The team that had looked over Marlee efficiently shoved her into a hazmat suit while the other Terra Corp personnel watched from a distance. Mike was sure this was a precaution to protect those around her.
With a roar, the helicopter’s rotors spooled up as it tore itself from the roof, the powerful turbines easily overcoming gravity’s pull. Mike got a quick view of the pilot and he could see he was wearing a protective suit as well. The caution they were taking with Marlee felt like a blast of cold water. These guys weren’t taking any chances with anything or anyone that had been aboard the
Sunset Rose
.
Mike breathed a sigh of relief. Marlee had looked stable and he hoped whoever had rescued her from the
Sunset Rose
would release her soon so he could find out why the people aboard the ship went crazy; at least he didn’t have to come up with a way to get her off of the ship.
Moving next to the window, Mike looked down at the Port. The terminal parking lot was filled with local residents, gawkers, and family hoping to be reunited with loved ones. Most just wanted to watch the ship dock and see for themselves the mystery that shrouded the
Sunset Rose
. The shopping center’s overflow parking lot was filled with the vehicles of first responders. He looked out into the Gulf and could see the
Sunset Rose’s
enormous form as it entered the canal leading to the terminal. Towed by only a single pair of tug boats, it was a slow and precise process.
Soon enough the ship would be moored and the process of offloading the poor souls would begin. Paramedics and first responders were ready to work through the night to rescue and transport the sick, injured, and deceased. As the crowd pressed into the fencing blocking the public from the terminal, yearning for a glimpse of their family and friends, no one could predict the chaos that would soon follow. Nothing would ever be the same.
The cruise ship’s mammoth bulk drifted to a gentle rest against the concrete pier. The tug crew’s expertise made the berthing of such a large ship look like child’s play. The
Sunset Rose
stood still, towering over a collection of boutique shops and various port facilities. Blocked from entering the terminal by a fence, hundreds upon hundreds of faces peered up at the silent ship. Empty balconies, portholes, and party decks stared silently back at the crowd. There were no streamers, no cheering, and no ship’s horn trumpeting the return of the
Sunset Rose
this time. Somewhere in the crowd a child started to cry.
Marcus Dodson had planned on meeting his wife and son at the terminal today. He stood quietly within the crowd, waiting for word on when they would let him see his family. Marcus had enough sense to know something was wrong. He was feeling sick with worry with the delay. Patience and understanding had worn thin as the crowd of people started to shout at the port staff and police officers sprinkled throughout the crowd.
“We need everyone to remain calm and allow the authorities to secure the ship. Please return to your vehicles. We will let you know when you can see your family and friends,” came a blasting announcement from the passenger intake kiosk off to Marcus’s right.
In unison with the announcement, the officers stepped forward and directed the crowd to turn around and leave. The crowd stared and shouted as the emergency workers moved around behind the fence, preparing to breech the massive ship.
“I WANT TO SEE MY DAUGHTER … ARE THEY ARE OKAY? … WHAT’S GOING ON?” Voices from the crowd clamored for attention.
“I need to get to someone that can answer questions,” Marcus shouted to an older woman standing next to him. She could barely hear him over the outrage of the crowd.
“I hope my daughter and her family are okay,” was the only response he got before she turned back toward the ship and scanned every inch looking for any sign of her loved ones.
Marcus slowly moved toward the front of the crowd. He wanted to get a clear look at the ship to see if he could figure out what might have happened to his wife and son.
“Return to your cars,” came the command again through the speaker system. Suddenly the sound of sirens, lots of sirens, started to blare throughout the area.
Jostled by the crowd, Marcus could barely keep his footing as he clung to the fencing. He looked back up at the ship and was startled when he thought he saw a face peering out of a lower deck porthole.
“Look at that!” Marcus exclaimed, pointing at a face framed within the porthole.
“I don’t see anything, buddy, so stop freaking out my kids,” an angry man shot back.
“I think I see it,” a pretty young woman in a halter top said hesitantly.
People started to look in the direction Marcus was pointing. The crowd continued to press forward, testing the fence as more people caught sight of the face.
Maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought,
Marcus said to himself, desperate to cling to some form of hope. Pressed against the fence, he started to pray silently,
Dear God, please let my wife and son be okay.
There was a disturbance as a group of private-military-types dressed in black fatigues with “
TDC Tactical
” displayed on their BDU caps pushed through the crowd and joined the police. They attempted to maneuver the crowd back from the fence and toward the parking lot. Another group of mercenaries could be seen running toward the staging area behind the fence as medical personnel waited to breech the ship near the main loading door.
Marcus was relieved when the crowd started to back up.
“What’s going on?” Marcus asked a police officer working the crowd.
“Please return to your vehicle,” was all the officer replied, looking distressed.
Marcus looked around and spotted some in the crowd arguing with the police as they pushed back against the black-clad security team. Others were slowly moving toward the parking lot and their vehicles. Marcus looked back at the ship, but the face framed in the porthole was gone.
As Marcus reluctantly turned toward the parking lot and his car, his eye caught movement again, this time further up the ship’s massive flank. As he turned around to take a closer look he was prodded again to move along by the same police officer.
“Wait! I think I saw a door opening on one of the upper decks,” Marcus told the officer.
“What?” the officer responded as he turned to look.
Most cruise ships have exterior decks that run along the outside of the ship for scenic views, casual strolls, and moonlight dinners. A door leading out onto one such deck had caught Marcus’ full attention.
Marcus watched as the door slowly swung open and a small form emerged from inside. Marcus froze in place as his brain recognized something familiar. The small form tottered over to the balcony and let out a primal scream.
“I think that’s my son!” Marcus cried out, his face a mask of sheer horror.
The police officer next to Marcus looked up in search of such an unsettling noise. With adrenaline kicking in, Marcus ran past the officer toward the ship. He climbed over the fencing and easily avoided the distracted security force.
The child clambered over the balcony and launched off, plunging toward the concrete pier below. “Noooooo,” Marcus screamed as he ran to catch the boy. “Matthew, Matthew, MATTHEW!” he cried, desperate to save his son.
Marcus stopped and reached up. The boy crashed hard and fast, right on top of his father. Feeling bones shatter, Marcus fell to the ground as he attempted to save his son from injury. Before Marcus could orient himself, he heard a guttural growl and felt a tearing sensation rip into the soft flesh of his neck. Pain and a strange heat radiated through his body. Paralyzed, Marcus could only stare helplessly as his son continued to maul him. Marcus noticed, as his vision grew dark, that Matthew’s eyes were imbued with a dull, red glow. The last thing Marcus saw was his son’s bloody, contorted face twisted into a look of malevolent violence. As Marcus’ mind sputtered his final thought of love for his son, the remaining passengers aboard the ship began to rain down around him. Hell had arrived, and it was pissed.
Mike watched the crowd at the Port though a pair of high-powered binoculars as a man pointed up at something. Mike tilted his head upward, looking for the source of the man’s agitation. He immediately zeroed in on an exterior cabin door as it slowly swung open. Mike focused his attention on the door and watched as a small boy emerged and walked onto the balcony.
What happened next shocked Mike. The man broke free from the crowd, jumped the security fence, and ran toward the ship as the child climbed onto the railing, then jumped. Mike was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him. The boy plummeted straight down only to land directly on the man below.
Must be his father
, Mike thought, horrified.
What the hell would cause a child to jump from the ship?
Mike’s mind was churning to comprehend what he had witnessed.
Then things got really fucked up. Mike spotted movement from the boy and couldn’t believe he was still alive. As he looked closer through the binoculars it became obvious the boy was mauling the man, who struggled, arms and legs flailing, for what seemed like an eternity before going limp. The child then slid off the twitching body of his father and brokenly started to crawl for the nearest person in the crowd. People who had been rooted in place, watching the spectacle in horror, scattered.
Mike continued to watch the scene unfold as a chill slowly ran its way up his spine. More passengers stumbled from the door the child had exited and threw themselves off the ship. Most destroyed their bodies when they hit the concrete pier, failing to arise again. Some of them landed on the soft flesh of jumpers before them and were ambulatory again within seconds. Mike noticed that many had broken or mangled limbs, which considerably slowed their approach toward the crowd.
