The Great War (Surviving the Zombie Nightmare Book 5) Read online

  The Great War

  The Zombie Outbreak – Book 5

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 1

  Once upon a time experts suggested that stress could be as dangerous and deadly to humans as any combination of weaponry or viruses. There was good news and bad news to go along with that piece of information. The good news was that there was a cure for stress and treatment for the negative effect it could have on the human body. The bad news was that the bottom line requirement necessary for stress to be lessened was to get some rest.

  While that last bit wasn’t given as bad news so many years ago, it presented itself as bad news in the here and now for Eric Bayne. There was a huge problem with him being able to simply lay down and get some rest. Actually there were several problems with it.

  First of all there was the minor fact that the person currently sharing the safe house with him was the same person who had beaten his ass a few times, they had counted each other as arch enemies and she happened to be the same person who sliced his right hand off after a sucker punch. Destiny was far from the best housemate he had ever had. He didn’t like it when she went to the toilet because he couldn’t rightfully keep an eye on her in there and he didn’t trust her any farther than he could see her. Clearly that did not lend itself to Eric being able to easily lay his head down and get a few hours of sleep.

  Secondly there was the fact that he was in the epicenter of one of the most tragically horrible virus outbreaks in human history. Thirdly there was the fact that the little holy war that had sparked as a result of the virus somehow had him as a very important figure. God only knew what he had done to deserve that living hell but he was surely going to take that up with the big guy upstairs providing he ever got the chance.

  All of those reasons paled in comparison to the main reason Eric refused to close his eyes however. Visions; they were the bane of all of creation as far as he was concerned. Damn if he ever thought that one single angel or demon even existed in the first place. He sure has hell never wanted to talk to one. Once he saw evidence that the higher plane existed, he made dead level sure to never ask to talk to one of those fuckers, and yet they continued to hound the shit out of him. Eric hated it for more than one reason.

  First of all you couldn’t trust a thing the demons said because well, they're demons. Then there was the fact that the angelic host was apparently working with their damn eyes closed during the past few decades. Mandy was their chosen helper and the bitch turned her back for what? The promise of being the mother of the future human race? Who would think someone who was that big of a fucking idiot could be a chosen helper to anyone? Eric had no use for any of them.

  But of course the high and holy bastards didn’t tend to ask permission either. Here Eric stood in the middle of the same damn street he had seen countless times over. Apparently when Destiny finally drifted off to sleep, he had accidentally fallen into a sleep of his own. As was the apparent custom, he had barely closed his eyes when another damn vision or dream had started. He wouldn’t know which it was until one of them appeared to him. If he was lucky, it would just be a simple vision of rivers of blood and the death of everything. That he could deal with.

  Unfortunately, Eric saw in the distance that he was not going to be lucky this time around. At least this was a new one. He knew for a fact he had not seen an angel this amazing before. That was something to look forward to. At least he could enjoy how ridiculous this thing looked before he had to listen to another load of angelic garbage. The sheer size of this one was unbelievable. He was at least twice Eric’s height and easily a couple of heads taller than any angel or demon that Eric had ever seen. There wasn’t any armor either. Instead this one wore long and beautiful robes of astounding light and color. It didn’t even have an obviously visible sword or shield. This one could claim to be God himself and Eric wouldn’t doubt it too much with the majesty that oozed off of him.

  When the angel came closer, Eric admired his own ability to not bow down to the huge and majestic figure. The hood of his robes was low enough that Eric could only see incredible light beaming from his face and little else. He didn’t seem to even be wearing a helmet which was odd. Certainly every demon he had ever seen loved sporting a huge helmet and most every angel did as well.

  “Behold!” a voice of thunder said loudly, “You are in the presence of a god!”

  Eric smirked outwardly but on the inside he was shaken. This was someone different. “Yeah, I’ve heard it all before fellow. What do you want with me?”

  “Who are you to question one such as I?” the thunderous voice asked.

  “I’m Eric,” he said quickly, “Now just who the hell are you? Which angel do I have the irritation of talking to?”

  Beneath the hood Eric saw a flash of bright red as he spoke again; this time more quietly, “Lucas Eric Bayne, you have always had what you humans refer to as ‘guts’. Your ignorance abounds all the same.”

  “Look, angel-dude,” Eric said with a shrug, “I am really running out of patience right now. I certainly, already, regret falling to sleep… so maybe if you stopped running your mouth, we could get this little vision over with and I could wake up. What do you say angel-guy?”

  The huge being looked to the heavens and threw the hood off of his head. Eric instantly fell to one knee and shielded his eyes. His eyes felt like they were burning out of his head for a solid minute. Finally he was able to open his eyes a little bit, albeit while glancing at the ground.

  “I am not an angel,” the voice was just as thunderous but somewhat lower-toned. “Do I look like one who bestows such weakness? Do not refer to me as an angel; for I am deity!”

