So far her approach into Ravenscroft had been cautious. The organic camouflage would work well against the more inattentive around, but once someone spotted her Ashley knew she'd have problems. So she moved quickly, antenna angled low and ducking from trees and bushes as she drew ever closer to the outskirts of the city itself. The rusted metal fence of an old scrapyard rising up to greet her first, the sounds of dogs moving about between the aged hulks of metal. A hesitant glance through the breaks in the fence showed the animals yapping and barking at each other.

And one's jaw splitting open, a mass of tentacles nipping at another before they turned their attention to a pile of rotting meat which seemed to be the source of their conflict at the moment.

"Well, I don't want to go through there."

So far she hadn't encountered any other signs of the infection, or really any signs of anything. According to that boy, Sam, there were still people in the town. Though they had been acting weird for months, growing more so in the last couple weeks as disappearances mounted and yet everyone remained oddly calm.

Supposedly it had started when the Crows, the men in various forms of army fatigues with the birdlike patches on them, had shown up. Though that had been a couple years ago, at least as far as he could remember.

Ashley found that it did sound similar to what she'd been told about the Plagas infection from before. Her curiosity in why she'd ended up like she had had her ask questions about it once she felt able to hear the answers. Of course the base facts of the situation didn't explain why they'd done all this to her, or why her body had reacted like it had in the end. Their plot for global supremacy, or at least some form of extreme bio-terrorism, had been incinerated and the leaders killed down to the last one. Which hadn't exactly left many to question about the particulars of their plot.

Not that it mattered much now.

The more important question was why it was happening again, here, and what the hell it had to do with her.

"If it was about faking an assassination or something, you'd think they had done it earlier?" Could it be that they weren't ready at the time? Still it made little sense to go this far now that her father wasn't even the current President anymore. Maybe there was-

A low gurgling sound, part growl, part something wetter, came from near the end of the alley between an old rundown storage building and the scrap yard. At first Ashley had worried that one of those infected dogs had gotten out, but on closer examination it was a man stumbling out of the workshop and garage. His overalls were dirty, stained with grime and oil and not a small amount of blood dribbling from his lips. Hair matted and patchy on a gray and oily looking scalp. The stench of rot and decay from around the junkyard made it hard to discern, but she immediately detected an odd odor from him. Something sharp and metallic and… it stung strangely in the back of her throat. She kept low, most of her body hidden behind a dumpster as she trusted in her bio-organic stealth to let her watch whatever was going on.

Which turned out to be for the best, as two men in combat equipped biohazard gear pulled up in a small ATV, the forest camo paint decorated by black shield of a hand holding a dripping ink quill pen. The same badges and appearance she'd been warned about were clear on them as they approached, lightweight assault rifles at the ready.

But oddly not pointed at the infected man. At least not yet.

"Looks like this one is about to pop. Check the chip will you."

The man with him pulled out a strange handheld device with a digital monitor on it and held it over the infected scrapyard worker. Who turned towards him and snapped his jaws as if planning to bite. Before the butt of the rifle slammed into his jaw and knocked him to the ground.

"Shit, not responding to us now?"

"Yep. Looks like it's not dormant anymore. First rabid mutant we've had in three weeks though."

"The new inhibitors have been working well on these guys. Want to give him a shot?"

"Why bother, it's already eaten most of his frontal cortex by now. Let's tie and bind this corpse walker and dump him with the rest." Between the two of them they were able to zip tie and haul the uncooperative Plagas infected turned Cannibal Disease example onto the back of their ATV where they secured him with a pair of bungee cords. Once they finished the one with the sensor device strapped it back to his side and swung into the passenger seat before asking, "You think we need to find another one of the civvies to promote to dog feeder?"

"Nah, let the muts starve. Waste of a good dog anyway."

"Yeah, but at least they'll still let you near them."

"Who the fuck cares if dogs don't like you anymore?" He turned the engine on, shaking his head at his colleague's last statement. Whatever else they said was lost as they turned and sped off down the street. Leaving Ashley alone, still hiding where she had stopped and thinking over what she had seen and heard.

The state trooper from before had been like she was used to, still functioning but clearly a one track mind that had been taken over by the Plagas. This… Plagas-Zombie wasn't too far off from how some of them had acted, or some of their less successful and more feral experiments.

