After she had skinned the zombie, she’d let her anger go and shredded the creature to pieces. There’d barely been anything left that resembled a zombie or a person.
This time when she played, Fi did something different. She removed all her clothes. The last time she’d gotten covered in her playmate’s blood and guts and couldn’t stand the smell on her clothes after a few days.
Now, Fi was covered from head to toe in blood, guts, and gore, and she found that she liked the feeling on her naked body.
The best time she had was when she’d jammed her hand up the ass of one playmate, grabbed hold of its insides, and then ripped them out. The rush that’d come over her body was like nothing she’d felt before. She’d felt her anger ebb as she’d turned her playmate inside out.
After a while, though, Fi couldn’t find any more playmates. They all seemed to go away.
She’d noticed that other zombies wouldn’t come near her anymore. They seemed afraid of her.
They avoided her.
Fi didn’t care. Now hide and seek games had gotten challenging, and she got to hunt them down all the time before she played.
The anger hadn’t come back in quite some time. She expected to feel that warm feeling in her belly any moment, but it hadn’t come back yet. Fi wasn’t worried, though. She knew it would come back. It always did.
When it did, she’d be ready to play.
4
Will to Heal Center
Spicewood, Texas
The group huddled in the darkness and listened to the infected above. The dead ran back and forth over the root cellar doors as they looked for the humans.
Everyone in the darkness knew exactly what the zombies searched for.
A meal.
After what seemed like hours of listening to the movement above, there was silence. The silence was more deafening than the sounds of footsteps on the heavy wooden doors.
“Do you think it is safe?” Dennis whispered to the others.
Everyone’s eyes were focused on the cellar doors and no one dared move.
Walt stood and slowly walked closer to the doors. He felt as though each step he took was louder than a three-piece jazz band.
Walt felt the eyes of the others on him as he placed his ear on the cellar doors.
He listened for any sound that came from outside as the others collectively held their breaths.
“I don’t hear anything,” Walt finally whispered. “I think they’re gone.”
“I doubt they’re gone,” Cheryl said. “Those things know about us, and they’re not in the habit of passing up on a free lunch.”
“Cheryl’s right,” agreed Joe. “We need to lay low in here for a while, and hopefully those things will think we ran off into the woods.”
“What do you think?” Joe asked the stranger. “You’re a soldier, right?”
“I am,” the stranger answered. “My name’s Darren.”
“Well, Darren,” David said. “I for one am very glad to meet you. Thanks for saving my ass back there.”
“That goes for me too,” Walt added.
“Where did you come from?” asked Samantha.
In the darkness, Walt could sense Darren’s hesitation. Walt assumed Darren didn’t have a happy story to tell. Not many people had happy stories nowadays.
“Why don’t we wait until we’ve settled in here before we start drilling Darren?” Walt whispered. “Besides—those things are all over the place up there.”
The group agreed and settled in. Each person had their own nightmares playing on a continuous loop in their minds.
A shiver ran up and down Walt’s spine as he thought about Hector.
“I remember there being a lot of boxes down here,” Walt said as he broke the silence. “Let’s see if there’s anything useful in them.”
Darren pulled a package out of his backpack and opened it. Inside were six military-grade light sticks. They were the more durable versions of the glow sticks kids would have played with at nighttime. Darren distributed the light sticks, and soon the root cellar was bathed in a green glow.
They all tried to make as little noise as possible as they searched for the boxes.
“Found one,” said David with victory in his voice.
“There’s some boxes over here too,” Jonas said.
Sounds of boxes being carefully opened and sorted through filled the root cellar.
Walt couldn’t shake the image of Hector’s pale, dead skin and lifeless eyes. What’s more, he couldn’t get past what he’d seen in those eyes.
5
Lago Vista Golf Course
Lago Vista, Texas
Before joining the others, Mears, Jones, Hall, and Wilder conducted another sweep around the perimeter of the clubhouse. The perimeter was clear, and there were still no signs of any of the infected.
Wilder didn’t know what was worse—having zombies around to deal with, or there being an unexplainable void of the creatures around the clubhouse.
What the hell could possibly be scaring away the infected? Wilder asked himself as he walked around the clubhouse. Could Butsko be right? Is there a new player on the field?
When Wilder met up with Mears, Jones, and Hall by the front doors, the three soldiers reported the same.
After going inside, they ate their MREs and the soldiers told the others what they had found on the golf course by the lake.
“How many bodies do you think were there?” asked Fisher.
“It was impossible to determine,” responded Wilder. “There was barely anything left.”
“Are you positive that those were human remains?” Melvin asked. “Maybe the infected tried eating some animals and didn’t like the taste.”
The others looked at Melvin.
“Maybe?” added Melvin.
“No,” Butsko answered. “They were definitely the remains of human beings. And from the looks of the few intact pieces, I’d say the remains were from infected humans.”
The group broke out in scattered discussion as they all pondered upon what the pile of remains could’ve been.
“Hold on everyone,” Wilder said loudly. “Let’s not get too worked up over this. We don’t yet know what we’re dealing with.”
