Survival of the Living Prolouge
Hello sofurry! It's been a long time since I've posted anything, and even longer since I've tackled a series. This time, however, I'm gonna stick true to this one, because, ITS ZOMBIES!! This chapter is pretty gory, but as the story actually begins, there will be more character drama, sex etc. than zombie gore. I hope you enjoy this prolouge, and please leave me some good comments.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport-- Z Day ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It is 12:45, Flight 78 with service to Denver has now arrived at Concourse A gate 4. We will be departing at 5:45. Thank you for your patience travelers.
"Goddamn layovers," An irate male fox wearing a flight attendant's uniform began talking to no one in particular, "You think being a flight attendant I'd be done with them."
The group of passengers around him grumbled in reply and dispersed, most heading for the bar. The fox chuckled and watched the few who chose to call home, their families eager to receive their love even at this ungodly time of the night. The fox ran a paw through his vermillion fur.
The flight attendant looked to be about 20, and stood at about 5'9. He had a medium stature, but a little on the slim side. He had brilliant blue eyes, and white streaks that went down his muzzle seemingly haphazardly. He put his slender paw down, putting it back into the pockets of his pants.
"I should call Jason," He said to himself, wheeling a cute black suitcase behind him as he walked for the corner."
Jason was a black wolf who lived with the flight attendant back at his house in California. The pair had been going out for almost a year, and had been friends since elementary school. Jason stayed at home, paying off the loans for both of their schooling, as well as the house payments.
The fox pulled out his phone, an old Motorola Razor and dialed up his boyfriend. The phone began to ring, the flight attendant sitting down on the floor and waiting for an answer. Jason answered the phone with an audible groan, breathing out as he began to speak.
"Hey Eric," Jason began, "How's your first flight on the job?"
Eric chuckled.
"Well after a non stop from LAX to DC; I'm damn exhausted," Eric replied, "Now I have another non-stop to Denver, which doesn't leave until 6 in the morning."
"That's no fun at all honey bun," Jason began, "The people weren't too bad right?"
"Well aside from every other kid making fun of the gay flight attendant, no it was all right." Eric replied dryly.
"Aww hon," Jason paused to blow a kiss through the phone, "Don't take that crap seriously. They're just being stupid."
"Yeah," Eric sighed, adjusting his nametag, "Too bad I can't punch anyone on this job."
Jason laughed loudly.
"What like at the Starbucks?" Jason asked, "When you punched that dumb jock in college?"
"Yep, and I didn't lose my job," Eric continued, laughing happily.
Jason whined over the phone, making Eric sit up alarmed. The fox cooed, trying to reassure his mate over the many mile distance between them.
"Wuffy-poo?" Eric began, "What's wrong?"
"There's this scary new illness on the news," Jason began, "It looks really bad."
"It can't be that bad silly," Eric replied, "They would have shut down the airport if it was that bad."
"I just want you home ok," Jason continued, almost in tears, "Please Eric, I'm so worried about you."
Eric nodded slowly, holding back tears of his own.
"I promise I'll be back home soon ok," Eric replied, "I love you Jason, just relax and have some tea, it'll be better in the morning, you'll see, I'll be back home by Wednesday night."
"Oh thank god," Jason began, "I love you too Eric, I'll try and calm down for you ok. Have a good night hon."
The wolf on the other end hung up, leaving Eric sitting alone on the floor. He sighed, putting his phone back into his front pocket. He got up stretching, popping his slender vulpine frame back into comfortable position. The fox grunted, rubbing his belly.
"Jeez I have to pee now," He said to himself, walking around and trying to find the bathroom.
He walked around the terminal, a smile on his face as he greeted other people on the airlines. Most of the bathrooms were full, with long lines of people. The fox gave an impatient little whine and walked faster, his smile replaced by a look of urgency. Finally, at the far end of the terminal, he found what seemed to be a completely deserted bathroom.
"Oh thank god," Eric said, running for the bathroom, his bag skidding on the floor behind him.
The bathroom was completely empty aside for a fur in one of the stalls. Eric ran up to one of the urinals, unzipping his uniform and pulling out his red and white furred sheath. He went about his business, giving a pleasured sigh as the flow started. He soon finished, and after shaking the last golden drops from his tip, put his sheath back in his pants.
He walked over to the sink and started to wash up, splashing some water on his face as well. All of a sudden, the other fur hit the floor, his feet the only thing Eric could see. He retched and moaned his feet spasming wildly.
"Sir?" Eric began, "You ok in there?"
