The Azrael: Surviving the Outbreak (17 page)

“There isn’t anymore.  It’s all gone.  I looked.  I’ve been searching for days.  I’ve pissed myself, look.”  The boy said pointing at his pants.

“It’s okay, you’re sick.  It’s not your fault.  It doesn’t mean that you should give up.  Maybe you missed something.”  Giselle said searching the back room for insulin. She moved around boxes and searched through bags meant for customers that didn’t pick up their orders.  After thirty minutes of searching throughout the pharmacy she finally found a locked cabinet that had several bottles of insulin inside.  She smashed the glass and grabbed the bottles.  She located some syringes and filled one and injected it in the boy’s arm.

“You found some, my zombie hero.”  The boy said cheering.  Giselle searched for more drugs she thought she could use.  Most of the drugs on the shelf were gone.  The cabinet with insulin was well hidden behind a few white lab coats.  Thank God it wasn’t looted, she thought.  She dropped several bottles along with syringes in her pack.  It was full of drugs.

“Okay, we need to get you out of here.”  Giselle said standing up pulling the boy to his feet.  She looked out the window and the other ten were at the window banging.   “Shit, we’re trapped.”  She said.

“There’s a back door.  An alarm is gonna go off though.  That’s why I didn’t use it.  I didn’t think that I’d make it far enough away from them in time.”  The boy said as Giselle led him towards the door.

“What’s your name?”  Giselle asked.

“Ethan.  What’s your name zombie lady?”

“Giselle, just Giselle.”  She smiled and pushed the door open.  The alarm sounded as Ethan said.  “How did you know the alarm would sound?”

“My mom used to work here.  She wasn’t a pharmacist.  She was the manager so she had access to everywhere.”  Ethan said.  They sprinted across the street and managed to make it across and into the garage that was left open.  They hid behind a car that was stuck behind a minivan.

“Where is she now?”  Giselle asked and Ethan kept his focus on the ground.

“She didn’t make it home from work when it hit here.  I don’t know if she’s dead, one of them or still out there.  Me and a couple of my friends were hiding out at Marco’s place.  That was a while ago though, I’m sure they left by now.”  Ethan said. 

“They didn’t try to help you get the insulin?”  Giselle asked.

“They dropped me off in front of Snyders.  When the herd showed up they drove off.  I was already in the back, so I just stayed in the back.  There were a few boxes of snacks in the pharmacy, probably kept there for extra storage.”  Ethan said.

“How long you been in there?”

“I don’t know.  I lost track after a few days.”

“Well, I won’t leave you Ethan.”  Giselle started to apply the masking agent on Ethan.

“Fish Oil?  What’s that for?” 

“It’s not fish oil.  It’s a liquid that hides the human scent from those things.  I just hope it hides your other odors.”  Giselle said nodding at the herd that wandered near the back of Snyders with confusion.  The alarm continued to sound for two more minutes until the battery finally died that provided a backup to the alarm.  As the excitement finally died out the herd slowly moved on to somewhere else. 

“It worked.  Guess they aren’t attracted to fishy shit.”  Ethan said.

“Looks that way don’t it?  Let’s get moving.  The YMCA is only a few blocks away.”  Giselle said as she assisted Ethan out of the garage.  They both needed a shower when they get back.

“So, what’s the deal with your eyes?  Seriously, what’s wrong?”  Ethan asked.

“Like I said, I’m sick too.”  Giselle said, removed her glasses, ripped the tag off and put them back on.

“Were you a klepto before this all happened?  You seem pretty comfortable with it.”  Ethan asked.

“To save people’s lives, I’ll do anything.  The important thing is what you’re stealing, for what reason, and from whom.  These days anything that isn’t privately hoarded is fair game.  The Azrael can’t use this shit.”  Giselle said patting her bag.

“Where did you get your gun and the vest?  Did you steal it too?”  Ethan asked.

“I acquired it from someone who didn’t need it anymore, someone who if they had a chance would have tried to make a difference.”  Giselle said.

“I’m hoping that when all this is over and everything is back to normal that I’ll make better decisions with the people that I call friends.”  Ethan said.

