Location: Zaravan, Urzikstan
Date: June 2, 2021
The moonlight hung high overhead the older structures in the center of the Middle Eastern city. The old city portion of Zaravan had been one of the main tourist attractions Urzikstan had to offer before the civil war had brought constant infighting and danger to the area. As such, the sight of a convoy of armored vehicles was not something out of sight for many residents. The branding on the side of them was of a beast that had the body of a serpent and the head and wings of a bird. Four white stars above the bird's head and the bottom in golden colored font read 'TERMINUS OUTCOMES'. The vehicles came to a halt with many men and women dressed in combat attire and fashioned with gas masks and night vision goggles began to secure the perimeter. The last two sets of people to get out of the vehicles were two males armed with a carbine rifle and submachine gun respectively. The man with the carbine rifle had his gas mask still up revealing a middle aged face with a rugged beard and small slit of a scar on his lower chin. By his outfit he was a high ranking officer within the group.
"Red team hold the area while we secure the package, copy?" Ordered the man, his thick New Zealander accent undistinguished from everyone else within Terminus to know it was the founder himself speaking; Jack Fletcher. Turning around, he faced the other man. "You sure this 'weapon' of yours is here, mate? You can back out now and I won't charge ya as much."
"It's here." He answered shortly, checking his gun. "You just make sure your men are ready for what we'll unleash."
Fletcher just rolled his eyes at the comment. He lost count on the delusional people across the globe Terminus had worked with who have rambled about very similar so-called 'weapons.' End of the day it was just a fat paycheck for him and his soldiers and another man ending six feet under or rotting in a cell. This Russian was no exception, he thought to himself as he put his gas mask on. Fletcher, the Russian and one Terminus soldier moved into a small apartment complex within the old city ruins, scanning around as they tapped against the walls. With each tap the hard concrete wall felt like another dead end. The Kiwi scoffed, ready to call it a dry hole before his tap on the wall riverbed, sending a small vibration back–quickly he tapped it again, hearing the same hollow sound.
"This is the spot, boss." The Terminus grunt said as he readied a breach charge on the wall. Fletcher motioned the Russian back as he let his soldier finish setting the charge and stepping back. "Set. 3…2…1…breach!"
On the final word, Fletcher pressed the button as the charge let out a blast, shaking the hallway and building for a moment before the structure settled. Wiping the dust and spackle off of themselves, the trio found the hole to a sealed off room. Fletcher was the first to hop down, the wooden stairs rotting and unable to sustain the weight of a person, followed by the terminus grunt and finally the Russian. The room was pitch black, even with the night vision goggles on neither one of them could get a proper view of what was in front of them.
"Scorch, Zakhaev. Get some chem lights up." Fletcher ordered as he scanned the room with his carbine's flashlight. In front of his face was an old cymbal monkey toy that had been left on a metal rack shelf. The Kiwi stepped back for a moment before letting out a disgruntled scoff. "Creepy bugger."
"Did not take you to be afraid of a child's toy, Fletcher." The Russian, Zakhaev, sarcastically remarked. Tossing the Chemlight down in front of them, it landed on top of something that was located in the center of the room. Aiming their flashlight over it, the trio found the skeletal remains of four individuals sitting on each corner of a table with a device in the center. A small smirk grew under his gas mask as Zakhaev carefully approached the table.
"Bodies have completely decomposed–They must have been here for some decades now." Scorch commented, noting one of the corpses had worn an eyepatch and three out of the four were males. He shrugged the chills down his spine off as he scanned for any poison or gas in the air. A small hiss emitted from the machine in the center of the table, making Scorch let out an audible gasp before it opened up to reveal two vials inside. The contents in the vials glowed a bright cyan and indigo as they flowed inside of their glass cells. Its movements were sporadic and moved in multiple directions. Looking down at his scanner, there were no signs of radiation. "All clear," he said as he lifted his gas mask up.
"They're actually real…" was all Zakhaev could muster out as he lifted his mask and cradled one of the vials in his hands, the contents inside reacting to the man's touch by moving faster, like a small animal getting captured. Zakhaev grabbed the second vial and placed it inside of a small metal case. "They're actually here."
"Alright, Zed. Ya got your…weapon." Fletcher said, still not convinced of the possibilities with the strange vials. "Let's bug out. That blast definitely woke this city up."
"Da." was all Zakhaev said as he closed the small metal case and moved back outside. The sight of red and blue flashing lights caught everyone's attention.
"Boss we gotta go! It's the cops!" one of the Terminus soldiers in the Red team yelled as the convoy of police cars inched closer and closer.
"Fuck…Defensive positions people!" Fletcher yelled as he tugged the Russian close to him. "Stick close and try not to get yer head blown off."
