A man hurried through a dense forest and swerved through the thicket. He held his daughter tight in his arms and didn't let go. He refused to give into the hyperventilation caused by his frail lungs and aging body. In their wake, a relentless reanimated deformity hunted them. A lifeless yet vivacious corpse was drenched in blood and stripped down to mere animalistic instincts. Its mangled, distorted body stumbled over the rocks and exposed roots. Blood dripped down its jaw as it mumbled and snarled while it bumped into trees, resulting in a trail of bloody signatures throughout the dense forestry. It showed no sign of fatigue.
The father quickly took his eyes off his chosen trail and saw that the bite on his daughter's arm didn't worsen. His mind eased a little as now he knew his daughter won't meet the same fate their vicious hunter did. A stain of tears formed on his shirt as the daughter cried and dug her head in his chest. The monster was cemented in her mind, she couldn't bear the sight of it, not even for a second. As the father sprinted through the forest, his body became weaker and it became harder for him to breathe. He tried to comfort his daughter in his arms but to no avail, he realized it was no help in this hopeless predicament.
When he began to succumb to the hyperventilation and his lungs began to give out, the sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the area. The father suddenly stopped in his tracks and the forest fell quiet. The bloody decayed corpse of what once resembled his soulmate and love of his life laid on the ground, motionless and gone forever. He then gasped and wheezed to regain his breath. He held his daughter tighter than ever before and tried to comfort her once again but without success. The image of the monster haunted her mind, it no longer mattered if the monster was gone.
A soldier slowly got up from a nearby ditch. The mounted light on the soldier's gun nearly blinded the father, the daughter still kept her head buried in his chest. The father immediately smiled and called to the soldier for help, like an angel sent from the heavens. After the soldier noticed the frightened duo, he swiftly aimed his gun in their direction. The father's smile slowly went away and formed a frown as he realized the soldier was not here to help.
"Hands where I can see them!" the soldier commanded. The father put his daughter down and raised his hands. He sat there confused and bewildered at the soldier's reaction being less than friendly. The daughter covered her face with her arms and continued to sob out of fright.
"I'm going to check for bites, hold still!" the soldier yelled as he slowly approached. The daughter lifted her head and turned to her father with endless tears running down her face wanting to speak and scream, but the shock from what transpired left her speechless. The father looked back at her in despair and closed his eyes. He hoped that this was all just a bad dream and that if he opened his eyes, he would wake up beside the love of his life.
He opened his eyes to the soldier standing amongst him. The soldier checked the father's neck, arms and legs. "You're good." The soldier said, nudging him away with his gun. As the soldier checked the daughter, her fear of dying offset her involuntary silence and she bursted out in tears pleading to be spared. The soldier found the bite, took a couple steps back and raised his gun.
"She's immune!" The father cried out.
The soldier glanced at him and acknowledged his plea. He reached for his walkie talkie. "Command Foxtrot, this is Raylond 035. I'm reporting a female adolescent with what appears to be a 3 hour old bite mark experiencing no symptoms of the infection, over." 10 seconds later someone on the other end spoke but the static in the background made them incomprehensible to the father and daughter. "Understood, over." The soldier then lifted his gun and glanced back at the father.
"I'm sorry..."
The father began to scream and cry as the soldier shot the weeping daughter. In a second flat the daughter's body slumped to the ground, motionless. With another familial soul now in the clutches of death, the father screamed bloody murder and lunged at the soldier. After he landed a punch that pushed them both to the ground, the father managed to grip the soldier's neck.
As he stared into the eyes of a killer, he saw the soldiers' fears finally show. They've both witnessed the same horrors and loss that night. After a couple minutes of struggle the soldier bashed him with the stock of his gun and pushed him off. Without a second thought, the father got back up and charged at the soldier yet again. But before he could even react, the soldier already had his finger on the trigger and opened fire...
