Gods & Monsters: The Gods & Monsters Trilogy Book 1 Page 2

  After locking the door, she debated whether she should prepare breakfast for Jason but decided to wait until he woke up. She quickly ate a granola bar, went to the refrigerator, and drank from the jug of orange juice. She peeked at the kids as they played, and then went to her bathroom.

  As soon as she shut herself inside, she looked in the mirror and frowned. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt satisfied with her reflection. There had been a time when she’d considered herself pretty, but now she didn’t know how to describe herself. She only knew she didn’t like what she saw.

  It didn’t matter how many compliments she received from strangers and acquaintances on how lovely she was. She didn’t believe their kind observations and often realized afterward she hadn’t even replied with a generic thank-you.

  At least my eyes are still pretty, she thought as she turned the water on to wash her face. Something about her hazel eyes pleased her. Mostly, she admired the green in them.

  Jane never acknowledged how envied she was for her long, dark eyelashes, high cheekbones, sun freckles that sprinkled across her nose, pink lips—all enhancing a clear complexion. It didn’t matter what anyone said.

  Jane saw a monster.

  New Influenza Virus Spreads Across the Country

  Jane leaned back in bed, squinting at the news headline that appeared when she opened the internet browser on her laptop. She’d heard about this flu epidemic yesterday. It had apparently originated in the United States, and reports showed it had already spread to several other countries.

  Over the past several decades, major outbreaks of the flu virus had ravaged the planet, so it no longer shocked her. She ignored the rest of the articles and checked her email. This was more of a habit, really. She didn’t receive personal messages anymore, not that she ever had an excess, but there was no chance now. With Wendy dead, there were no more friends to stay in touch with.

  She still had Jason and their two children, but without her best friend—her only friend—she grown lonely. A hollow feeling spread wider through her every day. Of course, she had her children but even before she had them, for as long as she could remember, she’d felt like part of her had been carved out.

  She needed someone to hold her hand because she honestly felt lost in the dark most of the time. Of course, Jane had her husband; they were friends, but not like they had been in many years. And it had been a long time since Jason could be considered a “good friend,” which only worsened the fact he was her main adult contact on a regular basis.

  Wendy had told her to go out and make new friends when it became clear she wasn’t going to survive. Jane always wanted to please her friend, but she couldn’t do this. People didn’t understand her. Even Wendy, as amazing as she was, did not fully grasp all that happened to her. She accepted Jane, though. She never gave up on her. Jane didn’t think there would be another person like that in her life. If by chance there was, she feared getting close to them. What if she lost them, too?

  Jane let out a breath to stop herself from thinking too much about Wendy and losing someone she would never have. She closed her laptop and glanced at Jason. He was still dead to the world. It frustrated her that he always seemed to be so at ease and had no problem achieving a peaceful night’s sleep. Not that she wished her nightmares on him, but she grew sad when he didn’t seem to notice or care about hers.

  She wished she didn’t resent so much about him and their relationship. While she loved him, and knew he loved her, it always bothered her they weren’t what they should be.

  Jane gave herself a little shake to get rid of her unpleasant thoughts and turned on the TV. News reports about the flu were unavoidable, and this time, she paid more attention. The ill were instructed to make their way to the nearest medical facilities and avoid contact with others. The reports continued to repeat symptoms: fever, body aches, trouble breathing, coughing blood, and popped blood vessels in the eyes.

  She became irritated because more than likely she’d end up with this flu; she always got sick. So she was relieved when both children entered the room and climbed on the bed between her and Jason. They nudged their dad, but he didn’t move. Jane smiled, changed the channel to one of their favorite cartoon networks, and listened to their giggles while she waited for Jason to wake.

  After a long day of doing nothing special, Jane and her family made it to the grocery store. They were already in the checkout line, and while Jason loaded their items to be scanned, Jane was lost in a daze, staring at everything but not really taking in what happened around her.

  “She bit me!”

  The shout broke Jane from her trance, and she turned her head toward the commotion. There was a man in the middle of a growing crowd near the store’s exit. Firefighters and medics assisted the hysterical male while others attended a different person already strapped to a stretcher.

  “Did he say someone bit him?” Jane asked Jason.

  The cashier looked up from scanning items and responded to her when he didn’t. “Yeah, I think so. The woman on the stretcher passed out; that man was helping her. When she woke up, she attacked him. I guess she bit him somehow. The medics arrived quickly, though. I think they’ll be okay.”

  “That’s a weird thing to do,” Jane said, glancing at the medics wheeling the now screaming and thrashing woman out of the store.

  “Why do you think someone would bite another person?” Jane asked on the drive home.

  Jason shrugged, not taking his eyes off the road. “I don’t know. Maybe she had a seizure.”

  From Jane’s experience as an animal medical technician a few years back, she recalled emergencies where animals would have seizures. She’d even been bitten by a small dog after it had been poisoned, but she thought it was strange a person would allow themselves to get bitten.

