The Azrael: Surviving the Outbreak by Jesse Gagnon Page B

want her to be eaten by one of those things while she was away learning how to protect people.
    Jessica was aware of her new husband’s past and of his father’s road to alcoholism.  She was optimistic that Jason had changed and that he just needed a woman like her.  Bless her heart for thinking positive no matter how naïve it sounded.  She begged Giselle to take her to Mount Carroll and through a lot of convincing she was allowed this one trip to her hometown.  It was designed as a weekend trip, kind of like a vacation.  They had enough food and water for three days and a map laid out of all the safe houses on the way. 
    As they drove through the town they noticed a lone Azrael had wandered away from its herd.  Maybe it got lost or somehow severed the connection to the herd.  In the beginning when everything happened all at once it was common to find a lone Azrael but in these days it was virtually unheard of to find one by itself.  Once infected they tended to gravitate towards the one who bit them or towards the alpha of the herd.  It was common knowledge among the Highwaymen and a discovery like this was a gem to find.
    “Can I shoot it?”  Jessica asked excited to find something more than old abandoned houses.
    “No, this one’s alone.  If we shoot it, a herd may appear that we didn’t see.  The rules are different out here.”  Giselle said instructing Jessica to holster her weapon that was already pointed at the Azrael.  She followed her instructions and put the gun away.
    “What now?  Are we going to follow it?”  Jessica asked.
    “I don’t know.  Let’s watch it for a bit, see what happens.”  Giselle said taking pictures with a Polaroid camera she found on a scavenging mission last month.  The sound of the camera reminded her of her childhood and it made her smile. 
    Within ten minutes Giselle came to the conclusion that this Azrael was in fact alone.  Why was it alone?  What was it doing out here?  As she observed its actions more questions came to mind.  Where did it come from?  When did it last eat?  Who did it last eat?  A girl?  An old man?
    “This is boring.  Can’t we just kill it?  I don’t see a herd.”  Jessica asked annoying Giselle.
    “No we can’t just kill it.  It’s behaving strangely and it’s my job to find out why.”  Giselle said.
    “Let’s go ask it then.”  Jessica sticks her head out of the window of the car.  “Hey Zombie.  What’s the deal?”  She laughed and smiled at Giselle.  Giselle’s face was stiff and her eye was twitching.
    “What the hell are you doing Jessica?  This isn’t a game or a joke.  Those things are dangerous.  Reckless behavior gets people killed.”  Giselle said keeping a watchful eye on the lone Azrael now staring at them.  “It’s going to attack soon.  Get ready.”  Giselle continued and removed her pistol from its holster.  Jessica got excited and pulled her pistol out again.  It continued to stare at them and stood upright.
    “That’s new.  I’ve never seen them stand that way before.”  Giselle said in response.  It released a terrifying howl that brought chills down Giselle’s back.  Its eyes were focused on them and it sniffed the air.  It stepped forward a bit and released another howl.  It continued to focus on the two women in the car, a focus she’s never seen before on one of them.  However, she underestimated the level of skill the herds of the wild possessed at hunting.  Within seconds an almost fatal mistake was discovered when an Azrael opened Jessica’s door and yanked her out of the car before she could react.  Giselle exited the vehicle quickly and shot a few rounds towards the fleeing Azrael dragging its prize into the trees.  What she didn’t expect was what happened next. 
    The lone Azrael tackled the female that dragged Jessica away.  She lost her grip and Jessica rose to her feet and sprinted towards Giselle.  Another Azrael began to chase her