System Of The Undead

Chapter 147: The Nexus

Sam reached the base and most of the corpses there had reanimated but he could also swear that more zombies were roaming around than he remembered.

Sam had body parts of the earlier zombie he had butchered hanging around him.

This was to move freely amid the chaos and he didn’t understand what that creature he fought the day before was but something told him there was more.

The zombies were motionless, neither moved an inch just like back at the checkpoint where their superior and his son had died.

This meant that Sam had to be extra careful with his movements as he didn’t want to give them any reason to be active.

Sam walked with his axe in hand, there was no one anyone could have survived because it’s been a week since then so if by some miracle they did survive.

They would only starve to death as they would otherwise have no access to food or water.

Not eating for a week could drive even the strongest man insane but this was none of Sam’s business.

Sam’s first business was retrieving the weapon that was in his car, something told him that it wouldn’t be there but he had to make sure.

And to his surprise, there it was in the backseat, this told him that no one had passed through there or they would have cleaned out his vehicle.

Heck, he wouldn’t have even seen the vehicle in the first place so this was a strange choice.

Sam threw the bag of weapons over his shoulder alongside his walkie-talkie because he knew he would need all the ammunition he could muster if things got violent.

This was the only way to guarantee his safety, the person he killed was still there.

Sam knew if he hadn’t done that, he would be one of the undead right now even though the probability of saving the man’s life was a lot higher.

The noise he was making and the injuries, he would prove to be a hindrance and that was one thing Sam couldn’t afford at that time, not even now.

Sam began walking towards the building where their weapon cache was kept, this was the military and they had to have weapons that could make his life a whole lot easier.

"These zombies went all out..." Sam thought to himself as he walked past them, recognizing most of the men that were now part of the undead army.

But something happened that startled Sam and that was his walkie-talkie coming to life.

"This is Delta... Is that you, Sam?" The walkie-talkie communicated to him and Sam thought he was hallucinating for a second there.

There was no way that Delta could be alive, he saw the zombie sink its teeth into him so how was he alive?

"Delta?" Sam reluctantly responded, abandoning the rule of communicating through a walkie-talkie, neither had said the word ’over’ not that it mattered.

"Sam! You need to leave! IT’S NOT SA-!" Delta was cut short as static took its place.

Sam’s guard was heightened because Delta was a battle-hardened warrior, anything that would make him panic like this must be a threat.

Sam, however, was a soldier who worked with orders and right now, he had given them his word that he would help them find this doctor,

If the doctor had a hand in creating that zombie that nearly killed him then Sam had to get him.

He needed to know if there were more and if this doctor posed a bigger threat.

If he did, Sam had every intention of killing him as someone so dangerous shouldn’t be allowed to live.

But Delta’s warning left him puzzled as to what was going on or wasn’t the zombie’s bite big enough? Sam was a man who never questioned what he saw but at this moment, there was no logic behind what was happening so his brain was trying its hardest to figure out what it was that was happening.

"You know what? Fuck it..." Sam muttered to himself, the walkie-talkie had alerted some zombies around him and they began to aimlessly walk towards Sam.

Sam was sure he could have walked past them easily but he didn’t want to do that.

He wanted to kill them, disposing of six zombies in mere seconds helped him calm his mind and regain his senses.

The only explanation he could come up with was that the doctor had something to do with it for he seemed like a man that could make the impossible possible.

Sam was covered in the blood of the zombies he had just killed, if it could still be called blood at this point, increasing his stench.

Sam walked and walked, the bad thing about the walkie-talkie was that it had a wide range but if Delta could see him, he couldn’t be far.

Sam needed a way to grab their attention and an idea flashed through his mind with a smile accompanying it.

"That should do it..." Sam muttered.

He went down the building, there was a compartment where they kept their generator.

Sam knew he didn’t need electricity as the age of technology had come to an end.

In due time, everything else would become obsolete, sending mankind back into the Stone Age.

Ammunition would eventually run out and man would abandon guns among many other things.

Becoming relics of the past but now wasn’t that time.

Sam allowed the diesel in the humongous generator, disconnecting the tube that made sure it got to the right place, this made it spill on the floor.

Sam noticed that there were more kegs around and proceeded to open some and just kick them to the floor.

The floor was soaked in it but this wasn’t enough, Sam knew that he had to take some upstairs to soak the building thoroughly to properly execute his plan.

It took Sam a whole of twenty minutes but he was done and walked out of the building with a satisfying grin.

Sam knew that this would be sure to wake the zombies but the sound of the sizzling flames would only make them walk right into their demise.

This was the fastest way to get rid of them and the properties of diesel made it a lot harder to go out, which meant that it would burn for quite some time.

Sam didn’t know what danger Delta was talking about but he wasn’t scared of anything.

Sam lit the building on fire and everything went exactly as he planned.

He had a grin on his face as he stood in place, the zombies became active and began walking right towards the building.

They walked past him and into the flames, catching fire until they were incinerated.

"That is one way to clear the base," Sam joked but he needed to find Delta.

But how? Sam didn’t know how he would do this but unbeknownst to him.

Eyes were on him and Sam just became a pawn in a game much bigger than himself.

-

Jason was left to his devices, he had to make a decision that could ultimately save his life or doom those around him.

Jason couldn’t believe the situation he was in but if he had left it in the camp then the zombies would have found it.

He couldn’t leave the fragment anywhere but he now knew he had to get rid of it.

Where could he keep it so that the zombies couldn’t get it?

The door hinges gave way and Jason had mere seconds now and he needed advice.

"Chronos..." Jason called out and Chronos responded.

[Yes Jason.]

"What the fuck should I do with this fragment? I’m in this mess because of you!" Jason warned but Chronos was a system that hadn’t made Jason do anything out of his own free will.

Jason did it because he needed the EXP and understood the threat it posed.

Not because Chronos told him so but this was beside the point.

[The fragment is dangerous to humans.]

Chronos informed Jason and Jason obviously understood this so why was Chronos repeating what it had told him before?

"I fucking know that! That’s why I’m asking you!" Jason asked him but this was where Chronos said something that would change his entire life.

[Jason Abbot, you’re no longer human.]

Chronos dropped the bombshell but this was impossible, it couldn’t be because he was still very much self-aware of what was going on.

There was no way that he wasn’t human because he still thought and acted the same.

"Now isn’t the time for stupid jokes," Jason responded.

[That wasn’t a joke and something tells me you’re aware that you’re no longer the same. When you took that life, what did you feel?]

Chronos asked and the door soon gave way but the door partially opened, the zombies were frantic and acted almost rabidly.

"I felt nothing... So what are you saying?" Jason barked, he couldn’t see himself as one of them and knew that Chronos must have some sort of explanation for him.

[The fragment feeds on your conscience, this is not the same as the dormant infection of the virus, the fragment is a lot different and that is why the zombies seek it.]

Chronos responded to his first question and Jason was beginning to understand things a lot better.

"So what am I? Am I a fucking zombie right now!?" Jason asked the all important question and Chronos was ready to provide an answer.

[That is incorrect. You’re neither human nor zombie.]

Chronos responded but this threw Jason’s mind into further confusion.

"Then what the fuck am I!?" Jason asked and at that moment, the door gave way and the zombies poured in.

[You have become the Nexus and right now, you must consume the fragment or you will lose it.]

Chronos informed him, and Jason knew he had no other choice.

He opened wide and dropped the fragment into his mouth, the taste was anything but pleasant but if it was as Chronos said then this was the only way.

And Jason made the biggest decision in his life as he swallowed the fragment.

What would happen next? No one knew, no one but Chronos.