Myrna

by Vandam, Vivian

  Snow lowered his weapon, "Should we?"

  Her instincts kept screaming, "No! It could be a creature. We shouldn't pursue it. If anything, we should avoid the sound at all cost."

  Emmett was quick to agree, "Smart thinking Myrna." He then addressed the team, "Remember we don't know what is infected and what's not. Keep your cool."

  The gear was heavy, and Emmett took off at a trot again, they followed in a line. They turned down a street, apparently Emmett had a chance to look at the maps before we left. They took another turn, more and more turns. The smoke was growing even thicker, and it was getting even more difficult for her to breathe. Her endurance was good, but not as good as the guys. There were a few times Ace started to pass her up.

  Her hair stood up, and she screeched to a halt. "Stop!" She whispered. The squad followed suit and waited. Emmett turned to me, and she saw that he hadn't even broken a sweat. The suits kept them cool.

  There was a noise, it wasn't shuffling. It was dragging. Something was being dragged or dragging something. When she turned around, there was nothing. With everything being cloaked in smoke it was difficult for her to make out anything. She reached to her belt and pulled out her flashlight. She turned it on and panned from left to right.

  "H…help….me…"

  A whimper.

  "Please, help me…" A hard sob, "I need to find him. I'm so…so lost." It was getting closer, the voice reminded her of someone speaking with water in their mouth.

  "Weapons up." She ordered.

  All four men raised their weapons, and within the smoke it was what she thought. A non-human, twitching coming toward them. It once used to be a female, the skin had a doll-like appearance. Eyes glass like, its mouth was open and green substance dripped from her mouth covering the front of a former dress suit. She wasn’t moaning and didn't react to the light Mina had on her.

  "Watch yourself Kitty Cat, that's one of those monsters." Neeve called through her headset.

  The monster no longer made the soft weeping noise, her mouth opened, and she emitted a chirping noise. Like a grasshopper calling for a mate. Mina aimed, and the monster looked right at her, staring her down. The chirping grew louder, and before she could pull the trigger, the monster was already on her in three short dashes.

  She pulled the trigger and the creature spun around. Her skin cracked, the sound reminded her of a plate falling and breaking on the floor. More chirping came from the smoke, growing closer to them. They used the smoke to hide, to disguise themselves. Her body started to grow numb, as she sighted the monster again.

  It was gone.

  There was no blood, nothing.

  S…she disappeared! I hit her! I know I hit her! The bullets broke her skin…! What the fuck?!

  Emmett and Ace were barking orders Snow and Jameson were already moving and Ace was trying to get her attention. She couldn't get her eyes off the spot the creature was just standing at—

  "Myrna!" Ace shouted right next to her ear, it snapped her right back to reality. "Did you hit it?" He asked again.

  She kept trying to figure out where it went…but her brain just wasn't clicking over. "Y…yeah. I did. But there wasn't any blood…" The chirping and clicking was growing louder; there had to have been hundreds, if not thousands of them. She still kept her gun up aiming into the smoke. "I'll keep watch."

  Ace went back to Emmett as they started to talk, "This is nothing like I faced back in Crusa…" She whispered to Neeve. "They're communicating, they're coherent. What the fuck is this Neeve?" She breathed.

  "We warned you—"

  A man stumbled through the thick smoke, he kept dragging his feet his arms down by his sides, nails dragging along the asphalt. He was close enough for her to smell the infection wafting off him. It was so much worse than before, it…it was just sick.

  She stood absolutely still before panning her light over him. He snapped his face right to her—

  "EEEERA!" A shrill shriek came from his mouth. Saliva strands shaking at the vibration of it. It was so sudden it nearly took her off her feet, the LED light left a deep burn in the creature’s skin. The man who was already bald kept staring at her, his teeth snapped at the air.

  She took a step back as the monster tried to swipe at the very air, she was standing in. She took her gun and shoved the barrel into its mouth. "Shut up!" Mina returned the scream as she pulled the trigger.

