Embrace The Madness Ch. 02

Around the outskirts of the city the situation continued to grow further out of hand. What ever was happening around the downtown area, had begun to spread like wildfire through the surrounding communities and suburbs. Throughout the remaining hours of the afternoon and even into the early evening the sound of gunfire rang out from all sides of the city. As unfortunate as it was to admit, inside the inner city there seemed to always be someone being robbed, mugged or murdered around the area.

Although many of the residents might have found the sound of gunfire normal, these sounded much different. Unlike the normal sound of random pop-offs, many residents remained indoors listening to the repeating sound of a war-zone within the heart of the city. Local law enforcement continued vigorously combating the plague, but as the shoot to kill idea was only making the situation greater, they soon found themselves becoming victims to the very thing they were struggling to fight against.

Like so many still around the surrounding area Kaleb had found himself -- along with Layla and his daughter -- remaining locked inside the three-bedroom home. Around the city the screams and gunfire seemed to be getting louder inside the inner city, and for good reason. Quickly turning around so he could look through the front window, Kaleb pushed the curtain aside trying his best to peer through the darkness, barely capable of making out the source of the noise.

"Are they military?" Layla was quietly asking as she, too, turned in her seat on the couch.

"I can't tell." Kaleb replied just as quietly.

At first the group was difficult to make out completely, but as the gunshots continued to grow in volume, a small three man group started coming in to focus as they began making their way down Minnesota avenue. None of them stopped, or made any sort of motion to check the surrounding houses, as they continued their journey down the city street. Firing upon anything still currently moving outside, it had become obvious the three males were not out looking for survivors.

Staying quiet for a moment longer-, Kaleb sat, watching the three males as they moved through the street. Of course the sound of gunshots only seemed to be attracting the creatures, as more and more began to flock their way instead of away from the city as they were. The three that were trying to clear the area must not have thought about the magnitude of the current situation, as they started finding themselves with less ammo than there were infected.

Through the window, the two of them watched as one of the -- fairly thinner -- males had quickly dropped to the ground. Just like the sub-human parasites they were, those infected and still within the area, had quickly brought their attention on the screaming male. As the young man continued to cry out in pain, pleading for help from either of his friends, he was forced to witness the true value of their friendship; as they continued running down the street.

From inside the small three-bedroom home both Kaleb and Layla watched helplessly as the man's screams became more gargled. Finally pulling his attention away from the window, still trying to establish an understanding of what was happening, Kaleb pushed himself away from the couch and began heading through the kitchen and around the corner into the back bedroom. Certainly glad he had put his phone on the charger earlier in the day, he was quickly finding himself struck with a road block.

Of course the sudden sensation of annoyance had washed over him as he stared at the phone noticing the no service message across the center of the screen. With a long sigh Kaleb was slipping his cell phone into the side pocket of his jeans before finally crawling over his waterbed, flipping open the lid of the built-in chest on the headboard. On any normal day Kaleb would have spent his time outside in the garage, but unlike any normal day, things had rapidly grown out of control.

Pulling the glass pipe, grinder and bag of weed from the inside of the chest, he slowly crawled toward the foot end of his bed. Even as he sat on the foot end of his bed, doing his best to begin packing the pipe, the small kitten made it a little more challenging as she tried climbing into his lap. Finding himself with more questions than there were answers, he began organizing his thoughts a little clearer as the THC started passing through his blood stream.

"Thank you again for letting me stay the night." Layla said as she came around the corner of the kitchen.

"It's no problem honestly." Kaleb replied after deeply inhaling from the pipe. "Not to change the subject but, do you have your phone on you? Mine doesn't have service, for some reason, at the moment."

"I left it at home." Layla replied casting those deep sapphires on Kaleb, as she sat in the corner of the waterbed.

