Darkest Drought Read online

  Tai Goodman

  BLOODWORTH 2: Darkest Drought

  "The forgiven will never forget, the forgotten will never forgive."

  Chapter I: Day of Redemption

  "What'd we do to deserve this shit? Where did we go wrong? I don't know the answer and neither does any of the American people. I can tell the Nazis are doing way more than they seem. Something vile, cruel, and pungent to the soul. What're your plans Adolf? What do you think you're doing?"

  Phoenix, Abhy, and Hans were inside, watching the television. Peter then walked in and reported, "Guys. I've got some pretty devastating news you should hear." Phoenix turned and said, "Spill it. Not like we've got any other plans other than killing Hitler." Peter shook his hand sideways a little bit.

  "Well.. There's a Nazi on the radio."

  "Then don't tell me anything."

  "No no no, you MIGHT want to hear it."

  "And I might not."

  "ALRIGHT I'M GONNA TELL YOU ANYWAYS. There's been an outbreak of something, Nazis and hazmat people are on the streets taking more people in but I don't know where. He's saying that there's people being seriously hurt, and brushing it off like it's nothing."

  "Good. SO you're saying that some people are now like me."

  "There's more.... They have inhuman reactions, they don't communicate right after they regain consciousness.. They try to bite others." Phoenix looked away from the television like everyone else. Hans heard a knock at the door. "I vill go get it." Phoenix paused the television while Hans stood up and waltzed over to the door. One glance through the peephole, and Hans turned around mortified.

  "Erm... Herr Leopard?"

  "Yes, Hans. What?"

  "You might vant to come see who zhis is."

  "Just tell me already."

  Hans slowly opened the door, and standing right there....

  Was Stanley.

  BLOODWORTH 2: DARKEST DROUGHT

  Come gather 'round people

  Wherever you roam

  And admit that the waters

  Around you have grown

  And accept it that soon

  You'll be drenched to the bone.

  If your time to you

  Is worth savin'

  Then you better start swimmin'

  Or you'll sink like a stone

  For the times they are a-changin'.

  Come writers and critics

  Who prophesize with your pen

  And keep your eyes wide

  The chance won't come again

  And don't speak too soon

  For the wheel's still in spin

  And there's no tellin' who

  That it's namin'.

  For the loser now

  Will be later to win

  For the times they are a-changin'.

  Chapter II: Can't Say Goodbye

  Phoenix squinted at Stanley, standing there aloof. He was staring directly at the ground with his neck slumped. "Stan? How are you still alive? You were shot in the head?"

  There was a bolt of lightning, revealing Stanley's pale skin and scar on his head for a split second. "Hans, get back. Something doesn't seem-"

  Stanley instantly looked up and charged at Hans with an emotionless face. "RRAGGH!" Stanley groaned. Stanley leaned in closer and bit Hans on his neck.

  "HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK?" Pete screamed.

  Hans shoved Stanley off of him.

  Phoenix said, "ABHY, GET IN THE CORNER, STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"

  Pete grabbed a coatrack, saying, "GOD DAMN!"

  Stanley then sprinted directly at Pete, running into the coatrack, trying to scrape at him. "GET HIM OFF ME!" Peter screamed, restraining Stanley. Stanley impaled himself through the coatrack's tip, and zoned in closer on Pete, biting him on his hand. "AGH! MY FUCKING HAND- FUCK!"

  Peter dropped the coatrack and backed away, after kicking Stanley into Phoenix. "STANLEY- I DON'T WANNA HURT YOU, JUST STEP OFF!"

  Stanley ignored him, snapping at him. Phoenix pulled out a swiss-army knife and stabbed Stanley in his side repeatedly. "I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU- TO STEP- OFF!"

  Phoenix pulled the knife out, and Stanley hit the floor. "Alright, I'm gonna go get some gauze, all of you stay put!" Phoenix told them. Heading into the bathroom, Phoenix inserted the passcode into his mirror and opened the metal frame. He pulled out some gauze pads and entered the den again to see Stanley, Hans, and Peter trying to bite Abhy in the corner. "PHOENIX! HELP ME!"

  "ABHY! HANG ON!"

