Dead Snow

Part 20 - Debrief [END]

*Beep*... *Beep*... *Beep*

It felt like I was out for a few hours. I awoke to the sound of a hospital monitor beeping away with every heartbeat and I could feel multiple wires connected in different areas of my body. I opened my eyes to discover I was in the infirmary. There were multiple patients still asleep in their beds on the other side of the room. There was a doctor writing something down on a clipboard at my bedside. She immediately noticed I was awake and explained the current situation.

???: Ah, you're awake.

Vic: What-

Vance: Don't be alarmed, your back at headquarters currently being treated for your injuries from your last assignment. My name is Doctor Vance, a member of the ACF Medical staff.

Vic: How long was I out?

Vance: You've been unconscious for two weeks. You were extracted via helicopter while two field doctors treated you for 12 hours. You suffered multiple bone fractures and a couple of broken ribs. There were also multiple pieces of shrapnel located in your arms and legs. Had they waited to treat you any longer, you'd most likely be dead.

Vic: Wait, the sample, what happened to-

Vance: The sample you and your team recovered from site 174 has already been taken to the containment wing. Doctor Sterling is the head scientist overseeing all operations regarding sample G16. You have nothing to worry, your mission is complete.

Vic: And site 174?

Vance: Site 174 has been completely wiped and decontaminated. Unfortunately, you were the only survivor of Taskforce Alpha, team 1. The remains of operators Brian Macintosh, James Micheal, and Doctor James Hunan were recovered and completely incinerated. The remains of Operator Benjamin Ross were never found and reported MIA until confirmation of his status.

Vic: Did they watch the footage from my helmet cam? He's gone.

Vance: Yes but, some of the footage was corrupted after interaction with the gateway. Only bits and pieces of the footage remained intact. You'll be called for a debriefing after your full recovery.

Vic: How long?

Vance: The X-cells in your bloodstream have repaired most of the damage and have expunged all foreign life forms that may have infected your body. But it will take another week or so to run some phycological tests as well as some physical evaluations.

Vic: Very well.

Vance: For now just relax and focus on your recovery. Doctor Manus will be here shortly to ask you some questions. He's the head scientist in charge of the medical wing. If you need anything else, just press the green button on this controller, myself or one of the other doctors will come to see to your needs.

Vic: Thanks Doc- Er, Doctor.

She gives a small sentimental smile before leaving to tend to the other patients. And even though she just told me what happened to the rest of my team, I still looked at the other patients in the room to see if I would see anyone else from my team in one of those beds. There were only 4 others, and of course, none of them were Mac, Doc, Micheal or Ross. If I kept looking around then I guess that meant I wasn't ready to accept it yet. I always imagined us all going out together if we ever came across a mission that bad. I know I should feel grateful for what they did for me but, I wish it weren't me that was here.

Two days passed, and I made a full physical recovery. My injuries would've taken months under normal circumstances but those X-cells don't mess around. Every day after that started with a physical evaluation consisting of numerous aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Then ended with a phycological evaluation with Dr. Manus. He asked me the same general questions every day. How do I feel? What am I thinking about? What do I think of the current situation? What would I do in this scenario and why? What would I do in that scenario and why? Doctor Manus would continuously take notes as I answered each question. Sometimes Dr. Vance would be the one asking the questions if Dr. Manus was unavailable. I don't know what they were writing down, or how these questions determine my current mental state. This carried on for another two weeks until the doctors deemed me fit for duty. A few days passed while I waited for members of the council to arrive so I can give them my full report. Before that, I was visited by a couple of familiar faces. David and Ajax appeared at my door one late night to see how I was doing.