The Revenant Mutation

Chapter 5: First Contact

The truck and school bus barreled down a dusty road, flanked by the skeletal remains of houses, each a silent witness to the apocalypse's wrath. An hour ago, they had finally shaken off the last of the zombies. Paul sat beside the driver, staring at the blood dripping off his machete, pooling on the rubber vehicle mat.

Inside the bus, twelve raiders sat scattered, their fatigue palpable. They had barely spent ten minutes looting when the zombies attacked. Resource runs were always dangerous, but this one had been particularly harrowing.

Deji, a seasoned fighter at just eighteen, felt a gnawing worry. He had seen countless battles and lost too many friends. Each encounter left a deeper scar, and today felt particularly foreboding. As he sat, his back against the window and legs sprawled in exhaustion, he wondered why the zombie leading the others hadn’t killed them. Michael, his friend and teammate, shook him from his thoughts, sitting in the empty row behind.

“Thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Except you’re also thinking that the Alpha Zombie has it out for us?” Deji asked, raising an eyebrow.

Michael nodded. “It’s not the first time we’ve run into it on a supply run. Feels like it’s waiting for us.”

“Maybe, but we didn’t even see it this time. Could’ve been another Alpha Zombie,” Deji said, though he wasn’t convinced himself.

“Which might be even worse,” Michael muttered. “If there’s more than one of those things around, we’re in serious trouble.”

‘One Alpha Zombie can rally hundreds of zombies. If there are two…’, realizing his words made their situation sound worse, Deji quickly added. “We can’t ignore this,” he muttered. ‘...Alpha Zombies aren’t just threats; they’re death sentences.’

“They aren’t easy to kill. They hide behind their hordes. If we can’t get close, how can we kill it? I don’t think a bow and arrow will do the job. In case you forgot, we don’t have guns.”

Deji’s worry deepened as Michael spoke. Despite their differences, they had a mutual respect forged in battle, they both understood the severity of their situation if their suspicions were correct. “I doubt anyone can kill it even if they get close to it. Remember our first encounter?”

Michael nodded, recalling their first encounter with what everyone in the team had begun calling an ‘Alpha Zombie’. Large, grotesque, and nearly impossible to kill. One teammate had even sacrificed himself, hugging the Alpha Zombie with their only grenades. They had believed the explosion would kill it, but it stood, only slightly damaged.

“That fat f*cker is not easily killed,” Michael swore. He still vividly recalled their harrowing encounter with the Alpha Zombie. It was terrifyingly swift and powerful, capable of tearing humans apart and devouring their teammates before their eyes. Yet, what struck fear the most was its ability to rally other zombies nearby, akin to a territorial beast. If left unchecked, it could lay claim to the entire city. Michael couldn't shake the dread of what would happen if the Alpha Zombie mobilized a horde that swept through their surroundings. What options did their small base have but to wait, helpless against such overwhelming odds?

As he became more immersed in his thoughts, Deji's alarmed voice disrupted his thoughts. 

“What’s wrong, Matt?”

Michael looked up to see Matthew, a new recruit who had been a kitchen helper before joining the raiding team. Matthew’s face was pale, and he was trembling.

Deji's voice was loud, drawing the attention of everyone on the bus. Weapons were gripped, ready for action. Michael drew his weapon almost immediately as well. They knew too well how quickly someone could turn into a zombie.

Matthew was trembling, his face pale. “Did you get bitten, fool?” James - one of the raiders - demanded, his voice a mix of fear and anger. In the base, Matthew belonged to James’s gang of friends, but this didn’t stop James from pointing his cutlass at the ready.

Matthew’s trembling intensified, his eyes wide with terror. “Stay back!” Paul ordered as the bus swerved, adding to the chaos. ‘Damn roads’, Paul cursed inwardly.

Paul held onto the seats to keep his balance as he walked down the aisle towards Matthew, machete in hand. The bus kept moving; staying still was too dangerous. 

“No. No, nothing’s wrong with me,” Matthew said, panic in his voice, backing away.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Matthew. I just want to make sure you’re alright,” Paul said.

“I’m fine,” Matthew insisted, but he looked anything but fine.

“He was already shaking, Cap. Muscle spasms and shivering are symptoms of the infection,” Michael noted, gripping his cutlass.

Paul threw a glance towards Deji, “Is he infected?” He knew it was possible that Matthew was just experiencing a hard time, it would be sad if he killed the boy without proof.

“He is already showing the symptoms, he is infected. There is no saving him,” Deji said, he was the medic of the team. 

Matthew wanted to counter and scream that he wasn't, but his jaw locked, preventing him from speaking. Fear dawned on him. He looked towards the door, but it could only be opened by the driver. He ran towards Paul, hoping that he could get past the team and escape the bus from the front door. His fear blinded him to the improbability of a positive result from his actions.

Slash!

Matthew’s head struck the window, ricocheted off the seats, and landed with a lifeless thud on the floor. Paul stood over him, a shadow of sadness flickering across his face before he buried it deep. Blood trickled from his machete, forming crimson pools on the bus floor.

“No,” a muffled scream came from one of the female Raiders.

The bus stopped, and the back door swung open. Deji, Michael, and Gideon, one of the raiders, carried Matthew’s body and head out, placing them by the roadside.

“We can’t just leave his body out there,” Lara, a girl with a crossbow and braids, said.

