“Kiki!” I reached in but Bubsy swatted.
She smiled, her face covered in mud. “Oh, thank gosh!”
“What are you doing in there? Where are the boys?”
“The weird people took them!” She crawled forward. “Charles pushed me up here to keep me hidden.”
“Weird people?”
Dyonna made it to my side. “Lonely freaks.”
I handed the torch over to Dyonna, and tried to reach in for my friend, but Bubsy howled again.
“It’s okay, Bubsy.” Kiki pet the cat, and it calmed. I didn’t think a living cat listened, let alone an undead one.
She reached out her arms and I lowered her to the floor. In the torchlight, I found her covered in cave muck.
“Tell me about the strange people. Where did they take our friends?”
Kiki glared at Dyonna.
“It’s okay. This is Dyonna. She’s a friend.”
Dyonna crossed her arms. “For now.”
Kiki took a deep breath and rambled away, “They were scary, with their gray skin and green eyes! I thought they were undead, but they were strong and fast. Yeah, fast! They jumped on the walls and spider-climbed! I don’t think they were hungry. They didn’t bite. Oh, and they spoke!”
“Slow your roll!” I held up my palms. “They talk?”
“Yes, but they still looked like corpses!”
“That don’t sound good...” Dyonna’s eyes darted.
I held Kiki at arm’s length. “Did they say anything important?”
Kiki put a finger to her chin. “Oh! They asked if the guys knew a girl with blonde hair.”
Dyonna and I exchanged glances. I had blonde hair, but they couldn’t have been looking for me. I’d never met them; a coincidence.
“Anything else?”
Kiki nodded. “They said they wanted a Silver Star… and um… they would keep Charles and Arik with them until the bearer shows.”
“Silver Star?” I tried to pry into my memories. The words sounded familiar, but where had I heard them? I pictured Zach as an adult. I sensed his voice, but not his speech. And there was that evil little girl.
My eyes popped wide. Could it be? Did they mean my daughter from the visions? But that made little sense. The visions couldn’t come true! How could Zach become a monster? I didn’t even want kids. It had to be coincidence.
Kiki stroked Bubsy’s tail. “Do you know about the Star person?”
We exchanged looks, and I shook my head. I couldn’t tell her any information that might put her in jeopardy. These Lonely Ones might be after an unconceived child.
“We have to save Arik and Charles, that’s all I know.”
“Right.” Kiki grinned. “Save the bozos!”
I gave Kiki a solid nod and turned to Dyonna. “Let’s go find them.”
“I think…” Dyonna’s voice dropped and quivered. “Th-they already found us.”
Out of the darkness came several shifting shadows. Gray-skinned men and women appeared in our torchlight. Barefoot and in ragged clothes, an untrained eye may have mistaken them for corpses, but they didn’t have rot.
From the front ranks, a slow voice emerged. “Who goes there?”
I took the torch from Dyonna and held it forward. “You first.”
One stepped forward; a tall man, with stringy white hair. He wore torn up civilian clothing and looked at me with his strong green eyes. No, he more than looked, he searched my soul; my future. He read my every moment of existence.
I brandished our torch. “I won’t ask again.”
“My name is Virgil.” He bowed. “And as for what we are, most call us Lonely Ones, others call us Creepers, but we prefer Guardians of the Silver Star.”
LEVEL 10:
AVATAR OF HOPE
Virgil. The name tugged on the seams of my memories. The name held a heavy significance and had to do with the Zach from my visions, which made sense. This guy claimed to be the Silver Star’s guardian, but he appeared to be a talking corpse. I decided watching my tongue to be the best bet.
“We have little time.” Virgil crossed his arms. “I would ask that you travel with us back to our home. No violence, please.”
“And if we don’t?” Dyonna stepped forward, holding her hands out, ready to fight. “You gonna kill us?”
The other Lonely Ones in the back shifted on their heels, which had me on edge. If they were as strong and fast as Kiki told us, they’d rip us to shred in seconds. Even without super stats, they outnumbered our trio.
