Was the outbreak planned?

I spent the night tossing and turning in my bed, unable to stop thinking about the new mission from the system. Investigating things in the apocalypse only led to nothing but trouble. I had planned to just chill and enjoy my life this apocalypse. But then again, to enjoy without worrying, I needed a stronger base and weapons. I had to gain survival points to unlock better weapons and stronger base fortifications.

[MISSION: INVESTIGATE ORGANIZED SURVIVOR ACTIVITY IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT.]

But why would the system want me to investigate another group of survivors? What was so important about Hailville district?

I was still thinking about it when I walked into the kitchen the next morning. Tom was already there.

“Looks like someone didn’t get much sleep,” he commented.

“Good morning to you too.” I said with a heavy sigh.

He smiled and pushed a cup toward me. “Coffee.”

“Thank you.” I said, picking it up.

“Looks like you didn’t sleep much.”

“Neither did you.”

“I’m a doctor. I’m used to this. Late nights, early mornings. Sometimes I get a call as soon as I put my head down.”

“Well, not anymore. We're in the apocalypse now.”

“Right. I can finally rest.”

We both laughed. I took a sip of coffee and looked at the map of Hailville on my phone.

“I’ll go alone,” I decided.

Tom shook his head. “No way. I’m not letting you out alone.”

“You don’t have to come with me,” I informed him. “I can take care of myself “

I’d already done this apocalypse thing before. How hard could it be?

“You’ve helped me a lot. I’d probably be dead by now. I’ll not let you go into an unknown area alone during a zombie apocalypse.”

I was grateful for his help but I didn’t want to be responsible for some guy who had grown up in luxury and had never faced any hardship in life.

I sighed. “Tom—”

“If you get yourself injured, you’ll need someone to treat you.”

I knew he was right but was determined not to give in easily. “I’ll return if I get injured.”

“I’m not letting you out alone. That’s final.”

I shook my head, realizing he was not about to give up. “Fine. You can come.”

Before leaving, I checked everything twice. Jolie and Mrs. Bucket were staying inside the base. I left them detailed instructions and made sure the emergency communication system was working.

The gates were reinforced, cameras active and perimeter defenses ready to push away anyone who tried to invade our home.

I also checked the underground vault. Everything was secure so I placed several chips in my bag and kept the launcher concealed beneath my jacket.

I also had one controlled zombie waiting some blocks away. I had given it a simple command before leaving. Stay hidden. If I needed it, I could activate the connection through the system.

Tom carried a bag with medical supplies and several pieces of equipment from the supplies he’d brought.

We left at around 9am. The streets had already changed and become unrecognizable. There were abandoned cars everywhere and almost all storefronts had been smashed open.

There were bodies everywhere, some human and some infected. The place was silent but the smell was horrible. But we kind of got used to it as we moved.

After nearly forty minutes, we reached the Hailville without any problem. I slowed the car when I saw barricades ahead.

The barricades looked professionally constructed. They used actual steel barriers. Some men were standing near the barricades. I reversed and parked the car behind a damaged building.

“This isn’t a normal survivor camp,” Tom said as he looked through the windshield.

“I know.”

We stayed there for several minutes, just watching. People were moving between the buildings, carrying stuff. There were designated areas for food distribution, medical treatment, and sleeping. Someone was actually organizing them.

I looked at Tom. “We need to get closer.”

I drove farther down the road and stopped the car. Then we proceeded towards the barricades on foot. When we got closer, we noticed the guards had too many weapons and most people were wearing identical black armbands. The security team were wearing dark blue trousers and white shirts with badges on the front.

“Orion Security.” Tom said as if to himself

“What’s that?”

“It’s a private security company. They provided corporate security for many companies before the apocalypse.”

I moved behind a wall and opened the Zombie Control Interface. My controlled zombie was still nearby.

[Controlled subject: Active.]

I gave it a command. Scout.

The connection activated. Something happened to my eyes for a few seconds. I closed them. When I opened, I realized I could see through the zombie’s eyes.

