The Azrael: The Reckoning (4 page)

Dr. Barnett’s gaze relocated to the three handed clock that ticked above the doorway to the other room.  The red hand clicked as it jolted to the next second.  The noise began to intensify as she focused.  Suddenly the power switched off and the room was only lit by faint emergency lights.  She could still make out the clock as the dim lights reflected off of the glass covering it.  The ticking grew louder as the battery operated clock continued to function.  She closed her eyes and finally surrendered to a deep sleep.

Dr. Harris was late in to work as usual.  He showed up listening to his iPod and brought donuts for the security crew that worked the front gate of the Field Museum.  The guards that manned internal communications and the internal monitors took a union break.  It was usually taken when Dr. Harris arrived with assorted pastries from the local bakery along with a new story about some lucky young lady that he plowed through the night before.  Being a doctor at the museum had its perks which involved high end living arrangements and more rations than any one person could eat in a lifetime paid monthly.  He was the only trained doctor of medicine for the facility where most of the staff were scientists who worked awful hours and barely got to use their rations or their living arrangements.  Since more and more information discovered became classified and privately owned, their personal lives were severely scrutinized and kept to a minimum. 

Most of the security staff was ex-police or any person claiming to have killed an Azrael.  They often exchanged stories of their heroism at the donut gatherings to add status with Dr. Harris.    After about an hour of story time the doc began his entrance into the facility. 

He entered the first airlock and glanced through the polycarbonate glass doors as the guard gave him the thumbs up along with a gesture with his finger pushing through a hole his thumb and index finger created with the other hand.  The Doc laughed and pushed the button to open the second airlock.  It opened revealing flickering lights from the emergency lighting system that occasionally illuminated through a complete black opaqueness within.  He could smell the foul odor of Azrael inside and he immediately pushed the button to open the outside airlock.  Unfortunately, it didn’t respond because the internal door was still open.  He quickly pushed the second airlock open/close button but an arm swung in grabbing the doctor and pulled him into the dark atrium inside.  He tripped over dismembered bodies that still were moving beneath him and was grabbed by several hands from everywhere.  He pissed himself as countless Azrael feasted on his body and infected him with the virus.  Several more pushed through the doorway of the airlock.  One inadvertently nudged the emergency bypass button releasing the horde of Azrael outside the museum along with depressurizing the entire building.  The third airlock was set open as a security measure to release a toxin that would kill all occupants in case of an outbreak.  However, maintenance was being done on the valve that released the toxin and it was tagged out as inoperable.

The sudden gush of air along with a mob of Azrael startled the guards who were closest to the doors.  The other guards were overwhelmed with multiple alarms blinking and buzzing on the status panels.  Failure of proper training had them searching the operational manuals for indications of the alarms.  The four armed ex-police officers discharged their weapons into the crowd hoping to stop or slow as many as possible.  Unfortunately, there were too many to stop and within seconds all of the security guards were bitten into and added to the herd’s mass.  The Alpha pushed through the crowd of fresh Azrael and inhaled a deep breath. It released a terrifying raspy wail that inspired grunts among the Azrael herd.  A heavy concentration of noises and human aroma entered the alpha’s senses as he began his sprint towards Soldier Field.

A
Taste of Chicago
event was being held in the stadium that housed several vendors showcasing the diversity of Chicago’s dining community.  The ration cost was expensive but manageable by any working stiff.  Over six thousand patrons were inside enjoying the world as it was years ago, forgetting the cruel reality of what lies beyond the gates.  The security that maintained the entrances were strongly enforced.  Several gun mounted Humvees and army soldiers provided protection bordering the Burnham Harbor that emptied into Lake Michigan just in case of Azrael drifters that get caught in the docks, which happens on occasion.  Sometimes an Azrael would fall into the lake and somehow were carried by the current along with aimlessly kicking and swinging their arms.

The Azrael threat was massive and it swarmed around the stadium seeking humans to infect.  The only telltale sign the guards received was the aroma of Azrael in the breeze.  The herd attacked from all sides of the building pouring around it like water until it found someone to infect.  The Humvee’s unloaded their fifty caliber guns into the massive crowd of Azrael tearing into the herd’s mass.  A good amount of them were taken care of but the numbers were attacking from several different directions which were too overwhelming and within a few minutes the guards were overrun and eaten.  The gunfire alarmed the patrons inside and they all panicked.  However, the only way out was the only way in and as the people massed to leave they were met with Azrael shoving in providing a quick infection turnaround.  Within thirty minutes the entire stadium were either turned into Azrael or eaten through due to genetic immunity.

