Chapter 07: It is contagious

Chapter 07: It is contagious

Slowly the door was opened by fingers covered in dirt.

Daniela raised the bar, but then left the defensive. It was one of the girls of her team, Marilia. Her uniform was ripped, exposing part of the bra and a wound on her right breast. Marilia liked using pencil in the eyes, and the smeared makeup made ​​her look like a mistreated raccoon. From the parted lips did not escape the most paltry sound.

“Mari, thank God.” Daniela ran to her. “What happened here?”

The girl, sitting on the toilet, was in shock. The left hand dangled in the air with indecisive movements while the other pressured the bruised breast. The look was fixed at nothing. Daniela tried again.

“Marilia, where are the girls? What about Rhobson? What happened last night? Who did this to us?”

Muted. Daniela deduced that the fatty had attacked her too. She needed to get back to the locker room and call for help. Grabbing her suspended arm, helped the girl to stand up and positioned her in the hallway. With hands on her shoulders, led her to the exit. Tried in vain to make her say anything that could explain the incident. Marilia had trouble even to walk.

Near the exit, Daniela saw someone approaching. The coach.

“Rhobson,” she called.

The man looked curious through the glass and rushed. Daniela smiled in relief, but the feeling lasted only until he clashing against them and attacked Marilia with a violent bite on her face. All three fell in the narrow hallway. Daniela saw him lift his head and spit Marilia's nose, yelling and knocking her with a straight punch.

“Rhobson, are you crazy?”

The trainer, now blinded by an inexplicable rage, stared Daniela, fallen under the friend who was struggling with pain. Screaming again, he inched. Daniela was faster and hit him with a punch in his mouth; then crept down the hall and reached the bar. Got to hurry up and turn the exact instant she was going to be attacked again, knocking Rhobson over Marilia. The girl on the floor was convulsing.

“Marilia.”

Daniela called her name, feeling guilty for the maneuver. She trembled and drooled a foamy blood, in a wail of indescribable pain. The maniac quickly stood up and stepped over her. Daniela concluded that the girl could no longer count on her help and turned away, heading to the bathroom. At the moment she locked the door, felt the onslaught. Rhobson banged and bellowed like an animal.

“What's wrong with this motherfucker?”

The lock was not proper to withstand strokes so violent, and Daniela realized that would soon be overwhelmed by the door. With the bar, she hit the glass and extended just over the tiny window. Her only escape.

With great difficulty, she spent one leg and then the next. Used an arm to support the hand on the edge of the bowl while the other held a gap in the ceiling, the girl stuck by the waist. Watching the lock detaching, she deflated her belly and felt herself sliding a little bit. Grabbing the bar over the sink, she pressed it against the door, but her gesture was useless. The trainer came in and dementedly attacked her. By reflex, Daniela tried to hit the bar on his head, but the position hurted her belly and hindered the movement. Forcing the leg out, she ignored the pain and, on impulse, went through the window. The fall injured her back, but it was not enough to stop her from leaving in search of a safe place. Clumsy, she got up and ran, looking back and seeing Rhobson with his head out, crying out in rage.

Already inside the lobby, she slammed the door and tried to pull the latch. Jammed. It was just what was needed! Ready to run again, she saw, through the window, Marilia standing inside there. Too much blood dripped from where should be her nose, now ripped apart. Thought about call her, but there was something seriously wrong going on. Keeping hidden by a beam, she observed. The friend hurried off the vehicle and looked around. Seemed to be looking for something, or someone. Grunting, began to wander, lost steps, showing not the least pain. She was hunting.

Daniela might be scared, but fear did not let her less intelligent. Realized at once what had happened. Somehow, the coach turned the girl through the bite on whatever he had become himself. She looked aimlessly; he remained in the window, less hectic. He also had a lost look. Faced with Daniela, he knew exactly what to do. Kill. Now they were alone, they acted as retarded without a direction. Avoiding being seen, Daniela went quietly up the stairs and returned to the locker room.

With some wooden benches she improvised a barricade at the entrance of the hall. Could not be powerful enough, but would accuse any imminent attack. Connecting the charger into the outlet and then on her mobile phone, she turned it on and dialed to Michele. Was off. Tried to call home, but did not get any response. Dialed 190. Nothing. Sitting on the bedrolls, she looked into Tanya's eyes and fell in a lonely cry.

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Chapter 06: The battery

Chapter 06: The battery

Holding the bar firmly, Daniela went down the steps quickly before he reacted and, without thinking twice, struck his head. The man did not try to defend the face of the beating; instead, he screamed and stretched his arms toward the girl, trying to grab her legs. She cried uncontrollably while smashing his skull. Tears came down along with the blows.

