The Azrael (Book 5): Prisoners

by Gagnon, Jesse

  “Hope you slept well, bitch.”

  “I...uh...” Stephanie was speechless.

  Savanna’s bite wound on the neck was uncovered and a fly was grazing across it. It scurried across the wet healing tissue in a zigzagging pattern. The fact that she didn’t swat it away troubled Stephanie.

  “Take it easy on her, she cut us loo...”

  “When it suited her own needs.” Savanna interrupted John.

  “Yeah, well it did seem odd.” John added.

  “There was no time to explain.”

  “Lots of time now.” Savanna tapped her watch with her right index fingernail. “Nothing but time.”

  Stephanie couldn’t help but notice a second fly pausing to slurp up the juices that oozed through the wound.

  “Aren’t you gonna...”

  Stephanie pointed towards Savanna’s neck with her two cuffed hands.

  “It needs air. I’m tired of swatting them away. They keep coming back no matter how many times I do it.”

  “So, you’re just gonna let...”

  “Explain!” Savanna shouted. The flies were spooked and took flight in a wide circular pattern. Seconds later, they returned to her neck.

  “Jesus...Okay, I’ll explain. She shifted her body from left to right trying to sit up. “Can you just take these off? It’s kind of...”

  “Uncomfortable?” Savanna asked with a condescending tone. Her left eye squinted with disdain.

  “Uh...yes.”

  “Good. Explain.” Savanna continued.

  “Where do you want me to start?” Stephanie asked. She reclined back, closed her eyes and sighed.

  “Tricon, what’s their purpose? What do they want?” Savanna asked.

  “Tricon...Tricon.” Stephanie sighed. “When the outbreak happened, some people panicked and worried that it was the end of days. I was definitely one of them. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone crazy enough decided to release something like this on a global scale.”

  “You worked for them back then?”

  “No, not back then. I worked for a pharmaceutical company developing a drug using hydrogen sulfide, which could slow the heartrate down so low that it would appear that they were dead.”

  “For what? That seems like it would kill someone.” John speculated.

  “To slow the travel of venoms or poisons through the bloodstream, to lower an extremely high heartrate to avoid killing the person...”

  “To smuggle a suspected dead body somewhere it shouldn’t be.” John added.

  “That’s ridiculous. Our research was designed to help people. Athletes have a much lower resting heart rate.”

  “Messing with biology is wrong. The body does what it needs to in order to survive. The Azrael have that part down to a science.”

  “Humans aren’t perfect. Our bodies don’t always do what it needs to do. Genetic defects...allergies...the list goes on and on.”

  “So the Azrael are perfect?” Savanna asked.

  “They raise their heartrate to extremely high levels. They lower slightly, but only slightly when in rural areas when hunting isn’t a constant thing. There have even been cases when they would be placed into a type of suspended animation not unlike my research. However, once the threat of cell death has been removed it restarts. They’re stronger. Their senses are far superior...”

  “What about those fuckers that came back from the dead...years later?” John interrupted.

  “The reborn?”

  “Whatever the fuck you’re calling them. Isn’t that suspended animation?” He continued.

  “Yes and no. I’m getting ahead of myself.”

  “Did you guys make those things?” Savanna asked.

  “Not on purpose.”

  “What does that mean? You were experimenting on a virus that you have no idea the capabilities and you claim that you aren’t responsible for it?”

  “I’m responsible, yes, but I was only trying to make the virus...better.”

  “Make it better? They are trying to get rid of us. They will make us extinct and you want to quicken that process?” Savanna asked.

  “I don’t...Dr. Kolovski, he’s the President of Tricon. He’s fucking crazy.”

  “And you were helping him. Doesn’t that make you just as crazy?” Savanna added.

  “I wasn’t always at Tricon. I didn’t join them until, well, after my brother died.”

  “You were resentful so instead of hating the actual monsters that killed your brother, you joined a company that wanted to make them stronger? I don’t understand your logic.” Savanna wondered.

