Chapter 38
"Don't forget Vol, stay as far as possible from danger. Use your handgun with a silencer. We don't know what might happen." Aunt Pheene reminded.
We were the first to come out of the ship. The BBF will scout the entire region. The rest will clear out the port and turn it to a safe zone to receive survivors. 30 Expanders were dispatched and they dispersed quickly while we, the BBF, left. In our group, only I is holding a handgun while they're carrying metal bats.
Scouting "town", we were just walking. These guys got one hell of a stamina, we've been walking for 3hrs straight and none of them seem fazed. Lunch time, we didn't even took a break. We ate sandwiches and drank water while still walking. These people sure work efficiently.
5pm, we're back at the port. The port was made completely safe. Tents to receive survivors were up; Tents to accommodate injured are up; Vaccination and immunization area is also up; Sanitation for soldiers and incoming civilians are also up. The system is very much the same when back in the Philippines.
"Welcome back Commanding General."
The ship's captain approached Aunt Pheene.
"Anything new?"
"Yes ma'am, there's a community at 'place.' It's coordinates are 'number.' We left them on hold, any orders?"
"How far is that from here?"
" 'Meters due' ma'am."
"Dispatch two soldiers in armoured cycle as scouts and to assess risk level, do so now."
"Roger that."
7pm, I just got out of the gym. My legs are killing me! Nigel made me sprint on treadmill for an hour! Dinner in the dining area will be served at 8pm. 8:30pm, all day shift soldiers are expected to be in their rooms, resting.
I then went to my room only to take a bath and apply SoreGo on my body. 7:30pm, the sound system in the ship echoed.
"All soldiers to the assembly hall ASAP." said a female voice.
I quickly got dressed and went to the assembly hall. Inside are lots of chairs neatly lined up. It's a first come first serve orientation. But there's also specially lined up chairs seated on the stage behind the microphone. The chairs on the left were for BBF members and so I sat there; meanwhile the head of departments are on the right: Engineering, Biology, Building, and the ship's Captain.
The time struck 7:30 and Aunt Pheene stepped up to the microphone.
"Good evening soldiers, today's operation ran smoothly, at least on the scouting portion. The port is secured, the 'region' was scouted successfully but not without casualties; our radios got a respons from 'place' and just now the scouts have returned meaning we've successfully engaged with a community of survors. However, 'Place' is too far to escort survivors all the way here to the port, furthermore the infected found and eliminated from the perimeters of this port are way more aggressive and agile than the ones from our homeland. We must take outmost precautions. Instead, a team led by Lieutenant Carl John Hernan will be dispatched to provide security and a week worth of supplies. And since I've mentioned that the kind of infected found here is different, it's possible that it's a different type of virus. BBF will attempt to capture a live specimen for the BR's to observe and study. Take care of yourselves and your fellow soldiers, we won't have re-enforcement until the next 5yrs. That's all, everyone dismissed."
After the meeting, everyone went to the cafeteria and eat dinner. Before 8:25pm, the cafeteria's gone quiet and empty. The night guards took on their positions. And everyone else retreats into their rooms to rest for the night.
The following day, we headed straight to our first street. Because the undead discovered wasn't the same back in Philippines, our mission today is collect samples on different zombies and capture a live and a dead specimen. We're also to capture any other variation if any case of mutations. Our first location wasn't that far, it was a short walk, about 15mins away from the port. Our first building was a factory of sort or something to do with fisheries, maybe a sardine factory?? Aunt Pheene marked this as a high danger zone despite being isolated. I was adviced to use a hand gun with a silencer, but I have different tactics. I will use a bladed brass knuckle and kill a zombie on my own, I'll prove them my worth.
As we explore, they're all carrying a metal baton, and I'm carrying the hand gun that I will later on throw at the side when it's time for action. And then suddenly, we stopped, there's a zombie ahead facing away from us. It looks morbidly wrong... It's limbs are overly long but slender while the torso are the same. It doesn't look like a human anymore, is this a mutant? Or is it just...no, it has to be a mutant.
"Alright, be ready..." Aunt Pheene muttered to a whisper.
