Chapter The Day From Hell Continues

Chapter The Day From Hell Continues

Mark Black took a deep breath and walked into his wife’s room.

Shelly was a bloated, twisted monstrosity, her body ravaged by the same illness that had left him entirely untouched... for now...

The disease that he gave her...

She looked over at him and smiled weakly.

“Hello, princess,” Mark said with a little smile. “How are you today?”

“It hurts...” she managed to whisper.

“I’m so sorry,” he said with tears in his eyes as he took her withered hand. The skin split at his touch and what oozed out wasn’t blood. “I-”

“When are you going to... (cough) stop with all the apologizing,” she whispered. “I agreed to it and I don’t do anything I don’t wanna do. Stop being such a little bitch about it.”

Mark let out a little laugh.

“It just happened,” he said with a smile. “We knocked the shit out of them.”

“(cough cough) I know. I could hear people losing their minds outside. I couldn’t (cough)... couldn’t hear exactly what was going on but I figured...”

Mark stroked her hair and tried not to wince as a chunk of it remained in his hand.

“Sorry I couldn’t stay pretty for you...”

“What the fuck are you talking about,” Mark scoffed. “You are still the most beautiful woman I have ever met.”

“Liar.”

“I mean it,” Mark said with tears in his eyes. “I fucking mean it, babe.”

He pulled out an auto-injector.

“Is that it?” Shelly asked looking at the device.

“Yeah...” he said choking up. “You don’t have to hurt anymore.”

“Hey... Don’t be a bitch,” Shelly whispered as she smiled, her lips cracking. She coughed up a wad of green-black phlegm. “P... Promise me...”

“Anything!” Mark replied.

“Don’t... Don’t let this change you... Don’t let this break... break you... Don’t turn into a little bitch...”

“I won’t,” Mark smiled. “No bitches in this house.”

“And... Remind them... Remind them all... What (cough) what we are...”

“Oh I fucking will,” Mark said with tears in his eyes. “I’m gonna carve your name in the fucking stars...”

“I like that...” she whispered in a weak voice. “Now... Let your beautiful eyes be the last thing I ever see...”

“You got it, my princess,” Mark said as he looked deep into her eyes and pressed the injector into her chest.

It made a quiet “pssht”.

“I... love...” Shelly started to say and then her pupils dilated completely open and she let out one final sigh.

Mark collapsed over her body.

“Hnnng.... Hnngh...” he moaned as tears filled his eyes...

“RRRAAAARARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!” he roared, his voice echoing through the ward.

“AAAARAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!” he bellowed as he strode towards the door splitting it open with a kick.

He drew a length of roughly ground steel, a long-shank...

Mark Black, once again a Ripper of the Long-Shanks, stepped into the hall...

***

“Jesus fucking Christ,” a man, carrying a gauss carbine and wearing a long-shank on his hip, said as he walked into the ward. He figured that the boss would be upset but... shit...

This was bad, even by his very relaxed standards.

“You here, boss?” he called out.

A long low growl was the only reply.

Mark, covered head to toe in fluids of a half a dozen colors, stepped out.

“Boss?...” the man asked cautiously.

Mark just stood there breathing heavily.

“You ok, boss?” the man asked backing away.

Terrified whimpering came from around the corner. Josh was surprised. There were people left alive. That was good sign.

“Some of the nurses... good people...” Mark said in a distant voice, “Took care of us... They live...”

Mark shook his head as his eyes fully cleared.

“You ain’t wearing any gear.” he said calmly.

“Yeah,” Joshua replied. “Popped positive. So has everyone else here.”

Mark nodded.

“You split up the people like I said?”

“Yeah,” Joshua replied. “the good and the bad.”

“And the bad?”

Joshua just smiled.

Mark smiled back.

“Got a ship?”

“Yeah, parked out front.”

“Let’s go,” Mark growled. “We got a name to carve.”

“What?”

***Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

One of the monitors on the wall opposite Jessica Morgan flashed the words “Mark Black” as a ring tone sounded.

“Hello?” Jessica said with a smile and then looked at the monitor in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Getting hosed off,” Mark replied as a stream of water washed over him. “You wouldn’t know about shit like that,” he scoffed. “You like to keep your hands all nice and tidy, don’t you, bitch?”

Jessica just smiled and sipped her tea.

“I see old Mark is back,” she replied. “So... are you... are you ready to begin?”

“Yeah, I killed her if that’s what you are askin’” Mark snarled.

“... Please accept my deepest condolences over your loss,” Jessica said carefully. “I know how much-”

“Save it for people who don’t know you like I do,” Mark growled. “You don’t give a fuck.”

“Let me rephrase this,” Jessica said with a cold gleam in her eyes. “I am willing to accommodate as many researchers and medical personnel as the Republic wants to send so that a cure, vaccine, or treatment can be found before there is a major outbreak of the virus in the Republic.”

“I see,” Tak replied. “Not blackmail, a threat.”

“I’m just giving you the opportunity to help save innocent people and making the observation that virulent diseases are notoriously hard to contain,” Jessica said with a smile. “Besides, from what I hear it won’t be a hard sell...”

