Damned Are We Read online

  before. It was super fast. And it jumped Markus from about twenty metres away."

  "The son of a bitch had claws too," Markus said, pointing down at his bloody chest.

  "Hm, that is something," Corvo remarked. He did not like the sound of this.

  "I didn't kil it," Samantha continued worriedly. "I shot at it a few times, but it got away."

  "Don't worry, kid," he said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If it shows up again, it won't be getting away this time."

  Corvo and Jacob moved silently down the stairs, guns held out in front, flashlights on. The building

  was absolutely silent, save for the occasional dripping of water overhead.

  "Through here," Corvo whispered over his shoulder, moving through a doorway into a hal way.

  It was completely dark. The weary combatants shone their flashlights down the hallway and saw, to

  their satisfaction, that it was empty. Corvo crept up to the nearest door and tried it to find that it was

  locked. He walked over to the next door to find, to his frustration, that it too was locked. He was

  about to move on when Jacob moved forward without warning and kicked the door open.

  "What the hel – " Corvo cried out in shock. He turned to glare at Jacob angrily. "Are you tryin' to get us both kil ed?"

  "We needed to get inside," he replied casually. "So unless you want to play Musical Doors al night, let's go."

  Corvo marched right up to him. "You could have alerted any Infected nearby. So, the next time you're about to do something like that, don't."

  Jacob did not reply. He stared Corvo down, their faces inches apart. The tension between the two

  hardened men appeared to be at breaking point. They broke apart when their attention was

  momentarily diverted by the sound of a crashing car from somewhere outside.

  Corvo turned to move into the apartment. "By the way, it's Musical Chairs, moron," he said over his shoulder, and then continued through the doorway.

  Jacob rol ed his eyes and started to fol ow him. However, he heard the soft sound of pattering feet

  coming from somewhere down the hall. He quickly aimed his flashlight down the hal way, but there

  was nothing to be seen. However Jacob could not shake the bad feeling he had in the pit of his

  stomach. Unbeknown to Corvo, he moved off down the hal to investigate the sound. As he

  advanced down the hal way, he did not see the dark figure behind him creep into the apartment after

  Corvo.

  Chapter 2

  "How are you feeling?" Samantha asked worriedly.

  "Like I've been dragged over a bed of nails," Markus groaned.

  Samantha was wrapping his ruined shirt around his chest as tightly as she could. However, she

  stopped when she heard him inhale sharply from the pain.

  "Sorry..." she mumbled apologetically, and loosened the bandaging slightly.

  She finished tying the shirt around Markus' chest and then looked down at her bloodstained hands,

  before wiping them on his shirt.

  "Hey, do I look like a dish cloth to you?" he said jokingly.

  Samantha tried to chuckle, but she was seriously worried. Corvo and Jacob were both downstairs,

  and they could be in danger. And Markus' injuries looked bad enough.

  "Is there anything else I can do to help?"

  He smiled encouragingly. "Nah. It can only get better, right?"

  Samantha chose not to answer. Unless he got medical attention soon, it could only get worse.

  Corvo moved silently through the apartment, sweeping his flashlight through the rooms, searching

  for any signs of danger. He was not aware that Jacob was not watching his back. Something else

  was.

  He stealthily moved toward the bathroom and found what he was looking for; a discarded bucket

  lying on its side on the floor.

  Jacob slowly walked down the hal in the direction that he heard the sound of pattering feet earlier.

  His ear was cocked for any more noises. However, save for his heavy footsteps, there was not a

  sound to be heard. He cautiously walked forward a few more steps when he heard the sound of

  pattering feet again, this time from behind him. He quickly whirled around, but his flashlight revealed nothing.

  Jacob took a careful step back down the hal back toward the apartment that Corvo had entered. He

  took another step when, most inexplicably, he heard another footstep on the other side of the wal that he was next to. It came from inside the adjacent apartment on his right. He stopped and

  listened. Silence.

