Uprising

Chapter 1

"Perfect Conditions"

To say that it was a nice day was an understatement. The late June weather in Lincoln, Nebraska was unseasonably cool, but perfect for those who relish the outdoors. 75 degrees, sunny with a just a brush of clouds across the sky. These were the types of days Josh lived for.

He finally flicked off the television after realizing the beauty the day had undertook. It was late evening and Josh knew what he had to do. He had the house to himself, his brother gone and his parents out for a weekend concert. This was the first time in his 16 year existence that his parents trusted him to take care of things by himself for an extended period of time. Not that they had much to worry about.

Josh wasn't like most other kids his age, most kids would be licking their chops with their folks out of the house looking to throw some wild party, but this wasn't the way Josh was. He was reserved, yet confident. His 5'10'' frame didn't carry a whole lot of weight, no more than 150 pounds but most of that was muscle. He was strong for his size. Josh wasn't a jock, but he did love sports. This was obvious, he had an athletic frame.

Josh rifled through the pantry and pulled out a granola bar before getting to business. He flipped on the radio and raced down to the basement to grab his rod and reel. Josh was an avid fisherman, taking every golden opportunity he could get, and converting that into time on the water. His love of fishing reflected his personality, he enjoyed the peace and quite.

"Perfect" he muttered to himself as he opened the garage door and gazed at the prime conditions.

He quickly packed his gear into the back of his Mitsubishi SUV and ripped open the driver's side door. He was on his way.

The drive to the lake was brief, as always. It was only a five minute drive from his house through the beautiful neighborhoods that surrounded it. Josh began to think while he drove; that was another thing, Josh was a thinker. He thought everything through thoroughly, no matter how minuscule it may have seemed. This was both an advantage and a disadvantage, when you constantly expect the unexpected, its logical to say that he was rarely truly surprised. In the same regard, he was rarely pleasantly surprised either.

Josh thought about his family: his parents, how they had finally given him the responsibility he deserved, and his brother who was to be coming home soon from a trip of his own. He thought about how quiet things had been, this was the first real time he had left the house in several days. And finally, he remembered what he had seen on the six o'clock news that day, about the riots that where spreading in several small towns in northern Nebraska.

Just as the SUV wheeled into the small gravel parking lot near the lake, Josh felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He groped around struggling to find it among a pack of gum and some change. He looked at the screen, it was his buddy Jordan. This was typical.

"Hello" he said in a slightly aggravated tone.

"Hey big guy, what up?" Jordan was sort of an opposite to Josh, he was outgoing to say the least.

"Uhhh not too much really. Just gonna try fishing I think."

"Thanks for inviting me you douche." Jordan replied sarcastically. The two chuckled. The truth was, Josh actually preferred to fish alone.

Jordan continued. "Hey dude you wanna go get something to eat?"

"Nah man, I already ate." He in fact was very hungry but couldn't tear himself away from the lake.

"Whatever dude." Jordan said with a hint of dejection. " I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Alright see ya." Josh was relieved to be off the phone, for some reason, he had no intention of being social at the moment.

The lake was very calm, the weather still flawless. There was absolutely no wind, not even a breeze. The water was like glass. But, Josh did notice something peculiar about the water. It had a strange rust colored tint to it. He had never seen it like this, it was normally a brackish green color.

Josh didn't think too much of the situation, after all the sun was going to set soon and he had no intention of wasting such a beautiful day. He tied on his signature lure right off the bat, he wasn't messing around, he was here to catch fish. Josh lightly gripped his Shakespeare rod, flipped the bale, and with a slight flick of the wrist tossed the line 25 feet from the shore.

After several more casts he finally hooked into the first fish of the night, and from the amount of drag it pulled out, it was a big son of a bitch.

"Ohh yes sir!" Josh yelled as he pulled the 20 inch large-mouth bass ashore.

He grabbed the tape measure to make sure. His instincts were right, the bass was 21 inches, a fine specimen from this lake. This was the adrenaline rush that had Josh hooked on the sport. He proceeded to unhook the monstrous creature and really began to appreciate the oddness of the it. The normally green and white shade that the fish sported was now the same rust color of the water, almost red. The eyes that were normally black, were pale white and the slime that covered the fish began to stink. The fish was more docile than usual as well. Normally, the fish would thrash about, but this fish just stayed limp and let off a dull groan, one that Josh had never heard before.

