Chapter 11: The Screamer
It was still morning when the first of the zombies attacked. It was a small group, only a few purples, but it was reminder enough for the group to keep their guard up. No much talking was done, other than to watch out and stuff like that. Wanting to break the silence, Scott asked,
"Slayer and Bleach aren't regular names, why do you go by nicknames?"
"New world, new names" Bleach answered. "The nicknames come from something we did."
"Yeah, I'm Slayer because I secured the rooftops defense three times in a row by myself." Slayer said.
"They call me Bleach because I used it and a bunch of other chemicals to gas out a bunch of raiders who were holed up in a building." Bleach said with a grin. "If you do something noteworthy, we just might give you a nickname"
Scott thought this over for a while, and decided he would try not to do anything stupid. He did not want a nickname like "Face plant." They continued to walk in silence, each pondering what they might be up against. Visions of the crawler's head snapping at his chest made Scott inadvertently begin to sweat. What if crawlers were the easy ones, what if behemoths ran away from some other sick mutation of the N-4. The fifty thousand dollars was seemingly less and less appealing, as something more dangerous than zombies took hold: fear. The urge to run back to the relative safety of the outpost was almost overwhelming, but the presence of Slayer and Bleach made Scott hopeful. He squared his shoulders and thought, "Whatever is out there, we could take it."
Scott almost wished that he had not though of this, because a piercing scream echoed down the deserted street. It rose in pitch, until it became unbearable. Then it raised more. And more. Scott fell to his knees, howling, and covering his ears. But the sound kept getting louder still. It felt like his brain was vibrating. His teeth rattled, and Scott tasted metal in his mouth. Black spots flashed across his vision until there was a sharp crack, and the sound died away into a gurgling sigh, followed by a wet smack against the pavement. Scott got up slowly, feeling dizzy. He saw Slayer doing likewise. Bleach was missing.
"What in God's name was that?" Scott asked, but it sounded like he was underwater. Scott saw Slayer trying to talk to him, but he could understand nothing. Scott shook his head, letting Slayer know that he could not hear him. They sat there for a while, until the ringing in their ears went down. Slayer then spoke.
"I think we found one, but where is Bleach?" He asked.
"No idea." Scott said. "But at least the thing is gone."
As if on cue, Bleach walked out of a nearby building, dragging an extremely fat zombie behind him. He walked over to Slayer and Scott, and smiled. He popped earplugs out of his ears, and then put them in his pack.
"You always carry earplugs with you?" Slayer asked.
"What was that? I can't hear you." Bleach joked. "Come look at this though. I think I scored us fifty grand."
They walked over to the body, and immediately recoiled.
"Its Ugly!" Scott said, covering his face.
"Hey, now," Bleach said. "Don't insult my new girlfriend!"
They all laughed, but even by zombie standards, this specimen was extremely bad. She had not been a beauty in her past life, but now anything would have looked better. Her face, particularly her mouth, was totally ruined. It looked like someone took a sledgehammer and pounded her mouth down to the middle of her chest, and widened it accordingly. Her teeth were an orthodontist's nightmare, crooked and broken in so many places you could not count. What was really disturbing, though, was that another set of teeth were growing, at about the base of her throat.
"Goddamn." Slayer said. "She could bite me in half!"
"Prop her up, I want a picture!" Bleach said, and the pushed her up against a nearby car. Bleach handed Scott a digital camera, and then walked over to the zombie, lifting her head up like a hunter who just killed a deer. Scoot was about to take a picture, when he saw movement in the car. Scott whipped out his pistol, and fired. The bullet barely missed Bleach's head, and went through the window. It hit the zombie square in the forehead. Brains flew everywhere. It slumped out the shattered window, almost touching Bleach, who looked at Scott, smoking pistol in hand.
"Well" he laughed, "I guess his parking permit ran out."
"Hurry and take the picture already." Slayer said. "I want another fifty grand with this one."
"Me too." Replied Scott, and he snapped the picture.
Nothing could dampen their moods. They had just got fifty grand. But like everything these days, you never take anything for granted. The scream had alerted more dangerous beings, along with all zombies in earshot.
Chapter 12: Hide and Seek
They heard the horde before they saw it. It was massive. It sounded like a football stadium full of drunken college students screaming at the officials for an outrageously bad call. In other words, loud. The group scrambled into a convenience store, and began barricading the doors and windows. They could not get the main double doors barricaded in time though, the angry mob crashed in. They retreated into the storage room in back, firing at the oncoming horde. They were pushed farther back, until there was no room to maneuver. Slayer whipped out his machinegun, which Scott now recognized as a K50-M, and began firing in sweeping motions. The infected were pushed back by the force and power of each bullet. Many were simply ripped in half. Bleach led them to a side exit, which was used for employees only. They burst out into an alleyway, slamming the door behind them.
