(During Week Three)

John was relaxed in his seat as he stared blankly at the destroyed city below him. His eyes were devoid of any emotion. The death of Clara and the failure to protect the refugees weighed heavily on him.

Currently, he was siting inside a helicopter with nine others. Next to them, flying in the sky as well, were five other helicopters on the same mission as them. 

Hearing the sounds of the rotary blades calmed his nerves immensely, making his eyelids shut halfway. The consistency of the noise was easy to fall asleep too, similar to rain on a cloudy afternoon.

Although he didn't know what mission they were on, John didn't care much. The only thing he did know was that he had returned to the same hellhole as last time, Nuke Isle City. By the time he found out, it was too late to turn back despite his hatred for this place.

'Such an unlucky shithole.' He could feel something infecting the place with it's tendrils. There was true evil calling this place home.

While he sat there, John thought back to what some of his squad members said. They were saying things like how he should take some time off and use that time to mourn. But he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to remember the pain. That's why he volunteered for this mission.

"Okay ladies listen up!" The leader yelled out, bringing everyone's attention to himself.

"I'm sure you're wondering what our mission is. We are to extract several high-level key targets from Blacksite K42. At first, it was though to have been abandoned and all personnel were presumed dead.

However, an SOS signal was sent out last night saying there were multiple survivors and they needed assistance. That's where we come in. Now, under no circumstances are you to tell anyone about what happens here today. Understood?!" Everyone saluted and yelled out in unison.

"Sir yes sir!" But the leader wasn't finished.

"We're about 5 minutes out, so get your asses in gear. Reports show the place is a hot-zone full of those zombie bast-" Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the people inside the helicopter and deafened their ears.

Looking out the window, John and the others could see a burning helicopter on the far right falling towards the ground. Then, the pilot's voice echoed into their ear.

"We've got incoming! Brace for impact!" As soon as he said that the helicopter shook massively, as if something big smashed into it.

At the cockpit in the front, a giant infected bird the size of a dog had just smashed it's body into the glass. Although it didn't break, there was a crack a few inches across. A couple more of those and the glass would shatter. As for the bird, it was almost dead on impact and slid down to it fall to it's doom.

Unfortunately for the pilots, they weren't the only ones flying high in the sky this morning. A swarm of infected birds attracted to the sound of the helicopters were currently attacking them. The pilots in John's helicopter tried their best, but it was a losing fight. Although their guns easily ripped them to shreds, there were just too many of them.

The other four weren't doing so hot either, with another one being taken out of the sky. Knowing their ride couldn't take much more punishment, they decided to make an executive decision. 

"We're gonna make a pass by that big ass skyscraper! Jump off at my mark!" In a last ditch to save their passengers, the pilots started steering the helicopter towards a tall office building.

The passengers of this bumpy ride stood by the doors and were ready to open it. Looking out the windows, all they could see were flashes of movement that would occasionally ram into the side of the helicopter. 

"Fucking hell. They're committing suicide just to get at us?" One soldier, Steven, said with a slackjawed look. 

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard the all-clear in their ears.

"Now!" They flung the door open and waited for a second before jumping off. 

They all flew through the air for several moments before shattering the glass of a window by smashing into it. Once in, they all fell onto the floor heavily. But at least they were safe from the infected birds. Unfortunately, a few hit their heads when landing and were currently unconscious.

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My eyes opened groggily as I moaned in pain. I had a splitting headache, which was probably from my head slamming into the ground. Looking around, I could see members of my team helping each other to their feet. I must have only been out for a few seconds. A minute tops.

Seeing the size of the room we were in, we must have crashed into some big wigs office. Because even with ten grown men inside, there was still some space left. But that also meant we might be near the top of the building, which was very bad.

Getting to my feet, I checked all my systems and they seemed to be running just fine. No broken bones and the headache was already fading. Thankfully, my weapons were still with me. Picking them up off the ground, I heard the team leader speak up. I think his name was... Harold? He did look a little banged up though. Nasty bleeding cut on the side of his head.

"Phew, what a ride huh? Let me do a quick head count." While he counted, I looked outside the broken window. Instantly my eyes were focused on the six large fires. Our rides outta here. God, I hate this evil city.

"Good! We're all here and still alive!" Harold said enthusiastically. Just then, Steven raised a question.

"Sir? What do we do now?" Everyone, me included, were thinking the same and all turned our eyes towards him.

