The start of 2010 was celebrated around the world with cheers and thunderous applause. With the drop of the ball, the Hartford Corporation announced the release of their newest product: Beast! Energy Drink.
Beast! was a whole new type of energy drink, it didn’t include caffeine or sugar and was viewed as a whole new alternative to coffee and sodas. They started with a very aggressive ad campaign and targeted everyone from children to overworked students to high powered business executives. By March of 2010 Beast! had almost completely taken the place of coffee in the workplace.
The Hartford Corporation ruthlessly took their momentum and built on it, quickly buying out their remaining competitors. First Coke, then Pepsi fell to their growing popularity and wealth. By June 2010 Beast! controlled 100% of the drink market, because of the reported nutritional content people started drinking it in larger and larger quantities.
By the 4th of July the first cases of Beast! addiction started to trickle out. The reports showed that addicts stopped sleeping or blinking, many turned towards murderous rampages to those around them. Reports were ignored but they started to pop up everywhere. By 2011 the entire country started to collapse to the addicted horde.
———-
Raith tossed and turned on his air mattress. The clock on the wall illustrated the time: December 31, 2011 7:00pm. He hated being forced to bed this early but the lights out had been called, and he followed the group decision now. It was dangerous for lights at night time. It attracted unwanted attention.
The gentle snores of the others filled the tiny back room of the Super-center. It was a convenient place for the group to hole up for a few weeks, and then they would move on to the next town. It was comforting to have people to rely on. The group dynamic made sense, so when he met Decker and his crew, he agreed to abide by their rules.
Frustrated, Raith turned again, a more exaggerated toss. He heard a quick pop, and a whispered hiss. He quickly scrambled to his feet.
“Shit, shit,” he quietly cursed as he found his bed completely flat. Only 7pm, he thought. The camping section wasn’t too far, and we haven’t seen any… thing since we arrived. No one is going to know. I’ll be quick. He took only a few steps.
“Where do you think you’re going?” a velvety soft voice inquired.
Oh shit, not this tight ass bitch again. “Mind your own business Sade, I was just going to go get a new air mattress.”
“You know that lights out has been called, park your ass back on the ground and keep it there for 12 hours Raith.” Sade clicked off her flashlight so as not to wake the others in the room. She also kept her voice to a soft whisper, though that didn’t stop it from having an annoyingly bitchy shrill to it.
It is always the same with this chick, rules this and that. She would have made a good kindergarten teach. Raith knew that she was in her late teens, probably 17 or 18. Decker has apparently scooped her up from some addicted infested gas station outside of Huston.
I might have made sure that she was house broken before I let her in but Decker, he always had to be the hero that one.
Raith crouched down, getting right into Sade’s face “Listen sweetheart, I’m not planning on laying on this fucking cold tile floor for 12 hours. So you either run off to Decker and waste all our fucking time, or you let me grab another fucking air mattress!”
“You asshole!” she said in too loud of a voice, but Raith was already gone, out the door of the back room.
Stepping quickly he cursed himself for being antagonized enough that he forgot his flashlight, and the store took on a whole different atmosphere at nighttime. The towering shelves which made up the aisles looked more like gnarled statues stretching on into the blackness. Raith hoped he remembered how many aisles down the camping section was.
Heavy Breathing. He quickly turned down an aisle, he knew this wasn’t camping but at the moment that didn’t matter. He strained his ears as he tried to look both directions at once. I must have imagined it. If it truly was one of the addicted I’d be dead. It was not a comforting thought, but it allowed Raith to keep moving towards the general direction of the camping section.
Beast! addiction had some very odd side effects. They were not always the same in every individual, but some were universal. Every person who became addicted to Beast! could see in complete darkness. Everyone who consumed too much or came in contact with fluids from an addicted, became addicted themselves.
Raith began to stand up but stopped himself. No, clear your head first. His grandfather had taught him a simple mantra once when he took him out hunting as a kid. One….Two….Three….One…Two…Three….One…Two….Three. The simple count of a waltz served to clear his mind and to slow his heartbeat and breathing.
