11 Infectious
A cruel grin spread in the pale face as dark strands of biomass burrowed down under the skin of the marine. Blood, sweat and other unknown liquids covered his face and littered the ground below him. He wailed and squirmed, desperately trying to get away. Tendrils had curled around his body and was slowly feasting on the still living flesh. Images from his past life flashed before him in pace with his life slowly being drained. He saw his wife, his two children and the family dog. Their faces stained with tears. If he died here, he would break the promise he'd made them. He'd promised to come home in time for Christmas so they could all enjoy some family time together. He knew he wouldn't be able to get away, but he fought nonetheless. If he died now, at least he would know he went down with honor.
"You'll pay...Mercer..." he pressed out into his last, dying breath. The greedy black mass quickly devoured what was left of his body. They swirled for a moment in search for any remaining treat before retracting to their host when nothing was found. Alex clutched his head with one hand and kept the other on the wall for support as the painful memoryflash passed.
"Self-obsessive, huh?" he mumbled once his vision had cleared. He straightened and threw a look over his shoulder. "I'll show you self-obsessive".
- - - - - LINE BREAK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A few minutes later he attended a briefing disguised as the marine he'd just consumed. The Lieutenant was giving him and three other soldiers an overview of their mission. They were to stay in teams of two and patrol the streets around the block where the base was situated. There were rumors about a small group of infected wandering away from the containment area to the south. Their job was to find them and make sure they didn't wander further. Alex could guess that their true intentions were something else entirely, but that remained to be seen. He reminded himself to take a peek into the lieutenant's head later on. Any information about the events here in Manhattan was valuable information, and if he couldn't have Dana help him, he'd just have to find it for himself. Gruesome, but effective, and he didn't particularly care if a few men had to give their lives for that information. Surely, the government had more than enough resources to replace them.
"What I'm saying is, kill every son of a bitch you see" the lieutenant explained, looking long and hard at each of the men stationed before him. The briefing was then dismissed, and the two teams marched toward the gates while wishing each other good luck. They parted ways there, Alex's team heading west on 23rd Street, and the others to the east. Before they'd even walked a hundred meters, his teammate started hammering him with questions, as expected.
"Ye got any kids at home waitin' fo' ye? My li'l Elise is five. Pearl o' my life that girl" he said, seemingly dreaming on while gazing off into the distance. Alex would rather knock out the guy and continue on his own, but the consequences of that were not only many, but also boring and troublesome. The simple solution were to just play along and answer the questions asked.
"Naaah, I wasn't lucky enough to have any. Got no wife either". That was a truth, in a way. He'd been at his old apartment some days ago, and according to the framed pictures on the walls, he'd had a girlfriend once. He remembered her face, her blonde hair and the clothes she usually wore, but there was no name. He didn't remember if they'd been close, or if it was just a fling. As of now, he wouldn't consider himself a romantic person. Hell, he was barely even a person at all. He wasn't human anymore, but then what? What was he and who? Did someone who wasn't a real person have an identity? Could he still call himself Alexander Mercer? Alex, or was he just Zeus? Dana... Was Dana not his sister..?
The tumbling questions made an ache start pounding in his head. It was almost instinctive when he reached up to rub his temples. While he had started to get used to these sudden migraines, it was getting increasingly annoying. Annoying to the point of troublesome when there was people around to notice. People like the soldier walking alongside him.
"Ye alright son?" he questioned, obviously concerned over who he thought to be his comrade. Alex held back a sigh. People and their damn concerns. Couldn't they just shut up and keep to their own damn corners for once? He just wanted some peace. Just one moment of silence where he could relax and forget about the world. A single minute shouldn't be too much to ask for. Perhaps it would be easier to just beat the brains out of the blabbering bastard. He could always bail out and find someplace else to have some quiet lonetime.
"Just-" he started, intent on shutting him up, but was efficiently silenced by his own thoughts. A blabbering bastard with a sloppy british accent. He'd definitely heard that accent somewhere before, and not just in the memories he'd stolen. It was from his own memories, and it was recent-... Oh no... No. No, no, no, no-
His head whipped to the side and his blue eyes met bright green. Oh yea, it was him alright. The marine he'd worked with a few days prior only to bash his nose in with the butt of his rifle. Shit. A big fucking pile of shit.
The man followed where he thought Alex was looking, rifle at the ready. When he couldn't spot any imminent danger, his attention was brought back and he looked conflicted for a moment. A second later, he fired a gentle smile. "Aye, it'll get better kid" he said, hand moving up to pat Alex's shoulder. Confusion was the only thing he could muster. Was he talking about the previously broken nose he'd apparently adjusted? The freckles in his face? The way he looked at Alex like he was better? A chuckle left the man, obviously amused by his comrade's expression. "Spendin' sum time in the military, ye learn a few tricks. Walkers ain't nuthin' to worry 'bout son". Ah... So that's what he was talking about.
