Prologue — Eradicated

Heavy and slow steps echoed through the enormous yet empty room, carrying a body that had been, for a long time, fragile and broken. The man, now wearing a silky white coat, had a mysterious aura around him. When others saw him walking by, they often stared at him in wonder. Age had done a number on him, and yet, despite the life he had to go through, he kept that warm, peaceful smile he always wore in the darkest of times, and a strong vitality that never seemed to wear off.

Thirty years had passed since the Neurax Worm outbreak. And perhaps one of the most important people involved in its eradication, Derek Thompson, often spent the afternoons mourning for all who had been lost. The sight of emptied cities, decaying corpses throughout all the streets, scavengers feasting on what once was a person; sometimes he thought he would never be able to get those images out of his brain. Other times, he was glad. At least, somebody had to remember. Someone had to know what happened, and make sure to do his best to prevent it from happening ever again.

Sunset's orange light leaked through the stained glass. The old man stroked his white beard, walking towards the table sitting at the center of the room. He sat down on an expensive-looking chair, allowing his body to relax. With half-closed eyes, Derek began to retreat into a maze of thoughts. Thinking. For the past few years, that was all he did in his spare time. His age allowed him to retire, but his inner motivation always forced him to push forward, to keep working to help humanity. Was it because he didn't trust the younger generations? Was it because he needed the sense of control he got from knowing everything was going to be just as he planned?

Derek closed his eyes completely and drifted away. There was only one thought that always bothered him, that made his blood boil yet at the same time it made his eyes water. That thought was Neuren.

Not much research was done on him. The human who almost wiped out humanity, of incomparable intelligence and still shrouded in mystery. Derek couldn't help but be curious: where was he now? How old was he? Did he die? What was his name? What prompted him to do what he did? And how did he find the worm in the first place? The most frustrating factor of it all was that Neuren simply vanished from Earth, taking all of the answers with him. Derek had often requested for research to be done on his background, but with no leads, and no real experts in the area, everyone had given up and moved on to more important matters.

Important, right. The old doctor's train of thought lead him to the current state of affairs. Something that, if he had to admit, scared him to no end. Ironic, he thought he would have nothing to fear when he grew older, but life has again proven him wrong. But how could a ridiculous idea like that even work? One of the employees suggested creating a permanent cure to all diseases, an universal vaccine that would aid the immune system in defeating anything that would endanger the host. NanoCure, they called the creation.

In an utopian world, perhaps, NanoCure would work perfectly, having no negative side-effects and actually helping humanity thrive in these moments, when it needs it the most. Unfortunately, Derek had realized, this world was far from perfect. It was his most pessimist side speaking, but for him, shaking off the feeling that something might go wrong was impossible. Nobody should play God, simply allow nature to work as planned. That was the lesson they were supposed to learn from Neuren. But if everything went smoothly, and NanoCure was a success? How many lives would be lost only due to an irrational feeling of foreboding? And how many would be lost if that feeling was ignored?

Derek opened his eyes. These mental loopholes were no good for his mental state, and now that the sun had completely sunk in the horizon, the darkness had increased, once again reminding him of the loneliness of this room. Perhaps, he was just being selfish, or relying in the old excuse, back in my days, things were better!

They weren't. That much was clear.

With effort and a grunt, the old man stood up, bones protesting with him. It was time to go back home, pay his respects to his late wife, and wish a happy birthday to his older daughter. He smiled at the thought. Perhaps, if he retired, more of his free time would be spent bonding with them, but he would rather ensure their prosper future.

Some sacrifices had to be made.

A/N: Yeah, I'm alive. So what's in for this fanfic? It's basically a sequel for "The Creature Inside of Me", which I'm going to update much more slowly 'cause now I'm going through the entire editing process, hopefully making a much cleaner and clearer story this time. This here is just a prologue for setting, chapters are expected to be a bit longer than this.

So, I hope you enjoy this one. I know I promised alternative endings for the previous fic, consider them a "maybe I'll do it, maybe I won't".