Life With the Lifeless (A.K.A MESSUuPpUNK's Story)

[MESSUuPpUNK]

*BZZZZZZT* *BZZZZZZZZT*

I rolled over in my bed, glancing at the clock to see what time it was. One. ONE IN THE GODDAMN MORNING.

*BZZZZZZT*

I looked down at my phone, thinking out loud "Damn thing vibrates too loud. Could pleasure an effing elephant, hell was probably MADE to pleasure elephants. Bastards." I looked at the screen and read the contacts name. Restricted. "Wow. Original, douche bag." I said out loud. I let the call go to voicemail.

*BZZZZZZT* *BZZZZZZZZT*

I rolled back over. Restricted. (Shocker). This time I answered.

"What the hell does anybody ever want at one in the morning. Huh?" I asked the phone. Well not so much asked as much as demanded. A womans voice played back through the receiver; "Is this Ali?" Well folks, I mused, its one of THOSE calls. The ones where a girl calls you to tell you how much she wants your... Well it's no mystery. "Yeah. What do you want? I mean, Jesus Jumping Christ, Can't you people just leave me alone?" There was a delay, something going on in the background, I could just make out the lyrics to another hit pop song that most teenage douches play at parties. She then spoke, "Umm... Somebody said that you give rides to super wasted people that cant drive... and my friend and I are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too drunk to drive. We'll pay you any way you like."

Ugh. But I can't say no. It's this thing, I like helping people. Anything the matter with that? "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Where are you? And I'm not guaranteeing anything. Did you drive?" Again, more of that mindless piss they would call music. I mean at least play something good like B.o.B or Kid Cudi, not that all auto-tune horse-shit on a cracker, barely passes for music, bullshit. "Uhmmmmmmmm.... Do you know Willie? And I drove. Why? Can you not make it? Will I have to drive?" She responded. Man, she sounded blond. Like Barbie blond. Like so blond you would need to go to stupid school to think like her. "No dumb ass, you aren't driving, just sit. And yes, I know willie. Ok, can I have a name to call out when I get there?" I asked, now pissed. Why you ask? Well here are the mechanics to my job. If you were driven, I come get you, go back to bed. If you drove, well I gotta wake Andy up. My friend Andy (Andrew), who has work in the morning. Christ, I'm not looking forward to that. Meanwhile on the phone Blondie was still chattering about stuff I honestly Refuse to care about. "Hey! Focus! Whats your name?!" I demanded. "Lauren-" she replied, and then I hung up. Yeah I can be a dick. Blow me, so would you if you had my job. I quick Dialed Andy. And he answered about four rings in. Shit. "What is it, Ally?" He asked. He was angry. How I know? He called me Ally. I hate that. He knows that. "We got a call. Two girls, they drove, I'll be there in five." I said. The line went dead. He was probably already ready. I got up out of my bed and stretched. Slippers? Check. Shorts? Check. Shirt? ... eh screw it. I grabbed the keys to my car on my way out of my room, and walked down the stairs. "Man, Fuck stairs." I thought aloud. About Five minutes later I pulled up at Andy's. He ran out to the car, saw me and shook his head. "I can't take you anywhere," he prodded, "You should really think about shirts. They're fun..." He joked some more. Man playing with Andy was like playing with a bipolar polar bear. You never know when he's gonna rip your face off. Of course he isn't actually bipolar, he just likes to act nice in front of clients. Wait, who are we kidding, when they say they'll pay us... well you get the picture right? I turned to him, "You should try out-" I slapped him in the face. "Some respect!" I finished. He punched me in the arm, "Lets just go, Derptard." he said.

