Zombiefest Ch. 06

We sat listening and watching as the Raiders fell to the Stronghold defenders, they acted with near Military precision in their defense of the Stronghold. Which told me that Military was running the place and training the survivors. I sat back against the boulder and looked at Maria, her words still hanging in the air between us.

"If Charlie had been a half a dozen years older and I hadn't been changed. Then yeah I would have taken up her offer and jumped her bones that night. I was sorely tempted, but the reality was this, she wasn't offering because she wanted to, she was offering as a means to protect Tami, which to me showed more courage then many of the soldiers I fought beside in Iraq." I told her and looked back towards Tami and Charlie who were still talking. I could hear them clearly but stayed out of their business, what they did was none of my business.

"I can understand that.." Maria said quietly. Turning we heard noises as the smaller of the two gates opened. Two people darted out of them and started running around luring the zombies away from the Stronghold. I turned and led Maria back to the girls who were hugging each other far more then they had before.

"She admitted she loves me too!" Tami exclaimed and I laughed lightly. Charlie was blushing brightly and stammering a bit.

"Hey Charlie.." I said while kneeling before them both, "You can not choose who to love, you either will or you won't. Never give it up or throw it away because you fear how others will see you or how they will react to you. You hold on to it tightly and never let go." They both looked at me in shock at first and then nodded as they smiled. I could imagine both had held such feelings for years but until now never knew how to express it before and with Tami, she was confused as to how Charlie would react once Tami told the truth.

"Lets get going, that Stronghold is Military run. We can leave a copy of the files with them and then continue on our way up to Washington." I explained to them, it was still my intension to spread out these notes to as many places who could make use of them as possible. And a Military run or Science run base or Stronghold would have a chance to do something.

We walked the bikes down the slight slope of the main road right up to the base. I didn't want to ride full on up to the gates, wanted to be sure we weren't being watched from outside the base where we could get ambushed from behind.

"Halt, state your business!" a voice called out. We stopped moving forward and looked around. The fence was well secured and the Gate reinforced with solid telephone poles for the posts.

"Just dropped by to hand over a copy of several Military documents that pertain to the Zombie Virus to your Base Commander. If no one like that exists, we shall be on our way and trouble you no further." I called back and rolled my eyes at Maria who stifled a giggle along with both Charlie and Tami. Then I spotted a car parked off to the side and nodded towards it, Maria looked over and gasped softly.

"General Jackson does not see anyone!" the voice called back.

"General Jackson, you mean old Stonewall is still alive, well I'll be damned. Well you tell him Major Greywolf sends his greetings, and don't worry. My friends and I would never stay inside a stronghold who welcomes rapists, murderers and thieves into their community anyways." I called back and waved at Maria and the girls. We all started to climb on the bikes when the gate started opening.

As the gate opened I saw Maria freeze with wide eyes. Then I noted three men start to try and make their way away from the gate and further into the compound, with out even thinking about it my hands collected the throwing knives and I sent them flying.

Three voices cried out and the men hit the ground with the blades sticking out of their legs. Several leveled their bows at me and the women, "Drop the weapons!" one of them yelled.

I nodded to the women and they carefully moved away from me. I shifted my weight and began selecting which targets would go down first before replying, "Those men kidnapped and raped three women as they took them from Reno and left several others to act as zombie bait while they made their escape in the car sitting outside your fence. The dark blue Ford."

"He's lying!" one of the men shouted. I looked over at the men and smiled, only it wasn't one full of happiness, it was one of pure evil intent.

"I'll assume you stopped on the rise and when you saw the extent of the stronghold, you knew they would never let you in if the two women were there to tell their side of the story." I said slowly then looked at the gate guard who had been speaking.

"Tell me something, did any of your scouts find two dead women shortly after the arrival of those three men?" I asked him and watched him nod slowly, "One of them with strawberry blond hair and jade green eyes, the second blond with sky blue eyes." I asked while he nodded then glared at the three men.

