HAYWIRE

HAYWIRE
Short Story
by
MadManMike

When Tony Diaz pulled up into his driveway, it was 8:20 AM. Getting off the graveyard shift from the Foam Factory had Tony tired. He moved slowly up his walkway.
He walked through the front door, the potent spices of chorizo and eggs enveloped him.
A smile immediately came over the face of the tired, two-hundred and fifty pound man.

Martha Diaz was in their small kitchen getting some plates down from the cupboard.

"It's just about ready...you look beat. Rough night?" she asked.

"Too many damn orders. I had my regular nightly orders, which were enough to keep me busy all night. Then within two hours of my shift, the foreman, Dan, came by and placed another six orders on my table. He gives me some story about how they have to be ready before noon tomorrow. I had to work through two of my breaks, plus cut my lunchtime in half."

"Can't they spread some of the orders around to the other saw operators?" his wife with the
hourglass figure asked.

"These orders can only be cut on the automatic saws. At night, I'm the only operator that knows how to run them. There's six men running the vertical saws and they don't have half the orders I have," Tony complained, as he removed his windbreaker jacket.

Tony made quick work of his breakfast as he wiped the folded tortilla across his plate and took his last bite.

"Delicious, my wife!" Tony shouted to Martha, who was in the back part of the house.

9:45 am

Tony walked out of the bathroom in his black sweats and red robe. Martha was sitting at her make-up desk, applying eye shadow. She wore her tight, faded Levi's and a flower pattern blouse.
Tony felt much better after breakfast and a shower.

"Don't forget, Clara and I are going shopping, so it should be nice and quiet here for you."

"I'm not going to have any problem falling asleep this morning," Tony replied.

10:30 am

The next words Tony heard came from his wife, who was standing over the bed, trying to wake him up.

"Tony, get up, come on wake up!"

He sat up startled.

"What's wrong?" he muttered, still half asleep.

"Come and look at this." Martha yelled as she ran down the hall.

"It's unbelievable. Snow in August?"

Tony grabbed his robe and headed down the hallway. When Tony entered the living room, Martha was on the couch, kneeling, looking out the front window. Tony walked to the window.

"It can't be!" Tony sounded dumbfounded.

The entire neighborhood was covered in snow: trees, houses, yards, and the street. Neighbors were coming out from across the street. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were talking to their neighbor, Mr. Baxter. Coming up the street was Mrs. Jenkins.

"Oh shit...here comes that nosy old Mrs. Jenkins," Tony complained.

Martha turned to face Tony and gave him a look of disapproval.

"If our house was being robbed, you would thank God for Mrs. Jenkins. She's a twenty-four hour neighborhood watch," Martha explained.

"You might be right, but she still gives me the creeps," Tony said.

The neighbors went back inside. Even Mrs. Jenkins was double timing back down the street. Tony let out a little chuckle at that sight.

Tony looked down at the bushes.

"Martha, this isn't snow...It's weaved, like a web."

"You're right. Looks more like cotton candy," Martha replied.

"I'm going to get my slippers on and check this out." Tony said.

BAM! BAM! BAM! came from the Diaz's kitchen backdoor.

"Who in the hell is in our backyard?" Tony asked nervously, making his way to the kitchen.

"Don't open the door. Ask who it is first." Martha pleaded, standing right behind Tony now.

Tony walked up to the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Fred! For God sakes, let me in, Tony!"
Tony looked to Martha.

"He sounds frightened,"

"He sounds crazy," Martha shot back.

Tony began to unlock the door, then it flew open. Martha screamed. Both Tony and Martha stepped back. Fred came rushing in, carrying a M-16 rifle. He was fully covered, wearing camouflage fatigues, military facemask, sunglasses, and gloves.

Fred kicked the door shut. No one made a move for a few minutes. Fred pointed the rifle at them.

"Get in the living room and sit down on the couch," Fred ordered.

"Sure, just relax Fred...everything is cool here," Tony cried out.

"Anybody been outside since the white shit appeared?" Fred asked, as he took off his face- mask.

"Neither of us has...but I was about to go check it out." Tony explained, holding on to Martha's hand.

"You can cancel that idea." Fred put the weapon down to his side.

Fred pulled off the sunglasses. Tony and Martha both saw the tears building up in Fred's eyes.

"I just killed my wife." Fred choked.

"Oh my God!" Martha cried out.

"How? Why? We can call the paramedics...maybe she's still alive. I can go check." Tony suggested.

"No she's dead and when I shot her, she wasn't Betty," Fred said, then walked over to a large recliner, sat down and placed the rifle on the carpet floor.

"I need a drink." Fred muttered.

Tony headed to the kitchen.

"I think there is still some Tequila under the kitchen sink."

Fred looked at Martha.

