Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Day 2, Afternoon

Emergency Center for Disease Control meeting



“So are they dead?” A young soldier asked as he lowered his hand from the crowd, the patch sewn into his uniform read “Williams.” Yoko Chan ran a hand through her short hair, brushing a strand behind her ear before she spoke up.

“Yes… in that the circulatory, respiratory, and other vital functions have been terminated… these subjects are technically deceased.” The conference room bombarded Yoko with a series of questions. She tried going on, but with everyone talking at once, her words were lost to the crowd. Her slender hands wrapped around the microphone as she leaned forward and made herself be heard.

“Please just let me get through this, and then I‘ll take questions.”

“How can they be cannibals?” One question in particular stuck out to her. Yoko looked over at a large African-American male, also a soldier. She’d spoken with him earlier, Sergeant Keyes was his name. He was being deployed to New York City with a team the following morning.

“The infection is spread through direct fluid and contact. It must enter through the blood stream through an open wound. Infection duration depends on the size of the wound, the proximity to a major blood vessel, and each individual’s mitochondria. Reanimation will occur no more than one to five minutes after the victim’s primary life functions have expired. Once reanimation occurs, the subject will respond with immediate homicidal aggression.”

The conference room exchanged a series of worried glances at one another as more questions were asked. The Sergeant raised his hand once more. He waited until they made eye contact before speaking.

“Ma’am, that doesn’t answer my question. Why are they getting back up and attacking the living?” Yoko ran a hand through her hair again, a cold chill going down her spine. She looked up at the Sergeant with worried eyes.

“We don’t know.”





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“Jesus Christ…” Nick paced back and forth around his bunk, trying to clear his head. “Shit!” He kicked his bunk, causing it to skid across the floor a few inches. A creaking screech made him cringe as it did so. Hua sat on a cot across from his, his face resting in a hand.

“That psycho is going to fucking kill us all!” He threw his hands up as he fished around his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out and fumbled for his lighter. Dirty fingers wrapped around the metal zippo; he pulled it out and flicked it open. The orange flame danced as a breeze flowed in. Nicked watched the flame as he stuck the cigarette in his mouth and prepared to light it. Before the burning flame could ignite the tobacco, his mind raced to his deceased wife, Carrie. She’d always wanted him to quit, and he did just that for her when she had accepted his ring. Just because she wasn’t with him now didn’t make it right to go against her wishes.

“Fuck it.” The former officer breathed as he snapped the lighter shut and threw the cigarette aside; it rolled away and under Jake’s cot. Nick slid the now warm lighter back into his pocket, his fingers resting on it for a moment before he pulled his hand out. Looking over at Hua, he saw a confused look on his face.

“Ah, you don’t know what the hell I’m saying, do you?” Hua raised his hands.

“私は英語を話しません 私は何度もあなたに言う必要がありますか” (I keep telling you I don't speak English, idiot.) Nick shook his head and sighed.

“That’s what I thought.” Hua grinned.

“Damn it, Hua I didn’t say anything good.” Hua laughed, which made Nick even angrier. “No! N-O, no!” Nick shook his head back and forth, holding up his hands as he did so and pronouncing each word slowly.

“Ah, Neek. You silly.” Nick sighed.

“I give up.” Hua’s smile faded.

“Nick, are they going to kill me like they did to all those other kids?” Jake piped up, sitting up on the cot. Nick turned around and quickly kneeled down.

“No way buddy, I’ll make sure of that.” He smiled weakly. Jake returned it, but Nick could see the worry in his eyes. To be honest, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

“I promise.” Jake shrugged.  Nick closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with shaky hands. What was a promise anymore? His mind raced to his wedding night, when he’d promised Carrie that he’d never let anything happen to her. Yeah, right. Nick was a fucking liar.

“Second thought…” Nick sighed as he pulled out the zippo again and got down on his knees. “There you are.” He grabbed the cigarette from earlier, lodged underneath the cot.