The infected crashed against it and pounded with all their might, but the door held. Slayer moved boxes up against it help it, and then ran. Ran till they were gasping for breath and nearly dying from exhaustion. They stopped to rest in an old supermarket, looking for water as they went. It had pretty much been cleaned out, buy they found a few stale candy bars and bottled water in the back.
"Way too close!" Scott sighed.
"Wish I still had my mithrall." Bleach replied.
"Wish this candy bar tasted like it used to." Slayer grumbled. "Why does it seem like every time something good happens, something bad happens?"
"You spoke too soon." Said Scott, and aimed his rifle towards the entrance.
Standing there was another zombie, allmost blocking the entire doorway. Its massive torso and biceps made a longarm look like a teddy bear, its skin as black as night. It stood there, sniffing, as if confused. Bleach cocked his rifle, an audible click sounding. The creature whipped around so it faced their way, and Scott saw why it was sniffing. It didn't have eyes. In their place were mouths, hungry and moaning. Where is normal mouth used to be was a gaping black maw that seemed to stretch into infinity.
Time seemed to slaw down as it charged, Slayer, Bleach, and Scott all dove in different directions. The monster kept charging straight, and ran into the back wall. Bleach opened fire, and it charged again, huge arms trying to grab him. He narrowly missed, Bleach spun out of the way at the last second. It again kept running, and again smashed into another wall. It partially collapsed on him, and it struggled to free itself.
"It doesn't have eyes." Slayer thought. And yelled this to Scott and Bleach, who immediately stopped shooting. The monster pulled itself free of the rubble. It began sniffing and listening, any sound made sent it flying in that direction. What was worse was that no bullet that was fired seemed to hurt it. Its hide was nearly impenetrable. Slayer thought hard, and an idea came to him.
"Keep it busy!" He yelled, and sprinted towards the outside of the store. Bleach and Scott pounded it with relentless bullets, but nothing seemed to slow it down. Slayer quickly found what he was looking for, a bunch of propane tanks stored outside. He shot the lock off, and grabbed one. If this were going to work, they would need precise timing. There would be no second chance. He ran back inside, carrying the heavy tank with him, and beat it against the wall.
"Dinnertime!" He yelled, and jumped out of the way. The beast crashed into the wall where he was, only moments ago, and recoiled. Slayer rolled the tank to its feet, and shot it. The resulting explosion was enormous. The immense fireball consumed the creature, and Slayer was thrown back by the shockwave. He landed hard, but luckily, nothing felt broken. Bleach and Scott ran up to him, and helped him to his feet.
"That was totally awesome!" Shouted Scott.
"Agreed!" Bleach said.
"Not awesome enough." Slayer said, and pointed.
The thing was getting up. It rose to its feet slowly, then let loose a roar that shook the building. It smashed it huge arms against the ground, and ripped a section of the wall loose. It roared again, and then threw it at them. The wall hit a few meters to their left, but it sent flying debris everywhere.
"Run!" Scott yelled, and nobody needed to be told twice. An explosion that could have blown up a house, but the thing had survived. No only that, it just seemed really, really pissed off now.
Chapter 13: Fight or Flight
It turns out running from the huge zombie wasn't a good idea. When they first tried, they found that this was the way the freak hunted. You would run, it would scoop you up, and lights out. This almost happened to Slayer. He ran straight towards the exit, bent on escape. The thing scooped him up, and raised him towards its maw. Then, by blind luck, Slayer wrenched himself around, and the beast's three mouths bit into his pack. Some teeth must have hit some bullets, because it sounded like four machineguns firing at once. The monster dropped slayer to the ground, and clutched its face in agony. It roared and howled, running into walls and swinging its arms violently. Slayer hauled ass towards the others, streams of curses flying out of his mouth.
"Shut up!" hissed Bleach.
"You shut up," Retorted Slayer, making sure he was still in one piece, then fell silent.
"At least you did some damage..." Scott whispered, as heavy drops of blood spattered against the floor. The zombie was bleeding, but it was still insignificant compared to its enormous size.
"Shit, look, it's healing!" Slayer said.
It was. Even from a slight distance away, they could see the wounds scab over, and eventually disappear.
"What now?" Scott asked, a bit of worry on his face.
"Don't know," Whispered Bleach. "Its so tough, a .50 cal sniper can't puncture its skin, and its only weak points are in its mouth."
"Not to mention it can take a tank blast standing." Slayer said "and it regenerates itself so fast you'd need an army to kill it."
"Wait... Regenerate..." Scott muttered to himself, the looked intently at Bleach. "Your a doctor right? So you'll have doctor stuff."
"What? Yeah, I guess." Bleach said. "Why?"
