绝处逢生
by 焦糖冬瓜
Thrive in Catastrophe
Aftermath
In the year 2200 (it is translated as2020 but this didn't seem right so I changed it :/) the virus"comet" ravaged the world, infecting the majority of humans and transforming them into zombies. The world urgently studied the virus and its associated antibodies in hopes of protecting the remaining percentage of the population from infection.
The government quickly constructed a large underground city known as the Shire. Humans began to live in a new era where resources were concentrated on developing three major areas of study: information, technology, neurology and virology.
The Shire has subsisted for 124 years.
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His head exploded in pain and crashing sounds burst through his eardrums.
Xiao Yan knitted his brows together and reached a hand to his forehead, a warm fluid ran down his fingers. Opening his eyes, he was able to distinguish the color of blood.
Clamoring sounds of panic surrounded him.
Xiao Yan head and ears rang with chaos as he attempted to piece together the events. The pilot's mind had been invaded and the aircraft had crashed into an old forest. The impact smacked Xiao Yan's head against the window, briefly knocking him out.
He awoke to screams of terror and hysteria, including the usually calm students seated beside him.
The craft had slammed to the ground on its side in the crash, rendering the windows on Xiao Yan's half of the plane completely useless. He moved his head to the side and was stunned at the view.
A unknown number of Zombies were slamming against the aircraft, frantically banging on the windows with enough force to tear it open and devour the occupents. Screams erupted, saturating the cabin in fear.
"Ah...It's a zombie herd! A zombie! What should we do?"
"What happened to the pilot? Can we get back in the air?"
As soon as the remark broke through the air, the animated corpses, that had attacked fresh flesh and blood, threw a head over to the glass. The face was mutilated, half of the muscles eaten away exposing bone and the detached eye of the pilot. The eye completely disconnected and slid down the window, a trail of red smearing a path. Another zombie grabbed at it and pushed it into its mouth, it continued to chew on the face pressed against the glass.
As the zombie feasted he bared his yellowing teeth, covered with a nauseating mixture of saliva, blood and mucous.
"Ah!" The young student by the window fell into a frantic hysteria.
"Don't scream! The sound will excite them more."
The officer in the front row, in charge of the mission, simply stared. He was the only one who seemed to keep his wits about him. He quietly removed his safety harness from his body.
"As we know the aircraft has crashed, the cockpit sustained most of the damage, meaning we not only lost both of our pilots but also the possibility of getting back in the air. Luckily the cockpit is separated from the main cabin. Although the zombies look frightening, they are not strong enough to breach the door to the cabin."
These zombies are just level zero, the most abundant type. Of all the zombie types, their movements and strength are the closest to humans.
The words of the captain while seemed to have calmed to panicked trainees.
"We have a total of12 people in the cabin. According to my calculations, that leaves us with six hours of oxygen. To reach six hours we must endeavor to not consume extra oxygen, everyone must remain calm and not speak. If we are lucky, the base will have noticed that our aircraft has been out of contact and send out special forces to investigate. With that we have a chance of salvation. Does everyone understand?"
Everyone in the cabin nodded silently.
Most of the occupants are students of the Central Academy of Sciences. After graduation they will go on to military research work, leaving the shire only for an internship.
Xiao sighed, having calculated the actual oxygen consumption rate. They only had 3hours. Captain White had lied in hopes of calming everyone down and conserving peace as much as possible.
Damn it. If he had known that today was his last day he would have done more with Lily than stalk her from afar. He would have bedded her. Life is tragically short.
The students seated near the windows, with a view full of gnawing teeth, can only close their eyes. The cabin is soundproofed so they couldn't hear their knocking against the bulkhead or hideous hissing, but a mere glance to the side would ensure you wouldn't sleep the night.
Of course whether they will make it through the night is still unknown.
Xiao kept silently counting.
One, two, three...... 3,600 ...
It's been over an hour, and the special task Force still has not arrived.
Assuming the research base has already discovered their missing signal and determined their location, the passage of more than an hour could indicate there are no plans to rescue them.
He smiled wryly, feeling slightly regretful at only making the B-grade college class. Perhaps they would have sent a task force for more valuable resources. Talent being the most valuable of all.
The temperature in the cabin grew hotter and the students breathing hastened; a clear sign oxygen was running out. They may not even make it to the 2 hour mark.
"Open the hatch....We have to get out of here." The words were desperately panted.
"Are you kidding?! I'd rather suffocate than go outside and be torn apart."
"But ..."
"There is nothing to be done but wait for rescue. It is the only choice. The minute you crack that door you will be devoured before you are even able to get a breath of fresh air." Captain White's words cut through the air and silenced the cabin.
The air was getting thinner by the moment and everyone was having an obviously difficult time breathing. Death was creeping closer.
He did not know how long his head floated in a vague sense of consciousness when the faint vibrations of an engine permeated the aircraft. Several students awoke from their stupor and looked outside.
A blade flashed in the sun, slicing a path through the zombies. Instantaneously, bits of flesh and thick fluids splashed through the air and a disembodies zombie head slammed against the glass, the force shaking the window so hard the students screamed.
Captain White sighed in relief, "It is the Special Task Force."
This glorious news ran through the students sapped bodies, restoring their strength and sharpening their nerves. Xiao saw, through the window, a figure in a black combat uniform. A glint of gold cut through his vision but he couldn't distinguish what it was he saw. The corpses were rapidly cut down and tossed aside.
These elite forces were crucial in establishing bases. They cleansed large areas of zombies with the cruel hand of an executioner, they were tools for killing and the only reliable force when disaster came beckoning.
