Mutagen

Day 148 - 7:45 AM - Military Base, Catanduanes Military Settlement, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes

Inside the Military Base, the soldiers off-duty from their shifts gathered around the infirmary instead of resting. It could not be helped as something absurd was going on.

Many of them witnessed as Master Sergeant Lucerio Bayola was being transported to the infirmary while screaming in agonizing pain. All those that heard his cries shivered as goosebumps enveloped their bodies. It was a scream of a person that wanted to die but could not.

While being transported in a stretcher, the Master Sergeant was as stiff as a mannequin, with only his head seemed to be capable of moving. Due to the pain that he was feeling, his eyes were already red with tears that seemed to be slightly red because of blood. His nose was overflowing with bloody snot as that only the medics would dare wipe off.

In the end, doctors decided to administer general anesthesia because of an unexpected action from the officer. Extreme pain was known to lead anyone to make unnecessary actions. In more usual cases, it would cause a person to grab the source of pain while rolling in the ground, instinctually trying to relieve the pain. And in cases where the person could not move, it might lead to more absurd actions.

While wailing in pain, Master Sergeant Bayola forced to move his arm. The soldiers managed to stop him. However, it still caused his arm to rupture a bit, letting metal that solidified in his veins protruding out of his skin. His blood, of course, splattered, leading the doctors to scramble to stop the bleeding.

Soon, while the doctors were taking care of the officer, General Padilla, who seemed to have quite a headache, arrived with few of his usual assistants.

"Has the bleeding stabilized?"

The General asked the head doctor after hearing what happened.

"We managed by reducing the blood pressure on his arm. If possible, we wanted to do an operation. However..."

The doctor did not finish his sentence and only looked at the protruding metals on the unconscious officer's arm.

"This metal substance seemed to be embedded in the blood vessels in his entire body. The only exceptions are the major arteries near the heart and his head." The doctor whipped out some x-ray sheets, showing the eerily clustered metallic substance occupying half of the officer's bloodstream. The metal is also unexpectedly hard. We tried to cut it with a bone saw, but we only managed to take off this little piece."

The doctor then placed a sealed plastic bag on the table. It contained a grain of salt sized metal fragment.

"I recommend analyzing this metal fragment if we want to save him."

But then, to the doctor's surprise, the General shook his head.

"He is not brought here to be saved. Just keeping him alive is enough. Just make sure to stop the bleeding and constrain him so that it would not happen in the future."

The doctor hesitated as he confronted General Padilla.

"General, I heard about the situation. Are we really going to do this inhuman thing? If there's no saving him, isn't it better to Euthanize him?"

"I know that." The General replied. "Leaving Bayola in that state could also cause repercussions in terms of trust and welfare among our soldiers. However, there's nothing we can do. He offended someone that he should not have."

"Is that courier that frightening, General?"

The doctor asked, seemingly privy of some circumstances in the settlement.

"It's not undisclosed to the public yet, but that very same courier you mentioned is the one that saved us from the infected last night. At first, I did not exactly believe the letters from Faustino. However, the events yesterday afternoon and last night led us to believe it."

The General then let out a deep sigh.

"It is better to assume that his group might have the ability to wipe out this settlement off the face of Earth. Between the life of an immoral soldier and the populace, you already knew what to choose, right?"

"That is why you should not ask or do anything unnecessary. Just keep Bayola alive as much as possible."

The General added.

"Yes, General."

The doctor nodded. It might be heavy in his heart to see a patient suffering like hell, but there was nothing they would be able to do in the face of a far greater threat.

***

Day 148 - 8:05 AM - Mt. Obi, Obi, Caramoran, Catanduanes

Flying over the forest-covered mountain of Obi in Caramoran, the two young soldiers smoothly integrated into the group.

Unlike Berrak, who was mostly silent because he was afraid of Mark, the two were more outgoing. Of course, they felt goosebumps due to the punishment that Mark gave that officer. But considering the reason, they really could not blame Mark.

But then, the truth came to light soon enough.

"It's really amazing how you can lie straight-faced, like that," Pefile remarked. "But it's a very clever move to declare that your family is already dead."

"Wait, Boss..." Padua immediately asked. "You're family is still alive?"

"Dude!"

Of course, Geronimo started jabbing his friend with his elbow to stop him from asking.

"It's fine," Mark said to the two before turning to Pefile. "It's better that way, right? Declaring them dead is a good way of protecting them. There are a lot of rats in that settlement, after all."

By confessing what he was looking for at the settlement, he answered the suspicions of the people tailing them at that time. Then, telling them all what happened, declaring that his family had already passed on, and punishing the culprit with something worse than death would force everyone to go to conclusions that he expected them to.

If he did not confess that he was looking for his family, some smart brains might start investigating it, and it could lead to his family being found by unnecessary people. The military trying to make a connection with them was one thing, but the other rats might instead try to capture them and use his family to tie him up.

