Chapter 5: The Victims

Leonard Deep
Friday 6, February 2015
22:40 Hours
Phoenix, Arizona

“Here.”

Leonard Deep, twelve, was handing his share of food to a girl that was roughly his age. She had been saved from a evil looking woman earlier by Greg Cross, and Leonard had wanted to talk to her since he saw her there. She took his sandwich and quickly ate it, as he sat beside her and drank a bit of water. The scene around them had shifted from a normal hotel to a army-like barracks: The door had been blocked by a lot of furniture while the rest of it had been positioned in a circle around a table, at which Greg and Jane sat.

“How are you?”

“I’m good.” The girl answered. “Considering my parents are those things…”

“Oh… Well, my dad was that loudmouth that left with the crowd.” He said, then added: “I’m Leonard, by the way, but you can call me Leo.”

“I’m Yanai…” She whispered back. “But everyone calls me Spirit…”

“Nice to meet you, Spirit.” Leo said, standing.

He patted her shoulder and went to Greg, besides which he sat. Greg didn’t even move, watching the plans of the building before him as he and Jane spoke in hushed voices. All around them everyone else sat, afraid of leaving to the upper floors in case help arrived. Jane traced a line along the plans, and Leo realized those were the plans of the airport.

“What are you doing?” Leo asked, suddenly really interested.

“We’re checking for possible entrance or exit routes.” Jane said, silently. “As Joshua’s friends, we can’t laze around while he puts his life in the line for us. So we’re devising ways we can all escape in case help doesn’t help.”

“Why not through the lobby?” Leo asked.

“Considering the size of it and how the biggest crowd was held there, there’s a big chance that’s where most of these things are.” Greg pointed out, and Leo realized that Greg’s headphones were around his neck, music coming faintly from them.

“How so?”

“Well, open spaces are good, but we’ll get attacked from all sides.” Jane answered. “Before you ask, Joshua had us learn a bunch of military things to ‘help’ us in our investigative reporting.”

“You’re reporters?” Leo asked.

“Yep. She’s a journalist, I’m a photographer.” Greg said, then proceeded to present himself and Jane. Once Leo presented himself, Greg Said: “Don’t worry, Leo. We’ll get you out of-“

Suddenly, a soft moan was heard. Greg instantly stood and from within his jacket he pulled out a gun Joshua had left with him. Spinning around, Greg noticed the sound came from the back and, cursing at himself, he slowly edged forward. He followed proper protocol when checking hostile areas, keeping to the wall and moving slowly, keeping attentive to all sounds. He found his ears leading him to the bathroom, where a man was standing before the mirror.

“Sir, are you alright?” Greg asked, without realizing he was being watched from behind too.

“I-I-I…” The man before him said, turning to him.

The man’s left eye was dangling from its sockets, his jaw unhindged and also dangling. Greg steeled himself, raised his gun and shot the man straight in the forehead as he lunged at Greg. The body fell to the ground with a stump as Greg quickly checked every one of the stalls to make sure there wasn’t any other infected or survivor around. Finally sure there was no one else, he spun and spotted Leo staring at him.

“You shouldn’t be following me around, or you’ll end up seeing pretty disgusting things.” Greg said, walking past Leo. “Come, let’s join the others.”

Once the two returned to the lobby of the hotel, Greg proceeded to arm Leo with a dagger (Because Leo had decided he’d be Greg’s partner during the whole thing) and headed upstairs, to check every room for any survivors or infected. The first three floors were free and void of anyone, but the fourth floor had several survivors. Once all the floors were scanned for anyone, they ended up with a group of fifty five survivors. Greg thought that the infected one that had found its way into the bathroom had probably entered when the door was opened, so he gave it no more thought. Finally returning to the hotel’s lobby, Greg and Jane went back to talking and Leo went and sat besides Spirit, who smiled softly at his approach.

“I’m cold…” She whispered. She was wearing her pajamas, which didn’t have much protection against the cold.

“Here.” Rebecca Alison said, handing Spirit her own jacket. “You’ll need it more than me.”

“Why?”

