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Anti-Zombie 50 - Epilog

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The end of terror


The coming days, Azrael was pretty much bored out of his skull, while Maria and Derrick were analyzing the things Derrick had unlocked from the computer.
John and Gordon went out to do the scavenging for any additional supplies they may need and also brought back food for Azrael, however each time he asked to accompany him, they just kept telling him to rest some more.

After about a week, Azrael hit his fist on the table and yelled, "I've had it with being cooped up in here! I can fight! You know it!"
John fidgeted a little at Azrael's outburst, who noticed it and asked, "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there? There's a reason why you're keeping me locked up...right?"

John and Gordon looked at each other for the longest time, before Azrael asked, "...where is Sam?"
"..."
Azrael stood up, building himself to full height before repeating his question with as much intensity as he could muster against the two of them.
Finally John explained, "...Sam is dead, Azrael. We ran into an ambush the other day...we almost didn't make it ourselves, but Sam...Sam got torn to pieces."

Azrael sunk back into his chair, shaking his head in disbelief.
Gordon put his heavy hand on Azrael's shoulder and said with deep regret in his voice, "It's not your fault, Kid. There was nothing anyone could've done."
"But...but how is this even possible?! How could you walk into an ambush?! How many of them were there? 100? 1000? You should be able to smell them a mile against the wind!"
"We...we really don't know. But..."
"That settles it, I'm going out there to raise some hell! I'll teach them that my friends are not to be touched...or else!"

Both Gordon and John tried to hold him back, however Azrael just sent both of them staggering in opposite directions with his open hands and headed straight for the door.

"Wait, you don't understand! You can't leave the interference field!" John yelled after him.
Azrael twitched and slowly turned around, asking: "...what do you mean, 'I can't leave'? And what is this about an 'interference field'?"
John sighed and said, "...you're right, there's something we haven't been telling you...you don't remember it, but...Sam didn't die during an ambush. About a week ago, you already asked once to leave with us. We saw no harm in it, but..."
Gordon tried to cut in, however John ordered him to stay out of it and continued, "Soon after we came near the Zombies, you began behaving strangely. As if you were drunk or something. We already wanted to take you back, fearing for your safety...which is when you suddenly started screaming...and the Zombies attacked us. We just barely made it back into the bunker and...Sam didn't make it at all. He held back what seemed like an entire legion, all by himself...he died as a hero."
"But...but how is that even..."
"After returning to the bunker and closing the door, we put you back in here, where you kept screaming bloody murder...that's when Derrick detected a very peculiar signal, which somehow seemed to originate from you. They fixed together an interference field, which distorted the signal...well, any sort of radio communication really. And the instant the field went online, you stopped screaming and fell over unconscious...and the Zombies just out the bunker who were actually bringing in a bunker buster that moment dropped everything...and went back to shambling."

"But how...how is that even possible?"
John shook his head and said, "Nobody knows...but that day...the day when you went to fight the general...something happened to you. Maria, Derrick and some others we brought in from all over the condemned zone have been trying to figure out what exactly happened to you and how to undo it...but so far, they were out of luck."

Azrael closed his eyes, trying to make sense of this, when his ears caught something that seemed distant, yet it appeared to resonate within his mind.
Laughter, like he had only heard it once before.

As he kept focusing on the noise, it became louder and before long, a shadowy figure appeared before his inner eye, laughing hysterically.
And even though there was no light to illuminate the silhouette, Azrael knew damn well who was standing there. He wished that it was just his imagination, but he knew better. Deep in his core he felt that it was what it seemed like.

Azrael hissed, "Walter...the bastard is still alive."
"Impossible. We killed him and burned the body for good measure," Gordon insisted.
"Ahahaha, oh Azzy, Azzy, Azzy...still so limited in your imagination, aren't you?"
"Out! At once! And lock the freaking door! Barricade it. And if I am to try leaving, kill me. Understood?!" Azrael demanded, upon which both John and Gordon hurried to get out of the room, locking the door behind themselves, making a beeline for the laboratory Maria and her team were working in.

Walter laughed again and then said, "It would seem you are not quite as limited as I had feared. That's very good to know. If only you hadn't been so limited in your vision, it would never have come to this."
"How are you still alive?!" Azrael barked.
"...that really depends on your definition of 'alive'...your friends really got the drop on me in the radio room...and I really feared that all my ambitions were to end with a boring old bullet between my eyes...however just when the light came to claim me, I saw another one. A door at the side of the way...it was your mind, Azrael, still connected to mine in my final moments, shining like a beacon in the night."
"...great, so now I'm schizophrenic? All that stress has caused me to develop an annoying secondary personality?"
"...no, I'd go with 'possessed', rather than schizophrenic. Big difference, albeit just by a technicality. Either way...a shame what happened to your little friend...and also a shame what's going to happen to all of your little friends...unless you decide to cooperate with me. I need you to get out of this interference field, so I can connect with the hive again. If you do this little thing friend, your friends will go free. And of course I will also honor the other parts of our little deal."

