After the Pandemic: The Enemy of My Enemy (part 3) (1237 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.95 on 33 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by TheCaes (View user info) at 2005-04-01 00:03:13 EST
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61238 -- Introduction -- the post that inspired me to destroy all my free time with this stuff
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61505 -- Part 1
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61614 -- Part 2
Tyler didn't like this at all. He was overjoyed to see Brianna return safe from their botched scavenging sortie. When he saw her come through the safehouse door he let out a breath so huge it could power their portable generators for weeks. They hugged desperately, and he had no words to describe how good it felt.
But then on her heels followed a dark stranger, tall, aloof, and radiating menace. He walked into the room like he owned the entire city. Every present member of Luke Cell 36 instantly went on edge. When Brianna told them he saved her from a pair of juicehounds, they relaxed a little. But when she told them he was an ancient vampire, guns were drawn, cocked, and aimed. The stranger would have been shot to hell right there if Brianna hadn't blocked the line of fire with her body.
Even then, it was close. Tyler figured she was about two frayed nerves shy of being perforated with more holes than a cheese grater.
It took about five minutes for the shouting to die down. It took about five more to convince her cell mates not to open fire on him until they heard her out. When this happened, Tyler breathed a silent sigh of relief. It wasn't the yelling or the promise of gunfire and violence that disturbed Tyler. Anyone who couldn't handle things like that lived with the immunes in the refugee camps. It was the stranger himself. The entire time this was going on, the man - if you could call him that -- remained attentive, but placid, as if they were all calmly discussing which restaurant to go to for dinner. He was an imposing figure, with a steely stare and commanding demeanor. But somehow, the man's quietude was what Tyler found the most unsettling.
Tyler searched the faces of his comrades anxiously, hoping for some understanding, but all he saw was hate and fear. He wished Anthony were here. As Chief, he was the ops planner in their cell, and was easily the smartest and most level headed. He had military experience and did a good job of keeping his everyone alive, so the men respected him and usually followed his orders with few questions. Tyler was a prominent member of the group, but he didn't have the pull to stop the men from acting on their own anxious sense of self-preservation. Without Tony, Tyler thought it would take a damn miracle for this not to end in bloodshed.
"You prove it!" Gus bellowed, slamming his hand on the table and bringing Tyler's attention back to the moment. Gus pointed his revolver at Brianna's face. His finger, thickened by years of working on cars, barely fit into the trigger guard. "You prove he's not on their side or I'll do you both, right fucking now!" He was backlit, and his thinning and curly blonde hair surrounded his head like the halo of some stout, vengeful angel.
Brianna blinked and stammered helplessly. "I...I don't know how I can prove it to you -"
Rick interrupted. "Prove it! You prove it, and prove you haven't been turned into one of them!" Rick Wright was a former soldier, though you wouldn't know it by looking at his overgrown beard and messy brown hair. He was a tall man, in his early thirties. He always wore camouflage pants and a grim expression. Rick was one of the better marksmen of the group, and he had a powerful hunting rifle aimed directly at Brianna's forehead.
Brianna looked lost, which Tyler knew was exactly what she was. She'd have better luck explaining the joys of homosexuality and devil worship to a Mormon. She cast a desperate look at Tyler, which made him surprisingly angry.
What does she expect, after all? Bring a stranger into a group of freedom fighters, tell them he's a vampire and expect them to line up for high-fives? And now HE'S supposed to get her out of it? God, but she could be so idealistically stupid sometimes.
"Hold on," Tyler said, holding up his hand. He was the only one aside from Brianna and the stranger who wasn't holding a weapon. "Everyone just hold on." Tyler fidgeted around in one of the thigh-pockets of his army pants for a moment. "Here." He threw half an onion at Brianna.
She took a large bite out of the onion, chewed and swallowed it. She hated onions. They burned her mouth and made her eyes water every single time, but being able to down a mouthful of it was sure proof you weren't a leech. Tyler knew that she had never been so glad to eat an onion in her life.
The cell members did not take their eyes off her. Tyler knew that they wouldn't be satisfied by that. "Him too," Tyler said, pointing at the Arab.
Brianna held the onion out to the stranger. The man looked down at her offering, one eyebrow arched curiously.
