Outbreak

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Summer had already passed this year and autumn was well and truly there to stay. Not that it mattered, this town only seemed to have rain, or slightly less rain as weather anyway. It was big news when they got a dry spell, meaning everyone seemed to take it as a sign to wear as little clothing as possible to get a little colour in their pale skin. Kitty Stein was one of those very people, though she saw little point to it. It would takes a solid week of warm weather just to get her particular skin to white. She had lived in this town her whole life and had accepted the fact she would never have the golden tan all the magazines advertised. The magazines were always trying to persuade young women like herself to try the latest self tanner, or skin smoothing face cream. She personally didn't put much stock in them, and she didn't have the money for them either. A waitresses wage, even when coupled with that of an occasional bar tender, barely covered her living expenses. The only people with money in this town worked at the factory that packaged the very creams women all over the country bought by the case. 
It was 7pm and Kitty was running late for work. She was jogging across town from her job at the restaurant to get to the bar to earn a few hours extra pay. Slender fingers were running through her plum coloured hair as she went, loosening out the bouncing curls that had been tied back all day. She stopped moving only long enough to apply black kohl to her pale grey eyes right there in the street before moving on again. Kitty was in such a hurry she didn't even hear the sound of someone falling into a row of trashcans a few feet away. by 7:15 the young woman had burst through the back door of the bar, somewhat breathless.

"He was dead because of what I did to him, Grace." Kitty warned quietly, though she wisely didn't take her gaze off of Terry.

Grace dialed Jack's number but didn't have time to wait for him to answer. She screamed as Terry made the final lunged, crossing the distance with his body. Both woman were knocked to the ground with the sheer force of his desperation. This wasn't about rape. This was a hunger much worse than that.

Kitty felt a sharp pain in her chest as the air was knocked from her lungs. She lay there gasping for a moment as Terry continued his hunger driven attack on the two of them.
Grace's phonecall had connected by this time, though all track would hear was Terry's grunting and the sound of Grace's screams.

Grace was clawing at Terry, scratching at his eyes. She didn't know what else to do. She could feel his breath on her neck, his snapping teeth going for her shoulder even as he grabbed for Kitty who was pressed beneath them both. "Jack!" She didn't know why she was calling for him. He'd probably blame this on them both as he always did.

Kitty had managed to drag in a breath and was reaching into her calf length boot for the knife she always had with her. They had been through enough that the young woman felt the need to always have something to protect the both of them with. The reason she wore boots no matter the weather, was for this reason alone. A second later she had jabbed it between Terry's ribs... But it did nothing. In the distance there was the very faint sound of a police siren.

Terry had a handful of Grace's hair, pulling her head back. He ignored her pleas that it was hurting her. With his free hand he grabbed for Kitty, his teeth making an audible clacking sound as he tried to take a bite out of the arm that had just stabbed him. 
Their salvation would come moments before Jack would arrive. "There now, buddy, the ladies aren't interested." It was the man that Kitty had met earlier. He reached for Terry's neck and twisted it roughly, the snap echoing in the sudden silence.

Kitty could feel her hands shaking when Terry ceased all movement. She didn't like this feeling of helplessness. She hated to be at someone else's mercy, and that was exactly what had happened until this stranger came along. She finally managed to toss Terry off them and was checking if Grace ahead been bitten or scratched.

Grace shook her head to silently tell her friend she was okay. She was doing her best to hold her emotions in check as she turned her head to look at Terry's lifeless body. All she could do was continue to shake her head, unable to find her voice. 
"You two just like playing king of the mountain or what?" The man asked, rubbing at his wrists for a moment. When he was done with that he pushed Terry's body further away from them with his heavy black boots. "If you're as smart as I thought you were, babe, I'd suggest getting out of this town as soon as you can." He turned his head to the wailing sirens, nodding when he saw the car screeching around the turn. "Your sheriff isn't going to be enough to save any body. Not from this."