Alarms sounded everywhere indicating an Azrael breach.  Front armored doors on lower levels of buildings activated closing and trapping occupants inside or shutting occupants out.  If you were not in a secure location you were shit-out-of-luck.  Several hundred patrons were roaming the streets searching for a way inside.  The only location that housed the master switch to unlock the lockdown was in the Governor’s Estate and he was a part of the herd along with his entire family wandering the streets of Chicago in attempts to turn more like them.

Simon was alerted to the attack and initiated the Eagle’s Nest Project.  Each high-rise building had a small team of hot shit snipers who had luxurious living conditions and lavish ration selections as payment for an always on call status along with complete isolation at the top of the building.  Within ten minutes the snipers were ready and set up communications with Simon on a secure network.

Over twenty snipers began to dwindle down the massive herd.  Bodies were piling up quickly.  However, the several hundred still roaming the streets still provided more bodies for the Azrael to infect.  After taking out around two thousand, ammunition began to grow slim.  Eighteen snipers were out of magazines and out of play.

“Eagles Nest, Sierra Kilo.  Cease Fire.”  Simon ordered.

“Sierra Kilo, Eagles Nest Copies.  Going Inactive.”

“Sierra Kilo Copies, Roger Out.”  Simon replied and began to pace back and forth wondering what could be done now.

“Sir, you have an incoming video call.”

“Transfer it to my office.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Giselle.  It’s good to see you.”

“As you can see I haven’t left for my training yet but I have an idea that can serve as my escape for training and to…”

“No, Hell fucking no.”

“Sir?”

“I’m not sending you down there as bait to get yourself killed.  I just got you back Giselle.”

“Sir, I can’t be turned and I’m faster than anyone else you have.”

“I know what you can do, but…”

“But I can help Simon.  Trust me, I can do this.”  The screen froze and a long pause made Giselle think she lost Simon.  “Sir?”  The video feed fixed itself.  Simon’s image flickered and sped up until it caught up to real time. 

“Okay, but I ‘m not sending you down there without a plan or without full support topside.  I’m sending a drone to deliver ten magazines to each of my snipers.  They got your back, so what you got for me?”

“It shouldn’t be hard to locate the Alpha among the herd from aerial cameras.  Once we have a fix on his position I can draw his attention and lure him out.  I have several flash, noisemaker and frag grenades that I can use to keep them on their toes.”  Giselle showed Simon a large black bag that contained a plethora of grenades.

“Do you think you can keep his attention?  What if he sends his cronies at you and sits back and watches them eat you?”

“Then I kill them and continue to piss it off.  I’m good at making them want to kill me.”  Giselle revealed a wicked grin.

“Okay.  So, where will you be luring them to?”

“As far away as I can before they notice that they’ve been had.”

“One suggestion.”

“What’s that?”

“Kill the Alpha once you exit the city.  They are a bit smarter the longer they are one of them.  A fresh turner shouldn’t bring them back to the city.”

“Deal.  So, if I fail to kill it?”

“You won’t.”

“Damned right I won’t.”  Giselle removed her glasses and glared at Simon.

“Your eyes, what does it look like through them?”

“Hazy, but enhanced.  It’s hard to explain.  I can see motion through them superbly and when I focus it does something to my lenses allowing me to see further with intricate detail.  My night vision looks the same as day vison so it’s excellent for night hunting.  Day hunting is a bit harder because of glare from the sun.”

“Do they have the same capabilities and weaknesses?”

“I’m sure they do.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.  I also heard that your appetite is incredible now.”

“Yeah, I eat a lot.  Table manners gone to shit but it does the job.”

“Okay.  I’ve set you up with high calorie MRE’s.  They taste like ass but they should provide you with the calorie intake the Veil of the Five Daggers say are required per day.  There are over a hundred in that bag.  There is also a Camelbak in the backpack filled with water.  The nozzle you drink out of and the part exiting the pack are filters in case you have to use improvised sources.”

“Thank you Simon.  I promise, I won’t let you down.”

“You better not.  All of our lives are in your hands right now.”

“What pressure?”

“None at all.”

“Of course not.”

“Did you talk to your brother?”

“Yeah.”  Giselle paused for a bit.  “I did, he…”

“He’ll understand.”  Simon interrupted.

“He’ll drink again.”

“You can’t change that.”

“I did once.”

“Then change is possible when he’s ready.”

“I failed him.”

“We’ve talked about this Giselle.  You did the best that you could have done given the situation.” 

“I could do better now, now that I’m one of them.”  Giselle admitted while pointing out the window down at the Azrael roaming the streets.