"Nothings changed. We go to the Blacksite and extract the targets." He walked over to the window and pointed in a direction. 

"There, the one next to the tailor. That's where we need to go." The building he was pointing to was extremely conspicuous and normal. I'd never guess it was a secret site for the government.

"As for leaving?" He pulled a satellite phone out of his front pocket and waved it slightly.

"Once we reach a safe space, I'll radio for help. Though, this time by water." Done with that, he walked to the closed door leading out and raised his assault rifle.

"I'll take point. Watch your corners and keep quiet. We might not be alone here." He whispered out his orders and began walking foward with the flashlight attachment lighting his way. We all copied him and followed after.

Side by side, we moved slowly as we tried to find a set of stairs. But the deeper we went, the darker it became. The person next to me gulped slightly in fear. I could relate. This place was beyond spooky, especially with how dead silent it was.

Finally, we were able to find some stairs leading downward. Opening the door made a creaking sound that echoed throughout the pitch black stairwell. We waited for a few seconds before hearing something rushing up. Once Harold shined his light down, he sighed in relief.

"It's just one." He pulled out his knife and got ready. As soon as the infected man saw us, he sped up. When he reached the top he suddenly lunged straight at Harold and knocked him into the wall, making him grunt slightly. With a hand on his assailant's throat, Harold shoved the knife into the infected's head and killed him instantly.

"Holy hell. These things are damned strong." Harold said while rolling his shoulder. He definitely wasn't wrong about that. Even though the man was pretty skinny, he was able to momentarily overpower Harold who was pretty damn strong and built himself.

"Let's avoid contact if we can from now on." He said while putting his knife away after he wiped the blood off. Then, he walked slowly down the stairs with us behind him.

Eventually, we had to leave the stairs since they were blocked by a whole lot of furniture. If we wanted to go down any further, we'd have to find another stairwell.

Harold opened the door by a hair and looked inside. Once he saw it was all-clear, he opened it slowly and stepped inside with us behind him.

But when he passed by the first cubicle, an infected rushed him and tackled him to the ground! Before any of us could react in time, the infected ripped put a giant chunk of his throat!

Steven, being the closest, immediately jumped on top of the infected and wrapped his arms around him. He then pulled him off Harold and threw him a distance away. The infected rolled for a few feet before getting to his feet. He snarled and roared at Steven before charging after him. 

Because he was too focused on Steven, he didn't notice the butt of my gun coming right for his nose. When struck, he fell over backwards and another soldier jumped on top of him with a knife in hand. He was stabbed in the brain and finally killed.

"Sir?! Stay with us!" As we were dealing with the zombie, two other soldiers were tending to Harold.

He coughed up blood as his arms grabbed everything around him. Suddenly, he lunged up and bit the soldier wrapping his neck with gauze in the hand! He cleanly tore off a couple of his fingers as the soldier yelled in pain and fell backwards!

"Shit!" The other person tried to back away but Harold was right on him in a second. 

"Screw this." I shot Harold in the head, saving the soldier from being bitten. He panted heavily before standing up and looking my way.

"Thanks man! You saved my life!" I gave him a nod and a smile. Always nice to save someone in trouble.

"Sorry... Roger..." Steven aimed at the poor man and blew his brains out before he could even protest. We all groaned at that. Although we could understand the action and logic behind it, that didn't mean it hurt any less.

I walked up to Harold's dead body and went through his pockets. Taking the phone, I checked it and sighed in relief when I found it was fine and dandy. 

"Might as well keep going. Or their deaths would be wasted." I said aloud, getting nods from the rest. Then, we heard it. The many footsteps coming up the stairwell we left. 

"Let's hurry it up and find another stairwell!" I was anxious to get moving, as were the others. None of us wanted to get eaten alive or changed into a mindless monster. 

We moved quickly while checking our corners more thoroughly, so a repeat of last time doesn't happen. There wasn't much time left. Already, I could hear them banging against the furniture trying to break through. Then someone spoke up excitedly.

"I found it!" The man who found it went to open the door immediately, desperate to escape. As soon as he did, he was jumped by a couple infected. They tore him apart in front of our eyes. 

With a couple well placed shots, we killed both the infected and the soldier. Stepping over them, we entered the dark stairwell and were greeted by even more infected. Thankfully, we were able to put them down before anyone got attacked. I closed the door behind us just in time, because we heard them rush into the room we just left.

