Zombiefest Ch. 01

This story is inspired by a wonderful story called A Different Virus, if you have not read it, this story can stand on it's own, but I really do suggest reading A Different Virus and written by CrystalScherer. I consider their stories to be very fun and exciting to read.

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The grunts and groans were not the sounds of pleasure, nor were they from anyone but me. Yep I am the poor sap making all the noises in a room closed and locked up tightly. See that man strapped to the bed with the IV lines and monitor cables running every which way? Yep that's me alright. A stupid moron who could not for the life of him refuse an order no matter how dangerous. Yep, at this point I am a wreck just waiting to happen, or maybe it already has, at this point who knows. Oh and to make it even more interesting, those Doctors who are suppose to be watching my condition? Now they are watching their meal squirm on a bed, somehow during all of this they allowed a Zombie to just walk right into the Fort and decimate everyone. Now they are trying to find their way into my room so they can eat me. Doesn't help I keep yelling 'Bite Me!' at them every time there is a lull in the pain.

Lets back track a bit, Zombies, yep you heard right, mother friggen Zombie-ass-Monsters roam the planet. Have been for a little over five years now. The Populations of every country decimated within months of their arrival. The problem is that not only did people get turned into Zombies, but those who were buried rose up and began eating people. Unless of course they were dust or their heads somehow separated from their bodies. The whole thing started, of course, back in the labs of one of the freaking MANY science groups. Now you would think bringing the dead back to life would be a bad idea, right? Nope, Military applications in being able to do this was off the charts. Funny thing was, it wasn't even something looked for, the drug was suppose to be something a guy took in order to prevent pregnancy. Women have the pill, so Men should have a pill. People, condoms have been working very well for decades. But no.. instead the whole thing went from lets make sure there isn't an oops to lets have a Undead Army. Am I the only one who could see just how many screw ups that would create?

Apparently so.... dumb asses...

Stage one, there's the Military in all their Glory running test after test out in the middle of the Nevada Desert running their little mad scientist routine. Stage two, add in a couple hot heads who don't like the idea of bringing back the dead and acting like God. Stage three, said hot heads are running from the base, after letting all the Undead loose, and heading to.. where else? You got it, Las Vegas the biggest airport around that flies to every known civilization on the planet, with one or two shuttles to the Station in case the guys up there get bored, just kidding about the shuttles. Now these Hot heads have done a couple things, well more then a couple actually. First they stole several samples of the virus that was waking up the Dead. Only no one has any idea how it affects living people, why, because who is stupid enough to volunteer to get subjected to a drug that raises the dead?

My point exactly....

One vial breaks open at the airport, the affects are not immediate. Another vial is broken at some Airport in France where one hot head is trying to get back to his family. The Other Vial was in the luggage of the second hot head and while he landed in DC, his luggage went to Mexico, go figure...

The news went crazy as Vegas went nuts. Yep people would suddenly have their eyes roll back in their heads, they would hit the ground only to jump back up moaning and grunting while attacking anything that moved. Oddly enough they never went after animals, just Humans. While animals were also immune to the actual virus and the undead didn't care about them. The animals on the other hand did their best to stay away from the undead, can't say I blamed them. I tried to keep my distance as well, note the word TRY. Yep I got freakin bit during my turn at Guard duty. I am, or was depending how you look at it, a Major in a Special Forces Unit, mainly Black Ops that most will never hear about and few would believe. I trained all my life at Hand to Hand combat, Edged Weapons, Hand Guns, Rifles, even flew a Chopper when it was needed. Problem was when fifty plus Zombies storm your position, kind of hard to use those skills when they are just rushing you.

So I got bit, back of my shoulder. Now at the time we didn't have reliable intel. How long until a change occurs or anything. Most of the time the Zombies ate them down until they just couldn't come back. But other times they did come back, only warning you got was when they would suddenly stiffen up and fall back, instantly they would jump up and you'd wait to hear Just Kidding or Gotcha.. nope instead you get a snarl and everyone is running. So I got bit, average wait time until someone turned? No one knew because most were not paying attention, they were too busy running. I got thrown into a Chopper and flown from Washington State down to Nevada where it all started. Apparently there is no shortage of Scientists and no shortage of Needles, did I mention I hate Needles? No? well I do, so bite me....

