Why do I get the weird and unexplainable feeling that this cat could end up super important in some way in the end? I mean, it almost certainly won't (aside from the fact that it's super cute), but if it does, you heard it here first!
[Add to interior defenses]
Damn it, I don't know. I have a very bad feeling for this battle. However, I have an even worse feeling that Alex and his creeps have a way to bypass the perimeter and since it already is defended in some way, it could be good to build a broader defense line by adding interior defenses. In case they break through, the defenders still have the possibility to retreat and regroup behind the interior defenses. As I said, I have a very bad feeling for this battle in general. While it is a relief that Alex wants Samantha alive, at least for another eight months, Marcus, Omar, Peter and all the other people at the hospital don't have this protection, so I am very worried for them as well.
Italo Buonatesta
Italo looked around and stood up. He walked towards the front of the ship and stood next to Santiago.
"I noticed you … moreremembered the cat." Italo said.
"Yeah, I just thought Samantha might want it when she gets better." Santiago said.
"That's a nice thought." Italo said.
"What do you think it'll be like over there? On land?" Santiago asked.
"I don't know. It might just be like the island. Or maybe it might be better somehow." Italo said.
"I'd like to believe it will be better." Santiago said. Italo cracked a smile.
"Maybe. Who knows?" Italo said.
"That's what makes it so much better." Santiago said. "Do you think she'll ever remember anything?" He asked, looking back to Angela. Italo looked back to see her slowly nodding to something Lucas was saying.
"I don't know. Right now, I think not knowing if you have a family out there somewhere might just be a blessing. I know my family is out there acros… [view original content]
Why do I get the weird and unexplainable feeling that this cat could end up super important in some way in the end? I mean, it almost certai… morenly won't (aside from the fact that it's super cute), but if it does, you heard it here first!
[Add to interior defenses]
Damn it, I don't know. I have a very bad feeling for this battle. However, I have an even worse feeling that Alex and his creeps have a way to bypass the perimeter and since it already is defended in some way, it could be good to build a broader defense line by adding interior defenses. In case they break through, the defenders still have the possibility to retreat and regroup behind the interior defenses. As I said, I have a very bad feeling for this battle in general. While it is a relief that Alex wants Samantha alive, at least for another eight months, Marcus, Omar, Peter and all the other people at the hospital don't have this protection, so I am very worried for them as well.
Italo Buonatesta
Italo looked around and stood up. He walked towards the front of the ship and stood next to Santiago.
"I noticed you … moreremembered the cat." Italo said.
"Yeah, I just thought Samantha might want it when she gets better." Santiago said.
"That's a nice thought." Italo said.
"What do you think it'll be like over there? On land?" Santiago asked.
"I don't know. It might just be like the island. Or maybe it might be better somehow." Italo said.
"I'd like to believe it will be better." Santiago said. Italo cracked a smile.
"Maybe. Who knows?" Italo said.
"That's what makes it so much better." Santiago said. "Do you think she'll ever remember anything?" He asked, looking back to Angela. Italo looked back to see her slowly nodding to something Lucas was saying.
"I don't know. Right now, I think not knowing if you have a family out there somewhere might just be a blessing. I know my family is out there acros… [view original content]
Italo Buonatesta
Italo looked around and stood up. He walked towards the front of the ship and stood next to Santiago.
"I noticed you … moreremembered the cat." Italo said.
"Yeah, I just thought Samantha might want it when she gets better." Santiago said.
"That's a nice thought." Italo said.
"What do you think it'll be like over there? On land?" Santiago asked.
"I don't know. It might just be like the island. Or maybe it might be better somehow." Italo said.
"I'd like to believe it will be better." Santiago said. Italo cracked a smile.
"Maybe. Who knows?" Italo said.
"That's what makes it so much better." Santiago said. "Do you think she'll ever remember anything?" He asked, looking back to Angela. Italo looked back to see her slowly nodding to something Lucas was saying.
"I don't know. Right now, I think not knowing if you have a family out there somewhere might just be a blessing. I know my family is out there acros… [view original content]
"If I have to choose, I'd say Add to the interior. The walls will mean nothing if we have nothing to back them up with." Marcus said. The woman nodded.
"You make a good point. I'll get the men to work as soon as possible." She said. "You two are dismissed." She finished. Marcus walked out of the tent into the rain with Omar right behind him.
"Do you even know how many of them there are?" Marcus asked.
"Over one hundred. But some of those are just the captives they keep." Omar said.
"How many do we have?" Marcus asked.
"Seventy two." Omar said. "Seventy since Eva and Hank are dead." Omar said.
"Damn." Marcus said.
"I should've done something." Omar said.
"Hank was infected, you can't control that." Marcus said.
"Yeah, but I could've stopped Eva." Omar said.
"That was her choice." Marcus said. "You couldn't have stopped her." He said, out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone approaching.
"Sir." The man said.
"Yes?" Omar asked.
"Our scouts spotted the enemy camp. It's just west of here." He said.
"So she wasn't lying." Omar said, recalling Catiline's information.
"They've already mobilized their fighters, and they're moving this way. They should be here by morning." He said.
"Is that all?" Omar asked.
"No. While our scouts were there, they spotted a prison set up there." He said. "They found Eva. She's alive, but we don't know for how long."
"She's alive?" Omar asked.
"Yes. We're planning a rescue mission to get her out, that way she's safe and they won't have any leverage over us in the fight." He said.
"When you say 'We're' Who do you mean?" Marcus asked.
"Me and a few other Spec ops soldiers, plus a few civilians joined up." He said.
"Count me in. This is my mistake and I need to fix it." Omar said.
"That's good. How about you?" He asked looking to Marcus.
[I'm in]
[NO.]
yeah, sorry for the shorter part. I wrote it this morning and then deleted it. It was originally two parts, but I got to leave soon so I couldn't re-write it all.
Of course, this is very risky for Marcus and I'm a bit afraid for his life, but Eva is awesome and I really don't want to give Alex the opportunity to rape her too, like he probably intends to do. What happened to Sammy is already bad enough, but the thought of that happening to even more women is truly sickening. Who knows, perhaps this small team will even get the opportunity to deal a crippling blow to Alex' forces while infiltrating his camp and in that case, having a guy like Marcus could be very useful.
Marcus Bishop
"If I have to choose, I'd say Add to the interior. The walls will mean nothing if we have nothing to back them up with." Ma… morercus said. The woman nodded.
"You make a good point. I'll get the men to work as soon as possible." She said. "You two are dismissed." She finished. Marcus walked out of the tent into the rain with Omar right behind him.
"Do you even know how many of them there are?" Marcus asked.
"Over one hundred. But some of those are just the captives they keep." Omar said.
"How many do we have?" Marcus asked.
"Seventy two." Omar said. "Seventy since Eva and Hank are dead." Omar said.
"Damn." Marcus said.
"I should've done something." Omar said.
"Hank was infected, you can't control that." Marcus said.
"Yeah, but I could've stopped Eva." Omar said.
"That was her choice." Marcus said. "You couldn't have stopped her." He said, out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone approaching.
… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
"If I have to choose, I'd say Add to the interior. The walls will mean nothing if we have nothing to back them up with." Ma… morercus said. The woman nodded.
"You make a good point. I'll get the men to work as soon as possible." She said. "You two are dismissed." She finished. Marcus walked out of the tent into the rain with Omar right behind him.
"Do you even know how many of them there are?" Marcus asked.
"Over one hundred. But some of those are just the captives they keep." Omar said.
"How many do we have?" Marcus asked.
"Seventy two." Omar said. "Seventy since Eva and Hank are dead." Omar said.
"Damn." Marcus said.
"I should've done something." Omar said.
"Hank was infected, you can't control that." Marcus said.
"Yeah, but I could've stopped Eva." Omar said.
"That was her choice." Marcus said. "You couldn't have stopped her." He said, out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone approaching.
… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
"If I have to choose, I'd say Add to the interior. The walls will mean nothing if we have nothing to back them up with." Ma… morercus said. The woman nodded.
"You make a good point. I'll get the men to work as soon as possible." She said. "You two are dismissed." She finished. Marcus walked out of the tent into the rain with Omar right behind him.
"Do you even know how many of them there are?" Marcus asked.
"Over one hundred. But some of those are just the captives they keep." Omar said.
"How many do we have?" Marcus asked.
"Seventy two." Omar said. "Seventy since Eva and Hank are dead." Omar said.
"Damn." Marcus said.
"I should've done something." Omar said.
"Hank was infected, you can't control that." Marcus said.
"Yeah, but I could've stopped Eva." Omar said.
"That was her choice." Marcus said. "You couldn't have stopped her." He said, out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone approaching.
… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
"If I have to choose, I'd say Add to the interior. The walls will mean nothing if we have nothing to back them up with." Ma… morercus said. The woman nodded.
"You make a good point. I'll get the men to work as soon as possible." She said. "You two are dismissed." She finished. Marcus walked out of the tent into the rain with Omar right behind him.
"Do you even know how many of them there are?" Marcus asked.
"Over one hundred. But some of those are just the captives they keep." Omar said.
"How many do we have?" Marcus asked.
"Seventy two." Omar said. "Seventy since Eva and Hank are dead." Omar said.
"Damn." Marcus said.
"I should've done something." Omar said.
"Hank was infected, you can't control that." Marcus said.
"Yeah, but I could've stopped Eva." Omar said.
"That was her choice." Marcus said. "You couldn't have stopped her." He said, out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone approaching.
… [view original content]
"I'm in. We can't let this guy have the upper hand in this one." Marcus said.
"Good. We can use all the help we could get. We move out in five. Get your shit together. And meet up at the front gate." The solider said, then walked off. Marcus turned to Omar.
"You think we can pull this off?" Marcus asked.
"We have the Spec ops on our side. This'll be a walk in the park." Omar said, though he sounded as if he doubted himself. "You better listen to him and get your stuff. They won't wait for you." Omar said. Marcus nodded as he walked off back towards the hospital. He stepped inside sheltering him from the rain. He walked through the hall and into his room, picking up his pack and grabbing his gun. He took one last look around before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. He was now ready to go, but he still had one thing on his mind. Sam. He walked back down the hallway and into the ICU, where Samantha was still laying in her bed, just blankly staring at the wall.
"Hey Sam." Marcus said, as he took a seat next to her bed. "How are you feeling?" He asked, but she remained silent. "Look, I'm leaving. We found one of our people still alive, she was captured by the same people that got to you. We have to take the chance and try to get her back. I don't know when I'll be back, but it shouldn't be long. Alright?" Marcus asked. Samantha managed a slight nod, but still refused to speak. Marcus reluctantly sighed as he stood up from the chair and turned to leave.
"I don't think I can do it." She spoke suddenly. Marcus turned and looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.
"I don't think I can be a mother. I don't think I'm ready." Samantha said.
"Sam, You're one of the most caring and kind people left on this planet. Everything will be fine." Marcus tired to reassure her.
"But what if it won't be alright?" Samantha asked.
"That's why you have the rest of us." Marcus said. "What's happened to you, that's just straight fucked up beyond the point of words. But, maybe it's not a completely horrible thing?" Marcus said.
"How is this not completely horrible?" Samantha asked.
"Because..." Marcus racked his brain for anything.
"Because?" Samantha asked.
"Because we can't just give up on life. Yes, these are shit times Sam, but that shouldn't mean we just shut down. Look around, all we see everyday is death. Maybe life will be a welcome change." Marcus said.
"I'm still scared. What if I mess up?" Samantha asked.
"We'll be here every step of the way." Marcus said. "I promise." He said.
"Marcus, let's move!" A voice called from the door. Marcus turned to the figure and nodded.
"Goodbye. I'll be back." Marcus said as he walked away, but stopped when he saw Peter.
"Peter, I'm going out. Do me a favor and watch my sister." Marcus said.
"I will. Just bring Eva back alive. I would've gone with you, but by the time I showed up to the meeting all the spots were taken." Peter said.
"It's probably best if you just stayed here anyways." Marcus said.
"Don't worry about your sister, I can handle it." Peter said.
"It's my job to worry." Marcus said as he walked off, out into the lobby where he found everyone gathered. "I thought you said front gate." Marcus said.
"We did, but we got tired of waiting for your ass so we came here." One of the soldiers said. "Let's get moving, I want to be there before dark." He said as the group began walking out into the rain.
Italo Buonatesta
"It's raining." Italo determined after a few moments.
"It is isn't it?" Santiago said.
"Hold on to something! I'm putting the ship in the sand." Philip called from the cabin. Italo gripped the railing as the ship careened into the sandy beach with a jolt. "Alright, everyone off." Philip said. Italo was the first one off, he jumped over the side and landed in the sand. He help the rest down and helped Philip lower Katheryn and Alice out of the ship. Italo looked around and spotted a van that was parked on the side of the road, all doors open. The occupants of that vehicle had obviously not been very lucky.
"There. Thomas, take Alice, Katheryn and the children to the hospital Patrica, you should go with them. The rest of us will walk and meet you there." Italo said, pointing to the van. They all moved over to it and put Alice in with Katheryn then everyone else climbed in. "See you in a few." Italo said. Thomas nodded as he turned the key and started the engine, taking off in the direction of the hospital. Italo looked at his small group with consisted of him, Lucas, Angela, and Philip.
"Come on, it's not to far from here. We can cut through the heart of the town and be there in about a hour." Philip said.
"You know the area?" Italo asked.
"Local born and raised." Philip said.
"Then lead the way." Italo said as he followed Philip forward. They walked through the heart of the city, which surprisingly was mostly void of infected. Philip turned the corner onto a different street and stopped right in his tracks.
"Holy shit." Philip uttered as Italo walked up next to him and looked at what he was looking at. It was the wreckage of a helicopter. But it wasn't just any helicopter, it was a hospital helicopter.
"How'd that get here?" Italo asked.
"That's the helicopter Marcus was in. I saw it take off... After I got out of the water." Philip said as he rushed forward to the helicopter. Italo was right behind him. Italo noticed multiple dead infected laying in the street around the crash. "There's no one in here. The only dead one's the pilot, and I don't recognize him." Philip said.
"Maybe they're around here somewhere?" Italo asked.
"Maybe they made it to the hospital with some other people." Lucas said. "Look at these infected, they were killed with knifes. Marcus had a gun." He noted.
"Then we really need to get to that hospital." Italo said. "Let's move." He said as he walked off away from the crash, but noticed no one was following him. "What are you waiting for?" Italo asked.
"Angela." Philip said. "She's gone."
"What?" Italo asked.
"She's not here. I don't know where she went." Philip said.
"Lucas, did you see her?" Italo asked. Lucas said nothing. "Lucas?" He asked.
"I did't see anything." Lucas said, in an obvious lie.
"What are you hiding?" Italo asked. Lucas backed away. "Tell me damn it!" Italo yelled.
"Back on the ship." Lucas said. "She told me she felt like she didn't belong with us. She said she felt like dead weight. She said she just couldn't live like this anymore, not knowing who she was or what's happened. She said..." Lucas trailed off.
"What did she say?" Philip asked.
"She said she wanted to die." Lucas said. "She went into that building over there." He said pointing to a nearby building. "She's going to jump." He said.
"We need to stop her." Philip said.
"No, this is her choice. She made that clear when she spoke with me." Lucas said.
I don't know when I'll be back, but it shouldn't be long. Alright?" Marcus asked.
Marcus really loves to tempt fate, doesn't he? I can't recall the exact situation, but I remember that he did this before, and look how that turned out for pretty much everyone. His talk with Sammy was sweet though and apparently much needed for her, as it seemed that she regained a bit of hope, which is undoubtly a good thing in her situation. Hopefully it wasn't their last talk. She definitely still needs him and her baby could definitely need a cool uncle.
[Try to stop Angela]
Now, I'm not fundamentally opposed to suicide in a hopeless situation, depending on how bad the circumstances are. In her case though, the circumstances don't look too bad. Something happened to her and now she lost her memories, but there is no guarantee that she will never regain them. Aside from that, just accepting her suicide is something I could never do in Italo's position.
Marcus Bishop
"I'm in. We can't let this guy have the upper hand in this one." Marcus said.
"Good. We can use all the help we could ge… moret. We move out in five. Get your shit together. And meet up at the front gate." The solider said, then walked off. Marcus turned to Omar.
"You think we can pull this off?" Marcus asked.
"We have the Spec ops on our side. This'll be a walk in the park." Omar said, though he sounded as if he doubted himself. "You better listen to him and get your stuff. They won't wait for you." Omar said. Marcus nodded as he walked off back towards the hospital. He stepped inside sheltering him from the rain. He walked through the hall and into his room, picking up his pack and grabbing his gun. He took one last look around before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. He was now ready to go, but he still had one thing on his mind. Sam. He walked back down the hallway and into the ICU, where Samantha was sti… [view original content]
I don't know when I'll be back, but it shouldn't be long. Alright?" Marcus asked.
Marcus really loves to tempt fate, doesn't he? I c… morean't recall the exact situation, but I remember that he did this before, and look how that turned out for pretty much everyone. His talk with Sammy was sweet though and apparently much needed for her, as it seemed that she regained a bit of hope, which is undoubtly a good thing in her situation. Hopefully it wasn't their last talk. She definitely still needs him and her baby could definitely need a cool uncle.
[Try to stop Angela]
Now, I'm not fundamentally opposed to suicide in a hopeless situation, depending on how bad the circumstances are. In her case though, the circumstances don't look too bad. Something happened to her and now she lost her memories, but there is no guarantee that she will never regain them. Aside from that, just accepting her suicide is something I could never do in Italo's position.
I did a search and it turned out that I had a different line in mind where he tempted fate before. Back when Samantha was in a terrible condition at the island hospital and Marcus was under a lot of stress after just making the decision to leave a comatose Angela alive, he dropped this gem in his thoughts:
At least the people back at the port have it better. Right?
Which prompted me to proclaim that he just tempted everyone's fate. Since he said this line, Angelica, Roger, Mary, Molly and John died from the port group, they lost all their stuff, Alice and Katheryn nearly died of thirst and now they have to deal with a suicidal Angela. Great fucking job, Marcus.
I did a search and it turned out that I had a different line in mind where he tempted fate before. Back when Samantha was in a terrible cond… moreition at the island hospital and Marcus was under a lot of stress after just making the decision to leave a comatose Angela alive, he dropped this gem in his thoughts:
At least the people back at the port have it better. Right?
Which prompted me to proclaim that he just tempted everyone's fate. Since he said this line, Angelica, Roger, Mary, Molly and John died from the port group, they lost all their stuff, Alice and Katheryn nearly died of thirst and now they have to deal with a suicidal Angela. Great fucking job, Marcus.
Marcus Bishop
"I'm in. We can't let this guy have the upper hand in this one." Marcus said.
"Good. We can use all the help we could ge… moret. We move out in five. Get your shit together. And meet up at the front gate." The solider said, then walked off. Marcus turned to Omar.
"You think we can pull this off?" Marcus asked.
"We have the Spec ops on our side. This'll be a walk in the park." Omar said, though he sounded as if he doubted himself. "You better listen to him and get your stuff. They won't wait for you." Omar said. Marcus nodded as he walked off back towards the hospital. He stepped inside sheltering him from the rain. He walked through the hall and into his room, picking up his pack and grabbing his gun. He took one last look around before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. He was now ready to go, but he still had one thing on his mind. Sam. He walked back down the hallway and into the ICU, where Samantha was sti… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
"I'm in. We can't let this guy have the upper hand in this one." Marcus said.
"Good. We can use all the help we could ge… moret. We move out in five. Get your shit together. And meet up at the front gate." The solider said, then walked off. Marcus turned to Omar.
