EDEN /// CHAPTER 05 /// GUARDIAN ANGELS

A ringing goes through my head. The metallic taste of my own blood lingers in my mouth and runs down my chin. I can’t see. It’s like i’ve had my eyes closed for years and are just opening them now, slowly getting adjusted to the light. Except there’s no light. Light is good. In front of me is the reaper, not literally, but here to kill me, a disgusting, lanky 6 foot tall creature, blood and pus leaking out of it’s exposed innards, absolutely horrendous, especially for a zombie. I gather myself together. There’s a gun in my hands. Good. The zombie pins me down with its foot, leaving a bloody print on my stomach. It might be my own blood. Mother always taught me that when someone hurts my heart, I hurt them back twice as hard. I’m pretty sure she was talking about love and dating. But that’s irrelevant, because love is dead and I am the only one left. I load the gun in my hands. The thing on top of me, after observing me, has started to claw at the cut on my cheek. I feel the stitches holding it together slowly split, and once more I have to feel the warm, uncomfortable, yet all too familiar of my blood running down my face. It’s starting to rain. The thing starts trying to claw off my skin.

Time to hit twice as hard. I cock back the gun’s hammer and take no hesitation in pulling the trigger. I inhale sharply from the noise, squint my eyes, and pray to God I’ve killed this thing. Its foot stumbles and its claws scratch through my stomach, creating yet another gash that I quickly cover with my hand and I slowly start to crawl backwards, as if this could save me. I can’t bear to look. I’m just human. Even if I kill this thing, i’m never going to make it far. I never asked for this. I never asked for the whole world to go to shit. I never asked for everyone I know to turn into monsters. I never asked to live in Hell. I see the zombie slowly gain its balance. I shot its arm. It tries clawing out the bullet, but its tortured mind can’t find it, and just rips off the whole arm. Now it’s pissed. It stomps back at me, this time on my foot, and I hear a sickening crunch and feel a sharp pain. It broke my ankle, the bastard. If I had something to hit it with, maybe I could hurt it enough where it drops dead. This thing must be pained enough with all the blood spilling and- no. It’s too late for conflict. Now it’s over. The clock’s run out. It grabs me by the arm, and throws me. And then i’m going to die. No words to speak my eulogy. No closing credits. No encore. No guardian angel to give me its blessing, to relieve me of this pain. I had enough of being the main character. It was time my suffering ended. My skull hits the ground and I feel it shatter. Something’s leaking out of my head, and it hurts me physically to think. The creature goes over, sees me dead, and feasts on whatever’s left of my flesh. My vision goes black.

/// 2 HOURS LATER ///

Footsteps surround the roadway. Me and my scout team clear the area of any biohazards, before being given instructions. Located near this road should be the Subject. They confirmed her to have been deceased a few hours ago. So it’s our job to find the body, decontaminate it, and take it back to our outpost’s med station. Lucky us…

There’s MSA104 over there. She says she found something. So naturally we go check it out. Although she’s 1 strike away from getting credits docked. So she better be right about this. She points us towards it, and sure enough, it’s what we’re looking for. The Subject. Covered in red blood and violent gashes. Its bones are shattered and most of its skin was ripped off. Nothing we can’t help, though. “What did they call the Subject again? Like on her planet?” I say.

“Like, eh-veh or something like that?” goes CCA519. “Eh-veh.”

“I think you’re pronouncing it wrong. It just sounds ugly.”

“Maybe like ‘Eve’ or something? Does that sound better?”

“No, that sounds worse. Stick with ‘Eh-veh’.”

RCE002 notifies us over the radio. “Negative. It’s ‘Eve’.”

These people had weird names, but we aren’t supposed to question the subjects we observe. They originally wanted to wipe out the planet “Eve” was from with a virus, but I guess they didn’t want to waste resources risking war. So this is our little test subject and this replica planet is our test chamber. Well, she was our test subject. She escaped the planet she was on. So we intercepted her, wiped her brain, and put her on another, this time with less resources than before. The Overseers believe you can judge a species based on the most worthless one, and with The Subject apparently this is a tenacious race we’re dealing with. I put a 3-fingered, clawed hand out at what’s left of her face. Even in her demise, she’s determined. Her spirit is indomitable and that’s what makes the overseers afraid.

They suggest once Project Eden is conclusive, we test the virus on the actual civilization, though they want to keep The Subject. For entertainment, they say. Whatever. We pick up The Subject on a stretcher and carry her back to the dropship. She still has many, many more apocalypses to survive, and has led us to our next outpost planet- known as “Earth”.

Sick art (btw I like the story)

ty

yw! keep up the great work!!

