Genocide X ( chapter 1)

Private Mathews October 1st 2010


The explosive revving of the engine resembled a bomb discharging. Private Mathews leaned his left elbow on the door of the large machine and looked to see the green blur of a field go by. The yellow lines that laid upon the concrete looked like little tiny yellow spots as the engine rumbled louder.

He gazed into the green field and saw many birds fly by. The trees at the borders of the field stood stronger than the concrete that supported the huge weight of the steel machine. Private Mathews peered at the sun descending to the top of the trees and seemed to glow red like the surface of mars. The sun’s red rays spilled through the gaps in the trees and placed an orange glow on his cheeks and eyes.

A reflective shine that caught the attention of Mathews, was of the sun’s light to the metallic wires from a chain link fence in the distant. He viewed the chain link fence across the end of the field that laid flush to the woods on the borders of the field.

The M-16 positioned by his side as the rumble of the hummer shook it. He grabbed a hanker chief from his pocket and swabbed his forehead to clean the sweat.

This was Private Mathew’s first mission since leaving the barracks. He was a new recruit a little while back. In the barracks training camp for awhile and now he was sent to his first mission.

He did not have a clue about the situation they were sent to take care of or the abilities required to solve on set mission. He thought it seemed odd that his first mission would be in the U.S.A. They were on their way to a small town in Colorado and that is all he knew about what they were being sent to.

His arm was shaking not only from the constant movement of the Hummer but from the nerving situation of his first mission. His glove seemed to slip off due to the sweat from his palms. He pulled the gloves tighter and yanked on the restraint strap.

"You look nervous son" Private Mathews heard from his right.

He turned to his right and saw the face of a man looking at him with rock brown eyes that seemed to show content.

He placed his hand on Mathews shoulder and hit it jokingly as he said " I was nervous on my first mission too".

Mathews felt a big feeling of relief and peace from what he had said. The man’s jaw stuck away from his face quite far and his jaw was long and wide. His eyes were a solid brown that could not be mistaken for any other color. His sideburns went down far past his ears.

"Uh yea...this is my first mission, so what is your name?"

"My name is Jack and I would like to introduce you to my comrades in the back here" He introduced as he threw his right arm back with his thumb turned to the direction of the back seats.

They both had skinny bodies and they had medium length brown hair. One of them had blue eyes while the other had a light brown. He extended his hand in the back and greeted the two men.

"So you two are?"

"My name is George and his name is Gary" he pointed to Gary as if they were a duo in an old comedy sketch.

Mathews requested of Jack "What are we being sent to do?"

"I honestly don’t know son"

He had a thick southern accent that left a funny ring in Mathew’s ear. He must have been from Texas or another southern state.

There was a fence about nine feet tall right next to the road. The top of the chain link fence was coiled with large sums of razor wire. The middle of the fence was a yellow sign with lightning bolts that read WARNING FENCE IS ELECTRIFIED

Another sign followed the other WELCOME TO NORTHGATE, POPULATION 1500. There were buildings beyond the metal fence. Many of those buildings were small white houses.

Mathew’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the power voice of the commanding officer.

"When we reach the borders of north gate, we will get out and walk to the border entrance for briefing" he proclaimed as he pointed to a drop gate next to a couple of booths.

He drew out a white bag and tore open and pulled out six paper medical masks. He threw one onto the driver and grabbed one himself. He tugged plastic band and strapped the masks over his face and he turned his body to face them as he threw the medical masks at them.

He preached with a booming baritone “Okay boys, these rules are extremely important. If you are reported for not following your commands, than you will be sent to prison for life.”

Mathews eyes grew larger as he thought about the seriousness of this task.

The officer continued “The people of North Gate have been quarantined. If the Civilians attempt to escape the quarantine zone, you are required to use lethal force to stop them. Do not let the Civilians come within 10 yards of your person. If they advance to your position, you are to dispatch of them with lethal force. Do not let them come in contact with you or your squad members. If you witness any erratic or hostile behavior, you are obliged to “dispatch” of these persons. Maintain surveillance of their actions and record any disturbances or occurrences.

