The Zombie Wars, part 7
Brief rundown on the story thus far;
And invading army attacked America after the politicians signed a non aggression treaty with Walmart, Inc. The army used some sort of anti riot slime that turned out to be infected with a water born parasite that drove people insane and turned them into cannibal zombies. Dogs ingested the flesh of the zombies which caused a genetic mutation that made them super intelligent and strong. The invading army devolved into chaos as the zombie infection quickly spread over the Earth. A crazy priest started a Tolkien cult and....
The Colonel ordered the driver to stop at the gate. Hooded figures stood sentry, but they only held staffs, not guns.
He exited the vehicle. The General had told him to come here in answer to the summons by The Preacher. The blind old man had gone from a dirty beggar/preacher to a full blown problem; a cult leader with thousands of followers who were fanatical and would kill themselves or any non-believers without hesitation. Now he had the power to summon an officer of the Red Army, or what was left of it.
" Well. Here I am. "
The hooded figures only stared at him silently. Then, dozens began to file out of the barracks behind the gates. They quietly surrounded the jeep. Hundreds of them. They carried a stench of unwashed bodies and something else, a sour smell like cancer. He began to tremble. Their silence was unnerving. Then two stepped towards the jeep. A tall one and a short one. The short one guided the tall one by the hand. The crowd parted without any sound but their feet moving on the cement and the shuffling of their robes. When the pair passed through, the crowd closed in behind them so the circle was complete. The Colonel felt his tongue dry out in his mouth and it felt like a dead fish.
The short one pulled back his hood and The Colonel gasped.
He was a boy, but his head was balding and covered with scabs. Running sores oozed fluid that ran in yellow rivulets. His eyes were large and piercing.
" The Preacher thanks you for coming. He says ' Lord Gandolfs blessing be upon you '. "
The boy looked up to the taller figure, and nodded his head as if in confirmation. The smell of rotting flesh boiled off the boy and The Colonel stepped backwards until his legs were up against the jeep.
" The Preacher says you have to pull your troops out of the city. He says you have to swear an oath to God and pledge to do his bidding. "
The colonel looked around the crowd. Many held staffs and scythes. Some clutched small leather bags. Beyond the crowd in the watch towers, other hooded figures manned large machine guns. A hot wind blew, temporarily removing the stench from his nostrils, but then it came back, stronger. He felt weak in the knees and wanted to leave. But orders were orders.
" My General instructed me to inform you that we have no quarrel with the people of your...city. We propose to ignore each other, and live in peace. "
The tall figure held out his arm and the sleeve of his robes fell back. He clutched a skeleton hand that grasped a blood stained book. The Colonel could just make out the words on the binding. It said " The Silmarillion ". The boy looked at the hooded figure again.
" The Preacher says that unbelievers have no place in Middle Earth. All the world will be cast into the fire and made pure again. The orcs that inhabit the cities will be dealt with, those who travel by night shall be granted no safe passage. Will you put your hand on the Bible and swear and oath to Lord Gandolf? "
He felt his hand begin to rise. There was a temptation to just do it so they could get out of there. This whole war had become a farce. How could he call himself a soldier when most of his enemies had been women and children and frightened fathers? Now the supply chain had broken down and they were reduced to consuming the workers flesh just to survive. No crops would grow, it was as if the ground had been poisoned. He just wanted to go home, but intelligence reports suggested that The Fawleri had taken over most of the world. Humanity had been confined to small pockets of resistance and survival. There was no home to return to.
" Wh...why should I swear an oath to a comic book character? "
The crowed seemed to recoil at that. Some forked the sign of the evil eye and shook the amulets at him. The boy looked at The Preacher again. They seemed to be using some sort of telepathy as he was close enough to hear them whisper but heard nothing.
" The Preacher says it doesn't matter if you believe in God because He believes in you.
He says you have two choices. Join us and be reborn in fire, or die with The Fawleri zombies. "
The Colonel managed a nervous laugh. " How will you kill the zombies? They are concentrated in the slums of the last few standing cities. Detroit is crawling with them. You think you can do what our armies could not? "
There was a few seconds of silence and then The Preacher spoke.
" Come, Colonel. We will show you. "
They gathered around him and hands gently pushed him through the gates and into the complex. They passed many rooms stacked with missiles and warheads. The Colonel understood the oozing sores on the cult members now; they were disassembling the missiles and had stacked the warheads in a giant pile in a hanger. He was led back outside and up a hill, the Preacher and the boy leading him with a beckoning hand. They stopped at a hole in the ground. It was one of several that the cult was working in. The boy said, " Colonel, in two weeks the righteous and the unrighteous shall be consumed in a Holy Fire. You have to make a decision. What side will you choose? "
The Colonel looked around with wild eyes as the crowd began to chant. Softly it started but then began to build until they were beating their staffs in timing and screaming. " Gandolf. Gandolf. Gandolf. " This was too much and he felt his mind begin to crack. He tried to run but hands grasped him and moved him closer to the pit.
" Decide! " the boy screamed.
" Nooooooooooo! I will not! I will no---"
They pushed him into the hole. His body bounced off the top of what was inside and fell limply to the bottom to rest with the other bodies there, the ones who had already died of radiation sickness.
Some distance away, just out of ear shot a helicopter hovered. The gunner watched the Colonel being cast into the silo. He saw the cult return to the jeep and talk to the soldier who had driven the Colonel to the facility. The soldier then drove away in the jeep.
The gunner whined and growled. If he had not been seated he surely would have tucked his tail between his legs. The cult made him nervous. He had told command that they were more dangerous than the zombies, and that was why they sent him here, to scout and recon. The helicopter banked away into the East and the darkening sky.