"Dump them all out here." Said Scott, and Bleach did.
"I don't know what your plan is, but our friend is calming down." Slayer said with alarm.
The monster had apparently gotten over being shot in the mouth, and was beginning to sniff again, searching for them. Scott found what he was looking for and grabbed it.
"Whoa! What are you doing? Cried Bleach "that stuff is expensive!"
"Not to worry, if I die, you can have all my stuff." Scott said, a reckless grin on his face, and stepped out into the open.
"Come on you piece of shit!" He screamed. The beast did as he had done before, but this time, Scott stood his ground. The monster grabbed him, and slowly brought him to his mouth. Scott popped the tops off of the vials, and rammed all six needles of Nitronian 2 into its upper mouths, three in each. The result was instant. The zombie wavered, and fell to the ground, stone dead.
Bleach and Slayer ran over to him, guns raised. They checked out to make sure it was dead, then turned to Scott.
"Would you mind explaining to me what the hell just happened!" Slayer yelled. "You killed it by injecting Nerotinian-2 in it?"
"I think Bleach could do a better job telling you the mechanics of it." Scott replied.
"Yeah..." Bleach said "What you did was incredibly stupid, but it worked."
"What worked?" Slayer roared "Give me answers! Nerotonian is supposed to heal, not kill!"
"Only in small doses." Bleach replied "What Scott did is known as an "overdose." Its usually caused when people don't know how to use it inject too much, and the healing power is turned around. Instead of healing, the Nerotonian does its gob too well, killing off all cells, causing voiding in the nearby organs, in this case, the brain."
"So you turned his brains to mush?" Slayer asked Scott "Nicely done"
"No problem." Scott said. "But you gave me the idea."
"You ladies want a picture or not?" Bleach called, who was setting up his camera.
The group sat next to the zombie, giving the thumbs up sign, and the picture clicked. They took several other pictures of the zombie's arms, legs, and all other parts. They finished by dousing the body in propane, and lighting it up, all of them giving it a salute. They didn't want anyone else stealing their prize. As they walked back to the outpost, they all cheered, saying that they were going to raise hell in the bars when they got back.
"Man, your a completely different guy since we found you." Bleach said, smiling.
"Yeah, you were afraid to shoot a shotgun." Slayer laughed.
"That I was, but who would of thought I could kill something like that." Scott said grinning.
"Nobody, man, you were like a robot back there!" Bleach replied. "You were all like "I'm programmed to destroy you! Die Now!"
"Not a robot, a killbot." Slayer mused.
"Yeah." Bleach nodded to Slayer.
"Well, we'd better get back to the outpost Killbot, I think I hear them calling our name."
Bleach, Slayer, and Killbot ran towards the outpost. They could already see one-hundred grand, and boy, did it look good.
Chapter 14: The Money Calls
Bleach, Killbot, and Slayer reached the outpost. There were numerous people lining the inner gate, each jumping up and calling out different names when they caught sight of them. And all of them sank to the floor crying when they saw that it was not the one that they had hoped to see.
"More people must have not come back than I thought." Slayer said quietly.
"Yeah." Bleach agreed, "We hardly made it back in one piece."
They walked in silence for a while, until Killbot broke the silence.
"Well, lets not act all sorry, lets get some cash!" He yelled.
Two cheers followed this, and they headed for the meeting hall. As they approached, they saw that a section had been set up for the zombie identification. As they approached, a bearded man behind the counter faced him, black eyes glittering in the shadow.
"If you don't have a new infected blood sample, picture, or body, get lost. I've had over a hundred of you people screaming that you've all got a new zombie for me. None of you ever bring any proof. Bah, I swear to you, if you waste any of my time, I'm going to put the hurt on you like you've never felt before."
"Long day?" Killbot asked smiling. "We've got pictures for you."
"Better not be tampered with, or you'll get it!" he warned.
"No tampering, just some fresh new zombie scum to deal with." Bleach said, tossing the man the camera.
The man, who identified himself as John, looked at the pictures. His eyes widened, and he looked at them.
"Well, looks like you're not like the rest of the slugs that try to cheat us out of our money. Nicely done!" He grinned, and connected the camera to a printing device. It hummed, and two of the clearest pictures came out. John walked over to the billboard that stood next to the office, and put them up. He pinned the pictures of the screamer and the "stalker" as Slayer had called it, up next to several other photos. He strode back behind the counter, and whispered something in a man's ear. The man walked into the darkness. The were several clicking sounds, and finally the noise of a door being pulled open. There was a slam, and the man returned, carrying two bags of bulging cash. He handed them to John, who turned to the small group.
"One for the ugly one." He dropped the first bag. "And another for the big one." He dropped the other. "Have a nice day."
