Chapter III

  Scott looked through the window closest to where he was sitting. What he saw on the outside gave him pause and filled him with dread. He could easily tell that the Osprey-like transport was flying over a ruined city, but it was difficult to tell which one. Scott looked away to refocused on the crew of people who'd roughly only a half hour ago saved his life. They were relatively quiet, most likely trying to catch their breath after that fight with the Marauders. That was something Scott grew more curious about, among other things.

  Terry Conrad was the only one standing on deck and he was nearest to the front most section of the deck, near where the pilots were. If anyone on the transport had answers, it would've been Conrad. Scott did consider one of the others, but he doubted that Pete Marcus, Michelle Chang or Sam Duncan had the insight he wanted. He sure as hell wasn't going to even attempt to ask Johansson. He wasn't sure why she seemed so hostile toward him, but Pete Marcus did make the claim that she was that way with everybody. It wasn't personal, Pete had claimed. Scott wasn't convinced. Terry Conrad was the safest bet for answers.

  Scott shouted Conrad's name as loud as he could, but Conrad couldn't hear him.

  Pete tapped Scott's arm and pointed to the button that was connected to the headphones Scott wore. "You got to hold the button. Up there."

  Scott did so and he finally said, "Hey Conrad…" Conrad turned to Scott and Scott asked, "The Marauders… what can you tell me about them?"

  Conrad measured his words to provide the right form of a response, and he replied, "Outside of the fact they're hostile alien warmongers, not as much as I'd like. They showed up roughly a year after the Seraphim Virus wiped out most of the global population."

  "So, they just showed up out of nowhere a year after I was put into cryogenic sleep? No way that's a coincidence." Scott said aloud.

  "That was the exact thinking we had. This Seraphim Virus had to be a carefully premeditated first strike to weaken Earth's defenses. The Marauders then hit and wiped out whoever was lucky enough to survive the virus. We'd been fighting to survive for the past 33 years." Conrad explained.

  "Capt. Conrad, we're coming up on the FOB." said Capt. Daniels.

  "Thank you, Capt. Daniels," Conrad said before he turned back to address his team. "Listen up, people; I'll be looking to speak to the commanding officer of this base. I want the rest of you to go to the infirmary for treatment and rest."

  "I'm guessing that includes our new best friend, right boss?" Pete asked.

  "Scott's a part of this outfit now, Marcus. See about getting him some more... sensible attire. We can't have him walking around in only paper-thin hospital trousers and a shirt." Conrad joked almost knowingly.

  "Oh, I don't know, Captain. That attire looks kind of cute on him." Michelle quipped, giving Scott a telling glance.

  Scott felt his brows furrow at the comment before his eyes drifted briefly to Johansson, who hadn't made a move or said a word since the team cleared the hospital. Against his better judgment, Scott said, "Hey Johansson... are you going to be okay with that wound?"

  Johansson barely glanced at Scott for more than a moment and that was enough for Scott to know she wasn't interested in talking. From that point on, the ride down was relatively quiet among the team. The transport eventually arrived at the FOB in Bakersfield. The FOB appeared somewhat makeshift but fairly populated with people in military uniforms and other aerial transports along with ground vehicles. The Osprey leveled out and slowly came down to a safe landing. The engines cut out and the side hatch opened, allowing the team to step out one by one. Conrad was the first to step out, followed closely by Pete Marcus and Michelle Chang while Sam Duncan helped Johansson onto the tarmac. Scott was the last one out, and he was the most reluctant to do so.

  As the team gathered themselves, a soldier approached them and saluted Conrad. "Welcome to Bakersfield, sir; I'm Staff Sargent Alan Kent."

  "Capt. Terry Conrad," he said with a return salute. "Who's your commanding officer, Staff Sargent Kent?"

  "That would be Major Kelly Donovan. I've been instructed to escort you to her, sir."

  "First things first; I want to make sure my team gets whatever medical care is available." Conrad said.

