"Is this how it's going to End?", Ahmed grunted in pain as he picked up a voice recorder off the floor with his blood-covered hands and barely brought it close to his mouth to speak into it. A voice, not louder than a whisper came out of his mouth as he clenched his side due to the excruciating pain caused by the countless small wounds on his body.
These wounds seemed to be fresh as hot blood oozed out of them without any resistance. By one look, it was clear as day that those bite marks resembled those of humans but the ferocity of these bites was not less than that of a wild beast.
"Am I going to turn into one of those abominations of God? So much for dying a natural death. Where did it all go wrong? Was it wrong to trust anyone? Or were we just victims of the wheel of fate?", Ahmed laughed a bit at his condition which was cut off by a sharp pain in his left lung, which had a considerable part of it chewed off, which caused some of his internal blood vessels and tissues to flood out from his body and form a pool of blood underneath him.
But even though he was in a lot of pain, he still thought about one thing, time and time again. Which was the question "Where did it go wrong?", and when he thought back to the matter, he got filled with a sense of anger and disappointment.
"But at least, I can die knowing that those monsters were dealt with. I have no regrets" he stated as a way to convince himself of the fact that he wasn't dying a meaningless death which proved to be ineffective as his eyes began to moisten and soon he began to break down with tears rolling down his face.
"I'm sorry Mother, I won't be able to come back and taste your delicious cooking. I'm sorry sister, I wish I had never left the farm as you said. Aaaaaaah", He wailed out as he put his hands on his face. "I'm sorry that I'm such a disappointment."
He cried out, to the limit that his punctured lungs allowed him to. And when that limit was crossed, a gut-wrenching pain brought him back to his senses.
"Mother, Sister, Thank you for taking care of me for all these years and for everything you've done for me. And I'm sorry for the sorrow that will befall you two when I'm gone. I'm afraid they won't even tell you the truth behind how I died, nor would this base exist for much longer. Plus, If by any miracle, you happen to come across this voice recording, please know that I do love you from the bottom of my heart." he spoke amongst his groans of pain as his voice began to lower because of the pain.
Ahmed put a hand on his chest as he felt a pang of pain in his chest. He could feel it, it was as if something alive was moving inside his chest. At that moment, he knew it, the fact that he was turning into the one thing that he didn't want to. And it struck him with grief.
But as he was nearing his death, he picked up the recorder once again and recorded the experience of what was happening to him as a last-ditch effort to help someone in the future, find a clue, a hope to solve this god-forsaken scourge from this world.
Soon his vision began to darken as his consciousness slipped away causing his body to become motionless. But that state didn't last long as soon, his body which was supposed to be dead, started trembling violently but not in pain, but rather as if it had just been given a new life. Soon enough, the trembling stopped, and soon he opened his eyes, which had now lost their color, and had become completely and utterly lifeless.
Twenty Minutes Earlier:
Everyone followed David as he led them through the narrow corridors of the research block of the building, their destination being the sewerage ducts, which were below the third basement floor.
Their part consisted of Eight total people including; Doctor Richard, David, and Ahmed, five other researchers were with them, two of them were female, one was in her early twenties named Samantha, while the other was in her mid-forties named Aqsa, and three of them were male, all three of which, were in their thirties and called Arslan, Jacob, and Amir.
They had obediently followed David down this path because he had the most suitable plan that they thought would work, and David had successfully acted on his plan which caused them to travel around half of their desired distance without any hindrances. But as all good things come to an end, they face their first obstacle on their way.
They were all standing behind a locked door, requiring their passes to open when Ahmed, Who was looking at the surveillance cameras around a few blocks, noticed something as a scowl marked his face.
"What is It? Did you notice something?", Asked David as he approached his friend with a curious expression.
With the same scowl as before, Ahmed looked at David and replied, "We've got company."
"Is it an armed unit?", David asked without any a moment of hesitation.
"Yes- wait, how did you know?", Ahmed inquired, looking at his friend with a surprised expression. And he had a good reason for doing so, How did David know that it was an armed unit and not the subjects? Did he know in advance? Or was it something else? But one thing for certain was that Ahmed believed that David would never betray them.
