As the sun began to set, Sal disappeared into the back, the sounds and smells of cooking wafting through the air. Sal truly made a delicious pizza. Julie and Byron went into the back to help out, along with a few other patrons.
David was watching the television.
“Hey,” he whispered. Nobody caught it. “HEY!” He shouted, making everyone jump.
“Look at this.”
His face was pale like he had just seen a ghost. He was fixated on the television screen. The camera was still live in the Target parking lot, though now it was broadcasting from the back of a van.
The dead were moving. Some had begun to convulse on the ground as if they were in mid-seizure. Others were attempting to stand but would fall to the ground as their joints gave way. It appeared like they were mutating.
“Are those actual…zombies?” Jesse asked.
“How would I know?” Mikel answered harsher than intended.
David turned the TV up.
“…As they were backing up. I think two were still okay. The last soldier I saw come out was seriously injured, though I’m not sure what the cause was. As you can see, the bodies appear to be…changing.”
The camera zoomed in on one of the writhing bodies just as its shirt sleeve burst open. Thick, grizzled hair sprang from the holes. The person reached forward and grabbed onto the bumper of a car to help it stand. Its hand, if you could call it that, was more of a large animal claw than a human hand. The claws sunk into the metal of the bumper and, with what appeared to be almost no effort, ripped through the metal like butter.
The group watched, mesmerized.
The camera suddenly pitched violently sideways as something collided with the side of the van.
“Oh Jesus, I think they’ve found us.” The reporter sounded terrified.
"Get to a safe place and call us back." The anchor said. The camera feed went dead. Two news anchors appeared. The woman who had spoken was visibly shaken. The man was trying his best to keep it together but was failing. He kept wiping away tears.
“That’s my Target. My God. Let’s pray for those involved. For the rest of us, be sure to stay indoors, away from any large groups. We don’t know what’s causing this, but we do know that it only seems to have affected those that have spent time outdoors in the last 24 hours.”
David turned the volume down and turned to face the rest of the group.
“Sounds like there’s a conversation needing to be had. We all just saw what was going down on the news. That’s some messed up stuff, and I know everyone here is scared. I am, too. What I don’t know is who among us has been exposed to whatever’s causing this outbreak. They said it’s anyone who spent time outdoors in the last 24 hours. Did anybody here spend any prolonged time outside yesterday or today? I don’t mean in a car, I mean physically outdoors.”
Everyone in the bar started looking around at each other in a panic. There were close to twenty people still in the bar, meaning at least a few had to have spent some time outside in the last 24 hours.
“Jesse and I walked from our apartment to the bar this afternoon,” Mikel said.
“That’s like, three minutes. Plus, you had umbrellas. Pretty sure we can call you two safe.” Edward chimed in, condescension thick in his voice.
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“Okay, anyone else?” Jesse asked.
“We were at the farmers market for an hour or two this morning.” Seth said, followed by Becka’s offering, “I also went out to the shore foraging yesterday morning until 11:30 before meeting with a potential shipping partner at 12:20 for a walk around Lake Shore East. Guess that marks us with the scarlet letter, right?”
"Look, we're not here to pass judgment. Damn, you were just out buying produce on a Saturday morning, Not like you were poisoning the city water supply. I just think if we get a good idea of who could have been exposed, we can watch for possible signs of aggression. If there are none, all the better, but we all need to stay calm. And safe. I don't want anybody getting hurt." David spoke like he had a history of diffusing tense situations.
"I agree. Let's not worry about what could be. Let's just get the facts out in front of us, then deal with what comes when it does. If it doesn't come along, great, All the better. Now, who else was outside today? Let us know now so we can eat all this pizza before it gets cold." Sal had emerged from the back with Julie and Byron, each carrying two huge Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas.
Two women were next to speak up.
"We went for a run last night and again this morning. We do a five-mile run at night and ten in the morning." Julia the fitness girl, said, sounding like only she could. Her level of holier-than-thou smugness was the entire reason nobody at the bar liked her. They couldn't stand Julia. She was too full of herself.
“Of course you do, Julia. If not, you wouldn’t look so perfect all the time!” Jesse said in mock praise. She knew Julia was too dumb to catch it.
Glenn and Rob hadn’t spent time outside, though nobody was surprised by that. Glenn rarely came into the bar because he was always at work. He worked at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Rob was his roommate. He worked from home as a professional game streamer. Twitch and YouTube made him nearly as much as his roommate, who put in almost twice as many hours. Glenn secretly hated that about Rob.
“So you guys know what Holly and I do for a living, right?” Another patron asked incredulously. They were waterfront tour guides. That meant they spent the majority of their time outdoors.
“We know. We just wanted to give everyone the opportunity to share. You are our favorite tour guides in the city, though, so you’d better not have any adverse reactions to anything going around. I’m not about taking boat rides with people who don’t know what they’re talking about.” David smiled as he said it.
Elliot chimed in, “I think I went on a tour with Holly once, I’m pretty sure. I think she talked about the water damage to a building.”
“Oh, cool. Umm…anyways, now that we know who’s been out, what do we do with that information?” Mikel asked. Elliot had a way of bringing conversations to a rapid and complete halt.
“Well, I have a two-bedroom apartment upstairs that is sort of furnished. It’s comfortable and clean. Why don’t we have your group hang out up there until tomorrow around this time and then I figure you’re in the clear. I’ll make sure you have plenty of food, entertainment, and all you can drink. I think that would keep everyone safe and keep you comfortable while we wait this out.” Sal offered.
“I think that sounds like a great idea, Sal.” David agreed.
“We’re in,” said Seth and Becka.
“I don’t like it, but if I can have a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of rum, I’m down,” a blonde-haired woman begrudgingly offered.
“Sure thing, just don’t puke on my furniture. I keep that place up for special occasions or for when I’m too tired to walk home. I don’t want to sleep on a bed that smells like vomit.”
“Even if it’s Holly-scented?” She asked, feigning innocence.
“Particularly Holly scented vomit. I’ve experienced it, and I didn’t like it then. I think I’d really hate it now. Anyways, everyone good with the “quarantine” plan?”
Everyone agreed. Sal led the group up the stairs and into his apartment. Mikel and Byron went along carrying pizza, pop, and assorted alcohol.
When the three of them returned, Byron let the remaining group know that Sal had given them David and Jesse’s numbers in case of emergency. That meant they should expect drunken prank calls later that night.
Julie, Elliot, Mikel, and Sal went into the back room and brought blankets out for everyone. There were several booths along the walls that had tabletops that could be lowered. Sal had them converted to create makeshift beds years earlier.
He had been considering closing early on a slow Sunday afternoon when a random street preacher wearing the cliche “The End is Nigh” sandwich board ran full steam into his front window. The window bowed in and sprang back at the man, sending him sprawling out into the street, where he was promptly hit by a bus.
A customer walked in just after it happened and said, “I guess the end was nigh. For him, anyway. Messed up world we live in, man. Messed up world.”
Sal took that to heart and basically turned his bar into an emergency shelter. He hadn't needed it until that night when the world changed.