(no subject)
Mayor Helen Crenshaw's intercom beeped. "It's your husband, Helen. Shall I put him through?"
"Yes, go ahead, Nancy," Helen said, pulling her eyes off of the computer screen for a moment. She practically lived in her office these days. The major cities of America had been in turmoil for the past couple of weeks, and hers was no exception. Strange things were happening; a mysterious epidemic was slowly spreading through the population. Even she wasn't privy to the exact information, and what she did know was highly classified. Her City Hall was operating on a skeleton staff, and the Mayor of Denver hadn't been heard from in a week.
There had been wolf sightings in the city proper and now there were nightly reports of vicious wolf attacks. Global warming was blamed for driving the wild creatures from their ranges in Yellowstone, but this didn't explain why wolves were showing up in places such as Boston and Los Angeles.
To make matters worse, protests against the political state of affairs turned to violent riots on a regular basis. With a reduced police force, the National Guard had been called in, and soldiers patrolled the streets of Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, and Boulder. Englewood was under guard as well, although most of the worst trouble stayed to the north.
Helen did not spend time worrying why this was all happening. She focused her energies on doing what she could to protect her city and maintain as much normalcy as possible.
She snatched up the receiver and fit it between her ear and shoulder as she continued writing her reply to the National Guard Commander. "Hi, honey. What's up?"
Frank rarely called during the day when he was away on business. He'd been called to Chicago for an urgent meeting, about what he couldn't say. As a well-known physicist, he sometimes worked on top secret projects, so that wasn't necessarily unusual.
"Helen, go home now. Get the rest of the family to the house as soon as you can and then head for the cabin."
Her fingers froze over the keyboard. "What?"
"You heard me. Go now."
She'd never heard Frank's voice take this tone before. "What on earth is wrong? I can't just leave. The situation here is getting worse, and besides your flight comes in at 8 to-"
"Helen. I can't say why over the phone, but- I heard something. Get out of the city. I'll meet you at the cabin. Look, I have to go. I love you, darling."
"I love you, too, but-" The line went dead.
She finished her email and began calling her daughters. Two of them lived in the area, and the other had come with her husband and children for an extended visit when things in Los Angeles began to go downhill. Helen couldn't leave just now, but she could get the family all in one place at least. As she frantically tried to wrap up the day's loose ends to a point where she could take her work home with her, she heard a knocking at her office door.
"Ma'am, we need you to come with us," said the soldier, not waiting for her to open the door herself. "We're evacuating the local governments to a safer location."
Helen glanced at the phone. The soldier was armed; she knew there would be no arguing. She was not a paranoid person, but she was beginning to feel afraid.
She was allowed to keep her cell phone. She called home and instructed her family to go on to the cabin without her. They should have gone days ago, but they'd all thought this crisis would blow over.
Now she knew it wouldn't. She had the sinking feeling that she and the other officials weren't getting the full story, but they were briefed on the likely event of an imminent bioterrorism attack. All air traffic had been suspended. Her husband wouldn't be getting home any time soon.
Once in the secure location, her cell phone was useless. She did have access to email. All incoming and outgoing messages were screened for national security purposes, but there was a flurry of back and forth messages between herself and her family. They couldn't leave; the roads were blockaded and people had been ordered to stay in their homes to await possible evacuations. Helen told them to do what they'd been instructed to do. She clung to the faith she had in her government to do what was right.
After a week in the bunker, the guardsmen and officials began changing. At first it wasn't noticeable; the soldiers who sickened were replaced and the officials quarantined. One night Helen and and a few unaffected others found themselves trapped in dark hallways with ravenous wolves and creatures who looked human but were not. They managed to escape the bunker and steal a humvee.
One of her companions was a Vietnam veteran, a grizzled state congressman named Dave. He taught her a thing or two about surviving in a short amount of time. Upon returning to her home in the suburbs, she found her family - or what was left of them - amidst carnage unlike any she'd imagined.
It was then that Dave taught her her most important lesson; he taught her to keep moving. He slapped, snapping her back to reality long enough to escape from the zombies which bore down upon them. Her neighborhood was rife with them. It was as if she was living in one of the horrible horror movies her youngest daughter had loved as a teenager.
The others in her party had more luck, finding family members more or less undamaged, and one by one, those who'd escaped drifted off to survive on their own.
Dave stuck with her just long enough for her mind to shift from the stress and horror to which it had been subjected. He decided to head south, but even in her addled state, Helen knew she would go west, and then, when she found the cabin empty, north and east until her legs gave out.
