by Jesse Gagnon
“Fuck yeah!” he celebrated. Its body was pulled through the hole and two more pushed their way in. It slowed them enough for John to get two headshots on three bullets. Their lifeless corpses remained as a third pushed its way in. Its head was hidden behind their bodies and it was pushing the furniture beyond the door. The pile slowly pushed away from the door. John shot several times in hopes to hit it but there was no shot capable of hitting the bastard.
“Fuck!” John conserved the rest of his bullets and held his fire. He knew if he allowed the Azrael to move the barricade out of the way then they were done for. He wouldn’t be able to shoot fast enough for the amount of Azrael that would pour in at a time. He noticed the doctor’s bag and grabbed it. He rummaged through it until he found a scalpel. It was small but extremely sharp.
John took in a deep breath and exhaled knowing his next action may get him bit. He turned to Savanna, kissed her on the forehead and ran towards the doors. He clumsily climbed the furniture until he reached the top. The others in the room wondered what the hell he was doing and whispered amongst each other with theories of his actions. The smell of the Azrael made him gag. The furniture pile continued to move a centimeter every second as the large Azrael behind the two bodies pushed harder. He caught visual on the Azrael pushing and could smell its shit-breath. Goddamned ass-breathers, he thought. He climbed over the dead Azrael that still twitched as he touched them. It startled him at first, thinking they were going to get back up and bite him. They were the walking dead; it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination in the least bit. He mustered enough courage to pull himself over them. Once he found himself in a good position he braced himself and jabbed the scalpel into the skull of the large Azrael. He removed it and blood sprayed back all over him. He continued to drive the weapon in its skull about forty times in succession as if he were shanking a snitch in prison. Blood sprayed back at him after every strike as if it were under pressure waiting to explode at any moment. The pushing ceased and the goliath of a man fell limp blocking the door with his mass even more than the other two had before. He was wearing a soldier’s uniform. He was probably one of the guards for one of the other floors.
John tried to slow down his breathing as he carefully climbed down the furniture pile. He attempted to push the furniture pile back towards the door and it didn’t budge. He looked over at his solder on his floor and wished he were the same size as the offensive lineman wedged in that door behind the furniture pile. Standing five foot six, his soldier was a bit on the Napoleon size. He lowered himself to the ground sitting on the floor and leaned his back on a bookcase that lay on its side facing the door. He watched Savanna sleep peacefully as he slowly regained his strength. The doctor appeared next to him and was taken aback at his appearance. John was startled by the old man since his focus was on Savanna.
“Fucking Christ Doc!” He spouted as he pointed the scalpel at the old man in a quick defensive action. The doctor gently removed the scalpel from his hand.
“Sorry I startled you. I was just concerned if you were bit after that crazy stunt you just pulled.” The doc looked John over and wiped layers of splattered blood off of his face, arm, shoulder and chest with a white towel from the housekeeping stack near their station. He had no cuts or open wounds. “That was either the bravest thing I’ve ever seen or the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. Son, you’ve got a death wish.” The doctor advised, shook his head, wiped the scalpel off, cleaned it in alcohol and placed it back in his bag. He nodded at Jason and returned back to where the others were.
“A little bit of both Doc. A little bit of both.” John muttered as the doctor walked away. He noticed the doctor explaining what happened and that he was okay. The crowd looked troubled but also relieved. The soldier gave John the thumbs up. John put his right hand up and nodded at him.
Sounds of the Azrael pounding on the door slowly returned into John’s mind. His body shook as the furniture pile continued to rock back and forth. He bought them a bit more time. Savanna continued to sleep peacefully. He’d fight to the death for that woman. John smiled, lowered his head and joined her in the dream world.
