The lights in the laboratory flickered with an uneasy gleam, which further accentuated the tense atmosphere among the multiple, white-coated individuals, who appeared to be some scientists. It was as if every one of them had done something unforgivable.
The cause of this severe situation was the red, flickering light on the main computer in the room. Everyone wanted to say something but words wouldn’t come out of their mouths.
“So, how are we going to explain this terrible blunder to the higher-ups?” The silence was broken by Doctor Richard Krooks, a Senior Researcher at the laboratory, who appeared to be a foreigner, which was evident by his dirty-blonde hair and his light skin clenched his teeth and spoke with a firm resolve while addressing his fellow scientists.
He looked around for a susceptible answer from the others but only received the eerie noise of the chattering of teeth from them. Looking at the nervous expressions of his companions, he sighed and initiated the conversation, once again.
“Forget about it. We can’t change what’s already happened” He spoke out.
“B-But Doctor, the classified formulas have been stolen. The Government would rather have our heads than let this information leak out” Ahmed Khan, a 22-year-old intern managed to stutter out amongst huffed breaths which were a clear representation of his anxiety.
“Tch, Those bastards don’t know anything except sitting on their entitled behinds and barking out orders like the sons of bitches they are. If they wanna get something done, they should come down here in this hell hole and do it themselves” David Richard, another relatively younger version of Doctor Richard, shot out with a hint of anger in his voice. By looking at the similarities between the two, one could tell that they were father and son.
“Calm down, David. There is no use in getting needlessly angry at this point. You’ll only worsen the situation as it is.” Ahmed put his hand on David’s shoulder, hoping to calm down his agitated companion. He succeeded.
Looking at the other's reactions, David let out a sigh, similar to his father, and calmed down his anger at the Government officials. He hadn’t forgiven them, nor would she ever do so, but he was not a fool, he understood the fact that now was not the time for his anger to seep out.
“Ahmed”
“Yes, Doctor”
Doctor Richard called out and Ahmed responded, straightening up in conclusion as a consequence of shifting to a more professional demeanor.
“How are the damages looking?”, Doctor Richard inquired, now in a more commanding tone, as should be expected from him because he was the head of the team of that project.
“It is bad”
“How bad?”
“All of the containers in the restricted section have been emptied along with their formulas and documentation as well’, A Grim look appeared on everyone’s face as Ahmed let out those words.
“What about the Vault?”, Doctor Richard asked calmly.
“Ransacked, all the projects from area Alpha, Beta, and Omega have been stolen, the perpetrator seemed to even know about the category system and took at least one of each type from categories one through five, all natures included. And, he has released all the test subjects into the compound”, Ahmed finished his report, and a sense of dread washed over everyone present in the room.
It was as if their souls had just been plucked out.
“Damn it”, Doctor Richard let out a soft curse as he lamented his helplessness.
“It’s over”
“We’re going to die”
Panic started to spread among the other researchers present there.
Looking at their states, David felt a bit of disgust at them. He knew beforehand that these guys were weak-minded, and would fall under even the tiniest amount of stress. “Filthy Mongrels”, He muttered incoherently.
“Silence!”, Ahmed shouted and everyone stopped for a moment. He then continued “ The Doctor is not done yet
“Thank you, Ahmed”, The Elder doctor nodded gratefully.
“It’s my duty”, Ahmed nodded back and then looked at David who also gave him a nod of approval.
“Ahm”, Doctor Richard cleared his throat once again to gain everyone’s attention and then started speaking, “Emergency protocols state that I could tell you, guys, that everything is alright”
Everyone’s ears shot up in response to the Doctor’s words. Maybe they were looking for a slight chance, a glimmer of hope that everything would be alright and that they would survive this situation.
Looking at their reactions, the doctor felt a sense of sorrow for them. He didn’t want any of them to die a meaningless death. But even though he felt it hard to tell them the truth, he knew it had to be done.
So, he firmed his resolve and spoke out. “I could, But I won’t. Because that would be insincere of me towards you. Telling you guys the truth is the least I can do”
“Doctor, why did you phrase it as if we have no more options left?”. One of the other researchers asked the question which continued to roam in everyone’s head.
“Cause we don’t”, Everyone was looking towards Doctor Richard, expecting him to answer the question but the answer came from another person in the room.
It was David.
