Two: "Trails"
I had Saline back in my office, and stripped to nothing within an earth-shattering record of four and one-third minutes, and a mere sixteen seconds after that, I had already discerned what was causing those black growths on her arms.
Calcium. It sounds weird, but it would appear as though Saline's body was producing an exorbitant amount of calcium in her bones and, as a method of trying to be rid of it, excreted it through the skin. However, her body was also producing a second chemical, an impossibly high-quality KCN and KOH, more commonly referred to as Potassium, and Hydrogen Cyanide respectively, two extremely potent toxins and, normally speaking of course, such a high dose would have struck Saline dead in... three... four milliseconds.
However, something in her genetic code... something rewritten by the F.E.V. allowed her to, not only become immune to KCN and KOH, but produce it in enough quantities to solidify this particular variation of calcium. Honestly, this was a marvel of science and, if I could reproduce it, we could extend our lives as a species by no less then three times...
But I digress. The real interesting part about Saline came when I accidentally cut her with my claws. My claws, more specifically myself being a Revenant, managed to actually pierce her arm's calcium shielding and puncture a vein beneath, causing, as one would imagine, her to bleed. However, what I didn't expect was for her blood to drop to the table she sat on, eat straight through said table, drop to the floor, eat through the floor, and probably fall into the stone below, and gods knows what else happened after that.
"Uh... what the hell?" Saline observed, having witnessed what I had.
"Amazing..." I touched the wound, my fingers picking up the blood, but to no pain to myself. Upon wiping it upon my coat, it ate right through. "You blood seems to have mutated as well... much like the stomach acid of the Spitter... and bile of the Boomer... your blood seems to have changed to a defensive measure in among itself... a form of bio-molecular acid... Burns clothing and metals... but not skin... fascinating..." I looked about the room, my head spinning. This was either going to be extremely goofy... or the dumbest thing humanly possible. I took hold of Saline's arm, the blood still flowing slowly from the cut, and put her arm to my lips. At first, the smell hit me. It was sweet... like a very aromatic honey.
"Smells sweet..." Dragging my tongue up the cut, I tasted it as well.
"Doctor..." She shivered where she sat. "Don't... do that..." She muttered some. Tasting the sweet lifeblood, I looked up, her face bloodshot, cheeks alight with embarrassment.
"Tastes sweet, too. And, judging from your reaction, it's an aphrodisiac. Interesting. The F.E.V. is mutating into something specific with this correlation of traits... but what?" I walked to my note pad and made notes of my discoveries. As I wrote, I thought.
"The only logical explanation for these groupings of traits is self-preservation..." I muttered to Saline. "It's almost like the F.E.V. is mutating so it can continue... Saline... if I may be so blunt as to suggest you ask Doctor Savage for a fertility test?"
"Come again?" She responded, staring at me as I though, hand on my chin.
"A fertility test. All Revenants up until this point have been sexually sterile. Hunters, Smokers, Tanks... Witches. So far, they've all be sterile. I want to see if you're any different."
"What's your angle?"
"I'm thinking, and it's a far-fetched thought at that, but I'm thinking the F.E.V. is mutating itself so it can reproduce. Create children from infected parents."
"That's out in the field, Doctor."
"I know... but it's the only explanation for everything. Have Doctor Savage preform a fertility test at your earliest convince, and bring me the results. That's all for now, Saline, you may go." She redressed roughly, leaving her jacket here with me, and keeping her sleeves rolled up, but she left.
An acid that burned inorganic materials... but not organics... fascinating indeed.
-Quarantine Zone Omicron-
The lights flickered and a low, dull warning blared in my ears. The stench of rotting flesh was overpowering to my senses, and I couldn't quite figure out what happened. It had all occurred so fast. One minute, we are waiting for the Quarantine Zone's massive door to open and... next minute there was screaming... people running... people dying. Hordes upon hordes of Infected had swarmed into the Quarantine Zone just... murdering unarmed people where they stood.
