Fate Unexpected (Earth Defender Book 1) (2 page)

“Okay.”

Kylah hung up the phone and told her dad what the woman had said. He
scooped her mom up into his arms and then hurried toward the bedroom door.

“That doesn’t sound good,” he said. “I’m leaving. You can get
dressed and meet me at the hospital. We can’t wait.”

“Go!” she said. “I’ll be right behind you.”

She followed her dad down the stairs to the front door, which she
unlocked and held open for him. She stood in the doorway and watched her dad
put her mom into the passenger seat of his car, then run around to the driver’s
side. Once he was inside and had the engine running, he floored it out of the
driveway before speeding down the street.

Kylah shut the door, then ran up the stairs two at a time. She
hurriedly pulled on articles of clothing, really not paying much attention to
what they were. Once she was dressed, she raced downstairs before grabbing her keys.
She tore out of the house, only pausing long enough to lock the front door
behind her.

The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever. It wasn’t until
she came closer to it did the traffic increase. The entrance to the ER had cars
lined up all the way to the street. Even the parking lot was almost filled.
She’d never seen the place this busy before. How many people were sick like her
mother?

She managed to find an empty spot and parked her car. Kylah ran
toward the ER entrance. There was a jam of people trying to get inside the
building. She was shocked to see many of them had the same symptoms her mother
had—crying blood and coughing it up as well. When she noticed they all had the
familiar rash on their exposed skin, she had to wonder if the red rain had
anything to do with what was happening.

After Kylah finally managed to get into the hospital, she was staggered
by the number of sick people who filled the waiting area and lined the walls.
Some lay on gurneys as nurses flitted from one patient to another. It was utter
chaos.

She searched the crowd with her gaze until she spotted her parents.
Kylah pushed her way through the press of people to reach them. Her mom was one
of the patients lying on a gurney against a wall. She no longer coughed, but
she loudly wheezed with each breath she took. The blood continued to well from
the corners of her eyes. Her mother gave her a weak smile.

Kylah met her father’s gaze. “Has a nurse or doctor seen her yet?”

He agitatedly ran his hand through his hair. “A nurse has, but not a
doctor. The nurse said it could be a few hours before one can see your mom.
They’re not equipped to handle an outbreak like this. Plus, I don’t think they
have any idea what it is.”

She scanned the large room again. Her dad was right. It was an
outbreak. Every person in there who waited for medical attention had what her
mom had. Whatever the hell it was, it’d spread through the town’s population
like wildfire.

The sound of someone coughing and choking drew Kylah’s attention. It
was an older lady who sat in the waiting area. The older man next to her yelled
for a nurse as he did his best to comfort the woman. His shouts became more
urgent as the lady suddenly stiffened and then seemed to go into a seizure. The
man did his best to prevent her from hurting herself as her body flailed about.
Once it ceased, he called to her. She didn’t respond. He held his hand in front
of her nose, then bellowed in denial.

Kylah swallowed her gut instinct to panic. From where she stood, she
could tell the old woman was dead. Her eyes were already blank and staring. A
nurse rushed to the older couple. She placed her fingers on the woman’s neck to
feel for a pulse. After a few seconds, she gave the man a sympathetic look. She
didn’t even try to resuscitate the woman. That led Kylah to believe this wasn’t
the first death this night.

She looked at her mom with fear for her trying to push to the
surface. That emotion only increased as two other people died while waiting to
see a doctor shortly after the old woman had. Kylah wasn’t the only one fighting
to stay calm. The tension in the ER grew, and family of the sick loudly made demands
that their loved ones be next to be seen.

A half hour went by before Kylah’s nightmare became reality. Her
mother coughed and choked, then was thrown into a seizure. At the end of it, a
single sigh escaped her before she stilled. Her chest no longer rose and fell.

Tears filled Kylah’s eyes as her dad shouted, “No, no, no!”

Kylah looked away to find a nurse. None came in their direction since
they were too busy as five other patients seized. What the hell was going on?
How could this be happening? Her mom had been the picture of health before the
red rain had come. Now she was dead.

Cries of sorrow suddenly turned to screams of terror. Kylah froze,
not sure she could believe what her eyes were seeing. Some of the patients
who’d had seizures rose, but nothing as they’d been before. The irises of their
eyes had turned solid red. They growled like animals, not seeming to recognize
their family members. The screams started when one jumped onto the nearest
person and ripped their throat out with their teeth. That was when all hell
broke loose as four others went on the attack. People screamed as they rushed
to the exit, which was still jammed with others trying to get inside.

“Dad!” Kylah shouted as more of the sick seized and then awakened
changed. “Dad! We have to get out of here.”

“No. I’m not leaving your mother,” he said as he continued to stare
at her mom.

“Look around you,” she yelled. “Something’s happening.”

Her dad finally looked at Kylah, then at the bloody scene taking
place in front of them. More of the sick turned. A nurse was attacked by four
of them. They took her down to the floor. Her screams changed to gurgles, then
were abruptly cut short.

Cries of terror rang out from farther inside the hospital and
outside the ER doors. Kylah darted her gaze around as she searched for another
way out. She and her dad had to get out of there—now.

Her father grabbed her arm and pulled her into a run as he headed
down a hallway away from the ER. They went down one hall and then others,
turning around at the sound of animalistic growls and screams. Somehow they
managed to find an emergency exit. Her dad didn’t hesitate as he pushed it open
and rushed her through it. The alarm echoed through the building.

