oh my freaking god... I am so sorry everyone for making you wait so damn long, I just had so much stuff to do... You have my infinite apologies for not publishing a chapter in the past few days! Basically, I had lots of exams, art and graphics deadlines, writers block and laziness, but for you guys and girls, I powered through it all and finally produced the next chapter. The chapter after this one should be considerably easier now, since I finally managed to get a hold of prototype and play just past the part I am writing about. That's also another reason I was gone, I had a lot of plot research to do, especially for the captain Cross part... Ugh...
Anyway, I insist you start actively looking at the deviantART account I created for this fan as well now, since I will be posting artwork for this story there, and I will also be posting references to the sequel to this fan fiction and possible other stories that could branch off this fiction. It will be worth your time, I promise! Anyway, read on, And enjoy!
After finally serving Dana her soup, and removing the misfortunate potatoes from my blade and arm, it was considerably late into the night. Late enough, Dana claimed, for a horror film to be played. I grimaced at the mention of watching a horror film, I have always hated them- they did terrible things to my head during the night and god damn it I had only gotten out of my habit of being afraid of the dark a year or so ago... Alex didn't seem to mind, but was much more interested in watching my reactions each time scary music began to play, or gore came up.
throughout the film I had taken to hiding my face behind a pillow, which had then been taken away by Dana to lean upon, and then my hand to which I swear Alex was laughing at me for. Dana was cuddled up between me and Alex (mainly Alex, since he was her brother of course)- and by the looks of it the film was just about to draw to an end, judging by the increase of screaming and dramatic moments. I may be a prototype, and have consumed people whole, but this... This was just torture in the cruelest possible way... Watching a person's ribs be torn open in 'glorious detail' threw me over the edge, and I stood up quite abruptly, scaring Dana.
"I can't watch this anymore, how can you handle such bullshit..." I muttered as I stalked back to my room, earning a shout of anger from Dana when I called her 'film' bullshit. I fell into a state of semi-consciousness that night on the window sill, waiting for the sun to rise and colour my room with the many shades of yellow and orange.
Throughout the night I had snippets of dreams as well, barely registering behind my closed eyelids like they did when I was still human, but these weren't dreams of random things, these felt more like visions of the future somehow. I remember pictures of Alex, some room that really lacked colour- and a forest full of cherry blossom, like the ones back in Weaverham. Somewhere in the slowness of my mind, a pang of longing was felt, a longing to see Weaverham during the spring time again.
I was pulled from my semi-conscious state by the glare of the sun filtering through my window, painting the walls with extravagant colours just like I predicted it would. A wry smile stretched across my face as the sun came to rise, another day in heaven and hell had come to pass. Deciding that there was no possible way I could go back to sleep now, I got up and tip-toed to the bathroom, quickly took a shower and then decided it would be a good idea to finish obtaining my music on Dana's laptop.
It was 6:30A.M And as far as I could tell Dana and Alex hadn't stirred- which was fine by me as I got to check up on various things. I managed to get the last few songs I wanted, find the address of the closest art shop in Manhattan for future reference, browse YouTube for other videos of me and Alex, and then check my phone for any texts from Natasha- which counted up to no texts in total. I sighed, feeling completely bored and useless right now. Then a small idea struck me.
What was that group Dana talked about last night? Redlight-Resistance wasn't it? Yeah... It had to be. I looked it up on google, but next to nothing came up, just some journalist reports on people who claimed they were resisting the redlight virus, but not part of a group called the Redlight-Resistance. Then I remembered my little conversation with Dana about the deep webs, and how 96 - 97% of information is hidden from the public eye, and decided to use the Tor browser.
Firing up Tor, I started searching the group name, and much more information came up than before, although not much more. It was pretty hush hush, the only things popping up frequently being graffiti done by the group which was more often than not a spray painted image of a Blackwatch soldier with the words 'Who watches the Blackwatch?' written around it. There were a few files here and there about a resistance group stirring up trouble for the military, and that their work was a little less than peaceful. I dug deeper into the archives, and the deeper I dared to delve, the more information I began to uncover.
The group was pretty good at covering their tracks, almost too good, but they weren't perfect. Security video footage of what looked like a gang wearing dark bandanas and hoods met up with each over over a long period of time, and gradually began to migrate down an alleyway before disappearing from the camera view all together. More footage cropped up, but it was always of people walking into an alleyway hidden from camera view. It was all linked somehow by the looks of it, and I wanted to know how. These people could help us, and we could help them... But we had to find them first.
