Chapter 3
Alice was beginning to get very tired of all the zombies.
They drove along dismal streets, and already there was more chaos than they would have expected. Jake got them back to the van, out of the hospital. Nobody told them they couldn’t go, no one even asked them if they needed to fill out release papers. Jake helped her into the back of the van; he didn’t seem to want her sitting up front.
Max sat on the floor in the back of the van; she had a microphone in one hand and she watched out the small side window as the van made its way slowly around abandoned cars and past broken window storefronts. She saw people moving in small groups along the sidewalks… all those delicious people… Max was pressed up against the window trying to look back after them. There was a growl echoing in the cab and she didn’t know who it was coming from till she stopped.
Her eyes darted to the front to see Jake watching her in the mirror. She pulled herself away from the window, picking up her mic once more. They were almost to LA when he said from the front seat, “Once we get into Los Angeles, they’ll know what’s going on. They’ll have a plan for this.”
But things didn’t look any better; in fact, they were looking worse: hulks of cars and burnt out frames on the side of the road. The van was only on the outskirts of one of the greatest cities on the west coast and it looked no better than Baghdad, a shelled-out husk. It had only been eighteen hours and humanity had turned on itself in some kind of sick idea of preservation.
Lowering her head, Max hit herself in the forehead, trying to feel pain, trying to feel something other than the hunger. It was all-consuming. Her thoughts were on nothing more than getting out of this van and finding the…no, she wasn’t going to say it; she’d said it every time she’d opened her mouth.
Jake slowed the van as he had to find his way around two cars smashed together in the middle of the freeway; there were only a few cars even moving ahead of them, and it was clear they were stopping for nothing. “Sweet Jesus,” he said watching as another large building, engulfed in fire, sprung up before them. “What in the hell is going on out there?” He turned on the radio and pressed through his presets till he found one that was still broadcasting something.
“This message has been broadcast at the request of the California State Police. There have been multiple reports of attacks along the southern half of the state with some reports coming from as far north as Sacramento. Groups of people have been attacking with no known provocation; there are no known gang ties to these actions. Many of the attacked have reported suffering biting injuries; some even report that their attackers are eating their flesh. At this time there are a hundred and sixty-four fatalities and thousands injured. With the outbreak of violence there have been mass riots and looting has broken out in larger cities. It is has been advised that people should not leave their homes, I repeat, please do not leave your homes, lock all doors and windows and wait for further instructions. Currently hospitals are taxed and are unable to handle anything but the most extreme emergencies. This has been a transmission of the emergency broadcast system, stay tuned to this this station for further instructions.”
The alert noises repeated and the message started again.
Jake looked back and she looked away back out the window at the food beyond the window… no. People. They were people with all those lovely…. “Braaaaaaains!” She reached for the door handle of the van.