Containment by Sean Schubert Page B

wait around though. He got himself over the fence and fell onto the ground. He was already getting dizzy from the blood loss.
    “Max shook all over and ran over to the fence. It was Max again. You could just see it in his eyes and just like that, he changed again and started to bark. He started to throw himself into the fence. I think it affects animals differently than it does humans. I didn’t know it then, but now I understand that it’s some kind of virus or an infection or something that’s been spreading all of this. After seeing Eric, I guess it just kind of made sense to me that there was some kind of virus that killed the people and then something happened that brought them back. Only, it wasn’t them that got brought back. Because it wasn’t Eric that stood back up in the next house we found to stop in.
    “We got to another place and hid upstairs. We tried to take care of Eric, but he just wouldn’t stop bleeding. He barely had any color in his face and we were nearly carrying him by the time we got in. He was drenched in cold sweat but he didn’t have a fever. It was creepy. We laid him on a couch upstairs and tried to make him comfortable. There were some crackers in the kitchen and some odds and ends, so we grabbed a bite while he rested. Nancy grabbed a handful of cookies from a package and went back into the living room. She stood there for a second without saying anything. She was just looking down at Eric. I saw her whole expression change all at once. She just said, ‘Eric’s gone,’ and she started to cry. She barely knew him, but she was crying for him like it was her son or something.
    “When Eric leapt back to his feet, she jumped back. Hell, we all jumped back. She called his name, but then he pounced on her like she was cornered prey. I guess that’s kind of what she was, really. She let out a couple of screams, the second one just turned into a hollow, wet noise that sounded like she was swallowing her own voice. I think it’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard. And on top of that to hear Eric chewing hungrily. He was kind of grunting with each bite.
    “Art and I didn’t stick around to be second courses. We ran out the back door and through the yard. We ran the rest of the day and most of that night. I don’t know about Art, but I just wanted to get as far away from Eric and Nancy and Vic and Max as my legs would take me. I’m pretty certain that I saw more people here and there, but not a one did the slightest thing to help. It bothers me now, but right then I didn’t really concentrate too much on it. I guess those folks were just too afraid to do anything and I can’t really fault them for that. If I was somewhere that I thought I was safe and thought that maybe help would be coming, I don’t know for sure what I’d do either.
    “We ended up here a couple of days ago. It seemed safe and no one seemed to be around. It felt a little like being on Mars or something. Like it was some kind of ancient civilization; one whose inhabitants had long since left.”
    She paused to fish some more chocolate out of the jar she was holding. “Is this the end? I mean, I guess what I’m asking is, is this happening everywhere or just here? Does anyone know how it all started?”
    Neil shook his head, “No. I don’t think this is happening anywhere else. At least not yet. And I’ve been told that it started with a small boy and a small bite that appears to have awakened something that’s been asleep a long time and probably should have just stayed that way.” He looked over at Jules and Danny who were barely listening. They knew the story and had heard it all before.
    “What about you, Art?” Kim asked. “What’s your story?”
    Art scarcely looked up at her when he said, “The beginning is a little different but it’s the same ending. What does it matter anyway? All that does matter is that we’re standing here in a parking lot when we should probably all be dead already. What