XXX Virus: A Resident Evil Story (Looking for a talented female writer)

[guyloveshotstories]

The Umbrella Corporation was a pharmaceutical company that was in the business of developing medicine to disperse around the world. That's what they told the public and their share holders. In truth they were bio-engineering weapons and using humans as guinea pigs. I would know because they tried to test it on me.

My name is Brenden Thatcher, a 19-year old college student in Raccoon City. I was returning from my courses on the city bus when I noticed that the police were responding to more and more 'attacks' around the city. The News was reporting people were suddenly snapping mentally and viciously attacking anyone within reach. This sounded bad, like the start to a horror movie kinda bad. The last few blocks home I was sprinting.

Running up the building's narrow stairs, opening and closing my door, I immediately moved furniture to barricade the door. Wasn't going to take any chances. The blinds were closed and my hit-and-run bag was pulled out. On the side I was preparing for this day. Most people thought I was crazy but it pays to be prepared. I had a rifle, an AR-15 that my parents gave me as a Christmas present. Bless them! They also gave me a pistol even though I was under age to own one. Now I'm glad I did. Loading and chambering a round in each weapon and strapping pouches to my hip I felt like a soldier. My supplies were limited. Judging by the contents of my fridge and cupboards there was enough food and water for two weeks. My bag had enough for five days. I had 210 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and 90 rounds of .40 caliber pistol.

Power and water was still on. For the next few hours I was filling up every jug with water and setting them aside. Worse part was being alone. My neighbors were strangers to me. Their moving about outside could be heard through the walls. They were frantic in hauling away all of their worldly possessions and stuffing it all into their vehicles for a dash to safety. Hopefully they make it. Me? There was no vehicle for me. Best hope was to sit tight and wait for a government response or evacuation order. If one didn't come, and my supplies ran out, then I was going to strike out on foot and pray I got through.

What I didn't know was, what was affecting the people wasn't the T-Virus or A-Virus, it was the XXX Virus, a strain that tapped into a person's subconscious and conjured their deepest sexual desires and made them reality while also turning them into hulking, cannibalistic, creatures. If you've ever desired a monstrous penis, it would be granted-one big enough to beat someone to death with. If you desired the mouth to suck cock with the strength of a black hole, it would also happen and you'd suck the insides and the soul of someone.

I was trapped.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

At the same time the Raccoon City police was being overwhelmed. Here and there the number of violent outbreaks was rising. Not comprehending the situation those that were arrested for assault were taken the police stations where they turn into zombies and attack other prisoners.

One of the officers who responded to the urgent call of Reinforcements was Jill Valentine, an athletic brunette who was on leave at home. When she arrived at her duty station she saw zombies in their cells and summarily executed them. When commanded to explain why, "They're zombies" she explained coldly. "Only way to kill them is destroying their brains. We must evacuate the city. By dawn we'll be overrun."

"There's nearly a million people in the city, " cried the chief. "We can't save all of them!"

"Them we save ourselves" Jill said reloading her pistols.

Then the door burst open
Heads turned. In came members of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS), the Department's elite force. Their leader was a tall, strapping man named Leon S. Kennedy and one of his partners was a petite woman named Rebecca.

 

[fnchristie81]

Rebecca was one of the newest members of the STARS team. She had joined the Marines two years out of high school, then inspired by the Navy Corpsmen assigned to her unit, became a paramedic when she phased out. She quickly became disenchanted with the 2am toe pains and people who vomited once and called 911. When some of her coworkers began talking about tactical EMS positions, she decided to check it out.

Despite the teasing and flirting that went on when she attended her first tactical training, she quickly proved herself the equal of all the men who went through the course. Due to limitations placed on EMS professionals, she had gone back to school to obtain her Criminal Justice degree, and worked on the police force in one of the smaller cities before going home to Raccoon City. There, her resume was floated before the STARS team, and they decided to interview her before even getting hired by the department.

When Rebecca walked into the training room, she was greeted with the usual wolf whistles, stares, and comments she'd lived with all her adult life. Lt. Kennedy quickly settled everyone down and introduced her as a candidate, then listed the training for the day. At marksmanship, she qualified with all but the breeching shotgun with ease, scoring in the top half of the class. She then completely disassembled and cleaned her weapons along with the men, finishing 2nd out of the group. Then it was time for close quarters drills.

The first man to assume the role of assailant didn't just say the lewd taunts, she could see in her eyes that he meant them. As he approached, she stood her ground, and his hand went immediately to one of her ample breasts. She responded simply with a direct, harsh kick to his knee. The resultant injury had completely knocked him out of the program, having torn his ACL, MCL, PCL, and severely damaged the cartilage in the joint when it hyperextended backwards. Another assailant also groped her, and suffered a severe injury of his own when she sidesweeped his knee, falling to her back but propelling her legs forward. Her upper leg hooked his thigh and bent hard, her lower leg snapping straight out, popping his MCL and PCL even more aggressively than the first. That "gentleman" eventually recovered and became a desk jockey at a small town sheriff's department. The rest of the guys were more respectful, openly sparring with her and flirting with her, but not outright groping her as her victims had. They found she went along well with the ribald teasing and flirting when they weren't training, and that she didn't overreact at the occasional unavoidable touch during mat exercises. They soon just treated her as one of the guys...with boobs.

