Chapter 2 : Infected

POV : A.Y

[Requa, California 17 December 2020]

I'm running. Not sure for how long. But I think as long as I can. Who or what was chase me back there? I'm not sure, but it's completely terrifying. I look to my back without lowering my pace. It's them. Dozen of figure, made of shadow with yellow eyes chasing me. I look back to my front, just to find the end of the alley. I turn back to face them. It's my end.

"Officer Yeun, can you hear me?" I jolted back to reality. I search around to see who's speaking to me. With a bit blurry vision, I made my Commander's face.

"I'm sorry Commander -- lack of sleep last night." I says as adjust my sit.

"Mask on, officer. We almost hit the location." He says. I use my gas mask on, while realizing that I'm in a duty. I'm inside a walking Bearcat armored vehicle with another officer. There's a kidnapping action reported in Requa, and they're possible also selling illegal drugs.

"ETA at two minutes." Says officer who drive the Bearcat.

"Fill your chamber." Order the Commander. All of the officer quickly insert magazine to their gun, and then pull the chamber once to make sure the weapon filled with bullet.

"Got nervous, Aiden?" Says someone beside me. I look to my left and found another officer. It's hard to see his face features if he got covered with mask, but I'm pretty sure it's officer Sean Cowden. He's on the frontline with me, with his sledgehammer for breaching.

"Little bit." I let a chuckle out. It's actually not my first hostage case, but I just always feel unconfident.

"Don't worry, we got this." He reassure me, and I know he's generous.

I'm about to relax my muscle. "We're arrive." Announce the driver, and quickly stop the Bearcat.

"Everyone fill out." Order the Commander, and I quickly open the back door and get out.

I pointing my Colt M4 carbine while pacing in full circle, just to make sure no one is around. And after quick check, I gather with nine other officer.

"The house, is over there." Says Commander, as pointing to one lodge on the far side. The sun has started to raising so it's not that hard to see the two-story lodge.

"We're going to do this according to plan. Officer Yeun with three officer is going to enter from second floor window, and grab the hostage out. The rest of team with me, we cut the power down, enter from front door, clean the room, go to basement, grab the drugs. If you see someone armed, drop 'em down. Understand?"

"Crystal." Says all the officer in unison.

"Good, stay frosty and let's moving." He's half running while pointing his weapon, and with four officer on his back.

"On my six." I said as lead three officer, including Sean to the back of the house. We're circling far to the back, just in case if they don't cover the back windows with curtain.

After long time circling, we found the back yard is actually safe. The window is closed, and covered with curtain. I can see one officer beside fuse box, ready to turn off the light. My group walk pass a broken fence.

"Psst." I heard someone hissing from my back. I turn to see Sean kneeling while inspecting the fence, like if there's something.

"What?" I whisper back.

"Blood." He says as pointing to one spot. I can see what he meant.

"Must be dry."

"No, it's not." He touch the red marks, and then turn his face to see my reaction. And it's actually really wet, not a dried stain.

I clenching my theeth. "Let's back to the mission." I says and he nod. I lead the group back to the lodge. The back door somehow opened, so we tried to not spotted from inside.

After we reach the side of the building, one of the officer let a foldable ladder out, place it against the building to make our entrance easier. After we climb the ladder, we carefully walk along the roof. There's two windows connected to the second floor, but my group gather around one window.

I lean myself to the wall, right beside the window, while others pointing their gun to the window from my back. I tap my HT. "We're in position." I whisper to the others.

"Cut the power on my mark." Says the Commander from another end. I nod to Sean, and he quickly understand what I meant. He standing right in front of the window, holding his sledgehammer high, ready to break the glasses.

"Three.. two.. one... mark." Suddenly there's tick sound, indicating the power has died. "We going in." Announce the Commander. I heard a door get opened with force.

Sean look at me with inpatient face. I hold my left unclenched hand up. When I heard someone opening door from inside, I waves my hand and carefully get back from window as Sean break the whole window. He quickly leaning on the other side of window as holding the curtain open. I throw one flashbang in, and enter after the bang stopped.

"On the ground!" I shout while pointing my gun to the every potential thugs. I quickly count there's three thugs, and two hostages. "Get on the ground, and put your hands up!" I order again and they seems intimidated, at least that's what I thought.

