For the stragglers who thought they could get away, they soon learned their fate was inevitable. Wherever they hid away, the infected always tracked them down and found them. They dragged them through the entire camp, no care or gentleness in their actions. This caused more than a few to suffer broken bones and severe injuries due to their high strength. A couple even died, their corpse thrown in as well.
Some comforted others, saying at least they were still alive for now. But what kind of life would they live now? One of hardship by being kept as prisoners? It might be better to end their lives now instead of waiting for the torture of being eaten alive. And what was that monster's true goal for them? Food? Rape? Did he want to pick the flesh of their bones for fun? Many such questions went through their minds, each becoming worse and worse with every passing minute.
"How could this happen?" One voice whispered out in the dark cramped space. There were over fifty people in this room alone, which contained some familiar faces.
"I don't know. All I remember is waking up to a snarling monster right in my face. It dragged me out of my bed, broke my fucking arm." Another said, hissing in pain as he bumped into someone, who then mistook it as someone else.
"Watch it you dumb asshole!"
"Excuse me?! Hey fuck you pal!"
"What?! You son of a bitch! I oughta beat your ass!"
"Yeah, is that right?! Come on then you fucking faggot!" Just before two men were about to brawl over a simple misunderstanding, another loud voice spoke up.
"Alright now that's enough!" Everyone there recognized it immediately, Edward. Carter, who was next to him, pulled out a flashlight from his picket and shined the light upwards to illuminate the room. This allowed all to finally see their exhausted and bruised leader. Just the sight of him comforted them, except for one.
"I know that everyone is tense, but you can't give in to your emotions like this. We need to be cool and calm to figure out a way to solve our predicament." His tone became full of passion as he continued rallying their morale.
"These are dark times indeed. But we can only get through them together! As one!" Suddenly, a man stood up with difficulty and drew everyone's attention. He had a few nasty bruises on his body, cuts as well that bled. Despite the injuries, he sent a fierce glare towards Edward.
"Predicament? Dark times? Who was it that lead those monsters here again? You…" He grit his teeth so badly the gums starts to bleed.
"I was there, the very first time you two met. And I was there again when he arrived with that horde. Jason, that was his name. You, let him in. All of this, is your fault." Suddenly, the atmosphere changed greatly within the room as a couple other men stood up.
Each of them were enraged, fists tightened as they poured all their hatred onto the one man who had kept them alive for weeks. Who had rallied them against the storm. However, their mental state was irrational and they couldn't think straight. Or perhaps it was simply the true nature of man to turn on those closest to them. Carter saw the men walking their way and stood in front of Edward to protect him.
"Easy there fellas. Don't wanna do something we'll all regret right?" But Carter's words went in one ear and out the other.
"So this was all your fault?"
"I always had a weird feeling about those two. Turns out they were colluding all along!"
"Maybe this was his plan the whole time? This evil son of a bitch..."
Just as they were about to collide, the door suddenly opened. A ray of sunlight burst into the room, blinding most of them. Everyone there was stunned when seeing a muscular and roided up nine foot Juggernaut standing in the doorway. He huffed and puffed angrily before roaring out like a demon straight from Hell.
The people inside were frightened out of their wits, with a few even pissing themselves out of fear. Their ears felt as if they were about to explode. But they got the message, even if it wasn't said with actual words. Be quiet.
They saw as the Juggernaut grit his teeth, full of rage as he slammed the door shut so hard it creaked as if about to break. Carter turned back towards the men and saw how they all went back to their seats, calming down. Yet their glare never left Edward, who he himself looked guilty. Carter tried his best to comfort him.
"It's not-"
"Not what? My fault?" His tone became mocking as he sat down.
"Of course it is. Didn't Bill try to warn us? Shouldn't we have been more cautious than to blindly accept him? I have to take responsibility for this, since I am their leader." He looked around at their gloomy faces, sighing to himself as he leaned against the wall.
"It is my fault. And anything that happens next, is on my shoulders."
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Outside of the cargo ship full of around four hundred surviving humans and animals, Jason and the sisters were next to the radio listening to a Crazy Seven broadcast. It was a strange sight, seeing a once lively place just a little while ago, now as barren as a desert.
"-and oh boy do I have some interesting news today folks!" Jason chuckled, his body lying on the ground with his eyes closed. Lily and Alice were resting on his chest.