To be continued. Probably.
http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?id=124096
Brief rundown on the story thus far;
And invading army attacked America after the politicians signed a non aggression treaty with Walmart, Inc. The army used some sort of anti riot slime that turned out to be infected with a water born parasite that drove people insane and turned them into cannibal zombies. Dogs ingested the flesh of the zombies which caused a genetic mutation that made them super intelligent and strong. The invading army devolved into chaos as the zombie infection quickly spread over the Earth. A crazy priest started a Tolkien cult and....
The Colonel ordered the driver to stop at the gate. Hooded figures stood sentry, but they only held staffs, not guns.
He exited the vehicle. The General had told him to come here in answer to the summons by The Preacher. The blind old man had gone from a dirty beggar/preacher to a full blown problem; a cult leader with thousands of followers who were fanatical and would kill themselves or any non-believers without hesitation. Now he had the power to summon an officer of the Red Army, or what was left of it.
" Well. Here I am. "
The hooded figures only stared at him silently. Then, dozens began to file out of the barracks behind the gates. They quietly surrounded the jeep. Hundreds of them. They carried a stench of unwashed bodies and something else, a sour smell like cancer. He began to tremble. Their silence was unnerving. Then two stepped towards the jeep. A tall one and a short one. The short one guided the tall one by the hand. The crowd parted without any sound but their feet moving on the cement and the shuffling of their robes. When the pair passed through, the crowd closed in behind them so the circle was complete. The Colonel felt his tongue dry out in his mouth and it felt like a dead fish.
The short one pulled back his hood and The Colonel gasped.
He was a boy, but his head was balding and covered with scabs. Running sores oozed fluid that ran in yellow rivulets. His eyes were large and piercing.
" The Preacher thanks you for coming. He says ' Lord Gandolfs blessing be upon you '. "
The boy looked up to the taller figure, and nodded his head as if in confirmation. The smell of rotting flesh boiled off the boy and The Colonel stepped backwards until his legs were up against the jeep.
" The Preacher says you have to pull your troops out of the city. He says you have to swear an oath to God and pledge to do his bidding. "
The colonel looked around the crowd. Many held staffs and scythes. Some clutched small leather bags. Beyond the crowd in the watch towers, other hooded figures manned large machine guns. A hot wind blew, temporarily removing the stench from his nostrils, but then it came back, stronger. He felt weak in the knees and wanted to leave. But orders were orders.
" My General instructed me to inform you that we have no quarrel with the people of your...city. We propose to ignore each other, and live in peace. "
The tall figure held out his arm and the sleeve of his robes fell back. He clutched a skeleton hand that grasped a blood stained book. The Colonel could just make out the words on the binding. It said " The Silmarillion ". The boy looked at the hooded figure again.
" The Preacher says that unbelievers have no place in Middle Earth. All the world will be cast into the fire and made pure again. The orcs that inhabit the cities will be dealt with, those who travel by night shall be granted no safe passage. Will you put your hand on the Bible and swear and oath to Lord Gandolf? "
He felt his hand begin to rise. There was a temptation to just do it so they could get out of there. This whole war had become a farce. How could he call himself a soldier when most of his enemies had been women and children and frightened fathers? Now the supply chain had broken down and they were reduced to consuming the workers flesh just to survive. No crops would grow, it was as if the ground had been poisoned. He just wanted to go home, but intelligence reports suggested that The Fawleri had taken over most of the world. Humanity had been confined to small pockets of resistance and survival. There was no home to return to.
" Wh...why should I swear an oath to a comic book character? "
The crowed seemed to recoil at that. Some forked the sign of the evil eye and shook the amulets at him. The boy looked at The Preacher again. They seemed to be using some sort of telepathy as he was close enough to hear them whisper but heard nothing.
" The Preacher says it doesn't matter if you believe in God because He believes in you.
He says you have two choices. Join us and be reborn in fire, or die with The Fawleri zombies. "
The Colonel managed a nervous laugh. " How will you kill the zombies? They are concentrated in the slums of the last few standing cities. Detroit is crawling with them. You think you can do what our armies could not? "
There was a few seconds of silence and then The Preacher spoke.
" Come, Colonel. We will show you. "
They gathered around him and hands gently pushed him through the gates and into the complex. They passed many rooms stacked with missiles and warheads. The Colonel understood the oozing sores on the cult members now; they were disassembling the missiles and had stacked the warheads in a giant pile in a hanger. He was led back outside and up a hill, the Preacher and the boy leading him with a beckoning hand. They stopped at a hole in the ground. It was one of several that the cult was working in. The boy said, " Colonel, in two weeks the righteous and the unrighteous shall be consumed in a Holy Fire. You have to make a decision. What side will you choose? "
The Colonel looked around with wild eyes as the crowd began to chant. Softly it started but then began to build until they were beating their staffs in timing and screaming. " Gandolf. Gandolf. Gandolf. " This was too much and he felt his mind begin to crack. He tried to run but hands grasped him and moved him closer to the pit.
" Decide! " the boy screamed.
" Nooooooooooo! I will not! I will no---"
They pushed him into the hole. His body bounced off the top of what was inside and fell limply to the bottom to rest with the other bodies there, the ones who had already died of radiation sickness.
Some distance away, just out of ear shot a helicopter hovered. The gunner watched the Colonel being cast into the silo. He saw the cult return to the jeep and talk to the soldier who had driven the Colonel to the facility. The soldier then drove away in the jeep.
The gunner whined and growled. If he had not been seated he surely would have tucked his tail between his legs. The cult made him nervous. He had told command that they were more dangerous than the zombies, and that was why they sent him here, to scout and recon. The helicopter banked away into the East and the darkening sky.
To be continued. Probably.
http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?id=124096