"You knew Betty hated my gun collection, right?"

"She was afraid of guns," Martha affirmed.

"That's right. She would never get close to the gun cabinet," Fred replied.

Tony came back in, with a bottle of Cuervo Especial, and handed it to Fred. Fred tipped the bottle and took a long swig, then lowered his head to his chest. He looked back up, teary eyed.

"But just a few minutes ago, she handled this M-16 like an expert. She tried to kill me with it."

"Oh no!" Martha yelled out.

"What happened over there, Fred?" Tony questioned, as Fred swallowed more Tequila.

"It's the white stuff outside. I was going out to mow the lawn when Betty came in with a handful of it. It was evaporating, but not out of her hands, evaporating into her hands. That shit went into her hands." Fred took another drink.

"Through her pores, I guess. The next thing I knew, Betty was running to my gun cabinet. I ran after her. Til the day I die, I will never forget that sight. She knew nothing about guns, but she locked and loaded that M-16 like she just finished qualifying expert out on the shooting range. And her eyes, those dark dead eyes. She flipped off the safety switch and began firing at me."

Martha covered her mouth and Tony just stared in shock.

"I dove into the hallway. I could hear the wall across from me, being riddled with bullets. I got up and ran into her sewing room, behind the door. I could hear her running up the hallway, and as soon as she stepped foot into the room, I slammed the door into her face. I think I broke her nose; there was blood on her face. She dropped the rifle and went running back to my gun cabinet." Fred took another swig.

Tony muttered weakly. "Maybe you should...slow down on the drinking."
Fred stood up, and took another drink.

"Maybe you should stop worrying about my drinking and start worrying about how you're going to get out of here alive!" Fred yelled.

Fred walked over to Tony and handed him the bottle.

"Here, you will probably need it more than me anyway."

Fred sat back down, picked up his weapon and laid it across his lap.
Fred continued.

"I picked the M-16 up and followed her. She had her arms in the cabinet and pulled out a 45. She turned around and said, "Eat lead, Fred." I had no choice: I emptied the rest of the clip into my wife or whatever that thing was. She flew back into the cabinet, breaking the glass doors...then slid down to the floor, where she lies dead."

"I'm so sorry, Fred. Here you do need this?" Tony handed the bottle to Fred.

"No, you're right. I need to keep my head clear." Fred remarked.

"I don't." Martha grabbed the bottle out of Tony's hand. She wasted no time in tipping the bottle. Just then, a loud shot was heard. It came from across the street.

Tony and Martha headed to the couch. They got into the kneeling position on the couch, looked out their window. Fred stood next to the couch, also looking out the window.

Tony and Martha could not believe what they were seeing. Fred could.

Outside, Mrs. Peterson was lying on the white- covered grass. Mr. Peterson was struggling with Mr. Baxter, who was holding a double-barrel shotgun. Baxter got Peterson up against a tree, placed the barrel up against his throat and pulled the trigger. The Diaz's and Fred could see the blood spray.

Peterson collapsed immediately. Mr. Baxter began smashing in what was left of Peterson's face, with the butt of the rifle.

"Look!" Tony shouted, pointing as old lady Jenkins ran up behind Mr. Baxter.

"It's Mrs. Jenkins." Martha said.

"No, not anymore." Fred commented, as he stared out the window.

Mrs. Jenkins was carrying a large butcher's knife. As soon as she reached Baxter, she stabbed the knife deep into the back of his neck with great force. He fell to his knees, and was attempting to pull the knife out when Mrs. Jenkins kicked him in his back, causing him to fall face-first into the white substance.

She danced around the dead bodies for a while, and then took off at a speed not normal for a seventy-year old lady.


"They've all gone haywire!" Tony screams.

"It's the white shit. Anyone who comes in contact with it...becomes some kind of killing machine." Fred said.

Martha stared out the window, stunned. She took another drink. She didn't say a word, she just kept looking out the window.

"We have to call the police." There was panic in Tony's voice.

"Not a good idea. They will come in contact with the white substance, before they get to us. Then we will have a real war on our hands," Fred articulated.

"The way things look out there, the battle has already begun," Martha replied, as she turned away from the window.

Tony walked into the kitchen.

"Are you going to be OK?" Fred asked Martha.

"Are we going to survive this?" Martha questioned.

Tony came back in with a frightened look on his face.

"The phones are down!" he cried out.

"I will get us all out of here alive. We can't stay here, that's for sure." Fred said with confidence.

"First thing, I need to go back to my place and bring more guns and ammo. Martha, could you fire a gun if needed?"

"Yes, if our lives depend on it...yes." Martha took another drink, before she placed the bottle on the end table.

"Good, because it just might," Fred said, and started to put his gear back on.


