Hybrids: A New Species

The bright warm yellow sun peaks over the blue Rocky Mountains. Morning shines onto a large mountain lodge. The two-story tall craftsman style home is surrounded and protected by a brick wall. At the only entrance, a metal gate with the initials “GM”, is beings swarmed by the undead. The small group of the Fallen desperately try to go through the gate, but its sturdiness is too much for them. Their rotting arms stick through the opening of the gate, trying their best to squeeze through. The moaning of the Fallen is haunting. In front of the lodge, a small heap of bodies is piled on top of each other. The skinny young man with gauges in his ears, Damon, is pouring gasoline on them. He finishes using the last bit of gasoline in the red container and throws it to the side. Damon rearranges the strand of hair hanging in front of his eyes. He pulls back his long black hair and looks to the gate the Fallen are trying to get through. Jack and his people; Damon, Isabella, and Pierce, have taken over the large mountain lodge home. They’ve killed the guards, cleared up the bodies, gained maps, supplies, and made this area their new home. They’ve locked the gate and gave it extra support by wrapping metal chains around them. A young woman approaches from behind Damon; it’s his sister Isabella.

“Weren’t you supposed to do this yesterday.” she yawns, still trying to wake up.

“I didn’t feel like doing it yesterday.” Damon responds.

Isabella gives her brother a stern look. She then examines the pile of bodies. They all have holes through their skulls except one. It’s a large bald man at the bottom of the pile of corpses.

“You forgot one.” she points out, withdrawing her small sword.

“No I didn’t.” Damon responds. “I left it undamaged on purpose.”

Isabella is confused by her brother’s statement.

“I want it to burn alive.” He smiles menacingly.

Isabella sheathes her blade and rolls her eyes at her brother’s answer.

“You know these things don’t feel pain.”

Damon’s expression grows dark.

“I know. But imagining that it does makes me happy. I imagine all these disgusting things suffering.”

The siblings are interrupted when they hear the groan of a man below them. The large bald man opens its eyes, its milky white pupils locking onto them. The bald man has come back as the Fallen. It groans at them, exposing its black teeth. It stretches its pale arm out, trying to grab hold of them, but its movement is restrained under the pile of bodies. Damon and Isabella look at it struggling to escape. Damon kneels down in front of the undead man and spits at it. It makes it angry and growls at him. Damon stands back and laughs. He then reaches for a box of matches in his pocket. He lights a match and throws it on the gasoline covered bodies. They instantly catch on fire, scorching the bodies. The undead man just retains its snarling at Damon as it catches on fire. Its skin starts turning black from the flame. However, it just continues to snarl as it burns, not paying attention to its burning flesh. The pile of corpses scorch, and Damon smiles. He enjoys the sight.

Damon’s amusement is interrupted when his sister grabs his shoulder.

“Are you done here?” she asks. “We need to help Jack prepare for his trip.”

After taking the lodge from Gary Maxmill, Jack and his group have gotten plenty of supplies like food, ammo, and water. However, Jack now wants himself and Pierce to head to the city to find someone. Damon’s smile fades and he grows furious. Damon doesn’t like Jack and he hates how his sister fears him. Like he’s some kind of god. Damon clenches his fist, and just when he’s going to say something, he notices Jack walking out the front door of the lodge. Damon holds back his words and says nothing. Instead, he gestures to Isabella that Jack is coming to them.

“Morning girls!” Jack greets them.

He examines the burning pile of bodies and then he looks to Damon.

“I see you’re doing what I told you to do yesterday.”

Damon doesn’t say anything to Jack as he retrieves a crumbled pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. He grabs one cigarette and lights it with a match.

“Our apologies Jack.” Isabella replies, answering for her brother.

Jack adjusts his sunglasses and smiles.

“Have you cleared up the Fallen at the gate?” Jack asks.

Isabella touches the hilt of her blade, “We were just about to do that.”

“Good! I’ll be leaving shortly.” Jack says as he walks back to the lodge.

Isabella turns to her brother who hasn’t said a word since Jack arrived. She gives him an intolerable look.

“Why did you ignore him?”

Damon inhales the toxin from the cigarette and blows smoke towards his sister.

“We got a job to do right?” He replies.

Isabella keeps a stern look on her brother as they both walk to the front gate. Now that they’ve gotten closer, the rotting smell of the undead hits them. One of the Fallen, a woman, hisses at them as they approach. Her dead eyes stare hungrily at Damon as he stops in front of the gate. She has her thin bony arm out. Damon grabs it by the wrist. Keeping his gaze on it, he smiles, cigarette still in his mouth.

