After the Pandemic: The Onion Run - Part 2 (1110 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Necro
Rating: 1.91 on 43 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Snark << snarkk.at.gmail.com (View user info) at 2005-03-09 22:50:21 EST
THE ONION RUN - Part 2
The knowledge that he still had some of his old skills almost made him smile as he eased the door open and slipped into the office of the Prime.
The large office was as dimly lit as he'd expected. The Prime preferred it that way. He said it allowed him to see the stars better from the grand view of the tower penthouse.
A quick glance in both directions told him the space between him and the desk was clear, so he stepped into the dark space and left the door open a crack so as not to make a terminal noise.
He'd been in the office often over the previous 8 months and knew it well, but it didn't seem the same when he entered it as he did. Something about sneaking into it made the cherry wood paneled walls and plush burgundy carpet seem distant, slightly alien.
The high backed chair on the other side of the great marble desk was swiveled the other way as he'd hoped. It was not uncommon for the Prime to sit and star gaze at that time of the evening.
Slowly he brought the silenced pistol up and crept forward, careful to stay directly behind the chair lest his reflection in the great window ahead give him away.
Half way across he heard the metallic click of the safety coming off a pistol and a familiar voice address him from somewhere behind and to the left.
"That's far enough"
Mattiaus raised his hands in the air and didn't move.
"Good show old friend, I'm impressed, but you forgot one thing. I'm not the kind of man that needs a security detail to take care of me"
Mattaius dropped his arms then threw his weapon on the desk in front of him and turned to face the voice. His intended target was perched in the back corner, up high where the walls met the roof.
"You're not a man" he replied dryly.
The Prime chuckled and holstered his own pistol under his plain blue suit before sliding ghost-like to the ground.
"Seriously Matt, this wasn't part of the deal. You're supposed to be better than this"
"I did fine. I accomplished my goal"
The Prime raised an enquiring brow and walked towards him, arms raised and fingers splayed questioningly.
Mattaius slowly unbuttoned the long dark grey wool coat her wore to reveal a thick blue vest hidden within.
"A bullet proof vest? How would that protect you from my bite or a bullet to the head?"
"Imagine it's got a couple pounds of C4 strapped to it and a heartbeat detonator attached. The point is you're dead"
The Primes eyes grew wide in recognition for a moment before he burst out with a round of sharp toothed laughter then walked forward to give Mattaius a friendly smack on the back.
"Point taken old friend! I can trust no one"
"No one"
"Yes yes" Replied the Prime a little too nonchalantly "Everyone wants me dead"
Mattaius watched him walk to the desk and take a seat then gesture for him to take his own on the other side.
"Shall I lock myself in a cave, or perhaps a secret base under the sea?"
Mattaius walked to the offered seat, removed his coat and vest, placed them on the chair beside his, and took an offered cigar before settling protesting joints into the chair.
"That attitude is going to get you killed" he said matter-of-factly.
"Perhaps but I doubt it"
"You're paying me to test your security. You should heed my advice"
The Prime looked at him thoughtfully for a minute then reached down and picked up the silenced Glock on the desk.
"It's not loaded, of course" assured Mattaius.
He watched as the pale faced leader of the undead glanced back in a moment of doubt, then reached up and caught his weapon as the Prime tossed it to him with a smile.
"Of course... I do consider you're council valuable Matt. Rest assured I will take it under advisement. Do you have a report for my security chief?"
"My last recommendation is in a folder on his lap. He'll find it when he wakes up"
"Your last? You have nothing more to offer?"
"No. This little stunt of mine was it. I've made all the recommendations I can, it's up to you whether you live or die now"
The prime ran one hand through thick black hair that would have been thin and grey in life and frowned back at Mattaius.
"I would prefer you stayed with us awhile longer"
"No thanks. I've given you everything I can Leland. I'm old and tired. I've lived enough lives for one man. It's time to retire"
"Have you considered my offer? You don't have to go like this..."
"My answer is still no" he interrupted "I'm also stubborn. I don't want to live forever"
"That's a shame my friend... tell me please... I've always wondered what you mean when you say Enough Lifetimes"
Mattaius took a luxurious drag from the rich cigar, leaned back, closed his eyes and let the thick white smoke waft slowly from his open mouth.
"I was hoping you'd ask that... Let me tell you a story Leland"
The highway speeding beneath Markus was less forgiving than he'd imagined. Potholes of various sizes, from mines dotted the asphalt intermittently and he was finding it difficult to keep the speed he need and avoid them at the same time.
The map provided by the Provisioner was inaccurate at best. Wreckage that should be there, wasn't, and the supposedly clear stretches were, more often than not, cluttered with debris. He'd had to steer his unwieldy ride dangerously close to the ditch on several occasions and the last mine he'd triggered had gone off close enough to shake the car. Something in the rear end was rattling and the wheel in his hand began to shudder at any speed beyond 95 mph.
He wiped the perspiration from his brow with one hand. A quick glance at the slowly advancing numbers on his dash told him he was barely half way. He stared at them for a second, silently willing them to speed up then shook his head and swore under his breath in frustration.