  He took another step, and then he heard his footsteps being mirrored again from behind the wal .

  "Son of a bitch," Jacob growled. Was the bastard playing mind games with him?

  He quickly marched the short distance down the hal way up to the door of the apartment, all the

  while hearing the thing on the other side of the wal mimicking his movements. He squared his

  shoulders, readied his shotgun, and then kicked the door open, aiming his shotgun and flashlight

  inside. However, he was shocked to see no one there.

  Suddenly –

  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

  A dreadful scream came from behind him, fol owed by a terrible crash. Jacob whipped around to see

  an infected woman come tearing out of the doorway behind him; arms held forward, lips curled

  upward in an ugly snarl.

  Jacob did not hesitate and pulled the trigger, blasting the woman in the chest and sending her flying

  back through the doorway. Immediately after, he felt ice-cold arms wrapping themselves around him

  from behind. An infected man had snuck up on him. The shotgun clattered to the ground.

  Corvo's head shot up in shock when he heard the shotgun go off out in the hal way.

  "Damn it – " he started to curse, but he was cut off.

  "RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

  Corvo looked behind him to see a dark shape rushing toward him. He did not have time to aim his

  assault rifle, so instead he swung the rifle butt and struck his attacker in the face. The infected man

  stumbled backward a few feet and looked up to see Corvo aiming his rifle at him. The man opened

  his mouth to roar, but never got the chance. Corvo shot him through the head, blood and brain

  matter splattering on the wal behind his crumpled body.

  Jacob wrestled desperately with his attacker, who had wrapped himself firmly around his back. He

  glanced back to see the other man bear his teeth, ready to bite into his neck.

  "NO!" Jacob cried, throwing himself backward into a wal , slamming the man against it.

  Nothing happened, so he threw himself against the wal again. This time, the man's grip loosened

  slightly, and Jacob took the opportunity to throw him off. Fal ing to one knee, Jacob quickly scooped

  up his shotgun and took aim. However, before he could get the shot off, gunfire erupted behind him,

  and the man fel in a bloody heap.

  Jacob looked back to see Corvo standing further down the hal way, his smoking M-16 raised to his

  shoulder. The old veteran lowered the rifle and gave Jacob a death glare, which the latter ignored.

  He picked himself up off the ground and brushed himself off.

  "Phew!" he breathed. "Good thing I'm indestructible." He turned back toward Corvo, but was taken aback to see the old man aiming the rifle at him.

  "Next time you wander off and leave me in the lurch like that, you end up like him." Corvo jerked his head behind Jacob at the dead body lying in the hal way.

  The arrogant biker was about to retort angrily, but he stopped himself when he looked into Corvo's

  eyes. The look that he was being given was that of a man not to be messed with. Instead, he just


  nodded silently.

  Corvo and Jacob walked back up the stairs together in a tense silence. Corvo had managed to

  scrounge a red medical pack from the bathroom, which was now slung across his back, while Jacob

  carried a ful bucket of water with one hand and hefted his shotgun over his shoulder with the other.

  "Corvo, you were in the army, right?" he asked presently.

  "Yeah?" the older man replied cautiously.

  "So I know that you know a death-wound when you see one."

  Corvo said nothing, keeping his expression guarded. If this was going where he thought it was…

  Jacob pointed down at his biker vest. "My gang, we were a pretty notorious bunch. We had a lot of

  enemies. And I've seen my fair share of fucked-up injuries." He stopped and turned to face his

  partner. "You know that this is a waste of time. Markus is dead weight. And a ticking time-bomb! We bring him with us, we're al going to die."

  "Don't give me that horseshit!" Corvo snapped suddenly.

  Further up the stairwel , Samantha raised her head hopeful y when she realised that she could make

  out his voice. Thank god they came back!

  Jacob glowered angrily. "Markus has been slashed! He's infec – "

  Corvo turned and rounded on him, his voice low and dangerous. "Listen to me, son, and listen wel .

