Disease X
Page 12
“Hello,” He responded. “If you have a few minutes, I would like to spread some good news to you and also to show you how to partake in something bigger than yourself,” He continued. He was very soft-spoken and gentle in his voice.
“Oh…really?” Heather asked. She already knew what he was talking about. It was not the first time her family was visited by this peace organization.
“Yes…please if you let me sit down I will explain it to you,” He asked eagerly with the same gentle smile on his face. He practically walked in, Heather stopped him. Slightly annoyed, Heather rejected him.
“Sorry, I would, but my parents and my family are all upstairs with my grandmother,” She lied, “We don’t think she’s going to make it much longer,” She said with false sorrow.
She shut the door and it was stopped by a black shoe in the path. “There’s only one car in the driveway, I know you’re lying to me young lady,” He said with burgeoning irritation.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have a lot of money and my Grandmother had to walk here,” She said with a pouty disposition. She tried to close the door again and then a hand slammed on the door and held it open.
“I don’t believe you,” He said sternly, losing his tender smile. Heather opened her mouth to say something when she noticed a black object in the confines of his shoe that was still trying to hold the door open. Her eyes widened a bit and then she became worried and anxious.
She put on another false smile and said, “Okay, you win, just give me a minute to tidy things up.” The messenger smiled gently again and alleviated his blockade from the door. Heather slowly closed the door and then frantically turned the nob to lock it. She sprinted toward her parent’s room in the door within the hall of memories. She heard loud booming on the door and looked back to see it pulsating with force. It was a caged beast trying to break free, or in this case, enter. She ran scared into the closet door and slung it.
She searched frantically through the dressers and flung her parents clothes onto the ground to clear her vision. She heard the pounding of the ape outside her house growing louder and she could feel the lock getting weaker. Her pulse racing, she finally found the sanctuary she was looking for, a metallic cube with a dial on the front. Thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to remember the combination that her parents had told her. All the while, the lock growing weaker as the monster pounded away at it. She grabbed the safe and hid in the closet along with the dresser. She slowly closed the door and through a small fissure she had left she could see the door finally give way, come off its hinges and hit the floor with an alarming boom. She saw the peace loving man had turned into an animal with a weapon of a man in his hand. His face had grown red and his eyes grew purple and he had fangs. The servant had become the antagonist of the deity he so served, or did he serve him at all?
Heather shut the door all the way and darkness crept on her as she could only hear slow, creeping footsteps throughout her house. The pitch black was only increasing in stress as she frantically tried several combinations on the safe in her hands. Her eyes filled with dread and then she started to choke. She had lost her ability to breath. Oh God no…God please don’t let me die in here. I’m sorry. She prayed silently as she tried to breathe calmly. She had left her inhaler on the table next to her biology book. She then remembered the beacon that Marlene had left her. She jammed her hand into her pocket and slammed her thumb on the button that rested on top. With tears in her eyes, she brought her knees to her face and began to mutter what could be her final prayers as the monster made a ruckus around the house.
The small tapping of feet grew within the confines of Alex’s subconscious as he reclined against the wall amongst the ruined battlefield. He batted his eyes open until the blur had dissipated and then he saw something approaching him. It was still blurry but he could tell that there was a feminine look to the figure. The slender frame faded in and out and he then recognized that it was a person he had never known. The young woman was clothed in a white coat with fur along the hood lining that had been zipped across her abdomen. She wore light blue jeans on her legs and black shoes on her feet. Her head was adorned with long black hair that went to her back and she had blue eyes. She approached Alex, knelt down, sighed and remarked, “Looks like you’ve made a little bit of a mess huh?” Alex looked up at her from his reclined position silently. “Relax, I’m not going to hurt you.” She said plainly and extended her hand to him. Alex, with hesitation, took it and was helped back to his feet by the woman.
“I’m sorry, have we met?” Alex asked accusingly.
“Not formally,” She responded. “The last time we met I had you at point blank,” She stated.
“Who are you then?” Alex asked.
“Ashley. You?”
“A-Alex,” He said with caution in his mind.
“Well Alex, considering that you’re in my custody now that means that things didn’t go over so well with Danny did it?” She asked slightly exasperated.
“Danny?”
“The guy you were with. You know, tall, leather coat, skull cap?”
“Oh…yeah,” He said with blasé.
“I want to ask you something: Did you start anything or was it him?” She reached to her back and asked.
Alex looked at her serious face and at her arm and stated quickly, “No.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Was it you or him?” she asked with growing suspicion.
“I-it was him,” He said. Ashley sighed and brought her arm back down to her side.
“I see…” She stated. “I’ll need talk with him about this,” She then said to herself quietly.
“What?” Alex asked.
“Nothing,” She replied without warning. “Either way, you’re in my custody now. The first order of business is making sure that you know how to defend yourself without powers.” Alex became confused and thought back to his clash with Danny and asked.