Oh, she's dead?

eve: a-a-a-a-a-another planet?

????: Yeah. Nobody around here, even in a zombie-infested universe, would be wearing something like that without being through space travel. I've heard everything that went wrong, so has Jeremy, and so has everyone else back at camp.

eve: who?

????: Oh, Jeremy's the one in the security uniform. He's not much of a talker, more of a searcher though, he'll find anything asked or brought up by others, no idea how. He's also my riding buddy, goin on for about three, four years? I don't know, he's got a better memory than I do.

eve: …I don’t know what they’ll think if you take me though

????: Seeing how you're not with anyone, I think they'll take you in just as they did with me and Jeremy.

eve: …not whoever you’re with. something else

????: Who, those LightBringers? F**k them. they're just backwood savages.

Eve: Not human

????: Look, the only thing that I know matches up with that are the undead, and frankly, they're f**king annoying out of everything they are.

eve: hah…

*chuckles* i’m sorry for the longest time i thought i was the last of us…

but i still feel like i’m not out of the clear yet. probably because i’m not. i know you’re trying to rescue me here… and i’m thankful… but they might see you as something else

*an explosion goes off behind the car, knocking it off-road*

they might see you as kidnappers

*Both the DEA agent and Jeremy try to brace as the van collides with a tree, the DEA agent gets minor injuries while Jeremy gets knocked out.*

????: Jesus! You okay back there?

eve: Yeah. Is Jeremy okay??

*The DEA agent checks Jeremy's pulse before releasing a relieved sigh.*

????: He's still alive. Those folks the ones you were talking about?

eve: Uh, yeah. I don’t think you can take them though

????: Alright, but can you ask them if you can travel with us back to the camp? There's literally nowhere else that's safe out here. We have no police, no military, and no CVPA, so there's no saving graces left.

eve: they don’t… speak english. they don’t speak… human language

*the smoke clears. a squadron of around 7 alien scouts emerge from the surrounding environment*

*The DEA agent puts his hands up.*

????: Do you know their language, or- what do we do?

eve: No use in running. *she lifts down the collar of her jacket, and on her lower neck is a tracking device*

You decide here… just don’t let me go back there. I can’t. I know what they do

????: What'll they-

*The DEA agent gets cut off by an undead roar, there's a wrecked CVPA Evac truck in the road.*

????: Get down. Now.

*The agent drags Jeremy to the back and lays him down before getting in the back himself.*

Eve: Oh…

At least it’s… not trying to kill us.

Todd: At least there's that.

*The passive zombie shambles out, it appears to be the same height as Eve, while also donning a CVPA Operative uniform. There's a mess of wires and cables hanging out of a pouch near it's chest.*

*Eve steps back, and fears strikes though her. Once she sees that it indeed doesn’t attack, she looks a lot less concerned.

*The undead shambles around in no set pattern, seemingly "Lost", yet able to see everyone. Jeremy can be heard dropping the other dead Operative he picked up in the forest and unzipping a pocket.*

Todd: It didn't take much for the guards to let this guy in, just a showcase was all it took, and before we knew it, we had brought in a one-of-a-kind zombie.

Eve: What if it’s just… putting on a facade? Or if it’s blind? I’m sorry, but i’m just super sensitive about the undead. I’ve seen… things

Todd: It's anything but blind. It saw Jeremy quite a ways away on first find, and it was amazing to say the least.

*Jeremy comes around with a defib kit and replaces the damaged one with it, but swaps the battery of the pristine one with the damaged kit. The Defib kit activates immediately upon installation.*

Defib Kit, Automated: Deploying Defib Charge.

*The Defib kit deploys a resurrection charge on the zombie, immediately sending it tumbling to the ground, and possibly killing it, yet Jeremy hovers over the body in anticipation.*

Eve: Oh, hey Jeremy… uh,

*zap*

…oh?

*The body can be seen slowly healing, Jeremy moves his legs up and down excitedly, as if this was a predicted thing.*

Eve: …

*Eventually, the eyes of the body slowly revert from soulless husk back to living tissue. The body slowly stirs awake and sounds alive again.*

??: çfarë dreqin ndodhi?

Eve: I slept… okay. You?

??: pretty well... *Dry Coughing.* Aside from your nightmare and everything. What'd you even dream of anyways that was so scary? Zombies killing you? These so-called 'LightBringers' bringing the light? Forced to watch cartoons for babies by Oprah and Obama?

Eve: Who the hell are O… nevermind. It wasn’t scary. Just more or less shocking. Like, the type of dream that you think might mean something

*The Operative stops rooting through the fridge and slowly looks Eve dead in her eyes.*

??: What was that dream about, exactly?

