Omega Virus (Book 1): Beta Hour (29 page)

We
fell over onto a couch, and we made out, grinding against each other, I thought
I would die if we didn't get to go all the way.

Wesley's
voice broke our fun. “We're here! You two decent or are you in the throes of
passion?”

“We're
dressed” Jessie, and I called back in unison.

Wesley
walked in and nodded to us as we continued to hold on to each other.

“What
a cute couple.” He looked me in the eye, and I could see words forming. He
wanted me to tell her, but I just couldn’t.

“So
what’s out there?” I asked.

“See
for yourself,” Wesley said as Jessie walked past.

I
gave him a serious look. “What were you about to tell me?”

“Now,
isn’t the time.
”
He walked to the door.

“Tell
me!”

“It
isn’t important right now.” He said. “Believe me, you don’t want to hear it.”

“Yes,
I do!” I stomped my foot.

“Here's
a deal.” He said. “I’ll tell you when you tell Jessie she’s still infected.”

My
heart sank. Wesley, the biggest jerk I’d ever met.

“Fine,”
I said. “It’ll just have to wait until we get that vaccine then.”

“If
you want to wait that long to find out about her.” He said. “Then it’s no
business of mine!”

“Who?”
I asked.

Wesley
shrugged and walked out of the room. I rushed after him, but I forgot about my
anger when I saw it. We were docked next to a cruise ship, labeled, ‘S.S.
G.O.D.”

“These
guys aren’t subtle are they?” I asked in awe.

Wesley
shook his head. “In the Zombie Apocalypse, subtlety has gone out the window.”

LEVEL 36 – DYING LIGHT

I ended up
being the last one up the ladder, and onto the deck of the S.S. G.O.D., a
massive cruise liner. The rain had briefly let up, but the smell of a wet stink
still hung in the air. An eerie aura seemed to float between us. Much like
Rockport, no sign of life existed.

Jeff
broke the silence first, “It's quiet.”

Dave
whispered, “You could almost say, too quiet.”

Jeff
spun around, hissing. “I
oughta
smack you, idiot! You
know what happens when people say things like that!”

“Well,
you started it.” Dave's eyes darted around nervously.

Ignoring
the circus clowns, I continued looking around. From below it had looked like a
cruise ship, but on deck, it appeared more militarized, complete with cannons
and more machine gun turrets.

Jessie
walked towards the center of the deck. “What could they possibly need this for?
Who do they need to fight? Who’s left?”

Wesley
joined Jessie and put his hands on his hips. “There's a rival group called
Devil Code. They were who I sought out when I went north.”

“New
information to me,” I said. “If they rival these bastards, maybe we should join
up with them.”

Wesley
spun in a circle, arms out wide. “You'd think G.O.D. Mode would've considered
us more of a threat. They underestimated us. I’m hurt!”

“There’s
still plenty they could do to stop us,” Jeff warned. “Especially with us being
unarmed.”

“I’m
beginning to think they're just screwing with us,” Wesley replied. “Think about
it. They may have blown us out of the air from Rockport, but here they have
triple the firepower. Why not kill us as we approached?”

“The
storm is messing with their guidance system!” Dave suggested.

“I
have a feeling they have better tech than that,” Jeff argued.

Jessie
stared up into the clouds, then looked back to Wesley. “Unless this isn’t a
normal storm?”

Jeff
shrugged. “They're controlling the weather too. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Don’t
be foolish,” Wesley said. “No one can control the weather.”

I
walked past them, further down the deck. It split into two parts and from what
I could
tell,
the front part where we stood had a
building built into the front. With only one story, it stood wide and long.
Beyond the building, towards the back of the ship, were more cannons. Not just
the kind on pirate ships, they were big and looked as if they could blow a hole
in the moon.

“Let’s
start looking for the way down into the base,” I said.

“Do
you think it’s under the ship?” Jessie asked.

“Affirmative.”
Wesley nodded. “Let's start with the cabin over here.”

We
walked across the deck, our footsteps clacking on the wood. A sudden boom of
thunder exploded over the ship, and Jessie cried out and grabbed my arm. I
tried to comfort her, but another boom overtook my voice. Still she nodded, her
wet locks stuck to her forehead.

