Chapter 42, Australia, land of the Z's?

Looking back at the sun, Karl cursed is luck; there was a solar flare that would last for at least 37 hours.  He was well within the 13 first but the flare was so strong that it prevented any communication.  His high-tech satellite phone was useless.  So was his gps ICE locator.  Raising himself to get in position, Karl almost fell from his high position.  His ankle made a sharp SNAP noise and he fell on the rock.  Waves of agonising pain rolled up his spine and flowed his brain.  Through the tears, he saw that he had dislocated his ankle.  Making a snap judgment, he grabbed the foot with both hands and gave a sharp thug.  The ankle went back in its socket and the pain subsided a little.

Taking a survey of the Zombies approach, he calculated that he had the time to dress his sprained ankle and did so as fast as he could.  Using small branches, he made an improvised splint binding his ankle with gauze from his emergency kit.  3 Tylenol and 3 Advil was all he could afford if he wanted to keep a clear head.  He stood back up and Went to the edge of the rock.  The first Z was just reaching the bottom of it, its ugly head turned toward Karl uttering this debeliting moan.

Down and fast went the spear, catching the undead just under the jaw.  It was not a killing blow but it forced the head on the side, exposing the eyes the soft tissue on the side of the head.  AS fast and as hard as he could, the man strucked again.  This time, the blade went straight in and killed the Z.  It was almost over right there as the weight of the corpse almost overthrew Karl to the ground and made him loose his grip on his weapon.  Only pure luck and fast reflexes kept the man on the ledge and desperation gave him the strength to keep his weapon.  

Taking a deep breath, Karl tried to keep the panic at bay.  If he panicked he knew he was dead.  So, he sat, took a comfortable position, one that would allow for maximum strike power while keeping him seated with his good leg giving him a solid anchor.  Looking toward the horizon, he saw that more of the beast's coming his way.  He knew that he would soon be in a world of pain and danger.

Sidney, Australia.

Roxane Michaud, a Canadian veteran of many missions in the Army had been sent to help with the Australian Search and Rescue team.  The fact that she was a Dark Blood Hunter had been kept a secret.  Though she was petite and looked sweet as an angel, she packed a mean left hook and could hold her liquor like no other.  At 27, she had seen more fighting than most and only the aware Zombies in her force had had more experience than her...they had the unfair advantage of being immortals.  So, when the call for an emergency extraction was made, she did not panic.  She kissed her boyfriend goodbye, wishing him luck in his surfing competition and went to gather her gear.  45 minutes later, she was attending a briefing that put a frown on her face.  

17 hours ago, Karl Main had gone trekking in the outback.  No problem there.  The problem was that his chosen destination and itinerary had put him near a swarm of almost 86 Z's.  That was Trouble.  With the solar flare, there was no way to find him using technology.  Thankfully, the satellites monitoring such swarm had detected a strong change in the swarm predicted trajectory and had warned the response team.  Using enhanced pictures, they had been able to spot the architect and his position.  Now, it was time for the S&R to go and save the man.

Captain Michaud took 5 minutes to choose her team; their mission was to rescue, not kill the Z's.  That would be left to another team.  So she chooses her best pilot, Mirage, an aborigine that could land a chopper on a dime during a force 5 gale.  She took the St-Arneaud tweens.  Both sharp shooters and quite gifted with a Gatling gun.  Finally, she took Sam Berger, French descendent who could go down and up a rope faster than anyone alive.  They took some first aid material and on an afterthought, Michaud added a set of incendiary grenades.  Just in case they could "mark the spot" the S&D team.

Within 80 minutes of receiving the call, the chopper was in the air flying in direction of the possible location of the man. If they did not find him before night fall or if the swarm made any student change in direction, they would return to base assuming the man lost and dead...or worst, undead.

The first hour of flight was uneventful.  The weather was clear and they had good visibility. Then, they received a call from base: the man was alive and fighting on some small rocks that put him just about over the zombies.  He was about to be surrounded.  The satellite showed that another swarm was converging on the first one bringing it to a total of 207 corpses.  One of the biggest in Australia.  Michaud swore under her breath.  They would see a lot more action than what she had planned for.  But their mission was clear: save the man not kill the corpses.  So they would save the man...she hoped.

Chapter 41: Survival

Karl knew he was in trouble.  It wasn’t the first time, but he had to admit that this time it was different.  The possibility of his death was more than real.  

Karl was an adventurer.  He enjoyed the great outdoors and he always had his pack and gears ready for whenever he needed a respite from the city.  When the stress, the pollution, the people was too much, he simply grabbed his things, got a bus ticket for the Outback and hiked for 2 or 3 days.  Being one of the most successful architect of Australia helped in allowing him to go out when the desire strucked.

This trip had started as any other.  On last Monday, he had grabbed his pack and left.  On the bus, he had kept an eye for the kangaroo’s.  Contrary to the popular beliefs, these beasts were far from the "cute" Skippy from the popular TV show.  They were wild animals and behaved like so.

Even though, it wasn’t them that had him worried.  Not even the Inland Taipan scared him for he knew how to avoid it and always had the most powerful antivenin available on the market in a specially designed wrist band he could activate with only his mouth if necessary.  The Tasmanian Tigre was almost instinct and avoided humans like a swarm of locust.  Nop.  What had him scrambling for his life was a pack of moaning, shambling and very hungry Zombies.  

Like every human...except probably a few crazy indigenes out there, he had heard of the monsters.  He had also heard how everything was done to protect the world’s population.  He never dreamed that he would meet one outside of their food source area; the city.  Here in the Australian outback, the possibility of meeting one such creature was so ponderous that he never even entertained it.

Let’s face it, thought the 33 year old architect, probable or not, you’re in deep shit this time buddy.  And how does one gets out of a dangerous situation?  He uses his head father, answered Karl.  His dad had been a great outdoor expert, guiding tourist who searched thrills and other endorphin situations.  He had retired five years ago but was still trekking for his pleasure.  He had thought everything he knew to his son who had inherited his passion for adventures and "interesting" situations.  

Keeping his pace steady, he looked behind him.  Yup, they were still coming after him.  Six of these beasts had found his "scent" and were tracking him with their distinctive walk.  They had no expression what so ever and only the constant moan following him allowed Karl to know they were still there.  Otherwise, he would never have known he had been marked to be eaten or worst, become one of them.

Karl was walking in the direction of a small rock formation that would allow for some high ground.  While walking ahead of them, he had picked a sturdy piece of wood that he had shaped in the form of a crude spear.  Using one of his spare knife blade and some paracord, he had attached the blade to the shaft and had tested it against bushes and the ground.  The blade was a bit chipped but the whole thing would withstand the ordeal that was coming up.

Securing up the 3 piece formation, he moved toward the southern side where it would make it impossible for his pursuer to climb after him.  There, he made as much noise as he could, baiting the monsters toward him.  It worked.  The Zombies were fast approaching his position and would be in range not long afterward.  Holding his makeshift weapon, he allowed his mind to wander to another of his father’s lesson.

Karl was 12 years old and he was hunting with his dad.  They had crafted spears from wood, sharp obsidian rock and used their shoe laces to secure the weapon.  Then, they had practiced thrusts, slashes and hoe to use the shaft as both a weapon and a shield.  He has also explained how, whenever possible, using high ground or bushes when hunting or running from predators would allow of either complete protection or at the very least, cover from one side from attacks.  It was solid theory but with the living dead’s there was one factor that his dad could never have anticipated: these predators never got tired.  As long as Karl was there, they would try to get at him.  

Sitting there, he looked at what he was facing: 6 undead who were determined to make him their lunch, him with his gear, most of it useless against undeads, and his spear that would have to hold against God only knew how many thrusts until all of them were actually dead.  Well, sitting there would accomplish nothing.  Hefting his spears, Karl took one last steadying breath and prepares himself to kill...

ZNN Breaking news!!!

In an unprecedented turn of event and after months of research, a Belgian scientist has made a most needed breakthrough.  Francesca DeLamare, biologist has documented how the virus actually progress in the human host and how it corrupts the cells.  

Using volunteers who were already infected in a most secure facility, and never more than one infected at the time, Dr DeLamare and her team were able to observe in real time the way a human host becomes a Zombie.  As soon as the "Turning" was finished, the infected was disposed of with a bullet through the brain and the body cremated.  

- We have been able to understand the process through which a human becomes a Zombie.  It is amazing how tis virus not only resists to every drug we used.  It is even immune to radioactivity at least at the levels where it is still safe to use on a living human.  At higher level, the virus dies as does the host.  

The virus starts by invading every organs of the human body.  Strangely, the brain is the last organ to be corrupted.  Once the virus is entrenched in a host, it starts to mutate the whole body.  First, it kills the nerves, rendering the body unresponsive to pain signals.  Once it has complete control of the nervous system, it moves through the blood stream to mutate the other organs.  This process creates intense fever and hallucinations.  

The way it works is that every organ is separated from the body and the blood flowing to it is stopped.  The brain becomes self-sufficient.  Higher functions are destroyed and only the most basic functions are kept.  The brain is then a separated organ that is both self-sufficient and deadly.  The only goal is reproduction.  But not reproduction as we see it.  We are taking about a virus here, not a sentient being.  The means it uses to reproduce are the most basic of functions.  

