Zero Blood: Volume 8

Episode 1

"Survis"

(Ned)

Everything hurt. I sat up with an awful headache. Worse than any headache I've ever experienced. This makes hangovers feel good. I slowly stood up, only stumbling back onto my ass a few times. I took a few moments to get my balance and process everything that's going on. I had no idea where I was at first, I had to look around for a bit to realize that I was in a familiar room. I saw a projector on the ground, blood everywhere, a chair, and needles. Now I remember, this was where the crazy man in a gas mask took Mark and I. The Guardian I think he called himself.

"Son of a bitch," I croaked out, "how long was I out for?"

I was really thirsty, and my stomach was growling for food as well. The last thing I remembered was The Guardian shooting at me, and then hitting me over the head. I think the bullet missed me, because I don't feel any bullet wounds, and the only thing that's bleeding is my forehead from The Guardian hitting me. I decided I was going to have to find the group again, they'll be at the mansion I'm sure. I hope I haven't worried anyone, but I'm sure I have. I stumbled out of the room and held the wall for support while I walked down the hallway.

I made my way out of the building, I didn't have any weapons on me, so I was going to have to be careful I didn't run into any stranglers.

"Okay Ned, don't do anything stupid. You just cheated death, let's not test it again." I said to myself.

I crept around the streets, I saw stranglers walking around lifelessly, just looking for prey. It was a really depressing sight. I stayed low and moved through the backstreets, just like we always have. I wanted to avoid Lockwood outposts too, if I got spotted by one of those, it was really over for me. I made it to a chain fence, I looked around to make sure no stranglers were around, and I hopped it. I must have landed wrong, because my left ankle bent and I heard a crunch. I fell to the ground and held in my cry in pain. I couldn't alert any stranglers now, I wouldn't be able to run away. I slowly got up and put all my weight on my right foot. I limped through the back alleys and finally saw the highway, and on the other side of the highway was the forest, which led to the mansion. So many thoughts went through my mind when I saw the forest. What was the group gonna think? How am I going to explain this? Is Mark going to be alright? I'm sure Mark is fine, he's a survivor, and he's a good person. I'm sure he made it back in one piece.

I limped across the highway, and was about to climb over the railing and into the forest when I put too much weight on my ankle and let out a little scream. I stopped immediately and looked around. Shit, did I alert anything? I stood there for a few minutes in silence, until I decided it was safe to keep going. The second I turned my back again and started to head into the forest, was when I heard a few screams in the distance. I turned around again to see a bunch of stranglers running out of the city, directly at me.

"Oh fuck!" I yelled, rushing into the forest as fast as I could go.

Every step hurt. I had to ignore to excruciating pain that was coming from my left ankle because I knew that I would be in much more pain if I let these stranglers catch up to me. Everything went by so fast, I dodged trees and ran blindly through the forest, not knowing what would lie ahead. I could hear the stranglers behind me, I could hear their footsteps. They sounded very close, no further than ten yards away from me. I heard them panting, and I heard their footsteps crunch the leaves lying on the ground. I saw an opening in the forest and ran faster, my ankle was burning like crazy, I thought it was just going to give out on me and I was going to collapse in the forest, left to be shredded apart by these animals. I didn't though, my ankle pulled through and I made it to the opening.

I pushed the last bit of branches and leaves out of the way and tripped out of the opening, landing in a mud puddle. I panicked and jumped out of the mud puddle and landed on my butt in the grass. But then I realized the stranglers weren't here. They were gone. My lungs burned, and I was breathing in and out really fast, trying to catch my breath. My ankle was in serious pain, and I was pretty sure I broke it. I was covered in mud now, and I felt like absolute shit. I was just thankful I lost the stranglers back in the forest. I would have been dead if they found me. I laid back down and gave myself a few minutes to catch my breath again.

"Holy shit Ned," I said to myself, "that was the fastest you've ran in forever."

