Contagion: The Rising (6 page)

They
reached the steel door of the bunker as Mark used the handle of the rifle to
knock on the door. Noises from the door scared Mark and he backed up as it
slowly opened. They were met by Jeremiah and his rifle aimed at them.

“Mark!”
Jeremiah dropped his aim and he grabbed his hand to shake. Mark stood in
temporary shock as the handshake woke him up. “Long time, man.” Jeremiah smiled
as he shifted his glance back to Rory. A look of worry took over his face,
“What happened? Where’s Emma?” He set his rifle aside.

“We
need your help,” Mark sighed. “Emma was shot.”

Jeremiah
looked over at the truck and saw Sarah, “I’ll get the stretcher.” They walked
in after Jeremiah and followed him to the main room of the bunker. Tony walked
down the corridor with Kayla.

“Mark,
nice to see you again. I wish the circumstances were different.”

“Me,
too.”

“What
have you done to help her already?” Tony asked as Jeremiah wheeled in Emma and
checked her vital signs.

“Just
put pressure,” Sarah said as she stood in shock.

“She’s
got a weak pulse,” Jeremiah frowned and looked over to Sarah.

“How
long has it been?” Jeremiah asked.

“It’s
been about an hour, maybe less than that,” Mark answered.

“Okay,
we have to see if the bullet went straight through,” Tony shifted his arms as
he helped Jeremiah turn her over.

Jeremiah
sighed and felt relieved, “Yep, it looks like it did.” Dani walked over to
Jeremiah and helped push the gurney into the medical room. They transitioned
over to the medical room and watched as Kayla hooked up Emma to the heart rate
monitor. Sarah stood near the other gurney with Rory as they waited to see if Emma
would respond to anything.

“Her
heart rate is too irregular,” Jeremiah motioned for Kayla.

“I’ll
get the defibulator,” she said as she ran over to the other room and brought it
over.

They hooked
her up to the machine. “Her heart isn’t beating correctly, so we have to shock
it in order to get it back into a rhythm.” Jeremiah explained to Sarah. “See?
Okay, in one. Two. Three.” Emma’s body twitched as Jeremiah pressed the button.
“Alright, one more time. One. Two.” Sarah closed her eyes as Rory held her.
“Three.” Emma’s body moved as the monitor sounded more in rhythm. “It looks
like it worked. We’ll keep an eye on her and make sure it stays regular. Since
she’s a diabetic, the healing process isn’t going to be as forgiving as it
would be for the rest of us.”

Tony
ran out and brought in an oxygen tank, “Here, let’s hook her up.”

“Can I
stay here with her?” Sarah asked as she looked up at Tony.

“Of
course,” Tony glanced at Sarah. “She spoke about you a lot.”

Sarah
broke her stare and half smiled, “Really? I’m sure it’s all bad.”

Tony
smiled, “No, at least, not yet.”

“Don’t
mind him,” Kayla nudged him.

Tony
and Kayla left the room as Mark stood outside. Rory looked at Sarah, “I’ll be
waiting outside with Mark, I’m sure you want to be with her.”

She
nodded and hugged him, “I love you.” He smiled as he mouthed the words, “I love
you too.

Jeremiah
checked the monitors as Dani adjusted the oxygen mask on Emma’s face carefully.
“These things get so uncomfortable after a while.”

“Thanks
for doing that,” Sarah looked down as both Dani and Jeremiah left the room. She
sat in silence and continued to look at Emma. “Even when you’re quiet in the
room, you’re still loud.” She said as she listened to the heart monitor. “They
really care, don’t they?” Sarah looked over at the door as Jeremiah passed by.
“I think he likes you.” She snickered as her sister’s heart rate slightly
quickened, “You’re happy when I’m happy.” Sarah sat back against the wall and
let her legs dangle from the bed. She hated the jeans she had on and figured
she’d trade with Emma a few weeks ago. “I never really understood why you like
these so much.”