"ENOUGH!" a voice boomed out as it seemed like everyone was starting to talk over the others. I looked over to watch the powerfully built General stride over to where we were all standing. Everyone of the Guards stood at attention in an instant. The others made sure the three men didn't try to crawl off to hide somewhere. The General stopped dead when he saw me and grinned widely. I had served with him during Iraq when he was a Colonel and we had been in a lot of scrapes together. When the Zombie outbreak hit, everyone was pulled back to the US, from all over the World every country pulled their Military back to try and regain control.

"Well, I'll be Damned.. Major Greywolf.." he said with a grin. He walked over and looked me up and down.

"We were about to subdue him for attacking those three new arrivals." the Guard was saying and indicating the downed men. The General looked back and forth.

"Subdue him?" the General asked with a smirk, "Son, this man has gone behind enemy lines and wiped out entire companies of enemy soldiers who were better trained then you. Now stand down before I kick your ass myself." the General barked at him and the Guard flinched.

"Now tell me about those men.." The General asked me.

"The one with the scar on his cheek and the brown haired one were riding with two women, one blond and the other was strawberry blond. They had been in a sky blue Camaro while the other guy traveled with a black haired woman in the blue Ford outside your gate. Apparently somewhere along the way they all had to travel together." I said as I watched the men trying to look for an escape route.

"What did they do?" The General asked.

"When I arrived in Reno, I watched them shove men, women and children out of a gated Circus-Circus Casino as a diversion for the mass of zombies, so they could make their getaway with their victims out the back. Apparently the women with them were their slaves to be raped when ever the men felt like it." I explained to him. I could see him gritting his teeth in anger.

"How did you learn the fate of those women, know that they were not willing?" the General asked.

"For one they were crying hysterically in the cars as they were driven away. And because I found the black haired woman, her name is Maria." I said and gestured towards her. The General swiveled his gaze to her and noted her wide eyes still staring intently at the men with a mixture of anger and fear.

"Good enough, Sargent get that scum off my Base!" he demanded and paused, "Oh and retrieve the Majors blades for him while you are at it. And if any of them offer a fight, beat them all as you see fit." The General then waved at me to follow him and I waved at Maria, Charlie and Tami. We all pushed the bikes into the compound and parked them along the wall near the gate.

When I started towards the General I noted a familiar face, "You there!" the woman's eyes widened and she pointed at herself and I nodded. The General stopped to look back at me and then at the woman.

"General that woman needs to come with us." I told him.

"What for?" he asked curiously. I pulled my glasses off and looked into his face and he blinked in shock.

"To explain why she did this to me and what the hell is going on." I answered then put on the glasses before the pain became too much.

"Come with us Doctor and be quick." he demanded even as two Guards moved to escort her.

"Who is she?" Tami asked as she stayed by Charlie and Maria and myself. I could tell the General was listening along with his men who accompanied him.

"After I was bit, she was the first one on the scene and injected me with whatever it was that turned me into this, instead of a Zombie." I replied and yeah I will admit to being a bit angry about the whole process. Sure I am glad not to be a Zombie, but being separated from the rest of humanity didn't really help either.

After hearing I had been bit, I noticed the men around us tense up and create a bit more space around us. I sighed and just rolled my eyes.

"Oh give us a break, he was bit more then four years ago." Charlie said aloud before adding, "Big time soldiers and turned chicken in an instant.." Tami and Maria giggled softly while the General chuckled as well.

We walked as a group and as we traveled I could see vast improvement over the other strongholds. The Buildings were a mix of steel and tin siding while the main buildings for Command and sleeping quarters were Concrete blocks with heavy steel doors. Even if the Zombies did get past the gates and fences, they would have a hard time invading the Main Buildings where everyone would have evacuated in to for their final stand. Up above the buildings flared out from the walls just enough to create 'Murder Holes'.

"I see the General incorporated his love of old style Castles and their defenses." I said with a grin while glancing at the walls and upper levels. The General laughed lightly, "You know me, always use everything you can for attack and defense." he replied with a grin.

