As the day was dawning on Tuesday morning a military convoy had made its way up Route One to King’s Cove. There had been talk of using the area National Guard units; but that idea was met with the concern of locals being able to keep things quiet and to shoot to kill if that became necessary. Instead a unit had been mobilized overnight from Massachusetts. Their arrival marked the beginning of a new course of action. Quarantine. The men blocked all roads that would lead in and out of King’s Cove. The only other access to the town was by boat and the Coast Guard was handling things on that end.
“Set up a perimeter through the forest as well,” Captain Anistasio ordered.
Those men not responsible for blocking the road began to move into the forested area around the town. When they were all in place the entire town was sealed off from the rest of Maine and hence from the rest of the country.
“Is this really necessary?” a private asked the captain.
“No one from this town can be allowed to escape. If they do there is no telling what kind of hell will be unleashed. They are all likely to be sick.”
“But shouldn’t we give them medical attention rather than allowing an entire town to die?”
The captain sighed. “There is no cure. All we can do is manage the situation and allow it to run its course. Those are our orders and you will follow them.”
The military men had been told that if they were approached by a civilian from King’s Cove they were to warn them to back away or they would be shot. If the warning was not heeded they were to fire a warning shot. If that didn’t work they were ordered to shoot to kill.
Captain Anistasio looked down upon the quiet seaside town. “Here’s hoping they go quietly.”
The bell never rang. Instead there was an announcement over the intercom. Apparently so many teachers and students had not arrived they were cancelling school. Those students that were in the classrooms let out a cheer. Even the teachers seemed excited.
I, like everyone else in the school, grabbed my things and headed down the hallway toward the front door. Just then the lights went out. At the front of the school there was a banging sound and a loud scream. I rounded the corner in time to see the principal running down the hallway. His face was a mask of blood. His eyes were wild with fear.
“Everyone, get back to your classrooms,” he yelled as he ran.
I froze. Everyone froze. It was like a Halloween prank, but Halloween was still more than a month away.
“Back to your classes! Now!” he yelled and ran passed us.
That’s when I saw them. I can’t say that I was the first, but I was the first to react.
“Run!” I yelled and turned.
As if the action were cued by my voice everyone in the hallway began to run. As I ran down the hall I realized that the last thing I wanted was to be trapped in the school while those things were after us. I needed to have space. Places to hide. Places to run. I’d seen enough horror films to know the school was not where I wanted to make my last stand. Some students and teachers ducked into classrooms where they shut and barricaded the doors. Others saw me heading for the back door and decided to follow me. If I had to point to one moment which made me a hero that was probably it. We left the dark hallways of the school behind and burst through the doors into the brightness of the day. There were hundreds of no longer human things surrounding the school. They were shattering windows and banging on doors. There wasn’t time to go back to rescue anyone. I had myself and the handful of those who had followed me to think about.
“The woods! Run for the woods!” I yelled back over my shoulder as I pointed myself in that direction.
I tore through the trees oblivious to the branches that scratched and clawed at my flesh. I knew that if I slowed even for an instant I faced a much worse fate. I had no thoughts of stealth. My only thought was to get as far away as possible as fast as possible. What I hadn’t planned on was encountering the soldier.
“Stop!” the man in camo yelled.
I came to a stop as quickly as I could when I saw the rifle aimed at me. Those behind me did the same.
“You need to let us through. They’re after us,” I said, pleading with the man.
“I can’t do that. This town is quarantined. There is a disease and we can’t let it spread.”
“A disease?” I asked. “There’s no disease. Something has turned most of this town into some sort of creature. Some sort of zombie. We can’t stay here. We’ll be killed.”
“I’m sorry, Son, but we have our orders.”
“Screw your orders! People’s lives are at stake. You’ve gotta help us.”
“I can’t do that. You need to turn around or I’ll have to shoot you,” the soldier said reluctantly.
I didn’t think he’d do it. He didn’t look like someone who would shoot an innocent person. I stepped forward. The soldier aimed the rifle in the air, firing a shot. My heart leapt into my throat. Maybe I was wrong about him.
“What’s going on?” one of my followers asked.
“They won’t let us leave town,” I threw back over my shoulder only taking my eyes off the soldier for a second.
“What are we going to do now?” another voice from behind me asked.
“We have to find somewhere else.”
“But where?” a third voice.
“I don’t know yet,” I said, but knew I’d need an answer fast.
It didn’t seem like the best option when it came to be, but it was the only one I had. I turned and gestured for my group to follow. Some of them felt it better to make a stand against the soldiers. I didn’t turn around when I heard the gunshots, but I was pretty sure I knew the result of their action. I weaved in and out of trees with my small band of not-so-merry men and women behind me. We made it to the main street and began running down the yellow line.
“Where are we going?” an out of breath voice asked.
“Down to the water. We’re going to try to make the island.”
“The island? Can zombies swim?” the voice asked.
“I don’t know, but at this point I’m willing to find out.”
I turned right down Water Street and headed straight for the choppy blue water of the Maine coast. My small group of followers tailed behind me. I looked out over the water and then turned back toward the town. Which brings me back to where I began this tale. After taking in the residents that had trusted me with their lives I turned back toward the water. It would be quite a swim and there were some with me who would not make it, but it was the best chance we had. I gestured for ‘my people’ as I had come to think of them to follow me. I started to wade out into the cold water of the bay. I heard splashes as more people joined me. I turned back and saw that some were hesitating. Hesitating that was until they heard the sounds of the zombies behind them. Then there was a mad dash for the water. We waded as far as we could and then began to stroke for the island. It was funny how it had always seemed so close until we had to swim there and then the distance seemed incomprehensible. I swam for what seemed an eternity and my arms were burning with the strain. I knew that I couldn’t go on much further and that’s when I realized that I was close enough to stand. I turned and began cheering for those who were following as if this were some sort of relay race. Our numbers had thinned even further during the swim. I hoped that throughout the evening and night more would find there way to shore, but I didn’t have much faith in that.
We scrounged up some wood and started a fire on the beach. There were houses to stay in so we had shelter, but there was little food to be found. That was a bridge we could cross when we came to it. As night fell people began to make their ways to the houses I offered to take the first watch. I stood by the fire and gazed out over the water. I could see that a large group of the zombie-like creatures had gathered along the water’s edge.
“Can you?” I asked, knowing they couldn’t here me. “Can you swim?”
As if drawn by my voice the first group of zombies began to wade into the water.
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
The End
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