“Got it, send em in,” the soldier said, then headed for the window while the other soldier slipped out behind him. Outside, they made their way to the side of the farmhouse, and climbed down the drainage pipe. Still undetected, they escaped unseen back into the fields.
Around the front on the porch still sitting were the two rebels. The air was still, and the sun was now beginning to set, yet there was enough light to illuminate the fields. As the two rebels were talking, one of them paused, and looked to the field. It appeared as if it were alive. With great concern, they reached for their rifles.
They picked up, and aimed their rifles towards the fields. It wasn’t just a single spot that was moving, but all across the field. The movements were in different waves, some upfront, some in the middle, and some in the back. Without knowing what it was, they could not fire until their targets were confirmed. They waited for the closet sign of movement that was upfront to come out, but the movement stopped, right before the edge of the fields. It was like it was waiting for the movements in the middle, and back to catch-up.
“What should we do,” the rebel whispered to his friend.
The other rebel fighter shrugged his shoulders, and then quietly replied, “Just hold.”
They wouldn’t have to wait long, as all the movements reached the front edge of the fields. The rebels gripped their rifles, and tried to steady their aim as their hearts began to race with anticipation of what was going to come from the fields. First thing to happen was the rebels released their safeties. Next, their fingers drew to the triggers, coming to rest comfortably on them. They waited as their training kicked in.
“Hold,” the first rebel called out.
The movement from the fields busted out of the cover of the stalks like bullets blasting from the barrel of a gun, revealing vicious flesh-eaters. The rebels opened fire, but the rotting flesh that was death quickly overran them. The zombies attack, tearing them limb by limb, but the rebels didn’t go down easily. Inside the farmhouse, the more rebels heard the gunshots, but it was too late for them to grab their weapons. Eaters crashed through the windows, savagely attacking anything that moved.
A few of the rebels did manage to get to their weapons, and continuously defended their base. POP… POP… POP, the guns rang out as the bullets hummed through the air, and mashed into the heads of the deceased, knocking them to the floor. A hundred eaters were in, and around the outside of the farmhouse. There was no way that the rebels could reasonably win this battle, so they did what they were trained to do; fall back to the basement.
Whoever wasn’t dead, made their fallout to the kitchen. That’s where the door was that led downstairs to the basement. The rebels that were bitten, or wounded stayed back, and continued the fight, so that the remaining rebels could reach the basement unscathed. The door was open, and everyone headed downstairs. The echo of gunshots raged throughout the large farmhouse, and the flesh-eaters kept on coming, one after another.
The eaters soon found their way to a fresh meal in the kitchen. They swarmed the basement door without hesitation, and took down the unfortunate rebels that didn’t make it to the door. The other zombies scratched, and clawed at the door, while on the other side, the remaining rebels locked themselves away behind a steel door at the bottom of the basement stairs. Even if the flesh-eaters tore through the upstairs wooden door, which was likely, they would not be able to breech the steel door below.
Downstairs the rebels huddled up together, while two of them seemingly took the lead to fix the situation that they were in. They counted over their ammo, and weapons supply, the bodies they had in the room, and an escape plan to get out. There was the steel door that led from the basement, to the backyard, but there were too many flesh-eaters to risk opening it right now, so their only option was to wait them out. Once their food supply was gone, they would eventually retreat back to where they had come from.
Suddenly, and unexpectedly, gunshots echoed from above them. The clunking of boots could be heard banging, and shuffling off the hardwood floors overhead. No one knew what was going on, but they did know that the gunshots weren’t letting up. The sounds of tinny shell casings pinged off the floors as they were discharged from the weapons. The rebels huddled tighter as quietness soon arose.
Everyone held their breath, as the heartbeats of many rebels thumped throughout this silent moment. Then the silence was broken, as there rang a banging sound from the other side of the door that was protecting them. They didn’t dare open it, as they stood there hunched in fear. Then there was nothingness, until a small explosion rang out in the tiny basement.