"What are those holes?" Tami asked as she looked up at the buildings.

"A very old style of defense developed by the English, or hell maybe even before them. Who ever developed them did a good job. Basically if we did loose the fence and gates. These buildings are made of concrete, they could push all day long and never budge. Now admittedly we can't just hole up inside and wait them out, have to get rid of them somehow. That is where those holes come in. From above we can drop things down on them that will destroy them and not damage the building." The General explained.

"Like Grenades?" Tami asked. The General shook his head.

"Those would work for a couple drops, but they would weaken the walls. We have a home made napalm mixture, drop that on them with a flare and the fire won't burn out until there is nothing left to burn. No more zombies and we haven't damaged the walls either." The General said and shrugged lightly, "The Plan is to never have to use them, lets face it. I'd rather they stayed outside the damn fence then have to test the building defenses." Several voices uttered an Amen to that one.

We walked inside the Command Center where the General held meetings, made plans and generally kept the place running through his Commanders. We all took a seat around a large table.

"Well you wanna tell me how you got from South of Vegas to here and start from the beginning, you know how much I love a good story." The General said while he lit up a cigar and sat back watching me. I took a deep breath and began reciting the story.

The General sat looking dumb founded before saying, "I knew the labs were doing something, but what you're describing borders on torture." he shook his head as if clearing it while I shrugged in reply.

Clearing his throat he looked at me again, "So they never figured out which of their drugs it was that cured you and then turned you into..umm.. whatever you are now?" he asked.

I turned my gaze over to the woman I had join us, "For that you need to ask this woman."

She shifted in her seat nervously and kept looking back and forth between myself and the General, "You have to understand, you were the only one I found that the drug might work on so I took a chance." she said in a rush.

"Slow down Doc and take a breath." The General said as he waved his hands in a none threatening manner. She did as he asked and took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.

She took a long drink of her water before she looked at me, "When it first broke out I was sent to get blood samples and tissue samples. I did that and began breaking down the structure to try and either reverse the process or halt it. What I found was that there was no reversal, once the virus ran it's course the Victim was either dead or a Zombie." she said slowly.

She sighed a bit before continuing, "I did find though that certain blood disorders could in fact fight against the virus, by either mutating it or even defeating it. The most common of the blood disorders, like what you have, well that one needed a boost in order to defeat the Virus. I was stationed in Washington when the base was attacked. When I came to help with the wounded you were on a stretcher. Your rosa-blanca.ru showed the disorder I was looking for and I injected you with a pathogen that would help your blood to fight against the Virus." she explained as she looked at me.

She shook her head as she continued, "I had no idea what they would do to you at the Lab, I tried to contact them several times to let them know what I had done. By then the base was under a full scale attack, the radio room had been over run. Phone lines went down during several explosions I barely made it out of there with less then fifty others. By the time we got here only a half a dozen of us remained." she said softly and I could tell she had lost some close friends along the way.

I frowned slightly and looked at her once again, "Are you saying that Fort Lewis fell to the zombies?" She nodded quietly and I sat back and sighed aloud.

I looked over the woman, light brown hair, glasses with a slim build and fair complexion with a light tan showing she was outside doing work or relaxing when not working. Finally I asked, "Just who are you anyways?"

She looked a bit nervous as her gaze shifted from the General and I, "I am not Cindy Simmons as I claimed when I arrived here, I am sorry General." she admitted softly and I watched his face redden slightly, the man hated dishonesty.

"Then who the hell are you?" the General demanded and I hide the grin on my lips before realization hit me like a truck, I had a feeling I had seen her before.

"Holy Shit.. you are Torie Arcana, the scientist who tried to create a cure all for our Military when many were getting sick overseas." I said startling both the woman and the General. She nodded slowly as if looking for a place to hide.

