Author's note: I lied. Reading over the previous chapter a few times, I realized there was something I forgot. Something that even my protagonist overlooked. We were all caught by surprise by what happened after the nuclear missile detonated. This is the real last chapter, and it's extremely short. The shortest chapter in the entire story. Enjoy this quick read, and maybe we'll see you again.
It was over two weeks since the tactical nuke had detonated on Manhattan Island. The infection was contained, and destroyed. Everyone who knew about what had transpired on the island had been executed personally by General Stevens. With the entire Blackwatch unit incinerated along with the infection, the cover up was complete.
All that had to be done now was evaluate the island, make sure the nuke had done its job. A small team of scientists had been deployed to the center of the island; they were kept in the dark of course. They were given devices that would seek out the infection, and identify its strain. They wore suits to protect them from the polluted battle ground, ambient radiation at a toxic level.
One scientist was inspecting a large crater near the center of the island, the impact not caused by the nuclear explosion. He had ventured into the center of the impact site, the others checking more noteworthy sites. He used the devices he had been given by his employer, who preferred not to be named.
He was looking forward to getting this over with, not comfortable with using equipment he had never seen before, or being ordered by someone without a name or face.
He was checking stress fractures in the ground, the cracks seemingly more recent than the blast. The device beeped once, getting his attention. He tried to get closer to the cracks in the ground, trying to find the reading he had received for only a moment.
The device beeped again, the stress fracture widening. The scientist furrowed his brow behind his helmet's glass visor. He reached out, feeling the crack through his gloved hand. Pulling his hand back up, he looked at a strange substance that adhered to his finger. It looked like blood.
Scanning it, the device began beeping alarmingly. The small screen on it spelled out "DX-1118 M, variant 1".
The scientist looked at this, not understanding what the device had just identified. He looked at the small spot of blood, working it around between his index finger and thumb. He watched as it seemed to evaporate, its already diminished volume disappearing.
What was actually happening was the virus had made microscopic punctures in the suit, slowly seeping through to the warm flesh of the scientist. As he got up, ready to leave the crater and report back to his shadowy employers, the virus actively entered his bloodstream through his pores. It began viciously attacking his cells, infecting them and consuming them, replicating rapidly.
The scientist noticed only minor discomfort in his hand, attributing it to all the writing he had been doing lately. The virus moved through the scientist's blood stream, consciously seeking out his central nervous system. As it made its way into the cranium, it immediately attacked the frontal lobes, eating away at his brain, disarming the man's thinking.
The scientist didn't even have a chance to react, making only the slightest stumble on his way to his transport, a small cart designed for off road environments. The virus had already consumed his brain, now having enough strength to freely eat away at his body. It took mere seconds for the virus to consume every cell in his body, completely taking over his form and mind.
A set of cold blue eyes stared out from behind the helmet now, quickly deleting the information within the viral detector. Mercer didn't force himself into the ground and survive a second nuclear blast just to be caught by some second hand, pseudo mercenary science team.
He put the device to the suit, trying to see if it would detect him through the protective gear. It didn't have a reading at all.
Mercer looked back at the impact crater, remembering how he had forced the minutest fragment of his body deep into the ground, slithering deep into the earth as the rest of his body was consumed. He had almost been vaporized when the nuclear blast made its way over him, and the days that had passed since were barren and free of nutrition. It was pure luck that this man had reached into the fracture that he had worked himself up through.
Mercer disguised his face, making his way back to the cart, ready to escape the now desolate island. There were still loose ends to tie up, and a new General to hunt.