“You’re one ugly bitch.” He tells it as he takes the cigarette from his mouth and puts it out on its forehead. It only makes it angrier, as it continues to snarl at him. Another rotting arm grabs Damon’s arm when he put the cigarette out on the undead woman’s forehead. None of the Fallen can squeeze their head through the opening of the gate, so Damon doesn’t fear of getting bit.

Isabella comes up behind Damon, “Stop messing around and let’s do this.”

Isabella draws her small sword and begins penetrating the undead through their skulls. Damon watches his sister killing them one by one, like killing flies on a wall. Damon jerks his arm back from the arm that had a grip on him and draws his knife, stabbing the undead woman first with the cigarette burn on its forehead. It’s terrifying face is frozen, as blood escapes from the wound. Damon then rips the knife out, and the two continue this task. They don’t say a word to each other the entire time.

As Damon and Isabella exterminate the Fallen at the gate, one of three garage doors at the side of the lodge opens up slowly. As it opens, a shiny black Camaro is revealed. Next to the car, Jack stands there, examining it. He whistles, admiring the beauty and slickness of the Camaro. A door behind the car, leading into the lodge, opens. The large man Pierce steps in. He carries his weapon over his shoulder, a large handmade metal hammer with deadly sharp metal points spiking out of the head.

“Look at her Pierce! Isn’t she beautiful?” Jack says.

Pierce grunts. Admiring the car with Jack.

“Gary had great taste.” Jack continues.

He opens the driver door and lets himself in. The interior of the Camaro is red and black. With smooth black and red leather seats, and a glossy cockpit, the vehicle is truly a beauty. Jack lays his hand on the stick shift knob. He feels like he’s a part of the car and he melts into the seat. The Camaro is still new, showing only twenty thousand miles on the dash. Even though Gary had such a fancy car, he barely drove it. Jack grabs the keys from his pocket and turns the car on. It loudly roars, sound echoing off the walls of the garage. The passenger door opens and Pierce sticks his head in. He doesn’t say a word as he looks around in the vehicle and then looks to Jack.

“Get in Pierce.” Jack tells him.

Pierce steps back, wondering where he’ll put his large weapon at, without scratching the car.

Knowing what he was thinking, Jack pulls the passenger seat forward.

“Put it in the back Pierce. This car is beautiful but it is just a car. I could care less if you scratch it” Jack explains.

Unsure by his answer, Pierce gives Jack a questionable look. Jack smiles and draws his knife with the brass knuckles for a handle. He then jabs the knife on the leather seat in the back and rips into it. He makes scratches on the clean plastic of the cockpit. He severely damages the interior of the car, making cuts into the leather backseat and deeps scratches on the black dashboard and sides of the door. Pierce is shocked by Jack’s action. The beautiful features of the car have been destroyed.

“See? I don’t care, now throw your weapon in the back and get in Pierce.” Jack tells him again.

This time in a more aggressive tone. Pierce nods to him and lays his hammer in the back. Any more scratches he might cause with his weapon will barely be notice compare to the severe damage Jack just did to the car. Pierce puts the seat back and sits down. The large man makes the car tilt a bit. Jack revs the engine, he then puts it in gear and slowly drives the car out the garage. He drives on the gravel path leading to the front gate, where he then stops. Damon and Isabella are still attempting to clear the outside of the gate. The number of the Fallen have been reduced, but there are still the bodies of the dead ones and the other remaining. There are several more of the undead still trying to get in.

Pierce and Jack get out the vehicle.

“Still going at it I see?” Jack says.

Isabella stops for a moment and wipes the sweat from her forehead and turns to Jack.

“Yes. Sorry Jack, there’s just a lot and it’s getting harder for us to clear them out as the bodies pile up.”

Damon doesn’t say anything, as he moves his black hair away from his face. Jack walks towards the siblings and gets a better look at their situation.

“So what you’re telling me is I can’t leave yet?” he annoyingly says.

“Yes.” Isabella answers.

Jack takes a look at the entrance. Black spots of blood cover the metal gate and a large puddle of blood surrounds the bodies that still lay at the front. The Fallen that are still alive are stepping over their collapsed comrades. There are still quite a few of them blocking the entrance. Further down the road, Jack notices more of the Fallen idly walking towards here. Scratching his head, Jack thinks for a moment. With the only entrance still blocked, Jack can’t leave. He thinks about just opening the gate a bit, and quickly driving out, killing any of the Fallen that block his path. However, the small pile of dead bodies that block the gate is an obstacle that the Camaro would have issues getting through. Jack continues to think, as Damon and Isabella stand there, waiting for his answer. Jack then smiles, not his usual normal smile, but his menacing one.

