It was beautiful weather in Alpha Prototype. The city was quiet, peaceful even. However, having been overrun by the undead, danger could be lurking right around the corner.
“COME ON! DIE! JUST DIE!” [Survivor]
Under the blue sky, gunshots resounded.
“WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?!!” [Survivor]
The blonde-haired woman shouted as she wielded her handgun and baseball bat that had nails sticking out of it to beat back the infected coming at her.
“I NEED COVER FIRE!” [Survivor]
“A LITTLE BUSY HERE!!” [Survivor]
The young man that was about her age was desperately swinging his sledgehammer while the brown-haired girl was continuously shooting at the crowd surrounding her with her shotgun.
“DON’T LOSE YOUR COOL!!” [Survivor]
“KEEP MOVING! IF WE STAY, WE’RE DEAD!!” [Survivor]
The two other members of the team, the black-haired woman and the bearded man, were separated from the trio. However, they had managed to stay together and covered each other’s back, but their situation wasn’t ideal. The survivors had been separated and each was fighting for their life against zombies many times their numbers. Things had been going well. However, their group suddenly ran into a horde of the undead on the street and failed to shake them off.
Also, for some reason, they continued to encounter more infected blocking their path, forcing them to fight in close-range combat. Their plight was beyond the result of a string of bad luck or coincidences. Considering they were in the territory of a group of hostile survivors, it wasn’t hard to imagine that they were involved somehow.
“You can see them up there…!” [Survivor]
“GODDAMN PSYCHOS!!” [Survivor]
As proof of that, several figures could be seen standing on the roof of a nearby building, watching the group of five struggle against the infected. Although they were all competent, the mental and physical burden of being pursued by hundreds of flesh-eating monsters was overwhelming. Moreover, among the countless Walkers, a mutated type was present.
“REAPER! REAPER!!” [Survivor]
A greyish, bald, faceless zombie that only had a huge mouth full of fangs was slowly drawing near. It possessed two huge arms growing from its shoulders while the originals were shriveled up and dangling powerlessly. These limbs that were long enough to easily reach the ground resembled a tree’s dead branches. They were skinny and had long, crooked fingers with each one ending in a sharp claw.
“DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!” [Survivor]
The mutation used its demonic-looking arms to walk and shove away the other infected in its path. Its approaching presence and the horde that threatened to swallow the survivors whole sent the blonde-haired woman into a panic.
“NO, WAIT! COME BACK!” [Survivor]
“DON’T RUN OFF ON YOUR OWN, YOU IDIOT!!” [Survivor]
It muddled her judgement and caused her to recklessly try to break through the encirclement. A zombie at her back attacked, and she couldn’t react in time.
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The university building that Ryner was staying at had all of its windows barricaded firmly. However, the interior didn’t feel dark or gloomy because all of the lights were on. When one broke, it was immediately replaced.
“Is Ginette still shutting herself in after losing her son?” [Survivor]
“Oh god, we’re all going to die here…!” [Survivor]
“Careful with that, Jun-Seo! Every little bit of supply is a lifeline to us!” [Survivor]
“But… These are crayons.” [Survivor]
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“Exactly! They’ll help keep the kids distracted so that we can do our job!” [Survivor]
As he listened to the chatter of the survivors he encountered, he walked through the corridors and went down the elevator to the lowest floor. It housed laboratories and workshops that had loud and heavy equipment. He made use of one such room to craft himself some tools that he felt would be needed in the future before going to meet someone.
“Harper, are you there?” [Ryner]
Ryner asked as he entered a well-lit laboratory that had white walls and a tiled floor. Black desks equipped with sinks were neatly arranged in rows and columns while shelves and cabinets lined up the walls. Each were stocked with various glass containers, unknown solids, suspicious liquids and tools like scalpels, small scales and microscopes. The place looked clean, sterilized, except for one particular corner that smelled weird, where a woman was standing before a desk.
“What do you want, newbie? And I told you yesterday to call me ‘Doctor’ or ‘Doc’ instead of using my name. I got those doctorates for a reason.” [Harper]
The woman said without bothering to turn around, continuing to look into a microscope. She possessed dark skin and thick, black hair that reached her chin. To keep it from getting in her face, she swept it back and put on a white headband, fully showing her forehead. She had sharp, dark brown eyes that were focused on the task at hand. Nearing her fifties, a few wrinkles carved her well-arranged face.
