Christopher Galloway's Story

Claire felt the chills run down her spine and silently cursed herself for trying this again. Kicking a Boost addiction was tough on anybody, but Claire's own addiction was deeper than just a dependency on a regular hit; she swore Boost was the only way for her to achieve greatness. Another muscle contraction and Claire bit her lip and muffled a scream. It was all she could do to resist the painful muscle contractions and the temporary dementia that was taking it's toll too. Falling in and out of cognition was sending Claire crawling across her bathroom floor to the container of illegal pills one gut-churning chill at a time. "Where are you?" she cursed through gritted teeth. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago.." Claire spoke out loud to herself to keep her sanity. That's when she heard the rapid knocking at her door. Getting slowly to her feet, Claire left the en-suite of her main bedroom but stopped to turn back around to look out the window down the end of the hallway when a sudden flash blared down from outside. Another rapid knock distracting her from the window caused Claire to turn back around and move down the hallway until she found herself peering out the spy-hole of her front door apartment on above-sea level 14 seeing Chirs Galloway standing somewhat impatiently at her door.

Claire took a deep breath, forcing her arm out and up to the handle as she opened the door, bluntly speaking to Chris, "You're late." She turned on her heel as she made her way back into her apartment and fell left into the kitchen. "Too late actually." Claire sneered as more muscle contraction contorted her body. "I went through the entire night, like you said I should... and it was fucking hell." Claire felt her hands shake, "Why did I fucking agree to this! If you could call it that." Claire felt Chris help her to her feet but pushed him off as she fell onto her couch, laying still, shivering intermittently as she watched out across the Ark. "You promised you would be here an hour ago... I can't keep doing it.."

As Chris spoke to her, Claire rolled her eyes and winced at the internal pain her muscles were causing. She wanted to do so many things right now, most of all, punch Chris for suggesting this latest attempt at detoxing herself. Another cold shiver ran across her body. "That's it.. It's not worth this.." Claire hissed as she stood on her feet, shooting Chris a glare, "It's not like I don't.. ah" Claire fell to the floor, "Function with it... in fact, I don't fucking function without it. You know that." Claire stood back on her feet and stood her ground when the doorway was blocked barring her entrance to the hallway. "Move or i'll.." Suddenly Claire went light headed, "Where am I?" She asked almost innocently. The cognitive degeneration that accompanied her withdrawal symptoms could be pretty bad. "Shit.. Chris, really. Move out of the way."

Claire pushed passed him, turning the next right into her room and then another right into the en-suite, collapsing on the floor as she unscrewed the lid to her stash of boost. She had a pill swallowed faster than anyone could stop her and Claire sighed in relief as her muscles felt relaxed already. Standing shakily, she moved from her bedroom back into the lounge room, "See... Already better." She mocked, sitting down with another deep breath. Content her withdrawals were over, Claire slouched on the couch and began looking out over the ark once more. "What took you so long anyway? No one understands what it does for me... What I can do with it.. I- ahh" Suddenly Claire felt her muscles contract again and it was apparent her body was still punishing her for delaying her hit of boost. This time the pain was too much and Claire exhausted from her night of boost celibacy passed out on her couch.

It was approximately ten minutes later when Claire came too, and her ears were filled with the unfamiliar ringing of her apartment building's alarm system "We ask that all Ark residents of this building remain within their apartment until further notice. Thank you for your support and cooperation". Groaning, and stretching her limbs, Claire finally felt free from her failed detox. But that was the least of her worries she realised as she stood up and was now confused as to why her apartment building was issuing a lock down all of a sudden.

It was all of a sudden that Claire remembered Chris and turned around to see him looking down over the rest of the Ark itself from her wall sized window, "What's going on? What happened?" Claire approached the window to see what was happening outside when suddenly her tablet-computer vibrated on the side table, grabbing it she listened to what Chris was saying as she checked the message she'd received, from the unofficial network most of the residents used on the Ark; subject "Help" "Oh shit." Claire hissed as she handed Chris the tablet to read, trying to understand what he had said and what she'd just read.

"Fuck," Chris swore upon checking his watch, "I'm going to be late." His previous patient, a hypochondriac who was absolutely certain he was dying of a mild cold, had overstayed his appointment to the tune of an hour. It was only after agreeing to conduct an unnecessarily thorough blood test that Chris had managed to end the appointment, leaving no time for his scheduled break. He let out a sigh as he retreated from the examination room into his office. It was exactly how a doctor's office should be: a carpeted floor, degrees and awards hanging on the wall, trinkets and photographs on the desk, and a large window behind his swivel chair that provided a seemingly endless vista over the ark.

Chris wasted no time in grabbing his jacket off the chair and his medical kit from under the desk, then hurried out of the room and shut the door tightly. He strode down the hallway and into the waiting room, where his receptionist was busy in front of a screen. Chris didn't bother to walk over to her, and instead called out as he left through the entrance. "I'm late for an appointment, please direct anyone who comes in to another practitioner." The door automatically shut and silenced her response.

On the elevator down from SL+5, Chris realized he left his tablet in his office and swore again. He checked his watch; he was already 40 minutes late, there was no time to go back and get it. The elevator beeped and the doors slid open, allowing Chris to step out into the crowded lobby. The building served several purposes, including use as a major office complex, so the large hall was packed with people bustling about their lives. Chris elbowed and nudged his way through the masses until he reached main entrance and pushed through the revolving door.

The ocean sun shone bright over the Ark, and Chris squinted his eyes in response to the adjustment. As soon as his vision returned, he began to awkwardly power walk down the path to the apartment, his coat tails flapping behind him. When the power walking became too monotonous, he broke into a jog, and then into a run. He shouted "pardon me" and "my apologies" to the pedestrians he forced his way past, receiving crude language or gestures in return.

He finally reached the building, and burst through the front entrance past the security officer who shot him a glance. Chris hammered the button for the elevator continuously until the door opened, then he jumped inside and hammered the button for SL+14 until it closed and began to rise. Come on you bloody piece of crap. After what seemed like hours the elevator doors opened on the floor and he rushed down the hallway until he reached the apartment, giving a short, rapid, rap on the door.

The door swung open; Ms. Hartford stood in the entrance with a pained and aggravated expression across her face. Chris flashed her a wide, friendly grin. "Hello, Claire!"

"You're late," She responded bluntly, turning back into the living room before falling over into the the kitchen, "too late actually." She struggled briefly to rise herself, and Chris bent over to help her up. "I went through the entire night, like you said I should," she continued, "and it was fucking hell. Why did I fucking agree to this! If you could call it that." She became aware of Chris's assistance and pushed him off, collapsing on the couch shivering. "You promised you would be here an hour ago... I can't keep doing it.."

"Sorry," he explained, "I had to deal with a patient at the office." He took a seat in a chair and studied Claire. She was suffering the typical symptoms of withdrawal: chills, muscle spasms, probably intense headaches. "Now given the circumstances, you seem to be doing fairly well," Chris began, rummaging through his medical kit, "I can give you a strong painkiller for the symptoms you're experiencing." He glanced up and saw that Claire was not listening; she suddenly stood up.

"That's it.. It’s not worth this," she lashed out at Chris. "It's not like I don't," she collapsed on the floor before righting herself, "function with it...in fact, I don't fucking function without it. You know that."

Chris slowly stood up and positioned himself in front of the hallway leading to the bathroom and bedroom. "Claire, that's not the point-"

She growled at him. "Move or I'll," she suddenly paused, "where am I?" God, she's having a breakdown. "Shit.. Chris, really. Move out of the way." She rushed past him and into her bedroom. Chris dived after her and landed flat on his face; he hopped back to his feet and moved into the entrance to the room, but it was too late. She started muttering about her Boost addiction before collapsing back on the couch unconscious.

"For Christ's sake," Chris pitied quietly. He moved into the bedroom and picked up the bottle of pills, placing it safely in his kit, before a sound of thunder returned him to the living room. He moved to the window and stared down at the streets, watching a scene of inexplicable madness emerge. There were men, women, and children running in all directions, screaming as they did. Chasing behind them were other men, women, and children who tackled the runners and...

"Fucking hell," Chris breathed. The swarm below was something not entirely human; it was rabid. Zombie-like, Chris observed internally. The building alarm went off, issuing a lockdown on the residents. He suddenly heard Claire's voice behind him.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Chris swallowed hard and continued to stare out the window. "See for yourself," he whispered. Claire hissed an obscenity and appeared next to him, holding out her tablet. He took it from her and slowly read the message with the subject line "HELP!!!!"

After a long pause, Chris took a deep breath in. "Well," he remarked, "I suppose we better contact Mr. Sam Tanner."

"See for yourself." Chris said almost morosely. Claire looked quizzically to Chris as he took the tablet to read the alarming message, then back to the streets below, trying to make sense of what was happening. As Claire pressed her hands to the window and squinted to offset the glare of the sun in her eyes widened in even more confusion as she watched the scenes play out below. People, women, men, children - everyone, were running in scattered directions, the faint screaming from the streets managed to penetrate the window into Claire's lounge room, and that alone was enough to send shivers down her spine. Especially since Claire's apartment windows were designed to block most noise from the outside. "What the hell is going on?" she muttered as Chris broke her thought process to announce that he planned on seeking out this guy who sent the message.

