Dead Rising: A Father's Lament
Cameron sat at the table in his kitchen smoking probably his 40th cigarette in the past hour. Chain smoking seemed to be the only counter to worrying about the whereabouts of his wife and son. It had been at least 4 hours since they had left on a trip to the store that should've taken no more than 30 minutes. He took the last puff off of his cigarette and put it out. A couple minutes later he reached into his pocket to pull out another when his cell phone rang. Snatching it off the table and looking at the caller ID he saw it was his wife. He frantically answered the call.
"Katie! Oh my God I've been worrying like hell about you and Tristan... Where are y..."
His wife interupted him, in tears.
"Cameron, Something's happened... Somethings wrong here... The people...The dead people.. Oh God theyre everywhere!"
"Katie, Calm down, What are you talking about?"
"They were trying to kill us... The car ran out of gas so we ran... we ran as fast as we could... We made it to the mall and there are a bunch of us here... theyre trying to barricade it to keep the dead people out... so I think we're safe right n... Oh God..."
"What?.. Katie answer me!, Whats going on?! What happened?!"
"They broke down the barricade! Baby please c..."
"Katie?.. Katie!"
It was then that the tone of a dropped call chimed in. He frantically tried to call her back but it went straight to voice mail. He paced for a few seconds and quickly grabbed his keys and ran to the door. "Just sit tight baby.. I'm on my way.."
Chapter 2
"They broke down the barricade! Baby please come quick!.. Cameron?"
The phone was dead. She tried to turn it back on but it would turn directly back off a few seconds later. She grabbed Tristan by the hand.
"Mommy, Whats going on?"
"Honey just be quiet and walk with me okay?"
They walked on. She wasn't sure how many were there but she had to get a better look. There were only two ways out of the are and one was blocked off. The old couple in front of her asked where she was going but she silently passed them. It was then that she saw a man on the stairs.
"Everyone come this way to the security room! Quickly!"
She held Tristan's hand tightly and ran for the stairs. She was grabbed by one of the ghouls but a man wielding a camera threw it off of her. He yelled for her to run and he quickly followed behind her. They finally caught up with the black man at a metal door at the end of a long hallway. He opened the door and led them into the security room. There was another man who introduced himself as Otis and a woman who introduced herself as Jesse. The one they had followed introduced himself as Brad and the man who had saved her and Tristan introduced himself as Frank.
Otis began welding the door shut to ensure safety, and after Frank followed Brad through the air ducts, Jesse led her and Tristan to one of the rooms in the back part of the Security room. Jesse began trying to make small talk but niether Katie nor Tristan ever said a word. She led them into the room they would occupy when Katie suddenly said:
"My husband... My husband is going to be here soon... How will he get in with the door welded shut?"
Jesse replied by saying:
If your husband is anywhere out there, Brad'll find him and bring him back to safety.
Jesse then exited the room.
Katie sat down and Tristan sat on her lap and put his arms around her. With tears in his eyes he looked up at Katie and said:
"Mommy I'm scared... I want Daddy.. Where is Daddy?"
Katie tried to hold back the tears and kissed his forehead.
"He'll be here soon, Alright? Everything'll be alright Honey."
Chapter 3
They lived on the outskirts of Willamette so the drive to the mall would take 30 minutes on a normal day. But this day was obviously far from normal, so he tried to move on as fast as he could. The rain falling down would have normally calmed his mood but it failed miserably this time. He tried to keep his mind straight but it kept wondering to the question of rather His wife and son were okay. He was brought out of his trance-like state when a man jumped out in front of him. He screeched to a stop and the man walked over to him and asked him to roll down the window. He did so and said "What do you want?" The man said "Your Car."
"Look man, I don't have time for this. My wife and son are in the mall and I need to get to them."
The man looked unsympathetic and said, "I don't care about your fuckin' life story man, just get out of the goddamn car and I won't have to fuck you up." Cameron had never been one to anger quickly but this has enraged him. He then tried once more with the man to try and work this out. "Look if you need to get somewhere, come with me and I'll take you but you're not taking my fucking car." The guy then laughed and said "Either you get out of the car now and let me take it, or I'll drag you out, fuck you up, go find your wife and fuck her brains out in front of your fuckin' son." After that Cameron snapped. He got out and punched the man in the face. The man faltered but came back with a left hook. Cameron stepped back and the guy came at him with a metal pipe. He kicked the guy in the stomach and he dropped it. Then Cameron picked it up and smacked it across the guys face. The guy fell down and Cameron walked over him and kneeled down at the guys face. The rain water falling out of Cameron's long hair begain falling over the man's face. He looked the guy in the face and said:
"Yeah, You did a real good job of fucking me up."