“W-what do you m-mean? I-isn’t there any other way to g-get out of the c-compound?’, A relatively new female intern asked with a shaky voice. It was not as if she was stuttering but this was the effect of fear of their lives which caused not just her, but most of the other people in the room to shake as well.
The only somewhat calm people were the Krooks and Admed. But that was only due to them, having a bit of experience with situations like these.
“I get that the main entrance would be closed off due to the subjects, but what about the three emergency entrances?”, Doctor Richard Krook, who had been quiet for a while, inquired as he referred to Admed as his son, as the both of them were responsible for Security and Logistics & Communication.
“Nope, Those were closed as soon as the dogs outside got a whiff of what had happened here, but not before the freaks got to them.” David began with a scowl on his face, which later turned into an amused sneer, his disdain for the Government evident by his words.
“And By “dogs” you aren’t referring to…….the military right?”, Another researcher, this time a middle-aged blonde woman asked with a disbelieving look.
“He is……….Unfortunately”, Ahmed spoke out with a sigh causing the others to flinch in their place. They had seen a lot of people in their lives, but not one of them had the audacity to stand in the middle of a government-funded facility and refer to the military as “Dogs”. And the fact that their conversations were probably being monitored by the government didn’t help either.
“Of course, he is.”, Doctor Richard sighed at his son’s antics. He had long since gotten used to it and so had Ahmed since they knew very well how deep David’s hate for the Government ran. After a moment of silence, he continued addressing them as he inquired, “And so what was the conclusion of the battle?”
Doctor Richard asked for the sake of others even though he had already expected what had become of the confrontation because of two things; One being that he knew full well the abilities of his creations and what they could possibly do. And his suspicion was further solidified by the smug expression on his sons face.
“Heh, They were annihilated of course. Each and every single one of them”, David began with a smirk with then widened to a grin as he finished his words causing the others to take a few steps away from him.
“Your words tell us that we are screwed, but your attitude shows that there is still a chance. Am I right?”, Ahmed asked as he looked towards his long-time friend.
David simply smirked his friend’s analogy and continued, “Now they are probably out there serving as a source of Nourishment for the starved subjects, and soon they’ll be used to increase their numbers by a great margin. But since the subjects have been starved for a long time, they’ll take their sweet old time with the soldiers before thinking of moving further. And their most probable direction would be; back into the compound”.
“How are you so sure that they will wander back here instead of wandering away?”, One of the newer researchers asked.
“Instinct”, The answer came from not David but rather from Doctor Richard who seemed to be contemplating David’s words.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s in their nature, a sort of instinct for them to move towards the nearest noise source, and unfortunately for us, the only major noise source in the surrounding few miles is our base. The only reason they went towards the military camp first is because those guys were idiotically using high-amplitude sounding equipment which attracted them first. So yeah, they’ll come back here sooner rather than later”, Ahmed continued the explanation after Doctor Richard’s words.
David nodded in approval at Ahmed’s words and looked towards his father who was intending to ask him something.
“So what do you suppose we do?’, The Doctor asked.
“Simple,” he said with a calm smile as he pointed towards the map of the building displayed on the large screen in the middle of the room. “We will try to first make our way towards the armory two blocks away. There, we will arm ourselves with appropriate weapons, and then make our way towards one of the rooms on the outer end of the compound. And before any of you idiots say that you don’t know how to use weapons, Allow me to enlighten your feeble minds with the fact that not all weapons require skills to use”, he blatantly stated in harsh words at some of the ones who were looking to ask him that very specific question.
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Hearing his cold words, the others quickly became flustered due to embarrassment and shrank back into their positions.
“So, How much time do we actually have?”, Doctor Richard Inquired once again.
“By my estimation, if we don’t complete all our steps in twenty minutes, then we will be serving as light snacks for those pricks. And I don’t know about any of your fetishes, but I’d rather not become a chew toy for those bastards”, He practically spat out at them.
“Trust me we’d also prefer to return in “Walking” condition”, Ahmed chimed in, intending to make a pun, which was swiftly ignored by almost everyone.
Before anyone could say anything in response to David’s words, a beeping sound snatched their attention from each other, towards the main screen. And the content on the screen made them freeze in their places.
“It’s a call from the military headquarters, General Zakir Shah to be exact. Should I pick it up?”, Ahmed asked, looking at Doctor Richard and after affirming his approval, he swiped his hand across a miniature digital screen, resembling a holographic keyboard, and the call connected with a beep.