  “That wasn’t their pitch when we joined. They offered a safe place to study the virus. They approached me first since I had prior experience in the lab. My past research in cardiovascular research shot me ahead of some of the more brilliant scientists they had working for them. At first, we were praised and provided luxuries that the world didn’t possess anymore. Once my mom started dating Dr. Kolovski, then we shot up to the top, unrestricted access to everything. That’s where we discovered the real intent of Tricon.”

  “To take over the world?” John asked.

  “No...evolution.”

  “So, when did the praises and luxuries stop?”

  “His brother was bit. We stole some research from The Veil of the Five Daggers a few months before. You heard of ‘em’?”

  “Yeah, we’ve heard of ‘em. Not sure we trust them either.”

  “Well, they had some drugs that could suppress the virus, giving the infected control of their actions while also maintaining the Azrael’s healing and overall physical advantages.”

  “Like some sort of super soldier?”

  “Like Giselle, not as advanced as hers, but close.”

  “Wait, are you talking about Giselle Johnson, from the Highwaymen?” John stood up.

  “Yes, weren’t you aware of her condition? Simon Killbrook has known for quite some time now.”

  “No, no we didn’t know about that. I guess that explains her recent behavior.” Savanna stood up too and paced the room. “Why didn’t he tell us?” Savanna asked John.

  “So you know about the thing with Taliah too, right?”

  “What about her? We know who has her.”

  “Yeah, we...uh...Tricon does too.”

  “That’s not good for her. We should let Simon know.” Savanna said.

  “Fucking Mario’s gonna flip.” John added.

  “Jane Barnett’s research? Know anything about that?”

  “She’s studying the virus. We know that she started the recent outbreak in Chicago.”

  “Well, that’s not entirely accurate either.”

  “What the fuck?” Savanna spat.

  “What do you want to know about first?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Taliah or Jane’s Outbreak?”

  “Why are you telling us all of this?” Savanna asked.

  “Let’s just call it a guilty conscious.”

  “Taliah. What do you know about Taliah?”

  “She’s infected...well, was infected with HIV.”

  “She what? When did she get that?”

  “She’s had it before she arrived in Chicago. They discovered it maybe a month or two after she arrived.”

  “That poor girl.” Savanna sat down with her hand to her mouth.

  “That’s not all.”

  “Simon knows about this? Are you sure?” Savanna asked.

  “Positive. It was hacked from his computer by Mark.”

  “Who the fuck is Mark?” John asked.

  “I’ll get to him later.”

  “How deep does the rabbit hole go?” Savanna asked John. He shrugged.

  “Ask her.” John pointed to Stephanie.

  “You have no idea.” She answered with a devilish grin.

  “John, go get my notebook. I think we should start writing this shit down.”

  John left the room and returned with her notebook and a cup of coffe
e for Stephanie. He handed it to her.

  “Thank you. Would you mind?” Stephanie lifted her hands gesturing towards the cuffs.

  “Yes, we mind. Keep going. I still don’t trust you.” Savanna slapped John’s hand as he reached for his pocket.

  “That’s fine.” Stephanie took a sip of the coffee. It was lukewarm but was sweet. “Thanks John.”

  “No problem. So, what else about Taliah. You said that she was infected with HIV. What happened?” He asked and sat next to Savanna.

  “Well...”

  Chapter 22: A Day Which Will Live In Infamy

  “Bravo Whiskey, this is Agent 133. Approaching from the South. Don’t shoot. I repeat. This is Agent 133 approaching from the South. Don’t shoot.”

  The woman’s voice broke through the quiet tension of an impending assault.

  “Stand fast Agent 133. Broken Wing is hot. Out.” Noah responded.

  Moments later the glow of an inbound rocket drew cries from those near the window.

  “Get down!” Noah shouted and dove towards the center of the building behind a large desk.