Damon looks uneasy, he usually feels this way when Jack smiles like that. Most of the time, it’s because he has a plan, it’s just not a safe one.

“Okay.” Jack begins talking. “I will need you at your best, no failure.”

“Of course Jack.” Isabella obediently answers.

“We’re going to open these gates.” Jack says. “and I will need you boys to distract the remaining Fallen while me and Pierce move the bodies as quickly as possible. We’ll clear the dead and drive out, then you’ll need to close the gates behind us.”

Damon eyes narrow in anger.

“That’s suicide!” he yells. “You’re asking us to sacrifice our lives?!”

Jack’s smile fades and he raises his eyebrow from Damon’s remark.

“You’re insane Jack! Why the hell are you wasting your time going to the city?! There’s nothing there!” Damon shouts.

Jack can feel Damon’s hostility. He feels he should tell everyone now. Tell them about the cure.

Jack has knowledge about Cole and the cure and is keeping this secret from his men.

However, it seems Damon knows Jack is hiding something from them and it’s making the young man furious.

Jack takes his red sunglasses off and he sets his blue eyes on Damon. Fear suddenly strikes him; Jack’s cold eyes are glaring right through him. His eyes have such a dark and striking glare to them that it makes Damon shake. Jack smiles again, which only adds to the fear.

“You want me to tell you?” he mutters.

Damon swallows his words and he nods his head yes.

Jack is just a man. Just one man who can die like anyone else. Yet, when he gives his cold look, Damon is suddenly silenced. He’s given this look many times before back at their old camp to the other men. But this is the first time that he’s given Damon this look. Jack’s eyes shout “Fear Me” and he knows well how to deliver this expression.

“You might not believe me. But you’re right Damon. You all should know why I’m doing this.” Jack continues.

Damon, Isabella, and Pierce listen. They have their full attention on Jack and what he has to say.

“Do you remember the young man we captured? His name is Cole and he was with that monstrosity when we captured him.”

“Yes.” Isabella answers.

“Good. Well after getting that young man to tell me who he was and what that thing was, I’ve come to learn something remarkable.” Jack says.

He puts his sunglasses back on, hiding his cold look. Damon appears less nervous, now that Jack has concealed his eyes.

“Now, do you remember the other man we captured? The one that was close to death?” Jack asks another question.

“Yes.” Damon answers this time.

“Well he was a part of an experiment I wanted to test out.”

“What your point Jack?” Damon impatiently says.

Jack gets a bit annoyed by his remark but passes it off.

“Fine, since you’re so eager. The creature we captured was a cure. A cure to the Fallen virus and the next evolutionary step to mankind’s revival. The man close to death was bitten and in a matter of time, he would be walking corpse. So I told the men back at the camp to feed it to that man. To see if he became cured from the Fallen virus.”

Everyone gives Jack such a confused expression.

He can’t be serious. A cure? That’s outrageous!

“That man was cured. He killed all the men at the camp and now he’s ran off with the other young lad, Cole. Now I know where they’re headed and I plan to find them. They hold the cure and we can all be fixed from this filthy virus!” Jack excitedly explains.

Isabella’s and Pierce’s expression is in awe, amazed to hear what Jack has to say. However, Damon is opposite. His fist is clenched and he has a furious look.

“Are you serious?!” Damon starts. “Do you hear yourself?! A cure?! There is no cure!”

Jack is surprised by Damon’s reaction, but also intrigued.

“You’re chasing fairy tales Jack! There is no cure and you’re insane to believe that!”

Isabella is angry at her brother and steps up for Jack.

“Damon stop it! Jack knows what he’s talking about. How else did all the guys back at the camp get slaughter?” she protests.

Damon turns to his sister, astonish to see her believe Jack’s story.

“They were overrun by a herd of the Fallen! Or were raided by another group of people!” Damon disputes.

Isabella is getting annoyed. “Why are you so against this?”

Damon turns his attention to Jack now.

“Because that man has no proof.” Damon says pointing to him.

Jack smiles at the statement.

“We have walls to keep us safe. Plenty of food, gas and water to last us for months. We could be using these resources finding people to join us or finding more crap we could use. We can live like kings out here! We can expand and do something that will have actual results! Not some wild chase for some damn cure!”

Damon is out of breath from his yelling. Jack cracks his neck and turns around to Pierce, who’s standing by the Camaro.

“Make sure we have everything for our trip.” He tells the large man.

Pierce obeys goes to the driver side to open the trunk.

