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🕑 Added 2025-05-15 08:48:56 +0000 UTCStay Alive
Chapter 20 – Decisions
Why did Alan obey those people?
There were many reasons, but one of the main ones was that he didn’t know if any of those present would turn into an infected. Understanding the method of transmission was extremely important, but everything was happening so abruptly that he couldn’t be sure.
Besides, he knew that if he didn’t distance himself from the group for a while, he would at least have to kill someone to show the others how far he was willing to go. Decision and action are two completely different things. Making a decision is a mystery, but taking action instead of just thinking would make the others see him as a threat. And that would bring trouble... until he decided to leave.
At the very least, he didn’t want to sleep with the risk that one of them might attack him during the night. That was precisely why he avoided falling into a deep sleep.
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved,” Alan said as he leaned against the wall and turned on his flashlight to check his wounds.
Claire looked at Alan, walked over to him, and replied, “I thought you were with the military. I didn’t expect it to be just you. When I tried to stop that woman from screaming, it was already too late.”
“I wasn’t talking about that… Forget it.”
“It’s the same to me.”
“Do you have any ammo?” Alan asked, not resisting the medical attention. It was more comfortable that way.
“This is my last magazine. With so few bullets, it would be impossible for me to get out of this building,” Claire said as she noticed the tattoo on Alan’s arm and asked, “Special Forces? A unique squad?”
“Yes. I was a captain a few years ago,” Alan replied, and added, “By the way, I’m Alan Rogers. Thanks for your help earlier.”
“It’s nothing. We dragged you into this mess because of the screams…” Claire said as she finished bandaging the last wound on his arm.
Alan looked at her for a moment, with some suspicion, and asked, “What’s an FBI agent doing here? What’s your story?”
Claire sighed, lowering her gaze for a moment. The silence between them was brief but heavy.
“I didn’t come directly to look for someone like you might think…” Claire paused for a few seconds and explained, “At first, yes. That was the plan… But along the way, I found too many people who needed help. Children. Trapped families. Wounded people. I couldn’t just selfishly ignore them and keep going.”
Alan nodded in silence, watching her closely. He remembered his initial ignorance and deeply regretted leaving his brother alone. He would never forgive himself for that.
“I thought I could take a short detour, that I’d still have time. But I ended up in Texas. Midland, to be exact. After that… The roads collapsed, the quarantine zones fell apart, and I couldn’t go any further,” Claire said, pressing her lips together, holding back old frustration.
“I guess I failed to find my brother…”
Alan looked at her firmly. “You didn’t. Sometimes saving some means losing sight of others, but that doesn’t mean you chose wrong.”
Claire looked at him with a mix of surprise and gratitude. Then, cautiously, she returned the question. “And you? Why did you leave the army?”
Alan hesitated. His gaze turned distant, as if memories were hitting him hard. “It was a mission overseas… We had clear orders: eliminate a group suspected of bioterrorism before they could use a new virus. Intelligence failed. They weren’t terrorists… They were civilians. Innocent people. Whole families.”
Claire listened carefully, without interrupting him.
“I followed the order without questioning it. Because that’s how we were trained. Because I thought it was the right thing to do. But… in the end, there was only blood. And then, I lost my last men in an ambush. They stayed behind to cover me while I escaped. I never forgave myself.”
Silence returned, heavier than before.
“After that, I couldn’t keep obeying blindly. It didn’t matter if I wore a uniform, if I followed protocols. There was a line I shouldn’t have crossed. But by then, it was already too late…”
Claire reached out and gently touched his shoulder. “Thank you for telling me.”
Alan allowed himself to close his eyes for a second. “If we manage to get out of this building, I’ll help you look for your brother. There are some military bases nearby. Maybe we’ll find something.”
Claire nodded, with a small hopeful smile. “Then I guess I didn’t completely fail. I can still reach him.”
“Do you know anything else about the situation in the country?” Alan thought that maybe Claire knew more than he did about what had happened in Texas.
Claire thought for a moment and said, “As far as I know, the Federal Disaster Response Agency merged with the military to establish quarantine bases in different cities.”
“It’s known that in Austin, Texas, and other major cities, they resorted to extreme measures to prevent the spread of infection, including summary executions of U.S. citizens.”
“So FEDRA is the cause…” Alan clenched his fists tightly.
The U.S. government before the outbreak often clashed with FEDRA over how to handle the infection. Alan’s brother was at a military base where FEDRA intervention wasn’t allowed, even if that led to them being labeled as deserters.
But the military was with them, and in the end, they wouldn’t kill their own families, even if it was a direct order.
Shortly after a leaked report from the World Health Organization revealed that the latest Cordyceps vaccination trials had failed, a U.S. general affiliated with FEDRA announced on television that the “bureaucrats” in the government had been removed and that they could finally take the necessary steps to “protect” the United States.
The Department of Defense, along with some Justice Department officials, worked closely with FEDRA during the initial outbreak. However, as the crisis escalated, most other branches of the government — and soon the U.S. Constitution itself — were indefinitely suspended.
To contain the fungus, FEDRA had to do terrifying things.
“To contain the fungus, the military relocated all uninfected civilians to large quarantine zones within major cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, and Seattle.”
“I have to go to the military base where my brother was. If the bombings continue, we’ll destroy the only chance of rebuilding everything,” Alan said, making a decision about what he had to do next.