“You’ll never be one of them.  That’s your one perk in all of this.  Even if you fail, which you won’t, you won’t turn into one of them.  I have nightmares at least once a week about becoming one of those monsters down there, turning into a killing machine attacking the people I love.  It haunts my thoughts all the time.”

“Don’t worry about what hasn’t happened.”

“Take your own advice and kick ass down there.  What’s done is done.  The only thing you have control over now is what is happening in the present.  Live there Giselle.”

“I will Simon.”

“Take care of yourself and keep in contact.  Take this radio and Sat Phone too.  The radio will communicate with the snipers on the rooftops. The Sat Phone, well…use it when you need it.  I’ll have someone deliver it to you downstairs.”  Simon called in his secretary and hands a bag that has the radio and Sat Phone to her.  He gestured to the bag of MRE’s and placed them on a little cart.  She left pushing it out of his office while carrying the bag over her shoulder.

“Thanks Simon.  Wish I were there so I could hug you.”

“Me too Giselle, me too.”

“Bye Simon.”  Giselle blew a kiss to him and ended the video feed.  The screen went black and the glare from the lights behind Simon replaced Giselle’s face. 

Simon knew Giselle’s plan would work and sat at his desk at the remote office in the center of the city.  It was a floor above his condo suite.  He watched the chaos below and wondered if the world would ever get back to normal again.

Dr. Jane Barnett awoke from her exhaustion collapse fourteen hours later.  The room was still dark and alarms were sounding off in the distance muffled behind the walls of the Museum.  A red light was blinking every second illuminating the room and then hiding it again.  She listened for sounds of movement and heard nothing.  The aroma of blood, fecal matter and piss was in the air and she was comforted to find that it wasn’t her own.  She stood up and slipped a bit from blood on the floor that was progressively coagulating.  Her shoulder and head was bruised from the door striking it earlier but all in all she was ok.  She wasn’t bitten and it seemed the Azrael blood that covered her face and hair masked her human aroma.  She started to wipe it off the moment she remembered that she had it all over her but then ceased just in case there were more inside the Museum.

She treaded lightly as she tried to obtain her night vision.  She squinted in attempts to see better, but it was of no use.  The rooms slowly shaped themselves revealing chaos everywhere.  There were a few bodies that were eaten to the bone minus parts that were in boots or around the waist clung close by a belt.  The sounding alarms in the distance slowly increased their presence.  The sound of a stress ball hitting a container of paper clips on the ground startled her.  She nudged it by mistake earlier.  She increased her movement, tripped over a chair that was knocked over and fell on top of a filing cabinet that in turn knocked over slamming to the ground.  The sound echoed throughout the building.  Her eyes widened as she listened for something to come searching for her.  Her heartbeat pounded rapidly in her chest.  After waiting a few minutes hearing only sounds of distant alarms she finally stood up and carefully trekked towards a dim light that exposed the exit of the building.  The alarms increased in intensity and she immediately identified them as the Azrael Breach Alarms.

This was all her fault.  She had gotten all of these people killed due to her own selfish desires, she thought to herself.  She exited the museum finally and inhaled fresh air.  The brisk breeze blew her hair wildly and immediately caused goose bumps to decorate her arms and legs.  She struggled to gain her composure as her teeth chattered from the sudden drop in temperature.  She located a black fleece jacket hanging on the back of a chair and put it on.  It slowed the teeth chattering and she continued to observe her surroundings.  Blood was everywhere except on a folding table that had a box of donuts on it.  She hadn’t eaten in a long time.  Her stomach chimed in on cue providing an intense growl.

“Fuck it.”  She muttered to herself, grabbed the entire box and started to eat one by one.  She was about to lick her fingers when she realized her hands were covered in Azrael blood.  She didn’t believe that ingesting it would infect her but she didn’t want to take chances.  She found some hand sanitizer and doused her hands and face in the stuff.  She wiped away the dirty liquid with a wad of paper towels that was on the table next to the donuts.  She got some of the sanitizer in her eyes and it burned.

“Shit!  God damned it Jane.  Get it together!”  She hollered at herself.  Her eyes burned but at least it killed whatever could infect her.  So she thought.  Her nose was running, her eyes watered and she felt like she deserved another donut.  She picked up the box and carried it with her as she limped towards the center of the city stuffing powdered donuts and chocolate eclairs in her mouth.  One of her pumps was missing.  She noticed that as her left foot clanked and her right foot plopped.  She kicked off the other pump in a fluid motion as she walked and traversed barefoot through Chicago eating donuts during an Azrael outbreak.  She wondered how ridiculous she might have appeared and decided that she gave no shits about it.

