Omega Virus (Book 1): Beta Hour

by Jake A. Strife

  “Probably. He might score too many ‘points’.” I forced a grin.

  “Drop the game references.” Tiffany grumbled walking away; gun held before her.

  “Wesley started it.” I muttered, but she'd already left.

  Jessie leaned in and kissed my cheek. My heart nearly burst from my chest, and my stomach curled into knots.

  She whispered, “Please be careful. I don’t know what I'll do if I lose you.”

  My face burned red as Jessie turned and hurried after Tiffany. Dave gave a grunt of annoyance and followed. He stumbled over my leg but caught himself on a zombie statue.

  “Careful, Noob!” Dave murmured.

  Jeff grabbed my collar, pulling me to my feet. “Sorry about leaving you behind. I thought you were behind me.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. I scored my first ‘point’.”

  “Good job. Gross, though, you got zombie all over you.”

  “Just some Corpse brains.”

  Jeff rubbed his chin. “Corpses? Nice name for 'em.”

  “I guess.”

  “Sounds better than ‘zombie’ for some reason. Funny you know, in most zombie stuff they never call them 'zombies.'“

  “I know, right?”

  Jeff and I shared a laugh. Despite leaving me, maybe he wanted to be my friend?

  Back in the entry room, the girls examined the security monitors. Dave, on the other hand, stared unblinkingly at the front doors, where that same Corpse still pounded on the glass. Another shadow joined the first, this one wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Instead of pounding, it just stood there, unmoving.

  “Any sign of Zombie Killer?” I asked.

  “Not him or his hat,” Tiffany said.

  Jessie pointed at the screen. “Only one camera came back on. The one from near the garage.”

  “Yeah and that zombie from earlier is gone,” Tiffany added.

  Jeff shrugged. “Let’s split up and look for him.”

  Dave threw his hands up. “When has that ever been a good idea? Do you think thinning our numbers will help?”

  “It was only a joke, man. Calm down.”

  “Sorry,” Dave muttered. “It’s gonna get dark soon. What if the lights go out again?”

  “I guess we’re on the backup power,” Tiffany as monitor light contoured her face. “Game companies need to leave computers and consoles on for extended periods of time. They couldn’t risk a power failure, so it’s only a guess, but I think we have some time.”

  “We better get this over with,” I said.

  “I’m staying right here.” Dave crossed his arms.

  Jessie’s eyes were full of fear, and even Jeff looked hesitant.

  “Tiffany and I will go,” I said.

  “Who made you Big Boss?” She asked.

  “You had me lead you back at the school.”

  “Didn’t go so well, did it?” Dave said.

  I narrowed my eyes. “How about you lead?”

  “Hell no!”

  I summoned my courage and held my hand out. “Jeff, I need your gun.”

  He hesitantly handed me the pistol. “It’s a Smith & Wesson. Only holds ten bullets, plus one in the chamber.”

  “Gun expert?” I asked.

  “No, First-Person Shooter expert.”

  “Funny how those two go hand-in-hand nowadays,” I grinned.

  “Our skills are what will keep us alive.”

  “Gamers vs. the Zombie Apocalypse.” I laughed. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time, haven’t we?”

  Tiffany groaned. “Just don’t think you can press Start and run away. This is real life.”

  “Press Start?” I asked. She'd said the same in my dream, but it had to be a coincidence.

  Tiffany walked towards the unexplored hall. “You coming?”

  “Right behind you!”

  She stopped me after several strides. “Hold your weapons like this. With the dagger down and the gun up, better reaction time.”

  “And you learned this from games?”

  For the first time, she grinned. “Stealth games are my forte.”

  I took up the position, and we continued, past more zombie statues. Every time we came to an open door we closed it. We didn’t need a Corpse sneaking up on us.

  Many of the TVs and computers were still on, and most were pause screens from various games.

  “Did these guys just ignore everything going on outside?” I asked.

  “Wesley said they were prepared,” Tiffany said. “Maybe they just wanted to have fun until the end?”

  We came to the open kitchen area, which smelled of melted nacho cheese and processed ham.

  “Someone was cooking something,” I said.

