MSgt. Denault walked slowly alongside Deputy Southern. Their footsteps echoed in the empty plaza. The stores were barren, empty of the usual hustle and bustle of life. It seemed surreal as if they moved along in a world that had no one but them. As they walked Allie at last leaned against Kristopher’s shoulder, releasing a sigh. “We have to keep going,” MSgt. Denault said, gently propping her back up. The backpack full of food clanked noisily in her hands as she swayed back to her feet. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he was feeling fatigued as well and he knew they wouldn’t make it far like this without rest. The gun was heavy in his arms as they rounded the circular drive heading towards the bank. Stopping before the door at last, Kristopher peered inside. The interior was dark, with only the front window casting a feeble light inside. The shadows cast by the unattended registers inside left warped images resembling people upon the floor. Seeing no movement, Kristopher slowly tried to open the door. Finding it unlocked he pulled the door back, the loud squeaking making him pause. Allie pushed past him, slumping into a chair right inside the door. She leaned back with a loud sigh. “I need to rest, I can’t go much more.” She seemed bitter about having to admit this and Kristopher understood. Their jobs held the unique stigma where any weakness was frowned upon, and he could see that she must be suffering a great deal to have to admit her exhaustion. “Just a little longer, let me secure the area,” Kristopher said to her, turning the latch upon the door so it clicked firmly to the locked position. As soon as he did so, he heard a noise that made his hair stand upon end. A low growling noise came from behind him. Turning quickly, he forgot his injured ankle and fell to the ground, catching himself with his hands. The gun swung forward and then back from the fall, hitting him squarely in the side. He grunted from the impact and tried to pick himself back up. “Watch out!” Deputy Southern shouted, and Kristopher felt a heavy weight upon his back. Collapsing from the added weight, he rolled himself over and came face to face with a gangly woman in a blue suit jacket. Her gaunt face was streaked with her dark mascara, but Kristopher couldn’t miss the bloodshot eyes. Her thin lips were pale and pulled back from her teeth, making her look even more skeletal. Deputy Southern had gotten to her feet but hit with a wave of nausea she fell backwards, slumping to the floor. Her head was spinning from her wound. Raising a hand to her head, she pulled it back with fresh blood staining her palm. Giving another try she surged to her feet, the backpack full of food in her hands. She swung it with all her might, the heavy bag slamming into the woman on top of the MSgt. Kristopher was struggling to keep ahold of the woman’s wrists. Her strength was phenomenal and he could visibly see the veins rising in her arms from the blood rushing through them. Using his knee as leverage, he kept her chest a distance away from him. Despite this the woman was slowly crushing their bodies together, her teeth upon display. Allie gave it her last effort and jumped upon the woman, hauling her back with all her might. Kristopher pushed forward at the same time and the woman was removed, her nails grabbing and scratching at him, leaving striking rivulets of red blood upon his arms. He got to his feet quickly and hoisted the gun up. “Watch out!” Allie shouted with her eyes wide. She quickly let go and ducked down as Kristopher shot the woman four times in the chest. The two stood breathing heavily in the suddenly quiet room. The woman gurgled blood as it rose from her chest, lying slumped upon the floor. Allie closed her eyes and sat back, resting on her hands as she gave a short laugh, more out of exhaustion than actual amusement. “Let’s make sure there’s no one else here,” Kristopher said, motioning to the back with the rifle. Allie gave a great groan of effort but she stood at last, and the two made their way towards the counters. The doorway to the back of the bank was locked, and the cubicles in front were devoid of any life. Allie tentatively knocked upon the door, peering through the bulletproof glass. Predictably, no one responded. Deeming the area safe, she returned to the front of the store. There was a latch upon the door that she could manually turn to activate the deadbolt. “I’m locking up now,” Allie called back to Kristopher. He grunted in response. Leaning up against the teller’s counter, Kristopher cradled the gun upon his lap. Allie had moved into the adjacent section where she was curled up under one of the desks, napping. He could hear the sound of her even breathing from where he sat. Staring out the glass of the front door, he wondered how he had gotten into this situation in the first place. ~~~ MSgt Kristopher Denault of Special Unit 62 leaned up against the wall, watching as his superiors spoke in hushed tones. He waited patiently. Although he looked as if he were resting, he was watching their lips moving out of the corner of his eye. “It will have to come to it,” said Lt Gurnes. Col Torres seemed hesitant. “It’s suicide to send them in there like that.” “Retrieval is our number one priority.” Lt Gurnes looked over through the glass barrier at MSgt Denault. The MSgt hadn’t moved. Lt Gurnes shifted slightly and Kristopher lost sight of his lips. From this angle Kristopher could only see Col Torres. Gurnes was aware he was watching. The conversation continued. “Then it will be up to Special Unit 62,” Col Torres responded, holding his conversation with the Lt. “We will push forward with the plan. Contact the General. We will have clearance under martial law.” The two turned to MSgt Denault. Kristopher gently pushed himself up from the wall and watched as they approached. As they reentered the room he was in, he saluted them. After being dismissed from attention, the briefing began. Today, he would be deployed to Holly Glen and the surrounding areas. With only 3,000 citizens, Holly Glen was barely a blip on the map. But Kristopher knew better. This town had a secret. His mission was to locate and retrieve Patient Zero. Secondarily, he was to locate the sheriff and receive utter cooperation from him in their search. His lips in a grim line, MSgt Denault sat in the military truck. Papers in his hand, he mindlessly sifted through them, not reading a word. He had already studied them heavily and now he was just filled with agitated energy. Tapping his foot upon the floor of the truck, he looked out the window. The scenery flew by, and he caught a glimpse of a city coming into view. His companion, a woman was speaking in the radio, inquiring about the Sheriff of Holly Glen. In the front, the driver and the soldier in front were also talking. They were tracking the spikes in rogue activity. With this information they would try and locate Patient Zero. The sheriff who should have been rather easy to find, hadn’t been answering his radio since he had been dispatched to a house for a domestic violence report. Since it wasn’t the number one priority, they would be moving to the first large spike in activity. It was in the larger city of Victor Heights. A woman had reported an attack this morning. It was swiftly followed by many other calls reporting similar attacks. Kristopher could see the destruction from behind the window. The streets were littered with debris, abandoned cars, and dead bodies. Suddenly it became very real to him that today was going to be very different from the normal routine.
Urgh. Flashback ran a tad long... there's more to it but I didn't want the update to be too long. Cliffhanger~~~~ hehe hope you see how everything is coming together now