W.T. RAMSEY

Chapter 1

A light rain began to fall on the warm pavement creating a smell reminiscent to a damp basement.  Except for the slight patter of rain and the rustling of dried leaves in the breeze, the once bustling town square remained silent and cold; the buildings abandoned long ago.  Along the main street lay the tracks where the Metra used to run, one of the trains stood still on the tracks not too far away to the East.  On the other side of the tracks, in the center of the square, sat a fountain that no longer sprayed water into the air but had become a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Some cars were parked along the side of the street but others sat in the middle of the road, many with the doors still open from when they were discarded.  On a normal Saturday, this place would have been filled with people going to the small shops or else wandering the Farmers Market erected near the fountain in search of fruits, vegetables, and jams.  Now it was all left to decay.

A figure covered in black gear crept along the roof of a nearby two-story building overlooking the square and laid down next to another.  “Night’s approaching quick.  If we don’t get out of here now we’re good as dead.”  His whisper could barely be heard over the light rain.

“We’re not leaving.  Six of our men are trapped on the other side and we’re not going anywhere without them,” replied a female voice.  She rolled to her stomach and used her elbows to slightly prop herself in order to take a glance over the edge of the building down into the square, hoping that the darkening storm clouds overhead would shield her silhouette should anyone look up.

“There’s not enough time.  You’re risking the lives of twenty others to save six.  They knew what they were getting into.  We all take this chance when we sign on for any mission.”  His whisper didn’t conceal his anger but there was a nervousness about it as well.  He too propped himself up and took a look into the quiet square below.  After a couple minutes of silence between them, and as the rain and wind began to pick up, he added, “I don’t see anyone else.  What if they were to make a run for it?”

She continued staring, unmovable like a statue except for her narrow eyes that darted back and forth.  In a low, long whisper she let out a “No, they’re here.”  She rolled over to her back to keep out of sight along the short wall along the edge of the roof of which they hid behind.

He continued looking through the square for any sign of movement but was unable to see any.  “Where?”

She looked up at the storm clouds above and spoke in a whisper.  “At least three by the train.”  He looked to the East where the train sat still on the track but still found nothing.  “Two in the first floor of the building across from us.”  He looked to the Italian restaurant that sat across the way but couldn’t see anything in the darkness through the broken windows.  “And four more to the West, hidden by the trees.”  Again, he was unable to see what she was seeing.

She sighed and took a glance at her watch.  “We don’t have a choice.”  She laid out a plan to him and he quickly crawled away.  Slowly turning back over, she looked across the courtyard to the street that ran north away from them.  On the corner sat the Italian restaurant where two were hidden but three buildings past that on the other side of the street were six of her men.  To the West, a dark storm was quickly blowing their way.  This was supposed to be a simple operation but this cloud cover had ruined their plans.

The other figure crawled back, keeping low to avoid being spotted.  He lay down next to her and whispered, “Everyone’s getting in place.  Two more minutes.”  They both looked over the edge into the courtyard below and waited as the rain turned into a downpour.  It was getting harder to see across the square but there was no doubt in her mind that they were out there.

In the distance an engine could be heard steadily growing louder.  On the street next to the building they lay on top of and into the square in front of them, a growing light began to cut through the rain.  Suddenly a van roared into the square, its bright headlights shining ahead to illuminate the square.  It bumped over the train tracks at a fast enough speed that the front end hit the ground sending sparks flying.  For a moment it looked like the driver might lose control of the vehicle but quickly regained it and the engine revved up to regain the lost speed from the tracks.

As it headed northward two figures exited the Italian Restaurant and began running after it.  They moved with intense speed, one catching the backside and jumping onto the bumper.  Behind the van another vehicle sped into the square.  It was a black truck with bright blue headlights.  As it rumbled across the tracks, the light was transferred between the sky and ground and back up to where it shown on the back side of the van.  The figure holding on screamed in pain as parts of it turned to ash.  It let go of the van and fell to the ground.

The other figure dove out of the way and prepared to grab the truck from the side as more figures came from all around.  Six jumped from the train and were running down the tracks towards the commotion.  Ten more came from near the trees that she had pointed to before, and from the buildings around the square a few more began running towards the truck.  The passenger window and back windows were open and gun fire shot out of them spraying the mass that tore after the truck.  Two were able to jump into the back but they were quickly shot down, the bodies falling out of the truck and rolling on the pavement.  The bullets would put them down temporarily but within another second they were up again running after the van and truck as they took off north past the two-story brick building where part of their team was hidden.