"He sounds holly and jolly. Something good must've happened."
"That's right my beautiful listeners! Something amazing has occurred which I've only just learned about ten minutes ago! First up, let's talk about the rumored death of the Rat Emperor. For those who don't know, this Alpha is considered one of the strongest in the world. Many believe he is the true extinction event who will wipe us out and replace our species with rats. His Rat Swarm had cut a path through Europe, slaughtering any in their path. Human casualties are rumored to be in the tens of millions from him alone."
"However! He has suddenly disappeared! The unending and invincible Rat Swarm has dispersed and their numbers are barely a tenth of what they were before. Brave soldiers of the British Army had come across what seemed to be some sort of meteor strike on where the Rat Emperor was supposed to be. The entire place was flattened and the corpses were innumerable! Described by one as: A true Hell."
"It is unknown what truly happened there, as there were no witnesses in the immediate area. But this is a blessing for humanity! I'd say take this time to celebrate with your loved ones! Now, onto the other… sort of good news. The reason I say that folks is because our nukes are back online." Jason sat up a bit, making the sisters yelp and fall forwards. Luckily, they caught themselves in time.
Looking up, they could see Jason's face was solemn and in deep thought. Alice reached up and placed both hands on his chest in concern.
"You okay?" He seemed broken out of a daze and smiled.
"Of course. Great news for them, but not us." They could understand what he was talking about. A single nuke was all it would take to destroy everything Jason had built. To humans, they were the only true weapon that could fight against the infected.
'I need to speed up my plans and take control over everything, before it's too late. I should start with America first. In fact, maybe getting Crazy Seven over to my side would be-' Suddenly, it was as if Jason's mind exploded with realization.
'That's right! I take over Crazy Seven and my range of influence would increase massively! I could order him to tell everyone about a rumored secret sanctuary for humans. Say it was safe from infected and in the mountains or some shit. Then, I can grab them all!'
"Some countries have already launched their nukes towards Dead Cities, wiping out millions of infected. Due to the amount of them being used however, we might face more problems than the infected soon enough. But what else can be done about the endless hordes searching out for their next prey?"
"I'm sure most of you are wondering about something. About why we weren't able to use them for so long after Chiina dropped theirs. And today, we received that answer in full. Would have known sooner, but my contact was killed during the assault on Washington, God rest his soul."
"This next part is gonna be hard to believe, but there were honest to God aliens up in space. They had taken control of our nukes and disabled them from use. Not only that, they also put up this big shield around the planet and watched us! Like fucking rats trapped in a cage!" By the tone of his voice, those listening could tell how upset Crazy Seven was about this subject.
"The only reason we even found out about the prison around us is because a portion of it fell to Theia. More specifically, straight on Europe. In fact, I do have a little theory that they were the ones who killed the Rat Emperor. But I have no real evidence for it as of now. Real samaritans huh? We should kneel down and thank our alien overlords." His voice was mocking and sarcastic.
"Are you fucking serious?! Goddamn aliens?!" Lily yelled out with an incredulous look to her face. Alice was just as stunned as her.
"Zombies I can believe in. But aliens?" She subconsciously turned to Jason and noticed he didn't look too shocked.
"Did you know?" He nodded his head and explained to them his memories given by the previous virus.
The knowledge of an entire civilization out there suddenly made the sisters feel very small. Especially when only a single planet of this 'Alliance' had tens of billions of aliens on it. And that was considered a small one. Then there was the level of power they possessed, which made the current virus and infected look like a baby fighting a T-Rex.
However, they didn't feel too worried when gazing at their unconcerned Jason. If not even two months already made them this strong, what if they had a few more? A year even? Then there was Jason himself that would get stronger far faster than previously, which then in turn would influence the virus and all other infected to grow with him.
"Forgive me my pretties, but I must talk about the bad news. Recently, something has changed with the virus. We don't know what, or how it happened. What we do know however, is that people turn much faster than previously. Not only that, but ones who didn't turn before suddenly do so now. We even had a situation happen in the studio. Their strength and speed have also increased dramatically compared to before."
Unfortunately for the trio, the rest of the broadcast wasn't too interesting for them. When it ended, the sisters were just about to ask Jason what was next for his plans when he beat them to the punch.
