INFECTION
Chapter 5- Invasion
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"Of course this would happen to them!" Kai blustered on his way out the door. "It's always them, isn't it? Them and their unfinished wall!" He kicked a slab of broken concrete across the walkway.
Adam tugged the door shut behind them and made sure it was locked. "It looked like they were about finished with it last week," he said.
"But still not finished enough," sighed Mira.
"It's never enough," snorted Kai, pulling his goggles over his face. He sent Adam a sympathetic shrug. "Come on, dude. You've only been with us for three weeks and you've already been over there ten times. That place is a zombie magnet!"
Adam readied himself for the take-off. "You're tellin' me. They should've picked a different house."
"Tell that to them," said Kai. With that, he rocketed away, Mira in tow. Adam bounded after him, making his way up to the rooftops. From there it was a quick race to their destination. The shelter's neighborhood sat lower than most of the others in the area, and the angle at which the shelter stood, nested beneath a steep bluff, rarely received any sunlight. Little wonder zombies were always trying to break into that place--- it was the perfect hideaway for creatures who thrived in darkness.
Adam heard a gasp from above as they approached. "Oh no!" Mira exclaimed. "They're already in!"
Adam's heart raced as he caught sight of the shelter on the horizon--- surely they hadn't broken through the barrier so quickly! But to Adam's horror, they had. A resilient bunch, this city's zombies. Even now a swarm of them tried to force their way through the door, a pair of exhausted but determined women beating them away. The still-unfinished part of the wall lay in shambles, all that hard work laid to ruin. But Adam sent the disbelief and shock below--- this was no time to stand and gape. It was time to get to business.
Kai shot down from the sky and adeptly flipped Mira onto the shelter roof, just above the door. Then he dove down into the front yard with a cascade of flames billowing from his hands. With most of the intruding zombies rapidly burning to crisps, Adam leaped down from the neighboring roof to handle the stragglers, sword held high above his head. One zombie barely had time to turn and register what was happening before Adam kicked the bag of bones to the ground, planted his foot on its chest, and hacked the head off with a single chop.
While Adam fought and slashed, Kai lowered Mira from the roof. After checking that the women at the door were OK, the two heroes followed them inside in a hurry. Adam struck down the last zombie in the yard and entered the house--- but by the time he set foot indoors, his friends were already out of sight. The living room was a wreck--- empty, save a number of bodies, both friend and foe. One living boy, a year or two younger than Kai, sat shivering in the corner, tending to a severe bite wound. He could barely lift his eyes to look at Adam out of sheer shock--- he knew what that wound meant for him.
Adam swallowed the pain of the sight and ripped his eyes away. There was nothing he nor anyone else could do for the boy now--- his fate was sealed. He'd have two, maybe three days to make his goodbyes before he was banished to the streets, while he was still sane enough to run far away. From there it was only a matter of time before he became one of the hungry horde.
Adam had trained himself to choke down his sympathy for the victims. It would break him otherwise.
"Guys?" Adam called. He poked his head inside the kitchen. "Where are you?" A screech and a burning body which tumbled down the stairs answered his question. Adam leaped his way up the stairs and landed in the middle of a war zone. Broken furniture lay scattered on the ground, and blackened spots marred the walls where Kai had misaimed and scorched them. The redhead was holding off a group of zombies, trying his best to restrain his firepower while also trying to take down as many as he could.
"There you are!" said Kai. He punched one zombie in the jaw with a flaming fist. "I thought we'd lost ya!"
Adam rushed toward the zombies which crowded his friend. "Never." He seized the necks of two zombies and smacked their heads together, then threw them back. He socked another zombie in the eye with the handle of his sword and stood back-to-back with his friend. "How close are we to finishing this?" he asked.
Kai blasted one in the face. "Well, we've got these, and Mira and the others are working on forcing a bunch more into one of the bedrooms. We've already got some trapped in the bathroom." The blaze-faced zombie wailed and stumbled, clawing at the air and nearly hitting Kai. Kai set the zombie's hand on fire, and as it continued to flail and screech in terror, its brightly blazing hand set a second zombie's shirt on fire and sent a few others fleeing in different directions.
