After the Pandemic: The Enemy of My Enemy (part 26): Staring Down the Monster (1243 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.95 on 32 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by The Caes (View user info) at 2005-10-12 23:31:47 EDT
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61238 -- Introduction -- Jack McCallum
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61350 -- Variant C -- Jack McCallum
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61505 -- Part 1: Brianna
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61614 -- Part 2: Khalid
http://www.ubersite.com/m/63145 -- Part 3: The Meeting
http://www.ubersite.com/m/63504 -- Part 4: The Conversation
http://www.ubersite.com/m/63663 -- Part 5: The Story of Manhattan
http://www.ubersite.com/m/64024 -- Part 6: On the Streets of Jersey
http://www.ubersite.com/m/64325 -- Part 7: Tome
http://www.ubersite.com/m/64611 -- Part 8: Faing
http://www.ubersite.com/m/65301 -- Part 9: The Gathering
http://www.ubersite.com/m/65871 -- Part 10: Men Amongst Giants
http://www.ubersite.com/m/66684 -- Part 11: The Temptress and The Aristocrat
http://www.ubersite.com/m/66752 -- Part 12: Trial by Blood
http://www.ubersite.com/m/67296 -- Part 13: Words and Swords
http://www.ubersite.com/m/67769 -- Part 14: Details and Divinity
http://www.ubersite.com/m/68760 -- Part 15: Into the Breach
http://www.ubersite.com/m/69588 -- Part 16: The Ambassador of New York
http://www.ubersite.com/m/69741 -- Part 17: The Devil in the Details
http://www.ubersite.com/m/70550 -- Part 18: The Joker's Wild
http://www.ubersite.com/m/71764 -- Part 19: The Remnants
http://www.ubersite.com/m/72757 -- Part 20: From Below
http://www.ubersite.com/m/73718 -- Part 21: Rise and Shine
http://www.ubersite.com/m/74077 -- Part 22: Hush Little Baby
http://www.ubersite.com/m/74577 -- Part 23: The Prince and the Aristocrat
http://www.ubersite.com/m/75490 -- Part 24: The Empty State Building
http://www.ubersite.com/m/76214 -- Part 25: Come Out and Play
Maxie remembered when everything changed for him. He remembered being a nobody, being laughed at and picked on. Then he saw how the girls in his dorm drooled over the football players, the athletes. They were thick as posts with half the personality, but that didn't seem to make it hard for them to get laid. So Max started working out. But that's not when things really changed for him.
He saw results quickly. He got beefy, and big. His shirts started to become too tight. He had put on forty pounds of muscle, and was stronger than he'd ever been, and girls began to notice him. But he plateaued in his final year at college. Max couldn't get that ripped look that he wanted. So Max started taking drugs. But that's not when things really changed for him.
They worked faster than he thought possible. In months he had a body that looked like he worked on it for years. His skin stretched under the bulge of his muscles. Veins moved his blood around like fire hoses, snaking up his arms, around his neck. He knew it was doing damage to his body, but he didn't care. His workout buddies started calling him a monster, and he owned the word like a badge. People looked at him through green eyes. Guys that looked like what he used to look like dropped their jaws in awe. He looked like a warrior. Like a fucking god. But that's not when things really changed for him.
It was a couple years later that people started getting sick. Some sort of bird flu was going around. People who weren't in good shape (like he was) were dropping into their beds like they had the plague. For a few days Maxie chuckled to himself as ordinary folk got beat down by the flu. He didn't feel it. He was too healthy, too strong.
Then one day, he got violently ill. He felt nauseous and puked all over his bathroom floor on his way to the toilet. There was blood in it. His skin itched all over. His mouth was like a desert even though he drank about a gallon of water. His muscles felt like they were on fire. Then he passed out. When he woke up, he felt fine. Of course. All he needed to do was burn that son of a bitch out of his system. He was as right as rain. His skin still itched and he was still thirsty, but that was it. No weak-ass bird-cold was going to put him down for long.
He was out for almost a full day. He had to catch up at the gym. Halfway there, something happened that made him realize he wasn't right as rain. He was a goddamn tsunami.
