Sorry for the month-long wait.
Previously, on Surviving the Dead: Shawn and the other captives were brought to an abandoned factory, where they were told by fellow prisoners Joshua, Miles, and Ryan that they were to be put to work while the girls would be divided up amongst the thugs as sex slaves. After being brought to their leader, Travis, Gwen and Heather are taken away to be raped while Jo, Scarlett, and (for the time being) Ella are spared. Back at their camp, Eva discovers that Ezekiel has been bit and shows his wound to everyone. Everyone seems shocked, and a certain host wants to do something drastic….
Chris, machete in hand, made his way over towards Eva and Ezekiel with a determined look on his face. He raised his machete and was about to swing when he heard the sound of a pistol being cocked.
"Sit your ass down or we'll put you down," Chris heard a voice say from behind. He turned to see Bridgette aiming her Colt 1911 at him, and soon Brick and Connor aimed their pistols as well.
"Chris, put the machete down!" Brick ordered.
"Why are you guys stopping me? He's infected; we have to dispatch him!" Chris reasoned.
"We can settle this man, just put the weapon down," said Chuck, who had his hand on his holster. Ignoring this, Chris went back at him, but Chuck tackled him to the ground, handcuffing his hands behind his back.
"I warned you," Chuck said, pulling Chris up and escorting him away.
With that, Bridgette put the safety back on her 1911 and inserted it back into her holster before walking over to Ezekiel. "You got bit last night, didn't you? When I saved you?" she asked.
The prairie boy nodded shamefully. "Yeah, right before you ran over," said Ezekiel.
"You see? Can't we just put him down already?" Chris pleaded.
"I don't think that's necessary, Chris. We'll just do what Chuck did to me and amputate him," Mike piped up, holding up and pointing to his handless left arm.
"Wait a minute. If he was bit last night, isn't it too late to do anything?" asked Miguel. All the other members of the group debated amongst themselves while Bridgette inspected Ezekiel's bite.
"It does look very infected. Does anyone have the time?" The surfer asked.
Harold checked his watch. "It's 7:05 A.M. If I recall, we were attacked at around 10 or so last night."
"That's a long time in my book. What should we do?" asked Connor.
Jasmine sighed. "I don't think there's anything we CAN do."
"Well, if Zeke's already doomed, should we let him die?" asked Nicole. Everyone turned their attention back to Ezekiel.
The teen looked around at everyone, and said, "If it's too late…..I guess I'll just go through with it. How long do I have, eh?"
Chuck walked over to Zeke. "Well, it depends. I've seen quite a few people go through this thing, and they all died at different time periods. One woman died after a few hours, and came back about ten minutes later. Another man got bit and died the next day, reanimating about 3 hours later. One of us should keep an eye on him until he turns, and then he needs to be put down afterwards," said the cop.
"I'll volunteer!" Bridgette offered.
"Okay, with that taken care of, we need to try to find our friends before sundown," said Cameron.
"Agreed. Should we split up into groups?" asked Topher.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Some of us should stay and guard the camp while we're away," added Sammy.
"I'll stay!" Courtney piped up.
"Dido!" said Scott.
Jasmine nodded. "Okay, whoever wants to go, divide amongst yourselves and let's head out!"
"Have a seat Shawn, let's talk," Travis offered. Shawn walked over to Travis's desk and pulled up a small wooden chair while Travis returned to his swivel chair.
"What is there to talk about?" asked Shawn asked, confused.
"Oh, there's plenty to talk about. I want to know all about you. Where are you and your people from?" Travis asked. Shawn was not expecting this at all; he never thought the leader of such an evil group could be so friendly and open. However, this did not stop him from keeping his guard up.
"Uh…I'm originally from Toronto, but my group and I came from the West. We were trying to get back to Toronto until your boys came last night and kidnapped a few of us," explained Shawn.
Travis chuckled. "Yeah, they tend to do that," he said before letting out another disturbing chuckle. "But we have a good reason to."
"What would that be?""
"Simple: we need people to help us survive. I believe in a Darwinist system, therefore people like me and my men are the ones that survive, while the women and other men cater to our every need. The ones that work outside everyday are the ones that provide us with food. The women that are kept in here are the ones that pleasure us sexually. We need people, Shawn, and it looks to me as though you don't have much a choice," Travis preached. He rose up from his seat and walked over to the large window, his hands folded behind his back.
"Did it ever occur to you that you can just make the men work but give them women as incentives?" asked Shawn.
