NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32
___ POV/Day Zero
It was just another day, like any other. We drove up to Seattle earlier this week, stopping in at the Washington branch of Rose Private Security to meet up with a big client. My folks are off meeting with the client on the other side of town, whereas I've got the day off.
As lovely as our hotel is, I decided to stretch my feet and walk around the downtown area before ending up at some little Cafe. Ducking inside, I'm greeted by a refreshing warmth that is in great contrast to the damned northern cold. The Cafe is relatively quiet, with a healthy blend of people, business people, students, the elderly, and tourists like myself. It wasn't long before I was sipping some Seattle blend black tea which was surprisingly good.
Almost absently, I was scrolling through various and nearly random articles on my smartphone. Going through my specialized news feed, I had, of course, seen half of these articles before, but what was concerning was that more and more similar stories with reports of brutal killings all across the country, people having to get their skulls caved in to stop their rampages, and their bodies seemingly halfway rotted within hours despite how recent and often the events happen. Skeptics claim it was some sort of crazy hybrid of rabies and some necrosis, but true conspiracists could see the writing on the wall, and it was only a matter of time till something happened that pushed everyone over the edge.
Unfortunately, it was at that moment when almost everyone’s phones started going off, the emergency broadcast program blaring out before an automated voice began to play out. ”This is a notice from the CDC in collaboration with the National Guard. Martial Law is now in effect, reporting mandatory shelter-in-place for residents in Seattle due to a hazardous materials release. Take self-protective actions immediately: 1. Go inside immediately and stay inside your house or building. 2. Bring pets indoors only if you can do so quickly. 3. Close all windows and doors. 4. Turn off air conditioners and heating system blowers. 5. Close fireplace dampers. 6. Gather radio, flashlight, food, water, and medicines. 7. Call 911 only if you have a true emergency. You will be advised-" The Cafe had been deathly quiet as the message blared out. However, the uncertainty of if this was all real suddenly shattered as gunfire sounded out down the streets, followed by screams and the sound of destruction that everyone only now realized had been going on for the last few minutes.
Cars slammed into each other with sickening crunches before erupting into billowing smoke and flames, the sounds muted by the thick glass between us and the outside. People were running in all directions when a figure lunged at the back of the man that ran across in front of the window, tackling him into the ground with an inhuman yowl, a spray of blood erupting from out of view as it splattered against the glass.
In a disaster situation, when people are faced with matters of life or death, only ten percent of people are able to react appropriately and be able to affect the situation positively. Twenty percent of people panic and make decisions that only turn things for the worse, whereas the remaining seventy percent freeze in the face of tragedy and are unable to move from the shock. All it took was for one person in the Cafe to shove another, throwing them to the ground as they made for the door to try and leave. It was a large guy, maybe in his early twenties, barreling through the door, which launched the rest of the patrons into a frenzy. A brawl breaks out between a businessman and construction worker as they trip over themselves while the barista watches helplessly.
I can already see that shit is hitting the fan, and it's only going to get worse if I stick around here. I reached for my knife and sidearm, only to realize that I had left them back at the hotel like a moron. Instead of pushing for the main entrance, I decided to slip out the back. Stepping past a barista and heading into the back of the cafe, I spotted a giant wooden spoon stained from coffee and snatched it up. Making my way out the back door, I looked left and right, trying to figure out which way I should go to make my way back to the hotel safely.
I press my back against the brick of the wall before sliding my phone out of my pocket as I quickly fire off a text to my folks. We had a contingency to meet outside of town if anything were to happen and to not meet up under any circumstances if we started in separate places; this way, we could focus on our survival without compromising each other. Still alive, on way hotel. I rapidly text before jumping with surprise, hearing the disgusting crunch of metal against brick as the way to the left is blocked off, my decision made for me.
Turning to look at the crumpled vehicle, the driver had been still alive, though not anymore, as three of those things had swarmed the car, ripping the broken metal apart and rending the poor bastard to pieces. Not waiting to hear back from my parents, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and broke into a sprint as I made my way to the end of the alley. Stopping short, two of those monsters sprinted past, lunging into an already growing cluster of those non-people. It only took an instant, but I could recognize the shoes of that big dude who ran first, as well as a few of the other patrons from the cafe. Taking a moment to look right and left on the road, I psyched myself up before booking it across the street, needing to head up a few more blocks to reach the nearby hotel.