"You think we can pull this off?" Marcus asked.
"We have the Spec ops on our side. This'll be a walk in the park." Omar said, though he sounded as if he doubted himself. "You better listen to him and get your stuff. They won't wait for you." Omar said. Marcus nodded as he walked off back towards the hospital. He stepped inside sheltering him from the rain. He walked through the hall and into his room, picking up his pack and grabbing his gun. He took one last look around before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. He was now ready to go, but he still had one thing on his mind. Sam. He walked back down the hallway and into the ICU, where Samantha was sti… [view original content]
"I don't like this. They could be anywhere right now." A man spoke next to Marcus as they walked through the thick woods surrounding them.
"Just keep your guard up, You'll be fine." Marcus reassured the man. "Omar, how much farther?" He asked. Omar thought for a second.
"A few minutes. I don't know exactly." Omar said.
"Let me see that map." Marcus said. Omar obliged and handed him the map. Marcus looked at it for a moment getting a better sense of his surroundings, then began walking off in a new direction.
"Where are you going?" Omar asked.
"The camp's in a valley, if we go around it we'll get a better view into it from the west." Marcus said.
"How do you know that?" The man asked.
"Do you not know how to read a map? It's a topographical map, it shows elevation. The camp is lower than the area surrounding it." Marcus said.
"Smart." The man answered.
"We should be able to get there in like twenty minutes." Marcus said.
"Let's pick up the pace." Omar said.
.........................................
"We are so screwed." The man said as he looked out upon the camp. It was huge, almost seemingly larger than the camp back at the hospital.
"Maybe not. Sure, it's pretty big-" Marcus said.
"No, It's fucking huge." Omar interjected.
"-But." Marcus went on, ignoring the comment. "Look down there, what the one thing you don't see?" Marcus said as he handed over the binoculars. The man looked through them for awhile.
"I don't know." He finally said.
"People. There are no people down there." Marcus said. "And look, over there near the left edge. It looks like a giant bamboo cage, it definitely has people in it. I can't tell if they're who were looking for though."
"We have to start somewhere. That's a good a place as any." Omar said.
"What's out strategy?" The man asked.
"Once we get down there we won't be able to tell what's going on as easily as we can up here." Omar said. "That's why we have Tiffany. She's going to be our eyes while we're down there, along with our guardian angel." He said, nodding to a woman who was holding a sniper rifle.
"We stick to the edges of the camp, laying low in the brush. Don't try to rush them. They outnumber us." Marcus said.
"Williams, you stay back with Tiffany. You see anything, tell us. The rest of you, on me. Stay low and stay quiet." Omar said. Then along with Marcus and two others they began descending down the hill towards the jail. Marcus slowly crept along the bushes, keeping an eye on the camp. "Williams, do you see anything?" Omar asked through a radio.
"No, it's clear." Williams responded.
"I guess we're clear. Let's make this quick." Omar said, he quickly looked around then emerged from the bushes followed by Marcus. Marcus walked up to the cage, which was currently holding around three people. Marcus quickly identified who they were looking for.
"Eva." He whispered loud enough to hear. She looked over, truly shocked. She looked like she'd already been through a lot. She had a pretty bad black eye, was bleeding from the top of her head, her nose was bent at an awkward angle, and she was wearing a makeshift cast on her wrist.
"Damn. I was starting to think you guys were never going to show up." Eva responded.
"Listen Eva, where is everyone?" Omar asked.
"Gone. They left one person behind to guard us." Eva said.
"And where is he?" Omar asked. Eva shrugged her shoulders.
"In the prison." One of the other people in the cell said. He looked over his shoulder at Marcus. "I'm guessing you're not here to rescue me." He said. "Or any of the others." Marcus shook his head.
"We're here for Eva, she's our mission. Once we open this cage up, what you do is your choice." Marcus said.
"Guys, while I was a prisoner here I got to know a lot about these people. More than I wanted to know. But anyways, almost two thirds of all the people here are prisoners. Just regular people they abducted." Eva said.
"Your point is?" Omar asked.
"They hate these people as much as we do. They want them gone. If we free them, they are almost guaranteed to fight for us." Eva said.
"How's it coming on that lock?" Marcus asked.
"Give me a minute. I'm not a lock picking expert." The man responded.
"Eva, As much as I hate to say it, we can't take care of these people. We don't have the resources as is. And how do we know we can trust them?" Marcus said.
"We can't just leave them here. I know what these people do, and I couldn't live with myself knowing I just left these people here to die the same death." Eva said.
Of course, this is guaranteed to lead to problems later if the resources run low, but that is a problem they have time to deal with later. For now they have to focus on the impending attack. If these people are indeed willing to fight for Omar and Marcus, this will give them a considerable advantage over Alex' group. And who knows what they can do with a large group of people. Surely, it will be hard at first, but more people also mean more possibilities to find resources.
Marcus Bishop
"I don't like this. They could be anywhere right now." A man spoke next to Marcus as they walked through the thick woods su… morerrounding them.
"Just keep your guard up, You'll be fine." Marcus reassured the man. "Omar, how much farther?" He asked. Omar thought for a second.
"A few minutes. I don't know exactly." Omar said.
"Let me see that map." Marcus said. Omar obliged and handed him the map. Marcus looked at it for a moment getting a better sense of his surroundings, then began walking off in a new direction.
"Where are you going?" Omar asked.
"The camp's in a valley, if we go around it we'll get a better view into it from the west." Marcus said.
"How do you know that?" The man asked.
"Do you not know how to read a map? It's a topographical map, it shows elevation. The camp is lower than the area surrounding it." Marcus said.
"Smart." The man answered.
"We should be able to get there in like twenty m… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
"I don't like this. They could be anywhere right now." A man spoke next to Marcus as they walked through the thick woods su… morerrounding them.
"Just keep your guard up, You'll be fine." Marcus reassured the man. "Omar, how much farther?" He asked. Omar thought for a second.
"A few minutes. I don't know exactly." Omar said.
"Let me see that map." Marcus said. Omar obliged and handed him the map. Marcus looked at it for a moment getting a better sense of his surroundings, then began walking off in a new direction.
"Where are you going?" Omar asked.
"The camp's in a valley, if we go around it we'll get a better view into it from the west." Marcus said.
"How do you know that?" The man asked.
"Do you not know how to read a map? It's a topographical map, it shows elevation. The camp is lower than the area surrounding it." Marcus said.
"Smart." The man answered.
"We should be able to get there in like twenty m… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
"I don't like this. They could be anywhere right now." A man spoke next to Marcus as they walked through the thick woods su… morerrounding them.
"Just keep your guard up, You'll be fine." Marcus reassured the man. "Omar, how much farther?" He asked. Omar thought for a second.
"A few minutes. I don't know exactly." Omar said.
"Let me see that map." Marcus said. Omar obliged and handed him the map. Marcus looked at it for a moment getting a better sense of his surroundings, then began walking off in a new direction.
"Where are you going?" Omar asked.
"The camp's in a valley, if we go around it we'll get a better view into it from the west." Marcus said.
"How do you know that?" The man asked.
"Do you not know how to read a map? It's a topographical map, it shows elevation. The camp is lower than the area surrounding it." Marcus said.
"Smart." The man answered.
"We should be able to get there in like twenty m… [view original content]
Italo shot Lucas a cold glare as he pushed past him and dashed into the building and rushed to find the stairwell to the roof. After a few moments he finally spied it in the back of the building, he quickly ran to it and threw the door open, going up the stairs.
“Angela!” He called.
Marcus Bishop
“Fine, free the rest of them. We’ll see what we can do from there.” Marcus said, as he heard the sound of the lock snapping open. Omar walked in and gave Eva his hand.
“Can you walk?” He asked, as she took his hand and was hoisted uneasily to her feet.
“I can still fight.” She responded.
“And you.” Marcus said, looking over to the man. “What’s your name?” He asked. The man made a small smile and produced a small laugh.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He said.
“After what’s happened, I’d believe anything.” Marcus said.
Italo busted through the door onto the roof, his eyes scanning the area until they locked onto Angela, who was standing near the edge looking down. The wind from up top was blowing her hair around wildly.
“Angela!” He said. She quickly turned around and looked at him, her brown eyes full of spite and pain.
“You shouldn’t have come up here.” She said.
“I can’t let you do this Angela, you’re too important to us.” Italo said. Angela laced her fingers behind her head and sighed.
“I don’t even know who you are!” She said. Italo stepped tentatively forward, but Angela stepped back, the backs of her feet now over the edge of the ledge she was perched on.
“Please don’t do this, I can’t let you.” Italo begged. Angela’s gaze softened and shifted downwards.
“Hold your fire!” Marcus yelled as he approached the gate. The gate creaked open and he stepped aside, ushering through the others. They’d secured over one hundred prisoners in total after they went in to save Eva. He just watched them all flock in like a tsunami of people. One person caught his attention and he grabbed him out of the group.
“What is it this time? You want to try to kill me again?” He asked.
“No, but you still have a lot of explaining to do.” Marcus answered.
“I know I do, but-“ He began.
“Save it for later. The commanding officers will want to talk with you.” Marcus said.
“Ah, fun.” The man said as Marcus dragged him along through the gate, they were the last ones through and the soldiers on guard duty forced it shut again.
“What in God’s name is all of this?” Someone asked. Marcus looked over and saw one of the commanding officers glaring at him.
“You said you needed more men, we brought the cavalry.” Marcus said. The officer smiled a little and nodded.
“Then who’s this?” He asked, looking to the man next to Marcus.
A small smile formed on Angela’s lips as a single tear streaked down her face and dropped off her nose, splashing to the ground. She then spread her arms, palm facing out.
“What if I told you this wasn’t your choice?” She said as she began to rock backwards.
“No!” Italo yelled and rushed forward, but it was too late. She went over the edge without as much as a whimper, only moments later he heard a crash at the bottom. Italo rushed to the edge and looked over, many stories below lay the mangled body of a lost friend. The door behind him creaked open.
“You bastard!” He yelled.
“What is your name?” The officer asked.
“My name is Jake.” The man said. “Jake Kutcher.” The officer’s eyes went wide.
“Give me one damn reason why I shouldn’t shoot you dead right now.” He snarled.
“Because I know his weaknesses. I can get you behind his lines and I can kill him.” Jake said. The officer shook his head.
“You’re a murder. I don’t want you around my men.” He said.
“I had my reasons.” Jake said.
“You killed people on my ship.” Marcus said.
“We already went through this. I did what I had to do.” Jake said.
“I doesn’t make it any more right.” Marcus said.
“I didn’t say is did.” Jake said.
“Open the gates! We’ve got wounded!” A voice yelled.
“Dude, Italo stop.” Philip said. “There’ll be time to kick his ass later, but right now… We need to go.” He said. Italo glared at Lucas, who he was holding in his left hand. He slowly lowered his fist and let go of Lucas.
“Man, I’m sorry.” Lucas tried to say.
“Just shut up.” Italo said as he blew past him and down the stair well. He walked out of the building and began to walk towards were the hospital was, purposely forcing himself to look at Angela the entire time.
“Hey, wait up!” Philip called, though Italo did not.
“Thomas!” Marcus said. “You’re alive!”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how much longer. Alice and Kat are pretty messed up. They’re going to need help.” Thomas said.
“You came to the right place then. Get them inside, someone will help you.” Marcus said.
“What about you? Where are you going?” Thomas asked.
“Sadly for you, you showed up here during the middle of a war.” Marcus said as he walked off. The rain by now had almost stopped as Marcus stepped up onto the makeshift wall.
“Holy Shit…” He mumbled.
To be Continued
So, This is just a little thing to get me back on track. So, just to let you all know. I am going to finish this story.
It's awesome to see this back! I was already wondering what happened to this story, so I am very happy to see the new part. That has been a very interesting development, with Jake being among the freed prisoners. Considering that Alex is a diehard Jake fan, I am also surprised by this. For now, I am not really trusting him, as this might be a trick by Jake and Alex to infiltrate the hospital and to get their hands on the pregnant Samantha. However, he also helped Alice back at the city, so perhaps he is honest about his intentions this time. I wonder how the Gonzales family is going to react to him, considering that he murdered Armando.
Italo Buonatesta
Italo shot Lucas a cold glare as he pushed past him and dashed into the building and rushed to find the stairwell to the… more roof. After a few moments he finally spied it in the back of the building, he quickly ran to it and threw the door open, going up the stairs.
“Angela!” He called.
Marcus Bishop
“Fine, free the rest of them. We’ll see what we can do from there.” Marcus said, as he heard the sound of the lock snapping open. Omar walked in and gave Eva his hand.
“Can you walk?” He asked, as she took his hand and was hoisted uneasily to her feet.
“I can still fight.” She responded.
“And you.” Marcus said, looking over to the man. “What’s your name?” He asked. The man made a small smile and produced a small laugh.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He said.
“After what’s happened, I’d believe anything.” Marcus said.
Italo busted through the door onto the roof, his eyes scanning the area u… [view original content]
Italo Buonatesta
Italo shot Lucas a cold glare as he pushed past him and dashed into the building and rushed to find the stairwell to the… more roof. After a few moments he finally spied it in the back of the building, he quickly ran to it and threw the door open, going up the stairs.
“Angela!” He called.
Marcus Bishop
“Fine, free the rest of them. We’ll see what we can do from there.” Marcus said, as he heard the sound of the lock snapping open. Omar walked in and gave Eva his hand.
“Can you walk?” He asked, as she took his hand and was hoisted uneasily to her feet.
“I can still fight.” She responded.
“And you.” Marcus said, looking over to the man. “What’s your name?” He asked. The man made a small smile and produced a small laugh.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He said.
“After what’s happened, I’d believe anything.” Marcus said.
Italo busted through the door onto the roof, his eyes scanning the area u… [view original content]
Italo Buonatesta
Italo shot Lucas a cold glare as he pushed past him and dashed into the building and rushed to find the stairwell to the… more roof. After a few moments he finally spied it in the back of the building, he quickly ran to it and threw the door open, going up the stairs.
“Angela!” He called.
Marcus Bishop
“Fine, free the rest of them. We’ll see what we can do from there.” Marcus said, as he heard the sound of the lock snapping open. Omar walked in and gave Eva his hand.
“Can you walk?” He asked, as she took his hand and was hoisted uneasily to her feet.
“I can still fight.” She responded.
“And you.” Marcus said, looking over to the man. “What’s your name?” He asked. The man made a small smile and produced a small laugh.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He said.
“After what’s happened, I’d believe anything.” Marcus said.
Italo busted through the door onto the roof, his eyes scanning the area u… [view original content]
Italo Buonatesta
Italo shot Lucas a cold glare as he pushed past him and dashed into the building and rushed to find the stairwell to the… more roof. After a few moments he finally spied it in the back of the building, he quickly ran to it and threw the door open, going up the stairs.
“Angela!” He called.
Marcus Bishop
“Fine, free the rest of them. We’ll see what we can do from there.” Marcus said, as he heard the sound of the lock snapping open. Omar walked in and gave Eva his hand.
“Can you walk?” He asked, as she took his hand and was hoisted uneasily to her feet.
“I can still fight.” She responded.
“And you.” Marcus said, looking over to the man. “What’s your name?” He asked. The man made a small smile and produced a small laugh.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He said.
“After what’s happened, I’d believe anything.” Marcus said.
Italo busted through the door onto the roof, his eyes scanning the area u… [view original content]
The rain began to cease and he could now clearly see across the street into the field on the other side. The makeshift ramparts now seemed trivial compared to the small army amassed on the other side.
“Holy shit.” Marcus mumbled as he readied his rifle. All around him the camp sprang to life, there was yelling and running, all in an uncoordinated effort to clamber up the wall and get a look at what was happening.
“Oh man, we’re screwed.” One man said. “There are way too many of them.”
“Hold it together, they may have more but in the long run that means nothing. They have no experience, and look at them, their barely armed. If we keep our heads we can get out of this alive.” Marcus said, he noticed a single man walking towards the wall, hands up. He was holding something in his right hand. Marcus trained his rifle on him and placed his finger over the trigger, ready to fire away.
“Don’t shoot! I’m not armed!” The man called. Marcus looked over to Omar, who shrugged.
“What do you want?” Omar called out to the man.
“I just need to give you this, that’s all.” The man said, motioning to the object in his hand.
“Throw it up.” Marcus said. The man complied and chucked it up the side of the wall, Marcus reached out and caught it in one hand while not taking his other off them gun. He looked at the object in his hand, it was a walkie-talkie. “The hell Is this for?” He asked, but the man had already retreated back across the road. As soon as he rejoined the mass they began to move out, disappearing into the woods.
“Hello Marcus.” A voice spoke through the radio.
“You motherfucker. I’m going to rip your damn balls off and shove them down your throat!” He yelled into it. A small laugh emanated from the other side.
“Soon Marcus, soon.” He said. “But now, you might want to think about something.”
“Thank about what?” Marcus demanded.
“You have someone that is valuable to me. I want them back, now.” The voice said.
“Not a damn chance.” Marcus said.
“That’s what I thought you’d say, so I brought some encouragement for you.” He said.
“The hell does that mean?” Marcus asked. The other side didn’t answer. Marcus suddenly heard some far off whistling, and it grew louder, and louder. Marcus put the pieces together to late.
“Mortar!” He yelled, just as the command tent exploded sending asphalt and canvas flying everywhere. Another spot in the parking lot exploded sending a couple of men flying, ripping limbs and laying claim to the dead.
“You ready to start talking?” The voice asked. Marcus gritted his teeth.
“You ain’t getting a damn thing from us.” He growled.
“Let’s start with something easy, alright? The Irish chick, Catiline. Give her to me, send her north up the road with her hands tied, send with her thirty of your best men unarmed, assuming you have that many, ready to surrender. Then we can move on to more… Pressing matters.” He said.
“You aren’t getting near my sister.” Marcus said. A slight sigh came from the other side.
“Collect your dead. Think it over. Deeply. We’ll expect an answer in fifteen minutes. Out.” The voice said. Marcus motioned to Omar and jumped down from the wall, the two of them took off towards the command center. They began picking through it, looking for anyone or anything. There was nothing, everyone was dead and everything of use was destroyed.
“We got someone alive over here!” A voice called. Dillon turned around and saw people had went on to look through the mortar strike in the parking lot. Marcus picked his way out of the decimated command center and rushed over to the pit. Sure enough, there was one. A young man with short brown hair and matching eyes lay in the ruble, one leg missing.
“Dillon.” Marcus muttered. He knelt down beside him and threw chucks of asphalt off of him. He saw looking towards Marcus, although he didn’t really seem to be looking at him. Marcus quickly picked him up and took off running towards the hospital, he rushed through the doors and laid him onto a gurney.
“What the hell just happened out there?” Someone asked, Marcus turned around and saw Peter.
“Oh shit.” He mumbled. “Mortar strike, Two of them. They got Dillon.” Marcus said, stepping aside. Peter’s eyes widened as he looked at his nephew’s barely living body.
“How?” Peter asked, but Marcus had no answer. He took off running, bursting into the ICU.
“What happened out there?” Mariza asked, she was now standing and walked over to Marcus.
“Mortars. They’re attacking.” Marcus said. “Are you feeling better?” He asked. Mariza nodded, catching on.
“Give me a gun and I can fight.” She said.
“Thank you. Just get outside quickly. We need everyone on deck.” Marcus said, Mariza nodded and rushed past Marcus and out the door.
“So this is it, huh? Winner takes all.” Samantha spoke.
“Except we will be the winners.” Marcus said.
“This guy you’re going against, he’s seriously twisted. He’ll do things that you’d think weren’t possibly by human nature. He’s going to slaughter us.” She said.
