Interconnected: Icebox

Chapter I

Matthew was one of the lucky ones, so he was told anyway. Living to be a civilian after a lifetime of tours around the world served many perks for those who used them wisely...that usually meant getting replacements limbs as well. It seems to land on a mine during the last minutes of a mission meant you were prize rather than a liability.

Lucky for him his new legs and arms weren't acting up today, letting him focus on pushing past the many people who made their homes in the trash ridden streets of Los Angeles. All of them begging for any sort of cash to help them get by, with them willing to give anything away. Matthew paid them no mind, instead, he reminded himself of where he was heading. A large military "cryo-site" they called it, he scoffed at such an idea since they sent a cheesy jingle for his invitation to said site.

"Sir, I advise that you stay cautious while approaching the facility." A robotic voice that sounded female spoke to him as it lived in his mind.

"Why? What's happening?" Despite his fatigue, he tried speaking.

"I am getting reports of a large mob gathering in front of the site, law enforcement is doing its best but the situation is dire, I recommend double-timing it to the site."

"Understood Ada thank you."

With that said, he began running to his destination ensuring he didn't slam into any people still shambling in the night. After passing several blocks and checkpoints placed by martial law, he saw the site or rather the large body of people trying to ram the police out of the way.

"Sir, a security detail has been sent to escort you past the mob."

He stood several meters away from the back of the mob, before seeing the mob split in the middle. A squadron of MK-1s pushed their way through the split like Moses and his people, except they were robots with guns this time. The human-shaped figures approached Matthew with precise marching, quite intimidating if you were a foreigner. There were five surrounding a single person inside, the one in front stepped aside to reveal a police officer in kevlar.

"Mr.Kenson, we're here to get you through, come on there isn't much time!" He motioned Matthew to follow with urgency, to which Matthew began moving with his escort. Once they entered the mob he noticed they increased in activity, they began yelling things akin to "give us a chance!" and "we're people too!". One stood out to him, a woman in tattered clothes holding a baby. She managed to stop his escort in their tracks.

"Please take him with you!" She stretched her baby toward him. There was only one problem, it didn't take a genius to notice the paleness in her eyes, a clear sign of plague infection. Before Matthew could react, one of the Robots took the butt of their AK and slammed into the mother's head. Another android took the liberty of stomping on the dropped child, killing it.

Matthew almost lost his dinner. He turned back towards his objective and jogged to the door. The building itself was a featureless gray building made entirely out of concrete, there were no signs or anything that could point out what the building was made for. He pushed past the robots and tackled the doors. He dropped his head and placed his hands on his knees. The way the child's head dropped to the floor, and mother begging for a savior.

It reminded him of what he had to do once to ensure victory.

He breathed in deep and picked himself up. He looked around to notice a woman jogging to him. Her face had bruises but he still recognized her freckled face. Before he could say anything the redhead slammed Matthew into a hug.