Chapter 9

Adamo, still hyperventilating with tears running down his face, suddenly sprinted off into the night in the opposite direction from his parents. The entire team took their chances following him outside and dashed through the deserted town to try and reach safety.

It wasn't until morning dawned that the team returned to the base. Upon returning to the base, Ruby was furious that the group had been gone all night and scolded them for running off on their own. But when Ayoub noticed something about Adamo, she frowned while pulling him to the side, with an angry look on her face, demanding answers from him about his condition.

Adamo stood still, blankly gazing at the faraway mountains with an expressionless face.

"What happened to Adamo?" Ruby asked.

"Something terrible must have occurred during the course of your journey back. What kind of crazy situation would make someone who was a positive, energetic, and idealistic person become cold-hearted and cynical all of a sudden, just overnight?"

"His parents are dead," Connor simply replied.

"Oh." Ruby quickly muttered out loud, looking visibly confused as to why Adamo's parents were murdered. She cleared her throat before turning to Ayoub with a scowl.

"Would you like to explain?"

"Not now," Connor cut in abruptly, much to the confusion and annoyance of everyone else present. "The situation is complicated right now."

"Oh yes! Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." Adamo suddenly whispered, still staring at nothing in particular, as if he couldn't comprehend his surroundings.

"My sister. She's safe somewhere. She escaped from here the moment they died. Where could she possibly be hiding right now? All I need to do is go back into town and locate her before someone else finds her. Everything will be fine then, I swear. And if she isn't, well, I won't ever give up hope; I won't." He was murmuring under his breath, but the others caught it easily enough. "I think you're in luck, buddy," said Connor, smiling widely at the idea of finding a family member alive during this horrible mess.

Ruby couldn't suppress her curiosity anymore. "Okay, Connor, enough of this nonsense. Tell us what the hell is going on."

"A lot happened, Ruby. We were attacked by these mutants; they weren't zombies as they could speak; they were intelligent beings."

"And Ren got badly injured by them," Adam interjected, interrupting Connor as he tried describing their attack, which left him somewhat disconcerted. He briefly recounted how one of them struck the sharp talons from their hands into his arm and then tried slashing him open, ripping apart his clothing but missing skin, although blood had seeped out from several cuts he had incurred during the battle. A small puddle of blood formed underneath his feet where his arms rested on the dirt ground.

"Ren is infected; we don't know how much time she has left."

"Shit." Ruby cursed, glancing at her bleeding friend nervously while grabbing onto Ren's hand, interlocking it with hers and grasping it tightly.

"Shit."

"Ruby..." Connor started hesitantly, his mind full of thoughts. He pulled Ruby aside and grabbed her by the collar.

"WHAT CAN WE DO, RUBY? IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA, TELL US RIGHT NOW!!!" Connor screamed.

"Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent her inevitable death; however, depending on her willpower, how much time she has left is up to her. These monsters don't infect people the normal way; the virus is transferred through the air, and the likelihood of all of you being infected is quite high. Even if you guys aren't infected, the virus has spread quite a distance outside of this place by now; therefore, there's no escaping it. It would be more advantageous for you two to stay indoors during these times unless you want to turn into a flesh-eating monster yourselves. I suggest you gather as many supplies as you can to stay safe from getting killed by the infected and the ones responsible for this; otherwise, I have nothing to offer. We'll be discussing strategy tomorrow regarding the issue after Ren's treatment is done."

"How about killing me, Ayoub?" Ren suggested weakly with a bitter smile.

"That would only make things worse," replied Ayoub, shaking his head disapprovingly as if rejecting that idea. "In fact, it will worsen matters rather than make them better. A lot worse."

"Damn it all," mumbled Ruby in frustration while furiously smacking a fist against the side of a wooden desk, leaving a large crack on the surface of the wood.

Adamo walked up to Ruby and punched her in the face. "I'm done dreaming, Ruby; you are the exact reason for Ren's being in this predicament. I loathe you." He whispered angrily, and his voice sounded distorted. Ruby let out a pained whine but quickly stopped once he realized his error. Adamo was pinned to the ground with guns pointed at his head by Ruby's guards.

"All of you are as good as dead." Ruby stated, rubbing her swollen cheeks gingerly.

"One of you guys is dying as well. This can't end well. None of you deserve a peaceful rest; you will rot away and burn alive once the infection spreads throughout your group."

Ruby had gotten herself infected, but nobody else knew. She was fine since her immunity levels were higher than most humans'. Adamo also knew, and he couldn't take the stress of living anymore but forced himself to continue living.

"Just kill me already, Ruby. This world is messed up, and I refuse to see the end of it."

Adamo had lost hope, as did Connor. However, Ren kept up her determination even in such a situation. Her desire to live and protect those around her hadn't diminished; instead, it grew stronger.

"Why isn't there a cure yet?"

"All the doctors have run out of energy. We're all out of ideas and are now waiting for this new one. He's supposed to come with some results."

As everyone was arguing, a doctor entered the room and claimed to be the man everyone was looking for. They immediately rushed over to hear what he had to say. He explained in detail what he thought could work and described the steps they would need to take to complete the task successfully. The procedure was very complex; therefore, he wanted a group of experts on hand to make sure everything went accordingly.

When they were all set up, Dr. Haynes had gathered a group of skilled scientists and researchers, most of whom worked closely with the military, conducting classified projects.

"How has the research been going, Dr. Haynes?" Ruby asked.

"Things haven't gotten any better if that's what you were hoping for. A lot more people are dying; we've lost quite a few of them during this period, including several civilian casualties; some of them died right before us. It's been absolutely devastating for everyone involved. Regardless of this, we must keep trying since failure is unacceptable for all mankind."

"What is the product that is being created after all of this is done?" Ren asked, Dr. Haynes was her last hope of living.

"If you're asking for a cure, you aren't getting anything. This chemical compound I am creating is something mankind has never seen before; I like to call it Voltage X."