by Jesse Gagnon
The aroma of fish entered Randall’s sense of smell covering a woman that fled into the woods. His body chased this woman screaming but she was not fast enough. He was on her in seconds digging his teeth into her neck. The taste of blood didn’t enter his mouth. He withdrew removing his bite and saw two boys running towards the woman. The boys from the apartment attacked and feasted on her flesh. Her body didn’t accept the virus and the boys continued to feed. Randall retreated and watched them ravage the woman. The youngest of the two’s eyes watched Randall as it fed. He continued to back up and almost fell into a rolling river. He turned around and saw the alpha male from that herd that killed an Azrael like him. It was inches from Randall and was covered in blood across its face. It howled fiercely to invoke dominance upon Randall. He responded with an even more bloodcurdling raspy roar that woke him from his sleep.
Randall’s eyes opened and his stomach muscles slowly relaxed from the roar he released. The room slowly became visible as the fragrance of fish overcame Randall and he searched for the source. Was it the woman? A bottle of a liquid was on the ground. Most of the contents were on the ground as an eighth of the bottle was filled as it lay on its side. The smell was from whatever that was. The door was severely damaged but still shut. The deadbolt was only halfway deployed, but it was enough to keep the door closed. The tables and chairs were all shattered and flung across the room. His body must have been pissed that it was caged, but his attempts to trap his body worked. He held his breath and listened. He heard only sounds of the breeze brushing up against the landscape of the farmhouse.
Randall disengaged the lock and opened the door. Several chairs and desks were pressed against it but he still managed to push through without much effort. The woman must have been terrified of his body as it ravaged their safe room. He listened for heartbeats. He found only the heartbeat of a small animal outside. It was quicker than his own. It was from a rabbit. He didn’t know how long he slept, but the woman and her child were long gone. He passed by a full body mirror as he walked towards the exit. He stopped and looked at himself. The scab was peeling off where the knife was once inserted in his left arm. The shirt he wore was riddled with holes and barely held together by a few threads. His skin was covered in scars and dirt. All of his muscles that draped over his body were well defined and thick. He had to slouch more to see his face. He forgot how tall he was in life since he had been an Azrael for so long. The constant running and slouch in his posture from persistently chasing people and feeding warped his frame. He favored a gorilla in his upper frame and had a lower half of an Olympic sprinter. He wondered why he was so apelike. What did the virus do to alter the human body this much? Maybe the lifestyle his body had lived trained and enhanced muscles that he normally wouldn’t have used? He looked into his gray eyes and could see no difference in what the other Azrael look like. His face was sharp and chiseled. He looked nothing like he did as a man, unrecognizable as Randall Williams. He opened his mouth and observed the yellow film covering his teeth. He turned from the mirror and began to walk towards the door. He wondered exactly where he was, but thought that this was a good place to hunt wild animals and a place where he can sleep. He found the rabbit from its heartbeat, trapped it and killed it. It only slightly satisfied his hunger, but it was something. Maybe he could live like this for now. It was better than eating people. He listened for any more animals to feed on. Several options of heartbeats entered his eardrums. He smiled and set out to hunt once more. Finally humans were not on his menu. He wondered if it would weaken him. It didn’t matter. He thought about the woman and child. He finally was able to save someone from himself. Maybe he can beat this sickness, maybe.
A sound of a truck driving in the distance caught his attention. Another human was crossing his path. Maybe the woman was coming back to finish the job she started. Randall listened closely to the truck as it pushed down the road quickly. The engine was old but he didn’t care about that. He listened to what was inside. He heard two voices, a woman and a small boy. He smelled grass and dirt, but the boy had a much stronger odor. His heartbeat was fast but not in any fear. However, her heartbeat was different. It was very fast, almost as fast as his own. Could he drive a car? Was she like him? The car passed and he smelled her scent beyond the grass and dirt. It was human. What was she? His curiosity could get more people killed, he thought.
