It's time. Probably the fastest time I took to write a chapter. And probably the longest I took to edit it. I had this specific chapter planned out before I even started this story. I finally wrote it. Also, before we get into the story, I just wanted to say thank you, guys and gals for 10k views! If you enjoyed, don't hesitate to follow this story! Now, let's get to it!
Maria squeezed through the cut hole in the fence, the same one Tim used to escape the city two days earlier. She was careful not to have the fence cut Carlitos, and fortunately, the blanket protected him. She then looked up and saw the burned skyscraper standing tall above her.
"My goodness..." whispered Maria.
Detroit was in bad shape– in worse shape than it had before the Global Infection Event.
She followed Tim as they both walked past the entrance gate and made their way close to an alley by Building A.
Tim climbed over the short fence and waited for Maria to climb over it too.
"I don't know about this," she trembled.
"It's okay. Just keep wearing the guts. I'll smear some fresh ones on myself."
Maria sighed and handed Carlitos to Tim— the man she just met. She then climbed over the fence and looked around the alley.
There were bodies of the dead, riddled with diseases and other sorts of maladies.
"Ugh," she groaned, trying to hold back her vomit.
"It's alright," said Tim. "We'll be inside in a second."
Tim handed Carlitos back to Maria.
The blanket that Carlitos wore kept the flies that hovered above the corpses away from him.
"Here," said Tim as he entered Building A. "Come inside."
Maria walked inside Building A and witnessed the horror that was left behind. She kept Carlitos hidden inside the blanket, protecting him from this horrifying sight.
Tim grabbed a shirt from a coat hanger. Maria lifted her foot and noticed how sticky the blood was.
"This one," said Tim as he looked around the bodies in the floor. "This one already turned. You might want to move very far away from here."
Tim grabbed a knife from his pocket and a pair of gloves. Then he started cutting open the stomach of a corpse that had turned into a roamer.
Maria looked away as Tim pulled out the intestines from the roamer, lathering it on his new shirt. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She vomited onto the floor, causing her eyes to get more watery than it already was.
"Yeah, just let it all out," said Tim. "And be ready. 'Cause we're going back outside."
Tim opened the door. Both adults came out from the building and wandered out in the dead open.
The roamers staggered around as Tim led Maria to the middle of the not-so-safe-zone.
They opened the door to General Black's office. The two entered, with Tim shutting the door.
Maria looked around, finding crates of weapons and medals and awards hanging from the walls. She then saw Tim opening the door to the basement.
"You're going down there?" asked Maria. "It's too dark! What if–"
Tim turned on the lights.
Maria sighed and followed him. However, she would quickly come to regret this decision as she looked at the grotesque sight that lay in front of her. She shrieked and tried to gain her balance by placing her hand against the wall.
"W-What is that? Who are they?" panted Maria.
Carlitos began crying.
"Oh no... I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"
Carlitos continued to cry, though his cry was very weak and nasal. He then made a stuffy cough, signifying mucus in his airways.
"That man over there was my best friend, Gerald Brooker," said Tim. "These two men… I have no idea who they are."
Maria sat down on steps. She looked inside the blanket while rocking it softly and shushing with a soft voice. After Carlitos calmed down, Maria sighed and looked up at Tim.
"Are you alright?" asked Tim.
"Just… a little shocked. Those are intestines in the ground. Not even fresh… how are you okay with seeing this?"
"You think I'm not affected?"
Tim shuffled around the basement. He looked for the USB drive, but couldn't find it.
"Y-You're just walking around like there aren't dead people here," said Maria.
"This is hard to see. But I've seen worse, so I guess I became a little numb."
Tim found a picture inside a drawer.
It was a picture of an older man with a teenage girl. There was writing in the back of the photo: 'Tess is finally old enough to drive. This worries me.'
"This isn't pen ink. It's printer ink," said Tim. "He's got more than one copy of this."
"Who's he?" asked Maria.
"General Quentin Black. This is his office. I mentioned him on the radio."
