Seven: "Power to the People"
Jake was busy prepping an APC for travel across country. He was hard at work wiring three additional fuel tanks to the vehicle's engine, ensuring he wouldn't have to stop to find gas every few hundred miles.
"I don't understand where we're off to in such a kafuffle." Saline muttered, handing Jake another red canister of gasoline. Pouring the rank fluid into the tank, he threw it over the side and took the one from my hand before continuing.
"Quarantine Zone Charlie." He responded, pouring another can. "And in anticipation of your next question, QZC is the place where we stored ninty percent of the weapons before the Infection. There was a team assigned to QZC when it went into lockdown, but they haven't reported back. It's pretty safe to say the lockdown failed. But thankfully, Geists are stupid, and have most likely left the weapons intact."
"Where is this Quarantine Zone Charlie?" I heard Sakura ask in her innocent little voice.
"Few miles outside Pierre South Dakota."
"Wait..." I spoke. "Pierre? Like, where we set off the pulse?"
"Ah, so someone does have the memory to remember to last book." Jake groaned as he stood up to stretch his legs.
"Book?" I asked, eyebrow raised.
"Week. Open your ears, Emma, I said week." He crouched down to receive another can from Sakura. "Anydiddlyway, we'll be rolling out to Pierre to check up on QZC, and see if any of the weapons are salvageable." he inhaled before coming up with another 'oh' point. "Oh! And while I remember... none of you are claustrophobic, are ya?" The group of us shook our heads, with that look of utter confusion plastered on our faces. "Very good! Alright peeps, climb on in." Jumping off the roof of the car, he pulls the heavy door down.
"I'm going with you." I hear Zoey growl as she advances.
"Yes. Yes you are." He responds as I climb in behind Sakura.
"You're not refusing me this time, Ballenfield! I'm going with you."
"Quit yer derping and get in the damn truck." He sounds, pushing Zoey into the seat next to me. "Christian! Wanna drive!"
"Hells yea!" The small Hunter Revenant answers. I felt Zoey's hand wrap around my arm as she snuggled close.
"Mmmmm..." She hums, smiling. "I missed you so much." I put my free hand on her arm and gave her a light peck on the cheek.
"Barf." Sarah groaned as she sat next to Jake.
"What? I think it's cute." Jake smiled, pulling the chestguard down over his coat.
"Oh, you would. Excuse me if I don't want to watch my sister getting freaky with another girl. Whom I've never met."
"Oh, a kiss on the cheek is not what I'd call 'Getting Freaky'. Now, if they started stripping, molesting each other on the floor of the APC, now THAT would be getting freaky!" He smiled, pausing. "Well! What the hell are you two waiting for? Floor. Naked. Now." Saline, sitting on the other side of Jake, slapped him across the face. "I deserved that. How's that Geeps workin' for you, Christian?"
"The GPS? Fine, why?"
"Just wonderin'." I gave Zoey another kiss on the cheek.
"Barf." Sarah groaned again.
"If you don't like it, sit up front!" Zoey growled, Sarah doing just that. "Who the hell does she think she is."
"Protective big sis." I answered.
The ride lasted for two days, Jake and Christian alternating six hour driving shifts, we stopped every few hours to raid the occasional highway-side gas station for a top up, and food runs. By the end of the next day, we had arrived at what Jake called Quarantine Zone Charlie's entrance, but it looked more like a shack out in the middle of nowhere.
"Alright, folks! Look alive! This is a military installation! Don't touch anything unless it makes something moan!" He looked around waiting for a chuckle. "What? No reactions to sexual jokes? Eeesh. Tough crowd. He put one hand on the chain-link fence around the property, testing the fence's durability with his claws. "Durable. Too durable for me. Emma, if you would?" I stepped forward and placed a claw on the fence, raking the sharp killing needles across the fence down and left. With the other hand, I formed an X which was easy to push aside. "My thanks." He squeezed through the hole I made, coming out on the other side. With a wave of his hand, he motioned us in. One by one, we all filed into the hole, cautious of our surroundings. The shack was wooden, and looked like it had seen better days. As Jake messed with the padlock, I looked outside, to the darkened structure a few hundred feet away.
"Hey, Emma... I'm sorry about what I said at the Airport. About you just being a mindless Witch. I was wrong... and I see that. You're beautiful, Emma. Don't let 'em tell you different." Francis struggled against the strong lasso-like tongue as it tried to pull him into the raging crowd of infected. "Tell Trinsha I love her." In one motion, he drew the machete from his side, and releasing his grip, was pulled into the crowd, swinging and hollering like a Norse god.