  "We'll see to that immediately, sir. Come with me in the meantime." Kent said.

  Conrad gave Kent a nod before turning to his team. "Alright people, go get patched up and get some rest. We'll meet up afterwards."

  A woman in her mid 40's with short black hair stood in front of a large screen with a detailed digital map of the surrounding area. It wasn't long after that Staff Sargent Kent escorted Conrad into the room. The woman spun around and stood at attention, giving Conrad and Kent a crisp salute. Conrad and Kent did the same for her in return. Then she waved Kent out of the room so she and Conrad were alone.

  "Major Kelly Donovan; I'm the commanding officer of this base."

  "Capt. Terry Conrad; my team and were just brought in from a hospital overrun by Marauders. We managed to recover one survivor."

  Donovan nodded, and said, "It's good to see you got out in one piece, Captain. Things are getting worse out there day by day."

  "How bad are we talking?" Conrad asked.

  Donovan directed Conrad to the screen, which switched to wide shot of the entire United States map… what was left of it. "The Marauders have taken control of most of the country, but there's no telling how much of the entire Earth has been occupied."

  "Last I checked, there was roughly only 25% of the Human population remaining. Where does it stand now?"

  "The global population is down to about 19% and dropping at a gradual rate. The Seraphim Virus decimated so much of Humanity and the Marauders picked the bones. We're still no closer to having the slightest shred of info on those monsters." Donovan claimed.

  "Only 19% left of the human population on Earth. Fuck." Conrad cursed under his breath.

  After a brief pause, Donovan said, "Tell me about your lone survivor."

  "Adult male, roughly about mid-20's; name's Scott Gavin. He tells us that he'd only just woken up after 33 years in cryogenic suspension." Conrad explained.

  "This Scott Gavin was in cryogenic sleep for 33 years? Why?" Donavon asked with a small bit of curiosity in her tone.

  "He made mention that he tested positive for the Seraphim Virus and that he was only supposed to be asleep for at least 2 years. Obviously, things went to shit after that." Conrad said.

  Donovan thought about it for a few moments before saying to Conrad, "I'd like to meet him."

  Despite being somewhat used to closed spaces, Scott couldn't help feel a sense of claustrophobia. It seemed like the most twisted form of clockwork when the apparent doctors of the FOB had him enter a glass casket-looking machine while they scanned him. He didn't know what was more humiliating though; being scanned or being completely naked with only a small towel covering his genitalia. Scott could feel the eyes of his new comrades looking on from behind a window in a separate room.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  It was in this separate room that the team was currently gathered and watching the procedure underway. Pete, Sam and Michelle watched with some interest as Scott was being examined. Johansson, having already been treated for only a minor injury, showed less interest as she leaned onto a nearby wall. She still took a short glance into the operating room where Scott lay. She found herself subconsciously raising an eyebrow at Scott's surprising well-defined muscular tone. Then she shook it off and returned to her indifference.

  "You know for a guy who's been asleep for 33 years, he looks… pretty cut." Michelle mused.

  "You do realize he's got to be in his mid to late 50's now, right?" Pete pointed out.

  Michelle simply shrugged before Sam stood at attention and shouted, "Ten-hut!"

  Conrad and Donovan arrived and Conrad said, "At ease, people."

  After everyone eased themselves, Donovan approached the window to see the young man lying in the chamber. "That's him?"

  "That's him. He was the only survivor we found." Conrad said.

  Donovan gave Conrad a brief glance before she pressed a button by the window. "Dr. Fitzgerald, this is Major Donovan. How's your patient?"

  "From first glance, the patient is physically healthy. Internally is a whole different story." Dr. Fitzgerald replied from the room.

  "I'm assuming that's due to the Seraphim Virus still in his system. That young man you have there's been asleep for the past 33 years." Conrad said.

  "If that's the case and the virus is still present, then it must still be dormant after deep freeze." Donovan said.

