“That’s what happens when we try and leave…you just fuckin’ saw it with your own two eyes.” He lets out a long sigh, and brushes his hair out of his face. “We missed the evacuation team a few days back, and now the city is locked down and there ain’t a single goddamned way to get out of it. Is everyone else catching my drift here?” He picked the table off the table and placed it at his table, mimicking the sound of a gunshot. “Only way, guys.”
They all looked around the room, from the consoles, computers, and microphones and then to each other. Chris clutched his deep bite, then hobbled over to the window and looked out.
was desolate, now. Just a week ago this street was packed with traffic, blaring horns, and people busily walking to and fro. Now, the few cars still left outside with dead, likely to never move from their respective spots again. The ground was pockmarked with scorches, the walls with bullet holes. Bodies were all around. In just a week the thin veil of society broke down into an animalistic nightmare of desperation. He went back over to his friends, looked Tommy in the eyes, and said “Me first.”
Three gunshots resounded through the studio, each followed by a small pause. And then, the studio fell quiet one last time.
1 Week Ago
“Alright, that was Screaming Hed Cheeze, with their new single ‘Why Can’t This
Be a Dream’. After the break, we have a great selection of songs comin’ at you from all the hottest local bands, sponsored by the upcoming Blast-Off Music Festival! We’d also like to remind you to stay safe out there, and wash your hands frequently. Don’t wanna catch that nasty flu that’s going around!”
Dean “Diamond” Richardson takes off his pair of headphones and places them on his desk. On it sits his portable AM/FM radio, which is always tuned to CLRB, the station where he works. While the show is on and not playing commercials, the radio plays the exact same thing he is saying or the song that’s playing, creating a weird echo effect that he, for some strange reason, loves.
Today traffic is light for
A man suddenly comes barging into the studio, a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. He is holding a piece of paper with just five lines on it in his right hand, a cigarette in his left.
“No songs after the break. Just read this, it’s probably the most important thing you’ll do in your entire worthless lives.” He hands the paper over to Chris, and then nearly runs out of the studio.
Christopher looks down at the paper, eyebrow raised at the frantic display. However, as his brain computes the information, his heart jumps into his throat. Dean and Tommy both were a little pissed by that guy’s ‘observation’ of their ‘worthless lives’.
“C’mon, let’s get ready. Commercials are almost over and we really have to read this.”
Chris sat back down at his station, and then hit the microphone button.
“We’re sorry for the interruption, but CLRB would like to bring you a special announcement, something we very rarely do here. Tommy, would you like to read?”
Tommy looked over at him and whispered, “What the fuck is wrong that you don’t want to read it, man? What’s so bad?” Chris just stared at him, and Tommy got the point. “Fine, man.”
Chris handed the paper over, then turned his head toward the window and waited for Tommy to read.
“Due to a recent outbreak of a flu-like disease, the
“After
Tommy turned the microphone off, and hung his head over it for a moment. Then, in a split second, he picked it up and launched it at the window, smashing it and sending glass raining down on the street.
“What the fuck?!” His voice reverberated through the studio, and then Tommy began to trash the room, picking up a chair and almost tossing it at a computer that, without it, would cause them to not be able to broadcast. In retrospect, Chris never should have tackled him to the floor.
“Calm down, you calm down right this second! Jesus Christ, I thought I was bad, but you just topped the charts. We’re still on air, too, you fuck wit, so pray you didn’t break anything important.” All the while Chris had a white-knuckled grip on Tommy’s collar, nose to nose with the man. “And why are you so angry? It’s the flu, not Smallpox.” Chris released his grip and let Tommy stand up, and as they walked back to their stations, he said, “I was going to see my mother tomorrow morning. She lives over in
Dean, still sitting at his chair after watching Tommy’s fit with a slight amusement, “What should we do?”
“What do you mean?” Tommy and Chris reply at the same time.
“Well, our shift doesn’t end until six, so we’re going to be stuck here at least for tonight. So what I mean is, should we stay here or attempt to get back home, and probably wind up arrested?”
“Oh. Well…I’m staying here.” Tommy says.
“Me too. I hate cops.” Chris chuckles a bit. “Should we start broadcasting again? I wanna check with the sound guy for a moment before we do.”
“Why’s that?” Dean asks.
“So he can tell me if anything got fucked up, of course. I mean, it didn’t look like Tommy did much, but better safe than sorry.”
“Uh, sure. I mean, we’ve already been silent for a few minutes. Another one won’t hurt much.”
Christopher left the room.
“Visiting your mother, eh? Is that true or were you just bullshitting your way out of an ass-kicking?”
“Nah, it’s true. She never got over the fact that I joined the Army without dad and hers permission, and every time I’ve seen her since she’s barely spoken a word to me. I figure that, she’s not getting any younger, you know? I should try to make peace with her before too much more time passes.”
“Well, looks like you’ll be waiting a bit longer, depending on how long this stupid quarantine lasts. Man, this whole thing reminds me of The Stand. The flue, the quarantine…”
Tommy chuckled a bit, and then said “Yeah well, quit reading your little books, man. I never read it but I’m still pretty sure the world ended in it or something.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, I’m wondering how bad it is, anyway. I don’t know anyone that’s been sick recently, so I have no clue what the symptoms could be or anything.”
“I do, though. My wife’s been pretty sick after some guy bit her a few days back. Been in bed all last night with a horrible fever, and she can’t talk anymore. More like just groaning.”