“There’s not going to be a slaughter, Sam. We have the stronger army.” Marcus said.
“And what will that matter when half of it is taken out by mortars? What then? You and what army will defend this place?” Samantha asked.
“It’s noting going to come to that. We’re going to put an end to it before it begins.” Marcus said.
“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.” Samantha said.
“This isn’t a promise.” Marcus said. “It’s a prayer.”
“Just turn me over to him. He’ll leave you alone.” Samantha said.
“No. That’s not going to happen.” Marcus said,
“I’m ready. I can do this.” She urged.
“No you can’t. You’re delirious from blood loss and just found out you were pregnant. You need us, and we need you.” He said.
“Marcus…” She said.
“No. Conversation over.” Marcus said, he then turned and rushed out of the room back into the lobby. He found a man standing at the front desk with a military radio.
“Anything?” Marcus asked.
“I’ve been trying to contact nearby bases and National Guard. All I can gather is there’s something big at the CDC.” The radioman said.
“Then try contacting the CDC. We need help. All of it.” Marcus said.
“So that stuff you said earlier about us being able to win this thing, that was all bullshit?” He asked. Marcus sighed.
“I had to say something, otherwise they’d all turn tail and flee for the hills.” Marcus said.
“I hear you loud and clear.” The radioman said, then turned back to the radio and began speaking. Marcus walked off out of the building and into the parking lot. By now it was mostly cleaned up minus the giant holes the mortars left.
“Do you have a response to our demands?” The radio asked. Marcus looked at his watch. It had been fifteen minutes on the dot. 12:24 exactly.
Choice
[Accept offer and surrender Cataline and thirty men]
No! Just no! This bastard won't get his hands on Sammy. Sure, for now he is only asking for Cataline and thirty men, but we all know what comes next. This rapist piece of shit won't get his fucking hands on her! Who knows what he is going to do to her and the hospital group once he got what he wants! This bastard has to die in a very, very slow and painful way...
Though, I wonder if his request means that Cataline is indeed not on his side. Perhaps I can consider trusting her. In any way, the hospital has one advantage and that is Sammy. Alex wants her enough to risk the lives of a lot of his own followers, so she, or more likely, the baby inside her, is important to him. I doubt he is going to bomb the whole hospital to the ground, not with Samantha and his big idol Jake inside. On the other hand, he will almost definitely destroy the hospital once he got her, to ensure that no one can follow him and free her. That means, Sammy and by extension, Jake, are the hospitals only way to survive this fight, at least until potential back-up from the CDC arrives. I also just realized Alex probably doesn't even know that Jake is inside the hospital. Finding it out could change everything for him.
Marcus Bishop
The rain began to cease and he could now clearly see across the street into the field on the other side. The makeshift ramp… morearts now seemed trivial compared to the small army amassed on the other side.
“Holy shit.” Marcus mumbled as he readied his rifle. All around him the camp sprang to life, there was yelling and running, all in an uncoordinated effort to clamber up the wall and get a look at what was happening.
“Oh man, we’re screwed.” One man said. “There are way too many of them.”
“Hold it together, they may have more but in the long run that means nothing. They have no experience, and look at them, their barely armed. If we keep our heads we can get out of this alive.” Marcus said, he noticed a single man walking towards the wall, hands up. He was holding something in his right hand. Marcus trained his rifle on him and placed his finger over the trigger, ready to fire away.
“Don’t shoot! I’m not armed!” The m… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
The rain began to cease and he could now clearly see across the street into the field on the other side. The makeshift ramp… morearts now seemed trivial compared to the small army amassed on the other side.
“Holy shit.” Marcus mumbled as he readied his rifle. All around him the camp sprang to life, there was yelling and running, all in an uncoordinated effort to clamber up the wall and get a look at what was happening.
“Oh man, we’re screwed.” One man said. “There are way too many of them.”
“Hold it together, they may have more but in the long run that means nothing. They have no experience, and look at them, their barely armed. If we keep our heads we can get out of this alive.” Marcus said, he noticed a single man walking towards the wall, hands up. He was holding something in his right hand. Marcus trained his rifle on him and placed his finger over the trigger, ready to fire away.
“Don’t shoot! I’m not armed!” The m… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
The rain began to cease and he could now clearly see across the street into the field on the other side. The makeshift ramp… morearts now seemed trivial compared to the small army amassed on the other side.
“Holy shit.” Marcus mumbled as he readied his rifle. All around him the camp sprang to life, there was yelling and running, all in an uncoordinated effort to clamber up the wall and get a look at what was happening.
“Oh man, we’re screwed.” One man said. “There are way too many of them.”
“Hold it together, they may have more but in the long run that means nothing. They have no experience, and look at them, their barely armed. If we keep our heads we can get out of this alive.” Marcus said, he noticed a single man walking towards the wall, hands up. He was holding something in his right hand. Marcus trained his rifle on him and placed his finger over the trigger, ready to fire away.
“Don’t shoot! I’m not armed!” The m… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
The rain began to cease and he could now clearly see across the street into the field on the other side. The makeshift ramp… morearts now seemed trivial compared to the small army amassed on the other side.
“Holy shit.” Marcus mumbled as he readied his rifle. All around him the camp sprang to life, there was yelling and running, all in an uncoordinated effort to clamber up the wall and get a look at what was happening.
“Oh man, we’re screwed.” One man said. “There are way too many of them.”
“Hold it together, they may have more but in the long run that means nothing. They have no experience, and look at them, their barely armed. If we keep our heads we can get out of this alive.” Marcus said, he noticed a single man walking towards the wall, hands up. He was holding something in his right hand. Marcus trained his rifle on him and placed his finger over the trigger, ready to fire away.
“Don’t shoot! I’m not armed!” The m… [view original content]
Marcus stared at the radio for a few moments. He looked up at everyone around him. Distraught, scared faces. The faces of the lost. The faces of the ruined, unprepared people that used to hold measly office jobs not to terribly long ago. Faces that were not ready to turn and kill their own kind. He looked over the half-assed barricades they made, good for keeping out infected. People; Not so much. They weren’’t ready for war. Not by any standards, but if they didn’t do something; who would?
“Go to hell.” Marcus barked into the radio.
“Excuse me? I don’t think I caught that last transmission.” The other end crackled.
“You can go straight to hell.” Marcus said.
“Are you sure? You might want to rethink that statement, you won’t get just a warning like last time.” He responded.
“Go fuck yourself.” Marcus growled as he chucked the radio as far as he could, nearly taking a nearby soldiers head off. He turned and looked at the lurid faces of the people turned soldiers. They weren’t much, but they had to do.
“Listen up!” He yelled to be heard. “This isn’t going to be easy, or fun, or anything you want to do. I’m not going to lie, these next few hours will show you something about yourselves you didn’t know. It may seem easy, shooting at plywood cutouts. But push-ups and plywood won’t prepare any of you for what’s about to happen.” Marcus paused to let what he just said sink in. There was an uneasy muttering amongst the crowd.
“Out there,” Marcus began pointing past the wall. “There is an enemy that would like nothing less than to have your head on a silver platter. They know no fear, no mercy, no compassion. They are animals. Animals that have a disease that, if left untreated, could infect everything around it. And they should be treated as such.” He said, narrowing his eyes at Omar, who was slowly nodding as he gripped his rifle. “This.” Marcus said, hefting his rifle for everyone to see. “This is nothing more than a tool. It will do nothing for you. Absolutely nothing. This will only help you if you use your most important tool, your brain. To make it through this, you’ve got to keep your heads on straight. We are nothing more than machines, machines do not feel. They do not register any human emotion, they just compute then do. From here on out, none of you are human. You are machines. Machines hell-bent on protecting what’s theirs from what’s out there. Because, what’s out there will kill us. It will rip us apart, shred us like cheese then come back for more.” He said.
“Now. With that being said.” Marcus announced. “None of you are bound here by any means. All of you are just civilians. There’s a whole world out there, one big enough for you to get away from here and just pretend this place never existed. If you want to leave, I promise no one will look at you as any lesser.” Marcus said. There was a long silence. Marcus feared he’d just lost all of his fighters.
“No!” One man yelled. “This is our home. These bastards have been left unchecked for far too long. It’s time to act. And when my children and my grandchildren ask me what I did to set the world right, I for one will not say I ran. I will not say I hid. I will say I fought. I fought to the end. I fought until there was no more blood left to spill. I will say I was a machine. One that changed the world! What do you people say to that?” He continued. Marcus couldn’t help but to smile as almost the entire crowd began cheering in unison. A small group of around five approached Marcus.
“This isn’t our fight. We won’t spill our blood for someone else’s cause.” One said. Marcus nodded.
“What I said was true. You’re free to go.” Marcus said. Everyone in the group seemed relieved. “I hope you find someplace better out there.” He said.
“Thank you sir.” A woman said. “I hope you succeed in defending this place.”
“For all of our sakes,” Marcus said, looking around to everyone who was now busy rushing around, gearing up and taking spots on the wall. “I hope we can.” He said. The group walked away. A few soldiers gave them distasteful looks, but no one said anything. The gates squeaked open, then shut as they left. Marcus clambered up the wall. Mariza stood on his right, Omar on his left.
“Good day to die, huh?” Mariza said.
“Good a day as any.” Marcus said as he lifted his rifle, resting his cheek against the stock. They didn’t know when they would be coming. But they knew they were. Omar nudged hi with his elbow, Marcus looked over and saw he was holding a silver flask in his hand. Marcus smiled as he took it and took a quick drink.
“Machines.” Omar said.
“Machines.” Marcus responded, as Omar took the flask back.
“Machines!” Mariza yelled. All around the hospital grounds people began yelling the word in response. It was stupid, dumb really. But at least it showed these people still had some sort of life still in them. The excitement was quickly cut short by a shrill cry.
“Take cover!” A voice cried from afar, but loud enough to be clearly heard. Marcus quickly crouched down and leaned against the ramparts. Mariza was to slow to catch what was going on. The first mortar hit and she lost her footing, she flailed her arms as she stumbled backwards. Marcus reached out, but it was futile. She fell backwards off the wall and went tumbling to the ground. Marcus couldn’t hear her hit the ground over the continued explosions. Three… Four… Five, no six… Seven… Nothing. Seven mortars in a row then silence. Dead silence. Marcus quickly jumped from the wall and landed next to Mariza, who was laying on her back. He extended a hand to her. There was a small scratch on her arm, but other than that she looked okay.
“You alright?” He asked. She took his hand and stood up. She looked like she was going to say something, then her eyes fixated on something behind Marcus.
“Holy shit, don’t worry about me.” She said. Marcus turned around and looked for himself. The hospital was a disaster zone. The entire front was collapsed, parts were on fire entire floors were collapsed revealing the ugly interior. The giant red cross creaked, swayed and came unattached plummeting to the ground below. Lesson about gravity; it works, and it’s a bitch. The man standing nearby learned that the hard way, when the cross fell, he was there to catch it. Mostly with his head, and spine, and whatever used to be part of his body. But it didn’t really matter now because he wasn’t much more than a smear on the bottom of the cross now. Marcus broke out into an all-out sprint to the ruins. By the time he got there many of the refugees they picked up from the camp were already on the scene, picking through the debris and sifting through the rebar. He clambered his way through the rubble towards where he’d last seen Samantha. There was no door. Just a wall of debris. He grabbed furiously at the concrete ruins throwing it away only for more to fall in and take its place.
“Sam!” He called, as loud as he could. “Sam, we’re going to get you out of here!” He knew it was a stupid thing to say, hell there might not even be anything on the other side of this debris wall. “Somebody fucking help me! Stop standing around like a bunch of idiots!” Marcus yelled at the people sifting through. A few stumbled and joined Marcus. They clawed at the rubble, but got nowhere.
“Marcus!” A voice yelled. Marcus instantly spun around with hope in his stomach that instantly turned to sadness as he turned to see not Samantha, but Mariza. She pointed towards the wall. “They’re coming!” She said, the lifted her gun as she ran back to the wall.”
“Damn it to all!” Marcus yelled, he glanced back at the rubble wall. In the depths of his heart he knew she was dead. But he didn’t want to give up on her like this. But the only way to make sure it didn’t end like this was to fight back. Marcus took off running towards the wall. He mounted the ramparts and his heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, they were out there. Not all of them, but a lot of them.
“How many are there?” Mariza asked.
“A shit ton.” Marcus replied.
“A shit ton? I’ve never heard of that, is it metric?” She asked. Marcus was surprised at the fact that she was able to crack a joke at a time like this. Maybe she was just the kind of person that made jokes when they were scared. Yeah, that’s right. Let’s just laugh in death’s face. We’ll be good friends with him soon anyways.
“Alright everyone! This is what we’ve trained for! Remember, they have to get over this wall. We don’t. Let’s do this!” Marcus yelled.
“Machines!” Mariza led everyone in cheering. Great, now we’ve established our death chant.
“Machines.” Marcus responded, half-heartedly.
“You really think we can do it?” She asked. Alex’s army let out a mad scream that could be heard from far away. One that rattled bones and broke hearts. One that made grown men wet their pants and cry for mommy.
“No.” Marcus replied. Just then the first arrow hit. Wait, and arrow? Marcus looked at it. It was an arrow, imbedded in the wall.
“An arrow?” He asked himself. He looked up at the enemy. His eyes widened. “Holy Shit! Take Cover!” He dove down against the wall, just as the sky turned black. All around they began falling, arrows, people. People with arrow in them. Mariza let out a cry of pain. Marcus looked over and saw the arrow sticking out the back of her shoulder blade. She bit down of her lip hard as she gripped it. Then, just like that, the arrows stopped. Marcus cautiously stood back up and realized, to his relief, their tactic had been mostly ineffective. They’d succeeded in taking out a few people, but other than that all they’d done is blanket the ground in arrows. Mariza gripped the wall as she stood back up, gritting her teeth.
“Does it look bad?” She asked.
“It. Uh..” Marcus stuttered. She grabbed the shaft of the arrow. “Hey, you shouldn’t mess with it. You’ll hurt yourself.” She smiled a little.
“You said it yourself, machines don’t feel.” She said as she snapped the arrow at the base and tossed the shaft aside. “You missed me you fuckers!” She yelled at the army. Another yell came from the army. Marcus could see them ditching their bows and picking up assorted melee weapons and small arms. They were not well equipped at all. They took off running straight for the walls, Marcus lifted his gun and stared down the sights. The heavy machine guns would be more effective in taking them out, but they only had two of them. And well, at least one of them was already gone. Then, something unexpected happened. As the enemies ran for the wall, a large group of people, armed only with rebar, came in from their flank and tore through them. It was like watching a medieval battle, but in modern times. The refugees they’d liberated had kept good on their promise. They were helping, and doing a damn good job at it. In no time flat, the overwhelmed the enemies. It was only a matter of time before the last one got his head bashed in by a steel bar. The refugees began scavenging through the dead, picking up new weapons or anything that looked interesting. They were like raccoons, attracted to shiny things. Raccoon. Marcus shuttered at the thought of that word. Marcus spotted Jake, who flashed him a thumbs up. Marcus didn’t know if he could trust him or not, but right now he didn’t not trust him.
“They’re coming from the rear!” Someone yelled. Marcus spun on his heel and realized it was true. It was just a set up. The army they’d just defeated was a diversion. The remaining army was already at work climbing over the unprotected side of the compound. A large amount had already poured in. Marcus was frozen. Mariza wasn’t. She began firing at a nearby enemy. She didn’t quit pulling the trigger until he was on the ground dead. She nearly threw up afterwards. The first kill is always the hardest. Marcus snapped back and jumped down from the wall, into the confusion. He began firing at people. Maybe they were enemy. There were to many. Gunfire all around. Yelling, screaming, stabbing. Some of Marcus’s soldier had ditched their empty firearms and resorted to hand-to-hand with varying results. In the midst of the confusion Marcus spotted one many climbing over the wall. He had messy black hair, and mimicked Jake in many ways. Alex. Marcus spotted Jake himself climbing up the wall next to him. That traitor! Marcus lifted his gun to take the shot, but then…
“Alex, you need to stop this!” Jake boomed. Alex turned in shock and looked at Jake.
“Why? I did this for you.” He said.
“This isn’t what I wanted, nobody wanted this.” Jake said.
“You’ve changed Jake. You used to be a hero to me. Now, you’re nothing. It took me a while to realize this, but I’m a better you, then well, you.” Alex said. Jake made a confused face.
“Wait, wha-“ Jake began but was cut off when Alex drew a revolver and shot him straight in the throat.
“Sorry it had to end like this, friend. But you know as well as I, there can be only one.” Alex said as he turned away from Jake and began climbing down from the wall. Marcus realized to late that he was paying more attention to the conversation than he should’ve. He heard a yell and looked over. Sure enough, there was an enemy right in his face. Marcus had no time to react as the sharpened stick ran straight through his stomach. He leaned forwards into the man, just out of instinct. The man pulled the stick out of Marcus’s stomach. In a last ditch effort, Marcus pulled his pistol from his belt. He stuck it straight to the man’s body, right where the kidney would be. Then he pulled the trigger. As the man recoiled, Marcus fell to the ground. On the ground Marcus looked up and pulled the trigger again, hitting him square in the eye. He fell down, obviously dead. Marcus lay there waiting, until another man ran up, reading his machete for the kill. Marcus lifted his pistol to slow. The man kicked it away, then poised to strike.
“No!” Alex’s voice yelled. “He’s mine.” He said as he pushed the man aside. Alex strode up as if it was just a day in the park, when in reality an entire firefight was unfolding around them. Numbers vs Technology, and numbers were winning. He smiled.
“So, you’re the one that caused all of this.” Alex said.
“Go… Go fuck yourself.” Marcus grunted.
“Still a hard ass. Great.” Alex said.
“Y-You killed her.” Marcus said.
“Yeah, I did. What you didn’t realize is the face that I only wanted her. I didn’t actually need her. You doomed yourself for nothing.” He said.
“I’m going to kill you…” Marcus stuttered. Alex smiled.
“It was nice taking with you.” The end of the revolver was shiny. The sunlight glinted off of it an such a way it blinded Marcus. The flash was brighter. Marcus knew he was dead, he felt the bullet hit his head. But he could still see, hear, talk, breath. He was dead, but alive? No, he was alive. The bullet missed. Marcus forced himself up and realized what had happened. Alex, who was too preoccupied with Marcus, did not see Samantha Bishop herself, who had run up and tackled him from the side. She was now on top of him. Holding a pair of scissors in one hand. Alex smiled.
“You were so nice last time you were on top of me.” He said, just as the shiny blade cut into his throat, chest, stomach, anything exposed. She wouldn’t stop, couldn’t stop. After a while her swings stopped and she jabbed the scissors into his chest one last time before rolling off of his carcass. She quickly came over to Marcus.
“H-How… Did you..” Marcus began but she cut him off.
“Catiline got me out, through the other way.” She said as she looked at him. “Oh God. This looks bad.” She said.