  War is hel . It lacks humanity. But it has rules. And the most important one is that no one gets left behind." He snatched the bucket out of Jacob' hands and continued up the stairs without another

  word.

  Jacob stood and stared after him in surprise for a moment, and then followed, shaking his head.

  Corvo stormed up the staircase fuming. The nerve of that punk.

  "Corvo!" Samantha cried out when he came into view. "Thank god you're okay!" There was a

  moment of silence. "Where's Jacob?"

  "On his way up," he grunted. He bent down to examine to her job. "Nice work, kid."

  He drew a dul -looking knife and sawed through the rest of the shirt, revealing Markus' chest again as Jacob came into view.

  "This might sting a bit," he said to Markus.

  He then began to pour water over Markus' chest. The younger man gasped in pain as his blood

  flowed away down the stairs, revealing the ugly slashes in his chest. Samantha gasped while Corvo

  reached for some disinfectant and wrapping from the first-aid kit.

  Jacob leaned toward Samantha. "Hey, can I talk to you outside for a sec?" he asked softly.

  She was shocked. In the short time that they had known each other, Jacob had barely paid her a

  second glance. "Uh, sure," she said, fol owing him out onto the roof.

  Corvo took in the extent of Markus' injuries as he worked. "You're cut up badly. I'll do what I can, but you've already lost a lot of blood. Not to mention that the wounds could get infected, or sepsis could

  come into play. We'll need an actual doctor if that happens."

  "You should probably work on your bedside manner," the younger man said in a vain attempt to

  lighten the mood.

  "I ain't gonna sugar-coat it, son. If you don't get help soon, you could be in a lot of trouble."

  Outside on the roof, aside from a light drizzle, the rain had stopped. Jacob walked ahead for a little

  bit, and then turned to face Samantha, out of earshot of the door.

  "Listen, uh..."

  "Samantha," she replied.

  "Right. Sorry."

  "That's okay. I guess it's just girls' names that you have trouble remembering, right?" she said

  sarcastical y.

  Jacob ignored that last comment. "Look, Markus is screwed. He's going to bring us nothing but

  trouble. If we stick around with him, we're done. We've gotta think of the bigger picture here."

  Samantha was appal ed at Jacob' cal ousness. She struggled with her next words.

  "You know I'm right, don't you?" he persisted.

  Samantha paused, looking back at the stairwel for a moment. "No one left behind, right?" she final y said, repeating Corvo's words from earlier. She turned and walked back into the building, leaving

  Jacob alone on the rooftop.

  Chapter 3

  A little while later, Markus' chest was wrapped in white bandages. With help from Corvo, he stood up

  and walked down the stairwel .

  Corvo slung the medical pack over his back and picked up Samantha's crumpled backpack, frowning

  as he handed it to her. "Why's it so light? I thought we had more food in here."

  The former student shook her head worriedly. "We're running low on supplies."

  "The situation any better with your backpack, Jacob?"

  "There's sweet F-A left in here," he replied.

  No one had anything to say to the troubling news as they made their way carefully down the stairs.

  "Hold up," Markus piped up as the party passed by the apartment from before. "I gotta find me a new shirt."

  "I think we've got more pressing matters at hand," Corvo replied.

  "It'l only take a second," he insisted, disappearing into the doorway.

  Samantha fol owed him through the dark apartment into the master bedroom and watched in silence

  as he rummaged through the closet.

  "Here we go!" Markus cried cheerful y, pulling on a white col ared shirt, similar to the one that was now lying in bloody pieces on the stairwell.

  "Great," she said. "Now can we go? This place gives me the creeps."

  "Sure, just got to grab one more thing..." Markus replied, shuffling toward the bathroom.

  "What the hel are you doing?" Samantha sighed in exasperation.

  "I just gotta see... Oh, man, I hope they have some..." the ex-business man said over his shoulder.

  Her curiosity getting the better of her, Samantha fol owed him into the bathroom to see him

  rummaging through the cabinet behind the sink mirror.

