Dead Living Read online

  Dead Living

  Title Page

  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

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  A PERMUTED PRESS book

  published at Smashwords.

  Dead Living copyright © 2011, 2012

  by Glenn Bullion.

  Cover art by Mooney Designs.

  All Rights Reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author and publisher.

  Chapter 1

  Joe Thompson lowered the prongs on his forklift and set the crate near the end of the trailer. He backed out of the thick heat and wiped a bead of sweat from his head. The loading dock itself was much cooler. It was beautiful outside, a cloudless seventy-five degree day. A great day to be anywhere except at work loading freight.

  It was the Saturday before the last week of the month, always the busiest shipping week. Someone had to draw the short straw, and this weekend, it was Joe. He tried to use his pregnant wife as an excuse, but she was still a few weeks from her due date, and the excuse didn’t fly. He knew they needed the money. He shot his supervisor Danny a dirty look as he climbed off the forklift. He knew he should feel bad for Danny too—he had to work every single weekend—but Joe was having trouble being sympathetic.

  Anthony, the driver for the trailer Joe had just loaded, called his name. Joe was lost to the sounds of the warehouse. The hum of air compressors was always in the background, along with grinders, welders, paint sprayers. His plant made industrial driers for plastic, and it was his job to crate and ship them.

  “Hey, Joe!” Anthony yelled. “You awake over there?”

  “Oh yeah, yeah. All done. Just some paperwork. Over here.”

  Anthony was one of the regular drivers, and Joe had known him for almost two years. Joe noticed he had a bandage around his arm as they walked back to the desk.

  “You alright?” Joe asked. “Your wife beat you up again?”

  Anthony shot him a look. Anthony’s wife was an amateur bodybuilder, who was nearly twice his size. Secretly, Joe felt bad for him. Joe was still head-over-heels in love with his wife Sarah, even after seven years. He couldn’t wait to add to their little family in a few weeks. At least half the time he was excited; the other half he was terrified. Anthony, on the other hand, didn’t have many good things to say about his wife.

  “No, she didn’t beat me up, wise-ass,” he said. “A homeless guy bit me.”

  “Bit you? Are you serious?”

  “I’m dead serious. The bastard was drunk or something. Bit me while I was getting in my car.”

  Joe laughed. “You should get your wife to bend him in half, teach him some manners. Did you call the cops or anything?”

  “You want me to call the cops on a homeless guy? And stop talking about my wife, or I’ll get her down here to smack you around.”

  Joe watched him as he signed a few forms. His hand shook slightly and he looked pale.

  “You might want to go to the hospital. You don’t look so good. I mean, worse than usual.”

  “Ha ha, you little bastard. Wait till you see how you feel in a few months with that newborn baby. Wave goodbye to sleep now.”

  Joe smiled. “I’ll just wake Sarah up.”

  “Yeah, good luck with that.”

  They shared another laugh, then Joe became serious as Anthony left through the shipping door.

  “Seriously, man. Go to the hospital.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m gonna take a nap in the truck, drop this load off, then I’ll head over.”

  The door closed behind Anthony. Joe heard the door to his truck open and shut.

  The break bell rang. Saturday was only a six hour shift. Sometimes Joe would skip break and punch out early. Not today. He wanted a coffee from the break room.

  Their break room was simple enough. Vending machines, water fountain in the corner, some microwaves scattered around. They even had a little television on a stand against the wall. More people were gathered around than usual. Joe grew curious as he took a sip of coffee.

  “What’s up guys? Cartoons on?”

  They didn’t answer. It took a good ten seconds for anyone to notice he even said anything. Finally, his friend Brian turned around.

  “Man, check this out. There’s some scary shit going on.”

  Joe stepped forward and looked over everyone’s shoulders to see the TV. It looked like a riot, filmed from a helicopter. Sadly, the scene didn’t shake him that much. It seemed like every other day there was some kind of violence on the news.

  What did catch his attention, however, were the words New York City at the bottom of the screen.

  “A riot in New York? What are they fighting over?”

  “Not just New York,” Brian said. “Everywhere.”

  Joe kept quiet and listened to the reporter: “There is speculation that this is a biological terrorist attack. However, reports are now coming in that the mass outbreak of violence is happening in London, Tokyo, Sidney, on every continent. Authorities are advising everyone to stay in their homes.”

  “This is un-fucking-real,” Brian said.

  Danny, the supervisor, walked into the break room. Joe felt an eerie sense of deja vu. The last time everyone had gathered in the break room to watch a life-altering event was on September 11th, 2001.

  “Guys, I just caught some weird ass stories on the net,” Danny said. “What the hell is going on?”

  No one answered. They were hypnotized by the news.

  It almost didn’t seem real. Joe actually thought, just for a second, that this was some kind of joke. Someone had made a gag tape and put it in the VCR. But the mood of the break room told him this was no joke. He turned around and grabbed his cell phone from his belt. His first thought was to his wife Sarah.

  “Hello?”

  Her voice calmed him. Sarah had that effect on him.

  “Hey baby. It’s me.”