  Shell-shocked, he staggered to his feet coughing and waving away the dust and smoke that choked him. As the dust settled, lumps of bodies revealed themselves beneath layers of dirt and debris. Only a few were still moving. A ringing in his ears prevented him from hearing any screams or cries for help. He stumbled towards the gaping hole in the side wall. The streets below were empty. They were inside. In that moment, he thought of his sister.

  “Pearl!” Noah shouted.

  Laura was two rooms away, still recovering from her injuries and the infection. Noah’s equilibrium was still jarred from the explosion and he struggled to move in a straight line. His only thoughts were on Laura’s safety. Elderly citizens bound to wheelchairs lined the hallway and coughed as the smoke and dust choked their lungs. The ringing in Noah’s ears subsided to a low steady hum. There was nothing he could do for them now. They would all be killed by the terrorists below or bitten into by straggler Azrael drawn to the explosion. His only concern left in this world was keeping his sister alive. He tactically moved towards Laura with his Glock drawn. Driven by adrenaline and combat training, Noah was willing to do whatever necessary to keep her safe. The door to her room was closed to give her peace and quiet as she slept. It was nearly seven in the morning but she had been sleeping most of the day before. To his surprise, she was awake.

  “Noah, what’s going on? What was that noise?”

  “Nothing to worry about. How are you feeling?”

  “I could use a drink.” She cracked a weak smile.

  “So could I.” Noah forced a grin and hurried over to the window.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I said there’s nothing to worry about.” He peeked down towards the street and noticed a group of men raping a young woman a ways down the alley. He didn’t hide his reaction well.

  “What’s going on down there Noah? Is there an outbreak again?”

  Noah sighed.

  “Something like that.” He walked away from the window and pushed a wheelchair over to Laura. “Can you sit up?”

  “I can try.” Laura wheezed as she pulled herself up and swung her feet over to the side of the bed.

  “We need to hurry.”

  He pulled out the IV needle, picked her up and carefully dropped her into the chair. He pushed her towards the door.

  “Your gun!” Laura blurted when she saw it lying on the table next to the bed.

  “Shit!” He shook his head, knowing that he almost made a fatal mistake. “One sec.” He headed over and retrieved his gun. “That would have been bad...” He heard a muted squeal.

  He turned around and a large man was standing behind Laura with his hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and fearful.

  “What’s that for?” The man asked. Five more goons entered the room pushing past Laura. Noah placed the gun back on the table and held his hands up. “Good idea.”

  “We’re just trying to survive. We saw those zombies down there.”

  “No zombies down there anymore. Not yet at least.” The man wore a wicked grin.

  Something was off about the other men that walked in. Their eyes…something was wrong with their eyes. He reached for his gun.

  “Kill him.” The large man instructed.

  Laura screamed even louder feebly kicking and punching the man holding her. Noah managed to get off five shots, taking out one in the face and knocking down two others with shots to the chest. The other two pinned him to the wall, wrenched the gun from his hand and choked him. He growled and gurgled as they lifted him off the ground. Veins in his neck throbbed.

  “Fff…fuck you!” He spat at their faces.

  “Toss his ass out the window. Feed the lost ones.”

  They laughed and slid him over to the window while still pinning him to the wall. They were three stories up. The fall may not kill Noah, but the uncontrollable hungry enhanced soldiers below would most assuredly do the job. Noah grabbed at the men, holding on as tight as he could to avoid being thrown from the building and leaving his sister with these monsters. They smacked his back against the glass a few times until it shattered, cutting his back and he hung outside squirming and growling as they continued to choke him.

  “No…no.” Noah fought.

  The two he shot in the chest arose to their feet and joined the two at the window. They punched him in the chest, face and arms in a crazed assault. Seconds later Noah lost his grip when a fist to his head knocked him unconscious and fell three stories down. He struck a canopy, rolled over it and disappeared into large open dumpster. The wind was brought from his lungs as he struck a broken chair wedged in the dumpster. He caught a blurred glimpse of faces at the window. He heard them cuss and disappear back inside. He couldn’t pass out now. There’s still a chance. He attempted to sit up and felt an excruciating pain from his left knee as bone fragments were tearing muscle and tendons. It was over. He growled and still tried to pull himself out of the dumpster. Six men hurried towards him from down the alley where a dead, eaten raped girl lied half naked on the pavement.

