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Devil Seed

By

Gemma the Ice-Wolf

11

West Los Angeles

Saturday 5:42pm

It was quiet inside the old apartment building. The only light available was from the cracks and spaces of the boarded windows. Aaron and Cain were the last to go in after Alpha squad knocked down the door and filed in. Each of the squad members held either a shotgun or submachine gun at the ready. So far nothing was happening say for the random creaking of the floors and walls. Parts of the floors had large holes in them, perfect hiding places for both carriers and infected. Cain pointed his assault rifle at one of the holes, the entire building reeked of moisture and mildew.

"I just don't see why anyone would even consider living in a place like this." said one of the Alphas.

"Delightfully unlivable." joked another.

"Boy that's an oxymoron if ever I heard one." said Aaron. "Hey Zero, you have a target for us yet?"

Zero's voice came over the Alpha teams headsets.

"They're hiding. There are a few in the basement just below you and some are still lurking about in some of the apartments."

"First things first." said Cain.

He reached into a pouch on his belt and took out a hand grenade.

"Everybody get clear, and keep your eyes peeled for anything coming from the halls on the left and right."

He pulled the pin and tossed the grenade into the hole as the rest of the team took positions on either side of the lobby. Two crawlers started climbing out as the grenade went off. Cain took aim through the rifle scope and fired a round directly into one of the carriers heads. The creature fell back into the hole while two of the Alphas fired on the second with their shotguns. The creature let out a shriek as it collapsed on the floor. The room fell silent again. Cain rushed over to where Aaron was leaning against a wall looking down one of the hallways.

"Think we stirred them up?" he asked.

Cain shrugged.

"If they didn't hear that I'd..."

His ears started twitching. As he peered down the hallway Zero's voice came over the radio.

"They're coming!" he yelled. "Everybody get ready. There's a mess of them in there."

The Alphas took aim as the first two zombies came into view. One was human wearing ragged clothing, its gender indiscernible now due to the amount of flesh that had peeled off. Its fingers had grown long with sharp claws on the ends, most of the hair on its head had fallen out, some parts of the skin were red and looked infected, its eyes were blood red, and the legs were bowed. The one behind it was a rabbit which had at one point been female. The gown it wore was in shreds, its front teeth had extended three times their normal length, one of the ears had been chewed off, several patches of fur and flesh had completely fallen off, the claws on both its paws and feet had grown long, one eye was red, the muzzle had warped and extended outward, and there were numerous cuts to its midsection. Several more started emerging from around the corners of the two opposing hallways, some of which were running now bearing their teeth and claws.

"Let 'em have it!" Aaron yelled.

Shots rang out through both hallways as the Alphas opened fire. More zombies were already starting to pour in showing little care for the hail of gunfire as they pulled ahead of the slower ones. The first to get through went directly for the Alpha just across from where Aaron was standing. The squad man stepped back and kicked the creature in the side of the head. It staggered back toward Aaron who was waiting for a clear shot. He fired at point blank into the zombies forehead splattering bone, blood, and brain matter into the air and raining down on the squad.

"Jesus man!" one of the Alphas complained.

"Don't worry," Aaron yelled to him over the gunfire. "you'll just have to undergo a six hour sterilization."

Cain took aim at one of the zombies from near the back of the hall and fired. The zombie was struck dead center of the forehead and it fell back against the wall. Some of them were slowing their approach now and others had stopped in the middle of the hall.

"I think they're pulling back." he yelled.

Sure enough the zombies were starting to flee. The few that were furthest away managed to escape while the Alphas picked off the stragglers.

"They're going into hiding." came Zero's voice. "Keep a close watch, they aren't stupid."

"What the hell man?" said one of the Alphas. "Whose ever heard of a zombie that runs away?"

Aaron finished reloading his shotgun and looked to him seeing a white tipped, red, tail swinging about.

"It's like I said earlier Alpha seven, they aren't like the ones in the movies. These are still living creatures, not the living dead."

"Those things are still alive?" asked the fox. "Jesus Christ that is disgusting!"