  “Joe, you won’t believe this. There’s fifteen cop cars down the street. Someone ran a car into a house! I think it’s on fire. Can you believe that?”

  “Listen honey. Are you watching the news?”

  “No, why?”

  “There’s something really weird going on. I’m gonna cut out early today, soon. You stay at the house, alright?”

  “Sure. Me and Margie are just watching what’s going on outside.”

  Margie was Sarah’s best friend. They were in high school together and had always been close. Joe liked her. She’d been helping them a lot during Sarah’s pregnancy, especially with Joe working extra hours.

  “Okay, I’ll be home soon. Tell our son I’m leaving now.”

  “You mean our daughter.”

  Joe smiled. Eight months into their pregnancy and they didn’t know the sex of their child. They wanted to be surprised. They still hadn’t picked a name out for the baby, and Joe was getting nervous. He didn’t want their first child to be in his mother’s arms for the first time without a name. But Sarah had rejected every name they’d come up with.

  “I’ll see you when I get home.”


  “Okay, love you sweetie.”

  “Everyone,” Danny said behind him. “I think we’re just gonna close up shop for the day. Let’s all just go home and take care of our own.”

  Some relief passed through the break room, before the television spoke again.

  “The Centers for Disease Control is now issuing a public health warning. They believe whatever is causing people to exhibit violent behavior could possibly be spread through a bite or direct contact with open wounds. Again, you are urged to stay in your homes.”

  They showed different camera feeds taken from all over the world. Joe couldn’t look away. It wasn’t just mob violence he was watching. This was something different. The people didn’t carry guns or knives. They just attacked people. A camera in Ontario showed a mob tackling a woman to the ground. It looked like they were trying to eat her.

  Brian noticed it too. “What the…what in the hell are they doing to her?”

  Joe couldn’t believe it. The camera was quite a distance away in the sky, but they could tell what was happening. The woman struggled for only a moment, then a pool of blood began forming under her. Her attackers didn’t even care. They just sat there in it.

  Even the news anchor narrating the feed seemed shaken.

  “Uh, I can’t believe what we’re witnessing here. We’ve heard rumors, but it looks like we have confirmation. This virus, whatever it is, however it’s spreading, looks like it causes… cannibalism.”

  Joe shook his head. He felt sick to his stomach. Then he remembered Anthony, just talking to him five minutes ago at the loading dock.

  He had been bitten by someone, and he looked very sick.

  Joe didn’t even get a chance to tell Danny when they all heard a loud crash outside. Everyone ran out of the break room and hopped down from one of the open docks.

  The warehouse was located in an industrial complex. There wasn’t much traffic, and every car that went by the plant was either going to or leaving a job.

  Anthony had jumped the curb in his truck, ran through the fence separating them from the street, and drove right into the side of a Honda Civic that was passing by. The smaller car was pinned between the truck and a light pole.

  “Holy shit!”

  “Call 9-1-1!”

  “That’s Anthony’s truck, isn’t it?”

  Everyone ran to the scene. A few men reached for their cell phones. Joe was in the lead. He stopped near the driver’s side door of Anthony’s truck and looked toward the Civic. The entire side was smashed in. He could see a woman by herself.

  She wasn’t moving. Her head slumped against the steering wheel. Her lifeless eyes looked toward the ground outside. Her face was covered in blood and a piece of glass stuck out of her neck.

  Joe had seen her before. He didn’t know her name. He would see her driving somewhere deeper in the complex. She always dressed nice, so he figured she had an office job. She would smile and wave to the guys at the picnic tables outside the plant as she went by.

  Now she was dead.

  Joe had never seen a dead body before. He was surprisingly numb. He could hear his coworkers around him.

  “Oh shit! I think that lady’s dead.”

  “I think an ambulance is coming. I got cut off halfway through. I lost the signal or something.”

  “Is Anthony alright?”

  “He’s moving! Hey, Anthony? You okay, buddy?”

  Brian knew enough not to move Anthony until the paramedics arrived, but he wanted to talk to him, make sure he was okay. He opened the passenger’s side door and leaned in.

  Anthony moved his head from side to side, like he was confused. Brian saw his bandaged arm and what looked like a huge amount of blood under the gauze.

  “Yo, Anthony?” Brian whispered.

  Anthony whipped his head around to look at Brian. The sudden movement scared him, but not as much as what he saw.

  Something was very wrong with Anthony.

  His skin was pale white. His eyes were sunken with huge black circles around them. Brian could see very little of his eyes at all, almost like he had milky white contact lenses over them. His head just moved around like a baby’s, like he couldn’t control it.

  Anthony let out a deep groan and reached out to grab Brian. He pushed against his still-attached seat belt and bit Brian right on the arm. Brian yelled and his legs slipped out from under him. He was hanging halfway out of the truck. Anthony didn’t bite like a child. He sank his teeth into Brian’s flesh and twisted like he was biting into a juicy steak. Brian ripped his arm away while Joe and Danny moved behind him, pulling him out by his legs. Brian cradled his arm as blood dropped to the street.

  “He fucking bit me!”