They hit me, I think... I can't remember. Like I said, everything during that event was a blur. Well, with the exception of the screaming. That came through quite clear. Yes, quite clear indeed. Oh, and the blood. I do happen to have a clear recollection of the bright spots which seemed to like forming. But other then the screaming and the blood, everything passed with such speed, I couldn't make heads or tails of any of it.
My vision began to clear up some, and I could still hear screaming in the back of my throbbing head but, whether it was current, or a reoccurring flashback, I couldn't tell. I was lying face-down on a pile of bodies, the stench almost unbearable. With what little energy I had left, I looked around, trying to see if there was anyone else alive. Off in the distance, hidden in the shadows, I saw a figure. It was tall and lanky, and was looking on the ground. From one of it's side, another figure came, this one much larger and portly. I stayed still as they spoke. The rounder, portly one 'spoke' in a series of gurgles and outbursts of something that sounded like 'boom'. The other figure cackled.
"Excellent. If you find any uninfected alive, bring them here for Coronation. If you find any Revenants alive... slay them. And if you find the girl who holds the Witch's heart... bring her to me." The fat one seemed to... salute? After leaving, the lanky one walked around a bit, looking on the ground. I played dead. I heard his footsteps come right beside me.
"Ugh... this one's not even fit for Coronation. Good thing he's dead..." He must have been referring to me. I heard a door open, then shut. Slowly, I looked around, to see if there were any left. Only dust and echoes remained. Slowly, I stood up. Disoriented and confused, I scanned the area. No one else stirred.
"Psst." I heard from above me. I looked up to see a head sticking out of an airvent. It was a girl's face, her brown hair pulled tight into a pony tail. "They bite you?" She whispered to me. I shook my head. "Good. There should be an airvent around here that leads to a sealed room. Find it, and meet me inside. Her head vanished inside the air vent. "Oh!" She spoke, reappearing. "What's your name?"
"Jack. Jack Koch." I replied to the girl. "You?"
"Zoey Devoux. And I intend on keeping you alive." Her head vanished again. Stepping between bodies lightly, I began searching for this air vent she told me about. I found what appeared to be a small crawlspace through a vent and, looking across to the other side, I saw several pairs of feet milling around, but they didn't move in rough, blocky movements as most of the Infected did. I could probably just squeeze myself into that crawlspace and get there. Compressing my shoulders as close as I could, I just barely fit, and wormed my way to the other side. Halfway through, I heard voices.
"Find anyone else, Zoey?" A male voice asked.
"Yea. He should find his way here soon." I wiggled and writhed, trying to get unstuck from this awkward position I got myself jammed in.
"A little help, please..." I spoke, my voice echoing off the metal vent. One pair of legs crouched and looked in. It was a scruffy, white man in a nearly pristine alabaster suit.
"Speak of the devil." The man in white smiled and reached into the vent, pulling me out by my shirt collar.
"Oh, good. You made it." He stood me up and brushed me off a little. "Welcome to the 'I Just Survived Genocide' Club. Number of members: four. The upside is, we four survived. The bad news is, ONLY we four survived." He adjusted his suit and cleared his throat. "Allow me to introduce myself. Nicolas Kindale. You can call me Nick." The man offered me his hand, which I shook. "I see you've met Zoey. And this..." he turned around and faced a young girl standing in the corner, codling a plastic briefcase-looking thing. "Well... we don't know what her name is. We haven't bonded that much yet, I guess. Come to think of it, she's not said anything since I found her."
"Have you had any luck finding Rochelle, Nick?" Zoey asked Nick, who only sighed and shrugged.
"Yea. I don't think she ever stood a chance."
"By the way, I'm Jack. Nice to meet you all." Nick nodded.
"Nice-To-Meet-You-Jack" Came a male mechanical voice. The young girl from earlier, holding what I now recognize as a Speak-And-Spell. I looked at her and smiled at her creativity.
