Chapter 22: Week Five: Thursday
The group walked together down the road with supplies in hand, and smiles to their faces. Even the usual grumpy Bill had a slight curve to his mouth. It felt good to be able to help others.
After leading the infected away from the Juggernaut, Alice eventually regrouped with the others. She was confused seeing the missing supplies, but after hearing the answer no smile could be found.
"You okay Alice?" Lily asked worryingly, always able to sense when her little sister was going through troubles.
"Yeah it's just, what about Jason? He's the one who risked his life for these supplies. What if he doesn't like what you did?" Thinking about him made her feel awful and concerned for his well being. She just wished there was something she could do. But alas, her hands were tied.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Once we tell him about the kids he'll understand. Besides, it's not like we gave it all away." Tyrone said confidently, not worried in the slightest. Alice just hoped and prayed that would be the case.
Although the way back should be safe, they still were cautious and kept a watchful eye on the area. As they walked and talked, Alice brought up the three men that Jason killed in the supermarket. Each person was disgusted while listening, and felt barely any remorse for their deaths.
She of course did skip over the fact that Jason tortured an 18 year old kid. All she said was that he got information from him, which made Bill look at her strangely. But when Alice got to the part about Helix Street and the skull, Lily shouted out in anger.
"Fucking Reapers!" There was a ferocious look to her face when Lily mentioned them. The rest of the group was just as stunned.
They all heard of the Reapers. The cities biggest and most dangerous gang. Rumored to have thousands of members spread across Nuke Isle City. However, they didn't know that much about them. Not like Lily who dealt with them frequently.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?!" Lily shouted as she stared at her sister with fire pouring out from her eyes.
"It just never came up. I'm sorry." Alice said with a saddened face. She was shocked at the seriousness in her big sister's voice and thought she did something very wrong.
Seeing Alice so sad made Lily sigh with regret.
"No I'm sorry. Whenever I think about those pieces of shit I lose my head. Anyway, we got a real problem on our hands with one of their bases being so close to us. I never even heard of this one, especially being so close to us."
"Can you tell us some more about them so we know who we're dealing with?" Tyrone said. He only had the bare basics when it came to them, like everyone else.
"Ugh, I hate thinking about these cunts. The Reapers are a gang full of psychopaths, murderers, rapists, and every other kind of filth there is. They mainly dealt with drugs, but weren't limited to only that. Had their hands in arms and human trafficking as well. Also had some weird fascination with skulls, made it their logo and signature.
We had a guess they were being supported by the Callarolo Cartel, but never got any evidence. Maybe that's why the dogshit commissioner tried hindering us at every turn!" At the end, Lily spit on the ground before remembering something.
"Alice, didn't you say the kid had a few bruises on his face?"
"Yeah? Why, is that important?" Alice asked with a confused face. It did seem a little odd, but she didn't think much of it.
"Pretty fucking important. Those bastards are still recruiting even now! Assholes!" The fury on Lily's face spoke volumes about how she felt.
"Recruiting? What do bruises have to do with that?" Kevin asked.
"That's their initiation. There's two ways into the gang for men and three for women. First, you get your shit kicked in for a few minutes and if you survive, you're in."
"What if they don't survive?" Tyrone asked. He was starting to regret asking for more info about these people.
"Their bodies get thrown away into random alleyways, clothes stripped off and left butt naked in the wind. A skull is carved into their chest along with a word, 'Weakling'. But, if they have family, they get left on their front porch instead. There were even times when some mothers killed themselves after finding their sons or daughters."
"Jesus Christ! What monsters!" Kevin said, completely disgusted.
"Yeah. So then we have the second way. They'll order you to go up to a random innocent person on the street, or sometimes a rival gang member, and stab or slice them up. Depending on if you kill them, or anything else you do, will determine your position in the gang.
The women's way isn't too different. Get beaten, or stab someone. But they have a third way, which is to get gang-raped by a fuck ton of members. Sometimes, they don't survive." Lily had a dark look to her face when remembering the girls whose bodies were ruined and dumped into a filthy trash filled alley, with cum splattered across.