"You kidding?! You killed Sam and you expect me to help you?!"
"Listen...I'm trying to be reasonable with you here. Sooner or later, I will break through those pesky little defenses of yours...and then nothing is going to save you, your friends or this rotten world! All of it will burn! And I will wear your sorry ass for the prom in hell!"

Azrael smiled, went over to his bed and laid down, upon which Walter asked, "...what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Me? Nothing. Because the way I see it, as long as I don't do anything...you can't either. And thank you for telling me that you're there...because now that I know that, I'll stop pestering the others about leaving the compound."
"...you think you're so smart, don't you?"
"Nah, but I'm smart enough to not do what you want me to. I'll just stay in here like a good little schizophrenic until the day where I die...and then I'll drag you down to hell with me personally. They must be waiting for us over there already."

Walter tried talking to Azrael for a whole while longer, but Azrael simply didn't listen any more.

And thus more weeks passed, with John only pushing the food for Azrael through a small hatch built into the door. And Azrael wouldn't have it any other way.

At the beginning of the next spring however, the door sprung open, waking Azrael from his daze and in came a whole team of people in white clothes, accompanied with a few armed guards, who immediately targeted Azrael.

"Ah, did the outside world finally decide to clean up this mess?" Azrael asked mildly amused. From behind the people in white, a grown Derrick pushed himself to the front and said, "No, but they're our research team. The finest minds from all over the condemned zone. Anyway, wanna know why we're here?"
"...you're going to tell me anyway, aren't you?" Azrael replied indifferently.

"You can say that again...we finally managed to synthesize the cure."
"...say what?" Azrael said, sitting up slowly.
Derrick pulled out a syringe and said, "This here is an anti-virus. We tried it on a few of the Zombies but so far, all of the specimen died in captivity."
"Then why are you even here, if it's not working?"
"...you remember the blood samples we took from you, yeah? Well, one of the researchers here had the bright idea to infect one of your samples with the anti-virus...and something astonishing happened. Within a few generations, the anti-virus mutated...and gobbled up the zombie virus without leaving behind a trace. We extracted a sample and tried it on another Zombie and that...that one is getting better. He has already begun to speak again. Azrael, this stuff here...you can make this a cure."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Make more of that stuff!"

One of the people in white shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not so easy. The amount of blood required to create enough of the cure is staggering...it's far more than you can give."
"Then...it is hopeless?"
"We'll make this work, don't worry," Derrick cut in and then replied, "However you don't need to wait this long. We've got your DNA sequenced, we'll figure out how to make this anti-virus work for everyone. But you...you can be human again now."
"More like I'm your guinea pig, eh?"
"I won't lie, there is a risk involved...however all tests indicate that this anti-virus specifically attacks the infected cells and gobbles up the entire Zombie-Virus."

Azrael remained silent for a few seconds and then asked, "...this stuff is going to make me human again? A regular, run-of-the-mill human?"
"Yes. We also believe that it should take care of your unwelcome...guest, but there's no guarantee about that. However..."
"If this stuff works, he won't be a problem any more, because I lose the ability to communicate with the Zombies...I get it."
Derrick looked at the ground, as if Azrael had caught him with his pants down, but eventually nodded.

Azrael got up and reached out his arm, upon which Walter asked, "You are aware that this is likely going to kill you, am I right? You're throwing your life away."
However Azrael didn't reply as he allowed Derrick to inject the cure into his veins.

Almost immediately, cold sweat broke from every single pore of his body as it began fighting the new infection.

Azrael stumbled a little, having difficulties to stay on his feet and while Derrick and some of the others tried to support him, Walter chimed in the back of his head, "I told you, didn't I? And who's to say that there was a cure in there to begin with? What if it was laced with poison? What if they're just trying to get rid of you?"

Azrael grabbed Derrick and asked, "This anti-virus...will it multiply within me?"
"Yes, that's what viruses do after all! I know this probably hurts, but..."
"Meh, it could be worse...listen...just for the last time...I wanna see the sun. Let me out...and close the door after me!"
"But...but once the anti-virus is done, you'll be human again! The...the Zombies will tear you apart!"
Azrael merely smiled, when it slowly dawned on Derrick as he mumbled, "Good God...a cascaded infection with the anti-virus...that's...that's brilliant! But Azrael, why..."
"My time is up, Derrick. Azrael...the angel of death...this world doesn't need any more death. Let...let me go. Let...me die...on my terms, please."

Someone from the people in white asked, "Derrick, I really don't think this..."
"...let him go. He wants to play hero? Fine...Azzy, listen...the interference field reaches out about 500 meter around the bunker...what you make with this info is up to you."
Azrael nodded and accompanied by a number of armed guards, he was lead towards the entrance of the bunker, where John, Gordon and Maria were already waiting.
John asked, "Are you sure about this? You fought so hard to make all of this possible, nobody can ask..."
Azrael coughed, "Nobody did ask me to do anything...this is my decision...my last attempt at redemption...if I should see Lily again, I'll tell her 'Hi' from you...okay?"

