Maxwell and Benjamin, still panting from the recent skirmish, hurried away from the infirmary, where the sounds of battle had attracted a horde of zombies. They headed back towards the town, seeking refuge and recovery from their injuries. Thanks to the still-functioning turrets, which kept the undead at bay, they were able to get a moment's rest. After a quick medical assessment to make sure they were fit to go on, the pair resumed their mission: to find Dr Ned, destroy the virus samples, and get off the island.
Before going any further, Maxwell made a call to Claptrap.
("Claptrap, I need the exact coordinates of Dr Ned's house in Hallow's End. Also, how's Fast Travel?")
("Master! I was beginning to think you'd been devoured by hungry zombies! I'm sending you the coordinates now.") Claptrap's familiar voice echoed from the other side.
("As for Fast Travel, I still can't get there, I'm having some problems with stairs.")
'Typical.' Maxwell rolls his eyes.
("Find a way to get there, whatever it takes.") He ordered, before ending the call.
They knew that the road to Hollow's End would be full of zombies, but with heavy weaponry, they could take their chances. Maxwell carried Glorious Havoc and shot at anything that moved, while Benjamin kept a constant watch on his back. They made their way to Hallow's End with surprising ease, although their pulse quickened at every rare appearance of zombie variants, such as the Defilers, whose sticky goo vomit threatened to trap them in their place, and the dreaded Suicide Zombies who pursued relentlessly with their explosive barrels.
After passing through a dark, damp cave, Maxwell and Benjamin emerged at Hollow's End, even more secluded in the bowels of the island. The swampy environment welcomed them with murky water that reached up to their shins, making every step difficult in the soft mud. Voracious mosquitoes and insects buzzed incessantly, a constant reminder of the island's lesser dangers. The colossal trees stood majestic, so wide that it would take a group of fifteen people to fully embrace their imposing trunks.
*Groan*
Maxwell felt his heart freeze as he realized that something was wrong. A cold, clammy hand grabbed his leg under the murky water. He struggled, trying to free himself, but the grip was relentless. The muffled grunting intensified, and bubbles appeared on the surface of the swamp.
*BRRT*
The cold, clammy hand that gripped him lost its strength when Maxwell, in one swift movement, drew his gun and fired. The shot echoed through the swamp, and the hand crumbled to pieces, releasing its grip. Maxwell breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't know how many zombies he had killed, but it seemed that the system had understood his doubts and had brought him good news.
[You've reached a new milestone, 100 enemies killed!]
[Synthetic Nightmare: Kill 50/100/250 Enemies
(X) - Amped Weapons
(X) - Most Wanted List
( ) - ???]
[New System Function: Most Wanted List]
[Most Wanted List: Earn credits, Skills, or Hangar items when you or a subordinate kills a target on the list.]
[Currently wanted:
Name: Dr.Ned {Age: 41} {Sex: Male} {Height: 5'7}
Crimes: Homicide - Illegal experimentation - Bioterrorism - Poison distribution
Reward: $60c + random reward
]
"Max, are you all right?" Benjamin asks, worried by Maxwell's repeated lack of action.
"It's nothing, he didn't even scratch my shield." Awakening from his stupor, Maxwell is brought back to reality. The system's new function would be helping him get credits faster, his anticipation rising about the final reward.
"I think we're almost there, look." Benjamin pointed to a house suspended from a large tree. After passing over a bridge and facing some resistance from the former residents, they arrived at a place surrounded by high concrete walls. An iron cage rose to the top of the tree, serving as a base for the lift.
Maxwell approached the ECHO record camera, the dark lens staring at him. He pressed the button, and the device hummed to life. Dr Ned's voice sounded.
("Sweet, you mate it all the way here alive! I'll get the lift down but it'll probably take a bit to hand crank the bastard all the way to 'ya. Probably wanna shoot any of those skull munchers that traddle in.")
("We thank you, we just want to talk.")
The lift's gears began to turn, descending with a loud creak, creating a sound that reverberated through the tree. The zombies, attracted by the noise, began to swarm around the house.
