Unbroken

Part 1

    It is far into the future by now, or at least I think it is. During these days, time is easier to forget than how many bodies you counted on the field that day or maybe what you had eaten for breakfast. All I know is that time does not matter until this is over. The idea was to create efficient animals to serve in the US Army in wars to aid in our success. After humanity had managed to engulf the world within a robotic shell of what it used to be, the globe grew into a place dominated by technology. Militarizing the animals which encapsulated nature in its truest form was soon to come to light. It was all a mistake some no longer live to admit.

 The virus originated in a lab, starting as chemical A296B, held securely confined by the scientists who worked there. The chemicals were tested on animals, but the aftermath of what these toxins did to the creatures were nothing to be marveled at. When one of the feral subjects, a dog in particular, escaped its enclosure, it slayed the first human it laid its monstrous eyes on. Reinforcements were sent to exterminate the dog, taking exactly five bullets until it laid dead. The chemical dramatically increased the dexterity of the dog, as it soon did for the other animals. The new creations were becoming absurdly more rampant by the day. Attempting to suppress them as the chemical they were injected with mutated further in their bodies turned into a lethal chore. With the intelligence of each subject as increased as their newfound strength, they managed to free themselves on their own. The scientists were mauled by the animals corrupted by the chemical, leaving for very few left to tell the tale. 

 The last remaining scientists turned in photos of the experiments to the US Army, which I have been enlisted in for seven years now. Our commanding General swiped the grotesque images over our eyes. The animals’ bones were almost always visible from underneath their rotting, zomboid flesh, a twisted result of what we couldn't manage to tame as well as we could with our man-made machinery. Though, each appeared ominously well-built and sturdy. Taunting, staring at all of us in the captured photos with their devoid eyes, as they still looked to be able to kill without the slightest thought of hesitation. The scientists sent in pictures of the original subjects, mostly stray dogs. Although some were more daring as opposed to their domestic counterparts, featuring animals from the old memory of family friendly zoos. The chemical is incredibly well known for causing physical mutations, which was explicitly represented in the photos of the double headed athletic dogs. They were often seen with a ghastly cataract-looking film over their sunken eyes. Ever since the hellish, venal creations of what used to be the family pet and the source of what used to be a forgotten, irreplaceable joy escaped the laboratory, additional infected animals have been appearing throughout the globe in all species. It is assumed that the exposure to A296B readily formed into a sickness, as it is now a communicable disease. An immeasurable amount of humans have been killed by the beasts in the process. We’ve been studying their behavior recently, shuddering while noticing how the Infected refused to consume some of their human prey. Instead, using the spared ones, they’d sprawl their mutilated corpses out in the grass, as if a warning to any who dare to cross their paths. Updates on new discoveries and observations will be listed soon. 

As a US soldier, we are now required to patrol throughout the states in our own separate sqaudrents to extirpate any and all infected animals. Every soldier including myself brandishes a gun which I fail to keep my faith in as I hold mine close to my side in my gloved hands. I had witnessed a soldier take a whole round of shots at a diseased horse to no avail and lose his life. I haven't trusted our weaponry since. We are sent out onto the open fields a little ways outside our base where the Infected tend to come in waves throughout the day. The pinnacle of the wave of the Infected always arrives at around eight in the evening, ceases until ten, and carries on all throughout the night where they hunt and roam the land. This makes it almost always the most inopportune of times, as fighting during the night came with heightened risks of life and death. My eyes scan the area from behind my bullet-proof visor attached to my armoured helmet. I find my spot in the secluded tall grass where I keep watch. Each soldier in my sqaudrent has a premeditated spot to patiently wait until the animals reveal themselves. I glance down at my wrist watch which provides me with no solace as it reads “8:15 pm.” Proceeding to clutch the gun I hold, I begin to notice my heart pounding on the walls of my rib cage as I breathe in the musty air. The oxygen is infused with the distinctive scent they give off, similar to mildew or rot. Yet, only lying a few feet beyond the tall grass were boney human carcasses on the ground, ripped wide open, which must've added to the putrid smell. Their organs were out on display and tangled in the grasses below them as the torn fabric of the Army uniform they once wore wavered in the passing breeze. As I sat there, holding myself back from letting my gaze shift once again towards what could be my own demise that laid there within perfectly terrifying eyeshot, out strides a pack of canines. My heart skips a beat and I lower my head, forget how to breathe, and lift my gun. 

The tension in the air is as thick and intense as the putrid smell in my nostrils. There are four of them in total, three being skinny and supple-bodied coyotes. They foam at the mouth as they clack their jaws and cackled and howled hysterically over some hidden joke. It was easy to spot the mutated extra set of eyes they all displayed. The other one is a robust, mixed dog who clearly stately dominated the group as the reigning leader. The dog is a colossal size and equipped with an extra pair of front and hind legs with hooks for claws. It growls nightmarishly as it ambles around, tail held high like a beacon. All of their pale eyes were illuminated and stuck out in the dark of the night that was beginning to settle around us. Their eyes swiveling from left to right in their diseased sockets, it was only a matter of time until they spotted us. My finger caresses the trigger, aiming at one of the coyotes. Though, before I could make a move, another soldier shot the animal, causing it to yowl in a garish manner as it stumbled. Despite the destitute look the coyote gave off with it’s scrawny, smaller build, I would watch as it refused to accede to the bullet it had taken in its chest as it regained its footing. Then, suddenly, the dog who led the pack rushed towards the overgrowth that we were submerged in. 

“Fall back! Fall back!” 
I heard being shouted horrifically as we sprinted out of the grass. Wasting no time, I fled, thunderous barking sounding behind me as I ran. Weeds tangled around my legs as I sprint, ripping them from the ground while thorn bushes snagged at my uniform. There are gunshots fired by the other soldiers, their pounding footsteps sending vibrations through the ground. I barrel through and tear down vines and branches in my way as I fight to stay up on my feet. Taking a glance to my left, I spot one of the coyotes as it leaps and pounces on a soldier, dragging him down to the earth below his feet. Frantic gunshots are fired, mingled with the blood-curdling sound of screaming and I hardly dare to take another look back. There is no longer anyone else running beside me and I realize that I am alone all besides the one incredibly deft dog still persistently following me. Still running, I take a sharp turn to the left, throwing the animal off and kicking up dirt as I come to an abrupt halt. Positioning the gun, I peer ahead and watch as the dog shakes itself off and begins to charge in my direction. I pull the trigger and off goes the rapid-fire round, the devilish atrocity screeching as the bullets connected with its body. It would continue to stumble closer towards me in a desperate pursuit to make a bloodied mess out of me like the other men who previously accompanied me. For a minute, I thought it might win, but the animal finally slowed and collapsed in defeat. My gaze shifts down at the lifeless dog whose tongue lies limply out of its mouth. It's eyes remained still open, forcing myself to look away from the horrendous sight. When I arrived back at the base, nobody had to ask what happened to the others. I walk my way to my bunker, whip my helmet off and sit down. I can’t help but shove my hands in my eyes for a few long moments. Then, dropping my hands with a heavy sigh, I looked up to the hazy, flickering lights in the room and blink my glossy eyes. It was there and then I wondered if we would ever see an end to this nightmare at all.