The streets were quiet and there were no signs of the Azrael or any human activity.  Body fluid painted the streets and sidewalks.  Blood, piss, and chunks of flesh littered the landscape along with random shoes, bags and valuables.  She found a nice expensive purse filled with ration vouchers and a piece of cheesecake wrapped in parchment paper.  She ate the cheesecake and stuffed the vouchers in her bra.  By this time she was down to her last custard filled Boston cream donut.  As she bit into it custard oozed out and she tried to catch it as it fell.  She laughed at herself with custard on her nose and upper lip.  She looked back up.  In an alley between two tall buildings she noticed shadows moving.  As she focused, the shadows multiplied and were heading straight for her.

“Shit!”  Dr. Barnett sprinted away towards a grouping of cars that were parked near Soldier Field.  She tried all the locks and caused an alarm to go off.  It wailed loudly indicating her position even more.  She fled the car that was blinking and honking.  She peeked and noticed a young woman sprinting ahead of the Azrael herd spewing obscenities at them and laughing.

“What the fuck?”  She blurted out loud.  She marveled at how fast the woman was running.  Unfortunately, some of the herd broke off and ran towards her.

“God damned it.  Here they come.”  She froze and knew her time had come.

“Get down!”  The woman yelled and a loud bang exploded ten feet ahead of the pack.  It flashed a brilliant array of colors.  Dr. Barnett didn’t see the lights, she was on the ground.  Where she grew up, if someone yells to get down, then you got down.  You didn’t ask questions about it. You just did it.

She stood up and a hand grabbed her right arm.  She tried to push whoever it was off of her and unloaded a can of mace at the would-be-attacker.

“Damn it woman.  I’m trying to save you.”

The pepper in the air caused Jane to cough more than her attacker.

“What’s going on?  What are you doing?”

“Get your ass moving.  That flash grenade won’t distract them much longer.”

“Flash grenade?  Who are you?”

“I’m getting these things out of the city.  Unfortunately for you, you’re leaving too, unless you want to die out here.”

“No!  I can’t leave.  I’m a scientist.  I have a job here.”

“Had a job it seems.”

“I can’t run as fast as you.”

“No one can.  Don’t worry about it.  Just keep close.  I’ll make sure they don’t get you.”

“What’s your name?”

“Giselle, yours?”

“Jane…Doctor Jane Barnett.”

“Nice to meet you Doc.  Chat time’s over.  Run.”

Jane noticed the grenade start to fizzle out.  She turned and started to run as fast as she could.  Three broke free and started to get near.

“Got three coming close.”  Giselle spoke into a radio.

“Roger”

Seconds later all three dropped from head injuries that nothing could come back from.  Jane ran.  She thanked God that she spent hours a day keeping her body trim running on the treadmill.  She found her rhythm and just kept her focus on Giselle who turned back on occasion making calls on the radio she carried.  Jane wondered what she was doing, but it didn’t matter.  She just ran.

Four more were picked off that neared Jane.  Several slipped through; Giselle stopped and took a knee aiming behind Dr. Barnett.

“Keep running!” Giselle called out.  Jane kept running.

Giselle fired off seven shots taking out seven that were a few feet from Jane.  They dropped tripping the other four that were just behind them.  Giselle stood up and sprinted towards her and spoke as she ran.

“You’re doing great.  Keep moving.”

Jane slowed her pace a bit and Giselle ran past her about fifteen feet ahead.

“Through here.”  Giselle yelled out as she ran through the main checkpoint exiting the central Chicago District and onto Roosevelt.  They continued a few more blocks and Giselle pointed to a church building that had the door broken open.

“Go in there.  I had someone clear it ahead of time.  It’s a large church, so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding somewhere to hide.”

Jane nodded and entered the building following instructions for a change.  She located the confession booth, opened the curtain, sat down and pulled the curtain closed.  The separation screen revealed a dark empty booth on the other side.  It was an eerie place that brought back bad memories in her past.  However, she had the sudden urge to spill all of her secrets and sins that have amassed over the years.  She was raised catholic.  She even went to catholic school up until high school.  The nuns were not the nicest nor were they forgiving for those who were naturally beautiful and desirable as she was growing up.  All the boys wanted Jane Barnett’s phone number. 

Jane had her first boyfriend at eleven and remembered kissing him in a church like this one in a confession booth not really like this one.  She remembered the other booth seemed larger, but she was eleven at the time.  She smiled and remembered who it was.  Ah, Brad.  It was Brad.  He grew up to be quite the stud in high school.  She recalled some party when she was seventeen and when Brad showed up with his new girlfriend.  She couldn’t remember the skank’s name but she remembered that she had a resting bitch face.  She also remembered that she slept with half the football team before the school year was over.  But before her visit to Trampville she dated Brad.  Jane recalled dumping him because of something stupid.  They were off and on since they were eleven and it was always her doing the dumping.  Brad didn’t play football.  He was a baseball jock.  She remembered his tight uniform pants and how nice his butt looked.  She thought of how focused he was when he pitched and how easy she could distract him while he played. 

