After all we've gone through up until this point, restoring the signal and getting in contact with Dale's friend brought a sense of relief. Even with how everything looked bleak at one point we fought through and were able to get into contact. Now it's time to see where this takes us.
"There are four others with me! They helped me escape the hotel and took me with them to the nearby fire department." - Dale said. "Is everyone okay? Are the others hurt?" - Dr Van asked. "Actually there's something I wanted to tell you that you aren't going to believe." - Dale said excitedly. "What is it? What's going on?" - Dr van asked. "These guys are immune! They were bitten hours ago and have not shown any symptoms of infection! The last one to be bitten was bitten last night!" - Dale said. "What do you mean they aren't showing any symptoms?!" - Dr van asked.
Jean took the mic and began to talk to Dr Van. "Hey doctor, this is Jean woods. I'm a medic here for the Banoi resort. With the exception of your friend Dale all of us were bitten. I was the most recent one being bitten last night. I've been closely monitoring everyone and none of us have shown any sign of symptoms or infection." - Jean said as he was explaining the situation. "Wow this is amazing! You guys are extremely lucky to be alive. I've been closely studying this virus that has plagued the entire island over the past 24 hours and the mortality rate for this virus is over 90 percent! Most have either died or turned into an infected. You don't understand this! You guys are literally the jackpot of the lottery! This warrants further observation!" - Dr Van said excitedly.
"What do you mean by further observation?!" - Jean asked. "I need you guys to come down to my clinic ASAP! I need to take a look at each of you and take a blood sample of each of you guys!" - Dr Van said. "Look, no offense doctor but we aren't exactly looking to sign up to be your lab rats. We are trying to find a way off this God forsaken island." - I said as I took the mic from Jean. "Listen I understand your concern! I really do but you have no idea how huge this is! The government of Banoi isn't coming to save you." - Dr Van said. "What do you mean by that?" - I asked. "The government of Banoi bailed on us! They left the island the moment the outbreak began! They are long gone and have left us for dead. Nobody is coming to save us!" - Dr Van said.
All of us looked at each other as we all felt some type of way after finding out that the government of Banoi abandoned us and any potential survivors. "Alright so where are you going with this?" - I asked. "If you guys can come down to my clinic which is right outside of downtown Banoi I will help you guys get off the island!" - Dr Van said. "How do you plan on doing that doctor?!" - I asked. "I own a boat that is parked on the Banoi docks. It's a speed boat but it can fit up to four people and from my understanding with the exclusion of Dale there are four of you guys. If you allow me to take a sample of your blood and the blood of the others as well I will give you the keys to my boat and you guys can take it to escape the island."
All of us looked at each other with a shocked expression as we saw that this could be our shot at escaping the island. "How can we believe you though? What if you're lying? For all we know you could just take our blood and abandon our asses like the government did." - I said. "Why would I do that? I'm a doctor. I'm trying to save lives and you guys could be the key to that! For years the rate of finding vaccines has declined. Doctors have been scrambling on trying to find the solution and end the drought! Hell one can argue that the reason this outbreak even began was due to lack of vaccines. You guys are literally the best chance we have had in years. Why would I risk throwing that chance away?" - Dr Van said as he tried to reassure us. "Alright doctor, just hold on for a few moments while I talk to the rest to see what they think." - I said as I placed the mic on mute.
All of us turned to each other as we were thinking about the doctor's proposal and whether we should go through with it. "Look guys, I know it may seem skeptical at first but I've been friends with Dr Van for a long time now. When he makes a promise he always comes through with it. I think we should do it. Plus this could be your way off the island." - Dale said as looked at us. "Yeah but the circumstances are different now and the last time we trusted someone he took our radio and nearly killed us." - Ana said. "Dr Van isn't like that. He's a doctor and he has been working diligently for so long trying to find an end to the drought of the vaccines. He seemed very genuine on the mic. I think this is our best chance. Plus we all could use a safe haven right now. He could even help your friend's leg" - Dale said as he pointed towards Halima's leg.
We all looked at each other once more before coming to a solution. "I think we should do it. This might be our last chance at getting off the island. Plus if my blood is the key to potentially preventing something like this from happening again I'm all for it." - I said as I put my vote in. "Well I think you already know my answer too then. I'm a medic and any time I get a chance to save a life I will gladly take it." - Jean said as he put his vote in. "Well my leg is beginning to hurt with all this running and if I don't get it healed soon I'm gonna lose my shit. I'm all for it." - Halima said as she put her vote in. The final vote came down to Ana as she seemed very skeptical of the proposal after what happened last time. "It all comes down to you Ana. Just give us the word and we will give him an answer." - I said as I looked at Ana anxiously waiting for an answer. "Alright let's do it. I may be skeptical but I don't wanna be the reason we couldn't leave the island. Tell him we will do it." - Ana said. "Alright then." - I replied.