Emma
exhaled, “because you hated them so much.”

“Emma!”
Sarah rushed over to her side. “Want me to call everyone over?”

Emma
slightly shook her head.

Sarah
laid her head on Emma’s shoulder, “I can’t lose you again.”  Emma’s eyes
widened as she couldn’t breathe. Sarah stood up and yelled for help. Emma
started coughing up blood that splattered within the oxygen mask she was
wearing and her heart rate was erratic and fast. Jeremiah ran in as Dani called
her parents over. Tony and Kayla held down Emma legs as she easily kicked them
away. Her eyes turned from blue to milky white and her voice quickly changed
into a screech. Sarah stayed back as she watched Emma attack Jeremiah and throw
both Kayla and Tony out of the room.

“Emma,
please,” Sarah reached for her hand. Emma recognized her and became quiet like Parker
was towards Trevor. However, as soon as Rory entered the room, she jumped onto
him and bit into his throat. Rory fell towards Sarah and attempted to grab her
extended hand.

Sarah
screamed as she suddenly woke up as she fell off of the gurney and onto the
ground. She looked around for both Jeremiah’s and Rory’s bodies before finally
relaxing. “It was just a dream.” She listened to her sister’s normal heart rate
and took a deep breath. “It was just a fucking dream,” she exhaled with
frustration and checked Emma to make sure she was okay.

“I
really wish you can hear me right now, Emma,” Sarah pleaded as she held onto
her hand. She noticed that they had their mother’s hands. She thought it was
funny, since she couldn’t really remember much of anything else regarding her
mother. She was in and out of their lives pretty quickly before the Risers. Emma
had picked up where their mother left off and ended up raising her when she was
around ten. Sarah couldn’t figure out how she was able to do that, but Emma
managed to do fairly well. When Ryan found them, they were on their last bit of
food and he knew that their father was out of the picture for a while, at least
mentally.

Emma
squeezed her hand, “Who can sleep with you talking all the time?” She smiled,
“Is everyone okay?”

Sarah
nodded, “We’re all fine. Please don’t ever leave me again.”

“I
can’t promise anything that but I’ll try.”

“I
wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

“I’m
sure you would. You’re a lot smarter and tougher than you’re letting yourself
be.” Emma poked her forehead, “Now, can I get some food?” Sarah laughed. “I’m
hungry.”

“I
think that’s a sign of you getting better.”

Jeremiah
looked up from his outdated lab equipment, and over towards the direction of
the triage room. Mark noticed the movement, “What’s with the sudden interest in
Emma?”

He
blushed and tightened his jaw. He moved the lens of the microscope, “It wasn’t
sudden. She’s just an interesting person.” He cleared his throat, “What I mean
is that this whole thing is interesting.”

Rory
looked at the old sets of beakers and scales. A dot matrix printer sat next to
an old console and looked to have been used by some government agency in the
late seventies or mid-eighties. “Jeez. What a load of junk,” he said as he put
down a broken glass syringe.

“That
console will help us find out how Emma is doing by running a panel on her
blood.”

Rory
shrugged and walked away from the desk that was covered in water stained
printer paper.

“Sure,”
Mark crossed his arms and gave Jeremiah a stern look. Rory smiled as he watched
Jeremiah look at Mark.

“Hey
man, what does this do?” Rory pressed a button that turned the centrifuge on.
“Whoa.” Jeremiah smirked and turned off the centrifuge without looking.

Sarah
walked in and scolded them, “You guys leave him alone. Besides, there’s some
food ready so I’m sure you’d like to get a plate. I think Tony cooked some
vegetables, I forgot what they’re called again.”

Without
looking up from the microscope, Jeremiah answered, “Broccoli.” He smiled and
watched as Mark looked away and followed Rory out of the room.

Sarah
walked over, “Don’t let Mark get to you.”

“Oh, I
know how he is. We all go a ways back,” Jeremiah wrote on a nearby steno pad.
“Are they a ‘thing’?”

