Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion

by Brian Lamacraft

  They waited for several minutes as the sounds of gunfire and shrieks began to die down. They jumped as something banged into the door, but it went down the hallway.

  “Maybe we should go out and have a look?” said Jessica. “This floor might be clear now.”

  “Yeah, the sooner... we get out of this hospital... the better,” said Tricia as she bent over with another coughing fit.

  “Alright, let’s get down to the first floor and get out of here. Stay close, we don’t want to get separated.”

  Erica put her hand on the door and opened it slowly. The three of them stepped out into the hallway. They could smell the scent of death around them. Scattered around the floor of the hospital hallway were several patients already dead with bullet holes in their chests and head. Blood smeared the walls in several locations, along with a bloody handprint. One gurney lay overturned with an officer lying against it. Half of his arm was gone, the stump stuck out in a grisly fashion with shreds of skin hanging from it. Blood pooled all over the floor, the air was thick with the smell of it. His legs had several deep wounds in both thighs, as well as the bottom of his leg where someone had ripped away chunks of flesh. His hand still gripped his service pistol. A dead patient lay across from him against the blood smeared wall, her head a ruin with her long brown hair matted in blood. Scarlet gore covered her mouth, the hospital gown she wore, ripped down the side. Bullet casings were everywhere on the floor next to the officer as well as several empty magazines.

  “Holy hell,” said Tricia. She wiped sweat away from her forehead.

  Erica covered her mouth, but took the pistol out of the officer’s hand. She removed a couple of magazines from his uniform and reloaded the gun.

  “You know how to shoot?” said Jessica. “You never said anything before.”

  “Yeah, I can shoot a little. Chis wasn’t into it. He used to tease me and call me his little Annie Oakley.”

  Jessica stood there her eyes wide. She took a step backwards, gripping hard on Erica’s arm as the officer opened his white eyes. His shredded arm moved as he tried to stand up. “Uh, Annie… You better start shootin.”

  “What?” Erica jumped back as the thing that used to be an RCMP officer lunged at her leg with its bloody, bony stump. Erica brought the gun up and fired two rounds into his chest, but all the thing did was jerk back some. The three of them moved back as it tried to get to its knees. Its ruined stump slipped on the slick floor, leaving a bloody trail as it pushed the gurney backwards with its other hand.

  Tricia tried to scream, but it came out more as a gurgle, and she tumbled backwards a few more steps as she coughed in an endless wave

  “Shouldn’t he be dead now?” said Jessica. “Shoot him again!”

  Erica raised the pistol and fired point blank into the skull of the grisly ghoul, which shattered its head in a spray. It fell back sliding down against the gurney and was silent.

  Tricia bent over and threw up all over the floor. Her face now a pale gray. She coughed in a wave of spasms. “Feel like… fuckin… hell…” She feel to her knees and puked again. Spraying the floor in yellow vomit.

  Erica grabbed Jessica’s arm. “She’s changing.”

  The two of them stood there and watched as what was left of Tricia’s humanity was claimed by the virus. She coughed in huge fits as spit flew from her mouth. She tried to stand up, but the effort was too much. She gurgled between her coughing. “Please… help…” the veins bulged on her neck, and her head flopped downwards.

  Erica raised her pistol as Tricia raised her head once more and turned towards her. Her white eyes focused on the two women. She hissed at them, and a spray of spit flew from her mouth as she tried to stand up. The bullet tore through her skull and exited the back of her head, along with her blood which sprayed the floor and wall. She toppled over in a heap, oozing more blood onto the floor. “Couldn’t do anything for her,” Erica said. “Bites must spread this virus like wildfire. It’s like they are—”

  “Zombies,” said Jessica. “They are some sort of zombie.”

  “But they aren’t real,” said Erica.

  “Don’t know what else I would call them.”

  Jessica jumped as gunfire erupted down the hall from them near the stairs. “Girl, let’s get out of here.” She took Erica’s hand and they ran down towards the stairs. By the stairs, they could see two officers reloading their weapons.

  “What the hell are the two of you doing up here?” said one of the men. He pointed down the hallway. “There’s more of them down that way.”

