The Great War (Surviving the Zombie Nightmare Book 5)

by White, Daniel

  There was no way to know just how angry with her Eric was or wasn't and it did not pass her by that it was possible he didn't care at all. Truthfully that would be worse than him wanting to kill her thanks to her personality. All through her life she had been the center of attention for one reason or another. Sometimes it was because of a certain boy she hung around or because of a job she decided she could do well at but other times, a lot of times it was about her looks.

  Sitting in the fairly luxurious quarters that O.A. had provided for her, she wondered for about the thousandth time exactly what her role was to be here. She was pregnant with the child of Bayne but it was beginning to look like there were holes forming in the combined armor of the O.A. brass. The spiritual guide had been killed or had killed himself, depending on whose story you chose to believe and now the great Dr. Isaiah was gone as well. What was going on, she wondered and why did she allow herself to be convinced that this was the place where she could sit out the war and have the best chance for survival?

  That was what it all came down to after all. It was a wonder she and Bayne were able to coexist for as long as they did considering how similar they were. He was all about survival no matter what he had to do just like Mandy was, with the not-so-small difference that he was honorable. As far as what would be written about them when they were long gone and forgotten, she knew that someone would write something beautiful about Bayne. He was the kind of anti-hero that people loved to pawn after when they were dead and gone. For her part, Mandy was fairly certain that nobody would write a damn thing about her because she didn't care who she stepped on to survive.

  All of her combined questions and worries had led her to request an audience with Admiral Bullosky. He had put her off for over twenty-four hours from the time of her request which was very odd. She had a feeling he was forcing himself to be nice to her for one reason or another but it was fine with her as long as he kept doing it. Not considering her a priority in this type of a situation was not a good sign that the good nature of the demon towards her would continue however.

  She walked into his quarters just as a few soldiers left. They were not wearing standard O.A.-issue armor but that meant less than nothing to Mandy since she had no idea how many types of armor or uniforms they had. Before she went all the way to where he was, he held up a hand to stop her.

  “That is close enough Mandy,” he said in a deep voice that sounded quite angry. “Whatever you have to say and whatever questions you may have will have to be voiced from the same distance as everyone else who requests an audience with me. You may speak freely.”

  Mandy's nose crunched with the expression she made, her hands went to her hips and she said, “I may speak freely? What the hell is that Bullosky?”

  Without missing a beat he said, “It is your latest command Mandy and I suggest you follow the order or remove yourself from my presence.”

  Clearly, she figured, something had shifted in their little false relationship but she refused to believe that he cared nothing for the leverage she carried in her plump and round belly. Using that thought to aid her confidence, she asked, “Are you going to be able to keep control of Organic Ascendancy like you hope? You seem stressed about something or maybe the right word is that you seem pissed off; whatever the case,” she shrugged, “I need to know if I chose the right meal ticket here.”

  “I do not follow.”

  Mandy rolled her eyes, “Oh would you stop with the dramatic conversation? I know you probably would just as soon have me killed or squash me with your boot as to look at me but I have something you want.” She rubbed her belly bump, “Consider the feeling mutual as far as me not carrying any significant loyalty to you or your kind. I only need to know if you still have need of me and plan to protect me as you claimed you would. If not, I would like permission to leave this hell-hole and find somewhere else to survive. Things are getting tense around here and I don't want to be here with the shit hits the fan unless I know I have the same protection I had before.”

  For the first time since she entered the room, Bullosky's expression became slightly less intense. Mandy would like to assume it was a good sign but the truth was that she didn't know for sure. He stood and walked towards her slowly as he spoke. “Mandy, you are correct. I hold no special appreciation for your life whatsoever. I like the truthful and blunt way you are willing to speak to me but it is not enough to keep me from slicing that pretty head off of your shoulders. Only the seed of Bayne keeps you in service and in demand as far as I am concerned.

  “You are correct about that as well as the casual thought that matters here at Organic Ascendancy are about to get extremely vital. Fortunately for you, it appears that you still have a few months left before you are full term and you lose your value to me. At that point you will be of no further use to me and you will be eliminated.”

  “What?” Mandy felt the blood drain from her face at having heard this demon tell her in simple terms, right to her face that she was as good as a dead woman walking. “What makes you think I am willing to stick around until little Bayne seed, as you call him, is born?”

  Bullosky was shifting facial expressions quickly and Mandy recognized the fact that he was shifting into his full demonic form. It was positively terrifying but somehow Mandy managed to keep herself rooted in place though she knew her legs were shaking slightly as she watched him sit back down where he had been sitting when she walked inside.

  She had been so focused on what was going on with his face that she hadn't even heard the two guards walk in. They each grabbed one of her arms and quickly lifted her off of the floor. Mandy kicked her legs and fought as much as she could but there was no escaping the hold they had on her. Fear easily found its way to her face as she was carried right up to Bullosky's demonic form. It was difficult to be certain of anything in her current frame of mind but she could almost say the demon was smiling.

