Rated M for mature content. This has not been reviewed by a beta reader.
Part 2.1
Eric Northman
Present Day
"Sookie! No one is immune! You don't understand. You don't know what happens when you get bit. The bacteria, it will eat you up until you die and you open your eyes again," a human male yelled as his large arm held Sookie in place. I couldn't help myself but growl. MY Sookie, terrified, at their mercy. I took a step forward and then another, until I was running in her direction. Vampire speed had its advantages; I reached the second human male just in time before the machete came down upon her arm. The fuckers were in the process of cutting out her arm and judging by the intoxicating smell in the air, she was bleeding. The idiots thought removing the infected limb would prevent the infection.
If only they knew.
I grabbed Machete by the throat, rage rippling through my body. I wanted to take him apart, rip off his fucking arm, to see how he would like it. Heck, I wanted to take that arm and beat him senseless with it, slap after slap until there would be so much blood, his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
The Machete was clearly exhibiting signs of choking; it probably had something to do with my hand squeezing his throat. I wasn't even using my most dominant hand to kill this fucker. The chocking male had brought one hand to mine as if it would do anything in convincing me to drop him while the other had extended to my lover. How could he possibly be this arrogant? I squeezed harder.
Sookie was on the ground staring at us. I don't think she could see me from where she was, it was too dark for her human eyes. The loud banging on the doors from the infected humans were distracting and only added to the stress that was palpable in the air. Each loud bang made her jumped a bit, but the noise wasn't enough for me to lose track of my surroundings or sight of the other humans. They had all taken a step back clearly afraid of who I was or what I was. At least, they knew their place. I heard a gasped from Sookie and as she tried to get up, she was so weak, she stumbled to us instead. I saw her reached for this male but lost her footing and caught herself on my torso.
Her touch instantly gave me a breath as if my body seemed to be waking up from a nightmare. The human male was choking and making gurgling sound that was just music to my ear. I looked at him and hoped he would die already, so I could finally hold my lover in my arms.
But then, she cried and I frowned. She was pleading for this human's life and it occurred to me she had not recognized me yet. She was now pounding on my chest and with every hit, my heart ache. I could feel the hate of the energy she was pouring in each of her strikes until it quickly went away and I felt her fade away. She had wasted almost all her energy just to save him?
I swiftly threw the human male back to the group she was with as he no longer matter. I grabbed her unable to imagine my life without her. Living in a world without Sookie was living in no world at all. I couldn't stand being away from her any longer and the mere thought of her dying right here, right now, was enough to send me to my knees. I held her tightly against my chest unable to control myself. I mentally pleaded for her to hang on, she couldn't leave me now.
Her body was stiff, awkwardly accepting my embrace but not returning it. I held on to her harder, pouring all the love I could so she could feel me. I didn't know if it was working but she eventually relaxed in my arms and gasped for air trying to push me away but in such a way, it felt friendly, as if she had finally recognized me and just wanted to see my face.
As soon as our eyes met, her heart literally skipped a beat.
"Lover," I exclaimed at last.
-zzzz-
Day Z – (minus) 14 days
I was so very bored. Don't get me wrong, living in a castle with slaves, I mean butlers, maids and any entertainment I could wish for, all in one place, had its benefits but it wasn't for me. I had managed to spend most of my 1000 of years on this earth either battling or partying but for the most part I had stayed away from the rich aristocratic life that monarchy could bring.
Of course, this was only temporary, a debt I had to pay in order to keep my lover safe for the remainder of her life. The thought of never seeing her again was agony but I had remained strong, unwilling to share with Freyda, the pain it caused me. As if someone had pierced a hole through my undead heart, it felt something was missing and I knew it was her.
In a time, where I thought I would never feel alive again, where I had given up on living and simply spent my death in waiting, she had entered my life and had changed it forever. Sookie had taught me that I could love someone, that despite how long I had spent to forget my human life that pieces of it had remained, pieces of me; the real me. I supposed I should be thankful that I had the privilege of meeting her and spending time with her. A part of my being felt incredibly thankful for it for I would have had rather spend a few months with her than an eternity without her.
