by Jesse Gagnon
“Warning! Warning! Contamination in Cells Three, Five, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen. Cell block breached. Proceed to the decontamination area. All exits are sealed for containment.” The voice over the speakers added and then repeated in another language.
Randall knew that they would all die here if he didn’t do something. He thought about the hive mind and tried to impose his will on the others. They ignored his attempts. It frustrated him and he still focused his mind on trying to take over with the same result. He exhaled a frustrated sigh and the others turned to him. After a minute they looked away. He sighed again with the same result. Is it the breath, the saliva? He released a terrifying shriek that commanded the Azrael’s attention. He grunted and nodded towards the biggest Azrael. It writhed and thrashed attempting to break free with no luck. Minutes passed with no success. Randall was at a loss. What could he do now?
Suddenly all power shut down in the cell unlocking the locking mechanism attached to their chains. Distant screams and struggles were heard beyond the walls. Randall managed to remove the chains holding him to the wall. The others noticed Randall and duplicated his success with their own chains. Gunshots were heard beyond the door and increased in sound as they neared the cell. They were coming to eliminate them.
Randall released a howl and beat on his chest inciting grunting. He ran over to the bench and activated the switch. It didn’t respond at first but after a fifteen second delay, it raised slower than it did before, probably being run on emergency power. The Azrael hurried down into the tunnel and Randall smashed the controls after deactivating the switch causing the tunnel to close permanently. The doors flung open with several men armed with assault rifles and body armor. Randall hurried towards the tunnel and slid under just before it closed. He caught a few gunshots to the shoulder but they weren’t life threatening in the least bit. He had never been down there before and decided to give the lead to the large one. It nodded with acceptance and charged into a hidden door at full sprint breaking into a large room with cameras, electronics, and switchboards. The room led to another passageway beyond a keycard activated door. Fortunately for Randall, power had been removed in this part of the facility as well and after a gentle nudge, the door swung open.
Randall walked forward slowly taking in his environment while exercising extreme caution. Brooke returned to his mind distracting him from his current mission. He worried for her. Where was she? Was she scared? Was she searching for Randall? He knew that he intended on returning for her but didn’t have a plan to do so yet. Hell, he hadn’t anticipated on getting this far before. Suddenly, sounds of movement hurried down the hall ahead of them. They were footsteps of men in boots. The sound of weapons and body armor clanking around gave them away. Randall readied himself for a battle, a battle that he knew that he might lose. He prepared for it none-the-less. Before the group was within eyesight of Randall a door flung open right on top of them and a stream of fresh turners surprised the team and pounced on top of them, thus adding them to the herd of Azrael. One of them didn’t turn, was torn apart and consumed by the swarm of Azrael. The aroma of fresh human entrails still excited Randall’s senses but he fought off the desires to feed and waited for the chaos to subside to relocate elsewhere. There’s no sense in rushing into a trap or firing squad. The others remained quiet and followed Randall’s lead.
After a few minutes, the Azrael funneled down the hallway where the men came from and disappeared beyond sight around a bend in the passageway. Randall moved forward cautiously and turned down the hallway that the fresh Azrael turners came from. The emergency lighting flickered erratically and sounds of men being attacked littered the ambiance of the place. Gunshots echoed throughout the passageway causing the illusion that they were closer than they were. Due to the design of the hallway, there was no way to tell which direction the gunshots originated. Randall hoped that he wasn’t luring the group into a firing squad and had to keep moving. Who knew how much longer they had before a total meltdown deemed the facility was unsalvageable, which could involve an explosion and a lot of dead Azrael and people.
A man popped out of a room three doors down aiming his pistol towards an unseen threat up the hallway. Randall knew there wasn’t anything up that way but the man had normal human eyes. He could barely see his own feet. His hands shook in fear as his heartbeat raced. Two more people exited the room, a woman, and an elderly man. They were all dressed like scientists. They were wearing green scrubs and white lab coats. The woman spoke.
