The Last Outbreak (Book 1): Awakening (4 page)

Was the pounding in his head drowning out the thunder coming from beyond his bedroom or was it the other way around? With the amount of alcohol he’d poured into his six foot-two inch, one-hundred-ninety-five pound body last night, the new day came as a colossal slap in the face. Ethan Runner was sure of four things. He knew he’d gotten less than three hours of sleep. He knew the sun was up. He knew who was pounding at his door. And mostly he knew this day was going to kick his ass.

Sliding out from under the comforter, Ethan pushed into a seated position, rubbed his eyes, and started toward the maniac nearly breaking down his front door. For the third time in as many weeks, his overly enthusiastic best friend and co-worker decided to play good cop.

Crossing the living room, the head-splitting reverberation against the front door began to fade; however, the team of jackhammers working the inside of his forehead amplified their fury. “I’m getting way too old for this—never again.”

At the door, he didn’t bother to check, as he knew who it was and why he was here. Stepping aside, he pulled the door open, turned, and started back to the kitchen. “I know, we’re late. I just need to dump some caffeine down my throat and after I find my pants, we’ll get moving.”

David walked through the door as if his heels were on fire. “Hey, I got you covered.” His friend followed him away from the entry and held at arm’s length a tall cup of the strong stuff. “You got like two minutes to get this stuff in you; we need to go. But I don’t care how late we are today, you need a shower. We’re not doing this again.”

As Ethan moved out of the kitchen, he attempted a compromise. “You know I really don’t care about this job, but I don’t want you taking the fall for this. Go get the truck and meet me back here in ten minutes, no use in both of us getting the call. Does that work for ya?”

The throbbing behind Ethan’s eyes began to manifest itself into a permanent scowl as David fought to keep from laughing. “You know she won’t call me and if she reaches the truck she’ll want to talk to you anyway. Your sister is relentless.”

“Yeah, Emma called me like three times in the middle of the night.”

“She what?”

“Probably just trying to make sure I knew what today was.”

“You didn’t answer?” David said.

“You really think that would have put her mind at ease, hearing me unable to form a complete sentence? I just feel lucky to be alive today. Oh, and by the way, your ability to bounce back after last night is a bit annoying. We consumed the exact same drinks and somehow you seem to have come out the other side without a scratch. You really aren’t human, are you?”

David moved to the couch, flopped back into the oversized pillows, and grabbed the TV remote. “Buddy, I stopped drinking hours before you last night. And I hate to say it, but I told you this would happen.”

“First of all, nobody likes a know-it-all—it’s not funny, it’s not clever, and it kinda pisses people off. Oh yeah and while we’re at it, NOBODY likes a know-it-all, period.”

Before Ethan could finish, David had turned his attention to the television. “Just get in the shower, I’ll be the guy on the couch just waiting for you to get your crap together. Now go.”

Down the hall and into his bathroom, Ethan turned on the shower and made his way back into his room. “
Where the hell did I leave my phone
?”

Sliding his comforter off the bed and tossing his pillows aside, Ethan tipped the cup back and took another long sip. He quickly scanned the floor and the window ledge. The TV stand was also not the answer. Setting the coffee on the dresser, he crawled across the bed and over to the nightstand, getting brief glimpses of the last six hours.

Steam began to pour out of the bathroom as Ethan found his phone and separated it from the charger. Rolling onto his back and depressing the home button, he glanced back behind the nightstand. Noticing the charger was never plugged into the wall, he tossed his phone onto the bed and hurried into the wall of steam now engulfing the left half of his bedroom. “Five minutes.”

Finishing the too hot cup of liquid adrenaline, Ethan quickly moved to the sink, brushed his teeth, and stepped into the shower. Shampoo. Conditioner. Soap. Hot water. The combination had him leaning back against the tile and fighting to keep his eyes open.