"Ah," he said, plucking it from her hand. "Your Brianna told me about this custom." When he spoke, everyone in the room flinched slightly in surprise. Tyler was shocked at how deep and booming the Arab's voice was. Had he responded in kind to the shouting competition a few minutes earlier, Tyler had no doubt he would have been able to hear the stranger as clearly as church bells.
The Arab man tossed the remainder of the onion into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it with less difficulty than Brianna had. The group exchanged sideways glances and muttered doubtfully to one another.
"Is this not satisfactory?" The Arab asked as he gently pushed Brianna off to the side. "No? Perhaps this will provide further proof of my claim." He held up a brown sack in his right hand. All the guns in the room were quickly trained on his heart.
The stranger upended the sack. An object tumbled heavily out, thumping on the table in front of him. Everyone took in a short breath and a half step backwards.
It was a head. A severed head that had so many piercings, it looked like a drunken OCD body piercer went on an amphetamine binge. Tyler could see that the wound on the neck was ragged and uneven. Whatever had struck his head off, it wasn't anything sharp.
Rick approached the table and looked at its gruesome centerpiece closely. Gingerly, he lifted the upper lip with his finger.
"Incisors." He confirmed. "He was a bloodsucker all right. You did this?"
The Arab nodded.
"He saved me from that thing," Brianna interjected. "He killed the two juicers with his bare hands. He did things I've never seen any vampire do before. Please. Please, just let him talk."
Gus looked uncomfortably at Rick, then at the rest of them. Every gun in the room was still aimed at the stranger.
Tyler used their hesitation. "Gus. Anthony will be back with his crew in a couple of hours. Let's keep him here, under guard until then. When he gets back, we'll have more men here anyway." Tyler could see the wheels turning in Gus's head, but they weren't quite full speed ahead yet. "It doesn't matter who this guy is, he's not walking away from a hundred bullets to his head, yeah?"
"...Yeah."
"All right. So let's wait. Let Anthony make the call. Cool?"
"Naw Ty, we're far from 'cool.'" Gus snorted. "But we'll wait." He pointed a callused finger at the Arab. "You saved our girl, and she vouches for you, so that buys you this one chance. But I swear to God, you make any moves, and there won't be enough of you to scrape off the walls. You got it?"
The stranger nodded. He walked to the table, pulled out a chair and calmly sat down to wait.
User Reviews
Submitted by awesome_face (user info) at 2006-05-13 12:34:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
kicks balls
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-04-06 10:03:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2005-10-19 04:14:30 (#)
Ranking: 1
There are a solid four pages of +2 streaks with 30 or more reviews. That is stupid. I am weeding it all out by giving every one of them a +1; that way posts that have 1.99 with 200+ reviews gets best ever.
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Rad, the savior of Uber.
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2005-10-19 04:14:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
There are a solid four pages of +2 streaks with 30 or more reviews. That is stupid. I am weeding it all out by giving every one of them a +1; that way posts that have 1.99 with 200+ reviews gets best ever.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-08-20 00:26:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
You're thinking of garlic. "Classic" vampires are supposed to be affected by garlic...the onion thing was Jack's idea for the leeches.
And yes, I did away with a lot of the stereotypes...no crosses or mirrors or garlic or not being able to enter a house until you're invited in, that sort of stuff that I always thought was a little silly.
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-08-19 15:14:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
so old style vampires are immune to onions? is he unlike the vampire stereotype in other ways too?
Submitted by notyou (user info) at 2005-07-05 14:26:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-05-25 01:09:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
It's not in a brown PAPER bag...
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2005-05-24 15:54:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
But how could a bloody head be in a brown bag? Wouldn't it get all soggy and fall apart?
P.S. I'm in love with your arab.
Submitted by Jungle_Jimanee (user info) at 2005-05-16 11:32:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Really liked the mob control in this one.
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-05-12 17:56:13 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 thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-04 01:31:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Kristen (user info) at 2005-04-03 22:31:16 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-01 21:47:18 (#)
Ranking: 0
What the fuck, dude? You are soooooo getting married sex-you know, where I feign a headache and then relent long enough to let you do your two-pump jig before promptly rolling over to fall asleep.
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Score! That's way better than all the sex I'm not having now.
I think I need to do some research on how to juggle two girls at once. It's not like bowling pins or chainsaws.
Actually, it's a little like chainsaws.
Submitted by Kristen (user info) at 2005-04-03 22:31:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-01 21:47:18 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-04-01 11:56:28 (#)
Ranking: 2
You....cheating....bastard!!!! >:-o
Good story... for a two-timer
********************************
Ha!