“Thanks for sugar coating it.” Marcus said, the laugh hurt, but it was worth it. Marcus’s head rolled to the side and he saw Mariza fighting against two men about twice her size. She was using the empty gun like a club. She swung it and caught one man right in the gut. The other caught the gun and yanked it from her hands. His huge muscles bulged as he swung the rifle at her, catching her face. She went sprawling to the ground. One of the men quickly hooked her arms in his and lifted her up off the ground like she weighed nothing. Her head lolled to the side as blood dripped from her mouth and nose. She was conscious, but barely. The other tall man pulled out a shiny knife as he stepped forward, holding out the knife. He was going to gut her. He began to drive the knife forward, it almost went right into her gut but it didn’t get there. A loud gunshot knocked him back. Half of his head was missing. None of Marcus’s guns would’ve done that. A second gunshot and the man holding Mariza dropped like a sack of rocks. She fell with him, not even bracing for the fall. She landed staring at Marcus, not moving. Was she even alive? All around the gunfire opened up. All around, people began dropping like flies. The enemies took off running for the gates, only when they opened them they were greeted by what sounded like a .50 cal. They were mowed down like nothing. There was none left soon. But who did that? Marcus’s questions were answered when a squad of five came through the gates, all wearing the same camo uniforms, with the CDC logo on their arms. The leader raised his right arm and shouted.
“We are the federal Army of the United States of America, under the new authority of the CDC council. The capital of the new United States is now located here, in Georgia. At the CDC. You are now under our protection, as you are all citizens of the United States. You’ve done your country a great favor by taking on an enemy that has gone unmatched for quite some time. We thank you all for your service, welcome home.” He said. There was a loud cheer, someone should the words Machines. That was getting annoying. Squad after squad walked in through the gates boxes of supplies, armored trucks. Tanks. A medic waltzed his way over to Marcus. He looked him over, and smiled a little.
“You’re very lucky. You have no serious injuries from what I can tell. The weapon didn’t go very far in. Once we stop the bleeding, you’ll be on your feet in no time flat.” He said.
“Who are you people?” Marcus asked.
“We’re all remnants of the US before the apocalypse. We’ve been waiting for our chance. And now seemed like a damn good time. We’re going to use this hospital as a ground base for our operations.” He said.
“What about the infected?” Marcus asked.
“CDC’s still working on a cure. But as of now, we’ve eradicated all infected within one hundred miles of this area. Trust me, we’ve been hard at work. And it’s not just us. All around the world people are fighting back. We’re on the track back to normal, whatever the hell that is.” The medic said. “Well, it seems like I’m done here. I’ve done all I can. I’ll check back later.” He said as he stood and walked off.
“So, that’s it?” Samantha asked. “We did it? We survived?” She asked. Marcus laid his head back and smiled at her.
Wow, this was a great part, perhaps the most intense of the whole story! There's so much stuff I'd like to say about it and I don't even know where to start. Well, perhaps I start with the obvious. I was wrong about Catiline. Considering that she saved Sammy, she definitely deserves a lot more credit than I was willing to give her before. Similarly, Jake's final moments proved to me that he wasn't all evil either. Sure, he did some really nasty things, but he at least tried to stop the fight in the end. Alex on the other hand gained several additional asshole-levels in this part and I was surprised that I could end up despising him even more. The fact that he was completely willing to kill the girl he claimed to have come for proved to me that he never really wanted her, but instead only wanted an excuse to kill a lot of people. That came only as a slight surprise though, but what really shocked me was that he was even willing to kill his hero and idol to continue the fight. As for the other people... Mariza was a beast in this part. Considering that she is not some badass military-trained fighter, unlike Marcus, Omar and many of the others, she probably impressed me the most in this fight. And of course, the fact that Sammy, who was extremely close to death just a short while ago, already managed to butcher the fucker who raped her deserves special mention too. That was awesome and a well-deserved end for Alex! The whole part was awesome, but that stood out for me. The army was great too in this part and I am glad to see that things look a bit brighter on the horizon. Of course, unless you plan on finishing this story in the near future, I doubt the road back to normality will be that easy, but for now, it is refreshing to see things getting better for once. Amazing part, well done!
Marcus Bishop
Marcus stared at the radio for a few moments. He looked up at everyone around him. Distraught, scared faces. The faces of t… morehe lost. The faces of the ruined, unprepared people that used to hold measly office jobs not to terribly long ago. Faces that were not ready to turn and kill their own kind. He looked over the half-assed barricades they made, good for keeping out infected. People; Not so much. They weren’’t ready for war. Not by any standards, but if they didn’t do something; who would?
“Go to hell.” Marcus barked into the radio.
“Excuse me? I don’t think I caught that last transmission.” The other end crackled.
“You can go straight to hell.” Marcus said.
“Are you sure? You might want to rethink that statement, you won’t get just a warning like last time.” He responded.
“Go fuck yourself.” Marcus growled as he chucked the radio as far as he could, nearly taking a nearby soldiers head off. He turned and look… [view original content]
Thank you, I put a lot of effort into this chapter.
Alex on the other hand gained several additional asshole-levels in this part and I was surprised that I could end up despising him even more.
Well, I did it right then. Right in the sense that it was totally wrong.
That was awesome and a well-deserved end for Alex!
You approve this time? Yay! I did it right! I'm a happy murderer!
Mariza was a beast in this part.
Yes, yes she was.
unless you plan on finishing this story in the near future
Eye, I have no clue. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?
I doubt the road back to normality will be that easy
Never is, never will be.
Anyways, thank you so much for all of your feedback, I know I don't respond to a lot of it and like I said before, It's only because I want to keep suspense and not give away secrets. I always love reading what you have to say, and I always try to listen to your advice. Thank you.
Wow, this was a great part, perhaps the most intense of the whole story! There's so much stuff I'd like to say about it and I don't even kno… morew where to start. Well, perhaps I start with the obvious. I was wrong about Catiline. Considering that she saved Sammy, she definitely deserves a lot more credit than I was willing to give her before. Similarly, Jake's final moments proved to me that he wasn't all evil either. Sure, he did some really nasty things, but he at least tried to stop the fight in the end. Alex on the other hand gained several additional asshole-levels in this part and I was surprised that I could end up despising him even more. The fact that he was completely willing to kill the girl he claimed to have come for proved to me that he never really wanted her, but instead only wanted an excuse to kill a lot of people. That came only as a slight surprise though, but what really shocked me was that he was even willing to kill his her… [view original content]
Hell yes I loved this chapter! Its good that Alex is finally dead and I really liked Marcus and Mariza during this fight. Samantha was also great when she killed this smug bastard and got some nice revenge. I wonder what happened to the other fighters, like Peter or Eva or the people from the Olympus. I hope they are all fine. This was one of my favourite chapters in the story and I cant wait for more
Marcus Bishop
Marcus stared at the radio for a few moments. He looked up at everyone around him. Distraught, scared faces. The faces of t… morehe lost. The faces of the ruined, unprepared people that used to hold measly office jobs not to terribly long ago. Faces that were not ready to turn and kill their own kind. He looked over the half-assed barricades they made, good for keeping out infected. People; Not so much. They weren’’t ready for war. Not by any standards, but if they didn’t do something; who would?
“Go to hell.” Marcus barked into the radio.
“Excuse me? I don’t think I caught that last transmission.” The other end crackled.
“You can go straight to hell.” Marcus said.
“Are you sure? You might want to rethink that statement, you won’t get just a warning like last time.” He responded.
“Go fuck yourself.” Marcus growled as he chucked the radio as far as he could, nearly taking a nearby soldiers head off. He turned and look… [view original content]
Somewhere in the universe is a place called earth, on this Earth are giant land forms we call continents. And in one of those continents is a place called Georgia, in the United States. In Georgia is a small, rain-drenched hospital, torn apart by war and filled with death. Standing outside the hospital is a man, standing next to his sister. Farther down is another woman who stands all alone, the echoes of war becoming hard to bear. Marcus looked over at Samantha. They were safe now, these people from the CDC, they were their savior. Had they planned on killing them, they would’ve already. Marcus began walking on down towards Mariza, who had just been aimlessly wandering around ever since the fighting ended. She was obviously pretty messed up. As he walked a hand was planted on his shoulder, he looked over and saw Omar standing next to him with Eva next to him.
“We actually did it.” Omar said. It was obvious they’d won, but at what price? They were digging bodies out of the hospital by the metric ton. But they won.
“I guess we did.” Marcus admitted.
“So, what’s next?” Eva asked, her gaze far off.
“What do you mean?” Omar asked.
“I mean, what do we do now? We don’t have to fight anymore, we don’t have to run anymore. We don’t have to be scared anymore.” She said.
“As humans, we move on.” Marcus offered.
“Move on?” Eva said, thinking it over. “I’m not really sure that’s the right choice of words.”
“Not yet.” Marcus admitted. “Now is the time to mourn. Later we move on.”
“And as the fighting continues in the mid-western regions of the United States, it is not yet sure who is actually in control. Multiple different powers are claiming to be in command, with the Georgia Federation amongst the strongest. Meanwhile, the campaigns in Africa and the middle east are now gaining momentum as military and civilians take to arm, recapturing the island of Madagascar from the local bandits. Contact has not yet been established with the European Union.” A nearby radio crackled.
“Maybe that’s a start.” Omar said.
“Do you think it’ll ever go back to how it was?” Eva asked.
“No. It will never be like it used to.” Marcus said. “It’s going to be a lot different, but in the same sense so reminiscent of what we used to have.” He said.
“Look at Marcus, breaking out the big boy words over here.” Omar joked.
“Shut up man.” Marcus said.
“Hey, I got something I need to take care of. I’ll talk with you later.” Omar said as he walked off.
“Yeah, see you around.” Marcus said. He looked back to where Mariza was. She was gone, no longer in sight. As Marcus would come to find out, she left the camp that day. She said she just couldn’t live with herself after what happened. She just left, and no one stopped her.
The next two bodies they pulled from the hospital wreckage were the worst. Dylan and Peter, they both died when the building came down. Crushed under the weight of the rubble. They stood no chance. It would turn out that the CDC actually had a great deal of interest in the hospital, because for the next couple of months they worked to rebuild it with a passion, and convert the grounds into an operating military installation. It was late into a summer afternoon when she came, unexpected, but none the less welcome. The world was a safe place once again, and it was starting to grow again. Her name was Nadiya, in French it meant hope. Samantha insisted on it, after all it was her girl. She was born perfectly healthy, and despite all odds, seemed like she was going to be perfectly normal. Marcus was busy admiring the beauty of the little human when he was called out into the hallway where he found multiple men in olive drab uniforms, each with the CDC armband. They all snapped to attention as he stepped into the hallway. More of just an honorary notion, he held no real power. When they started rebuilding the hospital, they jokingly put his name on it, ‘Marcus Bishop Hall of the Georgia Federation’. Everyone expected it to be changed as soon as the big wigs showed up, but apparently the new government either had a sick sense of humor or just thought they were being nice, so they left the name. They build a memorial to all the people who fought and died at that battle, each of them awarded as heroes to a new nation. Marcus was a hero, but so was everyone else. Omar and Eva went on to fight against the infection. Omar ended up dying in Africa after his helicopter crashed into the desert, he survived for about a week out there before he finally died of dehydration. Eva, no word on her. Europe is a black box, noting goes in nothing comes out. She may be alive, she may be dead. She may be playing Napoleon and conquering half the world. Who knows?
“Sorry to interrupt you at a time like this sir, but it’s important.” A man said.
“Spit it up lieutenant.” Marcus said.
“Our researchers believe the found a cure.” He said.
“Uh huh.” Marcus said. “So why’d you come to me?” He asked.
“The cure isn’t a shot or anything like that…” He said.
“What are you not telling me?” Marcus asked.
“They believe the cure is a person. They believe a certain person had been able to develop certain bodily enzymes that make them naturally immune to the virus.” He said.
“Thanks for the update.” Marcus said as he turned.
“That’s not all sir.” He said.
“What is it?” Marcus asked.
“The person who is immune to the virus needs to be brought back here so the researchers can operate.” He said.
“You want me to go get them?” Marcus said. He nodded. “Lieutenant, do I look like I run a baby-sitting business?” Marcus asked.
“No sir.” He responded. “Just, high command thought that the specimen would be more cooperative around someone they knew.”
“Someone they knew?” Marcus asked.
“Mariza Peron, does that name ring a bell?” He asked. Mariza.
“She’s alive?” Marcus asked.
“Yes sir. She’s alive and living in Youngstown.” He said.
“That’s what, twenty miles from here?” Marcus asked.
Marcus Bishop
Somewhere in the universe is a place called earth, on this Earth are giant land forms we call continents. And in one of tho… morese continents is a place called Georgia, in the United States. In Georgia is a small, rain-drenched hospital, torn apart by war and filled with death. Standing outside the hospital is a man, standing next to his sister. Farther down is another woman who stands all alone, the echoes of war becoming hard to bear. Marcus looked over at Samantha. They were safe now, these people from the CDC, they were their savior. Had they planned on killing them, they would’ve already. Marcus began walking on down towards Mariza, who had just been aimlessly wandering around ever since the fighting ended. She was obviously pretty messed up. As he walked a hand was planted on his shoulder, he looked over and saw Omar standing next to him with Eva next to him.
“We actually did it.” Omar said. It was obvious they’d won, but… [view original content]
That was a very bittersweet part. I liked the timeskip a lot, the new scenario with a partially rebuild society is very interesting. On the other hand, the deaths of Peter, Dylan and, during the timeskip, Omar, have been sad, as I grew to like them. Of course, I'll especially miss Omar, but I also got quite fond of Peter. Eva's situation is interesting, I wonder if she will stay M.I.A or if she will return to the story. However, the birth of Nadiya was a very nice part, greatly counterbalancing the tragic deaths that happened earlier and I am glad to see mother and child alive and well. I guess the rest of the former Olympus people are alive too, yes?
Marcus Bishop
Somewhere in the universe is a place called earth, on this Earth are giant land forms we call continents. And in one of tho… morese continents is a place called Georgia, in the United States. In Georgia is a small, rain-drenched hospital, torn apart by war and filled with death. Standing outside the hospital is a man, standing next to his sister. Farther down is another woman who stands all alone, the echoes of war becoming hard to bear. Marcus looked over at Samantha. They were safe now, these people from the CDC, they were their savior. Had they planned on killing them, they would’ve already. Marcus began walking on down towards Mariza, who had just been aimlessly wandering around ever since the fighting ended. She was obviously pretty messed up. As he walked a hand was planted on his shoulder, he looked over and saw Omar standing next to him with Eva next to him.
“We actually did it.” Omar said. It was obvious they’d won, but… [view original content]
Marcus Bishop
Somewhere in the universe is a place called earth, on this Earth are giant land forms we call continents. And in one of tho… morese continents is a place called Georgia, in the United States. In Georgia is a small, rain-drenched hospital, torn apart by war and filled with death. Standing outside the hospital is a man, standing next to his sister. Farther down is another woman who stands all alone, the echoes of war becoming hard to bear. Marcus looked over at Samantha. They were safe now, these people from the CDC, they were their savior. Had they planned on killing them, they would’ve already. Marcus began walking on down towards Mariza, who had just been aimlessly wandering around ever since the fighting ended. She was obviously pretty messed up. As he walked a hand was planted on his shoulder, he looked over and saw Omar standing next to him with Eva next to him.
“We actually did it.” Omar said. It was obvious they’d won, but… [view original content]
Marcus eyes the Lieutenant. The arrogant bastard. Everyone know it, this guy was just full of himself. But that was beside the point.
“I’ll do it.” Marcus answered.
“That’s great.” The Lieutenant said as he dug into his satchel and pulled out a crisp piece of paper. “This is her location, street address… Everything you need to find her and get her back here.” He said. Marcus grabbed the paper and looked it over. It seemed to all check out, but there was only one way to find out. He turned and walked away from the Lieutenant and into the hospital room. Samantha eyed him tentatively as he approached.
“You’re leaving aren’t you?” She asked, when Marcus paused to long she continued. “Don’t try to lie.” She said.
“Yeah, I’m leaving. I have to run out to Ramsey.” He said. Youngstown Georgia, formerly known as Flemington, it was renamed in honor of General Howard Ramsey Young, the man who led the assault to reclaim the west. Although his assault was mostly a failure and Ramsey was killed by the nomadic bandits that claimed the west, he was praised as a hero.
“What’s out in Youngstown?” Samantha asked.
“A friend.” Marcus said. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.” He told her, then looked at the small baby she cradled in her arms. “And you little lady, you need to keep you mother under control.” He said to her. Samantha cracked a small smile. “See you later Sams.” He said as he walked out the door. The hospital was a lot bigger than it used to be. Well, now it was a lot more than just a hospital. He walked through the hallway and stopped in the enormous atrium that had been built. It was quite impressive. Fountains and waterfalls, plants and trees, it was like a small but still orderly jungle in here. And plastered on the far wall were large slabs of granite, inscribed with the names of those who died here at the hospital. Peter Oswald, Dylan Oswald those two names on a wall of around a hundred seemed to stick out so profoundly. Marcus turned away from the wall and walked to the glass door which flew open on its own. Marcus pulled out his keys and walked to the jeep he’d been given as a gift by the new government. Say what you will, they aren’t cheap. The jeep started without hesitation. He put it in drive and began driving through the sprawling base that used to be just a hospital, a field and a bunch of trees. It was impressive. He was stopped at the large concrete and rebar fence that surrounded the base.
“ID, sir.” The guard asked.
“Marcus Bishop, on official business.” Marcus said.
“I don’t give a damn who you are or what you’re doing, ID.” The guard demanded. Marcus had to give the guys credit, they were serious about their jobs. Marcus opened the glove box and pulled out the papers certifying his residence. The guard looked them over, then grabbed his radio.
“Command, this is Gate three. We’ve got a Marcus Bishop leaving the base, operation code 6-4-0-9.”He said, then handed the papers back to Marcus. “Be careful out there, and try to avoid exit 30 if you’re headed that way, it’s all fucked up after last week’s fighting.” He said.
“Will do.” Marcus said. The guard waved him through as the large gate rolled open. Marcus drove through, aware of the fact that he had a sniper trained on the back of his head as he left. It was a nice day out, better than most of the days this week. It’s been cold and rainy, today the clouds broke and the sun came out. The twenty miles from the base to Youngstown was one of the safest routes in this part of the world as of now. No bandits, no infected. The only thing you have to look out for is the damn deer jumping out in front of the car. No joke, they’d just lost an entire squad a week back to a damn deer. As he drove he saw a sign, Youngstown town limits. He made it to Youngstown, now on to Federal street.
It wasn’t hard to find, as it would turn out. Federal Street is actually the main street that ran through the town. Youngstown had defiantly grown a lot from what it used to be, which was a one horse town with a bar and nothing else. Now it was one of the biggest cities in the area, though it still didn’t have any walls or defenses. It was totally dependent on the base. Marcus drove down the street until he saw what he was looking for, building 87. It was a small apartment nestled in-between two others just like it. This entire town had been built from the ground up, and now it was a thriving metropolis with a population of around one thousand and growing almost daily. Strange come to think of it, humans are group animals. They herd together in times of need, so they can be co-dependents on one another. The infection got one thing wrong from the bat, it didn’t kill everyone at once. Humans are a creature like no other, if you don’t kill them all, the only ones left will be the strong. Marcus put the car in park on the side of the road and shut the engine, he didn’t know how long he’d be here for. He walked around the front of the jeep and towards the apartment, up the stairs and stopped at the door. He paused for a second before knocking, and he didn’t know why. Was he afraid to see her again? What was it? He kept bugging himself until the door opened, to Marcus’s surprise it was not Mariza, it was another woman. A woman with long brown hair and stormy blue eyes beneath a pair of glasses.
“Hello?” She asked.
“Is, uh, Mariza Peron here?” Marcus asked. The woman laughed a little.
“She must be very popular today.” She said. “She’s at work right now, I’m sure you can find her at the town hall.” She said. “You do know where that is, right?” She asked, eyeing Marcus. He shamefully shook his head. He hadn’t been here since its population was less than thirty. “Oh, well. I was headed that way anyways. I guess I could show you the way.” She said.
