Zombies, But So Much More

Note: Okay I wanted to do a full on Zombie Story and actually did one about a year and a half ago. Actually had an editor look at it and he caught a lot of mistakes, I see a few more but I don't have the time to fix them all. It might be Long, might be weird. Might be in need of a total rework. I had debated letting this one die, if you like it leave me a note, if you don't sorry you wasted your time.

The tale of love and the end of the world actually saving the world.

Jack was working late, the news story broke out on the TV while he was in the break room at the obscure CDC Lab located in a DART facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. The news story started out as a madness report in New York with people being affected after getting a flu shot. The news story was very vague, but this seemed highly unlikely and something Jack's team should have known about if there was anything wrong in the supply line. Cutting his break very short he sealed off the building, his lab and break area were always sealed, nothing in or out. Logging onto his computer Jack pulled up the test results that were uploaded in New York. The sure thing about them was that the Flu vaccines were not tainted, and all the sample batches pulled showed a completely dead virus in them, just as they should.

Jack had his assistant, pull samples that they have and inject them into the test animals as he ran other tests. The data from New York was very good, it showed the trained eye that the vaccine was not contaminated.

Pulling up data on what happened to the infected people was bizarre. Of the three labs in New York one had quarantined a patient in their isolation ward, drew some blood from said patient along with samples of other bodily floods, and started the test getting about two-thirds of the data loaded onto the main server computers and they went dark. By dark there was no communication or alarms of any type. The computers in the facility were all offline with no remote access to even the security system. It was as if they went into total decontamination mode, but even that would trigger an alarm somewhere.

Jack didn't know it, but that was exactly what happened, the staff got infected in the sealed labs that were working on the samples with level 4 biofilters in place. The infection spread thru the building like wildfire, the electrical room technicians attacked one another, someone fell pulling the communications room's main power cut off relay arm down with him, causing the phone and computer lines to all go down at once. In the security center, the two officers in charge saw what was going on and following their duty, both inserting keys into the panel they were told would lock down the whole building and eradicate any infectious diseases protecting the community around them. They tried to contact their superior who at the time was busy eating his assistant, and per protocol they pushed the red button. The last thing they saw was red light flashing in the halls followed by a blinding flash as the small 'tactical' nuclear device in the core of the building sent out a pulse of neutron radiation, disintegrating the building all biological material within a quarter-mile of the lab.

Of course, Jack had no way of knowing this at the time. The other two labs were in lockdown mode, with no signs of infections. Reaching out for any hint of what was going on the other CDC facilities had no clues, but reports were coming in of strange attacks and bites. One comment he read online from a medical student was that the infected seemed to attack with the intent to ingest the endocrine glands of their victims. Most notably the Thyroid, Pituitary, mammary, ovaries and testes. All the victims that he has seen had at least their thyroid glands missing, most had their mammary glands and testes missing also.

Jack spoke out loud, "Good man. Good catch!"

Jack pulled the results of what blood work he could. Seems the infected patient they had data on had a deficiency three major hormones. Quickly he ordered tests for these hormones on all his staff members. Rushing the results, he found that only himself and one other individual had the correct levels. He had the others individually isolated in their secure isolation rooms, and ordered shots to bring their levels to normal, one person declined the injections saying she felt fine. He ordered her into isolation just in case, in his notes she was subject J.

His assistant by default now started testing on the staff in the rest of the building. Finding a small percentage of people that had correct levels. The questionnaire he developed showed that all of the building staff had the flu shots so he quickly ruled that out, sending his data to the other labs. He was advised to send the building staff with lower hormone levels home, and lock down the essential functions of the lab and to maintain the isolation of his direct staff and observe them closely and monitor the hormone levels in all of them.

The lab staff was very cooperative with them, and the few that had normal levels took very good care of them. The levels of the test group dropped requiring a repeated injection after about 6 hours to stay in the low to normal ranges.