Tears welled up inside John's eyes, as he nodded and pulled the shaking Azrael into a big hug, while Azrael's sight was blurring more with every single second.
After he let him go, Gordon stepped to the side and opened the door, saying, "Go give 'em hell, Kid...and if God didn't keep a spot in paradise for you, I'll tear him a new one. Tell that to the big guy once you stand in front of him, 'kay?"
Azrael nodded with a weak smile as he felt like fainting every second.

When he looked over to Maria, Maria looked away, muttering something incomprehensible, but eventually she just ran away, leaving behind the smell of salt in the air.
Someone from the medical stuff walked up to Azrael and said, "This is the strongest sedative we've got, Azrael...it'll numb the pain. I...I don't know what to say, but..."
John cut in, "Then just let him go, you stupid idiot...meet you in five in the chapel."
The man nodded and Azrael shambled out of the bunker, not looking back.

A few minutes later, he was already out of sight, as he began hearing the voices of the nearby Zombies. Another few minutes later, he was out of the interference field and with the last of his strength he pulled out the syringe, put it on his arm and yelled, "Dinner's ready, you god forsaken bastards!"

He then injected the sedative into his veins and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep from which he never was to wake again.

Brave new world


It's been 5 days now, since Azrael committed the ultimate sacrifice. What the Zombies did to him really wasn't pretty, there was barely anything of him left to bury after they were done with him, but it at least seems to have paid off. Shortly after getting infected with the anti-virus, the Zombies got disoriented and split into different directions and once the anti-virus had decreased the concentration of the virus, they were preyed upon by other Zombies, who tore them apart...our estimates are that by the end of the year, most of the walking dead will be back to their human selves. I pray every day, that they won't remember what happened ever since, but I guess that remains to be seen.

Maria and John got married that day Azrael went out and he's currently undergoing the transformation himself using the virus we extracted from Azrael's remains. They both agreed that, if they were to have a son, they would name him Azrael.

Day 20
We finally managed to synthesize the actual cure. I don't think we could have done it without the samples we took from Azrael's maimed body. The sedative he put into the mix had a very interesting effect on the anti-virus, which keeps them walking away from each other, though I'll just bet that it's somehow Azrael's wish to save this world that keeps them moving. Even from the grave, he's fighting for us.

Gordon decided to start other 'outbreaks' of the anti-virus, traveling from colony to colony as a preacher, bringing the message of hope and the tale of Azrael, the Anti-Zombie to the people and also infecting a Zombie or two while he is at it.

Day 30
Our estimates were way off. We managed to isolate the communication signal of the Zombies and it's growing weaker and more distant with each day by the thousands. The cascade is rolling and we hope that it'll all be over by the end of this month.

There's now pilgrims coming to the battleground of Azrael and the Uber-Zombie. We torched the bunker and everything within it. Something like this must never ever happen again.

Year 2
Society is slowly getting back on its feet and there's been contact with the outside world again. The little Azrael is growing up fine and not a day passes where new people are showing up at the colonies. Someone wanted to build a statue for Azrael and the other Anti-Zombies, who protected mankind, but then people realized, that nobody ever took a photo of the bunch. So we went for a plain memorial...this is going to be a long list of names we need to engrave into a wall. But I'll be damned if Azrael's name isn't on the top.

Year 2, Day 203
They built the memorial, however it isn't Azrael's name right on the top. After the guys in charge read through Azrael's diary and also consulting other sources, they decided to list the victims of the Zombie crisis in chronological order...Walter is one of the first names on the list. And I really can't find myself disagreeing with this.

Azrael on the other hand is right at the bottom of the list, because he was the last documented victim. And the fun thing is, nobody knows what the Hell his real name was.

Year 5, Day 103
I think, this will be my last entry. The world is slowly recovering from the Zombie crisis, it's been months since the last one has been spotted and all of the survivors have received immunization.

Dear diary, even if you wouldn't believe it, but I honestly found a girl of my own. Being called a hero really helps with the chicks, but this one is special. I just think I might be able to settle down and start a new life with her.

Wherever you are, Azrael...thank you. Because without you, I'd never would've met her. I would have died in my own little bubble, without hope and without future. Thanks to you, I've now got both.

Please rest now. We've got it from here.
The final chapter of the Anti-Zombie saga.
These always get me a little nostalgic, because they make me think just how much time I've sunk into writing the story.

I hope you enjoyed the ride, however little of you may be there and thank you very much for joining me on this journey.

And if there are any questions left, feel free to ask them. The story may be over, but I'm still here to answer them. :)
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ISAPU's avatar
i knew he was going to kill himself in the end , but i guess this time he chose the right timing .
the feelings this chapter gave me are similar to what i felt while watching the last scenes of i am legend , i almost cried .
i m not surprised walter came back , although there wasn t much for him to do , so it s finally over . 
it was a good journey :)