Uprising

Chapter 2:

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

His eyes opened and He saw the destruction. It was all around Him. A year ago He had been afraid of what He had seen. Now it was just another part of everyday life. He knew this…this scenario like the back of His hand. Every bit of the landscape memorized and explored. He knew it all, recognized it all. Yet after all this time He understood none of it. He stretched his body from head to toe. He felt his muscles tighten as He raised his arms up to full reach and then brought them down. He accepted that, for a time, He could not fight this scenario but instead let it play out for as long as it felt. Accepting something and enjoying it are two very different things though.

He craned his head upwards and looked upon the marvel that were the buildings that could scrape the sky. The scenario was always the same but He just couldn't get over the skyscrapers. They were something He had never 'actually' seen before. He gazed for a few more moments, taking in all the details He already knew were there, looking for something he had possibly missed. He did this every time He had to deal with the scenario and after about 6 months He stopped finding new details. Just more of the same. He brought His head back towards the earth letting His eyes stare down at the cracked pavement and the small shrubs that had begun to grow out from them. There were 41 shrubs. He had counted.

He looked to his left only to see the usual empty lot with a lone Wilson basketball resting against a cinder block near the center of the lot. Always the same. He cracked a smile. For a whole year He had been experiencing this exact scenario, over and over always the same, and He always seemed to look left first. Always had to see the empty lot with the ball and the block. It was after all THE scenario. He hadn't had others for a year. It was the singular place of escape for Him and He dreaded and hated every second of it. He ran his hand through His hair and looked off to the right. Here there was something, not much but a something nonetheless. He read the sign though He knew it by heart:

Sam's Delectable Deli: Good Eats, Good People, Good Times

It was a ridiculous advertisement, but humble and heartfelt all the same. He probably would have eaten at Sam' Delectable Deli had He not only seen or heard of it in the scenario. He had looked too. He had done a Google search after every scenario and still had yet to find a Sam's Delectable Deli shop anywhere in the U.S. He supposed it was possible that He had just imagined the store and it didn't exist at all. But in this lonely, desolate scenario it was all He had to go on. And it was lonely here…but the time of the lonely portion of the scenario was almost…

A bird cawed from an unseen location far off in the depths of the scenario and He jumped for the first time in quite a while. The bird hadn't caught Him off guard in He couldn't remember how many months. He may have been startled but He knew what it always meant. His eyes followed what was left of the yellow paint from the lane lines on the road as the ascended up a hill. The hill was huge to say the least. From His point of view at the foot of it the hill seemed to rise up to the 14th story of the skyscrapers that sat at either side of Him. His eyes continued to climb until they reached their destination. The only remaining mystery of the scenario. At the top of the hill stood a man.

All the features of the mystery man were unidentifiable. He was nothing more than a silhouette against the sun that hung behind the man like a backdrop at a play. Even with the distance He could see the man's movements. The slight head cock to the left and then a wag of the finger as if to say 'no cookies before dinner.' He hated this portion of the scenario but the weirdest came immediately after the finger wag. From behind the man trotted four horses. Atop the horse farthest to the right rode a fox. The oddity was that all of them seemed to be transparent, the only thing giving them shape was a black outline which made it look like they had crawled out of a comic book. The only color they had was that of the pavement or the bright yellow sun that shone behind them…except this scenario WAS different. He hadn't noticed before but the sun had changed. It wasn't yellow is was…black? The light began to fade and the man, now surrounded by his animals, rose his arms above his head and seemed to embrace the darkness and want to hold it forever. Something grabbed His shoulder. Nothing ever grabbed His shoulder. No one ever came down the hill. He turned and saw another man but this one He not only saw, but smelt. It reeked of death and rotten food and its face seemed to be decaying. It lunged towards Him.

…

"WHOA, HEY JACOB WAKE UP MAN!"

