The day before had been a perfectly normal day. The night before She cooked her special meal and went to bed as usual. But when she awoke she soon discovered the world was not the world of yesterday.
It was a hot day but a cold wind persisted. Linda Verner left her Chicago apartment and set off toward the redline. Linda’s stride gradually slowed as she began to take notice of the people standing on the sidewalks and in the street. They all seemed to be gazing at separate object of profound interest.
A happening, instance, whatever they’re called. Linda was sure that must be it. This was an art demonstration of some kind. She had heard of handful of these that had been surreptitiously organized in major cities across the globe. Linda picked up her pace and determined to ignore everyone at get to the office. What she desired right now was cheap coffee and normal rational behavior.
Linda let out a sigh as she the turnstile gave way. She took comfort in the rhythm of her foot steps on the wooden stairs. tip. tap. tip. top. tap. tap. top. top. tip. tup. She could hear the automated el coming as she reached the top.
At first Linda thought that people were standing in the car around her because the seats were all full. In fact, not a single person was sitting down. Rather they all stood around smiling stupidly. Linda could feel heat in her ears and tension in her neck. Some of the people on the train turned to stare at her. “How long are you all planning to keep this up?” Linda shouted. A train full of smiling idiots was now staring at her. “Well?” spat Linda. The smirking mob began to crowd in on her. Linda panicked and flailed but nothing could raise any reaction from the encroaching wall of bodies. She could barely move at all now. The doors to the train opened. With a huge burst of adrenaline Linda forced six bodies out of her way, barely managing to squeeze through the doors as they closed. Linda flew down the stairs onto Sheridan. Alone under the elevated tracks she hunched over her knees to catch her breath. Three tears dripped from her eyelids to to spot the pavement.
“Hey there!”
Linda jumped. There was a woman running toward her, trench-coat blowing like a cape. She looked sane, at least in relation. The woman was breathing heavily but one could not be sure whether this was due to physical exertion or merely from excitement. “I’m so glad to see that I’m not the only one left in the city. My name is Vanessa Helsing. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Linda… Verner.”
“Let’s head toward the University. Don’t worry about the zombies. They only seem to be attracted to anger.”
“Do we have to call them zombies?”
Hours pass in the University laboratory yielding no results. “I’m not sure that we have a thread of hope for discovering what is wrong without the assistance of a qualified neuro-chemist. Now we’ve wasted all of this time and we haven’t aren’t even sure how many people are left sane in the world. I’m sorry. I’ve failed us both, perhaps failed us all.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. None of this is your fault and you’re lucky that you’ve even had the chance to look for a solution. Come on, let’s go celebrate being alive, really alive, while we still can.”
Vanessa’s lips curl into a warm smile, a real living human smile. Linda takes her hand and leads her out of the laboratory.
The sun is blood red on the horizon by the time they make it back to Vanessa’s flat with looted wine and cheese in hand. Vanessa collapses onto her big ruby colored sofa.
“Shall I find a knife and a couple of glasses?” Linda starts opening drawers in the kitchen. A basket of garlic catches her eye. I’m surprised that you have garlic.”
“Yeah, you have to kill for it these days. The shortage is really bad.”
They drink and dine. They tell stories and share secrets. Linda loves seafood. Vanessa can’t swim. Vanessa’s hand rests quietly on Linda’s thigh. Vanessa’s eyes burn Linda’s ears. Faces drift closer as minutes pass. Shoulder’s rise and fall with the exhalation of wine and cheese and… “Garlic!”
Linda tests her breath with her hand. “I’m sorry, is it on my breath. I had some last night.”
“So did I! Linda, that’s it. The garlic must have counteracted the effect. Whatever is at work here must be vulnerable to garlic. We have to get this garlic back to the university.”
“Now? But it’s dark out. It could be dangerous.”
“We don’t know if we can afford to wait. The effect on people could become permanent or lethal. We must act now if the city is to be saved.”
With Linda’s aid, Vanessa creates a terrifying garlic based arsenal. Pistols calibrated to fire garlic pellets. Garlic gas grenades. Garlic coated daggers. Over the next few days huge portions of the city were cleansed, but with each passing days the jolly ones grew more resistant. Luckily with each cleansing came one more warrior in battle against the jolly hoard. Within two weeks time the entire city of Chicago was completely cleansed.
Strangely, neither the source of the outbreak nor the reason why it was indeed confined to the Chicago area could ever be confirmed. Rumors blamed mad scientists, aliens, the devil, the military industrial complex, and of course the pharmaceutical industry. What really happened will probably remain forever uncertain. All that is certain is that Linda Verner and Vanessa Helsing once saved the city of Chicago with a few cloves of garlic.
To this day, they are always in close contact.
The Lunar Fox Press 