24
The Apostle
The group reorganized and swiftly moved down the hall, passing through another decontamination room and seemingly finally leaving the laboratories behind. Still, the Professor’s handiwork was everywhere: plenty of zombies of all types to go around and containers housing more Doormen and similar abominations filling several rooms. They’d been mass-produced.
____ Here the bloodstains around the halls were even more numerous. Some kind of alarm in the area blared constantly, red lights casting everything in a maroon shade that colored the blood on the floors black. The Apostle symbols were everywhere: on the walls, the floors, printed onto containers and lab coats.
____ It was loud and busy and monochromatic, mounting numbers of undead making it difficult to concentrate. But Thomas pressed on, pushing it all past him. He was done with this place, fed up and ready to end it.
____ Even now Professor Joetex continued to speak over the intercom, his musings contrasting the bloody setting, “I certainly made a lot of progress. I exceeded my own expectations tremendously. But in what direction? To what end? I never asked. Not once.”
____ “Like I care what you think, you bastard.” Stanley muttered as he shot down another zombie coming down the hall. He struggled to hold the rifle with one hand still injured, but his drive to push past the zombies overpowered his wounds, “Cure or no cure, you
made those things. You’re the reason she’s dead...”
____ “I think, now that I’ve ultimately acquired everything I wanted, I finally understand. I just had to take a step back from myself to really get the big picture.” Joetex said, his words a constant background noise to the group’s continuous moving and fighting.
____ Bang bang! Bang bang!! Jaxson riddled a zombie with bullets and kicked it back into the room it’d wandered out of.
____ “I always told myself that my progress was more important than anything in the entire world. I think in hindsight that was just a blind eye to personal revenge. I wanted the ones who mocked my ideas to know who it was who concocted their killers. I wanted those who held me back to see my ideas fully realized.”
____ Stacey felt something brush her ankle, spotting a zombie with its legs ripped off crawling along the floor. She stooped down and stabbed it though the ear.
____ “When I finally looked outside my blocked-off windows I could see all the suffering I’d caused. Apostle had only taken what could be weaponized, and used that to the fullest extent. They had turned my personal vendetta against everyone in the world. They didn’t care. I didn’t create the undeath, but I empowered its killing potential.”
____ Thorn shot one zombie through the head and bashed an Initiated’s face in with the butt of his carbine. It fell back down the stairs it had emerged from, knocking over more ascending zombies as it went.
____ “It struck me then that everything I’d done was pointless. I’d proven myself at the expense of the whole world. What were my accomplishments to a dead Earth? What exactly was I achieving? Progress is pointless in a graveyard. I’d given up on the world, but what good was I outside of it? How could I have been so blind to that from the very beginning…?”
____ Thomas took the lead while Thorn was preoccupied, pistol raised as he deftly moved down the hall. More zombies. More gunshots. More blood. More flashing lights. More Apostle emblems.
____ All the rotating siren lights moved in perfect tandem, the hallway blindingly bright when they all faced him and actually rather dark when they turned away. It was almost a mesmerizing pattern, rotation matching up every couple of heartbeats. And Thomas’ heart was beating almost audibly. The undead consistently poured from the halls and he shot them dead one by one. The gunshots almost lined up too. Like Brooke said: like an ever-beating drum. Power then pause. Light then dark. Noise then silence. Nothing then blood.
____ The halls twisted and turned, splitting up constantly. Some ways shuttered shut, others open for hasty navigation. Really it was just guesswork at this point. This place was big and complicated, and the constant accompaniment of the undead kept the group from wasting time deciding where to go next.
____ Thomas finally discovered something different as he turned a corner and headed down a long hallway with no doors or other paths along its walls. Only one way to go. He swiftly moved through it, hoping it’d lead somewhere decisive, shooting any spare zombies meandering in his path. All the while Professor Joetex continued his story after a brief period of silence:
____ “What a wretched tale my life was. Pointless self destruction masquerading as discovery. I see now that knowledge without purpose is useless. I always thought everyone around me was so selfish, so self-serving. I can still understand that part of myself, or anyone who feels that way to this day. I think Apostle just exploited my discontent. I should’ve been as horrified as Ruxus at what King could do, instead of foolishly looking at it as a scientific opportunity. This was the devil’s work from the beginning; the moon is proof enough of that. It was never my intention to hurt people… and what a naďve thought at that. No, I knew what I was doing. I just never worked up the courage to admit it until it was too late… … … … …”
____ Thomas traversed the hall and moved on to the lone room ahead. This place seemed to be some kind of control center, the walls lined with security feeds. Although it was a big room, two rows of large servers on either end as well as numerous control panels kept it cluttered. It wasn’t bathed in red light like the surrounding area, instead illuminated in a cold lifeless blue florescent.
