The makeshift lab was hot, dark, and airless. Rows of equipment and glassware spanned tables, housing various samples and chemicals that almost glowed in the late afternoon light that streamed through the dirty, cracked window. Karen Parker furiously scanned lines of data that streamed across her laptop; test results depicting recombinant strains of the Blacklight Virus, tested vaccines, and methods of halting the virus replication. Everything they tried to quell the virus failed, except for outright killing it. They needed a way to control, it in a sense. A weapon was no good if it was uncontrollable.
Large explosions sounded outside, distant, yet too close for her comfort. East Harlem was secure…for now at least. The virus was spreading at an exponential rate. In a little under 2 weeks, it had swallowed almost all of Manhattan. The military and Blackwatch couldn't hold it back with the force they were using. All they could do was slow the virus as it spread into the secure zones. The infected numbered almost a million, and all of them were evolving. Some shuffled like zombies from horror movies, others turned to sleek killing machines, while still others grew and turned to mindless, instinct fueled killing machines.
Karen grimaced at the next entry she read. Some strain of the virus collected by field scientists was beginning to resist the bloodtox being deployed throughout the island. The tox, spread like pesticide in a field, had shown promising signs of halting the infected, but now carriers were lasting longer in the airborne gas. It wouldn't be enough…they needed more.
The door banged open behind her, startling her in her chair. She turned, and saw with only minor relief that it was one of the Blackwatch Specters assigned to guard her. He was clad in an all black jumpsuit, with tactical gear and weapons hanging off his vest and belt. He was faceless, save for the combat mask he wore, equipped with a breathing filter and night vision goggles, tinted blue for daytime viewing.
He shifted his assault rifle to one hand as he quickly beckoned to her. "We've been compromised!" he barked through the speakers in his mask. Even though he had no facial features, his voice was urgent and tense, his gestures quick and authoritative. "Mercer knows you're on the payroll, we're evacuating!"
Karen felt the blood rush from her face as she paled. Alex…he was coming for her…for revenge.
"Oh Jesus," she moaned as her limbs went slack. The Specter grabbed her arm and hauled the frightened scientist out of her chair, tugging her at a half jog down a decrepit hallway.
She knew what Alex could do, and what he'd become. Despite all of her research, even all of McMullen's research, they still knew so little of the Blacklight Virus. All they had were theories, and Alex Mercer broke those theories 2 weeks ago. They knew the virus could alter genetics, but Alex seemed to possess the ability to control it. He could manipulate mass and DNA, shift his own body into anyone he consumed.
The Specter pulled her into the elevator, the large, noisy freight type in the slum they were using as a temporary lab. The infection had driven them all into tight little hiding holes where space was limited. Graffiti and crumbling posters littered the walls and interior of the elevator.
The doors shut after the soldier slapped the button for the ground floor, and with a lurch the elevator began to descend. Karen backed into the corner, her knuckles white as they gripped the rails along the walls. She was never claustrophobic, but with the knowledge of something coming to kill her, the elevator felt like a coffin, descending into the cold ground. How close was he? How long did they have to escape? A cold sweat began to bead from her forehead, the collar of her white blouse beneath her blazer suddenly almost constricting her throat.
"You know what he can do…" she said breathlessly to the Specter, who was standing stiff in the other corner. Her breath rose in her chest, which heaved harder and harder as the fear began to descend, borderline hyperventilating. "…oh dammit, he'll kill me!"
Without warning, the descending motion suddenly stopped. The elevator jerked and bounced, settling in the shaft with a clang. The lights flickered off, save for the emergency exit sign, casting the entire cube-shaped lift in a deep, blood red light. Karen stumbled, almost falling forward on her dress flats, but caught herself in time on shaky legs.
"Oh my God…" Karen whimpered as the trembling began to overtake her body. Almost panicking as her heart jumped into her throat, she started forward, then realized there was nowhere to run.
Everything had gone silent. The distant chatter of gunfire and continuous screams which had distracted her from her work were no longer audible. The mechanical thrum of tank treads moving from the bases into the infected zones didn't even make the walls of the elevator rumble.
A coffin, inside its grave.
"…oh my God," she whimpered again with wide, blind eyes. "…he's here. He's in the building!"
Then, her blood ran cold as she heard the voice. It wasn't the Specter's harsh voice mixed with the crackle of the helmet speaker…it was lower, familiar…the voice of Alex Mercer when they lay in bed together…and it was right behind her…
"I know…"