After he had controlled his breathing, he quietly stood and evaluated his surroundings. This particular Super-Center was one of the ones that stocked mostly bulk products, the shelves stretched up multiple levels with the second and third levels storing extra pallets of products. First find a good position, place to hide and that might not be noticed.
Raith crouched down and quietly jumped, catching the bottom portion of the second level. He was grateful that he had stopped taking off his hiking boots to sleep as he used his feet to push himself up and onto the small platform. There wasn’t much room on the platform but Raith was able to wedge himself behind a pallet of paper towels.
Straining again to control his breathing, Raith settled down into a crouch once again, he hadn’t gotten to sit down much since 2010. He closed his eyes and began to listen, that’s when he heard the shattering sound. It was clear and seem to echo off every slant of the ceiling above him. The origin of the sound was unmistakable. Maybe three aisles over where Raith presumed the Beast! was shelved. Somehow one of the afflicted had found his way into the store, and from the sound of the repeated bottle shattering it was not finding its sustenance. Not Surprising. There hasn’t been any Beast! available since August of twenty-ten.
The addicted ceased being people with a large aggressive addiction to this all-purpose drink. They mobbed the Beast! bottling plants and the supply was gone. The addicted soon learned, though it may have been more instinct as they really couldn’t think for themselves any longer, that their cravings could be curved with another much more prevalent resource. The human brain.
Raith had long ago started to believe the conspiracy theory that the Hartford Corporation had been using human brains for their energy drink. It was the only thing that made sense, given the available facts. Sadly it made little difference anymore. Knowing what they needed would not help Raith live through the night. All that mattered was living through the night.
The sound of glass bottles breaking against the ground continued as the almost human started to more aggressively search out what it craved so much. Raith strained to control his breathing, the sound of which might draw the addicted’s attention. It might give up soon, how many bottles can there be left in that aisle? When it is finished it will turn for another target.
There was no reasoning with the creatures, most could barley talk anymore. They didn’t usually seem to communicate with one another, they more acted on a herd instinct. If there is one, a good bet is that there are more elsewhere in the store.
The shattering sound stopped as the addicted came to the end of the aisle. The addicted crouched down, back hunched with hands on the ground and started to look around for it’s next meal.
Don’t look over here, don’t look over here, don’t look over here. Raith’s position didn’t cover him much, and if the addicted looked up he would undoubtedly see him. Raith was saved at the last second as the addicted began lifting its head to search the second level, Sade stepped out from the back room. Raith knew that she would die.
Raith knew it as certainty: Sade would die. Though the monster was beneath him, Raith knew there was nothing he could do. Action on his part would result in his own death. He told his body to remain still. He pleaded with it to see reason. His body reacted on its own, however.
The Monster lowered its center of gravity and focused its attention on Sade. Her flashlight’s nervous beam fell on its face. It pealed back a smile, savoring the moment before it pounced. Sade screamed. Raith cringed at the shrill as he fell through the air; the fear coated her scream like rich chocolate over a candy bar.
Raith landed on the monster and its attention turned to him. The addicted were strong. It gained the advantage and Raith found himself on his back, now just struggling to keep the creatures jaws from breaching his skin. His attention turned to Sade as she stood there paralyzed, watching Raith and the creature struggle. Then she was standing no longer as two more addicted fell upon her like velociraptors, clawing at her skin. They sunk their teeth into her skull. Raith gave into despair, she was tainted, death would follow.
Die quiet, please god! Just die quietly. Raith pleaded as he saw the two addicted start to tear Sade apart. He knew that a scream from her would only bring more addicted into their supposed safe haven.
Sade let out a blood curdling scream that broke through the quiet of the night like a car driving through a wall. He didn’t have much time to think of the greater implications and he brought his attention back to the addicted that was snapping its jaws trying to get to his own skull.
