DEAD ERA- Afterworld

Chapter 7

    A man dressed in military wear, as was followed by soldiers behind him. “How dare you put everyone's life in danger?” the commander said at the stranger

     “You talk about putting everyone's life at risk when there is a child and his father's life in danger” the stranger 

  responded 

“Don't test me” the commander growled

“Listen here, I don't care who or where you are from, my job here is to ensure no innocents are harmed because of you.” he paused taking a breath.

The commander sighed, “Do you understand that our only concern is survival?” he asked

“You mean other than surviving for your own sake,” the stranger retorted as he glanced at the other soldiers.

    “Arrest them all” the commander ordered the soldiers who handcuffed Jake, the stranger, Levi, Bali, and Jonathan before pulling them along with him as he led the way to the station. “We will hold them all as hostages until we figure out how to take down the monsters” he added

     Commander entered the base as he was welcomed by a hologram of 7 images that appeared on the screen. 

  “What is your statics now?” the first hologram asked 

“We are currently in control” the second hologram responded.

The third hologram, “We have located a target. She has escaped our security.”

The next hologram asked, “We need to take this opportunity to complete the mission quickly. We have already wasted too much time in this operation.”

The commander walked down a long hallway towards his office before entering and sitting down, leaning back in his chair as he looked up at a large holographic map of the city displayed on the wall above him. Suddenly the door burst open.

“Yes, Commander?” a young man in uniform asked

“Get the rest of the troops together and ready for the raid tonight. Get the special forces ready. This may work.” 

“Sir”

“And inform the Captain that I want her to send someone to the outskirts. We have an opening to attack the creatures. And the prisoners bring them to the plan room”

The man left immediately rushing to get the message relayed to the captain.

         Jake watched the soldier's parade as he was behind bars 

. In front of him stood three members of the Special Forces, a female doctor, and her assistant, and behind them four guards.

Suddenly the door opened to reveal the captain and Commander, followed closely by the leader of the Special Forces. toward, 

“What are you doing here?” the stranger questioned

     “I got an offer for you all,” the commander said with a grin as he placed his hands behind him.

     “What offer?” Bali asked

     “If you accept the offer you get to leave this cell and if you refuse you get to die here or be fed to the hungry zombies,” the commander said once more with an evil smile

“That doesn't sound good” muttered Bali.

“So who is going to be the lucky survivor?” asked the stranger

“It looks like you’re it, buddy,” the commander said as he stared deep into the stranger's eyes.

“Then let's hear your offer” replied the stranger

“6 years ago before the zombie outbreak, at a research laboratory bodies were experimented on, but the project failed. Then one day we took in a twin and we found out the project was a success, but then the side effects started to reveal as the first twin was put into a deep sleep and the other was transformed into a monster whose taste never gets satisfied, blah blah blah. Then we found out the antidote to save everyone from the apocalypse is kept somewhere deep inside a safe in the most secured part of the research lab” 

       “So what is your point?” Bali interrupted

    “You all are going out of the wall for a mission to bring the antidote back and save the world” the captain interrupts

“Why are you telling us this?” Asked the stranger.

“Because this might be your last chance”

“We don't want any part of your stupid mission” scoffed Levi

“Well, if you want a choice,” the commander said “You can stay in this cell until tomorrow morning or, we can make an example of you”

Levis was about to protest when the stranger interrupted “I don't give a shit what happens to us, I want to see the damn cure”

“Fine,” said the commander

“Wait,” interrupted Bali, “what do we do with the kid?” asked the stranger. The doctor and the doctor's assistant exchanged glances

“The kid stays here,” he answered

“But he's not a child, surely he needs medical attention too, especially with the state he is in” argued Levi

  

 “Ok, the boy stays within the walls,” Commander said with a smile. “Ready yourselves comrade we are leaving by tomorrow” 

    “I will show you where you guys will sleep tonight,” the captain said smiling

The sun shone brightly as the sky was painted with bright orange shades.  Everyone was in the planning room: Captain, Bali, Levi, Jake, and the stranger all facing the commander as he talked about his plan to get into the research facility 

    “Days ago we sent our squad to get the vaccine but none of them returned, and we decided to use a drone...which took the pic of the facility. The entire place was crowded with zombies,  just waiting to bite. We were able to kill off the infected, but they managed to infect another scientist. The team was wiped out before they could even enter the building. But the virus wasn't the only problem the scientists had. The lab was completely sealed. No windows, doors, vents, nothing!”

“How did we even get the vaccine, sir? There wasn't enough time to synthesize it” Levi interrupted

“The vaccine is made from human cells. It is made from DNA taken from the mother of our current subject” the commander responded. “But it also contains the virus itself”

“How the hell is that possible, sir?” Jacob questioned

“This serum can change the way that you view the world; turning people into monsters and giving them immortality” the commander answered.

“And how does this formula work?”

“It works through DNA synthesis. A small sample of the virus will be passed on to every person in the system. Once each infected person receives their dose the virus enters into their body and starts to transform them into their new form”

“But why would the cure take months to process, wouldn't it be easier to just synthesize it?”

“Once injected into the bloodstream it doesn't just destroy the body; it also turns you into something else, and that's why they call it a virus” the commander explained

“But what happens if they fail” asked Bali, 

“A serum will be injected into every one of us to avoid the zombies sensing us” the commander added

    “Am ok with or without a plan, all am worried about is ammo ” the stranger mumbled causing Levi to chuckle

“Ok then let's get ready,” the commander declared. “Now get to work everyone!” he added as he left the room.