The Birth- Part 1 of the Undead Chronicles

The first part of a science-fiction horror series. Kind of boring but it has to lead up to the events later on in the series.

  The velcro strap latched on and the glove was tight around his wrist. He strapped on his other glove and pulled out his cell phone. The light glared from the small device and the man's face was illuminated in the darkness of the night. The digital clock at the bottom of his screen told him it was three minutes past midnight on a Saturday. He turned his phone on silent and stuffed it into his cargo pocket. The slender man strolled over to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. Eight feet below him was another rooftop, air conditioner units and antennas dotted the next building. This was a new stretch of buildings for him. He usually ran on the other side of the river but that routine got boring so he decided to go somewhere new. This location looked ideal from the ground so he scaled the fire escape and got ready. His gloves were strapped tightly but comforatbly and his mind was absent fear. He walked back a couple of feet and took a deep breath. Then he darted forward and dove off the roof. His hands hit the ground first, helping guide his head above the rooftop, his body rolling over and onto his feet. His momentum carried him back into a sprint as he placed his foot on the wall of the next building, vaulting himself up to a window sill. He grabbed on and pulled himself up. Looking to his left he noticed a small air conditioner sticking out of the window. He got on top of that and wrapped his hands around a vertical pipe and, putting one hand over the other, climbed up to the top of the building.

 

  As he came over the edge and onto the roof, he saw no windows on the building next to his currently occupied stepping stone. He looked about his surroundings for another path and noticed a building slightly lower than the one he stood on. The distance was about sixteen feet to jump, not to mention the ten foot drop in elevation from building to building. With another running start, the traceur leaped across the gap and rolled across the roof of the other apartment complex. As he came out of his roll and into a sprint, he checked his watch and took in the time of 12:05 as he slid his watch back under the sleeve of his hoodie. Reaching the edge of the complex, the next roof over had a three foot wall around the top. Leaping off his feet, the man propelled his body over the wall with his hands and landed in a jog. The man stopped to catch his breath and to quench his thirst. Pulling a water bottle out of his backpack, he unscrewed the lid and went to take a drink when the scream of a woman bellowed out of an alleyway to his right.

 

  He dropped his water bottle and ran over to the fire escape. He leaped over the railing and caught himself on a window on the opposite building. He jumped backwards and grabbed the fire escape's ladder, which came sliding down to street level. He noticed a man hovering over a young woman in the fetal postion in the corner of the alley. The man brought up his hand to strike when the spectator yelled at the man.

 

"Hey, leave her alone mister! I will call the cops if you dont get out of here!" The threat caught the attention of the man who turned around, dark blood and drool oozing out of his mouth. He growled at the woman's defender and turned around the continue his assault on the poor girl. The young man picked up a brick and threw it at the back of the man's head, sending him toppling over onto the ground. He did not make any noise or any attempt to get up. Cautiously, the woman's savior walked over to her, a piece of pipe in his hand. He kicked the man's side with his sneakered foot and when no response was given, he dropped the pipe and helped the woman to her feet.

 

  "Are you alright ma'am? What happened?" asked the young man. The woman wiped the tears away from her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. Astonished, the lad gently pushed her away and asked again.

 

  "I'm fine... I'm...fine. He was lying down on the sidewalk as I was walking home from class and he looked really ill so I asked if he was okay. When I crouched beside him to see if he was awake, he lunged at me, his mouth spewing blood onto himself. He chased me into the alley and well... thats where you came in. I need to hurry home, my husband is probably worried sick. Thank you Mr..?"

 

  "My name is Seth but- don't you want to call the cops or something? I mean, lady, you were just attacked by some freak who looks like he just got done snorting a line of bath salts or something, I mean you should go to a hosptial or something!"

 

  "No, I... I really need to get home to my husband. The police will find him there sometime. I wont tell nobody about this. It nevered happened..." The woman scurried away, probably to go face the beating her husband promised if she wasn't on time. Seth stood by the man, dumbfounded, and before leaving for his apartment, he gave the dead man one final kick to the face.

 

  The news came on at seven that morning with some announcement about east Africa. Some new form of Ebola was discovered in Sudan again and civil war plagued Somalia. Same stuff different day in Seth's opinion. His cousin had come over at two that morning, an hour after Seth got home from rescuing his damsel in distress. He told Jerry about the whole incident and Jerry agreed that it was probably some druggie high on bath salts, just like in Miami a few years back. The two cousins shared a beer before Jerry headed off to work. Seth was off on Saturday's and continued to watch the news. Something interesting caught his eye during the broadcast. Shortly after the first town in Sudan came down with the new Ebola virus, the denizens began to commit acts of cannablism, the whole town ate itself. The same thing happened in the next two towns that reported Ebola. The African hospitals were treating bite victims and Ebola patients at the same time and the hospitals were becoming over crowded fast. The United Nations were entering talks of quarantine as the World Health Organization and the CDC entered the area to provide medical aid and food supplies to the populations.

 

  "Man... thank God that s**t is over there. Hate to see my neighbors eating one another," thanked Seth as he headed to his bedroom to get some sleep...

 

 

Author's Note

Ignore grammar and spelling concerns. Please offer advice on the story.