Mark did not want that to happen.

At this time, Mark then looked at the two young soldiers. It was when the two soldiers could only open their mouths in shock and amazement as Mark opened a black hole in front of him and took out two M16 Machine Guns and several ammunition cases.

"You two divide these."

Mark said to the two.

Aside from their things, the only weapon the two currently had were pistols. Their other military equipment had to be surrendered after they were relieved from their duties. Of course, they had credits in the settlement that could be exchanged for other things since they were soldiers.

However, deciding to follow Mark meant leaving the settlement from the start. The credits they had in this settlement would be rendered useless. They could have exchanged the credits for weapons, but Mark already told them not to when he invited them. Instead, after exchanging for some necessities, the two transferred their remaining credits to their close friends in the army who had families to feed.

Now, they knew why Mark told them that.

But still, there was one thing that confused the two. Why did Mark give them weapons at this moment?

Not minding their reactions, Mark spoke.

"I need you two to prepare. We are going to storm the rebels' camp soon."

"HAH?!"

Of course, the two were shocked even more.

"You two don't have to be surprised like that."

"B-but Boss!"

Padua voiced out, stuttering. Even though he was a courageous person, it would be hard to find the courage to storm an enemy's base with just a few people.

Beside Padua, Geronimo could only stare at Mark, not knowing what to say.

"Don't worry." Mark shrugged. "It won't be that dangerous."

***

Day 148 - 12:11 PM - San Pedro Poblacion, Municipality of Viga, Catanduanes

The sun was already high up in the sky. Most of the rebels were amidst their lunch break.

At a warehouse in the factory area, the workers were lining up, getting their barely filling ration. A bowl of watered-down soup as a side dish for a half cup of rice was not really that bad, though. In the least, they were being fed.

It was the regular daily occurrence here. Though this time, there was an unusually sad atmosphere among some workers.

They were those whose relatives and friends went missing last night during that suicide mission.

Among them was a short but quite boyish woman. She was slowly eating her food with a dull expression.

"Marian, don't be sad. Your brother is just missing. There's a chance that he's still alive."

Another woman sitting beside Marian said, rubbing the latter's back to comfort her.

"That's easy to say," Marian replied. "With how things on Earth are right now, the percentage of surviving is much lower than dying. If someone went missing, it's more reasonable to think for the worse than have false hope."

The women sitting with Marian at the same table could only smile bitterly. They wanted to cheer her up, but it seemed to have backfired.

"Come on, don't be like that." Another woman chimed in. "We are just worried about you."

A lot of people's true colors were revealed during the hard times. While some would end up with the worst, the opposite was also the same. People suffering the same fate without any other way out could bond easier, sometimes leading to good friendships. But of course, it was hard to determine which one was true and which was false.

Drowning under the uncomfortable atmosphere, everyone continued to eat with bitter faces. They had to finish as soon as they could since their time for lunch was limited.

But then, a strange event happened.

Someone entered the warehouse. At first, only a few people facing the wide-opened door noticed the person. Then, the ones that saw how the first ones reacted followed suit. It only took a few seconds, and everyone's attention was already on that person.

Why?

The person was wearing a sinister-looking mask, paired with a similarly looking armor.

No one recognized that person, especially that appearance. At first, the workers thought that the person was among the rebels with quite a hobby.

But then, the guards that were keeping their eyes on the workers readied their weapons and approached the masked person.

As it appeared, even the rebels did not recognize the person.

"Who are you?!"

One of the rebels aggressively asked, pointing his gun at the armored person. This rebel was the person-in-charge of the workers. As such, he was privy to things around the base. And, of course, there was no information or notification about this armored person. Furthermore, unauthorized entry was not allowed in the factory area. Only the members that were stationed here were allowed to enter. It was to secure the supplies and other important things to be properly monitored.

That was why the arrival of this armored person was extremely suspicious.

But then, ignoring the armed man in front of him, the armored person turned his head towards a specific direction.

"Looks like she's fine."

The armored man could be heard.

Of course, being ignored like that left an extremely bad taste to the rebels. As such, the person-in-charge exerted more pressure on his voice.

"I'm asking a question here! WHO! THE! F*CK! ARE! YOU! ARE YOU DEAF!" The rebel then started poking the armored person with the nuzzle of his gun. "And what the f*ck is this appearance? Did you go to a children's party?"

The rebels started laughing like hooligans. Sure enough, they found it funny, thinking that the armor was just some sort of costume"

But then, the laughter was cut short.

The armored man waved his hand.

Everyone watching was confused as to why the rebels suddenly went silent. It was until their bodies fell with their heads separated.

The chilling sensation enveloped the bodies of the workers. As most of them were weak-hearted women, this scene made many of them scream in fear.

Inside the warehouse, chaos began.

Well, that should have been the next events that happened. However, it did not as everyone froze in their tracks, unable to move with their shaking legs.