On her womanly figure, she wore a red shirt and pants underneath the white lab coat. Pinned to the left chest was a white keycard that had the name “Harper Cole” written in black. Her hands were covered by purple gloves, the same ones used by doctors or paramedics. The desk that she was working at was covered by a blue tarp. Next to her was a tray that contained flesh and organs, like a heart and a brain, which were the source of the foul smell.
“I think ‘Professor’ would suit you more since we’re at a university and all.” [Ryner]
“No. It reminds me that I had to teach for money instead of devoting all my time on my research. Annoying.” [Harper]
“Your students would cry.” [Ryner]
“Screw the students!” [Harper]
“Harsh!” [Ryner]
Ryner walked over to Harper who continued to work.
“Where’s that cute other newbie that was with you yesterday?” [Harper]
“Jessica wanted to train at the gym, get stronger she said. Terry agreed to keep her company and have some people he trusts support her. So, I’m here by myself after he gave the okay.” [Ryner]
“Oh? Then I guess you’re not on probation anymore. Terry’s a good judge of character. If he let you go without supervision, that means you can be trusted.” [Harper]
“Isn’t that too quick? It’s only been a day.” [Ryner]
“That’s how long it usually takes for him to decide whether a newbie will be harmful to ATU or not. Other survivors before you were turned away at the door and it sounds like he was right to do so.” [Harper]
“Really?” [Ryner]
“Well, one guy tried to kill the welcoming committee when he saw he wasn’t welcomed. Not the type I want running around my lab.” [Harper]
Harper picked up a slide, a rectangular plate of glass that had a few drops of blood placed on its center, and examined it.
“You sure you should be playing with zombie blood without a mask? Or a hazmat suit?” [Ryner]
“In the two months since the outbreak started, we’ve confirmed that people don’t turn if exposed to infected materials. Though you can still get sick and die if you consume it since, it’s, well, rotten dead people flesh.” [Harper]
She said as she replaced it with the one she was observing through the microscope.
“What I want to know is why our carcasses are walking around and trying to eat us.” [Harper]
“Beeecause they’re zombies?” [Ryner]
“Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to understand, newbie. How can zombies exist? Why do people turn into undead when bitten? Logically, a virus can’t do that. It can infect a host and kill, but not reanimate it since it can’t survive in a dead host. I had some of our guys poison zombies they ran into with chemicals I have on hand as an experiment. It didn’t do anything. No component worked on them because they’re already super dead.” [Harper]
Harper picked up a scalpel and poked the rotten heart on the tray.
“At the start, there were rumors that it all started because of a government’s secret illegal experiment to engineer a deadly virus that got loose from their labs. But, this thing can’t be caused by a virus. If I could study a whole body instead of parts, an active one even, it could lead to a breakthrough.” [Harper]
“Nobody allowed you to bring a still kicking zombie into your lab out of fear it might cause an outbreak in the university? Smart.” [Ryner]
“Shut up. I know what I’m doing. Studying an intact Walker, especially a mutated type, would give us valuable data.” [Harper]
The woman in a lab coat took off her gloves and dropped them in the trash bin by her feet. Then, she washed her hands, went to the desk next to her where a laptop was placed and brought up a picture on the screen.
“I mean, look at them.” [Harper]
She said as she typed on the keyboard, cycling through different pictures of infected.
A zombie with a giant zit on its back.
An eyeless zombie with two huge, skinny arms growing out of its shoulders.
A headless zombie covered in scabs.
“Whatever’s causing this isn’t just creating undead. It’s actually mutating the tissue on a cellular level. We could be seeing controlled, accelerated evolution. Fascinating.” [Harper]
“… But it’s gross, right?” [Ryner]
“Yeah, it’s gross. Pusbombers, Reapers, Scabs, they’re all gross.” [Harper]
“Are we really calling some zombies ‘Pusbomber’ and ‘Reaper’?” [Ryner]
“We do, at least. Some other groups might apply a different terminology. I know that the whack jobs refer to them as ‘Descenders’.” [Harper]
Harper turned around and faced Ryner, crossing her arms.
“With that said, let’s get down to business. It doesn’t feel like you came to my lab just to say hi. What do you want, newbie?” [Harper]
Ryner thought for a bit, but decided to just say it straight out.
“Information.” [Ryner]
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Item of interest
Scalpel:
* Small, sharp medical tool.
* Used for surgery.
* Not a weapon.