in the game with his two best friends who he really hated…

  Charlie moaned behind the couch but nobody seemed to notice; they were too busy moving through a 3D landscape.

  “Chopper gunner, chopper gunner,” Vinnie screamed.

  * * * * *

  Sammy didn’t look good right now, his head dipping and his fingers slipping off the controller.

  “Dude, either you’re going to help us out or we’ll put out the call for a third player,” Vinnie said. He was getting annoyed. Sammy was supposed to be covering their rear, making sure the damn Nazi’s didn’t sneak up and shoot them in the ass.

  Jack had been shot in the ass because Sammy closed his eyes and slumped back on the couch, his avatar in the game stopping and letting a sniper get a clear shot at Jack. If he wasn’t going to take this seriously, Vinnie would go down the hall and ask the neighbor kid if he’d like to join them. He was only twelve but he was a damn good shot, although if his mom was home he wouldn’t be allowed to come over and play.

  Vinnie thought the kid’s mom was hot. It was obvious she wanted him, too. It was the dismissive way she never looked at him. The same way Jeanine stared at Vinnie when she thought he wasn’t looking. It was awkward and exciting all at the same time for Vinnie, who really hadn’t banged her. Yet. He was Charlie’s friend, and they had a Bro Code to live by. If you didn’t have the Bro Code, you had nothing.

  Plus, Jeanine hadn’t returned Vinnie’s phone calls.

  Jack took the controller from Sammy’s hands and paused the game.

  “Dude, what are you doing? We can play with two. Let him die. It’s what he deserves,” Vinnie said.

  “I need to take a wicked piss,” Jack said. He stood and stretched. “And we should probably think about food at some point. I’m really starving and think I need to go buy a box of Pop-Tarts for dinner.”

  “That does sound good,” Vinnie admitted. He stood and joined Jack stretching. No homo.

  Charlie was awake and standing behind the couch with a blank look on his face.

  “Dude, you alright?” Vinnie asked.

  “You bit Sammy, so Vinnie knocked you out,” Jack said.

  “No, I didn’t. Jack hit you. Blame him.”

  Charlie growled.

  Vinnie pointed at Jack. “Seriously … all him, dude.”

  “You suck,” Jack said. He put up his hands. “I’ll take you to the hospital if you want. I mean, I’ll walk over with you. I need to go to the supermarket downtown anyway. I’ll even give you one of my Pop-Tarts when I buy them. Sound like a plan?”

  Charlie growled again and a thin line of spittle fell from his parted lips. His eyes were bloodshot and he began moving his hands in front of his body like they were claws.

  “I think he has rabies, or you gave him a concussion when you hit him,” Vinnie said.

  “Stop saying that. You hit Charlie, not me,” Jack said. He winked at Charlie and smiled. “I’m your friend. Not these two idiots.”

  Charlie came around the couch, closer to Jack.

  “See, he knows who did it and he’s pissed,” Vinnie said, glad Charlie wasn’t going to get in his face. As much as he knew he could take anyone in this room, he didn’t like to beat people up unless he had to. He was a lover, not a fighter.

  “Charlie, seriously, you don’t look good. I know you’re mad but I think we need to take you to the hospital first. You can be pissed later,” Jack said. He glanced at Vinnie. “And then you’ll hear the real story about what happened. I swear.”

  “I’ll go get the car,” Vinnie said.

  “You don’t have a car,” Jack replied and turned to look at Sammy, who stumbled to his feet.

  Vinnie had a bad feeling about this right now. He took three steps backwards, towards the door, when Charlie moved quicker than he’d probably ever moved unless it was to see a chick bending down and exposing her thong or some boob.

  Charlie grabbed Jack by the shoulders and dragged him to the couch, where Sammy joined in.

  “That is really homo,” Vinnie said. Charlie took a bite out of Jack’s forearm before lifting his head, blood dripping from his mouth.

  Vinnie waved his hands. “Dude, I take it back. No homo.”

  Sammy sunk his teeth into Jack’s nose, stifling the screams.

  Now Vinnie wished he really had a car because he’d drive as far away from this town as he could, and never look back on the crazy shit going on in the living room.

  Five

  Jeanine rolled over onto her side and smiled at her lover, who was still in bed with her. She was always afraid to be alone, but so far she wasn’t disappointed.

  “Good morning,” Chris said and leaned over and kissed Jeanine, squeezing her ass at the same time.

  “This is the way I like waking up,” Jeanine said. Since breaking up with loser Charlie, she’d felt lost. If she was being true to herself, she never loved him. Most of the time she didn’t even like him, but she knew he would be a steady and easily manipulated man to get through college with minimal work. He’d sold her a bill of good, though; Charlie lied about having a job and money and wanting to make something of his life.

  He did have a job, but it was as an intern in the lab. And in a field he didn’t want to really work in, Jeanine had found out. Charlie thought he was going to be a famous guitarist, even though he sucked at it.

