The Azrael: The Reckoning (5 page)

Giselle thought about Jessica.  She thought about her brother.  She thought about her stepfather Austin and her mother.  Images of Steven and Ethan flickered in and out urging her to get up.  Her vision began to blur as some of the relentless strikes landed on her head causing the back of her skull to bounce off the pavement again violently.  She heard heartbeats, many, many heartbeats everywhere.  She smelled the stench of the Azrael and tasted their sour breath in the air.  The noises started to quiet down as her senses began to fade from her.  This was the end.  Her vision turned black and she heard nothing more.

Jason’s voice entered her mind.  His image gradually emerged through a dense fog. 

“Jason?  What are you doing here?”

“You need to get up.”

“I can’t.  It’s over Jason.  I’m dead.”

“Get up Giselle.”

“Why?”

“They’re coming.   Run Giselle.” 

Jason turned and ran into the fog.  Her senses slowly returned to her.  The Alpha was on its side with several holes in its skull.  The herd was twenty yards away and two more were exiting the church towards her.  To her left Jane was sprinting away carrying Giselle’s pistol.  She had saved her.  Giselle got up and could hear her ribs grinding from several breaks.  She had to wipe blood from her face to keep it from blinding her.  She reached in her black bag that was nearby and pulled out a frag grenade and tossed it towards the two that were exiting the church.  Body parts scattered across the sidewalk and Azrael blood caked the walls of the church.  She reached in, pulled out the last flash grenade she had and tossed it at the group, turned her head as the blinding lights ignited and bloomed brilliantly blinding the herd.  Her sunglasses were shattered into pieces under the Alpha.

“Fuck.  I liked those ones.”  Giselle shook her head and turned to see where Jane was off to.  She began to hobble towards her as fast as she could.  Her ankle was broken, ribs were broken and she was sure the back of her skull was cracked all the way to her right eye socket.  Giselle was a survivor though and kept moving towards Jane. 

Jane turned around and had to shield her eyes from the blinding light in front of the herd.  She saw a dark figure moving towards her in front of the light.  She couldn’t tell what it was but it didn’t move naturally.  She aimed the pistol at the figure.  She held the gun steady and shot twice.  She pulled the trigger a third time but it just clicked.  She continued to pull the trigger and it only clicked.  Fuck, she was out.  The figure stopped and fell to a knee.  She knew that at least one of the shots hit. 

Being as attractive as she was she had bought a pistol that she could fit in her purse to keep the creeps away.  She always boasted that she had a gun in her pocketbook on every date she had ever been on.  It was a lie of course, but as she got older she knew that one day someone would try anyway.  So she bought Bessie and took her on the range twice a week.  She flirted with the owner and got private lessons.  She never even had to pay for ammunition.  Eventually the owner died and his wife took over.  That was the end of her free lessons and she quit going. 

The figure coughed and put its hand out as if telling her to stop.  The blinding light fizzled away and the figure progressively took shape.  It was Giselle.  Holy shit, she was still alive?  Her face was disfigured and bones were sticking out of her chest and legs.  How was she still alive, unless she had transformed into one of them? She turned around and began to run. 

“No, wait!  Jane.  It’s me.”  The voice was weak but still managed to reach Jane’s ears.  She stopped in her tracks and turned around.

“You’re alive?  Fuck!”   Jane ran towards Giselle and saw what had become of her savior.  Her face was swollen and her hair was matted with a giant scab on her head.  Some of her ribs were poking through her skin, but a scab ring was around it.  She had two gunshot wounds in her chest and she could hear her struggle to breathe as one of her lungs was punctured. 

“You shot me!”

“I’m sorry Giselle.   I thought you were one of them.  You were dead Giselle.  How are you up and moving?”

“Those bastards can’t kill me.”  Giselle explained and attempted a smile.  However, her face appeared like a female baboon’s butt in heat.  So any expression was lost.

“Whoa!  Your eyes.  What the fuck is wrong with your eyes?”

“Oh, that.  Well…”

“Well, what?  Should I worry about this?”

“No, I’ve had this for a while.  It’s kind of a long story.”

“The sunglasses?”

“Yeah, the sunglasses.”

“Can I get what you have by coming in contact with your blood?”

“I don’t know yet.  For now, just keep away.”

“I was going to do that anyway.  Can you stand up?”

“Yes.”

“The lights are dimming.  Don’t’ know how much longer we have.”

“Three minutes.  The eyes, they take a while to adjust in the light.  I know.  I have em’ too.”

“Can you move?”

“Yes.  See that building over there?

“The CVS?”

“Yeah.  Let’s go there.  Don’t just run inside.  Not sure if any of them are inside.  Didn’t clear that place.”

