The Gallagher City Incident: Chapter 1

[DAPRS]

Hey all,

below is chapter 1 of my zombie novel. I will keep it updated by adding parts as I go along. Anyway, enjoy and try to leave some C&C, it would be appreciated. This story is a zombie fiction novel about a documentary that tries to prove that an outbreak in a small town really did occur, despite what the government says...

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 1:

A Normal Day

Our story begins with the first survivor of the Gallagher City incident, Dr. Alexia Smith. Dr. Smith, a pediatrician of 29 at the time of the outbreak, was working in the ER wing of Gallagher Municipal Hospital. Her long blonde hair, striking white skin, and soothing voice made any child feel as though they were in a fairy tale. Unfortunately, that fairy tale is no longer, as Dr. Smith now resides in a New York area mental corrections hospital. She is constantly told that the events she witnessed that day in Gallagher were simply a creation of her distorted mind. Whether she is insane or not, is completely up to you, the reader, to decide. Know, however, that she is not alone in her experiences. Over 100 people have come forward claiming that they are survivors of a huge viral outbreak in the small resort town of Gallagher. Could this simply be a new brain disorder or mass hallucinations, or could it be something much more sinister: The Truth?

It started out as a normal, yet very slow day. I arrived at work five minutes late, only to find the hospital completely empty. Strange, I thought, and then I realized that I hadn’t seen anyone on the way to work either. I became worried as I walked through the automatic doors of the ER wing. There in the nurses station, sat two nurses, one of which I knew, the other was unfamiliar. They were both as worried as I about the situation. Neither of them had seen a single human walking the streets as they drove to work. We simply shrugged it off, placing the thought in the back of our minds that something was very wrong.

I had known one of the nurses since my first day working in the ER. Her name was Sandra, but I didn’t know her last name. She was an older lady of around fifty years of age, with more wrinkles than a prune. Her hair was pepper colored with highlights of red from when she had tried to dye it. She was extremely pleasant. Every morning I would say hi and smile, and she would give her biggest smile back. Then, at the end of the day, she’d be right there at her desk smiling again. But when I saw her face that fateful morning, she was like a different person; Signs of stress in her face, and most of all, no smile.

Then, just as I was settling into my desk, she came in. I girl of only five or six years of age came staggering through the ER doors. She was covered from head to toe in blood. She made a few more steps, and fell to the floor hitting her head on the hard tiles. A pool of blood began to form around her. The nurses and I ran over to her and tried to help her, but she kept thrashing and biting at us. She seemed like a rabid dog. Then I noticed a large bite mark on her neck. It was a serious bite, surrounded by a black layer of skin and some type of green liquid. “What the hell” I said. My talking seemed to agitate the girl more. Finally, Sandra went into the supply closet and grabbed a syringe. She filled it with a chemical, which I was able to identify as horse tranquilizer. She injected the liquid into the girl’s back. Normally, horse tranquilizer would bring down a human in a few seconds, but it seemed to have no effect on the girl. Suddenly, the girl turned over onto her back and sank her bloody teeth into Sandra’s neck. The girl tore away a huge chunk of flesh and muscle from Sandra’s neck, blood erupting from the sensitive area. Sandra fell to the floor in shock and began convulsing. I was able to push the girl to the side. She fell into a small shelf and knocked a glass beaker onto her head. The glass shattered and small pieces were imbedded in the girl’s head, but she seemed to feel no pain. I moved Sandra to the corner of the room. The unknown nurse ran at the gruesome sight of Sandra’s mutilated body, and hid in a closet near the nurse’s station. I had to think fast. I didn’t want to kill the girl, but I had no choice. I quickly ran to the supply closet and grabbed a fire axe, which was used during a small building fire earlier in the year. The girl was staggering behind me, all the while making sickening gurgling sounds and letting blood erupt from her mouth and onto the floor. I closed my eyes and raised the axe when she got close. With a loud crack, I let the axe fall onto the girls shoulder, splitting her scapula, and severing an artery. The floor was already covered with thick blood, now her new injury made a small pond to add to the sickening scene. The girl’s head was nearly separated from her body, but she continued to limp toward me, letting her head dangle. I had to finish her. I lifted the axe one more time and let it fall on the girl’s head, this time hitting it. Her head split in two like a watermelon, brain matter and pieces of skull flying everywhere. Her body fell onto the floor, lifeless. Finally, she was dead.

I dropped the bloody axe and vomited on the floor. I had seen many gruesome sights as a doctor, but killing that girl hit me hard. I recovered myself and ran over to Sandra who was not breathing. I tried and tried to wake her, to help her. But I knew I had to face the facts. Sandra was dead from her wounds. I laid her body on the floor and covered it with a white bed sheet, which quickly stained red with her blood.