The man's tone had quickly changed to terrified.
"Look man I'm sorry about what I said. Just don't kill me man, Just let me go."
Cameron's anger remained unfaltering as he continued.
"I'm not going to kill you. You aren't worth it. But stay on the ground until I am out of sight and don't give me any trouble. Because if you do, I will kill you."
Cameron threw the lead pipe to the ground and walked away. He got back into the car and continued to drive on towards the mall.
Chapter 4
It wasn't long before an older couple came into the security room with Frank. After he brought them in he opened the door to the room where Katie and Tristan were. He knelt down in front of them and asked if they were okay. But they both simply stared through him. He looked at Tristan and said "Hey there little man, I brought you something." Then he handed a little toy car to Tristan. The car seemed to break the distant stare out of Tristan because he leapt from Katie's lap and began rolling it around on the floor. But Katie still sat there staring distantly at the wall repeating the same words over and over.
"Cameron... Where are you?"
Frank stepped out of the room and Katie's attention went to Tristan playing on the floor with his toy car. She smiled at him and just watched him. Only being 5 years old he was so innocent. She was just glad to see him happy. The little toy car would take his mind off of the absense of his father for the time being and thats just what he needed. She had absolute faith that Cameron would be there soon.
After a little while Jesse stepped into the room and asked if there was anything she could get for them. Tristan remained distracted by the toy and Katie simply shook her head. But before Jesse closed the door she yelled "Wait!".
Jesse came back and said "Yes?"
Katie asked "Does the phone work?"
"Not yet, but it should be soon. I'll let you know when it is. Anything else?"
"No... We're fine."
The hopes Katie had of reaching her husband were postponed for the time being. She began to feel tired seeing that Tristan was still playing with his car she said "Tristan, Honey... I'm going to take a nap... wake me up if you need anything alright?"
"Alright Mommy."
She smiled as he went back to playing with his car and she laid down to slowly drift off into sleep.
Chapter 5
Reaching the center of town Cameron began to see the damage that had been caused. Buildings were destroyed and some were still burning. Dead and headless corpses riddle the streets. But one thing he had noticed is that the walking corpses that Katie referred to were nowhere in sight. Niether were any living people though. It was hard for him to believe that the dead were returning to life. But with a little more driving he lost the ability not to believe it. He was in the middle of town and dozens of them were lurking around slowly and they didn't seem to notice him at first. But soon they all did. When he saw the face of one about ten feet from him he couldn't deny it anymore. The dead were returning.
As fast as he could he drove out of there. Luckily few were on the road and he could easily evade them. But before long he had made it to the mall and it was then that he saw why the streets were so empty. Just about the whole damn town was standing outside of the mall trying to claw their way in. The mall was surrounded. "How the fuck am I going to get in there?..." He thought to himself. He ran ideas through his head but nothing seemed likely. It was then that his phone began to ring. It was an unknown number. "What the fuck?... Who the hell would be calling me right now? The Bill Collectors from hell?" He answered the phone and was struck silent when he heard his Wife's voice on the other end.
"Katie! Are you and Tristan alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine baby. A man named Frank saved our lives. We're in the mall's security room. They've welded the door shut so we're safe. But I don't know how you'll get in."
"Its fine.. I'll figure it out."
Tristan then realized who his mom was talking to and began the all too typical childish rant.
"Mommy lemme talk to daddy please lemme talk to Daddy!"
"Tristan, calm down Honey."
Cameron started laughing and said,
"Just give em the phone."
Tristan took the phone.
"Daddy!"
"Hey buddy, how're you doing?"
"Fine.. Guess what Frank gave me Daddy!"
"What'd he give you?"
"A toy car, I've been playing with it for a long time. It looks like your car."
"Thats cool, How about this, When I get there we'll play with it together."
"Yeah! But when're you gonna be here Daddy?"
"Soon Buddy, Real soon. Give the phone back to your Mom now, I've gotta talk to her about something important."
"Alright, I love you Daddy"
A tear came to Cameron's eye.
"I love you too Buddy."
Katie took the phone.
"Alright babe... The maintenance guy Otis says that you should find your way to the Warehouse elevator because it leads right to the roof and you can come in through the air ducts. The warehouse is over by the entrance to the indoor section of Al-Fesca Plaza."
