The Mutation Wave

Chapter 4: Liberation (Part One)

"I'm sure they are," he lied, dropping his sense of sarcasm. "You can go home now."

Dull thuds were heard as the soldiers threw down their weapons one by one, except for the lieutenant who kept his rifle up.

"How can the doors be open when nobody deactivated the lockdown? Don't... don't give us false hope," he said behind gritted teeth. "I've been listening to the news. The government has taken their elites on a cruise while they construct a new island just for them. They locked this base down before we could get out and left the rest of us to die!" His hands trembled and his knuckles turned white as he clutched the rifle tighter. "My family..."

"But we're not dead, aren't we?" Masako piped. "If we survived, there's a chance your family did too. You can still see them."

The lieutenant stared at her for a while, and let out a sigh. "Even if we let you pass, there's no way you'd make it to the yacht club." He shook his head. "You think you're the only ones who thought of escaping via sea? There are hundreds of zombies stuck there; every one of them once a hopeful personnel who thought they could make it out. We're only alive because we did not join the mad rush. We got food and water from the submarines, so we'll live, thank you very much. This is the safest place we'll ever be, and we'd appreciate it if you don't stir up that hornet's nest."

William swiped the magazine from the lieutenant's rifle before he could react. "You're only saying this because you don't have the means to fight back," he said, dropping the dummy magazine onto the ground. "Did you really think you could fool the guy who manufactured your weapons?"

The lieutenant lowered his rifle in defeat. "It's not like we didn't try. You have no idea what it's like when half of your platoon suddenly turns rabid in your quarters. But we still stayed behind. We fought, and fought, and fought. Until we were out of ammo, out of men. Out of hope." He lowered his head and closed his eyes painfully. "Help never came. We got locked in like a bunch of wild beasts left to fight amongst ourselves. And we're all that's left."

"So that's it, then? Are you really content with spending the rest of your lives in this prison? How're you going to save your family if you're not even choosing to save yourselves?" William fought to keep his emotions in control. 

"I saw the layout of the base. There's an armoury right before the yacht club, right?" he continued. "We can help you get the guns and ammo to save yourselves, and in return, you can help us clear out the zombies."

The lieutenant lifted up his head, but quickly tilted it down again and furrowed his eyebrows. "The weapons are locked behind a fifteen inch steel door, and the key holder is now a zombie. How do you even plan to get it?"

"Shouldn't take more than ten minutes."

The ground sizzled as the liquified handcuff dripped onto the floor. The soldiers let out a collective gasp of shock as Marianne rubbed her wrists tenderly, her hands still glowing slightly from the heat she had just produced.

"W- what the hell are you?" The lieutenant reeled back in shock.

"It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that I can destroy the locking mechanism for you and grant you access to the means to actually defend yourselves. But with those weapons, you will help us clear a path to the yacht club. Once we leave, you can leave this base and find your families. Win-win situation." She smiled confidently.

Lieutenant Daniel stared at the ground for a few seconds with an intense expression before turning to one of his soldiers.

"Uncuff them."

~ ~ ~

William waited restlessly behind the wheel of the military jeep. Unlike most other vehicles, military vehicles were never equipped with an auto drive function, which meant only designated military drivers or vehicle enthusiasts who bothered to get a driving licence could drive them. And in this case, that meant William only.