Chapter I

In the year 2666, 9th of June, the government of Perdita decided to conduct an experiment of a newly found bio-warfare weapon.

The lead scientist Dr. Corso, the mad genius of genetic engineering, had created a toxic stem cell which would attack the subject's body in a gruesome speed, leaving behind only a decayed body. The plan, if the experiment was indeed a success, was to use robotically guided bees to perform the injection for messes. It was the perfect weapon and it was time to test it on a human subject.

When it struck 00:00 hours on the clock, government officials, a team of scientists led by Dr. Corso and a team of capable soldiers had already come together in the secret military base. Subject was a political convict and had no idea what was coming her way.

After all the security precautions were made to ensure that it was indeed a controlled environment, Dr. Corso got the injection needle in his hand, entered the bio-isolator chamber the subject was kept in and started pushing the contents of it into the convict's blood stream, unknowing that he was sealing humanity's fate.

Once the injection was completed it was so quick for decay to spread all around its host's body, consuming it inside out. The whole thing took only 2 minutes to be done with. It was a success, and pure joy followed. There would be no stopping Perdita with this weapon by their side. All of their enemies would be gone in just 2 minutes.

Shrieks of joy were greedly mixing with laughter. But it didn’t last long. It was cut short with the eerie sound coming from the rotten body. It was almost like a hum. One soldier swore that he saw it moved even.

All joy fell silent. Every single eye was fixed on the humming corpse. They began closing in on it, step by step. And there it was, a brief movement of the arm. Brief but clear as day. Something went terribly wrong. Dr. Corso was in awe. He swore that nothing like this ever happened on the non-human subjects. “Something in human biology must be reacting differently than non-humans when exposed to the stem cell. But this is just an after effect, the subject is very much dead. I can assure you of that.” said Dr. Corso. “If you can just unlock the chamber, I will examine her and show you that all is good.”

Timidly, a couple of soldiers neared the chamber, unlocked and opened the door. A gutless 5 seconds went by before Dr. Corso could take his first step. But at the first sight of a movement creature came to life. It was brute and unmerciful. The soldier nearest to it had no chance. The creature swooped right on him and took a huge chunk of his neck. Others on the other hand started shooting at it but whatever they did, the creature was still standing. No weapon known to humankind could kill it. In the blink of an eye everyone at the sight had been attacked. Everyone but Dr. Corso who had hid underneath the piling dead bodies. He waited until the creature satisfied its apparent hunger for human flesh and then disappeared into the darkness. He slowly emerged out of the pile, trying to make sense of what had just occurred, what he had done, but he was cut short in his thoughts as he saw movements from the dead. He ran and ran and ran. But to no end. The dead didn't stay dead, they spread. Only in a few weeks the infection, now known as the zombie outbreak, became a global pandemic.

Chapter II

It was five months after the outbreak.The government of Perdita had fallen. Like many others have. There were no longer order. No schools, no jobs, no communication, no nothing. The only thing left from civilization were the groups of people trying to survive underneath the shadows. And chaos was the new ruler of the world. Every corner was infested by zombies. And their numbers were rising each and every single day. For the first couple of months there was unity among humans, and hope that they could defeat the outbreak. The most brilliant scientists around the world formed a team and worked together in hopes of finding a cure, a solution. The not yet fallen military on the other hand was fighting in the streets with full force.

But nothing was slowing the outbreak down, let alone end it. Each day hope was getting lost more and more. Labs got shut down, governments turned to ashes and soldier power was no more. The world had left itself to die. All gave up, even the infamous and disgraced Dr. Corso. Who had been tirelessly working himself to find a cure. His days were blending with his nights. He knew no bounds in the search of a way out and to win his life and reputation back. As if that mattered anymore. There was no human more dedicated than Corso he thought but despair eventually found him too. After failing over and over, he began to despise everything that made him; his mind, his uniform, his lab... everything. In a moment of madness he took a large bat in his hand and started smashing down his lab. Every flask, every test tube was turning into dust. This animalistic power that took over him knew no stopping. Well... That was until he heard a calm but very vivid sound coming from the depths of the room.

“Hello.”

Dr. Corso stopped immediately at the sound of the voice. It was the first human voice he heard in a very long time. “But how could it be?” he asked himself. Given that the lab was on a military base, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, there was no way in or out. But nonetheless he replied;

“Hello?”