“Why would I ever not use my powers?” she sighed as though she had said it several times too many before.
“Powers alone will only get you so far, But what about when someone finds a way around you? Better yet, What if a Purger gets a hold of you?” Alex was shocked by the last question, as he had realized that he was now the enemy of those that originally protected him.
“Oh, right. Sorry for getting out of line Miss,” He said with remorse as he could tell she was annoyed.
“It’s not your fault. Danny must have told you to believe that. Don’t blame him; he really likes to make a statement to the other infected that they have the advantage over the healthy.”
“Why do you defend him? Because from what I could tell his kind of a jerk to everyone.”
“Because he’s my stupid boyfriend. This kind of life is tough, some days the only thing that keeps him going is me. I keep telling him that this is only temporary, but for some reason he keeps acting like he doesn’t want this to end sometimes. But he takes care of me, and everyone else. He at least has a heart for the sick. It’s an act of mercy he didn’t kill you before Merrick talked to him. Sure he’s a little bitter and hateful, but he really does care for us,” She explained to him sullenly and staring at the floor. Alex looked at her with sympathy.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” He said.
“It’s ok,” She said looking back up at him, “He may be kind of a jerk, but I love him.” Ashley then pulled out the pistol that rested in the back of her belt and held it out flat in her hand. “Alright, enough of the sob story, on to business.” Alex looked down at the weapon and terror had struck his heart and eyes. He gazed up and down the weapon as memories of the first man he had ever killed, the soldier that had tried to reason with him.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Ashley’s voice pulled him from his visions and he said, “Oh, well…I…um…” Ashley looked at him confused and asked.
“You’ve never shot one, have you?”
“No,” Alex lied hesitatingly.
Alex looked forward and saw a line of cardboard boxes. “Yeah…” He answered. Alex then felt Ashley raise his hands and bring the weapon in front of his eyes. It was pointed at the inanimate and unmoving effigies.
“Hold this position,” Ashley said as she slowly slid her hands back to her sides and left his hands in the air. “Just aim and shoot at the target in front of you.” She commanded. Alex felt heavy tension as the seconds passed and he did his best to aim and as his recent memories came bucketing back to his mind. “Just pull the trigger, it’s not that hard,” Ashley said. She walked back up behind him and placed her feminine hands around his ears after she removed his hood again.
“I’ll even cover your ears for you. Are you ready?” the muffled sound of her voice went into his ears and he hesitantly nodded his head. Ashley then brought her hands down to his elbows and relaxed them. She brought her hands back to his ears and waited for him to fire. He pulled the trigger and felt the force of a diminutive explosion in the palm of his hands and rush down through his arms. His arms rushed back to his face and he could see that he had missed the target and he heard a slightly muffled pop ring in his ears. The shot echoed through the room and even Ashley brought her hands to her own and rubbed the loud ring from her ears.
Alex turned to her and complained, “That hurts my hands.”
“Yeah, yeah, you get used to it. Try it again.”
“You’re not exactly thrilled about having me here either, are you?” He asked suddenly.
She was silent for a moment and finally said, “I find out how you work first, then I decide if I like you or not.”
“Then how did you get with Danny,” He remarked.
“Just shoot again,” Ashely replied blankly. Alex turned and then put his arms out again toward the boxes. Ashley relaxed his arms again and put her hands on his ears again. He took the shot and was off by an inch to the left. “Try a little more to the right,” Ashley stated. Alex shot again and was off again by three inches to the right of the box. “Try to even it out,” She said lastly. He did so and he took the shot again and sent the box flying off the belt. Ashley then lowered his hands and walked toward the box to pick it back up for him. “Also, never point it at anyone unless you want to hurt them,” She said as she walked back behind him and placed her hands on his ears and relaxed his arms again. Alex aimed, and resumed his weapons training.
Heather sat crouched in the darkness of the small closet as she listened for the pounding footsteps of the intruding monster in her home. She sat trying to control her own breathing as she frantically tried to open the box with the dial. The only thing illuminating the box was a mere light from the bottom of the door. The light reassured her that she would see in the pitch black as she scrambled and fumbled for the combination. She heard the beast in her own home as he smashed and shattered glass in search of her. She sat and thought that if she made it through, that if the purgers did come, how would she explain it to her parents? She could not keep up lying to everyone about her abilities and what had happened at her job that day. She could not even avoid the suspicion that she could be infected. The military does daily bio-scans, sooner or later, something would turn up.
