[HGB] Humanity Gone Bad: The Dead Chronicles

by Watkins, Charles

  We met up back at the lab truck with the rest of the group shortly after and they reported that the only other exit that they had found out of the garage where we were was a door leading into the northern section of the garage and the exits there were blocked off by wrecked vehicles and the area looked to have sustained explosion damage.

  “Okay—this area will be our base of operations until we assess the situation above; let’s find something to set up a protective barrier around the lab truck in case worse come to worse.” I instructed as everyone gathered around me.

  Everyone nodded and set to work and within fifteen minutes we had a moderately good barrier built around the lab truck that was made up of police barricades, abandoned cars, motorcycles and other pieces of obstructions that we had found around the parking garage—Billy pushed the hummer with the mounted mini-gun up to the front of the barrier to where anyone could use it if necessary.

  “This should keep the lab truck safe for the most part—let’s go up above and find out the condition of the hotel; be on your guard guys.” I answered as I gripped my weapons and led the way to the elevators.

  It took a couple of rides up to get everyone to the first floor but after we were all together I turned and looked around the lobby area before us—the entire area was in shambles, it looked like people had either fled in mass hysteria or been killed as there were traces of blood here and there on the floors as well as splattered against the walls. I glanced over toward the front doors of the hotel and seen that part of the glass entrance to the building had been smashed inward as it looked like a large pileup of wrecked vehicles blocked it off entirely; Noah walked over and check it and shortly after came back confirming it.

  “It looks like there was a bad wreck in the street outside and several large vehicles including a semi are smashed up against the doors.” Noah answered upon everyone’s questioning glances.

  “That’ll keep those fuckers from getting in through that way at least.” Beau stated with a distant look as he walked over to the front desk to look at the registry.

  “There’s another set of double glass doors down there that look to lead to some sort of maintenance area.” Melvin reported shortly afterward.

  “Okay—I want everyone to form up into sweeper teams and go throughout the building mopping up any dead-heads you find; be on your guard as there may possibly be small to medium sized pockets of them here and there—we’ll all meet back here in an hour and a half.” I stated as everyone gathered around with their weapons and gear.

  I soon after headed up the stairs with Sheila, Jennifer, Billy, Kayla, Richard and Morgana with me as everyone else spread out heading various directions, we arrived on the second floor and searched through the rooms one at a time and found nothing except an occasional decaying corpse here and there that surprisingly looked like they had possibly been survivors who had sought refuge inside of this hotel—what had actually killed them was unknown. It didn’t take us long to finish our sweep of the second floor and we found nothing that was of threat and we soon moved on up to the third and fourth floors, then the fifth and sixth floors and so on until we arrived on the eighth floor; as soon as we arrived at the top if the stairs we heard a horrible scream as a male zombie turned and raced toward us—I swiftly drew my magnum and fired hitting it in the middle of the head causing it to sail headlong over the railing of the stairs where it fell down several levels until it made a thud far below.

  “I knew we’d run into one of those fuckers sooner or later.” I stated as I led the way into a nearby room where the zombie looked to have been.

  Inside was a gruesome scene—several fresh corpses were scattered around on the bed and the floor and the place was covered with blood; the bodies looked just like the few that we had found on floors below—they looked like they had been survivors that had come in here to hide. I didn’t take any chances with them however and I put several rounds in each one of their heads and then walked back out of the room closing the door behind me.

  “What’s in there, baby?” Jennifer asked meeting me with a kiss.

  “More bodies of what looked like survivors…but they’re all dead now—I put rounds in all of their heads just to make sure that they don’t revive and come after us.” I answered hugging both her as well as Sheila.

  “Daddy…are we ever gonna be safe?” Remy asked as she stood beside of Sheila holding onto her hand.

  “Yes sweetie—I promise you that the day will come when we will have a safe place to live and you’ll be able to play outside all you want.” I answered picking her up and kissing her forehead.

  We continued searching around the eighth floor and found no other threats so we moved on up checking each floor we came to thoroughly until we came to the sixteenth floor which seemed to be the top floor—we had only found a few zombies here and there since leaving the eighth floor and it seemed good to know that most of the upper levels were free and clear of them; the top floor appeared to be VIP suites of some sort and I could tell just by the interior décor that this section of the hotel had been meant for the wealthy. The entire floor was clear and Billy and Kayla went into room number 1612 which we had just checked and sat their gear and weapons on the bed as Richard and Morgana stood at the end of the hall looking around at various paintings and such that were hanging on the walls of the corridor; I arrived at room number 1616 and opened the door—inside the room seemed to be lavishly decorated and as we rounded a corner near the front sitting area a gust of wind blew through the room. That was when we came to the bedroom and seen that the room we were in had a moderate sized balcony that looked out on the skyline of New York City and the glass doors had been left open; I sat my assault rifle on the bed and pulled out my magnum as I cautiously approached the glass doors of the balcony—that was when a male zombie appeared out on the balcony that was barely dressed, he was wearing a pair of stained white boxer shorts and a long gray colored robe and it didn’t look like he had picked up on our presence there yet.

