by Waltz, Fred
Joseph Victorino does not take chances, and he never leaves loose ends. Now there was only one other person that could tie him back to Syscorp, except his mole. He did not like the fact that somebody, Jimmy Gaston, other than himself knew about what was inside the black bag. He did not like it, but he is pretty sure that Julie Gaston will keep Jimmy silent.
He rides in silence, staring down at the bag, pondering on the notion that he is about to become even wealthier than he already is. The initial interest from bidders was very promising. Chen Cloy Chin, representing the Chinese Triad, has already offered him one billion American dollars if he skips the auction and sells directly to him. He declined the offer, but thanked him for setting the bar for the opening bid.
He stretches across the seat, reaching for the handles of the bag, but before he can completely close his grip around the bag his entire body lurches forward violently. His head crashes through the privacy glass, separating the back seat from the driver, and his face is cut to ribbons. A second concussive force sends him further into the front seat, and before his eyes completely flood with blood, he sees the driver’s headless body sprawled out across the hood of the car. He mumbles out loud, “what the hell is going on?”
He forces his body back through the jagged glass, slicing his upper back and torso, and slumps back against the contorted seat. Repetitive thumping begins droning in his ears, WHUMP, WHUMP, WHUMP, followed by shattering glass. The side window comes raining in on him, and the head of a sledge hammer rebounds off the back of the seat.
Daylight pours into the limo, followed by a heavily Asian accented voice. “Get the bag! The jiang shi is in the bag. If anyone inside is still alive, kill them.”
Mr. V crawls over and peers out the window and sees the severely wrecked armored car that has collided with his limo. A hand quickly pushes him away from the window, and then grabs the bag. Mr. V. notices a tattoo on the intruding hand. In the webbing between the thumb and forefinger, a circle around a triangle with an oriental symbol inside it; the marking of a member of the Triad. Before he can open his mouth to say anything, the tattooed hand returns holding a pistol. FUMPF, FUMPF, two shots silence any protests Mr. V had been planning to offer.
Chapter 18
“Breaker, what are you doing man? Get out of the way, we need to get out of here.”
Breaker, at least in body, delivers a backhand that sends the whiny man back into the bar. He lands next to the creature that used to be Mia, taking a bite out of Butch. The few humans remaining are all facing the same fate as Butch. Creatures, for lack of a better description, are staggering and shuffling around attacking and eating everyone that is still alive. Breaker looks on, through fiery red eyes, watching the mayhem unfold. He begins to patrol the room, observing all the action up close. Once he is certain that everyone is dead, or dying, he unleashes a low bellowing growl. The carnage stops, the creatures all stop what they are doing and look in his direction. The room becomes eerily silent; Breaker turns his head and listens.
He cocks and twists his head from side to side as he rotates around. He stops facing the restrooms; he hears the rapid muffled thump of a panicking heart accompanied by quick, shallow hyperventilating breathes. He simply thinks about the restrooms, and the group of creatures turn in unison and move in that direction. Breaker stands where he is, statuesque, until he hears the screams of horror, followed by the groans of the creatures, coming from the restrooms. He thinks the room silent, and the creatures quiet down. Again, he listens intently; convinced all the humans have been turned, he calls the creatures back into the main area of the bar. He looks out over the small group, his hoard of zombies, and smiles.
In an instance, he senses something. A voice calling, beckoning him, but he decides to ignore it, because he can. He ponders for a minute. There is a Mambo Asogwe trying to banish me back to my plane of existence. The humans must believe that I am still bound by spell to that creature in the facility.
Chapter 19
Tendrils of smoke are slowly drifting from Amy’s nostrils when the gunshots ring out. She takes another deep drag off the cigarette, showing no concern or alarm at the sound of the gunshots, gunshots are a nightly occurrence. She lights a fresh one off of the smoldering snub and dispatches it to the ground. She puts one hand on her hip and she grinds the butt into the ground with the toe of her shoe. She doesn’t even raise an eyebrow at the screaming, screaming is also a nightly occurrence; however, the sudden and complete silence that follows sends a chill up her spine.
As she approaches the back door, her hand almost on the knob, she hesitates; seeing the old whiskey crates piled up along the wall stops her in her tracks. She stacks them so that they reach just below the window. She climbs onto them, steadies the wobble, and sneaks a peak in the window. The assault on her eyes nearly knocks her off the crates, and she can barely keep her balance as she stumbles away from the building, toward her car. She yanks up on the handle over and over, to no avail; the car door is locked. Her keys are in her purse which is tucked under the bar. Looking back at the bar, realizing that the screaming has started again, she turns and runs; through the parking lot, onto the road and as far as she can until her burning lungs stop her.
Once her breathing has slowed she lights a cigarette, her last one, and continues away from Valhalla at a brisk pace.
Chapter 20
“What exactly do you mean? Who attacked the men?”
Once again, the soldier points at Z, “Sir, whatever that…thing is, there is another one in the morgue. It killed the coroner and his assistant; it almost killed five members of the security detail. They must have shot it twenty or thirty times, it just kept on attacking. The Doctor has them all in the infirmary, and wants permission to call for a Medevac flight.”
