Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:43:53 -0600
From: John Ashton <johnashton07@gmail.com>
Subject: Outbreak New York

I will apologize for the long gap between chapters.  I have started a new
job which has taken some getting used to.

I want to thank everyone who has written to me with comments and or
suggestions.  They keep the writing process fun and give some good ideas
too.  As always, feel free to send any comments or suggestions to
johnashton07@gmail.com .

Now for the responsible author part I know you all love.  This story has
mature content of a violent and sometimes sexual nature (posted only to
Nifty, other locations are only violent).  It is purely your responsibility
to know your national, state/provincial, local, and household laws on
subject matter of this type.  Also, there are gay relations which can make
people uncomfortable.  If you do not wish to read material of this type,
now is the time to leave.  If you are not allowed legally to read this,
don't do it.  However if you choose to continue reading, do not send hate
to me.  You were warned.

Though there is drug use in this story I do not condone drug use outside of
this story.  If you read this and think, "wow, drugs are cool, I should do
them" you are a tool.  They are illegal and until they are not there are
consequences for drug use in real life.  As this is a story in which
government and police are no longer existent you should not use this story
as a basis to make real life decisions.



"Is everyone accounted for?" Travis asked looking around.

"Everyone is here." Bradley said.

"No one was bitten." Samantha said.  "And the wall is fixed.  But this
shows we need better fortifications."

"What we need is for people to follow the rules!" Eric said.  "Who made
noise?"

"No one made noise, Eric.  I was listening.  It was silent before they
broke in."  Travis said.

"Then we have problems." Eric said.

"What do you mean?" Samantha said.

"I mean, they knew we were here somehow.  If they were not hearing us they
must have smelt, or seen, or something." Eric said.  "It is improbable that
they simply decided to jump on into a random building."

"Maybe it is not as safe here as people think it is." Adrian said sitting
down on the staircase.  "If they smell, there is too much circulation of
air in this building.  It is designed that way."

"I think we can rule out smell, at least for the most part." Travis said.

"We can't rule anything out." Eric said.

"If they smelled us there would have been more than two.  They would still
be pounding on our door."  Travis said.

"He is right."  Bradley said.  "That just doesn't make sense."

"Well until we know how those two things knew we were in here we are on
lockdown.  No one leaves and no noise."  Eric said pacing.

"They are smarter than you guys are giving them credit for."  Lucas said,
not looking up.  "The child set a trap."

"What are you talking about" Samantha said.  "They are mindless beasts.
They don't think enough to duck when you swing a bat."

"I don't know much about these things, but that girl knew what she was
doing.  She lured me in close enough to spit that stuff at me.  I think
they have some brains left in there."  Lucas said.

"Lucas, I think you may be giving that little bitch too much credit."
Travis said.  "We have no proof that she lured anyone anywhere.  She was
just resting if you ask me."

"Either way, it is lockdown.  Adrian, Samantha, come with me.  I have a job
for you two.  The rest of you, stay in your rooms or in the lobby.  No
pool, no gym.  If they are smelling us it is probably best not to work up a
sweat."  Eric said heading up the stairs.

Samantha and Adrian followed him up the stairs and out of view.  When they
had been gone for a few minutes some of the other residents headed back to
their units.  Bradley got up and moved over to Lucas.

"Do you really think they are smart?"  Bradley said with a hint of
disbelief in his voice.  He leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

"I don't know, but that little girl was not like any of the others I have
seen."  Lucas said.

"That little bitch was infected and dead.  Walking, but dead none the less.
Dead do not think." Travis said.

"What about the other one.  She waited until the right moment to jump.  Why
didn't she just come running out?"  Lucas said.  "Why are you so dead set
that they can not think?"

"I was too fast for it to just run out.  It jumped when it saw me, end of
story!" Travis said.  He pushed past Lucas and went up the stairs without
saying another work.

"Travis!" Lucas said calling for him to stop.

"Let it go, man.  People need to cool down."  Bradley said.

"Why is he being like that?" Lucas asked, more to himself than to anyone in
particular.

A black woman sitting across the room looked up.  She looked to be in her
fourties, and had a warm, motherly look to her.  She was slightly portly,
though not unattractive.  She was holding a boy in his teens who seemed to
be too scared to move right now.

"It is a way of coping.  He has killed a lot of these things.  Zombies,
undead, brainless monsters, whatever you will call them.  I think I enjoyed
the `little bitch' reference best.  It is easyto justify killing a walking
body."  She said.  "If you start considering them a living thing, emotions,
thoughts, it is harder to justify."