Virgil frowned. “To clarify, my asking was more of courtesy. It is a demand. You will come with us, or you will die. Even if we don’t kill you, the level two will.”
“Level two?” Adrenaline trickled into my veins. No matter how fast we ran, we never could escape these guys; not with Kiki. I had a good idea he meant the transformed corpses; the ones as big as cars.
With a profound sigh, I held up my hands in defeat. “We’ll come with you.”
Dyonna threw her fist. “You gotta be kidding, girlo!”
Kiki gripped my arm, shaking her head. “I don’t want to go. They’re bad people!”
Glancing over the group of Lonely Ones, they didn’t look evil, save the corpse status. I took Kiki’s hands and kneeled.
“There’s no point in getting ourselves killed.” I turned to Dyonna. “We need to all stay alive, don’t we? And we do not want to run into level two undead, I promise.”
“But they took our boys!” Kiki’s voice dropped. “What if they turn on us?”
“Don’t worry little girl.” Virgil held his hands wide. “We wish to do no harm, but if you force our hand, we will not hold back.”
Dyonna crossed her arms. “You wanna eat us.”
“We have not the urges of hunger, or any other bodily needs.”
An echoing roar bounced through the caves. Dyonna, Kiki, and I jumped, spinning back.
Virgil frowned. “If you come, I promise you safety, but I also promise the creatures that are now coming, only eat other corpses. These will tear you limb from limb.”
That set my adrenaline on full throttle. The time to move arrived. “We’re coming!”
As hesitant as the girls were, they both nodded their agreement.
Virgil smiled and pointed to the cave tunnel. “Then we fly.”
I prepared to sprint, but to my surprise, Virgil grabbed me around my waist, hoisted me over his shoulder, and took off as if launched from a cannon.
We were going so fast, a scream caught in my throat. The torch fell in the muck. I could see little, but more than once I spotted a stalagmite or stalactite in our path, but Virgil sidestepped each one. A crevice appeared, and it went so far across, I couldn’t spot the other side.
My heart leaped into my throat, and I thought we’d taken a wrong turn, but we jumped. With one arm and foot, we kicked off a random stalactite somewhere in the middle of the pit, and continued to another and then landed as smooth as silk. After the insane leap, Virgil deposited me on the ground.
With adrenaline pumping through my veins, our run had been amazing. As they set Kiki by another guardian, she squealed, “Oh em gee that was the greatest! It was way better than roller coasters!”
They dropped Dyonna to the ground. She doubled over, grabbing her belly and dry heaving.
I regarded Virgil, hands on my hips. “Those things. Were they...?”
“They are level two. That happens when the virus evolves inside an undead’s veins.”
I looked back, fearing they’d follow. “Those are the corpses that get stronger.”
The Lonely leader nodded. “If left alone, yes. This is why we often send out hunting parties to extinguish their general population, but not all evolve, just the ones that devour the most human beings.”
I shook my head and wiped my brow. “Like experience points, wonderful.”
After Dyonna had stopped hacking, she lifted her face. “Are you guys undead, too? Do you evolve?”
Virgil
closed his eyes. “Not evolve. We... exist.”
“How do you, um, happen?”
“Do not concern yourself. We have arrived at Hirool.”
My eyes grew large as we stood before a cave of magnificent proportion. Lonely Ones stared, peeking out of holes in the walls of the city-sized cavern. Torches sat in sconces that I doubt they needed. Our blind run made that obvious. Did they have them because they knew of my travels?
Virgil didn’t hesitate, he followed a path around the outer rim, and the Lonely Ones we approached stepped out his way, signifying either great fear or respect. The others in his posse had vanished, so the three of us followed only Virgil. Soon we walked in a network of caves, and halls. Did this city exist before the apocalypse?
Virgil led us into a room with mismatched furniture. Old couches sat around, with floor lamps tied together, and a series of fold-up table in the center—A makeshift war room.
My eyes landed on Arik and Charles lounging on a couch.
“Girls!” They leaped to their feet and ran to us.
I hugged them each. “You’re alive!”
“And so are you!” Arik grinned.