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything Dr?” said the voice kindly, slowly emerging out of the shadows. Dr. Corso still couldn’t put a face to the voice but he could now see that he was a tall, slim and sleek looking figure. “Who are you?” the Dr. asked. The figure showed his face, he was the most beautiful man Dr. has ever seen. He had kind eyes and had such a soft skin you could tell just by looking at it. His feminene gestures were creating a mystical charm around him and his smile was so enchanting that it was scary. Though his clothing was rather strange, he was dressed in early 1920s fashion, resembling an old time gentleman.

“Don’t you really know Dr.? We have done many great things together, only I was just a whisper in your ear.” the man said.

“ Who are you?” insisted Dr.

The man smiled a dangerous smile, and answered;

“I have many names, old friend; Leviathan, Belphegor, the Devil...but you can just call me Lucy. All my friends do.”

Dr. Corso was in shock, a horrible feeling of terror went through his spine. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, nothing. Among all the horror he created, this encounter must have been the worst thing he ever laid his eyes on, yet the most glamorous one too.

The Devil continued;

“There is no need for you to fear, my old friend. I’m not here to do harm. In fact, I’m here to offer you the solution you desperately seek.”

“Solution?” A desirous light sparked in Corsos’ eyes.

“Why would you wanna help me?” asked Dr. Corso nonetheless.

“I offer my help to anyone who needs it, doctor, as long as I get something in return.”

“A deal with the devil you mean.” said Corso, not quite able to hide his excitement.

“Quite literally, yes.” he smiled. “I wouldn’t force you to do anything of course. If you don’t want to take the deal, I will walk away, with no hard feelings. But if you do take it, if you do as I bid, you shall be welcomed back as a king in this new world.” said the devil in a cunning voice.

“Give me the cure.” demanded Dr. Corso hastily. The devil laughed. “There is no cure,'' he said, “but what I can give you is the means to fight the outbreak.” He then presented Dr. Corso with two vials. Each one looking more eerie than the other. “If humans are to, not just survive, but to conquer the world of the undead, they must become something more than human. They must turn. Turn into something so frightful even the gods feared in the ancient times, something so powerful that it had to be kept in the 9th circle of hell, frozen and untouched for centuries. These two vials, my friend, contain samples of two ancient viruses.

One turns you into a glorious beast that knows no defeat, the other serves you immortality on a silver platter. The tales speak of them as werewolves and vampires. Bloodthirsty and almighty creatures of the night. Both very deadly, both magnificent.

Now, you will only need one to stop this chaos, I will let you choose which one. One small touch from the virus would be enough to raise an army within a day. Choose wisely my friend.”

Corso took the vials without even thinking. He was hungry for glory. The devil was watching him with a sly smirk on his face. Once Corso took notice of that, he asked;

“What do you want in return? My soul?”

“This lab.” answered the Devil. “See, it has a... unique location. I’m surprised you didn’t know that. I’ve been conducting some experiments around here since the 19th century. Anyhow, what will happen is that your lab will become a passageway to my home, well, to hell, you will make it so. Don’t worry doctor, I won’t take anyone in before their time, I promise. I want my children, the demons, to walk the earth. Observe and report. That’s it. Nothing more. If you refuse to take the deal, your world has 2 more weeks until it becomes a republic of living corpses.” said the devil smilingly and rested his case..

Thoughts were rushing through Dr. Corso’s mind rapidly. Greed was running down his chin and his eyes were full with the promise of the new world. He didn’t care about what the demons might do, it would be him welcoming them after all, they would be grateful. He felt untouchable. He gulped the sweet gulosity and said he would take the deal. The devil gave him the vials and they sealed the deal with a simple hand shake. Before he left, the devil told him once more that only one would be enough but he was cunning. He knew Dr. Corso wouldn’t be satisfied with ‘enough’, he knew he would use both vials. He knew he would play the odds until the cure became worse than the disease. And that’s exactly what would happen if these creatures of the night were ever to coexist.

But this was unknown to Dr. Corso. He was so overwhelmed with the godly feeling he had in his guts.

“We will meet again, doctor.” said the Devil. “When it’s time.”

As Dr. Corso began to ask him a question, the Devil turned into a mist, blending with the shadows. Corso was in awe but he knew he couldn’t waste any time. He dug up the robotic bees that were supposed to be carrying the stem cell that caused the zombie outbreak and filled each one of them with these viruses, some for vampires, some for werewolves. He went outside for the first time in months, the salty breeze of the ocean hit his face and he unleashed the bees. With that he started the domino effect that will change the world forever once more.

To Be Continued...

COPYRIGHT © 2022 CROCLUBS