Contagion: The Rising Read online

  Contagion:The Rising

  By

  JOHN CARTER

  COPYRIGHT © 2015 BY JOHN CARTER.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  This is purely a work of fiction.

  All the names, characters, places, ideas, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are entirely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.

  Cover design by Lucifer Jordan

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 1

  Emma ran through the alley and jumped over a wooden fence. The horde, which consisted of mostly soccer mom Risers, managed to catch up to her as they easily cleared the privacy fence. With one angry pull, she yanked off the piece of twine holding her dark brown hair back and attempted to calm the unruly hair. She heard the truck’s engine start up suddenly and knew that the Risers would instantly go toward the noise. She watched Sarah turn around and stop as she heard the screeching of the horde getting closer, "Sarah! Keep running!" Her sister managed to snap out of it and ran towards the truck.

  Ryan shifted the truck into drive and the truck began to creep forward.

  "Come on, Emma!" Sarah yelled as Rory grabbed her by her jacket sleeves and quickly lifted her in to the truck bed. Emma continued to run toward them, but was suddenly confronted with another horde of soccer mom Risers.

  “Fucking city of soccer moms!” She switched to shorter strides and flanked left towards the other side of the road.

  "No! We have to follow her!" Sarah shook and she fought with her red hair as it attempted to cover her face.

  "We'll go down the street, I'm sure she's trying to get them away from us," Ryan looked over his shoulder as he anxiously tapped on the dashboard and took off down the road. “I sure as hell would do the same,” he coughed and held onto the wheel. “Come on, Emma.”

  Emma jumped over a chain link fence as the back of her shirt caught on the end of a link. She pulled on her shirt and left behind a tuft of her favorite red shirt. The sound of the ripping fabric angered her as she ran towards the back of the house. She managed to scale down another fence into the back yard and found herself in another alleyway.

  “No Risers in the way,” she thought aloud. "Where are they?" she whispered as she stopped short of the next house. She tried to keep count of the row of houses, but gave up after each one looked so much like the other. She wondered how inviting they probably once were when everything was normal. She missed living in the suburbs with her parents and sister. How could this happen so quickly? The loud roar of the horde and screeches of the smaller Risers interrupted her thoughts as the horde celebrated finding her. She ran over to the end of the alley as she saw Ryan driving up with the truck. Her sister was in back with Rory, scanning the row of houses looking for her.

  "Emma!" Sarah yelled. She saw Emma’s black jacket become a flash as she ran towards the truck. She rushed and pushed over a Riser who appeared from another back yard. She smiled as the Riser resembled a stunned turtle attempting to regain its balance after being flipped over.

  "Stop, Ryan! It's Emma!" Rory shouted as the truck abruptly stopped. Emma ran across a small community park and made it to the truck. As Sarah reached out for her arm, a Riser suddenly grabbed at her. Emma jumped at it and pulled it from Sarah's arm. She kicked it down to the ground and stomped its head in as another one's teeth ripped into her shoulder. She screamed in pain as she pushed Sarah back at Rory. She took out her machete and sliced the second one's head off. Briefly losing her balance, she gripped the tailgate. Her ice blue eyes matched her sister’s gaze, who instantly knew of the idea brewing in Emma’s head.

  Sarah sat back in horror and started to shake her head in disapproval, “No, no, no.” Emma shifted her eyes down to the ground as she slowly lifted the tailgate. Her once vibrant eyes looked drawn and sullen as the reality hit her with a jolt of pain. She clung to her shoulder as she held her eyes closed and slowly opened them to see Sarah reaching toward her.

  "What are you doing?" Sarah's eyes widened as she reached for her. Emma grabbed at the tailgate to maintain her balance and swore under her breath. "You," her breath escaped her for a second as she clinched her eyes shut. She forced her eyes open and muttered out, "you have to go."

  "No!" Sarah screamed, "We’re not leaving without you."

  "No time," Emma winced and looked up at her, "you have to." She turned to Rory, "take care of her." Rory stood and mindlessly nodded as he watched. She cleared her throat and yelled, "Drive, Ryan!"

  Ryan repeatedly hit the steering wheel with his fists in protest. “No, Emma. Get in the damn truck.” He looked behind and glared at her.

  “Drive,” she looked on in defiance and said as she held onto the tailgate. The truck stood still for a second before shifting gears to drive.

  “Damn it, Emma!” He shook his head and steered away from her. He kept cussing and punching the wheel.

  "No!" Sarah grabbed at Emma's hand as the truck pulled forward.

  Emma let go of the tailgate and held onto her shoulder. She stared at Sarah's tear stained face and watched as the truck as it got further away. "Goodbye, Sarah."

  "Emma." Sarah watched as Emma fought with the pain and fell to the ground. She sat motionless for a few seconds before the horde reached her. She struggled to get to her feet and ran in the opposite direction of the truck. Sarah trembled and watched as her sister led the majority of them away from the truck. Rory sat back with his head in his hands as Ryan looked back. "Where do we go?"

