Looking through the binoculars at the quarantine zone, I spotted machinery and people building up the walls. It reminded me of the old days, when humans raised castles for protection, believing that the higher the walls, the safer they'd be. Now, it seemed like the only real way left to keep the infected out or to completely clear the area of the sick.
"You can head there," I said, lowering the binoculars. "Inside the quarantine zone, under military protection, you'll be safer. But don't get your hopes up life there isn't what it used to be. Limited rations, hard conditions."
"Will it really be safe?" Anna asked, her voice uncertain.
"As much as anything can be these days," I replied.
"You're not coming with us?" Bella spoke up.
"No. I've still got things to take care of," I said shortly.
After saying goodbye, I managed to get the car started with some effort. The road was wrecked signs of a recent skirmish everywhere: overturned vehicles, bloodstains, burnt remains. The bombing had reshaped the land. There were too many infected on the main road, and the wreckage made driving impossible. I had to turn off and continue on foot, moving carefully through the overgrown forest. Fully armed, ready for anything.
At last, I reached the lab. I pulled out a syringe something like an energy stimulator, a substance meant to cleanse the body and sharpen the senses. I jabbed it into my arm, feeling warmth spread through my veins. My mind cleared, my thoughts sharpened.
Flashes of the past flickered before my eyes our cleanup mission. The squad entering the lab, advancing step by step. They took down the infected, clearing rooms one after another. But then everything went wrong. A scream echoed from ahead, then another, and the sounds of battle merged into chaos. After that only bursts of gunfire and sprays of blood.
I snapped out of the memory and approached the entrance.
"No bodies," I muttered, frowning as I looked around.
That couldn't be right. The squad had killed plenty of infected so where were the corpses? I crouched, ran my finger over the dusty floor. Bloody drag marks, trailing deeper into the building. Something or someone had taken the bodies.
Cautiously stepping closer to the doorway, I noticed claw marks on the wall. No light inside. I flicked on my flashlight and scanned the hall.
If I remembered correctly, the reports said the facility had a backup generator. In case of emergency, power could be restored manually. But when we first came here, the lights were still on, so we never touched the generator.
I needed to find the building plans to reactivate the power. Searching the security station, I finally found them. According to the schematics, the generators were in the basement, accessible via a staircase in the right wing. The main breakers and electrical systems were upstairs.
With each step, I wanted less and less to keep going. The darkness, the bloodstains everywhere this place radiated fear. If my life didn't depend on it, I'd never have come back.
Descending into the maintenance area, I saw a maze of pipes rusted, corroded, half-broken. What caught my attention was what covered them.Cordyceps. A gray fungal film with vein-like tendrils wrapped around the metal like something alive, spreading slowly.
"Don't tell me the fungus got into the water system… infected the lab through it?" I muttered.
Pushing farther down the narrow corridor, I finally found the generators massive, dust-covered, long unused.
"Alright… how the hell do I start you up?" I murmured, studying the control panel.
If I remembered right, first you feed power into the system, then ignite the engine. There should be a small battery backup and maybe a manual starter, just in case. I brushed the dust off the panel, flipped the necessary switches, and pressed the start button.
Kthk-ktakh-tchehk-tuh-tuh-tuh-tuh!
The engine coughed, sputtered, and finally came to life. A deep rumble echoed through the room, and a faint smell of diesel filled the air. All that was left now was to switch the power over to the emergency circuit.
Climbing the stairs back up, I entered the room with the breaker panels. According to the schematics, this was where the main distribution board should be. I found the lever marked "Main Power", switched it off, and flipped the one labeled "Emergency." Nothing happened.
"Maybe I missed a connection somewhere," I muttered.
I tried lifting one of the toggles and was instantly blinded by a flash. A loud crack as a spark jumped across the contact. I jerked my hand back on instinct, then quickly shut it off again.
"Yeah… maybe I'll leave that one alone," I muttered, staring at the scorched contact.
A good electrician only gets shocked once in his life. Alright, think logically: this cable here comes from the emergency supply, then it runs into the main circuit where the phases are linked in series. Which means… this breaker must've tripped. Looks like the safety kicked in.
A sharp hiss accompanied the arc when I reconnected the contacts. Sparks flew; I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut. Stupid, maybe but what else could I do?
The lights overhead flickered several times, then flared to life. The low hum of fans followed, and the machines began to stir. Only… there was no sense of relief.
