WorldLost- Week 1: An Infected Novel (3 page)

Life is funny sometimes and timing is everything, one second
your life is in danger and the next you are safe a cozy in your own private
stairwell.

Just as I close the door and think I’m found out, I heard a
screaming from the outside of the front of the building and then I hear the
sound of a car speeding past the building. I hear the lobby doors crash open and
then footsteps running out of the building. There is a long period of silence
before I decide to look out the door.

Slowly I opened the door just an inch and peeked into the
lobby. The two teenage boys were gone and the lobby was empty. The glass at the
front of the lobby was cracked from being slammed open and Tony, the teenager
with the head crushed in and the woman victim are still in the lobby dead.

I opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into the
lobby looking both ways to make sure there wasn’t another infected waiting for
me. I made my way over to Tony’s body and picked up the bat, which Tony had
dropped, up. It was covered in blood from lying in the pool of blood that was
around Tony and had hair and brain matter from the teenager that Tony had hit
on the tip. My stomach was starting to turn again, but I suppress the urge and try
to focus on what I have to do. Amy is still in need of my help and I have to
make it her apartment.

I turned and walked towards the back of the apartment building.

As I walked past Tony’s apartment, the door opened and Linda
stepped out and stopped me.

 “What do you think you are doing?” she said to me with that
irritating high pitched voice she had. Before I can answer she turned and saw
Tony’s lifeless bloody body lying on the floor in the middle of the lobby.

Linda let out a loud and agonizing scream and fell to her
knees.

“WHAT HAPPENED? TONY!!!” she screamed as she begins to stand
and moves towards him. I knew I couldn’t leave her right now, not with the
situation in the lobby and me carrying Tony’s bat, so I walked over to her and
said, “Tony was trying to help that lady over there and the teenager guys that
were attacking her turned on him and tore him apart. There wasn’t anything I
could do, but Tony did get one of the guys.” Which I was pointing at so she saw
what I was talking about.

Linda looked at me, then at the guy on the sofa and then at
the lady. “How did this happen? What kind of drugs were these guys on? We’ve
got to call the police.” she said as she held Tony’s head in her lap.

She was had a point, what the hell was going on, how did this
happen? What was causing people to go crazy and attack others?

“I tried calling the police just a few minutes ago and the
line was busy. “ I said in response. “I think whatever is going on is
overwhelming the phone lines and the authorities can’t keep up with the calls.”

“What?” she asked. She was in shock, the look on face was
total shell shock and she was not able to comprehend what I was saying. I
thought about slapping her to get her to focus, but then I noticed the woman on
the couch stir and fall off the sofa. She was actually alive.

She started to twitch, kind of like she was having a seizure and
then started to push herself off the floor to stand up. I knew this was
impossible because her stomach and her intestines were laying there on the
floor underneath her and no one could still be alive with their stomach and
intestines lying there outside their body.

But I’ll be damned if she didn’t stand up and look around.
She hadn’t fully recognized us with Linda on the floor and me just standing
there with the bat in my hand. She just kind of moved her eyes around like the
teenage boy had with her head still as a statue until she finally locked onto
me. I immediately started to back away.

She moved slowly towards me as I raised the bat and used it
to pushed her back towards the sofa. She stepped back and fell into the sofa
sitting down with her feet all tangled in her intestines and slipping on the
blood all over the floor.

Linda looked at me then at the woman and threw up. The woman
couldn’t stand back up or was having trouble because of the blood.

After wiping her mouth, Linda said, “Holy Shit! What the fuck
is happening?”

Linda started to stand up after laying Tony’s head on the
ground. The Tony’s hand reached up, grabbed Linda’s arm and pulled it to his
mouth. With an ear piercing scream from Linda, Tony pulled a large chunk of
Linda’s forearm off and started to chew and swallow the forearm meat like it
was a juicy steak.

Linda stood up the rest of the way and stumbled backward away
from Tony while she continued screaming and looking at Tony with this shocked
expression. This all happened within a few seconds and I couldn’t react to
anything. I was stuck in my spot, super glued to the slick tile floor.

After what seemed like a lifetime, I began to move my feet towards
the back of the lobby, trying to move quickly through the door. As I was
moving, I was thinking, if a bite from one of the infected resulted in you turning
into one of them, then Linda was a goner and there was nothing more I could do,
it was how I was going to justify taking off without helping Linda.

 I just couldn’t bring myself to use the bat to fight back, I
could only use it as a pole to push the infected away. Did that make me a
coward?

I exited through the back door, telling myself  it was a good
idea based on what I had seen out front. I heard the door click shut behind me
and but could still hear Linda screaming from inside the lobby.