She had to keep moving.
"Yes, go ahead, Nancy," Helen said, pulling her eyes off of the computer screen for a moment. She practically lived in her office these days. The major cities of America had been in turmoil for the past couple of weeks, and hers was no exception. Strange things were happening; a mysterious epidemic was slowly spreading through the population. Even she wasn't privy to the exact information, and what she did know was highly classified. Her City Hall was operating on a skeleton staff, and the Mayor of Denver hadn't been heard from in a week.
There had been wolf sightings in the city proper and now there were nightly reports of vicious wolf attacks. Global warming was blamed for driving the wild creatures from their ranges in Yellowstone, but this didn't explain why wolves were showing up in places such as Boston and Los Angeles.
To make matters worse, protests against the political state of affairs turned to violent riots on a regular basis. With a reduced police force, the National Guard had been called in, and soldiers patrolled the streets of Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, and Boulder. Englewood was under guard as well, although most of the worst trouble stayed to the north.
Helen did not spend time worrying why this was all happening. She focused her energies on doing what she could to protect her city and maintain as much normalcy as possible.
She snatched up the receiver and fit it between her ear and shoulder as she continued writing her reply to the National Guard Commander. "Hi, honey. What's up?"
Frank rarely called during the day when he was away on business. He'd been called to Chicago for an urgent meeting, about what he couldn't say. As a well-known physicist, he sometimes worked on top secret projects, so that wasn't necessarily unusual.
"Helen, go home now. Get the rest of the family to the house as soon as you can and then head for the cabin."
Her fingers froze over the keyboard. "What?"
"You heard me. Go now."
She'd never heard Frank's voice take this tone before. "What on earth is wrong? I can't just leave. The situation here is getting worse, and besides your flight comes in at 8 to-"
"Helen. I can't say why over the phone, but- I heard something. Get out of the city. I'll meet you at the cabin. Look, I have to go. I love you, darling."
"I love you, too, but-" The line went dead.
She finished her email and began calling her daughters. Two of them lived in the area, and the other had come with her husband and children for an extended visit when things in Los Angeles began to go downhill. Helen couldn't leave just now, but she could get the family all in one place at least. As she frantically tried to wrap up the day's loose ends to a point where she could take her work home with her, she heard a knocking at her office door.
"Ma'am, we need you to come with us," said the soldier, not waiting for her to open the door herself. "We're evacuating the local governments to a safer location."
Helen glanced at the phone. The soldier was armed; she knew there would be no arguing. She was not a paranoid person, but she was beginning to feel afraid.
She was allowed to keep her cell phone. She called home and instructed her family to go on to the cabin without her. They should have gone days ago, but they'd all thought this crisis would blow over.
Now she knew it wouldn't. She had the sinking feeling that she and the other officials weren't getting the full story, but they were briefed on the likely event of an imminent bioterrorism attack. All air traffic had been suspended. Her husband wouldn't be getting home any time soon.
Once in the secure location, her cell phone was useless. She did have access to email. All incoming and outgoing messages were screened for national security purposes, but there was a flurry of back and forth messages between herself and her family. They couldn't leave; the roads were blockaded and people had been ordered to stay in their homes to await possible evacuations. Helen told them to do what they'd been instructed to do. She clung to the faith she had in her government to do what was right.
After a week in the bunker, the guardsmen and officials began changing. At first it wasn't noticeable; the soldiers who sickened were replaced and the officials quarantined. One night Helen and and a few unaffected others found themselves trapped in dark hallways with ravenous wolves and creatures who looked human but were not. They managed to escape the bunker and steal a humvee.
One of her companions was a Vietnam veteran, a grizzled state congressman named Dave. He taught her a thing or two about surviving in a short amount of time. Upon returning to her home in the suburbs, she found her family - or what was left of them - amidst carnage unlike any she'd imagined.
It was then that Dave taught her her most important lesson; he taught her to keep moving. He slapped, snapping her back to reality long enough to escape from the zombies which bore down upon them. Her neighborhood was rife with them. It was as if she was living in one of the horrible horror movies her youngest daughter had loved as a teenager.
The others in her party had more luck, finding family members more or less undamaged, and one by one, those who'd escaped drifted off to survive on their own.
Dave stuck with her just long enough for her mind to shift from the stress and horror to which it had been subjected. He decided to head south, but even in her addled state, Helen knew she would go west, and then, when she found the cabin empty, north and east until her legs gave out.
She had to keep moving.