Human Extinction Level Loss (Book 2): Substation (The Last Stand of Gary Sykes) (2 page)

“Hey, Bev.  What’s going on?” he asked.

Beverly didn’t hear him as she punched in 9-1-1 on the phone.  She stood tapping her foot, right arm clasped around her as she clutched the phone to her ear with the other.  Her eyes were welled up with tears as she waited for an emergency operator to pick up.  Her face fell as she heard the words.

“We’re sorry.  All circuits are busy.  Please try again later”

She turned and slammed the phone down into its cradle.

“Why won’t anyone pick up the damn phone?!” she screamed, placing both her palms down on the console and hanging her head.

Gary looked sharply over at the meat-heads, afraid that Beverly’s outburst would draw their attention his way, but they were still transfixed in front of the television.  Gary set his books aside and went over to Beverly.

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked. 

Beverly stood and wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to regain her composure.  She looked up at Gary and steeled herself.

“I hit somebody with my car,” she said.  She bit her lip, trying to control her emotions as she heard herself say the words.

“Oh, shit!  Did you kill— Are they okay?” he asked.

Beverly wrapped her arms around herself and looked away.

“I don’t know.  I mean, I… knocked them into a ditch,” she said, cringing.

A guffaw escaped Gary’s mouth.  Beverly looked scornfully over at him.  He shook his head, trying to erase the reaction.

“Well, what did you do?” Gary asked.

Beverly turned back to the console.

“I fucking got out of the car and went to see if I’d killed them!” she screamed. 

Gary was about to say something else, when Jason Johnson came rushing in.  The fact that his first and last name each began with ‘J’ might have led one to believe that he was‘ J. J’ to his friends and family, but that would be wrong.  Jason Johnson was far too uptight an individual for the relaxed moniker ‘J.J.’  It was Jason with his friends and family, Mr. Johnson to his employees.  He was usually all business but tonight something had him rattled.  Gary quickly started to look busy as Beverly just stood there, chewing on her nail.

“Turn on the news, quick!” Johnson shouted.  He did not even glance over at Gary and Beverly as he raced over to the television and joined the meat-heads. 

“We already have it on!”  Mack said as Johnson took up position between them. 

Gary thought he heard his boss say something like, ‘can you believe this shit?’ but he assumed it was sports related and didn’t care.  He turned back to Beverly.

Beverly stared at the phone then picked it up and again dialed 9-1-1.

“We’re sorry.  All circuits are—”

She slammed the phone down a second time and let out a guttural sound.

Just then, Reggie called over to Gary.  Gary cringed, bracing himself for a new round of torture.

“Hey Gary!  Check this out.  These guys look like those friggin’ zombies you’re always going on about, eating people and shit!”

Gary rolled his eyes.  So it was to be the zombie apocalypse tonight, the hazing du jour.  Gary was a classic nerd and as such, had a well thought out and fully developed theory about zombies and the day of their great rising.  He loved to talk about it, but not with the meat-heads.  He glanced over at the others.  The television was blocked by their crowding around it.  Gary looked over at Beverly.  He could tell she was stressed out and he wanted to help but she seemed in her own world at the moment.  He gave her a sympathetic look, letting her know he would be right back.  Beverly continued to chew on her fingernail and stare at the phone. 

Gary trudged over.

“Look guys, tonight’s not really a good time—” he started to say, but was cut off as he stood behind the men, all staring at the television.

“Shh! We’re trying to listen to this, Gary!” Johnson said.

Gary sighed and looked at what they were watching.  His face went white and his jaw fell at what he saw.  Over scenes of gore, the news anchor was trying to offer commentary but was losing the battle to his fear.

“Oh my God!  He was just ripped apart!”

On the screen, what appeared to be a fast moving mob poured into frame from the left and swarmed over a terrified man.  There was a frenzy of activity and screaming then… blood.  What was a human being only seconds before, was now being devoured.  Blood and viscera flowed on the ground as the horde fed.

The Newscaster, visibly shaken, tried to maintain an air of professionalism, his voice betraying his efforts.