"So... you use the Speak And Spell to talk... why can't you talk normally?" I asked softly. "Pretty little girl like you must have a voice."
"My-Dad-Said-I-Would-Never-Talk-Again-After-I-Turned-Into-A-Revenant." The mechanical voice spoke again after a bit of typing on her part. She typed more. "My-Dad-Made-This-Special-For-Me-Said-I-May-Not-Be-Able-To-Talk-Like-Everyone-Else-But-That-Did-Not-Mean-I-Should-Not-Be-Heard." Kid had some greased lightning fingers. She typed a bit more, and pressed play. "When-We-Leave-Can-I-Ride-On-Your-Shoulder-Jack?" She asked. I smiled to her and nodded.
"Of course you can. Do you have a name, honey?" She typed four letters and pressed play.
"Mary."
"Mary. What a beautiful name. Pleasure to meet you, Mary."
"So... tell me again why we just can't leave?" Nick muttered behind me to Zoey.
"Beside... or including the seven Tanks parked outside the Quarantine Zone?"
"Duly noted." Nick muttered. I stood and walked around the room. It would appear as though we were in some kind of Security Room.
"Hey, guys and gals?" I muttered, looking at one of the consoles for the Quarantine Zone's automated defense systems. "I think I have a plan..."
-Quarantine Zone Omega-
I slowly came to, sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair. Before me stood the visage of Jake, flashlight shining in my eyes.
"Retinal reaction is normal, that's good." He smiled as he saw me stir. "Oh, hey, lookie who's awake. Mornin' Saline." Jake muttered, eliciting a groan response from me. "Sorry about putting you under like that, but I couldn't run tests with you awake." The room we were in was wide and vacant. "Did some scans and whatnot, and I think I have a good idea what you can do. But first, I wanna see if you're fully awake." He took a few good steps back, and tucked the clipboard under his arm, pointing his free finger right. "Go ahead and follow my finger, if you will." I turned my head and looked at his finger tip. "Good... okay..." Pulling his finger left across his body, my eyes followed. "Excellent." He pointed up, my eyes following. "Great. Visual Clarity at peak performance. Alright, go ahead and stand up, Saline." I stood.
"Good. Now, can you still talk?"
"I think..." I muttered, shaking my head.
"Good. Alright, go ahead and walk around a little while I get the course set up." He walked to a console on the far wall and began typing as I took a slow walk around in circles, getting my legs woken up.
"How long was I out?"
"Two days. Marie gave me your test results, and I have to admit. I was impressed. Seems like you're as fertile as any uninfected woman would be. Alright..." He finished, a series of hurdles rising from the floor. "I designed this course back at Black Mesa. It was originally designed to test the H.E.V's capabilities, but in a pinch, it can work for this. Alright, start by vaulting over each hurdle. You'll notice each is steadily higher." I started off my stepping over the first.
"Why am I not shocked about being out for so long?"
"Must be that Anti-Shock Treatment I gave you. You'll find things a lot easier to swallow for a few hours." He chuckled. "Easier to swallow. That's what she said." He muttered. I just rolled my eyes, and turned my attention to the second hurdle.
The second proved to be enough to clear with a light jump. The third I had to brace with my hand.
"Alright, Saline. Slightly different with Hurdle Four. This time, I want you to really jump. Leap that bitch clear." He walked towards the hurdle, and crouched on two legs. "Like this. If you can." Pushing off, he cleared the six foot hurdle and landed no problem. Walking back around to not get hit, he watched.
I can't even say with a straight face what happened. I had not only cleared the hurdle, but I had bumped into the ceiling. "Augh..." I groaned upon landing, holding my head. "Owies..." I heard the clipboard clatter to the ground.
"Oh my god...!" Jake burst out, grabbing a radio from his side. "Kyle!" He shouted into the radio. "How high is the ceiling in Training Pod 2?" He asked.
"Uh... thirty feet, why?" Jake ran some numbers.
