Read Infected Freaks Volume One: Family First Online
Authors: Jason Borrego
Infected Freaks Volume One: Family First (10 page)
He only stared at her with big eyes. “Can you hear them?” Hunter questioned trying to listen for the buzzing sound. “I can’t hear anything.”
“They are coming,” she warned, adjusting her hearing aids. “They’re still far away, but they’re coming.”
In the background there was only the sound of heavy wind and the drip of water. It was the first time Abraham felt like he was without the terrible sound. Morning had come to save them. The sunlight would chase the monsters back into the dark crevices of the mountains. “We should be safe,” he replied.
The swelling in Hunter’s face was bright and would leave a healthy bruise. The boy had a few minor cuts from the collapsing of the barn, but considering the size of the septic; Abraham thought he got off easy. Showing his smile, he pulled the boy and his sister into his warm embrace and sobbed.
“Where did these men take them?”
“I would guess Denver. What about the farm?” Emme asked, placing an ear to his chest as if to listen to the pounding of his heart.
Abraham had come to this place to survive, and it was going to be hard to leave. One moment, they were laughing and playing games, the next moment stole everything. Abraham turned his head back toward the farm house and sighed. “Our time at the farm is over. Fix your eyes in the opposite direction, for that is our future.”
He listened for the voice of reason. However, only the terrible evil spoke to him. The animals were dead, his family taken, but at least two of his grandchildren were safe. He grabbed the little girl and pulled her close. “We’ll find Grandma and then the rest of our family. I swear that to you, my little princess.”
“That thing got enough juice to make it to Denver?” Sam asked, emerging from the curve of the farm house. Her green tank top was now brown-red. She picked up the hammer Abraham had used from the dirt and held it out in her open palm. “Sugar, you might want to keep this. I think it suits you.”
Abraham made himself look at all the carnage. Flesh, fungus, and blood battered together like a cake mix. It took him a moment to realize these things had once been human. The infected no longer looked like people. The fungus had eaten their eyes, and sometimes their faces. He took the bloody hammer and smiled.
“I did what I had to do, and would do it again,” he promised, adjusting his glasses. “If the rest of the way is stuffed with this infected dung, then no, we won’t make it to Denver with the little gas left in the tank.” He regarded the bits of bones and pieces of flesh strung about the area. “But it is a step in the right direction.”
He watched his grandson look up and noticed Sam’s curvy figure.
“Glad you made it,” Hunter said, smiling at the beautiful girl.
“Honey, I’m not going to die. Not until I find my brother. It seems that fate has strung us together. And it’s clear as mud it wants us to travel to Denver or whatever is left of the Mile High City. How about we all get a change of clothes before we set out into the great unknown?”
“But more of them are coming,” Emme warned, tugging on her grandpa’s sleeve.
“Look,” Hunter said, pointing at the first rays of dawn. “The sun will drive them away. We should be safe until dusk.”
Abraham chewed on Sam’s words. They were the same words his wife would have spoken. Yes, believing everything happened for a reason was a bit childish. The universe was vast; the country alone more miles than he could ever walk. The wind could have been wrong, but maybe he simply needed to believe in something. Somewhere out there, far away, his family needed him. The connection of his heart wavered in his heavy chest.
I’m coming, Beth.
Looking up at the fading stars, he wondered if his wife was looking up at the same blistered morning sky and thinking of him. He turned back toward the truck while everyone else took off to the house. He heard Emme introduce herself to Sam, and promise Sam that she could wear some of her aunt’s clothes. The morning glory had stretched across his wary face, and the daylight gave him strength, strength to fight on in a world of shit and piss.
I will search for my family for now and forever.
FALL 2014
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Abraham’s nightmare has just begun…
After a narrow escape, Abraham Heinz and the rest of his group set out to find his missing family members. The hostile territory takes them to an old friend, bunkered down in what is left of a crumbling mountain town.
Abraham finds his friend and is thankful for shelter from the infected freaks roaming the desolate landscape. However, he quickly discovers that his old friend has dangerous secrets. Abraham must decide if the life of a stranger is worth trading for his missing family.
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MIND CONTROLLING FUNGUS FOUND IN BRAZILIAN RAIN FOREST:
Most fictional zombie infections are a product of a deadly virus. However, in the deep forests of Brazil a real cordyceps fungus has done the impossible. It has brought to life the zombie apocalypse on the insect world. Originally thought to be a single class of fungi, the cordyceps is now divided between four distinct species with the possibly for many more. This is part of the inspiration for my book series INFECTED FREAKS.
“The newly discovered phenomenon is frightening scientist around the globe. This is because of the mind controlling abilities the fungi presents. Scientists have announced the zombie fungus species can infect ants, take over the brain, and then kill the insect in a spot that is desirable to grow more fungi and help spread the spores. Some of these ants could travel miles to find the right spot. This makes the body of the ant a puppet to the fungi.
The parasitic spores attach to the ant, eventually breaking through the exoskeleton using mechanical pressure and enzymes. A bit, a scratch, a tear in the flesh would be enough for the fungi to invade the blood stream with the ultimate goal of the brain.
