Chapter 4: Outbreak
I swiftly ran down the stairs and through the hallway. I slung around the bend with my arm firmly attached to the frame of the door and catapulted into the living room.
The remote sat quietly atop the wooden table. I walked over to it in light huffs of breath.
Switching the TV on, I quickly changed the channel to BNN. A row of reporters appeared on the screen debating around the curved table.
“The scenes are terrible. What even is this virus?” The lady sitting in a beige suit asked. The guy to her left leaned over the table, gazing straight into the camera.
“We do not know yet.” He turned towards his cohosts with a sombre face. “All we know is that this started from the CDC Quarantine centre posted up near NYULH.”
The man sitting at the extreme right turned swiftly at the statement. “The question is, why did the CDC set up a quarantine centre at the NYULH?”
I introspected at the claim. That is true. Why would the CDC set up any quarantine centre at the NYULH. It is an academic hospital. I doubt the students are well-equipped to handle such emergencies and stressful situations.’
“Did they even have permission?” The question attracted my attention back to the lit screen.
The reporter sitting between the panel members turned to his headset and nodded blankly at the screen.
“This is just in. We have received a signal from a reporter who was presumed to be lost on scene. We will be relaying her to you now.”
I grabbed the chair nearest to me and settled down.
The titular jingle of BNN played and cut to a dark screen. “Hello?” A feminine voice echoed over the speakers.
The panel host’s voice cut in, “We can hear you loud and clear, Ms. Esca. Please go ahead.”
“I’m… I don’t know where I am. It’s a shop near the NYULH.” Her whispers tremored with fear. The screen continued to remain black. ‘I guess it’s not a video call.’
But the darkness soon shifted. Illuminated doors appeared on screen. “Can you see them?” Ms. Esca asked hurriedly. The glass doors and windows appearing on screen silently portrayed the street outside. No soul was in sight on either side.
“We don’t see anyone except the door.” The host replied. An audible sigh of relief escaped from the woman’s lips.
“Could you tell us what is going on?” The camera panned back to hushed darkness. “It’s terrible.” The woman cried.
“The patients must have bitten one of the students or the doctors. There’s no other way.” She swore.
“Bitten?” The host questioned. “Y- Yes!” She exclaimed. “They’re biting people. Even each other. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” I stilled in my chair. ‘What is she talking about? Biting people? Like Zombies?’
The host’s thought process mirrored mine. “Are you claiming that there’s a zombie virus plaguing the city right now?” The familiar cheer in his tone bogged down lightly.
“I don’t know! It’s just-” The voice stopped with a loud clang blaring from her end. Strong breaths of air pulsed against the camera.
“No!” Ms. Esca suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs. The screen shook violently as if the camera was thrown to the side. Loud male groans erupted from the dark room.
The woman’s terrified screams continued before the channel cut off the video feed. They switched back to the panel who were staring at the screen with open mouths.
‘It would have been really comical if I had not just witnessed the murder of a woman.’
The host recovered first. He blinked from the shock and lowered his gaze. With a sombre face, he announced, “We have just lost our connection with Ms. Esca. Our prayers remain with her.” The panel members recovered from their stupor as the words registered.
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“My god.” The woman in the beige suit cried with disgust. I shifted against the chair. The man in the far right suddenly got up. “I need to go home.” He declared with a sense of urgency.
The host gazed at him in surprise. “Please don’t panic just yet, Mr. Evan. We do not have complete information yet.” He tried to remain calm but stuttered, nevertheless.
Evans freaked at the host. “Are you crazy? A woman just died in front of our eyes. I’m going home and securing my family first.” He stomped off screen with loud murmurs following his trail.
My gaze hardened at the TV. I bolted from my seat and ran to the backdoor. The brown door stood innocuously still. A small glass window by its side displayed the calm, dark night.
I turned the door’s handle expectantly. It clicked audibly but locked out. I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
Turning around, I ran to do the same with the front door. Moonlight splayed across the small windows adorning the front door. I confirmed the door to be locked completely.
I peeked out through the small window but found nothing. The trees and the grass stayed silently in their position. The occasional blinking streetlight down the road stayed firmly switched on today as if sensing the emergent need.
