"Stay tuned for more as we get to the bottom of this and.."
Upon turning off his radio, yet still holding his hand over it and thinking on what he had just heard.
"An infection, gone viral?!"
Tommy soon places the handgun into his jacket pocket, then looks around quickly during final checks before departing and holding onto the keys shaking them back into the palm of his hand.
He then moves out quickly, closing the door then locking as more people run by West on the sidewalk.
Tommy turns quickly to race home to rush off himself.
Danny noticing this while running with Jennifer, goes to hold his arm out yet unable to stop an imminent collision although still manages to shout toward Tommy.
"Look out!"
Tommy comes clean into contact with Jennifer on his departure, with Jennifer then crashing to the ground on her hands and knees.
Tommy near falls over himself, but regains his balance turning back to Jennifer on the ground clearly in pain.
Danny stops instantly turning back looking to Tommy firstly momentarily, then straight toward Jennifer and moves to help her back up while voicing toward Tommy.
"Careful man!"
Although Jennifer is down, she raises up slightly from the front pushing off her hands to the side, moans and groans a little while lightly shaking with what appears to be a dead leg from the knock and she voices motioning one hand toward her thigh.
"Ah. Ow."
With both grazed palms and knees while attempting to hold her thigh, she tries to regain herself then gets helped up firstly by Danny and then Tommy who also helps.
"I’m sorry."
"Ah my leg, it’s dead."
"It was an accident."
"I know it was."
Danny also looks to Tommy acknowledging it was unintentional, but still annoyed while seeing his girlfriend in some pain firmly makes his point.
"Maybe so, but watch where you’re going next time!"
Danny looking toward Tommy still annoyed for the accidental entrance, soon turns back to Jennifer with her hand down clenching at the thigh.
"Ooh, that hurt."
Jennifer staggers slightly while applying pressure on her leg, yet struggles to hold herself up from the throbbing ache and places her hand down over the thigh again as the two men hold her weight.
"Can you walk alright."
"Here I’ll help, where are you two going?"
Danny looks to Tommy to answer.
"We have to meet Dad at the depot."
"The bus terminal?"
Danny and Jennifer both nod their heads as Jennifer asks.
"How much farther is it?"
"We’ve got quite a few more blocks yet, I live on the other side."
Danny not knowing if Tommy knows mentions.
"Everyone’s going that way!"
"I just heard and there won’t be enough buses for them all."
Danny together with Tommy hold up Jennifer on either side, as she struggles to place any weight on her leg hobbling as all three then move west toward the bus depot.
"I thought you’d both be at school during this time of day."
A slight smirk rolls across Danny's face as he peers across to Tommy.
"We should have been, but we skipped it for our date."
Tommy looks with a smile to Danny who appears to be calming somewhat.
"Oh, I see."
Danny smiles back then looks at Jennifer who breaks a smile with him. Jennifer appears to be holding herself more a few meters later when Danny asks.
"Can you walk on it?"
"Yeah, there’s some feeling coming back."
The three stop, with Tommy letting go as does Danny moments later.
Jennifer shakes her leg about a little, places some weight on it while pushing one hand down over her thigh to get the blood circulating and appearing to push the pain out with a slight massage of the muscle.
Moments later she begins to walk forward, placing more weight on it as she walks off hobbling ahead with Danny and Tommy looking on.
Tommy turns to Danny.
"Good one!"
Danny turns to Tommy with a grin.
"She is!"
"I meant her leg, walking it off is best."
Danny turns and looks at Tommy with Jennifer moving forward slightly ahead of them with more momentum when realizing what he’d said.
"Oh yeah, it is."
Tommy smiles looking at Danny now knowing how the young man clearly feels toward Jennifer.
"Good for you!"
Danny acknowledges Tommy, before making haste after a faster moving Jennifer who appears to straighten as she then turns back asking the two.
"Are you coming?"
Danny with Tommy in motion look to her acknowledging, and with that they all move forward together.
CHAPTER 17
The terminal
On the eleventh hour as John drives his car toward the depot, the traffic begins to build heavily so he decides on turning at an off street before traveling down another block and soon stops the vehicle to head toward the depot on foot with Mike looking over.
"You stopping here?!"
John turns off the vehicle then removing the keys from the ignition.
"I don’t want to get caught in any traffic!"
John opens his door with Mike doing also, who says while both motioning toward and getting out of the vehicle.
"Good call."
Ray shouts through to them from the backseat.
"What about us?!"
John now standing at his drivers door peers back in to answer although directing to Ray and Lizzie.
"You can both come if you like?!"
Lizzie briefly looks to Mike before turning her body toward opening the door and exiting the vehicle.
"I’m going!"
