Black Virus: Survival

New Candor City, 20:00

“Ibrahim! Wake up!” He groaned as the panicked voice called out to him. He was comfortably numb where he was and just wanted a few more minutes of sleep.

“Ibrahim, we need to get out of here!” The voice was closer, he felt a tug at the weight on his chest and suddenly he was falling. He landed gracelessly in a heap on the ground. Opening his eyes, he looked around groggily, ready to hit whoever it was that was trying to wake him up.

This is ridiculous Yousef, I just want a few more minutes… He thought as lights swam into focus, causing sharp spikes of pain to lance through his head. He could smell smoke. There was an annoying ringing in his ears that the familiar, deep voice had to swim through to reach him.

Something is burning. That was enough to get him moving as years of training kicked in. Ibrahim shook his head lightly to clear his vision and looked around, noting the stabbing pain in his right shoulder and neck as he turned his head. The helicopter, that was the last thing he remembered. He had seen Friar wrenched out of the copter and launched out into the black sky. Ibrahim took a moment to clear his head, he located Yousef and gave him two thumbs up. The other man paused with a hand on his shoulder, gave a light squeeze to acknowledge his gesture and moved on to help the other survivors.

Ibrahim stood up carefully, favouring his right shoulder and trying to move his neck as little as possible. He made his way out of the wreck and looked around again, slowly this time. There was an inky blackness around him, made darker by the blinding fires around him. The darkness of the city beyond was only broken up by spots of orange, and red and blue lights.

Fire, those are fires, the city is burning. They had crashed in the middle of a field, or a park, it looked like. The spots of orange lights were different areas of the city that had gone up in flames between the venting of the gas and the time it had taken them to get there. The red and blue lights looked like emergency response.

“Could use a little help here Ib.” He heard Yousef’s struggling voice behind him.

“Yea, I’m coming,” He said, groaning as the turn caused his shoulder to shift in an uncomfortable way, “What happened?” He asked as he helped Yousef pull John from the wreckage. At least their medic was safe. Ibrahim would hate to think what they would do without John.

“Gas station went up, we got caught in the vacuum and went down.” Yousef’s voice was tight with barely controlled emotion. They had put John down and he was involuntarily being tended to by Yousef, “I don’t know if anyone else made it Ib.” He said quietly, using his pet name rather than his title. John took the gauze out of Yousef’s hand and carefully began cleaning the shallow wound on his own head.

Ibrahim looked at Yousef and took a deep breath to steady himself.

They had almost died.

He grasped Yousef’s hand and held it for a moment before turning to take in their surroundings. He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Yousef walked past him with the first aid kit.

They had left HQ with close to thirty men, both Team Bravo and Genotech’s volunteers. He has seen Friar’s fate for himself, the original explosion had sucked him from the chopper before the fuel tank went up. Eight other people were strewn around the wreckage, each had been provided with basic first aid and would probably need a second look once John was able.

Eleven, that’s all that’s left, he thought to himself, running the fingers of his good hand through his, oddly sticky, hair. He cursed himself for being happy that Yousef was one of the survivors but felt relief all the same. He winced as he hit a sore spot and brought his hand to his face. The blood looked inky black in the shadows from the fire.

“Be with you in a sec Cap, you look like you’ve seen better days, but I think Everett’s leg is broken,” John’s voice sounded close by. Ibrahim looked over to him as he brushed by, limping slightly as he headed towards Yousef and the short, stocky blonde a few feet away. Ibrahim stared at the black blood on his hand and thought about their next move.

There was no way they could stay here.

Darcy and Carla had been instructed by their higher ups to blackout communications before they had taken off, a decision that baffled them all and one that let Team Bravo know they were flying in solo. Carla and Darcy had been called into a meeting with Vince Anders, the CSO of Genotech before they left, and Ibrahim knew Carla would be taking the full blame for sending in a second team.

And look at how it’s turned out, he thought bitterly as he mourned his lost soldiers, from what he could see, they had lost all the volunteers. He knew there was a chance there would be some losses on this mission, but a simple distraction had cost him almost a third of his team. He dreaded the idea of telling Kara what had happened to the others. She would already be furious that they came in without the backing of the CSO, and now he would have to tell her he had lost good soldiers.

If she’s still alive that is… Ibrahim jerked as a hand fell heavily onto his good shoulder. His head snapped up, causing a searing pain to shoot into his skull.