As the night progressed, and the sun slowly crept below the tree line, Josh was catching more and more bass that were exactly like the first. 10 in all, exactly identical and exactly contrary to what he had previously know about the fish. He was baffled and couldn't put his finger on the situation, it was very troubling.

Maybe it wasn't the fish that were as troubling as the quiet. This lake was adjacent to a nearby highway and the roars of the engines from the road were easily audible. But no sound like it was distinct on this night. He packed up his gear back into the trunk and took one last gaze upon the lake. What was once a beautiful day had morphed into a surprisingly eerie night.

Josh's headlights cut through the darkness on the ride home, none of the house lights around seemed to be on and the street lights were systematically beginning to flicker and die. The anxiety was starting to brew in his gut, he nervously tapped the gas pedal a little harder and came speeding around a corner. It was too late. He slammed his brakes with all his might but still crushed into a dog crossing the road. The car jolt onto the curb with surprising force bashing Josh's head against the headrest. He put the car in park and felt a deep pit in his stomach. He loved dogs, the thought that he had killed one almost made him sick.

Josh found the dog, a border collie, lying limp in the center of the street. It was odd, the commotion had drawn no neighbors out to investigate, most everything stayed dark. He walked over to the dog and saw the blood forming a pool around the gentle creature. He was almost drawn to tears, he knew he'd killed it. How could he have let this happen?

He decided to walk across the street to the light brick house in which he assumed the dog lived. Like every other house on the block, it was dark inside. He banged on the door, fighting back tears. No answer. He waited a few seconds and proceeded to knock. Still no answer. He crawled over the wooden rail on the porch and tried to peer in the window. What he saw was something you would expect to see in war zone or a crime scene. There were boards covering the window, and after further investigation, he found that every window in the house was barricaded. He frantically ran across the street and was astounded. The majority of the homes on the block were completely barricaded as if it there was a threat of nuclear war or something.

"What the Hell…" Josh let these words out, he couldn't stop it. He was starting to panic. All he wanted to do was get the hell home. He put his hands on the back of his head and let out a sigh.

"Alright buddy, I'm so sorry but I gotta…." Josh stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around in a frenzy, darting his head left and right. The dog was gone.

He raced back to the house he had first tried and searched the yard.

"Not possible. Not possible." Josh muttered. "You were dead." "NOT POSSIBLE!" The air became thick with a stench, it smelled like rotten fish or meat. Josh continued to search the bushes and the scent began to grow stronger and stronger… and then came the growl, similar to the one the fish was making but louder and more distinguished. Josh whipped around.

"Hooollly Shit!… no no no…"

The dog was limping closer and closer, wounds still fresh, but there was no longer a trace of blood streaming from them. It's eyes were reddish with a deep, pale center to the them and it was foaming a thick dark scum from the corners of it's mouth. Its hair was beginning to fall out and the beast was headed straight for him. It looked rabid to Josh, but that was impossible, he smashed the dog head on at 35 mph, there was no way it could have survived.

"Nice dog, hey hey stop." Josh's voice was quivering slightly with fear.

The dog did not stop, Josh continued to back up until he was against the hood of his car. The dog was not running, at least not yet. It was pursuing him with a menacing shuffle. The dog's jaws began to snap uncontrollably. He was out of options. Josh reached around to his back pocket, he continued to fumble looking for his Swiss army knife. The dog's jaws were mere inches from his face, it's paws now suddenly pressing on his chest. The knife flipped open and he swiftly jabbed the blade straight between the demon dog's eyes. The growl was shrill and brief and the dog stumbled to a heap on the ground. Josh's heart was beating faster than it ever had in his life.

"I'm outta here." He jumped into the car and sped all the way home. The radio stations were impossible to decipher over the heavy static. What he could make out was a series of tones with an automated voice, similar to one you would hear during a tornado warning.

He ran inside the dark house and locked every door and window in the place. He pulled every drape, every curtain possible and then flopped on the recliner in his living room. His worried eyes were fixated on the floor in a trance of deep thought and anxiety.

When he finally snapped out of it, he flicked on a lamp and did his best to relax. This unsuccessful attempt at alleviation was interrupted when he turned on the T.V. It was the emergency alert message continuously running across the screen, it was on every single channel. Josh sat up slowly from the chair, a blank expression of uncertainty on his face, and carefully pulled the curtain away from the window. He gazed out apprehensively. What the hell was going on…