Stone Dead Chapter One

Stone Dead: Chapter One

Our story opens in a quiet neighborhood in the north western suburbs of Gothenburg, a large industrial city surrounded by a vast tundra. The faint glow of the sun fades as it sets upon the horizon and the street lights activate as it darkens, casting a dim yellow light over the city. The houses here are nothing special, some cookie cutter designs made to maximize the builder’s profits. Near the center of the neighborhood is a small park with a large playground that takes up most of its area. In it there is a sandpit with two small play cranes and to the north is  a concrete bathroom and storage building, on the opposite side of the park are picnic tables. 

A three year old South Asian Caucasian mixed brown haired girl is playing in the park, running around on a pink unicorn sawhorse having the time of her life, her blue knee length romper is speckled with dirt and debris and her shoeless feet are brown from the sandbox. Kayla, her elder sister, is sitting at one of the picnic tables pointed away from the park, busy scrolling through social media while blaring pop music drones into her headphones. Kayla is a pretty young woman, South Asian in descent, her dark brown hair is mid back length, she is wearing a short denim jacket, a white crop top beneath and a long denim skirt. Her ears have large gold hoop earrings and around her neck is a gold chain necklace.

Just across the road is a house with its outside lights on, illuminating the driveway and an old beaten down copper colored buick parked in it. The house is well taken care of, the siding is a dark gray, the front door is a bright white color, the sidewalk looks new and the yard is well maintained. The mailbox outside the house reads ‘-Stone- 407 15th street’.

Inside the house standing in the foyer are a man and a woman, both of which seem frustrated. The man is Ethan Stone, a 44 year old caucasian ex marine with black hair and a short black boxed beard, he is wearing a denim jacket, a black t-shirt beneath, denim jeans and brown work boots. The woman is Vanessa Stone, South Asian in descent, 42 years old with shoulder length dark, her eyes are brown, she has wavy brown hair, she is wearing a dark orange dress shirt with frills. Her pants are black and her shoes are a light brown dress shoe, she’s holding a small pink and white cat character backpack in her left hand.

 “You’re late.” Vanessa chides, holding the bag out to the man expectantly. “I know Vanessa, work needed me.” Ethan replies, waving his hands in defeat.

  Vanessa shakes her head in disbelief and retorts “Alice needs you more. She still needs her toothbrush, we weren’t sure if you were going to make it.” 

Ethan looks over to the kitchen, closest to the pair is a small bar counter where Noah, a 9 year old South Asian boy with medium length curly black hair and brown eyes sits on a stool, bored out of his mind. He has a plaid shirt over a denim button up. His pants are white khaki and his shoes are black, his head in his hands staring off into nothingness. Past Noah is a kitchen table with 6 chairs and a sliding glass door behind it.

 “Noah, go to the bathroom and get me Alice’s toothbrush.” Ethan barks at the boy from the front door.

“Please.” Vanessa butts in.

  “Okay.” Noah responds, getting up and heading towards the bathroom.

Ethan turns his head to the woman “What was that about?”

Vanessa’s brows curl angrily. “That’s my son you’re talking to.” 

“You’re babying him, he’s 9. I’m not asking him, I’m telling him.” Ethan waves his hands around matter of factly.

“This is exactly why I-.” Vanessa starts.

“-divorced me!? You say that about everything!” Ethan interjects angrily.

Back outside in the park little Alice is still playing, jumping around with her play horse, making lots of noise. A dark silhouette approaches from the shadows of the park restrooms behind her. 

At the picnic table Kayla glances at the time on her phone “Alright Alice, get ready to go. Your dad’s waiting for you.” She announces, standing up and stretching. The silhouette lunges at Alice, frightening her, she lets out a bloodcurdling scream. 

”Alice, I know he’s a prick but we’ve gotta go.” Kayla says as she turns to face Alice. She is met with the image of a wide eyed man with discolored skin on his knees holding Alice, his mouth digging into her shoulder as blood runs down her arm. Kayla looks on in terror.  “What the fuck! Get off her!” She yells, running full speed at the man. She grabs Alice’s play horse on the way and smacks the man in the head as hard as she can over and over, a loud “crack” accompanies the strikes. The man lets out a gurgled moan as he lets go of Alice and collapses to the ground. Kayla drops the play horse, scoops up Alice and begins sprinting towards the house. 

She dares to look back as she runs, the man seems to be getting back up “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Her foot slips on the curb as she turns her head back forwards, causing her body weight to shift forward, she stumbles forward nearly dropping her little sister. Kayla catches herself before she falls and takes a moment to right herself, pulling Alice back into her arms. 