  “You are funny human,” he said in a deep tone of voice that sounded like a low rumble of quiet thunder, “To imagine you have any choice in the matter. You will be kept in place near me until your seed is produced and at that time you will have lived out your purpose on this earth. You will not escape and you will not survive. Perhaps you should have thought twice before agreeing to fight alongside demons!” He laughed and added, “Perhaps all of you should have!”

  Chapter 14

  Once upon a time Eric actually would have enjoyed a long and leisurely drive down the open road with the windows down and wind blasting him in the face. As he looked out the window and accepted the masterful force of the wind against him, he was thinking about anything but the ride or the road. It was no secret that what he and Destiny were about to drive into was something that would change them both forever in an untold number of ways. Though he had professed no loyalty to the female warrior driving the truck beside him, it was impossible to imagine attacking a place as secure as Organic Ascendancy's headquarters without her.

  Whether or not he felt like he could trust her was beside the point altogether because he simply had no choice. If at any point after they entered the military-style complex of O.A. Destiny wanted to betray him, she would have countless chances to do so. He knew damn well she would probably get him if she wanted to take him down in that way but something told him that she really didn't want to. If she did, she likely knew he would do everything he could to take her down with him.

  The more desirable scenario would be for them both to somehow make it through the upcoming mess alive, recuperate somewhere and have a go at each other one on one for a final time. It would possibly be a tad of fun and certainly would be the only way to really tell which of them really had the number of the other one with all secrecy and trickery left behind. For now, it was the two of them in a war against a legion of warriors who were well trained along with an untold number of demons, zombie-demon half-breeds and probably a few regular zombies as well.

  It wouldn't be easy to come out the other side alive and would certa
inly be impossible to come out the other side similar in some way to the way he was now. What mattered was not what happened to them however, it was most important what they were able to do to weaken the organization of O.A. as well as let the demons know who was coming for them. It would be a battle, but Eric wasn't worried about the battle. He had faced and killed all of them before and knew he could do it again. If they killed him then he would go down fighting. What bothered him was the unknown.

  Each time he had gone face to face with anyone associated with the demonic Admiral Bullosky, something backhanded and twisted had surprised him. It was not only likely that something similar would be thrown at him this time as well, but it was expected. The problem was that it was impossible to prepare for something completely unknown. If he had the tendency to pray to the god and angelic beings who he fought on the side of, this would definitely be the time. As it was, he simply gritted his teeth and prepared for the battle of his life.

  They had left the interstate system behind some thirty miles ago, the four lane section of road probably ten miles ago and now Eric saw that the paved section of road was about to end. The truck came to a stop on the gravel road under a thick tree canopy and Eric glanced in Destiny's direction, “Either this complex's brilliance has been vastly overstated or you've led me into a trap of back road, hick-mountain hell.”

  There was actually a smile on Destiny's face when she looked over, and it surprised Eric that he sometimes forgot what had been the weapon she ever used against him: her stunning looks. That thought passed quickly enough as she answered.

  “It probably looks like a trap but just remember that if I was leading you into a trap, you wouldn't see it coming,” she blew on her nails as she glanced at them, “It’s part of my charm.” With a quick glance back towards him she broke her little facade, “Look, it just appears this way here to help throw others off the trail and to allow the sensors around the area to hear any type of vehicle or foot traffic coming their way. The entire area is walled off not far from here and hidden under vines and electrical shock lines. This is literally the only way to get closer than we are right now and live to tell about it. Soon it will open up into a wide concrete paved area that is open in a way that ensures nobody would be able to flee without getting blasted into bits before they reached the tree line.” She unbuckled as she finished and stepped into the back of the vehicle.

  Eric watched her go and then turned back around to examine the area. There was no sign of a sensor or a wall or anything that she mentioned. “Well, fuck if it isn't the most secure damn place on earth. I always thought that was just a load of bullshit.”

  “Nope,” Destiny said as she sat down in the back near the soldier prisoner they were forcing to be their ticket inside and slapped him on the shoulder, “Curtis here can attest to it.” When nothing but silence came from him she followed with, “Well he could if he was talking. It doesn't matter either way. As soon as we get back here and in position, he will pull the truck forward onto the gravel and its game on. Get your smelly ass back here lover-boy so we can get this over with.”

  Reluctantly Eric unfastened his seat belt and started walking towards the back. He took a moment to examine the uniform worn by the soldier. It was the first time he had really looked at it but the armored get-up was pretty fancy. It was greenish-black armor that appeared very cloth-like. His name was nowhere to be seen with a number taking the place where the name might usually be on his armor. It was one of only two removable things on the armor with the other being his awards patch that included a pretty little Organic Ascendancy insignia.

  Looking at himself quickly, Eric noticed that his borrowed uniform was very plain and very unarmored compared to his. For a second he thought about demanding that they change but it would never work. He wouldn't likely be allowed through the checkpoint at the main gate without his number and official armor, at least not without a long delay while he was forced to explain and go through any number of preventative measures. He decided that he would just have to trust that the fool wasn't willing to die at their hands for whatever reason.