"Why would people even want to join?" Kevin asked with an appalled face. Tyrone's thoughts were similar. As for Bill, his face was neutral. Sure he hated the bastards, but he had seen and heard of far worse.
"Mostly money and the fame that came with it. There was also the family aspect they loved pushing. How if you joined them you were joining a family that loves and supports you. That definitely drew in a good few of the lonely ones.
And of course, some of them were just batshit crazy fuckers who wanted to join like-minded individuals. But something I do regret, is never finding out who the leader was. He's a smart cookie, that's for sure.
Every person we caught was someone he wanted to give away. Like a damn gift. Never got anything from them because they were either too low-level to know anything or were too scared of their boss."
"Give them up? Why?" Alice asked confused.
"Because they had no use anymore or it was too much trouble to keep them around. So much for the whole family shtick." Lily sneered at the hypocrisy.
The rest of the way home was spent talking about how to deal with them and avoid them. When they did finally reach the apartments, they caught Zach up to speed about everything. From the man and two kids, to the new threat looming over the horizon.
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Inside of a giant building deep within an alleyway, with a white skull painted on the front door, were many people of all ages and gender tending to their assigned duties. Some were cleaning blood stained weapons or guns, a few were even living their lives as a farmer, while others would set up new defenses. Everyone had a job, even the children.
Occasionally, screams would ring out through a part of the building stirring the loins of some older members as they tried hard to focus on their tasks. The newer members however, had disgusted faces when listening to the horrifying noises created by both men and women.
But they had no choice. It was either join these psychos and be generally safe, or go out there and risk getting ripped limb from limb. At least their kids had guaranteed safety, so maybe they weren't too bad.
At the top floor, a man stood in front of a large table. On that table was a marked map of the city along with a bunch of walkie-talkies off to the side being managed by multiple people. As for the man staring at the map intently, who had numerous thoughts and plans racing through his mind, he was a very normal and unassuming person. Almost too normal.
His face was the above average kind, but also the type to get lost in a crowd of people. Short blond hair cut neatly sat on his head and his body type was decently thin, making people guess he wasn't very strong. But underneath his clothing, one would be shocked to find near perfect muscles that were the product of hard work. His height didn't raise any eyebrows or let eyes wander, being at 5ft 9in.
The only thing that stood out were his eyes. Looking into them was like being sucked in by a black hole. People were naturally drawn into them and found themselves unable to break free.
Of course, that's what others said about him. Especially his underlings. The man himself always saw his eyes as just that. Normal regular eyes.
As Michael stared at the map on the table, a knock was heard on the double doors.
"Come in." Michael's head was still down even as the doors flew open.
A bald man with multiple tattoos across his body stopped a few feet from the table and nodded his head, even though it wasn't seen, before speaking.
"Boss. The three guys we sent to round up the last of the supplies at the O' Malleys supermarket haven't returned yet. Should we send a few more men to look for them?"
"We already made sure that a path for them was clear yes?" Michael responded, still looking down.
"Uh, yeah." The man wasn't expecting that. He watched as his boss's head turned to the people manning the walkie-talkies.
"Has anything happened around the vicinity of that area?" One of them was thoroughly shocked and didn't respond until a few moments later.
"I was just about to report it sir. One of the rooftop scouts witnessed a horde chasing after, in his words, 'A fast as fuck!' man. Also, said man seemed injured as he was holding his left arm and had fired multiple shots at something. Unfortunately, the scout could not see what he shot at from his angle.
Then he saw as they ran into an alleyway and by the looks of it, managed to escape to a different rooftop near the gun store. The scout also reported an Acid Spitter among their ranks."
Michael took in the information with no emotion in his face. While thinking, no one interrupted him and waited patiently.
"Okay. It's highly likely the man being chased killed our men. Probably lived in the area, needed food, and decided to scavenge the local supermarket. It was just unlucky timing for our guys. But to be sure, we'll collect the bodies. I want to check them myself. Go send for Bosco." Michael said, taking a seat in a nearby chair with crossed legs.
"And the man?"
"Ignore him for now. If you somehow manage to encounter him, do not engage for the moment. Let's make sure he's not a part of a larger group, like the ones at the docks." Truthfully, Michael didn't really care for the deaths of the three men.