“Nothing will be as it was before.  But there can be a new normal that doesn’t involve these things.  I don’t know how close we are to achieving a new normal, but I hope it’s soon.”  Giselle smiled at Ethan.

“Me too Giselle.”  Ethan smiled and thought of his mother and a tear left his right eye.  He brushed it away before Giselle could see it.  She didn’t see it but she smelled it in the air.

“It’s ok.  We’re ok.”

She’s Worth Dying For

Mario quietly followed the dog.  Samson was having trouble moving quickly but kept his sniffer on Taliah’s scent.  He led Mario to where the school was in sight.  He whimpered a bit as it looked at the school’s main entrance and looked back at Mario and raised his eyebrow.

“It’s okay.  We’ll get you fixed up when this is all over.  I see the place.  Go lay down over there and rest.  You’ve done enough.  Good boy.”  Mario said while petting Samson.  He kissed his snout and said “Thank you” under his breath. 

Two men were guarding the entrance in red and black bandanas holding AR-15’s.  Before he engaged anyone he remembered what Clip said before he left.  “Don’t kill everyone.  We’re not all bad people.”  This is a true statement and he hoped that he didn’t have to kill any more people.  He knew that this was a nice thought, but someone is going to die.  He just hoped that it wasn’t anyone that he cared about.

He removed the sharp arrowhead from two of his bolts and attached field points that he dulled just for this application.  He tossed a rock as far as he could to the right of the entrance striking the building.  One of his bolts was already set up and as the two turned he shot the one on the left in the temple causing him to blackout.  He reseated the other bolt and shot it as the man turned around to check on his friend.  The bolt struck him in the forehead and he was dazed.  Mario ran in and choked the man to sleep.  He checked the pulse on the other guard and he was okay.  He picked up his bolts and put them back on his crossbow.  He put on a red and black bandana and walked in.  He pushed the door open and noticed several guards posted up in all corners of the building.  He heard screams, they were from John.  He was in a room to the right of the entrance.  Mario walked towards the door with a limp that resembled how some of these clowns walked and wasn’t questioned.  As he walked in the room he found John tied to a chair.  His face was severely bruised and his left eye was swollen shut.  Blood was dripping from his mouth and a man was sitting in front of him with a knife that was covered in blood.

“How you likin’ initiation? When I’m done with you Johnny boy I’m gonna cut your woman.”  The man said jabbing his knife in John’s left leg.  John screamed and started to laugh.  His good eye noticed Mario as he jabbed the knife into his leg.

“Paco, meet Mario.”  John said smiling revealing several missing teeth.  Paco turned around jabbing his knife at Mario.  Mario avoided the knife strike, redirected it back at Paco’s neck, pushed it in and pulled it to the side slitting his throat.  He fell quietly drowning in his own blood. 

“Already in the gang Mario?  I was hoping I’d get to beat you in once my initiation was complete.”  John laughed pointing at the bandana on Mario’s head.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?”  Mario asked pulling the bandana from Paco’s head and wrapping it around John’s leg tightly.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.  Check on the girls.  Their initiation is different.”  John said hanging his head down and spitting blood on the ground.

“Can you move John?”

“Of course, I’ve seen worse before.  I used to box in my younger days.  Took some ass beatings back then, but I always got back up.  At least I think I did?”  John said getting up after Mario cut away his bindings.  He grunted as he stood favoring the leg that didn’t have a stab wound in it.

“You’re one tough son of a bitch John.  Can’t take that away from you.”  Mario said grabbing the back of his neck and touching his forehead to John’s.  “You get out of here and sit with Samson.  He’s not looking so hot.”

“What happened to the dog?”  John said pulling away and looked outside to see what condition Samson was in.

“A gunshot?”

“They shot the dog?  Fuck that, I don’t want to be in this gang.  They’re assholes.”  John said as he started to walk out of the building with a limp.  Savanna screamed and he froze.  He looked at Mario.

“Damn it, I know.  Go get her Rocky.”  Mario said and started his search for Taliah.

“No one touches my woman.”  John said as he went back in the room that he was being tortured in and picked up the knife that was in his leg not long ago.  Her scream was coming from upstairs so he hobbled his broke dick ass up there in hopes to get the jump on whoever was trying to get the jump on Savanna.