Her hand fell from the dial and onto the floor in depression and her blue eyes stared off into the safe. It was no use, she didn’t remember the code, and nothing like this ever happened to her, she never felt the need to remember. She thought back to her family and to her parents and friends. If he found her and did something to her, she would never get the chance to say goodbye. She would be struck down like an animal by a hunter. The hunter ravaged through her house and until finally there was a sudden and abrupt stop. Heather came back from her morose state and her head jolted back up. The slow creak of a door near her parent’s room entered through the closet and echoing footsteps made Heathers heart sink with grief.
She could see the long shadows of the hunter’s footsteps from the light under the door. The shadows nearly filled the rest of the closet, sinking her it absolute darkness. She heard the monster walk away from the door and throw a dress cabinet from the slot. He continued until there were no more and then moved to the bed and flipped the mattress over in search of her. Heather heard the sheets hit the ground and the rip of them in his hands. He was no longer human, he was a demon. Her fear and despair grew as the darkness closed in and the sounds of him nearing her made her shut her eyes tight in despair. Tears had begun to fill her eyes and stream down both sides of her cheeks. Mom, Dad, everyone I know, I love you. She thought to herself in her agony in the encroaching darkness.
She remembered that the day that everything changed caused so much heartache. Too many people died that day, innocent people that were killed and/or violated. The day that inspired the PUs and what started a homebound war. It was the day that everyone and everything changed. Life had become a battlefield, a struggle to maintain happiness. Then suddenly a spark in Heathers mind had spawned. It was the code. She fumbled for the safe and entered the dial: 2016. The box popped open and their laid a weapon, a small pistol with the clip laid beside it. She grabbed the gun and fumbled for the clip that stored the ammunition. She tried to slide it in and the clip fell from her hands and hit the hard floor with a small slap. Footsteps then quickly stopped and walked slowly toward the closet that she hid in. Heather stopped in terror and the weapon in her hand shook and she squeezed her eyes shut. No…please. The thought filled her head and when she opened her eyes, she felt a rush in them.
In the darkness, the veins in her eyes straightened completely and ran to her iris in a circle closing in on the blue eyes. Those eyes shook as she felt blood fill them, turning from a beautiful azure to a beastly cerise. She then saw not a man, but a seed. The red seedling filled the figure with its roots and ran through the monsters body and moved with it. The slight pulsating of the seed of life ran through the entire body from the breast to the head, the arms, and the feet and legs. Heather wanted to scream at her second ability, but it would only make things far worse than they already were. She fumbled for the clip and jammed it into the hilt of her savior and turned off the safety. Then there was a loud boom and the monster turned. There were two more figures now, a tall, muscular one and a petite feminine one. Their seeds rushed fast as they ran in the house with weapons drawn.
The monster ran into their path and took a shot. The sound made Heather squeak in anxiety. As the two figures turned and took cover behind the stairs. One of the seeds ran around while the other took another shot and it landed in the beasts shoulder. He let out a painful shriek and another bullet entered the back of his skull. Heather saw as the seeds nourishment began to spill out as he fell to the ground and the pulsating stopped. The seed will never have a future now.
“Nice going Sasha!” the figure said facing the other in the back of the dead seed.
“Hell yeah! I got you by three this week now.” The two figures walked toward each other and slapped hands in the air. “Onto business though James, where is the girl?” the feminine seed asked the man seed. The man walked into the room the best ambushed them from and searched the room.
“He made quite a mess though,” James stated.
“Are we too late?” Sasha asked worried as she walked into the room and toward the closet. The door opened and light had blinded Heathers blood eyes. Sasha wore a grey hood and cloak and silver pants with long blonde hair in a ponytail. Sasha stated, “Hey I found h – oh crap,” She said shocked as she gazed into the red and veiny eyes of the girl. James ran up to her wearing his black jacket with the symbol of the purgers upon his heart.
The symbol of the purgers consisted of two white
wings spread out and a grey blade thrusting down the middle, symbolizing liberation from tyranny. He said shocked, “Oh crap indeed.”
Sasha looked at him and asked, “What do we do?”
“I don’t know,” James answered, “But we have a protocol for this.”
“Yeah but she must be scared out of her mind.”
“That’s not our call to make. We have rules.”
“She’s just a girl.”
“An infected girl.”
“How can you be this way?” Sasha asked harshly. Heather sat like a child in terror watching her parents fight.
“How long will it be before she realizes what she’s really capable of? We can’t just save this life to put countless others at risk.” Sasha opened her mouth and then shut it again slowly as she realized the gravity of the situation. She looked back down at Heather with remorseful eyes looking into her scared bloody eyes.
“I’m sorry,” She stated as she brought out a Taser and shot Heather with a dart. Heather groaned in pain as the current went up and down her body until she fell and blacked out. Through the darkness, she could hear her own body being dragged on the floor. Her eyes opened slightly and she saw the ruined hall of memories that had adorned her home and the shattered glass that coated the floor. She saw the memories fall from her and every moment of her life leave her, until she faded back to black, and her consciousness left her.
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