by D N Simmons
“Understood,” they said in unison.
“We will work with the lords in each of our territories so that we can save as many humans as we can as quickly as we can. For those too weak for flight, leave them to organize other low level vampires to vacate the city,” Sajan added.
“Is that all?” Chloe asked.
“For now.” He wrapped his arm around the waist of his human servant. “Let's go.”
The other vampires followed his lead and took their humans into their arms before lifting off, flying toward their targeted areas to search.
***
After Aaron left Cassian's condo, he called his vampire friends, some answered some didn't. He hoped the ones who didn't were still asleep and not draining the city dry like he had. Jesse didn't answer and that worried Aaron. But first he told the ones who did answer what Cassian said. Some didn't want to believe him, but when he'd challenged them, none wanted to ignore the Master's command even if it might be a joke. He told them to spread the word to every vampire they knew and so on.
After that he started his decent down the stairway. Aaron used every vampire move he had to avoid getting caught by the zombies. Having had several encounters with them, he had learned a few of their weaknesses. He was still beaming that the Master had entrusted him with a very important job. One he would have given to his lieutenants had they not been given other orders. He wanted to impress Cassian and force the Master to acknowledge his worthiness.
He ran to Jesse's place, bypassing the zombies there. The front door to Jesse's apartment was untouched, unlike some of the doors he's passed along the way. He broke through the door himself, shattering the lock with a strong turn of the knob. Then he pushed as forcibly as he could without making a lot of noise until he knocked the bolt lock off the door. He closed the door behind him and placed a heavy cabinet in front of it as silently as he could. He knew some of the zombies were on still on the floor looking for victims. Quickly, he went to Jesse's bedroom and knocked on his reinforced steal door. Jesse opened the door after several attempts to rouse him. He looked at Aaron through sleepy eyes. They began to grow bigger as he took in his best friend's appearance.
“What the fuck happened to you?” Jesse asked, his face a total mask of confusion and curiosity.
“We need to get the fuck out of this city,” was Aaron's direct reply. “There's zombies attacking the humans and us. We can get infected, too.” He made sure to whisper.
“What?” Jesse was even more confused. “Why are you whispering?”
“Jesse, I'm not fucking around. I've been to see Cassian and he wanted me to gather as many of his vampires as I could and get the hell out of Chicago. I've been spreading the word as fast as I can. I need you to do the same. Call all of the vampires you know and have them leave. We're to go to St. Louis. The Master there is expecting us.”
“You're really serious?”
“Fuck! Yes, I'm serious. Do you not see all this fucking blood on me?” Aaron gestured to his person. “We can get bit and turned into one of those things, too. It happened to me, twice. I just went on like two blood binges, there's no telling how many people I killed. Now listen, we have to go. Those things are already in your building. You'll see for yourself soon.”
Jesse trusted his friend even though he didn't understand the situation. Without any further opposition, he went back into his bedroom and took a peek out of the window, that's when he saw it.
“Fuck me,” he gasped.
“Told you,” Aaron said from the door way.
“Shit, what the fuck is going on?”
“Don't know, really.”
Jesse dressed quickly, taking his wallet and cell. Then he went into the kitchen removing his blood supply and placing it inside an insulated cooler bag.
“Okay, let's get the fuck out of here,” he said.
“Let's take the window.”
“Fine with me.”
“And when we get out there, follow my lead. Trust me. You don't want to get bit by one of those things.”
“Would I attack you if I am?”
“You probably would and I'd have to kill you.”
“Duly noted.”
“Okay, let's go.”
Both men jumped from Jesse's sixth floor apartment and immediately took off running. He followed Aaron's lead, avoiding the zombies along the way as best he could.
Chapter Six
The helicopter hovered over Philip and Clare's suburban home. Clare had gathered every bit of information she could find and packed it away in two boxes. She waited in her attic with her two children for Vincent to arrive. She looked down at the zombies who were trying to climb the walls of her home to reach her. The noise of the helicopter had drawn them in to everyone's dismay. Their pounding on the steal window shutters dented the metal and it would only be a matter of time before the shutters gave in just like that rooftop door. And they all knew it.
“Vincent, hurry!” she screamed as she shielded her eyes from the wind and dust being kicked up by the helicopter's blades.
“We're sending a basket, put the kids into it with the research,” Vincent yelled back.
The soldiers began to lower a basket large enough for two adults toward the attic window. As instructed, Clare placed each of her children into the basket quickly, then she added the two boxes containing her husband’s modem, research papers, laptop and whatever else she could find. Slowly, the basket began to ascend back into the helicopter. Below, the zombies continued to bash their bodies against the steel barriers, weakening the joints and frames.
“Oh my God, please help me! Help me!” Clare cried as she leaned out the window waving her hands at the helicopter. She looked down at the monsters trying to get inside her home. Many she recognized as her neighbors. There was James Bowmen, wearing nothing but a pair of blood-soaked jeans. He was among them, both of his arms had been ripped from his bloody half-eaten torso exposing far too much of his insides. He stared up at her while jumping repeatedly in her rose bushes as if he could propel himself toward her. His black eyes rabid with hunger. It sent chills down her spine unlike anything she'd ever felt.
