by Jesse Gagnon
The footsteps were inches from the curtain and she could hear sniffing and breathing. She could see bare feet under the curtain. They were pale and dirty. The scent of Azrael was overwhelming but she remained quiet as a mouse. More footsteps approached from another corner of the church. The stench of Azrael was surrounding the booth. She knew her presence was discovered. She had the pepper spray aimed towards the curtains while she was turned away with her eyes closed. The curtains swung open and she unloaded the small container of pepper spray at the attackers. She heard raspy wails and a crash like something fell. She opened her eyes and saw the Alpha Azrael that she had strapped to the table on its back on top of two others as it rubbed at its face in pain. She gazed at the canister with shock and placed the keychain back in her pocket and sprinted out of the building. She didn’t bother looking back. Noises of hissing and grunting faded behind her.
Giselle noticed Jane sprint out of the church as if she were running for her life. She was running blindly west on Roosevelt towards nothing of interest. Giselle knew that if she didn’t help the woman that she would eventually become one of them. She reached in her bag and tossed another noisemaker towards the herd that was just east of her location all piled up on Roosevelt. What she didn’t notice was the Alpha that darted out of the church. Before Giselle could turn around to run towards Jane she was tackled to the ground by the Alpha. Her glasses flung off of her face and the back of her head smashed into the pavement. She lost consciousness but the bite on her left shoulder pumped adrenaline throughout her body quickly and forced her awake immediately. The Alpha paused as it tasted Giselle’s flavor and scowled at the taste of it. In a fit of rage it raised its massive arms and dropped them on Giselle. She managed to pull her arms up to defend her body in time but the force of the blows brought the wind out of her. She reached for her pistol and attempted a shot but the Alpha knocked it out of her hands with uncoordinated attacks with its massive arms. She knew she was losing this battle and tried to think of a way to escape. The drool of the beast flung wildly spraying her face and arms as it continued its assault on Giselle. In the corner of her eye she noticed the herd breaking away from the noisemakers and pooling their attention on their Alpha.
Giselle thought about Jessica. She thought about her brother. She thought about her stepfather Austin and her mother. Images of Steven and Ethan flickered in and out urging her to get up. Her vision began to blur as some of the relentless strikes landed on her head causing the back of her skull to bounce off the pavement again violently. She heard heartbeats, many, many heartbeats everywhere. She smelled the stench of the Azrael and tasted their sour breath in the air. The noises started to quiet down as her senses began to fade from her. This was the end. Her vision turned black and she heard nothing more.
Jason’s voice entered her mind. His image gradually emerged through a dense fog.
“Jason? What are you doing here?”
“You need to get up.”
“I can’t. It’s over Jason. I’m dead.”
“Get up Giselle.”
“Why?”
“They’re coming. Run Giselle.”
Jason turned and ran into the fog. Her senses slowly returned to her. The Alpha was on its side with several holes in its skull. The herd was twenty yards away and two more were exiting the church towards her. To her left Jane was sprinting away carrying Giselle’s pistol. She had saved her. Giselle got up and could hear her ribs grinding from several breaks. She had to wipe blood from her face to keep it from blinding her. She reached in her black bag that was nearby and pulled out a frag grenade and tossed it towards the two that were exiting the church. Body parts scattered across the sidewalk and Azrael blood caked the walls of the church. She reached in, pulled out the last flash grenade she had and tossed it at the group, turned her head as the blinding lights ignited and bloomed brilliantly blinding the herd. Her sunglasses were shattered into pieces under the Alpha.
“Fuck. I liked those ones.” Giselle shook her head and turned to see where Jane was off to. She began to hobble towards her as fast as she could. Her ankle was broken, ribs were broken and she was sure the back of her skull was cracked all the way to her right eye socket. Giselle was a survivor though and kept moving towards Jane.
Jane turned around and had to shield her eyes from the blinding light in front of the herd. She saw a dark figure moving towards her in front of the light. She couldn’t tell what it was but it didn’t move naturally. She aimed the pistol at the figure. She held the gun steady and shot twice. She pulled the trigger a third time but it just clicked. She continued to pull the trigger and it only clicked. Fuck, she was out. The figure stopped and fell to a knee. She knew that at least one of the shots hit.
Being as attractive as she was she had bought a pistol that she could fit in her purse to keep the creeps away. She always boasted that she had a gun in her pocketbook on every date she had ever been on. It was a lie of course, but as she got older she knew that one day someone would try anyway. So she bought Bessie and took her on the range twice a week. She flirted with the owner and got private lessons. She never even had to pay for ammunition. Eventually the owner died and his wife took over. That was the end of her free lessons and she quit going.
The figure coughed and put its hand out as if telling her to stop. The blinding light fizzled away and the figure progressively took shape. It was Giselle. Holy shit, she was still alive? Her face was disfigured and bones were sticking out of her chest and legs. How was she still alive, unless she had transformed into one of them? She turned around and began to run.
“No, wait! Jane. It’s me.” The voice was weak but still managed to reach Jane’s ears. She stopped in her tracks and turned around.
