by B. T. Wright
Emily walked over right in front of him. “Mr. President, we have some sort of pandemic on our hands, but it shows no signs of anything we have ever dealt with.”
“How . . . how do we fight it? Do we have any information on how to stop it? Anything at all? You were there, how are you not infected?” Then he turned to George, “How could you have brought her here? She could infect all of us!”
“Well, that is actually why I am here,” Emily said. “Several other bases that were able to report found the same thing I did. I along with three other soldiers at our base in Syria were not infected. And everyone who has been able to report around the world shares one thing in common with us. They all were on Beritrix.”
“Beritrix?” the president asked.
“A daily injection for the disease known as WD17,” Emily said. “Anyone like me who has this disease, we are stripped entirely of our immune system. Beritrix restores it completely and often puts one’s immune system in hyperdrive. About one percent of the world’s population has the disease, and there is no cure. As far as we know, Beritrix doesn’t do anything to reverse the symptoms when someone is already infected by whatever this new thing is. But I don’t have evidence to support that. Not yet. But it apparently works as a vaccine. At least for now.”
“Then let’s get word to our military to find more of it, fast, before it’s too late.”
There was a silence in the room. Everyone but the president and the first lady knew what George was about to say. They still didn’t understand the situation, but they understood how bad it was.
George said, “I’m sorry to tell you, it’s already too late. We no longer have a military to speak of. And neither does anyone else.”
“Dear God,” the first lady gasped.
“And I’m sorry to tell you even worse news—”
“Worse news? How can it get worse than . . .”
The president didn’t finish. He already knew how it could get worse.
“Sir,” Emily said. “All we can do is try to inform the people who aren’t infected to stay inside, which is already being coordinated. But it’s spreading so fast that those who aren’t already on Beritrix like me are in danger every moment they breathe. We have some here for you and are administering it to everyone we can at this very moment.”
The president could hardly speak. He looked over to George. “What are we talking about here, George? How bad is this?”
George had to keep his emotions in check. “John, it’s worst-case scenario. The infected could total over a billion before morning. The world as we know it will never be the same.”
1
The crowd let out a roar that echoed across the little league baseball field. Another inside-the-park home run. The sun was high in the deep blue sky, a beautiful day in Lexington, Kentucky. As everyone applauded the young man who rounded third base and headed for home, Jessica Sanders and Jake Maddox were sitting on the bleachers, preoccupied in their own little world. She hooked her arm around his and hugged him.
“It’s so good to have you home, Jake.”
Jake gave her arm a squeeze and became lost in his own thoughts. Even though it was great to see Jess—he’d really missed her—and it was great to be back in his old stomping grounds, he felt bad he couldn’t say it was great to be home and truly mean it. Being back felt different than he’d thought it would. He knew he wasn’t the same man that had left for the Army ten years ago, but he was surprised things felt so different since his last visit home twelve months ago. It had been a hell of a year in Delta Force. Maybe that was why.
“You all right?” Jess asked as she patted his hand. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
Jake gave her a smile and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m fine. Just having a little trouble adjusting.”
“Yeah, my dad told me to be sensitive. Said he had a hard time being a civilian after serving so long. He said you can talk to him if you ever need to.”
“Thanks, Jess. But I’m fine. And unfortunately it doesn’t much matter if I adjust here or not.”
“I can’t believe they want you to come back so soon. I know being Delta Force is different, but you need time with your loved ones. With me.”
Jake could hear the emotion rising in Jessica’s voice. She looked away, and he could tell she was trying not to cry. Jake took a deep breath. He could hardly deal with his own feelings right now, and he certainly wasn’t equipped to help manage hers. He felt bad about it, but she knew what being in a relationship with him meant. His first duty was to his country. And right now all he could think about was getting back to it. Oddly enough, war felt more like home these days than Kentucky.
“There y’all are!” a man called from the bottom of the bleachers.
Jake had never been so happy to see his oldest friend. He loved Jess more than anything, but not knowing how to comfort her always made for an awkward moment.
Jake jumped up, ran down the bleachers, and wrapped Tyler in a bear hug.
“Good to see you, Jake.” Tyler patted Jake on the shoulder. “Good god, man. What did they do, carve you out of stone?”
Jake playfully slapped his round friend on the belly. “What’d they do here, mix you out of marshmallow?”
They both laughed. Jake looked back up at Jess, who was wiping away the tears to put on a brave face. He loved her strength. He just wished he could be what she needed him to be.
Tyler laughed. “Oh good, you’re still an asshole.”
“Wouldn’t want to disappoint you.” Jake brought back a smile.
The two of them beside each other was a comical sight. They couldn’t be more opposite. That was probably why the friendship had worked for as long as it had. Yin and yang, so to speak. It made for a lot of bickering, but since Jake’s brother Colt had moved to Colorado, Jake’s friendship with Tyler filled in for that brotherly love. Jake stood six foot three to Tyler’s five foot eight. Both weighed about 200 pounds, put together in two completely different ways.
