THREE MONTHS BEFORE

It had all started three months before with the disappearance of the Q-21 Zombie Virus, as they termed it.

Max remembered how it had been announced on the news that it had escaped the previous morning, a blatant lie to the public, which on the positive side, was told to make citizens self-quarantine when the first zombies who were carrying the virus began to show in the open that morning.

The truth remained that the virus had been out for as long as three months, and it had neither disappeared nor escaped.

It was rather stolen.

Caution was taken by the Institute of Health Research in Middlestown to keep the discovery of the virus's disappearance as secret as possible. Only top heads of government organisations remained in the know, to prevent a state of panic and keep finance and business operations running all over.

That was the point where the Special Secret Forces came in, invited by the institute to offer their help in answering the million dollar question.

Who had stolen the virus?

It had been accidentally created indeed, but the benefits were immediately evident and it was preserved to be used as a bioweapon, top expert scientists researching on the virus and ensuring all of their results were confidential. The world would stand and watch in shock when the news came out:

That Middlestown, a small, insignificant town, owned a bioweapon.

It was, until it was not anymore.

The virus had been kept in a vacuum accessible only to the top three scientists in the institute, and when the Special Secret Forces came into the matter, they had investigated the scientists to no end, all three seemingly innocent.

All of the scientists had been interrogated, and the vacuum the virus had been kept in was carefully checked. There were no signs of breakage or forced entry, and none of the cameras showed any wrong movements.

It seemed to be the work of a ghost, but only to those who believed ghosts were real. Others knew someone, a human being, had stolen the virus.

It was then that the Special Secret Forces began to watch everything in Middlestown, checking for every thing that seemed out of place. At first, it was decided that only a person who had use for the virus would steal it, until every single person was being watched.

Still, there was nothing, until the day before the zombies broke out. Emails were sent forward from an unknown user, with a hidden location. The message was typed in capital letters, and it read:

“FOR THE PAST THREE MONTHS, THE SECRET VIRUS CODENAMED THE Q-21 ZOMBIE VIRUS FOR ITS EXTREMELY HARMFUL EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY HAS BEEN MISSING, THE DISAPPEARANCE KEPT SECRET.

AS THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN UNDER THE SUN, EARLY TOMORROW, AT EXACTLY 9AM, THE FIRST EFFECTS OF THE STOLEN VIRUS WILL BE FELT IN MIDDLESTOWN, AND FROM THERE, ALL OVER THE ENTIRE WORLD.

MY REASON FOR DOING THIS IS VERY NOBLE, I PROMISE YOU, AND I DO HOPE THAT IN THE END, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.

—WITH LOVE

THE ALLFATHER.”

Exactly nine of these emails had been sent to men in important positions, with a logo that was made of a small graphic of a skull and crossbones over a biohazard sign, and the panic they had been trying hard to control spread through their ranks.

They had only twenty-four hours to find who the Allfather was.

*******

Sergeant Max Johnson was among the fifteen man squad chosen to find out and control whatever it was that the Allfather planned to do.

They had been given reports of the whole truth kept away from every other civilian, and then mandated to do anything possible, within or without the arm of the law in order to find out who the Allfather was and if possible, to get the virus from him before he could get to spread it.

He had come on this top secret mission prepared, his gun laden with bullets, and all members of the squad handed protective clothing against the virus should any strange symptoms start showing without warning.

Hidden in undercover clothing, they walked through the city, setting up even more hidden cameras in strategic positions within the city and connecting them to a central network where the signal from the cameras was then transmitted to the Special Secret Forces Headquarters and observed keenly.

This time, it was done so intensely that an insect would not have moved without them knowing. Thus prepared, they awaited the Allfather's next move, seemingly ready for whatever it was.

The fifteen men were spread across key locations in the city, with three men in makeshift bases the North, South, East, West, and Central each. None of them batted an eyelid as they waited, expecting anything from the Allfather, and when very disappointingly, nothing was found by 9AM the next morning, all fingers were kept crossed waiting for the worst to happen.

At that very moment one strange creature passed in front of one of the cameras in the North of the city, and it was immediately shot down by the men positioned there. They were still examining the creature when from nowhere streamed not one, not two, but hundreds of these strange creatures from all directions, swarming the city and attacking everything in their path.

“Return to your bases. Now!!! These creatures are swarming all over the city. Return to all five bases for evacuation.” Was the instruction given to all fifteen men.

The three who were in the North and who had first shot down the creature were instantly lost to the swarm that drowned them, forcing other men to try to escape, not fight. However, all bases were surrounded on all sides by the creatures increasingly streaming from nowhere, and they were all forced to hold their positions and wait for evacuation.

Max Johnson had returned to his base in the West, shooting at any one that came near and waiting for the helicopter to come evacuate him and the two others that stood with him. A radio connected nearby was blasting out the news, but they were all so occupied that no one bothered to go switch it off.

It was then that he heard the Breaking News:

“The Institute for Health Research in Middlestown has announced the escape of a new virus called Q-21 Zombie virus from one of its laboratories earlier this morning. Everyone is advised to stay indoors until the virus can be controlled.”

“That's a lie.” He yelled to the other two as their machine guns fired, aware that the virus had been out for as long as three months in the report.

Still, they continued shooting until in the distance, a helicopter came hovering close.

“Run to the Helicopter for evac. Over. Run to the Helicopter in thirty seconds max for evacuation. Over.”

“Thirty seconds.” One of his mates yelled at him as they made their way towards the helicopter.

“Wait for me.” Max cried, taking out a grenade and throwing it at the creatures that were coming to attack them. It blasted, taking down an impressive number. He then started to run, but there were other zombies in front of him, running towards the helicopter as well.

“Faster, Sergeant Maxwell Johnson.”

Before his very eyes, one of the two men with him fell over and all the zombies began to rush at him, clustering around him. More continued to go towards the helicopter when the first man climbed in. With horror, Max watched them shoot off two zombies that had rushed in with the first man as they took off into the air.

“Wait for me.” Max yelled, but the helicopter soon went into the air, already far away by the time he got to the spot where it had been standing.

Around him, more of the zombies were crowding, and never had Sergeant Maxwell Johnson felt so certain that he was going to die.