Hacked
Chapter 1
It was quite early in the morning when I got in. I could sense Shaun coming before I saw him. I should have been too tired to care, but at that point I was so amped up on adrenaline that I could carry on at a steady burn for at least another twenty minutes before needing to collapse on something soft. I wasn't exactly being stealthy, either. Neither was the girl with me. We were laughing like there was no tomorrow; albeit partly due to the fact that there very nearly wouldn't have been.
"So what time do you two call this?" Shaun glowered at us from the doorway. Becks jumped a mile and spun to face him but I'd known he'd been there. This was Shaun. He had a habit of showing up unannounced.
"I could have sworn there were two of you last time you called." I said as I put my bike helmet on the cleaning rack. The rack tilted back as a section of wall opened, tipping the helmet back and swallowing it instantly. It would be disassembled, thoroughly deep cleaned and reassembled as though nothing was wrong. Meanwhile, Shaun had grabbed two objects from his back pocket and was holding them out to us. Each one looked like a prescription medication bottle from one of those old Pre-Rising movies and the sight of them caused me to groan just as much. If there were two things I hated, it was tablets and blood testing units.
"You know what to do." His tone showed no argument. I looked at him levelly as Becks took the unit. I knew there was no way out of this, but that didn't stop me trying each time.
"You know I'm one of the most cautious Irwins here?" I quizzed him.
"Yes."
"And you know you don't count because you'd be at least twice as reckless without George constantly nagging you about precautions, right?"
"Yes."
"And you're still going to make me do a test, aren't you?"
"Yes." He threw the testing kit to me, seeming almost disappointed when I easily caught it. Luckily I can read everyone here pretty much like an open book. That and it's a standard tactic to throw the kits. Poor manual dexterity is a sign someone's going into amplification. That wasn't a test I was about to fail. The moment he drew his arm back, I was able to judge the direction and speed of his throw. I was there almost before he'd thrown it. Becks and I nodded to each other and pressed our fingers into the units. We were still grinning when the lights turned green.
"Right. We're good." I threw the unit back at him, grinning inwardly as he only just managed to catch it, and walked past him. I could tell he still wasn't happy, but was at least accepting that it had happened now that we'd both made it back. "So is George here or did you go excommunicado on this one?"
"She's here. Getting her beauty rest." I envied her. Shaun yawned, mirroring my own sentiment, while making his way through with us. "So, are you at least going to tell me what happened out there?" Becks and I exchanged a devious grin at that, beginning to fill Shaun in as I grabbed a bottle of water for each of us. His jaw dropped as he heard how I'd shot the legs out from three zombie rappers near a YMCA before pinning one of them to the ground, grabbing his gang colours and blowing my nose on them. And he stared in full-on disbelief at Becks as I told him how she'd dropped her pants and farted on a zombie's face after I'd smashed a good portion of its teeth out. By the end of it, he looked about as exhausted as I was starting to feel.
"So that's about the size of it." I shrugged as I slumped against the counter, my eyes threatening to close on me. "We've been streaming to my blog ever since we set out. It'll be a bit of a shock to Becks' fans too since she's a Newsie." As soon as I said that, Shaun's entire posture changed. It was only by a fraction, but enough to shift the entire aura he gave off. In that instant, I knew we'd arrived at the reason for his impromptu visit.
"That's why we're here." Called it. "Buffy alerted us that she'd intercepted a livestream to the main Bridge Supporters server that showed an Irwin taking a Newsie into the field. Now that's not something I agree with. My sister goes out with me into the field when she has her own stuff to do as well but never just for the hell of it. I certainly don't take her with only one bike and one helmet between the two of us. We take the van and if all else fails we just hop in and mow them down. Then I sometimes ride on top to get some good footage. And now you're telling me that I missed out on you blowing your nose on a zombie rapper's gang colours and Becks farting in a zombie's face! I don't know what to be more pissed at! The fact that you were so stupid or the fact I missed it!"
