Thursday, March 21, 2019

Operating System Zero ep.4 (A Flash Fiction Serial)



If you missed episode one click here to read.
If you missed episode two click here to read.
If you missed episode three click here to read.

Episode 4

System Zero Satellite
   The culdesac is littered with bodies: pale skins, dried blood around their mouths, clothes ripped and harshly worn. The bodies are frail and noticeably so before they were dead. Curtis and Rick tread through them. Watching them twitch rarely but randomly noticing their death was not as old as it looked. Curtis jumps back when the body to his right twitches and its cold dead hand lands on his foot. He looks at Rick with a disgusting face and kicks the body listening to the bones as hard strike on a set of bowling pins.
   "How's that possible?" Says Rick.
   "This is making no sense. We were only isolated for five days,” says Curtis.
   Curtis and Rick, using the best of their knowledge, are trying to explain to themselves how the society in which they live took a massive shift at such a high rate of speed. Making the best of what they know in working the System Zero GPS, Rick started to notice an awkward green light behind Curtis's ear.
   "Hey Curtis..." Says Rick in a slow and puzzled voice as he stares at the green light.
   "Hold on I think I have something figured out on the System Zero Device," says Curtis as he presses the system transfer button on the outside of the device. The light behind Curtis's ear is flashing red.
   "Hey Curtis..."
   "Yea!"
   "Turn off the transfer to the satellite you have in progress right now.
   "It will damage the files."
   "No it won't, just turn the transfer off."
   Rick has his eyes centered on the light behind Curtis's ear and watches it as it turns green simultaneously when Curtis presses the transfer button. Out of curiosity, Rick touches the green light with his finger causing a small electrical discharge on the tip of his finger. Withdrawing his finger as fast as the electrical charge entered, he opens his eyes in amazement as Curtis quickly jerks his whole body away from him.
   "What the," yelled Curtis, "what are you doing?"
   "Were you ever given an RFID chip?"
   "We both were, but you know they took them out because of a faulty output in the chips that were harmful to the carrier's health."
   "Were you ever given another chip? Like, say, maybe an NTC(Neural Transfer Chip)?"
    The conversation between Curtis and Rick is an education they are shocked they had never invited before, but the discussion is not their immediate conflict. Fifteen feet across the culdesac a bone rubbing, joint cracking undertone starts to occur but never attracts their attention. The sound begins to elevate as five of the corpses on the road rise craving substance.
    Out of the corner of his eye, Curtis slowly watches the corpses stand to pop their wrist, arm, knee, ankle and jaw joints. The dry blood around their mouths starts to liquefy and drip from their teeth.
    “Rick I think we should finish this conversation later, ” says Curtis as he puts his hand on Ricks’ shoulder.
    Rick squints his eyes looking at Curtis while pulling his head back with his neck, Rick says, "No… Curtis you have a flashing light embedded in your head,” he turns so Curtis can see behind his ear, “are there any flashing lights?”
    Curtis palms the top of Ricks’ head and turns it to see the oncoming corpses, and Rick says, "That's impossible, how the…”
    Curtis and Rick walk backward stumbling over a few of the dead corpses still lying on the road. After gaining traction, the two of them are hanging on to each other and facing the row of houses on the opposite side of the culdesac and run.
    “Use your System Zero Device Curtis,” says Rick.
    “For what?”
    “For what you did with it at my house!”
    “That was for one of them, not five!”
    “You seem to have learned how to work the thing fast in my house so start thinking!”
    The house that lies on the path which Curtis and Rick are running appears to be vacant like most the houses on the street. But this house abruptly changes its vacancy when the front door is kicked open from the inside out, and the inhabitant is wielding a pistol. The occupant raises her gun, and says, “Duck, boys.”
   Curtis and Rick look at each other and dive into the ditch, yelling, “Don't shoot, don't shoot, they will only get stronger.”
    “Shut-up and keep your heads down. I know what I'm doing, unlike you two digital exorcist,” the occupant yells.
    She makes sure the bullets are loaded into the pistol chamber and starts firing round after round into the oncoming heard of corpses. Human debris starts flying in all directions drowning the sight of Curtis and Rick laying in the occupant's ditch.

TO BE CONTINUED...


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Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Your Favorite Story Genre?

What is your favorite story genre?
Ex. Horror, Comedy, Sci-fi, Drama, etc.
Leave a comment with your favorite story genre and list the best stories you can think of that fits the genre you like.