The Azrael: Surviving the Outbreak (2 page)

“I’m fine, I’m fine.  I was just thinking about…well, since you’re here and all.  Want to…”  John was interrupted.

“Not in this place.  And I think I’m about to start my period. Eh, not in the mood.”  Savanna said, knowing it was a lie.  She really wanted to sleep with John, but she was on edge about this place too.   She gave him a sly grin and went back to her room adjusting her panties that were riding up her ass.  She ran her finger along the elastic and it popped as it struck her behind.  She did it out of comfort and also to tease John a bit. She’s proud that she’s got a nice butt and her boobs get her free shit all of the time. She looked back, bit her lip, disappeared beyond the doorway and climbed back into her bed.

“Damn, stop torturing me woman.  You know it don’t take much.”  John said trying to fight the urge to go to her room and teach her a lesson.  He fell asleep shortly thereafter and had a satisfying dream teaching her that lesson he thought she deserved.

In the middle of the night John was startled awake from noises downstairs.

“Fuck, what the hell?”  He sat up and listened.  He rubbed at his eyes and stretched.  He heard Savanna snoring loudly.  However, a rubbing noise and sounds of breaking branches somehow pushed through her throat hissing.  He dressed quietly and grabbed the pistol that was resting on the nightstand next to the bed.  He peeked into Savanna’s room and found her sleeping heavily and wildly as all the pillows were on the floor while the covers were half on her and half off of her.  Another reason why he didn’t like sleeping with her, she’s a wild sleeper.  John decided not to wake her up and checked on the noise by himself.  He slowly traversed through the dark house and descended the steps as quiet as he could, although he still managed to inspire a few creeks from the wooden panels on the stairway.  He reached the floor and heard a noise again.  It was not in the house, but below it.  The stench returned as he moved through the downstairs as quiet as possible.  He turned to head upstairs to wake up Savanna and was startled to find her behind him fully dressed with a knife and her trusty Beretta aimed towards the front door.

“For Christ’s sake woman.  You almost died!  I almost shot you.  I thought you were sleeping?”  John said in a whisper.

“I was sleeping.  I heard your fat ass stomping down the steps.  Not as helpless as you thought, huh?”  Savanna said feeling good that she got the jump on John for once.  She had gotten better with her movements. At a lean 5’1”of course she would make less noise sneaking around.  Their moment ceased when the sound of a tree breaking outside caught their attention.

“Oh my God, what was that?”  Savanna squealed from the sound outside and instinctively lowered to a crouch.

“Let’s find out.  Follow.”  John crouched as well, quietly moved towards the backdoor and tactically exited the house with Savanna in tow.

They rounded the corner of the house and John glanced around the heat pump that had to of cost the owner a fortune, it was huge.  In the shadows of the trees two figures appeared and were struggling.  A loud growl identified one of the figures as a bear, but it was too big to be a black bear.  The other figure was nearly as tall and just as massive.

“Holy shit, it’s a fucking bear!”  John whispered to Savanna.

“A bear, a black bear?  They don’t get too big in this area.  We can take ‘em.”  Savanna said.

“No, that thing is huge.  And it’s fighting something just as big.”  John said turning around and trying to see more.

Suddenly the other figure wrapped its enormous arms around the neck of the bear and squeezed.  The bear growled and clawed at the other creature.  Its growl weakened and it began to whimper until finally John heard a loud crack as the bear’s neck snapped and it collapsed.

“It’s some kind of gorilla; it snapped the bear’s neck!  Holy Christ!”  John said as his hands shook.

Savanna couldn’t resist and looked around the corner.  It was eating the bear.

“Um, do gorillas eat bears?”  Savanna asked John.

“What are you talking about?  Is it…”  John peeked around and saw the beast biting into the bear’s neck and ripping out meat.  “Holy shit, it’s one of them.  It’s an Azrael!”  John’s face turned white and he couldn’t stop looking.

“Quit joking, that thing is huge.  Don’t they only eat people, not animals?  It’s gotta be something else.”  Savanna said dismissing John’s assessment as they tried to work out an explanation hidden behind the heat pump.

