[center][h3]March 14, 2018 - Harvard, Massachusetts. Bromfield School.[/h3][/center] [center]54 Degrees. Heavy rain.[/center] [center][IMG]http://i68.tinypic.com/2r3b7eo.jpg[/IMG][/center] If the fact that ten or eleven hostile men stood with their weapons trained on the booth wasn't disquieting enough, the silence that followed Morgan's full, booming voice certainly did the trick. But Isaac stood toward the back of the room, unwavering with his scope trained directly on the large man. "Isaac Singh," Morgan called in a louder and more forceful voice that crackled over the radio and filled the highly resonant gymnasium. "[color=goldenrod]Where's Gordon...?[/color]" Isaac growled back over the radio, watching Morgan's face very closely. The expression never changed. "Gordon? He left for Michigan yesterday. Where's Doctor Harper?" "[color=goldenrod]Dead.[/color]" Isaac replied, tersely. Still no change in Morgan's face. Just a solid line where his lips were intended to part. His brown eyes stared back up at Isaac, almost as if he was intentionally staring straight through the scope. "We lied to you." Morgan said, flatly. He paused, as if waiting for a response. He received none. "You and several others tested as viable candidates for Gordon's program." "What did he do to us?!" Sticks called out, pleadingly. "Tests." Morgan replied. The voice of Nosering sounded hollow and distant to Isaac, but still as sharp and crass as ever. "Yeah, no shit!" "Our lives have ended. Our species is ending. There's no good guys or bad guys anymore. Just survivors. People like you, Isaac. People like me." "[color=goldenrod]What did they do?[/color]" Isaac barked. "A few weeks after we took back and stationed up in Fort Devens, Gordon and Harper told us the situation. We didn't know how far the infection spread. How serious it was. Humanity's population has dropped and I don't know about you, but nobody is looking to breed anytime soon." Morgan's face shifted for the first time. It looked grim. His voice dropped into a poignantly hushed tone. "I lost most of my best men in the following weeks. Infection. Hunger. Suicide. What have you lost, Isaac?" [right][color=plum]Do you miss us, Isaac? Do you miss me?[/color][/right] "[color=goldenrod]Everything...[/color]" Isaac muttered to himself. "We don't have time for theories in back rooms. No time for animal testing. Doctor Gordon needed live testing and humanity needs a cure now!" Morgan's voice grew louder. Isaac could feel the ground itself shake. For a moment, his weapon lost its sight as he regained his balance. When he brought the scope back up again, he saw the hulking figure of Patriot charging the line of men. They raised their guns and fired, but the swollen mound of flesh and muscle simply soaked the shots. Startled but stalwart, Morgan motioned to one of his men beside him, who shouldered his rifle and drew out a device that was some sort of hack-job of a megaphone with an FM radio. With a squeeze of the trigger, the radio activated silently and the rampaging Patriot came to a halt. He scrambled in place for a moment, drawing his massively swollen hands to his ears, clawing at his own face before collapsing. Skullface and Nosering took advantage of the chaos to retreat to the bleachers for cover. Isaac could hear Skullface calling out to Morgan over the radio while Nosering screamed obscenities. "This is what your idea of saving humanity is? This is what you signed them up for, without their consent?!" Skullface barked. "Stan. Greg. If I asked if you'd risk being turned in order to save humanity, would you have done it? Would any of you?" Morgan asked before looking up at the booth. "Would you do it, Isaac?" For once, Nosering had no words. No snarky comeback. No quips. Sticks' face was grimly pale. Isaac shook his head and muttered over the radio to the backdrop of the monstrosity's groans of pain. "[color=goldenrod]No.[/color]" "What happened to Eddie is bad. It's probably too late for him, and I hate losing another good man to this goddamn disease. But this is necessary. All of this." "I will burn this goddamn place to the ground. Every damn inch." Skullface replied darkly. "You already have!" Morgan shouted back. A roar of thunder echoed Patriot's cries of pain, shaking the ground and walls. Isaac found himself glancing back and forth between Skullface and Morgan. "We're running out of time. Isaac, I will be honest with you going forward. But I will not apologize. I did what I did for humanity's survival. Now you can shoot me, you can run and let me take Mr. Scott and Mr. Smith, or you could come with us. But no matter what you choo-" "Over our dead bodies you rotten piece of sh-" Nosering interrupted. "-this is ending now. Make your choice." Isaac exhaled a slow breath. He could feel his finger edging slowly away from the trigger. His eyes caught the hardened stare of Morgan, even from a distance. They caught the large hulking mound of flesh and muscle struggling to stand, struggling to escape. He saw Skullface and Nosering readying sidearms from behind the bleachers. Most importantly, he caught the widened, fearful eyes of Sticks. He was rocking in his corner, silently pleading. "Don't let him take me. Please...please." "Isaac!" Morgan shouted. "[color=goldenrod]Sabh Gunavanthee Aakheeahi Mai Gun Naahee Koe...