1- It finds a prey using every sense.  Smell being the most efficient for it.  

2- By signalling to other infected where to find food.

3- By biting a possible host and transferring a portion of itself to the new host.

I am fully aware that the way the virus behaves is more akin to a parasite than a virus in the traditional sense of the definition thus we repeated this experiment 1000 time.  We had the exact same result each time.  The main difference is in the time it takes for the virus to finish transforming the host in a full fledge zombie.  The shortest time was 3 hours while the longest and most painful was 24 hours.  

There is still no cure for this virus.  It is 100% contagious and no one is immune to it.  We are still trying to find a vaccine.  A cure is still far out of our goals.  This virus mutates with every drugs or treatment we try making it the most deadly strain of virus ever.  Compared to it, the Ebola virus looks like a bad flue.

We thank you for your time.  For now, keep observing the official directives from your government and local law enforcement forces.  Remember, a dead hero becomes a living zombie.

Chapter 39 - World and Zombies part II

Liz was at her aunt weeding when things got wrong. The first sign was the loud moan. Then the edge surrounding the huge property started to shake. One arm got through then another. The adults started to panic. Liz, in her pink dress started to run toward her mom when she got knocked down and almost trampled by her panicked relatives. A knee to the head made her lose any sense of self, time and space. She felt like she was floating toward the dark sky.

When she came to, she saw that she was on the roof of the house. Around here were the other children. Someone screamed to throw the ladder down and that whatever happened, they must not look down. Liz was near the edge of the roof and she had a first class view of what happened next. About 30 Zombies surrounded the partygoers. Her mom and dad were trying to fight them with kitchen knives and other tools but to no avails. After maybe 2 hours, the ranks of the monsters had swell to double their numbers. Liz had seen her dad brought down and eaten alive while her mother had tried her best to save him only to get caught by her long brown hair, preventing her from getting her throat away from the hungry teeth ripping it open. A fountain of blood had surged from the wound and while she lay there, on her back, dying, her eyes had found those of her daughter and she had managed a smile before dying. Now, the Zombies were moving around the house, aware that somewhere on the roof, fresh food waited for them.

At 9, Elizabeth or Liz as she preferred to be called was the second oldest of the children stranded on the roof. Alexander, a cousin was 13 and had taken charge of their survival. First, he had moved everyone away from the edge to prevent accidental falling. Then, using a rope made of their cloth, he had gone in the house to get supply. Thankfully, the monsters hadn’t made it in at that time. Moving as fast as he could, he had gathered food and more importantly, rigged a hose to the top most faucet so they would have water for a while. At least, until help came. Then, he had had to beat a hasty retreat before the Z’s got to him. He had made it in the nick of time, monsters fast on his trail.

The children had food for about 5 days and water was not an issue. What became fast apparent was that the toddler did not understand the situation. They tried to go down and had to be kept under constant surveillance. They did not have dippers or milk for the youngest and hygiene was becoming an issue. They set a specific spot for their needs, a spot with a natural downward slope to evacuate their feces. After 3 days, the sun had burned most of them. Water was not the issue but if no one came to their help, they were going to die! Liz felt a lot better. Her concussion had healed and she thought that she could make it inside to at least get some curtains to shield them from the heat. Then, as she was discussing her idea with Alexander, one of the youngest screamed with joy: “Momy!!!!”

Turning toward the sound, Liz saw with horror that the monsters had put the ladder up and had come for them. Her own mother came up the stairs and walked toward her, her smile still on her stiff lips. Then as she opened her mouth to bite her, Liz creamed and woke-up.

Her parents were in her room and were trying to comfort the little girl.

- This story is one of the many we have to deal with since the fact that zombies exist has become public. Children who are too young to defend themselves are prone to severe depression. Some of them can’t even set foot outside their home due to the humongous fear the feel. Explained the Psychiatrist Helena Sparni, expert in children behavior. We have to educate them and give them tools to make this sentiment that they are helpless go away. Moreover, the pictures and disturbing images of Zombies attacking people playing on the net and in the news should be preceded of a warning of at least five second to give parents time to change the channel if they believe that their children should not be exposed to the horror of this plague. I do not advocate for hiding our children from the danger, but to prepare them according to their mental development. For example, some preschool have started to teach this song.

 Sung to Twinkle Twinkle little Star 

Zombie Zombie on the street keep your dirty mouth from me
At the school, or in my yard, when I see you home I run 
Zombie Zombie stay away, I don’t want to see you near

Zombie Zombie at the door, stay there while I run up stairs 
While I dial 9-1-1, Mommy, Daddy or Nanny 
They will do their very best, to keep you out from our nest.

Zombie Zombie In my house, you don’t have to come up stairs 
Frighten, scared or just plain bored, not a sound should I speak 
Zombie Zombie in my house, that way you will go away.

- It is a start that prepare them for what may come. And let’s all pray, whatever god you believe in that it will not come to pass…

Chapter 38 World and Zombies

Today, in an unexpected move, the ONU have voted a motion giving unlimited power, resources and rights in every and all countries to an armed force. Among the surprises was China and North Korea who supported de motion. This task force is charged with the suppression of all enemies forces using any and all means deemed necessary. The Enemy has been acknowledging for the first time under the common name: Zombie. At the same time, a special team of scientist using the latest technology has been tasked with the colossal job of finding a cure or a vaccine against the “IPFS-1” death inducing virus. The preliminary reports came and were given to the press stating that at this time, there was no cure and no effective mean to stop the propagation of the virus once it entered a human host. Fortunately, animals were impervious to the virus in the sense that it killed them and did not changed them in zombie’s animals. The problem was that this characteristic made it impossible to do any animal testing of a cure since even the faintest trace of the viruse killed the host. Human testing was out of the question as it transformed the host in a full fledge Zombie thus creating a carrier for the disease. The armed force was ready to be deployed 27\7 with an hour notice. It could be sent anywhere within 4 hours of a confirmed threat. A threat was a menace that the police/regular forces could not suppress. In the same motion, an official Zombie Survival pamphlet had been issued; a course on Zombie protection and identification had been created and made mandatory for every law enforcement corps and medical staff around the globe. These measures had been implemented to provide the citizen of the world with a mean to fend for themselves in the unlikely event of a Zombie invasion. Each country had the responsibility to amend the information from the pamphlet to reflect cultural and social reality in said country. Finally, a global emergency state had been voted with laws preventing the raise of prices on essentials goods. In reaction to these measures, most countries issued statements following the broad lines of the measures instated by the ONU. Special Forces to deal with the Zombies, extended resources to medical researches and increased emergency measures ranging from curfew to martial law. A mutual promess was issued from all parties present to help and give assistance to the nations without the means to implement these measures and protect their citizens. At the exact moment these measures were announced, armed forces were deployed all around the world. In Bogotá, the Colombian army helped with the local militia was in place just in time to stop a riot from starting. In Karachi, Pakistan, the newly formed army with the help of the police kept an eye on things but it was quite calm. In Chicago, one of USA most traveled through city, it was mass panic. The coast guards, the army and the police all worked together to stop looters and mass hysteria. People in Chicago only registered one thing: the Zombies were real. In four hours, more poor drunken SOD’s were shot down by hysteric housewife than anywhere in the world. The mayor had to pass a law preventing bars from serving more than 2 drinks per persons and limit the amount of liquor available to 1 bottle per person. When asked about it, he said: “I’d rather have the return of the prohibition than having Zombies NOT shot down due to the fact that you can’t make the difference between a drunk and it until IT tries to bite your head off”. All around the world, to prevent the events described in what was now called: The book of truth, World War Z, extremes measures were taken to stop diseased people from moving out of their countries. Sadly, dogs and other creatures simply went crazy when put in the presence of an infected so were not useful since the mere presence of the smell of an infected on a person sent them in frenzy. In Africa, nations had had to deal with more wars, civil wars, massacres and violence than almost anywhere in the world and took this new menace with calm. One African war lord, when asked why he was helping the army answered: “I’d rather help my enemy now so that one day, my children live than killing him only to feed my nation to the hungry moans of these devils.” The last statement was to make The Bringers of Light, humanity’s enemy. Anyone who was associated with them was to be detained, questioned and arrested for crimes against humanity. The trials were to be held at the ONU’s court. - And may whatever God, divinity or other power there is out here help us and protect us. Because today, what we do is not only for us, but for the very survival of the human race. We are NOT invaded yet. The vigilance and constant work of our military around the world made certain of that. But today, the threat is stronger than ever. Let us pray that we can find a solution soon.