But having said that, it didn't take away the pain I felt every time something reminded me of her. Sometimes it felt as if the pain lessen overtime, but it always brought longing with a revenge until longing was too much and brought pain again. They say time heals everything but in my case, time did not necessarily equal death, the only true cure to a broken heart. I had accepted the inevitable truth that Sookie would forever hold my heart and that I would walk this earth with only her memories to cherish until I was to meet my true death. Of course, this was a choice, at any time I could just kill Freyda with a giant fuck you to the monarchy and fly over to my lover and reclaim her.
But it wasn't what she wanted. Sookie had made it clear that she would never be happy with me and that she had chosen another. No matter how much agony it brought me, I loved her enough to let her go and some could find this was the irony of it all.
I entered the entertainment room where I found my child. Pam had stayed behind in Shreveport in order to take care of my affairs, but sometimes, she came to visit and I could safely say, it was the only thing that brought a smile on my face these days.
"Good evening," I said to her taking a few more strides before reaching her. My head bend down just enough that she could kiss me on the cheek. "I am pleased to see you Pam," I continued taking a seat on one of the sofas.
"I know," she smirked and reached inside of her handbag for an envelope. She tended me the package and I nodded my thanks. "This stalking shit is getting creepy," she declared and I was the one now smirking.
"I only wish to make sure she is well."
"Sure," she huffed as I opened it and look through every picture taken of Sookie for the past week.
One could say I was being a bit of a stalker but I couldn't help it. If I was denied her touch for the rest of her life, at the very least I wouldn't be denied her sight.
Pam flicked the television on and I sigh heavily. There was nothing more boring than to watch it and witness the monkey business of humans. Of course, that was only when I wasn't with my lover who had shown me a side of this television business I didn't think existed. I sometime missed our movie nights but that would be something I was going to take to my grave before I would admit it.
It seems the attack originated from within the hospital. Two Caucasian males attacked staff members before making their way to the street where the rampage continued. Preliminary reports indicate they were infected with the rabies virus that has mutated to infect humans. Authorities demand that the public stay away from New York until the situation is contained.
Pam blinked a couple times at the screen before turning to me. A chill pass through my spine, an overwhelming feeling of dread taking over.
"What do you think that is about?" She enquired as the muffled sound of heel clicking on the floor came for afar.
"I do not know but I assume we will soon find out."
The sound came louder and I knew from their speed and their intensity that Freyda was on her way to us and wasn't alone. Judging by the pressing cadence of her steps, I would venture a guess that she wasn't too pleased.
-zzzzz-
Day Z – (minus) 12 days
Dread that is the only word that had come to mind after the first report and it had never left me. The human Medias were only reporting half-truths on the television and on the radio, enough that I grew worried. If humans were not going to get proper warning, that meant many deaths, including Sookies.
"And where is this report from exactly Aiva?" the Queen asked immediately after its daily report on the human world and on the looping reports about a contagion.
Aiva stood for Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Authority. It was a computer, a very smart and very capable computer but that was it. It was in charge of the premise, our security as well as keeping us informed on the outside world not always having the luxury of leaving the castle. It had been very bizarre in the beginning to speak to a computer but eventually, like anything else, you grow accustom to it.
"New York my lord." She retorted with her monotone computer voice.
"Surely the human will contain this shit to stay in New York." Freyda shrugged looking out the window.
"Would you like to bet on it?" Pam asked with a grin, I could tell my child was dreaming of ripping her head off.
I couldn't blame Pam. To her, the sacrifice I had made for my lover had not been necessary if it wasn't for Freyda. By our laws, my child couldn't really do anything about it but I was sure she thought about revenge more often than not.
"The human media are not reporting the truth but you had 3 voicemails this morning from the King of New York, the Queen of Vermont and the king of Washington. When put together, I gathered the following facts; the human population cannot survive this disease. The human authorities are not doing enough to contain it and as a result, the vampire population will suffer. It is still unknown whether this affects the vampires." Aiva stated as matter of fact with absolutely no emotions in her voice. What else to expect from an artificial intelligence?
