The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel (45 page)

“
We
’
re soldiers of the Constabulary.
It
’
s
our honor to give our lives in service to protect the last of humanity.
It
’
s
a sacred duty,
”
Omondi
growled out.

“
We
’
re
your future!
We
’
re
what you will become! Soon you
’
ll be tearing into flesh just to sla
ke
the pain in your gut and the madness in your mind!
”
Mariano took a dangerous step toward
Omondi
, his
body coiled as if to strike
. Pointing an accusing finger at the Chief Defender, Mariano said,
“
Do not act the innocent!
You came looking for us!
You knew we were here all along! Did you tell your people? Did you warn them of what they
’
ll become
?
”

Out of the corner of her eye, Maria could see the uneasy movements of the squad. Holm turned her head to look at
Denman
,
then at Maria, her eyes questioning.

“
There
’
s no happy ending for us!
There is no cure for the
Inferi Boon
Virus. Or the
Inferi Scourge
Virus. They lied to all of us!
We came out here to fight their war and we killed for them until the hunger was shredding us. We were going mad with
the
agony.
”
Mariano pointed at himself.
“
I listened to my commanding officer beg the SWD for med-pods. He begged them to come get us. We were in unbearable agony,
immobilized
, desperate.
They refused us.
Our Med-Specialist reported our condition faithfully to the SWD, recommending immediate evacuation before we worsened.
They refused. And when they realized we had become what they fear most, they stopped answer
ing
us. The
y
sent a virus to our wristlets, deactivating them. They thought we would black out and cease to be their concern. But we didn
’
t. We stayed awake, hungry, and mad.
”

“
So you
’
re the reason why they finally shut down the subways.
”
Omondi
slightly moved his weight to one side, a
casual
move, but one that placed his hand closer to his weapon.

“
When there were more of us, we were able to breach the system a few times.
Our last incursion was a few months ago.
We
had
collected the weapons left behind when the mission to expand the perimeter failed.
We salvaged what we could from the armor and equipment left behind.
We failed and lost many of our…Anomalies.
It
’
s difficult to...
”
Mariano wavered on his feet slightly.
“
It
’
s difficult to think when the hunger is so intense.
Only living flesh makes it go away entirely. T
he flesh of the Scourge only takes the edge off of it.
”

“
You killed
Inferi Boon
!
”
Omondi
’
s voice was a sharp bark of anger.

“
We
hunger
!
”
Mariano bared his teeth.

Maria
felt tears in her eyes. This was the man who had meant so much to her, altered, changed,
and monstrous
.

“
Did you eat each other? Did you attack each other?
”

There were uneasy looks among the three.

“
Did
you?
”
Omondi
persisted.

“
The hunger creates
insanity
. There were incidents in the beginning, but we banded together to try
to fight the hunger
.
”
Alkan
’
s voice was cold, devoid of emotion.

“
But you hunted us like animals and killed us.
Ate us!
”
Omondi
seemed even bigger and more imposing.

Mariano took several sharp steps toward him and screamed,
“
We were hungry! We were irrational and...and.
.
.
”

“
You
’
re irrational now!
”
Omondi
lashed out and gripped the man by one of the straps on his arm
or
.
Shaking him,
Omondi
shouted,
“
We
’
re
Constabulary!
We protect the city! We protect each other!
”

“
I want to go home! I want to see my family! I want to not be a monster!
”
Mariano
bellowed
in
Omondi
’
s face, his red eyes wide and frantic.

Alkan and Reese began to walk swiftly toward the two grappling men. The Aberrations
tracked
behind them.

Maria cursed
as she
lifted her weapon, aiming at Alkan.
“
Holm, take out Martinez
if you have to
.
”

The other woman nodded.

In the time since her father
’
s death, Maria had longed to see him one last time.
To hold him in her arms and tell him how much she loved him. It was cruel irony that she was able to see him one last time just to
watch
him die. Maria activated the exterior speaker on her helmet.

