… Requesting access using code C40G72

…

… Access denied … Defense level increased to 2.

…

… Requesting access using code C81G59

…

…

…

… Access granted

…

… Manual override of insulation program complete.

… Initiating wake up sequence of patient #0148, Damien Scriven.

…

…

The faded sounds of small explosions played in the distance like an amateur percussion beat muffled by countless thick walls. Consciousness slowly returned to Damien, but it felt as if a dense cloud had covered his head, making his vision blurry and his hearing hazy. Slowly, the cloud withdrew, returning his hearing back to him and revealing the source of the noise. Gunfire.

Damien’s other senses quickly followed, and he found himself lying on the cold ground looking up at a black-haired woman who appeared to be studying him closely.

“Took you long enough to come to.” The woman said as she offered her hand. “Come on, get up. We have to get out of here.”

Damian accepted her offer and she helped him to his feet. Shrugging off the last bit of brain fog he had left, he surveyed his surroundings. They were in a cold, lifeless room filled with all sorts of strange machinery. Shattered glass littered the floor underneath a large, rectangular window pane. Someone had clearly broken in.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” The woman said as she leaned against the window pane and peeked around the corner. “I’ll explain everything later. For now, just know that there’s a bunch of people who want both of us dead.”

The sound of gunfire continued to roar not too far away. There was a firefight going on, likely within the building.

“I found the target,” the woman said suddenly, “but it’s not who we were expecting. Take exit route A, we’ll take exit route C.”

Target? Damian thought to himself. Am I the target? Who’s she talking to? What the hell is going on?

The woman turned to face him. “You any good with a gun?”

The question caught Damian off guard. “Um- no. I’ve never fired one in my life.”

“That’s too bad.” She pulled out a small pistol from one of the holsters on her hip and tossed it to him. “You’ll have to be my backup. Do what you can for now.”

Damien caught the gun and examined it closely. It was the first time he’d ever seen one in person, and it was much heavier than he’d expected.

“If any one fires at us, you fire back.” The woman said. “Got it?”

Damien nodded. He just now noticed that she’d been carrying another pistol in her hand the whole time. What would she do if he refused? He had no choice but to play along.

“Good.” She said. “Follow my lead.”

The woman hopped over the window pane and Damien followed, just as his gut instructed him to. He wanted to take a moment to process everything but there wasn’t any time; this place was dangerous. But could he trust this stranger? If she wanted to harm him, she could’ve done it by now, and that was good enough reason to stick with her.

He trailed closely behind as she walked down the drab, gray corridor at a hurried pace. With each step he took, the sounds of gunfire seemed to grow more distant.

“What’s with all the gun shots?” Damian said. “It’s like a war zone.”

“You have my colleague to thank for that. He’s been playing decoy so that I could sneak in and get you.”

From her words it sounded like they were saving him. But from what? He intended to ask that very question, when a strange message popped up in his field of vision.

PATIENT HAS BEEN INFECTED AND IS ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE.

INITIATING SHUT DOWN PROCEDURE.

A small progress bar appeared underneath the words, and it quickly rose from zero to one percent. Damien darted his eyes around, but the message stayed centered in his field of vision. It was as if it had been overlayed on top of everything else. He stopped in his tracks.

“Shut down procedure? What the hell’s that?”

“No idea.” The woman said as she continued walking, leaving him a few steps behind. “But it can’t be good. We gotta hurry.”

The progress bar quickly rose to 2 percent, and Damien’s heart sank. Nothing was making any sense.

Am I going to shut down? Damien thought as panic started to creep in. What does that even mean?

Ignoring his growing list of questions, he picked up his pace to meet back up with the woman as she turned a corner to reveal another corridor with a dead end. A large window allowed him to see something that gave him a faint sense of hope; the outside world. Was this their escape route? A few bullets suddenly shot out from the woman’s gun, shattering the glass and confirming his suspicion.

She nodded towards the improvised exit. “Jump.”

Damien hesitantly looked out the window and saw a misty evening barely lit up by soft moon light. They were on the second floor, and a small rooftop with a vent stood directly below them. It wasn’t a lethal drop, but it was high enough to make him hesitate. “Are you sur-”

Without warning, the woman grabbed his hand and jumped, dragging him along with her. His feet crashed onto the rooftop below, sending a slight shock wave through his legs. The pain was much weaker than he’d expected, and he let out a sigh of relief. That sense of relief quickly died when he noticed that the progress bar had now reached 23%.

The sound of tires screeching echoed nearby, and a black van quickly swerved around a chain link fence on the ground below. The doors swung open and four people jumped out, each with a gun in hand.

“Shit!” The woman blurted out as she pulled Damien behind the vent for cover.

The sound of gunfire rang out once again, only this time it was much louder. Damien pressed himself tightly against the vent as bullets flew past him and into the building from which they’d jumped. The woman beside him poked her head over the vent and started firing back. More tires screeching confirmed that another van had pulled up. Everything had suddenly gotten very real.

Thoughts started rushing through Damien’s head as his heartbeat ramped up. What do I do? Do I run? No, I’ll probably get shot. Do I help her? How? I’ve never fired a gun before. What if she gets hit and dies? Then I’ll be next…

Damian clutched the gun he’d been given and took a deep breath. Whatever was going on, he wasn’t gonna let himself die here.

He cautiously peeked around the vent and saw that a few bodies were already sprawled out on the ground. Some of the living enemies took cover behind the van doors, another behind a large garbage bin. They all shared a similar look; bald heads with some kind of tattoo on top.

With gun in hand, he took aim at the isolated enemy behind the garbage bin. He pulled the trigger and his wrist recoiled back. The bullet went wayward. He fired three more shots, all of which missed. The progress bar, which now read 54%, was climbing even faster.

A bullet zipped over his head and slammed into the wall behind, sending small chunks of concrete flying off the surface. Damian withdrew behind cover, and took a moment to try and ease his rampaging heartbeat. The woman continued her assault. She was completely calm, firing with total concentration on her face.

Damien took a deep breath then swung around to take aim once again. The enemy behind the garbage can was lying on the ground; he’d already been taken care of. Only three remained. He took aim at the one closest to him; a tattooed head poking above the driver’s seat door which acted as cover.

With the target in his sights, Damien fired, but he missed wildly. Another shot, another miss. The number now read 81%, and his vision began to dim, darkness creeping in from the edges.

Two shots flew out from the gun beside him, both hitting the target he’d been aiming at.

“You’re not very good at this,” the woman said, as she locked on to her next target.

Only two remained, but the progress continued to climb, dimming Damien’s vision even more. 93%. He tried to find his next target, but it became impossible to distinguish them against the murky backdrop.

This isn’t good.

The number continued to grow, bringing more and more darkness, until finally, it hit 100%, and everything went black.