Grabbing the bags, Bleach tossed one to Killbot, and they walked over to the billboard. Posted were a few other zombies, and ways to kill them. The one that stuck out the most were one with two heads it said below "you have to shoot both." Another one had a huge claw instead of an arm, and below it said. "Stay away from the claw, or it'll gut you like Tim." Killbot didn't know who Tim was, but he guessed that what happened to him was not good. Several other pictures lined up, each with tips on how to kill the certain zombies. None were as impressive as the Stalker though, the only one that came close was one labeled "shark" It had a huge fin sticking out of its back, like the dorsal fin of a shark, and a mouth to match one. Under it said: "Haven't figured out how to kill it yet."
"Come on Killbot!" Bleach shouted, already walking towards a bar, Slayer leading him. Not knowing where else to spend first, he ran to catch up. Slayer laid them to a building labeled: "The Hunters Hovel." It had a huge skull looming over the sign, and pictures of guns painted all over the sides of it.
"Looks like a family place." Killbot said sarcastically.
"Hey, you find a better place that sells guns and alcohol, lead the way." Slayer shot back.
Killbot knew of no such place, so he remained silent as they walked in. The inside wasn't much better than the outside, swords, bullet casings, and the like adorned the walls, and cigarette smoke was thick in the air. Slayer walked up to the bartender, and said:
"Wolf, me and my friends are thirsty. Why don't you crack open that old keg you've been saving for something special."
The man called Wolf turned, and Killbot saw how he got his name. His eyes were intense, like a madman, and his expression sharp, like he'd rather shoot first and ask questions later.
"What's the occasion Slayer? You found a quarter and are going to start paying off your tab?" Wolf laughed.
Slayer laughed also. "We'll get to that. We just scored a hundred grand and we're might thirsty."
"Well then, that is a reason to celebrate. Its payday!" Chuckled wolf, as he pulled out a case of crown royal. He then popped off the lid, and poured it into three dirty shot glasses. Slayer, Bleach, and Killbot each took one, and raising them, said:
"To stalker and screamer, who made this day possible!" and downed them. It was going to be a good night.
Chapter 15: New Toys
Killbot felt the alcohol burn down his throat. He had not been a heavy drinker before the outbreak, and this had been his first drink since then. He nearly sputtered, but contained it. Bleach and Slayer seemed immune to this; they were already pouring themselves another glass. Killbot set his down, and turned to Wolf.
"How much per shot?" He asked.
"Your friend just bought the whole bottle, which is gonna cost him about five hundred bucks. Plus he has to pay off his tab, which is another eight hundred." Wolf said.
Scott whistled. "He must of been a customer for a while."
"You bet." Wolf replied. "So, what can I do for you? Need guns? Ammo? A girl?" He chuckled at the last one.
"What have you got?" Killbot asked.
"Well, it seems that you have some money, so I can offer you some of my more specialty stock." Come with me." Wolf said, and led him back behind the counter.
Wolf led Killbot to a back storage room, with metal grates over the windows. He began rummaging through some boxes.
"So, what you into?" he asked. "Need a new rifle? How about a pistol?"
"What could I get for fifty grand?" Killbot asked.
"Now that you mention it, I do have new item that's on special." He grinned, and walked over to a heavy suitcase. Opening it, he pulled out a black machinegun, its barrel gleamed in the half-light.
"XM8 Prototype." Wolf said. "with the optional shock absorber and muzzle silencer."
"How much?" Killbot asked, remembering Slayer's gun, and how it cut through the toughest of zombies.
"Forty grand. Cash." Wolf said smiling.
"Forty grand is a hell of a lot for one gun." Killbot said.
"Oh, but this baby is worth every penny." Wolf said. "Its got the punch of an M-16 with a clip life that nobody can touch."
"Fine." Killbot said. "Deal." And handed over the cash.
"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to ask you to leave." Wolf said, "Unless you want to buy something else."
Killbot scanned the room, when a glittering caught his eye. He walked over and pulled out heavy looking body armor. It was white, with the letters LR8 written on the breastplate.
"How much for this?" He asked.
"Its for eighteen thousand." Wolf said.
"I'll trade it for ten and my rifle." Killbot replied.
"Deal, but good luck finding someone who can repair it. These things were all but abandoned because it takes an expert to repair them, and its durability goes down a little every time it breaks, until its worthless. Your best bet will be to find A reactive SLX, they're basically the same thing, but easier to repair. Its more expensive though... "
Killbot thought this over. He remembered the new zombies, and how they were ten times a dangerous as the old ones. He could not wait for better armor. He made the exchange, and strapped it on, and finally slung his new gun over his shoulder. He walked back out into the bar, feeling a lot better than he had before.
