Outpost: Part IV-A

Part I
Part II
Part III
~~~
Scientific Inquiry I

Starring:
DarkDragoon (Rob)
Nass (Jamal)
Pirkid (Andrew)
Gujju (Kiara)
Snowhamster (Kan)

Highway 60, 1:49 AM, 5th day of Infection

"Brudda, you gotta preach your story to meng first, bro, tell me why I found your bloodclot ass slimy and wet on the soldier's streets!" Jamal stared at Rob from the driver's seat, not looking at the road. The car swerved, and Rob lunged for the wheel, eyes wide.

"Okay, okay, but keep your eyes in front, would ya? Jeeze." Jamal looked forward, laughed, and grabbed the wheel again. Rob let go and cleared his throat.

"Well, it went something like this.."

James Rista Restaurant, 6:23 PM, 3th day of Infection

"I've got three Lobster specials and a Tapioca Velvet, waiting on that Shrimp Platter!" The waiter shuffled away from the overarch, balancing 3 glasses of red wine and a bottle precariously on a stool.

"Got it!" Rob sweated a little over the blistering heat of the oven as he sauteed the fried shrimp in a net. "Niva, I need that parmesan!"

"Incoming!" Niva slid swiftly under Rob's left arm, dumped the melted parmesan cheese into the pot, and slipped away.

"Thank you, now go help Jake with that tapioca. William, Jenna, I need that parsley!" He wiped his brow with his sleeve as he swung out the shrimp onto a flat pan. "Where's our parsley?!"

"Right here!" Jenna swooped in, taking the pan of shrimp and shuffling it onto the plate of various vegatables. Rob moved back towards the seasoning table, finishing off the Velvet.

"Will, I need that beef done!" Niva swept past him, smearing his face slightly with white cheese. Rob, laughing a little, poked Niva away as he ran over the Velvet with pepper and swept it away to the awaiting waiter.

"On i-ow, bloody hell!" Will yelled in agony. Rob whipped around; Will sucked on his heavily bleeding thumb.

"Damnit, damnit, William." Rob jogged over to him, retrieving a white cloth on the way from an improvised coat rack. Jenna stopped straining the pasta, hurrying over.

"Argh..I'm sorry Robby, ol' chap." William's face was an image of pure remorse. "This little bugger stings something fierce!" He held up his right thumb, which sported a severe gash near the knuckle, bleedng profusly. Will held the white cloth to the wound instantly staining it red.

"Alright..Jenna, Jake, co-work Will's spot. Will..go see a doctor, you're done for today." Will frowned, Rob returned it with a grin. "Hey, I don't need any bleeders in my kitchen. Get out of here, you git."

Will smiled. "Aye-aye, boss." Grabbing his black jacket, Will walked out the back emergency door and into the misty night.

"Alright..everyone back up and running, I still need that Velvet!" Rob returned to his position, a slightly grim look on his face. It was a severe cut, possibly clipping an artery, who knew if he could be in for the next few days? Rob wandered over to the bloody red beef. It was oozing slightly onto the table, next to the smear of blood presumably made by William. He tossed the beef into the discard can near the back of the kitchen, away from the cooking area, and returned to his work, hopeful.

Willow High Recreation Center, 11:11 PM, 3rd day of Infection

Purgatory. This must be it, her destination, a destiny made long ago. Because she felt nothing, she heard nothing, she smelled nothing. It was almost bliss, but it lacked substance, there was absolutley nothing. She couldn't even feel herself.

"Hey!"

She heard it. Voices, from nowhere, hiding in invisible corners and mocking her dilemma. She willed for the creatures to come out, but nothing.

"Hey, listen!"

Kan woke up to a huge splash of water hitting her in the face. Eyes watery, she groped around with her petite hands.

"Andrew..she's finally awake," said an angelic voice ahead of her. Kan tried to open her eyes, but they refused to cooperate, content to stay closed. She groped around again, her left hand nudged a long, cylinderical object. Grasping it, she leapt to her feet. Blazing her eyes opened, she fell back as the intense, blinding ray of a flashlight burned her corneas.

"What..who are you?" She held her hands in front of her in defense, trying to open her betrayed eyes again.

"Calm down, ma'am, no one is gonna hurt you. Put down the pipe." She heard a soft, firm, rugged voice from behind her. The sounds of running water. The taste of chlorine on her tongue.

She finally opened her eyes, and looked around. In front of her, a short girl in a nurse's uniform, holding a warm cloth pad in one hand and a stopwatch in the other. Behind her, a much older man, topless, washing his decayed shirt. Kan appeared to be in some sort of recreation center, the smell of a chlorine pool lingered in the distance and she was surrounded by exercise mats and balls.

"What..what.." She struggled to find her voice, her throat hoarse. She stood up abruptly, but almost fell down again as a dizzy spell hit her. The nurse stood up as well, with open hands.

"You're safe. My name is Kiara, and that's Andrew. We saved you from that big..monster, guy." Kiara sat down, gesturing for Kan to do the same. Sitting down on the chair next to Kiara, weak, Kan let go of the cold, lead pipe in her left hand. Kiara began to apply the warm cloth to her forehead; the heat pulsating from it felt exquisite.

"A Tan-..never mind. Anyways, like I was saying, going to the police station is probably not the best idea, Kiara. You heard the radio, the nearest Outpost is a few hundred miles north of here in Nashville, we should head there." Andrew dried his shirt and proceeded to wash the rest of the clothes in a small pile next to him. With a shock, Kan looked down and realized she was nearly naked, with only her revealing white lingerie covered her. A violent shiver suddenly blew by her.

"Where are my clothes?!" Kan yelled, indignant.

"Right here. Don't worry, I'm not looking. You had blood splattered all over you, I decided to clean it up a bit." Andrew was right, Kan noticed that he had not looked up from his work since she had woken up.

"So..what..where..how did we get here? What happened?" Kan shook her head, her memory a blur. All she could recall was being tossed back by a very painful punch, the associate's house collapsing, and the soft feeling of leather on her back.

"Err..Andy, you want to explain?" Kiara finished wrapping up the rest of the towels and moved them to a discard pile. She then handed Kan a pink shirt and loose jeans. Kan glanced at the store-brand clothes with disgust. Kiara put her hands on her hips.

"Get used to it, that's all I was allowed to bring." Kiara shot a nasty glare at Andrew that went unnoticed. He cleared his throat, and without looking up, began his epic.

"Ah-hem..I drove Kiara home after she was attacked at the walk-in clinic that she worked at. I instructed her to pick up a few clothes, money, and perishable food. Reluctant at first, I explained the situation to her and she finally agreed. We happened to be in the same neighbourhood as you and your..associates…

Kan glared. "Hold on, hold on there! What situation?! All I know is that you kidnapped me!" Kan stood up again, pointing a menacing finger at Andrew.

"You..you're part of the Carlos family, aren't you? What do you want with me? Your client.."

Andrew finally looked up from his work and stared Kan down. His grey eyes were filled with sorrow, anger, and contempt. Kan's voice slipped away, slightly frightened.

"You don't listen well, do you? We SAVED you. That Tank..I mean, that man would have beaten you to a pulp had we not driven you away." Andrew looked down again, resuming his work. Kan felt a wave of relief wash over her, and glanced at Kiara. Kiara nodded quickly, she knew what Kan was thinking.

"It's like he's drilling a hole through to the back of your head, isn't it? Crazy." Kiara whispered, tugging on Kan's arm to sit her back down. Kan agreed, falling back onto the hard, plastic chair. Andrew cleared his throat.

"Anyways, Franklin is infected now, so we can't stay here for long. There's a few gas stations up on the way to Nashville, so we can stock up as we go."

"Whoa, whoa, go where? What's going on?!" Kan's voice rang with a shrill cry. "Why are we going to Nashville? Who's we? Why are you tak-"

Andrew glared at her again. His dull grey eyes somehow piercing her own, rendering her mute. Her mouth continued to move, making no noise.

"Nashville is the closest area in which the government has set up a safe zone, or Outpost, as they call it. Outposts are being set up across the country, as well as Canada and Mexico. If we want to survive this infection, we have to go there."

Kan's eyes grew wide. "But what infection? Who's infected? How did it happen?"

Andrew sighed. "There is a mutating viral disease moving across the country, killing or mutating every lifeform it touches. If you don't want to die or turn into a bloody monster, then I suggest you shut your trap and get some sleep. We'll move out in the morning."

At the mention of sleep, Kan's eyes grew heavy. Kiara poked her, and gestured towards a make-shift bed created from exercise mats and spinal blankets. Kan slipped down to the ground, clutching the blanket. There was too much going on to handle at once, her brain was getting sleepy. Her eyes nodded and she fell down onto the ground, asleep.

Kiara sighed and looked at Andrew. "Are you getting any sleep?" Andrew shook his head, tapping at an antique radio with his finger, muttering. Kiara shrugged, slipped down to a mat, and fell asleep almost immediately. The sight of Dr. Iannis as a hooded, bloody monster, pouncing at her, still marred her dreams.

Starring:
DarkDragoon (Rob)
Nass (Jamal)
Arladelus (Anthony)
Zhlink (as himself)