"Let's just call it Intuition", David looked toward the others with a smile, but the look in his eyes was nothing compared to his smile.
"So what's the plan? Do we go back and take another way?", Ahmed asked, looking at his friend for his opinion but David simply shook his head.
"No, We don't have that much time. Taking another route would cost us around 5 minutes of precious time. Time which we don't have the luxury to waste. But don't worry, I have a better idea", Ahmed's ears perked up at his friend's words and he looked up but his eyes widened upon seeing a handgun in his face.
Five Minutes later:
The main hall of the Research block was a decent-sized area of around 500 square meters. It was mainly built for holding conferences and such but that purpose was never fulfilled since the facility had never entertained guests from outside. It was a closed facility that had only the researchers, their security, maintenance, and daily household work personnel.
A six-man squad, all clad in black, consisting of soldiers with high-tech equipment, who appeared to be some sort of special ops unit, marched into the hall cautiously as if they were on some sort of highly sensitive mission. The calmness and fluidity in their actions described volumes of their experience and professionalism.
But despite being experienced and having such high-tech equipment, these soldiers were cautious. Why, because they had just been notified of the fate of the battalion stationed outside the compound.
It appeared they had been tasked to hold off this area as they had started to set up camp in the great hall after surveying the immediate vicinity for any danger and not finding any.
One of the six soldiers sat on a wooden box and watched with a scowl as two other soldiers set up the camp, while the rest kept watch on the three entry points to the great hall.
The soldier sitting on the box was the one in command as he was often telling others what to do and what not to do. At this moment the soldier was in a trance, seemingly pondering about something when he was brought back to reality by another soldier's words.
"Lieutenant Colonel Talon", the melodic voice of a young woman, barely in her twenties, came out from behind her black helmet, which covered the entirety of her face, and not just her, every single one of the soldiers present there, was covered from head to toe in black military clothing with, with what appeared to be black bullet-proof vests, strapped around their chests. The young soldier saluted the one sitting down, who according to her, was called "Lieutenant Talon".
"At ease, Major Sparrow. Do you have anything to Report?", Lieutenant Colonel Talon inquired as he nodded subtly in response to Major Sparrow's salute.
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel. It appears that one of our personnel has discovered someone in a white coat, probably one from a research team walking towards us in a pretty rough state. He appeared to be suspicious so we didn't let him into the camp yet", Major Sparrow now at ease position, responded to the Lieutenant Colonel's words with a respectful expression.
"He doesn't seem to be one of those so-called "Subjects". You would've shot him down before trying to report to me" " Lieutenant Colonel Talon spoke out, stood up, motioned towards Major Sparrow, and stated, "Lead the way, I'll look at him myself"
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Lieutenant Colonel Talon followed Major Sparrow to the area outside and camp and his eyes landed on a handsome young man with a height that dwarfed even his own. He appeared to be one of the research team's members. So the Lieutenant Colonel understood why the others didn't shoot him on sight.
The young man, who appeared to be around Major Sparrow's age, appeared to be very handsome but his current condition was very far from being called appealing. Lieutenant Talon immediately understood that what Major Sparrow stated about him being in a "rough" state was not just empty words.
The boy could be referred to as a researcher due to his white coat, which was now torn in different places and covered in blood and had nothing of its former glory left. He was currently standing on the border of the camp, not being allowed in by the two soldiers who were keeping an eye on him.
"Lieutenant Colonel! Major!" Both of the soldiers surrounding the boy saluted the two senior officers coming their way.
"At ease, Captain Crow, Captain Falcon", major Sparrow stated as she looked at the soldiers near the young man. The Lieutenant Colonel also nodded in response to the two captains and turned his head to say something but before could even open his mouth, the young man rushed towards him, he was a Lieutenant Colonel who was selected for this mission especially because he had ample experience in this type of Extraction mission.
