Sacrifices

Watch was certainly the most tedious job of all. With everything that was going on nobody wanted to stay 3 hours in the watchtower, so the post was used more as a punishment. Carlos knew he had it coming as soon as he punched that asshole Eduardo in the face, but what did he expect by insulting his wife? Now he would be there for another 2 hours with Marcos who just wouldn't stop talking, the only good thing is that I could smoke in peace. As he took another drag, he heard a strange noise coming from the streets, a sound that reminded him of one of the rock concerts he used to go to or even the football stadium that was near the house he had lived for a few years. It wasn't very loud, but gradually it seemed to grow. While Marcos continued to complain about animal abuse in the food industry or something, Carlos continued to search the street for something wrong while taking another drag on his cigarette. And as soon as he finished he would find something.

—

- Very well, these four are coming with me and the others with Dr. Pavelli. - The man in the coat said pointing to Amanda, Danilo, Kaique and Sasha.

The four, unable to do anything else, followed the doctor into the hallway and past the hanging plastics.

- Can you at least say what you are going to do with us? - Danilo asked.

- Blood samples and… - The man started to say and then stopped as he got lost in the paperwork he was holding.

- Listen, a friend of ours was taken by one of the soldiers, Theo I think, and I think- Amanda tried to appeal to the doctor.

- What soldiers do is none of my business, I'm just here to find answers.

- What do you mean no- Amanda started to ask raising her voice, but decided it was better not to irritate the man. - I'm just worried about her.

- You should be concerned about yourselves.

The voice belonged to Lieutenant Roche who seemed to be there supervising the doctors.

- H-how-so? - Kaique asked stuttering.

- Tell me Miss… Amanda, right? - He said addressing the brunette. - What do you know about the undead?

- …That once you get bitten you become one of them. That they only care about eating and that an injurie to the head "kills" them. - She answered.

- See? That's why we are the responsible adults and you are the ignorant children. - Amanda just glared back at him. - We are here to find answers to the questions you ignore: Why? How? - As he spoke he approached the girl and, with his arm around her shoulders, guided her to one of the doors in the hallway. - What happens next? What goes on in these creatures' brains? Is it possible to go back to what was before?

- I understand what you mean, but I still don't agree with your means.

- Of course not, few would understand. - Now in front of the door he held the handle and before opening said one more thing. - But without sacrifice there is no reward.

Opening the door Amanda couldn't stop herself from screaming. Silvio was there with opaque eyes, arms outstretched out and a chain around his neck preventing him from advancing on one of the men in the lab coat who kept taking notes and tearing a piece of it off with them his teeth. Amanda was now looking at a walker.

- W-what… what did you do?!

- It was a minor accident, but thanks to that we discovered something and I bet you didn't know about it. - The lieutenant said unfazed. - What do you think happened? That he was bitten, right? - Amanda couldn't answer even if she wanted to. - Upon waking up your friend managed to grab a gun and almost kill one of our precious doctors if not for one of the soldiers. Four shots to the chest later and your friend lay dead on the ground. Well, for a while. - Amanda now saw the bloodstains on the boy's shirt. - 4 minutes and 38 seconds later he moved again and almost put the life of one more person in danger. He came back. Like one of them.

- B-but… that's-

- Impossible? Yeah, we thought so too. Now we have a new question to answer: what if in fact - Amanda felt the man's hand go to the back of her neck. - We are all infected?

The lieutenant pushed the girl by the back of her head towards the walker, who, taken by surprise, tried to move away, but the man held her neck tightly and pushed her further and further, leaving her face mere inches from the creature.

- LET HER GO! - Danilo, who had also been too shocked by what he saw, shouted trying to move and was only stopped by the soldier.

- And if we are, this is what awaits us?! Turning into bags of rotten meat once our hearts stop beating?!

Amanda didn't care what the man was talking about, she could only focus on the noise of teeth chattering as they tried to tear a piece out of her face. She tried to push away the arms that struggled to hold hers while trying to push against the hand of the man who kept forcing her towards the creature. She felt her hands shake and sweat pool on her forehead. She had never been so afraid in his life.

- Sir? I still need her for testing, the file says she has attention deficit. I want to see if it causes a different reaction. - The doctor said with a trembling voice.

The lieutenant seemed to compose himself and finally let go of the back of the girl's head, who almost fell as she walked away from the walker. After straightening his uniform and clearing his throat the lieutenant returned to his calm, cool state.

- You seem smart enough to understand - the man approached Amanda again, who was glued to Danilo's side. - that what we know is just a drop, and to win this we have to explore the entire ocean.

- "W-whatever it takes", right? - Amanda said still catching her breath.

The man just smiled back at her and headed up the ramps to check the other floors. Everyone in the hallway was silent for a few more seconds and then went back to what they were doing.

- Remind me to thank Isa for remembering I have ADHD*. - Amanda said feeling the shakiness stop.

- That is if we see her again and I know that Whhere there's life there's hope and all, but you also have to admit that this shit is only getting worse.

- We'll see her again. OK? - Amanda said more to herself than to the blue-haired boy.

* attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.