"It's time for you two to play a little catch up. No disrespect, but you're weak. Incredibly so." They became ashamed and were a little down. It was certainly the truth, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow. Especially when coming from the person they loved.
"Not to worry though. You two are different than other infected in the sense that you grow much stronger, much faster. Because of this, I want you to go out there and grow by yourselves. Without my protection. Within two weeks, I want you to at least be as strong as Asura." They were a little stunned because they knew just how strong the three headed bastard was.
"Isn't that a little much? Besides, it's not as if he'll stop growing right?" Alice asked, Lily nodding with her. Jason frowned and flicked both of them in the head, making them glare at him.
"Just trust me. He might be Unique, but you're better. Now, come here Alice." Still a little upset, she walked over towards him with a pout.
He simply ignored her attitude and placed his large hand over top her chest. His fingers turned into black tendrils and dug deep inside her, making Alice gasp in surprise. She could feel something wiggling within her body like a worm, making her a bit uncomfortable. But then a cool, pleasant feeling washed over her as she sighed in relief and relaxed her body.
Jason continued pumping her mind full of relaxant to calm her nerves. Meanwhile, his tendrils had dug deep into her body and split off into smaller branches. So small they couldn't be seen with a naked eye as they attached themselves to her already altered DNA.
As he started increasing the limit of her potential, he also looked for anything unique. Just as he was about to stop and move on to give her the ability to heal from consuming, he spotted something. It was hidden so far and so deep he had almost missed it. A tiny and dormant purple looking gene. With curiosity, Jason latched a tendril onto it to learn about it's properties.
'This girl…' Jason opened his eyes and looked at Alice with amusement. He always knew she was secretly like this for a while now. Someone who liked to be in control of others and make them do her bidding. However, Alice had always tried to keep it hidden away from him.
The exact nature of the gene was mind control, and a very powerful one at that. Instead of just unlocking it and moving on, Jason moved two other powers and fused them into the gene. One was Alice's control over rats and the other was his own Domination Aura. This would increase it's abilities thrice fold at the least.
After doing so, Alice suddenly opened her shut eyes. Her mouth hung open slightly, a blank look in her pupils as she stared into empty space. Lily and Jason watched on, a hit of nervousness within then. They noticed as her beautiful green eyes slowly transformed into a gorgeous and deep purple. Not only that, but black veins appeared on her head and wiggled around for a few seconds before disappearing.
Her head turned from side to side before focusing on the worried duo.
"Jason? How long are you gonna stay in me?" She teased, giggling as Jason brought his hand back and smiled.
"How do you feel?" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling before reopening them.
"Great! I feel free, like a lock inside me was broken. I can also do this!" She turned in the direction of a passing infected, almost 40 yards away. It a was as if she knew he was there.
Suddenly, the random infected stopped moving and ran towards them as fast as it's legs could carry it. When it came before Alice, it kneeled down on one knee and lowered it's head. She turned back to the slightly stunned duo with a wide smile.
"Not only can I sense them within a certain radius, but their minds are for me to play with!" As she cackled like a mad villain, Jason thought deeply about her new power.
Even though she had completely and fully taken over the infected, it was still beneath his own. If he said so, the infected would immediately jump on top of Alice and rip her throat out. Of course, he'd never do such a thing. Another things were the eyes. Similar to Alice, they had turned purple with the only difference being the lack of pupils.
Alice had also told him about how she didn't feel a true limit to her capacity when taking the infected in. It was either she didn't have one, which was unlikely, or it was very high. Then out of nowhere, she approached Jason and hugged his thigh, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. Even her voice was one of begging and pleading.
"Jason? Can you change my claws and other weapons into something else?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Why would you want that?" She backed up and waved her hands in the air.
"I want to become an assassin! Or rather a glass cannon maybe? I just want to do a fuck load of damage!" Jason chuckled and patted her on the head, making Alice look at him.
"You know, I think you're underestimating yourself." Her face was one of confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"You are not like the other infected. You, are Chosen. A completely new species that can adapt and evolve to any situation. You want claws? You have them. Hammers? That too. Or maybe you want to breathe fire, or be fully immune to poison. Being Chosen, means you can do anything you put your mind to. You are not limited to one thing or the other." He stepped back and waved his hand.