“Sure thing.” Marcus said. The two of them walked to his jeep and got in. Marcus started the engine and Marcus began driving with her calling out directions. Left here, go straight. Keep going.
“So, I don’t think We’ve meet before.” Marcus said. “I’m Marcus Bishop”
“Holly Peron.” She answered.
“Mariza is married?” Marcus asked, a little shocked. Holly showed Marcus her hand which had a ring on it.
“She married me a little over a month ago.” She answered. “I was afraid she wasn’t going to make it when I first met her, she was seriously out of it. I found her in a bar trying to drown herself in booze.”
“How is she now?” Marcus asked.
“She’s a spitfire now. She doesn’t let anyone stand in her way and she doesn’t take no for an answer, that’s why I love her.” She said. She then pointed to a large building that stood out from the rest due to its Greco-Roman vibe. “That’s the town hall right there.” She said. Marcus stopped the jeep and got out, Holly walking right beside him. “So, did you know Mariza before?” She asked.
“Define ‘before’.” Marcus said.
“Like, before this, the new government and stuff. Did you know her when it was just us out there trying to survive?” She asked.
“Yeah, I did. She saved my life at least once.” Marcus said. “She’s a hell of a fighter.” He added on.
“You must know a lot about her then, she refused to talk about anything about before she came toYoungstown.” Holly said.
“Her life wasn’t the easiest before. She’s been through a lot.” Marcus said.
“I can tell, it just makes me feel so bad that I can see the pain in her but I can’t connect.” She said.
“Trust me, I know the feeling.” Marcus said. “You’re lucky to have someone like her. Good people are hard to find nowadays.” He said.
“Tell me about it. I went to the next town over once, Ramsey, it was horrible.” She said.
“Horrible as in how?” Marcus asked. She huffed.
“Everyone in Ramsey are a bunch of drunk homophobes, to put it shortly.” She said as she walked up the large front stairs to the door, Marcus walked ahead of her and grabbed the door, holding it open as she walked in. “A man with old-world manners? This is something new.” She said.
“Just because it’s the end of the world, doesn’t mean we need to start being assholes to everyone.” Marcus said, as he followed her in.
“And just when I thought everyone on Earth had lost all common sense.” She said, walking up to the large information desk with a young man sitting behind it. “Hi Josh.” Holly said.
“Oh, Hi Holly. Are you here to see Mariza?” He asked.
“Me and my new friend here.” Holly answered. The young man looked at Marcus, and his face lit up.
“Marcus Bishop himself. A local legend in our presence.” Josh said as if making a grand announcement. “You two go right on up, she’s just finishing up with someone right now.” He said. Holly nodded to him.
“Thank you.” She said as she walked away, towards the large beautifully crafted staircase. Large and grand seemed to be the theme here. It almost looked more like a personal mansion than a city hall. At the top of the stair case there were a set of double doors straight ahead and a hallway branching off in either direction. Holly walked to the set of doubled door and placed her hand on the handle, twisting it and walking in with Marcus following.
“ I have my people to think of, your plans can wait.” A woman’s voice said.
“Your ambitions are interfering with our plans, Miss Peron.” A man’s voice said.
“One, your plans are flawed.” She said, then noticed Holly and Marcus. “And two, it’s Misses Peron to you.” She said as she kissed Holly. The man looked disgusted but said nothing.
“My plans are not flawed.” He said.
“A am the mayor of this town, if you don’t like that to bad.” She said. “Now, get out of my office.” She said. The man grumbled unhappily as he stood up and stormed out.
“What was that about?” Holly asked.
“That was the mayor of Ramsey, he wanted us to just give him half of or farmland.” Mariza said.
“You didn’t agree with him did you?” Holly asked. Mariza laughed.
“I wouldn’t give that man an inch of dirt.” She said.
“Good. Ramsey doesn’t even deserve what they already have.” Holly said.
“That’s agreeable.” Mariza said, then she noticed Marcus and her eyes widened and she froze in place. Marcus could see her mind replaying the day over in her mind again. “Marcus fucking Bishop.” She said, a smile dawning on her lips. “To what do I owe this surprise?”
“High command sent me from the base.” Marcus said.
“For what exactly?” Mariza asked.
“For you.” Marcus said. “They said they think you’re part of the cure for the infection.” Marcus said.
“Me? How?” She asked.
“I don’t know.” Marcus said. Mariza looked to Holly, who looked just as confused. Oh, yeah. Marcus had forgotten to inform her. Oops. “All the told me is that they needed you, and they wanted me to get you.” He said.
“I don’t know, I can’t just up and leave this town.” Mariza said.
“Come on, Mariza.” Marcus said. “You can trust me. You know that right?” He said, there was a pause.
“Yeah… Yeah. I know.” She said. “I guess we should go then, if we want to be back any time soon.” She said.
“I’m coming to.” Holly said. “I’m not letting you go out there alone, Mariza. You know what the world’s like.” She said, then looked at Marcus with a glare.
“You can come.” Marcus said.
“Good, because I wasn’t asking.” She said. The trio walked out of the room and down the staircase. Everyone stopped to pay respects as Mariza walked by, it was strange to see her become mayor. The trip back was filled with catching up, and reminiscing. When Marcus told Mariza about Nadiya she nearly flipped out of the car with excitement. At the gate Marcus was stopped by the same guard.
“Back so soon?” He asked, then looked in the jeep. “And who are these women Mr. Bishop?” He asked.
“This is Mariza Peron, Mayor of Younstown.” Marcus said. “And this is her wife, Holly Peron.” He said. The guard nodded and turned to his radio.
“Command, this is gate three. Marcus Bishop has returned with Mayor Peron, plus one. Please advise.” He said. Moment of silence. “Alright, go on through and pull off to the right and wait.” He said. Marcus complied and drove through, stopping on the side of the road to the right. It wasn’t long before a Humvee showed up. A doctor and a solider jumped out.
“Mariza Peron?” The doctor asked.
“That’s me.” Mariza said.
“Please, come with us.” He said. Holly began to protest, but Mariza waved her off.
“It’s okay, I’ll see you at the hospital.” She said, kissing her one last time before getting out of the jeep and walking off with the doctor and solider. The Humvee tore off down the road as soon as she got in. The guard from earlier walked up to the side of the jeep.
“You two are free to go.” He said. “Have a good one. Stay safe out there.” He said.
“You too.” Marcus said as he began driving down the road, turning towards the hospital. He parked the car and began walking inside with Holly right on his heels as always,
“I’ve never been here before.” She remarked.
“It’s impressive isn’t it?” He said as he walked through the door into the atrium. He normally would spend time in the atrium every time he came here, but today he was in a hurry. He walked to the information desk.
“Hi, how can I help you?” The nurse behind the counter said.
“I’m looking for someone.” Marcus said.
“Name?” The nurse asked.
“Mariza, Peron.” Holly said before Marcus could say anything. The nurse typed something into the computer.
“No, There’s no Mariza Peron on file here at the hospital.” She said.
“Maybe it’s a mistake, we just got here. Maybe she’s not in yet?” Holly said. The nurse turned to the computer again.
“No, still no… Wait.” She said. “I got something.” She said.
“What is it?” Marcus asked.
“Mariza Peron was just booked into the prison, scheduled for execution at 9.” The nurse said.
“Execution?” Holly gasped. Marcus looked at his watch. 8:55. Just enough time to get from here to the prison. He grabbed Holly’s wrist and dragged her along as he sprinted away towards the jeep. He practically threw her into the passenger side, and she hit her head on the door. Oops. Marcus instantly floored it. Not giving a shit about traffic or street signs. He just floored it. You know you can trust me, right? Damn you. He didn’t bother turning the car off. The just jumped out and ran, Holly was first out but Marcus managed to catch up to her and they busted through the door together. “Where do we?” Holly began asking but Marcus grabbed her wrist and yanked her along as he sprinted down a hallway. No time left. At the end of the hallway was a door, he ran right into it and it flew open. Time was in slow motion. There was a panel of glass separating him from her. He could see Mariza, looking fearfully at him, chained to a chair at the far end of a long corridor. Five men stood at the near end holding rifles trained on her. She wasn’t crying, she wasn’t screaming but her expression said it all. She knew what came next. Holly was the one screaming and crying. Marcus quickly ripped out his revolver and in a flash the glass shattered, just a moment too late. As he launched himself through the broken window.
“Fire!” Five guns went off in unison. Then silence as the armed men turned on Marcus. The commanding officer approached him. “Marcus Bishop? You aren’t supposed to be here.” He said. He ripped the radio off a nearby solider.
“Command, this is Officer Abraham. We’ve got a little problem down here.” He said.
“Officer Abraham, this is Command, please define this problem.” The radio said.
“Marcus Bishop found us out. He’s onto us.” He said.
“Is he alone?” The radio asked. The Officer looked around.
“Yes.” He said. He didn’t see Holly. She got away.
“Then clean up this mess.” The radio said.
“Yes sir.” The Officer said. He grabbed one of the soldier’s rifles, and looked it over, switching it from semi-automatic to fully auto. The unsuspecting soldiers were gunned down one by one before they even knew what was happening. He then threw the rifle down and pulled out his pistol.
“Marcus Bishop, I hereby charge you with five counts of murder and find you guilty of treason. The punishment for such a crime is death.” He said. The pistol was at his forehead. Marcus’s eyes drifted to his revolver in his hand. He made a sudden jerky movement in an attempt to bring up the gun, but he was to slow. The sound of a 9 millimeter pistol echoed through the halls of the so called justice building.
The End
“They lied to us, they told us we were safe. The spoon fed us what we wanted to hear. They got us to trust them just so they could use us. And now, us who know the truth, we’ve been forced into hiding far too long. This is not what our predecessors survived for. This is not why we exits, to be shoved into the underground and laughed at like we’re some kind of animal at the circus. We will rise and show these people the danger of their own game. We will fight to the last breath, just as our friends and families did. We will yield no ground in this everlasting fight for the truth. We will rain hell down upon those who oppose us, and they will beg for forgiveness. And as they are on their knees, begging with every ounce of energy they have. We will look down upon them and say, ‘A Machine feels no compassion.’ This one is for those who go before us, for those who stood for what they believe in. This. This is for those who called themselves The Machines.” She looked around the dimly lit cave lit only by the torched the people carried, casting shadows across the wall in a dance of the ancient times. She jammed a magazine into the rifle and cocked it back. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “This one is for you, Marcus”
“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” ~ John F. Kennedy.
Damn it, Marcus And Mariza too... that was unexpected and I am not sure what to say. I'm just completely stunned at this. Holy shit, that was something... But, there's one thing...
The End
Wait, wait, wait... the end, like in the end? The final ending to the story? But I have so many questions! Why have they just shot Mariza after getting her to the hospital? And why have they shot Marcus? And what happened to Sammy? Did she make it out alive? Is she the woman making that speech at the very end? I mean, it's implied that she is, but still... and Nadiya, what happened to Nadiya? And to the other characters, like Alice, Philip or Italo?
Marcus Bishop
Marcus eyes the Lieutenant. The arrogant bastard. Everyone know it, this guy was just full of himself. But that was beside … morethe point.
“I’ll do it.” Marcus answered.
“That’s great.” The Lieutenant said as he dug into his satchel and pulled out a crisp piece of paper. “This is her location, street address… Everything you need to find her and get her back here.” He said. Marcus grabbed the paper and looked it over. It seemed to all check out, but there was only one way to find out. He turned and walked away from the Lieutenant and into the hospital room. Samantha eyed him tentatively as he approached.
“You’re leaving aren’t you?” She asked, when Marcus paused to long she continued. “Don’t try to lie.” She said.
“Yeah, I’m leaving. I have to run out to Ramsey.” He said. Youngstown Georgia, formerly known as Flemington, it was renamed in honor of General Howard Ramsey Young, the man who led the assault to reclaim the w… [view original content]
Comments
Why do I get the weird and unexplainable feeling that this cat could end up super important in some way in the end? I mean, it almost certainly won't (aside from the fact that it's super cute), but if it does, you heard it here first!
[Add to interior defenses]
Damn it, I don't know. I have a very bad feeling for this battle. However, I have an even worse feeling that Alex and his creeps have a way to bypass the perimeter and since it already is defended in some way, it could be good to build a broader defense line by adding interior defenses. In case they break through, the defenders still have the possibility to retreat and regroup behind the interior defenses. As I said, I have a very bad feeling for this battle in general. While it is a relief that Alex wants Samantha alive, at least for another eight months, Marcus, Omar, Peter and all the other people at the hospital don't have this protection, so I am very worried for them as well.
Cat is the answer to all. XD.
[Reinforce the wall]
[Add to interior defenses]
Marcus Bishop
"If I have to choose, I'd say Add to the interior. The walls will mean nothing if we have nothing to back them up with." Marcus said. The woman nodded.
"You make a good point. I'll get the men to work as soon as possible." She said. "You two are dismissed." She finished. Marcus walked out of the tent into the rain with Omar right behind him.
"Do you even know how many of them there are?" Marcus asked.
"Over one hundred. But some of those are just the captives they keep." Omar said.
"How many do we have?" Marcus asked.
"Seventy two." Omar said. "Seventy since Eva and Hank are dead." Omar said.
"Damn." Marcus said.
"I should've done something." Omar said.
"Hank was infected, you can't control that." Marcus said.
"Yeah, but I could've stopped Eva." Omar said.
"That was her choice." Marcus said. "You couldn't have stopped her." He said, out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone approaching.
"Sir." The man said.
"Yes?" Omar asked.
"Our scouts spotted the enemy camp. It's just west of here." He said.
"So she wasn't lying." Omar said, recalling Catiline's information.
"They've already mobilized their fighters, and they're moving this way. They should be here by morning." He said.
"Is that all?" Omar asked.
"No. While our scouts were there, they spotted a prison set up there." He said. "They found Eva. She's alive, but we don't know for how long."
"She's alive?" Omar asked.
"Yes. We're planning a rescue mission to get her out, that way she's safe and they won't have any leverage over us in the fight." He said.
"When you say 'We're' Who do you mean?" Marcus asked.
"Me and a few other Spec ops soldiers, plus a few civilians joined up." He said.
"Count me in. This is my mistake and I need to fix it." Omar said.
"That's good. How about you?" He asked looking to Marcus.
[I'm in]
[NO.]
yeah, sorry for the shorter part. I wrote it this morning and then deleted it. It was originally two parts, but I got to leave soon so I couldn't re-write it all.
[I'm in]
Of course, this is very risky for Marcus and I'm a bit afraid for his life, but Eva is awesome and I really don't want to give Alex the opportunity to rape her too, like he probably intends to do. What happened to Sammy is already bad enough, but the thought of that happening to even more women is truly sickening. Who knows, perhaps this small team will even get the opportunity to deal a crippling blow to Alex' forces while infiltrating his camp and in that case, having a guy like Marcus could be very useful.
[I'm in]
[I'm in]
[I'm in]
Marcus Bishop
"I'm in. We can't let this guy have the upper hand in this one." Marcus said.
"Good. We can use all the help we could get. We move out in five. Get your shit together. And meet up at the front gate." The solider said, then walked off. Marcus turned to Omar.
"You think we can pull this off?" Marcus asked.
"We have the Spec ops on our side. This'll be a walk in the park." Omar said, though he sounded as if he doubted himself. "You better listen to him and get your stuff. They won't wait for you." Omar said. Marcus nodded as he walked off back towards the hospital. He stepped inside sheltering him from the rain. He walked through the hall and into his room, picking up his pack and grabbing his gun. He took one last look around before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. He was now ready to go, but he still had one thing on his mind. Sam. He walked back down the hallway and into the ICU, where Samantha was still laying in her bed, just blankly staring at the wall.
"Hey Sam." Marcus said, as he took a seat next to her bed. "How are you feeling?" He asked, but she remained silent. "Look, I'm leaving. We found one of our people still alive, she was captured by the same people that got to you. We have to take the chance and try to get her back. I don't know when I'll be back, but it shouldn't be long. Alright?" Marcus asked. Samantha managed a slight nod, but still refused to speak. Marcus reluctantly sighed as he stood up from the chair and turned to leave.
"I don't think I can do it." She spoke suddenly. Marcus turned and looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.
"I don't think I can be a mother. I don't think I'm ready." Samantha said.
"Sam, You're one of the most caring and kind people left on this planet. Everything will be fine." Marcus tired to reassure her.
"But what if it won't be alright?" Samantha asked.
"That's why you have the rest of us." Marcus said. "What's happened to you, that's just straight fucked up beyond the point of words. But, maybe it's not a completely horrible thing?" Marcus said.
"How is this not completely horrible?" Samantha asked.
"Because..." Marcus racked his brain for anything.
"Because?" Samantha asked.
"Because we can't just give up on life. Yes, these are shit times Sam, but that shouldn't mean we just shut down. Look around, all we see everyday is death. Maybe life will be a welcome change." Marcus said.
"I'm still scared. What if I mess up?" Samantha asked.
"We'll be here every step of the way." Marcus said. "I promise." He said.
"Marcus, let's move!" A voice called from the door. Marcus turned to the figure and nodded.
"Goodbye. I'll be back." Marcus said as he walked away, but stopped when he saw Peter.
"Peter, I'm going out. Do me a favor and watch my sister." Marcus said.
"I will. Just bring Eva back alive. I would've gone with you, but by the time I showed up to the meeting all the spots were taken." Peter said.
"It's probably best if you just stayed here anyways." Marcus said.
"Don't worry about your sister, I can handle it." Peter said.
"It's my job to worry." Marcus said as he walked off, out into the lobby where he found everyone gathered. "I thought you said front gate." Marcus said.
"We did, but we got tired of waiting for your ass so we came here." One of the soldiers said. "Let's get moving, I want to be there before dark." He said as the group began walking out into the rain.
Italo Buonatesta
"It's raining." Italo determined after a few moments.
"It is isn't it?" Santiago said.
"Hold on to something! I'm putting the ship in the sand." Philip called from the cabin. Italo gripped the railing as the ship careened into the sandy beach with a jolt. "Alright, everyone off." Philip said. Italo was the first one off, he jumped over the side and landed in the sand. He help the rest down and helped Philip lower Katheryn and Alice out of the ship. Italo looked around and spotted a van that was parked on the side of the road, all doors open. The occupants of that vehicle had obviously not been very lucky.
"There. Thomas, take Alice, Katheryn and the children to the hospital Patrica, you should go with them. The rest of us will walk and meet you there." Italo said, pointing to the van. They all moved over to it and put Alice in with Katheryn then everyone else climbed in. "See you in a few." Italo said. Thomas nodded as he turned the key and started the engine, taking off in the direction of the hospital. Italo looked at his small group with consisted of him, Lucas, Angela, and Philip.
"Come on, it's not to far from here. We can cut through the heart of the town and be there in about a hour." Philip said.
"You know the area?" Italo asked.
"Local born and raised." Philip said.
"Then lead the way." Italo said as he followed Philip forward. They walked through the heart of the city, which surprisingly was mostly void of infected. Philip turned the corner onto a different street and stopped right in his tracks.
"Holy shit." Philip uttered as Italo walked up next to him and looked at what he was looking at. It was the wreckage of a helicopter. But it wasn't just any helicopter, it was a hospital helicopter.
"How'd that get here?" Italo asked.
"That's the helicopter Marcus was in. I saw it take off... After I got out of the water." Philip said as he rushed forward to the helicopter. Italo was right behind him. Italo noticed multiple dead infected laying in the street around the crash. "There's no one in here. The only dead one's the pilot, and I don't recognize him." Philip said.
"Maybe they're around here somewhere?" Italo asked.
