Prologue 8: James and Ragland Meeting

Caption (to assist readers):

- Everything is good. - = speech of the character

"All good." = character thoughts (during certain scenes)

*boom* = ambient or scenery sounds (similar to using other types of comic fonts)

This chapter is told from James Heller's point of view.

After my late lunch, I leave Dana's apartment quickly moving towards to my appointment with Ragland.

It is a considerable distance between Dana's building (Red Zone) and Ragland's laboratory (Yellow Zone) in Oakhurst, I decide to use my new flying skill to cover that distance, during the night it seemed to me a better opportunity to train it over greater distances and with a lower chance of being discovered.

Obviously, I decide to fly above the Blackwatch helicopters' flight area, high enough to need to calculate my displacement and distance on the virtual mental map just created by me, as I can barely see the peak of the skyscrapers.

My new flying ability is still not perfected enough for a huge increase in speed, I found that even increasing the speed movement of my wings and manipulating my biomass to reduce my weight together, I can't move as fast as on the ground, found too about the disadvantages of manipulating my weight directly affecting my stamina, the faster I try to fly, the greater increases my vulnerability to attacks.

"I need better wings."

I can hear a voice in my head again, I feel that the more I evolve, the more I feel as if this voice is something related to my instinct for evolution awakened and influenced by the virus, a strong desire for constant evolution towards absolute supremacy or dominance above any form of adversity or resistance.

To be the strongest, smartest and fastest, the apex of all beings.

- Top of the food chain, fuck that shit. - I mutter to myself remembering Mercer's last words.

I feel that I am approaching my destination, I hide my wings and descend from the skies gliding to the nearest terrace, I decide to glide until landing softly in the closest building, while I analyze the region using my heightened senses, thermal vision and viral vision.

I can see that there are still infected in this part of town, either survivors or human Blackwatch's guinea pigs, something that makes me call Rooks before I consider breaking our agreement.

- Heller what do you want? - Meets Rooks, straight to the point.

- Does Blackwatch intend to continue carrying out experiments in the Yellow Zone? I have identified infected in this zone and I want to know why. - I answer coldly and also direct.

- No, all research-related projects have been suspended by the internal investigation and the new order from the superiors is to close the siege at the border of the zones for containment until our return. If there are still infected that you want to hunt, I just ask that you try to be discreet and do it during the city curfew. - Rooks answers me, who despite not being able to discover if he is lying to me or not, I decide that seems the best thing to do at the moment.

- Okay, thanks Rooks. - I hang up right after thanking him, I'll leave it to deal with the infected after my encounter with Raymond, I only detected 3 and they seem hidden or isolated, due to the pattern of their movements.

I use my hunting skill to find Ragland confirming its location in an old shelter located east of Oakhurst and close to the bay, its abandoned external appearance is deliberate, as I can instinctively feel people inside the building, without the need to even use my thermal vision.

Raymond is located underground, presumably the place of his secret laboratory. I slip down from the terrace to the alley's ground stealthily and call Dana as soon as I reach the front of the building while walking, before approaching the door.

- I arrived at the shelter, can I enter through the front door or should I wait for Ragland? - I question Dana, because the only members I had contact from the Resistance group were just Dana and Father Guerra, who was a former member before being murdered.

- Wait at the door James, while I call him and ask to receive him personally. The Resistance is divided during recent developments and it's best to stay with him to avoid any unnecessary confusion. - Dana answers me and hangs up after it, I decide to follow her guidelines, because it would really be very bad to have any kind of problem with an organization that I don't know internally.

I wait for about 5 minutes until the door opens and Raymond appears.

- James Heller, my name is Bradley Ragland, please accompany me. - Says Ragland as he welcomes me and signals with his right hand for me to enter.

- Thanks for the meeting, Doctor Ragland, we need to talk. - I thank Ragland when entering the building, which in its interior seemed much more preserved and even with visible recent repairs, in contrast to its external part. I notice that Ragland closes the door and then locks it with the help of a padlock, making sure to myself about the possible situation about the building.

- We will go underground, where our conversation can be private, I will go ahead to open the next doors, please follow me. - Ragland informs me, passing by my side towards the corridor and turning left behind the reception desk of the building, opening a door located to the left of the desk.

I continue to follow him noticing that right after the door a descending staircase begins, a frontal descent and then turning to the right, I go down slowly while I hear the noise of more padlocks, these present on the door at the end of the stairs, an iron door and the entrance to his basement laboratory.

- This is my current laboratory, which despite the difficulties with the Second Outbreak, I managed to adapt it here, with the help of both Dana and the Resistance, giving us more hope to better research the lethal virus that destroyed our city. - Says Ragland after unlocking the iron door and going inside.

- Do I believe I should wait for you to lock the door before our conversation? - I ask Ragland after passing through the iron door on the way in, my natural instinct finds it strange that Ragland even as one of the members of the resistance needs so much protection.

- Please wait James, I'll quickly lock it up and I can explain the reason later. - Ragland asks me, as he goes towards the iron door to lock it again, this time from the inside, leaving us alone in his laboratory.

