"The Center Pointe" Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning was a mad house; now that everyone had a decent night’s sleep they were all giddy.  When John, Rich and Brian came into the cafeteria everyone was already digging into their breakfast of oatmeal and powdered eggs.  One of the group named Marissa had been up earlier than everyone else and being bored waiting for others to wake she had set about cooking breakfast for everyone giving Karen a reprieve to take care of Sati.

Marissa Enjoyed cooking in the world before this one and cooking for everyone just seemed to make sense, besides it made her feel useful.  Making people happy was always something that made her feel good and putting a smile on the face of their hosts as they had put a smile on her face only made sense.  Cooking made her feel comforted like the old world was still alive, at least in her heart.  Marissa had lost her husband and daughter in the initial Static awakening.  It was called the awakening because when the planet arrived in orbit around the earth it seemed as though some animal instinct and rage had awakened inside the vast majority of the human species.  For Marissa it had been a day like any other she was in bed after having put their daughter to bed, at about 3 a.m. she had been awakened by growling in the bed next to her.

           She had not thought much about it for a moment but then there was a flash outside the window and in the brief light she saw her husband looking at her with wild eyes and pawing toward her like a hungry animal.  Startled she had jumped out of bed which had been lucky at the time because she didn’t know that if he had touched her she would now be dead.  Another flash of light and what sounded like an explosion in the distance, and Marissa’s husband was bounding off the bed and toward the helpless woman.  His hands were just about to close about her throat sealing her fate when her bedroom door flew open hitting her rabid husband with enough force to send him flying across the room back onto the bed.  Momentarily relieved Marissa opened the door enough to see who had saved her.

          On the other side of the door stood her daughter dressed in her nightgown standing quietly in the darkness.  She did not move an inch after throwing open the door.  Marissa waited in silence for the next flash to reveal if her daughter was infected like her husband.   Her husband was still lying on the bed after being flung there by the overwhelming strength of their seven year old daughter,  Marissa knew there was something wrong with that and even to this day she knew the truth in her heart but at that moment she just held onto the hope that her daughter was still herself.  At the moment all was quiet there was no movement from either her husband on the bed or her daughter at the door.  Marissa had stood there like a statue for what felt like an eternity waiting for a flash of light she hoped would come and show her daughter and an escape route.

          Finally the light flashed and Marissa could see for the briefest of moments.  Her husband was crouched on the bed watching for any sign of movement and her daughter was looking around the room as well but Marissa could not tell the state she was in before the room was again cast into darkness.  She knew at any moment her husband would rush at her, she could hear the low growling that was coming from his direction.  She was about to grab her daughter and run for the door when she heard another low growl coming from the direction of her daughter. 

          Marissa did not wait to find out if it was indeed her daughter who was growling and had turned.  Fear was guiding her and the desire for survival overshadowed all other thought.  Before she knew what she was doing she had leaped through the window shattering the glass out onto the front lawn cutting her in several places.  She dashed for the nearest place of safety she could think of.  Thank God she had forgotten to lock the back door to her mini-van last night.  Marissa had quickly opened the sliding door on the side of the van and climbed in.  When the door closed she wedged herself down on the floor between the two back seats and put her hands over her ears and eyes trying to block out this horrible reality that had been presented to her.

          Marissa could hear the sounds of the newly born static throughout the entire night.  She dared not move an inch for fear of being discovered by one of them.  So many times she could hear the screams and cries from people being attacked by their husbands or wives or children.  They had no idea what to do and before they could have any coherent thought the Static were upon them and Marissa pressed harder on her ears to the point of being painful desperately trying to block out the noise that was tearing into her.  She wasn’t completely sure if her daughter had been infected and so many times she nearly got up to see if she was still in the house alive but the screams of the victims being attacked and the guttural inhuman growls of the infected set her back in her place every time she wanted to move.

          It was almost 9 a.m. before her desire to use the bathroom overwhelmed her fear.  She carefully got up from the floor between the seats and peered through the window.  There was no one in sight.  She looked at her house and except for the broken bedroom window on the first floor things looked quiet.  As gingerly as she could she slowly opened the passenger side front door and crept toward her house.  She hoped that her husband and her daughter had left the house and that she could be safe for just a little while and have time to think about what her next move would be.