  As he settled down onto his stomach in the back of the truck, Destiny laid down next to him. She propped up abruptly on one side and smirked, “Is laying with me everything you ever expected it would be lover-boy?”

  Eric glanced sideways at her and flippantly said, “Pretty much, yeah.”

  She kept her oddly good mood as she lay back down and said, “Hit it Curtis! Let's do this!”

  “Wait!” Eric shouted before the truck could even be put into gear. He glanced at Curtis and said, “Don't fucking move until I say so.” He sat up and glared down at a very relaxed Destiny, “Why the hell are you so damn cheery?”

  She shrugged, “What do you mean?”

  Eric got the feeling she really didn't know what he was talking about. He said, “We are about to get into something that we both know is probably going to be the closest to death we have come for at least the last few months and you are laying there smiling and cracking jokes. What gives? What do you know that I don't?”

  He watched as her brows furrowed and she gave thought to what he had said. It seemed that her eyes went through a range of emotions as she probably thought through what she was feeling and why. At last her expression grew more somber and she glanced at him with something that appeared close to sadness in her eyes. “Ever have a place that felt like home, like really felt like home?”

  Eric nodded, “Yeah, several years ago I guess.”

  “I'm going home,” she shrugged. “I just so happen to be going back to take care of the wrongs that have happened in my absence. The fact that it will mean killing people I considered brothers in arms bothers me a great deal, but you know what,” she shrugged and the faint smile returned, “It’s still home. That answer your question?”

  Eric lay back down and stared directly at the ceiling, preparing for the odd feeling of waiting like a sitting duck while the most important part of this plan was left up to someone who was a professing enemy they had taken prisoner. Finally he answered, “Fuck, no, it doesn't.” After a beat he said, “Let's get it on, Curtis. Press go fucker.”

  He glanced in the soldier's direction and saw a very strange expression on his face. It almost looked like a hurt expression but Eric eventually decided it must be akin to anger in one way or another. Just to make himself feel a little more secure lying like a fool in the back of the damn truck, Eric said, “Don't be a hero Curtis. Just do it like we said and you'll at least live as long as we do.”

  Destiny elbowed him in the ribs, “He won't screw us over. Stop worrying so much, you're starting to sound like that Mandy slut on a whiny day. He'll at least wait until he has back-up before turning on us and by that time we'll be inside anyway.”

  Eric had forgotten all about Mandy until that moment and it wasn't until then that he realized how much fun this had the potential of being. Wouldn't it be great if he got a free shot at that little deserter? He nodded as he finally felt ready for the mission and grew quiet as the sound of large wheels crushing gravel beneath them suddenly sounded like music to his ears. He couldn't think of anything outside of the first dozen things that would probably go wrong that would ruin this for him now.

  A chill ran through his body as if his blood had suddenly grown cold. Perhaps it had, because business was picking up and it was about to be his favorite time of any day; time to kill fucking demons and zombies. A snarl came to his face as he waited for the gravel to end and the pavement to begin.

  Within a few minutes the sound of gravel gave way to the low toned song of deep-treaded tires on concrete. Destiny reminded him that they were supposed to be laying face down when she turned that way herself. Eric slowly turned and tried to appear as if he were dead. It was already beginning to feel strange and he figured it would be quite a while before they were able to move.

  “Lay as still as possible,” Destiny said in a whisper, “You never know what kind of sensors they have out here.�
�

  Eric was already being as still as he could but he was at least glad to hear a bit of a normal tone in Destiny's voice. It was the first time she had sounded like she was getting serious about the mission. Shortly their speed increased and Eric took note that when their speed decreased, it would actually be time to worry and soon after that, it finally would be time to kick ass.

  Chapter 15

  Dr. Cain had the greatest sense of dejavu as she listened to her planning expert, Mr. Peyton Terry, lay out the genius plot he had apparently come up with a little while ago. All at once she wondered how many times she had trusted this man to come up with a plan to get Organic Ascendancy through the toughest of times and how in the world she had ever come to listen to a demon instead of him. Perhaps it had been a terrible oversight on her part to bring the demon into the fray at all, though she was not ready to admit that because of how far they had progressed since the partnership. There were problems but she had expected some problems when literally making a deal with the devil.

  Still, she knew she had not always been willing to go so far to achieve a goal. Whether it was because she felt that time was short or because she had officially lost her mind, she couldn't tell. She was different to be sure. How far back did the insanity go? Was it really best to get rid of Destiny in the way she did? It seemed like the obvious choice to take down Nichols in light of having demons on hand and also having Cornell waiting in the wings to take his place. Was that something she would have done five years ago? Reanimating human beings was awesome and she knew she wanted it to happen but she also knew she would never even have thought of it several years ago. Sitting here now around the table in her quarters on which nobody had ever eaten a meal, much less met to discuss plans, she could not remember for the life of her when things shifted but she still believed most of those decisions were the right ones.