Into the City of Fangs (Part 4 - Zombie Apocalypse)

Into the City of Fangs

by PJ Tenten Lee

Cast away the traitors of the land,

One kill saves a thousand.

Dead or alive, does it matter?

Edging through the blades of power.

Dear psycho, whoever you are,

Reap your soul in hell.

If we see you across the bar,

Vengeance would be the sound of the bell.

Enough foolish games, you’ll never succeed.

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Permission Status Ranging in Operational Negotiation – well, technically this is what PESTRON stands for. I forgot to mention that this is a secret group that does both legal and illegal duties in the black market in exchange for more than significant information. I never doubted that the CIA knows that it exists, but then, I could also tell that in every organization, there is a mole, if not plural in number.

I was hired to be an agent by Luna Rook, a name you would never forget. They called her “she who smells everything” – an alias for a woman who does not fall for any lies or tricks. She is I.F. Conner’s colleague. When I accidentally unlocked the ancient Latin code belonging to the tribes of Dacia, Iberia, Illyria, and Gaul, they secretly rendezvous with me to tell them how I did it. The first interrogation was how I was able to get inside their system. It was not simple at all. Their moves online fell into generic transcriptions of codes that were dispersed everywhere in various literary texts. Because I love reading, I noticed that there were patterns that turned out to be non-coincidental. That time, I began to study Latin symbols and constituents until I arrived with lengthier passages containing phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. At first, the codes looked like outputs of necromancy, but somehow I figured that it may be one of the oldest texts of “gramarye” or gramary which contains other lexical descendants of the Dark Ages. When I explained all that I know to Rook and Conner, they told me they need me to work with them for the reason that a person like me is rare, having a gift in reading and unzipping complex codes that computers could not decrypt accurately.

That was when my career as a secret agent continued. Now, they are counting on me. It has been three days since our last devious encounter with the biters. Clyde has recovered fully and earned his full strength. Wherever we go, we only see ghost towns as if people totally deserted. Even if I had the chance to visit the place where my family lives, I didn’t go because deep in my heart, I know that they escaped. John and I scavenged for some supplies – food, water, medkits, and other assistive items that we could find. Kuya Isko and Clyde were the ones who refueled the vehicle. They also loaded some containers for extras. We camped in the riverside, lit a bonfire, and exchanged our assignments to watch the surroundings. While spending the night, Isko approached me.

“Hey, are you okay? You’ve been quiet since this afternoon.”

“I’m great. It’s just that…I keep thinking about why the world has come to this. There are people out there who are enemies. They made this darkness,” I said, sounding like a serious fighter.

“Yeah. You’re right. It is as if they judged the entire humanity to die or survive on this plague, not like we nor the innocent children deserve,” he responded, cool and virile.

“Do you have children?” I asked.

“I don’t have. Well, I almost have. My wife was bitten and I couldn’t save them.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry to hear ---”

“It’s alright,” he interrupted, “you don’t have to apologize for something that you did not do. Just kidding. To be honest, I can only move on unless we get those wandering criminals. I don’t want my family’s death to be in vain. I believe there is a reason I am still alive.”

“I see. That is why you did not hesitate when I told you my plans, not even once,” I said.

“And it’s up to you if you will trust me or not,” he smiles and I did, too.

In the morning, we continued our course, apparently, no one aside from Isko knows how to drive, and that is why he is very valuable for our survival. Life and our journey are more than surviving this phenomenon. We have to stick with our mission even if it costs our lives. But then in my mind and my heart, I will not put the lives of my students at stake. As long as they are with me, I will ensure their safety. While on the road, the radio buzzed, produced static sounds deviating from a poor signal. I tried to twist the manual controller, but I got Isko distracted to drive and his attention was split, I heard Clyde shout, “Watch out!”

Our eyes vectored in the windshield simultaneously and Isko stopped the van abruptly just to see that we almost hit a survivor. “I got this,” I said as I opened the car door to check on the boy who thought it was his end because he was planking on the ground, his arms covering his head. He was damn crying. “Hey, come on. Get inside the van. We’re here to help,” I told him. He stopped and moved his hands away from his nape as if I sounded so familiar to him. He sluggishly looked up and the next thing I knew was like a dream of seeing someone I never expected to see. But how come?

“Mart…Wesley. How… in the fucking world?” these words blurted slowly, my expression is ghastly. He did the same. His face tells different messages I already understood even without him speaking. John got out of the car to see us. I almost laughed my ass off when he queried, “Holy damn cow… what the hell is this? Hallucination, sir?”