“Man, why are you even here this morning then? Between your mother and sick wife, you’d think a man would stay home and take care of things.”
“While she was still talking she pretty much forced me to come in today. Said something like ‘You shouldn’t be waiting on me hand and foot, blah blah blah.’ They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so why should I make her pissed off at me in the middle of being sick as a dog?”
“True…” Dean paused for a second to scratch his chin, a slight hint of stubble on it. “That’s really weird though. Flu victims don’t get sick from being bitten, usually just from touching something some other sick bastard touched, or getting sneezed on or something.”
“Hm, you’re right, but I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. I think I hear Chris coming back, anyway.”
“Everything’s fine. But, he did tell me that we’re going to go off-air for about an hour. Something about an employee meeting. We got to meet in the break room in ten minutes.”
The break room is a small, dingy, and God awfully lit little room. There’s stains of unknown origin on the carpet, some tiny pieces of glass laying around, and it just smells overall. However, the seating arrangements (Consisting of a couch and loveseat, along with four chairs that surround a blue plastic table) are quite comfortable, and the vending machines are always stocked.
The head of the station sits tensely at one of the chairs around the table, while Tommy, Dean, and Chris sit at the other three. The rest of the staff sit either on the loveseat, couch, or are standing around.
“I had no clue about this quarantine until the fax came across the wire. I’m just as shocked as the rest of you, and anyone that wants to go home can. Anyone that wants to stay is still on the clock. Plus, you’ll have to work double to make up for anyone that does leave. Who’s going home?”
Several of the lackeys (Janitors, errand boys, etc) raise their hands, and then the Head waved them out of the room. “Stay safe, guys.”
“Now, the rest of you, since you’re staying, you’re still getting paid. But you gonna have to do all the shit they did, too, besides your normal duties. Now chop chop, we got a station to run!”
Things were starting to get a little crazy around and outside the station. Several people had already tried to break in; one of them which succeeded bit one of the remaining janitors on the arm. He was almightily pissed, but he managed to get the guy out of the building and locked the door.
Tommy, Dean, and Chris were on break, with Jack, a jockey who only worked a few days out of the week, ran the show. Whenever he was in all three of them could sit down and relax a bit during the day.
The three of them have known each other for a good while, roughly ten years, despite the age differences between them. Tommy was thirty-four, Dean twenty seven, and Chris nearly forty. There was a bond between them which only came with the time and being co-workers for so long, and they could usually say anything to each other without worrying that the other would think they were stupid, or crazy, or whatever else normal friends would say to them.
The trio was in the break room, playing a small arcade machine that was often forgotten in one of the corners of the room. They were all taking turns trying to beat each other’s scores, not paying attention to much else. The TV was on though, and when “Friends” turned into a special report, they all turned around simultaneously, like a slap-stick comedy.
“We’d like to bring you an update on the government’s decision to quarantine
“As you can see behind me, government vehicles and troops have been arriving in
“Oh, wow. Another day in paradise, eh?” One the men said.
“We should’ve just went home, I don’t feel like being here while we have a crime wave slash quarantine slash whatever.” Says Dean.
“Oh, grow up, man.” Tommy chuckled, “Besides, what possible reason could someone have for breaking into a radio station and killing somebody? Not too much to steal here, either.”
“Yeah…I’m just kind of nervous. I mean, after the janitor got his arm bitten today, I’ve just been weirded out, y’know? The military being here isn’t making me feel much better anyway.”
Tommy put an arm around his scared friend, and said, “If anything, it should make you feel safe. The military is here to keep us safe, not the other way around.” Chris also came over after swearing at the game machine, and said, “Everything’s gonna be better by tomorrow, I’ll bet you a $20 on that. Now come on, we have to get back to work before we lose our jobs.”
The three were walking down the hallway, back to the broadcast room. They were almost there, when they saw someone lying on the floor down the hallway by the bathrooms. They sped up from a leisurely walk to a jog, and found that it was the janitor. He was an old man, maybe mid-seventies, and he might’ve broken a hip or something.
However, his face was ghostly pale, and his lips were cracked and bloody. His short-sleeve shirt revealed that the bite on his arm was purple, with the skin around it looking dead and in the early stages of decay. (Not that any of the three men knew what that early stage really looked like)
“Hey, hey man, what happened?! What’s wrong with you?!” Tommy shouted, patting the janitor’s face gently. He didn’t stir; not a muscle moved. Tommy kept shaking and yelled, “Help! Someone help! The janitor…um…” Tommy looked down at his name tag and said, “Dave’s on the ground, and he’s not moving! Help!” Meanwhile, Chris and Dean were running off in different directions. “Where are you two going? Help me with him!”
Right as the last word passed Tommy’s lips, the old man’s eyes shot open, and he took a giant, wheezing breath. He looked at Tommy, and he saw that his eyes had a weird quality to them…glazed, looked kind of like a dead fish’s eye.
“Oh my God, are you okay? Here, let me help you up.” Dave lunged off the ground, bowling Tommy over and into the wall before he could react. Dave picked Tommy up and banged him against the wall, snarling in his face. “Holy shit, are you crazy man?!” Dave was seemingly trying to bite Tommy, with his mouth drifting back over to the area of his jugular vein every time it was pushed away. All this in a matter of seconds, from an old man that had just previously been out cold after a fall.
Dean and Chris rushed over and pulled Dave off of their friend, both spinning around and holding his arms while he kicked and snarled. “Go get help, now!” Chris snarled at Tommy, trying to contain the man.
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