"You did?"
"Yeah. I was broadcasting this information across all channels. You didn't have the radio on?"
"No. The radios weren't working."
"I made it work. There was a jammer, but I had a friend who took it down. My messages... they should've went through."
"Well... they did not."
Tim took a deep breath and groaned.
"They must have put a new jammer," said Tim. "Great. Just my luck."
He looked down and offered his hand.
"Come on. Let's go get your kids and get out of here."
Maria nodded and grabbed Tim's hand, standing up with his help.
Tim and Maria walked out of Black's office and headed to the courtyard by the office.
The bunker was open.
Maria looked at Tim with confusion, though Tim had a determined face and moved forward into the bunker stairs.
They headed down the bunker, the lights already on and the inside abandoned. There were empty cans, clothes, messy bed covers and chairs scattered all over the place.
"What is this place?" asked Maria.
"The place where most young people were held to protect them from the bombing that this city took. And unfortunately... no one is here."
"No one... is here?"
Tim sighed. He then continued to walk around before pausing.
"Wait, so what does this mean?" asked Maria. "What, they were here and now all of a sudden they aren't?"
"That's right," said Tim. "The bunker was open. Someone opened it. But they didn't open this."
Tim turned on his flashlight and revealed a door at the end of the bunker. There was a combination lock on it, to which Tim took out a note from his pocket. He inserted the code and then twisted the doorknob, opening the metallic door.
Maria was once again confused by what she was witnessing. She followed Tim down the dark, murky stairs on the other side of the door. She was then astonished from what appeared at the end of the stairs.
"What is this?" gasped Maria.
"This, Maria, is a part of something giant."
The beam from the flashlight revealed a large tunnel with magnetic train tracks on the side. And next to where both adults stood was a metro map.
"Maria," said Tim. "Have you ever heard of K.H.A.N?"
Chapter 20: Siege
I - The Calm Before
PRESENT DAY
-Day 730-
The running water flowed out of the shower head and onto the shower door– installed by the civilians themselves in an effort to create a more domestic-like look. The running water looked like the raindrops outside. Foams of soap remained puffy on the marble walls and on the soft skin of the couple. The steamy brisk of warm air filled the shower room in Unit A where Lori and Bobby spent a relaxing amount of time close together.
Lori's golden hair was lathered down to her shoulders by her fiancé, who made sure that all the filth from the subway grime was scrubbed out of her youthful hair. After soaking it, she turned around and wrapped her arms around Bobby's shoulders, kissing him softly. Then, she lay her head on his chest as he kissed her neck. The water flowed down their young skin as they continued to express their committed love to each other.
Hair fell to the sink as David snipped away the untrimmed grass that grew from the follicles in his jaw. He looked into the mirror, staring at his dark-brown eyes as he sensed the door opening.
"Started already?" chuckled Bobby. "Lori just couldn't let me go."
Bobby wrapped the towel around his shoulders as he walked around in wet shorts and sandals. He grabbed the can of shaving cream and placed some of it in his palm before rubbing it in his lower face. He grabbed his razor and stood next to David as they both looked into the mirror.
"You alright?" asked Bobby. "Like I said, it's good to have you back!"
David smiled.
"No, yeah I know, it's just… what you and Lori have– it's special. You've seen the worst in her. You saw what she did to survive. No doubt she's changed since you two met."
"Yeah, she changed. But I love her more for that. She's proven to me that her love will protect her friends and family. I–I don't know how to explain it but, even when she's under all that filth and blood… she's still so beautiful."
"You made the right choice choosing to stay committed. There ain't a lotta women who can hold their own in a world like this. A lotta people for that matter."
Bobby nodded as he began to shave his face. After a couple minutes, David wiped his face with his towel and looked at his trimmed stubble. Bobby rubbed his smooth jawline and made a refreshing smile.
In the infirmary, Leni removed the coffee pot from the coffee maker and poured it into two white mugs. She walked over to the newly engaged couple and handed them their mugs of coffee. She couldn't help but smile at Bobby with glee.