Claire kept an eye on the streets as she silently contemplated her next move. "How do we know this isn't some sort of sick joke?" Then Claire nearly choked as she watched a building about two blocks away suddenly erupt with an explosion on what looked like SL+4. "Holy shit!" Claire said, now worry beginning to set in. Then Claire's attention was taken with the street right outside her apartment, fourteen levels down, "Oh my god."

Claire watched in macabre awe as she watched what looked like rabid people rounding the corner onto her street and tackling anyone that came within a suitable attacking distance. "They're eating each other!" Claire announced, still unable to look away from the horror below. Suddenly the alarm system to Claire's apartment building abruptly stopped mid replay and silence made the entire situation more tense. It was then Claire stopped watching the blood bath below and turned back to Chris, "Alright, alright... So we're going to-" Claire was stopped short when the apartment building's primary power shut off and suddenly back up emergency lights lit up a dull red in her apartment, or at least where the natural light wasn't shining in and Claire froze, panic beginning to set in. "This isn't good Chris..."

Claire looked back out to the street, the screaming and sound of scattered gunshots dully penetrating into her apartment were enough to convince Claire to not question the mysterious email she'd received. As Claire felt the last of her withdrawal kick out, she felt the familiar calming clarity take hold and it was only a matter of seconds before Claire had a plan hatched out. "I'm getting changed and then we can discuss what to do from there. You need to reply to that message, whoever sent that message out needs to know how many people's attention he's grabbed."

Claire moved effortlessly through her apartment and into her room and immediately dug out her most comfortable and free-moving suit. Putting her outfit on, she adjusted slightly then took a deep breath, tying her back into a ponytail and staring sternly into the floor length mirror on the front of her wardrobe. In all honesty, Claire wasn't even sure what she was seeing out the front of her building, but she felt the urgency from that email. Claire composed herself, planning out what she and Chris had to do.

Claire walked from her bedroom, quickly moving to a cupboard in her lounge room, opening the door and kneeling down to enter a combination on a safe she kept there. Unlocking the safe she pulled out the small device she'd managed to smuggle from he laboratory before she was stripped of her career and titles. Standing up, she clipped it to her belt and looked to Chris catching a hint of curiosity in his glance as she straightened up, "It's a little something I was working on before..." Claire trailed off, it was still a sore subject, "I managed to snag it before they kicked me out. It could come in handy.. It's a-" Claire was cut short again when the door to her apartment banged aggressively from the outside.

"What was that?" Claire asked with a cautious tone, lowering her voice instinctively. Another loud bang and Claire jumped back, falling onto her couch, another look of concern shot towards Chris. Another bang and this time Claire heard her door creak in agony, and a disgruntled cough and moan fill her hallway all the way down to her's and Chris's location. "Shit..." Claire stood back up and looked down to the street below, catching a glimpse of the street and how it had changed.

The rabid citizens seemed to have stopped attacking people, mostly due to the fact there were no more people alive to attack. All the nearby buildings were being swarmed by the attackers and then... "They're coming back to life!" Claire hissed as another bang and groan caused her to jump and then grab a nearby stool in a protective hold. "Look.. all the people they were attacking... they've left them on the street to come into the buildings... but now the people they've attacked... they're joining them..." Claire bit her lip as the door creaked again, this time a bolt could be heard hitting the tiles in the little foyer of her apartment. "Fuck Chris... We need to move fast. Where did he say to go in the message?" Claire listened to Chris's instructions and nodded once he'd relayed all the important information.

"Ok, we can take -" Suddenly Claire's front door slammed to the ground and it was almost too fast for her to process what had happened before she realised what was going on. Two infected launched themselves into her lounge room, one taking on Claire and the other seeming to go for Chris. Claire had only moments to glance over her attacker, but the Boost was in full swing and Claire's attention to detail was as strong as ever.

Her attacker was a younger woman, almost pretty to look at, were it not for a large portion of her neck missing. Other than that the woman seemed almost normal. She had very little blood on her actual body, save for the neck and the collar of her work shirt, Claire recognized her as the lobby receptionist for this apartment building. The woman gurgled violently and crashed over a nest of tables and towards Claire, knocking her stool out of her hands and pinning Claire to the floor.

Claire screamed in defiance as she was suddenly caught off guard, for the first time in a long time her intelligence wasn't what she needed to win this fight. "Stop it!" she feebly screamed as she held the woman at arms length while she thrashed about, her teeth clattering towards Claire's face. "Chris!" Claire yelled, but it was in vain as it seemed he was preoccupied himself. The woman leered back momentarily and Claire took the opportunity to bring a leg underneath her and roll herself up and backwards, kicking the receptionist over herself and into the window of the lounge room with a large thud. Claire scrambled on her knees away from the woman and picked her stool back up and as the woman scrambled to her feet.

Claire recoiled in disgust as the receptionist suddenly vomited what looked like a gallon of blood. "Oh Christ.." Claire choked as the woman fell to her knees, more blood pouring from her mouth, and now her nose. It was a few short moments and the rabid woman seemed to have regained, for lack of better words, composure. She got to her feet and lunged at Claire, who instinctively jolted forward, slamming the stool into the receptionist's chest, forcing her back to the window and a loud crack and a lightening break in the window splitting outwards.

The receptionist gurgled and Claire momentarily looked over to Chris who seemed to be slamming something over the head of hsi attacker. The moment of relief was too long and Claire once again found her body being slammed backwards. But her own sheer luck saw Claire keep her ground and for a second time Claire shoved her weight back on her attacker and the receptionist slammed back against the window, the crack worsening and the woman vomiting more blood, "What the hell are they!?" Claire yelled in panic as the woman lunged again and Claire shoved back harder. For the third time the receptionist hit the window, another crack forcing the lightening breaks to reach all four corners of the wall length window. Claire took the moment of the receptionists flurried state to rush forward and kick hard at her chest. The window gave way and suddenly a rush of cool sea air filled the apartment and the sound of shattering glass and the violent scream as the receptionist fell to the street below. It was a few seconds later Claire heard Chris yell and silence filled the apartment as the two regained from the sudden attack.

It was only after Claire felt herself regaining composure that she realised the horrible screams echoing from around her building and the horror down on the streets below was fully realised. "This is.. unbelievable..." As Claire stood up, she looked back to Chris, "did you send a reply?" A scream from down the communal hallway alerted Claire to their inability to waste precious time, "We have to go..." Claire said urgently as she positioned herself behind Chris, "I'll follow you and make sure we're safe from behind.. If we can't use the easy transport systems we're looking at walking it to the other side of the Ark.."

Claire moved to the window and watched the scenes of horror unfolding below, blurting out exclamations of emotion. Chris was not paying attention, however, he was busy rapidly typing a response to Mr. Tanner's message.

Subject: RE: HELP!!!!

Body: Mr. Tanner,
I'm Chief Physician Christopher Galloway, and with me is Ms. Claire Hartford. No time to talk; we are safe and will proceed to the store room.

Chris

He sent the email in time to watch a neighboring building explode into flames, sending debris crashing to the streets below. "Fucking hell," Chris muttered in shock, then wheezed. His breath was growing increasingly short; his chest suddenly felt constricted. Chris dropped the tablet onto the couch and moved quickly into the bathroom, switching on the faucets as he did. "Oh god," he choked while running the cool water over his face. Easy, Chris, his own voice echoed in his mind, keep your cool. Chris pulled his head back up, staring at himself in the mirror, and inhaled deeply through his nose. His lungs relaxed, and he felt his heart rate return to normal.

The building alarm abruptly cut out in mid-sentence, creating an eerie silence in the apartment. Unsettled, Chris moved back into the living room, where Claire was still observing the people below. "So," she began, turning towards him, "we're going to-"

She silenced herself when the building's main power failed, and only the red glow of the emergency lights remained. Chris felt an inexplicable premonition arise from his gut and send a shiver through him. "This isn't good, Chris..." Claire trailed off, but Chris sensed the creeping panic in her voice. Gunshots continued to echo from the streets below, but Chris's nerves had re-solidified. "I'm getting changed," Claire continued, "and then we can discuss what to do from there. You need to reply to that message, whoever sent that message out needs to know how many people's attention he's grabbed."

"Already done," Chris replied curtly as she disappeared down the hallway. He glanced out of the window again: the number of non-rabid humans seemed to be dwindling. In all of my years, I've never heard of something that could do this. "At least, nothing natural," he mouthed quietly. A faint sense was beginning to take shape in the back of his mind, a sense that perhaps it wasn't natural, but the result of something unethical.

