Hello! I am back to boot, and completly redoing The Strain in the City! I dont own the characters, but i certainly put em through alot of hell...enjoy. :)
"Thank you Paul, Now, on the latest this evening, numerous reports on a small town in Brakefield say that a blast occurred on this small dusty town just 24 hours ago. There have been no reports on what could have caused the blast or where exactly it had occurred. But, all of Brakefield's residents have been evacuated out of their homes. The authorities say that there could have been a chemical contamination, and will provide further details later on. Authorities in D.C. are now voicing concern, but reasons are unknown. We'll keep you updated."
Dr. Temperance Brennan walked over to the television and shut it off. She noticed it was distracting her concentration and returned to her seat. She had been working for 5 hours on putting together a two hundred year old skull that had shattered in the process of moving it into the Jeffersonian; something she was most displeased with.
She flipped a stray strand of auburn hair from her face and set the half-finished skull down onto the glass table. Her mind seemed to wander to the last day that she had seen Sgt. Sealey Booth. She had been doing that a lot lately, and frankly, she had no idea why.
The airport was loud and crowded, but neither woman cared. They raced over to their waiting friends, past the security line, and hugged their awaiting friends, squeezing each and every one tight. She smiled as she saw their familiar faces. She never realized how much she really had missed them up until that moment.
Tears overwhelmed them both and were warmly welcomed by Hodgins, Zach, and Cam.
Bones looked back from where they had come from and saw two uniformed men on the other side of the security line and she smiled at them. Sgt. Sealey Booth stood there with his hundred-dollar smile, a bandage across his neck. Cpl. Wade Manelli, the medic, stood next to them giving them both a nod, his arm up in a sling. Angela and Bones smiled back. Bones wanted to walk over there to say goodbye but was stopped when a herd of travelers blocked her way and it seemed that Booth and Manelli had vanished with it. After the crowd had passed, she looked around, but they were gone. She turned back toward her friends, disappointed, and then looked back just to make sure...
"Thank you, Booth…" She whispered. Without him, she truly believed they wouldn't have been here. Many of his dear friends and comrades had perished trying to save them, and to them all, she was deeply grateful.
"Who were those guys?" Hodgins asked.
"Friends…"
Bones then snapped out of her daydream and rubbed her eyes. She really needed to get this skull done, but maybe she could get a couple hours of sleep. She checked her watch. It was well after midnight. Bones stood and collected all of the pieces and set them carefully into a tray and set the fragile skull down on a table gently, next to it. She took her lab coat off and grabbed her purse.
She had decided to walk to work that day and didn't really count on working this late, so she had to walk home. There was a light drizzle coming down, but surprisingly, she didn't mind. In fact, it reminded her of that time when she saw that poisonous snake in the jungle, and Booth had picked it up. She smiled to herself as she remembered him quickly tossing it aside once she informed him of its true nature.
Brennan shook her head, "Stop it. This isn't rational. Besides, it's not like we'll ever meet again. It's improbable."
Her heels clicked down the wet sidewalk and her coat was soaked by the time she reached her apartment. She dug into her pockets and her shoulders sagged. She leaned her head against the door and sighed. She must really be tired if she forgot her keys. She checked her purse just in case she stuck them in there quickly, but her search was fruitless.
Bones walked out of the building, pulling her stylish trench-like coat tighter around her, and walked back outside while she grabbed her cell phone out and dialed Angela's number. As Bones waited for an answer, her eyes scanned all of the lights emitting from pubs and stores- something she felt was very foreign. Yes, she had been gone weeks going on digs in remote places, but somehow, Brazil had been different.
There was no answer and she frowned. She pocketed her phone and started to make her way back, passing grungy bums and smoking drunks. She felt like she needed a tetanus shot just looking at them.
"Hey sweet thaaang, wannnna haf a goood tiime?" A drunk slurred, as he stepped from the pub toward her.
" I don't have the time, nor would I even consider to have any sexual interactions with you. Besides, consuming alcohol decreases sexual function." She said, as-a-matter-of-fact, and with that, walked away.
The stars were dim and hardly visible. She had gotten use to lying down and gazing at the stars next to Booth. She shook her head. That was enough. She walked, determined to get her keys from the lab without letting her mind stray.
All of a sudden she ducked as she heard a loud crash. A store window had shattered next to her and a man came crawling from the bits of glass. He looked raving mad with blood shot eyes and drool hanging from his lip. She jumped back as he ran past her and into traffic. She then noticed sirens blaring through the streets and five police cars drive past her. She looked confused at all of the commotion and watched as people were running through the streets, screaming. Cars started crashing into other cars and light poles, and chopper blades were overheard in the sky. Adrenaline surged through her body, and her heartrate quickened. She looked around and noticed loud engines roar by her. She turned and saw a line of humvee's roll past her into the city. She backed away quickly, not wanting to get splashed from the water spewing from the curbs. It seemed like D.C. had gone to hell in a handbasket in a matter of seconds. All of a sudden, large trucks and armored vehicled stopped in the street, and soldiers started pouring out, weapons ready, and securing off a perimeter.