"Yes boss." He didn't want to go meet the lard ass, but it was a direct order.
As the tattoo man left, Michael glanced at the map and massaged his head lightly. He hoped he was wrong about the refugee camps and their downfall. But it seems more and more like it was orchestrated by someone, or something.
If only those people would put down their prejudice and join him. Truthfully, their help would be invaluable and expedite his plans for survival.
'Perhaps it's time for a change? Maybe some restructuring is in order?'
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The tattooed man, named Gabe, walked down multiple hallways and a few floors before finally arriving in front of a room. From outside, he could hear the grunts of a walrus in heat. With a sigh, Gabe opened the door without knocking since he knew it would go unheard.
The instant he entered, a fat hairy ass with pimples entered his vision. A look of disgust appeared on his face as he called out.
"Bosco!"
The fat man stopped thrusting into the silent woman beneath him and turned around. With heavy breaths, as if he was about to keel over, he questioned the newcomer.
"Gabe? What are you doing here?"
"The boss sent for you. So stuff it in your pants and go meet him." The smell of this place made him want to vomit.
Bosco nodded in understanding and began fucking the woman under him for a few more seconds before cumming inside her, gifting her another creampie. The poor victim groaned slightly, which Bosco did not like. He punched her in the face with his meaty fist, screaming out in rage.
"Shut the fuck up you stupid whore! We've been over this!" When he pulled out and got off the bed, Gabe unfortunately got flashed by Bosco's tiny pecker.
'I'm bathing in bleach tonight.' He thought as he looked away.
"Just hurry up and get dressed. You know he doesn't like waiting." With that, Gabe left to go wash his eyes with holy fire.
After Bosco got dressed he brushed the hair of the bruised and cum soaked woman, making her tremble in fear.
"I'll be back soon to pick up where we left off. I think your asshole deserves some love huh, you filthy whore? You deserve it you bitch, and it's been a while after all." After whispering into her ear, he began laughing as he made his way to Michael.
Marie shivered as she curled up into a ball and began crying from her black eyes. A few days ago, while searching for food with her husband, a group of men attacked them. They beat her husband and raped her in front of him, before bringing her here.
Then, she was passed around by multiple men. Each taking turns on her, or even raping her three holes all at the same time. Over and over again she screamed for help from the non-gang members, but no one moved. They all turned their heads away and acted like it wasn't happening. Some even taunted her, saying she deserved it.
It was an awful experience but when Marie was passed to Bosco, she knew true pain. Although he was the smallest of all the men, he was by far the most cruel. The marks on her body showed the abuse she suffered in his hands.
Her face had many cuts and bruises due to him punching her. His meaty fat hands had wrapped around her throat on more than one occasion and taught her how little she liked being choked. Her back suffered multiple lashes from a leather whip. Around her wrists, were deep red rope marks from when she was tied up. Lastly, her swollen holes were completely red and even bloody from the massive spiky dildos he shoved into her.
However, at the very least, they didn't get her children. That was what gave Marie the strength to go on. The hope that she may see her beautiful darling kids once more. But if she was honest with herself, she didn't know how much longer she could hold on.
It was such a shame. If her children were caught as well, there was a good healthy chance she wouldn't be suffering in such agony.
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Bosco whistled as he walked down the hallway, his fat jiggling like jello with every step he took. Torturing that bitch always made him happier. He hated her. In fact, he hated all women for that matter. Ever since he was rejected in high-school for being too fat and ugly, he took out all his frustration out by raping them horribly. It made him feel, good. Powerful.
Perhaps he could have worked on himself to become an actual man, but it's not like there was anything wrong with him. It was all them. Their fault. They deserved it. They were all the same.
But for sure, he was not an easy man to look at. His face was beyond ugly, with pimples all over and a triple chin. His shoulder length balding black hair was unkempt and looked simply awful on him. Standing at 6ft, his body type was of a sentient meatball that suddenly grew legs or maybe a walrus that found a way to walk among humans. Instead of muscles, all he had was an overwhelming amount of fat laced with grease and sweat.
When Bosco arrived at the closed double doors, he stopped his whistling and adopted a respectful look as he knocked lightly.
