Chapter 32

Chapter 32



2 Weeks Prior To Initial Outbreak
New York City



Katharina shook her head left and right, shaking her hips as a repetitive techno beat blared through the massive speakers in the club. Her long dark hair was damp, and flowed out in front of her face as she moved with the beat. Katharina flipped her head back, causing her hair to fly back behind her head.

“Hey girl!” Her boss Karen laughed as she handed over a small shot glass filled to the rim with tequila. A few droplets splashed out of the cup as Karen lost her footing before quickly regaining it. “Bottoms up!” Their glasses met, more of the tequila splashed out as Katharina threw her head back and downed the alcohol. The repetitive techno beat began to speed up, causing everybody in the club to twist and turn faster to keep up with the beat. Throwing her hands in the air, she jumped up and down, keeping up with the dance floor.

Strobe lights flashed at odd intervals, illuminating everyone and everything in a bright glow.  Red and green laser lights flashed about the dance floor, only adding to the hyper feel Katharina was feeling. She loved to dance, it seemed that just about every night she was out with someone at a nightclub. Her paychecks were rarely saved, but that didn’t matter. She had a relatively nice apartment, no roommates. She could constantly shop for name brands for discounted prices, being as she worked closely with the owner and her best friend. Katharina could party all night, and still have enough money to pay her rent. Simply speaking, life was great.

“Karen!” Katharina screamed over the music. Karen leaned down, shaking her hips as she grinded against a fellow club dweller. Sighing, Katharina slipped in between the crowd of people and tapped her boss on the shoulder. “Karen! Have you seen Luis?”

Oh, Luis. He was simply amazing. Katharina had finished her morning run about a week ago, and had been enjoying a latte from her favorite café when an odd-looking man decided to sit at her table. At first, she’d simply ignored him, labeling him off as a creep. He had then tried hitting on her, boasting about how wealthy and powerful he was. Katharina wasn’t a gold digger, money meant nothing to her. Well, it did, but it wasn’t what she looked for in a person. She liked a good personality, somebody that knew how to have fun. Judging from the man’s monotone voice and constant over-compensating boasting, he wasn’t anything special.

After a few minutes of awkward small-talk, she’d looked up to see the man smiling at her from across the café. She couldn’t help but smile back as he‘d swooped in and sat down next to her.

“Honey, what did I tell you about charming the pants off everyone in this joint?” She played along with it until the creep decided to worm his way out.

 They really hit it off from there, already having been on two dates, and this was their third.

“I think he’s by the bar!” Karen yelled over the music as she looked up. Katharina slapped her friend on the behind as she began making her way towards the bar.

“Have fun, slut!” She joked.

“Don’t worry, I-” The rest of her words were lost to the techno beat and chatter of other people as Katharina walked away. People were oblivious to her trying to work her across the dance floor, and simply stayed in place dancing. She shoved her way through them, and rejected a few men trying to get in a dance with her.

Her ears began to throb as she neared the bar and the DJ stand, where massive speakers were set up. The constant beat was starting to get to her… she needed some fresh air. Katharina looked around for Luis, trying to spot him among the mass of people.

“Where the hell are you?” She mumbled as she passed the bar and walked into a small hallway leading to the bathrooms. The music somewhat subsided as she walked towards the bathrooms and pulled out her cell phone. Smiling down at the wallpaper of her and Luis on the phone, she dialed his number. Her back rested against the wall as she heard the dial-tone, and impatiently waited, her foot tapping on the floor.

After a moment, she heard the trademark AT&T ring tone emitting from the women’s bathroom. Katharina’s eyes widened as she slowly walked over to the entrance, her heels clicking loudly in the barren hallway. Her hand rested on the door as the familiar rang continued and she opened the door.

Luis had a woman pressed against the wall, their lips were all over each other as his hands worked their way over her form. The other woman’s eyes were closed, and Luis had his back to her as the cell phone slid from her hands. The woman’s eyes opened slightly as she cooed, then went wide as her cell phone met the ground and broke into a few different pieces.

Luis pulled away from the woman and spun around as tears began streaming down Katharina’s face, her eyeliner dripping down in a few black lines as well as he ran over to her.