“With all due respect, Sir,” said Wallack. “Isn’t that exactly why we should be worked up?”
“I gotta agree with Wallack, Sir,” Vasquez said. “I don’t think we should panic, but there’s something out there hunting down and obliterating the infected.”
“And whatever it is has also scared them away,” added Megan.
The group once again broke out into a loud discussion.
“Enough everyone!” Butsko shouted as everyone’s eyes fell on him. “I understand your desire and need to understand what’s going on out there,” Butsko added in a softer voice, “but the last thing we need is to whip ourselves into a frenzy over nothing.”
Mane began to say something, but Butsko continued before he got a word out. “Yes,” Butsko continued, “there’s something new out there that’s potentially more dangerous than the infected we’ve been fighting these last two years.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” said Melvin.
“Do you have a theory, Melvin?” Wilder asked.
“Well, let’s go through what we know,” said Melvin. “We know the infection is caused by mutated bio-nanotechnology whose only purpose is to infect others in order to continue its existence. We also know the nanites, as I believe you call them,” Melvin said to Butsko, “started off in animals, mutated, and then jumped to humans.”
“That’s correct,” said Butsko, as he knew where Melvin was going with his thinking.
“So the nanites have the capability to jump species,” continued Melvin, “and it appears they are jumping up.”
“Up?” Trunst asked.
“Up the food chain,” Melvin clarified. “So it seems rather unlikely that the infected would go back to infecting animals.”
“Not that there�
�s many animals around anymore,” Fisher chimed in.
“So what if,” continued Melvin, “the nanites mutated again?”
Melvin paused suddenly, as if he stumbled onto the answer.
“What if,” Melvin said in a more excited tone, “some of the nanites evolved into something higher than the current infected humans?”
A hushed silence fell over everyone.
“I once worked on a video game, Alien Infection,” Melvin explained, “and in it some aliens were captured by the military. The aliens infected the researchers and turned them into monsters.”
“Fiction mirrors non-fiction once again,” said Wallack.
“But what’s relevant here,” Melvin continued, “is that the alien infection kept mutating into bigger and fiercer creatures.”
“I’m afraid to ask this,” said Vasquez, “but how does the game end?”
“Not good, Vasquez,” answered Melvin, “not good at all. The final creature the aliens mutated into was a hulking, beast of thing that was very difficult to kill.”
“Okay, okay,” Butsko said. “I see the comparison you’re making, Melvin, but let’s not forget that that was only a video game.”
“What about this,” said Melvin, changing gears. “There’s no denying that over the last two years humans have gotten better at killing the infected. Maybe the nanites have adapted to that.”
“That’s crazy,” Steele said. “Those things are fucking crazy, and maybe one got territorial or something and attacked a few others.”
“It might be as simple as that, Steele,” Melvin said. “Unfortunately, the evidence seems to suggest that the nanites are able to learn.”
“That’s a good point, Melvin,” Wilder chimed in. “We kicked their asses, and it seems they’ve learned our strategy.”
“Yeah,” added Jones. “And they were able to warn other zombies hundreds of miles away.”
“Any way you look at this,” said Melvin, “it’s not looking good for us.”
“This makes what we’re doing out here even more important,” said Butsko as he stood.
“Yeah, about that,” said Cain. “What exactly is this mission that we’re on?”
“Why don’t we make some coffee,” Butsko said, “and Wilder and I will tell you everything.”
6
Schoepke Springs
Outside Spicewood, Texas
About ten miles outside Spicewood lay some of the most beautiful camping and hiking grounds in central Texas. Before the outbreak, one of the most frequently visited grounds had been Schoepke Springs.
Schoepke Springs was both a camping and swimming area. There were over thirty springs on the property and many of them fed into a huge man-made pool that eventually flowed into Lake Travis.
Schoepke Springs, though, was more than a just a family destination.
The Schoepke Springs property belonged to the Schoepke family and had for generations. Heinrich Schoepke, the family’s patriarch, moved to this area in early 1946 and bought up much of the land. Heinrich wasn’t a rich man, but he was intelligent, and more importantly, the U.S. government thought he was an asset in the post-WWII world.
Heinrich Schoepke was one of Adolf Hitler’s right hand men and was brought to America by the Office of Strategic Services’ program known as Operation Paperclip. This program gave over 1,500 German scientists American citizenship after WWII. The rationale behind Operation Paperclip was that if America didn’t keep their eyes on these scientists, they would end up working for and help advancing the Soviet Union’s science and military research programs.
In March of 1946, Heinrich Schoepke and his wife, Ilke, were brought to Texas and given a thousand acres of land which included the springs.
Heinrich was especially important to the U.S. government because of his knowledge with bombs. Amidst all the battles fought in many different theaters during WWII, none was bigger than the battle being carried out in research laboratories. The United States and Germany raced to see who could build the first nuclear weapon and successfully use it.
Through the Manhattan Project, the U.S. successfully created atomic bombs which were then used to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thereby ending the war.
