Claimed, Part One

The harbor front at this time of day was always a beautiful sight. The gentle waves kissing the lips of the rocky shoreline gave a hint of expression with frothy splashes. The sun emerged halfway above the crisp edge of the sea, like a young one's face peeking out from underneath the softest blue blanket. Seagulls spanned out of the rising sun in their usual formation, creating a scene fit for a postcard.

The solid concrete of the lighthouse had weathered many a storm for over a generation. Its lighting fixtures all were in place for announcing nightly direction. The rusted yet magnificently pure sounding bell was always used in place of the foghorn. It had been the only change in the lighthouse's role.

This morning displayed its beauty in typical grand fashion, except for a roping of human hair extending downward...from the lookout ledge. On the end of the wound-up length was a decapitated head. Its sudden death screamed in open mouthed terror.

There was no sign of the rest of the body.

*~*

In town, Alice purchased the only two bags of groceries she would need for the week ahead. After receiving sixteen dollars and forty-two cents change, she nodded her thanks to the cashier. Her retainer always caused a spit-like "your welcome" to any shopper. Thankfully everyone in town learned to move quickly to avoid a rinse down. So did Alice by always offering a smile, indicating a sense of understanding. Her own teeth had been straightened in recent years. And she could relate to the problem of clean verbalization with corrective oral appliances.

The young one had said, "Happy to see you! You are the only one I have seen all morning..."

Those words trailed off and registered no alarm to Alice as she exited.

But then, Alice herself noticed an unusual calm around her.

The town was surprisingly vacant.

"Where is everyone?"She said softy as she looked at her watch. It said 8am. “Maybe everyone is sleeping in today.” Alice wondered out loud while loading her 1999 Jeep Cherokee with her groceries,

While loading the last bag, her peripheral vision caught sight of someone rushing between the courthouse toward the pharmacy.

Alice attempted to wave a hearty good-morning but was ignored completely.

After closing the back hatch of her Jeep, she leaned against the bumper and took a seat. Looking in the direction of the single most popular place in town, the medicine hive, she waited for signs of life.

Maybe catching this person for a quick chat was better than following them inside, Alice considered.

While waiting to see if anyone would emerge from the store or medicine hive, a flock of seagulls spread overhead with their usual V into X formation. What seemed like a split second later, one by one they fell, smashing into the ground, nearby cars, business rooftops and nearby foliage.

One plopped down right in front of her feet. Dead.

In the span of a half minute, the entire flock saw its demise on the town's main street.

The same person who sprinted by earlier emerged from the medicine hive. While holding a box of containers, he ran even faster toward the courthouse doors, shutting them fast.

Alice caught his split-second gaze.

The look on his face was sheer terror!

Alice instinctively covered her own mouth and entered the medicine hive. A technician in a clear white lab coat was frantically splitting pills, mumbling about keeping a steady hand and mental focus.

"Hey!" Alice called out to the nervous lab technician.

Flying through the air was a large number of pills, a finger tip, blood and the cry of pain!

Alice kept a moment of silence, hoping the technician would see the chance to calm down.

Somehow, Alice could sense she was completely alone.

Creeping around the medicine hive, she made her way to the back room, where he might be hiding. It was time for some questions...and answers.

Being careful not to slip on the scattered pills on the floor, she took steady solid steps. The crunching underneath her Nike sport shoes kept her approach from being silent. This whole matter was a little too eerie.

"Hello?' she rang out, "Hello?"

She managed to weave around the tight quarters of small desks, center-made shelves which housed many different drugs of varying dosages, two rolling chairs and a large desk. "How the hell did they get everything back here and have room for anyone to walk?" Alice asked out loud.

She crept insistently to the back room door, which was partially open.

Before reaching it, she yelped in shock.

The technician's arm was laying on the floor.

It looked like it literally fell off, not cut off, not pulled off....fallen off.

Alice's mind went wild.

Zombie attack? Virus? Armageddon?

What was happening?

She collected her breath and settled as best she could.

The light inside that small room flickered wildly, as if a hanging light bulb had someone clamoring to shut it off with its string generated on/off switch.

She palmed the door and pushed slowly, anticipating something or someone to jump out at her.

As the door opened completely, the room progressively became...more and more...empty.

There was hardly anything inside. A smaller desk with a calculator, notebook and pens in a holder, a nearby shredder, an expensive leather chair were the only inhabitants in a room of nothing..

Just, nothing.

Her heartbeat was just about blasting its volume to the whole town.