Mario slowly moved through the school searching for a sound that he could identify as Taliah.  He found none.  His window to utilize the element of surprise was slowly closing with every minute he was searching for Taliah.  If a rover found the other guards then the place will be locked down and who knows what will happen to Taliah, Mario thought.

Mario searched the entire bottom floor and found no traces of Taliah.  He had to put several more of the gang members to sleep.  He pulled their bodies to a storage closet and rigged it so that it would be only be able to open from the outside. 

John followed the sound of Savanna and kept his focus.  His vision was coming in and out as his blood loss started to take a toll on him.  As Mario entered the second floor he noticed John’s steps falter and the knife slipped from his grip.  He was too weak to notice.  A gang member popped around the corner behind John and was about to attack him but Mario shot his crossbow with a field point at his temple rendering him unconscious.  John didn’t even notice, since his vision started to tunnel towards Savanna’s voice.  Mario knew that John needed to do this.  If he knew that he helped him he would never forgive himself.

“Stay away from me.  There are zombies out there and you’re tryin’ this shit.”  Savanna shouted and there was a short pause.  “What the hell do you want me to do with that?”  Savanna hollered beyond the door.  John opened the door quietly and found Savanna on her knees in the corner of the room.  A large man about three hundred pounds hovered over her trying to remove his pants.  Her head was turned and she didn’t notice John sneaking up behind the man.  John wrapped his arm around the man’s throat and pulled into himself tight choking the man.  He gasped but his neck was so thick that he was able to function as John attempted to choke the man.  He leaned back into John and his left leg gave out and he hit the ground with the man on top of him.  Savanna turned around and noticed John on the floor trying to strangle the man from beneath him. Her hands were handcuffed to an iron ring that was welded to the wall. 

“John!  Fucking kill him.  He was trying to rape me.”  Savanna shouted.

“It’s alright Honey, I got everything under control.”  John said wheezing while being crushed by that fat ass Mexican. 

“I’ll fucking kill you white boy.”  The man said rolling over and slammed his forehead into John’s swollen eye.

“Shit!”  John yelled releasing his grip around the man.  He stood up smiling at John.  The large man grabbed him by his shirt, picked him up over his head and tossed him into the wall slamming into a chair.

“I’m going to cut you holmes.  I’m gonna make you my bitch.”  The man said pulling a knife out of a drawer near the bed.

“Wait, wait.  I’m not done with you yet.”  John said pulling himself to his feet wiping blood from his mouth.   He stretched out his neck and it cracked.  “You touched my woman.  I’m going to fuck you up Taco. “

“You callin’ me taco dude.  I’m gonna fold yo ass like a taco.”  The man walked towards John with his knife.  He lunged at John trying to cut him and John sidestepped the attack and jabbed him in the face with his left and followed with a devastating hook with his right hand.  The man staggered.  John pranced on his feet trying to stay mobile still favoring the non-injured leg.  The man was larger than he was so he needed to use his agility to beat him.  He tried to tackle John and he backed up and pushed the man’s face to the ground.  He continued to punch him in the side of his face with his right as he held him down with his left hand.  The man was hurting but didn’t give up yet.  He stood up and his face was beet red.  The man reached behind him and pulled out a gun.  He pointed it at him and John charged the man, ignoring the threat.  He shot John point blank but he kept running.  He speared the man and they both crashed through the second story window towards the ground below.  John landed on top of the man and Taco’s head struck a small brick wall that decorated around a flagpole.  His brains were spilling out.  John pulled himself up and saw Savanna in the window.  He gave her the thumbs up and collapsed from his injuries.  Mario walked in and picked the lock on the handcuffs.  “

John is gonna need a doctor.  Get down to him and pull him to Samson.”  He said.

“I hope he’s okay.”

“Get out of here.  Things are about to get messy.”  Mario said and finally heard Taliah’s voice.  Savanna nodded at him and gestured towards Taliah’s voice.

“Do what you need to do Mario.”  Savanna said and jogged out of the room hurrying to her man.

