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The beings approached ceaselessly, stumbling slowly but steadily.
Zane was frozen, his hands trembling. Memories that he thought he had repressed appeared in his mind and sweat ran down his forehead.
What should he do?
He didn't have a weapon, he could work magic, but should he?
Should he attack them?
What kind of beings were they right in front of him?
Were they people?
Were they monsters?
Why were they here in the first place?
What was their goal?
Did they even have a goal?
All of these thoughts raced through Zane's mind in a split second when a familiar voice tore him away from his thoughts:
“Zane! Get out of here!” Zero grabbed Zane's jacket and dragged him along. Zane, still deep in thought, just followed the pull of his jacket. Nathan and Asagi were about to run towards them when Zero came running back with Zane and signaled them with a frantic hand gesture to stay there. In a very short time, the two had put a few meters between themselves and the stumbling creatures, who were still heading towards them.
"Get in, now!" Shouted Zero just a few meters away from the pickup.
Asagi immediately got back into the pickup, while Nathan hesitated: "Zero, what are those?"
"Head down!" they heard from the distance. Immediately Zero pushed Zane's head down as they continued walking back to the car. There was the sound of a rifle firing.
The bullet pierced the first creature, leaving a large hole in the left side of the chest. The force of the hit tore off its left arm, which flew through the air before the creature itself was thrown back a few meters and remained on the ground.
Alarmed, Nathan turned around with his hands over his head, in the direction from which the shot had come from. Several soldiers and Tyler's distinctive red ATBS, who had met them earlier at the barricade, hurried in their direction. The shot that had brought down the first being must have come from Tyler's rifle because no other rifle used by the soldiers could have left such a wound. The bullets of the ATBS weapons were correspondingly larger and often of armor-piercing class, as they were mostly used against other armored vehicles or ATBS.
As soon as the first being went down, more shots were heard and the next being fell to the ground. Panicked, Nathan ducked to avoid being hit by a ricochet. Asagi in the pickup truck also held her hands over her head.
Meanwhile, the first creature tried to stand up again, its arm nowhere to be found. A few more bullets hit it and the creature fell again. Black ash or dust emerged from its wounds, but not just from the wounds. The base of the severed arm also seemed to dissolve into black dust. The dust spread all over the body from the wounds and before the creature hit the ground, it had completely dissolved into dust.
Where the creature had previously stood there was now only a heap of dust on the ground which was carried away by the wind and only the clothes remained in the wind.
"Nathan get in there!" Shouted Zero, who had finally arrived at the car with Zane.
"What are those?" Asked Nathan, who still hesitated to get into the car.
The color faded out of Nathan’s face when Zero answered: “Infected! Come on!"
Zero looked briefly in the direction of the Infected, who were shot down one after the other by the oncoming soldiers, while Zane frantically jumped over the hood and sat back down in the pickup. "Buckle up," said Zero in a serious voice as he closed the driver's door.
The tires screeched from the sudden acceleration as Zero shifted into gear and fully stepped on the accelerator. The pickup jolted for a bit before it sped back at full speed the next moment towards the direction from where they had come before. There were only a few meters left until they reached the soldiers. These signaled Zero, who came to a stop a few meters behind the soldiers, to stop by waving his hand.
"Are you all okay ?! The soldier who hurried to them asked out of breath, while Zero pulled down the window.
“Thanks, we’re all fine,” he replied.
Immediately, the soldier's gaze flickered through the car and fell on Zane, who was staring into space, trembling in the passenger seat. "Are you sure?"
"Zane." Asagi put her hands on his shoulders from behind, whereupon he was startled.
"Yes, it's just the shock," Zero assured the soldier of Zane's integrity.
"Ok," the soldier let out a little relieved.
"Wait here, I'll be right back", the soldier said goodbye with the intention of running back to his unit, which had taken up position a few meters away.
"What’s going to happen now?" Zero asked the soldier, who was about to wave him off, whereupon Zero continued: "I have to go to the hospital." The soldier paused and stared back at Zero a little baffled. It wasn’t just the soldier but everyone else in the car stared at Zero as well. Sensing the looks on him, Zero added: "I'm a paramedic."