(Her closest, before they all died out anyway, genetic relatives now included in that as well).

However those guards, these 'Crows' working for the BlackQuill Contractors…

She'd smelled something on them too, a bitter, sharp taste that made her antenna's twitch now even at the memory of it. It had gotten stronger as the pair of soldiers had shown up, had been present even when it had just been her and the Zombie in that alley. And now, though the rot and filth mixed with motor oil remained, that scent was gone. It made her wonder.

Had she somehow sensed the Plagas infection in them?

"Even if I did, that's not too useful," Ashley thought. "It seems like almost everyone here might have those damn things in them."

Though if that was what she'd sensed… it did tell her that there had to be more of those in the soldiers as well. Who seemed far more normal than she'd seen before. Communicating like people. Evil, horrible people, but still.

Maybe she was wrong about what she'd smelled… tasted?

Sensed .

"Like I need to start hallucinating things now of all times."

Still, it confirmed what Sam had told her. There were groups of armed men patrolling the city who would remove anyone that started to act out. Though where they went he hadn't been able to tell her. Only that no one else had been allowed to leave and that once the "Alien mind control took over" (the Plagas hatched apparently) they didn't even want to or think about it. Just going through the paces of life here, enclosed in a terrarium of sorts to be studied by whoever had infected them in the first place.

And she didn't have to go much further to see that.

"Good morning, lovely weather," Ashley ducked behind the wooden fence as a man passed, clothes looking ratty and worn. Though the most alarming thing, aside from the slight red tinge in his eyes as he walked by was the leash he was dragging behind him. Attached to a collar and nothing else.

"Nice weather. Tourist season will be good this year," replied a woman standing near, curly light-brown hair partially tied back. She was looking at where the man had been as he passed, but not really looking at him.

"Yes, lots of them. Just walking my dog since the weather is so fine." He didn't even turn to face her, just kept walking by adjusting the brim of his hat at random intervals while the chain dragged behind him.

Ashley let out a breath she'd been holding, jaw clicking slightly as she stepped back. That had been weird.

"Who are you?"

Her antenna shot up, surprised at the voice from behind her. Cursing at herself internally for getting so caught up in that weird conversation so as to stop paying attention to her surroundings just because she thought she was safe. Not only that but she caught a glance of her arms as she turned, seeing the gray-green of her natural complexion on her exoskeleton fading more and more into view. She'd lost her focus and been caught because of it.

Or so she thought.

A much younger man, long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail was looking at her with reddish eyes, shifting from foot to foot as he held a knife. Clearly not sure what to do to her now. In fact even now his eyes seemed to be losing focus, staring off into the distance. Before coughing, blood speckled his lips and an already stained shirt as he started to turn. "Need to take my vitamins I guess."

"Wait," Ashley said, her voice coming out faster and louder than she expected. This was… very different. Something was off about these infected, and she was sure they were now. That smell and bitter taste was back, stronger now that she was so very close. Why her body had felt like giving her Plagas-sense all of the sudden she wasn't sure, but for all she knew it had been there all along. It wasn't like she'd had many chances until now to be near anyone with these and until very recently she'd been too distracted by one thing or another to really notice everything her new, and not-quite-human senses might be telling her about what was going on around her.

He didn't turn so she grabbed at him, stopping his motion and looking at him closer. The blackish veins, the red eyes and blood.

"Gotta take my vitamins… not supposed to-to talk to one of you."

She let go, but followed behind him. Into the house, over piles of trash and empty cans of food. The smell wasn't quite as bad as she'd expected, though the lack of focus and care in their living conditions was clear. He stumbled into the kitchen pulling out a large amber colored bottle of bright red gel pills. There was no label on any of them, but he opened it up and took two before dropping into the chair and looking at her before his eyes drifted off to stare at the wall instead.

The screen door opened a moment later, the woman from before walking in, looking at Ashley for a moment before she looked at the younger man and the bottle. "Forgot to take your pills again Tim? Just like your brother, always forgetting things."

"I'm just busy… tourist seasons coming up. Need to be… ready."

