Red Outbreak
Monday 15th Oct 2012
Landon paused for a moment, and then turned to head down the hall in the wrong direction. There’s this café behind his block and the short cut would be to take the fire exit at the back of the apartment complex and traverse the narrow alleyway. Sometimes, before leaving for work, Landon would go grab a medium cappuccino, then have a quick morning conversation with his friend, the counter girl Lori. She’s always trying to give him a discount, that is, whenever her boss wasn’t sniffing around her shoulders. Right now wouldn’t be the best of times, but hey, if you’re late, what’s a few minutes more going to do? Landon was pretty sure his boss wasn’t going to let him off this one easy anyhow.
He dashed down the staircases, taking two at a time. Morning exercise routine right there. Landon’s pad was on the fourth floor, but he more often than not made sure to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Most people forget that when you’re working a desk job, staying fit becomes far more difficult than one can imagine. Any excuse for a little exercise would be great in Landon’s books. When he reached the ground floor, Landon exited through the fire door then gave it a shove to make sure it closed.
The morning air was cool, but refreshing. The weather was standard for this time of year. Temperatures were falling and before you know it, Christmas would be knocking on your door with snow and sleet. Landon followed the alley left, and then took a quick right. He light jogged it until he came out onto the main road.
Something was amiss. Landon stood on the opposite side of the road from his beloved café, watching whilst cars drove by. The café was open for sure, as the lights were on and the door open. However, there was also a small crowd of people standing outside, looking into the establishment. Landon raised an eyebrow then after checking for cars, started crossing the road. Only half way across did he notice that one of the large windows of the café had been smashed.
“-is this?”
“-people ran out and I thought there was-”
“-should call 911!”
Landon joined the small group of people outside the café as more curious pedestrians rushed passed, their glances caught by the apparent vandalism.
“Hey, excuse me. What happened?” Landon asked a nearby man dressed in a blazer and jeans as he joined the small crowd of onlookers. This guy seemed like he had been here long enough to know what had happened.
“Not sure bud, got here a few minutes ago for a coffee myself.” The man scratched his chubby cheeks then pointed into the café. “I mean, there’s blood in there, you see? Some buds saying it was a break in.”
Landon acknowledged this then looked into the cafe. Indeed there was blood in there. Landon noticed some on the floor and some splatters on the wall. More and more people were beginning to pause throughout the vicinity to stare at scene. Landon noticed people hanging out of windows across the street and mothers pausing with their children in hand, talking on cellphones.
“Whatever happened, I hope ain’t nobody got seriously hurt!” The man said, giving Landon a quick brush of the elbow.
Landon nodded, but his thoughts were suddenly stalled. Lori. Weekdays were Lori’s shifts. Christ, she’d better be okay. Landon excused himself as he began pushing passed the onlookers, going for the entrance.
“Hey bud, you should stay! Cops will be here any moment.”
Landon gave the friendly guy an OK sign but continued into the café. As far as he knew, this wasn’t exactly a crime scene yet. There was no law stopping him from entering this café. Landon stepped carefully over shattered glass and looked around the café. Half of the tables and chairs had been toppled and there was a bag here and there, seemingly abandoned. The counter was empty with no one behind it. Landon took all this in, and then looked back quickly. The small crowd had grown somewhat from what he remembered. People nowadays are drawn to the out-of-ordinary like bugs to a buzzlight. Landon knew that it would probably be best not to do anything more and just wait for the authorities to-
He quickly stepped to the side then knelt down. Lori’s plastic badge glittered under the overheads. Landon leant down close enough to notice there was a small spittle of red on it. Christ.
“Lori? Lori, are you here?” Landon called back to where the back offices would be. The door was ajar, but there was no movement. “Lori!”
Suddenly from behind, there was noise. People shouted, then a woman screamed.
“Oh my God!”
Landon turned his head. The crowd was dispersing at an alarming rate. People ran in all direction and some were shouting and screaming. What the hell was going on? Landon grabbed his suitcase and stood, about to follow after, but caught movement to his left. He looked. Someone charged him and hit him square in the side, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Landon gave a shout and flailed as he fell, his head colliding with a chair.