“Maybe it’s that bad out there that they have to eat whatever they can get their teeth in?   But why go through the trouble of eating a bear?”  John asked out loud not expecting a response.

“Competition for food?  That’s what happens in the wild in those nature shows.  They have territories or something like that.  Maybe the bear was in its territory.”  Savanna said trying to find some explanation.

They both turned and looked again but now the creature was standing over the bear looking right at them.  It stood at least 7’ tall and was built like an Olympic power lifter.  It was dark skinned, wearing a tattered tank top and a pair of ripped sweats.  His leg muscles were stretching the fabric to its limit. Threads that broke through the rips looked stressed.  It just stared at them.  It was silent but still continued to chew on the meat.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.  He sees us.”  John reacted and drew his pistol and aimed it at the enormous Azrael.  Its head cocked to the side and it stepped forward, but didn’t lunge or sprint like they normally do.  John was about to shoot but Savanna put her hand on his pistol and lowered it.

“Don’t.  Look, he’s not attacking.  They always attack the moment they see us.  They never just stare at you.  I don’t know John, this one’s different.  Did you see any others nearby?  They always travel in packs.  Where are the others?”  Savanna said trying to make sense of the situation.

“I, I don’t see any others.  That’s the second one today.  Shit, what should we do?”  John said lowering his weapon and looked around for any other threats.  The Azrael returned to its prey and began to eat the bear again, but still kept an eye on the two as it ate.

“What the crap man?  We got to tell the doc this.  He won’t believe us.”  Savanna said as her hands shook.  “Back inside, now.  We figure this out in the morning.”  She continued noticing her hands shaking and wanted to separate herself from the situation.

“I can’t sleep with that fucking thing out there.”  John responded pointing at the Azrael.

“Neither am I but there’s no point when we can’t see shit.  Look, your night vision goggles are in the truck and it’s right behind him.”  Savanna pointed at the truck parked not fifteen meters from the Azrael.

“Damn it, you’re right.  In the morning, but I’m watching the door.”  John said as he reluctantly entered the back door of the house and they sat in the kitchen with a watchful eye on the hulk of a beast eating a bear, a fucking bear, outside.

“That bear is not from around here is it?”  Savanna asked.

“It’s too big to be native here.  Maybe it’s from the Brookfield Zoo?  It’s not far from here.”  John suggested.

“Probably, that place has been abandoned for years.  Imagine running into tigers out there.”  Savanna imagined and searched the landscape for orange and black stripes among the green and brown setting.

“They are probably being killed by those damned Azrael too.  Those things are at the top of the food chain now.”  John admitted.

“Look, he’s leaving!  That’s so weird.  What the heck is going on here?”  Savanna asked John as she squinted trying to see it among the shadows of the forest.

“It is fucking weird.  I bet he’s been eating shit here all this time.  Look at all these dead animal carcasses around the house.  The Mason House is now priority one.”  John said marking the Mason House with a red circle on the map and Savanna made note of the incident in their journal. 

Daylight came a few hours later and the two began to pack up the truck after a much needed breakfast of instant oatmeal.  They decided to drive straight through to the Highwaymen Station this time and avoid any unnecessary stops.  Shit has changed and the Doc needed to know as soon as possible.

Mario Cortez

A breeze entered the flap of Mario’s tent and stirred him from his sleep. He slowly sat up and shivered. Mario grabbed his jacket that doubled as a makeshift pillow and untied the para cord that kept it from unrolling. Over the last year the weather had become more intense. More snow accumulated in the winter and the summer was hot and humid. There were harsher downpours of rain where thunder and lightning were sure to accompany it. The changing of seasons was becoming more obvious. Nature was reclaiming the land.