"You do what you have to."  Lucas said.

He thought back over what had happened in the last couple days, back to
Ethan.  Had there been thoughts and feelings still welling deep within him?
Had there been another way to stop him?  Maybe given another option he
would still be able to run to his arms and have Ethan's embrace comfort him
again.  Tears began to well up in his eyes as he tried to blink them away.

"We all have done what it takes to survive.  Travis is just trying to live
with himself for it, as we all are." The lady said.

She stood up, steadying the child the two of them walked over to Lucas.
The child seemed to have a bit more life back in his eyes.  As he walked
the symptoms of shock, so obvious only seconds ago, seemed to fade from his
body.  The boy walked over to Lucas and gave him a hug.

The boy stood back and smiled a bit.  His blue eyes shimmered a bit, tears
still in them, though not running down his freckled cheeks anymore.  The
lady ruffled his red hair a bit before he started up the stairs back to one
of the units.

"Alex.  His parents were dragged off with the initial outbreak.  He showed
up here about 10 hours later and has not left since.  Good kid.  Smart kid,
but you can't go through something like that without being shaken.  He will
manage, though."  The woman said looking to where the boy went out of
sight.  "I am Amanda, by the way."

"Nice to meet you" Lucas said looking up through eyes that were still
watery.

"I am a counselor.  This building was a home for displaced people, and I
have worked here for 3 years now.  A lot of our residents were displaced
LGBT, or refugees from other countries.  If you need to talk, I stay in
unit 15." She said.

"Is there a way to cure this?" Lucas asked immediately.  He wasn't really
sure why he was asking her, but it just came out.

"None that we have found yet.  I am not a medical doctor, but I think it is
unlikely that there is a cure, and even more unlikely that we would find it
at this point.  The best we can hope for is to stay segregated and
survive."  She said, with a knowing look on her face.  "We have all had to
do things.  You are not the only one."

"I killed him." Lucas sobbed.  Tears came flowing down his face.  "I shot
him.  I did it.  I loved him.  He was my life"

"Oh sugar.  You have to know that there was not another way.  Once this
takes you over, you are not the same person.  You did not kill him.  He was
dead before you found him."  She said sitting down and putting an arm
around him.  "The only thing that you can do is continue on.  He could not
be saved, and you have to understand that."

"I can't do this.  I can't keep living when the world has come to this."
Lucas sobbed.

"You have to.  I have to.  We all have to.  If we don't, there will be no
one to continue on.  There will be no beauty to the world.  No one to look
at the sky, and no one to grip the earth in their palms.  The world has
taken a scary turn, but there is no one saying it will be like this
forever.  We have to push through, to show we are strong enough to continue
to enjoy our world.  All things pass."  Amanda said.

Lucas stayed silent for a long time.  Long enough that Amanda decided to
take her leave.  She stood up and looked Lucas over.  She gave him a pat on
the back as she began the climb up the stairs.  As she walked away she
quietly sang a song.

"A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap A time to
kill, a time to heal A time to laugh, a time to weep" (Turn Turn Turn" by
the Byrds)

After what seemed like hours Lucas got up to go back to his unit.  He stood
up and walked up the stairs, still hanging his head slightly.  It was just
enough to not notice the collision that he was walking into.  Adrian came
around the corner carrying a large storage bin just as Lucas was reaching
the top of the stairs.  The collision sent Lucas tumbling down 5 of the
steps before he he stopped himself by grabbing the post of the handrail
with his injured arm.

"Oh god, Lucas! Are you alright man!?  You came out of nowhere!" Adrian
said ditching the bin and jumping down to help Lucas to his feet.

"Brilliant!" Lucas said clenching his arm.  "Just brilliant!"

"I feel horrible, man." Adrian said reaching out to help Lucas back up the
stairs.

"You!?  I am the one that just got pushed down the stairs." Lucas said,
huffing a chuckle that he couldn't hold back.  It hurt his back a bit to
laugh, but this did not concern him compared to the damage to his ego.

"You know what I mean.  Are you alright?"  Adrian asked.

"I will live, I think.  What are you carrying in that bin?" Lucas said
motioning to the large bin which had caused the chaos.

"Supplies.  We are trying to make it harder for those bastards to break in
here, but I am not convinced it will do much good.  We are putting caulk in
the spaces of the boards and blackout paper on the windows upstairs.
Hopefully that will help avoid any crazies getting in."  Adrian said.  "But
if they knew we were here before I am not sure that this will help much
more than what we have."

"I still say there is more to what is going on."  Lucas said.

