Side Effects: Book Two: Visions of Despair

  The thought gave him a powerful surge of energy and he pushed the beast up and off of him and rolled to the side, pushed up off of the floor, and landed on his feet. He had just caught his breath when the monster pounced again. He raised his arms to block just as the monster's head flew from its body in a wide arch. Blood spray drenched the whole side of Mitch’s face as he turned to avoid it hitting his mouth.

  “Woohoo! I knew this thing would be awesome!” Travis exclaimed, standing in the center of the room, admiring the scythe in his hands.

  “I thought I told you to wait outside!” Mitch boomed, as he searched the room for something to wipe his face with. He found a blanket draped across the chair in the corner, grabbed it, and rubbed the blood from his face and hands. Turning to Travis, he just shook his head.

  “I never was very good at following orders.” Travis replied, with a sheepish grin on his face.

  “Well, I for one am happy to see your ugly face, Travis. Things were getting pretty intense in here,” Mike finished.

  “Where’s Henry? You didn’t leave him outside alone did you?” Mitch asked, worried about the kid.

  “No worries, I left him in the pantry. He’s in no shape to defend himself right now,” Travis replied as he sauntered toward the kitchen, tossing the scythe back and forth in his hands as he went.

  “Quit playing with your weapon, Travis, before you lose another leg,” Mitch teased as he walked away.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Juliette

  Juliette walked back into the kitchen with Micah’s empty bowl. Her talk with him must have worked. Thank goodness, the last thing she needed to deal with was a kid on a hunger strike in the middle of the apocalypse. The thought made her laugh quietly as she washed the bowl and set it in the strainer.

  “Please share my dear,” Kate said as she sat down at the bar.

  “Jesus, Kate, you scared me!” Juliette said, grabbing her chest as she turned to face the woman. She took a deep breath, willing the beat to slow.

  “I’m sorry!” Kate exclaimed as she chuckled lightly. “I forget how jumpy we all are these days.”

  Juliette walked around the bar and pulled out the seat beside Kate. “I was just laughing at a funny thought,” she said.

  “Do share, those are few and far between now.”

  “Uh, I hate that you’re right,” Juliette said, as she felt the emotional weight of their situation begin to close in on her. She took a shaky breath. “It wasn’t even funny really. I was just laughing at the irony of someone refusing food, when everything, including our next meal, is so uncertain now. There is no certainty with anything. Not anymore.”

  “My dear child. There never was.” Kate stated in a kind tone, reaching over and laying her hand on top of Juliette’s. “Thank you, for what you did in there earlier. I wasn’t sure what was going on with Dave, I guess I was sort of blinded by my amazement at his appetite. I have never in all of my days seen someone eat that much food. Can you imagine?” she finished, the amazement still evident in her voice.

  Juliette startled as laughter bubbled out of her, she clasped her hand over her mouth as she glanced at Kate hoping she hadn’t offended the poor woman. She relaxed as a kind smile spread across Kate’s face.

  “It was sort of fascinating to watch, I don’t know why I didn’t realize it meant he was going to turn. Do you think that’s why they are eating people? Because they are just so hungry?” she asked, the skin between her eyes wrinkling in question.

  “I’m not sure really,” Juliette stated. “It seems like it happens differently to different people. I have seen people get bit, die and then come back to life. I’ve only seen it this other way twice. Dave was the second. I wish I knew what caused it, it has me on edge thinking that it could happen to anyone of us, at any time.”

  “Who was the first? Did it happen just like it did with Dave?” Kate asked.

  “It wasn’t the same, it was a woman at the hospital that I worked at. I was working in triage, assessing patients before they were placed in rooms. The woman’s complaint was a medication reaction. I had just finished my exam on the patient before her, and was leafing through her file before I called her back, when chaos broke out in the waiting room. She started screaming about the smells and hearing the blood, and then she grabbed the man closest to her and just tore into his arm. He began pounding on her face trying to pry his arm free... but it didn’t take long before she had him down. The waiting room was full. People began shoving and running toward the exits, but it was like she had super strength, and then the first man got up and they both began grabbing and tearing at the others. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” she finished, her glassy eyes fixed straight ahead as the scene replayed in front of her.

  “Oh, my dear, that must have been terrifying. I’m so glad you made it out okay,” Kate said, patting Juliette’s hand.

  “I didn’t, not really,” Juliette replied, her voice shaky as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “What do you mean?” Kate asked.

  “There was a young girl,” she started, her eyes shutting as if in pain, opening again; imploring Kate to understand. “I saw her mom get ripped away from her, and I couldn’t just leave her there--helpless. So I scooped her up and ran with her to my car. Once she was loaded in and secure, we drove non-stop to my sister’s place. I didn’t-” she cleared her throat, her eyes beginning to well, “I didn’t know, Kate,” her voice broke off, “there wasn’t any blood. That little girl, she was distraught. She just kept screaming for her mother, so when Cordy got in the car she sat in the back with her.” Juliette breathed in a deep shaky breath. “We were on our way over the mountain when she changed. She must have been bitten or scratched, but I didn’t know.” The tears were running in silent rivers down her face. “I caused my sister’s death, it was my fault,” she finished, with a guttural sound of agony breaking off the last four words.

