BLOODBORNE: THE CHANGED BOOK 1

by S. M. LITTLE

In a lab such as this one, there were always going to be volatile liquids, that when combined in the right mixture, would set off a chain reaction of explosions.

  He quickly grabbed the waste basket used for the shredder and poured a mixture of different chemicals into it. Without anyone noticing, he found a natural gas line that was hooked up to one of the unoccupied stations. He opened the line at the station, allowing the combustible gas to fill the room.

  Seconds later, Max looked up from his desk to see Bill standing over the waste basket, holding a vial of liquid.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Max asked.

  “They will never understand,” Bill blurted out. “They will never forgive us.”

  “What do you mean? What won’t they forgive?” Max asked.

  “Trust me, it’s better this way,” Bill said and then poured the vial into the basket.

  The liquid hit the basket and flames erupted upwards. Two seconds later, the waste basket exploded with such force that Bill was sent flying back twenty feet through the air and smacked the wall with his head.

  The explosion ignited the gas in the room, blowing the entire lab and everyone inside into little pieces. It also destroyed the test results Bill had obtained, and any chance for a cure that humanity would ever have.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  DULUTH, MINNESOTA

  Dylan was in his room, packing his things. He hated to leave after such a glorious stay with April. She was so happy with everything that she walked around with a glow about her. He was happy himself, after seeing her reaction. He was certain he had made the right choice about ending his career in the service.

  “Are you sure about this?” April asked for tenth time.

  “Yes baby, I am. I want to be with you now and forever. My service to the country needs to change so I can have a life. I want that life to be with you,” he answered.

  “You know,” she said as she nuzzled in close to him. “I never thought you would give up being a Marine. It was always a dream of mine, but that dream seemed to fade away as time marched on.”

  “It’s not a dream anymore, it’s reality. I love you baby, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy,” he replied. “And I’m still a Marine. Always will be.”

  “Yeah, but you’re my Marine, the Corps be damned,” she said.

  “Hey now, watch your mouth,” he teased.

  “Maybe you need to close it for me?” she said, toying with him.

  “I would love to, but I’ll be late for my flight,” he said, somewhat dejectedly. It pained him to leave her now, even if it was for a short time while he wrapped up things at Camp Lejeune.

  “Oh, but do you have to go?” she said, batting her eyes at him.

  “Yes sweetheart, I do,” he said apologetically. “It’s only for a week or so, and I’ll be back.”

  “Ok,” she said, sounding bummed out. “When you get back, it’s bedtime for a week.”

  “A whole week? What about food?” he teased back.

  “We can order in,” she smiled at him.

  Dylan went back to finish his packing and get the car loaded. April was going to drive him to the airport and bring his prized Mustang back to his parents. Dylan had never let anyone drive his car, but she was about to be his bride, so he figured he had to relent at some point.

  The ride to the airport was quick, too quick for both of them. Soon, they were at the drop-off outside the airport doors. They took their time saying goodbye, embracing in a long, emotion-filled kiss. They didn’t care who was looking at them. The only thing in the world that mattered was each other.

  They regretfully released their embrace. They stared into each other’s eyes one last time before Dylan picked up his bags.

  “I’ll be back in a week,” he said through tear filled eyes. He always hated leaving her and it was even harder now.

  “I know,” she said through her own tears. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Dylan gave her one last kiss and went inside the airport. He quickly turned to look at her one last time before he went through security. Just as he turned, he saw someone jump on top of her and start chewing on her arm.

  He dropped his bags and raced back outside. He was just fifty yards away. When he reached her he almost threw up. The person that had jumped April was lean, almost sinewy. Bright red veins stuck out all over the person. The monster had a chunk of April’s arm in his mouth and he was chewing it up like it was Thanksgiving dinner.

  People outside the airport were running away, screaming in fear. Bags were dropped, cell phones skittered across the pavement. Cars that had been parked were now gunning their engines and racing away from the scene.