Two young guys attacked him for no reason. They ran screaming and laughing at him with wild eyes. Crazy junkies, strung out on coke, or maybe something worse. He was scared for a moment, but he wasn't going to run from these scrawny little pukes. He braced his feet as the first one came closer. He waited...waited...and then punched him square in the face.
To his utter surprise, the kid's head burst like a melon under a tire.
Max froze, wide-eyed. His hand was a red mitt of gore. The junkie's headless body twitched and spurted blood from its neck. It was like a bomb went off in his skull. There was nothing left but a tuft of hair and half a jawbone.
The other one started laughing. He looked at Max like he was hungry. He circled. Then he pulled a car door off its hinges as if it were made out of cardboard. He hurled it at Max. Max was so stunned he didn't even move until the door was a few feet away from him. He closed his eyes and raised his hands reflexively.
When he opened his eyes, he found that he had caught the door in one hand. With less trouble than he would have caught a frisbee.
Now it was Max's turn to laugh. He laughed as he pounced on his inhumanly strong attacker and knocked him down like he was a child. He laughed as he pulled the junkie apart with his bare hands. Suddenly he knew how to quench his thirst. He bit into the junkie's shoulder and tore most of his trapezium away. The blood raced down his throat, carrying morsels of flesh into his belly. It tasted like God came in his mouth.
Everything changed then, for Max. He had finally found the greatness he deserved. His calling was clear as prophecy. He had discovered it the second he butchered that stupid boy.
He was not quite finished when a mob of people crested a nearby hill. They were ripping at each other like starving dogs. Max grinned through red-stained teeth at the sight of them. With a laugh he threw himself into the riot. He broke a man in half over his knee. He tore a woman's head off and upended her body like a wine bottle, drinking deep from the stump of her neck. It was a hurricane of blood and meat and death. And there was a whole city out there just like it. Just for him. Just for the monsters.
****************
The Butcher and his soldiers stormed forward, knocking down anything in their path like wheat-threshers. The humans opened fire, felling a number of veecees, but in the end their aim was not true enough, or their bullets were not big enough. The two forces crashed into each other; the waves of dead flesh pounding into the wave of live meat. Once again the humans fought against the face of extermination.
"This is it, kids! NO MERCY!!" Tyler bellowed.
Cash was pissing more lead than a full infantry division. His hands blurred as he unloaded his pistols as fast as they could shoot. In but a minute he stood in a semi circle of perforated bodies. To his left, the Butcher swung a Luker around like a baseball bat, clearing the ground before him. With a snort he twisted the man in his hands and snapped his spine as easy as opening a beer bottle.
"This is the end, meat!" His granite voice cracked over the din of combat. "You're weak! Your species is DONE!! You're nothing but pets now!!"
Tyler saw the creature massacring anything around him and his gut curled up tight. No way any of the Lukers could stop him. Where the hell was Khalid?
The crack of gunshots rang out, and the Butcher fell to one knee, holding his palm to his head. He got to his feet and looked at his shooter - the vampyre in the jeans and duster.
"Boy, you run at the mouth too much!" Cash hollered.
The Butcher started to speak, but two more gunshots beat him to the punch and snapped his head back so his chin pointed at the ceiling.
Cash grinned. "You're nothin' that a couple of irons couldn't sort...out..." The words died on his lips as the Butcher brought his head back. Chunks of flesh dangled from his forehead and blood trailed down from the wounds, giving him crimson tears. The bullets had not penetrated the bone.
"Ah, shit."
The Butcher roared and charged forward. Cash opened fire. Another slug glanced off the Butcher's skull. The rest buried themselves in his ropy forearms as he brought them up to protect his eyes. The gunslinger had hit with 8 shots and not slowed him down one bit.
"Son of a - " Cash was cut short as the Butcher's bulk slammed into him, elbows first. He hit the ground so hard that he chipped three teeth and cracked the back of his skull. Working from his back in a sea of fog and molasses, Cash cocked back the hammers and let fly. But his guns only made dry clicking sounds. He was empty.