Charles narrowed his eyes when he spotted Dyonna. “You brought a cannibal with you.”
“She helped me escape.”
“Wonderful!” Arik facepalmed. “Now we have to worry about our enemies and our friends attempting to eat us.”
Dyonna raised a fist. “I did what I needed to survive!”
“Feisty, I like that!” He might’ve winked, but with one eye, I couldn’t tell.
“Stop flirting.” Kiki rolled her eyes. “You’re terrible at it!”
Arik argued with her, and I ignored their banter.
Virgil walked to the table and waved. “Come!”
“This guy’s the honcho.” Charles punched Arik’s shoulder. “Listen this time, doofus.”
Arik moved to smack Charles. “I always listen!”
“That’s why you fall asleep every time he speaks?”
“The dude’s boring.”
We sat in the chairs closest to Virgil.
I had an inkling I knew his choice of words. “Why did you bring us here?”
Virgil ran a hand through his stringy white hair. “I owe you answers, but I wish for information.”
“From me?”
He waved it away. “In time. Allow me to answer yours.”
Arik leaned back in his chair. “I wish I had popcorn.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned forward on my elbows. “You don’t say?”
Virgil gave a strong nod. “In part, I brought you here to save your lives. We need numbers to fight the undead.”
“Do the corpses come after you, too?”
“We differ from them and from you. They ignore, as long as we don’t outright attack them.”
“Lucky.”
With a sigh, Virgil leaned forward. “I wouldn’t call our situation, lucky, but yes, walking amongst the undead has its advantages.”
Kiki bounced in her seat. “Awesome sauce! I want to be a Lonely One!”
“No, you do not.” Virgil shook his head fast. “The process is... unpleasant.”
I wanted to know more, but I held my tongue.
“You are called, Tiffany, yes?” He looked me in the eye.
“So I’m told.”
“Then you must know a boy named Zachary Mastiff.”
I felt as if a notification popped above my head. “Yes!” But I sank back in my chair as my voice echoed. “I mean, yes. Where is he?”
“We shared a moment in Houston before the last soldiers abandoned the city.”
“How long ago?”
“A month after the apocalypse began. I met him inside a gas station, mistaking him for an enemy soldier. Later, I directed an assault to save his life. When I next saw the boy, he had a bite. I lost him after he entered an apartment building.”
Tears formed and blackness ate at the edges of my vision. “Bitten?”
“Do not fret. I have heard whispers of his exploits still.”
“But how can he be alive?” I bit back more tears. “Is he immune?”
Virgil reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “No, my dear, he has an OVN dose in his veins.”
“The OV what?”
“The story goes, Zach faced his G.O.D. Mode doppelgänger, Grandson, who replicated the OVN and used it on himself. Unlike your friend, he transformed into a monster. In a surprise turn of events, the wicked child saved your friend’s life. He forced young Zachary to inject himself with the Omega Virus Nanites.”
I wiped my tears. “He survived?”
Virgil stroked his chin. “The last I heard, yes. But that was months ago. My sources tell me your Zach left Rockport with friends, in search of other survivors, yourself included.”
“Oh, thank the gaming gods!” I quoted the Gamers’ Guild adage. “Tell me how to contact him!”
“Zachary is difficult to track.” Virgil lowered his head. “He has bonded with the virus on a molecular level. We cannot sense his presence.”
“Did her boyfriend become one of you?” Kiki held her cat, which the Lonely boss eyed.
Virgil tapped his fingers on the table. “That is not how we become Lonely Ones. He’s on his way to becoming the renowned Negastar.”
I pictured the evil Zach with green eyes and shivered.
The Lonely leaned on his elbows. “Now I need answers.”
Happy to hear Zach still breathed, I felt content. “Go ahead. Shoot.”
“There will be a child; Silver Star. Three years from now, she’ll birth from the Negastar and a human mother.”
I tensed. Coincidence, I reminded myself.
“I thought no one could have kids?” Arik faced me. “Tiffany, that’s what you said.”
With a frown, I shrugged. “I didn’t say those exact words.”
