"Then let's hit a couple of video rental stores," Eric said.
"What'd they ask you to grab this time?" I asked. Sometimes I also spent my evenings watching old movies or shows.
"Well… mostly whatever's still left. People aren't picky now. Back at the camp, they've got nothing to do sometimes, so they watch whatever the TV can show," Eric chuckled.
"They're still watching television?" I raised a brow.
"Well, back then everything was quiet and stable. Now, of course, it's not that simple anymore," Eric replied.
"How did you even manage to get in good with the FEDRA soldiers?" I asked.
"You don't know what things were like when the camp was just formed. It was hell. Fighting every second, and they still had to finish the wall. Everyone who could hold a tool was working. When the wall was finally done, FEDRA didn't even have enough people to haul supplies or help refugees. They were short on hands for everything. I volunteered for my own reasons. And then sometimes they asked me to drop something off, help out somewhere. Little by little I got to know people," he said.
"I thought you'd tell me some story about how you used your charm and cunning to sway them to your side," I said with a smirk.
"Why? Sometimes basic human decency is enough. We were all stuck in the same situation. And I didn't have any hidden agenda back then," Eric answered.
We found a video rental store. I didn't forget about safety: first I checked every corner where infected could hide while Eric watched my back. Once I was sure it was clear, I walked down the rows of discs. On one of the shelves lay some old movies. I picked up a disc with some zombie flick. I wondered how much everything had changed… and how strange it was that no one ever thought a real end-of-the-world scenario could hit so close.
Grabbing a small stack of discs, we returned to the fire station and started fixing the place up. After tidying a bit, I figured Eric should head back to the quarantine zone. Getting back was easier he'd just wait for a familiar patrol, or slip through the sewers when the moment was right.
After walking him to a safe route, I went to get my enduro.
Once I got on, I hit the gas and tore along the outskirts until I came across Jackal vehicles. Keeping a good distance, I tailed them, following silently until they led me to the airport.
Through the binoculars, I studied the cluster of cars and the layout of their base. The Jackals were clearly preparing for something, and their positions were disturbingly close to the city. Bad thoughts started creeping in.
Even with all the Jackals' manpower, FEDRA still had more strength. What were they hoping for? If the authorities weren't complete idiots, they had to understand the danger. Why hadn't they gathered their forces and wiped this place out?
"Av," Buddy murmured beside me, catching my attention. He copied my posture, stretching his neck forward, staring just as intently.
"You want a look too? Alright," I said, lifting the binoculars to his eyes.
He probably didn't understand a thing more likely he just wanted to imitate me. Lowering the binoculars, I gave him a pat on the head.
I had zero desire to get involved in their conflict. That was their mess. I needed time time to gather people and get out of this city. To find a proper lab and work there.
Helix was under FEDRA control. The lab was just three or four kilometers from the bandits. Why were they at war with the authorities?
Deciding to at least get a clearer picture, I circled around, sticking to the edges, until I reached the northwest of Pittsburgh. Getting closer, I scanned the area and immediately noticed something strange: two tanks were parked right in front of the Helix building. Reinforced fences and guard towers… the whole place looked more like a fortress.
They… decided to restart vaccine development? But the report briefs clearly stated they'd failed, that finding a solution without human trials was impossible.
In the first days they tried to create some version of a vaccine. Then everything shifted into Project "V": an attempt to engineer a virus that would target only Cordyceps while leaving humans untouched. Maybe they found new scientists?
No. Unlikely. Most specialists were gathered in that lab at the very beginning, and almost all of them died.
Something else bothered me. I understood why the Jackals didn't want to attack the lab two tanks and a pile of fortified positions would wipe out their entire gang in minutes.
But why wasn't FEDRA destroying the Jackals' camp at the airport? That's what raised the real questions.
At first I didn't pay attention, but there was something covered by a tarp near the lab. Maybe another tank, or maybe something else entirely.
Once I finished the reconnaissance, I returned to my base in complete darkness. Inside, I sat down and stared at the map on the table. I marked everything I remembered bits of information from old memories, rumors about research centers and hospitals, places where scientists might have worked. In Colorado, there was one interesting site: "Eastern Colorado University." A huge complex involved in medical research. It might've been one of the places studying the virus in the early days.
There were a few more potential locations, scattered all across the country. New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston. The most likely points where people could've survived, where equipment or research might still exist.
Judging by the latest news, New York was completely done for. San Francisco wasn't any better. Chicago and Houston were badly hit too, though not as hopeless though hundreds of thousands of infected was no small matter. The university, however… Remote, sparsely populated, far out in the western part of the continent. People there had a better chance of surviving longer than most.
The main problem was finding people capable of creating a cure. I had no idea where to look for them. Or… maybe I did? When people entered FEDRA quarantine zones, their names and professions were recorded in paper databases. If I could get access to that not just here, but in other quarantine zones too it could significantly increase the chances of finding the specialists I needed.
Getting up from the table, I walked to my gun cabinet. Opening it, I placed my rifle back inside, then pulled out the hunting rifle instead. A Remington 700 SPS, .308 caliber. Four-round internal magazine. Solid build. A popular hunting rifle though the game was different now.
*image*
I had a feeling it would come in handy soon. Sitting back down, I carefully disassembled the rifle and inspected the mechanisms. For me, it was a kind of meditation: my mind drifted, while my hands moved on their own, as if they had a life separate from me. Once everything was back together, I set the rifle on the table.
I needed weapons. Things were getting much more dangerous. I couldn't handle this alone, and anyone who followed me would need to know how to hold a gun and how to shoot.
So that's what I'd focus on next. There was one place… I once found a brochure. It mentioned an old man living in a small town roughly a hundred and twenty kilometers from Pittsburgh. An elderly collector. He gathered weapons from different eras and loved maintaining every single piece. Before, traveling that far just for guns wasn't worth it. Now, it was.
Eric said he'd be gone for about a week and only then bring our people out and head to the fire station. That meant I had time to get the weapons.