Racking the action

The early morning sun began to rise over the horizon, spilling yellow and orange across the sky. The road seemed barren, desolate. The streetlights were still on, their pale florescent shine dull in the new morning light. A dirty old white Saturn made its way down the road at a steady pace. The driver sat with his seatbelt securely fastened with a frown on his face mirroring the large black rings under his eyes. He lazily drummed his fingers on the steering wheel with one hand while with the other; he picked up his hot cup of coffee and took a sip. He put the cup down in between his legs right up against his crotch and looked at the clock which read "5:56", he then turned on the radio. The AM station 1010 local news came on immediately. The man cursed "Why does mom always have to fuck with the radio? " As the man moved his hand to turn the radio to another channel, his hand froze and his mouth slowly dropped open as he realized what the broadcast was saying.

"…five o' six, this morning American Airlines flight QRA 967 on its way from New York to Sydney was shot down by the Australian Air Force after radioing to the control tower that passengers on the flight were ill. After repeated attempts to turn the plane back the Australian Air Force had no choice but to take out the 747 before it broke the countries quarantine zone. In a statement, the Australian government apologizes but says "In order to defend our country we are willing to take all necessary risks." As many other countries across the globe including the UK, France, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Poland, China, Japan, and South Korea the President has just declared Martial Law. All air traffic has been grounded, and the borders have been closed. Citizens are encouraged to stay in their homes as local authorities begin to secure New York City and the outlaying suburbs and towns on Long Island."

The report pausing for a moment the man stared at the radio, his face taken completely by confusion and fear "What the hell is going on?"

"Units of the National Guard have been deployed all over the country to assist Police forces in securing and safe guarding the capitol and the major cities. The mobilization of the National Guard has calmed many citizens, however with the outbreak of multiple –in most cases violent- riots the NYPD has issued a curfew of nine am to six pm, any individuals seen outside will be considered a threat and given no warning before Police and National Guard units open fire." As the man in the car drove right through an intersection without looking, the newscaster coughed before continuing. An update on the FEMA press conference from earlier today, FEMA spokesperson Daniel Gibbons have confirmed that this explosion of violence worldwide is caused by an "infective virus". The virus not only kills the infected person but it reanimates the corpse. Reanimation can take anywhere from five to twenty minutes after the "infected" person dies." The man shook his head in disbelief as the memories of him playing his favorite video game series Resident Evil poked their way into his mind until he pushed them back down and continued to listen to the announcement.

"I am told to once again urge all citizens to stay indoors and secure all windows and doors. If you are already out and cannot return home, avoid all highways and parkways at all costs. Traffic from motorists stuck on these roads have made them impassable. It has been ten hours since the attacks have spread worldwide and there are reports from other news agencies across the world that nearly every country is experiencing the effects of the "Infective Virus". Australia, one of the few countries that has no reports of infection are –as stated earlier- defending their borders with the use of deadly force. If for some reason, you can not return home stay tuned for a list of areas in your community that are deemed "safe" by the local authorities."

The man turned off the radio with a quick twist of the knob. "What the fuck is going on out there? I heard nothing of this last night before bed. Not a goddamned thing!" Calming down he kept driving, trying to clear his mind and think straight. He started to hum a song that was stuck in his head, and after a moment laughed when he thought about the lyrics for a second.

"….all the shots I take
what difference did I make
All the shots I take
I spit back at you

I won't go away, with a bullet in my back
Right here I'll stay, with a bullet in my back

Shoot me
Take a shot!"

He looked ahead down the road and saw that he had the green light. Not that it mattered. There were barely any other cars on the road. He picked up his coffee again and began to take a sip when a white car speed past him and into the intersection. At the same moment another car, a red one was coming the opposite way. It ran the red light and the white car t-boned the red one. Both vehicles violently danced all over the road, and finally came to a stop in the middle of the intersection. The driver of the Saturn yelped as he spilled the hot coffee all over his lap. He slammed his foot on the breaks and began shooing the hot liquid off his lap.

"Shit" he muttered "Nick, why does bad shit always happen to you" He then remembered the crash outside. "Or around you" he asked himself as he unfastened his seatbelt, hopped out of the car and started running to the closer car, the white one. They way the car spun the front was now facing him, or what was left of it. The entire front was crushed into the rest of the car, with the pieces and parts of the cars littering the road. When he made his way over to the driver's side he looked in. He studied the only passenger with a wide-eyed gaze. He was surprised that the engine block was not sitting on her lap. He realized that in the impact, her head had slammed up against the steering wheel and blood was slowly oozing from the wound in her head and was now all over her and the interior of the car.