Was she the only one remaining?

No.

The grocery store clerk was left...and the petrified boy inside the courthouse.

Who was first to find and interrogate?

She made up her mind. Before stepping away, her brain asked here did that technician go? That small office did not have an exit door. She took some Tylenol in anticipation of physical pain, if it were to come. This seemed like a horror movie in the making. Keeping her cool, she steadily moved through the medicine hive to the store. Clearing her way past the front entrance, Alice’s eyes caught yet another grisly scene just inside the grocery store window. The cashier's arms and hands were caught in the sliding table of the checkout.

The body of the cashier was gone from both remaining elbows.

She recognized it to be the cashier because of the false green shine from a very popular dollar store variety ring set.

Turning around and feeling nausea building in her gut, Alice ran out toward the courthouse.

Nothing was in her way.

Banging on the door, Alice commanded entry.

As she turned her head, the door opened, causing her to collapse inside as her fists missed banging the door yet another time.

The door slammed shut.

A strong pair of hands picked her up and pushed her down the main hallway.Inside the small courtroom was the head of police, the judge, a mother and her two sons and the young man who had run across the street moments ago.

"Ma'am, the whole town population is assumed to be right here, right now. Take a moment to collect yourself. We have been discussing the plan for our survival." the judge said, in an almost too "matter-of-fact" tone.

Neatly arranged to the right of the judge was over a month's worth of food, water, medicine and survival equipment.

A candle had been lit in the far corner, highlighting numerous pictures of those in the city.

Victims?

Alice then took stock of all in the room, gazing at the same corner with her.

All had their heads down, tears silently falling...even from the judge.

Honoring the silence, Alice took stock of her own emotions. These people were going to tell her something. And she sensed the need to be calm to take it all in...whatever the announcement.

"There is a sickness spreading," the Chief of Police announced, "and for some reason, limbs are being left behind. But whole or partially remaining bodies are vanishing."

"That is the consensus so far," the judge chimed in dryly.

The only ones not saying a word were the mother, her two children, and the frightened boy. 

The pictures in the corner assembled were few, from wallets. All were presumed dead because it had been an overnight development. The last known radio announcement said, "Outbreak, all...dead." and persistent static followed.

No one had dared go outside, except the boy who was nervously stacking pain medication with the survival supplies.

Alice was reminded of the medicine hive technician.

But how did the Chief of Police know what was happening?

She would wait to ask that question.

Tears were still rolling.

There weren't any windows in this courtroom, so assumptions could easily be made. Survival instinct kept everyone in this room.

"Why do you suppose bodies are disappearing?" Alice bravely asked, suddenly forgetting courtesy.

The quiet response hung like a wet rag. Before she could say that she deserved the dead response, the nervous boy said, "We are all being claimed."

"Claimed?" Alice asked softly, tilting her head.

The boy simply held his fingers to his lips to quiet her.

That did it. Alice couldn't take the weirdness any longer.

"What the hell is going on here? I woke up, got myself going, bought groceries that are now rotting in my Jeep; found several people without bodies attached, and raced over here to discover bereaved survivalists who have half a notion as to what is happening!!"

Alice took a commanding stance with her hands on her hips with a stern look, expecting answers.

"You should calm down, ma'am," the Chief of Police ordered.

Alice held her ground and widened her eyes, hinting disobedience.

The Chief removed his Officer hat to show his brand of courtesy.

Leaning in to Alice, he whispered, "Getting wound up will not help that mother and her children. If those children get wild, we all get wild...keep the peace...you get me?"

Alice softened her stance a little, remembering her child-sitting days and the importance of guiding young ones with a calm, cool head.

Her nod and demanding body language eased as she chose to pull the Chief in closer for a more controlled conversation.

"Just what in the hell do we know about this situation?" Alice whispered sharply.

"Well..., the Chief said, palming his Officer cap, "I was supervising the court hearings here the whole time. The judge was about to hand down a jail sentence for Mrs. Stanwere over there. Her kids had nowhere else to be. She was charged with robbery at some store in town. Her husband is still nowhere to be found."

"I meant the dead people, birds and mysterious limbs, Chief."

"Oh...that... my CB radio here only registered a few words from the station last night, right around midnight..right when all of this court stuff was about to finish up. Then the bailiff gathered the supplies you see there. But somehow, he disappeared after that. We had to send the boy out for more...hoping he'd return. And he did.....we still don't know who he is or who he belongs to...kids don't carry I.D....and he's been awfully quiet except for whatever the hell he means by everyone being claimed sounds sketchy to me. Is that good enough for ya yet?"