"Judging by how hard you hit, you could probably have kept going for a good ten more... Very impressive leg muscles." He grinned. "Indulge me in a little Pouncing Contest?" I shrugged. The good doctor got on all fours next to me, facing inside the room. "Give it your all, Saline. Remember. This is for science." I stood next to him as he pounced inwards, clearing about twenty feet in a pounce, not arching the jump at all. I jumped from a standing position, clearing thirty four without arching the jump. "Interesting..." Jake mused, standing and making notes. "Let's continue. Next is a test of speed. You'll notice the lights along the perimeter of the room. I want you to run around the room, first at a jog, then a run, then sprinting. Take your position, and you may go when ready.
I took my time walking to the starting line, watching Jake through the corners of my eyes. He nodded as I arrived, and I started, jogging the path. I had finished the jog in about fifty seconds. He made a note as I took a few reset to the starting line.
The run was next. Taking off into a brisk run, I ran the course again in about thirty six seconds. Nodding, Jake made another note.
"Next is the sprint. This time, Saline, really push yourself. Catch your breath, and when you're ready, go." I didn't even need to catch my breath. Breaking into a full-fledged sprint, I ran the course in a record shattering twelve seconds.
"Impressive." Jake nodded. "My initial scans suggest it's possible you could be a quadruped. As strange as this seems, do the same course three more times, this time, running on all fours."
"Strange..." I mused to myself, but did it anyway. The jog was eye opening. I ran the course on all fours faster then on two legs. I didn't even stop at the finish line, but instead kept going. Running like this felt... free. Liberating, almost. In the time it took me to jog the course once on two legs... I had run three circles around it on all fours. When Jake finally flagged me to stop, I did, and stood back up, not even sweating.
"Impressive. Next, I want you to sprint. Really give it your all." Sprinting the course proved dizzying for poor Jake. Five seconds into the sprint, and I had finished. "As I surmised. You gain a significant boos to ground speed on all fours... like a dog. Most impressive. And interesting. Alright, Saline, I think that's enough for one day. Follow me out, and I'll get you something to eat." I followed him out of the little door into a corridor. It appeared as though we were underground, judging by how there were no windows in the little hallway.
"I have to admit, Ms. Green, your particular mutation of the F.E.V. interests me to no end. Not only have you practically shattered the Fastest Runner Alive record, but you don't even look like it bothered you. Current Land Speed for a foot race is ten point four meters a second, currently held by a one Usain Bolt from Jamaica, deceased, I might add."
"How fast did you clock me?" He chuckled at this.
"You ran the circumference of that room, a non paltry two hundred meters in five point one one seconds. So, doing a little math, you can sprint for about... oh... thirty nine meters a second."
"Thirty nine meters a second?! Is that even humanly possible?" I gawked, surprised myself at the speed.
"No, Saline. It's only possible with the help of the F.E.V." He put a hand on his chin. "Would that be considered a Performance-Enhancing Drug?" He mused to himself. Laughing it off, we stopped before an elevator. "Anyway, it is for this reason, I am officially categorizing your type of Parent Infected a Runner." The door slid open, and we met with Emma and Trinsha. "Trinny! Emma! So glad you met us. Met the fastest woman in the world." He introduced me. "Clocked her doin' thrity nine."
"Miles per hour?" Trinsha questioned. "That's pretty fast. Land speed record's... what? Twenty nine?"
"Uh, no, meters per second, actually."
"A SECOND!?" Emma gawked much like I did. "Jesus..."
"Oh, by the way, Emma, did you do as I asked and explain to Trinny why you went stab-happy on her chest?"
"Yes. She did." Trinsha responded, smiling to Emma. "I'm just glad it really wasn't her."
"Well... kinda but kinda not." Emma smiled, correcting her.
"Good. Now, Emma, if you don't mind, wait for me in my office. And find Sarah. I've got some 'splaining to do."
Ending Author's Note: Saline's Parent Infected is officially called a Runner. Can anyone guess what popular movie Icon her Infected is based on before I spill the beans?