Dead Shadows- Part 3
(Finally, the conclusion to Dead Shadows. Hope you enjoy, I'll be writing more stories in the future ;D)
Part 3
The four survivors of the recon team took another moment to recover from the horrifing battle they had just witnessed. They were all truely terrified now, having lost a second of there teamates to the horrors that this city held. After a few minutes, Mark stood up. "Come on, we have to get moving. Pretty soon we'll have infected cloding in on our position and the Fenris isnt going to wait forever." He picked up his weapon, as did the rest of the group, and the squad made its way up the crumbling steps of the ancient tower. How it had not collapsed after falling so far into disrepair was a miracle itself, it looked as if it could fall into pieces any moment now. Then again, so did the rest of the city. Mark reached the doors first, followed by Lysha, then Zack, and finally Ken, bringing up the rear. There wasnt much of a door to open, as it had been forcefully torn down, so the group climbed through into the lobby of the tower. A half fallen sign behind the reception desk read 'Carter Inc.' Yellowed papers and office supplies were scattered on the ground, but there were no infected in sight. They proceeded slowly, passing by walls with horrifying blood stains smeared across them.
The group entered a hallway to the left and started moving along it, still not seeing any signs of movement but carefully watching every corner. Zack shivered "Damn, this whole building is abandoned. There arnt even any zombies!" He said. Lysha suddenly stopped, and so did everyone else "Dont be so sure about that, Zack... Anyone else hear that?" The rest of the team couldnt catch it, but Lysha had wonderful hearing, which was one of the reasons she became the teams coms expert. What the raccon was hearing was not a moan, not a few moans, but what sounded like a chorus of moans, coming from somewhere in the hallway ahead. Mark activated a sound aplifyer on his suit and suddenly he heard it to, and he said, as he switched it off "Yeah, I hear that. Move slow, and keep your eyes open. I dunno if this is like the hospital or not, they might be able to get to us this time." They nodded, then slowly moved down the corriador, until, around a corner, a gaping hole in the way was spotted. They slowly stepped through it, and what they saw shocked them, even after all they had seen. The team was standing on a walkway overlooking a huge room in the center of the tower, obviously taking up the main part of it, s hit had to be at least 30 stories tall in there. Down below them, only about 2 levels down, was the most massive horde of undead that was to be seen in the city. The moans were almost hurting their ears, there were so many, and of so many different kinds. Some wore blood stained suits, military uniform, riot suits, even just regular clothing. It seemed a quarter of the city must have been crowed into that one room, posssibly an attemept to contain the infection during the outbreak. "Jesus... It really got everyone, didnt it?" Ken said, stunned. Mark could only nod, also terrified, but as he noticed pairs of dead eyes were starting to turn on them, he snapped out of it. "We gotta get outta here, before they find a way up to us." Zack looked around quickly, then pointed towards an area a little ways down along the walkway. "There! A stairway!" He said. The team took off and ran to the stairway, shoving open the door and, finding it derelict, begining to run up flights of stairs
It wasnt long before the team reached a stairway that had collapsed, making it unreachable. "Level 36... Thats still pretty high, lets just find another stairway and get outta here!" Ken said, still panting a little from the long climb. Lysha opened the door that lead into the next room, and they found themselves in what seemed to have been an office. Unfortunetly for them, there were now a few undead limping around inside. "Shit, I was hoping we wouldnt have to deal with this again!" Mark yelled, frustrated, then pulled out his pulse rifle and began taking shots, blowing huge holes in multiple rotting heads. The other survivors joined in, shooting anything that got close, not even taking the time to register what speicies they were. All that mattered now was that they died, and stayed that way. Before long, no more corpes were walking in the room, but they were starting to run low on ammo. "Damit, we gotta hold onto SOME of our ammo!" Ken said, with a frustrated look. "I know, I know" Mark sighed "Lets just find a way out of here." The team began to search the room, and they found there was ony one other door in there, and that was an elevator in the middle of the room. "What good is that gonna do us, the powers out!" Zack said. Lysha looked up from something "Not entirely. Come look at this guys" She said, and the team moved to look at what she had. It was a computer console, but it seems the last user had rigged it up to be powered by a battery. One that had a little bit of charge left. Turning it on, there was only one file showing on the computer. "Carter project video log" Mark read aloud. Lysha opened it, and a video began playing, displaying a German Shepard talking, who was most likely Carter himself.
"Day 1. The project has finally begun, 50 years after we set down on this planet. So far, we can only breath in the city due to the high powered atmosphere filiters we've set up. If this works, we will be able to addapt ourselves to the natural enviorment of this planet, and no longer will these expensive power-drainers be needed." The screen cut to another log "Day 16. The project is going along wonderfully, our top scientists have been making very fast progress. We expect to have the first tests run in just a few months, if not sooner." Again, the screen cut. this time the doctor looked more frustrated. "Day 58. The first few tests didnt exactly go as planned, and we have lost a few subjects. The council is concidering revoking our funding, but we're convinced it was a simple mistake, and it will be fixed shortly." This time, after the screen cut, the doctor looked horrible. His fur was matted with sweat and blood, his coat stained with blood, and his hair looking wild. His eyes had a frantic look. "Day 68, we've expierence major problems, the test patients are dying, but coming back to life! Its become some kind of infection, transfered by biting, and already so many in the city have been adminiseterd test samples! The infected are eating any living fur they can find, and there are to many already! We cant leave the city, and we cant hide! If your watching this, leave! Get out of here, this planets doomed! Leave while you ca-" His sentance was cut off as a moan was heard behind him, and he could only turn around before a infected scientist attacked Carter, tearing his throat out as he let out a blood-curtling scream. The screen splattered with blood, and the video ended.