  For a while, her thoughts drifted off to her days working at the animal hospital. Those were good times. They were days of goofing around with her coworkers after working their butts off. They were days spent with a wild and carefree Wendy. A healthy and alive Wendy. Although they were happy memories Jane cherished, they still brought her pain.

  She sighed and looked out the window as she tried to clear her thoughts of Wendy and the incident at the store. There were too many disturbing things inside her head lately; she didn’t want to put more there.

  Despite the attempt to shut out old memories, the cars and businesses they drove past became a blur, and flashbacks from her past began to play like a terrible movie in her mind.

  She gasped and stuck out her hand for Jason’s. His sigh touched her ears before he held her hand. Tears blurred the world passing by outside, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. He never liked seeing her like this, so she stared out the glass and hoped to slow her rapidly beating heart.

  “Is Mommy okay?” Natalie asked from the backseat.

  “She’s fine,” Jason replied.

  Jane squeezed his hand to show her thanks and teared up further when he didn’t return the gesture; he never did.

  Breathe—it will pass, a comforting thought promised.

  She squeezed her eyes tight, trusting the sweet assurance while a lone tear made its way down her cheek, and it wasn’t alone for long. A faint tingle was quick to follow the trail her tear left behind and, as always, her pained heart received a moment of peace as a warm sensation spread throughout her chest.

  “You fine now?” Jason asked, not looking away from the road or giving any other comfort.

  “Yeah.” Jane wiped the tear away and held her breath for a few seconds.

  The tingling feeling spread out and smothered the constant sting tormenting her heart and replaced it with magic.

  A sad but grateful smile spread across her lips. “I’m okay.”

  JANE WASN’T A FAN OF TEXAS SUMMERS. It wasn’t that she was used to cold weather; she’d only lived in Texas, but the one-hundred-degree temperatures and high humidity were hard on her body. The heat also made it difficult to
keep her flowerbed alive. She tried, though. It didn’t look like the pretty ones in magazines, but it was alive. Barely.

  Staring at the wilting blooms of a morning glory vine that had wound around one of her small bushes, she listened to Nathan and Natalie giggling as they played in the small sandbox next to her flower garden. Their laughter was the real reason she made the effort to come out. Her body couldn’t handle the heat for too long, but she tried for them because she never wanted them to be like her. She wanted them to be what she would not be.

  As she went to wipe the sweat from her forehead, a siren made her jump. They lived fairly close to the highway, so it was common to hear passing emergency vehicles, but this one sounded closer than that. Along with the first siren, more could be heard farther away.

  Jane glanced around for a few seconds but went back to her garden. Her gaze drifted to a morning glory, and she reached out to touch one of the its wilting petals. The heat was too much for the pretty flower. She glanced around and found a good size rock, and moved it next to the flower, giving it enough shade so it wouldn’t wither away. “There. Maybe I can keep you alive.”

  As she said that, a helicopter flew over her house. She looked up, surprised to see seven military helicopters all going in the same direction. They were low, too. So low, in fact, she almost believed they might land in her backyard. It made the continuous blaring from the various sirens in the distance more alarming and had her heart rate spiking.

  “Mommy, it’s loud.” Natalie came running to her side. “Why are there so many?”

  The frightened look on her daughter’s face made the situation seem worse than it should probably be, but Jane grew worried a manhunt might be the cause of the air searches. It was pretty standard to search by air if a criminal was on the loose. That didn’t explain the military aircraft, though.

  Jane smiled anyway, hoping to calm Natalie. “There must be a bad accident, that’s all. But get your toys; we should go in.”

  Not a second later, screams on their street ripped through the air. Jane’s eyes went wide. It was the kind of scream that made your heart race. A genuine, blood-curdling scream that only a person fearing for their life would be able to produce.

  Something was most definitely wrong, but she tried to keep her cool so as not to scare her children. “Hurry. Let’s go inside.” She picked up toys and led them into the house.

  The sensation of someone watching her had her glancing over her shoulder. No one was there, but she still felt as though she wasn’t quite alone. Strangely, this feeling didn’t frighten her. In fact, she felt almost safe because of it until the screams rang out louder, only to be abruptly silenced.

  Fear grew as she peeked through her windows. There was no sign of anyone or anything, but she locked her door before turning on the television to find out what was going on.

  Austin, Texas, was a busy city, but they lived on the northern side of town; things were calmer here. People screaming in the middle of the day as if they were being murdered, sirens, and military helicopters flying over her house—far from normal. Nor was it normal to find panicked reporters on the TV speedily reading from prompts in their hands.

  Jane stepped closer to the television to listen.

  “The virus initially believed to be a new strain of flu has now been confirmed by WHO to be a brand-new virus. The Zev-Virus, named after the first confirmed fatality, Zev Knight, has already spread across the nation and is ravaging Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

  “The CDC is working together with the World Health Organization and other health agencies in hopes of developing a vaccine. So far, all confirmed cases have been fatal.”

  Jane tightened her grip on the remote as the reporter continued, her voice shaking.