Mike was horrified as he watched the people indiscriminately launch themselves at the nearest person in the crowd, be it man, woman, or child. It was a scene of horror worse than anything Mike had witnessed during his tour in Iraq. The surviving jumpers violently dragged members of the crowd down and tore into their victims like wild dogs. The worst for Mike was watching the slaughter of children. He was forced to look away from the sight of mothers and fathers literally dying to save their screaming little ones as they were brutally torn apart.
People that been walking back to their cars turned around to see the source of the commotion. Those near the ship stood transfixed and watched the gruesome spectacle. More than a few had their cell phones out and were taking pictures and video, surely to post on a social media account. This lack of self-preservation would prove fatal for many.
“GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!” Mike finally choked out, his voice cracking at the edges with alarm. “People are jumping from the goddamn ship … and … killing people.”
“What?” the three others said in unison as each jumped up and ran to the window.
No one needed binoculars to see that chaos reigned supreme at the Port. Eric, Reid, and Ashley watched the ebb and flow of the crowd, some trying to get a look at what was happening while others were desperately fighting for their lives or that of a family member.
Mike raised the binoculars to his eyes again and panned the crowd. He spotted the Terra Corp security team as they made their way back to the first responders’ staging area. They were bunched into a tight knot and liberally used the butts of their rifles to keep any close jumper away. The rest of the crowd didn’t fare so well. The police and emergency medical personnel tried to keep the jumpers away from the crowd, but Mike could clearly see there were not enough to make a difference. He watched helplessly as the crowd was overwhelmed.
Mike and the others, shocked into silence, quietly watched from the safety of the parking garage as people in the crowd, just a few blocks removed, were pulled down one by one. They watched in disbelief as the passengers of the
Sunset Rose
tore their families apart with hands and teeth. Ashley finally turned away and ran to the wastebasket where she promptly puked out her breakfast.
“Oh my God! What the hell is happening down there?” she cried in dismay.
“It looks like the cruise line forgot to serve breakfast today and they have some hungry passengers, Ash,” Reid joked. He was the quiet type, but had a bad habit of putting a comedic twist on any situation, no matter how inappropriate.
“You sick fuck,” she almost screamed at him.
“Sorry Ash, I was just trying to break the tension,” Reid said apologetically to his friend.
Eric turned to Mike with real concern on his face. “Mike, things are getting …”
“Holy shit!” Mike yelped, “The guy the kid mauled to death is getting back up!”
Ashley threw up again. Reid stood there, torn between comforting Ashley and going to take a look for himself. “Dead people don’t get back up,” Reid stated logically as he attempted to comfort his friends.
“Maybe he wasn’t dead yet, but no way should he be standing after that,” Mike said uncertainly.
Everyone, except for Ashley, who headed for the bathroom, now stood at the window and stared with morbid curiosity and horror at the disaster occurring just a few blocks away. Things had gone from bad to worse. Men, women, and children that had been pulled down and ripped apart were slowly rising again minutes later. Once risen, the cycle repeated itself. Mike realized he was watching the live version of
Dawn of the Dead
, but his mind kept trying to tell him it must be a dream.
This is no dream
,
it’s mankind’s worst nightmare turned reality
.
The police shot blindly at the crowd, more to protect themselves than any other reason. Even from the parking garage’s higher vantage point, it was difficult to tell who presented a real danger until someone attacked. Even blocks away they could hear the muffled screams. Mike’s heart went out to the parents that tried to protect terrified children, many torn from their parents’ grasp and ripped apart right in front of them. Worse yet were the panicked kids who, frozen with terror, could only stand and watch as their parents succumbed to the monsters. They sobbed, waiting for death. Mike had to turn away when he saw a woman rise again and tear her daughter apart as she ran into her mother’s arms, looking for protection. Mike had never known a darker day in his entire life.
Like rows of bloody human dominos, people fell and rose again within moments, one after one after one. Whatever was happening was spreading like wildfire. The crazed were starting to outnumber the helpless, and it was starting to spiral outward from the Port into the city.