Zakhaev said nothing as he kept his head down from the coming fire. The Zaravan Military Police had one armored truck with a mounted gun on the truck bed and used it well, tearing down a few of the Terminus soldiers who were not able to find ample cover. One of the soldiers readied a Carl Gustaf and aimed at the police cars before firing. The rocket took out the main truck with the mounted gun and a few other sedans but they were immediately replaced with more cars. Fletcher yanked Zakhaev up as he made a move for the car. But not before the crack a sniper rifle shot made the two men drop down to the ground for a moment. Zakhaev looked for a moment to see the metal case on the ground, scurrying for it, he opened to see if the two vials were still intact.
That's when an idea came to him. The Russian grabbed ahold of one of the vials and knelt back up.
"What'd Ya think you're doin, Victor?!" Fletcher yelled as he and Scorch were inside of the armored car.
"You didn't believe this was my weapon da? How about a live demonstration!" He yelled and tossed the vial in the air towards the police cars and ran in and shut the door behind him. The vial hit the ground, the glass shattering as the contents inside began to form small crystallizations and a large shockwave of a purple smoke from the purple smoke small specks moved along, coming into contact with both Terminus and Zaravan police forces as they dropped their weapons and began to stumble around. Fletcher scanned around, noting the body of one of his own men. As soon as the gas enveloped them the body began to twitch before rising back up with crimson yellow eyes glowing in the fog. The creature jolted towards a soldier who was still alive after the blast and dove over as it began to bite into his neck. Fletcher cautiously peaked over the glass before another mangled corpse began to bang on the window.
"Fuck!" The Kiwi yelped as he fell back to his seat. Just as fast as he jumped, he took a moment to analyze what was in front of him. The weapon in question was this…reanimation of fallen soldiers. The undead. "…fuck…" was all Fletcher could muster once again as he turned to look at Zakhaev, the look of awe and glee in his face was a strict contrast to the situation they were in.
"Aetherium…it is beautiful." He looked on in awe, scanning where the Russian was looking, the point where the vial had bursted a large series of crystals began to form. Bright purple, they always glistened as they pumped more of the purple fog in the area.
"We have to get out of here—Scorch fire 'er up and get to the camp stat!" Fletcher ordered as the man turned the ignition on and sped out as quickly as he could. Fletcher then snapped a look at Zakhaev. "I want you to tell me everything you know on this—This weapon of yours is a bloody gold mine waiting to happen."
"You know our deal—Dr. Jenson will purify it as best she can and whatever else is yours to sell."
Fletcher let out a small snicker, already imagining the large payday his company was going to get from this, all the while the fog continued to grow along the city. The undead were not the only ones now inhabiting the purple cloud.
Location: 'The Pioneer', Black Sea
Date: June 4, 2021
Two days since the outbreak began…
Eliza Cohen took a moment to scan the bird's eye view of the area that had once been the bustling city of Zaravan. The knots in her stomach as she scanned the reports. They were eerily similar to those of Truth or Consequences. The outbreak had been contained for as far as the entire county line of the city with the area around ground zero being the most lethal of the still unknown compound that had begun the outbreak. Orbital footage captured from surveillance drones did not help either, many showing the reanimated citizens and soldiers flooding the streets, and crystal structures scattered across as they continued to spread. Other signs of Terminus activity in the area were another headache, as there had been reports from first responders of gun fire being exchanged with the mercs. Three way battle…not the most ideal situation to be in, Eliza thought to herself as she took a sip of her coffee.
"You look like shit, Liza." Called a familiar Texan from her office doorway. Glancing up, Eliza saw Jordan lean against the side of the door with a grin on his face. She forced a smile and waved his comment off with a wave of her hand. "So…what'd Harry say?"
"Well as of now we're in full containment mode. CIA's lending back up for us on this operation." Eliza explained, letting out a soft sigh. "Harry's given the green light for our little unit from this point onwards to be known as REACT."
"REACT?" Jordan raised an eyebrow at the name before scoffing at the name. "That the best they can come up with?"
"Short for Rainbow Exogenous Analysis & Containment Team…yeah REACT rolls off much better." Eliza answered, the corner of her lips curled up to form a small smirk as she saw Jordan lift his hands up in defeat. Turning her laptop around, she let the Texan get a look of the area map of the city, marked with different colored tiers. "'The Exclusion Zone' as some are calling it has covered the whole city and the surrounding area. Situation is a lot worse near the Old Town. We need to make sure everyone is ready for the worst if we even want to attempt to venture there. ToC level of bad from initial reports."
"Shit…" Jordan winced a bit at the mention of New Mexico–it had been only three years since that mess happened. And just like now it did not feel real whatsoever. Before another word could be exchanged, a voice spoke over the intercom.
"Commander Cohen. Please report to the main deck. Commander Cohen to the main deck."
"That's me…" Eliza said; closing her laptop and getting up from her chair. "Must be this SSO Greene I've heard is aiding in this."
"Greene? Shit I heard she's a hardass from Collinn."
"Oh what, Jordan Trace engaging in gossip? Never would have imagined that." Eliza jested, earning the bird from the Texan.
"Look, us Jarheads gotta stick together." Jordan jested as he made his way out the door, not before turning back around to face the redhead. "'Sides, he's got some fun stories being so near the old President."