According to hospital procedures, the event had to be reported to the police. I got up from the Sandra’s body, made a quick sign of the cross, and walked to the phone. I listened for a dial tone, but was greeted with an unfriendly busy signal. The phone was dead. Then, we heard the sounds that changed our view of the world. Outside window of the Nurses station, I heard a loud bang, like that of a gunshot. The unknown nurse came out of her closet hiding place to look out the window. As she gazed out the window, a horrible look came upon her face, and she waved for me to come to the window. I hung up the useless phone and walked over to the window. The city streets were like a war zone. Dead bodies laid everywhere, and fires burned uncontrolled. “What had been happening outside” I thought? In the streets there were hundreds of people just like the girl whom I had killed. They all seemed to be “dead”, but they still walked around. I kept telling myself that it wasn’t possible for the dead to come back to life, but my soul knew better. The gunshot sounds we had heard were coming from two police officers in just outside of the military armory. I watched in horror as I saw one of the offices get torn apart by the zombies in the streets. They seemed to be eating the offices corpse.

I knew we had to get out of that hospital when I heard the moans and gurgles of the zombies in the halls outside of the ER doors. The only other way out was through the stairway down into the waiting area. I grabbed the nurse from her hypnotic stare out the window and we ran to the back of the ER. We opened the door and began our descent down the stairway. On the way, I learned that the nurse’s name was Milly, and that she was new to this hospital. After that, there was no talking just calm silence until we reached the doorway into the waiting area. I opened the door slowly to reveal a horrible scene. Dead bodies everywhere, weapons strewn about, and blood on everything. The front doors were barricaded with furniture and appliances. We concluded that there must have been a resistance here. How did these people die though? There weren’t any zombies in sight. We slowly walked through the room, trying not to step on the arm or leg of a corpse.

We walked up to the barricaded front doors and began pulling furniture away when suddenly; a bright flash of light engulfed us. This stunning light was followed by flames, and finally, nothing. I had blacked out. I awoke in this room three years ago, remembering everything that had happened to me. Since then, every day I was told that what I had seen was nothing, simply a figure of my insane imagination. I never believed it. Up until today, I have wondered what happened to Milly, and what caused that horrific day. Maybe I’ll never know.

What happened to Dr. Smith, why did she black out? Why did the injured girl suddenly get violent? Why does everyone tell Dr. Smith that she is insane? Let’s look at another survivor’s story and maybe the answers will be revealed.

[DAPRS]

Chapter 2:

The Possible Salvation

Part 1: Waiting to Die

The next survivor we meet on our journey is GPD officer John Richards. John was a forty-year-old hardened police chief at the time of the outbreak. He was respectable, honest, and fair in most situations. His twenty years of service to the community has led him to see many heinous crimes, none of which compare to the horrors he witnessed during the outbreak.

We pick up John’s story in the cafeteria of the Gallagher Police Department seven days into the outbreak. John and five others have barricaded themselves in the café and have used it as an outpost for three days, but they are quickly running out of supplies. John knows they can only stay in the barricade for so long, before either the zombies break in, or they die of hunger.

There was only myself and five others left alive. At the beginning of the outbreak, we started with twenty fine officers on the force. We had just been delt a fatal blow when the zombies broke through our main barricade. We emptied everything we had into the soulless bodies, but to no avail. They overcame 14 of the officers, brutally killing them. The rest of us retreated farther back into the building, into the cafeteria. Since then, all those men who had been killed have gotten up and tried to kill us. We’ve taken care of them permanently.

It took us nine hours to barricade the café, gather all the supplies we could find, and gather ourselves after that horrible situation. We barricaded the doors and windows, but left the back exit door un barred, just in case. We’d been in the building for seven days, and things were beginning to look grim. We were hungry, tired, and at each other’s throats. That’s when I decided to speak up.

“So, we have to make a decision here” I said, expecting some responses, but instead getting blank stares.

I paused, and then continued. “We can’t just sit here and wait to die. I for one refuse to give up.” This time I got more of a response, a few more blank stares.

Finally, Bill, one of my best friends, got up from his seat at the table and walked up to me. Bill Stacey was a fifty-year-old veteran cop in my precinct. I invited him over almost every night for poker, and we had grown on each other through that. He was good looking (and I say that in with strict homo-sexuality) for his age, and very strong. But the guy didn’t have much brain, and he regularly did some very stupid things.

Bill came close to me and pulled me to the side. He wanted to talk in private. We walked to the empty vending machine, away from the others and talked.

“John, what do you expect us to do?” He began. “We’re tired.”

“Where are your balls, huh? We can’t stay here, we’ll die of hunger” I replied! “Besides, what do you have to lose?”

“You know, maybe your right, I’d go, but what about these others?” He said.