Adam chopped the head off of one fleeing zombie. "I'll deal with these guys," he said. "You go take care of the rest. Your powers are better than mine for big groups."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Kai blasted his way through the crowd and rounded the corner to take care of his side of business. Adam made sure Kai cleared the area before he turned back to face the scattered band of zombies, who now seemed more confused than anything. Adam preferred to leave confused zombies alone--- the less unnecessary killings, the better--- but so long as they were in this house, a danger to the residents...
Adam poised his sword over his shoulder. He could leave none alive.
Without Kai to worry about, Adam had free reign to strike as ruthlessly as he wished. And with his blade newly sharpened, he was a force to be reckoned with. One, two, three down, with three wide, graceful swipes. It wasn't long before Adam was caught up in the blur of his fight. Zombies screamed. Adam's sword hacked, slashed, and stabbed. Unkempt fingernails swiped the air. Heads rolled. Adam tried not to recoil as a splatter of blood landed beneath his nose, nearly choking him with the foul stench.
He struck down a zombie and paused to wipe the vile substance from his nose. Then he felt a tingling on his neck. Adam turned--- the last remaining zombie was right upon him, arms and mouth outstretched. Threatening. Too close for comfort. On reflex, Adam rammed the zombie against the wall and impaled it through the stomach with his sword. He cut down, deep into the gut for extra safety. Then he yanked out the blade. The zombie slumped down to the floor and crumpled into a heap beside the stairs, throat gurgling as its body settled into place.
Adam took a look around the room, panting. No zombies left alive--- he'd have a brief moment to catch his breath. He let his sword fall to his side and heaved a long sigh. It was moments like these that made Adam wonder how much of a hero he really was. Because all he ever felt after slaying a horde of zombies--- spilling all this blood--- the blood of people who had, at the end of the day, simply lost their minds--- was numbness. No sadness, no victorious sense of accomplishment. Just a big load of nothing.
But these healthy people will be safe for a while longer, Adam reminded himself. That, at least, brought a little warmth to his soul. But the feeling wouldn't last.
Fear jolted through Adam as a pair of hands grasped him by the foot. He looked down just in time to see the zombie he'd run through--- still alive, but on its last breaths--- dig its dirty teeth deep into his ankle. Adam yelped, ripped his leg away, and kicked the zombie's head into the stair railing. Now it was dead. But oh man... Adam stumbled backwards, at once lightheaded. He swallowed the bile which rose in his throat. He didn't dare look at his leg.
His ankle stung. It really stung.
At that moment, a handful of zombies burst out of one of the bedrooms where they'd been trapped. They were running scared, and a few of them had body parts on fire. Adam glanced down the stairs. He had to get out of here. "Adam! What are you doing?!" Kai shouted. "Be ready for them so they don't get away!"
But Adam couldn't focus on that. His survival instincts had overruled his mind and stolen his feet. Without a second glance, he bolted down the stairs and flew out onto the front lawn, past the dead zombies, and around the corner of the broken barrier. He ducked behind a dumpster bin and pressed his back up against it. His heart was beating so hard he was afraid it was going to burst. And his ankle stung all the more after that run.
Adam crouched down behind the bin, taking deep, gasping breaths. He swallowed hard. That throbbing sting in his leg told him what he already knew, but didn't want to confirm.
He sat and stretched one long leg out in front of him, then folded the injured one onto his lap. He took a hesitant breath and rolled up the cuff of his pant. He grimaced at the sight of the wound. Tooth marks. They hadn't cut deep, but they had broken the skin. A decent amount of blood had welled from the punctures and left scarlet smears all over his ankle. Adam sighed a shaky breath. The wound wasn't that bad, considering. The virus may not have even gotten through. Not to mention it was shallow enough for Mira to fix it with relative ease.
Yeah... yeah, he'd probably be fine.
"ADAM!"
