Outbreak

by Paul Carberry

  He sounded baffled, but why? What was wrong? His voice did not have a tone that you would expect to hear from someone who just discovered a dead body. It carried a tone of worry, and doubt.

  Tina gathered up all the courage she had left, and pushed her way into the clearing. It wasn’t what she saw that made her jaw drop, it was what she did not see. Blood had left a massive stain all over the soil near the river bank, but somehow the body had disappeared.

  “It looks like he was still alive.” Officer Payne shone the light at Tina’s feet. “Tina, are you sure this is the place you found the body?” Phillip seemed astonished. Obviously, something grisly and life threatening had taken place here, but there was no dead body here. If it was a man, how did he get up and walk away? His stomach had been torn apart, or had Tina imagined that appalling vision? Did the sight of all of that blood trigger some gruesome, horrid image in her head? Was her mind playing tricks on her?

  “Yes, I am sure. He was right there!” Tina pointed at the large tree where the man’s body had been propped up.

  Tina was now worried that she was losing her mind. She couldn’t believe someone could just walk away from an attack like that. It was not physically possible.

  Officer Payne grabbed his radio again “Kathy, it’s Phillip. Seems like we have an injured man wandering around the woods. I need some back up out here right now!”

  The voice on the other end responded quickly. “I’ll see what I can do. Give me some time to gather some of the other officers.”

  Tina stood in disbelief. She was trying not to picture the man, holding in the contents of his stomach as he walked away, but how else could he manage to get away?

  There was an overpowering stench of rotten flesh and the coppery scent of blood lingered in the air. It made no sense, none of this made any sense.

  Chapter 1

  A Missing Person

  Eric Jones woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. The radio was playing one of those damn pop songs he couldn’t stand. He rolled over expecting to find his wife asleep, but she was already up. Most days you couldn’t pry out of bed with a crowbar but the excitement of having the long weekend off must have rustled her out of the bed. Eric could smell breakfast cooking from the kitchen just down the hall.

  Eric grabbed his robe from the floor where he thrown it down last night. Dana hated when he did that but he was just too tired last night when he had finally crawled into bed.

  “Honey, what smells so good? Did you go out and get me takeout for breakfast?” He knew that would rouse an annoyed response.

  “No, just for myself. You have to cook your own damn breakfast, jerk!” She laughed as Eric walked into the kitchen and sat down in front of a hot cup of coffee. “Enjoy working the weekend, I’m sure you will find a way to get away for a donut and coffee with Jason over the weekend,” she added sarcastically.

  “Well, I’m sure I will, dear. Did the paper show up yet?” Eric held the coffee up and let the invigorating aroma fill his nostrils. It had a woodsy, burnt smell that he enjoyed.

  “No, it’s only six dear. Plus, it’s Sunday.” She had a big grin across her face.

  She giggled as Eric shot her a sly glare from the top of his coffee mug. “Well, you’re certainly chipper for six in morning.”

  Dana placed a plate that was piled high with fried eggs and sausage in front of Eric, and then one on her side of the table. She went back to the kitchen counter and grabbed her orange mug filled with tea. As she sat down across from Eric she spooned sugar into her mug.

  “Well, someone has to get up and cook you breakfast Officer Jones! Besides, I think I’m going to go to your parents’ house early today to help them with Thanksgiving supper.” Dana seemed cold even as she wrapped herself in her orange blanket. She loved the colour orange, even the paint on the walls in the living room were orange. The kitchen was some shade of orange that Eric would have called light orange, Dana called it apricot nectar.

  “Well, make sure supper is as good as breakfast will you?” Eric said with a smirk.

  “Oh, of course I will.” Dana looked out the window, the sun still had not risen but its orange glow could be seen rising in the sky as dawn approached. “Looks like it’s going to be a nice day.”

  The street lights were still on. It was that time of the morning when the darkness was losing its control over the sky. The kitchen light made Dana’s long red hair glow. Her deep blue eyes fixed on the dog who was stretching her legs by the door, waiting to go outside for her morning ritual.

