A New Infection

Chapter 4

Zachary Williamson knew he wasn't that smart, but you didn't need to be a genius to realize that the world had gone from somewhat peaceful to downright unliveable for anyone sane. He wasn't the only kid pulled out of an extracurricular activity early that afternoon. He was one of five people in his basketball practice to be picked up by a guardian figure before their time was up.

His dad stood at the side of the court, staring expectantly at him. Zach had sighed, waved to his coach and walked over. Mr. Williamson was a tall man standing at 6'4". He had a little goatee and blue-grey eyes. Zach kind of looked like him except for the goatee, the height, and the grey hair.

His dad was a policeman, who put the safety of everyone above his own. Zach was proud of his dad but wished he wouldn't be so self-sacrificing all the time. It used up the little time they could spend together when his dad wasn't on patrol.

As his dad ushered him to the car Zach puzzled over the unusual situation.

"You finished early. Did something happen at work? I thought I was walking home today."

He and his dad sat in uncomfortable silence in the police cruiser, banked up by scores of panicking parents taking their kids out of their activities.

Mr. Williamson was generally a man of few words, but this silence was different.

"Dad?" Zach was worried now.

Zach's dad grunted, before explaining. "There's a crisis that no one at my station believes. So I resigned temporarily to work privately to get the job done myself."

Zach was shocked. Resigned? Even if it was temporary, this crisis must be huge if his father was renouncing the job that had been his lifelong dream.

"What's the crisis?"

His dad grunted again in response, refusing to answer his question.

"Seriously Dad. What are we doing?"

"I've organized several campaigns across the city and have contacted my friends in Italy, Germany, Russia, and Australia. We are organizing to pool money from charities and our savings to conduct assemblies and buy the equivalent of wholesale bunkers."

"Why dad?" asked Zach.

"Because we need to get everyone to a bunker." His dad remained vague.

"WHAT?! Why?!" he demanded, infuriated at his father's persistence in avoiding his question. However, he was somewhat comforted by the fact that his father's demeanor didn't change, despite the ominous warnings.

"The end of the world is near."

~

Shaking himself out of his memory, Zach smiled sadly at the thought of his father, who had disappeared shortly after saving him from the gas. He was always trying to do what was best for everyone, there was no price he wouldn't pay. Zach hunkered down in the general store, hiding from the irrational people wandering it. Their eyes were milky white, their clothes torn and their expressions loose, mindless, eerie. He darted out from the display of dolls over to the bicycle chains, which he grabbed for the bike he'd acquired from the side of the road. He heard a thump behind him and twisted around to see a figure looming above him, gazing down with sightless eyes. With a burst of near inhuman speed, Zach jumped up and dashed over to the display, giving each bike a shove, disrupting the magnetic balance and making them topple like dominoes. He ran over to the cash registers and grabbed his bike, wheeling it hurriedly over to the janitor's closet behind the desks and locking himself inside.

Mentally thanking his dad profusely for teaching his the mechanics of vintage bicycles, Zach got to work on replacing the chain, getting caught up in one of the last memories of his dad.

~

Hours after the mists dissipated and the screams died down, Zach had felt a sharp tugging on his ear. Recognizing his father's impatient habit, he yelped, "Okay Dad, I'm coming." He started walking after his dad's imposing figure before breaking into a trot to keep up.

"Keep it down." his father rumbled.

"Why?"

"Because we're leaving the bunker."

Zach and his father had shut themselves in one of the three bunkers in their city with another one thousand people about half an hour before the gases, ensuring their safety. The city had a high population, but many families were stubborn, or already had a bunker themselves.

"Even after the apocalypse fiasco?!" asked Zach, skeptical. "Are you mad?"

"We're checking for survivors."

"Now? Just before you were like get inside it's dangerous. You're not allowed to know why. I'm thirteen, Dad. I've had enough of you treating me like this!" After the outburst, Zach cringed. Most of the people around him stared openly, but it was obvious he had everyone within hearing range's attention. An uncomfortable silence settled over the mass before everyone started talking.

"I just followed the crowd, why are we here?"

"-lethal gases in cities"

"That kid was rude"

"There's an exit?"

Zach's father grabbed his collar and started dragging him away. The mob surged after them, charging towards the back exit. Zach was suddenly plucked off the solid ground and thrown onto his father's shoulder fireman style.

Abruptly, Mr. Williamson stopped dead in his tracks, sniffing the air.

Zach, having finally recovered after having the wind knocked out of him, rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You're not a bloodhound Dad, you can't smell danger."

His dad grunted in reply and started pushing back through the crowd.

"This wouldn't have been so hard if you had kept quiet."

"I would've kept quiet if you told me what was going on!" Zack exploded.

"Maybe it was better the others went through the back door, there's something terrible that way."

Zach was speechless, his head gently bumping against his dad's back. His dad was putting him above other people.

"Dad. DAD! What is g-" He cut off, winded after his dad roughly jostled him, maybe on purpose. Sensing that his dad had reached the end of his seemingly limitless patience, Zach fell silent.

~

About ten minutes later, after wiping away his tears, he pressed his ear to the door to listen for any lingering things. With a sigh, he pushed the door open and dragged the bike out behind him, making his way over to the still functional automatic doors. He swung his leg over the bike and started pedaling, slowly at first. Zach sped up, his legs pumping as fast as they could when the tell-tale slap of feet against the concrete started behind him. Glancing back, he saw a considerable mob had gathered and were giving chase, causing to pedal even harder, even faster to get away. The horde was relentless and continued at a steady pace. Zach felt his legs burn and knew he couldn't continue like this, leaving him little hope for his survival.

Authors note: I hope you liked Zach, he was a lot of fun to write. Enjoy the softie in him, he'll be going tough guy as soon as he meets the others.

Please consider voting or commenting on my story. It really means a lot to me to know people are enjoying what I've written.

I'll be posting every other day for at least the next two weeks, and will try to keep up with that schedule as best as I can. Happy reading!