Chapter 16: Bar Fight
Killbot walked back into the bar, to see Slayer and Bleach at a gambling table. A man in a trench coat was spinning cards quickly, eyes on Slayer, who was sitting at a bench next to him. The man stopped, and Slayer picked a card. It was a jack.
"Dammit!" He roared.
"Again?" asked the man.
"Again!" Shouted Slayer, and slammed a thousand dollars on the table.
The man smiled and took the cash. He laid three cards on the table face up. Two black jacks, and a red queen. He then flipped them over, and began shuffling them quickly. His hands moved faster and faster, becoming a blur. He suddenly stopped, and said.
"Pick one."
Slayer did, and it was a jack. Killbot thought that Slayer was going to explode into a drunken rage; he was so mad that he tossed five thousand dollars on the table. The Man just smiled.
"He's pretty good a what he does." Said a voice behind Killbot.
Killbot spun around to see Elijah Wilson.
"I don't know how he does it, but he manages to cheat drunks out of their money every time."
Killbot said nothing, and turned to watch. The gamble-master was moving the cards rapidly, and Scott saw something he had not seen before. He had been looking at the cards that were moving, not the man's hands. His hands moved the cards so fast you could barely see them, but Killbot watched his left hand, not the cards. He saw the dealer lift up a card, and another card was in his hand. He flicked the first card into his sleeve, and laid down the second one. It was a one in a million chance, but Killbot saw his trick. The dealer was cheating. His hands stopped. Slayer picked a card. Jack.
As the dealer was about to reach for the other two cards, Killbot slammed his knife down, mere millimeters from the dealer's hands. He then flipped over the remaining two cards. Two jacks.
"Game Over." Killbot said. And grabbed the man by the collar. Three men dressed in black stepped forward from the crowd. Each held a short-barreled revolver.
"I'll give you back double what you paid." Whispered the dealer, licking his lips. "Just don't make a scene."
"Or?" Killbot asked through gritted teeth.
"You'll never make it out of here alive, but I don't want that, its bad for business."
"Oh, really?" Killbot answered, and looked over his shoulder. Slayer and Bleach were on their feet, waiting to see what happened.
"No Deal." Killbot said, and punched the Dealer across the face. The dealer went sprawling, and Killbot jumped out of the way. He was just in time. Chips flew out of the wall as bullets hit where he had been standing seconds before. Slayer and Bleach sprung into action also, although a bit slower, their reflexes lessened by the alcohol. Killbot rolled across the floor, and overturned a heavy looking table, and took cover behind it. He could feel the impact of the bullets hitting the table, it jerked a bit every time one hit. He unslung his new gun from his shoulder, and checked to make sure it was loaded. It was. The table was taking increased damage, the jolts were getting harder. He prayed that it would hold a bit longer. It did. Once his assailants had run out of ammo, leapt over the table. He flicked the switch on his gun to full auto, and squeezed the trigger. The result was a series of spits that tore into one of the enemies legs. The man cried out, and fell to the floor.
Killbot aimed for the second, and again pulled the trigger. The jerking of the gun was worse this time, for he was not in a proper firing stance. His accuracy decayed slightly, but most of the bullets hit the man in the chest. He flew backwards, and hit the back wall, and slumped to the ground. The third was a bit smarter, and jumped behind a booth, where he was in good cover.
To his amazement, though, the man he had shot in the chest got up, and dove into a now empty doorway. "He must be wearing some kind of body armor." Killbot thought. He yelled to Slayer,
"You and Bleach take that one, I got the one in the booth.!"
"Alright mister commander!" Saluted Beach, and he and Slayer pulled out their guns.
Killbot turned his attention back on his assailant. He had apparently had more ammo, and replaced his old clip with a fresh one. He popped his head over the booth, and squeezed off a shot. Killbot dropped to the ground, and log rolled sideways. Bullets zinged all around him, but none found their mark. Finally, on the sixth shot, Killbot got up and walked over to the man, who was desperately trying to reload his revolver. When he saw him advancing, he cried out, and in a last ditch effort, pulled out a combat knife and stabbed Killbot in the chest. Or tried to stab, at least. The knife hit Killbot's LR8 and shattered, cutting the man in the hand. Killbot swung his gun, hitting the man in the mouth with the butt of the weapon. He went own, and didn't get up.
Slayer and Bleach called out to him. Killbot responded that he was fine, but suddenly there were two sharp cracks, and icy pain blossomed in his lower back and head. The dealer stood behind him, pistol in hand.
Slayer and Bleach cried out, and took cover. The dealer stood over a moaning Killbot, chuckling softly.
"You should have listened to me." He gloated softly. He cocked the hammer back on his revolver, aiming for Killbot's head. Before he could fire though, his entire left side exploded, red mist of blood flying everywhere. The dealer cried out, and sunk to the floor. Wolf walked forward, and jacked a shell out of his combat shotgun.