“Good Afternoon ladies and Gentlemen. I hope you are having a good day”, The General appeared to be a well-toned man in his fifties with a long beard and short trim hair, which showed signs of aging. The General had a husky voice that was further complimented by his somewhat arrogant demeanor, Which was evident by the way he did not wait for the others to respond and then continued, “As you guys already know, The infected are on the loose. Under normal circumstances, we would have you evacuated, but the current situation is not desirable. The soldiers outside have been completely wiped out and as we speak, the number of the infected continues to rise”
Then General accurately Gauged the current situation which once again reminded everyone of the fact that everything had been under the military’s surveillance from the very start. Even though they knew this fact beforehand, it was still discomforting to find out that the military knew of this fact. But the general’s words confirmed at least one thing for them; It was the fact that the Government didn’t intend to save them.
They wanted to ask some questions, but most of them knew their place. Amongst them, only Doctor Richard was of High-enough status to ask something of the General and he did.
“So what has the military decided for us?”, Doctor Richard asked in a calm tone.
“As you know doctor, the content of the experiment is something that should never be disclosed. So I am hereby ordering you on behalf of the military to kill the project” " the General stated without even blinking.
“Are you asking us to give our lives for the purpose of stopping the project?”, The Doctor asked, his tone not wavering, he had expected something like this to happen beforehand, so it was not that much of a surprise for him. He had immediately called for a meeting as soon as the alarm rose so that he could craft a plan before the military’s response and possibly leave this place before it happened.
“Is there any problem with that?”, The General in a tone, which showed that he didn’t the fact why there would be a problem with carrying out those orders. “It is a necessary sacrifice, which while cannot be publically shown, would always be remembered by the ones who know and would serve as an honorable act towards the entirety of the world”
The general’s words put a solemn expression on Doctor Richard’s face, whereas the others who were expecting the call to be as a sort of saving grace for them were shell-shocked.
“But General, the subjects are too far spread out at this point. It won’t matter even if we were to destroy the entire compound. They would still get out.”, Doctor Richard tried to bargain with the General in hopes that he’ll change the plan after finding out that the subjects cannot all be killed with the self-destruct and to find another way where they’ll all be able to survive.
“No Doctor, you don’t have to worry about that. The blast will take out the majority of them and the rest of them would be dealt with by our aircrafts which are stationed, a bit further away from your laboratory in the valley. All you people have to do is to go down to the third level basement and kill the reactor present there. But I have to warn you in advance, that area is probably crawling with the infected so there is a high chance that you guys will die. But, if any of you guys do make it out of the compound alive within ten minutes, I promise you that in such a case, I will do everything in my power to help them escape. So, anything else before the mission starts?”, General Zakir stated as he intended to finish his briefing but just before he could do that a voice shot out taking his attention.
“Yeah, Fuck that”
“Excuse me?”, The General asked, as he looked towards a certain direction with widened eyes, as did everyone else in that room. Their source of attention was a singular man. David stepped out from behind the doctor and said.
“I feel like I have to say something Sir, Respectfully”, David said as he straightened up in front of the general, even though he had his hands clenched behind his back. It was to hold back so as to not say the actual words that he wanted.
“And who are you?’, The General asked with raised eyebrows intending to get an answer from David but before he could say something, Doctor Richard chimed in, answering in his son’s stead.
“He’s my son, forgive him he doesn’t have manners”, Doctor Richard nervously stated, and looked towards David and whispered to him “What are you doing? Are you Intending to hasten our sentence?”
Doctor Richard then looked towards the general, expecting him to be furious but he saw no such emotion on his face and sighed in relief. His son would become the source of a heart attack for him one of these days, he was sure of it.
“It is fine, let him talk’, General Zakir waved his hand, indicating the fact that David’s words were inconsequential.
Hearing his words, Doctor Richard sighed once again and removed the hand, which he had placed on his son’s mouth before to stop him from uttering nonsense.
“By my calculations, the total amount of subjects eliminated in the self-destruct would be negligible if compared to the ones left outside, and the fact that the base would be destroyed and leave no place for any future conclusions would just be a setback for all of the research. So I would advise you to call off the part about destroying the base as it would only have severe consequences and nothing more”, David blatantly stated the truth of the entire situation, something that the others were too afraid of doing.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that”, The General said, shaking his head in denial.
“Why not?”, David Inquired, pushing the question a bit further.
“I just can’t”, The General answered, his mouth twitching slightly. It seemed like David had gotten under his skin and it didn’t go unnoticed by the perpetrator himself.