  That was when he turned his head and seen me approaching that he screamed a horrible sound—I swiftly ran forward and kicked him in the chest sending him over the railing of the balcony where he fell hundreds of feet down to the street below; I watched as he hit the street splattering like a bug and then I turned back and headed back inside of the room closing the glass doors and locking them. I then checked the bathroom nearby and found the nude corpse of a woman who looked to have had her throat torn open as well as one of her arms chewed off—I fired a single shot putting a round in her head before grabbing her and pulling her out into the bedroom as Sheila unlocked the glass doors and helped me drag the body outside before we dumped it over the railing watching it fall to the street far below; we headed back inside locking the glass doors and the three of us worked to clean up the bathroom as well as the few other traces that had been left of the former occupants of the room. Not long after that there was a knock at the front door to the room and I went over and answered it—it was Billy and he was pulling his shirt back on, I glanced across the hall toward the room where he and Kayla had been and caught sight of the reflection of her breasts through the half-open door as she sat before what looked like a vanity table.

  “What’s up?” Billy asked as Jennifer and Sheila came up behind me.

  “Everything looks clear—there was a zombie out on our balcony but I gave it a good swift kick and it fell to its death below; there was a corpse in the tub of a naked woman and we disposed of that as well.” I answered as we stepped out into the corridor.

  Kayla soon after came out dressed and wrapped her arms around Billy and we could tell that the two of them had become a couple, Richard and Morgana came up as well as it looked like they had scouted the northern end of the top floor.

  “Everything is clean—we didn’t find any more dead-heads up here; I wonder how the others are doing down below.” Richard answered as the two of them joined us.

/>   “We should head back down and rendezvous in the lobby—it’s been about an hour and a half now.” I stated as I turned and sat my gear inside of our room on the floor near the door.

  Jennifer and Sheila done the same as well as the few small things that Remy, Mace and Ember had and they followed as I led the way toward the elevator—I pressed the button and we waited as the doors opened; that was when the corpse of a busboy suddenly toppled over hitting the floor just inches from where we were standing causing many of us to jump back with a start.

  “Fuck…that scared the shit outta me!” Billy exclaimed as we all walked over to examine the corpse.

  The busboy was long dead—he was missing his left hand and various parts of his body were eaten away; I didn’t take any chances though and I pulled out my magnum and fired putting a round in his skull. Afterward, Billy, Richard and I picked the corpse up and carried it into one of the nearby empty suites and out onto the balcony where we dumped it off the edge—returning to the ladies who were still waiting by the elevator we all got inside of it and I pressed the button for the lobby and we waited as it descended down; a few minutes later the doors opened and we met up with the rest of the group who looked to have just arrived.

  “Chaz—how did it go up above?” Noah asked as he and Christina approached us.

  “It went well—we only encountered a few of those things up there which we killed and there was only one on the sixteenth floor out on the balcony of the suite we chose for ourselves.” I answered as I briefly patted his shoulder before we all regrouped with the others.

  “We didn’t find very many dead-heads down here—the ones that we found were in small pockets and the level of aggression was moderately low; this seems like it’s the perfect place to hole up for a while until we figure out what we’re going to do.” Hugo stated folding his arms as everyone got into a circle.

  “Yeah—this place seems to be sturdy and easy to defend, it’s going to be nice to relax and get a little rest since we have been on the road for so long.” I answered in deep thought.

  “Amen to that one—what’s say we find something to eat, I am starved.” Melody stated as she stood nearby with Ella.

  “Your dad and I found a kitchen not far off where room service orders and such were prepared—I’ll go and prepare some food for everyone.” My mom stated as she and my dad turned and headed off toward the other end of the lobby.

  “I’ll help them.” Melody stated as she and Ella followed.

  “Okay—even though this place has been cleared out we still need to be on our feet in case something happens; we need guard posts set up on this floor as well as in the parking garage below where the lab truck is—we’ll also patrol the upper levels regularly.” I stated as I leaned against a nearby wall.

  “Sounds good—let’s settle in.” Richard answered as everyone started heading toward the stairs as well as the elevators to head up above.

  Jennifer, Sheila and I as well as Remy, Mace and Ember retired to our suite on the top floor where we rested our travel worn bodies—my mom made dinner and we ate before everyone settled down for the night; things were quiet and for a while it seemed a little odd not to be inside of the lab truck watching the road. I was lying on the bed with my hands on Sheila’s hips as she straddled me—we were making love for the first time as Jennifer lay beside of me kissing me as well as Sheila; my motions got faster as Sheila leaned down and stuck her tongue into my mouth kissing me. Her large breasts pressed against my upper neck and chest area as Jennifer rubbed herself with her left hand while kissing on us—it wasn’t long before I came inside of Sheila that she climbed off and Jennifer took her turn; she got between Sheila and I and lay on her side raising her left leg as I pushed inside of her fucking her in the spooning position. She and Sheila kissed and made out as I continued until another hour passed when I finally let loose inside of Jennifer; she turned round and rolled over to where she was on top of me and we kissed passionately as Sheila wrapped her arm around me and snuggled up close on my right—Jennifer settled down beside of me on my left and I pulled the blankets of the bed up over us as the three of us settled in exhausted from our lovemaking.

