Campaign - Flight Decay Prologue
Nearly 2 weeks after the first infection. Health organisation CEDA have quarantined the local airport of the small town of Bucano. Flights have been cancelled both inside and out of the US, and no one without clearance, or a badge is allowed to enter the building, or leave. CEDA has turned the airport into a campsite to keep the occupants safe, as well as contain the infection, halting it from spreading.
The waiting areas of the airport have been converted to makeshift beds for the residences. Fences and gates have been put up to keep people inside, almost like a holding pen for people. Standing by the gates are at least two security guards, set up in riot gear, armed with batons. Families sit at their assigned beds looking comfortable and confused. Outside of the windows is a runway full of grounded airplanes, neither of them have been authorised to move off the ground.
Outside of the airport's main entrance is a parade of tents set up to treat victims, perform tests on any new comers, and otherwise research the pandemic to find a possible cure to counter the virus at a close to miraculous pace. Being pushed on a stretcher, pushed by CEDA agents in hazmat suits, a victim with a blood stained suit is brought into the main building. Following them is another man, with a bloody arm under a hunting shirt, is brought to the open tent just outside the main entrance.
A white van belonging to the town's pharmacy pulls up beside the tents. Stepping out of the van with the keys, a black man in a navy shirt and lab coat is greeted by a CEDA agent, escorted by two members of security. The man opens the van's doors to reveal a few crates of medicine. He pulls out a clipboard and pen. With a smile he starts to speak, "I have 4 crates of medication for the site."
The CEDA agent is pleased, "Good. We needed the stock." The man hands over the clipboard for the CEDA agent to sign.
As he does, his coat opens up to reveal a name tag, Darrius Flint. "They shouldn't be too heavy to lift, so it shouldn't take too long." He says, keeping up the friendly smile he has on his face.
The agent hands back the clipboard, "That's good. You shouldn't have much issue taking them to the tent at the far end. Thank you." The agent leaves with the security guard, brushing him off.
The smile on Darrius's face fades as he realises he needs to do the lifting. "Yes sir." He says under his breath in a sarcastic tone. He grabs one of the crates, and with a little struggle, carries it by hand to the tent specified.
In the tent, the injured man from earlier is sitting on a medical bed, their shirt open, with an agent treating the wound on his arm. With the blood cleared up, the injury looks like teeth marks. "Okay, that should stop the bleeding, and with the medication, that should stop the infection." The agent says through their suit.
"Right, thank you." They put their suit back on, covering the bandages. "How's my brother? Is he going to be okay?" They ask, looking more concerned about that.
"We don't know just yet, but he'll most likely pull through." They get a relieved look on their face. "Now, Mister...Lee was it? In the meantime, could you answer a few questions we have." The agent pulls out a notebook from their bag, and starts writing something, "You said at the time of the incident, you were fishing with your brother by the lake, correct?"
"Yes," Lee answered.
"Okay, and the one that attacked, and bit both you and your brother, how would you describe them?"
Darrius enters the tent, a sweat drops from their forehead, "Sorry, where should I put these crates of medicine?" The CEDA agent doesn't turn round to acknowledge his presence.
"Just dump them over there." They gesture with their gloved hand to the side of the tent. "So, their appearance?"
Inside the airport, a CEDA agent enters the sleeping area with a guard and a megaphone. They bring the device to their mouth and call out, "We've just received a new shipment of medication. We're now going to go through an examination process with you, to determine if you can leave. Please follow me." Like a hungry swarm at a picnic, the masses arise out of their seats towards the CEDA agent. It takes all three members of the security team to get them all inline by the gate. In a single file, they're all escorted out of the holding pen, leaving the sleeping area almost empty.
Coming through the gate, a woman in a police uniform, sporting a jacket with 'BPD' logoed on the arm enters the sleeping area. She looks around, seeing if anyone needs any help getting to the exam. While standing beside a bench, she can hear light snoring. She looks over to see a young male, dressed like a punk rocker with dyed, shaved hair and piercing. She shakes her head, while still smiling a little. Reaching down, she gently taps them on the cheek. With bloodshot eyes, the rocker looks up at the officer. "Good afternoon, Axl." She says in a direct, yet still friendly tone.
"Ah, Sarah. Good morning." He says, cracking his neck as he tries to get up.
"That's Officer Park to you, boy."
He laughs it off as he stretches, "Right right, sorry." He yawns as he stretches, looking around the area, "Where is everyone?" He asks.
"CEDA is going to have people go through processing to decide if you can leave or not. How did you not hear them? They had a megaphone."
Axl stands up from the bench. "I'm used to sleeping through noise." He looks back at her with sleep in his eyes.
"You're hopeless. Here, I'll take you to line up." Axl holds up a finger, "Just a sec. I need to freshen up, and take a piss first."