Then the team started getting tasked for rescue assignments within the city. First to the mayor's house. They had fast roped from a helicopter into his yard and retrieved him and his family, then to a civilian house where they retrieved a business man and his family. The wife in that instance had been viciously bitten on the thigh to the point that Rebecca had a hard time believing a person had caused the injury-a whole chunk had been removed. Even crack heads and those on bath salts hadn't caused that much damage, yet the woman and her son had sworn that it was a person, not an animal. Rebecca had applied an Israeli dressing, then the group had medevacced her to the Raccoon City hospital along with the rest of the family. The man had been adamant they transport them to the Umbrella Corporation facilities, but there was no listed trauma service there, and therefore was ruled out by the team.

As the calls came in in increasing rapidity, Lt. Kennedy had decided the best course of action was to brief the police department. Rebecca had seen what had been going on at the hospital and briefed him, and he decided that the best course of action was for her to give the brief to the leadership on the medical side, while he devised a response strategy.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Daring to take a peek out the windows the streets below were empty. Voices from outside the apartment also diminished. Before, I could hear people frantically moving about, gathering what possessions they could and making a run for it outside. That was damned foolish. Venturing outside there was just inviting death. Keeping my rifle and pistol with me at all times the only way to break the monotony of a siege was to keep busy. Patrols were done around the small perimeter of the house, taking cautious peeks of the outside.

TV, by now, had fallen to static. Not even the emergency broadcasting network was functioning. Cellphone signals were also becoming sporadic. No internet. Even the radio was getting nothing. All textbook signs of a zombie apocalypse.

Having no vehicle of my own and trapped in a large, densely populated, city, I was at their mercy, whoever it was out there. On my survival map all of the key places
within walking distance were marked out, the nearest grocery story, Martin's, was a good five blocks. If supplies ran out I could go there. The nearest police station was twenty blocks away and more of a sub-station than a main one. Sitting on my small leather sofa and cracking open a book with my rifle across my chest, no other recourse but to read a good book.

In the back of my mind I was wondering what would happen if there were people bashing down my door. Father took me to the range many times and I was quite good at shooting at paper targets up to 200 yards. That didn't hold a candle to real people. If someone was threatening myself, telling myself many times, I would have the courage to pull the trigger. Now that day was upon me and all I could feel was the cold in my extremities.
Kennedy approached Valentine with a scowl upon his face, "STARS is suppose to rescue people in need."

"We are people in need" Valentine checked her weapon while depositing several full magazines into the pouches onto her belt. "If this is the zombie apocalypse that we've seen about in films, then saving other people is just going to be dead weight for the rest of us" her eyes glanced over Kennedy's shoulder at the new face, that strapping woman, "Who's that, your new girlfriend?" Valentine asked in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

 

[fnchristie81]

Kennedy's plan had been solid, Rebecca thought to herself, although she'd agreed also with Valentine's assessment that they needed to worry about themselves first.

Kennedy had planned on taking the prisoner transport buses out, going block by block and only permitting those on who showed no evidence of contagion. At each intersection, the bus would stop and STARS and officers would provide a security detail while local EMS would provide a brief screening. They would run out of room on the buses, but they held more people than the Armored Personnel Carriers available while being almost as secure to everything except bullets.

Valentine's comment about being Kennedy's girlfriend snapped Rebecca out of her internal review of the plans. Rebecca hadn't dated since moving back home, having focused primarily on her job and getting settled. Valentine's reputation as a badass had preceeded her-nearly STARS qualified herself, she had preferred to remain on the streets. Rebecca smiled sweetly, rather than accept the sting of her lack of social life.

"How do you know I'm not looking to make you my girlfriend", Rebecca leered. Her previous service, while not exactly promiscuous, had opened her eyes to the different ways that women could pleasure each other rather than just giving in to all the men knocking their doors down. Her focus sharpened.

"Compromise. We won't be able to get everyone regardless, but we do have an obligation to the people of the city. Instead of stopping each block, slow go it and don't stop. Anyone that can't get on at the soeeds we travel will be too weak anyways. Balance of capabilities versus duty."

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Rebecca's reply made Valentine pause and blink several times in stunned silence. She had to brush it off as Kennedy pondered.

'Rather coldhearted' they thought in not stopping and searching. Then again if they stopped it would only risk their lives from being swarmed by desperate people, and desperate people were just as dangerous as those zombies. "If those are the options, let's at least take one that gives both us and the people a chance, however slim as it is" Kennedy nodded. "Rebecca here to do the medical examinations. Go down the streets until the buses are full and then we make a run out of the city. How many buses are in the garage?"

Not knowing off the top of her head, Valentine turned to the garage manifest that was beside the dry erase board serving as the day's duty roster. Beside it was a list of vehicles fit for duty, being serviced, or disabled. Going down the list with her eyes, Valentine said, "Three. There's three available."

"Just three?" Kennedy gasped rubbing his chin. "If that's what we have to go with, then that's what we'll do. Valentine and Rebecca, go to the armory, grab whatever weapons, ammo, and supplies that we need. I'll muster as many STARS as I can to join us. We're going to need shooters."