We were maybe a minute from Willie's house when we saw someone laying in the road. At first we both thought it was someone from the party. "Hey!" I called out from the car. "Hey Stupid! Outta the road!!" I called again, Honking this time. No response. They lay just outside the range of my headlights. Wondering what was up, I flashed the high beams. What I saw was horrific. A small, petite, girl lay there, some blood around her head and she was bleeding from what looked to be cuts on her arms and legs. Her dress, which had once sported a pretty floral design, was torn, shreds lay around her. "Andy..." I looked at him, and he returned my stare. "I'll get the stick." he groaned. As he got out, I reached into the glove compartment for the first aid kit in there, and then into the backseat for a robe. I climbed out of the car as Andy ran back around the car. "Miss?" I called out to her. "Miss, Do I have permission to administer aid to you?" I called out again. I heard a faint "Help...." from her direction. I walked over, Andy a good two feet away. As I got closer, The cuts got wider, and more circular. Like someone had taken bites out of her. I shook my head, thats riddiculous. "Miss, have you been attacked?" I asked, about four feet away. "No dipshit, shes bleeding for fun." Andy scolded. I shrugged. "I'm going to pick you up and get a robe on you, ok?" I said with the robe in my arms. As I did what I told her I would do, I couldn't help but notice the holes. That and how familiar she looked. I shook my head again. Focus, I thought to myself. I continued to examine her wounds. They seriously looked like someone had taken bites out of her. It sent chills down my spine. As I tied the waist off on the robe, Andy pulled out a roll of bandage and the cleaning alcohol. "This is gonna sting, ok? But I'm right here. Feel my hand? If you wanna, you can squeeze it, ok?" I felt a light squeeze on my left hand. Andy then began to clean and dress the wounds. I could feel her tremble in pain, her breath quickened, and she began to squeeze my hand, but I could barely feel it. It was weaker than my nephew's handshake. "Andy, we gotta go to a hospital..." I said. She looked pale. Not normal, hides from the sun behind a computer screen pale, like gonna die pale. "Andy... Now!"

[thehoodedman]

Cool story bro.

[MESSUuPpUNK]

Thanks dude, stay tuned for more.

[MESSUuPpUNK]

I was speeding, I knew that for sure. We had to get her to the hospital. Andy kept looking back behind us, at her. "Have you noticed how familiar she looks?" he asked me. "Yeah... You know who she is?" I asked him. To think we could have such a calm conversation while I was going almost eighty-five miles an hour on a forty mile per hour street to the hospital. Getting pulled over at this point I may as well throw my license away. Andy glanced up the road. "How popular is this road again?" he asked. "Not at all really, I use it to get to work." I told him. Not this work that I'm doing now, mind you, I'm a lab technician at the hospital. I set iv's and draw blood. In short, the nurse's bitchwork. "You sure?" he asked. "Yeah... Why?" I asked as I followed his gaze. Oh. Shit. There was a SHITton of traffic up ahead. "Oh look, a detour!" I shouted as I shot off the road and into the open field. "What the fuck are you doing?!" Andy shouted as I began accelerating through the field. "Just shut up and hand me my Identification card dude." I said calmly. I turned back to check on the girl. Still bleeding. Through at least 2 sheets of gauze and bandage wrap. Balls.

I saw the hospitals giant red cross just over the edge of the hill and floored the accelerator, getting close to 110 miles an hour. As we crested, and sailed over the hill, I smiled to myself. "Just like in the movies." I couldn't help but think aloud. But unlike in the movies, I landed on asphalt, fishtailed, and hopped out if the car, putting on the top half of a spare pair of scrubs I keep in the car, and running to the door, sliding my ID card home. As I opened the door Andy ran over to me with the girl in his arms. We sprinted into the hospital and ran towards the emergency ward. Man oh man was it crowded. People lay in gurneys, some strapped down and freaking out, their eyes completely red. Andy looked at me and mouthed "Uh.... What the fuck?" He then said aloud "Either movies have it completely wrong, or something big is going down." I looked around. "I'll go find a nurse and gurney for her." I told him. As I vaulted the nurses station's desk I saw a bright yellow sheet of paper near a keyboard. It read:

NOTICE:

If you are bitten by a patient with the following symptoms:

Extremely low body temperature

Red eyes (iris is also discolored)

Appearance of extreme brain damage.

Please report to the desk in the back.

Thank you;

Management.

I discounted the message. "Hello?" I called. "Hello?" I called again. Huh, nobody. "Hell," I thought, "I can get what she needs, I have access to it."

As I returned with a pouch of Type O blood, IV drip, and new bandages, I tried to remember how I knew the girl. Just then, I walked straight into a nurse. "Hey, sorry about that." I said. The woman looked at me. She was about 5'8", had brown hair with a few gray ones mixed in. "Who are you?" she demanded. "How did you get all that stuff?" she continued. I flashed her my ID card, "I'm Ali, I work here evenings and weekends as a lab tech." I told her. She lightened up immediately. "Okay, my name is Jillian."

