Evil Genius
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"This should be it." she quietly mumbled to herself, taking small steps towards the entrance of a tall building with heavy, dark green color, the gate is a bit rusty and covered with dust, an evidence of being abandoned for quite some time now but the power supply hasn't been taken down yet, well, who will do it anyway? Everyone seemed to leave hurriedly only to get eliminated along the way.
She was told that the doors were computer operated and one will need an access pass to get inside the bunker. Those passes were a rare find since only military officers are allowed to keep them. Somehow, when the apocalypse broke, soldiers died fighting their unknown enemies, officials or civilians weren't able to escape the wrath of the undead—that's what she heard they were called– their corpses were left out in the battlefield and the few survivors will be the ones to tell the world about the tragic story that befallen to the Land of Dawn.
Guinevere was lucky to be one of those survivors and probably the only one left out here as she ran and ran till she dropped. She scowled at the computer infront of her so hard, the machine surprisingly didn't explode under the heat of her glare. Her hands fished for the access card in her pocket and she took it out, then traced the gold embedded letter 'A' with her finger.
A stands for Alpha. This is indeed, the bunker Alpha and she knew she's on the right track but she can't bring herself to insert the card on the terminal slot. Her brother had undergone a tough time to get the effin card.
"Brother? What happened?" She gazed the surrounding, there's mess everywhere and the thick smell of blood is intolerable. Somewhere, a loud pounding at the door is being heard but her eyes were fixed at the woman carried by her brother.
"Odette and I went out to check if there were some stuff left at the motel nearby." Lancelot handed her a gold card on which she think is an access pass along with a scroll, or a map, perhaps. "Unfortunately, there isn't much but atleast we found these. Go to the bunker Alpha, from there, you should find a radio tower. Ask for help from the other survivors."
"Well then, let's go." She nodded.
Lancelot just sort of just stared at Odette, the swan princess is struggling to breathe, eyes shut and pale lips, her white dress is covered in blood and it isn't hard to tell she's been attacked by the enemies.
"Lance... what happened to her?" she asked nervously though she's aware her voice lacked empathy. Eversince Odette came, Guinevere had been second on Lancelot's priority though he often denies it.
Turns out she was right as he spoke, "She was beaten by the weeper. She lost a lot of blood and Her health continuously drops. More over, we ran out of bandages. She won't be able to travel that far."
Hatred is a curios emotion. It can be dulled into weariness, then spring into sharp, destructive life. Or, and this never fails to astonish Guinevere, it can sometimes go hand in hand with what can only be called affection. That's how she find it with Odette.
"W-we can go to the bunker together then find medicine or any sort of help we can get there. Come on, Lance." She grabbed his hands, trying to pull him up.
Lancelot shook his head. "You can tough it out."
"Of course I can tough it out, I just prefer toughing it out with you, Brother.."
His gaze fell down on Odette once again as he gently caress the Princess' cheek, "I can't abandon her especially on the hardest time of her life." His green, pleading eyes looked back at her, "Please, Guinny, just this once, let me rely on you. If you do it right, I'll come back home and marry a Paxley. I promise!"
A loud crash peered through their conversation and they both knew, the door had been broken down by a horde of ugly, stinky creatures that appeared to be zombies. From where they came from is still a big question for everyone. She knew she'll run out of time if she stay longer to fight though she doubt if her brother will be able to manage since Odette is being a burden.
She tried to shake the thought off of her mind. It's not the time to be childish, even if she's just seventeen and has all the right to be one. The sadness in Lancelot's eyes were enough for her to consider helping those in need just for once.
She smoothed her skirt as she stood up, "Fine! But keep your promise and... and stay alive till I come back." Perhaps that was better, certainly more rational.
She placed the card on the slot and waited for the magic to happen. One, two, three. The iron gates creaked as it slowly began to move, she covered her face and had to move few meters back when a thick dust showered over her. There's a loud buzz coming from inside the building as the huge metal door opened, along with a rustle and familiar groans of unearthly entities that soon revealed their presence.
What's waiting inside is another horde of hungry zombies that often can only be found in movies. Beneath the thick dust that caused her vision to blur, Guinevere saw silhouettes, then slowly, the images became clear as they move in a rather slow motion when they are walked towards her direction like they knew she would come, like they have been waiting for her to fall into what seemed to be a trap.