"Emma!" Jake's voice broke me from my memories. "What the hell are you looking at, come on!" He motioned me into the shack, it's door suffering from a gaping hole where the handle should be. I nodded and shook Francis' last words once more from my mind. Stepping into the shack, I saw what appeared to be Sakura's matted hair vanishing into a sewer cover in the floor, climbing down a ladder. "Follow after me. Just in case." Jake had spoke, climbing down the ladder. I waited until his head had disappeared before starting my descent.
We had come out in what was definitely a sewer, but on one end was what appeared to be a military grade blast door, one designed to be resilient to nuclear explosions. It was closed tight.
"Strange..." Jake muttered. "No signs of Giest infestation... could the Quarantine Zone just lost communications? No... they're on military band frequencies... stay tight and focused, people. I don't know what's beyond that door." He slowly approached the blast door and began pecking on the keypad. Not three buttons in, he managed to sound an alarm. "God dammit!" He shouted, as he drew his pistol from his belt, ready at whatever was approaching. Seconds after the alarm sounded, however, it clicked off.
"Identify yourselves." A commanding, female voice spoke from the small grate by the panel, a speaker.
"G-uh... J-" Jake began, getting closer to the speaker. "Jake Ballenfield, of Quarantine Zone Omega... Who's this?"
"Stay put. We're sending out someone to clear you."
"Wait; Ballenfield?" A second female voice came over the intercom.
"Yes... that's me..."
"Let 'em in, Rika. They're clean."
"How the hell do you know, Marie?"
"'Cause! I know that man! He's some top-notch Aperture Scientist. He was on the cover of a magazine a while ago! He's clean, I can tell!"
"Dammit, Marie... Fine. Come in. But keep your weapons stowed and eyes forward." The blast door slid open, allowing us into what appeared to be a decontamination chamber. Behind the glass observation window was a woman in United States Army fatigues.
"Hold still. This won't take long." She spoke, pushing a few buttons on the panel before her. A fine, sweet-smelling mist filled the room for a minute before she spoke again. "Alright. Head on in. For your own good, doctor, stay out of doors marked with red x's."
"Why?" he asked, but the woman only walked away from her post. Standing on the other side of the door which opened for us were two female soldiers holding modified M-16 assault rifles.
"Follow us." One spoke with a cold stare to her. "Don't touch anything." They spoke as the walked forward, following a red line. We walked for a few moments, everyone in silence before reaching a command center manned by quite a few women.
"Lot's of chicks here..." Jake muttered as he serveyed the command area. One woman, a rather striking red head snapped a crisp salute to Jake.
"Doctor Ballenfield. If what Marie tells me is right, I should be honored. Staff Sergeant Rina Kitama, United States Army." Jake nodded, and gave a half-assed salute. "So, what brings you here, Doctor?"
"Uh, the weapons stored here, actually." Rina's welcoming stare turned hostile.
"These weapons are United States Military Property, Doctor. What does Aperture need with them?"
"Aperture, I'm not sad to say, doesn't. I'm taking them to Quarantine Zone Omega to arm Revenants and our supporters." The woman's eyebrow piqued.
"Those were some pretty big words that came out of your mouth, Doctor. Care to simplify them for a lowly soldier? 'Quarantine Zone'? 'Revenant'?" Jake's eyebrow raised a little higher then hers.
"Sergeant, what are your current orders?" He asked, trying to figure out what she knew.
"Current orders of Feburary eighteenth, 2010. Hold and secure the Gina Proudmore Weapons Depot for use against Iraqi Insurgents in the war on terror. Hold until homegrown threat has been confirmed neutrilized by Headquarters."
"And how long have you gone without updated orders, Sergeant?"
"About three months, Doctor. Why?"
"You do know the world's been reduced to a fine pulp, right?"
"WHAT?"
"You didn't get cable in this hole? The world's been destroyed by a catastrophe. Zombie apocalypse."
"Explain, Doctor."
"Sure. But, maybe over something the drink? It's been a long drive."
We sat down with the Staff Sergeant and Jake explained everything. Rina seemed to take it well, but was, needlesstosay, shocked and taken aback. With each word that Jake spoke, her eyes widened.