***

Kestra-3 (Late Afternoon)

Human Population: 2515

Primary Occupation: Mining

Primary Product: Rare earth minerals

Secondary Product (Covert): Uranium

Colony Ownership: Hass-Reek Mining Corp

Actual Owner: Morgan Enterprises

Major jK-Beel cursed as he walked through the compound. He had expected it to be bad...

He had no idea. He had sent his men into a flour mill!

He glanced over at the field hospital and scowled. There were people laying on the ground outside the doors, people huddled under a hastily erected pavilion...

People everywhere...

And they were the lucky ones... Too many of his men were still laying where they fell. They couldn’t even retrieve the bodies...

Or many of the wounded.

It was a slaughter. All of his plans, all of his adjustments, all of his warnings were for naught.

He stamped his hoof in frustration. Fuck! He was still trying to figure out exactly what happened. Everything was going as planned, the troops were closing in on the mines...

Then all hell broke loose... The engagement only lasted minutes and half of his APCs were lost along with over a third of his men...

Gone!...

He shrieked a retreat order almost immediately but it wasn’t enough... All he could do was stamp and scream as he heard squad after squad after squad...

Creators!

His chief medical officer, Major Joo, walked up. She was solid black from head to toe and shaking slightly.

As she got closer he could see rivulets of “tears” running down her sides.

“(sob) There’s nothing I can do!” she gasped. “Nothing!”

“What’s going on, doc?” Major jK-Beel asked dreading the answer.

“The wounds... Oh creators!... The wounds!” she gasped shaking uncontrollably. “There’s nothing I can do!”

“What about the wounds?”

“Those... monsters... They used uranium... somehow... Fragments... dust... vapors... All through them... All of them!... It’s in their respiratory systems, their circulatory systems, impregnated in their skin... It’s... It’s dangerous to even treat them!... our medics are going to get sick!... I’m going to get sick!... Those monsters!... Why would they do this? Why?...why...”

The major, not knowing what else to do, reached out to console her. She pulled away sharply.

“Aren’t you listening, you moron?” she yelled. “I’m contaminated!”

She broke down into tears and fell to her knees holding her top in her hands.

“Why?... Creators, why!...”

The major reached down and pulled her to her feet. “I’m contam-”

“You are also in front of the men!” the major hissed urgently. “If you need to have a moment do it in my office,” he said as he drug her into the headquarters building.

Once they were alone the doctor fell to her knees once again.

“Every casualty we have here is going to die, Major,” the doctor said miserably. “Maybe if we had a full hospital we could save some of them but we... we aren’t equipped for this! “

“I’ll get us help,” the major said calmly. “At the very least I’m going to get us out of here. We’re... finished... Look, do what you can as best as you can.”

“We’ve already burned through anything that could remotely be used to decontaminate or detoxify...” the doctor moaned. “The only thing left is...”

“Is what?” the major asked. “They are going to die anyway.”

The doctor closed her eyes and shuddered.

“We... Creators!... we try to excise the worst of it, amputate when possible, hollow out the wound channels where we can’t...” she looked like she was going to be sick. “We might be able to remove the worst of it, buy some time until help arrives, but we could kill as many as we save...”

“As opposed to losing all of them?” the major said grimly.

“Creators forgive me...” The doctor said in a tiny voice. “I’m going to lose my license for this.”

“Not if I give you a direct order,” the major replied. “which I am now doing. Save as many of my men as you can, doctor.”

“Yes, sir... Give me a minute...” the doctor said as she slumped into a chair and drew a shuddering breath.

***

Back on Terra, Doctor Araval’s phone rang. He grabbed at it with shaking hands.

“Y-yes?”

“Doctor, this is Mr. Purple,” a pleasant female voice said. “There has been a change of plans. We have reason to believe that the porkies have your location.”

“Oh God!”

“Relax, Doctor,” the soothing voice said. “Her Ladyship takes care of her own. We are sending a vehicle to your location. It should be there in an hour. Is your family with you?”

“Y-yes! We are all here!”

“I’m sorry but for now just bring what you can carry with you. We will send movers to collect your property later.”

“I understand!”

“Excellent!” the reassuring voice said. “Everything’s going to be ok, Doctor. You are in good hands.”

“Thank you!”

“I promised her Ladyship that I would deliver you and your family safe and sound,” the woman said, “I will not fail her... or you. Be ready. You won’t have much time once the vehicle arrives.”

“We will be ready!”

“Good. See you soon,” the woman said in a confident soothing tone as she terminated the call.

***

Forty-five minutes later the doctor’s phone rang once more.

“This is Mr. Purple,” the woman’s voice announced. “Outside, black limo. Now.”

Moments later Doctor Araval, his wife, and his two children rushed into the vehicle.

“This is nice daddy!” his daughter exclaimed as she settled into one of the plush leather seats.

“Thank you so much!” his wife said towards the driver, obscured behind a mirrored interior partition.

“Just serving her Ladyship, ma’am,” the woman said as she smiled, two golden fangs gleaming in the darkness.

The limo slowly drove off into the night...