About two minutes later Jillian and I were attempting to fix the girl up. "So, what happened here?" I asked. Jillian continued working, avoiding eye contact. "They say its a new drug that brings out the worst of people on a bad trip, but my friend down in the lab says the blood samples taken to the lab exhibit signs of a viral disease, or something associated with prolonged exposure to chemicals dangerous to the human body. Either way, a bunch of guys showed up demanding new safety precautions be taken, and that his Lab people had access to the surgery room one floor up. As more patients came in nurses were bitten, then sent to the back, and not seen again. They're being quarantined." She explained. She finished up re-applying bandages to the young girl, and asked me "Who is she? Your girlfriend?" I shook my head. "Nope, we found her on the road. We have no idea what her name is." I told her. "Will she have to be quarantined?" I asked Jillian. Just before she could answer another nurse popped her head into the room. "Jillian, we need you in room 05. Another druggie going nutso and they need help restraining him." Jillian left the room as I walked to the chair in the corner to wake Andy up. "Dude, wake up, We still gotta go to Willie's." I said as I shook him. He groggily said "No, mom, five more minutes." I sighed, and stepped out of the room to grab a wheelchair. As I wheeled him out of the hospital I watched a trio of ambulances pull up and unload three more whacked out patients. I wondered what the fuck was going on as I loaded Andy into the car and drove off.

About fifteen minutes later, we pulled up in Willie's driveway, but something felt... Off. the music was still very, very, Loud, and still very, very, gay, but other than that it was quiet...I mean it was almost a ghost house. No one was outside smoking or passed out on the ground. No ambient noise save for the music. That and empty beer cans, bottles, and random pieces of clothing lay all over the lawn. I stepped out of the car, closing the door lightly so as to not wake Andy, and began to cross the lawn. I tripped and fell facefirst into a wet girls tanktop, and as I got back up, I noticed the white tank top was stained. I picked it up and held it to the light, watching in horror as the mystery liquid turned red. It was blood. Standing now, I turned towards the house and let the top fall to the ground. And then I heard the scream. Not a normal "Oh Shit you scared me!", or "Holy balls! You freaked me out!", or even a scream caused by rape. This was a scream that could only be achieved through severe pain, even death inducing trauma. It was flat out primal. And it came from the house. Willie's house.

Shit.

[MyLittleHellhound]

Awwwwwwwwwww yeaaaaa! This is gettin intenseeeeee and it's workin out pretty well! :D

[MESSUuPpUNK]

I slowly made my way to the house. The front door was still open and I could see someones arm sticking out over the threshold. I didn't want to keep walking toward the door, yet it was as if this were a movie, and I was in the theatre. I had no control, and continued to the door. I reached the porch steps and began to climb up slowly, ever cautious of my surroundings. I was at the door now and I peeked my head in. Then I vomited.

 It was so gory. The arm in the doorway had been ripped off of it's owner, who lay only feet away, innards strewn upon the hardwood flooring. Against my best judgement I continued inside. There was blood on the walls, floor furniture, it covered everything. As if someone had brought in big ass buckets of blood colored paint and had a paint war with ten other people. I vomited again. The smell was unnatural. It was very metallic, I could almost taste it. And then I heard it. The whimpering. I walked towards the noise. As I continued through the living room, towards the **** please report this topic, post ****, I heard something thump on the floor upstairs. It was a big something. Now I could see that something had been dragged through the blood and behind the countertop. That's where the whimpering was. I strafed the island, moving towards the knife holder on the counter to my left. I pulled out the biggest knife I saw and moved around the counter to find a blonde girl, sobbing to herself. She seemed unhurt, but I could only see half of her. I dropped the knife, and reached out to her. She turned to me, and I saw a huge chunk of blood squirt out of the hole in her neck. She then slumped over. I fell to my knees and shook her. I shook her again as more blood got all over me.

I think I cried after that. For how long? I have no idea. Then I heard another thump. I picked the knife up and made my way upstairs. "More blood" I whispered to myself. As I crested the stairs, I saw five people over the corpse of another. "Hello?" I asked. All at once their eyes locked on me. Their red eyes. "Shit!" I cried out as they jumped up. I bolted down the stairs, taking them seven at a time, when one of them tackled me, knocking me down and causing me to lose the knife as it slid over to a wall. The others were running down the stairs and I didn't have much time. I kicked the guy off of me, and then pushed clear of him, sliding on the bloody floor to the knife. I grabbed it and threw, then watched as its sharp end sank into the chest of the closest assailant, cutting the heart and lungs. 

She fell to the ground, and, to my horror, got back up. "OH SHIT" I cried out again, while I jumped to my feet and vaulted the couch. "Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit!" I kept repeating as I ran for the door. Only one problem. One of those things was blocking the exit. Sliding on the blood, again, I changed direction, going for the living room again. I jumped onto the couch, and through the grand window that once lit this beautiful room up with sunlight long ago. The glass shattered and I landed on the lawn, rolling a foot or two. 