The sound of Kai's shout from the shelter met Adam's ears. He grimaced and rose to his feet, figuring he should get back in there and join his friends. No doubt Kai was coming out to look for his missing teammate--- and he did not sound happy. Adam was in no mood to deal with him right now, but if he must, he must. Someone had to explain why he'd run.
Adam shuffled back around the corner to see Kai and Mira looking around for him. Adam swallowed his dread at the sight of Kai, who had never looked more enraged. Luckily, the tempestuous redhead took off in the opposite direction, leaving Mira to head Adam's way. She spotted him seconds later and jogged over to him. "There you are!" she said, stopping. "We were getting worried." Her line of sight shot down to his ankle. Adam realized too late he'd forgotten to roll the cuff back down.
"Adam?" She bent down to get a closer look at it, the blood draining from her face. "Please don't tell me... don't tell me that's what I think it is."
"It is. But... it's a scrape at worst," said Adam with a cautiously dismissive shrug.
"It broke skin, though," said Mira. "But if we clean it soon enough with some disinfectant and I heal it right after, it might be OK." She visibly relaxed, causing Adam to sigh with relief. If Mira thought it would be OK, it would be OK. "We need to get you back quickly. Is it OK if Kai carries you?"
"I can run," Adam insisted. He jogged in place for extra emphasis.
Right on cue, Kai circled back around, mad as a murder hornet. He landed right beside Mira, scrawny chest heaving as he turned his blazing eyes onto Adam. "What was all that about?" he demanded. He stormed forward a few steps. Then he, too, noticed the tooth marks and scarlet smudges--- and his expression snapped from angry to shocked.
"Never mind that now," said Mira. "We need to get back home and treat that bite before it gets infected."
"OK... so it's not gonna turn him?"
"I don't think so, if we hurry."
"Then let's go." He grabbed Mira and gave Adam another glare--- this one even more infuriated than the first. "We'll talk later." The fire trail he left as he rocketed away had a distinct white-hot glow to it. Adam sighed dejectedly before powering up his legs and shooting forward. Kai was furious with him--- that much was certain. Adam didn't blame the guy--- after all, Adam had abandoned them in the middle of the most difficult battle they'd ever fought. He had to feel betrayed.
Great job, hero, he congratulated himself, heart sinking. Great job.
Adam tugged the door shut behind them and made sure it was locked. "It looked like they were about finished with it last week," he said.
"But still not finished enough," sighed Mira.
"It's never enough," snorted Kai, pulling his goggles over his face. He sent Adam a sympathetic shrug. "Come on, dude. You've only been with us for three weeks and you've already been over there ten times. That place is a zombie magnet!"
Adam readied himself for the take-off. "You're tellin' me. They should've picked a different house."
"Tell that to them," said Kai. With that, he rocketed away, Mira in tow. Adam bounded after him, making his way up to the rooftops. From there it was a quick race to their destination. The shelter's neighborhood sat lower than most of the others in the area, and the angle at which the shelter stood, nested beneath a steep bluff, rarely received any sunlight. Little wonder zombies were always trying to break into that place--- it was the perfect hideaway for creatures who thrived in darkness.
Adam heard a gasp from above as they approached. "Oh no!" Mira exclaimed. "They're already in!"
Adam's heart raced as he caught sight of the shelter on the horizon--- surely they hadn't broken through the barrier so quickly! But to Adam's horror, they had. A resilient bunch, this city's zombies. Even now a swarm of them tried to force their way through the door, a pair of exhausted but determined women beating them away. The still-unfinished part of the wall lay in shambles, all that hard work laid to ruin. But Adam sent the disbelief and shock below--- this was no time to stand and gape. It was time to get to business.
Kai shot down from the sky and adeptly flipped Mira onto the shelter roof, just above the door. Then he dove down into the front yard with a cascade of flames billowing from his hands. With most of the intruding zombies rapidly burning to crisps, Adam leaped down from the neighboring roof to handle the stragglers, sword held high above his head. One zombie barely had time to turn and register what was happening before Adam kicked the bag of bones to the ground, planted his foot on its chest, and hacked the head off with a single chop.