“**** them” I said, trying to keep quiet. “ We’ll give them the choice.”

I turned toward the group of blood-covered officers and gave them the choice to stay in the department, or go with Bill and I. I explained that we would go to the military armory first to pick up some supplies. From there, we would get transportation to Gallagher Lake, where we would make camp until we could stay and hunt for the time being.

I expected a hail of approval and the entire department to back me. Instead, they all wanted to sit and feel sorry for themselves. So Bill and I started out. We grabbed our pistols and 100 round of ammo for each of us. We walked toward the back door and turned around, taking in our last view of the department we had worked at for so long. We finally exited into the back alley. As soon as we got outside, two lone zombies, wandering on the cement, greeted us. The zombies were just like the hundreds of others we had seen, rotting and smelly. Bill fired two shots, both hitting the zombies in the head. The force blew their brains out onto the cement, and their bodies fell to the ground.

Bill reloaded his clip with two bullets, and cocked his pistol as we walked forward. We came upon the exit of the alley and looked out into the main drag of the city. There were hundreds of zombies everywhere, and a huge inferno blocking the street going east. That’s when we decided we needed to find another way. The armory was two blocks east of our current position.

Bill looked around the alley for a way to get through the crowd when I noticed a doorway on the opposite end of the alley. It was the door into the Hillsburg Apartments. I had forgotten about the good old days when I lived there in peace. The building was huge and took up two city blocks. If we could navigate the first floor all the way through, we could come out just across from the Armory. So we headed down the alley and looked at the rusted door. It was the kitchen exit. Bill watched my back as I opened the large steel door. To reveal a discouraging darkness. Bill and I flicked on our flashlights and stepped into the building, shutting the door behind us.

[Tillghast]

Very well done! Keep and up and don't stop.

[Beggars]

very nice

[DAPRS]

Part 2: The Hillsburg Apartments

We stepped into the dark kitchen and were immediately overwhelmed by the stench. Rotting food had been sitting here for seven days, and it was beginning to make an impact. We slowly walked through the kitchen, sometimes tripping over a pot, or other kitchen supply. As we neared the exit, I looked above the door and read the sign. “Manfield’s” it read. Manfield’s was a high class restaurant that had just placed itself in the building. “Hey, maybe we can get a bite to eat!” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

I had Bill hold my gun while I opened the light swinging door. “Great, another dark room.” I thought as I began stepping into the room. Then, the sight in front of us made us stop dead in our tracks. There was a young boy, no older then five, crouched on the floor. “Hey kid!” Bill yelled. “Shut up, idiot!” I screamed, and knocked him in the head with my pistol. “Are you stupid, that thing is not a child.”

Just as I said that, the boy stood up from his position and turned around. It was a gruesome sight. Half of his face was missing, allowing the skull and eye balls to be seen clearly. Bill and I staggered back as we looked upon the horrible face. The boy began to run toward us, stepping on broken glass as his feet hit the ground. As quickly as I could, I raised my pistol and fired off a shot into the boy’s skull. A red mist rained down onto us, and we continued forward.

There was complete silence as we walked through the restaurant. I hit my side on a table that had escaped my field of view, and that did it. Ten to twenty zombies stood up from feasting on the multitude of corpses lying on the ground. “What the **** is this?” I said, surprised at the number of zombies in the room. “We have to get through here.” I said. “No wait!” Said Bill. He began pointing at a small door to the left of us. “That’s the first floor of the apartments!” He said. We quickly ran for the door, firing off some rounds into the rotting corpses. I didn’t see how many we hit. Bill swung open the door an we ran inside, slamming it shut. We stood there for a moment, trying to catch out breath. The zombies were pounding on the wooden door, but they didn’t have enough strength to break it.

We walked forward to reveal the first class apartments. It was just as horrible as the other places we had been. But horrible was beginning to become the norm for us. We were slowly becoming desensitized to the horrors of this new Gallagher. Trash, clothing, household items, and bodies were everywhere. We counted and found that there were six bodies in the hall, all either decapitated, or so dead that there was no worry of them coming back.

The hall was lined with doors on either side, except one, which we immediately stopped at. “Maybe we can get some supplies in there.” Bill suggested. “Maybe your right, they must have some dry food or something, I’m starving.” I replied. We walked through the doorway and into apartment 21A, stepping over the lifeless body in the way.

"Part 3: The Note" coming soon

[Melly]

COOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!! I can't wait until Chapter 3!!!! I just can't!!!

*rubs hands in anticipation*

[DAPRS]

You mean Part 3: The Note, right?

Chapter 3 won't be out for a while yet!! But thanks Melly!!

I really appreciate all the praise for this story, but I have to tell you, I was expecting SOME criticism. Please guys, don't hold back. I need all the criticism I can get.

You can help make this story better with your criticisms, so lay em on me!!