“Well if we are seeing the same, then this is not a mental fragment, is it?” Wesley was in a little state of shock and we helped him get inside the van. He ceased on crying, but I sensed that he was extremely afraid, something that I didn’t wanna ask. Along the way, he told us the entire story. Clyde gave him snacks to eat.

“I was sleeping when it all happened. People screamed, everyone, I supposed. I didn’t know what to do. Humans turned into monsters biting others to death, then they rise again. I looked for my parents, my sister, my brother, and then I saw them being rescued by soldiers. They saw me, too. They waited. It was too late. I was about to reach the ship, but they cut the bridge. One guy saved me and we went to his car. He said we had to go to the airport, but yesterday, as we were on the move, we stopped by to a city not far from here. We thought it was safe because it was quiet. When we got out of the car, we searched for supplies quickly. However, we got the wrong turn. We both witnessed a group, a horde of human monsters with sharp teeth, blood dripped, and they smelt us, they hunted us. We knew we’re gonna die, but this man, he baited himself. He said I needed to go to save myself. I couldn’t leave him but there was no time. I ran fast. I never turned back. I know he’s dead, and I didn’t even ask who he was,” his words terrified him even more. A horde with vicious teeth, I talked to him, “Wesley, listen to me. I promise that I will protect you, but right now we need to keep ourselves intact. We are on a mission to go to BGC, and we’re almost there according to the map. You said where you’re from was not far from here. Is there any chance that you came across the sign that says Cypress Towers?”

He thought deeply, “Cypress Towers? Yes, sir. Why?”

“Because that is where we are supposed to go for this a matter-of-life mission.”

“We can’t. We should not go, sir. Please. I don’t want to go back there,” he spoke frighteningly.

“What do you mean, we can’t?” asked Clyde.

“I can’t be wrong. Cypress Towers is the place where we encountered the horde of biters,” said Wesley.

We all looked at each other, worried sick. This is where our lives will be tested for another time. I inhaled and exhaled.

“If that’s the case, then I am coursing into the city of fangs,” I claimed.

“We are, not just you,” interjected Kuya Isko.

“I can’t risk your lives. You have to stay and look for them. I need to go alone.”

“Then how are you going to make it on the 7th floor without being noticed by the zombies? Are you out of your mind?” he seemed concerned, so much.

“Trust me. I can figure out a way in,” I replied.

“How about a way out? Still, I won’t let you alone.”

“Sir, I agree with Kuya Isko. We’re all in this together,” stated John. It was difficult to argue when you are surrounded by men, by boys, who think they are strong enough in everything because they are manly. Clyde even stressed out that I should not treat them like kids. At the very least, they won the argument. We didn’t waste time to amplify more debates. Wesley told us the directions he remembered and the exact location where the horde gathered. Cypress Towers has four buildings – Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta. It looks fortunate that Alpha is the nearest to the gate but wrong. The biters are in front of the entrance, so we need to sneak in from the back, the end-point radius of the condominium property and we need to safely cross over three buildings before we reach Alpha, not to mention how many biters await us in the other facilities. Our way in would also be our way out. We must be able to petrify Room 704, the unit owned by @lunaticthunder201. The key data is on his computer. I noticed Wesley was still trembling about what happened, so I advised him to stay in the van, but he insisted to go. He said he better go out there than stay alone.

We entered from the back, slowly and carefully, darting through the open doors of the building. Isko was giving us the cover, while my job was to lead them in front. We made it in Delta, no sign of a menace. We were constant with our positions, our maneuvers, and our tactics. We made it through Charlie, and eventually, Beta. Walk, cross, silent in our footsteps. When we entered Alpha, it was a mistake. Five biters plunged towards us in the lounge. Although we killed them, it caught the attention of the other biters outside, but something was odd and wrong. Wesley was not joking about the sharp teeth. It couldn’t be. The biters were mutated. They have fangs. I knew it. Their feet signaled the trampling, the next thing was to feast on us. The only way I needed to do was to push my friends out of the exit door and to close it, leaving myself inside to continue the mission. I heard John, Clyde, Wesley, and Kuya Isko calling out to me but I really don’t want them to die. I rushed on going up, the elevator was not a good choice. That time, I didn’t have a clue about my fate. My fear is seeing someone die, so I made myself the bait, but not to die, not yet. (To be continued)