"There isn't a gun big enough to kill me, cowboy!" Cash saw a huge shape raise something that looked like it could be a foot. His guns kept clicking impotently, his fingers on automatic.
An instant before Cash got turned into a stain, a furry shape latched onto the Butcher, followed by two dark ones. The Butcher reeled as Abayome struck him with stiff blows and Svetlana tore gashes in his lower back. She had partially transformed into a half-woman, half-bear. Bashir circled rapidly around the three of them, darting in with quick piercing stabs and then out before the Butcher could respond.
*************
Tyler was slammed down to the floor by a veecee. It held him down by the shoulders and came in for the kill. He barely got his rifle up in time to block the bite. He tried to force the thing's head back, but he was far too strong. The hybrid grabbed Tyler's gun and threw it aside. With his free hand Tyler pulled a hunting knife from his belt and stabbed up just as the variant was moving in for another bite. The blade caught him in the soft palette and punched into the base of his brain. He sat up straight and made choking noises. The variant quickly pulled the knife out and scowled.
"I'll eat your eyes for that," he slurred through the wound in his mouth.
There was the chatter of a machine gun, and the variant winced. He looked down at finger-width holes in his chest. Brianna stood in front of him, gun smoking. He looked at her stupidly as his body began to shut down, like it ought to have done years ago.
"Like fuck you will," she barked, and shot him in the face. The creature jerked about and fell to the side.
Brianna rushed to Tyler's side. "M'okay," he mumbled. "I'm okay."
Tyler checked about him. They were in no immediate danger. He could see the real fight happening not thirty feet from them. The Overlord of New York staggered under the combined attack. He hid behind his guard as Abayome rained blows on him that could crumple steel. He took clumsy swings at Bashir, missing by a country mile. He was barely avoiding being eviscerated by Svetlana's feral attacks.
Tyler squinted, not ready to believe they were winning. Something wasn't right. Then he caught a glimpse of the Butcher's face and somehow, underneath the piss-eyes and scarred skin, recognized the expression there. He didn't look like he was losing. He looked like he was waiting.
No sooner did he see it than the Butcher found what he was waiting for. Bashir came in from too far away, took too long in the getting-there. The Butcher caught one of Abayome's punches and yanked her in between him and Bashir. He barely deflected his blade in time to avoid burying it between Her Majesty's shoulder blades, and slammed into her face first. Startled, Abayome took her eyes off of her foe for a second, and by the time she looked back, it was too late for her to avoid the Butcher's attack. A battering ram hit her in the head. The Butcher's fist was as large as her head. Abayome crashed through three walls before skidding to a stop, limp and insensate.
The Butcher did not come away unscathed. Svetlana scraped her claws deep along his back, parallel to his belt. Undaunted, Bashir attacked again, slamming his dagger hilt-deep into the Butcher's useless liver. The Butcher did not try to dodge. Instead, he let the blade sink in, then clamped his paw over Bashir's hand, pinning them together.
"I've had ENOUGH of you, you filthy little runt!" The Butcher backhanded Bashir, sending him spinning through the air. He landed hard, but nimbly came to his feet. Dazed, he looked back at the Butcher. The dagger was still imbedded in him. And his arm was still holding it. Bashir looked down at his right arm and saw nothing but a bloody nub. Tyler saw the assassin's eyes narrow.
The Butcher plucked the tattooed knife-arm from his flank. He wagged it in Bashir's direction. "I'll save this for later," he chuckled, and tossed it to the side. "YOU." He pointed at Svetlana. "You want to try, too? You might as well." A reptilian smile slithered across his lips. "I wonder what you'll taste like."
Svetlana shrieked and went on the attack. Again, the Butcher did not try to avoid her. Instead he raised both fists in the air as she hurtled towards his exposed belly. As her half-transformed paws began to bite into his flesh, he brought the hammer down, crashing his fists onto her shoulders. He collarbones shattered as she was driven into the ground face first. Bashir ran forward, then jumped at the last second, flipping easily over the Butcher's punch and landing behind him. Before he could act further, the Butcher slammed his elbow into the side of the assassin's head. Bashir dropped to the ground like a sandbag. Tyler's heart dropped down to his toes.
