re type to fit the city of tomorrow Hey! He is waking up!” I heard a voice say a

Question

re type to fit the city of tomorrow Hey! He is waking up!” I heard a voice say as I could feel the sun beaming down on my face. It was loud. What’s that noise? I thought to myself. I was so disoriented. My head was pounding and body aching. Where was I? WAIT! Who am I!? What had happened!?

Still very disoriented, I started to panic, but I could not move. “Hey, Brother! Hold on there, partner. Settle down a second and let me get a look at you.” A deep voice said. Before I knew it, there was very large man over the top of me with some sort of light in my face. Then he held up an automated mobile medical scanner about a foot away from my face. Once he let it go, it creepily hovered there above me shining blue and white lights into my face and beams of laser-like red light rapidly ran up and down my body checking me out and spouting out random health vitals and other diagnostics. As I struggled with understanding because I didn’t see the Hood anymore. Building had change, cars remind you of the Jetsons. The man was dressed in a silver aluminum type suit with a large afro with mobile tracking device with laser target marker and other devices attached to the sides all pointed at me. I could see lights of the tracking device and other unreadable data shinning on his face as he finished up looking at me. He continue to at me with silver uniform as became from being disoriented I had to ask want happen to the Hood,? Why can’t I remember anything! I thought to myself continuing to panic. “Alright, he looks ok.” The Brother said. “couldn’t understand the city had change overnight.” “was I dreaming are asleep” I heard another softer voice say. The second voice sounded larger man with a mohawk syle haircut . I tried looking around for the other voice, but I was still restrained, and my vision was still a little blurry. I’m afraid because I’m still in the Hood It was then I realized at least where I was and only then I realize that the city changed. A yellow taxi pulls up! traveling at enormous speed stop was stop asked if I needed transportation. This vehicle was shape like a spaceship was zooming around in air the engine utilized internal fusion for the fuel. You see the car moving through the city at high rate of speed no stop signs. To look up the sun in a feeling of excitement exactly that. The building shaped like something from out of space. I could see people moving on a conveyer belt thought out the city. The doors are automatic sliding doors to enter each building. As continue to walk through some parts the city as I remember the Hood. The two-people stayed with me I appear to be lost in a century, I wasn’t dress like them. At that moment, I also started to grow increasing uncomfortable with how unexplainably familiar some of these things and my surroundings seemed.

“Ok partner...” the brother with the large afro said lets continue walking. “They stop at a transportation center I noticed they use human transportors like Star Trak when traveling afar .Don’t worry we are transporting to New York within seconds we where there in the middle of Harlem NY . infected and pretty lucky from the looks of it too.” He nodded his head and motioned across my body to my right. “Infected!?” I said, as I looked to my right as far as my restraints would let me. To my immediately right was a row of five similar dressed lifeless soldiers. Our bodies were laid out across the width of the cabin of the Heli-cruiser. All of the others bodies were laying there lifeless. They were all covered in bloody white sheets and laying in some sort of contamination bags. Absolute fear rushed over me thinking I was next, I again started to panic in my restraints. “Hey, hey! Settle down. You’re not infected.” the Soldier said. “What is going on!?” I shouted. “Is everything ok back there?” I heard the female voice ask. At this point, I realized she was the pilot, but still had yet to see her. “Not really, he’s starting to freak out. I’m probably going to have to give him something.” The emergency medical technician said. “Roger that.” The voice of the brother with afro confirmed. Now, I really was freaking out. “Give me something!” I exclaimed. As he bent over rummaging through a bag, I noticed he had an old doctor bag. Even in my panic, I thought that was strange. People had not regularly used doctor bags since the “Post-Fallout” and “Rebuilding” eras in the early 22nd century. Any more questions about your health quickly whisked away once the EMT came out of the bag with an old medical bag. He shoved a couple of vials into the back of it. “You’re not giving me anything!” I blurted out. “…and what is going on!?” I yelled, as I continued to ask with the images of the other of the two big brothers to my right still fresh in my mind. “I’m not going to hurt you,. You need to relax.” The EMT stated bedside manner left something to be desired. As quickly as he finished the checking my heart , he pressed it against my upper arm and with the tap of a button I could feel the bite of multiple needles puncturing my skin! I could feel the burn of whatever he gave me coursing through my arm. “There ya go. That should help.” The dizzyness in my body was instantly reduced to relaxed sensation. “Alright, now before I leave , I need you to tell me who you are.” The EMT asked as he knelt down beside me. “I don’t know!” I said, gritting me teeth. “What is going on? I can’t remember anything. Tell me who you people are!?’ I demanded. “HA!” said the EMT. “Hey, ! Our brother here says he ‘can’t remember anything’ and the meds are gonna kick in soon.” “Standby to take the hospital , I’m coming back to talk with him!” The big brother voice barked. “Well partner, good luck. Look like your hurt.” The EMT said as they place in the ambulace.

As we started to leave, I could hear the doctors . “We’re on course , reading my vitals . No comms with them yet. And we’re about 10 minutes out from going in the dead zone.” New Castle? Dead zone? I thought. “Alright listen, I need answers and we don’t have time for pretending to be dumb!” The Captain said as she stormed into the cabin. She was fit and athletic looking with her hair back in a bun also dressed in the soldier fatigues like the Corporal. The only difference is she had a more modern sleek pulse-gun on her belt as opposed to the old pistol of the Corporal’s. I could the crystal inside was still fully charged by the lights on the top and bottom barrels between the weapons handle. “Let’s get to it, Soldier!” As she knelt down and poked me in the chest. “We’re supposed to pick up new recruits and runners from Abletown Center and instead the place looks like a war zone, over run with the infected and we find you outside Abletown military compound. That is fortified compound and it is the Special Operations Division or it was or whatever is left of it! Now start talking and tell me what happened!” I could feel the apparent sedatives starting to take their affect and I only had more questions. “Like a told the other guy, I don’t know! I cannot remember!” I said as started to feel the weight of my eyelids. “Oh, NO! you’re not getting out of this that quickly, Spec Ops boy!” As she smacked me across the face. But it was too late for the Captain to get her answers.

