The Thirst 4 Blood: REDUX
Book 1: The City
Part I
"The city..." the boy whispered. He and his three partners had traveled a long, long way to make it here. Following the instructions on the radio, they heard word of a military refuge deep in the city. So, they walked. They walked and walked, through the ruins of cities and the dead, broken wastelands the "war" had left behind. Although the word "war" usually meant that there were casualties. This was genocide. "We're finally here."
The woman sniffled. She was crying, although he was almost positive they were tears of joy. How could they not be? They were finally here. New Orion. They were only a few miles away from civilization. From safety.
"We'd better get moving," the man in the police uniform said. They nodded and started forward, across the huge bridge. About halfway across they found a wooden sign. It had dark writing on it and read, "SAFE CAMP THIS WAY" with an arrow into the city. The boy, Matt, hoped it was just paint.
"All survivors, come to New Orion city. This is the US military. We have a refuge inside the city and are willing to take any and all survivors in. Please, anyone, if you're out there, come to our camp. It's safe. We've got food. We've got shelter," the radio played the message again, the fifth time on the road they'd heard it. Same tone in the man's voice. It was a recording. No matter, it would have to be. They would be busy tending to the survivors.
"Where are we going, Ean?" Matt asked the police officer.
"You tell me, kid. I'm following you." Matt frowned and looked around.
"Another sign!" came a cry from the woman. She was cradling her infant in one hand and pointing to a sign with the other. It read, "KEEP GOING, YOU'RE ALMOST THERE" with another arrow. They continued following the sign. There was a big building labeled, "SAFE CAMP", with boarded up windows and a heavy door. The only problem... the heavy door was open.
"Matt, you come with me," Ean instructed. "Ike, you stay here with Rose and her kid. We're going in to make sure it's safe. If you see anything, tell us." They nodded. Ean flipped on the flashlight on his automatic rifle. Matt had heard Ean call it by it's name once... M16...? Maybe M17, he wasn't sure. But Matt knew his weapon. Ean called it the SPAZ. It was a big, automatic shotgun. Thankfully Matt took some civilian weapon training before the incident, seeing as his neighborhood wasn't exactly the highest class.
"Quiet," Ean said, listening intently. "I hear something..." They turned their ears toward the darkness, but heard nothing. "Hm. Come on." Night was beginning to fall. It'd be dangerous in the dark. Very, very dangerous. They proceeded further into the dark building. "Damnit," Ean said, stumbling over something. "We need light!"
"Here," Matt said, finding a switch. He flipped it and the room was illuminated.
He immediately wished he hadn't.
Ean hadn't tripped over furniture. He had tripped over the body of an ex-military soldier. The walls were soaked in blood. As was the floor. Although the floor was also decorated with the lovely furnishings of corpses and the littering of weapons and ammo casings.
"Jesus H. Christ..." Ean whispered. "They're all dead."
"God damnit..." Matt said, his hands clenching into fists around his weapon. "God DAMNIT! Every single time- EVERY GODDAMN TIME, EAN- they take away any chance of humanity! Any chance of safety! Why?" He hadn't been a strong believer in deities before, but now he was cursing whoever controlled this damn reality for doing this. Cursing them for creating the undead. He felt Ean's hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Matt. I know it's tough. It's tough for all of us. We'll get through it eventually." Matt looked at Ean's face for consolation. It showed a mixture of pity and horrible repulsion from the corpses. Matt nodded and hung his head in shame. What he found wasn't the best thing he could've seen.
The corpses weren't corpses. They slowly rose to their feet, glaring at Matt and Ean with egg-white eyes. They released horrible screeching before rushing forward.
"Gah!" Matt fired on them; thankfully his SPAZ was automatic. He fired off nine shots, eight of them hitting their mark, before he had to reload. "Cover me, Ean!" The officer nodded and held them back with his M16. When Matt had finished, he used his last shot on the remaining zombie. "Why didn't they attack us before?" Ean's eyes got wide.
"The lights. Oh my god, Ike and Rose..." he spoke softly, but his words' meanings rang clear.
"The horde," Matt replied. "We have to go." They sprinted to the door to find Ike and Rose staring off into the horizon.
"We were just about to get you guys," Ike said quietly. As far as Matt could tell, Ike was Asian, and he was around Matt's age, 16 or 17. The lights in the building cast shadows over the streets of the city. Tiny shadows, growing larger, growing in number. They were like a living organism, the horde. They would grow and eat and assimilate. "The horde is coming. It must've been attracted by the light."
"Rose," Ean said quietly. "Get in the building. It should be quite a bit safer in there. Ike, go with her, just in case it isn't." Ike nodded and followed her inside. "If something goes wrong, shut the door."
"But, if something goes wrong, shouldn't we help you?" Ike asked as Rose stroked her infant daughter Natalie's hair. Ean shook his head.
"No. You need to protect yourselves. We'll be fine, promise." Ean looked at Matt.
"You ready?" he asked him.
"Not in the slightest," Matt replied, a crooked grin on his face.
"Good. Let's get 'em." Ean slid a clip into his automatic rifle and Matt imitated him. "Ready..." There was a loud screech and Matt tensed up. "Aim..." They leveled their rifles at the corner where they saw the shadows advancing quickly. There was a moment of unreal silence as they tightened their grip on the triggers of their weapons. "Fire." There were gunshots, then screams.
