Dead by Dawn (12 page)

Chapter 19

              Tranquility greeted Adam as he woke up. The sun fell into the hallway, lighting the dust in the air. Barry was still asleep. His face lay on a pillow soaked in drool.

Adam strained, trying to hear something, anything. There wasn’t so much as a bird chirping.

His own footsteps seemed loud and unnatural as he got up. With such stillness in the air, the neighbors could probably hear him walking.

He made his way downstairs, barefoot. The front door was directly in front of him. He crossed the landing and placed his hand on the doorknob. It felt cold. He took a deep breath and twisted it open.

A thick fog met him on the other side of the door. It was warm and muggy, the air smelled like camp fire.

Adam stepped onto the porch and into the fog.

“Hello?” he called. His voice echoed throughout the neighborhood. “Is anybody out here?”

He waited.

When no response came, he decided to walk down to the street. Every step he took was like walking through a dream. The fog wrapped itself tight around him, making it hard to see anything beyond ten feet away.

“Hello,” he called again. Only his own voice returned to him.

Adam began to walk, stepping gingerly on the pavement in his bare feet. It was eerie. He felt like he was the last man on earth. He wrapped his arms around himself, covering his bare skin and pushed on.

With each new step he walked farther into the still world. Adam felt like he needed to pop his ears, the silence was so dense.

At that moment, he felt more alone than he ever had in his life.

When he was getting near the end of the street, he could make out the shape of a parked vehicle. It was sitting in the middle of an intersection. As he got closer he realized it was the National Guard Humvee.

“Anybody in there?” he asked, looking in through the windows.

There was no one. The back right door had been left open, it was as if the soldiers inside had simply walked away.

Adam kicked something hard and let out a small cry that sounded much louder than it was. He closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists, waiting for the pain to pass.

When it was bearable, he looked down at what he kicked.

It was one of the soldier’s rifles and it wasn’t the only one. A whole platoon’s worth of guns were lying in the street around him. He spotted a military helmet as well, and the sheer number of shell casings that littered the ground was staggering.

Adam began to back up. He took one step at a time as if he were avoiding land mines.

The horrible scene began to unfold right before his eyes. It was as if the fog was unveiling just enough of the scene for him to get a glimpse into the happenings of the night before.

The machine gun turret on the Humvee was bent in half and there was blood smeared all over the vehicle’s windshield. There was a severed arm on the hood.

When Adam thought he was free of debris, he turned towards the house and picked up his pace.

Barry was awake when he got back. He was in the living room watching the President give a speech on the TV.

“Something really bad happened,” said Adam.

Barry shushed him. “Listen.”

“…the single greatest tragedy in human history,” said the president. “In the past week there have been more deaths than any single recorded disease ever in such a short period of time. This plague is still spreading at an alarming rate. People around the world are struggling for their lives.”

Both Barry and Adam were completely silent.

“So far there have been few answers. Well, I’m here to confirm what most of you have already figured out. This is not actually a disease, not in the traditional sense. What we face today is the culmination of previously overlooked history. It is the result of us taking facts and turning them into myths because of our ignorance. It is because of an enemy who has lurked in the shadows and fooled us into believing its non-existence. What we face now my fellow Americans is the truth that one of our greatest myths is not a myth at all. What we face are vampires.” The president paused as a mob of people behind the camera began to question. He waited for them to calm. “By now some of you are aware that this outbreak started on the east coast and has begun to move west. What you don’t know is that the pentagon has a plan to stop this, to stop the vampires from spreading any further. Soon we will push back, and they will fall. For now I have declared the easternmost states as lost, and am calling for an evacuation. All citizens still in these states are to head west. You will find people waiting to take you in at the border.”

“If you have any question to ask the President, now is the time,” said a male voice from somewhere behind the cameras.

The room erupted into voices again. They hushed as the president pointed to one of them.

A woman’s voice spoke up, “How do you plan on keeping the people safe after they have evacuated?”

“Thank you for the question,” said the president. “After extensive study of vampire anatomy, we have created a fleet of self-sustained safe havens all along the evacuation border. These facilities will repel any and all vampires, giving people a safe place to sleep.”

Adam felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and read the text.

Attention!

An evacuation notice has been declared in your state. All residents are to immediately head in a western direction. You have been assigned a location below that will lead you to a shelter.