Brenden Thatcher

I could hear them now. Outside. On the streets. Something moving around in a shuffle dragging their shoes along. Daring to peek there was a glimpse of them, a single figure going along past the apartment with its arms tucked in, head canted to one side, mouth agape and tongue dangling. Looked like a retarded T-Rex. The person was covered head to toe in what looked like dried blood. A zombie. A real life zombie! I thought with a mixture of surprise and alarm. This was the rule deal! All of those movies, video games, and simulations with buddies was, hopefully, going to pay off.

Taking the sling for my rife around the left side of my neck and letting it hang my eyes followed the zombie as it went along and disappeared around the block. Just one? Nope. A short time later there were more. Much more. Like a slow moving wave what I heard first was their combined groans and moans from throaty dead persons before I ever saw their bodies, this ungodly bemoaning that made my ears ache.

Deeerrrrrrroooooooo
Uuuuhhhhhhhrrrrrrrr
Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

They were packed together shoulder to shoulder spanning the entire width of the road, including the sidewalks. No way I could get through that!

 

[fnchristie81]

Rebecca grabbed her counterparts to brief them on the new plan, advising the other medics that anyone with bites needed to be denied access entirely, and those with scratches meeded to be explained. If there wasn't a known cause, or if the scratches were humanoid, the refugee needed to be removed from the bus.

After that, she followed Valentine to the armory. Rebecca selected a short barrel close combat rifle and started loading magazines in the ammo pouches on her vest, as well as grabbed more for her sidearm. Valentine did as well, then the two women started loading boxes and arms on the buses. Rebecca did her best to fill the majority of the seats, knowing that a lot of it would be used by the time the buses were full. She encouraged Valentine to do the same. Other than that, the two women worked mostly in silence. Rebecca was focused on the upcoming mission, and she was sure Valentine was as well.

Her mind did drift occasionally, as she caught sight of the other woman working. She wasn't dressed for a battle; instead it looked like she'd been at a workout or something. Tight lowcut top, booty shorts, but patrol boots. Valentine, on the other hand, was thinking more about Rebecca than the mission. She was both amused and irritated by Rebecca's seemless retort at her girlfriend remark earlier, but figured that the smaller woman had to have slept her way onto the STARS team. Ventine knew her own capabilities and was confident with them, but hadn't seen any advantage in joining the elite group. Not that she would have looked down on Rebecca for doing so, she begrudingly admitted to herself. The men on the team were all alpha males, and Valentine had soent the night with a couple of them herself.

The buses loaded, both women turned to checking their weapons, still working in near silence.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

The boss of the station was rather against the request of using the prison vans. His attention was more focused on getting his officers out of the area and not about rescuing civilians. When Kennedy approached him asking for permission, the boss rather dismissed him with a wave of a hand and a, "Do whatever you want." That simplified things. Most of the officers had families they wanted to get. They weren't leaving Raccoon City without them.

Going back towards the buses in the garage, Kennedy rounded up a few more people, mainly STARS officers. They needed three drivers, two assistant drivers to guard the front door and others to guard the sides and rears of the buses. Each bus had a metal partition that separated the driver from the first three rows of seats where the officers usually sat for the transfers.

Marching back to Valentine and Rebecca, Kennedy grabbed a Mossberg 500 shotgun from the rack and shoved buckshot into the cylinder. "Okay. I got some crew. Rebecca, you're in the lead van with me. Valentine, you're with us. Whenever we get people, it'll be Rebecca's job to examine them. If they're a no-go, Valentine will kick them off, with force if need be. Don't let sentiment get in the way. If just one infected gets in..."

"I know" Valentine scoffed and waved him off, "We're all fucked. Like we're not fucked already. How many are coming with us?" she asked him.

"Including us, I got fifteen officers, mostly STARS. That's five for each bus" Kennedy responded as the other members went into the armory and started taking weapons for themselves.

Brenden Thatcher

That's when I saw the first attack. Some poor soul was caught outside. For some damn stupid reason they thought it was a good idea to make a dash across the street in front of the mob. Like a pack of piranha the zombies locked on and gave chase. Wasn't a long one. The person, a frail looking woman, took several strides before finding herself cornered against a brick wall. With no weapon to defend herself he zombies came upon and ripped that woman to shreds. Even from this distance I could hear her screams until her throat was ripped out. Those zombies didn't relent unless she was no longer recognizable, a mere stump of a torso was all that was left. A few of the zombies stayed behind to feast upon her corps, gnawing on bones that they cracked open and sucked out the marrow, crunching the eyeballs that popped like grapes.

"Jesus Christ!" I gasped. This was worse than I thought. Thoughts went through my mind of how painful it was for that woman, whomever she was. Those last few seconds were agony. If that were to happen, that last bullet was just for me.

"Where the hell is the police! The military!" I asked myself over and over. Going from window to window the horde had moved on. That didn't mean it was safe. Sounds echoed through the narrow streets and towering buildings, funneling sounds of a howling wind as zombies continued to lurk about.

 

[fnchristie81]

Valentine gsthered the other volunteers needed for the trip-mostly the drivers-and then Kennedy briefed the crew. Rebecca gave a more complete briefing to the other medics, then everyone piled onto the buses. Rebecca braced herself against the "cage" separating the driver from the rest of the bus, with Valentine in the stairwell.

