01: Affliction

Amélia Nunez

Hello. My name is Amélia. I work as an Executive Administrative Assistant at BioCore in Fairhaven…well I guess in my case worked. Let me explain. Today, the facility was the site of a massive reactor explosion which nearly leveled the entire building. Many of us became hopelessly trapped in the upper levels, myself included as I worked on the 5^th floor, while others were lucky to escape the area that took the majority of the damage and make it safely out of the building.

I had been sitting at my desk working on some bullshit, unimportant report my boss HAD to have at that exact moment even though, technically, I was on lunch when I felt the rumble. It started small sort of like the aftershock of an earthquake. But within seconds it had built up to a powerful shake that exploded windows and killed the lights on every floor. I ducked beneath my desk and waited for the thunderous roaring beneath my feet to stop enough to make it to an exit. But it was only after the explosion ended the real danger began.

Moments before I crammed my body under the solid oak desk I’d heard my boss shout. It sounded like the bookcase in his office had toppled over. I could only assume he jumped out of the way as I was too concerned with my own ass to really take a look. The shuddering finally slowed and I took a breath with the thought to check on his well-being. It was quiet, eerily so. There was only the pounding of my heart to keep me company. “Larry?” I called. No answer. Crawling out from beneath my desk I pulled myself to my feet, moving slow as the warped floor made walking rather difficult. I called my boss’ name again but there was still no sounds coming from his office.

I poked my head into his door, still working on shaky legs, but all I could see was his arm. It rested against the desk flat and still. His $2,000 Armani suit jacket had been torn open at the cuff. Blood seeped from a cut on his forearm, running a crooked line down his skin before pooling in his hand. He was just moments ago regaling me about the benefits of being selected from the steno pool as his ‘Girl Friday’ and now he was lying motionless on the floor of his office. “Larry, are you alright?” 

I didn’t know whether or not he was dead. And while my gut told me to just turn and run, my upbringing with a Catholic mother guilted me into doing the right thing. Another rumble started, this time near the elevator. Ceiling lights had been ripped from their brackets and now dangled dangerously from wires that fizzled and sparked. I turned my head for just a second to take in the carnage and when I looked back, he was gone. “Larry?”

Something didn’t feel right. I was uninjured and barely able to move without tripping over some fallen piece of furniture or debris. Then again I had the added disability of being clumsy. But even with my disadvantage, Larry had appeared seriously injured. There was no way he was able to get up and move so quickly on floors that tilted to one side in a matter of moments. Leaning more into the doorway I spotted him in the corner near the window, clawing at the walls as he tried to force himself to stand.

“Larry? Are you ok?” He turned at the sound of my voice but he didn’t say anything. Instead his dark blue eyes shot up at me, causing the little hairs on my neck to stand. I started backing away. Why hadn’t I just listened to my instincts? There was a huge gash on the right side of his forehead. Blood trickled into his eye as he stretched to stand more erect and I could see a third more severe injury. A pen, one I’d given him as a gift for his promotion last Thursday, had been lodged into his neck. And while I would think he would feel immense pain and probably shouldn’t be as mobile as he was, he appeared unfazed by it.

“No fucking way.” I stumbled backwards as a sudden realization hit me. Larry was dead. As dead as they come but somehow he was standing in front of me. Moving. Bleeding. But certainly not breathing. I continued stepping back until I bumped into my desk, and that was when I saw it.

More zombies heading towards me. There were tons of them, at least twenty, surprisingly fast and incredibly agile. And although I was seeing it, I was having a hard time believing it. What the hell were they working on downstairs? Each of them appeared to be in different stages of decay, some were gray and scaly while others were pale or blue. Some had missing limbs which I suspected had much to do with the explosion and they were dragging barely attached legs or feet behind them. Tendons protruded from ripped and bleeding skin and every last one of them was drenched in blood. But their eyes. Their eyes were the worst. Vacant and hollow, their sickly dull colored irises peered forward with a level of malevolence that kept me shuffling for the exit.

So distracted I was with the group coming at me I had completely forgotten about Larry. He had moved out of the corner without me noticing and was now standing in the doorway looking at me. I screamed. Big mistake. They all turned in my direction, those soulless stares boring into me with the intent of satisfying their hunger. Rushing towards the stairway doors in the hallway, I hurried inside, taking the stairs two at a time. A light coming from one of the lower level doors caught my eye and I quickly made my way for it. It was a back door to the kitchen but I had no idea what awaited me when I got inside. 