  Joe remembered what he saw on TV, about whatever it was being passed around by bites or open wounds.

  He also remembered the part about cannibalism.

  He searched everyone’s faces. Clearly others were thinking the same thing, because they started to back up, keeping a wary eye on Brian.

  Joe didn’t back up. He pulled his shirt off and wrapped it tightly around Brian’s arm. He winced in pain and just clutched his arm close to his chest. Joe grabbed him by the shoulders and led him to the curb.

  “Alright man, just sit here. Keep as much pressure on it as you can. The ambulance is coming.”

  The crowd was divided as they watched Anthony from both sides of the truck. Joe stood next to Danny and watched from the open passenger’s side door.

  Anthony thrashed around wildly in his seat, his mouth ringed in Brian’s blood, still chewing on the piece of flesh from Brian’s arm. Joe almost lost his breakfast. Every time someone would say something, Anthony would look at them and let out a noise that shook Joe to the bone. Anthony didn’t even try to form words. He just moaned and struggled against his seat belt. He didn’t seem to realize that with just the press of a button he would be free.

  Danny leaned close to Joe. “What the hell is wrong with him?”

  “I don’t know, but look at him. Something’s really off.”

  “Oh really? You think so?”

  Joe ignored his supervisor’s sarcasm. “No, I mean, just look at him. It looks like he’s-”

  “Dead,” Danny finished.

  “Uh, guys,” someone said from the other side of the truck. “You’d better get over here.”

  Everyone jogged around the trailer and joined the group on the other side. Joe stopped just a few feet away from the driver’s side door. He could hear Anthony, still moaning and reaching out for them. But he almost seemed like an afterthought now.

  The woman who drove the Civic, dead just a few minutes ago, slowly crawled out of the broken window of her car. She let out a moan just like Anthony. The entire group winced as she fell to the ground hard. She didn’t hold her hands up, didn’t try to break her fall. She just fell face first onto some shattered glass without a single cry of pain. She didn’t even flinch. She just kept letting out that dreadful wail.

  “Uh, ma’am,” Danny said, “you’ve just had an accident. You might want to take it easy.”

  He took a step toward her. Joe reached out and grabbed him. He didn’t think it was a good idea to even get near her.

  She slowly climbed to her feet, an act itself that looked odd. It almost looked like her muscles didn’t want to work. She stumbled a few times, falling against the car. Her eyes were just like Anthony’s, milky white and lifeless. The piece of glass that was in her neck had fallen out, leaving a huge cut. But blood didn’t gush out. It simply dripped down her neck onto her dress, like her heart wasn’t even beating anymore.

  She surveyed the group quickly, then lunged toward Danny. She was surprisingly fast now that she was on her feet. Both Danny and Joe barely ducked out of the way in time. She stumbled and fell once again to the ground. Danny and a few guys from the electrical department jumped on her back. She struggled to move and reached for anyone to grab.

  “Lady, you have to calm down!” Danny shouted.

&
nbsp; Joe looked up at Anthony, still trapped behind the seat belt. He let out another agitated moan and reached out through the broken window.

  “I don’t think they’re gonna say anything. They’re crazy now or something.”

  They heard a voice from the other side of the trailer.

  “Uh, guys.” It was Brian. “I’m not feeling so good over here.”

  Joe and a few others ran back to the other side. Joe didn’t mean to, but he gasped when he saw Brian. He looked terrible. He still sat on the curb, cradling his arm in his lap. His face was pale white and covered with sweat. Joe could still see his eyes, unlike the woman and Anthony, but they had huge black circles around them.

  “I think I’m gonna be sick,” he said.

  No one stepped toward him. Joe pointed at the ground behind him. “Just lay down, on the grass there. Help’s coming.”

  Joe had doubts that help was on the way. If there were riots happening all over the world, would ambulances care about one little phone call at a warehouse?

  He grabbed his cell phone and called his wife. It took three tries to get through. He wanted to tell her to get in the house and lock every door and window. A woman answered the phone, but it wasn’t Sarah.

  “Hello?”

  “Margie? Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, Joe, everything’s fine.”

  He felt panic, then quickly shoved it aside. “Where’s Sarah? What’s going on?”

  “Here, talk to him a sec,” Margie said, handing the phone over to Sarah.

  “Joe?”

  It was Sarah. Joe closed his eyes with relief.

  “Sarah. Honey, what’s happening?”

  “Well, uh, we’re getting ready to have a baby. I tried to call you, but I kept getting some message about all circuits being busy.”

  “The baby? But you’re still two weeks out!”

  “Yeah, well, tell her that.”

  Joe had waited for this moment for months. He knew it would be one of those moments he’d never forget. He often wondered where he’d be when it happened. Maybe at home in the middle of the night, at the store, or outside doing the lawn. He even prepared himself for that phone call when he was at work. He had his drive to the hospital all planned out. They had a bag packed near the front door containing every possible thing Sarah might need. Spare clothes, a camera for pictures of the birth, a list of every single friend to call. They had a car seat already installed in the back of Sarah’s car. They had planned for everything.