"Alright doctor. We have all come to a decision on your proposal." - I said as I took the mic off of mute. "What's the decision?" - Dr Van asked. "We will accept your proposal but with an additional condition." - I said. "Name it. Anything you need." - Dr van said. "One of our friends here has an injured leg. She hurt it while running from a horde of infected yesterday. She has a wound that's beginning to hurt. When we get there we need you to help her with that." - I said. "Okay I can do that. I have other doctors here as well. I can have one of my doctors take care of her for you." - Dr Van said. "Alright we accept your proposal." - I said.
"Okay that's great! Do you have a piece of paper anywhere to write something down? I'm about to send you the address to my clinic." - Dr Van said. "Is there a piece of paper and a pen somewhere around here?!" - I asked as Jean tried looking around. A few moments later Jean was able to find one and hand it to me. "Alright doctor, we have a paper with a pen. Tell us where you are located." - I said. "Alright, I'm located at the Rays Clinic outside of downtown Banoi. It is located on 37 Park Avenue. There is a sting ray logo on the clinic that you should see." - Dr Van said as I was writing the address down. "Alright doctor. I have it written down." - I said. "When you get here I will have my security guards come out and escort you guys inside. Stay safe out there and I will see you guys soon." - Dr Van said as he got off the channel.
All of us turned to each other as we were about to prepare to drive to the Rays clinic. "Alright guys. You heard the man. This is our one chance at getting off the island and also doing some good to society." - I said as I looked at the rest of the group. "The trip we are about to take may be dangerous as we have to pass through downtown Banoi to get to where he is located. Everyone needs to stay sharp. We can't risk something happening because we are about to go into the heart of this outbreak." - Jean said. "Well then lets make sure we don't give the infected a chance to catch us." - Ana said as she was gearing up.
As the group was gearing up all I could think about was finally getting off the island. It's pretty ironic now that I think about it because before the outbreak all I could think about was leaving home to come here. I was anxiously waiting for the day for this trip and now I am anxiously waiting for the time that we escape the island. "Alright is everyone ready?" - I asked as I finished gearing up. The rest of the group nodded and replied as they finished gearing up. "Alright then. Let's move out." - I said as I opened the door and began walking downstairs. As we got downstairs we removed the barricade we placed and I took a quick scan of the area before walking to the car.
"Alright guys, I think we are in the clear for now. Let's get out of here before any infected spot us." - I said as I began walking to the car. "Who's gonna drive?" - Dale asked. I turned to the rest of the group but Jean ends up tossing me the keys to the car anyways. "You drive. You've been doing a lot of running lately. Gotta rest those legs." - Jean said as he opened the door to the passenger side. After all of us got into the car we drove off as a group of infected nearby heard the car and began running after it.
As I was driving I took a look at the scenery of the island as it looked desolated and abandoned. There were cars abandoned on the side of the road and some of the cars looked as if they were burned to rubble. "How can a beautiful place like this turn to shit in just 24 hours?" - Ana asked as she was in disbelief. "You got me on that one. If it looks this bad outside of the city I could only imagine what its gonna look like once we pass through downtown." - I said as I continued to drive.
As we arrived at the highway we faced another issue that would wind up delaying our trip. "Well shit. I was hoping we didn't have to take the longer way." - Jean said as we hit a roadblock on the entrance ramp of the highway. "The highway is completely fucked. There are too many abandoned cars on it. We won't be able to drive through all of that." - Dale said. "Yeah I know. It looks like we will have to drive through the city and take the long way." - I said as I turned and continued driving straight with the view of downtown in the distance.
As we got closer to the scene we were welcomed with a look as if the world was ending. There were buildings on fire, cars on fire, infected lingering in nearby areas and stores with broken windows as if they were looted. "Holy shit...it looks like a war zone out here." - I said as I was in utter shock and disbelief. "Yeah I thought it was bad back at the resort but this tops that. It makes the resort look like heaven." - Jean said as he chuckled with a sarcastic tone. Halima and Ana looked at the view as we were driving through downtown and by the looks on their faces they looked saddened and horrified at how bad things have become on the island.
