Chapter Text
Stepping onto the dark sanded shoreline you turn back to take your supply bag from the man who accompanied you till then.
There was a pause as he kept his grip the bag strap, his mouth opening to speak. Finding it better not to, he stays silent as he lets go.
You nod once as a thank you or in acknowledgement , either way any words said wouldn't change your situation.
Pulling out the map from your jacket pocket and taking a compass out from the bag as well, it only takes your trained eyes seconds to find the direction you must go.
You work for a scientific agency attatched somehow to the goverment, how doesn't matter.
They'd tasked you to find out whats happening in this region. You're already fully aware of bioweapons , what the terrible extent of mutations and the gruesome utter death.
Your DNA is the reason they sent you.
Sending you without any extraction or emergency planning in place. Simple supplies inside the bag for testing, a few boxes of bullets ,and a high teck sat phone to scan and send anything you find.
You had a small gun hidden strapped to your hip underneith your coat, but.. You weren't anywhere near a markmaster or something. You were lucky if you'd get one hit out of an entire chamber...
How would you get out?
You wouldn't...
But even knowing that, didn't slow your quick pace.
You'd been recruited to participate in a study, without knowing any of the details...
It had been guaranteed to change your life.
So when they'd injected you with something they'd been studying- only for it to basically not do a damn thing?
It brought truths you might have felt better not knowing.
Nature's cruel joke to you.
You were strangely immune. Why?
Because you had extra DNA.
How is that possible?
You'd absorbed your twin in the womb early on, some parts you some parts them. Which being whos? You'll never know for sure.
Now being sent here to die, you suppose it's a justifiable death to send one immune person into unknown dangers. After all you weren't some special case needed for anything really important.
You were just an oddity looked at cruely.
There was nothing left to give to the world...
You'd flown to a base being briefed on what little information they did have, then driven for hours before reaching a small hidden dock.
It been just another hour from there to the shore.
Now, if you were lucky... You'd reach the closest town on the known map before it got dark, hopefully finding shelter...
You were in fact extremely lucky, you'd reached the closest town before nightfall. But luck can be either good or bad.. Something you mentally reminded yourself as you noticed residents rushed away from you, avoiding any contact as you'd tried to ask where, if there was somewhere, would someone pay to sleep.
The town wasn't very big, so eventually you found what seemed like the go to place for drinks.
Stepping inside , everyone stopped talking completely- turning to glance at you, you kept your hand on the inside of your coat- ready to pull your gun if needed.. Not that it would actually help against the five or six people staring at you.
"Passing through?" An old woman calls from behind a splintering looking wooden bar.
"Yes, I'm not familiar with this area.. It's getting late , is there by chance any rooms available?"
At your answer, a generally low chatting returned as if everyone relaxed.
"Upstairs first door, lock it when you sleep and leave first thing in the morning." The woman hurried you with a wave of her hand, so you decided not to push it.
Up the stairs and into the first room.
It was simple , but the lock was pretty serious business on the inside.
That's enough to tell you its more dangerous here than you'd thought. Everyone seemed clearheaded , reasonable enough, so why the need for a lock like that?
Still though, you were tired... Laying down you don't bother to change seeing as how you have two spare sets to wear, black on black. Not very subtle but you werent exactly subtle yourself .
You felt the longer someone looked at you, the more they could sense something was different ...
You hated it. Hated attention...
Falling asleep to those thoughts, you wake up only a few hours later. Restless as if fighting in your sleep.
It was early enough you could leave, and the sun would come up soon enough.
Fixing your hair and clothing, you took a pill to kick your body up. Anytime you'd miss one, your body would start to freak out at itself and attack similar to an auto immune problem.. You wouldn't die, you'd just be in intense constant pain.
Going down the stairs, two men jump up from the table clearly startled.
The first one whispers to the second , who grabs something from the table and- starts to come your way.
You dont have time to react - too late to block the incoming....sheet of wrinkly paper? Oh. No. (Le gasp)
Hes shoved a drawn scrabbly makeshift of a map into your hands.
"Follow the road written and avoid the dark spots if you wish to live." And hes slapped you on the back to push you towards the door.
So you're outside once again, squinting at the map given to you in the poor lighting.
You mentally slap yourself , reaching into your bag to pull out a lighter.
Should have had a flashlight , but no. For some reason, that wasn't included.
The map is pretty much the same as yours, only with added crude drawings of things not marked.
The 'road' marked in clear lines, with an extra measure of red drawn saying do not cross. It had to add on three, maybe four entire days of walking.