“I think he hit a guy with his pitch after I flashed my tits at him.”  Jane admitted out loud in thought as if she was confessing to a higher authority on the other side. She still had her bra on, but her cleavage alone incited a brawl that included both teams.  She glanced down at her boobs and pushed them together.

“Yup, still got it.”  She assured teasing an invisible man on the other side with her amazing gifts.  Then she remembered the car accident, the one that killed Brad. 

“I picked up the pieces that whore left behind when she left him for Chase and the rest of the football team.  After graduation, Brad was hanging out with his buddies Carl and James.  We talked earlier that night about getting back together but his original plan for the night was drinking at James’ place.  They drank too much.  Carl was given a new truck that week as a graduation gift.  Carl would have just slept at James’ place but knew that Brad wanted to see me and he wanted to show off his new toy.  Brad knew that they all had too much to drink and tried to call me to see if I could pick him up.  I, I forgot to take my phone off of vibrate from the graduation… so I didn’t hear it ring.  For some reason he still got in the truck with Carl.  Dumbass didn’t even put on his seatbelt.  About a mile from my house Carl swerved off the road and flipped the truck.  Pieces of Brad were spread across one hundred feet of pavement and grass.  His body was unrecognizable.  I guess in the end I was only left with pieces.”  Jane dropped her head and wept.  It was the first time she talked about it.  However, no one was there to actually hear her story. 

Sounds of explosions outside jarred Jane from her moment of weakness.  A faint laugh along with a barely audible “Not today” Indicated that it was Giselle still workin’ those Azrael. 

Jane glanced at her feet.  The polish on her toes was rubbing off and the bottoms of her feet were filthy.  She had a scratch on her leg that she didn’t know existed along with a bruise on her left shin.  “I don’t want to die looking like this.”  She protested out loud to herself.

Sounds of several feet entered the church and slowly intensified as they neared Jane.  She held her breath and forced herself to breathe shallow.  Her eyes grew and she listened closely to every detail beyond the curtain that separated her from the occupants of the church on the other side.  The aroma of Azrael hit her nostrils and she felt like a cornered mouse.  She had nothing to defend herself with.  She had a small can of pepper spray on her keychain but what could that really do?

The footsteps were inches from the curtain and she could hear sniffing and breathing.  She could see bare feet under the curtain.  They were pale and dirty.  The scent of Azrael was overwhelming but she remained quiet as a mouse.  More footsteps approached from another corner of the church.  The stench of Azrael was surrounding the booth.  She knew her presence was discovered.  She had the pepper spray aimed towards the curtains while she was turned away with her eyes closed.  The curtains swung open and she unloaded the small container of pepper spray at the attackers.  She heard raspy wails and a crash like something fell.  She opened her eyes and saw the Alpha Azrael that she had strapped to the table on its back on top of two others as it rubbed at its face in pain.  She gazed at the canister with shock and placed the keychain back in her pocket and sprinted out of the building.  She didn’t bother looking back.  Noises of hissing and grunting faded behind her. 

Giselle noticed Jane sprint out of the church as if she were running for her life.  She was running blindly west on Roosevelt towards nothing of interest.  Giselle knew that if she didn’t help the woman that she would eventually become one of them.  She reached in her bag and tossed another noisemaker towards the herd that was just east of her location all piled up on Roosevelt.  What she didn’t notice was the Alpha that darted out of the church.  Before Giselle could turn around to run towards Jane she was tackled to the ground by the Alpha.  Her glasses flung off of her face and the back of her head smashed into the pavement.  She lost consciousness but the bite on her left shoulder pumped adrenaline throughout her body quickly and forced her awake immediately.  The Alpha paused as it tasted Giselle’s flavor and scowled at the taste of it.  In a fit of rage it raised its massive arms and dropped them on Giselle.  She managed to pull her arms up to defend her body in time but the force of the blows brought the wind out of her.  She reached for her pistol and attempted a shot but the Alpha knocked it out of her hands with uncoordinated attacks with its massive arms.  She knew she was losing this battle and tried to think of a way to escape.  The drool of the beast flung wildly spraying her face and arms as it continued its assault on Giselle.  In the corner of her eye she noticed the herd breaking away from the noisemakers and pooling their attention on their Alpha.