29 Chapter 25: The Spreading Nightmare

At the same time, John had arrived at James' house...

It was quiet and suspenseful as they began their ride toward the northwest, toward Alaska. It was something to be on the run from the police and government, but it was something completely different knowing that an undead apocalypse was going to be upon them soon. They just didn't know how soon it would be at their necks as Allen thought while driving the RV on the road that would lead directly to the side roads leading out of the city.

Allen had many thoughts or what he would jokingly call voices in his head that tended to keep him on his toes during times like these and right now they were telling him to stray away from the main roads. Although he sometimes chalked theses thoughts up to gut feelings, but knowing that he wasn't batshit crazy and that the supernatural actually exists he chose to follow his gut to the dismay of the others.

When they had left Allen had instructed Alexia and Alice to look over the heavily yellowed and partially faded pages at the table while Alice and Jacob loaded many guns Allen had hidden away in a closet aboard the RV. He had Megan fiddling around with a t.v. he had hanging up in the back of the RV in the upper left corner.

Allen was many things, but keeping those under watch organized was only second to his skill at a computer. He made sure to assign everyone a task to ensure all his openings were covered.

Looking back through his rearview mirror he said, "Megan once you get that T.V. working turn it to the news we need to stay updated."

"Well sure once you keep this fucker still for a bit I can actually get it to work," Megan said in a sassy and sarcastic tone while her head was in an odd position as she tried to look for the port to connect the antenna wire.

"Well sure sweet cheeks if you don't mind the probability of being swarmed by the police or better yet being ambushed by Johns dirt munchers," Allen replied back matching both her tones and accent.

As if she was part of the conversation, in the beginning, Alexia butts in and says, "He's right we can't stop unless its for supplies and gas."

"Well if that's the case wouldn't it have been better if we stuck to the main roads and just lowered the blinds and shades on RV and..." Megan was saying when she inadvertently finds and plugs in the antenna wire to the right port and the voice of a male news anchor kills their conversation.

"This just in we have multiple reports of unprovoked riots and extreme violence happening in the downtown area and all across the city. Many of those reports consist of people clawing and cannibalizing others. I.. I... don't know what to say about this as it's all too sudden. Police are nowhere to be seen and..." The new anchor was saying before being interrupted with the delivery of many papers.

The new anchor looked at the face paper and his eyes immediately went wide and his mouth went agape. Horror hung from his face as he looked back at the camera and around at the crew and director. He flipped through the pages as small whispers began to be picked up by the several microphones.

After skimming through the pages the new anchor locks his eyes in a certain direction and asks what everyone watching at home guessed to be the director, "Did you read this?"

After a quick moment, he looks back the camera while grabbing several items and says, "This just in... breaking news whatever the fuck you wanna call it I just read a report that says those that have been assaulted and cannibalized and thought to have been killed in the process have begun repeating what their assaulters did to them unto others. Reports also state multiple police stations have been assaulted as well and no one has answered or replied to any attempts to contact them. Hospitals are currently on fire and no is anywhere putting out any fires. It's as if we are alone in this pandemonium."

Before he leaves he receives another paper and looks it over carefully. He almost goes pale and looks at the camera and says in an almost scared voice, "This just in reports about similar riots and acts have been reported around the world at a shocking rate, god help us, and that the CDC and WHO has now declared that this worldwide problem to be of a disease or infection of some sort that they themselves have yet to identify due to them also just finding out about this disease as well. They... the rest of this report seems to be them pushing the blame of not knowing about this disease unto the governments of the world for not answering or being put on hold. To sum up, what they want us to do as a community and as a people is to stay indoors and lock whatever lock you can find and stay away from strangers that don't look normal. People, it seems that the government and doctors don't know whats going on so I'm going out on a limb by saying hunker down and protect yourselves."

Before the news anchor could say another word loud banging and yelling could be heard from the background. The news anchor says, "what's going on?"

"Run they got into the studio!" Someone says from the background as the noise of growls and animalistic noise makes it onto the screens of everyone watching and listening.

Before the news anchor could have grabbed any of his personal belongings and made a run for it like the people around him the loud sound of the door being torn off its hinges could be heard. The news anchor could be heard saying, "Oh my god," before the camera is seemingly knocked down. But before the camera could be seen hitting the ground the T.V. within Allen's RV turns to static.

Everyone including Allen who had parked the RV on the side of the road to watch the news had eyes that were filled with shock and fear. Megan tried to turn the T.V. to multiple other channels, but the static persisted. "Umm, I guess it's busted again or the nearby antenna tower got taken down by a crashed."

"Nah uh sweetheart there's about three of them within about 10 miles around here that me and Allen once used to pinpoint a serial killer years ago this is something different and these damn books aren't helping Allen... Allen?" Alexia asked looking at a paled Allen who had immediately ran back to the steering wheel.

"Yea Alexia your damn right about that. The antenna on the top of this RV isn't just one of those red neck do it yourself antennas. That's an AT&T antenna I stole and rigged for my own purposes back in the day and I always picked up any channel no matter where I was. Know why? Because it picks up satellite signals." Allen said almost hysterically while taking the RV out of break and into drive and pressing the gas pedal almost knowing everyone over.

"Ok what about the satellite signals," Lana says while holding on to the corner of a built-in couch.

"FOr the LOVE of Christ, what have they been teaching you guys at Quantico!? For a signal to have been interrupted and static appears on screens that mean there is electromagnetic interference. That either happens with an emp, an electromagnetic magnetic pulse, or a signal jammer. So either someone is close by with a signal jammer for some odd reason or someone let off a very powerful nuke in the atmosphere which would've fried the hardware in the RV specifically the battery, which didn't happen. So the only obvious answer at the moment is that Darth John just pulled off the world's most modern and biggest divide and conquer this world had ever fucking seen. Which makes it even more important that we make it to my bunker in Alaska."

"To be honest uncle Al you could have lead and left it at the last half of your explanation... wait you have a bunker in Alaska?" Alice asks in confusion while fighting off her dizziness from Allen's frantic driving.

"Shut up and get back to looking through the pages," Allen said completely ignoring Alice's question about his bunker.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for anyway?" Alice said looking toward Allen distraught over his crazed driving.

"A way to fuckin' stop John. Those pages are old and forgotten text from a book that many churches and the very powerful people John hinted at deemed heresy and demonic. Or better known by the name, the book of the damned. What I found out from other old ass text is that it's original name was something less fucked up and scary. At first, it was called the book of truth before greedy old ass men wanted to undermine the gods and achieve a wealth of their own through falsehood and deception through the name of donations, churches, and wars they caused to get rid of those that knew the truth and the existence of the true gods. The pages I obtained were mostly damaged due to old aged but were still readable despite being translated and rewritten in the 1400s by the first European colonizers that came to the Americas. If I remember correctly, somewhere in those pages there should be an answer to our problem." Allen says while trying to gain his breath back from his short but long monologue.

Alexia looks back at the boxes and asks, "Are all of these boxes filled with pages?"

Allen looks back in his rearview mirror at Alexia with scornful eyes and says without holding back his tone of anger at her for her involvement in what John is doing, "No just the first three are the pages while the rest are food and water that should hopefully last us halfway to the border."

Noticing his tone toward her Alexia just replies, "Oh ok."

Lana noticing this feels a small weight on her chest as if she could have jumped in but felt compelled not to as she knows Allen has all the right in the world be pissed at Alexia. The whole world has the right to be bearing a grudge toward Alexia right now. Even right now she feels a little resentment towards her.