She looks to the floor, shaking her head, "Lovely. Well, don't be too long." She says as Axl walks towards the restroom on the floor.
Outside with the tents, the CEDA agent is continuing to question Lee, Darrius has brought the last crate to the tent. He sets it down on top of one of the others to make room. He hangs about the tent, leaning on the crate to catch his breath. Sweat is pouring down his face as he tries to stabilise himself. Lee's focus is taken from the agent, and onto Darrius. It snaps back to the agent, "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that last question please."
"After you shot at your attacker, did you see where they went?"
Lee tries to think on that, "Uh. No. I ripped him off my brother, and he bit me. I smacked him with the bud of my rifle and he ran away back into the words." As the agent writes this down, there's a sudden scream of terror in the yard, catching everyone's attention. Darrius steps away from the tent's open entrance as more screams appear, some of them sounding less human, and more animalistic.
"What the hell?" Darrius asks as he walks backwards into the crates, knocking one over. It opens on impact, and a bottle of pills rolls out and hits Lee's foot, to which he notices.
"You two, stand back for a minute." The CEDA agent says as he exits the tent. The pair watch him become a silhouette on the outside of the tent. They both jump as something latches onto the back of the agent. It makes a sound like mad laughter as the agent is pulled away, screaming for help. A member of the security team comes running into frame, armed with a baton in their hands. They're immediately brought to the ground as they are tackled to the floor by a hooded figure. It claws and bites at them, getting under the armour. The guard screams in agony until they are silenced by their throat being ripped out.
Their baton fell out of their hand when it smacked against the floor. Lee grabs the bottle of pills by his foot and stands up. He pulls the bottom of the tent up to make an exit. "Hey you. Come on, let's go!"
He calls out to Darrius as he stands frozen in place, watching the man have their life stripped from them. Coming to their senses, he reaches down to the floor and grabs the fallen baton, and runs out the back of the tent with Lee. Together, they run towards the main building's entrance to get help. Around them, the yard has become a war zone with guards and agents being overpowered. After watching a doctor being pulled by their lab coat, Darrius removes and throws away his before the pair enter.
Sarah continues to look around the waiting area. "How long does it take to use the toilet?" She says to herself when she sees a lone woman stumbling outside of the gate. "Ma'am! Are you alright?" She calls out. They don't make a sound. Instead, they just press themselves up against the wall. Sarah comes a little closer to see blood dripping from her arm. Deeply concerned, Sarah sprints across the floor towards the woman, arm extended. "Ma'am! Are you alright? What happened?"
She grabs her by the shoulder and turns her around. Not a moment after being turned around, the woman attacks Sarah, biting her arm. Sarah fights back, looking into the woman's desperate, blood dripping eyes. She pushes back, getting her off her arm, and into the wall. She reaches for her gun, pulling it out of its holster and aims it at the woman.
"Stay where you are! Don't move!" Ignoring her orders, the woman charges for her again. On impulse, and survivors instinct, she pulls the trigger, shooting the woman. Sarah hits her clean in the forehead, killing her.
Before she could contemplate what just happened, she's tackled to the ground by a man showing the same symptoms as the woman did. Holding him back, she struggles against the aggressor as he tries to bite her neck. She fires two bullets into their stomach, but they still persist.
From nowhere, the man's head is removed from their shoulders, sent flying into the wall before landing in a trash can. Sarah looks up to see Axl standing over her with a bloody shoulder, and a fire axe. "Need a hand Officer Park?" He says, reaching out to help her up.
"Axl, what happened?" She says, trying to remain professional.
"When I was washing my hands, a guy dressed as a pilot burst out one of the stalls with his trousers down and attacked me. He bit my shoulder and I shoved him off. I had to pick up the fire axe for safety."
Sarah has a chance now to breathe, and go over everything. "Are you okay?" Axl asks, pointing out the blood dripping from her jacket. "I'll be fine. There's a medical team by the processing crew. We need to warn them of this." Axl nods, gripping his axe tight in his fingers as they head towards the entrance.
The two get to the top of the stairs leading to the entrance. They are given a remarkable view as they witness everyone from CEDA agents, to happy families get torn apart and turned into vicious aggressors. One of the infected on ground level looks up towards the two and starts to charge towards them. One by one, more follow.
"Hey! Over here!" The two look to their side to see Darrius waving at them from a makeshift safe room. "Hurry up!"
Sarah pulls her gun, and puts down the first infected with a single shot. "You go first, I'll be right behind you." Axl starts to leg it to the safe room. After clearing a magazine of her gun, Sarah follows right behind him.
Neither of them look back as a small horde of infected lunatics come running after them with bloody eyes and teeth baring as daggers. Darrius gets back into the safe room; beside the wall, Lee is getting ready to push a large looking table in front of the door.
Axl runs in first, "Hold on, there's one more." Sarah just makes it to the door, grabbing the handle, and slams it shut.
To be continued...
