Benjamin II:

The incident at home brought Ben out of the whole conflict. The woman he helped capture, the one responsible for so much of the the violence he experienced in his life was just here. She had saved his family, and ran off, and he let her go.

The way his daughter looked at him made Ben sick to his stomach. What was he even fighting for now? His own daughter thought he was a monster.

After securing them in the basement of their home, he left the place, looking at the mailbox where their handprints were. The reminder of home, the one he was slowly slipping from.

He had to make things right.

But for one last time, his duty would have to come first.

He began walking through the streets, gunning down any stray infected he saw. This part of the city was barely affected, which meant the others did a good job with holding them off.

Ben knew he’d face a ton of admonishment later on for disobeying orders.

The sound of running put him on high alert, he turned with his gun drawn to meet the assailant. He relaxed when he saw his captain, who looked like he ran a marathon.

“Heya Captain.” Ben saluted nervously.

Chris glared at him.

“The hell was that about!? Why’d you run off?”

“When I heard the infected were headed for this part of town I decided to make sure my family was safe. I disobeyed orders, and I’m sorry sir.” Ben was sorry he left them behind, but he didn’t regret going to save his family.

Chris knew him well, he only shook his head in defeat.

“We’ll talk about it more later.”

Emma’s voice sounded on the comms again.

“Guys, I don’t want to alarm you but the situations gotten worse!”

“The infected got past another blockade?” Chris questioned, raising his gun.

“No, Jaene’s escaped! I don’t know when, I was so busy with the antibodies..”

Ben’s eyes lit up in realization.

“Right! Sorry I forgot to mention it but I just saw her.”

Chris who took in the news slowly, suddenly exploded when he heard that.

“You what!?”

“When I got to my house she was there. She saved my wife and daughter…she got away.” He said the last part quietly, not wanting to admit he let her go.

Chris seemed to be wrestling internally. Torn between going to search for Jaene and continuing their mission.

“Emma how long until the bombs ready.”

“I just need a few more minutes for launch. It’s being launched in the middle of the city, so try extending the blockade just a bit further. We need as many of them hit possible.” Emma explained, her typing was loud on the other end.

Chris turned to Ben.

“Let’s meet up with the others. After that we can look for Jaene.”

Ben nodded, following closely behind.

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Ada V:

They were getting pushed back. Ada watched as soldiers were overtaken, lost in the swarm of infected. She almost couldn’t stomach the things she saw happen to them.

She tried to reach for a man, to pull him behind the barrier between the living and the dead. But she was only able to get his top half on the other side. He didn’t last very long.

Emma’s commands were clear, get them close to the center. But how long could they last?

Her rifle was down to its last bullets, causing her to pace her shots. Instead of ending one infected in a swarm she used the bullets for environmental damage.

She shot a streetlight, causing it to fall on a small crowd. The small victory gave her hope, until saw the hole she made in the army repair itself.

There were too many.

They were down to the main squads by now, most of the forty soldiers sent long dead by now.

“Fall back, fall back!” John commanded.

They all rushed to the town square, setting up benches, carts and tables to block the infected off. John seemed to be out of ammo, as he was fending off an infected with his knife. Seeing one come from behind him, Ada let off a quick and precise shot. Her last bullet.

John noticed the save, nodding in thanks to her before joining the fight again.

The barricades were breached, the survivors cornered at the large oak tree in the middle of the city. Ada faced the crowd of monsters, she tossed her gun to the ground. It was useless now.

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“Emma if you have any last words to say to me, now’s the time.” She spoke into the comms.

“Look up.” Was all Emma said.

Ada and the rest of the survivors looked up, seeing a blue light coming in at high speeds. Before it touched the ground it detonated a few feet above the tree. The blast lit up the city, a thin veil of mist passing through the streets.

At first nothing happened. The infected approached as normal. But then one fell. It’s body shut down. They all fell like dominos, until the large crowd was no more.

“There’s still more in the city so stay vigilant.” Emma warned, the worry in her voice subsided a little.

Ada let out a sigh, and fell to her knees.

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Chris VIII:

Chris saw the infected drop like flies. They writhed on the ground, before they went limp. As if they were puppets that had their strings cut.

Chris leaned against an alley wall, sliding down. It was over. They survived.

Ben took out a cigarette, he lit it quickly. After a quick puff, he offered it to Chris.

Chris took it gratefully, feeling the warmth of the smoke calm his nerves. He could start to relax almost.

