Partyville USA: Part 2-1

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Roland began tiring in the early teens, but pushed on as best he could. On the twenty-third floor, he took a minute to catch his breath. Even up there he could make out faint echoes ringing up the stairwell. Above him, he heard a door open and the sound of high heels clicking down. Unable to be sure, he cautiously and quietly stood up and backed against the wall, looking up the stairs. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was Elsie from Morgan-Nelson, who was unscathed. She jumped when she rounded the stairs and saw him.

            “Oh, Mr. Hicks” she said, laying a relieved hand to her breast “Sorry, I just.”

            “No….no problem” Roland said, still panting lightly. As Elsie calmed herself down, she noticed his burned hand and missing shoe, and his roughed-up clothes.

            “Did you come from outside?” she asked. He nodded. “What’s going on out there?”

            “I have no idea” said Roland “I was just coming back from lunch. We got stuck in traffic, and they were everywhere.”

            Elsie’s face slacked, and her eyes went blank. She didn’t say anything, but walked dazedly down the stairs. Roland began walking up, and made it up a few flights of stairs before he heard her open and shut a door below.

            He could barely stand by the time he made it to the 49th floor. When he opened the door he immediately slumped against the opposite wall. He could only hear a few voices emanating from the office. He laid for a minute until he remembered Wallace, and his helicopter. With a fresh surge of adrenaline he stood up and jogged to Wallace’s Office.

            When he arrived Sophie was pacing around talking on her cell-phone.

            “I just want you to get out of the city as fast as I can, alright” she whimpered, holding back tears. “No, I know…….don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Just promise me you’ll head to your parents house. Okay, bye.”

            She flipped the phone shut and took a second to gain her composure before she noticed Roland panting at the door.

            “Mr. Hicks, are you alright?” she said.

            “Is Wallace still here?” He said between gasps.

            “Yes” she said, nervously handling her phone “he’s up on the roof, I think he’s just about ready to leave. I’m going up there in a second myself.”

            “Great, thanks” Roland said, dashing back to the stairs. He slammed through the door to the roof and ran up the stairs. He knew that Wallace’s helicopter had six seats, plenty for his favorites. He began to smile as he burst through the door to the roof, until he stopped cold. The helicopter was gone. He ran out onto the roof, desperately searching the sky, when he saw it crossing over the Missouri River, its serial numbers still faintly legible. Roland jumped and waved his arms, shouting at the top of his lungs, but could only watch as the helicopter shrank into the sky. He fell to his knees, then collapsed onto his right side. He laid there long enough to hear Sophie open the door behind him, and drop everything she had carried.

            Roland laid on the roof for fifteen minutes. At first it was to finally rest properly, then out of the vague hope that Wallace would return. He couldn’t hear much from the street below. Screams occurred sporadically and briefly. At that point Roland reasoned that there weren’t many actual people down there

. They, and in fact everyone was now one of those things, or hiding from them.

            When Roland finally returned to the 49th floor, he heard loud noises and yelling coming from all over the floor. He walked down the hall to see Sam and four interns pushing Wallace’s desk towards the elevators. They rounded the corner and placed its broad surface in front of the elevators, blocking them halfway.

            “Alright” Sam gasped to the interns, short of breath “Go and find anything else that can be used to block this off.” Woo-Jin Singh, looked up from his knees and pointed at the Partyville USA entrance sign.

            “What about that?”

            “We could try just unscrewing and re-screwing it backwards against the wall” said Tim Rourke.

            “Worth a shot” said Sam “And we can just move the desk if any survivors come up. I know where there’s a power drill. Woo and Tim, wait here for me. Tucker and Jamie, I want you to find stuff we can use to reinforce this.”

            He walked briskly back down the hall, as Tucker and Jamie jogged back to the office. Roland stepped out from  the corner.

            “Roland, great” said Sam when he noticed him “I have Burt, Horace and Jesse sealing off the stairs, they could probably use your help.”

            “Huh?” said Roland.

            “They should be over by the South stairwell” said Sam, as he hurried off to find a drill. Roland stood for a minute as he watched him disappear, then walked slowly down the hall. He took one of his yogurts from the break room and made a bag of ice for his hand, then walked to his office and ate the yogurt slowly, not turning around to look out of his window.

            As he ate,  Luanne walked by his window. When she saw him, she burst into his office.

            “Oh baby!” she exclaimed with relief, hugging him as he sat, still holding his yogurt cup and spoon “I was so worried about you! I was so scared!” Roland set his yogurt on his desk as he felt her tears dab upon his collar and trace down his neck.

            “We’re okay now,” she choked “Sam is taking care of everything.”

            “Everything?” Roland asked.

            “Oh you betcha,” Luanne sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve “he’s got all of the entrances sealed off, he’s got Sophie calling the floors below to find out if those things are coming up, he even has people looking for stuff we could use for weapons if they somehow got up here. Everything’s gonna be just fine, it shouldn’t be too long for the police or somebody to send someone to get us.”

            Roland sat silently, looking at nothing in particular out the window.

            “Are you okay baby?” Luanne said as she stood back up “what happened to your hand?”. Roland shook off his trance and looked slowly up to her.

            “Fine” he said “I’m just fine. The hand’s fine.” He stood up and walked briskly out the door, hand still gripped around his ice bag. He walked down the halls he passed people either running, pacing around while whispering to coworkers, or huddled around and consoling one another through tears. Roland felt somebody tug his sleeve as he passed through the cubicles. He turned to see Emma from payroll, mascara running down her face, lightly clutching her cell phone.