[DAPRS]

Hey all,

Here's Part 3: The Note!!

Part 3: The Note

We walked slowly into the living room of the apartment, only to behold another terrible scene. A small dog was lying on the ground, half decayed. Its stomach was torn open, the contents of which were strewn about the floor. The room reeked of rotting flesh. We stepped over the poor animal and into the kitchen of the flat. There was a small dining table in the corner of the kitchen. We were very tired, so we decided to sit down and rest for a few minutes. We were completely silent until I noticed a piece of paper on the table, soaked with blood. I tried to make out the words, an from what I could read, it said:

“To whom it may concern,

If you are reading this, you are obviously alive, and lets hope you stay that way. Unfortunately, I will not be for much longer. They’re coming for me, I know too much. They need me dead. No matter what you do, you must get out of the city. Don’t trust anyone, things are not as they appear. They did all this, and they’re planning something even bigger. You have no idea how deep this goes. For now, just remember to stay away from…”

The rest of the note was torn off, and I couldn’t find the missing piece. “Where should we stay away from?” I said to Bill. “Also, what does this guy mean by ‘they’?” As soon as I said this, we heard a loud noise coming from the living room. We quickly raised our guns and fell silent. “My dad wrote that note.” Said a man who appeared from within the living room. “I guess they killed him, but that’s okay, I never liked him anyway.” Said the man, with an almost evil smile on his face. Bill began to lower his gun, but I did not waver. I did not trust the man, for something about him was not right. He was tall and muscular, and wore jeans and a shirt. He was carrying a backpack with him, which seemed very heavy. I finally lowered my gun after my arm began to get tired.

“Thanks man, I thought you were going to shoot me.” He said. “My name’s Brad, I’ve been in this place for 7 days.” He began to explain his situation. “I just cleared out this hall, and stayed here, living off my dog.” “sh**!” I thought. “This guy was eating his dog?” I just stood there staring while he was talking. I wasn’t paying attention to anything he was saying, I was wondering who the hell the guy was. Brad stuck out his hand took shake mine; this brought me back from my thoughts. I took his hand and shook it firmly, though I didn’t know why. Out of kindness on my part, maybe. It was nice to see another human alive, though. Suddenly, the man began to run out of the apartment. “Hey” I yelled. “Where are you going?” The man stopped and looked back at us. “To the Armory. That’s where you’re going, right?” That statement made us stop dead in our tracks. How did he know we were going to the Armory?

Brad then began to run again, out of the apartment and down the hallway, toward the stairs. Bill and I ran after him, eventually catching up. “Down here is the lobby.” Said Brad. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a powerful Desert Eagle handgun. “Where did you get that?” Said Bill in envy. “The Armory. I’ve been there before. It should be fine cause I cleared it as I went.” He said. Brad then began to walk down the stairs, and we followed. The lobby of the building was in ruins. A semi truck had broken through the front wall, and small fires now surrounded it. I looked out into the street, and saw maybe thirty zombies, all huddling around something. This time, Brad reached into is backpack, and pulled out a grenade. “You guys better get back.” He said as he pulled the pin. Bill and I stepped back onto the stairs as Brad threw the grenade out into the street. It blew up, throwing zombies and parts of zombies everywhere. That’s when I heard a loud scream. Bill and I ran out into the now bloody, but empty street in front of the Armory. There, kneeling on the asphalt was Mike. Mike was a fellow officer from the GPD. “Those things killed Jack.” He said, barely able to talk while he was catching his breath. “Damn.” I said. Behind us, Brad was walking toward Mike.

“Hey Brad, this is Mike. He’s our…” I stopped in the middle of my sentence. Brad had pulled his gun out and placed it up to Mike’s head. “You, ****ers are not going into the Armory.” He said as he pushed Mike’s head with his gun. “We’re in there, and we don’t need more trouble.” “What do you mean ‘we’”? I asked, now p***ed at the guy. He turned toward me and gave me the most hideous smile I had ever seen, and then he pulled the trigger. Brains and blood came shooting from Mike’s head, as his body fell to the cement, lifeless. “sh**, man.” Said Bill, now hysterical. Brad fired his gun toward me, but Bill took the shot, jumping in front of me. He wasn’t hurt badly though, he was only hit in his leg. I pulled up my gun and fired three rounds at Brad, but I missed. He ran toward the Hospital, which was right next to the apartments. That’s when I noticed that zombies had surrounded us. I ran back to Bill, and checked his leg. It was worse than I thought. I tried to get him to walk, but he simply couldn’t. We were in the middle of the street, with zombies surrounding us, and one of us injured. We were officially ****ed.

