LOgan
06-28-2005, 04:39 AM
Horror raged across this great country, the large cities became unholy shrines to the destruction that could be caused by the undead; their masses spewing out into the countryside looking for fresh meat upon which to feed.
Inbetween bouts of fighting for their lives and watching their loved ones die, the few survivors that remained had always wondered what had started this tragedy.
Was it another company looking for the next big thing in germ warfare? Or perhaps a terrorist group had unleashed a virus capable of causing all this suffering.
The truth was perhaps more disturbing than anyone could have imagined, and we must travel back 16 years before this all started.
April 21st 1989
Location: Borneo, North of Australia
The large group of men crashed clumsily through the thick jungle as they tried to keep up with their guides, the native men who could move through this deadly terrain with ease and speed.
They beckoned to the men to keep up with them, as they had now reached the depths of this green prison, and once friendly wildlife was now only looking for one thing: an easy meal; nothing was easy in this place - except the unexperienced explorers making a great deal of noise as they tried not to trip over their feet; carry their backpacks, which seemed to be getting heavier with each step; and push the sweat away from their eyes, as it poured down over their red faces.
These men were not experienced enough to be undertaking this trip, so why were they?
February 16th 1989
Location: Gremco Industries HQ, IL
The boardroom door swung open and an elderly man strode into the room. His age obviously didn't affect the respect he received, as the 30 or so men sitting around the large circular table all rose to their feet as he entered.
"We need to discuss the current situation, I've been informed that we've failed to meet all the deadlines we needed to, in order to get this thing out by August"
"But Sir.."
"No 'buts' you useless maggot, I've had enough of this incompetence - where is the group you sent on the expidition?"
"We haven't heard from them in over a week, Sir"
"I thought they were professionals?! God ~~~~it, that's it! I'm sending you, you, you and you in their place" He pointed aggressively at the four men sitting nearest him. The others sighed with relief.
"And everyone else will be shot. Failure will not be tolerated. Guards!!"
The room filled with panic, and the four men singled out took cover behind this old gentlemen as the doors burst open once more and agents dressed in blue and black stormed in, opening fire as they ran.
Bullets tore into the desk and ripped through expensive suits, their value now greatly decreased. The glass of the windows pinged and panged as bullets ricocheted away. The room had been built with tragedy in mind.
Seconds later the room was silent, and the air stank of burnt powder and torn flesh.
"Now get out to that ****-hole and get me my artifact!!" Shouted the old man.
April 22nd 1989
Location: Borneo, North of Australia
The men set up camp in a small clearing in the jungle, night fell quickly here and starting a fire was imperitive - the beasts may have been deadly but they were afraid of fire..
As morning broke the guides looked around the camp to check on the health of their group.
All woke from their slumber except one, the lead guide was shaking him hard, but he would not rouse.
The three other men were panicked, they knew their fate was sealed by this: no-one made it out of here alive.
"Oh God I wish I had been shot" cried one.
"We can arrange that.." threatened another, placing his hand over a brown leather holster.
"There is no time for this, we must move, now!" interupted a guide, and the group quickly set about packing up their belongings and hurried off into the jungle, leaving the man behind, and not looking back.
As the hours passed they felt the air grow thicker, and the moisture and humidity was almost too much for these city boys.
They persevered, safe in the knowledge that if they could survive they would be rich men.
The guides, however, were getting impatient. They had to stop every hundred yards to wait for others to catch up, and their anger was beginning to show.
"If we do not move quickly, we will all die here"
The slow, cumbersome 3 knew he was not making it up, the fear in his face could not lie. They hurried as fast as they could but eventually after several more miles they had lost sight of the guides - who had obviously grown impatient with the men, and figured they'd take their lives and the $5000 cash they'd received up front rather than die with these slow and foolish men.
The men argued with each other over their next move, and which way to go, but after hours of pushing and pulling and arguements they stumbled into an clearing, much larger than any they had seen before.
In the middle was a large stone, it seemed to have been carved to resemble a giant head, with flat features and a wide open mouth.
The men wooped with excitement, they had found the entrance to their bounty, and in the nick of time.
They argued amongst themselves who should be the one to go down and explore, now suddenly they were all filled with courage, brought on by the prospect of money and power.
The shortest man clambered into the mouth, squeezing his arms in as he went, it was a tight fit.
