Virus

by Olivia Marie

  International Bestselling Authors

  Olivia Marie & Rena Marin

  Copyright © 2020 by Crazy Ink

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the authors’ imaginations. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Dedication

  Rena Marin

  A special thank you to Erin Lee. You are my biggest supporter and the one person who doesn’t hold back when it comes to telling me to keep pushing. Thank you for all you have done to guide me on this crazy journey, including those late night talks!

  To Olivia Marie, this journey has been fun and a bit disturbing. Hope we survive it!

  Olivia Marie

  Thank you to Erin Lee who is always pushing me to do things I don’t always think I can do. Who knew a conversation on a video would lead to this story? Stay amazingly crazy and enjoy.

  To Rena Marin. Thank you for heading into ground zero with me. Stay safe.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Jake

  Opening the door slowly, I was hit hard with the pungent odor of rotting flesh and human waste. The ground was thick with rags covered in blood, vomit, and sweat. The once vibrant town was now desolate and somber. The sounds of painful cries echoed off the concrete walls and surrounded where I stood trying to figure out where to go first. When the doors closed behind me, the silence was louder.

  “Thank God you are here. Put this on now. Where have you been? Did you see anyone else out there on your way here?” The small woman was wrapped in scrubs and I couldn’t make out much more than her face. Her blue-grey eyes pleaded with me to hurry and follow her. They gave her away and I knew it was Marissa, the overnight triage nurse.

  “I saw a few people, but not many. Where is everyone?”

  “Gone or in here. A few of the hospital staff are still here. The rest are either in a bed or have gone home to check on family.” Tears ran down her cheeks hiding behind the mask on her face as she broke. I watched her start to shake at the realization that all she knew was gone.

  “Show me,” I ordered her. Not to be harsh, but to kick her into work mode and get her to pull it together. If things were as bad as what I saw on the way in, we were in major trouble.

  I thought back to the woman crawling across the road. The sounds coming from her were more animal than human. A cry of a rabbit being eaten alive was the closest I could compare to it. The loud shrieks and low gurgles as she scraped her body across the asphalt. The temperatures, being in the high 90s, made the ground too hot to touch and it burned at her flesh as she ran her front over it. I watched as pieces of her fell off and left a clear trail of where she had come from. Her face was disfigured so badly, I couldn’t make out any of her features. She was a bloody chunk of ground meat by the time I got to her.

  I pulled my car over and put it in park. Opening the door slowly, I froze when she suddenly stopped. Turning to face me with a smile, I watched as a tooth flew from her mouth. Before I could move another inch, she reached out her arm and took a chunk from it. Blood ran from the open hole and I watched her drink it. When she stopped and turned to come toward me, I shut the door and drove the rest of the way to the hospital as fast as my old clunker would go.

  I had to shake off the image of the poor woman. There was nothing I could have done for her, and there were people that still needed my help. I tried to think of anything I knew of that would make a person tear at their own flesh the way she had and came up empty.

  Part of me hoped they were filming a horror movie in our small town and nobody bothered to tell us. It would have been a way to get a real reaction from us, but there was no way she was faking what I saw.

  “Please, are you coming?” Marissa asked. She grabbed me by the sleeve of my doctor’s coat and tugged to get me to follow her.

  “Yes.”

  The halls were dark for being mid-morning and sunny outside. The quiet of the three-story hospital was something I had never heard before. The place looked abandoned with papers and equipment scattered along the long corridors. The light flickering above me drew my attention. Hanging down by the hinges, I watched a drop of blood drip from the casing.

  “What happened here?” I asked without taking my eyes off the ceiling.

  “A man went crazy. He leaped up in the air, grabbed on to it, and pulled it down. I didn’t notice at first, but I saw it after he did it again.” She froze and was clearly lost in whatever flashback she was in.

  “See what?”

  “The bite marks. He was missing part of his hand. I didn’t see it until he went in for a second bite. He ripped the meaty part here,” she said and held up her hand grabbing the thicker part below the thumb, “and ripped it off like it was nothing. I waited for him to spit it out, but he didn’t. He chewed it up and swallowed it. He swallowed part of himself.” Her voice rose as she talked and I saw her start to become hysterical again. I placed a hand on her to ground her a little.

  “I saw something like that on my way here. A woman bit her own arm. I think she would have swallowed it too if I wouldn’t have made a sound. She spit it out and came after me.”

  “So, he wasn’t the only one? What is going on?”

  “I don’t know yet, but it isn’t good.”

  “Was her skin falling off?”

  “It might have been, but she was dragging herself across the highway and chunks of her left a trail along the way. I did see blisters on her face though. Some looked like they had split open and she had a milky white puss leaking from them. I wasn’t sure at first if it was from whatever made her sick or from burning herself on the asphalt.”

  “You better come with me fast. I think it was whatever they have. I have seen the blisters break open and the same thing came out of them.”

  We went up to the third floor and I wasn’t prepared for what waited on the other side of the door. The calm from earlier was gone. Screams rang out in all directions as nurses and the few doctors still there ran to try and get to them all.

