Zombies Walk!

[Ataris]

Aiden awoke instantly to feel a sharp pain in his arm.

 

"Aaggh!" He honestly had no idea what was going on, but Vlad's gun reminded him to stay still.

 

<Curses, interference. The mutation must finish within...wait...he is listening.>

 

"Vlad! We need to talk now! Before this happens again."

 

Vlad looked uneasy. He didn't pull away his gun. And then Aiden knew why. He couldn't be trusted anymore. Not when the virus had control of him.

 

"Fine, we'll talk right here."

 

Looking uneasy, Vlad began speaking in Russian. Finally after some more orders he said, "Are you aware of how much sedative I just injected into you along with an antidote?"

[CommanderQ]

Vlad was glad that Aiden was up, but there was no telling onto how long he would stay in this state. Hopefully, though, his body would build up an immunity to the virus, that is, if it didn't kill him.

 

"The antidote was not enough, but, I've added something extra, I'm hoping that it will work like a charm, but there is no telling yet. We should know within the next twenty minutes, there are two possibilities in that time: A, you're cured, and you never have to worry about zombies again, B, you're dead. Both are better than infection. Now..."

 

Vlad took a breath and lowered his pistol,"What do you want to talk about?"

[Ataris]

"The zombies, Vlad. Everything comes down to that dang hive mind you created for them.

 

"All the individual thoughts of the original person are there, but they are suppressed somehow. By something. I don't know what. But there is more to this.

 

"Vlad, the zombies want the Earth. They think they can enslave humanity, and at this rate, you're the only one that can stop them. And...I can't. They're almost done decoding the human genome, and if we don't stop them, then I'm dead. And right now...oh, no..."

 

Aiden remembered. The one that Vlad seemed to have...and she...

 

"Atrianna...Vlad you have to go after her. Now. You have to complete your mission. I don't know what is going on down there in that subway, but the zombies don't want you to go in there and find out."

[CommanderQ]

Vlad grabbed Aiden by the head and kept him from struggling, forcing him to focus on Vlad's face.

 

"Who? Who, Aiden? Just take it easy, and tell us, we must know!"

 

Vlad hoped that Aiden would be able to focus and respond, either way, they only had little time.

 

He let go of Aiden and looked to Yuri and spoke in Russian,"Get a squad together, see if there any vehicles in the motorpool, have them here in exactly thirty minutes!"

 

"Da, Comrade Major."

 

Yuri turned on his heel and began running towards the large encampment of Russians.

 

Vlad turned back to Aiden.

[Ataris]

Aiden turned to Vlad. "I don't know. Just rescue Atrianna." He resisted the urge to smile. And, then, grimly, he thought about the next step.

 

"Vlad, the hive...or...whatever it really is...its leader told me...that they were mutating my brain, Vlad. Soon they'll be able to program me however they want. And I really don't think that's a good idea."

 

He waited for a response from Vlad. Perhaps he would know what to do.

[CommanderQ]

Vlad pulled up a chair that was near the table and he sat down.

 

"Don't worry, panicking will only make it worse. Be advised, I thought the virus might do something to your brain, I took that in account. The extra ingredient in the serum was zombie blood. As unorthodox as it may sound, it will work. Just like a regular vaccination, your body will build up an immunity to the virus, and therefore stop the mutation. Just patience you will see."

 

Vlad kept his tone as calm as possible, hoping to keep Aiden from panic, the mutation would win if he did, the Hive Mind works on fear, that is how it was effective, because with zombies, the attacked will be afraid.

 

Vlad began going over the possibilities of who Aiden said had to be saved. It was a she so that narrowed down the options...

 

Attriana is here, but the Doctor Alexis Ian...

 

Vlad turned to Boris,"Where is Doctor Ian?"

 

Boris looked around,"Not here."

 

Vlad nodded, he knew that she was an extreme possiblity. They may have to go after her.

[Ataris]

(I said Atrianna was in danger...because you sent her out to get zombie blood, remember? And I don't think the zombies are going to like that one bit. And since she is alone...maybe I am misunderstanding. It doesn't matter anyway, really.)