The two continued to pass the glass pipe between themselves, discussing several ideas involving the city, their well-being and protection, among any other conversation Layla could begin to ramble on about. Unlike Kaleb -- who had a much higher tolerance to the effect of THC, Layla was quickly finding herself subject to the sloth-like reaction time. Not wanting to put forth the time and effort in going into the spare room, Layla was ever so slowly scooting toward the head of the bed and beneath the covers.

Kaleb was still sitting at the foot end of the bed, in the workings of packing a second bowl, as Layla slowly climbed beneath the covers. Giving a quick glance over his shoulder -- which turned into a much longer stare -- he watched as the thin bikini top was the first thing to be tossed away from beneath the sheets. Watching the movements from beneath the covers, as she shifted her weight around, it wasn't difficult to figure out what was next and sure enough a moment later he watched her toss the pair of jean shorts aside as well.

Kaleb found his mind racing, as vivid images played deep within his thought pattern. A deep breath was taken in and slowly released as he turned his attention toward his current task at hand. For the last several months, at least since she had started watching Karmen, Kaleb had thought about having Layla within his bed. The lust had been strong, but even for as strong as it might have seemed, he was soon facing a decision of his dreams. Of course the respectful decision was made, and once he had packed the bowl, he began getting ready to leave.

"You aren't going to keep me company tonight?" she asked as she sat up in the bed, pulling the blankets with her to better help cover her chest.

In all honesty, Layla was tired of always fighting and arguing with Dwayne over his guilty conscience about her cheating. For the last six months she had felt as though she had heard it all; she didn't encourage him enough, she was self-centered, she was greedy and only thought of herself. Ever since he walked off from his job -- all because he had an argument with his former manager -- Dwayne made her feel as though she was always at blame for something, and after several months of being falsely accused of cheating -- with Kaleb -- she was ready to give in.

Of course she had never really thought about doing so, she was raised on much different and stronger values. All the same, those values were starting to crumble about as fast the the inner city fell to the bombardment. Slightly tilting her head to one side, she gave her best and most innocent look she could muster as she stared those deep blues toward Kaleb. Excuse the little blonde for wanting to feel the sensation of being wanted again. After all, Dwayne wasn't the only one feeling their other half was cheating.

Kaleb was just about to pass through the doorway of his bedroom as her question had caused him to stop in his tracks. If his mind wasn't already thinking of a million things that involved Layla, her question had certainly stirred the kettle. Kaleb was quickly stuck in a decision that, even before he could begin to process the rights from wrongs, his lust for Layla had changed his movements. Within a few short steps he was climbing back on the waterbed, taking Layla up on her request...

By mornings first light, the National Guard -- already struggling with the outbreak around D.S.C.C -- were forcefully pushing their way inside the city. What they found when they got there, however, was devastating. Everything within the campus and downtown areas had been overwhelmed and consumed by this new parasitic infection. Through all valiant efforts and attempts however, they too were unable to combat against the magnitude of infected and panicked. Left with no remaining options, rescue squads were being pulled out of surrounding areas as the city fell under a state of emergency.

With so many still either unaware of the situation, or unaware of the magnitude of the situation, they were soon waking to the deep rumble of explosions. If city-wide panic was something they were trying to avoid, then blowing up the downtown area may have been the wrong angle to go with. It really was no surprise that the explosions had caught the attention of so many around the surrounding neighborhoods. Waking to the sound of the inner city's first bombardment, many grabbed what they could, quickly trying to flee the city.

From inside the small three bedroom home on Minnesota, the repeating explosions caused Kaleb's pit-bull to deepen his own bark. Unable to handle Loki's barking any longer, Karmen was finally pulled her bedroom door open.

"Woki! No more." she said, and since Loki choose to ignore her, she began to make her way around the corner of the living room.

Again the walls vibrated just enough to gently move the pictures hanging from the wall, as the explosion that followed was enough to cause little Karmen to quicken her step. Dashing around the corner into the kitchen, the little four-and-a-half-year-old was in a wobbled run into her father's room. Climbing over not only the wooden siding of the waterbed, but Layla as well, Karmen was quickly finding a place to settle in between Layla and Kaleb.

