Jason pointed to the empty whisky bottle in the grass near the Azrael group. He turned back to his father and nodded.
“The booze?”
Jason agreed.
“Sound like your fucking mother. It’s why she left me ya know. It wasn’t the other women. It had to do with...your sister.”
Jason furrowed his brow.
“What I did to her...she should have known I had too many.”
Jason stood up and gestured his father to continue.
“I guess it’s time you learned the truth about yer old man.” He paused and took in a deep breath. You were with your uncle Sammy to Camp Eastman. Ya know, that boy scout shit he tried gettin’ you in.”
Jason remembered and nodded
“It was Friday or Saturday, I don’t fucking know. It was the weekend, all right. You were gone and your mother was out getting groceries or some shit. Giselle was about thirteen then. Ben Markum was over watching the game with me. We had a few drinks. Shit, I think your mother was out pickin’ up another twenty-four pack. I was just...” He paused. “I was watchin’ the game ya know. I didn’t know Ben was a sick fuck.” He studied his right hand and it began to shake.
Jason got into his father’s face. He wanted the full story. He grunted.
“She ran in the living room. Said Ben did stuff to her in the other room...I was watching the game. It was close. I didn’t even hear what she said. I said, Shut the hell up girl. I don’t give a shit.” His eyes were miles away as he recalled that moment in his mind. “And...”
Jason pushed him on his shoulder to continue.
“I hit her. She kept interrupting the game. She ran out the house so fast crying. I realized that I made a mistake immediately. Ben exited the hallway buttoning up his pants. I beat that man within an inch of his life. By that time, it was too late. The damage was done, Jason. I let that shit happen...And I hit her. Who would love a father like that ever again? She never talked to me since.” He brought his hands over his face and quietly wept.
Jason formed a fist and squeezed it hard as he held it over his father’s head. He wanted to hit him, punish the man for what he did to Giselle. He remembered the size of the bruise on her face and what his mother told him. Their father said she fell in the tub and hit it on the spout. Giselle never brought it up to Jason but he did recall that she didn’t talk to their father afterwards. He figured it was about the drinking or him cheating on their mother. He studied the house and noticed that the whole place was his punishment. Living with that secret and surviving when everyone else in the world perished was his purgatory. The world was his sentence. His father continued to weep. He opened his hand and placed it on his father’s head. Jessica had pushed forgiveness. Jason always held grudges and would never forget who wronged him. She changed Jason into a better person. Change is always possible, even for an old drunk.
The sound of chewing behind him ceased and Jason could hear breathing just behind his left ear. Tits’ eyes were wild and before he could react, she was on his father biting into his throat.
“Janet!” He hollered his last words. He was drowning in his own blood. Before the virus took root, he dragged his pistol towards his body and situated it at his skull near where the woman was feeding. He pulled the trigger and brains from both Janet and his father splattered on the outside walls of the house.
What the fuck just happened? Jason was in shock and stood up over his father’s corpse with both hands on his head. Janet was Tits? He never actually met her, only heard about her. He had to have been at least thirty years her senior. Jason battled internally with the situation for a few minutes until his mind fell into darkness.
Chapter 13
Secrets Part II
A smoke plume in the direction of the facility worried Simon.
“Look, above the trees!” He called out.
John pulled the truck over and they all exited.
“Looks like a fire up ahead. You don’t think...?” Mario asked. He unfolded the map, placed it on the hood of the truck and found their position.
“Fuck, we’re too late.” John punched the side door producing a hand-sized dent.
“Maybe not, it could be that this just happened. A little hope will go a long way.” Justin proclaimed. His youthful naïvetés brought stern looks.
“I think what he’s trying to say is to exhaust all options before admitting defeat. Am I right?” Jane interrupted and nodded towards Justin to inspire agreement.
“Yes ma’am, that’s right.” Justin agreed. Jane cringed a bit being called ma’am.