He could step out, dry off, and head out the door. He could be twenty to thirty minutes late and then apologize to his sister for once again not living up to the recommendation she’d given him. He could plead with her to not report his fourth tardy this month to their employer and hope they never found out. He could do the right thing. Or he could close his eyes… just for a moment.

.      .      .

The water was now running lukewarm. His legs had begun to cramp from the awkward position he found himself in, leaning against the back wall of his shower, and to save his life, Ethan couldn’t say how long he’d been asleep. Was it five minutes or two hours. He was fairly certain it wasn’t more than a few minutes, as he hadn’t heard a word from the living room since David began flipping through the three-hundred channels his satellite dish offered up.

Standing and stretching away the aches of each individual vertebra, Ethan shut off the water and pulled back the curtain. “Dave?”

Nothing

“Hey bud, let me throw on my uniform and we’ll get out of here.”

Again silence from the adjoining room.

Across his bedroom, Ethan avoided looking out into the rest of the apartment and instead made a beeline for the closet. His powder blue shirts and navy pants lay in three separate piles. One for each day of the week—somehow they were unable to see their way into the hamper.

Down on his knees, the stench emanating from the pile to his right appeared, for the moment, to be the least offensive. Digging free a pair of black socks, he pulled on the heinous poly-blend security uniform, grabbed his Forced Entry, black six-inch Tactical Boots, and strode quickly into the living room. “You ready?”

David didn’t hear Ethan, there was something else possessing his attention on the illuminated box ten feet away. He hadn’t yet noticed that his friend walked into the room, much less the fact that his shower ended minutes ago. He was no longer in a hurry to get out the door as he flipped from one channel to the next.

Standing at the hall closet, retrieving his firearm, belt, and vest, Ethan stopped to peer over David’s shoulder. People running. Chasing one another. Fighting. Attacking. Broken windows. Flames shooting from cars and street level businesses. “What the hell are you watching?”

No response.

Kicking the back of the couch Ethan yelled, “DAVID.”

His friend did not turn away from the television, he instead waved Ethan over. “You need to see this.”

“I am seeing it, but what is this? People rioting? And where is that, New York?”

David nodded. “Yeah, New York, Chicago, Miami, and Houston, but it looks like the West Coast is getting the worst of it. Whatever this is, I mean they don’t really know what it is, but people are losing their minds— they’re killing each other for no reason.”

“Who?”

“Everyone, I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows.”

Ethan moved to the window. “What are the local stations saying?”

“Nothing.”

“Whatta ya mean?”

“They’re all off the air.”

The doors to the bus parted as the last of the guards and the men in hazmat suits filed out of the building. They weren’t quite running, but their hurried pace drew the attention of the twenty-five women. Cora turned to Trish as the last few trickled out into the parking lot. “Trish, what’s happening, why are they—”

“Just get on the bus and stay as close to the front as you can.”

“Why aren’t they telling us anything? I asked why we were being moved and all they’d tell me is that this place isn’t safe. But why, why isn’t it safe?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Trish said. “Just get on the bus and keep your eyes open.”

“For what, why won’t you tell me what happened? I know that you know why they’re doing this. I thought we were friends, don’t you think—”

“Listen, the less you know about this, the better. No one really knows for sure what this thing is anyway, so they’d just be guessing.”

“This thing?”

“Alright,” Trish said. “People are getting sick, like really crazy sick. It started with those newbs they brought in last night. Three of them had these really high fevers, like something that should have killed them.”

“What?”

“Yeah, the nursing staff was trying to make them comfortable and give them something for the fever, but they were going nuts. They started attacking the nurses and each other. I was on my last rounds when a few of them came through the door and into the hall. They started coming after me.”

“This doesn’t make any sense. What did you do?”

“What I always do. I took the first one to the ground and held her there until the guards came and took her away. The second one jumped on my back and the guards took care of her. I got a few bumps and bruises in the process, but I’ll be fine.”

“So,” Cora said. “They’re taking us and putting us on buses because a few people are sick? That doesn’t make any sense. Why not just get some doctors in here and take care of them?”

