L4D: Mana

Chapter 8: Weird Science

I never really did play with my abilities since I had turned. I regret it. I was having a blast now! Testing my luck with how far I could actually pounce. Adrenaline junkie is an understatement. There was something else that nagged me from the back of my head. Like I wasn't getting the satisfaction completely. I prayed about it for a bit, but went back to experimenting. There is no point in sitting and waiting for
an answer that couldn't materialize in front of me. I was tired after several hours and now sat in front of the trough drinking face first. The click of a lock alerted me. I looked at the large plexiglass window that took an entire wall; specifically at the metal door place at the bottom. A nurse walked in looking extremely scared. I stood up and waved. "Hi, uhh miss. What is it you need from me?" She swallowed hard, "I-I-I am...uh...taking you to your first experiment." I put a hand on her shoulder, I could sense she was dealing with much deeper issues than being afraid of me. "The Lord has a place for you. He will take your worries and ease your pain. He demands little but rewards much. Have faith and no torture will befall you." Her face looked dumbstruck. Then her eyes teared up. "That's what my mother said just before this happened. My parents believed that but I ignored it. But if a zombie can rely on God than so can I" I smiled softly, "Welcome, sister." She gave a meek smile before leading me to wherever with a more confident stride.
The room she led me to looked like an examination room with a centrifuge, microscope and a few other bells and whistles. She sat me down in a chair and did various things. She took my blood pressure, my pulse, temperature, breathing, reflexes, eyesight. My temperature was a few degrees below average human and my reflexes were hypersensitive with a reaction time that broke the world record. She commented on my eyes, "It appears that some of the fluid in your eye has a thin crystalline structure in it. Like an artificial tapetum lucidum. It gave you night vision, yet preserved the sharpness. The drawback is, direct light is completely blinding." She took a blood sample, albeit very very cautiously, but had some difficulty as it seemed my blood had thickened with turning. She took the samples to the centrifuge and made small talk while we waited. We asked ages, home towns where were we...ya know normal everyday talk......(BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!) The centrifuge pinged when she opened it. My blood cells took up a lot of room according to her. Under the microscope, things started to make sense. She looked, I looked, we looked at each other. "You see what's wrong here, right?" I nodded. "Yeah, my blood cells are massive. Might explain the endurance..." She popped her lips and gasped. "That's it! Their blood is thicker, so they bleed slower but carry more oxygen per cell but with a slower metabolism." I carried her thought, "Coupled with near constant adrenaline production...their muscles almost never wine for lack of O2 and are always juiced up when ever they need."
We were silent for a while as she examined the layers in the vile one at a time. My curiosity got the better of me. "What about the virus? Why am I not ripping someone to pieces right now?" She breathed a heavy sigh. "Well, I don't know why your not violent like the rest, but I do know that you have no virus...you have an answer." I looked up at her from the chair. "Your virus is backwards. I looked really close at them and I know why. They were contaminated by your antibodies. So now, instead of forcing the body to make more viruses, it's attacking active viruses and multiplying. Your the first case of green flu antibodies. You've also given us a rudimentary cure." I looked down at my claws, taking it all in. "It must work pretty well on its own. While I was out there, my group got in with a Tank, I jumped on its back and bit into his neck. I had watch afterward, but when I came back, the tank was gone and a kid about my age was there in the same position."
She looked interested. "Reversing a tank?"
Our thoughts were interrupted by the crackle of the intercom. "Oh, Mr. Ames!" I cringed at the condescending manner of the voice. "You don't have much time. That sweet young lady with you is locked in our common containment completely unarmed. And it looks like she's getting tired of running." Before the nurse could even utter a swear, I was sailing through the air. Jumping off walls. I didn't know, but my eyes glazed over in a milky white as protective instinct kindled my rage.
I could smell her trail. I kicked in the double doors to the containment. A large man with a gun stood in the way, and I could see Cara trying to survive at all costs. He saw me, I pounced at his gun. It shattered against the wall like a toy. He swung, and grimaced. Claws crammed deep in his wrist ripped back quickly. I saw bone. Trigger. My eyes appeared to melt into my hood's shadow. I pounced him, he screamed because I had him pinned. Even in rage I kept restraint. I clawed his stomach enough to need stitches, took a bite from his arm which almost made me gag, then slugged him out cold. His keycard opened the door. As it closed behind me I considered this their game over. "WRRRRYYYYYY!!!" All went quiet and still. A common tried to attack. I did similar to the huntress except this time I bit its neck. The taste of common flesh was sweet, and I was hungry. I screeched again and tore in to the horde rushing me. 20 minutes later I had painted the white room red. I was panting, not out of fatigue, but to calm down. My eyes faded from black, to white, to normal. I had very few stains on the hoodie. I was efficient I guess. I licked my hands clean with my tongue. It was now rough but thin like a cats. I walked out of the gore to Cara, who was cowering in the corner, a bite obvious on her arm. Just before I panicked, I remembered what the nurse said. "Cara. I will help you. But you need to trust me." Tears were evident on her face but she nodded. "I will bite you, we looked at my blood under the microscope and my virus neutralizes others." Her eyes widened at bite. Her gaze was on the pile behind me. I probably looked like a normal Hunter with blood caked teeth and face. I licked around my mouth to try to clean it. "Cara please! Common turn within 30 minutes. Biting you after would kill you. She held her eyes shut tight but held her arm out to the side. I eyed the bite. It was still open so I tried to bite over it, in a way. Her temp spiked. She hyperventilated and started having seizures. I thought I was too late. She lay still. No nerve signals no nothing. Then a flicker. Then another. It got steadier and steadier until a gasping cry came out. She sat up and looked at me with a goofy grin. I brought her back to my cell. I moved her cot in with me, just to ease suspicion of her bite.