He began scraping out all the moist leaves and dirt that had gathered in the base of the head's wide mouth. After several minutes he yeleld to the others his discovery, a hole.
They tied a rope around his waist and lowered him down gently.
His instructions were simple: find the artifact, get back to the rope, two tugs will signal to the others to pull him back up.
It seemed simple enough, but after an hour the two men were still waiting and they'd heard nothing, let alone seen a sign of the short adventurer.
As they grew impatient they imagined he had found another way out and was on his way to the border. They grew angry and decided to follow him down.
It was getting dark, and they turned on their torches, both men entering the hole - neither willing to trust the other.
The cave was about 60 feet high, and twice as wide. The head hid a giant underground complex, albeit a worn down, and ancient one.
They began their search, loud and hurried, desperate to find their treasure.
They split up to cover the gorund quicker.
As they grew further apart the sounds of their searching became more hushed until they could hardly hear each other.
Until, a scream rattled through the air and shook the tall man to his bones, he called out to his partner.
"Harry!"
No reply.
He reached for his gun and drew it slowly, as he creeped back to Harry's last location. Small stones giving away his every move, and he cursed their presence.
As he reached the main cave he saw a terrible scene, the short man was apparently devouring Harry's neck and head, blood sprayed everywhere in a primal manner, painting the floor with it's horrific beauty.
He shouted for the man to stop, but the horror carried on.
He raised his gun, and let off a single round into the bck of the man's head, and he slumped forward, motionless.
The tall man slowly walked towards the pair, clutching his weapon. as he approached he pushed the short man off Harry's body with his foot, and knelt down to examine the wounds.
Harry's face had been half eaten, it was almost beyond recognition. He was in shock, unsure what to do. He knew he must leave, but without the artifact? Surely that would mean death.. but what did he have to lose?
He stood up and holstered his weapon, staring at his colleague. he turned and headed for the rope.
A hand grabbed at his ankle, and he turned sharply, fumbling for his gun. Teeth bit into his leg and he screamed, a strange calm came over him as he felt another pair of hands grab his head and pull him to the ground, as if he suddenly had no fight left in him. He lay there and allowed his comrades to devour him.
April 29th 1989
Location: Borneo, North of Australia
Enrich stepped onto the medium sized fishing boat which would shortly take him to the mainland. His head covered with a large hat, his eyes concelaed by sun-glasses. He carried with him a backpack, it was heavy and laden.
He dialed a number on his cell phone and waited while it rang.
"Jones" the voice on the other end said bluntly.
"I have the artifact, I'll explain it all when I see you" said Enrich.
"Good, I'll meet you in the labs on Monday" and with that the line went dead.
----------------------------
February 29th 1989
Location: Willard Airport, IL
Enrich stepped into the main lobby, and scanned the large open hall, filled with the sounds and echoes of people rushing around trying to get their luggage checked in, find their tickets, board the planes and generally get out of here as fast as possible.
He was probably the only person who was actually glad to be here, his trip into the jungles of Borneo had taught him this for sure. He barely escaped with his life - and he was glad to set foot on American soil once more.
He made his way to the taxi rank.
The cab driver saw a withered man standing waiting for a ride, he grabbed the opportunity and sped his car over to meet the man. His clothes were ragged and dirty, his body odour was none too pleasant either. The man insisted that he take his bags personally. His backpack was well worn, but seemed to contain great personal effects thought the cab driver; he slipped his car into drive and hit the gas.
They reached the Gremco Industries HQ within 30 minutes, it was a long drive and recquired the driver to take many turns and narrow country roads. The HQ was situated at the base of a large valley, about 40 miles outside the city, and only 75 miles from the military training camp.
Enrich stuffed a wad of notes into the cab driver's hand and rushed towards the security point. He showed his pass and the gates opened, letting him proceed. He rushed towards the main doors of the building, eager to proclaim his victory over the jungle, it would seem.
As he reached the metal detectors that led into the lobby and reception area, he reached to his shoulders to remove his backpack - but it was not there, in his haste he had left it in the cab.
"Son of a ****!" He wailed, and fell to his knees.
It was late in the evening now, and the cab driver hadn't had another fare since he got back into the city. Instead he had parked up behind The Diner, his local eatery, and went in for a few rounds with captain cholesterol.
He had been in there for a few hours when he heard the sound of glass breaking, he scrambled out of his seat and rushed outside, just in time to see a dark-clothed figure run down an alley, carrying what looked like a hold-all.