“OhAy, you stay here with the sergeant and keep Z secured; Jimmy you come with me to the morgue.”
“General, do not be a fool. This creature is secured and the sergeant is perfectly capable of babysitting. You are running off to deal with seven zombies, and you want the only expert to stay here? What you should do is have the sergeant shoot this zombie in the head, and then send the same order to the rest of your security team in the medical wing.”
Jimmy speaks up, “What do you mean seven zombies; he said that there was one?”
Mike and OhAy looked at each other, then Jimmy. Mike answers the question. “Jimmy, it is contagious; it is spread just like an infection, bodily fluid transfer, and open wound contact.”
The scene played out like a movie in Jimmy’s mind; he saw himself slipping the condom covered thumb onto his own condom covered penis. He could feel the cold sweat on the back of his neck, “How long does it take? What is the incubation period?”
OhAy answered this time. “If a person is killed while being infected, the transformation usually takes less than an hour and may be as quick as ten minutes. If a person is infected, but not killed, the transformation depends on the severity of the wound and the extent of the exposure; ten minutes or a couple days. Gentlemen, I suggest we get down to the medical wing and sort out what is going on.”
“Sergeant, lock down this room, nobody in or out. Call for a backup team, and give me your communicator.”
They start down the hallway, toward the elevator. Jimmy’s mind is still racing. Had he touched the severed thumb directly? “So, OhAy, is there any type of test or scan that detects…?
“No need, it wouldn’t make sense to develop a test. All exposure leads to infection.”
“How about an antivirus…you know, a cure?”
“I don’t think you are grasping it Jimmy, there is no cure for death, and there is no way to reverse the transformation. Think of a caterpillar to butterfly metamorphosis, once the change occurs there is no going back. First the infection, then death, then reanimation; once the corpse is reanimated, the only way to stop a zombie is to sever the brain from the spinal cord.”
Jimmy stops, and leans against the wall. OhAy turns, looks at Jimmy, an
d then stops too. “General, I think we need a minute.”
Mike stops and looks back at the both of them, “Come on this is no time to play twenty questions…”
“Hey, to hell with you Mike! I think I am entitled to ask a few questions; considering that I have been doing research on a contagious, infectious, damn zombie! Why wasn’t I told? I have the proper clearances; I certainly have the damn ‘need to know’! I could be infected…my god, I could have transported it home. Julie could be infected. I have to call the hospital and see if she is alright.”
Mike is now right in front of Jimmy, right in his face. “Don’t you give me this line of bullshit Jimmy; you knew that this project was dangerous. You read the briefing documents, and were well aware of the contagion possibilities. Look around, why else would this type of facility have been constructed? I will not listen to your holier than thou accusations. You knew damn well what you were getting yourself into! Nobody is calling anyone until we sort out what the hell is going on here, now let’s move.”
“Zombies, reanimated corpses! I would have never agreed…”
“That is why you were not told! We needed you, I needed you and I still do. Now if you are ready to get down off of your high horse, I would like to find out just how severe the situation is over in the medical wing.”
The trio continues down the hallway in silence, suddenly Mike raises his right hand to his right ear, activating the communicator. “This is General Balchor. What, how many? No, I am on the way now. Son of a bitch! Alright, lock it down standard protocol; no one out or in until I get there. Yes, I mean no one in or out, lock it down now. If he won’t leave, then lock him inside.” He turns to face Jimmy and OhAy. “Well it seems that our situation has become a bit more serious. The wounded have turned, and attacked the medical staff; four members of the security team have also been compromised. Apparently the doctor is refusing to leave the room, so I ordered the remaining security forces to lock down the medical wing; looks like we now have fourteen zombies, in addition to Z.”
“And no doctor or medical facility to treat the wounded…” Jimmy stops speaking, looks at OhAy and smiles, “Oh yea, I forgot no need to treat because there is no cure.”
OhAy smiles back, “As long as the armory stays open we can treat everyone that becomes infected.”
They arrive outside the medical wing and are greeted by another member of the security team. “General we have secured all entries and exits; we were not able to secure the weapons Sir.”
“What weapons?”
“Sir, the weapons from the wounded team members; we were unable to get to the men to pull them out…”
OhAy interrupts, “General, zombies are not capable of using firearms; there is nothing to worry about.”
“Fine, I want to see the camera footage from the first attack in the morgue; call down to control and have it cued up over there”, Mike said pointing to an office. “Let’s go see if we can figure out how this all started.” Once everyone is seated, Mike starts the playback.
Thor Sevena, the coroner, entered the room first followed by his assistant, Carina Hitshorn. They walked over to the body drawers, opened one up and hoisted the body bag over onto a table. Thor says something to Carina; they both laugh and walk out of the video frame, the body bag ripples. It is apparent that someone, or something, inside the body bag is moving. Thor and Carina are back in view of the camera now, but they do not notice the moving body bag. Without looking down, Thor grabs the zipper and begins to unzip the bag, before he reaches the middle of the zipper teeth, a hand thrusts out of the bag and grabs his arm. Carina has her back turned and does not see what is happening. Before Thor realizes what is happening, he is pulled closer to the bag and starts to shake violently. His body is blocking the view of the table, and the body bag, from the camera. He finally steps away from the table, obviously screaming, and Carina reacts by rushing over to him. Blood is pumping out of his arm, and he is slowly sinking toward the floor. Carina has not yet looked at the table; she is concentrating on Thor as he slowly slips into shock.