"I can't believe you're going to be my brother-in-law!" squealed Leni before facing her sister. "Did I get that right, Lori?"
"Yeah. Brother-in-law. You got it right," smiled Lori as she sipped her coffee.
"And you," said Bobby, "are going to be my sister-in-law!"
"Yay! So, when's the wedding?"
Bobby gulped his sip of coffee. He looked around and shrugged.
"I don't know. I think it's too early to decide when. Besides, we have more things to worry about, isn't that right, babe?"
"Yeah, we do," said Lori. "Speaking of… I do have something important to check on."
Lori placed her coffee down on the table.
"I'll be right back," she said.
The door to the barracks opened. She looked around and saw luggages all over the place. There were also empty crates that used to carry ammunition. It seemed like nothing has changed. But something did change. The luggages held personal possessions and treasured items that promised a return to a domestic lifestyle.
Lori walked to the buzzer outside of the laboratory and pressed it. Moments of silence followed.
"This is Lori Loud. Come in, Dr. White."
No response. Just silence.
"Lisa?"
More silence.
"Anyone inside? Hmm, I guess not!"
Lori began to walk away when she paused, lowering her head. She fidgeted with her fingers and shook her head. She thought.
"Nah, I won't go in. No one's in there."
Then, she really started thinking. She sighed and turned around, taking out her keys hesitantly. After taking a few steps towards the door, she turned more rash. She rushed to get her keys inside the steel latch. She turned it and opened the latch, finding a room of pitch darkness. The area that was lit up by the light from the barracks, now exposed by the opened door, revealed a mess of beakers and tubes scattered in the floor.
"Oh no. Something happened here."
Lori looked for the light switch on the wall. She accidently kicked a plastic beaker and heard it clack against something hard. She flicked on the light switch and saw Reiji in the corner of the lab.
She sighed out of relief as she looked down on the floor to avoid stepping on the beakers. Then, suddenly, the reflection of one of the beakers on the floor moved. She quickly turned around and was tackled against the wall by a rogue. He punched her jaw and shoved her down to the ground.
"What the—!" yelled Lori.
"You ain't keepin' me here much longer," said Jett. "You blond b—"
Lori grabbed a glass flask from the floor and swung it at the rogue, shattering it on his face. He screamed as she picked herself up. She looked at the rogue and grabbed his ripped shirt, shoving him against the floor. His young face was lacerated with shards of glass, few of them stuck in his bleeding skin.
"How the fuck did you get in here?" hissed Lori.
"H-How the fuck did I get in here? What the fuck! How am I s'posed to answer that?"
Lori stood up, pulled out her revolver, and aimed it at his chest. She cocked it before Dr. White and George rushed to the lab.
"Wait, wait! Don't kill him!" yelled Dr. White.
"What the hell's going on?" gasped George.
"He's our prisoner!" explained the doctor. "That's Private Oliver Jett! We need him alive! It's for… scientific purposes!"
Lori looked down at the rogue and spat blood on him. She then motioned her revolver towards the roamer in the corner of the room.
"What the hell was going to happen here?" asked Lori.
David entered the barracks, finding Dr. White and George outside the laboratory. He looked inside the lab and found Lori holding a rogue at gunpoint.
"We need a human subject!" Dr. White continued explaining. "Lisa and I… we made some important scientific breakthroughs! I'll explain them to you later, but for now, all you need to know is that we need him!"
"No. No, explain them now," said Lori.
Lisa came inside the room. She looked at the broken blood-stained shards of glass next to Jett before looking up at Lori.
"Are you familiar with enzymes?" she asked.
"Biology class was so long ago," replied Lori. "What about them though?"
"I was able to inhibit the enzymes in time to slow down the infection to a point where it would take months or perhaps even a year to cause cardiovascular death. However, the inhibition of these enzymes will also incapacitate whoever is subjected to this experiment."
Dr. White jumped in.