The Lieutenant Colonel was getting ready to defend himself against the young man's supposed attack, but the attack that he was expecting, did not come. Instead, the young man just rushed to his feet and knelt while clasping his hands in a begging manner.
"Please sir I beg of you, Please save my father. He is very injured and cannot move. I'll do anything. He is the only thing I have left in this world. I can not live without him so please save him I beg of you", The young man practically groveled at his feet, with worry and concern evident on his face. Maybe it was because the boy's father was injured or the anxiety of the situation, but the boy kept muttering those words again and again, maybe in hopes of getting his plea accepted.
For a moment, the Lieutenant Colonel felt sympathetic for the young man and wanted to help him. He did not know why, but the young man seemed sincere in his words, and the worry was clearly expressed on his face. He had seen a lot of people who had tried to act like this against him but every time he had seen through their acting and had them dealt with. But this child seemed sincere from his point of view, there was not an ounce of lie in his words. But the Lieutenant Colonel remembered what he was here for and hurriedly got rid of the looming thoughts, he waved his hands towards the others who were trying to approach the two in hopes of trying to separate the boy. Then, in a tone befitting his rank the Lieutenant Colonel spoke up "Calm down and tell me who you are and what happened?"
The Lieutenant Colonel bent down, grabbed the boy's shoulders, and brought him up. But just as the boy got to his feet, the scene in front of him completely shook the Lieutenant Colonel. The Boy was Crying.
"Please save my father, great sir. I beg of you, Please", The boy took one of his hands and bent down a bit to put his forehand against it in a show of desperation that ached at the heart of even the battle-hardened soldiers. And it was most evident for Lieutenant Colonel who could feel the youngster's tears falling down the youngster's face and on top of his glove.
The Lieutenant Colonel, being at the age of fifty, had children of his own, similar in age to the boy in front of him, so he could feel the boy's deep affection for his father which the Lieutenant Colonel couldn't quite say about his own children. He would not lie, Deep down he was envious of this child's father.
"We will, I promise you." the Lieutenant Colonel stated, which caused the young man's head to jolt up, surprise and expectation clear in his crystal blue eyes.
"You will?", The young man asked in confirmation as if he could not believe the Lieutenant Colonel's words.
Seeing this the colonel simply smiled, which was covered by the mask he wore on his helmet, and stated "Yes we will. But before that, you have to tell us who you are and what happened to your father. Plus, we also have to patch up those wounds of yours so that we can go back and rescue your father. Are you willing to comply with that?"
"Thank you, Sir. Thank you. I will not forget this favor for the rest of my life. But you don't have to worry about me, I'll get patched up when my father is safe.", The Young man stated in a firm tone, bowed in gratitude again and again, and began to tell his story.
In conclusion, the boy was the son of the Head researcher named; Richard Krooks. The boy's name was David Krooks, and he was seventeen years old, despite looking like he could be in his twenties.
David told the team how they had escaped from the research center and were heading to the sewerage system, intending to escape, but two people amongst the team were traitors and had attacked his father during their escape. This caused the other researchers to fight back and give their lives for the doctor to escape, but the doctor got hit with a stray bullet during that time and got injured pretty badly. So, David wandered out of the room in which he hid the doctor and made his way in this direction, and that's when he met them and the rest of the situation followed closely behind.
Upon asking about what happened to the researchers? The young man's hate spoke clear volumes of how he didn't wish to continue but eventually gave in to the Lieutenant Colonel's order and told him how both sides had almost died, only one survivor from the traitors had managed to barely make it out alive, and according to the young man, he had picked up a gun lying around, and killed him.
Even though the words of the young man seemed surreal, his expressions and tone made them think that he wasn't lying. So they decided to follow the direction where the young man pointed. They all followed David who led them through one of the exits in the hall, through two sets of corridors, and into what seemed like the way to the underground sewers.
This only firmed their beliefs that the young man wasn't lying, but rather, everything he had told them went very similarly to how he said. Soon, they were outside of what appeared to be another great hall, very similar to the one they were in before.
"Is this it?", Lieutenant Colonel asked as looked at the young man called David beside him.