Jacob's eyelids flicked open in a flash, revealing the blue-green color of the iris hidden beneath them. The unannounced wake-up call startled Jacob to the point that he began to lash out in fear. His arms whipped wildly to and fro but not connecting with anything but the cool, air conditioned area that his arms could reach.

"Easy Jacob, relax. It's me Derek. You fell asleep at the airport."

The voice traveled from lips to ears and Jacob's violent flailing diminished. He eyes shot around the large waiting area at Omaha Nebraska's Eppley Airport, taking in the people passing by, a few he noticed were examining him with worried looks. He ran his right hand through his short brown hair, as was his nervous habit, and began to laugh. "Sorry I guess I was having a bad dream. Didn't hit ya did I?"

"Nope but you came damn close," Derek replied with a grin that the two now shared "Let me guess… it was the same dream you've been complaining about since last summer right." The last part wasn't a question. Derek knew the answer was yes.

"Look Derek I know it's stupid but it isn't like I can just tell myself before I fall asleep at night 'Jacob tonight you will not have that awful dream, you will have a dream about a unicorn that shits cute kitties' is it?" Jacob stared at Derek with a serious face and watched slowly as Derek's seriousness slowly broke into a laughter.

"Given a choice between that or the destroyed city with a horse wrangler.." Derek sputtered in between bouts of laughter "I honestly can't tell you which would disturb me more." He held out his hand to help Jacob up from the bench he had fallen asleep on. " Now are you gunna say good-bye to your best-friend before he leaves for boot camp or not?" Derek said.

"Where is everyone else?" Jacob asked, slapping Derek's hand aside and lifting himself up to full height. Standing next to each other it looked like a David vs. Goliath match-up with a little bit of each in both of them. Jacob stood at a whopping six feet, five inches while Derek stood at a solid six feet. The Goliath in Derek was his strength. He was much stronger than Jacob could ever imagine to be. His body showed his strength better than Jacob's did. Jacob was a lean machine. He weighed a shocking total of 170 pounds, oddly enough the same as what Derek weighed. Although Jacob was lean it didn't mean he was weak. He had stronger and more defined legs than Derek. He was more agile and quick than most at his size. This attribute helped him claim the spot of point guard on his basketball team and run sprints on the track team.

"Hello? Did you hear me?" Derek replied waving his arms in front of Jacob's face. This snapped him out of his odd David v Goliath comparison and back to reality.

"Nope sorry missed it." Jacob replied with his boyish grin still hanging from his face.

"I said," Derek started again, this time more exaggerated then the first time no doubt. "I said they already said there goodbyes and went to the car. I told them I would send you out after I found you and told you goodbye."

Jacob still had a smile on his face but it had changed from the boyish smile he wore while joking with friends to a more sincere one. In all honesty he was going to miss Derek quite a bit. He didn't say anything, just stepped forward and gave him a hug. Derek had befriended Jacob only 3 years ago but in that time Jacob found himself to be more comfortable around him then most others. To his other friends he hid the fact that he was a giant nerd because he assumed they would find him odd. Derek thought differently. He had said that Jacob shouldn't hide it. Different was good. Jacob, now lost in thought, didn't realize he was still engaged in a hug that was lasting way past the limits it should.

"Umm sweetheart Sassy can't breath," Derek gasped out.

Jacob smiled. That was another thing they had found they had in common. Both loved movies and would frequently quote them to each other. This one obviously from a childhood favorite Homeward Bound.

"Sorry." He replied letting the hug end and stepping away. He didn't know what else to say.

"Jesus dude people are going to think we are 'partners' if you keep standing there like that," Derek replied, destroying the silence, "Even more so if you start crying."

"Don't flatter yourself." Jacob replied. He looked around knowing it was time to go. "Well I guess this is goodbye for 13 weeks."

"Yep…don't get yourself killed while I'm gone." Derek said back. He glanced down at his watch and looked back at Jacob. "Well…see ya in another life brotha."