For the next eighteen months they are injecting this, testing that and mhmm'ing at everything. Was starting to wonder if they were another form of Zombie given their lack of verbal skills. And yep somewhere in all of that I didn't turn into a red eyed flesh mongering Zombie. How? I have no clue and neither do these morons. Apparently they injected a counter to the original virus into me right when I landed. Problem was this, none of the vials were labeled and the boob who did it did not notice which vial it was or keep a sample of it. The affects were immediate, muscle aches, a prickly sensation that burned like fire racing through my body. My vision would blur either from pain or something else and a headache like no other. And no I have not been living with those lovely affects in my body the whole time, they would last about an hour or two. Then I would be fine for a few weeks only to have it happen again every time they tried to inject something else into my system. Over and over again they would try to match this up or that, they took blood by the gallons through the month. I could hear them even through the six inch glass ranting at each other about still not finding a cure or vaccine or a way to even reverse it all. You learn a lot when you have nothing to do but exercise and listen, that was how I found out about how it all started.

So back to here we are, or here I am anyways, the hour or two long painfest has finally run it's course into hour two and finally ended, and now I am staring at my red eyed Doctors and Superior Officers and they all want to bite my ass. Just perfect...

Looking around I realize that while I do have plenty of water, I am not so lucky when it comes to food. The door has a numeric keypad so the possibilities are endless. Did you know Zombies can't or won't blink? It's true, I sat staring at them for three hours and never saw even one of them blink. No idea why and it's rather creepy knowing that a monster is staring at you unblinking...

"Listens guys..." I start saying only to hear a growl as I amend, "..and Lady..." seems she liked being included because she stopped growling, "..as much as I enjoy your company.." so I lied, sue me.. "..you can't get to me and I can't get out, so you might as well go find someone new to hunt, what do you say?" that was, of course, met with many growls. I am taking that as a No...

I was starting to get thirsty now and it had been more then three hours sense the pain had stopped. With out them giving me more shots of whatever the hell they been giving, the pain had not returned either. This told me two things, First that the original cure was not causing reoccurring pain and Second that the Mad Scientists were in fact Sadists. I pulled at the straps and heard them rip loudly before my wrists pulled free. I really have no idea how they ripped away, they shouldn't have but right now I don't care. I need water and I need to get the hell out of here.

Feeling the air conditioner come on once again I looked up while sipping the water. The screen covering appears to be screwed in, but just how secure was it. The ceiling was set about ten feet up, so I moved the bed under it, the Zombies were either afraid their food was escaping or they were laughing while I balanced on top of a bed with wheels, you be the judge of that one. One of the things I did not notice was exactly how much my strength had improved. I knew that I was now able to do sit ups all day with out tiring same with pushups. But what else did it mean?

I slammed my fist into the covering and watched it buckle from the sudden impact. That was helpful.. Next I yanked it down to see exactly what I was working with in this possible escape plan. So looking up I found a fan motor in my way, the blade spinning slowly to direct air into the room. So rather then stick my hand into a spinning fan and turning my fingers into Sushi, I sat back down and waited. I could almost swear I hear one of the Zombies laughing at my attempt at freedom, so I did what any mature adult would do and I flipped them off.

I stared at the fan motor and waited for it to stop, last thing I wanted was to reach into spinning fan blades. My Momma didn't raise no fool... So there I am laying there watching the fan and wishing it would finally stop, just how long can one of them run for crying out loud?

Finally I got my wish and the fan blade whirled down slowly, I finally got impatient and reached up to stop the slow moving blade. With no power behind it, it was fairly simple. Reaching past the blade I was able to grasp the supports holding the motor and pulled hard against it. The frame work began to bend and finally tear away from the box it had been residing in.