   The next thing I remember waking up to is the violent shaking and shuttering of the Heli-cruiser and the sounds of alarms going off. I couldn’t tell if it was just my head that was spinning or the whole cruiser. It wasn’t the sedatives wearing off, it was the cruiser spinning! I could feel us rushing back toward the ground. “We’re hit! Both reactors are offline!” I heard the Captain shout. “Brace for landing and impact!” She commanded. At that moment, I saw the Corporal swoop back into the cabin and try to get into a seat, but it was too late I felt the aircraft clip what sounded like trees. At that point, the Heli-cruiser bounce violently from one tree to another. I couldn’t see the Corporal anymore. All I could hear was the repetitive sounds of alarms going off in the cockpit and thunderous cracking of wood every time the cruiser clipped another tree. Then the Cruiser impacted the ground and started to roll on its side over and over until coming to rest right-side up. I couldn’t believe it. I’m alive. And once again just like the Corporal said after my scan ‘no apparent injuries’. As I collected myself, I immediately tried freeing myself from my restraints, which has apparently kept me safe from the crash. I couldn’t say the same for the Corporal. Both he and the seat he was strapping into were ripped from the cabin along with one of the cabin doors during the crash.

Just then, I heard someone. “Corporal? Are you there?” It was the Captain. I could hear her unstrap and wander back into the cabin. “Corporal?” “I’m here! Help! Please help me!” I shouted. “Spec Ops!? You’re alive? Unbelievable.” She said shockingly as she stumbled into the cabin and meeting my gaze. “Well, let’s get you outta there. We gotta get outta here before this place is over-run with the infected.” “WHAT!?” I demanded. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about!” “Listen ‘Spec Ops’ which is your name until you ‘remember’ we are about 8 miles away from New Castle, I don’t have them on comms anymore and we still have about 2-3 miles to go before we’re out of the dead zone. So, we have got to go now!”

Still having no clue what she was talking about, I felt compelled to comply with her demands. As she cut me loose from my restraints, it was quickly apparently where my ‘Spec Ops’ names came from. As I stood up in the cabin, I too was wearing a Soldiers uniform but different from the Captain and Corporals. They were a different style of fatigues. Their uniforms had a bunch of greens woodland style print, while my uniform was black with browns and dark green. There was a breast insignia on my blouse that had a diamond shape with the number “6” inside and a banner that said “SPEC OPS” over it. “Let’s go! Grab only what we can carry.” The Captain ordered. Not knowing what to look for, I immediately went back to the bag the Corporal pulled the medical scanner from before. It was still attached to the stretchers. I quickly scanned the rest of the cabin for anything that may be of use. I even gave my apparent ‘Spec Ops buddies’ a quick pat down for any gear. Just like me, they had nothing in their pockets or on their person. “Don’t forget the P-C.” Said the Captain as she motioned toward the pulse-cannon still mounted in the cabin door. “Do you know how to unmount…” she didn’t get to finish her sentence and somehow, I had undone the pins and two locks and unmounted the weapon. “Don’t remember anything, eh? Looks like you remember something.” I looked at the weapon for a second, then quickly charged and readied the weapon. This two-handed rifle-sized cannon also had a HUD screen for the operator and had a multi-use launcher connected to the front grip. As large as this two-handed metallic alloy weapon was, I was thankful it was light and maneuverable. I thought about the missing Corporal’s pistol. I couldn’t imagine trying to wield some clunky steel machine gun that matched his pistol I thought. “We gotta move, I think my knee is sprained. You’re gonna have to carry the P-C and equipment bag.” The Captain said as she vigilantly scanned the woods. “Hang on maybe there’s some med-wraps or E-braces in this bag.” I said, as I scrounged through the bag looking for something that could instantly heal and fix the Captains’ knee. Who worries about a sprained knee anymore? I thought. “Yeah maybe before the ‘Outbreak’ quit joking and let’s move!” Outbreak!? Outbreak of what I wondered? What is everyone ‘infected’ with and still all the other questions I have are not answered. Who am I, what is going on? Before I could say another word, the Captain was off hobbling at a pretty good pace through the woods.

We had been hiking for what seemed like an hour, when the Captain finally stopped to take a break I had a chance to ask some questions. “Alright, we’re out of the ‘dead zone’ and have way there, but we’re not safe yet. We’ll rest for a bit before heading to New Castle.” The Captain said as she checked a compass. “Alright, before we go any farther, I want to know what’s going on. I still don’t know who I am! I don’t know anything about an outbreak or being infected, why we crashed or about anything else! So, let’s hear it!” “You’re serious, aren’t you?” the Captain asked sincerely. “You know nothing about the Outbreak or the Infected? What do you last remember? …What year do you think it is?” Asked the Captain. I sat there and tried to remember the last actual memories I could. “2201, I think?” I unconfidently answered. “I’m not sure how to tell you, but it’s 2204.” Replied the Captain in a bit of shock. I sat there in shock beside myself. “Well at least we know you haven’t been asleep somewhere that whole time. Not dressed like that anyway.” As she pointed to my fatigues. “Listen, I know this is a lot to take in, but we have to keep moving. I’ll explain on the way. We have to keep moving.”