  Sarah's expression changed and her green eyes dulled as she said sternly, "Northwest on Maple, then straight onto 55. We should be back within two hours." She stared on as her sister disappeared, and wiped her face with her sleeve.

  Emma held onto her shoulder as she grew pale with pain and weakness. She struggled to keep her eyes open and felt drowsy. The horde remained behind her and their growls intensified as they grew angry that they couldn't catch her.

  She planned on leading them to the pit Sarah nearly fell in earlier. She attempted to jump over the fence and fell to the ground. The fall took the breath out of her but she was able to get up and drip her blood around. She closed her eyes as she leaned on the house for stability. The vertigo she was experiencing wasn’t a stranger, and her breathing labored as the Risers reached the pit and fell in. They screeched and clawed at the edges as she grabbed the gas can. She doused the Risers and herself as she reached for her lighter. It burned bright and stayed lit as she threw it into the pit. She lost her balance and fell back onto the wall. She slid lower until she was sitting flat on the ground and watched as the Risers screamed in pain. She smirked and held her eyes closed as she slowly exhaled for the final time. Her eyes quickly reopened with the blank stare like the rest of the dead around her. Her body jerked up as her transition was nearly complete. With the last shred of humanity remaining in her, she hurled herself into the fiery pit with the others.

  The truck rumbled to a stop at the farm as Sarah jumped out of the truck bed. Rory followed after her and attempted to g
rab her arm.

  "No," she turned to Rory and lifted her sleeve-covered hands, "Leave me alone. Both of you." Her eyes were red and her face was bloodied. She ran towards the silo and violently heaved vomit. Her arms trembled as she held onto the side of the silo with her weight dragging her down to the ground. She crossed her arms and covered her face as she began sobbing. "Why?" She looked at her hands, splashed with Emma's blood, and continued to cry for her sister.

  Rory unloaded the truck with Ryan and stopped at the house. "She just needs time to herself," Ryan attempted to explain. “Aw shit,” he looked down as he saw Mark.

  Mark walked over to them, "Where's Emma?" Rory looked down, and Ryan cleared his throat. "What? No." His face reddened as he pushed Rory. "I told you to look after them!"

  Ryan pushed Mark back, "She went on her own. She saved her sister from one of those things." Mark held onto Rory's flannel shirt as Ryan pried Mark's hands off of him.

  "It should've been you!" Mark glared at Rory.

  Sarah pushed Ryan away from Mark, "No, Mark. It should've been me."

  "No, Sarah. He's right," Rory stood in front of her.

  "Emma said we should check that house, didn't she? I ran in there before Emma could even catch me. Why?"

  "Don't do this," Rory pleaded.

  "Because she tells me what to do all the time and I was tired of it. She let them chase her out the front, so I could quickly make it out the back. Then I screwed up and we ended up in the alley together. I get to the truck first and screwed up again by not checking around me. I should've just reached for her. And now she’s dead because of me."

  Mark looked down, "Sarah, I'm sorry."

  She held her hand over her mouth. "I killed my sister." Rory held onto her as she cried.

  Mark looked at Rory, “She needs some rest.” Rory nodded and led Sarah into the house.

  Chapter 2

  Running through the forest, she looked behind her with every stride to ensure they weren't following her. Her long hair flowed freely behind her as a reassurance that she wasn’t being hunted down. She slowed her pace and looked around to get an idea of where she was heading. “They'll be looking for me for sure,” she whispered. Her whisper echoed throughout her ears as she stood in the silence of the forest. The trees swayed back and forth as the wind kicked up the loosened dirt. She walked towards a large tree to her left and peered out to the opening in front of her. The grasslands remained still and silent as she slowly approached the edge of the forest. She felt free but burdened by her fear of leaving the protective forest.

  A sudden human-like wail pierced the silence as the sound of twigs being broken on the ground got closer to her position. She kept low and to the edge of the forest to stay away from the openness of the grassland. She knew she would be a perfect target there, but needed to cross it as carefully as possible without being noticed. She circled the grassland to spread her scent and dropped her scarf on the furthest tree away from her route.

  She removed her gray jacket and threw it on the ground in front of her before she crouched down. The high pitched wail reached her as she attempted to become level with the ground. The sound of scratching being so close caught her attention as she tried to remained still. A hunched over man covered in blood sniffed at the air and searched the ground. He stood upright and wailed. He listened intently as another wail was heard off in the distance. He sniffed once again at the air. He started to leave and stopped at the large tree with his attention on the ground. He suddenly crouched down and grabbed at the scarf. She looked up and stared as the man sniffed the scarf. He looked slightly normal, with a full head of black hair. The only differences were that his eyes were completely white and the skin from his chin was peeling off. He could’ve been mistaken for a banker or a doctor when he wasn’t wailing.