“Humanity will be extinct by then. Since people---” Arik glared at me. “refuse to repopulate.”
Virgil lifted his hands, dismissing his concerns.
I set my jaw and dared to get a definitive answer. “Why is this child so special?”
“Silver will have the virus in her blood from the start. As she grows, with that incredible power, she will save our world—as a goddess!”
My jaw fell. “You’re kidding. A goddess? In what way?”
Virgil’s eyes glowed brighter. “She will manipulate space around her and do anything she pleases. We welcome this, but fear G.O.D. Mode may try to use Silver for themselves. They have their hands in the cookie jar, so to speak.”
“I’m so confused. Forget this; I need to go find Zach!”
“No, I cannot allow you to do that.” Virgil held up his hand.
Charles jumped to his feet. “You told us we could leave when you talked to Tiffany!”
“I never said she could leave.”
Arik slammed his fists. “What asshattery is this? We’re all leaving together; you can have the cannibal.”
“Keep the cyclops!” Dyonna glared back.
A mixture of annoyance and panic set on my mind. “Why can’t I leave?”
“You must stay safe above the other life on this planet.”
“That doesn’t answer my question!”
Virgil pushed his chair back. “The time for questions has ended. We will escort your friends to the surface where they may go free and do as they wish. I will even supply them with weapons, food, and water.”
“No way, we’re leaving without Tiffany!” Kiki looked ready to throttle him—Even Bubsy protested with a gripe.
“Yeah, we don’t want your supplies!” Arik chimed.
“Idiot, we do!” Charles smacked him. “But Tiffany stays with us!”
Virgil bore a frown. “You wear on my patience. There is no room for debate.”
“There’s always room!” Arik lunged and swung at the boss.
It happened in a blink. Virgil moved in a blur, dodging at sonic speeds. He kicked Arik’s back,
sending him rolling across a dirty carpet. My friend didn’t stop; he rebounded and charged again.
“No!” I blocked his path.
He skidded to a halt. “You can’t stay. You’re our friend!”
“I’m sorry! You guys get to Bellaire and join the survivor camp. I’ll be all right.”
“No way!”
Arik tried to get by me, but I stopped him again. “Virgil will kill you! Please!”
He opened his mouth to protest, and I grabbed his arms. “It’s true; they must protect me...” I glanced to floor. “It’s just like he said. It’s better you guys leave.”
“Why do you need protected?” Charles stepped forward. “What aren’t you telling us?”
My mouth opened, but I didn’t want to say.
“She’s about to tell you an important secret.” Virgil shot death glares between everyone. “Do not speak of this to anyone on the surface, or the Interloper will pry information from you, bone by bone.”
I wondered who the Interloper might be as my friends looked at Virgil then back at me. They knew. I didn’t have to say it, but it had begun.
“I need protection, because I will be the mother of the Silver Star.”
LEVEL 11:
ESCAPE THE INFERNO
Arik glared at Virgil, then shot one at me. “You may think you’re the prophesied mother of a goddess, but I don’t buy it. They don’t exist!”
I slumped my shoulders. “Was the ZPoc possible?”
I didn’t want to stay in a colony full of creepy corpse people, but if I didn’t comply, Virgil might kill my friends as punishment. Arik couldn’t take on one Lonely One, so a city full was impossible.
He tried to protest, but Charles stopped him. “Bro, that’s enough.”
Arik hung his head. “This is wrong!”
“Don’t worry about me.” I forced a grin. “I’ll be fine, right Virgil?”
“We will care for you, I promise. From being fed to beauty treatments to a midwife. All leading up to the Silver Star’s birth. You will then be a holy mother.”
I swallowed hard. Sure, it’d be nice to have back, and foot massages whenever I wanted, but for them to revere me? These Lonely Ones were a crazy cult.
I struggled to find words as I looked at each of my friends. “Keep… Keep heading toward Bellaire. Find the survivor’s camp, and when a guy named Zachary Mastiff shows up, point him back in this direction.”
Omega Virus (Book 2): Gamma Hour Page 7