____ There were many entrances to this room, but just about all of them were shuttered. Thomas kept his weapon at the ready anyway, the big servers making it impossible to see everything in this place. Enemies could easily come in from one of the other entrances without being spotted. He waited for everyone to catch up before beginning to slowly move forward. Reed was the last one in, quickly closing the shutter behind them all and breathing a sigh of relief. It was now quiet, save for the speaking voice. Thomas could still hear the Professor, louder than before:
____ “I’m so sorry this meager cure is the best I can do. It won’t even begin to undo all the damage I’ve helped cause, but it’s a first step in halting Apostle. I’ve sealed the building and released the virus onto the staff. Victor will kill whoever’s left and make sure no one comes in or out. They still haven’t caught onto me yet…
____ “…These were the people who took me in. They were understanding of my goals when no one else was. They helped me achieve everything I dreamed of. …Even if King has to be stopped, it means I’m alone again.”
____ Thomas stepped out into the center of the room, his eyes following the noise to the left. There was a control panel at the wall, more security feeds above them. A lone man was slumped in a chair at the panel but he was just a corpse, shot dead instead of zombified. One of the monitors was playing a recording of Professor Joetex. He looked old and withered, aged beyond his likely years and worn down. From the background Thomas could discern that it was recorded in this very room, the Professor sitting where the corpse was now.
____ “Something caught yer eye, Thomas?” Header caught up.
____ He pointed to the screen, “I was talking to a recording this whole time.”
____ The video had been quiet for a while, Joetex rubbing his eyes slowly and staring at the screen. He just looked so tired, taking his time working up the will to continue talking in long sighs.
____ “How long have I been holed up in here waiting? Sealed in myself, foolishly expecting them to send help right away. Is this my punishment? It’s perhaps fitting: I don’t think I could look anyone in the eye out there knowing what I’ve done. I’m a traitor to both sides now.” He paused again, “I’m sorry. I can’t do it. I can’t face it. I’ve abandoned Apostle and now I’ve been abandoned by Nazar. Is it ironic that even when it’s a cure to the virus the outside world still isn’t interested in my work?
____ “I’m out of time. I can’t deliver this anymore. I can only hope my cure falls into the right hands. I’ve turned my back on my organization, and I can’t rely on the feds. Who can I still count on? People, ordinary people. The ones a scientist’s work is supposed to serve. Well, here’s my gift to you.” He held up a vial full of pink liquid and shook it at the screen, then set it back down before continuing wearily, “I know just raw hope is about as low as you can sink scientifically, but it’s all I have left. For us the desperate, maybe it’s enough… Listen, whoever finds this. Whoever you might be, just please don’t forget me. Please know that I’m sorry. For what it’s worth… for all it’s worth. Forgive me, and goodbye.”
____ Joetex leaned back and held a pistol up, jamming the barrel directly underneath his jaw. He didn’t wait long to fire.
____ Bang!
____ And there he was in person, sat before all those monitors dead. No more than a corpse now, hard to tell how long he’d been so. After several seconds the screens flickered to life again, replaying the recording he’d left behind from the beginning, “Yes, welcome. To whoever’s listening. My name is Professor Harold Joetex. Welcome to my laboratory…”
____ Thomas frowned at the corpse, not quite fully understanding the Professor’s reasoning for taking his own life. But still part of him felt pity, imagining a man seeking some redemption waiting endlessly for Nazar, who never came. What a waste. At the very least he could still take the cure.
____ The cure. Beside the Professor’s corpse were a small rack of test tubes. There were only six, each filled with that bright pink liquid. That was it, the Professor’s last work to undo his life’s work. It was real, it was there. Would it truly do its job? Only taking it back safely to VACC would unveil that mystery. But for now, its mere existence was enough to satisfy. Suddenly their risks and losses were justified. Humanity was going to make a comeback.
____ Thomas smiled at the sight, finding it almost unreal, and stepped forward past the servers and counters, heading over to Joetex, “Your work hasn’t been entirely forgotten, Professor.”
____ Out of nowhere, on the other side of the room someone else stepped out and strode over. He was a young man wearing a black overcoat, practically walking straight into the group as he turned the corner past one of the servers and strolled in.