  ◆◆◆

  Ace watched as Mina put the gun into the monsters’ mouth and pull the trigger. She had grown a little too ballsy for his liking. He snapped his attention back to Emmett; they weren't even an hour on the ground, and they've ran into several different kinds of monsters from this virus and they were ten times more viscous then they had originally thought.

  “Run!” Myrna screamed over the comm.

  Bullets whizzed past Ace, Myrna had her assault rifle up and pulling the trigger. She had flipped it from automatic to semi-auto. Myrna put the gun down and lifted the flashlight, he watched the LED burn into the creature’s skin. He watched Emmett pull the trigger of his weapon, more of the fog-monsters came through.

  Their heads snapping back.

  But they didn’t fall.

  The smoke had covered the sky, blocking out any resemblance of light.

  “Captain Normandy we have confirmation--”

  A voice tried to come over the comm line but was quickly replaced with static. Ace watched more of their men fall as the creatures tackled them. Even if the bullets struck their heads, they didn’t fall.

  Myrna was holding them back with her flashlight, and he watched their skin peel back and he heard the screeching. She kept walking up to the monster, kicking it in the chest knocking it down to the asphalt.

  With one last cry, the monster became engulfed in fire. The sudden brightness made the other monsters back up. Myrna took that second to pull up a holographic map, her eyes bouncing from creature to creature.

  A sudden shrill cry came from his far left, Ace turned--

  ◆◆◆

  Myrna watched Ace turn in the same direction as the scream, it was Snow. He was forced up against a wall, using his gun as leverage against one of the monsters. Her heart kept pounding in her ears, and she could hardly hear Neeve trying to talk to her.

  “Snow!” She screamed over the comm link, she took the opportunity to bring her flashlight forward and aimed it at the monsters back. She watched the creature move its head back in a loud howl. The monster held tight on her brother in arms, and with surprising strength threw the big man across the road to the now pile of ash. She took off at a sprint, listening to the chaos around her.

  The man was on his back, his gun up and shooting like mad. Myrna dropped down and crawled to him, “Snow, Snow it’s me!” She shouted over the headset. He stopped shooting to look her way.

  “There’s an internet cafe about five blocks from your position.” Neeve calmly spoke into her head.

  She grabbed Snow’s hand and helped him up to his feet, she had replaced her gun with her flashlight, she could hear more of them come her way. Myrna turned around, flashing the beam into the nearest one’s face. “Come on! We have to move!” She screamed.

  A hand touched her shoulder, and she turned. It was the woman from before, the very first monster they had seen. The one she shot at. The female monster saw nothing, her jaws were snapping at Myrna, and she reacted. She grabbed the dead woman’s jaws and with a quick motion she snapped her neck.

  Even as the woman crumbled to the asphalt, she saw the skin start to bubble. She took a few steps back, the woman’s neck came whipping back around, her jaw dropped down and she let out a long shriek. The piercing noise was so bad that Myrna was nearly thrown off balance. “Run!” Myrna roared through the mic.

  Everyone that was left, turn, and ran, she still had the hologram of the map up. They were the single blue dots and Alfred was the only red one. He still hadn’t moved since they landed. Every so often Myrna looked back over her shoulder to make sure they
weren’t being followed.

  Her team was so close to the internet cafe she could almost taste it. They weren’t even there for two hours and already they ran into the experiments. She could see right away that they had a pack mentality.

  “Turn here!” She shouted over her ragged breathing.

  She was the first one to slam into the door, and the first one through. Myrna gave it a quick once over and waved her team through. Emmett came in last, and she slammed the door shut. Emmett and Jameson were already working on barricading the door. Ace was looking Snow over.

  The internet cafe wasn’t too big, it had a few chairs, a small bar that held drinks, food, and of course extra gaming supplies. The posters were still intact, and the only way anyone could tell that something happened, were the chairs being knocked over, and a few items were spilled on the floor. There was a small blood smear on one of the computers, and a faint smell of coffee, being left in a coffee pot for too long lingered in the air.

