The Azrael (Book 5): Prisoners Read online

  Chapter 2: Forced to Plunder

  The sound of conversation beyond the door greeted John’s mind as he awoke. The drugs they used still lingered and his vision delayed in a blur as he studied the room he was in. He was tied to a chair in the middle of an empty room. A poster reminding the workers to clean up after themselves, indicated that he was probably in the break room. The voices outside were from two men and they were laughing about something. John’s head began to throb as a headache was taking root. His mouth was taped shut with silver duct tape and his nose felt broken. He wondered where Savanna was and a knot built up in his stomach as he thought the worst. A mechanical buzzing noise from the corner piqued his interest. A security camera was aiming in his direction studying his movements. Minutes later, the door unlocked and two men walked in with crooked sneers on their faces.

  “About time you woke up, Johnny Boy.” The man with a slicked back ponytail spoke and shook his head at John.

  “Your girlfriend’s been up for a couple hours. In good faith, we’ll let you see her as long as you agree to our terms. Rich here will brief you.” The large man in swat gear said.

  He walked over to the corner and placed his left index finger on his earpiece. He said something inaudible and then turned back around.

  “What terms?” John asked but his mouth was taped so it sounded like two grunts. They understood what he was saying.

  “We got a mission for you.” Rich answered with a cockney accent as he began to unwrap the tape from around John’s face. “We might let you bof go if you get wha’ we need.” He continued and quickly ripped the last wrap of tape off John’s face. It yanked most of his facial hair out from the root.

  “How can I trust you’ll keep your word?” John asked, stretched out his mouth and twisted his face once it became free to move.

  “You don’. We don’ owe you shit. Bu’ we’re goin’ to tell you this so we don’ have to put a gun to your pri’ee misses ‘ead instead. Make the right choice.” The large man spoke honestly with a similar much deeper accent and kept his eyes locked onto John’s.

  “Let me see her. I’ll do whatever you say.” John surrendered, knowing that he was in no position to demand anything.

  “Smar’ man.” Rich gloated and patted John on his right cheek before he left the room.

  John scowled at him. The larger man untied John and led him out of the room with a push to his back. Two other men took over aiming their rifles at John’s back and dug them into his spine.

  “Move.” They instructed in unison.

  John complied walking towards the direction they urged him to go. Rich was standing in the doorway of a larger room and he beckoned John over.

  “Over ‘ere.” He instructed and the men placed their rifles on John’s back once again unnecessarily. It caused John to stumble forwards and he turned back towards them with his neck and grimaced. “Remember John, coopera’ and fings ‘ill be easier on everyone. Fail to comply and, well...” Rich nodded towards the large man from the other room. “Michael ‘ill ‘appen.”

  John glanced over and received an elbow to the face by Michael.

  “Ooh, ouch. Fa’ must uh ‘urt.” Rich cringed and giggled.

  John shook it off and spat blood on the floor. He brought his head up.

  “Fine.” John nodded and walked over to Rich.

  Rich gestured inside and John walked in. It was the same room where he spoke with the old lady.

  “Where’s Savanna?” John asked with confusion.

  “Right there.” The old lady pointed towards the largest monitor. On the screen Savanna was shouting and wiggling back and forth in her chair. He couldn’t hear anything though. The old lady pressed a button and Savanna’s screams were heard.

  “...me out.” Savanna shouted. The old lady pressed another button and held it.

  “Are you finished, young lady?” The woman asked calmly.

  “Why...why are you doing this to us?” Savanna asked in a whimper. Her voice was hoarse and her resolve was all but lost. John could see it on her face and it troubled him.

  “When you remember what else happened at Landcaster Gardens, you’ll know why.” She released the button and sighed as she studied John. “Have a seat, John.”

  A chair at the console six feet from the woman had straps on it that would hold whoever was sitting down like a strait jacket.

  “That seems unnecessary.” John grumbled as he sat down. Rich and Michael wrapped all of the leather straps around John, pinning him to the chair tightly. He bit his lower lip and grinded his teeth as they wrenched it down even tighter.