"There you go again, making assumptions about me." Kitty remarked once she had pulled herself up to her feet and was leaning over to retrieve her knife. "What exactly is it you think is going on around here anyway?" She asked, though was preparing herself for Jack to once again slap cuffs on her slender wrists.

"I'm not at liberty to say something like that." The man said, beginning to walk away now that the sheriff car was almost on them. "I hope you girls start figuring it out pretty quickly before you start ending up like that guy." He added, adjusting his sunglasses as he continued to walk. "Keep that card, babe. I meant what I said."
He was gone as Jack got out of the car and headed toward them. Grace had all but convinced herself they should probably be running a mile in the other direction.

Kitty was still staring in confusion in the direction the stranger had left by the time she heard Jack's voice.
"What the hell happened?!" He demanded. "How many more dead bodies do I have to find you two with before you understand the kind of serious trouble you're in?!"

Grace threw up. The stress was too much. When she'd taken care of everything in her stomach she simply sat there staring at it. She'd gone into shock.

Jack seemed to ease off considerably when he saw the state Grace was in. He didn't even say a word as he lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to his car. Kitty was chasing after them when the sheriff started the engine and simply drove off. The truth was, this wasn't the first incident he had seen today, and he didn't care if Kitty got caught up in it, Grace was the only one he cared about keeping away from it all.
Kitty was left by the lake screaming foul obscenities at the sheriff's quickly disappearing patrol car.

It didn't really register what was happening to Grace. She could barely pull her knees to her chest and cling to them tightly. She'd never have left Kitty on her own.

"You're not hoping anything." The stranger hadn't gone very far after all. In fact he'd returned on a motorcycle a few minutes after Jack's car had left. He was actually wearing a dark shirt his time. "Yelling draws attention. How about I give you a ride to your friend?"

"You wanna tell me exactly what happened out there?" Jack asked Grace softly as they drove. "Is it the same thing as last night, with John?"

Kitty shot the man a look that could have curdled milk. "I don't need any help." She informed him, genuinely unable to accept help from anyone.

"I thought Terry was depressed and drunk. He was stumbling and it sounded like he was moaning." Grace didn't know why she was telling him all this. She was more than a little sure he was going to use it against her as he had done with John the night before. "When he saw us coming toward him he started running but it wasn't normal and then he... Jack...he attacked us. He was trying to bite us. I was scratching his eyes and it didn't bother him a bit. Kitty stabbed him and he just kept going. Then this guy...he came out of nowhere and snapped Terry's neck. He didn't stop moving until then." 

"It's just a ride. I'm not offering mouth to mouth." The man snorted, shaking his head. "You're acting like I'm trying to save you or something. Don't be naive." He looked at her over the edge of his dark glasses, fixing her oddly purple eyes. "It's a ride, babe. Nothing more."

"Wait, what guy?" Jack asked with a frown. "You two were alone when I got there." He added, feeling his head begin to pound at the tonight of someone else being involved that he would have to track down.

"I don't ride with strange guys who's name I don't even know." Kitty replied, trying to ignore the colour of those mesmerising eyes.

Grace shook her head. "I've never seen him before. He looked military or something. But I can't be sure. He wasn't wearing a shirt or anything...."

"It's not my fault you didn't read the card." He chuckled. "It's Ashley. Ashely Van Ark. Everyone just calls  me Ark though."

"Some guy with no shirt just randomly appeared when you needed him most?" Jack asked, almost sounding... Jealous.

"Give your card out to a lot of strangers, do you?" Kitty shot back, though didn't offer up her own name.

Grace nodded, picking up on the jealous tone. She found herself wondering why he cared. He had already moved on months ago. "I'm glad he did. I feel much better about it but...why did you leave Kitty back there? I figure you'd have arrested her too."

"Not too many. Especially not when I don't expect a lot of you to survive." Ark pointed out, pushing his fingers though his dark hair. "Are you going to take the ride of not? I can beat the sheriff to the station if we hurry."

