:::On Hold::: The Affinity Between Our Stars

Chapter 5: "WHAT THE FLYING F-"

Putting my mask on and flipping the visor down, I head to my VIPE. The sleek looking hatch popped up as it auto sensed my presence and started the power up sequence. I was relatively used to its routine but was sometimes amazed when I actually took the time to think about what it did. The VIPE was essentially a speeder from the pre-apoc movies of Star Wars with a few more quirks. In addition to being a mini hovercraft, it could also phase through objects and enclose the passenger in some kind of personal shield. It did have its limits however, it couldn't pass through thick objects and the shield could only be used temporarily since it was a drain on power. My VIPE had helped me through many tough spots, so I grew close to it.

I named it Sugar.

She was basically a moving couch with stereo which is why I loved her.

As I waited for the latest maps of Defcon to boot up, I started a random upbeat classic on my playlist and viped in what I knew was the general direction of the remains of the Valaha district. Defcon city was really the old Sunten Hights in Washington state. One of the last known cities where the military tried to establish a safe zone for two reasons. One: as you kept getting closer to the top of the northern hemisphere, the Z's got slower, but by a small margin and two: Humanity had a natural instinct to flee towards the north in times of danger. It also helped that almost every media in existence had a safe zone located in the north. So even the desperate without radio had a chance at finding hope. And before you asked, "But daddy, what if they went to the other northern states?" Yea, they'd have one hell of a time because all the other ones were nuked.

Passing through a fallen military checkpoint, I noticed the carcass of an old zedified American soldier and shook my head in wonder. The military in those days knew to take out zeds by putting one to their noggin because of all the movies. But one thing the movies never went into depth was the blood. Blood spray to be exact. The disease was highly infectious so one drop of Z blood to come into the vicinity was a good reason to panic. Everyone always underestimated the blood spray. Some people went all Dead Island badass zombie slayer but always ended up infected. The reason being, when they were beating zeds to a pulp, they never suspected that it's blood would do anything to harm them, even if it got into their eyes or mouth. The general thought process was, "Hey, if the people in the movies never got infected, why would we?" How did people not have the common sense to wear some kind of protection? At the minimum, maybe a doctors mask or the occasional gas mask.

Then again, society couldn't be fully at fault. When the first sign of a rumored zed outbreak occurred, everyone was apparently excited out of their minds. Started making handmade weapons, stockpiling on guns and ammo, and hoarded all the canned food and water bottles they could. At the time, nothing was happening in the world. No wars, no scientific breakthroughs, no new videogames; hunger and major diseases were all but cured, and all the regular drama of life became dull. Humanity's only saving grace from boredom was the slight possibility that space exploration would be a reality. But then the Zecro virus came to fruition and everyone was glad to have something to keep them occupied, even if it was a little horrifying.

A faint ding suddenly became apparent. Interrupting my dark thoughts, I refocussed my display. My HUD told me the maps were ready. I nodded at the readings and booted the the auto-router to help me navigate. I grinned. If I was going to save Fred's sorry ass, I'd have to double time it through the mined part of the city.

Challenge accepted.

Initiating the Phaseby sequence, I turned to avoid smashing into a chunk of fallen high-rise. The wind whipping by my face and the possibility of danger at my front, I felt a strange but familiar peace. I had just broken the sound barrier and my personal shield kept a pocket of stagnant air so I could breathe. Breaking the barrier meant quiet and in my world, silence was a scarce rarity even if it was compounded by music. "Oh what a day... what a lovely day!" I said aloud, referencing something or the other. I just closed my eyes and bathed in the tranquility of the tunes.