  “We were on third floor. What is going on?”

  “It’s all over, everywhere. Not just here, but around the world,” said the officer.

  “Let’s try and get them out of here, Dan,” said the officer.

  “Did you see anyone else?” asked Dan. “We heard shots.”

  “No,” replied Erica. She brandished her pistol. “Just me. Sorry, I got it form one of your buddies.”

  “Alright stick close with us. We ran up here, as it’s warzone down there. We’re going to get you two out. Let’s go.”

  The four of them descended the stairs towards the main floor of the hospital. Jessica held onto Erica’s hand.

  “It’s going to be fine,” Erica said. “We’ll make it, these cops will get us out.”

  They hit the bottom and stood by the main door. “Okay, Jacob,” said Dan. “Open the door slowly, let’s see what’s out there.”

  Jacob opened the door to get a look. The smell of blood hit them hard. The main floor was a scene out of nightmares. Bodies were everywhere on the floor, which was thick with pools of blood. One patient lay on the ground cut in half, his entrails stewed out on the floor like snakes. Two of the ghouls were kneeling by the corpse, chewing on the ropes of intestines. Numerous other dead wandered round the room near the doorway.

  Jacob closed the door. “Looks like it’s going to be difficult out there.” He motioned to Erica. “You a decent shot with that?”

  “Yeah, I’m an okay shot I guess.”

  “Okay,” said Dan. “Let’s get out of this damn hospital. I want you to cover us as much as you can.”

  “Alright,” replied Erica. “Stay close, Jess, don’t want to lose you out there.”

  “Oh, you can count on that, girl. Let’s just get out of here now.”

  Jacob opened the door again. “Okay, go!”

  The three of them ran out of the doorway with Jacob behind them. Dan levelled his pistol and shot the two ghouls that were chewing on the corpse. They fell backwards, adding to the carnage on the floor. Erica and Jacob began to shoot the various other ghouls that impeded their way to the doorway. The gunfire filled the main lobby of the hospital, and it did something else, it attracted more dead that were hanging around the main door near their position. Dan dropped his magazine and loaded another one into his pistol. A large group of dead moved towards them, blocking the main exit by the door.

  Dan look to the other side of the doorway, and there was another large group coming from the other way, too. “Looks like were cut off.”

  “We can’t go out the front, either,” yelled Jacob, as he shot another one of the ghouls in the head. “Take them through the emergency exit, it’s the only way out. I’ll hold them here. Give me another magazine.”

  “No,” protested Erica, “you have to come with us.”

  “There’s too many. We’ll run out of ammo before we get through them all. Move to the side, wait for my signal to make a run for it.”

  “Jacob,” said Dan.

  “Just do it, buddy!”

  Jacob levelled his pistol and began to fire. “Here they come!”

  Dan, Erica, and Jessica moved to the side away from Jacob as he poured fire into the dead in front of him. Behind him, more of them advanced from other areas of the hospital.

  “Go!” screamed Jacob.

  The three of them ran through the entrance to the emergency room. Erica looked behind her to see Jacob continuin
g to fire, but it was too late for him. The group of dead had closed in on him from behind, tearing into his neck and shoulder. He screamed as blood fountained from the gash in his neck. Erica glanced back to see the horde of dead tearing Jacob to pieces. As they made it into the emergency room, they were assaulted by the chaos that had taken place there. The floor was littered with equipment, blood, and several bodies. A few of the dead staggered around and headed for them. Dan raised his pistol and shot two of them clean through the skull. The ghouls dropped to the floor. Inside the main desk area, another one of them chewed on the remains of a nurse. The thing raised its blood-soaked face, then hissed at Erica. As it stumbled out, she put a round from the pistol through its neck, spraying blood all over the computer. She then fired another shot into the head of the grisly creature which fell backwards, taking a pile of equipment with it.

