Surviving the Apocalypse

New Dawn

This time around Hanna didn’t wait for days once the outbreak began, especially where the scientists at the nearby research lab run by Dr. Harrington was concerned. She entered with the staff at 0500, making sure that none of them were infected when it all began to go sideways. The three who had started the s*******r here the last time were quietly dealt with before they even entered the building before she went inside.

“Can I help you?” The receptionist asked.

“I need to see Doctor Harrington immediately.” She told the woman who nodded.

The woman spoke into the phone briefly before she looked at Hanna. “He would like to know who you are.” She said as if it were normal.

“Tell him the response is Clementine.” Hanna replied, her voice carrying just enough that he heard her with his own ears.

“He will be right here.” She said hanging up the phone.

Less than a minute later Howard Harrington rushed down the stairs, not waiting for the elevator. “How do you know that?” he asked her.

“Doc, we don’t have time for 20 questions at the moment. You assured me if I came here and told you that phrase, you would know beyond a shadow of a doubt I could be trusted. Are you a liar? Or will you trust me long enough to ensure everyone here gets to safety where I can spend weeks answering the questions you likely have?” Hanna demanded as he looked at her.

“I expect a full explanation once we reach safety.” He said as he walked over and pulled an alert handle that plunged the brightly lit office into darkness with flashing red lights. “Everyone, over here.” He ordered them.

“Ok everyone, outside are three trucks waiting to take everyone to safety. We need you to climb in as quickly and orderly as possible, we will explain when we reach a safe zone.” Hanna said once the scientists had gathered. As soon as she opened the door they did exactly as instructed, assuming that they would be going to the nearby military base that had informed them rescue was on the way. A rescue Hanna knew would never arrive as the chaos unfolded far faster than the military believed possible.

As everyone loaded into the trucks, Hanna took the opportunity to take all of the equipment and supplies intact, unlike the previous time where over half of it was destroyed because of the chaos inside the building when those 3 had attacked the living. When she got in the front where Dr. Harrington was waiting, his first question was answered as they drove and he saw the zombies begin attacking the trucks.

“How did this virus escape like this?” he asked.

“Doc, you have been researching this virus for 6 years, so I am going to assume you have a reasonable grasp on what we are facing. What you don’t know yet is that the virus combined with the Coronavirus that was circulating before the lab the samples the military was experimenting on exploded. The combination of the two has made it the most aggressive virus the world has ever faced, as it infects not just the living but will raise the recently deceased as well. By the time the sun rises tomorrow Humanity will be on its last breath before society as it has been known for thousands of years collapses under the weight of the walking dead.

“To answer the question of how I knew, another virus that you told me was a companion of the zombie virus also managed to combine with a less lethal form of the Coronavirus, and has given rise to the birth of abilities within both zombies and humans alike. My personal ability is a temporal reset that isn’t as exciting as it sounds, as my time before the outbreak is limited. What isn’t limited is I can learn and retain knowledge, part of which is the work on the virus you managed to complete last time, despite the death of most of your team of researchers.” Hanna explained to him.

“What is your relation to Marcus Storm?” he asked her.

“He was my father, what do you know about him?” she asked looking directly at him.

“The old bastard managed to do it before he killed himself, I can’t believe it. Marcus was a colleague of mine when we were both at the Central Disease Control, if I didn’t tell you last time I must not have fully trusted you. He and I were working against the Second Dawn and their crazy quest to force humanity to evolve. Paxton is just the muscle behind the group, not even having a seat at the table. He however is the first threat we will have to deal with if we are going to be successful. How long will it take to get me up to speed?” he asked her.

Hanna was stunned as she sat back for a moment, as another piece of the puzzle seemed to drop into place in her mind. The problem was she didn’t even have all the pieces yet, or a clue as to what the picture was supposed to be. “That is going to depend on you, the data is on the servers inside my base.” She said as he went pale.

“Please tell me this server is non networked.” He pleaded.

“Non networked, air gapped inside a faraday cage. None of my system is connected to the Internet as my AI is more critical to me than that.” She answered as they made the first turn.