  Abhy's strength couldn't hold them back, as all three closed in on her and bit her. "WHAT THE FUCK'S GOING ON?" Phoenix screamed. Phoenix walked over to the basement door and walked inside. "Hell no... HELL NO!" Then four enemies were in Phoenix's house. Stanley shambled his way over to the door, leading all of the other three. Phoenix watched the basement door open, and all four walked inside. Phoenix pulled out his pistol. "DON'T MAKE ME DO THIS!"

  Stanley continued to stroll over to Phoenix. "I WARNED YOU!"

  Phoenix fired a shot through Stanley's head, emptying the clip into his skull. Stanley didn't stand back up. The other three entered the basement. He patted himself down for an ammunition clip, and said, "SHIT!"

  "You better run, old man. Run like you never have before." Phoenix shoved his way past the three and bolted back upstairs. He locked the door behind him, and said, "LISTEN UP! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU GUYS, SO YOU'RE GONNA STAY IN THERE FOR A WHILE UNTIL I FIGURE OUT A SOLUTION TO THIS SHIT! DON'T KILL EACH OTHER, NOW!"

  Phoenix walked away from the basement, and into the garage where the radio was blaring the broadcast.

  The radio spoke, "I REPEAT, any scientists in the biological human resource divison, please report to the building in Neu Orleans. Ich wiederhole, alle Wissenschaftler der Abteilung für biologische Humanressourcen berichten bitte an das Gebäude in Neu Orleans."

  Phoenix pulled out his mask. "Well hello beautiful." Phoenix strapped on the mask and went through a series of violent images in his mind. Once it was completely strapped to his head, he grinned underneath, with a digital grin on his mask. "Let's get this show on the road." Phoenix turned on the garage door, watching it roll up, as he then saw James standing outside of his garage.

  "WHAT THE FUCK?"

  James sprinted at Phoenix. Phoenix pulled out his choppercycle, and transformed it right when James reached him. Phoenix splattered James on the driveway, then he sped off into Neu Orleans.

  Chapter III: Pawn Between Wolves

  Phoenix drove down the road, watching buildings burning as he drove by. "What's going on?"

  He then drove into a shambler, splattering them all over his windshield. "DEAR CHRIST!" he screamed, slowing down with his feet. Phoenix operated the windshield wipers, and once the blood was clear, Phoenix spotted a bunch of Nazis in hazmat suits approaching. "ES IST DER VERSCHMUTZTE TERROR! TÖTE IHN!"

  "Still don't know German. But I know how to kill Germans." Phoenix stepped off of his bike, and sprinted over to the Nazis with a meat cleaver out. Phoenix sliced off the first Nazi's arm, and then snapped the man's neck around in a circle. The second Nazi pounded Phoenix in the back, and kicked him in the shin. "ARGH! Now that smarts!"

  Phoenix composed himself instantly, and with the dead man's pump shotgun, he blew the Nazi's head off through the suit. "Reflexes haven't aged a day. You still got it, old man." Phoenix pumped the shotgun back, and then fired again, hitting a Nazi in their stomach, having guts hit the ground. The last one backed up a little bit in fear.

  "What's the matter pretty boy, too scared to test the old man's mettle?"

  Then from out in the bushes, two shamblers grabbed the Nazi and pulled him towards them. "AAAHAHAH! HILFE! Jemand HILFE!" The shamblers then chomped into the man's arms, with a big bloody bite. "Gotta ge
t outta here!"

  Phoenix walked back over to his choppercycle and mounted it. Then a shambler grabbed Phoenix by his arm. "GAH! PISS OFF!"

  Phoenix broke the shambler's nose, and threw him backwards on his bottom. Phoenix cranked the handlebars and sped off to the building. More and more shamblers were piling up on the streets, getting in Phoenix's way.

  Then Phoenix noticed a water-tower falling over. "SHIT!"

  The impact let out a large flood that ranged over to Phoenix, washing him into a large ditch. Him and the choppercycle were being washed into a flood drain. Phoenix was in front of it, the choppercycle was behind him. And when he hit a brick wall at the end of the flood drain, the motorcycle hit him right in the face.

  "Brink at the gates of death. Fuck you death." Phoenix opened his eyes and straightened his mask. Lights above him were still lit. Planes and helicopters were hovering over Neu Orleans. Phoenix stood up, and popped his neck in place, retracting his choppercycle. "Where the hell am I?"