The Captain did explain everything. The year was 2204 and the world had experienced a massive outbreak of infectious disease that was accidently created by a team of government, military and medical personnel. The apparent goal was to improve human vitality and performance. The military was looking into super-soldiers again. The Captain said this disease kills any human that comes into contact with it. As of now there is no cure and you will die but not before going through a ‘undead’ like phase with an unstoppable appetite for live beings. It doesn’t matter if it human or animal! When will people learn? I briefly thought. This wasn’t first time something like this happened. In the mid-21st century the world finally collapsed and been almost reduced to nothing from several conflicts that lead to a nuclear war known as ‘the Fallout”. A little more than 70 years later of desolate survival by man, we got back on track with what we call the ‘Rebuilding Era”. We were at the height if the Rebuilding Era and just had the turn of the century and the 23rd century was looking promising. The Captain went on to tell me about the Outbreak. It caused worldwide panic and global destruction. The Captain said millions, if not billions, of lives were lost between the infection and everyone’s instinct for self-preservation. Worldwide riots broke out, which turned into martial law in most places. The world had absolutely gone mad. Some of our greatest advances were instantly halted and once again we had to start over in a sense. Most of our technologies were being piecemealed back together. That’s why the Corporal had that pistol. There weren’t enough pulse guns let alone crystals and energy to charge them. That’s why the Captain was using a compass to navigate the woods vice a digital-link or basic GPS scanner of any kind. It was like half our technology was gone. “I know I’m asking a lot, but what’s the ‘dead zone’ you kept referring to back there and I never did ask how or why we crashed?” I asked. “It’s fine, it passes the time and I need to get you up to speed.” Said the Captain. “The dead zone is a sort of neutral area between some of the outposts like the one we’re headed too. As for the crash, we were shot down.” She continued. “Shot Down! By what?” I questioned. “Some old unguided artillery I believe. It’s surprisingly effective against the electronic-countermeasures and technology of the Heli-cruiser. But I’m not interested in the ‘what’ as much as I am the ‘who’!” She said. The Captain went on to tell me about some of the outposts doing anything to survive rebuild themselves in this worldwide infectious panic. “Some of our neighboring outposts aren’t too friendly.” She said glaringly. “And people will do anything to survive.” I continued to dwell on my absent memory trying to remember and thinking about this panicked I just woke up in. “Ah! Finally, we’re here! Welcome to New Castle, Spec Ops.” The Captain said with a shy of relief. As we came over a hill, I could see the tall walls of a little fortified city. “We’ll have the Doc take a proper look at you when we get in and I’ll talk to the Major. Maybe he will have an idea about your Spec Ops background at Abletownship.”

As we got closer, I could start to see some familiar things sites that wasn’t sure if they had existed anymore or not. I could see a couple of drones circling over the city. I could even hear the buzzing of their little thruters when we started getting closer. There was Skytrain and Sky Terminal that looked very tattered. The Skytrain would have been also running on similar electric-nuclear engines, but the engines were gone, robbed for parts by the look of it, and the been that way for a while with the over-growing plant life. There was even a destroyed Hyperloop tube that ran off ion energy, but that looked like it had blown entirely to pieces and barely recognizable. It wasn’t long before a little quad-drone cruised over the top of us. “Well, they I’m sure they know were here by now. Won’t be long before a patrol team picks us up.” The Captain said reassuringly. “You know, before we go any further, you never told me your actual name, Captain.” I asked. “Well, ‘Spec Ops’ now these days, it’s probably best if you don’t get too attached to anyone for your information. Most people are just trying to get by and survive.” Within about three minutes, two military vehicles came cruising up. The first vehicle called a Q.A.V. or Quick Attack Vehicle. It looked like an angular armored plated dune buggy with twin pulse-cannons mounted to the top. The second was a large transport vehicle called a Wartruck. It very box-shaped made from the same light weight alloys as the Heli-cruiser and the pulse weapons. It had solar panels mounted to the top. Both vehicles were rigged to run off solar power instead of the reactor engines that I was familiar too. Once they took us inside the gates of New Castle, I was in shock to see what the Captain had been referring too. “Shocking, isn’t it?” asked the Captain. “I can’t believe it.” I responded. It was like the 20th, 21st and 22nd century had all collided. “I have to check on a few things, wait here while we get you set to see the Doc.” The Captain said as she went back to talking with one of the other officers. The armed guards were carrying everything from 20th century pistols and machine guns, like the ones I thought of earlier, all the way to slim laser rifles and pulse weapons, like the ones I had been carrying already. Most all the nuclear and non-nuclear reactors we removed from the vehicles and fitted with solar power. Any salvageable reactors were fitted to supply power to the buildings. For every modern spot within city walls that had an energy and weapons charging station for weapons or other things solar water recycler there was also a worn down, over grown area with people building, fixing or hanging around an open fire cooking. Who cooks anymore, let alone on an open fire like that I thought? Present day life was visually overwhelming. There was even the occasional unleashed dog roaming around.

“Alright, you gonna go see the Doc. After that you’re to meet with Corporal Simons and our radioman Sam. Got it?” the Captain order. “I never did get your name Captain. Just in case I need you find you.” I asked again thinking she still wouldn’t answer. The Captain gave me back a smirk and replied “Thompson. Captain Thompson.”

I was whisked away to the doctor. His name was Doctor Arthur Jenkins. He was previously a surgeon before the outbreak which made him even more important in today’s apparent world given our lack medical equipment. We had to do most medical procedures the old fashion way with scanners and lasers. The guys in the field had to use bandages and tools. People hadn’t been doing that for years. “We had two Health Regulating Scanners. We’re just missing a few things to get them up and running. My life will be a lot easier when I can just run my patients through them and fix everything.” The Doctor explained. “Ah! Those were the days. Ha I say that like It was forever ago. These past couple of years make everything before the outbreak seem like forever ago. Hey maybe we can even get an AUTO-DOC in here and it could do everything and cut my work in half. Haha.” The Doc continued as finished running portable scanners over me. “How’s our new friend, Doc?” Captain Thompson asked as she came walking up with Corporal Simons. He was another bulky looking man in woodland fatigues with the sleeves ripped off. “Well, he does have a concussion and a form retrograde amnesia.” Explained the Doc. “So, our friend here is missing the last two to three years of memories along with other large chunks of his memory.” He continued. “And will his memory return?” The Captain asked? “It’s uncertain when it comes to amnesia. If I the Regulator working or the equipment, I could fix some of his injury. But for now, only time will tell.” The Doc finished. “Roger that.” The Captain replied with a questioning tone. Then she motioned for me to join her and Corporal Simons. “Come on, Spec Ops. This is Corporal Simons and we have a job for you until I can get in contact with the Major.”

