Nano Z (Book 3): Oblivion

by Brad Knight

  That's new. And that's not good. Devi didn't stick around to watch too long. As he left his viewpoint he heard Alexei.

  “What should we do, sir?” asked the panicked, nervous man.

  “Fight and die if you have to. None of those get in. Do you hear me? None of them!” Devi gave the orders and proceeded to abandon the wall. He needed to alert General Xin and get him to mobilize his troops. They were the only chance Shanghai had to stay undead free.

  Alexei didn't know what to do. He didn't notice Devi climbing down the ladders and scaffolding to the city. His mouth couldn't and therefore didn't give the orders to fire on the wave of monsters.

  One of the other guards gave the order instead. All anyone could hear for miles were their gunshots. Each of them atop the wall gave everything they had, but it wouldn't be enough. At least they stemmed the tide of them. For a little while.

  ***

  I'll never see them again. My time as sheriff of our little town is over. Still, I can do this one last thing. Then I'll be done. Which is fine, I'll live. That's all that matters.

  By the time the second wave of undead came screeching towards the Shanghai wall, the citizens of Phoenix's city were scared. Fear led to confusion, which led to panic, as often was the case with people. They finally realized that their little slice of safety and comfort had reached its expiration date.

  Idiots. None of them stand a chance. Running around like chickens with their heads cut off will do them no good. The chaos around Devi disgusted him. Sure he was afraid. He'd have to be crazy not to be. Unlike the citizens of Shanghai though, he had an escape plan. A boat waited for him at the port, and from there he'd escape to Yellow Sea and out to somewhere remote, somewhere he could start anew.

  First, Devi had to reach the port. It wouldn't be an easy task. The wall was on the opposite side of the city. True, the new Shanghai was nowhere near as big as its full sized ancestor, but the water was still a couple miles away. Add streets clogged by hysterical people and it turned into a formidable journey. One that he eagerly started.

  Devi made it a mile before he noticed the gunshots had stopped. It was an ominous sign. He had to hurry. Either the guards ran out of bullets or the infected overran them. No matter which was true, time was of the essence.

  In the streets between Devi and the wall, carnage ensued. The infected had managed to scale the wall using their brethren as stools. Though the guards were brave and skilled, they didn't stand a chance.

  Under the guidance of the undead riders, the horde easily overtook the wall and the meager amount of guards. From there, there was only one place else to go. They jumped down into a pen full of fresh meat and had at it.

  Most of the citizens of Shanghai were useless in a fight. None of them offered any significant resistance. They served as cannon fodder as the smart ran for their lives.

  Devi didn't see any of the infected, but he heard them. He heard the wet ripping sound of them rending flesh. He heard screams of desperate and intense agony. He heard random gunfire from those who had enough sense to keep their guns. He heard the end of warm showers and comfy beds. He heard the end of that chapter of his life.

  Good riddance. Devi accepted the loss of Shanghai as he pushed his way through the throngs of fleeing citizens. His nose picked up the aroma of the sea. He was close. All he had to do was keep moving.

  That can't be good. Devi and every other remaining denizen of Shanghai heard a loud crashing noise. It was like a high speed car crash or a twin engine plane hitting a mountain. The street below his feet shook.

  What Devi didn't know was that an infected that was once an elephant barged through the city's wall. The gaping hole in the defenses not only allowed in more of the creatures at a faster rate, but it also paved the way for the riders.

  There wasn't time for Devi to worry about what the loud crashing noise was. He needed to get to the port. If he didn't there was a good chance his ride would leave without him. After all, most people valued their own lives over a quick buck (or luxuries lost post outbreak). By his estimation he had less than a half an hour before he was stranded and left for dead.

  That's not going to happen. I'm not like these people. I'm better. I deserve to survive. Devi literally stepped over other denizens of Shanghai. Nothing and nobody was going to stop him.