The zombie moved slowly through an alley behind the base. No one seemed to have noticed it yet. Perfect. Better a zombie than me I guided it around the back of the buildings where I saw some armed men standing outside a warehouse.

There were crates stacked beside the entrance. I zoomed in through the system and saw a familiar logo. The logo of my former company. Legion Tech.

“What is it?” Tom asked.

I released the connection. “Nothing.”

“You just went pale.”

“I saw something.”

“What did you see?”

“Hey!” a voice shouted behind us.

I turned. Three armed men were standing at the end of the street. One raised his weapon. “Stop!”

“Run” Tom yelled.

I looked around. The road behind us was blocked. Another group was coming from the opposite direction, surrounding us. I cursed under my breath as the system flashed.

[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE GENERATED.]

[Retrieve one company-marked medical container.]

[Reward: +100 Survival Points.]

“You have got to be kidding me.” I muttered.

Tom looked at me with narrowed eyes. “What?”

“Put your weapons down!” One of the armed men shouted.

I glanced at the warehouse and saw the container. Apparently, the system didn’t care that we were surrounded. It expected me to get inside that warehouse and retrieve the container. Fine, I could do that. But first, I needed a distraction.

I opened the Zombie Control Interface. My controlled zombie was still behind the warehouse.

Attack? No. That was too obvious. I selected another command. Create distraction. The zombie stepped out from behind the building. A guard saw it immediately.

“Zombie!”

Everyone turned and started shooting. As all the guards immediately focused on the infected creature, I grabbed Tom’s arm.

“Now.”

We ran into the warehouse while the guards were distracted. I opened the door and saw dozens of crates. I checked the system.

[Target container detected.]

A red marker appeared. I followed it and found a small medical container sat behind large boxes. When I picked it up, Tom looked at the label.

“That’s not ordinary medicine.”

“What is it?”

He examined it.

“Brain monitoring equipment.”

My heart stopped. “Why would a survivor group have this?”

“I don’t know.”

When I heard shouting outside, I grabbed the container and ran. The zombie distraction had worked, but it wouldn’t last forever. We escaped through the back entrance just as several armed men entered and almost caught us. We ran as fast as possible towards the car.

While we ran, bullets hit the wall behind us. Tom pulled me down as another bullet whizzed past. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

As soon as we reached the car, I threw the container inside. Tom jumped into the driver’s seat and the engine roared into life, before cruising away. Only when that base disappeared behind us did I finally breathe.

[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE COMPLETE.]

[Reward: +100 Survival Points.]

[Current Survival Points: 200.]

[Project Legion technology detected.]

I glanced at Tom who was still focused on the road.

“What did you find?” he asked.

I looked down at the container and opened it. Inside were several pieces of equipment and a thin folder. I pulled the folder out. The first pages contained medical information. Patient numbers, medical history and brain scans.

I turned the page. I froze when I saw a photograph. A group of familiar researchers stood inside a laboratory. I recognized most of them including Mr. Ransom, my former supervisor.

He was the one who was in charge of the storage of the neural-control chips. He always insisted they were simply experimental medical technology. I turned the photograph over and read what was written in the back. My hands shook as I took the words in.

SUBJECTS RELEASED — SEVEN DAYS BEFORE PROJECTED OUTBREAK.

My heart nearly stopped. Exactly seven days before the apocalypse. The same amount of time I had been given after my rebirth. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was related. What if I was a test subject in some experiment I didn’t know about.

“What’s wrong, Mia?”

I quickly closed the folder and looked at him. I didn’t know what to say.

Someone had known everything about the infection and they may have prepared for it while everyone else remained ignorant. Neither the escaped patients nor the chips were random or a coincidence.

I looked out at the ruined city, feeling overwhelmed. “I think some people knew the apocalypse was coming.”

“Like you?”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t know what I am. Maybe I’m considered a subject somewhere but I don’t know.”

There was a lot going on behind the scenes. What if whoever knew about this also knew that I had the chips?

“We have to get back home,” I told Tom, urgency dripping from every word.