Buzz, buzz, buzz. His phone started to vibrate. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Tyler answer slowly answered his phone.

“Hello?” He said unsure. He didn’t know the number.
“Hello, Mr. Fergt.” Said the voice.

“Who is this?” Tyler Inquired.

“My apologies, this is Dr. Mclooper your daughter, Jackie has been greatly injured in car accident. We need you to come in as soon as possible we need your written permission to start doing some tests.”

“Can you start them now?! Is she okay?”

“She is stable. But in a coma, we have done everything we can at this point but since she is a minor and stable now we really need your written permission to operate and do tests. Also we need to know if she is allergic to any medications.” Dr. Mclooper said, very calmly.

“Does it have to be written permission or can I...” Tyler began.

“It must be written permission since she isn’t in any danger of dying and is a minor. Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause.” Dr. Mclooper interrupted with a harsh tone.

“I’ll be right there. What hospital is she at?”

“We are at Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark.”

“Okay thank you doctor. I’ll be there soon.”

While he hung up his phone began to run around the house, he went looking for his keys that he had dropped only minutes ago. Eventually he found them near his bed on the floor. This search took about 10 minutes of his time. He wanted to get there as soon as possible, also he needed to go on a highway where he would be driving into rush hour. As he was running around his house he looked at the clock, it was 5:24pm, It was going to be an hour with traffic, maybe even more. He ran towards the front door almost slipping on the wood floor, and then realized he had forgotten his shoes. He turned back and ran to get them, although, because of the dog, he couldn’t find a matching pair. So he had to leave with a black dress shoe and a white sneaker.

Once in the car he started to back out before he turned it on and it then stalled. He franticly kept trying to start it but it would start. Finally he took a few deep breaths put it in park and slowly turned the key. It started, he was getting so worked up he wasn’t thinking right. So Tyler decided take three deep breaths and continue to the hospital.

While on his way he came across an accident, he recognized one car as his daughter’s friend’s car, Savannah. But the most unsettling thing he saw was the 18-wheeler about 20 feet away. It had red paint marks on the side from Savannah’s car. He looked back at Savannah’s car. He was lucky his daughter was in a coma. It was as if the car had been put in a trash compactor. Half a door was missing the whole car was pushed in on both sides. Not the front and back end but the sides. The roof was missing and about 50 feet behind them. One of the back seats was burned from a fire that was put out. This could have easily been the end of Jackie. But thankfully it wasn’t. He justc had to keep telling himself that, she was stable they had said. He was going to see his daughter alive for another day.

Finally he pulled into the parking lot were he saw Savannahs parents leaving crying and holding hands. Tyler pulled up into the nearest to them and got out quickly.

“What’s wrong Robert?” Tyler asked.

“She is gone...” he replied. “We were here identifying her body.”

“Gone you mean. She’s dead?” Tyler said completely stunned.

“Didn’t you see the accident on your way here?” Robert said with difficulty.

“Well yes but I thought she was going to be okay.”

“What made you even think that!” Rebecca, Robert’s wife, yelled, does it look like anyone could have lived through that.

“I guess they didn’t tell you why I’m here then.”

“What the hell does that mean? Rebecca said with a harsh tone.

Tyler replied, “My Jackie was in that car too. She is in a coma. Not dead, I thought Savannah might be in the same condition.”

“Well go to her, we won’t be keeping you any longer.” Robert said holding back tears. It was obvious he wasn’t happy one got to live when the other had to die.

Tyler said his goodbyes and entered the hospital. Once he was inside he approached the desk.

“Do you know where Jackie Fergt would be? Tyler asked with a soft tone.

“Oh you must be Mr. Fergt, She’s in the ICU, Right through those door third door on the right.”

“Thank you! Yelled Tyler as he ran towards the doors. He rushed in through the doors and found the door the lady had mentioned. Just as he opened the door he heard over the intercom Dr. Mclooper paged to come to the room he was in. He stood there blankly looking at his daughter face. She still had perfect skin other then the bashed in skull above her left ear.

“Remarkable what seatbelts can do isn’t it?” A voice said. Startled Tyler turned.

“Yes.” He replied looking at the Doctor.

