The Messenger
The helicopter was quickly approaching the city. The pilot, a young man named Matthew, peered out nervously. He had finally gained the army's permission to return to the city to search for survivors. He could communicate with the army radio that was set up on the roof of Mercy Hospital. Any survivors that could get up there and contact him could be rescued.
He was now flying over the city. The scene below him looked like something that would come out of a movie. Dusk had fallen on what had been a stormy day. The only light came from the setting sun and the flash of lightning that occasionally appeared in the sky. The rain could barely be heard over the roar of the helicopter engines.
Matthew dipped the helicopter downwards and flew down a street. He turned on the megaphone that was attached to the helicopter and shouted out, "To anyone who can hear this. Proceed directly to Mercy Hospital for evacuation." He noticed a group of infected wandering around the street just ahead and pulled back up into the sky. No need to give the bastards any idea about trying to jump the helicopter.
Matthew sighed heavily. Just a few days ago he had been a happy man. He had flown the very same chopper that he was in right now for a Channel Five News. Then the infection had broken out and hell came to Earth. For a while he would fly above the city showing the world what was happening down there. Then the army could no longer control the situation and he was grounded at their base.
The helicopter dipped down once more and Matthew repeated his message before rising back into the sky and he returned to his thoughts. The army had set up evacuation points all over the city. The theory was they would be able to evacuate everyone out of the city before the infection could become rampant. They were all overrun. Anyone who was not infected but still in the city was to be left for dead. Matthew had been horrified when he had heard this. He had argued with the army commanders until they allowed him to use the Mercy Hospital Evacuation Point to pick up any possible survivors that were in the city.
Gazing out into the dark city Matthew wondered if there really could be survivors down there. He repeated the message five times over different parts of the city and then slowly began to circle. He had enough fuel to last for around five hours. If no one showed up by then, there was probably no one to show up at all. He would sometimes swoop down between the buildings hoping to get some idea if there were survivors down there but found nothing.
About an hour later Matthew's radio crackled.
"Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear me?"
"Hello! This is News Chopper Five. I hear you!"
"There are four of us. Please hurry and come get us!"
"I'm on my way! Hold out for five minutes. News Chopper Five out."
As he approached the hospital, beads of sweat began to form on Matthew's brow. There were no infected in sight but that didn't mean they weren't there watching. He leveled the helicopter so it was hovering just above the emergency landing site. He watched the group of survivors running towards him. There were two men clutching shotguns and a woman who was clutching a little girl who looked no older then seven.
"Go, keep running!" one of the men shouted. The woman reached the helicopter first. She deposited the little girl into the helicopter.
"Go sweetie and sit by the pilot," she said desperately. "Daddy and I will up there with you in a second." The little girl scrambled into the seat next to Matthew. The woman started to get into the helicopter when she let out a shrill scream. A long pink rope had wrapped around her abdomen. It jerked her backwards and she fell onto the cement. Matthew looked and saw that the pink rope was actually a tongue that belonged to the ugliest infected that he had ever seen. It quickly began to drag the woman towards it.
"Rachel!" the younger man screamed. He tried to grab the screaming woman but missed. "Not my wife you son of a bitch!" He ran towards the infected firing his shotgun wildly.
"James, no!" The other man ran after him. They managed to kill the infected and the two men helped Rachel to her feet.
"Get into the chopper," Matthew yelled at them. Suddenly there was pain in his right arm. He looked down and saw that the little girl was clinging to his arm, her terrified brown eyes staring up at him. Matthew barely had a second to look at the little girl before all hell broke loose.
Shrieks echoed towards them in every direction. Nearly a hundred infected poured onto the ceiling of Mercy Hospital. They ran straight towards the three adults and the helicopter. The men fired their shotguns into the infected. They might have gotten away if it hadn't been for the massive infected that looked like a pink gorilla. It bellowed wildly, tossing infected into the air and off the building as it charged towards the group.
It looked surreal to Matthew. Lightning flashed across the sky illuminating the horror upon the men and woman's faces while also illuminating the madness that was upon all of the faces of the infected. He saw with horrible clarity everything that happened to the woman as the massive infected slammed her into the concrete. The horde of infected swarmed over the men, their shrieks of rage obscuring the screams of terror of the two dying men. Matthew saw the massive infected turn its head to look at him. The rain poured down its face, somehow making its mean eyes look wicked. It roared and began charging towards the helicopter.
Matthew and the little girl both screamed. Instinctively Matthew jerked his hand and the helicopter jerked to the right and away from the hospital at a steep angle. Immediately alarms began to flash and Matthew was able to gather enough wit to level out the helicopter. On the rooftop the massive infected was roaring angrily while the other infected jumped from the rooftop trying to reach the helicopter even though it was out of reach. Beside him the little girl was still screaming. Matthew swore under his breath and began to return to the military base. The little girl continued to scream.
