Washington, D.C.

"We are the N.D.U.; we have identified you, so come out with your hands up, and we won't harm you. If you cooperate, we can talk like civilized people."

At that moment, Abraham opened his eyes, his hands trembling from the nightmare he was having. As he tried to get up, Rosita, beside him, motioned for him to stay quiet while handing him his weapon.

"They're everywhere."

"Who the hell are these people?"

Eugene was huddled in a corner of the room and murmured, "They're professionals; we can't attack."

"There are more of them than we thought. Damn it, I hope they're as friendly as they say, or they'll kill us." Abraham wasn't a man who feared death, but carrying the weight of this mission, he would make sure it reached the end.

"Those are military, Abraham; don't do anything crazy."

"Come out this instant with your hands up and slowly!"

Crack!

Abraham opened the door and stepped out first, his hands raised while holding an assault rifle. He said, "Relax; we're not bad people."

"Are they the only ones traveling with you?" Sergeant Castro, who was in front, looked at these four people still with suspicion.

"Just us."

Sergeant Castro nodded to his soldiers, and a small group ignored Abraham's group as they headed towards the building for clearance.

"You're lucky; many would have died to the horde of walkers that passed through this area a few days ago. Tell me, what are you planning?" Sergeant Castro was only trying to gain the trust of these people.

"Are you military?"

"Indeed, the army has been restructured, but we are still military."

"That's incredible. I'm Sergeant Ford, on a special mission to transport Scientist Porter to a facility in Washington because he knows how to create the cure to end all this."

When Abraham's words were heard by everyone present, there was a deathly silence. Sergeant Castro looked at Eugene and asked, "Sergeant Abraham, do you have any identification?"

"Of course, I only have my badge." Abraham showed his badge that was on his chest.

"And do you have identification?" Castro turned his gaze to Eugene, who quickly said, "Believe me, the last thing I thought about was grabbing identification when I set out for the Washington facilities. Do you know anything about that?"

Sergeant Castro remained silent, thought about everything carefully, and, now looking at Abraham, asked, "Sergeant, are you absolutely certain you are not lying?"

"I would have known; he is clearly a scientist."

Tara became increasingly nervous because the uniforms those people were wearing were the same as those worn by the dead soldiers from the helicopter that had been brought to her shelter before it was destroyed.

Rosita made no move; she knew that any threat to these people would result in them being killed without a doubt.

"Fine, I will trust your word." Sergeant Castro stepped away, made a call to the central base, and, after receiving instructions, approached again. "As a provisional protocol, the safety of Scientist Porter will now be in our hands. You, as his guardians, have the right to take him to Washington, where you will be rewarded."

"Is Washington safe?" Rosita couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Sergeant Castro nodded and said, "Not just Washington; the cleanup of Ohio is currently in operation."

Everyone talked for a few minutes before a helicopter quickly approached their location from a distance.

When Eugene saw this, he truly preferred death to going through all this, but he knew that if he said a word, he would die right here, so he remained silent.

"Good luck, Sergeant; you will be sent safely to Washington."

Abraham nodded, boarded the helicopter, and soon they departed for Washington, where a newly opened research center awaited.

In less than half an hour, they were in the city, which was now being protected by tens of thousands of soldiers.