Apocalyptic Beginnings Box Set

by M. D. Massey

  “You have no clue, do you?”

  Henry yelled as much as he could through the gag.

  “Uh… Yeah, I do. We stopped here to check for supplies.”

  “Look around! There ain’t no supplies. I’m all out!”

  “Exactly. That’s why we will work a trade with you. We have supplies.”

  “That doesn’t change what he was doin’!”

  Henry continued yelling through the gag, but I couldn’t make anything out.

  “All right, Captain Know-It-All. Why don’t you tell us exactly what he was doin’.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

  “He killed that dude out there. That other one who was wit’ you!”

  I stopped for a moment, taken aback. That dude was my blood. Thoughts of Nick’s death crept back in.

  “What? No, he didn’t! That dude was killed by that undead out there! And that dude is my brother! Show some respect, you pissant!”

  He laughed again. It was such an evil laugh. There was something seriously wrong with him. Suddenly, he got inches from my face. “Wrong!” He had no idea whom he was fucking with.

  “How am I wrong? Please, tell me how I’m wrong!” I was ready to fuck his face up.

  “After the dude yelled to you, I saw the crazy one go behind him, cover his mouth wit’ his hand, and put a gun to his head.” He was batshit crazy. There was no way Henry would have done something like that! “It’s true! Then he bit his arm and started suckin’ on it like a vampire!”

  “I’m throwing out the bullshit flag on that one! Nick was bit by the undead that’s under the shelving unit out there! You’re just making up shit! And, FYI, vampires are not real!” My heart and mind raced, trying to figure out how to get Henry free.

  “I ain’t fuckin’ lyin’! He used the undead, or whatever you call it, as a diversion. I saw him do it! And how do you know vamps ain’t real? Zombies are, so why not vamps?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, Claire focused on Henry, visually examining him.

  “You really are mental, aren’t you? Hello! It’s fucking daylight, you asshat! Everyone knows vampires don’t come out in the day! They either fry or get all sparkly.” Okay, so I was being a little facetious. There were times I couldn’t help myself. It was in my nature.

  “For the last time, I ain’t lyin’!”

  I shook my head, thinking how stupid this little twerp was. “Okay, okay. Let’s just say this little fabricated story is true for a moment…” I leaned in even closer to him. “Why would he do something like that?”

  “I have no clue! Maybe he’s some sort of freak crossbreed or something…” His words trailed off as he looked between Henry and Nick.

  “A freak crossbreed? Because that exists.” I busted out the eye roll again.

  “You are really startin’ to piss me off, lady! I’ll shoot your ass! I saw it with my own two eyes!”

  “Well, maybe you need to find yourself a pair of glasses!”

  Huffing out a breath, Claire pushed me aside. She was going to try to diffuse the volatile situation. Good fucking luck because I was ready to kick his ass.

  “Listen, if he did what you said, we will take care of it. Just let us trade him for a little food and water. You can come out to our trucks…”

  His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “Trucks? Like more than one?” He looked amazed at our good fortune.

  “Yes. You can come out to our trucks, and grab food and water. You’re obviously in need.”

  The kid looked back at Henry, then at Claire and me. “How do I know this ain’t some sort of trick?”

  “If there aren’t two black trucks out there, you can come back in and shoot him.”

  Henry didn’t agree with her deal, and neither did I. I grabbed her arm, giving her my best “what the fuck” glare. “What? Are you out of your goddamned mind? You can’t just volunteer his life like that!”

  “He was going to shoot someone anyway, Elaina.” Claire spoke through her teeth, much like Henry would when he was royally pissed. Glancing over at Henry, I looked at the blood on him. The sight concerned me, but I didn’t show it. I felt a little guilty, using his life as a bargaining chip.

  “Fine. Let’s go then.” I turned around and headed back out the door, not worrying about the shotgun twerp still held. Henry screamed as the kid followed behind like a faithful dog. I swear he salivated over the thought of food.

