The Azrael (Book 3): Alpha Zulu

by Jesse Gagnon

  “A what?”

  “A dead guy. He was trying to take me. I got away and…” A hand covered her mouth and she was hauled away from the phone. She kicked and screamed. She noticed Samson on the ground barely breathing. A dart with a feather on the end of it was on his side.

  “Samson.” She cried out but her mouth was covered. The phone was pried from her hand and a distant voice spoke through it.

  “Taliah! Taliah what’s happ…” The call ended by her captor.

  Taliah felt like she was suffocating. Her breathing became taxing and her eyes widened. In her right arm, she noticed a syringe being removed and tossed onto the ground. Her legs stopped kicking and her feet dragged over the corpse as she was extracted from the apartment. All sounds around her weakened while her vision dimmed to a dark haze. Moments later she was brought into complete darkness.

  CHAPTER 47: A PRISONER AT TRICON

  After a few days of isolation, Savanna was introduced to the others on her floor. The security was tight and they seemed to change their pattern of patrols and watch rotations in no real order. The room she first encountered other women with identical immunities housed twelve folding tables with a different arts and crafts station on each one. The room was encased in thick ballistic grade windows while armed guards observed on the outside. A guard with a baton roamed the room keeping a vigilant eye on the prisoners inside. She got to talk to several of the others and they all shared when they were first bit and showed where. Not much intel of other prisoners filtered through the group. There was weekly blood and urine withdrawals and those that become violent were placed in isolation. After each gathering the prisoners were strip searched, full cavity searched and run through a metal detecting machine before sent back to their rooms. No objects found in the activity center were allowed outside of the room. The invasion of privacy and the handsy male guards during searches discouraged most women from attending the arts and crafts activities.

  Savanna knew that this lifestyle was only temporary and gathering intelligence, whether it was about the Azrael or her human captors, was her ticket out. She dealt with the cheap touches and occasional perverted stares but anything beyond that usually landed guards in medical with an injury of some type. At first, Savanna found herself in isolation every other day. But after a few weeks, the advances dropped drastically. Each night she thought about John and wrote an entry about him in her journal. It was one of the few items allowed in her space. The pens were confiscated each time she left her room and was always accounted for. After a month she acquired two hours of television time. Rotations of hundreds of movies were cycled throughout the day. Keeping the prisoners entertained kept them from being idle for too long.

  Savanna did finally feel the safest she’d been in a long time. However, it wasn’t worth her freedom or the time away from her friends and lover. New people arrived daily and with each new arrival, she hoped to see someone she knew. Little did she know that in a week everything would change.

  BRIEF BACKGROUND HISTORY OF CHARACTERS

  Dr. Joseph Schwinn: He is a Medical Virologist whose expertise in the anatomy of viruses and their effects on the human body is renowned worldwide. His research was published in science textbooks across all major colleges while other studies were accredited to discovering hidden genetic information that viruses contain. When the virus outbreak occurred he worked at BioTech Industries but was later released for lack of progress.

  John Masterson: He’s an original member of the Highwaymen who travels along with Savanna Samuels. His rough personality and tough exterior are attributed from his rough childhood. When he was in his early twenties he was an amateur boxer but quit two years into it to take care of his dying mother. She eventually surrendered to pneumonia. Her immune system had already been compromised by the HIV virus. The Scavenger Program was John’s way to help others who were suffering from another virus. He met Savanna six months after joining. She was assigned to John due to her tough personality by Simon Killbrook.

  Savanna Samuels: She’s a pretty thirty four year old woman barely five feet tall with curves in all the right places. She grew up in Pittsburgh along with five older brothers. They were all avid Steelers fans and she adopted their love for the sport. She moved to Chicago chasing a job opportunity to manage a chain of Outdoor and Sporting Goods Stores called Sports King. When the outbreak finally hit Chicago she managed to survive locked inside one of the mega facilities in the Central District. She had locked herself in the back room with cases of canned foods, gallons of water, ammunition and her Beretta that her oldest brother bought her when she moved to Chicago. Another man was in there with her, but he left to find and take care of his wife and young children at home. He never made it out of the store alive, as a human that is. She was later rescued by a roving Highwaymen unit tasked with scavenging the store. She joined the Highwaymen and was paired with John after her training two months later.