I searched around for more information on the group and discovered that they all wore a similar kind of uniform (mainly a bandana and a jacket of some sort), and that every alleyway they met up in had some form of their graffiti inside. It was a loose lead, but it was something. After half an hour of further poking around and finding nothing else of use, I decided to put myself to use. I was going to devote my time today looking for them- and not even Alex was going to stop me, though first I guess I had to consume some infected in case things turned nasty...
I logged off my profile, and was about to head for the door when Alex emerged quietly from his room. "Going somewhere?" He muttered, clearly not a morning person. I responded with a quick uneasy smile. "Yeah... To follow your advice- consuming people, and to have a run around... I might be awhile..." I rubbed my arms uneasily at the thought of eating people, but it was something I would have to adapt to- it was my lifestyle now. He nodded, clearly satisfied with my answer. "Don't attract any attention while you're gone. Blackwatch are packing new gear at the minute and I don't want you to get killed because of it." I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture, mumbling a "yeah, yeah..." Before exiting the apartment via the front door (something Alex NEVER did).
To be honest, I didn't lie to Alex. I just told him half of what I was planning on doing. Consuming some infected wasn't top of my priority list, but it had to be done. I picked off any stray infected at the closest hive (being very careful as to not draw any Blackwatch activity), not wanting to take on an entire hoard by myself, and I made sure I was healthy enough to move around like a parkour maniac (Alex) before beginning my second activity of the day. Locating the ever mysterious Redlight-Resistance.
Finding graffiti in a city is very easy, usually you just turn around and it's there, glaring at you with a neon coloured attitude problem, but when you are actively looking for it, it seems to vanish- and ceases to exist at the drop of a hat. Since I was actively looking for it, it made my life a living nightmare, since I needed to find some or I would never be able to find that damn group. I think I must of spent a good half hour running across the city before I found my first solid piece of evidence.
There was a group of people wearing bandanas and hoodies in the street below me, being rather loud and rowdy with each other but quieting down whenever a civilian walked past, which gave me a reason to suspect them. They stayed there for quite awhile, before other people began to join their group, and then they started walking somewhere. My heart fluttered in hope as I followed them, have I finally found what I was looking for?
I stalked them closely for a few blocks, using the rooftops to make sure I as unseen, but I had to duck behind some kind of fan thing on the roof when a helicopter with GUNS flew by. The sound the blades made as it hovered around for a moment terrified me- had it seen me duck down? Seemingly finding nothing of danger or interest, it flew off just as quickly as it had descended. Sighing in relief, I checked to see if the people were still there. I only just caught a glimpse of one walking into an alleyway- glancing cautiously around before following the rest of their group. Grinning to myself in silent victory, I waited a few moments before deciding to jump down in the alleyway opposite and follow them.
That was until I discovered there was nothing here except a dead end. Literally. There was graffiti on the very back wall of the Blackwatch soldier, but nothing else gave me a clue as to where they had gone. They vanished into thin air within a matter of seconds- how was that even possible?
I felt around the wall for something that might be a trigger for a trap door, but there was nothing. Not even a loose brick. I growled, and stamped my foot in irritation. I had been so god damn close to finding them and possibly forming a very useful alliance, and maybe even gaining a new way to spend my time instead of being stuck inside the apartment all day. If Alex and Dana approved that was...
The little stamp I did revealed that the slab of concrete I had stood on was actually loose, and it lifted up just enough for someone to pry the slab up, the cement around it long since broken and decayed. I grinned, mentally complimenting whoever did this for their genius ness. No one ever thinks to check the floor! Kneeling down I lifted the slab up with ease (prototype powers had their perks), and underneath lay a ladder leading straight down into god knows where. Hopefully it was the Redlight-Resistance's base... If it wasn't I just walked/climbed into some kind of strange nest of people.
I slid the slab back into place as I climbed down on the ladder, the metal supporting me feeling very cold and surprisingly smooth to the touch, I was expecting it to be rusty. I climbed down part of the very long ladder, fully expecting for people to be waiting at the bottom, and by the sound of the chattering and laughs, people were. I weighed out my options carefully- if I climbed down it pretty much gave them the opportunity to kill me very easily if they decided to attack, however if I appeared suddenly and without warning I could catch them all off guard and try to reason with them before any unintentional violence occurred.