Quickly Nick pulled at the door but due to the impact it was wedged shut. He put his foot on the passenger door for leverage and his hand in the broken window and put all of his power into prying the door open. Suddenly the door gave way and hung limply on one hinge. Nick reached in and turned off the car, unbuckled the seat belt and pushed the women's head back. She rested limply on the seat, her chest still rose and fell in the motions of breathing but it was going quite slowly. A look of horror crept across his face as he realized the wound in the women's head was big, really big. He leaned over her and looked in the glove box where he found a dirty washcloth. He held into the women's head for a moment and looked towards the other car.

"Ma'am" he said, and was glad that there was not more then a hint of hysteria in his voice. "I have to go check on the other people hold on I'll be right back."

He left the already dark brown damp cloth on the women's head, knowing not much good will come of it with out someone applying pressure to it. He looked at the other car and saw it was a large red SUV and looked mostly all right, besides the fact blood was all over the inside part of the windshield and he couldn't see inside. He jogged over and tried to open the door, which came easily. However, unlike the door the sight inside didn't come as easily. Blood was everywhere, the two passengers a man and women were dressed in crimson. They stirred slightly, turning a little and moaning in pain.

"Are you ok?" Nick asked, then though to him, that's a fucking dumb question.

The people answered with more moaning and shifting from side to side again.

"Listen to me, I'm going to run over into that 7-11 and get help, I'll be right back, just hold on." Nick turned and ran across the empty road towards the 7-11 only glancing back to make sure the women in the white car was ok which she now had her hand on the washcloth and was trying not to move. He got to the 7-11, ran straight in, and stopped dead in his tracks.

The store was ransacked, candy and soda, canned foods and newspapers lay everywhere. Nick's heart began to race. He thought he was breathing heavy, although the blood pumping in his ears diminished all sound. A corpse lay on the dark off white colored tile floor, which was now stained red from the blood. The 7-11 employees' already maroon shirt was now covered in blood, staining it a dark crimson. The body lying on the floor was that of a large man. Tall and overweight, he was light skinned and bald. His face and his neck were torn apart. Pisces of white flesh and small chunks of muscle hung in ragged bits from the gapping holes.

Nick just stood there, staring wide eyed at the body. And after a moment turned and vomited on the floor. After clearing his throat, and spitting a few times on the floor, he turned back towards the body, the taste of coffee and bile still lingering at the back of his throat.

"What the fuck?" He asked the corpse.

His thoughts raced. What happened here? Did the man get robbed and tried to fight back? Why is his face cut up so much? Are the cops coming?

That last thought reminded him of the woman outside in the white car, and the others in the large truck. Carefully stepping around the body on the floor, Nick walked around and behind the counter. Looking for the phone he found it, dangling by the cord. Putting it back on the receiver for a moment he picked it back up and dialed.

9-1-1

The phone rang, and rang. Nick tapped his foot in impatience, trying not to peak over the counter at the body. The phone rang again and someone picked up.

"We're sorry, our circuits are currently busy; please try your call again later. Thank you."

"God damn recording" he murmured at the receiver as he hung up the phone. Picking it up he tried again.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

"We're sorry, our circuits are currently busy; please try your call again later. Thank you."

"Fuck" Nick breathed. Not know what to do he tried again. And the same message played. Annoyed he slammed the phone down on the hook, and then looked around worriedly. If someone did try to rob this guy, they still might be here. He doubted it though, if someone wanted the money from the register they would have taken it and ran. This was probably just another one of those violent acts the radio was talking about. But the police radio also said the dead were rising, coming back to life. Shaking his head in amusement he left from behind the counter. Immediately the smile slid from his features as he tried not to look at the dead man on the floor.

"The dead were rising huh?"

Deciding to return outside he walked to the door, as he opened it up to leave, without stopping he looked at the cash registers. Both closed and undamaged.

As he walked towards the white car, he realized the woman was out on the road now, on the ground and another person was over her. Giving her mouth to mouth. Nick cursed himself for taking too long in the store. She must have slipped into shock from her injuries and stopped breathing! Nick started to run towards the women and the other person but suddenly stopped short just a few feet away. The man kneeling above the women wasn't giving her mouth to mouth he was tearing at her face with his teeth! Chunks of flesh were already missing from the women on the ground, and without her lips her face looked locked in a permanent smile. A grin. Death's grin. Slowly backing away he didn't know what to do but to run. He turned and ran down the empty stretch of road. Ran towards home.