“All right.”

After a few minutes they both made it to the front doors of the CVS.  Giselle still seemed pretty fucked up.  Her swelling in the face had gone down a bit but not by much.  She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small spray bottle.  She sprayed her entire body in some fishy smelling substance.

“What the hell is that?  Smells horrible.”

“A masking agent.  The Highwaymen use it to hide from the Azrael.  Works most of the time.”

“Most of the time?”

“Yes, most of the time.  It’s failed me before.”

“Not sure it’s worth smelling like that for ‘most of the time’ odds.”

“It’s your funeral.”

“Fine.  Spray it.  Just don’t go crazy with it.” 

Giselle sprayed the masking agent gingerly on the ginger.

“Okay.  Let me check to see if any are inside.  I’m a little fucked up right now so its gonna take some time to scope out the place.”

“Okay.  I’ll be outside.”  Jane crouched next to a bush and watched intently towards the west on Roosevelt.  The lights were almost completely out but she couldn’t see any Azrael movement.  Maybe they were going to be okay.  After about five minutes she heard footsteps nearby.

“Inside.  We’re clear.”

“Are you sure.”

“Yes.  Hurry up.  I can hear them moving outside.”

“Where? “  Jane hurried inside and closed the doors behind her.  The place smelled clean.  The shelves were raided, but it didn’t smell inhabited by Azrael.  “I don’t hear anything.  What are you hearing Giselle?  What the hell is going on with you?”

“In the back.  I’ll tell you all about it.”  Giselle insisted while hobbling towards the back of the building and towards the pharmacy.  It was separated from the rest of the building by a large bulletproof window like Snyders.  The door to the pharmacy was locked and untouched medicine could be seen beyond the window.  Several divots and cracks in the glass indicated someone tried to get in with no luck.  She removed two black hairpins from a pocket on the inside of the grenade bag and started to pick the lock.  In a few moments she had the door unlocked.  She entered the pharmacy and Jane followed her while shutting the door behind them.  Giselle disappeared in the back for ten seconds and returned with something in her hand.

“Okay, so where to begin?”  Giselle asked after taking two Vicodin that she found from the back.

An alarm unfamiliar to Mario woke him from a deep sleep his body had only begun to get used to.  He hadn’t been able to indulge himself with this kind of sleep in years.  The world had kept him on edge even during his dreamless sleep.  His room was a temporary setup until the move to the lab beyond the walls of Chicago.  They had been living within the city walls for a few weeks now and Mario already felt soft.  It took time to make all of the arrangements for the underground infrastructure to be built.  John and Savanna were next door and within minutes of alarms sounding they were knocking on his door.

“The Alarms.”  Mario acknowledged as he answered the door knowing their concerns as well.

“The fucking alarms, what the hell is going on?” John asked.  Savanna was still adjusting her bra as she pulled and resituated herself beside John.  It appeared that they were caught relaxing a bit too.  Apparently they were not allowed peace in this world either.

“Let’s check with Simon to see what’s happening and if we can offer any assistance.”

“Sounds good.  We’ll get our shit together and meet you by the stairs at the end of the hall.”  John stated while pulling Savanna back into their room.  It seemed that they needed to finish what they started earlier.  She had an expression of excitement on her face when John winked at her.

Mario closed his door and attempted to reach Taliah through video chat.  The call didn’t send and a ‘failed video feed’ error flashed across the screen.  He tried a few more times with the same result.  It seemed that something was wrong with the network or with the cables that fed the video feed.  He decided to just call Taliah instead.  After two rings she answered.

“Did you hear?”  She responded before saying hello.  Mario could hear the fear in her voice along with excitement.  What has this world done to her?

“No, what happened?  What are these alarms?”

“The Azrael, they are all over the place outside.  There!”  She pointed as if Mario could see through the phone.  “There’s a guy running from…  Oh, crap!  He’s getting bit by one. Jesus!”  Her voice sounded distant.

“Stay where you are.  I’m sure your building has top notch security.”

“The doc said that we’re safe up here.  He also told me to get away from the windows.  But when do we ever listen to the doctor?”

“Always?  He’s got a point.  It’s not healthy to watch that kind of stuff Taliah.  Besides, if they notice you they may try harder to get to you.  More could come and you know how that ends.”

Taliah thought about it and imagined the mass of zombies pouring through the downstairs and filtering through eating everyone.  It brought shivers down her spine.  “You’ve got a point.  I’m pretty high up here though.  I doubt they’ll see me.”

“You don’t know that.  We’re learning every day what capabilities those things have.”