“This is not the way to the base.” Harrington said as he saw the bridge.

“We are not going to any of the military bases, as I am no longer associated with them since my graduation from the Academy. My base is far more secure than anything the cowards under Paxton will be able to manage for the foreseeable future.” Hanna told him as they turned down the road and entered the secure area of Camp Hope. She jumped out of the truck she was in as soon as they were all parked within the area, the outer gate shutting automatically as the men standing on the walls protected them from any zombies that happened to wander this way. Dr. Harrington was right behind her as she walked to the rear as the researchers began getting out of the trucks.

“Can I have your attention please.” She said to them as they began wondering just what the hell was happening. “Welcome to Camp Hope, before you can enter you must undergo a brief screening for any potential signs of infection. There are no exceptions to this rule, as anyone entering the base must do so. Once you have been cleared, you will be allowed entry where you will be registered. Some of you may be aware of the research that Doctor Harrington has spent the last 6 years on, and know what might be possible. The truth of the matter is far scarier, so please remain calm while we get everyone situated.” Hanna told them.

“What about our families?” one of them called out.

“We do not have the manpower or equipment necessary to conduct large scale rescue operations given what is happening out there. I wish we could offer you our assistance, but there is little we or anyone else can do.” Hanna told them as Dr. Harrington raised his hands to quell the anger.

“Ms. Storm is right, as much as even I wish it were possible, anyone leaving here takes their lives into their own hands. If what she has told me is accurate, the Z virus will kill and turn you within minutes instead of the months it takes with the samples we have. We have all seen first hand what happens when they rise, and those screams out there tell me they are already walking and killing.” He told his colleagues.

“Any of you that wish to attempt a rescue, are free to leave. We wish you luck, but will not be joining you. Any of you who wish to remain, men on the left, women to the right. Go through the door when instructed to.” She told them as they began separating as she had instructed, leading the women to the front where she was the first one into the examination room where she stripped out of her armor.

Two hours later Dr. Harrington entered with a woman she hadn’t seen before, the way they looked at each other saying they were close. “Hanna, I don’t know if you met my fiance Deborah last time. Deborah, this is Marcus’ daughter Hanna.” He said as the two women shook hands.

“No, we didn’t have the pleasure last time. Not to be morbid or anything, but your staff wasn’t as fortunate last time as they were this time. It is nice to meet you.” Hanna said indicating the chairs they should sit down in before she handed Dr. Harrington a file.

He opened it and saw the Z virus as he called it, as well as the base structure of the Coronavirus on the other side. The picture in the middle showed how they had combined, making each other far deadlier than what either of them alone could achieve. “This looks like a nightmare of science gone wrong.” He said shaking his head.

“It is, especially the way they fused here and here.” Deborah said pointing at two locations of the viral strain.

“I will take your word for it, biology isn’t my best subject. I am hoping that you won’t tell me a vaccine could take decades to make.” Hanna said as Deborah laughed.

“Unfortunately it could easily take decades. It took 80 years to develop one for HIV, and 130 to develop a cure for it. This one however seems like it would be more stable than HIV.” Deborah said.

Hanna nodded in agreement. “As I recall about HIV, it was so difficult because it would mutate once it infected a new host, absorbing part of their genetic coding into the virus itself. Despite being combined with Coronavirus, this one is very stable from the samples we managed to gather previously.”

Howard cleared his throat. “The biggest benefit, will be having Deborah to assist me. I noticed there are no notes of hers within the data you have here.”

“No, as I said we haven’t met before now. Last time she was one of the unlucky ones that didn’t survive the encounter with the zombies before we rescued you.” Hanna told him.

“It is going to take a few weeks for us to get through the data you have before we can determine what work needs to be done. We will need samples of the virus at that time.” Deborah said as both of them stood.

“You will have samples in a few days. At the moment the situation is to volatile to go out for samples.” Hanna said knowing that once again her first mission outside would be to rescue the survivors the military was going to abandon.