Alice straightened up without giving an answer and stared back at the judge for a quick second.  All the judge could do was gather dust, for the moment anyway. So much for authority in a situation when everyone needs it, she thought.

"Don't you go and start your rant Alice," the judge commanded after recognizing her.

"You were always no good in a real to life crisis, George. Some help that judge bench is now, huh?"

The judge shot her a look that would kill, but in a court of law?

It didn't matter.

"Your lawyer had a run of good luck last year didn't he? Well we changed that law that got you off scott-free. You best keep a cool fuse. I gotta mind to use authority anywhere I please missy."

 "What authority might that be?"  Alice sharply retorted, her voice trailing off in volume as thumping was suddenly heard on the roof. Everyone's eyes looked up.

Alice's first unspoken thought was, more dead birds falling. It's found us!

The last of the thumping stopped after several minutes.

The quiet nervously lingered.

Obviously irritated, Alice exclaimed, "Hear that? While we bicker, something is about to find us before any of us has a fighting chance! We need to leave...now!"

She then gave consoling looks to the children who had to hear her angry words.

The mother of the two spoke up for the first time, just before the judge and Chief of Police said anything. ."Look, we're all a bit stressed here. It's obvious nothing got us yet. And Alice...it is Alice isn't it?"

"Yes, hun...yes"

Both women's voices took on a softer tone, taking the tension down just a little, but only a little.

"I  know we have to decide something quickly and I won't claim to know what's happening. But we can at least figure out how to make bygones remain that way, can't we? We have a problem on our hands and no one seems to know the solution...getting out of here is best."

"What's your name hun?" Alice asked the lady with the children.

"Mrs. Stanwere," the Chief said.

"Your first name...please," Alice gently asked while gazing heinously at the Chief.

"Gloria...It's Gloria," The children huddled into their mother more than before, like baby birds crowding underneath for a morning feed.

"Gloria is right.” Alice indicated with a commanding tone and soft gesture of confidence toward the children. “I think she wants to say that we're survivors. And we should accept that and settle ourselves down. Let's figure a way out of this little town of horrors...right…NOW."

The two men kept silent but their faces were reddening. It was obvious they wanted their say.

"We're going to be taken soon." the boy said as he stacked more of the medicine, as if all of the conversation around him never happened, "so it's best to be quiet and stay put."

Alice and Gloria caught one another’s widening eyes, almost on cue.

"Alright, that's it...I'm leaving, " insisting the judge.

"You sir, should stay put."

Everyone in the room gasped at this demand. It was the Chief in the judge's face.

No one knew why.

The tension was growing to a new level.

The children started to sob as Gloria held them even closer.

"My Jeep is outside Gloria, WE are leaving since the men have something to talk about. I live ten minutes out, going west. We will be safe there for the time being. You men can have your little fights with the ominous child around, and partake from the table of the survival over there."

Gloria and the children rose to their feet and congregated by Alice who genuinely held each one separately in a hug. 

As they were leaving, heavy violent thumping smashed upon the closed doors that allowed entry into the courtroom.

The doors vibrated furiously, showing early signs of splintering open.

The scene froze.

 

*~*

TWO NIGHTS AGO

The storm hadn't passed by the way it was forecasted. Horrendous winds tore apart homes and lifted cars off the ground. Trees were left dangling or completely toppled. People were screaming for help as they lay helpless underneath debris or worse.

A short distance from the fury, a young man sitting between two toppled trucks could only watch between his fingers as he covered his face. Sobbing in absolute anguish, he couldn't help anyone from nature's wrath. He couldn’t see the ones who were pleading for help. He saw what might be someone in the not too far distance, but the trouble was that there was no sure path of rescue.

Wait for a pause in the wind speed...then, act!

That was the only thing he could tell himself as his horror spilled its liquid harshness down his cheeks.

Astin remembered when he fell from a yacht into the ocean. His father rescued him with a series of useful life-saving devices and quick decision-making. The current had been so strong, so unseen in the ocean...but dad saved him. That day was etched in his memory. Pushing his own life-saving tendencies forward were the best honor a son could give a brave father.

But today, the unseen current was wind…damaging, unforgiving wind. It was ruining lives too quickly.

Sensing a moment of pause in the storm, Astin bravely ran out toward a young girl trapped under a tree....

 

(Part Two Coming...)