  Why had she spent so much time with him? She didn’t understand what the infatuation had been on her part. It was obvious on his, because he told her how hot she was and how nice her boobs were and how tight her ass was on a constant basis. Charlie had never had a hotter girlfriend. Heck, she had a sneaking suspicion she was his first real girlfriend.

  “You’re not thinking about that loser again, are you?” Chris asked, leaning on one arm.

  “No,” Jeanine lied. She couldn’t find any reason to still be thinking about Charlie, other than … he was Charlie.

  Chris got out of bed and found her thong on the floor, slipping it slowly up her legs and letting Jeanine get a good look.

  I think I’ll stick with a chick for a while, Jeanine thought. This is really fun, and isn’t college the place to experiment and do all the wild things you can someday tell your grandkids about? Of course, if I stay with carpet munching, I won’t have any kids.

  “I need to get to class and so do you,” Chris said.

  Jeanine rolled over and exposed her naked butt. “And what will happen if I don’t do as I’m told?”

  Chris shook her head and put her jeans on. “You’ll fail. Drop out of school. I’ll never see you again and you’ll be the girl I slept with in college.”

  Jeanine frowned. Sometimes Chris was way too serious.

  Chris fell onto the bed and slapped Jeanine’s ass hard. “Or, better yet, I will give you a spanking.”
>
  “That’s the answer I was looking for,” Jeanine said.

  Jeanine kissed Chris goodbye but stayed in bed. She was going to fall back asleep and not worry about her stupid classes today. She was way ahead on everything and decided a Me Day was in order. Taking a nap or three, eating cereal and watching daytime TV, and staying in her pajamas. She needed to figure out where Chris had thrown her pajamas first, though.

  Her eyes closed and she snuggled back into her pillow, pulling the covers over her head to block the sunlight. Jeanine knew Chris would be mad tonight but she was never angry for long, especially when Jeanine gave her the sad look. Charlie always melted with the sad look, and Jeanine could get him to do just about anything for her.

  Charlie.

  Why was she thinking about him again? She’d gotten rid of that dead weight. He meant nothing to her, she kept telling herself. Just another ex-boyfriend. Jeanine had quite a few in her life. It wasn’t like she’d lost her virginity to Charlie. She did, however, suspect she was his first. Nothing about their brief relationship was anything special. Just another dumb college guy to her. He wasn’t even all that attractive, and his jokes were lame. She thought by now she’d forget about him, especially since she was having her torrid lesbian college affair. Jeanine knew Chris wasn’t anything other than an experiment but she was having fun and learning so much.

  “What are you still doing in bed?” Chris asked loudly.

  Jeanine sighed and pulled the covers from her face. So much for sleeping in and getting away with it. “Aren’t you going to be late for class?”

  Chris looked … annoyed? Scared?

  “School has been cancelled. There’s some crazy stuff going on outside. It isn’t safe. We need to get out of here,” Chris said.

  “What are you talking about?” Jeanine wasn’t going anywhere without a real answer. She wanted to go back to sleep.

  “People are biting other people,” Chris said.

  “You mean like little kids? I was a biter in kindergarten. I remember taking a chunk out of the Wilburn kid. Man, he was such a weird little dude …”

  Chris grabbed Jeanine’s clothes off the floor and tossed them on the bed. “This isn’t a joke. We need to go. On the radio it said the bunker was open, and everyone was heading there.”

  “Why don’t we just leave town? We could drive to my parents,” Jeanine said. Wouldn’t it be cool to see the looks on her parents’ faces when they realized she was in a relationship with another woman? This was going to be fun.

  “I guess they’ve already mobilized the National Guard or the police and are blocking off the roads,” Chris said.

  “You’re not making sense,” Jeanine said. She was annoyed now, having to get out of her warm bed and get dressed. “I want to go back to sleep.”

  “You can’t. It’s time to go before we’re attacked.”

  “Attacked by five year olds with teeth?” Jeanine asked, glancing at her hair in the bedroom mirror and sighing.

  “No, there are zombies outside,” Chris said.

  Jeanine turned and smiled. “You got me out of bed for a prank?”

  “I know it doesn’t make much sense, but trust me. This is all real. As soon as you get dressed, we can go and I will show you firsthand what I mean. But we need to hurry,” Chris said.

  “I need to put on my makeup first. I’m not leaving without it,” Jeanine said.

  Chris looked like she was about to argue but instead went to the window and parted the curtains. “Fine. But please hurry up.”

  “I’ll only be a second,” Jeanine said. She went into the bathroom and washed her face. This was ridiculous. Was this a stupid joke? Was it going to be a lame surprise party? It wasn’t even close to her birthday. If Chris was throwing her a party and would’ve let her leave without putting makeup on, Jeanine would have broken up with her on the spot. There were other hot lesbians on campus.

  Jeanine heard something outside and went to the small bathroom window. She could see smoke from a fire across the street, and there were a bunch of people wandering down the block. Slowly.

  Zombies? Seriously?

  Jeanine shook her head. Maybe she really had gone back to bed and she was dreaming this crap. She pinched herself. Nope, she was awake. Damn.

