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2024-10-29 19:42:56“Stay close to me, Mel!”
Jake shouted, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of growls and screams. His daughter, clutching a small, blood-stained baseball bat, stood behind him, her eyes wide with fear and determination. She had learned to fight, too. There was no other choice in this world. Something lunged at them, its mouth open in a silent scream. It was half dead and carried the smell of rotten corpse along with it. It was called a Rager. Jake drove his spear into its chest, feeling the resistance of bone and muscle before it pierced the heart. Trying to kil them like humans would do nothing most times, depending on the durability of the Rager. This one was no exception as it still continued to move even after its heart was struck. Mel screamed and used her bat continuously to bash its head until it longer moved. The rager fell, but in its place, two more had emerged, their eyes blazing with the hunger for flesh. “Mel, now!!” Jake yelled. Mel swung her bat with all her might, the wooden club connecting with a sickening crunch against the skull of a rager. It staggered back, but the other grabbed her arm, pulling her toward its gnashing teeth. Jake’s heart immediately skipped, seeing her in danger. With a roar, he lunged forward, kicking the rager that grabbed her arm. Then, he pulled out a Ruger 10/22 riffle and shot the rager on the head as it fell. He forcefully pulled the bat out of the other Rager’s skull and shot it immediately. He yanked Mel to safety as it fell to the ground. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice trembling. “I’m fine dad,” She replied, her voice small but steady. She wiped a smear of blood from her cheek, took her bat from her father and tightened her grip on it. Jake looked at her bat, it had cracks and looked like it would break at any moment from then. Instantly, he regretted not having forced her into learning how to use a gun. He had always wanted to teach her how to use a gun because he thought her weapon was clumsy. Other than that, it was the fastest way to kill a rager without getting too close on it – close enough to get infected. Being stubborn, she always resisted, she had a trauma she had never healed from; Her mother was killed long before the start of the virus, when Mel was ten. Someone had shot her mother during a robbery, when they went to a supermarket to get groceries. Ever since then, Mel had hated guns and would not hold one even if her life depended on it. “Dad! Focus” Mel said, tugging Jake’s shirt. He had drifted far, and at time like this? There was no time to rest. The ragers were unending, a tide of rage and death. Jake fought with a ferocity born of desperation, his spear a blur as he struck at the oncoming monsters. He felt their claws rake against his skin, their skin snapping inches from his face. But he couldn’t afford to falter. Mel’s life depended on him. As he fought, the world around him began to shift. The landscape blurred, the sounds of battle fading into the background. He found himself in the old house, the one he had shared with his daughter. The familiar creak of the floorboards under his feet was a stark contrast to the chaos outside. Jake moved slowly through the dimly lit hallway, the sound of Mel’s voice echoing in his ears. “Daddy, come on!” Her voice was a sweet melody, a stark reminder of the innocence that had been brutally taken from them. He reached her room, the door ajar. Pushing it open, he saw her sitting on the floor, playing with her favorite doll. She looked up at him with those big blue eyes, a smile spread across her face. For a moment, everything seemed normal. But then, the scene shifted again. The room darkened, and Mel’s smile faded. Her eyes clouded over with a milky haze, and she began to convulse. Slowly, the scenery began to the change. From the nicely arranged room to a house which was scattered and was almost in shambles. Mel appeared in the dark, far down the hall way from where Jake was. He looked up to see her and then she waved slowly slightly tilting her neck to the left as he did so. He then ran towards her but then she fell to the ground, convulsing once more. Jake rushed to her side, his heat pounding in his chest. “Mel! Stay with me, baby. Please” His voice crackled as he held her trembling body. He looked at her left arm and saw that she had been bitten by one of the ragers. The virus had taken her too quickly, far too quickly for him to do anything. He could only watch helplessly as the light faded from her eyes. Her small body went limp in his arms and he screamed, the sound echoing through the empty house. The scenery twisted further. He was back in the battle with Mel, but now Mel was different. Her eyes were vacant, her skin pallid and cold. She was almost a Rager, her once beautiful small hands clawing at him, her mouth open in a snarl. “Daddy, help me,” She whispered, her voice a haunting echo of her former self. She had his gun on her other hand, and as if battling with something, she was fighting to bring the gun up to her head. And as Jake watched in horror, she blew her brains out.
