June 2017

First day on a job with the Hound Wolf Squad? Who bothered with that name?

Traveling in the back of a BSAA SUV wasn't always my preferred method of transportation, but I don't have much room to complain right now. Why? Sometimes our choices are decided for ourselves. Sometimes fate has it out for those who are and aren't lucky. In a way… I'm both.

The vehicle pauses, letting me know that it's time to leave and enter the base. The masked guards lead me into the base, down the long hallways once again.

This place… hated it. There wasn't once a single comforting moment here. Suppose it's not supposed to be. Guess I gotta thank my lucky stars for getting a chance to be around some sort of civilization.

Walking up to tall double doors, one of the guards knocked on the wooden door. A familiar voice speaks from behind the door, "Enter." Eyes. Eyes all on me. 6 unfamiliar faces and one familiar face. Director O'Brian.

"Hound Wolf Squad, meet your new recruit."

A bald man spoke up first. "Uh… why is the new recruit brought in here cuffed and muzzled…?" Holding an urge to roll my eyes, I speak. "Serena Robins."

"Bioweapon.", O'Brian says.

The moment that word leaves his lips, the room becomes tense. The group before me takes a formation in front of the director as if they were protecting him.

A man with a beard says, "What do you mean, "bioweapon"? Why would she be a bioweapon? Why would a bioweapon be here?"

"Why would our new recruit be a bioweapon, to begin with?", another man asks. I roll my eyes, "Because out of all the projects this organization has worked on, I'm currently the most stable." That quiets the room but doesn't rid the tension.

"Okay… so the cuffs and muzzle.", a blonde woman starts. "Paranoia. I'm not infectious, hence why I'm here. But they're still worried that I'll bite someone.", I say. "The cuffs, however, also paranoia. I'm civil, not stupid enough to lose my life and cause trouble."

They relaxed a bit, but the taller man still kept his hardened gaze on me. "I'm well aware of your worries, but there's nothing to worry about. She wouldn't be here if I didn't give the go-ahead.", the director says.

"Yeah, but…", a man with thick glasses trails off, unsure. The taller man walked up to me. He was a good foot or so taller than me. Broad shoulders, wide chest, short brown hair… You'd think he was a meathead. Maybe he was.

"The director seems to have some trust in you. You had better not take it for granted.", he warns. "I take it that also means I've got to get you to trust me too.", I say.

"If that.", he responds, crossing his arms. An attempt to intimidate me? Unphased. I sigh, rolling my eyes. "I understand you're my supervisor or superior, but you're talking to me as if I had a choice in this. Unfortunately, I did not."

I lean to the side, looking behind him to talk to the director. "I assume you didn't even inform them as to what happened to me."

He only shrugs. "Not my story to tell." He motions to the guards behind me to uncuff and unmuzzle me. I roll my shoulders in relief and massage my jaw. Looking back up at the man, I hold my arms out. "Do I look normal enough for you?" His eyes narrowed.

"You do to me.", the man with the beard says. "Canine!", the blond woman scolds. "What? She does! Plus, she looks like a kid, so cut her some slack, yeah?", Canine says. "Actually, I'm 20," I say, shocking them.

"You're still a kid.", the bald man says. I shrug. "Very long story.", I sum up, quickly trying to stray away from the topic. I place my hands in my pockets. "So, the job?"

"Right.", a slightly skinnier man says.

He seemed like the middle youngest out of all of them. Probably the most laid back too.

"So, we have a target of the mold virus somewhere in Louisiana.", he says, bringing out a tablet. "Our main target is the base of the E-type virus or mold," He shows a picture of a menacingly little girl with black hair. "Is Eveline. She's also a bioweapon and creating mold like crazy. The place is infected all in one area. Her supervisor," He shows another picture of a woman with dark brown hair. "Mia Winters, who has been reported missing for 3 years now, was in an accident three years ago."

Mia Winters…? Her name didn't ring any bells, but her face was distinctively familiar. Where have I seen her…

"So, a rescue and capture?", I ask. He nods. "Pretty much. If not, and things go south, we may have to get rid of Eveline. From what's been reported, she's the reason why she, Mia and so many other agents have been killed or missing." I nod.

Louisiana… that'll be a new location. Hell, I'd take it versus anything here. "So, when are we headed out?", I ask. The man with the glasses speaks up. "Eager."

"We'll be headed out next month.", Canine says and looks at the man before me. "Right, Alpha?"

"Alpha?", I tilted my head in confusion. "We haven't all introduced ourselves.", the blonde woman says. "I'm Tundra."

The bald man steps up. "I'm Umbra Eye." Canine gives a smile. "Already introduced myself. I take care of our hounds." The friendlier man puts away his tablet. "I'm Night Howl." The man with glasses smiles a bit. "I'm Lobo. And this is our captain of the squad, Alpha, AKA Captain Chris Redfield." Lobo points at the taller man.

I gave him an unimpressed look. "I figured you'd be Captain." He didn't like that response. "How so?", he asks. "Everyone's too… What's the word...reserved. You're the opposite. Posing as a threat, trying to seem bigger to put me in my place. Suits you.", I say. A corner of his lips quirks up a bit as he stays silent.

He gives a quiet hmph before looking at the rest of his crew. "Let's go.", he orders before leaving the room. The rest of the members give me apologetic looks before leaving.

I follow them before being stopped by the director. "A word of advice, keep your head down and your nose clean or we'll clean it for you. Don't try to back sass him either. We get enough of it from him as is, we don't need another reason for it. You stay out of his way, he'll stay out of ours. Got it?", he warns.

I give him a silent nod before leaving. Trailing behind the crew, I'm bombarded with questions again.

"So, rookie, what can you do?", Lobo asks. "I'm pretty trained in stealth and fast-paced attacks. After they figured I was stable enough to hang around outside a quarantine room, they trained me to fight, but not to kill.", I explain.

"Not to kill?", Canine asks. "They were worried I'd think about killing one of them and then they'd have to kill me and I'd be a waste of an experiment.", I say. Can't tell them too much. It's not that kind of situation yet. "So, they taught you enough to defend yourself, but not for any fatal danger...", Umbra Eye says. "Makes no sense, they know what type of job this is.", Night Howl says.

I shrug. "It is what it is."

July 2017

We're already in Louisiana, it's been a month now and no one's had a plan just yet. The infection's located in Dulvey, Louisiana. A city that's farther from where we've landed. At least that's something.

"We can't just rush in there, Lobo. What if we miss out on getting Mia? She's still there.", Umbra argues. "She's already infected. Without the vaccine and the antidote, she's lost regardless.", Tundra says.

"Hey, rookie, you got any ideas?", Canine asks. All of their eyes land on me. I shake my head. "Nope… I've got no clue." They all sigh.

"Look, once we get there, keep an eye on each other, watch each other's back, and don't trail away from each other unless you have to.", Chris says. "Yes, Captain." "Will do." "Got it." "Yes sir."

I stood up, "I'm gonna get some fresh air.", I announce. Chris glances at me from under his eyelashes. "Don't stray off too far." I give him a small smile. "Yes, sir."