A growl came from alley, it grew louder until an infected charged from the shadows.

Chris could barely process what he was seeing, he stopped it just before it could bite him. He was just about to launch the thing into the wall, when a steel pipe entered the back of its skull. It went through, stopping just before Chris’s face.

He looked to where Ben stood. Ben had barely moved, looking behind the infected’s corpse with shock. Chris pushed the body off of him, following Ben’s gaze.

It was her.

Jaene was standing right before him. Her breaths were hoarse, as if the action took a lot out of her.

Ben didn’t reach for his gun, neither did Chris.

They only stared at the woman for what felt like hours.

Finally she made the first move. It wasn’t one he expected.

She raised her hands, offering them to him.

“Take me back in. I’ll explain everything.”

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Jaene X:

Jaene awoke from her sleep. It was the best she’s gotten in a long time. An actual comfortable bed, warm blankets. Far better than the lab. Far better than an interrogation room.

She looked around at her apartment.

It was nice, so nice it almost looked like it wasn’t a fake. When she walked to the windows, she sighed in disappointment.

There was no outside.

A fake backdrop.

She turned to the door, she knew behind it was the same old facility.

On queue, it opened revealing Chris. He was still wearing that green vest, as if he expected battle at any moment. His sleeves were gone this time, allowing her a few quick glances to his arms.

She cleared her throat.

“Do you never not wear your gear?”

“Can never be too careful.” He replied, taking a seat at her ‘dining room table.

She joined him.

“So, what’s the consensus?”

He paused for a few seconds before he answered.

“The board of directors are considering the story. Checking the timeline, the lab plans you brought. It’ll take time for them to trust you.”

“And do you trust me?”

He paused again.

“No.” He said finally.

“Oh.” Jaene felt her face fall.

“I don’t know. It’s complicated.” Chris hurried to clarify.

“It’s just, I’ve been fighting this all my life. Fighting you essentially. To hear that you’re a victim in this too. It’s a lot.” Chris averted eye contact, he fumbled with his hands. He never did that, such actions were usually done by her.

Jaene nodded in understanding. Still she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. The change wouldn’t happen overnight.

“But..I’m willing to try. You saved Ben’s family. You saved me. You returned when you didn’t have to. So that’s something isn’t it?” Chris met her gaze. He asked as if he was pleading, to see the absolute good in her.

“I won’t act like I’m innocent. I’m not. Directly or not I’ve caused terrible atrocities. So I’m gonna do my best to spend the rest of my life fixing them. One step at a time.” She chose honesty. She couldn’t promise anything, but she’d try.

Chris seemed to like that, this was the first Jaene had seen him smile. She liked seeing it, it made her smile too.

“How’s everyone. The city, your people.” Jaene asked. The whole incident was terrible, the death she saw that day. Seeing the results of her work versus fighting against it. It put her right back where she was eighteen years ago, in a broken city surrounded by bloodshed.

“It’s..recovering. It’s only been two weeks so the progress is slow. Still counting casualties, repairing damage, and making sure no infected slipped away.” Jaene shifted in her seat as he explained.

Chris was quick to notice her discomfort.

“Don’t blame yourself for that.”

A grim smile covered Jaene’s face.

“I’ll do my best. Every second I’m in here I’ll be reminded about all of it.”

Chris surprised her, he took her hand in his. It was smothering, her hand enveloped by his.

“I’ll do my best to get you out of here. I promise.”

“And then what?”

Chris looked to the outside backdrop and then back to her.

“Whatever you want. It’s your life now.”

Hearing that made her realize just how little she planned for her life after leaving the A.L.F. What would she do? She vowed to do right. There was only one way to atone for the things she’s done.

“I’ve done wrong by so many people. I want to help. Anyway I can.”

Chris seemed to see what she was getting at.

“Are you sure? You’re not obligated to..”

“It doesn’t matter. I want to help.” She cut him off, applying just a small bit of pressure to his hand.

Chris returned the squeeze, he nodded as he stood. He stopped right before the door, turning back to her.

“I’ll take it up with the directors.” He said before he closed the door. For a moment she saw the P.A.L facility behind him.

As Jaene watched him go, she felt a bittersweet feeling. She wanted to talk to him more. But for now she’d have to prove her innocence.

She looked around her one more time.

Was it still a prison?

Yes.

But it wasn’t the lab. In a way, this was one step closer to doing good.

That was a start.