“We happened to have a job for you as a ‘Runner’. Everyone hear has a job and contributes. Got it!?” Captain Thompson order. “Sure thing.” I responded. “But what’s a ‘Runner’?” I asked? The Captain and Corporal both looked at each other intensely. “It’s probably best if Sam explains it to you.” The Captain answered. We entered what looked like an obvious communication station. There was a large tower with several digital and radio dishes of different sizes on the tower which also was covered in solar panels. There was unmanned drones and parts scattered about inside the building. The was a skinny younger man in his mid to late 20’s I’d guess. We wore glasses and had shaggy hair. He was diligently working at a desk next to a large comms stations with video feeds from the drones, data-links setup, thermal surveillance, some sort of old CB radio system, that had to be 200 years old by the look of it, and a TV with some old 21st century movie playing.

“Ah! You must be ‘Spec Ops’? the Captain here has told me about you. Amnesia eh? How lucky are you?” The man said as he whipped around jumping out of his chair. “Not really, but ok.” I responded. “The name’s Sam. Sam Redding. I’m the Radiomen here at New Castle.” He explained as we shook hands. “I heard you going to be our new runner around here. Well… it just so happens we have room for another runner. A spot just opened up…” He said awkwardly and a little choked up. Clearly something bad had happened to cause an ‘open spot’. “We don’t have a lot of time for remorse Mr. Redding.” The Captain commanded to break the awkward moment. “Right, right.” Sam responded. “Well it looks like you are going to be our new ‘Runner 6’!” Sam exclaimed with a ‘ta-da!’ like inflection in his voice as he handed me an old headset comm-link. “Oh, hey look, it was meant to be.” As he motioned to the 6 on my breast insigna.

“Alright then. Welcome to the club ‘Six’. I’m charge of the runners around here and your first run is gonna first light tomorrow. Mr. Redding will fill you in on you job. And make sure you get some rest, yeah?!” Directed Corporal Simons.

Over the next couple hours Sam and I sat and talked. A ‘Runner’ was someone that goes on scouting missions trying to recover anything of use and bring it back to the city. There wasn’t enough vehicles and transports to go around so runners did exactly that, they ran on foot. For all the equipment they had, they still didn’t have enough energy or power to have everything up and running. “Solar power only gets us so far.” Sam said. “That’s why we had to take all the reactors out of the few vehicles we have. They’re better suited running the buildings, this comm station and medical equipment. But it’s still not enough to run everything at once.”

Sam also explained about the infected. It thought to be an aggressive virus accidently created by the government. “It spread so quickly!” Sam told me. Supposedly the government was working on human enhancement projects. Which is one of the reasons I was apparently so interesting to everyone. All of these projects had been mover to the Abletownship Military Compound sometime after the outbreak and me being part of the Special Operations Division raised a lot of questions. He told me about the friendly and unfriendly outposts that were nearby. All of them just fighting to survive. Some of them will to literally fight more than others. It was suspected that one of the neighboring outposts was responsible for shooting down the Heli-cruiser. “We’ll definitely be making some runs out there soon. Those Hyper-engines and other parts are too valuable to just leave out in the dead zone.” Sam explained. We continued to talk about this strange new world that felt like a bad dream to me and I was just waiting to wake up. As much as I was still in a mental shock by my surroundings, I was somehow able to quickly adapt to my environment. This made me really wonder was I doing at that training compound. and I tried to learn everything I could from Sam until passing out and falling asleep in the comms station.

The next morning, I could once again feel the sun beaming down on my face through the windows of the comms station. “Good Morning! Six.” I heard a voice say as I sprung up trying to remember where I was. No, it wasn’t a dream, I thought to myself. This is real life. The voice was Sam. Who was obviously prepping the comms station for the day. “Are you ready for your first run?” he asked. “The first run is always a warm up to the job. Just learning the lay of the land. Oh, and don’t worry you won’t be alone. You’ll be paired up with another runner at the gate and you’ll have me on the comm-link and watching you from the drones. Easy enough, right?” Sam reassuringly explained. “No problem.” I uttered with an uneasy tone as I was about to wander off into the unknown. “Good luck!” Sam bellowed as I was walking away.

I continued to get the ‘strange new guy’ looks continued from the New Castle regulars as I strolled toward the main gate. Or maybe they were looks of pity being the guy with amnesia was about to walk out into some infected world and try to survive, I couldn’t tell. I met Corporal Simons at the gate as he helped me setup my comm-linnk as gave me a crash course safety brief of what to expect. The whole time waiting to go on my first run, I could only wonder what was wait on the other side of the gate for me. A heard of infect bodies perhaps? Would I even make it back? How did I wind up here in this situation? This whole new world was still shocking to me. I couldn’t understand how we got here, but once again I found myself feeling oddly familiar with the whole situation. I was almost comfortable even.

As the gates opened up another fit looking middle-aged guy with short hair and plain clothes and a comm-link like mine came walking up. “You must be the new guy?” He asked. “Yes, he is.” Simons said. “Show him the ropes One. See you in a few hours.” The Corporal finished as he walked away and the gates started to close. “One is for Runner One. I’m Michael. Michael Griggs and what do I call you?” He asked. I was scanning the woods and outside of the city and then paused for a second feeling a wave another odd wave of comfort come over me. “Call me Six.”

