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  MANKIND

  A Novel by Matthew Stalletti

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, groups, places and events are either the product of imagination, or are used in a fictitious way. Any resemblance to real people, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

  No part of this novel should be reproduced, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise transmitted without the permission of the author. This book may not be circulated in any format.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: The End of What Was

  Chapter 2: Strangers

  Chapter 3: Just as Bad as Here

  Chapter 4: Left Behind

  Chapter 5: Can’t go Back

  Chapter 6: Somewhere Safe

  Chapter 7: Red

  Chapter 8: Brothers

  Chapter 9: The Monsters Outside

  Chapter 10: Torn Apart

  Chapter 11: Mercy

  Chapter 12: Wrath

  Chapter 13: Unturned

  Chapter 14: East

  Chapter 15: Hospitality

  Chapter 16: The Only Way

  Chapter 17: The Start of Something New

  Chapter 1

  The End of What Was

  The man across the bus coughs violently. He’s trying not to stare, but Matthews curiosity gets the best of him. In all his time spent on the public transit, Matthew has never been so uncomfortable. He figures this poor old guy was on his way to a hospital to get help, but it’s unfortunate that no one is there to help him. Matthew observes his appearance. He seems to be in his 60’s, bald, and very pale. The man continues to cough violently, but then suddenly stops. After a moment, the man falls onto the floor of the bus, unconscious. A few people get up and walk over to the man to see if he is okay. The bus comes to a stop. Matthew is surprised as he had not been paying attention to where he was. As the doors open, Matthew realizes that it is his stop. He quickly grabs his bag and walks off the bus. He feels guilty leaving and not helping the old man, but it is his time to go.

  Matthew is an 18-year-old college student. Jet black hair slicked back, tall, and a little muscular; Nothing impressive though. His clothes are simple but show he likes to wear things that seem original, instead of wearing the more popular brands with logos all over them. Matthew steps forward and looks up at the big red Seneca sign which seems much brighter today. He looks up as he walks to his college campus. Matthew is enrolled in a business program, and in all honesty, it wasn't his first choice. Unfortunately for him, Seneca was the only school in all of Toronto that would accept him. Matthew wasn’t thrilled to be here, but at least he gets to be around some friends. Matthew walks inside the doors to the college building and passes by some students. He doesn't know many people, and he doesn't really want to make new friends. He has his small group of friends, so he is fine the way he is. Matthew walks past the front desk and jogs upstairs to the second floor. As he climbs up toward the second floor, Matthew begins to feel happy and ready to get to his class. He doesn't care for what he’d be learning, but he enjoys being around some a few of his close friends he has in that class. Matthew reaches the top of the stairs and goes through the glass doors. A group of students are huddled around a Tv monitor hanging on the wall near a lounge. Matthew sees all his fellow classmates standing around the Tv and decides to walk over and see what is going on. A shorter guy, with a darker skin complexion, wearing a bright yellow shirt turns around after looking up at the Tv. Matthew looks at his friend, Kurt. Kurt walks over to Matthew, a little worried while doing so.

  “Yo, did you hear about what's happening right now?”

  A little confused, Matthew responds. “No. Why? What's going on?

  “I don't know for sure, but there’s a bunch of people going crazy right now at the mall.”

  Matthew looks even more confused. This only makes him more curious. Matthew looks over Kurt's head and toward the Tv. Matthew see’s helicopter footage of police officers pointing pistols at people. The people are moving slowly, and almost as if they are about to pass out. Matthew has never seen something so out of the ordinary going on at his local mall.

  “Why are they pointing their weapons at them?” Matthew asks.

  “Apparently they were biting people and ripping off their skin inside some of the stores.”

  “What the fuck?”

  Suddenly, the police on the Tv begin to fire their weapons at the people. The people jolt back when struck by the bullets, but they continue to walk toward the officers. The police unload their entire magazines into the people, but they only continue to walk forward. They walk so slowly and look like they have no control over their limbs. Matthew begins to realize there is something seriously wrong with these people.

  “How the hell are they still alive?” Screams someone in the crowd.

  Kurt watches the Tv for a few more moments, and then pats his friend on the shoulder.

  “Alright dude, I gotta head to class”

  “Yeah, alright. I’ll see you around.” Matthew says.

  Kurt slowly walks away while turning to get a glimpse of what's happening on the news. Matthew continues to watch the footage on the screen and walks closer to get a better view. Suddenly, one of the people being shot falls to the ground, and a large amount of blood gushes from their head. Matthew squints and looks disturbed at this sight. Suddenly, the Tv turns off.

  “Alright, that's enough. We can't be showing this kind of stuff on campus.” One of the nearby professors explains.

  The professor is holding a remote. He must have turned off the television. The students huddled become frustrated, but inevitably scatter and go about their day. Matthew remains in front of the Tv, thinking about what he had just witnessed.

  Matthews phone suddenly rings. He reaches down into his pocket and looks at his smart device. Michael is calling. Michael is Matthews younger cousin. The two of them are very close friends and keep in touch usually on a daily basis. Matthew walks over and leans on a wall near the bathrooms, which are next to the staircase he came up from. Matthew answers the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Matthew?”