            “Mr. Hicks” she croaked “I can’t reach my children.” Roland looked at her, unable to think of a response.

            “They were at school” she said “and I can’t reach them. I don’t know where they are.” Her face was gaunt under her running make-up, and her composure seemed to be fraying by the second.

            “I just don’t know where they are” she repeated, her phone dropping from her fingers. “Do you know where they are?”

            She stared at him, her face begging, quivering for a response.

            “Do you know where they are?”

            Roland shook his head, slowly Beverly’s fingers slipped off his arm and fell to her sides. As Roland backed away, he heard Sam&rsquo

;s yelling.

            “Everybody in the conference room!” Roland made out eventually “I want everybody in the conference room now!” Roland watched as his coworkers solemnly began migrating towards the room. Even Beverly picked herself up after a moment and started taking small steps.

            After a few minutes, everybody who was still on the floor had gathered into the conference room. Sam stood at the head of the table, while Roland sat next to him.

            “I counted” Sophie said to Sam “there are twenty-two.”

            “Thanks Soph” Sam said with a slight nod. He took a minute to compose himself before speaking.

            He began by saying that according the news, there seemed to be an outbreak which was causing the dead not to just return to life, but to also eat the flesh of the living, and that any person attacked by one of the dead became one of them. The pheonomenon had already spread wildly across the Midwest, with major outbreaks in St. Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and there had even been sightings in Chicago, Milwaukee, and even Northern Texas.

            “Now we have all of the exits blocked off here, even the elevators just to be safe” Sam said “but as you all know we don’t have much food, and I’m not sure how long we can hold up up here. Sophie has told me that according to the calls she’s been making to the other floors, those things seem to have only made it up to the third floor, and haven’t gotten any higher in the last hour. The Governor has mobilized the National Guard, and the President has declared a national emergency. I don’t know how long it will take to get help, but you have my sincere assurance that right now we’re doing everything that can possibly done to make sure that we’ll get through this.”

            Roland looked across the table. Sam’s speech appeared to give his coworkers slight consolation. After a minute, Roland rose from his chair and turned to Sam.

            “Sam,” he said “I think it would be good right now for everyone if we prayed.”

            Sam thought for a minute before nodding.

            “Yeah, by all means” he said, and turned to his coworkers “would anyone like to say a few words?”

            “I’ll give it a shot” Roland said. He bowed his head and shut his eyes.

            “Dear Father in Heaven” he began “As you must know, a great darkness, a great sickness, has befallen your flock. And while we may not be able to presently discern your actions, if they are your actions, we humbly entreat your grace to shine upon us in this hour.”

            As Roland spoke, he felt a queer urge course through him. Slowly, while still speaking, he opened his eyes.

            “There has been much suffering already” he said, looking throughout the room at all of the bowed heads and shaking, prayerful hands “already many of our dearest friends and family members may already have passed into your loving, forgiving domain.”

            Roland eyes cruised around the room, momentarily resting on Sam, who continued to stand in humble, receptive grace. Roland began to smile.

            “All we ask, Dear God, is that shine your infinite grace upon us, your humble and devoted servants. We ask that your mercy shine upon us, and your that your light will see us through the night to the morning when your magnificence shall make itself known once again across our land.”

            Roland slowly shut his eyes again as he finished. “And we ask that you will watch over our friends and family still beset by this great evil, and your hands will guide them towards peace and safety. Amen.”

            “Amen” the twenty-one murmured in unison. Sam opened his eyes and turned to Roland.

            “Thank you Roland for that” he said. Roland opened his eyes again and looked across the conference table. The faces now shone with cautious resolve, besieged hope and innocent yearning, yearning for relief that seemed directed at Roland alone.

            “Alright” Sam said somberly “I’m sure we all want to try to contact those close to you, so now would perhaps be the best time to do so.”

            The staff began to rise from their ch

airs and exit the conference room. A few, however, walked to Roland.

            “That was a wonderful prayer” said Elena from Accounts Payable.

            “It was just what I needed to hear” said Charlene from Human Resources.

            “I’m glad you’re here for us Mr. Hicks” said Milton from Public Relations.

            “Thank you, thank you” Roland said humanely, yet authoritatively to each of them.

            Roland lingered in the conference room as his coworkers filed out. There was a short chatter of clicks and taps as people opened their cell phones and Blackberrys. When the last person left, Roland turned and opened the twin doors to Wallace’s office. Without the desk it now it now seemed overlarge, its ample carpet space now only covered by the three chairs and the indentation left from the desk. Roland walked to Wallace’s chair and sat down. He swiveled the chair towards the window. The traffic jam was still there, and walking between the cars he could still see a few of those things. He sighed deeply and swiveled away, until he saw the portrait of Wallace. He got up quietly and opened the painting, fixed himself a double whiskey, then returned to the chair to sip it down as the sun began its descent behind him.

            The waiting had begun. The employees of Partyville USA now had nothing else to do but huddle around TVs desperate for explanation or reassurances, or attempt to reach friends or relatives by phone. Each TV network cycled through countless scientists and experts who were universally unable to offer anything beyond broad conjecture about the phenomenon. Further, efforts to contain the infected or even to successfully evacuate survivors met repeatedly with failure. By evening, reports were coming in that Chicago was now overrun, and sightings of the infected were being reported in Southern Canada.