  Dylan reached the red monster and pulled him off April. With a quick glance he noticed April had been torn to shreds and was clearly dead.

  He had no time to mourn, as the red guy launched himself into Dylan with amazing speed, his jaws snapping at Dylan as the guy knocked him to the ground. Red Guy was on top of him, snapping for all he was worth. Even his jaws moved at an unbelievable speed.

  Thankfully, for Dylan, the red guy had a physique built more for running and speed, while Dylan had at least seventy-five pounds on him, and his was all muscle.

  Dylan grabbed Red Guy’s throat and started to roll him over. To Dylan’s surprise, the guy rolled with him, until they made a complete circle with the monster back on top. Dylan reversed the roll and this time compensated for the guy rolling with him. The monster’s jaws never stopped snapping the whole time their battle was going on.

  With the roll complete and Dylan on top, he finally had the advantage and used it. He launched a tirade of punches to Red Guy’s face, followed by several knees to the groin. They didn’t faze the monster at all. He continued to try and bite Dylan.

  Dylan then palm punched Red Guy in the nose, shattering it. He then stood up and smashed the guy’s knee with his boot.

  Thinking that should keep the monster down, Dylan raced back to April. He knew it was no use, but he had to try. She had one arm missing, half her throat had been torn out and she was covered in blood. Dylan tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t respond. Disbelief settled in as Dylan realized that his future lay in his hands, dead.

  Dylan felt a huge push on his right side and his body flew ten feet away from April. The red guy was back. Hobbled, but back.

  Dylan picked himself up and turned to face April’s killer. He was going to enjoy this. The monster was looking at Dylan like he was trying to decipher him. The eyes of the man were slightly hazed over and there was only one emotion in those eyes, hatred. Dylan had never seen anything like it before.

  Red Guy started towards Dylan and even with a shattered knee, he had incredible speed. Dylan timed it perfectly and sidestepped the onslaught. He brought his right leg up and jammed it into Red Guy’s abdomen. The force of such a kick would have dropped any normal human, but not this thing. He had doubled over from the force of the kick but it wasn’t from pain and he stood upright within a split second.

  Red Guy came at Dylan again, but this time Dylan ducked down and rammed his fist into the guy’s groin. He hit both jewels with enough power to shatter a man’s jaw. Red Guy just tumbled to the side and stood back up.

  Dylan was starting to get worried as the guy made another attack. This time Dylan sidestepped, grabbed the guy by his hair, and used his momentum to drive the man’s head into the concrete, shattering his skull. Red Guy rolled over onto his back, and Dylan attacked. He grabbed the guy by his head and smashed it repeatedly against the pavement. By the time Dylan realized the guy wasn’t moving, the monster’s head was nothing but a puddle of blood and brain matter.

  Dylan stopped what he was doing and looked around. Nobody was in sight. It was just him and Red. He looked himself over and other than some blood on his clothing, he had no scratches, bite marks, or any other wounds. Luckily, he had come through the fight unscathed.

  He went to April and gently picked up what was left of her. He pla
ced her in the Mustang and prepared to head out.

  His eyes showed only one emotion…revenge.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

  Mike was working on another C-17. This one needed a routine overhaul of its engines. This level of maintenance demanded that they be removed, and certain parts replaced. It was a massive job that required several sets of hands. There were machines that could help, but the job still required many people to execute.

  As they were getting ready to remove one of the engines, an alarm sounded throughout the base. A voice came over the loudspeaker announcing that there was an escaped patient from the base hospital.

  Mike looked out the hangar doors to see MPs trying to catch the person that had escaped. It was weird that they would announce something like that, considering the hospital wasn’t meant to hold loony tunes and psychotics. It was a basic infirmary limited to treating the common ailments on base.

  Pete joined Mike at the hangar doors to watch the scenario playing out in front of them. The escapee, in just his underwear, was running away from the hospital towards the barracks. He was moving at an incredible speed. He was so fast that the MPs were having to use vehicles to keep up.