“To our viewing audience, I can offer only my apologies.  This is live, unedited footage we are getting, but it confirms other reports, reports that what had first appeared in Colorado has now spread to neighboring states.  If you’re just joining us, we are now able to confirm that… well, I don’t know what to call it.  No official statement has come out of the CDC.  But as I say, what started as a specious report of… and I can’t believe I’m saying this, Zombies, has now been confirmed in Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas… and yes, my producer has just informed me, Oklahoma.   All states bordering Colorado.”

Gary watched the horde move on. In their wake, nothing of their hapless victim was left.

“Is this for real, Gary?  Are these real zombies?” Reggie asked.

Gary felt clammy and cold.  Sweat beaded his forehead and words failed him.  On the television, the anchor continued his report.  The footage was gone and the newscaster stared, shell shocked into the camera.

“What has caused this activity and why this is happening are questions we simply cannot answer at this time.  We can tell you that what we are seeing now, appears to have had its origins in Colorado.  The fact that there has been an almost total media blackout in Colorado and the imposition of travel restrictions to and from that state has been a story we have been trying to follow.  We can only speculate as to the link between those events and… what we are seeing here, but it appears… Well, we are going to show you some footage now that hit the wire several days ago, footage that at first, because of its fantastical nature was dismissed by every reputable news organization as a hoax, but now… now looks to be entirely truthful.”

The image on the screen changed from the newscaster to jostling images from a handheld digital camera as the operator tried to get his shot.  When the footage settled down, images of some slow moving people were seen.  They shuffled along, seemingly mindless.  Their expression was wide eyed and slack jawed.  The News anchor tried to offer commentary.

“This footage, I am told, is from Golden, Colorado.  Golden is a town West of Denver…  What we have learned is that some kind of infection or disease is spreading among the populace at a rate never before seen.  It appears to be transmitted by human… bite.  This is a developing story with precious little that we can confirm from official sources, but it seems that once infected, a person becomes highly aggressive and will attack anyone around them. After the attack, which seems to universally involve the infected viciously biting their victim, the infected appear to grow calm and return to normal.  Reports coming in seem to indicate that at some point thereafter,  within minutes, but certainly no longer than several hours, the subject then enters into… well, I’ve said it just a moment ago, a zombie like state.  What you are seeing here is the disease in its early stages.  This is some of the first footage of the contagion we have, but it appears that as the disease takes hold of its victim, it turns them from these slow moving wanderers to… to what we just witnessed moments ago…”

As the newscaster fell silent and the video played, Beverly approached.

“I still can’t get through to the police.  I—”

Jason Johnson looked over at Beverly as the words caught in her throat.

“I know.  It's unbelievable.  Like something from the movies,” he said.

Beverly stared at the screen.

“Those people… they have the same look as the woman I hit with my car,” she said.

All eyes turned to look at Beverly.  On the television, the scene cut back to the anchor who stared blankly into the camera.

We are now confirming… that is to say… to our viewing audience… what has happened in Colorado and surrounding regions… appears to have reached our very doorstep.  The footage we are about to show you is from downtown Woodford.  I will tell you, this footage is raw and uncut, so those of delicate nature might very well want to look away.”

All eyes turned back to the television as an elevated camera angle showed images of slack jawed, wide-eyed people moving in the street below.  In the background could be seen Liberty Bell Stadium.

Two

“Everybody just calm down!” Jason Johnson shouted as he stared into four sets of panicked eyes.

“There is some crazy stuff happening and you all want to get home to be with your families, I get it, but right now the authorities are out there trying to get a handle on all of this and that’s going to be a lot harder if the lights go off.  We’re not your average business enterprise, people.  We’re the electric company and while I’m not asking you to put that before your loved ones, I am asking that you help me make sure that whatever happens out there doesn’t affect what happens in here.”

Johnson took a breath, feeling somewhat more confident that he had forestalled a complete mutiny, at least momentarily.

“Okay, now, we can’t leave the station unattended,” he continued.  Panic again flared in the eyes of Mack and Reggie.  Jason Johnson saw it and stayed their protests.

“I’ll stay,” he said. 

Mack and Reggie immediately calmed down.

