REVIVAL by Nick Venom (great book club books .TXT) 📕

He had a brown mustache that extended past his nose on both sides. He wore a supervisor’s outfit of a loose light blue jacket and black pants with matching black shoes.

“You haven’t been cleared for takeoff.” Holt declared.

“What?” Zeke shouted, furrowing his brows. “I’ve taken care of all of the procedures. The attendees already cleared me!”

“As a supervisor, I can veto any clears that the attendees assign. Your plane is grounded for an hour while we get the other planes out!” Holt’s eyes lingered at Enix, noticing that something was off. “Who is this kid?”

“A friend of mine that’s helping with dropoff,” Zeke claimed.

“Well, I need to see his identification card,” Holt declared. Zeke glanced over at Enix, locking eye contact, before digging through his back that laid to his side for an imaginary identification card for Enix. He glanced up at the gas pedal and pondered about it, but was interrupted before he could act on that thought.

“I’ve checked their cards and I’m sure that there are legal pilots.” Merlin declared, overshadowing the smaller in height Holt. Holt looked up and nodded sheepishly, apologizing to Zeke and Enix before leaving. Merlin chuckled as he watched Holt scurry away. He then turned towards Enix and handed him a silver watch, displaying time using Roman Numerals. 

“Take this, you’ll need it for the future.” Enix nodded and waved at Merlin as Zeke brought Hellbringer to life, rolling toward the attendees. One of the attendees---a young man with strong black hair and dark features---checked the cargo and Zeke’s license and identification card. As for Enix, who, by regulations, needed an identification card even for being in the co-pilot seat, he was able to bypass the system on Merlin’s orders. The attendees cleared Hellbringer for runway access. 

Zeke pushed Hellbringer into a slow start, picking up speed as he traveled down the runway before pulling up and entering the sky. Enix glued his head to the window, looking out at the beautiful and luscious scenery as it passed the plane. Zeke glanced over at Enix and smirked, remembering the first time that he flew and the amazing sites he’d witnessed. 

“Strap in, this will be a long journey,” Zeke told him. Enix peeled himself off the window and strapped himself to the seat, glancing over at Zeke’s bag. He noticed a switchblade hiding in the bag. The switchblade resembled an antic, with its hardwood handle and aged look. Enix, after glancing for a few seconds too long, looked away from the bag and focused on the front window, a large sheet of glass that wrapped from one end to the other, and stared at the beauty that presented itself. A glittering lake surrounded on three sides by mountains with the fourth side having a road that extended hundreds of miles in length.

“This is my second life,” Enix muttered while glancing down at the silver watch. Why did Merlin give me this? Will this allow me to live my second life to the fullest? Will it activate my powers?

 

TBC... 

Chapter Eight "Virus X: Chapter One [Breakout]"

The moon brightened up the night, shining upon the creatures of the darkness. The creatures roamed day and night to create their chaos. Unfortunately, they fulfilled their mission, breaking into the small town of Hanshin and collapsing it, eyeing the nearby military base as their next target. The leader of the base is Captain Mike “Blackhawk” Sanford. Along with his small team of soldiers, they defended their base from foreign attackers while making trips to small towns, one of them being Hanshin, for supplies. The town of Hanshin was located twenty miles from the base, so the collapse of it wasn’t seen by any of the military personnel. Fortunately, two of Blackhawk’s officers, Lois “Rogue” Tucker and Alfred “Scout” Whittler, were on patrol duty when a horde of creatures, appearing to be zombie-like monsters, trudged their way towards them. “This is Scout, reporting multiple unknowns appearing on the north side of the base. I don’t have much of a visual on the targets, requesting orders, over.” Scout radioed in.

“This is Blackhawk, hold fire, and observe. If deemed hostile, then you’re ordered to fire. Over,” Blackhawk ordered.

“Roger, over and out,” Scout said before turning to Rogue. “Hey, Rogue! Keep an eye on the unknowns, I’m radioing the other teams!” Rogue nodded, gluing her eyes to the multiple unknowns that converged towards them.

“Patrol team 2, heading towards your location. We’ve been ordered to fire if deemed necessary, over.” Nikki “Rex” Whitlock stated over the radio.