[/color]" Isaac whispered as his finger slid back to the trigger. He altered his aim, quickly scoping the megaphone device before squeezing. The explosive sound filled the gymnasium as the bullet ripped through the device and the hand of the man carrying it. Almost instantly, Patriot's hands released from his ears and with rage-filled eyes, he charged the line of men. They opened fire, ripping through his head and face, but his massive form plowed through. Morgan attempted to evade, but Patriot lined himself up for the charge. Morgan turned as he followed his remaining men toward the exit, firing burst shots. But the hulking figure swung one massive arm and knocked Morgan into a wall. As the back of his head and neck collided with a heavy thud, Morgan's skull smashed like a hurled watermelon. The remains of his body, collapsed into a helpless pile of meat and bones with blood dripping down the wall. As Patriot reached the exit of the gym, his stride stumbled. Wounds catching up on him, his figure collapsed and slid with a greasy squeak on the gym floor. Skullface and Nosering escaped from the bleachers and cautious scanned the gym as they approached the body. Isaac grabbed Sticks' arm and pulled him toward the edge of the booth. He found some sturdy microphone cables and made a makeshift rope, tying it to one of the desks. The rope dangled at least seven feet above the ground, but it would do. Sticks climbed down first. Isaac picked up the rifle he had dropped and shouldered it on his other arm before climbing down. As Sticks ran over to Skullface and Patriot, Isaac made his way quickly to Morgan's body. After quickly scavenging through his pockets, Isaac found nothing of value except a fully loaded handgun, a Heckler & Koch Handgun, which he pocketed immediately. "It's pouring out there." Skullface said over the radio. "I'm going to find us a ride. Keep your eyes open, our guys are probably still out there." "Still calling them 'our guys'?" Nosering asked. Skullface didn't answer. He checked the door briefly, then headed outside. Nosering and Sticks, keeping a close formation, followed behind. Isaac trailed behind, switching from hunting rifle to the semi-automatic. It felt like forever since he had seen the outside, even if it was only a few days. He drew in a breath and stepped out, only to find that visibility was extremely low. Between the smoke from the fire and the heavy rain, Isaac could only make out a few feet in front of himself. The deafening from gunfire left him aware solely of his heart's rapid drumming, a sensation that his ears, fingers, and toes echoed in kind. When the door shut behind Isaac, a shadowy figure overtook him, knocking him flat onto the pavement. As Isaac struggled to recover, he felt a foot kick him in the ribs, sending him onto his back. Pain ripped through Isaac's body, but his senses sharpened as his adrenaline spiked again. His eyes focused on the shadowy figure when it leaned in, with the light of the fire lending itself to half of his face. The man's shades were pulled to the top of his head and his murderous gray gaze stared down at Isaac. He grabbed Isaac by the jacket and pulled Isaac's masked face close. With one hand, he forced off so he could stare Isaac straight in the eyes. "I told you I wouldn't forget that your fucking face was the last thing Jacobs saw." Shades' fist collided with Isaac's nose and mouth, causing Isaac to briefly slip in and out of consciousness. But with a shake and a slap, Shades woke Isaac. "Now you can look me in the goddamn eyes before you meet him in Hell." Isaac felt his senses returning. He swung clumsily, causing Shades to drop him onto the ground. With a cough, Isaac slowly crawled his way onto all fours. "[color=goldenrod]Mila always said you were the worst batman. Worse than Clooney.[/color]" "Come on!" Shades motioned as he hovered over Isaac, beckoning him to strike. Without hesitation, Isaac faked a swing and spun, drawing a knife from his side. Shades quickly caught his arm into an armbar and forced Isaac to drop the knife. He threw Isaac back to the ground. "You killed Jacobs, you son of a bitch. You killed Morgan. And all you can do is joke? You're pathetic!" He shouted over the rain. Isaac coughed again, laughing quietly with what little breath he had. "[color=goldenrod]Alright, Iceman. You win. You can be my wingman anytime."[/color] "[i]FUCK[/i] you!" Shades screamed, drawing out a sidearm. He pressed it straight up against Isaac's head. However, the snap that Isaac heard next was not a gunshot, but rather the cracking of metacarpal bone. As the gun dropped, Isaac glanced up at Skullface, who tossed a screaming Shades back a few steps. Shades lunged toward Skullface, but the lanky man was no match for the tall and broad-chested figure that was Skullface. With little effort, Skullface stopped his attack, struck Shades' face with two blows, and body-slammed him down to the ground. The broken glasses flew off of Shades' head, sliding across the ground. Skullface repeatedly kicked Shades in the head, knocking him unconscious before turning back to Isaac. He strolled back to Isaac, crushing Shades’ cheap lenses under his boot on the way. "You good?" Skullface called out to Isaac. "[color=goldenrod]No...[/color]" The bloody-nosed man replied, attempting to recover his senses from the beating. "Good. Let's move." He said, picking up and offering Isaac his mask.