“Here’s to the end of the world.” The orange flame ignited with the flick of the thumbwheel, the small flame cast a shadow across his face as he brought it to his lips and prepared to light the cancerous poison. As Nick did so, a strong breeze blew in, blowing out his lighter. A small smile formed on his face. Nick broke the cigarette in two and tossed it aside, slipping the lighter back into his pocket.

“Sorry Carrie.”





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Katharina held Tom close as they rested in the office. He hadn’t said a word since he’d returned, and she was really getting worried. After seeing that group of people gunned down without a second thought, she’d actually been kind of worried herself. She heard Tom let out a long breath, felt his chest expand under her hands.

Katharina saw two helicopters leave when Tom first left for Cleveland, and two more came back, but the news helicopter that left didn’t. A few of the people that left didn’t return either…

Leaning forward, she lightly kissed Tom on the side of the neck and snuggled closer to him. She couldn’t help but wish things were normal again, and that they could both be living normal lives. They would have a small house with a picket fence and a dog. The kids would be playing in the backyard while she prepared dinner for her hubby-

Thunder exploded outside, and rain began pouring down in sheets. The wind shifted direction, and the moans of the dead could be heard as a reminder of what lay outside the “safety” of the front gate. Tom’s hand slid down and grasped hers, his hand tightened as the thunder cracked again.

“Tom…” Her man stayed silent. “Tom, talk to me.” Tom sat up and turned around on the cot, facing her this time. She looked into his saddened eyes.

“We’re going to die if we stay here, Kath.” She blinked, taking in a deep breath.

“Don’t think about that now.” She wrapped her arms around him and moved closer. His shoulders were stiff, and she could tell her was under a lot of stress. Why worry him even more?

“Aren’t you scared though? After everything that’s happened-” Katharina stopped him, placing one of her fingers across his lips.

“Stop stressing yourself out, Tom.”

“But-” She leaned forward and kissed him slowly. Pulling away, she giggled when she saw Tom’s face turning red.

“How old are you again?” She laughed. Tom managed a small. Good, if she could just get his mind off the hellish nightmare outside for even a moment, Katharina was happy.

“Old enough.” He leaned forward this time, kissing her neck and running his hands along her back, going under her shirt. She pulled away as she found her bra suddenly unhooked.

“How do I know I’m not just another one night stand?” She sat up and pulled her shirt off before laying down on top of him. “Hmm?” Tom grinned as he lifted her hand.

“Can I borrow this?” He asked, motioning at a small ring on her middle finger. Katharina smiled as she slid it off and dropped it into Tom’s hands. The ring had been a gift from her former boss for one year of employment. Tom twirled the ring in his fingers before grabbing her other hand and sliding the ring on her ring finger.

“Katharina, where do I began on this wonderful occasion!” Tom exclaimed, holding up his hands and making a goofy voice. She giggled as he took both her hands, kissing each one before continuing.

“We’ve only known each other for a few weeks now, but these last few weeks have been the best of my life… with you anyways. In these last few weeks, amidst fighting for my life, I’ve managed to find a single ray of hope left. I’ve fallen in love Kath, with you. I may never get the chance to do this again, so I… well uh-”

“Yes.” She smiled.

“I didn’t even get to-”

“Yes!” She leaned down and kissed him once more, this time letting him have his way.





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Thunder exploded in the sky, lightening streaks cracked down and struck a tree. The dead stumbled about, arms outstretched and yearning for the fresh scent that traversed into their rotten nostrils. This set off their insatiable hunger, which resulted in an orchestra of moans. The scent grew stronger as the moans of the damned flowed throughout the forest. Whatever ears these moans fell upon caused more moans to erupt. The dead went wild as a man ran by, clutching his side as he gasped for air.

Someone had infiltrated their forest, they weren’t going to leave alive.