“ If they come in contact with you, DO NOT come in contact with fellow squad members and report to the medical tent immediately. If you see any news reporters or camera crew, you MUST destroy any recording devices and place them under arrest. If you see anybody outside the quarantine zone than you must report it immediately.










"Any questions?" he stated

"Do you know what we are doing here?" Mathews imposed as his bottom lip quivered because of strictness of the rules.

"That information is strictly confidential" he retorted

Mathews reached over and grabbed the handle to his left and open the door and stepped out onto the hard surface of the concrete. He closed the door behind him and positioned the M-16 strap to his back and followed Jack and the other two guys.

A corporal addressed them and preached " Ok boys, you are going to take patrol tonight. You will walk down Main Street until you reach Marks Crossing. You will walk down Marks road and walk to cull de sac at the end of the road. Once you reach the cull de sac you will turn around and take the same route back."

Jack took the lead to Main Street and he was followed by George, Gary and Mathews. They begun walking down the street and the only sound present in Mathews’ ears was the sound of the hard sole of their boots knocking against the solid surface of the concrete.

They were on their way to start their patrol on Main Street and while doing so they formed into a line. The order from left to right was Mathews, Gary, Jack and George.

As they keep walking down Main Street, Mathews had noticed something strange about the appearance of the town folk. Most of the town’s people were out on the sidewalks and they were acting quite peculiar. People were lying on the pavement on their stomachs. Some people were hanging on the street signs as if they were having trouble to stand up.

He witnessed a man sitting on a bench and he threw up on the ground. Mathews took a closer observation at his eyes and see that his eyes were appearing very odd. As if they were dilated but faint at the same time. He also seen a man lying in the gutter and he was moaning in a quite uneasy manner. Mathews rotated to look at Jack and the expression on his face had him worried. Many people were out roaming the streets.

"What the hell is going on here?" Gary barely quivered from his lips

"I don’t know and I don’t know if I want to know"


7:23pm


As they were walking they started to pick up their pace due to the strange things that had just occurred. As they walked faster the sound of the boots against the concrete grew louder and faster. They were getting close to the end of Main Street and they decided that a change of position was necessary. So when they reach the right turn, Jack and Mathews stepped forward and Gary and George stepped back five paces, they formed a square. Jack to Mathews Right, Gary behind Mathews and George behind Jack. As we made the transition he was hesitant to look back but decided against it.

Just as they were about to walk down Marks road they stopped with a loud thud from Mathew’s boots, because Mathews had seen something from the corner of his eye and was afraid to look to his right down Main Street. He was about to turn his head when he was interrupted by Gary behind him.

"Oh my god" he barely whispered but they had all heard it.

He slowly lifted his arm and he pointed down Main Street.

Mathews spun his head to see down the street they had just walked from. He opened his eyes wide as the sight of what they saw had surprised them. All the people that were all lying in the gutters and sitting on the benches were standing up in a group. They all were standing very close together but they were all staring at Mathews. They were all in a fixed trance towards Mathews.

All these people appeared direly sick and they were all dragging themselves to walk. Some of the people were in a daze with their mouths slightly gaped open. Drool dripped from the mouths of some of the people as they gazed at Mathews. They were all standing and they all looked at them than suddenly they migrated to Gary's direction.

They were walking slowly but the sight of it was just plain eerie. They all were mesmerized about what was occurring but we had stopped once Jack said something

"Let’s just get this patrol done and then we can go back to base." Jack muttered with slight fear in his voice.

They all turned their heads and started to make the way down Marks road. The road wasn’t as long as Main street but it was long enough. Jack was walking very close to the sidewalk, closer than he had been before. It looked like he was investigating something. Just as he was walking, everybody was startled by Jack.

" Holy crap!" Jack yelled as his voice sounded agitated.

Mathews head turned quickly to the sound and saw Jack waving his arms frantically. There was a flock of crows flying away from the bush to his right. The crows made an odd sound, allot stranger than the sound a crow usually made.

"Damn, even the birds are crazy around here." Jack claimed with a little bit of humor in his voice.

The squad all kept on the road and the thudding of the boots against the concrete had become white noise. The night was almost upon them but for now they were walking in a darkish day.