Now here is the picture for those who forgot, I am standing on a bed with a very thick mattress. Four feet away is a thick paned glass floor to ceiling window, which has roughly twenty plus zombies just watching me and probably in amusement. And I am pulling a heavy seventy five plus pound fan motor down from the ceiling. With me so far? Good..

The motor comes loose and I fall to the floor and land painfully on my side. I watch, almost like it was slow motion, as the motor hits the bed and bounces off towards the glass window. Now on the other side, I can see the zombies gleeful expressions as their one wish to bite my ass is about to come true. The motor bounces harmlessly off the glass and hits the floor.

"If it was that easy to break the glass, I would have done that long ago.." I called out as they raged at being denied my ass once again. And once again I flipped them off like the fully mature adult, that I am. I am so out of here...

Climbing back up, I make sure not to cut myself on the sharp edges created by the broken structure where the motor had sat before I tore it out. It took a bit of doing to climb through the system, but at least I was free. And for some reason the ducts seemed to be lit up somehow because I can see perfectly fine in here. Moving along I find myself an access panel and listen for any movement before opening it. Finding nothing waiting in ambush, I slip out and head for the upper floors.

Once in the dorm area I found it empty as well, the staff and other soldiers either ran like hell, or they were turned and are lingering in the base at other locations. I used the shower, you can only tolerate sponge baths for so long before even they do not make you feel clean anymore. Once I felt clean I found the lockers and put on some fatigues in my size, socks and boots. Using a duffle bag I grab two more sets of clothes, four pairs of socks, four underwear and then loaded up on water and dried foods that could last a long time.

I walked through the base, surprisingly the electricity was still on and I found the Generals computer still operational. He must have been called suddenly because his computer files were still open. I downloaded everything to a memory strip, then I left it on. If someone else could access the data and it helped to create a cure or a vaccine for the zombies, let them have at it.

I was about to leave when I caught sight of something above the General's door, an old sword. It looked like one I had seen from the old Martial Arts films I enjoyed so much as a kid. And one I had practiced with while in training as I grew up. I pulled it down and strapped it on. Then started for the stairwell, I almost went for the main doors but then thought better of it. I could smell the death and decay beyond the door way which told me I did not want to go in there.

I went up to the roof and had to stop, the light was killing my eyes and caused pain. I pulled a hand kerchief from my bag and wrapped it around my eyes, it dulled down the light enough for me to see with out actual pain. I was going to have to find some real sunglasses. I noticed from my vantage point that the lobby was filled with Zombies who couldn't get out of the building, good thing I didn't go for the front door.

Out in the parking area it wasn't much better, with a sigh, I checked around and found my hearts desire. An old reconditioned Harley Motorcycle was sitting by the pumps, I smiled to myself. Siting in the carport sat a small camper designed to be hauled by a motorcycle or small car, the bike had a trailer hitch on it. Moving to the opposite side of the building I threw a few rocks, and a car started beeping and honking an alarm. Soon the Zombies had it surrounded and the ones by the bike had ran over to find out if the noise meant food. Once clear I lowered myself to the ground.

Popping open the gas cap I found the tank full. Then I pulled the mini camper over and hooked it up to the bike. With a bit of searching I found two five gallon cans and filled them with fuel as well and strapped them up to the camper. The keys to the bike still lay on the ground where someone had dropped them in their rush to flee. I turned the key in the ignition and then hit the starter, it did not turn over. Thankfully it still has a kick starter and I kicked it over. The loud rumble in the silence was nearly deafening and it was a call to zombies everywhere.

I spun the bike around as best I could with a trailer attached and with a herd of zombies following as best as they could we rolled out of the base heading North and off towards the Military base in Washington, Fort Lewis. I have no idea how long they would run before they gave up. I did notice one odd Zombie, she moved more easily, and ran much faster then the others. I nearly stopped thinking she might be a survivor outrunning the zombies. But when she was shoving some of them out of the way and saw her red eyes, I knew her for what she is, a Zombie. Faster and more coordinated, but still a Zombie.