  Mario Cortez: Mario joined the U.S. Army when he was eighteen, right out of high school. His mother wanted him to join up to avoid being pulled into the local gang activities. His father was a combat medic in the army as well, so it was also following in the footsteps of his old man. Although he never actually met his father, through the letters sent to his mother and by her stories about the man, he seemed like a great guy. His outstanding Physical Fitness Test (PFT) score earned him an army ranger contract. After successfully completing training and after five years of raids, ambushes, and airfield seizures by land, sea, or by air he was approached by the Green Berets. His drive to become a better soldier was driven by the last letter he received from his mother before her death not long before his invitation to try out for the Green Beret program. Through harsh failures and small victories, Mario successfully completed his training and was quickly introduced to smaller squads and more missions involving very little intelligence and even less support. On his last mission, he was separated from his team and had to deal with several armed highly trained terrorists in Syria with only his knife and his bare hands. He later discovered after completing the mission that his team’s location had been compromised and they were killed during torturous interrogations. Their bodies were found mutilated in a room below the floor where he killed 27 terrorists alone. He requested a transfer to an army base in Missouri after post-traumatic stress disorder was a concern by his command. He revealed very little emotion about the mission, but he did mourn his fallen brothers in his own way. His new job was supposed to be a transitional position to help prepare him for a normal life. He gave basic combat training to new soldiers joining the army. He was a few months from retiring after 26 years of service when the outbreak happened.

  Taliah Banks: She is a 16 year old girl with lots of spunk. Although taken hostage several times, she still maintained her resolve with each attempt at her life. Her African American and Native American heritage explain her sassiness and aids in her ethnic beauty. Her renewed grasp on life was sparked when Mario saved her from a horrible place. Although only sixteen, her influences over Mario’s decisions have put him in danger. Samson, Taliah’s dog, has adopted her as a new owner and would risk everything to keep her safe. Mario and Samson have a tough job ahead of them. Ove r the past few months she has grown fond of Simon.

  Simon Killbrook: He is a 6’11 massive athlete born from giants. His father was 6’5 and his mother was 6’1. Although he was a natural athlete, his G.P.A. was the top of his class and he graduated valedictorian of his high school in Georgia. He was especially interested in Science. The vast amount of information that is still to be discovered always intrigued Simon. He also displayed a natural leadership quality among his teammates at Florida State University, taking on mentoring the junior classmen on the football team. This leadership quality spilled over into the zombie world as he took over the Highwaymen Project. As the organization developed, he found key qualities in individuals and utilized their skills to better serve the Highwaymen. Years later, the president of the Highwaymen still provided
pivotal observational information about the Azrael. A story of Simon carrying several injured Highwaymen to safety for miles with a broken knee has been circling around for years.

  Giselle Johnson: Giselle was raised in two households. At first, she lived with her mother and father struggling to make ends meet. Her father constantly drank and slept with other women. She’s extremely close with her older brother who often protected her from the struggles of growing up poor. When her mother and her father split, she stayed with her mother and her brother Jason stayed with his father. She was later adopted by her stepfather Austin Johnson, the sheriff of Carroll County. She was already tough and stubborn like her father but Austin smoothed out her finesse and taught her how to defend herself with her hands, her mind and a pistol. He strongly believed in the American right to bear arms and in the importance of self-defense. This cross training released a true survivor from within Giselle. Her will to live and overcome any situation thrown at her reveals the massive amount of resolve that she has within herself. Now infected with the virus, her body has become even tougher than it was before. Her senses have been enhanced dramatically along with her ability to heal from her wounds. However, what has she become? What will she discover from the Veil of the Five Daggers?