Next up is the yeast stage. The fungi spreads in the ant’s body and presumably produces compounds that affect the ant’s hemocoel and utilizes the evolutionary trait of an extended phenotype to manipulate the behavioral patterns exhibited by the ant. Zombie ants begin to have irregularly spaced full body convolutions which sends them to the forest floor. The insect climbs up the stem of a plant and uses its mandibles to secure itself to a leaf vein, with abnormal force, leaving dumbbell-shaped marks on it.
Once the mandibles of the ant are secured to the leaf vein, atrophy sets in destroying the sarcomere connections in the muscle fibers, and reduces the mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticula. The ant is no longer able to control the muscles of the mandible and will remain affixed here. This lockjaw trait is popularly known as the death grip, and is essential in the fungus’s fitness. The fungus then kills the ant, and continues to grow as its hyphae invade more soft tissues and structurally fortify the ant’s exoskeleton. More mycelia then sprout out of the ant, and securely anchor it to the plant substrate while secreting antimicrobials to ward off competition. When the fungus is ready to reproduce, its fruiting bodies grow from the ant’s head and rupture, releasing the spores. This process takes 4 to 10 days.”
The discovery by David Hughes and colleagues is something of wonder and terror. The fungal growth is only thought to harm the insect population. However, with each new species of fungus the risk to humans seems paramount. The fungus is capable of adapting to various environments and victims. Should the fungi ever infect a human brain the results may be similar to the fantasied zombie apocalypse.
The cordyceps fungus is an ever evolving species that scientists are just beginning to understand. With thousands of zombie fungi in tropical forests across the globe yet to be discovered, the chances of a human infection are high according to some of the specialists in the field.
The fungus uses its host to spread the infection. The human body is capable of spreading such a virus in an uncanny manner. Instead of devouring flesh the will of the creature would be to infect other hosts. This is exactly what these zombie ants do to its own colony. Once an ant is infected, the fungus forces the bug to bit other ants and in doing so allows the infection to spread at a frightening rate. The same concept applied to humans is exactly what the zombie apocalypse entails. However, unlike zombies a brainless body would bloom into a forest of fungus and create pockets of spores to infect the next unlucky person to stroll close enough. The human tissue would feed the fungi for a wealth of time allowing the process to devour mankind in a short period.
However, ants are smart and if they sense infected member they will carry them away from the colony hoping to avoid the infection. Of course the fungus infecting humans is speculation at this point. But in my new book series Infected Freaks the outbreak is real and possibly alien.
Learn more about the cordyceps fungus on the Web:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8
http://www.jasonborrego.com/cordyceps-fungus/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA02gyLwh0A&list=PL_qbtwt0bvuUlYqIpEqMyd_jCkK3VzelS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WHaFWgKSsU&list=PL_qbtwt0bvuUlYqIpEqMyd_jCkK3VzelS
http://www.wired.com/2013/09/absurd-creature-of-the-week-zombie-ant-fungus/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/zombie-ant-fungus-parasite/
Jason Borrego is author based in Denver, Colorado. He is leading the charge against hard-hitting political issues such as who would win in a fight—a pirate or a ninja. Please let him know on
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In addition, in these troubling times Jason aims to expose major cover ups such as dragons behind every major war, zombies boosting the coffee industry and the unicorns unionizing movement plaguing the nation.
How is a lowly author supposed to focus? As an exhausted war veteran, a college grad with endless debt, a parent without a clue, and future knight of the round table—most will find his writing chronicles his own journeys and struggles in life. That should scare you!
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The Mutant World of Rite is a fictional universe that combines the elements of science fiction and fantasy in a truly ominous setting that transcend physics and nature. The new world taps into the familiar dystopian end of the world vibe and injects it with a nasty dose of fantasy and fright. The Mutant World of Rite fiction assumes that most modern life occurred roughly parallel to the real world up until late in the twenty-first century.
In this series I simply aim to display colorful heroes at their darkest moments. They must wear their strength on their sleeves with gut wrenching consequences at every turn. This is done through parallels in a fantastic after the end of the world fashion. Inspiring heroes and heroines who must choose to do right and in doing such suffer great losses.
Coming Soon…
A Prisoner of the Wasteland
:
Antonio is a hero of war, a deeply felt soldier that questions the limits of sanity. A lifetime of gut wrenching pain has left him as a fractured shell of his former glory. His gut wrenching journey reminds us that we are all vulnerable. The conclusion offers no easy answers.
A College of Spirits and Warfare:
Ray’s inspiring adventure begs for belief in the impossible. Discovering a whole new world hidden in plain view at an infamous college, requires admirable friends. He must discover to walk with friends in the dark, or die alone in the light. Ray shows us that the shoulder of a friend is sharp as any sword.
The Inner Workings of Decay:
Jude’s is left to ponder what it is to be human. The stealth assassin never belonged, but the reason will shatter his every conviction. Jude must look past his flesh, and discover the true meaning of his existence. The only question that remains is will he still believe?
Untold Secrets of Redwood:
Rose’s struggle is a heart stopping tale of tragedy that exposes the carnal nature of a divided family, in a supernatural world. It will appeal to fans of hard hitting heroines.