Eve: Oh, just like some dudes with guns and they were just talking, and…

…why did I scream again?

??: Something about your dream, what were the men wearing? Where were they?

Eve: Not gonna lie, i’m pretty sure it was.., the same uniform as you?

That’s totally not weird

*The Operative goes silent.*

??: were they at a boat dock or a trade port?

Eve: Yeah. How’d you know?

??: that's the Omega Hauler they were at. once me and Gas Mask went silent, the CVPA put all focus on recovering us, and the Omega Hauler was ported just off the coast of here... But seeing how you were there in that dream means you've gained "His" attention by helping me...

eve: *sniffle* God…

maybe the lack of people all this time made me forget how terrifying this all was

Todd: I know. It's always terrifying at the start, the sudden disruption of your day-to-day life, trying to adapt to the new world. At least, if you still feel fear, you're still human, and that's a lot for many.

Eve: Yeah…

Let’s just get supplies and go

Todd: Keep close.

*Todd and Jeremy continue going through the forest until they find the helicopter. Its a stolen military UH-60 BlackHawk with its tail caught in the trees, no main propellers in the main rotator, and a very strong smell of gasoline.*

Todd: Okay, let's not start any fires here, okay? Avoid making sparks, shots, and small flames. Never can be too sure out here.

Eve: Gotcha

*Jeremy is the first one to get into the helicopter, he rummages around crates to take everything he can while Todd looks at the metal that could be melted down while also picking up some dropped items.*

Eve: Anything good?

Todd: Unless you consider scrap metal good, I'd say a helicopter propeller. I remember hearing stories about people who fashioned them into swords to fight against this "Gas Mask Man" way before all this happened. Maybe if we can take these to the metalworker legion in the camp, we can get our own swords.

*Todd chuckles a bit in hopefulness as he drags the propeller blades to someplace accessible for Jeremy.*

Eve: Interesting. I think I have a machete in my bag. Let me check…

…yeah, here it is

Todd: Hey, never can go wrong with a machete, am I right?

eve: nnnnnnnothing. just a nightmare. i’m sorry.

*Todd and Jeremy sigh a breath of relief.*

Todd: Thank God, I genuinely thought someone broke in or the Operative went rouge.

*The Operative recoils a bit in an insulted way.*

??: I've already went rouge long ago. When my own squad, everyone I knew was confirmed undead.

Todd: oh. I'm truly sorry man. Hopefully we can talk it through in the morning.

*Todd and Jeremy head back up, while the Operative just looks at the floor.*

??: Tani e di se çfarë ndjente shumë kohë më parë...

*eve looks over* what do you mean by that

??: long ago, before all this happened, a squad lost a guy in Copper-9. Wouldn't have been too bad if he was clinically team dependent and alone. Someone else started being mentioned around Copper-9 by the name of "The Gas Mask Man." So we kept tabs on him. He acted like our lost guy, yet he didn't really fight like him. The tabs went on for seven months, or in that case, one whole night for Copper-9. When the sun did come up, we tracked his last known location to some underground section of the area, and what'd we find? We found some blood splatters, an empty casing, a journal. and an abandoned pistol, yet no body. We took the blood samples and the book for study. The DNA and story matched our lost guy, yet when I read through the pages, I could see the slip of sanity happened sooner than anyone else thought: Month two, day 42. He found a few ripped apart mercenaries and wrote down that he stood and stared at the bodies for what felt like an hour or two. I judged him silently, but now, seeing how I'm the last one of my whole agency, I guess the jokes on me.

Eve: …

…oh

??: Yeah, Karma really does make itself well known out here... I'll see ya in the morning.*

*The Operative drops from the ladder and can be heard landing on the floor. its near 5:47 anyways.*

Eve: *Eve sighs, and goes back to bed.*

*It takes a while for her to get sleeping, but when she does, her next dream is in what appears to be a CVPA Deployment Truck, with the man from the dream. She's sitting down on a bench with other men armed with LMGs that have belts feeding from a minigunner pack. The men are armored everywhere, and have faceplates similar to welding masks.*

???: Okay everyone, listen up because this is important. We're looping around the back of the base so we don't have to deal with the cars in the front. We need to keep close as these zombies are clever this time around. If you see or hear anything like an undead thing, give it the paper shredder treatment, eh?

*Some of the men laugh at the joke.*

*Eve sits quietly. Part of her knows it’s a dream, but she’s not entirely aware.*

???: but in all seriousness, we need to be on full alert. If they manage to get the drop on us, well, I pray we fall deep below so we can't do any harm anymore.

