Among the Fallen: Resurrection (32 page)

The Asphyxiated swayed as his body hauled both his giant axe and the crippled body over the litter strewn floor, his long and randomly placed steps dragging sluggishly as he writhed towards the doors. He paused at the doors and jittered, suddenly turning and gazing directly at where Alex was hiding. Alex’s heart dropped instantly and clasped her mouth in fright, trembling as the macabre creature stared across the room. Suddenly, the Radio at the back of the room crackled.

“This is Officer Charley Mayes of Blackwater Correctional Facility Transport, are there any survivors out there, if anyone can hear us; reply on this channel!” a woman’s voice suddenly crackled. The Asphyxiated dropped his weapon and the cadaver to the ground, slowly heaving his painful body towards the radio; Alex watched on with a strange and haunting curiosity.

“I repeat, if there are any survivors out there, give us your location and we will come and find you!”

the voice on the radio continued. The Asphyxiated leant over the radio as Alex watched curiously from the darkness. Suddenly, it leant over and flicked a switch.

“Hello?!” the Asphyxiated cried with a child’s voice. “I’m alive!” it begged eerily.

“Where are you, Honey?” the voice asked over the radio sympathetically. Alex clasped her mouth in fright, shivering coldly as the Asphyxiated continued.

“I’m trapped in the Police Precinct, my Mommy and Daddy are dead!” the Asphyxiated cried.

“It’s okay, Honey. Find somewhere safe to hide, we are coming for you!” the friendly voice said over radio. The Asphyxiated suddenly stood up, stumbling and tripping as he grabbed its axe from the ground heartlessly, dragging it over to the radio and smashing it to pieces before her very eyes. Alex was frantic, shivering as her eyes streamed with emotion – she couldn’t let those people walk into a trap, but she didn’t have the time to wait around either. As Alex contemplated on whether to just move on or stay, the Asphyxiated grabbed the cadaver and opened the doors, callously looking back at her and nodding smugly before leaving the room.

As the doors locked together, Alex staggered out from under the desk, listening to the dragging sound as it eventually faded into the distance – suddenly, a door slammed and it was gone. Alex ran up to the radio as it fizzled and sparked furiously, its burning circuit boards sizzling and popping before her. Alex turned and glared over the room as her eyes jittered and streamed – what could she do?

Alex started to calm and as she did, she wandered around the office looking for more clues, until immediately she remembered Amber’s log-book. She took off her rucksack and pulled the book from within; flipping through the tiny pages for something she remembered seeing.

“We have been watching the news reports outside the city, and saving them to the hard-drive in the
S.W.A.T Operations Office on the second floor. The username is NEXUS, and the password is
11041976.”

She mumbled quietly as she looked over the workstations, rubbing her head in lost thoughts. She pulled out a chair and sat at one of the tables, waking a computer from its sleep and waited. She stared at the screen as it lit her face, her withering and wraith like shadow crawling upon the back wall, her black eyes washed with light as the operating system booted up, eventually demanding a password. Alex looked upon the book briefly before typing in the username and password; waiting tolerantly as access was finally granted. The computer hummed and instantly, a video started to run.

Live News Report: 31st July 2012 ; 23:32PM - NMC News Network

Studio Newsreader:
We are bringing you this special update on day five of the Blackwater Pandemic.

We hand you over LIVE to our reporter Tasmin Yaier…

Tasmin:
This is Tasmin Yaier reporting live from NMC News, these are the dramatic scenes Live at the
Blackwater city quarantine zone blockade on the outskirts of Blackwater. Men, women and children,
with their possessions are trying desperately to leave city tonight as the currently incurable and
terrifying Legacy Virus infects Blackwater, bringing the current death toll to 382,543, with many
thousands more said to be infected. As you can see the military are acting with the Beaumont
Corporation and have sealed the gates, and on top there are ACTUAL armed Military Personnel
patrolling, most likely BSCS; however, reports are sketchy at this present time.

Studio Newsreader:
We have heard many of the unconfirmed reports, Tasmin. But is there any
confirmed report on the nature of the Legacy Virus, and more importantly, what it does to the
infected?

Tasmin:
Well, all I can say is nobody is being told anything, I myself have interviewed the people
here, and I have heard stories ranging from violence, erratic and out of character behavior and even
CANNIBALISM! The Beaumont Corporation is keeping extremely tight lipped about the whole thing
and it appears they too have authority over the military, so it is a very strange and enigmatic event
this one, Howard.

Studio Newsreader:
How does the Legacy Virus pass from host to host, and how many thousands are
infected, Tasmin?

Tasmin:
Well Howard, it is actually impossible to put a number on it due to the nature of the Legacy
Virus and bizarre way the infected act. The figure 382,543 is actually the number of people
presumed dead but as you know from previous reports, death is not actually an issue to a certain
extent. We have had reports about people being attacked and eccentric reports of cannibalism and
even people being misdiagnosed as DEAD, authorities are saying that it is possible that the virus gives
off the symptoms of death allowing such errors in the first place. But as the drama here unfolds we
will try and get you some viable pictures of the infected as soon as we can.

Studio Newsreader:
Are there any sign of anyone being let out? How are the Public reacting?

Tasmin:
Well as you can see, Howard - there’s widespread panic here, we are delivering this report
from the top of the news van because there’s a lot of mania here, we are still waiting for an update
of when they will start letting people leave, but until then, there we are told to look out for all the
symptoms - which are mostly flu like symptoms, such as cold sweats, hot flushes and aching limbs,
skin deterioration and muscle breakdowns in more advanced cases, the infected are described as…

oh wait! Hold on Howard we are just getting an update……. It appears that the military will NOT be
letting anyone leave at all until further notice.