Chapter 37: Religion and Zombies

Sitting in their living room, the Martin’s watched this incredible special program. The pope, the Chef Rabbi, the Grand Imam and the Grand Mufti were also present to discuss the view of their religion in relation to the Zombie revelation. The host, a famous American reporter and news anchor was having the prestigious and difficult task of directing the discussion. The rendez-vous point had been kept a secret to avoid terrorist attacks and Z’s menace. There were interprets and security personnel easily visible. - Good Evening, my name is Oliver as most of our American viewers know. For those woo I have the chance to talk to for the very first time, I wish you good evening. Tonight, we will have the pleasure of discussing with the most respected leaders of the 3 most influential religions in the world. Before we start, we did not forget Buddhism, Shintoism, and other religion like these, we will have a special show for these in due time. For now, we will start with a question for the Pope. The pope smile politely and waited for the question. - With the revelation of the Zombie threat, some people wondered if Jesus, a figure proved to have existed due to archeological evidence, was not in fact a Zombie. The fact that he got crucified, speared and tortured to death then came back from the dead, does these evidence point to a Zombie in light of the revelation of their existence? - I am glad you asked the question. Zombies do not show any sign of cognitive intelligence. They are creatures with only one goal and that is to eat and destroy humanity. How could the son of Good be a zombie and still tell his message of love and compassion? He could not have done so. Thus, he was not a zombie. - Thank you. My next question is for the Chef Rabbi: What do you make of the new studies that explain the seven plague of Egypt as being in fact the Zombie Plague propagated by angry Jew’s who went to the extreme to liberate their people from the Egyptians and thus infected every first born with the Zombie plague, forcing the death of hundreds of innocents? - Thank you Oliver, I was hoping for this question. When faced with new revelation that change the way we see the past, people with a grudge will often use these to their advantage. They will turn one of the most sacred miracles of the Torah, the ancient testament for the Christians, and try to light it with this new light to make it horrible. If the Jews of the time had used zombies, or infected blood, they would have risked a global infection and pandemic threat. No one in his right mind would do something like that. No, the seven plagues of Egypt, as they are known was a miracle of God. Not some prehistoric biological warfare. - I see. Now, to our good Imam, I ask my next question. Do you believe that this disease is a way for Allah to punish the none Muslim’s? After talking together for a few minutes, The Grand Imam answered: We do not believe that this plague is sent to punish anyone. Our people have been attacked by this virus and good Muslim died of it. These Djin’s or Zombies as you call them have been there for thousands of years. Why does Allah let them feed on humanity, we do not know. The Grand Mufti continued: but we do know that it is not the Jihad or the end of the world. It only show that in these times of trial, we must unite and forget our differences. Christians, Jews and Muslim must work together. This is the true message we are here to send today. The pope, the Chef Rabbi, the Grand Imam and the Grand Mufti rose and each exchanged with his counterpart religious symbols. The pope gave rosary and accepted the Koran and the David Star offered to him. He placed the later on a chain and displayed it on the front of his robes and placed the Book in his left hand for all to see. The rest of the show was pretty much along the same lines: questions about relation to the sacred books and or dogma and the Zombies, the leaders answering questions and supporting each others. The closing statement was a renew demand from all four man to have a global cease fire and to concentrate the effort of all on this single menace: the Zombies.

Chapter 36 End or Beginning?

Parkson and her young charge came to the end of their parcour. They were only some 30 meters from the exit through the sewer when Alice made them stop. Facing them, silently and patiently were over 40 Z's. The plan was obvious: wait until Parkson opened the door or until who ever controlled them decided that time was up. Parkson moved back with Yukio until they were hidden from the Z's. - So, here we are. There are not many options. We wait until we have a better idea or we kill ourselves. We cannot allow the Z's to go in Tokyo under any circumstances. Do you understand? - I do. While we wait for the Kami to make their wisdom known to us, would you mind telling me how you became like me? Parkson took some time to formulate her answer. Then, she explained about the trip to the beach, the attack on the family and her surviving. Then, drawn by this young girl not unlike she had been years ago, she explained how she had struggled to be accepted in a society that was not only a secret but also highly elitist. - You have to remember that at that time, women did not have the right to vote. Or only in some rare country. Imagine now a situation where Men are the leaders and some of them have been for centuries. It makes for a long debate until any changes can be accepted. There was one woman who was in their mist and who fought with the best of them. Her name was Chloe and she was from Greece. She fought with a spear, bow and arrows and a Falcate, the Greek sword. She was truly magnificent. And I was there, filled to the brim with anger, rage and an almost suicidal desire to fight. You have to understand, I sought solace for my guilt. I felt responsible for the death of the young ones. Why should I survive and they die? It was so unfair! I felt…unclean and unworthy of my life. So, here I was, pestering the teachers to let me learn to fight and after a month, they let me join the men on the training course. But I was reckless. I sought to learn to fight but I forgot…I knowingly put my friends in jeopardy. I did not do anything to hold my blows; I used underhand techniques and did whatever I could to win. Then, after two or three months, while I was practicing in the training court, she came. She came in the gym wearing combat fatigue. Her brown hairs were gathered in a tail on her back and she wore a silver pendent with a moon speared with a sword. She ignored me and started practicing. I was stunned by her grace, speed and power. Where I was stumbling, she was nimble. Where I screamed with rage, she was deadly silent. Where I looked like a berserker, erm…a barbarian full of rage if you prefer. So, where I looked like a berserker, she was calm and poised. I was…shamed. Here was a woman who did was everything I wanted to be but who refused to let anger rule her world. I moved to talk to her but she kept ignoring me. When I got close, she moved away. I followed her through the gym and finally, getting tired of the game, I stepped in her swing. I looked at her grey eyes as her blade moved toward my neck. I almost smiled, thinking that at least, the end was here. But, with a silent snarl, she held her blade and stopped before slicing my throat and decapitating me. Her eyes held nothing but contempt. Still keeping silence, she started to put away her weapons. I was shocked. Here was another woman, exactly what I was hopping and wishing to be. Obviously respected, accepted in this Male directed world while I had to struggle just to be allowed to learn the basics. I became angry. Which was not too hard in my state. I moved toward her and started yelling at her: “Who do you think you are? We are the only females here and you dare ignore me?” I then made a very stupid move. I Punched her. Alice chuckled, remembering the scene. I was way too slow, uncoordinated and over all under-trained to be able to land a blow on her. She side stepped me, caught my wrist in her hand, moved behind me and with a sharp twist, sent me flying and crashing on the floor. I got up as fast as I could and launched a barrage of punches and kicks. None of them even came close to her. She totally dominated me. When I punched, she blocked, slapped and overall made it impossible for me to hit her. When I kicked, she sidestepped, blocked and threw me on the floor without even breaking a sweat. It was humiliating and mortifying. But I could not stop myself. I tried and tried until I lay exhausted on the floor. Then, to my surprise, I started crying. I was lying on the floor, in a tangle unable to move and unwilling to do so and tears were flowing from my eyes like the Niagara’s snow melt. I felt a hand on my head and a compassionate voice spoke to me: “Let it out. Let it all out. You are not to blame for what happened and you could not have done anything to save them. It wasn’t your fault. I cried harder. I felt that my heart would explode from the pain. I wanted so much to die. But the arms holding me tight would not let me go. The voice kept saying soothing things to me. Finally, I managed to get a hold of myself and the tears stopped. I laid there, resting in her arms totally spent by my tears. I felt a bit better and finally moved away. Still holding my hand, she smiled at me. Without a word, we left the gym and she took me to eat. We talked a lot. She became my teacher, my friend and eventually, with her help, I let go of the anger and hatred. It took a long time, but I finally made peace with who I was and what I had became. Where is chloe now? Asked Yukio. She is dead. She died 30 some years ago in a fire. There were humans trapped with Z’s and some idiot shot an incendiary grenade. Chloe tried to help the survivors but she never made it out and the whole building burned to the ground. We were in India. Fire there was a disaster. No water fountain to help the firefighters, streets to small to let the trucks pass, it destroyed two third of the city before it was contained. What happened to the one who sent the grenade? He… let’s forget this. Now that you know where I’m from, what I went through, I only want to offer you my help. Right now, you are still not processing everything that happened to you and the fact that there are monsters right that way makes it harder for us to… Parkson stopped talking. Something had happened. She could feel it. Yukio turned her head so their eyes met and she too had felt it. “It’s the Kami. They are telling us to make our move.” Without hesitating, she grabbed Parkson and made it to the exit point. There, the Z’s were in a kind of fit. They shook on place. Some tried to raise their gun’s but were stopped by their own body. Other simply stared at the far wall. None of them was able to do much harm as Alice and Yukio made their way to the exit. The young Japanese girl pressed for more speed arguing that the Kami would not be able to contain their enemy for long. Just when Alice thought that her body yould simply crumble under the strain, they reached the extraction point and closed the heavy steel doors behind them. As the door locked with a sharp “click” sound and medics helped them lay down on stretchers, a wail of hatred rose behind them. Obviously, they had made it out alive to the disappointment of whoever controlled these Zombies. Now, with everyone safely out, the counter measure could be applied. As they left the train station on a chopper, a bright white light shown through the dusk. It blinded the two women and a sound like a strong wind was heard. Where once stood the train station there was nothing. A huge crater the size of the station with smoke rising was all that remained. Alice rested her head on the pillow and smiled to Yukio. Her first true smile in a long long time. Well, it looks like we will be together for a while, it you want to? Yukio’s answer was to hold her hand. They made the voyage that way, each taking comfort in the other’s presence.

