Vampires of Alasa: Zombie War

"Once bitten, you aren't twice shy, you're just Undead-in-waiting," Saul Patterson said grimly. The tall, dark-skinned and silver-haired African American rifleman gave Tariq Osman a sad look. Tariq nodded sadly. Saul's crisp voice was almost drowned by the raging waterfalls. Everyone looked sadly at Tariq. Like the rest of them, Tariq knew what had to be done. The Zombie apocalypse has done away with all the sentimental types. What's left are the most ruthless and adaptable men and women on the Planet Earth. Saul raised his rifle, ready to end Tariq's existence.

"Let me go out on my own terms," Tariq Osman said, and Saul shook his head. The older man had heard many desperate pleas from men and women who got bitten by a Zombie. It always ended the same way. It always sounded the same. Desperate, Tariq flung himself over the waterfall. Saul and the others fired into the water. When a bitten person isn't disposed of, he or she turns into a Zombie. That's how the Zombie apocalypse began on this version of the Planet Earth. Tariq swam away from the cliff, letting the current carry him where it would. The others looked for Tariq but couldn't find him.

"You shouldn't have hesitated," Ramona Vasquez said sharply. The short, dark-haired and bronze-skinned young Mexican woman shot Saul a disapproving look. Saul held Ramona's gaze. She'd been born into the Zombie apocalypse so disposing of the infected was part of life for her. Saul, a man in his fifties, remembered a time when dead people stayed dead and didn't walk around, hungry for human flesh. In those days, when a person killed another person, it was called murder. The penalty for murder was life in prison or the electric chair. In those days, human life had value...

"I am the lead in this outing," Saul said reproachfully. Ramona bit back a reply and merely nodded. The rest of the group fanned out. It would be dark soon. The expedition started with twelve and now would end with eleven. The group headed back to The City. Once upon a time, this area was called Alaska. The locals were a tough bunch. Alaska was very different from the rest of the United States and even back before the Zombies rose, life was harsh out here. When America, Canada, Mexico and the rest of the world fell, Alaska survived.

Saul, Ramona and the others arrived at The City shortly before dark. The enclave, an expanded town surrounded by a massive forty-foot wall, was all that was left of Humanity as far as anyone knew. Thirty six thousand people call it home. The City's residents grow their own food, manufacture their own clothes and tools, and live within their means. The residents have their own law enforcement, the Keepers, and they are led by the Supreme Council. Beyond the Wall, there was nothing but chaos...

"Home sweet home," Saul said to no one in particular. Ramona looked grim, as did Bernardo, the tall, dark-haired Italian fellow standing next to her. The expedition was inspected by the Wall Guards. One by one, the men and women of the expedition were given the Test. They were stripped naked under a special tent which was kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The Scanners were pressed against their skulls and their blood was drawn. Necro-antibodies could be found in a person's blood mere minutes after exposure to the Zombie virus from a bite or scratch. The Test did not lie...

After the Test was concluded and everyone was cleared, the expedition members were ushered into the City. The people of the City went about their daily business. Artisans, craftsmen, traders, metal workers, farmers and the like. Saul looked at them and nodded. These people, hailing from different parts of the world, were all that was left of humanity. If the world built a wall and sealed itself off from the Zombies in the early days, humanity wouldn't be facing extinction. The people of the former Alaska had done well. The City needed to be protected at all costs.

"My report to the Supreme Council will note that you let Tariq go," Ramona said sharply as Saul stood on the street. Shaking his head, Saul headed to the Council building, located at the center of town. He announced himself to the guards and was allowed in. With Ramona in tow, Saul proceeded to Council chambers and approached Jefferson Kean, leader of the Supreme Council. The tall, silver-haired and green-eyed statesman greeted Saul warmly. The two men had been friends since before the Zombie apocalypse.

"Saul, welcome back, old friend," said Kean. Saul and Kean shook hands and Saul then sat down as the other Council members watched. Saul provided them with a detailed account of the expedition. The team had been sent outside to explore the effects of the Zombie apocalypse on mother nature. The wayfarers premature return ought to signal that things went awry. Saul looked at Ramona before delivering the bad news to Kean.

"We saw wolves, deer and elk in the woods along with bears, the Zombies ignore fauna just like they ignore flora, the only things they want to eat are us humans, and they got one of us," Saul said crisply. Ramona looked at Saul, standing ramrod straight before the Council. For a brief moment, the young Mexican woman felt bad for getting on Saul's case. Even though all are taught to kill the infected, killing an infected friend or family member wasn't supposed to be easy. As team leader, Saul's responsibilities had been manifold, and he was clearly affected by what happened to Tariq....