"I... Shit..." Jack exhaled loudly and ran his fingers through his hair. "She's not good for you, Grace. Trouble follows her, and she drags you into it."

Kitty frowned again, though she did slide her shapely frame onto the back of Ark's motorcycle. "What is it you think were to going to survive? Does it have anything to do with that chopper that flee over earlier?"

"You no longer have the right to tell me anything about trouble." Grace said, shaking her head. "You litterally dumped me on my ass in the middle of a snow storm. You've moved on. Don't you dare tell me what to do." She added, shaking her head. 

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that." Ark said, having to shout to be heard over the motor. "I've said too much already. You need to try and get out of of town but it may already be too late." He told her, turning his head to where another man was moving toward them in them in the same way Terry had been.

"You would I leave you with that self destructive basket case?" Jack sneered. "Grace, you need to get out of town. Right now." Jack insisted, unknowingly giving Grave the same advice Ark was currently giving Kitty.

"And how exactly am I supposed to get out of town? I'm no idiot, Ark. That was a military chopper I saw which means they probably already cut us off from the outside, else they would have driven in."

"Why?" Grace turned her head toward Jack, giving him a strange look. "Why would I do that when there are more than enough people for Kitty and I to take out?" She added darkly, seeing the sheriff's station ahead. It was swarming with people.

"My aren't you a smart girl." Ark chuckled. "There is a small window of time left. They are concentrating on a greater object at moment. You have one more day to get yourself out. Trust me."

"Answer something for me, Gracie, how many people have you personally stopped?" Jack asked with another snort.

"Why would I trust someone I don't even know?" Kitty asked, his arms holding Ark a little tighter without realising as they sped over a bump in the road.

"Answer me something, Jack..." Grace countered, though she refused to look his way. "How many people do you really think I've personally stopped or whatever you think I've done to them. You're so ready to believe that I'm the bad guy and I have been all along. I'm glad that's worked out in your favor. 

"I'd say you don't really have alot of options any more." Ark pointed out as he headed into town. Unlike Jack he didn't have to stick to the roads. He was steering over more dangerous terrain, his motor cycle roaring over the bumps with an ease a sheriff's car couldn't handle. It wasn't hard to guess he'd been trained to drive that way.

"No, I believe money talks, princess." Jack replied. "And your friend pissed off the wrong family." He added. "You got lucky."

Kitty didn't even realise that her cheek was now pressed to Ark's back as they sped along. She didn't care how well he handed the bike, it was still bumpy as hell.

"Is that what you call it?" Grace said softly, staring down at her legs. She was remembering the night Winston had thrown her to the ground and forced himself on her. She'd lost more than her ability to take care of herself. She'd lost her future on so many levels. "Did it talk to you, Jack?" She asked him, her deep blue eyes filled with with hurt as she fixed them on his face. 

Ark saw the mass of people that were shouting to get into the sheriff's office and parked several blocks away. He sat watching them as Jack too positioned his car not far away. He seemed to be busy talking to the woman sitting beside him. He hadn't noticed that the crowd wasn't entirely human anymore.

Jack was staring hard at the wheel where his fingers still gripped it. "Grace... The family wanted you locking up. It was your word against his, and Kitty didn't help anything." He breathed. "It was my job... Or you, it was made quite clear to me that I had no power over anything."

Kitty had removed herself from the bike and was running her fingers through her plum coloured hair as she watched the masses of people. "Shit..." She could see the blood running into the gutter and heard screams as people were trampled underfoot.

Grace reached for the door handle, shaking her head. "Im glad we found out before the wedding where your priorities lie, Jack. Can you imagine if we had gone through with that stupid deal of having kids?" She gasped out, throwing open the door and making a run for it.

"That window I was talking about is closing, babe." Ark said, watching as some of the strangers in the crowd broke away to follow after the fleeing friend of Kitty. "You can't afford not to trust me."