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N-23: The last days Chapter 2 - The ambush i
The sun hung low in the sky, casting shadows over the landscape as Jake tightened his grip on the makeshift spear. The strong stench of death hung in the air and he could barely breathe. Literally, there were decomposing bodies all over the city, a grim reminder of what once was. “When would this end?” He muttered to himself. A year had passed since the N-23 virus had shattered civilization, rendering the world hostile and broken. At the onset, people thought they would band together against the threat. But survival instincts made them selfish, turning on one another. Supplies were stolen, fights broke out, and some even resorted to cannibalism. The common enemy was forgotten as the struggle for survival took precedence. Some formed colonies or enclaves to increases their chances. Jake’s enclave, repurposed from an old military base stood as a beacon of hope in the chaos, but supplies were dwindling. He knew that today’s scavenging mission was critical for their survival. He glanc
N-23: The last days Chapter 3 - The ambush ii
“Ragers!” Sam exclaimed, his grip tightening on his riffle. “Move, now!” Jake ordered, leading the way towards the exit. They had just reached the exit door when about two dozen of ragers flooded in from the entrance. These were the hyper-aggressive variants, their eyes wild with furry, their movements unnaturally fast. Unlike this strain, the first set of ragers were slow and had no sense of anything around them. They were nearly alike to the zombies you would read in horror movies. The only thing they knew was their instinct to spread, which they did through mostly by biting or eating their victims. As time progressed, the virus began to mutate, evolved into a hive mind; A hive mind that seemed like it had a goal. Someone or Something was organizing this ragers and making their attacks intelligent. It was scarier to discover a zombie like species who also had intelligence like humans. There were rumors about different strains of the virus but Jake only knew about two; the hyper-aggre
N-23: The last days Chapter 4 - Explosive escape
The Ragers were still in the store, looking for them and ransacking the whole place. “We need to move” Jake whispered. “You ain’t go to tell me twice, captain obvious” Liam said, bringing out the bomb he had finished designing days ago. “So, this is lucy. It has the capacity to blow this whole building to bits, but we need to escape. Once activated, we have about a minute or two to leave this building.” “Problem solved then” Alex said almost happy. “You know, for a professor, you are quite dumb. So, we blow the building with us in it einstein? Wonderful idea” For a mechanic, Liam had a very sharp mouth. Alex almost went at him but Jake looked at him furiously. “You guys should pull yourselves together. We are in a big prick of a problem here. We could actually die!”. Jake almost shouted. There was an instant rush of movements outside the store room. He quickly decreased his voice “We need to work together please.” He then turned to Liam. Liam brought out a fancy gadget and scan
N-23: The last days Chapter 5 - T.I.T.A.N
The whole building went apart in pieces, the shock waves sending Jake flying few meters across. He looked at his team smiling, but they all seemed to have a worried look on their face. He turned back to see two hyper-ragers coming his way, running. The shock waves from the blast still made him feel dizzy and weak. Two shots were fired, and immediately the ragers fell to the ground. Sam blew the smoke from his shot gun and Jake smiled. Alex ran over to help him up. “That was one hell of a bomb you built there” Jake said to Liam, half smiling. “And that’s why I’m the mechanic” Liam replied, patting Jake’s back. “Let’s go home” Maria said, hopeful. She was almost in tears. As they moved to head back to the base, a car came crashing in front of them; Something had hurled the car towards them. But what? They all turned back to see the scariest thing they had ever set their eyes on. Among the chaotic horde of ragers, one stood out. It was enormous, towering over the others with a
N-23: The last days Chapter 6 - The juggernaut
Following the G.P.S path which Titan has put on the device on his wrist, Mason headed to the point of the disturbance. He had a very wide grin on his face like a kid who had been promised candy. He was so going to enjoy this. Just then, he heard a very loud explosion and he didn’t need his equipment to tell him where it came from. There was smoke rising to the atmosphere some meters from him. He ran, going to the source of the smoke. After some seconds, he found himself near an explosion site, smoke filling the air and almost choking him. “Looks like we have just hit jackpot” Mason said to Titan, grinning. where he saw a group of people trying to escape from a horde of ragers. Amongst the ragers was a juggernaut rager, as Mason has named them. It was running at full speed towards the group, shaking the ground heavily as it ran. “Titan, ready the drones” He had wider grin than before. “Yes sir” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The creature let out a guttural roar, a
N-23: The last days Chapter 7 - The sound of survival
Mason had Titan power the cannon and shot at the juggernaut, but this time it did nothing than push the juggernaut a few meters back. Mason’s face showed excitement; he was loving the fight. Meanwhile, Jake’s team was managing. Due to the help of the initial sonic canon, the agility of the hyper-ragers were slowed down. It made things easier for them. Rita was a beast; severing heads like she was playing a zombie video game. Maria who was weak was getting a hang of it. She would use the spear given to her by Jake, piercing the heads of ragers. Though she was slow. Rita killed four per one of Maria’s kills. Sam had no problem getting close to ragers. His shooting skills made him keep his distance. Alex and Liam were clumsy as usual, making jokes of everything. Jake on the other hand was weak, still feeling pains from the shockwaves of the explosions. “We are done over here” Jake yelled over to Mason, breathing so fast. “Titan, increase the output and the frequency of the blast.