  The area around them grew a little bit darker and Eric was able to glance up and see that the self-proclaimed deity had placed the hood on his head once again. Eric stood back up to his full height and looked at the large being, “You seem to have a little bit of a self-esteem problem there fellow. Seriously, you call yourself a god? I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re pretty amazing but I assume God would be a little more impressive.” Eric put his hands up in a surrender gesture, “No offense or anything.”

  Suddenly a round of laughter sounded through the air and Eric thought for sure he saw a few arcs of lighting. Clearly this guy was something extra-special. Whether he was a god or not; Eric was inclined to believe him if it would move this little meeting along. “Call yourself a god if you want man but I want to hear a name. Give me a name or I’m done with this fucking meeting before it gets started.”

  “So many names,” the loud voice rang out, “Apollyon, Diabolus, Angel of Darkness, Prince of Darkness, Mephistopheles,” he paused for a moment and said in a lower tone, “Satan and the Devil are two old favorites. I, for one, prefer Lucifer, the God of the World.”

  Suddenly it all grew a lot clearer. This wasn’t an angel or a demon; if the bible thumpers were to be believed – and this entire conflict seemed to credit their stories - he was the demon of demons, the fallen angel of fallen angels. Eric smirked up at him to hide the fear he felt inside, “Oh, I see, you’re the one that got all of this shit started. I
think I’ll just call you shit-starter,” Eric paused, “Or maybe just Satan. Hey I know,” Eric said finally, “I won’t call you anything because I’m already tired of this goddamned conversation. Oh, does it offend you when I say goddamned? Bring up some bad memories?”

  “You use humor to cover your fear. It is an unattractive feature among you humans. There is something you must consider. I do not wish to waste my valuable time.”

  “Well then, Big Evil, you and I will get along just fine. Spit it out, shut it up and move on out.”

  “False bravado will not save you from my wrath if I should choose so, human. You are a mere gnat.”

  Instead of arguing like he wanted to, Eric took the warning seriously and simply nodded, “Fair enough.”

  “I have orchestrated the greatest coup in the history of creation.” He gestured proudly with his illuminated hands, “Directly to the point human, you have been placed on a pedestal by the power that I fight against. It might seem like that power, that God is destined to win but history has been changed. The plan is no longer what ancient texts predicted it would be. Now, I shall be victorious and take my rightful place on a throne of the heavens. Because you are the force that the so-called Most High has chosen, I'll give you a choice. You can either fall with the hosts of heaven or rule alongside me and my legions. You will know when the choice is before you. You will be forced to your knees on a field of battle. When you are, the choice will be clear to you. Give up your struggle, fight no more and rule alongside me or continue to fight and die among the dust. Chose wisely human.”

  Before Eric had the chance to come back with a dramatic bit of grandstanding, the Devil himself faded away into a quick burst of light. The vision did not fade away however. Eric looked around wondering why in the world of visions this damn scene had not faded into his bursting into reality. Maybe when Satan decided to personally visit your dreams, the scene just stuck around for a while. It seemed possible. As for the proposition by the massive and beautiful being, Eric wasn’t even seriously considering the foolish notion as of yet.

  If this Satan guy knew anything about Eric, he would know that Eric Bayne worked for nobody but Eric Bayne. That was how he was wired. It was a huge problem when he was trying to hold down a regular job. He constantly found himself putting his fist into a boss’ face or destroying the modeling dreams of a pretty boy who decided to put their mouth ahead of their ass.

  The running theme wasn’t as glorious for Eric however. He was constantly broke, living back with his parents or even on the street. Now he supposed that all of that went directly into making him the perfect person for who the angelic host needed on their side. That didn’t mean he preferred working for them either, of course.

  “It’s one of the reasons you were chosen Eric,” a low rumbling voice said from behind him.

  Eric spun around ready for anything but saw nothing instead. There was only the familiar side of the street lined with trees. The street itself was lined in blood stains but that was nothing new to these visions. Someone speaking without allowing themselves to be seen was very new however.

  “Your willingness to stand up in the face of Lucifer and not fall on your face in worship - that is, your stubborn idiocy - is why you were chosen.”

  Eric had wandered into the middle of the street, but now the voice sounded like it was coming from the other direction. He still saw no sign of any being of light or any such thing. “Is this supposed to be some kind of a circus trick?” He shouted loudly, “If you are going to speak about my stubborn idiocy then you must know how much this pisses me off. Show yourself or let me fucking wake up!”

  “Unfortunately for you,” the rumbling voice said from behind him again, “I do not take orders from humans. Unfortunately for me,” the voice said from his right this time, “He whom I do take orders from sent me here to talk to you face to face.”