“No, Lara. We’ll bury him. It’s the least we can do,” Paul replied, handing out shovels. The team dug a shallow grave and placed Matthew’s remains in it. 

The team members pounded their chests twice before returning to the bus. The atmosphere was solemn. Deji felt a tinge of despair. ‘Will I die like this one day?’ he wondered, looking back at the grave.

James suddenly grips Deji’s shirt, his eyes reddened from unshed tears, “You could have saved him. How could you just decide his fate like that?”

Deji stared into his eyes without emotion, “What made you think I could have saved him?”

“You saved Bosun weeks ago from a zombie bite, don't tell me you couldn't have done the same”

“Bosun was bitten in his forearm, and I cut off his entire forearm within seconds of the bite. Matthew was already infected, he was getting delirious and his muscles were spasming. He was too far gone.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you are worse than the zombies.”

James said with a tone laced with venom before pushing Deji away, and leaving. 

From his words, Deji could feel James's unwillingness to accept his loss. He glanced at the grave, he knew Matthew was in James's gang, so they must have been close.

He sighed inwardly.

Michael patted his shoulder, “There is nothing you could have done. Thank God you noticed it earlier. I can imagine what would happen if you hadn't.”

As they were entering the bus, they noticed that Paul was staring ahead, down the road. Deji spotted a silhouette approaching, with two appendages flapping in the wind above its head. It seemed Paul was staring at this approaching figure too. 

Everyone else noticed that their team leader and medic seemed to be drawn to something, so they drew their weapons, but Paul gave an order. “At ease!”

 Deji came to his side, “Human?”

“Looks like it”

“Can a human walk around in the city all alone?” Michael asked from the side, his lithe figure tensed and ready for a fight.

“If they are lucky enough, or crazy enough”, Paul's voice was distant like he was trying to make sense of something in his thoughts.

Deji shot a look towards Gideon who was drawing closer too, the only person they knew to have survived alone in the wild for a long time before meeting other humans. “Or it could be a trap, a mole from the brigands perhaps?” he analyzed from another perspective.

‘We can't be sure until we are sure. He might truly be a threat…’

“I just killed a team member, I would rather not kill an innocent traveler.”

“And if he isn't innocent?”

“You won't need to worry about that.” 

As the figure drew nearer, the details became clearer: a young man, barely out of his teens, his worn clothes a stark contrast to his well-groomed dark hair and expressive eyes. He looked ethereal, like an Adonis in rags.

“That’s close enough! Make another move, and we’ll turn you into a hedgehog,” Paul warned, hand on his machete. Some raiders raised their crude crossbows towards the newcomer.

The young man stopped, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m a survivor. I heard the engine and came to take a look.”

“And we’re supposed to believe that?” James snarled, cutlass ready. He had already lost a friend, the last thing wants was for some infected person to get on the bus with them.

“What if he is a brigand?” Lara added.

Murmurs rose among the team members and many of them started looking at Victor unfavorably.

“Who are you? Where are you from?” Paul asked.

“My name is Victor. I got separated from my family. I’ve been hiding and running for days. I don’t know where I am,” Victor explained, his expressive eyes showing fear and hope.

Paul looked at him with suspicion. “James, pat him down. Check if he’s bitten. Gideon, help him.”

Compared to Victor’s athletic and average build, James was a few centimeters taller, muscular and imposing with rugged and battle-worn attire. Gideon, on the other hand, was lean and athletic, with a physique that made Victor think of a trained martial artist. He has sharp, alert eyes and a composed demeanor, a contrast to James’ challenging and angry gaze.

James began checking Victor’s body but Victor caught his wrist, stopping him.

Gideon narrowed his eyes as his muscles tensed up, ready to act if anything went wrong.

But Victor only looked at James coldly, “I’m not bitten.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” James said but didn’t continue the search. They stared at each other.

Seeing that Victor wasn’t trying to launch any attack, Paul decided to intervene.

“That’s okay, James,” 

James backed off, leaving Victor to smooth his clothes.

“What happened to you?” Paul asked.

“My family and I ran into zombies. We got separated. I’ve been searching for them for three days,” Victor replied.

Paul scrutinized him, making Victor feel like Paul could see all his secrets. Paul was silent for a few seconds like he was debating something within himself. Finally, he smiled warmly.

“We’re from King Moon, a base a few kilometers ahead. You can come with us. If your family is alive, they could find you there.”

Victor pretended to think before nodding in agreement. 

“I’m Paul, the team leader. Come.”

When Victor entered the bus, he was hit by the thick smell of blood, one from an infected. Although he could shut his senses off, it wasn't something as easy as flipping a switch. Victor froze to the spot as he struggled to put the smell of the blood at the back of his mind.

“We had a little problem. It’s taken care of now,” Paul explained. Seeing Victor pause for several seconds, he tapped Victor's shoulder and asked, “Are you alright?”

“It’s just blood. Scared?” James taunted.

“Back off, James,” Deji said weakly.

“Or what?” The temperature in the bus dropped as both youths looked ready to fight.

“Enough,” Paul commanded. Deji and James looked away, with Deji sitting in an empty seat.

Victor finally calmed himself down as he smiled wryly, “I'm not good with blood”

“Just sit far from it.”

Victor sat beside the window, a few seats from the blood. Hoping the wind would reduce the smell he would have to experience.

Everyone stared at him, as he now sat where Matthew had been.

The bus came to life, and with the truck trailing behind, their journey continued.