The buses all formed up to exit the precinct. Each would take a different route through the city, giving maximum coverage with minimum time "outside the wire", as Rebecca was used to thinking. As the garage doors opened, she checked her weapons again.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Going outside the situation was worse than they thought. People were running for their lives to where they thought shelter was, pressing themselves through the streets. "Push through them" Kennedy directed and their bus waded through as people screamed and flailed. They had to get out of this mess or risk getting mired in the chaos. "Take a left turn here, onto Meyer..."

Given a moment, Kennedy went to the cage where Rebecca was leaning. He was trying to put up a confident face, his dark eyes looked her over real quick without leering and giving off a creepy vibe. Inside he was shaking. It was just the five of them. "You sure you're ready for this?" he asked her in a low voice. Kinda late to go back now. Flicking his eyes at both her and Valentine, it made him wonder how, or if, the two women would be able to get along. Both were sarcastic and stubborn but capable. They wouldn't be the type that would constantly try to out do one another in order to impress. Both were mission-dedicated.

Meyer Street was a residential area for its small, middle class apartments. It was a nice and quiet neighborhood. Was. Going down the dark street there were some people that poked their heads out their windows as the bus slowed but didn't stop. Seeing their chance the people abandoned their homes and came running out, some dragging suitcases, others with babies in their arms. "Help us!" pleading at the front door.

"Rebecca, check them" Kennedy directed with his shotgun at the ready.

Down the street I heard the gentle hum of the diesel engine and also pressed my face against the window, "Holy shit! A rescue!" I exclaimed with joy seeing people going to the bus. This was my chance. Grabbing my bag and my weapons and running down the stairs, I waited inside the door for the bus to slide into view then I would run out and jump on board.

That was the plan.

 

[fnchristie81]

As the bus moved onto the street outside the precinct, Rebecca and Valentine both realized the enormity and impossibility of what the buses were going to try to do. The mass of humanity outside the precinct had the best chance of getting to safety on foot; the purpose of the buses was for those further out. Both women heard the lieutenant give the order to the driver to press on. Valentine started motioning people on the street towards the precinct while maintaining a defensive posture inside the stairwell.

Once through the initial crowd, Kennedy leaned over and addressed Rebecca. She could see the worry in the set of his jaw and tightness around his eyes as he asked if she were up to the task.

"Just like Iraq, sir," she bared her teeth in a half grimace, half smile. "Heads up, eyes out, be prepared to unleash hell. We'll nake it back."

Once inside their "box", the streets on which they were supposed to start picking up refugees, the driver again slowed the bus and opened the doors. Valentine started motioning people to jump on, rather than waste her voice shouting over the diesel engine. Rebecca started giving a quick once over of those beginning to clamor onto the bus. As yet, as best as she could tell with the hasty screening, everyone was "safe". She blocked passage through the cage with her body, only allowing people to pass after she'd checked all visible skin for bites and scratches. Plenty of people were getting left behind, but the bus already had plenty of passengers.

Then she found the first bite mark, and had to enlist Kennedy's help in getting the person back off the bus through those still waiting for her screening. As she pushed the person back, the woman started screaming and trying to fight her way to the back.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"I must get out of here!" screamed the woman as she flailed about. "I have children! I have children!" where they were none of them knew. "Don't abandon me!"

"Get off!" Kennedy pulled the woman by her collar to the door and she dug in her heels grabbing anything within reach. "It's just a scratch! It's nothing!" No chances were to be taken. "I'm ordering you off this bus!" Kennedy yelled over her cries.

"Fuck you!" she spat.

Kennedy had to resort to the drastic measure of removal, clamping both hands around the woman's throat, hoisting her up and pitching her over the heads of others waiting to get on. Standing in the doorway with the bus crawling along, Kennedy growled, "Who's next?" The shocked faces of the people staring back at him. Bad time to freeze. The bus continued on and left some of them behind.

"Here they come!" I was clapping my hands together. "How should I approach, hands in the air, or with my weapon in the air? Should I show them my ID?" rehearsing the whole scenario in my head so that I didn't stumble at the finish line. Shit. What if they take my weapon away? Best not to resist if that happens. If I do, they'd throw me out, like what they just did with that woman. Why was she thrown off?

Peeking outside the bus was just 50 yards away and the woman that was pitched back out was laying on the ground flopping around like a fish out of water. Oh, shit. That's not good. I've seen people have seizures before. This wasn't a seizure. The woman's twitching was so violent that I could hear her bones snap this far away and it chilled me. It was, I was watching a woman turn into a zombie. Others struggling to get onto the bus were oblivious to this for they cared only about saving their own necks.

At long last the bus was sliding by trailing a few people trying to get out. Swallowing hard and slinging my rifle, I darted out of the door and across the sidewalk to the open bus door and jumped in and immediately I was looking at this brawny man with a scowl on his face. Out of the corner of my left eye I could see a determined looking woman. Both were armed. "Uh, hi!" I nervously smiled.

 

[fnchristie81]

Valentine looked over the armed kid that had just jumped on the bus, then pushed him further up in as she said to him, "I hope you know how to use them."

Revecca was still looking over the others that had jumped on earlier. Only about a third of the bus had been filled so far. Then she got to Brendan. She took note of the guns, but looked at his arms, face, and neck before asking him to pull up his shirt and pant legs. Seeing no scratches or bites, she had him turn around and do the same. Finding nothing she let him through to the cage.

