Original Creepypasta: Self Preservation
…
If you're reading this, then I am hopefully long gone.
It's been… two months now since the meteor struck Mississippi. I remember there was a lot of public interest in it, astrologers and the like all gathering around for a look. They took samples of the rock and shipped them all over the world to museums in every country. Even here, at RED, where we fought armies of robots and insane wizards daily we were pretty amazed and all wanted to make the trip to take a look. If it wasn't for Grey Mann sending us a bunch of robots the same day, we probably would have, actually. And we would have all been dead. Three days later, after the initial hype died down, the news reported nothing on the meteor for a couple of days.
The next thing I heard about it was when the team and I had returned to the base after a long day of fighting the BLUs. We went into the rec room and turned on the late-night news. We were just in time to catch a breaking news article. The reporter-guy was pale and looked worried. He informed the audience that almost everyone who had been in the vicinity of Mississippi when the meteor went down had been hospitalized. Their symptoms were similar to those that a corpse experiences during decomposition. Ten people had already died, mostly the elderly and the very young. Scientists and geneticists from all over the world were working frantically to try and find a cure. By then we were all looking at each other baffled and confused, except for Medic who was glued to the screen. We all agreed we were going to gather supplies and start preparing for an epidemic.
The news the next day had a lighter tone. A group of scientists had worked out that the meteor had contained an alien strain of bacteria that slowly broke down flesh tissue. They also remarked that the bacteria were only affecting humans. They had worked out that if a victim consumed a living being, like an insect for example, it would delay the progression of the bacteria and give the scientists more time to find a permanent cure. Anyone who thought they may be infected was told to eat as many live creatures as they could. Medic kept laughing and commenting how absurd that sounded, rolling his eyes and sighing. The reporter also explained that the US Army was attempting to contain the infection.
They failed.
The bacteria passed through the air, but to catch it, you had to be near someone infected. Because the symptoms took between three to five days to kick in, people often didn't realise that they were infected. In a week, Victus Somes Disease, as it had been named, became a global epidemic.
For the team members still here we barricaded ourselves inside the base, with towels and blankets stuffed into every crack. Sniper had locked himself in his van with food and water supplies as well as his riffle. Soldier had returned to Merasmus' castle. I figured it was probably the safest place for him, at first. Here in the base we had the TV tuned to the news all day and night. The scientists hadn't predicted that the bacteria would adapt to the infected people's efforts at trying to keep it at bay. Victims all over the world were claiming the insects were no longer working. People were starting to catch small mammals like mice and rats and eat them alive.
As the days went by, people were slowly eating larger and larger animals. The first reported case of cannibalism was the last broadcast made. The reporter-guy's hair was falling out and he was missing three teeth. He nervously told America that there had been a reported case of cannibalism in Southern Europe. He also said that there would be no further broadcasts. All survivors were to lock themselves in their house and not let anyone in.
We thought the base was safe.
We were so, so wrong...
Sniper was the first to get infected. I remember him knocking on the door saying he had something to show us and me naively opening. He immediately pounced on me and tried to bite my arms and neck before I was able to shove him off. He was missing several fingers and teeth and his breathing was… Ragged and uneasy. "Come on mate; just one bite to stay alive… You'd do this for a friend, right? You'd do this for a friend?" He began crawling towards me before I heard running footsteps and a loud bang. Medic shot him without second thought before handing me the shotgun. I looked up at him terrified before he told me "Don't feel pity for the infected, or it will be your downfall." I quickly figured he was right. He used a broom stick to push Sniper's dead body outside of the base before closing and locking the door. He claimed you were 'never careful enough'.
Three days later, he was the next one infected. Just as Sniper, he went violent and tried to bite us but Pyro and Demoman managed to lock him outside. After that he kept trying to break in; banging on the door and all the windows which –luckily- were thick and solid enough to not break or pop out of they're frames. It stopped after a few days and by then, we knew he was dead.
Two days later, I saw Soldier walk by outside. He was holding that weird ram skull Merasmus always wore on his head and looked… Normal. No signs of decomposition; all ten fingers and walking calmly. Without hesitation I knocked on my window and managed to catch his attention. I waved at him; signed for him to come over but he shook his head sadly. He opened his mouth slowly; revealing yellowed teeth and blackened gums –one tooth fell out leaving a bloody line of saliva on his lips. I lowered my head and backed away from the window a bit. I pointed at the ram skull in his arms, but he shook his head sadly again. We waited a few more seconds just looking at each other before he finally gave me the military salute and headed forth. I knew where he was going. In that direction maybe a mile away was a very deep ravine.
A suicide hotspot.
Now that I think of it, he was probably the most human of all of us.
As the days went by everyone was delving more and more into insanity. Pyro began coughing up blood one day and Spy immediately shot them straight through the head with little to no hesitation. Heavy also became infected at some point. He managed to corner Engineer in his own room and just… Dismembered him one limb after the other to feed on his flesh. We heard him scream and cry for help but the door to his room was locked. We knew he was doomed. Demoman and I barricaded the door from outside to trap Heavy inside the room. With nothing to eat, he died after a few days. After that I gathered some food and water supplies to sustain myself for several days and locked myself into my own room.
Now… I suppose I should explain why I'm writing this.
I'm infected.
Yesterday I coughed and lost a canine. Just like Soldier. I spent the night pulling out my teeth, getting them out one by one. It didn't hurt one bit; they just slid out, like pulling up carrots. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm infected. Eating insects doesn't work, and all the wild animals have long since run away. For all I know, Spy and Demoman are still alive. I'm gonna try and lure one of them into my room. It sounds so wrong writing that out, but I don't want to die. And I'm so hungry.
I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.