"Well I have to get to work."  Adrian said, heading down the stairs with
the bin.  "Look ahead next time, it helps to not be falling down stairs
when Eric is pissed about the noise levels."

Lucas simply rolled his eyes.  He walked down the hall toward his unit when
he started hearing voices.  He noticed they were coming from Travis' unit.
He stopped just outside the door and listened.

"... can't just fuck everyone in this building moron!" Eric chastised.  "It
isn't good to mess with people's heads in this situation!  Keep your pants
on for once in your life!"

"It isn't like that Eric, and you are not in a position to tell me what to
do.  You act like you are in charge here, but just because you are bossy
doesn't make you the boss." Travis replied.

There was a loud slam which sounded like someone had kicked something.

"And this lockdown is a load of crap.  That was a freak occurrence.  We
need to get more supplies and soon.  Zombies are only one concern.  We have
to be able to have food, and our water supplies are not meant to hold out
this many people for long."  Travis said.  "Kicking and punching, whining
and crying are not going to change that."

"Then you go.  I am locking the door behind you."  Eric yelled.

Eric opened the door to the unit and saw Lucas standing there.  He looked
furious, but slammed past him and down the hall.  Travis came to the
opening and looked at Lucas.  He scowled and closed the door.  Lucas
decided there was nothing left to do but go in his unit.

He walked in his room and laid back on the bed.  He felt something hard hit
the back of his head as he laid back and moved his briefcase out of the
way.  He sat up and opened the case.  He took out a small bit of pot and a
rolling paper.  He had only smoked a couple times, and had never rolled
before, but he managed to roll himself a fair joint.  He pulled out a
lighter and lit the joint.  He took a puff and felt his body immediately
relax.

"Ahhh.." Lucas let out.  "Nice."

He put out the joint and laid back again and fell asleep.  He was woken up
a few hours later by a knocking on his door.  He got up and tried to get
his hair to lay down and presentable before giving it up as a lost cause.
The knocking continued until he answered the door.  Adrian was standing
there with his bin.

"I am here to cover your windows.  What took you so long to answer?" Adrian
said looking slightly annoyed.

"I was sleeping, man.  Come in."  Lucas said stepping aside.

"Woah, what is that smell?" Adrian said setting his bin down.

"Uh, its nothing." Lucas said.  He felt a lump in his throat and he could
feel his heart speed up.

"That smells like pretty damn good nothing.  Man have you been holding out
on us?" Adrian said taking another whiff of air.

"Don't say anything.  It was my boyfriend's, I don't even smoke that often.
Please." Lucas said.

"Man, what are you expecting me to do?  Call the cops?" Adrian said.  "No
one is going to throw you out for having some weed, man!  They will be
pissed you aren't sharing!"

"I don't have much."  Lucas said.

"You have to have some seeds stuck in some of the buds, I could set up a
couple plants if you hook me up with a little bit of it."  Adrian said with
a smile.  "My buddies used to grow their own shit.  It takes a bit of time
to get going but yeah."

Lucas went over to his case and pulled out a couple buds and gave them to
Adrian.

"Keep it quiet would you?  I don't need people breaking in here for this
shit." Lucas said.

"Alright, alright.  I wont tell.  Oh, by the way, Travis wanted me to send
you over.  I just fixed his unit up."  Adrian said.

Lucas sighed and locked the case back up.  He put it beside his bed.  He
walked across the way and knocked on Travis' door.  It opened quickly and
he was ushered inside by Samantha.

"Come in" Samantha said. "Come in, we need to be quiet alright?"

"What is going on?" Lucas said.

The blackout paper really changed the unit.  The large windows were
completely covered and no outside light was getting in.  The only light in
the room was coming from a lamp in the corner.  This gave everything an
eerie underground atmosphere and the shadows cast around the room did not
help the mood.

"We need supplies.  Eric has threatened to lock people out, but you know
that already, sneaky" Travis said with a slight glare.

"Hey if you guys want to yell don't get offended if you get overheard,
Travis.  We could hear you with our doors closed" Samantha said.

"What is your problem?  I thought we were alright, but since the zombies
got in you have been a real ass!" Lucas said standing up to leave.

"Lucas, sit down.  I am sorry.  It is just weird stuff in my head.  I am
sorry." Travis said pulling Lucas' unbandaged arm back.

"Well chill it!" Lucas said sitting back down.  "What am I doing here?"

"We need to make a run for supplies.  We need you to take us."  Samantha
said.

"Why me?"  Lucas asked.