  The next morning soon came and we woke rising out of bed and getting dressed as Sheila woke my daughters—I walked to the glass doors to the balcony and looked out on the gray clouds that swiftly drifted across the morning sky; there was a storm coming in from the southwest—that much was apparent by the look of the sky.

  “Now that we have the vaccine, we need to give everyone a shot of it to prevent mutation and infection; I mean we’ve made it this far on our wits alone and there have been times that we’ve almost been bitten—we don’t need to have to take those risks without some kind of defense against them.” I stated as I glanced over at our travel bag that held the many small bottles of the vaccine that we had synthesized from the antitoxin sample which we also still had.

  “You’re right baby—we don’t need the added worry of what might happen to one of our close friends if they should be bitten…my only concern is the side effects that the vaccine will cause.” Jennifer stated as she walked over and embraced me.

  “Like with any other vaccine—this one will inject a small amount of the T.H.C.A.I.A Toxin into our bodies so our immune systems can build up immunity to it.” I stated with a thoughtful expression.

  “That’s what worries me…it felt fine when you injected the antitoxin sample directly into my body that time months ago when I got cut by the Entity’ barbed tail…I guess I’m just hesitant about it now since I have you and Sheila—I don’t want anything to happen to us.” Jennifer stated as she stared at the floor in deep thought.

  “Nothing will happen that we can’t handle—let’s go down and meet up with the others and get their thoughts on the issue.” I answered as I swiftly kissed her and then Sheila.

  We gathered only our side arms leaving our main weapons and gear in the room as we left our suite headed down to the lobby where everyone more than likely was—we met up with Billy and Kayla out in the corridor as well as Noah and Christina and they were headed down as well; many of the others had settled into normal rooms on the lower floors and it didn’t take us long to arrive in the lobby where we could hear the others talking casually from the dining hall. I led the way into the room and the others looked up and greeted us.

  “Morning guys.” Melvin said greeting us as we took seats at the table.

  “Good morning, how are things around here this morning?” I asked turning to gaze toward the Covenant One members.

  “Things are going fine—they have been quiet thus far and it seems like we have slipped in past the watchful eyes of those things outside.” Hugo answered sipping on a cup of coffee.

  “I did hear sounds of them coming into the cracked window of my room last night—freaked me out so I had to close it before I could even sleep.” Kira stated with a shiver.

  “Have we decided what to do about the vaccine?” Noah asked as he started eating.

  “I think that everyone needs to be inoculated as soon as possible…there may be some side effects from it though as is the way with any vaccine.” I answered in deep thought as I took a swig of the coffee that my mom had just poured into my cup.

  “If you’re worried about the toxin being released into your body from the vaccine in order for your bodies to build immunity than don’t be.” Amy stated as she came into the room from behind us.

  “Morning Amy—what did you find out?” Hugo asked turning toward her.

  “I analyzed a sample of the vaccine that we synthesized yesterday and the components of it are exactly the same as those of the antitoxin sample—meaning that there will be no side effects or illnesses resulting from injecting it; according to my research it should also give us lifelong immunity toward the virus and protect us from infection even if one of us is bitten or scratched…in theory the creature that bite
s one of us should even be cleansed themselves…in theory that is.” Amy answered in a technical tone.

  “I wouldn’t bet on that but it is great news—we shouldn’t waste any time then; I’ll be back shortly—I’ll go get the vaccine supply and bring it down here.” I stated as I got up from my seat and started toward the door.

  Jennifer and Sheila followed after me as my mom and dad watched over Remy, Mace and Ember—it didn’t take us long to arrive back up at our room and we went inside and gathered the bag that held the vaccine and we took it back down to where the others were waiting; Amy brought up medical supplies and 10cc sized syringes from the lab truck and she started to work giving each member of the group doses of the vaccine and finally it came down to Sheila, Jennifer and I and I went ahead and took mine first. I didn’t feel any different of course but it was a sense of security knowing that I was now immune against the infection from here on out; Sheila took hers next and then Jennifer.

  “Since I already was injected with the antitoxin sample before this won’t cause problems will it?” She asked with a look of fear on her face.

  “No—the vaccine is essentially the same thing as the antitoxin sample so you have nothing to worry about.” Amy answered as she used an alcohol pad to wipe off her skin on her left shoulder before injecting the vaccine into her bloodstream.

  Once everyone was inoculated we all got into a circle and discussed what we needed to do next.

  “We’ll eventually have to head back west away from this sanctuary to try and figure out a way to deliver the vaccine to the masses of undead across the country and the world…if Amy’s theory proves to be correct then we can reverse this plague and restore humanity; one way or another we can’t give up—we will keep fighting and we will make Nicolas Bowman pay for what he has done.” I stated with a determined look as I wrapped my arms around Jennifer and Sheila.