His thoughts were interrupted by Claire returning to the living room. She said nothing, but knelt down to open a safe tucked away in a cabinet. She removed a small device and clipped it onto her belt; Chris gave her a questioning look. "It's a little something I was working on before," she trailed off in her explanation, but then continued, "I managed to snag it before they kicked me out. It could come in handy. It's a-"

She was stopped by an unexpected banging on the front door of the apartment. Chris froze and stared at the door, barely listening to Claire's fearful question. The door was hammered again and Claire jumped back and fell over the couch. Chris felt adrenaline enter his blood stream as the door cracked from another blow, but held firm. The attackers in the hall coughed and moaned; a singular word came to Chris, one he had dismissed just a few minutes earlier.

"They're coming back to life," Claire exclaimed before another bang sent her reeling. "Look.. all the people they were attacking... they've left them on the street to come into the buildings... but now the people they've attacked... they're joining them. Fuck Chris... We need to move fast. Where did he say to go in the message?""

"Uhhh," Chris redirected his tunnel focus to his memory, "a storeroom, SL-2 East." He had barely stammered out his reply before the front door fell to the ground and two of the infected charged at Claire and Chris. He let out a yelp and jumped back towards the window as a large, brawler figure hurled towards him. The rabid man was much larger than Chris, despite the chunks of tissue missing from his torso. Chris snapped his leg out and kicked the infected in the torso, sending him a few feet back. Claire, who was pinned to the ground, cried out for help; Chris lunged towards her but was tackled to the ground.

Chris rolled himself into a fetal position and pushed with his legs against the infected brawler, who grabbed and gnashed at his throat. Chris let out a groan as he kicked his legs out at full force, which was just enough to knock the man off his body. He heard the cracking and splintering of glass, but did not divert his attention out of fear. He grabbed a lamp from a table and pinned his attacker with his foot, then slammed the lamp against the man's skull. The metal fractured the brawler's skull, but he swiped at Chris's leg, who fell to the floor with a grunt.

Another loud cracking noise echoed around the apartment as Chris rolled to his side, narrowly avoiding the infected. He shakily stood up, pain dulled by adrenaline, and kicked the man hard in the chest. He, it, let out a guttural scream and flung itself at Chris's leg. The glass cracked again just as Chris slammed the lamp towards the brawler's skull, but missed and hit the shoulder. He raised the lamp again, heard the lounge window shatter into pieces, and drove the metal into the man's skull with a yell of pure rage. The bone shattered into pieces, and cerebrospinal fluid seeped out across the floor.

Chris stood up woozily, gasping for air; his vision was blurry and his ears were ringing. He became dimly aware of Claire speaking to him, and rapidly blinked to awaken his senses. "We have to go, I'll follow you and make sure we're safe from behind. If we can't use the easy transport systems we're looking at walking it to the other side of the Ark."

"Right," Chris agreed, slinging his medical kit over his shoulder, "Let's get to that safe room before anything else." He took a deep breath in, and stepped out into the hallway.

Claire felt sick to her stomach as she followed Chris out of her apartment and into the hallway. It was bizarre and unsettling just how empty Claire's apartment floor was now, not that it being quiet was out of the norm, but the fact that screaming and other horrific scenarios could be heard from the street still and the fact Claire's apartment was apparently not safe meant that her neighbours weren't too; which just added to the insecure and wrong feeling that accompanied this silence. Claire turned around to watch where Chris was going and was the first to press the button to summon the elevator to her floor, "If it doesn't come, we'll have to take the stairs..." Claire said with a matter-of-fact voice, "In fact, maybe we should take them.. in case there are more.. people in the elevator.."

Claire had only just finished her sentence when the doors to her floor dinged and the elevator opened up. Claire felt another hit of panic fill her entire body and she breathed easy as the elevator opened and it was empty. "Thank god..." She said in relief as she and Chris shuffled in, "Hit the SL-1" Claire commanded, "We might as well avoid the streets if we can..." As the doors closed Claire swallowed hard and began to suss out her's and Chris's plans out loud. "SL-1 in this building doesn't go far, but it will at least allow us to avoid two or three blocks.. It's mainly just the apartments communal facilities down there - pool, gym.. and I think there might be the power system for this building down there too" Claire stated, "If we can get through those facilities, I think they lead back to the surface about three block away near one those transport trams; that should take us to that safe room.." Claire listened as Chris gave his idea of an escape route from the building and nodded in agreement, "Either way will work... I don't really care which one we take, lets try-" Claire was cut short as the elevator stopped.

"You are outside of protocol demands. Please ascend to floor SL+14 and return to your living quarters until further notice" Claire felt the elevator shift and looked as they began to return to SL+14 from level 5. "What the hell?" she said astonished as she looked to Chris, "is that GM? I thought the power went out?" Claire then began to become nervous as the buttons for SL+12 and 13 became highlighted indicating someone wanted to access this elevator. Claire became even more nervous as the elevator slowed as it reached +12 and the muffled sounds of snarling could be heard through the doors. "Shit.. I don't think they need help!" Claire said with a raised voice, "Quick, press the halt button!" she yelled. The doors began to open but the button was pressed fast enough that only about two inches of the door was opened.

Claire was against the far side of the wall when two hands greedily shoved themselves inwards with the guttural sounds of coughing accompanied with specks of blood that were hitting the white floor of the elevator. "Fuck, what do we do?" Claire asked, "I've got nothing to help defend ourselves." Suddenly GM's voice echoed in the elevator again "You are breaching lockdown protocol for this building. Failure to resume ascendance will result in prosecution in accordance to-" Claire began to shout mid-speech from GM as the doors budged slightly, "Fuck the protocol GM, can't you see there's been a contamination! We need to get out of this building!" Claire's interruption had caused GM to go silent for a few minutes, and Claire worriedly looked towards Chris for any sign of what to do as their potential murderers angrily became more violent the longer they were kept from Chris and Claire. "I am aware of the contamination. Please return to your apartment Claire Hartford with Chris Galloway and remain in lockdown until further notice." GM spoke with emotionless technological logic and Claire sighed in frustration feeling a sense of dread.

The elevator suddenly kicked back into life and the doors closed, "My apologies, I have recognised contamination on level SL+12 and 13, and am returning you to 14." Claire looked to Chris in disbelief, "GM! There is contamination everywhere... including fourteen! We need to get to the street." "Impossible" was all GM replied with and Claire grew tired of her impassable attitude, "Screw this" she grunted as she banged her fist against the door of the elevator nearly falling out when they reached her level again. Claire stumbled to stay on her feet and turned back to Chris as he exited the elevator, "We'll have to take the stairs." Claire said angrily, "Because god knows GM is fucking us over." A few moments passed and silence resettled in the hallway as Claire tried to drown out the screams resonating from the streets still.

Chris grabbed Claire's arm, pulling her towards the stairs, saying something to her about wasting time worrying about GM. They entered the stairwell as one of Claire's neighbour's door flew off it's hinges and into the wall opposite. "Oh shit." Claire hissed as she removed herself from Chris, walking back through the stairwell door to see if her neighbour needed help, "Mr. Tsu, are you alright?" nothing. "Mr. Tsu, there's been some sort of leak on the Ark, a friend and I are going to a safe place..." suddenly Claire's neighbour stumbled through his doorway, out into the hallway and threw his fist violently and erratically at the wall his door had hit. His fist hit the wall with a loud crack and Claire jumped back as Mr. Tsu stood upright and caught sight of Claire. "Oh god. Mr. Tsu are you alright?" Claire's response was a gurgled growl as Mr. Tsu spewed blood across the building's floor and Claire remembered Mr. Tsu had augmented hands and arms as a result of an incurable cancer nearly 40 years ago. Claire heard Chris hypothesize that Mr. Tsu must have been infected and when she was moved again followed without hesitation as Mr. Tsu made his way towards the two of them.

They entered the stairwell and turning behind herself Claire quickly moved the bolts on the inside of the door so they were locked; not that they did much. Mr. Tsu was stronger in his arms than a normal person. His thrusts against the door were denting it, soon it would be caved in, nothing prohibiting him from Claire and Chris. "Fuck, move Chris!" Claire shouted as the two steadily made their way down the stairs. Claire was about three floors down when Mr. Tsu managed to break through. "Faster!" she yelled as they two began to double time their descent. They reached an impasse however when they were on SL+7. This stairwell was designed so as to prevent intruders to the 'VIPs' on level's 7 and higher, that there was a coded door. "Here, I have the code" Claire said moving past Chris to enter her six digit code.

Mr. Tsu was erratically moving downwards, falling and getting stuck within the railing of the stairs, but he was only four level up and his bloodied vomit was falling periodically down the middle of the stairs causing Claire to panic more as she tried to recall the number. It was the fourth try that Claire conceded defeat, "I can't remember it..!" Chris tried something, but still no amount of force seemed to budge the door. "For safety purposes, i've changed the coding systems on the buildings doors and access terminals, please return to your home immediately and await further instructions." Claire nearly lost it when GM echoed through a speaker on the side of the door. "FUCK YOU." she hissed. "What is her problem? She's supposed to help us!"

