Commotion

Posted on Fri May 19th, 2023 @ 1:33am by Hale Stratton

1,752 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Bangor or Bust
Location: Millinocket, Maine
Timeline: 25 AUG 2010 - 8:00 p.m.

Kara Sloane stepped into the quiet lobby, mostly empty at this time of night. After a day around the town, she'd returned to her room. The festivities in town had sounded entertaining, but frankly she was just out of social capital to spend. She needed a recharge.

She'd just finished struggling to finish a chapter in her book, due to her deeply distracted mind, when the subtle sounds of festivities drifting down the street had taken a turn.

Within her own hotel, the low sounds of celebrations had suddenly taken a shift, become more frantic or disturbed. From her room, Kara couldn't hear anything specific, but her attention was captured enough that it had lured her down here to the lobby. She saw she wasn't the only one down here, as a handful of hotel staff were also peaking their heads out the windows trying to gather the sounds they were hearing.

The past five hours, his first helping the local police, had been nothing short of revelatory. Not that he had time to think about anything; something he reminded himself whenever he was riding shotgun in the cruiser, moving between calls. Their next stop was one of the lower rent motels; the owner had lodged a noise complaint. Simple stuff by the night's standards though privately, Hale didn't think 'simple' was a word that applied to the world any longer. Andy pulled up at the office and both got out. As usual, Hale let Andy take the lead, this being his patch and all, but he kept his head on the swivel. Ready for whatever came next.

"Millinocket Police Department," he announced as he came through the door. "We had a complaint from this address."

At the front desk, the young receptionist started a sentence a few times. "Uh...well...."

The hotel worker seemed to fumble over his words for a moment, before Kara decided to simply speak up. "Is this in relation to the shouting from a few minutes ago? The sounds from the festival ground were keeping everyone up, but about a short while ago it sounded like there was some sort of argument at the end of the hall."

She gestured down the wing to their right. "I have a room on the upper floor and it sounded...rowdy."

"Were you the one who made the complaint," Andy asked as he turned from the receptionist to the newcomer.

"Wasn't me. But I'm not surprised someone did complain," Kara said, as her gaze travelled down the hall. "I think an older gentleman decide to try and head down that way a minute or two ago though."

Down the hall, a brief distressed cry rang out. It sounded like the beginning of an argument, but then nothing else came. The silence was oppressive.

Kara felt the hair on the back of her neck go up. What the hell was going on in this hotel? Was there some sort of fight? She turned to the officer, but had honestly no idea what to say. "Should we...look into that?" She immediately regretted implying she in any way wanted to be a part of the search.

"Stay here, keep the door closed," Andy ordered. Hale was already moving toward the sound he'd heard. An old man sat against the wall, slumped over, without any visible wounds. He moved up, checking for signs of life and found a thready pulse; he moved up, followed Andy, who had entered the open door of the room across from the body. One of the renanimates, blood dripping down his arm, was beating on a closed door and Hale could hear soft, whimpers from inside.

"Hey," Hale called out and was immediately rewarded by a shift in the reanimates attention. "I'll go high, you go low," he said and Andy nodded. They'd perfected the procedure after the debacle at the church. One of them knocking the reanimate back while the other went for the kill, usually Hale because he carried a combat knife and had the requisite knowledge. The Pterion, on the left side of the skull, was thin enough to penetrate with a knife and the fuller on the blade made removal easy. Andy knocked him backward and Hale inserted the knife before it could turn far enough to get a good bite. Course, probably wouldn't hurt to wear some sort of an arm guard if I'm going to be doing a lot of this.

"Cover him up," Hale said and, while Andy pulled a blanket off the bed to drape over the body, he knocked at the door. "It's alright. You can come out now."

A woman, dressed in party clothes and spiked heels, came out hesitantly. She'd been crying, evidenced by the make up running down her cheeks, and she stared wide-eyed at the blanket draped form. "Is he ..."

"Yes, Ma'am," Hale said. "Come on. Let's get you somewhere safe."