German scientists, through the Uranprojekt, didn’t just work on their own atomic bomb but also made huge advancements on a hydrogen bomb project. An atomic bomb worked by splitting large atomic nuclei, such as uranium or plutonium. This is known as fission. There was a lot of energy released through the process of fission, but there was also a limit to the size you can make an atomic bomb. Atomic bombs usually blew themselves apart before all the uranium or plutonium was ignited.
This restriction is what led the Germans to research hydrogen bombs. Hydrogen bombs used an atomic bomb to ignite a nuclear fusion bomb. In these types of bombs, hydrogen isotopes were fused together to form helium, and the result was a release of a lot more energy.
The U.S. didn’t successfully develop and test a hydrogen bomb until May of 1956, well after the end of WWII, and its success was largely attributed to Operation Paperclip and the German scientists who were brought to America.
What wasn’t found in history books is that Germany was far more advanced in their research and were much closer to a hydrogen bomb. Officially, Uranprojekt was Germany’s secret atomic bomb development program. Unofficially, it was also their attempt to make the first hydrogen bomb.
The man who was the head of the hydrogen bomb research and development was Heinrich Schoepke.
Underneath the huge man-made pool at Schoepke Springs, a five-mile-by-five-mile research facility was built for Heinrich to continue his research under the close eye of Uncle Sam.
The facility, dubbed Uranprojekt 2, was decommissioned in 1990. This was also the year that Heinrich and his grandson Josef started their own research. Through layers of paperwork and dummy corporations, Heinrich owned many patents to various procedures and methods he developed through his research. This made him and his heirs very wealthy and made it easy to continue and go beyond the research that Heinrich started.
Since the outbreak two years ago, there had been no visitors to the springs, and no one knew what became of Heinrich’s heirs. Only his son Heinrich and his grandson knew what kinds of weapons and research Heinrich’s heirs worked on.
Through his contacts in the darker hallways of the military-industrial complex, Butsko also knew what kinds of weapons were developed and stored at the underground facility at Schoepke Springs.
7
Will to Heal Center
Spicewood, Texas
The boxes proved to be a treasure trove of useful items. Dennis found a box full of candles which he and Samantha set around the cellar. Jonas found a box full of memories. There were faded photographs, an old WWII uniform, and an original M1 carbine wrapped in oily rags that was in surprisingly good condition. There was no ammo for the rifle, but Jonas smiled as he found the bayonet. He slid the blade into the lug and accustomed himself to the weight of the new weapon.
“That’s a classic,” said Darren, nodding toward the M1. “I’m sure it saved the life of its owner many times.”
“Let’s hope it does the same for me,” said Jonas as he forced a smile onto his face.
David, though, won the praise of the others. After the candles were lit, David walked around and investigated the corners of the cellar. On a far wall, out of range from the candle light, he found a bounty of canned items. Whoever the previous owners of the house had been had loved to can fruits and vegetables. Among them, David found some potted meats on the shelves. The darkness and dampness of the cellar had helped to keep all the items from spoiling.
“Just avoid any ruptured cans or jars where the seals have broken,” warned Joe.
Everyone gathered around the shelves and started to choose their meals. Soon the cellar was full of the sounds of hungry people as they chewed and slurped their meals while they quietly talked and laughed. The battle inside the center seemed like it had hap
pened ages ago, and as usual, no one wanted to dwell on the negative.
“It’s amazing how a full belly can change a person’s outlook, isn’t it Walt?” asked Cheryl as she licked the remains of a jar of potted meat off her fingers.
“Sorry. What?” Walt asked.
“What’s wrong, Walt?” Cheryl asked. “I know seeing Hector out there really freaked you out. It freaked us all out.”
Hector was one of the first people Walt had met when he’d taken over as director of the center. Hector had shown him around, and had given him the lowdown on all the patients who’d been there, as well as the inside track on the other staff members.
“It wasn't running into Hector that got to me,” Walt finally said. “It was looking into his eyes. I saw something all too familiar, and that’s what affected me.”
The others gathered around Walt with the remains of their meals.
“What is it, Walt?” Dennis asked as he popped a preserved peach into his mouth.
“Like I said,” Walt emphasized, “it wasn’t just seeing Hector that got to me. I’ve seen other loved ones and friends fall to the infection.”
Walt’s thoughts fell to Steven and how he’d died in his arms.
“It was Hector’s eyes that got to me,” Walt continued. “I saw something that I’ve seen in all of our eyes. Something that I used to see every day when I looked in the mirror.”
Nobody said a word or even moved.
“I saw a craving,” explained Walt. “A hunger, but it was that uncontrollable hunger we’ve all faced. Hector looked like an out of control junkie,” said Walt as his hands began to tremble. “He looked like someone who was completely lost inside their addiction.”
The others remained silent.
“You’re all more than familiar with my research into addiction,” said Walt. “Darren, in case you didn’t know, the house above us was actually an addiction treatment center.”
Outbreak (Book 2): The Mutation Page 12