Joshua Adams
Saturday 7, February 2015
00:00 Hours
Phoenix, Arizona
After all the survivors were cleaned up and it was ensured they were unarmed, the military forces quickly separated them, placing them in tents. Joshua struggled to no end, trying to get his rights honored. Like a crazed animal he was sent tumbling into the tent where he'd await his destiny, but his mind was already racing. Strategies and plans formed and dissolved in his mind as he crouched in the corner, his eyes following every shadow that crossed the surface of the surrounding tent's wall. Finally, after much wait, a man walked in. He was tall, with silvery-blond hair and baby blue eyes.
"Hello, Joshua. My name is Sylvester Johansen." The lab-coated man extended his hand towards Joshua, who never shook it. "I'm here to ask you a few questions."
"When will I see Jane?" Joshua instantly asked.
"I'll be the one making the questions, Joshua."
"If you'll keep me from leaving, that means I'm a prisoner. Therefore, according to law, I have a free call. Am I wrong?"
"Law speaks nothing of the dead walking." Sylvester countered. Then he added: "And you are neither a prisoner, nor a free man. You, and the other survivors, are nothing but test subjects."
"You cannot turn us into your guinea pigs. Not without our agreement." Joshua stated, and Sylvester noted something down on a paper. "And, honestly, if I wanted to, it'd be hard for you to keep me here."
"Is that so?" Sylvester's curiosity and pride made him lean forward. "And how do you plan to escape, huh?"
"Like a rat that's cornered by cats." Joshua smirked. "With claws and fangs."
In a second, with an agility Sylvester had never seen before, Joshua had pounced upon the doctor and taken a pen from him. Sylvester tried to struggle, only to find his hand stabbed through with the pen. Leaving behind Sylvester in agonizing pain, Joshua rushed out, taking down a guard in one fluid movement. With a new weapon in tow, Joshua made his way to wherever they kept Jane. As he searched for her, he began to wonder if he was doing the right thing, but knew he'd have to live with it. He knew that one would only know the outcome of a decision when one has walked down it's path to the very end. And, thus, he stepped into the tent where Jane was kept, gun at the ready, only to find an unsettling scene before him.
"Well, Joshua. I'm impressed." Colonel Zachariah Santos, the Commanding Officer of the forces that dealt with the infected in the airport. "You've come quite far relying upon your stealth and tracking skills alone."
"Thanks." Joshua pointed the rifle he carried at the Colonel, only to find six other rifles aimed at him.
"Now, now, boys. The one thing you should know about Joshua is that you'll never break him. Unless the threat is to someone else." With that, the soldiers shifted their aim towards Jane, who was tied up and sitting on an old, rusty chair. "Joshua, I'm a good guy."
"Is that why you plan to enslave us for the rest of our lives? Us and the children?"
"What? How dare you think I'd do something like that!" Colonel Santos pretended to be offended. "I merely want to take advantage of the situation. I have never seen anything like this before, and neither has anyone." He looked at his feet, then continued: "We lost many brave souls today, trying to save your butt. So, I think we deserve some credit. But, considering I'm such a good guy, I'll make you an offer."
"An offer?" The sentence took Joshua off-guard. "What offer?"
"I've got the permission, shall we say, to do all I can to eradicate this evil plague. So, if you join my hand-picked group of skilled warriors, I'll allow the other survivors to leave unspoiled and unharmed."
"And you'll deliver them to their homes? Within the week?"
"Yes."
"And you won't experiment on them?"
"I give you my word."
"Very well." Joshua accepted after some thought. "I accept."
"Good!" Colonel Santos clapped his hands loudly, then turned to a soldier. "Make preparations to release the survivors."
Joshua was allowed to untie Jane after he handed over the weapon. The two hugged, and her trembling hold informed him that she was scared. He held her tighter and whispered something into her ear. Upon this, she relaxed and was led away by the other soldiers. The Colonel soon rounded up several soldiers and they began to speak business. Joshua was informed of very important things, both concerning the infestation in the airport and things happening elsewhere.
"Joshua. When you were in there. Did you hear anything strange?" A soldier asked him. "As in, anything out of the ordinary?"
"How does any of that not fall into strange and unordinary?" Joshua shot back, annoyed. "You do realize those things were dead, yet continued to move, even when their organs fell out of their bodies, right?"
"Y-yes, sir." The soldier replied.
"Then stop wasting our time with stupid questions, Private." Colonel Santos roared. Then, turning to Sylvester, who sat some ways down the tent with his hand bandaged, added: "What did the research brought up?"
"Nothing so far." He replied, glaring at Joshua: "It seems like the bodies jus keep going, even after it's death. I'll have to return to my lab to do some proper research before making anything official."
I see. Understood." Colonel Santos turned, once again, to another soldier, and said: "What's the status of the other situations?"
"No news, sir. Last we heard, everything was going smoothly."
"Alright. Contact them again. No news isn't good news in situations like those."
"What situations?" Joshua finally asked, after much thought.
"This wasn't the first outbreak. Or, rather, it wasn't the only one." The Colonel explained. "There were outbreaks like these in England; France; and Japan."
"So it's not a random illness. It was premeditated." Joshua stated. "Did these happen simultaneously?"
"Precisely. It was neither coincidence nor random. Someone wanted this to happen." Colonel Santos nodded. "The real question is, who would want this. And that, Joshua, is what you and I will discover. Or die trying."