“Reasoning? Over,” 

“Hostile targets surrounding the south side of the base. No arms are in sight, but to be honest, these guys don’t look human, almost dead. Over,” 

“Roger, over and out,” Scout said before looking into the distance. He noticed that people were covering on the west side of the base. “State your purpose!” He shouted at the crowd but didn’t receive a response from any of the people. Scout muttered an apology under his breath before letting his light machine gun rip through the crowd. They’re not running away or screaming, maybe Rex was right about them not being alive, he thought as the bullets filled the crowd.

“This is Blackhawk, all teams report in! The base is suffering an attack from targets of unknown origins. They are unarmed but are relentless with their attacks. Evacuate to the marked LZ, over!” Blackhawk ordered.

“Patrol team 2, reporting in. Rex is wounded, over!” Hunter “Archer” Benson radioed in.

“This is Rogue from patrol team 1, how is Rex wounded, over?”

“One of the unknowns bit her, she passed out and isn’t responding anymore, over,” Archer responded. Scout looked out into the distance and noticed a terrifying sight. He rushed to his radio and flipped it on.

“A large horde of unknowns have appeared on the west side of the base, requesting an immediate evacuation! These targets are not alive, anymore, over.” Scout shouted into the radio.

“Blackhawk, reporting in. Scout, explain why they’re not alive anymore, over.” Blackhawk radioed in.

“They don’t have any fear! They don’t respond to being shot or to my instructions! Also, Rex was bit and isn’t responding. It could be the beginning of a zombie apocalypse, over.” Scout reported. There were no immediate responses from any of the other soldiers. 

 

TBC…

Chapter Nine "The Assassin & Royal: Chapter Two [Mind]

“The target is Newton’s corrupt mayor, Richard Earl. We’ve received a lead about him doing a pickup tonight in an alleyway next to 15th and Grandoff street.” Zaken’s superior, Sierra, informed him. “Is backup necessary?”

“No, I’ll do it solo,” Zaken responded without hesitation.

“You should fix that bad habit of yours, you’ll end up dead by remaining solo,” Sierra remarked. “Ivy could join you.” 

“I’ll be fine,” Zaken said, ending the call short on his superior. He let out a deep sigh before he grabbed his tools and left his one-bedroom apartment. He needed to complete five jobs before he could leave this life behind.

A couple of hours passed before Zaken made his way towards Newton and the rumored alleyway, using his chaingun to swing around the buildings without being seen. 

Once he located the alleyway in Newton, he perched himself on a nearby rooftop that overlooked the meeting place. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long; the mayor and five more men in hoodies appeared in the alleyway. The five men all looked around wildly before approaching Earl. “Who is your target?” asked one of the men.

Earl looked around before talking. “I need one of my rivals killed.”

The men nodded their heads. “I can get it done for ten grand.” The man said. Earl nodded and handed the man a briefcase. The man nodded and turned around. His crime earned him a knife going cleanly through his neck and killing him instantly. The other four men received the same treatment, leaving Earl as the sole survivor. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t remain as the sole survivor. Zaken threw a knife at him, lodging it into his skull. Earl’s body crumbled under its own weight. His body spurted, throwing his blood into the air and onto the nearby wall. Zaken smirked as he stood up and began to turn around when he felt electricity surging through his body. He looked down at his back and noticed a chain transmitting the electricity into his body. 

“Nice to meet you, Zaken. My name’s Mind, the greatest detective and royal assassin.” A guy said, introducing himself. “Have a pleasant sleep, little birdie. You might be sleeping forever though,” Zaken didn’t have the strength necessary to hold a throwing knife anymore, collapsing to the ground. His eyes closed, fading his vision, and he was knocked unconscious once making contact with the ground.

 

TBC…

Chapter Ten "Final Moments V"

Blyke worked on his bunker with the help of Mikael. Even though he spent large amounts of time with her, he did not know her real motives. She grabbed the M1911 and hid it from him, continuing to work on the bunker without worrying him.

Blyke stepped back and looked at the final product with a large grin on his face. “It’s finally done.” He remarked. He finished the bunker within the week and was ready to stock it with the supplies he had on hand. “We’re done. Thank you Mik-Mik-Mikal?” He said. He has been forgetting a lot of stuff, even Mikael’s name. 

“Mikael.” She told him. She had the pistol behind her. Blyke noticed the pistol but pretended not to. He showed her the final product and went out to call Emily. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Mikael taking out the pistol from behind her. He turned around and faced her. She quickly hid the gun and smiled at him. He smiled back and waited for Emily to pick up. Ring, ring, ring. Nothing. She didn’t pick up. He glanced at Mikael and threw the phone near