"Maybe they made it to the hospital with some other people." Lucas said. "Look at these infected, they were killed with knifes. Marcus had a gun." He noted.
"Then we really need to get to that hospital." Italo said. "Let's move." He said as he walked off away from the crash, but noticed no one was following him. "What are you waiting for?" Italo asked.
"Angela." Philip said. "She's gone."
"What?" Italo asked.
"She's not here. I don't know where she went." Philip said.
"Lucas, did you see her?" Italo asked. Lucas said nothing. "Lucas?" He asked.
"I did't see anything." Lucas said, in an obvious lie.
"What are you hiding?" Italo asked. Lucas backed away. "Tell me damn it!" Italo yelled.
"Back on the ship." Lucas said. "She told me she felt like she didn't belong with us. She said she felt like dead weight. She said she just couldn't live like this anymore, not knowing who she was or what's happened. She said..." Lucas trailed off.
"What did she say?" Philip asked.
"She said she wanted to die." Lucas said. "She went into that building over there." He said pointing to a nearby building. "She's going to jump." He said.
"We need to stop her." Philip said.
"No, this is her choice. She made that clear when she spoke with me." Lucas said.
Choice
[Try to stop Angela] [Let her go]
Marcus really loves to tempt fate, doesn't he? I can't recall the exact situation, but I remember that he did this before, and look how that turned out for pretty much everyone. His talk with Sammy was sweet though and apparently much needed for her, as it seemed that she regained a bit of hope, which is undoubtly a good thing in her situation. Hopefully it wasn't their last talk. She definitely still needs him and her baby could definitely need a cool uncle.
[Try to stop Angela]
Now, I'm not fundamentally opposed to suicide in a hopeless situation, depending on how bad the circumstances are. In her case though, the circumstances don't look too bad. Something happened to her and now she lost her memories, but there is no guarantee that she will never regain them. Aside from that, just accepting her suicide is something I could never do in Italo's position.
Hmm. I don't think I can recall him saying that before. Although, I'm sure he has at some point.
I did a search and it turned out that I had a different line in mind where he tempted fate before. Back when Samantha was in a terrible condition at the island hospital and Marcus was under a lot of stress after just making the decision to leave a comatose Angela alive, he dropped this gem in his thoughts:
Which prompted me to proclaim that he just tempted everyone's fate. Since he said this line, Angelica, Roger, Mary, Molly and John died from the port group, they lost all their stuff, Alice and Katheryn nearly died of thirst and now they have to deal with a suicidal Angela. Great fucking job, Marcus.
Oh, now I remember that. Good job Marcus...
[Try to stop Angela]
[Try to stop Angela]
Marcus Bishop
"I don't like this. They could be anywhere right now." A man spoke next to Marcus as they walked through the thick woods surrounding them.
"Just keep your guard up, You'll be fine." Marcus reassured the man. "Omar, how much farther?" He asked. Omar thought for a second.
"A few minutes. I don't know exactly." Omar said.
"Let me see that map." Marcus said. Omar obliged and handed him the map. Marcus looked at it for a moment getting a better sense of his surroundings, then began walking off in a new direction.
"Where are you going?" Omar asked.
"The camp's in a valley, if we go around it we'll get a better view into it from the west." Marcus said.
"How do you know that?" The man asked.
"Do you not know how to read a map? It's a topographical map, it shows elevation. The camp is lower than the area surrounding it." Marcus said.
"Smart." The man answered.
"We should be able to get there in like twenty minutes." Marcus said.
"Let's pick up the pace." Omar said.
.........................................
"We are so screwed." The man said as he looked out upon the camp. It was huge, almost seemingly larger than the camp back at the hospital.
"Maybe not. Sure, it's pretty big-" Marcus said.
"No, It's fucking huge." Omar interjected.
"-But." Marcus went on, ignoring the comment. "Look down there, what the one thing you don't see?" Marcus said as he handed over the binoculars. The man looked through them for awhile.
"I don't know." He finally said.
"People. There are no people down there." Marcus said. "And look, over there near the left edge. It looks like a giant bamboo cage, it definitely has people in it. I can't tell if they're who were looking for though."
"We have to start somewhere. That's a good a place as any." Omar said.
"What's out strategy?" The man asked.
"Once we get down there we won't be able to tell what's going on as easily as we can up here." Omar said. "That's why we have Tiffany. She's going to be our eyes while we're down there, along with our guardian angel." He said, nodding to a woman who was holding a sniper rifle.
"We stick to the edges of the camp, laying low in the brush. Don't try to rush them. They outnumber us." Marcus said.
"Williams, you stay back with Tiffany. You see anything, tell us. The rest of you, on me. Stay low and stay quiet." Omar said. Then along with Marcus and two others they began descending down the hill towards the jail. Marcus slowly crept along the bushes, keeping an eye on the camp. "Williams, do you see anything?" Omar asked through a radio.
"No, it's clear." Williams responded.
"I guess we're clear. Let's make this quick." Omar said, he quickly looked around then emerged from the bushes followed by Marcus. Marcus walked up to the cage, which was currently holding around three people. Marcus quickly identified who they were looking for.
"Eva." He whispered loud enough to hear. She looked over, truly shocked. She looked like she'd already been through a lot. She had a pretty bad black eye, was bleeding from the top of her head, her nose was bent at an awkward angle, and she was wearing a makeshift cast on her wrist.
"Damn. I was starting to think you guys were never going to show up." Eva responded.
"Listen Eva, where is everyone?" Omar asked.
"Gone. They left one person behind to guard us." Eva said.
"And where is he?" Omar asked. Eva shrugged her shoulders.
"In the prison." One of the other people in the cell said. He looked over his shoulder at Marcus. "I'm guessing you're not here to rescue me." He said. "Or any of the others." Marcus shook his head.
"We're here for Eva, she's our mission. Once we open this cage up, what you do is your choice." Marcus said.
"Guys, while I was a prisoner here I got to know a lot about these people. More than I wanted to know. But anyways, almost two thirds of all the people here are prisoners. Just regular people they abducted." Eva said.
"Your point is?" Omar asked.
"They hate these people as much as we do. They want them gone. If we free them, they are almost guaranteed to fight for us." Eva said.
"How's it coming on that lock?" Marcus asked.
"Give me a minute. I'm not a lock picking expert." The man responded.
"Eva, As much as I hate to say it, we can't take care of these people. We don't have the resources as is. And how do we know we can trust them?" Marcus said.
"We can't just leave them here. I know what these people do, and I couldn't live with myself knowing I just left these people here to die the same death." Eva said.
Choice
[Free the prisoners]
[Leave them]
[Free the prisoners]
Of course, this is guaranteed to lead to problems later if the resources run low, but that is a problem they have time to deal with later. For now they have to focus on the impending attack. If these people are indeed willing to fight for Omar and Marcus, this will give them a considerable advantage over Alex' group. And who knows what they can do with a large group of people. Surely, it will be hard at first, but more people also mean more possibilities to find resources.
[Free the prisoners]
[Free the prisoners]
Italo Buonatesta
Italo shot Lucas a cold glare as he pushed past him and dashed into the building and rushed to find the stairwell to the roof. After a few moments he finally spied it in the back of the building, he quickly ran to it and threw the door open, going up the stairs.
“Angela!” He called.
Marcus Bishop
“Fine, free the rest of them. We’ll see what we can do from there.” Marcus said, as he heard the sound of the lock snapping open. Omar walked in and gave Eva his hand.
“Can you walk?” He asked, as she took his hand and was hoisted uneasily to her feet.
“I can still fight.” She responded.
“And you.” Marcus said, looking over to the man. “What’s your name?” He asked. The man made a small smile and produced a small laugh.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He said.
“After what’s happened, I’d believe anything.” Marcus said.
Italo busted through the door onto the roof, his eyes scanning the area until they locked onto Angela, who was standing near the edge looking down. The wind from up top was blowing her hair around wildly.
“Angela!” He said. She quickly turned around and looked at him, her brown eyes full of spite and pain.
“You shouldn’t have come up here.” She said.
“I can’t let you do this Angela, you’re too important to us.” Italo said. Angela laced her fingers behind her head and sighed.
“I don’t even know who you are!” She said. Italo stepped tentatively forward, but Angela stepped back, the backs of her feet now over the edge of the ledge she was perched on.
“Please don’t do this, I can’t let you.” Italo begged. Angela’s gaze softened and shifted downwards.
“Hold your fire!” Marcus yelled as he approached the gate. The gate creaked open and he stepped aside, ushering through the others. They’d secured over one hundred prisoners in total after they went in to save Eva. He just watched them all flock in like a tsunami of people. One person caught his attention and he grabbed him out of the group.
“What is it this time? You want to try to kill me again?” He asked.
“No, but you still have a lot of explaining to do.” Marcus answered.
“I know I do, but-“ He began.
“Save it for later. The commanding officers will want to talk with you.” Marcus said.
“Ah, fun.” The man said as Marcus dragged him along through the gate, they were the last ones through and the soldiers on guard duty forced it shut again.
“What in God’s name is all of this?” Someone asked. Marcus looked over and saw one of the commanding officers glaring at him.
“You said you needed more men, we brought the cavalry.” Marcus said. The officer smiled a little and nodded.
“Then who’s this?” He asked, looking to the man next to Marcus.
A small smile formed on Angela’s lips as a single tear streaked down her face and dropped off her nose, splashing to the ground. She then spread her arms, palm facing out.
“What if I told you this wasn’t your choice?” She said as she began to rock backwards.
“No!” Italo yelled and rushed forward, but it was too late. She went over the edge without as much as a whimper, only moments later he heard a crash at the bottom. Italo rushed to the edge and looked over, many stories below lay the mangled body of a lost friend. The door behind him creaked open.
“You bastard!” He yelled.
“What is your name?” The officer asked.
“My name is Jake.” The man said. “Jake Kutcher.” The officer’s eyes went wide.
“Give me one damn reason why I shouldn’t shoot you dead right now.” He snarled.
“Because I know his weaknesses. I can get you behind his lines and I can kill him.” Jake said. The officer shook his head.
“You’re a murder. I don’t want you around my men.” He said.
“I had my reasons.” Jake said.
“You killed people on my ship.” Marcus said.
“We already went through this. I did what I had to do.” Jake said.
“I doesn’t make it any more right.” Marcus said.
“I didn’t say is did.” Jake said.
“Open the gates! We’ve got wounded!” A voice yelled.
“Dude, Italo stop.” Philip said. “There’ll be time to kick his ass later, but right now… We need to go.” He said. Italo glared at Lucas, who he was holding in his left hand. He slowly lowered his fist and let go of Lucas.
“Man, I’m sorry.” Lucas tried to say.
“Just shut up.” Italo said as he blew past him and down the stair well. He walked out of the building and began to walk towards were the hospital was, purposely forcing himself to look at Angela the entire time.
“Hey, wait up!” Philip called, though Italo did not.
“Thomas!” Marcus said. “You’re alive!”
“Yeah, but I don’t know how much longer. Alice and Kat are pretty messed up. They’re going to need help.” Thomas said.
“You came to the right place then. Get them inside, someone will help you.” Marcus said.
“What about you? Where are you going?” Thomas asked.
“Sadly for you, you showed up here during the middle of a war.” Marcus said as he walked off. The rain by now had almost stopped as Marcus stepped up onto the makeshift wall.
“Holy Shit…” He mumbled.
To be Continued
So, This is just a little thing to get me back on track. So, just to let you all know. I am going to finish this story.
It's awesome to see this back! I was already wondering what happened to this story, so I am very happy to see the new part. That has been a very interesting development, with Jake being among the freed prisoners. Considering that Alex is a diehard Jake fan, I am also surprised by this. For now, I am not really trusting him, as this might be a trick by Jake and Alex to infiltrate the hospital and to get their hands on the pregnant Samantha. However, he also helped Alice back at the city, so perhaps he is honest about his intentions this time. I wonder how the Gonzales family is going to react to him, considering that he murdered Armando.
Awesome chapter!
I think I'm finally caught up again! Looking forward to new parts!
Great chapter! Good that this awesome story is back
Marcus Bishop
The rain began to cease and he could now clearly see across the street into the field on the other side. The makeshift ramparts now seemed trivial compared to the small army amassed on the other side.
“Holy shit.” Marcus mumbled as he readied his rifle. All around him the camp sprang to life, there was yelling and running, all in an uncoordinated effort to clamber up the wall and get a look at what was happening.
“Oh man, we’re screwed.” One man said. “There are way too many of them.”
“Hold it together, they may have more but in the long run that means nothing. They have no experience, and look at them, their barely armed. If we keep our heads we can get out of this alive.” Marcus said, he noticed a single man walking towards the wall, hands up. He was holding something in his right hand. Marcus trained his rifle on him and placed his finger over the trigger, ready to fire away.
“Don’t shoot! I’m not armed!” The man called. Marcus looked over to Omar, who shrugged.
“What do you want?” Omar called out to the man.
“I just need to give you this, that’s all.” The man said, motioning to the object in his hand.
“Throw it up.” Marcus said. The man complied and chucked it up the side of the wall, Marcus reached out and caught it in one hand while not taking his other off them gun. He looked at the object in his hand, it was a walkie-talkie. “The hell Is this for?” He asked, but the man had already retreated back across the road. As soon as he rejoined the mass they began to move out, disappearing into the woods.
“Hello Marcus.” A voice spoke through the radio.
“You motherfucker. I’m going to rip your damn balls off and shove them down your throat!” He yelled into it. A small laugh emanated from the other side.
“Soon Marcus, soon.” He said. “But now, you might want to think about something.”
“Thank about what?” Marcus demanded.
“You have someone that is valuable to me. I want them back, now.” The voice said.
“Not a damn chance.” Marcus said.
“That’s what I thought you’d say, so I brought some encouragement for you.” He said.
“The hell does that mean?” Marcus asked. The other side didn’t answer. Marcus suddenly heard some far off whistling, and it grew louder, and louder. Marcus put the pieces together to late.
“Mortar!” He yelled, just as the command tent exploded sending asphalt and canvas flying everywhere. Another spot in the parking lot exploded sending a couple of men flying, ripping limbs and laying claim to the dead.
“You ready to start talking?” The voice asked. Marcus gritted his teeth.
“You ain’t getting a damn thing from us.” He growled.
“Let’s start with something easy, alright? The Irish chick, Catiline. Give her to me, send her north up the road with her hands tied, send with her thirty of your best men unarmed, assuming you have that many, ready to surrender. Then we can move on to more… Pressing matters.” He said.
“You aren’t getting near my sister.” Marcus said. A slight sigh came from the other side.
“Collect your dead. Think it over. Deeply. We’ll expect an answer in fifteen minutes. Out.” The voice said. Marcus motioned to Omar and jumped down from the wall, the two of them took off towards the command center. They began picking through it, looking for anyone or anything. There was nothing, everyone was dead and everything of use was destroyed.
“We got someone alive over here!” A voice called. Dillon turned around and saw people had went on to look through the mortar strike in the parking lot. Marcus picked his way out of the decimated command center and rushed over to the pit. Sure enough, there was one. A young man with short brown hair and matching eyes lay in the ruble, one leg missing.
“Dillon.” Marcus muttered. He knelt down beside him and threw chucks of asphalt off of him. He saw looking towards Marcus, although he didn’t really seem to be looking at him. Marcus quickly picked him up and took off running towards the hospital, he rushed through the doors and laid him onto a gurney.
“What the hell just happened out there?” Someone asked, Marcus turned around and saw Peter.
“Oh shit.” He mumbled. “Mortar strike, Two of them. They got Dillon.” Marcus said, stepping aside. Peter’s eyes widened as he looked at his nephew’s barely living body.
“How?” Peter asked, but Marcus had no answer. He took off running, bursting into the ICU.
“What happened out there?” Mariza asked, she was now standing and walked over to Marcus.
“Mortars. They’re attacking.” Marcus said. “Are you feeling better?” He asked. Mariza nodded, catching on.
“Give me a gun and I can fight.” She said.
“Thank you. Just get outside quickly. We need everyone on deck.” Marcus said, Mariza nodded and rushed past Marcus and out the door.
“So this is it, huh? Winner takes all.” Samantha spoke.
“Except we will be the winners.” Marcus said.
“This guy you’re going against, he’s seriously twisted. He’ll do things that you’d think weren’t possibly by human nature. He’s going to slaughter us.” She said.
“There’s not going to be a slaughter, Sam. We have the stronger army.” Marcus said.
“And what will that matter when half of it is taken out by mortars? What then? You and what army will defend this place?” Samantha asked.
“It’s noting going to come to that. We’re going to put an end to it before it begins.” Marcus said.
“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.” Samantha said.
“This isn’t a promise.” Marcus said. “It’s a prayer.”
“Just turn me over to him. He’ll leave you alone.” Samantha said.
“No. That’s not going to happen.” Marcus said,
“I’m ready. I can do this.” She urged.
“No you can’t. You’re delirious from blood loss and just found out you were pregnant. You need us, and we need you.” He said.
“Marcus…” She said.
“No. Conversation over.” Marcus said, he then turned and rushed out of the room back into the lobby. He found a man standing at the front desk with a military radio.
“Anything?” Marcus asked.
“I’ve been trying to contact nearby bases and National Guard. All I can gather is there’s something big at the CDC.” The radioman said.
“Then try contacting the CDC. We need help. All of it.” Marcus said.
“So that stuff you said earlier about us being able to win this thing, that was all bullshit?” He asked. Marcus sighed.
“I had to say something, otherwise they’d all turn tail and flee for the hills.” Marcus said.
“I hear you loud and clear.” The radioman said, then turned back to the radio and began speaking. Marcus walked off out of the building and into the parking lot. By now it was mostly cleaned up minus the giant holes the mortars left.
“Do you have a response to our demands?” The radio asked. Marcus looked at his watch. It had been fifteen minutes on the dot. 12:24 exactly.
Choice
[Accept offer and surrender Cataline and thirty men]
[Refuse offer]
[Refuse offer]
No! Just no! This bastard won't get his hands on Sammy. Sure, for now he is only asking for Cataline and thirty men, but we all know what comes next. This rapist piece of shit won't get his fucking hands on her! Who knows what he is going to do to her and the hospital group once he got what he wants! This bastard has to die in a very, very slow and painful way...
Though, I wonder if his request means that Cataline is indeed not on his side. Perhaps I can consider trusting her. In any way, the hospital has one advantage and that is Sammy. Alex wants her enough to risk the lives of a lot of his own followers, so she, or more likely, the baby inside her, is important to him. I doubt he is going to bomb the whole hospital to the ground, not with Samantha and his big idol Jake inside. On the other hand, he will almost definitely destroy the hospital once he got her, to ensure that no one can follow him and free her. That means, Sammy and by extension, Jake, are the hospitals only way to survive this fight, at least until potential back-up from the CDC arrives. I also just realized Alex probably doesn't even know that Jake is inside the hospital. Finding it out could change everything for him.
[Refuse offer]
We do not negotiate with rapist assholes!
[Refuse offer]
[Refuse offer]
Hell naw! That is not negotiable!
Marcus Bishop
Marcus stared at the radio for a few moments. He looked up at everyone around him. Distraught, scared faces. The faces of the lost. The faces of the ruined, unprepared people that used to hold measly office jobs not to terribly long ago. Faces that were not ready to turn and kill their own kind. He looked over the half-assed barricades they made, good for keeping out infected. People; Not so much. They weren’’t ready for war. Not by any standards, but if they didn’t do something; who would?
“Go to hell.” Marcus barked into the radio.
“Excuse me? I don’t think I caught that last transmission.” The other end crackled.