“I can’t see anything Charles.”
“Shhh, don’t know what’s out there. They could hear you.” Charles replied.
It was too late. They were heard by a crazed Alpha two rooms down. It slammed through the door and turned its head towards the three. It howled and more Azrael funneled out of the room. It started its attack running forward on all fours like a gorilla. The three heard them and blindly ran towards Randall and his herd. They didn’t realize their mistake until the man face planted into Randall’s chest.
“Oh shit! It’s an Azrael!” He shouted.
He was too frightened to move or respond to anything. The woman and elderly man also bumped into the man squishing him into Randall. Randall grunted, pushed the humans aside and walked forward to face the Alpha and his herd. Randall released a ferocious howl hoping the Alpha would back down. It didn’t. The large Azrael among Randall’s herd, let’s call him Bear, attempted to engage the other herd but Randall placed his hand on its chest, shook his head and grunted. Randall had this and Bear nodded with acceptance. He lowered his body, charged down the tight passageway like a bull and plowed through the Azrael causing them to pile up on top of each other. Azrael aren’t used to an offensive, physical attack and were taken by surprise by Randall’s actions. The Alpha lashed out in fury knocking its herd off of it. It reached for Randall’s arm and yanked him into its chest. Randall responded by reaching around its neck and locking his right arm under its throat. He flexed and squeezed as hard as he could until he heard a snap. He wrenched his arm and dug into its throat tearing the flesh. He removed the head and tossed it behind him down the hall towards his group of Awakened Azrael. The woman screamed exciting the fresh turners. Randall howled once more asserting dominance and caused the other herd to calm and look to him. He knew that they were too dangerous to control. He lured them into a cell and locked them up. By this time the three humans managed to seize an opening and fled the area.
Randall proceeded down the passageway and glanced into each room using the small porthole windows to make sure nothing popped out behind him. So far the three humans, the Alpha, and his small herd were the only engagements thus far. The hallway had a bend in it about four cell doors down. It turned to the right. The flickering lights still degraded Randall’s sense of sight, but he listened closely to what was beyond the bend.
As he reached the last door just before the bend he glanced in and noticed the room was still occupied. Small bodies were chained to the walls as he was in his cell. He thought of Brooke and attempted to push the door. It was locked. Of course, the only door he wanted to enter was locked. However, he hadn’t attempted to open the past three doors assuming they were all open. He looked closely through the small window. The flashing lights provided a momentary blinding moment that caused his eyes to dilate and slowly return to normal. The small figures were unrecognizable in this lighting. There were eight bodies visible with four possible beyond his view of the room if it was set up like his own cell.
Suddenly a group of men rounded the corner of the hallway training their weapons towards Randall and his group. They were startled and began unloading their rifles into the group. Randall instinctively charged in and knocked the men to the ground. They continued to fire but their shots were wild. A few struck Randall in his chest, but he continued his assault anyway. He tore the guns from the men, tossing them behind into his group of Azrael. Bear picked them up and slammed them on the ground and walls in an attempt to dama
ge them. Small pieces of metal and plastic scattered across the floor. The men cowered, holding their arms up. Randall noticed a keycard dangling from one of the men and ripped it from his neck. He examined the plastic card searching for the correct position to place into the door’s card reader. He swiped it one way with no luck. He flipped it over and tried again, still nothing. He howled and banged on the door in frustration. Fifteen seconds later the door clicked open. He tossed the card at the man and entered the room. Bear stood in the doorway to keep the door from closing and glared at the frightened men. He nodded for them to move along with a deep grunt. The men slowly got up and fled down the hallway. They assisted two that had apparent injuries but were down the hall and around the bend quickly.