  Claire stopped for a moment when we got to Nick’s body, then caught back up to me. In the heat of the moment, we nearly forgot about what we needed to do. My heart and stomach ached. I felt so guilty that I had neglected my brother.

  When I heard a garbled moaning, I realized Nick must have started to turn. I stopped. “Claire…,” I whispered. I pulled out the Sig I had tucked away in the back of my pants. Now or never, I thought.

  Nick suddenly stumbled to a standing position and staggered to the end of the register counter, holding his arm.

  We stepped back a few paces. I blinked a few times, but still had my Sig trained on him. I repeated to myself, That’s not Nick. Nick is dead. He sensed we were there, looking up. His eyes were bright emerald green…like Henry’s.

  “What. The. Fuck?”

  He coughed and dragged the back of his hand over his lips. “E-lai-na…?” Nick grumbled. I stared at him in disbelief.

  “Nick?” No response. “Nick? Are you in there?” He nodded, grabbing his neck and cringing in pain.

  “Duuude… This is the most bullshittiest thing I’ve ever seen!”

  Apparently, the kid had a way with words. I was at a loss. I couldn’t believe what I saw. My brain didn’t compute what had just happened. And where the fuck was Sophie during all the absurdity?

  “Claire, what’s going on? Have I gone batshit crazy or something? Am I dreaming this?”

  “If…If you have, so…so have I,” she stammered.

  “Where’s Sophie?”

  “I have no idea. She said she would stand guard until I came back out.”

  I wanted to run over and hug Nick, but I was so confused and, quite frankly, worried he was going to try to eat me.

  “I guess you could say we are some sort of freak crossbreeds.”

  We all spun around at the voice.

  Chapter 16

  Henry walked toward me, Sophie at his side. I was confused as to how she was there, realizing she must have come in through the broken side door. I turned back around to Nick, trying to decipher what was going on.

  I looked at Henry, then Sophie, then I spun around and looked at Nick again. The same eyes. Oh, my god. They have the same motherfucking eyes! I backed away from Henry. “Oh no. Fuck, no…”

  “Elaina, please. Let me explain.” I raised my Sig at Henry, then Sophie, then I swiveled to Nick. I didn’t know what to do, or where to go, or whom to shoot first. My mind raced, my heart pounding out of my chest. I felt a little lightheaded.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I swallowed hard. I was trying not to freak out, trying not to faint, and trying not to run all at the same time.

  “I had hoped to be able to tell you in due time, and I certainly hoped it wouldn’t happen like this.” He held out his hand and touched my Sig. Ballsy move, motherfucker. I could have pulled the damn trigger. “Give me the gun, love.” I held it with a firm grip, shaking all over. “Please. I promise you no harm. Trust me.” I wasn’t ready to let go of it just yet.

  “You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Holy shit. He was an undead. Holy fucking shit. Henry and Sophie just stared at me. I looked at Nick again. He leaned over the counter, rubbing his temples, much like Henry did. Claire had no words, either. The punk ass kid stood there with his mouth hanging wide open, like he was goddamn fly trap.

  “Elaina…please. Let us explain.” Henry swallowed. “Then if you want to shoot me, so be it. I will accept my fate. Whatever you want to do, love.”

  I looked at Claire and grabbed her, pulling her close to me. I lowered my Sig to my side, but I
was still on guard, watching Nick in my peripheral.

  “Wha…what do you think we should do?” I whispered to Claire.

  “I think we should listen to them, at least to get some sort of explanation.” Quiet and meek, it seemed she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear their explanation, either.

  “I, for one, want to know what the hell is going on.” I turned, seeing Nick resting his elbows on the counter, the heels of his palms pressed into his eyes. His voice was clearer, but he still looked like death warmed over.

  “We need to get him blood soon, or we will be in trouble,” Sophie said to Henry.

  “We will. Just give me a second. For now, cover his wound.” Henry pulled off his bloodied shirt and tore a section off. He handed it to Sophie, and she went to tend to Nick’s arm.

