“I’m really sorry that you’ve had all those things happen to you…” Sheila stated as she begun to stare into my eyes.
At that moment our lips met in a kiss and it wasn’t until I noticed that Jennifer as well as Billy were watching with a grin on each of their faces that we parted lips and sat side by side as the others outside fueled up the vehicles, once everyone was finished Noah and Christina took over driving and navigating while I stepped back into the rear of the lab truck to rest; Jennifer as well as Sheila followed me and watched as I analyzed the sample once again and looked over the details of the molecular structure.
“I-I’m sorry about that…I know that you two are together.” Sheila stated glancing at Jennifer.
“It’s okay Sheila—Chaz and I have had a relationship now for a good while and we love each other; I was even a girlfriend to his dearly departed wife Angie.” Jennifer answered with a sad smile.
“So you guys are trying to get that sample to some scientists in Brooklyn hoping that they can create a cure for the zombie plague?” Sheila asked as she stood close behind me with her hand on my right shoulder.
“Yeah…that’s the only hope we really have right now—to put an end to the chaos and to the destruction…sooner or later there won’t be any people left and the world will be a graveyard full of flesh-eating corpses.” I answered grimly.
“Well—I know that it’s hard for you since your wife Angie died…but if you’ll let me help you and be a part of your life I think that I can make you both happy.” Sheila stated as she sat down beside of me and glanced from me to Jennifer.
“It’s up to you Jennifer—you have a choice in this too; I owe you that much.” I answered turning to Jennifer.
“It’s fine with me, Sheila is a cutie and if she can help me to make your life easier having to raise those three children then I’m okay with it—I love you, that’s all that matters.” Jennifer answered with a smile.
“I’ll give us a chance…but you’ve got to harden up on your survival skills—I might not always be able to protect you.” I stated turning back to Sheila as Jennifer wrapped her right arm around my waist.
“I’ll do my best—I’ll be here for you and I’ll love you as long as I live.” Sheila answered as she kissed me and then kissed Jennifer.
In between the periods of us kissing all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind—like how could I make this kind of drastic decision so soon after losing the love of my life? How was I even going to be able to give Sheila—not to mention Jennifer the attention that they both deserved when part of me had died and been buried with Angie back there in that lonely cemetery along the desolate highway? I had to put these thoughts out of my mind for I knew that Angie wouldn’t want me to go on raising our three small children alone.
After we had finished I took out the two rings I had picked up at the mall and put one on Sheila’s ring finger and the other one on Jennifer’s—then I kissed them both.
“You’re both pretty much my girls now…with a world that’s dead and filled with homicidal walking corpses those of us that are left have to stick together and try to make a better tomorrow.” I stated as I brought them both close.
“I’m pregnant baby…I wasn’t sure if I should tell you this soon or not.” Jennifer stated in a low voice as she kissed me briefly.
“I’m glad that you did and I’m happy that we’ll have a chance to start a family—we’ll have to get to work on you too.” I stated kissing Jennifer and then turning to gaze down into Sheila’s eyes.
After that the three of us drifted off to sleep together and it seemed like hours—even days had passed by since we had stopped, but finally Noah announced that we had come to some place called Burnsville, West Virginia and that it looked like all the auxiliary roadways through the small town were littered with wrecked cars and other vehicles and that we would have to take a major detour just to get back on the main route that Christina had planned to get to New York City.
“How the hell are we going to get through this mess?” Melvin asked as he and Kira pulled up beside of the lab truck on their motorcycles.
“I don’t know…looks like we’re going to have to find a detour…which in fact could take hours—not to mention put us in danger of attracting massive amounts of zombies.” Noah answered out the driver’s side window as he thumbed through his road map.
“Shhh!”
“Everyone be quiet!” I shouted as I strained to listen to sounds that seemed to be coming from somewhere nearby.
It sounded like rumbling and after another few moments the ground was actually shaking causing the various objects around the inside of the lab truck to vibrate—some to even fall; there right before our eyes something massive smashed through a nearby brick wall and stood there roaring a horrifying roar that shook the ground and even the air around it—once all the dust and smoke had cleared, we were horrified to look up and low and behold—there standing over 30 feet over us was what looked almost exactly like the Entity that we had thought we had killed. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes as I locked eyes with the horrible creature that had seemed to not only had eluded death—but also further mutated and grown over 20 times its former size.
“What the fuck are we going to do now?!” Noah shouted as everyone who wasn’t already inside with us left their vehicles to flee into the heavily armored lab truck.
“That’s that damn Entity—but how the fuck…?” Cedric shouted as he stared up at the creature through the front windshield with dread.
“We’ve got to get the hell out of here—there’s no way we can possibly stand up to that thing!” Kira shouted as she instinctively ducked out of the way as a hail of bullets from the thing’s chain gun hit the outside of the truck doing little to no damage.
Noah ducked and hit one of the control buttons on the dashboard causing a steel barrier to come down over the front windshield blocking our view of the creature.