Trish pointed to the men at the doors of the bus, now removing their yellow suits and said, “See those guys?”

“Yeah.”

“Those men are the only reason you and I are able to get on this bus. They’re not doctors, but we are way past that point anyway. I heard them talking and this thing is way bigger than just this place. These sick people are everywhere, so just get on the bus and thank God they didn’t lock you in your cell.”

“Where are they taking us?”

“At this point, it doesn’t really matter.”

A male’s voice from just beyond the front of the line called for attention. “Listen up ladies. Nothing has changed. You will get on, take a seat where we tell you, and you will shut your mouths. If anyone has a problem with that, you are welcome to stay here, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” He paused briefly, stepped out away from the bus, glaring up and down the line. “Anybody have a problem?”

No one spoke

“Good.”

The four mystery men, followed by the six female guards, boarded first. They nodded to the driver, another rough looking older gentleman, as they moved up the two steps and into the aisle. The men took the first two rows and the guards filed in behind, with only two taking a seat at the rear of the bus.

As the line began to move, Cora looked back at the main building and over at Trish. “Here we go.”

“Remember what I said, you need to take a seat as close to the front as you can. When we stop, you get off as quick as you can. Don’t wait for me.”

“Wait for you?”

Trish stiffened. “I’m going to the back of the bus. I don’t have a choice. They’re saying my temperature is borderline. And—”

“And?”

“It could be nothing, but they aren’t taking any chances. They said I could stay here or sit in the back. You already know what I chose.”

The line again moved forward and Cora reached back, grabbing Trish’s hand. It was warm and moist to the touch. She smiled nervously as they stepped onto the bus and took a seat behind the three rows of guards, noticing her friend wince as the two parted. Looking down at her hand, Cora was left with fragments of dried blood she assumed somehow belonged to her best friend.

The guard to her right, attempting to get a head count, motioned toward the right side of the aisle. “Adams, take a seat.”

Figuring the current circumstances may afford her the opportunity to dig a bit deeper, Cora allowed the woman if front of her to slide in and she took the seat facing out. Addressing the guard, she said, “What’s going on? You guys aren’t telling us any—”

“No questions, just sit there and keep your mouth shut.”

“But, you haven’t—”

“I’ll tell you what, you want some answers? Get the hell off my bus, go back across that parking lot, and check it out for yourself? I guarantee you’ll wish you stayed in that seat.”

“Thanks,” Cora said. “That clears things up.”

The guard shook her head and turned back to her head count as the last few women moved into their seats. “Ms. Adams, don’t forget your place. I won’t tell you again.”

As the bus shifted into gear and began to pull away from the curb, a few errant gasps pulled Cora’s attention back to the facility. The lights in the distance near the yard were the first to blink out, followed in quick succession by the numbered buildings one at a time until the entire sixty acre property sat in darkness. “Huh?”

.      .      .

Unable to remember exactly when she’d fallen asleep, Cora leaned to the side and peered out the front windshield. “Wow.” The sun hadn’t yet made its appearance, although it lit the morning just enough for her to see that they’d nearly reached the valley. She estimated it was less than an hour since they pulled away, however it felt as if she’d slept for three days.

The small town in the distance sat quiet as the bus sped along the two lane road, rounding one hairpin after another. Tiny lights from the valley below twinkled and then faded out as they moved from one grouping of trees to the next. Cora twisted in her seat and attempted eye contact with her friend, only to be blocked by two of the larger men.

They appeared to be struggling with one of the more unruly passengers, although Cora couldn’t get a glimpse of exactly who it was. “
Better them than me
.”

Before rounding the next turn, Cora turned back around. Partially hidden through the muted morning light, a blacked-out SUV sat less than one hundred feet away, and positioned along the middle of the road, its headlights stared back.

Instinctively sliding down in her seat and pulling her legs to her chest, Cora closed her eyes. Placing her head between her knees, she took a deep breath and braced for impact. “
Please, please, please
.”