“It’s good to see you boys back together again.” Jess came down the bleachers and gave Tyler a hug. The two of them had become close in Jake’s absence overseas. In high school they’d fought over him; later they had bonded over the fact that he was gone. “From back there, you all look like the number ten.”
Tyler scoffed. “Ha-ha. He won’t admit it, but I can still kick his ass.”
The three of them laughed. Jake was starting to feel better; Tyler made him feel at ease. There was some commotion across the field in the parking lot, but the three of them paid it no mind.
“I’m ready for a drink,” Tyler said. “Why are you all hanging out at a little league game? They don’t serve beer here.”
“My nephew’s playing and he wanted Jake to see him in action. As you can imagine, Jake is quite the hero to Brandon.”
“I guess,” Tyler said. “If you like the whole Captain America thing.”
The commotion was getting louder beyond the far side of the field. A lady in the bleachers next to them gasped and rose to her feet. “What the hell is going on over there? What is that?”
Jake turned to look, and at the edge of the parking lot out in left field someone was slamming his body continuously against the fence. Just running into it over and over again, like he was trying to plow right through it.
“Holy shit, what’s that guy’s problem?” Tyler said.
The man was huge. Even though this deranged man was far away, the left fielder was close enough to him that Jake could see that he was three times the kid’s size. He didn’t have a shirt on, and it looked like his pants were ripped to shreds. Jake took a step toward the chain-link fence that separated him and the field.
“What’s he doing?” Jess said. “Why is he just—”
Jess finished the sentence with a gasp. The crowd in the bleachers began to scream. Some were in shock, some shouting, trying to tell the left fielder to run. The man ran right through the fence. The entire left side of the outfield barrier col
lapsed under his feet, and he started sprinting toward the boy in left field. Jake made a move to hop the fence. He felt Jess grab his arm.
“You can’t go out there. What if he has a weapon?”
The screams became panicked. Jake turned back around just in time to see the man slam into the boy and tackle him to the ground. Jake ripped his arm away from Jess, pulled himself over the fence, and sprinted for the outfield. The boy was wailing in pain.
“Jake!” Jess shouted.
“Run!” Jake shouted to the rest of the players on the field. “Run! Get off the field!”
He sprinted past second base, and the closer he got to the man on top of the boy, the more the blood came into view. It was everywhere. The boy had stopped screaming, and the massive lunatic stood and turned toward Jake. Jake involuntarily slowed to a stop. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The crowd of people were all rushing for safety, screaming at the top of their lungs, and running for their lives. But Jake didn’t see or hear any of it. All he could hear was his heart pounding inside his chest, and this . . . this thing, breathing wildly in front of him.
The man squared up. His eyes were black. But that wasn’t what terrified Jake. It was the pieces of the boy’s flesh hanging from the man’s mouth that shook his entire body. Out of instinct he reached for his sidearm. But the gun that always sat on his hip during combat wasn’t there in this civilian world. Slowly Jake began to backpedal toward safety. Ten years of war overseas and he’d never backed down from anything. Two days back in the safety of his hometown and he found himself in the middle of his first retreat.
2
Jake turned and ran for the bleachers. He could see people running, but Tyler and Jess were frozen in shock. He looked back over his shoulder and the crazed man had started chasing after him. The boy lay motionless in the grass behind him.
Dead.
When he looked back toward the bleachers, Jess was waving her arms furiously, shouting something that Jake couldn’t make out amongst the screams all around her. He didn’t know what was wrong with the mountain of a man behind him, but Jake knew he was going to have to stop him before he could hurt anyone else. Jake’s mind was telling him to jump the fence and get the hell out of there, but his training forced him to scan the field for a weapon. He had his knife in his pocket, but he needed something that would take the man down without letting him get too close. He spotted a row of aluminum bats leaning up against the fence. It wasn’t much, but it was all he had.
He sprinted for them and picked one up.
“Jake, what are you doing? Get out of there!” Jess screamed from the other side of the fence.
“Run, man!” Tyler shouted. “Let’s get out of here!”
Jake turned, bat cocked back, and swung as hard as he could when the man was in range. The bat bounced off the man’s forehead with an awful thud, knocking him off his feet. It was a hard-enough blow––any other man would have been out cold. But it was clear to Jake that whatever it was getting back to its feet in front of him now was no longer a man at all.
“Jake, run!” Jess shouted.
Instinct kicked in when the man moved forward, and Jake dove at his waist for a double-leg takedown, tackling the thing onto its back. The monster fought wildly as Jake moved on top of it, mounting it and pulling a knife from his own pocket. As he simultaneously fought against the thing’s flailing arms and flipped the blade open on his knife, the moment he locked onto it’s coal-black eyes was one he would never forget. It was like staring into the dark of midnight, something entirely inhuman staring back.
Jake hooked his right arm forward, thrusting the three-inch blade into the thing’s neck. The sounds, the grunts, the wheezing coming from this monster were like no animal he’d heard before. He stabbed at its neck several more times, but the thing kept moving. He rose off it, his clothes covered in blood, and reached for the bat behind him.
“Jake! Are you okay? Jake!” Jess continued to shout.