  Jason Stone: Jason’s alcoholism and womanizing characteristics are not far from his father’s own recipe for relationship disaster. However, Jessica has brought change out of Jason. Her bubbly personality and impatience kept her constantly driving Jason to do better. His passion was learning how things worked. He constantly read books about how things operated and how to make things better. He studied electronics and computer science while dabbling in weapon designs. He was amazed at how basic ballistic weapons were and how easy it was to create bombs that he soon found himself blowing up shit half the time. He actually designed the Highwaymen Singer which whistled and shot out brightly colored fireworks that would keep a herd’s attention for several minutes. Those grenades were used at the Paul Simon Job Corps facility to draw several herds away from it. He was in a pickup truck dropping a grenade every thirty seconds, slowly leading them away from the city of Chicago. A super-herd was created and pulled away towards the northwest. After a few months of pulling more Azrael away from the Mega Safe House, a lot of work was completed by thirty plus workers to establish a facility that could power distant safe houses and provide a central station to bring survivors found out beyond the gates.

  Randall James: An Awakened Azrael whose past is still blurry to him. His pregnant wife, who he gruesomely attacked, still visits him in the dream world, guiding him in the right direction and reminding him of his humanity. His new friend Brooke reminded him of a child he was denied when the Azrael stole everything he loved in one single moment. His role is unclear but his future is important.

  David Palmer: An Azrael with keen instincts at directing his body to do his will. He is not like Randall. Actually, he is just the opposite. David’s purpose is to expose the defects that have gained control over their bodies and eliminate them. He was definitely a product of his environment. His sadistic mind had been groomed to be that of a serial killer due to his father’s secret fascination with torture and his mother’s absent minded actions. His only weakness was that of his sweet younger sister who was taken from them during a house fire when he was young. Maybe her innocence was the only good thing keeping their family from destroying themselves. As David became an Azrael he grew a distaste for intestines and developed a fondness of mutilating while displaying his victims for those to see in unique and twisted ways.

  Dr. Jane Barnett: A doctor with a Ph.D. in Animal Biology was hired to study the Azrael virus after BioiLab Industries let Dr. Schwinn go for lack of progress. Her intricate description of pack hunting written in a manuscript under the tutelage of the late Dr. Franklin Sullivan on the wolf’s dominance in the northern wilderness had propelled her to win a Nobel Peace Prize several years before the virus outbreak. Unfortunately, her ambition to find out something new with the virus motivated her to attempt dangerous studies with no regard to the safety of everyone around her. Jane often used her physical appearance to her benefit in getting what she wanted. Her diva-like tendencies will be an obstacle that she will have to overcome once she joins up with Giselle Johnson and her not-so diva-like tendencies.

  Brooke: A young Azrael girl who escaped from a house that held several other Azrael as prisoners. The house had long been abandoned and the Azrael captured had been slowly starving over the years. Brooke was roughly seven years old and still had a hint of innocence that you would find in children. She was still extremely curious about the world around her but was also brave beyond her years. Maybe it was the virus. Maybe she had always been that way. She was drawn to Randall due to the dominance that he emits through pheromones in his breath. Like a pet, she is eager to please her master and often leaves a meal on the porch for Randall. Although he doesn’t treat her as such, he does enjoy her company and her determination for survival. Brooke is the light that will push Randall to be more than just an Awakened Azrael.

  Chris Murphy: Chris was gifted with two things in life, a photographic memory and an unwavering loyalty to those he cared about. Once thought of as a party starter, Chris became aloof after years of losing those he loved. He chose isolation, living on the perch on top of the Chicago Skyline, to avoid becoming close to anyone else ever again. Chris tried to fool himself into believing that he cared little for those that lived out their lives beneath the nest. On the contrary, he felt a deep burden to live through them as he quietly surveyed the skyline for threats or awaited the call for the Eagles Nest to go active. Each person he guarded would eventually become a target to eliminate, continuing the trend in destroying everything he ever cared about. What future awaits Chris?