  Henry looked back at me and stepped closer. I stepped back. We repeated the movements a couple of times. It was like dancing.

  “Elaina…please. I won’t hurt you. I love you. I’m the same person I was a week ago. The same person I was two years ago. I’ve been like this for years. Sophie, too.”

  “Okay then. Explain. But I expect the whole truth this time. No more bullshit!” My eyelid twitched, the last nerve tweaking.

  “You have my word, love. I will give you the whole truth. This is what I’ve been struggling to talk to you about. I’m just going to start from the beginning, so bear with me. It will be easier this way.” I nodded. He inhaled and exhaled a long, loud sigh, all while pacing in front of me.

  It felt like an eternity before Nick growled, “Out with it.”

  “Yeah, sorry. My mother was murdered when I was five. Actually, on my fifth birthday.” That would explain why he never wanted to celebrate his birthday. He looked down and bit his blood-stained lips, then looked up at Nick apologetically. He fought his emotions—swallowing hard, lips trembling—and we hadn’t even gotten to the meat of the conversation yet. Losing his mother before his eyes affected him at an infinite level. He took another deep breath.

  “I can still hear her calling me by my given name. Luke. My father was absent from my life, so I was shipped off to an orphanage after her death. I spent my days and nights angry with the world. I rebelled at everything…school, life. By the time I turned fourteen, I had already been in ridiculous amounts of trouble with the law.

  “I was approached by Roger, the head of this whole fucked-up program. He told me he ran a military-style university, promising to turn me into the man I wanted to be. So I agreed to go. There were several new recruits when I came in. We…” He pointed between him and Sophie, then shoved his hands in his pockets, “arrived at the training complex at the same time. He told us we were throwaways and society would not want us anymore. He said when we finished the training portion of the program, we would be accepted by society. Little did we know that once you were in, you were in for life.

  “Roger was our general, and we were his recruits. There were areas in the complex for training in different skills. We trained for combat day and night, learning different techniques: hand-to-hand, weaponry, explosives. It was relentless. It would go on for hours upon hours, with hardly any breaks for rest, meals, or sometimes even sleep. The trainers’ job was to break us and build us back up to their ridiculously high standards.

  “I, being who I was, would question everything. They got sick of me, so I would get tased, beaten, bloodied, and was near death on several occasions. I had countless injuries and concussions, and was hospitalized three times within those two years.”

  Claire looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Nick had a similar look, but with more intensity. He had the “Angry Henry” look.

  Henry had told me much of this before, but he needed to start at the beginning for everyone else. He kept shifting his weight during the uncomfortable silence. He looked over at Sophie, who swiped away her tears. He licked his dry lips, continuing. “Once Roger was confident we would fit into the program, shit became real.”

  Then Claire interrupted. “Wait. What happened to the ones who didn’t fit within the program? Did he just send them back to the orphanage or wherever he picked them up?”

  Henry grimly shook his head. “Permanent elimination,” he whispered. We both put our hands over our mouths and gasped. Sophie tried to stifle her sobs. Claire and I suspected they saw many lose their lives to the program…or they were the ones forced to do the eliminating. Maybe they even had to eliminate their friends. Henry continued, working hard not to become too emotional. After a deep breath, he continued.

  “The complex was an abandoned warehouse, which they remodeled to look like an office building. It had labs, weapons, guards, scientists, and a huge room full of caged animals. They changed our identities. Luke Richards…” Henry pointed at himself, “is dead on paper. They changed my name to Liam Henry Daniels. Then I shortened it to Henry when I came to the States because I couldn’t be Liam anymore. I just couldn’t be him.” Henry paused, his gaze flickering to Sophie, purposely not giving her given name. He wanted her to decide if she wanted to share that information.

  “Anyway, we spent hours upon hours rehearsing our new identities. If we so much as spoke the wrong syllable, we were beaten. Plus given extra training. This went on for few years.”

  Claire interrupted again. “So where does this whole undead/true dead thing come into play? Because I really would like to know what the hell you are.”