The Butcher spat poisoned blood onto the floor. "Weaklings." He yanked Svetlana up to his eye level by her hair, dangling her feet in the air. She blinked numbly, unable to raise her arms. "You're pathetic. You really thought you could take me, with a bad manicure and a couple of darkies? Well?" She did not answer.
"PATHETIC!!" He roared, and plunged his hand into her chest. When he removed it, he came away holding her heart and splinters of rib. Svetlana collapsed, and looked as dead as anything Tyler had ever seen. The Butcher chomped down on his bloody prize like a child taking his first bite of Halloween candy. Blood dribbled down his chin.
"Delicious!" He exclaimed to himself. He shoved the rest of it into his mouth. "It's like - smk - mmh! It's better than - mph - better than I dreamed! Like cherries and wine and a lover's blood. Ha! Ha ha!" He sucked the juice off his fingers.
"But I think..." the monster's golden eyes fell on Tyler and Brianna. "I think I need something more tender to wash it down."
We're fucked. Tyler thought. We're dead fucked. He brought his gun up anyway. "Hit him!"
Brianna and Tyler opened up on him. They only got a few shots off before they had to dive out of the way as Svetlana's body sailed through the air at them. Her legs caught Tyler's shoulder, knocking his gun out of his hands as he thumped heavily on the floor. He could hear the rapid pounding of the Butcher's feet as he stomped towards them. He needed a gun. A big one. Brianna's machine gun chattered for a moment, then clicked. He heard her curse as she started changing clips. The pounding got faster and closer.
There! A rifle butt was peeking out from underneath a variant's body. Tyler yanked it free and brought the 12-gauge shotgun up to do business. Jesus, the Butcher was five feet in front of him, going full steam and grinning like a mental patient. Tyler knew he was dead. His eyes flinched shut as he pulled the trigger. The gun boomed in his hands. Then he heard a grunt and a crashing noise. And then...
...nothing.
Tyler cautiously opened one eye. There was no one there. He opened the other and saw the Butcher angrily coming to his feet thirty feet in front of him. Tyler looked at the smoking barrel of his shotgun, stupefied.
"This is one hell of a gun."
"Tfoo ala wishak." Tyler jumped when he heard Khalid's sonorous timbre behind him. "These are my people, Butcher. You will not lay your rotting hands on them."
Khalid's torso was bare, save for a bandage that wrapped around his middle. Tyler could see he was sporting some fresh wounds. His scimitar hung on his hip. A dripping sack was slung over his shoulder. Something that looked disturbingly like a foot was poking from it.
"HA!!" The Butcher snorted, his nose ring bouncing on his upper lip. "I'll have them for my supper!! You think you can stop me, Prince?"
Khalid set his sack of limbs to the side. "Do you think you can stop ME?"
User Reviews
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-04-06 11:52:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by notyou (user info) at 2005-12-21 15:06:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by CookieLass (user info) at 2005-10-20 13:51:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm up against you in GrUeberfest.... I was told to exchange titles with you.... do we make them up and assign them to eachother?
Submitted by hcp28 (user info) at 2005-10-19 16:58:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This has been an awesome series.
Submitted by iradney (user info) at 2005-10-18 04:10:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2005-10-14 07:51:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome. Two more and then the end huh? It sure was fun while it lasted.
Submitted by Viper_04 (user info) at 2005-10-13 23:32:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You in all your typical awesomeness....now I must wait in anticipation for the next one.
Two more posts and this is done....you need to get yourself working on a new series! =P
Oh and anyone good a drawing should draw up a pic of what they think Khalid would look like, that'd be awesome
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-10-13 23:01:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I didn't know you were English until I saw those Ubercon UK posts. Which I guess I saw before I posted this soooo...I guess I have no excuse. Glad you're here too!