  Myrna had kept looking over her team, only five of them were left. Ace, Captain Normandy, Snow and Jameson and her. It seemed that none of them were harmed, that she could tell.

  “Snow is infected. He got scratched.” Neeve whispered in her ear.

  Her eyes went to the two men in the back, it was subtle, but she could smell the scent of fresh blood lingering in the air. Underneath it, was the scent of rot.

  “How did you know he got scratched.” Myrna replied quietly.

  “His suit is damaged, left side, underneath his armpit. It’s recording blood loss and infection rate is settling in quick.”

  She took in a deep breath, “I can smell it.”

  Emmett came to her side, “What are you talking about Yellow Cat?”

  Her eyes focused in on Snow, the man was trying to push Ace off him. “I told you dude I’m fine.”

  Myrna took her time going to the older solider, she could feel the infection running deep into his blood stream. She placed her hand on Ace’s shoulder and gently pulled him back, Ace gave her a quick glance, all he needed was that. “No way…” He whispered.

  She gave him a slow nod as she turned her attention back to Snow, “Why didn’t you tell me that you’ve been scratched? I wouldn’t have dragged you in here.” It was a cool and composed tone, but she could see the obvious fear on the man’s face. “You could’ve just killed us all.”

  Snow was shaking his head, “It’s nothing, it doesn’t even hurt—”

  “He’s lying you, Yellow Cat. There’s no other option.” Neeve was gently talking to her, but Myrna could feel something else take over. A creeping distress that she never felt before. The very feeling of someone grabbing her stomach and squeezing every little bit of life out of it. The urge to grab Snow, and end his pathetic existence—

  What the hell is wrong with me? I can’t let—

  “Yellow Cat? Can you hear me?” Neeve’s voice floated through the haze in her brain, and it forced her to shake her head.

  “Yeah, I hear you.” She had to step away from the infected man, before that urge to kill came back over her.

  “You have to get rid of him, pull the captain to the side and explain to him what is going on. You have no choice; he could turn in a matter of minutes.” Myrna could hear rapid typing over the headset. “You have no choice; his body is already spiking fever. Hurry it up.”

  Emmett had just finished barricading the window when she strode over to him. “Captain, I have to speak to you, it’s important.” When she met is eyes, she knew her teammates life was in her hands.

  “What is it Yellow Cat?”

  “It’s snow, he’s infected. He’s been—”

  The change in his face was quick, from slight worry to a cold stare. “Get rid of him then. We can’t chance anyone bringing this back to our home or risk any one of us to die. I respect you for telling me, but you should’ve taken care of it.”

  Her heart sunk deep to her core; her body grew cold. “You don’t care, do you?” She snapped through clenched teeth. “You didn’t kill me on that roof because why? I’m not even human.”

  Emmett grabbed his assault rifle and was about to push to her to the side, “If you don’t do your damn job, I’ll do it for you Myrna. What’s one life at the cost of millions?”

  She closed her eyes, feeling the deep sense of impending doom. Snow was off in the back, and she could smell the infection rising in his blood. It was a nasty, foul smell that reminded her of roadkill.

  Ace came by her side and placed his hand on her shoulder, “Myrna?”

  She turned around and faced Snow, already she could see the deep green marks rising in his eyes, with deep green mucus running down from his nose. He had grabbed his mask and tossed it to the side. “I can’t catch my breath…” He placed his and, on the wall, and she slowly approached him.

  The closer she got, the more hostile she was feeling. She knew there was no other way around it. Snow, had to die.

  Chapter Nine

  Emmett did the only thing he could, and that was cover Snow’s body up with the blanket that was left behind the counter. There was nothing else they could do, Myrna was wiping the blood from her survival knife, the cries of the hungry kept permeating through the walls.

  There was deep regret in Emmett’s eyes, and pain. He had already lost Agatha, a whole squad and now another one of his own. How many more is he going to lose before he snaps? She kept her eyes on the body of Snow, waiting to see if he would move. This is a whole new strain. If I didn’t sever that nerve...all it’ll take is a half hour and everyone in this cafe will be killed.