N-23: The last days Chapter 8 - Escape and rescue
“Who the hell are you anyway?” Alex asked, looking directly into Mason’s eyes. Everyone had different questions, but there was no time to entertain them. “I’m the guy who saved your asses. Look, we ain’t got no time for questions. Unless you want that big guy over there ripping us apart, we need to find way to get out of here” Mason said. He was already tired of hearing questions and was already wishing he had left. Jake understood what the team needed and spoke to them in private. He wanted them to avoid asking questions but try to make it back to base. “Alright” Mason said, breaking the silence. “We don’t have that much time. That juggernaut will be back on its feet any minute now, and when it does, it’ll be angrier than before. We need to move fast and quietly" “Wait” jake interjected. “What the hell is a juggernaut? Why’d you call the other ones hyper-ragers” His whole team looked at him, since he was the one that said no questions. Mason took a deep breath, knowing these q
N-23: The last days Chapter 9 - The sacrifice I
The group moved out, following Titan's directions. They navigated through the deserted streets, their senses heightened by the ever-present danger. As they approached Ryan's location, they could hear the growls and snarls of the ragers. Ryan was cornered in an alley, desperately trying to fend off the ragers with a makeshift weapon. His face was a mask of fear and determination. "Ryan!" Jake shouted, rushing forward. “I’m sorry Jake. I thought I could show you that I could also do operations.” Ryan said, almost crying. The team formed a protective circle around the boy, fighting off the ragers with all their might. Luckily for them, the ragers were the first strain and weren’t fast at all. Mason's drones provided crucial support, their sonic cannons disorienting the ragers and giving the group a chance to strike. But the sheer number of ragers made it clear that this was a losing battle. "We need to fall back!" Mason shouted. "There's too many of them!" As they started to r
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Ryan sat by the gates, thinking. He couldn’t help but continuously blame himself for what happened to Jake. If only he had stayed in the enclave; Thoughts like that. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Sam looking at him with a mix of concern and something else—something that looked almost like respect. “Jake would be proud of you,” Sam said quietly. “He always believed in you.” Ryan didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. The words were meant to comfort, but they only made the ache in his chest grow stronger. Jake had believed in him, and now Jake was gone. How was he supposed to live up to that? Sam’s expression softened, and he squeezed Ryan’s shoulder before letting go. “Get some rest,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Ryan nodded again, though the idea of sleep seemed impossible. His mind was too full of thoughts, memories, and emotions that refused to be silenced. But he knew that Sam was
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Chapter 14 - visit of pain
The walk back to the enclave was slow and silent, the weight of what they had just experienced hanging heavily over them. Every step felt like a struggle, as if the very earth beneath them was trying to pull them down, to drag them into the same abyss that had claimed Jake. Mason was the only one who wasn’t dragged by what had happened. He had just met Jake, so he wasn’t emotionally attached, though he felt for Jake’s team. His two drones went ahead of them, scanning the perimeter ahead to scout out routes that were ragers free. It was a long and silent walk back to the enclave but after some hours, they were at its gate. Mario, as the enclave called him, was the gate keeper. He was in-charge of watching over the base surroundings for incoming ragers. He had a shift partner, Marcus but Marcus usually slacks off. Mar io could easily read the room as the team approached him. At first, he wondered why they held long faces as their number were complete and they even had one more. “R
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The explosion shattered the night, sending a shockwave that rippled through the surrounding landscape. A plume of fire and smoke billowed into the sky, briefly illuminating the darkness as debris rained down. Ryan’s ears rang from the blast, his vision blurred by tears and smoke. He tried to process what had just happened, but his mind refused to accept it. Jake, the man who had been like a father to him, was gone—ripped apart by the juggernaut and consumed in the explosion. Maria’s scream pierced through the noise, dragging Ryan back to reality. She struggled against Alex’s grip, desperate to run back toward the burning wreckage that had once been their friend and leader. “Jake!” she cried, her voice raw and broken. “Jake!” Alex felt like he was moving through molasses as he reached out to her. He had to stop her, had to make her see that it was too late, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, he could only watch as she crumpled to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
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Chapter 12 - virus profile - 2