  “Hopefully it’s a quiet day. I wonder if Frank will have me on call tomorrow or Gary.” Eric took a long sip of his coffee, and finished off the sausage on his plate. “Well, I guess I should go put on my uniform and get to work.” Eric wiped the greasy mess from his face with a napkin, then crinkled it up and placed it on his plate. He picked up his dishes and walked into the kitchen, lodging them in the sink.

  “Thanks dear!” Eric gave his wife a loving squeeze.

  Eric walked down the hallway back into the bedroom and grabbed his deputy uniform from out of the closet. As he hauled his black work pants up he could hear Dana open the door to let the dog out. The buttons on his black dress shirt were causing him more problems than they should this morning. It was frustrating to be awake so early in the morning.

  Corner Brook was a quiet town. Sometimes it was even boring to be a police officer with little to do. Eric did not look like a typical police officer. He was average height, but lacked the muscle mass that most of the other men he worked with carried. His hair was short and brown, but in the sunlight it seemed to have a red tint.

  Eric sauntered up behind Dana, and gave her a hug and a kiss. “Goodbye Love, see you at my parents’ house when I get off.”

  “Bye Love, don’t fill up on donuts today!”

  Eric put on his heavy jacket and left the house. The air felt crisp as he drew a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh morning air. It was not the bitter bite of cold winter air, but just enough to remind him of what the approaching weather would bring.

  He trudged over to his white squad car parked in the driveway. The four-door car had three horizontal blue strips with a red strip that crossed them. As he sat into the driver’s seat, he looked over his shoulder at the window and waved goodbye to Dana, who stood there drinking her tea.

  It was a short drive to the station, and as always the town of Corner Brook still seemed to be sleeping. Eric grew up in this small town and had always dreamed of becoming a police officer. Back in 2016, when he was still in high school, the government had declared bankruptcy. Everything had changed that day. Big businesses had bailed out the government in the following months. Now, corrupt members of the government were puppets for these powerful corporations. They were the ones in real control. Being a police officer did hold the same power, or pride. Now, you had to answer to those greedy, power-hungry, corporate bastards who could bend the law anyway they wanted. Eric’s childhood dream had been tarnished, but not destroyed. That was nearly fifteen years ago now. The Canadian Police force had slowly been reshaped to resemble the structure of the United States. Eric certainly enjoyed the uniform much more than the one he remembered the police officers wearing when he was a kid growing up. Eric also preferred the title of Deputy, but he was ashamed that he could be controlled by just about any asshole with a lot of money. Forced to look the other way by corrupt politicians while they counted their money, paid off to look the other way while the big corporations carried out their illegal activities.

  As he drove by the golf course all the leaves on the trees were changing colour now. It was truly a beautiful sight that he took for granted every morning in the fall. The thought of the cold bite of winter and the mountains of snow was all that he could think about when the leaves began to change. Dead leaves littered the lawns, it looked like someone had spilt drops of rusty paint on a green canvas.

  Eric pulled into the police station and dragged himself into work for another
boring day. The front lobby walls were bright white and the floors were some kind of plain marble that made the room look bland. The lobby was mostly empty except for the five blue chairs sitting on top of a black frame and a bulletin board that hung on the wall right in front of you as you walked in. There was a large glass window next to the doors that allowed direct sunlight to shine into the waiting room.

  Kathy was the receptionist who sat behind the glass partition, she had worked at the station since before Eric had worked there. He even remembered her from when he was there as a little boy with school. Her long grey hair bobbed just above her shoulders. Kathy was wearing a navy blue top with a red and green skirt that reminded him of fallen leaves on the grass.

  “Good morning, Kathy!” Eric nodded at her as he approached.

  “Morning Eric, Frank wants to see you in his office right away. There seems to be a problem out near Stephenville.”