“You can go straight to hell.” Marcus said.
“Are you sure? You might want to rethink that statement, you won’t get just a warning like last time.” He responded.
“Go fuck yourself.” Marcus growled as he chucked the radio as far as he could, nearly taking a nearby soldiers head off. He turned and looked at the lurid faces of the people turned soldiers. They weren’t much, but they had to do.
“Listen up!” He yelled to be heard. “This isn’t going to be easy, or fun, or anything you want to do. I’m not going to lie, these next few hours will show you something about yourselves you didn’t know. It may seem easy, shooting at plywood cutouts. But push-ups and plywood won’t prepare any of you for what’s about to happen.” Marcus paused to let what he just said sink in. There was an uneasy muttering amongst the crowd.
“Out there,” Marcus began pointing past the wall. “There is an enemy that would like nothing less than to have your head on a silver platter. They know no fear, no mercy, no compassion. They are animals. Animals that have a disease that, if left untreated, could infect everything around it. And they should be treated as such.” He said, narrowing his eyes at Omar, who was slowly nodding as he gripped his rifle. “This.” Marcus said, hefting his rifle for everyone to see. “This is nothing more than a tool. It will do nothing for you. Absolutely nothing. This will only help you if you use your most important tool, your brain. To make it through this, you’ve got to keep your heads on straight. We are nothing more than machines, machines do not feel. They do not register any human emotion, they just compute then do. From here on out, none of you are human. You are machines. Machines hell-bent on protecting what’s theirs from what’s out there. Because, what’s out there will kill us. It will rip us apart, shred us like cheese then come back for more.” He said.
“Now. With that being said.” Marcus announced. “None of you are bound here by any means. All of you are just civilians. There’s a whole world out there, one big enough for you to get away from here and just pretend this place never existed. If you want to leave, I promise no one will look at you as any lesser.” Marcus said. There was a long silence. Marcus feared he’d just lost all of his fighters.
“No!” One man yelled. “This is our home. These bastards have been left unchecked for far too long. It’s time to act. And when my children and my grandchildren ask me what I did to set the world right, I for one will not say I ran. I will not say I hid. I will say I fought. I fought to the end. I fought until there was no more blood left to spill. I will say I was a machine. One that changed the world! What do you people say to that?” He continued. Marcus couldn’t help but to smile as almost the entire crowd began cheering in unison. A small group of around five approached Marcus.
“This isn’t our fight. We won’t spill our blood for someone else’s cause.” One said. Marcus nodded.
“What I said was true. You’re free to go.” Marcus said. Everyone in the group seemed relieved. “I hope you find someplace better out there.” He said.
“Thank you sir.” A woman said. “I hope you succeed in defending this place.”
“For all of our sakes,” Marcus said, looking around to everyone who was now busy rushing around, gearing up and taking spots on the wall. “I hope we can.” He said. The group walked away. A few soldiers gave them distasteful looks, but no one said anything. The gates squeaked open, then shut as they left. Marcus clambered up the wall. Mariza stood on his right, Omar on his left.
“Good day to die, huh?” Mariza said.
“Good a day as any.” Marcus said as he lifted his rifle, resting his cheek against the stock. They didn’t know when they would be coming. But they knew they were. Omar nudged hi with his elbow, Marcus looked over and saw he was holding a silver flask in his hand. Marcus smiled as he took it and took a quick drink.
“Machines.” Omar said.
“Machines.” Marcus responded, as Omar took the flask back.
“Machines!” Mariza yelled. All around the hospital grounds people began yelling the word in response. It was stupid, dumb really. But at least it showed these people still had some sort of life still in them. The excitement was quickly cut short by a shrill cry.
“Take cover!” A voice cried from afar, but loud enough to be clearly heard. Marcus quickly crouched down and leaned against the ramparts. Mariza was to slow to catch what was going on. The first mortar hit and she lost her footing, she flailed her arms as she stumbled backwards. Marcus reached out, but it was futile. She fell backwards off the wall and went tumbling to the ground. Marcus couldn’t hear her hit the ground over the continued explosions. Three… Four… Five, no six… Seven… Nothing. Seven mortars in a row then silence. Dead silence. Marcus quickly jumped from the wall and landed next to Mariza, who was laying on her back. He extended a hand to her. There was a small scratch on her arm, but other than that she looked okay.
“You alright?” He asked. She took his hand and stood up. She looked like she was going to say something, then her eyes fixated on something behind Marcus.
“Holy shit, don’t worry about me.” She said. Marcus turned around and looked for himself. The hospital was a disaster zone. The entire front was collapsed, parts were on fire entire floors were collapsed revealing the ugly interior. The giant red cross creaked, swayed and came unattached plummeting to the ground below. Lesson about gravity; it works, and it’s a bitch. The man standing nearby learned that the hard way, when the cross fell, he was there to catch it. Mostly with his head, and spine, and whatever used to be part of his body. But it didn’t really matter now because he wasn’t much more than a smear on the bottom of the cross now. Marcus broke out into an all-out sprint to the ruins. By the time he got there many of the refugees they picked up from the camp were already on the scene, picking through the debris and sifting through the rebar. He clambered his way through the rubble towards where he’d last seen Samantha. There was no door. Just a wall of debris. He grabbed furiously at the concrete ruins throwing it away only for more to fall in and take its place.
“Sam!” He called, as loud as he could. “Sam, we’re going to get you out of here!” He knew it was a stupid thing to say, hell there might not even be anything on the other side of this debris wall. “Somebody fucking help me! Stop standing around like a bunch of idiots!” Marcus yelled at the people sifting through. A few stumbled and joined Marcus. They clawed at the rubble, but got nowhere.
“Marcus!” A voice yelled. Marcus instantly spun around with hope in his stomach that instantly turned to sadness as he turned to see not Samantha, but Mariza. She pointed towards the wall. “They’re coming!” She said, the lifted her gun as she ran back to the wall.”
“Damn it to all!” Marcus yelled, he glanced back at the rubble wall. In the depths of his heart he knew she was dead. But he didn’t want to give up on her like this. But the only way to make sure it didn’t end like this was to fight back. Marcus took off running towards the wall. He mounted the ramparts and his heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, they were out there. Not all of them, but a lot of them.
“How many are there?” Mariza asked.
“A shit ton.” Marcus replied.
“A shit ton? I’ve never heard of that, is it metric?” She asked. Marcus was surprised at the fact that she was able to crack a joke at a time like this. Maybe she was just the kind of person that made jokes when they were scared. Yeah, that’s right. Let’s just laugh in death’s face. We’ll be good friends with him soon anyways.
“Alright everyone! This is what we’ve trained for! Remember, they have to get over this wall. We don’t. Let’s do this!” Marcus yelled.
“Machines!” Mariza led everyone in cheering. Great, now we’ve established our death chant.
“Machines.” Marcus responded, half-heartedly.
“You really think we can do it?” She asked. Alex’s army let out a mad scream that could be heard from far away. One that rattled bones and broke hearts. One that made grown men wet their pants and cry for mommy.
“No.” Marcus replied. Just then the first arrow hit. Wait, and arrow? Marcus looked at it. It was an arrow, imbedded in the wall.
“An arrow?” He asked himself. He looked up at the enemy. His eyes widened. “Holy Shit! Take Cover!” He dove down against the wall, just as the sky turned black. All around they began falling, arrows, people. People with arrow in them. Mariza let out a cry of pain. Marcus looked over and saw the arrow sticking out the back of her shoulder blade. She bit down of her lip hard as she gripped it. Then, just like that, the arrows stopped. Marcus cautiously stood back up and realized, to his relief, their tactic had been mostly ineffective. They’d succeeded in taking out a few people, but other than that all they’d done is blanket the ground in arrows. Mariza gripped the wall as she stood back up, gritting her teeth.
“Does it look bad?” She asked.
“It. Uh..” Marcus stuttered. She grabbed the shaft of the arrow. “Hey, you shouldn’t mess with it. You’ll hurt yourself.” She smiled a little.
“You said it yourself, machines don’t feel.” She said as she snapped the arrow at the base and tossed the shaft aside. “You missed me you fuckers!” She yelled at the army. Another yell came from the army. Marcus could see them ditching their bows and picking up assorted melee weapons and small arms. They were not well equipped at all. They took off running straight for the walls, Marcus lifted his gun and stared down the sights. The heavy machine guns would be more effective in taking them out, but they only had two of them. And well, at least one of them was already gone. Then, something unexpected happened. As the enemies ran for the wall, a large group of people, armed only with rebar, came in from their flank and tore through them. It was like watching a medieval battle, but in modern times. The refugees they’d liberated had kept good on their promise. They were helping, and doing a damn good job at it. In no time flat, the overwhelmed the enemies. It was only a matter of time before the last one got his head bashed in by a steel bar. The refugees began scavenging through the dead, picking up new weapons or anything that looked interesting. They were like raccoons, attracted to shiny things. Raccoon. Marcus shuttered at the thought of that word. Marcus spotted Jake, who flashed him a thumbs up. Marcus didn’t know if he could trust him or not, but right now he didn’t not trust him.
“They’re coming from the rear!” Someone yelled. Marcus spun on his heel and realized it was true. It was just a set up. The army they’d just defeated was a diversion. The remaining army was already at work climbing over the unprotected side of the compound. A large amount had already poured in. Marcus was frozen. Mariza wasn’t. She began firing at a nearby enemy. She didn’t quit pulling the trigger until he was on the ground dead. She nearly threw up afterwards. The first kill is always the hardest. Marcus snapped back and jumped down from the wall, into the confusion. He began firing at people. Maybe they were enemy. There were to many. Gunfire all around. Yelling, screaming, stabbing. Some of Marcus’s soldier had ditched their empty firearms and resorted to hand-to-hand with varying results. In the midst of the confusion Marcus spotted one many climbing over the wall. He had messy black hair, and mimicked Jake in many ways. Alex. Marcus spotted Jake himself climbing up the wall next to him. That traitor! Marcus lifted his gun to take the shot, but then…
“Alex, you need to stop this!” Jake boomed. Alex turned in shock and looked at Jake.
“Why? I did this for you.” He said.
“This isn’t what I wanted, nobody wanted this.” Jake said.
“You’ve changed Jake. You used to be a hero to me. Now, you’re nothing. It took me a while to realize this, but I’m a better you, then well, you.” Alex said. Jake made a confused face.
“Wait, wha-“ Jake began but was cut off when Alex drew a revolver and shot him straight in the throat.
“Sorry it had to end like this, friend. But you know as well as I, there can be only one.” Alex said as he turned away from Jake and began climbing down from the wall. Marcus realized to late that he was paying more attention to the conversation than he should’ve. He heard a yell and looked over. Sure enough, there was an enemy right in his face. Marcus had no time to react as the sharpened stick ran straight through his stomach. He leaned forwards into the man, just out of instinct. The man pulled the stick out of Marcus’s stomach. In a last ditch effort, Marcus pulled his pistol from his belt. He stuck it straight to the man’s body, right where the kidney would be. Then he pulled the trigger. As the man recoiled, Marcus fell to the ground. On the ground Marcus looked up and pulled the trigger again, hitting him square in the eye. He fell down, obviously dead. Marcus lay there waiting, until another man ran up, reading his machete for the kill. Marcus lifted his pistol to slow. The man kicked it away, then poised to strike.
“No!” Alex’s voice yelled. “He’s mine.” He said as he pushed the man aside. Alex strode up as if it was just a day in the park, when in reality an entire firefight was unfolding around them. Numbers vs Technology, and numbers were winning. He smiled.
“So, you’re the one that caused all of this.” Alex said.
“Go… Go fuck yourself.” Marcus grunted.
“Still a hard ass. Great.” Alex said.
“Y-You killed her.” Marcus said.
“Yeah, I did. What you didn’t realize is the face that I only wanted her. I didn’t actually need her. You doomed yourself for nothing.” He said.
“I’m going to kill you…” Marcus stuttered. Alex smiled.
“It was nice taking with you.” The end of the revolver was shiny. The sunlight glinted off of it an such a way it blinded Marcus. The flash was brighter. Marcus knew he was dead, he felt the bullet hit his head. But he could still see, hear, talk, breath. He was dead, but alive? No, he was alive. The bullet missed. Marcus forced himself up and realized what had happened. Alex, who was too preoccupied with Marcus, did not see Samantha Bishop herself, who had run up and tackled him from the side. She was now on top of him. Holding a pair of scissors in one hand. Alex smiled.
“You were so nice last time you were on top of me.” He said, just as the shiny blade cut into his throat, chest, stomach, anything exposed. She wouldn’t stop, couldn’t stop. After a while her swings stopped and she jabbed the scissors into his chest one last time before rolling off of his carcass. She quickly came over to Marcus.
“H-How… Did you..” Marcus began but she cut him off.
“Catiline got me out, through the other way.” She said as she looked at him. “Oh God. This looks bad.” She said.
“Thanks for sugar coating it.” Marcus said, the laugh hurt, but it was worth it. Marcus’s head rolled to the side and he saw Mariza fighting against two men about twice her size. She was using the empty gun like a club. She swung it and caught one man right in the gut. The other caught the gun and yanked it from her hands. His huge muscles bulged as he swung the rifle at her, catching her face. She went sprawling to the ground. One of the men quickly hooked her arms in his and lifted her up off the ground like she weighed nothing. Her head lolled to the side as blood dripped from her mouth and nose. She was conscious, but barely. The other tall man pulled out a shiny knife as he stepped forward, holding out the knife. He was going to gut her. He began to drive the knife forward, it almost went right into her gut but it didn’t get there. A loud gunshot knocked him back. Half of his head was missing. None of Marcus’s guns would’ve done that. A second gunshot and the man holding Mariza dropped like a sack of rocks. She fell with him, not even bracing for the fall. She landed staring at Marcus, not moving. Was she even alive? All around the gunfire opened up. All around, people began dropping like flies. The enemies took off running for the gates, only when they opened them they were greeted by what sounded like a .50 cal. They were mowed down like nothing. There was none left soon. But who did that? Marcus’s questions were answered when a squad of five came through the gates, all wearing the same camo uniforms, with the CDC logo on their arms. The leader raised his right arm and shouted.
“We are the federal Army of the United States of America, under the new authority of the CDC council. The capital of the new United States is now located here, in Georgia. At the CDC. You are now under our protection, as you are all citizens of the United States. You’ve done your country a great favor by taking on an enemy that has gone unmatched for quite some time. We thank you all for your service, welcome home.” He said. There was a loud cheer, someone should the words Machines. That was getting annoying. Squad after squad walked in through the gates boxes of supplies, armored trucks. Tanks. A medic waltzed his way over to Marcus. He looked him over, and smiled a little.
“You’re very lucky. You have no serious injuries from what I can tell. The weapon didn’t go very far in. Once we stop the bleeding, you’ll be on your feet in no time flat.” He said.
“Who are you people?” Marcus asked.
“We’re all remnants of the US before the apocalypse. We’ve been waiting for our chance. And now seemed like a damn good time. We’re going to use this hospital as a ground base for our operations.” He said.
“What about the infected?” Marcus asked.
“CDC’s still working on a cure. But as of now, we’ve eradicated all infected within one hundred miles of this area. Trust me, we’ve been hard at work. And it’s not just us. All around the world people are fighting back. We’re on the track back to normal, whatever the hell that is.” The medic said. “Well, it seems like I’m done here. I’ve done all I can. I’ll check back later.” He said as he stood and walked off.
“So, that’s it?” Samantha asked. “We did it? We survived?” She asked. Marcus laid his head back and smiled at her.
“We’re machines, what do you expect.” He said.
Wow, this was a great part, perhaps the most intense of the whole story! There's so much stuff I'd like to say about it and I don't even know where to start. Well, perhaps I start with the obvious. I was wrong about Catiline. Considering that she saved Sammy, she definitely deserves a lot more credit than I was willing to give her before. Similarly, Jake's final moments proved to me that he wasn't all evil either. Sure, he did some really nasty things, but he at least tried to stop the fight in the end. Alex on the other hand gained several additional asshole-levels in this part and I was surprised that I could end up despising him even more. The fact that he was completely willing to kill the girl he claimed to have come for proved to me that he never really wanted her, but instead only wanted an excuse to kill a lot of people. That came only as a slight surprise though, but what really shocked me was that he was even willing to kill his hero and idol to continue the fight. As for the other people... Mariza was a beast in this part. Considering that she is not some badass military-trained fighter, unlike Marcus, Omar and many of the others, she probably impressed me the most in this fight. And of course, the fact that Sammy, who was extremely close to death just a short while ago, already managed to butcher the fucker who raped her deserves special mention too. That was awesome and a well-deserved end for Alex! The whole part was awesome, but that stood out for me. The army was great too in this part and I am glad to see that things look a bit brighter on the horizon. Of course, unless you plan on finishing this story in the near future, I doubt the road back to normality will be that easy, but for now, it is refreshing to see things getting better for once. Amazing part, well done!
Thank you, I put a lot of effort into this chapter.
Well, I did it right then. Right in the sense that it was totally wrong.
You approve this time? Yay! I did it right! I'm a happy murderer!
Yes, yes she was.
Eye, I have no clue. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?
Never is, never will be.
Anyways, thank you so much for all of your feedback, I know I don't respond to a lot of it and like I said before, It's only because I want to keep suspense and not give away secrets. I always love reading what you have to say, and I always try to listen to your advice. Thank you.
Hell yes I loved this chapter! Its good that Alex is finally dead and I really liked Marcus and Mariza during this fight. Samantha was also great when she killed this smug bastard and got some nice revenge. I wonder what happened to the other fighters, like Peter or Eva or the people from the Olympus. I hope they are all fine. This was one of my favourite chapters in the story and I cant wait for more
Marcus Bishop
Somewhere in the universe is a place called earth, on this Earth are giant land forms we call continents. And in one of those continents is a place called Georgia, in the United States. In Georgia is a small, rain-drenched hospital, torn apart by war and filled with death. Standing outside the hospital is a man, standing next to his sister. Farther down is another woman who stands all alone, the echoes of war becoming hard to bear. Marcus looked over at Samantha. They were safe now, these people from the CDC, they were their savior. Had they planned on killing them, they would’ve already. Marcus began walking on down towards Mariza, who had just been aimlessly wandering around ever since the fighting ended. She was obviously pretty messed up. As he walked a hand was planted on his shoulder, he looked over and saw Omar standing next to him with Eva next to him.
“We actually did it.” Omar said. It was obvious they’d won, but at what price? They were digging bodies out of the hospital by the metric ton. But they won.
“I guess we did.” Marcus admitted.
“So, what’s next?” Eva asked, her gaze far off.
“What do you mean?” Omar asked.
“I mean, what do we do now? We don’t have to fight anymore, we don’t have to run anymore. We don’t have to be scared anymore.” She said.
“As humans, we move on.” Marcus offered.
“Move on?” Eva said, thinking it over. “I’m not really sure that’s the right choice of words.”
“Not yet.” Marcus admitted. “Now is the time to mourn. Later we move on.”
“And as the fighting continues in the mid-western regions of the United States, it is not yet sure who is actually in control. Multiple different powers are claiming to be in command, with the Georgia Federation amongst the strongest. Meanwhile, the campaigns in Africa and the middle east are now gaining momentum as military and civilians take to arm, recapturing the island of Madagascar from the local bandits. Contact has not yet been established with the European Union.” A nearby radio crackled.
“Maybe that’s a start.” Omar said.
“Do you think it’ll ever go back to how it was?” Eva asked.
“No. It will never be like it used to.” Marcus said. “It’s going to be a lot different, but in the same sense so reminiscent of what we used to have.” He said.
