As They Rise (The Eva Series #1)

Five

“Crap!” I gasped as I stepped back, walking into the kitchen island.
“What’s wrong, Eva?” Jo asked as she walked out of the office.
“Ben! The customer… I think he’s… He’s not moving!” I called, motioning to Ben to come over.

Ben ripped off his gloves and ran around the outside of the counter towards the man.
“Call an ambulance! Wyatt, help me turn him onto his back,” he yelled as he checked the mans pulse and he and Wyatt carefully laid him flat on the floor.

Jo ran back into the office to get her phone then ran back out again as she dialled.
“I can’t get through!” She yelled as she dropped her phone on the counter and hurried back into the office to use the landline. “The landline is down! There isn’t even a dial tone!”

“There’s no pulse,” said Ben as he opened the mans mouth in preparation for CPR.
He was about to begin mouth to mouth resuscitation when the customer’s eyes flew open.
Wyatt and Ben moved back in shock.

The man didn’t move, he just lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Ben slowly leaned in closer, lowering his ear over the man’s mouth.
“He’s still not breathing.”
“I… I don’t feel a pulse,” Wyatt said, his fingers on the lifeless wrist.

Ben knelt back just as a gurgling sound emerged from the man’s mouth, sputtering blood all over himself. His bloodshot eyes started darting around the room, his arms slowly rising, reaching for Ben.

Ben and Wyatt stood up and backed away, and for a moment we all just stood there, staring, not knowing what to do.

“Guys?” Jo called from the office and we hurried over to the entryway to see her. “I tried the landline and all of our mobiles, but there’s nothing. Just silence. I don’t understand.” She explained, pushing her red hair behind her ear.

“I’ve never seen anything like him before,” said Ben, his face white with shock. “I mean, granted I haven’t completed training yet but… He’s not breathing. He doesn’t have a pulse. He’s… dead. But he’s moving. I don’t know what to do.”

I’d never seen Ben look so defeated.

I jumped at the sound of a loud crash and turned to see the plate of food had disappeared from the counter. Slowly, I walked closer and glanced over to see the supposedly dead man had managed to sit up and begin tearing into the bacon and sausages like an animal. He had reached up and pulled the plate down onto the floor.

“Ben!” I whispered and pulled him over so he could see. “He’s not dead! He’s okay. Sort of.”

The man’s head snapped up at the sound of my whisper, and I gasped when I saw his face. His skin was a sickly grey now, looking even more like the woman in the alley.

He munched furiously on the bacon as he grabbed hold of the counter stool and tried to lift himself up, glaring at us just as he glared at the meat before.

Instinctively, I pushed Ben back and we moved towards the office. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew we were in danger.

My heart started beating faster as I saw his bloodshot eyes slowly appear over the counter, with the same gurgling sound rumbling in his throat, only now it started to grow into more of a growl or a screech.

The four of us backed into the office, slid the door closed and turned the lock.
“Something creepy is going on today,” I said as I turned to face Ben, Jo and Wyatt. “First, the streets are completely deserted. Then, I saw a woman eating a rat in the dumpster, now this. That guy out there said someone tried to eat his leg!”
“Someone what?!” Jo gasped. “Maybe something’s happened? Has anyone seen any news today?”