I slowly stood up, wobbling in balance. I put all of my weight back onto my right foot and turned to face the mansion, I was finally back home-

When I faced the mansion, I saw something I wasn't expecting. The mansion wasn't there anymore, instead, lied a charred, collapsed, burnt up pile of rubble. Someone had burned down the mansion, it was gone. All gone.

"What the hell?" I said, "how long was I out for? What happened?"

I dropped to my knees in defeat. Now what was I going to do? I was probably going to end up dying of dehydration soon enough, it's been forever since I've had any fluids. I pounded my weak fist onto the ground, and broke into a coughing fit. I curled up into a ball and accepted my fate. I was going to die, I already felt it coming. I was too weak. I don't think I could even stand back up if I tried. It's a miracle I was even able to outrun those stranglers, but I think I used up the last bit of my energy running from the stranglers. It's over now. I'm going to die here. My vision started fading and everything went black.

I woke up with the feeling of something wet on my face. I felt warm breaths on my face as well. It felt really weird and uncomfortable. I opened my eyes to see Doug, standing next to me licking the mud from my face.

"Ugh." Was all I managed to groan out.

I sat up and looked at Doug, he looked fine. He hadn't been hurt at all. I pet him on the head, he definitely recognized me.

"Where did everyone go buddy?" I asked.

Doug barked.

"Yeah I don't know either."

I started thinking, who would burn down the mansion? It definitely wouldn't be our own group, could it have been Ryder? Nah, there's no way he would do that after what we did to his group. Then it hit me, Lockwood. Lockwood knew where we lived, it was only a matter of time before they showed up. They're the most likely to have burned down the mansion. It has to be them. Who else would it be? Maybe Jeff and the rest of them were captured by Lockwood, Doug must have managed to escape. Too much was going through my head right now, and the only thing I wanted was some water. I crawled over to the mud puddle I fell in earlier, and decided I was going to have to drink out of it. As gross as it was, I was going to die if I didn't. I started slurping out of the puddle, almost throwing up as I tasted the murky water. Doug walked over and drank out of it too. He looked like he was enjoying it.

Once I finished, I wiped my face to get the rest of the mud off, and stood up. It was still difficult standing again, but I managed. I was going to have to head back into the city, that was my best chance to find food and water. I know it is dangerous in there, but I was going to have to take my chances. I was really looking forward to resting at the mansion with some fresh food and water, but that's not happening.

"Come on Doug, lets go boy."

Doug followed me by my side as I ventured off into the forest again, heading back into Kingston.

The forest was surprisingly empty, I was expecting to dodge a lot of stranglers, but I didn't need to. The forest was eery, and I didn't like it. Doug stayed close with me the whole time, and he kept growling in a deep tone. He was probably just as nervous as I was. I petted him on the head, "It's going to be okay buddy." I said.

Doug then made a whimpering sound, I felt really bad for him. He was probably starving. I know I was.

We made it out of the forest and headed back into the city. All I knew was that I needed to find some food and water. Nothing else mattered. Kingston is most likely to have both of those things. I'll have a better chance of finding it here than being in the forest. I made sure to use the backstreets, I didn't need Lockwood interfering now. I didn't need any of their "rescuing." Those bastards took my group and burned down the mansion, I know they did. Who else would have done it? It couldn't have been Ryder, he wouldn't be able to take on the whole group by himself. I think we taught him a strict lesson when we went to war with his bandit clan. I don't think I'll ever see that guy again anyways. I have a bad feeling that I'll be seeing a lot of Lockwood though. That is if I don't die out here from a lack of water.

Doug and I made it to a fence closing off the backstreet from the main streets. I lifted Doug up and boosted him over the barrier. He was light and skinny, I don't think he's eaten in a while. It was still difficult to boost him up though, because I was really weak too. I then climbed over the fence after him. We kept walking through the backstreets until Doug lied down. I stopped and looked at him.