Jake picked up the bat, and as the thing sat up he swung so hard its head nearly flew off when he made contact. Though the monster of a man fell to his back once again, he was still moving. Jake stood over him, watching as whatever it was continued to fight despite a shattered skull and gaping wounds in its neck. Jake pulled the bat high over his head and, as if he were chopping wood, he pounded down on its skull. Then he pounded down again. And then again, until there was no semblance of a skull left, and finally the thing stopped moving.
Jake dropped the bat and bent over, resting his hands on his knees. He could run twelve miles in full gear without getting winded, but right now he was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving for air. He looked back to the outfield where a man and woman were standing over the boy. The woman was sobbing, trying to get him to wake up. The man was doing his best to pull her away from the horror. Jake hung his head for a moment. His mind was numb. Nothing about what just happened made any sense at all. And he had no time to think it over either.
When he looked up at Jess and Tyler, chaos had broken out in the parking lot up the hill behind them.
“We’ve gotta go,” Jake said.
The two of them looked over their shoulders and watched as several more people—things—ran toward the crowd as they tried to leave the baseball complex.
“Now!”
Jake grabbed his knife and put it in his pocket, then picked up the baseball bat. He took one last glance down at the creature that he couldn’t help but think just might change the world forever. There was no time to ponder it. They had to move. He hurried over and picked up two more bats then jumped over the fence to join Jess and Tyler. He handed each of them a bat. Their car was in the parking lot atop the hill. Unfortunately, they were going to have to run right into the middle of all the chaos. It was their only way out.
3
For the moment, the path was clear to Jess’s Chevy Malibu. Jake scanned the parking lot and knew that if they didn’t move, their window would close in a hurry.
“Let’s go. Ty, you’re coming with us. Jess, just stay behind Tyler and jump in the driver’s seat as soon as we get up there. We don’t have long.”
On the outside, Jake was calm. That was his training. On the inside, however, his mind was racing, trying desperately to make sense of the mayhem around them. Though he had never seen anything like whatever it was that killed that boy, he couldn’t squelch a sense of familiarity. There was something about that crazed man he’d seen before. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. Up ahead, families were being chased out of the parking lot, which opened up a lane to Jess’s car.
“Go!” Jake shouted. “I’ll keep things clear till you can get the car started and then I’ll jump in!”
Jess and Tyler moved forward ahead of him. He scanned the immediate area, but the height of the SUVs made it difficult to see the area completely. The two of them made it to the car.
“Come on, Jake!” Jess shouted as she jumped in and started the engine.
Jake moved toward the car, but just as his hand hit the door handle, a woman’s scream a row of cars away made him recoil.
Jess rolled down the window. “Come on!”
But Jake couldn’t get in. Just on the left side of a Ford Expedition, a woman was trying to get her son in the backseat while one of the creatures growled at her on the other side of the open door. It was attempting to get around the door to her.
“No!” the woman screamed. “No!”
“Mom, get in!” the boy shouted from inside the backseat.
The thing slammed into the open door between itself and the mother, and it knocked her to the ground. Jake sprinted for the SUV, and just as the monster dropped down to bite at the mother’s neck, Jake smashed its head, flowing with long blonde hair, with the tip of his baseball bat. As his swing knocked the deranged lady back, Jake pulled the mother away by her shoulders and kicked the thing in the forehead as it surged forward; then, before it could get back up, he stomped on its forehea
d and crushed its skull. A sickening crunch vibrated up his leg, and when he was sure the thing was no longer moving, he opened the front door for the woman and told her to get the hell out of there.
He didn’t stick around for the thank-you, because behind him he could hear another one growling as it ran toward him. As he sprinted for the car, Jess had the door ready and open for him. Over the back side of the car he saw two more inhuman humans running straight for him. He hurried around the door, and just as he shut it, the two things slammed against the trunk and clawed at the back windshield. Tyler screamed from the backseat, and Jake shouted, “Go! Go! Go!” as Jessica slammed the gas pedal to the floor, leaving the monsters behind and swerving around the one that had been running for Jake’s back. Two wild turns later they skidded out onto the main road, the madness growing smaller in the rearview mirror behind them. They were all huffing for air and searching their minds for answers.
“Is everyone okay?” Jake scanned Jess’s and Tyler’s bodies and faces. “Are you hurt?”
“Jake, what the fuck just happened?” Tyler was in shock. “What the hell were those things, man?”
“Jake, what is going on?” Jess said. The fear in her voice was unnerving.
“I have no idea, you saw what I saw. You guys okay?”
“No, we’re not okay!” Tyler shouted. “We are in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. How could we be okay?”
Jess swerved around a couple cars moving slowly. “Is that what this is, Jake? A zombie apocalypse?”
Jake was quiet. His mind was needling at something. It was when his phone began to ring and he saw who was calling that it finally came to him what had been familiar about that madman on the baseball field. He had seen glimpses of it just before he’d left Syria.
“I’ve got to take this call,” Jake said. “This might give us some answers.” He slid his finger across the screen to answer. “Emily, what is going on out here?”