"It gets worse than that." said Cain. "The ones you see now have been infected for more than twenty four hours. The virus somehow rewrites a hosts DNA and converts it into a new carrier. The whole process takes about three days. Within the first five hours the mind is already gone"

"You mean they get turned into crawlers?" asked another Alpha.

"That's the basic idea." said Aaron. "And just like crawlers they're extremely intelligent. We've had the privilege of being ambushed by zombies a couple of times, though the larvae are more of a threat than they are."

"Why's that?" asked Alpha seven.

"Carrier larvae are symbiotic." said Cain. "They basically latch onto a host and eventually become the host. The scary part is that you can't tell if someone is a changeling unless they are threatened or poised to attack. Then they show their true form, and before you ask, you don't want to know what they look like."

"Let's just pray we don't run into one while we're here." said Aaron. "Hey Zero, what have we got?"

Zero cleared his throat.

"There's movement in three of the apartments on the ground floor. Sensors are also picking up larger activity on the upper two floors. There is a water tower on the roof. Chances are one of the rooms has a nest in it. Better be careful."

The squad started up the left hallway, moving slowly and cautiously. Some of the infected could be heard upstairs snarling and scratching at the walls. Every so often one would scamper across the floor. Coming to the back of the hallway, the Alphas came to a staircase. It didn't look very sturdy to Aaron.

"Alright," he started. "From here we're splitting up. Alphas one through four will come with us. Alphas five through eight, you guys stay on this floor and start searching the apartments. When you're done head for the front lobby and remain there until you receive further orders. Alpha seven, you'll be in charge of them. Keep in contact with our spotter. He'll give you a status on the rooms. Now move out."

Alpha seven nodded.

"Yes sir."

As the latter four Alphas headed back down the hallway Aaron started up the stairs. A few steps up he stopped, feeling one of the boards starting to give.

"Everybody watch your step. I don't wanna have to dive in after you."

Slowly the group made their way to the second floor. Every now and again Aaron had to point out a loose board. Upon arriving at the top he was greeted by a pair of zombies hiding in the left hallway. They stayed back in the shadows watching him intently not making any sudden moves. One of them, a porcupine, snarled at him. The others gathered together and stood in a half circle formation.

"They're keeping a distance." said one of the Alphas. "What's going on?"

"Hey Cain," Aaron spoke softly. "anymore of them behind us?"

Cain leveled his rifle on another pair in the opposite hallway. His ears twitched.

"Yeah." he said. "And nobody move. There's a couple of crawlers over our heads."

"Shit!" one of the Alphas said under his breath. "We're trapped."

"Not quite." said Aaron. "On the count of three you four open fire on the zombies while we take out the two crawlers above us. One..."

The other Alphas, say for Cain, were feeling rather anxious. They'd never encountered the zombies and what's worse they had never had crawlers that could set traps.

"Two..."

One of the Alphas, a raccoon, had his finger tapping the trigger lightly. Sweat was running down his brow. He kept his gun pointed at the infected victims just a few short yards away. He was starting to grit his teeth while a black bear that was missing one eye started drooling uncontrollably. He took a deep breath.

"Three!"

The Alphas opened fire. Cain and Aaron raised their guns and fired up at the ceiling taking the two carriers by surprise. Both dropped to the floor dead, the one Aaron shot letting out an ear piercing howl. More infected started coming from down the halls. With all six Alphas now training their guns on the passageways the creatures were falling quickly.

Cain took aim at another crawler that was scurrying along the wall and gaining speed. He fired three shots all of which hit the carrier dead center of the head. It collapsed near a downed zombie. The rest of the squad stopped firing. The last of the infected had retreated down the halls.

"Jesus, how many of these things are there?" asked one Alpha.

"Judging by how many we've killed so far," Cain started. "around fifty or so."

Aaron shrugged.

"God only knows at this point." he said. "Given the amount of time that these things have been allowed to multiply, this is probably just the tip of the ice burg."

"One thing's for sure, we're not going any further up from this staircase." said another Alpha.

Aaron and Cain looked at the stairs leading further up. Most of the steps had caved in and the whole thing looked like it was ready to collapse. Aaron bit his lip in frustration.

"Yep." he said. "That does present a problem."

He leaned up against the nearby wall and adjusted his microphone.