"Just great!" the Queen exclaimed and then turned to face me. She was keeping her distance just like she had promised me when I accepted to play pretence for the rest of the court. She had declared we were engaged and in love which of course had been not only a lie but a tough sale. Most of the court knew about my prior marriage to Sookie and it was hard to explain after all the risks I had taken throughout our relationship that I would just let her go without much thought.
Freyda was a good actress and deep down I wasn't too sure she was acting but of course, I had to. I didn't love Freyda and was with her because of the agreement and nothing else. At first, this had hurt her, I could tell in her eyes. Vampire or not, Freyda's weakness was her emotions. I had eventually made a deal with her that in exchange of playing house husband with her, she would not come near me when we did not have to pretend and that the only time we would have sex was on the night in the contract. She had thought about it but had eventually accepted the deal without much more thought to it.
"Aiva, please launch contingency program B.H immediately," the Queen ordered the AI before turning back to us to offer slim explanations as to what was going on. "It is time to go underground." She declared. This couldn't be good.
I was pretty sure if my blood was pumping through my veins, it would have frozen at her words. Taking to the grounds? Did she know something I didn't? It was an extreme measure that vampires had not taken since the Great War. For Freyda to demand that all vampires take to the ground was a survival move in times where our food source was depleted which wasn't the case here. She was making this call and strongly suggesting it to the rest of the American vampires based on what? A report that a bug was affecting humans in a New York hospital. On the assumption that the humans were not doing enough and wouldn't contain it? It seemed like a rush move and from where I was sitting a desperate uncalculated one. Why the other kingdom would even entertained the idea?
Unless she knew something I did not know.
-zzzz-
Day Z – 10 days
"Eric," the Queen demanded but I was no longer listening to her.
I had requested the chance to leave, to secure assets on her behalf before we were to go to the ground. She had refused both yesterday and today. I was growing desperate. Waiting too long, I knew I would be trapped in this castle until the Queen would allow the doors to open again.
New York was chaos but what was fascinating was that most human had no clue what was actually coming. Most towns went about their lives as if the world wasn't ending when in fact; it was heading in that direction. I still had no idea why the other Kingdom would do what Freyda was asking and why these over the top precautions were being taken, but I wasn't born yesterday and I knew Freyda had a lot more information than what she had shared with us.
I grew worried with each minute passing. It is not that I cared what was to happen to the human population and our food source but for every report the media omitted the truth was time wasted for Sookie to plan her survival. For all I knew, she had no idea what was coming her way and was still waitressing in the little dive bar that was Merlotte's. Humans couldn't be blame though; Vampires had taken control of their media centres and had ensured that the message was always the same, that everything was fine. One could think it was a bit counterproductive to send our food source to the slaughter house all at once but the reality was that it was a strategic move on my kind's behalf.
The official story to vampires was that we were going underground to protect ourselves against the bacteria but I knew this wasn't it. When I had inquired whether we were immune, the Queen said yes but nothing more. I spent hours strategizing trying to understand why such move but it was in vain. I was missing pieces of the puzzle and there was no way for me to extract the information from her brain.
The facts were simple according to her; vampires were to go underground as a defensive move. The human population would soon twinkle down and in order to protect our kind, we were to hide with enough humans with us to sustain ourselves and nothing more. There were promises of emerging when the world was less unstable but none of it made sense. If we were truly immune to this disease, why would we not help humans? They were indeed our food source.
Until I remember why vampires had come out of the coffin and why we were not ruling over humans like the old days; quantity. There were simply too many humans, we couldn't control all of them, the outnumbered us. What better way to even the playing field than a nice natural disease! And when the numbers would be low enough, the vampires would come out of the shadow, save the rest of the world and take over the human population who would already worshiped the vampires for saving them. Suddenly, it didn't seem so crazy to hide away for a while.