The team was speechless from what they had just saw. "The furs... CREATED this?" Lysha practiclly whimpered. No one answered, but they knew it was true. "C-come on, lets see if the elevator shaft has a lader or something" Zack suggested. "They nodded in agreement, and made there way towards the elevator. Unfortunetly, they didnt all make it there. As Ken walked a sepreate way trough the cubicles of the office, his footpaw suddenly stepped on an area of the floor that was not very well supported after so long of rotting. It took almost no time at all, the floor crumbled away and Ken fell, the skunk screaming in terror as his paws tried to grasp for anything, but finding only air as he fell straight into the giant room filled with undead. The office happened to be on the floor directly over the room, so there was nothing to stop him as he fell, eyes wide with shock and horror, towards the floor covered in a horde of zombies, reaching there shreaded paws up nto the air, reaching for im, dead eyes staring, maws opening with hunger as the food fell towards them. The team up above didnt have any idea what had just happened, but they saw the hole in the floor, and a sickening splat soon heard was conformation enough that another teamember had just fallen to this foresaken world.
"Wha... What just happened?" Zack shivered "He... He fell... Kens gone...." Lysha said slowly, then, unable to take it anymore, she fell to her knees and started crying. Mark was simply still staring at the hole. He couldnt belive he had lost a third teamate, just like that. It happened so fast, to fast. Zack rushed over the the crying Raccon and tried to confort her, and after a little while he succeeded, somewhat. "Hey, you gonna be ok?" He asked her. Through her tears, which she tried to stop from flowing, she said "Yeah... I think I'll be ok..." She knew she probally wouldnt be ok after this was over, but if she even wanted to get there, they had to get going, now. She stood up and Zack lead her towards the elevator, but turned back when he saw Mark wasnt moving "Mark, hey, come on! We need to go!" The wolf looked up at him. "Three teamates, in one day, to this damned city... How/" He simply asked. Zack shook his head "I dont know man, but if we wanna get off this planet, we need to move. Now help me with these elevator doors"Mark finally started moving and he helped Zack pry the doors open, reavealing an empty shaft, but with a ladder on one side. The three hopped onto the ladder, and climbed up until they reachedan open door at the top, with light shining in from it. "The roof!" Mark exclaimed. They climbed out onto the roof, only to meet with a flat, nromal roof, very high in the air... And coverd with zombies. The undead must have climbed up from the stairwell nearby, the one which lead down to the area that had blocked them earlier. The zombies instantly began to shamble towars them,
"Well guys... Looks like this is our last stand." Zack said. "Lysha, get on that radio! You should get signal from here, tell the Fenris to send us in a dropship, now!" Mark yelled, then lifted his gun. "Lets do this" He and Zack began firing, while Lysha worked the radio. One by one the undead went down, but there were to many and the two were low on ammo. It wasnt long before Mark was out. "Shit!" He yelled, tossing the weapon off and pulling out his pistol. "Lysha, wheres our ship!?!" He exclaimed, firing off a couple rounds. "There on there way, but it'll be a few minutes!" She replied, then picked up her own gun and started firing.The trio kept it up, holding the horde off, until the roar of engines was heard over the harsh wind, and a dropship flew out of the clouds. "Thank god!" Zack yelled as the ships cannon activated, the ship hovering and firing at the horde, shooting it down til only a few remained, then it landed on the room. A speaker came on "Come on! Get on board already, we gotta get out before the storm gets worse!" The pilot yelled. Zack began runing, as did Lysha, but as Mark was about to, the upper half of a zombies corpse, crawling on the ground, latching on his leg and bit into it. "GAHHH!" He yelled, shooting the undead with his pistol, but then seeing the large bite. Zack and Lysha looked back. "Come one!" Zack said. "We can get you some treatment on the ship, its not to late!" But Mark had seen how fast the infection worked. "Heh, thanks for the offer kid. "He said, suddenly oddly content. "But I cant take it. Im ending this right here and now, im not gonna become one of those things." He slowly raised the pistol to his head. "No, Mark, dont!!!" Lysha screamed, but it was to late. A grin on his face, probally glad that he could just end all this horride madness, Mark pulled the trigger. "NOOO!!!" Zack screamed as Marks body hit the ground, blood spilling out from his head. The piolt yelled out again. "Its to late for him! Move it now if you dont wanna end up like that!" Sadly, Zack and Lysha knew that was true, so they sprinted for the dropship and boarded it, then it took off, and they left the planet, ending this nightmare.
Epilougue
Zack held Lysha in his arms as teh ship headed fro the Fenris, cmforting them both after that horrible adventure, of which only they had survived. When they were back aboared the ship, they immediatly went to medical to be checked over for the infection, but they were clean. A long meeting with intellegance made them relive the horror s they retold the story, and soon afterwords they met with the captain and were given a few awards. A ceremony in the ships Church sectiontion was held for the 4 lives lost that day, and the next day, the threat was ended forever. The Fenris launched a large, Space-ground Nuclear missle at the city. The dead eyes turned to the blinding light, there last vision before they were dissinagrated, finally ending there lives for good and destroying the virus. Years after the events on this planet, Zack and Lysha met up again, both retired from the Navy now. Still not toatally recovered, it helped the two to talk about it with each other, and after a while, they eventually became mates. A memorial was placed in the capital city of Furax for the horrors faced that day, on that planet, by a brave squad of Furs who braved one of the most terrifying moments i the history of the Furs, and as for the planet, it was since left to the shadows of the many dead there, forever haunting those burnt ruins of a city once proudly honored as the first colony of Furax