I ran down the hall to the stairs. I didn’t even bother with the elevator. I made my way down the stairs going way too fast. I slid down the last three, hurting my back but I got up and continued on my way.
I was running on adrenaline. I didn’t stop to think. I didn’t let myself think. If I let my thoughts go I knew I’d never get to the airfield.
I heard the receptionist call to me as I ran past her. I paid no mind to her. She was probably just yelling about me running through the lobby.
I made it to my car and got in. The engine gave me a bit of trouble when I tried to start it. It sounded tired and angry but finally kicked into life. I’d been meaning to take it into the shop for over a month but hadn’t gotten around to it. I guess it didn’t matter now.
I thought about going to the house but figured there was no time. It sounded like there was urgency in getting to that airfield.
I made my way there, though not with nearly as much urgency as I had when I was going to the hospital. I even obeyed the speed limit this time around.
I pulled into a parking lot near the hanger. I was surprised at the number of families hanging around with bags packed. Mothers were holding crying children, while fathers looked more than a bit annoyed. It was definitely no longer need to know.
I saw one of our friends, Richard, standing outside with a clipboard. It looked as though he was making some kind of announcement to the crowd.
I got out of my car and walked over to Richard; he saw me and smiled. “Shelly! Adam got the message then?” he asked, giving me a brief hug. “Where are Jackie and Adam?”
“What message?” I asked.
“That you guys are to be on the second plane out. The evacuation plan. People are lining up in hopes that families don’t show up. The first plane is leaving in about ten minutes; yours should be leaving in about an hour.”
I was beyond confused at this point and I guess it could be read written all over my face.
“You do know what’s going on right?” Richard asked.
“Only that my daughter turned into some kind of undead flesh eating thing and killed my husband and a couple doctors. The doctor gave me an idea of what was going on but I don’t really get how this is happening so fast.”
“I’m so sorry Shelly, I can’t believe that happened.” Richard said, sorrow filling his eyes. Adam was one of his dearest friends.
He blinked back a few tears and cleared his throat. “They made the official announcement of what’s going on around six o’clock, right before all the TV and internet service went down.”
The announcement happened when I was at choir practice. Adam missed it because he had taken Jackie to the hospital. In less than an hour of that important announcement we both missed, our world crashed down.
Then I realized just what he had said, “TV and internet went down?”
“Everything’s down. We lost communication with the base in D.C. who was in charge of orders. When we tried to contact other bases, we couldn’t get a hold of them. We hoped it was a glitch of some type because we were able to stay in contact with the Air Force bases in Japan and Hawaii. We lost contact with them just a little while ago.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could something this bad be happening so fast? And whose best interest was it to be so quiet about it for so long? If they had given us a chance to protect ourselves would things maybe have turned out differently? There was no way of knowing. Now it was a fight for survival. Enter in the plague of the dead.
Chapter 4
Richard showed me into the hanger. There were also several families in there, though they seemed slightly more at ease than the ones outside. I guess like me it made them feel better to be doing something or feel like they were getting somewhere.
Richard gave me a hug before returning to his post. I sat down and pulled out my cell phone. The only possession I had other than my car keys, which didn’t seem necessary anymore but I kept them on me.
I hit my sister’s name on the screen and hit the call button, hoping service would still work. Thankfully the phone was ringing on the other end. I held my breath until she answered.
“Hello,” she said.
“Cate,” I said.
“Shelly, thank God. I wasn’t sure if you were alright.”
“Well, I’m alive but I wouldn’t say I was alright.”
“Why?”
“Jackie and Adam…” I couldn’t get past their names, it was too much. I felt my body go numb. The crushing weight of loss was taking over.
“Shelly, I’m so sorry. I don’t even know where to begin with this mess. How are you going to get home? Can you? They’ve grounded all commercial flights.”
“Yeah, I should be boarding a military airbus in about an hour but they’re taking us to an Air Force base in California.”
She let out a sigh of relief, “that’s better still. You won’t be an ocean away.”
I heard static start to cut in; I knew the phone service would not allow this conversation to last much longer.
“Listen, no matter what happens, just remember I love you.”
“I love you t…”
With that, the phone went dead. Complete silence met me at the other end. Somehow I couldn’t fight the feeling that that was the last