Sean in other hand quickly close the one and only door. The two other officer quickly tie the thugs using cable ties. I sling my gun to my back. Then try walking to the hostages, when one last thug try to grab his Glock-18. I quickly side kicking his arm, made the handgun flying. But when I try to knock him up, I heard other grumble. I look to my left, right when another thugs crashes into me.

I crashed to the ground, and the thug gives punch with tied hands to my face --well, my mask-- again and again. I try to brace his punch, but somehow he's too strong and bulky, and still made me dizzy. And then there's gunshot twice. It made the thug on top of me stop moving. There's a pause before he slump to the ground beside me.

I groan as trying to stand. I look around the scene, and look to who's shot the bullet. It's from Sean, he just killed one thug without ties, and the one who punch me. There's one officer with no mask, and he got nosebleed. I look at Sean who's still pointing his weapon, and give him approving nod.

"You wanna go against us too?" Ask Sean as pointing to last thug. The thug quickly shake his head before Sean sling his weapon to his back.

I get my focus back to the hostages. There's one girl, maybe Russian, early twenties, with long ginger hair, pale skin, hazel eyes. She's really attractive...wait.. Aiden, focus. I walk my way to her, and move the tape from her mouth.

"Thank you." She says almost immediately before leave a relieve sigh. I circling around her to unbind her wrist.

"Hey, you," I nod my head to the officer with nosebleed, while my hands try to cut a thick rope using my knife. "You better get back to vehicle and wait for us." He nods and get back carefully.

In other hand, Sean unbind another hostages. She's girl too but not sure where's she came from. Mid twenty I guess, with pale skin, long black hair, and light blue eyes.

"I said, don't move Sir!" There's a shout from another room. It's sounded like Commander, but he's not a shouting-to-enemy type of person, and it make me feels odd.

Sean give me confused look behind his mask. "You thinking the same as me?"

I finally cut the rope as I nod to him. "You with me," I say as pointing to another officer. "Sean, bring that guy and the hostages to the safe point." Sean gives me one sharp nod before back to his feet.

I walk to the door with gun on hands, and officer on my back. "Follow me girls." Says Sean as he help the thug standing.

"Wait.. where you think you're going to, officer?" I said someone says that. I turn my face and found the redhead just talk to me.

"I'm just checking, you follow that guy, okay?" I said before nod to Sean.

"Be careful." She meet my eyes. I stunned for some second before give her nod.

I turn to another officer and he give me a nod too. He quickly open the door and we go out as pointing my gun, checking every corner. There's corridor to my right, window to my left and another door on my front. The officer guarding the corridor direction, while I check the window. There's no broken part or anything, so I quickly turn back to him.

I tap his shoulder once, and make him turn around. I nod to the nearest door, and he change his focus to the door. I take a deep breath, and then kicking the door. I pointed my gun, but not enter the room yet. After some second, I enter the room and turn to my right. It's just regular bedroom. I let my muscle relaxes just when another things happen.

"Sir, stand, back!" Someone shout again. There's a pause. And then there's series of gunshot. I exchange look with the officer before we run to out of the room. I burst to the first floor with one officer on my back. I barely hit the first floor when we spotted five officer in S.W.A.T. uniform pointing gun to one.. bloody man but still standing and getting grappled by one other officer. I realized the one who grapple the man has wound on his neck, I don't understand how is it there.

"What's happening?!" I barely can hold my shock.

"This dude suddenly came from back door when we trying to enter the basement." Explain Commander without leaving his focus from this man. "He start moving closer with blood around his knee and mouth, then he start bitting our men. I give him warning shot after he bite our officer " I can see this worse-looking man is looking at others angrily.

"Akkhh!" The officer on my back suddenly groaning. I turn to my back, right when I found out that there's a guy bitting his neck.

"Sir, stop it r-" A gunshot cut my voice off. The guy that bitting his neck died because of the gunshot.

"What the hell was that.." One of the officer says, but I can't be sure which one.

"We're wasting time for this cannibal bastard." Says Commander. "Yeun, you got the hostages?" I nod.

"Cough, cough.." The first officer who got bitten start coughing. He cause the entire room glancing to him. "I'm okay.. I'm alright." He says. Commander doesn't need to ask or anything, and just shot the angry guy without hitting the officer.

"Let's moving." He said and then lead all of us outside. We retrace our long way to the Bearcat. The sun already shine almost brightly. I look at my wristwatch and see it's pointing half to eight in the morning. All of us usually don't open our mask before reach base, but since there's no more potential threat, all of us remove our mask. It's actually feels good to have air swirling around my face.

