Ground Zero

Agent 026 enters Agent Zero's office and takes a seat. "You wanted to see me sir?" Agent Zero slides a shot glass of whiskey over to Agent 026. "Yes. I have something to tell you." Agent 026 leans forward as Agent Zero continues talking. "You've been asking about what happened to The country of Greensburg." Agent 026 leans back and says. "So finally I get an answer." Agent Zero smirks. "I got to pass this story on eventually and since your one of the younger council members you have the responsibility to pass knowledge on to the next generation after yours." Agent 026 takes a drink of whiskey before agreeing to learn the truth. Agent Zero leans back in his reopening the whiskey bottle and saying. "It all happened in 1985."

[THE STORY BEGINS]

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the biggest Joint Operation ever done by Nexus, all together there were 15,000 soldiers in all. Nexus, Base 88 and the CDF were involved. You see the SCR didn't exist back than and The Vanguard was busy in banishing Zalgo to prevent a second outbreak. SCP Would of pitched in but they were not a valid ally at the time nor did they have a proper military branch either. G.O.C also wasn't a valuable ally at the time either but they still aren't so nothing changed with them. The small island country of Greensburg was located on the other side of the world between Russia and North America. The operation was supposed to be a Quarantine Evacuation. Evacuate civilians and quarantine infected. But that's where we fucked up. You see things were worse than we thought, but you don't have to tell me that, there was 15,000 soldiers deployed and less than 4,000 came back. But there's more to the story than that.

It started like D-day only minus the Nazis of course. Some of us came in via aircraft while others came in via landing crafts. Some of the other soldiers in the boat with me said this was giving off a Vietnam type feeling. I remember the sound of rifles and shotguns cocking as soldiers prepared for the shit storm ahead. The clear blue sky over head with the added smell of the ocean. I remember remember seeing a Chinook helicopter flying by overhead as the airborne units raced ahead. I looked over the wall of the landing craft to see the rippling waves of the tide and ocean, the beach slowly coming into sight over the horizon. But something was wrong, as I looked at the Landing Crafts behind mine I realized something. The birds were flying south, now at first this would seem normal, if it was December, this happened during the summer. They weren't flying south because of winter, they were flying south to migrate. They were flying south from fear. Though the day was beautiful the beauty masked the terror that was to come.

The landing craft came to shore. I remember the sounds of boots as everyone filed out charging the shore line guns drawn. Helicopters advanced ahead inland. The plan was for ground units to work their way up as the airborne units would be dropped in the center, this was no longer a city. It was ground zero and we were not ready for what was to come next. We charged forward through the sand making our way up to the tree line at the top. An unease was starting to spread through us the closer to the tree line we got. Upon reaching the tree line we saw it. Carnage, indescribable carnage and slaughter was waiting for us. But what I could describe, is the least of what was there, it looked like an animal came through ripping apart everyone and thing in sight. A blood pool from within a coffee shop ran out the front door and down into a gutter as severed limbs could be spotted scattered across the city streets. We cautiously made our way down into the first street. The ground unit was split up into groups, what ever group was in your landing craft would be the same group you would stay with in the city. Due to that there was any where from 30 to 40 people in one group and so we scattered through the city creating check points along the South side of the city. My group set in a Pawn Shop across the street from the Coffee Shop. A squad of 7 went over to the Coffee Shop with an M2 flamethrower to, ahh. Clean up the blood pool massacre. We didn't want the smell of what ever happened over there to come over to the Pawn Shop so we burned it. We also didn't want to see it anymore, there are things that no one should have to see. And what was in that coffee shop well, I cant say, but most of the people who saw it killed them selves because of it. Imagine something so horrific that it makes mentally stable people commit suicide just from glancing at it. I was the only one out of my team who didn't end it all one week later. But that one week later was after Ground Zero. So now to continue my story. The coffee shop burned up slowly turning the massacre inside to ash within minutes. The flames that engulfed it roared as we watched it burn down smell of death quickly replaced with the smell of smoke. We watched for 7 minutes before the coffee shop became a smoldering pile of burned wood. At this point we regrouped in the Pawn Shop waiting for our transport to arrive.

We had a sharp shooter with 2 others on the roof keeping point. About an hour in a half pasted before they reported movement. The same squad of 7 that burned the Coffee Shop moved into the street to confirm what was reported. I peaked out the window curios of what we were up against. I never should of done it. Upon looking out the smell of death hit me like a brick. There was a lady but there was something wrong with her. The way she walked was, unsteady and jerky. She turned towards to squad and that when I saw her face. The right side of her head was torn open into a mess of fangs protruding from within her skull, the skin on her right arm was gone from her arm and fused with her side, a black liquid soaking her clothes. I done remember what she was wearing but I do remember the pain visible in her eyes. She screamed her bottom jaw dropping 12 inches down as four 3 inch fangs sprung out from beneath the human teeth along her jaw line. She began running as the squad of seven opened fire on her. Gun shots filled the street as hot led ripped through her with ease. She jumped forward with inhuman agility spring several feet towards the squad but she was no match for a 12 Gage at point blank. She flew back several feet before collapsing and rolling a black fluid smearing across the concrete behind her.