Riding the Harley was a dream come true, no way I could afford one of these bad boys on a Military pay check. Not unless I wanted to be in debt for the rest of my life. Also trying to maintain a low profile, not a chance on a Harley, in a now quiet world, a Harley was a beacon that screamed dinner bell to any Zombie who could hear. I was able to find a couple gas stations, but with no power, no way to fill the tank. So the reserves got me further up the road then the tank alone would have, thankfully they were enough to get me past Las Vegas, even before I got bit that City had fallen hard and fast to the Zombie's.

I was about a hundred a fifty miles past Vegas when I started keeping a careful eye on the fuel gauge. Sure enough I finally had to pull off, found an old junk yard, no fuel to be had though. After checking to be sure it was clear of Zombies, I pulled the bike and trailer into the garage and removed fuel and oil from the engine and removed the battery. Then cleaned the plugs and covered the bike up, maybe someday someone would find her once this mess was cleaned up and she would be free once again. Alright I admit it, I did shed a tear having to store the bike away like this... so screw off...

Looking at the small camper, it was pretty light compared to something you haul behind a car. So I worked on a harness system that would hook up to the Camper and allow me freedom of movement for walking, jogging and even running. The Camper shell was on a trailer system that had leaf springs to absorb the shock of the road so anything inside would be treated with some amount of care. The tires were narrow and light weight as well which would make things much easier.

The harness was set on a swivel so I could turn slightly to check behind me if I found I needed to do it. One thing I did notice was that I should have been somewhat out of shape, even with the bit of working out I did. Instead I seemed more defined then ever before even when I was working out with free weights. I wasn't bulky, but most would still see me as a threat if they ever took a real look at me. While here at the shop I did take advantage of a descent shower, and I got another shock looking in the mirror. Instead of brown eyes mine were purple and they glowed depending on my mood or if I was trying to look around in the dark. I have no idea what them bastards did to me at the Base, but they damn well better be able to fix it.

I also found a good solid walking stick, only someone had a hidden surprise within it. Both ends were remove able and revealed hidden blades. Well that was definitely staying close by my side. After checking around and gathering fresh water, a few dried foods and canned foods. I strapped them to the rack on top of the Camper, that was so I wouldn't have to keep pulling everything out when I wanted to sleep. Satisfied with the lay out I ran around the junkyard a few times, even made sure to hit rougher terrain to insure everything stayed in place.

Wanted to be sure if a fix was needed I could take care of it here where I had an entire shop to work with. Then I pulled on a bandana around my head, stored the sword inside the camper and used the Double bladed staff as a walking stick. Damn good thing my Uncle was an expert with using a staff in fighting. With a sigh I left the Harley behind and began walking Northward.

My Old Base in Washington State should still be up and running and maybe I would get some answers. I have to say walking after an hour and a half was boring me to tears, so I picked up the pace to a jog and then a run. The run fell into a lope that somehow felt familiar even though I had never done it before, but it made time and conserved energy. Found myself running half the day almost non-stop. This was another shock, I mean pulling a trailer and still not getting tired?

I began to run mainly at night, for one I could see much better and further at night then I could during the day, I really wish someone could explain this crap to me. It was also cooler which helped quite a bit. I would sleep a few hours during the day, run a few hours and then nap again between meals before running again after the sun set.

I spotted a sign saying Reno, 85 miles. So I kept running, a little over an hour later another sign that said Reno, 22 miles. How in the hell am I crossing that many miles in such a short amount of time? Yeah this was getting crazier by the minute.

After some time went by I noted a small area with several buildings. I also noted the current tenants still milling about them with little to no movement as if waiting for something to attract their attention. Now I did notice that my sense of smell had sharpened considerably. Also you could tell how fresh Zombies had turned, the stronger the scent of death and decay, the more recent they had turned. As the Zombie got older from being a Zombie the decay would start to decrease until you had a more musky scent that was just as unique to a Zombie. All of these were on par of a musky scent, except there was also another scent as well. Something I was not familiar with, I had come across it a few times and while each time was unique, each one was slightly off from the others.