Tick-tick-tick.
Rrrr-rrrrrr…
From deep inside the ventilation shafts came a strange sound. Then another. Dozens of whispers, rustles, groans.Don't tell me… they'd been here all along.
I cursed and ran back to the security post. I powered up the main terminal, booted the computers. One by one, the monitors blinked to life. Almost immediately, the surveillance feeds began to open. I dropped into the creaking chair and started cycling through the camera views across the facility.
Pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, I lit one. The bitterness burned my throat, but it steadied my nerves. On the screens, images flickered by infected, bodies, a rolling mist drifting between them like something alive.And then I saw it an enormous mass pulsing slowly in the center of the hall.
The fungus had spread, transforming into something like a nest… or maybe a node. Fungi tend to weave their roots underground, forming vast networks of their own. God… given time, it could overtake the whole city.
On the monitors, the faces of the infected were barely recognizable. Once human, now overgrown with fungal growths twisted, distorted. Most of them seemed blind. No eyes left.
*image*
I drew in a long drag and blew the smoke onto the screen. The haze spread, obscuring the image. What choice did I have? I'm infected. It's a matter of time day, maybe two. Then I'll lose myself. And what then? Wander the world without memory, without will, like one of those things?
I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone, least of all myself. But going deeper into the lab was madness too. We'd lost twenty-six people and still hadn't cleared the complex. And I was alone Christ knows how this would go.
Their strength and their weakness was their numbers; they'd mob me all at once. They probably wouldn't treat me as a serious threat, wouldn't try to hide like they did before. One thought remained: set a trap, lure them in and blow the whole damn place to hell. Scanning the cameras again, I found a spot for it. Most of the infected were clustered near the holding areas the rooms where they kept test subjects, took samples then the levels with deep sample sorting and analysis.
The problem was there were infected on the upper floor too. If I went upstairs and stirred them up, everything would react and getting out would be hard. Sure, I could jump out a window, but that'd leave me out in the open for the crowd to chase.
Deciding to clear the whole place, I started dragging flammable stuff into the corridor anything that would burn. Good news: there were a couple of fuel cans for the generators in the lab. For the trap I made something like an improvised Molotov, to turn the corridor into a cleansing pyre.
I put on my gas mask so the gasoline fumes wouldn't get me, and moved to the lab door. I threw it open, aimed, and shot the infected in the head, but he didn't go down just froze, then ran at me. I had to empty a few rounds. Had they gotten tougher?
I'd taken the suppressor off beforehand so the shots would be louder, draw the whole facility's attention. Broken, growling sounds started echoing through the lab. Many infected began pouring out from inside the complex.
I couldn't hang around picking them off for long; I started falling back. In the heat of it I almost forgot about the stairs to the upper floors. A mob was already coming down one motion and I slapped the rifle to my back and pulled the shotgun. Buckshot took two, three infected down at once.
It was getting worse, and I ran as hard as I could toward my trap. I probably never ran that fast in my life. In seconds I grabbed the Molotov; my hands were shaking so bad I fumbled with the lighter. Finally the rag caught, and I threw it back. When it hit the floor the bottle shattered, the flame leapt to the gasoline and the spill ignited. The corridor went up in an instant: the floor erupted, the fuel trail flashed to the cans and set them off in a heartbeat. A sharp, savage blast filled the hall with a wall of flame.
I was running when the shock hit me the heat wave knocked me off my feet and slammed me forward. I tumbled several times before I stopped. My head was ringing, a roaring like a siren turned up inside my skull. I forced myself onto my back. Through the cracked visor of the mask I watched tongues of fire dance around, and I felt the hot air burn my lungs. It got too hot; I looked down and realized my clothes were on fire. The fuel that had soaked me had ignited. I started slapping at the flames, feeling the skin under my clothes sear.
Alarm.
The lab siren wailed, and water poured from the ceiling. The flow filled the corridor fast, dousing the blaze; soon the flames subsided. Only in the far corners where the fuel had pooled did weak flames still smolder. Everything was blackened: charred walls, smoke, and bodies of the infected sprawled on the floor. I exhaled hard. Many had been torn apart by the blast or burned beyond recognition hopeful that they wouldn't rise.