*The man appears to have a nice looking Colt Navy 1851 revolver in a holster, and two machetes on both sides of his utility belt.*

Eve: I wonder what stopped you from attacking, and not like, the 8 billion other people.

UO: Not really sure, but I find myself thinking back too far about it, so I don't question it.

*Eventually, UO manages to catch up with Todd and Jeremy, who are waiting at a small diner-like building.*

Todd: Hey you two. Don't worry, we set reservations up while waiting for ya.

Eve: Aw, thanks. Where are we again?

Todd: Well, we're at a diner that we call the "good dose". It's not a drug zone, but it's a nice shot of nostalgia. They got pretty good BLTs and pancakes. We can interview the Operative to see what he has while we eat.

eve: y-you left something here. what’s this?

*Jeremy is already out of the truck, it seems like it's, by universal law nowadays, hers.*

eve: …okay.

*It's still there, plugged in, ready for the taking.*

*she takes it*
Eve: …

*It enters a boot up phase, which seems like it's gonna take for-f**king-ever, so it might be a good idea to return to the van and head to this so-called camp.*

Eve: *sigh* Alright, take me to whatever your camp is…

*The DEA Agent waits for Eve to get in as Jeremy is waiting shotgun for her to enter.*

Eve: Thank you…

????: Anytime. Lets go home people.

*The DEA agent begins driving back on the road.*

Eve: Well, you’re the only one here who seems to want to strike up a conversation so sure

UO: I'd say otherwise.

*UO waits for Eve to catch up to him.*

Eve: Alright, alright, I have a few questions, so, do you remember exactly how it felt? Like, being a zombie?

UO: You ever heard the term "Free but enslaved"?

Eve: I can relate to it.

UO: Yeah. I felt like I was released from all my bindings and let go, but even then, I still felt tied down into a sluggish vessel I couldn't control.

Eve: It must have been painful, just to like exist. You looked pretty starved before you got brought back, dude

UO: Yeah, I didn't really eat anything either. Mainly because of restrictions I set up, but I managed.

Eve: WDYM?

(yo)

UO: I just held back as far as I could, stated away from bodies and non infected individuals, and just kept to myself.

Eve: …ah God

*The rummaging didn't stop, just got a bit more quiet. It seems focused though, making no noise while moving may make whoever is going through the cruiser unaware of how close anything is.*

*Eve checks out whatever’s in there.*

*There's a human. A real one, in a security guard's uniform. He appears quite focused on nabbing everything in the police cruiser as he doesn't know he could be in danger.*

Eve: holyshit

*They stopped rummaging around, and immediately began looking to his left, then his right. Considering he's most likely got a firearm, it's probably smart to either get the upper hand on him, or avoid his sight entirely.*

Eve: I haven’t seen anyone in years

*He looks behind him to see Eve, and he begins bolting away. odd, normally it would've been the reverse.*

Eve: Oop.

*He's getting away, but he also left quite a lot of things behind too.*

yes, but also no

I'm curious as to how long you've been waiting to make that joke.

made it up on the spot

Ah.

Also, is Eve more of a 'hug' person or a 'snuggle' person? I'm just curious.

desperately needs hug

Both me and Gas Mask need hugs, although I think he needs one more... He's seen shit no man should ever see.

oh damn
wanna rp or some shit

I mean, if it's with Eve, I can only use Jeremy {V2} as everyone else would be dead in that universe. He might give good hugs though, just make sure to not corner him or make sudden movements.

it doesn’t have to be centered around hugs but yeah

Oh this'll be interesting to say the least.

*Eve is just idling*

*The sounds of something being rummaged through can be heard from a police blockade, the zombies around it have been killed and were stripped of anything accessory-wise.*

Eve: …oh, okay.

*Jeremy is quick to get moving as Todd does the same. UO is a bit slow to get moving however.*

Eve: You good?

UO: Yeah, just... My body has been moving at a sluggish pace for so long, I fear if I try to go faster, I'll break something. I already got some minor joint pain and I don't wanna push it...

Eve: Oh. Well, take as long as you can, man.

(I see what you did there.)

*UO gives a light chuckle as he slowly increases his pace to a slow walk.*

UO: Alright, Eve, let’s just go follow Todd, it’s been a long time since I’ve had. . . Well, anything to eat, wouldn’t mind having waffles, just as long as they’re not blueberry waffles.

*UO begins following down the route Todd and Jeremy take.*

(Didn’t mean to do anything there)

Eve: You don’t like blueberries?

UO: No. It's just the texture that f**ks me up, strangely it doesn't apply to cherries, but it's beyond me.

Eve: Hm. I can see why

UO: Yeah. Come on Eve, time you learn what I went through, as well as a few other things.