  Erica turned to see Dan reloading his pistol. As the magazine dropped to the floor, he was preoccupied for just a second. He never saw the ghoul that came staggering out by one of the beds. It clamped its jaws around his wrist and tore off a chunk of flesh. As the blood poured from the horrific wound, Dan screamed. He managed to slam the magazine into his pistol and fire the weapon point blank into the head of the ghoul. Its head erupted in a spray of brains, covering the wall.

  Dan winced in pain and held his wrist. “Get the hell out of here!” he grabbed a gurney and slammed it into two more of the things that came towards him.

  “Dan!” screamed Jessica.

  “Get out!” yelled Dan. “They’re coming through into the room now.” Dan fired several more rounds at them, then put the pistol into his mouth and pulled the trigger. His blood soaked the ghouls behind him as he crumpled to the floor.

  “No!” Jessica sobbed as Erica grabbed her arm.

  The two women ducked as one of the ghouls swiped at them with a grisly blood-soaked arm, and then they ran through the emergency door. The emergency area was full of ambulances, as well as several gurneys. A few of the ghouls walked around aimlessly and turned as the two women came flying through the doors. One of the dead was bent down and pulled out stands of intestines from a paramedic. It chewed on them, pulling them apart like sweet taffy. It looked at them as they ran past, its jaws opening and closing over the remains of the unfortunate man.

  “This way!” said Erica. “My car is over here.” One of the dead staggered towards her, and she pointed the pistol at it, but the weapon was out of ammunition. She cursed and drove her foot into the thing, which staggered back. The two of them ran towards her car. In the parking lot, many of the dead staggered around, then headed towards the two women as they moved to the vehicle.

  Jessica went to the passenger side door of Erica’s older model Suzuki. “Open the damn door!” She pulled on the handle as the ghouls moved ever closer. Jessica peered over her shoulder. “Hurry up, there’s a ton of them heading this way!”

  Erica worked her keys into the lock, but her hands were shaking so much she fumbled them and they fell to the ground. She bent down to pick them up, but that simple mistake was more than enough. The dead reached the vehicle on Jessica’s side, and she was still working the handle with her hand when one of them bit down into her shoulder blade, sending a jet of blood across the door window. Erica had her door open now, and the keys were in the ignition. As she watched the dead bite into Jessica, she screamed and pounded down on the steering wheel as the tears ran down her cheeks. Jessica shrieked as they tore into her flesh, she slammed her hand on the window but it did no use. Erica knew she couldn’t open the door, and that her friend was as good as dead. She screamed in her seat as another one of them slammed into her door, its grisly face up against the glass as it tried to bite her through the pane. It left trails of saliva, blood, and grime over the window. Erica drove her foot hard on the accelerator and backed out of the parking stall. She hit the car behind her hard, and the back of the vehicle crumpled. Ahead of her she could only watch in vain as a pack of the dead consumed her friend, leaving a pile of blood and gore over the pavement as they devoured her. She turned the car and hit the gas, peeling out of the hospital parking lot as fast as she could.

  The city of Vancouver had turned to complete chaos, claimed by the dead.

  Chapter 5

  Jake Rawlings sat in a Chilliwack bar much like he did on most days. He liked to move from town to town with his gang, Rawlings Marauders, but Chilliwack was usually his main home when he wasn’t out dealing drugs across the province of B.C. The drug trade paid good money, and while he started out just selling marijuana, he was now dealing coke and heroin too. He stretched out his legs under the bar seat and took another long pull on his beer. Jake was thirty-five with long black hair tied back in a ponytail. He always wore his favorite black boots and well-worn jeans. Today he wore a faded Harley Davidson muscle shirt that showed off his big arms, as well as the various tattoos he had. He was the typical bad boy, and he was proud of that fact.

  Soon, I’ll be a big player around here. I got those contacts in the States now. They’ll end up callin’ me boss before long! “Hey Stan, pop another cap for me will ya, my beer is almost empty. Be quick about it, I need alcohol,” he said to the bartender across from his table.

  “Coming right up. Jake,” said Stan.

  Jake’s gang provided Stan’s bar with good money, so he knew better than to question what Jake wanted or to piss him off in any way. Things were tight all over with the virulent flu virus, and Stan was just happy to actually have some customers. Jake and a few of his biker buddies populated the otherwise deserted bar. In the corner, another man rested his head on the table and occasionally raised his sweat-soaked head every so often. He coughed after taking a slug from a whiskey, then passed out.