I also had a theory as per the origin of the disease. I couldn't be so sure it was in fact a natural one. I had enquired about it and was told that no one knew but I had been with Freyda long enough to know when she was lying. As I had pressed the matter, she had grown impatient with me and I had chosen to stop the inquisition abruptly.
"I am sick and tired of your feelings for that human. May she die out there!" she spit at me obviously trying to get a rise out of me.
The best way to piss your majesty was to do the exact opposite of what she was expecting. So naturally, every time I ignored her or did not react to something she had said, she would have a temper tantrum, the equivalent to what a three year old child would do to get a piece of candy. This time, wasn't different and she proceeded in cursing me and my lover.
I smirked. I loved it when she got angry. It never failed to remind me that one day, I would have the chance to break her neck. That day was coming, it was near, and I could feel it. Such day would be glorious.
"The bunker is underneath this castle. It connects with an underground train system with Texas. It is the best course of action and we are going down at sunrise, like it or not."
"I will not go underground." I simply said in defiance but she cut me off and said that I would.
I frown, she seemed so sure of her, something was off.
I scanned the room to see if we were still alone. There were no bodyguards and even if she tried to take me on, she knew I had nothing to lose and would just overpower her anyway. I heard a shuffle in the hallway and I moved silently towards her. I did not look back but instead just stared at her, ready to choke the life out of her. I reached forward but she smiled. Why?
Pam.
I felt a pang in my heart as soon as I reopened our bond. I always kept the bond close ever since I had signed the contract because I had wished for my child to not feel the emotional pain I was in but now at that very second, I regretted that choice. I only had 2 weaknesses in this world and she was one of them. Not having her around had been difficult, but closing the bond had been a beginner's mistake.
"Ah…. You feel her now do you?" she grinned. "I had not been certain at first that you had closed the bond but judging by the amount of torture she endured and the lack of response I had gotten from you, it had become clear you had..."
I growled so low, she took a step back.
"Now you do not have a chance but to come with me or your child dies." She said lightly as if she was talking about making tea.
She was correct; I no longer had a choice.
Day Z –(minus)11 days
I woke up stiff and smelling terrible. I had not had a shower in days and although I urgently needed one, it did not bother me. I was trapped like an animal and I couldn't stand it. The bunker was nothing short of a prison, with endless walls of steel and white floors as far as the eyes could see. The ceilings must have been at least 12 feet tall and the only light source was fluorescent lights that sometimes moved back and forth at the drafty winds that had made their way through the train tunnels. The bunker was very clinical with no personal touch anywhere every corner looking exactly like the previous one.
You could find the living quarters at one end of the bunker, the other wing separated by a large hallway. At the end of it were a giant door where we had first entered and the other, a similar door that gave to the train tunnels. I had not been able to venture out of the main hallway and our wing, other than when we had first come in and it was unknown why it had to be this way.
I had been assigned a room at the very end of our wing and no matter how I played it in my head, if we needed to leave in a hurry, we would be the very last one to reach either end of the main hallway.
Pam was waking up from her death and silently stirred in the small camp bed. Even though we couldn't see the sun down here, we somehow still could feel it. It was completely down now, and I sighed heavily wondering what Sookie would be doing at that moment.
"Do you require more blood?" I asked Pam but she shook her head.
She wasn't completely healed from her injuries that had been inflicted by the Queen. I growled at the thought of what had been done to her because I had initially refused to go in hiding. The truth was, I had no intention of staying here and one could say that Freyda might have won the battle, but she had not won the war. I was going to make her pay for what she had done; there was no doubt about it.
Pam got up from her bed and stared at me as if she was studying my every move. The skin on her cheeks was still missing but it didn't take away from her beauty in my opinion. She would always be beautiful to me.
She stared at me intensely and one could have found it uncomfortable but I welcomed her gaze. Pam didn't show a lot of her emotions but this kind of behaviour was her way to show concern. I knew what she was thinking; I could feel it through the bond. She was accusing me with her of betrayal by choosing Sookie, I had not chosen her.