“I’m used to the cold.” She replied, smiling softly. A sudden, soft banging was heard on the door, and everyone went stiff: “What the-“

“Leo, help, we need to get this open!” Greg shouted.

Greg opened the door and three people walked in: All dressed up as military. The two groups, survivors and Soldiers, exchanged situation reports. Leo watched the people, with their rifles and guns, and he felt a sudden feeling of hope. Spirit, sitting beside him, didn’t seem to be affected by them as much. Suddenly, the soldiers turned and left, leaving the survivors once again alone. Before the door closed, a distinct sound of gunfire was heard. Several people asked what was wrong, and Greg answered:

“The military has no desire to help us, per se.” He explained, frowning. Everyone waited for several minutes as he collected his thoughts, and eventually he added: “They have the airport surrounded so none of these things can get out. And they WILL extract us, but we’ll probably end up being sent off to research labs due to our close encounter with these things.”

“What ARE those things?” Rebecca asked, pointing at the door.

“Those things are…” Greg suddenly stopped.

“They’re the result of a bioterrorism attack.” Jane said, placing her hand on Greg and stepping forth to talk using her skill as a reporter to deliver the news: “We’re the unlucky ones to survive, and they know it, so they’ll do everything to find a way to get info out of us.”

“So what do we do?”

“We’ll let them rescue us.” Greg answered. “We’ll prove them we’re not the bad guys. That we’re the victim.”

Chapter 4: Leaving Safety

Jane Cross
Friday 6, February 2015
22: 25 Hours
Phoenix, Arizona

"Alright, listen up." Joshua called for attention from the survivors in the hotel. Everyone stared at him, some scared and some amused. "I'm going to take a small group of you out of here. I'll be doing several trips, no one will be left behind."

"Why should we listen to you???" A man shouted, standing up.

"YEAH!" A second followed.

"He beat me up and all! I ain't trusting HIM with my life!"

The man that had gotten 'beaten up' by Joshua was, in fact, Leonard's father. He began to rally the males to his side, whilst the rest just stared at the young man and the one with the broken nose. Finally, Leonard's dad, who had collected most of the men to his side, decided to equip them with kitchenware and a gun he had been carrying. Without heeding the words Joshua was giving them, they left into the dark beyond the hotel. Cursing under his breath, Joshua turned to see who remained. Most were women, the children remained behind, probably abandoned by their parents. He winced, not sure what to do, when Greg approached.

"Joshua..." He said in a whisper only Jane and Joshua heard. "We can't abandon these people here, and it's too dangerous to take them with us if we don't leave anyone behind."

"You're right." Joshua said, his brain swiftly thinking of solutions. Suddenly, cries of agony came from behind and he closed the door once more. His face suddenly got a steely glance and stepping towards the people surrounding him, he said: "I'm going to head out on my own."

A sudden uproar surrounded him, and everyone was suddenly afraid. He tried to calm them down and only managed to do so after a long time of explaining what he planned to do. He told them he was going to head up to the communication tower and use their radios there to communicate with the outside, sending them news of what is happening there. They stare quietly at him for several minutes, until one of them spoke.

"Do you mind if I go with you?" A blond woman asked, standing. She was small and slender, with her hair tied back in a ponytail and had the most piercing blue eyes Jane had ever seen. "I'm skilled, I might be of use to you."

"No, I can't risk anyone else's life." Joshua said, then added: "Even if she's a trained Federal Agent."

"Heh." She scoffed, stepping forward and pulling a gun out from a holster hidden under her suit's jacket. "I'm Annabelle Miles."

"I'm Joshua Adams." He shook hands with her. "And I'm also still not allowing you coming with me. Your job is to protect these people, not to go adventuring into the chaos outside."

"I can't stand around here doing nothing!" She said, angry. "Because-"

"Because your partner is dead..."