Sarah
smirked and shook her head, “Personal interest?”

He
smiled, “I was just wondering.” He stood up and stretched, “You better get some
food before it’s gone. Dani may look small but she can eat a whole lot.”

“I’m
heading over right now,” she stopped at the entrance of the door. “Thank you
for doing this.” She left before he could answer her. He figured he’d need to
check Emma before getting some food, so he brought along his steno pad and
pencil.

Emma
looked up at the ceiling and visualized shapes moving around above her.
Jeremiah walked in and watched as she was grasping at the ceiling.

“Morphine,
it’s a hell of a drug,” he grabbed a stool and rolled it over.

Her
eyes remained wide, “Is that what’s causing this?” She winced as she thought
one of the shapes was about to hit her.

“Yeah,
don’t worry. You can tell those shapes to leave you alone so I can check your
eyes and vitals.”

She
looked up nervously, “Please go away.” He frowned as he saw her concern of the
shapes hitting her was more of a fear than he had first thought.

“I’m
sorry, I should’ve told you that a little sooner than I did,” he held her arm
still and placed the blood pressure cuff on her. He felt for her pulse as the
cuff tightened. He counted the beats as he looked at his watch and let out some
of the air from the contraption.

“Do you
even know if that thing is right?” she sounded a bit more lucid as she looked
down at his watch.

“I
don’t really use it to tell time anymore. It just keeps ticking though, so I
use it to count things out, like your heart rate. Your blood pressure looks
good so far. Let’s check your blood sugar, okay?” He reached into his pocket
and retrieved the monitor. She grabbed the lancelet and jabbed her index
finger. The machine beeped as her blood seeped into the test strip. “100. Not
bad.”

“Where’d
you get all these diabetic testing supplies?

“We
found a warehouse full of unused medical equipment by the bay,” Jeremiah
smiled. “You can still eat if you want to.”

“No,
Rory brought me a bowl of some noodle stuff. I haven’t had noodles in so long.
I nearly forgot that they look like worms.”

“Yeah
they do.” He put the monitor away and grabbed his steno pad. “I’m glad that
you’re feeling better. I’m hoping you’ll be able to eat more soon.” He wrote
down a few notes as she relaxed.

“I’m
hoping that I can. I miss junk food.”

“Nope,
no junk food, at least for a while,” he motioned for her to move her arm and
checked on her stomach wound. “I think I did fairly well closing that up. Can
you turn over?”

She
nodded and complied. “These bandages itch a lot.”

“Yeah,
I had to use a lot of gauze to allow you to lie on your back without too much
pain or discomfort.”

Her
eyes dulled as she stared forward.

“What’s
wrong?” Jeremiah looked around.

“I
forgot about my shoulder,” she winced in pain.

“Sorry,
let me check that too.” He peeled back the bandage and found that the ragged
skin turned pink but oozed some dark blood. “Let me get a few things to clean
it out.” He stepped out and grabbed the first aid kit near the door. “It’s just
draining so we have to keep it cleaner than we had been.” He gave her a look.

“What?”
she innocently deflected the look he gave her and shrugged. “Ouch.”

“Exactly,”
he smiled as she stared at him.

“Thanks,”
she returned the smile as he stepped back.

He
slightly blushed. “Please. I like helping out. Now, if we can get you to change
this bandage regularly, you should be fine.”

She
shook her head, “Not happening.”

He
headed towards the door, “Let me know if you need anything else.” He walked out
and stood outside for a few seconds. He decided to skip out on eating and
headed back to the lab.

She
sighed as she laid there and wondered if she didn’t make herself look too
helpless. She definitely felt like she was but she’s been through hell. Emma
never thought she’d want to be close to anyone, but it seemed as if Jeremiah
really cared. She immediately stopped herself from drawing any conclusions,
“he’s just being nice.”  She turned over and faced the wall. 