Guess the cat is out of the bag already. With a defiant roar Raith pushed back with both his feet, launching the addicted crashing through one of the shelves. This didn’t stop the other two in their feast, the addicted seemed to have a herd instinct but it stopped when they got the opportunity to gorge themselves. Raith knew that the distraction wouldn’t last long and that they would soon turn to the next available meal, him.
He had no chance of outrunning the addicted, but with a head start he might just stand a chance and so he took off down the aisle, boots pounding into the floor. The addicted was up and starting chase. His mind distracted, Raith never saw the Beast! can lying in his path. He slipped, landed hard on his back, and turned to see the addicted staring down at him. It licked it’s lips.
Then its’ brain exploded out of the forehead. Matter painting a shelf, sickening red. The creature fell and behind it stood Decker, his revolver smoking. Two more lunged at Decker, he shot it through the heart with barely so much as a glance. The other was goo, easily dispatched by one of his entourage. Five of the crew had come on this rescue, each armed to the teeth. It was how Decker did things: as a team.
“What the hell were you thinking!” Decker screamed at Raith, picking him up by his shirt. When face to face, Decker stood a good six inches taller, and fifteen years older.
“Decker, we need to get back! This can wait..” The gorgeous blonde coerced. That was Caley, Decker’s wife.
“Alright. Paul, Zach, Steve, find Sade! Caley, Raith, you’re with me.”
The jog back to the fortified back room was quiet, except one sound. A final gunshot. He knew that was for Sade. The quiet that followed bothered him more then he would ever admit, quiet had unnerved him ever since the start of the Beast! addiction.
Caley, Decker and Raith stood in tense silence as they waited for Paul and the others to rejoin them in the back room. Raith took the opportunity to grab his backpack from his now deflated air mattress.
Always check your supplies, don’t trust that something important isn’t missing. Another tip from his grandfather on hunting served him well here too.
His bag, a black hiking bag with hip and chest straps contained the following:
- 1 Liter Bottle of Water
- Waterproof matches and lighter
- Spool of high quality parachute cord
- First Aid kit
- Small packages of dried food
- Camp stove and cooking pot
- Small Waterproof tarp
- A spare set of clothes
- Insulated blanket
- 3 Boxes of 9mm pistol ammo
- 2 full extra pistol clips
- 1 9mm Pistol
- 4 Boxes of Shotgun shells
- 1 Black shotgun
His inventory complete, Raith clipped on his holster belt, sliding the pistol into it’s holster and slung the shotgun over his shoulder, letting it hang by the strap.
Tense moments passed before Paul, Zach and Steve burst into the room, shutting the door behind him.
“There are more.”
“How many?” Decker demanded.
“Maybe 30?” Steve responded with little hesitation.
Things started moving really quickly after that. Caley went to rouse the three remaining members of the team, while everyone checked their ammo. Decker went over the exit plan. Caley, heading the secondary team, was to get the vehicles ready to move. They were less then one hundred yards after exiting the back door. That door was the entire reason they chose the backroom as their sleeping quarters. It was solid, and had no window or handle from the outside. Nothing got in, but they could get out quickly.
She would take Zach with her as her main cover fire. Dr. Melanie Adams, Tim the mechanic, and Lona would be going with them, trying to get as much food to the vehicles as possible. The primary team of Decker, Steve, Paul and Raith would remain to kill as many addicted till the vehicles were ready to move. Raith was aware that Decker left him with the primary team to keep an eye on him.
Caley’s team was barely out the exterior exit before the addicted threw themselves at the barricaded door leading into the Super-center. The doors creaked with fatigue.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It was hard to tell if the addicted were throwing themselves at the door or if they had chosen one unlucky member to be their battering ram. They weren’t stupid, they may have lost their social interactions and might be mostly instinct driven, but they had shown surprisingly intelligent herd actions in the past.
“Steve. Paul. You guys get your gear ready while Raith and I barricade the door.” Decker barked out orders quickly, not letting the constant banging and creaking of the door seem to bother him.
They had taken most of the furniture out when they decided to use the room as their living space, but there were a few desks still standing near the door. Raith and Decker started to lift and pull the heavy desk nearest the door into place as the first hinge pulled free from the door.
