Our Retribution

[BKenScout]

Trent's hands fell away limply as Sam pushed off and trudged down the hall. He was about to step after her - if they didn't comply to Hotchkiss now, he was positive there would be no later in which they could exact any form of revenge. On the other hand, he had done much the same thing only minutes or hours ago... It seemed like this day would never end. He was interrupted by a small, albeit familiar voice behind him. His lip curled back in contempt as he turned to face her, "Then why were we there in the first place?" His voice was laced with unintentional venom, he realized, thinking back to her reaction when they pulled their sidearms on her. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Trent let out a slow, even breath.

Get a hold of yourself...

He took a quarter-squat and rested his hands on his knees tiredly, softening his expression as he forced himself to relax. He stared at the floor, collecting himself for a minute, fighting the urge to puke. Once he was in control, he finally looked to the small girl, "Why were we there? What happened? And how, if we ever get thrown in there again, in the Hell can we defend ourselves?" He asked pragmatically, keeping his words slow and measured so as to not move too quickly for the small girl.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aftov shambling away, muttering something at BeeBee and Trent sneered silently to himself, Walk away you fucking coward. God forbade you owned up to what you did...

 

[Muirgen]

BeeBee tried not to be hurt, tried not to let it show at all as Aftov pulled away from her touch. Her body rigid, her red-eyed face expressionless, she stood there dumb and unmoving as she watched after Aftov's back. No, her hurt was not wrapped by Aftov's rejection of her offered kindness, but by the fact she could in no way offer him anything like the comfort he'd given her. This man was all the solace she had when she died, all the reason she had not shed a tear when her breath stopped and her heart stopped, right along with her humanity.

And she had nothing for him.

She felt defeated, deflated. BeeBee's eyes closed slowly, the hand she rested on Aftov rubbing her aching, scratchy eyes furiously because she was tired, damn it all. She was not tearing up, because there was no crying in super zombie soldiering!

But there was cringing, and wincing, and BeeBee did just that as she heard that now too-familiar and childish voice. Her hand fell away, and she stared incredulously at the little girl there in the hallway with them, as if little black-veined, scarlet-eyed girls who played in bone piles beneath a black sun were as natural to this world as any other elementary school kid. This day just got better and better, an seemingly endless train of shit she began to believe might never end. Trent had his say of course, good questions true - good enough she ignored the bitter glare he shot in Aftov's direction. But BeeBee had a few questions of her own, and before the super zombie kid could answer Trent, she shot a few out there herself.

"And who are you? What's your name, and how are we... Connected? Why can we see you? I guarantee nobody but us zombie soldiers would be able to, would they?"

She knelt before the little girl, her brow knit now with curiosity. Thankfully BeeBee's eyes were already a bright and bloody scarlet - no one would possibly notice if they were a little redder or wetter. She held out her hand, palm up, and this time without her sidearm anywhere near. "But can we touch you?"

 

[Zombehs]

The familiar voice gave Aftov pause, but only for a brief moment. The freshly materialized girl was just another reminder and with his backwards glance he caught Trent's venomous glare. Surprisingly, a flash of anger surged briefly, but the emotion faded as quickly as it had rose. With a final look at the two gathered around the girl's wavering form, he turned and walked away with slumped shoulders.

It proved easy for him to get lost within the many hallways of the unfamiliar base. A few turns and Aftov had exchanged one unfamiliar stretch of hallway for another, though that suited the downcast "soldier" just fine. With a sigh he came to a halt and slumped forward to rest his forehead against the cool metal wall. It did little to soothe the tightening in his chest and with a wince he turned around to lean against the wall for support. The struggle to breath only got worse though and Aftov was dimly aware of the fact that he was barely keeping himself upright as his vision flitted.

'Come on, get it together.' Despite what he tried to tell himself even as he began to slump, the sensation that overwhelmed him wasn't one that logic or reason worked against. Even the pain as his clawed digits dug into his palms to draw blood did little to alleviate the crushing pressure he felt, and the dull thud was Aftov's only clue that he'd hit the floor. 'Shit...'

 

[FrostedCaramel]

Jonathan walked the halls of the eerily deserted base, 'Everyone was becoming one of them. Just like the first Squad everyone here would soon be just like them.' he thought, goosebumps moving down his arms as he imagined what would happen to them, what would happen to him. He twirled a pen in his right hand as he walked, the constant rhythmic clicking of the pen as he flicked it and the sounds of his boots tapping against the floor every time he took a step were all that could be heard. Yet Jonathan's mind was ablaze with activity. What was going to happen? How could he seriously have agreed to become a human weapon? 'No, not human. Not after it takes hold, something different entirely...' he stopped twirling the pen, "A monster." he let the words float down the hall for a few seconds before he began twirling the pen once more and pushed forward down the empty passage.

He rounded a corner and found himself experiencing a vaguely familiar sensation, weightlessness. Suddenly the sensation was gone, dazed Jonathan stood up and searched for the pen he had lost in the fall. He spotted it a few feet ahead of where he had fallen and walked toward it. As he leaned down to pick it up he noticed the bright red droplets coming from his nose, "That was a nice little tumble I took" he said as he pinched his nose and turned around, twirling the pen once more.

In that moment it was clear as to why he had fallen, strewn across the floor was one of the First Squad members,"Hey...! Aftov right? Are you.. Are you alright?" he said as he knelt next to the man, shaking his shoulder.

 

[Ascendant]

The barrage of questions assaulted the little girl's senses,

"Why were we there? What happened? And how, if we ever get thrown in there again, in the Hell can we defend ourselves?"

"And who are you? What's your name, and how are we... Connected? Why can we see you? I guarantee nobody but us zombie soldiers would be able to, would they?"

"But can we touch you?"

She took a few moments to consider their words as the girl moved her own hand to reach out to BeeBee. Both hands simply phased through one another, after which she pulled it back, "I wanted to meet all of you, and I don't know how you can fight in there. It's where I live, my world and home. I have no name, and all I know is that I can feel all of you. There are others, further away, I can feel too. Like you. And him. I can sense him... Coming closer slowly." The girl pointed all around, as if the Infected Hotchkiss was approaching from nearly every direction.

Sighing slightly, she also mentioned, "I don't know all you want to know, such as why you can see me. I don't know if others can. You all look fuzzy here in this world anyway." Equally blood-red eyes stared back into BeeBee's, "I want to know the answers too. Who I am. Why I am. I think you can all help me."