As they marched they had seen two men in the distance.

Both of the dark figures were barely standing just like the other people they had just bared witness to. Mathews was about a hundred yards from the two men.

Mathews was astonished when he witnessed one of the men who attacked and brought the other man down to the ground.

" Did you see that!?!" Mathews heard from George in the back.

" Yes I did!"

Jack raised his M-16 and bent his knees. He guided his rifle at the assailant. He turned his head at Mathews.

"C’mon kid." He orated with enthusiasm.

Mathews clutched his M-16 and aimed it at the assailant. His hand shook with the rising beat of his heart. His heart began pumping faster and slowly bent his knees. He placed the stock of the M-16 on his shoulder and the end straight at the attacker. Jack and Mathews started slowly progressing to the attack with caution. They started coming to about 20 yards of the attack and stopped.

"Get off and back down!" Mathews demanded of the attacker.

He looked to see the attacker was still making weird motions over the body of the victim and the victims hands were shaking faster and faster.

Mathews heard a shot fired and peered to his left to see Jack’s face steady to the attacker. He saw the attacker on the ground and the victim lying there. Jack had fired a single shot into the chest of the attacker.

He started to proceed and saw blood spots on the ground. He looked at the face of the victim and saw blood on his cheek. He looked a little further down his neck and there was a bloody mess. He viewed a wound on his neck and blood all over his torso and neck. The wound on his neck was down to the jugular, causing the pool of blood to form around the victim.

The victim was struggling for breath and his breathing had become panicked and airless. He watches his eyes go faint and his hand stop shaking. His eyes were glazed over, He would go down to try and help him but they were under strict orders to not come in contact with the civilians.

"What the hell?" Jack blurted with a strong sense of confusion in his southern accent.

Mathews looked at him and at the body of the attacker. He examined the body of the attacker closely as he pondered something that had him startled. He gazed down at the hands of the attacker and saw that he had no weapon. He examined the hand of the assailant and saw no blood on his hands.

He examined the torso and looked at the face of the attacker. He stared at the teeth and saw that they were covered in blood. The blood turned the teeth into a dark red color. He thought of the attacker biting and tearing the victim with his teeth, but that was preposterous. He turned his body to look at the victim and is interrupted by a sudden groan.

Mathews jumped and aimed the assault rifle at the body of the assailant. He signaled at Jack and saw that he had done the same. They positioned the ends of the rifles at the body. A loud groan came from the body lying on the ground in front of them.

The attacker started to sit up and his eyes were a milky white. He peered at the eyes and Mathews eyes opened wide as the heart in his torso began to beat uncontrollably. The attacker opened his mouth and his groan entered Mathew’s ear like a bullet. The attacker rose to his feet. The attacker got up and rotated his head towards them and he stumbled towards them.

Mathews thoughts were racing like mad. They had shot the attacker in the chest, but he still tried to stand. That’s impossible; no man can take a round in the chest and still survive let alone stand up.

Jack made an adjustment on his rifle and then he aimed at the chest of the attacker.

“Back down!" Mathews yelled at the attacker

Jack fired a three round burst into the chest of the assailant and the body fell to the ground. His arms flailed frantically as his body hit the ground. They heard a moan as the body hit the ground. They watched that his leg was twitching. He looked at the face and his jaw is moving from left to right.

Mathews saw blood dripping from the side of his face and looked away. Just as Mathews turned away he was startled by what he had just caught with the corner of his eye.

The victim’s arm rose up and his head lunged forward. The torso of the victim jerked and sat up. The glazed eyes he had seen before had now turned to a paper white and the eyes stared into his. The victim started walking in an uneasy manner towards them.

What is going on, Mathews thought over and over in his head. The victim had his throat torn out and yet he is still moving. What’s wrong with these people?

Jack and Mathews elevated their rifles at him. Mathews peered to his right at Jack to see if he knows about what is going on.

Mathews received the nod of agreement that Jack had just given to him.

