Mission Forkenstein

Yo, dear reader! It's time for a zombie revolution. Are you ready yet? If not, settle down immediately! Be prepared for an extreme fight. It will begin shortly…

Black, Black, Cooper Black!

"Vandermann, now is the time to prove yourself," Cooper and his pals were at the entrance of a desolate area of sand, dust, murder, and mystery. "You take the northern gates and enter the compound. You find the nearest watchtower and send this flare," he handed him a paper firework rocket. "And then we'll be off in your direction. This area is highly toxic, so use gas masks and avoid physical contact with bare skin at all costs!"

Indeed, the entire 305 x 488 m containment of Area 5474N was surrounded by electric fences, topped with barbed wire. There were 4 titanium-chloride gates at each side, namely the 'North (bio labs)', 'West (genetic dispensers)', 'East (zombie domain)', 'South (RAMRN communication-transfer chambers)'. There was also a massive 2400-metre-tall tall located at the very center.

The place once used to be an 'experimenting ground' for testing genetic enzymes and other scientific bio stuff. One of the experiments had failed and the entire system had to be shut down. Too bad, the people were too late! They all became infected with the virus, and turned into vile creatures, a.k.a. zombies.

The single tower at the center was known as 'SATAN'; 'Secured Automatic Tower of Armed Neutralization'. The tower had gone dark ever since some Russians tried to destroy it with their Titan B-39 bombers.

The SATAN's upper floors are yet alive with life. But this life wasn't 'proper'. It's the zombies who ruled the place now, slowly decaying along with the tower.

The NATO soldiers had once taken up a mission to kill every zombie there ever was so they had attempted to set up a defense platform. Symbiocyte had released 3 GSFERs into the territory but no one knows what had possibly happened to them.

Now it was Cooper Black's turn.

Cooper Black and Exodus Luke planned to take the Eastern gate while Vandermann Vugerton infiltrated the background borders of the Northern region.

The front gates had a metal barricade blocking the entrance to the massive grey structure in front of them. It was as big as thirty eighteen-wheelers parked together in rows and columns. The roof slanted from the middle, forming an inclined plane on either side.

"This place looks too good to be true," Cooper heard Exos mutter as they advanced towards the building which looked more like a factory than a biological asylum. They all clicked their guns together before letting it all go in an uproar. The barricade exploded inwards from a heavy blow of one of Luke's AP grenades. "Course clear. Let's move!"

Meanwhile, Vandy jogged along a thin strip of sedimentary rock with a small river rushing underneath. The afternoon sun glared at his heavy military armor, making even an energetic person like Vandermann to easily become exhausted within 3 minutes 47 seconds of trekking. He put his gas mask on, before approaching the Northern gates – two enormous iron-nimonic vertical plates dotted with rivets around the borders.

But as he stepped closer, only a few inches from the gates, an alarm went off somewhere inside the facility. The watchtowers unfolded hidden cannons, armed LMGs, and laser trackers. All of these followed a similar target: Vandermann Vugerton.

***

Electric buzz saws cut through the last layer of fortified concrete. The last pile of rubble was disconnected and a rectangular piece of the cut wall fell apart and crumbled to pieces as it collapsed inwards and landed on the floor.

"Okay, we're in!" Exos removed the buzz saw and hid it beneath the debris, because:

a) They didn't need it anymore

b) They certainly didn't want any 'scientist zombie' to find this equipment and turn it into a chainsaw, before using it on their backs

They were in some kind of storage room for biohazardous substances, labelled neatly on dirty, corroded shelves and packed in the form of fluids inside glass vessels.

"Phew! Good thing we wore our masks!" Cooper pointed towards a shapeless heap of flesh rotting in a corner.

When he got closer, he got the details. It was one of the scientists in their humanoid-zombie form. Whether he was dead or alive, it couldn't be made sure of. His eye sockets were empty, his jetblack hair was all crisped away.

The zombie was still wearing its lab outfit that was a bit torn at the edges. His skin had gone rough, dry and scaly-green. His mouth, wide-open, displayed rows of serrated teeth. At the tip of his tongue, grew an eyeball. The eye caught sight of the two humans and the zombie began a strange 'dance'.

It stood up straight as an oaken plank, sucked in masses of air, and began jumping on its toes. Tip, tap! Tippity, tap! It waved its arms front, back, up, down, down, up, up, and down. Even stranger, the zombie began squawking and hissing.

"What a dumb zombie!" Cooper and Luke exchanged funny looks before bursting into laughter.

But soon, their laughter turned to sorrow.