  “Sup” Matthew casually says.

  “You okay?”

  Michael seems slightly panicked and paranoid. Matthew looks concerned as he responds.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “A virus is going around… Didn’t you hear about it?

  “Not a virus. I was just watching some shit go down at the mall. These cops were shooting these people, but they didn't die.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.” Michael explains.

  Matthew looks concerned while hearing this news. He has never seen anything like this before. The fear in his cousin’s voice begins to make him think this situation is more serious than he originally thought.

  “Apparently if you get infected, you act like an animal, and just try to eat people and shit!” Michael explains.

  “Like zombies?” Matthew asks.

  “Yeah, I guess”.

  Matthew hears this, and suddenly, his eyes widen. Matthew looks down at the ground as he remembers the old man on the bus only a few moments prior.

  “Shit! There was a guy on the bus that was coughing really badly. Do you think he had the virus?” Matthew asks.

  “Probably. Oh shit! You might have got whatever he has! Do you feel normal?”

  “Yeah, I guess. What are the symptoms?”

  Michael begins to respond to Matthews question, but Matthew zones out for a moment as he notices something unusual. Matthew watches a girl sitting in the lounge take a bite out of a sandwich. This seems normal, but the girl’s neck is extremely red and has hives. Matthew continues to watch, but suddenly, the girls face begins
to swell, and she begins to gasp for air. As her sandwich drops to the floor, the people around her turn their heads in fear.

  “Oh my God! She’s having an allergic reaction!” Screams one of the girls.

  Multiple people run over to help her. The allergic girl falls over onto the ground. The allergy must be severe. People begin searching her pockets and through her bag to find an epi pen, but to no avail, they find nothing. Matthew looks disturbed as he watches a poor girl slowly lose her life. The people begin to panic as they don't know what to do.

  “What's all that screaming?’ Michael asks.

  “I’ll call you back.”

  Matthew hangs up the phone and slowly begins to walk toward the group of people. As everyone scatters and panics, Matthew approaches the girl on the ground. Matthew looks down at her helpless body. She is laying on her face. Matthew quickly gets down and rolls her onto her back. She gives no reaction. She moves almost like a toy; only reacting to the forces around her. Matthew notices something truly horrifying. The girl’s chest is not moving. She is not breathing. Matthew looks shocked and disturbed at the sight of this. He slowly puts his index and middle finger against her throat. No pulse can be felt. A shocking revelation hits Matthew, and he realizes the girl is dead. Matthew slowly stands up and backs away.

  “Can anyone do CPR?” Matthew scream.

  People look at the lifeless body and come to the realization that she is dead. One of the professors pushes through the crowd and approaches the body. He begins doing CPR on the girl. Matthew, as well as the other students watch their professor perform CPR on the poor girl. He seems to have no luck. Some of the girls in the crowd begin to cry as they watch their friends’ lifeless body on the floor. Some of the guys look either disturbed, or a little emotional themselves. The professor becomes frustrated with the lack of progress being made. Matthew steps away and walks near a window to get away from the harsh reality that is taking place in his school.

  Matthew looks out the window to try and escape this horror. He has never experienced anything like this, so it is hard for him to grasp. Matthew looks around at the courtyard where people would usually sit on benches or walk across to get to another class. Matthew looks down and sees someone dead on the ground with someone else kneeling next to them. Matthew looks confused and worried. He focuses in to try and see what's happening down there. Matthew realizes the person kneeling is biting down into the dead body and ripping flesh from the throat. He feels sick seeing someone's throat being torn by the bite of another human. Matthew backs up, not knowing what to think. Before he can do anything, Matthew hears the scream of the professor coming from the lounge where the allergic girl is.

  Matthew quickly runs over back to the group to see what all the commotion is about. Matthew pushes through the crowd, and as he does, all the people around him begin to scream and run away. Matthew looks down to see the once lifeless body now biting the throat of the professor. Matthew is in complete and utter shock. He quickly begins to question if all this horror taking place is even real.

  One of the students runs over and pulls the professor off the girl. The girl doesn't ease on the bite and pulls a junk of meat and skin off his neck as he is pulled away. The professor falls and twitches on the ground, choking on his own blood. The student that tried to help looks down at the lifeless girl and watches her slowly rise to here feet. Her skin is pale and pasty, and her eyes seem clear and lifeless. Matthew is scared, but quickly realizes she is acting just like the people he saw on the news earlier. The infected girl groans and lunges toward a student and bites him the shoulder. His scream screeches and echoes through the entire building, along with the panic of the rest of the students nearby. They fall onto the ground, and the infected girl continues to bite the student as he lays there, helplessly. The students scream fades away and as he chokes on his own blood. The rest of the students scatter and flee from the area. Matthew quickly turns and runs toward the stairs to exit the building. He knows it’s time for him to go. He feels guilty for not trying to help the professor or the student, but he is in too much shock to take action.