“All I ask is that you help me get this place turning and burning at full capacity.  Mack and Reggie, Number Two generator needs to be back on-line.  I know you guys like to work by the hour, but how long ‘till you can get it up and running, no bullshit?” Johnson said.

Reggie and Mack shifted their feet and looked sheepishly at each other, then Reggie looked at Johnson.

“I think we can get the new parts in and have it running in a couple of hours,” he said.

Johnson nodded and looked to Gary and Beverly.  “Gary, I’ve got to do the Nightly Safety Report, make sure there is nothing that could cause a power failure, but that means walking this whole facility.  I need you to man your station until I get back, okay?”

Gary nodded.  Johnson looked at Beverly. 

“Beverly, honestly, I don’t see much need for updating old files tonight, so you’re free to go,” he said.

Beverly breathed a sigh of relief and started to gather up her things.  Johnson picked up the phone and dialed the extension for the guard shack.  Receiving no answer, he grabbed a walkie.

“Carl, you there, pick up,” Johnson said.  He waited several seconds, then tried again.

“Carl, this is Johnson!  I need you to pick up!  I need you to do a security sweep of the facility!  This place needs to be on lockdown!  Carl!”

Johnson tossed the walkie onto his desk and muttered to himself.

“Old coot.”

He looked up as Beverly was headed for the door.

“Hold on a second, Bev.  I may need you to stay,” he said.

Beverly was about to protest, but Johnson was already looking at Gary.

“Gary, I can’t get Carl on the phone or radio.  I need to find him and make sure he initiates lockdown procedures.  Things would go a lot quicker if you could do the safety walk while I’m waking Carl up,” Johnson said.

Gary nodded.

“Beverly, I know you need to get out of here and your job is just to push papers, but while we’re gone, it would be great if you stayed topside and kept an eye on the dials and man the phones in case we get a call from Homeland?  It will only be while we get this place battened down, Okay?” he said.

Beverly  swallowed her anxious desire to leave, and nodded.

“I could stay for a little while,” she said.

“Good girl.  Gary, just walk her through what she has to look for,” Johnson said. 

Gary nodded.  “Sure, yeah.  I’ll give her the basic course,” Gary said. 

“Okay.  We do this right and fast, make sure the dark is not one more thing folks have to be scared of tonight and then you get to go home, deal?” Johnson asked.

Four faces, no less panicked, but showing measured resolve, nodded.

“Alright then, let’s go,” Johnson said.

Everyone dispersed to their appointed tasks.

* * *

Beverly’s anxiety had grown by the minute.  She finally had to turn off the television.  She had tried to call, to let Mark know that she would be coming home just as soon as she could, but the phone lines were overloaded and she couldn’t get through.  With the lines jammed, it meant Mark couldn’t call her either. It also meant that one of the reasons she was sitting here was gone.  If she couldn’t call out and Mark couldn’t call in, nobody else could either.  She sat in taut frustration, her patience stretching to hair thin.  She kept looking at the clock on the wall,
15 minutes… 30 minutes… 45 minutes…   
How much loyalty did she really owe to this place.  She only took the job to help pay bills and take care of her family and now something was happening that seemingly put her family in jeopardy and she had to sit in a chair staring at some dials?  The thin strand that was left of her patience snapped and she jumped out of her seat and grabbed her things. 

“Screw this!” she said, turning to leave.

She came up short, as standing in the doorway was Jason Johnson.

“Oh, thank goodness!  Mr. Johnson, I’m glad you’re back.  I have to go, okay.  The phones are all down…”  Beverly’s word’s trailed off as she looked at Johnson.  “Mr. Johnson, are you okay?” she asked.

Jason Johnson glared at Beverly.  He felt like his brain was being cooked.  As the heat was turned up in his mind, he could sense himself fading from his own consciousness, like the theater  lights going dark at the Act Break.  As his own self faded, he could feel an intense longing take its place.  He stared at Beverly.  It was as if nothing else mattered.  She was now the thing to be desired above all else, for which he would do anything to simply possess her, …
to be one with her!
  As the feeling consumed him and his brain cooked, his own self uttered its last gasping breath in his mind,
… I’m so hot…” 
Jason Johnson took a step towards Beverly.