"I have, but that's not good enough to get a personal slave. Going out there and risking their lives to bring more people back is worth so much more. Besides, who is there to tell us what's right and what's wrong, am I right? Surely you've been out there long enough to realize this," Travis stated. "Now, go off to breakfast. Just go down the stairs and walk until you find the cafeteria." Shawn got up from his seat and made his way towards the door. He turned his head to look at Travis (his back still turned) one last time before exiting the room.
He wandered the labyrinth-like hallways for a good five minutes before arriving at the cafeteria. When he entered, he saw that all the other men were already having their breakfast, which consisted of only a Pop-Tart and a small juice box. He walked up to Nathan, who was handing out the stuff, and took a juice box and Hot Fudge Sundae Pop-Tart before sitting at Chef's table.
"So Joshua, how long do we work?" Shawn asked.
"We typically work from now 'til about 7:00 P.M., but we don't get any lunch. That's only for Travis's men," the shaggy teen replied. "We don't eat until like 9:00, when everyone is nice and starving."
"Aw man, that's gonna be a problem. I've got quite the appetite," said Kenny, looking at his stomach.
Shawn took a bite out of his Pop-Tart. "How long we got to eat?" Immediately after the words left his mouth, Pete began ringing a bell, signaling the end of breakfast.
"That would be now," said Miles. He and his brother stood up and followed the other men to the door that led outside, with Shawn and the others following behind.
Back at Shawn's campsite, Scott, Courtney, Harold, Amy, Miguel, Sky, and Eva had decided to stay behind to guard the camp while Bridgette tended to Ezekiel in the camper. The others were getting ready to head out to search for the Shawn and the others. Ezekiel was currently lying in bed, bare-chested and his toque was resting on the small wooden chair in the room. He was sweating like crazy; in fact, he sweated so much that the pillow was stained with it.
"Here, take this. It should help ease some of the pain," Bridgette said as she offered Ezekiel a teaspoon of medicine.
After accepting the medicine, Ezekiel replied with, "Thanks, eh. Did Chuck say anything about symptoms?"
Bridgette remained silent for a moment. "He said that the only symptoms included excessive sweating, nausea, and a lethal fever," she said.
Ezekiel coughed, but soon coughed so hard Bridgette thought he was going to throw up, so she handed him a small plastic bucket. Zeke threw up into the bucket while Bridgette looked away.
Ezekiel set the bucket to his side. "Oh God….my head hurts. I'm so hot I feel like I'm being cooked alive," he complained. Bridgette took off Geoff's cowboy hat and began to fan the homeschooled boy.
"*sigh* Thanks, Bridge," he thanked.
Before she could answer, Bridgette heard the door to the camper open and turned her head to see Sky. "Bridgette, you need to see this," she said. Bridgette gave Ezekiel Geoff's cowboy hat so he could fan himself and she followed Sky outside. The two girls saw that everyone else was gathered around the pickup.
"What's going on?" Bridgette asked.
"Some of the tires are flat," said Connor.
"How's this possible? They were fine last night," DJ stated. Brick squatted down to get a better look at one of the pickup's tires. He saw that the tire had a small, perfect hole exiting it.
"Huh, that's strange," he said to himself.
"What is it, Brick?" asked Zoey.
"This tire has a hole in it, almost as if someone had shot it," Brick explained.
"How's that possible? Could someone have shot it by accident during the chaos?" Sammy asked.
"It's possible, but that's not important right now. What's important is trying to find our friends," said Dawn.
"Dawn's right. The more time we spend here, the less time we have to search. Let's shove off!" Jasmine declared.
Shawn and the others exited the dark building and walked into the warm Canadian sun. With only another thug standing guard at the door with an M16A1, everyone walked off to the large field not too far from the factory. The field was about a five minute walk from the factory, so Shawn used the opportunity to talk to Joshua some more.
"What do you guys grow here?" he asked.
"We grow mainly vegetables, and we have some cows and pigs here as well. We grow mainly potatoes, peas, and tomatoes," Joshua answered.
"Enough chit-chat! Get to work, putos!" A Hispanic thug said, pointing his Remington 870 shotgun at them. The men went to their work spots and began to tend to the vegetables. Shawn went beside Joshua to see what he would be doing, but another thug, this one Caucasian, grabbed him by the arm.