  Eric pushed his way through the door in the lobby that read Employees Only Beyond This Point. The hallway had three doors on the left side and one door on the right side, which belonged to Lieutenant Frank Byrnes. Eric walked past his office, the blinds were down and closed. The only office with a light on was Gary’s, he probably left the light on last night before he went home. Gary was always in a rush to get home. Eric took a deep breath before he walked into Lieutenant Byrne’s office.

  “Eric, they need you in Black Duck Siding right now. You can finally put some of that CSI crap you studied to good use for a change.” Frank sat behind his solid oak desk. It was almost too shiny to look directly at. The only things that he allowed on his desk were his computer, his name badge and a single picture of his family. Frank was the only cop who did not drink coffee at his desk.

  Frank was getting up in age, but he still looked like he could wrestle a bear. He wasn’t very tall, but he was broad with massive shoulders that were nearly as broad as the entrance to his office. His grey hair and grey moustache were the only things that gave away his age.

  “Why, someone rob the convenience store out there?” Eric said with a chuckle.

  “No, you Jackass! They got a missing man out there. He was injured and they need to find him. Since I have no use for you here, get your arse out there and help.” Frank glared at Eric with his green eyes. Eric could feel his boss’ glare burn into his own retinas as if Frank had superman’s x-ray vision.

  “Ok Chief, I’ll call in the Lab techs to gather some evidence.” Eric looked past Frank, trying to break the death stare that his boss had locked in on him.

  “Don’t fuck this up Jones, get it right. And they are already out there, they answered their god damn phone this morning.” Spit flew from Frank’s mouth as he yelled at Eric. The veins on his forehead were popping out and he was red in the face with anger.

  “Alright, Jesus! I’m on my way out.” Eric walked out of the office feeling embarrassed, his checks flushed.

  Eric stepped into his office to grab his belt. He never brought his work belt home with him. The belt was slung across back of his chair, his gun still in its holster. If Frank seen the state he left his office in he would throw a fit. Yesterday’s empty coffee cup and powdered sugar from a donut still littered his desk.

  “Eric, have a good trip. Don’t mind Frank, he’s always mad, I think that’s his job,” Kathy said as Eric hurried out of the lobby.

  “Thanks Kathy, when did he call me anyway?” Eric shook his head in disbelief.

  “Around 4:30am, he got the call for help late last night. Here, grab a donut for the road, he made me get these on the way into work this morning.” Kathy held out a box of donuts, the lid open revealing the delicious baked goods to Eric.

  “Thanks, I guess it’s not a good idea for me to hit the drive-thru.” Eric picked out a Boston Cream donut as it seemed all the Honey Crullers were already gone. Now as he gazed at the donuts he wished he’d stopped for a coffee before he came to work.

  ***

  As Eric reached Black Duck Siding his CB radio went off. “Officer Jones, come in.”

  Eric reached out for the receiver. “Officer Jones here.”

  “This is Officer Phillip Payne, can you meet me down by the trail that’s just off Main Street?”

  “Sure thing, I’ll be there shortly.”

  Eric was just turning onto Main Street and he could see the pile up of cars strewn about the road. News travels fast in small communities. The whole town seemed to have arrived, attracted to the commotion taking place here. Eric pulled up to the end of the street and parked next to the CSI van. The two crime scene technicians, Albert and Amanda were in the back of the van with the doors open.

  “Hey guys, what’s going on?” Eric asked as he approached the large grey van.

  “Well, there seems to be a man wandering around who must be missing a lot of blood. We gathered some samples, we are going back to the lab to try and find out who it belongs to,” Albert responded.

  Amanda had climbed into the front seat, her tired expression showed that she was ready to head back. Eric knew Amanda from school.

  “Eric, there’s almost too much blood. I don’t know how he could still be walking.” Albert brushed his wavy blonde hair out of his face. His tired blue eyes looking back at Eric.

  “Well, you let me know as soon as you find out anything. Have you seen Phillip?” Eric looked over at an empty squad car. Phillip was nowhere to be seen.