"Both is good." I shrugged. He turned to glare at me as I took a long drink. My throat was drier than Vegas now that there was no one there to keep the sand back. A dry mouth and throat are early signs of amplification. The virus typically channels as many of your bodily fluids into its own reserves as possible to fuel amplification since it needs all it can get to keep your body running like a puppet on a string. Having just tested negative, I wasn't worried. Unfortunately, I often get headaches which result in me getting unbelievably thirsty. It often caused worried glances when I'd first come to work for Shaun and Georgia at Bridge Supporters and even now it hadn't properly stopped. It was the same reason I sensed Shaun about to reach over to squeeze the bottom of the bottle. I quickly turned it around to aim at his face and he stopped just short of grabbing it.
"Seriously, Jake. You are on some thin ice right now." He let out a sigh as I went back to drinking, knowing he wasn't planning to try that again. Eventually I finished the bottle off just as he rounded on Becks. "And why did you want to go out there in the first place? When Georgia goes out there with me she has her own stuff to do. You were running around like an Irwin if that story you both just told is to be believed." Becks nodded, looking totally unashamed.
"I've been thinking about switching careers." Her grin said it all. "I'm tired of pissing off the living. Now I want to piss off the dead." Shaun just gaped at her.
"You go out on an unauthorised and unsanctioned field excursion with an Irwin who hasn't yet been approved for taking unregistered company into a hot zone and then tell me you want to change careers?" He looked ready to spit fire. Or really just spit in general. "You didn't even think to put it in an e-mail so we can get you started on basic field assessment like a normal person? Did Jake's headaches even cross your mind?"
"Hey, I'm on stuff for that and I measured my dose timings properly!" I cut in. That was a total lie. I hate medication. And anything that dulls your senses in any way in the field is a no-no. Actually, it's a bit more than that. It's death in a laminated capsule. If it's a choice between dying to a natural headache that leaves me defenceless and dying to an entirely preventable moment where my focus slips and I get grabbed from behind or something like that, I'll take the headache. But I knew it wasn't going to happen. I'd never had a headache while fighting zombies.
"Okay so assuming I let that slide, what do I tell George when she wakes up?" I could tell the journey must have been rough on them since George wasn't up with him to grill us. That meant Shaun probably wouldn't be up for long either. That was good. The adrenaline was starting to wear off. "Actually, you know what? Forget it. Hit the hay for now and we'll get a recorded version of your footage uploaded in the morning. Mahir tells me our branch's ratings are soaring after the stunts you two have been pulling. Now I know why. An official version to watch any time can only improve matters and help lessen piracy. Get it sorted before George and I call you for a conference tomorrow." As elated as I was to be getting off lightly tonight, that last sentence had me concerned.
"Conference?"
"George feels it's time we took the next step and started standing on our own two feet." He shrugged and moved to the opposite door. "You'll find out details tomorrow." I just nodded, to tired to do much more. Now that we were out of danger, my head was beginning to pound. Tonight was probably going to be nothing short of debilitating.
I managed to say good night to Becks and stay upright heading to my room. As soon as I closed the door though, my façade crumbled. I fell sideways towards the bed but I was way too far away. I landed hard on the floor as fireworks exploded behind my eyes and I tried to fight the urge to vomit. Forcing myself to move, I crawled to my room's bathroom area to try and salvage a bit of my dignity. Once I was into the final gasping stages of my migraine I rinsed my mouth out before grabbing my tablets from my bedside. I downed two with a mouthful of tap water and gasped in relief as the throbbing instantly died back. Anyone taking these for a mere headache would sleep for about seventeen hours after taking these. As it stood for me, sleep would be a miracle.
"They are coming...
They are hungry..."
-A message taken from a photo of blood writing. Kept in the personal archives of Jake Townsend. Unpublished.
Author's Note: Okay guys, so this is my first ever Newsflesh Trilogy story. The whole story itself is completely written so I just need to upload the chapters. Feel free to leave a review. As this is my first story for this trilogy, feedback will always help. Thanks.