John places the handgun into his pocket before closing the door, with Mike out and closing his door also then moves around from the passenger side meeting Lizzie along the way as they all vacate the vehicle.
With all doors now closed, John sets the alarm locking the car, then begins to head on foot to meet Danny and Jennifer.
Mike with Lizzie head off with him also, as Ray lifts the camera checking the battery life and then shouting out toward them from beside the car.
"Wait for me yeah?!"
Mike turns back slightly as does Lizzie with Ray moving from the vehicle carrying his camera, however they motion forward once more to go and catch up with John.
Ray with a lower fitness level soon begins slowing while capturing footage at the same time and loses sight of the three ahead of him although carries forward regardless.
Lizzie soon turns back for a second noticing her cameraman is no longer in sight.
"Where is he?! Him and his bloody camera!"
Mike turns toward Lizzie before they motion forward again.
"We’ll find him on the way back."
As the three make it closer toward the bus depot, it becomes apparent to them that people are now fully aware of the oncoming danger from the East as people cram into the remaining few buses in service to get out of the city.
John looks around for Danny, then forces his way against the flow of people coming toward him as he soon enters the depot with Mike and Lizzie now right behind him.
They gain access into the depot, with John moving to the side of the building to ring Danny and dials finding the phone services now clogged allowing no calls to get through to recipients with John then looking to Mike.
"The phones are down."
"Do you want to go to the city side?"
John looks around the immediate area at the faces looking for Danny before motioning forward.
"I do, we’ve got to find them!"
The three make their way forward through the crowd, soon arriving out on the city side of the depot, with John choosing to stand up on t
he base of a pillar and looking toward the city.
Lizzie joins Mike who moves over to take position on the opposite side of the main entrance while also looking toward the city for Danny and Jennifer.
All three see the helicopters in the distance edging closer toward them, with every passing moment as people fleeing the surrounding streets go in through the building to reach the western side.
John searching through many faces soon appears to worry and voicing to himself.
"Come on Danny, where are you?!"
A few moments pass with the helicopters beginning to close in and only a matter of kilometers away above. The sound of crashing vehicles in the distance can now be heard by them all, as people coming toward them are also far more panicked and fearful of the oncoming infected than previous.
Danny, Jennifer and Tommy make their way closer to the bus depot ahead in their sights.
The helicopters hovering appear moving in closer from above as the three make their way further forward.
Running the final block beside many others and more behind with those ahead storming in through the depot.
As they make their way toward it, with distant screams being heard clearly from behind, echoing down the street with the three moving as quick as they can toward the depot amongst some terrified civilians.
John watches across to beyond while hearing the distant screams like everyone else, and looking up to the helicopters circulating above the streets ahead while he searches through the faces hoping to see his Son.
Mike searching looks on ahead, as Tommy comes up to the intersection across from the depot with Danny and Jennifer very close behind.
As Tommy heads across the street, soon noticing Mike standing above beside the pillar outside the terminal, and gets excited looking to raise his hand although waits continuing forward.
His direction now toward Mike with Danny and Jennifer holding each others hand running side by side.
With Lizzie at his side, Mike momentarily with a realization while looking ahead at the chaos thinking and saying quietly to himself with the distressed possibility that he may not be going home anytime soon.
"My fish?!"
While looking around at people with a gulp "Bugger!" and a shake of his head "This is mad!" as Lizzie hears all this while turning her attention toward him.
"I know, it is!"
Mike with anguish looks into Lizzie’s eyes briefly, which show the same emotion as they appear to connect a little more before they both continue to look out and beyond.
Tommy moves up further while slightly ahead of Danny and Jennifer who begins shouting toward Mike on his approach while waving an arm in the process to get Mike’s attention.
"Mike! Mikey!"
Mike appears to hear his name being called and looks a little closer into the crowd.
"Yo Mikey!"
Mike then turns his attention to the direction of the voice he now clearly recognizes and soon sees Tommy amongst the incoming sea of people.
"Tommy!"
Mike upon making eye contact with Tommy, then sees Danny holding Jennifer’s hand coming toward them also and turns to John while shouting across to get his attention.
"John, it's Danny, John!
John’s attention is pulled to a shouting Mike, who points toward an incoming Danny and Jennifer. Danny then recognizes Mike and looks about as he approaches.
"Mike, where’s Dad?"
Mike turns pointing toward John, who is now fighting his way across the sea of people to get across to Danny, as Mike greets and embraces his friend Tommy.
"It’s great to see you all!"
"Goes both ways my friend! We have to hustle! So you know what’s going on?"
Mike looks out toward the East then turns back to Tommy.
"We know."
Both men with Lizzie turn toward John who embraces Danny on arrival.
"You had me worried Son!"
"No worries Dad, we made it."