I sighed, knowing the latter was definitely the best thing to do since any minute now they would leave to wherever their base is and I would be lost in this network of tunnels and sewers. I let go of the ladder and began falling downwards, and briefly I wondered if this was a good idea since I didn't know howling the drop would be. My fear was quickly put to rest however, when the concrete quickly came up to meet me. I landed in a crouch with a resounding crunch, almost like I was kneeling to pledge my loyalty to someone, but my fist was firmly planted into the ground.
Guns were immediately pointed in my direction by the sound of faint clicks and the groans of fingers gently squeezing the trigger. I smiled, not looking up just yet- guns were not going to do much right now, not against me. If I played my cards right, I could persuade them to take me to their 'boss', and if I didn't and they shot me, I could play dead, let them walk on to their headquarters and I would still follow them. Either way, I was in a win-win situation, but if possible I'd prefer not to get shot. I wasn't a masochist.
"Put the guns down, I'm not here to fight, actually quite the opposite." I spoke up, still not showing my face from under my hood. I stood up, the hood I wore concealing my eyes and any revealing details of my face- I imagine I probably looked pretty intimidating right now, and that helped inflate my pride just a little bit. One of the people in the middle raised their gun higher, level with my head, and spoke in a distinctly male tone of voice. "Who are you, and how did you find this place? You aren't one of us!"
"I don't want to disclose my name until I'm sure you are who I'm looking for. Are you the Redlight-Resistance?" I asked quite bluntly, wanting to hurry up and talk to the head dog here. The tensing and the quiet murmurs that ran through the group was enough to confirm my suspicions, but the man answered anyway after raising a hand to silence them. "Yes, now answer my questions." "My name, is Joanne. I need to speak with whoever leads you urgently." I didn't lie, they asked for my name, and I gave them my maiden name. I felt quite clever with my own wit. "You didn't answer my second question." "Because that's the reason why I'm here, if I can find you people with minimal searching- you can sure as hell bet that Blackwatch can find you. Now it's my turn to demand something. Take me to your god damn leader- pretty please?" My tone was laced with pure sarcasm, and apparently it didn't go down well with them.
"Do you really think you can waltz in here unarmed, demand we take you to our leader, and us actually comply? Are you fucking stupid?" So they thought I was unarmed? That was helpful, they didn't suspect I was Blackwatch at the very least. "Not stupid, just hoping that my unarmed state would show you that I have no interest in fighting. However if you are going to get nasty I-"
I was cut off my someone next to the person I was talking to raising their pistol and firing a shot at me, hitting the middle of my forehead which was hidden under my hood. Well this took a turn for the worst... I collapsed to the floor like a normal human would and tried to hold off my regeneration abilities until they were gone- trying to restrain regeneration was like trying to stop breathing, blinking, and thinking about anything. Nearly impossible. My nature made it impossible, since my DNA was written to constantly heal and remake itself at a moments notice. I had to practically play dead for them, in summary.
"Fuck- Anders, why'd you do that?!" The man I was talking to panicked. "S-sorry! They- she was going to threaten us..." A gentler and softer tone spoke out, but it was still definitely a guy. I silently prayed I hadn't twitched or started breathing again to spark their suspicion. The first man swore again and they quickly debated what to to do with my body, I guess I would have to follow them after all, I grumbled somewhere in the remaining part of my brain. Tendrils threatened to blow my cover and I had to really strain to force them back into my body, and while I was in all of this peril, I silently wondered what Alex was up to while all this was going on- probably something much safer than the situation I had gotten myself into...
(P.O.V. CHANGE)
Today was not a good day for Captain Cross at all, and it was all because of that bastard General, Randall. It had begun with being set a small assignment with the Wisemen team to transport a group of tanks across the city take care of a hive that had been more active than the rest of the hives surrounding it- producing numerous hunters and hundreds of walkers which fought to the bloody end to protect their hellish home. Cross had come very close to losing 3 of his men when a two copperheads had emerged from the ground nearby and begun chucking debris at the tanks they had been dispatched in. They had received air support in the very nick of time.