  "There are traces of the Seraphim Virus in his system, but there seems to some other anomaly as well. Whatever it is, it appears to be keeping the virus from spreading within his body." Dr. Fitzgerald claimed.

  "You mean he's possibly immune to the virus, and whatever is in his body counteracting the effects of the original strain." Donovan reasoned with surprise in her tone.

  "That would be my hypothesis." Dr. Fitzgerald concluded, unaware that Scott was listening.

  Back in the separate room, Donavan whispered to Conrad, "I assume you would know what this means."

  "On the off chance that this is true, we could potentially have a vaccine sitting right in front of us… assuming we can mass produce it." Conrad said.

  "Therein lies a massive dilemma." Donovan said.

  "Could somebody talk to me?" Scott suddenly shouted.

  "I'm here, Scott. Everything's going to be okay." Conrad said.

  "I'll feel better when I have some actual clothes."

  "We'll see to that, kid." Conrad exclaimed just as Donovan pushed him aside.

  "Scott Gavin, I'm Major Kelly Donovan. I'm in charge of this forward ops base."

  "Where's Matt? Where's my brother?" Scott asked.

  Donovan looked at Conrad, who gave her a slight shake. Then Donovan said, "Let's get you some clothing and then we'll talk."

  Scott was visibly confused and annoyed and he snapped, "We'll talk? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

  Scott stood cross-armed near the holographic map now wearing clothes consisting of a dark blue t-shirt, fatigue pants and boots. Behind him were both Conrad's team and Major Donovan. They were seated around a long table that stretched out toward the back of what was in fact the war room of the base. Scott had yet to address the group directly. He was still trying to process everything he came to learn. On the screen were images of various cities from all around the world as it was now, ranging from New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston in the States to European cities such as Paris, Berlin, Venice and Madrid. But Scott wasn't thinking about all those ruined cities as much as he was thinking about his brother, Matt. Outwardly, Scott was holding on to some hope that Matt was out there, waiting for him. It had been 33 years, so Matt had to be an old man by now. That was assuming he was alive at all. Privately, he felt like he was a hair trigger away from puking again. Then he finally turned around to address the team.

  "Okay, I think you're all full of shit." he said.

  "That makes two of us." Johansson replied.

  Scott glared at the perpetually angry woman before said, "Let's recap here so we're on the same page: you're telling me that the Seraphim Virus is still in my body but it's dormant."

  "Yes." Dr. Fitzgerald said.

  "And it's dormant because I have some kind of immunity in my system that's fighting it and keeping it from going active and incubating." Scott said.

  "That is correct," Dr. Fitzgerald said. "I theorize that if we can extract these supposed anti-bodies from your body, there's a chance we can mass produce it and administer the cure to whoever is left on Earth."

  "Well, excuse me for my innate skepticism but if I have these anti-bodies in my, uh, body, why weren't extracted before I went into deep freeze?" Scott asked.

  "That is a fairly interesting question. It's likely that the doctors themselves contracted the virus and they put you to sleep hoping that these potential anti-bodies would survive long enough to be extracted later." Dr. Fitzgerald reasoned.

  "Scott, can you tell us who was in charge of your treatment at the time?" Conrad asked.

  "Dr. Jarred Saul." Scott replied.

  "Did this Dr. Saul make any mention of potential anti-bodies in your immune system?" Conrad asked again.

  "Probably nothing you don't already know, or maybe Dr. Saul was just incompetent," Scott said. "What does it matter anyway? You guys can just extract the anti-bodies out of me now so I can go search for Matt. Right?"

  "It's not so simple as that, Scott. We can extract this supposed anti-bodies but we don't the equipment to mass produce it." Dr. Fitzgerald said.

  "Besides, it's been 33 years. Your brother's most likely dead anyway." Johansson coldly stated.

  "You don't know that." Scott argued.

  "I know you're na?ve enough to think otherwise. Trust me when I tell you that your brother is gone." Johansson said.