“You ok Ibrahim?” Yousef had finished helping John and had come over while he was lost in his thoughts. Ibrahim forced a small smile and nodded slightly, the idea of Kara’s fate still weighing heavily on his mind.

“I called you three times and you didn’t answer, you sure you’re okay?” Yousef continued, concern etched on his features. Ibrahim’s smile relaxed a little and he allowed himself a soft moment. He reached up slowly, wincing slightly as his bad shoulder made itself known, and grasped the younger man’s hand.

“I’m glad you made it,” He said, “We suffered a terrible loss today, but a part of me is happy you’re safe.” He felt tears prick his eyes at the thought of losing his partner. Yousef smiled slightly and rested his head on the joined hands gripping Ibrahim’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re safe too,” Ibrahim watched Yousef shoulders jerk in small motions and knew he was crying, “When I saw you hanging there, I didn’t know what to think. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t ok.”

Ibrahim gently rescued his hand and touched Yousef’s head, running his fingers through the man’s cropped hair. He allowed Yousef a moment to compose himself and looked over at John to gauge the readiness of the team. After a few moments, Yousef pulled himself together and pulled away from him with a final squeeze to the shoulder.

“John sent me over to check your head and shoulder,” Yousef said, pushing the hair back from Ibrahim’s face in a business-like manner, as he led him into a sitting position near some of the shrapnel from the chopper, “Scalp wounds tend to bleed a lot, even if they’re not serious.”

Ibrahim put up with the subsequent poking and prodding with a small, but fond, smile on his face until Yousef had done what he had come to do.

“Anything else doctor?” Ibrahim asked jokingly as Yousef packed the kit up. Yousef smacked him lightly on his good arm before getting serious and looking directly behind Ibrahim.

“Yes, and you’re not going to like it,” John had come up behind him and Ibrahim jerked slightly at the unexpected voice.

“It’s not dislocated! I moved it earlier!” He shot up from the makeshift chair, wincing as the movement caused his shoulder to shift. He looked at John in defeat.

“Yea, that’s what I thought Cap,” John said with an almost sadistic grin, “It’s not dislocated at all actually.” He reached for Ibrahim’s shoulder, pausing before he started, asking for permission to touch him. Ibrahim sighed, resigned to his fate, and nodded. John’s careful pressure was excruciating as he examined the collarbone, he muttered to himself as his prodding caused Ibrahim to wince and grimace.

“Yea, it’s definitely fractured, we’re going to have to bind you Cap,” John sighed, reaching for the kit Yousef offered, “We’re low on supplies already.”

Ibrahim could hear the underlying fear in his voice, John had lost patients before but today must have been one of the worst experiences to date. There hadn’t been anything they could have done to save those men.

Other than being more observant, Ibrahim thought, bitterly. His expression darkened, and he felt Yousef’s hand on the small of his back, comforting him as John set his shoulder and bound him.

“Why hasn’t anything come at us,” Came a voice out of the darkness beyond the fire. Dan Everett leaned on the shoulders of Mira Davies and Lena Smith, two of the strongest ladies Ibrahim knew. They had both beaten Kara numerous times while sparring, something that Yousef and Chris never let her forget.

Lena’s tattooed arm was around Dan’s waist and her wedding band threw glittering flashes of light from the fires behind him. Ibrahim remembered her wedding ceremony last year and having to deal with Yousef going wedding crazy as he helped her plan the whole thing.

“Cap? You there?” Dan let go of Mira and waved his hand in front of Ibrahim’s face. Ibrahim shook his head slightly to clear the thoughts and looked around.

“Concussion,” John explained as their eyes met, “You should expect some pretty scattered thoughts, some trouble concentrating and some disassociation for the next few hours. Don’t let him sleep Yousef, not until we get him checked out back at HQ.” Yousef nodded, he looked concerned but their ‘soft moments’, as Ibrahim referred to them, were over for now and Ibrahim wouldn’t appreciate being coddled in front of the team.

“So, like I said, why hasn’t anything come at us?” Dan asked once more.

“There’s probably so much going on in the city that nothing’s travelled out here yet.” Ibrahim answered confidently. He had been asking himself the same question, “Carla said they’re attracted to movement and sound, right? So, there is probably so much stimulation in the city that they haven’t had a reason to come out here yet.”

“Yet?” Lena asked, eyebrow arched sharply.

“Yea, yet,” Ibrahim repeated, “It’s not safe here, we have no idea what’s coming at us and it’s too open to protect every angle.”