  “You had no way of knowing. I would have done the same in your place. That poor child,” Kate said shaking her head sadly. “You can’t hold onto the blame, I know that my Mitchel is doing the same thing. He feels responsible for what happened at the school, but the truth is that it’s nobody’s fault. What’s happening is the most horrific kind of thing, but we are all blameless here; there is not one of us that has caused this. There’s enough going on without weighing yourself down with blame,” she finished, her tone firm and demanding. “Do you hear me young lady?”

  “Yes ma’am,” Juliette said with a shaky voice as she wiped the tears from her face. “I just can’t help but feel responsible though, if I hadn’t brought her, my sister might still be alive.”

  “Juliette, you were doing what humanity and kindness has taught you to do. You showed compassion for someone in need. I know you learned a hard lesson and suffered a great loss, but don’t stop helping others, it’s what will keep your humanity alive through all of this, and that is vital. Now you know that you need to be cautious and alert at all times, but the kindness is still needed,” Kate finished. Juliette nodded her understanding as the silent tears ran down her face.

  “I’m not so sure, Kate. If I had been thinking in terms of keeping my loved ones safe at all costs, then I would have left that girl there. I saw the madness, I saw how quickly it was spreading. If I had thought at all about what was going on around me, then Cordelia would still be alive,” Juliette finished her voice a soft monotone.

  She took a deep breath trying to escape from the sea of sadness that threatened to drown her forever. There was a part of her that just wanted to let go, to sink down to the bottom, to lay in the cool darkness of despair as the world crumbled around her.

  Kate sat with her in silence, it may have been mere moments but felt like an eternity. When she cleared her throat, Juliette jumped at the sound. “I’m an old lady you know. I’ll be turning 74 next month. One of the most important lessons that I have learned is that it’s better to just leave the past where it is. Today is the day to live for,
this moment in time. Once you realize that, let go of yesterday, and tomorrow, then life becomes simple.”

  “There’s no such thing as a simple life. I don’t know if there ever was, but there certainly isn’t now,” Juliette huffed in response.

  “You’re right dear, poor choice of words on my part I guess, but don’t miss the meaning. I’ve felt the greatest pain and loss you can imagine. The only thing that pulled me through it was just focusing on those around me. I couldn’t lay in bed all day crying for the loss of my daughter because I had people who needed me. I found that if I just put all of my thought, all of my attention right there in the moment, a little bit of the pain would fall away and I’d feel like I could breathe again. There are people here who need you, especially our boy Micah,” Kate finished with a sigh.

  Juliette sat quietly letting Kate’s shared wisdom wash over her. She knew that Kate was right. The only time she felt like she could even breathe was when she was helping someone. When she was standing fully in the present, she could feel like herself again. Instead of feeling the turbulent waves of emotion that were ceaselessly crashing against the inside of this fragile shell that she had become. There were moments when she could feel the cracks forming and she would imagine her whole being shattering at once as the waves broke free...

  “Now stop biting at your lip before you tear a hole in it, dear,” Kate said, lightly smacking Juliette’s hand. “If the sorrow gets to be too much to hold, let it out. Don’t wait until it destroys you. You can hand some to me if you need to.”

  She released the lip she held captive between her teeth and nodded her head. “I know that you’re right, the only time I feel like I can breathe is when I’m surrounded by others and being useful. My whole life I’ve been a caregiver, always looking after someone, it makes sense that doing that now would offer a bit of peace.”

  Anna and Drew came bursting through the back door. Both of them shaking as they knocked the snow from their jackets and stomped their boots on the rug. “It’s a winter wonderland out there!” Anna exclaimed when she looked up and saw Juliette and Kate watching her.

  “It has been snowing for a long time now,” Juliette said, silently hoping that Mitch and the rest of the men would return home safely.

  “I think the cold is keeping the creepers away,” Drew said, a look of relief on his face.

  “We can only hope. Would you kids care for some tea?” Kate asked, getting up from her stool to fill the kettle.

  “That’d be great Nana,” Drew said, as he draped his arm across her shoulder and lightly kissed her on the head. “Do you know where Emily is? I want to see if she’s doing okay.”

  “She’s in the front room with Micah, I think she’s handling this all very well. It couldn’t have been easy. I know that she cared about Dave,” Kate replied, her voice giving away her emotions.

  “We’ll make it through this, Nana. Together, the same way we’ve made it through everything else,” Drew said already on his way to find his girl.

  Anna slid onto the stool beside Juliette. “Thank you for making some tea, Kate. I’m feeling like a popsicle,” she laughed lightly.

  Juliette turned her stool slightly so that she could face Anna. “Thank you for stepping in and taking care of everything. I know it must have been hard.”

  The smile slipped from Anna’s face before she carefully slid it back into place. “Well, we couldn’t just leave him there since we don’t really know anything about how it spreads. I have been doing some research on what I do know though, surprisingly there is still internet connection on the computer in Mr. Adler’s office.”

  “What have you found out?” Juliette asked.