Everything was a blur; I heard gunfire all too distinctly, cries and inhuman howling overloaded my senses. Bursting through the revolving doors, the lobby was sparse and relatively empty. It was hard to miss the mess of blood spattering against a couple of panes of the revolving doors, I could also hear a sick crunching and chewing coming behind the blood-spattered receptionist's desk, but I didn’t dare to check it out. Instead, I rushed past the elevator and took the service stairs, rushing up as each and every step reported back to me in a resounding echo.
Reaching the seventh floor and carelessly going for the door I'm met by the howling face of one of those freaks as it looked up at me when I trespassed on its meal. What used to be a man was sprawled on the floor in a bloodied heap, I think I saw him twitch, but the gore-covered thing in front of me demanded my attention as it rushed towards me. I didn't have nearly as much room as I would have wanted to maneuver around though I managed to bring up that wooden spoon I grabbed, wedging it between the bastard's teeth as they failed to make contact with me.
Its limitless strength, the dead hunger in its eyes, and the ferocity was almost overwhelming. I could feel the strain in my arms, and my legs threatened to buckle, but as my back was pressed against the railing, I was struck with inspiration as I twisted desperately and sent the fucker over the edge. Panting heavily, I clung to the railing as I watched the freak fall forever in the next few seconds and land with a splattering crunch. Taking a moment to ensure it doesn't get back up, I did my best to shake off the moment. I steadied myself before pushing through the door and looking down the hallway. It was quiet and empty as if the world wasn’t ending. If only there weren't a fresh, still bleeding corpse to shatter the illusion as I rushed down the hall. My footsteps were dull and thudding against the carpet when I finally reached my hotel room door. My hands were so damn jittery while I fumbled with my wallet and retrieved my keycard. Unlocking the door, slipping inside, and shutting the door behind myself with a heavy click.
Panting hotly and heavily, my legs gave out beneath me. All that training and preparation, yet I could only run away. My back was against the door as I leaned into it and looked down at my trembling hands and legs. "Come on, you bastard, get up; you got things to do…"
Vitmori POV
I've finished sorting through the corpses of the slaver caravan and stripped them of all their equipment and armor, leaving on the bare minimum of clothes for the sake of decency. Of the fourteen corpses, I've decided to turn half of them into mana zombies. They were mostly all of the basic caravan guards and the drivers, but two were acolytes with bodies meant for using magic and mana.
The results were mostly as expected, but the two acolyte zombies seemed to have a frighteningly advanced primal instinct already as they meandered amongst the rest of the mana zombies and used simple healing magic to erase the wounds which littered the moving corpses. By the end of it, they all looked just like sickly people with posture problems and tendencies to growl.
Of the remaining seven, three of them were holy knights, and the rest of them were acolytes. I know these corpses; I know their lives, histories, dreams, and passions. I suppose it is the drawback of absorbing their memories, but in understanding who they were, I know who I wanted them to be instead. These were the holy people, the pinnacle of what they claimed to be the best of their souls. Yet here they were, escorting people they condemned into slavery for being the 'wrong' race.
In my eyes, these people were the worst kinds of sinners, and you know what? That's how I'll use them, and these will be my seven deadly sinners. Laying them out side by side, I look among the men and women and call out to their bodies as I pour into them the bare minimum mana I can to make a change.
'Rise my sinners, wake and serve me. I name you Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth… Stand and strike down the fouler evils of this world in my name.' Even if I intended to use the bare minimum mana to wake them as I did with Dread, the sheer number of them ended up breaking one of my two condensed rings of mana, but I still had one ring left with many glittering lights in the center.
My sinners all begin to wake up, standing one after the others as their eyes glimmer with a faint green glow similar to Dread's eyes when he first woke. It was an odd sensation; I could feel that their minds were fresh, new, and unique, none of the original souls were here now, and these beings were new to the world. After a few more moments, they seem to realize I'm watching and look up to the ceiling in the direction of where my core would be before they all drop to their knees as Pride is the first to speak. "Creator Vitmori, we thank you for bringing us into this life; we exist to serve."
I can feel pride swelling up in my symbolic heart. The overwhelming sense of unparalleled dedication towards me had effectively distracted me for more than a few moments until I managed to gather myself. 'You are all weak now in your current forms, head down my mountain, find your commander, who goes by the name Dread, and study your bodies and find the muscle memory within you until you can master yourselves.'
The seven sinners rise and salute by slamming their fists into their chests as Pride speaks up for them once more. "As you will, Creator, we shall obey." With that, they file up and head out into the chill night air to begin their training.