“Not to mention some of us are just a limping buffet,” Mira muttered, gesturing to Dan as she spoke.

“Speak for yourself Mira, if those things come after me, I’m gonna be a rolling buffet,” Dan said with a grin, causing Mira and Lena to chuckle at the image. Ibrahim appreciate the levity, and was glad Dan understood the team might need it. The rest of the team had gathered around them as he spoke, and a light chuckle ran through the small group. He had been right in his assessment before, it didn’t look like any of the volunteers had made it. Ibrahim looked at each of his surviving team, hoping the look conveyed the gratitude he felt that they were alive. Each one of them looked back at him, sharing their own sense of relief before the wreckage behind them finally blew up.

Ibrahim found himself hurled to the ground along with some of the others, pain from his recently set shoulder searing through his arm. Through the pain, Ibrahim felt the weight of Yousef covering him from the blast.

The light from the blast was enough for Ibrahim to see the danger that the others didn’t notice. The explosion had drawn the attention of the thralls at the edge of the city. In the firelight Ibrahim counted no less than ten thralls against the light of the city.

“We need to get out of here,” He said calmly, pushing himself up with one arm and brushing the dirt from his clothing, not that it did much, “We’ve got company.”

The others looked around in the bright firelight and saw what he had seen.

“Alright, ladies and gents, grab a trunk and let’s get out of here. We need somewhere that we can defend, I need medical supplies and look at this: This map tells me we’re on the side of the city with the hospital,” As he spoke the team gathered their supplies and headed off after him. He turned to Ibrahim, who had grabbed a trunk of ammo and followed him, knowing that with his state of mind John was the best substitute for Captain until he could think straight.

“We’re in B.F. Skinner park right now and Our Lady of Mercy is about five km east of here. We could be there within the hour if we weren’t injured but I’m not sure how well Dan will make the trip.” They both looked back as Dan and Lena who had taken the position of rear guard as they took off. His limp was pronounced, and Lena walked as close to him as possible, just in case. Ibrahim nodded slowly and dropped back to speak to them.

“No need to say anything Cap,” Dan started as soon as Ibrahim had caught up to him, “Get me out of this park and into a house and I’ll take care of myself.” The young man looked pale faced and grim at the thought of fighting it out on his own.

“We appreciate the sacrifice soldier but that won’t be necessary,” Ibrahim said stubbornly, refusing to accept the potential loss of another team member, “We get you out of this park and we steal a wheelchair, simple as that.”

Dan looked a little thunderstruck at the simple plan but grinned quickly, “And that’s why you’re the captain sir, I didn’t even think about that.”

Ibrahim tipped an invisible hat to him and gestured to Lena to help him.

“Keep that weapon up, and guard our rear kid,” he said to Dan as he and Lena made a King’s Throne out of their limbs to lift him with.

“Cap, no way, I can walk!” Dan protested but it was cut short with a glare from Ibrahim.

“No time to fool around Everett, we need to get out of the dark as soon as possible, and this is how we do it.” Ibrahim and Lena hooked their joined arms beneath his behind and lifted him off the ground. The makeshift splint made it awkward, but they were able to move faster than they had been. John and Yousef dropped behind them to cover their rear as they brought Dan into the middle of their caravan.

“I said grab the trunks, not grab the punk,” John joked as their paths crossed and Dan stuck his tongue out at him, causing him to laugh at the unexpected reaction. Ibrahim once again thanked him silently for the humour.

“Alright team lets roll out,” Ibrahim could see the faint outlines of thralls stumbling on the edges of the firelit clearing. The team did not need any further prompting before they all made a beeline in the direction John had provided them.

“Doc, can you map out a route to Genotech from the hospital?” He asked John behind him, “We need to secure a route to Alpha Team once you stock up.”

John was silent for a few seconds before responding quietly, “Do you think they’re still at the site Cap?”

Ibrahim refused to listen to the underlying question John was asking and focused on the question on the surface. Would Kara keep Alpha Team at the site after the communication they received? It was doubtful. Kara would do all she could to communicate with Carla and Darcy.

John allowed him silence to consider this question as they moved silently through the dark. The only sounds were muffled gasps of pain from Dan as he was jostled back and forth, and the quiet sounds of boots on concrete. The group reached the edge of the city and Ibrahim could hear radio static from a nearby Police car. Something clicked in his mind.

“Map us a route to the radio station instead,” He called softly to John, not wanting to draw attention to their team, “Divya would lead them to the nearest communication centre.”

