HEY! this took longer then it should have but i have examsnso meh. Shout out to Ironcoremagma and shioifeather for the alerts and advise. Tell me if you like it!
A man in a pastel gray suit walked down an fairly busy intersection which was annoying sense it was not quite five o'clock am. The man had tried to beat rush hour this morning to no avail. It wasn't so much that he mind walking around during rush hour, sure the streets were almost as busy as the roads but it was still faster. But ever sense the outbreak of the Blacklight virus the business man didn't care for being outside longer then necessary. No a days, he attempt to avoid any physical contact with passer by's and wore a face mask. The red smoke that assembled in parts of the city almost seemed to slowly and deliberately being pulled over them like a the body bag.
He stopped at a intersection with a fairly small amount of people. He kept his head down and had his briefcase pulled up to his chest. He choose to stare at the walk sign then the miserable cloudy sky with the red tinge creeping in like the virus on the ground. He did how ever, do a quick three sixty head turn to check the stability of the surrounding building, being oblivious to the man in the black leather jacket and the gray hood. Not being completely satisfied with the building to his left, he shuffled over a foot or two.
The walk sign turned green and the small group of people moved forward like a mob of sheep. All hustling and bustling together as one. Unfortunately, the hustling and bustling was a perfect cover for a quite murder and morph. He man in the gray suit only had time to process one word as strong arms wrapped around his neck and torso. He felt breathing on his neck. The man attempted to turn his head to no avail, his eyes locking on the sleeve of a black leather jacket. 'What?' A sicking crack was muffled by tendrils consuming human flesh at an alarming speed as the man continued his walk across the street.
Once across the street, the man dropped the briefcase by the wall of the nearest building. He continued straight ahead even as his memory and instincts mentioned to turn left. He made a quick turn into the nearest alley and sprinted up the crumbling wall. Once up to the top of the twenty eight story tower, The man looked down. No soldiers appeared. Nor any scientists. Alex Mercer morphed back into his regular body and continued on his way by roof top and out of the base radius.
He calculated he would need to consume at least five more people to be at his peak physical level. Alex glided across the gap made by the building he was on and the smaller green on across from him. As he glided through the sky, he saw a tornado of black feathers and harsh caws. 'Or one Hunter and one person.' he thought as he tilted left. He couldn't take to long though. He had a personal mission to attend to.
The streets of the red zone were filled with blood and gore. An arm there. A leg here. I mangled body trying to set up before being shot back down by a man in uniform. Water tank after water tank exploded on the crumbling roofs if Alex was close for to long. That only happened once or twice. And even though Hunter after hunter came out of the exploding water tanks, he let them attempt to chase him down, only falling to the streets were they were blasted by tank missiles and machine gun.
Alex was going to wait tell he was closer to the border of the red zone to save travel time because once he killed one, the rest had a prime target. They all new who he was. It was difficult not to when you shared your thoughts with everyone. And Alex hardly had enough time for this pit stop let alone what ever set back fighting eight hunters and risk an air strike being called in because and unlucky solider happens to watch him squish his partner with a hunter or piece of debris.
Up ahead a few blocks, a black, sooty mushroom cloud broke out above the buildings. A large boom was sounded after like a clap of thunder and the unmistakeable smell of fire power filled Alex's noes. The rounds being shot seemed to have tripled in this particular area as did the shrieks and moans of those touched by the virus. Screams of both tear, adrenaline, and pain mingled into one unbalanced sympathy. Alex's stopped on the building under him as the monstrosity came into his sight range. In the center of the glorious chaos stood a might force. The walls of a ragged apartment building or office building, not that you could till the difference, was enforced by laces of red tendrils and sacks. The building itself appeared sickly. The fitting images to a mighty hive of the pandemic.
Alex stared at it. This particular aspect of the 'war' played a huge role. It was the fortress of the enemy, a save haven for the wounded and a living gene pool to be examined. The battle over the area was going no where for either side. Mobs of soldiers battled swarms of infected citizens. Fierce Hunters exerted themselves against the sheer battle power of the military's tanks. And when the aw inspiring super soldiers came out, the ferocious leaders made them think twice.
Alex let out a small chuckle. "Neither of them get anywhere with out help or leverage..."he said softly, shaking his head before running to the end of the building and jumping into the air moving on. Once he was a couple of blocks away from the boarder, Alex went and stood in front of a water tank. The tanks rusty exterior could almost be moving o some one. As the orange strands got to the upper levels of the case, Alex Mercer's right arm began to melt into a shiny, liquid, substance which stretched it's self pas his knees almost to his ankle, and just under his ear. The liquid part of the new appendage was absorbed back in to the rest of it and a shiny metal was left in its wake.
The vandalized water tank burst open as an averaged sized Hunter. How charged Mercer almost immediately. Alex simply jumped up right as the hunter moved his arms behind him. Landing behind it, Alex went to hacking at its back. He pierced his blade right down the hunters spine. And Creature roared in protest and pain, he span around and began swinging blindly. Alex simply side stepped and drove his blade right through the thing's stomach, smirking with sick satisfaction as the blade broke the skin. A gargling noise was heard and the hunter leaned forward, vomiting blood. Alex got in front of it and grabbed where the ears should have been and consumed him. After his body stabled, he put back on his disguised and ran back to the base zone.
Sense Alex was in the blue zone, if he wasn't disguise as a military something or other, he stayed to the roof tops or the alleys. It was not uncommon to run into citizens in the alleys nor was it uncommon to have to cease movement as a heli past by. He destination was in his sights from the top of the building he was standing on. A city park. Filled with people.