____ It was a surprise confrontation, unexpected and sudden in its immediacy. Thomas stepped back and grabbed his pistol, startled. And he wasn’t the only one.
____ The man looked just as surprised to see them as they were to see him, stepping away and throwing the edges of his coat back to reveal two pistols holstered to his hips. Thorn and Header similarly raised their weapons in surprise, but both parties quickly recognized the other as human and stopped themselves.
____ “Ah! You’re human…!” The young man relaxed his grip on his pistols and eased up, “I almost shot you to ribbons! This place is crawling with zombies, you know.”
____ “You don’t say…” Thomas mumbled, conversing gradually reducing the tension. Finally glad to run into something in this place that wasn’t some kind of terrible monster. And a conversation meant time to actually pause and breathe a bit. They were all so high-strung at this point that really this guy was the one lucky not to have been shot to pieces.
____ “Mmn.” Header merely grunted, slowly lowering his rifle, “Same to you, fella. I didn’t think there were still folks livin’ around here.”
____ “Quite. The lights in this section turning on gave me a hint.” The man said, “Who are you people? How did you get here?”
____ “Okay, pay close attention…” Header pointed to each and every one of them, “I’m Sgt. Header. This ‘ere is Thomas. That’s Cpl. Thorn an’ that’s Stanley. Jaxson, Stacey… Brooke, Gene, an’ Reed. We jus’ wandered in. Who the hell ‘re you?”
____ “Sorry. My name is Elias.” The young man folded his overcoat to hide his pistols, perhaps trying to look a bit more formal. Thomas took that as a gesture of peace and put his own weapon away, taking the time to get a good look at this stranger.
____ He was a bit of an odd looking fellow: tall and thin, a sharp handsome face and a head full of long golden hair that juxtaposed his entirely black attire. Matching colors made his garb look more like a uniform than typical clothes. While Thomas’ group were all filthy from all the running and fighting, Elias didn’t have a speck of undead blood on him. Clearly he took the time to ensure he looked presentable between fights, or at the very least was adept at avoiding them altogether.
____ His boots had exceptionally tall heels for men’s footwear. That was the odd detail that stood out the most to Thomas.
____ “I came here for shelter a while back. Turns out it’s not the best place for it, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.” Elias explained.
____ “Oh, it’s just spiffy.” Thomas said, “We’re going to be out of here in a minute anyhow.”
____ Elias shrugged, “I don’t suppose you could show me the way while you’re at it? This place is a labyrinth. There’s hardly any way in or out. I’ve been lost in here for two days.”
____ Brooke raised an eyebrow, “Oh my. You’re lucky to be alive!”
____ He chuckled a bit, “Well I’d barricaded myself in a single room, but the overhead speakers lured me out here. I suppose I owe whoever flipped the power switch a Thank You.”
____ Thomas breathed a sigh of relief, “That’d be me. It was on the lower floor. Let’s not leave through that way. Which reminds me: boy do I have a story to tell you all on the way back.”
____ Jaxson kept the cure in mind, tilting his head toward it as he talked, “Speaking of leaving…”
____ “Oh, right! The cure!” Stacey said, “Sorry, Mr. Elias. We can talk more on the way home. We’ve gotta get this cure back to base. Making friends can wait!”
____ “Cure…? A cure? Those?” Elias eyed the pink vials, “I was holed up within walking distance of a cure to the zombies? I suppose I owe you an apology on top of the Thank You.”
____ Thomas shrugged, not bothering to navigate all the manners, “Don’t sweat it. Traversing this place is a nightmare.”
____ “Yeah.” Gene agreed, “Wandering through this hellhole for days and still not finding this particular room? I’d believe it.”
____ “I’ll get the cure.” Brooke offered, walking over and taking one of the vials. She couldn’t help but pause and curiously examine it. It was such an alluring color of bright pink, almost looking like liquid candy. What was in it that could counteract the virus, she wondered. Could it revert the undeath, or did it only serve to prevent infection from bites or the chemical bombs? Sadly Joetex wasn’t around to answer such questions anymore. They’d have to take it back to VACC so the other “brilliant minds” there could take a good look. That could end up being a whole other can of worms, but at least there were no zombies there so they could take as long as they wanted figuring it out.
____ Elias watched her, gladly backing off, “Yes, yes. By all means. That’s far more important than anything. Go right ahead. I didn’t mean to interrupt such an important mission.”
____ “Yeah, I guess you could call it that.” Stacey seemed to like the terminology, “We’re on the most important mission in the universe!”
