Pete

Breakfast the next morning was a regular meal of pancakes and eggs. Fry had been the first one up and was nearly done cooking when everyone made their way downstairs. She had not done a lot of sleeping, what little she had was filled with images of her becoming a mutated and eating random people off the streets.

This also meant that she looked just as wore out as she had the day before.

"Fry, you're amazing!"

Ethan was overly enthusiastic over breakfast being normal food. He had had a rough night as well, though his dreams had involved body parts on his plate that he was forced to eat. His body's reaction to what he had eaten for dinner had confirmed what Soren said, but that did not mean he was mentally ready to accept it.

"She is a good cook. She'd bring us lunch once a week that she made herself."

Soren and Ethan helped carry the food to the dining room. Within a few minutes, all four were once again at the dining room table. The two biggest differences were the lack of blood and the notebook that was sitting by Soren's plate.

"I put a list together of all the non-food supplies that we will need. Today we won't worry about getting anything; picking up Fry's car and checking in on our friend will take up enough of our day. Taking inventory of the cooler will keep you two busy. I'd rather have us with a clear goal in mind when we go shopping than wasting money on things we don't need."

"Are we even certain the suit will come today?"

"He actually messaged me a few minutes ago. He will be here in an hour."

Soren gave Fry a reassuring smile then finished his food. After what he had eaten the day before he was not required to eat for a week or more. He could not see refusing the food that she had gotten up early to make. To Soren eating breakfast had more to do with Fry's mental state than filling his stomach.

When they were done eating Jordan took it upon himself to clean the dishes. Soren headed down to the dungeon and started taking inventory in the lab. Having enough medical supplies would be an important factor when things went bad.

Half an hour later Jordan came down and interrupted his work.

~Agent Issac is here.~

Soren looked up when Jordan spoke, he had been writing in the notebook. He put the notebook and pen on the counter and stretched.

"We need to order some medical supplies. Starting today, when we get back from running errands, I want you to help me collect blood. We need to start setting blood aside for when we take people in.

"It'll be pointless saving them if we can't vaccinate them. Plus, it'll be a benefit to joining us. From what I found we only have enough vials to collect blood for two weeks. That's if we do it every other day, giving me a chance to recover from each session."

They made their way up to the main floor while Soren was talking.

~Once you've checked the card and verified our funds I'll put together an order. By using the medical supply store that he would normally use we shouldn't have any trouble.~

Jordan pulled the debit card from his back pocket and handed it to Soren. Instead of sweatpants, Jordan had chosen to wear jeans. He still had on his bunny slippers, though.

"Agent Issac, what a sight for sore eyes. It's only been a short time since I saw you last, but I missed you something terrible."

Agent Issac was standing in the living room near the kitchen, Ethan was leaning against the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room and was drinking coffee. Fry was standing by Ethan, hands buried in the pockets of her jeans.

The only response that Agent Issac made to Soren's greeting was a snort.

"I'm still not certain this is a good idea."

"If you really believe we'll run, just put some kind of tracker in the car. All fixed! We just have a few stops to make after picking up the car, after that, I promise we'll return. I'm sure you'd rather not pick us up every time we need food.

"Unless you enjoy playing chauffeur?"

Soren winked at Agent Issac then motioned for Fry to follow as he made his way to the front door. Jordan may have a frightening appearance, but he was the one that Agent Issac looked at right before he rolled his eyes and followed Soren out.

~I know the feeling.~ Jordan said to himself as he watched them leave.

"What's the name of the repair shop?"

Agent Issac asked as they stepped out of the house.

"Before that, I need you to take us to check on a friend. Peter Rogers, he's a co-worker and friend. I believe that he was exposed on the same day as Fry and Mr. Meyers."

"All right. No other mutated have been brought in outside of the initial ones. From what I heard the cops shot and killed Mr. Meyers when they responded to the 911 call. Since you're my primary job they have other agents handling reports of mutated."

They had all gotten in the car and were pulling out of the drive. Soren took up his usual slouched position, the only one in the car without a seatbelt.

"I'm not surprised. I saw on the news that there were a few horrific burglaries. I'd bet money on them being done by a mutated. Odds are good they are isolated cases of individuals mutating and killing the closest humans."

When they hit the city limits Soren gave Agent Issac the address of their current destination. It was an apartment complex on the opposite side of town from where they had entered. Traffic on the main road made the trip take nearly twenty minutes.

Parking once they got there was not bad, there were a few empty spaces near the front of the apartment complex. The apartment building was old and looked like it; siding that was off-white and green in spots from mold and dirt, cracked sidewalk, and parking lot with potholes. It had an upstairs and a ground floor with four living spaces on each level, eight in total.

The building itself was split; a living space upstairs and down, stairs, four living spaces, stairs, and one set of living spaces.

Soren led them to the stairs on the left, to the apartment at the top left marked with a faded number 2. Soren could smell it the moment he stepped up to the door. He did not bother to knock when he found the door locked, choosing instead to break the door down.

Once the door was opened the smell hit Agent Issac and Fry like a brick wall. It was strangely sweet, like the smell of rotting fruit, with an undertone of feces, and was enough to make Fry gag.

"You should let me go first."

Agent Issac reached out to stop Soren from stepping into the apartment. Soren shook his head.

"Out of the two of us, I have a better chance of surviving a mutated attack. Keep your gun ready, but I'm going first."

Agent Issac did not argue and took out his gun, pointing it up as he followed Soren into the apartment. Fry followed in the rear. Growling could be heard the moment all three were inside. Soren motioned behind him and Fry closed the door, though it was unable to latch closed.

From the right side, a figure approached them. It held the appearance of a normal mutated; skin off colored and shriveled to laid against bone. Its eyes were a bright red and growled once again as its eyes locked on them. Its knees were bent and it was leaning forward as if it could not decide if it wanted to walk or crawl

"Agent Issac, I am going to hold him in place and would appreciate it if you could put a couple of bullets in his head."

The mutated started to rush toward them. Soren stepped forward and let out a low growl that stopped the creature in its tracks. Its head tilted to the side and growled back, but this time it came across as more of a questioning sound than a threat.

Agent Issac was surprised at the scene in front of it but it did not stop him from taking a shooter's stance and firing the gun at the mutated. It took seconds for him to line it up and release two shots. The recoil from the gun was enough to throw off the trajectory of the second bullet, but both shots were still headshots. The mutated dropped to the floor like a rag doll.

"Fry, stay by the door."

Soren said as he moved to the kitchen. A body lay on the floor by the kitchen sink. It's upper body had been cleaned out; skin ripped away, ribcage destroyed and all internal organs gone. The body had already started to change into the beginning stages of bloat, the face unrecognizable. Near the body were a broken coffee cup and a dark, dried, stain that was most likely coffee.

"Shit."

Soren could only nod in agreement then backtrack, heading for the bedrooms. The second body was still in bed, its upper body torn apart and internal organs missing. It was hard to identify who the bodies were, but Soren had a good guess.

"I would say that he went after his mother first, while she was still in bed. He was probably in his room when he mutated. Since his father was still in the kitchen I'm assuming she died quickly. Sensing the human in the kitchen, he would have rushed over there after killing her.

"The desire to eat would have been overwhelmed by the need to kill all prey within reach. He had close to three days to eat them."