  A distant wail caught them both of guard and he ran off in the same direction of the wail. She waited until the sound of his feet became one with trees swaying. She sat up to a crouch as she stared at the grassland. A sudden noise turned her around as she was face to face with a shadow. She felt a strange pain and searched her body. She stared straight ahead at the shadow as she lifted her bloodied hands to her face. Her eyes widened as she began to cough up blood. She fell forward onto her knees as she attempted to feel the dull pain and fear that horrified her. She coughed up more blood and closed her eyes as the blood streamed out of her mouth. She opened her eyes and tried to form words as her body collapsed onto the forest floor. Her stare remained as she struggled to breathe with the blood flowing. Her labored breathing slowed as the shadow crouched down to the ground.

  "Sarah," the shadow whispered, almost stirring up the last bit of will left in her. She blinked her eyes and tried to focus on the large tree. She felt the warm air on her ear as the shadow whispered louder, "Wake up, Sarah." She recognized the voice as her sister's.

  "Emma!" Sarah woke up and sat up in her bed. The beads of sweat stung her eyes as she gasped for air and feeling her face for blood. The taste of blood still lingered in her mouth. She attempted to gather her composure and retreated to her bathroom. The dark bathroom was comforting to her as she held onto the sink. She switched the light on and nearly scared herself as she was facing the mirror. Her hand drifted to her stomach, which searched for the wound and blood that felt so real in her dream.

  “It was a dream,” she muttered and sighed deeply. She smiled at herself in the mirror, and felt slightly guilty about smiling. Emma can’t smile anymore, can she? Sarah looked down and paused as the feeling of guilt turned into dread and switched off the light. She stood in darkness and remembered the first night without their parents. Emma was only two years older than her, but she took on the role of big sister as a huge priority in her life. Sarah remembered when they broke into the neighbour’s house and she had cut her arm on the glass. Emma was so angry that she didn’t break the window completely. She felt for the scar and heard Emma’s voice call out to her. She walked back to her bed and sat down, still listening to Emma’s voice echo through her mind. She wished Emma was there to reassure her that it was only a dream. She lay back onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. She was afraid of going back to sleep, but was too exhausted to keep her eyes open. The dream had taken so much energy out of her, and before she realized it, she fell asleep.

  The dream from the night before repeated itself throughout the day. Rory attempted to get her attention, but he failed to snap her out of it. "Sarah," he said as he touched her arm.

  She jumped back and stared at him with wide eyes. "What the hell is your problem?" she snapped back, and quickly regretted her choice of words. She cleared her throat, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

  Rory stood still and shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he smiled at her. "I know this is a hard time for you."

  "For all of us, including you, Rory," she frowned. "I shouldn't have snapped."

  "No, really, it's okay," he interrupted her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just glad you said something. It's been a few days since the last time you even muttered a word. Ryan was asking about you. He wants to see you."

  "I know," she looked down sadly and crossed her arms.

  "Hey," he reached out and hugged her. "We're okay."

  At first, her eyes widened at the contact and felt the need to get away from him. However, she quickly held onto him and sighed, "I don't deserve you." He let go of her and smiled.

  "I really don't," she smiled back at him and sat back onto the barstool behind her.

  "Besides, who else would I harass on a daily basis?" he walked over to the sink. His brown wavy hair looked messier than usual as she remembered. His smile told her he was okay, but his blue eyes seemed a lot less blue.

  She shrugged, "Probably Emma… " Her voice trailed off and held her eyes shut. She hadn't been able bring herself to say her name. He stopped and turned to look back at her, "it was always you."

  Surprised, she blushed. "I never thought about it like that." She covered her fac
e and felt the dull ache in the pit of her stomach. "No wonder she was mad at me." Her eyes drifted from Rory to the bar.

  "Sarah, she's known for a while." Rory stood at the bar and touched her shoulder. "She knew how I felt, and especially how you felt."

  "How'd she… ." she blushed again as he smiled at her.

  "She's your sister. She was most upset about you not telling me."

  She looked down and covered her face with her hands, but the tears managed to make their way down her cheeks. Rory hugged her tighter than before. She felt like she could hold onto him forever. He held her as she sobbed, "It's okay, Sarah."

  She suddenly pushed away from him, "no, it's not! It'll never be okay." Her sudden switch confused him as he backed away at first. "We left her out there to die." She backed away and hit her back on the kitchen wall.

  "Sarah, it's not your fault." Rory slowly approached her.

  "She wouldn't have been out there if I didn't make her. If I didn't tell her to. Why didn't I get bitten? I should've been the one to die! Not her!"

  "No!" Rory grabbed onto her and held her while she cried, "No, Sarah. She saved you. She did everything she said she would. She protected you, even if it meant she wouldn't be here."

  “I hate that she’s not here anymore,” she looked up at him. "I'm sorry." Her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

  Rory carried Sarah to the room and put her back into bed. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep. “It's not your fault,” he whispered. He kissed her forehead and covered her with the comforter. He stood up and walked over to the chair nearest to the bed. His eyes were red as he sat down and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. He felt he needed to comfort her but it seemed that he was making it worse and was causing her more pain. His heart pounded as he knew he had to leave, but he would have to wait until she woke up, so she won't wake up alone.