____ “I suppose.” Elias said, “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you find out about this place? You don’t look like any special forces or anything. I’d figured if anyone found out about any cure, they’d send in the entire army. Where are you taking it back to? Provided it’s a safe place, I don’t suppose I could come with you?”
____ “Where? VACC?” Stacey said, “They were willing to house Reed here, so I don’t see why you’d be a problem.”
____ Elias smiled warmly, “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
____ While the two were talking, Header stared at him in silent contemplation. Seeming to come to a conclusion of sorts, the Sergeant slowly but suddenly raised his rifle again and pointed it squarely at Elias.
____ Stacey caught notice first, “Header? What are you doing!?”
____ “What gives?” Jaxson demanded.
____ Header wasn’t swayed by their words, staring Elias in the eyes and refusing to break contact, “I was just getting to thinkin’, this fella’s looking mighty neato for a trapped survivor. Clean clothes, perfect hair and skin… It ain’t right—somethin’ about it anyway. And then I got to noticin’ that patch on his left sleeve.”
____ Sure enough, there was a embroidery on Elias’ coat arm, hard to see from the front but unmistakably picturing the very same Apostle symbol that had decorated this entire place. And it wasn’t like the uniform he wore had been present anywhere in the facility. It looked tailor-made for him, not swiped off of any corpse.
____ Header continued, “You’re one of them, aren’t you, Elias?”
____ All while Header had been talking Elias merely stared right back at him, not a hint of surprise or desperation on his face. Unreadable. He didn’t move a muscle at the accusation, instead calmly replying, “Yes. I am.”
____ His direct response took just about everyone aback. Thomas was plainly shocked at his own shock. No, it wasn’t that terribly surprising; it was more than some mere revelation. It was the unreal feeling of actually talking to one of these people. Sure, there had been Silvin, but as far as Thomas knew that nut was nothing more than a goon let loose to cause more trouble. To make an already bad situation worse. He wasn’t among the roots of the problem. Here they were talking to one of the
architects of the zombie outbreak. It was outright surreal.
____ Header didn’t seem as fazed, nodding to the vials on the counter, “Then I reckon you’re here for those. Not to fetch them but to destroy them?”
____ “Yes, that’s correct.” Elias answered.
____ His statement was met with silence for a few seconds, everyone a little unsure where to go from here. Brooke was the first to speak up again, stepping forward and shouting at Elias in an almost betrayed tone, “Why!? Why would you do this? All of this? To the whole world! Do you have any idea how many people—how insanely many people—are dead because of you?! How could you!?”
____ Elias’ gaze turned to her, “How could I not? The reason for Apostle’s existence is simpler than you could possibly imagine: to destroy this world. Not because we hated it, but because it hated us first.”
____ “What?”
____ Now he spoke to all of them, “Normal people do what they do because it works for them. They are incapable of seeing their lives in any other way. But those of us exiled from the illusion see it for what it really is. A corrupt vile sham of an existence. I was cast out for witnessing the truth about your lives. It killed me and I wanted it all dead in return. I thought I was alone in that pursuit, so agonizingly alone. But in time I found others like me. Hundreds, no, thousands who shared that same goal! We banded together with nothing but our own righteous hate, and that was all we needed.”
____ “So you all decided to judge the whole world based on your own views.” Thomas muttered, hardly won over by Elias’ vague reasoning.
____ “Apostle is the only jury worthy of determining humanity’s fate. Its eyes are incorruptible. We on the outside see the world for what it is, unbribed by its distractions and denials. Look at your humanity. A corrupt, contemptuous, sickening, sinful race. Ignorance alone keeps hope in it alive.” Elias remained calm, pacing only as much as Header’s pointed gun would allow as he went on, “Oh yes, we have been watching. And no truly objective judge would say anything less than ‘destroy it all’. Temporary pleasures and opiates will not appease us, excuses and promises will not sway us. We will see it all destroyed, down to the last man, woman, and child. That is the only justice left for this planet.”
____ “Justice?!” Brooke was appalled. She wanted to throw something at him for his cruel words, but had nothing save for the delicate cure. “That’s what you call this? Do you have any idea how much pain and suffering you’ve caused? You’ve ruined the lives of countless people all for the sake of some kind of personal revenge! You call all that horrible, terrible hurt ‘Justice’!? How could you!?”
____ “Nobody cries when everyone dies.” Elias offered.
____ “Okay, so basically you’re a maniac enforcer.” Header scoffed, “I’m almost disappointed. Just another buncha terrorists at the end of the day.”