“We should travel the rest of the way on foot, will be easier to approach without drawing attention.” Mario instructed as he compared the projected path on the map to what he could see.
“That would work. Would provide an easy escape back into the city down there.” Justin followed the road to the south with his finger on the map.
“That’s if they’re both still in there.” John showed signs of doubt.
“Toughest ladies I know. No offense of course.” Simon winked at Jane.
“None taken. They’ve been through much more than I’ve ever had to deal with.” Jane responded.
“I know Savanna’s tough...it’s just...” Simon placed his hands on John’s shoulders. They were like anvils on them. He felt so weak at that moment.
“Just nothing, let’s go get ‘em Johnny boy.” Mario interrupted John.
The group donned a modified pair of sunglasses that had infrared capabilities. It was pitch black outside and the woods that they needed to travel through could have some nasty inhabitants.
“How will we tell the difference between the Azrael and...people?” Justin asked.
“Their movements are different.” Simon suggested.
“If they’ve been an Azrael for a while that’s true but freshly bitten ones are much harder to distinguish in these glasses. That’s the dangers of using them.” John answered.
“Guess I’ve been behind a desk for too long.” Simon admitted.
“Up ahead, movement. Get down.” Mario whispered and everyone complied.
“Is it one of...?”
“Quiet.” Mario interrupted Justin in a whisper.
Three figures moved towards them slowly. They appeared tired and weak. One of them had a leg injury and the other two were under each armpit helping the injured one along.
“What do we do?” Jane whispered.
“One of them could be Savanna or Taliah.” Justin speculated.
Two of them were men and the third was a woman. She was about the same size as the men and not as fit as Savanna or Taliah.
“It’s not them. Let’s see if they know anything.” John whispered.
“Shit, behind them. It’s a huge mass of Azrael.” Simon blurted.
“They don’t even know they’re being followed. They’re as good as dead.” Mario added.
“Can we save them?” Justin asked.
“We don’t even know if they are Tricon employees or their prisoners. I’m not risking our lives over that chance. That’s just too many.” John explained.
Moments later, the woman screamed, as they were surprised and overwhelmed. The woman was taking longer to turn. She may have been immune. The two men turned on their injured friend once the virus took root and pushed their way into the feeding frenzy.
“Damn it... Are men not capable of immunity?” Jane whispered to herself.
“Everyone applied the new masking agent, right?” Jane asked. They all said yes.
“I don’t see how this shit even works. It smells like nothing.” John grumbled.
“It’s all about hiding our own odor while still remaining anonymous. Reports that Highwaymen were being tracked by the old masking agent required us to create something new.” Jane explained.
“I don’t feel safe, that’s all.” John admitted.
“The wind is at our backs. It looks like we’ll find our answer soon enough.” Mario added.
The gr
oup looked towards the mob of Azrael, not fifty yards away, feasting on the unfortunate immune woman at the bottom of the hill. One of them sat its head up and tilted its head as it sniffed the air. Seconds later, it returned to the woman’s nearly fully consumed body. Simon stared into Jane’s eyes and waited. After a nerve-wrecking five minutes, the herd abandoned the pile of bones and headed west.
“Not exactly the type of field test I wanted, but the results speak for themselves.”
“Good shit, Doc.” John nodded his head.
“Thanks.” Jane beamed.
“Let’s get moving, on me.” Mario instructed.
They made their way towards the south entrance to the building. The doors were propped open by several dead bodies. Mario traded in his crossbow for a pair of silenced pistols and a backpack full of ammunition. He also brought a large combat knife to replace his old machete.
“You do remember how to use those, right?” John joked.
Three Azrael exited a room covered in blood right towards Mario. Before John and the others removed their weapons from their holsters, all three were on the ground with several holes in their skulls. Mario glared at John.
“Looks like he remembers.” Jane smirked at John.
Justin’s face was pale white and his hands were shaking. Something troubled him about the bodies.
“What’s wrong Justin? First time this close to them?” Simon asked with concern about his new recruit. Justin shook his head. He stepped over a few bodies and inspected one of the naked ones.