When she realized he was not moving anymore, she stopped. The heavy breathing filled the lobby. Nothing else was heard. The blood had stained her entire leg and shoes. Daniela did not bother; she just wanted to make sure the bloody lunatic would not get up anymore. Feeling her breath normalizing, Daniela looked and finally saw what she had done. The man's head no longer existed. In its place was a shapeless mass of flesh and bones. Tears died instantly. Then she went back to the locker room.

On the way, she tried to justify what had just done.

“He was beside himself. He wanted to kill me. Was crazy. Was a killer. He killed everyone here. I need to see if my friends are good or if he did hurt them.”

In the locker room, she walked to the cabinets and opened the drawer where had left her cell. Yes, it was there. Locking the exit door, leaned against it and dialed. She avoided looking at her dead friend ahead. She did not want to cry; could not go out of control. Needed to get out of that damn town, get some help.

“How that killer attacked so many people? It is a gang?”

The phone rang several times before losing the connection. She tried countless times, her hands shaking. Nobody answered at her house. The will to curse was tremendous, but did not want to risk being heard by another nut member of the gang. Daniela could no longer ratiocinate.

“Bandits don't try to bite, for Christ sakes!”

She dialed another number and waited, afflicted. Almost collapsed when heard the voice on the other side of the line.

“Hello?”

“Michele, you gotta help me.” The words came out like vomit, gushed.

“Dani?” The voice sounded urgent. “Where are you?”

“Jaboticabal. We came to play, but something horrible happened. A man —”

“Dani,” she interrupted. “Where are you? On the street or inside somewhere?”

“In the gym locker room. Why?”

“Stay right there... Don’t go... out. Keep locked... Don’t let anyone bit—”

The connection was bad. In addition to fails, the voice had a metallic tone, making it difficult to understand the few words that came out.

“Michele. Hello?”

“You heard me? Don't go anywhere.”

“What are you talking about, Mi? You must notify the police. Say that a gang took the city. Someone needs to get me.”

“Dani, it is not a... Don’t leave... Stay... Don’t let... Otherwise you turn into one of...

Daniela could not assimilate the words. The connection went dead.

“Michele? Michele!”

The battery was over.

She rummaged through the closet, but did not find the charger, and threw everything against the walls. Anger and fear blinded her.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

The cry came uncontrolled. Tears and sobs mingled amid the collapse.

Leaning her forehead against the cold metal, Daniela pulled her hair and repressed the crying. Even nervous as she was, did not want to attract another madman. She took a deep breath and raised her head. Wiping the tears and the nose, ran a hand through her hair and remembered that, before the game, she had gone with some friends to the ice cream shop at the corner down the block. When got back, had left her bag on the bus. The charger was in it. Fear braked her legs, preventing her from taking a step toward the street. But it was necessary. Could not stay in that bathroom the rest of her life. Would have to face whatever was happening. In a minute that seemed like a lifetime, she turned the knob. The crack of the door opening echoed through the corridor.

The path to the bus took longer than she thought possible. Before taking any steps, Daniela moved almost in slow motion. The man's body was still there. The moment she bent to pick up the iron bar back, her eyes met the mass that had turned his head. Daniela could not handle the sudden tremor. Slowly, she went on and left.

On the side of the vehicle, she ran her hand through a small aperture and fired a button, hearing almost immediately the door open. Came around and walked in. There was a trail of blood from the entrance to the middle of the hallway. With short steps, she went to where she had left her bag and quickly picked up the charger. Prepared to turn around, a strange sensation made ​​her stop. Turning in a rush, noticed that someone was watching through the crack of the bathroom door.

“Who's there?” she asked, her voice trembling.

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Chapter 05: Alone with a beast

Chapter 05: Alone with a beast

The soft, muffled darkness came first. Daniela slowly opened her eyes and pushed away the mats that covered her. The eyes hurted at the first contact with the sunlight that erupted through the narrow windows on top. Getting used, she looked around. As soon as she saw Tanya's wide open eyes, she sprang to her feet. The air lacked.

“Tanya.” It was all she could say.

Her friend was down next to the cabinets, seated. The head hung over the shoulder; the neck had been completely ripped apart. A slop of blood around recalled a darkened, opaque shroud. Parts of her arm had also been grubbed, leaving several muscles showing. What animal had made such barbarity?

Daniela did not believe what she was seeing. With the scare she fumbled on the bags on which awakened and fell again. Before she started crying for experience such a real and horrible nightmare, she heard a sound coming from the hallway.