____ “Have you not seen the moon or the signs? It was more than solidarity that brought Apostle together, you know. The Power behind us is more than any mortal man could ever hope to achieve. I have seen it, and it hates you.”
____ The Apostle’s eyes happened to fall upon Stacey as he spoke, and she couldn’t help but flinch and lower her gaze. Believing him. Recalling her night in the hotel and the presence she had encountered then, and then again to Abbey the very next night under the second full moon. His words repeated, “It
hates you.”
____ Header however remained unfazed, motioning with his rifle, “Yeah, whatever. Put yer hands on yer head and turn around slowly. Yer comin’ with me. I know a few people who’d just
love to talk to you.”
____ “So be it.” Elias obeyed, facing away from the group and awaiting further instructions.
____ “Al’ight. Let’s move.” The Sergeant commanded, glancing to Brooke, “Ma’am, grab all them vials. We’re gettin’ the hell outta here.”
____ “Right.” Brooke turned to fetch the remaining samples.
____ “Atta girl. Corporal, go ahead an’ git this bastard’s guns.”
____ “Aye sir.” Thorn advanced to their hostage.
____ “
Urk!!” Elias moved first, suddenly straightening up and clutching his chest. Any words from him were reduced to a gurgle, his movements nothing more than a spasm. He fell. Immediately Thorn backed off, not wanting a sudden bite.
____ “The hell!?” Header paused, unsure what was happening to the man. It didn’t look like any zombie transformation he’d seen. Not that it mattered: he ought to shoot him either way just to be safe.
____ Unfortunately that brief hesitation was all that was needed: Elias collapsing backwards. As he did so, he pressed his chin down hard and pulled out both his pistols, landing without hitting his head and immediately opening fire upon his captors. No holds barred on the trigger-fingers, a flurry of bullets lighting up the lab.
____ Bangbangbangbangbangbangbang!!!
____ “Sh*t!” Two rounds struck Header squarely in the chest, his vest catching the small bullets but the impact more than enough to knock him on his ass.
____ “Scatter!” Thorn shouted, hitting the dirt the second he saw Elias’ pistols aiming his way. It sounded like a machinegun: the number of shots offed so quick. Nobody needed a second reminder, all ducking for cover or throwing themselves to the ground.
____ Elias remained on his back, one of his pistols turning to Brooke as soon as everyone else was out of sight. Another cluster of bullets went her way:
Bangbangbangbang!!!
____ She screamed and dove behind one of the servers, crawling out of her attacker’s line of sight. She could feel her hand bleeding as she went, a quick look revealing that the vial she held was nothing more than shards of broken glass. Rent apart by a stray bullet.
____ Elias ceased firing and rolled over, ducking behind some of the waist-high control panels on the opposite half of the room and quickly reloading both pistols with impressive speed. Emptied high-capacity magazines clattered onto the floor, Elias having plenty more to spare on his person.
____ Header cursed, groaning in pain from the shots, and pulled himself out of sight behind one of the control panels. He pounded his shoulder hard, both to divert pain and as punishment for falling for such a simple stupid trick. Now they had another obstacle to deal with.
____ “What’s it going to be?” Elias asked them all from behind his cover, “Your lives or the cure? Stave off death for a short while or a long one?”
____ “Give it up, buster!” Gene boasted loudly, “You’re hopelessly outnumbered!”
____ “Ah, Christ.” Thomas chastised, hurriedly cramming what few bullets he had left into his weapon, “Why would you say that? You know exactly what’s he’s going to say now—”
____ “Check again. You’re the outnumbered ones.” Elias said, throwing several levers on the control panel he hid behind. “I've lots of friends in this place.”
____ “Yeah, that. He’ll say that.” Thomas grumbled, spotting a shuttered door near him slowly opening. Already there were hungry zombies waiting on the other side, pouring into the room and diving straight for them. Thomas aimed and fired liberally, backing up and taking down the closest ones first.
____ Elias must’ve spotted him moving behind the servers, getting up and lighting up the area with gunfire.
Bangbangbangbang!!!
____ “Aah!” Thomas ducked down as sparks flew everywhere around him, caught between two hazards. The only zombie left ran up and simply fell on top of him, ugly mouth opened wide.
____ Thomas shoved his gun into its jaws, holding it off with the barrel and firing. Even though it was technically a headshot, the bullet pierced through its mouth without taking any brain matter with it. The zombie ignored the wound and kept biting, Stacey thankfully racing over to his side.