"Go ahead, try it out yourself. All I'll tell you is this. Command it to happen, and it shall." Alice nodded seriously and took a deep breath.
She raised her arms slightly and focused on them deeply, trying her hardest to command her cells to transform. For a few minutes, nothing happened besides Alice grunting and struggling like she was constipated. Then suddenly, the duo watched as her arms became black tendrils that constantly shifted around.
With sweat going down her brow, Alice focused on her new weapons by taking inspiration from both Jason and Lily. After some more effort and designing, she had finally formed her new limbs. They were long and sharp blades, the edges serrated and designed for maximum damage. However, they were much thinner than Jason's.
"Good job Alice. You'll get used to transforming whatever it is you want the more you practice. Cut that time down to being damn near instant, and you'll be a force to be reckoned with. Blades though huh? They look awesome." Jason was about to approach her when she stopped him.
"These aren't simple blades. Watch this!" She swung them through the air, the blade becoming flexible as it almost turned into a whip. They also lengthened dramatically while in mid-air, able to surprise her opponent.
When she brought them back and transformed her arms back to normal, she had a smug look to her face as she waited for praise. The duo were about to do so, but upon seeing her smugness decided to ignore her.
"So Lily, you know you can do the same right?"
"Yeah, sounds complicated though. But I won't let that stop me from whooping some ass!"
"Come closer and I'll do the same limit booster to you. Also, I'll give you my ability to heal from consuming something. Might as well teach you how I do it as well." Watching them ignore her like she didn't exist, Alice pouted and crossed her arms together, muttering under her breath.
"Assholes..."
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( Jason )
I waved my hand at the sisters as they left the Docks, ready to face the world. It was tough sending them on their journey, being away from them and all. But it had to be done. A baby bird can't grow in the nest. Or some kind of bullshit like that.
And so they went, all alone into the wilderness to fight against evil! Or, so they thought. Did they truly think I'd send them alone with any sort of protection detail? Out of their damn minds. Done with that, I turned around and walked towards Asura who was waiting for me. When close, he bowed his three heads deeply.
"You called for us? Master?"
"Yes, I want you to gather up all the prisoners and lead them to the Orion Facility. We'll move them all at once." He nodded and left to oversee the transportation. Just as I was about to leave, I noticed Athena come my way.
"Got some time?" Her tone is… odd. Nonetheless, I nodded my head.
"Guess so. We're about to move the humans to the Orion Facility. You know, the one I killed Scarface at." She nodded her head absently, obviously not caring very much. Instead, her eyes were fully focused on me. Something within them…
"I want you." My eyes went wide at her bold proposal! What a confident woman!
"Athena, you're beautiful and all, but we can't. Alice-" She held up a hand to stop me and chuckled.
"I meant, I want to fight you." Ah, I see. I wonder if this is a sign I'm full of myself? Ignoring the embarrassment, I coughed lightly and answered her.
"Fine. We'll do it right here and now." I could see her become excited as I gently dropped the sleeping Queenie to the side. We left a good distance to not involve her in the battle.
Once far enough away, we stood 30 meters away from one another, getting ready for combat. I had always loved fighting, so I couldn't deny I wasn't getting pumped up despite knowing I'll probably lose. Besides, I was curious to see just how strong I've become.
Suddenly, I could see a certain look in her eyes as she smiled. Where have I seen that before?
"You think I'm beautiful huh? What, did you think I wanted to mate with you?" Now I know why that look seemed familiar. Lily would have the same every time she teased me. Like a cat playing with a mouse.
"Shut up and get ready, asshole." She grinned and chuckled as she got down on all fours. The atmosphere around her suddenly changed, becoming dangerous as a chill went down my spine.
"Let's get started then." As I watched her lick her lips with that sharp tongue, I had the distinct feeling my body shall be in immense pain very soon. I'm sure it's just nerves or something...
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By the way you filthy carrot addicted rabbits, I'm gonna start uploading my next story. The chapter length, on average, is a bit shorter than here. But I generally have it to above 2,000 words each besides one or two. Personally, I find it to be much better and more entertaining than this one, but it also came out a little more generic than I wanted it.
I'll upload a chapter everyday or two until it reaches Chapter 20, then it will be once a week or something like that. See how it goes I suppose.
So if you finally want to make your absent father proud for once and return with the milk, go check it out.