"What can I say?" He asked. "I take care of my valued customers."
Chapter 17: The New Plan
Bleach and Slayer rushed to Killbot's side. He was curled in a tight ball, and was completely covered in blood, but most of it had come from the Dealer when he had been shot. Bleach immediately checked Killbot's head wound. The bullet had narrowly missed the back of his skull, and had skimmed the left side, tearing some flesh off, but not penetrating bone.
"Get me some bandages!" Bleach commanded.
"Sure thing." Slayer responded, and opened Bleach's medical kit. He fumbled with the bandages a bit, the unrolled them and pressed them to Killbot's head. The bleeding stopped as most of the blood was soaked into the bandage.
"Hold him down!" Bleach said, struggling with Killbot.
"My stomach! Oh God! Its on fire!" He moaned, trying to cover the wound with his hands.
Killbot had never felt a pain this great. It was like someone had ripped him open and pressed a hot iron inside him. It was so complete that it nearly drove him mad. He moaned and cried, praying for release, but it never came.
Slayer pulled Killbot's arms up and over his head, while Bleach ripped of his armor. Blood covered the inside of it, and Bleach went pale when he saw what was underneath. The armor had done more damage than help. The bullet had penetrated the unprotected side and would have gone straight through if the back plate were not there. The bullet had ricocheted off of it, and went through Killbot's stomach again, where it had bounced off the gut plate, and back again. His stomach resembled Swiss cheese.
"Holy shit..." murmured Slayer. "That one round did all that?"
"Shut up and get me some morphine!" Roared Bleach, who immediately pressed bandages on the wounds.
While Slayer, still half drunk, searched for some morphine, Elijah walked over to Bleach.
"Here." He said, and gave him a vial of blue liquid. Bleach immediately Sucked it into a vial, and injected it into Killbot. Then, all who were still around watched the Nerotonian do its magic. The blue flowed to where there was the most damage, when it touched the wounds, new skin warped over it, healing almost immediately.
"Well, he's not going to die," Beach said "But that's going to slow him down for a couple of weeks. The scar tissue that will form will hamper his movement."
"I got the morphine!" yelled Slayer in triumph.
"Oh shut up you stupid drunk, he's already healed." Bleach returned
"Oh shut me up will you? Who shot that guy in the face while drunk? Huh? Who saved your sorry ass? Huh?" Slayer muttered.
Killbot got up, dizzy from the loss of blood. "I think I'm goanna need some of that stuff to steady me." He said
Wolf poured him a drink, and Killbot drank it down. He stopped shaking.
"Sorry about the mess." Slayer said. "Feel free to take whatever these guys have on them."
"How else would I get my amazingly low priced stock?" Wolf said, smiling.
He walked over to one of the nearest of the downed men, and pulled off his jacket. Underneath was gleaming body armor, almost shining black.
"These guys weren't messing around." Wolf said, eyes widened. "These are state of the art Reactive XT800 armors. They have been known to stop a desert eagle bullet, point blank."
"Goddamn... Why did I open my mouth?" Slayer said. He walked over to the dealer's overturned gambling stand. Inside was a .357 mag revolver, identical to the one's that his henchmen used. Also inside was a rather large security box; inside was about twelve thousand dollars.
"Well, all is not lost." Beach said. "Come on Killbot, we'll take you to the hospital."
"Yeah, I think I need to sit down." Killbot stammered.
They walked outside, into the black night. There was no moon, so the only light was from Bleach's flashlight. Slayer helped support Killbot as they walked on. It took them twice the normal time to reach the Hospital, and even longer to get him in. But something interesting happened while they were checking in. A man, dressed in a strange purple armor, walked in. He pulled out piece of paper, and read aloud:
"Due to the growing threat of the new mutations of the infected, ad the growing number of casualties, a large expedition force will be sent into the eastern half of the city, where there, they will continue to collect new samples. Anyone who is skilled in the art of killing, engineering, or in the medical field, and are strong enough to come, are strongly encouraged to. There will be a meeting tomorrow morning in the meeting hall at sunrise. That will be all." And he left.
"I'm going." Slayer said "What about you Bleach?"
"I'm in." He responded "Sorry Killbot, but you have to rest. Even the Nerotonian won't have healed you enough for something like this."
"Don't worry about me. All I want to do is sleep." Killbot answered.
Killbot walked over to an open bed, and closed his eyes. There still was a dull throb in his gut, but it was bearable. His last though before drifting off was: "Why now?"
Chapter 18: Project Sabertooth
As Killbot fell asleep, Bleach and Slayer walked out of the hospital together. Once they were clear, Bleach said abruptly:
"We almost lost him."