“Gah!”
Smack.
Landon paused for a moment, and then turned to head down the hall in the wrong direction. There’s this café behind his block and the short cut would be to take the fire exit at the back of the apartment complex and traverse the narrow alleyway. Sometimes, before leaving for work, Landon would go grab a medium cappuccino, then have a quick morning conversation with his friend, the counter girl Lori. She’s always trying to give him a discount, that is, whenever her boss wasn’t sniffing around her shoulders. Right now wouldn’t be the best of times, but hey, if you’re late, what’s a few minutes more going to do? Landon was pretty sure his boss wasn’t going to let him off this one easy anyhow.
He dashed down the staircases, taking two at a time. Morning exercise routine right there. Landon’s pad was on the fourth floor, but he more often than not made sure to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Most people forget that when you’re working a desk job, staying fit becomes far more difficult than one can imagine. Any excuse for a little exercise would be great in Landon’s books. When he reached the ground floor, Landon exited through the fire door then gave it a shove to make sure it closed.
The morning air was cool, but refreshing. The weather was standard for this time of year. Temperatures were falling and before you know it, Christmas would be knocking on your door with snow and sleet. Landon followed the alley left, and then took a quick right. He light jogged it until he came out onto the main road.
Something was amiss. Landon stood on the opposite side of the road from his beloved café, watching whilst cars drove by. The café was open for sure, as the lights were on and the door open. However, there was also a small crowd of people standing outside, looking into the establishment. Landon raised an eyebrow then after checking for cars, started crossing the road. Only half way across did he notice that one of the large windows of the café had been smashed.
“-is this?”
“-people ran out and I thought there was-”
“-should call 911!”
Landon joined the small group of people outside the café as more curious pedestrians rushed passed, their glances caught by the apparent vandalism.
“Hey, excuse me. What happened?” Landon asked a nearby man dressed in a blazer and jeans as he joined the small crowd of onlookers. This guy seemed like he had been here long enough to know what had happened.
“Not sure bud, got here a few minutes ago for a coffee myself.” The man scratched his chubby cheeks then pointed into the café. “I mean, there’s blood in there, you see? Some buds saying it was a break in.”
Landon acknowledged this then looked into the cafe. Indeed there was blood in there. Landon noticed some on the floor and some splatters on the wall. More and more people were beginning to pause throughout the vicinity to stare at scene. Landon noticed people hanging out of windows across the street and mothers pausing with their children in hand, talking on cellphones.
“Whatever happened, I hope ain’t nobody got seriously hurt!” The man said, giving Landon a quick brush of the elbow.
Landon nodded, but his thoughts were suddenly stalled. Lori. Weekdays were Lori’s shifts. Christ, she’d better be okay. Landon excused himself as he began pushing passed the onlookers, going for the entrance.
“Hey bud, you should stay! Cops will be here any moment.”
Landon gave the friendly guy an OK sign but continued into the café. As far as he knew, this wasn’t exactly a crime scene yet. There was no law stopping him from entering this café. Landon stepped carefully over shattered glass and looked around the café. Half of the tables and chairs had been toppled and there was a bag here and there, seemingly abandoned. The counter was empty with no one behind it. Landon took all this in, and then looked back quickly. The small crowd had grown somewhat from what he remembered. People nowadays are drawn to the out-of-ordinary like bugs to a buzzlight. Landon knew that it would probably be best not to do anything more and just wait for the authorities to-
He quickly stepped to the side then knelt down. Lori’s plastic badge glittered under the overheads. Landon leant down close enough to notice there was a small spittle of red on it. Christ.
“Lori? Lori, are you here?” Landon called back to where the back offices would be. The door was ajar, but there was no movement. “Lori!”
Suddenly from behind, there was noise. People shouted, then a woman screamed.
“Oh my God!”
Landon turned his head. The crowd was dispersing at an alarming rate. People ran in all direction and some were shouting and screaming. What the hell was going on? Landon grabbed his suitcase and stood, about to follow after, but caught movement to his left. He looked. Someone charged him and hit him square in the side, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Landon gave a shout and flailed as he fell, his head colliding with a chair.
“Gah!”
Smack.