The metal door flung open, and U.F. soldiers entered the room with their weapons drawn. They yell to the rebels to get down, and they do as they were instructed without incident. One by one, the soldiers searched, looking for Jessica. They pulled all the women off the floor, and took them upstairs, leaving only the men facedown on the cement.
While being ushered up the stairs, gunshots breakout down in the basement. The women knew what it was that had been done. Once upstairs, Maxwell met them, he has his men line them all up against the back wall. He walked the line of rebel women, each of them were not intimidated by his demeanor, or hollowed stare. He reached the end of the line of women, seeing that none of them were Jessica.
He turned to his men that were standing in a firing line formation in front of the women, and said, “Like the men.” He walked off to the sounds of gunshots behind him ringing out loud. “Where ever you are, we will find you. Yes, we will find you. Come on, clear out!”
They Say History Repeats
Jessica awoke to find herself in the back of a stopped cruiser. Although groggy, she sat up in her chair, and looked out the window. White fluffy snow coated the ground; this was a strange sight for her to see, since she lived in the lower half of the country. Jessica hopped over, and into the front seat. She opened the door, and cautiously made her way out of the cruiser.
On the ground, she took a minute to take in her surroundings. There were camps set up, fires burning, and people doing what appeared to be chores; like tending to the fires, splitting wood, and moving snow with makeshift shovels. She felt a bit insecure without Andrew, or Ethan by her side. Plus the fact that everyone was staring at her like she was a ghost didn’t help ease her worries. She continued to make her way through the camp, looking for Ethan, Andrew, or both.
From behind her, she could hear someone calling out her name. She turned around; it was Andrew, and he was standing at the cruiser. She wasted no time in getting to him, she gave him a hug, and then I asked, “Where are we?”
“This is it, this is the camp that Ethan was talking about.”
“Is it safe here?”
“Safe enough.”
“Where’s Ethan,” she asked.
“He’s around. We’re okay now, but we still have to get permission from their leader to stay here permanently. Come on, let’s find a place to warm up.”
She breathed out, and she could see her breath, “Andrew look,” she said. He shook his head jokingly, and placed his arm around her as they walked in search of a warmer place to take shelter until their leader arrived.
They made their way towards a fire. A female rebel interrupts us. She was larger than Jessica was, but a little smaller than Andrew. She shoved Jess in the chest, knocking her to the ground, and yelled, “I know why you’re here… We all do! We don’t want your kind.”
Jessica got up, wiped herself off, and she proceeded to sock her right in her big fat mouth. It was all she had behind that punch, and the rebel didn’t even stumble. She seemed to almost laugh it off as she wiped the corner of her lip of blood. Jessica didn’t know why she did that, or how she did that. She just knew she was trained as a rebel fighter, but this girl was huge.
“You know what, that was your last mistake, coming here was your first,” she threatened as she wound up to deliver a massive blow to Jessica’s skull.
“Whoa,” Andrew said, as he g
ot in the middle of them.
“Move outta the way, I’ll knock her teeth out,” Jess yelled.
“Miss, she doesn’t know what she’s saying. I understand you, and your friends may feel certain angst towards my friends and I being here, but after we talk to your leader, things will clear up. Okay?”
The rebel girl spat out some blood, and replied, “It better, because here he comes now.”
Jess turned to see a cruiser coming up behind them. Five or so other cruisers slowly followed behind it. They came to a stop, and people got out. It was impossible to try to narrow down whom the leader was, because they were all bundled up. They crunched through the snow, and took a path on the other side of the main camp, keeping away from the people. Jess and Andrew watched as they headed into what appeared to be an old hunting lodge. It was not as nice as the farmhouse they had just left, but it looked like a suitable place for shelter.
She heard someone running over towards her, she turned her attention away from the giant and saw Ethan crunching through the snow. With the giant woman no longer an issue, Ethan caught up to them. “Hellcat, what the heck was that? Did I see you just punch someone? We’re here only a few hours, and you’re already about to get us kicked out,” Ethan rattled off loudly.