~~~

Rob was so intent upon his work that he barely registered the sound of the metal pot smashing against the floor. Spinning around, he watching in horror as Will clawed at Jenna's face, and she fell over, bleeding profusely. Will's rotund build began to swell, his stomach popping the buttons on his chef's jacket. He jumped down to the floor and began to rip at Jenna's arm.

The dust settled around the busted, destroyed gas station as two men walked in calmly, footsteps echoing across the savannah. One wore a flashy black suit, red tie, black dress shoes, and holstered a M-14 assault rifle over his shoulder. The other man dressed in negative to the first; he wore a red checkerboard shirt, denim overalls, steel-toe boots, and a trucker's cap. A SPAZ-12 shotgun was held firmly in his big hands. The two men looked at each other, and nodded.

"Do it, Zhlink."

The truck driver slipped a small cherry bomb out from inside his sock. With a gasp, he hurled it against the opposite wall. The following explosion almost knocked Anthony's eardrums out, but he clenched his teeth. He calmly waited as Zhlink withdraw his drum, rotating his shoulder blade.

A carnal screech echoed within the gas station. Abandonded chip bags fell to the floor. The two men walked outside, and looked out towards the horizon as it turned into a dotted line. Black spots, dozens of them, were moving swiftly to their location.

"Pssh. You said the bomb would knock the wall out, Zhlink." He got down on one knee and cocked the latch of his M-14. Zhlink shrugged. "Thought it was drywall. But the sound penetrated, didn't it now?"

"Sure. You ready?"

"Boy, I was born ready."

The screeches of the zombies became louder and louder as they approached the source of their anguish; the two, delicious, unInfected humans. Zhlink roared, latching his SPAZ with his right hand and rocking a fist into the air with his left.

"Come get some, bitches!"

Special thanks to my special editors. <3 You know who you are.