Chloe
slowly opened her eyes and felt for her head. The blood still oozed from her
temple as she cursed under her breath. She yelped as her hand brushed against
the welt under eye. The silence in the barn was disturbed by her groaning as
she attempted to stand up. “Trevor?” She looked around but only found what
appeared to be Parker’ body near the entrance of the barn. She walked outside
and headed toward the silo. Trevor stood near his bed as Chloe walked in.

“You’re
finally awake,” Trevor turned around as he stitched up the gunshot wound on the
left side of his abdomen.

Her
eyes remained on his wound, “Are you okay? It looks like it might be infected.”
The wound looked like it was still oozing blood and the stitches made the
irritated skin puff out around it.

“It’s
fine,” he said as he pulled down his bloodied white shirt. “I tried following
them, but couldn’t keep up with Mark’s driving.” His suspenders hung loose
behind him as she looked for a weapon of some kind.

“You
should really think about lying down or getting some rest,” she saw the shovel
near him.

“I’m
actually feeling better than I’ve ever had,” he rolled his sleeves up as he
covered the scratch he received from Parker. It looked inflamed, unnaturally
purple and dark. He winced at the thought of Parker being killed and walked
over to Chloe. She backed up towards the silo wall and braced herself for any
attack he was planning. He touched her shoulders as she flung herself back
against the wall and slid down. Trevor shook his head and helped her up.

“I’m
not going to hurt you,” he backed away as soon as she was back on her feet. He
looked down at her dress, “You need to dress for a mission, Chloe.” He walked
over to his brother’s footlocker and grabbed a pair of pants. “Here. I’m sure
you have boots and a shirt to go along with that.” She gathered the clothes and
stepped out to change. He turned away from her as she walked out.

Trevor
sat down on his bed and ran his hands through his dirty hair. “I’m pretty sure
you have the same thing in mind,” he yelled over to Chloe who walked in,
dressed and ready to go.

“Well,
what are we waiting for then?”

Trevor
smiled and motioned towards the barn, “We’ve got supplies in there and a few
guns. I’m sure they won’t be expecting us for a while.” His face twitched as
his hand cramped up. He quickly turned away as the look of pain he was
suppressing took over his face. The wave of pain cascaded through his body and
he was left with a dull headache. He turned back around to face Chloe. “Let’s
go.” Chloe nervously smiled as she followed him over to the barn.

 Everyone
took turns to keep an eye outside of the bunker. The rotation included two
people on watch for about 4 hours each. The watchers remained close to the hill
and stayed hidden within the grassy bushes while scouting the valley. The first
couple on watch was Rory and Sarah. Rory sat near Sarah as she scanned the land
below them with Jeremiah’s binoculars.

“What
are you looking for?”

“I
don’t know. Movement of some kind?”

“And do
you see anything?”

“No,” Sarah
dropped the binoculars and handed them to Rory. She leaned on him as he stood
still looking at the land in front of them. “I’m hoping they’re both dead.”

“They
might as well be,” Rory put the binoculars down. “Emma beat the crap out of Chloe.”

“Yeah,”
Sarah looked slightly worried. “I’ve never seen that side of her before.”

“Emma
was protecting you.”

“No, I
meant Chloe,” Sarah touched her throat. “I know she was mourning her husband,
but I had no idea she had that much hate towards us. It wasn’t just hate
though. It seemed more like an act of desperation.”

Rory
gave a confused look, “What do you mean?”

“I
don’t know. She just didn’t seem like how she was before.”

“I
wouldn’t think so. The love of her life saved your sister and got blasted,”
Rory stared at the valley ahead of him.

Sarah
shrugged, “It wasn’t Emma’s fault.”

“No,
but you both were involved,” Rory looked at Sarah. “I think she wanted to just
get even with someone.”

               
Emma sprang up in the bed and instantly felt the pain from her stomach. “Damn
it!” She tried to calm her stomach muscles but it was too late.