"So... it seems what our guest told us was true. Then you ARE the same Jake Ballenfield."
"Okay, my turn to be confused." Jake muttered. "Guest?" Rina took the radio from her shoulder and spoke into it. "Amy, I need you send our guest to the Command Center."
"Yes, ma'am." Another female voice spoke over the radio.
"He came to us about a week ago. He was pretty incoheirent when we found him, but what we got out of him was something along the lines you told us. We thought it was dilusions from head trauma, but with your story, it makes sense..." From the door behind us came a very familiar figure.
"You wanted to see me, ma'am... JAKE!" The burly man rose his arms in surprise.
"Francis? Is that... holy shit! It IS you!" Jake brought himself to his feet to hug the man. "Dude, how the hell'd you survive that!"
"Funny you should ask..."
""Hey Emma." He spoke calmly. Emma could hear his gruff voice even over the din. "I'm sorry about what I said at the Airport. About you just being a mindless Witch. I was wrong... and I see that. You're beautiful, Emma. Don't let 'em tell you different." He struggled one last time against the strong lasso-like tongue. "Tell Trinsha I love her." Letting go of her arms, he pulled the machete from his side, and went into the crowd of Infected swinging, hollering like a barbarian. "COME ON, YOU MINDLESS BASTARDS! THERE'S MORE THEN ENOUGH FOR ALL YOU!" He cut off legs and damage kneecaps as he slid towards the grim visage of the smoker, fully expecting to breath his last. As the creature reeled him in for the kill, he sliced the tongue from his legs, his hands catching something metal.
Reacting more then thinking, he pulled, a hatch swinging free from the ground. Swinging widely at Infected, he managed to pull himself into the hatch, the growl of a Tank prompting some haste. Just as his arm reached up to close the hatch, the Tank's fist comes down, shutting it hard on his head, knocking him out.
"We found him unconcious in one of the halls. Kind of adopted him."
"You lucky son of a bitch!" Jake spoke as he heard the story. "I thought for sure you were meat, man! Damn!"
"So, how'd it go, Doc? How'd the pulse go?" Jake's face when dreary.
"We lost Coach to a Tank... only Christian, Emma, Sarah and myself survived the APC crashing... we took some heavy casualties that day." Francis frowned as he heard of the death toll. "But! But, we've met some new friends! Francis, this is Sakura Sunday. Long story short, she kinda drank some of Emma's blood, and became a Witch Revenant."
"Pleasure to meet you, Sakura." He smiled and nodded.
"And this is Saline Green." Jake continued, introducing Saline. "Former Commander of the EFH, turned Revenant. Don't... really know what kind of Revenant she is... but you gotta admit the black looks good on her."
"Looks like some kinda... Giger shit."
"Ya know... never looked at it like that, but, yea. Her carapace does have a bit of a Giger feel to it, doesn't it? Good eyes. I'm surprised you know who Giger is."
"Come on. I'm a brute, but I'm a cultured brute."
"By the way, Doc. Have they told you about the Progenitum yet?
"Progenitum!" Jake growled, staring at Francis.. "Progenitum? Shit, Francis, you and I shouldn't even be here... I'll wait outside, you ladies..."
"Oh, stop being such a big sissy. What's so bad about Progenitum. I've never heard of it."
"I would think not. It was a virus developed shortly after 9\11, which we planned on flooding into Al-Queda tunnels to kill insurgents."
"So, it's some scary virus. You're an expert on viruses, right?'
"Progenitum only targets Y Chromosomes, dork. You'll be fine, but not me. Me, it'll kill. Slowly. Painfully."
"Heard it was deemed inhumane to use." Francis added.
"Yea! Did they tell you why!" he shook his head. "Shit turns you to gel, man. Melts you down at a molecular level, until your a big, human-sized puddle of Jell-O. Is..." He looked around. "Is that why there's an ass-ton of chicks here?"
"Yep. They opened a few canisters of Progenitum first days here. Killed all the male soldiers. Only the women are left."
"Harsh... Though, this may prove... profitable..." He grinned, rubbing his hands together.
"Why do I not like that look?" Sakura asked me.
"You'll get that a lot with Jake." I answered, rubbing my temples.
Ending Author's Note: Okay, first off, I apologize about the wait. Long story short, my computer died, and I have to use a temp one, one which I only have access to every other day. Sorry. Second off: IT'S FUCKING FRANCIS! Francis was just too cool to kill off, so he's back. Joy.