He decided to continue his hunt, but something followed. Another set of sounds shadowed the truck. There were five motors coming. Their heartbeats were concealed by the rumbling of the engines. However, something was different about them too. As they neared his presence he sensed that they noticed him as well. They passed by in all black all gazing upon his eyes. The last one made a gesture of a gun and pretended to shoot Randall. The aroma of human surrounded all of them. He faintly heard the sound of heartbeats. Quickly paced beats fluttered briefly until they faded into the sound of the breeze rustling the tall corn plants. What was going on? Was it worth risking more lives to follow them? Answers to what he has become were something he desired more these days.
A heartbeat of a deer nearby entered his thoughts and the craving to feed was now priority one. He knows what he is, a primal hunting monster, nothing more. Meal time, he thought. He knocked over an outside lighting fixture that was only a foot off of the ground as he entered chase. The blinking light immune to his sense of sight continued to blink. In two weeks a team of assassins trained solely with the skill to kill will arrive to clear out the safe house of any Azrael. A repair man will fix anything of value and a new pair of highwaymen will be stationed there. However, Randall was unaware of this. He chose isolation, nothing but death followed Randall these days with or without his consent.
CHAPTER 17
WHITE CLOUDS
Giselle sat up all night thinking about how to acquire more bullets or other ways to dispose of the Azrael at the pharmacy. She pulled out her map and searched for nearby gun shops or antique shops that may carry swords. She thought hard about the swords and that she has no real training using them. She’s gonna get herself killed thinking she’s some samurai woman. Another problem was most of the weapons at antique shops are not designed for battle. They were intended for display purposes only. She imagined that they would break after a few uses. There were no safe houses close enough for her to acquire more rounds or magazines for her pistol.
She continued to study the map and something caught her eye, but not from the map she was looking at. A brochure for the National Guard was on a shelf among other brochures from other military branches. The address on the brochure is what sparked an interest in Giselle’s mind. The Illinois Army National Guard was about three to four blocks from Snyders Drug Store. They would have to hold weapons there, she doubted too many people thought it would be wise to loot a military facility. She had hope, but thought of a back-up plan just in case there was nothing there or she couldn’t get inside. It involved a knife and her new found enhancements. However, it would be a bloody and dangerous plan that involved all hand to hand combat. She finally found her peace and was comfortable enough to sleep. It was four in the morning, but she still had a few hours of darkness before the sun illuminated the streets. She shut her eyes and entered a dreamless sleep.
Morning came and Steven knocked on Giselle’s door. Her door opened and she sluggishly turned back around and plopped on the bed wearing an oversized shirt.
“It’s nine o’clock Miss Giselle.” Steven said and turned around and left for the kitchen area. Was it nine o’clock already. She slept a few hours later than she wanted to. She grabbed her pants, some socks, a bra and shirt and disappeared into the bathroom. Ten minutes later she showed up to the kitchen area fully dressed and showered. Steven saw her first and gasped.
“Your eyes, they…” He didn’t finish his sentence before Giselle disappeared back into the bathroom slamming the door. She looked in the mirror and realized her eyes had fully changed. A gray film fully covered her corneas. Her eyes were just li
ke the Azrael. She finished examining her eyes and left the bathroom and walked towards her backpack. She searched frantically for something that could help her situation. She found them and exited her room wearing them.
“Nice shades Giselle.” Doris said winking at her.
“Where’s Kelly?” Giselle asked.
“She’s in Chloe’s room keeping an eye on her breathing. She didn’t sleep a wink last night. Mothers don’t sleep when their babies are dying.” Doris said with glassy eyes.
“I bet not. I’m heading over there as soon as I eat something. I’m starving. I mean seriously I feel like I haven’t eaten anything in a week.” As she spoke her stomach rumbled. Giselle wondered if it was a side effect from whatever she had become.
“There wasn’t much here, but I managed to whip up some oatmeal and some eggs from a carton. It took me a while to figure out that the grill used propane. You got up at a good time. We just finished eating a few minutes ago.