Jeremiah
rushed in, “Emma, are you okay?” He looked drowsy and half asleep.

“Were
you sleeping in the hallway?”

He
nodded and turned red, “I just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay, and in
case you need help.”

Emma
smiled and shifted the bandages along her stomach.

“Let me
help you,” he grabbed the first aid kit and attempted to lift the tape from her
skin gently. “Sorry.”

Emma
winced and looked on, “It’s okay, just pull it all at once.”

Jeremiah
pulled on the tape which caused Emma to jump and curse.

“No
more tape. Please,” she squeaked out as he replaced the soiled gauze with fresh
ones.

“Okay,
should be good for a while,” he turned and walked towards the door.

Emma
quickly recovered from the pain, “You can sleep in here if you want to. I mean,
since Sarah’s out with Rory on duty.” She cleared her throat, “That bed should
be free.”

He
looked confused and his face flushed, “Sure, I’d like to. I can keep an eye on
your vitals and monitor your heart. Yeah, that works.” He went out to the
hallway and retrieved his sleeping bag. He got the bed ready and laid down in
the gurney. “Wake me up if anything comes up. Questions? Comments?” They both
laughed.

“Thanks,”
she turned over to face him. “I know this is probably a bit premature, but is
there any way to know why I’m not a Riser yet?”

He sat
up with an arm propping up his head, “I wish I knew for sure, but since your
blood is abnormal, the virus might not survive for too long in it. There might
be a small range of blood sugar that it thrives in. The only way we’d know for
sure is to drop someone’s sugar low with insulin, granted if they’re
non-diabetic, and see if that would either delay or eradicate the virus
completely. All of this would have to happen pretty quickly, since it’s
dangerous to have low blood sugar.”

“I wish
I could volunteer as a control subject for that, but I’m pretty sure you guys
would hate that idea.”

He
nodded, “Your sister wouldn’t be too happy with you. Besides that, we don’t
have a base reading to compare to.”

“Well,
I’ll let you get to sleep,” Emma yawned and turned over. “I really appreciate
you being in here with me.”

“Have a
good night,” Jeremiah laid back on the gurney and stared at the ceiling. He
listened to her heart monitor and let beeping lull him back to sleep.

Mark
tapped Sarah on the shoulder to let her know it was time to switch. She stood
up and walked over to Rory who was sleeping in a sleeping bag. “Just let him
sleep. I’ll keep an eye on him,” Mark sat next to Rory and motioned for Sarah
to go inside. She smiled and opened the steel door slowly. She walked in to the
bunker and nearly ran into Dani.

“Crap,”
Dani dropped a tool to the ground. “I’m so sorry.”

Sarah
helped Dani pick up the tool, “It’s cool. Are you okay?” She held the tool in
her hands as Dani looked embarrassed.

“I made
it,” she blushed. “It’s a sort of hand saw that’s hidden under a sleeve on your
arm. I’ve got it on a spring to activate when you move a small lever. See?” She
demonstrated for Sarah and showed her the lock that held the spring in. The
movement was quiet and seemed like it would work great while sneaking onto a
Riser filled area.

“Wow, I
like it. Have you tried it out?” Sarah watched as Dani’s smile disappeared.

“No,
unfortunately, my parents won’t let me venture out as much as I used to,” she
looked on disapprovingly. “It’s not fair since I’m older, but I get why they’re
doing it. It just sucks.”

“Yeah, Emma
used to keep me inside all the time,” Sarah half smiled. “I never fully forgave
her for it, either.” Dani looked confused as Sarah moved the lever on the
weapon. “I was always so upset to never be allowed to go scavenging with her. I
was a lot smaller than her, even though I’m only 2 years younger.”

“She
tried to protect you,” Dani closed the weapon.

“She
always does,” Sarah shifted her focus towards the end of the hallway. She laughed
to herself, “Where’s Jeremiah?”