‘Mil.’ My thoughts raced. I bustled up the stairs and ran through her door. Darkness surrounded my vision as I burst into her room. I blinked in the darkness, trying to adjust my pupils to the low level of light.
“Mil!” I called out in the dark. Her groan alerted me to the girl’s position. “Go away! I’m trying to sleep.” Her voice was muffled.
“Emily!” I was serious. The blankets ruffled to the side and the lights came on in an instant.
I covered my eyes at the sudden brightness. Peeking through my arms, I spotted Mil steadily getting up from her bed.
“You need to come see this.” I started. She looked up at me with bleary eyes. “Come see what?” She asked exasperatedly.
“Just follow me.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed. She groaned as I continued to pull her through the house and into the living room. The TV was still running with the panel members’ screeching debate.
I rounded the corner into the living room and pulled Mil in. She turned towards the TV with a sigh of resignation. “What is it?” She asked with her eyes dancing across the TV screen.
A bullet headliner passed through the screen at the same time. “Is the #ZombieApocalypse real?” Mil groaned at the cringy statement.
“I swear if you disturbed me at-” She stopped, turning an eye towards the grey clock hanging from the wall. “At 3 A.M!?” Her eyes bulged. “This better be important.” She pinned me with a glare.
“It is. I swear.” I produced my smartphone from my pocket and handed it to her with the video. Mil took it with a tinge of disbelief and anger. I watched her expressions change in the next 46 seconds of the video.
“This could be a hoax.” She stated out loud once the video ended. I shook my head. “I watched the same scene from a different angle in another video. The two profiles are not related. I checked.” I countered. I had confirmed it while watching the TV scene.
Her grip tightened over the phone. She turned over to the television with expectant eyes. I followed suit.
The main host sat alone in the panel row barely holding his calm through the show.
“We have recently received word from the police and fire department. The departments in conjunction with the CDC and the OEM have released a joint statement in lieu of the growing panic. The statement will now be played for our viewers.” Saying this, the man bolted from his chair and ran off-screen at top speed.
The speakers clicked and the gravelly voice of an old man began,
“The citizens of NYC are hereby requested to stay inside your houses for an indeterminate period of time as the departments of Fire & Rescue, police, CDC, and OEM manage the situation outside.
We’re currently experiencing an outbreak of a virus of unknown origins. We do not know its incubation period, symptoms nor the severity of the illness. We advise you to lock all doors and not allow any strangers in until such a time when we release another statement.
At this time, I hope you are all safe inside your houses and with family members by your side. May God bless you and the great nation of America.” The speakers clunked and the screen turned black.
I squinted at the TV. I changed channels and found the entertainment one running smoothly. I switched back to BNN, but the black screen continued.
Before I could try further, Mil’s hand gripped mine tightly. “What the hell is going on!?” She yelled fiercely.
“Shh!” I motioned to silence her with the remote control pressing against my lips. “If what I heard is correct, we’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.” I stated with complete seriousness.
Mil’s face contorted from incredulity to veiled fear. She sputtered incoherently.
“Wh- What should we do?” She asked with an audible gulp. I didn’t like the settling fear on her face.
“For one, check all the doors and windows.” Mil turned to look at me. She nodded with newfound courage.
“I’ll take upstairs. You should check the doors again as well.” I instructed her. She nodded once more before each of us set off for our tasks.
I hustled up the stairs. There were only two rooms. That meant four windows, one in the rooms and the other two in their respective bathrooms.
I walked into Mil’s room and darted over to her window. The pane refused to budge under my strong pull. ‘Locked.’ I ticked a mental checkmark.
Continuing on, I checked her bathroom window. Rarely anyone opened these windows. Nevertheless, I checked them.
Walking into my own room, I checked the secured window of the room and the bathroom. Ticking my mental checkmarks, I stood against the windowsill. I gazed out onto the street with slight wonder and doubt.
“What would it be like to be out there right now? Is there really a Zombie Apocalypse going on right now?” All evidence supported the ridiculous statement.
“Is the world really ending?” I looked up at the dark sky with a hint of a smile. A heavy burden shook free from my shoulder at the serene sight. I breathed the cold air with a renewed easiness.
I don’t know what to expect moving further. I can only hope it isn’t as difficult as my life has been in the past. My silent prayer dissolved into the dark of the night.