Mario was focused and he followed his friend’s voice.  She was just talking at the moment, which was a good thing.  As Mario walked forward his thoughts were in kill mode. 

A man was on guard outside the door where Taliah was being held but was facing the opposite direction to where Mario was coming.  Mario paused, removed his knife, pulled it back and tossed it with ferocity.  The knife struck the man in the skull, killing him instantly.  His body went limp and dropped.  Mario sped his walk up and approached the door.  He took a knee retrieving his knife from the man’s skull, wiped it off on the dead man’s shirt and placed it back in the sheath in his boot.   He grabbed the man’s pistol. He listened to the door.  He heard Taliah.

“Why are you doing this to us?  We’ve done nothing to you.”  Taliah said and her voice carried since it was directed towards the door.

“Shut the hell up fresa.”  José backhanded the girl across her face.  It turned her neck fast and her eyes closed.  Her left eye began to swell.  His back was towards the door so his words were a bit muffled to Mario.

“Do whatever you want to me.  He’s still going to kill you.  You’re just making it worse for yourself.”  Taliah said with her eyes still closed and her head was down.  She began to laugh and spat blood at him.

“You disrespectful chica, you’re going to regret your words.  I’m going to teach you respect.  Lesson one.  I am king.”  José said grabbing her hair and pulled her up inches from his face.  He backhanded her across her left cheek again.  His rings on his fingers cut into her skin.  Blood flung across the room as she cried out.

“You fucking hit like a girl.”  Taliah said laughing as the swelling on her cheek closed up her left eye.

“Lesson two.  Respect your elders.”  José grabbed her by her hair again with his left hand and twisted and yanked.  He punched her with his right hand directed at the swollen eye.  She cried out.  The noise of the door opening alarmed José.  Taliah began to laugh when she saw Mario walk in.

“Fernando.  You dumb shit!  I’ll call you when I need you.”  José stood up straight and turned around mean muggin’ the intruder.

“Fernando’s dead José.”  Mario said aiming the pistol at José’s head.

“Who is this fool?”

“Mario Cortez.”  Taliah said under her breath hanging her head down and laughing to herself.  “You’re fucked.”  José’s eyes enlarged and he reached for his gun behind his back.  Before he even touched his weapon his head was snapping back from a bullet penetrating through his skull.

“Sorry I took so long Taliah.  We need to leave soon.”  Mario said lowering his pistol and dropping it to the ground.  He walked to Taliah and removed the bindings that held her down.  She stood up and hugged Mario.

“I knew you were okay.”  Taliah said squeezing him tightly. 

“John is hurt bad.  He needs a doctor.”  Mario said putting his arm around Taliah and led her towards the door.  Clip, Chico and a couple more gang members entered the room aiming their guns at the two.

“I see you’ve found your friends, dude.”  Clip said aiming his pistol at Mario.  “Did you tell him about his brother?”

“No, there’s been enough suffering in this place, Clip.”

“True, true.  So what happens now Mario.”  He asked.

“I walk out with my friends and we leave for Chicago.”  Mario said looking into Clip’s eyes.

“You know what this makes me?”  He points at José’s corpse with his pistol.

“I know.  What do you want Clip?  Or should I say, King?”  Mario asked.

“Didn’t I tell you, this dude is a fucking genius?  You and your friends stay the night.  Doc is already checkin’ on your friend outside.  It’s over dude.  I got you.”  He said pulling his gun down and placed it behind him in his pants wedging it between his belt and his hip.  The others followed suit.

“She needs some attention as well.”  Mario said kissing Taliah on the forehead and looked at her swelling.

“Doc’s got you.  It’s a shame about Fernando though.  He was an alright dude.”  Clip said shaking his head looking at his fallen brother.  “A different world out here Mario.”

“A different world.”  Mario agreed shaking his head.

“In the morning we’ll discuss what happened today with everyone.  It’s no longer safe here.  José was wrong about the zombie pool.  We’ll discuss that in the morning dude.  For now, Chico will take you to your rooms.  Doc will be in to check on you Taliah.”  Clip said and left with the group.  Chico stayed and led Mario and Taliah to their room.

“I’m sorry about that Taliah.  He deserved what he got.”  Chico said looking at her battered face.