Veritas

prologue

Introduction

September 8th, 2027

The rain gently tapped against the window, as I watched the trees grow rapidly in numbers. It was finally Goodbye Santa Rosa and Hello Oregon. I sighed, wondering if I'd ever see the sun again. "Danny, play with me". My younger brother asked, from the backseat. I looked back at him, as he meticulously shot at zombies on some random phone game. I smiled, "it looks like you are doing just fine by yourself". "Hey!" My dad bellowed out, "What did I tell you about playing those kinds of games Diego!". Diego grimaced as he was finally overwhelmed by the zombies, "See, I told you I needed you Danny!" I laughed, I guess things are not too bad I thought to myself.

We pulled up to the old 2-story home sometime in the evening, the sun was just beginning to set, leaving a reddish hue across the sky. "Danny help me get the beds down first since it's starting to get dark," Dad asked as he walked around to the back of the U-Haul we had rented. As I hopped out of the car with stiff legs from the long ride I wondered if things would be better here. After unloading the beds Dad left to go bring some food, so it was just me and Diego. "Danny, is mom ever gonna come home"? Diego asked as he played his game, "I hope so bud". I said as we sat on the floor in silence the only sound coming from the rain still pelting the glass.

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Manzanita, Oregon

December 7th, 2027

"Run!" we bolted, sweat dripping from our faces, feet stampeding behind us. They were on us in seconds. Swarms of children, we were being chased by children. My blood ran cold as I heard the faint whispers say, "...Hermano". Time slowed down, my chest tightened, and my muscles tensed. I had stopped running. Ricky grabbed me and slung me over his giant shoulders. "No time to stop now Danny, we gotta go". Tears welled in my eyes as I stared into the hoard of the infected, somewhere in there was my younger brother. I fought against Ricky's grasp, but he quickly tightened his hold, "NO, LET ME GO-" I shouted, "I NEED TO GET HIM BACK!" I cried, " Please..." I gasped out as I clenched my teeth and fought back my tears. Ricky threw me in the car and jumped in behind me, "It's too late Alex...he's gone" As we drove off, a small hand reached out, and for a single moment I saw my baby brother in the swarm of infected. Afraid, and alone. My tears streamed down my dirt-covered face, as I thought back. Why did this happen... why didn't I protect him... why did I run...

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Portland, Oregon

September 14th, 2027

"Hey Ricky!" the hefty man shouted, as the rain continued to pour. "Give me a hand with this barrel, real quick!" Ricky was a big man standing at a little over 6 feet tall, and a good 230 pounds of mostly solid mass. So carrying a 100-pound barrel wasn't too hard he had to strain a little to get it on his shoulder but after that, it was smooth sailing. "Should I be touching this with my bare hands," he asked the hefty man. "I don't know, it was loaded on the island last minute...it doesn't even have a label or anything". He said as he inspected the barrel, "Ok whatever I'll just do this quickly" Ricky shouted as he ran off with the unlabeled barrel over his shoulder. I swear that island is always sending us away with weird stuff, I need to get a new job. Ricky thought to himself as he reached the lower levels, "Cargo tank 3, cargo tank 3" Ricky reminded himself as he searched for the door labeled 3. "5, 4, ah here it is 3"

He placed the barrel down and reached for the door when suddenly it opened. "oh if it isn't the new guy?" Ricky said as the slightly shorter stout man walked out of the cargo tank, beads of sweat dripping from his face. "Jack, what are you doing down here?" Ricky asked, eying him suspiciously. "You know we aren't allowed down here unless we are loading or unloading stuff," Ricky said, eying the older man, possibly in his late 40's. "Don't get your panties twisted, I was just doing inventory," he said intently staring at the barrel beside me. "Speaking of, that's the last barrel", he said as he reached out for it. "Don't worry I'll take it from here", Ricky grasped Jack's wrist. "I was told to handle it", Ricky said, tightening his hold for emphasis. "Fine suit yourself..." Jack replied, yanking his hand out of Ricky's grip.

The rain continued to fall and most men were in the living quarters up to some form of trouble or another. The rest of the day was pretty quiet, that evening we arrived in Portland and that meant work time. The sound of machinery, cranes, and metal against metal resounded all over the tanker as things were loaded and unloaded. When everything was finished we had a couple hours before we had to leave, so I and a couple of the guys decided to go and have some fun while we were still in Portland. Trying to hit as many of the local breweries as possible everybody was quite intoxicated by the end of the night including Rick.

As he stumbled his way back from Bailey's Taproom, he thought he saw Jack walk into what looked like an abandoned building. Curious and still drunk he decided to follow him, as he walked into the dark building he heard a rattling noise like chains. Rick quietly crept through the darkness following the rattling when there was a sudden clunk noise as chains hit the floor. As he rounded the corner he saw Jack heading into what looked like a cellar closing it behind him. What the hell is going on, what is Jack up to... Rick thought to himself as he slowly opened the cellar door, only... it wasn't a cellar at all. It was some sort of tunnel, and it gave Rick goosebumps. But he continued into the darkness.

As he silently crept he heard the heavy footsteps of Jack far ahead, if only he could run and catch up, but then Jack would notice he was being followed. So he continued further and further into the tunnel. About 10 minutes in the tunnel began to open up, Rick had long since lost Jack's footsteps and now only heard silence. In front of him was a door with light seeping from the bottom. He pressed his ear up against the door and listened "It's all set up, cargo hold 3 is armed, and mostly everyone is off the tanker" Rick quickly recognized it as Jack's voice. "Okay then we should head to the bunker, all hell is about to break loose" an unknown female voice responded. "The boss is waiting downstairs for us," she said as the knob began to turn. Not knowing what to do, Rick entered the closest tunnel and as quickly and quietly ran down the stairs deeper into the darkness. Behind him, he saw glowing lights, probably flashlights. As he continued running, the drunkenness began to fade and was converted instead into fear. What did Jack mean by, it's armed?