After only getting a couple of hours to sleep, Layla soon found herself being used as a personal jungle gym. Of course the more coherent she became of her surroundings, the more she noticed the changes already taking place around the city. Even with the little child trying to fit herself within the bed, she had still managed to find herself curled as best as she could against Kaleb's solid frame. Once again the explosions from the depth of the city echoed around the surrounding areas, causing Layla to quickly sit up.

Between the rays of sunlight peering through the side window, along with the sudden sporadic movement of the bed, Kaleb was just starting to stir from the brief few hours of sleep. With the city still under bombardment, Kaleb's own awareness was starting to become a little keener.

"We can't continue to stay inside the city for long." Layla said, as the city's bombardment had settled into her reality.

"Trust me, I know. But running out there, we only add to the problem." Kaleb had finally replied as he sat up in the bed.

"But we don't even know what the problem is." Layla quickly retorted

"Exactly! Which is why we're safer -- at least for the moment -- inside these four walls. As long as the military doesn't start dropping gifts off on this side of the stadium, we're better off not rushing into the rest of the chaos." Kaleb was saying once again, now taking a moment to notice his daughter asleep once again.

From the front of the house, the sound of glass shattering had quickly pulled both Layla and Kaleb from the bed. Suddenly there came a high pitched yell from the front of the house. Quickly pulling on a pair of basketball shorts, he grabbed the twin pair of sais' hanging on the wall against the door frame and cautiously rounded the corner into the kitchen. Finally able to see around the corner into the living room, he had quickly noticed his pit-bull had the situation immobilized with a trapped wrist within his jaw.

Unfortunately for the male, the pit-bull had no thought or intention on releasing his hold as it continued to pull and tug backwards. The male's screams only continued to increase in volume as the pit-bull continued to whip its head side to side, painfully tugging at the male's wrist, as though trying to pull him through the busted window. As the infected roamers began filtering into the streets once again, the high pitch screams only caused them to find something to focus on as they started their slow aimless staggering.

Kaleb had finally stepped into the living room as the light skinned male continued to yell and pull against the dog. Even with Loki keeping a firm hold against the male's wrist, Kaleb still moved with a slightly slower and defensive stature.Still unsure of the male's true and honest intentions, he gave a sharp and fairly loud whistle, which got Loki to release his hold on the males wrist. The weapon that had been used to bust open the window of his front door -- a camo painted Barnett Rhino crossbow -- had slipped from the male's grasp as he began to stumble backwards.

Feeling the dog release its hold against his wrist he started a stumbled action off the steps of the porch. Dropping his crossbow on the porch as he stumbled backwards, he landed with a hard thud against the back of his shoulder. Although grateful the dog no longer held his wrist within its clutches, he was certain the dog had done further damage. Quickly scanning the area for his next available safe haven he heard the door open, and even before he had time to react, the pit-bull gave no warning as it tore through the opening and immediately began going after his ankle.

Desperately trying to get away from the dog, he tried wailing and kicking at it, which in the end only seemed to anger it more. From all around them the numbers of infected neighbors began to close their distance, homing in on their newest victim and with the screams that continued to shout into the air, it only made for a better beacon. Still trying to scramble away, he was breathing on a brief sigh of relief as the dog had seemed to have lost interest. That was until he had heard the growling sounds, not of a raging canine, but that of a human being.

One of the roaming neighbors had finally gotten to close and was now in a battle of wits against the pit-bull. Kaleb, who was currently standing just inside the doorway after picking up the crossbow, watched as his dog lunged toward the approaching male. The male seemed unaffected by the warning signs Loki was giving him and soon he stumbled forward, reaching for the dog. Loki -- being just slightly smarter -- had gotten out of the male's reach and with the current momentum, had caught the male's wrist and quickly brought him to the ground. Both dog and man snarled and growled at one another, one trying to attack its prey, the other trying to dismember its prey.

