“We arrived when the police were already cordoning off the eastern residential neighborhoods. They were trying to evacuate as many healthy people as possible. Rumors spread through the city that the infected couldn’t be killed; the law enforcement refused to respond to calls or enter other people's homes. The Reapers were hastily abandoning their service quarters,” Robert paused briefly. He spoke with calm and focus, as if recounting a boring lecture, as though nothing extraordinary had happened; as if just minutes ago, one of his team members hadn’t died. I almost lost myself in it. The man's composure and calm were so intoxicating and contagious that, for a moment, all the nightmares of the past few hours flew out of my mind. “I’ll skip the details of the bureaucratic nightmare and the insanity of some untouchable officials, who issue reckless decrees and give orders devoid of any reason,” he smiled grimly with the corner of his mouth. "The Gorgon was sent to the home of the local mayor, whose daughter had contracted the plague. They confined her to the second floor, hoping to cover up the whole situation: they didn’t want to send their daughter to the hospital and tarnish the family’s white name. And when they realized they’d made a foolish mistake, it was too late. We were ordered to take the mayor and his wife out of the house and transport them to a safe location. Honestly, I didn’t expect things to be so bad and dangerously serious. I left some of the Gorgon team to assist the police, and took the others to carry out the order,” another brief pause. “When we arrived, we found the house in such a bloody state it looked like a slaughterhouse had been set up there. Out of the seven residents, four were torn apart and their bodies literally chewed up. And two were…” the soldier hesitated, tilting his head to the side, “I’d say alive, but that contradicts what we saw. The injuries weren’t fatal: one had a minor bite on the neck, the other had chewed hands. But alive, those… creatures were definitely not. First of all, you can tell a living person from a dead one; the basic smell is unmistakable. Secondly, when you empty an entire magazine into someone…” the man sighed heavily, not finishing the sentence.
Time seemed to stop.
I replayed what I had just heard over and over in my head, but it felt more like the ramblings of a madman than anything resembling the truth. Glancing at Sam, I shook my head as if to push away the dark thought or sticky memory. Dort looked completely lost. He stared at a spot somewhere beneath the soldier’s feet, nervously fidgeting his fingers.
“And… what happened next? Were you able to deal with those two?” I asked cautiously, hesitantly lifting my eyes to Robert.
“We were able to. Cracked open their skulls,” Robert said dryly. Sam’s head shot up, and a look of disgust and horror played across his face. “With the mayor, besides me, three other men arrived. Three fighters who would have walked through all the circles of hell unscathed. And one of them was grabbed by the creature – it jumped and tore a chunk of flesh from his collarbone. Again: a minor wound. Our Gorgon’s medic patched him up, but the guy started to deteriorate; we took him to the hospital, where an entire wing was already filled to capacity with the bitten. Another department had been completely taken over by the utterly deranged. My man lost consciousness as soon as he crossed the threshold of the medical room. He passed out from the most harmless wound he had received. I left him at the hospital. And on Wednesday morning, I got a call to say that he had burned up overnight from a high fever. But when they were moving him to the morgue, he woke up. Only, like many, many others, he woke up wild. Woke up after being declared dead.”
A second. Two.
“You’re saying,” I whispered, feeling my fingers turn cold and a chill run down my spine, “that he… came back to life?”
Robert did not answer right away.
“It’s hard to find another name for it,” he said cautiously. “I wouldn’t have believed such a statement myself if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Believe me, it’s hard to explain how a person, riddled with bullets, continues to move. And when they’re clearly dead, suddenly they get up and start attacking. But last night made me doubt many things I thought were impossible.”
“But not to this extent?!” Sam's voice trembled, half nervous laugh, half question. “The dead coming back to life? Those are images from the archaic beliefs of the Departed Gods, fairy tales and myths. It’s impossible. The dead don’t come back to life. It’s unnatural. It… There’s no logical explanation for this.”
“We have just as many questions as you do,” the soldier replied briefly. “Right now, I’m only sure of a few things. First, the past night was really difficult to survive. These creatures, whatever they were, attacked indiscriminately, ruthlessly tearing apart and killing; and there were only a limited number of ways to neutralize them. Universal panic and confusion, the frenzied actions of the special services created chaos and multiplied the casualties,” Robert exhaled loudly. “Thank the Heavens and the Mother Goddess for salvation. Second, we need to leave °22-1-20-21-14 as soon as possible. It’s better to think about our next steps and look for answers in a safer place. Now, if you'll excuse me,” Sbort, who had stood up, pulled out his radio and was about to step aside when I immediately jumped to my feet, raising my hand.
“One last question, please!” the Gorgon’s soldier nodded permissively. “Robert, can you take us with you? At least help us get to the hospital? Our trailer is there, and…” I choked on my own words. My breath caught, and my chest burned with anxiety. “We won’t be in your debt. Sam is a great tech specialist; he knows how to program, adjust things; he fixes everything he can…”
“Yes,” Sam chimed in. “On your way, when you were talking to…” Dort hesitated, nodding towards the Gorgon with dark, curly hair; it was only then that I noticed the man’s right eyebrow was deeply split, a scar running perpendicularly across it.
“Norman,” Robert supplied.
“Yes, him,” Sam nodded, a bit off-topic, “you said your radios were malfunctioning, and the receiver was buzzing and cutting out… I think I could do something about that.”
The commander of The Gorgons thought for a moment.
“We need to get to the northeast edge of the city, where we left our cars and belongings,” finally came the dry response.
“There’s a bypass route that goes right past the hospital.”
“Robert, I beg you,” I echoed Sam, my voice quivering. “We’re willing to accept any help and any decision you make. Trying to do anything for ourselves right now is beyond possible. Besides… You need to return with some kind of information, don’t you? I can share everything I have, maybe something will interest you,” Robert scratched his dusty, unkempt cheek. For a few more seconds, he looked thoughtfully into my eyes.
“Well… Fine. Let it be so,” I nearly cried from relief, my heart doing a flip and sinking; meanwhile, Robert continued. “I ask that you refer to me in a less formal manner. We’re not in the Directorate, nor do we fill out protocols, and comfortable communication is important. And also,” he glanced at me. “We’ll be traveling on foot. Most of the city… Is no longer suitable for vehicles. On foot, we’ll be much faster and more maneuverable; but jeans and high heels are absolutely not made for this. Change your clothes. Amanda has no use for her gear anymore; she would be glad if it served a noble purpose,” and before I could process what Robert had said and protest, he nodded to the second girl in their squad, “Sara, help her. Norman, you stay here. Everyone else – in the hall; John found a communication point near the stairs,” after these words, the man finally brought the radio to his face and hurried out of the book section.
The order was carried out quickly. Sam, not wanting to watch the grim scene, followed the departing Gorgons. Norman, the soldier with the split eyebrow, moved away to give me space to change, standing by the entrance with his rifle. I, meanwhile, hugged myself with trembling hands, watching in quiet horror as Sara pulled pants off the corpse. My legs were shaking, and cold sweat formed on my skin. The worst part was that I needed to put those clothes on. Luckily, I still had my top – a tank top and leather jacket – but it was little comfort; I felt as if I were