Mistakes Made

6 - Discovery.

I was discharged within a week—not because I was fully healed but because "I had an obligation to be there for my squad". Those were the words of the general. I hate that prick.

Now I sat in my room, staring at the pile of paperwork I have to complete lying messily on my desk. Supply requests, training plans, mission reports, death logs—it was so much. Too much. I was expected to be done with everything in two days. No more. Forty-eight hours to finish the mountain of work. I knew I wasn't going to meet the deadline. Not that I cared anyway.

I was brought back to reality as I heard a soft knock on my door. I turned my chair slightly as I watched the door slowly slide open. The familiar kinky brunette head of hair poked through from behind the door. Her eyes met with mine and she flashed a wide smile before stepping inside and shutting the door behind her.

"Commander! It's good to see you again!", Alex said happily as she slowly approached my desk. The fact that she had a smile on her face the second time I saw her should've annoyed me but it didn't. I actually felt slightly relieved to see her after so long. I forced an expressionless look despite the conflicting feeling growing in my chest. Actually, now that I think about it, that feeling might just be my fractured ribs. "Don't you have something better to do than pester me?", I asked.

"Probably but that doesn't matter! I have something super important I need to show you.", I watched as she dug in her pocket and pulled out—oh my god, seriously? She was holding a keychain. A keychain of a ginger cat with a tiny pink bow on its head. "Tada! A friend to keep you to keep you company everywhere you go!", she smiled as she placed it on my desk. I stared at it with furrowed eyebrows as she stood there, waiting for me to say something. My eyes trailed to her then back at the keychain.

"Oh! I also have something not-so-important but still kinda important to show you.", she dug into her pocket again, pulling out a zip lock bag with what looked like a large chip smeared in blood inside it. I took it from her, squinting my eyes to get a closer look. It smelt exactly like the infected. "What is this and where did you find it?", I asked.

"Well, after you were rushed back to base I got a bit curious and decided to examine the Gravemind. Its patchwork looked perfect. Like it had been sown together by a human. It was impossible to tear apart though. I was about to give up and return to the base with the rest of Squad C and D but then I heard this faint beeping sound. It was coming from the Gravemind's neck. I wiped away the blood and saw this... chip wedged into the bane of its neck so I decided to pull it out. Now, I'm no expert but last time I checked the infected are made up of blood and guts like humans because well... they literally are humans. Not wires and gears like robots. Someone has found a way to capture and modify the infected, using them as a weapon and we seem to be the guinea pigs."

I placed the zip lock bag on my desk as I rubbed my temple. The infected were already dangerous enough as they were, now we have to deal with them being controlled by a third party. It was a lot to process. "Why didn't you show this to the higher-ups? Surely they can take care of this.", I said.

"What?! No way! They'd just dismiss it as a crazy conspiracy theory, throw away the evidence and continue with "other important matters". Haven't you noticed how they don't care about us? I was forced into my first mission even though I was far from ready and you're being forced to work even though you haven't fully recovered! I could've died out there and my death would've been written off as "a noble sacrifice in the fight for humanity". We have to figure this out ourselves."

I stared at her with hesitation. As much as she was right, it was risky. If whoever was behind this finds out that we're onto them, our necks would be on the line. I sighed deeply as I run my hands down my face. "Fine, we'll look into it but you need to make sure nobody hears about this. Not a single person outside of this room. Do you understand me?" "Yes, sir!", she flashed the iconic wide smile at me as she nodded.

I rolled my eyes at her cheerful attitude even though it brought a sense of comfort to me. "Now get out, I have work to do and you're distracting me.", I said as I glared back at my desk. She nodded understandingly and turned back to the door, waving goodbye. "Remember to take care of yourself, commander. I need you!", with that she left the room.

I kept my eyes glued to my desk as she said that, trying to bury that warm feeling deep down where it would never see the light of day. My eyes slowly trail off to the keychain she left on my desk. I grabbed it and balled it into my hand, holding it tightly. It was strange, how this little trinket made me feel comforted. It's probably just some sort of trauma response from almost dying.

Word count: 930