Barely half way through the Onion Run and already he'd seen too much: The dozen or so bodies of Rebels strung up from the Peace Arch on the Canadian side of the deserted border station. The family in the wrecked minivan being torn apart by Munchers. The carcasses intermittently littering the road. The naked woman, blind and dazed and probably dead who he'd clipped on the last turn.
There were too many gruesome stories floating by his windshield, each one in itself a good reason to get out and put Otis to work, but not that day. No, he'd made the conscious decision to make the run with the singular purpose of getting to the end in one piece. No stopping for any reason. Pedal to the mettle and straight on till noon. Drop the shit, fuel up, load up, give a quick finger to his contact on the other side then get his ass back to the compound.
A quick glance at his watch told him he was in serious danger of not living up to his wild boast so he pushed harder on the accelerator and did his best to ignore the shimmy in the wheel.
"C'mon baby" he muttered "Gimme some love"
Another large pothole suddenly loomed in the road ahead and he hit it dead on. The car shook violently and a box stuffed behind him broke open, filling the cockpit with the pungent aroma of onion and spilling a bakers dozen over his shoulder onto his lap.
"Fuck me"
Furiously, he used one arm to throw the offending orbs out his half open window, then elbowed the box behind him hard enough to smash it back into the pile of goods surrounding it, but in his anger another burst open and began to leak something that smelled like four onto his extended elbow.
"CRAP!"
Half out of rage and half out of sheer stupidity he turned to tend to the box but caught himself, and turned back to the road, just in time to see a black clad man on an old highway patrol motorbike throw something that looked like a brick over his shoulder and through the passenger side of his windshield.
He closed his eyes against the shards of glass peppering his face then opened them again and turned his head in time to see the same rider dropping back beside the speeding Viper, arm extended, pistol aimed dead at his head.
Markus ducked a split second before the pistol cracked and the side window shattered and added to the glass collection in his hair.
Almost without thinking, he pulled Otis from its bed and stuck it across his chest, pulling both triggers and sending a hail of buckshot back in the direction the bullet had come. His aim was true and he watched in the side view as the rider flew from his bike which swerved riderless then flipped and came apart on the highway behind him.
He shook the glass from his hair and wondered what could possibly happen next then noticed, for the first time, the deep throaty sound of engines behind him and the half dozen riders, similarly clad in black, coming up rapidly behind him.
"Wonderful"
A shot sounded out from behind him and he heard the distinct sound of a small caliber slug ricochet off the roof of armor on the back of the car.
Markus focused on the road ahead, pushed the accelerator as far as it would go into the floor and desperately tried to come up with a plan.
Another louder shot sounded out and he immediately heard another slug slam through the back window and inbed itself into one of the boxes behind his head.
"Not good. Not good, dammit THINK man" he muttered.
"What would a hero do?"
"What would dad do?"
No answer came and he frowned with frustration but not surprise. It had been a long time since the old man had been there for him, and he didn't suppose this situation would be any different.
"Fuck it. I'll just outrun them"
Ahead of him, something else began to take shape on the highway and too late he realized it was a barricade of burnt out vehicles, extending from the high cement meridian to the steep impassible ditch on the side.
Even from as far back as he was he could see that it was high and thick and completely impassable.
There was absolutely no way through and it was coming up horribly fast.
Too fast.
Markus slammed on the Viper's overburdened brakes, popped open the glove box, grabbed a box of shells for Otis, closed his eyes, and hoped for the best.
Mattaius Pitt opened his eyes and stared Leland coldly in the eyes.
"Before I begin... I need to know something"
The Prime nodded courteously. "Anything for an old friend"
"Our deal... Markus..."
"Your son won't come to harm from any branch of my government. I've seen to it he's taken off the Death Squad lists. He'll remain one of the few living to walk amongst us unharmed... provided he stays out of trouble and doesn't raise his hand against anyone, shall we say, official."
"Can I see the order?"
"No need for insults Matt. I may not be the man I was before but I'm no cheat. You have my word that no one from the government will bring him to harm. Of course, I can't vouch for those not under my authority"
Mattaius nodded and let his aching aged muscles relax a little.
"He's a strong kid" he said "He can take care of himself"
User Reviews
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-01-06 16:29:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61941
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-12-30 09:02:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
i liked these two. i'm kinda bummed you didn't finish it.
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-09-06 09:42:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
excellent, part 2. Leland Smithy the Agency Director?
what's a prime again - just a leech in authority?
Submitted by notyou (user info) at 2005-07-01 17:00:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome...
I know it's good when I don't even notice grammatical errors because I'm too deeply entrenched in the story to care.
So:
+4 for the story
-2 for errors :P
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-06-23 12:21:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Damage Control
Submitted by ProgramGeek (user info) at 2005-06-22 17:37:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-05-12 17:49:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I have just got done reading these all and I have enjoyed them all. Great work everyone, +2's for all!
Submitted by Avals (user info) at 2005-03-15 03:10:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Satansgotsyphillis can suck my dirty Jewish cock.
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-03-12 12:03:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Here is my contribution - http://www.ubersite.com/m/61730
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-11 20:29:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-11 11:26:59 (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks everyone,
Adam,
Sorry for the delays dude.