  Lights flickered making the eeriness of that heighten. Everything in me said to turn and run from that place, but the doctor side kicked in and I knew I had to try and help them. I wasn’t holding out much hope. From what I had seen, it went fast, and it was unlike anything I had seen before.

  “Dr. Hammond, can you come here?” one of the older doctors, Matt Warner, asked peeking from around the corner.

  “Yes.”

  I ran to him and as I got into the room, I felt what little hope I had been holding onto leave. There on the gurney was Tim Johnson. I went to school with him and he was in the best shape of anyone I knew. Being over six foot with nothing but solid muscle from years of sports and working out, he was the heathiest person I had ever met. Never once missing school for a cold or the flu when the rest of us did, it was hard to see him lying there looking the way he did.

  “Tim?” I asked making my way closer to him.

  “Don’t get much closer. When this one turns, he will be hard to stop.”

  “Turn?”

  “The fever seems to speed up the infection and once it hits the brain, there is nothing we can do. I called you in here because I want to see how long it takes for him to get to that stage. If he takes longer, then it gives me something to go on.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  “Well, I guess at this point, I’m not sure any of us have a chance of beating it.”

  “We have to try Matt.
It’s what we signed up to do. But you said turn. This isn’t a movie and you sound like we are dealing with zombies.”

  “Jake, you are so young and naive yet. We can’t fix everything. Watch him. Zombies aren’t real but whatever this is, it isn’t good.” He shook his finger at me as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  I walked over to Tim and looked down. Sweat dripped off him in steady streams and little patches of boils had already formed on his face and hands. I thought maybe that was how it was being transmitted. I went to the cabinet and pulled out blankets to cover him with. Snapping the blue neoprene gloves on my hands, I made my way closer to him. I had a pair of small scissors in my pocket and used them to cut slits for his eyes and breathing tube. Reaching over to make sure it covered him completely, I was standing to walk around his bed when it happened.

  His hand reached from under the blanket and grabbed me by the coat. I tried to break free, but his strength was greater than mine. Still having the gloves on, I tried to pry his grip from me. It tightened and I heard his fingers snap under the force. Blood trickled out of the wound by his knuckle. He didn’t seem to notice or feel pain as he pulled me in closer.

  There were only a few inches between my face and his. His hot breath hit me, and I tried not to inhale, but I had to when my lungs began to burn. The smell coming from him was a mix of sauerkraut and rotting meat. Turning my head to avoid him as long as I could, I closed my eyes when I felt his teeth graze my cheek.

  Letting out a low rumble, I felt drops of spit hit my face. Fighting still to get away, I wasn’t winning. I knew it was the end for me. I was going to die right there in that room by the hand of an old friend.

  Thud.

  I looked up as my coat was dropped and I stumbled backwards. Marissa stood there with a metal tray in her hand and Tim was still in his bed.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Cammy

  I crouched behind the old oak tree in Mrs. Warner’s backyard. I could still hear the sirens wailing in the distance. It hadn’t been that long ago when they came through our neighborhood, for the second time, a voice wailing through a speaker. “Stay inside. Avoid contact with others. If you or your family are infected, place a sheet on your door and assistance will come to you when available.” It had all been bullshit, though. They didn’t understand what it was like. They didn’t have to sit there and watch the people they loved go through the insanity of whatever this was. How could they expect me to stay in that house?

  With a quick scan of the area, I saw my opening. I hurried from my hiding spot; the feel of the soft grass of the old woman’s freshly mowed lawn tickling my feet. I hadn’t had a chance to grab my shoes. I wish I had. With the smell emanating from my brother’s ravaged body, and the way dad lurched from his easy chair, I couldn’t take the chance. The sight of the ooze running from the sores on his face will haunt me. The way my brother Keith had gnawed at his own flesh would give me nightmares. What I’d had to do to escape the only home I’d ever known may fuck with me more.

  As I ran, I tried to decide where I should go. I didn’t know who was left in the neighborhood, if anyone was. The screaming, the wails of pain, they had all finally quieted. Honestly, I didn’t know if I preferred the pandemonium or the eerie quiet I was now engulfed in. Both made me wish I’d never woken up this morning.

  “Camilla Jolene! What are you doing out of your house?”

  I froze in my tracks. It doesn’t matter how old you are, when one of the people you’ve known all your life calls your name in such a way, you listen. Slowly, I turned to see my ex-babysitter, Norene, peering out her front door, her blue eyes hard as steel and her posture telling me she’d come after me if I ignored her tone of voice.

  Hoping I wasn’t making a mistake, I rushed toward her door, my eyes immediately scanning her windows for movement. In the past couple of years, long after she stopped looking after me and my brother, Norene married her second husband. I knew he should be in the house somewhere. I just had no idea where.

  “Didn’t you hear the instructions from the deputies? Why would you risk being out?” she asked as she moved from her door and ushered me inside. Immediately, the smell turned my stomach. Something wasn’t right.

  “Dad and Keith,” I started then shivered at the thoughts in my head. “They’re…they’re gone.”