"Because you have that jeep of yours in the garage.  Eric has the keys for
the other vehicles in his unit.  His lockdown is going to kill us before
the bastards outside can if we do not get food and water.  We have to go
tonight, and be back before he knows we left, or we will be locked out."
Travis said.

"We don't have time to discuss it.  Either come with us, or give us your
keys." Samantha said.

"Fine.  Lets go." Lucas said.

The three of them left the unit and as quietly as possible went down the
stairs.  Travis and Samantha went into the Armory to pick up some weapons
while Lucas waited in the lobby.  Around the corner upstairs he saw a patch
of red hair peak around and snap back.

"Alex, isn't it?" Lucas said loud enough to be heard.  "Come out."

The redheaded boy came around the corner with a cautious look on his face.
He walked slowly down the stairs but paused on the last few.

"You are leaving aren't you?  Eric is going to go ballistic."  Alex said
quietly.

"We need to get supplies.  He won't even know we were gone."  Lucas said.
"Can I trust you not to tell him?"

"You are going to bring more of them back here..." Alex said with a shake
in his voice.

"No, they can't get in here.  We put up more protection."  Lucas said,
trying to reassure the boy.

"I am not a dumb kid, you know.  The paper is a waste, and a little plastic
in the cracks is not going to stop them any more than the nails and wood
did.  You said they were smart, they will follow you and they will get in
again."  Alex said shaking more now.

"I also said we were not going to bring them back here, didn't I?  You need
to go back to your unit and pretend you did not see us.  Understand?"
Lucas said, getting a bit more frustrated now.  "We will be back with food
and water, unless you would rather not eat when your rations run out."

Alex turned without saying anything and went back upstairs.  Lucas listened
and soon heard a door close.  He turned around and nearly ran into Travis
and Samantha.

"If you just got us caught...  If we are locked out when we get back..."
Travis said looking furious.

"Chill out Travis, the kid is cool.  He won't rat us out.  Lets go."
Samantha said, pressing an M6 into Lucas' hands and walking toward the door
to the garage.

Travis walked silently past Lucas through the garage.  Lucas unlocked the
Jeep and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Where are we going?" Lucas said starting the engine.

"There is a Walmart on Hook Creek Blvd.  Go there.  I just hope it hasn't
been raided already."  Travis said from the back seat.

Lucas pulled the jeep onto the road and realized that there was more
traffic obstacles than he had remembered.  He had to weave through cars and
debris from wrecks most of the way.  He stuck to the back roads as much as
he could, as there was less to dodge.

As he turned onto Francis Lewis Blvd he realized that night was not the
best time to be out driving.  He turned off his lights as he approached the
group of zombies huddled over the body of a woman that had obviously been
the source of feeding for a couple days now.  He could only tell that it
was a woman by her clothes, though honestly he thought it could have been a
drag queen with this part of town.  He stopped the car not wanting to get
any closer as their luck had been good that they had not already been
noticed.

"What do we do?" Lucas said.

"I don't know."  Samantha said from the passenger seat.  "I think I am
going to be sick though, I can smell them from here."

"Don't... move..." Travis said frozen in position.

From Lucas's peripheral vision he could see movement just outside the jeep.
A hand slammed onto the window and Lucas tried his best not to jump, though
he was not sure he was successful in hiding the inch he had moved.

Samantha was not as quick on the uptake and turned to see a man standing
outside her window as well.  His lower jaw looked to have been broken as it
hung limp from the rest of his face, revealing that half of his teeth were
missing and his tongue had withered back into his throat.  She let out a
whimper, but it was enough to alert both zombies around the jeep to the
fact that there was food inside.  They began to pound on the windows with
such force that small cracks were developing in the glass.

Lucas slammed on the gas and they were off.  It was only seconds before the
rapid large bumps signaled to them that they had run over the zombies
feasting on the body in the road.  Lucas did not even bother to look back
to see if they were being followed, but he had never witnessed a zombie
that could run as fast as he was driving.  He turned onto Hook Creek
without slowing down and nearly tipped the jeep as he pulled into the
parking lot of the Walmart.

"What part of don't move do you not understand!?" Travis said slapping the
back of Samantha's head.

"Oh I know you did not just slap me, bitch!" Samantha said turning in her
seat.  "You have some nerve!"

"Stop it!" Lucas said throwing an arm between them.  "We do not have time
for this!  Lets get in, out, and back to the complex.  Really!  It is like
dealing with children!"

He was just about to open his door when he heard the sound of shattering
glass.  He let out a scream as a decaying hand pulled him back against the
door.  He saw Samantha raise her gun and was pulled back against the door
again.  His head slammed into the frame of the window, and his world went
black.