“Shit, that door isn’t going to make it!” Raith exclaimed as he and Decker struggled to get the desk into place.
“Shut your fucking mouth and push Raith.” Decker replied coldly.
Steve and Paul had just gotten their bags and guns strapped on and were rushing to join them as the door flew open. Addicted began pouring into the entrance. One would move into the light and his head would be blown off by Steve’s assault rifle or Decker’s revolver, which he insisted on using despite the volume of their enemies. It was pandemonium. The team had to fall back to some cover around the room and it seemed to Raith they were all inching closer to that back door.
One… Two… Three… Bang! His shotgun blast followed his mantra like a fourth step of his waltz. One… Two… Three… an addicted coming up on Paul’s blind spot, Bang! One… Two… Three… addicted picking up a table, Bang!
“Decker! There are…” An addicted rushed Raith and tried to pull the shotgun from him. Bang! It fell. “Decker we need to go!”
“No! Don’t you move one more step backwards, Goddamnit! We hold till they get those trucks loaded!” Decker bellowed back.
It isn’t that Raith was scared, though he was. His breathing kept his wits about him. It was he was not used to standing his ground against these things. He was used to killing a few while attempting to escape. Decker liked to see these creatures dead. Decker no longer saw their humanity.
More and more addicted kept pouring into the room, inch by inch the group had to fall back. The other problem was that they were killing too many. Addicted had proven to be surprisingly resilient when it came to wounds, many would take several shots in the chest before quitting. They are getting closer, rushing us in greater and greater numbers.
Raith started to pick his targets more carefully, he knew that they would all need too reload soon. Decker was the first, obviously with his revolver limited to six shots, but he was incredibly quick to reload it. Steve was fine, his assault rifle was made for this sort of action after all. Paul, well he was another matter, he had not been so discriminating with his shotgun and Raith knew that he had maybe two shots left.
“We have to get out of this room!” Raith strained to shout over the loud gunfire in the small room. Raith turned to Decker but the man had a blank expression.
“I’m out, gotta reload!” Paul’s expected shout snapped Raith’s attention away from Decker. Paul knelt down to begin inserting shells. Two addicted picked up another and threw it at Paul. The addicted were just as bit as heavy as humans, and when he slammed into the back of Paul, Paul’s head smashed into the linen floor with a bone crunching force. Paul was no longer moving.
Decker ran to his side, shooting the two addicted that had thrown the corpse. He had no time to check Paul for a pulse, or even that he was breathing. The addicted saw the weakness of the unconscious human, and started focusing on him. Decker did not relent even as he was beginning to be overwhelmed. Steve blasted a path over to Decker, taking up a defensive stand around his comrade.
The addicted were so completely intent on devouring Paul, that Raith found himself alone, merely picking off addicted that were charging the others. On the other side of the room, Decker and his team seemed too concentrated on the addicted to notice him. The back door was less then ten feet away. There was nothing to stop him if he ran for it. Everything in his being told him that survival was the pinnacle of importance. His fingers were on the doorknob, now. One simple turn would yield an escape from this madness.
Time seemed to slow down for Raith, his hand was resting on the doorknob, in his other hand he was holding his 9mm pistol now. The addicted seemed to sense the dead body and they started to swarm Steve and Decker.
Survival. Get out! Raith began to turn the knob, taking advantage of the addicted’s frenzied attention on the other two.
“Don’t you FUCKING dare Raith!” Decker seemed to sense as Raith turned the knob, he turned and leveled his revolver onto Raith. “You turn open that door and you are dead, I mean it dead.”
“We have to get the fuck out of here Decker, we can’t hold them off forever.” Raith pleaded.
“You hold here till I say you so Raith, you FUCKING hold!” Decker was forced to turn his revolver back to the addicted that were charging him.
“Come on man, we gotta go. Paul is dead, we gotta get outta here.” Steve shouted while reloading his assault rifle. Steve was forced to jump out of the way at several addicted launched a small filing cabinet at him. The filing cabinet crushed several addicted but he lost his grip on his rifle.
