here. She runs into the other room and tries to wake up Jim.
“Jim,” she loudly whispered, shaking him. “Get up, Jim. We need to get out of here.” Jim doesn’t budge. Julie hopes that he has just passed out and isn’t in shock. She sees more people running in the backyard and decides she needs to get out of here. “I’ll call the police and an ambulance for you, Jim. Just hang in there.”
The old house she bought has a trap door in the main room. When the original house was updated with new plumbing, the owners included it just in case they ever needed to do repairs under the house. As soon as she runs into the room with the animals, they all go crazy. They start thrashing and clawing at their cages, trying to get out and, she assumes, at her. Julie doesn’t stop. She runs over to the trapdoor and jumps through it.
Just as she is closing the door, she sees a group of five men dressed in full combat gear kick through the front and back doors in unison. Two of the soldiers, one at the back and one at the front, carry flamethrowers. One of the men grabs Jim and throws him to the ground. Then, without looking, the soldiers unleash hell into her house. They spray streams of fire all around and especially toward the cages. Her first thoughts are about Jim, but then she sees one of the men laying Jim on the ground and placing him in something that looks like a body bag, except with the face exposed so he can breathe. The soldier then fixes a contagion mask with an odd symbol over Jim’s face and carries him out of the house.
The house goes up quickly. There hasn’t been rain in Austin for almost two months and the house and lawn are dried out. The last thing she sees before she closes the trapdoor are the men walking to the cages and spraying streams of fire into each. She hears one man yell that he’s found more animals in the back. Julie’s heart stops. Those animals aren’t sick. They were normal, whatever that meant. She knows those men are going to kill and burn any animal they find in that house. What really strikes her is that the sick animals aren’t freaking out. They just sit in their cages, as if accepting their doom.
She starts to cry, but quickly remembers that she is underneath her house, which she is sure the soldiers intend to burn to the ground. She needs to make a move, but knows they’d be looking for the woman who made the call.
Julie crawls to the far left side of the house. She has a clear path to run straight into the woods. She is about to dart out when she hears one of the men on the radio. “We are neutralizing the problem right now. The majority of the animals here are the house pet varieties. No sir,” he then answers. “There were no large cats or bears found at the site.” The soldier pauses. “Yes sir, we will completely neutralize and cleanse this site. We have a male subject who was bitten by one or several animals. No sir, we haven’t found the one who made the call. We will, sir.”
The soldier motions to the others. “You know our orders,” he says. “Neutralize and cleanse. Nothing living gets outta here.” He then turns to the soldier to his right and says, “Find the female subject who made the call. We need to bring her in.” Then he cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “Nothing living gets through the perimeter.” As they run into the controlled blaze, the last thing she hears the soldier say is something about the subject at the Austin zoo being neutralized. For the hundredth time today, Julie finds herself asking out loud, “What the fuck is going on?”
With all the soldiers back in the house, she has her chance. This is it , she thinks. I either burn with the house, or get shot running into the woods .
She takes a deep breath and runs like hell.
Chapter Four
1
Austin Zoo, Austin, TX
I was really
“Jim,” she loudly whispered, shaking him. “Get up, Jim. We need to get out of here.” Jim doesn’t budge. Julie hopes that he has just passed out and isn’t in shock. She sees more people running in the backyard and decides she needs to get out of here. “I’ll call the police and an ambulance for you, Jim. Just hang in there.”
The old house she bought has a trap door in the main room. When the original house was updated with new plumbing, the owners included it just in case they ever needed to do repairs under the house. As soon as she runs into the room with the animals, they all go crazy. They start thrashing and clawing at their cages, trying to get out and, she assumes, at her. Julie doesn’t stop. She runs over to the trapdoor and jumps through it.
Just as she is closing the door, she sees a group of five men dressed in full combat gear kick through the front and back doors in unison. Two of the soldiers, one at the back and one at the front, carry flamethrowers. One of the men grabs Jim and throws him to the ground. Then, without looking, the soldiers unleash hell into her house. They spray streams of fire all around and especially toward the cages. Her first thoughts are about Jim, but then she sees one of the men laying Jim on the ground and placing him in something that looks like a body bag, except with the face exposed so he can breathe. The soldier then fixes a contagion mask with an odd symbol over Jim’s face and carries him out of the house.
The house goes up quickly. There hasn’t been rain in Austin for almost two months and the house and lawn are dried out. The last thing she sees before she closes the trapdoor are the men walking to the cages and spraying streams of fire into each. She hears one man yell that he’s found more animals in the back. Julie’s heart stops. Those animals aren’t sick. They were normal, whatever that meant. She knows those men are going to kill and burn any animal they find in that house. What really strikes her is that the sick animals aren’t freaking out. They just sit in their cages, as if accepting their doom.
She starts to cry, but quickly remembers that she is underneath her house, which she is sure the soldiers intend to burn to the ground. She needs to make a move, but knows they’d be looking for the woman who made the call.
Julie crawls to the far left side of the house. She has a clear path to run straight into the woods. She is about to dart out when she hears one of the men on the radio. “We are neutralizing the problem right now. The majority of the animals here are the house pet varieties. No sir,” he then answers. “There were no large cats or bears found at the site.” The soldier pauses. “Yes sir, we will completely neutralize and cleanse this site. We have a male subject who was bitten by one or several animals. No sir, we haven’t found the one who made the call. We will, sir.”
The soldier motions to the others. “You know our orders,” he says. “Neutralize and cleanse. Nothing living gets outta here.” He then turns to the soldier to his right and says, “Find the female subject who made the call. We need to bring her in.” Then he cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “Nothing living gets through the perimeter.” As they run into the controlled blaze, the last thing she hears the soldier say is something about the subject at the Austin zoo being neutralized. For the hundredth time today, Julie finds herself asking out loud, “What the fuck is going on?”
With all the soldiers back in the house, she has her chance. This is it , she thinks. I either burn with the house, or get shot running into the woods .
She takes a deep breath and runs like hell.
Chapter Four
1
Austin Zoo, Austin, TX
I was really
Similar Books