“Give me some cover.” John grunted to Yousef as he pulled out the map once more. Ibrahim adjusted his hold on Dan, pulling another gasp of pain from the young man.

“Watch it Cap, precious goods here,” Dan joked, his face betraying the levity of his statement.

“Sorry kid, you gotta lay off the snacks,” Ibrahim mumbled back, distracted by maneuvering around the downed Police car. Half the team had made it past already, but he could see thralls heading towards the sound of the static. Truly, they were lucky the car was there, but he didn’t dwell on the thought of the officer inside.

“I can’t help it boss, Specks is a good cook!” Dan kept up the banter between pauses to swallow down the pain from his splinted leg, “When we get home, hopefully they’ll make me a cheesecake.”

“You’ll have to get in line,” Ibrahim smiled in the dark, knowing Dan probably couldn’t see him. Dan and Chris had started calling Eddie ‘Specks’ after Chris had let them know he loved Eddie’s accent when they said the word ‘Specs’ while explaining blueprints on an early mission. Eddie was at the front of the line and couldn’t hear them, but everyone knew that they were the best cook on the team.

As Ibrahim led his team through the dark streets towards the hospital, he couldn’t help the sense of unease that had settled in the pit of his stomach. The city was eerily quiet, save for the crackle of flames and the occasional scream in the distance. He tightened his grip on the ammo crate he was carrying, his injured shoulder protesting the strain.

“Cap, you alright?” Yousef’s voice was low, barely audible over the sounds of their footsteps. Ibrahim gave a curt nod, not trusting his voice at the moment.

“We’ll find them, Ib,” Yousef said, reaching out to give Ibrahim’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “Kara and the others, they’ll be okay.”

Ibrahim wanted to believe him, but the evidence all around them told a different story. As they neared the hospital, Ibrahim couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to get much worse before they got better.

The group approached the towering medical center, its glass façade reflecting the orange glow of the fires in the distance. Ibrahim paused, surveying the area for any signs of threats.

“Alright, let’s-”

His words were cut off by a sudden, piercing screech that echoed through the streets. Ibrahim whirled around, eyes searching the darkness. A flash of movement caught his eye and he tensed; weapon raised.

“Company,” he growled, steeling himself for the battle to come. His team followed suit, taking up defensive positions around the injured Dan.

Ibrahim took a deep breath, his fingers tightening on the trigger. They had made it this far - there was no way he was going to let his team down now.

The piercing screech echoed through the empty streets, sending a chill down Ibrahim’s spine. He tightened his grip on his weapon, eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of movement.

“Stay close,” he murmured to his team, motioning for them to form a tighter perimeter around the injured Dan. Lena and Mira took up flanking positions, weapons at the ready.

Another screech, closer this time. Ibrahim felt his heart pounding in his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Where were these things coming from?

A flash of movement in his peripheral vision had him whirling around, rifle raised. His breath caught in his throat as a twisted, malformed figure emerged from the shadows, its gait unnatural and jerky.

“Open fire!” he barked, squeezing the trigger in rapid succession. The creature let out an unearthly howl as the bullets tore into its flesh, but it kept coming, clawed hands outstretched.

The rest of the team opened fire as well, the cacophony of gunshots echoing off the nearby buildings. More shapes began to materialize out of the darkness, drawn by the commotion. Ibrahim gritted his teeth, realizing they were surrounded.

“Get to the hospital, now!” he shouted, firing off another volley to provide cover.

“Yousef, get Dan inside!”

Yousef nodded grimly, bracing Dan between himself and Lena as they made a break for the hospital entrance. Ibrahim and the others laid down suppressing fire, slowly backing towards the safety of the building.

As they neared the doors, Ibrahim risked a glance over his shoulder. The creatures were closing in, their deformed bodies illuminated by the flashing muzzle of the team’s weapons. He could see their eyes, hollow and lifeless, fixed on their prey.

“Hurry!” he yelled, ushering the others through the doors. Mira and Chris were the last to make it inside, slamming the doors shut behind them and jamming them with a heavy metal bar.

Ibrahim sagged against the wall, chest heaving. “Everyone accounted for?” he asked, eyes sweeping over the group.

Yousef nodded; the worry evident on his face. “We made it, but Dan...” He glanced over to where Lena and John were tending to the injured man.

Ibrahim followed his gaze, a pit forming in his stomach. “We’ll get him stable, then we need to figure out our next move.”

As the team regrouped, Ibrahim couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that they had only just begun their fight for survival.