Awakening: Parables From The Apocalypse - Dystopian Fiction Read online

  Awakening

  Parables From The Apocalypse Book Four

  Written by

  Norman Christof

  Published by Digital Storm Solutions Inc.

  This is a work of fiction. If you find any similarities to real people, places, events or planets you're sadly mistaken.

  © 2014 Norman Christof / Digital Storm Solutions Inc.

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

  Author Info at http://NormanChristof.com

  Also by Norman Christof

  Parables From The Apocalypse

  Endings

  Revealed

  Mutation

  Awakening

  Rising

  For my girls.

  Cover Photo Credits

  flickr.com/photos/madely87/

  flickr.com/photos/shanegorski/

  Table of Contents

  Welcome Back

  Family Ties

  Comatose Dreams

  Zero to Hero

  Your Mission

  Water and Ash

  Family Heartache

  From On High

  All Ashore

  Together Again

  No Doubt

  Reunited

  Three Zombies and A Dinghy

  Just One

  Killing It at the Club

  Kill or Die

  A Difference of Opinion

  Mind Games

  Choosing Sides

  Mental Anguish

  Second Chance

  Renegades

  Adventures in Shopping

  New Recruits

  Prelude to a Kill

  A Newer World Order

  Troubled Trio

  Uncomfortable

  Broken Silence

  Doctor’s Visit

  Who Must Die?

  Moving On

  Welcome Back

  It hurts. Every fiber of my body hurts like hell. What the frig happened to me, and why can’t I remember a thing? Damn, everything hurts so much. It feels like I’ve been run over by a transport truck. I need to get up and open my eyes. Need to find some pain killers. This is just too much to take. Where the hell am I? This feels so much like a dream. It’s like one of those dreams where you’re trying to get away from a pack of freaks, but your legs move slower the harder you try. The freaks are gaining, and there’s nothing you can do to make your muscles move any faster. They’ve got a fifty-miles-per-hour tail wind, and your feet are moving through wet cement. I’ve got to get moving.

  Chaz was lying flat out on his back. He tried to roll over, but his muscles wouldn’t respond. He felt like something was pushing him back down. Why can’t I roll over? Is this what it feels like to be paralyzed? Why can’t I get up? I must just be disoriented. Who knows how long I’ve been lying here. Just take a minute, and collect yourself. You’ve obviously been through some sort of trauma. You just need to get more strength, then you’ll be able to get up. Maybe something’s broken—maybe I broke my back. Chaz tried wiggling his toes and his fingers. Well, that worked. I can move a little. My back can’t be broken. I’ve seen guys paralyzed before, and they thought they could move their fingers and toes, but really they couldn’t. It was all in their mind. Maybe this is just in my mind as well. Maybe I really am paralyzed. He tried tugging at his pants with his fingers. That worked, I could feel that in my legs. I could feel my pants rubbing against my legs. There, I must be alright, I could feel that. I just need to relax. Don’t panic, Chaz, we’re still here. We still have a chance. I don’t know what the hell is wrong or where I am, but if I still have a breath in me, I’m not beaten.

  Think for a minute about what you can remember. If I can think about where I was last, maybe I’ll figure out where I am now. That’s the key here. Stop letting your mind play tricks on you, and focus on what you know. OK. Last thing I remember was getting the hell out of Fort Knox with Christa and Alex. I remember fighting our way out. We had that psycho doctor as a hostage, and eventually we made it to the front door. That place was a freak show, what with Patient Zero carved up into tanks in the lab. That was too much. I remember all the freaks outside. When we got outside things got really crazy. At first all the freaks kept their distance. They didn’t run, they hung back. They didn’t want to, but it was like something was pushing them away. It had to have been Christa. She was keeping us safe. She kept them at bay. But then a few started coming closer. Not many, just a few of the braver ones. The ones that didn’t seem quite so far gone. We fought them off for a while, but then I remember Christa didn’t look so good. She’d been locked up in that lab for too long. They kept her alive but weak because they were afraid of her. Everything after that gets pretty foggy. Like a dream again. I remember fighting, but I think we got overwhelmed. I remember Alex fighting like a madman. He’d always do anything to protect the girl. Hell, for that matter, he’d have done anything to protect me. Not sure why.

  Chaz tried rolling over again but with little success. He got further, but something kept holding him back. He tried once more, and realized his shoulder was being held back. Am I hitting something? What’s holding me back? He strained his neck to raise his head higher and get a closer look at what was above him. He felt his hair and then his head come into contact with something. Squinting his eyes in the dark and focusing as much as he could, all he could see was a flat surface. Is that the ceiling? Why is the ceiling so close to my face? Why am I so close to the ceiling? Damn, that’s not the ceiling. I’m in a frigging box. What the fuck am I doing in a box? Is it really a box? It’s soft on the bottom. Why is it so soft?

  Chaz tried yelling, but he could barely get enough air in to make a whimper. He tried again, sucking in as much air as he could. Again, he barely got enough to make any noise. The air tasted stale, and there wasn’t much of it to go around. He began breathing harder from the panic, like a drowning man trying to suck oxygen from the water. The harder he tried, the less air he got in.