“She started it Ethan, I was just standing up for myself like you guys taught me.”
“But we’re guests here, and this guy’s doing us a huge favor by letting us duck here for awhile until we figure out what our next move is going to be, so you’ve gotta just tone it down a bit. Okay?”
She agreed by nodding her head, and then three rebels came, and took Ethan towards the lodge. She and Andrew stayed behind for they were not invited to follow. “Picking fights now… Unbelievable,” Andrew joked.
“Shut up,” She said with a playful smile.
The rebels escorted Ethan inside the lodge. Then they made their way to a room just off to the side of the kitchen. Ethan entered the room, and one rebel told him to, have a seat, and someone will be right with him. The door closed; and Ethan looked around. There were photos of two little girls on the wall, as well as battle plans against The United Front.
He didn’t have to wait long for the door to open, in walked an older man in his mid to late fifties. He shut the door, and then turned to Ethan. He introduced himself as Jim, and reached his hand out to greet him with a handshake.
“Jim. I’m Ethan,” he replied as he took his hand, and shook it.
Jim took a seat next to him, and sipped his coffee. He looked at Ethan, and then put his cup down. “So Ethan, what brings you so far north?”
“Well Sir—“
“Please, call me Jim.”
“Okay, Jim. My rebels and I have some precious cargo that The U.F. wants badly. We couldn’t stay at our base any longer, due to the increase risk of The U.F. finding us, and getting a hold of this cargo, so we came here hoping that we could just stay long enough to figure out our next move,” Ethan sincerely explained.
“Where is this cargo now?”
“Outside.”
“Can you bring it in to me?”
“I can, just give me a few minutes to get it.”
“All I’ve got is time my dear Ethan, just time.”
Andrew waited with Jessica on the outside of the makeshift ski lodge. The outside door opened, and Ethan came out.
“You two come with me, he wants to meet you.”
They followed him inside. He led them through the kitchen to a room; he then opened the door slowly. Jessica looked inside, and saw a man with his back towards her wearing a homemade hooded robe. Ethan walked in, and Andrew followed. Jessica stayed back in the shadows, until she was called upon.
Ethan spoke up, “Jim.”
“Yes, of course. Is it here,” he said, as he placed a picture frame down on his bookshelf.
“Yes,” Ethan said, as he motioned her into the room.
Jessica stood in the middle of the room, nervously picking at her fingernails. She didn’t know what she was doing there, nor did she want to be there. What if he knew about the punch I threw earlier? She watched as the robed figure turned, and faced them. His hood shielded his face with a shadow, as he looked her over. Then he pulled back the hood, and she wasn’t prepared for what hit her next. She examined his face, remembering every crevice, and gray hair. Then tears rolled down his cheeks.
She whispered with disbelief, “Dad?”
“Jessica?”
Jessica ran over to him, and they embraced one another in a strong hug. All the memories that she had forgotten started flooding back into her brain. They overwhelmed her, and soon she started to get dizzy. “I need to sit down,” I said, as her father guided her over to a chair.
He wiped the tears from his cheeks, “I know it’s a lot to take in, but you’re home now.”
She sat down in the chair, and tried to stop the rolling waves of feelings, and emotions that she was engulfed with. There are so many questions that she wanted answers to. This man she hasn’t seen in over five years. This man that she thought was dead, and gone, was now alive, and well. In fact he was leading a rebel army against The United Front, even so, he was doing more than all right.
Andrew looked at Ethan, and they had the same idea as they watched her father kneel down in front of her, and took her hand. With that, they left the room gave them some privacy. Jessica looked into her father’s green eyes, the same eyes she had looked at her whole life. She could tell he was trying to gather the right words in his head to say to her.
“Jess, I –“
She cut him off with a bit of anger in her voice, “What happened to you, I thought you were dead? We were in the house, and I saw them attack you. What about mother, is she alive as well?”