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2005-10-13 21:03:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-10-13 17:40:51 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Fabit (user info) at 2005-10-13 13:10:07 (#)
Ranking: 2
i'VE READ THE WHOLE SERIES TODAY AT WORK AND I'M AMAZED!
********************
Hey look, I snagged an Englishman! Now all I need is a Dutchman and a Maori and my collection will be complete.
Glad you enjoyed it. I love it when new readers climb aboard. And I'm impressed that you read this entire damn thing.
---
So I'M not good enough for your collection then huh?
FINE.
**cries ETS tears**
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-10-13 18:43:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I don't like it when the good vampires die.
it makes me sad.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-10-13 17:40:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Fabit (user info) at 2005-10-13 13:10:07 (#)
Ranking: 2
i'VE READ THE WHOLE SERIES TODAY AT WORK AND I'M AMAZED!
********************
Hey look, I snagged an Englishman! Now all I need is a Dutchman and a Maori and my collection will be complete.
Glad you enjoyed it. I love it when new readers climb aboard. And I'm impressed that you read this entire damn thing.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-10-13 17:39:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
* blush *
You guys are swell.
Two more posts and this should be done. THE END IS NIGH!!
praise jeebus
Submitted by runswithscissors (user info) at 2005-10-13 16:30:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-10-13 09:20:52 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Rasta (user info) at 2005-10-13 04:23:17 (#)
Ranking: 2
Ahhhh. Another wonderful addition. I am ready for the showdown!
---------------
Agreed. Although I will have an empty spot in my heart when this is over. I hope Jack will kick us off on another like this.
-----------------------------
Words cannot describe how amazing I have found this series, and your writing, to be......
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-10-13 15:58:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-10-13 15:26:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-10-13 09:20:52 (#)
Ranking: 2
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Agreed. Although I will have an empty spot in my heart when this is over. I hope Jack will kick us off on another like this.
--
Only if you can guarantee Caes will never find out where I live...
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-10-13 15:25:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Another great lunchtime read.
If you don't finish this fucker soon some of us may not live to see the end of it.
Submitted by mbstateside (user info) at 2005-10-13 15:22:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Absolutly bloody fantastic!
Nice to see your learning from the TV networks too. Leave 'em on a nice cliffhanger so they come back thirsty for more eh?
Well bugger me if I'm not sold.
Submitted by Fabit (user info) at 2005-10-13 13:10:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
TOO FUCKING AMAZING FOR WORDS. i'VE READ THE WHOLE SERIES TODAY AT WORK AND I'M AMAZED!
YOU ROCK Mr The Caes
Submitted by Fabit (user info) at 2005-10-13 13:10:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
TOO FUCKING AMAZING FOR WORDS. i'VE READ THE WHOLE SERIES TODAY AT WORK AND I'M AMAZED!
YOU ROCK Mr The Caes
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2005-10-13 12:15:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
damnit! now I have to clean all this semen off my pants.
what?
Submitted by houseman (user info) at 2005-10-13 10:38:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-10-13 10:30:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-10-13 10:23:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by pen_name (user info) at 2005-10-13 10:01:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/m/76904
Read my latest post and all your wildest dreams will come true.
Maybe....60/40
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-10-13 09:20:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Rasta (user info) at 2005-10-13 04:23:17 (#)
Ranking: 2
Ahhhh. Another wonderful addition. I am ready for the showdown!
---------------
Agreed. Although I will have an empty spot in my heart when this is over. I hope Jack will kick us off on another like this.
Submitted by HadToBeDone (user info) at 2005-10-13 08:07:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Sweet Christ, man....
Submitted by Rasta (user info) at 2005-10-13 04:23:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ahhhh. Another wonderful addition. I am ready for the showdown!
Submitted by supadupapupa (user info) at 2005-10-13 00:08:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ah man...
Good job, I liked this one better than 25. Something more pleasing to the senses...
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-10-12 23:46:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
now just make it into a book and youre good.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-10-12 23:46:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
fine the way it is
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-10-12 23:45:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-10-12 23:33:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I was going to wait until I had more done and post something longer, but I don't think I'll have the chance to finish up what I had for a few days. So here you go.