"Gone"

Shawn Mitchel and his girlfriend Rosie Underwood drove into the parking lot behind the music building at the local university…only to realize that everyone else was gone…or were they?

“Gone”

By Cody Williams

 

            Shawn Mitchel and his girlfriend Rosie Underwood continued to drive around the parking lot looking for any space that was open. They finally found it in the corner next to a large black dumpster.

            “You’re not seriously going to park here are you?” Rose asked him in a winy way. Shawn forced the car into park and turned off the engine. He looked over to his girlfriend of two years and sighed.

            “The whole goddamn parking lot is completely full! Where else would I park?” He asked her. She crossed her arms and looked away from him. “Let’s go!” Shawn told her as he unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door. She did the same and the two of them began to walk towards the music building.

            “Wonder what’s going on here? Is there some type of concert tonight?” Rose asked Shawn as they began to approach the building. Shawn thought for a moment and then replied.

            “I don’t think that there was one scheduled for tonight. I don’t think that anything was scheduled for tonight.” Shawn replied. The two of them continued to towards the building. Something was quite different than when they first left just an hour prior, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it. But they felt the overwhelming since that something was wrong…horribly wrong. They kind of shrugged it off and continued on their way reaching the back door of the building. Shawn reached out and pulled open the back door and motioned for Rose to go in. Rose walked into the building and Shawn followed.

            The two of them stood there near the doorway and just looked around. It was quite strange for the building to be empty on a weeknight. Usually people were either upstairs in a practice room or sitting at one of the tables in the lobby working on homework. That’s what the case was usually, but not this time. There was no sight or sound of anybody throughout the building. There was a strong feeling of coldness throughout the building as if the air conditioner was on full blast in the dead of winter. I think it’s safe to say that the building was completely dead.

            Shawn looked over to Rose and motioned his head for the two to go up stairs. Rose nodded in agreement and the two of them began to make their way towards the staircase. They began to walk up the stairs as they tried to stay as quiet as possible listening for any sign of someone around.

            When they reached the top of the stairs they stopped and looked around. Sitting all around the upstairs lobby were people’s backpacks. Sitting up against the wall was a package that came from UPS. The two walked over to it and knelt down. The package was unopened and heavily taped with masking tape. On the table next to it were several cell phones and key chains spread out upon it. Even women’s purses were left behind.

            “Who would just get up and just leave everything here? Who would leave their purses and packages behind?” Rose asked mysteriously.

            “I don’t know.” Shawn said as he pushed himself up off of the floor and stood to his feet. Everyone was gone. It was as if they were the last two people on earth. Shawn pointed towards the left wing of up stairs where the practice rooms are located and motioned for Rose to follow him.

            “Come one! If there is anyone here, they would be in a practice room!” He stated as he began to walk towards the practice areas. The two of them walked around room from room looking into each practice room and finding absolutely nobody.

            “I just don’t understand! The damn parking lot is full! Where the hell did everybody go?” Rose asked Shawn with worry and a hint of fear in her voice. Shawn just looked down at the ground and shook his head. He looked across from his at another doorway that led to a separate stairway than the one they used before. It was the one that not many people liked to use. There was just something about it that people did not like going in there. Maybe it was the fact that strange noises come from there. Or maybe it was the fact that a foreign exchange student was found dead in there with her eyelids sewed shut. Or maybe it was just the sound of silence that sent chills up their spine. Shawn turned to Rose and motioned his head towards the door. She shook her head with uncertainty. Shawn reached out his hand and Rose did nothing. After thirty seconds have passed, Rose grabbed his hand he lead her to the door. The two of them walked through the door and stood at the top of the stairs for a moment.

            No sound passed through the thick air. They just stood there and listened for a moment almost hoping they heard nothing. At this point, even if they did hear something, it’s not the something they would have wanted to run into. They knew that. The two of them proceeded down the stairs and the other leading them back into the lobby. Rose began to stare at the door of the auditorium when she began to notice something different. Something strange indeed. She could see a ray of light coming from under the door. She nudged Shawn’s arm to get his attention and pointed towards the auditorium. The two of them began to make their way towards the auditorium door. Shawn leaned up against it and placed his left ear upon it.

            “What do you hear?” Rosie asked him.

            “Shhh!” He replied as he pulled his head away from the door and placed his index finger upon his across his lips. He reached down and opened the door and then they walked into the auditorium. The auditorium was completely packed with every seat in the including the balcony filed.

            Standing on the stage was a man wearing a silky blue robe. Behind him was an overhead projector screen reading An Approach to a New Life on it. Under that was a strange spinning black and white stripped wheel. Rose and Shawn were sure not to look directly at it knowing that it could damn well be dangerous.

            “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is time for you to start over! For you to began this new approach to life!” The man said to them. The audience just gazed at amazement and slowly repeated what he said.

            “Start over! A new approach to life!” The crowd said in unison. All of the man on the stage stopped. He began staring into the eyes of Shawn. They had been spotted.