"We have a cross-bow. Remember Martha, your brother gave it to us...never used it. Looks like a handgun, with the mechanism on top, running along the barrel. The arrows that came with it are sharp as a knife, with a serrated edge on the point. Will definitely do damage," Tony explained with excitement.

"Good. Everything will help," Fred replied.

The squeal of car brakes could be heard outside. The three returned to the window. Outside, a brown Monte Carlo was idle in the middle of the street. A man and woman sat in the front seat. In the back seat, were two young boys.

Outside, in front of the vehicle were two teenage girls, with an older man. The girls carried baseball bats. The man had a small handgun in one hand, and a handful of the white, killer cotton in the other.

"Can't we help them?" Martha pleaded.

"If we make our presence known...we will have all the crazies in on us." Fred said.

The driver began to honk his horn. The lady passenger turned around to calm the two boys. The man outside, calmly walked up to the driver's side of the car. The driver rolled down his window.

It happened fast, but to the three of them, it looked like it was moving in slow motion. The man that stood outside, shoved the white substance into the driver's face, then shot the lady passenger in her head. The girls began to smash in the car windows.

"Save those two boys, Fred!" Martha yelled.

"You two get up against the side wall and stay down," Fred said, as he picked up the M-16 and went back to the window. He took the butt of the weapon and smashed out one windowpane.

The shattering glass caught the attention of those outside. Fred switched the weapon off safety and to semi-automatic. He needed each round to count.

The man with the handgun ran up to the Diaz's house, shooting. One bullet hit the window. The shattered glass made Martha scream. Fred took aim and fired one shot into the man's chest. The man dropped instantly.

The girls already had the boys out of the car and began to beat them with their bats. Fred pulled the trigger twice, and one girl fell face first into the street. Two more shots left the Diaz's home and hit the other girl in her back. She dropped the bat and fell onto the curb.

The two boys laid screaming in the white covered grass. They were contaminated. Fred knew what had to be done. He placed a bullet in each of the boys. The driver in the car, still sat there in a daze. Fred knew he was going through the transition stage. Fred aimed the rifle at his head, and let one round off. The spray of blood confirmed the kill.

"It's boo-koo dinky-dow out there." Fred said, then placed the M-16 up against the end table, while he picked up the Tequila bottle, and downed a great deal of the liquor.

Tony and Martha got up and went straight toward the broken window. They saw the car in the middle of the street, two dead bodies in the front seat. Two girls lie dead in the street, with the two young boys not so far away on the grass. There were the Petersons and Mr. Baxter across the street, who also lay dead. And the man who came so close to the Diaz's house, layed on their front yard.

"This looks like something out of a Stephen King novel," Tony said, as he walked away from the window.

"We have to get a move on now," Fred announced.

"I'll go find the crossbow," Tony left the room.

Martha, still at the window, watched Fred continue to put on all of his gear, as a gust of wind blew in some of the mind-altering substance. It clung to her hair, without her knowledge.

"I think the crossbow is in a box in the spare room closet," Martha yelled out.

Fred was ready to leave when Martha stopped him.

"I have something in the garage we could use. Wait here, I won't be long," she said, and rushed out to the garage from the dining room entry, before Fred could say anything.

Martha opened the door that led to the backyard. The white fluff invaded her, and she wanted more. She reached for the good stuff from a bush beside the door. She inhaled it through her nose and mouth. She grabbed more and headed back in.

Tony had boxes scattered all around the room before he finally found the one with the crossbow in it.

"Sorry Fred, it wasn't there," She gave Fred a sexy smile, while she pulled off his gloves, and placed them on the dinning room table.

"What's going on," Fred said, sounding somewhat distressed. She leaned back against the table and began to massage one of her breasts, while under cover, she placed the substance into one of the gloves.

"Get me out of here alive, and you can suck my tits...and bite my nipples, baby," Martha sighed

"What?" Fred replied.

"Touch them now, please," she moaned.

Fred couldn't believe, after killing his wife, he could be aroused by this black haired beauty. Without thought, Fred reached out to touch them, but then noticed her black dead eyes. They were the same eyes he had seen in his wife, just before she tried to kill him.

Martha moved quickly, grabbed the M-16 from the table, and pointed it right at Fred.

Tony found the razor sharp arrows with the jagged edge, and loaded one on top of the crossbow gun.

"Martha...put down the rifle. Tony and I can help you," Fred said calmly.

"You going to help me like you helped Betty, and what is that fat fuck in there going to do? Naughty boy Fred, but the only things you will be sucking on...are bullets!" A wicked smile came across Martha's face.

Tony placed the arrows in a small duffel bag, made especially for the arrows, when he heard the sound of Fred's M-16. Some of the crazies are trying to break in. Probably that ole lady Jenkins, Tony thought.