Explanation / Answer

Retyped as requested

Hey! He is waking up!” I heard a voice say as I could feel the sun beaming down on my face. It was loud. What’s that noise? I thought to myself. I was so disoriented. My head was pounding and body aching. Where was I? WAIT! Who am I!? What had happened!?

Still very disoriented, I started to panic, but I could not move. “Hey, Brother! Hold on there, partner. Settle down a second and let me get a look at you.” A deep voice said. Before I knew it, there was very large man over the top of me with some sort of light in my face. Then he held up an automated mobile medical scanner about a foot away from my face. Once he let it go, it creepily hovered there above me shining blue and white lights into my face and beams of laser-like red light rapidly ran up and down my body checking me out and spouting out random health vitals and other diagnostics. As I struggled with understanding because I didn’t see the Hood anymore. Building had change, cars remind you of the Jetsons. The man was dressed in a silver aluminum type suit with a large afro with mobile tracking device with laser target marker and other devices attached to the sides all pointed at me. I could see lights of the tracking device and other unreadable data shinning on his face as he finished up looking at me. He continue to at me with silver uniform as became from being disoriented I had to ask want happen to the Hood,? Why can’t I remember anything! I thought to myself continuing to panic. “Alright, he looks ok.” The Brother said. “couldn’t understand the city had change overnight.” “was I dreaming are asleep” I heard another softer voice say. The second voice sounded larger man with a mohawk syle haircut . I tried looking around for the other voice, but I was still restrained, and my vision was still a little blurry. I’m afraid because I’m still in the Hood It was then I realized at least where I was and only then I realize that the city changed. A yellow taxi pulls up! traveling at enormous speed stop was stop asked if I needed transportation. This vehicle was shape like a spaceship was zooming around in air the engine utilized internal fusion for the fuel. You see the car moving through the city at high rate of speed no stop signs. To look up the sun in a feeling of excitement exactly that. The building shaped like something from out of space. I could see people moving on a conveyer belt thought out the city. The doors are automatic sliding doors to enter each building. As continue to walk through some parts the city as I remember the Hood. The two-people stayed with me I appear to be lost in a century, I wasn’t dress like them. At that moment, I also started to grow increasing uncomfortable with how unexplainably familiar some of these things and my surroundings seemed.

“Ok partner...” the brother with the large afro said lets continue walking. “They stop at a transportation center I noticed they use human transportors like Star Trak when traveling afar .Don’t worry we are transporting to New York within seconds we where there in the middle of Harlem NY . infected and pretty lucky from the looks of it too.” He nodded his head and motioned across my body to my right. “Infected!?” I said, as I looked to my right as far as my restraints would let me. To my immediately right was a row of five similar dressed lifeless soldiers. Our bodies were laid out across the width of the cabin of the Heli-cruiser. All of the others bodies were laying there lifeless. They were all covered in bloody white sheets and laying in some sort of contamination bags. Absolute fear rushed over me thinking I was next, I again started to panic in my restraints. “Hey, hey! Settle down. You’re not infected.” the Soldier said. “What is going on!?” I shouted. “Is everything ok back there?” I heard the female voice ask. At this point, I realized she was the pilot, but still had yet to see her. “Not really, he’s starting to freak out. I’m probably going to have to give him something.” The emergency medical technician said. “Roger that.” The voice of the brother with afro confirmed. Now, I really was freaking out. “Give me something!” I exclaimed. As he bent over rummaging through a bag, I noticed he had an old doctor bag. Even in my panic, I thought that was strange. People had not regularly used doctor bags since the “Post-Fallout” and “Rebuilding” eras in the early 22nd century. Any more questions about your health quickly whisked away once the EMT came out of the bag with an old medical bag. He shoved a couple of vials into the back of it. “You’re not giving me anything!” I blurted out. “…and what is going on!?” I yelled, as I continued to ask with the images of the other of the two big brothers to my right still fresh in my mind. “I’m not going to hurt you,. You need to relax.” The EMT stated bedside manner left something to be desired. As quickly as he finished the checking my heart , he pressed it against my upper arm and with the tap of a button I could feel the bite of multiple needles puncturing my skin! I could feel the burn of whatever he gave me coursing through my arm. “There ya go. That should help.” The dizzyness in my body was instantly reduced to relaxed sensation. “Alright, now before I leave , I need you to tell me who you are.” The EMT asked as he knelt down beside me. “I don’t know!” I said, gritting me teeth. “What is going on? I can’t remember anything. Tell me who you people are!?’ I demanded. “HA!” said the EMT. “Hey, ! Our brother here says he ‘can’t remember anything’ and the meds are gonna kick in soon.” “Standby to take the hospital , I’m coming back to talk with him!” The big brother voice barked. “Well partner, good luck. Look like your hurt.” The EMT said as they place in the ambulace.

As we started to leave, I could hear the doctors . “We’re on course , reading my vitals . No comms with them yet. And we’re about 10 minutes out from going in the dead zone.” New Castle? Dead zone? I thought. “Alright listen, I need answers and we don’t have time for pretending to be dumb!” The Captain said as she stormed into the cabin. She was fit and athletic looking with her hair back in a bun also dressed in the soldier fatigues like the Corporal. The only difference is she had a more modern sleek pulse-gun on her belt as opposed to the old pistol of the Corporal’s. I could the crystal inside was still fully charged by the lights on the top and bottom barrels between the weapons handle. “Let’s get to it, Soldier!” As she knelt down and poked me in the chest. “We’re supposed to pick up new recruits and runners from Abletown Center and instead the place looks like a war zone, over run with the infected and we find you outside Abletown military compound. That is fortified compound and it is the Special Operations Division or it was or whatever is left of it! Now start talking and tell me what happened!” I could feel the apparent sedatives starting to take their affect and I only had more questions. “Like a told the other guy, I don’t know! I cannot remember!” I said as started to feel the weight of my eyelids. “Oh, NO! you’re not getting out of this that quickly, Spec Ops boy!” As she smacked me across the face. But it was too late for the Captain to get her answers.