“She’s a very lucky girl you know that. Her friend was disfigured and missing body parts when we brought her in. She was fighting for her life but she bled out on the way here. My paramedics tried to help but the wounds were just too great. She was pronounced dead upon entering the building.”

“Oh.”

“But Mr. Fergt, if you sign this release I think I can your daughter up and moving about with in the hour.”

“How exactly do you expect to do that?” Tyler said trying to hide his excitement.”

“Well we have a serum that can pull people out of a coma, and other states such as being a vegetable. We believe this could help your daughter.” Dr. Mclooper explained.

“Are there any side effects?” Asked Tyler sounding very skeptical.

“There is some,” stated Dr. Mclooper “but they are extremely rare one out of every thousand plus get any of them one out of a million get all of them.”

“What are they side effects?” asked Tyler.

“Well there is extreme aggression, irritability, uncontrollable hunger, abnormal strength, quickness, and sensitive to UV Rays. Those are all the recorded ones. But we are still testing it on humans. So this is an experimental procedure and extreme caution should be taken.”

“Where do I sign?” Tyler said in almost a whisper.

“You should know there are risks with this, and extreme caution should be taken.”

“Just tell me where to sign.”

“I’ll go draw up the paper work.”

“Doctor?”

“May I sit with her?”

“Yes, I’ll be back in an hour or so with the paper work, you may wait here.”

Tyler walked over to his daughter and stare into your face as if it was the last time he would see her. Then after a quick sob we pulled a chair over to the side of her bed gently held her hand and drifted off in to the land of dreams.

**

He stood there in the middle of the hospital in the same clothes he was wearing. He was walking down the hall when he saw himself run out of a room with a nurse.

“How could this be? How could he be there and here?” Once himself and the nurse were behind him he saw the doctor fly out of the room where his daughter was suppose to be. Then he saw her, he saw her run out of the room and punch a hole in the wall right above the doctor.

“What’s going on?” he heard himself ask the nurse.

“We told you some side effects could be bad.”

“You really think I could have thought of this?”

“Please lets just go!” he heard the nurse yell.

Right before they ran he saw his daughter rip the doctors arm off with her bare hands and began to beat the doctors body as if it was a steak needing to be tenderized. Tyler blinked and he was in the parking structure. He saw the nurse and himself running to his car. They were arguing finally the car was reached. The nurse and himself began to flee the scene. As they drove away into the sunset, Tyler was woken up.

**
Was that all a dream he wondered did that really happen? He looked at the doctor who had woken him. Dr. Mclooper, she was still alive.

“We ready to get started she asked?”

“Yes doctor.”

“Alright, here we go.” She then took a syringe and stuck it in Jackie’s arm.

About five minutes later Jackie began thrashing about in the bed. “Hurry nurse!” the doctor yelled. “We need here tied down and sedated!”

Almost instantly after saying that Jackie went into a fit and grab the doctor by the neck and threw her across the room.

“Hurry!” the nurse yelled!

“What is happening?” yelled Tyler.

“Your daughter had a bad reaction to the medicine we gave her. Tyler stopped in the middle of the hall and turned around. This felt like Déjà Vu.

The nurse yelled, “Mr. Fergt keep moving!”

The doctor then flew out of the room where his daughter was supposed to be. Then he saw her, he saw her run out of the room and punch a hole in the wall right above the doctor. Right before they ran he saw his daughter rip the doctors arm off with her bare hands and began to beat the doctors body as if it was a steak needing to be tenderized. Brutally she beat the body then started to devour it. Bite after bite of the bloody mess. Tyler stood there in horror watching his only daughter tear apart another human being.

Nurse Flowers yelled, “Hurry or you will be next!”

They both ran to the parking lot to get into the car and drive away. Through the hospital they ran until the came across the exit. The nurse opened the door.

“You remember where you parked?” Nurse Flowers asked.

“Yeah...” Tyler said in a tone drained of all life. “Right this way.”

They both ran to this car and started to drive away leaving the hospital behind. Tyler went 5 minutes with out talking then asked the nurse what happened.

“Well I was told to keep quiet.” She said.

“Keep quiet about what?” Tyler yelled.

“I can’t say!” the nurse said raising her voice slightly.

