[A/N: Hello everyone.
A new chapter from David's perspective.
Important new information.
New characters.
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David's group headquarters, southwest of the city.
David looked at Edwin, who was desperately trying to locate the transition signal of the man who seemed to know the origins of the virus. No matter how hard he tried, changing frequencies, trying to modify sub-bands, nothing worked.
"I'm sorry," Edwin said, showing a guilty face.
"It's not your fault," David consoled him. "How did you find the transmission?" David asked Edwin.
"I was doing what you asked me to with the guys, and one of them told me about a guy who claimed to be a virologist or something, and I came running to warn you," Edwin replied.
"I see," David muttered as he took a pencil and jotted down some details. "So, he's a virologist who worked for a private lab," David commented.
"Yes, that's right," Edwin confirmed. "Do you know anything about LyraGen?" he asked David.
"I'm afraid not," David replied. "Also, it seems that the details the researcher gave about the infected are the same as Alex had anticipated," David continued.
"That's correct," Edwin confirmed again. "Do you think the person who informed Alex is from the same lab?" David asked, showing a look of sudden understanding.
"It's possible… However, if this virologist worked in a private lab, there may be other labs, some of them even government-owned," David replied after some thought. "That would explain why most governments in large countries were preparing so far in advance," David added in an annoyed tone.
"Are you saying they always knew and didn't tell the people?" Edwin asked in an angry and disappointed tone.
"They always do that, Edwin… They say they weren't involved in certain things, but when it's discovered they were behind it all along, they blame someone else," David replied in a resigned tone.
"They're playing with people's lives," Edwin said in a low tone as he clenched his fists tightly.
Edwin felt angered by the new information they were analyzing. He realized that many people would die from this new virus. If it weren't for the fact that he knew David, who is Alex's friend, he would be facing this apocalypse unprepared.
"If David hadn't convinced me, I would have died," Edwin thought fearfully.
"Edwin, you need to calm down," David said with a worried tone, noticing that his friend's mental state was worsening. "Tell the others not to spread the news yet… After we stabilize things, we'll let them know what we discovered," David added with a determined tone.
"Okay," Edwin said, looking calmer as he left the room.
David stared at his friend's back. He knew that many people were unaware of what was happening, and if it weren't for Alex, he and his friends would have been part of the vast majority who had to face this chaos in ignorance. Now he felt infinitely grateful to have met Alex, but at the same time, he worried about his current condition.
"Alex, you haven't answered yet," David said quietly as he re-checked the news channels and jotted a few things down in his journal.
An hour and a half later.
"Edwin, were you able to contact Rose?" David asked his friend over the radio in the SUV he was traveling in.
"Yes... She said she was in the same place, but she took shelter with some people who helped her and now wants to take them to the base... Over," Edwin reported over the radio.
"No problem... Tell her to wait for us and not to take any risks," David replied.
Then, he and a friend who came as a helper continued through the jammed, chaotic streets. At their base, they weren't unlucky enough to witness acts of vandalism because they were only a few kilometers from the military camp. And now that they saw the state of the streets, they began to worry even more about their friends.
After a few minutes, they reached a point where they couldn't go any further and decided to continue the remaining three blocks on foot. After advancing a few meters, they noticed a group of people kicking someone on the ground in one of the nearby alleys.
When they arrived, they noticed that one of them had been bitten and was shouting insults at the man on the ground as they ran away. What they didn't notice was that the man they had brutally beaten was now getting up as if the beating he had received was nothing.
"That... that... is one of them," David's friend said, frightened.
"I'm afraid so," David said, approaching the man who was slowly moving forward with one of his feet twisted. "Look at him, despite such a painful injury, he doesn't complain… There's no light in his eyes… And he's approaching us as if we were his prey," David added in a dry tone as he pulled a large knife from his belt.
"There's no turning back now… Now it's us or them," David said, brutally stabbing what had once been a normal man.
David's friend looked at him in dismay. Despite knowing what he had done was right, he had never witnessed anything as shocking as a murder. He felt uncontrollable nausea; he did his best to hold it in, but finally, he bent down abruptly and vomited for everything he had eaten earlier.
"I'm sorry to show you this, but we must get used to it if we want to survive," David said, rubbing his friend's back. "I know… Phew… It's just the first time I've seen something like this," David's friend replied, trying to compose himself as quickly as possible. "How can you act so normal?" he asked David with a confused look.
"You can't imagine the effort I put into facing something like a zombie," David commented with a wry expression. "So, you can imagine the determination I'm exerting right now to appear strong," David added as his friend wiped his mouth.
"Thank you for your support," he said, feeling somewhat awkward.
Once they were both ready, they continued walking the remaining distance to meet up with Rose. Along the way, they noticed some people beginning to gather on various streets. Everyone had their faces covered and didn't seem friendly.
"Rose, we're here," David called, knocking on the door of a house.
"David!" Rose said happily, hugging David affectionately. "I was very scared… Thanks to them, we were able to get to safety," he added, looking at the people inside the house.
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[A/N: I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night]
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"You were lucky… Thank you for helping my friend," David said first to Rose, then turned his gaze to the people inside.