          Marissa approached the house with caution; she knew that she would be able to get into the house safely through the garage.  From the way her husband had been acting she was doubtful he would have the intellect to open the door and since it was a heavy oak door separating the garage from the house she felt she would be safe in there until she had the courage to try and go through the rest of the house.        

Marissa, quietly as she could slid the garage door open enough to roll under.  The room was empty and she was alone.  She had felt a small sense of relief at this and took a few minutes to gather her thoughts and emotions.  She rested her back up against the far wall of the garage and slid to the ground knees drawn up to her chest resting her head in her arms trying to breathe.  She had not known what this new day of horror would bring or even if she would be alive by nightfall but there had been a voice inside her that bade her to keep fighting and not to give up.  Her desire for survival was screaming in her head and with that she gathered all the courage she could muster and rose to her feet.  She walked slowly toward the door that connected the garage and the house grabbing a small hatchet her husband would use to cut fire wood that hung next to the door.  Marissa slowly opened the heavy oak door with her right hand; in her left hand she gripped the hatchet like a life line, when the door made a slight creak she paused and her heart started to jackhammer.  There was no noise in the house and she continued as slowly as she could.  She first made her way through the kitchen to the downstairs master bedroom where she had thrown herself through the window to escape her husband and daughter.

          She approached the room with caution listening for any noise that would indicate they were still in there but only silence greeted her.  With her right hand still gripping the hatchet in her left hand she swung the bedroom door inward ready to strike to defend herself if the need arose.  When the door was fully open she stepped into the room looking around for any movement, the morning sun was coming through the shattered window lighting up the room.  There was no one here, Marissa could see blood on the broken window frame that was not her own and surmised that her husband and daughter must have jumped through to take part in the carnage the night before.  Marissa had felt sick and run to the bathroom, she dropped to her knees and stuck her head in the bowl and let loose all the fear and grief in a gut wrenching stream of vomit.

After she had vomited and relieved herself she was a bit more level headed to clear the rest of the house so that she could gather supplies before trying to make her way to the local police station?  She still did not know how she was going to do that, from what she had heard outside that night those things were everywhere attacking people and killing them and she doubted her little hatchet would be enough to frighten them off or even defend herself from them.  But she had to try.

          It took her about half an hour to clear the rest of the house before she felt safe enough to put the hatchet down and begin to gather supplies and clothing.  She had made sure to close the door to the master bedroom so no more uninvited guests could get in while she was attending to other things.  After grabbing a few canned goods and bottles of water from the pantry she set about packing clothes and any medicines she could bring that might help if she got into trouble.  She then sat on the edge of her daughter’s bed for a long while just trying to adjust to the circumstances she now found herself in.  She didn’t know where her daughter was, she had been so scared she didn’t do what she should have done as a mother and make sure her child was alright, she had only been worried about her own safety and that was a horrible thing to have done, even if she had suspected her child had turned to whatever people had turned to she still should have tried to save her.

Marissa just sat there staring at a picture of her husband and daughter that she had taken in the summer time at the local park.  They looked so happy, Marissa could not grasp what they were now and just hoped this was all a bad nightmare that would soon pass and she would awaken in her own bed with them laughing at the kitchen table during breakfast.  She just wanted this to all be a dream.  That was all, just a dream. 

Marissa had been so focused on the picture of her husband and daughter she did not notice the figure slowly creeping down the hall toward her daughter’s bedroom where she was sitting.    She had been so busy absorbed in the memory of her family she didn’t even look up when the creature had entered the room.  The only thing that had brought her back into reality was a low guttural growl that emanated from the door to the room.  She had looked up and seen the thing after that and for a moment was frozen in place not sure what to do.  The creature that was standing in the doorway was none other than Dan her husband.  He was covered in blood and his clothing was torn and dirty.  He just stood there for a moment looking at Marissa growling like a wild animal.

Before she knew what she was doing she had rolled off the bed just as he had lunged at her.  The hatchet had been next to her and she was able to grab it as she rolled.  Dan had hit the bed with enough force during his lunge for her that he was temporarily confused that she had gotten away, he looked up and saw her on the floor fear in her eyes and made a move to go after her, in one swing Marissa had buried the hatchet in her own husbands head killing the man she married instantly.  Blood came out of the gash she had made staining the white bedspread where she had laid her daughter down to sleep just the night before. 