Chapter 16
Rooftop Camping
Mario and Jason hurried through the streets moving quietly and stealthily. They returned to the alley where they started and noticed it had been cleared out. Mario broke into a three story building nearby and took to the roof for a higher vantage point. The building was empty minus the occasional cat hunting for rats and mice. Mario reached in his bag and removed binoculars, an enhanced digital spec ops grade, he acquired back at his last command. The zoom feature was astounding and he scanned the area for Azrael activity. He finally located the massive herd that they lured out of the building earlier. They were heading outside the city’s gates probably drawn to something blowing in the swift brisk breeze that swept throughout the city. Night was overtaking the landscape and signs of life throughout the city were indicated by candles flickering within windows. Jason explained another security feature of the city to Mario. It involved regulated power usages for everything except ventilation and medical equipment at night. It also helped conserve power while keeping the Azrael unaware of human activity from far distances. People still used candles but they were prohibited after 10:00pm.
Shadows that once grazed corners and hid alleys now swallowed the city in its entirety. It was too dangerous to continue their plan in the dark and Mario decided to camp out on the roof for the night. They reinforced the door exiting to the roof with two-by-fours from a now empty pigeon coop. They removed the nails with a hoe that was used on a small makeshift garden on the roof, straightened them out and reused them for holding the two-by-fours in place. They drove in the nails with small bricks. Mario rigged a snaring trap to empty cans to alert them and Jason attached a blinder grenade to another snare that would ignite if someone or something got caught in it. Jason located clothes hanging on a clothes line in the far corner of the roof. They would fit his body a bit better than his current situation but were wet, stained and smelled like mildew. He thought better of it and stuck with his current outfit. A small shed nearby looked like someone lived there at some point. Upon further investigation its occupant was found face down on a heavily soiled mattress with a syringe a quarter filled with bleach in it lying next to him. The stench was overpowering and after a few seconds Jason was running out trying to control his body from retching. He got his shit together and returned to Mario’s tent. He had a small fire going that wouldn’t be visible from the ground. He was heating up a pot full of chunky vegetable soup from a can. The aroma eased Jason’s stomach and caused him to salivate. He sat down next to Mario on a cinderblock.
“Smells delicious. Where did you get that can? Find it inside?”
“I’ve had it for a while. Was saving it for one of those shitty morale in the dumps days.”
“It’s definitely one of those days.” Jason agreed.
“Sure is.” Mario and Jason gazed into the fire dancing around and below the pot. A few minutes passed with silence.
“You can’t hold yourself responsible for those things out there Mario. They are the monsters out here. You didn’t kill those people, the Azrael did.”
“Yeah.” Mario just stared at the flame flickering and popping from the wood.
“We’ve killed over a hundred while luring hundreds more outside the city.”
Mario continued to stare at the fire and sighed.
“You can’t let a mistake eat you away. I know I’ve had plenty.”
“Did your mistakes give the Azrael the opportunity to kill and turn hundreds of people into infected zombies?” Mario objected talking to the fire.
“We didn’t know what to expect out here. It’s a savage, cruel world and we have to live in it. There’s no manual for how to survive this thing. We have to write the fucking manual. Rewrite it several times if we have to. I don’t know if the day will come when all of this will come to an end. I don’t know if I’ll be alive when
that day comes. All I know is with all of the shit going wrong in the world somehow we’re still alive. We’re alive for some reason Mario. We’re still here today giving the Azrael a swift kick in the ass, because that’s what we do. We’re fighters. We’re reminding the world that we haven’t given up yet. They may take our wives from us. They may take our children from us but God damned it Mario we’re still trying. We’re still fighting.” Jason paused a second. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that the key is to never stop fighting. The world needs us.” Jason spat as he spoke towards the fire as if he were scolding a former version of himself. The veins in his neck were stressed and his eyes were distant.
“Damn. That was a pretty good speech. You just come up with that?” Mario turned towards Jason. He looked into Mario’s eyes.