Benny,
Thanks man, its nice to get to some relatively solid story telling some times. I didn't like the version I had written for Uber so I pulled this one from a rough draft of the full version.
==============
Fack. The above comment was meant for Necro 37
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-03-11 19:42:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Take the time to smooth out the rough edges on this stuff.
Good dialogue, though.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-11 19:38:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks man,
I know my grammer can be atrocious at times. I try to make up for it with story where I can.
Submitted by tlozoot (user info) at 2005-03-11 19:21:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You should write a screenplay. I've never been a huge fan of your writing style (mostly your grammar), but you tell fantastic, dramatic, engaging, highly visual stories. I like this stuff even better than Necrosiac.
Submitted by Dannie (user info) at 2005-03-11 14:02:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I love it that you tied Necro to this. Zombies indeed.
Oh and:
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:48:30 (#)
Ranking: 0
thanks for making assumptions. i read part 1 and it was a tad better than this but still, someone else's idea, and the content? i just think it's childish
--------------
That's rich.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-11 11:26:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks everyone,
Adam,
Sorry for the delays dude.
Benny,
Thanks man, its nice to get to some relatively solid story telling some times. I didn't like the version I had written for Uber so I pulled this one from a rough draft of the full version.
Submitted by brokenlizard534 (user info) at 2005-03-10 15:29:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Xena (user info) at 2005-03-10 12:08:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I personally don't give a shit about any errors...I loved it. Tying the two together, I think, is incredible! Leland is the leader of the undead?! I can't stand it...Matt is old...I want to know what happened with Necro...
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-03-10 09:13:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
That's some good action.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2005-03-10 07:52:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Didn't notice the errors till they were pointed out - fucking hell there's loads.
still enjoyed this. I may have to check out Necro.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-03-10 07:15:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I was REALLY bothered by the fact that you didn't use any punctuation whatsoever inside quotations marks. It made every piece of dialogue sound like it was kept hanging. e.g. "You're not a man"
The action sequence on the Run was really cool. Very exciting, the stress and anxiousness was well-conveyed.
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-03-10 03:16:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:42:20 (#)
Ranking: -1
least i'm honest unlike these other cock-suckers that are too pussified to tell you when you aren't up to par.
____
Wait, you're the guy who's totally fat, right?
Thought so.
Submitted by shitfuck (user info) at 2005-03-10 02:33:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I have no idea what's going on but that's ok I'm gonna fuck and kill you.
PLUS FUCKING TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2005-03-10 01:24:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Hahaha. Grammar fuck ups and spelling errors. I love it. Still good though. And, tying into Necrosiac is pretty cool.
And, I don't know why but the title makes me chuckle.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:58:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Huh?
You're losing me. Relax, take another pill from the bottle beside your computer and BREATH.
Now go put your head in the toilet and count to 5000.
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:56:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
it's around a -.35 now so dont get your panties in a bunch. i like comedy, big woop.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:53:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
In that case I'll take your -1 with a nod of the head.
I don't believe you for one second but I'll play along.
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:48:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
thanks for making assumptions. i read part 1 and it was a tad better than this but still, someone else's idea, and the content? i just think it's childish
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:46:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I thank you whole heartedly for your honest opinion.
This has nothing to do with my -2's on your post does it?
Of course not...
Did you read part one?
Of course not...
Does capitalization make your eyes bleed?
I think we all know the answer to that one.
Lay back and tell me about your mother.
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:45:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
this should give you my apropriate rating average
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:42:20 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
least i'm honest unlike these other cock-suckers that are too pussified to tell you when you aren't up to par.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:34:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Ahahahaha I knew this was coming.
WOOOOO!
Submitted by Satansgotsyphillis (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:27:44 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
i've seen better
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-03-10 00:00:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
you have 10 reviews, i have two.
im going to kill myself.
Submitted by AstheRuinfalls (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:37:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I await more.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:36:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks LadyPlural,
I deserve a 1 to be sure. I should have been sleeping instead of writing.
Sometimes I just don't click into the grammar but at least I fucking capitalize, a skill which seems to be lacking in alot the Ubers newest members.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:34:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
There were enough grammar fuck-ups for this to get a +1, but you at least know there were an awful lot of them. So +2 anyway.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:33:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Loosely yeah.
Couldn't help myself, it has Zombies after all.
Submitted by spedmonkey (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:24:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
WHOA! Did you...? I'm not imagining that you just tied "Pandemic" and "Necrosiac" together, right?
Submitted by Id (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:11:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is quickly becoming my favorite series of this entire crazing experiment.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:07:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
no wonder why no one is reading my installment.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2005-03-09 23:04:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Heya Benny!
Glad you like it. I'm not crazy about this one. The story is what I wanted it to be, but there are too many of my trademark grammer fuck ups for comfort.
Submitted by NYCRulz (user info) at 2005-03-09 22:59:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I fuckin love this thing!!!
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2005-03-09 22:58:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Holy shit! for once I must the the first to get to read a post of yours. I practically live for the next instalment of Necrosiac but I've got to tell you this Pandemic thing is very awesome.