  “Yeah, he’s just down on the trail. The whole town must have been looking for the missing person but they couldn’t find him. They didn’t turn up any signs of blood anywhere else. I took some shoe prints with the foam casing. They were a size 9 shoe with a zig zag pattern, probably a Reebok shoe or something. Not much else to report at the moment. Seems like the man wandered into the river and that’s where the trail ends.”

  “Thanks Albert. I will be in touch with you soon.”

  Eric walked down the path towards the edge of the forest as the van drove away. He could see Phillip just ahead. If the police uniform was not a dead giveaway, it was the fact that he towered over everyone else. He could have been a basketball player, he had the perfect body for it. He was about 7 feet tall with long slender arms. He was bald and clean shaven, the only hair on his head belonged to his eyebrows. His brown eyes seemed too small for a man his size. He looked exhausted. Large, dark bags had formed under his eyes. His sister Kathy worked in the Corner Brook police station. She always spoke very fondly of her brother. She often called him the friendly giant and now Eric finally understood why. He stood head and shoulders above the four men who stood in front of him. Once Phillip seen Eric approaching he quickly dismissed the men who surrounded him.

  “Officer Payne, catch me up to speed. What’s going on?” Eric had to tilt his head back to look up at Phillip as they spoke.

  “I got a whole lot of blood that belongs to someone. Some of the men and I did a search of the area, but we were unable find anything.” Phillip nodded towards the four men that he had been speaking to.

  “Some of the men?” Eric dreaded the answer.

  “Those men I was just talking to. They were going to do this either way, so I decided to organize it with them.” Phillip started to walk down the trail.

  “Did they see the crime scene, were they there?” It was a mistake to let people trample through a crime scene. Eric was annoyed that Officer Payne had allowed this to happen.

  “A few of the men were there early this morning, but not for long.” Phillip’s long strides made it hard for Eric to keep up.

  “Well, let’s hope they didn’t manage to contaminate the crime scene. Are we almost there?” Eric could hear rushing water nearby.

  “Just off the trail, through the trees just ahead of us.”

  Eric and Phillip headed off the main trail and into the forest. Phillip had to duck for every tree branch, Eric managed to walk under most of the trees without having to crouch down. The trees near the river bank were much smaller but had grown much closer together making it ver
y hard to see ahead. The closer they got to the river, the more they were bunched together in a way that made it seem like they were trying to hide the area where the gruesome attack had taken place.

  As Officer Payne pushed his way past the last line of trees Eric could barely see where he had gone. It was hard to believe that such a giant man could be hidden from view even though he was so close. Eric could have reached out and touched Phillip but he was unable to see him.

  “What the fuck!? I’ve never seen anything like this.” Eric stood there astonished, his jaw nearly on the forest floor.

  This was not the first time he had seen blood, but this was unlike anything he’d ever seen before.

  “How did this man get up and walk away?”

  “Well, that’s why we called you. I need help trying to figure that out. I know we are not doing a search and rescue, it’s a dead body we are looking for.” Officer Payne crouched down by the edge of the river and pointed towards it. “If the man tried to cross the river he would have been over-powered by the strong current. I am afraid he may have washed up along the river bank further downstream. We walked several kilometres down the river bank, following the current but we never saw anything. I put in a request for the river to be dragged. They should be out by noon tomorrow, they are heading in from St. John’s as we speak.”

  “That’s great work. I’d say that’s what happened. He’ll turn up soon, now we just have to figure out what the hell happened out here.” Eric carefully walked over to where Phillip was knelt down. As he looked down at the rocks, something very noticeable stood out to Eric. “Phillip, did any of the men walk over this mess? Looks like we have two sets of shoes that walk into the river. See the two different shoe sizes?”

  Officer Payne looked down near the blood stained rocks. Clearly two different sets of footprints had walked into the river. The footprints were much too small to belong to Phillip.