Chapter 35 Trouble in Japan

Being faced with Z’s in a confined space is everyone’s worst nightmare, well ok. Everyone who has had to deal with Zombies, point conceded. Still, being faced with youngsters changed in Z’s is bad. Being up close and personal is way worst. Her assault rifle was practically useless in theses vents and whoever had set the trap had done so with this in mind. Thinking fast, Parkson took her breast knife and waited until the first one had his face near her hand to strike it straight in the eye. Without stopping, to think too much about it, she crawled over his body to find another one already reaching for her. It was bad. Killing it, she glanced behind and was appealed to see a toddler, probably 2 or 3 years old grabbing her right boot and pulling itself upward toward the unprotected calve. She had two choices: 1 was to get bitten and keep to the vent regardless of the consequences. They could probably patch her up at HQ. The second was less painful but equally dangerous: going out from the vent and making a dash for it. The decision was made for her when the combined weight of her, the Z’s and the not that strong wire made the whole contraption give up and crash on the floor. Rising as fast as she could, Parkson found herself surrounded by mini Z’s and some bigger one. Dispatching the ones right next to her with the butt of her riffle, she glanced at her GPS and started moving as fast as she could without making undue noise. She was one floor up her goal and half the station away. Using her comlink, Parkson called for some distraction so the diversion would override whatever instruction the Z’s might have in their limited brain. Five or six seconds later, she heard and felt and explosion and some crowd cheering. She smiled. Z’s would be attacked by the loud noise and the human voices would trigger their hinter reflex. Nicely done. Now, with only 1 spare clip, approximately 12 rounds in her current clip, she had to rely on her speed and some fancy foot work. She guessed that she would need every bullet getting out of there with her charge intact. She used a special combination of Parcour and Kukri to jump, tumble, slice, behead and kill as much Z’s as possible while keeping moving at top speed. Using walls, hangings, rails, stairs and even Z’s, she reached the stairs where she stopped cold. Down and waiting for her were the security force. Each one of them was armed and said weapon was aimed directly at her. This time, Parkson was not so nimble. While she avoided most of the bullets, she was still hit twice. Once in the stomach and the other one way more troublesome, right through her left thigh. That would slow her down. And even worse, draw the Zombie to her. But she had been prepared and would not give-up. Rolling quickly on her side, she threw a special grenade: the Z-99. This little black and red American football shaped piece of steel had been devised on an Aztec design of their frond munitions. The size was bigger of course and could be thrown either the classic way or the football way. The first method simply consisted at throwing it in the general direction and let it explode. The second one was for more precise attack and asked for a lot more precision and practice. One could even put it in a traditional grenade launcher. It would go once and an half the distance of a traditional grenade. But the very amazing thing about the device was that it was set to send most of its offensive charge upward thus augmenting the chances of red hot shrapnel’s finding their way to the brain. Using the first of only 3, Parker threw it at the mini swarm of Z’s preventing her from going down. Then, while pieces of dead corpses ran around and on her, she checked her injury. It was bad but the muscle fibers would be able to hold her weight. She did not feel pain as much as discomfort, being dead herself. Peaking downstairs, she saw that the way was clear for now. Using her riffle as a crutch, she started down the stairs when she heard a soft voice calling: “Overhear! Quick! They can’t get in and you can look at your injury.” Surprised, Parkson saw a young girl, black hair disheveled, her face stained by tears and dirt. She was beckoning to Parkson and showing her the surprisingly secure hiding place she had. She had moved from her original hiding place, probably attracted by all the noise and commotion. She had moved instead to a concession store. But this store had steel shutters held down by a series of chains who, when put together were the size of a big male thumb. She had obviously gotten the keys from the severed arm near the gate who still had the ring around one of its bloated finger. She motioned again and her eyes grew wide in alarm. Looking behind her, Parkson saw that she had not destroyed every Z and some were back with a vengeance. Half running half limping, she made it to the safe hole with seconds to spare. Enough to help the young girl put the chain back in place. Then, while the Z’s where groaning, moaning and rattling the shutters, she introduced herself while taking care of her injury and giving a status report to HQ. Once everything had been taken care of, Alice turned to the girl who, in typical Japanese fashion had waited for her to be ready to talk. Tell me, Yukio…may I call you Yukio? Thank’s, so tell me. How much did they tell you about your condition? What would happen to you? - They…they told me I was sick, that I could never see my family again and that I would have to leave the country. I was…unclean and…and… And the poor 16 year old girl dissolved in tears. Alice, sighing, held her in her arms and remembered her own “coming of age”. It had been a lot harder for her since Zombies were not common knowledge at her time. But like Yukio now, she had had a friend who had made her promise to do the same as her if ever she was in the same situation. - It’s ok honey, I understand. First, you have you understand that you are not unclean. You are lethal. There is a huge difference. Your very existence put’s people in danger of dying. But, like me, you have the potential to become much more. To help other so they will not become infected or forced to leave their loved ones. But first, we have to leave this place alive. In about 2 hours, a small tactical weapon will be unleashed on this station destroying everything in it down to the very last levels. And that’s with us in it. So, we have to get out of here. And the only way is through the vents but they are trapped. The only other way is through the sewages. Can you do this with me? Do you have the will in you to live a life of rejection, forgoing everything you ever knew and everyone who knew you? If you do not, I will kill you right now and leave you in peace. The girl sat in the traditional Japanese way, legs under her and thought. Alice could almost see the thoughts coming and going in her mind. Then, the girl smiled a little and said in a clear and surprisingly strong voice: “After all you have done to help me, it would not be honorable for me to let you down. And the kami of the wind told me he would be waiting for me in Canada. So, down we go”. A bit surprised, Alice nodded and they started to prepare and plan for the trek.

Trouble in Japan part 3

Note: the equation here is part of a real class thought in Ottawa. For more information go to:
P. Munz, I. Hudea, J. Imad and R.J. Smith? When zombies attack!: Mathematical modelling of an outbreak of zombie infection (Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress 2009, in: J.M. Tchuenche and C. Chiyaka, eds, pp133-150).

Alice stood there for an instant before exploding in action. Moving forward she drew her Kukri in a smooth motion and an instant had removed the head from the Z’s shoulder. In the next, she punched through the right temple and destroyed the brain before it had had a chance to hit the floor.

Twisting on one leg, keeping perfect balance, she saw to her utter dismay another Zombie moving slowly toward her with another piece of paper. On it was written: (ßƝ) (S/Ɲ)Z = ßSZ . Alice froze in shock. It was the infamous equation of PHD Robert Smith? (yes, the question mark is part of his name) a mathematician who had used zombies as a mean to explain to his students the way that a zombie invasion would be unstoppable. It was a lot more complex than that in fact but the reality remained: humanity was doomed. And whoever controlled these Z’s knew about his work and had decided to put his theories to the test. Which meant that everything that had happened in the last year or so was part of a bigger and more sinister plan than originally believed. The Bringers of Light were not just a bunch of sadistic bastard bent on anarchy and destruction. They were a force to be recorded with. And it told her that they were bent on the destruction of humanity. Being a science officer among her various formations meant that Alice knew the equation signification: there would come a time, very soon when humans would be dislodged as the main characters on Earth, to be replaced by Z’s. Following this equation, it was inevitable.

This realization did nothing to help the little girl frighten and hiding in a closet. She had to get to her and save her. So, she changed her strategy. Putting her blade away, she took her assault rifle and its silencer and started shooting Z’s in the head as fast as she could. She had four clips with 35 shells in them plus one already in place on the weapon. She could to a lot of damage and maybe even reach her target.

Killing Z,s was always a pleasure but know, she was in a hurry so she forgo her pleasure and went for the perfect kill. Moving at a steady pace, she reached her destination and used a little contraption as a step to reach the air vent. There she was faced with a problem, the screws were rusted and she might not have time to lube them if she was to make it out alive.

Taking an ultra small plasma torch, she simply melted them and removed the vent. Then, she climbed in it and pulled a small string attached to the bench, collapsing it and preventing Z’s to reach her. She used a magnet attached to it to fix it on the vent wall, making certain that she could go back the way she had come if she needed to.

Using her com-link, she warned Control of the situation and of the implication of the message sent her way by the enemy. While doing so, she kept moving forward, crawling in the narrow space. On her right wrist, a small special GPS gave her exact position as well as the schematics of the layout of the vents and the rooms under her. She had made good progress, reaching an intersection when she heard a noise. Shining a light to her left, she saw a small child reaching for her. Its brown eyes expressionless and its mouth open in a small groan. From her right she could hear shuffling sounds and more coming from behind her. Somehow, her day had gotten from bad to worst.