“That’ll protect the front of the truck at least—makes it hell of a lot darker in here though.” Noah stated as he flicked his flashlight on.
That was when the thing obviously swatted at the outside of the lab truck causing it to shake violently as the sound of crunching metal and steel could be heard on the outside.
“Break out the heavy shit—we’ve got to try and ward it off; we’re not going to survive otherwise.” I instructed as I led the way to the back of the truck where the large and powerful weapons were kept.
I handed several RPG launchers to members of my group and they got them ready as we quickly ran to the front of the truck where we could open small windows and fire our weapons without the monstrosity knowing it; the group members with rocket propelled grenade launchers waited until the areas behind and around them were clear and then fired and the explosions shook the entire truck and the screams of pain and rage of the monster were something terrible.
Some of the monster’s blood splattered down through the crack of the side window on the seat and Melvin got a sample of it and took it to the analyzing computer; the others continued to fire on the beast as several of us went over to the computer including myself, Jennifer and Sheila and we waited as information came up on the screen that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.
“Entity EX…specimen retrieved from nuclear fallout zone in US…enhancements have made specimen immune to all types of radiation…weaknesses are virtually none.” Melvin read from the screen.
“Entity EX?”
“How the hell did that damned thing come back in the first place—there’s no way it could have survived the thermal-nuclear explosion!” I shouted in disbelief and shock.
“Entity EX…Biological Super-Weapon created and enhanced by Nicolas Bowman…specimen will seek out and destroy those whom its creator has programmed it to…only one known method of disposal of this creature…data corrupted…” Melvin read from the screen.
&n
bsp; “Damn it to hell!” I shouted in anger as I punched the side of the wall of the lab truck.
“It appears to be injured…I’m going to go out for a better shot!” Destiny shouted in an eager tone as she ran out the door of the lab truck with her weapon in hand and stood facing the massive beast.
“Are you fucking crazy—get your ass back in here!” I shouted as I pounded on the windows.
Right at that moment the Entity EX swung its massive bladed limb and to the shock and horror of everyone witnessing it—decapitated Destiny cutting her in half; her blood pouring and spraying all over the outside of the lab truck.
It was at that moment that I heard another booming noise—it was coming from above us—somewhere in the sky and it was getting louder and louder and that’s when Melvin shouted from the radar screen that we needed to get the hell away from the spot we were in; Kira, Melvin and my parents all dashed out and got their vehicles getting them well away from the area and right as Noah opened the steel windshield barrier and put the truck into reverse and sped away from the Entity EX a huge flaming 747 airliner plummeted down and smashed into the Entity EX causing a massive explosion that destroyed everything in the area. Several minutes passed and it seemed like all we could see was smoke, fog and dust that seemed to be coming from miles and miles below the surface of the earth.
“What the hell just happened?” Christina asked in a frantic tone of voice.
“Hell if I know…whatever just happened flattened the Entity EX like a bug…” Noah answered as he flipped a switch spraying the windshield with cleaning solution before using the wipers to clear the blood, dust and debris as he strained to see out.
It was then that a bright colored parachute fluttered down to the ground over a figure that seemed to land with a loud thud right in front of the truck almost; I got my M16 ready and hobbled out to find out who this person was. Upon inspection, I seen that it was a guy of around 25 years of age and he looked like he was some sort of mercenary—he had shoulder length dark hair and he wore a pair of sunglasses that were dirty and cracked on one side—what was unclear was who he was and who he worked for but as I stared at him I recognized something about the way he was dressed.
“Did you just crash that airliner into the Entity EX?” I asked once the guy was on his feet and dusting himself off.
“Yeah…when I learned that it had been set loose again I vowed to track it down and destroy it…and it’s only a matter of time before I find that damned man in black…he took everything from me and I won’t rest until I make him pay.” The man stated as he glanced up at me as he continued to dust himself off.
“Who the hell are you anyway?” I asked with suspicion as I now recognized the insignia on his sleeve that said “Covenant One”.
“My name is Beau Lewis…at one time I was a naïve family man who didn’t understand or half believe the things that were happening to those around me that I loved; I lost my wife and my daughter to that asshole’s plague and I sure as hell won’t rest until I avenge their deaths.” The man stated with a dark look as he removed his sunglasses to where we could see his eyes.
“I understand your pain—we have all lost people we love to this shit; where were you from anyway and how did Bowman screw you over?” I asked as the others started coming out to investigate and see what I was doing.
“I lived in Little Rock…I worked in an army surplus store—my wife Tiffany was a filing clerk at the county DA’s office and our daughter Katie was a bright little rosy-cheeked angel who had her whole life ahead of her—that is until all this shit hit the fan and my family was forever ripped away from me…do you know how hard it was for me to just run away; to run away as I watched my family turn into those wretched things?!” Beau almost shouted as little beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
“Did your wife drive a red corvette by any chance?” Noah asked with a distant look on his face as he approached.
“That’s right—how do you people know that?” Beau asked with a strange look on his face as his attention shifted from me to Noah and back to me again.