[DAPRS]

Part 3: The Note

We walked slowly into the living room of the apartment, only to behold another terrible scene. A small dog was lying on the ground, half decayed. Its stomach was torn open, the contents of which were strewn about the floor. The room reeked of rotting flesh. We stepped over the poor animal and into the kitchen of the flat. There was a small dining table in the corner of the kitchen. We were very tired, so we decided to sit down and rest for a few minutes. We were completely silent until I noticed a piece of paper on the table, soaked with blood. I tried to make out the words, an from what I could read, it said:

“To whom it may concern,

If you are reading this, you are obviously alive, and lets hope you stay that way. Unfortunately, I will not be for much longer. They’re coming for me, I know too much. They need me dead. No matter what you do, you must get out of the city. Don’t trust anyone, things are not as they appear. They did all this, and they’re planning something even bigger. You have no idea how deep this goes. For now, just remember to stay away from…”

The rest of the note was torn off, and I couldn’t find the missing piece. “Where should we stay away from?” I said to Bill. “Also, what does this guy mean by ‘they’?” As soon as I said this, we heard a loud noise coming from the living room. We quickly raised our guns and fell silent. “My dad wrote that note.” Said a man who appeared from within the living room. “I guess they killed him, but that’s okay, I never liked him anyway.” Said the man, with an almost evil smile on his face. Bill began to lower his gun, but I did not waver. I did not trust the man, for something about him was not right. He was tall and muscular, and wore jeans and a shirt. He was carrying a backpack with him, which seemed very heavy. I finally lowered my gun after my arm began to get tired.

“Thanks man, I thought you were going to shoot me.” He said. “My name’s Brad, I’ve been in this place for 7 days.” He began to explain his situation. “I just cleared out this hall, and stayed here, living off my dog.” “sh**!” I thought. “This guy was eating his dog?” I just stood there staring while he was talking. I wasn’t paying attention to anything he was saying, I was wondering who the hell the guy was. Brad stuck out his hand took shake mine; this brought me back from my thoughts. I took his hand and shook it firmly, though I didn’t know why. Out of kindness on my part, maybe. It was nice to see another human alive, though. Suddenly, the man began to run out of the apartment. “Hey” I yelled. “Where are you going?” The man stopped and looked back at us. “To the Armory. That’s where you’re going, right?” That statement made us stop dead in our tracks. How did he know we were going to the Armory?

Brad then began to run again, out of the apartment and down the hallway, toward the stairs. Bill and I ran after him, eventually catching up. “Down here is the lobby.” Said Brad. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a powerful Desert Eagle handgun. “Where did you get that?” Said Bill in envy. “The Armory. I’ve been there before. It should be fine cause I cleared it as I went.” He said. Brad then began to walk down the stairs, and we followed. The lobby of the building was in ruins. A semi truck had broken through the front wall, and small fires now surrounded it. I looked out into the street, and saw maybe thirty zombies, all huddling around something. This time, Brad reached into is backpack, and pulled out a grenade. “You guys better get back.” He said as he pulled the pin. Bill and I stepped back onto the stairs as Brad threw the grenade out into the street. It blew up, throwing zombies and parts of zombies everywhere. That’s when I heard a loud scream. Bill and I ran out into the now bloody, but empty street in front of the Armory. There, kneeling on the asphalt was Mike. Mike was a fellow officer from the GPD. “Those things killed Jack.” He said, barely able to talk while he was catching his breath. “Damn.” I said. Behind us, Brad was walking toward Mike.

“Hey Brad, this is Mike. He’s our…” I stopped in the middle of my sentence. Brad had pulled his gun out and placed it up to Mike’s head. “You, ****ers are not going into the Armory.” He said as he pushed Mike’s head with his gun. “We’re in there, and we don’t need more trouble.” “What do you mean ‘we’”? I asked, now p***ed at the guy. He turned toward me and gave me the most hideous smile I had ever seen, and then he pulled the trigger. Brains and blood came shooting from Mike’s head, as his body fell to the cement, lifeless. “sh**, man.” Said Bill, now hysterical. Brad fired his gun toward me, but Bill took the shot, jumping in front of me. He wasn’t hurt badly though, he was only hit in his leg. I pulled up my gun and fired three rounds at Brad, but I missed. He ran toward the Hospital, which was right next to the apartments. That’s when I noticed that zombies had surrounded us. I ran back to Bill, and checked his leg. It was worse than I thought. I tried to get him to walk, but he simply couldn’t. We were in the middle of the street, with zombies surrounding us, and one of us injured. We were officially ****ed.

[Melly]

Oops, yes. I did mean Part 3

Looking good, 75. However, to me it sounds kinda familiar....almost like I'm reading someone playing a video game, you know, moving from place to place, finding people, finding objects....stuff like that.

But whatever helps to paint a better, more gory picture, right??

Keep it up, bud!!!