I slowly entered, looking around as I ducked my head low. Luckily for me it appeared empty. I was safe…for now. Grabbing the largest knife I could find, I started deeper into the room, my heels clicked like a homing beckon on the sparkling tile floors and I hurriedly removed them. Behind me I could hear the dining hall doors burst open. Shit. They’re here. The stairway door had no lock. It had no convenience of a handle either. There would be no stopping them if they learned I was inside. Turning my attention to the long hallway in front of me, I moved forward, trying to be as quiet as I could. But even with my bare feet I was somehow unable to suppress the sounds of my loud and exaggerated footfalls no matter how softly I stepped. 

Scratching on the door behind me gave me pause. I feared to look but I had to know if they’d gotten in. Tossing a quick glance over my shoulder, I could see that the door was starting to pull away from the jamb. The time for caution was over. I turned to run. The door burst open and for the second time tonight, I was being chased by the undead. Just ahead of me was a sign of my salvation. EXIT. But exit to where? At that moment I didn’t care as long as it got me away from the pitiful moaning of the horde at my heels. 

I rushed faster. The nylon stockings on my feet caused me to slip. I tumbled forward into the wall, catching myself before I hit the ground. Regaining my balance, I threw my body into the door and found myself in the underground garage. The sign on the wall said it was level 3 but my Honda was parked on 5. Not wanting to risk it, I hurried to the valet station and grabbed a handful of keys. One of them had to work. There were six cars parked and three keyrings in my hand. My odds were 50/50.

Hopping into the first car, I struggled to put the key inside the ignition. Didn’t fit. Shit! I slapped the steering wheel and quickly jumped out. Car number two, same issue. None of them worked. It would help if there was some sort of logo on these things to indicate its owner. I felt a burning ache in my left forearm and looked down. Blood dripped to the floor at my feet and for the first time I realized I was injured. The knife must have nicked me in my fall.

Looking at the next key, I tried to think logically as to which vehicle it would belong to and took a step. A thunderous bang exploded behind me as again the door was caved in and they were behind me once more. The swarm seemed to be growing. Not only in size but in hunger. Their glossed over eyes looked at me with a cold, impassive stare that made me shiver. I felt my legs give out. NO! Not here. I would not let them tear me apart in a dirty basement garage! I climbed to my feet and ran to the first car I saw.

Moving as fast as I could my legs pumping, burning, and reaching me closer and closer to the bumper of the burgundy SUV. Hopping into the Audi I quickly locked the doors just as the others caught up. “SHIT!” I yelled. Their mournful cries and ungodly wailing surrounded me, echoing against the cold concrete walls of the garage. “PLEASE!” I begged. Hoping that would somehow make them stop, make them go away. But they continued hammering on the windows and I knew it was only a matter of time before they broke through. Panic hit me. I didn’t know what had gotten into any of them. But I was determined not to let it happen to me. 

Frantically, I began pulling at the visor and ripping beneath the seat. There had to be a key. Tearing open the glovebox, I reached inside. Papers, napkins from a fast food restaurant, gas receipts and wires flew out at me as I searched its contents. And then, finally, there it was. Beneath the owner’s manual of the Audi, a spare key. “YES!”

Without hesitation I crammed it into the ignition and started the car, putting it in reverse, I quickly backed out of the spot and sped around the corner of the structure. Barreling through the gate, I watched it shatter into a few smaller pieces as it toppled lifelessly to the ground. Sorry not sorry. On the road there were few cars, typical of early morning Wednesdays. I had no one to worry about as I sped through downtown Fairhaven. 

That is until the high beams of some giant truck reflected in my rearview mirror. “What’s this guy’s problem?” I wondered as he continued driving recklessly behind me. Dangerously close to my bumper, I swerved into the other lane to allow him room to pass but he only waited a moment before hopping back behind me. Another car entered the causeway heading towards us.

The driver stopped and hopped out, waving his arms at me, trying to get me to do the same. “Sorry, buddy, not today,” I said and continued down the road. But the owner in the truck behind me was kinder. I saw him pull over. I saw the driver approach. And then I heard him scream. “Jesus!” I screeched. “They’re everywhere!” I had no idea where I was going and I didn’t care. I just needed to get the hell away from that building. That place was hell and I was not letting it take me down!

I thought about going home but that wasn’t a possibility. Rushing out of the building like I did, I left my purse with my keys inside my desk drawer. Besides, it wouldn’t help me now anyway. I lived alone, it was how I liked it. A place to myself where I could enjoy the peaceful solitude it afforded me but, suddenly, I was regretting that decision. Out here on the streets, running for my life I was really alone— more alone than I’d ever been and it scared me. I had no phone, no house keys, and no way of contacting my brother just to see if he was ok or at least let him know that I was. The news had to have traveled by now that the place I worked had been leveled. Damn! Christian must be so worried! 