            ‘Now my children, it’s time for you to show your loyalty to me! Get them!”  He demanded as he pointed towards Shawn and Rosie. The crowed turned around to face them. They have seen most of the people before. In fact they were the people they saw nearly every day. But they were different somehow. Their skin was white as paper and their mouths were foaming white. Their eyes were also strangely glazed over with a white color. They began to growl as they began moving towards them.

            “Run!” Shawn shouted as he grabbed Rosie and the two of them ran out of the auditorium. But it didn’t end there. More people from outside began to claw their way like zombies into the building. “Damn it!” Shawn shouted as he looked up at the TV only to realize that the ceremony had been broadcast on it. They were surrounded. There was no escape. The once human but now beast like daemons began to circle around them. The circle began to move in tighter and the beasts continued to growl. The crowd quickly jumped into the circle at them as them sank their teeth into their flesh.

            “That’s right my demon seeds, feast!” The man from the stage said with a sick sadistic grin on his face.

Copyright 2014 by Cody Williams

Courtesy of TRUE TERROR PUBLICATIONS

A division of TTP Entertainment

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Author's Note

"When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Reviews

[Bright Ocean Star]

I don't watch zombie movies, and I hate horror or anything that keeps me up nights. Thanks a bunch, John! I'm kidding. It was very good, but you misspelled sense in the text and it was spelled since. You spell checker wouldn't have caught it, but other than that, it was good. It was engaging, and held my attention the entire time (which isn't easy, because I think I may be the ADD queen). Very good write. I would use less profanity, though. I know it's typical and people expect it, but I just don't see it is always necessary. Less is more where that is concerned.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Anne!

-CW

[Cherianne R Burmeister]

I agree with some of the other reviews, a good way to check spelling and grammar is to write your story in Microsoft Word if you can. After being a Technical Writer for automotive for numerous yrs, writing probably well over 100 User Manuals on how to do each job in order to build a part, Microsoft Word has never steered me wrong. The nice thing about it is that you can add words to it like your name and certain terms and build from there. The story it's self is very good. You happened into a horror buff when I started reading your stories. Strangely enough that wasn't even why I got on the site tonight. lol I'm not into zombies, kind of think that they are stupid really now that I have gotten older. "Dead beings with cannibalism appetites." lol My first horror book that I read when I was 8yrs old (my mom was another horror buff), was The Shining by Stephen King. Anyway, very good story. The purses left behind along with the package peaked my interest. The cell phones, people are in habit of losing them. But an unopened package and purses left behind were a big "Uh oh!" to me. lol Keep up the good writing. Don't worry about being inspired by another author's writings. When I was in 6th grade, maybe 7th, I wrote a story that had a twist of The Monkey's Paw and Pet Sematary. lol Unfortunately I don't have it anymore, and I only remember bits and pieces. Enough to know that it was a good story, not enough to re-write it and get it right. I did get a good grade for it in English and that was what counted. lol I'm going to leaf through some more of your writings and see what you have going. :-)

Your quote, I believe I remember that being quoted in a Criminal Minds show. Waking up at 9 or 10am and not watching talk shows but Criminal Minds, can give you an idea of how my brain is working in the mornings. lol

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Cherianne!

-CW

[Angel]

You need to develop this tale a bit. And, as usual, you need to work on the mechanics...spelling, grammar....you know, the boring sh...
The story, of course, is amazing....and I don't even like zombie tales.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Angel!

-CW

[Marie]

I don't care for zombies myself. THey've simply gotten repetitious. But this story was good.

[Cody Williams]

I agree to some extent. Thanks for reading Marie!

-CW

[Michael Stevens]

Isn't this describing an Amway meeting I once went to? Anyway, an excellent story!

[Marie]

Isn't "Amway" one of those pyramid schemes? Anyway, I imagne only zombies attend them.

[Michael Stevens]

Yeah it's a pyramid scheme, and my ex sister in law had the meeting at her house; we were tricked into going to, "see what we thought'. Once the meeting started, the guy having the meeting tried to get everyone to sign up. I guess he could tell I wasn't impressed, because he told me, "I'll soon be done, so you can get home to your beer!" I could have used Winifred that day, but being a polite guy, I didn't say anything. Later, my sister in law apologized, but the whole experience went just like I'd expected all along!

[Marie]

I like to see Winifred turned loose on that guy...

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Michael! And yes, I would too like to see the Winifred moment...but then again, I don't guess I'm that polite of a guy!

-CW

[Michael Stevens]

Marie and CW, yeah, she would have told the b*****d what's what. I didn't want to create a scene in front of family, but it took all the restraint I had not the rip into the guy's family lineage, specifically his relationship with his mother!

[Dayran]

Its quite a switch to experience ... the expectation of a great social event ... and then suddenly to find no one there. Its as if all our social relations may simply vanish ... without anything real holding them down. Nice.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Dayran!

-CW