Operation: Infected

Operation: Chimera

Dialing...

Dialing...

DING~!

     "Operation Chimera is a go, Six. Sending Specialists Finka, Doc, and Lion."

     "Copy that. Good luck."

**************

     As the thundering helicopter lowered and eventually landed, all was silent between the three operators. Even Lera's involuntary foot-tapping could be heard. 

     Olivier's voice eventually broke the silence as he uttered out a quick "Scanning". The silence came back shortly after, but he broke it once more. "Spotted Dr. Mackintosh. Barely..." On the small device that lied on Olivier's left forearm, he could see a faint silhouette that portrayed a woman. 

     "Just her?" Lera questioned him.

     "Just her," Olivier confirmed, grabbing his gun and hopping off of the helicopter and onto the ashy ground. 

     His surroundings were dark as they were recently burned by the flames that also stood and danced nearby. The ground was full of ash. Debris was scattered around by past buildings, most having weak flames around them as well. Needle-like and razor-sharp spikes that had a red hue of a glow bordered the broken down hospital.

     "You know what to do when you get into some shit." Specialist Finka stated, her eyes narrowed at the man before her. 

     "Oui, I do. Question is, do you?" Olivier glanced back, his eyes narrowed as well as if the two were having a war.

     "We do. Now go before something bad happens to the doctor." Gustave snapped, obviously not having the patience for this. Can't entirely blame him.

     The two kept quiet. Specialist Lion turned back to face forward and silently walked into the broken down building that was just a few feet in front of him. Inside, flames and debris were scattered, almost the exact same outside. However, this man wasn't surprised by that fact. Nothing surprised him nowadays and these were one of them. 

     His steps were almost silent as he quickly scanned nearby rooms with a flashlight that was connected to his V308. Nothing. Just what he expected. He soon reached the stairs and carefully made his way up, watching both his step and environment that was around him. Once again, there was nothing. Despite this, he kept his guard up. He has every possible reason to. 

      Just ahead of him was the room Dr. Mackintosh was in. Olivier made it to the doorway that had cracks all around, possibly indicating that the door had been ripped off. He stepped into the room, ignoring the chip-like noises the burnt debris made below his feet. 

      Ahead of him was the serology lab that was surrounded by glass that was boarded-up by a mixture of wood and metal. He took a quick look around before walking forward and around the burnt room, attempting to find a way inside. Soon enough, he came across one of the lab doors that was cracked open. The French man reluctantly stuck a hand in and pushed it apart with... ease... He didn't have time to worry about that, however. He worried about his mission; saving Dr. Mackintosh and hoping that she could work up a cure for this horrendous alien-like parasite on the loose. 

     Lion stepped into the room and saw the doctor at one of the many desks. He pointed his bright flashlight at her in case she, unfortunately, became infected. Good for him though, the woman turned to him in obvious fear and seemed relieved when the two made eye contact. 

     The two said nothing. Dr. Mackintosh only grabbed a few things while muttering to herself. Olivier only spoke to his comrades through his radio, saying, "I found her. She's safe. Heading back to the extraction site now." 

     Before they even knew it, the two hastily yet cautiously made their way out of the room. Olivier used his aerial drone to scan for hostiles. None. So, he escorted the horrified doctor down the ashy stairs as she kept her things close to her. Can't lose the research now. Not now.

     "Specialist Flament, multiple hostiles coming your way. Protect the doctor at all costs. Specialist Melnikova is coming in to aid you." Ash desperately called in which most definitely caught Olivier off guard. How? He just scanned the area, did he not? Sighing, he scanned once more and there were more than thirty hostiles his EE-ONE-D drone detected coming from all directions. 

     He cursed to himself and ran back upstairs with the doctor, going straight back to her serology lab. He placed her inside and watched their surroundings, shooting anything that decided to move. His heart was pounding. Stress levels were high. How..

     Heavy breathing and footsteps could be heard which Olivier mentally noted by how close and which direction they were coming from. His surroundings were clear of hostiles, however, and, eventually, the heavy footsteps and animalistic breathing stopped. The man's guard stayed high as he silently took steps around the lab to carefully check any blind spots. Nothing. He stayed on high alert, though - no matter what. 

     The heavy, inhuman breathing came back and sounded close. As if it was right next to him. Everything around Olivier and Mackintosh was still clear of hostiles. He grew aggravated and confused, so he patrolled the area with his drone. Nothing. Absolutely nothing and, yet, the breathing persisted. 

     Then, everything went quiet again. This made Olivier step over to the fear-shaken doctor and grab her arm to help her up to her feet. "We'll be out of here in no time, come on," he whispered, trying to reassure her.

     At that, the metal roof that stood above the two caved in and broke almost immediately, showing off one of the many alienated humanoids that used a needle-like arm to grab at them. The razor-sharp arm only grabbed one which happened to be the poor doctor who began screaming in both terror and extreme pain. Olivier's quick reaction time caused him to shoot at the humanoid creature who screeched at every shot and dropped the woman after just a few penetrating bullets. However, more than enough damage was done. Mackintosh had a hole in her stomach that reached up to the middle of her chest. The ground beneath her could be seen through the said hole.

     Completely still and horrified, Lion stared at the woman that lied on the ground while the pool of blood grew profusely.
     "Olivier! Shit! I couldn't make it. The entrance collapsed before I even got off of the helicopter, but it seems like those fuckers left. Did you get the doctor? Is she safe?"

Silence...

     "Olivier, don't ignore me. You rea—"

      "She's dead."