John shakes his head a little, however overcome with relief as his son is now with him.
"Caw boy, your mother is going to kick your ass!"
With Danny agreeing nodding his head quietly, although slightly down and more or less saying to himself "Yeah, I know" as John then turns his attention to Jennifer.
"So you must be Jennifer?"
Jennifer somewhat embarrassed appears to look downward, although looks straight back up to John and replies. "Yes."
"It’s good to meet you, and don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re both safe!"
John looks over to Mike, then acknowledging Tommy with a nod of the head and a smile in some form of appreciation before voicing to them all.
"Right, let's stick together!"
With the military helicopters now only blocks away, the group move to go in through the depot to make their way exiting west toward their vehicle.
Outside further back up the street, panicked drivers swerve out from the road onto sidewalks.
One driver with terrified passenger find themselves with an infected charging to get in through the front windscreen, with another soon jumping at the back window which holds on banging against the glass to break.
However eventually loses grip falling from the car as the driver speeds up on to the sidewalk.
The falling assailant then going on to attack fleeing pedestrians who had managed to dodge the initial vehicles moving through the sidewalk.
With the infected still on the bonnet of the car, focused with both arms holding either side of the windscreen, it steadies itself before smashing it’s fist through the windscreen which causes the man to swerve and side swiping the building in motion.
The infected forces it’s way further through the windscreen, grabbing at the driver inside who now careers toward the side of the bus depot and knocking all down who get in the way.
Moments later the vehicle comes crashing head first into the wall and coming to a sudden halt.
The infected goes flying from the bonnet out of the windscreen, backwards into the wall of the bus depot killing it instantly.
However the driver has received multiple bites to his hands in the struggle, although manages to open the drivers door as he stumbles out with the strain running through his veins.
The passenger in the vehicle reaching down in a panic while looking across back and forth to the driver before eventually unbuckling her seat belt.
The people around the entire area become even more panicked from witnessing, pushing and knocking others down in the process who begin to get trampled under foot during the stampede.
Staggering further out from the car with a twitching as the strain begins to take hold, his passenger opens the door and clambers out the passenger side.
The strain soon takes hold of the driver, the passenger looks over while the driver begins to fully turn with the female passenger stepping backward slightly motioning her head sideways.
The driver turns to her, although with her in his sights attacks another in closer proximity.
With a bite he infects, with the passenger witnessing then running for her own life toward and up into the terminal.
In time more turn outside the depot, as the driver and others move on. People trying to get through the depot begin to hear the screams from directly outside on the street.
In the terminal those trying to flee become more panicked and vocal themselves which draws more attention to them all trying to reach the West.
John with the others force their way through toward the other side.
Shoulder to shoulder, all jammed in as they slowly get to the exit, with Johns pocket and sleeve tearing in the squeeze on exiting through the doorway as he then stumbles forward almost falling over however safely regains his balance.
Although making it out of the depot as the infected make their way in from behind preying on the many who still remain inside, the USB drive has fallen out of the torn shirt a
nd pocket skidding down onto the roadway near the sidewalk.
In the panic, no one sees the USB drive fall as they then rush across the road and all finding themselves outside with Tommy last to exit.
The group run across the road in the direction of the parked car when Lizzie appears to see in her peripheral, before double taking briefly and spotting Ray back nearer the depot.
Stopping for a few seconds which Mike sees as she mentions, "There’s Ray.." then shouts toward Ray while waving her arm and louder on each call to get his attention.
"Ray! Ray! RAY!
Lizzie fails to grab his attention, although has the attention of Mike and now Tommy.
With Mike moving closer to Lizzie who is somewhat tempted to move toward Ray, with Tommy now also seeing for himself why they should be running as he watches the first infected come busting through the doors they had just left.
"Holy shit, now I see!"
Tommy turns away to run while voicing to his friend.
"Mike!"
Ray with camera in hand begins to flee himself upon witnessing, as another infected busts out amongst the crowd through the depot doorway.
Ray sees on the ground, recognizing the USB drive on the edge of the road then stopping to go slightly back to pick it up.
As he reaches down bending over, this action draws attention to him from an infected, who now has Ray in his sights heading straight for him.
Ray picks up the USB, then looks around appears hoping to see Lizzie or John.
For that brief moment while holding it up, he then sees Lizzie further down across the other side of the road looking straight at him waving her arm.
As Mike comes beside Lizzie, he also sees Ray hold up the drive while looking toward him with an infected approaching Ray who looks to motion forward.
"The drive!"
The infected person lunges toward Ray, tackling him with Ray losing grip and the drive flying up in the air with Ray being brought down to ground receiving bites as Lizzie watches on.
"No! Ray."
Viral Evolution (Book 1): Retrovirus Page 11
