Free Outbreak: The Hunger by Scott Shoyer

… but what were they doing in that lab? Sean had asked.
    How the fuck should I know?  You were the one who was working there.  Didn’t you see anything?
    I saw… I mean… I was there to get…
    You got overwhelmed when you saw all those animals in cages and you lost your head.  You fucked up, Sean.  God only knows what we released into the neighborhood.
    Do you think they’re still dangerous?
    Are you kidding me?  How could you ask that?  A fucking monkey took a chunk out of your leg and it sure looked like those animals were chewing their way through the soldiers.
    They were scared and were panicking.  You said it yourself that they were probably pumped full of steroids or something.  Right?
    We need to fix this.  We need to go see if we can round up any of the animals we set loose.  We at least need to round up the cats, dogs, and hamsters.  Those are the animals that kids will try to approach.   Sean had grown silent at the mention of kids.  Come on. We have some protective gear.  Let’s go round them up.  I read about this shelter in Hyde Park that takes in animals, no questions asked.
    Sean hadn’t move.  Jason had responded by jumping up and hitting his shoulder. We need to make this right, he’d yelled.  If any kid gets hurt by one of those animals, I couldn’t live with myself.
    They’d picked up a few drinks to calm their nerves and then went around the neighborhood looking for the animals they’d freed hours beforehand.  At first they drove around looking for the liberated animals, but realized they were most likely hiding in shadows and cowering under porches and backyard decks.  They were about to go back to the office to park the car so they could continue their search on foot when they found them.  As they drove by a large field, they noticed in the moonlight that it was littered with bodies.  Jason at first thought the worst, and that the animals had attacked and killed a rancher or farmer and a bunch of field workers?  Upon closer inspection, they realized the  animals themselves were what they saw scattered across the field.  Not just some of them. All of them. And they looked dead.
    They’d parked the car next to the field.  Jason had just been about to get out when Sean asked:  What are you doing?
    I’m getting out of the fucking car so we can get these animals, Jason replied.  Sean’s arm had tightened around Jason’s. 
    What?  Look at them, they’re dead, Sean had practically whined.
    Are you fucking crazy?Those animals are nuts and pumped full of some kind of chemical.  How do you know they’re dead?
    Just look at them.  None of them are breathing.
    Jason had hesitated before saying, Stay there a second.
    He’d opened his door wide enough to get his arm through, then reached down and picked up a rock before tossing it into the field with the animals. It made a squishy, dull thud noise as it hit a dog and then bounced and hit a rabbit.
    Sean and Jason had watched to see if any of the animals would move.  They hadn’t.  They’d then looked at each other and, without saying a word, both decided to get their gear on, grab the cages, and collect the animals.  Man, Sean had said, breaking the silence. I kinda wish we had one of those flamethrowers.
    Jason had looked at him incredulously . What? Sean had then asked. These animals are freaking me the hell out.
    Let’s not forget that these animals are the victims.  They may be violent now, but they need our help more than ever.  Let’s go collect them and take them over to that shelter.
    Then what do we do?
    “We go see Janet and get you checked out.” Janet was a third-year medical student that was also a member of Animal Rights First.  She was a great doctor who loved animals, and best of all, wouldn’t report Sean’s wounds to the police.
    They’d gotten out of the car and had gone to the trunk to get the protective gear on.  The whole time, they didn’t take their eyes off the animals in the