Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 5: The Asylum

Jason had been on a simple scouting mission and supply run. He’d left Eclipse earlier in the day to slip between the barriers and patrols. Everyone was in agreement that they needed to take some time to lie low. With the arrival of the monster that had ambushed Jake and the others while they were searching for Alexis, the last thing they needed was to draw more attention to themselves. They’d already done enough of that by assaulting Amelia’s little gang of goons. That meant that they needed to stock up on supplies and finish getting their bearings.

Jason hadn’t said it aloud yet, but he swore he recognized the sickly skin of the hand that Pam had inadvertently brought back with them. He was reminded of his encounter with the scientist and her odd creation when he was running through the city streets last year. He hadn’t mentioned it, but he also hadn’t forgotten that mangled body strapped to that bed. He was sure that it was related to the creature that had attacked Jake and the others. He suspected that Anna Murray was involved in whatever madness was happening with that thing. 

However, that wasn’t the only thing that was bothering Jason as he made his way across the west side of the city. He knew something wasn’t right. He’d been on the move for over an hour, but it was like the drone patrols had been considerably dialed back. Not only that, there seemed to be far less civilians and infected roaming the streets. He knew the schedules for the city’s workforce, and while he knew that that freetime wasn’t something typically allowed, there were still at least a few people wandering the streets.

The Brunswicks had divided the city’s population into three shifts to keep their workflow going all hours of the day and night. Most of the people simply got up, went to work, and then went back to their holes. They were motivated by fear of being turned into one of Courtney’s zombified worker drones. They were treated like dogs, but they were allowed to live as long as they remained useful cogs in the Brunswick machine. The people still had to eat, and that meant they had to visit the grocery stores for their rations and supplies. Yet there wasn’t a soul to be seen anywhere. 

More than that, there was a silent stillness in the air that was unnerving. Jason had spent the better part of the year wandering the city, fighting for his life, seeking intel, and learning the new order. In that time, he’d come to know the sounds of the city in its new state. The hustle and bustle of people walking, talking, driving, and working was all but gone. In its place were the factories and machinery churning, groaning and growling of the infected, and the trucks driving to and fro to make their deliveries. Now, it was as though this entire section of the city was on a shut-down.

Jason stopped atop one of the buildings overlooking one of the many intersections on this side of the city. He looked out from the rooftop to survey the city streets. There was a part of him that thought that maybe he’d simply been moving too fast to notice any signs of life, so he’d stopped almost a half hour ago. In the time that he’d been waiting and watching, he hadn’t seen a single person, any trucks, or heard any signs of life. There had been a collision at the intersection below. An eighteen wheeler had collided with a sedan at the redlight, and the doors to the trailer of the truck were open. The trailer was unmarked, but Jason had a suspicion that there were some valuable supplies lying in wait to be taken. 

The wreck had happened some time before he’d gotten there. There were no bodies to be seen, no fires, and the smell of burnt rubber was virtually nonexistent. The whole thing didn’t sit right with him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow a setup. “Maybe I’m being paranoid,” he mumbled to himself while he grabbed his rifle to scan the area through his scope.

Scanning the streets, Jason still didn’t see anything or anyone. He couldn’t see into the trailer, so he turned his attention to the skies. Once again, there were no signs or sounds of drones moving or mulling about. He sighed and put his rifle back on its sling. The smart thing would be for him to head back to base, but he wasn’t going to go back empty handed, or at least not without checking the truck out. They needed food, water, and materials, and that truck could have had anything on it. With that in mind, he pulled his grappling gun out and his handgun to make his way down to street level.

His boots hit the pavement with an audible thud and he holstered his grappling gun. Jason looked around the street as he slowly made his way towards the trailer. He hadn’t seen anyone in any of the buildings overlooking the streets either, but didn’t like being exposed like this. It was bad enough on a normal scouting mission, but somehow this was worse. There was a sense of unease that was lingering in the air. Every step that Jason took seemed to make it worse too. The more time passed, the more he felt ready to get it done and over with.

Jason tucked his head down and hurried across the street to the backside of the trailer. The lock was broken on the trailer doors and one of them was already cracked. He looked around to make sure he was still alone before pushing the door open and climbing into the trailer. He kept his pistol at the ready as he looked into the trailer. There were boxes scattered around the floor, but none of them were marked. Jason made his way to one of the boxes on the side and opened it. Inside were several cans of vegetables and boxes of noodles. It wasn't much, but they could survive on these for a while. 

Jason crept deeper into the trailer; the darkness growing substantially as he got closer to the back. He grumbled as he flipped a switch on his pistol to turn the light on. He was near the middle of the trailer now, and he decided to check more of the boxes. His hope was that he might be able to find a box of shells, casings, or live rounds to take back. They needed food, but ammunition was what was going to win them the war. He could always come back with Pam for the bulk of the supplies, but he needed to confirm what was here first. He knelt in front of one of the boxes and pulled the flaps open.