“I’ve been telling that to myself every day since I found out about Jessica.” Jason maintained his stare into Mario’s eyes. They were glassy and he was moments from a full blown meltdown. He looked back at the fire and wept. He released a wave of emotion he’d been holding up for weeks. The smiles and jokes aside, Jason was still broken and fragile. Everyone was these days. Mario let him release his pain in silence. After a minute or two Jason began sniffling and snot bubbled in his right nostril. Mario brought out two large tin mugs and poured the soup into each one. He handed one to Jason.
“Thanks Mario. I don’t’ know what that was all about.” He mumbled while wiping the snot off of his nose with his sleeve.
“It’s alright. Yup, you can keep the clothes.” Mario cracked a smile as he looked at his mug of soup.
“Old man’s got jokes.” Jason laughed while more snot shot out of his nostrils, flung towards the fire and put it out for a moment. The fire came back to life moments later. Mario noticed and they both laughed hysterically for a few minutes wiping tears from their eyes. It’s the little things in the world that keep people going and even smaller things that keep them smiling.
Chapter 17
Giselle’s Recovery
The next morning Jane awoke and sat up confused at her surroundings. It took her a minute to identify the back counter of CVS. She wondered if the day before had been all a dream.
“Finally waking up?” Giselle asked sitting on the counter, eating a candy bar and looking towards the front doors through the ballistic glass window that shielded them from the dangers outside. A small group of Azrael were punching, kicking and scratching at the window trying to reach Giselle and Jane. She just stared into their eyes.
“Are you okay?” Jane asked and stood up stretching. She heard joints pop and sighed at the release of pressure within them.
“I’m fine. Just thinking of a plan.”
“Whoa, your face, your injuries! How?” Jane was startled to see how much Giselle had improved overnight. It wasn’t human to heal that quickly. What was she?
“Yup, I’m kind of a mutant.” Giselle caught her image in the reflection of the window and smiled.
“Seriously?”
“No, I’m not a mutant. I’m something else entirely.”
“And that is?” Jane asked with concern. She walked in closer and inspected her ribs, legs and face. There was slight bruising but she seemed okay. She could feel her heart beating faster than it should near a hole that revealed pasty skin beneath. “Oh my.”
“That’s normal. Don’t worry about that.”
Jane caught a glimpse of Giselle’s eyes and remembered.
“Shit your eyes. You’re one of them. You were bit. But, how are you…you?” Jane asked positioning herself in front of Giselle and examined her eyes. She heard excitement of the Azrael behind her as they saw her appear. She ignored them.
“I’m something else. That’s why I was leaving the city, to learn more about what I am.”
“From who? Where?”
“Some weird Japanese guys near the front gates of Chicago.”
“We’re past that place.”
“I know. They’ll find me. It’s what they do.” Giselle inspected Jane’s eyes and could hear Jane’s heartbeat quicken. She noticed the pupil behind the milky gray expand dramatically.
“That’s comforting.” Jane mumbled and fidgeted uncomfortably. Giselle noticed.
“They’re like me. Well somewhat. They’re lab rats but I’m a field study.” Giselle glanced at the faint scar of a bite mark that started it all on her arm.
“How long ago were you bit?”
“Eh, almost a month ago. It’s hard to tell, the days are blurring together.”
“Because of the virus?”
“No, just been a tough year for me.”
“Any side effects? Well, besides your eyes and remarkable healing”
“I eat a lot. I need a lot of calories to keep my body at peak performance. I barely get tired, my reflexes and body control has improved exponentially.”
“Okay, high calorie intake means a very active thyroid.”
“I can hear more than normal if I try to listen closely. I can see farther if I focus them. I can even pay more attention to time itself and it slows slightly for me to be able to react quicker. I feel stronger, faster and my endurance is amazing. However, all of these features come at a cost.”
“A cost?”
“I’m kind of an Azrael. I probably could infect someone through my body fluids. I’m not sure yet. My eyes are horrid. Light bothers them so I avoid direct sunlight whenever possible. My senses are over-amplified. I hear conversations I wish I couldn’t hear, smell farts in a whole new way and can see intricate details in things that you don’t want to see in intricate detail.”