  A splash of red splattered the inside of the microwave. Sauce or blood? I didn’t want to know.

  “Maybe they were on lunch when it went down,” Tiffany said. “It is around noon by now.”

  I sighed, closing the microwave and fridge. “They never expected to be on the menu.”

  “Enough dilly-dallying.” She waved me along.

  Soon we found ourselves in a huge open room. We walked past the gaming stations. One TV screen caught my attention. The graphics were intensely realistic.

  “What’s this?” I leaned in close.

  The screen read, ‘Omega Virus’ developed by G.O.D. Mode Games. I didn't know the company.

  “Hey, Tiff. Ever heard of—?”

  “Don’t call me Tiff!” She spun on me.

  I threw up my arms, afraid she would shoot. “I-I'm sorry!”

  She sighed. “Tiffany. It’s just Tiffany.”

  When I lowered my arms, she had already moved on. I ran after her and came into the next hall, which I recognized from the security monitors. We'd found the garage; door wide open. Inside most of the cars were missing from their spots, which suggested most of the employees escaped, but a large pile bodies contradicted my reasoning. Many of which still twitched, or had grasping hands and gnashing teeth.

  A decapitated head sat by Tiffany's foot, slowly opening and closing its jaws. Tiffany looked down without pity and kicked it like a soccer ball. The head bounced and rolled away. Wesley stood up from behind the pile, grinning. “I see you’re alive still.”

  Tiffany didn’t say a word as Wesley kneeled down and picked up the decapitated head.

  “Watch out!” I warned.

  I winced expecting it to bite him, but he held it from underneath.

  Wesley sighed and shouted. “To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?”

  Once again Wesley was reciting Shakespeare.

  I laughed. “Did you know him well?”

  “Nah,” Wesley said, sounding so solemn, I almost cried. “I didn’t know this guy at all. He was probably a noob. You know the bottom level of the PvP ladder. Game Tester, or if you want to be technical, Quality Assurance Team Members.”

  “So kill it,” I said. “It’ll bite you.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Wesley said.

  He dropped the head and stomped it in with the heel of his boot.

  Wesley shrugged. “I haven’t found a single higher up.”

  “I ran into Serenade Kennedy.”

  Wesley lifted his head and eyed me strangely.

  “She almost got me, but I smashed her brains in. Score one Zach!”

  “So they turn even if they aren't bitten,” Wesley whispered. “It's gone airborne. Meh, good riddance to the bitch.”

  I furrowed my brow. “She was human! How can you say that?”

  “Serenade wanted to sell us to another company,” Wesley explained. “She owned a lot of the stocks and crap. But she thought G.O.D. Mode Games would be better for our future.”

  Tiffany narrowed her eyes. “You knew the woman was dead already?”

  “Yeah, of course.” He shrugged.

&nb
sp; “But how? You hadn’t even been down that hall.”

  Wesley looked up with eyes, cold and jaded. “She had it coming.”

  Tiffany raised her pistol. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “Yep.” he grinned. “I was the one who killed her.”

  LEVEL 06 – QUESTING

  Tiffany aimed her nine-millimeter at the ‘Zombie Killer’. I shook my head as he grinned from ear to ear.

  “You’re joking.” I threw my hand out to block Tiffany’s aim, “You didn’t actually shoot her!”

  Tiffany snapped, “Don’t get in my way, Zach!”

  She sounded serious, so I quickly dropped my arm. “Maybe he means something else? You didn’t actually mean that you killed her? Like when she was alive?”

  Wesley put his hand under his chin in thought. “Hmm, you killed the zombie Serenade. So what do you think I mean?”

  “Seriously? What’s wrong with you?”

  Tiffany’s aim didn’t falter; in fact, she took a step closer, coming with inches of still grasping Corpses.

  “Tiffany, be careful!” I warned.

  She turned to me with a deadly glare. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t shoot this asshole!”

  I looked from Tiffany to Wesley. “He killed her in self-defense?”

  “It wasn’t.” Wesley sang.

  “Or an accident?”

  “Nope!”

  “Maybe it—”

  Wesley hung his head and held up his hand. “Just drop it. I killed her cold.”