We all sighed in relief as Steven held up a finger to his lips. Recieving our nods, we walked slowly and quietly down the stairs. We seemed to have been blessed by God Himself, since there were no more infected in the stairwell.

Stopping just before the second floor's door, we took a second to catch our breath. We had decided not to go to the main floor, believing it to be crowded by now with infected. Instead, we would try rappeling down.

I aimed my rifle at the door and nodded at Steven who was right next to it. Once he got my signal, he opened the door and got out of the way immediately. However, there was nothing there. Slightly gulping, I went inside with the others coming behind me. Even after checking every nook and cranny, the room was empty. 

"Thank Christ. Alright then. Let's take a look here." One person said. He opened a window and looked down into the alleyway. Based on the look on his face, we were good to go.

Taking the rope out of our bags and climbing down wasn't difficult. The real problem was just beginning. Our journey to the Blacksite. 

A quick peek into the street made it very clear we couldn't head that way. What with the hundreds of infected lining it. The good thing was that they were rushing into the front door of the place we just escaped. The only way to go was through the alleyways and buildings.

It took us over three hours, but we were almost there. However, it wasn't without a struggle. Besides me and Steven, everyone else was gone. We lost three guys to this one massive infected. Must have been seven feet tall at least. The rest were taken out one by one by one.

I swear. Sometimes, it felt like we were being targeted or something. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were pushing us towards our goal. Definitely not though. That'd be ridiculous.

With bags under our eyes and blood over our clothes, we exited another building and entered an alley. We were close now. Could even see the building from here. I patted Steven on the back with a smile.

"We're almost there. Soon this'll be over." He returned a weary smile to me. Just as he was about to say something, a door to the building next to us opened.

We aimed our guns at it and waited. After a few seconds, three healthy humans exited it. Two had a baseball bat and the other a tire iron. The men looked at us terrified, especially when seeing our weapons pointed right at them.

"P-Please. Don't shoot us..." One of them begged for his life with his hands up. With a sigh, we lowered our guns. They looked awful. Clearly malnourished and had enough dirt and grime on them to start an ecosystem.

"Why did you come out here?" I questioned them with narrowed eyes.

"W-We heard someone talking and came to take a look." All of a sudden, his stomach began rumbling. His face became beet red and clearly, he was incredibly embarrassed.

"So-Sorry." I looked towards Steven, who did the same, and together we walked closer to them.

They stood right where they were and didn't move a muscle. We reached into our bags and pulled out some of our rations. 

"I know it's not much, but it's all we can spare." It was a good feeling. To help them out. From the smile on Steven's face, he thought the same. 

"Thank you so much!" I smiled at them, but then decided to give them a warning.

"You should go back inside. There's many infected around and it could be dangerous for you." Saying that, we turned our backs and walked towards the street.

"We're almost there. But there's a lot of infected at the front door. How should we tackle this?" I asked Steven.

"Hm. May-" His voice cut out abruptly as something hit me on the side of the head!

In incredible pain, I fell to the ground with a foggy mind! My vision was a little blurry as I looked to the side. There, I could see the two of the three men beating Steven's head in with their weapons. He was... dead. Skull broken open revealing his now mushy brain.

"B-Bastards!" 

The other guy was standing over top of me with a savage look to his face. I didn't expect the people we helped to hit us from behind so fast. He squatted down next to me and slapped my face lightly. I couldn't resist him. My mind was so foggy.

"Thanks for the food and all, but we're taking your shit. All of it. Really shouldn't of trusted us so easily. I'll thank you for the guns in advance." I tried to move, to fight back against him, but as soon as I did someone kicked me in the back of the head.

The man squatting next to me stood up and raised the bat over his head. Just as he was about to swing it down, he paused. Suddenly, his face became horrified as he screamed in horror.

From what I could see, a swarm of infected came out of nowhere and tackled the other two men to the ground. They ripped into them easily as the third man tried to run. He didn't get very far before being pounced on.

Then... it all went dark.

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After John was knocked unconscious, two beefy infected picked him up by his arms and began dragging him away. The other infected grabbed the other bodies and followed after the beefy ones. More for the horde.

They crossed the street and eventually reached the building John and his team needed to go. Without hesitation, they entered inside and eventually arrived before an open passageway leading downwards. Inside the passage was completely different from the outside building as it was made of more advanced materials. This, was Blacksite K42. 