Chapter 33 Trouble in Japan part 2

When Alice got to Tokyo train station, she was amazed by it. The Yamagata Shinkansen was still in full view and the moans of the Z’s were audible in the silence of the evacuated area. But the truly amazing thing was the 9 foot high steel fence. Not something with beehive steel links between weak beams of steel. No. It was a full plated fence with half a foot steel beams to make certain that no human or Zombie could get through it. Every 5 meters, snipers could take place on specially designed platform that looked like something a hunter would put up a tree to wait for his prey. But no one manned them. The invasion had been too throughout and fast for the army to get in place. This was designed to protect people inside from things outside.
Alice, wearing her familiar uniform and glad to be in it checked her weapons. Guns, Kukris and everything else was in place. A special enzyme had been recently developed by their labs to mask the smell and make her invisible to the Z’s. At least, those who used their nose to hunt. She walked to Kenjiro and looked at him in the eyes.
-If…scratch that. When I get out of here, you will swear to never write about Z’s ever. And if I find myself the star of another movie, I will personally hunt you down and cut your balls. Do I make myself clear?
Kenjiro simply looked her in the eyes and nodded. There was nothing to say. It was not a game anymore. Reality had caught up with him and had bitten hard. But, with some help, things would go well. If not, he had a gun hidden and…well. He hopped it would not have to get there.
Parkson walked to the fence and climbed the rope ladder to the top. There, she let if fall on the other side and started to go down. Now the true test began: would the new enzyme work? So far, not a single moan of recognition had been uttered. Things were looking good. Still. It would not hurt to be ready. Pausing in the middle of the descend, she loaded a shell and released the safety on her special sheaths for her trusted Kukri. In the courtyard, dozens of Z’s were shoveling around, moaning and snapping their empty jaws at the wind, feeling preys near but never near enough. Hunger, an insatiable hunger was their only felling. Nothing even remotely human was left in these brains. Already, their eyes had that milky look of being exposed to the wind for too long without blinking. The surface was scratched by the myriad of particles and pollution in the wind.
Moving slowly but never stopping in one place for too long, Parkson made it to the main door of the station. There, lying on the floor in a plastic bag was a picture of a family. A woman, a man and a teenage boy were all smiling at the camera. Weighting it down was a cell phone. Taking the picture carfully, she turned it and saw a message written behind it: “To my dear husband, I am sorry I could not come back to you. I love you and hope you will remember me as I was, not as I will be. To my son, become a man I could be proud of. I love you more than I ever could tell you.”
Placing it down, Parkson saw the lifeless eyes of a woman, the same one shown in the picture. She had found a screwdriver and had put it trough her brain entering it by her right temple. Her death had been fast at least. She saw other suicides and some unlucky ones. The unlucky were the one who had missed and died later from their wounds. One had his throat opened almost to his carotid but he had obviously missed it and died then rose to take his place, a macabre farce in a macabre circus of the dead. Knowing the enzyme would not last forever, Parkson picked up her pace and made for the stairs when she noticed one zombie standing there, a pen in his hands and a block of paper ready. Seeing her looking at him, he smiled and wrote something on a sheet of paper. Ripping it out, he lifted his arm, holding the sheet for Parkson. Taking a tentative step, she quicly took the piece of paper and read it with one eye, nervous. On it, only 6 words: Welcome to my play ground. T.B.L

Chapter 32 Trouble in Japan

Alice stood there, angry and ready to take on some of that anger on the Japanese guy sitting on his butt. The four body guard suddenly appearing in front of her taking various Karate fighting stances made her smile. At least, some action to vent her frustration. Alas, it was not to be. From above her, red dot appeared on each of the four men. Some on their forehead, some on their hearts and other trailing on the floor to get their attention before stopping at their crouch. That got their attention all right. They stopped in their track and Alice sighed.
Kenjiro Tanaka stood up and made a hand gesture to which his men obeyed in silence, taking back their place in the background. Alice raised a hand and the snipers hiding in the upper level of the auditorium turned off their laser sights.

- Blease, gouh habe to listen to be!!! We need your helb!!!

With his broken nose, Kenjiro was even harder to understand but Alice new enough about the man to at least take the time to listen to him. She made an other motion with her hand and her aid brought the little group to her room where they would be able to talk.

After cleaning the blood, replacing the nose in its axis and giving refreshment to everyone, Alice sat on a chair and listened to Kenjiro’s story. Since the Zombies were public knowledge, Japan had made enormous efforts to upgrade the security of their public transportation. Airports were guarded and each plane was searched for sign of an infected. The same with the various harbors. Every train and metro station in the country had been equipped with Zombie fences. These were to prevent Zombies from getting out off a train or the metro and swarm a city. As an added protection, each station could become locked down to prevent anyone from entering or leaving it.

3 days ago, a speed train had had trouble and had had to make frequent stops. Soon, the police, the army and family members of the people on the train received frantic calls about crazy people biting others and looking sick. After the fourth call, they had looked the train and made it go to Tokyo Station, the most fortified of all Japan. There, the camera had showed around 300 people and 35 Z’s. Everyone was infected. They had had no choice but to initiate a lock down. The poor director of the station had evacuated everyone and had done the lock down himself. The, had performed Harakiri. His only son had been on that train.

They now had over 300 Z’s inside Tokyo and had had to prevent people from freeing them. But it was not why he was here. A girl of 16, Yukio Suzuki was still alive. She had been bitten but after the incubation period, had started to write to her family. She was hidden in a small broom closet and had escape notice so far. But...they needed an expert to get in, get her out and take her out of the country. The government had blocked cell phone in and out of the station so she could only contact government officials but the Kyonshi Task Force commander had asked for her to personally take a team there, clean up the mess and rescue the girl. That’s why he was here. To ask for her help.

- But why me? Asked Alice

- Because, you are the only one I know who ever did survive such a mission. And this girl needs all the help and support one of her kind can offer her… and because she is my niece.

Chapter 31: Through the looking glass

Nadia sat alone in a large room. The room was white washed, white gauze moved from a gentle breeze from the huge widows that were letting lightly colder air in. Her eyes were closed and she was thinking about plans, and counters and other such things. She was sad about Mat. He would have made a marvelous addition to her team. She had felt him on the train station but had had not had the time to deal with him or even recruit him. Benjamin, her second in command had made a grave mistake in ordering an attack on the kid. But it was all in the past now.
Sitting on the floor in the lotus meditation pose, she supervised the battle ground from above like the Tsar of old guided their armies. She truly was the last descendent of the sadly famed Romanov and took pride in her heritage. She, like her famous ancestors wanted to conquer. Destroy humanity was a very different goal though.
On a small table next to her were lying a few books: The Art of War, Julius Cesar’s Gaul conquest, Churchill’s biography and surprisingly, a graphic novel from DC comics and one from Marvel. What did they have in common? No one would ever know but her. This was her sanctuary, her most sacred place of all. Those who knew about it knew enough to stay as far from it as possible. Nadia Romanov did not like to have her privacy invaded by anyone.
The whole house was like this room: white, almost bare of furniture and spread carelessly around the different rooms, books and weapons. The books were about all sort of topics, from history to psychology passing through mythology and obscure subjects like the habits of the Ithach’Ïa, a secretive tribe of Amazonian natives. The weapons were all exquisite craftsmanship. From a Russian sword with the Romanov crest on the scabbard to a hand crafted Ak-47 with the cross carved to resemble a blooming lily, everything was as beautiful as it was deadly.
Sighing, she stood up and went to the window. There she stood looking over the Huacachina Oasis in Peru. She had her own helicopter, a small and beautiful thing she loved her Dragon 334 gp from a small business in Italia, Dragon Fly. She had had to pay a handsome supplement to have a motor that was twice the power of the current one and to augment the flight distance accordingly. But it had all been worth it. The liberty of going and coming to her most beloved location in the world from the nearest airport was unparallel.
Something made her eyes lose focus: the battle in Germany had started. And she needed to concentrate over there. She had over 2 000 troops awaiting he command and she had 6 generals anxious for blood. Such inelegancy saddens her but, when the time was right, they too would perish, as would she. And all would be over and good.
Nadia followed the battle with her mind. She saw the leader of the small platoon move straight for her well planned trap. Then, without reason that she could understand, turn around and move his troops to safety. She ordered the use of her special force, recognizing the leader as Thompson, a man to be weary of. To her utmost amazement, he not only survived but repelled her assault. She had to give him and his troop’s credit; they had done a marvelous job with such feeble resources at their disposal. Opening her eyes, she looked at the sky. Over two hours had passed and the outcome of her plan in Germany for a swift takeover of the city was to be planed again.
With her mind still as the lake of the oasis, she turned her attention to Japan. There was a plan that would come to fruition. Soon, hundreds of undead would emerge from the center of Tokyo. Japan was not ready for this. They had planned well, but she was simply better. She understood their main flaw: their distrust of foreigners. Gaijin’s as they called them. They would never call for help outside their own country. And thus their fall would begin. They would be the first nation to fall. Nothing personal there, it was just that it was easier that way. She would attack every island nation out there as they were easier to infiltrate and they could not escape the Bringers of Light. In the end, on one would.
A small smile played on her beautiful features, warming her for a few instants as she imagined the earth pure and green as it would be in a few hundred years from now. And as the sun is masked by a cloud, coldness and serenity masked her face as she turned her full attention to a small drama that would soon become a blazing fire purging this magnificent land that had been Japan. She closed her eyes for the second time that day.