" Take the shot kid" Jack demanded

Mathews concentrated his rifle at the legs of the victim and he fired a single shot at the left knee of the victim. The body of the victim fell forward and the knee jerked sideways. He tried to crawl towards him as he was making a sound with his mouth. The sound resembled a person gasping for air as he tried to crawl to him.

He looked to Jack and then to the body of the attacker. He turned to see the body of the attacker lean forward and just as the body leaned forward Jack elevated his rifle and fired another three round burst into his chest and the body flopped back to the ground.

"Let’s get the hell out of here" Jack stuttered as he observed the body.

"Yeah I think we should"

A blood curdling yell had scared both Jack and Mathews. A crowd of “Civilians” had crowded over a figure on the ground. Mathews looks closely and realized that the “Civilians” were attacking Gary.

Mathews sprint was pulled back as Jack gripped his shoulder and stated “Don’t! Remember our orders, we can’t go to him”

Jack stepped forward and set his M-16 to single shot. He fired a shot at the body of one of the attackers. The attackers torso merely twitched as the round hit him in the ribs. Jack repeated fire at the bodies of the attackers, but all attempts seemed futile.

Jack watched in terror as his comrade was being mauled by the mob of “Civilians”. The “Civilians” ripped off his camouflage uniform and removed his helmet. Gary was punching and kicking them to try and free himself. But the overbearing numbers of the mob had rendered his attempts useless.

One man lowered himself to Gary’s neck and bit onto his throat. Gary screams were bone chilling and painful. Blood flowed out his wound like a fountain in a local mall. Three men also began tearing strips off of Gary with their teeth. As they tear chunks of flesh from his body his movements started to slow down.

Mathews leaped forward and fired a barrage of lead into the pack of “Civilians” The rain of bullets did not faze any of the assailants. George ran to Mathews and Jack with absolute fear stricken in his eyes. His bottom lip was jutting up and down as if he were going to cry at the horrific sight.

Private Mathew’s stomach turned and flipped all over as he viewed his comrade being mauled by the people of this town. Mathews began to feel nauseous and he swiveled away from the scene.

Jack lightly held the end of Mathew’s rifle and held it down as he nodded his head. Jack’s eyes were blinking uncontrollably as he watched the murder in process. They all stood in dismay as Gary’s life was slowly being torn from his being.

“What the hell is going on? We can’t help him. Why can’t we hurt them?” Mathews barely uttered as a single tear began to well up in his eye. He hesitantly wiped the tear away and turned to Jack for an explanation.

“I don’t know, but I am going to get the hell out of here”

George eyelids rose as he started pointing erratically at the people.

“ Well we better go now!”

About twelve people were advancing onto their position. All of them were stumbling in the same bone chilling manner.

Mathews, George and Jack ran for all they could down the road. Mathews M-16 clacked against the rest of his equipment as he sprinted down the pavement.

He turned to Jack and looks back at the crowd of sick civilians.

"I’ve never seen anything like this before" Jack stated with a strong sense of confusion in his voice.

They finally reached the cull de sac at the end of road and they all looked back at the crowd. The mobs of the civilians were getting closer and faster.

“Well we can’t turn back now"

" I have an idea" Mathews stated to the squad as he reached for his right lower pocket.

He reached down tear the strap and pulled out a Flash bang grenade.
The flash bang grenade was a long cylinder with a release pin at the top. Mathews grabbed hold of the grenade and showed it to the men and they figured out what he was going to do.

Mathews pointed to the alleyways between the houses and they started to jog towards that area. He thrusted his right shoulder forward and threw the flash bang grenade. He ran for the alley way and heard a bang. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding flash of the grenade.

Mathews removed his hand from his eyes and jogged to the alley ways. He ran between two houses and found the rest of his now three man squad. Mathews saw Jack and he looked at Mathews and pointed to his chest.

"Okay they can’t see us now".

Mathews pulled out the town map and unfolded it on the ground. He placed on it various twigs and leaves.

"Ok if we keep down this alley we should be back on Main Street. When we get on Main Street we will not run because we don’t want to make any unnecessary noise. We will only run if they see us. Than we run like hell to the base at the border. "


His heart was pumping and his brain is finding a liable explanation for this strange occurrence.