It only got worse when he got his ass chewed out by said general, which he had to respectfully endure and hold his tongue- despite having done nothing notably wrong. Then he had overheard General Randall and Taggart arguing in the general's office not two hours later- which really screwed up his day, and it took a god damn lot to piss off Cross. Taggart was the loudest at first, clearly against what the general had previously stated.
"All of this, everything here. We've been preparing to fight the wrong war ! We can't beat this. We need to pull out and deal with it at a distance!"
"Taggart. I put you in charge because I trust you to do what needs to be done: cut the heart out of the infection."
"Sir ! The position is in-tenable. These... things... they're beyond our abilities..."
"I don't want to hear one more excuse from you! You get your ass back into the field and get it done! Or don't come back."
Cross hid himself in the shadows surrounding the door before Taggart stormed out of the room, looking like someone had pissed in his breakfast, and the General wasn't far behind, most likely off to do their 'respective duties'. Cross knew they both had no sense of respect in this fight, and were both as ruthless as the other when it came to survival, so this brought up the question- what were they arguing about? He knew it was about this god damned shithole Mercer had created, but the details could be anything. 'Dealing with it at a distance', also hit a particular note of deja vu making him think back to the instance of Hope, Idaho.
Knowing that he could be killed for the action he was about to commit under the act of treason, insubordination, and possibly many other things, he prayed the door open and stepped inside, making sure the coast was clear before he entered the office. As usual it was a god damn mess, the poster showing the main areas of the infection hung openly above the place Randell usually sat. Various files were scattered across the General's desk, all of which if leaked, would spell disaster in some way or another, and death for the person who leaked them to the general public. Two files in particular though, stood out from the rest.
One was vastly larger than the rest, the poor excuse of a folder barely managing to contain the contents that had been forced inside, and various pieces of paper popped out at random intervals. The stamp and writing on the very front of the folder though, explained exactly why Hope Idaho had sprung so readily to mind. It was a folder giving permission to use nuclear warheads to eradicate the virus, and any infected within the city bounds.
He knew the General was hiding something from him, but this was fucking insane, nuking an entire city? The civilian casualties would be sky high- higher than Idaho could ever of been even if the disease had been left to fester there for years on end, untouched by humanity. Only two survivors had come back from that city too, and those had been the cause of the second outbreak here in Manhattan, one being released by Mercer. The other... Well, that was beyond classified information, of even his rank.
Having discovered the dirty little secret the general had seen fit not to inform Cross on, a decision had formed in his mind. The only possible way to stop another city turning to dust, would be to contact the very person he had tried to destroy not two weeks ago. He made a mental note to buy new phones later on.
The second folder was a complete contrast to the first, being incredibly thin yet still being branded 'TOP SECRET'. The file was on something that had been codenamed: HERA, and was apparently deemed as an almost equal threat to Alex Mercer. He soon discovered why, a feeling of dread forming at the pit of his stomach. HERA was another Blacklight host having been recently created about a week ago by the absolute lunatics at Gentek. The scientists involved had apparently been murdered shortly after conducting an experiment on HERA, and details of what had happened were pitifully few. The only details in the file were that the test subject was female, was of English origin, and was no longer in Blackwatch or Gentek custody, along with the reason she had been infected was because of her completely unique DNA. Any other details such as age, appearance, and personality were missing altogether.
A deep grimace overcame Cross's face. He was completely in the dark here, and so was the rest of Blackwatch. He didn't like this one bit- if she decided to work together with Greene, the city and possibly the rest of the world, was completely fucked. Placing the folder down, he exited the office with due haste, a thousand things whirling around his head. Having to cooperate with Alex Mercer was one thing, but having another rogue prototype running around the city with next to no information on her- that was another shitstorm altogether.
'Keep it together Cross,' he thought to himself grimly as he strolled through the corridors which looked like they had been copied and pasted over and over in different directions, 'focus on one threat at a time. Making this infection manageable comes first. Then we deal with the damn rogue prototype.'
THERE! GOD DAMN THAT TOOK FOREVER! ...Sorry, I just had to restart various parts of this chapter 3 times, and for the most part I am satisfied. It was an awful lot of grinding to get this chapter done, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Also, I have definitely decided I am going to do a sequel to this story the way I think Prototype 2 should of been. No heller, no death of Alex, and certainly no evil Alex infecting everyone in NYC. It will be MY version, the way it SHOULD of been. I think you all will enjoy it greatly :P