Ashley wasn't paying that much attention to the conversation then, already feeling like the two infected dutifully trying to ignore her were just going to repeat the nonsense from before. No, instead she was focused on the pictures along the shelf where Tim had gotten the pills from. The woman, younger and much healthier in some, Tim in others, then two younger boys… and then a picture of Sam?

She did a double take on the pair at the table, immediately noting a family resemblance she'd missed before. And thinking back to what he'd said about having a brother…

"You're Sam's family?"

"Where is Sam?" the mother asked, still ignoring Ashley. "We need him to help out… too many chores and not enough hands."

"I dunno… haven't seen-seen him in a while." While he spoke to his mother, Ashley watched as Tim's unfocused eyes drifted towards her, looking at her.

This was risky but it might be the only way she'd learn more. She tapped at her forearms nervously, before making a decision. Leaning down to make sure Tim was paying attention to her she said, "I saw him… he's doing alright."

He just stared at her, not acknowledging what she'd said for long enough she'd began to worry she was just wasting her time. Only to finally reply, "That's good. He should… stay safe."

"Sam would be safer with his family," the mother said, while Tim clutched his head as if in pain.

"N-no I told him to… to hide?"

"Why'd you do a thing like that when the tourist season is so close. You boys used to be so close and-"

"God, would you stop already," Ashley said back, moving between the two of them. His mother thankfully silent now, and just staring at Ashley as she blinked her eyes. Looking at her at times and then right through her like she wasn't there at others. While Ashley focused her attention on the son. "So you told him to hide… good. Do you know where these men came from? And why are you-why is she acting like I'm not here?"

"They… they moved in to help us. To protect us. Then the shots and the vitamins came." Tim paused, looking away from her as if was about to start acting like she wasn't in the room again too before shaking his head and regaining some focus. "And they told us not to talk to tourists, to do… do what they tell us. And to ignore anything weird… and to take our vitamins."

"Can't forget to take those," the mother said, mouth snapping shut again as Ashley briefly turned to face her.

"If you don't you… you get taken away. Down by the old mine."

"Mine? Where is this?" Ashley pulled out the map, spreading it over the table as she tossed the dirty dishes and plastic cups to the side or onto the floor. Pointing at the town near where they were with the tip of one finger-talon she looked back at Tim and asked carefully and slowly, "Could you point out where you saw this?"

"Not supposed to… not supposed to talk to…"

"Tourists," the mother said then, looking at Ashley, red eyes focused for the first time. Actually seeing her. "But she can't be a tourist looking like that…"

"Wait, is she-"

"Right mom. Not a tourist so it's okay." Tim grabbed at Ashley's hand, pulling it away from town and pressing her outstretched finger down by an old rock quarry. "The mine used to be near here before the accidents… and then they moved in…"

"Lovely people, giving us all these free vitamins."

"Yeah, gotta take your vitamins," Tim said, looking back up at Ashley. Some sort of clarity in his expression for a moment, fighting its way to the top. "Is Sam okay without his vitamins?"

"He… he doesn't need them," Ashley said as she stood up. "And I'll make sure none of you will as soon as I can."

"That would be nice, nothing seems to go with them, not even my pies," she said, looking over at what might have, at one point, prior to a good deal of rot and time, been a pie. Probably part of what made the kitchen smell so bad-

Ashley's mandibles snapped together with a sharp click as her antenna shot up, an acrid metallic scent with an even stronger and more bitter aftertaste assaulting her. She heard heavy footsteps approaching. Before she could do or say anything the mother got up and walked towards the door. Muttering something about not having anything baked for guests.

As the cloaked and antler wearing figure stooped down and shoved the screen door open. The poor woman only had a moment to register who it was and then stand there, seemingly unable to respond to their invasion of her home before she was grabbed and thrown haphazardly into the kitchen and out of the way. The table shoved to the side as dishes and trash fell around her. Tim stood up, looking at the looming figure that was staring down Ashley, face obscured save for piercing, glowing red eyes.

He managed enough control to turn towards her and shout, "Run… ya gotta run."

But it wasn't necessary. She'd already sprinted out the back, leaping over the rear fence and running towards the mine.

The heavy footfalls behind her… and speeding up.