Synopsis: Adam Grey wakes up from the cryogenic chamber and finds that his son is almost the same age as he is, since he has been asleep for 30 years.
PLAGUED NATION
CHAPTER 1
Adam Grey's eyelids slowly lifted. He awoke to see an unshaven man with dark brown hair looking down at him. He was wearing moderately dark clothing and had a musky odor about him, as if he had been working in a sweatshop. Adam slowly rose, grunting. He felt his legs tense up, as if he had been running for hours.
"Here, have this."
The man handed Adam a drink of what appeared to be orange juice. He quickly chugged it down.
"What’s going on?" Adam questioned.
"Well, for starters, you just woke up from the cryogenic chamber. Remember? You were frozen after we bombed Korea," the man replied.
"Sort of...yeah, now that you mention it. Did Korea ever fight back?"
"You wouldn't believe."
"Believe what? What happened?" Adam anxiously asked.
"Korea created a second bomb and added a new chemical. The bomb mutated anyone in the area of the gas. Luckily,we discovered a vaccine, so some people are still human. Others, not so lucky."
“Are you saying that normal people were turned into…into…monsters?” Adam asked.
“That’s pretty much what I’m sayin’,” the man replied.
Adam sighed as his head dropped back on his pillow. “How long have I been asleep?”
“For about thirty years.”
“Oh my god…” His voice trailed off. “Then who are you?”
“I’m your son,” the man said.
Adam’s eyes widened with shock, thinking there was no way that that was his son. “Excuse me?” Adam said. Adam clearly heard what the man had said, but wanted to make sure his ears weren’t deceiving him.
“When you were frozen, three days later, my mom, your wife, discovered she was pregnant,” the man explained.
“But you’re at least 25 years old,” Adam argued.
“You were frozen for 30 years, remember? Rest up. You’re gonna need it.” The man headed towards the door.
“What’s your name, kid?” Adam slowly asked
“ Kyle,” the man replied without looking back.
Adam lied in his bed. Staring continuously at the ceiling. He fell asleep, loosing hours of precious daylight. Suddenly, Kyle burst into the room, screaming “ Mom’s havin’ a seizure! Come on!”
“What?” Adam questioned as he jumped out of bed.
“Come on! I need your help,” Kyle said. Kyle led Adam to a room where a woman, in her late 50s, early 60s, lay in bed. She was convulsing uncontrollably in a deep sleep. “Dad, I need you to run across the street to that house.” Kyle pointed out the window to a moderately sized house. It was tan colored, with a brown colored roof, and was shaped like a sideways “L”. The house also had a garage the size of a small house right across from it.
“Why do I need to go there?” Adam asked.
“Because, mom needs her medication. We ran out a while ago, but I was never able to leave her alone. That house has the medicine in case we ever needed more. Once you go over there, get the medicine, and come straight back. We can’t afford to lose time. Take this.” Kyle gave a 9mm pistol with to Adam. It was very nicely polished and looked like it had never been used. The only flaw was a scrath on the handle like someone drove there nail down it.
“What’s this for?” Adam asked confused.
“You might encounter one of them. This should protect you pretty well,” Kyle said as he put his left hand on top of Adam’s hand that contained the gun and put his right hand under. “Good luck, Dad.”
Adam slowly opened the door. He looked straight down the driveway and saw an animal, which appeared to be a stag, except it was completely black. As Adam walked cautiously down the driveway, the black stag sped off into the woods. Adam was not concerned about the stag, but remained intent on his mission.
He reached the end of the driveway. As he started to cross the street as he saw something in the yard. It was feasting on a dead animal. The creature acknowledged Adam and looked up. Its soulless red eyes and sharp teeth made Adam freeze with fear. The creature resembled a dog, but, like the stag, was completely black. It started to growl at Adam.
Adam started to slowly step back. The creature started to charge at Adam. As the creature pounced to attack, Adam fired the gun, hitting it square in the face. Blood spattered in the air as the bullet punctured its skull and exited out the back. The creature lay on the ground, blood pouring from its skull.