There was another retch, accompanied by a low groan. Eric looked uncertain and ran outside, looking for help. He soon found one of the airport paramedics and approached him.
"Sir, please," Eric began, panting, "There's a sick man in that bathroom."
The otter grabbed his first aid kit and ran for the bathroom, Eric following. By this time, a crowd of assorted furs was watching the events in earnest. The paramedic and the flight attendant stood outside the afflicted man's stall, the otter knocking on the door.
"Sir, do you require assistance?" The otter asked, only to get a moan and retch in reply.
Eric stood back a bit, leaning against the counter. The otter knocked again, and the fur on the other side slammed into it, knocking the otter against the wall. Greenish fingernails became visible, groping the air above the door. There was a roar and another slam, making Eric jump in fright.
The door then fell clean off its hinges, revealing the horror behind it. It was a grizzly bear, fat and grey with age. The remnants of a Jack in the Box hamburger still lingered on his lips and facial fur, nearly indiscernible against the vomit and blood that coated his chin to his t-shirt. His eyes were grey, and he shambled up to the paramedic.
"Sir, have you had a heart attack-," The paramedic began, cut off by his own screams as the bear's bulky body descended on him, ripping at the otter's flesh.
Eric ran outside, rank with fear. The crowd of people looked at him quizzically, wondering what in the hell was going on.
"Get out of the terminal now," Eric began, trying to stay calm, "We have a situation."
The crowd stirred, not yet roused enough to flee. A terrible shrill scream filled the air, and the otter stepped out of the bathroom. His lower jaw was completely missing, as well as a few chunks out of his right thigh. His entire torso was riddled with scratches, one so deep that his ribs could be seen.
The crowd began to run, the otter roaring and chasing after a fat wolf. Eric ran as well, turning back just in time to see the original bear ripping into someone's throat. The TSA ran up and began to spray bullets into the monsters. The otter and the wolf went down, with two rounds to the chest each, but the bear kept coming. The otter and the wolf seemed to come back from the dead as well, shambling slowly with the same dead look in their eye.
"What the fuck man!" one of the TSA agents, a polar bear began, "These fuckers won't die."
The grizzly came up and slashed a heavy paw across the polar bear's throat. Dropping down onto his knees to eat the flesh off the ursine's arm as the life left his eyes. The other TSA agent, a lynx, screamed and ran off in the other direction, only to be caught and dispatched by the otter. Eric gasped, the otter staring dead at him before going down to eat the feline.
More of the monsters descended on the terminal, each sinking their teeth into unsuspecting passengers. Eric kept running, being stopped by one of the slow, dead ones. The cheetah looked like he used to be an air marshal, but now was reduced to a dead thing, a chunk torn from his face. Eric screamed, and a bullet pierced the front left of the marshal's skull, killing him.
The body crashed down on Eric, who struggled to break free. Blood seeped out of the through and through wound, spattering onto Eric's flight attendant's uniform. Suddenly, a friendly paw steadied him. Eric looked up to see a kinder, older fox, with his red fur tinged grey.
The older fox was getting chubby in his age, but still looked to be in shape. His shoulders were broad, and aside from his slightly pudgy belly, had very defined muscle throughout his body. His eyes were a subdued hazel, and his muzzle and head fur were peppered with specks of black.
This older fox pushed the dead marshal off him, and handed Eric the Marshall's baton and a Walther P99.
"You know how to use that Eric?" The older fox asked, reading the younger fox's name tag.
"Kinda," Eric replied, wincing and covering his ears as the older fox picked up a rifle off a dead TSA agent and fired it into a monster's skull, "What's your name?"
"That's not important," The older fox replied, "I'll tell you if we get out of here."
Eric got up and raised the pistol, quickly firing his 16 rounds off into the new monsters running at him. He put the empty pistol in his pocket, and pulled out the police baton. A shambling flight attendant advanced upon him, and he struck her, cracking the baton across her face and knocking her to the ground.
The Akita reached up, trying to claw at Eric's face. He closed his eyes, and struck down again, and again, and again, until he heard the snap of the baton. He shivered, trembling in both fear and revulsion. He heard a low groaning from the floor, and opened his eyes tentatively.
He looked down, seeing the bitch still coming up for his blood. He gave a quiet cry of fear, captivated by the slow dripping of blood from the wounds he had given her. He glanced down at the broken edge of his baton, and with a moment's hesitation, slammed the broken end into the undead Akita's left eye socket. He fell back, hyperventilating as she fell back, truly dead onto the ground. The older fox pulled Eric up on his feet.
