Twisted Reality
Prologue
---------------------------------------
Yamin heard a small beeping and reached down to her waist to hit the "On" button for the Walkie-Talkie. Adjusting her headset, she said, "Go ahead, Kosh."
Kosh's voice sounded quiet and filled with static. "Yaz, have you had any word from Mikey or Jacen? I can't get either of 'em."
'Just great,' Yamin thought, sighing. "No, haven't seen 'em. How's things up on your end," she asked, looking up high onto one of the factory's silos. She could just barely make out Kosh's figure, standing on the ring of railing that circled the silo.
"Can't find a thing," said Kosh. From where Yaz was, she could see that he was sitting down, legs dangling over the edge of the railing. He had his rifle laying next to him. "We might want to get going soon, though. It looks like it might storm. And you know how I hate getting my fur wet."
"Duly noted. C'mon down, I'll try and find them. The truck should get here in about ten minutes. Yaz out." She cut the connection, and could just make out Kosh stand, pick up his rifle, and start going down the long ladder. Scratching her head, she turned and looked down at Casey. He looked back up at her, a bored look on his face. "Well," Yamin said, looks like we get to go find Jacen and Mikey." Casey rolled his eyes and stood up, shaking the dust from his pants. "Where do these guys keep going, make-out point or something," he asked. "I mean, you'd think they'd have enough common sense to stay somewhere where we could at least radio them."
He's got a point, Yamin thought, and slowly began walking towards the far side of the factory compound, where Jacen and Mikey were supposed to be looking for seeds or other produce. Hefting her shotgun, Yaz looked down into her chest pocket and counted how many shells she had left. Not a lot, but enough for now. Glancing back, she saw Casey looking up at the sky, absent-mindedly fiddling with his pistol's holster. She looked up as well. The sky was a twisted, warped dome of reds, oranges, and greens, due in part from all of the radiation in the upper atmosphere. Sighing, Yamin kept walking, thinking of that not-so-long-ago time when one could look up and see blue and white.
"Jacen, Mikey, can you guys hear me," Yaz asked over the radio, which was tuned to the channel that Jacen's walkie-talkie was supposed to be on. All she got back was static. Swearing, she said, "When I get my hands on those two..." and left the sentence unfinished. Rounding a storage crate, she looked down as she stepped in a small puddle of dark liquid. Following it's trail with her eyes, Yamin stopped in her tracks. She let out a small scream as she saw Mikey and Jacen, their bodies torn apart and lying on the ground.
"Holy shit," Casey said, passing Yaz, who still stood in complete shock, and quickly ran over to the corpses. He knew he wouldn't find a pulse, but still tried anyway. Looking closer at the wounds, Casey saw various clawing and scratching, along with a bite mark here and there. Looking up at Yaz, he said, "Afterdead got 'em. They might still be close." Yamin just stood there, a tear falling down her cheek, and stared at the two bodies. Sighing, Casey reached over to close Jacen's eyes. The eyes were staring back at him.
"Oh, hell," Casey said. Jacen reached up and grabbed his arm. Yaz screamed. With his free hand, Casey tried to pull his pistol out of its holster, but not before he felt Jacen's teeth sink into his forearm. Yelling, Casey pulled away, leaving a mound of flesh and muscle in Jacen's mouth. Mikey reached over and grabbed Casey's boot, pulling him down.
"Casey!" Yamin screamed, pulling her shotgun to her shoulder.
"Run!" Casey said, finally freeing his pistol from its holster and turning it towards Mikey. Mikey's pale, bloody face looked at the barrel of the M9, and Casey pulled the trigger, sending flesh, blood, and bits of brain onto the pavement. He tried to turn to Jacen, but Jacen was already up, and he grabbed Casey by the shoulder and pulled. Casey used his pistol to bash the side of Jacen's face away, and aimed the gun at his old friend's forhead, pulling the trigger. Jacen went limp, falling to the ground. Casey looked back, and saw that Yamin heeded his advice and left. Looking down at his mauled left arm, he could see plenty of blood pouring out of it. Casey looked up to the sky, then brought the M9 to his temple. Sighing, he pulled the trigger.
Yamin was running like crazy towards the rally point, logic giving way to pure fear. She didn't check her corners, she didn't make sure to keep quiet, she just ran. Hitting her radio, she called for Kosh. He picked up quickly. "Yeah Yaz," he said.
"They're dead," she panted, still running, "They're all dead! Afterdead!"
"Get back here, now!" Kosh yelled over the radio. "Listen, the truck's gonna be here any second, you've got to-" The radio went to static.
"Kosh? Kosh!?" Yaz yelled, stopping. She quickly turned the tuning knob on the radio, trying to find the signal. She got back bits and peices. "How th.......ack, get ba........z, don't....un! You hav.......*Bang*"
Yamin was in a panic. Not thinking, she immediately ran into a small shed nearby. Bolting the door, she slowly backed into a wall and collapsed. Reaching for her walkie-talkie, she keyed it into the general distress channel. "This....this is Yamin of Delta. Someone....p-please help..." She sat there in the dark, repeating that short phrase, even as she began to hear footsteps outside and pounding on the door.
"Please....help."