He ran to his cab and surveyed the damage, the rear passenger side window was smashed.. what had they stolen? The hold-all? He didn't remember seeing any bags in his cab when he pulled up at the diner, but to tell the truth, he wasn't really looking.
He grumbled to himself about insurance claims and headed back to the diner to finish his 3rd or 4th meal of the evening.
------------------
The thief ran as fast as he could, he had heard the diner door burst open and he had taken the closest item to him, a backpack stuffed to the brim.
He dashed into an alley and tried to catch his breath, it was no good though, he wheezed and coughed like it was going out of fashion.
Through his fit he managed to snap open the clips and pull out the contents of the bag.
Clothes, toiletries, all the usual holiday junk, he thought to himself. and he began to rummage through the side pockets, and he was about to give up when his hand landed on a sturdy object, it felt metallic and heavy. He eagerly dug into the depths of the front pocket and pulled out his treasure. It was indeed a small heavy metal box; locked by what looked like a combination lock.
He frantically spun the wheels and desperately tried to find the correct set of numbers, from the date of independance day, through to malcom x's birthday.
Nothing.
His rage was clearly visible as other hobos and down and outers ruffled under their cardboard sheets, trying to block out the noise the thief was making in his efforts to open his "prize".
Giving up and throwing the bag over his shoulder he stuffed the box down his shirt into one of his coats many pockets, he stood and walked out of the alley.
Meanwhile, Enrich was trying to explain how he had managed to lose the artifact that was so precious to the old gentleman that he would kill mercilessly to locate it.
His pleas fell on deaf ears as the old man removed the safety on his classc pistol, surely a priceless classic thought Enrich.
"This is unacceptable, you understand?!"
"Yes, sir" replied Enrich. His head hung low.
"If I were to let you off with this, what kind of example would I be setting? That I am a fool and a coward?!" he roared, "No, you have disappointed me, Enrich, I have treated you like my own, and this is how you re-pay me.."
"But, I.." Enrich was cut short by the crack of the pistol, his body slumping forward lifelessly.
The old man turned to face the rest of the men in his office, obviously this was nothing new to them, but still it left them visibly shaken.
"Now get out there and FIND IT!!"
tbc
Inbetween bouts of fighting for their lives and watching their loved ones die, the few survivors that remained had always wondered what had started this tragedy.
Was it another company looking for the next big thing in germ warfare? Or perhaps a terrorist group had unleashed a virus capable of causing all this suffering.
The truth was perhaps more disturbing than anyone could have imagined, and we must travel back 16 years before this all started.
April 21st 1989
Location: Borneo, North of Australia
The large group of men crashed clumsily through the thick jungle as they tried to keep up with their guides, the native men who could move through this deadly terrain with ease and speed.
They beckoned to the men to keep up with them, as they had now reached the depths of this green prison, and once friendly wildlife was now only looking for one thing: an easy meal; nothing was easy in this place - except the unexperienced explorers making a great deal of noise as they tried not to trip over their feet; carry their backpacks, which seemed to be getting heavier with each step; and push the sweat away from their eyes, as it poured down over their red faces.
These men were not experienced enough to be undertaking this trip, so why were they?
February 16th 1989
Location: Gremco Industries HQ, IL
The boardroom door swung open and an elderly man strode into the room. His age obviously didn't affect the respect he received, as the 30 or so men sitting around the large circular table all rose to their feet as he entered.
"We need to discuss the current situation, I've been informed that we've failed to meet all the deadlines we needed to, in order to get this thing out by August"
"But Sir.."
"No 'buts' you useless maggot, I've had enough of this incompetence - where is the group you sent on the expidition?"
"We haven't heard from them in over a week, Sir"
"I thought they were professionals?! God ~~~~it, that's it! I'm sending you, you, you and you in their place" He pointed aggressively at the four men sitting nearest him. The others sighed with relief.
"And everyone else will be shot. Failure will not be tolerated. Guards!!"
The room filled with panic, and the four men singled out took cover behind this old gentlemen as the doors burst open once more and agents dressed in blue and black stormed in, opening fire as they ran.
Bullets tore into the desk and ripped through expensive suits, their value now greatly decreased. The glass of the windows pinged and panged as bullets ricocheted away. The room had been built with tragedy in mind.