   The next thing I remember waking up to is the violent shaking and shuttering of the Heli-cruiser and the sounds of alarms going off. I couldn’t tell if it was just my head that was spinning or the whole cruiser. It wasn’t the sedatives wearing off, it was the cruiser spinning! I could feel us rushing back toward the ground. “We’re hit! Both reactors are offline!” I heard the Captain shout. “Brace for landing and impact!” She commanded. At that moment, I saw the Corporal swoop back into the cabin and try to get into a seat, but it was too late I felt the aircraft clip what sounded like trees. At that point, the Heli-cruiser bounce violently from one tree to another. I couldn’t see the Corporal anymore. All I could hear was the repetitive sounds of alarms going off in the cockpit and thunderous cracking of wood every time the cruiser clipped another tree. Then the Cruiser impacted the ground and started to roll on its side over and over until coming to rest right-side up. I couldn’t believe it. I’m alive. And once again just like the Corporal said after my scan ‘no apparent injuries’. As I collected myself, I immediately tried freeing myself from my restraints, which has apparently kept me safe from the crash. I couldn’t say the same for the Corporal. Both he and the seat he was strapping into were ripped from the cabin along with one of the cabin doors during the crash.

Just then, I heard someone. “Corporal? Are you there?” It was the Captain. I could hear her unstrap and wander back into the cabin. “Corporal?” “I’m here! Help! Please help me!” I shouted. “Spec Ops!? You’re alive? Unbelievable.” She said shockingly as she stumbled into the cabin and meeting my gaze. “Well, let’s get you outta there. We gotta get outta here before this place is over-run with the infected.” “WHAT!?” I demanded. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about!” “Listen ‘Spec Ops’ which is your name until you ‘remember’ we are about 8 miles away from New Castle, I don’t have them on comms anymore and we still have about 2-3 miles to go before we’re out of the dead zone. So, we have got to go now!”

Still having no clue what she was talking about, I felt compelled to comply with her demands. As she cut me loose from my restraints, it was quickly apparently where my ‘Spec Ops’ names came from. As I stood up in the cabin, I too was wearing a Soldiers uniform but different from the Captain and Corporals. They were a different style of fatigues. Their uniforms had a bunch of greens woodland style print, while my uniform was black with browns and dark green. There was a breast insignia on my blouse that had a diamond shape with the number “6” inside and a banner that said “SPEC OPS” over it. “Let’s go! Grab only what we can carry.” The Captain ordered. Not knowing what to look for, I immediately went back to the bag the Corporal pulled the medical scanner from before. It was still attached to the stretchers. I quickly scanned the rest of the cabin for anything that may be of use. I even gave my apparent ‘Spec Ops buddies’ a quick pat down for any gear. Just like me, they had nothing in their pockets or on their person. “Don’t forget the P-C.” Said the Captain as she motioned toward the pulse-cannon still mounted in the cabin door. “Do you know how to unmount…” she didn’t get to finish her sentence and somehow, I had undone the pins and two locks and unmounted the weapon. “Don’t remember anything, eh? Looks like you remember something.” I looked at the weapon for a second, then quickly charged and readied the weapon. This two-handed rifle-sized cannon also had a HUD screen for the operator and had a multi-use launcher connected to the front grip. As large as this two-handed metallic alloy weapon was, I was thankful it was light and maneuverable. I thought about the missing Corporal’s pistol. I couldn’t imagine trying to wield some clunky steel machine gun that matched his pistol I thought. “We gotta move, I think my knee is sprained. You’re gonna have to carry the P-C and equipment bag.” The Captain said as she vigilantly scanned the woods. “Hang on maybe there’s some med-wraps or E-braces in this bag.” I said, as I scrounged through the bag looking for something that could instantly heal and fix the Captains’ knee. Who worries about a sprained knee anymore? I thought. “Yeah maybe before the ‘Outbreak’ quit joking and let’s move!” Outbreak!? Outbreak of what I wondered? What is everyone ‘infected’ with and still all the other questions I have are not answered. Who am I, what is going on? Before I could say another word, the Captain was off hobbling at a pretty good pace through the woods.

We had been hiking for what seemed like an hour, when the Captain finally stopped to take a break I had a chance to ask some questions. “Alright, we’re out of the ‘dead zone’ and have way there, but we’re not safe yet. We’ll rest for a bit before heading to New Castle.” The Captain said as she checked a compass. “Alright, before we go any farther, I want to know what’s going on. I still don’t know who I am! I don’t know anything about an outbreak or being infected, why we crashed or about anything else! So, let’s hear it!” “You’re serious, aren’t you?” the Captain asked sincerely. “You know nothing about the Outbreak or the Infected? What do you last remember? …What year do you think it is?” Asked the Captain. I sat there and tried to remember the last actual memories I could. “2201, I think?” I unconfidently answered. “I’m not sure how to tell you, but it’s 2204.” Replied the Captain in a bit of shock. I sat there in shock beside myself. “Well at least we know you haven’t been asleep somewhere that whole time. Not dressed like that anyway.” As she pointed to my fatigues. “Listen, I know this is a lot to take in, but we have to keep moving. I’ll explain on the way. We have to keep moving.”