Ragland's laboratory did not compare to Gentek's or Blackwatch's laboratories, its devices and tools were inferior, the basement had a large area, similar to a shelter for a considerable number of people, but it was in excellent condition and conservation, highlighting Ragland and Resistance efforts in offering local support.

- Do you work alone with your research? - I decide to question Ragland, before going straight to the point.

- Unfortunately, yes, certain circumstances led me to need both to work alone and to hide, after starting the readaptation of this underground floor in to my temporary laboratory I never left this building. - replied Ragland, I could feel part of his feelings, the main one being the feeling of guilt.

- Do you still believe you helped Mercer create all this chaos? - I ask Ragland who decides to lower his head before answering me, I could see his clenched fists, I already knew the answer, but I want to help him overcome his sense of guilty.

- I don't know if even finding the cure will be enough to make up for my mistakes. I worked for Gentek and directly collaborated on the creation of this bioweapon before I left, Alex Mercer tricked me while helping him becoming the monster that killed millions of people, if it weren't for Dana's support, I wouldn't have considered that I could still have my chance of redemption and saving lives. - Confesses Ragland, leaning against the wall next to the iron door while he looks down. - Forgive me James, if it weren't for me, you... - Before Ragland could continue, I decide to interrupt him.

- That shit wasn't your fault, the Mercer you met was just a lost living being looking for his direction, he became the monster he was just after leaving the city, I have his memories and I can confirm that. - I replied Ragland, as I approached him and holding his left shoulder with my right hand. - Look into my eyes Ragland, I'll repeat if I need to. - I continued my reply, because this guilt clearly affected him, in Mercer's memories he seemed less aged and less downcast, this guilt could kill him before he really managed to reach his current goal.

- Thank you, James. You are the only person who could answer this question that has destroying me all these months from inside, only you or Mercer himself could enlighten me about the truth. - Ragland thanks me, feeling grateful he finally manages to lift his face in tears of relief and manage to look me in the eyes, I could feel that his guilt was still present, but smaller than before, enough to regain his hope of defeating the virus without killing himself internally in the process.

- I have the memories and knowledge of both Mercer and several scientists I consumed, but I will not be able to help you in your research directly, because in addition to not feeling able to use these abilities in their original potential, I will also have to spend time out of city. - I inform Ragland about my limits and that I will not be able to help him as his assistant, as I need to seek answers beyond this laboratory.

There are limits to using the skills of all those I absorbed, I feel instinctively that there is a conflict between other people's memories with my own memories and personality, something that when analyzing Mercer's memories better I consider the most plausible thesis.

In my thesis, I believe that Mercer and I develop our skills according to the compatibility between those we consume and our own formed identity:

Mercer had a higher intellectual potential than mine due to his host body and his belief in being the original Alex Mercer, the former Gentek researcher, favoring his abilities in a more technical way, which directly contributed to the formation of his infection abilities, control of infected, and an evolution of the virus unique to your body. His physical and combat skills developed out of survival instincts when exposed to life-or-death situations, so much that he never evolved such skills further during his time away from the city, nor did he even consider the need of it.

In my case, due to my experience as an ex-Marine, my battle skills developed much faster and more efficiently than Mercer's, making me much more lethal in battle compared to Mercer during the First Outbreak. I feel like I would defeat Mercer if I found him before the Second Outbreak or under conditions more favorable to me, not blinded by my revenge and without Mercer playing himself the Villain, but like the strongest predator he's never encountered before.

- I thank you for defeating Mercer and putting an end to the Second Outbreak James, regardless of whether Blackwatch, the Government or the Resistance itself may still consider you as another threat. You saved this city, whether driven by revenge or his daughter, you should be respected as the Hero and our savior. - This time I was the one who felt consoled with Ragland's speech, while he looked me in the eyes, I could feel that his feelings were true and my actions brought him hope. - Besides that, you surpassed Mercer who disappeared after the First Outbreak, that selfish creature, unlike you who decided to come help me, you are our hope that even if this virus returns as another Mercer or worse, we'll have a better chance of surviving without relying in Blackwatch again. - Ragland added, while holding my right hand that was still on his left shoulder with his right hand.

- Can we finish these damn speeches and get started? I didn't come here just to see a crying man who wants to hug me after asking for an autograph, along with all that type sentimental bullshit like some drama movie. - I said to Ragland with a side smile trying to break this whole emotional mood, hero or not, time was passing and I still have more issues to resolve before leaving town with Rooks.

*Light laugh of an old man*

- Yes, we can Mister James, really scientists like me should act more coldly, it must be the age and a lot of time locked in this laboratory hole that are affecting me... - Ragland replied after finishing his laugh, a moment that never existed in Mercer's memories, but that I could feel that it would change everything in this man's life, renewing his hope, and with his feeling of guilt increasingly disappearing in the midst of his determination.

Ragland shares his progress on research, in which alone and facing all odds, internal and external for more than one year, he is close to developing an experimental vaccine against the virus in mammals, using blood samples from Mercer, Dana and of infected bodies found in the Yellow Zone. Ragland believes that a small portion of humans have natural resistance to the virus, based on tests with Dana's blood, and that with future samples of my blood and my daughter's blood, his research will be able to progress closer to its initial goal, the cure against the most threatening virus of our era.