  “When we were at Travis’ house, the man who attacked us was taking Zoletripine, so I started researching it. I’ve learned a lot about it actually, there are scores of articles about it. Scientists were calling it a wonder drug. It was said to be a medical breakthrough that would change the lives of chronic pain sufferers across America. It hadn’t been cleared in other countries yet,” Anna finished a touch of relief in her voice.

  “And these attacks, these changes are they only happening here?” Juliette wondered feeling a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in a long time. If this was isolated to America, then maybe there was hope after all.

  “There have been a few incidences, but they were able to contain it. Once they traced it back to the clinical trials for Zoletripine, they quarantined everyone that had any contact with the drug. The reports I read out of Europe state that the quarantine lock down sites have been completely overrun. Right now, they are trying to find the best solution to contain it.” Anna finished her voice flat and emotionless.

  “So, this drug, it causes the people to change into those monsters, but how does it spread? If it’s just a medication reaction it shouldn’t spread like it does,” Juliette asked more confused now than she had been before they started talking.

  “The drug went through years’ worth of clinical trials, and was out for months without any adverse effects. They think that something else changed in the environment that triggered this response in patients taking the medication. The medication itself was a wonder, really. It was a synthetic beta endorphin, attaching itself to the neurotransmitters that caused the body to release excess amounts of GABA, which caused an excess production of dopamine. The human body does this naturally when something traumatic or painful happens, I’m sure the release is probably at its largest at the moments of death.” Anna’s voice was animated and passionate. She spoke of science the way most girls her age spoke of celebrity gossip. It was endearing, really. “So,” she continued, “I have a running theory that something else is ultimately to blame for this, it’s just that it’s happening to people who are taking the drug before it’s happening to the rest of us, but anyone who dies would likely turn. I’ve only seen one person die and not change,” Anna finished, taking a small sip of tea. “Thank you Kate, this is delicious.”

  “Who?” Kate and Juliette asked simultaneously.

  “Jimmy’s mother,” Anna replied, a note of sadness in her voice.

  “How did she die?” Juliette asked, trying to piece things together.

  “She was shot, and then wrecked her car, I’m not sure which thing actually caused the death, but I believe it was loss of blood either way.”

  “Maybe it’s because she wasn’t bitten.” Juliette said, thinking this was the obvious reason.

  “I saw a man get hit by a truck, then spring back to life and kill the person who was trying to help him, so no. I’ve ruled that out as the reason. It has to be something else.” Anna replied, her voice shaking with anger and grief.

  Juliette didn’t know what to do for Anna, she wanted to comfort her in some small way, but felt like the girl had a flashing “No Touching” sign hanging above her head. “I’ve lost someone very important to me too. My sister was my person, you know? The one person in the world that gets every single quirky part of you. We knew each other inside and out, and I let her down and now she’s gone,” she paused to wipe the stray tear that had snuck out while she was talking. “I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone, I’ve lost my person too,” she finished taking a big shaky breath.

  “Well, we’re all just a little messed up, now aren’t we? Just a little off center. How could you see what we’ve seen and not be?” Anna asked, not expecting an answer. She shook herself, head to toe, running her hands over her arms.

  Kate set a plate of warm bread with butter and jam in front of them before she sat back down on her stool. “The way this storm is raging I would be surprised if the men make it back tonight,” she sighed the worry evident in her voice.

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about Mr. Adler, Kate, that is one man that is fully capable of taking care of himself.” Anna said in awe.

  “Let’s all hope so.” Juliette added, always hating the way her mind would just run with visions of all of the horrible things that could be happening to them right n
ow.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mitch

  Mitch took a deep breath, reached into his back pocket, pulled out the blue handkerchief he had tucked there, and used it to wipe the sweat from his brow. They had been working for the last fifteen minutes clearing the bodies from the room. He and Mike had just put the last body in the stack outside the back door.

  “So, what’s the plan, Addie? Are we going to stay the night, or travel in the dark? You know I’m up for either, just want to know which one,” Mike asked, as he opened the back door.

  “Let’s fuel up and discuss our options,” Mitch answered following him inside.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m eating in the kitchen, even without the bodies, it is nasty in there,” Travis said when they walked in, motioning toward the dining room. Mitch’s eyes followed his nose to the kitchen. His stomach rumbled when his gaze landed on the counters. They were lined with heaping plates of food. How long had it been since they’d eaten?

  Henry was on a stool in the corner of the room, he gave a brief nod of acknowledgment when his eyes met Mitch’s. The kid’s eyes were swollen from crying and his face had taken on a much younger appearance; the emotions lending him a look of vulnerability.

  Mitch leaned against the counter next to the sink as he waited for Mike to finish cleaning up. He was impatient to wash the blood from his hands and arms. “I’m going to go wash up down the hall, maybe see if I can find a clean shirt,” he said as he strode quickly toward the hall.

  When he reached the bathroom, he began to peel off his henley. The waffle knit material had left its familiar pattern across his skin where the blood had seeped through. When he glanced up at his reflexion in the mirror, he decided to ditch the sink bath and just grab a quick shower. It would be faster in the long run, and the last thing he wanted to do was run around with blood from the changed ones all over his body.