Data from the other labs showed about the same results with the "Low H's" as they called the people with low hormone levels. At 12 hours in, Subject J had a notable change in hormone levels but still refused injections. Her levels dropped into the sub normal range, although not a life threating deficiency still very unusual. Jack ordered no direct contact with subject J, all tests were to be done remotely.

At Time + 14 hours subject J was complaining of overheating and demanding to be let out.

Jack reminded her that per her contract, they can hold her for up to 2 weeks for observation against her will for the safety of others.

At Time + 24 hours subject J stripped her clothes off and said she was hungry. When the food tray was brought to the technician who was her friend slid the tray in through isolation trap and said, you should really take the injections. With that Subject J lunged at the door, her eyes were bright red, her tongue darting back and forth in her mouth like a dog wanting your sandwich. Her breast had purple rings starting at her chest and going to her nipples, her neck had a big purple looking splotch over her thyroid gland.

As the team watched the video and then looking at her in the isolation area, now all grateful that they were getting injections, subject J repeatedly threw herself at the door.

The data from New York at this time was more and more gruesome. The infected exhibited almost the same symptoms as subject J. The Labs in Atlanta came up with the observation that sunlight helps the people with Low hormone levels to hold out longer, another 24-48 hours if they get 1 to 2 hours a day. If they stay outside all day the predict another week before they succumb to this hormone-driven madness. The infected will in fact devour the different glands of their victims. The pituitary gland in the brain containing the most beneficial levels of the hormone is beyond the ability of the infected to reach in most cases and they will move on to their next victim. The infected seem immune to pain, and are very hard to stop, the most effective way is to destroy the brain.

In a video chat Jack made the comment, "This reminds me of a book our book club was reading, by some girl, She called her monsters, 'Zombies' but all they ate were the brains, which we know is not very practical because the human skull is actually pretty hard to crack." The name stuck for the infected as it fit. Jack pointed out, "Typical Zombies were a myth, brought back from the dead by voodoo or some other evil."

One of the other scientists in the lab conjectured, "I wonder if the low hormone levels are killing the infected."

Jack said, "Hold that thought..."

Running to the isolation area, Jack took a thermal camera, aiming it at subject J he found the temperature levels of the body was at room temperature, where the brain levels were running about 104 degrees. He took a couple of shots and back to the room displaying them on the monitor for the others.

Jack said, "I think you have something, our subject J appears to have a temperature the same as the room. Except for her head."

The other scientist said, "We need more data, like how did whatever is affecting them start, and how is it spreading. Look at this, and know it is classified, I could be shot for sharing this."

Up on the monitor was a picture taken at some secure facility, showing an attack on some workers.

"This is photography was taken at one of Norad's two mountains. These people have been there for the last 6 months, nothing was in or out the air if filtered down to level 5 which is at the atomic level. They were due to leave in 3 days as the other mountain comes back online to relieve them. We have one survivor in the launch room, most of the people went crazy and started eating one another. The corporal in the launch room said it looked like they were eating their testicles."

Jack said, "I think our Zombies need hormones to do whatever they do. Our people that we have on hormone replacement therapy are not having any issues at all. But they are still dropping their levels without shots."

The other scientist said, "We need to do some more studies, we were not smart enough to have an infected in isolation."

With that Jack started to perform some experiments on subject J.

Subject J Notes:

Sex: F

Height: 5'6"

Weight: current unknown, was 117 at last physical

Blood work normal at last physical

Factor x* hormone level: .03 mmg per ml (normal 1.0 to 3.5mmg per ml)

Respiration rate: 0

Heart rate: 0

Temperature: 68.4 F body - 104.3 intercranial (taken with Thermal Camera)

Reaction to food: None

Reaction to water: None

Reaction to hormone Factor X*: Hostile, observer notes it is like a hungry dog to food or water.

*Factor X is a combination of HGH, Testosterone, estrogen, and other hormones. See noted for

Details on the exact make up.

Given enough factor X the infected will become docile, but the levels deplete quickly.