“Please help me!” Clair cried out again. She didn't want what happened to James and her husband to happen to her.
“Clare, be careful, wait. We're coming for you now,” Vincent yelled, hoping to keep her from panicking and falling.
The window shutters in the living room gave in and several zombies climbed their way inside the home. The basket began to lower again with a soldier inside.
“Hurry, they're coming!” Sarah and Felicia screamed as they saw the house filling with more zombies.
Clare became more frantic when she heard the zombies banging on the attic door. She screamed and climbed onto the window seal using her knees to balance. She reached out towards the soldier who was coming closer for her. He leaned over, hooking his arms around her torso. He could see the zombies break through the door with one thing in their sights.
“Pull me up!” the solider yelled as she encircled her arms around his neck.
One of the zombies wrapped its hand around Clare's ankle, pulling her back inside the window. She shrieked and tried to snatch her leg away. The basket tilted to the side from her weight as she clung to the soldier with everything she had. The soldier struggled to keep himself inside the basket and to bring her with him. She screamed in excruciating pain as teeth began to rip into her limb, devouring her. She held on tightly to the soldier as she struggled to get away, but the zombies gripped flesh and clothes, pulling her from the soldier's grip and back into the attic. Clare's children screamed and cried for their mother as they watched her being dragged back into the house. Samantha and William held both kids, shielding them from seeing their mother being eaten alive through the attic window.
Samantha cradled Jasmine's head against her bosom, as she whispered in her ear. “It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay...” It was the only comforting words she could think of at the time and
she had no idea if they were helping the child or not. She tried her best to hide her own horror and fear in hopes of keeping the little girl from going into shock. William was doing something similar with the young boy, Thomas, who was struggling in his arms as he fought to get away. The child screamed for his mother as he twisted and turned in William's unfailing grip.
Back inside the attic, Clare's fingers gripped the edge of the window sill as she tried desperately to hold on as long as she could. Tears flowed from her eyes as her intestines were being ripped from her abdomen. Blood poured from her mouth as she begged for the soldier to save her. Seeing that he couldn't, the soldier pressed himself against the other side of the basket as he pulled out his gun, firing the entire clip at the zombies who were now climbing over Clare's body to get to him. Several bullets struck the zombies. Two were shot in the head. Their bodies fell out of the window landing on the rose garden below. The helicopter pilot began to pull away from the house just as two of the zombies leaped forward, grabbing hold of the basket. The soldier inside screamed as he fired the last two bullets at the zombie closest to him. One of the bullets struck the zombie in the head and he fell down to the streets. The other zombie continued to climb up the basket, rounding the edge.
Sergeant Hicks fired his weapon at the zombie trying to attack his fellow soldier, but the swinging of the basket made it difficult to get a head shot. He was also trying to avoid shooting the soldier as well.
“Keep this bird steady!” Sgt. Hicks ordered.
The solider fighting for his life smashed the butt of his gun against the zombie's fingers and head, but the monster, dressed in a jogging outfit, kept moving forward. He pressed himself against the back of the basket in a last ditch effort to defend himself. He kicked at the zombie's head as it climbed up, its black eyes staring forward at its prey. Blood and bits of flesh clung to its lips and teeth as he moved forward with only one thought in mind—feed. The soldier struggled with the zombie, pitting all of his strength against his attacker. The zombie inched closer, its teeth snapping at the soldier's neck.
“Shit, do something!” Vincent screamed.
The helicopter pilot, remembering what happened to his partner earlier, took matters into his own hands.
“Hold on!” he yelled at the others. He steered the helicopter sharply, tilting it as he slammed the basket into a brick house. The basket listed to the side and the chain snapped. Both the soldier and the zombie fell three stories down, their bodies slamming onto the concrete. Vincent and the others watched horror-stricken as the zombies converged on the human, ripping his clothes and flesh with their teeth and nails. The solider screamed even as Hicks continued to fire his weapon. Finally, one of his bullets struck the soldier between the eyes, silencing him and sparing him a grizzly resurrection, he hoped. The zombies surrounding the soldier's corpse ripped the body apart, tearing limbs away as they feasted.
“What have we done?” Vincent whispered in disbelief.
Hicks growled in anger, pain and frustration. He looked at the pilot and made an attempt to rush towards him, but William and Dr. Powers held the soldier at bay.
“You need to calm down,” Dr. Powers urged.
“What the fuck was that? You just don't abandon a soldier!” Sgt. Hicks yelled.
“I did what I had to do to protect the rest of us on this helicopter. I'm sorry,” the pilot said.
“Look, I know you're in pain and in shock, but we need to keep a steady head,” William told Hicks. “You aren't the only one suffering.” with his eyes, he gestured to the two children who had just lost their last remaining parent.
Hicks huffed and puffed for a few seconds as he forced himself to calm down. “Let me go,” he ordered the two men holding him.