Kaleb wasn't about to find out, as more continued to advance on the street, he gave three very sharp whistles. Of course Loki wasn't the only one to of heard the command, and even as it released its hold on the male's wrist running up the steps of the patio, many of the infected began trying to follow. Quickly getting back inside Kaleb, tossing the newly acquired crossbow on the couch, began shoving the couch against the front door. Turning his attention toward the swarming hoard of infected that were now pouring out of the inner city, his attention was quickly brought back to the younger male that had just attempted his first home invasion.

He hadn't gotten more than to his feet, trying to hobble away before the growing numbers had become too over whelming. Once again Kaleb watched from the window of his front door as the soulless parasites had soon over powered, and over whelmed, the slightly darker toned male. The scene was much like the previous one from the past evening, but with more sunlight on the matter, Kaleb was able to get a much more graphic view. Watching the cannibalistic actions of those already surrounding the male, like a starving flock of vultures, Kaleb stood helpless as several of the sick began feasting on the male's -- still living -- corpse.

As the scene continued to unfold only feet in front of his house; Kaleb knew, as he watched from the busted window, he wasn't going to be able to offer any sort of help or assistance. Soon the gargled screams that came from the male had fallen silent or had simply become over powered by the snarls and growls of the diseased as they continued piling over top the freshly deceased male. As disturbing as it was to watch, Kaleb was taking the time to better observe the actions and movements of those still flocking around the area.

Attempting any sort of escape from the city was suicide...

"Do you still believe we're safer here?" Layla was finally questioning with a slightly quirked expression.

Giving a deep sigh, he slowly lowered the sais and for the time being, tucked it inside the waist band behind his back. "It honestly doesn't matter if I still believe we are safer here or not. The fact of the matter is, at this current moment, the three of us are not getting away from the city on my motorcycle alone."

"So what? We stay locked inside and hope for an evacuation?" She asked again while stepping into the living room..

Unlike the masses of many who thought the attempt of fleeing was still the better option, only to become a statistic to the infected hoards, Kaleb began barricading the front of his house. After shoving the slightly smaller -- and much heavier -- love-seat recliners against the front door, he quickly made his way back toward his bedroom once again. After moving toward his tool box and flipping the lid open, he grabbed both his hammer and a handful of nails. With a busted out window in his front door, that was an open invitation he didn't want advertised and having no plywood, he was subject to the next best thing.

"I can't say I like the idea any more than you do, but until we can get some kind of understanding of what has taken over the city, I think our best option is to remain in doors for the time being." Kaleb replied as he stepped around the corner of the kitchen, hammer in hand.

Acknowledging the hammer in hand as Kaleb came around the corner, having a pretty good idea of what Kaleb was intending, Layla was soon moving from where she stood and began helping Kaleb remove and stack the books from one of the bookshelves. Once the bookshelf was emptied Kaleb began carefully disassembling the shelves and main structure of the bookcase. With the bookcase completely in pieces, the two of them began using the shelves to close off and barricade the front door window. After spending roughly an hour or so, the two of them soon had the front of the house barricaded.

Kaleb couldn't help finding himself both a little shocked and surprised, that through the time it had taken him and Layla to nail the boards in place, none of the wondering sick had made any attempt at coming toward his house. Just getting ready to turn around, so he could head back into his room to put away the hammer, he heard the quick moving patter of his daughter's feet against the kitchen flooring as she rushed through the kitchen.

"Daddy." Karmen's high squeal tone could be heard as she started around the corner, her right arm extended in front of her. "Here your phone."

"Karmen, shh. Inside voice pumpkin." Kaleb replied a little quieter than his daughter's own tone as he took his phone from her.

Turning his attention toward the window once again, doing his best to peer through the spaces left between the wood of the former bookshelf, he watched quietly as more of the deceased and infected continued passing through the street. It wasn't until the soft chime of an incoming text message broke the silence from inside the house, before Kaleb realized his phone had restored service.