by Jesse Gagnon
CHAPTER 21: JASON’S BATTLE
Jason awoke suddenly from a much needed rest for his mind. The taste of metal was in his mouth and his hands were bloody. He glanced down and his chest was also caked in blood. He thought the worst and scanned the area for small dead bodies. Nothing was within view. The door to the barn was closed. In the corner away from the door was a large mass of something. Blood in the dirt led to the object. A heavy weight appeared in his gut and he knew that he had done something horrible the night before. He walked over to it but the mass of meat was too large to be a child. As he got closer he identified it as a cow. It was the Norton’s cow. A sense of relief spread throughout Jason’s body. He turned and began to knock on the door to let the children know that he was awake now.
He banged on the door and it slowly opened from the weight of his fist. The door wasn’t locked. He walked a few steps and found blood splashes and footsteps leading up the steps. There were no bodies. He hurried over to the Norton’s house and pulled the screen door open. It sprung back as he entered slamming into the door frame. The floor was covered in blood. He listened for anything. The house was dead silent. He sniffed the air and found a hint of urine and fecal matter. He moved up the steps and the scent intensified. As he approached the top of the steps he suddenly heard heartbeats, several heartbeats, they were frightened. Blood smeared the round and walls. The smell of rot was up ahead, the smell of an Azrael. He pushed the door open and a large Azrael was sniffing the closet door. It was twice the size of Jason. In the far corner was another smaller Azrael eating something. A small cage was nearby. It appeared to be a gerbil or hamster cage. They seemed to notice Jason but ignored him as a threat. One of the children coughed, exciting the large Azrael. It howled a terrifying sound and began to bang on the door. The children cried in the closet in fear. The other Azrael joined in on the assault on the door providing a continuous wave of ferocious attacks. It was going to give at any moment. Jason had to do something. The draw to join in and help eat the children troubled Jason the closer he got to them. He had no chance at overpowering even the smaller one. He scanned the area for something to use as a weapon. He found a Louisville Slugger wooden bat tucked behind the night stand next to the master bed. Must have been Francis’, she was known for her tomboy antics as a kid and played baseball with her seven brothers. He picked it up, strengthened his grip on it and sighed. You can do this, you can do this. He said to himself.
Jason charged in and swung at the small Azrael. He missed completely but was successful in knocking the door handle off of the door. It looked at him inquisitively. He shrugged and then swung again and it connected to the side of the large Azrael’s neck with a flat thud. It peered into Jason’s eyes and howled a fierce war cry a foot from his face. Strands of saliva struck his face and Jason knew he was fucked. He turned and sprinted out of the room. They followed and both attempted to fit through the doorway of the room at the same time. They were wedged for a few seconds before finally getting unstuck allowing Jason to get the distance he needed to get away. He had a plan. He didn’t know if his plan would work but he had to try something. He b-lined for the barn. The two were about twenty yards behind him. They were bridging the gap quickly. He entered the doors pushing them slightly out of the way as he made it through running towards the cow carcass covered in blood. He hid behind it. They cornered him but were drawn to the meal on the ground. The large Azrael kept its gaze on Jason and snorted. The smaller Azrael was already feasting on the cow’s hind quarters. The urge to feed overpowered the large Azrael’s focus on Jason and dropped down to feed on the carcass. Jason slowly shimmied from behind the cow and slowly walked backwards towards the doors. They continued to feed. He stepped through them and quietly shut the doors. A makeshift iron sleeve was on both doors big enough for an eight foot long 4X4 board that lied nearby could fit. He picked it up and slid it through quietly. The craftsmanship was top notch and probably originally designed to keep a bull in the barn. After some thought, Jason remembered stories about Willie riding bulls before all this shit happened. After a few minutes, the Azrael realized that they were trapped and were banging on the doors. They held without a problem.
