The Green Flu

Chapter 18 - Devon

"The International Airport?" I asked, wanting some clarity. "But that's a two hour drive from here. Assuming we get to the highway in good time."

"We will." Swindle assured me. "I have a car and it's not too far, just in the parking lot. And you're obviously very dangerous with that gun, so it's not like the infected will be a problem."

"But don't you think we should be looking for more people? I mean, the whole city can't be infected, right?" The look on Swindle's face wasn't very reassuring. "Right?"

"The Flu was meant to spread quickly." He said. "I wouldn't be surprised if most of the city is infected, whether they have turned or not."

This can't be happening! I thought to myself. This just seems so unreal.

"So I guess the airport is our best option." I admitted, with a sigh. "But do you really think we'll be able to just drive there without any trouble?" This time it was Swindle's turn to sigh.

"I'm hoping. There is no guarantee though." He told me. "Come on, we should go. No use staying around here."

"You're sure everyone is infected?" I asked him.  I didn't want to leave anyone who might need our help here with all those creatures around.

"Definitely." He responded. "Everyone knew to go to this lab when the first people got infected. I'm the only one who did, though." With that grim thought, we started out of the lab and down the stairs.

***

We didn't run into much trouble on the way to the parking lot. A couple of infected came running at us in the hallways, but we took care of them. Swindle was pretty good with a gun, which wasn't something I was expecting of him. But he had great aim. Every one of his shots hit their targets. He seemed to be someone that would be helpful to keep around.

"Here it is." Swindle called from in front of me. He started leading a while back and I was happy to just follow along and have a minute to think. Swindle pulled out his keys and clicked the unlock button on it. The tail lights of a black Jeep turned on and flashed red. The flashing caught the attention of a nearby infected person. It ran at the vehicle and started attacking the windows, but Swindle shot it before it could do any real damage.

"Come on, let's hurry." He said as he started walking faster towards the car. We didn't want to be here any longer than we had to. Once we were inside the car, Swindle started it up and I checked the magazine of my pistol.

"Damn. I only have 8 shots left." I thought aloud. This was my last magazine too.

"I've got about 10." Swindle reported. "We'll definitely need to find more ammunition."

"Or more guns." The car started up and began driving. Every time we passed an intersection, I could see a few Infected down the road, trying to break into houses or stores. Some were sitting down too, waiting for something entertaining to happen. Some noticed us, but we were going too fast for them to keep up.

"Hey, I have a question." I spoke up after a couple of minutes of thinking and looking out the window at the mess Philadelphia has become.

"Shoot." Swindle didn't take his eyes away from the road.

"Earlier you said that this Green Flu was supposed to be a weapon. A perfect way to get rid of any threats. But I don't get how it's perfect if it makes people into...aggressive, dangerous, inhuman creatures. Won't they just become more of a threat?" Swindle seemed to be a smart guy, but the fact that he would just overlook this mistake was hard to believe.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." He told me. "We weren't finished with it yet when the first person got infected. It wasn't perfected. The reason why we can't create a cure is because we don't really know what is being infected."

"See, we were trying to make it interfere with how your eyes send messages to your brain. The Flu was going to make you see everything differently. When you looked at people, even people you knew or loved, you would see something else. You would see whatever makes you angry and scared enough to strike them."

"I think that part is still effective. But we never wanted to make it so...intense." There was a look of guilt or regret in his eyes when he said that. As much as I don't care about Swindle, I can't imagine what he's been through. Everyone he worked with has turned and died. And it's all because he created the Green Flu.

"You said we. Who else helped you make the Flu?" I asked.

"My whole department of scientists." Swindle replied. "Only the ones that I trusted enough to work on an illegal project, of course. It was pretty small, but big enough to get the job done."

"So everyone else who was working on it knew about the bribe from the military?" We had gotten to the highway now and so far, we hadn't run into any trouble. No Infected that we couldn't handle. But the more disturbing part about this drive is that we haven't seen any other humans. Any normal people. I really hope that's because everyone else has already evacuated the city.

"Yes." Swindle answered. "And they all agreed with me that this was the right thing to do. When they joined the project, they knew the risks. I'm sure they knew that when they turned."

Without having anymore questions to ask, I just went back to looking out the window at the ruined world around me. There were a few cars on the highway, but not many. And all of them were leaving the city. Some had their doors opens and others had their doors broken off. But still not a person in sight.