Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion by Brian Lamacraft Page A

grisly sight. A man bent over another man and pulled out his guts in thick strands. He looked their way, but kept chewing, intent on finishing his gory meal. The pavement was stained with the blood of his victim.
    “Oh, God,” said Lauren.
    “Who was that?” said Jason.
    “Old man Hendricks,” said Trevor. “I used to talk to him all the time, he had a nice German Shepherd. His son was in Afghanistan, just go back a little while before the flu happened.” Trevor was lost in thought. “Damn.” It’s all gone, what the hell are we gonna do?
    “Look out!” screamed Lauren.
    Trevor slammed the caravan to the right, narrowing missing a car that sped past him. The driver lost control, and the car barreled into another one, sending debris all over the road. “Shit, that was close. These roads are going to be clogged soon, so I don’t know how long we can stay on them. These things are going to be everywhere.”
    “Where are we going?” said Jason
    “The interior, if we can, once we get Samantha.”
    “What? That’s miles away, we’ll never make it.”
    “You have a better idea?” Trevor yelled. “Or would you rather stay in the city and become the next meal of one of those.” He pointed to the driver as they passed her. The woman that staggered around in a daze.
    “No.”
    “Trevor, don’t be so hard on him, he’s only trying to help.”
    “Sorry, but I just killed my goddamn neighbors who tried to tear my throat out. I’m entitled to be on edge!” I just want this to end, this horrid nightmare I can’t wake up from!
    “Down the next street,” said Jason. Just get there, if anything happens to her . “There, white house with blue flowers, next to the gray Mazda.”
    Trevor drove into driveway then jumped out of the vehicle, grabbing the AR-15.
    “I’m going with you,” said Jason.
    “No. Stay here, and look after your mother.”
    “But—”
    “Look, I need you to do what I say, okay? Watch your mother. Get the hell out of here if those things arrive, don’t wait for me. Got me?”
    “Alright.”
    “Good. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
    “Be careful,” said Lauren.
    “Here,” said Trevor. He grabbed a crowbar out of the back of the truck and handed it to Lauren. “Use this if you have to. Remember, aim for the head. That seems to be the only way to stop them. Watch the road.”
    Trevor opened the door slowly in case any of them were by the door. He didn’t know how many may be inside. It might just be Samantha’s parents or there might be more of them. He scanned left and right before he went inside. The television was still on with news reports playing about what was going on. He saw the headline.
    “Vancouver Hospital overwhelmed by crazed flu patients. Dozens of officers killed. Attacks occurring across the city. Lock your doors stay inside as authorities address crisis.”
    “Shit,” he said under his breath.
    In front of him were the stairs covered in bloody footprints. He could hear faint moaning upstairs and a slow steady thumping sound. Trevor checked his weapon and slowly walked up the stairs. As he went around the corner he could see them near the far door. One of them turned around and began to slowly walk toward Trevor. He had to swallow to keep his stomach down. The father . The man was missing half his stomach. He could see the ribcage and the remains of the guts. The front of his shirt was no more than a few tatters now, shredded and ripped. Pools of blood stained the once pristine light blue carpet by the door. Samantha’s mother also turned toward him, her mouth was a red bloody gore with the front of her blue robe stained in the same horrific way. They both stumbled slowly towards him. Trevor wasted no time, he squeezed off two rounds towards the man first. The rounds exited the back of his head and splattered the wall in brains and chunks of skull. He fell to the carpet, a grisly ruined mess. The female open her jaw, but it was the last movement she made