The week passed in a blur. News of Leutenant Dorn's death spread like a wildfire. It was unclear how exactly Dorn had died, but one thing was certain. Someone from inside the military had killed him. That should make the investigation easy right? Nope, lucky guess though. As soon as the news got out, all investigative activities pertaining this incident were shut down. Orders from above.
The situation was so eerie and intense that soldiers were not even allowed to talk about it. If they were caught discussing this issue, they would be severely punished. A clear statement was made by the General who oversees everything in the military. He had addressed the soldiers on Dorn's funeral and explained the reason he was so harsh with this case.
He explained that he did not want to diminish the already bruised morale of soldiers, at least not before the important mission. He explained that more than 800 millions of people depended on them, so failure was not an option. It was crucial that they abandoned all unnecessary distractions and focus on the greater good.
"I promise you all, after this mission, I will hunt down the murderer and feed him his own intestines before cutting his head."
Those were the exact words he used. Of course, soldiers have long gotten used to empty promises but this one felt different. It felt more personal. They did not know if it was because the General had promised to handle the issue himself, or maybe their morale was already low and they were in desperate need of emotional and mental comfort. Finding solace in the empty promises of individuals in powers had never been a good idea.
Take the government for example. But we are not going to dive into that, at least not this early.
Despite the short note, Leutenant Dorn's funeral as grandiose, with more than a thousand soldiers, hundreds of mundane citizens and all their superiors as well: Captain Argeis, Major Black, Colonel Jenna, Commander Jackson and General Grylls, the mysterious old man. Dorn's wife and daughter were present as well. It was still hard to process the fact that the infamously grumpy Leutenant was married and even had a child.
Everything was so fast. Shortly after his funeral, another dimwit from his special cohort was officially announced as the new Leutenant of the Main Evacuation Army Command Center. Even during the briefing, he looked lost and completely unaware, just cradling a cup of coffee in his hand. What an idiot. Benji hated him already.
Speaking of Benji, he was in a pretty somber mood. As one of the preparations, every soldier went to say goodbye to their respective families, but since Benji did not have any, he stayed behind at the military base with a few other soldiers who had family issues as well. Major Black was there too. Seriously the guy has to rest once in a while or he will collapse from fatigue one day. Considering where they were going, they were all probably all going to collapse from fatigue. As a symptom of course...
Gallons of coffee were passed around the soldiers daily. Every soldier you passed on the pavement had either a coffee in their hands or were rushing to get one. Coffee had become an eerie custom in the military. Not only just because they were tired, but they also terrified of falling asleep. The reasons were simply. One there was a killer amongst them, and they did not know who was killed and who was not.
The second reason was probably even more terrifying. It was because of the unkown disease that was currently wrecking havoc in Australia. The scariest thing about it is that it was still unclear how disease spreads, so at that point it could already be outside Australia. Maybe it had crept across Asia and Europe and was already closing in on them. But that was impossible. They would have known about it now.
The disease always left destruction and devastation in its wake.
And the fact that they have not heard anything from the neighboring continents means they were still safe.
Benji sat on the same bench as before. His gaze was distant. He had been drowned in thought for so long his coffee was getting cold. He looked at it with contempt and sighed. Well, there was nothing he could do about that, so he took another sip grimaced.
The coffee tasted bitter, alien even. But he was used to bitterness. His life was nothing but bitter after all.
The Command Center was silent. Too silent even. A few days ago, he sat at this very spot alone, watched as hundreds of soldiers prepared themselves for the mission. Now that he knew the truth, his thoughts were heavier. He knew that every single soldier was probably going to die. Killed by either the disease, the murderer amongst them, the murderous civilians they were trying to rescue or Benji himself.
Watching them prepare so thoroughly to their deaths elated him. He was in such a good mood that he started humming a cheerful tune without noticing. Honestly, it would make his job so much easier if a good chunk of his enemies were culled by the disease, but it would also spoil all the fun. He would like to fulfill his promises to each of them, so they better not die. Just as he was pondering over those thoughts, a nother figure emerged from the main building of the Command Center.
Major was not in a pretty state. His black lustrous hair was not disheveled and unruly. Benji did not even wish to see what his face looked like if his hair was like that. He held a laptop on one hand and a cup of coffee on the other. He took a sip, or at least attempted to, but the cup was empty. Frustrated he cursed out loud and threw the empty cup into one of the nearby trash bins, missing by a large margin. He looked around.
Benji tensed when Major Black's gaze fell on him. Major remained silent for a few long moments, and then gestured for Benji to come over. He jolted off the bench and ran over to him. He looked at the empty cup near the dumpster and frowned. Standing straight and composed, he greeted his superior with an exaggerated gesture. Major just sighed and looked at him somberly.
"Hello Benjamin. I know you are not my assistant but will you please get me a hot cup of coffee? I'll be waiting in my office."
"Yes sir...!"