“We found the car when we were running from a horde of zombies…just a little ways from Little Rock; we had just lost our only means of transportation and we needed a way to travel and get away from the undead…when we found the car we found your wife’s body slumped over the steering wheel—the two kids in the back seat. When we opened the door the two kids attacked Noah here and we barely managed to get them off in time to kill them…we went to get your wife’s body out of the car, but she tried to attack us too—we put them to rest, and we gave the children proper burials…at least I think they would be at peace now.” I finished as I told the tale of the past with a grim expression.
“So…that’s what has happened…I thank you stranger for your kindness; you done something that I didn’t have the guts or the courage to do myself—I’m sure they’re at peace and now the only thing left for me to do is to get revenge.” Beau stated as he started pacing back and forth.
“Well—we’ve been investigating the incidents of the outbreak now for a while and it seems like every time we find hidden documents or files we get deeper and deeper into what seemed to be some kind of intricate plot for world domination; we managed to recover the Antitoxin Sample from the underground laboratory underneath the Oklahoma City Hospital, but we lost several close friends when the Entity was first released.” I explained as I leaned against the outside of the lab truck.
“Bowman didn’t mean for anyone to get that sample and live; just like he didn’t intend for you guys to still be walking—that’s why he went to the fallout area and recovered the previous Entity’s DNA and data files…so he could enhance the damn thing and make up for its previous mistakes.” Beau stated with a troubled look.
“We’re trying to get the sample to a pharmaceutical company in Brooklyn, New York—our only hope is that maybe if we can find some scientists or doctors that are still alive and well that they can create a cure for this plague using the sample.” I explained as I grimaced in pain from my ankle.
“Then I might as well go with you…I suspect that our paths lead in the same direction; the people who recruited me are long dead anyway…so I might as well join your company and at least make a little good with what life I have left.” Beau stated as he introduced himself to everyone in the group.
“Who was it that you worked for?” I asked after everyone had come back into the lab truck.
“After I fled from the scene of where my family died…I hid for a while at my home in Little Rock; but then the zombies got too many and they nearly got me and I was forced to run away yet again—it wasn’t until I made my way to a large hotel in the downtown area that I met these people. They were all what looked like mercenaries, and it wasn’t a secret to me that every single one of them had combat training of some sort; their leader was a man named Timothy Atkins…he was a tough bastard—probably why he was the leader…but when they saw that I wasn’t one of those things and that I had some exceptional survival skills, they recruited me into their team—which was called Covenant One.” Beau explained with a distant look in his eyes.
“We’ve noticed several corpses along the way—especially in the sublevels of the Oklahoma City Hospital that bore the same insignia as you do…were those team members of yours or something?” I asked as I raised my right eyebrow and sat down in one of the seats next to Jennifer and Sheila.
“Yes—several of the team members fell dead in our attempt to infiltrate the underground levels of that hellhole; some were victims of the zombies, others were killed by other mutations and even one that was killed by friendly fire—that was in the Biohazard Room I believe.” Beau answered in the same distant voice.
“Yeah, I noticed a body that was in that room—it looked like he had been shot to death.” I stated as I looked down at the floor of the lab truck in deep thought.
“Yeah…
that was Dolph—he was Alpha Team’s Communications operative; when we got to that room it was empty, but as soon as Dolph had radioed back to Atkins to report the situation—dozens upon dozens of zombies poured into the room from the opposite door and attacked us; Mike who was the computer specialist of our team, was bitten several times in the neck and upper torso area…he lost control of his weapon while he was being attacked and Dolph was killed by friendly fire.” Beau explained as he looked at the floor in deep thought as he recalled the past.
“How did you manage to make it out of that doomed hospital when I take it that the rest of your team didn’t?” Noah asked in a curious voice.
“I wasn’t the only person of the team that made it out of that place…three others survived too—Hugo Rodriguez, Desiree Jordan and Amy Smith…I haven’t seen or heard from them since the four of us crawled up out of that hellhole where that damned creature was kept though, so I have no idea if they are still among the living.” Beau answered as he looked up at Noah and then me.
“Well—if we were to find them it would be good to have some more people to help us fight against the undead.” Melvin stated with a grin.
“Not to change the subject or anything, but what about the Entity EX…did that explosion kill it?” Kira asked as she went to gaze back out the window toward where the huge monster had been.
“I don’t know…I hit it as hard as I could—there’s no way to know for sure.” Beau answered as he got up and walked to the front of the lab truck to gaze out the windshield.
“I guess if the damned thing comes after us again then we’ll have the answer to that question.” I answered as I got to my feet with some trouble.
“We should get going—I don’t like being this close to where that thing could possibly be reviving in a very short amount of time.” My dad stated as he kept glancing out the window nervously.
Once everyone got their vehicles ready again, we started back out on the road and after several hours of driving, Noah stopped in a small town called Lost Creek, West Virginia. Our food supplies were very low due to the increased number of our group, so we found a small but well stocked grocery store called Pruitt’s.
[HGB] Humanity Gone Bad: The Dead Chronicles Page 21