"Jesus dude get out of here." Jacob laughed back in the response to the LOST reference. There were no more words. Derek just turned and walked to the TSA line and Jacob turned and walked out of the airport.

…

The light began to fade and the man, now surrounded by his animals, rose his arms above his head and seemed to embrace the darkness and want to hold it forever. Something grabbed His shoulder. Nothing ever grabbed His shoulder. No one ever came down the hill. He turned and saw another man but this one He not only saw, but smelt. It reeked of death and rotten food and its face seemed to be decaying. It lunged towards Him.

…

Jacob's head slammed against the passenger side window that he was resting his head on while he slept. His three other friends let out small hints of laughter as he rubbed his eyes and sore head at the same time.

"Rise and shine," the driver laughed, "We're almost to town..

The driver's name was Tyler Brummond. To friends Tyler was a decent guy but to anyone else who had either met him or pissed him off he was a douche and a total ass hole. There was no middle with this kid.

"I think a gentle tap would have been sufficient enough to lull me back to reality."

Jacob replied with a tinge of annoyance in his voice as Brummond just continued to laugh.

"Real douche move Brummond, real douche move," came another voice from the backseat. The voice came from the earliest friend Jacob had ever had, Ethan Warren. Ethan was the oldest of all of the residents of Brummond's Brown Chevy Tahoe. He was 20 and had already completed two years of college at a gold academy in Arizona. He had come back to Nebraska to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as were Jacob and Brummond.

"You got to admit Ethan it was a little satisfactory considering Jacob made us sit in the car outside the airport forever waiting for him," came the voice of another friend, Blake Bowland. Blake was the youngest one of the group of four boys and the only that would not be going to college next year. He would be a senior at the high school in their home town of Tekamah.

"Yeah you see it was justified," Brummond said as they entered the city limits. He looked back at the two, taking his eyes off the rode as he usually did. He grabbed the steering wheel with his left hand and put his right hand towards Blake, obviously wanting a high five.

"SHIT BRUMMOND WATCH OUT!" Ethan and Jacob screamed at the same time, narrowly missing a police officer that was order them to stop from the middle of the rode. Brummond cranked the wheel to the right to avoid the cop as he dove to the left and out of the way. The Tahoe jumped the curb, as the passengers in the car braced for impact, and sailed into a light pole.

No one was hurt, except for the car which had the hood bent up so no one could see in or out of the front windshield. Ethan and Blake fell out the back doors with ease, running to open the two front doors as Brummond and Jacob batted at the airbags that deployed. Blake helped Jacob out as Ethan helped Brummond. The cop that had almost been killed ran up to them.

"Jesus H Christ boys you could have killed us all," yelled the fat cop who was already out of breath from the short run from the street to the car. Brummond's famous attitude flared as the cop got closer

"What the FUCK were you doing in the rode? Huh?" Brummond yelled while gesturing with his hands madly in all directions.

"That's it boy. I ain't takin no lip today. Hands behind your back," the cop screamed back, pulling the cuffs from the clip on his belt.

"What? Whoa whoa I…"

"BRUMMOND JUST DO IT," came the combined yelling voices of Jacob, Ethan, and Blake. All three obviously upset that they had just been in an accident because of need to high five. Thirty seconds later was being cuffed and they were all crammed into the cop's vehicle.

"What were you doing in the street?" Jacob asked with a nicer tone as they watched Brummond get assisted to his seat in the back. The cop looked back at Jacob with a pissed look and for a brief second Jacob that he would be the next to add the cuffs to his wrist. Thankfully the cops pissed look washed away quick.

"There was a four semi pileup just up the road," the cop responded and gestured up the road. Sure enough he could see the back of a semi that had obviously fell on its side.

"Shit," Blake said as he got into the back seat next to the cuffed Brummond. Ethan jumped in the back quickly which meant Jacob would be riding shotgun with the fat cop.