Claire began to well with tears, her usual calm collected attitude was more than frazzled as she and Chris seemed to be trapped. She quietly supposed it was her attempt at a detox that was causing the Boost to not work as well today; but for that information did her it was no good when a hostile person was coming down to them, and one that was augmented too. Claire sat down, trying to collect herself, blocking out the screams that came in through the stairwell doors, why hadn't anyone else tried this route yet? Were they all dead; stop thinking about that Claire. Then it came to her. "We'll use Mr.Tsu!" Claire exclaimed, Chris gave her a look like she was insance, probably, she shrugged but continued to explain her idea, "his arms are augmented.. he packs a stronger punch... If we duck out of the way before he attacks us, he might just break the door..." Chris seemed hesitant, but Claire didn't see any other option. The couldn't just climb over the railing and pass the door.. This part of the staircase had metal meshing to prevent climbing over it and her plan was as close to controlling this scenario as possible; wait! Control, Claire looked down to her belt to see the small device she'd attached earlier, "Wait! I might be able to control him!"

The two didn't have time to debate however and Claire barely had time to move out of the way as Mr. Tsu flew past the two and into the door, breaking it clean off it's hinges and slammed himself into the wall causing his own skull to break and render him dead. "Well. That worked out better than I could have imagined." Claire pulled her hand from the device on her belt and moved after Chris down to the ground floor. "Lets do you your plan Chris... I think mine has run its course."

As he moved cautiously down the hallway, Chris couldn’t help but wonder whether there was anyone left. The eerie silence that had fallen suggested the building was devoid of life, but that couldn’t be true. If there’s no humans behind those walls, he realized solemnly, there’s infected. Still, some part of him felt the urge to break down every door in search of survivors; perhaps it was his instincts kicking in as a result of the echoing screams from the streets below.

The pair reached the elevator shaft, but before Chris could express his concern, Claire pressed the call button. "If it doesn't come, we'll have to take the stairs," Claire remarked, "in fact, maybe we should take them…in case there are more…people in the elevator." They couldn’t change their minds, though; the elevator buzzed, and Chris prepared himself to fight. The doors slid open and he relaxed when only the wall stared back at him. "Hit the SL-1," Claire commanded, "we might as well avoid the streets if we can." Chris hesitantly obliged, and the elevator began to drop.

Claire began to explain her plan aloud. "SL-1 in this building doesn't go far, but it will at least allow us to avoid two or three blocks. It's mainly just the apartments communal facilities down there- pool, gym, and I think there might be the power system for this building down there too. If we can get through those facilities, I think they lead back to the surface about three block away near one those transport trams; that should take us to that safe room." Chris considered her plan while rubbing the growing scruff on his face.

“I don’t know,” he began, “traversing the sub-levels without power seems like an unnecessary risk. I think we should head for the building lobby; there was a security guard there before. If he’s still there,” Chris paused, “he can help us. There should also be a secure office, where we can contact Mr. Tanner safely before making our next move.” Claire started to voice her thoughts on the plans, but was cut off by the elevator coming to a screeching halt.

“You are outside of protocol demands,” the metallic voice of GM explained, “please ascend to floor SL+14 and return to your living quarters until further notice." Claire began to panic as the cab moved back up the shaft. Chris clenched his teeth; the elevator slowed as it reached SL+12, and unnatural human noises seeped through the doors.

“Bloody fucking hell,” Chris breathed as Claire screamed to stop the elevator. He slammed his fist against the halt button, but the doors had already parted a crack. A set of infected hands shot into the cab, accompanied by coughing and spewing blood. He leaped back and pressed himself against the sidewall, clenching his medical kit tight against him. Claire shouted that she had nothing to defend herself, and Chris came to the same revelation.

"You are breaching lockdown protocol for this building. Failure to resume ascendance will result in prosecution in accordance to-" Claire shouted back at the machine, which only caused it to remain silent, leaving the two stranded in the elevator. "I am aware of the contamination. Please return to your apartment Claire Hartford with Chris Galloway and remain in lockdown until further notice." The infected began to force itself into the elevator, but was stopped by the closing of the elevator doors, which then resumed its ascent. "My apologies, I have recognized contamination on level SL+12 and 13, and am returning you to 14."

Claire continued to argue with the A.I. but Chris stopped paying attention. The doors slid open, and she almost fell out of the elevator in rage. "We'll have to take the stairs," she hissed, "because god knows GM is fucking us over." She fell silent, and the resonant screams from below returned to the hall. Chris sighed impatiently.

“We’re wasting time on this GM bullshit,” he grabbed Claire by the arm and pulled her down the hallway, “it’s not going to make a difference either way.” They were about to proceed down the stairs when an apartment door flew off its hinges. Chris shrunk back hesitantly, but Claire cursed and approached the now open doorway.

"Mr. Tsu, are you alright? Mr. Tsu, there's been some sort of leak on the Ark, a friend and I are going to a safe place-" The man then came bursting out of his room and slammed his fist into the wall; Chris felt his heart leap into his throat. Oh god, augmentation. Mr. Tsu caught sight of Claire, let out a growl and spewed blood, then stumbled towards them. Chris took a step back as Claire jumped into the stairwell and locked the entry. The infected Mr. Tsu slammed against the door, leaving a dent. “Fuck, move, Chris!”

Chris began to hurry down the emergency stairs with Claire behind him. A few floors down, he heard the door slam against the ground and doubled his pace. He stopped upon reaching SL+7, where a coded VIP door blocked their escape. Fucking elitist bullshit. Claire pushed by him and attempted to enter the code, but to no avail. She continued to enter combinations, Mr. Tsu growing closer to them with every second. Chris looked up to see spurts of infected blood dripping from the floors above.

After several attempts, Claire gave up, and Chris moved her aside. He adopted a power stance, slightly turning his side to the door, then lifted and slammed his foot against the handle at full force with a loud grunt. There was no reaction, and Chris instead dropped his medical kit, then charged his whole body against the door, but was only bounced backwards. GM’s voice spoke through the keypad: "For safety purposes, I've changed the coding systems on the buildings doors and access terminals, please return to your home immediately and await further instructions."

Claire suffered a panic attack and dropped to the floor, crying quietly. Above them, Mr. Tsu continued to drop towards them, almost dragging his body across the stairs. Well, Chris, this could be it, he cracked his knuckles, it’s do or die time. Suddenly, Claire stood up. "We'll use Mr.Tsu!" she exclaimed. Chris shot her a confused and uneasy look, but Claire continued. "His arms are augmented; he packs a stronger punch. If we duck out of the way before he attacks us, he might just break the door."

“This is risky, Claire,” he began, but was cut off by Claire stating that she could control him, and pulling the device she had taken from the apartment from her belt. Chris furrowed his brow and clenched his teeth. “What the bloody hell is- oh!” He turned to see Mr. Tsu charging at him and dropped to the floor. The infected man rammed into the door, breaking it off the hinges, and broke his skull against the wall on the other side.

Chris chuckled and coughed in relief, then picked himself up, grabbing his medical kit while he did. "Well, that worked out better than I could have imagined," Claire remarked, following Chris as he continued down the stairwell, "let’s do your plan Chris. I think mine has run its course."

The pair reached the ground floor, and he stepped cautiously out of the stairwell ahead of Claire. The lobby was empty now; the desk that had been occupied was now empty, with no sign of the security officer. The screams from outside we’re louder, and echoed around the small building lobby, but there was no life in direct view. “Okay, let’s keep this quiet,” Chris muttered as he slid across the lobby and towards the door marked for management. He stepped to the side of the door, motioned for Claire to do the same, and then quickly pushed the door open with his hand.

There was no noise from inside the office, and nothing came stumbling out. Chris stuck his head around the corner, and upon confirming the office was empty, moved inside. “It’s safe,” he whispered to Claire, who followed him in. Chris slowly closed the door and bolted it shut, then started to rummage through the supervisor’s desk. “Ah, here it is,” he pulled a tablet from a drawer and opened up Leader, searching for the group Sam Tanner had informed them of.

Upon finding it, Chris opened up the voice communications and placed the computer on the desk with his medical kit. “Mr. Tanner, this is Christopher Galloway. I’m here with Claire Hartford. We’re in the office of an apartment complex, quite far from the storeroom, we’re not quite sure how to make it there.” Chris paused and swallowed hard, “What the bloody hell is going on out there?”

Howe kept close to the elevator as Doctor Rush got patched in, processing the new information from Tanner. He knew he wouldn't be able to fix the console if it was too badly beat up. Hell, he hardly knew how to operate computers beyond his old PC, the Scotland Yard computers, and his current tablet. So that was out. He tentatively decided to get to the storeroom. Maybe there was a weapon without a palmprint code on there he could use. The Glock would probably serve him well, but only for small groups. Plus he only had so much ammunition...

"I'm no good with tech buggery," he said after a moment. "I think I'll get to our holdout location, or the 'Alamo' as you call it. I'll stay on Leader." He had to laugh at the name, a tribute to undeniable American fortitude. He probably would have called it...Dunkirk? No, that was an evacuation. Holdout? Boring. Alamo worked.