  I watched Tiffany’s feet as she stomped over the still moving undead. She shoved her gun against the idiot’s forehead. Did he want to commit suicide, and put a life on this innocent girl’s hands?

  “Give me one reason I shouldn’t shoot you cold.”

  “Because you’re not like me.” He whispered.

  “Not a good enough reason!” Tiffany pulled the trigger.

  I shut my eyes tight, but the gun didn't go off. I peeked to see she still held the gun in the Wesley’s face.

  Tiffany pressed a side button. “Next time, no safety.”

  Wesley ‘s chuckled. “You almost had me there. I think I just pissed myself a little.”

  I threw my arms up. “Please, we need to work together!”

  Tiffany shook her head. “I’d rather kill myself than work with anyone who’s taken a life! Bastards like him are the reason, Zach. The reason why you—”

  Wesley put his hand on her gun. “The reason why he what? Is there something you want to tell him?”

  Tiffany's looked away. “We’ll finish this later.”

  Wesley grabbed her hand. “I want to clear the air about this. The kids won’t understand if he thinks his wife is a killer!”

  “As if I’d marry him!”

  “Oh, we’re all killers in the end, aren’t we Tiffany?” He stepped forward, forcing her back. “Aren’t. We. Tiffa?”

  Tiffa; that name again! I had no idea what he meant by us all being killers. I wanted to ask, but a series of groans gave me a reason to turn around. A Corpse horde shambled through the garage gate, hungry eyes trained on us.

  “You have got to be kidding me!” I whimpered.

  So many limbs shifted next to each other; I couldn't tell how many were coming.

  Stepping back, I lifted my gun. “What do we do?”

  The Corpses closed in by the second, but Tiffany and Wesley stared into each other’s eyes as if having a silent conversation. What were they saying and why not involve me?

  I had to intervene. “This is nuts. We have to run!”

  The first Corpse came within ten feet of Wesley, ugly, fat, and ready to burst. It couldn’t possibly consume another bite, but that didn’t matter, it would still try. Crimson overflowed from its jaws and stank scorched my nostrils.

  Tiffany shoved Wesley, and he stumbled towards the bloated Corpse.

  “Is that your game?” he held both hands out wide, his back to the wave of undead. “Let them do your dirty work?”

  I shook my head. “Tiffany! Come on!”

  She didn’t speak.

  “Tiffa!” I pleaded, and she glanced at me briefly.

  The fat Corpse walked up right behind Wesley, and Tiffany turned back with cold eyes. I wanted to try and save Wesley, but I might shoot him by mistake. I'd never even fired a gun. The Corpse grabbed his shoulder and brought its ugly face forward.

  “Tiffa!” I screamed.

  Bang.

  A gaping hole appeared in the bloater’s face, and it collapsed.

  Wesley cocked an eyebrow. “Good shot, Mrs. Mastiff.”

  I furrowed my brow. I’d never told him my last name. And why did he keep referring to us getting married?

  She growled like a canine. “Just shut up!”

  Wesley stepped back, arrogance overflowing. If he got bitten, the blood would be on her hands, not his. She’d have to live with that guilt.

  “What are you doing?” I snapped at him.

  “Exactly what she wants!” Wesley laughed. “But she’s not the real murderer. She’s not the Negastar.”

  “The nega-what?” I asked, his words confusing me even further.

  Two more Corpses grabbed his arms, and I winced.

  Tiffany’s gun went off twice, and they fell away.

  Wesley broke into a fit of laughter and said, “You’re priceless! You’ve got such a motherly instinct.”

  “I’ll never marry, nor have kids, so shut the hell up!” She shouted.

  How could Wesley play such a dangerous game? Why did he mock her? A trio grabbed Wesley, and he didn’t resist. He lifted his head to the sky and laughed like a maniac.

  Three shots went off, and all three fell. Tiffany had great aim, but the number of Corpses tripled. This time, he would die for sure. According to Jeff, we had eleven bullets, which left her with only four shots.

  The Corpses grabbed Wesley's arms and attacked. She pulled the trigger over and over. Four went down, but the two remaining tore into him. Still, he laughed. Their teeth weren’t piercing his trench coat.