"Are you any good with those?" she asked.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"I do" nodding firmly to her. "I've qualified on the range." Was a big boast. It was the only one I could give. Perhaps not the best one as their faces didn't look all that convinced.

"Take a seat in the back" the big guy thumbed over his shoulder. Nodding to his order and glancing at the one woman at the gate, a dark brunette, then going and finding an empty seat. Resting the stock of the rifle on the floor and holding the foregrip my eyes peered out of the mesh covered windows of the bus. The apartment slowly rolled by. Without a word it went past and that was it. No turning back now. Glancing at my cellphone there was no signal. Of course there wasn't. Turning it off to save the battery and pocketing it, now was a good time to get a look at my surroundings. In the seat across from me was a frightened man sitting with his knees tucked up to his chin, arms wrapped around his legs gently rocking back and forth muttering to himself. Behind him a woman had her face pressed against the window as if looking for someone. There were a few others gathered in the back, huddled together. A couple of uniformed people walked up and down the rows wearing white shits that said STARS on it.

"We're about a third of the way full, right?" Kennedy said to Rebecca. "Take a left here on Raven's Place." The driver did so and up ahead and to the right loomed the Raven's Place Cathedral, a massive cut down building to reaching spires and stained glass windows adorning each wall. From a distance and in the dark it was a creepy looking building with the reaching shadows and menacing looking gargoyles on the roof it resembled a haunted house. "And they wonder why I don't go to church" scoffed Kenney.

 

[fnchristie81]

With no other people in sight for the time being, Rebecca worked her way to the back of the bus to the armed kid that had jumped on. She crouched next to him, facing out the rear door of the bus to act as temporary rear guard until they came up to more people.

"Rebecca," she said by way of introduction. "STARS by way of the Marines. Show me basic handling and aiming techniques." The kid did so, proving to her at least that he wasn't going to blow her head off unless the pressure was on. Pressure had a way of making people crack in the weirdest ways, making some easy tasks completely impossible for even normally intelligent people. As the kid aimed at a few targets she pointed out, she gave him a few pointers for better stabilizing his grip. That being done, she stood to leave.

"Conserve your ammo. If it's not an imminent threat, don't bother with it. You're the primary shooter for anything aft of us, the rest of us are clearing our way through the front and sides. And if anyone inside the bus turns, let STARS deal with them. Your guns are just as likely to penetrate not only your target, but whoever is in behind them. I have no idea what would happen if your bullet went through and then lodged in an innocent, and I'd rather not find out. Fair?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and headed back to the front of the cage as the bus came abreast the church and in time to catch Lt. Kennedy's comment.

C'mon boss," she teased. You've got to go to church ONCE in a while! Best sex I've ever had was in a church," she winked at Valentine with that one.

 

[fnchristie81]

From her position in the stairwell of the prison bus, Valentine was more acutely aware of the activities outside the bus. "So far, so good," she thought to herself. She hadn't yet needed to fire, and except for the one woman, they hadn't encountered any issues with the civilians trying to get on the bus. Kennedy had almost knocked her off the bus when he heaved that woman off, and she was simultaneously irritated at him and impressed with his strength.

With no civilians in sight as they cleared Meyer, she studied Rebecca for a few moments. The smaller woman was proficiently examining the civilians before letting them through to the back of the bus. Valentine watched the focused yet otherwise expressionless face as Rebecca manhandled people to get them into the positions she wanted as she checked them over, wondering if she herself would be able to do so and be apparently unaffected. Then Rebecca let the last one through, the kid that had jumped on yet had the presence of mind to bring weapons, and followed him to the back of the bus. Valentine turned her attention fully back outside after a quick, sweeping glance at the passengers on the bus. Most were huddled fearfully in their seats, and she felt contempt. "Deadweight," she thought to herself. All but that last kid.

As they turned onto Ravens Place, she felt the depressive atmosphere of the soaring cathedral. In sunlight, it could be an awe-inspiring sight. Anything less than full sun however, and it cast an air of intimidation over the entire surrounding area. She felt rather than saw Rebecca join the group at the front of the bus, then heard the comment about sex in the church. She herself had never been in one, but was amused at the thought of having sex in there. She glanced over her shoulder at Rebecca.

"About the only thing more sacrilegious would be fucking the priest," she said, amused. At that point, there was a thump from the front wheels, and a pair of pale, grimy hands grasped the corner of the open bus doors. Leaning out a bit, she saw a bloody head and pale, blank eyes looking back at her. A bloody body was dragging along behind the hands clawing to get a better purchase, and she fired her first shot of the trip. As the head blossomed dark brown matter out the back and a bluish black hole appeared just above and between the eyes, the hands immediately slipped off and the rear wheels bumped over the body. Sweeping her rifle up and out, she saw another within reaching distance and shot that one as well. At almost the same time as her second shot, one from her right just about deafened her right ear as Rebecca shot out the open door at one Valentine hadn't yet been able to see.

"Another half a sec, and he would have had his hand close enough to grab your cooch," Rebecca teased Valentine.