Seconds later the room was silent, and the air stank of burnt powder and torn flesh.
"Now get out to that ****-hole and get me my artifact!!" Shouted the old man.
April 22nd 1989
Location: Borneo, North of Australia
The men set up camp in a small clearing in the jungle, night fell quickly here and starting a fire was imperitive - the beasts may have been deadly but they were afraid of fire..
As morning broke the guides looked around the camp to check on the health of their group.
All woke from their slumber except one, the lead guide was shaking him hard, but he would not rouse.
The three other men were panicked, they knew their fate was sealed by this: no-one made it out of here alive.
"Oh God I wish I had been shot" cried one.
"We can arrange that.." threatened another, placing his hand over a brown leather holster.
"There is no time for this, we must move, now!" interupted a guide, and the group quickly set about packing up their belongings and hurried off into the jungle, leaving the man behind, and not looking back.
As the hours passed they felt the air grow thicker, and the moisture and humidity was almost too much for these city boys.
They persevered, safe in the knowledge that if they could survive they would be rich men.
The guides, however, were getting impatient. They had to stop every hundred yards to wait for others to catch up, and their anger was beginning to show.
"If we do not move quickly, we will all die here"
The slow, cumbersome 3 knew he was not making it up, the fear in his face could not lie. They hurried as fast as they could but eventually after several more miles they had lost sight of the guides - who had obviously grown impatient with the men, and figured they'd take their lives and the $5000 cash they'd received up front rather than die with these slow and foolish men.
The men argued with each other over their next move, and which way to go, but after hours of pushing and pulling and arguements they stumbled into an clearing, much larger than any they had seen before.
In the middle was a large stone, it seemed to have been carved to resemble a giant head, with flat features and a wide open mouth.
The men wooped with excitement, they had found the entrance to their bounty, and in the nick of time.
They argued amongst themselves who should be the one to go down and explore, now suddenly they were all filled with courage, brought on by the prospect of money and power.
The shortest man clambered into the mouth, squeezing his arms in as he went, it was a tight fit.
He began scraping out all the moist leaves and dirt that had gathered in the base of the head's wide mouth. After several minutes he yeleld to the others his discovery, a hole.
They tied a rope around his waist and lowered him down gently.
His instructions were simple: find the artifact, get back to the rope, two tugs will signal to the others to pull him back up.
It seemed simple enough, but after an hour the two men were still waiting and they'd heard nothing, let alone seen a sign of the short adventurer.
As they grew impatient they imagined he had found another way out and was on his way to the border. They grew angry and decided to follow him down.
It was getting dark, and they turned on their torches, both men entering the hole - neither willing to trust the other.
The cave was about 60 feet high, and twice as wide. The head hid a giant underground complex, albeit a worn down, and ancient one.
They began their search, loud and hurried, desperate to find their treasure.
They split up to cover the gorund quicker.
As they grew further apart the sounds of their searching became more hushed until they could hardly hear each other.
Until, a scream rattled through the air and shook the tall man to his bones, he called out to his partner.
"Harry!"
No reply.
He reached for his gun and drew it slowly, as he creeped back to Harry's last location. Small stones giving away his every move, and he cursed their presence.
As he reached the main cave he saw a terrible scene, the short man was apparently devouring Harry's neck and head, blood sprayed everywhere in a primal manner, painting the floor with it's horrific beauty.
He shouted for the man to stop, but the horror carried on.
He raised his gun, and let off a single round into the bck of the man's head, and he slumped forward, motionless.
The tall man slowly walked towards the pair, clutching his weapon. as he approached he pushed the short man off Harry's body with his foot, and knelt down to examine the wounds.
Harry's face had been half eaten, it was almost beyond recognition. He was in shock, unsure what to do. He knew he must leave, but without the artifact? Surely that would mean death.. but what did he have to lose?
He stood up and holstered his weapon, staring at his colleague. he turned and headed for the rope.
A hand grabbed at his ankle, and he turned sharply, fumbling for his gun. Teeth bit into his leg and he screamed, a strange calm came over him as he felt another pair of hands grab his head and pull him to the ground, as if he suddenly had no fight left in him. He lay there and allowed his comrades to devour him.
April 29th 1989
Location: Borneo, North of Australia
Enrich stepped onto the medium sized fishing boat which would shortly take him to the mainland. His head covered with a large hat, his eyes concelaed by sun-glasses. He carried with him a backpack, it was heavy and laden.