  Matthew barges through the front doors of the college, alongside countless other students. Matthew runs toward the street, in the same direction he came from. Only a few dozen feet away is the infected student he saw outside the window earlier, as well as the dead body it was eating from, but now, the dead body is up and walking. Matthew looks terrified, but he continues to run. He can’t comprehend what is happening around him. Matthew runs on the sidewalk in the direction of his home. On the sidewalk in front of him is a dead guy with blood all over his face. A bike also lays on the ground next to him. Matthew looks up and sees an infected person roaming a few feet away. It couldn't have been too long since that infected was chomping down on this poor guy. Matthew is quick to react. He reaches down and raises the bike onto its two wheels. Matthew hops on and begins to peddle faster than he ever knew he could. He doesn't care that this isn't his bike because his only concern is escaping this nightmare.

  Matthew rides the bike down the streets of the suburban area, running traffic lights, almost causing collisions. Matthew is careless and only cares to get home; to get to safety. As Matthew rides, he notices people getting out of their cars and approaching some infected on the side of the street. They must be unaware of what is happening right now, and not know how dangerous these lunatics can be. Matthew zooms by, not seeing the outcome of the encounter. Matthew assumes the worst, thinking this horrid infection will continue to spread if people are not educated on what is happening. Now he is quite far from the campus and is much closer to home. Matthew reaches a highway and begins to ride on the very narrow sidewalk on it. This is the quickest way to Matthews home, so it’s the route he decides to take. As he rides, he thinks about what Michael told him over the phone. He realizes all these people got infected through the bites. He now understands that if he wants to live, he cannot allow himself to be bitten by one of those monsters.

  While riding, Matthew can’t help but notice the sheer number of cars backed up on the highway. It makes sense; all these people were evacuated from their school or workplace and are trying to get home. It’s the only logical conclusion to make. Matthew zooms past the hundreds of cars on the highway. Some people get out of their cars and begin running down the street. He wonders whether it’s because of panic, or a lack of patience. Either way, this just gives Matthew another obstacle. Matthew dodges all the people running on an already narrow sidewalk. Matthew successfully passes them and approaches a bridge that goes over the highway. The walkway under the bridge is even smaller than before, but Matthew doesn’t slow down his peddling. Matthew rides under the bridge and reaches the other side. Suddenly, Matthew is tackled by someone right when he passes the wall of the overhead bridge. Matthew falls off the bike and rolls onto the pavement, scraping the skin on his legs. Matthew screams in pain when some of his flesh is torn off from the fall. Matthew looks up to see an infected man approaching him. The man's eyes are empty and horribly lifeless. He looks like a corpse, but he is clearly alive. The man limps lifelessly toward Matthew with blood and torn skin stuck between his teeth. The man’s terrifying groans cause Matthew to panic. Matthew begins to crawl backward, away from the infected in fear for his life. He can't help but notice all the people running have now turned and ran back to their vehicles. Matthew tries to get assistance from the strangers around him.

  “Help!” Matthew screams.

  No one reacts to Matthews calls for help. Matthew looks up at the infected nothing but fear in his eyes. The infected man lunges down to try and bite him, but Matthew rolls out of the way and runs a few feet toward an open field next to the highway. Matthew turns back to look at the infected near the street and looks past it and at the people stuck in their vehicles. Everyone looks away, ashamed they ignored his pleas. He realizes these people would rather see him die then risk saving him. The infected gets up and approaches Matthew. Matthew turns around and looks off into the
open field of grass and bushes. Matthew sees a tree line on the other end of the field. He has no choice but to run into the forest and try and hide from the infected. Matthew begins to run through the field, but the grass is tall, and the dirt has turned into a thick mud due to recent rainfall. As he runs, he frequently turns to see if the infected is following him. It is, and it looks more determined than before.

  Matthew approaches the forest, and once he does, he runs inside of it. The infected continues to chase Matthew and is not far behind. Matthew begins to panic as he can’t find any good hiding spots. Suddenly, Matthew reaches the edge of a cliff. Probably 40 feet high, with rocks and a river at the bottom; Matthew would die from a drop like that, so he turns around to face the infected who is nearing. Matthew watches it with fear in his eyes, not knowing how to get himself out of this situation. The infected stumbles over a rock and trips onto its stomach. This surprises Matthew. Such a dangerous creature can be taken down by simply tripping it. Matthew thinks about these implications for a moment. The infected stands back up and continues to walk toward Matthew, but he suddenly gets an idea. As the infected approaches, Matthew squats down, ready to try and out maneuver the infected as it approaches. The infected lunges at Matthew, but Matthew steps out of the way. He quickly turns and pushes the infected with all his strength toward the edge of the cliff. The infected trips and falls over the edge of the cliff and drops 40 feet onto the ground below. Matthew falls onto his butt, exhausted. Matthew sits there in the dirt, catching his breath, realizing he just defeated the monster.

  After a moment, Matthew stands up and walks to the edge of the cliff once again. He looks down and sees the infected man lying on his back, crippled at the bottom of the cliff. The water from the shallow river flows over its body as it looks back up at Matthew and reaches its hand out as if it were trying to grab him from all the way down there. The sight of this disturbs Matthew, and fully cements the idea of a zombie apocalypse. He realizes these people are beyond human and can bare the most extreme forces.