John O'Brien - Chaos

“Holy shit that was close. Thanks,” Drescoll says between gasps of breath and bent over in the semi-darkness of the entrance with his hands on his knees.

A loud thud sounds as something slams against the door in front of them startling the three of them as Drescoll finishes his sentence. Something else slams against the door right on the heels of the first.

“Identify yourself,” Lynn calls out to the other side of the door only to be met by a loud shriek and another large something banging against the door.

“Or don’t,” she says more quietly.

“I think they just did,” Drescoll says just as quietly having caught his breath and standing back upright.

“Specialist Taylor, stay here but don’t open the door and stay quiet. I’m going to send one of the Privates up with you.” Lynn says turning from the door and starting back to the open area with Drescoll on her heels.

“Private, go up with Specialist Taylor at the front door and keep watch,” she says once she returns to the central open room.

Turning to Drescoll who is leaning against one of the desks, Lynn asks, “So, what the hell was that about?”

“Fuck, I don’t know exactly,” Drescoll answers getting a rather faraway look in his eyes. “I was in the Intel shop when about twenty people suddenly stormed into the building. They immediately began attacking everyone there, jumping on them and literally tearing them apart. I tried to help but they were overwhelming and it became apparent very quickly there wasn’t anything I could do. Everyone in the shop was down and just that quickly. I headed out the back but some of them apparently saw me and chased me all of the way here.”

The faraway look vanishes and he focuses on Lynn, staring intensely into her eyes. “They were our own people Lynn,” Drescoll adds, his shock apparent by the use of her first name.

Releasing his gaze and staring at the floor, he goes on, “I recognized some of them. Only, they weren’t really the same. They were just, well, crazed and out of control. All they did was shriek and howl as they tore everyone apart. And, they were pale and blotchy. Christ, it was a mess in there. Thanks again for opening the door,” he finishes looking at her once again with the slamming and shrieks almost continuous outside.

“No worries,” Lynn says and looks at the others in the room. They are alternating their wide-eyed stares between her and Drescoll. “Continue your calling,” she says to the Specialist and he turns back to the phone in front of him, the mesmerization broken.

“Okay, we’re going to continue to man the TOC and try to get contact. Any questions?”

The Privates and Specialist answer with a “No, Sergeant.”

Lynn turns to Sergeant Drescoll, “I want to get a look outside. Do you mind waiting here and overseeing this for a bit?” She asks, waving her left arm in a circular motion to indicate the room.

“Not a prob,” Drescoll responds.

Lynn walks to where Taylor and the Private are standing by the front door. The shrieks have grown less frequent in nature but the sounds and reverberations of something slamming hard into the building are no longer confined to the door. There are things slamming against the building walls as well. Between the howls and pounding sounds, there is now a continuous growling that seeps into the building from outside. The sporadic gunfire heard in the distance earlier is now either non-existent or overshadowed by the closer sounds.

“I’m heading in the office for a look outside. Have you heard anything different than, well, this?” She asks indicating the obvious noises with a nod of her head, barely visible in the gray darkness.

“No, Sergeant,” Taylor responds and Lynn heads into the office on her right.

In the office, the window stands at about eye level looking out to the front of the building. She steps up to the window and gazes out over the wide avenue. The building is raised from the ground so eye level to her is a ways off the ground outside. Looking left and right, the avenue is clear with the exception of about twenty people crowded in front of the TOC. The crowd consists mostly of fatigue-clad soldiers but mixed in are people in shorts and t-shirts. A couple of them are darker skinned and dressed in jeans and button-down short-sleeve shirts. They are mostly milling about but definitely focused on the building she is in. A few of them take short runs at the building and slam into the sides or up the steps outside and into the front door with their shoulders. Some attempt to run and jump at the other window on the other side of the door but the window and its small ledge seem too high for them to reach.

As she continues to gaze out at the crowd, she notices one detail prevalent in all of them by the light streaming down on them, and that is the paleness of their skin. It seems to be pale gray with both small and large darker gray blotches. Several appear to have blood painted on their faces and hands. Some of their clothing is soaked in what appears to be either dried or drying blood. A very large chill crawls up her spine and a sense of surrealness steels over her. Oh my fucking god, are those freakin’ zombies? She thinks shaking her head not believing entirely what she is seeing outside . No, can’t be. A flash of memory passes through her mind as she recalls the many zombie discussions she and Jack had in the past. Talking about what they would do in the event of a zombie invasion and discussing the various zombie books they had read.

The trip down memory lane is broken when one of the crowd notices her in the window and shrieks out. She looks down at the figure hunched toward her with its mouth open. The others pause in whatever activity they were at and focus on her, running towards her window. The one who discovered her runs at her, launches itself up, and slams into the side of the building. She notes all of them have focused on her and that a distraction could possibly work in the event they need to hastily exit. The shrieks and pounding increase in intensity with their having discovered someone inside. Lynn backs away from the window and out of the office.

“You holler if anyone or anything breaches the front of the building. Watch out for the windows,” she says passing by Taylor and the Private once more.

“Will do, Sergeant,” Taylor responds.

In the open area once again, she signals Sergeant Drescoll to her rather than joining the small group. She relates everything she saw, although not her thoughts. Their voices don’t carry past their position.

“What the fuck is going on?” He asks after hearing her report.

“I have no idea,” she replies back. “We need to keep away from the windows and maintain silence though. We’ll just hole up here and see what the morning brings. In the meantime, we’ll stay on the phones.”

Drescoll nods in agreement. “What about the lights?”

“We’ll turn on a couple to indicate to anyone outside, well, the ones that haven’t gone crazy, that the TOC is manned.” He nods and Lynn steps over to the others in the room informing them of her plans. Next, she heads to the front to notify Taylor and the Private.

The remainder of the evening is spent with little change in their situation. There is no response from any of the calls outbound and none of the lines ring with anyone calling in. The sounds outside become more sporadic with the exception of the constant muted growling. The only change occurs a little after 0200 when the occasional pounding and growling begins occurring along the side of the building under the windows from where their inside lights are emitting outside. After turning the lights completely out, submersing them in almost total darkness, the sounds along the side eventually transition to the back door. With everyone keyed up and facing a very confusing situation, there is no sleep to be had.