  “Damn it, this is it.” Noah admitted and rolled back into the dumpster. He stared at the broken window he was thrown from. “I’ve failed you Pearl.”

  Images of his sister’s face pasted over the dead girls body. He wept and cussed in a moment of despair. His senses closed in on him, sound muted and his body became numb. Memories of his sister entered his mind as if he were reliving them. These heartfelt moments were overwhelming Noah with waves of emotions that he could not control. His twin sister needed him and he failed her.

  A hand reached in and grabbed his shoulder. He punched it with his opposite hand until it leg go. A muffled voice hollered at him. He turned his head and peeked over the dumpster. All six men in the alley were dead. Two of them had their head blown clean off while the other two had several holes decorating their bodies. Who the fuck?

  “Get out of there, hurry!” The voice became more clear.

  “Who…who?” He stammered.

  “Gunny, it’s Mason. I got you.” He confirmed, pulled Noah from the dumpster and supported his back against it.

  Noah’s left knee was fucked and his lower leg was in an unnatural position.

  “My leg’s broken Mason.”

  “When did that ever stop you before?” He smiled, retrieved a medical kit from his backpack, and began to splint the injured leg. He pulled an old wooden broom from the dumpster, broke it in half and wedged them on the left and right side of his broken knee. He wrapped two large bandages around it to hold it in place. “That’ll have to do. You doin’ alright?”

  “Laura…they got her. I’m not leaving without her.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Uh…”

  “You don’t have a plan? Fuck, Gunny, I don’t know. These guys are different.”

  “They’re like Giselle Johnson.”

  “You think? If that’s the
case, what chances do we have?” Mason sat next to Noah and inspected his rifle for any damages since the jump.

  “Which is why I’m struggling to come up with a plan. On top of that…” Noah gestured to his leg. “…I’ve got this to deal with.”

  “Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem. On the flipside, shooting them in the head seems to do the trick.”

  “I noticed.”

  Noah looked down the alley at the headless men. He scanned down the alley and saw the girl again.

  “Can’t save them all.”

  “Fuck, the woman on the radio…”

  “Agent 133? She’s probably long gone.”

  “You got your radio? Mine’s up there.” Noah gestured towards the broken window.

  “Yeah, what do you want me to say?”

  “I think that’s Giselle’s girl.”

  “Girl? I thought Giselle liked…”

  “Not like that, Giselle trained her. I just can’t think of her name.”

  “Oh, shit, yeah I remember her. Leatherface’s wife. That dude’s got issues. Fuck, what’s her name?”

  “Janice…Janice Yates.”

  “That’s right, Janice fucking Yates. She really turned that shit around when she got here.”

  “She flipped that switch. Leatherf…I mean Patrick. See, got me all fucked up with your damned nicknames. Patrick just never bounced back from his injury. It’s a damned shame.”

  “Didn’t we send Patrick and Charles to pick her ass up?”

  “Shit, you’re right. Maybe there’s more with her then. Let me see your radio.”

  “Got you.”

  Mason handed Noah his radio. They shared a silent sigh and Noah activated the talk button.

  “Agent 133, Coms could be compromised. Switch channels to the next sequence in 5, 4, 3, 2…”Noah adjusted to the secondary channel. “Agent 133, this is Broken Wing, over?”

  “Broken Wing, this is Agent 133. I copy your last.”

  “Agent 133, Broken Wing unrecoverable. What’s your location?”

  There was a long pause.

  “Agent…”

  “A hundred yards to the southeast hiding behind some cars in the bank parking lot. What’s your location?” She interrupted with a whisper.