  Phoenix went over to the waterfall of the flood drain, realizing there was no way back up. "Well great. Now I gotta get the fuck out." Phoenix pumped his shotgun, looking around at the dark setting of the sewer. Phoenix followed the series of lights down the sidewalk of the sewer, and then heard a faint screaming noise. He turned around, aiming his shotgun at the sidewalk. And then he noticed someone washed up on the sidewalk.

  Phoenix shook his head and headed over to him, aiming his shotgun, about to fire. "WAIT! WAIT! I'm not one of those things!" the man screamed in fear.

  "It's alright, I wasn't gonna shoot... anyways. DID YOU GET BIT?"

  "NO! NO! I wasn't bit. Those things are too slow to even get over to me."

  "Well the ones I've seen can run."

  "Huh. Well... I'm Tyler. Tyler Fields. Nice to meet you..."

  Tyler corrected his vision, and recognized Phoenix's face. "MASKED TERROR! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"

  "Ugh. I'm getting sick and tired of being called that stupid name. My name's Phoenix. Phoenix Leopard. You tell the cops and I'll beat your ass to death with a club or something, UNDERSTAND?"

  Tyler swiftly nodded, helping himself up. "Well... Why are you down here?"

  "There was a water-tower, it tipped over and I was washed up down here."

  "Oh. I didn't see that. But I was running and I fell through a manhole cover." Phoenix was confused. A question-mark was displayed on his mask. "Thought manhole covers were made NOT to do that."

  "Well apparently that one is the complete opposite. Anyways, do you mind if I... Come with you? It's better to be in a group than to be alone with those freaks running around."

  Phoenix nodded and said, "Got any weapons on you? You're gonna need 'em." Tyler shook his head. "Alright, I got a pocket-knife. But if one of those things comes over to you, I learned that you have to get it in the head. Not anywhere else, because it will come back and it will take a bite outta your ass."

  Phoenix and Tyler continued down the sewer line and eventually found an emergency ladder. “Alright, we’re going up. And I’ve got a good feeling that whatever is up there isn’t-” The two heard an explosion, making them flinch.

  “Isn’t nice.”

  Phoenix climbed up the rusty steps of the red ladder, and at the top, he picked up the manhole with his fingers. Looking around, the streets in his area were clear. But it was boxed in by shamblers. “Alright, we’re not out of the woods yet. Keep calm, stay with me, and do as I say.” Tyler nodded, extending the knife’s blade. Phoenix stood on the pavement of the street, and then Tyler climbed up. The shamblers then noticed the two. “Alright, how do we get outta here?”

  “Umm… I might not have thought that through!”

  Phoenix looked around. Nearly every building was boarded up or blocked by debris. There was a vivid alley, however. The shamblers started closing in, some even started running. Phoenix pointed over there. “RUN! GET IN THE ALLEY!”

  The two sprinted into the alley in unison, Tyler even locked the gate behind him. Phoenix stopped for Tyler and said, “Don’t mess with that stuff, come on!”

  The shamblers reached through the fence wire and grabbed at Tyler. The pair ventured into the alley, leading to a four way intersection between buildings. “Great. Now where do we go?”

  Phoenix examined each of the three possible pathways. One was blocked by a dumpster that he could climb over and go back out in the street. The second was blocked by a locked gate, with no shamblers on the other side. The third was littered with corpses. “Front way seems like the best option.” Phoenix and Tyler both headed in that direction, and ran into the gate. “How are we gonna-”

  Already on the lock problem, Phoenix was picking the keyhole with a spare hair-pin. “Nevermind.” The gate swung open. The two quietly, and slowly walked onto the street. Then a gun barrel was pushed against Phoenix’s head. “ARE YOU TWO MAD? SHUT THE GATE!”

  Tyler closed the gate and locked it behind him.

  Phoenix was forced to his knees by a Nazi with torn clothing. “Mein Gott… You’re the masked terror. YOU’RE-”

  Tyler stabbed him through his throat with the knife. “I think we’re in a militarized zone. We’re safe.” All of a sudden, two Nazi soldiers walked around a corner patrolling the area. Phoenix mumbled something to Tyler in a rushed feeling, making Tyler hide the body under bags of trash. “We’re not safe. *Those* guys, they hate me. So... You hide in the alley, I'll come back-" The dead Nazi stood out of the garbage and bit Phoenix on the arm.