Randall approached each small Azrael that was chained to the wall and inspected them. They were all dead, every last one of them. Syringes were still stuck in their arms, legs and a few had a syringe in their necks. He removed one and visually inspected the contents. He squirted some onto his finger and tasted it. It was sour with a hint of baking soda. He scanned the area and found a large jug of industrial strength bleach in the corner with tiny holes in it. Some were dripping on the floor. He lifted each tiny face to see if one was Brooke. He had no luck. Where was she? He became furious. He slammed his fists against the wall wildly while releasing a maddened roar. After a few minutes of a much needed stress relief, he walked out of the room. Bear stepped aside, glared inside and squinted to see what maddened Randall. He observed the bodies lying limp on the chains and shook his head. He walked out of the doorway and shut the door. Randall was at a loss as to where Brooke might be kept. He hoped that she wasn’t in another similar room in a similar state. He proceeded down the hallway at an increasing speed hoping that his haste would in some way save Brooke from a similar fate as those in the last room.
He continued to glance within each room with no result. A new alarm began to sound with a deafening wail. It whined for six seconds, paused for a second and repeated for six seconds. It continued to sound causing Randall’s hearing to be extremely reduced. He hurried down the hall and a bright light slowly engulfed the darkness of the hallway. About fifty yards down the hallway was a giant hole in the wall opening up to the outside. Shadows were pouring out of the hole steadily. As he neared the opening he noticed a mob of Azrael fleeing the facility through the hole. Some were fresh turns while others appeared to be captives escaping an imminent death. They all wore the stains and blood of a recent kill.
Among the horde of Azrael that poured into the blinding sunlight was a large Azrael walking slowly. The mob flowed around him like a stream moving past a boulder. Its features were familiar. It wore a thick scraggly beard and bore a few new scars from their last meeting. It stopped and turned to face Randall. It raised its hands up revealing a chain. Its hands slowly drew in and wrapped the chains around its wrist revealing more of the chain. Small arms raised and pulled up a girl. It was Brooke. The Alpha wore a wicked grin and looked away tossing the girl on its back like a jacket. Her little face moved in exhaustion. Her eyes slowly opened and she seemed to see Randall. She smiled. The Alpha continued his walk outside and disappeared into the glow.
Randall sprinted towards the Alpha with his herd behind him. They managed to break into the flow and exited out of the hole. The sun immediately blinded them for about twenty seconds. As Randall’s vision steadied he scanned the area for signs of the Alpha. He saw nothing nor did he hear anything. Did he really see the Alpha carrying Brooke or was it all his imagination? He was frustrated that he couldn’t verify what he saw with the others in his herd. He decided that he did see the Alpha carrying Brooke and decided to retrieve her at any cost. Although, he knew that the others couldn’t simply follow him on this mission. This was personal and they were free now.
Randall turned to face the group. They were standing in a massive parking lot. They studied Randall intently. He gestured a small figure. He banged his chest. He indicated behind him into the beyond. He nodded yes. He pointed at the others individually and aimed his finger in the opposite direction. They all turned, glanced away and then back towards Randall. He grunted and waved them away. He pointed to them and then at himself. He shook his head and gestured breaking a stick. They seemed puzzled. Randall turned around and began a light jog away. He hoped that they would stay put or go the opposite way. He was never good at charades, he thought. A heavy pair of feet jogged behind him, it was Bear. Three more joined Bear, but the others ran the other way. They decided to come along. Well, damn.
CHAPTER 12 THE ORPHANS
After a few days of roaming, Jason was officially lost. Whenever he awoke, his body had relocated miles from his last known location. He managed to figure out his whereabouts the past few days but today was a different story. This morning his stomach had been full and sagged from the weight of it. His face smelled of iron and his hands were covered in blood. Some of the blood was still wet which meant that his body fed on something recently. Nevertheless, he was standing in an open field that seemed to go for miles in all directions. There was literally nothing in sight but a small herd that moved to the north. A large male led the group towards the front. Five figures followed behind obediently. Jason noticed that his body started to walk towards them on its own and had to force himself to stop.
