As soon as Eric climbed the ladder and cracked open the hatch, a rifle barrel pressed right into his forehead. Almost immediately the weapon lowered; someone grabbed him by the arm and helped him up. I followed right after, ready to act at any moment.
"Sorry about the gun in your face. You get it we can't let just anyone through," the masked guard said. Most of them always kept their faces covered. It seemed strange to me, but maybe it made them feel safer: nobody knows them, nobody will come for revenge.
"It's fine. So, deal's still on? I'm finding those discs for you?" Eric asked.
"Definitely, ahem… and don't forget that little request," the soldier said, slightly embarrassed.
"Of course," Eric nodded.
"Hold up. Be careful out there. Even for our squads, the streets aren't exactly safe right now," the guard warned.
"I'll keep it in mind," Eric replied, and we moved on.
I only felt myself relax once we were out of sight and inside the building. I stopped by the entrance, leaning against the wall, watching the patrol walk away. Glancing at my watch, I realized another patrol passed just a few minutes later. Predicting one when you're climbing out of a sewer? Impossible.
"We can't stay visible here. We need to go," Eric said, lowering his voice.
"Let's move. Four clickers ahead," I said.
"Clickers? They weren't there last time I came through," Eric muttered.
"They're in military uniforms," I replied.
"No way… is that actually true?" he said, doubtful.
"You'll explain later," I cut him off something rustled deeper inside the building. A sickening chattering echoed through the dark rooms, like something scraping against concrete.
"We have to take them out. Otherwise getting back with the cargo will be too dangerous. I only have a knife for emergencies," Eric said.
He's the one calling me lucky. How he's still alive is a mystery.
"Hey, don't look at me like that," Eric gave a nervous laugh. "I made a pipe with sharpened tips, just stashed it outside."
"We'll do this. We wait till they spread out as far as possible. Then we take down two of them with head strikes. When the noise starts, I'll distract the third hold him, you finish him. We'll deal with the last one as it comes," I said.
"Got it," Eric answered curtly.
Fighting the infected up close wasn't new to me. If you think about it, I'm halfway to being one of them already. Not that dangerous, in a way though I've never tested what happens if one bites me. Probably just accelerates the parasite's growth.
We stepped into the room. I gave a hand signal: Wait. Four of them wandered ahead, shifting slowly, tilting their heads as they listened. When two finally left the room, we moved. I took off my backpack and carefully set it right in the doorway. Eric glanced at me, I nodded: go.
I sprang up and drove my knife into the nearest one's skull.
"A-r-r-raa"
The torn, guttural rasp shot through the building, and another death cry rang out to the side.
I yanked the blade free and shoved the body aside. The third clicker lunged at us, and behind it, in the shadows, the last one appeared.
I noted to myself: even though they navigate by echolocation, they retain some kind of memory fragments of old routines they still follow. It stumbled over my backpack, and I immediately pounced, slamming the creature to the floor. Eric darted in and plunged his blade into the back of its head.
The last one came almost instantly. I gripped the knife between my fingers and threw precise and clean right between its eyes. It jerked, staggered two clumsy steps, then collapsed. When the silence finally settled, I walked over, pulled out the knife, and gave it a couple more strikes just to be sure.
"Let's check the others," I said.
We struck the bodies a few more times, making sure none of them would rise again.
I'd seen it happen these things acting like they'd passed out after an injury, only to get up later as if nothing happened. The cordyceps would take a critical hit, change the host's behavior, redirect resources into recovery. It wasn't just a parasite. It was evolving, constantly.
We handled the clickers quickly. If I'd been alone, it would've taken traps and a lot more time to lower the risk. My memory flicked back to that recent blow to the head, and I caught myself thinking: having a partner you can rely on that's a blessing. Maybe I shouldn't stay alone anymore. Yeah… sorry, Buddy. You're still the best partner.
"You know, sometimes I get really scared," Eric said as he crouched to catch his breath. "What if one of them bites me and I turn into… that?"
There's already a shadow of the parasite living inside my skull. If my body ever stops fighting it it won't take long before I become exactly the kind of monster we just killed. I tried not to dwell on that thought. To hold on to the fact that I'm still alive. Still myself.
"We're all going to die someday," I said.
"Yeah… yeah, let's keep moving," Eric replied, getting up from the floor.
"You mentioned something earlier some cases?" I asked as we continued down the corridor.
"Oh, right… Word is, they keep soldiers who've been bitten. They don't kill them they cage them. And then do something to them in the labs. I've started seeing more and more of those out on the streets you know, the ones in uniform. Maybe they release them into the buildings on purpose, so no one comes in or out except through the main gates. But what really bothers me is… why would they do that to their own soldiers? Though I've also heard it's the ones who refused to follow orders. Hard to believe any of it. With all their flaws… they're not monsters. Not like that," Eric said, shaking his head.
"Maybe," was all I answered.
We made good time and left the mall behind us. Following the same route as before, I headed toward my bike get back to the base, regroup. Wandering the city without proper weapons was too risky. And besides, I needed to pick up Buddy. That alone would make things feel safer.
When we reached the spot where I'd left the enduro, I heard fast, eager footsteps. I turned and barely kept my balance as Buddy slammed into me with full force. I had just thought about him, and there he was, as if he'd always known exactly where to find me. Normally I left him on his own for two or three days, but it looked like this time his patience ran out. He squirmed and pushed up toward my face, trying to lick me all over, like he was afraid I'd disappear again.
"Alright, alright… sorry I took so long," I murmured, pulling him close.
"He's gotten so big," Eric said, running a careful hand along Buddy's back. "So… I'll meet you at the agreed spot?"
"Yeah. I need to grab my weapons and the maps," I said. Sometimes I missed normal communication so damn much just opening a map on a phone, marking a point, building a route, calling someone to meet up.
I opened my pack and pulled out a treat for Buddy. He tore into it instantly must've been starving.
We parted ways. The nearby zones were supposed to be safe; the real danger started about a kilometer out from the camp. The only thing that actually scared me was FEDRA patrols. But if you knew the city its alleys, its escape paths you could always get away from them. Eric knew these places way better than I did, so honestly, I was the one who'd likely run into trouble first.
I swung my leg over the enduro and started the engine. Buddy gave a couple of sharp barks, like giving the command to move, and I hit the throttle. He sprinted after me, not falling behind for a second.