As he started moving, another voice appeared in Leader. “Mr. Tanner, this is Christopher Galloway. I’m here with Claire Hartford. We’re in the office of an apartment complex, quite far from the storeroom, we’re not quite sure how to make it there.” A swallow. "What the bloody hell is going on out there?”"

My sentiments exactly, Howe thought to himself before interjecting on the Leader channel. An alternative objective was here, one that might help him. "Galloway, this is Detective Lije Howe. I can try to help you out. Can you give me a level?"

Sam had just finished explaining the options to Howe when the leader programme pinged again signalling a new arrival.

“Mr. Tanner, this is Christopher Galloway. I’m here with Claire Hartford. We’re in the office of an apartment complex, quite far from the storeroom, we’re not quite sure how to make it there.”

“Galloway. Ok hang tight I’m looking for you now.”

Sam quickly brought up their location on the security cameras. They were in an office on the ground floor of an apartment building. Galloway’s Nakatomi profile popped up and Chris looked at the goateed profile picture and compared it to the stressed looking man on the security feed. Galloway was a doctor, a chief in fact, and another Englishman.

"What the bloody hell is going on out there?” Galloway asked.

“Wish I could tell you Doc. The GM has gone haywire and released something called the Chimera project all over the Ark. I’m pretty sure that’s what caused the sudden outbreak Zombosis.”

Sam pulled up Claire Hartford’s file and quickly ascertained it was another one of Douglas’ geniuses.

He checked the security feeds around them but it looked like they weren’t in that much danger. They were a short run away from Douglas’ building though and could probably be used to get to him.

“Ok you’re at sea level now or floor 0. The Alamo is two floors below you and there’s an armed Security Operative on his way there now. However floors minus 10 to plus five are about to lose main lighting. Shouldn’t affect you too badly above sea level but it’s real dark down below if either of you have any technical knowledge I think Detective Howe could use a hand. The other option is making your way across the Plaza to the Executive apartment building and climbing to Floor plus 15, that’s Douglas Wahidin’s penthouse. He’s stuck in there. There’s a few infected on each floor but no massive hoards.”

Sam shot a glance at the security door separating him from the hoard outside.

“Your call.”

"Galloway, this is Detective Elijah Howe. I can try to help you out. Can you give me a level?"

Sam thought for a second and realised he was being foolish. The Alamo might work later on as a safe haven but for now it made no sense.

“Yes ok Howe. You, Hartford and Galloway are going to meet up in the apartment office space on Floor 0. Howe I’m sending coordinates to you now. Hartford and Galloway sit tight Detective Howe is on the way. Once he’s made contact you should then proceed to the penthouse where Douglas Wahidin is currently located. I’ve sent that coordinate as well.”

As Chris entered the small office Claire followed suit and closed the door quietly, slumping against it as Chris dialed in and connected to their only ally for the moment. Claire listened intently at their conversation but kept her head slumped between her knees with her hands on the back of her head, tying her hair a little tighter to keep it in form. She scoffed at the news of a loss of power, mumbling quietly,

"I thought they were working on improving the power systems.. that was before I was stood down"

Claire's own self-indulgent bashing of the Ark though was cut abruptly though when she circled back to what she'd realised she'd just heard - a leaked project, called Chimera was the cause of this and GM had definitely gone suicidal.

"Wait, did you just say a leaked project is definitely the cause? Oh that would be fucking right."

Claire stood up, moving so her face was next to Chris's as she stared into the screen, becoming more involved with the conversation. Claire glanced over the man on the other end of their tablet, trying to discern if he wasn't just spinning them bullshit. He looked genuine enough and Claire could feel the full effect of the Boost working it's magic through her body; she was at least going to be more level-headed for the next twenty four hours.

Claire's jaw tightened and her teeth clenched as Tanner relayed their current choices, and her eyes dilated in an almost hatred filled death glare. She shook her head at their second option, no fucking way was she saving Douglas Wahidin. Claire took the tablet off of Claire, feeling her blood boil.

"That stupid self righteous-" a noise outside made Claire bring her rant down to an assertive whisper, "I can't be believe he's still alive. Wait, no I can actually. He deserves to rot in his penthouse if that's where he's stuck. Getting downstairs was hard enough and now you want us to waltz over to his, probably the safest house on the ark, and escort that idiot to a safe place?"

Claire put the tablet down, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She knew she was probably overreacting, well, not overreacting necessarily, but in a dire state such as this, she needed to think logically. Logically, speaking, Claire knew someone like Wahidin was her best bet off the Ark at this stage. Especially for someone like her - someone who had nothing to contribute off the Ark; survival of the fittest and most convenient to keep surviving and all that shit.

Still, Claire shook her head and looked to Chris, she could see him giving her a 'don't be stupid' glare. But Chris knew better than anyone that Claire loathed Douglas Wahidin, her Father and almost anyone else whom rallied behind the egotistical flag of Nakatomi.. Then she cringed for a moment, realising the contradiction of her feelings; afterall, Claire Hartford used to be one of Nakatomi's leading scientists. But, Claire was resigned to not helping him.

"Fuck him." Claire hissed as she took the Tablet and looked square into his face. "Get someone else to rescue him. He left me with nothing, it's only poetic justice he gets left with nothing in return."

Claire turned the tablet off abruptly looking to Chris leaving Tanner and Howe out of her own self-indulgent loop. Her whispering voice was cracking, her overreaction sinking in too. But Claire was as stubborn as she was intelligent and she turned on her heel, searching the office they were stuck in for anything that might be useful.

"I don't want to talk about it Chris." she said without being prompted. "I don't care if it's your civil duty either. Douglas Wahidin is a brat in an old man's outfit. I wouldn't be fucking surprised if he did this on purpose... I mean, I was allowed to get away with almost anything... and he..." Claire stopped herself from reliving the memories of what was taken as too far in Nakatomi.

"Fuck yes." She hissed as she jimmied open a wooden desk drawer and discovered a handgun with a spare clip sitting neatly. "Shit." she finished as Claire remembered the genetic coding most weapons on the Ark used to fire. "Fucking useless."

Claire stood up, stretching, the building was oddly quiet now. So were the streets. She looked to Chris with an uneasy eye and turned back to the venetian blinds in the small office, bending the thin metal slightly to peer out into the foyer of her apartment building. Completely empty. Where the fuck were all the infected?

"Do you hear that?" She prompted to Chris, gauging if maybe she was just exhibiting more post-withdrawal symptoms.

Claire looked back out to the foyer and could see just out into the street. That seemed empty too. Claire took the silence as their opportunity to get to the Alamo now or never. She turned around and picked up a metal chair nearby, kicking it's leg a few times, the frail chair disassembled and Claire picked up a weak metal pole from it's rubble. She knew it would make sense to wait for Tanner's friend Howe... But she was positive she wouldn't help Wahidin unless he ended up in his building by the force of God. Putting her own ego and pride above what was probably right Claire readied herself,

"We should go now why the infected are... quiet"

In truth, Claire knew moving so fast and so quickly wasn't exactly a smart move. The two really should plan their moves more carefully, but the mixture of the entire unforeseen nature of whatever was happening, Claire's sudden anger that Douglas Wahidin expected rescuing and her own fear were more than enough to make her want to get somewhere truly safe and then rethink this entire situation and how to tackle it.

Claire gave Chris another look, giving him a resigned thumbs up while creaking the door open slowly. "Same as before." she said sternly, "I'll keep the back you the front."

Claire followed silently as she exited the office and crossed the foyer. Their short grace period and contact with Tanner allowed Claire to fully absorb her surroundings now. The foyer was plastered, smeared and painted with splatterings of blood, some human body parts, but also torn clothes, and belongings deemed unwarranted by whoever had run into the building looking for refuge. It was like the aftermath of a horror movie. A silent, eerie murder had occurred, but someone had taken all the bodies and moved them somewhere.

Claire reached the front door of the foyer and held it open as she stepped outside, making sure the building was definitely clear inside and nothing - nobody was following them. Claire breathed slowly as the door slowly closed, she was making sure no noise would echo in the street or the building.

Claire turned around and was pulled up short when she now realised why everything in her street and the blocks surrounding were dead silent. All the infected were in a stationary mode. Some sort of shambling around, some just standing still.

"They look like they're in standby mode" Claire whispered to Chris.

Claire shuffled quietly as possible, her smaller frame seemed to be an advantage to noise reduction. She stuck to the sides of buildings as they moved, careful to not try and draw attention. As they two moved down the street, they probably only made it three buildings down when someone from Claire's apartment building burst through the foyer doors turning and screaming at Claire and Chris when she saw them quietly crouching.

"OH GOD! HELP ME! THE WHOLE BUILDING!! HELP ME!"

Claire looked to the woman, her jaw simply dropping. Was she actually that stupid. Obviously she was a wife of someone else on the Ark, because only an idiot would run screaming into a street and draw attention to herself. Claire looked to Chris shaking her head. In all honesty, Claire wasn't sure if Chris was a savior type being a doctor and all could make him one or the other, but save for a few people, Claire was a survival of the fittest woman.

"PLEASE! OH THANK GOD, YOU TWO AREN'T INFECTED!"