When the comet virus broke out, humans tried manically to annihilate it with heat and radiation, but the virus just absorbed all the energy put into destroying it. The same situation occurred with the zombies; bullets, missiles...any heat generating weapon would just strengthen the Corpse's ability to regenerate, so cold weapons had to be utilized. Everyone in the Special Task Force was an expert in these types weaponry.
Xiao leaned into the glass, staring intently at the scene before him. He saw a big man with fists clenched, a weapon wrapped over his fingers. As his fists fell on the corpse's head, the skull immediately cracked. The man's muscles tightened and his legs kicked the remains out of the way. It skidded over the gravel and slammed against a tree trunk. Though they could hear nothing through the glass, Xiao's mind could easily imagine the sound of the body breaking.
Another agile figure broke through the group of Zombies. A female soldier, she unleashed a weapon that rotated at a speed the naked eye couldn't track. The limbs of the corpses were slashed off. Even with such a high regenerative ability, this wound would not heal. She retracted the weapon only to rotate it again, heads and limbs flew as the device sliced through the zombies once more.
In less than 30s they had cleared all the zombies from the windows.
Captain White slowly climbed over to the door and pushed the button to open the hatch. The door opened and humid air tumbled into the cabin soaking it with the smell of death and decay. Several students vomited before they could release their safety harnesses.
"You have one minute to move out." The icy voice drifted inside the cabin and walked along the nervous system like a frozen blade. Cold and heartless.
Xiao's mind felt as though it were sliced through by that voice. It intruded and expanded within him, occupying the entirety of his mind in an instant.
"Hey! Hey! Move! Don't tell me your legs are broken. If you can't walk, then stay and feed the zombies." A tall grim looking man stepped into the cabin, he was the one who used his hands to smash through the zombies. He roughly released the safety harnesses and began pulling the students from the aircraft.
The cabin erupted in exclamations.
"Keep barking! keep yelling! The sound will catch all the zombies attention. You want to attract them all to this craft until only your bones are left? Will you quiet down then?"
His arrogant expression was punctuated by the gloating smile spreading across his face. Xiao saw a thrill in his bloodthirsty eyes. This fellow was not joking around.
The screams immediately stopped and everyone quickly removed their harnesses and fled from the cabin.When they finally took a glance outside the aircraft they were stunned. All around the craft were bodies of zombies piled high as mountains. Xiao realized that it only took three elite forces to rescue them.
A tall slender figure was standing between the two air craft. His golden brown hair caught and diffused the light around him in a golden glow, melding with the unusual aura that surrounded him. His ice blue eyes swept through Xiao with a frosty indifference and his forceful oppression burrowed deep in his brain, the magnitude of his presence giving off an illusion of pain.
In his hand was a blade that seemed as though it could pierce straight through the earth and reverberate with enough force to fragment the heavens.
For the first time in his life Xiao Yan found himself frozen, unable to tear his gaze away from this man. He realized that the flash of gold he had glimpsed earlier was from his hair. Xiao Yan stood oddly still until someone pushed his back and with a lowered voice said, "Stop staring. That is Heine Burton."
"He is...THE Heine Burton." Xiao couldn't help the tremble of awe running through his voice. He found himself impossibly frozen further. He never thought that the Elite of the Special Task Force, this elegant and handsome man would be standing in front of him. Not in this lifetime.
The side of the Heine's face was resolute, like an immovable cliff that stands for millennium, it sedges carved only by the flow of rain.
Xiao Yan had always thought of the man as a myth, not the tangible existence in front of him.
To be killed, Zombies must be completely beheaded. Biologically, it is termed 'severing neuronal connections'.
A corpse, cut down the middle of his body, dragged itself from the waist to belly. Its internal organs trailed along outside of its body as it crawled toward the students transferring aircraft.
The big man, who had enjoyed the panic of the students, lifted his foot and pressed it into the corpse's face. It made a sloshing sound as its jaw and tongue continued trembling slightly under his boot. Everyone's shoulder's tightened at the sight.
Heine, who had been indifferent until now, finally looked over with a frown.
"Mark. So dirty."
Mark shrugged his shoulders, "Should I have let it chew on these tender students?"
He put his strength on his foot and the skull cracked loudly under his weight.
The frightened students crowded the front of the cabin and watched shyly.
Mark smiled with satisfaction. "Chief, those who do not have what it takes to graduate are already 2nd lieutenants and those of us rushing into blood and death hold no rank at all. Really unfair!"
"Don't come inside the cabin without wiping your shoes clean." Heine turned away as he sheathed his blade.
"Boy, if you keep staring at Colonel Burton like that, I'll gouge out your eyes and feed them to the zombies."
The female soldier, with the neatly cropped hair, issued this hostile order to Xiao Yan. She appeared to be in her early 20's, her exquisite figure was encased in a black combat uniform that hugged the lines of her body. Her sleek muscles moved beneath the material with explosive force. Xiao had no doubt that if she punched his head it would burst apart.
"Oh, I'm sorry." "
Xiao hurriedly lowered his gaze and followed the others into the craft.
The female elite was the first to line into the cabin. Mark stood at the entrance, disinfecting his shoes until Heine gave a nod. Only then did Mark enter.
The craft took off and as they moved away from the crash site audible sighs of relief filled the air.
As they gained air everyone watched the corpses that remained. They craned their arms and attempted to jump towards the out of reach aircraft as though they could still pull it down. Their desperate movements were chilling.
The crash had been caused by the pilot's brain being invaded by blockers. Pilots hooked themselves up to terminals to pilot the aircraft. This allows for faster processing of commands and transferring large amounts of information. It also allows an opportunity for hackers to use these terminal connections to invade and spy on the user. They can see their memories, download data and even invade their consciousness. The last is what happened to Xiao's vehicle pilot.
If the attack is small, the user is able to evade, deeper invasions will render the operator useless and closed off into a catatonic state.