  Every so often, the escapee would stop to attack an airman, tackling them to the ground and biting them. Mike couldn’t be sure, but a couple of times he swore when he saw the escapee get up, he was chewing on something.

  “What the hell is that about? I didn’t think we kept crazies on base?” Pete asked him.

  “Me neither,” Mike replied. “Oh shit, get ready. He’s coming this way. Everyone, grab something to hit this guy with.”

  Everyone in the hanger grabbed any large tool they could find to use as a bludgeoning weapon. Luckily, in this kind of hanger, large tools were not hard to find.

  Before the airmen needed to use their tools, the MPs circled the escapee. Mike could clearly see that the guy had red veins covering his body and had blood dripping from his chin.

  “What in good heavens happened?” another mechanic said.

  “I don’t know,” Pete whispered. It was obvious that this guy had gone off the deep end. He was staring at the MPs surrounding him. It was like he couldn’t form a proper thought, he was only functioning by instinct. At least that’s what it looked like to Mike.

  “Something isn’t right about this,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, I see it too,” Pete said.

  Just then, Underwear Guy raced towards the nearest MP and tackled him to the ground. Mike watched in horror as he bit into the MP’s throat and pulled away, tearing a huge chunk out of his neck. The MP screamed in agony as he watched his own blood spurting from his body.

  Underwear Guy quickly chewed and swallowed the piece of flesh and went back for another bite. A second MP kicked Underwear Guy off the first MP and brought his rifle up. Before he could fire, Underwear Guy launched at him, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him, ripping his throat out. Several people in the hanger started to vomit.

  The other MPs quickly discharged their weapons. A total of six shots rang out, all landing in the chest of Underwear Guy, knocking him down. To the shock of everyone watching, he got back up.

  Mike stood there in complete disbelief. “What the hell?”

  Those who hadn’t been throwing up in the hanger watched and heard Mike, but they couldn’t respond. How could a man get shot six times in the chest and get back up? It wasn’t possible. Nobody could withstand that kind of damage and get up.

  They all continued to watch as another MP shot Underwear Guy in the head, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

  After all was said and done, Underwear Guy had bitten fifteen people, killing three of them. It was rumored that he wasn’t deranged, he was eating.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  DULUTH, MINNESOTA

  Dylan stood in shock. He didn’t hear anything around him, nor did he see it. All he could see was his love, his life, lying dead in the front seat of his Mustang. Might as well just rip his heart out and put it on the seat next to her.

  Revenge had consumed his thoughts right after he put her in the car, but revenge on whom? Who would pay for this heinous act?

  Nobody. That’s the conclusion he had come to, nobody. There was nobody he could fault for this, nobody to blame. All he was left with was an emptiness, a hollow feeling that ran deep to the pit of his soul. He had nothing left.

  As a Force Recon Marine, there were many times he had needed that rage, needed that sense of revenge, to enact all sorts of horrible things on those who deserved it. He always had someone to take it out on, but not now. Now, there was nothing. Without his beloved April, he was just an empty shell. A lifeless void without meaning. At least that’s how he felt.

  Screams from inside the terminal broke him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to see three people biting others inside the airport. He didn’t even think, just reacted. In a split second, he had found his revenge, and it was going to be cold.

  He raced into the terminal, past the security guards that were running away from the noise. He ran down the long hallway towards the three monsters. They were bumbling about, randomly biting people. Dylan could instantly see these three were different than the one that had attacked April.

  Their veins had popped out but they were green, and they were not fast like the red guy.

  “Playtime,” Dylan mumbled. He ran towards the three, went down like he was sliding into second base, and took the legs out from under the first one. It was a girl with jet black hair and tattoos.

  “Stay down, goth bitch,” Dylan roared.

  A second green monster stumbled toward him, arms reaching out to grasp him, but Dylan easily stepped way. This one was male and dressed in farmer’s overalls. As the farmer went past him, Dylan stuck his leg out and tripped him.