Don't worry baby, you're the only one that matters...it's a marriage of convenience...
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What the fuck, dude? You are soooooo getting married sex-you know, where I feign a headache and then relent long enough to let you do your two-pump jig before promptly rolling over to fall asleep.
Marriage of convenience, psshhhhhh.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-02 17:40:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Jack, glad you're okay with that. You hadn't used him since the first Pandemic post, so I figured you didn't have any plans for him, and I thought it would be nice to tie him into the story in a deeper way.
Thanks again, guys.
Submitted by Dannie (user info) at 2005-04-02 17:00:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome.
Really, truly.
More
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-04-02 15:53:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
PS - I like the way you've taken one of my characters and moved the story in a different direction. It's fun to see that happening.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-04-02 15:52:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Sorry it took me so long to get back to this.
Very enjoyable.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-01 21:47:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-04-01 11:56:28 (#)
Ranking: 2
You....cheating....bastard!!!! >:-o
Good story... for a two-timer
********************************
Ha!
Don't worry baby, you're the only one that matters...it's a marriage of convenience...
Submitted by garcon_fou (user info) at 2005-04-01 16:44:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-04-01 11:56:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
""Kristen, it just so happens that I am single and looking to jump into a huge commitment with a complete stranger. I will email you a wedding ring and we shall be husband and wife. Any suspected infidelity on your part will plunge me into despair and cause me to eat five pounds of rat poison""
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You....cheating....bastard!!!! >:-o
Good story... for a two-timer
Submitted by Teephphah (user info) at 2005-04-01 11:16:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
SPAMPAGE!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-01 09:37:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-04-01 00:22:13 (#)
Ranking: 2
keep going fucker.
i want 10.
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It's tear-jerking dedications like this that make me want to continue. Heh heh.
Kristen, it just so happens that I am single and looking to jump into a huge commitment with a complete stranger. I will email you a wedding ring and we shall be husband and wife. Any suspected infidelity on your part will plunge me into despair and cause me to eat five pounds of rat poison.
Corn: I just tried signing into my MSN, but it's not letting me. Something weird is going on.
Spam, the degree to which you love this story is touching, and terrifying. Glad to help you out, but watch out for paper cuts.
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-04-01 08:06:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I keep mentally picturing the vampire as Wesley Snipes.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2005-04-01 08:02:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I Love this.
I mean REALLY love this.
You know, in a print-it-off-and-wrap-in-around-my-cock-when-I'm-wanking kinda way.
Submitted by whiskey_jack (user info) at 2005-04-01 02:29:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This was grand. This is easily one of the best of the Pandemic series.
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2005-04-01 01:23:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I didnt read this because I have no patience for series.
BUT, I'm sure it was good... I just cant bring myself to read my antiseriesreading streak.
I tried your msn, but I'm apparently too stupid to figure it out.
Submitted by Saxon (user info) at 2005-04-01 01:09:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is really good.
Submitted by Kristen (user info) at 2005-04-01 01:01:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like you. Let's get married.
Submitted by Revolutionman (user info) at 2005-04-01 00:50:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A++++++ excellent seller, would recommend to anyone.
Submitted by Kre8rix (user info) at 2005-04-01 00:27:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You should kill the cheese smelling neighbor anyway
no one needs that
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-04-01 00:22:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
keep going fucker.
i want 10.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-01 00:14:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Dear god, what have I gotten myself into.
I decided to keep going with this series because some people asked me to. The reason it took me so long to get this part posted is because I did a stupid amount of groundwork for the plot and character development...and I'm STILL only going along with a vague notion of what's going on in the story.
Anyway, if you guys think this sucks, tell me and I'll stop posting them. Let me know what you think.
Oh, and to those of you who prompted me to continue with this, you'd better fucking read it now that I did all that work. If you don't, I will try my best to find you and kill you. And I will quickly fail. Therefore I will be forced to dust off my ballpeen hammer and go to the streets and murder hobos instead. Also, I will kill one of my neighbors. The one who smells like cheese.
That is all.
Submitted by Kre8rix (user info) at 2005-04-01 00:09:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
If there were something constructive to say, I would.
Damn you...
Awesome shit bro, well done
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2005-04-01 00:04:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
What's up with the MRR?