The small PDA on the soldier's forearm lit up and the soldier looked at his comrades, who gave him a hand signal. "Hey guys," Tyler switched from his ATBS to the screen in the pickup's center console. The inmates and the soldier looked at the screen as Tyler started explaining the situation to them:
“It seems like we'll stay here for the time being. We're just reporting. "
"What just happened?" Nathan asked immediately, waiting for Tyler's explanation.
"It seems we have an outbreak here," Tyler dropped the bomb, confirming Zero's guess. “We are still clarifying the extent of it, depending on whether or not we can contain it ourselves, but we are still waiting for the precise instructions. We will probably go to the hospital to clarify the situation on-site."
"What about the people in the evacuation bunker?" Asagi joined the conversation.
“They will be evacuated as soon as we have clarified the situation. You should be safe for now,” the soldier explained.
"We could use your help but ..." Tyler continued, his gaze visibly on Zane through the screen.
"But what?" Asked Nathan, leaving the first shock behind, while Zero put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling of the pickup truck.
"I don't want to involve college graduates and civilians in military action, even less in an outbreak… That's a size too big for you, I can't answer for it. Even if it's just about helping with the evacuation,” Tyler's gaze wandered over the occupants of the car. "Besides, Ben would kill me if something happened to one of you," he laughed lightly.
Nathan became calm while Asagi, who was still trying to calm Zane down, looked at Zero.
"OK! I'll be in touch again for the evacuation information. You can join us again”, Tyler said goodbye while he gave the soldier the order to return.
The soldiers under Tyler's command had positioned themselves at a corner of the building from which they could largely overlook the entrances to the outbuildings as well as the main entrance of the hospital. Only the trees in the park in front of the hospital narrowed the view a little. The infected, who had previously headed towards Zero and Zane, were all gone by now. The only evidence of the creatures were the vinous black crystals that could be seen between the remains of clothing.
"So what do we do now?" Zero brought his hands back to the steering wheel and turned to the others. "What's your opinion, Zane?" He asked cautiously, while Zane looked at his clenched fists in panic.
"Huh?" He was startled. "What? Me? I… I… Uhm… ” he struggled for words.
“Calm down, Zane. Everything is OK!”, Zero tried to relax him.
"I ... I'm sorry ..." he apologized. "I…"
"It's okay, Zane," he patted his shoulder gently and turned backward.
"Nathan?" Zero released Zane, who was still struggling with himself and the situation.
"I'm not sure ..." Nathan hesitated. "I mean, Tyler is right, we're fresh out of the academy and not even that, we don't even have a degree. Now we are not only facing an attack by the Teikoku but also a possible outbreak," he analyzed. "I think that's really too much for us," added Nathan hesitantly, his eyes fixed on the still trembling Zane.
"You're probably right," Zero looked out of the window at the street in front of him when his gaze fell in the rearview mirror. “What about you Asagi? Are you all right?” He turned around to face her. She also seemed unsure and therefore hardly said anything.
"Me? I mean, I agree with Nathan but…” she also began to hesitate, as if she wanted to muster her courage. "If you want to get Carol, I'll come with you!"
Zeros winced at her statement. Everyone in the car knew what Zero was getting at, but only Asagi said it out loud. Nobody convicted him for wanting to get Carol, but the situation had changed drastically.
"Thanks, Asagi", he smiled a little worried. "But I would prefer if ..." he started to say when Tyler reappeared on the screen and interrupted him.
"About your evacuation ..." Tyler got straight to the point. "The evacuation point at the hospital has been officially canceled and all civilians should go to the base or the academy," he said in a serious voice. “The best thing to do is to report to the lock, they are collecting the civilians there and escorting them to the evacuation point on the base. So take ... "Tyler wanted to say goodbye when Zero interjected:
"Tyler, I'll come with you, I have to go to the hospital!" Zero repeated what he had already said to the soldier.
"What?"
