I searched for clues inside the joint lab with the rest of my team. The place was clean, like my initial thinking. Nothing was out of place. There was no damage or signs of a struggle. The computers were still on, their monitors displaying the corporate logo. While the others looked around and browsed the various workstations, I investigated an office. This office belonged to Doctor Morishita Nao Gina. She had personal effects like pictures of her family and other trinkets decorating her office. I searched through the file cabinets and desk for anything useful but found nothing of note. The last thing I could dig into was the desktop on the desk. I sat down and went to work. As soon as I sat down, a chat instance popped up. That was when I noticed the red light beside the webcam, indicating it was active. 

"Hello! Can you hear me?" a voice said. 

Her voice sounded frantic. The microphone was activated as well, but anyone could tell she was terrified. Text appeared in the chat box, repeating what she had said. I decided to answer as the only person who would have remote access would be Doctor Morishita.

"Yes, I can hear you. My name is Nishimoto Rin. I work for Mrs. Momota Misaki, Vice President of Internal Operations. Who are you?" I questioned.

"Oh, thank God! My message got to her. This is Doctor Morishita Nao Gina. Doctor Vincent Blair and I are trapped in the sublevels. We are trapped between the infected and there is only one way out. There are about fifteen of us in this section. Maybe more, we don't have contact with the other sections, but at least sixty total worked down here. Probably more who escaped the early stages of the outbreak," Doctor Morishita explained.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I questioned. "We've got security personnel onsite. They'll be able to work their way to you. Just sit tight," I said.

"No, my God no! Only Mrs. Momota's people can rescue us. Anyone else is here to sterilize the site!" Doctor Morishita revealed. "This is not an industrial accident. Director Eto Sotaro is responsible for this. He set everything in motion!"

"Malcolm Vance, Director of Horizon Industries' Internal Security Division is here with his team, but between my team and his, there isn't enough of us to reach you. Director Helms…," I said, but the Doctor cut me off.

"DO NOT TRUST him! He's working with Eto! Please, you have to do something! We won't last long. This infection is a bioweapon, a programmable bioweapon. The infection has been programmed to kill all other Site 503 employees and any affiliated personnel except Director Eto Sotaro. That means the infected won't attack anyone not on the Site personnel dossier," Morishita explained.

Vaughn Schafer and Saylor and Taylor were listening to our conversation. It looked like someone would have to go down there and find a way to help them. Schafer pulled out a pack from his backpack. To my surprise, it was one of those high-powered transmitters. He started hooking it up to the computer, explaining as he did.

“I can use this to get a signal out. It won't last long. I can get maybe six or seven coded messages out before they catch on,” Schafer said.

"Mrs. Momota or Director Vance can have security here within two hours. Vance can run interference with Helms on top of that," Saylor said.

"Okay, there is a way to clear a path for us survivors to escape. Don't worry, the threat of infection has passed. As long as you don't drink any of the water here, you'll be fine. It has to be ingested in mass quantities to take hold. That's a built-in function to prevent accidental exposure. I can administer the cure using an aerosol gas once we are safe. Remember, these people are sick, not monsters. Sabotage caused the death here, not the infected," Morishita explained.

"We hear you, Schafer and I will go. Everyone else will stay here," I stated.

Schafer led the way with me close behind. Doctor Morishita Nao Gina sent a digital map of the best route to reach them. From here, it was a hide-and-seek game as we made our way to the lower levels. The plan was to get to both Doctor Morishita Nao Gina and Doctor Vincent Blair. Then, Schafer and I would take the cure to the air filtration exchange at the lowest level. The gas would disperse through the entire underground facility from there. We just had to make it there. Director Helms and Director Eto Sotaro were working together. That meant we couldn’t trust him or her security forces. We were in a bad position. If he knew that we knew, we’d never get out of here alive. ‘What a first assignment.’ I felt like I was on some covet mission. Never had I envisioned this kind of work when I got hired. Schafer pulled me close to the wall. A group of four soldiers were coming. I saw an open door and signaled Schafer. We both dodged into the room just in time.

I followed Schafer into the open door, slipping in just before it closed. My heart pounded in my chest as I watched the four soldiers approach me and Schafer. We had to hide and fast. My eyes scanned the room, looking for a place to conceal ourselves. Suddenly, I spotted an open door and signaled Schafer. We both dodged into another room just inside the first. There were many desks and tables with workstations. We huddled under a desk, trying to keep our breathing quiet. The soldiers' footsteps echoed through the hallway, drawing ever closer. I could feel the tension building as our time to hide quickly ran out. Suddenly, the soldiers came to a halt outside the door we were hiding behind.

I could hear footsteps coming from outside. Suddenly, someone started pounding on the door, shouting at us to come out. Schafer pushed me deeper into the room and crouched down behind me. I could feel his breath on my neck, his heart pounding against my back. I knew I needed to be still and quiet. Suddenly, the door burst open, and light flooded the room. Four soldiers rushed in and started searching every corner, every nook and cranny. One of the soldiers passed right by me. He must not have seen me under the desk.

After a long search, the soldiers left. I watched as we waited a long while before coming out of our hiding spot. 

“That was close,” Schafer whispered.

“They didn’t seem like they were looking for survivors,” I stated.

“No, they didn’t,” Schafer countered.

We cautiously continued our journey to the lower levels. The previous encounter had only served to prove that Helms could not be trusted. Everything we had seen up until now was a façade. We had to take an indirect route and use the vents to descend to the next level in order to avoid Director Helms' men. Soldiers guarded every elevator on each floor, making traversing the levels perilous. If we wanted to save the employees, we had to rely on the others to get a message to Mrs. Momota. She was our only hope of getting out of this now. Schafer stopped us on the next floor. We ducked into an empty room so he could check in with Saylor and Taylor. They were coordinating with us. If they weren't running interference with the surveillance system, we would have been discovered by now.

“Ms. Swan, where do we go next? We’re three levels from the location Doctor Morishita  sent us. Helms and his men searching for something, over," Schafer whispered over his radio.

“Head to section twenty-four. There is an access that will take you down to the next level. As for what Helms is searching for, we’ll try to look into it from here, copy,” Saylor explained.

“Copy that, we’re moving to section twenty-four, over,” Schafer whispered. “We got a lot of ground to cover, kid. Are you up for this?” Schafer asked.

“I’m good, let’s get moving. Those people need our help, and the longer we wait, the more likely it is that they will be terminated,” I whispered.

The dark-haired man shook his head in acknowledgment. We took the long way around again, carefully staying hidden. A scream came down the long corridor. Vaughn and I hugged the wall as we moved closer. Another scream echoed somewhere close. It sounded like someone was being attacked. I peered around the corner and saw six soldiers ruffing up two blonde women, a red-haired woman, a brunette woman, and two older men. I moved back so Vaughn could see. It looked like they were about to assault the four women when one of the men was shot in the head. The shot echoed in my ears as I jerked back. Vaughn looked at me, and I could tell from his expression he was angry. He pulled the hammer of his pistol back, cocking it in place. I did the same instinctively. I wasn’t a soldier but I knew how to work with a firearm. Vaughn put three fingers up and slowly counted backwards. When he hit one, I popped out and pulled the trigger three times, just as Vaughn did. It was over in an instant. Six headshots ended the torment these men were inflicting. I wasn’t shocked that I had hit my mark. Dad taught us well, after all.