He dialed a number on his cell phone and waited while it rang.
"Jones" the voice on the other end said bluntly.
"I have the artifact, I'll explain it all when I see you" said Enrich.
"Good, I'll meet you in the labs on Monday" and with that the line went dead.
----------------------------
February 29th 1989
Location: Willard Airport, IL
Enrich stepped into the main lobby, and scanned the large open hall, filled with the sounds and echoes of people rushing around trying to get their luggage checked in, find their tickets, board the planes and generally get out of here as fast as possible.
He was probably the only person who was actually glad to be here, his trip into the jungles of Borneo had taught him this for sure. He barely escaped with his life - and he was glad to set foot on American soil once more.
He made his way to the taxi rank.
The cab driver saw a withered man standing waiting for a ride, he grabbed the opportunity and sped his car over to meet the man. His clothes were ragged and dirty, his body odour was none too pleasant either. The man insisted that he take his bags personally. His backpack was well worn, but seemed to contain great personal effects thought the cab driver; he slipped his car into drive and hit the gas.
They reached the Gremco Industries HQ within 30 minutes, it was a long drive and recquired the driver to take many turns and narrow country roads. The HQ was situated at the base of a large valley, about 40 miles outside the city, and only 75 miles from the military training camp.
Enrich stuffed a wad of notes into the cab driver's hand and rushed towards the security point. He showed his pass and the gates opened, letting him proceed. He rushed towards the main doors of the building, eager to proclaim his victory over the jungle, it would seem.
As he reached the metal detectors that led into the lobby and reception area, he reached to his shoulders to remove his backpack - but it was not there, in his haste he had left it in the cab.
"Son of a ****!" He wailed, and fell to his knees.
It was late in the evening now, and the cab driver hadn't had another fare since he got back into the city. Instead he had parked up behind The Diner, his local eatery, and went in for a few rounds with captain cholesterol.
He had been in there for a few hours when he heard the sound of glass breaking, he scrambled out of his seat and rushed outside, just in time to see a dark-clothed figure run down an alley, carrying what looked like a hold-all.
He ran to his cab and surveyed the damage, the rear passenger side window was smashed.. what had they stolen? The hold-all? He didn't remember seeing any bags in his cab when he pulled up at the diner, but to tell the truth, he wasn't really looking.
He grumbled to himself about insurance claims and headed back to the diner to finish his 3rd or 4th meal of the evening.
------------------
The thief ran as fast as he could, he had heard the diner door burst open and he had taken the closest item to him, a backpack stuffed to the brim.
He dashed into an alley and tried to catch his breath, it was no good though, he wheezed and coughed like it was going out of fashion.
Through his fit he managed to snap open the clips and pull out the contents of the bag.
Clothes, toiletries, all the usual holiday junk, he thought to himself. and he began to rummage through the side pockets, and he was about to give up when his hand landed on a sturdy object, it felt metallic and heavy. He eagerly dug into the depths of the front pocket and pulled out his treasure. It was indeed a small heavy metal box; locked by what looked like a combination lock.
He frantically spun the wheels and desperately tried to find the correct set of numbers, from the date of independance day, through to malcom x's birthday.
Nothing.
His rage was clearly visible as other hobos and down and outers ruffled under their cardboard sheets, trying to block out the noise the thief was making in his efforts to open his "prize".
Giving up and throwing the bag over his shoulder he stuffed the box down his shirt into one of his coats many pockets, he stood and walked out of the alley.
Meanwhile, Enrich was trying to explain how he had managed to lose the artifact that was so precious to the old gentleman that he would kill mercilessly to locate it.
His pleas fell on deaf ears as the old man removed the safety on his classc pistol, surely a priceless classic thought Enrich.
"This is unacceptable, you understand?!"
"Yes, sir" replied Enrich. His head hung low.
"If I were to let you off with this, what kind of example would I be setting? That I am a fool and a coward?!" he roared, "No, you have disappointed me, Enrich, I have treated you like my own, and this is how you re-pay me.."
"But, I.." Enrich was cut short by the crack of the pistol, his body slumping forward lifelessly.
The old man turned to face the rest of the men in his office, obviously this was nothing new to them, but still it left them visibly shaken.
"Now get out there and FIND IT!!"
tbc