“It smells amazing, thank you so much. She reached for the oatmeal and also grabbed the plate of eggs and immediately started eating. She was so busy stuffing her face that she failed to notice Doris handing her a plate.
“Well, looks like you are pretty hungry. Oh, my when was the last time you ate Honey?” Doris asked as she wondered the same thing about Steven.
“Last night.” Giselle said in between bites but still concentrated on eating her food. It was so good.
“Well, I’ve never seen such an appetite on a lady.” Doris said shaking her head.
“She’s no lady, she’s one tough bitch!” Steven said smiling at Giselle and nodding his head. She stopped eating and looked up at him. She thought she mouthed that to herself.
“You heard that?” Giselle asked Steven.
“I’m not a kid, I notice things. Mommy used to whisper to her patients all the time when they were around me. I paid close attention to her lips and learned a lot about those sick people. Like one lady was addicted to fucking. What’s fucking?” Steven asked. Giselle choked on her food and had a coughing fit. Doris’ eyes grew in size and she covered her mouth in surprise. The coughing startled Kelly and she came in to see what was going on.
“What’s got you all choked up Giselle?” Kelly said wiping her eyes. Dark bags were under them and her hair was pulled in a sloppy pony tail.
“Nothing, the boy just surprised us, that’s all.” Doris said shaking her head in disapproval.
“By the way, where’s Brian?” Kelly asked looking around.
“He said he was going for a walk to clear his head. Said he’d be back at eight.” Doris said looking at the clock.
“It’s almost nine thirty. Did he have a gun?” Giselle asked.
“He always takes his gun when he goes outside.” Doris responded.
“Shit! He went to Snyders. I’m getting my stuff and heading out now.” Giselle said standing up. She left for her room and grabbed her stuff and attached her gun belt and inserted her pistol. She searched for Brian’s gun and found it missing. That sneaky bastard, she thought. She grabbed her knife and headed back to the kitchen table.
“Oh, is that oatmeal?” Kelly said sitting down and reached for the bowl. Giselle picked up her spoon and shoveled the rest of the oatmeal in her mouth, wiped her face with her sleeve and walked out the door.
“I’ll whip up another batch.” Doris said grabbing the bowl and taking it to the sink to clean it.
“Thanks. Some manners. What’s with the glasses? Is she hungover?” Kelly said shaking her head.
“Heh, you should hear the boy’s mouth.” Doris said looking over her glasses with her chin down and cut her eyes at Steven.
“I’ll take more eggs please.” Steven said smiling at Doris with a mouthful of the remaining eggs.
“Looks like I’m making eggs too. I don’t know what’s wrong with these people.” Doris said reaching for the carton of eggs.
Giselle left the shade of the building and the sun hit her face. The warmth put her at ease as the sounds of the urban setting surrounded her. The intense wind carried scents of Azrael from places beyond her sight. They were miles away wandering the streets in hopes for an easy meal. The breeze turned the wheel of a bike turned upside down three blocks away. The sounds of steps from inside the YMCA pulled her attention away from the beyond.
“The girl needs me.” Giselle said to herself. She focused her attention on Snyders and found Brian’s thick human aroma. She applied the masking agent that she found in the cabinet in the bathroom of her room. The slight hint of fish hit her senses and she thought that they could have come up with a better aroma, an aroma that doesn’t reek of vaginosis. She inhaled a great breath and exhaled through her mouth calm and cool. Before she left for the Army National Guard building she needed to locate Brian and hopefully stop him from doing something stupid, again.
As she neared Snyders she noticed a fifteenth heartbeat, but it wasn’t inside. It wasn’t even on the same side of the street as Snyders. In the building next to the cash store she heard a heartbeat moving quickly. She smelled something like burning plastic and cat piss. She smelled blood enter the air as well and a strong human odor. She entered the building and didn’t even surprise him. He was too busy smoking up crystal meth.