A few minutes passed before a cargo Bob dropped off a truck for us. We were on edge, we knew more of those things could be out here, but couldn't do shit about it. There was 30 of us in all, me and 17 others got in the truck while the remaining 12 would stay behind at the check point. We began moving inland. We hoped to meet up with the airborne unit. 4 streets and a city block, not a single living thing, we pasted body's, crashed vehicles and blood puddles with no owners. The soldier in the passenger seat looked back at me and said. "This place is like a ghetto, depression, oppression, sorrow, and death. War is hell, this is the real price of war." The driver glanced over at him and replied. "What war is worth this? War is hell but this, this is a nightmare."

At this point the radio began blowing up with the sound of screaming. Than there was a sound, the sound of a Chinook Helicopter spinning out of control could be heard but it was getting louder. Before we knew what was happening I heard the driver say. "Shit." I peaked forward through the windshield to see a Chinook Helicopter with people plastered to the side of it, black weeds extending from the people connecting each other to the outside of the helicopters haul wrapping it in black webs. Blood became visible on the inside of the helicopters windshield as it uncontrollably spun over us. We stopped the truck as the helicopter crashed into a postal building before blowing up. "wtf is happening here?" The driver said with a sense of fear in his voice.

At this point me and the other soldiers in the back of the truck grabbed our rifles and took point from inside the truck. We kept our eyes on building winds, roofs, back allies, parking lots, even wrecked vehicles and gutters. We didn't know where these fuckers would come from. And though we wanted to search for survivors none of us wants to leave the truck, we thought it would be safer than being on foot. Especially since nothing there made sense and it still doesn't.

We drove for several minutes. We heard gun shots from other parts of the town, but it was to faint meaning, to far for us to move on the location. In the truck we passed buildings, shops, stores, restaurants, even the failed attempts the local law enforcement setup to contain the outbreak. But there was no signs of life, no flares, no SOS banners, no one on roof tops yelling down for help, hell there wasn't a single barricade insight any where. After awhile we came across a hybrid station. I done think you can find a hybrid station anywhere else in the world, and you probably done know what it even is. A hybrid station is a government station that is 3 in one. In this case it was broken up into 3 sections all attached to each other. The middle building was a Hospital with 7 floors, the building to its right was a police department with 4 floors and the building to the hospitals left was a Fire department. And since the hospital appeared to be sealed off from the other 2 buildings entirely so we figured that there's bound to be a survivor or 2 somewhere near, or in one of the buildings.

We left the truck for the first time since we started driving it and did the stupidest thing. We splits up into groups of 7 leaving 4 left to cause the truck. There was no way anyone was stepping foot in the hospital so one group of seven entered the fire station while me and the remain 6 entered the PD. I figured close quarter combat so I slung my M14 over my shoulder and drew my double barrel sawed off. after all its stupid to use a long range rifle in close spaces. So we entered the in the order, Light Machine Gunner, Me, 3 auto rifle men, a Flamer with a 12 Gage shotgun, and finally a Sub Machine Gunner. We entered the PD's lobby and upon doing so alerted some hiding peace keepers. A cop wearing tactical gear sprung up from behind the front desk with a Spas 12 shotgun cocking it before taking aim. We took aim back at him and upon doing so he lowered his weapon with relief. "Holy shit." He said exhaling a sigh of relief as we lowered our weapons as well. "How many more are in here?" I asked him. But he didn't answer he just said. "You showed up to late to save the island but in time to save what little remains." The Light Machine Gunner watched the window his M60 at his side as he viewed the street. I placed by sawed off on the table while the 3 auto rifle men and the Flamer began searching the rest of the PD, while the Sub Machine Gunner and the Light Machine Gunner stayed in the lobby with me and the Cop. He said his name was Tom and though I don't remember most of the conversations we had I remember him saying that all this shit started at Town Hall. So I guess we had the investigation point set. He also said that there were 2 inmates in the cell room, one of which was showing signs of psychosis. Around that point I was called into the cell room by the Flamer. I went back there expecting to see one of those things reaching through the bars at us, but instead. When I walked in there the brick wall dividing the 2 cells was broken down and in the cell closes to the exit was 2 inmates. One how ever had black spider veins covering his body his eyes jet black while the other was ripped open and smeared across the wall. The black spider veins one was calmly sitting on a bench staring at us with a crimson smile of razor teeth blood soaking his flannel shirt. "Jesus Christ" I remember saying at the sight of it. You see the difference between these things and zombies is, zombies lack emotion, but these things. They still have emotion, zombies kill because that's the only instinct they have left. These things kill because it brings them joy. This disease what ever it was it corrupts the mind and body in ways we couldn't begin to grasp at the time. We didn't know what it was and so we started calling those things, The Corrupted.

Agent Zero puts down his half empty bottle or whisky. "And I think that's a good point to stop for now. I have a meeting to goto right now so I'll finish the story later." Agent 26 sets the glass down an ice cube sliding across the bottom of the glass as it's set down. Agent 26 stead up saying. "Thank you for the time you've given me." Agent Zero smiles while standing up with help from his cane. "Hopefully next time we have more time."