"I will just be straight with you soldiers, the situation in Australia is not looking good, not looking at all. It is actually much worse than what you were told."
He sighed and stood up ominously. His tone was strangely subdued.
"In fact, even we do not know how long the surviving civilians in Australia will be able able to hold on, or if they're not already dead for that matter."
The small cohort looked each with fear and confusion. The mood suddenly heavy. No one had enough bravery to ask Major what he meant, but they did not have to. He seems to have read their minds because the answers to all their questions came shortly after.
"The earthquake that struck Australia a month ago was truly devastating and the casualties are even worse horrifying. Out of the entire population, only 38% survived, meaning 62% are dead. Actually, not all these civilians were killed during the earthquake, but the event created a chain reaction that led to other terrifying events that claimed even more victims."
He was silent for a few moments and then continued.
"You probably do not know this but, shortly after the earthquake, about three days later, another report came in from the surviving regions of Australia. A large chunk of the ocean assaulted and decimated many cities and settlements. Countless more lives were lost to the tsunami, and even that was not the end of it. The tsunami devastated almost half of the entire continent, bringing in countless unholy horrors from the oceans. In simple terms, half of Australia is submerged in water and the civilians on the other side are not even safe because of what the ocean brought upon the world."
He walked around the table, his face turning darker as he spoke.
"Hundreds of oceanic creatures now populate half of Australia, I trust you know what that means so I will not explain. On the other half, well its even worse. Dozens of unknown diseases are spreading at an alarming speed, and even conquering the known ones is impossible, given the shortage of supplies. On the topic of supplies themselves, the situation in even worse. The civilians have resulted in violence and carnage in order to survive. A considerable number of civilians have already been killed as a result of this. Even cannibalism does not seem so out of consideration anymore. They have probably even begun consuming each other as we speak, we do not have all the information."
He stopped a few meters away from a huge screen on the other side of the room. They all turned to look at him. He reached his pocket and pulled out a small device and showed it to them.
"I trust you all know what this is so I will not have to explain. This projector contains all you need to know about the situation in Australia and the information is strictly confidential. I am not even supposed to show it to you, but I will for one simple reason. I want you to make a choice. I do not want you to feel pressured by anything or anyone, you can say the word and I will personally arrange your discharge because the journey we are about to embark on is not for the weak. The situation in real life is infinitely much more harrowing, especially with the unknown disease wrecking havoc on the continent. I cannot ensure your safety, and neither can you as well."
He turned to look at them back and sighed. He spoke but his voice came out hoarse and strained. His whole mask of confidence and indifference cracked completely, leaving him vulnerable.
"I personally do not wish for you to go, but we have very little choice. Because of the unkown disease outbreak, our unit and the Medical Healthcare and Safety Unit are of utmost importance. So, as much as I am reluctant for you to come, but Australia needs you for support, the world needs you for research and I... I also need you by my side. I do not know if we can help those people... but, it never hurt anyone to try, right? Before I share our strategy with you all, i need to if you will be with me in this fight or not."
His tone had dropped so low it was barely audible. He was practically begging at that point. It was rather confusing and unclear whether them to stay behind and live, or he was begging them to come with him and die. He looked at them with a complicated expression, waiting for an answer. No one spoke for a few long moments.
They had a lot to think about.
Especially Benji.
For him, this was an especially tough decision. He never entered the military because he loved working and fighting for the people, in truth he does not care about them at all. He saw an opportunity to grow stronger and learn a lot more about people, which he has done. But he was also definitely not about risking his life for cruel and heartless humans, he was just as selfish and heartless as them in fact. So this decision by far the hardest he had to make, for two different reasons.
First reason, the boons. The pros were definitely promising, Benji was not going to lie. He had an opportunity to grow stronger and improve his combat skills which would bear satisfactory results, both professionally and personally. With his field of work, as a soldier at that, he would gain a lot by improving his combat powess. Who knows, he might even get a promotion, since his lack of combat skills was one of the main things holding him back. He also could not help being so weak. But maybe he could...
The other reason he wanted to get stronger was more personal than the first one. It was to fix the world,.. or destroy it. Simply give it what it deserved. He would start by crushing his enemies, it did not matter whether they were from the past or not. He wanted to see them gone, death being the best result. Starting with the bully. He wanted to hunt him down and shred him into pieces with his bare hands. He wanted to look into him as all blood drains from his face. He wanted to look into his eyes and watch as his soul left his body. He wanted to see the look in his face as he realized that his killer was his punching bag from high school.
But that would only be the beginning.
He would hunt and torture all those who laughed and assisted, even the ones that watched and did not say anything. Did not do anything... He would show them all what happens when their actions were reflected upon them, with one hundred times the brutality. He wanted to see regret, sadness but most importantly, fear into their eyes. But oh no, he would definitely not end there.
He would slowly climb up his college years and even beyond that. He would do the same good deed to those that made his college years a living nightmare. He would do the same to those who watched as well. He would make sure that they all never forgot his face and name even as they burned in hell.
As for the blood suckers he worked with, well, he had a special surprise waiting for them and it had to do with the other reason he wanted to join this expedition.
He did not just want to survive the unkown disease, but he wanted to conquer it as well.
Even though his field is far from medicine and healthcare, they were still taught a few important aspects of it. The rest he studied by himself. His knowledge was so vast that he doubted even Major Black could keep up.