  The port was within Devi's view. He saw the boat with General Xin and Dr. Katya Ivanova waiting for him. They were the trinity of the Phoenix.

  General Xin already knew. He reacted the same way I did. He's just trying to get out. That cold bastard will leave without me. I need to… Devi felt a sharp pain in the small of his back. His arms reached behind him and tried to touch whatever hit him. He felt what bore a striking resemblance to steel cables. A barb, not much different from that found on a harpoon, was embedded less than a centimeter from his spine.

  Before he could even think of what to do, Devi was pulled off his feet. The former head of security for Phoenix run Shanghai slammed face first onto the street. He was in good shape, relatively young and fit, but there was nothing he could do about being dragged backwards away from the port and his ticket out of the city.

  Without knowing what had a hold of him, Devi reached for his sidearm. As he was dragged, he rolled over to his back and tried his best to ignore the almost blinding pain. What he saw when he rolled over made his blood go cold.

  One of the undead riders sat atop its spike laden mount. The cable that was stuck in Devi's back was retracting into the rider's arm. It stared at him with emotionless yellow eyes. In them there was no pity, no mercy, no respect for life.

  Devi opened fire. Every fired bullet was accurate. He could tell by the sparks created from each impact on the undead rider's body. None of them had any effect, not even when he emptied his whole clip.

  This is it. Realizing that he couldn't even use it to kill himself, Devi threw away his pistol. There was no more running. He was fucked and he knew it.

  When it's prey was close enough, the undead rider grabbed Devi by his throat and held him there. The former RAW (Indian CIA) agent tried to yell out when the harpoon and cable tore out of his back. A tight metal hand around his throat prevented him from making much noise.

  General Xin watched the head of Phoenix intelligence get his neck snapped by an undead rider. Though it might have appeared otherwise, he felt the loss of not only a valuable asset but one of the few people he considered a friend. It saddened him. Nevertheless he needed move on. If he was to die there in Shanghai, then the whole organization would crumble. Seeing that he believed it was the only hope for mankind, that was unacceptable. Devi and the others left in the city would die so mankind might live.

  “Five minutes, sir!” yelled the driver of the small boat General Xin and Dr. Ivanova escaped on. Before being re-purposed it was a modest fishing vessel. It was nothing special but was enough to transport them to their new home.

  The last operational aircraft carrier in what was once the Chinese Navy waited for its General. Xin didn't even look at the vessel ironically named “Jiangshi”. He was too busy watching all his hard work get decimated by legions of the infected.

  Never again. General Xin swore not to lose another colony. Humanity's morale couldn't take much more. Nor could his. If people were going to survive in the nightmare the world had become, they would need to adapt, change.

  “Floaters!” yelled the solder at the helm of one of the dozen or so boats that made it out of the city.

  Damn. I didn't even notice. Having been brought to his and every one else on a boat's attention, General Xin saw the floaters. They were infected who were bloated. Their extended bellies protruded above the water while serving as gruesome buoys.

  “Don't shoot them if they get too close!” ordered General Xin.

  Floaters were infected mines. When shot their bellies exploded, sending a mist full of the nanite virus into the surrounding air. That wasn't the only threat they posed. If a boat touched them they would spring to life and try
to board the vessel.

  Xin took out his pistol and started shooting the floaters. They popped like balloons releasing their infectious innards. The creatures wouldn't of posed a serious threat if it wasn't for their numbers. It didn't matter how his fishing boat maneuvered, he and the other passengers would have to run into and destroy some.

  There is no survival without risk. General Xin knew what he had to do. “Put on your masks! Now!”

  Kept in satchels that every high level member of Phoenix had attached to their waist at all times were gas masks. Just in case the virus went airborne they needed to be prepared, protected.

  Dr. Ivanova and the three other soldiers with her and the General shot any floater, whether it got close or not. Their gas masks gave them the protection the other boats didn't have, but that wasn't enough.