The field had been wildly growing for years and after a few seconds, he lost sight of the herd. He still noticed tall weeds up ahead moving but even that ceased after a few more seconds. He sat down with his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He weaved his fingers together. What was he doing? Wouldn’t it make more sense to head back to where people were? Jason wanted to go back, but yet he wanted to figure out what he was doing first. He wanted to find a way to stop his body from assimilating into new herds and eating people. He really wanted to stop eating people. His stomach gurgled and groaned from the position he was sitting in. He wanted to wait until the pull towards the Alpha ceased before he stood up again.
Jason watched the breeze blow the weeds softly. He felt it rustle his hair and felt the warm sun on his face. His vision was in high contrast in the daylight. It emphasized movement and blurred the rest. He still heard the fast heartbeats of the Azrael further down the field. The birds sang all around him. He noticed intricate pitch adjustments in their song. He could distinguish one bird from the rest, even with the same song. He smelled the flowers in the air, tasted the pollen that danced in the breeze and wished that he could have felt the world as it is now when he was human.
The draw faded away finally and their heartbeats drowned into the wind along with the sounds of the wilderness. Jason stood up and scanned the area for anything he could use to identify the region. Unfortunately, the wild grass hindered a visual of a real layout of the land. He found a wide tree that had low branches. It seemed easy enough to climb, even as a child. He began his ascent and within a few minutes, he had a view of the entire field. To the north, the contrast enhanced and his eyes focused on the Alpha and its herd. There was a river about two miles in that direction. To the east and west were open fields for as far as the eye could see. The west did have a small grouping of trees about a mile away but other than that it was an open field. To the south, about five miles away, was a structure. It was too far to determine what type of building it was. He opted to head to the south. He descended the tree and wiped off bark debris that was on his hands and clothes. He didn’t know why his entire body was disgustingly filthy. Maybe it was out of habit, he thought. He began a slow jog towards the south. Jason figured that he would be there within the hour. As he trotted the meal in his gut bounced from side to side. His stomach grumbled from the activity and he felt the tug on his skin. Within a mile of the structure, it began to take shape. It was a farm house with a large red barn beside it. The barn was what he saw from the tree. Within a mile, Jason smelled the aroma of a recent death and the sour hint of rot.
Surrounding the barn was about fifteen dead Azrael. Their heads were blow
n off and by the looks of them, the culprit was a shotgun. Inside the barn, a pile of bones was surrounded by a giant stain of blood in the dirt. The smell of something else drew Jason in the corner of the barn. A woman and two small children were dead, each with a gunshot wound in their head. The woman, probably the mother, still held the revolver in her hand. They chose death instead of the virus. It saddened him and he walked out of the barn in a hurry to separate himself from the situation. But something else bothered him. The woman and children seemed vaguely familiar. Their faces were in his mind somewhere else. He thought hard about it. Maybe it was a vision of something his body saw when it was in control feeding. But their voices, he even remembered their voices too. He thought about it for a second longer. The house, he remembered the house and the door. It sticks and only opens by lifting it. He walked over and attempted to open the door. It stuck. He lifted it and it opened okay. He knew this family but how? When? They weren’t relatives. How did he know…ahhh! He connected the dots finally.
It was the Norton’s house. Willie, Francis, Bobby and Nichole lived there. Francis was Jessica’s best friend growing up. They had stayed there a year ago while they were still dating. He spent most of the weekend sick in bed from some bug he picked up. Francis and Nichole both took care of Jason as he developed a fever late Saturday night. Jessica left to get medicine. The husband Willie was a good guy. He caught an eight point deer earlier that week and had deer jerky made up for him when he left. His boy Bobby made him a soup using the deer as a broth. It was the first time that he had been taken care of since he was a kid and a deciding factor in marrying Jessica. She and her family were the same types of people. Once they moved to the city Jessica and Francis grew apart. It was harder to stay in contact at great distances these days.