"Come in." Hearing the slightly cold voice sent shivers down his spine. After opening the doors and walking to the table, Bosco waited for his order with his head down. He glanced at the people off to the side and gritted his teeth silently. These men and women had the best accommodations, best food, and were both protected and trusted by the boss.
'I don't know what kind of work they're doing, it being very hush hush and all, but I can do it too! I'm better than them I know it! At least I'm better then those cunts!' Bosco thought while looking at the women in anger who were too busy working to even acknowledge his existence.
Michael looked emotionlessly at the fat man before him. The smell of sex on his body made his eyebrows scrunch a little in disgust. And of course he saw the little glance he made, and could practically read the thoughts in his mind because of how simple he was.
'Filthy thing.'
If he didn't have his uses, he would have killed this miserable blob of insecurity long ago because of how much trouble he was. And those uses, were running a little thin these days.
"Bosco, I've got some things for you to do." Michael's face revealed none of his intentions.
"Yes boss?" Unaware that his death was drawing closer and closer with each passing day, Bosco replied softly.
"Two things. Go find Ram and tell him to get his team together. They'll be making a trip to the O' Malleys supermarket to pick up the bodies of our three men. After that, tell him to immediately return here and report to me. By the way, if they come across a large man out there tell him to not engage for the moment. Try to collect as much information as possible about him, but be cautious and not let him see them."
"Uh, got it." He mind was a little foggy hearing all those orders. Maybe he should have brought a note and pen?
"Second, I want you and Timothy to go to the docks. Try to convince them of an alliance between the two of us."
"But boss, I'm not good at the whole talking thing."
Michael sighed at the stupidity of this whale and had the urge to paint the walls with his brain.
"That's why I'm sending Timothy. Let him do the talking and you'll be there to protect him. Gather around twenty men, arm lightly, only use guns if necessary, and follow the marked path. Leave an hour before dawn and bring four large UV flashlights with you." He hated sending his men out to the street.
Every time he did so, there was always the chance a few would die out there. They were very valuable tools in this new Era where every life counted, so their deaths hurt. However, he had a plan in the works to remedy this.
'Just a little more, and weeks of preparation and planning will come to fruition. It's not perfect, but definitely better than the current status quo.' Michael thought, glancing at the people working the walkie-talkies who were constantly communicating with the other end.
When he finished speaking, the meatball before him smacked his fist on top of his other hands palm as if he had an epiphany. Once again, Michael sighed.
"Oh right! That boy is a stick after all. Weak as all hell." He was so glad he didn't have the responsibility of negotiating. Such a stressful job. It was just a shame he had to work with Timothy.
"Okay. You can go now." Michael waved him away like shooing a fly.
"Got it boss!" The walrus replied, too stupid to pick up on his boss's dissatisfaction of him.
Watching Bosco walk away, Michael thought it to be a mistake in sending him for such an important task. But this would serve as a test. If he failed again, there was no longer any need to keep him around.
'Wait. Could this actually work? Maybe when I get rid of him, they will know I'm serious about a partnership? It's risky though and a lot can go wrong. Next time, I'll go personally.'
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Jason hid crouched on the roof and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the big fat lady walk away until out of view. Although she had left, the majority of the horde was still around the area. They were even starting to disperse, meaning that he had little time to come up with a plan or else he would be surrounded.
As Jason looked all around in hope a plan would suddenly spring to life, his eyes eventually stopped on a certain store. Bullseye Supply, a gun shop.
"Fucking finally something went right! I take back all I said about you sweetheart!" It seemed like the Gods decided to favor him for the moment.
However the only problem was that the store was across the street and if he wanted to go, it had to be now.
Taking the high risk high reward attitude, Jason stepped onto the ledge of the roof and peered downwards into an alley.
"I can make that, right? Aren't there stories about a person falling from 10,000ft and surviving?" He gulped slightly as he said that aloud to no one in particular. What he was about to attempt was a 50ft drop onto concrete.
"Oh fuck it."