  Two floaters climbed onto the fishing vessel almost capsizing it. They were quickly dispatched by well aimed bullets. Infected guts splattered but didn't infect. The same couldn't be said for the others.

  General Xin watched as floaters climbed onto some of the other boats. In a panic they shot at the creatures. Normally that would've been the right thing to do, but with floaters all they did was doom themselves.

  After watching men and women under his command and protection get infected due to a simple desire to survive, Xin had a responsibility. He had to end them before they added to the enemies' numbers. Intent on doing it himself, he didn't give an order. Instead he put a bullet in the head of every newly infected denizen of Shanghai on the water.

  Regrettable but necessary. Ivanova and Xin got clear of the bloated undead. The General looked back and saw all but two of the other boats struggling to make it through. He picked up his radio.

  “Jiangshi?” General Xin radioed the aircraft carrier.

  “This is Captain Long of Jiangshi,” answered a voice on the other end of the radio.

  “Admiral, this is General Xin.”

  “Sir, where are you?”

  “Do any of you have a flashlight?” Xin asked the other passengers on his boat.

  Ivanova had one. She took it out of her go bag and handed it over. The General turned it on and pointed it at the Jiangshi. With his free hand he covered the light and moved it in a pattern signaling the carrier.

  “We see you, sir. Do you need a bird to pick you up?”

  “We won't require a pick up, Captain. I need you to flatten the city and burn the water behind me.” General Xin knew that it was over. There was no point leaving all those potential recruits to become infected.

  General Xin and everyone aboard his fishing boat covered their ears. They knew what was coming. And it was loud, the teeth rattling variety.

  The massive guns of the Jiangshi blasted the beach. Shells as big as adolescents flew over General Xin, Dr. Ivanova and the rest of their shipmates. On impact they exploded, sending fire, debris and devastating blast waves.

  Other guns on top of the Jiangshi riddled the water behind the General's boat. The other vessels were rendered into nothing but splinters. Their passengers turned to chum.

  The Jiangshi didn't stop firing until General Xin got aboard. He was silent as he climbed the ladder onto the floating machine of war. From there he had a clear view of the remains of his city. A lesser man would've cried or at least teared up. It was in shambles, and smoke rose from burning buildings and bodies both. Undead screeches replaced the sounds of the once bustling city. There was nothing left.

  The Jiangshi represented hope. General Xin was determined to propagate just that, despite the horrible blow that hope took that evening. So he turned away from Shanghai and turned towards the future. It was all he could do.

  Chapter 5

  : Church

  The last thing that Amber remembered was laying her head down on a pillow. Before she knew it she wasn't aboard Haven. She was back in Dallas, at her house.

  Amber's parents did all right for themselves, but her dad was a skinflint. Instead of getting a nice house with two floors where maybe she'd get some privacy, he chose a little ranch home. She hated it.

  Amber's house had thin walls. She could hear everything. Often she heard her parents arguing. That all too familiar scenario was where she once again found herself. She was in a dimly lit version of her room.

  The walls of her bedroom were covered in posters. Most were of her favorite bands. Some were from classic horror movies. She couldn't read any of the writing on them. They almost looked like they were written in some unknown language. What was on her walls was unimportant. It was what she heard through them.

  Though she couldn't hear exactly what they were arguing about, Amber could hear the muffled sounds of their yells. She tried to move and leave her room but her limbs felt like they were moving underwater. It made it hard for her to put one foot in front of the other.

  After some significant effort, she managed to exit her bedroom. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the hallway her parents' arguing stopped. It was dead silent. A sense of unease crept up on her. Something wasn't right.

  There was a lamp that sat atop a small stand in the hallway. It was the only source of light. The closer Amber got to it, the dimmer it shined. By the time she reached it, it went out completely.

  “Hey honey.” Amber heard her dad's voice. But for the life of her she couldn't figure out where it came from.

  A cold slightly slimy hand grabbed Amber's arm. She tried to wrench it free. She couldn't. Another firmly grabbed her ankles.