“Well then. I guess I will have to make you talk.”

“What is that suppose to mean?” Nurse Flowers said in a scared tone.

“I was told to keep quiet.” Tyler said mocking her. Tell me this at least. What are the symptoms?”

“Well from her reaction I would say she has near to all of them, or all of them.”

“That doesn’t answer what they are.”

“Okay. Fine, there is irritability, rage, strength, quickness, hunger for everything, very contagious and sensitive to UV rays.”

“Now I have questions about those reactions. Strength, Meaning?

“That means she doesn’t feel like she can’t. She will try everything to make up even the biggest of things. Possibly succeeding.”

“Okay, Quickness?”

“Well that one is she can run really fast now her endurance is up and she wont be getting tired.”

“How about hunger?”

“Well you saw that one first hand. She began to eat Dr. Mclooper, its anything edible.”

“Now how about the last one. How contagious is it?” Tyler said horrified with the other answers.

“Extremely, one bite can turn the person within seconds, a minute max. There will be some people who have immunity and they will just be killed.”

Just as the nurse finished talking Tyler made a U-turn and started heading back to the hospital. The nurse opened her mouth to speak and ask why they were heading back. But before she could ask Tyler reached in the glove box and pulled out a .45mm pistol.

“You open your mouth again you wont be worrying about my daughter anymore.” Tyler said holding the gun tight. Ready to shoot if she spoke. But she never did. She was afraid to die. He could see it in her eyes. He always believed that was the gateway to a person’s soul.

After fifteen minutes of silence the arrived at the hospital. Tyler was ready to go in and take his daughter down and give her a cure.

“Nurse Flowers?” Tyler asked, “Is that a fire on the roof?”

“Yes I believe it is.”

“Do you think that it has spread?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it, it could have easily spread through the whole hospital. Your daughter is lost.”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear.” Tyler said smiling.

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because I just realized you’re going to be one soon.”

“What?”

“Get out of the car” Tyler yelled.

“Okay, okay.” Nurse Flowers got out with her hands up.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“The question is Mrs. Flowers what are they going to do to you? Go to my trunk its open. Pull out the duct tape.”

The nurse did as she was told and retrieved the tape. Tyler then hit her with the gun as hard as he could, knocking her out then proceeded to taping her to a poll right next to the hospital. After he finished taping her up he walked to his car got a bottle of water and poured it on her face. She all of a sudden came too and looked around she couldn’t move or talk she was tapped and was not going anywhere, anytime soon. Tyler looked at her and smiled. “This is for my daughter.” He thought. Two shots were fired right in both her knees. He wiped the blood splatter off his face and went to his car. He wanted to leave before it got to dark. He looked at the clock when he got into the car it was 7:55pm the he decided to make this night a little more fun. He got out of the car and ran over to the nurse. Removed the tape over her mouth and shot her in the hand. She started to scream again louder and louder. Tyler was running back to his car just as he reached it he looked behind him and saw a swarm of the infected hospital staff and patients pouring out maybe about 200 when he started to drive away. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw them gather around the poll. But he couldn’t stay for the fireworks he needed to get home. He wanted to barricade his home in order to better survive what was happening. He knew nothing would be stopping it any time soon.

Once he got home he looked at his watch, 8:48pm. He went to turn on the news seeing if anything made the news. It did. Every single news channel was broadcasting it. He turned the television up loud and went to the garage to grab some wood. Luckily he was into repairing the house himself and kept wood just in case. He took the boards and blocked the living room and kitchen windows and made walls blocking off the rest of the house. The only rooms he could get into was, the basement, kitchen, and living room. The rest of the house was locked then blocked off.

Tyler sat there in his living room watching the news reports looking on in horror. There was no way. It has spread so rapidly. It was 11:45pm and half of New Jersey was already effected. There were already reports of mass murders and acts of cannibalism. They even said that it originated in Newark, and that the death toll/infected was already reaching 2,500,000 people.

The infected were spreading in all directions. The president had made an emergency broadcast an hour before saying that people should seek shelter and try to wait it out, or try to make it to Canada. He said, he had sent the United States Army to block the border they were there teamed up with the Canadian army. This emergency broadcast was stuck on repeat. Over and over it played the warning wasn’t going to do anyone any good. It wasn’t going to be long before the entire world was at the will of the infected.