[ConservativePessimist]

Interesting plot but generic use of literary devices--and I'm not an English teacher. Just... try not to let the words get in the way of the story, some of your sentences come off clunky. Still, interesting to read, keep it up .

[ex infernis]

This story is cool, it reminds me of resident evil

[The Original Chupa King]

Holy mother of God, my last name's a frickin' zombie novel, eh!

Sweet story though.

[DAPRS]

Hey guys thanks!!

I especially appreciate the crits of conservative pessimist.!! I need all the crits I can get.

btw, Part 4 is coming soon.

[Melly]

GRRRR!!! Type faster 75!! You're killing me!!

[DAPRS]

behold all my faithful fans, Part 4 is below!!

Part 4: The Armory

Bill was now screaming in pain as I dragged him across the concrete toward the Armory. I didn't want to go in there, but we had little choice. The zombies were slowly inching toward us, a few of them breaking in to slow runs. That's when Bill looked up at me and said the words that allowed me to see the inner fear he had. “Please don't leave me.” He said with a shaky voice. His breathing was growing slower and slower as we neared the building. Bill gave me one final look, his glazed eyes filled with tears, and tried to speak. I looked toward his injury, then quickly looked away. It was infected, severely, and to tell you what it looked like would be a dishonor to him. I looked back at his face, as he muttered his final words. “Thanks, John, for everything.” At that, Bill took his last breaths, and went limp in my arms. My eyes began to well up with tears as I continued to drag his body toward the building.

“Come on Bill” I said as I struggled to pull his corpse up the steps and to the large iron doors of the armory. Suddenly, Bill's body began to shake violently. “damn it” I thought, knowing what was happening. Bill was turning, even though he had no contact with a zombie. Even though I loved my friend, I knew what had to be done. Slowly, I took out my pistol and aimed it at Bill's pulsating head. One round was all it took. His body fell to the cement steps and rolled part-way down them. “See ya later, Bill” I said, as I slowly opened the heavy door. I walked into the Armory and let the door slam shut. There was no way those things could get in there.

During my whole ordeal, all the stress, I had not cried once. But staring death in the face everyday, and watching my lifetime friend turn was all I could take. I dropped to the floor and cried. I cried more than I had ever cried in my life. It felt good, as if a part of Bill was still with me. I cried for what must have been hours. When I finally finished, I got up to look out the barred window. It was day light out, and the streets were illuminated with the warmth of the sun's light. Unfortunately, it didn't make the situation any easier to handle. I picked up my gun from the cold marble floor and took in the scene in front of me. Light.....everywhere!! Not sunlight, but artificial light! The city hadn't had power for over a week, so the sight of the light bulb illuminating the darkness instilled a new hope in me. Then, just as quickly as it came, the light went away. A loud noise like that of a speeding train followed, which seemed to be coming from below the building. I had worked in the Armory for a short time while at the police academy. I hadn't known the whole building, most of it was secretive, but what I had known was that there was a power generator in the lower levels of the building.

I had one reason for being at the armory in the first place, that was to obtain weaponry to assist Bill and I on our way to Gallagher Lake. I was not about to leave the armory without weapons and risk dying. That would make Bill's be for nothing. I decided to press on and attempt to reactivate the power generator. My only question was who had disabled it? The first thought that popped into my head was that Brad, my newfound enemy, was behind it. “Why doesn't that b****** want me in this place?” I thought to myself. “What the hell is going on in here.” I walked forward through the large lobby, and to the back of the room. There was the auxiliary elevator which led to public access floors, and the main elevator, which led to basement levels, and to the generator area. I boarded the main elevator and pressed the small plastic button for the generator room. As I watched the elevator doors close, I felt as if I was watching my life flash before me. I felt as though something bad was down in the darkness of the basement, I just didn't know what. The floors flew by, represented by the small blinking lights at the top of the doors. Every time I passed a floor, the damn thing would beep. I finally reached the lowest basement level, B4, which was four floors below ground. The doors slowly opened, allowing a blast of cool air to hit me like a thousand knives. It was freezing in the basement, I wished I had a jacket. Lifting my pistol to eye level, I slowly stepped out of the elevator, and into the cold darkness of that subterranean world.