  “It’s time to set the stage of destiny!” Wesley cried. He grabbed the shotgun off his back, spun and whacked one, sending it reeling. He pumped the forestock and fired. The powerful spread-shot knocked down several of the nearby undead. He continued forward, pumping and firing, pumping and firing, disappearing further into the crowd.

  “Where’s he going?” I asked.

  “That bastard!” Tiffany cried. “He’s trying to escape!”

  She ran after him, and I yelled for her to wait, but she didn’t slow.

  “Dammit!” I shouted and gave chase. The dismembered Corpses on the ground snapped as I jumped between them.

  Wesley continued to fire his gun, clearing a gore-ridden path. After a few blasts, I lost sight of him. Tiffany stabbed with her dagger, making her way through, and then she too disappeared.

  There were too many Corpses! From behind the wall of shamblers, an engine revved. They were about to leave me!

  “Wait! I'm coming!”

  Corpses converged before me, but fear stole my ability to move. I needed to shoot!

  A pair of undead crashed down as the back door of an SUV burst open.

  Tiffany appeared, “Get in!”

  I leaped inside, but one Corpse managed to grab the door with its bloody fingers. I tried to pull it closed, but another grabbed my ankle.

  I reared back, and kicked, snapping its wrist. “Go away!”

  As the Corpse fell away, I slammed the door.

  Sighing deeply, I fell back into the seat. Tiffany sat on the passenger side, with Wesley at the wheel.

  “What about the others?” I asked.

  Wesley grinned. “They don’t get to go on our little field trip.”

  Tiffany snapped in her seatbelt and cursed. Wesley geared into reverse and stomped on the gas. The SUV became a Corpse-smashing machine. He spun the wheel, hollering like a howler monkey.

  I held on for dear life a
s the vehicle went in tight donuts, sending indistinguishable body parts flying. I slammed into the opposite side, and my legs flew over my head. As I landed on the floor, my weapons bounced away. Wesley continued spinning the wheel round and round. More than once we went on two tires and nearly flipped. An agonizing minute later the ride came to a complete stop.

  “Are you done?” I asked, swallowing down vomit.

  “Yeah. He’s done.” Tiffany sighed.

  Wesley laughed, and I pulled myself into the seat. The gore-covered windows blocked all lines of sight.

  Wesley smacked the steering wheel. “That was a hoot!”

  “For you maybe,” I muttered as everything spun.

  “Won’t do it again. I promise, Mr. Mastiff.”

  I held my head. “Oh please, by all means.”

  I kicked open the door and blew chunks, furthering the mess.

  “What kind of stunt was that, dumbass?” Tiffany snapped.

  “What stunt?” Wesley cocked his head. “I’m showing you noobs how to kill zombies!”

  “No! You tricked me into wasting my ammo so I wouldn’t shoot your sorry ass!” She punched his shoulder repeatedly. Wesley took each hit with a chuckle.

  “We'll deal with your crap later,” Tiffany said. “The only reason I didn’t blow your brains out is because we need you and your stupid skills.”

  “And my hat! Always need my Zombie Killing Hat. It’s the source of my skills. Remember that, children.”

  To Wesley, the world had become a game, a wild, insane, game.

  “I’m going to burn that hat. The first chance I get.” Tiffany grumbled.

  Wesley grabbed his fedora. “Don’t! She’s my baby!”

  “It’s a she?” I sighed. “Of course, just like a car or boat.”

  “Sexist bullcrap,” Tiffany said.

  Wesley asked. “Get over yourself. Political correctness went out the window just now.”

  Tiffany huffed, then peered out the front window.

  “Do you see something?” I asked.

  “More of them. We need to close the gate.”

  In response, Wesley stomped on the gas. The SUV lurched, slamming me back. We flew over several Corpses and slid outside. Idling again, he threw open the door and jumped out.

  I leaned forward. “What’s he doing?”

  “How should I know?” Tiffany leaned her head against the window.

  Wesley approached a small silver box on the wall and pried it open. He did some fiddling, and the gate lowered with a loud electrical hum.