____ The wall behind her lit up with bullet holes as Elias tried to punish the move, but the sound of Thorn returning fire kept him at bay. Stacey stooped to Thomas’ side and crammed her knife right into the zombie’s cranium.
____ “Ah!” Thomas squinted and winced as the monster’s blood spilt on top of him, shoving the creature off once it finally stopped moving. He sat up and wiped the muck off, “Thanks, Stacey.”
____ “Eh, I’m good for a few things. Bailing out you pratfalling gun-toters in particular.” She bragged, Thomas only half-listening as he looked around the room. There were plenty of shuttered doors when they’d entered, and now all of them were opening. He could already hear the noises of the undead inside, and more down the various halls. Closing in on their still location, having been drawn in by the noise and the living lingering in there.
____ “We can’t dawdle.” He told her, “We need to kill that guy and get that cure. And get the hell out of here. I imagine the longer we take the more company we’ll have.”
____ They were stuck between the cure and their exit, Elias forcing them to lay low and zombies wandering in from all sides. Thomas shot another one and peered around the corner. The remaining vials were still by Joetex’s corpse, out in the open on Elias’ side of the room. If he spotted anyone swiping them he’d have the clear shot to turn them into Swiss cheese. And as an akimbo shot he could do so even while trading fire with another.
____ “Heads up everyone!” Thorn warned, zombies pouring in from his end of the room. While the faster zombies had raced to their doom early on in the group’s trek through the lab, the slower zombies gradually built up. Now they were permitted entry: sluggish but numerous. Jaxson and the two soldiers backed up and fired upon the encroaching horde, kept plenty busy.
____ Elias took advantage of their stolen attention and the brief respite it brought him, aiming his weapons at the cure vials and firing freely upon them. The control panel lit up with sparks, two of the five remaining test tubes shattering. Their precious contents spilled onto the floor, useless. Only three remained.
____ “Sh*t!” Thomas aimed and fired at him, missing but at least scaring him away from the cure. Elias ducked down low and returned fire, his doubled firearms forcing Thomas to back off too. They both hid and reloaded.
____ “Thomas!” Brooke crawled over, “It broke! I need another one!”
____ He swiped a glance at her bleeding hand, “Don’t try anything. He’s guarding it. Anyone who goes over there will be right out in the open.”
____ “But we
need it!”
____ “Well, let me work on that. If we could flank that bastard or something…” Thomas struggled to reload fast. Elias had the luxury of higher-capacity weapons as well as plenty of spare magazines. He could reload quickly and efficiently, not lowering his guard for long. That and his numerous undead pals would make him difficult to dispatch.
____ Anyone who tried getting over to where he was cowering would get at least a dozen shots in the chest. And although they needed the cure, no one would sacrifice anyone else just to keep Elias busy. Maybe if they could kill enough zombies to catch a break, but the undead weren’t stopping.
____ Thomas cursed under his breath and slipped the mag back into his pistol. He’d spent plenty of shots already, but the zombies were endlessly advancing. Reload faster, faster…
____ Before he could pull back the slide to load the first bullet, an Initiated sprinted over to him. Stanley spotted the monster and shot it dead with his rifle, a shot so impressive it might’ve been accidental.
____ “Tha—” Thomas began to thank him but hit the dirt again as Elias lit up the area with more gunfire, punishing Stanley for giving up his position.
____ “Agh!” Stanley’s ear was clipped by one of the many rounds. He too hit the dirt, clutching the wound and shouting through tight-gritted teeth. Not much time to spend over it, more zombies walking in demanding attention. They bunched together as they entered the rows of servers their prey were hiding between. Stanley killed three in a single shot while they were tightly packed, cursing all the while, “Damn you! You killed my wife! You took my bride!”
____ Thomas couldn’t tell if he was talking to Elias or the zombies. Perhaps both. He summoned that same righteous drive into his own heart, everything that they’d all lost focused into determination to defeat their enemies. They’d all come too far—Elias wasn’t going to win. Not a chance.
____ He aimed his pistol and spent its renewed ammunition on the enclosing zombies. Brooke crawled away while he held them off, and Stanley took the breather to return fire on Elias.
____ A shot from Reed had already forced Elias to hide again, the second shot from Stanley keeping him ducked down. Brooke stayed low and watched, biting her lip and waiting for a chance. She would run out and take the cure right then, but zombies migrating from Elias’ side of the room were obstructing the way.