Eve: Who’s attention

??: Someone that the Gas Mask Man called his "Employer", but that dream could've been just some random coincidence or something. I suggest you keep a notebook or something near you when you sleep so I can tell for sure.

Eve: Good idea. By the way, what even is your name? Do you remember?

I don’t remember mine. But the other two said I looked like an “Eve”, so i’m going with that

??: I don't officially have a name, but everyone called me UO.

*This 'UO' guy does find some water and begins drinking it, it's clear that however long he was undead for really did a toll on him.

Eve: UO…

…hm. You seem real thirsty. Do you know how long you went without water?

UO: Years, I presume lost count after the snow melted during deployment.

*Todd and Jeremy can be heard descending to the lower floors.*

Eve: Hm. Maybe the parasites supply the host bodies with nutrients.

UO: Not really. Basically it's just a hunger driven thing, but why I was sentient and somewhat in control, beyond me.

Todd, descending from the ladder: I think it's because you're an unfamiliar case to it. Anywho, who's hungry? I know a diner in the area that has some damn good waffles.

UO: Alright, I'll come with. But don't expect me to open up about everything, okay?

Todd: Noted, Operative. We can discuss about other things at the table.

Eve: *Between paragraphs 1 and 2* Good morning.

*After paragraph 4* …

(The details are gonna start pouring out soon, so get out a notepad and borrow Jeremy's pens.)

Todd: Alright everyone, we can just simply walk there, not too far from here.

*she eventually caves in and asks for help.*

Eve: Hey. I found this thing in the back. Y’all know what it is??

*Todd and Jeremy look at Eve before they both shrug.*

Todd: No idea. Never seen a device like that before in my life. Why?

Eve: Found it in the back of the truck

Todd: Okay, is it saying anything important?

Eve: I don’t know… here it is. Does it?

*Jeremy looks closely before tapping "Enter review mode", it switches to a screen that says "Please connect bodycam to review." While showing a small animated tutorial on how to do it. A cord has to be plugged into a bodycam and the device's charging port, next to the LED light.*

Eve: Hm. Seems interesting. Wanna deal with this after we get to your, uh, camp?

Todd: Sure. We got tech geeks out and about.

*Jeremy writes something down on a notepad before showing it to Eve. It reads "I think it means the CVPA Operative's Body Cam. You want it?"*

*Eve shakes her head no, which Jeremy can see in the rear view mirror*

Eve: I just wanted to say thank you, for finding me. I know it wasn’t really intentional but, uh, y’know. Still, like, grateful for it.

*Jeremy nods.*

Todd: Hey, no worries. The important thing is that Me and Jeremy, we're just kindred spirits in world of absolute hellfire. Sure, all hopes of getting out alive are basically dust now, but hey, no laws to hold me back from helping the best loot goblin get around to take things I didn't even know existed. Like 22 LR rounds? I always thought they were just fictional. But 10 MM, now that caliber was a surprise to be sure.

*eve decides to search for things herself, as the place does have lots of supplies*

*Lotta sweets, Sno-Cones, Devil dogs, Nuddy Buddies, Beef sticks, no Twinkies though. but there's more Orange Soda on one shelf than there is water in one whole isle.*

eve: *whispers to herself* lots of junk for no reason

*He didn't hear Eve, she whispered quiet enough to not raise his suspicions.*

(Jesus, typing on a Steam Deck is quite the workout.)

*eve didn’t intend for him to hear her, good. she takes 2 cans of soda and puts it into her bag*

*They fit. He's still rummaging through the shelves when separate footsteps can be heard entering, prompting the man to stop outright. The footsteps sound very heavy and menacing.*

eve: !!
*she quickly takes cover behind a counter and peeks at whatever’s there, magnum out and loaded*

*There's five men, they appear to each have a flashlight, in heavy armor, and armed with shotguns and automatic rifles.*

???????????: You said this is where that little scavenger is, yeah?

???????????: Yeah, we nab him, nab his buddy, and force his legion to starve out slowly. He outta be an easy target, his riding buddy will be a bit of a challenge, but we'll get him.

*Eve can hear a pistol being primed from where that man was last.*

eve: …
*thoughts: what the F**K*

*Before she can think any further, gunshots ring out, with one of the men being shot and killed. From there, it becomes a hodgepodge of gunfire and commands.*

eve: …

*Almost like some sort of calling, a helicopter can be seen crashing, the DEA agent takes immediate notice and slams on the brakes.*

????: Whoa! You saw that, right?

eve: Uh, yeah, is that one of yours?