"Zero, the staircase leading to the top floor is ready to fall apart. Is there another way up?"

"Just a moment." said Zero. "Yes, you can take the emergency stairs at the east side of the building. Be advised, there appears to be a massive amount of activity in there."

"Roger that. Alpha four you take point."

The six headed down the hallway on their right, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for more carriers or zombies. Just a short walk from the stairs was a door marked emergency exit. Cain examined the door. It had a gaping hole in the lower section. Most likely used by the zombies and carriers, perhaps even the homeless residents at one time.

"Alright, just out of sheer morbid curiosity, who's gonna stick their head in first?"

The other four Alphas looked at each other. Each of them with an expression of worry. Aaron started to laugh.

"That's a terrible joke Cain. I'd expect something like that from Terry, but not you." he said.

Cain shrugged. The squad men gave a sigh of relief.

"Alpha one, set a charge on the door. The rest of you get clear."

The rest of the group stepped back while Alpha one place a small device on the door where the latch was located. Pressing a few buttons he quickly stepped back.

"Fire in the hole." he shouted.

The device exploded, knocking the door off its hinges and sending it sliding down the stairs. Two carriers emerged from the still lingering smoke, sniffed the air and snarled as zombies started filing out.

"Open fire." Cain shouted.

Aaron was the first to hit one of the carriers. It flopped onto it's back and started flailing about with a horrible shriek as it died. He then fired on one of the zombies, pumping two more rounds into the creatures chest before it went down.

Cain steadied his rifle. His crosshairs focused on one of the furthest zombies. He fired a round into its head, brain matter and blood spattering against the wall next to it. He reached into his pouch and took out another grenade. Aaron spied this just as Cain pulled the pin and threw it through the stairwell doorway.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"To flush out any stragglers." said Cain. "I don't want any surprises in there."

Just as the grenade went off a few more zombies stumbled out snarling. Three of them were crawling on all fours with short spines pointing out of their backs, indication of the next phase of viral metamorphosis.

Alpha three raised his shotgun to one mutated zombie coming his way. He fired, just missing and hit the floor instead. His second shot hit the creature in the face causing it to leap back shrieking as the rest of the Alphas fired on it. One zombie lunged for Cain while he was reloading his rifle. Aaron and Alpha two raised their guns and fired putting several holes in the creatures chest. It fell dead just inches from Cain, who looked to Aaron and gave him a thumbs up.

When the last of the zombies and carriers were cleared Aaron and Cain took a count of bodies. Cain shook his head at the sight.

"Seventeen bodies." he said. "Twelve of which were civilians. What a waste."

Aaron looked at him and patted him on the back.

"It was either them or us bro. Besides that, they're too far gone to administer an antidote."

"It reminds me of the incident ten years ago. I keeps tearing at me. Then of course, there was your sister."

"Cain, what happened wasn't your fault. If it had been anyone else it would have happened the exact same way. There is no reason for you to beat yourself up over something like that."

Cain lowered his head.

"But it is my fault. If I had just listened to her..."

Aaron cut him off.

"Cain, we were only eight years old at the time. All of us were scared out of our minds. Terry's parents were killed right before his eyes. You think he blames himself for that? For not being able to do anything? My sister did something for us that I don't think anyone else would have been willing to do. She gave her life for all four of us. Don't ever let her sacrifice be in vain."

Cain slowly nodded and headed for the stairs. Aaron followed him while adjusting his microphone.

"What's the good word Zero?"

"The stairwell is clear. I suggest you haul your asses up there. I'm registering sentient life signs in one of the apartments above you. Be advised there appears to be a nest up there."

"Roger that. Moving out."

Aaron looked to the remaining Alphas.

"Alright, from here Alpha commander and I will be heading up. The rest of you will check the designated rooms on this floor. Contact Zero for intel. Alpha one you're in charge."

"Yes sir."

Aaron and Cain started up the stairs while the Alphas started back to one of nearby rooms. Cain slapped a new magazine in his rifle while Aaron loaded four shells into his shotgun. The two of them were making good time. From their position they could hear the commotion of the other two teams of Alphas clearing out zombies and carriers alike. Now and then it would get quiet, and just as suddenly the sounds of gunfire would start up again.

