Mistakes Made

11 - Regroup.

Two weeks. Two weeks since Alex disappeared off the face of the Earth.

I couldn't do anything knowing Alex was out there somewhere alone because of how I enabled her. I had never felt this much guilt before. Sure, when I lost more than half my squad in the overwhelming battle against the infected all I felt was guilt for not being good enough to lead them out of danger, but THIS? This level of guilt felt far worse than that.

She was all I thought about during my recovery in the medical facility. Where was she and what was she doing? Was she alive? If she was alive, was she hurt? If she was dead—

I hated even considering that thought. The idea of her being... dead just didn't feel right. Who was going to pester me the way she did? Flash me that warm smile or laugh in the most serious situations? Everything would be dull and tasteless without her presence. I hated it.

I was cleared to be back in action about a week after.

I sat in my office, staring at the mountain of paper work I still had to do. My door swung open, a familiar voice filling the room.

"Well, well, well. Look who's finally out of bed! Never thought I'd see the day," Leonardo said smugly as he entered my office. He dropped a map and a folder onto my desk, pushing the paperwork out of the way.

"What is this?" I asked, staring down at the map.

"One of the pieces to our little puzzle. I've got a lead on Alex."

My eyes widened in shock. A lead? After about three weeks of radio silence, Leonardo made a breakthrough? I could hardly believe it.

"How? How'd you figure it out?"

"Simple. Alex stole a military bike which belongs to the government. All government property like drones and vehicles have trackers in them so I tracked the one she stole down but of course it couldn't have been that easy." He spreads the map out onto my desk, various locations being circled in red.

"The bike was tracked to be still at the factory. It hadn't moved whatsoever."

"That doesn't make sense. How would the bike be there but she isn't? I turned that place upside down looking for her and she wasn't there. There's no way she decided to just roam around on foot."

"Exactly, it doesn't make sense. I mean, I rescued Alex previously on one of my missions. She would know first hand what it's like to be out there with no supplies or anyone to help, especially since she's an inexperienced soldier. She may be naïve but she isn't an idiot. I genuinely couldn't believe that she just up and left."

"So?" I gestured to the map, "What does this all mean?"

"There's a possibility that someone kidnapped her for sticking her nose in places it doesn't belong."

"Kidnapped? Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?"

"We're dealing with people who have the ability to control the goddamn infected. We have no choice but to think crazy here."

I ran my fingers through my hair, realizing that, for once, Leonardo might be right. I sighed deeply, keeping my eyes fixed on the map.

"Okay, let's say she was kidnapped. Why would they do that? Why not just kill her?"

"Glad you asked," he said as he took the folder, and open it, spreading the contents onto the map. It was almost identical to the sketches I found at the factory except it was a cycle of a human body morphing into a gravemind with messy hand writing scattered across the pages.

"Okay, stages of a gravemind, we already know this. It's basic knowledge. What does this have to do with anything?" I said as I skimmed the pages.

"Sure, at first glance it looks like the ordinary diagram but if you actually decided to read what's written on the page you'd see it in a completely different light," he pointed to one of the pages, "These are basically a step-by-step guide on how to transfer a human into one. Equipment, chemicals, environment, conditions—everything you need to do this right. This also explains why graveminds don't have a preference. They're made to not have one. If it sees something that poses a threat, it attacks."

"But why? Why go through the trouble of kidnapping her for this? Why would they choose her?"

"Maybe the person behind all this saw an opportunity. In their eyes, she could be resourceful to them."

I paused, turning to look at him, "Leonardo, you better not be suggesting—"

"She could be their little guinea pig. Why kill her when you could use her to your own advantage?"

I felt anger bubbling in my chest because I knew he was right. There was a possibility she could be used as a testing subject. The idea was nauseating. Alex had a future in the military. In a few years, she could've been a seasoned soldier. Hell, I could've easily recommended her for a promotion, given her intelligence and bravery. All that potential could be wasted because my incompetent ass enabled her.

"No way in hell will I let those pricks turn her into one of those things," I seethed, my fist clenched tightly.

"Then we have to act fast if we want to find her. Based on these sketches, there's a shit ton of preparations that need to be done before they can even begin testing on the subject but then again, she's been gone for three weeks. We could already be too late."

My heart sank at his words. Too late? So, she could already be a mindless giant zombie roaming around somewhere controlled by those... I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself from breaking something.

"I'm guessing you have a plan then?" I asked.

"Of course, Hameld," he smirked, focusing on the map before us, "I did some research and there's three other factories under the same company name as the one we went to. They're not close, each about two hours out, but under the assumption that these factories are where they do their twisted dirty work, it's the only chance we have of finding Alex."

I sighed deeply as I leaned back in my chair, running my hands over my face, "That's a lot of ground to cover. We can't have any kind of backup from either of our squads as we'll risk all this classified info spreading too fast and eventually reaching the higher ups. They'll shut everything down and I won't be able to find Alex. Fuck, this is too much for me to grasp."

I felt Leonardo place a hand on my shoulder, a strangely comforting hand. When I locked eyes with him, his face was... somewhat empathetic. That cocky, smug look that I was so used to was replaced by something softer. It was weird.

"I know it's a lot but that's why I'm here, right? To lighten the load? Sure, we may have different motives but we're in this together. I'll help you reach your goal and you'll help me reach mine."

I stared at him, trying to find the usual snarky sarcasm in his eyes, but all I saw was genuine determination, almost like he was promising me. I wanted to believe him but something in me told me to never trust anyone, especially someone of the likes of Leonardo. There was always something shady about him. I watched his hand slide off my shoulder as he headed towards the door.

"We leave tonight. You and me. Fully geared up. We don't know what could be awaiting us," he said, his tone serious.

He looked at me one last time, the infamous smirk reappearing on his face, "Don't worry, Hameld, I won't slow you down. We'll find her."

He then walked out of my office, leaving me to sit with my spiralling thoughts.

Word count - 1291