Meanwhile, back inside the house. “You treat them differently than you do Alice. All I’m asking is that you take them with you. They’re not yours but you’re the only father they’ve had most of their lives. How can you be so cold?” Vanessa demands, pointing her finger towards the bathroom and Noah.

“Well, Vanessa, if you didn’t take everything in the divorce I’d be able to afford to take them ALL to the Zoo tomorrow!” Ethan shouts, his face red with rage.

“If it’s money that you’re worried about I can cover it!” Vanessa counters, pulling her wallet out from her front pant pocket. Suddenly, Kayla shoves the door open. Ethan and Vanessa turn worriedly to the screaming pair as Kayla slams the door back shut and locks it.

“Oh my god! He came out of nowhere! That freak hurt Alice!” Kayla yells, pointing out the bloody marks on her shoulder.

 “Who? What the hell? What happened? What did you let happen!?” Ethan booms, his concern for his daughter over-taking him. 

“A man attacked her, I fought him off her with the play horse! He’s still outside! Alice is really hurt!” Kayla yells. Noah makes his way back down from the bathroom with the toothbrush in hand, he drops it and starts to cry, running to Vanessa’s side. 

“Give her to me, I’ll get her bandaged up.”  Vanessa says sternly to Kayla who hands her Alice. ”Kayla, are you okay?”

“I’m okay, but he’s still out there!” Kayla responds, her nerves still causing her to shake. Vanessa takes Alice into the bathroom to give her medical attention, Noah follows, gripping her shirt as she walks.  

Ethan opens the curtain over the front door window. “Did you see his face?” he commands, scanning the park for any signs of the man. 

Kayla shakes her head “I don’t know, not really, he looked sick or something.”

“What do you mean?” Ethan turns his head to the girl.

“His skin didn’t look quite right, it was pale and wrinkly like a leper.” Kayla pauses for a moment and seeing Ethan’s confused face she continues “We studied it in our biology class, it’s an infectious disease that eats away at the skin.”

Ethan eyes the park again “I don’t see anyone,” he turns to Kayla, his face twisted in rage  “You were supposed to be watching her! How could you let this happen!?” he barks

“I just turned my head for one second!” Kayla protests, waving her hands around defiantly.

Vanessa hurriedly returns with Alice and Noah, she’s holding a bloody mass of towels over Alice’s shoulder. “We need to get her to the hospital…now. They’re deep.” Ethan walks over to Alice, Vanessa moves the towels and Ethan manically looks her over, his face becoming red with rage.

“…What the hell!? There are tooth marks on her neck! You let some crazy asshole BITE my daughter!?” Ethan growls, his mouth set in a vicious snarl. 

Kayla bursts into tears, clearly hurt “I’m sorry, okay! It was only a few seconds!”

“Hrngh. I’ll deal with you later!“ He grunts and hands the bag to Kayla “Take her to the Hospital, take the kids. I’m going to find that freak, he’s not getting away with this!” 

Vanessa nods “I’ll call the police on the way, don’t do anything crazy. Alice needs you.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry,” Ethan's lips crease as he lies through his teeth, he leans forward and kisses Alice on the forehead “I love you Alice, it’s going to be okay.”

“Noah, I need you to go into the garage and get in the van, please.” Vanessa commands, pointing to the garage. Noah stands with tears in his eyes, oblivious of his mother’s commands “Noah. Noah!” Vanessa raises her voice, attempting to get the boy's attention. Noah’s head shoots up to meet his mother’s requests, wipes his eyes and nods. “Thank you, now go.” Vanessa says while pulling the keys from the ring near the door to the garage. Vanessa and the three kids exit into the garage, Ethan exits out the front door, closing it firmly behind him.

He runs out to his car and pulls his pistol out of the glove box, the garage door opens behind him, Vanessa’s white minivan pulls out of the garage speeding towards the hospital. 

As she drives she calls the police to report the incident. Kayla is in the passenger’s seat with Alice, she has stopped crying but breathing has become heavy, labored, she remains quiet.

Vanessa’s phone rings and rings with no answer,”Ugh, count on the police to be busy when they’re needed.” she says under her breath. 

She calls again, no answer. She decides to call the hospital to prepare them for Alice, again no answer. The streets are unusually empty. She speeds up and begins running signs and lights. 

“Mom, is Alice gonna be okay?” Noah asks from the back seat, staring at his sister with fear in his eyes. 

Vanessa looks at Noah through the rearview mirror “Alice will be just fine, don’t worry, we’ll get her to the hospital and they’ll fix her right up.” She smiles fakely through the concern.