Chapter 30 The Englischer Garten Park fight

*Note: due to the fact that I don’t speak, read or even understand most of the foreign language out there, everything will automatically be translated in English thanks to my “Babel Fish” (Thanks Mr. Douglas Adams). The Author*



Thompson moved his troops to the Pagoda, a 25 meter structure that was modeled on the Great Pagoda from London. There, he placed his fighters for maximum cover of the surrounding and waited for the very bad feeling to go away. It didn’t… It only got worse when he saw that instead of 12 or 15 Z’s, coming up; there were at least 60 of them. The German grunts started to feel uneasy. So he called for some reinforcement and sent some soldiers with the instructions to destroy the stairs using hand grenades so the zombies would be sucked outside or at least on the first floor. A huge explosion shook the whole tower some time later and the soldiers came back with a satisfied look on their face: they had destroyed most of the first round of stairs so no Z’s could climb to them.
Thompson then took his night goggles and tried to see their reinforcement coming. He did not. Deciding to take things in his own hands, he redistributed his resources: his sharp shooter, Hans Larsen, was on the top floor with the medic. With him were 2 of his four D.B.H regular. On the very first floor, were the second 2 with 8 German soldiers. They were his first line of defense. On the middle floor, were the rest of the German forces, 10 soldiers and 2 sergeants. Thompson gave the order to set the weapons on single shoot and to take their time so as not to waist ammo. Each soldier had 3 clips on him including the one in his weapon while the sharp shooter had 5 in all. Hans had special instructions: Hans was to shoot any Z that looked to be even remotely too smart. Thompson had the strong feeling that some of the Z’s would be controlled by the B.o.L and it would do them some mental strain to be “killed” and it might take them some time to recover, meaning that more Z’s would be without instructions.
The moans got louder and louder. By then, Thompson could see to his amazement that some of the zombies had weapons. Running upstairs, he was glad to hear the first of many calculated and evenly spaced shoot. Hans had obviously seen the danger and had started shooting the threat. Indeed, when he reached the top, Thompson could see that Hans had his eye on his visor and was aiming to kill the ones carrying weapons. Without bothering the guy, Thompson made another survey and gasped with horror: A zombie was aiming a rocket launcher at the Pagoda. Without taking his eyes, he gave the orders: “Larsen! Threat at 4 o’cloc, rocket”
- Hi sir, got it. Followed by a splendid head shoot.
Still making looking around, he called targets and Hans downed them. The fight was in full on every level of the towers. The one near the base were killing slowly and taking care of their aim while the one on the median level took targets that were farther away. Soon, way too soon, only Hans had any ammo left. The Germans had added bayonet to their riffle. They were two sided blades, more akin to spikes than actual WWII knifes. They had a single purpose: get through a skull and destroy the brain. And the soldiers were doing a good job with it.
Thompson was faced with a heavy dilemma: get everyone higher and try to keep the Z’s from getting to them, which would prove to be quite hard since there were way too many Z’s controlled by their enemies. The corpses where pilled so high that it made a natural ramp that the zombies could climb. The fight got messy. Thompson was on the front, a basket hilt in his hand and a dirk in the other. He cleaved through heads, knifed eyeballs to get to the brain and made a bloody mess of everything. The other D.B.H were with him on the front line while the regular guys were bringing the rear.
After what seemed like hours but was more akin to 15 minutes, heavy gunfire could be heard. Sighing with relief, Thompson ordered a full retreat to the top floor. There he made certain that everyone was safe, sound and that no one was infected. 6 or 7 minutes later, someone called and was helped to the top of the tower. It was a corporal of the German army. He gave his report: there were over 200 dead Z’s and their forces were still engaged in battle against around 50 of the undead. Thompson’s unit had a head count of roughly 147 Z’s and was relived from duty.
Thompson guided his man to transport trucks and sighed again. He hoped that the fuckers from B.o.L would be found fast. Otherwise, this war was lost…

A changed world part 2

Thompson was reading the latest report from the Central. He was still smiling from the one detailing Parkson giving a punch to some Japanese guy. He had a pretty good idea who the guy was and he did deserve it. The rest of the news was a mix of good and bad.
Some freaks in Oregon had started a new religious cult stating that God had sent the virus to cleanse the human race. Like he had done with the Flood long ago. They had been arrested for trying to infect their members. The leaders were on trial and facing the death penalty. Death sentence had been reinstated in almost every country in the world with the revelation of the Virus and what people who were infected became. Hiding an infection or worse, an infected was a crime that was more often than not punished by death. Thompson understood the idea of “wanting to keep the loved one close regardless of what they were”. But they were undead and needed to be put down for the good of humanity.
Most countries had changed their military standard equipment. Now, every unit had a sharp shooter and a medic. Every solder had the following: Mid distance rifle that could be modified for urban warfare, a short blade for close quarter fighting and reinforced clothing. These were a true innovation. Some genius in Finland had meshed titan wire between light but resistant cloth. The wire made the cloth impervious to biting. Which was amazing for the regular grunt. Thompson was reading about some of the equipment list that had been issued and wondered if it was a coincidence that most countries had gone back to the medieval time or even older for their bladed weapon. The Greek had brought back the Kopis, a short blade with a inverted curve, the Indian had chosen the renowned Kukri, The Italian the Roman Gladius, more precisely the Gladius Hispaniensis, the Scottish had opted for the basket hilt sword while the British had chosen the Officer Navy sword. The Japanese had gone with the katana and more importantly, the Wakizashi. Used in combination using the Niten Ichi-ryū style. They had also rescinded their no army close in their constitution. They had over 20 000 new recruits ready to learn to defend their country. Even the Canadian had their weapon: The native Amerindian Tomahawk. They had make a new upgraded all steel version which was devastatingly efficient.
The most surprising and daring people where from Thailand. They had recruited the best Muay Thai fighters and had outfitted them with a small machete. But their true weapon was a kind of body armor that covered their fist, elbow, shins and knees. They were made from the same plastic from which where made the pm 34 nightstick. The fists were supplemented with bumps on each knuckle, the elbow and knees had spikes and the shins and forearm guards were both protection and weapon. These fighters would engage the Z’s and using their particular martial art, reduce them to squirming pulp and only then deliver the finishing blow with the machete if they had not killed them beforehand. The only truly prepared forces were from Philippine. With their Martial art, Escrima, they already had everything they needed for close quarter combat against the living dead.
Thompson shook his head amazed with the speed at which the world changed. Almost every armed conflict on earth had been stopped in face of the new peril. Religious, political and other reasons for fighting your neighbor became irrelevant when the living dead were scratching at your backdoor. There were still some radical groups in every country that called to arm and called divine retribution on their ancestral enemies. But they were a minority and mostly ignored. Most disturbing were the small bands who had joined the cause of the Bringers of Light. These where the scary one. Going to the media and actually inviting people to mass suicide or to become one of the “blessed”. They would become one with mother earth and eventually would be joined with Her as soil and fertilizer for her nature to nurture. Sick and perverted psychos…
Well, he had to concentrate on the now. He was in Germany, leading a small platoon of both Germans and regular D.B.H troops. A report had come 4 hours earlier that a small group of Z’s were coming their way. They had gone through the town of Munich mostly undetected but had finally been spotted. Their trajectory had brought them to the Englischer Garten Park where Thompson and his troops were waiting for them. 18 man for 12 Z’s, it was good odds. Thompson heard the first moans when something made him stop. He had the feeling that all was not right. Not being the type to have premonitions, clairvoyance or PSY powers, he was stunned. What should he do? The feeling became stronger. Going from “bad” to “ominous”. Making a decision, he called a general retreat, moving to their second position which was on higher ground.