"I know. Did you see his stomach?" Slayer answered.
"Its not the stomach wound that would have killed him." Bleach answered, "Oh, he would have bled dry, but it would have taken much longer. The wound he suffered on the head was much worse than I thought."
"How so? He was complaining about his stomach." Slayer returned.
"When I first saw his head wound, I thought that he was fine. But upon closer inspection after he had healed, I found that the tissue around it was badly damaged. I checked around, and found the bullet casing of the first shot that the dealer had fired. The casing proved my suspicions to be right. The bullet had been laced with mercury."
"Isn't that the metal they used to put in thermometers?" Slayer asked.
"Yes." Beach answered, "It is also extremely toxic. If any of the bullet had penetrated his skull, lights out."
Slayer whistled "That lucky SOB. I've counted, and that's five times he should be dead."
"Lucky man indeed." murmured Bleach. "Goodnight Slayer."
"See you at the meeting in the morning." Slayer answered, and they departed.
Killbot awoke the next afternoon. On his first attempt to get up, he found himself completely unable to bend his stomach. But it beat being dead, so he was still happy. It took him a while to get it moving again, and when he did, he immediately went to a mirror.
"Oh God..." He groaned. There was a huge scar on the side of his head. It started small, but got steadily larger as it cut towards his temple. There, it abruptly stopped, nearly an inch in diameter. He studied it for a while, and then laughed aloud.
"Well, if I hadn't gotten my nickname already, I bet they would have called me Scarface."
He walked out of the hospital, and paid for his bed. Slayer had left him a small stack of cash, with a note saying: "You owe me two grand and Bleach twelve grand, so get to work!" He was not charged a doctor's fee because all they did was check to see if he was alive. Stepping out into the sunny afternoon, Killbot wanted to run around screaming. He had seen his stomach the night before, and was sure that he was a goner. But he was alive, and he was not going to waste another moment of it.
Killbot remembered the meeting, so he headed over to the meeting hall. It was deserted.
"They left a few hours ago." A voice said behind him. Killbot turned, and saw Elijah standing there.
"It was an impressive sight. A hundred and fifty men, armed to the teeth, going out to kill zombies. I would have gone with them, but I didn't have the firepower."
"The firepower?" Killbot questioned
"Yeah, they all had huge machineguns, shotguns, and I even say a grenade launcher here and there." Elijah answered.
Killbot pondered this for a moment, and then asked: "How come you've been following me around? I saw you at the bar last night."
"Well, the bar incident was pure chance," Elijah answered "but I was just checking up on you today. You took a hard hit last night."
"Yeah..." Killbot said, remembering.
"There is a group of men set up to communicate with Sabertooth. Would you like to join?" Asked Elijah
"Sabertooth?" said Killbot, confused.
"Its what they call the group that went out." Elijah said "The sign up sheet is right over there." He pointed.
Killbot walked over to a sheet labeled "Communications" And signed his name. It disturbed him that he wrote "Killbot" instead of "Scott" He shook his head. He had to get used to this. Scott belonged to the old world. Killbot belonged in the new. His position was at radioman, and he was set to begin his shift in a couple of hours. Until then, he would just have to wait to find out what project Sabertooth was all about.
Chapter 19: The Competition
Killbot stood around for a while, uncertain of what to do next. He saw Elijah walking up to him again, this time looking excited.
"There is a competition going on in the yard, do you wanna come?" Elijah asked
"Sure, I've got nothing better to do." Killbot answered, grateful for some way to take his mind off of the memories of last night.
This seemed to cheer up Elijah quite a bit, and he talked happily on their way there. Once they reached the yard they saw what was happening. A booth was set up, stating the different prices of different bullets, and also stating numbers next to the various zombies that infested Fairview. Behind it, a large area was cleared, and a pit dug into the earth. It was much like a swimming pool, twelve feet deep, with about thirty feet both ways across. Chain link fence surrounded it, with another set spanning around the entire field. Choruses of moans sounded in the background, where several transport cases, originally made for bears, shook as rotted hands beat from inside. People were crowded around the fence, all of them trying to get a good look.
"What are we doing here?" Asked Killbot wryly.
"Simple." The man explained "You buy a zombie and ammo from here, and you fight it in the pit."
"We have to pay to fight a zombie?" Questioned Elijah, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, most of your winnings come from bets made." Said the man. "How dangerous the zombie is, and how powerful your weapon is all influence the bets. You are allowed one shot with a shotgun, rifle, or pistol, and three with a machinegun. If you shoot any more, your winnings will fall. So if I were you, I'd bring a melee weapon. No grenades are allowed."
Killbot thought this over for a while, and decided that he did owe Slayer and Bleach some money. "Besides," he thought, "how bad could it be?"