Dani
smirked, “he’s sleeping in your bed. I never thought he’d ever like anyone as
much as he likes your sister.”

“Is
there another bed I can sleep in?”

“Yeah,
I think there’s a gurney in the lab, unless you want mine. I can take the lab.”

“No,
it’s okay. I should be fine.”

“Alright,
he’s got extra blankets in there too since it gets a little colder than usual,”
Dani turned to walk away.

Sarah
walked over to the triage room and checked on Emma. The heart monitor continued
to beep and she relaxed as she watched her sister was quietly sleeping. The
sight of the wounds on her sister’s body angered her and she resented being the
reason for both painful reminders of how she’s failed Emma. She looked away and
walked to the lab. The bed looked awkward and out of place next to the old lab
equipment. She threw her pillow on it and covered up with some blankets. She
shivered for a few seconds before falling asleep.

Tony
joined Mark outside as Rory woke up from sleeping on the ground. Mark nodded to
Rory, “Sarah’s inside, should be sleeping already.”

“She’s
in the lab,” Tony said as he sat near Mark. “Oh. It gets pretty cold in there
so plenty of blankets on the corner of the hallway for you guys.”

Rory
nodded and stumbled back inside the bunker.

Tony
took the binoculars from Mark and looked at the valley. “Nothing yet, huh?”

Mark
shook his head, “I’m sure they’ll try something, just not sure what or how.”

“Well,
all we can do is prepare and wait it out,” Tony gave the binoculars back to Mark.

Mark
looked at the dark valley below. The moon remained full and lit up the entire
highway. The various cars that were lined up on the sides of one of the bridges
were still as visible as were many parts of the road that were torn up and
uneven. It appeared that the forest attempted to take over the land it once
owned so long ago before important people decided to take over and make it
theirs. There was a slight breeze hitting them as they sat up above the land.
Tall grass and overgrown weeds swayed with the breeze and attempted to lull
them to sleep as the music of their swaying grew louder. Mark sat back and
listened to the slight movements of the grass around them. The distant howls
and screeches reached them, but Mark couldn’t decide if they were coming from
the North or Southeast directions. Tony yawned and stretched.

“You’re
not helping, man,” Mark copied Tony and yawned. “They’re contagious.”

“They’re
the only thing worth catching nowadays,” Tony smiled.

The
uneven land gave them an advantage to see everything that happened below
without being detected. A small crevice in the hill allowed for two people to
easily walk up and down quickly and quietly. The land sat still as the night
became mid-morning, and part of the sky remained nearly jet black as the light
of the sun colorized portions of it.

Trevor
kept sniffing around trying to get a scent for people. Dead, alive, reanimated
wandering dead heads, whichever came first. Chloe remained a few steps behind
as she regretted the moment she agreed to go on this hunt. She stopped and
checked her boots, “Ugh, can’t we stop for a second? My feet hurt from these
damned boots.”

Trevor
turned around quickly, nearly swivelling on his heels. “No,” he sniffed the air
and recognized a familiar smell. “Shut up!” He motioned for her to get down.
She groaned and crouched to the dirty forest ground. Chloe made an ugly face at
Trevor as he was facing away from her attempting to find something. “Don’t do
that or your face will stay that way.” She slowly stopped making the face and
sat back onto the ground.  He walked over to the tree furthest from them
and looked down at the valley in front of them. “Chloe, look!”

She got
up and sulked over to where he was standing, “What?”

He
rolled his eyes and moved her head, “There. Bandits ahead.”

“How do
you know? That looks like a military flag.” The outpost consisted of four green
tarps covering makeshift tents and two fire barrels. The entrance had a huge
pallet of wood with barbed wire loosely draped on it as well as a rotting
corpse. One of the three tarps looked like it had partially caved in and it was
being secured with something inside, most likely a wood plank. The awkward
shape of it’s roof made it stand out to Trevor. He allowed himself to smile and
thanked his luck.