"Cough, cough.." The same officer coughing again, but all of us don't mind that and keep going. But again.. I feels something odd.. this guy coughing non-stop.

Feeling curious, I take a look at my back. The guy is stopping his walk and pretty far from the group, hands on his knee and keep coughing. I try to open my mouth right when he lift his eyes up and exchange look with me. There's something weird about him, not just the way he sees me, but also his eyes. I don't remember if there's anyone can have yellow eyes, except if he's sick.

"Hey, you good?" I ask him and suddenly make the rest of the team halt. I moving closer to him. "You feel sick?" I ask again but he just give me deadly stare, as if he's seeing through my head, right into my soul.

"Officer Yeun, step back." Says Commander. I don't stop cause I can't leave friends in need behind. "I said, st-"

"Akhh." There's groaning cut the Commander's voice. I turn back, and see another officer got pinned by a guy in the same condition as the last one. "Help!" He's screaming as the guy bite his neck.

I trying to draw my handgun, as someone crashed me from behind, make me connected to the earth. I open my eyes, and found the same officer I was talking to. And he has the same deadly stare, and trying to eat me alive. With all power I have, I push the officer to my right and then quickly get up.

"I don't wanna do this." I'm telling him. But he looks like out of his mind. He doesn't mind my word, and trying to leap at me. He's not that fast, I kick his chest before he can touch me, make him crashes to the dirt floor once again. I quickly draw my fold baton, and then hit his face when he trying to get up. I can't be sure if he's death or just unconscious.

I look up, and it's already messed up. The random guy who bite the officer still moving, and trying to attack others. But, I don't know since when there's two officer who's doing the same thing. Three of them trying to reach other officers.

"Wha-" I can't even say a word.

The Commander catch my eyes in the middle of battle. "Shoot your gun!" He's shouting before he got bitten on the shoulder.

I examine things that happening before, and what's happening right now. This maybe just a theory, but the two of the officer right there plus one officer that was fighting with me, all of them got bitten. This mean only one things.

"Grrraa!" The roar make me back to reality. I look up right when one of them running to me. I dodge to the left and make him crashes to the ground. I'm not thinking twice and circling around all of them, straight to the Bearcat.

"Hey! Where you think you're going!" Someone shout from behind, but I doesn't care. All of them just like a domino. One down, others down.

It needs only thirty seconds to reach the Bearcat. The front passenger door quickly opened and show Sean without mask. He's 6'11 ft with brown skin and short curly short hair.

"What was happening there?!" Ask him with scared look while pointing to the rest of team. In other hand, the driver door opened and one officer get out, he has dried blood bellow his nose.

"There's no time to explain!" I look at the officer. "You can drive?"

The officer nod. "Hey! what the hell, Aiden? Are you going to leave them?! Are you going to leave my Commander? our Commander?!" Says Sean as I get closer to the Bearcat.

"You don't understand this, Sean! This, is more than we can understand!" I shout back as pointing to his face. I glance at the other officer and give him a nod. "Get to the back seat." I says to Sean and move pass him. I don't care about how he react, and just enter the front passenger seat. After some second, Sean get to the back passenger seat, while the officer take the driver seat.

"Where we going, sir?" Ask the officer as he release the handbrake.

I take a deep breath. "To the base." I said then rest my back to the seat. He ask no more and do what I said.

He drives the Bearcat along the road. There's too calm out here, but it just made me feel more odd. Soon, the officer lead us to the route 101, fastest way to reach Trinidad Police Department. We also need to move pass Klamath in our way, in order to reach Trinidad. When I trying to relaxes myself, and try to close my eyes, there's buzzing sound from CB radio.

"All officer in duty, there's an immediate help requested from Klamath, I repeat.."

Suddenly the van jerk to the right, before drive straight again. "Woah." Even the officer surprised about what he just do.

I adjust my stance. "What just happened?" I ask him while trying to keep calm.

"There's a guy running across the street. Sorry for the bother, sir." He said as we enter the Klamath perimeter.

There's a chaos everywhere, is this why they need help? I don't know, but one thing I know, it's a lot of mess going around here. There's helicopter flying across the city from the San Francisco way. As if there's no pause, a series of gunshot ringing. I can easily know where is it came from. It's from hospital right in front of us.

I take a deep breath in and out. I look at the officer beside me. Two if us can read each other's mind. This is ridiculously.