“It’s going to rain.” He said to himself while putting on his jacket.  He’s doing that more these days. He’s been living on his own in the woods for a few years now.  It’s what he knows and he’s good at outdoor survival.  Also, there are less Azrael in rural places.  They go where people are and, compared to the once overpopulated cities, there are very few people out in the rural areas.  However, he has seen more herds than usual these last few weeks along with the frequent thunderstorms.  He even saw lightning strike an Azrael and after a bit it stood up like nothing happened.  The asphalt was cracked and cratered where the lightning exited its foot.  It wandered away from the herd probably disoriented from the shock of the strike.  An enemy who gets up from such an injury and continues the fight is a formidable one.

Mario got up and started his normal routine, folded up his sleeping bag quietly and unzipped his tent cautiously pointing his crossbow through the slit a few inches behind so it would be hidden to anyone or anything outside.  His machete was within reach of his right hand, if he needed it in a pinch, in a form fitting sheath on his back.  All was in order so he stepped out still alert to his surroundings.  It was what kept him alive this long and he will not deviate from his training.  He did the normal sweep of the area and checked all of his traps and snares.  He found breakfast in his twitch-up snare, a rabbit.  He quickly released the dead animal and began to skin and gut it.  He took care to dispose of the guts in a shallow hole and covered it with dirt as to not draw predators.  He quickly started a small fire and cooked the rabbit the way he liked it, almost charred, and ate it quickly.  All was in order but what he didn’t know was that a herd of the Azrael was less than a mile away and headed right for him.  It was a sizeable herd being led by an alpha with a keen sense of smell, but they weren’t hunting Mario.  They were hunting something else. Mario began to break down his tent and packed up everything to move on to a new location.  He never sleeps in the same place twice.  He had been traveling northeast for quite some time. 

Mario left on foot a year and a half after the outbreak reached the Midwest and had been slowly pushing through towards Chicago.  While at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri the Army realized that the training of small arms (to aim for the chest) didn’t stop the Azrael, the government agreed to change their tactics drastically in hopes that chemical weapons would cease their attacks.  The chemical weapons that they used to fight against the Azrael caused more harm than good to the local environment and many grew ill and died due to exposure to the hazardous compounds being used.  The Azrael adapted to the changes and grew immune to the chemicals and eventually overtook the base.  Mario and a handful of other army personnel stationed there managed to escape.  His extensive background in survival training and in Special Forces allowed him to survive.  The others decided to make camp at the first empty house they found and it cost them their lives.  Mario knew that if he traveled alone, he would be in charge of his own fate, and wouldn’t be responsible for anyone else falling victim to the Azrael.  If he messed up, then it was his ass, nobody else’s. 

His mission now was simple, reach the isolation zone in Chicago.  The safe zone has been broadcasted across all radio channels with news and updates on current situations.  His rucksack was nearly packed when he heard a noise about seventy yards south of his position.  He crouched and completed packing quietly.  He slowly edged towards a tree and began to climb. He was careful not to make any wide movements.  Sounds of broken sticks and leaves being rustled in a wide area caused alarm.  He knew whatever it was traversed slow enough to avoid being detected earlier but quick enough to be slightly careless.  He waited.

Five minutes pass, ten minutes pass; still he waited.  Nothing came, and then he noticed something else.  To the north, moving less cautious and carrying a wolf carcass in its right arm, was a lone Azrael.  It walked more like a man, but the state of his clothing and the physical structure of his muscles dictated that he wasn’t.  Mario pulled out a pair of binoculars and focused.  He was right, its eyes were gray, but focused.  His movements were not normal.  He almost looked…human.  Unfortunately, Mario wasn’t the only witness to this anomaly.  Two swift, small Azrael charged in and lunged towards the older larger Azrael.  He knocked them back with not much effort but was unaware of the two large Azrael flanking from behind on all fours, quietly moving in.  The larger of the two wrapped its arms around his neck and began to strangle him.  The other grabbed his leg and tried to bite into him.  He sprawled in attempt to remove the one on his leg, leaned forward lifting the larger one off of the ground and spun causing its legs to kick the other one and knock it back several yards.  He reached back, clutching the Azrael’s neck, flipped it over and twisted violently, snapping it.  He pulled its head off almost effortlessly.  The three smaller ones were taken aback but moved in to attack again.  He roared fiercely and threw mighty kicks and punches keeping them away.  Several more emerged from the tree line silently and began a sprint, one even brushed against the tree Mario was in causing him to almost fall out of the tree.  He yelped, when he almost fell, but the rustling of the trees hid his sound.  They all converged onto the lone Azrael with force, but he lowered his body and widened his stance just before they struck and they barely managed to budge him.  He grabbed two of their throats and lifted them off of the ground and hurled them back towards the small Azrael.  Two bit into his side inspiring a mighty roar from him.  He dropped down both elbows crushing their skulls with mighty force and they fell down twitching.  He finished the job by stomping on their heads causing them to pop.  This guy was holding his own quite well against several Azrael. 