"If he did, I'd have given him one through his lower head first," dismissed Valentine.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"You would know about giving lower head" Kennedy mused towards the pair of women. To which Valentine curtly flipped him off. Standing over by the driver and peering into the darkness dark shapes were moving about. It was impossible to tell if they were scared civilians or infected. Given that they've already dealt with a couple latching onto their vehicle then it was a safe bet that more were attached somewhere being dragged along, the dead weight, emphasis on dead.

"Want me to slow down for anyone in the church?" the driver asked Kennedy.

"Slow down" Kennedy said, "But don't open the doors."

The shots scared me, so sudden and loud. It scared everyone on the bus. My ears were ringing. Good thing I brought a couple wax earplugs for such things and drove them into my ear canal that the voices around me were muffled. When she fired my first reaction was to look outside the windows and caught a brief glimpse of a body rolling along then lying beside the vehicle. Didn't see who but if they were shooting then it had to be a zombie.

The three up front were talking with the earplugs in I couldn't discern what it was about. It got me to thinking how this was going to turn bad. That one, Rebecca, she looked to be all business the way she questioned and have me demonstrate my weapon proficiency. Hopefully I impressed her that I was not going to be a liability. Pulling security I kept a lookout on the right side of the bus. The dark alleyways and shuddered windows with no lights on, garbage cans were out, no one on the sidewalks. The bus was jostled. We ran over something and kept going. Followed by another and then another.

Holding onto my rifle tightly and checking several times that the safety was on, my right hand patted my sidearm. Still there. Good. Seated on my left was my Hit and Run bag. Seeing the church made me pray. Normally I wasn't a praying man. Not an atheist or an agnostic, just never bothered with such things. Last time I went inside a church was when Grandpa died and that was five years ago. The architecture made me wonder why it was so hideous looking.

"Fuck sake!" cursed the driver. Beside him the radio picked up chattered, an excited voice half consumed by static.

"What is it?" Kennedy hovered beside him.

"I think it's one of the other buses" the driver flicked his eyes to him, "They're the only ones on this frequency. Taking the mic and calling them back, it was just static. Never a good sign. "Shit. There's something in the road" easing onto the brakes. Looking out the windshield were several stalled cars with bodies littered around them. Many bodies that weren't moving. The barricade spanned the entire length of the road. There was no way around them. Forced to stop the driver kept the engine running.

"Guns up" Kennedy said with his eyes looking at me as a cue.

Giving him a reassuring nod I stood up continuing to look out the right side of the bus. Nothing was moving on my end. Kennedy looked at it and didn't like it. A textbook place for an ambush. "Any chance you can force your way through?" he asked the driver.

"I think so" the driver replied.

 

[fnchristie81]

Rebecca just winked saucily at Lt. Kennedy at his "lower head" comment". She'd have given an equally inappropriate reply, but that's when they caught wind that something was up with one of the other buses, then immediately after the traffic jam.

"I don't like it boss man," Rebecca said quietly. "I'm sure this thing has the weight and power to push through, but we get a flat or pop the radiator and we're seriously fucked."

"She's right," Valentine said. "How's your reverse skills? Can you back up along the street and take another route? Decide quick, because the longer we wait the more attention we attract." While she was talking, she was rocking back and forth to maximize her field of view out the door of the bus, her weapon tracking in time with her swings.

Rebecca was studying the road block and the bodies lying around. It gave her a flashback to her time overseas, and gave her a nauseous feeling. Were zombies able to think in such a way that would allow them to create an ambush, or worse, an IED? Her eyes drifted away from the roadblock while she pondered, looking in an outward half circle through the driver's side window, to the windshields, then out the door Valentine was guarding. So far nothing, but that wouldn't last long.

"Rear guard!" she called out. "Our last contact was behind us, so keep a good look out aft!" She trusted the other STARS agents and Valentine, but right now their rear was their weakest point.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Putting it into reverse the bus eased back. The backup alarm went off. There was nothing the driver could do about it. 'BEEP BEEP BEEP'.

"For fuck's sake" scoffed Kennedy. 'Why not just put a big ol' sign above them that says 'Buffet'.' The bus got a few feet when something heavy smacked the rear bumper of the bus jarring it.

Out of reaction the driver halted. One of the STARS operators ventured to the back to see. "I can't see anything out there" he replied. Scanning left and right the operator pressed his face against the window. Still nothing. No one wanted to get outside and look for themselves.

Taking my rifle and cradling it on my lap, my eyes continued looking left and right. "I got nothing on my side" calling out.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed a civilian across from me. Pair of bloody palms slapped the window beside them. Dragging their fingers down the window's grated face tore off the fingernails. One pair followed by another and another. They were all on the left side. Kennedy's attention was drawn by the driver who called out, "Look!" those bodies that were once laying there were rising, slowly. "Fuck. Just like Iraq" Kennedy grimaced.

Unable to go back, the driver was ordered to go forward with enough speed to push away the vehicles rather than blow through. Putting the drive forward the wheels on the bus went round and round, pushing first into a line of stark white figures and then into the vehicles. A terrific crunch of metal against metal. "Hold on, everyone" Kennedy called back. A bit too late.

Struggling through the cars twisted and moved then came a terrific BANG from the ceiling followed by another and another. "What the hell was that?" Kennedy called out. No one could see it until the hands appeared on the windows coming from on top. The zombies were on the roof!