“You’re alive? Fuck!” Jane ran towards Giselle and saw what had become of her savior. Her face was swollen and her hair was matted with a giant scab on her head. Some of her ribs were poking through her skin, but a scab ring was around it. She had two gunshot wounds in her chest and she could hear her struggle to breathe as one of her lungs was punctured.
“You shot me!”
“I’m sorry Giselle. I thought you were one of them. You were dead Giselle. How are you up and moving?”
“Those bastards can’t kill me.” Giselle explained and attempted a smile. However, her face appeared like a female baboon’s butt in heat. So any expression was lost.
“Whoa! Your eyes. What the fuck is wrong with your eyes?”
“Oh, that. Well…”
“Well, what? Should I worry about this?”
“No, I’ve had this for a while. It’s kind of a long story.”
“The sunglasses?”
“Yeah, the sunglasses.”
“Can I get what you have by coming in contact with your blood?”
“I don’t know yet. For now, just keep away.”
“I was going to do that anyway. Can you stand up?”
“Yes.”
“The lights are dimming. Don’t’ know how much longer we have.”
“Three minutes. The eyes, they take a while to adjust in the light. I know. I have em’ too.”
“Can you move?”
“Yes. See that building over there?
“The CVS?”
“Yeah. Let’s go there. Don’t just run inside. Not sure if any of them are inside. Didn’t clear that place.”
“All right.”
After a few minutes they both made it to the front doors of the CVS. Giselle still seemed pretty fucked up. Her swelling in the face had gone down a bit but not by much. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small spray bottle. She sprayed her entire body in some fishy smelling substance.
“What the hell is that? Smells horrible.”
“A masking agent. The Highwaymen use it to hide from the Azrael. Works most of the time.”
“Most of the time?”
“Yes, most of the time. It’s failed me before.”
“Not sure it’s worth smelling like that for ‘most
of the time’ odds.”
“It’s your funeral.”
“Fine. Spray it. Just don’t go crazy with it.”
Giselle sprayed the masking agent gingerly on the ginger.
“Okay. Let me check to see if any are inside. I’m a little fucked up right now so its gonna take some time to scope out the place.”
“Okay. I’ll be outside.” Jane crouched next to a bush and watched intently towards the west on Roosevelt. The lights were almost completely out but she couldn’t see any Azrael movement. Maybe they were going to be okay. After about five minutes she heard footsteps nearby.
“Inside. We’re clear.”
“Are you sure.”
“Yes. Hurry up. I can hear them moving outside.”
“Where? “ Jane hurried inside and closed the doors behind her. The place smelled clean. The shelves were raided, but it didn’t smell inhabited by Azrael. “I don’t hear anything. What are you hearing Giselle? What the hell is going on with you?”
“In the back. I’ll tell you all about it.” Giselle insisted while hobbling towards the back of the building and towards the pharmacy. It was separated from the rest of the building by a large bulletproof window like Snyders. The door to the pharmacy was locked and untouched medicine could be seen beyond the window. Several divots and cracks in the glass indicated someone tried to get in with no luck. She removed two black hairpins from a pocket on the inside of the grenade bag and started to pick the lock. In a few moments she had the door unlocked. She entered the pharmacy and Jane followed her while shutting the door behind them. Giselle disappeared in the back for ten seconds and returned with something in her hand.
“Okay, so where to begin?” Giselle asked after taking two Vicodin that she found from the back.
Chapter 6
Assembling The Team
An alarm unfamiliar to Mario woke him from a deep sleep his body had only begun to get used to. He hadn’t been able to indulge himself with this kind of sleep in years. The world had kept him on edge even during his dreamless sleep. His room was a temporary setup until the move to the lab beyond the walls of Chicago. They had been living within the city walls for a few weeks now and Mario already felt soft. It took time to make all of the arrangements for the underground infrastructure to be built. John and Savanna were next door and within minutes of alarms sounding they were knocking on his door.
“The Alarms.” Mario acknowledged as he answered the door knowing their concerns as well.
“The fucking alarms, what the hell is going on?” John asked. Savanna was still adjusting her bra as she pulled and resituated herself beside John. It appeared that they were caught relaxing a bit too. Apparently they were not allowed peace in this world either.
“Let’s check with Simon to see what’s happening and if we can offer any assistance.”
“Sounds good. We’ll get our shit together and meet you by the stairs at the end of the hall.” John stated while pulling Savanna back into their room. It seemed that they needed to finish what they started earlier. She had an expression of excitement on her face when John winked at her.
Mario closed his door and attempted to reach Taliah through video chat. The call didn’t send and a ‘failed video feed’ error flashed across the screen. He tried a few more times with the same result. It seemed that something was wrong with the network or with the cables that fed the video feed. He decided to just call Taliah instead. After two rings she answered.
“Did you hear?” She responded before saying hello. Mario could hear the fear in her voice along with excitement. What has this world done to her?
“No, what happened? What are these alarms?”