  Damn it, Chaz, get a grip. Slow down your breathing. C’mon, slow it down. There’s nothing to be gained from panic. That’s it, slow down your breathing. Gradually, Chaz regained control of his breathing. OK, think about things now. You’re in a box. The air is stale. You can barely move, because the box is confining. You can’t hear a damn thing, and this thing smells like formaldehyde. I’m in a damn coffin, is where I am. I’m in a coffin and I can’t move. Those bastards frigging buried me alive. Jesus! I don’t know which bastards it was, but I’m putting my money on those damn freaks. The smarter ones. I’ll bet like hell they did it on purpose, just to torture me for the last few minutes of my life. Monsters with a brain, that’s all those things are. Every bit a monster, just friggin’ sick and twisted inside their rotted brains.

  For a moment, Chaz just lay there contemplating his situation. Slowly he breathed in and out, controlling every breath. He breathed as deep as he could for a count of ten, held the stale air inside his lungs for a count of ten, then breathed out at the same methodical pace. For almost fifteen minutes he kept breathing slowly in and slowly out.

  If I’m going to go, it’s going to be on my terms. Not in a panic, and not out of control. I’m Colonel Chaz Sheperd. I’ve gotten myself out of plenty of tough situations, and I may yet find a way out of this one. If those brain-addled freaks can rise from the dead, there’s no reason why I can’t.

  Chaz focused every bit of strength he had into moving his arms up. If I can just get my arms moving, then maybe I can lift the damn l
id on this coffin. Maybe they haven’t stuck me in the ground yet. They probably just drugged me, and that’s why I can’t move. It’s not the coffin restraining me, it’s got to be drugs. It’s why I can barely move. Just focus on one thing. Get your arms to move.

  Chaz struggled for what felt like hours, but was only seconds. His arms barely budged more than an inch. He stopped to catch his breath. He was perspiring heavily, and shaking all over. Again, he recovered by breathing in and out slowly till he felt under control. He tried again, but this time with just his right arm. His arm shook, and pain shot through it from his wrist to his shoulder. He kept focusing and exerting every bit of energy he had into raising his arm. The pain increased, and his whole body began to shake, but eventually his arm did move. At first just a few inches, but then with one last final push his arm broke free into the air. His arm shot straight up and into the air, and came to a stop above his head.

  Oh thank God, I can move again. Or, at least part of me can move. Chaz was dripping with sweat, and still shaking. Happy at first, then realizing that something wasn’t quite right. Hang on, why didn’t my arm hit the top of the coffin? He moved his arm easily now, back down and then up again, trying to feel for the coffin lid. He felt nothing but air. He felt all around above him, but found nothing substantial to hold on to. What the hell, that’s not right.

  Then, he heard sounds. Sounds like a door opening, then someone shuffling across a floor, and the clanging of metal. It was faint, very faint. Then a voice. Muddled, but definitely a voice. It was female.

  “Ah, Mr. Sheperd, it looks like you’re finally awake. Decided you’ve had enough sleep time I suppose. Oh, and look, you’ve gotten your arm out of your restraints. You are an eager one, aren’t you? You know those are there for a reason. We’re just trying to keep you safe.”

  Chaz felt a hand grab hold of his wrist and move it back down to his side. He tried to resist, but was still too weak from his last exertion. Once more, his hand felt restrained to his side. He could barely move it again.

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Sheperd. You’re going to be just fine. I need to keep you from moving around too much. You don’t want to hurt yourself now. After six years of lying in a bed, you’re going to want to take things nice and slow at first.”

  Chaz’s mind reeled. What the hell did she just say? Six years? Chaz tried to speak, but only garbled whispers came out.

  “Now, what did I just tell you, Mr. Sheperd? Take it slow. Just you hang on there one second. Let me dim the lights, and I’ll get those covers off your eyes. You should be able see a little better.”

  Chaz felt hands around his head, and then some cloth being removed from his head and face. He squinted his eyes against what little light was in the room. He was having a hard time making out the objects in the room, but the woman standing close to his bedside and looking down at him was immediately recognizable.

  “It’s so nice to have you back in the land of the living, Colonel Sheperd. They had all given up hope for you years ago, but I had no doubt you’d be back to pay us a visit. I wouldn’t let them turn the machines off. No, sir. I had faith. I knew you’d be back, and we could spend some time getting to know each other all over again. I’m not wrong very often, Colonel. Don’t you agree? Oh, and one other thing. I’ve been talking with your wife.” While Chaz couldn’t react physically, the machines monitoring him showed an increase in heart rate and respiration. That didn’t stop a smiling Dr. Judith Montgomery from sliding a chair over next to his bed and having a seat. She glanced up at the machines. “Your wife had virtually the same reaction when I mentioned you. She’ll be so pleased to hear about your recovery.”

  Family Ties

  Matt rolled into Chaz’s room with his usual smile and enthusiasm. He was carrying a lunch tray and a few pages of new physio exercises for Chaz.

