Mind Slide (39 page)

“You bet.”

“Speaking of rides, tell me I interrupted something,” Brian whispered, looking at his friend's clothes. “That would make my day.”

“You did. So, if you can't find Kell and me later, you'll know why.”

Brian laughed. “My best bud has a girlfriend. I'm so excited.”

Kelly emerged from the basement. Mason let his eyes travel up and down her body. She looked gorgeous, dressed for a hot day at the amusement park. Wet hair, cut-off jean shorts, a light blue tank top, plenty of sunscreen, and sandals. She didn't care what anyone thought of her foot anymore.

Lisa moved from the kitchen to give Kelly a hug.

“It might storm later,” Lisa said. “We've got umbrellas in the car.”

Everyone was ready to leave after Mason took a shower. Kelly leaned in close to him as everyone filed out of the house. “Are you gonna be okay if a storm comes?”

He kissed her on the cheek and reached for her hand.

“Yeah. I've got everything I need.”

I live in Maryland with my wonderful wife and four cats. I love gaming, computer technology, movies, and of course, reading and writing. I love science fiction and especially horror. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, anything supernatural, all beautiful subjects.

I’ve been writing since I was twelve years old. There’s just something about creating a story that I like. It’s always fun to try to come up with something that hasn’t been done, or is unique in some way. It’s fun to build a character, give him a personality and background.

Visit my website at
http://www.glennbullion.com

Total works by Glenn Bullion:

Demonspawn

Dead Living

Mind Slide

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 it was Joe this weekend. He tried to use his pregnant wife as an excuse, but she was still a few weeks from being due. 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. 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.”

Joe had known Anthony for almost two years. He was one of the regular drivers. 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 two times 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 my 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.

“
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 gathered in the break room to watch a life-altering event was on September 11
^th
, 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 were always close. Joe liked her. She helped with Sarah's pregnancy a lot, 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 Center of 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 tackled 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 was bit 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. 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.