THE DAY THE WORLD FELL

CHAPTER FOUR

It had gotten dark out and the rain had been coming down for almost a full hour. I had been following the news until I got a call from my mother. She needed my help. My father had gone to the supermarket to try and get supplies before the whole place closed up. If the news was telling the truth, then it wasn't going to matter either way. Soon everyone would be evacuated and sent to a neutral zone. Somewhere clear of infection. Underground maybe.

I decided to turn on the radio and listen to the reporters covering the anomaly. I was only a mile away from the shopping center, but I had this terrible feeling something was wrong. Man was I right. When I pulled into the lot, it was chaos. People were running and obviously looting useless things. Televisions, various electronics and heavy appliances. The associates working that day had long gone, leaving the shoppes to their fate. I parked away from the crowds and took my keys and phone with me as I ran to the store my father had most likely gone to. I hollered his name over and over as I was forced to pass fights and arguing. It was all just panic. The next town over had numerous reports of attacks and infection. We were a ticking clock over here. Listening to the local news only incited this panic further. I haven't seen a single undead here yet but that doesn't mean there isn't one. This is Daytona Beach after all. We are crawling with homeless, drunks, and tourists all year long.

"BEN! Ben is that you?" I could hear my father close by now.

"Dad? Where are..." I cut myself short when I saw him. He was trapped under a fallen shelf. Cans of non-perishables scattered around him on the floor. "Oh god, here" I heaved the shelf up for him to crawl. "Can you wiggle out?" 

"No, it's my leg. I can't feel it. And my head feels like it'll fall off if I move. Get help boy." I noticed he didn't move at all. His head lay flat, and blood pooled at his hairline.

"HELP! Someone please?" I looked around for anyone, but no one came. "Wait here, I have an idea." I set the shelf down as gentle as I could and left him alone to find the things I would need. 

I saw a man trapped under a shelf and lying so still. I was afraid he was dead but still I moved closer to him. The place was crowded with selfish people who cared nothing for the poor man on the floor. I reached for his hand to check for a pulse and was startled when he spoke. "Thank you, Lady, my son went for help, but I fear no one will come." 

"Dad, I'm back, oh. Who are you?" 

"Anastasia. Call me Anya if like. How can I help?" He was tall and average built but he was handsome. Despite the difficult situation and the current circumstance, my stomach hatched butterflies when he spoke my name, "Anastasia, could you please pull him when I lift? Gentle though, He may have broken something."

"Of course, on three. One, two, three." I struggled pulling the heavy man from the shelf, but I got him successfully without causing him much pain. "Can you move sir?"

"Edgar, call me Edgar. I think my leg is broken and my head is spinning. I'll need help, but I think I can manage a short distance. Ben, can you pull your truck closer? I'll wait here, Ms. Anya, will you wait here with me?"

"Sure, may I come along with you? I have no family here; it is scary being alone here in this town."

"Oh, uh. My truck is a single cab, can you ride in the back? Is that alright?"

"I have a SUV. Ben, here. My keys. I'm parked in the handicap in row c. Hurry, some of these people look irater now than before." Edgar handed off a set of keys and sent Ben on his way. I sat with Edgar and found some wash clothes behind him and some peroxide an aisle down from him.

"I'm going to clean you up a bit, I am a home health nurse. This might hurt a bit." I saturated one cloth with the peroxide and dabbed his wound with it. "You must have a high pain tolerance. You're not even moving away when I touch your wound."

"I can't feel it. I didn't know you had started already. When you're done there can you check on my left leg? It burns and I can't move it at all."

"Sure, tell me, can you feel this?" I touched the areas around the gash on his forehead. 

"No. Is that bad?"

"Probably not. I think you hit your head pretty hard. It's probably just numb right now. Let's take it easy though, just in case." I stood to move down to his leg. "Okay now, let's take a look." I pushed up his pants, which were soaked in blood, never a good sign. "Oh god." I gasped out loud when I saw his mangled leg. "How did you fall?"

"Well, I was just reaching for some canned goods and felt a sharp pain in my leg. I fell into the shelf and knocked it just enough to make myself and the shelf fall over. Is my leg bad?"

"Hang on." I got up walked over to the other side of the shelf. Sure enough, A woman lay crushed beneath the shelf as well. She lay unmoving and her skin was an odd color. The color a body gets only after a couple of hours death. She was a zombie. She must have crawled up from somewhere and bit him on the leg. How did he not know? Surely, he must have felt or seen her. I walked back over to Edgar's leg and examined the bite. "Edgar, did you notice the woman on the floor, before you fell?"

Edgar sighed. "She bit me, didn't she? Please don't tell Ben. Let me tell him. I need to make sure he gets to his mother and siblings. I need to know they're safe before I tell him. Please?" He pleaded with me.

"Alright, I'm going to find a bandage to wrap your leg. I'll be right back."

"Thank you." and with that I searched for some first aid kits.