  "Ah, ha!" he cried triumphantly, turning and holding up a bottle of pain pil s. "Grabbin' pil s."

  She could not help but chuckle as she fol owed Markus out of the bathroom. However, the

  momentary mood-lift was shattered when they found themselves staring down the barrel of Jacob'

  shotgun.

  "What the hel ?" Markus cried out.

  "I'm sorry," he said.

  "Jacob, what are you doing?" Samantha demanded, stil not believing what she was seeing. "Put the gun down!"

  "I didn't want it to come to this," the biker continued, keeping his voice controlled. "But you're infected. You're a danger to the rest of us."

  "I'm NOT infected!" Markus cried in disbelief. "Please, let me explain!"

  "Corvo!" Samantha cried when the older man entered the room. "Do something!"

  However, she was shocked when he just shook his head. "Jacob and I have been talking,

  Samantha, and he brought up a valid point. Markus was clawed up. It could be in his system."

  "Let me explain! I'm not infected!" Markus pleaded. "I'm immune! I've been bitten before!"

  "Hmph," Jacob snorted derisively. "You must be gettin' pretty desperate if you expect us to believe that."

  "I can prove it!" the anxious man exclaimed, pul ing up one of the sleeves on his new shirt. "There!

  Look!"

  The others looked down to see a bite mark still visible on his forearm. The wound had obviously

  been quite nasty when he had first received it, but now it was healing up pretty nicely.

  "...What are you saying?" Corvo final y said after a prolonged silence.

  "I'm saying that I got this bite almost two weeks ago, but I'm still human!"

  "Alright, that's enough!" Samantha exclaimed, drawing a pistol and pointing it at the burly biker. "Put the gun down now, Jacob!"

  " No! " he roared. "He's infected! He has to – "

  He never got the cha
nce to finish his sentence. He felt the butt of Corvo's rifle slamming into his

  head from the side, and then everything went dark.

  Jacob groggily awoke to find himself sitting in a dining room chair in the dark, ruined apartment. He

  tried to move, but a sharp pain shot through his head. It took him a moment to comprehend that his

  hands were tied behind his back. He tried to move his feet, but discovered that his ankles had also

  been bound together. He focused his eyes and saw Samantha, Corvo and Markus standing a few

  feet away, conversing quietly.

  "What the hel is this?" he growled. "Let me up!"

  The other three turned when he spoke. Samantha came over and leaned forward. "We're sorry we

  had to do this, Jacob. But you were out of control. You were going to kil Markus. We had to – "

  "Shut up, bitch!" he spat angrily.

  She was taken aback by his blunt response, and Corvo cut in. "That's enough. We've been talking to

  Markus, and I think it's safe to say that he isn't going to be trying to eat us anytime soon."

  Jacob was too busy struggling with his bindings to answer.

  "Listen, Jacob," Markus said, coming over. "Before I met you three, I was with another group of people for a little while. Instead of heading for an evacuation zone, we holed up. They thought they

  could wait it out." He shot a sideways glance at his companions. "They couldn't."

  "I'm NOT in the mood for sob stories!" the burly biker roared.

  "Shut up!" Corvo snapped suddenly. The force of his tone prompted everyone to go silent and look at him. "The Infected are attracted to noise, geniuses. So, Jacob, if you carry on shouting and making a racket, we're going to gag you and leave you here. "

  Although he doubted that they would actually leave him behind, he opted to remain quiet.

  Corvo turned to address Samantha quietly. "Go watch the front door, in case this moron brought

  company for us. You know what to do."

  She nodded quickly, and then turned and disappeared through a doorway.

  Markus, meanwhile, continued with his story. "As I was saying, one of the guys I holed up with was a

  doctor. He said he'd worked on a number of cases of the Green Flu, before the shit hit the fan." He

  pul ed up his shirt-sleeve to show Jacob his bite wound again. "I got this a few days before I met the