Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 151

Chapter 151 A Hypnotic Command

Finished

A2:00 AM, a military convoy cut through the pitch-black of East Eldon’s business district. Hollow, dark commercial buildings lined the streets. In the parking lots, pulverized cars sat abandoned, smeared with fresh blood.

Julian drove the team’s tactical van directly behind the armored military vehicles, looking completely aloof and unbothered as faint blue electricity sparked across his fingers. Next to him, Joanna sat serious and alert, ready to deploy her raw physical strength. In the back, Rachel focused her telepathy on the dark perimeter while Kailee sat coiled and fierce, small currents of air swirling around her muscular arms.

As they entered the neighborhood, the headlights illuminated a bizarre sight. Hundreds of zombies-many/ dressed in torn business clothing-had gathered outside. They shuffled slowly, staring silently around but forming a loose barrier around the perimeter of the city.. The reason for the massive gathering was completely mysterious.

Suddenly, the convoy ground to a halt a block away. Commander Briggs-broad chested with a cold, deadly aura-stepped out of his armored vehicle and ran back towards Joanna’s van.

“Rachel, get a read on these zombies,” Joanna said, her serious tone cutting through the dark van. “Something’s off.”

She turned sharply toward the driver’s window as Commander Briggs arrived. “We shouldn’t stay out here like sitting ducks.”

Briggs nodded, his cold expression tightening. “I thought the same. Let’s set up in that building ahead. We can park the vehicles in the back.”

Without another word, the commander yanked the side door open and hopped into the back of the van with Joanna’s team. Julian smoothly steered the vehicle into an alley, following the lead armored carrier as the small convoy slipped behind a dark commercial structure.

The hidden parking area offered immediate cover, and the building itself gave them a perfect, elevated vantage point over the mysterious horde.

Lieutenant Will Moore and Commander Briggs led the tactical sweep along with Joanna’s team, clearing the six-story legal counseling building in forty-five grueling minutes. Inside, the maze of wood-paneled lawyers’ offices and dark cubicles felt like a tomb, the air heavy with the scent of old paper and copper.

The silence shattered on the fourth floor. As Will kicked open a frosted-glass door, a bruised zombie in a shredded tailored suit lunged from the shadows of a corner desk. Its jaws snapped inches from Will’s throat, pinning him against the drywall. Before the creature could bite, a violent vortex of compressed air blasted through the office. Kailee stepped into the room, her muscular arms extended as she channeled a fierce gale that ripped the zombie off Will and smashed it through the office window.

“You need to watch your flanks, Lieutenant,” Kailee said, her voice dropping from its usual fierce edge into something softer, a sudden warmth flushing her checks in the dark. She hesitated, lingering just a bit too close as she checked him over. “I can’t have anything happening to you.”

Will nodded, wiping black fluid from his cheek, his chest heaving as Briggs smoothly led the rest of the team up to the roof. From the six-story vantage point, they could see the entire neighborhood-and the hundreds of silent, shuffling dead below.

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Chapter 151 A Hypnotic Command

Finished

Joanna and Briggs slid down the concrete wall to join the rest of the group. Across the roof, Briggs nouced Kailee and Will huddled off in the corner, quietly sharing a sleeve of survival biscuits. The cold commander Shook his head slightly, a rare flash of helpless amusement crossing his face before his deadly demeanor snapped back into place.

Joanna ignored the distraction and motioned for Rachel to come over. “RJ, any read on the zombies?”

RJ nodded, her expression visibly nervous as she knelt beside them. “Boss, they have some sort of mental control keeping them anchored near Pharmatec. It’s not incredibly strong, but it’s definitely there. Like a low-frequency hum locking them in place.”

“Can you get more info on it?” Joanna asked, her serious eyes narrowing. “Where is it coming from?”

“I can’t tell from this far back,” RJ said, chewing her lip anxiously. “I need to get closer. If we get nearer to the perimeter, I might be able to pinpoint the source.”

Briggs frowned deeply, looking back over the ledge at the packed street. “I don’t know how easy it is to clear this block anymore. If we try to push through, we risk alerting every single one of them to our presence. Also we don’t know how many are in the surrounding buildings.”

Joanna held up her hand, a confident, calculated look on her face. “It’s okay, Commander. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll be back with a way in.”

Joanna and RJ stood up. In a literal blink of an eye, Joanna vanished, pulling RJ right along with her. They materialized on the next rooftop across the street, popped out of existence again, and flickered two more times until they were perched safely three buildings away.

Back on the first roof, Briggs went absolutely still. His cold, lethal face cracked as pure, unadulterated surprise flickered across his features. He stared at the empty space where the two women had just been standing, then slowly turned his head to look at Julian.

“If she can do that,” Briggs muttered, his voice deadpan but deeply offended, “why the hell did we just spend forty-five agonizing minutes clearing six flights of stairs? We almost died in a lawyer’s closet! She could have just jumped us up here!”

Julian didn’t even look up from his sparks. “Yeah, but where’s the cardio in that, Commander?”

Three buildings closer, Joanna and RJ stood quietly in the shadows of the concrete ledge. The eerie drone of the crowd below was much louder here, a vibrating hum that made the roof gravel rattle.

Suddenly, RJ turned to Joanna, her serious expression melting into deep concentration. “Boss,” she whispered, leaning in close. “I’m picking up the telepathic signal clearly now.”

Joanna focused her gaze on the dark Pharmatec facade. “What do you have, RJ?”

“It’s coming from the basement,” RJ said, her voice dropping lower as she rubbed her temples. “It’s pushing out a suggestion-like a hypnotic command-telling the crowd to stay near the perimeter. I am pretty sure it’s coming from some super monster, undead.”

“Are you sure it’s in the basement?” Joanna asked.

“Yeah, boss. Or at least deep underground,” RJ nodded, her eyes wide with anxiety. “But here’s the interesting thing: the crowd outside isn’t even its main focus. This crowd is just a byproduct. The mind- zombie is using almost all its strength trying to mentally dominate two specific entities inside that building.”

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