“Kath-” He hand flew through the air, slapping the cheating bastard across the face.

“Bastard!” She left the broken phone and ran away crying, wondering if she’d ever find her knight in shining armor.





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Tom’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of rain coming down outside. He took a deep breath as he sat up, looking around the small confines of the office. Katharina’s arm rested on his chest, a slight smile formed on his face as he lightly grasped her hand and rested his head back on the pillow. Thunder was heard off in the distance outside; the rain pattered against the roof of the hangar.

Tom wondered if Barnes ever made it out of that forest, he could still see the frantic look in his eyes right before he ran off into no-man’s land. Katharina moaned slightly as she nestled closer to him. Guess it was best to not think about it. Barnes was one of the most badass soldiers he knew, and he’d only known him for a short amount of time. Tom mentally wished him luck as he looked over at the desk where his radio sat.

That was odd, he hadn’t been called in that morning. Taft had usually always called on him for patrol duty or some outrageous order, yet this morning his radio hadn’t went off at all. Weird, maybe he’d slept right through it. The cot creaked as he slowly sat up and his legs swung over the bed and onto the floor. The floor was cold; Tom yawned as he stood up.

“No.” Katharina’s hand suddenly grabbed his before he could walk over to the desk. Smiling, he turned around as she sat up on her elbows. “Let it go.”

“Yeah.” He laid back down on the cot, wrapping his arm around her as he did so. He kissed her on the forehead and pulled the sheets back up over them. “Why rush things?”





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Jack Kingston’s chest heaved as he threw up blood into a small waste bin. He was sprawled out on the floor, clutching the small trash bin with pale and clammy hands.

“Jesus…” He felt like shit. Had he caught some kind of bug? His skin had paled several shades over the night, and he had been running a fever since he’d waken up.

“Oh man…” His chest heaved again, more blood came up and splashed the bowels of the can. His new dog Jesse sat in the corner, eyeing him intently. “Come here girl.” Jack breathed he collapsed on the ground. The German Sheppard slowly walked over and sat down by him. His blood encrusted hand ran along her coat, and he was surprised to feel that she was cold as ice.

“You’re feeling sick too, huh?” Jack wiped his mouth as he rubbed her ears and looked into her bloodshot eyes. “Just gotta sleep it off…” The dog rested its head on his chest as he rested his head on the floor, his head spinning.

“Just sleep… it… off…” Jack’s head went limp and rolled to the side as he passed out. The last thing he saw was Jesse with her bloodshot eyes, watching him, waiting…





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Nick walked down an empty street, a thick fog enveloped everything. He couldn’t see more than twenty feet in front of him. Not another person or living creature could be seen as he continued down the empty street in a suburban neighborhood. Cars were parked in driveways, never to be driven again. He passed a tricycle on its side, never to be played with again. Nick’s boots clacked loudly on the pavement as he suddenly stopped- feeling a presence behind him.

He turned around, and saw the silhouette of another person standing behind him. A darkness enveloped them, making their gender and appearance unrecognizable.

“Hello?” The silhouette never moved. Nick took a few steps forward, eager to find out who this person was. The fog grew thicker as Nick neared, the weather became colder. Goosebumps raised the hairs on the back of his neck as he began jogging towards the person.

Nick suddenly found himself lost in the fog, it had become so thick that he couldn’t see past his own feet. He stopped jogging, and stood in place, spinning around slowly. Not another sound but his own panicked breathing was heard in the bastardly neighborhood; a mere shadow of its former self. Kids would never be playing on the front lawns again, parents would never be running their lawn mowers too early in the morning. Joggers would never be running down the empty sidewalks, the empty mail boxes would never be filled by joyous mail men again.

His heart skipped a beat as footsteps were heard in the distance. Nick spun around, watching the form of the silhouette appear again- this time walking towards him. His muscles tensed up, his heart beat faster as the footsteps became louder and closer. They were so close now, so close that he could almost make out who they were-

“Hello Nick.” Carrie stopped in front of him, smiling despite having her stomach torn open. The dark glimmer of visceral could be seen even through the fog. Even so, Nick couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ve missed you.” He said as he wrapped his arms around his wife, holding her tight. His shirt became wet as her insides moved about, some gore splashing out against him.

