“No matter what happens to me or anyone else, just remember the training we gave you, and keep your brother and sister safe. The world has gone crazy. You will have to find the strength inside yourself and refuse to join the crazy everyday. If you can’t do that, you will become something worse. I know you, baby girl, and I know that even when the road gets tough, you will never give up. Just remember, if I’m gone and I find out otherwise, I’ll haunt your butt until you come around.”
As she started to go back inside, she spotted headlights coming in from the main road. She hid behind a tree, unaware of what was coming until she saw that it was Benjy’s truck.
As the truck pulled in, she could see three extra people; two sat in the back of the bed and one rode shotgun. She didn’t recognize them, but the gray-bearded man that drove was definitely Benjy. She hesitated to come out from behind the tree until she saw them all get out and talk like they were friends. Nor did she get the impression that they held Benjy against his will.
As she stepped out from behind the tree, the three strangers turned and quickly raised their rifles and pointed them at her. Benjy stepped up and told them that all was okay as he walked over to her. “Hope, you don’t know how happy I am to see you back amongst the living again.” Heput his arms out for a hug.
She slowly walked over to him and reciprocated before she stepped back. “What the hell is going on with me? David said you had an idea, and I would really like to know what it is.”
“You three give me a minute. I need to talk to her in private.” Benjy waved his companions towards the house. “Come with me. I have a lot of answers for you, but I need to take you somewhere so we can talk in private. And I have some stuff to show you.” He walked her toward the biggest shed in the yard. At first she was hesitant to enter the building until she heard David’s voice behind her.
“It’s alright. He can tell you everything you want to know. I’m not going to say it will be easy to understand, but it will clear up a lot.” David grabbed Storm by the collar and walked her back to the house.
As they entered the shed, Benjy pushed a large wooden box to the side to reveal a hatch underneath in the floor. He flipped open a false light-switch panel on the wall and keyed in a four-digit number which caused the hatch to slide open, revealing a staircase. Hope looked down as fluorescent lights flickered to life, illuminating a very long hallway at the bottom of the stairs. Benjy led the way and motioned for Hope to follow.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the hatch closed behind them, and she could hear the wooden box as it slid back over the hatch. “Who the hell are you? And how do you have something like this?” Her voice echoed off the concrete walls.
“Follow me, and I will tell you everything,” Benjy said as he opened the first of many doors in the hallway.
Hope’s heart felt like it would burst through her chest as she soaked in the elaborate complex she walked through. She then entered the room behind Benjy and eyed what looked like a very professional office. “Wow!” she said as she sat down in the chair Benjy slid over for her.
As Benjy sat behind the desk, he reached into a locked drawer and produced a file with Hope’s name on it and laid it down in front of him.
“You have a file on me? Why would you have a file on me?” Hope eyed the folder.
“Do you recognize this man?” Benjy asked as he slid a photo on the top of the thick stack of papers over to her.
Hope saw a photo of three men. One of the men she recognized right away as Benjy. The other two, she couldn’t place. “Just you in it.”
“The man standing in the middle was your grandfather,” he said.
Hope looked a little closer and then recognized him the second time she looked at it. “But he can’t be more than 20-years-old in the photo, and you look exactly the same. How can that be?” Hope asked, puzzled.
“This will take a while to explain, but everything will be cleared up when I get done. Can you keep an open mind?”
“I’ll try, but I gotta say, right now I’m pretty damn confused,” Hope responded as she continued to look at the photo.
“Alright, let me start from there. That picture is over 60-years-old. It was taken right after World War II. Your grandfather came back from the war and was looking for a job when I offered him the opportunity to earn some money, letting me try some experimental vaccines on him. He was a part of a test where me and the other man in the picture were trying to find a cure for a very rare illness. We never got to finish the trials as we were shut down in the middle of them and all the participants were let go. I kept tabs on as many of them as I could after that. I even kept tabs on their children to make sure they didn’t experience any unknown side effects, your dad being one of them. The vaccines we used were supposed to fix their genetic structure to block this rare disease from infecting them, and I wanted to find out if any of those changes were passed down from generation to generation. I think what we did to your grandfather is what allowed you and your dad to survive being bitten.” Benjy paused to make sure Hope was able to keep up so.
“Dad was never bitten, though. And do you know how creepy it is that you were watching without telling us, no matter your reasons?”
“Actually, your dad was bitten, and he survived, just like you did. However, he didn’t change like you changed. I pulled a blood sample from you while you were out, and after analyzing it, I came to the conclusion that the combination of the zombie virus and the change in your genetic structure is what effected your change. The interesting part about the changes you went through are not new though. I’ve come across this before, and after I verify a few more things I will be able to let you know for sure what happened. Are you with me so far?”
Hope nodded.