Occasionally, John would have brief instances where he would wake up before falling back asleep. It was very confusing for him, getting flashes of reality before heading back to dreamland.

At the bottom of the stairs was a hallway leading further into the facility. But this place had clearly been overrun.

Windows were smashed, doors ripped off their hinges, the bones of the facilities previous owners were scattered everywhere, and the staggering amount of infected lining the halls would make one's hairs stand up in terror.

The difference between these ones and the mindless beasts on the surface was that they were far more orderly. Some were patrolling the halls for enemies, while others were actually cleaning up the blood, bones, and trash on the floor.

But then there were some who performed the same actions as the ones above them. Banging their heads into walls or staring into empty space. It was a strange scene. However, even after glancing at the healthy slab of meat in front of them, none of the infected tried to kill John.

Eventually, the two beefy infected dragged John to a large room full of working computers and lab equipment. They brought him to a chair and tied him down using rope. Afterwards, they stood behind him patiently like stone statues.

However, they weren't alone in the room. Another 'person' was wearing a lab coat as he moved around the room. Sometimes he would be look through a microscope, other times he would be on the computer looking through files and writing things down.

"When will this thing wake up? I cannot believe I once belonged to the same species as them. Unbelievable." The 'person' complained under his breath as he glanced at John. He looked at his watch and shook his head.

The strange man thought it ridiculous John still hadn't woken up. This was not a person, but instead a highly intelligent infected.

Unlike other infected who rejected their past selves as nothing more than nonsense memories, he knew that's who they were before being infected. Before the virus changed them into something better.

Suddenly, he stopped his activities when he heard his captive groan.

"About time." As John opened his eyes, he unconsciously tried to move but found his arms bound. Looking around the brightly lit room, his eyes focused on the strange looking infected who was pulling up a chair in front of him. Strange, because of his big head and purplish skin. 

"How are your injuries? Can you count how many fingers I'm holding up?" John didn't know what shocked him more. The fact the thing was actually speaking to him fluently, the way he crossed his legs like a human, or how he didn't immediately rush him and eat him.

"W-What are you?" John's voice was shaky as he ignored his question and asked on of his own. The infected sighed, as if dealing with a mentally retarded child.

"You seem fine enough. 'What' am I? I take offense to that. My name is Hiroshi and you will refer to me as such please. Now, common courtesy would be to reveal your own name. But, I can understand if that is far too complex for an inferior cur like yourself." The way he spoke was as if he didn't mean to offend. But that was how it came out.

John, clearly stunned beyond belief, took several seconds to respond. Hiroshi waited patiently.

"John. M-My name is John." His kidnapper smiled and nodded.

"Okay. John then. So tell me, where is your leader? Did he move from The White House or is he still there? What about bases? Which ones are the easiest to attack? What plans does your government have to counteract the virus and infected population?" Hiroshi fired off several questions, dazing John slightly. He then looked at him like he was a moron.

"And why the hell would I tell you that?" A sigh was all he received in response.

"Just tell me what I want to know or I will waste both our times in forcing the answers out of you. After all, that's I called you here." Hearing that, John felt like he was struck by lightning.

"What are you talking about?" 

"Hm? Oh yes, I was the one who sent the SOS and led you here. I was hoping more of you would survive, but that was my mistake in thinking you were anything other than helpless children." He shook his head and sighed.

"So unfortunate you met a special one. I am unable to control them yet."

As for John, he felt like the world had collapsed on top of him. 

'My teammates sacrificed themselves, for what? Nothing. All this was worthless.' Hiroshi brought him out of his thoughts.

"Commanding these brain dead things is difficult I will admit. Can barely follow even the simplest of orders. But, this will change in time I imagine. That's the difference between us. We become stronger, faster, smarter. While you... remain stagnant. I mean, honestly!" Hiroshi shook his head.

"I will admit. Your species has made some incredible pieces of art. The atomic bomb, internet, going to the moon, guns. I like the guns. Miniature wonders! But then I noticed something. The majority of you simply ride the coattails of your betters." He leaned in close, so close John could see his entirely red eyes.

"Tell me John, what have you done to better your species? To push it further along? Nothing, I'd imagine. The same for the rest of them." He leaned back and threw his hands in the air dramatically.

"Your species should he a hundred years more advanced, perhaps two hundred years, and yet you are not! Ugh! It frustrates me to no end!" But then he sighed and shook his head.