It was a closed in parking lot for the tenets and the gate
required a code to open it. It should be free of any of the infected and it
opened into the alley that would take me directly to the street Amy lives on.
Worst case I might have to deal with a few homeless people like Frank the
Dumpster King.

I moved quickly to the gate exit, not seeing any infected and
punched in my code to open the gate.

 As the gate opened I took a minute to look at the parking
lot and noticed one of the apartment tenants sitting in their car, trying with
all their might to get out. A closer look showed that they had turned and were
trying to get out because they had seen me.

The alley looked deserted with no one wondering around. That
didn’t mean anyone wasn’t in the alley, but if they were, I couldn’t see them.

I moved away from the infected in the car and into the alley
heading north to get to the main street that Amy lived on. Her apartment was
only a few blocks away and I planned to hide in doorways, behind walls and cars
as I headed to her apartment building.

As I walked cautiously down the alley, I thought back on my
first encounter with Frank.

Frank was someone I met right after moving to Charleston. I
was taking out all of the moving material trash from my apartment and was throwing
it in the dumpster when it landed directly on top of him. Of course, he didn’t think
that was cool and made me very aware that he was not happy, with a slew of
curse words that he yelled at me.

Being new to the city and not that familiar with the homeless
or how to deal with them, I was surprised and really upset with myself. I apologized
up and down, left and right, for trying to buryFrank in the trash.

I think Frank was surprised by my reaction, but he quickly
saw an opportunity and took complete advantage of me. He told me that I owed
him for the hassle, the mess and that he’d be good with a ten dollar donation. I
almost fell for it but told him to get lost.

From that first day meeting Frank, he and I talked regularly
and I learned a few things about the city from him which was very helpful, then
I met Amy and Butch and honestly, Frank was a little crazy, but he did provide
some very helpful guidance on how to live in the city, well from time to time
he did.

Man,
I
hope Frank isn’t some crazy freak like so many of the people I’ve seen today.
He was a good person, more than some people that had a job, a house and I
really wanted him to be safe, to be OK.

I was halfway through the alley when out of the bakery’s back
door, Frank stepped out and grabbed me, pulling me into the bakery.

“What the hell are you doing wandering around out there by
yourself?” Frank said as he closed and locked the door. “Don’t you know that
the apocalypse is happening right this minute? Hanging around outside, by yourself
is a sure way to get yourself killed or worse to turn into one of them zombies?”

“I need to get to Amy’s, dude; she’s in trouble and needs our
help,” I said to Frank as he pulls me further into the bakery. “She sent me a
text that her neighbor was trying to break in and hurt her; I’ve got to get to
her.”

“You won’t make it to her place without running into trouble.
We need to hunker down and wait this out.” He replied as he picked up a
sandwich from a plate on the counter and started to take eat it.

I was looking at him, not quite sure how to reply and Frank must
have felt like he needed to explain what he was doing in the bakery. “Henry
took off through the back door without saying anything and left everything
open, so I thought I would come in and lock up for him. You never know what
kind of trouble was going to happen if he just left it wide open.”

Henry was the baker, the guy that owned the store we were in.
Henry had a wife and daughter that worked at the bakery also. They were a very nice
family and I really enjoyed coming into the bakery when they were working. I
truly hoped that they had made it.

Most days, Henry’s wife and daughter would only be at the
bakery in the early morning and since it was after noon today, I guessed that
they had already left for the day and Henry must have left in a hurry to be
with them.

I saw Henry in the alley smoking a cigarette all the time and
Frank was generally standing there with him eating something delicious Henry
had given him from the bakery. I’m sure Henry gave Frank food when he was on his
smoke breaks, Henry was that type of person and I’m sure Henry enjoyed having
someone to talk to when he was in the alley smoking.

I think Henry felt sorry for Frank and that was his way of
helping someone in need, although Henry only did that when his wife wasn’t at
the shop. His wife didn’t like the homeless, thinking there were way too many
in the city, and would often ask any of them hanging around to leave and stay
away from the bakery.

Henry and his family only lived a few blocks south of the
store, so he must have left on foot which from the various car accidents I had
already seen, might be the best way to travel right now. I hope he made it,
that dude made a mean bagel sandwich. Homemade bagel, jalapeno jam, ham, pepper
jack cheese and some grilled green chilies.

Now that just made my mouth water and I seriously thought
about making one to take with me while I was in the bakery.

“As I was trying to lock up the bakery, after Henry had taken
off, I noticed everyone on the street going crazy. People were attacking one
another as they walked down the street. I figured this might be a good place to
hold up until it calmed down on the street and that Henry would be happy that I
locked up for him.” Frank finished his thought and took another bite of his
sandwich.