When I staggered up, my vision dimmed. I swayed, almost collapsed forward. I planted a hand on the floor and panted; a hum throbbed at my temples. Then it hit me for real. The water… it could carry spores. Had I inhaled them when the mask cracked? I hauled myself up with effort, trying to stay away from the runoff. I needed a whole gas mask now. I fought my way to the stairwell to the second floor, collapsed at the railing and let my body gather a little strength.
After a moment, I pulled myself together and headed upward. At the doorway to the second floor, strange sounds came from beyond.
Tick-tick.
That sound again like some insect chirring nearby. Like a mantis, only louder. I barely had the strength to lift my weapon. Why didn't I think the alarm would trigger? I'd been the one to restore power I should've shut it off before the attack.
Gathering the last of my will, I lifted the weapon, pressed the barrel against my gut, and pulled the trigger.The shot deafened me. The sound split through my skull like a branch snapping inside my head. The recoil threw me backward I tumbled down the stairs and crashed onto the landing.
"Kh-kh…" I coughed.
Something heavy fell on top of me. Through blurred vision, I saw the twisted face of an infected trying to sink its teeth in.It didn't struggle long then froze and stood up, ignoring me entirely. I didn't hesitate grabbed the shotgun and put a round through its head.
Time slipped through my fingers. I tried to stand, pushing against the cold floor, then grabbed the railing. My legs trembled, barely responding.It was like being drunk so drunk my body wasn't mine anymore.
Never touched drugs, but I probably looked like a junkie. I crawled my way up the stairs, collapsed face-first onto the floor, and lay there for several seconds, unable to move. Finally, I forced myself upright and dragged my way into the lab block.I sank into a chair, eyes unfocused on the reports scattered across the desk. The letters blurred, swam, lost meaning. My thoughts crumbled like sand.
All I managed to make out was:
"Compound B - exhibits pronounced fungal cell destruction. Experiments on samples resulted in fatal outcomes. Not suitable for vaccine use. Highly toxic, lethal to humans."
My mind clouded. There was no more time to think. I was dying anyway one way or another.
I found a syringe. Beside it lay a vial marked "B." I drew a small dose and injected it into my arm.
At first, nothing. The haze in my vision began to clear, breathing got easier, thoughts steadied. Then, in an instant, everything froze and the hell began.My body convulsed, collapsing onto the floor.
Every muscle twisted in spasms. They clenched and jerked every second. Each nerve, every cell screamed. I couldn't stop it I was being turned inside out. Thousands of needles stabbed through every inch of me.
**************************
Two armored vehicles pulled up outside the lab. Soldiers in quarantine-zone uniforms stepped out.
"Report said there was movement here," said the man in the captain's uniform, adjusting his gas mask. "Masks on. Check comms. Move fast. Search every corner."
The team pulled on masks with internal comms, checked their flashlights, and entered the complex.
"A sweep team's already been through here," one of them told the captain. "Mission declared failed. Entire squad lost."
"Understood," the captain replied, walking slowly along the wall. "Then why's there power? Lights are on."
Most of the power grid had been destroyed in the bombings; only parts of the quarantine zone had been restored.
"The lab should've been dead, but there's emergency power. Someone turned it on," added the lieutenant.
"Why?" the captain murmured. "There's no weapons here. No supplies. Who'd bother with this place? Who's stirring the pot?"
Labs scientific sites, biologists were considered high-priority assets. They had to be protected at any cost, even lives. But Pittsburgh's forces didn't have spare men to guard this one. Once recon confirmed a signal, they sent an armed unit.
"Sir, look," the lieutenant pointed to a blackened wall and several bodies nearby. "Something blew here."
"Who cleared this lab and where are they now?" the captain said, tightening his grip on the rifle. "Stay sharp. There might be an armed group inside."
The few infected left were dispatched near the entrance. The squad swept the building and moved to the second floor.
"The weapon serials… they match ours," said the lieutenant, picking up a shotgun and a rifle, handing them over.
"They were fired recently," the captain said quietly, inspecting the guns.
A few steps later, they found a body in the middle of the lab.
"He was alone? Or left behind?" the captain knelt, carefully pulled the uniform aside, and lifted a dog tag.
"One of ours. Fedra special ops," he said softly. He pulled off the shattered mask, checked for a pulse.
"No sign of infection. No pulse either."
The lieutenant noticed an empty syringe nearby, with traces of clear liquid inside. The captain frowned, grunted under his breath, and stood.
A few minutes later, the team finished their sweep. Finding nothing unusual, the soldiers exited the lab, sealing and tagging the doors behind them.