"We lost one of our own and in my anger I blamed Chief Saul, for that I apologize," Ramona said abruptly. Saul and Kean stared at the young woman, as did all the other Council members. Ramona took a deep breath and bowed her head gently. Saul smiled ruefully, pleasantly surprised. He always thought of Ramona as a hothead and something of a know-it-all. Perhaps he was wrong about her. Saul looked at Kean and the two men exchanged a look. Ramona met their gaze and nodded somberly. Everyone has lost friends and family to the damned Undead. This is the apocalypse after all...

"We shall honor our fallen for his sacrifice," Kean said somberly. The leader of the Council stood up and called the meeting to a close. The other men and women in the Council chambers gathered their belongings and soon left. Saul nodded and Ramona did the same. Kean patted the head of his dog Marquis, a large brown mutt with a dark tail. The big dog woofed at his owner. Man's best friend continues to watch over him during the Zombie apocalypse. The City has a ton of dogs and cats. The Zombies don't eat animals, preferring to feed on the flesh of humans. Something to be thankful for in this rather insane and dangerous world, right?

Tariq Osman's body washed on the riverbank, looking none the worse for wear after being carried for miles and miles by the turbulent waters. The tall, brown-skinned and green-eyed young man got up and scanned his surroundings. The nearby woods didn't look dark or scary to Tariq as they would any human who was caught outside the Wall. Nope, the woods looked positively inviting. Tariq looked at his wound, and saw that it was miraculously healed. Perks of having the power of regeneration.

"No need to worry about turning into a Zombie because I'm a fucking Vampire," Tariq said to the disinterested woods. Back there, he'd been on the verge of being caught. For a while now, Tariq had been hiding among the humans. Alaska was the perfect place for a Vampire. In their desperation, the remnants of the U.S. Government had bombed much of the country a few decades ago. Nuclear waste blotted out much of the sun, causing many animal and plant species to die out. The humans who didn't get eaten by the Zombies were starving due to the nuclear holocaust...

Earlier, when a stumbling Zombie bit him, Tariq had been severely weakened due to exposure to daylight. The sun didn't burn Vampires to ash but it sapped their strength and made them sleepy and sluggish. If Vampires hated anything more than the sun, it was the Zombies. The damned Zombies were a problem and not just for the humans. A lot of Vampires got eaten by the Zombies as they overwhelmed human cities and towns in the early days of the Zombie apocalypse. Tariq is one of a few survivors among the blood drinking Undead...

Tariq wandered the woods, looking for food. He'd used a lot of energy recuperating from the Zombie bite and his Vampiric system needed to recover. Tariq saw a group of perhaps five Zombies wandering around. Sighing, the Vampire grabbed a large tree branch and leapt on a tree. Moving with a speed that a panther couldn't match, Tariq went after the Zombies. Dropping on them from above, Tariq crushed the first Zombie's skull with his feet and then smashed the second one. The hideous creatures emitted their ghastly moan. Tariq killed the remaining three Zombies easily.

After disposing of these rivals, Tariq continued looking for food. The woods of the former Alaska were teeming with wolves, deer, elk, caribou, bears, pumas and other critters. Out in the wild, prior to his infiltration mission in the City, Tariq had seen lions, tigers, giraffes, elephants and even rhinos wandering cross the great plains of America. These great beasts, descended from zoo stock, were doing quite well in the absence of humans. Tariq almost envied them. Almost.

Tariq's supper was provided by a large elk which was grazing when the Vampire pounced on it. Tariq drained the great beast of its blood, then left the carcass for the wolves and coyotes. The Vampire looked for a cave to spend the night. The Alaskan winter was coming to an end. Tariq knew he had to rendezvous with the rest of his Vampire clan but he wasn't looking forward to this progress report. Tariq got sloppy and now the humans thought he was a Zombie. At least Saul and the others hadn't discovered that Tariq was a Vampire. The blood drinkers ten-thousand-year-old secret was still safe...

The virus which caused a small group of humans to mutate into blood drinkers shortly after the end of the Ice Age is some powerful stuff. Tariq had been twenty three years old when he was turned. Just another young man wandering and trying to survive in the early days of the Zombie apocalypse. Tariq originally hailed from Portland, Oregon. He'd been born to a white American mother and a Somali immigrant father. Even before the Zombie apocalypse, Tariq's life had been Hell. After his parents died, he ended up in foster care. When Tariq became a Vampire, it freed him from the hell he'd grown accustomed to...