He even considered Jack Black as another obstacle on his path, a problematic one at that. His research skills were far beyond comparison to his colleagues, comparable only to Jack Black himself.
He planned to to extensive research on the disease, how or where it originated, and most importantly, how to cure it.
There was just a slight problem with that.
He was not sure how to feel about aiding humans with this one. Everytime he made a breakthrough on research that benefited humans, a bitter taste was left in his mouth. He did not like the feeling at all. He liked seeing humans suffer the consequences of their actions. Even if it was not a result of their their vicious nature, they still deserved every calamity that descend upon them. This one was no exception. This one honestly, they probably deserved more than the rest.
There was also another thing Benji was worried about. His list of potential threats had gained a new interesting candidate.
James H. Powell.
He honestly did not know how to feel about the guy but one thing was certain, he hated him. His arrogance and confidence made Benji wish to end him there and then. He was sure that James would become a thorn in his path pretty soon, so the sooner he dealt with him the better. His plans to conquer the government and destroy humanity would not be not be disrupted by anyone. Not the government, not the trillionaires, not Jack Black..
not even Madison herself.
Not certainly James Powell.
The guy clearly loved justice and fighting for humanity, it was literally written in his profile. Benji even regretted reading it in the first place. The guy loves justice and humanity so much that he would risk his life in a heartbeat to save humans, which was weird seeing him so quiet now...
And about Madison... Benji really did not want to think about that.
Finding the cure to the unkown disease would most definitely help him ascend the hierarchy, and gain the power he seeks. He would not only use that power to destroy his enemies, but also the system itself. He was ambitious, perhaps too ambitious for an ordinary human, but he did not care, as long as he brought the government and *** to their knees. As for the rats he worked with, well he had a special surprise in store for them.
He planned to gain just enough power and influence to crush them slowly, little by little. He wanted it to be an unforgettable experience, they did not deserve his mercy after what they did to him. So Benji vowed they would only taste his wrath. Manipulation was one of Benji's specialties, so corrupting the minds of his superiors was not going to be that hard. Even his idol Jack Black himself will not be an exception to his cleansing.
The other reason that made making this decision hard, was the fact that nothing but death awaited them in Australia and Benji did not wish to die. Not now, not ever. He swore he would survive. He swore he would make them all pay. He swore revenge on every single horrible thing humanity has done to him.
He swore revenge on the bully that ruined his teenage years, his mental health and a couple of ribs. Including his friends and all the people that aided him.
He swore revenge on all the people that watched and did nothing as he was abused, damaged, and humiliated in front of them. They all acted horrified by they certainly enjoyed it. That includes the teachers whom he begged to for help, and they did not do anything because their school was greedy for money.
He swore revenge on his college buddies for making his life a living hell.
He swore revenge on those two thugs that took his uncle's life because of greed and selfishness. Even if he does not know their identities because they were masked, but he was still hellbent on finding them. Simply because he wanted to hear them scream and beg for mercy and he ripped out their hearts. He wanted them to feel what his uncle felt when mutilated his body dozens of times with a knife. He wanted them to feel what he felt when they made him watch as they took his uncle from him.
He swore revenge on the swindler that stole his backpack, money and cellphone on the streets a few years back. He loathed the people that watched and did nothing.
He swore revenge on his first employer on a supermarket, who fired him because the customer was being a bitch.
He swore revenge on the combat instructor during training that told him he was not going to survive in the military because he was too weak.
He swore on his colleague rats that stole his research and make him dread coming to work. A mundane disciplinary hearing and job-loss felt like they got away with just a slap on the wrist to Benji. It was not enough, it never was. He would make sure they got the proper punishment they deserved.
He swore revenge on Jack Black for ignoring his hard work and achievements. Well, not so much anymore, considering he invited him to be part of the lead cohort, and trusted him enough to tell him the secrets the government was hiding. He decided to go easy on his idol.
He swore revenge on James Powell for loving humanity too much and simply being too proud, confident, dashing and arrogant all at once. Even if it is not death, for now, he decided to monitor the scion and see where here stood.
He swore revenge on Agnes Rose-Anne for wearing sunglasses in an underground chamber. No matter how dumb it sounded, he was still offended, just thinking about it make his cheeks turn red for some reason.
He swore revenge on Oliver for giggling when he mentioned his name. Truly ridiculous!
But more importantly...
He swore revenge on Madison. For enduring the bully's bullshit for months. For making him an embarrassment in front of the whole school. For making him feel ugly, incomplete and incompetent. For being nice and warm to him even when he is mean and condescending with her. For always being bright and beautiful, not matter the circumstance. For never wanting to leave his damaged heart...
He turned to look at her.
She was just as breathtaking as always. Her head was bowed down as if she was in deep thought about something. She was probably thinking about whether on not she should join the expedition .
'She will probably not though. I do not think...'
Before he could finish that though, she suddenly jerked her head upward and looked at Major Black with a dead serious expression on her face.
"Count me in."
"I am in as well."
"Same here."
"Me too."
Just as he was processing what Madison had said, another candidate raised their voice and then more followed almost in unison. Firstly James, then Angnes and lastly, Oliver. They all turned to look at him, including Major Black, waiting for his response. He did not want to look like a jerk, at least not yet that is, so he sighed and nodded reluctantly.
"Yeah sure, count me in as well."