          Marissa sat there watching the blood pour from her husband’s wound staining the bedspread.  It was over.  Something snapped then in her head and she got up and grabbed her things almost in a daze and slowly walked down the stairs to the front door of her home for the last fifteen years.  She opened the door and walked out into the morning sun.  The rays warmed her face and calmed her.  In that moment the world was as it should be the horror of the past few hours forgotten in that one moment of warmth and peace.  She was ready for this to be over, she had now lost her daughter and husband and she just wanted it all to end she just wanted to stand there and soak up the sunlight and drift away to the next life.  For her it was over. For her she was already dead, why fight it, why fight at all?

          Marissa could hear the grunts and growls of other creatures coming toward her but all she wanted to do was to stare at the sky and imagine the world was as it should be, she only hoped the end would come quickly and she would be spared too much pain.  She could hear them getting closer now, their noises becoming louder and more excited.  She knew they would soon be upon her.  It was then she noticed the large red planet that hung in the sky casting its shadow upon the earth.  This brought her back to reality and her senses became acute in the knowledge that this was not the world she knew and there was a sickness spreading that she was free of for the moment. Now she wanted to live and she would fight to survive.  A strength she did not recognize mustered in her soul pushing her to move her feet and to flee these animals that were bent on tearing her to pieces.  No one would remember her or her family if she allowed things to end here, their memory would fade and be forgotten and their pictures would soon turn to dust erasing them from history, she must fight, she must survive.

          She looked back to street level and saw several of her neighbors who had been overcome by this infection begin to run toward her like hungry predators attempting to catch their morning meal.  She took off at a speed she didn’t know she was capable of dodging her once friends and leaving them to chase her in a wild display of animal drive.  She ran down the road between wrecked cars and what she now saw were burning and destroyed homes.  In her fear she had not realized all the devastation that had wreaked havoc the night before.  On she ran as these creatures took up chase, she could hear them getting closer their grunts and growls sounded almost like the barks and cries of wild dogs.  They were very nearly upon her and soon she knew they would be upon her if she did not find an escape.  While continuing to run, her eyes darted about her neighborhood for a place she could get to safety.  She saw nothing.

          She ran and ran and was about to run out of breath and collapse when she saw it.  One of her neighbors had been re-shingling the roof of his home and the ladder that he had been using was left propped against the house.  Marissa had turned and made for the ladder cutting sharply across the path of her assailants, causing more than a couple of them to lose their footing and crash to the ground in a mesh of tangled limbs and guttural barks.  She got to the ladder as they were tripping over each other trying to regain their footing and resume the chase.  Marissa scurried up the ladder and kicked it to the ground as she reached the roof of the small two story house that her neighbor had occupied.

          In the next few minutes all the creatures that had been searching for food in the streets had seen Marissa’s dash for safety and had come running.  The house where she had sought refuge was now surrounded by a dozen creatures that were now clawing and growling at her like a meal just out of reach.

          Marissa had to spend the night on top of that house listening to the sounds of the creatures that were trying to get at her.  Luckily their sense of logic must have gone out the window when they turned because they were stepping all over the ladder and none of them had the idea to use it to climb up and get her.  At this Marissa was grateful, she may die up on this roof but at least she would not be a meal for those things down there.  As night fell Marissa laid down on the roof staring at the new sky.  The stars were just beginning to shine and the red hue of the mystery planet now began to glow brighter in the dimming sky.  The moon was also full tonight and combined with the red hue to make an almost silvery red glow upon the earth like wet blood, it chilled her to the bone.  This new world was hell and she just wanted to see the sun rise on the next day.  Hopefully this was only temporary and all would be well in time.

          Marissa had been on the rooftop for almost two days and her supplies were running thin.  There were no helicopters in the air she could signal and no cars moving on the ground.  Her hopes that someone would rescue her dimmed with each passing hour.  The creatures had mostly given up on their meal that was out of reach and went hunting elsewhere.  Marissa could sometimes hear far away screams as survivors were torn into by people they once loved and trusted.  The screams clawed at Marissa’s ears, a sound she knew she would never shake as long as she lived.