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Barnes had never been more scared in his life. The dead taunted him at every turn, no place was safe in the jumble of trees. Everything looked the same, and he could have sworn he’d been running in circles. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how many miles he’d ran, terrified. The Taurus shook in his hands as his running slowed to a light jog as he came to another clearing. He decided to stop for a minute and catch his breath. Rex’s lungs felt like they’d collapse, each wheezy breath he took felt like needles in his throat. The gun in his hands felt like a pea shooter in comparison to the dark figures he saw all around, emerging from behind trees.

Twelve bullets. He had twelve bullets in the gun, and that was it. Once he ran out, he’d be dead, no doubt. Looking over at the tree line, a trio of the undead emerged and stumbled after him, almost jogging in a way, eager to get just a nibble of the fresh meat.

“Breaks over.” He said to himself as he took off again in the opposite direction. Rain poured down from the sky, drenching him. He slapped vines and bushes out of the way as he weaved between the trees, doing his best to stay away from the shamblers. Barnes suddenly stopped, his boots sliding in the mud and his blood going cold as the shrill scream of a howler echoed throughout the forest.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck!” His boots kicked up mud as he took off sprinting. He didn’t know where he was going, nor which way the town was, but he knew he couldn’t stay where he was. A branch scraped against his arm as he ran by, the blood freely flowed down his arm. The cut went unnoticed as he slowed down again and looked around. He ran a hand through his wet hair as he heard the scream again, this time closer.

“Too close-” Barnes turned around, and saw the howling bastard coming right at him. “Fuck!” He panted as the thunder exploded again, and the rain came down even harder. He took off again, slapping branches and vines out of the way as he ran. Barnes risked a glance over his shoulder, and saw the howler easily weaving between the trees.

“Oof!” Barnes had the wind knocked out of him as he tripped over a stump. The Taurus fell from his hands, and skidded in the mud a few feet away. The ear-piercing cry of the howler reached his ears. Barnes spun around, the wet mud clinging to his uniform as he did so.

“Shit, shit, shit!” He crab-walked backwards until his back hit a large oak. The howler screamed in rage as it charged forward. Rex rolled out of the way as the abomination slammed into the tree only a moment later. A large flap of skin ripped off its face and plopped down in the mud. It turned around to face him, a row of teeth visible on one side of its face. It seemed to be grinning at him as it charged again. Barnes grabbed the first things his hands grasped- a branch. With a quick tug, it snapped free.

“Bastard!” The sky exploded with thunder, illuminating the screamer’s face. Barnes swung the branch, whipping the howler across the face and knocking it back. Barnes saw the gun in the mud, but left it. He needed the bullets.

As the howler stumbled back, he delivered a swift kick to its midsection, sending it back against a tree. Its head shot back, blood began dripping from its eyes and mouth as it screamed up at the storm, as if in frustration.

“Bring it! Come on!” Barnes screamed as the howler ran forward. He dropped the stick as he sidestepped out of the way and grabbed the carrier by the shoulders. He kicked it the leg, bringing it down with him as he got on his knees. With a grunt, he slammed the fuckers face into the tree where he broke off the branch. A spasm shook its entire body as its arms flailed about for a moment before stopping, the remains of the branch protruding through the back of its skull.

Barnes sighed and turned around-

“Gah!” Two shamblers stumbled forward, sneaky bastards. He didn’t even hear them. Without thinking, he scooped up the magnificent Taurus. It was caked in mud, water flowed down the barrel as he pulled the trigger twice. The mud on the barrel fluttered up in the air as the gun kicked back, spitting out the deadly lead. Both shamblers collapsed in a puddle, a headshot in each. Barnes cursed as he jumped up and shoved the gun in his holster, strapping it shut.

Ten bullets, ten bullets was all he had left. As the sky lit up with thunder again, Barnes took off running. He didn’t know where he was going, and he didn’t quite know how much longer his constant spike of adrenaline would last. All he knew was that he wasn’t going to die here, not before he killed the bastard that killed his Cindy.