While Adam fought and slashed, Kai lowered Mira from the roof. After checking that the women at the door were OK, the two heroes followed them inside in a hurry. Adam struck down the last zombie in the yard and entered the house--- but by the time he set foot indoors, his friends were already out of sight. The living room was a wreck--- empty, save a number of bodies, both friend and foe. One living boy, a year or two younger than Kai, sat shivering in the corner, tending to a severe bite wound. He could barely lift his eyes to look at Adam out of sheer shock--- he knew what that wound meant for him.
Adam swallowed the pain of the sight and ripped his eyes away. There was nothing he nor anyone else could do for the boy now--- his fate was sealed. He'd have two, maybe three days to make his goodbyes before he was banished to the streets, while he was still sane enough to run far away. From there it was only a matter of time before he became one of the hungry horde.
Adam had trained himself to choke down his sympathy for the victims. It would break him otherwise.
"Guys?" Adam called. He poked his head inside the kitchen. "Where are you?" A screech and a burning body which tumbled down the stairs answered his question. Adam leaped his way up the stairs and landed in the middle of a war zone. Broken furniture lay scattered on the ground, and blackened spots marred the walls where Kai had misaimed and scorched them. The redhead was holding off a group of zombies, trying his best to restrain his firepower while also trying to take down as many as he could.
"There you are!" said Kai. He punched one zombie in the jaw with a flaming fist. "I thought we'd lost ya!"
Adam rushed toward the zombies which crowded his friend. "Never." He seized the necks of two zombies and smacked their heads together, then threw them back. He socked another zombie in the eye with the handle of his sword and stood back-to-back with his friend. "How close are we to finishing this?" he asked.
Kai blasted one in the face. "Well, we've got these, and Mira and the others are working on forcing a bunch more into one of the bedrooms. We've already got some trapped in the bathroom." The blaze-faced zombie wailed and stumbled, clawing at the air and nearly hitting Kai. Kai set the zombie's hand on fire, and as it continued to flail and screech in terror, its brightly blazing hand set a second zombie's shirt on fire and sent a few others fleeing in different directions.
Adam chopped the head off of one fleeing zombie. "I'll deal with these guys," he said. "You go take care of the rest. Your powers are better than mine for big groups."
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Kai blasted his way through the crowd and rounded the corner to take care of his side of business. Adam made sure Kai cleared the area before he turned back to face the scattered band of zombies, who now seemed more confused than anything. Adam preferred to leave confused zombies alone--- the less unnecessary killings, the better--- but so long as they were in this house, a danger to the residents...
Adam poised his sword over his shoulder. He could leave none alive.
Without Kai to worry about, Adam had free reign to strike as ruthlessly as he wished. And with his blade newly sharpened, he was a force to be reckoned with. One, two, three down, with three wide, graceful swipes. It wasn't long before Adam was caught up in the blur of his fight. Zombies screamed. Adam's sword hacked, slashed, and stabbed. Unkempt fingernails swiped the air. Heads rolled. Adam tried not to recoil as a splatter of blood landed beneath his nose, nearly choking him with the foul stench.
He struck down a zombie and paused to wipe the vile substance from his nose. Then he felt a tingling on his neck. Adam turned--- the last remaining zombie was right upon him, arms and mouth outstretched. Threatening. Too close for comfort. On reflex, Adam rammed the zombie against the wall and impaled it through the stomach with his sword. He cut down, deep into the gut for extra safety. Then he yanked out the blade. The zombie slumped down to the floor and crumpled into a heap beside the stairs, throat gurgling as its body settled into place.
Adam took a look around the room, panting. No zombies left alive--- he'd have a brief moment to catch his breath. He let his sword fall to his side and heaved a long sigh. It was moments like these that made Adam wonder how much of a hero he really was. Because all he ever felt after slaying a horde of zombies--- spilling all this blood--- the blood of people who had, at the end of the day, simply lost their minds--- was numbness. No sadness, no victorious sense of accomplishment. Just a big load of nothing.
But these healthy people will be safe for a while longer, Adam reminded himself. That, at least, brought a little warmth to his soul. But the feeling wouldn't last.