"Come on man, please. I need you to get up."

Doug whimpered and stayed where he was. He was too weak to move, and it broke my heart seeing it. I felt tears swelling up in my eyes, I rubbed my eyes and sniffled.

"Doug, you gotta get up." I said again.

I sat down next to Doug and put my arm around him. I needed to get him some water, he wasn't going to make it much further. I used up all of my last bit of strength to pick Doug up and carry him the rest of the way.

"Just one water bottle," I said to myself, "that's all we need. I don't care if it's dirty, just something."

I spotted a grocery store on the other side of the main street from the backstreet I was in. It was for sure already looted, but there has to be something left. Anything at all. I closed my eyes and said a small prayer, praying that there would be food and water in there. I started walking towards the main street, but stopped when I saw two stranglers standing by the grocery store doors. They were grunting and looking around.

"Shit." I whispered to myself.

I didn't have the strength to fight these stranglers, and neither did Doug. I didn't even have a weapon. I set Doug down on the ground and prepared myself to fight these stranglers. I knew I was going to have to do it. There was no other choice, they were guarding the grocery store. I crackled my knuckles and took in some deep breaths.

"Shit, shit, shit. Okay, I've got this."

I started walking towards the stranglers, but then heard the sound of a truck coming down the same street. A Lockwood truck zoomed by, soldiers blasting the heads off of the stranglers with their guns as they drove by. The grocery store wall was painted with blood and brains from the stranglers.

I caught my breath and held the side of a building in the alley. Breathing in and out in relief.

"Thank god I didn't have to do that myself." I said.

Now the street was empty, I think that was the only time Lockwood has actually done something good for me. I walked over and picked Doug back up and peeked my head out of the backstreet and checked the main street. Nothing, it was totally abandoned. I ran across the street, trying to get across as fast as possible without being spotted by the watchtowers. I kicked the grocery store doors open since my hands were busy holding Doug. I looked around the grocery store once I got inside, scanning for any threats. There was nobody in here, not even a single strangler. Kingston really was getting abandoned. I guess those Lockwood outposts have been clearing out a lot of the stranglers. I walked through the aisles of the store and saw exactly what I was expecting. Nothing. It was a total mess in there, shelves were knocked over and the floor was littered with dirt and dried blood. It was totally empty. Lockwood probably cleared the entire city out by now. There was nothing left.

I walked to the back of the store and sat behind one of the counters. This was it, Doug and I were both going to die here. I still had Doug in my arms, I hugged him tightly and kissed his head.

"I'm sorry." I said.

I turned my head and noticed a dead man sitting right beside me. I almost jumped out of my skin, if I had the energy to actually do that. The man was decomposing, he was here for a while. In his hand, he grasped a half empty water bottle. I grabbed it and pulled it out of his clutch, I heard bones cracking from his cold hands as I took it from him. The water was tinted a green colour, but I didn't care. I took the cap off and drank a bunch of it, leaving the rest for Doug. It tasted like shit, but hopefully it would keep me alive for just a little bit longer.

"Hey Doug," I said, nudging him, "I found some water for you buddy."

He didn't move. I nudged him again, but there was nothing. I looked at his face, and his eyes were closed.

"Doug?" I asked, tearing up again.

I tilted the water bottle towards his mouth, I knew it was no use. Doug was dead. He died back in that alleyway.

"This is your fault Lockwood, if you just left us alone we would all be safe at the mansion." I cursed.

Then, by some miracle, Doug stuck out his tongue and started drinking the water from the bottle. I looked at him and my eyes lit up with hope. He kept drinking until the bottle was empty. Doug opened his eyes again and looked at me. I started crying in joy and hugged Doug, I didn't want to let him go.