  “As I mentioned earlier, health organizations have joined together to find a cure, but due to the short incubation period and transmission involving violent attacks, they are making slow progress. For now, they urge everyone to reduce or avoid contact with the public. They also warn to expect delays from authorities due to the influx of emergency calls coming in. If a family member or friend is showing symptoms of this virus, isolate them from all others in your home before contacting emergency services. Under no circumstances is it recommended you attempt to treat, transport, or remain in contact with anyone showing symptoms.

  “Local law enforcement are reporting an increase in the number of assaults resulting in injuries over the past two hours and have called all first responders into action. Attacks involve bites and scratches from those who appear to be suffering from this new illness.”

  The reporter wiped her forehead and coughed. “Let me go over the symptoms again: fever, fatigue, body aches, trouble breathing, coughing up blood, broken blood vessels in the eyes, and hostility. At this time, there is no indication that the virus is airborne as all confirmed cases have involved direct contact with infected individuals. We will keep you updated as more information is made available.”

  The screen flashed with a list of business, school, and government office closures before resuming the show that had been on.

  “Mommy, what’s wrong?” asked Natalie. “Are we gonna get sick?”

  Jane squatted and comforted her with a small hug. “No, we will be okay. We’ll just stay away from anyone who’s sick, okay?”

  Waiting for Jason’s return from work was starting to drive her mad. He got off at four, and it normally took him fifteen minutes to get home every day. If he was going to be late, he would text her. It was six, and he hadn’t contacted her once.

  The news had stopped coming on. The only thing running now was the Emergency Broadcast System. Jane couldn’t stand the blaring noise it continued to make, so she’d put on a movie in all the rooms.

  The last image she’d seen before the channels went off was police in riot gear, barricading the entrance to a hospital. There had been people attacking the officers, but it was hard to understand why the attackers were being prevented from getting medical care. She’d assumed it was due to the hospitals overflowing with patients, but then she watched several officers pushing back the mob as they swarmed a man carrying a bloody child while he yelled, “We’re not bit!”

  The newsfeed had cut back to the anchor she’d seen earlier in the day, and Jane watched in shock as the reporter fainted in the middle of her report. The feed had blacked out, and that station, along with other local and national stations, had stopped all gone off air.

  The sudden whirring sound from the garage door sounded, causing Jane to jump up. She quickly ran to the door and saw Jason getting out of his truck.

  “What’s this?” she asked, stepping into the garage.

  He held his finger up to his mouth and pulled the emergency lever to pull the garage down without using the automatic opener. Jane stood perfectly still, watching him carefully move around their car, then slide the manual lock over.

  He breathed out and walked to the door he’d left open and picked up several grocery bags. She was surprised to see the seats filled with bags and items rolling on the floorboard.

  He barely looked at her and kept loading his arms with bags. “Did you watch the news today?”

  “Yes, I watched. It stopped coming on, though.” She stepped closer to the truck. “You should have called. I kept texting you.”

  “I saw them,” he said softly.

  Jane studied his worried expression. He was sweaty and darting his eyes around the garage, not making eye contact with her. “What do you mean, them? Someone sick?”

  “Well, yeah, I guess. But it’s weird the way they acted. I’ve never seen anything like this. They were crazy. They kept—I don’t know—biting and scratching everyone.”

  “Were you bitten?” She scanned his body.

  “No,” he said quickly, and she let out a breath. “People are going nuts. Police and ambulances are on every street. People are crashing into each other, running red lights—I saw someone steal another person’s car when they were loading it
with supplies. It’s chaos!”

  She didn’t know what to say. He kept looking around their empty garage as if someone might suddenly jump out at any moment.

  “It’s almost like some sort of zombie movie,” he added suddenly.

  She stayed quiet and waited for him to laugh. He didn’t.

  When he picked up the bags again, she considered everything he’d told her as well as his strange behavior. His theory actually made more sense than some flu, that was for sure. What sort of virus made people violent other than those you saw in zombie movies?

  “What should we do?” She helped him with the bags. “Before the news went off, they said everyone should stay inside.”

  More sirens and helicopters sounded before Jason spoke. “The guys at work were talking about gathering their weapons and shit like that; I don’t have any guns, so I figured supplies and food were the most important step. When I left work, and realized all hell had broken loose, I stopped and got what I could. They were—” He shook his head and didn’t finish.

  She nodded and carried what she had picked up inside, and he followed her without saying anything else. When they entered the kitchen, barks from her dogs startled her.

  “Crap, the dogs,” she said, dropping what she had on the floor without caring if it broke.

  She ran to the back door and looked out the window. Both dogs pawed at the door, displaying the same behavior they did whenever there was a thunderstorm. Usually, Jason didn’t allow the dogs inside, but she opened the door and led them to the playroom.

  “Mommy, why are doggies inside?” Natalie asked as she passed her in the hall.

  “Mommy wants to keep an eye on them.” She tried not to show her panic. Simply opening the door had frightened her. “They’re scared of the noise, that’s all. Daddy’s home. Go say hi.”

  Natalie needed no other prompting; she took off, hollering to welcome him home like she always did.