Fear kept her voice from escaping the dry throat. Automatically grabbed a backpack and hugged it, choking the heavy breathing. The members were paralyzed. A new noise made ​​her shiver. It looked like a grunt. Not an animal, but ... A person. Daniela did not let fear put her on a worse plight and took a deep breath. Cautiously she got up and went behind the cabinets. Instantly realized she was not alone in the room. There was also a heavy breathing, a low, dragged growl. Then, slow steps.

The girl stood still while trying to guess the route of the unknown visitor. The footsteps stopped; then the grunt increased, turning into an obscene growl. Daniela had to muster all her courage to not to run screaming. Through a gap between the junction of the cabinets she could see part of what was happening. Someone was facing the body of her friend. Like an animal encircling another. For a split second had the impression to see blood dripping from the mouth of the strange person, when his look moved from Tanya to her. He realized her movement. Deducting which way the intruder would advance, Daniela went to the opposite extreme, and was lucky to be the exit. Following the light at the end of the hall, she focused to not to trip over her own feet. The screams coming behind encouraged her to run faster. She was a prey hunted by the predator. She had to leave immediately and find the rest of the team.

Getting to the court, she saw a scene that would never leave her head. The floor, before mustard color, was dyed in red. On every corner there were bits of things that Daniela soon realized what they were, but could not believe it. Parts of bodies, both from outside and inside. Fingers, chunks of meat, viscera. It was a fucking dream. In the stands remained inert bodies, some in contortionists positions. Nothing compared to the numerous crowd last night, but they were still many. By the closest bodies she could see their torn throats, flies dominating the stanky air. What the hell happened?

Not forgetting about the pursuer in the locker room, Daniela confined her look to the chaos for a brief moment, enough to record the image, and continued the race after picking up a fallen iron bar. Passing over the fence in one leap, she crossed the court without caring about the human remains she trod on. Toward the middle of the way, she slipped over a sticky, dark trail, but steadied and continued. She climbed the steep staircase between the stands and saw herself where she had caught the beginning of the turmoil. Without a backward glance, she went down the even more narrow staircase leading to the lobby and reached the exit. Not a soul out there.

The street was deserted. Everything was chaos; the most various objects scattered. The popcorn cart in the doorway, surrounded by children a few hours ago, was overturned on a flowerbed in front of the gate. There was blood on the window where several small happy eyes watched the popcorn burst. The strawman was gone, but countless bodies were dropped in the street. Daniela could not imagine what might have happened. A terrorist attack, maybe. But at Sao Paulo countryside? It did not make sense. If some kind of war broke out in Brazil, it would begin in the capital city, anywhere else, like Rio de Janeiro, or in a state farther north. Not there.

She spotted the team bus parked, a sign that her partners had not left. So where were they? Remembered that had left the mobile in the locker room before the game. Even with that thing in there, she needed to go back. Could not venture into town; did not know it. Would be lost once she turned the first corner.

Daniela was so absorbed in the street riot that had come that did not notice in time the approaching. Turning at the same time she heard the growl, she was attacked. Luckily she had time to raise the bar and hold it against the man's neck that slammed her against the grid gate. He was tall and heavyset. The absence of a shirt left the dirty, sweaty fat for anyone to see. The hands gripped the girl's hair while the yellowish teeth chattered, hungry for a bite. While Daniela struggled to keep him away, he growled and screamed, saliva leaking from his mouth like foam. It was crazyness, but he was really trying to bite her?

Daniela was tough, but his strength was tougher. She could not stand much longer. She thought about screaming for help, but an idea that scared her, that she was trying not to think about it came up. No one was left.

With a kick to his knee and a push with the bar, she pulled away. As soon as he invested again, she hit his mouth with a sharp blow. Even if he felt pain, he did not demonstrate because the onslaught continued. Before she was caught again, she swerved and went stumbling up the stairs, back to the bleachers. The damn bastard was fat, but fast. God! Daniela barely turned away and the man was climbing, blaring. He was blinded by fury. There was no other explanation. He seemed possessed. Go call the exorcist.

Daniela realized that there was no time to find out what was happening, nor try to talk to, so she prepared and, before he could reach her, she spun around and knocked him with an aimed blow on his face. Rolling down the stairs, the stranger violently hit his head on the lobby's floor, and there he remained. Was moving with difficulty, perhaps because his weight. Daniela looked around and thought about running straight to the locker room, but he would corral her. There was no escape through there.

She had to face him at once.

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