"Hold fire" Kennedy stood by the gate. "They can't get inside." All around us there were banging and gentle rocking. Fuck! They were on my side as well. There were just hands. All that I could see were hands. Scooting away from the window was a knee jerk reaction. The glass was rated to be bullet resistant. Wonder if it was zombie resistant.

"Oh my god! Oh my God! Oh my God!" a woman was panicking. "I gotta get out of here! I gotta get out of here!" rising up she was immediately grabbed and pulled down by the man next to her.

"They can't get in" Kennedy tried to assure them. The bus continued to push and push. The engine straining to get enough power.

 

[fnchristie81]

Rebecca winced as the backup alarm came on. She was thinking about the high ground of the cathedral when all of a sudden there was a loud crunching thud from the back of the bus, which then lurched to a sudden stop. It was followed by several more from the roof and screams from the passengers.

The driver verbalized what she was seeing before she was able to. Whether or not it was a planned ambush, it was obvious that the occupants of the bus were in a hairy situation. At Lt. Kennedy's order, the bus proceeded forward at a slow but powerful speed. Valentine cleared her throat, drawing Rebecca's eyes to the blonde.

"Well, this sucks," Valentine said dryly. Rebecca could see the tightness around her eyes belying the amused tone of her voice.

"Just think of it as an opportunity to practice in real life all those video games your boyfriend tried to teach you in between times of you playing with his lower head," Rebecca teased. Suddenly a thought came to her. "Eyes up! Watch the access panels!" Prisoners were always shackled in place on transport buses, but that didn't mean that standard safety features weren't included. All buses of this type had emergency escape hatches in the ceiling, which were able to be opened from both sides. It was necessary for rescuers to be able to gain access to the interior of a bus that might have rolled over, but now it was a very real threat.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

"Get this bus going" Kennedy calmly encouraged.

"I'm trying" pleaded the driver, "the vehicles are getting stuck!" Soon the bus was jammed. "Fuck!" Then came the alarm from above. Perhaps the words jinxed us. Or perhaps the zombies could hear, the two top escape hatches opened up from the outside.

Immediately my rifle was aimed at the forward hatch that peeled away to reveal the night sky. A wicked face appeared in the opening followed by a burst of fire coming from Valentine squatting whilst aiming upwards. Three well placed shots and the creature slumped over the opening effectively blocking it.

"Hurry!" Kennedy turned to the driver who did a last ditch effort to get free by stomping on the accelerator. Bad move. The twelve-tons of vehicle slammed into the barricade. Zombies that clung to the roof were flung off. That was good! A large delivery truck loomed ahead, BAD! Jerking the wheel to the right to avoid it, the bus clipped the delivery truck knocking it to the right and towards the iron fence surrounding the church.

CRUNCH!

The bus came to a jarring halt. Trying several times to get the engine started it only fluttered. Fuck! Looking to the right we were within a few feet of the fence. Kennedy looked at the fence and then at the hatches, "Climb out!" Kennedy directed. "Out the hatches and jump over the fence! Get to the church!" His gaze turned to me, "You! Out the hatch and cover us."

Without a moment's hesitation I was up, threw my bag out the hatch and followed it up by climbing out on top. Now free of the blinders I could see how bad it really was. There were far more zombies than we thought they were. Lying on the street or dragging their shambling bodies along, mouths agape with a throaty, dull moan that combined together and bounced off the exterior faces of the buildings channeling it towards our ears. It was...inhuman.

Remembering the instructions, don't fire unless they were an immediate threat, I took that to mean that only if they were climbing onto the bus itself. None were yet but they were getting close. Rifle stock tucked tightly to my shoulder, safety still on. Eyes looked slowly left and right. "We're good!" I called down.

"Valentine, you're up next," Kennedy instructed. "Hope you're ready to go onto your knees" he chuckled to her.

 

[fnchristie81]

As Valentine made her way to the first rooftop hatch, she threw over her shoulder at Kennedy, "Yup-onto my knees so you can suck my ass!"

Slinging her rifle, she jumped and caught the edge of the roof, then hoisted herself up and through. Once there, her side arm came out to sweep the top of the bus, only catching sight of Brendan. Next was the rifle as she stood, and she swept that upwards. Almost immediately she shot twice, with one body falling to land next to the bus.

"Watch the roof," she calmly told the young man. "The ones that opened the hatches had to come from somewhere." Two more zombies were close by, but not an immediate threat. They fell with headshots of their own. "We've got to think of the time it's going to take to get everyone out and off. Keep them all out around 20 meters. I'll take forward, you watch the back of the bus. And don't forget to watch the roof!"

Inside, Rebecca was thinking of logistics. "Everyone is going to have to leave personal belongings. Backpacks, purses, empty them out. Load up with ammunition. Civilians will supply the shooters. Marry up with a shooter and find out what ammo they need, then stick by them." Grabbing the nearest civilian, a redheaded rocker chick that was doing her best to look bored instead of scared, Rebecca dumped out the woman's backpack and put two boxes at her feet. ".308 rifle and 9mm pistol," the brunette said. "As much as you can fit. The small istol mags in the outer pouches, the big rifle mags in the big pouch."

With that, Rebecca climbed onto one of the seats to jump and grab the roof, then chinned herself through.