“The Azrael, they are all over the place outside. There!” She pointed as if Mario could see through the phone. “There’s a guy running from… Oh, crap! He’s getting bit by one. Jesus!” Her voice sounded distant.
“Stay where you are. I’m sure your building has top notch security.”
“The doc said that we’re safe up here. He also told me to get away from the windows. But when do we ever listen to the doctor?”
“Always? He’s got a point. It’s not healthy to watch that kind of stuff Taliah. Besides, if they notice you they may try harder to get to you. More could come and you know how that ends.”
Taliah thought about it and imagined the mass of zombies pouring through the downstairs and filtering through eating everyone. It brought shivers down her spine. “You’ve got a point. I’m pretty high up here though. I doubt they’ll see me.”
“You don’t know that. We’re learning every day what capabilities those things have.”
She remembered being dragged by the one Azrael through the woods. She thought of how scared she was and clueless as to what those things were doing.
“I hate when you’re right.” She admitted.
“I’m not always right.”
“I’d bet my life that you are.”
“Don’t say that. I couldn’t…”
“Don’t worry so much about me. I’m safe up here.” She interrupted.
“With the Azrael still around, we’re never safe.” The thought of being out there with Taliah again put a knot in his stomach.
“We’re as safe as we can be right now Mario. That’s good enough for now. Isn’t it?”
“You’re growing up too fast Taliah.”
“Not my choice Mario. Not my choice.”
“I know which is why I worry about you.”
She tried to block images of the House, the place where she was trapped and touched… She felt dirty, pain, vulnerable and hopeless all in the same thought. She choked up on the images that she tried to burn from her memories. It’s over. They’re dead; all of them are dead or worse. Nevertheless, none of it was comforting. It still happened. Everyone knows about her struggles. Not all was revealed to everyone, but she has sympathy. She doesn’t want sympathy. She doesn’t need sympathy. She needs to become tough. This world will chew up and spit out sympathy seekers. She thought about John and Savanna. They were tough and good people. She admired their relationship and John’s bravery. He loves that woman with every fiber of his being. She wondered if she’ll ever meet a man like that.
“Taliah?” Mario was concerned with her long pause.
“I’m here, just thinking.”
“About?”
“Your new job.”
“And that is?”
“Keeping John and Savanna alive. Those two are trouble.” She smiled. Mario could hear it in her voice.
“You’re right. I can do that.”
“Thank you Mario.”
“No problem.”
“I mean for everything. Thanks for all you’ve done for me. I’ll never forget Mario.”
“I’d do it all over again if I had the chance.”
“Which is why you’re so awesome.” She raised her hand up with affirmation of his awesomeness.
“Okay, okay. Guess I should give Simon a call.” Mario admitted and felt loved and appreciated. It made him feel good.
“Do your thing Mario. I’ll be fine. You made sure of that. Never forget that.”
“I won’t. Goodbye Taliah.”
“Goodbye, Mario.” It took a lot to keep her from saying that she loved him. She did love him. Not like she wanted to be his lover, but she truly loved him like a father. She was sad to separate herself from him but knew that it was for the best.
Mario pressed down the receiver disconnect button severing the connection with Taliah. He released the button, listened for a dial tone and once he heard it dialed Simon’s number.
“Mr. Killbrook’s Office, How may I help you?” A secretary answered the phone.
“Yes, uh, this is Mario Cortez. I’m calling…”
“Mr. Cortez, Mr. Killbrook was expecting your call. Can you hold for a second while I transfer you to his desk?” A brief pause followed.
“Simon.” Simon answered already knowing that it was Mr. Cortez, but answered as if he didn�
�t know who it was for formality purposes.
“Hey Simon, this is Mario Cortez. John, Savanna and I are hoping we can assist in whatever way you need.”
“Fantastic, I was just about to contact you. How’d you know?”
“Well, I just found out what the alarms were from Taliah.”
“She’s a bright young girl.”
“Yes, she is. I also tried using the video chat with her but it said something about a failed video feed or something like that.”
“I was getting a bad connection with someone earlier. I’ll have someone check on it when it’s safe of course. It’s not a priority right now with all that’s going on.”
“So, what happened? Why are they in the city?”
“It appears an Azrael broke out of the Field Museum. It’s where we used to study those things. The studies are under new management now. Maybe they pushed them too hard for progress. They pushed us too, but we operated safely. However, keeping a live subject had always been forbidden before. I wonder why they allowed it to happen now. Or maybe they didn’t. We’ll never know. Anyone who worked there is either roaming the streets seeking to infect someone new or was eaten to the bone.”
“So what’s the state of the city? What else can be done? Use me Simon. We’re awaiting orders.”
“A team of mine lured the majority of the herd outside the gates about 10 minutes ago. However, there are still a few concentration areas of Azrael herds scattered throughout the city. They are small groups of fresh turners led by inexperienced Alphas. They should be easy to dispatch, considering your credentials that is.”
“Sounds easy enough. What loadout do you have available to me and my team?”