"Yes, Indeed", David nodded his head in response.
"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go in shall we?", Lieutenant Colonel Talon stated in a firm tone as his demeanor changed to a more strict one. It appeared that despite all his kind words earlier, he was still on guard.
On the Lieutenant Colonel's words, the two soldiers standing in the front pushed open the door and rushed into the hall, pointing their guns in different directions, first toward the two corners adjacent to the door and then to the rest of the room.
"All clear", The two said, and the rest of the group marched in as well.
"So where is your father?" the lieutenant Colonel asked as he looked around the absolute monstrosity of a room. This hall appeared to be even bigger than the one they were in before and guessing by the altar in the middle of the hall, and the huge cross hung at the back wall, one could say that this was a church.
David looked around and then pointed to the altar in the church, "He should be there, I left him behind the altar when I left"
Under normal circumstances, They would've doubted whether David was telling the truth or not but in the current circumstances, his desperation for plea was something that the others could not ignore, maybe it was his tone of speaking, or maybe it was his expressions, the others did not know, but one thing was for certain, they had genuinely wanted to help the young man.
And the fact that they had been ordered to ensure the safety of, and safely escort Doctor Richard back to the base, didn't help the fact either. So, they trusted the young man to lead them to his father. But, since they were ordered to only, escort Doctor Richard back and not anyone else. They would have to leave the young man behind.
Lieutenant Colonel Talon motioned for the four captains to go and check the altar. Meanwhile, he stood back at the door along with Major Sparrow and the young man David.
The four soldiers slowly approached the 6-meter-long wooden altar. But when they turned around after crossing the altar from both sides, they saw nothing there. A bit surprised, the four of them looked at each other, nodded, and then motioned something to Lieutenant Colonel which caused a scowl to form on his face under the mask.
"What are they saying, Lieutenant Colonel Sir? Is my father alright?", David asked in a rather worried tone.
Lieutenant Colonel turned back to look towards him. But before he could answer, something fell between the four soldiers present near the altar.
"Huh?", they all gasped in surprise and wanted to shout something but before they could do anything, the small object exploded into a bright light, covering all the area of the church.
The Lieutenant Colonel's head almost immediately shot back towards the four soldiers almost instinctively, his face under the mask, evident with surprise.
"Flashbang, what is the meaning of th-", The Lieutenant Colonel growled the first words, intending to turn back towards David, and ask Major Sparrow to apprehend him. But a loud Gunfire sounded behind him and a splash of blood covered his clothes.
Showing the depth of his experience, he almost instantly turned back towards David who had just shot Major Sparrow in the head, intent on riddling him with bullets for the sake of Major Sparrow, her body falling to the floor with a loud thud.
But before he could point his assault rifle toward the young man, David grabbed the barrel of the firearm and pulled himself towards the bulkier and heavier Lieutenant Colonel, effectively slipping past the tip of the firearm and rendering it incapable of use by pressing it between his left arm and ribs.
With an almost instantaneous response, Lieutenant Colonel Talon abandoned the larger firearm and used his other to reach for the military knife at his waist. But before he could pull it out even halfway, David put his hand on the colonel's wrist immobilizing him from further pulling out the knife.
Using his other hand, he brought Major Sparrow's handgun, which he had swept off her body and used to put a bullet through her head, near the Lieutenant colonel's jugular, and pulled the trigger. With a bang, a fireworks display of blood shot into the air as almost all of the flesh inside the lieutenant Colonel's throat got blasted out, leaving only the spinal cord visible in what once used to be his throat. It looked like, the head on his body was attached only due to the lone spinal cord at this moment.
Meanwhile, the soldiers who had been blinded by a flashbang could do nothing but stand there as all the researchers came out from the gallery above, and emptied multiple rounds of different guns into the soldiers. They were wearing bulletproof vests so their chests were unharmed, but the same could not be said for the other parts of their bodies which had gotten riddled with bullets to the point that bits and pieces of their flesh had been torn off from their bodies and was splattered on the ground like some sort of devil's artwork.