"Nuh-uh, not you, pretty boy. Come with me," he ordered. He dragged Shawn away from the others to a small corral of pigs with a small shed. "You'll be tending to the porkers over here. Also, you will clean the shed when need be, all clear?" He let Shawn go and went off to join the other guard. Shawn looked inside the shed and saw that it was stained with dirt and poop. Shawn groaned and picked up the bucket and sponge that was left for him to clean.
Back in the factory, Tanner threw Heather into his small office-turned living quarters. Heather sat up and saw that Tanner had withdrawn his Colt Detective Special revolver and cocked the hammer. "All right, listen you Asian slut. You do as I say, and I won't punish you. Understand?" he said. Heather remained silent, but nodded her head in comprehension. Out of nowhere, Tanner slapped her across the face. "I expect a verbal response, bitch! Now, I'm gonna ask you again, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" he shouted.
"Y-Yes sir," Heather said meekly, rubbing her cheek.
Tanner removed his Aviator sunglasses, revealing lime green eyes behind them, and placed them inside his leather jacket. Heather looked around the room and saw a small cot behind her, and a small dog cage on the opposite side of the room, barely noticeable behind the open door. But what was the most shocking was what was in the other corner next to the door. It was a small cell (only big enough to house one person if they were to stand up), and a female zombie could be seen moaning loudly and sticking her pale arms through the bars. This zombie must have reanimated recently, because she did not appear as rotten.
"Who…Who's that?" Heather pointed. Tanner turned his attention to the caged zombie.
"Oh, that's my former slave, Vivian. She was a real pain, I tell ya. She wouldn't give me the amount of sexual favors that I wanted, so I slit her throat," the thug answered. Heather looked again and could definitely see that the zombie's clothes were stained with blood, as well as a large slash that ran across her throat.
"But enough of that. Time to get down to business," said Tanner. "Ditch the crop top."
THIS NEXT PART MAYBE UNNERVING TO SOME READERS. If YOU WISH TO SKIP THIS PART, FEEL FREE AND SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE BOLD AGAIN.
Heather slowly grabbed the bottom of her top and pulled it over her head and placed it beside her.
"Oh, so you're one of them girls who like to go bra-less? I like that," he snickered, licking his lips as he gazed at Heather's bare C-cup breasts.
"Now the shoes." The girl obeyed and removed her wedges, leaving her barefoot. "Now…take off them short-shorts," Tanner continued. Heather was unsure to do this, as she knew what was going to happen once she was fully naked. But nonetheless, she unbuckled her pants, raised legs high in the air and removed her pants (which removed her pink panties with them). Now Heather was sitting on the ground, completely nude.
Tanner's smile grew even larger. He placed his revolver on his night stand and unzipped his pants, pulling out his penis. "All right, let's get this show on the road!" He shoved Heather's mouth onto his shaft and forcefully began to thrust inside her. Heather felt like she was going to throw up because Tanner's penis nearly hit her uvula a couple of times.
"Aw yeeeaaah…Suck it, bitch," Tanner moaned. Heather had no choice but to just let it happen, even though she hoped to God that Tanner would stop soon. After forcefully blowing him for about three minutes, Heather felt something warm and sticky shoot into her mouth and down her throat.
'Oh Jesus, did he just cum? Fucking gross!' she thought, trying her best not to puke.
"That's right, swallow it ALL," Tanner ordered. He pulled out of Heather's mouth, giving the self-centered teenage girl a moment to catch her breath and cough a little. "If you thought that THAT was nasty, that was only the beginning, darling. Put your hands behind your back." Heather, with tears beginning to form in her scared eyes, sniffled and put her hands behind her back. Tanner then tied her hands with duct tape and forced her onto the cot, which smelt of sweat and bourbon.
"Raise your ass!" Tanner screamed. Heather raised her rear end, letting Tanner get a good view of her anus and the bottom of her vagina. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna pop your cherry for sure!" He stroked his cock just a bit as he climbed onto the bed and without warning, thrust his entire shaft into Heather's ass.
"AAAAWWWWW!" Heather screamed with pain.
"Oh come on, it ain't that bad. You may learn to love it," Tanner said as he thrusted in and out of Heather's asshole.
OKAY ITS OVER
As Tanner picked up speed, Heather began to wonder, 'Oh God, is this my punishment for being such a bitch?' She soon thought of Gwen, wondering if her rival was undergoing the same thing. Oh please, it was certain she was. Somewhere in her soul, Heather felt a twinge of pity. The rape continued to commence, as the zombified Vivian moaned and watch from her cell.