He did not even wait for Benji to respond. He turned his back to him and headed to the their unit where his office was located. Benji remained behind and lowered his shoulders in dejection. He did not really know how to feel about this whole situation. Actually, it was more of he did not feel anything at all. Which was dangerous for him and others because he knew what it meant.
He picked up the empty cup of coffee and stared at it for a few moments, then sighed and shook his head.
'This thing is definitely going to kill us before we even reach Australia. Now that would be ironic. I should probably reduce my coffee as well.'
He tossed the cup in the garbage bin and turned to the bench where his coffee sat motionless.
'It's probably already cold anyways. Oh well..'
He shrugged and walked towards the cafeteria.
***
A middle aged woman struggled to open her eyes. She took a couple of shallow breaths and winced due to the pain that washed over her entire body a heartbeat later. Somehow, that pain only made her state of mind more clearer and focused. She carefully went through what she remembered to try and find out what actually happened to the Camps.
Moments ago, or however long she was unconscious , they were just resting peacefully in one of the camps established by one of the surviving communities. She looked around and she saw nothing that was abnormal. All around her, the camps were in chaos. People were running around screaming and crying, blood was everywhere, the different sounds assaulted her ears. She gritted her teeth and struggled to stand up, and failed miserably, so she sat up instead.
Why were all these people panicking? Why were they running and screaming like that? Where is she? Where are they?
'Oh right the Camps. But why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? Something important?'
Before she could finish that thought, someone landed on her right torso, throwing her to the side. She rolled a couple of meters and winced. Her world exploded with pain and agony. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her bruised temples. She awkwardly tried to sit up again, but to no avail.
So she tried again and again and again.
After what seemed to be an eternity, she finally succeeded. She sat up straight and attempted to collect her thoughts once more. She evaluated the situation around her. The guy that knocked her over was long gone now. Disappearing without a trace. They much be looking for something, something important.
They probably all are. Everyone is in such a hurry. Are they racing towards the same thing or we're they different? Should I be looking for it too? But what am I supposed to be looking for? Should I ask?
Different thoughts flooded her mind giving her a headache.
'Why do I still have this feeling, like I'm forgetting something? Is that what I'm supposed to be looking for? How am I supposed to find it if I can't even find myself? Think dammit!'
She closed her eyes and gently rubbed her temples, letting pain wash over her mind and body, making her thoughts clearer and sharper. Then something in her mind clicked, causing her body to jolt forward in a terrible speed, almost crashing her in the nearest tent.
"My son! I have to find Jordan!"
The memories of her existence came flooding back, one piece at a time, at she forced herself back to reality. She ran around dozens of tents for what seemed to be an eternity, constantly shouting her son's name. No one responded. She wasn't going to give up though, she was not going to lose hope.
"JORDAN!!"
Her voice was hoarse and strained, reflecting her current state of health. She did not look so good. She did not feel good either. Her legs felt heavy and painful, along with every muscle in her body. Her bare feet were littered with gruesome hollow wounds, and she was now limping towards the center of the Camps. Her left temple and cheek were now wet with crimson blood, flowing from somewhere on her head. However, all this pain only made her mind sharper and now she had only one purpose, nothing else. Finding her son.
"JORDAN!!"
Tears were streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. Why if she doesn't find her son? What if he was already dead? What if he was crushed during the impact? Maybe he survived and was taken by someone else. Maybe he was alive and well, under the care of someone else. A kind stranger. Somehow, she doubted that was the case. She knew that no one cared about a stranger during a time like this. She knew because she did not either. But still, hope never hurt anyone.
She knew exactly what was happening. Even though they did not partake in the wars, they knew what was happening outside their camps. It was chaos. People had become bloodlusted animals fighting and killing each other over food and supplies. They did not care about their blood wars, all they cared about was keeping the unknown disease at bay, away from their families for as long as possible.
But even that was too much to ask.
The mercenaries of the other camps had brought it right to them.
The woman was suddenly worried. Worried that his son was in grave danger. She herself had grave wounds on her body and a stab wound, but she also had bruises on her left side and back. This meant that she was not only tortured and stabbed, she was dragged away from her tent as well. Hell, she most likely did not even have a tent anymore. But that did not matter. She had to find her son.
She ran around the bloodied ruins for a very long time, until she felt it. A sudden change in the atmosphere, or it was just happening inside of her body...
The air itself got heavier and heavier, making it harder for her to lift her legs. Her mind became hazy, fuzzy and unfocused. Her eyelids grew heavier with each moment and her eyes got even harder to open. She shook her head defiantly, but it was all for naughty.
Her thoughts felt muddy.
'So this is how it ends? I'm a failure! I failed my son. My only son. Please forgive Jordan, I was not the mother you needed, the mother you deserved. I failed on my promise. I was not there with you till the very end.. im.. truly sorry...'
Before the last tear could fall to the ground, her whole world went dark and she collapsed to the ground.
***
Jack watched everything transpire in the laptop. His mood was sour. He watched intently as if looking for something, and then suddenly his eyes widened. He was so shocked he almost fell off the chair.
'What the hell...?!'