"You don't suppose," Cain began. "we should have told them how every carrier lays at least one egg in its first year do you?"

Aaron shrugged.

"Probably not. All they need to know is that a Mother carrier can lay up to ten eggs in a sitting. Besides, did you see the looks on their faces when you cracked that joke? They're scared shitless as it is without us telling them the carriers edition of the birds and the bees."

"Maybe we shouldn't have told them about the changelings."

"Nah. That was bound to come up eventually. Besides, I don't think I have ever seen someone as nervous as Alpha seven was. Anymore discussion on the subject and that foxes fur would have turned from red to white."

The two of them continued up the stairs to the top floor. Once there they adjusted their microphones.

"Alright Zero here's the million dollar question." said Aaron. "Is it door number one, door number two, or door number three?"

"None of them." answered Zero. "It's the one on the other side of the building. Better hurry, it looks like the carriers know where the survivors are."

"Understood." said Cain. "We're on our way now."

The two made a mad dash for the other side of the building. All the time they kept their backs to the wall, their guns raised in case any carriers decided to make their presence known.

"You know in hind sight we should have brought some flash grenades and tear gas." said Aaron.

"You kidding?" asked Cain. "We're already carrying enough shit with the guns and pineapples. Any extra weight and we might fall through the floor."

"This place looks ready to fall apart as it is. That must be why they call them apartments."

Cain smiled.

"Now that was a bad joke."

The two stopped just outside of one of the apartment doors. Pressing themselves to the wall on either side of the door Cain adjusted his microphone.

"Where to Zero?"

"You're just outside. Get in there now!"

Aaron kicked the door open and charged in with Cain right behind him. At least five zombies and two carriers were converging on a pair of humans. Both were African-American, one an elderly man wearing ragged pants, shoes, a shirt and jacket, and the other a young boy no older than eleven wearing a sweater, pants, and sneakers. The two of them were cornered by the creatures. Without hesitation Aaron and Cain opened fire on the zombies. The first two went down with a single shot. Now that they were aware of the two Guildsmens presence they turned around to attack. Aaron dove to the side shooting one zombie in the chest and then turning to the nearest of the two carriers. He fired two rounds taking most of the monsters head of. Two more zombies were coming up from behind him. Quickly turning around he fired his last two rounds, then shouldered the shotgun and took out his revolver.

Cain meanwhile picked off two more zombies, and then turned his attention to the second carrier that was slowly approaching the two survivors. Leveling the rifle on his target he kept his eye on the crosshairs of the scope. Once the sights were aligned with the target, he fired. The bullet sailed through the carriers head and it dropped to the floor without a sound. He then spotted three zombies coming from one of the nearby rooms. He took aim and waited until the three of them were aligned with the doorway before he fired. The single shot passed through the heads of all three zombies at once and struck the wall in the back of the room. The three zombies fell dead one on top of the other.

"Aaron, Cain," came Zeros voice from the radios. "what's your status?"

Cain shouldered his assault rifle and slowly approached the two civilians. Aaron started for the closest of the two rooms and started calling back to Zero.

"The survivors are secure Zero. We just need to check the rest of the apartment for any other carriers sleazing about."

"Roger that."

While Aaron started doing a routine check of the apartment Cain was busy with the two survivors.

"Sir, are either of you hurt?" he asked the old man.

"I'm fine, but one of those damn things bit my grandson here."

Cain looked down at the boy a little unnerved.

"How long ago?" he asked.

The old man shrugged.

"Bout an hour ago. Why? What's going on?"

"Sir all I can tell you right now is that your grandson has had contact with a mutagenic virus and if we don't get him treated for it right now he'll be just like those things we just killed."

"Dear lord almighty! But I can't afford any medical treatment for myself, let alone him."

Cain smiled from under his mask.

"Don't worry, you're covered."

Aaron came out of the room putting his revolver back in his holster and taking the shotgun out. He started reloading just as Cain grabbed for his rifle.

"Everything's clear in this room." said Aaron.

Cain nodded.

"We'd better get these two to the medivac. One of them was bitten."

Aaron adjusted his microphone.

