“No problem.” Security Central answered.
“Thanks Dr. Stevens. That saved us a trip.” She gave him a devilish grin and entered the lab.
“It’s my pleasure Ma’am.”
“Call me Shannon.” She beckoned Justin in. He was still amazed that her charm worked so well. Eventually he caught her drift and entered the lab behind her.
“See you around...Shannon.” Wes spoke. The door closed before he could finish her name.
“Wow, you’re good.”
“Been doing this all my life.”
“Use it while you got it.” He admitted and walked over to a computer.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She frowned.
“Can’t stay young and beautiful forever.” He said and powered on the computer.
Jane shrugged and taped a few sheets of paper over the window on the door to block out their amateurish espionage. She thought about the control she had over the door and located the box in the wall that held fuses for different pieces of equipment in the lab. She found the one labeled ‘door’ in pen and popped out the fuse with a plastic comb she had in her bag. She attempted to open the door and it remained closed.
“We should be good.” Justin addressed Jane as the computer awoke from sleep mode.
“Good, same here. No one is coming inside.” She gestured to the door as she walked over.
The Niox logo swiveled in a circle as the software booted up.
“Have a seat ma’am.” He dusted off the chair in front of the computer.
“Why thank you, sir.” She sat down, connected her hard drive to the usb port and began to hack into the system.
“How long should this take?” He asked while inspecting the taped paper on the window.
“Depends, five minutes at the most.” She speculated.
“To fill that thing?” He asked nodding towards the hard drive. She nodded. “That’s crazy.” He continued.
“Data Seeding at its finest.” She beamed.
Chapter 7: Ethan’s Interrogation
The shuffle of footsteps in boots, body armor clanking against weapons, and heavy breathing indicated that a group of soldiers were running past. Ethan couldn’t see anything through the black breathable fabric bag that covered his head. His hands were handcuffed behind him uncomfortably and he was being led somewhere on the street. Sounds of Azrael howls in the distance made him cringe. He worried for Steven, since he had been shot. An elderly man with medical knowledge about Steven’s condition explained that the boy’s vitals were good and encouraged him to worry about his own wellbeing. He was concerned about the last comment as he blindly headed towards what could be his imminent death. He couldn’t see what he was doing, since his head was covered almost immediately. He didn’t know where Steven was or where exactly he was. Finally, he was brought up into the back of some vehicle. He felt the suspension rock the floor as the two men carried him inside. They removed the bag, sat him down and left. A bright light blinded him from a lamp that hid a figure just below it. He squinted in response and brought his head down. His face was dripping with sweat from his thick hair.
“Who are you?” A man asked with anger in his voice. It was deep and intimidating.
“Ethan, sir.” He responded and continued to squint as he struggled to see the man that spoke to him.
“I don’t give a shit what your name is boy. Why were those men protecting you and your friend in there?” He continued with annoyance in his voice.
“It’s not for me but for Steven. The kid your men shot.” Ethan retorted.
“Don’t give me attitude you shit!” The man approached and smacked Ethan across his face, nearly knocking him out. Ethan blinked several times and attempted to shake the spinning away.
“I’m sorry sir. I just…he’s just a kid.”
“Who shot one of my men. Craig would have died if he wasn’t…” The man paused and mumbled something inaudible as he sat down.
Ethan’s head stopped spinning but still failed to see any detail on the man’s face since he sat back down below the light.
“Why were they protecting Steven? What’s so important about him?” He continued. His voice appeared calmer.
“I don’t know. Maybe because he’s a kid.” Ethan was being snarky.
The man paused and Ethan heard an audible sigh. A second later, the man got up, punched Ethan in his face, bloodying his nose with a quick jab. He followed with a left hook to his gut bringing the wind out of Ethan. He puked into his lap and began to cry. The man returned to his chair.
“I’m going to ask one more time.” He paused for the young man to gather himself. “Why were they protecting your friend? And don’t lie to me again. I will fuck your world up, boy.” He continued.
Ethan continued to cry. A long strand of spit hung from his lower lip and settled in his lap.
“I’m…sorry…” He stammered.
“Don’t be sorry. Answer the fucking question.” The man’s voice escalated. Ethan hung his head down and attempted to open his eyes. The swelling in his nose and on his upper cheeks were blocking his vision. He could also taste blood in his mouth along with the taste of vomit.
“Miss Giselle. She’s lookin’ out for Steven. She adopted him.” He mumbled.
“Giselle Johnson?” His voice appeared excited.
“Yes sir.” He murmured and felt sleepy.
“You’re not lying?”
“I’m not…”
“This could work out for us after all.” The man spoke to himself.
Suddenly the bag covered Ethan’s head again and he was yanked out of the back of the recreational vehicle. He struck the pavement on his back causing him to gasp and felt like his left wrist was broken. He cried once more and rolled from left to right in pain.
“Woops.” The guy who pulled him from the RV said.
Ethan wondered if he made things worse for them. Maybe he kept them alive…maybe. Throbbing pain all over caused him to moan.
“What’s this?” The guy asked. The cover on Ethan’s head was pulled off quickly pulling out some hairs. “What’s this?” The man held something in front of Ethan’s face as he laid on his back. Ethan attempted to see it but he was still too fucked up.