"What we're trying to do is activate the immune system in the body so it could attack the infection while it's slowly moving its way through the tissues," he explained. "Then, we have to inject the body with some type of synthetic enzymes to keep the subject alive."
Dr. White fixed his glasses.
"We tried the first step with mice. And it worked. We need a human subject to confirm that it will work. We have to make sure we're not going the wrong direction with this project."
Lisa looked at Lori, pleading.
"This is the first step to the creation of an actual cure, eldest sister. If we can't have him, we have to get another human subject. And what's better than these subhuman rogues?"
Lori looked at George and David who all appeared to disagree with Dr. White and Lisa. She placed her revolver back into her holster.
"Tie him up. Put him in handcuffs this time."
Bobby looked at the white mug in the table. He placed his fingers on it and frowned.
"Coffee's getting cold," said Bobby.
Carol and Luna walked down to the dining hall in the infirmary building. Carol held a pair of keys when she looked at Bobby's finger on the mug.
"Woah!" giggled Carol. "Bobby! When did you propose to Lori? I've never seen you wear that ring!"
"He did it this morning," said Luna. "In the center of town, where there was no one around except David and I."
"David's here?" whispered Carol nervously.
"Yeah. Don't worry about him. He's cool with the– you know. He's cool with it. Though, I wouldn't recommend bringing it up."
"Where are you girls heading?" asked Bobby.
"Driving practice," said Luna. "Carol got a sweet new car working for me."
"Thank Lana for making it work," said Carol.
"Where's Zoey?" asked Bobby.
"Mrs. Coleman's watching her upstairs. I'll be back before she wakes up."
Carol and Luna left the building. They walked to a car by the barracks. Luna opened the door on the driver's side and sat herself on the driver's seat. She closed the door, strapped her seatbelt, and turned the engine on. She exhaled nervously as she placed her hands behind the wheel.
"This runway's kinda– in bad shape, but you could still take this baby to the other side," said Carol. "Just remember what I taught you last time. Use both hands to steer."
"I've seen you use one hand before," said Luna.
"Well, that's 'cause I'm not a newbie like you, moonrock."
"Wow, now look who's hanging out with Jace."
Carol giggled as Luna pressed on the gas pedal slowly. They started moving around the runway, away from the barracks.
In the barracks, Jett struggled to free himself from the handcuffs locked around his wrists. He looked around and found Lori, Lisa, Dr. White, George, and David talking with each other.
"Hey! Hey!" yelled Jett. "Can I get some water?"
Dr. White grabbed a rag and tied it around his mouth, hearing him protest with muffled screams.
"You can't keep him alive!" said David. "Bastard's gonna look for every way to make sure his ass doesn't end up being devoured by that roamer. The hell is that roamer doing there tied up in a damn rope?"
"It's for scientific research," said Lori. "But this, holding this rogue soldier hostage? I never approved of this."
"You weren't here when we tied him up," said Dr. White. "And by your instructions, you made me the temporary leader."
"Well, I'm the leader now," said Lori.
"Which means you have to make a choice," said Lisa. "Didn't formulate that thought, did you?"
"I enforce, but I also advise," said George. "I don't agree with killing him at all. I really don't. In fact, we should just keep him prisoner in one of our prisons."
"Yeah, and waste how much food doing that?" asked David. "He's a danger to this community. Can't keep him alive for much longer. And feeding him to a roamer? That's just sick. A quick death is a much better option."
"Did you all forget why General Black kept the families in here in the first place?" said George.
"No," said David, cocking his M9. "That's why I say we take this son of a bitch out."
"Hey, David!" exclaimed Lori. "No. Not yet."
"Hey, everyone!" exclaimed George. "Why would you want to swoop down to their level? They subjected innocent people to experiments and now we're just going to do the same to them? That's one of the things that made them cruel! And so is executing them! Please try to remember that we are better than them!"