The noise of the van and truck faded as they sped away with a mass of dark figures running behind them and soon, besides the distance sound of gunfire and patter of rain, the square was back to being silent and still.  The woman, still peering over the rooftop, lifted a walkie talkie to her lips and pressed a button on the side.  “We’ve got you covered, head south to the pickup point,” she spoke into it.

She watched the door as a man exited and stepped to the side with his gun raised ready for an attack, then waived his hand to signal to the rest to head out.  Five more emerged and began sprinting down the street towards the square.  The sixth one followed behind, checking over his shoulder as they ran.  They neared the fountain when the tallest one stopped and faced the trees to the West; he waived the others on before raising his gun and firing bullets along with a steady stream of blue light from a flashlight attached to the gun, into the trees.  Blood curdling screams came from out of sight.

The last one in the group took another look over his shoulder and turned to fire his gun back in the direction from which they’d come.  From the rooftops on the woman’s left and right, guns began to fire.  She lifted herself up and raised her own to look through the scope.  There were dozens of them running below the branches of the trees towards the six men on the ground.  She wanted to yell to them to run faster but they didn’t need telling.

Lights from the ends of guns were like searchlights through the rain.  She watched as the last guy broke from his position and began running.  He caught up to the one firing into the trees and pushed him along then took his place firing his gun back and forth into the trees then back to the street.  Like out of a horror movie, figures moved in from both directions.  Four of her men were now out of sight on the street next to the building she was atop and the fifth wasn’t far behind them.

She stopped firing to grab the walkie talkie again, “Get out of there.”  She knew the last man still on the street heard her command but he wasn’t breaking away.  It was too late anyway, the best he could do was hold them off for the rest to get out before they were overtaken.  She pressed the button again and gave the fated command, “evacuate now!”  Gunfire died down and the rest of her team on the rooftops began running.  She herself ran southward to a ladder than took her from a two story building down to the one-story next to it, she leapt the last six rungs to save time.

“Please don’t let them have me.”  She heard it in her earpiece and ran to the edge of the building where she could barely see him past the building to her right, knowing what she had to do.  She swung the gun from her shoulder and raised the scope to her eye.  Within the cross-lines of her scope she could see him still near the train tracks firing his gun at the figures that charged him from the North and West.  Quickly with one hand she wiped the rain out of her eye to get better sight.  Her finger pulled the trigger and she knew without looking that her accuracy hadn’t faltered and it had been a clean shot.  The lone man’s gun from the middle of the square went silent.

Within a second the gun was back over her shoulder and she was sprinting across rooftops, the swarm heading towards the street next to her.  In the time it had taken her to stop and fire her gun, the others had reached the trucks and she could hear the engines starting up.  “We’re waiting for you,” came a voice into her earpiece.

“There’s not enough time, go!”  She yelled back.  The figures were running the same direction and were almost parallel with her in the street below.  “Go NOW!”  She yelled again and could hear an engine rev up and tires squeal.  She was at the last building before the alley where the truck had been parked.  Other trucks were already pulled out heading South.

She ran to the edge of the building and leapt without taking a look, hoping her ears weren’t misguiding her.  Below, the last truck swung out of the alley and she fell into the backend, her body slamming into the wheel well.  The wind had been knocked out of her but she scrambled to reach for her gun as they were overtaken.

One jumped into the back end of the truck with her and she quickly shown the flashlight mounted to her gun into its face.  Before the burn took place she caught a glimpse of two fangs that hung out of its mouth.  It put both hands over its face and she kicked it, causing it to lose balance and fall over the side.  More leapt onto the tailgate.  “Get down!”  A voice yelled from the cab of the truck.

She let her body go limp and fall to the bed of the truck as gunfire exploded overhead.  Using her arms to cover her head she risked peeking out to see the bodies falling off the tailgate of the truck.  “Hold on!”  She heard someone call from inside the cab and felt her weight shift as the truck turned a corner at high speed.  The tires screeched on the wet pavement and the back end of the truck slid.  Her body was thrown into the cover of the wheel well on the other side and then slid towards the tailgate.