Gary and Jack eyes twitched and were full of terror. The thought of Gary being ripped apart had ran over and over in their minds.

Looked back between the alley ways and heard the constant moaning that seemed to have over whelmed all sound waves.

“Okay we better get out of here.".

Mathews stood up and they proceeded to leave the alley way and started to walk down Main Street. As they proceeded to go down the street the sound of groaning grew louder as they proceed. He looked to his left in some of the alleyways and saw some of the civilians slowly making their way through them.

He pointed to his comrades and they got the signal and they proceed to run down the road. Mathews ran behind them, than they attempt to run past Mathews. Jack Looked back to see that the mob of the civilians were following them again.

He looked to see them coming down the road and some of them pouring through the alleyways. He witnessed them stumbling their way through the bushes and the squad ran for all they had. But the weight of their equipment slowed them down considerably.

Mathews kept running and they were coming to the turn they had to take. Once they reach the end of Main Street they need to walk about forty yards to the right to get to the base at the border.

They came by a stop sign and the sign stood tall as the sun in the sky has surely fell. The sun was completely gone and the night was upon them. The street lights were beginning to come on.

Mathews stopped and turned around. He lowered himself to one knee and the other knee was pointed to the mob of "civilians". He drew his M-16 and rested the stock onto his right shoulder and aimed the sight through at the bodies of the "civilians". Comrades ran past Mathews and Jack stopped for a moment like he was about to say something to Mathews.

" Run I’ll slow them down!" Mathews commanded to Jack.

Jack hit Mathews shoulder jokingly and he turned and ran the other way.
Mathews took aim through his sight and the sight is not perfectly steady because of the heart that beaded like a drum behind it. His heart was beating so loud Mathews could nearly hear it, than his head brought him back to reality, but this seemed so much like a dream.

Mathews fired about seven rounds into the mob and saw some of the bodies flail and then fall to the ground. Some of the other "civilians" started tripping over the bodies that had just been taken to the ground. He switched his assault rifle to Full automatic. He held onto the trigger and heard the rattle and watched the bodies hit the concrete.



He felt the rattle on his shoulder and the sound rang through his ears. The magazine emptied and he couldn’t hear the clicking due to the ringing in his ear. Mathews stood up and heard a long painful ring in his right ear.

"Crap!" He muttered to himself as he looked to see an empty magazine.

But Private Mathews thoughts had disappeared as he gazed at something absolutely spellbinding. Gary slowly paced toward Mathews about forty yards away. Blood from the wound on his neck had seemed to have stopped flowing. Mathew’s stomach began to do summersaults again when he surveyed Gary’s blank white eyes.

Mathews thoughts were overwhelming and he couldn’t resist them. This is impossible, Gary was torn apart. How was he still standing?

Mathews thoughts were racing once again about the matter of the situation. He has never seen anything like this before. People were getting shot and they still tried to attack them.

He ran into the direction of his comrades and saw them in position. They were both on one knee and they aimed their rifles directly at the crowd of “Civilians” behind Mathews.

Mathews trotted by Jack and grabbed his shoulder and stuttered.

Jack listened attentively at what Mathews had to say and Jack recited “what’s wrong son?”

Jack face contorted as he gazed at his fallen comrade in the distance. He watched as Gary stumbled towards them. Jack’s eyebrows crushed against his eyes and he lifted his rifle. He set the rifle into full auto and fired viciously into the crowd. George had done the same.

Mathews ran into the door of the officer’s tent and just as he grabbed the handle, he heard a rain of rounds being fired from his squad. He glanced back and saw a mob of around one hundred “Civilians” advancing on his squad’s position. He watched the bodies fall as he turned the handle of the door.

Three soldiers ran to assist George and Jack as Mathews entered the tent.

He was met by his commanding officer when he entered the room.

"Sir! We have a major problem outside. One of our comrades was murdered" Mathews proclaimed.

Mathews pointed outside frantically as he explained to his commanding officer of what was happening.

His commanding officer picked up the phone and started punching numbers.

He signaled Mathews to leave but just before Mathews had left the room he heard the commanding officer utter "Sir, operation thumbtack is in effect."