More poured in and he continued to keep them away until suddenly they backed off. A much larger Azrael, who while slouching was still a foot taller than the Azrael fighting off the group, emerged through the shadows of the tree line.  It bore several scars and its muscle definition was exquisite.  The bite wounds on the Azrael being attacked had already scabbed and healed.  Mario held his breath as best as he could, the Azrael alpha was just below his tree.  Mario took great care to examine and remember every detail of this alpha, the one that led a hunting party against their own kind.  It moved like an Azrael, very ape like and its breath was quick and unchallenged.  It was a Caucasian. Azrael tend to be a bit deformed over years living the way that they do so human race is easier to notice by color.  His upper body was massive and veiny.  The alpha wasn’t wearing a shirt and its torn pants were pretty high in quality since they seemed mostly intact.  It was bald and patches of hair on its face were missing.  Its beard was pretty full so it must have had this much hair in life before being turned.  Its eyes were focused, but not like the lone Azrael.  It had a different focus. 

Mario continued watching an epic battle unfold. The Alpha stood up and banged on its chest with one forearm and released an intense howl that sent chills down Mario’s spine.  The other Azrael’s gaze was attentive and he too banged his forearm on his chest and released a mighty growl.  The alpha snarled and broke into a sprint on all fours.  It was fast, it was almost unreal at the speed it was pushing that body.  It leaped and tackled the lone Azrael and pinned him into the trunk of a massive tree.  It grabbed his shoulders and dug into his flesh grabbing the bone beneath and proceeded to bang his back and skull against the tree repeatedly.  The power was too much for the lone Azrael to handle.   He was quickly crushed to a pulp.  The alpha stood over its kill and howled again and the remaining army returned the favor.  The alpha walked away and disappeared into the tree line quietly.  Its army followed, leaving the corpse of their own to rot in the woods.  Mario waited a few hours before coming down the tree; he stood no chance against such a threat.  He dropped down, searched the area cautiously and moved towards the broken lone Azrael.  There was nothing recognizable.  He just looked like a pile of flesh and bone with limbs poking out of it.  What horrible creatures these things are.  This was Mario’s first encounter with an Awakened Azrael and an Azrael herd that hunts their own kind, not for food but to kill.  The game was changing, making living out here more dangerous than ever.  Mario moved quietly as usual and made sure to keep careful track henceforth of everything he’s encountering in his journal.  He was camping at Joyce Island between Iowa and Illinois.  He crossed the Mississippi River at Keokuk – Hamilton Bridge.  Chicago was still a few weeks away. 

*

Two weeks later as Mario neared Chicago he encountered an empty house boarded up with lights and movement inside.  He approached carefully, as to not be detected.  The windows were blacked out, but light was still escaping some corners and through other building deficiencies.  He continued to search for an opening that would reveal who or what was inside.  Finally he noticed something, a young girl screamed and sounded like she was in pain.  A man’s voice overtook hers.

“Shut up bitch!  You’re gonna get us all killed by those damned flesh eatin’ freaks.  You wanna be eaten alive and turn into those fuckin’ zombies?”  The man’s voice was very nasally and he sounded like he was speaking around a mouth full of nails.  Mario struggled to find a hole big enough to allow visual.  He finally found the source.

