Contamination Prequel (Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Series) (7 page)

13

D
an waved the empty pistol
in front of him, but the creature kept coming. It sidestepped Julie’s body and then walked over the body of its dead companion. Its eyes rolled back into its head, and it began to groan.

He stepped backwards into the kitchen, still holding the gun, wishing he had the time or the means to reload. His palms were sweaty, and he struggled to keep his balance. He bumped into the roll of paper towels and it skittered backwards, unraveling to the end of the tube.

The creature advanced.

Dan spotted his keys—they were on the counter to his left. A few steps further, and he could make a grab for them.

“Stay back!” he shouted.

The thing’s mouth opened, revealing a row of dirt-covered teeth. If it understood him, the words had little effect. Dan threw his arm sideways, succeeding only in pushing the keys farther down the counter. He made another grab. This time, he was able to close his fist around them.

He eyed the knife holder. In his haste, he had already passed by it. He could make a lunge toward it, but that would put him in harm’s way. The creature stood beside it, mouth hanging open. He needed to get out of the house.

He reached behind him, finding the door handle, and stepped back into the garage. He slammed the door closed, and then used his keys to lock it. The creature smashed against the other side, but the door held. For now.

Dan’s cruiser was where he had left it, and the garage door remained closed. He ran to the car door, fumbling with the keychain. He saw his house key, his locker key, and a slew of others. Where the hell was the car key?
Focus
, his mind screamed.

The creature pounded on the kitchen door, shaking it in the frame. Dan located the key and slipped it into the lock. The car was open now. He flung open the door and hopped inside, and then promptly shut it behind him.

Bam!
The kitchen door caved in, whipping against the wall and off the hinges. The creature was loose in the garage now, heading towards the car.

“Too late, you piece of shit!” Dan cried out, turning the key in the ignition.

The car fired up and he revved the engine. He reached up and hit the garage door opener, watching it open behind him in the rearview mirror. The creature was at the driver’s side window now, just inches away. Its breath fogged up the glass, and it began to pound on the window.

“C’mon, hurry up!” Dan screamed at the garage door.

He threw the car in reverse and hit the gas. The car began to inch backwards. Dan looked behind him and then rammed on the brakes.

“Shit!”

Howard’s police cruiser was parked in the driveway, directly behind the garage door. Julie’s Subaru Outback sat to his right. There was no way to get his car out of the garage.

The creature hissed at him through the window, its nails scratching on the glass. Dan glanced in his rearview again. The three other things from the front yard had stepped into the garage, and were now heading for the cruiser. He looked down at the ignition. The key to the Outback dangled from the chain.

He needed to get to the other car. And fast.

Dan ripped the keys from the ignition and climbed into the passenger seat, knocking over a coffee cup on his way. The gun was on the seat underneath him—useless without bullets. He tucked it into the top of his pants. He reached for the door handle, and paused to look around him.

The creature to his left had begun moving around the front of the cruiser. Three others approached the passenger side. The Outback was just a few feet away. If he didn’t get out soon, he would be trapped. Dan opened the door and leapt out.

He grabbed hold of the car key and threw it into the Outback, but it was too late. One of the creatures ripped at his shirt collar, tearing him away from the vehicle.

“No!” he shouted.

Dan threw his elbow back and felt it connect with a face. The attacker fell backwards, knocking into its companions, but the three barricaded any escape from the garage. The first creature advanced from the front of the cruiser. He was surrounded.

Dan dropped to the floor and began to pull himself underneath the Outback. He heard something clatter onto the floor behind him.
Damn
, he thought. His keys. From underneath the car, he saw a parade of tattered shoes stepping around them. His pulse beat through his body, sending a rush of blood to his temples.

Dan wiggled his feet, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. He reached his arm out slowly, but the keys were too far away. He inched his body towards them, balling his feet and pushing off the garage floor. He could almost reach them. He strained his fingers, watching them leave the protection of the vehicle and enter the open garage. He had almost made it when a cold, fleshy hand grabbed his wrist.

One of the creatures was on the ground now, looking back at him with dark eyes. It hissed as it pulled on his arm.

“Get the hell off of me!”

He wrenched his hand back, feeling the creature’s nails scratch his wrist. The other things dropped to their knees and began reaching underneath the car, inspired by their companion. Dan pulled himself towards the other side, avoiding four sets of hands that were now clambering to get to him.

He closed his eyes and began to pray.

After a few seconds, Dan forced his eyes open. The hands continued to paw at him, several times catching hold of his pants, but thankfully losing their grip. His daughter needed him. He needed to act.

He glanced towards the passenger side of the vehicle. The garage wall was empty, providing a few feet in which he could maneuver. There were no sets of feet on that side. For now, the coast was clear. He edged himself sideways, and stood up quickly on the opposite side.

One of the creatures had started to roam towards the trunk, blocking a quick exit out the front of the garage. He looked around, searching for another option. On the back wall, he spotted the gardening tools hanging neatly from their pegs. Amongst them was a large pitchfork.

Dan made a dash for it. The creatures had given up on the car and were now headed his way. He grabbed the pitchfork from the wall and swung it in front of him.

“C’mon you bastards!”

One of the creatures made a grab for him, and he propelled the tines deep into its stomach, sending it reeling backwards. He pulled back on the handle, watching a rainfall of blood soak its shirt. It staggered, momentarily off balance. He turned the pitchfork sideways and swung it like a baseball bat, propelling the creature into the side of the Outback.

He squeezed past it and towards the back of the garage. The others were by the trunk now, and he gored the first in the neck. It toppled backward, but Dan persisted, plunging the weapon into the mass of gray flesh behind it, striking each in turn. The creatures tumbled backwards, hitting the floor, and he stood over each of their bodies, ramming the garden tool into one after the other until all movement had stopped.

