Zombie System: Ruling The Apocalypse

008 - Alpha Project

"Run!" Jonathan screamed.

Gunfire erupted, chipping away at the walls and shattering equipment. He realized with chilling clarity that these soldiers weren't interested in Eleanor's capture, or even control. They were here to kill. Anyone. Everyone. Maybe him. He reckoned they weren't from the President. This was Tate’s doing.

The lab was a sprawling, multi-level space, a labyrinth of intricate machinery and shattered glass that flew in all directions as they were being shot at.

They crawled, ducked, and scrambled, the air thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder and ozone. Jonathan instinctively wanted to summon the greens, to turn the tide, but there were none close enough to heed his silent call.

After a while, there was silence, followed by matchings on the platform. The soldiers were in.

"Give her up! Let's live!" Doc McStuffins shrieked as a soldier's boot stomped nearby.

"No!" Jonathan roared. He turned to the huddled group. "Stay here!" he rasped. Then, with a burst of speed, he crawled away, disappearing into the maze of lab equipment.

He saw an isolated soldier, his rifle sending a red laser light in the direction he faced. Jonathan lunged, a blur of motion, slamming into a soldier. Before the man could react, Jonathan’s jaws clamped down on his neck. The bite was instant, fatal. The soldier’s eyes went wide with shock and pain, then glazed over. His body convulsed, then stilled, before the tell-tale green began to spread across his skin. Jonathan had made his first one.

Jonathan knew it was in him. He could bite too. But he didn't expect it to be that fast.

Another soldier, alerted by the commotion, fired at him. The bullet whizzed past his ear. Jonathan scrambled away, desperate. He found himself in a dead end, a cold, sterile wall rising before him. The soldier rounded the corner, his weapon raised, aiming directly for Jonathan’s head.

Jonathan stiffened, bracing for the inevitable. But then, the green he had just created, the former soldier, lurched forward, a low growl tearing from its throat, distracting the other soldier. It was enough. Jonathan surged forward, a primal roar escaping him, and clamped down on the other soldier’s neck. Two more Greens.

"Stand down!" a commanding voice bellowed, heavy boots thudding on the floor.

Jonathan froze. Guns were now pointed at his group's head. All of them, including Doc McStuffins and Eleanor, were forced to their knees.

The two greens he had just created, still twitching from their transformations, were instantly gunned down, their bodies crumpling to the floor.

A soldier, clearly the captain, spoke into his comms. "Situation contained".

Following his report, two doctors were being lowered into the lab. One held a medical box and the other went ahead.

"One move from you they'll all die, starting from Eleanor," the one who spoke into the comm said.

They approached and injected the needle into Jonathan’s arm and drew his blood.

"Councilman Tate on the line," the captain announced, holding out a satellite phone to Jonathan.

Jonathan took the phone, the cold metal unfamiliar in his hand.

"Alpha Jonathan," he heard and then a pause followed. "I call you Alpha because that's what you are. To lead the herd down there. A lot is committed to you by chance and you are an asset. Don't fight it. Don't fight back. Work with me and I will give you what you want."

"What?" Jonathan spoke.

"Be what you're supposed to be. Be a zombie. Take out the remaining survivors in York Isles until you're the only one left. Then, you will be evacuated and given a cure. And as for Eleanor... I'll take care of her." A chilling pause. "Don't make me waste you, Jonathan. You're an asset."

Jonathan paused, his mind reeling. Eleanor Roosevelt's pleading gaze met his.

"No, Jonathan. There could be a way," she whispered.

"Is... there... a... cure?" Jonathan rasped into the phone.

Tate’s voice was unctuous. "I will work on it, Jonathan, with all the resources at hand. You are... a unique opportunity."

Jonathan saw Eleanor shaking her head. Could it be that there was no cure? No going back Suddenly, Jonathan's was filled with a growing chorus of growls and guttural rumbles. Hundreds of Greens, a surging tide of hungry bodies, were coming from the back, where Jonathan had his back. They were less than a hundred meters away.

He needed to buy himself and Eleanor more time.

The captain stiffened, his eyes widening. Silence prevailed. Tate waiting for an answer.

"I... accept," Jonathan said into the phone. His eyes never left Eleanor's.

Eleanor, Sarah, Michael, Ben, Lisa, and David stared at him. They heard the deal and were on the verge of death.

"Jonathan, please! Don't do this to us!" Ben pleaded.

Thirty-five meters. The growls were deafening. Suited agents approached the group, their rifles aimed at them. One before them all. Aimed, ready to fire.

"Wait!" Jonathan barked and stepped close to the captain, who was now visibly agitated, his hand straying to his weapon.

Ten meters. The green horde was almost upon them, their roars a deafening crescendo. "The horde is close. Control them to stand down!" The captain barked, his voice strained.

The other armed men turned around in the direction where the growls were coming.

Eleanor stretched her hand out to Jonathan. She knew what would happen if they were to face hundreds of Greens without being linked to Jonathan, the Alpha Project.

"Go... fuck... your...self... Tate," Jonathan snarled into the phone and with a sudden, ferocious movement, he bit the captain’s neck. The man screamed, a gurgling, choked sound, as he succumbed.

Now, the Greens were in. They poured into the lab, a green wave of insatiable hunger. The soldiers fired frantically, their weapons spitting fire, trying to hold back the tide.

"Hold... your... selves!" Jonathan roared as he ran towards them.

He reached out as he ran towards them. They were too much for his mind. Also, there were armed men in the lab that needed to be taken out.

The Greens were everywhere. Every corner. Growling and launching themselves into whatever direction they saw a living.

"Link!" Jonathan commanded. Eleanor, understanding, grabbed his hand, then Michael's. Ben, Lisa, and David formed a chain, their hands clasped tightly. With the link formed, a bizarre calm settled over the survivors, an unseen shield protecting them. The greens still snarled, still lunged, but they couldn't break the invisible barrier.

The shootings died down. Now, there were but eight in the lab; the rest had become a meal for the hungry Greens.

Jonathan, still holding Eleanor's hand, pulled her and the linked group into an adjoining lab. They heard the distinctive thrum of a chopper, lifting away, retreating from the chaos. The soldiers were gone.

In the next lab, they all panted, gasping for breath, the adrenaline slowly receding.

"You have just stood against the order," Doc McStuffins said, his voice strangely calm, a man who had seen the true face of power. "They will come for you. With everything they have."

"Thanks," David breathed, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. The others murmured their thanks too.

Jonathan stood tall, his chest heaving, his voice raw but resolute. "I... have... an... army... to... con...trol." He met their gazes, his green eyes burning with a fierce determination. "And... we... will... find... more... sur...vi...vors." He coughed, blood trickling from his mouth. "We... will... fight... the... or...der."

"And I will follow your lead, Alpha Project," Doc McStuffins declared.

"Me too!" Michael, then Ben, Sarah, Lisa, and David, all echoed.

Jonathan stood tall. He spun. He looked into their faces. A strange sense of clarity washed over him. He was beginning to understand the true length of his power, what he was, and how to make use of the bizarre abilities allocated to him.

He was not just a survivor; he was a leader, a weapon, a shield. "Let's... do... this," he rasped, a new resolve hardening his voice.