  Unseen by her, a force pushed her over onto her back. Suddenly she was back in her room. She tried to get up but couldn't. That's when she noticed that she was being held down by her shoulders. When she looked up at what was restraining her she saw the severely rotted corpse of her mother smiling down. A centipede crawled out of the toothless mouth of her dead mom and fell onto the teen's face.

  As horrific as having her dead mom pinning her to her bedroom floor was, it was only the beginning. Her dead decaying father crawled up out of the hardwood and climbed on top of his daughter.

  For the first time since before the outbreak, Amber felt something she hoped to never feel again. It was a nauseating sensation deep in her guts. There was also an overwhelming helplessness. That mix only came when her father would “visit” her at night.

  Amber cringed at her dad's touch. He made his way up to her head. She made eye contact with the dead gelatinous spheres in his sockets. The horror leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead. There was nothing she could do to avoid it.

  Before what was left of his lips touched her, his whole body turned into bullets. They cascaded over her. Her mom no longer restrained her. In fact, she was gone.

  Amber slowly got up. She looked around and made sure there weren't anymore surprises waiting for her. There wasn't. Nor was she in her bedroom anymore.

  Looking at her own sleeping self, Amber saw she was in their cabin aboard Haven. It wasn't only herself that slumbered, but her companions too. She tried to say something, anything. No words came out no matter how hard she tried.

  She watched as a shadowy figure entered the cabin. It was as if shadows merged together to make something that resembled a human's form. A pair of meat puppet red eyes turned towards her.

  The shadow person held up one of its hands. It presented it for Amber to see. That hand's fingers morphed into the shape of syringes.

  She tried to warn Mack that the shadow person approached, but Amber still couldn't muster a word. All she could do was watch.

  The shadow person closed his syringe laden fist leaving only his index finger (needle) extended. It took that finger and stuck it into one of Mack's arms. While it did so, the shadows laughed.

  ***

  Amber was woken up abruptly. Doing so to a teenager was never a good idea. They tend not to be jovial or understanding when forcefully shaken loose from their slumber. A growing gal needs her beauty sleep, right?

  What the hell? Where's the fire? The sound of feet against metal floor
s was what awoke her. She looked out the always open door-less doorway. People hurried by, and it was clear that they were going somewhere. The question was where?

  Amber groaned as she forced herself up out of her bunk. She couldn't sit up very far considering she picked the top bed. Her forehead bumped against the cold gray ceiling. Stupid wall.

  When the sleep cleared from her eyes, she could see that she was the last one up. Stephanie and Mack were sitting on the bunk below her talking. She heard them but was still too tired to make any sense of their conversation.

  The smell of coffee filled their cramped crew quarters aboard Haven. Shortly after waking up, Stephanie had managed to find her way to the mess hall and grabbed a couple of cups. She also got Amber an orange juice box and some toasted homemade bread.

  “You sure you didn't have that before?” asked Stephanie. Her and Mack's voices were low as to not wake up their teenage companion.

  “I'm sure,” Mack answered.

  “Maybe you got bit by something back on the island?”

  “It would've healed by now. I'm telling you, it looks like a needle mark. Someone stuck me with something. They must have done it just before I woke up, because this looks fresh.”

  Amber looked over the edge of her bunk. She saw her two companions' legs. Mack's arm was held out for Stephanie to see. There was a red dot with a little dried blood dripping off of it.

  “I don't know what to tell you. You might be right. But if someone did stick you, wouldn't one of us had seen them?” It almost sounded like Stephanie was trying to convince herself.

  Should I say something? Will they think I'm a crazy person? Amber couldn't decide whether she should inform Mack of her dream. The memory of it quickly faded, but remained fresh enough that she remembered the shadow man.

  Someone knocked on the wall just outside the trio's cabin. In unison they all looked to see who it was. The tall man with dreadlocks they saw when first boarding Haven, Josiah, appeared in the doorway.