I Have Butterflies in my Stomach: A Tale of the Infected

A different kind of zombie.

      Mark, Camille, and Rudy sat on the ground in the lobby of the Comfort Inn. They were pretty sure that the building wasn't completely abandoned, so they stayed in the lobby to avoid the Infected. Mark wouldn't leave Camille behind and Rudy was to afraid to go check things out by himself.

       When the Rising first started, Mark and Camille were on their way home from the park with their two dogs, Spike and Red. Camille was a nature girl. She was twenty-nine, five years younger than Mark. Mark enjoyed the outdoors, but not as much as his wife did.

        They were riding in Mark's pick-up truck when they ran into heavy line of traffic. Horns were blaring and people were yelling, but no cars were moving. The two German Shepards barked constantly in the back of the truck. Camille leaned her head out of the passenger-side window to see why they had stopped. A few cars ahead, a young boy was being dragged out of his open-top convertible by a large black man. There was something terribly wrong with him. He swaggered and had blood covering the majority of his body. Before she could figure out what else was wrong, the truck began to shake. Mark looked at his wife, then to the back of the truck. Spike and Red were gone.

 

         Must have jumped from the truck. Damn dogs. Couldn't just leave them at home, could we?

 

         " Stay here babe. I have to get the dogs," said Mark.

         " Wait, I want to go with you."

         " Why? I'll be back in a few seconds."

         " I don't want to stay in the car."

 

         She sounded frightened so he decided not to argue with her. They both called the dogs repeatedly, but they didn't come. Peopl began screaming and a crowd came rushing out from between the cars. Blood ran from the forehead of one woman in the crowd.

 

         " Mark, I think we should get back to the car," said Camille.

         " I agree, but..."

 

         A flaming glass bottle hit the hood of a UPS truck which caused it and the people nearby to ignite into flames. Mark and Camille ran, zigzagging through the cars until they made it to the side of the road.

 

          " What the hell is going on? Who's throwing molotov cocktails?" excalimed Mark.

 

           Camille wrapped her arms around Mark.

 

           " Oh my God. Spike and Red are back!" she cheered.

 

           The dogs were standing side-by-side and both were showing teeth and growling. They slowly started walking towards Mark and Camille. She gasped. Spike was missing most of his back and the side of his face was hanging loose, exposing his jaw bone. Red was a mess too. He was missing an eye and his back leg was twisted and it dragged behind him.

            " What happened to them?"

            " I don't know?" said Mark.

           

            The dogs moved closer.

 

            " Run!" yelled Mark.

            " Where to?"

            " The Comfort Inn. it's the only place that's close."

 

            The dogs started to charge. Camille and Mark took off running up the hill towards the Inn. Camille was pretty fast, but Mark on the otherhand, was having trouble keeping up. If it wasn't for the dogs being injured, he would have never made it inside. They darted through the front door into the lobby and that is where they have been ever since.

             Mark had barricaded the front doors with chairs and tables. He also found a crowbar behind the main desk. No telling why it was there. Three days later, Rudy had found his way inside the Inn and made his way to thr front were Mark and Camille were residing. Rudy was sixteen and he had been looking for his twin sister when the Rising started. He told them that dead people were killing everyone and he needed a place to hide, so he broke a window to get in.

              Outside the sun shined brightly into the lobby. Empty candy wrappers and water bottles were spread out on the floor. They were out of food and had only one water bottle left. They had discussed leaving, but no one really wanted to do it. There was no electricity and it was just plain creepy. There were always strange noises coming from the rest of the Inn, but none of them wanted to know what it was.

 

               " I think we should consider finding another place to hide," said Rudy, " A safe and secure building that we can barricade better."

               " You're right, but where could we go. Those things are everywhere and I haven't seen a police officer go by since we've been in here," said Mark.

               " We could go to the gas station down the street. There's food, water, and there's not a lot of windows," Camille said.

               " If we're going to do this, we should do it now before we change our minds," suggested Rudy.

 

               Mark grabbed his crowbar and Rudy pulled out a steak knife that he had brought with him. The weapons weren't much, but at least they weren't going empty handed.

 

               " Camille, stay by me and Rudy in case something happens."

 

               Rudy moved the chairs and the desks away from the door. He looked around. The coast was clear. He stepped outside and Mark and Camille followed. They walked a little ways down the hill when Rudy looked up and seen that a huge mass was covering the sun.

               " What is that?" he asked, pointing at the sky.

 

              It was spreading out more, making it completely dark. As the mass moved closer, it began to hum like the sound of a helicopter. Mark's eyes bulged. Thousands of butterflies were fluttering towards them. Monarchs, white, black, and blue butterflies and many more were coming at them. Camille, Mark, and Rudy turned around to run back inside, but SPike and Red were standing in their path. There was no where else to go.

             The butterflies fell upon Mark, knocking him to the gound. Rudy grabbed Camille's hand and dragged her back. Mark swatted and rolled to avoid the flying insects. He managed to get away and back to Camille and Rudy. The dogs rushed Rudy unexpectedly. He lost his grip on his knife and Spike dug his teeth into Rudy's throat. As the dogs ripped Rudy apart, Camille and Mark fought off the butterfles and they were able to stumble back inside to the lobby. Camille smacked the bugs off of her. Mark lay on the floor, holding his throat while gasping for air. Camille ran over and kneeled next to him. His face turned purple and tears rolled from his eyes. His stomach began to swell quickly. Camille, horrified, stared at her husbands bulging stomach. Suddenly, Marks stomach exploded and butterlfies came sputtering out. Camille screamed as they crawled out of his mouth and flew into her face, making their way down her throat.

           Later that night, the dead birds ate the butterflies and Rudy, Camille, and Mark walked among the dead, searching for the living.

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

Author's Note

This takes place in Penn Hills, PA on day 4 of the rising.

Reviews

[Jordan S]

Very nice, 90% sure the virus is not cross species, but creative work with the butterflys.

[Dutch Jr.]

Good detail. You really put me in the moment of the action. Good job. I would like to read more, though. Do they find any living people? What exactly is happening to the city?

[Soul Magic✯]

wow this story is off the hook... very creative visuals. i enjoyed reading this one