  Thank you, Claire, for asking because there was no way I could formulate a sentence right then if my life depended on it.

  Then the punk ass kid bravely interrupted. “True dead? Ain’t tha’ a show or somethin’?”

  “Vampires are not real!” Everyone shouted at once, and the kid stepped back.

  “Well, if zombies are, why not?” Claire nearly crossed the line by saying that, and Henry worked hard to control his anger.

  Nick chuckled. “Good one,” he mumbled, angry and annoyed. I was happy to hear his personality coming out again.

  Henry shook his head. “You two are so much alike.” He looked at Claire, then me. He pointed at me. “You are just a bit more vocal.” He pointed at Claire. “And you have a filter…usually.”

  “This is one fucked-up story,” the kid mumbled to himself.

  Henry snapped and grabbed the scrawny kid by his throat, pulling him close, spitting in his face as he screamed. “This is not a fucking story! This is our lives! This is what we live with day in, day out!”

  Sophie walked up to him and touched his shoulder. “Hey, put him down. He doesn’t understand. Believe me, I want to beat the shit out of him, as well.” Henry let go of the kid, and ran his hands through his hair. He continued to eye Nick, watching his every move.

  Henry cleared his throat. “So, when all this bullshit started, I was an agent. I’m now an agent who has gone rogue. My government and your government worked together to create this super virus. Your government didn’t know ours would place agents all over their country to spy on them. It was a ‘cover your ass’ deal. Our government didn’t want yours to release the virus and turn back into the superpower they once were.”

  Claire tapped her foot, clenching her jaw. Mine dropped wide open, not fathoming what Henry was saying.

  “Okay…to the part about why we are the way we are. During our training, they injected us with a small amount of the virus. They wanted to make us immune to it. But, after an incident, they discovered we are not immune. We can still turn into an undead. There were side effects, obviously, and it backfired when they realized what was happening to us. They discovered that if we drank clean blood, it would bring us back.

  “With the virus in our system, it changed us. Our eyes, our body temperature, our entire physical and mental state was affected. If we go too long without clean blood for the virus to feed on, we start deteriorating, much like a true dead person. Our joints stiffen, we get these horrible headaches, and we go into a downward spiral. It’s not pretty when one of us does not get the blood we need.” Again, Sop
hie tried to stifle her cries. Henry whispered, “I’ve seen it happen more times than I want to even talk about.”

  I realized this must be what happened to those who didn’t meet the standards for the program. I imagined the recruits who continued on handed out a true death. It sounded like pure torture. My body shuddered. I found it difficult to look at Sophie and Henry. My anger with them was subsiding, being replaced with empathy.

  “So the virus starts wreaking havoc in our body and brain, looking for that clean source of blood. If we do not get clean blood in our systems, we will become completely undead.”

  “So the cure for someone who has been bitten is clean blood?” Claire asked.

  “No. There’s no magic pill that I’m aware of. It’s immune to everything. As far I understand, once the virus is in your system, there’s no getting rid of it.”

  “Well, isn’t that…just…fucking…perfect?!” Nick snapped.

  “Then why aren’t you like the others?”

  “They injected us with a very small amount.”

  Claire glanced at Nick. “Oh. Then why is Nick like you and not one of the other freaks out there?”

  Henry glared at her, glossing over her freak comment. “Because the amount of virus in us is much smaller than what is out there. Low amounts leave you in a constant state of reanimation, unless you don’t feed the virus. Then you will turn. It’s a much longer, drawn-out process, unlike those who have been exposed to a full dose. Minutes for them. A week or so for us.”

  “So what you’re saying is that, essentially, I’m dead?” Nick chuckled again. “This is fucking epic.”

  “I guess you can look at it that way.”

  Claire backed up from everyone, but seemed oddly calm with all the information. The punk ass kid still stood in shock.

  The only thing I could think of was I had been fucking a dead person. Does that make me a necrophiliac? I shuddered. Henry looked at me with concern, his eyes full of sorrow.

  “So…I’m talking to a dead person?” I whispered.