"I'm a medic, I can help you with the evacuation and besides, Carol may still be in there."
"How do you know?" Tyler asked, reluctant to accept the idea.
"She didn't reply to the message I wrote her right after the alarm," he explained to Tyler.
"All right," Tyler accepted Zero's concern after a little while. “We could use any help, but it's your choice. You can always change your mind and go to the evacuation point,” he reminded Zero.
"All right thanks, Tyler."
"I'll come too," Asagi interjected.
"You too?" Tyler asked, puzzled.
"Asagi, I would prefer for you to go to the evacuation point with the others," Zero tried to dissuade her.
“Carol is also my friend Zero! I want to help too,” she argued while Zane looked around uncertainly.
"I don't want you to put yourself in danger," Zero tried to convince her.
"It's my decision, Zero, please let me help you," she countered. Zero ran through his hair with his hand and scratched his head when his and Zane's eyes met.
Zero smiled at Zane and turned back to the backseat. "Nathan will you go back to the lock with Zane, please?" Nathan was about to join in when he was stopped by Zero's request. He understood immediately what Zero was getting at. "All right, we'll help with the evacuation there," Nathan framed it in a way that Zane wouldn't feel completely useless.
Still not controlling his shaking body, Zane tried to argue, "I ... I ..." but was interrupted by Tyler.
"Ok, then that's probably settled. We'll move on in five minutes and secure access to the hospital. Until then, you can still change your mind."
""Alright", Asagi and Zero answered.
The five minutes were almost over, and Zane stood with clenched fists in front of Asagi and Zero, his eyes fixed on the floor. Nathan was already in the driver's seat and was looking out the window towards the others on the street while he waited for Zane. Meanwhile Asagi and Zero received a makeshift pistol and a bulletproof vest from the soldiers.
“Take good care of the car. And see you later”, Zero said goodbye to the two of them and went to the soldiers.
"Take care of yourselves", Asagi also said goodbye before joining Zero. Zane turned his gaze to Zero and Asagi, who were slowly moving away from him.
"Good luck!" Nathan waved towards them while Zane continued to watch them, his fists still shaking.
It's just like it was back then! I haven't changed at all! Zane cursed himself as the two moved further and further away. I am still so weak! Will I always run away? If I lose them too ...
"Are you coming Zane?" Nathan asked as Zane clenched his fists and followed Zero and Asagi.
"Hey wait!"
Zero turned around when the still trembling Zane stopped in front of him. "Zero! I will accompany you!” He said a little out of breath. "Take me with you!" He asked for Zero's permission, who looked at him in surprise.
"Are you sure?" Asked Zero.
"Yes! Let me help you! I’m sure you can make use of a magician, right?” He tried to confirm his decision.
"What's going on now?" Nathan asked who drove up with the pickup.
"I'm going to the hospital as well!" Zane told him.
Nathan smiled at Zane's statement. "Well then, of course, I'll come with you, too," nodded Nathan towards Zero, who nodded back.
"What is this now?" Tyler asked, who had got out of his ATBS.
"We have two other members," said Zero.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, Nathan and I will help too," Zane announced.
Meanwhile, two trucks with other soldiers and an ATBS had joined Tyler's unit. The battle, on the other hand, seemed to go on undeterred despite the possible outbreak.
"Well, if that's the case ..." Tyler turned to his ATBS. "I don't have time to worry about it anymore, so I hope you can change your diapers yourself Zane because now it's getting serious," he waved to the group.
"You can count on us, Tyler!" Zane called after him.
"I hope your seats can be washed Zero," he looked back with a smile before going back to his ATBS.
"Hey!" Zane shouted after him with a sour face when Zero, Nathan, and Asagi started laughing. "What is it now?" Zane blushed.
"Nice to have you back with us Zane," laughed Zero.
"That's right," laughed Nathan as well, while Asagi looked at him with a smile.
"Thanks, guys!" Zane said, still a little red in the face, but this time for a different reason.
"Everyone start briefing!" It echoed from the position of the soldiers.
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