"I got to find her Pamela." I whispered in defeat.
I knew she did not support my decision, I knew she did not want me to get out of the vault but every bone and muscle in my body seemed to contradict what little reason I had left. I couldn't ask Pam to approve of it, I couldn't ask her to understand, but she had a right to the truth.
"You may look at it as a death wish, and that is your right, but I won't stand here while the world fall apart and the love of my life is taken from me."
Aiva had reported disturbing news that morning. The contagion was not under control and the more she talked, the more it became obvious that Freyda had been right, this, whatever it was, was taking over. I had tried to understand why the vampires would have opted for going underground instead of fighting the plague but it was not my main concern.
"That has already happened Eric the day you agreed to married the cunt!" Pam replied between her teeth. "She is no longer yours and you know this. You have sacrificed 200 years for her. When will you just accept that meant you would never see her again? What does it matter whether she dies now or in 80 years?"
"She will need me."
"She had her chance." She answered me and I growled back.
Pam was not acting her normal self. She was defiant, borderline insubordinate. I couldn't blame her for questioning my sanity but she was toying with a fine line between welcomed concern and angry bullshit. I was growing bored of it and frustrated of her attitude no matter how right she was. She knew my feelings for Sookie, she could feel it too. Why was she fighting my like this? Did she not understand that living without knowing Sookie was alive was just not living at all? There was no doubt about what would be required of me to get out of here and to go to my lover. I had to assume this was the reason why Pam was fighting me tooth and nails. She knew what was required and she wasn't up for it; the Queen had to die.
"Even if you manage to kill her ass, you would still have to get through all her bodyguards and then get through Aiva. There is no way that AI is letting you go anywhere. Hell if she even heard us talk about killing Freyda she would shoot us on sight with her fancy laser beam."
She was referring to the incident a couple of days ago; one of the vampires whom had taken shelter with us here had panicked and had demanded to leave the bunker. Of course, he wasn't allowed and had attempted to kill the Queen on the spot. Beside the fact his attempt was not planned nor thought through, Aiva was all the Queen had needed for protection.
We were in the main hall way of the bunker. One of the steel walls had opened up and a small green dot had appeared. In the blink of an eye, it had shot through to form a line. It had moved quickly towards the vampire and had cut him in half before disappearing and letting the wall of steel close on it. My only thought at the time was "what the flying fuck" but then Aiva's voice had been heard and it became clear it was the bunker's defense system.
"But now that we know the beam exist, we can plan accordingly," I replied with a cock eyebrow.
"You have a death wish for the both of us." She said and I looked down. She was right. I was asking something tremendous of her, something that wasn't fair. I was being selfish and my heart ache at the thought of something happening to my child.
Maybe she was right; maybe I couldn't ask her that. I had indeed already sacrificed for my Sookie, giving her the freedom she had wanted, the divorce she had demanded. Why was I so obsessed with wanting to help her when she had made it clear she would never want my help again?
"I am sorry child." I said defeated as I sat on one of the chairs. "I love her" left my lips in a whisper but I know she caught it.
Day Z –(minus) 10 days
I watched as the bodies were entering the vault; dead vampires.
They were brought to the other side of the bunker where we did not venture. I did not ask their purpose here but as the small team of vampires transport the bodies one by one, I had to wonder whether this bunker was more than just a hiding place.
A vampire with a long white coat came out of the forbidden wing. He did not look at any of us and instead just instructed where the bodies had to be brought.
I had never seen him before but judging by the amount of blood on his white coat, I would have to guess he was either a doctor or a scientist.
Day Z –(minus) 9 days
More dead vampires. What was killing them? Pam stood beside me, having completely recovered from all her injuries; she was now back to normal. She too wondered what they were doing with these bodies. It had seemed as if every day brought a new group.
"Do you think it affects us?" she whispered in my ear in our native language.