“The people you saw me getting out of the truck with are grandchildren from some of the other test patients. I was on rescue missions trying to find them when I would disappear from your camp for extended periods. They, too, had all been bitten since the outbreak, but none of them have exhibited the changes you went through. With that being said, there have been some subtle changes each of them claims to have, but I am still trying to figure that all out. I will get to them after I’ve finished figuring out why you’ve changed so drastically. Now, as for the outbreak, I have it on good authority that this was caused by a group I am familiar with, and this isn’t the first time this particular outbreak has happened. Do you remember hearing or reading about the black plague?”
“Yeah, sure. The plague swept through England a long time ago and killed a lot of people, right?”
“Well, plague isn’t exactly accurate. It was the first zombie outbreak. You ever hear the phrase dead ringer?” he asked.
“Yeah, that means that someone would look just like someone else.”
“Nope. The story went that because medical science was so primitive back then, they couldn’t be completely sure that someone was really dead. So they would bury them with a string attached to their toe that ran up through the ground to a bell on top of the grave. If the person started moving, the bell would ring and they would dig them back up. Well, you have to remember that history is written by the winners or survivors of every catastrophe. The truth is, that if the bell started ringing, they would dig them up and kill them again. Over the centuries the truth was buried. The group I mentioned earlier also played a role in that outbreak. Eventually, a way to stop the outbreak was created and used. Unfortunately, one of their members who is said to have secured this cure died soon after hiding it. He had a journal that detailed the location of it, and it, too, was lost for centuries. However, I happen to have the journal right here, and I’m in the process of deciphering it so that I might be able to locate it and end this again.” Benjy reached into another drawer of his desk and produced an old leather-bound book with the word Mercer imprinted on the top.
“So what’s your plan then?”
“Well, I still don’t have a solid location yet, but it shouldn’t take me l
ong. As soon as I figure it out, I am going to go and get it.”
“So I follow you on everything so far, but I have two questions that I need answered before I go any further. First, how is it that you are in a 60-year-old photo looking as old then as you do right now? Second, who the hell are you that you have this secret base in the middle of … I don’t know where?”
“This will not be easy. But I need you to trust me on this when I tell you that you are in no danger whatsoever when I show you this next part,” said Benjy. “David has seen what you’re about to see, and he has been convinced that it’s okay. So with that being said, I will answer your second question first. I was part of the organization I told you about earlier. They’re a group of extraordinary beings that have long been the key people behind everything that’s happened in the world for as far back as records have been kept. To them, it has been nothing more than a game they’ve played. Start a skirmish here and see what happens. Kill a person there to see how it affects other people. It was just one big game to them. World wars, market crashes, fixing the World Series, even Elvis’s death. Almost everything you could think of that has impacted the world was done at their behest for entertainment.”
Benjy paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.
“Some in the group, though, have grown bored and decided they were tired of hiding in the shadows and wanted to take a more public role in ruling the world,” continued Benjy. “That was why I broke away. When I first joined, I thought it would allow me to continue helping mankind. I learned pretty quickly that was not going to be the case. I found another concerned member of the group, and we tried to prepare for the eventual turn the group would make.”
“With all that being said, let me answer your first question. I am much older than even that photo shows. I’ve been around for over 300-years, and this is how.” Benjy bent his head down, paused and closed his eyes. After a few seconds he looked back up at Hope who looked like she was about to throw up. He slowly opened his mouth and showed her his fangs, revealing to her what he was.
She immediately jumped up and screamed. “There is no way you just showed me that. I’m out of here!” she said as she bolted for the door. As she ran through the opening, David appeared out of nowhere and attempted to stop her, but she knocked him to the side as if he were nothing.
“Hope! Stop!” David yelled as she headed for the staircase.
The sound of his voice caused her to pause. She slowly turned around to face him. “You knew! You knew he was a monster! How could you let him still be around us? Holy shit! This can’t be any crazier,” she yelled at David.
“I know this is crazy, but think about it. We have freakin’ zombies running around out there. Is it so farfetched to believe there could be vampires, too? We are living in a nightmare. Why the hell can there not be vampires, too?” David yelled back. “Look at you! Is what happened to you normal? You grew eight inches in five days. Please come back and finish hearing him out. I know it’s wild, and I’ve had three more days than you to sort it all out since he told me. Benjy is here to help stop this, and I think you should listen.”
Hope reluctantly turned back and made her way into the office again. “I need to sit down. I’m not feeling too good,” she said as she slid the chair she had been sitting in a little farther away from Benjy. As she took her seat, David handed her a little garbage can. “I used this the other day. It’s okay,” he said with a grin.