Jason frowned and sighed as he found the box was full of copier paper. At least he knew that the truck was carrying a variety of items. That was a double-edged sword, though. It meant he’d have to check every box to see if there would be anything useful. He got to his feet and weighed the pros and cons of doing an in-depth investigation. However, one of the boxes suddenly started to shake. Jason looked over at where the trembling was coming from. He thought that perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, but he could see the cardboard rocking from the top of a stack across him. 

The box in question suddenly fell from its stack and opened on its side. The pit in Jason’s stomach doubled as he took a step back. A small set of silver tendrils popped out of the box as a small bot crawled its way out. Atop the body of the small robot was a long wire with a glowing red lens attached to it in the shape of an eye. It was borderline unnerving to see it as it looked around and seemingly blinked at Jason. It couldn’t have been more than a foot long, but it had four wiry tendrils acting as legs that allowed it to crawl forward. Its camera lens locked on Jason as he fired a quick round at it and shut it down. However, the damage had already been done and now there was the added detriment of his gun having gone off.

The pit in Jason’s stomach doubled in an instant. His instincts kicked in and he decided to abandon his search inside his efforts. More of the boxes scattered around the trailer began to shake and tremble. Jason ran past them and towards the doors. The sound of growling and snarling could be heard behind the steel walls. Jason realized too little too late that his gut feelings had been right. This was somehow a deliberate setup. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew it was true when he spotted more of those little bots crawling or buzzing out of the boxes.

Jason paused at the door to look out across the intersection. He could see a herd of infected making their way down the street. He couldn’t tell how many there were, but he guessed there were at least a hundred, maybe more. However, the snarling and groaning could also be heard behind him. He couldn’t see beyond the trailer, but it sounded like he was being surrounded. It was a pincer maneuver. He didn’t have bullets to take down half an army of those things. Jason shook his head and holstered his pistol while he prepared to run.

“Fucking hell,” he grumbled as he jumped down to the street and grabbed his grappling gun.

His concerns were realized as he looked behind the trailer to see another mob of infected making their way towards him. Remaining on the ground was suicide. Jason fired his grappling gun at one of the nearby rooftops. He flipped the switch and went soaring through the air. He glanced behind him as a dozen drones crawled out of the trailer, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. He spotted a swarm of drones making their way across the sky. What was going on?

Jason landed on the rooftop and looked over his shoulder. He looked down to see more of Courtney’s infected minions running towards where he’d been seconds ago. Sure enough, there was another mob coming from the south as well. He didn’t have time to ponder on it, though. The swarm of automated defenses was closing in too fast for him to stop. Jason took off in a sprint in the opposite direction of the drones and the mobs below. However, he was quickly running out of roof. 

Jason growled as he jumped from the ledge of the roof and looked for his next destination. He had to work fast and decided on a higher vantage point to the right and across the street. The hook and cable from his grappling gun cut through the sky and connected with the higher rooftop. Jason was carried through the air at blinding, breakneck speed. He landed with a roll on the rooftop and tried to take a second to gather his thoughts and get his bearings. Glancing behind him again, Jason could see more drones coming from the right. Again, he wondered what was going on? Whatever it was, it was clearly an ambush, and a coordinated one at that. He took off in a sprint across the highrise.

Jason’s first instinct was to keep going straight, but he fought it and turned to the left. He needed to find his way to one of the safehouses and wait out whatever this was. Ideally, he’d find his way back to base, but then he didn’t want to risk bringing down the full force of the infected and automated sentries. As he got closer to the ledge, he was forced to stop and change direction. Over the far side, he could see another swarm of drones rising up and making their way towards him; the red light from their camera flashing like crimson eyes. 

He was once again forced to change direction as a result. Jason was turned back around and heading the same way he’d been running from the start. His eyes scanned the skies for any other signs of robotic devils, but he couldn’t see any of them. However, he could see another pincer formation happening and beginning to form like he’d seen on the ground with the infected. He was beginning to feel like a rat trapped in a maze. It could have been his paranoia, but he didn’t have time to think. He had to keep moving.

Jason got to the ledge and leapt without a second thought. His mind was working overtime to try to find the next best place for him to land. Down below, he could hear more groaning, snarling, and growling as a herd continued to comb the streets. He briefly wondered if it was the same ones from before, or if there was another group that had somehow gotten loose. Again, he didn’t dwell on it; there were far more important things to focus on rather than what-ifs. His eyes landed on another building closer to the ground. He fired his grappling gun at a nearby sign and swung to slow his fall. 

He flicked his wrist and flipped the switch to release the hook and retract the cable as he landed on the pebbles of the roof. A string of bullets ripped through the air as the cable from Jason’s grappling gun zipped back, but one of the bullets cut through it. The remnants of the cable fell to ground and Jason was forced to rethink his strategy. Without that tool, he was going to have to get faster and more creative. It was going to severely limit his mobility, and dealing with a horde of infected and drones only made things more difficult. He found it strange that the trail of gunfire hadn’t hit him, but had instead severed his cable. Once again, he was forced to turn his focus to the task at hand. He could figure out the correlation between these things later

He saw a fire escape on the opposite side of the rooftop. That was going to serve as his escape route. Jason knew from experience that those things had a limited amount of rounds, but they were quick to reload. It wouldn’t be long before they fired again. With survival at the top of his priority list, he raced towards the far side where the fire escape rested. He didn’t waste time when he made it to the old steel stairwell. His boots pounded across the steel and down the steps two at a time. He was heading into an alleyway as he hurried through his descent. The streets and tight spaces would likely provide cover from the bots, but it meant he was going to be far more vulnerable against the infected. 