She was referring to the virus or at least that is what had been reported. It affected humans by turning them into violent beings. One was not a problem, but a horde of angry and violent bodies was not a small task. It had always been vampire's greatest weakness and best kept secret; we were vulnerable to numbers. Humans did not have it in their natures to be organized enough to exterminate us but I supposed it was possible and as history had proven from time to time, sometimes they had a charismatic enough leader that allowed them to do just that no matter how short the period.
I shrugged, not having the answer to her question. It didn't happened often in my long centuries to be stumped, but I had to admit, I had no idea what was going on, and I had a terrible feeling about it.
Day Z –(minus) 8 days
I attempted to open the door to the forbidden room but it was locked. I could clearly hear screams from the inside but there was no way in.
As I walked away from the door, the yells and moans grew weaker and quieter until they were completely gone. The bunker, I guess, was well designed in that way that it isolated each side of it from each other.
"Eric?" I heard Freyda ask from behind me.
"What?" I replied.
There were no longer reasons for me to show her any respect. I wanted her dead and it was just a matter of time before I would rip her throat out. Since we had taken refuge underground, it was evident that she was vulnerable. Her escort were only hired; they could be bought or killed. She no longer had the power of having the outside courts at her disposal, many had stopped contact. One could guess if she was to disappear, no one would really know what happened to her and perhaps wouldn't even question it.
I turned to face her, not hiding the scowl on my face.
"I am sorry." She said as I felt a familiar pang on my neck: a needle.
She was one step ahead; I had not seen that coming.
Day Z –(minus) 7 days
I attempted to open one eye but the fluorescent light shining through my eye lid told me it wasn't time. I could hear moaning near me but my faculties were unable to focus on its target, or perhaps targets.
My fingers twitched, I could tell I was tied up but did not have enough strength to even test the restraints. She had out played me and I was now paying the price. But how did she know? How did she know I was planning on killing her?
I finally managed to open my eyes after a few attempts. Glimpses of images appeared: a doctor, another vampire dressed in black, a bright light, a restrained moaner. He was a human. I could smell him but he wasn't himself anymore, he was taken by that virus or was it a bacterium, I couldn't remember anymore.
I managed to focus on him to realize his eyes were blood shot, his jaw half ripped and his skin missing.
Freyda was not in the room, I couldn't sense her, but something told me she was near, watching and enjoying the spectacle.
"Mr. Northman." The doctor said when he realized I was awake and focusing on my surroundings.
I probe the bond with Pam to feel her status. She was in the room with me. She was ill and unconscious.
"What..:" I tried to articulate my question but I was unable.
"Now now, no talking." The doctor instructed and I frowned.
As the minutes pass by, I was regaining full capacity. My legs and my arms were restrained to the table and the reason why I could not move my head freely to take my surroundings in was that a strap was keeping my forehead from moving.
My senses grew acute and I felt Pam beside me, she was so close. The doctor moved towards her and injected her with something. I closed my fists and tried to break one of my restrains but it was in vain.
Pam immediately started to scream one of those chilling screams you never forget. I kept on tugging on the leather that was keeping me from helping her but I was so weak. I was completely useless as my child was yelling in agony. The bond made it clear that she was not only in pain but she was dying as well.
The doctor walked over to the infected human and tugged on its leash. He brought him over to Pam but I could no longer see what was happening having left my peripheral vision. He was standing just outside of it.
I heard someone enter the room, heels clicking on the ground, and I knew it was Freyda. She never came close enough for me to identify her but her scent filled the air.
Pam screamed again but this time it was different. She was scared. I heard her skin break and smelled her blood. What the fuck was going on? There was some chewing sound coming from her direction and I no longer heard anything from her. They were killing her.
"He is not affected by this. The bacteria took over her body but she is still herself and so is he." I heard the doctor say. "Now I will inject his blood into this human who will either stay unpassed by it or be cured by it. If the cure works, then the human will die anyway, his injuries are too important."
"Just hurry up and finish this." I heard her say.
As if her voice was all I needed, it fueled my body in to a rage. My child was not going to die because of her and we sure would not be the subject of their fucking experiment. It was now clear she had not out played me; she had just chosen to conduct some kind of experiment.