  “Taking no chances. I know what you’re capable of.” She admitted.

  She retrieved a cigarette from a pack that was on the table and placed it between her lips. The woman held the pack out to John to see if he wanted one.

  “I’m fine. That shit’ll kill ya.” He grunted and resituated his arms that were losing circulation with a wiggle. She began to laugh and she lit the cigarette. Her cheeks sucked in and she squinted as she took in a massive drag. She blew the smoke at John’s face and wore a wicked grin. He blinked and turned his head away coughing.

  “I’m positive that this won’t be the death of you.” She said and pulled the cigarette from her lips aiming it towards John.

  “What happened at Landcaster Gardens, woman?” John scowled.

  “The name’s Danielle, Danielle Hart. You killed my son.” She inserted the cigarette back into her mouth with her right hand and it clung to her lower lip loosely. Danielle pressed another button with the same hand on the console and an old security camera footage replaced Savanna’s feed.

  “What’s this?” John squinted as he studied the video.

  “Evidence.”

  “Evidence of what?”

  “The murder of my son you piece of shit!” Danielle hollered and the cigarette was spat from her mouth.

  The footage was from an outdoor camera that recorded anyone who approached the main entrance to the complex. It was night and there was a man approaching the doors in haste. He banged on them frantically to be let in. The camera zoomed in on the man’s face. He was terrified. There was no sound to the recording but you could tell that he was screaming for his life.

  “Oh, shit.” John mumbled.

  “Oh shit is right you murdering piece of shit.” Danielle stood up with fury on her face and smacked John across his face. She picked up the cigarette from the floor and placed it back into her mouth.

  “They were right on his ass. If I opened the door...”

  “You would have saved my son’s life. My…son!” She shouted inches from John’s face, paused the footage and zoomed in. “Look at his face. LOOK AT IT!” Veins in her neck expanded from the strain of screaming at John.

  The man was looking up at the camera, knowing that it was there, pleading to be let in. He was snot nosed crying. John took in a deep breath.

  “We all would have been turned into those fucking assholes if I let him in. I saved hundreds for one man’s life.” John retorted.

  “My son’s life. There was time.” She played the video and observed the timestamp in the bottom right corner. Four seconds later the man was tackled into the door and bitten into by a herd of several dozen. She paused the video again.

  “You had at least four seconds to unlock the door and let him in... four seconds.”

  “That wasn’t enough time. I’m sorry for your loss but...”

  “But nothing, John.” Her eyes were wide and her nostrils flared. “Four seconds...let me show you how much time four seconds truly is.” Danielle stopped the video and hit a few buttons bringing Savanna back onto the screen. Another man was inside with Savanna.

  “What the fuck is this?” John asked while studying the screen. She pressed the talk button.

  “Let it in.” Danielle turned to John. “Four seconds.” She studied the reaction on John’s face with a crooked sneer. He leaned in and watched the man leave. A second later, another m
an from a side door sprinted towards Savanna and bit into her neck. It was an Azrael. Savanna wailed as it knocked her onto the ground biting and tearing meat from the right side of her neck. The sheer terror in her eyes were heartbreaking to John. It attempted another bite and its brains splattered against the wall nearby. Danielle zoomed the camera in and watched Savanna bleeding out by her neck. Her body shook in horror and her eyes were open wide and distant.

  “Four seconds, John.” She wore a satisfying grin as she observed tears fall down John’s face. He didn’t make a sound or move. The man from earlier entered the room, poured alcohol on her open wound exciting a scream from Savanna and wrapped a white towel around it. It soaked up the blood and slowly turned red.

  “Monsters...” John hissed.

  “She’ll live...maybe. But she’s gonna need medicine, medicine that’s in front of this building. Medicine that you’re gonna retrieve for us and your girlfriend...well, if you’re fast enough.” Danielle’s left eyebrow raised as she explained.