"Alright, Should be easy enough."
"Hurry alright?... and Baby.."
"Be careful okay?... I don't want to have to go to your funeral after this."
Cameron wipes the tear from his eye and laughs.
"If I don't suck too bad at this you won't have to."
"Cameron... I love you"
"I love you too.."
Cameron waited until he heard the phone click before he closed it. He wanted to hear every last breath of her voice before he hung up. He had been through hell with and for her, and it was only her and Tristan who were giving him the strength to do the things laid out before him.
He drove around the mall looking for the least populated entrance. As he drove he saw a car with the door hanging open and a pool of blood by the open door. The idea of what happened there made Cameron shudder. Just to think how for that person... a trip to the mall became hell on earth, and that person could've just as easily been Katie and Tristan. He drove on and tried to rid himself of the image, in vain, for he didn't think he'd ever forget what he'd seen today.
He saw that the Entrance plaza's doors had no zombies in front of it. But from the looks of it had thousands inside. But all he needed was a clear way to get to the maintenance tunnels and there was a door to them beside every entrance. Cameron knew the mall very well. When He and Katie had first gotten married and Tristan was about one year old, he got a job there doing maintenance because they needed the money. Katie was unable to work at the time and he had just lost his job with the auto shop near their house. The mall job paid way better anyway and he kept it for quite some time. It wasn't until his first screenplay was sold that he finally left it to follow his dream. But during his years working there he learned alot about the place. He knew there was a hidden key by the door and knew that he could follow the maintenance tunnels from the entrance to the food court and would have to figure out where to go from there, and as for his family, his wife said a man named Otis was there, and that could only be the guy that used to be his boss. That man had been the one who'd gotten him the job and had looked out for him when he needed to go to doctor's appointments for Tristan. As long as he's there, theyre in good hands.
Chapter 6
Katie hung up the phone and was proceeding back to their room with Tristan right behind her. As she stepped in she noticed Otis was following her in. She stepped on inside and Otis came in behind her.
"Did I hear you say Cameron and Tristan when you were on the phone?"
"Yeah, Cameron's my husband, and Tristan's my son."
"Well it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I used to be Cameron's boss here. Used to take over his shift when he had to go to appointments for little Tristan here."
"Oh... Nice to meet you."
"Yeah he used to talk about you two all the time, every time he did there was a smile on his face. I remember a few times when he'd be havin' a rough day, and all it'd take was you to call 'em on his break and he'd be fine for the rest of the day."
Katie smiled.
"Come to think of it he talked about you quite a bit too Otis. I probably would've thought about it sooner but I've been a little bit distracted."
"Oh its alright, but when he gets here, I'm gonna hafta have a talk with him. All these years and it took somethin' like this for me to meet the two of you."
Katie laughed.
"Thats fine, as long as you let me have em first."
They both laughed and bid eachother farewell. Otis went back to the moniters and Katie went back to her seat on the floor.
Chapter 7
He knew he didn't have a gun so he'd have to be quick and as quiet as possible with his entrance. He got out of the car and made sure none of them were near. Seeing that the coast was clear he made a run for it. He made it to the door without attracting any attention and found the key hidden in the bush. He got inside as quickly as possible so he could catch his breath. He laughed and thought to himself "Man... Its times like this that make me realize that smoking when you have athsma... isn't such a great idea... speaking of which... I need a fuckin cigarette bad." It'd been hours since his last cigarette. So he pulled one out and lit it up. It'd be a few minutes til he'd be out in the open again and you needed a key to get into the maintenance tunnels so he was safe as long as the ghouls hadn't learned where to find and how to use the key. He started walking down the hall. He figured he should probably get some kind of weapon so he walked on until he found the glass case holding the fire-axe. He grabbed it and began walking forward once more. After a few minutes he reached the end. There was still a few puffs left on the cig and he thought to himself. "I believe this'll be my last cigarette... I mean hell... Now's a better time to quit than any." So he took one last drag and tossed it to the ground, stomping it out. He slowly opened the door and saw that the food court was full of them. "Goddamnit... figures..." He thought to himself. Then suddenly he heard something. It sounded like a gunshot, as he listened he heard what sounded like a hail of gunfire. As he searched he saw a hispanic guy up in the top level of that big wooden structure in the food court. Although he worked here for a couple of years he had never really spent much time outside of the maintenance areas so he really didn't have time to learn names of places. He knew he couldn't wait here forever so he tried to undetected. But as soon as he cleared the door one of the people in the shootout got freaked by the sudden movement out of the door and fired. The bullet burrowed its way through Cameron's leg and he fell on the floor holding his leg. Realizing he was surrounded by ghouls he got up and tried to limp over to the other side of the food court. He finally made it over to the other side and hid behind the counter. He grabbed a dish towel he found on the floor, "Well... Clean enough.." he said as he wrapped it around his leg to stop the bleeding. After a while of gunfire it suddenly stopped. He heard someone coming his way. He had lost his Axe when he got shot but he saw a frying pan laying on the ground. So he picked it up and waiting for the person to come around the corner. He held it back ready to swing when a man came around the corner. It was the guy who shot him. Before he could swing the man jumped out of the way.