"Alright guys, we are driving through the worst area we have been in so stay diligent and keep your eyes open." - I said as we were passing through downtown. For what seemed to be a big area was full of despair and silence as the only thing we could hear was the sound of buildings burning. A few minutes later the car began to slow down as it looked to be cutting out. "What the hell? We are slowing down. The gas pedal isn't working." - I said as the car slowed down further before coming to a complete stop.
"What the hell happened? Why did we stop?" - Dale asked as he stood up in his seat. "I don't know. The car just stopped and now it won't turn on!" - I said as I attempted to turn the car on again but had no luck. "Shit! I think the battery is dead!" - I said as I sat back and sighed in disappointment. "The battery is dead?! What the hell are we supposed to do? We are literally stuck in the middle of downtown Banoi with an apocalypse going on!" - Dale said as he began to panic. I got out of the car and popped the hood to take a look at what might be the problem. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary but as I stepped back and looked at the car further I was able to spot the issue.
"Guys I think we found the issue!" - I said as I was disappointed in the outcome. "What did you find?" - Jean asked as he stepped out of the car. I pointed towards the bottom of the car as there was oil leaking from the car. "How the hell is that possible? The car was just fine when we drove to the fire department. How is it leaking now?" - Jean asked. The rest of the group stepped out of the car as they looked at the issue. "I don't know but someone must have sabotaged the car while we were inside." - I said as I sighed and wiped the sweat off my head. "Who could have done that without us noticing? I mean we could have heard them if they did it right?" - Dale asked. "I don't know man but whoever did it must have been watching us. We gotta get moving. If we stay out here longer we risk being spotted and then we are screwed." - I said as I was taking our gear out of the car.
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As the rest of the group took their gear out of the car I began looking around to see if there were any potential spots we could sneak through to avoid the main streets. A few moments later I heard a growl coming from a distance. "Guys did you hear that? - Dale asked as he began to worry. I kept looking around to see where the growl was coming from until I saw a large horde of infected running out of a nearby alley. "Shit there's more infected coming from that way!" - Halima said as she took shield behind Jean. "Angel! There's more coming from behind us too!" - Ana said as she pointed towards another horde of infected.
By the time we knew it we were quickly becoming surrounded by different hordes of infected from the distance. "What are we gonna do?!" - Dale shouted as we were about to be cornered. "Guys! Whatever happens don't stop fighting!" - I shouted as I inserted the last clip of bullets I had into my gun. As the hordes of infected quickly approached us gun shots began firing from the distance as infected began to fall. More gun shots began to follow as more infected began dropping to the ground. As I looked to my right I saw a man with an assault rifle in his hand as he was mowing down the infected.
I started firing at the infected as I attempted to assist the man in taking them down while Jean fired shots at the infected from the other side. With the help of the man we were able to take down the hordes of infected and survive another close call. As I looked at the man I tried walking up to him to thank him for helping us but he quickly turned his gun towards our direction. "Woah woah woah. You don't have to do that." - I said as I put my hands up and shielded the rest of the group. "Who are you guys and where are you coming from?!" - the guy said as he kept aiming his assault rifle in our direction.
"We are just survivors trying to pass by. We don't mean any harm to you sir." - I said as I tried to plead with the guy. "What the hell are you guys doing out here in the middle of an apocalypse?' - the guy said. "Our car broke down as we were trying to get to one of our friends on the other side of town. I got out to check on the car and turns out there was an oil leak that caused it to turn off. We are just trying to get to our friend safely." - I said as I kept my hands up.
The guy looked at all of us and noticed that Halima's leg was hurting badly. After noticing Halima's leg he stopped aiming his gun at us. "Well shit...alright. I'm sorry for aiming my gun at you guys. It's just with everything that's going on it's a bit hard to trust anyone. "Yeah I can understand you on that part." - Ana said as she agreed.
As the guy was looking at us he noticed the medic badge on the side of Jean's shirt. "Are you by any chance a medic?" - the guy said as he was referring to Jean. "Yeah I am." - Jean said. "Oh thank God. I really need your help." - the guy said as he seemed desperate. "What do you need help with?" - Jean said as he became attentive. "My friend inside needs help. He has a gunshot wound and has lost a lot of blood. Hes starting to become very weak and it's becoming difficult for him to stay awake. Please help him." - the guy said as he began to plead. I looked at Jean as the decision was down to him. "Take me to where he's at." - Jean said as he agreed to help.