"Where's security?" The fox asked, firing another round into a zombie's gut.
"That way," Eric pointed, starting to lead the way.
The metal detector alarm had started to go off, and a collective roar emitted from the multitudes of dead and infected. They charged for the security checkpoints, overwhelming and devouring all who had tried to escape. Eric and the older fox watched the carnage, watching as dozens of people were attacked and subsequently turned into flesh craving monsters.
Children were torn from their families, and the bodies of the dying were ripped into pieces, all to satisfy the feasting monsters. They ate ravenously, digging into the dead bodies as if they contained the last food on earth. Eric covered his eyes and looked away, the older fox putting a hand on Eric's shoulder and following suit.
"Anyway else out of here Eric?"
Eric looked over to the offices.
"That way is our best bet," Eric began, "All the windows overlooking the tarmac are bulletproof."
The older fox nodded and opened the door, shutting it behind him. The offices were dark, the hallway illuminated only by the building's emergency lights. The older fox kept walking with a purpose, Eric following looking very uncertain.
"Any of these office windows will do you know," Eric began, panting.
"My family is in the out door parking lot," The other fox replied, "I want the best chance of getting to them."
The pair came to a four-way intersection, the light from the terminal cutting across the hallway. A canid walked in, the flesh on his face picked clean to the bone. It stumbled, advancing towards the pair. Eric held back a scream, the other fox advancing on it. The canid clicked its jaws, reaching out for the other fox.
The older male grabbed it firmly behind the neck, and proceeded to bash its head into the wall. With each bash, the skull shuddered, cracking with sickening noises. The undead screeched and clawed at the other fox, desperately trying to kill and eat him. When the creature finally died permanently, a pink and grey stain clad the wall, as well as a head sized dent.
"That takes care of that," The fox began.
All of a sudden, an infected's head burst through the stain. It was followed by more infected and dead ones, their collected force bursting the wall. The two fox survivors sprinted down the hallway, pursued by hordes of the monsters. The pair made it to the end office, and locked the door tight.
"That's not going to hold them!" Eric almost screamed, trying to put a desk in front of the door.
The other fox picked up the rolling chair in the office and threw it out the window. Shattering the large pane of glass. He looked down and nodded.
"Come on Eric," the older male began, "Just aim for that bus."
Eric nodded and made a running jump, aiming his body for the city transit bus. He bounced and rolled off, cracking his head on the concrete. The other fox followed, yanking him up to his feet and supporting Eric's weight as they ran.
"There's a reason you're supposed to look before you leap," The other fox said smiling.
The pair came to a parking lot, where those who had made it out were frantically driving away. There were a few people who were hotwiring the cars desperately, trying to escape with their lives. They soon made it to a blue Subaru, where two other foxes, a large vixen about the males age and a slender teenage daughter.
Eric got into the Subaru, sitting in the seat next to the daughter. They started to drive off, the older male behind the wheel.
"This is my wife Misty," the older fox began, "And my daughter Kelly is in the back."
Eric's vision started to fade.
"Oh," He began shakily, "But what about you?"
"My names Alfred, Alfred Griffiths," The male replied, looking back, "We'll get you someone to look at your head ok"
Eric nodded, his eyes fluttering. He saw his childhood, schooling, and Jason, all flashing before his eyes. He then saw the horrors of the events in the terminal, whining and shrinking his body into the seat as the imaged played out. He drifted back into consciousness, seeing a large white wolf standing on a heap of rubble, blood running from its lip. It turned to face the city, and shrieked as all turned to black.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When Eric came back into consciousness, he was dimly aware of sunlight through the sunroof of the Hyundai. Alfred and Misty were arguing about something, their words nothing but harsh nonsense to his ears. He looked over at Kelly, and croaked out as best he could.
"Water?"
Kelly jumped, alarmed, and said something to her father. He agreed, because the girl handed Eric a bottle of water soon after. The fox drank it down slowly, slowly sitting up. Alfred reached back and patted his shoulder.
"Hey Eric," Alfred began, "We were getting worried about you."
"Thanks," Eric began, rubbing his head, "So where are we going?"
"There's this spot in the woods that I used to camp at," Alfred replied.
"Will there be others?" Eric asked.
"I'm not sure," Alfred began, "You should rest, just lay down, and we'll wake you when we arrive."
Eric nodded weakly, slumping over onto the cool window. His eyes closed and he fell asleep. He thought of Jason one last time, praying for his love to be all right.