  John’s eyes danced back and forth, as he studied Savanna’s condition on the monitor. She’s immune. She’ll be fine, he thought. His heartbeat raced and he knew that he had no choice.

  “I’ll do it.” He admitted with a nod.

  “I knew you would. By no means does this make us even. This is only the beginning for you.” Danielle gestured over to Rich and Michael.

  The men loosened John’s straps and he noticed them snickering. It made his blood boil but he remembered what Savanna told him. He needed to stay alive for her. He needs to stay alive for Savanna. He bit the inside of his mouth and brought in a deep breath.

  “Hurry, John. She’s counting on you.” Danielle shouted as they escorted him out of the room. The butch woman from earlier was outside and wore a gratifying smirk as John shuffled past with his head hung low. He appeared defeated and without hope. She spat at his face before he moved past her.

  “Fuck, mate. I don’ wan’ uh be you right now.” Rich shook his head.

  The only thing on John’s mind was retrieving the medical supplies from the store. He shut out everything else. Savanna needed him to stay alive. They brought him to the sliding door that exited into the store.

  “Your weapons are on the floor inside. It’s...” Another man studied a screen a few feet away and nodded. “It’s clear right now. Be quick. Fose bastards are hungry.” Rich instructed as the doors rolled open. He pushed John inside and they closed quickly behind him. It echoed throughout the store.

  John hurried towards his gun belt and attached it while lowering his posture. He studied his weapon for damage and ejected the magazine. All bullets were there and he pushed it back in. He screwed on a suppressor and scanned the area for threats. It was quiet but the thick foul musk of Azrael lingered all over. Dried blood was on the floor and a path of it disappeared around the corner down an aisle to his right.

  He felt around the belt for the other two magazines and the knife that Giselle gave him. He was set. To his left were household supplies for lighting and fans while the sports section was to his right. He turned back at the door and Rich’s face was in the small window. He brought up his wrist and pointed to his watch. John sighed and returned his gaze upon the store.

  “Fuck, this is for Savanna. I can do this.” John brought in quick breaths and hurried to the left down the aisle and disappeared from view of the window.

  Chapter 3: Hope for Sam

  Samantha collapsed to the floor knocking over the box she filled with supplies for traps. Her body seized. Foam built up in the corner of her mouth and her eyes rolled in the back of her head.

  “Shit, shit! Samantha, sweetheart, not like this.” Giselle panicked while digging both hands into her scalp trying to think of something to do. Jason was clueless of Samantha’s current condition due to his presence at the door keeping the Azrael from breaking through. Toko was out cold as the serum worked its way through his system. The serum!

  “The serum!” She spoke aloud.

  She sprinted over to Toko’s bag. She slid next to it and rummaged through until she found a syringe and a bottle of the serum. Her sudden movement startled Jason and he turned to see what the commotion was all about. He leaned his back on the sofa and dug his heels into the floor. He noticed Giselle crawling to her feet and hurrying over to Samantha. Once he noticed her condition, he grunted and growled in response but knew his position at the door was more pressing, literally.

  Giselle stuck the needle into the bottle, sucked out all of its contents, flicked the syringe and jabbed it into Samantha’s jugular vein. She pushed the contents inside and hoped that she wasn’t too late. Would it work? If it did save her life, then she would need to take the serum daily for the rest of her life, unless they can figure out an alternative with her own immunities at the Veil. She stood there on both knees and watched Samantha intently. After fifteen seconds the seizing stopped but her heart...it began to slow. Was this normal? Giselle turned to look at Toko, wishing that he were awake and looked back at Samantha. She heard Jason grunt again.

  “I don’t know if it’s working, Jason.” Giselle studied the serum bottle and twisted it in her left hand with her fingertips. There were no other information about it other than L2 and the size of the contents. Samantha’s heart stopped. Giselle gasped and tossed the bottle away.

  “NO, no no no no. Fight it girl. Fight it!” She urged and began chest compressions on Samantha attempting to restart her heart. Jason brought his head down and shook it.