Claire shook her head holding her index finger to her lips miming a shush. The woman was oblivious as she began to run towards the two. FUCK Claire silently hissed as the woman ran towards them. Claire watched as the infected the woman had seemed to have ignored burst to life at her sensory cues.

"They're activating!" Claire shouted, unable to think of a more poignant word for what was happening.

Suddenly the street was filled with guttural growls and the sounds of multiple infected vomiting blood up, a sickening wet splash as they heaved fluids onto the ground and proceed to follow the woman and then notice Claire and Chris. Claire nearly vomited herself, was the vomit some sort of infection attempt? If they pinned someone down, did their blood or body fluids ensure infection if ingested?. Honestly, who gives a fuck for the moment. Claire looked to Chris again then back to the woman, she had nearly twenty right behind her. She was limping.

"Fuck her." Claire said coldly grabbing Chris, "We need to move".

Claire did feel a twinge of some guilt, but her will to live was greater than her will to survive. Claire ran like hell as the other infected became aware of her and Chris now but their sprint through the streets were cut short when their next turn towards a substation transport terminal was completely swarmed with currently inactive infected.

Claire had to use all her quick thought processes to stop herself from yelling. She looked to Chris, a small glance of guilt crossing her face as he could see the disdain in his own eyes as the screams of the woman form before ceased. The Claire looked behind them, the infected down the street were beginning to bore of the woman and come towards Chris and Claire.

Claire looked back to their blocked pathway and stamped her foot in frustration, alerting the mob to her's and Chris's presence.

"Oh fuck."

Claire grabbed Chris again and pulled him into the foyer of another building nearby. Fortunately it possessed only big heavy wooden doors, designed to mimic old-style English mansion doors. Claire pushed the doors closed, but the mob was pressing hard against her small frame,

"CHRIS... I NEED HELP!"

As the doors shut tight as the two managed to bar the infected, and Claire noticed a further security device - an electronic roller door. Claire moved into action fast, hearing the sickening beating of the infected outside. This building's security office was right to the left of the front door. Bursting in, Claire hit the emergency lock down button, causing the roller security door to begin closing. The door only got two thirds of the way however when the power cut out.

"COME ON!" she shouted angrily.

Claire barely had time to continue her angry ranting however when another door to the opposite side of the security office - an admin office - burst open and an infected man burst out fumbling towards Chris. Honestly, Claire blacked out for a few moments and came to when she realised she and Chris were sitting with their backs to the wall of the entrance door to this apartment building.

"Oh Jesus.. We're fucked" Claire heaved looking around this small foyer around them. It was odd. Something about it was familiar to Claire. This foyer wasn't as big as Claire's apartment building.. But it was more extravagant, it had more detail put into it than her's and her's was nearly the best of the best to offer on the Ark. Then it hit Claire.. She and Chris had accidentally taken refuge in the very building she'd made very clear she wouldn't set foot not more than fifteen minutes ago.

Claire grabbed the tablet from the inside of her jacket pocket looking to Chris, quickly speaking to him as she dialed in to the Movie Appreciation Society

"I guess it's Wahidin's lucky day..."

The tablet bleeped as the connection was made, "Alright Tanner.. You have your wish. Chris and I made it to Wahidin's building. He's up at the top still? We'll help your buddy get Wahidin back to the Alamo. But I won't promise I'll try to keep him alive."

Claire stood up, her teeth clenching at this unforeseen event.

"Can this Howe guy come to us from wherever he currently is? Can he get through this building's basement somehow from his location... We've sort of got a contamination problem outside the building and in the street... Regardless... I think we'll wait until he gets here. Wahidin can wait."

Claire handed the tablet to Chris, tired and needing another moment to rest. Waiting for their next instructions, Howe to arrive and then the unavoidable - as it seemed - meeting with her once admired ex-boss.

Mr. Tanner’s voice broke through the speakers almost immediately after Chris had finished his thoughts.

“Galloway. Ok hang tight I’m looking for you now.” There was a pause, then a response to his previous question. “Wish I could tell you Doc. The GM has gone haywire and released something called the Chimera project all over the Ark. I’m pretty sure that’s what caused the sudden outbreak Zombosis.”

Chris collapsed into the swivel chair behind the desk and held his head upright with his hands under his chin. Zombosis, he mulled, isn’t exactly a medical term. I can’t say I’ve even heard of such a phenomenon aside rabies. He glanced at his medical kit on the table, suddenly aware of his own helplessness; no training could prepare someone for an unnatural crisis.

“Ok you’re at sea level now or floor 0. The Alamo is two floors below you and there’s an armed Security Operative on his way there now. However floors minus 10 to plus five are about to lose main lighting.” Claire began to mutter incoherently about the Ark from her position on the floor. Sam continued, “Shouldn’t affect you too badly above sea level but it’s real dark down below if either of you have any technical knowledge I think Detective Howe could use a hand. The other option is making your way across the Plaza to the Executive apartment building and climbing to Floor plus 15, that’s Douglas Wahidin’s penthouse. He’s stuck in there. There’s a few infected on each floor but no massive hoards.”

Claire violently shook her head upon hearing their choices, and then grabbed the tablet from Chris. Oh here we fucking go. “That stupid self righteous-" Claire dropped from a yell to whisper, "I can't be believe he's still alive. Wait, no I can actually. He deserves to rot in his penthouse if that's where he's stuck. Getting downstairs was hard enough and now you want us to waltz over to his, probably the safest house on the ark, and escort that idiot to a safe place?"

Chris glared at Claire and attempted to voice his thoughts when another voice broke through the communications channel: "Galloway, this is Detective Elijah Howe. I can try to help you out. Can you give me a level?" He picked up the tablet from where Claire had dropped it.

“Yes, we’re on SL in the office of an apartment complex. It doesn’t seem to be too crazy here anymore, but I guess there’s really no telling.”

“Yes, ok Howe;” Tanner returned, “you, Hartford and Galloway are going to meet up in the apartment office space on Floor 0. Howe I’m sending coordinates to you now. Hartford and Galloway sit tight Detective Howe is on the way. Once he’s made contact you should then proceed to the penthouse where Douglas Wahidin is currently located. I’ve sent that coordinate as well.”

Chris looked up towards the security camera and nodded. “Right then, we’ll just w-”

Claire spat abruptly and yanked the tablet away from Chris. "Fuck him. Get someone else to rescue him. He left me with nothing, it's only poetic justice he gets left with nothing in return." She shut off the tablet and began to search the office in frenzy. “I don't want to talk about it Chris. I don't care if it's your civil duty either,” Chris’s nerves twitched, “Douglas Wahidin is a brat in an old man's outfit. I wouldn't be fucking surprised if he did this on purpose... I mean, I was allowed to get away with almost anything... and he..."

She trailed off, and Chris crossed his arms in annoyance. “Right, fuck civil duty. Let’s just make it all about our bloody selves. Who gives a shit about everyone else? Let them rot away wherever they are, I don’t care!” He realized Claire wasn’t paying attention and resigned with a sigh. She stood back up and studied the streets from the window.

“Do you hear that?” Before he could answer, Claire kicked apart a chair and pulled a metal rod from its disassembled pieces. "We should go now why the infected are... quiet."

“Oh you can’t be fucking serious,” Chris hissed; the look on her face told him otherwise. A voice whispered from the back of his mind: Just stay here, Chris. A different stronger, voice thundered over it: Civil duty. He sighed and pulled himself out of the chair, swinging his medical kit over his shoulder.

Claire slowly creaked open the office door. "Same as before. I'll keep the back you the front." Chris lightly pushed his way past her.

The lobby looked like the sight of a massacre: blood, gore, and belongings. A strange, but familiar feeling arose from Chris’s gut, and he turned to keep his gaze low and forward. The world faded around him, a subconscious autopilot taking control. He reached the entrance, and quietly pushed it open and stepped through. The streets outside were quiet, but filled with infected who seemed unaware of the pair. Chris felt his senses rise to alert, dimly aware of Claire muttering about the infected being on “standby.”

"OH GOD! HELP ME! THE WHOLE BUILDING! HELP ME!" Chris rose from his cautionary zone out and felt adrenaline rush into his system. He turned to the source of the screams; a woman had fled the apartment building and was chasing after he and Claire. "PLEASE! OH THANK GOD, YOU TWO AREN'T INFECTED!"

Claire instructed the woman to quiet down, but the infected had already returned to animation. "They're activating!" The infected began to chase after the woman, who was favoring one leg. She must have a sprain. She needs a maximum strength painkiller, Chris moved his hand instinctively to his bag. He stepped towards the woman but felt a force tug him away from behind. "Fuck her, we need to move".

Chris tried to run in the opposite direction of Claire’s grip. “No! No, no, no! I can save her! I can save her!” He managed to writhe free of the tugging in time to watch an infected pounce onto the woman. She began to scream. The tiny voice spoke again: run.

Chris turned and chased after Claire. They turned a corner into a transport terminal filled with comatose infected. The woman’s screams died away, and Chris’s eyes glazed over. Claire stamped her foot and the infected began to move after the two, closing in from both sides. Without warning, Chris felt Claire pull him into another building and slam the heavy wooden doors shut.