The sudden change in direction and loss of speed caused some of the ones chasing the truck to run into the side.  She ignored the pain and quickly grabbed the gun she had dropped to aim back at the pursuers.  Four had managed to latch onto the truck and were climbing into the backend with her as the truck struggled to regain control and began speeding up again.  The recoil from the gun made it hard to handle laying the way she was but she managed to shoot two down with bullets and light before another grabbed her ankle and yanked her to the back of the truck.  The strength of the hand felt like it might crush the bone but she turned the pain into anger and managed to swing the gun upward.

It screamed as the light burned its flesh yet the grip on her ankle barely slackened.  She aimed the gun to shoot it through the head but it used its other hand to grab the end and push it away.  He suddenly yanked the gun out of her hand and threw it over the side of the speeding truck.  With lightning speed he lowered himself onto her, pinning her to the bed of the truck.  Two fangs slid down from his top row of teeth and he moved towards her neck.

The truck suddenly began swerving violently back and forth causing them to roll back and forth.  It was just enough for the other to lose his balance and fall off the back.  She attempted to push the one on top or her away with all her strength but was no match.  The truck continued to swing back and forth and they rolled.  Her head hit the side and everything felt dimmed for a second but she remained conscious and continued her fight to survive.

The man on top of her yelled out as light passed over him.  He was close enough that the smell of burnt flesh filled her nostrils.  His grip finally slackened enough for her to push him away.  Gun fire broke out and she curled into a ball to get clear.  The gunfire stopped and a voice called into the back, “push the body out.”

She shuffled to the back of the truck and opened the gate.  Looking back to the body in the back of the truck with her was a grisly sight.  It was filled with bullet holes leaking blood.  Its arms had streaks of ash from where it was burned but its head was unrecognizable.  It had been shot so many times that the skull was collapsed and the face torn apart.  She climbed to the top and used her feet to kick it towards the back where it rolled off the end and into the street.  Less than a block back more figures were running after the truck but the distance was growing as the truck gained more speed.

Chapter 2

The woman crawled towards the cab and sat with her back against the front end of the truck bed to catch her breath.  Her hand came up to her neck to feel around for any wounds.  She turned around to the open window of the cab and raised her face to the sky.  “Any bite marks?”  She called in to the other passengers.

The one at the back window lowered his gun.  “Nothing on your neck, but you have a nasty gash on your forehead.”  She didn’t need telling as the warm blood trickled down the side of her head, distinct against the cool rain.

The truck bounced along the torn streets as the storm picked up.  She sat in the back, wincing as each bump causing more pain to her tender ribcage where she had slammed into the wheel well.  The cab protected her from most of the wind and rain but it had a calming effect.  It didn’t take long to reach the interstate but it was nearly an hour before the truck, along with the four others it followed, reached their destination.

A gate opened in the fence that surrounded the small complex of cement buildings and they pulled through.  The convoy of trucks proceeded to the third of four buildings and a garage door opened allowing them entrance.

The truck parked along a line of other vehicles and she jumped out of the back as the others climbed out of the cab and they were greeted by four armed guards.  “Rachel, you’re needed in the briefing room for questioning,” one of the guards announced.

Rachel Morgan began peeling off her heavy military gear until she was left in boots, black pants, and a tight blue t-shirt.  Standing at 5’8 and being a slender 27 year old, it was a surprise she could hold all that gear, but no one had ever heard a complaint from her.  She used her hands to ring the rain water out of a short brown ponytail.  Her bright blue eyes revealed exhaustion as she sighed.  “Not now, I need medical attention and to be placed in isolation.  It’s been an hour since contact without any sign of change but its protocol.”  

The guard looked at the gash in her forehead and raised his gun.  “I trust you know the way.”  He followed her with the gun raised as she walked to the end of the garage where a cage with metal bars had been erected.  Another guard came over and unlocked the door to let her in as the only person in the makeshift prison.  The loud snap of the door locking shut echoed against the walls.

Within a couple minutes a doctor was summoned over.  “Please hold your arm through the bars.”  He withdrew a needle and approached.  The guard kept his gun poised on Rachel’s head as the doctor withdrew some blood from her forearm and handed it off to another guard who walked away with it.

“We’ll have that analyzed within twenty minutes.  What was the matter of contact?”  He asked.

“My head hit the side of the truck causing the cut.  We were wrestling at the time but I don’t think there was any contact.  However, I was in the bed of the truck with blood from one they shot.  Some of it got on me but I can’t be sure how much or where it touched.”

