Chapter 3
The firefighter pushed their way through the hospital, their flamethrower biting back a swarm of infected. Behind them stood three battered wolves, their gas masks strapped tightly to their faces. They had been scavenging, and gotten trapped when the firefighter began their purge of the hospital, their first purge in Seattle. The hem of their tan outfit flapped in the searing breeze, the flames crumbling the walls around them as the spores in the air began to clear out.
“Firefighter-” One of the wolves, a short woman, spoke. She flinched as the firefighter looked her way.
“Y-your mask is cracked.” She pointed, warily.
The firefighter felt at her mask, and sure enough the glass over her left eye had shattered.
“You aren’t coughing.” A second wolf chipped in, confused.
The firefighter just stared, almost daring them to ask more questions with their one visible eye. It was steely, determined, and fucking terrifying.
“How are you even human?” The last wolf said, an uneasy laugh breaking the silence.
“I’m not.” The firefighter said, devoid of emotion. “We need to leave.”
“Do you know where any infection hubs are around here?” The firefighter said as they marched out the front door, away from the flames.
“No, I don’t know. Do you know, Jess?” Wolf number three looked to his compatriot for assistance.
“Jess” went white as a sheet. “No, not off the top of my head. Y-you should come back to base with us. We can radio around there.” She said.
“You don’t have a radio on you?”
“It got smashed in the fight.”
“...Fine.”
It was the first time the firefighter had to step foot in a settlement in who knows how long. they weren’t happy.
The base was decently fortified, though noticeably less stocked or guarded compared to the last time Ellie saw it. The firefighter walked into something more akin to a settlement. Still, they had supplies to get by and a radio network to connect through.
“Jess” had led the firefighter over to the radio, taking the microphone with shaky hands.
“Jess here. Zone Six. I’ve got the, uh…” She took another glance at the firefighter, as if confirming that what they were saying was true.
“The firefighter is here. With me. They want to know if there are any big infected zones in the area that they should focus fire on. Over.”
The line went silent for a moment, before it sparked to life, an operator speaking in a tone that let you know he was rolling his eyes, even if you couldn’t see it.
“Jess, don’t fuck around on official lines. The firefighter is a myth. Return to finish your mission report on the hospital raid. Over.”
The firefighter grasped the mic in their gloved hand, pulling it away from “Jess” and pressing the button.
“Tell me where the infected gather in this area. I’ve purged the hospital. I’d like to keep moving.” Their tone was fierce, solid as rock and twice as rough. They’d forgotten how little they’d been speaking before now. The line went silent again as the firefighter pulled out their map and prepared to mark down the locations. Sure enough, the operator began speaking, albeit with a markedly more frightened tone. The firefighter circled the locations on their map, and began to put it away when the operator, feeling a touch brave for some reason, decided to ask a question.
“Excuse me, firefighter? You ‘purge’ with flame, right? Over.”
The firefighter sighed. It was a pointless question. “Yes. I do.”
“So there shouldn’t be any way for the infected to still be around after you finish purging an area? Over.”
“Obviously not. And stop fuckin’ saying ‘over.’ It’s annoying”
“Right. Then how did the small resurgence in Wyoming happen?”
Ellie’s blood ran cold.
“The what?” She gripped the microphone even tighter, hearing a slight creak as she did. “Jess” jumped slightly.
“The resurgence in Wyoming. Where the infected started coming back.”
Another creak of protest from the microphone as Ellie squeezed even harder.
“Where in Wyoming?” Every muscle in her body tightened. She dreaded the answer. Part of her knew it was coming.
“Jackson County.”
The microphone snapped in two with a weak crack, and Ellie immediately dropped it and started towards a car. Some wolves cried after her. She wasn’t listening. They’d left the keys in the car. She twisted the ignition, and rolled off toward the sunset. Toward Jackson.