Why the f*ck did you bring it back here?"
"HIM, and I brought him back because he was stranded and helpless."
"Helpless till it gets hungry and we have another one of them to deal with right here in camp."
"C'mon, Randall your over-stating things, the dude looks almost harmless."
Voices were stirring around Teddy as he was regaining consciousness. He opened his eyes which were blurred a bit and when he could see clearly, he was in a horizontal position on the floor looking at three individuals arguing in the distance. One was a girl which looked to be in her teenage years and was the shortest of the three. She appeared to be ginger but Teddy couldn't quite make her complexion out in the dim lit room, all he could see was she had a black shirt on with black cargo shorts to match. The other to her left was a bulky but old looking Caucasian man with a hazy southern accent, he wore a yankees baseball cap that had probably seen better years, dark grey camo hoodie and black baggy jeans, the only bright accessory in him was the off-white tape around his hands. The other person in the room was a skinny man of African-decent who seemed to be the voice of reason. He wore a sweat hat, black long-sleeved body hugger shirt and black cargo pants.
"You know it's this kinda soft mindedness that let's these things run free." The Southern man continued in a rather angry tone.
"If everyone would just stick to the plan of shoot on sight and not try to worry about finding a none existent cure, we'd have less of these sh*ts to worry about." He concluded.
"Don't you want to at least see if we could find a way to stop this…" The girl was speaking as she noticed Teddy was getting up. Teddy tried to stand but was still too weak so he fell forward and his hand touched glass. He then looked round and saw that he was inside a glass pod which looked like a cylinder.
"Hey there big guy." The African man spoke to Teddy in a soft voice as he approached the pod. The southern man slowly walked back and reached for a riffle that was on the table beside them while the girl stood there in silence.
"How are you? Can you speak?" The African man asked Teddy again but Teddy just looked on trying to make his vocal cords work. All he could muster was gasps for air because his throat was extremely dry.
"He needs some water." The girl said as she hurriedly reached into the backpack on the floor near her and brought out a bottle of water.
"Hold on Rachael he may be thirsty for…" The Southern man said as he pulled the gun on Teddy but the girl slid the bottle into the hole below the glass door. Teddy grabbed the bottle and drank without hesitation, that some got in his nose but he didn't mind, he just wanted the water inside him no matter how.
"Poor thing must've been thirsty for days." Racheal said. The southern man lowered his gun and gave a sigh as he sat down on the table, his gaze meeting with that of the African man who wore a look of disappointment.
"Do you remember anything?" Rachael asked Teddy, but he still looked confused and couldn't speak.
"It's ok, you don't have to be scared." Rachael continued.
"My name is Rachael." She explained pointing to herself.
"This is Tobi." She pointed to the African.
"And this is…"
"I'M outta here." The Southerner left before Rachael could introduce him.
"That's Randall." She concluded after a sigh. Teddy looked around him, he appeared to be in a lab of some sort, there was another glass pod behind him but it was closed from the inside with an iron barrier. There were a few computers on a table, which also had some other forms of machinery; one which looked like a ventilator used in hospitals. There where monitors to his left, one displayed a footage of him inside the pod in real time while another showed infra-red heat signatures in the room.
"Do you speak English?" Tobi asked Teddy who finally gave a nod to the delight of Racheal and Tobi. Racheal then walked over to the table and brought out a Sharpe and a mini white board.
"Can you write?" She asked to which Teddy nodded again. She then put in the pen and board into the hole. Teddy tried picking them up but it seemed as though fingers were still a bit numb so he decided to grip the pen in his palm.
"Well that would have to do." Tobi said.
"What is your name?" Rachael asked. Teddy scribbled down on the board and showed it to them.
"Teddy, that's a nice name." Rachael complimented with a smile.
"Do you remember anything Teddy?" Tobi asked. Teddy then scribbled down and showed what he wrote to them.
"Army?" Tobi looked puzzled at Racheal.
"Where you in the army?" Rachael asked to which Teddy nodded.
"The U.S. army?" Tobi asked, looking even more confused but Teddy nodded again. Rachael and Toby looked at each other and then Rachael looked at Teddy who just stared at both of them.
"What year do you remember?" Racheal asked again to which Teddy scribbled and showed her.
"2022?" They said at the same time. Teddy looked at both of them as if trying to ask what they knew.
"Teddy… the U.S. army was disbanded fourteen years ago, in 2022" Rachael explained to Teddy who still looked confused.
"It's already 2036, Teddy." Tobi explained to the shock of Teddy who was trying to process everything. Tobi sat back in the chair to also try and understand it all.
"The facility we found em must've been the first place where the outbreak took place." Rachael said.
"And he must've been left behind when it got compromised." Tobi added.
"Judging from the fresh smell of the cryo-gel on him he seems to have just escaped his pod the day we found him." Rachael concluded. They both looked at Teddy who seemed to still be trying to understand it all.
"Are you hungry?" She asked Teddy who nodded.
"Of course." Tobi said looking a bit uneven.
"One more mouth to feed." Rachael sighed.
"Okay, we need to head out, it's already almost night time." Tobi instructed. Rachael picked up her backpack and then looked at Teddy before heading out with Tobi.
***
"My fellow Americans, look to the future, for it is within reach. A new era is upon us, an era of progress, wealth and good health. For over ten years, despite the plaguing of the VV, we have been able to contain and eradicate the ever-growing number of infected around the border. My vision for this nation is we are able to once again, reach out beyond these walls and establish cells of our society out into the world just as our forefathers did. Soon, we will no longer be held back by insurgents or infected; and all I ask is that you once again, make the right choice to re-elect me as your president of the citadel. Let's make America the greatest!"