          By day four on that roof she was sunbaked and dehydrated her water had run out the day before and she dare not leave the roof for fear of becoming one of those screaming people that would pierce the wind every so often.  She knew she could not wait for rescue much longer before being forced to leave the roof and seek refuge elsewhere.  Her desire for survival had protected her so far but she did not know how long that instinct would carry her before all hope was lost.  She was about to climb down from the roof and take her chances with the creatures when she heard gunshots ring out across the neighborhood, they were close by her reckoning.  She stood up on the roof trying desperately to see anyone, but they were thus far out of view.  More gun shots rang out this time closer than before.  Marissa began waving her arms and yelling for help.

“HELP!  WHOEVER IS THERE, PLEASE HELP ME!!”  She screamed hoping that whoever was near her could help her off this damn roof where she had now gotten stuck.  It felt like another hour before she got a reply to her cries.

          “Who is that?  Where are you?” said the disembodied voice echoing through the neighborhood keeping her from pinpointing the source.

          “I’m up on a roof near the end of the neighborhood, please help me; I’m stuck up here and can’t get down!”

A few minutes later a man appeared carrying a rifle on his shoulder and a gun in his hand.  He was tall, about six feet with a clean shaven face and trucker cap.  He looked up at Marissa who must have looked a sun baked mess on top of a roof in her pajamas, his blue eyes shone like a ray of hope to her, they were kind and gentle.

          “What are you doin up there?”  He said looking at the poor woman with amusement.

“It was the only way I could escape from those things, not the best choice but at least I’m still alive.”  She tried to add a chuckle to hide her embarrassment.  “Is it safe to come down?   Can you help me?

The man looked around the immediate vicinity and spotted the ladder.  He lifted it and set it against the house for Marissa to climb down.  “You better hurry, this place won’t be safe for very long, I got some people watching for trouble but you never know what’s coming.”

          She grabbed the ladder and with shaky legs slowly climbed down from the roof that had been her prison for the last four days.  Her feet finally touched solid ground and the man had to steady her so she would not fall to the ground, the cool grass felt good on her feet. The man handed her a bottle of water and Marissa began to greedily swallow it down.

“Wow how long have you been up there miss?”  Trying to steady the poor woman who was still having trouble regaining her balance.

“Four days.”  She said out of breath from practically drowning herself in water.

“What’s your name? Mine’s John.”

“Marissa.”

“Well it is nice to meet you mam, but it is not safe around here, we have a small group of people who survived and were trying to make out way to a hospital to get some medical attention and safe harbor.  You can come with us if you like.”

          “I would love that, thank you. Thank you so much.”  She said now regaining her wits and alertness.  The man seemed genuinely kind and Marissa felt that she could trust him, but at this point it would not have mattered to her.  Anyone who was not a creature was a friend in this world.

“We have to get back to the others.” Said John. 

Marissa grabbed her empty bag that had held her supplies off the ground and began to follow the man who had rescued her from the roof.  “What’s happening here, and what is that huge object in the sky?”

“Best we can tell before the television and radios went dead is it’s the planet Nibiru; obviously the conspiracy nuts got one right.  Its wreaking havoc on electrical equipment and making anything combustible explode.  Its making some kind of electrical discharge in the atmosphere so just about anything you touch can shock you so be careful, it’s best to find some gloves to protect yourself.  We lost a group member cause’ he touched a car and it exploded in his face.”

“Oh my god.”  Said Marissa.  “I guess it was a good thing I was up on the roof protected from this for a while.

“Yea I guess, also don’t let the Static touch you, if they do, their touch shocks you and knocks you out. Or if your real lucky it will stop your heart.”

“The Static?”

“Yea it’s what we call the infected, when the planet appeared people began to go haywire and act like animals attacking and eating others, in one night the entire world went to hell.  Even the governments couldn’t protect themselves, everything fell.”

“Oh my, so it’s over?  There is no help coming?”

          “Nope, this is a situation where the un-infected need to help themselves, we need to survive and stick together or well all die.”

John led Marissa back to the group; there were fifteen people and one little girl in the group all sticking together trying to survive.  John told everyone to rest for a few minutes then they would be heading out.  They were trying to make it to a hospital in Monroeville in hopes that it would be a safe haven from the destruction and horror out here.  If they were lucky it would have a staff capable of helping them.  Marissa had hoped they would make it but with all the infected John said were out there the odds of making it to the hospital were ever diminishing.