The basement was a dark dungeon-like place, which I only faintly remembered. A few more steps forward, and my eyes beheld an amazing sight. Along the cold wet walls of the basement level, were hundreds of cells, prison cells. But that wasn't the scariest part. The cells were occupied by humans, living humans who seemed to have no sign of zombification. The basement lights began to flicker and then stayed illuminated. There, painted on the floor in the center of the room, was the CDC official seal. “What the hell was the CDC seal doing in a military building?” I kept asking this question as I looked at the cells containing the miserable looking people. As I walked through the basement, the people kept staring at me, a few of them tried to speak, but no sounds came out. They all seemed to be malnutrition and dehydrated. “What's going on here?” I asked out loud. Just as I said this, a loud voice responded from above me. “Good question John!” It was Brad, dressed in a black suit with a CDC ID tag attached to his side. Brad stepped onto a small elevator and was lowered to the floor. “John, you have no business here. I suggest you leave now, while I'm giving you the chance.” I stood my ground, wanting to know what was happening in the deadly town. “John, what you see around you, is our doing, our great new development.” Brad began walking around the large room, where the generator should have been. “You may have heard on the news that scientists, about three months ago, created the first man-made life form. That life form is what caused all this.” I listened carefully, and watched Brad with my every muscle at the ready, in case he tried something deadly. “A virus. But not just any virus; its a selective virus. In other words, it 'turns' only specific people.” Brad handed me a folder marked “Project: Anna”. I opened the brown folder, and began reading. The document was my one way ticket to the bottom of the rabbit hole.

[Melly]

What the hell? Oh boy! Getting interesting!!

[DAPRS]

OK EVERYONE!!

PART 5, THE LAST PART OF CHAPTER 2 IS NOW UP. IT IS UNEDITED. THE EDITED VERSION WILL BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE SOON!!

Part 5: The Truth

I read the document silently, though I don't remember it word for word. Brad stood next to me, waiting for me to finish. “Oh my God.” It was all I could say after reading the top secret document. Brad turned around and lifted his jacket and shirt. His skin was horrible. Instead of being smooth like healthy skin, it was covered with small 'bubbles' or boils which seemed to be releasing blood and a green fluid of some sort. Brad began to flex his muscles, that's when things got sickening. As he flexed, I watched his blood begin to 'boil' under neath his skin. His back began to tear in spots. Brad raised his head and screamed as he lowered his clothing. “Holy sh**, Brad.” I said, almost speechless. “Yeah John, I'm infected too.” He turned around and faced me, looking me square in the eyes. He began to speak, but I could tell he was severely weakened.

“You see, we did all this, it was a mistake to think we could test it here in a contained environment.” Brad's began to look around the room. Though he was injured and infected, I still didn't trust him. “All these people are our test subjects, but none of them seem to carry the infection, no matter how many injections we give them.” Brad reached into his coat and pulled out a small glass vile of a green liquid. “This is the virus. It's called the 'Anna Strain'. Basically, it attacks the nervous system, essentially shutting it down within minutes. Next it reactivates the system, except for all subsidiary nerves. Finally, it takes control of the motor functions of the host, and tries to spread itself to others. It does this by biting or scratching at other humans.” Brad began to sweat as he was speaking, it was making me worry. “But, the virus only infects those with a number of t-cells within a certain range. I'm not going into specifics.” Brad threw me the glass vile, which I was able to catch. He fell to the ground on one knee and looked up at me. “John, you have to get out of here. On the back wall, there's an elevator that will take you to the ground floor and the back loading dock. My truck is in the drive way, take it and get to the lake.” Brad threw me a set of keys. He was growing weaker and weaker, and I could begin to see the signs of turning. “Brad, why did you kill Bill?” I felt sorry for Brad, but I needed to know why he took my friend's life. “John, I did it to save him the pain of turning. He was infected.” Brad pulled his jacket open and took out a small gadget. “This can detect the virus in the veins of the head. Attach it to your gun. Don't let anyone live who is infected, but don't kill anyone who isn't.” Brad lowered his head to the floor. Suddenly, he began convulsing. He gave me one last look, and threw up a massive amount of blood which pooled on the floor. He fell and closed his eyes.

I took everything Brad had given me: the document, the virus, and the keys and attachment. I ran to the other end of the large, cold room, and into the small service elevator. I watched as the numbers flashed, one by one, like the starting lights at a Nascar race. My muscles were tensed as the elevator reached ground floor. The doors opened to reveal a zombie infested loading dock. I spotted Brad's truck, and made a run for it. I pulled out my pistol and fired off so many shots. Somehow, I made it to the truck and got inside. I sat in the cab, trying to catch my breath for a few seconds. The zombies began piling onto the vehicle, their blood and fluids smearing onto the windows. I put the key into the ignition and started the truck. I floored it. Blood and brain matter covered the truck as I drove through the collective mass of rotting corpses. As I drove, I could here the disgusting sounds of cracking bones and gushing blood. The combination of all the brutality made me very sick. I began to feel nautious and threw up on the steering wheel, further soiling my bloody uniform.

I cleared the crowd of zombies and began driving freely down the road toward I-65, which led directly to Gallagher Lake. I was about a half-mile from the Armory, when a huge explosion came from the mysterious building. I watched in my rear view mirror as it demolished the hospital and apartment building. I didn't know what caused the explosion, but I didn't care. If it killed those things, then it was fine with me.