“First time seeing naked Azrael? You’re kind of creeping me out.” Jane added.
“This can’t be.” He turned over the body and studied its face.
“What can’t be? What the fuck’s wrong with your guy Simon?” John asked.
“I don’t know.” Simon admitted.
“Justin, get your shit together. We’ve got a mission to complete. Tell us what’s wrong now or we deal with it later.” Mario ordered.
“It’s these bodies...I...” He paused and inspected five several more naked Azrael corpses. “I recognize them.”
“We’ve all encountered our friends and loved ones out here. Shake whatever fear or sorrow you have in your head and let’s get going.” Simon urged.
“It’s not that Mr. Killbrook. These people...were already dead.”
“Already dead? Like they were bit and were killed as Azrael? They do have remarkable recovery times. Maybe you thought they were dead.” Simon asked.
“No, Sir. They were never bit. They were gassed.”
“Gassed? What the hell are you talking about Justin?” Simon interjected.
“When the virus outbreak happened, all of the sick people in my town and the others nearby were taken away by men in uniform. They were taken to a camp where the Fairgrounds usually set up. No one was allowed to visit.” Justin explained.
“How did you know them?” Mario asked.
“I...I was one of those men in uniform. I just joined the National Guard the year before. I believed I was helping to protect my country.” Justin stammered.
“Gassed?” Jane asked.
“I’m getting there. Talk was going around that the outbreak would be on us in a week so my commanding officer decided to gather up all the sick and take them to a place that would sterilize them for travel. That’s what they told them anyway.” He paused. “He...told us that the sick would be more susceptible to the virus and that we needed to take care of it before it became a problem too.”
“But...that’s not how the virus works.” Jane interrupted.
“We didn’t know that at the time. We didn’t know shit. All we knew was that people were losing their minds by some virus and that it was contagious as hell.” Justin admitted.
“So you gassed them?” Simon asked.
“Every last one of them...just like the Germans did to the Jews. There were children in those groups and it was not just one group. It took us two fucking days and twenty-five groups to kill them all. It was too many to burn and it had been raining the entire week. They used construction-digging equipment to dig a massive gravesite where we buried tens of thousands of dead bodies. This guy right here...” He kicked the naked Azrael next to him with his boot. “...was in one of my first groups. He was with his two boys. I remember his face like it was yesterday. He knew what was happening. I saw it in the look in his eyes. Gassed them.” He gazed up into Simon’s eyes. They were glassy. “We gassed them all.” He broke down and wept like a heartbroken child.
Jane walked over and embraced the young man. It was a secret he held on to for far too long.
“That was years ago. How could they be Azrael? How is that even possible?” Mario asked.
“I have no idea Mario. Who knows what these scientists are doing here.” Simon stated.
“A pure Azrael with no traces of human cells would allow the blood to become infectious.” Jane added.
“But to reanimate the dead? That’s absurd.” Simon argued.
“I’ve read some documents written by some of your allies.” Jane glared at Simon. “They said that the Azrael have the capabilities of bringing the body, if in a hostile environment, into a state of suspended animation.” She continued.
“But to bring back long dead bodies, not infected by the virus before death, seems highly improbable.” Simon suggested.
“The virus does kill the host and reanimates them. This only skips a step in the process and reboots the body. I think that’s the next evolution in the virus when there is no one left to infect.” Jane hypothesized.
“If that’s the case then either there’s an Azrael out there that has reached a level of Azrael purity already or these assholes are making that stuff in here.” Simon added.
“This was much easier when this whole mission was about a search and rescue. Fuck!’ John admitted.
“You’re right, John. We should get moving. Jane, write all that shit down.” Simon instructed.
“Already doing it.” Jane answered while jotting down the information in her notebook.