  By some miracle, twenty seconds later her heart restarted at a slow pace. It gradually sped up and settled at about 160 bpm. It was high but not Azrael high. Giselle tasted Samantha’s sweat in the air and moments later, she entered a fever.

  “Is this normal?” Giselle asked a question that she knew she couldn’t get an answer to or could she? She crawled over to Toko’s bag and searched through it. She retrieved a small notebook and scanned over it.

  “Damn it! It’s in Japanese.” Giselle cussed her luck and tossed the notebook back into the bag. She crawled back over to Samantha and placed the back of her hand on her forehead. She was burning up. She lifted her eyelids and other than the fact that her eyes were still rolled up, they were normal. She sighed.

  “Jason toss me over a bottle of water from my bag next to you.” Giselle hollered over.

  He dug through, located a bottle and rolled it over to her. Giselle tore her sleeve off and soaked it in water. She placed it on Samantha’s forehead hoping to help cool her down a bit. She vaguely remembered Toko explaining his transformation and how taxing it was on his body. If she remembered Toko’s story correctly, then they may need to hold up there for a good while until she finishes her transformation. Unfortunately, Toko and Samantha will need a resupply sooner than that.

  Giselle lay next to Samantha as her body battled the fever throughout the night. The Azrael abandoned their assault around two-thirty in the morning. The weight of Jason’s eyelids was weakening his control over his body. He surrendered to the basement and locked himself to a pipe with handcuffs that Giselle had in her bag. There were no locks on the basement doors. Once satisfied, he passed his body over to the virus and slept.

  Toko was the first awake in the morning. He noticed Miss Giselle lying next to Samantha and could hear a crazed animal in the basement. After noticing Jason missing, he figured it was him. He arose to his feet and stretched causing his back to crack in multiple places. He sighed from the relief and blinked several times in attempts to moisten his eyes. He descended into the basement to confirm that the noise was from Jason. Satisfied, he walked upstairs and over to his bag. Its contents were spilling out. He yawned heavily and smacked his gums. It excited his taste buds and his stomach growled. He was hungry. He dug through his bag for a can of food and noticed that he had one less bottle of the serum inside. He pulled all of them out and recounted. Yes, he was missing one. Did Miss Giselle give him a second dose? Was he out for more than one day? Maybe, he thought.
r />   Toko opened the can and emptied it into a pot he found in the kitchen. The propane bottle below the stove was full and he began to heat up the spaghetti rings in tomato sauce. Spices were on the spice rack that hung over the stove. He sprinkled some salt and pepper in it. The pepper caused his nose to twitch and he sneezed loudly. The noise awoke Giselle from her sleep and the smell brought a smile on her face. She sat up rubbing at her eyes. She noticed Samantha still battling a fever and she poured more water on the cloth that lay on her forehead. Sounds of someone in the kitchen caused her to wonder who it was. She peered over to where Toko was sleeping. He was gone.

  “Toko! Is that you?” She shouted and sluggishly pulled herself to her feet.

  “Yes, Miss Giselle. Good morning. Do you think I should make another can for the girl?” He asked as he stirred the pasta. His nose still twisted from the pepper.

  Giselle walked into the kitchen and stood in the frame of the door that separated the dining room from the kitchen. She was quiet. It surprised Toko.

  “Speechless this morning?” Are you that hungry?” Toko laughed and tasted the pasta sauce. It was too spicy and he coughed from it, spitting an orange stain on the off-white wall next to the stove. His eyes watered. “I’m sorry for that.”

  Normally Giselle would have laughed or at least broke into a smile. She offered neither. Something was troubling her. Her eyes were stuck gazing through the back window that showcased a massive mob of Azrael behind the house. They were everywhere. Toko glanced out the window too and back at Giselle.

  “Are you okay?” He asked and wiped the splattered sauce from the wall with a towel nearby.

  “Samantha...she’s been bit.” She mumbled.