When he finished, Dan realized he was screaming. He looked down at the creatures, whose bodies were now covered in gaping holes, fluid spilling from their insides. In all his years on the force, he had never killed anyone. In fact, he often prayed that he would retire before getting the chance. He had seen plenty of dead bodies, but none that had met their demise at his own hands.

Dan turned his head and vomited on the garage floor, letting the pitchfork clatter to the ground. When he was finished retching, he dragged the bodies from behind the car, clearing a path to the outside.

He retrieved the keys and started the Outback. He threw it into reverse, and sped down the driveway and out into the road.

Somewhere, his daughter was in danger. He just prayed to God he wasn’t too late to save her.

14

T
he little girl took off
running, and Howard chased after her. His attention had been on the cellphone, so she had taken him by surprise. It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t get far. The phone vibrated again in his hand, but this time he slid it into his pocket.

They had been standing next to the side of a house when she took off. A few trees lined the perimeter, and she had slipped through them to the neighboring property. He clutched his gun, unsure of what he might run into. The plan had been set in motion, and soon the streets would start to fill with the infected.
The contamination had begun
.

Ahead of him, he saw a small shadow slip around to the front of the house next door. Although he only caught a quick glance, he was pretty sure it was Quinn. He thought for a second about abandoning the chase, about letting fate take its course. Sooner or later, she would run into one of them, and that would be the end of it. Saving her now would only delay the inevitable.

Five years ago, when he had moved to St Matthews, Howard had tried to keep to himself. There was no use in befriending any of his co-workers or socializing with the townspeople—not with what he knew was coming. He tried to focus instead on his training, on honing his physical and mental abilities. After a few years, he had let his guard down.

He had started engaging in the occasional barbeque, a monthly game of pool. The town’s fate was sealed, he thought, so he may as well make the most of his time there. The Agent leaders had said to blend in to the community—to act as natural as possible.

Now, Howard felt a tinge of pity for Dan and his family. He had grown closer to them than he had intended. But nobody would escape the contamination. He needed to remind himself of that fact.

He would be the only survivor in St. Matthews.

Still, he did intend to find the girl and bring her back to her father. It was the honorable thing to do. He would give them a fighting chance.

He rounded the corner of the house and stopped short. Two shadows hugged the siding. The smaller figure lay in the grass, shielding her face and whimpering. It was Quinn, and she was cornered.

The larger shadow turned to face Howard. Its face was a blackened mess, and it snarled at him. He drew back his arm, and then punched the thing in the head, sending it to the ground. It squirmed, trying to regain its footing, and he aimed his gun between its eyes.

Howard pulled the trigger, and Quinn screamed. The creature went still.

“Let’s go, Quinn! If you run again, I’ll leave you out here. You understand?”

The girl nodded.

“Get up,” he said, softening his tone. “I know this is difficult, but this whole thing is something that needed to happen.”

She averted her eyes and followed behind him. He didn’t expect her to understand. How could she? She was just a child. He would be glad when all of this was over and done with.

He reached for his phone and read the message that had come in earlier.

Head back to the station and await further instruction.

Howard signaled for the girl to stop as they approached the front of the Lowery residence. The garage door was open now, and the lights from inside spilled out over the driveway and illuminated the yard. The interior was covered in blood, and he saw what looked like the bodies of several infected. Howard’s patrol car was still in the driveway, directly behind Dan’s. Julie’s car was gone.

He looked at the little girl, watching her eyes fill with hope.

“Stay quiet,” he said.

Howard crept across the yard and looked through the front windows. The dining room was a mess of broken furniture. The table had been turned on its side, and the chairs were toppled over. Julie’s body lay underneath the wreckage. One of the dead things was next to her. He glanced behind him, but Quinn was standing in the middle of the lawn where he had left her. He held up his hand so she would stay put.

The living room was equally destroyed—the TV had been knocked over, and the couch was halfway across the room. However, the place appeared empty. Dan had put up a fight. He wasn’t surprised, given the officer’s track record on the force. Maybe that was why he hadn’t turned into one of them yet. His body was keeping the infection at bay.

He looked back at Quinn again. She, too, seemed to be holding her own. But it was only a matter of time. He motioned toward his cruiser in the driveway.

“Let’s go.”

A pair of high beams suddenly lit up the driveway and Howard shielded his eyes. A car was coming toward them down the road. He wondered if it was Dan.

As the vehicle approached, he could make out two shadows in the front seat, and the outline of police sirens on the roof. There was only one other patrol car unaccounted for. Mickey’s. He cursed under his breath, wishing things didn’t have to be so complicated.

The cruiser barreled up the driveway and onto the lawn, and then stopped. The windows were down, and he could hear the young officer shouting from inside the vehicle.

“What the fuck? Get off of me, man!”

The passenger was one of the infected, and it clung to Mickey’s arm, tearing into the side of his neck with its teeth. The officer cried out in pain, struggling to break free, but unable to undo his seatbelt.

“Help!” he screamed.

The words echoed into the night, bouncing into the garage and past the mound of dead bodies inside. Howard stood motionless, watching his fellow officer flail uselessly at the creature.

“Do something!” Quinn cried out from behind him.

Howard walked to the driver’s side of the vehicle and raised the gun. The creature paused mid-bite, its teeth covered in fleshy residue. He squeezed the trigger, firing a round into its head. The thing collapsed into Mickey’s neck, falling into the wound it had created.

“Fuck, man,” Mickey whispered, blood gurgling through the side of his opened neck. His eyes were wide, and his arms convulsed at his sides. He reached one of his arms toward Howard. “Help me, please…”