  “Stay down Farmer Joe,” Dylan spat out.

  The last one was heading towards him at a trot.

  “Is that the fastest you can go?” Dylan tried to taunt him. “Damn, I killed your cousin outside and he was a lot faster than you, pokey!”

  Pokey turned towards Dylan as he was talking but continued to turn in circles even after Dylan stopped moving and stopped talking.

  “Ahh, you go by sound, I see?” Dylan said. Pokey stopped spinning and turned back to face Dylan. He sniffed the air and made a gurgling sound.

  “Was that a roar? Pretty damn pathetic if you ask me,” Dylan said as he reached for Pokey’s head. Dylan grabbed him and pounded his head on the floor. He smashed it so hard that the back of Pokey’s head caved in and he stopped moving.

  By this time, Goth Girl and Farmer Joe were back up. They had a bead on Dylan, but he was way too fast. He began playing with them, trying to learn as much as he could.

  As Dylan played keep-away from the two, he was searching for something he could use as a weapon. He found an umbrella lying on the floor a little ways down the hallway.

  He quietly went to the umbrella and picked it up. He wanted to see how much sound needed to be made before the green ones could track him.

  Dylan quietly snuck up behind Goth Girl. The wind wasn’t a factor inside the terminal, so he figured if he stayed quiet, he could sneak up right behind her.

  He was mere inches from her when he whispered in her ear, “Right behind you, bitch.”

  Dylan took a step back and got ready. Goth Girl turned around and gurgled at him. Dylan rammed the umbrella right into her heart, sticking it out her back. Green goo oozed out of the wound, slowly soaking the umbrella but she just kept coming towards him.

  Deciding to test his sound theory again, Dylan snuck away from her and focused on Farmer Joe. There was a briefcase sitting at Farmer Joe’s feet. Dylan quickly snuck up to Joe and picked up the briefcase. It made a slight grating sound against the floor as Dylan picked it up.

  Joe easily heard this, turned around and sniffed, but Dylan wasn’t there. He had already moved in behind Joe and as Joe turned, Dyl
an swung the briefcase as hard as he could. It connected perfectly with the back of Joe’s neck, breaking it, and Joe dropped to the floor, dead.

  “It’s just me and you now, Goth,” Dylan said loudly.

  Goth Girl whirled around to face Dylan and started towards him, but she had slowed even more since he had first stabbed her with the umbrella. It was too easy for Dylan to play keep-away from her. He wanted to see if a heart wound would put these things down. He got his answer five minutes later when Goth Girl finally dropped to the floor, dead. She had never managed to get within five feet of him.

  Dylan was starting to smile his evil ‘I got my revenge’ smile when two of the people that had been bitten rose up. Their veins had popped out and they were gurgling. Dylan was too busy playing with the first three to notice that the screams he had been hearing had come from the ones that had been bitten. He thought he was hearing other people in the terminal screaming as they were fleeing.

  Like the last three, these two were green, and Dylan had no problem dispatching them. He broke the neck of the first and stabbed the second one with a tactical pen to the neck.

  Dylan raced out of the airport and jumped into his Mustang. He floored it all the way back home, not stopping for stop signs or red lights. He had a stash of gear at his house. All through his career, he had been able to purchase certain items at unbelievable discounts.

  Soon, he was decked out in full battle rattle and went to check the TV and radio. There was nothing about people changing, nothing about people eating other people. They just gabbed away, talking about the weather or the latest baseball game.

  He went to check his phones and ham radio. The phone had no updates, but the ham radio was ablaze with people talking about The Changed. The radio chatter was so intense that Dylan couldn’t get a word out.

  He went back to his phone and left a message with his team about what he had learned and how to kill the things.

  Once that was done, he said a silent prayer for his teammates, wished his beloved Corps good luck, and ran out of the house. He had people to save.