Upon submitting this to the group, jack started trying to find a cause for this condition. Asking for a volunteer and actually getting one was another issue. The problem being, those only starting to show decreased Factor X could live given hormone shots every 4 to 6 hours.

Jack called a meeting of the other scientist, and another group had the same idea, and has an experiment under way

Subject ATL-H Notes:

6 Hours without injection the subject's levels are running very low.

Taken via remote telemetry on the subject, the heart rate is slow but still within normal range. Blood work not taken due to safety concerns.

10 hours the heart rate had dropped to dangerous levels.

Higher brain waves were dropping quickly. Upon injection with Factor X, subject returned to normal.

16 hours back to a slower heart rate. Subject getting restless.

20 hours High brain waves at coma level, subject seems aware.

23:44 hours heat rate dropped to 0, higher brain waves flat lines. Lower function brain waves

Peeking Off the chart.

23:50 Full infected mode - Factor X Hormone level at 0.34

23:55 Injection with Factor X - Subject docile

30:00 subject back to full infected mode.

Determination:

Subjects fall into a semi-dead mode with high lower function brain waves which appear to be driven to acquire the needed hormones. Once this need is met the subject becomes docile, several hours later the subject needs the hormones again.

Experiments on infected subject ATL-H

Pain - Subject has no outward reaction to pain. A severed finger, got no reaction from the subject in the docile mode.

Food - Beyond the need for the Factor X hormones, the subject appears to have no need for food.

Water - It is believed the infected get what water they need from their victims, our subject showed no interest in water.

Movement and sound: the subject has very acute hearing and sight reflexes.

Terminating subject: The best way to terminate a subject is by severing the spinal cord at the base of the neck. Optionally as observed in the field, major brain injury will shut the lower brain control function down. Wounds to the body (i.e. Heart, Lungs, etc) will not terminate a subject but tend to get them worked up and attracted other infected people.

Starvation: It is too short to tell but given time we might see 1 of 2 things, The infected will cease to function when the no longer have Factor X hormones, or they might go into a dormant state. It does not appear the infected actually need food to function, but some think hunger might drive them to eat at a later time. It is too soon to tell.

Chapter 2 - Immunity

The local news has shown the infection is widespread, and in the Greater Cincinnati area. Jack is hopeful that his family is okay. Under lockdown he has not been able to get a phone call or anything to them. Having a handle on the infection somewhat at lease. He was willing to lift the lockdown, advising the people that are infected but on hormone treatments that they need to maintain their injections. The CDC in Atlanta has a pill that can be taken.

But this time it is projected that in the world now, yes, I said world, that there are 2 kinds of people, the fully living and what the news are calling Zombies. The Zombies are slow once they are completely turned into Factor X hunting machines, but when they started they were fast. One difference between these zombies than the fictional zombies is these zombies don't infect other people. They also don't go around moaning "Brains" or even moaning for that matter, as they don't breathe at all.

Jack took his Land Rover to their home in the Indian hill community, along the way he passed several Zombies, "Yes", Jack thought, "I'm not calling them Zombies" Thankful for the brush guard he had added to it when a person ran across the road followed by a zombie chasing them. He managed to avoid the person, but hit the zombie with the right front part of the brush guard. The zombie going down and making a sickening popping sound when the passenger tire ran over it's head.

He made it to his house, where he found a total swarm of zombies surrounding his house. Again grateful for the roll bars Jack started beeping his horn to draw them away from the house. With about 20 of them in the driveway he sped up the drive disabling about 2/3rd of them, then back down and took out most of the rest.

Getting out, we was approached by one lone zombie, it appeared to be the neighbors boy. A gunshot rang out from the upstairs window of his house and the kid dropped. Looking up he saw his daughter at the windows with one of their rifles. She yelled down, "Hello Daddy, I knew you would be okay. Be careful, Mom's trapped in the downstairs bathroom."

Grabbing the pump action Mossberg off the mantle of the house as he went in, he headed up to his daughter, where he had to dispatch 2 zombies at her door but in the confined space he could not get a good aim with the shotgun. Upon seeing Jack the pair of gruesome zombies took pursuit and followed him outside where he was able to take aim and blow their brains out.