Aunt Pheene made a short sound with the crunch of her boots on the floor and immediately the thing looked our way. The zombie screeched at us and it charges swiftly towards our group. They held their ground, they're planning to counter the creature. I summoned my melee weapon and threw my gun at the thing's face. As it charges, I swiftly charged too before our team had any time to react.
"What in the?! Vol, no!" Aunt Pheene spoke.
I didn't stop, pressed on. I will kill this thing with one precise strike, I will stab it at the side of the head! But...Oh fuck...the thing stretched it's long ass limbs to keep its torso far from reach. My blood ran cold, everything happened so fast. Now, the zombie opened its impossibly large maw that's full of serrated teeth. My mind knows I just need to leap back, just leap back! My body is frozen in place! God damnit! Move!
But in a huge turn of events, I was pulled away and my aunt replaced my spot. And right in that moment, the monster's mouth bit through her metal baton and sunk it's teeth in the armor. All of us are in shock with how powerful that bite was. It then bit her one more time and with the absence of any sort of deflector, its teeth tore through the metal and Aunt Pheene groaned in pain desperately trying to keep her voice in. Like the wind, Nigel came to his mom's rescue and stabbed the zombie in the head repeatedly. It lost it's grip on aunt's fore arm and she finally broke free.
"Aunt Pheene!" I ran to catch her in my arms when Nigel pushed me that I hit the nearest machine hard.
Aunt Pheene appears to be having seizures. With her uninjured right arm, she tore the entire left arm of her gear. Maybe it was a kick of adrenaline why she managed to do it. But that's not much of a big deal at this moment as numerous holes were left where she was bitten and she's bleeding uncontrollably. The veins by the wound started turning black and her muscles spasmed. She couldn't fight the pain any longer, she screamed in agony as tears ran down her cheeks and drooled.
Nigel looks like he's about to burst into tears, he bit his lower lip and inhaled between his teeth.
"Uncle Larn, secure the specimen! Let's retreat!" Nigel took over and fired orders.
Quickly we left and sprinted our way back to the ship. Nigel carried his mom and fired orders to people. The medical team brought her to operation room.
"Hurry! I can't fight this shit further!" Aunt Pheene growled like a rabbid animal.
They tried to constraint her by belting her limbs and torso on the hospital bed. But for some reason she got so strong out of nowhere and she flinged all the medical staff around the room. That's when we finally jumped in and held her down. She's suddenly 10times stronger than before! Even Nigel struggled to keep her body down on the bed!
"T-ta-hak-tr-tran- tranq-q-ui-la-li-ze m-mah-me-eee!!" Aunt Pheene growled.
The doctor stumbled and grab a bottle of tranquilizer and filled a syringe accordingly to her body mass. Then he struggled to inject it in her right arm.
"Wraaaaaahh!" she roared.
"It's not enough!" I exclaimed.
"She'll overdose if I give her more!"
"AAAAAARGH! DO IT!!" aunt shouted.
"But..."
"General's orders, do it!" Nigel glared viciously.
The doctor sucked it up and proceed to inject her another dose. Aunt is still acting up but less destructive than before.
"Keep going!" she ordered.
The doctor kept giving her shots until she can't order him anymore because now she's paralyzed and blankly staring at nothing with saliva running out of her mouth. I panted, I was keeping her right leg down and it felt like I wrestled against a bear on steroids. As I take a step back...
"Oof!"
I fell on the floor and my head is spinning. The entire right side of my face hurt, I struggled to make up what or who's in front of me.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!! LOOK WHAT YOU JUST DID!"
When my sight stabilized, I saw Nigel standing over me with his fists shaking and tightly clenched. His left hand knuckles turned red. His eyes were wide and tears streaming down his face. He then picked me up by my collar and readied his right fist.
"You're the one who should have been bit, YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED BACK! YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE LYING THERE HALF DEAD!!"
Nigel's eyes are full of hate, his fist have the intention of killing me. He moves his fist and I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of this life ending punch.
"Nigel don't! Stop!"
I opened my eyes at the sound of Ate Etil's voice. Ate Etil's holding back my cousin's fist while Kuya Larn is standing in between me and Nigel.
"Nigel, this won't fix Pheene, calm down." said Kuya Larn.
Nigel's expression softened, from anger to sadness and...fear...
He then let me go and I dropped on the floor.