“Are you all right? We can't have you attacking the pilot out of revenge,” Dr. Powers said.
“I know my mission,” Hicks said. “Now get your fucking hands off me.”
Dr. Powers and William exchanged looks, but both men released their hold on Hicks and took a step back. William returned to his seat and put his arm around the boy pulling the wailing child in closer.
“Are we sure this is everything?” Sarah asked, holding one of the two boxes. Her hands shook uncontrollably with fear and she felt a millions butterflies fluttering around in her stomach making her want to vomit. Her eyes were clouded with tears and she tried hard to regain her composure.
“It's going to have to be enough. We can't risk going back in there to find out and we need what fuel we have left to get to Springfield,” Felicia said.
Sarah thought about what the scientist said and nodded. She looked over at the two crying and frightened children being held by William and Samantha. She wanted to comfort them. They had just witnessed their mother being eaten alive and their father was one of the first casualties.
Who else did they have left in this world to take care of them and would those people even still be alive? She wondered. Then she looked at Vincent, he sat silently on the floor of the helicopter where he had been leaning out to talk to Clare. He stared forward as if in shock. Quickly, she went over to him, taking his face into her hands.
“Vincent, honey, are you okay?” Sarah yelled over the roaring sound of the rotating blades and motor. She lightly brushed a few dark strands of hair from his eyes as she monitored him.
“What have I done?” Vincent asked himself again.
Hicks grunted. “I don't have the patience for this shit. Get it together. We don't have time for your pity party.”
“I agree. We need you to snap out of it, Doctor Masterson. We won't be able to retrieve the data from SciTech Labs without you. We're going to need you to talk whatever retrieval team we assemble through it all and then we need to pray they make it out alive,” Dr. Powers said.
“I know! I just saw my friend's wife get ripped apart. I'm trying to think!” Vincent said in his defense.
“Vincent, honey...” Sarah said, gaining his attention. When he looked up at her, she nodded toward the two children.
Vincent nodded.
“A lot more people are going to die if we don't start being more productive,” Dr. Powers pointed out.
“I know,” Vincent said. He rubbed the tears from his eyes and shook himself. He looked at Sarah. “I'll be okay, baby.” He leaned forward, kissing her lips, then her forehead.
Sarah gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was still worried about him and no amount of words could make her worry less. She settled down beside him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“So it's actually confirmed that a team has been assembled?” Felicia inquired.
“Just received the word,” Dr. Powers said.
“So I'll be directing the retrieval team?” Vincent asked.
“Yes.”
“I'm glad we're doing it this way, we can't afford to have you risk your life,” Felicia said.
Hicks grimaced and snorted. “What? The life of a soldier holds no value?”
Felicia turned to Hicks. “Excuse me?”
Hicks leaned forward. “Un-freaking-believable.”
“Sgt. Hicks, this kind of conversation will not yield results. So, let's not go there, shall we?” Dr. Powers stated.
“No. If Sgt. Hicks has a problem with something I said, I'm more than willing to clarify myself,” Felicia said. “Sgt. Hicks, would you consider it wise to send Dr. Masterson into a possibly dangerous environment where he probably will not make it out alive knowing full well he's a person of interest who may have an idea about what needs to be done to save the human race?” She looked at him with one eyebrow cocked, awaiting his response.
Hicks' jaw tightened as he ground his teeth together. As much as he hated to admit it to himself or anyone, she was right. He turned, looking out of the window.
“I take your silence as evidence that you would agree with me after all,” Felicia stated.
“In the fact that he is necessary, but not that his life is more valuable. That
soldier we just lost, Private Jones, he had a wife and kids, too. Those men under my command who were slaughtered on that helicopter, they had families as well. They aren't just acceptable losses, not to me. We do what we do because someone has to and it's important. I don't like anyone thinking we're expendable, do you understand me?” Sgt. Hicks looked at Felicia.
She nodded. “Fair enough.”
“As long as we understand each other,” Hicks said.
“We do,” Felicia replied.
“Did any one notice back there that those zombies didn't get up after being shot in the head?” Hicks pointed out.
“Yes, they did,” Vincent said.
“But not right away.” Hicks looked at the others. “There was at least a thirty second pause between those zombies taking one to the brain and them getting back up again.”
“In all of the confusion, I didn't notice that,” Vincent said.
“I did,” Felicia stated. “But when they didn't stay down, I knew a bullet to the head wouldn't kill them.”
“But it's a start,” Dr. Powers said, holding one finger up thoughtfully. “Eventually, we're going to need to capture one of those things and study it. That's been our plan since the first outbreak was reported, we just haven't had any success.”
“This shit is depressing,” Sarah mumbled to herself.
“We need to gather every lead scientist in the country and put them on this,” Samantha said.
“We're already ahead of you. Several are flying in to collaborate on what we should do,” Dr. Powers informed.
“Please tell me that location isn't anywhere near Chicago,” William commented.
“It's the CDC in Atlanta,” Dr. Powers said.
“Why didn't you just say that?” William snorted, then shook his head as if to say “idiot”.