"Mmmh-" Alex grunted for a response as realization finally dawned on him. This blabber guy thought he'd had a moment of panic because of their mission. Yea, as if he was worried a few walkers would poke him a little. No, he'd realized rather quickly that they either didn't give a shit about him, or they clung to him like a seaweed clinging to a rock while trying to get a taste of his face. They were easy enough to push away and give a boot to the head. No, in that case, the fat ones were more of a trouble. Or those godforsaken hunters he'd apparently managed to let loose in the city. Screw them man, screw them badly.
With a sigh, Alex resumed his walk, the marine following close behind.
- - - - - LINE BREAK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A few hundred meters later, they came to an intersection where they'd agreed to turn left. Whether unlucky or bad timing, Alex was still pissed to see a horde of walkers stumbling over each other's feet around the corner. The two men readied their rifles and walked a few more steps before opening fire. A small group huh? More like a couple hundred. Did the lieutenant know about this? If so, why only send two men to each location? Did he have that much faith in his men to think they could handle this much on their own, or was his plans to get rid of liabilities? If the order came from Blackwatch, such could very likely be the case.
The walkers fell one by one, and the area was cleared in a few minutes. The two had moved from their original position while shooting, now standing at what had over just a few days become a dumping location. Containers, trashcans, boxes of different shapes and materials, discarded electronics and other junk were thrown and stashed in the area. It might as well also be a graveyard, judging by the odor it emitted. Alex quickly got a bad feeling about the place. He insisted they get their move on as soon as possible, but of course blabberman had to brag about the whole thing before they could. Being older and more experienced, he wanted to show his younger colleague that he was the best of the best and that there was nothing to worry about as long as he was present. It was a trait many people seemed to have, Alex realized. The need for confirmation and the need to be 'self-obsessed' until they felt better about their otherwise so miserable lives. Great. He was now stuck in a trash dump with the blabberbastard.
He opened his mouth to have them get a move on when his instincts kicked him in the gut and his right shoulder tingled. He whipped around to take on the danger, but too late. An infected threw itself from the top of a container and pounced on Alex before he was able to rise his rifle. Pain shot through his shoulder before he even hit the ground. Instincts led him to screw the rifle and push the creature away. Anywhere, anyhow, just away from him. He was able to get a leg in between their bodies and kick away the abomination. Its teeth shredded the clothes and skin of his shoulder, pulling a groan from between grit teeth. This pain wasn't like getting shot by a rifle. It was a real pain, not the tickle he usually felt.
He heard a gunshot and a splatter when intestines hit the ground, and then the marine was kneeling down beside Alex. He clutched the wound with his hand, and he could feel the biomass already trying to repair itself. Fuck fuck fuck, this was not good. Fucking hell, this wasn't good.
"Shit son, we gotta get ye outta 'ere!" the man swore while scanning their surroundings for more possible surprise attacks. Alex quickly sat up and gripped his arm with his free hand. If there was more, they better get the hell out instead of trying to fight them off.
"I got it, don-"
"Your shoulder-". The marine was suddenly very intent in checking Alex's wound, making him turn away. If there was no wound when there should be one, suspicion would quickly arise and his cover would be blown. Nothing good would come out of this situation. The only solution were to get rid of the problem. Why hadn't he just bashed his head in when he realized who the man was? He should've gotten rid of him for good, erase him from existence. All of this could've been avoided. Dammit, what-
He saw the soldier gulp and lean back where he sat crouched on the ground. Alex kept his gaze locked on the man's hands, ready to act in case bullets would fly. Silence plagued the two for barely a second, but it might as well have been half an eternity. The tension was palpable. When the bastard finally spoke, Alex wasn't sure if he should be relieved or bothered.
"...Zeus?".
It turned into a mixture of both. He pushed the man away from him, landing him on his ass before getting up on his own two feet. His fists clenched, but instead of beating him bloody, he turned on his heel. Biomass collected at his feet and he sprinted. Straight up the side of a building he went, up and up and up until reaching the rooftop. Not even then did he stop. He darted off over the rooftops, jumping from building to building until he was far away from the location he'd been bitten.
Dropping down into a narrow alley, behind a large dumpster, he stopped to slam his fist against the wall. Idiot, moron, dumbass, fool. He should've killed the bastard. He should've ripped his head blank off his shoulders. Strangled him to death with his bare hands. Filled his abdomen with bullets from his own rifle. More scenarios came and went as the biomass that made up his body squirmed and shifted until he was Alex once more. Why didn't he kill him? Why did he ... hesitate? A wordless cry left him as he gripped his hair. Dana, he needed to see Dana. He needed information. The apartment complex was just a block away.