  Off to the far right where the place that looked to be his parents’ house stood, a bright light flashed quickly. Eric looked over and started walking in that direction, murmuring to himself about how this had better be good. When he was within a hundred feet of the front porch he saw the being on the steps. He was massive, every bit as huge as Satan himself. This one had zero light emitting from his form however. His armor was of pure white with strips of what was surely pure gold adorning it in several spots. The helmet was just as magnificent and was resting to the side of the huge figure on the steps. His hair hung down into his face and looked to be as pure of a white color as Eric had ever seen. When Eric was within about ten feet, the being looked up. His face looked strikingly human but with tiny differences that Eric couldn’t quite put his finger on. Not knowing whether this was demon, angel or what, Eric simply nodded, “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “I am,” a quick light as bright as the morning sun flashed in his eyes before fading into a brilliant blue shade, “Michael.”

  “Michael? Eric asked as he recalled an old story from the oldest book, “As in Michael the Archangel?”

  A quick smile formed on the angel’s face then he looked down and said, “Something like that.”

  “That’s good right? Don’t the stories talk about you being the one who kicked Lucifer, the Devil out of heaven?” Eric asked. “Why didn’t you show up until after he left? Are you afraid of him or something?”

  “No, Eric,” Michael said with a kind smile, “I do not fear him.”

  “I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Eric looked back in the direction Satan had recently been standing in. “That dude is something else.”

  “You want to talk about circus acts and parlor tricks Eric Bayne?” Michael asked with a simple but stern expression, “That is all you will find in the one formerly known as the Angel of Light. He has nothing left but simple tricks and foolishness. His desperation is why you are seeing this zombie outbreak.”

  “Call it what you want,” Eric said, “But it sure looks like he is winning. What are you supposed good guys planning to do about him and what he has done? He wants me to stop fighting you know? Do you have a reason I should keep fighting instead of ruling with him?”

  Michael looked up and a brief flash of orange light accompanied his words, “You like asking questions Eric. I wonder why that is so. Do you imagine that you ask questions and trust no one because of your childhood? Is it because you are just that smart? Maybe it is how tough you are or the fact that you refuse to trust anyone including God himself. Why don’t you answer some questions for me this time Eric? We will start with an easy one. Who are you?”

  Eric scowled at the comment but answered, “Eric Bayne.”

  “Good,” Michael said, “What do you want?”

  “What?”

  Michael’s eyes returned to a bright and brilliant blue, “That is the information you require of me; is it not? You demand to know what our plan is and what I am doing here. I am asking you in return. What do you want Eric?”

  Eric shrugged in irritation, “I don’t know. I want to wake the fuck up so you stop talking to me. I want my dog back. I want this stupid war to be over. I wish I had been killed in some random mugging a dozen years ago so that I would have been long dead instead of some chosen one when the zombie shit hit the fan.”

  “You want out?” Michael asked in a louder voice than he had used so far.

  “Yes!” Eric yelled.

  “You want out of being the chosen one for us. So you then want to serve Satan himself, right?” Michael demanded.

  “Shit, no I don’t want to serve Satan. I won’t either,” Eric said matter-of-factually, “I’ll tell you that for sure right now. I don’t serve you and I damn sure won’t serve him.”

  “You stubborn fool!”

  Eric stepped forward, “What the fuck did you call me?”

  Michael, the Archangel suddenly stood to his full height and at that moment he looked larger and more imposing than Lucifer ever had. He looked down at Eric and said clearly and loudly, “I called you a stubborn fool because th
at is what you are! Are you blind? Do you not have the sense to get in, out of the rain, as you humans like to say? You are so self-important Eric and so independent. Do you know why? How could you be so foolish as to not know why you are the way you are?”

  “I don’t know what you’re getting at but you should know that tall guys in armor have received a head-rolling sword strike from me before. I won’t hesitate to do it again.” Eric scowled up at the massive angel.

  Michael laughed a loud and rumbling laugh and sat back down. After a minute he clasped his hands together and quietly repeated, “You, Eric, are a stubborn fool. You are a stubborn fool because God made you that way. The one who crafted you in your mother’s womb made you the way you are. The answer to every question about you is that you are that way, act that way and behave the way you do because God made you that way and yet you refuse to admit it to yourself and serve him.”

  “People do not always stay the way that God meant for them to be,” Eric argued. “Assuming that God exists, which is pretty hard to deny at this point, people do not always behave or live in the way I would imagine he intends.”

  “You are correct Eric,” Michael said with a smile, “You are absolutely correct. I did not say that everyone is the way they are because God made them that way. Eric, I said that you are that way because God made you that way. See, many humans choose to go against their natural make-up. So very many of you, even the ones you revere from history sometimes refused to follow the path that God had for them. You, however, have followed the path God had for you to an exact point that few humans have ever equaled.”

  “You mean,” Eric grew more confused by the second, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, Eric, you are exactly who God wants you to be, in the time He wants you to be this way, for the reason He wants you to be here. Don’t assume that everything you hear from Satan, the father of lies by the way; is truth. For example, he would have you to believe that he now can do anything he wants and nobody knows. He can get anything he wants passed God himself and nobody can get anything passed him. Isn’t that what you think?”