“Look at Marcus, breaking out the big boy words over here.” Omar joked.
“Shut up man.” Marcus said.
“Hey, I got something I need to take care of. I’ll talk with you later.” Omar said as he walked off.
“Yeah, see you around.” Marcus said. He looked back to where Mariza was. She was gone, no longer in sight. As Marcus would come to find out, she left the camp that day. She said she just couldn’t live with herself after what happened. She just left, and no one stopped her.
The next two bodies they pulled from the hospital wreckage were the worst. Dylan and Peter, they both died when the building came down. Crushed under the weight of the rubble. They stood no chance. It would turn out that the CDC actually had a great deal of interest in the hospital, because for the next couple of months they worked to rebuild it with a passion, and convert the grounds into an operating military installation. It was late into a summer afternoon when she came, unexpected, but none the less welcome. The world was a safe place once again, and it was starting to grow again. Her name was Nadiya, in French it meant hope. Samantha insisted on it, after all it was her girl. She was born perfectly healthy, and despite all odds, seemed like she was going to be perfectly normal. Marcus was busy admiring the beauty of the little human when he was called out into the hallway where he found multiple men in olive drab uniforms, each with the CDC armband. They all snapped to attention as he stepped into the hallway. More of just an honorary notion, he held no real power. When they started rebuilding the hospital, they jokingly put his name on it, ‘Marcus Bishop Hall of the Georgia Federation’. Everyone expected it to be changed as soon as the big wigs showed up, but apparently the new government either had a sick sense of humor or just thought they were being nice, so they left the name. They build a memorial to all the people who fought and died at that battle, each of them awarded as heroes to a new nation. Marcus was a hero, but so was everyone else. Omar and Eva went on to fight against the infection. Omar ended up dying in Africa after his helicopter crashed into the desert, he survived for about a week out there before he finally died of dehydration. Eva, no word on her. Europe is a black box, noting goes in nothing comes out. She may be alive, she may be dead. She may be playing Napoleon and conquering half the world. Who knows?
“Sorry to interrupt you at a time like this sir, but it’s important.” A man said.
“Spit it up lieutenant.” Marcus said.
“Our researchers believe the found a cure.” He said.
“Uh huh.” Marcus said. “So why’d you come to me?” He asked.
“The cure isn’t a shot or anything like that…” He said.
“What are you not telling me?” Marcus asked.
“They believe the cure is a person. They believe a certain person had been able to develop certain bodily enzymes that make them naturally immune to the virus.” He said.
“Thanks for the update.” Marcus said as he turned.
“That’s not all sir.” He said.
“What is it?” Marcus asked.
“The person who is immune to the virus needs to be brought back here so the researchers can operate.” He said.
“You want me to go get them?” Marcus said. He nodded. “Lieutenant, do I look like I run a baby-sitting business?” Marcus asked.
“No sir.” He responded. “Just, high command thought that the specimen would be more cooperative around someone they knew.”
“Someone they knew?” Marcus asked.
“Mariza Peron, does that name ring a bell?” He asked. Mariza.
“She’s alive?” Marcus asked.
“Yes sir. She’s alive and living in Youngstown.” He said.
“That’s what, twenty miles from here?” Marcus asked.
“A little over twenty sir.” He corrected.
Choice
[Agree to go get Mariza]
[Decline]
[Agree to go get Mariza]
[Agree to go get Mariza]
That was a very bittersweet part. I liked the timeskip a lot, the new scenario with a partially rebuild society is very interesting. On the other hand, the deaths of Peter, Dylan and, during the timeskip, Omar, have been sad, as I grew to like them. Of course, I'll especially miss Omar, but I also got quite fond of Peter. Eva's situation is interesting, I wonder if she will stay M.I.A or if she will return to the story. However, the birth of Nadiya was a very nice part, greatly counterbalancing the tragic deaths that happened earlier and I am glad to see mother and child alive and well. I guess the rest of the former Olympus people are alive too, yes?
[Agree to go get Mariza]
RIP Peter and Dylan. That was sad
I hope Eva is still alive.
Marcus Bishop
Marcus eyes the Lieutenant. The arrogant bastard. Everyone know it, this guy was just full of himself. But that was beside the point.
“I’ll do it.” Marcus answered.
“That’s great.” The Lieutenant said as he dug into his satchel and pulled out a crisp piece of paper. “This is her location, street address… Everything you need to find her and get her back here.” He said. Marcus grabbed the paper and looked it over. It seemed to all check out, but there was only one way to find out. He turned and walked away from the Lieutenant and into the hospital room. Samantha eyed him tentatively as he approached.
“You’re leaving aren’t you?” She asked, when Marcus paused to long she continued. “Don’t try to lie.” She said.
“Yeah, I’m leaving. I have to run out to Ramsey.” He said. Youngstown Georgia, formerly known as Flemington, it was renamed in honor of General Howard Ramsey Young, the man who led the assault to reclaim the west. Although his assault was mostly a failure and Ramsey was killed by the nomadic bandits that claimed the west, he was praised as a hero.
“What’s out in Youngstown?” Samantha asked.
“A friend.” Marcus said. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.” He told her, then looked at the small baby she cradled in her arms. “And you little lady, you need to keep you mother under control.” He said to her. Samantha cracked a small smile. “See you later Sams.” He said as he walked out the door. The hospital was a lot bigger than it used to be. Well, now it was a lot more than just a hospital. He walked through the hallway and stopped in the enormous atrium that had been built. It was quite impressive. Fountains and waterfalls, plants and trees, it was like a small but still orderly jungle in here. And plastered on the far wall were large slabs of granite, inscribed with the names of those who died here at the hospital. Peter Oswald, Dylan Oswald those two names on a wall of around a hundred seemed to stick out so profoundly. Marcus turned away from the wall and walked to the glass door which flew open on its own. Marcus pulled out his keys and walked to the jeep he’d been given as a gift by the new government. Say what you will, they aren’t cheap. The jeep started without hesitation. He put it in drive and began driving through the sprawling base that used to be just a hospital, a field and a bunch of trees. It was impressive. He was stopped at the large concrete and rebar fence that surrounded the base.
“ID, sir.” The guard asked.
“Marcus Bishop, on official business.” Marcus said.
“I don’t give a damn who you are or what you’re doing, ID.” The guard demanded. Marcus had to give the guys credit, they were serious about their jobs. Marcus opened the glove box and pulled out the papers certifying his residence. The guard looked them over, then grabbed his radio.
“Command, this is Gate three. We’ve got a Marcus Bishop leaving the base, operation code 6-4-0-9.”He said, then handed the papers back to Marcus. “Be careful out there, and try to avoid exit 30 if you’re headed that way, it’s all fucked up after last week’s fighting.” He said.
“Will do.” Marcus said. The guard waved him through as the large gate rolled open. Marcus drove through, aware of the fact that he had a sniper trained on the back of his head as he left. It was a nice day out, better than most of the days this week. It’s been cold and rainy, today the clouds broke and the sun came out. The twenty miles from the base to Youngstown was one of the safest routes in this part of the world as of now. No bandits, no infected. The only thing you have to look out for is the damn deer jumping out in front of the car. No joke, they’d just lost an entire squad a week back to a damn deer. As he drove he saw a sign, Youngstown town limits. He made it to Youngstown, now on to Federal street.
It wasn’t hard to find, as it would turn out. Federal Street is actually the main street that ran through the town. Youngstown had defiantly grown a lot from what it used to be, which was a one horse town with a bar and nothing else. Now it was one of the biggest cities in the area, though it still didn’t have any walls or defenses. It was totally dependent on the base. Marcus drove down the street until he saw what he was looking for, building 87. It was a small apartment nestled in-between two others just like it. This entire town had been built from the ground up, and now it was a thriving metropolis with a population of around one thousand and growing almost daily. Strange come to think of it, humans are group animals. They herd together in times of need, so they can be co-dependents on one another. The infection got one thing wrong from the bat, it didn’t kill everyone at once. Humans are a creature like no other, if you don’t kill them all, the only ones left will be the strong. Marcus put the car in park on the side of the road and shut the engine, he didn’t know how long he’d be here for. He walked around the front of the jeep and towards the apartment, up the stairs and stopped at the door. He paused for a second before knocking, and he didn’t know why. Was he afraid to see her again? What was it? He kept bugging himself until the door opened, to Marcus’s surprise it was not Mariza, it was another woman. A woman with long brown hair and stormy blue eyes beneath a pair of glasses.
“Hello?” She asked.
“Is, uh, Mariza Peron here?” Marcus asked. The woman laughed a little.
“She must be very popular today.” She said. “She’s at work right now, I’m sure you can find her at the town hall.” She said. “You do know where that is, right?” She asked, eyeing Marcus. He shamefully shook his head. He hadn’t been here since its population was less than thirty. “Oh, well. I was headed that way anyways. I guess I could show you the way.” She said.
“Sure thing.” Marcus said. The two of them walked to his jeep and got in. Marcus started the engine and Marcus began driving with her calling out directions. Left here, go straight. Keep going.
“So, I don’t think We’ve meet before.” Marcus said. “I’m Marcus Bishop”
“Holly Peron.” She answered.
“Mariza is married?” Marcus asked, a little shocked. Holly showed Marcus her hand which had a ring on it.
“She married me a little over a month ago.” She answered. “I was afraid she wasn’t going to make it when I first met her, she was seriously out of it. I found her in a bar trying to drown herself in booze.”
“How is she now?” Marcus asked.
“She’s a spitfire now. She doesn’t let anyone stand in her way and she doesn’t take no for an answer, that’s why I love her.” She said. She then pointed to a large building that stood out from the rest due to its Greco-Roman vibe. “That’s the town hall right there.” She said. Marcus stopped the jeep and got out, Holly walking right beside him. “So, did you know Mariza before?” She asked.
“Define ‘before’.” Marcus said.
“Like, before this, the new government and stuff. Did you know her when it was just us out there trying to survive?” She asked.
“Yeah, I did. She saved my life at least once.” Marcus said. “She’s a hell of a fighter.” He added on.
“You must know a lot about her then, she refused to talk about anything about before she came toYoungstown.” Holly said.
“Her life wasn’t the easiest before. She’s been through a lot.” Marcus said.
“I can tell, it just makes me feel so bad that I can see the pain in her but I can’t connect.” She said.
“Trust me, I know the feeling.” Marcus said. “You’re lucky to have someone like her. Good people are hard to find nowadays.” He said.
“Tell me about it. I went to the next town over once, Ramsey, it was horrible.” She said.
“Horrible as in how?” Marcus asked. She huffed.
“Everyone in Ramsey are a bunch of drunk homophobes, to put it shortly.” She said as she walked up the large front stairs to the door, Marcus walked ahead of her and grabbed the door, holding it open as she walked in. “A man with old-world manners? This is something new.” She said.
“Just because it’s the end of the world, doesn’t mean we need to start being assholes to everyone.” Marcus said, as he followed her in.
“And just when I thought everyone on Earth had lost all common sense.” She said, walking up to the large information desk with a young man sitting behind it. “Hi Josh.” Holly said.
“Oh, Hi Holly. Are you here to see Mariza?” He asked.
“Me and my new friend here.” Holly answered. The young man looked at Marcus, and his face lit up.
“Marcus Bishop himself. A local legend in our presence.” Josh said as if making a grand announcement. “You two go right on up, she’s just finishing up with someone right now.” He said. Holly nodded to him.
“Thank you.” She said as she walked away, towards the large beautifully crafted staircase. Large and grand seemed to be the theme here. It almost looked more like a personal mansion than a city hall. At the top of the stair case there were a set of double doors straight ahead and a hallway branching off in either direction. Holly walked to the set of doubled door and placed her hand on the handle, twisting it and walking in with Marcus following.
“ I have my people to think of, your plans can wait.” A woman’s voice said.
“Your ambitions are interfering with our plans, Miss Peron.” A man’s voice said.
“One, your plans are flawed.” She said, then noticed Holly and Marcus. “And two, it’s Misses Peron to you.” She said as she kissed Holly. The man looked disgusted but said nothing.
“My plans are not flawed.” He said.
“A am the mayor of this town, if you don’t like that to bad.” She said. “Now, get out of my office.” She said. The man grumbled unhappily as he stood up and stormed out.
“What was that about?” Holly asked.
“That was the mayor of Ramsey, he wanted us to just give him half of or farmland.” Mariza said.
“You didn’t agree with him did you?” Holly asked. Mariza laughed.
“I wouldn’t give that man an inch of dirt.” She said.
“Good. Ramsey doesn’t even deserve what they already have.” Holly said.
“That’s agreeable.” Mariza said, then she noticed Marcus and her eyes widened and she froze in place. Marcus could see her mind replaying the day over in her mind again. “Marcus fucking Bishop.” She said, a smile dawning on her lips. “To what do I owe this surprise?”
“High command sent me from the base.” Marcus said.
“For what exactly?” Mariza asked.
“For you.” Marcus said. “They said they think you’re part of the cure for the infection.” Marcus said.
“Me? How?” She asked.
“I don’t know.” Marcus said. Mariza looked to Holly, who looked just as confused. Oh, yeah. Marcus had forgotten to inform her. Oops. “All the told me is that they needed you, and they wanted me to get you.” He said.
“I don’t know, I can’t just up and leave this town.” Mariza said.
“Come on, Mariza.” Marcus said. “You can trust me. You know that right?” He said, there was a pause.
“Yeah… Yeah. I know.” She said. “I guess we should go then, if we want to be back any time soon.” She said.
“I’m coming to.” Holly said. “I’m not letting you go out there alone, Mariza. You know what the world’s like.” She said, then looked at Marcus with a glare.
“You can come.” Marcus said.
“Good, because I wasn’t asking.” She said. The trio walked out of the room and down the staircase. Everyone stopped to pay respects as Mariza walked by, it was strange to see her become mayor. The trip back was filled with catching up, and reminiscing. When Marcus told Mariza about Nadiya she nearly flipped out of the car with excitement. At the gate Marcus was stopped by the same guard.
“Back so soon?” He asked, then looked in the jeep. “And who are these women Mr. Bishop?” He asked.
“This is Mariza Peron, Mayor of Younstown.” Marcus said. “And this is her wife, Holly Peron.” He said. The guard nodded and turned to his radio.
“Command, this is gate three. Marcus Bishop has returned with Mayor Peron, plus one. Please advise.” He said. Moment of silence. “Alright, go on through and pull off to the right and wait.” He said. Marcus complied and drove through, stopping on the side of the road to the right. It wasn’t long before a Humvee showed up. A doctor and a solider jumped out.
“Mariza Peron?” The doctor asked.
“That’s me.” Mariza said.
“Please, come with us.” He said. Holly began to protest, but Mariza waved her off.
“It’s okay, I’ll see you at the hospital.” She said, kissing her one last time before getting out of the jeep and walking off with the doctor and solider. The Humvee tore off down the road as soon as she got in. The guard from earlier walked up to the side of the jeep.
“You two are free to go.” He said. “Have a good one. Stay safe out there.” He said.
“You too.” Marcus said as he began driving down the road, turning towards the hospital. He parked the car and began walking inside with Holly right on his heels as always,
“I’ve never been here before.” She remarked.
“It’s impressive isn’t it?” He said as he walked through the door into the atrium. He normally would spend time in the atrium every time he came here, but today he was in a hurry. He walked to the information desk.
“Hi, how can I help you?” The nurse behind the counter said.
“I’m looking for someone.” Marcus said.
“Name?” The nurse asked.
“Mariza, Peron.” Holly said before Marcus could say anything. The nurse typed something into the computer.
“No, There’s no Mariza Peron on file here at the hospital.” She said.
“Maybe it’s a mistake, we just got here. Maybe she’s not in yet?” Holly said. The nurse turned to the computer again.
“No, still no… Wait.” She said. “I got something.” She said.
“What is it?” Marcus asked.
“Mariza Peron was just booked into the prison, scheduled for execution at 9.” The nurse said.
“Execution?” Holly gasped. Marcus looked at his watch. 8:55. Just enough time to get from here to the prison. He grabbed Holly’s wrist and dragged her along as he sprinted away towards the jeep. He practically threw her into the passenger side, and she hit her head on the door. Oops. Marcus instantly floored it. Not giving a shit about traffic or street signs. He just floored it. You know you can trust me, right? Damn you. He didn’t bother turning the car off. The just jumped out and ran, Holly was first out but Marcus managed to catch up to her and they busted through the door together. “Where do we?” Holly began asking but Marcus grabbed her wrist and yanked her along as he sprinted down a hallway. No time left. At the end of the hallway was a door, he ran right into it and it flew open. Time was in slow motion. There was a panel of glass separating him from her. He could see Mariza, looking fearfully at him, chained to a chair at the far end of a long corridor. Five men stood at the near end holding rifles trained on her. She wasn’t crying, she wasn’t screaming but her expression said it all. She knew what came next. Holly was the one screaming and crying. Marcus quickly ripped out his revolver and in a flash the glass shattered, just a moment too late. As he launched himself through the broken window.
“Fire!” Five guns went off in unison. Then silence as the armed men turned on Marcus. The commanding officer approached him. “Marcus Bishop? You aren’t supposed to be here.” He said. He ripped the radio off a nearby solider.
“Command, this is Officer Abraham. We’ve got a little problem down here.” He said.
“Officer Abraham, this is Command, please define this problem.” The radio said.
“Marcus Bishop found us out. He’s onto us.” He said.
“Is he alone?” The radio asked. The Officer looked around.
“Yes.” He said. He didn’t see Holly. She got away.
“Then clean up this mess.” The radio said.
“Yes sir.” The Officer said. He grabbed one of the soldier’s rifles, and looked it over, switching it from semi-automatic to fully auto. The unsuspecting soldiers were gunned down one by one before they even knew what was happening. He then threw the rifle down and pulled out his pistol.
“Marcus Bishop, I hereby charge you with five counts of murder and find you guilty of treason. The punishment for such a crime is death.” He said. The pistol was at his forehead. Marcus’s eyes drifted to his revolver in his hand. He made a sudden jerky movement in an attempt to bring up the gun, but he was to slow. The sound of a 9 millimeter pistol echoed through the halls of the so called justice building.
The End
“They lied to us, they told us we were safe. The spoon fed us what we wanted to hear. They got us to trust them just so they could use us. And now, us who know the truth, we’ve been forced into hiding far too long. This is not what our predecessors survived for. This is not why we exits, to be shoved into the underground and laughed at like we’re some kind of animal at the circus. We will rise and show these people the danger of their own game. We will fight to the last breath, just as our friends and families did. We will yield no ground in this everlasting fight for the truth. We will rain hell down upon those who oppose us, and they will beg for forgiveness. And as they are on their knees, begging with every ounce of energy they have. We will look down upon them and say, ‘A Machine feels no compassion.’ This one is for those who go before us, for those who stood for what they believe in. This. This is for those who called themselves The Machines.” She looked around the dimly lit cave lit only by the torched the people carried, casting shadows across the wall in a dance of the ancient times. She jammed a magazine into the rifle and cocked it back. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “This one is for you, Marcus”
“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” ~ John F. Kennedy.
Damn it, Marcus
And Mariza too... that was unexpected and I am not sure what to say. I'm just completely stunned at this. Holy shit, that was something... But, there's one thing...
Wait, wait, wait... the end, like in the end? The final ending to the story? But I have so many questions! Why have they just shot Mariza after getting her to the hospital? And why have they shot Marcus? And what happened to Sammy? Did she make it out alive? Is she the woman making that speech at the very end? I mean, it's implied that she is, but still... and Nadiya, what happened to Nadiya? And to the other characters, like Alice, Philip or Italo?