Jason decided it was time to check on the children. He walked up the porch steps, entered the house and the screen door slammed behind him. The side door near the kitchen was wide open. Bloodied deer bones sat on the table, picked clean. Blood led from there and painted the floor, walls, and stairs. Jason walked up the steps and entered the master bedroom. The children were still inside. The door to the closet was almost cracked in half. He knocked on the door to the tune of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’. The door pushed open, the doorknob was on the floor in the corner. Their faces lit up when they saw Jason. He headed to the window and pointed to the barn with a smile.
“You locked them in the barn?” Cindy asked.
Jason nodded, yes.
“Peter, Peter heard the zombies in the kitchen. He ran out and pushed that board out of the door so you could get out. He, uh, he tried to make it back but he didn’t. We saw him…” Jordan caught his breath. “He went in with you and climbed up the ladder.” He caught his breath again. “He’s in the barn, Jason!”
The other two nodded their heads. They’ll find him and tear him apart. He gazed through the window and wondered how he could get him out or how to let them out without being torn apart himself all while not placing the other three in danger. The solution seemed impossible.
CHAPTER 22: TOKO’S DINNER GUESTS
After jogging throughout the day and most of the night Giselle and Toko found an abandoned house to rest in. Before they called it a night around 2 am they needed to replenish much needed calories. Giselle still had several high calorie MRE’s that she packed just before she met Jane. She withdrew her portable propane stove and poured in a bottle of water in a pot that she found in the kitchen. She placed the MRE pouches in the pot and boiled the water heating up the beef pot roast packages.
Toko explored the house, visually inspecting each room, closet, and cabinet for hostiles and resources. The medicine cabinet in the master bathroom was loaded with random pharmaceuticals that could be used. A rotting corpse of a woman on the bed in the master bedroom drew swarms of flies throughout the top floor. Brain and skull fragments were coating the headboard and the wall behind it. Her left hand lay in a shooting position lying on the bed, an obvious suicide, but the gun must have been looted. Had the window not been shattered the concentrated stench would have been overwhelming.
He found one more corpse in the room next door. It was confined to a wheelchair with a deflated I.V. bag hanging next to it. The door knob was broken off and the door frame was busted to pieces on the floor. He walked in covering his mouth and nose because the rot was severely thick due to the door being semi closed and the windows intact. He quickly searched the area for threats and anything useful. A faint thumping noise emerged from the dead silence beyond the flight of flies that infested the place. Toko examined the room one more time, paying close attention to movement and nothing stood out. The thumping gradually quickened but its intensity remained weak. Its heartbeat reached an Azrael speed and brought alarm to Toko. Still, nothing moved and he slowly navigated towards the door. Suddenly the corpse in the wheelchair grabbed his left arm and bit into his forearm. Its bite barely broke the skin. Its face was sunken in along with the majority of its body. He swatted the Azrael off of him and kicked its chest causing the wheelchair to roll backwards knocking the I.V. stand down. It collided with the wall and the Azrael hissed at Toko. The lack of moisture in its throat and lungs inhibited any real growl. The chair’s restraining seatbelt kept it from exiting the chair. It lacked the brain function to operate the wheels to move forward and just reached towards Toko. It’s weight was to insignificant to tip over the chair. Giselle’s presence surprised Toko and he grabbed her throat with his left hand, gripped her right shoulder with his right and hooked his right foot behind her left knocking her to the ground. The
y landed hard on the floor with Toko straddling Giselle. Her pistol was pressed against his left temple and the safety was off. Their eyes met and Toko realized his mistake.
“I’m sorry Miss Giselle. You surprised me.”
“I see. You wanna get off me now?” Giselle pressed the barrel harder into his temple as a cue.
“Hai, my apologies.”
“Uh, huh. I’m not that easy Toko.” She smiled and kneed him in the groin as she got up. He groaned. “Oops, sorry Toko.” She grinned and brought herself to her feet.
“Point made Miss Giselle.” He stood up still feeling a throbbing pain in the crotch area.
