The End Foreseen

chapter six

Cops pile out of their cars, and a kid bursts out of the house, screaming frantically for help. More sirens approach and I spot an ambulance pulling up.

The police draw their guns as they cautiously approach the front door. An officer tends to the kid, leading him toward the EMTs to be checked out. Suddenly, a blood-curdling screech echoes from inside the house. Before the police can reach the door, a woman drenched in blood charges out, her face twisted in a wild-deranged expression.

Ana gasps beside me," I know her."

"You do?", I ask, completely clueless about the woman's identity. To me, she's just another neighbor.

"Yeah, She gets her hair done at the salon every other week.", Ana says, her eyes fixed on the chaos unfolding before us.

The woman lunges at one of the officers, and the sound of gunshots rings across the street. She collapses to the ground after one of the officers fires three rounds, incapacitating her.

But she doesn't stay down. To my disbelief, she gets up, seemingly unfazed by her injuries, and continues her attack. Her movements are wild and erratic- like she doesn't care who she hurts or even that she's been shot.

The officers manage to restrain her, partially cuffing her, but she thrashes violently, breaking free. In the process, she hurls herself forward and slams her head onto the concrete pathway with a sickening, wet smack. Blood rapidly pools beneath her motionless body. She stops moving. Finally, staying still.

The officers cautiously approach as the EMTs rush to check her out. After a few moments, they cover her body, confirming she's dead.

Stepping away from the grizzly scene, officers head into the house, and a couple of EMTs follow with a stretcher. Moments later, they emerge with two children, placing them in the back of a squad car. Then the stretcher is brought out. A man - likely her husband - is lying on it, covered in blood with deep gashes visible on his body.

The EMTs load the man into the ambulance and speed off. Meanwhile, the police start talking amongst themselves stringing up yellow crime scene tape around the house.

Some neighbors returning from their morning walk stop and stare at the scene, pointing at the blood pooling on the lawn and the lifeless body covered up on the walkway, waiting for mortuary transport. The gruesome scene etched into the morning, now a horrifying reality in our quiet neighborhood.

I peer over at Ana and notice the anxiety plastered on her face. She meets my eyes and says," I saw her just yesterday, at the salon. She was perfectly fine." Her eyes start to water. I pull her into a tight hug, unsure of what to say. Ana has always been more sensitive, forming deep connections with people easily. It is something I struggle to relate to since I'm the opposite, but I do my best to be supportive.

An old green F-150 pulls up, and Ana's boyfriend, Jerome, steps out. He’s about 6 feet tall with dark skin and short dreadlocks. Ana looks up, her tear-streaked face lighting up at the sight of him. She flings the screen door open and runs outside, throwing herself into his arms. I stay in the doorway, leaning against the frame, and watched.

"Jesus!", He exclaims, stumbling back from the force of her embrace. Seeing her upset, he softens and asks," What's the matter, babe? Is everything alright?"

She buried her face into his chest, taking a deep, shaky breath. He lets her stay like that for a moment, holding her tightly. Then he gently pushes her back to look at her face. Ana looks up and gives him a weak smile.

Placing both of his hands on her cheeks, he asks," Do you want to go inside and talk about it?" She nods, and clinging to his arm, they walk towards me. I step aside to let them through and close the door behind them. Following them into the living room, I detour to the fridge.

"Do you guys want anything?", I offer.

"Yeah, I'll take a coke.", Jerome replies.

"What about you, Ana?" I ask, glancing at her. She's curled up on the couch, leaning into Jerome.

"No.", she mutters, her voice heavy with sadness, though at least she's not crying anymore. I grab a bottle of water for myself and a Coke for Jerome, then I take a spot on the couch as well.

"So what happened?"Jerome asks, his voice laced with curiosity and concern.

Ana sighs deeply, closing her eyes as if willing herself not to cry again.

"One of my clients lives across the street. Her husband just got taken to the hospital…,” she pauses and looks towards the front yard before she continues,”and now she's dead. In their yard. It was awful. The police took her kids away in a cop car just before you showed up. She went crazy I guess. I've never seen her like that before.", her voice starts wavering and she sniffs back tears.

"Do you know what happened?", Jerome asks gently.

I answer," No. We were eating breakfast when then the police came flying down the street. The lady across from us went completely psycho on them. They brought her husband out, and from the looks of him, I’d be surprised if he's still alive."

Ana nods her head in agreement and adds," I just saw her yesterday, and she seemed fine."

"You mean yesterday, when that guy attacked someone at the salon?", Jerome asks, frowning.

"Yeah.", Ana says with a small nod.

"Do you think it's connected? Maybe she got sick.”, he suggests.

"Do you think that the new strain of COVID would escalate that quickly? I thought the symptoms took at least three days to show.", I say, my thoughts drifting to Ana and whether she might be at risk.

"I heard it varies.” Jerome replies,” This strains effects depend on genetic factors and other health conditions. So, yeah, it's possible."

"That's crazy...", I mutter, trailing off in thought. “Well, hopefully, we will find out soon. So Ana can get some peace of mind."

Ana looks at Jerome and asks," I wasn't expecting to see you today. Didn't you say you had work to do for your family?"

He shakes his head," No. It was put off. My dad said we had to wait because some government workers are setting up a massive FEMA camp near our property, Military personnel everywhere, fences going up. It's shady as hell if you ask me.", His voice carries a hint of irritation.

Ana's phone rings, and she gets up to answer it. " Hello?", She says, pausing to listen," Yes, this is her." another pause," Oh, o.k. Yeah, I can be there in about an hour." She hangs up and turns to us.