Taking a few breaths, Jason decided to just wing it and hope for the best. Jumping off, he fell fast at a high speed towards the ground that was rapidly approaching. Instead of landing on his feet like a cat, Jason thought rolling might help absorb the impact and lessen the damage. Just before he landed he placed his right hand out, tucked in his head, and used his right shoulder to roll for several feet.
"God, that was cool. Like a superhero or something. Captain Badass here to save the day!" Then, he shaked his head with a smile and a chuckle.
"Christ, I'm such a child." But it wasn't all good. His injuries started acting up again, flaring in pain and bleeding more heavily.
Jason ignored his suffering and peeked around a wall to look out into the street. To his immediate left, there were dozens of infected walking his way. Soon, they would take up the entire street. The right however, was completely clear.
Instead of bum rushing for the gun shop, he turned around and found a door leading into the building next to him. His plan was to move through the buildings and when he was far enough away, he would then cross the street.
When he opened the door and stepped inside, he suddenly found himself inside the back of a barbershop.
He cautiously moved into the place where the magic happens and saw multiple chairs along with a barber pole still swirling away.
'It's so hypnotizing. Love these things.'
Near the door to the outside world, two infected stood minding their own business. Jason could've just left without disturbing them, but something called to him.
It was a little nagging feeling in the back of his mind, something he could easily ignore. But, he decided to go with this familiar gut feeling.
Stepping out of his hiding corner, the infected saw him immediately and rushed for him. Jason closed the distance and punched out with his right fist to the closest one. The poor infected got it's skull cracked open as it flew across the room. The other one didn't care about his companion and was just about to take a bite when a hand grabbed his throat.
Using his impressive strength, Jason pushed the infected into a nearby wall with his right arm. Using the wall as a weapon, he repeatedly smashed it's head in until the light from it's eyes faded. The body collapsed onto the ground as Jason took a step back and looked at the first one he struck. The twitching of it's body indicated it was, though barely, still alive.
After stomping it's head with his foot and ending it's pitiful life, Jason looked down at the body with a strange feeling. It was the same kind of desire he felt when looking at the Juggernaut. To consume.
But the feeling wasn't as strong and didn't send him into a daze like before.
"Hmm. I'm starting to sense a pattern emerging. I ate Scarface's eye and became strong, fast, and other kinds of shit. Then the cannibalistic need to feast on the Juggernaut. And now the same thing here. Well, the heart wants what the heart wants I guess. If my body wants it, it can't be anything bad. Hopefully."
Jason threw caution to the wind and gave in to his need to feed. Besides, he had always wondered what human tasted like. Though, the infected hardly seemed human anymore.
Getting down to his knees, Jason grabbed the infected's arm with his hand and brought his almost salivating mouth close to the skin. With a big bite, he sank his teeth deep into the flesh and began ripping it off. After some effort, the meat from the infected's arm finally came off. Once he started chewing, he gasped in amazement.
"Holry fooack! Thish ish amashing!" Have learnt zero manners, Jason talked with his mouth full like some kind of barbarian. With blood dripping down his chin, he dived back in for another bite.
'No wonder Killgore loved eating this stuff! It's delicious! I wonder, what does the Juggernaut taste like?' He thought to himself, eager to get back to their battleground. Not even thinking how wrong it was to consume human flesh.
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As Jason continued eating his three star meal, beyond Theia's atmosphere was a giant semi-transparent dome that encircled the entire planet. Just outside the dome, keeping a watchful eye on the planet from all corners, was a fleet of hundreds of spaceships. There were massive ones the size of cities, and some that were only as big as a room in a house.
On the ginormous capital ship that eclipsed all the others whether it be size, weapons, or sheer glamor, a blue humanoid alien stood in front of his command chair looking at a massive screen showing multiple videos of the carnage happening on the planet.
Below him, either standing or sitting as they did their jobs, were all kinds of aliens of various shapes and sizes. Though, the majority were of the same species as the blue alien.
His height towered over any human, being at 9ft 2in tall. By human standards he was a giant, but to his own species he was simply average.
His four arms were behind his back, each hand having eight fingers. On top of his head were dreadlocks of tentacles that seemed to have a mind of their own as they wiggled in the air. His neck was similar to a giraffes in that it was far from the rest of his body, and it curved down slightly. The head was odd, having no lower jaw but instead multiple layers of teeth that went down his neck.
