I grinned “Takes after his daddy.”
“Right. Nice fishing for compliments.” Ellie walked over to rescue Jake, who had managed to drag himself over to the vent and got his sleeper button stuck.
I smiled and got myself breakfast, thinking about what I had heard on the radio. That old feeling was ticking in the back of my head, and for once I decided not to ignore it. “Hey, babe?” I said. Ellie looked up from Jake. “What?” “When you go shopping, could you pick up some extra bottled water? I kind of want to ease back my pop intake.” Ellie shrugged. “Sure whatever. Anything else?”
I thought for a minute. “D and AA batteries. I think Jake’s fishbowl is sounding weak, and his musical dragon is not so musical.”
“Okay.”
I went back to my breakfast, and thought about things before I went upstairs to get ready to go to work. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a going to be a lot more to this virus, and as I put on my shirt and tied my tie, I decided that prudence was the better side of caution. I reached into my closet and opened the small safe I had hidden behind my Chicago Bears jersey. I pulled out my Walther PPK and checked to make sure it was fully loaded and a round was chambered. I took it to the side of the bed where I had a thick book hollowed out to accept the little pistol. I placed the book on my nightstand, and hoped that everything would be all right.
2
Driving to work at my usual pace, I barely listened to the radio, focusing more on the unusual amount of traffic that seemed to be on the road. The Governor of my state was likely going to be indicted, he said he was innocent, the president was meeting with other world leaders about the new threat, and someone was having a sale on last years model cars. Blah, Blah, Blah. I really didn’t listen until I heard the word virus and Chicago. All of a sudden, I was interested, since I lived only thirty miles outside of the city proper. The talk show was discussing the new virus that seemed to be on everyone’s mind. They said there have not been any cases yet reported in the Chicago area, but New York seemed to be having a difficult time containing it. A sound bite from the mayor of Chicago reassured everyone that precautions were being taken, and antibiotics were being stocked up. I laughed at this. Antibiotics are useless against viruses, but it made the masses rest a little easier.
I pulled into work, and the first thing I noticed was a general lack of activity. Usually there was a group of kids running around, but today it was quiet.
I went to my office and spent what was essentially a normal day, dealing with the normal problems of running a school. Kids showed up, we taught them, and they went home. It wasn’t until later when I started to get that old familiar feeling again.
Ellie called me on my cell. “Hey you! Just wanted to touch base with you. I’m at Cost Go and wanted to know if you wanted anything special for dinner.” I could hear Jake squeaking in the background, like he always does when he rides in a shopping cart.
I thought for a minute. “Just stock up on everything you think we need. Get a lot of canned goods and dry goods, stuff that we don’t need to refrigerate. Extra toilet paper, batteries, everything. Don’t worry about paying for it, just use the credit card.”
Ellie seemed baffled. “What’s going on, John? What are you preparing for? I am not going to be acting like some lunatic Y2K fear monger.”
I knew I would lose a protracted argument, since I tended to lose them all. But I also knew that Ellie was nothing if not practical. “Just taking some precautions. If the virus spreads, people are going to panic, and then everything will be up for grabs. Why not get what we need now, and not worry about it later?” I stood by my office window as I spoke, and that allowed me a good view of the surrounding neighborhood. I watched an old man stumble a bit around his yard, like he didn’t know where he was. Alzheimer’s, I thought. Too bad. Judging by the bandage on his arm, he had managed to injure himself.
Ellie’s voice cut off my observation. “All right, but don’t complain to me if you get tired of soup and rice.” she said.
“Thanks,” I said, looking out the window again. The old man’s caretaker was coming out into the yard. “I’ll see you soon. Love you!”
The caretaker walked out into the yard and I could see the old man turn his head and look at her. He reached out with one arm, and the other one hung limp. Stroke victim, I thought, feeling sorry for the old guy. Staggering steps were taken to the caretaker, who walked forward to give him a hand. When she reached him, his hand grasped her shoulder, and his head snapped forward to her neck. “Jesus Christ!” I yelled, watching as blood sprayed over both of them. My secretary poked her head around the door.
“What’s up?”
“Call 911 right now!” I yelled at her, not being able to take my eyes off the scene across the street. “A woman is being attacked on the other side of Hampshire Street!” The man had dragged the woman down and was furiously chewing on her neck and face. She was struggling, screaming, trying to get him off, but I could see she was weakening from the loss of blood. The old man bent down and tore another chunk out of her neck, and the woman shuddered once, and then was still. I watched in horror as the old man tore at her stomach, ripping the clothes and skin open and tearing out hunks of flesh, barely chewing the meat, just forcing it down. I couldn’t believe what I just saw. There was no way that just happened. I looked around to see if anyone else had seen or heard anything.
I yelled at Janet “Where the hell is 911?”
“They said they are busy at the moment, but call back in fifteen minutes.”
My mind reeled. I looked out again and saw the old man had gotten up from his kill, the front of his shirt completely covered in his victim’s blood. He began his shuffling around again and I could not believe he was staying near the body. I watched as a neighbor came out and walked over to the fence. The old man made a moaning sound and lurched toward the neighbor. Get out of there! I silently screamed at the neighbor. The neighbor held out a hand to the old man over the fence and when the old man got close enough, he grabbed the hand and promptly bit the arm it was attached to! The neighbor yanked his hand back, and ran towards his house, screaming bloody murder all the way. “Jesus Christ!” I yelled again, not understanding what I had just witnessed. Janet again poked her head around the corner. “What now?” She asked. “The old man who just killed that woman, was eating her and the neighbor came out and the old man bit him, too!” “What?” “I’m serious! Right there! Look!”
Janet came over to the window. She glanced out and nearly gagged. “Oh, God!” she said, covering her mouth with her hand. The woman’s body wasn’t pretty. Her face and neck were covered in blood and bites, and there was a raw open wound in her stomach. Entrails were hanging by her sides like blue-grey ropes.
“What did 911 say?” I asked, turning her away from the window. “Exactly, what did they say?”
Janet refocused, “They said that they had received numerous calls, and were dealing with them as quickly as they could. If it was not a life-threatening emergency, then we would have to wait.”
I looked at the scene across the street. I guessed the waiting for help to arrive had just started. I decided I needed to get home and get with my family right now. I said as much to Janet and suggested that she leave right now as well. She didn’t argue with me, having three children of her own waiting for her at home.
As I packed up to leave, I looked out the window again. The old man was gone, and so was the woman. Blood was all over the grass, turning brown in the sun. I guess 911 came to the rescue after all. Hope the guy with the bite on his arm was okay.
As I walked out into the parking lot, I was struck by how quiet everything was. I didn’t hear any trains going by, I didn’t hear any kids playing. Unusual for this neighborhood. I did hear an odd moaning, but I figured that was the wind. As I got to my car, I thought I heard several pops, like someone lighting off fireworks. It came from the east, where the hospital and clinic were, but I didn’t think anything of it.
As I drove home, I kept the radio off. I kept replaying what I had seen in my head and nothing added up. What would make an old man attack someone like that? Alzheimer’s did not turn people violent, and most certainly did not turn them into cannibals. I was so lost in thought I barely felt my cell phone vibrating. It was Ellie. I snapped it open, not sure of what I was going to tell her. “Hey, you!”