“What the hell are you doing Brian?” She asked and his eyes were hyper focused on his task of getting high.
“Brian? What the fuck man?” She asked again. He finally looked up and seemed surprised to see Giselle.
“What the do you want?” Brian asked exhaling smoke after his lips left his pipe.
“Those things are right outside and you’re in here doing that shit?” Giselle said pointing at the pipe in his hands. “Where’s your gun?”
“Taking a Domer, hah. I’m so fucking amped.” Brian smiled as the thick white smoke lingered near his face and he inhaled. He jumped up and released a loud shout.
“What the hell are you talking about? Where’s your damned gun?” Giselle said and noticed it tucked into his pants. She stepped up to him and took it from him. He reached for it but she was quicker than he reacted.
“Hey, I was gonna use that, bitch. I’m going inside there and getting Chloe an inhaler. I’m not useless. I can take care of Chloe. It’s my job you cunt.” Brian said blowing smoke into Giselle’s face as he spoke to her. She punched him in the face, really hard. He dropped and his face was bleeding. It was bleeding a lot.
“Shit, I hit him too hard.” She said looking towards Snyders and listened for the Azrael. They were still inside however she heard a small group to the south near an abandoned building heading her way. “We’ve got company coming.” She said turning away from Brian and focused her senses.
“What the hell you talkin’ ‘bout? I don’t see nothin’. You must be trippin’ off this shit too. Hah, fucking judging me. You’re sitting here breathing in all my shit. What you hidin’ behind those glasses? You hypocrite!” He said pointing at her with his pipe and then sucked in another huge breath. She knocked it out of his mouth and he coughed breathing out a huge white cloud of the shit in her face again. He laughed wiping blood from his nose on his sleeve. “Bitch you’re a hypocrite!” He yelled as he fell to the ground laughing and crawled over and picked up his pipe.
Her senses were amplified even higher than before. She heard a fly enter the building’s broken windows being drawn to Brian’s aroma. She saw it, the wings were fluttering and she could see the individual wings. It looked at her and whistled. Damn it, she is trippin’.
“God damned it Brian. You’re gonna get us killed.” She said trying to focus on the threats outside instead of everything else distracting her.
“You’re already high, bitch. Fucking lightweight.” He said doing a headstand leaning against the wall trying to balance his legs in the air.
“I can do this. I can do this.” Giselle said to herself and could feel the thumping of the Azrael’s heartbeats as they got closer to the building. There were only three coming. She could taste thei
r drool in the air. It was sour. The alpha entered the building and saw Giselle but turned to face Brian. It sprinted towards him.
“Fuck! Shoot them! You took my gun, bitch. Shoot them!” He yelled as he fell over and shielded his face throwing his pipe at the alpha.
“I got this.” Giselle said already aiming her pistol at the alpha with the silencer screwed on. She squeezed the trigger twice, turned, aimed, shot twice, aimed and shot twice. Her pistol was empty. All three dropped instantly with perfectly placed shots severing the spine at the base of the skull on all three.
“Holy shit! This is good ass crank!” Brian said leaping into the air and kicking his leg. He hit the ground awkwardly and attempted some unskilled combat roll. He scurried on the floor towards the pipe and tried to get another crank set up to smoke. She kicked it out of his hands and it disappeared out of the window. “What are you doing? That’s some superhuman shit I made.” Brian said looking up at Giselle like she crushed his hopes and dreams.
“It’s not the drugs Brian. I’m different. I have special training. Let’s just leave it at that.” She said reaching her hand out to him. “Can you walk?” She asked.
“Why can’t I walk? It didn’t bite me. Did it bite me? No, no, no it bit me.” Brian was trippin’ balls.
“I presume that as a no. Don’t take this the wrong way.” She knocked him across his skull with the butt of her pistol knocking him out cold. She picked him up and carried him back to the YMCA. She walked in.
“What happened? Was he bit?” Kelly asked searching his body for bite marks.