  "Trust? You expect trust from me after you make those kinds of unwarranted claims about Matt?" Scott snapped.

  "It's not 2022 anymore so you'd better get that through your thick skull." Johansson said.

  "I'm half a second from jumping over that table and choking the life out of you." Scott snapped again.

  "You're welcome to try." Johansson spat out.

  By that point, Sam and Pete has to step in to keep Scott from following through on his threat. Johansson was herself ready to fight back but it was Michelle who keep her at bay. "That's enough," Conrad shouted. "Need I remind you both that we're guests at this FOB. Donovan's house so Donovan's rules, got it?"

  Scott glared at Conrad as he glared at both him and Johansson. He then saw Major Donovan still in her seat, rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration. Dr. Fitzgerald sat quieting in his seat, waiting for cooler heads to prevail. Scott and Johansson finally calmed themselves for the remainder of the debriefing, and they returned to their seats while the other did as well. Satisfied but wary of another outburst, Conrad sat in his seat that was set between Scott and Johansson and next to Donovan.

  "As I was saying, we aren't equipped with the instruments to mass produce a possible vaccine, assuming it's real. We also have to factor in viability. 33 years is a long time to be in deep freeze, and the anti-bodies could ultimately prove ineffective." Dr. Fitzgerald said.

  "But let's say that it's still viable after that long a time; if you can't mass produce a vaccine here, then where exactly?" Pete asked with curiosity in his voice.

  Dr. Fitzgerald leaned back in his chair and, with a deep sigh, he replied, "Our absolute best bet would be on Sky Haven."

  "What's Sky Haven?" Scott asked.

  "Sky Haven is an orbital space station that was established in the year 2019, 3 years before the Seraphim Virus hit the planet. It houses a number of key essentials for the continued survival of Humanity." Conrad explained.

  "Like what?" Scott asked.

  "Science, Agriculture, Medical, among other things." Dr. Fitzgerald said.

  "There's also a pretty impressive Military force as well." Sam said.

  "Sky Haven, huh? No offense but that sounds like some bad fantasy storytelling. Plus, you mentioned it was built in 2019, but I'd never heard of it until now." Scott said.

  "It was classified top secret by the highest ranking officials of the time. "Conrad claimed.

  "High ranking officials, or corrupt politicians?" Scott wondered out loud.

  "Probably both." Johansson said.

  "Still, it's the best option available to us; maybe the only option." Dr. Fitzgerald said.

  Major Donovan stood up from her seat and approached the holographic map. "Sky Haven periodically sends additional troops and supplies down to Earth to help combat the Marauders. At the same time, any survivors are sent up toward the station for refuge. The next launch to the station will be in roughly 7 days, launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1700 hours."

  "So 5:00 PM in the afternoon, basically." Scott simplified more for himself than the others.

  "The boy knows his Military time." Sam said with a chuckle.

  "Right. If we can get to Cape Canaveral, we can get Scott onto the next transport and send him to Sky Haven so the scientists there can mass produce the vaccine from his anti-bodies." Dr. Fitzgerald concluded.

  "Then I guess we know what we have to do," Conrad said and then stood up to address the team, including Scott. "I want everyone to get some rest. At 06:00 hours, we're going to Cape Canaveral. Dismissed."

  Seemingly in unison, every member of Conrad's group got up from their chairs and offered a salute, to which Conrad responded in kind. Dr. Fitzgerald offered his salute to both Conrad and Donovan before he departed with the others. Scott remained in his own seat, caressing his fingers together while in deep thought. He heard footsteps and looked over his shoulder. Johansson was walking right by him with barely even a sideways look, but she did look at him. Scott returned the glare, shifting his neck so he could see Johansson approaching the exit threshold. She still maintained a quiet but menacing glare toward Scott before she eventually departed. Left alone to his thoughts, Scott felt anger and anguish welling up in him and he slammed his fist down onto the table. He let out a deep breath as he collected himself, and he was fearful of what was to come for him.