 

"Vlad...how do you know that your virus will be effective? They could manage to mutate my brain before I am immune. What if..." Aiden stopped, not for effect, but because he wasn't so sure himself.

 

"Maybe you should just kill me."

[Chevron 7 locke]

(I guess I'm out hunting undead...)

 

Atriana watched her prey through her pistol scope.

 

That's it...just a bit closer...just a few more inches...

 

Atrianna grinned as the zombie triggered the mine she had set, blowing off it's legs and one of it's arms.

 

Now comes the hard part.

 

Atrianna walked down toward the Zombie and loaded her pistol.

 

The zombie stared at Atrianna with what she could only describe as undisguised hatred.

 

"Alright...I know your kind can talk. I've heard your kind do it before. You are going to tell me where the one who controls you is."

 

The zombie remained silent, well as silent as a zombie could stay.

 

I guess I have to do this the hard way.

 

Atrianna unloaded a shot into the zombie's stump of a leg and was rewarded with a scream of pain.

 

"I don't want to make this any longer then it has to be! Now tell me!"

 

The zombie threw back it's head and made a weird laughing sound.

 

Atrianna smiled and re-loaded her pistol and aimed it at the zombie's ear.

 

"There's still plenty of you that I can shoot at. Now, you can either tell me what I want to know, or I can drag you back to my safehouse and I can make this a hundred times worse."

 

The zombie growled at her.

 

Atrianna unloaded a shot at what remained of the zombie's ear and was rewarded with another howl of pain.

 

"Tell me!"

[Ataris]

Aiden made a move to get up, and Vlad tried to stop him. But Aiden simply stated, "Please."

 

Hesitating, Aiden was allowed some freedom of movement. Turning to a wall, he smacked it. The wall easily crumbled from the strength of his arm, and a hole formed. Aiden then turned back to Vlad.

 

"Our only chance is for me to go get Atrianna before something happens to her. If I stay here, they'll use me to kill you. And you have to complete your mission...whatever it is."

 

Aiden raised his eyebrows pleadingly.

 

If only you would just tell me your mission, Vlad.

[CommanderQ]

Vlad nodded and slipped his pistol back in it's holster.

 

"Fine, then we must go find Attriana, before it is too late. Also, we will not kill you. You're worth more to us than just a test subject, so just hope that the serum works and we'll be just fine. Let's go."

 

 

Yuri had assembled a task squad as ordered, and had even found an old BMP armored troop carrier in the motor pool that the Russians had set up.

 

Vlad looked back at Aiden,"I will tell you my mission eventually, but this isn't the time."

[Ataris]

He nodded, and proceeded forward. Vlad did not stop him. "Vlad...thank you for what you're doing. I never doubted you."

 

Or never should had doubted you.

 

"I'm going to scout the area. And don't give me a weapon. Just in case."

[CommanderQ]

Vlad nodded, "No worries, you can carry one, first step to optimisim is to try and accept the positive situation. You won't be leaving the living anytime soon."

 

Vlad held out a small pistol that was loaded with a clip of ammo.

 

"Go ahead, take it. We trust you."

[Ataris]

<No.>

 

<Stop this, human.>

 

<Why isn't it working?>

 

<I don't know. But it can't be a mistake. We never make mistakes.>

 

<Are you sure about that?>

 

<SHUT UP! The weapon is listening.>

 

Aiden smiled. "Somehow, I have more faith in myself now, too."

 

And with that he raced off to find Atrianna before someone else did.

 

And before his time ran out.

[ForeverNight]

Smith watched Aiden come 'back' to life from his comatose state and started a little when Vlad gave him the pistol, but managed to quell the response before it became obvious to everybody in the area.

 

"Sorry about, you know, trying to bomb you to Hell." Smith eventually said to break the uneasy silence between him and Vlad. "But, we are at war or going to be at it." Smith shrugged. "It felt odd, though, ordering such a strike on US soil, I've done it before in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it was odd."