____ Somehow they seemed to sense his allegiance, blatantly ignoring him as they closed in on Brooke’s group in mounting numbers. So Elias was like Nazar. She had almost forgotten, that having been her first exposure to the zombies—still in shock and not yet familiar with the rules. Did it mean that Elias had a cure of his own? Why then was he here trying to destroy Joetex’s? Was immunity something only Apostle had for itself? What did that mean for Nazar? She didn’t know and didn’t have time to think on it. Elias spotted her lurking by the server, one pistol aiming around his cover and sending her scurrying back behind the server with gunfire.
____ Stanley fired again as he ventured back out, missing. It was too damn hard to aim with an injured arm, but damn it all if he wasn’t going to kill that bastard. He’d made a pact with his wife to make a difference for once, and Elias wasn’t going to snuff it out at the last minute. Ignoring the missed shot, Elias peppered Thorn with pistol fire, keeping the Corporal behind cover. Stanley stepped out and fired again.
BANG!!!
____ The only thing he hit was a lock of Elias’ hair. This time the enemy gave him focus, sending a hail of bullets his way. One punched into Stanley’s gut, knocking him down. He hit the floor hard, the severe injury shattering his drive.
____ “Stanley!!” Brooke shouted, reaching out and struggling to pull him behind cover. Elias let her, instead continuing to fire on the remaining cure vials, eliminating another one before Header sent him ducking down again.
____ Above them all the ceiling speakers continued to replay Joetex’s lengthy recording, nothing but background noise while they fought. Its repeated words slowly fizzled out, replaced by static white noise like snow on an old TV. It was an odd detail, one Brooke brushed aside as she dragged Stanley back and looked at the bullet wound. It was bad.
____ The static above persisted. More strange was what came next: the sound fading in turn, the voices of people talking filling the void. It didn’t sound like the Professor, just some other person. And who else? It sounded like Stanley. No, more than sounded like—it was him. That stole Brooke’s attention, both her and Stanley looking up to the ceiling in morbid wonder and listening.
____ “Okay, right.” The unknown voice chuckled, “Back on track. Do you take this… lady to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
____ “Sure, I don’t see why not.” The Stanley on the speakers replied.
____ “That’s not what you’re supposed to say.”
____ “Okay, I do.”
____ The real Stanley grit his teeth in pain, struggling to sit up, “Not like this…!”
____ Brooke gave him some space, not sure what to do. She couldn’t exactly stop him from moving, or even do much to help at all regarding his wound.
____ “And do you take this…” A bit of laughter from above, “this asshat to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
____ Silence.
____ After a few seconds the unknown voice continued, “Excellent. The groom will now read his personal vows.”
____ Stanley struggled to get to his feet, half of his body feeling like it was going to collapse inward under the strain of the bullet lodged in his side. It hurt to move, but that was just part of life. Initiated were preoccupying Header and Reed, plenty of zombies keeping everyone else busy. So, so many of them. Elias was again aiming for the remaining cure vials, luxuriously free to do so while the undead burdened everyone around him. Stanley aimed his rifle and fired, sparks flying behind Elias’ head sending him ducking back down.
____ “Damn… damn…!” Stanley muttered, the barrel of his gun wavering in the air. Shelley could shoot straight. He was too injured. And his time was only running out from there.
____ From one of the halls on Elias’ side of the room another Doorman ran in. It took one look at Stanley and bared its fangs, immediately sprinting over. He spotted it racing up and knew he was finished, firing and missing and just listening to the ceiling speaker.
____ “It’s really rare these days for someone to just know who exactly is right for them.” The Stanley over the speaker said, “But I’ll always remember the first time I met you, instantly thinking ‘this woman is going to be your wife’. I don’t know how I knew. It just all fell into place.”
____ “
Stanley!!” Brooke shouted. He looked like he was almost in a trance, not bothering to bolt his weapon even as the Doorman rushed up to him. She leaned out and yanked him back, the two falling to the floor again.
____ “Wheeeee!” The Doorman shrieked, ramming itself into one of the servers as Stanley was pulled away. Brooke wrenched the rifle out of her friend’s hands and clumsily bolted it, finding it harder than it looked. The Doorman merely stared down at them, as if amused at her attempts to kill it with only a single firearm. Brooke herself felt almost as stupid as she was desperate, trying to load a single shot when she knew full well these creatures could take dozens to kill. Undaunted by Brooke, it reached out for Stanley to finish him off.