????: You kid, right? If we had a flight team, we'd be obsolete. Must've been some random in that one, but what I do know is that there's gonna be supplies on there.

eve: Jesus…

I’ve seen more people in 2 hours than the past 2 years

????: Well, there's no chance those helicopter people are still alive. Seen it all a million times.

eve: well, yeah.

let’s just get in there and go.

????: Right, let's move.

*Both the DEA agent and Jeremy exit and begin heading through the forest. It also occurs to Eve that she doesn't know the Agent's name.*

Eve: Hey, uh. You. What’s your name again?

????: My name is Todd. Todd Orosco. And you?

*Todd offers his hand to Eve for a handshake.*

eve: what were they taking

Todd: They unload our findings from out there, and we keep generators in the van as they're more damn valuable than a full pallet of gold. Those items get inspected, packaged, and given to either sellers or whoever desperately needs them, or whoever asked for them first.

eve: i can imagine they’re valuable.

Todd: Extremely. With one generator, we can power three houses at once, or a quarter of our defenses on one side.

*Jeremy is waving outside the window, it might be time to look outside.*

Eve: Sweet.
*Eve looks outside.*

*Outside showed about hundreds of people around the van cheering, with many houses lined up across the roads visible. This is more than a camp, it's a reformed suburb.*

Eve: …

…I have no words. This place rocks

Todd: I know. This place was reformed about three months after the CVPA fell hard. It's a nice slice of humanity left, not much left in it, but home is where you make it. Just wait and see what space me and Jeremy occupy. He's been having thoughts about, something he found a while ago. He's come up with theories in how to "fix" it. of course, I don't know what results may hold.

Eve: What did he find? What does he mean by “fix it”?

Todd: I think I'll let you see for yourself.

*The drive to the residence place took about a full minute, but the van stops and Jeremy gets out.*

Todd: Right, this is our place.

eve: hey. need help?

*Jeremy simply nodded as he got into the back of the truck.*

eve: *eve tries to help him, in some way*

…

*Inside was a supply cache of weapons, ammo, markings on maps, even a radio, that provides literally no help, but it looks cool.*

eve: engine parts are, uh, right here i think.

*The box contained all the parts needed for emergency repairs. Jeremy was taking everything inside the truck.*

eve: man of few words, huh?

(Half Life 2 quote.)

*Jeremy nods.*

(precisely)
Eve: Well, uh… got everything you need?

*Jeremy nods as he gets out, but there's a small device he forgot on the radio. it appears black with a moderate size screen.*

*she lets out a weak chuckle.*

Eve: Hah.

Hey, how come you never talk Jeremy?

*Jeremy simply shrugs. He doesn't know why he doesn't talk, all he knows is that he does not speak, yet his actions speak for him.*

Eve: …fair enough.

*After a long drive, Todd turns the van to a small rough road.*

Todd: Alright, we're almost there, just gotta let the Watchtowers know we got an extra...

Eve: *she sits still, looking in her bag*

Todd: You need some food, water, or anything?

eve: no thanks. i have enough of my own

Todd: Okay.

*Todd drives a little further ahead before stopping, then slowly advancing again. Once the van reaches a tunnel-like area, sounds of things being unloaded can be heard.*

Eve: Sounds busy here

Todd: Just wait till we actually enter. It's basically like a small town in this camp.

*The back doors of the van open up, and the items in the back are taken. There's only five large items before the van doors are closed and Todd begins driving again.*

*She looks over to the other 2.*

Any ideas?

Todd: Try putting it on his uniform.

Eve: Hm. Okay.

*she does as told.*

*It goes on smoothly, like a glove.*

??: Can you understand me now?

Eve: Oh. Yeah. That worked.

??: Of course it did, now tell me where I am and who you people are.

Eve: You’re in a… some sort of survivor camp… and, uh… help me out here, Todd

Todd: Gladly. Operative, you're in the Scavenger Faction's camp. A nice suburban area refurbished for all needed life essentials.

??: Oh great, at least I know I won't be gutted and eaten alive.

*The Operative yawns for a while. Jeremy notices the sun is setting.*

Todd: Okay Operative, I'd say we first need to rest up, and we'll talk at the diner in the morning. Follow me.

*Todd and Jeremy both head into the RV, the Operative tries to get up, but is too fatigued to be able to on his own.*

Eve: Need help?

??: no... Al..most....

*The Operative tries once more, but can't.*

??, in the most defeated tone he can possibly have: yes.

eve: gray skin… and four piercing blue eyes. they stare into your soul

*The DEA agent looks at Eve as if she's told a bad joke.*

????: I think you're gonna want to stick with me.

eve: …you don’t believe me, do you

????: Not entirely, no. But there are some people who might share your stories, they'll be at the tan house once we get back to the camp.