Rebecca Alison whispered, and Annabelle nodded. Joshua deliberated for a second, then pulled Greg away from the group. Several minutes of silence passed and then the two reunited, confidence set as stone in their faces. Jane was quietly observing the scene, and realized something was amiss between Annabelle and Rebecca, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Whatever it was, needed to wait, as Joshua was talking.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. Greg and Jane will be in charge of the protection of the hotel." He pointed at Greg and Jane, and they quickly nodded. "You will all respond to them, to Annabelle here, or to me." Joshua continued. He sounded like a soldier which, in all honesty, he was. "From here on out, you will all stay in here, leave the excursions outside to the experienced. Anyone who wishes to live must not, under any circumstances, approach that door. Any questions?" When no one said so, he continued: "Good. Greg here will be on guard duty for the rest of the night. Jane, you'll take over in the morning."

"Roger." She said.

"Alright. Annabelle and I will be heading for the control tower now." He said, turning to open the door.

"Wait! What about me?" Rebecca asked.

"You stay here." He said, without turning. He then opened the door and stepped out into the dark with Annabelle at his side.

Chapter 3: Kitchen Trouble

Gregory Cross
Friday 6, February 2015
22:04 Hours
Phoenix, Arizona

He awoke after hearing what could have been a crash, or simply a figment of his imagination. It had been about half an hour before the intoxicating smell and walking dead made everyone cower within the airport's hotel, though, it seemed it would be unimportant. Joshua had tried to make everyone calm down, but it didn't work, specially when the only thing keeping you safe from the weird creatures is a six inch bullet-resistant door. The people eventually calmed down, when they realized the dead weren't bright, and didn't seem to be able to break through. Joshua, Greg and Jane took a room on the second floor and proceeded to rest, fearing they needed to keep their energies up in case anything were to happen. But, Greg awoke, and quickly, he headed downstairs. Along the way, he took a long, striped umbrella with red and white lines.

Slowly he headed for the bottom floor, where he saw a few of the infected things walking around behind the door, but the noise he heard suddenly repeated again. It was a bang, similar to a tray slamming against some flat surface. Spinning around, Greg headed for the kitchen, from where the sound was coming from. The lights began to flicker and suddenly turned off. Greg instantly hugged the wall as he moved onward, now extremely worried about whatever it was that was ahead.

A sudden shuffle of feet made him stop dead on his tracks and he rose the umbrella parallel to his chest. A clatter startled him and a shadowy figure dashed past him and he tried to keep up, but his fear was evident when the figure opened the door and ran out, evading those infected beyond. Greg advanced, trying to force the door closed, but the infected were already entering, so he backed away, umbrella at the ready, but there were several of them. A screech from behind made him turn to spot a girl, about ten, running into the kitchen. Cursing, Greg followed, knowing he had to keep her protected.

She stumbled to a halt as a tall woman stumbled towards her. A trail of white foam and black toxins dripping from the woman's broken jaw as she shuffled straight for the girl, her eyes blankly staring. The girl curled up, when Greg arrived and pushed the woman back. He struggled with the woman and he cringed as he realized some of the others were approaching from behind. The girl was practically holding on to him for dear life, but he smiled in relief as Joshua called for him. In an instant, Joshua dashed in and shot a bullet into each of the infected's heads.

"Are you alright?" Joshua asked, looking around to ensure there are none left.

"I'm fine." Greg said, looking at the girl: "Are you okay, little miss?"

"I-I-I'm fine." She said, and walked off.

"What ARE those things?" Greg asked.

"I'm not sure." Joshua answered. Whatever they are, we need to get out of here before we end up like that."

"Joshua, we've got to get that girl and everyone else out of here." Greg said as the two headed back to the lobby. A group of men had managed to close the door. "I know it's risky with the thousands out there, but if we don't-"

"Greg." Joshua said, placing his hand on Greg's shoulder. "As much as I know you're right, we can't do anything so risky. You, Jane and I are used to dangerous situations and having to move around quickly, but we can't just leave with everyone. Most won't survive."

"You mean you can leave this place anytime you wish for it?"

Turning, Joshua and Greg spotted a group of people had arrived at the lobby. Among them, four seniors; three babies and two kids (Leonard an the girl Greg had saved.) A long, drawn out silence surrounded them, as Joshua, remembering his military training, said:

"Yes, I can." He glanced at Jane. "And I've got a plan."