"Whatever." Eliza rolled her eyes and gave him a warm smile. She moved out to the hall in the direction to the main deck before stopping to turn back around to Jordan. "Before I forget, make sure to see that new testing facility Elena won't shut up about."
"Yes ma'am." the Texan said, giving her a two finger salute before walking away.
Eliza was met with the cool Black Sea breeze as she reached the main deck of the Pioneer. Looking out at the horizon, a large cloud loomed overhead–The Exclusion Zone. Her face hardened a bit while looking out at it–it did not sit well knowing they were relieving the same nightmare again. 'We're more prepared this time…' she told herself, clenching her hands into a fist and relaxing them a few times. Her train of thought was cut by hearing the sound of a helicopter landing on one of the available helipads. The markings on the nose were of a cyan blue logo with a skull in the center with wings, a sword in the background and two lighting bolts clenched in the bird's talons. 'OPERATION DEADBOLT' was written on the top portion of the insignia along with the unit motto– 'NOTHING GETS IN, NOTHING GETS OUT'. From the helicopter walked out a woman dressed in blue jeans, a navy blue business button up and a light gray gilet. She appeared to be at least in her mid to late 40s with a short haircut and a stone cold expression on her face, she approached Eliza and offered a hand.
"You must be Greene. I'm Commander Eliza Cohen." Eliza said and returned the handshake. "Pleasure to meet you, welcome to the Pioneer."
"I've read your file, Cohen. Your reputation precedes you." Greene said, from inside of the helicopter some other personnel disembarked. All the gear present was marked with the similar Deadbolt insignias. "I'm well aware your organization needs to be kept on the down low. However I expect your full transparency for this operation to work–whatever is out there in the EZ is a greater threat than any mask wearing terrorist could possibly do."
"I think you and I are going to get along well." Eliza answered, giving another look over towards the Exclusion Zone, the cloud above it began to glow and echo out as a small storm began– purple lighting brewing from within the clouds. Eliza winced at the sight, reports of the storm had been consistent over the last two days and would result in comms being hampered. Looking over at Greene, she was not happy at the sight, evident by her letting out something under her breath the redhead could not distinguish, but it was not anything positive. Eliza decided to change the topic, "I'll show you to the command center. Follow me."
"Lead the way, commander." Greene motioned, catching one last look at the storm before descending into the aircraft carrier's hull. "Don't know if you were informed, but we have some…specialist arriving here soon."
"Specialist?" Eliza asked with an eyebrow raised. "No, I haven't been told yet."
"Russian by the name of Sergei Ravenov; the file's more redacted than actual words, but he claims to know a thing or two about the situation we're in."
'Russian…' Eliza thought for a moment. The space pod they had uncovered back in New Mexico that sparked the outbreak there belonged to the Soviets. If this Ravenov was familiar with everything they were facing, perhaps he was involved or had knowledge of what the Soviets were planning back then. Maybe she could get some closure on what they were dealing with.
"If he has anything that can help end this quickly, I want him here, immediately."
A figure stood in stillness, remaining in a fetal position as it floated within a purple and black void. The figure had a feminine outline, with an average build, and flowing 'hair' that went down past the shoulders. The figure was not quite sleeping more as it was in standby, however this was ended by the faint sound that echoed…a sound it had lost contact with for centuries. Slowly, the figure began to rise as it scanned for the source, not sure if they were illusions or not. Its journey across the emptiness seemed futile, nothing around its view was there.
All seemed lost for the entity before a small shimmer of light in the darkness caught its attention. It moved towards it, had it had a heart it would be beating rapidly out of joy as it took a peek within the light. On the other end was a room–a laboratory by the looks of it. With many computers, machines and wires; it was a bit overwhelming for the figure as it continued to look around.
Then it saw a familiar face.
It saw her
"Sister…" the entity spoke in a hushed and raspy feminine voice. The woman it spoke to looked no older than late twenties, with blonde hair in a ponytail and wearing tan khakis, a maroon hoodie and a blue denim jacket over–the woman had no idea the figure spoke to her as she continued to type on her laptop. The figure reached its 'hand' out towards the light, as it had attempted many times in the past. However, unlike before, the figure was nearly able to grasp the woman's shoulder. Before it could, the entity could feel itself being pulled back into the darkness.
"Nooo, sister! Let us in!" it cried out before being consumed by darkness yet again.
"Dammit…" the woman tensed up as she clutched her head in pain, setting her laptop aside; she could have sworn she had heard a voice, or a sound call to her. Looking at the time she quickly reached into her bag to pull an orange pillbox–Clozapine medication. Taking two pills out, the woman took them dry. In a moment the head pain seemed to subside and go away, making her breath a sigh of relief. "Damn headaches…"
The entity remained in the darkness yet again, alone.
However, these events left it feeling a sense of joy, knowing they had an opportunity to escape. To be with its alleged sister.
To be whole once again…
They will be whole.