“There’s a microscope over here. Let me take a look at your blood and saliva. See how contagious you are.”
“Sure. Almost afraid to find out.”
“Would you rather find out now or by those weird Japanese guys?”
“Let’s do it.” Giselle hopped off the counter and bucked towards the Azrael. They flinched and increased their banging on the window when Giselle walked away. Jane located a syringe, drew Giselle’s blood and dropped a few droplets on the specimen slide and slid it under the microscope.
“Okay, let’s see what’s in your blood.” She leaned over placing her eyes on the lenses and adjusted the Vernier focus knob until the blood came in clear.
Giselle’s red blood cells were normal. She had an overabundance of white blood cells. Upon further investigation she noticed that 75% of the white blood cells mimicked those of the Azrael virus. The Azrael have red blood cells and Azrael white blood cells. The 25% human white blood cells was the difference. She continued to watch to see if the 25% were going to change but after ten minutes they didn’t. She took another syringe, drew her own blood and dropped it on top of Giselle’s blood. She wanted to see what would happen. Nothing happened.
“Well.”
“Yes?”
“You’re blood is different but won’t infect anyone.”
“Shit. What about my spit?” Giselle spat onto a specimen slide and handed it to Jane. She replaced the blood sample and looked into the microscope. She dropped her blood into the spit. Within moments the Azrael virus immediately attacked and destroyed all of her white blood cells. A moment later the red blood cells burst open violently. She looked up and shook her head.
“Contagious, extremely contagious.”
“Damn it. Well, no more sex for me then.”
Jane hadn’t thought about that. That was an awful thought.
“Maybe those Japanese guys have something for that?”
“Yes, maybe. I hope so.” Thoughts of Simon entered her mind. She wanted to kiss him back at the meeting. She’s glad that she didn’t. She couldn’t have lived with herself if she turned him into one of those monsters. What a fucked up virus.
“So, what are your plans for getting out of here?” Jane asked pulling her eyes away from the microscope. She massaged them with her hands and pulled at her face attempting to rub out the drowsiness that attempted to take root. Staring into
microscopes always made her sleepy, she thought.
“Well, since going back to the city by yourself is too dangerous for you now, you’re coming with me. It would be good to have a doctor around to observe and document my changes, if any. I’m hoping I’ve stabilized by now though.” Giselle insisted and peered into her eyes in the thin mirror that was between the vertical rows of reading glasses on a rotating stand. She shopped around for a new pair of sunglasses. After trying on a bout twenty pairs she found one that she liked and dropped extras in her pack.
“I’ve always wanted to document a live Azrael out in the field. Oh, shit. Wait! Can we go back to the church before we head out?”
“Uh, why?”
“I had a mobile camera attached to one of the Azrael.”
“The big one?”
“Uh huh, that one.”
“The lens was smashed from what I saw. Maybe the recording is intact though.”
“That’s what I’m hoping too.”
“Wait? How did you get that on its head?”
“Well…”
“You! It was you!”
“Wait! No, come on…I”
“Bitch! Did you cause the outbreak?” Giselle interrupted and noticed Jane’s heartbeat increase its speed.
“No, of course not.” She lied.
“You’re lying. You’re lying? Why are you lying? Feel guilty that you got all of those people killed? Huh?” Giselle scowled at Jane. “I saved you.” Giselle threw her arms up and shook her head.
“You did. I didn’t mean for…”
“For an outbreak.” Giselle finished Jane’s sentence. “You wanted to see how a live Azrael would act when running loose.”
“Well, I did. But, not released in the city. Out here, yes.”
“Well, you fucked up Jane.”
“I did. And I have to live with that decision every day of my life. That camera Giselle. It could hold information about them that we’ll never see being human. Well, somewhat human.” Jane gestured to Giselle.