  Chaz moved around in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position. “When the hell do I get out of this bed? I’ve been lying here for over six years, and you people seem intent on keeping me here for another six.”

  “C’mon now, Colonel, you know that’s not my call. I just bring the meals, your workout for the day, and a smile. That’s all they pay me to do around here. And, judging by your current disposition, I’d say they don’t pay me nearly enough.”

  “I don’t need physio, what I need is to get out of this bed and start walking around. That’s the best physio I could possibly do.”

  “Well, Colonel, you’re not really wrong. I think it would be great if you were up and able to walk around, but let’s start with something a little easier. If we overdo things and you end up hurting yourself, your recovery will take that much longer. And trust me when I tell you I’m not the only guy around here that wants you up and taking care of yourself. Believe it or not, I do have other responsibilities around here besides taking abuse from you.”

  “Who else cares about me getting out of here? You talking about Montgomery? If she’s so concerned, why hasn’t she been back to visit? I’m getting a little sick of seeing your face. How about you tell her I’d like to continue the discussion we started.”

  “Colonel, you’re going to have to be a little more patient I think.” Matt flashed one of his overly exuberant smiles. “It’s only been a couple of days since you awoke and Dr. Montgomery is a very busy woman. I’m sure she’ll come back to see you when you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready now, damn it! I want to see my family. She said she’d talked with them. I need to know where they are, and what’s going on.”

  Ignoring his last protest, Matt continued. “Now Colonel, why don’t we see if we can get a little more food into you today? You really didn’t eat much yesterday.”

  Matt set the food tray down in front of Chaz, who immediately picked it up and threw it across the room. Chaz then grabbed Matt by the collar with both hands and pulled his face in close to his.

  “Can you hear me good from here?” Matt just nodded his head in agreement. Chaz continued, “I don’t give a shit about food right now. What I want is to know about my family. You may not realize this, but I thought for sure I had lost them for good the last time I talked with my wife. She left me once already, and eventually ran halfway around the damn world just to get away. To be honest, I’m not sure if she was running from the damn freaks, or if she was running from me. If I don’t get someone in here pronto that has a clue about what is going on with my family, you’re going to see this sunny disposition of mine disappear in a heartbeat.”

  Once again, Matt flashed Chaz another of his overly enthusiastic smiles. He then easily grabbed Chaz’s hands and removed them from his collar, placing them in his lap. Chaz tried to resist, but couldn’t.

  “That’s great, Colonel. I see some of the physio is starting to pay off. Your reflexes are coming along nicely. It won’t take long until your strength starts to come back as well.” Matt never stopped smiling. “I’m sure someone will be along shortly to address any concerns you may have. In the meantime, I’m going to see if I can find some cleaning supplies to get that food off your walls. I’ll be right back.”

  Chaz released his shaking grip on the bed sheets, closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. That was a complete waste of energy. I knew full well there was nothing he could do for me. Why do I even try? It’s Abby that’s got me all worked up. I wonder if she even knows what’s been going on with me these past six years. Would they have told her anything? Damn it, I really need to find out. I don’t know what’s worse, her knowing nothing about my coma and moving on, or her knowing about it and having to live with that for all these years. And then the kids. I can’t even begin to think about what they’ve gone through. I barely understood them as teenagers, and now they’ll be practically adults. So many years lost. They won’t even remember me. Will they even care?

  “Lost in your thoughts I see, Colonel.” Chaz opened his eyes to see General Frank Chambers entering his room. “It’s quite a mess in here. I’ll get the cleaning staff to come get that foo
d off the walls.”

  “That won’t be necessary, Matt’s taking care of it.”

  The general nodded his head in acknowledgment. He grabbed a chair and slid it closer to the bed before having a seat. “So, Colonel, it’s been a while since we had a chance to talk.”

  “Funny that, General, it seems like just yesterday to me. Time does have a way of flying by when you’re in a coma.”

  “I wouldn’t know. But, first thing’s first. I wanted you to know that I harbor no ill feelings for your betrayal all those years ago. I’ve had time to cool down. As it turned out, things worked out pretty well in spite of your actions. One might say you were a big help with the cause.”

  “Really, well that’s the first I’ve heard of it. There hasn’t exactly been a fountain of information pouring in here since I woke. One might say I’m as much in the dark as I’ve ever been. Although, I must say, it’s nice to hear my work has been appreciated all these years.”

  “Well, don’t get too full of yourself that fast there, Colonel. There are some of us in authority here and higher up that remember what you did. Not in a nostalgic and fond sort of way, though. There are some that think your actions deserve prison time. And I’m not just talking about that little escape stunt you pulled with the girl. There’s still that whole question of desertion from the military. Last I checked the penalties were pretty high for desertion during wartime.”

  Chaz grimaced. “So basically what I’m hearing is that I somehow managed to save the planet from an apocalypse just before slipping into a coma and now the prevailing powers wants me to do jail time … or face the firing squad. Which was it exactly, General? Jail time or the firing squad? I can’t imagine you’ve kept me alive for all this time just to shoot me, so I figure it must be jail time.”