I jumped to my feet and ran for the car screaming "Andy! Andy! Wake up! Start the car! Start the fucking car!" and watched as he woke with a start, saw me running, remembered what I said, and did it. He opened the drivers door and I jumped in and sped off. He instantly freaked out. "Ali! What the fuck?! Is that- holy shit is that blood?! Dude what's going on? Why are you covered in fucking blood? Oh shit! You killed someone! You killed someone and I helped you! I-" "Andy, Calm the fuck down! I didn't kill anybody, just, everyone at the party is dead. Didn't you hear the scream?" He looked away sheepishly, "I thought I was having a nightmare." I shook my head and looked at him. "If only you knew, friend, if only you knew."

[MESSUuPpUNK]

Hello All, I've been gone for a short while so I've skipped the story up. Don't worry, there's a short and quick recap of events. Enjoy!

It had been three months since the initial outbreak. I had managed to save a handful of people, Andy included. It all had happened so fast. I remember sitting in class, English class as I remember, learning stuff about a language I already read and spoke fluently. The intercom crackled on and then the principal's voice was heard: "Attention all students, this is your principal, Mr. Craig, please follow your teachers in an orderly fashion and evacuate the preme... Excuse me? Can I help you? Oh god, GOD somebody help me!!!" his shrieks of pain echoed through the schools brand new speakers. I remember turning to Andy, mouthing "What the fuck?" then all hell broke loose as the students and faculty finally realized this was not a drill, nor a prank. It was real.

 I remember sprinting towards Andy's girlfriend's classroom, and gathering our friends. From there we ran to the parking lot, yet before we could do anything, even get 50 feet from the school, we lost several of the people we had tried to rescue. Some of the survivors were mutual friends and the girl who had dumped me only days after the incident at Willie's party cause she found someone "more suited" to be with her.

 I remember breaking in the glass doors of walmart and taking some shotguns and ammo. Not to mention food and clothes for the future. I remember trying to contact family to no avail. We fled to Denver from there, and had holed up in an executive building. 

Wow three months. Recently we were running low on food and had lost three more people due to our leaders stupidity. I sat in my nice, comfy office chair. I had snagged a CEO's office and loved it. Not cause of the chair only, but also cause of the 20 year old scotch. Andy walked in "I still can't believe we lost Jason, Alex, and James. Does John know what the fuck he's doing?!" I shook my head and shrugged. "Hey they elected him." I gestured at the people outside the door. "Well he was the only one that inquired for the position. I still think you should be the leader." I shook my head again. "Not my cup of tea amigo. I've never been the leading type. I just do as I'm told and get shit done." I said. Andy rolled his eyes. "So, how do you feel about Jamie still being alive and well." he asked. "It's good. We need everyone we can save so this shit can work out." I told him. Jamie was the guy that Meagan, my ex, Was with now. And I saved both of them. And it pissed me off. But I wasn't about to let anyone else know that. Just then John, Kyle, and Jamie walked in. I turned to Andy "Speak of the devil," I started to say when John cut me of. "The five of you. Search and rescue. Now." He then turned and walked out. I stood and stretched. "You heard the man," I said as I poured some scotch into a cup. "Scotch anyone?" I offered. They all refused. I drank my glass and donned my bulletproof vest. I put shotgun slugs into the pockets, then my bandolier of shells on over the vest. Picking up the Remmington 870 shotgun from beside my door I looked at them. "what are you waiting for? Suit up, assholes. We're goin for a walk." 

As they went about getting prepared I felt eyes on me. It was John and some others watching me. Some mumbled under their breath "Alcoholic" others "Hero" and others "Idiot". Maybe I was all of those things. 

 I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned to see Meagan there. "Please look after Jamie.." she pleaded. I sighed. But she needed him. We all did. He was the cook. He could turn a can of beans and corn into a feast. He knew how to stretch provisions. Before I could answer I felt a tug on my leg. I looked and it was Jack. One of the three year olds we saved while passing through a neighborhood on the way here. 

"Ali? You're coming back right?" he said, eyes watering up. "Yes, and I'll bring something back, just for you." I said as I picked him up and gave him a hug. He reminded me of my stepbrother. He would be his age soon I thought. Meagan tapped me on the shoulder. "Promise me!" she demanded. I rolled my eyes. "I promise." I set Jack down and walked to the exit as the four others joined up with me. Just before I jumped into the elevation shaft, onto the elevator, I turned back to see Jamie locking lips with Meagan. 

It was then that I questioned my ability to keep the promise I made her, as I dropped down onto the elevator.