“Can’t or won’t?”, Taking advantage of this fact, David indirectly pressured him further under the anxious gazes of others. They were all amazed at the audacity of this man. Like, motherfucker was trying to question the authority of a military general… A FREAKING MILITARY GENERAL.
“Both actually, it’s classified information plus I don’t have to tell any of this to the likes of you. You should just shut your mouth and do what you are ordered to”, Finally getting irritated by David’s stubbornness, the general practically spat out insults at him but this only solidified David’s claims.
“So now you’ve finally shown you’re true colors huh?”, David while raising his voice in a manner which was audible to everyone present in the room. After making sure he had everyone’s attention, he looked General zakir right in the eyes, and gave a bone chilling grin which stretched from one side of his face to the other. The general practically shot back in his chair as he had neither expected him to do something like this, nor did he see anyone smirking this horrifyingly before.
There was something about this kid that bothered him. Bothered him enough to the point that unknown to him, his hands were trembling. But he had no knowledge of this fact, or rather, his body chose to intentionally or Unintentionally not inform him about this situation.
“W-what do you m-mean?”, The trembling voice of a researcher emerged amongst his puzzled yet fearful expression. And everyone's heads turned towards David in a cue, as if they had decided this beforehand.
“What else? These so-called “Heroes” are lying to us. He said, that he would do anything in “his” power, not the “military’s” to get us out of here. But he most definitely doesn’t hold that kind of power. If he did, then he would not have wasted his time on us”, David spoke up, addressing his colleagues in a manner which was similar to how the commanders of Old addressed their soldiers before going to war.
David spoke with a strong and demanding tone because he had already discovered the military’s scheme. The Military probably thought along the lines that the researchers would most likely, mind their own business and not keep an observation on their surroundings. And they were right in most regards as scientists rarely ever focus on anything except their research. The prospect of them being able to know anything about the compound was almost non-existent.
The only reason the military was caught, was due to the fact that David trusted no one. He had practically roamed through the entirety of the compound, even on the restricted section for the purpose of knowing his terrain.
To say that individuals there were shocked by his words would be a massive understatement. But the most shocked out of them all was the general who didn’t think in a million years that their plan would be discovered.
“Is that true?”, Doctor Richard asked, Addressing both David and the General at the same time, even though he probably knew the answer deep in his heart. And his doubt was further confirmed by the quiet attitude of the general.
“Not only that”, David continued, taking all of the people’s attention towards him once again, “There is no such thing as a power reactor in this base, all of the energy used here, comes from a power reactor two miles south from here. Plus, the military they are talking about consists mainly of missile launchers and such, they intend to stall us for 10 to 20 minutes by giving us this task, during which they will launch the missiles and destroy this base. Aren’t I right?”
The General didn’t know what to say to David’s words. A youngster in his early twenties had managed to grasp the military’s intentions. Was the military becoming that predictable nowadays? No, it was this boy who was the monster. He couldn’t get the thoughts out of his head, at the same time, the mental capabilities of the child in front of him, frightened him to no extent.
Similarly, all of the others also the affirmation they needed from the general’s silence.
“Heh, You’re not gonna answer, are you? Manipulation and deception; Typical Government propaganda”, David sneered at the Government’s hypocrisy and then spat at the ground at the prospect of putting on a rebellious demeanor.
“Don’t blame me, kid. It’s the combined order from the president and the prime minister. Plus, if we don’t do anything then most like the whole country- No, the entire world will fall” " the General stated, trying to convince David.
“And you guys are going to sacrifice our lives for that?”, David saw through the General’s pathetic excuse of a counter, The General was trying to Guilt-trip David. Unfortunately for the General, David was one of, if not the most selfish people around with no sympathy or care for others, except his father of course, who he loved dearly.
“It’s for the greater good, and you’ll be awarded with honor”
“Fuck honor, Fuck the greater good, Fuck the Prime Minister and the President, Fuck the Military and, most of all fuck the World. I reject this command of the Military, I will orders which would confirm the safety of my comrades.”, David’s words cut through the tense atmosphere and it had two effects; Hope and Anger. Hope for the researchers who thought they were going to die, and Anger from the General who had gotten insulted over and over again.
