Parables From The Apocalypse: Awakening Part 11

"It's just so great to see you smile. With the way things have been going lately, I didn't think I'd ever see that again. I had no idea how much I've missed that."

Abby reached out and placed her palm on his face. "You've changed ... so much. That's something I didn't think I'd ever see." They both smiled. Abby pushed the door open. "Come on in. There's someone you should see."

Chaz followed Abby into the room and saw Shax sitting on the couch. She had earphones in and was reading from her mobile device.

Abby said, "She hasn't spoken to anyone in months. The trial was too much for her to process, I think. For a while she'd talk to Caius, but even that stopped. No one could get through to her." Abby sat down next to Shax, and Chaz took the seat across from them. Abby got Shax's attention and pointed to her ears, indicating she wanted to speak to her. Shax removed her headphones without looking at her mother. Shax's eyes were focused on Chaz. She narrowed her eyes as if trying to recall something.

Chaz said to Abby, "Does she know who I am? Can she understand what we're saying?"

"I don't know if she remembers, and yes, she can hear everything. There's nothing physically wrong. She just chooses not to speak to us."

Shax kept her eyes intently focused on Chaz, like she was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Shax ... baby girl," Chaz said. "Do you know who I am? Do you remember me?"

Shax didn't answer.

He tried again. "Shax, I'm your ..."

"Daddy!" Shax blurted out. "You're my dad. I remember you."

Shax placed her headphones back in her ears and went back to reading. Abby was dumbfounded, just staring at Shax with her jaw hanging open.

"We've been trying so hard to get her to speak and you just walk in here and she speaks." Abby cupped her hands on her chest. "This is amazing."

"Well ... I am sort of a big deal you know," he said, smiling.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"d.a.m.n," Chaz said. "I'm really sorry, but that's for me. They need me to talk to someone."

Abby tilted her head, but still couldn't stop smiling. "I know. It always is. Please don't be long." She looked to Shax and back at Chaz. "Someone's ... no ... we've really missed you."

Chaz walked towards Abby and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I'll be back just as soon as I can."

Abby did her best to keep smiling. "I know you will."

With that, Chaz walked out the door.

Doctor's Visit.

Chaz walked into Montgomery's lab to a quiet room of blank stares. Dr. Montgomery, Alex, Christa, and General Chambers were all there.

Chaz broke the silence and said, "Let's get this done. There are other places I'd rather be."

"You've known all this time," Christa asked accusingly. "You've known all this time and you said nothing to us."

"What are you talking about?" Chaz asked, taking a seat.

"I'm talking about the information Montgomery gave you days ago. You knew her research pointed towards a solution to all this. A good percentage of the zombie population doesn't need to be controlled by drugs. Not only can they live peaceably without the drugs, but they're an incredibly intelligent and gifted group of beings. You saw what Andreas was capable of and yet you chose to ignore it. You hung on to an image of all zombies being brutal, s...o...b..ring, killing monsters. We're not all like Andreas. What is wrong with you? You don't think of me that way, do you?"

Chaz shook his head. "No, of course I don't. You're just a little ... never mind."

"You were going to say I'm just a little kid, weren't you? That's what you always said. That's what you always called me before. Before all this happened. Well, I'm not a little kid anymore, and those aren't all just monsters out there. They're real beings with a heart and a mind."

"Not all of them," Chaz reminded her.

"Yeah, and not every human being is a saint either, but we don't lock them all up or drug them into slavery. A good percentage of these people are incredibly high functioning. I'm incredibly high functioning, with what I can do. Dr. Montgomery believes they're the next evolution in the human species. She believes with their abilities they can make a difference. They can actually make the world a better place. Mother Nature is trying to make things better, but we ... you ... people like you keep trying to stop her. That's what the war was all about. Humans were afraid of being replaced. You were fighting because you were afraid of becoming obsolete."

"Christa!" Alex said, shaking his head. "That's enough. This is not helping. We need to stop arguing amongst ourselves. If we can't do that, knowing what we know, how can we expect the rest of the world to do so?"

Christa turned and walked away as Dr. Montgomery said, "I understand that this is not an easy idea to swallow for anyone, but science doesn't lie. No matter what we want or feel, science is about the truth, and we've all seen glimpses of it. Myself as well. I saw it years ago with Patient Zero. n.o.body wanted to believe it, so we just did what we were told. We now as a group have a chance to change that. From what I heard, this Andreas zombie has advanced his mind at an incredible rate. He's advanced far and above what he was capable of as a human. Unfortunately, it also sounds like he's psychotic with delusions of global domination. That's not a good combination. We need to do something about him, but not at the expense of all the rest. They have the potential to do great things, and these days that's something we could desperately use."

"That's all good and great, Doc," Alex replied, "but how do we fix this and make the changes? We've lost our regent; the government is in chaos."

"KonG.o.d is still functioning and proposing solutions," the general answered. "It'll replace the regent within twenty-four hours. That's not a problem. The concern is, all the scenarios it's considering are based on a drugged-out zombie population. If we lose Pacize drug distribution and war breaks out again, even KonG.o.d won't be able to fix things. We need a solution to this immediate threat before we can worry about some freaks being mistreated."

