3

Reverend Apocalysis: Reality Surpassed Fiction

Chapter 3 Prologue (3)

"Zz... We're approaching the facilities, everyone stay alert."

"We are the private security team sent to protect this sector!" Sergei's voice came through the intercom outside the facilities and security fences that covered vast hectares of land.

"Zz... You're late."

Sergei frowned and said, "We were attacked by things that want to hunt us. We eliminated all of them, but we still don't know if they were all the targets. Some of my men need medical attention due to fractures. Can you refrain from asking silly questions or making absurd signals and help us so we can finish our job?"

"Zz... Very well, Captain, you may proceed!"

At that moment, the gates opened automatically, and the vehicles entered the facilities quickly, leaving behind only the complete silence of the forest as if a maniacal predator lurked in the shadows.

"Come on, everyone inside!"

Everyone, including the wounded, entered the seemingly well-protected facilities. Sergei had changed his plans and wanted to know the truth about the damn problem they were in. He didn't want to risk his men this way again, as in the past.

"Doctor Steven Swardas, at your service. May I ask about the scale of the attack?" asked Doctor Steven, who had dark circles under his eyes and seemed to have a pale expression.

Sergei looked at the doctor and said in a frustrated tone, "Hundreds of bears, all of them seemed confused as if they were under the effects of rabies... They didn't flee at the sound of bullets; they were completely convinced to move forward even if it meant their death."

"That's..."

"Doctor Steven, you must tell me what's happening here so we can all be at ease, and my men and I can finish the job without unexpected problems. So tell me, what exactly escaped from this place?"

"Follow me, Captain..." Doctor Steven frowned and finally walked down a hallway while the wounded soldiers were assisted by the doctors in this place.

"The mission you have is to eliminate any target resembling the bears that attacked you; they are all supposedly in the forest." Doctor Steven seemed confused, as if everything happening shouldn't be happening.

"What exactly are you hiding here?" Sergei was aware that this mission was not planned and possibly more dangerous than any other he had participated in. He has a son like all the other soldiers under his command, so if he is to continue with this, there must be a reason.

"Captain Sergei, you ask many questions. Shouldn't you limit yourself to the information authority within your reach? If we weren't desperate, you might be considered a spy sent by some enemy seeking our information." Doctor Steven said as he walked towards a well-protected room with viral security systems.

"I need answers because I sincerely seek a reason to continue with this mission. I have a single son at home who needs a father, at least before he enters college," Sergei said with a deep voice, making this doctor understand his concerns.

"Biological weapons to combat enemy viruses from other steps, or so they told us..." Steven, who entered a medical observation room that was monitoring a young man lying on a bed, smiled slightly with helplessness and said, "This was a perfect weapon to combat viruses. But halfway through the process, we were instructed to change the course of the weapon to one that attacks and consumes living organisms. The method of transmission was direct and not viral, which was strange. Whom do they want to kill in that way, and why with an attack virus that was meant to save lives?"

After saying this, Steve sighed and continued, "We made the changes; the whole procedure was slow, but we were making progress. What happened is that the virus we created began to mutate rapidly and impressively. We investigated, conducted tests on animals, and what we saw terrified us, Captain. We were about to finish everything here and eliminate it, but we don't know how that virus ended up in the remaining animals that were not test subjects and eventually spread the virus in this forest. One of the guards ended up infected and is now in a sedated state because his behavior is so aggressive that it's incomparable."

In the laboratory filled with equipment, with iron walls that seemed like a metal fortress, Sergei looked at the young man lying on a white bed, silently, with his arms and legs restrained by metal bindings. With his pale youthful face, numerous intravenous lines were entering and exiting his body.

"Is he infected?" Sergei asked a somewhat obvious question but was more than instinctive because he couldn't believe it.

"We want you to take this information out of the facilities. We discovered a cure, but no one will allow us to produce it since it's a perfect weapon for those seeking money and power. The Carriers are, as their name suggests, people infected with the rage virus, causing uncontrollable and senseless rage and aggression in every living being they touch," said Steve without answering Sergei's question as he pulled out a thick memory stick.

"Why us?" Sergei asked, a bit confused now that he knows the truth.

"They are a group of mercenaries working globally, even having access to dangerous countries. You know better than anyone what the virus from China caused to the world... But what if I tell you that this virus is a thousand times more dangerous, lethal, and contagious? What would you say in response?" Steve looked at the young man on the bed.

"The Carriers or Infected are humans who have been infected by the Rage virus originating from this research center. Highly contagious and spreading through bodily fluids like blood and saliva, the virus takes over the exposed host within ten to twenty seconds."

"Symptoms include constant spasms and internal bleeding from all body orifices, as well as hemoemesis causing aggressive vomiting with infectious blood. Typically, Carriers show no trace of their former selves and will not hesitate to attack their former loved ones."

"The infected individual is driven by constant, furious, and consuming rage with a determined purpose to always violently attack and pursue any uninfected individual they encounter. Although Rage does not directly kill its host, lacking instincts to find food, the infected eventually die of starvation, not before cannibalizing any uninfected individuals to form their army first."

"Fortunately, those infected with this virus lack a sense of self-preservation and will not act to evade or respond to mortal danger, at least not when pursuing uninfected individuals."

"Due to the easy transmission of the virus, the very short incubation stage, and the extreme effectiveness of the senseless and rage-fueled vectors; a single infected individual can cause a serious domino effect in crowded areas, causing the infection to spread like wildfire as the infected multiply rapidly. However, the aforementioned strengths of the virus also affect carnivorous animals, making it extremely dangerous."

Just as Sergei was about to ask what exactly he needed to do next, an alarm sounded throughout the facility followed by gunfire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Zz... Sir, we have a situation in the medical room," said a soldier communicating over the radio.

"Zz... Report on the situation!" shouted Sergei as he left the room.

"Zz... The scientists in this place are acting strange. Falcon bit them, and they started acting weird."

Steve exited the room and said, "It seems some of your men were infected by the virus. You must kill them if you want to get out of here alive, Mr. Sergei."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Zz... Captain, they don't die with shots to the body; it must be the head."

"Zz... A type of virus has been released. We must get out of here right now with the survivors."

Sergei felt a sharp and tearing pain completely invading him from behind his head... "We need to get out of here."

"Do you know the feelings of all the scientists who worked here?"

"What are you talking about?"

"We want to die, just like that man who invented the atomic bomb. We have created something of mass destruction that, if not handled carefully, could destroy the entire human race... A few months ago, someone hacked the systems and stole the virus, threatening to release it in the world's major cities." Steve said as he walked towards a room to resume his research.

While Sergei watched the chaos of the alarms, he quickly headed toward the hallway where the commotion was coming from, only to see a group of Carriers biting the skin of scientists until they were dead. Seconds later, the lifeless bodies twisted strangely and finally opened their blood-drenched eyes.

"What the hell?" Sergei asked before raising his weapon and shooting the heads of those infected.

"How had it happened so quickly?"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Sir, this way..." Shouted a man alongside other soldiers who seemed to be keeping the situation under control.

Just as Sergei was jogging towards his soldiers, a figure emerged from one of the rooms at a terrifying speed and with its thunderous strength sent him backward crashing into a wall.

Argh!

The fierce growl, blood gushing from the Carrier, made Sergei frown. But before he could eliminate it, a bullet penetrated its head. Everything went well due to the masks they had, so the splattered blood was not a concern.

"Captain..." A weak voice pulled Sergei from his thoughts, and when he looked up, he saw one of his men lying on the floor while spitting out a large mouthful of blood, but there was still a wild smile on his face.