"EEWW!!" The zombies had greenish, slimy skins, looking like they'd fall off the bones any moment soon, deranged faces, some even had their eyes popped out of the sole and they definitely stink. She wondered if these creatures were once normal people that went into an experiment that gone wrong.
The sight was terrifying.
Of course, there's no turning back as she readied her fists and get on her fighting stance. It's the first time she became sweaty right before a fight started. She cringed at the thought of stains covering her dress when it's over, she almost puked. As much as possible, she didn't want to get her hands dirty but she's outnumbered and getting not stains is next to impossible. More importantly, dying ugly and getting eaten by these zombies is not top of her list of enthusiasms.
"Dexter, are we just gonna watch a little kid get shredded by these zombies?" A voice from behind startled her and a squeak sounded like a reply.
"Shut it, Claude. Go on and clear these punks so we can get to our business." Another male's voice said, it was then Guinevere whipped her head to the direction of where it was coming.
"Ah, you're so rude but since I need those loots, I'll do it and don't dare steal the stuff!"
"No worries, I wasn't raised to take what's not mine." It was responded by a, "You want a fight?!"
"Shut up you idiots!"
Guinevere went quiet as she observed them. The achingly familiar voice indeed belongs to someone she knew as her eyes gets a glimpse of the silver Falcon design of his belt.. Rather, the insignia of the house Paxley! Those silver eyes she knew oh, so well sent chills to run down her body when they made eye contact.
Gossen, of all people!!
Beside him is a lady with blonde hair, twisted up into a nice braid under her hat. Her red coat made it obvious that she's working for the government, let alone the rifle on her hands. "Thank you for opening up the gates, Miss–."
She raised a perfect brow as she lifted her chin, "Miss Violet from the House Baroque."
Silence engulfed except for the growing sound the zombies make as they approach.
The man with a monkey on his shoulder was the one to clear his throat. "Excuse me, I'll take the buff."
~*
The alarm rings up to the fourth floor of the building. The screen sported at the middle of the laboratory displays a bright, red lights reading, "Warning!! Intruder alert!"
It goes on and on, the buzz and the lights flickering. A young woman took off her gas mask as she walked towards the radio tower. She pressed finger on the scanner then the monitor went on. "Vespid, shut down these alarms, I can't concentrate on my experiment."
"Yes, Ma'am! What should be do with our visitors?" The static voice from computer asked as the buzzing stopped.
"Up to you, Angel. Make me proud."
"Copy." Vespid replied with a giggle, "I'm sure The Big One will enjoy his meal today."
After the beep, the silence returned, and so, she padded to her working table again but then she noticed someone sitting on her swivel chair. She snorted, "My dear Harley, what do you need?"
The boy didn't gave any reaction as usual, shuffling cards on his hands. Her jaw ticked as she tried to stay calm. Why is it that distractions comes like rain? Sudden, plenty and of course, less favorable.
"Let me just greet you goodluck on your doomsday, Kimberly." His eyes gleamed a purple glow, a forced grin creeped on his face.
To her credit, the woman took no offense. She pursed her lips and surveyed the different types of toxins aligned on the table. Each having different colors and labels but she took her personal favorite, a bottle with a green substance. "The doors are unbreakable. Even if they managed to breach, my armies will take care of them. Besides, it's not worth it, you know. Getting all bothered."
"You are a crazy person." The funny thing was that, despite everything, his heart still ached for this woman as well as for himself and his friend, Angela. "They came here to kill you, to stop what you're doing. Based on my calculations, it will just take forty minutes for them to clear all the three floors."
"Oh, they're that strong? We'll see, but Harley, No one can stop me now that I'm almost there. By the time they get here, my formula is finished. My chopper is ready and we'll spread the potions all through the Land. This world will be a better place. No more greed, no more politics, no more wars. You better go ahead and welcome your pretty sister and say hi for me."
Harley stood up and walked towards the door. "Well, I was just reminding you when to stop. Remember it, it's an important lesson. You want to put an end to greed when you're pretty greedy yourself—and a little too ambitious."
She just smirked by his remark before placing the potion down on the table, careful not to spill any drop. When the door shut, she fixed her gas mask and went back to work, keeping in mind that forty minutes is running.
I shall change the world as I see fit. -Kimmy 2019
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