"Hey, Ben, what are you waiting for? Climb these iron bars, Scorpion will deal with the zombies." Maxwell pulls Scorpion out of his second ECHO before starting to climb the lift's iron base.
"Uh!" Benjamin snapped out of his daze, turning his back on the huge horde of zombies that had emerged from a nearby cave. Fortunately, the zombies couldn't climb, which gave them a chance to defend themselves.
The Scorpion Turret fired incessantly, while Maxwell held his Glorious Havoc, ready to act when necessary. When the Tankenstein appeared, threatening to destroy the Scorpion, Benjamin held Maxwell back while he concentrated his shots, preventing the monster from launching an explosive barrel.
Finally, the lift has finished descending, and Maxwell and Benjamin jump out of the iron bars. Picking up the Scorpion, they climbed into the lift, escaping the throng of undead. The sound of the ECHO echoed, and Maxwell swore he heard a dismissive 'tsk'.
Maxwell and Benjamin waited a few seconds until they reached the top, which was strange, as going up should have taken longer than coming down. Dr Ned's tree house revealed itself: a makeshift construction, balanced on the highest branches. The air was full of the smell of aged wood and resin, a characteristic that was also present in Jakobs weapons.
"We'd better put our weapons away, we don't want to scare you." Warns Benjamin.
"Sure, whatever." Maxwell puts the Havoc away in his ECHO, but his hand pats his waist, feeling a slight relief.
Benjamin turned the door handle, revealing the interior. The room was gloomy, not because of the poor lighting, but because there were bloodstains everywhere, rubbish and mess littered the floor. There was a hospital bed in the corner, next to a medical vending machine
As they entered, they saw Dr Ned sitting in a swivel chair with his back to them. A bottle of beer rested in his hand as he muttered things to himself, loud enough for anyone to hear.
"I probably went about this all wrong way. I'm a doctor; I make people better. I just wanted everyone to be okay…" As if he had finally noticed the presence of visitors, Ned swiveled around in his chair, looking at them. "I made the zombies. I was—"
*Bang* *bang* *bang* *bang* *bang*
"..." Benjamin stared in astonishment, alternating his gaze between Maxwell firing and Ned's body lying lifeless on the ground. A hole in his head and his torso riddled with bullets. His eyes slowly lost light with each shot he received.
"What? Don't look at me like that, you heard what he said. And you weren't that far behind me," Maxwell says when he sees Benjamin looking questioningly at him, finally realizing that he's already holding a gun too.
Ned's body began to twitch, his eyes rolling back in a frenzy. Maxwell didn't wait for the doctor to enter his second form and pulled out his Glorious Havoc, firing as soon as it had finished digesting.
*BRRRRRRRRRRRT*
Dr Ned's body doesn't give up so easily and begins to grow over the constant attacks, but eventually, his flesh begins to fail, unable to flourish beyond its fleeting form.
[Target eliminated, depositing rewards.]
[+$60c]
[The random reward was decided as a skill related to the target shot down]
[Mithridatism Constituion lv.1]
[Mithridatism Constituion: Is that sarin in my coffee?
Immune Adaptability: has a highly adaptable immune system, capable of eventually developing immunity against diseases and poisons affecting the body. The higher the level, the faster your body becomes immune to pathogens and toxins.]
'Sweet! I haven't checked my status in a while. I think my first Regeneration is just around the corner.'
_____
Name: Maxwell Williams
Regeneration: 0
[STR: 32] [END: 43] [DEX: 36] [INT: 28]
Skills: [Trigger Discipline lv.15] [Blade Mastery lv.7] [Mithridatism Constitution lv.1]
___
Functions: [Hangar] [Quest Board] [Most Wanted List]
Credits: $82
_____
'Hmm, not much of an increase, but I think I'll be able to change when I get back to the Badlands.'
Benjamin massages his temples, looking at the rest of the people who might have some information about getting off the island. "Max, I hope you can swim."
"Are you sure? Maybe we'll be attacked by shark zombies hehehe." Maxwell joked, replying with a wry smile. Fortunately, Benjamin didn't seem so mad about Ned's death. "Let's search the place, I'm sure we'll find some information about the virus."