Mariano and
Omondi
continued to shout at each other,
each
struggling to wrestle the other man to the ground.

“
Release him, Vanguard Martinez!
”
Maria shouted, her voice strong.

Mariano froze, his gaze searching along the blank face of the building.

“
Step away from the Chief Defender now!
”
Maria ordered.

“
Maria?
”
Mariano questioned.
He pulled away from
Omondi
, his red eyes sweeping back and forth over the empty windows.

Taking a deep breath, Maria
steadied
her nerves.
“
Si, papa.
”

“
Mi hija, ¿dónde estás
?
”

Maria tentatively stepped into view, her gun swinging toward her father in a slow arc. His red eyes fixed on her and she feared he would attack.
She was not a
Scourge
, Boon, Anomaly, or
Aberration
. As the
seconds
ticked away, she realized she and the others were something very different.
Dr. Curran had created a new creature altogether.

“
Speak to me as an officer,
”
Maria said in a tense voice.

“
You
’
re here. One of us,
”
her father said.
He was utterly shocked by her appearance and he released
Omondi
.

She nodded.

Omondi
drew his weapon
.
“
Tell your people to fall back,
Mr.
Martinez.
”

Mariano hesitated, then waved his hand.
The Anomalies and
Aberrations
ceased stalking toward the building, but their stances were that of predators, waiting and watching.

Mariano studied his daughter
’
s face.
“
Maria, do you know how
Inferi Scourge
identify
each other?
”
Mariano
’
s red
eyes
shifted to gaze into her eyes
.

T
he other creatures were staring at her as well.

“
Sight,
”
Maria said at last.

“
No.
The virus within our blood
tell
s
us who is one of us and who is not.
Maybe it
’
s the virus whispering in our
cells
like a communal brain, or maybe it
’
s somehow hidden in your scent.
I look at you and I
know
you
’
re
Inferi Boon
. Everything inside of me says
you
’
re
one of us.
Yet, you look human.”

Maria shifted her weight slightly. “What
’
s your point?”

“
Inferi Scourge
can
not think for themselves. They
’
re creatures of instinct.
If the virus inside of them says
you
’
re
one of them, then they will not attack.
Right?”

Maria shrugged. “They can be dangerous when stimulated by the possibility of prey.”

“Sure. But when you
’
re standing face to face with one, far away from the…humans, they know
you
’
re
one of them.
They
’
re not going to wake up and attack you.”

Narrowing her eyes, Maria wondered what he was driving at.

“
Mi hija,
I
’
m not
Inferi Scourge
. I can
think
!
I can
see
!
I can choose my actions.
Right?”
Mariano grinned at her, his red eyes disturbing with their brightness.

“What is your damn point?”
Omondi
demanded.

“My point is that I can choose to go against the virus.
I can decide for myself what I will and will not do.
If I wanted to, I could attack you, kill you, devour you because I can
think and
override
my instinct that says
you
’
re
Inferi Scourge
!
”
Mariano noted her discomfort at his words.
“
Of course, I would never do that to my own daughter. But I have to ask,
mija
...what are you?
”

Omondi
’
s gaze shifted toward Maria.
“
Vanguard?
”

“
I
’
m
Inferi Boon
,
”
Maria finally answered.
“
Just like you. Just like the people you murdered and ate!
”

Mariano
’
s mad eyes were
fever bright
.
“
Then what
you
a
re
...it
’
s in us.
If i
t
’
s
in your people, then it
’
s now in us.
”
He grinned with delight, turning toward his two companions.
“
It
’
s in us!
We
’
ll be
what she is!
The humans will not realize what
we a
re
until it
’
s too late!
”

The echo of the short bark of the rifle
rang out
around her.
Mariano slumped to the pavement.
Within a second, both sides opened fire.
The projectile weapons of the Anomalies and
Aberrations
propelled
shrapnel through the air
. M
aria fell to the ground
to avoid the onslaught
.
She could see her father
’
s slack face in a pool of blood
. S
he felt both relieved and sorrowful at the sight.