The alien's body was very big and muscular with scars running all across, although most were hidden beneath his military uniform. Unlike humans that had two eyes, he had four on top of one another. There were also three legs beneath him keeping him stable in place.
"Fleet Admirial, why don't we just end it now? We have the means to wipe out all life on that planet and end this cursed virus once and for all. Why keep it alive and give it a chance to grow?" After gathering her courage, one of the Vice Admirals voiced her concerns. She was of the same species as him.
The Fleet Admiral looked at her slightly with his fours eyes before turning back to the screen.
"It's not our call. The higher ups want to study the virus further. They say we can learn something from it." His fists behind his back balled up tightly as he said that. He disagreed completely with his superiors as he had lost many friends to this despicable plague. It still haunts him when he finally falls asleep. Their foaming mouths trying to take just a single bite out of him.
But when he saw the sentient life on that planet still trying to survive despite adversity, he couldn't just press the button to end their lives. Even if he did disobey orders, he would most likely be stopped before he could do anything and 'replaced'. He had no idea who among his crew were answering to someone else and not to him.
"Besides, we've eradicated all other traces and sealed the rest inside the planet. It'll be fine."
As soon as he finished speaking, an alarm began going off inside the command room making all the aliens rush to find the cause. Eventually, a purple ant-like alien spoke up.
"Sir! We have an emergency! The Gorgs have attacked Ciroulis! Not only there, but multiple planets have come under attack! We have been requested to help the defending fleet of Ciroulis as we are the closest!" The room went quiet as the alarm stopped. The Fleet Admiral screamed in fury.
"Damned green bastards! Only attacking us when we're weakened huh?! Make preperations for Warp Jump immediately! Vice Admiral! Inform the fleet to man their stations and prepare for battle!"
"But-"
"NOW!" Without arguing, the female alien walked off.
The Fleet Admiral breathed in and out a few times to calm his nerves. Then he tapped his wrist watch, and within a few seconds a voice appeared in his head.
"Admirial Yaka? What can I do for you?" An old voice echoed within his mind instead of coming from the watch. That voice belonged to the Chief Engineer.
"Tell me, how long can the Planetary Shield last without maintenance?" The shield was an incredible piece of technology developed by their greatest genius when the virus rampaged through their civilization. It was designed specifically to keep the virus locked inside a planet while allowing their ships to easily bypass it. Unfortunately, it was her last invention before her suicide.
It was just a shame it cost so much to produce, couldn't be moved once in place, was especially weak when struck from the outside, and needed constant maintenance to keep running.
"Huh? Well, if there is no outside interference then theoretically it should last for about five years. Why do you ask?"
"Five years... that should be enough. We're about to go into warp space and battle those filthy Gorgs. Get ready."
"Oh dear." At that, Yaka cut the communication and changed the screen so it showed a different blue alien with a missing arm and a military cap on his head.
"Captain, we will be leaving the system to defend an attack from the Gorgs. I will leave the task of both guarding the planet and protecting the eggheads to your capable hands. Now remember, do NOT let even a single ship try leave the planet's surface. Immediately bring it down without question. Do you understand?"
"Sir yes sir! Good luck fighting those disgusting green barbarians! Slaughter them all!" The Captain said with a snarl. After all, he had lost an arm to them in the last Galactic War.
Yaka turned the screen off as he heard the Vice Admirals voice.
"Attention to all units, man your battle stations and prepare for jump. I repeat. Man your battle stations and prepare for jump." Not only the capital ship, but the entire fleet could hear her voice.
After a few moments, one of aliens sitting down spoke up.
"Fleet Admirial Yaka, we are ready for Warp Jump."
"Good. On my mark."
"Ten"
"Nine."
"Eight."
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"Two."
"One. Mark." Once he finished, the capital ship suddenly sped forward at a high speed and entered a long white tunnel that spun wildly. The other ships soon followed after.
After they were gone, it was only the Captain and a little over a dozen ships left to patrol the planet. Half of those being scientific vessels and thus had barely any weapons.
However, the Fleet Admiral did not return after five years.