*The DEA Agent gets in the van.*

????: You wanna ride shotgun or the back?

eve: the back is fine

????: Alright, your call. There's some things in the back that are blocking the back doors, but there's a sliding door on the rear passenger door.

*Jeremy returns with multiple bags and puts them into the trailer, before hopping in the passenger seat.*

*eve climbs in* …this all feels a bit surreal

????: Believe me when I say this, I was thinkin the same thing when Jeremy here saved my ass nearly fifteen years ago back in Knox County. Didn't know how to use a gun, but jesus f**k was he brutal with a crowbar. He found me barred up in RoseWood's very own police department. I could hear him taking the barricades I set up down, and before I know it, there's this guy in a security uniform helpin me up. I said my thanks, let him take what he needed, and went to evacuate without him. Come five years later, I learned he was commissioned by the CVPA to take everything from Knox County, and he did it. And that he was commissioned again, before they all... well... they're gone now, so we're basically on our own, if you exclude the request airdrops, we have nobody on the other side, but one thing's for sure: We're not getting outta here anytime soon...

*The DEA agent begins driving, Jeremy looks around as he dusts the blood off of one of his nightsticks.*

Eve: I’m just saying. You ever get the feeling you aren’t truly home? Like this isn’t Earth?

You ever get the feeling you’re being watched?

(this is eve after my planned conclusion for Eden i guess)

????: Actually, now that you mentioned it, Jeremy gets that feeling all the time, he's had it for the longest time, and i actually think... it's passed down to me as well...

Eve: Sweet. So what is it that he found?

Todd: I think you'll be able to see it for yourself.

Eve: Alright. Let’s go

*The area has an RV in place, it's not that bad of an RV, but it is odd in why Todd and Jeremy live in it. There's sounds of groaning behind the RV, it sounds weird.*

Eve: Nice… nice va-

*Eve’s eyes widen as soon as she hears the noise. It strikes a nerve. She assumes it is one of the infected and does not want to deal with them in a place like this.*

*It does sound like an infected, and it did indeed hear her, but it's not doing anything. Maybe it's occupied eating a raccoon or somethin. Might be an interesting thing to see what it is.*

Eve: *Eve’s been on edge since being attacked by the guards and the Zenians. She doesn’t exactly feel like getting closer.*

…uh, you sure the thing in here’s safe?

Todd: Yeah, if Jeremy is able to approach and bring him in here without being bitten once, it's confirmed docile. The worst it may do is just slap you if you irritate it enough.

Eve: They have been getting smarter. Maybe i-it, like… has a mutation. So it doesn’t know to attack.

Todd: Well, this one has shown intelligence. Quite smart to be able to open doors or to get around windows. He's also athletic, Jeremy spent nearly an hour trying to get it when it bolted away from him. I just don't understand why it never does anything more than open palm slaps, but it's beyond me.

Eve: Uh, no. I’m fine.

*She goes up the ladder.*

*On the second floor, there was the master bedroom, complete with a big bed, two large wardrobes, a T.V dating back from 1998, and everything else one could find in such a nice room.*

Todd: Up next on the vacancy list is the master bedroom. Jeremy insists on sleeping in the guest bedroom, so this room is up for grabs.

Eve: …uh, okay.
*she doesn’t really want to take something like that for herself, but if she has to she will*

Todd: Excellent, alright, rest up, we got an Operative to question in the morning and a breakfast joint to eat at.

*Todd and Jeremy begin heading to another ladder to get to the guest bedroom, but Jeremy doesn't go up just yet.*

Eve: …You coming up?

*Jeremy shakes his head no, and writes down something on his notepad. He shows it to Eve, which reads "I just wanna make sure you are comfortable with this change."*

Eve: Aw, thanks.

*Jeremy gives a thumbs up and heads up to the third floor himself, leaving Eve alone.*

Eve: …

*Bed is comfy, blankets are soft, pillows is fluffy. It's not going to be too hard to fall asleep.*

eve: well, yeah. just.,, we should just get stuff and go

Todd: I think Jeremy's just about finishe up, anyways.

*After a good few minutes, Jeremy gets out, takes the blades, and nods to signal he's finished. He picks the dead Operative up and waits for Todd and Eve to follow him.*

Eve: *she follows him*

…

*Todd follows as well, and after a nice walk through nature, the group reaches the van. Jeremy gets in shotgun, Todd gets in driver side, and they wait for Eve.*

Eve: *she gets in, and holds her machete closely, watching for anything outside the car before calming down and looking away*

*Without warning, Eve's device beeps awake.*

Eve: ?!