Studio Newsreader:
Wait a minute, Tasmin. Can you reconfirm that? Did you say NOBODY is
allowed to leave the quarantine Zone!

Tasmin:
Yes that is right, I’m not sure if you can hear the loud speaker here over the panic, but
basically they are telling people to return to the city and go back to their homes, locking their doors
and windows and holding up until the Pandemic passes.

Studio Newsreader:
What is the Beaumont Corporation doing about the outbreak, Tasmin?

Tasmin:
At present we are not too sure, there has not actually been an official statement as yet, but
we have been informed that Beaumont Pharmaceuticals is currently fast tracking an anti-virus on
Nacoon island and the island is under quarantine too with Lethal Force authorized to keep the Legacy
Virus away from the island as they work on a cure. We are even informed that Mayor Beaumont
himself has remained on the island and personally overseeing the cures development.

Studio Newsreader:
Is there any word from the Mayor himself on the Outbreak and how it managed
to get into the city in the first place?

Tasmin:
At present, Howard… there is still no word from the Mayor and he’s been quiet and stayed
out of the news since the murder of his daughters, Sarah and Alexandra. However, we have been
informed he will be giving a press conference in the morning, but until then residents of Blackwater
are being urged to STAY at home as nobody knows the true nature of the virus… it could be airborne,
blood transmitted, fluid transmitted… nobody knows anything. The two main Hospitals in
Blackwater are REFUSING to take any more cases with East General reportedly to have been
ABANDONED! We have not travelled into the city yet but it is reported by witnesses here as a WAR

ZONE. Hospitalization is now NOT an option as no known medical procedures work against the
Legacy Virus, intravenous antibiotics actually speeds up the virus… it is a very dark night here at
Blackwater.

Studio Newsreader:
What advice are they giving the residents once they return home?

Tasmin:
Okay, Howard, this is where it takes a turn for the worse. Basically what they are saying is,
go home, barricade yourself and your family inside. If you have a Panic Room, basement or attic hide
there and await rescue. If any of your family have been infected and are in the early stages there are
three options. One is to secure them in a room either by tying them to a bed, radiator or anything to
prevent them moving, shut the door and await rescue. The second option is to remove them from
the house and leave them outside where the military will find them, administer the cure when it is
found and await their return home. The Third which I actually cannot believe I’m reading is to…

Studio Newsreader:
Tasmin, we are losing the signal, you were saying about the Third Proc….

Tasmin:
Sorry to interrupt you Howard, we appear to have a situation here! The infected have
reached the quarantine zone and as you can see there is mass hysteria here, and yes those are
gunshots you can hear. We can’t actually get close enough because there are people everywhere.

Danny can you zoom in that over there?

Danny:
I’m getting it I’m getting it…

…………….…………………………………..Jesus Christ!

Tasmin:
Oh my God this is…. As you can see, Howard the Infected are…

End of Transmission

Chapter Twenty: Upon Deaf Ears

Alex stooped as the video ended abruptly, the screen switching back to a folder containing more video files. She impetuously scanned the names and scrolled down the numbered files but found nothing of obvious interest; she certainly didn’t have time to watch them all, so she left the desk and wandered towards the main windows, looking out over the city glumly.

There was obviously some relief, even if only a little, that the whole contagion was confined to Blackwater alone. The city was undeniably an impregnable fortress; its colossal wall defences meant it could be very easily quarantined; all the government had to do was seal the main gates leading into the city and that would be the end of it. What appeared to be the city’s best defence against intruders and vagrants, ultimately became the resident’s undying tomb. Alex stood staring over the city towards the forests and beyond; the whole state and beyond was most likely asleep, completely oblivious to the fact that they might not even wake up in the morning - if she were to fail of course.

Alex put her hands into her pockets and looked down into the courtyard; the red and blue lights colouring the walls eerily as the hordes waited patiently on the other side of the wall. As the ghostly light beamed through the blinds lighting up her worried face, she stood cold and silent as the dust floated around her.

The Asphyxiated appeared to be gone - for now at least. The identity and purpose of her stalker’s game continued to elude her. He obviously wasn’t a Fallen, and even if he was, he weren’t making it obvious. She sighed and lit a cigarette, watching a pack of dogs fighting over the same corpse in street below, their jaws ravenous and their bodies altering. It had crossed her mind that anything feeding from infected tissue could too become infected; but the mechanics behind the Legacy Virus were a complete mystery to her. She watched as the dogs savagely ripped themselves apart, randomly snarling and yelping as the larger, more dominant one stood above the others claiming rights over his meal. Alex turned away coldly, chugging on her cigarette and looking over the office in mystification.

She eventually grabbed her rucksack and made her way over to the doors, gently peering out into the mournful and abandoned hall cautiously. Alex flicked her cigarette to the ground and made her way back to the stairwell, opening it with growing paranoia and looking over the darkness with mistrust. She stood on the marble stairs listening intently as the extractor fans from the air conditioning hummed out of sight, the wind outside howling past the windows with furious gusts.

She looked down the gap that led to the darkness below before turning and gazing up, the empty stairwell noiseless and intimidating. She put her arms through the straps on her rucksack and pulled it onto her back tightly, readjusting her collar and sighing in a lost and tormented huff of bewilderment. She strolled up the stairs and clasped the metal gates that sealed the top floor, tugging on them gently as they rattled with an echo that vanished into the void below her. She looked over them inquisitively before reaching through and grabbing the chain and padlock on the other side, pulling it through with a violent tug. The chain shattered, its metal links scattering the ground like glass. Alex stepped back and listened with caution, paranoid the inescapable noise she was making would be heard by the macabre stalker that prowled the precinct. As the stairwell dropped back into silence, Alex quietly pulled open the gates and stepped towards the door that led into the second-floor.