The Captain did explain everything. The year was 2204 and the world had experienced a massive outbreak of infectious disease that was accidently created by a team of government, military and medical personnel. The apparent goal was to improve human vitality and performance. The military was looking into super-soldiers again. The Captain said this disease kills any human that comes into contact with it. As of now there is no cure and you will die but not before going through a ‘undead’ like phase with an unstoppable appetite for live beings. It doesn’t matter if it human or animal! When will people learn? I briefly thought. This wasn’t first time something like this happened. In the mid-21st century the world finally collapsed and been almost reduced to nothing from several conflicts that lead to a nuclear war known as ‘the Fallout”. A little more than 70 years later of desolate survival by man, we got back on track with what we call the ‘Rebuilding Era”. We were at the height if the Rebuilding Era and just had the turn of the century and the 23rd century was looking promising. The Captain went on to tell me about the Outbreak. It caused worldwide panic and global destruction. The Captain said millions, if not billions, of lives were lost between the infection and everyone’s instinct for self-preservation. Worldwide riots broke out, which turned into martial law in most places. The world had absolutely gone mad. Some of our greatest advances were instantly halted and once again we had to start over in a sense. Most of our technologies were being piecemealed back together. That’s why the Corporal had that pistol. There weren’t enough pulse guns let alone crystals and energy to charge them. That’s why the Captain was using a compass to navigate the woods vice a digital-link or basic GPS scanner of any kind. It was like half our technology was gone. “I know I’m asking a lot, but what’s the ‘dead zone’ you kept referring to back there and I never did ask how or why we crashed?” I asked. “It’s fine, it passes the time and I need to get you up to speed.” Said the Captain. “The dead zone is a sort of neutral area between some of the outposts like the one we’re headed too. As for the crash, we were shot down.” She continued. “Shot Down! By what?” I questioned. “Some old unguided artillery I believe. It’s surprisingly effective against the electronic-countermeasures and technology of the Heli-cruiser. But I’m not interested in the ‘what’ as much as I am the ‘who’!” She said. The Captain went on to tell me about some of the outposts doing anything to survive rebuild themselves in this worldwide infectious panic. “Some of our neighboring outposts aren’t too friendly.” She said glaringly. “And people will do anything to survive.” I continued to dwell on my absent memory trying to remember and thinking about this panicked I just woke up in. “Ah! Finally, we’re here! Welcome to New Castle, Spec Ops.” The Captain said with a shy of relief. As we came over a hill, I could see the tall walls of a little fortified city. “We’ll have the Doc take a proper look at you when we get in and I’ll talk to the Major. Maybe he will have an idea about your Spec Ops background at Abletownship.”

As we got closer, I could start to see some familiar things sites that wasn’t sure if they had existed anymore or not. I could see a couple of drones circling over the city. I could even hear the buzzing of their little thruters when we started getting closer. There was Skytrain and Sky Terminal that looked very tattered. The Skytrain would have been also running on similar electric-nuclear engines, but the engines were gone, robbed for parts by the look of it, and the been that way for a while with the over-growing plant life. There was even a destroyed Hyperloop tube that ran off ion energy, but that looked like it had blown entirely to pieces and barely recognizable. It wasn’t long before a little quad-drone cruised over the top of us. “Well, they I’m sure they know were here by now. Won’t be long before a patrol team picks us up.” The Captain said reassuringly. “You know, before we go any further, you never told me your actual name, Captain.” I asked. “Well, ‘Spec Ops’ now these days, it’s probably best if you don’t get too attached to anyone for your information. Most people are just trying to get by and survive.” Within about three minutes, two military vehicles came cruising up. The first vehicle called a Q.A.V. or Quick Attack Vehicle. It looked like an angular armored plated dune buggy with twin pulse-cannons mounted to the top. The second was a large transport vehicle called a Wartruck. It very box-shaped made from the same light weight alloys as the Heli-cruiser and the pulse weapons. It had solar panels mounted to the top. Both vehicles were rigged to run off solar power instead of the reactor engines that I was familiar too. Once they took us inside the gates of New Castle, I was in shock to see what the Captain had been referring too. “Shocking, isn’t it?” asked the Captain. “I can’t believe it.” I responded. It was like the 20th, 21st and 22nd century had all collided. “I have to check on a few things, wait here while we get you set to see the Doc.” The Captain said as she went back to talking with one of the other officers. The armed guards were carrying everything from 20th century pistols and machine guns, like the ones I thought of earlier, all the way to slim laser rifles and pulse weapons, like the ones I had been carrying already. Most all the nuclear and non-nuclear reactors we removed from the vehicles and fitted with solar power. Any salvageable reactors were fitted to supply power to the buildings. For every modern spot within city walls that had an energy and weapons charging station for weapons or other things solar water recycler there was also a worn down, over grown area with people building, fixing or hanging around an open fire cooking. Who cooks anymore, let alone on an open fire like that I thought? Present day life was visually overwhelming. There was even the occasional unleashed dog roaming around.

“Alright, you gonna go see the Doc. After that you’re to meet with Corporal Simons and our radioman Sam. Got it?” the Captain order. “I never did get your name Captain. Just in case I need you find you.” I asked again thinking she still wouldn’t answer. The Captain gave me back a smirk and replied “Thompson. Captain Thompson.”

I was whisked away to the doctor. His name was Doctor Arthur Jenkins. He was previously a surgeon before the outbreak which made him even more important in today’s apparent world given our lack medical equipment. We had to do most medical procedures the old fashion way with scanners and lasers. The guys in the field had to use bandages and tools. People hadn’t been doing that for years. “We had two Health Regulating Scanners. We’re just missing a few things to get them up and running. My life will be a lot easier when I can just run my patients through them and fix everything.” The Doctor explained. “Ah! Those were the days. Ha I say that like It was forever ago. These past couple of years make everything before the outbreak seem like forever ago. Hey maybe we can even get an AUTO-DOC in here and it could do everything and cut my work in half. Haha.” The Doc continued as finished running portable scanners over me. “How’s our new friend, Doc?” Captain Thompson asked as she came walking up with Corporal Simons. He was another bulky looking man in woodland fatigues with the sleeves ripped off. “Well, he does have a concussion and a form retrograde amnesia.” Explained the Doc. “So, our friend here is missing the last two to three years of memories along with other large chunks of his memory.” He continued. “And will his memory return?” The Captain asked? “It’s uncertain when it comes to amnesia. If I the Regulator working or the equipment, I could fix some of his injury. But for now, only time will tell.” The Doc finished. “Roger that.” The Captain replied with a questioning tone. Then she motioned for me to join her and Corporal Simons. “Come on, Spec Ops. This is Corporal Simons and we have a job for you until I can get in contact with the Major.”