“So, what’s the deal? I heard a loud bang up here.” She said investigating the room. “Is that a…”
“Hai, it was a corpse, no heartbeat. Then suddenly, it started up again.”
“No shit? Like suspended animation?”
“Hai, maybe its body was in a state of hibernation due to lack of nutrients to the brain. Somehow my presence triggered some kind of reboot.”
“That’s nuts! Did it bite you?”
“It tried. It was too weak to actually penetrate deep into the skin.”
“Actually, I had the same thing happen to me. Well…kind of. This guy was locked in a vault for a few years. I let him out and it lunged at me but was too frail to hurt me. Have you seen this before?”
“No, I haven’t. The virus is extremely survivable it seems.”
“No kidding. Oh, by the way, the food’s done.” Giselle walked out of the room.
“Don’t you think we should?”
“Do what? Kill it?” She interrupted.
“Put it out of its misery?”
“You feel sorry for them?” She questioned.
“I have hope and the idea that something is still in there that’s human.”
“Like Jason?”
“Perhaps.”
“Fine.” Giselle entered the room and shot a hole through its forehead with her silenced pistol. Moonlight beamed through the skull as its head fell forward after the sudden jerk back. It lit a locket that was wrapped around its fingers. She unwrapped it, removed it from its grasp and opened it up. A photo of an elderly woman and a young woman was inside. They looked happy. She closed it and laid it in the corpses’ lap.
“Maybe you were right.” She bit her lip and exited the room without another word.
Toko realized that this might have hit home a bit too much for her right now and let her be. He continued to scan the house and came up with a few packets of oatmeal and some pharmaceuticals. He eventually made it downstairs. A bowl was waiting for him on the table in the dining room.
“Thank you, Miss Giselle.”
“It’s no problem. If you’re anything like me then you’re probably starving right now.”
“Hai, I am a bit hungry. Smells…appetizing.”
“Hah, you don’t have to sugarcoat it Toko. It smells like shit. All of these MRE’s do.” Giselle admitted while holding the empty bag. She read the ingredients and Nutrition factor. “In the end, it’s all about the calories.”
“True. So uh, sleeping arrangements?”
“I’m not sleeping upstairs. Smells like a corpse’s asshole up there.”
“So you can take the couch in the living room. I’ll uh…”
“Sleep upstairs?”
“I can Miss Giselle.”
“Do you want to?”
“Well, uh…”
“It’s okay Toko, there’s enough room on the couch.”
“I’ll lay out some blankets on the floor.”
“Whatever you want.”
I saw a linen closet at the top of the steps. There might be blankets in there.” Toko remembered.
“Awesome, I’m heading to the couch.”
Toko retrieved a few blankets and pillows. By the time he made it downstairs Giselle was sleeping curled up lying on her right side. She was facing the backrest of the couch. Toko laid a blanket on top of her and then set up his bedding on the floor next to the couch. In a few minutes, he himself was asleep.
The morning came and a loud banging noise awoke Toko from sleep. He sat up and scanned the area for a threat. He saw movement in the kitchen. He turned to Giselle and she was gone. He got up quietly and moved towards the noises. Giselle was frying up something.
“Good morning…” Toko greeted Giselle. She was startled by Toko and tossed the spatula at him. He dodged it.
“For Christ’s sake Toko. We’ve got to stop doing this.”
“Hai, Good morning Miss Giselle.”
“Good morning Toko. Hey, I found a chicken roaming around outside. There was half a sack of chicken feed near the shed over there.” Giselle pointed out the window above the stove. It was above eye level so she stood on her tippy toes to point. “There was a hole near the bottom of the sack where it poured out gradually. It probably was living off of that.” Giselle speculated.
“And now it’s in the pan!”
“Now it’s in the pan.” She agreed.
“So what was that loud banging noise?”
“Oh shit. Did that wake you? I’m sorry.”
“No, no it’s fine. Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah just the flies they keep coming over here. Was scaring them away that’s all.”
“Ahh, I see. Do you need help?”