Jack turned back towards the house, and standing in the front door was the most beautiful sight he has ever seen. His daughter stood there looking at him, with her long flowing red hair, her alabaster skin, her freckled nose, wearing a summer dress that looked like it had been through a war. Even as ragged as she looked she reminded him so much of her mother. Running down the stairs she leapt of the ground into his arms, she hugged him tightly, "Thank you, I used my last bullet for the zombie at your car."

Lowering her down her dress rode partially up her body revealing some of her shape, Jack thought, "Yes very much like her mother." With a shake of his head he pushed that though out of his mine and back to the matter at hand.

Katelyn, "Mom is one of them, she tried to eat me. I pushed her in the bathroom and the zombie people can't figure out doors or I would be dead by now."

Jack replied, "We are going to have to do something with her, I just don't know what." We can try to lead her after one of us and lock her in the barn. I don't know if I can kill her."

That's exactly what they did, Jacked opened the door to the bathroom and Katelyn made a run for the barn. Her mom ran out of the bathroom, striped of her clothes. Her once beautiful body was not marred by the ravages of the infection. Her once supple breast were practically just flapping bags of skin as she followed her daughter down the drive to the barn. Jack thought to himself, how embarrassed his wife would be at anyone, even him, seeing her run like that.

Even as a zombie his wife was still fairly attractive naked, her pretty long red hair flowed in the breeze as she ran after Katelyn. Jack then spoke out loud to the empty air around him, "I am going freaking nuts!""

In the barn Katelyn ran past her mom returning to the outside again, locking the barn door sealing her mother inside for now.

They quickly cleared the house, Closed off the gate to the property. Using the lawn tractor they got the bodies all in a pile. Pouring gas over them he said, "From dust to dust, ashes to ashes." And the big woof of the flame soon had the bodies down to a pile of scorched bones.

Jack saying, "On my dear Katelyn, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here, we were in lockdown mode. We learned a lot about this infection"

Katelyn responded, "What do we do?"

Jack said, "I think we can wait them out, once they run out of people to for the lack of a better word EAT, they will go dormant or maybe just die out."

Going to the kitchen and getting the one thing he missed at the lab out of the fridge, Jack sat down with his daughter on the couch and drank his beer. Katelyn saying, "It seems to be almost everyone I know got infected. I was online with my boyfriend James on video chat, and his mother came in the room said she wasn't feeling good, sat on his bed for about a minute. She complained she was hot and stood up, went over to him and I though was going to hug him, but right there she... Oh my god... she bit into his neck and blood went everywhere as she chewed on part of him. The computer screen got knocked over and I lost video."

Jack said, "From the data we've got they go after the endocrine glands, and the thyroid is one of the most accessible, followed by mammary and the testes and ovaries. The old school zombies of the movies like brains but the skull is too hard to crack open in real life and all these need are the pituitary gland, not the brain. You also have to destroy their brain as these are really mostly dead."

Katelyn asked, "That explains something then, when I saw a zombie attack the gardener it looked like it ripped off his ah.. junk .. and ate it. So What causes people to you know? Turn?"

Jack answered, "as of yesterday morning we don't know, I've been out of touch. I need to get down to my lab downstairs and see if I can connect up in little bit. Right now I just want to finish my beer. I want you to come down with me in a bit.

Katelyn wend in and got a wine cooler out of the fridge and downed one while standing there, and brought another with her along with a second beer for her father. After they went downstairs to the lab, Katelyn asked, "Why did you want me to come down here?"

Jack replied, "Two reasons really, first off I wanted you close, second, I think we need to do a complete physical on you if you are okay with that?"

Katelyn said, "Sure, if you think it will help."

Going into a room set up for exams that jack thought at the time was useless as he never sees people, but the CDC paid for it and required it. His lab is only a level 3 lab just set up for basic viral work.