____ Thank God for Stacey, bravely stabbing the monster in its back to buy Brooke time. It shrieked and whirled around, swinging its long heavy arms around in some blind attempt to clobber one of them. Stacey bolted and Brooke finally aimed and fired, striking the Doorman directly on its neck.
____ All the while the speakers above continued to talk: “And even when everything else around me was uncertain, and even when I constantly doubted myself, I always knew for a fact that one day I’d marry you. That was the one absolute of my life. …Er, I know this sounds kind of nonconsensual, but it was romantic, I promise.”
____ The sound of a distant crowd chuckling followed, the noise crackling a bit over the intercom as if it was a lower-quality recording.
____ “Uh, anyway, that vision was more than a mere milestone. It was a whole life. And that life starts right now. If you’ll have me, Shelley.”
____ Brooke’s gunshot only seemed to p*ss the Doorman off. It screamed horribly and swung both its arms around, pounding the server by the two and knocking it over. Stanley finally recollected himself, staring up at Brooke. She’d taken up his gun and was insistent on protecting him even as he lay there useless.
____ In a burst of sudden energy he sat up, grabbed her and shoved her to the wall as the server fell over. It collapsed on top of him, squeezing blood out of his wounds and pinning him to the floor.
____ That was bad news for him. The Doorman was obviously an attention-sponge, demanding to be dealt with and enabling other zombies to freely enter the room unnoticed. Already some were limping over to Stanley while he was stuck, easy prey. Thomas ducked to avoid the Doorman’s madly swinging arms and cursed as he reloaded. They were getting overwhelmed and he couldn’t fire a single shot at the moment. The best he could do was run over to Brooke, who looked too shocked to move. With the server knocked over she was in clear sight of Elias—Thomas had to help. Stanley he couldn’t do anything about.
____ Brooke fumbled with the rifle, firing at one of the zombies approaching Stanley but missing. Thomas hurried to her side and pulled her behind cover.
____ “The bride will now read her personal vows.” The voice above announced, followed by more silence.
____ Stanley wheezed with pain and exhaustion as the nearest zombie closed in and stooped down. He didn’t have anything left to say, just pointlessly trying to avoid the incoming bite. The zombie watched him pull his arm away, instead just leaning over and biting his neck. More closed in for the meal.
____ “Stanley!” Brooke shouted, screaming and ducking down as gunfire from Elias tore up the server she was behind. Thomas stayed next to her, just trying to avoid the Doorman while others shot it up. A well-placed round from Reed finally pierced its head and it collapsed, but the damage was already done.
____ More and more zombies were piling into the room, they were down another friend and there was no end in sight. Brooke stared at Stanley buried under the zombies on top of him, both horrified and emboldened. The radio above continued to play that recording, now just the unknown speaker and the distant crowd laughing at his coy remarks. She looked helplessly to the ceiling. What did it want from them?
____ No more. They were getting the cure and now. No matter what it might cost her. She snapped her arm away from Thomas and got to her feet, ditching the rifle for speed and just bolting for the cure. Not caring for the zombies in the way or the armed man guarding it. If they took any longer they’d all go down one way or another.
____ “I’ve got it!” She shouted, running past the zombies and making a mad dash for the vials. There was only one left at this point, one last chance to accomplish their mission. Elias obviously heard her, rising to his feet and aiming for the easy shot as she rushed over and swiped one.
____ Thomas barely had time to register what she was even doing. The only conclusion he could reach in the time he had was Idiot. She was basically sacrificing herself as far as he was concerned, for nothing if the vial got blown away with her. Maybe that was okay from her point of view. It wasn’t from his. Death couldn’t have her.
____ “NO!” Without thinking things through for a second, Thomas sprinted over, leapt, and tackled Elias. There wasn’t a hint of self-preservation in his thought process, only doing everything he could to keep the enemy’s aim off of Brooke. The two of them rolled along the floor, Elias quickly recovering and easily kicking Thomas off of him.
____ Stumbling back, Thomas felt his shoulders press against the wall. Unable to do anything but stare down the barrels of Elias’ twin pistols as he leveled them at the interruption. They weren’t further than ten feet apart with nothing between them, Thomas knowing full well that it was over. Well, not as long as those pistols weren’t aiming at Brooke or the cure, but for him it was over. The best he could do was close his eyes and wait for it, knowing full well that nothing was waiting for him on the other side. Both barrels went alight as Elias emptied their clips onto his prey.
____ Bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang!!!
____ Then silence.
May 27th, 2017, 04:50 PM
TAF was the Storyteller... 
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