Chapter 4
Jordan
I remember Outbreak Day like it was yesterday.
My girlfriend, Sarah, and I were on a road trip, stopping in the city for a few nights.
We had gotten tired of our hometown and were ready to move to the big city, to finally start our lives.
We considered moving to the mainland, but we’d miss our families too much.
Sarah booked a hotel in the city’s center, a room overlooking the skyline.
The city’s subway system was both under and above ground, providing white noise every few minutes with each train’s passing.
Sarah was sprawled on the enormous bed, flicking through the TV channels. Some reality show, then a news story about rising cases of viral infections in the area, then an infomercial, back to the news about hospitals running out of beds.
Sighing, I climbed onto the bed, prowling over her. Her hazel eyes peeked up at me, a softness in them. “What’s the plan for the evening?” she asked.
I shrugged before leaning down, my lips hovering over hers. “Room service?”
She snorted before pulling back, her expression shifting from calm to playful. “You and your room service,” she chided before giving a huff. “Fine, order away.”
I gave her a quick peck then rolled over to peruse the menu on the nightstand. Sarah went back to the TV, stopping on another news story. “Should we be worried about this new virus?”
Looking up from the booklet, I noticed her nervously chewing on a nail as her eyes zeroed in on the screen. I stopped and watched for a moment.
The virus is said to be highly contagious, with symptoms ranging from runny nose, cough, fever, body aches, chills, and bloodshot eyes.
It is unknown where the virus originates from, but a surge of cases within city limits may mean it comes from the city center.
It’s said to be impacting children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals the most, but it appears anyone can get sick.
“We’re right where the virus may be coming from,” Sarah said around the nail between her teeth.
I dropped the menu and leaned toward her, gripping her wrist gently and easing it from her mouth. “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I soothed, but she didn’t look convinced. “Let’s just avoid all the popular tourist areas.”
Her eyes stayed connected with the TV. “Okay,” she nodded, her voice breathy with lingering worry.
I kissed each of her knuckles, earning me a grin, before going back to ordering almost everything off the menu.
The food never made it to our room.
Screams erupted from the street; cars began piling up, some even bursting into flames after crashing into buildings. The news tried explaining what was happening, but soon, the power went out.
We considered barricading ourselves in our room, but we wouldn’t last long without food, so we ventured out into the hotel hallway and down into the lobby, frantic guests running into the streets.
We raced for the car parked in the underground garage, peeling out and onto the chaotic street. Sarah may have had anxiety, but she was good under pressure. Her dad was in the military and drilled survival skills into her since she was a child. If anyone was a weak link here, it was me.
Stuck in gridlock, we abandoned the car and walked on foot to the city’s edge, but the military got there first—no one in, no one out. Sarah tried to argue with them, but they had strict protocols and threatened to shoot her.
What we did next was all a blur of fear, scavenging, hiding, and eventually, killing.
I brace my hands on the sink in this disgusting home’s kitchen, struggling to fill my lungs with air. My memories are what I focus on while the infection wreaks havoc on me from the inside out, making me run around like a chicken with its head cut off to infect others.
But I can’t think about Sarah now.
The virus wants to be near this woman. Touching her sent the beast into overdrive.
Keep her and own her, the words bounced around my head as I tried to let go of her.
What’s the obsession with this woman? Since being infected, I’ve never had this happen. All I feel when seeing non-infected is the virus’s overwhelming urge to spread—never anything about wanting to capture one.
If the beast has found a new way to spread by forcing me to kidnap young women, then that will really suck.
Sighing, I hang my head. I have to feed her and myself, but hunting for food will pose a problem. All I have to do now is run down an animal and rip into it with my new fangs. There’s no need to cook anything. But she can’t eat raw meat, especially if I’ve already bitten into it.
I’ll have to catch something and make sure I don’t go into a hunger frenzy in the process.
I push off the counter and go to her backpack, slowly pulling out and examining all the contents again. She has some bullets buried in here, but not many. Besides, shooting something may draw too much attention. I’ll have to set up a snare with whatever shit I can find in this house.
I make my way out of the kitchen, wandering into what used to be the living room.
Pictures hang crooked on the wall with some frames leaving glass spread across the floor.
The couch is worn and covered in a layer of dust. I rummage around in a closet tucked away by the front door, finding wired clothing hangers.
Looks like the skills Sarah taught me won’t go to waste.