"It's going to be alright, honey," Matthew said even though he didn't believe his own words. How could the world ever be alright after all that had just happened?
"Mommy! Daddy! Uncle Mark! We have to get them! We can't let the monsters get them!"
"Honey… they're gone. We can't help them." The little girl screamed in despair. She curled into a ball on her seat and sobbed uncontrollably. Pity for her welled up inside of Matthew. She had seen things no child should ever have to, had literally seen the world turned upside down. He glanced at her and saw a deep gash on her arm that he hadn't noticed before. "Honey," he began reaching towards her.
"Leave me alone!" the little girl shrieked, trying to kick Matthew. "You left them! I hate you!" Her words hurt Matthew deeply. He suddenly felt like crying as well and focused on the buildings that were drifting by under the helicopter.
It took him a few seconds to realize the sudden quietness that had fallen in the helicopter. At first he thought the little girl had cried herself to sleep. He glanced over at her and saw that she was looking at him. Her lips were pulled back in a silent snarl. The brown eyes that had held terror and despair before now showed only madness. The infected shrieked and lunged for Matthew's throat with her teeth.
It was a miracle that the helicopter didn't crash. Matthew managed to get his arm up to protect himself. Instead of his neck the infected's teeth sunk into his arm. Matthew screamed in pain. The helicopter wobbled but managed to stay in the air. Matthew tried to shake the infected from his arm but couldn't. She began to swipe at his face with her hands. In desperation, Matthew twisted in his seat and managed to get his legs between himself and the infected little girl. He kicked outwards and she flew into the back of the helicopter. Matthew grabbed the controls and tilted the helicopter sharply.
The infected couldn't hold onto the helicopter. She bounced once and then tumbled out of the helicopter. Once again it seemed surreal to Matthew. A lightning flash showed the madness in the brown eyes that were growing smaller as they fell towards the Earth. Bloody red teeth shone out between two lips that were still pulled back in a snarl. Then the infected little girl was gone.
Matthew once again leveled out the helicopter and began to shake when he saw the damage done to his arm. Blood gushed from the teeth marks in warm rivers and Matthew feared that he was now infected. He tried desperately to remember how long it took before a person became infected. Five minutes? An hour? A day? Did anyone actually know?
The helicopter's radio crackled causing Matthew to jump.
"Leave me alone Bill, I can do this. Hello? Anyone there? This is the cops."
"Give me a break Francis."
"I hate old men."
Matthew scrambled for the radio. "This is News Chopper Five. You made it! I can pick you up in ten minutes. Make sure the area is cleared of infected otherwise I won't be able to land. There should be guns and ammo to help you prepare. Call me back when you are ready. News Chopper Five out."
The reply came less than a minute later. "This is the cops. We are ready for pickup."
"Alright, I will be there in ten minutes. Just hold out until I get there." Matthew turned the helicopter around and began to head back towards Mercy Hospital. Every few minutes Matthew would send words of encouragement to whoever was at the roof of Mercy Hospital. He prayed that they could still hear him. About ten minutes later he could make out Mercy Hospital through the rain. Gunfire was plainly visible on the roof.
Matthew started to reach for the radio again when the nosebleed began. Nosebleeds were a known sign that a person expressed when they were about to change into the infected.
"Looks like it takes less than an hour to change," Matthew said to no one in particular. He picked up the radio. "Mercy Hospital, looks like you'll be my final run. I'll be there in a minute."
Matthew once again pulled up to the emergency landing site. A group of four survivors were heading towards him. This group was obviously different then the first group he had tried to pick up. They moved together as a team, working together to keep the infected from getting to close. First a girl jumped into the helicopter, then a black man, followed by an older man then finally by a man who looked like he was a biker. The infected shrieked in anger as the helicopter pulled away from Mercy Hospital.
In the back of the helicopter laughter broke out.
"We made it. I can't believe we made it!"
"We're not out of the woods yet son."
"I hate the woods."
Matthew barely registered what was being said. His body felt odd. Blood continued to gush out of his nose and arm but he suddenly realized he didn't care. The people in the back were still talking but Matthew could no longer understand what was being said. A sudden fury welled up inside of him. He no longer knew who or what he was. All that mattered was killing the people that were in the back of the helicopter.
"Hey, son thanks for rescuing us," Bill said. "Really appreciate it."
"Yeah," Zoey said. She leaned forward to look at the helicopter pilot. A snarling blood stained face stared back at her. "He's infected!" Zoey shouted. She raised her pistol and shot the pilot in the head.
"What the hell is wrong with you Zoey?" Francis shouted. He didn't get an answer. The helicopter spiraled out of control before crashing into the ground.