But the dark drawings of a village and a bunch of dark spots , .. No it could be dried blood splatter that bled away and smeared the ink. So, that's where you need to go obviously.
Tucking the map and lighter away in the bag, you continue straight.
All you needed to do to go where it was marked not to. Its easily enough to go into a foresty area off the dirt road, and just by using the old trusty compas- which you pull out and look at.
Everything is as normal as normal can be.
Which quickly becomes not only maybe half an hour into walking. The sun starting to rise, brought your attention to a new detail concerning the forest trees coming into view.
Theres a strange darker tint to everything past a visible line , like two separate types of grass meeting. Only its the same kind. Clearly abnormal, so you kneal down to pull out supplies to grab a sample.
Taking out the testing kit , you use a swab on some darker parts to find its actually a coating at the base of the blades. Putting the swab carefully in a tube, you put the tube in to be scanned from the phone.
You'd been told it was high tech and quick, but no.
It flashes saying 2% , and after a few minutes later barely 3%.
"Are they ser io us.." You shake it a little , fruststedly pulling the antenna out and around to see if it'll get a better signal.
"What are you doing?" You jump at the sound of some feminine voice asking, knocking the phone out of your own hands and into the dark grass. Looking around.. No one is there?
As unsettling as that is, you best just hurry.
Picking it up and seeing 8% , you look around once more before going ahead.
Two hours in, you cant shake the feeling of someone watching. The damn phone is only at 58%. Instinctively you drop down to your knees, between two thicker tree trunks hidden by some form of bush and tall grass.
Right on cue , you hear some sort of growling nearby and- seconds later two animalistic like creatures charge across nearby where you would have been if you didn't stop.
A third joins them and as quietly as you can.. You try to sink down further.
The three creatures seem to snarl out as if impatient- and you all but jump at the sudden sound of flapping as a swarm of birds crash together quickly forming what looks to be a person.
The creatures disperse even before the person finished forming. From where you are, it looks like they might have multiple black wings. Wearing some sort of strange black robes, close to what you'd think maybe a priest would wear...
You aren't really sure what's worse - this new strange being, or those feral creatures.
The person shifts, giving you a view of some sort of full face mask right before- bright yellow eyes shifted to focus on where you were.
Not just the area close to. It felt like they were locked right onto you.
You held your breath, eyes darting around to check if you were somehow visible.
There was a slight possibility your knee could be visible near a very small opening in the bush.
You manage to soundlessly move it back just enough. The sound of bird wings flapping makes you look back- theyre both gone!
Shit! You desperately try to find them anywhere, but its suddenly so quiet.
It sounds like something big is coming from a few feet away, or maybe a group of smaller things.
You need to move. But as you're about to jump up to make a run for it- a hand reaches from behind you. Covering it fast enough you can barely start to scream. Whoever is behind you pushes you almost flat to the ground on your knees - as they press down into you as if trying to take cover.
".....don't move..." You barely make out her whispering in your ear- seconds before your eyes catch whats coming through.
It was more of those animal men, as well as two larger mutation looking things. If you had tried to go, there's no doubt in your mind... You'd have been caught.
The woman saved your life.
Who of which, kept her position on you with her hand covering your mouth for a good 5 minutes or so even after it seemed clear.
When she finally sat up, you moved with her to sit up "You really saved me just now, what are you doing out here?" You whisper softly, turning to face her.
"Same thing as you it seems." You find a woman with light brown hair and grayish eyes, holding up your sat phone.
Two things about that made you uncomfortable.
First.... The eerie smile on her face.
Second.. The phone was broken. It been on 58%.
There's no way of knowing when it broke. If it reached 100, or even if it sent part of the data.
It could be one of those ones that only sends it at 100%.
You'd have been sent here to die for no reason..
You aren't even sure anymore if you'd survive turning around. It was practically a miracle you'd gotten this far not running into anything.
"Hey.. It's ok. What's your name?" The woman reached out to grasp your shoulder, the eerie smile staying.
"It's.. Y/n.. But-"
"Ok y/n, I'm Mia. Don't worry alright?" She discarded the phone without bothering to look where she'd thrown it.
"But that's broken, my mission-"
"I've managed to set up a lab nearby, hidden from enemies. We can probably make it there without trouble, if we hurry." Mia pulls you to stand up with her in such a fluid motion you don't have time to disagree.
Before you can ask, shes rushing through the trees- and you're following as best you can.