Pete led Scarlett down a hallway until they stopped at a seemingly normal office door. Pete knocked on it a few times.
"Yes?" a voice answered on the other side.
"Open up, Cooper!" Pete said loudly. The door unlocked and swung open to reveal a man with a bald head but a large black beard that reached his chest and dark eyes. He appeared to be in his late 40s, and he wore a white lab coat that was covered in blood, which was unbuttoned, revealing a light green button down shirt, black dress pants, and grey tennis shoes.
"I have someone who is going to be your new assistant. Introduce yourself, kid," Pete said.
Scarlett offered a handshake. "Hello, I am Scarlett," she introduced herself.
The man known as Cooper shook her hand softly. "Dr. James T. Cooper, but most people call me by my last name," said Cooper. By that point, Pete had left the two alone and went on his way. "Come in, I need your help with something."
Scarlett shut the door behind her and began to inspect the room as her new partner returned to writing something down on a clipboard. This office was rather big, and had been converted into a small laboratory. There was a white board on the wall with various notes and a large drawing of a brain on it, a rack of test tubes full of blood on the counter, and the most prominent feature, a bare-chested zombie lay strapped down on a metal table, its lower abdomen sliced open, exposing it's innards.
"Scarlett, put on this lab coat," Cooper offered. Scarlett took the folded lab coat from Cooper and slid it onto her body.
"So, how long have you been here?" she asked while she buttoned up her lab coat.
"I was one of the first people ever brought to this place," Cooper said. "They wanted to put me to work, but when I told them that I was a scientist, Travis told me to conduct research on these things." He poked the restrained zombie with a scalpel.
"What kind of research do you conduct? Are you trying to figure out the cause of reanimation?" Scarlett asked.
"No, my dear," the scientist told Scarlett.
"You mean you don't know what caused the outbreak?" Scarlett asked, shocked and confused.
"I worked at a private research facility in northern-western Ontario. I and a small team of researchers were tasked with trying to decipher what causes the dead to reanimate, and we discovered that the virus that causes the dead to return to life is really an evolved pathogen," Cooper explained. At this point, Scarlett was keen on finding out every single detail that Cooper could provide.
"From what?" she asked him.
"Ebola, that's what. You know the reports earlier last year that showed deceased victims of the Ebola virus rising from the dead? Well….it wasn't a hoax. It was all too real." Cooper took a sip of water. "After a while, the virus had evolved to where it wasn't only transferred through bodily fluids, but through the air as well. I'm sorry to say this, Scarlett, but if the brain is not destroyed, you will become that." Cooper pointed to the zombie on the table, trying to reach up with its head and bite him but to no avail.
"Well, what do you do then?"
"My job is to find some way to cease or reverse the reanimation process," the scientist spoke. "But so far, all my attempts have failed." Cooper but a sample of zombie blood under a microscope, while Scarlett just stood there.
"So…is there anything I can do?" Scarlett asked after a silence.
Cooper looked up from his microscope and turned to her. "Um…actually there is something you can do. There are a few pits by the crop field which we use to capture dead ones. Take this harness and catch me a new one." Cooper handed Scarlett a large grappling harness that was resting in the corner of the room. The brainiac took the harness and left the room with a feeling of nervousness.
Nicole snuck up behind a zombie and stabbed it in the head with her knife, with Rodney following close behind. "I think I'm picking up some tracks," she said. "Hopefully, if they're close by, we can try to find them by sundown." Rodney wasn't paying attention; he was too busy staring romantically at Nicole to notice to the rest of the world around him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, hopefully," said Rodney. "Listen, Nicole. I have something I want to confess."
Nicole sheathed her knife and flipped her braided ponytail back. "What is it?" she asked.
Rodney got a little closer to her, looking into her green eyes. "I like you. In fact, I think I love you," Rodney said. Nicole looked at her friend, and then to the ground, a sad expression spreading across her face.
"Rodney…..I think you're a pretty cool guy. In fact, I don't think I've met a man as big and strong as you!" she said. "But, I hate to tell you this but….I'm a lesbian."
Rodney's mind seemed to shut down. "Wait, what?!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm gay," Nicole repeated.
"But, that can't be right. I thought it wasn't possible for girls to be gay!" Rodney said.
Nicole shrugged. "Well, that's just the way I am, but don't pout. I'm sure that there's someone out there for you." She reached up and gave Rodney a peck on the cheek, making him blush like crazy and fall back onto the forest floor. Nicole rolled her eyes, but in a good way.