Andy was already calling for an EMT while Hale led the woman, who had taken the time to pick up her purse, back to the office where the clerk and the woman were waiting. He escorted the woman to the nearest chair and she dropped down into it, shaking like a leaf, as she dug in her purse for her cigarettes and a lighter.

"Everything's alright now," Hale said. "EMTs are on their way to check her out. Best if you stayed out of the room until they're finished."

Kara's eyes were wide. She wasn't exactly sure what had transpired inside, but there was clearly some sort of scuffle. Her curiosity to peak in the room was proving to be strong enough that it took actual effort to resist the urge. Instead, she approached the mane, Stratton she thought it was, close enough to speak in a whisper that the shaken woman wouldn't hear. "What happened in there?"

As a Ranger, he was seldom put in a position of having to explain things to locals and it certainly wasn't something the police department was encouraging. Andy and Hale thought differently however and had agreed privately not to lie if the question was asked which played an important factor in what he said next.

"You know about the virus, Ma'am," he asked. He stood with his feet slightly apart with one hand over the other in front of him. "High fever and pain?"

"Yes, and the stuff the news has been a bit hesitant to cover. Last I checked, fever and pain doesn't lead to numerous screams, broken glass, and a traumatized woman shaking in the lobby," Kara said, looking at the door suspiciously. "Look, I'm not trying to pry, but this thing isn't the flu and I'm a bit worried about the fact that it's suddenly in my hotel. What are we dealing with?"

Hale tracked her gaze and shook his head. "Nothing in there you want to see, Ma'am," he said quietly. "But, to answer your question, here's what I know. This virus is a hundred percent lethal, or at least that's what I've been told, and ... well, there's no easy way to say this ... but once they die, they ... come back."

Kara had expected to panic at the words, worried he'd confirm the most bizarre stories that had been told. But hearing it out loud somehow was worse. She wasn't hit by panic. She was hit by a cold, calm realization. "So the man in there...he...and the guy who went in after. They...came back?"

"One did," Hale said. He kept his voice level and calm, polite, because that was how he was trained. The nightmares, well, that was for his free time. "the other was ... food. Not only do they come back but ... they come back hungry."

The woman just nodded slowly, unsure of really what to say beyond that. "So...what do we do now? We can't be safe here, right?"

"This place will need to be cleared so, right now, no, it isn't safe. There's a temporary shelter set up at the Katahdin. You could try there," Hale said. "Do you have a vehicle?"

"I do. It's a rental car, and it doesn't have the best headlights. If these...things are around, I feel like I'd rather head out in daylight," Kara said, looking toward the stairs. "I've got a second story room. Not sure if that's safe enough."

"Okay," Hale said. He found a post-it note pad on the desk and a pen, scrawled his cellphone number on it, and handed it over to her. "Name's Hale Stratton. If anything happens, call me. I'll come back around this way."

"I appreciate the honesty, Hale. World's getting weird out there. It strangely helps a little bit just to know how weird. By the way, I'm Kara Sloane. In case shit hits the fan, I figured it might make sense if you had a name to go off." She took the note, then looked back up at him. "Stay safe out there."

"You too," Hale said. "Don't make a lot of noise and keep the curtains closed. Like I said, If you need help, you have my number. Good night, Miss Sloane."

Hale headed back to his jeep with two thoughts uppermost in his mind. Food and sleep. First of many long days, he suspected, and spent the drive back to his cabin thinking about things. He stopped at a gas station outside of Millinocket and was more than a little surprised to see it open. Something worth taking advantage of though so he filled up and, as he paid, he shared what he'd seen in town with the owner. The lights were already going out as he pulled back onto the road.

Food and sleep, he thought. Prepare for the long, long days to come.

Back inside the motel, Kara headed back upstairs, looking over her shoulder more than once. When she got to her room and headed inside, she took in her surroundings. The hotel room was isolated enough. She'd keep quiet and head out first thing in the morning. But...couldn't hurt to secure the entrances a bit more. Sliding the chair and ironing boards out, she wedged each in front of the door to the hall and adjoining room. No person or thing would be coming in without giving her a substantial warning first.

She plugged in her phone, verifying three separate times that it was in fact charging, before settling down into bed and getting a fairly restless night of sleep.

 

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