 

[guyloveshotstories]

Nodding to Valentine's direction I slid myself a little ways towards the rear until I was beside the rear escape hatch that popped open and the first person squeezed themselves out of the hatch. Their faces pale white. Coming out and seeing the zombies slowly approaching. "Oh, my God!" this rocker chick replied. "This is cool!" Those were normally not the words of someone in this kind of apocalypse. Her backpack was tossed up by someone below. Taking her bag the rocker chick grabbed my shoulder, "Hey!" she shouted, "Are you using .308 or 9mm?"

"Nope!" shaking my head. My attention then shifted to one of the zombies that climbed up using the bus's rear bumper. It's gnarly head peeked over the roof and I laid a single shot into it blowing out the back of its head in a spray of collagenated black blood and brains. The body immediately disappeared. My first kill. No congratulations. Just duty. Looking left, right and up, hopefully it wouldn't rain more zombies. Another person was pushed onto the roof carrying more ammunition in a backpack.

The fifth STARS member was a man Tim, a lanky fellow with black hair and with a Mossberg 500 shotgun with bandoliers of shells crossing his chest. Getting onto the roof he looked at the zombies then jumped over the other side and over the church fence landing with a tucking roll. The immediate area was clear that he started waving people over.

Other civilians with backpacks emerged to keep feeding the shooters. Our gunfire was attacking more and more of the zombies that they were pressing up against the left side of the bus that they were gently rocking it. "Oh, crap" muttering under my breath. The roof was smooth, easy to lose traction. Had to keep these monsters away and fired several quick shots that dropped three of them. It wasn't enough. Glancing over their heads a conga line were filtering out from the nearby alleyways. This was an execution in futility.

The first civilian not to feed ammunition came out from the rear hatch. Told to jump over the fence. "No!" she cried minding the gap between the vehicle and the fence. "I can't! I can't do it!"

"Fuck this!" said the man behind her. If she wasn't going to jump then he was. No way he was going to stay on this bus any longer. He leapt into the dark and face planted in the soft, sanctified, ground with a hollow thud.

Another zombie climbed up the rear bumper followed by another. Their red eyes glared at me, "Hi!" I shouted before plugging them with a bullet each. Now the bus was shaking even more. To prevent falling off my left hand gripped the edge of the hatch frame.

 

[fnchristie81]

As Rebecca got through the hatch, she moved to the side of the bus away from the fence to provide cover fire. She placed one rubber soled boot on the bus, then braced the shin of her other leg against it and sat. Hooking her stabilizing arm around her knee, she was almost as steady as lying prone without taking up as much toom. Valentine was beginning to fire more and more rapidly, as was the kid at the rear of the bus. Soon enough, all of them were shooting almost constantly.

Someone apparently had taken the chance to jump the few feet over the edge, and was encouraging others to follow. She didn't know if it was the movement of those climbing out of the bus, or some of the unholy beings trying to climb up the sides.

"Need a plan here!" Rebecca called above the noise of the gunsfire. Chancing a look over her shoulder, she saw a few people left on the bus. Most of the others had apparently gone over the far side. "Valentine! Kid!" she called out. "Grab someone and get over the side!" Moving to a woman that had thrown herself flat and was sobbing, Rebecca grabbed the ankle hole of her pants and rolled up the woman's body, coming to a kneeling position with the woman across her shoulders.

"You chanced coming this far with me, you're not pussing out now," Rebecca gritted as she stood. She moved to the edge and peered over, then backed up to get a running start and leapt, allowing the woman to fall free once they were over the fence.

Valentine had glanced behind her at Rebecca's call. Seeing that it was just her, the kid, and two others, she began backing up, still firing at the occasional head that popped over the roof of the bus. Going to the last civilian non-shooter, she nudged him with the back of her shoulder.

"Get!" she commanded. "Kid! Move it! I'll be last over! If you have to, kick his ass and move him!"

 

[guyloveshotstories]

With everything going on I got tunnel vision and didn't realize that most of the people have bailed. Between shots I heard the woman calling 'Kid!' and took that to be me and looked back.

She waved me over. "Time to go!" I said getting up and grabbing my bag.

Scampering over to her, she pointed me to jump as the previous pair of men did so ahead of me. "Get!" Without a question I looked back at the mob of zombies. Brandishing her pistols in each hand Valentine would cover the retreat. First throwing over my bag over first. Taking a few steps back and ran. With a leap I fell over the fence and hit and rolling on the ground. "OOF!" it was a hard hit. Nothing broken though.

Looking back Valentine was standing and blazing away with her pistols taking down a slew of zombies until the magazines were empty. With everyone safely over it was all up to her. Holstering her weapons, and the zombies clawing at the sides, she saluted with a flick of the wrist, "See ya, boys" and did a flip off and over the fence and landed beside me. That was impressive.

"Damn girl" Kennedy mused, "What else can you do with those legs?"

Looking back some of the zombies had climbed onto the roof of the bus and ventured to cross the gap between the vehicle and the fence but being brain dead the first one took a tumble. Its head was pierced through the nose by an iron spike on the tip of the fence. Hanging limp against the face of the fence the creature twitched a few times then remained still.

"Ew!" curling my lips back in disgust. It was close. My hands were shaking standing with the others, rifle in hand. My mind snapped, remember the training. I checked my weapon, ensured it was loaded and safety on then slid my backpack over my shoulders. "Well, that was fun!" I mused at the others.