Adam’s chest was heaving up and down with the rush of adrenaline. He rushed to the door of the house. The door was, surprisingly, unlocked. Adam slowly walked inside. “Hello? Hello?” Adam yelled. No answer. A man appeared from around the corner. He was carrying a shovel. Adam pointed the gun at him reflexively.
“Relax. I’m not one of those monsters you think I am,” the man said. Adam lowered his gun. The man went to sit on the couch in which appeared to be the family room. “So, what are you here for, son?”
“I need the medication for my wife across the street. Kyle said that you had some of it,” Adam explained.
At this time, the man stared at Adam. “Aren’t you that guy that was in that…freezing chamber or whatever?”
“Yes, I am, and I really need that medication.”
“Ok, ok, just hold on a…” the man was cut off by the shattering of the window next to him. A creature that had the face of a bat, but was much larger, sprang from the outside through the window. The man’s quick reflexes served him well. Just as the creature jumped through the window, the man grabbed the shovel to guard himself.
As the creature eagerly tried to attack the man, it had no luck in penetrating the man’s guard. He pushed the creature away. Just as the creature was about to pounce at the man, he swung the shovel straight at the creature’s face. There the creature lay on the floor.
Adam stepped closer to take a better look. He then realized that it was much like a bat. The creature had a wing-like membrane that went from its arms to its hips. It had razor sharp claws, and it walked on two legs.
“Now, lets get you that medication.” Just as the man turned around, the creature sprang back to life, emitting a high-pitched screech. The man turned around quickly, shovel in hand, and jabbed the creature straight in its throat. The thing was still moving when the man jabbed it, so he dug the shovel even harder into its throat, severing the head from the body.
He dropped his shovel where the beast lay. “This way” he said, leading Adam into the kitchen. “Now, where did I put that stuff?” The man started to search through many cabinets, throwing everything in his way out onto the floor. “Ah, here it is. Here,” the man handed Adam the medication, “take this to Kyle. He’ll know what to do.”
“Thanks…ummm…uhhh…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Adam said.
“Russ. Its short for Russell.”
“Thanks, Russ.”
“Don’t mention it. Now, your not gonna want to go out the same way,” Russ started to lead Adam back out into the living room, “because there are probably a bunch of those creatures out there so we’re…” Russ was cut off with the shock that the creature’s body remained no longer in the living room. All that was left was a large stain of blood. Russ rushed to grab his shovel.
“Where’s the body?” Adam questioned.
“Don’t you think if I knew that I wouldn’t be so afraid?” Russ replied. “Whatever took the body is bigger. Hopefully, not too much bigger. We better find the creature that took the body before it finds us. This way.”
Russ walked slowly down the hallway from the living room, shovel in hand. Adam followed, armed with his pistol. Halfway down the hall, a very large wolf broke through a door to his right and rammed right into Russ, pinning him against the wall. The wolf was standing on its hind legs while using its front legs to pin him against the wall by his shoulders.
Adam tried to shoot the creature, but the gun was jammed. Adam frantically tried to fix the gun, but it was of no use. At this point, Russ had his head turned away from the creature to avoid its foul breath and powerful jaws. The creature was staring at Russ, growling viciously, teeth showing. Adam saw the shovel on the ground. When Rus was hit, the creature’s strength was so great that it forced him to drop his shovel. Adam picked up the shovel and started to beat the creature with it. Adam's force was strong and the creature turned its head to look at Adam as he struck his first blow. The creature growled and slowly opened up its mouth to show its teeth.
Just as the creature started to release its grip on Russ, Adam struck with a final blow to the creature’s head. The creature suddenly became limp and crashed to the floor. It started to cough up blood as it lay on the ground.
“Thanks. Your tougher than I thought,” Russ stated. Russ grabbed his chest with a large grunt. He removed his hand from his chest. Blood covered his hand. There was a bloody wound where his hand once lied. “The creature dug into me with its claws. Man, it hurts like hell. You never took the vaccine, did you?”
“Never had a chance to. Right when I got out of the freezing chamber I had to come here.”
“Well, I’m sure I have it in my kitchen somewhere. Come on. After I give you that, we gotta’ get the hell outa’ here."