He grabbed the cola on the table and took a big swig. “Wish I
had some booze to go with this. The things I’ve seen today. Really bad things.
A drink of whiskey would help me right now.”

“It’s great that you got in here before something happened,
but this place has a floor to ceiling glass front. I’ve seen those “Zombies”,
as you call them, break through a sliding glass door and the front windows
would be no different.” I stated to him as I looked to the front of the bakery.
“You won’t last here long. Once one of those infected notices you, they will be
through those windows and you will be eaten.”

Frank turned to look at the windows and shaking his head, he replied,
“I’ve noticed that when a person turns, they are really slow, almost like they
are a new born baby, learning to stand up and move their limbs.” He turned back
to me and said in a really low voice, “There are faster ones and they are the
ones you have to watch out for. They can sense you; they can hear you and they
can smell you.” He then smiled and said, “But there aren’t a lot of them, so
just pay attention and stay away from the fast ones.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that this storefront is glass
and that they could break in.” I moved around the counter and slowly approached
the front glass windows and looked out into the street. The city was still on
fire, smoke rising up from all directions, the sky a bright orange and red even
with the sun bright and center in the sky.  The street was empty except for the
wrecked cars, the really dead people lying around and the occasional bird
landing to eat bits and pieces from the dead.

“Hold on partner,” Frank said behind me and pulled me back to
the counter. “Like you said, if they see you, we could have a problem. So,
let’s hang back by the counter and the back room for now. No need to hang out
in the front window like a display mannequin.”

“I already told you, I’m leaving to help Amy. I’m not staying
here.” I reminded him and started to head for the back door. “Lock up after me
and stay safe. Maybe I’ll see you again, but if not, thanks for everything over
the last few years. You were always willing to talk with me and most times,
your advice was sound.”

“Most times? I’d say I was very much up front and honest.”
Frank said as he followed me. “If you step outside, you will need to change who
you are and what you believe in. You can’t survive in this new apocalyptic
world without changing.”

I stepped to the door, unlocked the deadbolt and opened the
door so I could peek out. With no one in the alley, I closed the door and
looked at Frank.

“Frank, I’m going to find my friends. I think it would be
best if you come with me. As a group, we could be more efficient, increase our
chances of making it.”

“I’m not leaving this place. It’s all I know, this alley, the
bakery, the liquor store and my dumpsters. This is home for me. I’m staying,
Henry will be back and he’ll be happy that I took care of his place.”

“Ok. I tried. You stay here; I’ll go and find Amy and Butch.
With luck, we will meet again.”

I opened the door, looked outside again and I stepped out,
closing the door. I heard Frank lock the deadbolt and say through the door,
“Good luck and Godspeed.”

I moved with caution north through the alley. I didn’t run
into any problems as I made my way to the end of the alley, but I still took my
time and watched very carefully to see if there was a problem. Once I finally
made it to the alleyway opening, I was able to hide behind the alley wall. I peeked
around the corner to the west and then to the east. I didn’t see any movement
on the street, no people, no cars, nothing. There weren’t any sirens or sounds
of people, so I moved out of the alley and headed east towards Amy’s.

I used the storefront doorway entrances and the parked cars
that lined the street as cover as I moved cautiously through the street. I
moved from doorway opening to doorway opening all the while stopping at each
and looking around for anything that might cause me trouble. I looked around,
smelled the air and listened for anything that would cause an alarm, just like
the infected did.

Interesting I thought.

I slowly made my way east on Ford Street till I got to the intersection
where it met 10th Ave.

I crouched behind an SUV and peeked around it to look in each
direction.

There was a group of infected standing around on the north
end of the street just turning in slow circles searching for their next meal. I
decided the best thing to do was to make a run for it, quietly and with
caution. If they saw me then I’d turn on the speed to out run them, finding the
first place I could hide and lose them, waiting for them to pass by.

Running was something I truly enjoyed. My dad introduced me
to running at a young age and we enjoyed many cross country runs together. It
was our way to exercise and spend time together. It was too bad that I had
stopped a year ago after meeting Amy and Butch. The three of us just had other
things to do and it generally involved late nights and drinking, which didn’t
make running an appealing hobby.

Running for your life was a different situation, but I knew I
could outrun the infected, even the fast ones. Although fast, they didn’t
actually run like a normal living person, they galloped, like a horse, the type
of run movement that allowed a hunter to stay with their prey, just enough to
wear their prey down. I was pretty sure that a short burst, a sprint, would get
me away, out of their view and allow me to find a hiding spot.

I looked up from my thoughts and noticed the infected
standing on the other side of the car I was hiding behind. I needed to make
sure to keep my mind on the task, at hand and not let it wander. What was I
going to do now, run or…..?