A low and deep growl left my lips as I ripped one of my arms free. I immediately took care of my strapped forehead and in a matter of seconds, I was completely free. I looked around and Freyda had already escaped but it did not matter at this second, she was still in the bunker and she was going to pay for what she had done.
I turned to my child and found the human feeding on her. It didn't take me long to push him away and to secure him at the other end of the room. I had plan for it but now there was a more pressing matter.
I walked slowly over to the doctor who was now begging for his life. He was explaining that Freyda had ordered him to experiment, to find out whether there was a cure and see if the maker and child bond was affected by the disease. He continued about my age and if my blood was a cure, it would be the strongest here but it didn't matter what he had to say, he had tried to kill my child.
I reached for one of his arm and ripped it off as if he was just a doll. He yelled in terror as I brought him over to the human who was already reaching for him and all I had to do was to gently push him in his direction.
The human proceeded in eating him alive which I would have found fascinating if I wasn't busy getting my child free. There was an explosion sound from far away and the lights turned off before being replaced with green glow from the emergency lighting. I finally managed to free Pam and lifted her off the bed bridal style.
Aiva was announcing something but it wasn't clear. Telecommunication must have been down. I heard a small trap open and gas filled the room. Within seconds, everything went dark.
Day Z –(minus) 5 days
Blood.
I could smell it, I could feel it, I could see it. My entire body was pulsing with the heart that had been feeding it.
Blood.
It was everywhere repainting the room with its various flagrance, with its beauty. The hospital instruments had been turned around, the floor was bathed in blood and with piles of dead bodies groaning and moaning back to life, a life that didn't belong, a life that had nothing to do with my undead one.
One of the corpses grabbed my ankle as I stared at its face showing me its teeth. What a peculiar thing to be a witness to. The hunted now hunters themselves. This once human had no longer any fear of vampires, it was unclear whether it even knew the difference between a human and it but it stared back at me with all its rage and all its survival instincts. As soon as it reached to bite me, I brought my foot to its temple and applied enough force that it wasn't able to move. It clawed at me, gnawing for a taste of my flesh it would never have. I stared at it, tilting my head sideways.
This was it? The famous bacteria turning humans into hordes of hungry, flesh eating corpses?
The piles of bodies started to shift slightly. Despite the room's darkness, I could tell every single one of them had in fact, a heart that no longer beat and that their body were slowly decomposing while the rest of their function seemed to work just the same.
I couldn't pretend I understood what this meant, from the report Freyda had received, vampire scientists had been experimenting with humans. It was unknown how these bacteria had come to life. Perhaps a scientific experiment gone wrong or just a giant fuck you from Mother Nature, but one thing had been clear, Vampires were not going to help the human population right away. It was a general belief that the human population had grown out of control, forcing us to be mainstream in order to survive. A bit of ground leveling wouldn't hurt our kind, or so they said.
I pushed my foot harder into the skull of the unfortunate corpse and as I inserted my foot further into its brain, only then had it stopped trying to take a bite at my ankle. It was brain dead, suggesting that despite not having a heart beating, the brain had still been the sole controller of the bodily function of it.
The pile was no longer one, each of the corpses rising from the dead like a bad horror movie that was about to get worst. They stared at me for perhaps a split second before lunging at me.
Fighting one of these fuckers was nothing; I had seen plenty in my days but having a group of them attacking me all at once proved difficult. I ripped the throat of one before severing its head from its body using all the strength I could manage while another one grabbed onto my arm. I shook it off, propelling its body on to the opposite wall. 2 more made their way to me as they stepped over their fallen brothers and sisters. I had to leave this room before I was overwhelmed by the quantity of dead bodies.
I left the room running while they snapped and launched at me. As soon as I was out, I closed the doors behind me. I hurt the click of the lock I had no engaged and frown. I raised my head to look around until I noticed the camera in the corner and the green light that indicated Aiva was watching me.