“I’ve missed you too, baby.” Carrie said, her head rubbing against his chest as he stroked her blonde hair, the tips of it discolored from her own blood.

“You’re dead.” Nick said as he pulled away. A strong breeze suddenly rolled in, causing the trees to sway, and a mailbox to creak as its door opened. Carrie’s hair flowed in the wind as she stared up at him, her face devoid of all expression.

“We can be together forever, Nick.” She said in a monotone voice. Nick squinted his eyes as the wind picked up, the mailboxes that lined the street swaying in place.

“And how is that?” The wind howled as cars began shifting, the mailboxes were torn out of the ground. A mini tornado of sorts had formed around them- a series of cars and mailboxes were now spinning around them. Nick and Carrie weren’t affected by the wind.

“Simple.” Carrie replied as the roofs of houses tore off and added to the spinning cyclone around them. Nick looked around, watching as each house was torn from the ground. Each tree ripped up, the roots tearing up earth as they too joined the frenzy as the wind howled at them. Looking back at Carrie, he saw a crazy look in her eyes.

“Real simple.” She leaned forward and sank her teeth into his neck. Nick groaned, but relished his wife as the infection spread throughout his body. His veins convulsed, each one popping out as his blood ran cold and his skin paled down. His mouth opened wide in shock, letting out an inhuman cry as he thrust his arms into the air.


“Jesus!” Nick jumped up from his cot, drenched in a cold sweat. He groaned as he sat up and buried his face into his hands.


“You ok?” Jake asked as he turned over in his cot. Nick’s hands slowly slid down, pulling on his face as he did so.

“Just a dream, kid. Just a dream…”





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Barnes crouched behind a log as John handed over a pair of binoculars. They were at the edge of the forest, overlooking a small street in the town. A large red pickup rested behind the group,, raindrops splattered off its frame.

“There she is.” He said with a grin. Barnes smiled as spotted the military APC, abandoned in the middle of the road. Barnes had told John and “Joe” his story, and they had decided to help him out. John had been to town many times over the last week, and had spotted the APC on his last trip out.

Barnes watch as two zombies clad in ballistic armor mulled about the vehicle, one of them munching on an arm. It was as if deep down, some part of their memory remained, and they felt the need to protect what was formerly theirs. It was about to be his.

“I don’t like this.” John said with a deeper voice, it must have been Joe.

“Look, we go in, commandeer the vehicle, and get the hell out. This will be cake.” John said to himself. Barnes rolled his eyes, John really was crazy. The entire trip over, he an entire conversation with himself while Barnes simply watched in part amusement, and part horror.

“Well when shit goes down, I’m getting the fuck out.” “Joe” said. It was getting easier to tell them apart. Whenever “Joe” spoke, he had a much deeper voice than John.

“You do that Joe,” Barnes mumbled as he handed the binoculars back over to John. “hand me the rifle.” John slid over a .30-06 bolt-action hunting rifle, complete with a camouflage finish. He looked through the scope, observing the two lone shamblers out in the street. He wanted to fire, but didn’t want to alert the entire town. Wiping the rain out of his eyes, Barnes watched the closest shambler who was munching on an arm. The former soldier stumbled around, every so often he’d take a nibble off the limb. An expensive wrist watch was still wrapped around its arm-

Thunder struck overhead, and Barnes pulled the trigger. The lightening masked the gunshot as the shambler’s head jerked back. The .30-06 round exploded through its forehead, exiting out the back of its skull. The round slammed inside of its helmet, blasting it off its head in a shower of brain matter. The soldier fell to its knees, and collapsed in the street, its face landing in a large puddle that began to turn red as its contents leaked from his head.

“Nice shot!” John exclaimed as Barnes pulled the bolt back on the rifle, ejecting out the empty cartridge. It rolled off the log and fell into the mud, sinking away as the rain poured down.

“I could have down that.” Joe sneered. Barnes ignored him as he looked back through the scope at the final shambler. It’s head looked over at its fallen brethren, watching the remains of its brain flow out into the puddle.