We both stayed the night in that grocery store. I didn't have the energy to move anyways. I honestly didn't mind sleeping next to a dead man, I was so used to fighting dead people I never really gave it a second thought. In the morning, Doug was able to walk on his own. We both left the store and headed off looking for food. There was nothing else left in that grocery store, and we were lucky to have even found that half empty, green water bottle. We stuck to the back roads again, making sure we weren't going to be spotted by Lockwood. That was the last thing we'd need. I know Lockwood would have food and water, but once we're in there, we're never coming out. I want to be free, not locked up in some fake safe haven. I'm sure Doug would rather be free as well, I don't even know if Lockwood allows dogs. I wouldn't trust that slimy bastard Charlie around Doug, that's for sure.

We were walking through Kingston for a few hours, just looking for anything. We did run into one strangler, but we handled him alright. It didn't see us coming and I smashed its head against the wall of a building. I was still feeling very weak, but I think that water helped a little bit. It helped Doug too. He was walking, slowly and he was limping, but he was walking. That's all that mattered. While we were walking through the empty, bleak city, I noticed a building in the alleyway with a metal door that had, "HELP." written on it with bright, yellow paint. There was a sign beside the door that read, "Kingston Science and Research Laboratory."

I totally forgot. I remembered the old sticky note that I had found at the science lab in Toronto. A long time ago, back when we were fighting Gus.

"More answers in Kingston."

I was so busy with having all these wars with different groups, and just surviving in general, that I totally forgot all about finding out how this apocalypse started in the first place! Maybe I can find answers here. I yanked open the metal door, it made a loud scraping sound against the concrete when I opened it. It was dark and gloomy inside, but I couldn't leave. I needed to find answers. This was my chance. This was probably my last chance to find the answers.

I walked towards a door, which was being slightly lit by a severed wire. A wire was sitting on the ground in front of the door, cut in half, which was sparking on and off, lighting the path just a little. I pushed on the big, metal door and it scraped across the concrete floor, making a loud noise as I pushed it. I think it hurt Doug's ears because he gave off a little whimper. Behind the door was pitch black. I couldn't see a thing. Doug stood closer to my side, I could tell he was just as nervous as I was. I put my hands on the wall and walked slowly, using the wall to guide me. There was a flight of stairs that I almost fell down while walking through the darkness, but Doug and I eventually made it to another metal door. This was one was a little stuck, but I pushed on it hard enough to open it. The door hit something while I opened it, I bent over and felt what stopped it. It was a dead body. I jumped back after realizing what it was, that caught me off guard. Really though, what was I expecting? I knelt back down and searched the body for something I could use. I could tell by feeling around on the dead body that this was a scientist. I felt the lab coat. In one of their pockets, I found a lighter. I flicked it on, and sighed in relief when I realized it still had some lighter fluid left inside. This lit the area around me just slightly enough so I could see.

I squeezed myself through the gap in the door and walked around in the room. This was definitely the laboratory. Who knows what kind of things I could find down here? All the secrets could be here, maybe I could even get closer to finding a cure for this whole thing. I didn't want to get my hopes up too much though, I was preparing to be disappointed, just in case. I shone the lighter over a desk, where a dead scientist was slumped over in an office chair beside it. There were all sorts of papers sprawled all over the desk, I looked at a few of them, but none of them had any good information on them. Just notes on how to fight the stranglers effectively, and how the disease spreads. All the stuff I already know. I flipped through the notes,

"Aim for the head or chest, check. Try not coming in direct physical contact with them, check. Don't get any blood from a strangler inside you, check. Don't get scratched, check. Dammit! I know all of this shit!" I threw the papers on the ground.

"Is this it? Was this all for nothing? Maybe there really is no hope for humanity after all. I shouldn't have been so gullible."

I shoved the dead body off of the office chair and sat in it for myself. I buried my face in my hands, severely disappointed. There was nothing but junk here.

I rolled around in the office chair, bored out of my mind. Until I bumped into a drawer that spilled a bunch of folders out. I knelt down and shone the lighter on them. Written on the folders, read, "TOP SECRET INFORMATION: PRIVATE EYES ONLY."