"Anyway, what's it going to be John? Willingly, or must I force you?" John spat in his face and made his standing clear with that one action.

Hiroshi grabbed a cloth and wiped the spit from his cheek. He looked at John with pity.

"Hah. You 'things' disappoint me more and more each day. Take the men who jumped you for instance." He stood up and grabbed a cart before heading to a closet full of tools. As he spoke, he put them on the cart after inspecting them. 

"Your species is suffering an extinction level event. We will eventually wipe you all out and replace you as the dominant race on this planet. Then, we shall go further beyond to the ones above us." He paused slightly, looking up at the ceiling as he smiled.

"Their arrogance will be their undoing. Hehe..." John had no idea what he was talking about and questioned his sanity. But Hiroshi simply continued.

"Anyway, instead of working together, you would rather slit each other's throats! Even my own race unite against you despite how much they love to kill each other." He pulled the now full cart back over to John and stopped in front of him.

"Why can you not do the same? Like I said, you... are inferior to us. In every way imaginable. I pity you, from the bottom of my heart." John felt disgusted at being looked down upon by this monster, but he couldn't disagree. After all, wasn't he just attacked by the very people he helped?

"Well then. Let's get started." Picking up some forceps, Hiroshi waved his hand at the two beefy infected.

Nodding their heads, they forced John's mouth open against his will. Despite struggling, they didn't even budge an inch. 

Hiroshi used the forceps to grab onto a tooth and with a slight pull, violently ripped it out.

"AHHH!" John screamed in pain as he thrashed around and yet, he was held in place. His tooth was thrown into a bowl as Hiroshi smiled.

Without a word, he dived back in. Only after four more teeth were removed, did he stop and place the bloody forceps down.

"Come on now John. Don't make me go further. Just tell me what I want to know." Although he had the memories of his previous self, he truly was incompetent. Despite working at a top-secret facility, he knew very little about how his own government worked. The computers were of some help, but were not omniscient.

To his surpirse though, John simply glared at him and spit blood in his direction. Of course, he made sure to dodge.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..." He trailed off as he picked up a knife.

Grabbing John's hand, he quickly sliced off his index finger.

"AHHH!" John's mind was full of nothing but pain and hatred for the one in front of him. However, despite his suffering, he would never give in.

"N-Never." John's eyes were glaring at his torturer with an unwillingness to surrender.

"We'll see about that." He began carving into John's flesh with the knife. Sometimes, he would even flay a piece off and toss it to one of the infected to eat. 

And all the while, John only screamed. Persevering as long as he could.

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"S-Stop. Please." John's voice was hoarse from the constant screaming.

'I'm sorry. I... can't anymore.' He had suffered tremendously.

All his fingers were gone, along with his hands. A good portion of his flesh was removed and there were countless deep cuts into him. His knee caps, ankles, and the rest of the bones in his legs were shattered. His arms and ribs weren't spared either. Only a few of his teeth remained and one of his ears was sliced off.

Hiroshi looked at John with very, very, very slight admiration.

"I admit. I did not expect you to last so very long. Let's start at the beginning first." 

Thus it began. John blabbered everything he knew about the government, their plans, bases he knew about, and even where the refugees currently were. 

"That's it. I don't know anything else." John's head was low. He felt pathetic that he wasn't able to keep going. That he was so weak. Hiroshi smiled at him, even though it went unseen.

"I believe you John. But, there's something I think you should know. You said you were stationed at one of the three camps? I suppose I should honor you with the truth. In fact, the downfall of the camps is because of me." John looked up with a ferocious expression.

"You fucking bastard! I'll kill you!" Even with his broken and ruined body, he tried his best to attack Hiroshi. But he was held down by the beefy infected. 

"I shall do you a mercy and end your sad life." He said while grabbing a pistol sitting on a desk. Truly, he saw killing John as a mercy and that he was helping him escape such an inferior life.

"Goodbye, human." With a single shot, he put a bullet in John's head. His body slumped into the chair as he stopped moving, the light fading from his eyes. After taking the satellite phone out of his pocket, he looked at the beefy infected.

"Take his body away. Do whatever you please." After the two infected left, he looked around the room.

"Another week here, then I move on from this city. By then I should have more control over the common ones." Numerous thoughts and plans were running through his extraordinary mind as he played with the phone. He could do something quite fun with this...