The accident was six blocks up the rode and when they got there they were told by the cop to exit the vehicle because they would be hoofing it from here. They walked towards the accident which had gathered a crowd of 25-30 people. The cop waved for them to follow as they weaved through the crowd to the center. At the center were two paramedics and six body bags. Full body bags.

"Jesus," muttered the cop as he grabbed a handkerchief from his chest pocket and covered his mouth and nose, "Never in my life."

Jacob heard people behind him saying something about how none of the four truckers had been carrying any cargo. Apparently if four semi's drive through town chances are one or two should have cargo.

"Mommy mommy the bag moved they aren't hurt anymore!" shouted a little girl with excitement, probably thinking that she might be helping the cool doctors. The paramedics eyes, as with the eyes of everyone else, darted to the bags and sure enough there was movement in not one but two of them.

"Jesus Keith they're alive," shouted one of the paramedics as he ran for one of the moving bags, "Get all the others opened!"

The paramedic named Keith ran towards the other moving bags as the cop and three other good Samaritans ran to open the other bags just to be sure. The mystery paramedic reached his bag first and ripped it open…only to be grabbed by the woman inside it and pulled towards her. There was a scream followed by a gargling sound and then a streak of blood squirted from his neck. Keith, the cop, and the three other 'heroes' all opened there bags simultaneously and all met the same fate that the mystery paramedic had. In one fluid act of unity the entire group screamed in terror at once.

People ran in all directions in a panic as the six bodies slowly struggled out of their bags. The mystery paramedic was on his feet to now but something was odd. Jacob noticed he had no color, none of them did. Jacob and his friends looked at each other and turned and ran back towards the cop's vehicle.

They reached the vehicle but the window to the driver side door was busted out. Someone was already here and the car obviously was of no use if the person who beat them here had left it. Jacob looked down an alley and notice at least four more of those things struggling up towards Main Street.

"Jesus there are more of them?" Ethan exclaimed with terror filling his voice.

"What the fuck are we going to do?" Blake screamed aloud so the other three could hear him over the sounds of the panic all around them. Before anyone could answer they heard a man yell out.

"GET TO THE AUDITORIUM. IT IS SAFE FROM THE GHOULS!"

They didn't need to be told twice. They turned and ran towards the auditorium. The building was only two blocks from where they were and from the looks of it many others were on their way there as well. There were much more people out in the streets now then there had been at the scene of the accident. As they ran Jacob stole a look back at the pileup. The only thing that remained were six empty body bags. No bodies.

They reached the Auditorium a little later than they could have. They ran slower on the count that Brummond still had his hands cuffed behind his back. They burst through the doors with five things hot on their heels. Three men slammed the solid doors behind them and barred it. Two other men carried over a heavy table and propped it against the doors as well. They were the last ones in and they could hear the pounding fists of those monsters wanting to get in. Wanting to feed. That wasn't what scared Jacob though. It was his dream. The dream he had been having for a year. It changed for the first time today. The thing that grabbed him in the dream looked, and smelt, just like the monsters on the other side of the door.

"What…the fuck…are those things?" gasped Brummond, who was now laying on his side because he had fallen through the door and couldn't get up by himself.

"I'll tell you what they are…they are a sign…a signal." An African-American man emerged from the crowd wearing dress pants, a white button up shirt and a blue tie that had been loosened at the neck. The man was clutching a King James Bible. Jacob guessed this guy was Reggie Walker, Tekamah's own hardcore bible thumper. Many people in the small community were religious but Walker took it to a new level. The only time he left his house was to attend church. He was a nut.

"A sign of what Reggie?" A man from the crowd asked, with fear and a little annoyance in his voice. Who would want to hear the opinions of a mad man at a time like this.

"A sign from God!" Reggie screamed as he smashed his index finger against the bible in his hands. "The end of days is upon us. The apocalypse is here. WHEN THERE IS NO MORE ROOM IN HELL…the dead shall walk the earth."