Damon’s anger sparks up more now. Did Jack even listen to what he had to say?

“Jack!” he yells now.

Jack now turns to him.

“You’re not leaving!”

Damon draws his large black military grade knife and ax. Isabella’s eyes widen, startled by her brother’s actions. Jack raises his eyebrow and now has his full attention to Damon.

“Oh? You challenging me?” he asks.

“There’s no way I’m letting you throw everything away to go after some cure that might not even exist!”

Pierce sees what’s happening and goes for his large weapon in the back, ready to defend Jack.

“I’m tired of you! You’re a madman and we’ll all die if we keep following you! I’m ending your life today!” Damon challenges.

Pierce now stands by Jack, preparing to strike until Jack raises his hand to him, gesturing to stop. Pierce lowers his weapon.

Jack laughs, which only angers Damon more. Isabella steps in front of her brother,

“Damon don’t do this. You can’t beat Jack.” she begs.

Damon pushes his sister to the side and ignores her words.

“Don’t get in my way Izzy. He needs to die!”

Damon barely calls his sister by her full name. He’s been calling her Izzy since they were kids. Isabella doesn’t like it when people call her by anything else but her name, however, she was always okay with Damon doing it.

Isabella has a harsh face, irritated of her brother.

Jack cracks his neck again and suddenly becomes serious.

“Fine. If you can kill me Damon, then you’re in charge.” he speaks. “Hell, you can do whatever you want if you kill me!”

Jack draws his single knife with the brass knuckle guard.

“Pierce! Isabella!” he calls out to them. “Do not interfere. If Damon wins, then I was too weak to lead.”

Isabella stands behind her brother, and Pierce stands back by the Camaro. Damon and Jack glare at each other with the intention to kill. No one says a word, and everything becomes silent. The only sounds emitting are coming from the Fallen at the gate. Their ghoulish moans fill the air. Damon begins to takes steps forward, his large black knife in a guarding position, and his ax in an attacking position. Jack holds his one blade with the brass knuckle guard, and he doesn’t move. He keeps his attention on Damon instead. Watching his movement. The two men don’t attack yet, waiting for the other to make the first move. Damon looks like he’s about to attack, but he appears hesitant.

“Well boy? I thought you wanted to kill me?” Jack taunts.

“Your gun. Why haven’t you used it?” Damon asks.

Jack realizes Damon went into this fight reckless. He’s right. Jack could just shoot him and end it all. He looks to his Desert Eagle strapped to his right side.

Jack smiles.

“I wouldn’t dare waste a bullet on you.”

Damon becomes irritated by his comment.

He charges forward, ax up and ready to swing.

“It’s your funeral than!” Damon yells, swinging the ax at the Jack.

But he quickly jumps back, dodging the attack. Damon uses his knife next, jabbing it forward, but he parries the attack with his knife. Both of Damon’s attacks miss, and now he is open. Jack kicks him in the chest, causing him to tumble back. Damon catches his balance and immediately gets himself in a defensive position, preparing for a strike from Jack. However, he hasn’t moved in to strike yet; instead, Jack stands there, arms up in a boxing stance and his blade still in his hand. Damon doesn’t think twice and runs towards, going for a second attack. He swings his ax in a forward arc; Jack quickly blocks the strike with his knife. The brass knuckle guard from his knife stops the ax strike. Damon jabs forward with his knife; however, Jack quickly dodges it, still blocking the ax with his knife. Barely dodging the knife, Jack grabs Damon’s hand with his free hand.

Now both he and Damon are held standing there. If Jack loses his grip on Damon’s wrist, he will be able to stab him. If Damon bring his ax back, Jack could go for a killing strike. They both don’t move from their position. They struggle to hold it. Their eyes lock on each other.

Damon’s has a fierce fire in his eyes, seeing red and only one thing on his mind; Jack’s blood on his hands. Jack smiles.

“You’re weak Damon.” He says.

Damon grits his teeth.

“Don’t be an idiot. Give up and you won’t die.” He continues.

Damon still doesn’t say anything; he just focuses on not losing his strength to kill.

Jack chuckles.

“I should have killed you when I found you. Your sister is strong and obedient. But you. You’re weak and holding her back.”

His words finally get to Damon and he loses it.

“Shut the fuck up! Shut up! Shut up!” Damon yells.

He drops his ax, and he quickly swings it. Jack lets go of Damon’s writs so he can dodge the swing, but Damon anticipates the move and quickly jabs the knife forward. Jack can’t move fast enough to dodge the second attack! He quickly puts his left arm in front of his body to defend himself. Damon’s knife pierces Jack in the arm. The blade goes right through his flesh.