Stalkers - Description: These Ragers are stealthy and cunning, often ambushing their prey. They have enhanced sensory perception and can move silently. They could be the scariest as some of my tests has shown that they could mimic normal humans and pretend not to be infected; Attacking when the prey is least at alert. They could be detected by special heat signatures detectors which can show the difference between humans and the cold half dead bodies of the ragers. - Origin: Developed in environments where stealth was advantageous for survival. Einstein Ragers: - Description: I have only seen one of these and they are very scary. They aren’t aggressive like other ragers and possess certain degree of human intelligence. I don’t know if it was a mutation or just an anomaly, but they can co-ordinate complex attacks and set traps. They could also use weapons and fight like normal humans. Unlike other ragers, it has other intentions than feeding and spreading. Surprisingly, it can eng
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Chapter 11 - Virus profile - 1
N-23 Virus Profile Written by Mason Grey, Scientist and technologist. Introduction Over time, I, Mason grey had carried out various theoretical and practical experiments on these Ragers, to come up with a survival profile for them. Some of the results, shocking and the mutations, breathe taking. This document delves into the scientific intricacies of how the virus hijacks human physiology, the mutations that have given rise to various Rager variants, and the countermeasures that have shown some promise in containing its spread. The following sections will detail the virus’s transmission, transmission phases, biological mechanisms, and the emerging strategies to counter this unprecedented threat. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and never underestimate the cunning of the N-23 virus. Overview The N-23 virus, also known as Necrovirus-23, is a highly engineered pathogen designed with a sinister purpose. Its origins remain shrouded in mystery, but its effects are devastatingly clea
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Chapter 10 - The Sacrifice II
"Jake, come on!" Maria shouted, but Jake shook his head. "Go!" he yelled. "I'll hold it off and come join you guys soon." He smiled a fake smile. One that Maria knew would be the last. Amongst everyone on the team, she was the one closest to Jake. They would always sit at the balcony at nights looking at the moon while she would tell Jake of her nightmares. Jake wasn’t one to express his feelings. She never knew he dreamt of his daughter every day. He never mentioned anything about her. Once, she kissed him but he withdrew, saying nothing as he stood and left the balcony. Since then, they always looked at each other differently. Watching him die would destroy her. With sadness in their eyes, the group retreated, dragging a reluctant Ryan and a crying Maria with them. Mason's drones provided cover, but even his advanced weaponry couldn't stop the juggernaut for long. As they reached the safety of the warehouse, a gut-wrenching scream echoed through the air. Ryan turned back, his he
- N-23: The last days
Chapter 9 - The sacrifice I
The group moved out, following Titan's directions. They navigated through the deserted streets, their senses heightened by the ever-present danger. As they approached Ryan's location, they could hear the growls and snarls of the ragers. Ryan was cornered in an alley, desperately trying to fend off the ragers with a makeshift weapon. His face was a mask of fear and determination. "Ryan!" Jake shouted, rushing forward. “I’m sorry Jake. I thought I could show you that I could also do operations.” Ryan said, almost crying. The team formed a protective circle around the boy, fighting off the ragers with all their might. Luckily for them, the ragers were the first strain and weren’t fast at all. Mason's drones provided crucial support, their sonic cannons disorienting the ragers and giving the group a chance to strike. But the sheer number of ragers made it clear that this was a losing battle. "We need to fall back!" Mason shouted. "There's too many of them!" As they started to r
- N-23: The last days
Chapter 8 - Escape and rescue
“Who the hell are you anyway?” Alex asked, looking directly into Mason’s eyes. Everyone had different questions, but there was no time to entertain them. “I’m the guy who saved your asses. Look, we ain’t got no time for questions. Unless you want that big guy over there ripping us apart, we need to find way to get out of here” Mason said. He was already tired of hearing questions and was already wishing he had left. Jake understood what the team needed and spoke to them in private. He wanted them to avoid asking questions but try to make it back to base. “Alright” Mason said, breaking the silence. “We don’t have that much time. That juggernaut will be back on its feet any minute now, and when it does, it’ll be angrier than before. We need to move fast and quietly" “Wait” jake interjected. “What the hell is a juggernaut? Why’d you call the other ones hyper-ragers” His whole team looked at him, since he was the one that said no questions. Mason took a deep breath, knowing these q
- N-23: The last days
Chapter 7 - The sound of survival
Mason had Titan power the cannon and shot at the juggernaut, but this time it did nothing than push the juggernaut a few meters back. Mason’s face showed excitement; he was loving the fight. Meanwhile, Jake’s team was managing. Due to the help of the initial sonic canon, the agility of the hyper-ragers were slowed down. It made things easier for them. Rita was a beast; severing heads like she was playing a zombie video game. Maria who was weak was getting a hang of it. She would use the spear given to her by Jake, piercing the heads of ragers. Though she was slow. Rita killed four per one of Maria’s kills. Sam had no problem getting close to ragers. His shooting skills made him keep his distance. Alex and Liam were clumsy as usual, making jokes of everything. Jake on the other hand was weak, still feeling pains from the shockwaves of the explosions. “We are done over here” Jake yelled over to Mason, breathing so fast. “Titan, increase the output and the frequency of the blast.