-Your shelter location is in Marietta, OH-

Officials will be waiting at the border to take you in.

Leave as soon as possible and remember, do not travel at night.

Adam looked up to see Barry reading a text of his own.

“They want us to leave our homes,” said Barry.

“Sounds like it.”

On the television, the President was walking away from the podium. The screen soon switched back to the courtroom drama that had been playing on the station before the broadcast.

“We can take my car; I need to pack.” Barry took off running up the stairs.

Adam sat down on the couch. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and began to watch the courtroom drama.

In the show, a man cheated on his wife with the babysitter. His wife smashed the windows out of his car when she found out. Now the husband was trying to get the wife to pay for the windows.

When Barry came back down the stairs, he was holding a duffle bag.

“Let’s go,” he said, opening the front door. “Come on man. Traffic is probably going to be horrendous and we don’t wanna be caught on the road after dark. My family’s going to meet us there.”

“I’m not going,” said Adam.

“What?”

“I said I’m not going.”

“Yea I got that, but why?”

“What’s the point? The vampires are going to be there too. Might as well stay where we’re comfortable.”

Barry dropped his duffle bag and walked into the living room. “Didn’t you hear the President? They’re going to put us somewhere safe.”

“We’re safe here Barry, as long as we stay in the hallway at night. They can’t get to us.”

“They’ll find a way,” said Barry. “It’s only a matter of time.”

“It’s the same here as anywhere else,” said Adam. “But go, be with your family. I’ll watch your house until this whole thing blows over.”

“No. I’m not leaving until you come with me.”

“You’d better go man,” said Adam. “You said it yourself. You don’t want to risk still being on the road when the night comes.”

“Nope. Not going.”

“Then I guess you’re shit out of luck because Henry has me scheduled to work today.”

“Yea, but he made that schedule before all this shit. Trust me, he won’t mind.”

Adam got up and gave Barry a pat on the shoulder. “I’m serious Barry, you need to get going.”

“And I’m serious Adam, pull your head out of your ass and get in my car.”

Adam went outside with Barry on his heels.

Most of the fog was clearing up and he could see a few neighbors. A lot of them were loading their cars with luggage. A few were sitting on their porch just watching. They were mostly older and looked sullen. Adam got the distinct feeling that he wouldn’t be the only one staying back.

Between his mother’s death and everything that was going on, Adam was already pushed too far. At some point he stopped caring. He was going to go about his life, or what was left of it, as if there were nothing wrong. Whatever was going to happen would happen. What was the point of leaving?

Adam put on a helmet and started his motorcycle. Barry stood in the driveway and watched as he pulled away.

“Go be with your family you stubborn ass,” Adam said to himself as he took one last look back at Barry.

The guy looked like a kicked puppy. Adam hoped he wouldn’t wait around at the house. He still had his family, something to live for. Adam had nothing. He just hoped he didn’t drag his friend down with him.

No one was at Henry’s Auto Parts when Adam got there. There was however, a minivan on the lift. It was a lucky break that whoever had closed the night before had failed to lock the doors.

Adam slipped inside and set to work, forcing his mind to only think about the van. It was the first time all morning that he actually felt normal again.

Chapter 20

              Sarah pulled the old station wagon into her driveway and practically fell out of the door. She caught herself against the side of the car and turned towards her parents’ front porch.

The terrors of New York seemed so far away now that she could see her house. It was almost like waking from a bad dream.

“Mom, Dad!” she screamed as she ran towards the porch.

She burst through the front door and ran into the kitchen. There was nobody there, same as the living room. She checked her parents’ bedroom and her dad’s study only to find them empty as well.

Where could they be?
she wondered. A touch of worry was slithering its way into her heart.

After checking the entire lower level of the house, she went to the stairs. She stopped herself with her foot on the bottom step. Only her and her brother’s rooms were up there, her parents would have no reason to be upstairs.

Sarah could feel the panic welling up in her chest. To go up there and find it empty as well, she thought, might make her lose it. The finalization of an empty house would be more than she could bear at that moment. No, going upstairs would only make things worse.

She took a step back and stood looking between the kitchen and living room.

She had no idea where everyone was. The thought was making her feel a thousand things all at once. Panic, fear, sadness, anger, loneliness, they were trying to drown her.

Her stomach growled. It was just after five in the afternoon and she was starving. She realized she hadn’t eaten a single thing all day.