Fear jolted through Adam as a pair of hands grasped him by the foot. He looked down just in time to see the zombie he'd run through--- still alive, but on its last breaths--- dig its dirty teeth deep into his ankle. Adam yelped, ripped his leg away, and kicked the zombie's head into the stair railing. Now it was dead. But oh man... Adam stumbled backwards, at once lightheaded. He swallowed the bile which rose in his throat. He didn't dare look at his leg.
His ankle stung. It really stung.
At that moment, a handful of zombies burst out of one of the bedrooms where they'd been trapped. They were running scared, and a few of them had body parts on fire. Adam glanced down the stairs. He had to get out of here. "Adam! What are you doing?!" Kai shouted. "Be ready for them so they don't get away!"
But Adam couldn't focus on that. His survival instincts had overruled his mind and stolen his feet. Without a second glance, he bolted down the stairs and flew out onto the front lawn, past the dead zombies, and around the corner of the broken barrier. He ducked behind a dumpster bin and pressed his back up against it. His heart was beating so hard he was afraid it was going to burst. And his ankle stung all the more after that run.
Adam crouched down behind the bin, taking deep, gasping breaths. He swallowed hard. That throbbing sting in his leg told him what he already knew, but didn't want to confirm.
He sat and stretched one long leg out in front of him, then folded the injured one onto his lap. He took a hesitant breath and rolled up the cuff of his pant. He grimaced at the sight of the wound. Tooth marks. They hadn't cut deep, but they had broken the skin. A decent amount of blood had welled from the punctures and left scarlet smears all over his ankle. Adam sighed a shaky breath. The wound wasn't that bad, considering. The virus may not have even gotten through. Not to mention it was shallow enough for Mira to fix it with relative ease.
Yeah... yeah, he'd probably be fine.
"ADAM!"
The sound of Kai's shout from the shelter met Adam's ears. He grimaced and rose to his feet, figuring he should get back in there and join his friends. No doubt Kai was coming out to look for his missing teammate--- and he did not sound happy. Adam was in no mood to deal with him right now, but if he must, he must. Someone had to explain why he'd run.
Adam shuffled back around the corner to see Kai and Mira looking around for him. Adam swallowed his dread at the sight of Kai, who had never looked more enraged. Luckily, the tempestuous redhead took off in the opposite direction, leaving Mira to head Adam's way. She spotted him seconds later and jogged over to him. "There you are!" she said, stopping. "We were getting worried." Her line of sight shot down to his ankle. Adam realized too late he'd forgotten to roll the cuff back down.
"Adam?" She bent down to get a closer look at it, the blood draining from her face. "Please don't tell me... don't tell me that's what I think it is."
"It is. But... it's a scrape at worst," said Adam with a cautiously dismissive shrug.
"It broke skin, though," said Mira. "But if we clean it soon enough with some disinfectant and I heal it right after, it might be OK." She visibly relaxed, causing Adam to sigh with relief. If Mira thought it would be OK, it would be OK. "We need to get you back quickly. Is it OK if Kai carries you?"
"I can run," Adam insisted. He jogged in place for extra emphasis.
Right on cue, Kai circled back around, mad as a murder hornet. He landed right beside Mira, scrawny chest heaving as he turned his blazing eyes onto Adam. "What was all that about?" he demanded. He stormed forward a few steps. Then he, too, noticed the tooth marks and scarlet smudges--- and his expression snapped from angry to shocked.
"Never mind that now," said Mira. "We need to get back home and treat that bite before it gets infected."
"OK... so it's not gonna turn him?"
"I don't think so, if we hurry."
"Then let's go." He grabbed Mira and gave Adam another glare--- this one even more infuriated than the first. "We'll talk later." The fire trail he left as he rocketed away had a distinct white-hot glow to it. Adam sighed dejectedly before powering up his legs and shooting forward. Kai was furious with him--- that much was certain. Adam didn't blame the guy--- after all, Adam had abandoned them in the middle of the most difficult battle they'd ever fought. He had to feel betrayed.
Great job, hero, he congratulated himself, heart sinking. Great job.