Home is a shelter from storms- all sorts of storms.
- William J. Bennett
I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.
- Maya Angelou
“There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home...”
- The Wizard of Oz
He ran to the door, already anticipating the worst. Ian slammed his fist on the outer glass, and rang the bell frenetically.
“Ashley! Ashley!” he screamed. He opened the glass door and tried the knob. The door was open.
Samir and Klaus watched from the car at the curb.
“Should we go in with him?” Klaus asked.
“No,” Samir said. “He has to do this on his own, but at the first sign of trouble, yes.”
Klaus nodded.
Ian entered the house. Ashley still lived at home with her parents but he knew they were away on a cruise. So if anything she would be there alone.
“Ashley?” he said low, suddenly feeling as if h
e
needed to be quiet. The house seemed dead still. Lights were off. The filtering sun coming in through half closed blinds and curtains were the only source of illumination, giving the place a feeling of emptiness.
He slowly made his way through the living room and kitchen. There were some pots and pans on the linoleum floor as if something had come through here. Maybe that was the crashing he’d heard on the phone, but there was no sign of Ashley. He made his way upstairs toward her bedroom. The door was askew, hanging loosely from its hinges. Something had broken through.
That
was the crashing he’d heard. And then her scream. But now she lay there on the bed, violently ripped open, blood smearing the bed sheets and the walls behind her. Her chest and ribcage were open and exposed, her innards having been scooped out and devoured. Her legs and her face
had been chewed at.
“Ashley?” he asked, shaking his head, not believing that could truly be her. When she stirred and rose up off the bed he knew it was no longer her.
“Oh God no,” he said, tears springing from his eyes.
He ran back down the stairs and out the door.
“What happened?” Samir said, seeing his panic as he headed into the car.
“She’s turned into one of them! She’s one of those bloody awful things!”
“Ian, I am so sorry,” Klaus said.
Samir nodded sympathetically. “We can’t just leave.”
“What do you mean?” Ian said, jumping in the back seat again. “You don’t mean you want me to kill her?”
“No, probably not you,” Samir said.
Klaus saw his point. “She’s infected. She could kill others. Get out and infect others. One of us should.”
There was an intolerable silence which seemed to last longer than the thirty seconds it actually did.
Samir opened his mouth about to speak, and Klaus jumped in. “I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure?” Samir said.
“Yes, I have to do something. I have to step up, as they say, seeing how dire our circumstances have become.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Samir asked.
“No, stay with Ian, I’ll handle it.” He turned to Ian and said, “Where is she?”
“Upstairs bedroom last time I looked,” Ian said. “Please, make it quick.”
“I’ll try,” Klaus agreed, “But I don’t think they feel pain anymore.”
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as he went into another bout of sobs.
“I’ll take care of it,” Klaus said.
***
There were no cars coming in either direction. Those that were on the road were stopped in the middle or off to the side, smashed, their passengers long gone. Speeding through the red traffic light Kamara felt a rush of freedom along with the anxiety of their circumstances.
“Why are you speeding through the inter-course?” Xinga asked.
The others laughed.
“I think you meant intersection honey,” Marina said. “Intercourse is something else-
entirely
. And speeding through it is a no no.”
“Where are we going?” Jomo said.
“To my parent’s house,” Kamara said. “I have to see if they’re all right. Then to Lupe’s across town. Neither Xinga nor Marina has family here.”
“I have family here,” Jomo said.
“I’m sorry. Where are they?”
“Only one mile outside the city.”
“Loopy? What do you think? ”
“I don’t know. I just called my parents and they seem to be okay; just staying indoors.”
“For Chrissake, just let the kid see his family first,” Marina said.
“All right,” Kamara said, “You don’t have to bite my head off.”
“Give me your phone Kamara,” Lupe said, “I’ll call them to make sure they’re all right.”
She looked over at her friend beside her, handing her the phone. “Thanks Fruit Loop.”
Guadalupe knew her friend was driving and didn’t want to crash them all, and she had to look out for running people
and zombies
. She couldn’t very well be expected to phone her parents without adding to that already stressful situation. Her mother and sister were fine, aside from the worry.
They arrived at Jomo’s house without incident, only swerving to avoid a few quite human people scurrying across the streets.
His mother held him tightly, blessing the Lord in her native tongue. Behind him was his father, and coming down the stairs were his brother and sister. He hugged them all as they cried.
The others watched the scene from the open doorway, touched by the bond between them.
Jomo turned to them. “Please, come in. Mother, father, I want to introduce you to my friends.”
They moved into the house awkwardly, four women from vastly different cultures. Lupe couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through their heads, but apparently she seemed to be the least threatening as she was the only one the mother embraced. Xinga looked down the whole time, only raising her eyes once to say, “Hello.” They smiled and shook Kamara’s hand, but with Marina they waved and appeared to back away slightly. Maybe in their culture they weren’t used to someone that exposed and audacious. Marina cocked a half smile, seemingly amused by their distrust.
Together they sat around the living room, Jomo translating what they said as they spoke little English. Not too long after he was apologizing to them. “I’m sorry. I know you need to get to your families as well.”