Tyler sat there watching the news when he heard screaming from out side. It was a girl running from a horde of the infected. He went and grabbed his .45 from the counter and opened the door slightly. One shot, two shots, three shots, they were focused on her anymore. They came running to him. He shot again and again until the last of them were killed. The girl no more then 16 came running up.

“Come inside now.” Tyler said opening the door.

The girl ran inside and quickly started to look for a knife to defend herself, “Where are your weapons?” she asked.

Tyler went down to the basement and grabbed a sword he had bought at a fair. “Here you go, now be careful with it. Its very sharp.”

“Listen little girl. We need to stick together. I’ll handle most of the work but we need as many survivors as we can to defend. Did you see others?”

“Just one. He locked himself in a car and is being harassed by a group of those, things...”

“Alright then thank you... What is your name?” Tyler asked.

“Sarah.”

“Thank you Sarah.”

“I’ll be back I need to save that person. I’ll be back. Please just make yourself at home but stay in this room. You can’t leave it. It’s not safe.”

Tyler walked to the basement and gathered some ammunition for his .45 and grab a shotgun with 16 shells. He began to walk up the stairs when he heard a shriek. It sounded familiar. He ran up the stairs and looked out a crack in the boarded up windows. It was Jackie. With a hundred infected following her. He looked out there was nothing he could do right now there was no way around them he had to wait for awhile to make she they were gone. He waited and waited finally it looked safe to venture out of the house. He ran in the direction that the girl told him to go to. He found a car. But he doubted anyone was alive in it. The glass was broken on every window. Bloody handprints were all over the windshield. The tree nearest to the car was also dripping with blood. Up in the tree was a twisted mangled body. The head was missing the legs were broken and bone was sticking through them. One arm dangled but barely connected to the body. He looked around there was no one in sight. He went from house to house looking for people to group up with. But no one was alive. He thought him and the girl were the only ones left. Until he found a ham radio sitting in someone’s house the door was wide open and he heard a message playing on it. So Tyler grabbed the radio and ran back to his home.

Once there he began telling Sarah of the man in the car and how he believed it was his daughter Jackie who did it. He explained the story of what happened and how it happened. He explained that his only child was patient zero.

“You know all the tales of vampires and undead and thing like that?” Sarah asked.

“You mean like the make believe stories?” Tyler replied.

“Yeah. It may just be true. You might need to take down the head to make the rest follow. That’s how it works in the stories.” Sarah said. “It is our best bet.”

“I guess.” Tyler said with a sour look on his face.

“You need to be able to help us though. We need Jackie dead before the whole world is effected by this.” Sarah said with such certainty.

“Maybe you are right.”

“I see you found a radio.” Sarah said just now noticing the radio beside him. “Did you think we could radio for help?”

“No. I thought we could find survivors with this.” Tyler said picking up the radio.

Tyler the started to set it up, he brought a desk into the room and cleared it off. He also brought a map spreading it out with a few markers. He was setting up for a search and rescues of any near by survivors. Once the radio was on Tyler switched to the emergency broadcast channel. He heard a distress call: We need help, please someone come to us we have no weapons we have one of the infected locked downstairs. We are asking for any kind of help you can give. Thank you. The message then repeated.

“Looks like we have a job to go do.” Tyler said with a smile.

“Do we have to? Can’t we just wait here for them to come save us?”

“The more people we have the more people can work weapons the better chance we will have.”

“I guess that’s true.” Sarah sighed

“Then it is settled. I will be right back I have a revolver downstairs and a knife.” Tyler said happily.

Off he went gathering weapons to take to the people he wanted to help. He decided that he would give them all guns and keep the knife for himself.

“Ready to go?” He asked

“You know it.” Said yelled.

The sun was just rising but the walk was going to take some time to get to the house they were staying at 4 hours there and back. The roads we just to crowded with bodies and cars with the occasional tree. Walking was the only option.