“I…can’t see.” He admitted and began to worry about his safety further.
“It’s a picture of you and Taliah Banks. Is this photoshopped?”
Ethan tried to see the photo but couldn’t. He did remember pulling her picture out of his wallet the night before as he reminisced the day it was taken. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he fell.
“Boss, look he’s friends with Taliah.” He handed the photo inside the RV. Ethan’s vision focused a bit more. He saw the man’s arm take the picture. The massive arm was covered in tattoos. He felt the pain from the punches again and cringed.
“So, this is getting interesting.” The man from the RV mumbled.
“Sir, it’s the only photo I have of her. Could I…”
The man jumped down startling Ethan. He was a large man with a full beard and a bald head full of tattoos. He wore several scars on his face, neck and on his arms.
“Just don’t know when to shut up…Good, we’re going to have more fun with you.”
Ethan pissed himself and began to cry once more.
“Just kill me. Why are you doing this?” He sniffled and a snot bubble with blood in it expanded and popped.
“We were going to kill you. This here…” He dangled the photo in the air. “…just saved your life…for now.” The man reached down and placed the picture in Ethan’s left pants pocket. His eyes. They were just like Miss Giselle’s. He sneered at the boy and lightly patted his face with his right hand. Ethan began to hyperventilate and passed out. The smell of shit entered the air.
“Damn it, piss and shit? Drake, put him in the cage with the boy. Clean him up first. Don’t want Mr. Sloan to smell them like this.” He instructed.
“Fuck, alright Chase.” Drake nodde
d over to another soldier. “You, what’s your name?”
“Brent, sir.”
“Take this smelly fuck over to one of those apartments and clean him up.” He gestured to a building next to them.
“Yes sir.”
“Bring him back when you’re done. Don’t kill him or get killed. I need him alive. Got it?”
“Yes sir.” He walked over and picked up Ethan. He scowled when he smelled Ethan’s soiled body. Minutes later, he disappeared into the apartment complex.
A voice entered a channel that Chase was monitoring on his radio.
“I found David…the hunter. He’s here.” A woman’s voice scratched across the radio. Chase turned it down, quickly entered the RV and shut the door.
“He survived? Damn, keep your distance. He’s changed.” Mr. Sloan responded.
“Sure thing, Mr. Sloan.” The woman responded. The conversation ended.
“Who is David?” Chase mumbled to himself and paced around. He thought Mr. Sloan was keeping something from them. Maybe this was it? In any case he’s going to hold on to the two boys for a bit longer. At least until he can get everything they know about Giselle and Taliah.
The door to the outside knocked.
“Come in.” He instructed. The door opened. It was Drake.
“Chase, the boy’s awake.” Drake said.
“Good. I’ve got lots of questions for him. Bring him in.” Chase instructed.
“You got it Boss.” Drake acknowledged and shut the door with a snicker.
Chase wore a large grin and activated the light above him once more.
“Here we go again.” He mumbled to himself.
Chapter 8: Save the Farmers
Over the horizon, a figure limped towards Randall and his crew. It was dawn and the sun arose behind it distorting all detail of the body.
They had been travelling along the edge of the city, exploring the outlying suburbs probing the streets for the Alpha’s scent or the remnants of his chaos. Several days of a cold trail urged them away from the city and their stomachs brought them even further away.
Their leapfrog connection allowed them to take long turns resting their minds while still moving where they desired to go independent of the virus. Once they slept, their bodies shifted to Randall or Bear depending on who was awake. They found out firsthand what happens when both Bear and Randall slept the day before. Randall awoke amongst a large herd of hundreds once again with Bear, Karla, and Harry close by. Karla and Harry failed to display their dominance and were on a maddened chase for hours until one of them awoke. Fortunately, no humans were attacked in the process but they managed to gather a large force of Azrael that would at some point overwhelm the first town of people they encountered. Once Randall took the wheel, he severed the connection and led his group back towards the city. Now, travelling on a heavily weathered highway, they stumbled upon a fork in the road of humanity.
The figure continued towards them at an exhausting rate. Its size was that of a teenage youth. As they neared it, they discovered that it was a teenage boy alone shuffling towards them. His body appeared malnourished and its bone structure hunched unnaturally. By the smell in the air it was by all intents and purposes an Azrael. It turned around, saw something and quickened its movements towards them.
Sounds of a motorized vehicle entered Randall’s ears a hundred yards behind the young Azrael. Randall worried what was coming down the road, instinctively led his group off it and hid behind a grouping of trees in the median between two highway roads.
A pick-up truck filled with several men approached from behind the Azrael teen. One of them climbed out and sat on the door of the passenger window holding a baseball bat. His feet were braced from the windshield to the center console to ensure a solid swing. The vehicle slowed and the man swung the bat striking the Azrael’s back sending it on its face. The truck pulled over, parked and three men exited with a bat in each of their hands and guns in their holsters.
“Where you goin’ Zombie? Thought you’d escape?” A man with a green shirt and blue jeans asked.
It got up and tried to walk away. Another man charged in and struck its kneecap with his bat sending it back onto the ground. It put its hands up and shook its head.