“I’m fine here. If you want to set up the table in the dining room over there then I’ll bring it right out in a minute. It’s the last piece.”
“Hai.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t wake up from the smell. Much better aroma circulating right now. I got the doors all open to air out the place.”
“I’ve noticed.” Toko walked over to the table in the dining room. It was separated by a spring loaded door that helped to provide a sense of privacy for the guests from the noises in the kitchen. The door slammed shut and he could barely hear Miss Giselle cooking at all. An opening to the living room provided visual to a big screen TV.
“Americans and their TV.” He thought.
Toko began to clear off the table and he heard footsteps moving quickly towards him from the living room.
“Miss Giselle didn’t we…” Toko was interrupted by an Azrael tackling him into the china cabinet causing all of the porcelain plates and cups to shatter on the floor. Three more followed and pinned Toko down biting into his body. He managed to break free on his left side and throat punched one of the smaller ones crushing the Adam’s apple causing it to choke. He thrust his right elbow into another Azrael that was biting into his arm, striking the soft meat beneath the left armpit. It recoiled giving him his arm back and he jabbed his thumb into its left temple stunning it. He picked up a fork and jabbed it into its skull at the same place killing it instantly. The largest of the four picked Toko up and slammed him on the table causing it to collapse knocking the wind out of him.
Giselle heard the banging.
“I said make the table, not break it. What are you doing in there?”
“Help!” He cried out with barely any air in his lungs.
“Not helping me if you’re breaking all the china in there.” She scolded him.
Toko had a stroke of luck seeing his katana lying in the corner. He remembered placing it there when they ate the night before. He reached for it and was dragged back by the large one. The other was still on his back biting into his side. He couldn’t reach it or elbow it. He caught a surge of adrenaline and stood up carrying the Azrael on his back. He jumped backwards crushing it into the big one. It lost its grip and fell off. He ran over and extracted his sword from the sheath. In two quick swipes, both of their heads toppled to the ground. Only one remained and it continued to grasp at its throat. He took a knee and tried to catch his breath.
Giselle walked in with the chicken.
“Breakfast is serv… What the hell Toko?”
“Sorry Miss Giselle. I had… complications.”
“And this was turning out to be such an awesome mo
rning. Damn it. Guess we’re eating in the living room.” She moved past the choking one, entered the living room and sat on the couch.
“Americans.” Toko mumbled while shaking his head. Before he left the room to join Giselle he cut the head off of the remaining Azrael. It rolled into the living room.
“Seriously Toko? In the living room? Keep that shit in there. I’m trying to eat ya know.” She continued to bite into the breast that was in her hand. She still had a whole platter to finish with Toko.
“My apologies Miss Giselle.” Toko apologized and kicked the head back into the dining room where it belonged.
CHAPTER 23: WHAT’S INSIDE THE CELL
The aroma of a clean lab on floor 18 brought a smile on Simon’s face. Floors fifteen to twenty were set up for lab work to monitor the patrons’ needs and to study the Azrael. Only floor eighteen was designed for the study of Azrael material and non-live subjects.
A class Alpha access badge was required to gain access to the lab. They were stored in a lockbox at the floor’s entrance atrium. Five armed guards were assigned duties to verify credentials and issue badges that were stored in a safe. These extra safety precautions were set in motion when Dr. Schwinn lost his financial support from BioLab Industries for fear of sabotage.
Dr. Barnett did not have access to the facility but still managed to enter and run tests on specimens that she smuggled inside herself. She is a rule breaker and a loose cannon scientist on her own program. Simon didn’t like or trust her. However, any breakthroughs in the Azrael virus could be a move in the right direction for once. He waived this offense this time but had to send the security staff responsible home for the rest of the day as punishment. They were swayed to disobey the rules of the facility and allowed someone to access a top secret location without the proper credentials. Also, they were removed from guard duty on the eighteenth floor indefinitely and a mark was placed in their file. She has no regard for other people’s lives.