“I know this is a lot of information I am giving you at the moment, but I feel that our to act time is limited,” said Benjy. “I know for a fact that the rest of my group has been in South Florida for about eight months now. I have no idea what they’re up to yet. The other night at the camp, you killed one of them, and another I saw escaping. They’ve been looking for me for some time. And I don’t know if them showing up there was a coincidence, or if they were specifically there for me, but if they know I was in the area, they could come looking. No one knows about this place but me. I’ve never brought anyone else here from the organization—ever. And it was bought under the name of Brenda Griner, a friend from a long time ago, so there’s no way of tracing me here. These are the people who released this plague, these are the people responsible for the things that have happened to you and your loved ones. I want nothing more than to stop them, and I think you might be the key to helping me. Specifically, the blood that courses through your veins could be the key. I think the cure is inside of you.”
“You’re going to have to give me some time to think about all this. Wow! Zombies, vampires, and now … me. What a mind-twist this is doing to me right now,” Hope said as she got up and this time slowly exited the room. “Just give me some space, and we will talk tomorrow some more.” She made her way to the staircase where the door had already opened for her.
As she left, David looked over at Benjy. “That went about as well as I thought it would,” he said as he turned to leave and head out the back way he came in.
“I hope she sees the logic in what we want to do.” Benjy leaned back in his chair.
Hope came out of the shed and saw her little brother run through the tree line with a jar in his hand as he tried to catch fireflies, with Jacob, Melinda, and Vince in hot pursuit. She paused and watched for a moment, enjoying the sight of him acting like a little kid. As she stood there, she thought about how much their life had changed since the outbreak and all the losses they had suffered. Her mom first, and then her dad was taken from them, and not just their parents, but grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. All the friends she had before were gone, not to mention the friends at the camp that became her new family. As she thought about all that, she didn’t hear Benjy come up behind her until he started to walk past her.
“You really think you can stop these people and end this nightmare we’re up against?” Hope asked him as he walked by.
“Yes, I do.”
“You think we’ll be able to pay them back for the losses they’ve caused?” Hope asked as she looked over at her brother as he played.
“We will certainly try.”
She looked Benjy in the eyes with a sudden fierceness that had not been present there before. “Count me in.” Hope turned away as she walked over to help Patch catch some fireflies.
Up Next: Humanity’s Hope: Juggernaut
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg P. Ferrell currently lives in Tallahassee with his wife Samantha of 19 years and his 3 children Casey, Zoey and Bryce.
Aside from being an avid outdoor lover he has always had a passion for storytelling. Every year at his kid's birthday parties he would sit around a bonfire and entertain his children and their guests for hours telling fantastic story after story. If it was near Halloween he would tell scary ghost or monster stories, if it was camping he would tell stories about the woods and make up creatures based loosely on previous monsters of myth to send the kids off to their tents jumping at every twig that would snap. Regardless of how scary they were the kids always came back for more and every year more kids would show up at the parties to hear more of his tales. Sometimes his tales were fantasy related and would get the kids to look at something common around them in a new light. No matter what the subject or time of year he could always come up with something to entertain his guest.
Growing up he lived a life of constant change moving from place to place and not settling down until his high school years. Always being the new kid in school taught him how to be outgoing and able to make new friends everywhere he went. Never one to join a clique he kept himself open to hanging with every different group in school. He could stand around and talk sports with the jocks just as easily as engage someone about a fight between the Hulk and Superman. (Hulk is strongest there is). These traits he learned helped him fit in no matter where he ended up. If you ever have the chance to meet him he will always be eager to strike up a conversation and chat no matter what the topic.
After high school he went into the working world foregoing college u
ntil he could figure out what he wanted to be when and if he ever grew up. When life decided to send him his biggest challenge, making him a dad he settled into the beverage industry becoming an account manager with three different companies and put his social skills to use with his customers and entertaining them over the years becoming good friends with some of them and his co workers. After 16 years in the beverage industry he finally sat down and started to put some of his stories to paper. He has found a new love in the art of storytelling and draws upon his many loves in his life to inject as much as he can into the stories. Be it his love of sci-fi and fantasy, comic books, sports or the many thousands of hours of movies he has watched he pulls from all of them to craft his stories to appeal to everyone. In the process of writing his stories he has come to truly love the time he puts into each one. He constantly tells everyone who asks him how his authoring career is going. "I'm not an author, I'm a storyteller." Even though seeing his name on the cover of his first book changed that fact he will continue to always be a storyteller in his own mind.
"If you do what you love to do for a living, you will never truly work a day in your life." Greg P. Ferrell
You Can Follow Greg at: https://www.amazon.com/Greg-P.-Ferrell/e/B00JIBKXCM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1477583533&sr=1-2
and
https://www.facebook.com/greg.ferrell.16
humanityshopeseries
www.humanityshope.com
ALSO BY GREG P. FERRELL
Coming soon Book 2 in the Humanity’s Hope series: Juggernaut
and
Nothing Ever Happens Here
ALSO FROM DEVILDOG PRESS
www.devildogpress.com
Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo
Forneus Corson By Heath Stallcup
All That Remain By Travis Tufo
Humanity's Hope (Book 1): Camp H Page 29