The guy sighed in relief and then began to run back inside as the rest of the group followed. As we entered the room I could see a crap ton of supplies and ammo stacked up next to the walls. it seemed as if this guy built a fortress to survive in what is now a post apocalyptic Banoi. "Hey man! I have some people here to help you!" - the guy said as he tapped his friend on the shoulder to keep him awake. Jean rushed to the guy and began taking out some of his gear as he was looking at the gunshot wound. "The wound doesn't seem to be infected yet which is good news. I need some alcohol and bandages along with a pair of tweezers. I need to get this bullet out before it does further damage." - Jean said as he was putting on a pair of gloves.
The guy quickly rushed to the kitchen as he grabbed the supplies needed for his friend. "Alright hang tight man. This is gonna hurt." - Jean said as grabbed the tweezers and began the extraction of the bullet. As Jean began to gently pull out the bullet the guy's friend groaned a bit in pain and held the sides of the chair he was laying on tightly. "Alright. I got the bullet out. Hang tight for me. This is gonna burn a little bit." - Jean said as he poured some alcohol on the wound. The guy groaned even more as the burn from the alcohol hurt him.
"I have to stitch up the wound or it's gonna get infected. I don't have anything to numb the pain though." - Jean said as he looked up towards the guy's friend. "It's okay. Do what you need to do." - he said as he was groaning in pain. "Alright hold tight man." - Jean said as he began to stitch the wound. The guy's friend groaned even more as Jean stitched the wound one by one. A few moments later the groaning stopped as Jean finished stitching up the wound. After stitching the wound Jean began to patch up the wound with bandages. "Alright he's all done. He should be okay." - Jean said as he started putting his gear away. "Thank you so much man. I don't know if my friend would have made it much longer if you hadn't helped." - the guy said as he was relieved and happy that his friend was okay.
"Yeah well I'm a medic. It's what I do best." - Jean said. "I know you guys have a place to get to but there's one more thing I need help with." - the guy asked. "What is it?" - Ana asked. "A few hours ago I sent two of my friends to the corner store up the street to see if they could find anything to help our friend but they never came back. It's been two hours since I've last heard from them and I'm starting to worry. I would have gone looking for them myself but I couldn't leave my friend by himself like this. I know this may be too much to ask but do you think you could try and find them for me? If you do I could help you guys out with your car situation." - the guy said as he asked for the favor.
Jean and I looked at each other as we felt the guy was being genuine and could actually help us. "Alright. Since you saved our lives we will go look for your friends." - Jean said. "Thank you guys honestly. I appreciate it." - the guy said as he was relieved. All of us grouped up as we were gonna decide who was gonna go out to look for his other friends. "Alright this is what we will do. Angel and I will go out to look for his friends. I think it's best that Jean stays here and monitors his friend. Plus I think Halima could use some rest due to the condition of her leg right now. - Ana said. "Alright. I will stay here with them as well while you guys search for them." - Dale said.
As Ana and I were preparing to go back out to search for the guy's friends he stopped us for a moment. "Wait you guys. Since you're going out there you're gonna need these." - he said as he tossed us two fully loaded assault rifles. "And once again. Thank you guys for this. I really appreciate it." - the guy said. Both of us nodded and then left as the rest stood behind. "Looks like we are back out here again...the two of us." - Ana said. "Yeah just like in the beginning." - I said as I chuckled.
"How are you feeling by the way...about the whole doctor thing?" - I asked. "Ehhh...I still kind of feel skeptical about the whole thing but I didn't wanna hold the group back so I agreed to it. Plus even with how I'm feeling this is still the best chance we've had in a long time. I wouldn't want to throw that away even if there's a risk it could go sideways." - Ana said as we were walking. "Yeah you're right. Don't worry though. Once we get there we will help him with what he needs and then we will be on our way." - I said as I assured Ana. She looked back at me and smiled a bit as we kept walking.
"Alright we are here. Remember we are looking for two normal guys so let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary." - I said as I was preparing to enter the store. Ana nodded and followed closely behind. As we entered the store we were welcomed with the sound of silence and darkness as the lights were out. "It's really dark in here. I can barely see shit." - Ana said. "Yeah it is. We gotta rely on sounds so listen closely." - I said as I looked around. "Hello?! Are you guys here? Your friend sent us!" - I said as I was looking around. As I reached the back of the store I felt something grab my foot. "Please help me..." - the guy on the floor said as he grabbed my foot. I quickly put the gun on my side and pulled the guy to the side as I checked on his condition.