"Men," she said.
Brick, Jasmine, and Connor trekked through another part of the forest, guns drawn. "So do you think someone could have snuck up last night and kidnapped them?" asked Connor.
"Well, it's not completely out of the question," said Brick.
"Shh!" The two men heard Jasmine say.
"What is it?" Connor asked.
"I hear something," said the Aussie. She smelled the air. "I smell something burning. It's coming from that way! Come on!" Jasmine ran off deeper into the woods, Connor and Brick following close behind. The three suddenly came to a stop, and hid behind some bushes. When they glanced over, they saw a small campfire. A man in his early 30's sat in front of the fire, roasting a small piece of meat on a stick. He had fair skin, short blonde hair, and brown eyes. His apparel consisted of a short sleeved pale blue button down shirt with grey sleeves and breast pocket. The shirt was open, revealing a white T-shirt with a blue American Eagle logo on the chest, as well as blue jeans and grey Converse sneakers.
Connor tried to move closer to get a better view, but stepped on a twig, and the man turned to see them.
The man let out a small yelp of surprise and pulled out a Smith and Wesson M&P pistol with a tanned grip. "Who-Who are y-you?" the man asked.
"Just relax, man. We don't mean any harm," said Brick. Brick motioned for the other two to come out with him from the bushes, and they all stood in front of the man, still holding their handguns, with their hands up.
"P-Prove it," the man stuttered. Brick, Jasmine, and Connor all put their guns on the ground.
"See? It's all good," Connor reassured. "What's your name?"
"G-Gareth," the man said. "Wh-Who are you?"
"I'm Connor. This is Brick and Jasmine," Connor continued.
After a small silence, Jasmine said, "You get put that down, mate. We're good." Gareth slowly lowered his handgun and put it back in his holster. "Are you alone?" Jasmine asked.
Gareth looked somewhat alarmed. "Wh-Who n-needs to know?" he asked.
"We're just asking if you're alone, dude. Chill," Connor said.
Gareth looked at the three before saying, "Y-Yes. I'm alone. Do you guys have a camp?"
The trio looked at one another. "Yes. We have a camp nearby," said Brick.
"S-So are y-y-you guys looking f-for food?" Gareth asked.
"No, not exactly," said Jasmine. "We're trying to find our friends who disappeared during the night."
Gareth nodded his head. "Oh, I see."
"Do you wanna join us?" Jasmine asked the man.
"Th-Thanks, but n-no thanks. I'm…..j-just fine," said Gareth.
Jasmine and the others picked up their guns. "Okay….Well, good luck to ya!" Jasmine waved as she, Connor, and Brick left. Gareth returned a small wave and sat back down to finish roasting his meal.
"Well, that was unexpected. I thought that someone with almost no supplies would want to join us," said Brick.
"Well, even if he did, that wouldn't matter. Besides we have to find Shawn and the others," said Jasmine. "Plus, isn't it strange how eight of our people vanished overnight, and our tires are shot?"
"Wait! D-Did you say th-that your tires were sh-shot?" They heard Gareth call out. They turned around and saw Gareth walking over to them.
"Uh…yeah. Our leader and a few others vanished last night, and it appears that someone had shot the tires to a few of our vehicles," said Brick.
Gareth stared at them, putting together everything that he had just heard.
"I th-think I know wh-where they went."
So the origins of the virus have been revealed, and oh my God, poor Heather! What I'm gonna start doing too, is dividing up who's alive and dead based on the groups that they are a part of. From now on, if the name is in bold, they're alive. If they're in italics, they're dead. And if they're in normal font, they're unknown.
Shawn's group:
Chris, Chef, Shawn, Jasmine, Sky, Topher, Ella, Beardo, Scarlett, Rodney, Amy, Sammy, Mike, Zoey, Dawn, Lightning, B, Cameron, Dakota, Sam, Brick, Scott, Jo, Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Ezekiel, Alejandro, Sierra, DJ, Tyler, Heather, Trent, Gwen, Eva, LeShawna, Noah, Cody, Connor, Chuck, Roger, Chelsea, Kenny, Nicole, Vince, Miguel, Gareth, Sugar, Lindsay, Leonard, Sadie, Katie, Beth, Geoff, Anne Maria, Owen, Dave, Max, Justin, Staci
Travis's group:
Travis, Pete, Brian, Sal, Tanner, Nathan, Blake, Cooper, Joshua, Miles, Ryan, Stephanie (yet to be seen)