Back at the house Ethan places his pistol in his pocket with the safety on, runs over to the park and begins investigating the area, he quickly finds the bloody play horse and small chunks of brain matter. He notices uneven footprints leading to the park bathroom which he follows, one hand on the gun poking out of his pocket. The bathroom entrance has no door, it is pitch black inside. A small sign next to the opening reads “Park hours 10am to 8pm -In order to conserve electricity lights at this facility shut off automatically at 9PM every night-

 “Just great”  Ethan mumbles as he pulls the pistol from his pocket and aims it through the doorway. He steps through cautiously. The faint sound of a leaky faucet echoes throughout the room. He can just barely make out the outline of three small sinks on his left, to the right are three bathroom stalls, the last of which is wide open.

As he approaches a stench begins to attack his nostrils, the familiar scent of fresh blood and decay. 

“If you’re in here, show yourself!” Ethan’s voice booms

“…” he sits in silence for a moment, ready for anything.

He moves to the stall, as his vision adjusts to the darkness he sees a filthy white blanket on the ground in the stall. The rail beside the toilet is pulled out from the wall, the plastic toilet paper dispenser is shattered and there are what look to be severed fingers on the floor next to the blanket. He nudges the blanket with his foot, feeling nothing underneath he breathes a sigh of relief  “What the fuck happened in here? The guy must’ve been sleeping in here at night. I told Vanessa this place isn't as safe as she thinks it is. She never listens.” 

Vanessa speeds down the empty suburban street. Kayla turns to her with panic in her eyes “Mom, her breathing is getting slower!”

“Just a few more minutes, it’s not far now.” Vanessa replies.

Noah glances out of the window to the right, between buildings he sees a young man on the ground, two figures attacking him, one is on the ground biting his outstretched arm while the other is pulling on his leg.  “Mom! He needs help!” 

Vanessa turns her head to look; she glances too late to see them as they disappear behind the building. She turns her head to speak to Noah “We’ve got to worry about Alice right now, Noah.”

“Mom, look out!” Kayla yells, in unison they all scream, seeing a woman in the middle of the street. A loud “THUD” rings as they run the woman over, followed by another as the back end makes its way over her body.  

Surprised, Vanessa slams on the brakes. The minivan skids across the road and slams to a stop, striking a street lamp on the left side of the road. Long skid marks trail the vehicle, the woman’s bloody body lying motionless in the middle of the road. Smoke begins to seep from below the hood of the van.

Ethan gags as he leaves the bathroom stall “Ugh, it’s overwhelming. I was hoping I'd never have to smell that again.” He glances back down at the bloody footprints, squinting to see in the darkness. “There are two pairs, no signs of a body being dragged, the gait suggests that one of them had a severely injured left leg. Interesting. Late stages of decay suggest that whoever was below the blanket had been deceased, but that can’t be possible. They walked out of here.” Ethan lowers his gun and marches out of the bathroom into the moonlit park, he runs to his car to find his phone and quickly calls the police. There is no answer, the phone rings and rings. “What the fuck, whenever I need them, they’re busy!” he hangs up and calls again, this time walking back towards the park, making sure to scan the area for the attacker.

Suddenly his phone lets out a deafening siren. Text appears on his screen “City wide Emergency. Gothenburg. Quarantine Protocol has been initiated. Citizens are urged to remain in their homes and fortify them if possible. Do not engage with anyone acting out of the ordinary. Do not approach the dead or anyone you do not know. Emergency services in the area may already be affected. Do not attempt to leave the city. This is not a drill.Repeat this is not a drill”

“Quarantine? An infection, a virus maybe?” Ethan says out loud.

Worriedly, he dials Vanessa, there is no answer “Goddamnit, Vanessa, pick up the phone.” A dark figure shambles towards him from behind his car as he dials her number again. 

Vanessa is awakened by her phone’s alarm blaring from under the gas pedal, Kayla is recovering slowly, Noah is screaming, Alice is silent. Noah begins to shake Vanessa by the shoulder “Mom!! Get up! Mom!!” Through the groggy haze she slowly opens her eyes and looks around confusedly, blood trickles from her head down into her eye. There are bruises on Kayla’s head and arms, she still holds Alice tightly. 

Noah unbuckles and jumps out of the van, pulling open Vanessa’s door with a loud creak. “Mommy!” 

Vanessa slowly turns to him, placing her hand out “Noah, I’m okay.” Noah hugs her tightly, she then looks at Kayla “Are you okay?” The phone alarm buzzes in the background.

Tears streak down Kayla’s face, she sniffles and wipes her eyes “I think so.” She looks down at Alice, the girl’s skin is pale and discolored, her features sunken in. 