“Denying the Government’s orders counts as treason. And the punishment for that is Death.”, The General growled these words at David and then addressed all of the others in the room, “By the authority invested in me by the Government, I hereby proclaim you all as terrorists and initiate a purge of your general location”
Like a sword, the general’s words cut through the hearts of everyone present. At first, they were startled for a second, but David’s words provided them some relief.
“Well, the most I can say to you is that you can take your orders and shove them up yours and your superior’s asses”, David spoke with a calm smile as he looked towards General Zakir Shah, seemingly Unfazed by the threats, “Oh, and one more thing before you leave, you need to work on your threatening game cause that’s not how you make a threat. Let me show you how”
David started with the same calm smile as before but ended with a straight face, devoid of any and all kinds of emotion, “ I am going to survive this, and after that, you better pray that the Infected get to you first, or you die any other sort of death, because if I get my hands on you, I’ll put you through things that even Satan would turn his face from, I’ll show you true despair, until you beg for the sweet release of death, which I will not give you. I will make your end something that the world would remember for centuries to come. And That is how you make a threat’, David spoke out with a murderous glint in his eyes which the general was surprised to see.
For a moment, he gave off the impression of a battle-hardened soldier that the general had seen quite a few of. “You son of a-“, The General shook his head and was about to say something when David pressed one of the buttons on the Digital keyboard, and the call disconnected.
“Are you sure doing that was alright?”, Ahmed asked him as he put his hand on David’s shoulder.
“We had no choice, It was either that or to follow their orders and die a meaningless death”, David said calmly. “Plus I have a plan by which we can survive”
“Of course I do, why do you think I openly challenged him instead of just acting like we were following their orders and escaped ourselves”, David Inquired looking at his friend with an amused expression.
“Ohh-“, Ahmed stated as the realization hit him, he smiled and looked towards the others “So you did that to tell them the truth”
“Exactly, I always knew you were not empty up here”, David stated as he pointed to Ahmed’s head with an innocent expression. “Don’t let anyone call you stupid. Stand proud, you’re smart”
“I know that!”, Ahmed practically shouted at him in retaliation. And the both of them shared a light laugh.
“So, How are we getting out of this one?”, Doctor Richard who had been quiet for a while now, spoke out, successfully gathering all attention on himself, and then at his son, David.
“Nothing much, We just have to get out through the sewerage ducts, which will take us out of the underground pipes out to the back of the Dam" he spoke out which caused Doctor Richard to frown a bit, but it was not from the prospect of going through the sewerage but rather something else.
Before the Doctor could voice out his concerns, David continued. “You don’t have to worry about the barriers and turbines or the safety of the route, I’ve already checked them and the barriers and turbines are powered off, Meanwhile, the route is considerably safer than the route outside”
“Can we make it outside before the missiles?”, Doctor Richard inquired once again.
“By using this route? Definitely. It’ll take us around eight to ten minutes because we won’t encounter any Subjects since that route is the furthest from the current location of the subjects. Approximately, giving us around a 4 – 5 minutes leverage over the time when the missiles hit. Any questions before we depart?”, David asked after explaining his plan and one of the researchers raised her hand.
David nodded at her to go ahead and she opened her mouth and spoke, “What about the path to the Armory?”
“We have to scratch that plan unfortunately, because for that, we would have to go in the opposite direction and that would just waste time and the chances of us encountering the subjects would just meaninglessly increase. And it’s not like we are completely defenseless, We have around 4 handguns, 2 assault rifles, and a shotgun present in this room, which will suffice because we won’t need to have direct confrontation with the subjects”, David explained the logic behind the question.
“Anything else?”, David inquired, looking at everyone present in the room and after seeing them shake their heads he stated, “Now let us depart. I’m sure all of you would want to be out of here, sooner rather than later. Right?”
Everyone nodded almost simultaneously at his words and he smiled in approval. They were ready to depart with a plan that was good and had little chance to fail. But two things that they didn’t know at that point were that not all of them would make it out alive and that amongst them, someone had already embraced the other side.
Note from the Author: Hello, I’m the author of “The Cure”. I just wanted you guys to know that this is my first time writing something of my own, so It’ll have some ups and downs along the way but I hope to improve and write the best content to my abilities. Many thanks to my friends from Discord who have helped me plan some of the most crucial parts of the story. If you like this and want to take part in helping me plan things out, have any suggestions, or are looking to talk with the Author; Please join the discord server named “The Cure”, from the link given below. Thanks and see you in the next chapter. Until then, Adios!
Discord Link: https://discord.gg/tPJFQUHRZG