"No problem, she needs…" a man inside the house said, just as an explosion in the street caught everyone's attention.
Things were starting to get difficult. The group of people David and his friend had seen on their way began looting some nearby stores and houses. At this moment, a group of hooded men had set fire to a car and a store a few houses away.
"We have to go," David exclaimed urgently.
Half an hour later.
David, his friend, Rose, Rose's family, and a group of people who had helped Rose were heading to the base in two vehicles: the SUV David and his friend had arrived in and an abandoned car they found along the way.
Everyone was silent; the rescue had been quite complicated. They had to avoid a group of protesters leaving the city center and were almost attacked. They also heard the military's warning about the curfew.
Fortunately, since all members of David's group were carrying weapons, they were able to deter the attackers with a few shots, although the chaos around them stunned them.
"I'm David... Thank you so much for helping Rose and her family," David introduced himself to the people now traveling with him in the SUV.
"This is André," the woman said, picking up her scared-looking son. "The one next to you is Mike, André's father; the one here with me is Terry, Mike's friend, and I'm Micho..." the woman was saying when suddenly an explosion was heard from the northeast.
Flames and smoke now decorate the sky. Everyone in the vehicle was shocked, and the people on the streets were behaving even crazier. David approached Rose, who was in the car behind her, to tell her they needed to leave the area quickly.
What no one noticed was that Terry, one of the people who helped Rose, began pressing on her abdomen due to the pain of moving abruptly. A wound now marked her skin, with slight marks, but which still affected her dermis. A scar that could now alter many things.
Thirty minutes after the explosion.
"Edwin, has anything happened around here?" David asked his friend, who was waiting for him at a makeshift gate they had made during the afternoon.
"Nothing's happened," he replied as he watched his friend Rose and the new refugees. "However, I tried calling Alex, but he's not answering yet," Edwin commented as he handed the phone to David.
"I understand. I hope to contact him tonight," David said, putting his phone away.
"Did you see the explosion?" Edwin asked as everyone entered the base. "We were following the news when a reporter and her cameraman managed to capture the explosion up close… It was impressive," he recounted excitedly.
"Yes, we saw it. It came from the northeast part of the city," David commented as he approached the house that served as the barracks. "Miles, help the new people find a place to stay," he ordered a friend who was leaving the barracks.
"Okay, I'll do it," he replied without hesitation.
"David, did you hear the military broadcast?" Edwin asked as he followed him to the area where they had the radios and TVs broadcasting the news.
"Yes, it rang on all the phones at once," David replied, looking at the few news channels that were still active. "Have they given any information on the radios?" David asked Edwin. "Yes, although it's only been general communications," Edwin replied, tuning into a frequency on the radios Alex had given them.
"This is Captain Stacy from the eastern zone," one of the radios began a transmission. "At this time, at 8:30 p.m., we have the main eastern access under control. I recommend deploying inland to stop the looting," the man continued the transmission.
"Thanks for the report... Hold your position," another man responded on the same frequency.
"This is Captain Forest from the northern zone reporting... We have the northern zone under control, but a soldier on my team encountered people who knew about the virus," another man reported.
"Understood," they replied. "Do you have the details of these people?" the person in charge of the transmissions asked.
"Negative," the captain in charge of the northern zone replied.
"Thanks for the report... Hold your position," the person in charge replied.
Edwin continued to pay attention and record each broadcast, while David kept an eye on the various media outlets.
In the other living quarters on the base, the atmosphere was very charged. David's group of friends had brought their families for various reasons; some shared the facts straightforwardly, while others resorted to falsehoods to convince them. However, at that moment, everyone was informing their families about what was happening.
Many of these people were reluctant to be persuaded. Despite some excerpts from streamer Angela's broadcast and other evidence they had obtained in recent days, it wasn't easy to get them to believe. However, thanks to what the news showed and some experiences they had witnessed themselves, they managed to make them understand that something very serious was going on.
Unfortunately, the biggest challenge was getting them to accept that it was all related to zombies. Some of David's friends tried to explain this, but were unsuccessful. No one could accept, based solely on a couple of recordings, that these people with strange behavior had transformed into something as extraordinary as the living dead.
Ten minutes later.
David found himself in an empty house, taking a shower. Although he had behaved normally during the rescue, the truth was he was just as terrified as his companions. The moment he eliminated that zombie in the alley, he had to fight the urge to vomit.
The feeling of blood on his hands persisted, even after washing several times. Once again, he took the soap and rubbed his hands vigorously. Despite the foam covering his hands, they still felt slimy.
The strangest thing about this situation is that, when he killed the zombie, his hands didn't get dirty. His mind had incorrectly created that memory, making him feel like his hands were stained with blood.
After a few minutes, he emerged from the shower fully dressed, wearing the usual uniform he and Alex had decided on. Bite-resistant clothing, reinforced footwear, gloves, and protective gear in key areas.
"Alex, how did you manage to stay so steady at that moment?" David wondered as he looked in the mirror.
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[A/N:
Thanks everyone for reading.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Do you know who the new character is?
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Read my other novels:
#VinlandKingdom: Race Against Time.
#TheWalkingDead: Emily's Metamorphosis from Visions of Future Saga
You can find them on my profile.]