Pallor

Chapter 3 - Intermission (second draft)

3

         Nature always works her shit out. Natural disasters, disease, it’s all nature keeping our numbers down, someone has to. Holland was safe at home, Lindy was getting ready to save a little boy and I was at work when nature first started her latest phase of population control, and this time it happened fast. Within hours it was estimated a quarter of the population had been infected. By then most people knew what was going on and began to barricade themselves inside. No one knew what was happening. An infection of some sort, passed on through bodily fluids such as saliva, blood, urine and so forth, Scratching may also cause infection if not treated immediately by some sort of alcohol based, sterile substance. People who apparently died really didn’t but slipped into a semi coma and then came out of it minutes later, bloody and murderous, cannibalistic even, or so the TV said at first.
The police, army, everyone available and official were coming out to get things under control.
The infection had no cure as of yet, orders were to kill all infected people who could not be subdued or posed an immediate threat.

Martial law my friends, martial law.

         There were reports that the only way to kill these people involved destruction of the brain. Anything would do the trick; smash the skull in, bullet, knife, nose bone into the brain.
Kill the head and the body dies.

These creatures, they worked in packs.

They helped each other to feed.

A pack mentality.

         On the radio people were calling and telling their horrible stories. Then a clear voice came over the air waves to tell us what to do. There was a hot line, then the list appeared on every TV station telling survivors where to find safety.
For me, a one day walk.
Holland, four hours.
Poor Lindy three days.
We weren’t as lucky as some, luckier than others.
Craig had to travel a week to get anywhere near civilisation.
In a couple of days nearly all communications went down.

We were alone.