Eddie Jones

It was rush week on campus. A forbidden and banned practice within the state that became much more glorified and celebrated by the Greeks because of its illegality. And despite what you hear there is not a single person on campus, student and faculty alike, that didn’t know it still went on. I could hear the students gathering in the courtyard beneath my window for whatever pranks they’d concocted this time. As long as my recently purchased Chrysler 300 was left alone, there would be no ass kicking tonight.

I pulled my roast beef and provolone sandwich from the mini fridge and had just sat down to enjoy my dinner. From out of nowhere I heard a loud thump and turned to watch an egg slip down my window and land on the sill. Great. It was gonna be a long night. I grabbed my red marker and tried to distract myself with the stack of essays I had left to grade. Although I’m not an English professor, I do promote the benefits of a well-read student. I just wished a lot of them would pay closer attention to their grammatical errors before handing in their work. Oh well. 

I was three pages into a twelve-paged mini-novel about the domestic labor strikes in the south when I heard a large explosion erupt near the freshman dorms. I stood to look and watched as several students scrambled from the building. There was no fire or smoke or anything and no one appeared injured, just startled. Prank night had begun.

“Hey, I’m outta here, you need anything before I leave?” Beverly, the department administrator asked, poking her head into my door.

“No, I’m good. Just gonna finish up here and I’m leaving too. Have a good night.”

“You too. See ya, Eddie.”

I sighed and started back to my desk but was still unable to concentrate on the work in front of me. Turning on the set, I flipped through the channels looking for anything that could offer a decent enough distraction from the campus antics when I heard a scream. At first I thought it came from the TV but on second listen it seemed to be coming from the hallway and if I wasn’t mistaken it was Beverly. She sounded frightened by something, which I could only assume to be more pranks, but just to be safe, I went to check. 

As I turned the corner towards the teacher’s lounge I saw Beverly on the floor beneath a student. It looked as though he’d tackled her to the ground. She had her hands up, pushing at his face and I noticed a wound on her arm, just above the elbow. It was bleeding and slowly pooling to the floor beneath her as she struggled to free herself from her attacker.

“HEY!” I yelled and rushed forward. Pushing at the student, I tried to knock him off but it seemed I misjudged his strength, he wouldn’t budge. Doing the only thing I could think of, I grabbed the kid by the collar and jerked him roughly back and away. Beverly wiggled from under him, scampering for the corner as fast as she could. 

“He bit me! He’s fucking crazy!” she cried, clutching at the gash on her arm, trying to stop the blood flow.

“Get to my office. I have a first aid kit,” I said, keeping my eyes on the kid in front of me. He’d dropped to a football stance as if he was preparing to come at me and I prepared myself for what was about to be a fight. An alarm sounded and he instantly fell to his knees, screeching and clutching at his ears as if the sound of it was about to make his head explode. I took the opportunity to get back to my office and check on Beverly, shutting and locking my door as I did. 

“I don’t know what was wrong with him. His face…did you see his face?”

“I saw it,” I said, reaching into one of the cabinets for the first aid kit. Beverly took a seat in front of my desk and I tended to her arm, cleaning and disinfecting it as best I could. “There, that should hold for now. I’ll get campus security on the line.”

“Good luck,” Beverly laughed. “I’m sure they have their hands full tonight.” It was true. Tonight the Elmhurst campus security force would be spread pretty thin as they dealt with one fraternity disaster after the other.

“Here, try the police instead,” I said, sliding my phone towards her. As she dialed, I cleaned up the area around her, tossing the used napkins and bandage wrappers to the trash.

“Busy.”

“What? It’s the police, how could they be busy?”

“I don’t know but I’m guessing that has something to do with it.” Beverly pointed towards the television and I turned to look.

Channel 7 News reporter Lauren Anders stood with her back to a scene that was taking place downtown. It was something about a disaster at one of the large office buildings. I listened closely, noticing her eyes were red and puffy, as though she had been crying. It seemed really out of place for her and this channel in general. Channel 7 News at 10 was my preferred media outlet and it was because they were the most professional and detailed oriented stations in town. So for their number one reporter to be showing signs of weakness really made me stop and pay attention.