  “Please hurry. The streets are filling up,” Chris said from the other side of the door.

  Jeanine grabbed her makeup bag, tucked it under her arm, and went into her bedroom. “I need my good shoes from the closet and my purse. Oh, and I have some cash in my thong drawer.”

  Chris nodded and went in search of the items while Jeanine, feeling panic rising in her, went in search of the pepper spray can her dad had given her. She knew it was supposed to be in her purse at all times but it got in the way and she was afraid she’d accidentally spray it in her face or in her purse and cover her credit cards and keys with it.

  She found it in the desk drawer and put it into her purse when Chris handed it to her.

  “You ready?” Chris asked.

  “Yes. Let’s get to safety and figure out what’s going on,” Jeanine said.

  Chris hugged Jeanine. As they pulled away, the two shared a lingering kiss.

  “We’re going to be safe,” Chris said, but Jeanine could see by the look in her girlfriend’s eyes she didn’t know if she believed it, either.

  Six

  Doctor Chin stood safely behind the roadblock with the police officers who were too afraid to step up and help out. There were quite a few, those who were considered desk jockeys and old. The real cops were out getting bitten and dying.

  The police station itself had been cordoned off, wooden police barricades lining the area. A few police cruisers from neighboring cities and counties were already in the parking lot. The chief had wasted no time calling in some help, especially since the virus was spreading nicely.

  And the media, both local and national, was already lining up to get the next sound-bite for the six o'clock news lead. And every one of them would help to spread the virus far and wide.

  Chin glanced at his watch. His ride would be here soon, to sweep him out of Indiana to the safety of the underground bunker they had hinted at.

  Stupidly, the police and small military presence were letting people into Middletown. Chin had eavesdropped on the conversations and learned the main roads out were blocked but a steady flow of National Guard, police from other towns and counties and news vans were coming in at a steady rate.

  All of them will be statistics, Chin thought. Since he looked official in a lab coat and was of Chinese descent (even though he grew up in San Diego and had never been overseas), the reporters kept staring at him, looking for an exclusive. He played it cool and stayed out of the way; just enough they couldn’t talk to him, but close enough they saw where he was.

  “Doctor Chin, I’m the Chief of Police here in Middletown. I understand you have some pertinent information.”

  Doctor Chin smiled inside but cocked an eyebrow and pushed his reading glasses up on his nose before nodding. “Yes. I wanted to let you know what was going on first, but I’m afraid we’re running out of time. We need to alert the general public before it is too late.”

  “Agreed. Would you be interested in having a press conference? We could set it up within the hour,” the chief said.

  Doctor Chin shook his head and put a hand on the cop’s shoulder, squeezing it for emphasis. “We don’t have an hour. If you want this to end, you’ll need to move the barriers, set up a podium, and get me a Diet Coke and a box of Oreo cookies.”

  When the chief looked confused, Doctor Chin smiled. “The food and drink is because I haven’t eaten all day and will need my energy. But hurry. There’s no time to lose.”

  Doctor Chin was amazed at how quickly his demands were met, and within fifteen minutes, he was standing on the steps of the police station, behind a podium, stuffing Oreo cookies into his mouth, while the cameras and microphones were set up.

  He really had no idea what h
e was going to say, but he’d figure it out. This was his time to shine. He’d throw everyone off and help the virus spread like he’d been paid to do. Maybe he’d get a bonus if it jumped state lines.

  “I want to thank everyone for joining me on such short notice,” Doctor Chin said with a smile, hoping he didn’t have any cookie stuck in his teeth. “I am Doctor Chin from the university. Today we had a breach in protocol which has led to many deaths. I won’t sugarcoat what is happening in Middletown, but I will let you know what needs to be done.”

  When a few hands went up from reporters, Doctor Chin shook his head. “Hold off with the questions. If you just listen, you’ll get the bulk of the information you need.”

  Doctor Chin looked around the crowd and tried not to grin. He had all of these idiots in the palm of his hands. He noted all of the major Indiana news stations but not any of the big networks like CNN or MSNBC. He was sure those lazy big cable networks would simply steal the news from the others and run it within a couple of hours. No matter. Doctor Chin would be famous.

  “A student at the university unwittingly unleashed this plague on our community,” Doctor Chin said, even though he didn’t even live in Middletown and didn’t consider himself any part of this community. Especially now.

  “Who?” one of the reporters yelled out.

  Doctor Chin was about to admonish the question-caller but decided against it. Why get on the bad side of the news media when they could make him famous? What was better than being rich? Rich and famous. “The student in question is Charles Noble. Charlie to his friends. He opened a box clearly marked as biohazard and then the tops to several test tubes containing a deadly virus.”

  Since there were no cameras in the labs that actually worked, Doctor Chin decided he could make up whatever he wanted. And Charlie would forever be the scapegoat. Even if he survived the attack and was still alive, no one would believe his version of the story.

  “Why would he do something like that? Didn’t he get proper training?” a reporter asked.

  “Why would you and your staff let someone like that into your lab?”