  She rubbed her finger over her knife and felt comforted by the heavy weight in the handle. Ace had it specially made for her, to make sure if she had ever gotten into a sticky situation again, she would be able to protect herself.

  “You.” Emmett called from the front of the cafe, “Yellow Cat, keep an eye on Snow’s body, we’re going to have a look around the kitchen area to make sure no one else is here. Ace, you know what to do if something happens. We’re going to have to stay here until they get bored and leave.”

  Myrna was feeling deeply disturbed by the constant crying and howling outside the concreate walls. She watched undead hands come slamming against the glass so hard she could hear it crack. She closed her eyes and tried to keep herself calm; I didn’t get to him fast enough. It’s my fault that he got hurt. If I just...the guilt was eating her deep, just like when Ace had gotten infected, Myrna blamed herself for months, she wanted to keep moving. Her body was a spring and she needed action.

  “It’s okay Mina, Snow getting infected wasn’t your fault. You got to him as fast as she could.” Ace’s eyes were warm, and his voice was comforting her.

  It did little to help. She leaned against the wall and kept her eyes on the cooling corpse of her fallen comrade. Another person she had to avenge. Alfred, when I find you, I’ll make sure you’ll regret ever being born. I’ll wrap my fingers around your throat and watch the life drain from your eyes.

  “Calm down Kitty Kat.” Neeve spoke up after a few moments of silence, “I can see your heart rate is rising, so is your body temperature. Snow will be avenged don’t you worry.”

  She sneered and Ace took a step back, “No Neeve, it’s not just that. Alfred is trying to end the world. He made me, to clean up his mess. He made me to destroy everything I touch. I wanted to make sure everyone can leave and go back to their families. But no. I couldn’t even do that. Even though I’m supposed to be saving people, I still end up killing innocent people. How the hell do you think that makes me feel?”

  Both men went quiet as she turned to look back at the blanket covered corpse. “Thought so.”

  The entire room grew so quiet that all she heard was the thumping and sliding of flesh against the glass. A shiver went down her spine, and from the corner of her eye something moved from the shadow. Myrna leaned up from the wall and narrowed her eyes. The shadows grew in vividness as her body took over. She kept her hand on the handle
of her knife.

  “H... help me please.” It was a soft cry that sounded more like a human child then the others. She glanced over at Ace who was watching the corner as well. His hand on his gun, the footsteps from the kitchen growing quiet. “Please help me.” It came again. A soft shuffle, clothes a gentle whisper.

  Myrna’s eyes had already became accustomed to the darkness, she made a slight hand gesture for Ace to watch her back. He signed to her that he understood. “Hello?” She replied, keeping her voice down to a whisper.

  A gentle sound of a door creaking open, and a small face peeked from behind a storage door. Myrna stood upright and quickly put her knife away. A young little girl was looking up at her, her eyes a milky grey. “Are you okay little girl?” The voice Myrna used with her sister took over, and warmth filled her heart.

  The young girl came out from the closet, her eyes searching for the sound of her voice. Her hands running over the wall and door, “I’m right here.” Myrna knelt and took the young girls hands. “It’s okay little one.”

  The young girl’s eyes filled with tears crying out as she released Myrna’s hands and wrapped her arms around her neck. She buried her face into Myrna’s gear and cried. “My mommy and daddy are gone, they told me to run so I ran.”

  She held the child and her trembling form, she was dressed in a school uniform, brown and white, the skirt torn at the hem and her stockings a bloody mess. Her flats covered in mud and dust. Gently she pulled her away and wiped the tears that flowed over her face. Ace was right there, his gun already put away.

  “What’s your name sweet pea?” Ace knelt next to Myrna, “My name is Ace, and this sweet woman’s name is Myrna, we’re the military and we’re here to help.”

  The young girl still crying, tried to stop. “Fayth...Fayth Elizabeth McNeil…” She still held onto Myrna. “What happened outside? All my mom and dad said was that sick people are hurting everyone. They told me to run as soon as the grounds started to rumble.”