  “Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”

  I felt her hand touch my shoulder and winced. Pulling away quickly, I look back in time to see both the hurt in her face and the patch of open sores on her hand. Her eyes followed my own gaze, bringing a heavy sigh from the now frail woman. I caught myself wishing Norene was still the strong, sassy woman I remembered from when I was ten. Instead, time had marched its way across her body, leaving spider veins, dark circles under her eyes, and grey in her hair. If life hadn’t moved on, maybe she would stand a chance. I know already what the outcome will be.

  “Find somewhere safe. Do you hear me, Cammy! Go to the hospital. I talked to Jake earlier today. That’s where he’s going. They need him there, but he’ll take care of you. You know how smart that grandson of mine is.”

  I tried to find the right words to say to her. I didn’t have the chance to offer any kind of goodbyes to Dad or Keith. It wouldn’t feel right to walk away from her and do the same. “I’ll send someone, Norene. I’ll tell Jake what’s going on. He’ll make sure they treat you.”

  She reached forward but noticed the way I shrank back from her touch. “You can’t tell him. He’ll just worry. He needs to keep himself together. Just get to him, Cammy. The two of you grew up together. He can trust you.”

  I felt tears threatening to take over. There’s no time for that though. Instead, I nodded my head slowly, then moved back toward the front door. I wanted to run but couldn’t seem to make myself move away from her like she was some monster waiting to tear into me the way Keith did Dad.

  “Here, you can take my car. It’ll be safer for you. You don’t know how many people out there are sick. The news people say whatever this is, it’s spreading fast. The CDC is working on it though. I’m sure they’ll have it figured out soon enough.”

  I caught the keys she tossed at me and wondered if that had been a mistake. Before things inside the house went insane, I watched the news; I listened to them try and explain about avoiding exposure. I did all those things. I thought Keith did too, but, in the end, it did no good. He still broke out in the sores that leaked infection and the stomach-turning stench. He tore at his own body while whatever the virus is ate away at his flesh like it was its own personal buffet. Within hours, he wasn’t my brother anymore. He was some animal, gnawing at his own body, screaming with a primal rage. Then he went after Dad, which showed me firsthand how easy this thing could spread.

  “Thank you, Norene.” Why does saying goodbye have to be so hard? “Take care of yourself, please,” I finished then turn for the car sitting in her driveway. By the time I’m inside, latching my seatbelt, she’s back inside, in the window, digging at the boils on her hand. I needed to leave in the worst way. I cranked the car, hearing the tires spin as I raced off toward the edge of town and the hospital where I hoped help would be waiting.

  ***

  The chaos on the streets was nothing compared to that of the hospital parking lot. Cars were sitting, still idling, no one near them. Others were parked haphazardly, like the drivers had given up on whatever they were doing and ran off into the madness unleashed on our town.

  Getting as close to the front entrance as possible, I put the car in park, then climbed out. I didn’t know whether stepping through the doors of the hospital was the smartest decision; there were sick people inside, possibly several dealing with the virus. Still, I knew if anyone had an idea of what any of us should do, it would be Jake.

  The screech of the automatic entry door made me jump back as my heart leaped into my throat. “It’s just the door, Cammy,” I told myself needing to hear my own voice to avoid the silence. Using my shirt to c
over my nose and mouth, I stepped through the waiting door in hopes of finding someone who knew what was going on.

  I’ve always hated utter silence. Back in high school, I played music while doing my homework. In college, I stayed in the common room during most of the evening. The hospital normally bustled with nurses, doctors, and visitors. The complete abandonment felt like something out of a horror movie.

  A shriek tore through the silence, echoing down the halls. I fell to my knees, covering my head, while I whispered a silent prayer in my mind. I closed my eyes tight, hoping if there were people like my dad and brother in here, they can’t move about the hospital freely.

  “Have you heard back from the CDC yet? They said they would be in touch within the hour.”

  Hearing a normal voice attempting to speak over the yelling, I looked up to see a woman in a nurse’s uniform speaking to someone on the phone. Immediately, relief flooded me. No matter what happened from this point on, I knew there were others here and I wasn’t alone. Feeling a new wave of adrenaline take me, I hurried down the hall, my legs instantly taking off at a run.

  “Hello. Hello, can you help me?” I called out as I tightened the gap between me and the nurse up ahead.

  I watched as she turned toward me, a surgical mask covering her face. “Are you infected?” she asked instantly as she took a step back from me.

  “No, not that I know of.”

  “You shouldn’t be in here, then. There is a contagion. The virus is spreading at an alarming rate.”

  “I didn’t know where else to go. I came to find Dr. Jake Hammond. Is he here?”

  I saw her posture change. Her shoulders slumped and a muffled sigh escaped her lips. “He’s here, but…”

  The sound of her voice sent a wave of dread through me. Not Jake too. Please. I can’t take another one of the people I care about falling at the hands of this damn thing. “Where is he? Jake?” I called out, letting my voice carry down the hallway. “Jake!” I yelled, tired of waiting for answers.