“Alice?...Alice!?” Kayla’s face goes white and she begins to tremble ‘Mom, she looks really bad!” 

Vanessa takes Alice from her and places her head next to Alice’s mouth “She’s still breathing.” She glances in the rearview mirror, her eyes stay locked on the woman’s body for a long moment. She steps out of the van and turns to Noah “Let’s go in front of the van, you too Kayla, now please.” 

They move in front of the van, the woman now blocked from their view. “Are you hurt?” Vanessa asks Noah, adjusting Alice’s position in her arm. His lips quiver as he tries to contain the tears welling up “I’m scared.” She places her free hand on his shoulder as she bends down to his height “I know baby, I am too.” She looks him over, finding no bruises or wounds she turns to Kayla “How about you?” She looks over her face “How’s your head?”

Kayla winces as her mom’s hand touches her cheek “I’m okay, we need to go.”

“I know, here, take Alice, I’m going to get my phone and check on…her.” She motions behind the van then hands Alice back to Kayla.

Vanessa shuffles around the van, the street light flashing above her. She grabs her phone from below the pedal and reads the quarantine warning and sees four missed calls from Ethan. She tries to dial him but is met with a dial tone, she has no service.

“Damnit, stupid phone.”

She pockets it and makes her way toward the rear of the van “I hope she’s okay, I don’t know what I would do if I killed someone.” She gazes intently at the blood on the ground, her head cocks to one side in surprise, the woman’s body is gone. Her eyes dart all across the empty street, searching for the woman. After scanning the entire road she shakes her head and returns to the children. “Let’s go, we need to get Alice to the hospital.”

“What about the lady?” Kayla interjects 

“She’s gone, I don’t know where. We don’t have time to look for her. Alice needs help .Something is happening and we need to get moving.” Vanessa replies, her tone urgent.

“What? What’s happening?” Kayla asks quietly, trying to keep Noah from hearing

“I don’t know, but the hospitals may be closing, Alice needs help right away.”

Kayla nods and they turn towards the city, the bright streetlights and led signs light up the tall buildings. Sky scrapers dominate the skyline, tall brick apartment buildings with small wooden water towers on top litter the area. 

Ethan tosses his phone into the tar by the hood of his car, it shatters into a plethora of variously sized pieces and the battery launches around the front, disappearing into the grass on the other side of the driveway “Goddamned piece of shit!” Ethan screams at the top of his lungs, his body shakes in anger. Recognizing his rage he squeezes his fists tightly over and over, attempting to calm himself. “Alice needs you to be calm. Think clearly.” He breathes in deeply “A landline. Try a landline.” He bolts into the house and beelines it for the telephone in the next room, he snatches it up and places it to his face. There is a dull, flat dial tone. “This is serious. I need to get to the hospital.” 

Ethan sprints to the door, opens it and bolts out through the garage. As he nears the garage door a man stumbles into his path just outside. Unable to stop himself in time Ethan slams into him full force, sending both men hurdling to the ground. Ethan rolls down the driveway, quickly righting himself. He pulls his gun, aiming at the man’s head with the safety off and finger away from the trigger. “Are you the freak that bit my daughter!?”

The man groans loudly as he slowly pushes his torso up from the ground. He turns his head to face Ethan revealing a massive bruise on the side of his head stretching from the eye socket back to the ear and blood staining his mouth. Ethan’s mouth twists into a snarl and he places his finger on the trigger. “You son of a bitch. Why’d you attack my daughter!? I want to know. NOW!”

He stumbles to his feet, breathing heavily through his mouth and advances towards Ethan.His eyes are sunken, dark circles surround them and their irises are gray. His skin is tight, a faint grayish yellow. Ethan backs up defensively “You hurt my daughter, I will not hesitate to end you. Stop, now.”

The man groans aggressively and begins to jog at him with his arms flailing. 

“I warned you.”

!POP!POP!POP! 

The pistol echoes throughout the empty streets, the man collapses limply to the ground, a trail of dark near purple blood oozes from his wounds. There’s a long silence, Ethan exhales somberly then shakes his head “I was hoping to never have to do that again.” He engages the safety on his gun, places it back in his pocket and swivels his head, scanning the neighborhood. Being late as it is, most houses are dark, with the exception of two of them. It is completely silent aside from Ethan’s breathing. He tries to retrieve his phone but quickly realizes it’s beyond repair. He jumps in the car and pulls out of the driveway, taking the same route Vanessa took. As he drives tears well up in his eyes  “Alice, I’m on my way, I need you to be okay, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

END CHAPTER ONE