  That dude has had too much to drink. Come to think of it, so have I, but who gives a fuck. Not much to do with profits as low as they are right now. Fuck this flu, taking away all my customers. “Christ, Stan your bar is fuckin’ dead today, there’s no chicks or nothin’ in here. How’s a guy supposed to get laid? Turn on the TV or somethin’, cause I’m frikken bored, bordy, bored. I shoulda’ stayed with blondie back at the club, at least I’d be getting some action right about now.”

  “Sure, not much on though, all flu talk now.”

  “Geez, man. Would everyone fuck the flu already.”

  The station interrupted the regular programming with breaking news from a news helicopter from high above Vancouver General Hospital. He had been there once when he lived in Vancouver a few years back for a knife wound he got in a bar. Around the hospital, he could see several fires burning, as well as people staggering around like they were in some sort of daze.

  “Hey, Jake. Things sure look fucked up there, eh?” said Vance, one of his biker buddies in the bar.

  “What is this shit? Looks like there was a war there or somethin’.” Jake drained another mouthful of the beer.

  “Large portions of VGH are now on fire. It can only be described as total chaos,” said the helicopter pilot. “We are getting reports from around the province, as well as many other areas of the country and indeed the world. Flu patients have suddenly and mysteriously died. They have come back to life and are attacking the living. Do not approach anyone with the flu. Authorities are trying to come to grasp with the crisis, but it appears to be escalating. Stay inside, and don’t go out. Report to the authorities if anyone you know has the flu.”

  Jake watched the helicopter fly towards a mass of people that staggered around like they were in a daze or high on drugs. Some of them were covered in blood or had ripped clothing. One person appeared to have half their head missing with the brains clearly exposed. The helicopter flew by and made another turn to go back towards the hospital. The fires belched more black smoke in the distance. As the helicopter went over once again, the group of people appeared to be kneeling down and pulling the guts out of someone else and chewing on them.

  Jake put his beer down. “The fuck? What the hell is that? Hey, Vance you
check out that guy, he was missing half his flipin’ head. How does a person walk without half a head?”

  “Man, that’s some intense shit goin’ down. They are eating someone!” said Vance.

  Jake pulled back on the beer again. “This some joke or what? They filming a movie?”

  “Real bro,” said Brad. “I’m seein’ all sorts of stuff on my cell, people all over are going nuts. Maybe we should split.”

  “Naw, not yet. I wanna see what’s going on.”

  The man in the corner let out a low moan and stood up. He opened and closed his mouth and shuffled his feet as he moved towards the bar area where Stan was cleaning glasses. He began to gurgle.

  “Hey buddy, you okay?” said Stan.

  The man opened his mouth again and stared at Stan with his white, dead eyes. He took a quick swing at Stan, then moved behind the bar. Before Stan knew what was happening, the man locked his jaws around Stan’s throat and began to pull out his flesh. Stan screamed as his blood fountained out all over the countertop of the bar. Stan put his hand in a feeble fashion to hit the man, but he didn’t move. He shook as the blood drained out of him.

  Jake saw what was happening, he stood up quick. “What the hell?” Jake drew the knife he always carried with him out of reflex.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” screamed Brad, as he took a swing at the man who had his jaws locked around Stan. He didn’t budge, but hissed and dropped the lifeless Stan to shuffle over to Brad. The man’s face was covered in gore, it glistened on his once white teeth. He lunged for the fat biker, but Brad sidestepped him. He picked up a chair and smashed it over the man’s head, but all he did was stagger back a bit. Before Brad could swing again, the thing latched its jaws onto his arm and bit down hard, tearing away a chunk of Brad’s forearm. “Get him off of me!” the big man yelled. Normally, Brad could hold his own in a fight, but the man chewing on his forearm was incredibly strong, even though he was wiry and very skinny. He pulled another strip off of Brad’s arm; the biker wailed in absolute agony.