1 Prologue, 68 Whiskey

"He's losing a lot of blood, Doc," Cadet Hughes said, his quivering tone had not help to elevate the situation in any way.

"I know, Hughes. Don't need to state the obvious," I replied, immediately putting pressure on General Yilmaz's bloodied left-side.

I couldn't help but bite the inside of my cheeks as Yilmaz painful scream pierced through my ears.

It was when the radio on my pocket buzzed, "Sigma to Delta team. Sigma to Delta Team. Update your status, Delta Team what is your 20?"

I breathe calmly and looked for any familiar landmarks before pressing the PTT button, "Sigma, this is Sergeant Lim. We're on the move, approximately 70 klicks away from your location. Horde on trail."

"Roger that. We'll be preparing missiles on standby," the other line buzzed for a while before it stopped.

Our week-worth resources have been on a constant decrease since we've been on the move for days nonstop. If matters come to worse, we'll be traveling by foot with only melee artilleries at hand, leaving every hindrance that will slow us down...

I quickly snapped back to reality and attended to Yilmaz.

"This is bad..." Hughes gasped as the grave situation slowly dawned on him, washing away all his senses.

"I don't think General Yilmaz will be able to make it... I... I don't think we'll make it," he said, helplessly falling down on his bottom as he grasped the rail to support him; white-knuckled, muttering with visible grim on his face, "Hordes have been chasing us for hours, and we're still miles away from the safe zone. Ammunitions and our gas are also almost close to none," he said while his eyes were as good as a week-dead stinking fish, lifeless, entirely deluded of death.

A frown curved down his lips, "The only thing that awaits us is..."

Before he could finish, I cut him off mid-sentence, "Alright, shut your fucking dawdling, Cadet. I don't need to hear any shit from you," I groaned.

I sighed in disappointment. Hughes still quite had a heart and hands of a baby when it comes to emergency situations on the battlefield. He was still fresh out of training. He should be in the safe zone hospitals gaining medical experience, and not shoved half-assedly onto the battlefield.

But unfortunately, there were no other capable hands present at the moment.

Apparently, this had been the 14th exhibition of retrieving the vial.

We've already lost countless skilled medics who initiated during previous exhibitions. Most of the preceding troops had either come back severely injured and empty-handed, or never even got back home. It was unsurprising enough that the surviving others preferred to stay and aid services within the safe zone.

Hopefully, this will be the last expedition if we were able to deliver the vial onto the safe zone. However, the casualties were still so many that a hundred troops of special forces had been reduced to surviving six.

Pray, that it doesn't reduce anymore to five.

All for the vial. All for the only silver lining in this awful storm. Sacrifices should be made. To cure this apocalypse once and for all.

"Another horde incoming, 3'o clock!!" Lieutenant Cruz shouted as loud as his gun shooting at the trail of zombies running fast on our track.

The truck rattled violently against the rough terrain as Corporal Sawyer, the vehicle's driver, quickly swerved left, driving swiftly from the horde.

'Focus.' I told myself as I put my breathing in rhythm with my pulse.

"Hold this," I commanded Hughes to put pressure on the General's wound. But, as I was about to reach for the medical supplies, a hand gently pulled on mine.

"Alona..." he spoke.

"Oh great, love birds," I heard Corporal Garcia mumbled in subtle disgust, which I paid no attention to.

I kept on searching the medical supplies for any antibiotics left. However, it was as good as hoping for a miracle to occur. I grit my lip in resolve, struggling to keep my voice straight, "...I'm gonna save you, Hal."

But, to no avail, most of the medical supplies had been all used up, "Fuck."

"Alona, dear, please," his voice was unfamiliar. It was the first time I had heard fear coated on Yilmaz's voice that was once all so soothing silvery. However, the fact that he was conscious and able to speak already meant good news.

I held his hand tightly in reassurance as the black zirconium rings on our fingers touched, almost gleaming, despite being covered in red.

"Please... kill me."

And yet, his words completely turned my insides upside down.

"No," adamantly, I said. "No one's dying, alright? No one's dying on my watch anymore, Hal. Not you, not anyone in this truck. We WILL survive and we will all get back to the safe zone," I said as my voice cracked almost into cacophonous pleas.

Hundreds of dog-tags in the bag chimed dreadfully faint along with the shaking of the truck. 'We will all get back.'

"No, no, dear… Hughes is right. I really don't think I will be able to make it," he said with a rueful smile.

"Shut the fuck up. I'll save you, ok?! Just trust me... We'll find a way. You promised Ella you'll return safely. You're not dying on us."

He gruffed in pain, "Sergeant Lim, as much as I appreciate the sentiments, I have no desires to die as one of them," he coughed, his pale lips turning into a sick shade of blue. "Just kill me already, Lim! That's not a request but an order!"

"For the last fucking time, Hal! I'm the doctor here and you are my patient! So, no one's dying, and no one's turning on my watch!" I said as I swiftly opened the vial box we retrieved from Dr. Valdimoore's laboratory.

They quickly shifted their gaze towards the vial on my hands.

"D-Doc, please calm down... I-I don't think that's a good idea, Doc," Hughes said, trying to stop me by my arm only to get swat away.

"What are you doing, Lim?" Lieutenant Cruz interrupted loudly, a frantic tone on his voice.

"Damn it, Alona," General Yilmaz gruffed in pain.

I continued preparing the vial. Pouring the blue luminescent substance into the syringe's barrel.

"Sergeant Lim, this is a breach of contract! We were ordered to only retrieve the vial safely and in perfect condition. Come to your senses this instant!" Cruz said although he couldn't move any nearer towards me. He and Garcia needed to defend the truck's side and rear from the fast zombies.

"For fuck sake, focus on the main objective, Lim! You need to deliver that vial untouched to the headquarters," the general said as he struggled to get free from the bed straps.

"Let her be, she's wise enough to know the consequences," Corporal Garcia smirked as she kept shooting at the zombies.

"Listen, Lim," Lieutenant Cruz tried to reasoned out. "The vial is still in its unstable condition. Even if we use it on the General, there's no guarantee it'll save him," he said.

However, upon weighing the consequences, my mind was already set.

"A small chance is always better than none," I said, receiving silence in return, "So, sue me," I said as I plunge the needle into General Yilmaz's arm.