**

Once at the home of the survivors Tyler knocked and heard someone rush to the door. They slowly opened the door, and let Sarah and Tyler in. Once they were briefed on what exactly was happening Tyler gave them each a gun, asking them their names. Mitch got the shotgun. Mary the .45 pistol, and Ryan got the revolver.

Tyler led them back to his home and started to explain the course of action he wanted to take against this dooms day.

“I vote we kill Jackie.” Tyler said with a tear in his eye.

“Us?” Mary questioned. “You really think we can?”

“Its better then waiting for a rescue that won’t be coming anytime soon.” Ryan pointed out.

“Sarah and I think this may work and eliminate all the infect. Well cure them all.” Tyler said.

“How do you mean?” Mitch asked.

“I mean, what if we killed her and all the infected lost the infection because she is patient zero.” Tyler said now on the verge of crying.

“Are you sure? Are you sure you want to do this?” Mary asked.

“Listen, it’s the only chance we have. We will die sooner or later if we stay here. No one is coming until they have a cure for what is happening.”

Silence swept over the group until finally Tyler broke the silence.

“If I can agree to kill my daughter the girl I raised by myself my whole life you should be able to agree to help me.” Tyler said now angry.

“You may think that but it doesn’t make it true.” Mitch said.

“Tell me who is with me? Tyler asked.

“Me.” Ryan, Mary, and Sarah said.

“Mitch I guess you are alone find a house you aren’t welcome in mine and ill be taking my gun back.” Tyler said.

“You can’t do that.” Mitch said.

“Yes I can.” Tyler said.

Tyler grabbed Mitch and put the knife to his neck. “Drop the gun Mitch.”

Mitch dropped the gun and slowly back away for Tyler. “You’re crazy man.”

“I know now get out of my site.” Tyler said laughing

Tyler went on walking with the group but Mitch continued to follow. “If you keep following us Mitch I will end up hurting you.” Tyler said with a grin.

After about a quarter mile Tyler turned around and fired a shell into his leg. Mitch dropped to the ground blood pouring out of his leg. One of his hands also got grazed and had a good chunk missing from it. Tyler then walked up to Mitch and place the shotgun right on his knee right below his wound and blew it apart from his leg. Then repeated the same thing with his other leg. After both legs were gone Tyler was restrained by Sarah to stop him from tearing Mitch apart little by little. Tyler then walked about 50 feet in front of Mitch and placed the shotgun down on the ground and yelled to him “You can choose wait for the infected or take your life!”

Tyler and the other began walking away as the heard Mitch’s screams fade into the distance.

**

That night Tyler was stationed at the window looking for Jackie to pass finally he saw a horde of infected come down the street. He decided to wake the others and follow them to where ever they were going. The four of them followed the massive group until they found a hotel. the infected we going in and out finally when the all had left Tyler said he believed that Jackie was in there. He rushed in with his three new friends and began chopping and hacking their way through the hotel. He stood there covered from head to toe dripping in blood he had killed many of them trying to find her. Now he overlooked where she was he saw he standing in the middle of an empty room devouring a corpse. The smell of rotten bodies filled the air. He waved the other survivors in. The came slowly stepping on bones and gravel the noise was extremely noticeable but she was so consumed by her hunger she didn’t realize what was going on. Finally the three gathered around Jackie’s back. Brandon raised his gun and pointed, but then a loud screech like a harpy in pain echoed through the air. It was Jackie, she turned and ripped the gun out of his hands then threw it across the room. She raised her head. Her skin was still flawless just as it was at the hospital. But her eyes showed little humanity left in them, they were the gateway to her soul, or what now remained of it. She looked empty like a hollow being. Just as she opened her mouth Brandon let out a short prayer. It must have been answered because before her rotten teeth could sink into his shoulder a dagger went through her neck and burst out of her mouth. Her father had finally ended the horror. Or so he thought, he thought destroying the infected head would end the plague but it only enraged the infected members.

Stronger they grew until finally a cure was found it the east. Europe and Russia had been working nonstop to help the American people in their darkest hour. The cure was distributed by crop-dusting B-17’s. Half of the infected population died in the most horrible way imaginable. But the rest recovered, it was a long and terrible recovery and everyone remembered what they had done. Some had ended their lives because of the horrible things they recalled doing while infected...