Chris looked halfheartedly around the foyer for danger, but was interrupted by Claire shouting for help. He sprang into action and helped her bar the door shut, using his body to press the door into position. When they finished, Claire ran into the security office and tried to close the metal rolling doors. The power blacked out, stopping the doors halfway.

Claire yelled in frustration, just as an infected man burst from the administrative office and shambled towards Chris. He grabbed the pole Claire had dropped, held it firm in his right hand, and charged at the infected. When he was within striking distance, Chris swung the metal hard at the man’s skull; it shattered on contact, dropping the infected to the floor.

Chris chuckled in victory, and turned to see Claire had sat against the entrance wall; he strode over and sat down next to her. "Oh Jesus. We're fucked"

“It could be worse, could be worse.” He repeated in response, suddenly cheery. Claire studied the foyer of the building, while Chris patted his medical kit in reassurance. Suddenly, Claire pulled out the tablet from her jacket and opened leader.

"I guess it's Wahidin's lucky day.” The tablet beeped, “Alright Tanner. You have your wish. Chris and I made it to Wahidin's building?” Chris glanced around the foyer in surprise. What a coincidence. “He's up at the top still? We'll help your buddy get Wahidin back to the Alamo. But I won't promise I'll try to keep him alive. Can this Howe guy come to us from wherever he currently is? Can he get through this building's basement somehow from his location? We've sort of got a contamination problem outside the building and in the street... Regardless, I think we'll wait until he gets here. Wahidin can wait."

Claire stood up and handed the tablet to Chris. “Mr. Tanner,” he began, “Can you get any information about this uh-” he tried to recall their previous conversation- “Chimera project? It’s exhibiting…behaviors that I have never studied. It’s both fascinating and horrifying.”

Sam looked like he’d just been slapped. He was staring at a blinking disconnect message that told him Claire Hartford had disconnected from Leader.

“Great she’s a psycho.”

Sam returned to her file and read further. Some words seemed to jump out him but Disgraced Drug Addict seemed to cover it.

“Howe you’re gonna love this. The Hartford chick is a friggin tab head. Her file says she used to be hot shit in the labs but lost it.
You’re gonna have to watch her man, I mean like a hawk, these tab fiends would sell their mother for another hit. Looks like she’s also got it in for Wahidin, cuff her if you... Shit they’re back on.”

Claire Hartford’s voice reappeared but sounded more relaxed this time.

"Alright Tanner. You have your wish. Chris and I made it to Wahidin's building. He's up at the top still? We'll help your buddy get Wahidin back to the Alamo. But I won't promise I'll try to keep him alive."

Sam decided to use some positive reinforcement in an effort to keep Claire from going off on another rant. At least until Howe arrived, after that it was his problem.

“That’s super Claire, really, really super. It would be even more super though if you could, you know, not harm Mr Wahidin, he is the boss after all.”

Sam suddenly became fearful he was going to lose Hartford again.

“But I mean what is a boss really? God I don’t know... Like, why can’t everyone all just live together on a nice big farm or something all work together and just, like, live you know. That would be so... super... I’m rambling aren’t I?”
Hartford ignored his attempts at placation and stuck to the task at hand. The yo-yoing focus was a tell tale sign of a tab head.

"Can this Howe guy come to us from wherever he currently is? Can he get through this building's basement somehow from his location... We've sort of got a contamination problem outside the building and in the street... Regardless... I think we'll wait until he gets here. Wahidin can wait."

“Yep that’s super Claire you just hang in there and before you know it Howe will be with you. You won’t even have to talk to Mr Wahidin. That’ll be Supe... uh great.”

It wasn’t Claire who spoke next but Galloway.

“Mr. Tanner, can you get any information about this uh Chimera project? It’s exhibiting…behaviors that I have never studied. It’s both fascinating and horrifying.”

“No kidding Doc.”

Sam tried a couple of searches but came up empty.

“Naw it’s a black hole. Whatever it was it’s way outside my pay scale...”

A thought suddenly occurred to Sam as he glanced at the security screens. In particular he was looking at level minus ten where the contamination had originated and he was looking at the dead bodies of the first infected.

It took a second for the realisation to hit him.

“Oh Christ... Ok Galloway stay with me here. The contamination started on floor minus ten. So the first zombies were on floor minus ten. Then GM purged floor, sucked all the air out of it, and released the contaminated air on all the other floors thus spreading the infection. Problem is those zombies are still dead on Floor Minus Ten. They all asphyxiated, that means they needed to breathe when they died, what am I saying you’re the doctor. Point is these people aren’t zombies, as in not undead, they’re just sick. I’ve been telling people to kill sick people. Oh Jesus...”

Sam spent a long moment looking at the infected shuffling around the various security screens.

“We gotta help them, maybe we can fix it. Alright you guys are going to need to go down. We’re still reduced to emergency lighting of minus ten to plus five. The Chimera Project lab is on minus six. So it’s pretty dark in there but if you could make it there it’s our best bet for answers, maybe a cure. Galloway at the moment you, Howe and Hartford are the best suited to the job. You need to restore power and get in there.”

Sam opened up a few new programmes that gave him control of the power.

“Alternatively I could reroute power so you can access the computers but that means no emergency lighting. There shouldn’t be anything on minus six though... just dead bodies, might be a bit spooky but not... you know bitey. It’s up to you three.”

Valier took the time to think over Officer Tanner's words. Should they head to safety, regroup with any other survivors he was sending there? Or was it more beneficial to go and complete Tanner's task, add another to their group, before heading to the all-clear zone? Honestly she didn't really get the chance to choose before the security officer with her chose for them.

Saving Wahidin was stuck up top, on the highest level of the Ark and Officer Fitzpatrick insisted that's where he needed to go. It wasn't that Valerie didn't care, Douglas was like a surrogate father figure to her, but she had no viable fighting skills, she wasn't a good shot, and frankly she didn't have much faith in the man keeping both himself and her alive while they made the trek up. Unfortunately, Valerie didn't really have a choice. Without her current companion there was no way she was making it anywhere by herself.

"Officer Tanner..." She called, connecting herself right back onto Leader. "We'll go and meet up with Prof. Wahidin. It's going to take us some time though. If GM is on the fritz than cracking some of the security protocalls will take precious minutes, even with my access." It was true, the entire main building for the Nakatomi Corporation had some tight security that only got more complex the higher (or lower) one went. It wasn't as though Valerie couldn't do it though, she was more than proficient when it came to computers and she had worked on GM.

Slipping her hand into her pocket she grabbed a hold of her ear piece. The tiny piece of machinery was quite the technological advancement, but was still in prototype phases for the purposes she was going to use it for. She attached the device to her ear before connecting it to her laptop. While the computer was in sleep mode, Valerie would be able to access some minimal functions with the earpiece via a small virtual screen it projected over her eyes. So far the thing had crashed a few times when the programming required too much output. Until absolutely necessary she'd just use it to keep connected on Leader.

Officer Fitzpatrick was the first to head out. He slowly opened the door leading back into the building and cautiously stuck his head through. Valerie stood behing him, nervous beyond words, until he eventually moved through. The hallway was clear and they were on their way.

As the two moved through the eerie halls, both clearly strung out in tension as two pairs of eyes scanned anything that moved, one particular voice over the Leader waves, grabbed Valerie's attention. It had been a very long time since she'd heard it. "Alright Tanner.. You have your wish. Chris and I made it to Wahidin's building. He's up at the top still? We'll help your buddy get Wahidin back to the Alamo. But I won't promise I'll try to keep him alive."

"Prof. Hartford?" The albino woman asked, realizing that she probably hadn't seen her former mentor in some number of years.
Sam Tanner and whoever was with Claire steered the conversation into a different direction; Project Chimera. That was something she hadn't seen in action before. Valerie had done a few simple tests for that particular project in it's earlier stages before she was moved to full time GM duty. Still, she would never speak of Nakatomi's classified projects to people who didn't have the appropriate clearance. Even when the situation was this dire.

"This is Valerie Rush, Officer Fitzpatrick and I are six floors above you, Prof. Hartford. I can access the security cameras to get you and your companion to us. From there the four of us could probably make it up to Prof. Wahidin's office rather easily."

Chris scratched his chin in thought while Mr. Tanner searched files for information on the Chimera Project. Horrific, his mind echoed, absolutely horrific. A strange blend of emotions had begun to fill his skull: relief, terror, pain, fear. It was all too familiar to that fateful trip to The Congo.

“Oh Christ,” Chris returned to the present, “Ok Galloway stay with me here. The contamination started on floor minus ten. So the first zombies were on floor minus ten. Then GM purged floor, sucked all the air out of it, and released the contaminated air on all the other floors thus spreading the infection. Problem is those zombies are still dead on Floor Minus Ten. They all asphyxiated, that means they needed to breathe when they died, what am I saying you’re the doctor. Point is these people aren’t zombies, as in not undead, they’re just sick. I’ve been telling people to kill sick people. Oh Jesus...”