They searched the facility room by room with no luck. Eventually they located a data terminal and Jane hacked into the NIOX software. She located Savanna but not Taliah. On their way to Savanna, they encountered another small group of sickly looking Azrael. The herd was dealt with quickly. They approached a gate near Savanna’s alleged location and noticed a woman staggering carelessly towards the exit. John recognized her body.
“Babe! It’s me.” John hollered and the woman stopped in her tracks.
They all held their breath when she turned around. It was Savanna. When she saw them, she collapsed to the ground and wept. She was broken. Simon knew it was time to pull her from the field. John ran to her and held her in his strong arms. He kissed her dirt-encrusted forehead as he removed his glasses.
“It’s okay, I’m here.” John reassured her.
“I killed her. She was just a baby. I killed her.” She mumbled.
“Who? Who did you kill?” John asked. She pulled away and looked up at him. Her blue eyes were striking encased in a dark mask of dirt that covered her entire face.
“An Azrael baby, I...I killed that little girl with these.” She held out her shaking bloody hands. “I’m a monster, John. I’m a monster.” She spoke weakly.
“You’re not a monster, Sweetheart. You’re a survivor.” He comforted her.
“I...don’t deserve to be saved.” Savanna fainted and John caught her before she hit the floor.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” John instructed as he stood up with Savanna cradled in his arms.
Chapter 14
Samantha Hernandez
A dead body was torn into pieces ornamenting the woods with its guts. Samantha Hernandez found a large chunk of it still intact and smelled it. It was Azrael. Dead humans don’t reek the same way. It had something to do with the virus and the enzymes it produces to repair destroyed cells at an accelerated rate. Well, that is what her aunt Josie told her. S
he was a RN, but worked close with some of the doctors and scientists at the CDC. Once the outbreak happened, her expertise in anatomy and medicines earned her a lead position at Community Hospital in Indiana. Most of the doctors had been turned into Azrael or were dead. When the CDC arrived, she was brought into their organization to help care for those bit but not infected. Before she died, she gave Samantha her journal. Samantha read it from cover to cover at least a hundred times. She memorized a majority of the information in the book and applied most of it to her own survival.
Now alone in the world, Samantha avoided large populations of people for her own safety. In every instance, groups of people drew Azrael herds and she found herself escaping them every time. She made her living scavenging and relocating once her position had been compromised. Her parents were killed when she was eight in a house fire and she was an only child. Her aunt was the only relative financially stable enough to take care of her. Still, her aunt worked a lot and was barely at home.
Samantha filled most of her time reading books. She read everything and anything she could find in her aunt’s house. When she was twelve, she joined a youth softball league. That was the only time she felt comfortable being around a group of people. She continued to play until sixteen, when the Azrael outbreak happened. She couldn’t’ help thinking about what that Giselle lady said. There aren’t any games like that anymore. She was right. The world was too dangerous for games like that.
Samantha examined the chunk of meat in her hand. It smelled godawful and she couldn’t tell of it was from the leg, arm or neck of the Azrael. She held her breath and wiped the meat all over her body. She squeezed it on top of her head causing rancid liquid to soak into her hair. It helped to hide the scent of oils in her scalp. When she was done, she tossed it away. She felt some of the juice run down her forehead and across her face. It settled at the corner of her mouth. She wiped it off with her sleeve and felt like she was going to puke. Samantha knew when she brought in air that she was going to do it. She hurried over to some bushes of honeysuckles and inhaled, hoping that their aroma would help her breathe in a more favorable odor. Unfortunately, the sweet scent of the yellow and white blossoms seemed nonexistent compared to the putrid smell of the Azrael that coated her body. She was going to do it. She couldn’t fight it anymore. Chunks met the back of her throat and she tried hard to swallow it down. She couldn’t afford to lose the calories or the fluids. Unluckily, her body didn’t care what she wanted and forced her to spew out vomit aggressively. Her eyes watered and all of her senses were compromised in that moment. She stood over it with her hands on her thighs. She felt light headed due to the stress of her recent actions.
The Azrael (Book 4): Tricon Page 8