The Virus Within- Changing

Why Are We Doing This Again?

We were on the road when a solitary building came into view. It had windows, dirty walls, and a great big door that stood seven feet high. Through the windows, we could see computers, food, medical supplies, and lots more. So I naturally assumed that someone was in there.

The others decided to meet the inhabitants of the building. A couple of people was chosen. Nathan, me, Harry, Jacob, and the two guards, Harry and Michael.

"Why are we doing this again?" I asked. It was nerve-wracking and doing this had a low chance of getting anything worth it.

Nobody answered.

I was near the front of the group. Harry opened the door, and I peered inside. The hall was lit up, and there was no way anybody could sneak through. That was probably why we got caught.

I started to relax as we went through the door. We headed upstairs. This corridor had a door made of steel, as opposed to the others. It was locked with a sturdy one, but Michael picked it in seconds.

He opened the door, and the rest of us peered through. The room had tons of machines ranging from computers to 3D printers. There were tables carrying sciency stuff.

One table had a lot of Petri dishes with different organisms inside. One was full of green glowing goo. Another had little thin cones with sharp edges that looked to be made out of glass, but I knew that that assumption was wrong. As I watched, a thin bolt of electricity jumped between two of the cones.

A different table had molecules drawn on a sheet of paper, with labels and names. Some were so full of electrons that I could barely see lines.

Still, another table had beakers and a lighter heating a flask with red liquid. Emissions rose into a tall cylindrical tube disappearing into the ceiling.

We walked forward, awestruck. Then a wall swung open and a Korean man stepped out with a gun.

"Who are you?" The man asked the gun pointed at Nathan.

"We are from Campfire Stronghold," Harry said. "We came-"

"No. Not you. Who is he?" The man gestured at Nathan.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked, tilting his head.

"I know you're a zombie. I know you are a higher rank than a Runner. And I know you can kill me. So if you kill me, my friends will explode the trailer." The man circled around, staying well away. Several gasps were heard. "Stay in this room. Not that you have any choice." The man slipped through the door and a locking sound was heard.

Moments later, the air circulation system began to vent a light green gas. Jacob inhaled it first.

"Sleeping-" He was dreaming before he hit the ground.

I calmly told the others my plan.

The man walked in fifteen minutes later with five others. Each person carried one of the expedition team out of the room and into cells. The cells really couldn't be called cells. They had a bookshelf, a comfy bed with a fluffy blanket, and had an arcade game. It was more like an apartment, but it was missing a few things. Like windows or doors.

The man was, in fact, Yuk Hyonjun, a Korean black market dealer who had turned his attention to science to try and cure his daughter of the zombie virus, which had turned them insane. He had tried everything from ancient rituals to quantum mechanics, but he had finally turned his attention to biology. And to save his daughter, he needed DNA samples.

He settled into a chair in the lounge room and took a book out from a nearby shelf. His security all settled down, too. The prisoners would wake up in an hour, and there was no need for his men to be tired out by guarding them.

Five minutes later, I sat up from my place on the bed.

Since drugs rarely affected zombies, I was reasonably certain I could survive. So I played dead. And it worked.

Now I broke down the door. The corridor was what you'd expect at a hospital: clean, white, and illuminated. My earlier observation about the well-lit hallways meant that I had to either avoid or incapacitate those I would encounter.

I walked through the maze of corridors, trying to locate the control room. I relied on scenting the man I had seen before. At every crossroads, I would pause, scent, and then head down the quickest path. Sometimes I had to take detours to avoid people in the hallways.

After some time, I knocked out a man and took his utility belt, his pistol, and his Swiss army knife.

I walked down a lot of corridors. Right, left, straight, upstairs, left, straight, etc.

Eventually, I came across a door with a black outline that was obviously reinforced. I broke down the door and observed the situation.

The people inside were surprised. One fell over in his chair as they all gawked at me.

It seemed that the people inside were all guards except for two men. One was the man I saw earlier, and the other one had a lab coat and a clipboard. I did a quick survey and estimated twenty guards in the room, but most were sitting down on couches, reading, or napping. One or two had their hands on their guns, but I jerked the gun at them and they raised their hands.

"Who are you, why did you capture us, and where are they?" I questioned the Korean man.

"I am Tae Seungwon. I am a scientist who hopes to find a cure for insane zombies. I captured you and your friends to take some DNA samples. They are in Cell Block E, which can be found on the second-floor map."

I sensed that he had told a few lies. "You are not Tae Seungwon, and they are not in Cell Block E. Tell me the truth." I ran like a blur right next to him, a gun pointing at his temple.

He started but composed himself in record time and replied calmly. "Fine. I am Yuk Hyonjun, and your friends are in Cell Block D, also on the second floor."

This time I scented no lies.

Just then, an offside door opened and a woman with the same lab coat and clipboard as the scientist walked out and stopped upon seeing the situation. Her jubilant face disappeared into a frown.

"Why are we doing this again?" She sighed.

"To save my daughter. Have you analyzed the results?"

"Yes." Her face perked. "It has a 98% success rate. All zombie cells are converted in a matter of days. Little to no pain and side effects last only hours. This is the breakthrough."

Yuk Hyonjun smiled. "Excellent."