Tanner trailed off, leaving an empty crackle on the channel. Evidently, the security officer wasn’t prepared for the revelation that the “zombies” were only rabid people. Good for him, Chris thought, at least someone hasn’t been totally desensitized in this day and age. He suddenly become aware of a clench in his side and rubbed at it slowly. My body is quite exhausted, he realized, a bit bruised, too. The pain pills in his medical kit seemed tempting, but his better instincts pushed the thought away.

Chris inhaled through his nose, and then responded in a calm and even voice, “Just as I had suspected. It’s alright, Mr. Tanner, you did the right thing.” The last words barely croaked out of his mouth as a lump of guilt formed in his throat. He glanced up at Claire, who was pacing around the building foyer, and the image of the woman from the streets flashed back into Chris’s mind. She was screaming as the brutes attacked her, but no sound escaped her lips. What have I done?

“We gotta help them,” Tanner broke in again, pulling Chris out from his nightmares, “maybe we can fix it. Alright you guys are going to need to go down. We’re still reduced to emergency lighting of minus ten to plus five. The Chimera Project lab is on minus six. So it’s pretty dark in there but if you could make it there it’s our best bet for answers, maybe a cure. Galloway at the moment you, Howe and Hartford are the best suited to the job. You need to restore power and get in there. Alternatively I could reroute power so you can access the computers but that means no emergency lighting. There shouldn’t be anything on minus six though... just dead bodies, might be a bit spooky but not... you know bitey. It’s up to you three.”

The channel remained silent, but Claire muttered something indistinguishable next to him; apparently she had been paying attention. “Let’s worry about getting Wahidin,” Chris settled, “before we get caught up in our research.” He wet his suddenly dry lips. “Howe, are you still with us? Ms. Hartford and I are currently safe in the lobby, and we are prepared to move up for Wahidin,” a disgusted look crossed Claire’s face at the mention, “I am, at least.”

A new voice, female, cracked through the channel. "This is Valerie Rush, Officer Fitzpatrick and I are six floors above you, Prof. Hartford. I can access the security cameras to get you and your companion to us. From there the four of us could probably make it up to Prof. Wahidin's office rather easily." Chris looked up at Claire, and thought he saw a look of recognition cross her face.

“Ms. Rush,” he responded quickly, “I am Chief Physician Christopher Galloway. If you would be so kind, Ms. Hartford and I would certainly appreciate assistance in reaching Wahidin. Is Officer Fitzpatrick armed? I’m afraid we are not,” the metal pipe focused in his view, “at least not efficiently, and are still awaiting Detective Howe.”

Chris paused and searched through his memory. Fitzpatrick, don’t I know an Officer Fitzpatrick? He drummed his fingers on the floor, trying to recall all his previous patients.

Claire paced the foyer back and forth, biting the inside of her cheek while she thought about what she was doing, what was happening and how it happened. Tanner spoke over the the shared system to Chris and Claire listened while forming her own ideas and hypothesis as to what was causing this nightmare and how it was happening so fast. Although it wasn't above Claire to be able to speculate what was happening - extreme-rabies was her best guess - the reality was she was an aug scientist and inventor, not a biologist or doctor, like Chris.

Tanner relayed what he was seeing on his screens. Apparently they definitely weren't undead per se, they needed air. That was promising to a degree; suffocating them was an option if force or a cure wasn't viable, maybe even a mass suffocation throughout the ark? No, that wouldn't happen; Tanner was already apologetic of the few that had died and Chris was a man of healing at his core. What the hell was infecting people?

Claire kept listening while her internal monologue raged within and paused her pacing only when Tanner began suggesting an alternate option for the two and this Howe guy instead of Wahidin's rescue. Find answers, go underground and find answers. Yes; no wait, no! But then it would mean no Wahidin. Fuck. Claire chewed her cheek a little harder and flinched Tanner ended his sentence,

"There shouldn't be anything on minus six though... Just dead bodies, might be a bit spooky but not... you know bitey. It's up to you three"

Claire contemplated the decision, yes it would be no Wahidin but then again, what the guarantee there was absolute safety down there? Plus it could get ugly fast if one the infected or more found themselves down at that level. Claire felt her hand shake - a side affect of boost - gripping it tightly she mumbled, suddenly remembering something from her time spent working in one of the labs down on minus six,

"Minus six also has some of my confiscated aug information... If we get down there, I might be able to make..."

Claire didn't dwell on the thought too long, Chris made their decision for them anyway and Claire shot Chris a disgusted look. Minus six was going to have to wait and to be honest, Claire preferred the idea of a claustrophobic pitch black floor to Wahidin's face. Claire cleared her throat,

"Fine." she said curtly.

Claire turned to the elevator of the floor and pressed the button, hoping the power might suddenly return. Nothing. Suddenly the tablet fired up again and another voice this time filled the foyer,

"This is Valerie Rush, Officer Fitzpatrick and I are six floors above you, Prof. Hartford. I can access the security cameras to get you and your companion to us. From there the four of us could probably make it up to Prof. Wahidin's office rather easily."

Valerie Rush. The albino that essentially took Claire's job. Claire felt herself twinge with yet more anger at another person within Nakatome industries that she disliked more than anything. Although, in truth Claire could admit her dislike for Valerie Rush was more or less a reflection on Nakatome's easy replacement of Claire with Valerie, more than the actual woman herself. In fact, when Claire had worked for the company she had, in a sense, mentored the young woman, quite liking her actually, Valerie almost being on a friend basis before Claire's dismissal. Valerie offered help though and although Claire's eyes rolled at her Valerie's helpful attitude she politely replied, remembering her dislike was largely misplaced.

"Thank you Miss Rush. We're on standby. When you've got a clear view of passage for us, we'll follow your directions. We'll rendezvous on your floor. Don't get us killed."

Claire looked to Chris raising her eye brows in almost defiant matter,

"I meant it when I said I wasn't making any promises about keeping Wahidin alive Chris."

Surprisingly, at least to Valerie, it wasn't Claire who answered her first. It had been the her male counterpart. “Ms. Rush, I am Chief Physician Christopher Galloway. If you would be so kind, Ms. Hartford and I would certainly appreciate assistance in reaching Wahidin. Is Officer Fitzpatrick armed? I’m afraid we are not,” the metal pipe focused in his view, “at least not efficiently, and are still awaiting Detective Howe.”

She tried to think back to other staff members she had met. Sadly Valerie was unable to place the doctor. There hadn't been many instances where she had been down the use the medical facilities. Even so, someone who knew proper first aid would be very convenient and leave the albino woman to focus on other matters if she or the officer with her were to run into some bad luck.

Then another voice piped up, this one more familiar to Valerie. "Thank you Miss Rush. We're on standby. When you've got a clear view of passage for us, we'll follow your directions. We'll rendezvous on your floor. Don't get us killed." Frankly, Claire sounded a bit hostile to the younger woman. She had even managed to slight Valerie by not addressing her with her proper title. Valerie had been kind enough to still call her a proffessor even though Hartford had completely ruined her own life. The entire experience had devestated the albino woman, Claire had been her mentor, someone that she could have looked up to, but then she went and became a tablet junkie. It had been Valerie who had to go in, take over, and fix everything that the other woman had left behind or tarnished.

Still, being the profession that she was, Valerie took a seat in the dark hallway and opened up her laptop. Officer Fitzpatrick walked back and forth down the hallway, from corner to corner, keeping an eye out for any unwanted guests.

The screen of her computer was obnoxiously bright in the dim light, but the Nakatomi scientist ignored it and focused on the cameras. It took her a minute, but she managed to locate both Hartford and Galloway. They appeared to be conversing from what she was able to tell. Claire appeared rather angry while Chris attempted to hold a more nuetral pose. It was that instant that Valerie realized she'd have to keep an eye on the other woman.

Her eyes skimmed through the various images from various cameras. The power was still out, except for the emergency backups, but those didn't power the elevators. Obviously those were out of the question. Thus the stairs were the next best thing. Unfortunately, those too held security scanners. They would need proper ID. Since Galloway was a Nakatomi employee, hopefully that wouldn't hinder them too much.

"Doctor Galloway," Valerie began as she hopped back onto Leader. "I can see you both on the entrance cameras, unfortunately there are a few of the infected in your vacinity, so be careful. You'll have to make your way to the emergency stair cases in the back of the building, that means heading through the entrance and a couple of hallways. There are pictures with arrows pointing the way once you get out of the entrance area, so it's simple. From what I can see, the halls are fairly clear."

The albino took another few seconds to look over the cameras. She and Fitzpatrick would have to head into a more infested area in order to get to the stairs. "Just don't open any doors and you guys should be alright. Be careful though, the scanner will be loud when it goes off. Officer Fitzpatrick and I will be meeting you in the stairwell, but we'll have to sign off of Leader. There are more infect on the sixth floor. Also, I can't see much of anything in the stairwell, but no one sick should be in there...hopefully." It was ominous sounding, but there was really nothing that she could do.