I looked around the room, Doug and I were the only ones in here obviously. Who's gonna stop me from reading these? I opened the folder and looked at all of the papers inside. I set the stack of papers on the desk. Written on the first page was, "ROGUE VIRUS: SURVIS."

Below it was a lot of writing, it read,

A virus that became rogue sometime in the spring of 2014, was listed as the most deadly virus of all time. Humanity hasn't seen anything like it, ever. We call this virus, 'SURVIS'. This virus first kills the host that it infects, but the rogue virus will continue to work inside the already dead body. It will kill all of the normal components inside the blood, and replace it. Red blood cells are changed totally into something we've never seen before. The virus itself will then pump the blood into the heart at extremely fast paces. The heartbeat will grow faster and faster, where the virus will then make its way to the host's brain. From there the virus totally takes over. The blood is changed into a new, infected blood form called, 'Zero Blood' and completely takes over the host. The dead person will rise back up, into a mad, insane, angry creature. A lot of survivors like to call the Zero Blood patient a 'strangler'. With the host's infected brain, all it knows how to do is kill. That is all it wants to do. Kill anything that is still alive. These stranglers will not attack each other, they don't seem to acknowledge each other's existence.

Although the virus became rogue in 2014, it hadn't originated in 2014. Studies have shown that the virus has been around for decades. In the early 1970's, a case similar to this one was reported in Egypt. A man became mentally insane and tried killing his family. His brother shot him in the chest, killing him for good. It seems that a good blow to the brain or heart kills the host. Without the heart it can't pump the infected blood to the brain, and without the brain the host is simply dead. The infection can't take over a host with a damaged brain. The family in Egypt explained the man to have glowing, red veins. Most likely the new blood type that the victim had gotten from the infection. Zero Blood. This was quickly covered up by the authorities in Egypt, they didn't want to cause a national disturbance. The story became too hard to hide after more people in Egypt started becoming, 'insane.' The Egyptian government locked up whoever had symptoms of this disease, and once they turned, they were swiftly executed. Not much of a scare happened, it seemed as the government had it under control. They could never find out how it happened, it was a virus like nobody has ever seen before. They tried as best as they could to keep their operation under wraps, but in 2014, the virus fully broke out. All over the world. It became too hard to contain, nobody knows how the virus spread all over the world so fast. There have been a lot of theories that Survis was actually started by someone on purpose. That explains why it suddenly broke out all over the world. Whoever was behind this, sent infected people to various countries, and it spread from there.

The scientists working all over the world have tried finding a cure for this. We've communicated with other scientists all over the world. There is no luck, nobody has come up with anything. We have come to the grim conclusion that there may never be a cure for this disease. It's something we have never seen before. Totally alien from humanity. We can't cure something we have never even seen before. It might be too late anyways, the Survis disease has infected millions with Zero Blood, and has started a worldwide apocalypse. Humanity is too broken to come up with a cure now, even if we wanted to. The only way to stop the Survis disease is to kill all remaining hosts. This will be a great war between humanity and the stranglers. There is nothing left for us to do now, we have run out of food and water. Our research is complete. If you are reading this, get the word out as best as you can. Humanity has to stop Survis.

I set down the paper back onto the desk and took a few deep breaths in and out. That was a lot to take in all at once. Did somebody really start this virus on purpose? Was this all a part of some plan to wipe out humanity? What sick bastard would want to do that? It seems like whoever started it lived in Egypt. If there really is no cure, and no way to even make a cure, would stopping the virus by killing all the stranglers really work? New people are always being infected, but if we can build a big enough army to wipe out mass amounts of stranglers, that can decrease the speed in which people are infected. We could build a whole new civilization. I have the answers here, all we need to do is just unite! We can't be fighting each other anymore, humanity as a whole needs to stand up and take these stranglers down. There's just one thing standing in our way of uniting. Lockwood.