As I watched the happy display of the raging inferno, I noticed a large apache helicopter emerge from the burning building. The copter was completely black and unmarked. “I'm ****ed” I said as I began to floor the gas again. The copter began following me, firing rounds into the pavement below the pickup. “sh**!” I screamed as the copter flew past me. I was a normal guy, besides having police training. How the hell was I supposed the bring down a military copter. The copter continued to fire rounds at me as I swerved through the road. I had been driving about three miles with the helicopter following me. Brooks Forest, which surrounded the lake, was directly in front of me. I had to make it into the forest.

The helicopter fired at me more than before, using larger, explosive rounds. The shrapnel from the small explosions tore apart my left back tire. I almost lost control of the truck, driving on nothing but aluminum rim. The forest was so far, yet so close. I finally made it into the forest, where I was able to lose the persistent copter. I continued to drive on my rim, not wanting to stop anywhere, though I hadn't seen a zombie for miles. “I told those sons of b*****s that the lake was a great place to go.” I said as I smiled happily, knowing that I was finally safe.

As I neared the lake, my jaw dropped to the floor of the truck in awe. The lake was surrounded by a huge barbed wire fence, and small home-built guard towers with PEOPLE inside of them. “**** yeah!!” I screamed as I clutched the steering wheel with all my strength. I knew that the people inside of the camp were 'alive'. They walked just like normal people. I slowly approached the gate, my brakes making a horrible screeching as they brang the vehicle to a stop. I honked the horn and waited in the truck until a man dressed in an EMT uniform ran up to my door. “sh**, sir! Are you okay?” The man eyed me up and down, staring at the blood that covered me. The man pulled out a small device exactly like that which Brad gave me to test for the virus. “Okay, your clean” He said. “I'm covered in blood” I thought. “I am not ****ing clean.” I slowly coasted the truck into the large compound. It reminded me of those civil war reenactment fields, with all the tents and guns, and medics, and bodies. I followed the EMT worker, who was walking in front of me, to the edge of the water where I parked the car. “May we have your keys?” He asked. “Sure, have fun.” I said, without looking at the man. I walked slowly toward the edge of the water and sat on a large boulder which overlooked the water. “I'll be safe here.” I thought to myself. I tried to allow myself to trust this new place, this new 'heaven', but I had been through too much to trust anything. Would this be another police station to escape from, or was I simply in denial of the fact that there is nowhere safe left. As I sat, starring at the water, I hoped this was my 'heaven'.

John has been through so much during his quest through the city. Will he be safe in his new heaven, or will it just be another hell? During our interview with John, he gave us a complete copy of the document he recieved from Brad. The next chapter will present the document, and will show you just how deep the rabbit hole actually goes.

[Melly]

Not bad. Pretty gooey! Awesome. I was expecting a little more detail about the virus. But I guess I'll have to wait another 2 weeks until the next installment, eh? Haha. Keep it up!!

[DAPRS]

Chapter 3:
Experimentation

Part 1: Good Night Sweetheart

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep. Protect me through the darkest night, and wake my soul with dawn’s first light.”

Anna Montgomery, a young girl just beginning her simple life, knelt at the side of her bed reciting her nightly prayers. “Please bless Mommy and Daddy.” She said as she got her from the floor, made the sign of the cross, and jumped into bed playfully. Anna was a lively girl; full of hope, love, and spirit. She was also very beautiful, the envy of her second grade class. Her long, jet black hair, pale white face, rosy lips, and piercing blue eyes made her the talk of the boys in her class.

Anna quickly undressed and slipped on her favorite nightgown: a flowing, pink gown with an embroidered butterfly on the front. “Mommy!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, “I’m ready!” She pulled the soft, warm covers over her body and lay in the bed, waiting. Her parents knew exactly what she needed. Anna’s Dad walked into the kitchen and filled a glass cup with milk. Her mother walked quickly to Anna’s room and found her lying in the bed. “Good night sweetheart.” She said lovingly to her daughter. “Night Mommy.” Said Anna. She sat up and gave her mother a warm embrace. Then her Dad walked into the room. Anna grabbed the milk, drank it, thanked her father, and lay down in the bed. “Good night Dad.” She said. Her father leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Good night Anna.” He said softly. Anna’s parents stood in the doorway of the room and waited until she rolled over and snuggled off to sleep. They turned out the lights and shut the door silently.

Her parents walked to their bedroom and shut the door. Sleep slowly overcame the Montgomery house. A peaceful silence filled the house and the surrounding city. If only they had known of the horrors to come.

[x o i s k]

WOAH! Really nice story, I love zombies!

[Perfect Imperfection]

Liking it! Makes you want to keep reading even though in general I don't like stories like this!