 

He didn't know why he was speaking so freely to the Russian, probably because, dammit, he liked Vlad, but, in any case, it was cathartic to get it out of his system.

 

"So, you created the Zombies, eh?"

[Jedi_Man]

Sam got there just as Aiden ran out.

" Alexis, stay here, and keep the Milkor in grabbing range." Sam said as he went out to see what the Russians were up to.

" Hey Vlad, what are you doing? Aiden can't be possibly good enough to run out after whatever you sent him out on!" Sam exclaimed in Russian. Vlad picked up his pistol, not exactly aiming at him, but not pointed away either...

" Attrianna is out looking for a zombie, which is now of no need... Aiden is looking for her." Vlad said in English.

Sam was curious what the Zombie would've been used for, but before he could ask, he felt himself being tugged away.

" Smith, there you are! I'm going after Aiden. If he suddenly changes before or when he gets to Attrianna, the results will be disasterous. Keep Alexis here, I know you probably still have a few Questions for her..." Sam said as he ran out, looking for Aiden.

[CommanderQ]

Vlad nodded,"That I did, but it was a biological accident, I was actually trying to create something else, but my superiors liked the mistake better than the accomplishment. I'm not to proud of how they used it."

 

Vlad sighed,"Anyway, I do not blame you for trying to bomb us, I'd have done the same if an enemy were intruding on my country's soil. Anyway, we are at a truce right now, we'll have to work together."

 

Vlad grabbed his AK and tapped on Smith's shoulder,"Follow me, I think I know where Attriana is."

[Chevron 7 locke]

Atrianna frowned as the Zombie made another weird laughing sound.

 

Alright, screw trying to be nice.

 

Atrianna picked her mini-gun up off the ground and cracked the zombie across the head with it.

 

"If you don't talk, I'll keep you locked up. You'll never be able to eat again, you'll never be able to do anything, How does a life of torture sound?"

 

Atrianna smirked as she saw fear enter the zombie's eyes.

 

"Now, If you tell me what I want to know, I'll let you go. You'll be free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. All you need to do is tell me what I want to know."

 

Atrianna sat down across from the zombie and locked eyes with it.

 

"Tell me, and you'll be free to go."

 

Even as the zombie opened it's mouth to speak, Atrianna sensed something was wrong.

 

Crap!

 

The zombie clutched it's head in pain and fell over screaming.

 

There goes my chance to get the location of the hive.

 

Atrianna picked up her pistol and put a shot through the zombie's head.

 

Well...wait, what was that?!

 

Atrianna slowly picked up her mini-gun and turned around slowly.

 

There were nearly ten of the undead staring at her.

 

Why aren't they attacking? What's with them?

[Ataris]

Running as fast as he could, Aiden prepared for the worst. Because, at the moment, that's what he was best at. The stress and pain were getting to him, though, and he wondered how long this whole scenario could go on.

 

And then his thoughts drifted back towards his mother. His father was gone. Their marriage never made it. But his mother was out there, somewhere, in the midst of the hive, likely where he could not reach her. She had to still be alive, as the hive was probably using her as bait, or, rather, the hive leader was.

 

As Aiden charged on, he felt a slight disturbance. And he knew he didn't have much time left.

 

He was becoming in tune with the hive.

 

Then, he could finally tell what it was. A zombie in the area had just died. Likely by Atrianna's hand.

 

Knowing what he knew now, Aiden made a quick prayer for the soul that had just lost its body, trapped by the hive virus.

 

This was all too much. How could he carry on like this? Only his will and hope carried him on at the moment. And he focused.

 

No crying, no sighing, no delaying.

 

And he kept running.

 

There, in a more vacant lot, was Atrianna, surrounded by zombies. And they weren't moving. But Aiden tried to reach out to their minds. They obviously didn't have control of them. The hive wouldn't let them go for no reason.

 

What was going on?

[CommanderQ]

Vlad suddenly noticed that Aiden had already left.

 

"Okay, American, let's move."

 

Vlad ran out of the area and sped after Aiden.

 

He noticed several undead, and fired at them, but strangely, they didn't respond, they were just blank.