*It has a small boot screen showing the CVPA logo unfold to say 'City 5 Protection Agency" before folding back to CVPA. Once the boot screen finishes, it shows a menu in red with text saying "The CVPA has fallen. Services are ceased until {ERR}." And there's two options at the bottom that read "Go back" and "Enter review mode." Seems like something went horribly wrong.*

*she stays silent, deciding not to tell the other 2*

*The menu appears to be a mix of a red background with grey scrapes all over, considering that the dead Operative Jeremy has is a member of the CVPA, maybe there's something on him that can be used on the device.*

Eve: Hm.

*Its probably smart to sleep.*

*eve does so.*

*In Eve's dream, it is very sunny out, she's at some sort of port where some personnel in black uniforms are wandering about.*

*go on. eve doesn’t say anything*

*They seem to be evaulating findings, escorting people, and loading things up. It's all coordinated. One of the men appears to be wearing the same uniform the Operative wears, but the man doesn't match with the appearance.*

*eve tries getting a closer look idk*

*The man looks to be carrying an M16 rifle. It's hard to hear, but it sounds like he's been ordered to do a compound sweep on a base not too far away. Before she could hear anymore, she gets spotted and pointed out by someone else, and she awakens.*

eve: HOLYF**KINGSH- oh

*Todd and Jeremy quickly make their way to Eve while the Operative quickly comes up, with a Glock drawn.*

Todd: What's going on?!

*eve decides to rush out and help the man, after almost tripping on her on feet and caps one of the guards in the shoulder.*

*The armored target stumbles before turning around and grabbing at Eve's neck as his buddies are being killed.*

??????????????: So, you're the scavenger I've been hearing about? I will admit, the tales I've heard said somethin about a MAN in a security uniform.

*The gas station has fallen silent as the man managed to slip out the door, possibly to flee.*

eve: me? uhh *incomprehensible stuttering* i-i-i-i i just live here…

???????????: Yeah sure ya do, and believe you me, when I'm done with you, you'll be spouting everything you know about-

*The armored target gets cut off by a shotgun blast ripping through his metal plates, killing him instantly. His lifeless vessel falls onto Eve, pinning her down.*

you there?

(busy sleeping.)

eve: about what?

*she looks over*

*The DEA agent is holding a shotgun, aiming at Eve, but looking at her appearance.*

????: You don't look like a LightBringer. Who are you and what faction are you apart of?

eve: uh… i’m going to be honest, uh, no idea. i’ve had amnesia for a while

????: You definitely don't look look as if you're from here. Come on, I'll help you out.

*The DEA agent helps Eve up, then begins walking to the van as the security officer heads back into the gas station.*

eve: I uh, this is my first human interaction in years

????: Ah, from another planet, I see? Well hurry up if you wanna see more.

*The DEA agent makes his way to the van.*

you there?

(i got held up.)

Eve: *Eve helps him up.*

It’s okay, man. I’ve been in your position before.

??: I bet, just, without you being the last one of your entire force...

*The Operative slowly and sluggishly makes his way into the RV.*

Eve: I’ve never had military experience. But i’ve been isolated and tested on by alien researchers. Every time I die, accidental or not, they revive me and put me back in this hell.

*Eve helps him walk.*

*The Operative is surprisingly light, and around the same height as Eve, so helping him get in is no big deal.*

??: Well, I got this one guy watching over me, whether far away, or behind some glass I can't get through or around. Nothing takes notice of him, and since my zombification, I haven't seen him since.

Eve: We’ve both got some freak watching us at all times. Good to know.

(GMAN?!!!1?1!!!1!!1!!!!!!!!!?!???!!)

(Correct!)

??: Well, I think that since you helped me, he'll know, and I think he'll do the same for you. He won't do anything but watch from afar...

Eve: Hm. Maybe i’ll stop noticing it after a while

??: Yeah, I doubt it. You'll notice him every time, his appearance will always stand out.

*Once the Operative is helped into the RV, Todd and Jeremy look at Eve and the Operative.*

Todd: Hey you two, since the sun is setting, I think it's time for you to learn of where you can sleep.

Eve: Okay…

*Todd begins giving a tour of the RV as Jeremy slinks into a "room".*

Todd: Up first is this main room. It's a combination between a kitchen and a living room. The resting place here is the couch, so if someone wants it, take it.

*The Operative, without hesitation, slowly walks to the couch, lies on it, and goes straight to sleep.*

Todd: . . .right. Eve, please follow me up.

*Eve nods. She doesn’t know exactly what to say*

*Todd keeps his eyes on the road as he drives, while Jeremy looks around outside, taking in his surroundings very much.*