Wesley
stopped short outside of the cabin. “Cover me.”

Dave
scoffed. “With what? Our good looks?”

“The
only one with good looks here is me,” Jeff said.

“Yeah,
right.” I murmured. Only Jessie could make that claim, and she seemed too
modest.

Wesley
held up three fingers and counted down, three, two, one. He threw open the door
and rushed inside. I went in next and bumped into him. I had to bite my tongue
to keep from crying out.

“What's
this?” Wesley asked.

A
flash of lightning illuminated the cabin, revealing a large dining hall with a
dance floor in the middle. Strung up through the cabin were balloons and other
festive looking
decorations.
At the side of the room,
just by the dance floor sat a stage.

“If
I didn’t know any better,” Jeff said. “I’d think they were planning a wedding.”

“Grandson
is too young to get married,” Jessie said.

“You
know what else goes out the window in the Zombie Apocalypse?” Wesley spoke up. “Laws.”

I
approached the nearest table. Four plates and silverware were set in the
center, as well, as a candle encased in glass. Every table looked the same.
With a crackle of energy, each candle flickered to life.

“What
the crap?” Dave breathed.

If
the room hadn’t been eerie enough, the self-lighting candles took the cake. But
it got even stranger. An old instrumental song began to play. It sounded like a
waltz. Out of nowhere there stood three people on the stage. They were clearly
holograms.

“Shh!”
Wesley held out his hand for no one to move.

They
were that of a bride, with a veil covering her face, a man in a groom’s tuxedo
and behind them stood a pastor; a fat man with a puffy white beard. I
recognized him instantly.

“Beauregard!”
I whispered.

Both
the bride and groom were looking to Beauregard. He cleared his throat and said,
“We are gathered here today to take this man and woman to be bonded together in
matrimony.”

Wesley
walked over to a table, pulled out a chair, and plopped himself down. He crossed
one leg over the other and leaned forward on his elbow.

“Do
you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Beauregard asked the
groom.

“I
do.” A familiar voice said.
   

Then
he turned to the bride. “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded
husband?”

The
bride quickly nodded. “I do.” She also sounded familiar.

“By
the authority vested in me by the State of
Vexen
, I
now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Dave
spoke up. “Where's
Vexen
?”

Jeff
punched him in the arm. “Shh!”

The
groom turned to the side, and my jaw dropped. He looked just like me but older,
maybe thirty-something.

I
approached the stage and noticed a crescent moon shaped scar under his eye.
The same as mine, again.
I stepped back and looked at the
bride. Who could she be? What were we witnessing?

The
groom lifted the bride’s veil, and she hid behind her hands, overwhelmed with
joy.

“Come
on.” The hologram and I said in unison. “Look up.”

The
girl moved her hands, and I nearly fell over. If the face of the bride had been
Jessie, I would’ve believed the scenario, but the face belonged to Tiffany and
just as myself, she looked to be about thirty.

The
two leaned in close and kissed. Beauregard looked away, blushing.

“H-how?”
I stumbled into a table, causing a plate to fall and shatter.

The
music cut off, and the holograms fizzled into the air, except for Beauregard.

“Zach?”
He asked, and looked right at me. “If you are watching this, then you have
found the G.O.D Report Part 2.”

I
staggered towards the stage. “Beauregard! Can you hear me?”

“This,
unfortunately, is only a recording.” The hologram said. “But I want to fill you
in with as much information as I can.”

“Please!”
I said.

“First
off, I wanted to clear something up.” Beauregard continued. “I am the uncle you
may or may not remember, but in truth, I'm as much your uncle as your friend
Dave. I took you away from your home in Ohio... I took you away from your
childhood friend Tiffany Gainsborough and I took you away from the dangers that
lie there.”

I
shook my head, “But I don’t understand!”

“This
may seem confusing, as you likely have no memories of ever living in Ohio. I
stole those from you. Maybe you don’t remember Tiffany either, but here you are
marrying her. This video happens more than ten years into the Apocalypse. So
one day, this will likely be a reality.”