The radio on Decker’s belt cut through the insanity with a reliving clarity: “Decker the cars are loaded! Get out of there!”
Decker wasted no time giving orders. “Steve, Raith take Paul and get him to the car, we’re going!”
“Decker we can’t waste time…” Raith tried to interject.
“Get Paul to the doctor, maybe there is something she can do… Just fucking do it already, let’s go!”
Against his better judgment Raith left the exit and joined Steve, who was already dragging Paul towards him by his arms. Raith helped Steve get Paul up on his shoulders and they started exiting. Decker was still up in the fray, deterring the addicted who attempted to follow.
Six shots followed by a quick reload. It seemed to Raith, that Decker wasted no efforts in taking down an addicted. One would come within inches of grabbing him, and that large hand cannon of his would force the corpse back in a different direction. He jumped behind the large filing cabinet, narrowly escaping a desk thrown his way. He was being rushed from all angles, but he seemed to deal with each one with a calmness that seemed eerie to Raith.
Raith and Steve were through the backdoor. From behind them they could still hear the report of Deckers’ revolver. BANG..BANG..BANG..BANG..BANG..BANG. Repeated over and over, six shots, pause to reload, six shots. Raith could hear the inhuman shouts and screams of the addicted as they charged and died in turn, but Decker remained as quiet and calm as a machine quickly dealing with the threats around him.
Their two black SUVs pulled up to the short set of metal steps that led into the alley with a screech. Zach and Lona rushed out from one of the cars to help them drag Paul’s limp body away from the doorway. Dr. Adams jump out with her medical bag from the second SUV and ran to inspect Paul while Zach and Lona stood guard, watching in case the addicted came around the building.
“Is there anything you can do for him Melanie?” Caley shouted from the drivers seat of the first car.
“Give me just a second to see if I can stop this bleeding Caley.” Dr. Adams replied.
Raith took the brief pause to reload his shotgun as Decker’s shots from inside continued.
Raith was turned the other direction as Paul’s eyes shot wide open and he grabbed Lona, biting her hard in the neck. Everything happened at once. The Doctor jumped back and covered her face. Lona tried desperately to hit Paul, no not Paul any longer but this thing, to get it to let go of her. Zach and Steve rushed to her aide, trying desperately to knock the thing off of her. Tim and Caley jumped out of the vehicles confused at what was going on.
Raith raised his pistol, put it up to the creatures head. He tried not to remember Paul as human, not right now. He paused for a moment, but to him he felt the eternity within it. Paul had always been a good man. Raith didn’t know much about the man’s life before, a security guard for some company. He knew Paul and Decker went way back. It’s possible they had been childhood friends, but they definitely worked together before the world went insane, wherever that was. It no longer mattered.
Raith did not even register Decker step out the back door. But as Raith pulled the trigger and Paul’s head made a sickening snap as the bullet passed through it, Decker charged and put his revolver right into Raith’s mouth.
Time seemed to slow for Raith. All around him the mayhem of the moment still held most people’s attention, blood was gushing from the wound on Lona’s neck and she was slowly collapsing to the ground, Dr. Adams was still covering her face as she was jumping backwards to avoid the now dead monster, Zach and Steve had been thrown back by attack, Tim and Caley were shouting in confusion as they tried to piece together the scene. Then there was Decker, cold determined look in his eyes as he held his gun in Raith’s mouth.
None of them even saw it, Raith was the only one looking as the back door that Decker had just stepped from filled with eager unblinking addicted eyes. They look so human. Raith thought as he could see more and more starting to fill in the back room.
Raith still had his pistol in his right hand and Decker’s revolver in his mouth. Don’t be a hero, survival is the most important thing.
Decker’s finger started to pull back on the trigger. “Fuck you Raith.”
One…Two…Three... Raith raised his pistol and shot the addicted just as it was leaping to eviscerate Decker’s neck.
BANG.
—–
The End