New world

In the last 6 month, the world had changed. Now, everyone knew about the “new disease” and what it did to a human being. They had the Bringers of Light to thank for. Already, people were talking about the “Z Virus”, homage to the famous video games and movies Resident Evil, they were using the slang: “Z” and “Z’s” to talk about infected. The writer of the world acclaimed books: Zombie Survival guide and World War Z, Max Brook had had to go on national tv and explain that his books were fictional and recreational only and should not be used as an actual survival guide. Even though military forces around the world had based their “Intervention Plan” on his writings.
So far, there had been no major outbreak. The Dark Blood Hunters, under the disguise of a “new world wide agency” had prevented all catastrophes and were actively guiding regular forces through what was called the “Zombie Course 101”. They had 3 main division: Science, Public Relation and Public Safety.
Parkson was not happy. Not happy at all. She literally hated this crappy assignment. Science officer in Public Relation was not her idea of having a good time. She envied Thompson his assignment. At least, he had had some fun in Baltimore. A small swarm had come upon the town and had attacked a renowned bakery. The owner, a big guy, had just finished some renovation and was on his roof shooting fireworks, as was his routine whenever something big occurred at the bakery. That’s when he had seen the first of the infected around. He ran downstairs and warned his staff of the incoming danger. Due to the late hour, there were only five other people around: his sous-chef and 3 others. The Z’s, attracted by the noise and the “vitality” of their prey swarmed the place. Due to the renovation, part of the wall fell on the owner and he lost consciousness. His best friend and sous-chef had suddenly gone blood rage crazy. Grabbing a katana (she still did not understand how a fucking katana could find its way in a bakery and why) he had starter cutting heads while screaming insanity at the Z’s. The rest of the staff had used power tools to dismember the zombies. Again, why a bakery needed power tools was beyond her understanding. By the time help got there, the owner had regained consciousness and had grabbed a long cooking shovel used to take cakes out of the oven and was using it to fight the Z’s beside his friend. Since then, they had formed a group of vigilantes and had started keeping the street of Baltimore zombie free. Bakers by day, zombie’s killers by night. Parkson sight. What a turn of event.
“And now, let me introduce to you Dr. Alice Parkson. From the science and public relation of the Disease Control Unit.” Before going onstage, Alice made certain that she had her .38 in her computer bag. Ever since the lecture she had done in San Diego where she had been attacked by some Z’s, she preferred to go armed. One just never knew. She stepped on the stage of Princeton U. She was received with some applause but mostly with a skeptic silence. Alice was getting used to it and she rather had a silent crowd than a hostile one like in Utah. Some crazies had come from all around the state figuring that she would have less security and had started to throw things at her. They were a mix of religious freaks and nature lover who believed that this new virus had been sent here to judge/eradicate humankind. She had had a tough time from it.
She started by explaining the origin of the virus. Or lack of it actually. The only thing any of the D.B.H scientist were certain is that it had been the cause of the dinosaurs disappearance. It coincided with the heavy meteor impact but could not be directly related to it. Some theorized that it had come from one of these meteors and had attacked the system of some mammals creating legion of small but deadly predators who had feed on the dinosaurs. Then, the “post nuclear winter” had almost killed every host. By then, there was not enough food supply and the virus had lain in dormancy until humanity was able to sustain it again.
Other believed that the virus was born with humanity. The proof of it was the early burial rituals that had been observed almost everywhere. From the mommies in ancient Egypt to cairns in Ireland to the sealed tombs in ancient Greek and Rome. Every early ritual allowed for the body to be either cremated, buried so it could not raise or in the Egyptian case, the brain was removed along with every other major organs before mummification. This virus was, following the same theory, the one and only true “human predator”. And it mutated. From it had spawned the black plague of 14th century, coming back until its sudden disappearance during the 19th century. In coincided with the first known world wide effort of the conscious zombies to prevent outbreak around the world.
She moved on to explain the infection sources, its incubation cycle and the disastrous news that it killed 100% of the time. The only way to prevent it from doing more damage was to kill the host and burn it. She moved on explaining the symptom one infected would show and how they never varied regardless of the sex, gender or ethnic group of the carrier. She then passed a movie showing and infected individual going through all the phase of incubation up to his ugly transformation in a monster. At the end of the video, the united state president swore that everything in there was real and no special effects had been added, urging the people watching it to believe in the real treat it represented and to help the disease control unit in any way they could and to never take matter in their own hands as they could become victims themselves.
When she had finished answering the last question, she left the stage and was meet by a Japanese guy. Seeing him, she took a fast step forward and punched him in the face. “How do you DARE show your face to me? Do you know in how much trouble I found myself after I talked to you? And now, I’m the star of 4 movies. FOUR FUCKING MOVIES!!!! I should have let you get eaten then. I hate you!!!”
On the floor, clutching his bleeding nose was the creator of the famous video games and movies: Vile Resident. Facing him, the original Alice.

chapter 27 - world knowledge

Mat was shocked beyond anything he had ever been. He was using telepathy to discuss humanity destiny with the world oldest zombies. His mind rebelled against the idea. George talked again:
- Relax my friend, what is really happening is that your brain is simply emitting and receiving electric waves. The same way a radio works. The virus we have inside is simply expending the range of these waves. That’s what happens with those of us who can control other undead. They simply broadcast their commands and like nice little robots, the Z’s obey.
- Eventually, we all develop this talent. Even though for some of us, it takes longer than for others. Now, continued Nadia, what will you do? Join us or keep helping those who destroy our only and truly important friend, mother earth?
- What about what is happening to me? Can I stop it? I have had enough of being special. I just wanted to be happy and now, I have a bunch of crazy people in my head while I can’t even move!!!! I WANT IT TO STOP NOW!
The mental scream was so strong that everywhere zombies stopped dead in their track and only the truly strong one were able to fight the command. The whole base was put through red alert and only after two hours of searching for the enemy did they notice that Matthiew’s state had change. He had gone from semi comatose to completely off. Nothing seemed to get through him. The doctors tried everything in their powers to get a reaction from him but the conclusion was that he had fled as deep as one could when the order to “stop” had been issued. Nothing they did would get him out. The only thing they could do was to keep him feed and when he was ready, he would come out of his shields.
The top brass decided to follow this plan and even though Mat was a hero, they had a war to fight and they could not let one of their own stop their effort to save humanity. Parkson was enraged and Thompson wasn’t better off. But orders were orders. By now, the rumors had been confirmed: the Ark project was underway and the first footage of a zombie had been seen on national tv. It was time to move to plan B. What was plan B? To find a plan C and fast!
Working over the clock, the people at the top came with a cover story and a reason for the Dark Blood Hunters: A special brand of biochemical medicament had been developed but had turned wrong. Instead of curing paralysis and helping with regeneration, it had attacked the brain and transformed the poor souls in “zombies”. Special teams of Bio-hazard Containment Forces were deployed all over the world to help the different government with the containment and purging of this menace. For now, it would have to do while they worked on a counter strike at their enemy.
It might have worked if on CNN, during prime time, a message of the Bringers of Light claiming full responsibility for the undead rising had not caused mass hysteria and global panic. And while all this happened, Matthiew hid behind his shield.

Chapter 26 - Light

Mat was in a haze. It was the closest he had come to sleep in years and it felt good. He knew that he had had some humongous troubles, but he could not remember what. Voices came through the haze though. He could hear them and sometime understand them too.
- How did he survive?
- No one knows. By all accounts, he should be dead.
- Still, it’s amazing what he did to protect that kid.
- Yeah…
The kid. That triggered something. A subtle reaction that caused his mind to jolt a bit. There had been a baby all right. But…what was it again???
- I heard a rumor today; they would have started the “Ark” Project.
- Nah, that’s just bullshit. There is no such thing as a “Ark”.
- Quiet guy’s, you disturbed him.
A warm towel was passed on his for head and Mat relaxed again. The Ark. He remembered something about this. When had he heard that name? He tried to figure it out: Add the amount of munitions of one clip to the taxes in Minnesota, multiply it by 2 and you got infinity plus 1. It was laughable; still, the memory was there: a project that was supposed to be a secret. If the infection threat ever reached over 5% of earth’s population, some people would be placed in a special facility where they would be kept safe until the menace was over. They would then set out to repopulate the earth. They would be selected for their worth in a new world as well as their ability to cooperate with other people. Was there such a threat?
Then, among the haze and the fog, he felt a presence. It was warm and felt like a blanket had been placed all around him. Cozy and warm. A voice came from it:
- Hello Mat, how are you felling?
Well, he was feeling not so bad actually. Now that the presence was there, he was kind of happy. He felt lonely.
- You know that you caused me a lot of grief?
Mat was sad. He did not want to cause grief to the voice. He only wanted to serve and protect. As if reading his mind, the voice answered.
- Well, yes, serve and protect. That is so ingrained in you that I don’t believe that even God, should you believe in such a thing, could make you change your mind on that. Still, it as it’s charms… I suppose.
Mat was glad the voice was not mad.
- Me? Mad? Oh no my dear, not at all. Why would I be mad? You only forced me to go through my plans in a new fashion and thus helped me…in your way. No, I would like for us to be friends. Would you like that?
Like that? Of course he would like that!!! What a silly question, who would not?
The voice laughed: What a nice boy. I think we …
Another presence was felt. This one felt more like a cool breeze.
- Hello Nadia, mind if I join your little party?
There was a sigh then, the first voice answered:
- No George, feel free to join us.
- You know, you should at least give him the freedom of truly liking you and choosing his side. Coercion is so not becoming you.
- I knew you would say that… you fun spoiler.
Mat did not understand but suddenly, he felt like a light rain had passed through his soul and felt more awake than he had in a long time.
- Now Mat, we shall do the presentation over again. The lady is Nadia Marcello, half French, half Russian.
- Now now Peter, you know that my real name is Nadia Romanov.
- As you wish.
- And this gentleman is George. He is from an older time.
- That’s an understatement; I’m from Syria, before and “Died” in Nicomedia. I’m famous for my encounter with a dragon…
- A..dragon? asked Mat.
- Yup. Though it really was a dinosaur from what I learned a lot later.
- Now, George, can we get to the business at hand? Came the gentle reprimand from Nadia.
- Please go one.
- As I was saying, we are all friends, even if you don’t know it yet Matthiew. I am the one you saw on the train station. I lead the Bringers of Light. A group of undead, like us, who want to free Mother Earth from the infestation that is humanity. We wish to rid it of the vermin that gouge it’s flesh for ore, drink it’s blood so their cars can move, smoke it’s trees so they can eat their cheese burgers, drink it’s water away and destroy all living creatures. When our goal is accomplished, mankind will be a “souvenir” and nothing will ever pollute our sacred nature ever again.
There was a pause. Mat was so shocked that he could not even think. George spoke again:
- To do so, Nadia and her friends are turning as many people as they can in zombies. Then, they pitch them against you and your forces. As you are the Dark Blood Hunters, they are the Bringers of Light. They set themselves in direct opposition to all that you represent. We on the other hand are in neither group. We are a bunch of old friends who prefer to look at the younger generation go at it. But, we still prefer to let you youngster make your choices with open eyes. And from time to time, one of us will interfere with humanity destiny to bring it around what he or she think is best after an agreement of all of us, elders. Now, from time to time, comes an individual so unique that all parties take interest in him. And that “him” is you Mat. Do you know why?
Mat could only wait for the answer. It came from Nadia.
- Because, you Mat are the next step in our evolution as a species. Even though you are undead, you feel pain, love, hatred and even sexual excitement. We all have sex. It helps to pass time and we feel more human from it.
- You said so first, not I.
- Oh ush George. Stop interrupting me. As I was saying, you FEEL. That’s why you are so important. There is also the strength of your powers and the fact that you sustained your metamorphed state longer than anyone in recorded history and are still alive. You have passed beyond our basic state so fast that you can now communicate with the most powerful of us with your mind. When you or they don’t block it, of course. Now Mat, how about it? Do you wish to join us and rid Mother Earth of the human scum?