She remembered being dragged by the one Azrael through the woods.  She thought of how scared she was and clueless as to what those things were doing.

“I hate when you’re right.”  She admitted.

“I’m not always right.”

“I’d bet my life that you are.”

“Don’t say that.  I couldn’t…”

“Don’t worry so much about me.  I’m safe up here.”  She interrupted.

“With the Azrael still around, we’re never safe.”  The thought of being out there with Taliah again put a knot in his stomach.

“We’re as safe as we can be right now Mario.  That’s good enough for now.  Isn’t it?”

“You’re growing up too fast Taliah.”

“Not my choice Mario.  Not my choice.” 

“I know which is why I worry about you.”

She tried to block images of the House, the place where she was trapped and touched…  She felt dirty, pain, vulnerable and hopeless all in the same thought.  She choked up on the images that she tried to burn from her memories.  It’s over.  They’re dead; all of them are dead or worse.  Nevertheless, none of it was comforting.  It still happened.  Everyone knows about her struggles.  Not all was revealed to everyone, but she has sympathy.  She doesn’t want sympathy.  She doesn’t need sympathy.  She needs to become tough.  This world will chew up and spit out sympathy seekers.  She thought about John and Savanna.  They were tough and good people.  She admired their relationship and John’s bravery.  He loves that woman with every fiber of his being.  She wondered if she’ll ever meet a man like that. 

“Taliah?”  Mario was concerned with her long pause.

“I’m here, just thinking.”

“About?”

“Your new job.”

“And that is?”

“Keeping John and Savanna alive.  Those two are trouble.”  She smiled.  Mario could hear it in her voice.

“You’re right.  I can do that.”

“Thank you Mario.”

“No problem.”

“I mean for everything.  Thanks for all you’ve done for me.  I’ll never forget Mario.”

“I’d do it all over again if I had the chance.”

“Which is why you’re so awesome.”  She raised her hand up with affirmation of his awesomeness.

“Okay, okay.  Guess I should give Simon a call.”  Mario admitted and felt loved and appreciated.  It made him feel good.

“Do your thing Mario.  I’ll be fine.  You made sure of that.  Never forget that.”

“I won’t.  Goodbye Taliah.”

“Goodbye, Mario.”  It took a lot to keep her from saying that she loved him.  She did love him.  Not like she wanted to be his lover, but she truly loved him like a father.  She was sad to separate herself from him but knew that it was for the best.

Mario pressed down the receiver disconnect button severing the connection with Taliah.  He released the button, listened for a dial tone and once he heard it dialed Simon’s number.

“Mr. Killbrook’s Office, How may I help you?”  A secretary answered the phone.

“Yes, uh, this is Mario Cortez.  I’m calling…”

“Mr. Cortez, Mr. Killbrook was expecting your call.  Can you hold for a second while I transfer you to his desk?”  A brief pause followed.

“Simon.”  Simon answered already knowing that it was Mr. Cortez, but answered as if he didn’t know who it was for formality purposes.

“Hey Simon, this is Mario Cortez.  John, Savanna and I are hoping we can assist in whatever way you need.”

“Fantastic, I was just about to contact you.  How’d you know?”

“Well, I just found out what the alarms were from Taliah.”

“She’s a bright young girl.”

“Yes, she is. I also tried using the video chat with her but it said something about a failed video feed or something like that.”

“I was getting a bad connection with someone earlier.  I’ll have someone check on it when it’s safe of course.  It’s not a priority right now with all that’s going on.”

“So, what happened?  Why are they in the city?”

“It appears an Azrael broke out of the Field Museum.  It’s where we used to study those things.  The studies are under new management now.  Maybe they pushed them too hard for progress.  They pushed us too, but we operated safely.  However, keeping a live subject had always been forbidden before.  I wonder why they allowed it to happen now.  Or maybe they didn’t.  We’ll never know.  Anyone who worked there is either roaming the streets seeking to infect someone new or was eaten to the bone.”

“So what’s the state of the city?  What else can be done?  Use me Simon.  We’re awaiting orders.”

“A team of mine lured the majority of the herd outside the gates about 10 minutes ago.  However, there are still a few concentration areas of Azrael herds scattered throughout the city.  They are small groups of fresh turners led by inexperienced Alphas.  They should be easy to dispatch, considering your credentials that is.”

“Sounds easy enough.  What loadout do you have available to me and my team?”

“On the second floor, make a right as you exit the stairwell.  Five doors down you will meet Luke O’Donnell.  He has red hair, a thick beard and most likely wearing a suit.”

“Will do.”