“It’s all right,” Lupe said.
Jomo said something to his family and they seemed to be distraught by it. They pleaded with him.
“What is it?” Lupe asked.
“I told them that now that I know they are safe to lock their doors and stay inside,” Jomo said, “And that I would be heading out with you guys. We need to find a bigger vehicle so that we can take all of them to a safer place, if there is one.”
“Jomo, are you sure?” Kamara asked.
“You should be with your family,” Marina said.
“You are all my family now,” Jomo replied. “We
can
come back for them, yes?”
“Of course we will,” Lupe said, even though she wasn’t sure that was possible.
***
Klaus grabbed a knife from the kitchen, slowly heading upstairs. This was already going to be difficult, killing any human, no matter how inhuman they’d become. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if this was his wife Elsa instead of Ian’s girlfriend.
She greeted him at the landing at the top of the stairs, having moved out from the bedroom. Ashley was once a pretty blonde whose face was now partially gone. Her concave torso, opened from neck to waist, exposed ribs that had been cracked and pushed aside to get at her guts. All her internal organs were gone and he could see clear through to her spine. She walked unsteadily on legs that were missing chunks. No, she was not alive, but the fact that she was moving at all was preposterous, and beyond reason.
His knife hand shook. She growled hungrily at the sight of him. How could she eat without a stomach? The entire scenario defied all logic, and it was this internal declaration, this glaring predicament that made his task easier. He couldn’t kill what didn’t,
no
, what
couldn’t
exist.
He ran to the slow moving girl, jabbing the knife into her forehead. She shuddered a moment, trembling on her feet. He stabbed her again, angrily, bringing the knife down to bear on her again and again, stabbing her repeatedly in the head long after she stopped moving, crying out in indignation. At one point the knife was the only thing holding her body upright. When he pulled it out for the last time, her body collapsed on itself, crumpling to the floor like emptied clothes.
He slowly made his way back to the car. Samir and Ian looked at him without saying anything. Klaus stood just outside the vehicle, sure some of the temporary madness he’d experienced still shone on his face.
“Well?” Samir said finally.
“It’s done,” Klaus said, getting into the car.
***
They stood behind her as she knocked on the door. Kamara never felt such a powerful need to see her mom okay, alive and breathing. Even with her friend Lupe’s assertion that she and her sister were fine she had to see for herself. There came a cry of happiness from them when they saw her and she them. They hugged and Kamara disappeared inside.
Xinga told Jomo more about the news she’d heard from Kenya as they lingered outside her door, as best she could in her broken English. This made him worry not just for his family here in Georgia but for his family overseas. After about twenty five minutes in which they all talked to each other, Kamara opened the door and invited them all in. She introduced them to her mother and sister and they sat around the kitchen to watch the news.
There was a fire at the CDC which had destroyed most of the building before they’d been able to put it out. They believed that was where the outbreak in Atlanta started, but there were reports of other countries experiencing similar outbreaks, including India and Kenya. The disease was believed to have been spread by cows in what they were now calling Mad Cow Flu. It included symptoms that were similar to Mad Cow Disease- a deterioration of the brain, insanity, dementia- but it also sent signals through the failing brain to the rest of the body that ultimately weakened the immune system, resulting in flu like warning signs. Unlike Mad Cow Disease which worked through the body slowly, this disease could work through the body in a matter of hours, or minutes, dependent on the host’s own tolerance, resulting in death, and ultimately turning them into undead.
The news reports wouldn’t call them undead or zombies. They would use terminology such as, “Giving them a semblance of life,” but those who had seen them knew it wasn’t just a semblance. They warned people to stay indoors, avoid being bitten or otherwise exposed to their fluids. Transmission from the infected could be through blood or saliva entering the body.
“We’re going to find your father,” Kamara’s mom said.
“Well, good luck with that,” she answered.
“You’re not coming with us?”
“You know how I feel about him.”
“Yes, he’s gone down the wrong path. Drugs, and whatever other demons he’s dealt with, but he’s
still your father; he’s still family.”
“He’s not my family.”
“Kamara.”
She crossed her arms and didn’t respond.
Finally, she spoke, saying, “Well, at least you’ll be out of Atlanta. It’s not safe here.”
“Where will you go?” she said.
“I don’t know. We need to find a vehicle for Jomo’s family.”
She nodded. “I’ll call you when we find him.”
“That’s fine.”
“You should really be with us.”
“Come on Kamara,” her sister said.
Her eyes started to well up. “Please, you should leave as quickly as you can. It’s getting bad out there. Just drive. Don’t stop for anyone.”
Her mom looked down. “All right Kamara. You know we love you.”
“I know.”
“I’ll pick up Bella, and take her with us.” Bella was her cat.
She nodded, though it made her sad, but she knew it was for the best. They hugged and kissed, and the others walked with her to the door as they said their so longs.
“We’ll see you soon Kamara,” her sister said.
“You bet. Love.”
“Love,” her sister said.
“Love,” her mother echoed.
“See ya,” Kamara waved, looking back as she exited the door, sadness clearly written on her face.
“Where to now?” Lupe asked, trying to change the subject as they got in the car.
“To see your family.”