Chapter 25: Lost and found

Thompson was livid. They had had no contact with their captain since the Delta Protocol. And that had been 4 days ago! What the hell was recon doing? He thought about everything Mathiew had gone through to become accepted and to be trusted again and hoped that he had survived. The man had asked so many questions: where was the virus originated from? No one knew. Surprisingly, information’s on the virus’s origin were scarce at best. It was agreed that it had been there from mankind origin and was in every mythos out there. Vampires were one of the best example, not the “glowing king” but the Nosferatu of old. People didn’t know about zombies at the time and witnessing an attack by a creature named it vampire. But it still did not give answers. Why did a small percentage of human able to mutate with the virus while most of them simply turned mindless killers? No one knew. It was in the gene but more than that… Well, he had done well for himself, thought Thompson, if someone could survive a delta protocol it was Mathiew Andrews.
Thomas was awaken from his reverie by a someone saying his name: “Thompson, sir? I…I think I have something.” Thompson turned toward the young private and looked at him sharply, well? Out with it man, what is it?
- I have been analyzing the satellite imaging around the perimeter of the Delta and found something odd. There is a shadow growing where there should not be anything.
- Meaning private?
- Meaning that either there is a huge tree growing or something is darkening the soil. And to be seen from that height, it has to be big sir.
- I see your point. It might be good to investigate, send an S&R team. Warn them to approach with caution. We never know, it could be another trap.
- Yes sir!
Thompson went back to his thoughts. Mathiew had gone the extra mile every time he had to do or learn something. He had made it his business to know more than anyone about their new enemy, to hunt it down whenever he could. He had been one of the first to warn the other about a global threat. No one had wanted to believe them. Oh how they believed him now! Half their forces destroyed or missing in action after a bare 1 year of real conflict, awareness growing with the world’s population, pressure from every dam government out there to do something, as if they were sitting on their ass, and more regular troops in their ranks than should be allowed. It as a risky thing since everyone of them could become the enemy if bitten or contaminated. So many liabilities that it was frightening at time.
The thing that truly scared Thompson was that after almost 10 000 years, they were no closer to a cure or a vaccine than they were to prevent the annual flu pandemic. It was maddening. Research to prevent the Z virus from mutating humans were not giving any results. They had tried everything from drugs, to nanobots to no avail. Radiation killed it, but the host died to. With enough drugs, you could destroy it, but no one survived the side effects. And nanites were useless as they were destroyed by the virus!!!!! For a poor Scotsman whose time was long before all this, it was like seeing the power of the church loosing its grip all over again, but this time God was science, and it was losing to a virus so old, it should have been eradicated long ago.
They knew all about its working: the virus entered the blood stream and started mutating anything that it touched. Every cell in contact with it became undead. Once it reached the brain, it killed it and changed its structure so that it was independent from the rest of the human body. It only allowed information from flowing in one direction: from the brain out. That’s what made it so dangerous. Nothing short of destroying the brain killed it. And even then, it stayed alive in the blood, saliva or any other fluid for 22 hours. Cutting the head was stopping the body, but the head itself was still able to bite. And feeding was the only real instinct left in the brain.
They knew all about how the zombie found its food since they had conscious one on their side, but from where did the virus found the genetic material to create this ESP organ? It was said that the human brain was only used to 10% of its capacity, but still. Creating an all new pattern of cells so the Z could detect a human from far away with a sense of smell that was not even there, it spoke of a virus so advance that it should not have been so old. Contradictions within contradictions.
Then, Thompson ears picked a conversation between the Search and Rescue team that made his blood run cold: Target conformed sir, it is the captain alright. But… we are faced with roughly 1 000 Z’s and almost as many dead. They are circling a tent. Waiting. And every 5 minute, 10 of them go and attack’s it. And 5 minute later, 10 other. There is more, we have found sing of one heat source. Small and human. Probably a baby sir. And the captain is… he is in his Dark Hunter persona sir. I repeat, he is in his Dark Hunter Persona. We request backup ASAP. And sir? Bring the heavy weapons… we will need them.
Thompson was amazed and not a little worried: 4 days as a D-H. That would be hell to heal…

On hiatus!

yup. you had guessed so. Well, new job, (which I hope I will like and be good at) new schedule and so forth and so on. I hope to be able to finish wrighting chapter 25 soon. take care folks.

Guy Matte

Chapter 24: Wanderer

Mat was in trouble and he knew it. While he felt quite comfortable on his tree branch, the share amount of Z’s surrounding him was astonishing. When he had first started to shoot, the lion pride had runoff somewhere. Since then, he was alone surrounded by the groaning and moaning monsters who were trying to reach him.
In the tree, Mat was using the butt of his riffle to crack heads open and thus kill Z’s. It was an efficient and ammo saving way of doing thing. It was only tiring. On the comlink, he heard about the chopper getting shot at and that’s when he knew he was in trouble. Not only him but his team too. Mat took his weapon bag out and started to put his riffle, guns and other “tool of the trade” away as fast as he could. Being a captain, he knew what was likely to come: an air strike using either: a small nuclear war head bomb using the Nikawa-Okmankov technology which allowed for a limited radius of action but for a more powerful explosion. It also prevented high degree of radioactive contamination. That was protocol Alpha. It was unlikely though since, there was about between 700 and 1200 Z’s only. Protocol Beta and Charlie were around the same degree of destruction but used chemicals that destroyed human tissues and bone structure. No, the most probable was Delta.
Delta was a high particle beam explosion, not unlike a microwave oven. It accelerated particles in such a way that it could be directed on an area and it would generate a pressure equivalent to 10 times earth pressure in 0.04 second for 1 second. It was enough to crush almost anything man made that had not been built to withstand this kind of pressure. And with pressure comes heat. A wave off heat would roll off burning and incinerating almost everything on its way for almost 1.5 km. which meant him too. Mat figured he had about 10 minutes before they called the Protocol. So, he transformed himself and started running. Mat was almost out of the area of effect of the bomb when it hit. The explosion sent hum tumbling and severely hit his head on a rock.
It opened its eyes and looked around. There was no light. No direct light at least. The moon was up and some stars were showing. That was plenty for it to see his way around. It got on shaky legs and sat back on the ground, feeling nauseous. It saw the bag and remembered that it was Important. Why? It did not know but he had to keep it. It was hungry and thirsty. Maybe it could find something to eat? It struggled upward again and then, decided to use all four limbs and life was better.
It moved around in the cold searching for something to eat or drink when it smelled food. It came from around the grass dune and he heard a strange sound. Something that made his hair stands on his body. Then, the smell hit him: dark, pungent, repulsive. It growled and moved faster, there was no way it would let the Enemy alive. It ran to the source of the disgusting smell and attacked without delay, severing its head and crushing it against the ground. Then, looking around, he noticed several enemy around … humans!
It screamed a challenge and attacked the Enemy, killing all of them in almost no time. But it was too late. The Humans were dead. It was sad. It tried to nudge one of them awake but they were dead and it knew what it had to do. After crushing their heads, it prepared to move along when a small cry stopped it. Something was still alive here. The smell was almost to feeble for it to catch but there, on the nights wind it was. A human. A LIVE human. It made a strange sound between a purr and a bark and ran to the human. There it stopped short in his track. A strange contraption of tissue was in its way and the human was inside it. It made itself known but no one came out. Finally, impatient to receive its pat on the head for a job nicely done, it pocked its head inside. There was no one. Puzzled, it gave a great sniff and there it was; the human smell.
Looking around, it finally found the source of the smell: a tiny human was lying on its back sleeping soundly. It rocked its world. Human could be small? It carefully took the human it it’s paws and brought it to its eyes. The human was so small that it fitted in one of its great paws. The human awoke and started crying. It almost dropped it from fright but kept it in its paws wondering what to do whit it. It did not smell bad, and did not look hurt. Maybe it was hungry too? Searching for food, it found many things that could partially feed him but its instincts told it that it would not be good for the mini human. Then, it stumbled on a collection of bottles. One of them had a weird cap. The same instinct told it that it had found FOOD for the human. It brought the bottle to its mouth and the human feed hungrily. Then went back to sleep.
It was puzzled. What to do now? The sun would be up soon and it did not believe the human protected enough to withstand the heat. What to do?