"Zero, tell the med team to get ready for a delivery. We have two survivors, one has been bitten and needs treatment. We're heading back down to the street now."

"Understood Alpha leader. Medivac team is standing by."

Aaron looked to Cain. They nodded to each other. Approaching the door Cain stepped out first and then gave the two survivors the all clear before heading back to the stairs. Aaron followed close behind keeping his shotgun steady and watching for any signs of hostiles. As they were starting down the stairs Aaron suddenly stopped when he heard something behind him. He tightly squeezed the grips of the shotgun and whipped around as a carrier lunged at him from the ceiling. The two of them crashed to the floor and Aaron held the creature at bay with the shotgun in its jaws. Pulling away it lunged forward and caught Aaron by the arm, sinking its teeth in through cloth, and flesh. Aaron cried out as he grabbed the crawler by the neck and rolled to the side just as Cain returned from the stairs. The carrier thrashed about as Aaron pinned it to the floor with one hand on its throat. He reached for his revolver with his now wounded arm and pulled back the hammer pressing the barrel to the carriers head. Aaron sneered at it.

"Good night sweetheart." he said coldly.

He pulled the trigger. Brain matter, blood and bone spewed from the opposing side of the carriers head with a bang. The creature stopped moving. Cain rushed over to him just as he was getting up. Putting his revolver back in the holster he picked up his shotgun and shouldered it. He gritted his teeth as he gripped where the carrier had bitten him.

"You okay?" asked Cain.

Aaron nodded.

"Yeah, but the damn thing bit me."

"Are you bleeding."

Aaron moved his hand away. Blood had started seeping out through the damaged sleeve of the suit.

"Afraid so. Let's get down there now."

Cain nodded.

"Right."

He adjusted his microphone.

"Zero, come in."

"Yeah what's up Cain?"

The four started down the stairs.

"Aaron's been bitten. Tell the medics to have some ice ready."

"Understood."

It was a slow walk back down the stairs to the ground floor. The first group of Alphas passed them by on their way to another apartment. They all had an expression of concern in their eyes after seeing Aaron clutching his bleeding right arm. No one said a word as they made their way down to the ground floor. Once outside they were greeted by three medics who escorted the two surviving civilians to their truck. Aaron sat down on the steps just outside the door of the building. Cain stood by him. The two of them pulled off their headsets and masks.

"How's it holding?" he asked.

Aaron looked at his arm. His eyes widened and he started turning pale.

"Not good. Look."

In the allotted time it took for them to get outside, a black gelatinous mass had started to emerge. Aaron quickly tore off his glove and pulled up the sleeve. The bite was turning black and the black gel was pulsating over the wound. He clasped his hand over the bite and the gel started to struggle free, coiling around the fingers of his other glove like a nest of snakes. Sweat started running down his brow and Cain saw his eyes flash bright red.

"Aw shit!" he yelled. "Medic, we need that ice right now!"

Cain knelt next to his friend, laying his paw on his back.

"Just breathe deep. You can't let that thing win. You can fight it."

Aaron looked at him with a worried expression.

"Cain you know as well as I do that that is a lie." he said through clenched teeth. "I never could control this thing and you know it. All I can do is struggle until it finally takes over."

Two more medics arrived a moment later carrying gauze and two bags of ice. Aaron took one of the bags and quickly applied it to the bite. Within moments the gel had begun receding back under his skin. Terry was there a moment later with Joseph next to him.

"Is he alright?" asked Terry. "What happened in there?"

"A crawler bit him." said Cain. "Don't worry, it's under control."

"Good. I don't wanna have to fight that thing again."

"None of us want to fight it Terry." said Aaron. "It's not exactly like we have a choice every time something like this happens though."

"How do you feel?"

Aaron shrugged.

"Not bad say for the bite. I'll just give it a few more minutes and then put on the gauze. Most of the bleeding should have stopped by then?"

"What exactly are you talking about?" asked Joseph.

Terry turned around and started hobbling back on his crutches toward the coms-truck with the two medics.

"Come on. I'll explain it in the truck."

The four started back while Aaron sat back on the steps and Cain sat down next to him.

"This has certainly been one hell of a week."

Aaron mocked a laugh.