Sitting up on the table is a zombie. The zombie is struggling to free the rest of its body from the bag, and is succeeding.
“Mike, what the hell is going on? That is Ross; I mean it was Ross. Mike what is going on?”
Mike pauses the playback, and begins speaking into his communicator. “I want a mobile scout team back out to the accident site now; load up heavy and take no chances, follow protocol three, no live captures. Secure the area, remove any and all media, and prepare for a secondary search team. I want the entire area searched again with a fine tooth comb, it has to be out there, and I want it found.” Mike looked at Jimmy, “Ross was a traitor! He lied about the thumb being utilized in testing; and was on his way to sell it. I don’t know exactly what happened, but he obviously never made it, because now he is a zombie. The thumb has to still be out at the accident site, and we need to find it. He lied to you and everyone else about utilizing the thumb. I have a team gearing up; we are going out too, so get ready to move out.”
Chapter 21
The silence in the bar is unnatural; Azaka stands stoic surveying his small army. Azaka likes his new host, this man named Breaker. He had only taken a small swim through the memory banks of Breaker, but it was enough to gain an understanding of everything he had been subjected to.
He has gained an immediate understanding of the English language, modern technology, everything that Breaker knew, Azaka now knows. He is very impressed with his new found knowledge; especially everything he now knows about modern warfare. He really likes the tattoo on the right forearm of Breaker, almost as if fate had brought them together; two gods of thunder joined as one.
Azaka had been dormant far too long; he was furious at having been held against his will. Vengeance will be his; he will indeed make these humans pay.
He walks around the room, mentally scanning through the remaining human memory banks of his army, pulling in what knowledge he can before the memories are all lost. He sends out a telepathic command. You are now zombie warriors in the service of Azaka; I command that you recruit new members to join our ranks. Split into two equal groups, and walk away from each other on the highway. Turn every human you encounter into a brother or sister; kill and consume only enough to infect, leave all of your victim’s brains intact. Continue on this mission until I call you back.
He is able to communicate with his zombies telepathically, because he is directly linked to them. He can even project himself inside other zombies he is linked to. He knows that he must be careful while doing this. Projecting his mind leaves the host body vulnerable to death, which would trap him inside the body of the zombie he was projected to, or suspend him in a plane of non-existence, if he was not occupying either body at the time of the host body death.
Azaka knows that by this time tomorrow his army will have grown exponentially. Unguided, a zombie will naturally seek out and consume human flesh and brains; it is their nature, the driving force that keeps them going.
A zombie hoard is usually a result of an uncontrolled outbreak, a single zombie that has been left animated, by its creator, even after its purpose has been fulfilled. Uncontrolled, a zombie will attack and consume any living creature, especially humans. The longer a zombie remains animated, the more futile and obtuse it becomes; every minute less and less of its human memories remain. Only the consumption of live human brains allows a zombie to think on the most rudimentary level, retaining basic skills like opening doors, avoiding obstacles, recognizing sounds and understanding what is making the sound.
Azaka has no intentions of allowing his hoard to consume any brains, he wants no free thinking zombies, no deviation from his purpose… revenge on the humans.
He had been corporeal far too long, centuries chained in that cave followed by decades in that research facility. Now he controls his own destiny; he is possessing Breaker on his own accord. No one has summoned him, and his previous bonds have been broken th
rough the rebirth process. He has decided to remain within this human, Breaker, long enough to extract his revenge, and then he will return to his own plane of existence.
He allows his thoughts to find one of his zombies and he projects himself inside. He takes in the images from the creatures eyes, seeing what it sees. He sees the soft glow of lights, on the horizon, from the unsuspecting housing plan. Soon the humans inhabiting those houses will be swept under foot, fighting for their lives; their very existence. Azaka knows that many will escape his approaching zombies, but he also knows that many will not. It will be the same at each populated area.
He refocuses his thoughts, releasing the zombie and taking another stroll through the mind of Breaker. He is very happy with his new host; he decides to spend the next couple of hours learning everything Breaker had once known, before it is lost forever.
Chapter 22
It is a few minutes before four; the moon is still riding high in the cloudless sky. Adam Tugto is just slipping out of his front door, still half asleep, on his way in for the early shift at work. He is fumbling with his keys, trying to lock the door, while balancing a coffee in his left hand and a piece of toast in his mouth.
He hears something that sounds like a badly trained marching band, before he sees it. He walks out into the street and gawks as the hoard approaches. He doesn’t know exactly what he is looking at, but he knows that this group of offbeat marching things is not human. He is scanning his brain, trying to remember if he had read anything about a movie being filmed in the area. He sits his coffee cup down on the roof of his car, and opens up the door. Before he can get into the care, one of the offbeat marchers grabs him.