Sarah went to the kitchen and put water on the burner for some Ramen Noodles. She stared at the water as it began to boil.

She had no thoughts. Her mind was fighting against her, refusing to think about what might have happened to her family. Every time she tried, her mind drifted back to the food.

The familiarity of what she was doing felt good. It was nice to revert back to an old routine. She could almost feel normal again.

The noodles tasted delicious when she finally got to eat them. After going as long as she did without food, it was no wonder. She was so hungry that it barely filled her up.

When she was done she drank the water and licked the bowl. She followed that up with a cookie from the cupboard. Finally, she went into the living room and sat.

Her eyes were heavy. After what felt like ages, she was reaching the end of the longest two days of her life.

Her parents had yet to text her, which was extremely irresponsible considering the circumstances. Though, if they texted her today she wouldn’t have gotten it. Just the day before she clutched her phone until the battery died.

The thought sparked her brain and she plugged it into the charger in the kitchen.

She hovered over it, yawning as she waited.

When the phone came on, she got a text from a 000 number. It was telling her that she needed to head west and evacuate the state.

Maybe my parents have evacuated?

She thought about getting back in the station wagon and heading west, but decided it would have to wait until morning. She wouldn’t be able to make it before dark if she left tonight, and nobody should be out after dark. Not after what had happened
…
what was still happening.

She thought about the night before and how terrifying it was. She had spent the night huddled with five strangers in a man named Abe’s basement. Abe was kind enough to let them follow him all day. When it came time for their group to split up, he invited the out-of-staters to spend the night at his house.

Her feet were still killing her from that walk. She wasn’t sure how far they’d gone, but she guessed it was more than ten miles.

The basement was cold and cramped, but they endured. Everyone lay on blow-up mattresses, barely able to get any sleep. The basement wasn’t finished and spider webs loomed in the spaces between the trusses. The only forgiving trait of the place was the gentle hum of the water heater. It kept things from getting too quiet.

Sarah set off on her own first thing in the morning. Abe protested, but couldn’t stop her. He eventually wished her good luck and let her go.

Sarah had walked for hours on her own, amazed at how deserted the world was. She rarely saw another person and most of the houses she passed were dark. A few times she came upon abandoned cars. There was always some reason or another why she couldn’t take them: no keys, locked doors, dead batteries. She was running out of hope when she came across the old station wagon.

It was parked right in the center of the street, its driver’s side door wide open. At first she thought there were no keys, but then she found them. They were lying on the pavement just outside the door.

Other than the open door, the station wagon was untouched. She hoped the lack of damage was a good sign.

She grabbed the keys and the car fired right up.

After one victorious cheer, she began to drive and never looked back.

Sarah didn’t know what she had expected when she got home, but it wasn’t an empty house with absolutely no word from anyone.

She would not allow herself to explore what that could have meant.

She sank back into the couch, relaxing for the first time in ages. It felt like every muscle in her body was aching, especially her legs.

That was when she got a whiff of herself. Her scent was not very ladylike.

Sarah forced herself to get back up and head to the shower. It felt like weights had been tied to her shoulders. The simple act of sitting down was causing all of her leg muscles to atrophy.

She had to limp in order to reach the bathroom.

When Sarah stepped in front of the bathroom mirror, she was finally able to see how tired she actually looked. There were dark circles under her eyes and her brown hair was in knots.

She hadn’t realized how gross her clothes were until she took them off. She could feel the filth as they slid off her skin. It was better having them off, but she still didn’t feel clean.

The steaming water felt too hot when she first stepped in. It was already warm outside and the water did little to relieve the temperature.

It took a moment for her body to adjust. When it did, it felt great. So great in fact that she wanted to lay right down and sleep.

She fought the urge however and finished with the shower.

There were no clean clothes in the bathroom so she had to walk through the house. She knew no one would be home, but it still felt comforting to have the light brown towel to wrap around herself.

Something about the upstairs still felt wrong, so she went to the laundry room instead. There she found a black tank top and pajamas to put on.

Finally, feeling fresh and clean, Sarah grabbed a bag of potato chips and headed back to the couch.

She might have picked ice cream to fill the hole in her stomach, but there wasn’t any. Chips would have to do.

She ate them one at a time, savoring the salty and crunchy goodness. Anything left of her hunger soon dissipated.