“Come on…” Barnes mumbled, waiting for the next blast of thunder to light up the sky. The remaining shambler kneeled down slowly next to its fellow soldier, and dug its hand into the corpses’ head cavity. Rex grimaced, watching as it scooped out a handful of grey mush from its head. It moaned, the sound filling the air. It was one of the saddest things Barnes had ever heard. The shambler shoved the brain mush into its mouth as thunder struck again overhead. Wasting no time, Rex pulled the trigger. The round exploded through its head, the mush inside its mouth shot out as its head spun and it collapsed next to the other corpse. Rex grinned as he pulled the bolt on the rifle and stood up.

“Alright, let’s move.” John nodded as he got up, holding an M4 close to his chest.

“Joe, guard the truck. We’re going to check this out. Give a shout of you see anything.” John placed his set of binoculars down on the log.

“John, we might need those…” Barnes said, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Joe needs them more, let’s go.” John took off running towards the APC. Rex sighed, looking down at the empty space in front of him. Shaking his head, he took off after John. The poncho Rex was wearing kept him dry as he slowed to a walk in the street, sweeping the rifle back and forth between buildings and alleyways, just waiting for one of the infected to stick its head out. None did.

“Over here!” John whispered loudly as he waved Rex over. His boots splashed through a small stream that had formed into the street as he ran over to the APC. John was at the back doors, and holding up his rifle. Barnes shrugged and walked over, placing his hands on the handle-

“No!” John thrust his arm out in front of him, blocking his path. Before he could ask what was up, John spoke up again. “Listen.” Barnes let go of the handle, and was surprised to hear light bumps against the frame coming from the inside of the truck.

“Shit.” Barnes mumbled, somebody or something was trapped inside. John took a few steps back and aimed the carbine at the doors. He looked at Barnes and nodded, indicating it was ok to open. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands on the doors again. Thunder struck up above as he pulled both the doors open and jumped back, bringing his .30-06 up as three shamblers lunched out.

John’s carbine exploded, the fiery blasts glowing hot in the storm as the rounds tore them apart. Barnes kept the rifle trained on them as they went down, and gave each one a nudge with his boot to make sure they were down for the count before he shouldered the rifle. Off in the distance, moans could be heard all around town.

“We don’t have much time.” John said as he ran into the back of the APC, Rex followed and watched as John sat down in the driver’s seat and tried the engine.

“Shit!” Barnes cursed, slamming his hand down on the side of the vehicle as the engine sputtered and died. “Pop the hood.” Barnes ran out the back of the APC and made his way to the front. He lifted the hood and saw that the fan belt had snapped.

“What’s wrong?” John called from the inside, the rain seemed to muffle his voice.

“The god damn fan belt!” Barnes yelled as he spotted a shambler a few blocks away, stumbling out of an alley. He quickly up his rifle and took aim, firing a second later. The female’s head split in two, he didn’t wait for her to collapse. Running back into the vehicle, he grabbed the repair kit and opened it up, grinning down at the fan belt he spotted inside.

“Alright, Johnny boy, you’re going to have to cover me while I do this.” John nodded, gripping his M4 tightly. He hopped outside into the street, carrying the tool box with him. John followed close behind, stopping on the side of the truck as Barnes dropped the tool box and prepared to dismantle the broken belt. Barnes cringed as he heard John open fire.

“Come on, you bitch.” He mumbled as he tried pulling out the broken belt, it was caught on something. More gunfire outside. “Come on!” He shouted as the moans of the dead taunted him. Barnes risked a peak outside as he heard John shouting as he fired off another string of shots.

“Oh no…” It seems like they’ve woken the dead with all the gunfire. The entire town seemed to be stumbling towards the two men and the APC. It was haphazardly surrounded, and barely kept at bay as John fired round after round into the growing mass.

“Hurry it up!” John spat, rain water spitting out of his lips as he did so. Wasting no time, Barnes got back to work.

“Cindy, if you’re watching over me, let me avenge you.” He mumbled. The fan belt suddenly came loose, and he pulled it out with ease. Barnes grinned. “Thanks babe.”