“No darling, just me. I’m all that’s left, but you’re here now, and that’s what’s important. I assume that you’re here today because The U.F. found out about your unique characteristic?”
“I don’t have the gene they’re looking for,” she said firmly.
“You do Jess, and I have it too. That’s how I stayed alive after the zombies attacked me in the house. I eventually made it out of there, and led them away from you and your sister. I knew with having this gene, I couldn’t go back.”
“How did this happen to us?”
“Back before the zombie apocalypse happened, I worked for what used to be The United States government. I was a scientist that worked with chemical weapons. The virus that led to the outbreak was a certain strain that we had been working with to find a cure, but our lab was broken into, and that strain was stolen.
The people who stole the virus were terrorists, and they released the virus upon the world, and it spread; it spread very quickly. I was working on a cure, called the Reversal Gene. When the terrorists stole the virus, they were trying to come after the cure too. What they didn’t know was that the serum wasn’t tested yet. While they were unleashing the virus, I took the last two remaining vials, and brought them home. The terrorists wanted to use it as a bargaining chip to for the rest of the world. Basically sell it to the highest bidder.
I panicked; I injected it into myself, and in you to protect us, and the cure. You’re mother refused to have the injection, because she thought that the government would fix things.”
“Why me dad… Why me, and not your other daughter,” she asked, and pleaded.
“She was too young, you were stronger. I knew I could count on you to carry the gene, and have it survive. You must understand that if The United Front gets this gene from us, it’s game over. They will use it to protect the Lush, and nothing else.”
She continued to have a somber moment. It was a lot to take in, finding out her father hasn’t been dead for the past five years, realizing that she carried the gene to save humanity, and that she involved Andrew, and Ethan in this disastrous situation. She wiped her tears, sat-up straight, and took a deep breath. I’m a rebel soldier, she whispered to herself, I can do this.
“What
is the next move,” she asked her father.
His eyes lit up with her simple question, and he replied, “Well the next step is up to you. The U.F. is looking for you, and will eventually find you here; there or anywhere else you go. As I see it you can stand-up, and lead these rebels against The U.F., or you can spend the rest of your life as a drifter. I know you have it in you Jess; you’re a born leader. You just need to look deep inside yourself, and find that fire that you lost five years ago, that night, in that house. Leaders are born, not made.”
“I’m going to need some time to think things over, and take all this in.”
“Sure. You’re my daughter, and all of this is yours. If you decide to stay, my rebels will lay down their lives for you, as they would for me. Anything you need is at your disposal.”
“Thank you dad.”
He gets up, and opened the door, and she heard as he called out for someone. Then a large girl walked into the room. Jessica was shocked, and scared at the same time, as she realized that it was the same girl that she punched in the mouth earlier outside.
“Jessica, meet Sidney, she’ll be your go to person for anything you need. If you need anything, just let Sidney know, and she will get it done. Now Sidney, this is my daughter Jessica—“
Jessica interrupted him, “Just Jess… They call me Jess.”
“Right, Jess. I need you to protect her with your life. Are you good with that?”
“Yes Sir,” Sidney replied.
“Good, now show Jess to a room upstairs, and don’t leave her side.”
“Sir, yes Sir.”
Her father turned his attention back to her, and placed both of his hands on her shoulders gently. Then he spoke softly so only she could hear, “Listen Jessica, we can’t change the past, but we can both change the future. Now go do some soul searching, and I’ll see you when you’re ready with a decision.”
He pulled me in for a warm embrace, and she didn’t want to let him go, but she had to. Sidney was waiting for her to show her up to her room anyway, so Jessica released their hug, and he kissed her on the forehead. She made her way over to Sidney, and apologized for what happened earlier, and of course her response was, to forget about it, it’s a clean slate from here on. Now Jess didn’t know if that was because her father was who he was, or if she really was a nice girl.
A Regressive World: Book One Page 15