Sleep came calling next and she grew even more tired. The sun was still up, but not for much longer. Sarah lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. It felt so good. Just being able to rest, it was heaven.

She began to doze. Being home she felt safe and was able to fall into a deep sleep. The previous few days of exhaustion were finally catching up with her.

An hour later, Sarah couldn’t remember what she was dreaming about. Whatever it had been, she must have been falling. It was a good explanation for why she was jolted awake.

Her heart was hammering and she had to take deep gaping breaths. It was a miserable way to wake up.

Thunder rumbled and she could hear rain as it fell on the roof. A storm had rolled in since she first fell asleep. Perhaps it was the lightning that woke her.

Sarah stood up and stretched her sore body. It was so dark outside that she couldn’t see a thing.

Sarah hated storms because they always made her nervous. She always felt like the roof was going to come crashing down, or the wind was going to knock over the walls.

Lightning flashed and for a moment the world outside became clear. Standing in the storm outside looking in were her mom and dad, paler than she’d ever seen them. They stood still as statues.

The lightning passed and they were gone.

Sarah jumped backwards, her legs hitting the coffee table, causing her to fall over. She took the bag of chips and a candle with her as she went.

Her brain was reeling. It had happened so fast. Had she actually saw what she thought she saw, or was her mind playing tricks on her? Either way she stayed huddled behind the coffee table, out of view of the window.

“Let us in Sarah,” came her mom’s voice. At least it was kind of like her mom’s voice, this voice was a lot stronger, less timid.

“Get us out of this storm Darling,” said her dad.

Sarah took a few deep breaths, trying to regain her head. She might have run to the front door, thrown it open and jumped into her parents’ arms, but something felt wrong. For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to move. She wanted to stay down, to be out of their line of sight.

There was a creek in the floorboards, a footstep inside the house.

Fear pierced her heart and sent goose bumps across her flesh. There was somebody inside the house.

A voice spoke from behind her.

“They’re not our parents.”

Sarah turned to see her brother Tim coming down the stairs. He was hunched over as if he was in pain. He was wearing a bathrobe. His voice was so full of phlegm that she hadn’t recognized it.

“Don’t let them in,” he went on. “They’ll kill you.”

Lightning flashed again, this time the window was empty.

“Timmy, what happened?”

Tim sat down on the coffee table so he was looking down at her. His skin had gone just as white as their parents’. He began to cough into his fist, when he pulled his hand away, there were little droplets of blood on it.

“Mom and Dad got sick,” he said. “It didn’t seem that bad at first. They didn’t think it was worth alarming you. Both of them died at the hospital that night. It was horrible.” He rubbed the palm of his hand against his eyes and then leaned forward on folded arms. “I wanted to call you, but there were so many people at the hospital. It was chaotic, I lost mom and dad and people kept pushing me out of the way. I didn’t have your phone number.” A tear ran down his cheek, matching the one on Sarah’s. “I walked home that night, only I don’t remember it at all. I mean, I remember leaving the hospital, but then I just woke up. It’s a three mile walk and I can’t remember one step.”

A lump formed in Sarah’s throat at her brother’s words. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over.

“I think one of them bit me Sarah. I think it bit me and I don’t remember.” His bottom lip was quivering. “I’ve been getting sicker ever since. Not as fast as mom and dad, but I am.”

“No,” Sarah cried.

“I don’t want to turn into one of them. I’m scared.”

Sarah sniffed hard, fighting down the lump in her throat. Now was not the time for her to cry. She had to be strong for her brother.

“You don’t look that sick to me,” said Sarah, which was the exact opposite of what she was thinking.

“I am,” he said.

“That’s enough Tim. If you tell yourself you’re sick then you will act like it. You need to tell yourself you’re getting better. It’s like dad always said.”

Tim lay down next to her on the floor. “I just need sleep.”

Sarah reached out and touched his shoulder before drawing her hand back. He was freezing cold.

She got up and grabbed a blanket. After that she lay back down and draped it over them.

Sarah held her brother close, trying to give him her body heat. He moaned a little, coughing every now and then.

He fell asleep fast and she was glad she could comfort him. He was obviously quite sick and could use all the rest he could get. Now that they were together, maybe she could help him recover from his illness.

Sarah never looked back at the window again, and eventually was able to sleep herself.