 

An effect of what I gave Aiden? Thought Vlad.

 

It was possible, but there was no way to know right now.

 

He kept running.

[Ataris]

Could this be intimidation? Or maybe a lapse in the hive mind?

 

<Foolish human. Did you think you could get away with this? You fell right into our hands.>

 

<Yes, he did.>

 

<Shut up.>

 

Aiden hated it when he didn't know what was going on. He felt that something bad was about to happen. And he didn't like it.

 

All he had to do was outsmart the hive.

[ForeverNight]

Smith followed Vlad, a spare AK-47 he'd found his weapon. He followed Vlad's lead by firing at the Undead milling about but was rather surprised when they did nothing to react. "That's... odd." He said rather puzzled. "But not unwelcome." He however shut up after that statement to conserve his breath as he followed the Russian.

 

They skidded to a halt in a circle of Undead along with Atrianna. How they made it through that circle Smith would never know, nor, he suspected, would Vlad.

 

"Nice party you've got here." Smith observed dryly to Atrianna after he'd regained what little breath he'd lost. "Mind if we crash it?"

[Jedi_Man]

Sam told his uncle to stay at the base, protecting it from stray zombies. Attrianna grabbed her Milkor, following Sam as he made a mad dash for the lot were Attrianna was, as were Vlad and Smith.

Sam reached for his crucifix, suddenly remembering he had given it to Aiden.

" I still hope it works for you, Aiden." Sam huffed through his heavy breathing.

[Ataris]

A zombie walked out, at that moment, one much stronger and more fierce-looking than all the rest.

 

You've fallen into our trap...

 

It spoke. "I trust you expect me now to talk about how all humans are fools. Your ability to take full capacity of your brains astounds me, yes, but after all, Vladimir did create us initially." The zombie smiled. "Of course, we do not owe anything to our creator. In survival of the fittest, anything goes. Which is why you will not live to complete your mission, Russian."

 

Stepping forward, it flourished a bit, and then continued. "Rather than stand here and waste more time, let us get on straight to the killing."

 

Lashing out towards a Russian that Aiden did not know well at all, it popped his neck.

 

Atrianna unleashed her minigun, and the zombie fell, presumably dead. But then another, larger brute emerged from the buildings, and then another.

 

"You cannot stop us." They spoke in unison, a grim smile on their faces.

 

<Now we shall use our weapon.>

 

<Prepare it.>

 

Aiden felt his control start to slip away. And in those few moments, he looked at Vlad, and knew what he had to do.

 

He had to outsmart the hive, fool them, trick them, if they were going to win. So he looked at Vlad, winked, and then shot him in the shoulder.

 

And all of the zombies stopped and looked at Aiden.

 

<Yes! It worked!>

 

<But...the process was not complete.>

 

<Yes, it is, stop whatever you are doing! The weapon works!>

 

And at that moment, Aiden felt his connection to the hive mind slipping away.

 

Everyone present, including the zombies, just stared at Aiden.

 

So he winked again, and began to unload his bullets into the nearby brutes. It seemed that the hive had made a fatal error.

 

After all, they weren't as smart as humans.

[CommanderQ]

Vlad couldn't be happier as Aiden's bullet slammed into his shoulder. Of course, it hurt like hellfire, but it ultimately saved the situation. He recovered from his fall and mashed his glove onto the wound and prevented any further bleeding, shooting zombies at the same time.

 

He then began taking out the anti-brute serum.

[Ataris]

As the gunfire started and zombies rushed after the group, Aiden knew that Vlad's involuntary sacrifice would mean nothing if they didn't survive. He bolted to Vlad and tried to lift him, but the abnormal effects of the virus were fading since his connection to the hive mind was almost gone and, apparently, the antidote had also done its part.

 

Vlad handed Aiden some anti-brute serum, but Aiden slipped it into his pocket and lifted him up instead. "Let's go." Turning and supporting Vlad at the same time, he yelled, "Everyone run!" Then, as everyone began realizing their scenario, Aiden turned back to Vlad.

 

"How do I use this stuff?"