A loud roar of the crowd could be heard from outside the citadel as the female voice had echoed around the city on the titantrons and Vibro-spheres. President Martha Luray stood tall on the podium of the citadel conference room, looked on by the reporters and press alike. She stood with so much contempt in herself, sporting her trademark blue suit with a red tie. She was a graceful lady which seemed to be in her late forties, she had short white hair which she dyed herself. She wore a smile as she looked on at the flashing lights and reporters all jeering for her attention. Behind her were two of her elite bodyguards who had their security regalia on consisting of all dark blue spandex and black helmets to hide their faces giving them this feel of authority without even trying. Beside her was her deputy, a young lady who was as pale as paper, with dark hair and wore dark glasses. She had a black suit on with the signature blue tie which was the only bright thing on her body.
"You there, that pretty lady in red." She pointed to a reporter.
"Yes, Mrs. President, Jane Gacy from the Channel 6 news, People want to know what your solution to the ongoing issues of dilapidating power plants which may soon lead to a nation-wide power outage in the country?" the reporter asked smartly.
"The citadel has mobilized machinery on ground to go and investigate the current state of the power grid. As you know its an underground facility so, we must ensure we check the facts and feasibilities so we don't encounter any casualties. With the plans we have on the table, we may be looking at years of uninterrupted power supply." She concluded and almost immediately, the reporters began jeering for her attention again.
"Lady at the back with the green notebook." Martha pointed.
"Thank you, ma'am, Tina Taylor from Past-time magazine, What's the graphical plan on food and resources for the nation?"
"Well, for one, please disregard the rumors that say my plan is that we turn to cannibalism." She remarked which made everyone in the room laugh.
"One thing is for sure; my people will not go hungry. Part of the outlined plan for this coming year is to test the fertility of the soil we have in the nearby sectors to see if we can start reproducing produce we bring in from beyond walls, and yes, these produces will be properly tested for the virus. More would be explained by the minister for Agric later on." She concluded to an applause.
"How much of our taxes are used on the VV cure research?" A baritone voice was heard from the back. Everyone went silent and looked at the President.
"Who… asked that?" Martha asked trying to find who said it.
"It was me." A young man stood up, he looked about five feet nine, Mexican, with jet black greasy hair which he combed to the back. He was wearing an oversized brown leather jacket with a white shirt inside, he had a camera hung round his neck and a notepad in his hand.
"How much of our money is actually being put into finding a cure for the virus?" He asked again.
"What… channel or magazine are you from?" The President asked with a stern look.
"Uhm… I don't think that… matters." The man looked agitated.
"Can someone please check his I.D.?" The president asked. Soon a security guard walked toward him and stretched his arm out to ask for Identification.
"Uhm, I'm a junior media of my press house so I don't have my I.D. yet." The man said with a cringe smile. The guard was having none of it so he picked up the man on his shoulders and took him outside.
"Let me go! You can't keep on dodging the questions Martha! We have a right to…" The man's voice was no longer heard as the door was shut and the everyone looked at the President.
"That will be all for today." She stated with a stern look and walked away from the podium followed by her deputy and body guards.
Outside, the security guard dumped the man to the street and went back into the citadel lobby. The man got up and dusted himself off before picking up his camera and notepad and walking away from the building. He walked down the wide walk staircase and out into the streets and took a left toward the subway. He took the escalator down to the tracks, coming across a group of homeless people playing afro-fusion with makeshift instruments. He reached into his jacket and brought out some change which he dropped into the coin carrier the performers put in front of them after which he took a bow. Soon he came to the tracks and waited for a train going his direction. He looked around at his surroundings realizing that there were some places that the shift in times had not touched yet. The city was on a ride to the future which a lot of people still couldn't afford to get on. As much as no one wants to admit it, a lot of things and people are being sacrificed to make this future a reality, but since the upper class are happy, then everyone is happy.
Before her could get lost in thought, the sounds of the train coming to a stop brought him back to reality. He got on it and took a seat near the door, next to a couple who were kissing.
"Ugh, get a room." He murmured to himself. Soon, the train began to move and he brought out his notepad. Inside it were written notes and scribbles of drawings, there were also some pictures of places and people. He opened a page with the president's picture in it which he cut out from a magazine.
"Always trying to avoid the real questions, isn't she?" a familiar voice asked, in front of him. He looked up to the face of Tina Taylor, one of the reporters from earlier.
"Avoids it like a Plague." The man said with a smile as he closed the notepad.
"That was a bold move you took there, though not very smart." Tina stated.
"Well, I'm not exactly big on planning, just execution." The man explained.
"This country is going to sh*t at the hands of a leader who is very good at hiding the background characters." He continued.
"Well, the background characters aren't hidden, we are just forced to look elsewhere." Tina continued.
"And what do YOU know about all this, you work for one of the most corrupt news channels in America, one that supports anything the president says." The man stated with a disappointed look on his face.
"Well, yes, the channel does support anything she says and has a first-hand scoop of everything she does so we know how to convey the message to the press through focus groups; one which I am a leader of." She concluded with a smirk.
"So, what are you saying?" The man asked, leaning forward.
"What I'm saying is, you're asking the right questions but the wrong people." She explained. As she said this, the train came to a halt and passengers, including Tina began to get off.
"Wait, you still need to explain things to me." The man said following her.
"If you want more information on what I'm saying, meet me at this train stop tomorrow at this exact same time." She said as she put a foot on the escalator going up to the streets but turned around to look at the man.
"I'm Tina by the way, Tina Taylor." She stated.
"What's yours?" She asked.
"Manuel."