The blade exits on the other side of his arm. Crimson red blood drips from the blade and the sharp pain makes Jack cringe. Damon prepares to strike with his ax, going for the killing blow.

POW!

Jack uses the brass knuckle guard from his knife and punches Damon in face. The attack is brutal, causing Damon to lose his grip on his weapons and fall back.

Isabella watches her brother go down, astonish to see the fight over. Jack has the upper hand now, even with Damon’s weapon penetrating his arm. Damon now lies on the ground, barely conscious. The blow from Jack causes him to lose all focus, his vision is blurry and head is rattling.

Jack stands there, breathing heavily. A large knife pierced in his left arm. He sheathed his own knife.

“Pierce! Get the medical kit from the car!” he barks.

Pierce runs to the trunk of the Camaro, looking for the first aid kit. Jack grips the blade in his arm and begins to pull it out. He grunts in pain and stops. He takes a few deep breaths and attempts to pull the blade out again. He grips it and yanks it out harder this time; the blade starts to withdraw from his arm. Jack grits his teeth and goes for one more pull. He yells in agony as he yanks the blade completely out, revealing his open wound. Jack’s blood is everywhere. Damon’s blade, his clothes, and on the grey gravel path. He’s out of breath, and now furious. Pierce arrives with a metal first aid kit. He pulls out gauze and alcohol, ready to patch Jack’s wound.

“Do it Pierce. Just do it.” Jack says, extending his arm out.

Pierce pours the alcohol on Jack’s wound, causing Jack to yell in pain. Pierce tries not to let Jack’s pain stop him from bandaging up his wound. Pierce tries to stop the blood as much as he can, and then begins wrapping the gauze around Jack’s bloody arm. Jack grits his teeth trying to bare the pain.

During this, Isabella runs to her brother, who is lying on the ground. Isabella checks to see if her brother is still alive, laying her ear against his chest. Isabella focuses, trying to hear Damon’s heartbeat.

She hears his heart still pumping blood. Isabella lets a sigh of relief; the punch from Jack did not kill him.

Pierce finishes patching up Jack’s wound. The white gauze is darkened black and red with blood.

“Thank you Pierce.” Jack says, out of breath.

His left arm is twitching in pain. His wound is too severe to leave it opened. He’s going to need stitches, but he ignores it. Jack wipes the sweat from his forehead. That attack from Damon left him exhausted. He now turns his attention to Damon, who laying on the ground, unconscious. Jack’s eyes furrow from anger, and he begins to walk over to him, still holding the bloody blade he had in his arm. Isabella notices Jack coming and stands back from Damon’s unconscious body. Jack approaches.

“Is he alive?” he asks with an irritated tone.

“Yes. Just unconscious.” She answers.

“Your brother did some damage to me” Jack says as he lifts his bloody arm.

Isabella doesn’t look at it, ashamed that her brother attacked him.

Jack kneels down next to Damon, who is still unconscious. He points the bloody knife to Damon’s face.

“Damon. Wake up.” Jack whispers.

He taps the knife against Damon’s cheek.

“Wake up!!” Jack suddenly yells, causing Isabella to flinch.

Jack becomes furious. He then brings the knife to Damon’s neck, getting ready to slit his throat until Isabella stops him.

“Wait!” She shouts.

Jack stops. He looks up to Isabella , who has a concerned expression.

“Please wait Jack. Let me talk to him when he wakes up.” She says.

Jack brings the knife back.

“And why should I do that?” he questions. “He tried to kill me.”

“I know. But he’s still my brother. Let me reason with him.”

Jack smiles, and then he snickers.

Isabella looks uneasy.

It seems the concerned older sister wants Jack to let her brother live; however, he hates betrayal, and the punishment is death.

Jack’s smile fades for a moment and he look to Damon, who is still unconscious.

Suddenly Jack raises the knife and swings it down.

“No!” Isabella yells.

The bloody knife stabs into the gravel ground.

Jack purposely misses. He leaves the blade in the ground and stands up. Isabella is relieved.

“You have until we come back to talk to him. If he shows resistance, I will put a bullet in his head.” Jack says with a smile.

“Understood Jack. But let me do it.” she says.

He’s curious. “You’ll do what exactly?”

Isabella looks down at her younger brother.

“I’ll end my brother's life if he resists. He’s my burden so please let me do it.” she explains.

“Very well. I’ll let you handle him.” Jack says with a laugh.

“But first,” Jack turns towards the gate, where the Fallen are still desperately trying to break through. “We need to clear the undead from the gates.”