"Tell me about it. I've only been here a week and it's been nothing but mayhem everywhere I look."

"How do you think you'll explain your injury to Mia."

Aaron thought about this for a minute.

"Well, if it does come up, I'll just tell her I bit myself."

The two of them burst out laughing.

Secord Residence

Saturday 7:43pm

Aaron, Terry, and Cain stepped in the door feeling utterly exhausted. After clearing out a building full of carriers and infected victims the three of them needed a chance to relax. No sooner were they inside, the group was greeted by a familiar face sitting on the sofa across the living room. He was wearing a black leather vest, blue jeans, and black cowboy boots. His long, dark blonde, hair was tied in a ponytail and he had a pair of black sunglasses resting on his brow.

"Hey guys, you look a little ragged out." he said nonchalantly. "How've you been?"

The trio smiled as they walked up to him. Aaron was the first to speak up.

"Spike, where the hell have you been hiding out man? We were ready to send out a search party for you."

"I had to take a detour through the desert. I'd have been here a day sooner but, with what I heard happened to Cain, they dumped me in Vegas and had me ride all the way here. I got into town around ten this morning."

"We could have used you in the job we had to take care of this evening." said Terry. "So what were you doing that was so important?"

Spike chuckled.

"Well I had to report in to headquarters as soon as I got into town, then I had to help out a young lady who decided to sign up with the Guild. Why what happened?"

"We had an infection today." Cain said in a solemn tone.

"An infection already!? Son of a bitch, I'd heard that things were well on their way downhill but, they didn't tell me it was that bad. So how did it go?"

Aaron sat down next to him. Terry followed suit on the other end of the couch. Cain took the easy chair across from them.

"To start with," Aaron began. "it went pretty smoothly. We managed to find two survivors on the top floor of an abandoned apartment building. Our cleaners found a nest in the apartment just below the water tower. They disposed of everything. I meanwhile got bitten by a crawler. The damn thing took me completely by surprise."

Spike's face turned to a worried expression.

"You didn't bleed too badly did you?"

Aaron shook his head.

"It was a pretty nasty bite. We had a bit of a scare for a while. Luckily we got back down to the ground floor and I got myself patched up. I just hope I won't have to explain it to my girlfriend."

Spike started to grin.

"You have a girlfriend now, interesting."

"No. What would be interesting is if Terry had a girlfriend."

Terry grinned at the thought of this.

"Interesting, yes." he said. "But it'd never happen."

All four of them started to laugh.

"So Spike," started Cain. "about this lady who was signing up. How did you approach this one? Your old playboy tricks, or did you just show her your motorcycle, which by the way must be in the garage because we didn't see it in the driveway."

"Yep. Actually I barely had to try at all. She was in distress and she had a problem with a group of bikers that needed their heads bashed in."

Terry shot up to look at him.

"You got into a fight!? Aw man, I can't believe we missed that!"

Spike grinned.

"Trust me Terry, it won't be the last."

The four of them continued talking about the days events and getting reacquainted. They talked about the missions they had been on and what they had seen. At about eight thirty Aaron's cell phone started ringing. Getting up from the couch he walked through the living room to the kitchen and reached into his jacket pocket. Taking out his cell phone he pressed the green button and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello."

"Hi Aaron. It's me, Mia."

Aaron smiled. Mia sounded like she was in an especially chipper mood.

"Hi Mia. What's up."

"The most wonderful thing has happened. I just got off the phone with my dad and the hospital just found a compatible donor for Cody."

Aaron's smile grew bigger.

"Really? That's great. When are they scheduling the operation?"

"They'll be ready two weeks from now. I'm so happy. He's going to be alright."

"Well I'm glad to hear it Mia."

"Thinking about it, would you like to come over this evening?"

Aaron shrugged.

"I think I can squeeze you in. I'll be over in a little bit."

"Okay see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Aaron leaned back against the kitchen counter and smiled. It took him several hours in the early morning but he had managed to find what he was looking for from one of his old contacts. Cody would be just fine, and Mia fear for him would be over. Things seemed right with the world at that moment. With a heartfelt sigh he put his phone back in his jacket pocket and started back for the living room.