“You think you’re some kind of special? We can’t let you go, Brian. Oh wait, your name’s Zombie not Brian.” The man in the green shirt entered a laugh that spread to the others.
It grunted at them and attempted to gesture.
“Enough of this bullshit! Tie it up and bring it back to the house.” The man in the green shirt instructed.
One of the two retrieved rope and a rag from the bed of the truck while the other picked up a heavily worn piece of tire from the shoulder of the road. They placed the tire piece into the rag, shoved it into its mouth and wrapped the rag around its head tying it in a knot. They secured its hands and feet with the rope and pitched the Azrael in the back of the truck. The pickup truck made a U-turn and drove towards the sunrise disappearing into the orange glow of it.
Randall looked at Bear with concern and he nodded. He turned to the others and they all nodded as well. The Alpha would have to wait for now. Brian needed their help.
After ten minutes of an exhausting sprint on the cracked asphalt, the truck disappeared from sight and sound. They slowed to a jog and knew that there was no hope for Brian. Disappointment painted his face and unfortunately Randall knew it was time to feed. He sniffed the air for an animal’s scent. The breeze carried with it the smell of manure and cows…jackpot. Within a few minutes, a building off the road wrinkled in a heat wave beyond the horizon. They followed the road keeping to the grass to the left as they approached. Movement near the road on top of a granary silo alarmed Randall. He lowered his posture and focused to see greater detail. A man, armed with a hunting rifle, surveyed the area beyond the farm for threats on some makeshift platform. Down below, women and children were working the fields removing various vegetables and placing them in baskets. Cows were hidden in a barn on the other side of the silo. He could smell them and their milk as its aroma faintly entered the air. The pickup truck from earlier was parked in front of a farm house on a hill a hundred yards from the barn. Randall pointed over to it and the others nodded in confirmation.
Although those men were cruel to that young Azrael, they couldn’t punish the whole community for their actions, he thought. Randall had a war inside his own heart about what to do. Suddenly, the scent of Azrael behind them soured his mouth as it lightly entered the breeze. He turned and saw their heads slowly bob up and down over the horizon more than a mile and a half in the direction they came from. There were hundreds on their way. Was it the same herd that he broke free from earlier that day? Had they followed them or was the aroma of the humans drawing them in too? Either way, it was bad for the people of the farm. What could Randall do to save them? He thought.
Bear banged on his chest and then aimed his left hand like a knife at the sniper. He patted Randall on the chest and nodded towards the women and children. Bear looked at Harry and Karla and paused. She was sleeping so she would follow Randall, but Harry could be useful. Randall pointed to the pickup truck and gestured being bound on the hands. Bear nodded and stood up tall. He charged towards the sniper and zig zagged in no real pattern as he approached with Harry approaching from a different position. A bell rang alarming the women and children to flee to safety. None of the man’s bullets came remotely close to hitting Bear.
Randall hurried to the left where the field was as Karla obediently followed behind. As he approached the barn, where the women and children hid, he heard their screams and a fury of gunfire commenced. Most landed nearby but only a few grazed his skin. He held his hands up when he saw one of them in the window. He shook his head and pointed towards the road where the large herd were coming from. The sounds of gunshots from the sniper roost extinguished and a brief yelp indicated Bear and Harry were successful. He turned in acknowledgement and two more gunshots struck him
in the chest and leg. He groaned but kept his hands up and continued to gesture towards the road. The screams of the children reminded him of the boys that he tried to save so long ago. Their fear had become their weakness. Randall is not their enemy. But how could he make them see. A woman hollered.
“What do you want!” Her voice cackled through maddened cries.
Randall realized that it would be too complicated to explain in time so he backed up and rushed towards the farmhouse where the pickup truck was parked. The three men exited the house in a confused panic. They headed for the barn and noticed Randall sprinting towards them. They stumbled to a stop falling backwards on their butts. Randall stood tall and scrutinized their movements. They reached for their weapons as they labored to their feet. Randall shook his head and howled ferociously. Before they could get off their shots, Harry and Bear tackled them from behind. They landed on their faces. Bear kept his hand on the back of two of them pinning their faces in the grass. They couldn’t move but could breathe…uncomfortably.
“Fuck! No, don’t eat us. No!” They cried out and wiggled.
Harry knocked his guy out. It was the man in the green shirt. Randall could smell Karla salivate with the desire to bite and spread the virus. He placed his hand on her right shoulder and grunted. She grunted back. Harry was already running over to the house in search for Brian. In the meantime, they needed to defend this place or all of the uninfected people are going to be turned into those crazed Azrael on the road. He gestured for Bear to lift the two up. As they were raised to their feet, they felt for their pistols. They were both on the ground beneath Randall’s feet. Their gaze followed up Randall’s body until they met his eyes and his menacing grin.
“What…what the fuck you gonna do to us?” One of them asked. He noticed the guy with the green shirt on the ground. “Dean! Did you bite Dean?” He asked in horror.
Randall shook his head and grunted.
“Then, what the fuck is this?” He asked.
Randall tilted his head and nodded behind him.
The Azrael (Book 5): Prisoners Page 5