The General narrowed his gaze at her, he and I had been the first to get this new drug that was suppose to help with our immunities. We were both so sick we couldn't barely eat or drink for nearly a month with out puking, "Okay, I will forgo the death and torture that I vowed if I ever found the one responsible for that mess. But, I want you off my base and I don't give a crap where you go. I won't have you doing any more experiments on my people." he growled angrily at her. She blinked and nodded quietly.

Torie was looking at Maria, Charlie and Tami before she finally looked at me, "How is it they are like you now?" she asked and continued saying, "I assume they are like you, you are all wearing fairly dark glasses and yet not bothered that the room isn't lit all that well."

Charlie spoke up defensively, "I got bit by a zombie, Dakota took a chance and shared his blood with me in the hopes I would not become a zombie. I made him promise if I turned into one he would end it for me. I have no idea if people who turned are aware inside those bodies and I did not want to live for who knows how long in that kind of state. For all we know they will never die on their own. More then four years they have been like that and yet they don't seem to be aging or decaying. I do not want to live forever inside one with no end in sight and attacking anything that moves." she said softly as everyone listened.

"I wanted to be like them, I didn't want to be scared of getting bit. And if I do get bit now by a zombie, I know I will not change into one." Tami said smiling as if proud of herself. I laughed and gave her a light hug from the side.

The General listened and noted the Guards reactions around the room, but he still had questions as well, "So you are in fact immune from zombies and the Virus... " I nodded and he continued, "Increased strength, speed and stamina as well.." and again I nodded.

"Heightened sense of smell and I can see fairly well in the darkness and move with nearly cat like grace and stealth. The light is bothersome, but not nearly as painful as it use to be. I can get around well enough with out the glasses and tolerate the migraine that comes with the light. But most people are a bit stand offish when they see my eyes." I explained slowly and shrugged lightly.

The General sat and thought about what was said before nodding a bit, "Listen Major, I would open the gates to you anytime, lets face it you were one of my best out in the field even with out all this Cure business. With it, I can imagine no one could stop you. You would be a hell of an asset, even the Ladies here would be..." he started faltering over his words now.

"But the big picture is pretty simple, most if not all the community here would be scared of us. And what people fear, they attack with out hesitation. Even your Guards here are shifting their hands to their guns with every new bit of information." I said while his eyes widened and glanced at the Guards hands that were resting on the gun butts and waiting to pull them from their holsters.

"Don't worry General.." I said as he started to reprimand his men, ".. the guns are empty.." I replied and dropped the four clips on the table with an extra bullet from each of the four chambers. The Four Guards pulled their guns and looked at their weapons in shock.

"How did you?" One Guard started asking.

"Two of you were busy talking and Charlie pulled your guns and emptied them before replacing them. The two behind me got distracted by Doc and I took care of their weapons." I explained while they blushed. One man tried to reach for the clips and I grasped his wrist.

"They can remain where they are, when we leave the room you can have them." I warned him and looked at him, "Not saying I don't trust you, but yeah.. I don't trust you.." I explained and smiled while he pulled his arm back. I shoved the bullets and clips towards the General who caught them easily.

The General watched the Guard start to move to him and shook his head, "I am in agreement with the Major, so far you all have acted like damn rookies here. Not one of them has acted dangerously and the one time he did act was to save our people from those men. Now stand down and remain at your post." he barked out at the man who flinched.

I looked back at the General and shrugged a bit, "Well the Ladies and I will be heading out, we will find a spot to settle after making sure that these Documents get to anyone who can help make sense out of them and who knows, maybe even find a way to reverse this mess or find a real cure." I told him and he nodded slowly.

I used his laptop and transferred copies of the documents from the memory stick along with all my notes of everything I could remember from the changes and even Charlies, Tami and Maria's notes on their changes.

Looking over at the Ladies I smiled at my family, "Well, if the Doc will give a hand, I will leave a few vials of my blood for testing, as well as Maria and Charlie. That way whoever can make sense of this will have some sort of time line to work from." I suggested and Torie nodded her agreement.