Now usually Alex avoided packed areas due to the risk of spreading the infection around more but today was special. He had a phone call to make. And because he didn't trust the person he was contacting and wouldn't put it past them to attack him while he was distracted by the phone call, Alex decided he would go to one of the busiest parks in the city. At least twenty people were on their cell phone or at a pay phone at a time.
Jumping off the top of the building and into the dirty ally way, Alex began to walk toward the road and almost tripped over leg. Not his leg of course. Stumbling slightly, and then whipping around into a defensive position, only to have his eyes land on a passed out drunk on the floor behind a trash bin. The corner of Alex's lips arched up slightly while is eyes adapted a devilish tint.
Alex confidently strode over to the man and gripped the area of the mans neck that connected to the shoulder. He then held him an arms lank way. With the sudden blood flow, the man woke up groggy. "Hey Man...o you got any Glass? I'd even settle for weed?" The use-to-be-drunk mumbled as he leaned his head onto Alex's arm completely missing the lock of utter shock and surprise on his face. Not one had that ever happened to him. And now he was pretty sure the addict was drooling on his hand... lovely.
"No I have never. But I have some Black if you'd rather. Let me help you." Alex said calmly before punching straight through the mans chest, severing the spine. Not long after, more black and red tendrils enveloped the use-to-be-living and fed him to Alex. Now, with a full tank and a new skin, Alex strolled into the streets of New York. He made I to the walk way before violently heaving out the alcohol and drugs in hi system. Out of the corner of his eye, he was a man a few years younger than himself stare at him with disgust as the the black tar with the green tint expelled itself form him. Once that was done, Alex looked the kid in the eye before licking his lips clean and showing off a sadistic smile. The guy briskly strolled past him before breaking out into a jog. Alex chuckled then headed into the park.
He walked around the perimeter before buying a water and walking on the twisty path. The water was more for show. He'd never drink it. As Alex walked around, he began seeing memories from the really Mercer's past. Driving by on the way to work. Collecting samples from the pond. The memories would appear at the sight at something familiar but pending on how important it was, he wouldn't see much of it. A flash of a bike tier on pavement from an over looking few. He remembered what the trees looked like in the spring and summer. The fall image was the clearest though. Probably because the trees looked so similar now that they're half dead.
His eyes set on a bench. A blond haired women with blue eyes crossed his memories. She was pulling him, well trying, to pull him to the bench but she kept slipping on the ice ground. It was dark and slightly chilly. Once they got there, she laced her arm through his and placed her head on his shoulder. Alex willed the memory vanish like the way their breath in puffs of mist vanished. He didn't want to think of Karen. He'd cleaned his hands with her the moment after he left that elevator.
He walked around a little more making sure there was no obvious traps. He knew he should have hurried but he didn't have time to make rash dissions because he rushed. As much as this was killing him, he'd drag it out for as long as possible and deal with the consequences late. So he kept walking. When he got to a particular light pole he stopped and chuckled. He remembered tying a grounds keeper up there for telling him to leave cause it was after hours. This memory was his own and he wanted it to have its time.
He made it to the center of the park where once a grand monument had once stood in the center of a fountain. It use to show a family. On the one side of the water spout had a man with his arms out
and hands in a bracing position. On the in the middle above the spout was a little boy. His arms were also out but for balance. On the other end, the direction the little boy was heading, was a young women one arm one hand resting against the smile she was hiding.
But now the upper half of the man was missing. The right arm and right side of the women had melted. The child was really the only one to survive. He was badly burnt and his calve was in the well part of the fountain. A ripple in the water caught Alex's attention. To his left stood a little girl who just finished through in a penny. 'Making a wish...' Alex thought. Then he saw almost directly in front of him but on the side opposite. She was taking a picture of the statue so he couldn't see her face. Her hair look freshly cut and her cloths looked clean. Alex felt himself feel lighter as she pulled the camera away from her face. But before it was visible, she faded away... like the ripples in the pound.
Next thing Alex knew, he was holding a pay phone to his ear and fumbling in his pocket, he was also breathing hard but from the run he didn't remember or because the lump in his throat he wasn't sure. Finally finding the paper he punched in the numbers into the keypad. " 3..5..0..7...5.5.5...7...846" Alex whispered. Then he waited.
It rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Then it started on it's forth when the it was picked up.
"Alex Mercer I presume." A cool voice picked up. A women. Alex simply exhaled in annoyance into the receiver. "How nice of you to call."
"Cut the bull shit. I'm not in the mood. You have my attention but I think you were striving for a different kind of attention. Now, if you tell me where she is now, and I wont hunt you down and kill you slowly." Alex snarled.
"...My Name is Rachel Parlor. And I cant tell you where she is because I do not know. I was hoping to meet you and offer you a temporary job. Go to The warehouse on Baker Street by the pier tomorrow. We'll be there between the hours of eight am and four thirty pm. Any further questions?" The women, Rachel said confidently. Alex breather heavily.
"And if I don't?" He couldn't help the worry that seeped into his voice.
"Then she stay's here longer. You have her back regardless if you except the job. We need to talk in person though. And waiting for you at the apartment wasn't safe. You understand." Alex gridded his teeth. He didn't like the knowledge that this women had control over him.
"Fine. Put for every complaint she makes, is one scar you'll have for the rest of your live. Huh... I wouldn't wear white." Alex said slowly with a cold bit. Then he hung up the phone, picked it up, crumpled it like it was merely paper, and threw it.
It rammed into the female statue from the fountain. The weak supports couldn't take the force and the statue plummeted into the waiting water, the bronze face half in the water as a drop of water slid down the face, from the eye to the tip of the noes.
So? What you think? Comment!