  Ethan Daniels: Constantly finding himself in awkward situations, Ethan still manages to survive an impending death around every corner. Ethan could take a real shitty situation and overcome either through survival instincts or be at the right place at the right time. After being saved by Giselle, he was given weeks to recover from his severe dehydration. However, being a teenager, Ethan managed to escape to The Taste of Chicago being held at Soldier Field. Unfortunately, it became a central location of yet another outbreak in Chicago that helped to create a mega herd of Azrael. His escape, although sloppy, brought him to Taliah Banks. What future will these two have?

  Steven Pratt: A young boy discovered by Giselle in the back of a pickup truck she took from the men that tried to eat her and her sister in law. Although he failed to listen to his mother when she told him to hide, he had survived several attempts on his life in hiding. Steven is a tough kid who will do whatever necessary to survive. His quick thinking in rubbing fish oil on his skin not only saved him but two others that hid from an Azrael that he killed. Although Giselle seems to have a heart of stone at times, she has a huge soft spot for Steven. After saving Steven, she has adopted him and would travel through hell and back again to save him. She thought that he would have been safe in Chicago, but where is it safe? Others may try to offer him protection; Steven will only trust the care of Miss Giselle or his own ability to hide.

  Toko: A member of the Veil of the Five Daggers who was tasked with assisting Giselle in whatever needs she required. All of his brothers fell victim to the Azrael and his suicide mission had left him paralyzed at the bottom of a ravine to die a slow and painful death. Fortunately, members of the Veil of the Five daggers retrieved him while scouting the area. He was then given the virus in a controlled lab where he could still function as a human but acquired Azrael like abilities. This version of the virus gave Toko a full recovery from his injuries and blessed him with superhuman senses and strength. However, he needed to take an inhibiting serum daily to keep the virus from fully taking over his body. Toko’s loyalty to Giselle is second only to the Veil’s orders.

  Kyo: A student of many martial arts, Kyo studied with many of the modern martial arts masters from all over Asia.
He encountered Vladomir during underground fighting tournaments that lined his pockets with plenty of quick financial gains. Vladomir had represented the KGB in a tournament in Thailand. His size, strength, and fearlessness earned quite a bit of money in the underground fighting tournaments. His only loss was to Kyo. Although two thirds of Vladomir’s size, he still weighed in at 220 at 6’2, where Vladomir was a solid 385 lbs. at 6’11. Unfortunately for Vladomir, Kyo had been training for 25 years and had mastered three different martial art styles. So when it came down to a technique, Kyo was flawless. He found a mistake a few minutes into the fight and broke Vladomir’s left arm while finishing with an elbow to his temple knocking him out cold. Unfortunately, fighting in underground circuits has its problems and Kyo found himself poisoned before the match that should have killed him. Somehow he still managed to defeat his opponent before the poison completely destroyed his nervous system. As he was placed into the ambulance a scout for the Veil of the Five Daggers intercepted the transit to the hospital and redirected it to their laboratory to be turned into one of its new super soldiers.

  Vladomir: A run of bad luck with his wife and in the KGB brought Vladomir seeking out an outlet to deliver punishment to the world that had hurt him. It provided him with a purpose and meaning when he fought for the KGB, but once he lost his first match to Kyo, he couldn’t shake the loss. Vladomir was obsessed with his opponent and couldn’t understand why he lost to such a smaller man. He finally discovered Kyo’s whereabouts but that’s when he also found out that he had been poisoned and died on the way to the hospital. Unsatisfied with the answers given to him, he continued to ask questions, sought clarification on who poisoned Kyo and where his body had been taken. Through determination and pride, he eventually was contacted by Kyo after his transformation and offered Vladomir a private rematch. After a few minutes, Kyo broke both of Vladomir’s legs, arms and had paralyzed him from the waist down. It may have looked like an ass beating, but Kyo was recruiting Vladomir. Once he explained the virus and how much more powerful he had become using it, Vladomir couldn’t resist the urge to become more powerful along with repairing his life threatening injuries. It may have been a harsh way to recruit, but it was the only answer Vladomir was seeking.