A soldier, an officer she deduced, from the shiny blobs on his flackjacket, stepped out calmly and raised a megaphone to his lips.
" Citizens of D.C." He shouted, "This is the United States Army, we are commencing to evacuate the city. Drop your belongings, and quickly, but calmly make your way to city hall, where we will begin screening."
His words were unclear in her mind that was trying to comprehend her situation. Screening? What screening? What would they be screening for? The soldiers started to point the dazed and confused people to their appropriate destination. She was pushed with the crowd, and she frantically grabbed for her cell. She hit Cam's speed dial and listened…
I'm sorry, this line is unavailable. Please hang up and try again.
She tossed it back into her jacket pocket. What was happening? This was all happening so fast!
Bones was continuously pushed with the crowd and soldiers were stationed to direct the crowd. They continuously shouted things like, "Keep moving." Or "Don't stop."
The night sky continued to drizzle and people were moving so quickly that if you made the stupid mistake of stopping, you'd be trampled over. Bones noticed one man falter next to her and bent over, breathing heavily. He fell on his knees and clawed at his face, making uncomprehensible sounds. The crowd backed up and started to scream. Citizens began to panic, and people started pushing more and more people out of the way desperately trying to flee the danger. The soldiers immediately pushed through the crowd and kicked the man to the ground. One quick shot to the head, and he became silent.
This was all wrong. The memories of the virus flooded her mind. It couldn't be…that virus was safe in some highly-secure military facility somewhere. There could be no way that the virus was in DC. She was thinking irrational things in an irrational situation.
"Keep moving and stay calm." They kept shouting.
She looked around and watched as they all weaved in and out of the street around parked cars. People were in their cars screaming and pressing their bloody faces against the windows. They were trapped inside, infected, and hungry. They clawed at the glass, trying to dig their way out…blood dripping from their flesh, and their eyes bleeding. She noticed the blood slowly drip down their mouths.
"It's coincidence, Brennan." She reassured herself.
She looked back over at the people surrounding her, and saw other people screaming as infected started attacking others. They bit, and tore each other apart in a vicious fight. The soldiers cordoned off that side of the street. They protected one side of the street and then shot anyone else that tried to cross. Infected, or not.
Bones was suddenly pushed roughly against a wall, being squished between people. Everyone started to scream as more people started to attack each other, snarling and moaning. Soldiers started to shoot at the crowd, and in a panic, orders were quickly changed.
Kill on site.
She pushed her way through the herd and dropped her purse in the process, not caring. Bones bolted down an uncrowded alleyway and ran until she turned right and opened a back door to a pub. She tried to open the green metal door but it was locked. She rammed it with her shoulder, but it didn't budge. Brennan's shoulder screamed at her, but she paid no attention. Her head snapped to the left when she heard footsteps run toward her through the dimly lit alley. She quickly ripped her right heel off and stood in a defensive stance.
A young curly haired brunette screamed when she saw her and stopped. She looked at her intently, "A..are you infec..ted?"
Bones stared at her and shook her head slowly, "No."
"We have to get out of here…they're closing off the city! They won't let us out if they close it!" She panicked.
Bones grabbed the girl's arm and replaced her shoe. They ran toward the end of the alley and stopped to look around the wall, cautiously. Bones peeked around the corner and shot back as bullets whizzed past her face, missing her by a few centimeters. She looked up at a fire escape on a building and ran over to it, dragging the ladder down.
"Come on, the emergency door should be open." She said, helping the teen up. Once up, they climbed the three flights, and Brennan busted the door open. She cautiously walked slowly into the dark room and felt her way along the walls, holding onto the girls hand.
Bones walked over to a very dimly lit room and looked around, searching for a more lethal weapon than her heel, and grabbed a candelabra from a night stand and held it in front of her face. She stepped forward, and a wooden plank squeaked under her weight. Bones cringed.
Temperence heard a rustling, and then quick movement in the room. The teenager walked closely next to Bones, and held her breath. The room was hard to see, and her heart thudded against her ribcage.
Bones opened a grimy, green door, pointing the candelabra in the direction of the sound and saw a man holding a dirty plastic fork.
"Stay away!" He harshly whispered. A little girl coward behind the man holding the lethal fork.
"Were not infected, we won't hurt you or your daughter…" Bones said, trying to reassure him.
"What? That's not my daughter!" He exasperate, and turned back to look at her.
Bones looked taken a back, " I apologize, my presumptions were incorrect, I will merely re-analyze the situation and attempt to make a compromise, but in saying so, I think I have the upper hand since I wield a blunt Jewish object and you a plastic utensil." She said, slowly setting the candelabra down in a gesture of good faith.
The man stared at her for a second, confused as to whether the attractive woman had actually spoken english, and stuck the plastic fork back in his buttpocket.