The doctor sighed.  “I don’t think you should worry, if you haven’t shown any signs yet there’s a good chance you’ll be fine.  Any other injuries?”

She lifted her shirt to show bruises covering her side.  With one hand, Rachel gingerly felt around.  “It doesn’t seem like I broke any ribs but they’re pretty sore.”

“I’ll get you something for the pain.”  The doctor said.

“No thanks, just get me some something to clean up the cut on my head and some butterfly bandages to hold it together.”  The doctor walked off and the guard lowered his gun but stayed close. 

Rachel slowly lowered herself into a sitting position against the bars comprising the back of the cage where she could see the length of the garage they were in.  It was maybe a hundred yards long and two stories tall.  All along one side were trucks, Humvees, and vans.  On the other side were shelves full of bins and supplies and cages used for anything from food storage to weapons and ammunition.  People bustled back and forth moving supplies and maintaining vehicles.  Her team was already busy checking weapons and moving bins from the trucks to the appropriate cages.  It was odd to think about this place as home, but ever since the outbreak, this was the closest thing to it.

The first weekend of November, just over ten months ago, people had begun filling the hospitals in droves in eight major US cities.  At first, Doctors labeled it as an outbreak of a yet unknown strain of Meningitis, but soon found out it was something much more horrifying.  Rachel remembered the chaos as the first one to show the truth of what the disease was, appeared on television.

It was as if everyone in the hospital stopped what they were doing to watch the television as a man grew fangs from his mouth in what was called an attack on the Vice President of the United States.  Rachel had lived in the Midwest her whole life and remembered once during a terrible storm as a kid when the wind died down and the rain and hail stopped.  It lasted less than a minute as everything seemed frozen in time right before all hell broke loose and a tornado just barely missed her town.  She’d heard this referred to as ‘the calm before the storm’ and she had a similar feeling as people stopped to watch the television.

Terror broke out as patients grew fangs and began attacking other patients and hospital staff.  Rachel had never believed them to be real, just make-believe legends, but suddenly they were thrust into reality and the world was turned upside down.  The shadow-dwellers had taken over. 

They looked just like any other person but moved with incredible speed, had far superior strength to that of any human, and appeared to have heightened senses.  Their only weakness appeared to be ultraviolet light and many burst into flames and ash as they ventured into the sun.  The only safety for those not affected was in the daylight but when night approached they would be mercilessly hunted.

The World Health Organization, which had been closely watching the supposed meningitis outbreak, had begun turning back all planes and ships to the United States to prevent a global outbreak.  As news broke about what was actually happening, it was initially greeted with skepticism, but quickly turned to fear as proof spread.

For a period, the world was on edge about what to do.  Emergency meetings were held among the leaders of every foreign world power on what the next steps would be and within weeks, fields of giant lamps shining ultraviolet light were erected along the borders of Canada and Mexico and the building of two walls began with record speed.  In an unprecedented display of foreign power to work together, the walls were erected within a month and a half.  On both sides of the wall were permanent spotlights illuminating a hundred yards of landscape with UV light.  It was large enough to be seen from space as white strips along the United States borders with Mexico and Canada.

Checkpoints were erected at various areas along the walls to accept refugees.  To come through, people had to pass through the light and were quarantined while blood tests were done to ensure zero infection.  When the checkpoints first opened, hundreds of thousands attempted to get through, but the process was slow and makeshift camps were setup for those waiting their turn to cross the border.  It didn’t take long for the shadow-dwellers to find these camps.  The refugees attempting to escape were like sitting ducks to the carnage that ensued.  The camps were taken over by the shadow-dwellers who waited for others attempting escape. 

At the same time the walls were being built, militaries from all over the globe sent warships to patrol the waters outside the United States creating a sort of blockade.  All boats and planes were ordered to turn back immediately.  The planes that refused were shot from the sky and all ships were blown apart with torpedoes.  It was a harrowing time as survivors swam to the hulls of the warships and begged to be let on board.    A tolerance of no mercy was accepted in order to protect the rest of the world.  The United States was officially closed off and those left behind had to fend for themselves.

The cities became breeding grounds for shadow-dwellers which quickly spread to the suburbs.  People fled to the countryside for seclusion.  While many of the demons remained in the cities, others left in pursuit of the rest.  By the next spring it seemed there were very few survivors left.