"Are you with the group across the street?" - I asked. "Yes...my friend sent me here to get some supplies for my other friend as his condition was getting worse but we got ambushed by another group of people." - the guy said as he was breathing hard and seemed visibly scared. "Are you okay though?! Are you bitten or anything?" - I asked as I was checking his condition. "No I feel okay. My leg hurts but other than that I feel okay." - the guy replied. "Ana! I found one in the back. He's back here!" - I said as I shouted to Ana from across the store. Ana quickly ran to where we were as she heard us. "I found one of them." - I said as Ana stood right behind me.
"Do you know where the other one is?" - Ana asked. "Don't bother looking. Hes gone." - the guy said as he was trying to catch his breath. "What do you mean he's gone?" - I asked. "When we were ambushed the son of a bitch bailed on me. He ran out of the store and took off. As the opposing group was shooting up the place he kept running. He did all that for nothing because they ended up killing his ass anyway!" - the guy said. "Well shit, alright then. Are you able to stand up and put pressure on your leg?" - I asked. "Yeah I can try." - the guy said as he attempted to stand up. "It hurts a bit but I can walk it off I think." - the guy said. "Alright we need to get you back to your friend before we are spotted." - Ana said.
As we exited the store I heard sudden growl noises coming from the left side of the street. A few moments later a few infected came running out of a nearby alley. "Shit there's infected nearby! We gotta go! Can you run?" - I asked with urgency. "I don't think I can." - the guy said as he was grabbing his leg. "Alright Ana. Hold my gun and start shooting if they get close." - I said as I lifted up the guy to carry him on my back. As I put him on my back Ana and I began running across the street towards the room as the infected ran closely behind us. A few moments later Jean opened the door for us as he saw us being chased by infected. "Hurry!!" - Jean said as he began shooting at the infected. As we entered the room Jean quickly closed the door as the infected began knocking on the door from the outside.
I placed the guy's friend on another chair and then sat down as I was trying to catch my breath. "Is everyone okay?" - I asked. Everyone nodded but didn't speak as we were all trying to catch our breath. "Wait, wheres my other friend?" - the guy asked. "I'm sorry man. He bailed on us. When we were ambushed he took off but he didn't make it far. The group that ambushed us killed him." - the other friend said. The guy sat down as he seemed visibly disappointed. "Well if he bailed on you then he deserved to die then." - the guy said.
A few moments later after we were able to gain our breaths the guy walked up to us with a pair of keys in his hand. "I wanna thank you guys for helping us out and bringing my friend back. I know you have your own problems going on and that you didn't have to do that." - the guy said. "Yeah no problem man. It's the least we could do for you saving our asses back there." - Jean said. "Yeah I know. Well I know you guys lost out on a car and have somewhere to be and I did say I was gonna help out with that issue so I'm gonna give you guys a car." - the guy said as he handed me the keys.
"I have an old car out back that you guys can take. It's a bit old and beat up but the car drives and can get you to where you need to be. You guys helped us out big time so you guys can take the car." - the guy said. "What about you guys?" - Jean asked. "Well judging by the looks of things I don't think me or my friends are gonna be leaving here anytime soon so the car is pretty much useless to us." - he said as he chuckled. "Well we really appreciate this man. I wish you guys the best of luck." - I said as I offered to shake his hand. "Yeah, well no problem man. Stay safe out there and if you guys need a place to be you're always welcomed here." - he said as he shook my hand. "We will keep that in mind." - Jean said as all of us got up and grabbed our things.
The guy showed us our way to the back where the car was at and to be honest it wasn't in as bad of a condition as we thought. The car was dirty and a bit old but nonetheless it was gonna get us to where we needed to be. "Here is the car. I will open the gate for you and then you guys can drive off. If you guys ever need help you know where to find me." - the guy said. "Alright man. We really appreciate this." - I said as we placed our stuff in the car and got in. As the guy opened the gate we turned on the car and began to drive out of the lot. As we drove off the guy closed the gate and went back inside.
After finding ourselves in a bad spot and a predicament we found ourselves needing help and got it in an unlikely situation. After all we've been through we found our way through it and now the path seemed clear as we were on our way to the Rays Clinic where we hope it will be the key to getting off the island. We didn't find ourselves being stranded anymore.