"Andreas is the first big mutation since Christa," Montgomery said. "He's capable of even more than Christa was. The good news, though, is that his mutation is already spreading. The female Leekasha has exhibited signs from what you've told me, and in all likelihood the recruits they revived are affected as well. We don't need Andreas for the rest of the potential zombies to be revived and mutate. He's expendable and a liability."

Chaz stood up and walked to the door. "Well," he said. "It looks like we have one more task ahead. Who's coming?"

Who Must Die?.

Christa and Chaz waited in the van across the street from the old SUV. The van was of the nondescript family transport variety except for the one-way windows and the slot in the back door for the sniper rifle.

"There has to be a better way to do this," Christa said. "I thought we'd decided that killing zombies wasn't the answer anymore."

"Don't think of it as killing zombies. Think of it as killing one psychotic madman. That's what he is. He's a madman looking to start a war with the murder of thousands of innocents. We can't control him as he'd just turn us against one another. He's getting stronger every day, so he can probably control more than one of us at a time. It's too late in the game to be taking risks. We need him gone. Leekasha is worth saving. She's the one we want. Unless of course she turns on us as well."

"You have to start trusting them sometime, Chaz. Remember what Montgomery said."

"There's no need to worry. I know why we're here. It's a different fight for me now. For the first time in a long time, I have someone to go home to when this is done."

"I guess this means you won't be such a grumpy old b.a.s.t.a.r.d anymore." Christa grinned. "I'm glad for you. Chaz. We all need someone to fight for."

Chaz looked to Christa. "When did you get so wise and grown up?"

"I didn't really have a choice. It just happened. I had a lot of time to think about the world after I screwed it up so bad."

"You didn't screw it up. You were just a little kid back then. Everyone around you was making bad choices. You just did the best you could."

"Chaz, look, something's not right."

Alex was walking towards them down the road.

"What the h.e.l.l's he doing?" Chaz got out of the van and walked towards Alex. Christa followed him. "Alex, get back under cover. You're not supposed to be out in the open. If Andreas finds us like this we'll all be dead."

A voice came from behind Chaz. "It's a little late for that, Colonel."

Chaz turned and saw Andreas with his right hand around the back of Christa's neck and his left hand holding Chaz's sniper rifle. Leekasha stood behind him, her arms folded. She walked to Andreas and whispered a few words to him.

Andreas pushed her away and said, "I told you, this is my decision. These people need to understand who they're dealing with here."

Chaz started to speak, but couldn't get the words out. Andreas was already in his head.

"Hey, Colonel, what's wrong? You look worried, like you've got something on your mind, but just can't find the words? Don't worry, there's no need to speak. I'm pretty good at reading minds, you know. Leekasha tells me I'll make a great husband." Andreas flashed him a grin. "I've gotten so much better at it since the last time we were together. I'm sure you're relieved to see us OK, since you left us in that death trap. I would have called to let you know how we were doing so you could stop worrying, but I kind of had my hands full with a little project."

Andreas was in all their minds simultaneously now. He backed them all up against the van, facing him. Leekasha turned her back on the scene, appearing very uncomfortable.

"Andreas, don't do this," Christa said.

Chaz and Alex still couldn't speak, but Christa's mind resisted Andreas enough for her to talk.

"This is not why I brought you back, Andreas. There's a better way. There's a way for us all to exist peacefully."

"Really," Andreas replied. "Is that what the rifle was for? Just a little peaceful persuasion? I'm in their heads even more than yours, little girl. I know what they'd planned for me." Andreas raised the rifle to hold it in both hands. "That's not going to happen today. I've got something else in mind."

Then a single shot rang through the air and their minds were their own again. Andreas fell to the ground with a single bullet hole in the back of his head. Leekasha lowered the smoking gun she held clutched in her hand.

"I tried to stop him," Leekasha said. "I really did, but he wouldn't listen. He was set in his mind that it was the only way. There was no reasoning with him. He wanted war and change and anarchy. He didn't care if the whole world burned."

Christa reached towards Leekasha and took the gun. "We know," she said. "If you didn't do it, someone else would have eventually. Maybe not us, but someone. This is better."

Moving On.

"I know where I'm headed," Chaz said. "Can I drop you two off anywhere?"

"I don't really know," Alex answered. "I'd like to connect with my family again, but after everything that's happened over the last few years I'm not sure I'd be welcome."

"Give them time, boy. People can surprise you sometimes. They just need a chance to figure it out for themselves first."

"What about Caius?" Christa asked.

"I think he's still figuring things out. He does need the right people around him though, if he's going to get there. The first step is getting him out of the grip of those nutjobs. Abby and I'll figure it out. It's easier to fight for something when you have someone by your side. We'll spend some time with Shax and make sure she's going to be OK. She had a connection with Caius, so maybe she can reach him. What about you, Christa?"

"Well, I suppose there's no need to be hiding out any longer. Leekasha is going to need a lot of help getting things sorted out. I'm pretty sure I can help out in that regard. Dr. Montgomery wanted me to come back for a bit as well."

"You're OK with going back there?"

"It's a different world now, Chaz. Even Montgomery sees things differently. She's come around. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to work things out this time."

They all climbed into the van. "Well then, I guess it's time for one last road trip together," Chaz said, closing the door behind him.

Find out when the next book releases here: http://NormanChristof.com.

Also by Norman Christof.

Parables From The Apocalypse.

Endings.

Revealed.

Mutation.

Awakening.

Rising.