Tariq found a cavern near a rocky outcropping and carefully ventured inside. As usual, the Vampire moved with utmost caution. The woods were full of bears, pumas and wolves. Tariq is stronger and faster than a human but he preferred to avoid other predators. When dawn came, it found Tariq fast asleep. The Vampire slept away the daytime hours. At dusk, Tariq resumed his lonely trek through the woods. He had to make it to the Vampires camp, located several days march ahead...

After the Zombie apocalypse and the nuclear holocaust, the Vampires numbers were low. The blood drinkers agenda was simple. They needed to replenish their numbers. The Vampires fought fiercely against the Zombies because the damn shambling hordes got in the way. Without humans, Vampires couldn't replenish their numbers. Oh, and while animal blood can feed a Vampire, only human blood super charges them with energy and power. Yeah, as far as the Vampires were concerned, the Zombies had to go...

As night fell, Tariq walked the woods, moving at a pace that most humans would find hard to keep up with. Vampires have superhuman strength and stamina but they can and do tire after a while. Tariq is an inhuman monster but he is not an inexhaustible machine. Suddenly, Tariq stopped. The Vampire is one of the world's apex predators and he always knows when he's been watched. Tariq sniffed the air, and a smile came to his face. Tariq bared his fangs. Something was most definitely up...

"Over here," came a familiar voice. Tariq followed the direction of the voice and saw...him. Saul Patterson stood perhaps a hundred feet away, with a large sack slung over his back. Something was writhing in the sack. Tariq's eyes blazed with fury as he saw the man who almost killed him. In a flash, using a fraction of his inhuman speed, Tariq closed the gap between himself and Saul. The silver-haired team leader nodded gently and smiled at Tariq as if he were an old friend.

"I see you've recovered, Tariq, I brought you a gift," Saul said, flashing his fangs. Tariq grinned. He wasn't the only Vampire sent to infiltrate the City, one of the last remaining human strongholds left on the continent of North America. The Vampires plan to mass-convert what was left of humanity and then use them to wipe out the Zombies was the Endgame. Absolutely nothing and no one could be allowed to interfere with that. Tariq rubbed his hands expectantly as Saul put the sack on the forest floor and untied it.

"Hmmm," said Ramona, and the bound and gagged young Mexican woman stared at the two men. Saul and Tariq looked at Ramona the way hungry wolves look at wayward sheep. Ramona struggled and tried to flee but she was bound and gagged. Saul and Tariq flashed their fangs. The two Vampires had been discretely drinking animal blood through their mission. Human blood represented something they simply could not pass up...

"Soon you will be one of us," Saul assured Ramona, and then the Vampire bit the struggling young woman. Tariq and Saul drank Ramona's blood, savoring the taste of rich, warm human blood. The Vampires fed on the young woman at will but did not kill her. After draining Ramona, Saul bit into his wrist and let his Vampiric blood drip into the dying young woman's mouth. Ramona died but she did not stay dead. Seventy-two hours later, Ramona rose from the dead as a newbie Vampire.

"Welcome to a brand new world," Tariq said to Ramona, and the young Mexican female Vampire smiled, flashing her fangs. Ramona looked at Tariq and Saul, two men she'd known for ages. She thought they were human. As a Vampire, she could see them for what they were. They were Undead, but not the dull-witted, slow-moving type of Undead. Vampires are smart and cunning, like intelligent psychopaths with fangs, while Zombies are dull and slow. Ramona right then and there decided that she liked being a Vampire.

"Thank you for making me a Vampire," Ramona said, nodding at Saul and Tariq. That night, the three Vampires hunted in the woods, catching deer and elk. After slaking their thirst, the Vampires parted ways. Saul and Ramona returned to the City. Ramona had a lot to learn and Saul was going to teach her. The City, the very last stronghold of humanity, could become the capital of a future Vampire Homeland if they played their cards right. Anything is possible for those who are brilliant, ruthless and bloodthirsty...

Around the world, the Vampires are tracking down every last remnant of Humanity and converting them into the better kind of Undead. Tariq and Saul's efforts in the former Alaska is just the tip of the iceberg. The Vampire Master Plan is in full effect. In the long run, it's probably best that Humanity's intelligence and resilience is added to that of the Vampires rather than to be absorbed by the mindless Hordes of the Zombies. Once the humans are converted into Vampires, this new army of Vampires will wipe out the Zombies. Only one type of Undead can rule this version of the Planet Earth. In the war between humans and Zombies, the Vampires play to win...