“Hundreds are trapped in the building behind me as a deadly explosion rocked the downtown area today, causing several floors to collapse. Rescue workers and police have been working around the clock to free as many as they can and look for survivors but their search has been limited with the arrival of the CDC. BioCore, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the country has been nearly leveled when one or more of their reactors exploded, killing several employees and injuring dozens more. The Centers for Disease Control are on hand to assist with any possible outbreak and clear the area of poisonous contaminants. BioCore was said to have a cold storage unit where it housed several lethal viruses and diseases for research.

Earlier reports indicate the section of the building where these items were preserved was one of the first to take significant damage. Paramedics rushed several survivors to local area hospitals, some of whom were showing signs of diseases with unknown origins. Countless eyewitness reports confirm that those who are infected can turn violent within minutes and decay at a rapid rate. We are receiving instructions from the authorities that if you are in the area of Emerson and Brooksdale in the Five Points to barricade yourselves inside somewhere and remain there until further notice.

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke the last sentence. “Stay inside, lock your doors, and don’t let anyone in…no matter who they are.”

The reporter’s attention was disrupted by a scream somewhere off-screen. She turned to look and her eyes widened in terror before she too screamed before rushing towards the news van. Several moments passed before a large group of what appeared to be the infected people she spoke of ran by the camera. “Oh my god,” I gasped, watching as they nearly toppled the van to get to her. Many of them appeared to notice the crowd of police and city workers around the building and gave up the pursuit of the journalist for the more easily accessible. Chaotic scuffles and screams erupted, and then the screen turned to static. 

I couldn’t believe it. My head started to spin as I tried to process everything I’d just witnessed and I felt my body start to go numb with fear. “What the hell is going on? A viral outbreak? You think maybe that’s what happened to the kid outside?” I asked of Beverly. She’d grown quiet while the report was going and I turned to face her. She was slumped over in the chair, her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. Inching closer I noticed that her chest was not moving with the rise and fall of her breaths and checked her neck for a pulse. Her skin was cool to the touch. No heartbeat could be detected. She was dead.

I slid her chair to the corner of the office and turned her to face the wall. I don’t know why. I had no sheet to cover her and felt it was all I could do to be respectful. Grabbing my phone I tried dialing 9-1-1 again, but just as Beverly had said earlier, it was busy. With a sigh I dropped into the chair in front of my desk and dropped my head into my hands. I had no idea how long the quarantine would last but I was sure there wasn’t enough food in my mini-fridge to last me a week. I looked over at the counter where it set and I could swear I saw Beverly move from out of the corner of my eye. I must be mistaken. She had no pulse and the dead don’t just come back to life. 

I stood and leaned over to check if she was still lying as I’d left her. Her face was still sagging to the right and her chest still was not inflating. But her hand fell off the arm rest and her fingers curled into her palm and as uncertain as I was before, I was absolutely sure now. She moved! “Beverly?” Her head jerked and I heard a strangled gasp escape her lips as she started to stand.

“Beverly? Beverly are you ok?” I asked, watching her twitch and hiss in the corner of the room. She lunged for me, clawing and grunting like a wild animal as I fought her off. “Beverly, what the hell is wrong with you?” I kicked at her, getting her far enough back for me to slide away. Putting my hands up in a defensive stance, I tried to calm her, talk her down but that didn’t seem to work. She charged at me again and I instinctively struck at her. My fist connected to the side of her face. Her jaw popped. I grimaced. My mama taught me to never hit a woman and I didn’t want to hurt her but I was not about to let her hurt me.

“Beverly, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…are you ok?” I was worried I’d done more damage than I’d intended. She appeared confused and a little disoriented but that didn’t last long. She turned to me, her eyes were all bloodshot and red…that wasn’t normal. And there was no way my punch did that to her face. The bandage had been torn away and I could see the bite mark on her arm. It festered and dripped pus, it had become infected quickly. Dark veins were visible around the impression of the teeth and sprouted up her arms, extending into her neck and chest.

She was infected just as the news had reported. She was infected and I was locked inside this office with her. “Stay away, Beverly, or you’ll make me do something I don’t want to do.” I warned her but she didn’t seem inclined to cooperate. Grabbing the knife from the brown paper bag on my desk, I held it out in front of me, letting her know I meant business. “Stay back or I swear to god this will not end well for you.”

She hurtled over the chair, her blackened fingertips aimed at my throat, her mouth, with teeth as rotten and diseased as a year old sandwich, chomped fiercely as she tried to get a hold of me anyway she could. Holding her at bay with my left arm, I took a deep breath, said a prayer for her and stabbed the knife into her eye as deep as I could. She fell back. Blood spilled into the carpet beneath her. She was dead…again. And this time I hoped for good.

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