The Procedure: A Novel

The Procedure: Chapter 3

The Procedure: A Novel

By Jesse Calvert

~Extra~
At the moment it is 8:01 a.m. in the state of Oregon.

Chapter Three::

Parker, Lanie, and the smaller boy named Alexander rode bikes and skateboards to Parker's house. Luckily Alex knew how to ride a skateboard, which they found on the road, allowing Lanie to stop sharing with Parker.
Parker never liked sharing, which is why he hesitated to invite anyone to follow him. He usually gets attached to things and ends up stealing something or hurting someone. After fifteen minutes or so of riding, the team reached his house.
"Now lets set some ground rules." Parker says, "I am the leader. Wherever I go, you follow. I have five guns with me. I get two. Both of you get one. And we have one emergency weapon. I want you both to look around this house and outside the house for any heavy melee weapons. Got it?"
Lanie shyly approaches me, "So you're saying that we aren't staying here? Wouldn't that be the safest thing to do?"
Obviously Parker thinks she is clueless. He rolls his eyes. "We camp here tonight," Parker says turning away, "and tomorrow we leave. Someone will discover our location, try to kill us so they can take our supplies."
"You seem to know a lot about this." Alexander says, interrupting.
"I've prepared for this my entire life," Parker says. He pulls out his pocket knife and cuts the card board box open. He hands Lanie a handgun and four bullets. He gives her a small bag with two boxes of pistol ammunition.
"This is where I live. If you would like to stay here and take care of it, go on ahead. Fend for yourself." Parker directs to Alex.
"I think I just might." He says. Parker looks at him, giving him a strange look and chuckles like it was a joke. He opens a cupboard on the wall and pulls out his shotgun, as well as the ammo. He hands them both to Alex. "Now if you mean that, then I would like to have that gun back in an hour or two. So do me a favor and go find those weapons."

~Extra~
At the moment it is 5:41 a.m. in the state of California.

Maya checks the windows before leaving. She plans on getting the neighbors. Asking for help. Requesting help.
Maya lives in a col-de-sac, so she only has about five neighbors. She goes to Mrs. Dean first, who is usually home. Mrs. Dean doesn't answer. Probably because she sleeps in late. She's lived alone for fifteen years. Her husband died twenty years ago, so she moved here, to where her son lived. She moved in, and once Tom suddenly died in a burglary, Mrs. Dean has lived in the house, forcing herself into believing that she never had a son or a husband for her sanity.
Maya goes to the happy couple at the end of the street next, who are now engaged. When they answer the door, She is suddenly very relieved. They seem as scared as Maya is, so they already know. They ask about Maya, patting her shoulder and hugging her gently. Maya assures them that she is okay.
"Do you need help?" Jason, the groom, asks. Maya nods her head vigorously.
"Airely is back at the house looking for supplies. I killed one of them. They-" Maya stops. Should she be telling them this? "They killed my grandmother."
They both cover their mouths in absolute horror. Gina, the bride, shakes her head. "Oh my god, Maya; Jason and I will be over at your house as soon as possible." They say, signaling Maya to leave. She tries to gather other neighbors, but nobody else is awake. Maya really does want to check on Mrs. Dean, but she does not want to startle her or hurt her.
She sprints back to the house. Maya runs inside. The silence is unbearable, mainly because at about this time, grandmother would be cooking for Airely and her.
Maya walks down the hallway to her room. Airely sits with her head in her hands, bawling. Patting her on the back, Maya helps her up.
"Look, I know that this all sucks. But we just have to deal with it." Maya says with confidence. Airely nods and begins walking to the kitchen. They gather food and water, without a certain plan. "We need to leave here. The couple down the street, Jason and Gina, are coming." Maya says. Airely nods, grabbing the backpack she filled with food. It sat next to the body Maya had killed.
The two still wept. Their grandmother was ninety years old. She was going to die. But Maya just wished she hadn't died like this.

~Extra~

At the moment it is 6:25 a.m. In the state of Montana.

Dr. Mitchell laughed at the idea. He had finally gotten home and told his wife, who claimed it was a zombie. If she knew her husband, a psychologist, then she would know that he doesn't stand for anything that goes against the rules that rule scientific theory.
"That's impossible. Maybe I will actually think about fathoming the thought of considering it if you can convince me. Go," I joked. Obviously there was no way she could convince me.
She blabbed on about some tv show she had watched and how people could sense the end was coming and some thing with the new moon and a crescent moon and honestly, Kevin refused to listen throughout her speech.
Dr. Mitchell laughed at the thought. Until he heard a scream from his child.
Sprinting down the staircase, Kevin struggled to reach his child.
"DADDY!" He cried.
When Kevin saw the boy, he was only screaming because there was a beeping noise.
"See?" Kevin looked to his wife for confirmation. But she stared past him, towards the beeping noise. Towards the television. Dr. Mitchell now heard it also. A voice announcing the end of the high pitched sound.
"A portion of Oregon in ruins? The county of Jackson has collapsed to flesh-eating beasts. Find out more after this crucial report of major infection throughout the United States."
The news lady seemed about as terrified as Kevin's wife was. A list of state that ha been "infected" blazed down the screen, consisting of Montana, California, Nevada, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Utah.
Montana. Where Dr. Mitchell lived. Where his laboratory reigned. Where his children and wife had settled with him. His home.
Infected.
"Not as impossible as previously predicted now is it, Kevin?"