Outside was no safer. Those who hadn’t been able to get inside the
hospital, and had gone through the change, had grouped together like a pack of
animals and attacked anyone who crossed their path, killing them and then
tearing them apart. Kylah lost count of how many of them there were.

She ran with her dad to the parking lot. “Where’s your car?” she
asked.

“Back at the ER entrance. They blocked me in after I stopped. We’ll
have to take yours.”

Kylah ran ahead of her dad to lead the way. At the sound of growling
coming from behind them, she looked over her shoulder. A group of four of the
turned were closing the distance between them. She and her father put on a
burst of speed. She took out her keys and used the remote to unlock the doors
just before they reached her car. They jumped inside and closed themselves in.
She engaged the locks as the four reached them.

It was three men and a woman. They clawed at the windows while the
snarled and growled. Kylah couldn’t stop staring at their creepy red eyes.
There was no intelligence in any of them. It was like looking at a wild animal,
one that only wanted to kill her.

As she started the car, six more arrived and gathered around them,
doing their best to get to them. Kylah revved the engine, but that didn’t do
anything to scare them away.

“Kylah, you have to run over them,” her dad said as he met her gaze.
“I don’t know what the hell this is, but I don’t think they have their humanity
anymore.”

To prove her dad’s words true, one of the men threw himself at the
driver’s side door. He did it over and over again. Others continued to claw at
the glass, and a few tried to bite it.

Kylah put the car into drive, then stomped the gas pedal to the
floor. Her tires squealed as she drove through the turned. One flew up over the
front bumper and landed on top the hood. She swerved left and right until the
woman rolled off. She sped through the parking lot, running over any of the
turned who got in her way.

As she raced toward home, the scenes taking place on the streets and
in front of houses showed the bloody carnage at the hospital wasn’t a single
happening. It was everywhere she looked. Shots rang out as some people defended
themselves with guns. It was as if the world had suddenly gone mad.

Luckily for her and her dad, there weren’t any turned to deal with
once they arrived home. As soon as Kylah parked the car, they raced to the
house. Her hands shook as she unlocked the front door. Once they were inside,
she slammed it shut and locked it again. She stood in the middle of the foyer
breathing too fast, feeling as if she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

The sound of baying animals could be heard outside. She looked at
her father. “Dad?”

He came to her, hugged her and kissed the top of her head before he
held her out at arm’s length, his gaze locking with hers. “Kylah, you have to
keep it together for me, okay? We’ll get through this. First thing, we have to
close all the curtains and lock the windows, starting on the main level. Can
you help me do that?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Good. You can start with the living room and then check the rooms
upstairs. I’ll go to the dining room and kitchen, then meet you up there.”

Kylah nodded again, then ran to the living room. She checked the
window, which was already locked. She yanked the heavy curtains closed. Before
she headed upstairs, she went to the door that was connected to the garage.
There was a side door there besides the roll up one. She made sure both locks
were secure on the side one, then raced back into the house and closed and
locked the connecting door.

She ran up the stairs. Her mother was dead, but she didn’t have time
to mourn her. What happened outside wasn’t going to allow it. Kylah went to
each of the three bedrooms and checked the locks on the windows. The curtains
were already closed since they hadn’t been opened for the day yet.

The last room she checked was the master bedroom. Kylah walked over
to the king-sized bed. The sight of blood on her mom’s pillowcase and on the
sheets had her swallowing past a lump in her throat as tears threatened to
rise.

Her dad stepped into the room. His gaze landed on the bed. He
crossed over to it and then ripped off the blankets and threw her mom’s pillow
across the room. His eyes glistened with tears. They stared at each other, lost
in their sadness.

Loud snarls and growls filtered into the house, which broke the
silence. Kylah rubbed her eyes before she said, “I’ll change the sheets for
you.”

He hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.”

Kylah went to the hall linen closet and took out a fresh set of
sheets. She returned to the room to find her father had turned on the large LED
TV that hung on the wall across from the end of the bed. He had the local news
channel on.

She went to stand beside him as the news anchor talked about the
strange illness that had swept through their town. They played some footage
from the hospital. Whoever shot it had to suddenly run for his or her life as a
pack of turned ran in their direction.

Her dad switched the channel to a big city news station. Kylah
gasped as footage from different parts of the world showed turned running
through the streets, killing anyone they caught.

“This can’t be happening,” Kylah said quietly.

“It is,” her dad replied. He looked at her. “Whatever this is, I
don’t think it’s going away. We to have to prepare for the fact that life as we
knew it no longer exists. We’ll wait out the worst of this and see what comes
next. Thanks to your mom, we don’t have to worry about running out of food
anytime soon.”

Kylah looked at the horrific scenes taking place on the TV before
she turned her attention back on to her dad. He was right about everything. And
it was thanks to her mom they wouldn’t starve if they had to hole up in the
house for a long time. Her mother had taken couponing to the extreme. At least
once a month, she and Dad made the ninety-six mile trip to Spokane to do a
major grocery shopping. Mom had specifically bought a SUV just so they could
fill it up with the things she would get for free or almost free. Most of their
basement and spare bedroom was filled with non-perishable food items. And with
toilet paper, paper towel and tissue, along with detergent and toiletry items.
Couponing had been her mother’s passion, and her stockpile showed it.

Her dad went to his closet, took out his new broadsword and placed
it onto one of the dressers. “For just in case,” he said. “Right about now, I
wish I’d taken up archery as well. Or owned a gun.”

Kylah stared at the sword sheathed in its scabbard and hoped it
wouldn’t come to either one of them having to use it to fight off any humans
turned animal.

* * * *