The man said "I'm sorry I shot you! I'm here to help you, don't hit me!"
"What the hell was all that about back there man? Who the fuck were you shooting at?"
"Honestly I'm not sure, The guy I was with is from Homeland Security and he thinks the guy had something to do with the outbreak... But anyway thats not important. I need to get you back to the Security Room. My name's Frank. Whats your's?"
"Frank?..."
"Yeah... why?"
"The same Frank who gave my son a toy car?"
"Yeah, I guess, I gave a little boy one because I felt bad for 'em... I found the toy while I was looking for survivors."
"Well listen Frank... I need to get to my wife and son... I'm injured but if you let me use the gun I can make myself real useful. But you can help me get to my family?"
"Yeah, its no problem, but youre probably better off with the gun anyway... Just promise me you won't try a revenge shot and I'm cool with the plan."
"Frank if you get me to them... I'll do anything to repay you...including not shooting you."
Frank laughs and helps Cameron up.
I'm gonna hit Brad up on the walkie talkie and tell him I'll meet 'em in Al-Fresca as soon as I get you back to safety.
A couple seconds later they began walking. When they walked out into the park they heard what sounded like a car and gunshots.
"Look man, lets stick to the shadows, we should be safe if we do that."
"Name's Cameron man, and Sounds good to me."
As they walked on they saw three guys in Orange JumpSuits driving a hummer.
"... That has got to be... the most random thing I have ever fucking seen.."
Cameron said as he stared in awe.
"Shit! Frank! There's a girl out there... We need to save her bro."
"How do you propose we do that without getting shot?"
"There are alot of shadows in those trees. So if we run over there we could hide in the shadows still, save her, and run like hell to the doors... where hopefully we won't be followed."
"But you're injured, you won't be able to run fast enough."
"Bro... Let me tell you something.. With my wife and kid being the reason for doing what I'm doing I'll find a way to move the fucking stars... those Slipknot wannabes in the fuckin Jeep ain't gonna stop me."
"Whatever you say man... But we've gotta move fast."
They ran over the dirt trail and into the woods on the other side as quickly as possible and weren't noticed by the apparent convicts. They finally got to the girl and told her to follow them. Frank grabbed her hand and made a run for it. Cameron was right behind them the whole way. As frank got to the door the cons noticed him and shot. They caught him in the shoulder and the girl in the arm but as luck would have it they cleared a good path through the zombies that blocked the door. The first wave of shots missed Cameron completely but the second sent another bullet straight through his leg about a foot about the previous wound. Cameron faltered but did not fall and ran on as fast as he could finally reaching the doors. Once inside they battled their way through ghouls and finally made it to the door to the warehouse. As they stepped into the warehouse Frank began walking slower.
The ghouls were acting strange, they seemed to be convulsing. Then Frank started getting attacked by what looked like a bee. He swatted it to the ground and stomped it. When he did that... every ghoul within the vicinity fell to the ground and their heads began exploding, although some were not in that order. Now they had a clear path to the elevator. They walked on past the paint cans, mannequins, and boxes to the door of the elevator. They stepped and pushed the "UP" button. As the door closed Cameron was ravaged by anxiety. With every second his heart beat faster and faster. He was about to see his wife and son in what seemed like forever.
The elevator dinged as it reached the top, and they stepped out onto the roof. Frank pointed at a slightly risen ledge to the left and said "Thats the way into the Security Room... Just climb on top of it and go down into the air ducts... I've gotta go meet Brad in Al-Fresca... You'll be alright on your own right?"
Cameron looked at him "Yeah, no problems man... you go on... we'll be fine.."
Cameron and Sophie introduced themselves as they walked over to the ducts and climbed down into the Security Room.