They turned the place upside down in search of any documents, books, or notes. It took some time, but they finally found something relevant.
"Hey Max, I think I found what we wanted." Benjamin's voice had returned to its characteristic calm tone.
Benjamin found a dusty diary hidden in a rotten wooden drawer. The yellowed pages revealed meticulous notes, handwritten in faded ink. The title on the first page read: "Record of Experiments."
"Read it, let's see what we can find out." Taking the bottle of beer from Ned's hand, Maxwell sat down in the chair, making himself comfortable as he took a few sips.
[Mithridatism Constituion lv.1>2]
Nodding, Benjamin's fingers turned the leather cover, his eyes roaming over the paper, while his mouth transmitted the information to Maxwell.
"Day 1. Today, I received an assignment from the Jakobs, one of whose members approached me about needing my services on Pandora, on an island that had recently started sawmill operations. I thought at first that I would just be there to take care of some unfortunate worker who ended up suffering dismemberment, but he whispered something about a virus that Jakobs had recently been researching, promising to bring immortality. Bullshit, but the pay was too good to turn down."
"Day 3. I've finally arrived on Pandora, the planet hasn't changed a bit in all these years. I wonder if my brother is still living in Fyrestone, or has finally realized that living in Pandora has no future."
"Day 5. I was introduced to my place of work, and I have nothing to complain about. It was an infirmary on the docks, near the apartment complex."
"Day 19. I was required at the General Hospital, some idiot had lost his little finger to a saw. I had to pass a beautiful beach, heading to the eastern end of the island, and passing through a natural cave. Very interesting how the water managed to do such damage to the rocks."
"Day 32. It looks like the effects of the virus are finally starting to show, which is good, it was almost contaminating the water too. Yesterday I walked the corridors of the General Hospital, observing the patients in their beds. Some were moaning in pain, others were catatonic. I don't know if this was the Jakobs' intention, but if creating a virus resistant to all conventional treatments was the idea, then they've hit the nail on the head."
"Day 40. Things went south very quickly, I thought the virus had been a failure, as the only results were mutations, cellular degeneration, and death. All a long way from the promised immortality, until, well, someone saying that a corpse had disappeared from a hospital bed, and oh boy! no one was prepared for the subsequent shit."
"Day 42. The island has fallen into pandemonium. I don't know what's going on because I've locked myself in a house built into a tree, but the screams and occasional gunshots told me everything I needed to know. Some survivors shouted at me to lower the lift, but I refused. More people meant more food and water consumption."
"Day 62. Thoughts of suicide invaded my mind, my fear of being eaten alive was greater than blowing my brains out. Fortunately, Jakobs sent his soldiers, but to my disappointment, they didn't come to my rescue. I ended up being taken 'voluntarily' to the General Hospital again, in order to create an antidote or at least an immunizing vaccine."
"Day 69. After several days without a proper night's sleep, I discovered a solution; the skags! Disgusting creatures, getting bitten by this thing would be worse than sleeping with a disease-ridden prostitute, but the funny thing was that these creatures never died of disease. I asked them to get some for me and my deductions proved correct when one of the Skags was bitten by a zombie... the zombie died of infection."
"Day 80. I managed to create my first version of the vaccine, the volunteer was called Hank Reiss. He had a funny hat, he said it was his daughter who made it."
"Day 81. I guess Hank won't have to pay alimony anymore. He turned into a bloody hell Skagman and killed the Jakobs soldiers, a good thing, I was getting annoyed with their subtle threats against me. Anyway, I'm on ladder zero again."
"Day 106. I managed to create a new vaccine, I used the data acquired with the skag samples and I used some samples collected from the zombies. There are no other survivors on the island, so the test subject will be me, wish me luck."
"Day 170. I've finally woken up from my coma, which is a good sign, it looks like my vaccine worked. I've noticed an increase in my appetite but nothing harmful, in fact, I feel much more alive and energized."
"Day 171. I'M IMMORTAL! HAHAHAAH."
Benjamin turned the last page, sighing heavily.
"The notes are finished."
"General Hospital, that's where we're going."