  "GOD! FUCK! NO NO NO NO!"

  Tyler aimed his knife at Phoenix. "You're- You're BIT. Stay back!"

  He made a few air-jabs and kept his distance from Phoenix. The two Nazis overheard the conversation. "HEY! Wer ist da unten?"

  Phoenix backed up, as hair grew on his arms. Tyler stopped with the fear, and gazed at Phoenix's metamorphosis into a monster. But it wasn't a shambler. Thick brown fur grew up his arms, and to his neck. His nose extended, eyes bloodshot then turned yellow. His ears spiked up and turned brown with fur. His mask fell off, hitting the ground with a small thud.

  He was a wolf. "Phoenix?"

  Phoenix glared at Tyler and snarled. Tyler aimed his knife at Phoenix again. "Phoenix, I'm your friend! Don't hurt me!"

  "My bones feel... Stronger. Legs feel like pouncing. What am I?"

  All Phoenix could muster up and tell Tyler was: "STAY. BACK."

  Phoenix's vision was all yellow. He turned and faced the two Nazis. "WAS IST DAS? ERSCHIESS ES!" one of them screamed, leveling his firearm's barrel with Phoenix. The wolf approached the two Nazis on all fours, ravenously panting and snarling on the way. And once he reached the two...

  "You're among wolves now. And these.... These are my woods."

  Phoenix slit one's chest open, whilst inserting his claws. "NEIN!"

  The other Nazi unloaded his weapon on Phoenix. Somehow Phoenix's body could withstand the bullets' impact to his skin. Phoenix ripped the man in half that he was holding, facing the next one. Out of pure carnage-filled anger, Phoenix clawed the man in his knees, knocking him over, and with two balled fists combined, he slammed a very devastating and bloody blow on the Nazi's face. Squashed.

  Then a Nazi on mechanical stilts stepped through town, approaching the source of the gunfire.

  "What in the hell? Nazis performing a fucking circus now?"

  Phoenix sprinted over to the man with wolf-like reflexes. Energy coursed through his veins, the yellow enlarged fury of a true murderous fiend. And in one pounce, Phoenix soared through the man's body, coating him in bloody paste and guts. The two stilts fell down along with the Nazi's dismembered legs.

  Tyler was sitting there, watching all of it, and then a Nazi snatched him by his arms. "YOU! YOU VILL SUFFER ZHE WRATH FOR NOT HELPING ZHE REICH IN BATTLE!"

  Tyler attempted to stab the Nazi, and he did, through the man's right hand. "You think un KNIFE will kill me? ZHINK AGAIN!" the Nazi refuted. The Nazi jerked the knife out of the hole in his hand, and then forced Tyler
to the ground. "LET US SEE HOW TOUGH YOU ARE NOW VITHOUT YOUR MESSER, VERMIN."

  The blade was dangling over Tyler's head, inching toward his throat by the hands of a Nazi. "PHOENIX!"

  The wolf slowly turned around, gazing at the Nazi with one eye. "PHOENIX! HELP ME!"

  The wolf didn't respond nor react. But it then got on all fours, and barked at the two fighting each other.

  "Phoenix. You done killed too many people after that crash out of pure stupidity. Don't add one more."

  Phoenix dug deep within himself to head over to the site. "That's more like it." Then Phoenix pounced into the Nazi, having the two crash into the front of a truck. "I VILL NEVER BOW TO YOU! ICH LEHNE AB!"

  The wolf murmurred, "THEN I'LL KILL YOU STANDING."

  He bonked the man's helmet off of his head, exposing the head. Phoenix clawed the man's skull open, and reached into the wound, pulling out the man's brains. With a balled fist, he crushed the brains within his hand. Phoenix turned around and faced Tyler. The fur and hair all retracted. The snout unextended back into Phoenix's face. Sharp ears rounded, and eyes blanked to white.

  Chapter IV: Dinner Bell

  NEU ORLEANS

  1 DAY DURING THE OUTBREAK