"Goddamn it, you fools!" yelled Dr. White. "You see what the infection has done to this world? All of you are always talking about putting the world back to how it was when that's what I'm doing here! A cure! A goddamn cure! How is this even up to debate?"
Lori nodded.
"You're right," she said. "I've been asking you to make a cure. And here you are, making a cure. Though, it's on your conscience. And I'm making the decision to place it on mine as well."
"Thank you for being the only reasonable person in here."
David scoffed while George shook his head in disappointment. Jett tried speaking to the survivors. Lori sighed and took off the rag from his mouth.
"What?" groaned Lori.
"Why are guys talkin' shit like I'm an uncontrollable monster who'll kill everythin' in front of me?"
"Don't pretend like you just didn't try to kill me. You're a rogue. Your loyalty is to Black. You and every other rogue are evil people who have no sympathy for your victims."
"I'm a soldier," said Jett.
"You betrayed your country and its values. You're a rogue."
Lori lifted the rag up as she prepared to place it back into his mouth.
"I'm a soldier just tryin' to do what is necessary so my family could live! You think I asked to be in this position? No! I joined 'cause I needed to protect my wife and sons from the infected!"
Lori raised her eyebrows.
"They're someplace safe," continued Jett. "After the final siege… you guys were supposed to surrender and I would've went back to my family."
Jett began tearing up, surprising Lori as she has never seen a rogue tear up before.
"You guys are good people. You have your humanity. I admit, that's what makes you different from Black and his close friends. Please give me a chance to go back. A-And there are records backin' me up! I know you've seen Black's office! Just go in there and look for Oliver Jett! You'll see my wife's name somewhere in that record. And one of my boys. Or you can ask Dr. White. He knows about my family. Or you can trust my word."
Lori sighed before she heard a door shoved open. It was Bobby, Leni, and Becky.
"Lori, you're back!" gasped Becky softly.
"You're back as well!" said Dr. White. "Gone almost a whole day!"
"It's just me that came back. Lori, I have to tell you something important."
"Where were you?" asked Lori. "You look messy."
"I was chasing a traitor and found myself in the main base of the rogues…. Listen! Pike was a traitor! He has been keeping communication with the rogues this entire time and he sold out the medic! Lynn killed Pike but it didn't matter… it didn't matter 'cause Black shot the medic..."
Becky shivered.
"Listen to this too! The rogues chased us down! I escaped somehow and made it to Medway, but the others weren't so lucky."
"Who are the others?" asked Lori.
"Lynn, Luan, Hana! They were captured by the rogues. I don't know if they're still alive…. I mean we— our people— did kill a lot of their men. It was stupid. It was stupid to go to their main base. It was stupid!"
"Just calm down, Becky. Get yourself some rest and eat something. You literally look like you're starving. George, David! I need this town fortified! We need our defenses up at this moment! Dr. White and Lisa! Stay here and do not come out until I say so!"
"Who's he?" asked Bobby. "And what are we going to do with him?"
"I'm Oliver Jett. You best free me 'cause I can tell when a shitstorm is about to–"
Lori shoved the rag back into Jett's mouth, muffling his voice.
"I'm so tired," said Lori. "But I need to find this main base."
Becky handed Lori the map that Donovan gave her.
"Please defend the community. We might have to keep this place on lockdown all day."
David and George looked at each other and nodded. They walked out of the barracks and headed for the armory. Lori sighed, wondering if her sisters were safe.
Meanwhile, at the main base, the rogues were torturing the captives for information.
Hana's face was wrapped by a towel as her arms were tied under the wooden table that she lay on. Lead poured water down on her face as she gasped for air, flailing her legs around.
She coughed. He poured it again. She gasped for air.
Black removed the towel and watched as Hana coughed, seeming very close to vomiting. Her face was reddened by the torture.
"Now, will you tell us what Lori Loud is planning?" asked Black.
"I tell you already..." coughed Hana. "She want... fight you."
"Where did she go? I know she came back with David Jones, but where did she go?"
Hana remained silent, looking straight into the light bulb in the ceiling.