Tony took the crossbow and ran to the living room.
He froze, at the sight in front of him. Tony could see Fred's body lying on the dining room floor, with his head half blown apart, some of his brain matter was soaking into the light blue carpet.

Tony was even more frightened when he saw his wife, who stood in the living room, so nonchalant without a care in the world, was holding Fred's rifle.

"Men are so predictable," Martha sighed.

Her black eyes stared into Tony's. Martha ripped off her blouse with one hand, while she pointed the weapon at Tony with the other. Tony saw the black bra, hug her breast.

"It got me baby. How and when, I don't know, but I love it. And I am going to love getting you on my special diet, honey. You're going to eat my bullets, you fat fuck!"

Without thought, Tony pulled the trigger on the crossbow. The arrow took off like a rocket. It penetrated Martha's throat and stuck out from the back of her neck. She fired off a few rounds, which hit the ceiling before she tumbled to the floor.

The madness outside had entered his home, killing his wife and neighbor. Tony felt lost. He dropped the bow and ran into his bedroom. He rummaged through his drawers, pulled out t- shirts and threw them on the bed.

He moved to the closet, grabbed a long sleeve shirt and he wrapped it around his neck like a scarf. He took a t-shirt and placed it over his head. Pulling a baseball cap from the top shelf of his closet, he placed it on his head.

Tony grabbed a comforter and blanket from the bed, and headed down the hallway. He placed the comforter over his wife's body, and the blanket over Fred. He got to his knees and began to pray. Getting back to his feet, he picked up the M-16. Will need more ammo...need to get to Fred's place.

Tony was ready to walk out, but then saw the gloves on the table. He picked them up, and put them on.

"Don't be scared. I will make it." He told himself.

He stepped onto the back porch. The white matter was everywhere and wrapped the long sleeve scarf around some of his face. The back gate was opened. He hurried out and ran through the wide-open gate on Fred's property.

There was a lot of junk in Fred's backyard, making the white substance look more awesome in a wide frightening kind of way. Fred's sliding glass door was wide open.

He walked to the open door, and just listened for any kind of movement inside. He decided to go in, being very careful not to let the white substance get on him. He entered the hallway. One side of the wall was riddled with bullet holes. Must be where Betty tried to kill Fred, Tony thought.

He walked into the room where Betty was sitting up against the gun cabinet. She sat up against the shattered glass cabinet and was covered in blood that had oozed from the bullet holes.

Tony stood in front of Betty, and reached around her and into the gun cabinet to grab some new magazine clips, then headed into their bedroom. He tossed the clips on the bed, ejected the empty clip from the weapon, then replaced it with a full clip from the bed. He felt a little dizzy, and sat down on the Hackman's bed. Tony pulled off the gloves, and something caught his eyes. He brought his right hand up to his face. The white sticky web covered his fingers.

He did not move. He did not make a sound. Tony opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He just sat there, and watched the web evaporate into his hand the same way Fred had told him and Martha about how it had evaporated into Betty's skin.

I'm now going to be one of them.

It took a minute or two before the terror lifted. It was now replaced by excitement.

"Life is good. There are people to kill.

Yeah Buddy!" Tony said.

He took off the extra clothes, except for his red robe and black sweat pants, and slippers. He placed the rest of the ammo clips into the robe's pocket.

"Let the games begin!" Tony yelled out.

He headed down the dark hall to the front, not pausing once to glance at the blood spattered walls. When he stepped out onto the porch, he surveyed the street. There were three men crouched behind a parked car and fired at a completely random house. The white substance covered their clothing. The occupants of the house being attacked, equally returned the fire power to the three men, huddled behind the car.

Tony saw movement right across the street. It was old lady Jenkins.

"Hey, Mrs. Jenkins!" yelled Tony, as he waved to her. She held a small handgun that she had taken from the dead man on the Diaz's lawn.

Tony began to sing:"Mrs. Jenkins, why don't you come to your senses. You've been out riding fences for oh so long."

Mrs. Jenkins aimed the gun at Tony and fired off one round. The bullet passed just to the left of him.

"All right Mrs. Jenkins!"

He picked some of the white matter from the bush next to him, and sucked it into his mouth. Mrs. Jenkins took off and ran at that fast pace uncharacteristic for a lady her age.

It did not matter to him. He was now on a mission. He ran down the middle of the street, as his red robe flapped in the wind. Tony shot randomly at the houses on the street. Mrs. Jenkins turned the corner, continued her fast pace.

"I'm going to fill your old decrepit body with hot lead, Mrs. Jenkins. It's going to be the greatest thing," He screamed, as he turned the corner.

The neighborhood was in chaos. Cars crashed into homes. Entire families were on their
rooftops. Some would fire at anyone on the streets. People chasing other people. Everyone has gone haywire.

THE END