"I'll buy one .45 caliber pistol bullet." He said. "And I'll fight a mutant."
"Oh! A risk taker! That'll be eight hundred and ten dollars." Said the man, and he handed over a bullet. Killbot handed him the cash, and turned to get in line.
"Wait! You can't take your armor in there!" said the man at the table.
"Now you tell me." Killbot grumbled, but, not wanting to waste the money, he handed over the armor.
Elijah whispered that he would bet on him, and then, quickly wishing him good luck, he walked over to the betting circle. Killbot walked into line, next to a few other contestants. They glanced at him, and most of them turned back. One though, walked over to him, and asked:
"What are you fighting?"
"A mutant." Killbot replied.
"A mutant huh?" said the boy, who looked under eighteen. "I saw one of them tear a guy apart earlier today."
"Must've not known how to fight." Killbot answered, although this startled him a bit.
"He did have a twelve gauge shotgun, and he shot it five times..." The boy trailed off, and walked back to the others.
"Five times!" Thought Killbot in horror. "Shit!"
For the next few minutes, Killbot planned and thought over his strategy. He remembered how he had taken down the irradiated green zombie with his pistol, and planned on doing the same thing. Finally, one of the workers told him that he was up next. Killbot walked to the gate, and they sealed him in. The pit looked a lot smaller from the inside than from the top. A pang of fear hit him in the gut, as the door holding the zombie in was slowly opened. When it finally reached the top, a tall and muscular zombie walked out. Blood covered its head and body, and it sniffed the air experimentally. When the crowd cheered, it turned, and loosed a savage roar at them. Killbot swallowed, and advanced slowly.
The infected heard him, and it whipped around to face him. A threatening growl rose in its chest, and its lips curled into a snarl, revealing sharp rows of teeth. Killbot continued to advance, weaving in and out, left and right, trying to get a feel for the creature. It would not have that, though. It charged straight for him. Killbot waited till the last second, the dropped to one knee, driving his shoulder into its side, and simultaneously pulling up on its leg. If it was a person, it would have been send to the ground, but the great mutative powers of the N-4 had caused it to be much stronger. It twisted around and threw him off, and then rushed to tackle him.
Killbot know that he could not get too close to this brute; it was much too strong to wrestle with. He sprinted out of its way, and distanced himself from the mutant just a bit. He unsheathed his knife, known know as a kukri. He wished he would have brought his machete, but he needed speed to overcome this, not power. He slowly circled the beast, feinting to the right and left, attempting to get an opening. Frustrated, the infected charged again, this time, widening its arms so that he could not pull off the same move as before. Killbot backed up, and leapt to the right, slashing its arm on the way. Half of the infected's hand fell to the ground. The crowd cheered.
Killbot thought this would slow it slightly. He was wrong. Instead, it seemed to enrage it, and it doubled its efforts, rushing at Killbot with a ferocity matched by none. It made daring charges, seemingly not caring when it was stabbed it full in the back. It simply knew one thing: the need to destroy.
Killbot was beginning to tire. His gut ached from the previous night's wound, and already is was beginning to tighten up, restricting his movement and breathing. Wanting to end this, He upholstered his revolver, and jogged to the side of the ring. The infected was close on his heels, sensing that victory was near. At the last second, Killbot pushed against the wall, sending himself to the left. The more uncoordinated mutant, however, simply crashed into it, and nearly fell backwards. Killbot took aim, and fired his revolver into the creature's neck. A mist of blood spurted out from the other side, and the mutant sunk to the ground, a gurgling sigh rising in its now ruined throat.
Killbot raised his arms, and the crowd exploded into applause. It was suddenly cut off though, as gasps replaced them. The monster was getting to its feet. Killbot nearly screamed. It should be dead, but it wasn't. Its eyes flashed in the light, and it seemingly shook with fury. It advanced. Killbot knew that this was his last chance. He angrily swore, and charged. He raised this kukri over his head, both hands clutching the grip, and brought it down with a sickening crunch into the mutant's head. Blood flew onto his arms and chest, and the monster crumpled under the force of the blow. It fell to its knees, the slumped over and fell on its side, truly and utterly dead.
Killbot did not hear or comprehend anything that happened afterward, only the fact that the crowd pressed upon him, many hands swatting him on the back in congratulations. It was soon over, though. The next fight had begun. Only Elijah Wilson was left with him, and he handed Killbot a stack of cash.
"Your winnings." He said. "Nearly a thousand dollars over what you paid."
"I'm never going to do that again." Whispered Killbot, nearly shaking from exhaustion.
He picked up his stuff at the head table, and began walking slowly to the meeting hall. He was due for his shift. He was a thousand dollars richer than before, buy he resolved that he would rather starve than go into the pit again.