I’m beginning to think it’s much, much worse.
Sienna, Sam and I stood silently watching as Officer Weavers squad car careened down the Parks gravel road, reappearing through the dense plumes of the weeping willows. Though we’d done nothing wrong, I couldn’t help but feel that we were in some sort of trouble.
The gravel crunched underneath the cars tires as he came to an abrupt halt, heaving his gelatinous self out of the drivers seat.
“Sorry to bother ya’ll again, but…”, he paused, looking over his shoulder as though someone were following him, “I need you kids to go home, the towns being placed on lock down”.
The three of us exchanged puzzled glances, Siennas anxiety had become nearly palpable. Officer Weaver stood awkwardly for a moment, his normally sun-burnt face had taken on a pallid complexion, as though he were either going to vomit or go belly up at any moment. Something was clearly off.
He sighed.
“I suggest ya’ll ride together, it’s not s-s-“, he stumbled over his words, his dewy skin was basically drenched with sweat at this point, “Look, it’s just better if you lot ride together, keep this flu thing from spreading so much”.
This was all bullshit and everyone knew it, though none of us could work up the courage to call him out. Despite his protests for us to leave immediately, we convinced Officer Weaver that we’d head home after we got the park shut down.
“Just hurry up with it and give me a call if you see anything else weird going on, understood?”, he instructed, giving us a weak smile. We simply nodded. He plopped down once more in the drivers seat before disappearing beyond the trees once more.
“Well, there ya have it, Sienna”, Sam said as he threw up his arms, “We aren’t bullshitting you”. Siennas crossed her arms and turned towards me, her eyes as big as saucers, the dam threatening to break at any moment.
“It’ll be fine…”, I began, searching for the right words to say, “We should probably take your car since…”, I motioned towards the heap that Marge had left Sams car in.
“You guys can stay at my apartment for a while, just don’t mind my roommate”, Sam said, finally offering up something other than his usual smart ass remarks.
We spent the next half hour closing up the various buildings through the park, since even in the event of the apocalypse our boss would still find a reason to fire us. We met back at Siennas car, a beat-up, little, two-door Honda she’d bought with her meager wages since she started working at the park about a year back. We awkwardly piled into the dinky thing and set off down the parks gravel road.
“This thing got any suspension left?”, Sam quipped as the loose rocks nipped at the sides of her car.
“At least it actually runs more than half the time”, I replied. Sienna smiled at me and rolled her eyes, the tension seemingly melting away.
“Hey, maybe it could be fun… I mean, we hardly ever hang outside of work”, Sienna added. I think the only time the three of us ever hung outside of work was when we’d gone to one of the local bars and ended up having to scrape Sams drunken self off the floor after he’d had one too many.
We continued down the parks winding, gravel road for a while, listening to the music that was playing softly from the cars speakers. It’s odd, looking back, this moment of peace before shit utterly hit the fan.
We hit the four-way leaving the park, Sam giving half-assed directions as we turned left and right through various neighborhoods.
“Have you guys noticed anything weird”, Sienna blurted out, her knuckles visibly tightening on the wheel.
“No, why?”, I replied, feeling a bit uneasy at Siennas sudden discomfort.
“Nope”, Sam added, scrolling through his phone, completely disinterested.
“There’s literally nobody outside”, she said, “I mean its beautiful out and the streets are just… empty”.
“Well, no shit, Sherlock, we’re supposed to be on lock down”, Sam replied, peering up from his phone with an irritated look on his face. We all remained silent for a moment, taking in the barren streets of Elmfield.
“Just kinda creepy, I guess”, Sienna croaked out, finally breaking the awkward silence in the car.
We rounded a few more corners before finally reaching Sams street. As we closed in on the dingy apartment buildings ahead, I noticed something odd hung up in one of the trees in front of the post office neighboring the complex. As we drew closer the shape became clearer… it wasn’t a something, but a someone.
“What the fuck is that?”, I blurted, pointing towards the thing in the trees. The car came to a slow, creaking halt next to the entrance of the post office. I pressed my face against the cars window, trying my best to get a good angle of whatever the hell I was looking at.
Up in the tree, staring down at us with unblinking eyes, was Daniel Chavez, one of the attendants at our local gas station. His arms and legs were twisted at unnatural angles, his elbows and knees seemingly inverted. His eyes bore the same milky color that Margies had when she attacked us.
Suddenly, Daniels oddly stiff body began to twist and unfurl as he barreled down the tree at an alarming speed. Everyone in the car broke out in hysterics as Sienna punched the gas, the tires of her old car screeching as we went. We rounded the corner of the complexes parking lot and into the front yard, getting as close to the front door as possible.
Like something out of a Scooby-Doo cartoon, we all hopped out and began sprinting for the door. Apartment G9, Apartment G9, Apartment G9, that’s all that mattered. We ran up the stairs and passed the various units before finally happening on the right door.
Sam fumbled with his keys before finally giving up and banging on the door, calling out to his roommate who he referred to as ‘Critter’. A minute or so passed before he finally answered, unlocking the door as we all fell at his feet in a quaking pile.
It took a while for us all to calm down enough to explain everything to Critter, who seemed more concerned with the fact that Sam brought visitors rather than the demonic thing lingering nearby. Critter was a little younger than us, though his tired, baggy eyes and five-o-clock shadow would make you think otherwise.
“Whatever, they can stay, but be quiet cuz’ I’m trying to sleep”, he turned and walked off to his room, running his long, shaggy brown hair through his fingers as he went.
We sat in the living room for a while, discussing each others theories as to what was happening. The television buzzed quietly in the corner of the room as we spoke, our local news channel seemed to be down.
I paid no mind to Sienna as she walked off to answer a call, making mindless small talk with Sam as she went. I’m not sure how long passed before Sienna finally returned, immediately noticing the sickening pallor her skin had taken on.
“Dude, are you good… do you need any water”, Sam asked, noticing Siennas bizarre dispostion.
Slowly, she turned her head to meet our gaze and opened her mouth to speak, though nothing came out. Instead, she wretched, gagging as she placed her hand over her mouth. I jumped up from the couch and knelt beside her, placing my hand on her shoulder.
After asking if she was okay a half-dozen times, after offering her water and a bed to lie in, she was finally able to speak.
“This isn’t good, this isn’t good, this isn’t good”, she kept repeating to herself. I held Sienna as she pulled at her hair, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating.
Suddenly, she met my eyes, her gaze as serious as a heart attack.
“My- my mom tried to come visit but the towns entirely barricaded…”, she paused, looking down at the floor, “they told her we’re infected with a deadly virus”.