The teenager quickly shut the door and closed the ugly red drapes. They reminded her of her grannys drapes, back when DC was normal and people werent trying to eat each other.
The grungy room was lit by a couple of candles, and it seemed that these two people had sought shelter here. It was a small living area that had recently been vacated, as the lack of furniture were any indication. A few large wooden furniture items were scattered about, and the old wooden floor seemed to dip under its weight. Bones and the teenager sat down against the wall adjacent to the man and child and awkwardly stared at each other.
"I'm Aubrey, by the way." She said to Bones, holding out her hand.
Bones looked at the teen, and gently took her hand, "Temperance."
"I'm Howard." The man mumbled, "I don't know who the little girl is, she don't talk."
Both women looked over at the wavy haired girl. Her blonde hair was worn in a long braid and she wore a cute red dress with shiny red shoes and white lacey socks. Her blue eyes stared at a crack in the dirty wall, as if it was the most intriguing thing in the world.
Aubrey took her green jacket off and placed it in her lap. She wore a plain purple top and dark blue jeans with muddy converse. She slipped off her black backpack and rummaged through it, smiling when she grabbed what she was looking for. She set her bag to the side and unfolded a map.
Bones grabbed one of the candles and held it over the map. Howard inched over to see, not really having anything else to do.
"Now, the government has already sealed off the east and west entrance to the city. They wanted to start evacuating people down south, but the infection spread to quickly and now they're in the process of pulling out the troops, and closing off the north and south entrance." Aubrey said.
"How do you know all of this information?" Bones asked, scrunching up her eyebrows, and staring at the young woman.
"I eavesdrop. Ya, know, typical teenager stuff." She replied, giving her a cheeky smile.
"Wait, wait a minute. What infection are you guys talking about?" Howard asked, rubbing his chin. "If there was some sort of pandemic or whatever, it would have been all over the news. The CDC would have been all over it!"
"I don't know. I remember hearing on the news that there was an explosion in Brakefield, which is only ten miles away from D.C..That was a little less than two hours ago. They said that the authorities were evacuating that town due to chemical contamination, but I think it was something else, and it spread here. Whatever it is…it's real nasty stuff from what I've seen." Replied Aubrey.
Bones combed her hair with her fingers and looked at the wall opposite her, and sighed.
Brazil. That's all she could think of now. She didn't want to think of the possibility of it being here, in DC. Her home. All of the villagers it killed, all of the people she had known that had died; but she was staring a the facts, and the facts were leading her to a very grim reality.
Her eyes grew heavy and she slowly succumbed to darkness.
…
When she finally awakened she saw sunlight filter through the ripped, red drapes and she turned her head and peered cautiously through them. What she saw of her familiar city seemed foreign. There were crushed cars, dead bodies, and sheets of newspaper scattered on the roads. It seemed to be a different world to her.
Bones looked around and noticed Howard and the little girl were fast asleep. She turned and saw Aubrey awake next to her, scanning over the map. Brennan leaned over to her, "Did you attain any sleep last night?"
Aubrey shook her head, black circles underneath her eyes, "Don't need it."
Bones looked at her and stood. She stretched her achy muscles, and walked over to the door, its paint peeling off. She grabbed the doorknob and Aubrey looked up.
"What are you doing? You can't go outside." She said, sounding somewhat panicky.
"I'm going to survey my surroundings from a different perspective. I won't leave the building." She said simply, and cautiously opened the door. Aubrey's curiosity spiked and she skulked beside her as they slowly made their way through the hallway and into the room they had entered from the fire escape just hours before. They looked around the room and found it oddly unsettling to her; maybe it was just the fact that it had a lot of pictures of dogs on the wall, which Brennan never understood why humans were so attached to their canine counterparts. She immediately threw that thought away and focused on the window next to the green door which led to the fire escape.
Both of them jumped when they heard a loud THUNK! They both scrambled to grab a weapon of some sort and Brennan grabbed the first thing she saw, a mop; and Aubrey grabbed a metal candlesnuffer. They both took offensive positions around the door. Bones looked over at Aubrey quickly, making sure she was ready. Aubrey glanced back and nodded.
They heard footsteps back up and then the door burst open, causing it to hang oddly at the hinges. A soldier lay on his side, grunting, trying to recover from the successful drop-kick. Another soldier raised his weapon at the ready toward the two women.
Bones shouted, "Drop your weapons! I'm a forensic anthropologist, and I know many forms of martial arts. I will not hold back!"
The soldiers all stopped and looked at each other.
"Is she for real?" The soldier asked, jumping up from the floor, and raised his rife at her.
One soldier pushed through the others and cocked his head, "Bones?"
Alas, the first chapter is up, nothing much has changed. I attempted to put more descriptive paragraphs and words in their to gussy the chapter up a bit, and if there are any misspelled words i apologize. Also, im terrible with apostrophes. I hope this is a better beginning than the previous one.