“He’ll provide you access to the armory.  Take anything you need.  Might I suggest the crossbow?  We’ve made a few modifications to it that I think you’ll like.  After you load up on weapons Luke will direct you to your next location.”

“Sounds good, I’ll gather my team and meet with Luke.”

“And Mario, be safe.  You and your team are invaluable to our future success.  If it doesn’t seem right, don’t take the chance.”

“Got it.”

Mario collected supplies he needed for the mission, packed them in his rucksack and exited his room in only a few minutes.  He hesitated and listened beyond John and Savanna’s door for noises.  When he heard nothing, he knocked on the door.  In seconds the door opened.  Savanna was sitting on a large duffel bag full of women’s apparel and a waft of fish guts slammed into Mario’s face.

“Oh, Jesus!  That’s strong.”  Mario gasped while wincing.  John came from behind the door applying more of the masking agent like it was aftershave.  He offered some to Mario.

“Want Some?”

“No, no I’m good.  Thank you.”

“Your funeral Mario.”

“Have you thought that too much could be a bad thing?”

“Naw, the less I smell like a man, the safer I am.  And if I can hide everyone else’s presence with my fishy musk then so be it.”  He raised his right arm, smelled his armpit and appeared satisfied with the result.

“So what’s with all the clothes?”

“It’s for Taliah.  Donations were given to me to give to her.  Her story is all over the place.  She’s famous.”  Savanna answered, rolled off of the bag, misjudged the length of the bed and fell off clumsily with a thud.  “I’m okay.”  She squealed and pulled herself to her feet.  Mario tried not to laugh.  John didn’t try at all.  She glowered at him.

“Well it’s a good thing the full story was left out.  Simon must have tailored the information to say enough without completely revealing her business.  He’s a good politician.”

“He’s more than that.  He was a damned good Highwayman.”  Jason added while approaching the group.  He shook John’s hand and Savanna ran in to hug him.

“Jason Stone.”  He shook Mario’s hand.  “Don’t want you guys to have all the fun.”  He smiled and tried to peel Savanna off of him.

“Giselle told me to octopus hug you when I see you.”  She giggled still trying to cling onto Jason while adding her legs and weaving them between his legs.

“Did she now?  Did she tell you about wet willies?”  Jason slobbered on his pinky finger, stuck it in Savanna’s left ear and twisted it around.

“Aww, gross.”  Savanna shouted and pushed him away while swatting his hand away from her ear.

“Want another hug?”  Jason laughed followed by a sigh.  “Masking agent brings back memories.”

“I’d try to forget that.”  Mario added.

“Here, I figured that we could use these too.”  Jason pulled his backpack over his shoulders and placed the bag on the ground in front of him.  He unzipped it revealing over thirty improvised grenades.

“My man.”  John exclaimed.  He slapped Jason on the back, removed one from the bag and inspected it thoroughly.

“You made these?  There are different types.  Which is which?”  Mario asked as he inspected the bag’s contents intently.

“Got your noisemakers, frags and blinders.”  John declared while pointing out each type in the bag.

“Yup.”  Jason agreed.

“I like this guy.”  Mario smiled and patted Jason on the shoulder.

“I got more tricks.”  Jason raised an eyebrow and flashed a charming grin.

“I look forward to finding out.  Let’s go see what they have for us at the armory.”

Mario led the three to the armory where they greeted a scraggly haired and bearded ginger who was waiting patiently in front of the armory standing with good posture and his arms crossed.  He was wearing a nice black suit that was different than the last one Jason saw him wearing.  Luke invited them inside and they outfitted themselves with as much firepower as they could carry. 

Mario took the crossbow that was altered to be able to shoot three bolts at the same time or semi-automatically.  It had three highly tensed bows with a three finger trigger that could be pulled individually or all at the same time.  His quiver could auto-compress as bolts were removed.  Over three hundred were inside.  Fifty were made available on the front of the belt already fixed with random assortment of bolt heads.  The red ones were point detonating high explosive tips.  The green ones were contact injecting poison tips.  The blue ones were dull concussive tips.  The yellow ones provided a 500 volt/50 amp shock while the silver sharp tipped heads were normal penetrating tips.  About eighty percent of the tips were silver tips.  Each bow provided a 50 lb. draw.  It almost drew a tear from Mario’s eye.  He attached the belt and situated the quiver to his right where he could retrieve the tip-less bolts easily with his left hand.  The extra tips were in a foam cutout case that had each type arranged by color. He kept it in his pack.  Mario couldn’t wait to use his new weapon.

They exited the armory ready for war.  Luke shook their hands and wished them luck.  He directed them to the basement and secured the armory.  He contacted Simon to let him know what was taken and that the team was headed for the tunnels.