“We happened to have a job for you as a ‘Runner’. Everyone hear has a job and contributes. Got it!?” Captain Thompson order. “Sure thing.” I responded. “But what’s a ‘Runner’?” I asked? The Captain and Corporal both looked at each other intensely. “It’s probably best if Sam explains it to you.” The Captain answered. We entered what looked like an obvious communication station. There was a large tower with several digital and radio dishes of different sizes on the tower which also was covered in solar panels. There was unmanned drones and parts scattered about inside the building. The was a skinny younger man in his mid to late 20’s I’d guess. We wore glasses and had shaggy hair. He was diligently working at a desk next to a large comms stations with video feeds from the drones, data-links setup, thermal surveillance, some sort of old CB radio system, that had to be 200 years old by the look of it, and a TV with some old 21st century movie playing.

“Ah! You must be ‘Spec Ops’? the Captain here has told me about you. Amnesia eh? How lucky are you?” The man said as he whipped around jumping out of his chair. “Not really, but ok.” I responded. “The name’s Sam. Sam Redding. I’m the Radiomen here at New Castle.” He explained as we shook hands. “I heard you going to be our new runner around here. Well… it just so happens we have room for another runner. A spot just opened up…” He said awkwardly and a little choked up. Clearly something bad had happened to cause an ‘open spot’. “We don’t have a lot of time for remorse Mr. Redding.” The Captain commanded to break the awkward moment. “Right, right.” Sam responded. “Well it looks like you are going to be our new ‘Runner 6’!” Sam exclaimed with a ‘ta-da!’ like inflection in his voice as he handed me an old headset comm-link. “Oh, hey look, it was meant to be.” As he motioned to the 6 on my breast insigna.

“Alright then. Welcome to the club ‘Six’. I’m charge of the runners around here and your first run is gonna first light tomorrow. Mr. Redding will fill you in on you job. And make sure you get some rest, yeah?!” Directed Corporal Simons.

Over the next couple hours Sam and I sat and talked. A ‘Runner’ was someone that goes on scouting missions trying to recover anything of use and bring it back to the city. There wasn’t enough vehicles and transports to go around so runners did exactly that, they ran on foot. For all the equipment they had, they still didn’t have enough energy or power to have everything up and running. “Solar power only gets us so far.” Sam said. “That’s why we had to take all the reactors out of the few vehicles we have. They’re better suited running the buildings, this comm station and medical equipment. But it’s still not enough to run everything at once.”

Sam also explained about the infected. It thought to be an aggressive virus accidently created by the government. “It spread so quickly!” Sam told me. Supposedly the government was working on human enhancement projects. Which is one of the reasons I was apparently so interesting to everyone. All of these projects had been mover to the Abletownship Military Compound sometime after the outbreak and me being part of the Special Operations Division raised a lot of questions. He told me about the friendly and unfriendly outposts that were nearby. All of them just fighting to survive. Some of them will to literally fight more than others. It was suspected that one of the neighboring outposts was responsible for shooting down the Heli-cruiser. “We’ll definitely be making some runs out there soon. Those Hyper-engines and other parts are too valuable to just leave out in the dead zone.” Sam explained. We continued to talk about this strange new world that felt like a bad dream to me and I was just waiting to wake up. As much as I was still in a mental shock by my surroundings, I was somehow able to quickly adapt to my environment. This made me really wonder was I doing at that training compound. and I tried to learn everything I could from Sam until passing out and falling asleep in the comms station.

The next morning, I could once again feel the sun beaming down on my face through the windows of the comms station. “Good Morning! Six.” I heard a voice say as I sprung up trying to remember where I was. No, it wasn’t a dream, I thought to myself. This is real life. The voice was Sam. Who was obviously prepping the comms station for the day. “Are you ready for your first run?” he asked. “The first run is always a warm up to the job. Just learning the lay of the land. Oh, and don’t worry you won’t be alone. You’ll be paired up with another runner at the gate and you’ll have me on the comm-link and watching you from the drones. Easy enough, right?” Sam reassuringly explained. “No problem.” I uttered with an uneasy tone as I was about to wander off into the unknown. “Good luck!” Sam bellowed as I was walking away.

I continued to get the ‘strange new guy’ looks continued from the New Castle regulars as I strolled toward the main gate. Or maybe they were looks of pity being the guy with amnesia was about to walk out into some infected world and try to survive, I couldn’t tell. I met Corporal Simons at the gate as he helped me setup my comm-linnk as gave me a crash course safety brief of what to expect. The whole time waiting to go on my first run, I could only wonder what was wait on the other side of the gate for me. A heard of infect bodies perhaps? Would I even make it back? How did I wind up here in this situation? This whole new world was still shocking to me. I couldn’t understand how we got here, but once again I found myself feeling oddly familiar with the whole situation. I was almost comfortable even.

As the gates opened up another fit looking middle-aged guy with short hair and plain clothes and a comm-link like mine came walking up. “You must be the new guy?” He asked. “Yes, he is.” Simons said. “Show him the ropes One. See you in a few hours.” The Corporal finished as he walked away and the gates started to close. “One is for Runner One. I’m Michael. Michael Griggs and what do I call you?” He asked. I was scanning the woods and outside of the city and then paused for a second feeling a wave another odd wave of comfort come over me. “Call me Six.”

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