“What?”
My eyes began to water.

“Shh!”
Wesley hushed me. “This is where it gets good! Pay attention!”

“You
probably have found out by now, there is a man-made virus, manufactured from a
newly discovered element called Omega. Three people worked on this virus
together. Myself, a man calling himself Grandfather, and another man, Dante. I
regret that I had anything to do with this, but you must understand Grandfather
was my friend
;
until the virus corrupted him to
allowing it to spread across the world.

I
know little of his motives any longer, but I do know he was after you. Thus, I
took you to Rockport,
then
I was forced to leave you
with your 'aunt' in Milpeg.

This
virus is lethal, and will turn most infected within minutes, if not hours; some
subjects have lasted days. I tried to create a cure at the same time we
developed the virus, but I did not succeed. My research was taken over by a Dr.
Belmont, right before Grandfather ousted me from his circle.

When
the Omega Virus leaks and trust me, it
will
, the dead
will rise and begin to feast upon the flesh of every living thing in this
world. No one is safe! Not humans, or beasts. The virus is powerful. Not only
does it infect, kill and resurrect the host, but it also evolves at an alarming
rate. What
one day
may be a ‘zombie’ of a human being,
may the next be something more akin to an ogre. And it continues from there.

The
strongest evolution we have seen in a human being is what we call
a
Lv04; it is far superior to the others in every way.

Why
am I telling you all of this? I want you to survive the
ZPoc
.
I love you like the son I never had. If it were not for me, you wouldn't exist.
One day this video of you and your beloved Tiffany will come true, I believe. I
want this future for you, Zachary. I want this for you more than anything else
in the world. And for this reason, I must place the world’s weight on your
shoulders. You are the key to ending this for good.

The
enemy calls themselves G.O.D. Mode and you must use their own weapon against
them. You must collect the seven—”

The
image of Beauregard fizzled away, along with the video and music. Then, one by
one, each candle went out, leaving us in the dark.

“Wait!
Come back!” I pleaded. I felt so confused. How could I fight G.O.D. Mode? Why
did it fall on me to end the
ZPoc
?

A
spotlight appeared by the middle of the cabin, and it shone down on a pedestal.
Something rested atop it.

“What’s
that?” I asked.

Wesley
stood up. “It looks like a vile.”

With
every ounce of energy I had in me, I rushed across the room. I bounded between
tables, knocking over chairs, tripping more than once, and shattering plates. I
came to a halt before the pedestal. There were two items on it
;
an injector gun, and a vial of golden liquid.

“Oh
Gaming Gods,” I whispered. “The vaccine! This is the vaccine!”

I
carefully picked the vial up and put it in the injector gun, being sure not to
drop it. On the table underneath, the gun rested a note.

“You’re
Welcome, but this is the last vaccine. The others are gone.”

-Grandson

Looking
over my shoulder, I found my friends approaching. Jessie looked paler than
ever.

“Jessie,”
I said. “I need you to come here quick.”

“What
is it?” She but staggered and fell into a chair. “Hold on.”

“What’s
wrong?” Jeff rushed to Jessie's side.

“Are
you alright?” Dave asked. “Is she sick?”

“I
feel…” Jessie hesitated. “I feel like I’m infected again. But how is that
possible?”

I
opened my mouth and shook my head.

“Maybe
you are?” Wesley said.

I
shot him a look of utter shock and anger.

“How?”
She began to sob. “Zach cured me!”

“It…”
I whispered.

“Speak
up!” Wesley turned me to face Jessie.

“It
was only…” My voice trailed off.

“It
was only what?” Jessie looked at me with red eyes.

“It
was only a temporary vaccine,” I said, and she looked at me with contempt.

“You
lied to me?” Jessie snapped. “I thought I was cured! That we would actually
have a life together and all the while I was still slowly turning into a
Corpse?”

“I’m
sorry, Jess! I didn’t want to worry you!”

“Worry
me?” She cried. “I’m dying, Zach! I had a right to know!”

“I
didn’t tell you because I have the real vaccine now.”

“Is
that really it?” She eyed it. “Or is a temporary one?”

“It’s
real this time!” I pleaded.