Inside the house there was this skinny man, dirty with long unkempt hair with big crooked yellow teeth.  He was surrounded by six large men.  Each man inside looked like they haven’t seen a bath in months.  He actually could smell their body odor through the small cracks and recesses within the walls near the windows.  He couldn’t see the girl though.  He adjusted his view several times but just couldn’t get a view.  That’s when he blacked out.

*

“Wakey, wakey peepin’ Tom.”  A voice slowly entered Mario’s mind as a bucket of piss was poured on top of him.  He could taste the bitter salty taste of it as it dripped onto his lips and into his mouth.  He was tied up to a chair with duct tape and his left eye was swollen shut.  He could feel that his machete was removed from its sheath and a large man was inspecting his crossbow with curiosity. 

“What you lookin’ at boy?  This here place is ours and we don’t take kindly to strangers.”  The skinny man was inches from Mario and his breath smelled like shit.  A few of his teeth were black and his face was very stern and rat-like.  Mario felt a sharp pain as another man kicked him in his side with his boot.

“He’s askin’ you a fucking question Spic!  Maybe he don’t speak ‘Merican?”  The man was behind Mario, so he couldn’t see him; he didn’t seem pleasant.

“Maybe he’s hopin’ we’ll share the community pussy with em’.  This one’s feisty, but she don’t holler as bad as the last one.”  The big one with the crossbow said looking in the corner at a pair of figures in the shadows.  Mario could barely make out the shapes in the dark.

“Shut your trap Carl, it’s none of his business what we do or who we’re doin’.”  The skinny man responded while tossing an empty can at Carl’s head.   “That’s what it is, isn’t it boy?  You want a taste of my chocolate dessert?”  He licked his lips and flashed a large wicked grin at the helpless young girl and then focused his attention back to Mario.  “Too bad we gotta cut you up and use you as bait for the Azrael.  Those dumbasses are too stupid to realize they bein’ distracted.  Can save another pretty little girl from a herd easy enough when they are too busy eatin’ you.  Our lil’ friend in the corner over there been with us for some time.  Provin’ her worth or the bitch likes us.”  He smiled at the girl and reached out and another man handed him Mario’s machete.  The girl began to cry.

“You’re using those monsters out there to bait women?”  Mario finally broke silence.

“Oh, so he does speak English.  It’s always been this way, even before all this shit.  Just now, they do all the hard work for us.”  The one who kicked him chimed in with his two cents.

“It don’t much matter now.  Now does it?  Jimmy bring me a towel, I don’t want to get blood everywhere.  Frank, hold his arm.  Let’s get this shit over with.  I’m getting tired and horny.  Johnny, make sure you clean that bitch off after you’re done.  You leave ‘em all wet and sticky like the closet ones.”  The skinny man barked off orders and began to size up his cuts on Mario.

“Wait!”  Mario said.

“Shut your hole Spic.  Take it like a man.”  The skinny man ordered.

Mario had been slowly pulling out a nail that was half in the chair he was sitting on.  It had some tough leathery flesh pinned to the chair.  It probably was used to hold down someone who moved too much.  Fortunately for Mario he was seconds from pulling it out with his left hand while his right hand was being stretched out by Frank.

“Can I at least see the girl before I die?  At least grant me this?”  Mario asked trying to buy some time.

“Show ‘em boss..”  He was panting.  “show ‘em what he’ll never have.  Hah…”  Johnny said as he was in the shadows with the girl probably having sex.  She was panting a bit, but still crying. 

“Why not?  Get off of the bitch and bring her over.”  The skinny man ordered and Johnny stopped, pulled up his pants and buttoned them.  He grabbed the girl by her hands that were in handcuffs and unlocked them.  She was half of his size.  He snatched her by her hair and dragged her into the light.  She had very little fight left.  Her face was swollen and her young frame was bruised.  She was maybe 16 at the oldest and looked like she was a pretty girl.  She had dry streams down her cheek where tears rolled past and she had a thousand mile stare.