Necrocide

Chapter 40

FOUR YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK...

Time went on, but Ares hardly looked back. He had been communicating with Sarah since July and he felt like a small part of his once normal life had been restored.

Even though he was stuck in a laboratory somewhere in the Forest of Bowland, he felt like he was right there with Sarah back in Lancaster every time they spoke. She told him about her day: what she ate, what she did with her friends, about the boys she fancied, and even help with her homework. Ares felt like he was on a business trip and he was safe in a hotel room talking to his daughter.

Too bad he was probably on one of the most dangerous business trips anyone could ever go on.

And he risked his life every time he made a call. He spent most of July and August trying to get privacy, but Atlas and Hermes invaded his space so much they eventually became acquainted with Sarah. Hermes developed the strongest bond with Sarah besides Ares, as she reminded him of his own daughter back in the halcyon days. He adored her innocence and joy, something his real daughter seemed to no longer have.

That evening, Ares was alone in his sleeping quarters with nothing but Sarah on his computer screen. Atlas and Hermes were busy in the training center, so Ares had at least an hour to talk with Sarah before signing off for the day. The last time they talked, Sarah said she was working on a horror poem for the upcoming Halloween party at her school and that she'd be done with it by the next time they spoke.

"I've put a lot of work into it," she said happily. "Plus, it gave me an excuse to watch more horror movies."

Ares raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me, young lady?"

Sarah's smile transformed into a look of guilt. "Er, I mean..."

"Nope. Caught red-handed."

"Sorry, Dad," Sarah said sheepishly.

Ares smirked. "Well, since you've been caught, you should at least tell me which ones you've seen."

"I swear all of them were rated 12A," Sarah replied with her hands up.

Ares raised his brow even higher, an interrogation tactic that would always get the complete truth out of Sarah.

"Except one," she added nervously. "You've seen Shaun of the Dead, right, Dad?"

"I love that movie," Ares replied with an amusingly deadpan expression. "In fact, I was kinda hoping you and me could see it together when you were old enough."

Sarah chuckled nervously. "Well...I saw it with Auntie Emma instead. Sorry!"

"No worries, darling. Granted, we might need to talk about this a little more in the future. But how's your poem going so far?"

Sarah's face lit up with excitement. She jumped out of her chair and ran to fetch her backpack. She brought it back and tossed it next to her desk, the impact shaking the camera. She then pulled out a folder and opened it up, revealing a sheet of paper titled in red. In fact, the entire paper was written in red ink.

"It took me a few days, but I finally got it!" she squealed as she tidied up her desk. "It's a zombie poem. I call it 'Beware Them'."

"Lets see what you've got," Ares said with a grin.

Sarah picked up her papers, cleared her throat, and read her work:

"All of earth's people sadly die.
It's tragic and true but I don't lie.
But what if one day right at your door,
A corpse stood cold and hungry for gore?
Beware the brain-dead's bloodletting butchery.

I might be crazy, maybe sick in the head.
I swear this man standing before me was dead.
Stuck in a coffin buried in mud.
Why is this creature's mouth dripping with blood?
Beware the brain-dead's bloodletting butchery.

Please be kind and don't be a creep.
They've past away so let them sleep.
Leave it behind and run away.
The zombies have won the battle today.
Beware the brain-dead's bloodletting butchery.

The world has been changed and so have our lives.
Where violence runs rampant with guns and knives.
We're cornered and alone. I don't know what to do.
The undead are here and they're right behind you."

Ares raised his eyebrows in a mix of astonishment and worry. He was a little concerned the movies she was watching were eradicating her optimism. But he admitted it was a well-written poem, and not just because he was her father. Plus, it's not like he was ever an optimist to begin with, so his attitude must've rubbed off on her.

He then responded with clapping. "Bravo, Sarah! Outstanding!"

Sarah blushed. "Thanks! I personally thought it was okay, but I'm glad you like it."

"I love it!" Ares replied. "So simple yet extremely macabre. I can almost imagine the zombies sneaking up on me right now."

"BOO!"

Ares let out a hilariously high shriek as two hands suddenly grabbed his shoulders. He looked back to see Atlas laughing his arse off, bent over from exhaustion from laughing so much. And it didn't help that Sarah was doing the same.

Ares wasn't one to laugh. But he was too worried about the fact he could've been caught using an unauthorized computer.

"Atlas!" Ares shouted.  "What the ffffffff..." He trailed off when he realized Sarah was still there, cautiously glancing at him with her brow raised and a smirk on her face.

"You gonna finish that sentence, Daddy?" she asked.

"Yeah," Atlas chimed in. "You gonna finish that sentence, Daddy?"

Ares punched Atlas in the shoulder, resulting in more giggling from Sarah. He sat back down on his bed and picked up the laptop preparing to sign out for the day.

"Darling, that was a fantastic poem you wrote," he said, trying to change the subject to something other than his reputation-destroying yelp. "But I'm afraid Daddy needs to sign off for now."

Sarah finally calmed down and formed a big smile. "Alrighty then. I love you, Dad. See you again tomorrow! And bye to you, too, Atlas!"

Atlas waved from the edge of the room. "Cheers, love."

Sarah disappeared, leaving a plain blue home screen. Ares then closed the laptop and rose from his bed to confront Atlas, stomping his foot angrily as he grew closer and closer.

"Hey, uh..." Atlas said nervously. "You okay, man? Your face is as red as a tomato."

Ares grabbed Atlas by the collar and shoved him against the wall, quickly locking the door to make sure no one could leave. "What the fuck were you thinking? I told you and Hermes to give me an hour to speak to Sarah and to not open the door under any circumstances, or else I'll never get to see her again! And what's the first damn thing you do?!"

"That's what I came to warn you about, mate," Atlas replied.

"Oh, really? You came in here to warn me by yelling 'Boo!' in my ears?"

"No, that part was improvised. I came here to warn you that Zeus and Hades are aware of the stolen laptop. And they're out for blood to catch the perp who stole it!"

Ares let go of Atlas. "What did they say they would do to the person responsible?"

"I don't know. They kept that part vague. All they said was that they would be put through the Ambrosia advancement trials. Whatever those are."

"Put them through? Like involuntarily?"

"Yes, sir. It seemed more like these new trials would be a punishment rather than an actual test."

Ares nervously glanced back at the laptop laying flat on his bed. It now resembled a beacon to him, sitting there attracting new enemies toward him. And if Hera was right about them taking the punishment out on his family, he, and Sarah more importantly, was in danger.