"WHERE DID SHE GO?" thundered Black.
Luan and Lynn— both tied together in metal chains— watched as Hana spit at his face.
Black growled. He wrapped her face with the towel again. Lead poured down the bucket of water.
"Don't stop," said Black.
Hana muffled gasps and screams shocked Luan and Lynn. They were terrified as Moss continued to hold them at gunpoint.
"Stop it!" yelled Luan.
"Don't stop," repeated Black.
Hana continued flailing her head and legs around, her gasps sounding louder and more desperate. She then started to gag and choke.
"Stop it, you're killing her!" cried Luan.
Black ordered Lead to pause the torture. He removed the towel from Hana's face and allowed her to cough her lungs out. She groaned with each gasp, appearing as she couldn't recover from her torture.
"You obviously care for this Japanese girl," said Black. "Let's see how much she cares about you two."
Black held up Hana's skirt of dog tags. He shook his head.
"Look at this! I mean, Jesus Christ, you know death will be too easy of an escape for her!"
Black wrapped the dog tags around Luan and Lynn's neck like an 8-figure before pulling it back like a dog collar. He then pulled it back hard as Luan and Lynn bumped the back of their heads together, finding themselves unable to free the metal chains from their neck. They felt as if the tags were going to puncture their throat and kill them.
Lead turned Hana's head towards the girls and made her watch Black pull back the dog tags. Luan moved her tied fists on her neck as she closed her eyes and gagged. Lynn tried to free herself, but in her futile attempt to free her fingers, Black pulled harder, causing her to turn red as air escaped her lungs.
Both girls were tearing up as they were being choked to death. Hana decided she had enough.
"Augusta! Maine capital! Augusta!" she yelled. "Stop now! Stop!"
Black smiled before releasing the chain of dog tags. She walked up to Luan and snapped open the chain, allowing her to breathe. Then, he walked over to Lynn and snapped her chain, releasing both girls.
"We finally broke her," said Black. "We didn't need her dog. We just needed our dog tags to tie up these girls like a dog."
Black walked towards a radio at the end of the tent and turned it on.
"Quebec Bravo to November Tango. Confirmation of group of survivors requested. City, Augusta. State, Maine. Population… unknown."
"What? What are you going to do over there?" asked Luan.
"There are groups of survivors that we deem necessary for our project. Unfortunately, your oldest sister put us in this position. They were going to beat this world, but… we need test subjects."
"Just leave them alone!" said Luan. "Why can't you just leave people alone? Do you have to be such a dick?"
"You remind me of my daughter who used to say that," said Black. "She always complained about me being such a… helicopter parent. A dick as she put it in her own words. They'll be fine, Luan. Alive."
"So you do have a heart. You're trying to protect someone. Your daughter. You have people you care about. You love them!"
"I'm… alone," said Black. "I care about my men. I care about everything I'm doing. But I certainly do not love anyone."
"Your daughter!" exclaimed Luan.
"Who's been dead for fourteen years," said Black. "She was the sweetest thing in the world… like her mother. But then the laws of nature happened. I understand it had to happen. But I absolutely loathe people trying to fight against the rules of survival. The strong should be the only ones to live. I've seen your strength and intelligence, Luan. I promise you, you will live."
"I hope you saw her die," said Lynn. "That's what your sorry ass deserves. I hope you feel the pain in your heart, however small that shit is."
"You annoy the fuck out of me," said Black. "You're all brawns but no brains. Let's see how long you could last in this world."
Luan and Lynn stayed close to each other as Black pulled Hana off the table. He tossed her to the ground, where she groaned while holding her ribs. Then, he grabbed a curved katana from the table.
"Tomorrow… Houlton will be conquered."
Lori and David looked outside the main base. Lori took a picture with Carol's Polaroid and left the area, heading back to David's RV. She was relieved that her sisters were alive. But the relief quickly faded, now being replaced by pure anger. She wanted to kill Black so badly right then and there.