Jason pulled both of his pistols out as he dropped down to the alleyway. The sounds of groaning and moaning from Courtney’s monster mob could be heard in the distance. He didn’t like the thought of being trapped in such a confined space with a handful of infected, let alone dozens, trying to take a bite out of him. His best guess was that they were coming from the south. That meant he was heading north. Jason hoped that he’d manage to avoid the majority of those things as he ran towards the northern side of the alleyway.

He made it to the mouth of the alleyway and briefly peered out to the streets. He recognized some of the buildings dotting the sidewalks. An old pawnshop, one of the city’s many laundromats, an apartment complex, and a handful of local businesses here and there. Jason knew this part of town. He was on the west side of Metropolis. These things were driving him further from home by the minute. Thankfully, for him at least, this part of the city had been mostly abandoned by Eva and her sadistic council. Unfortunately, this was where the bulk of Courtney’s herd was kept; evidenced and supported by the snarling coming from down the street.

Jason decided to try the pawnshop in hopes of finding something he could use; ammo, water, or even just some cover to let the horde pass by. He ran across the street with his head on a swivel as he crossed the street. He could see a group of shamblers already making their way around the corner on the far end of the street, and he could hear the humming of the machines up above. He threw his shoulder into the old wooden door and hurriedly slammed it shut behind him to get out of the open. 

With the door sealed shut, Jason turned his focus to the inside of the building. His ears were on high alert as he scanned for any sudden and out of place sounds while his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Sure enough, he was greeted to the sound of glass cracking under foot across the floor. There were racks that were set up for displays forming an isle that went down the center of the main room. Glass cases lined the walls with several of the displays already cracked and broken. Jason raised one of his pistols and took a few steps into the bowels of the store. He’d dealt with enough of these things to know that where there was one, there was usually more hiding.

He holstered one of his pistols and exchanged it for the large knife he kept tucked in his coat. If he could deal with this thing without having a fire a round, he could keep from alerting others to his position. The bastards were drawn to noise, and he was sure that those damned bots outside were scanning for movement and sound. Jason stopped at the end of the rack and looked around the corner to see where the zombified citizen was. He found it meandering and shambling back and forth in front of a display case. From where he was standing, he couldn’t see anymore of those monsters wandering.

Jason was quick in making his move. He hurried over to the lone shambler before with his knife raised at the ready. It let out a growl as it turned around just in time to see the tip of Jason’s blade coming at his face. Jason plunged his knife into its skull and forced it down against the remnants of the case with a loud crash. He ripped the blade from its skull and looked around for any other signs of life. There was nothing. Finally, Jason had a minute to collect his thoughts and gather some supplies.

The body of the infected fell to the ground and Jason jumped over the counter. His eyes had adjusted to the shadows cast by the miscellaneous items dangling from the racks. The light from the windows was limited, but he could see well enough. There had once been guns stored behind the counter for potential buyers, but they’d been confiscated by the Brunswick corporation. The last thing a new order wanted was for its subjects having the means to stage a coup. However, he’d found a number of places like this where ammunition had been overlooked.

Jason checked the lower sections of the cabinets and in some of the unmarked boxes. He found a couple boxes of pistol ammo; sadly he hadn’t found a full box of any one caliber, but he’d take what he could get. He kept searching and combing through what he could. There were things that they could use, but none of it was worth trying to haul back to base. There were bats, a few knives, flashlights, batteries, and odds and ends that could be repurposed with proper time and care, but nothing that was immediately useful except the flashlights. He grabbed a couple and continued his search.

He had some time to kill while waiting out the horde. Jason kept looking for anything that he could use to help him get back to base. He’d made his way halfway around the store before he noticed something that made his heart sink. The horde was still outside; he could hear them groaning and shuffling about, but that wasn’t what gave him pause and a sense of dread. There was a blinking red light in one of the upper corners of the store. Once upon a time, the camera would have likely been just fed straight to a monitor in the back, but given the recent change in the city, he suspected that wasn’t the case. Considering his luck thus far today, he had growing suspicion that it was feeding back to Isley and her surveillance bots. 

A part of him debated on killing the camera with a stray bullet, but he knew it was already too little too late. If he was right, then he’d already been spotted. That also meant that if he was right, that this was indeed an orchestrated series of events. He made a last minute decision to grab what he could and make his way to the back door. He couldn’t risk going back the way he came with a swarm of infected looking for their next meal alongside an unknown number of bots littering the skies. Thankfully, places like this almost always had a backway out, and it seemed this place was no exception. 

Jason found the back door that led into another alleyway and threw his shoulder against it. He pressed onward and into the open. He jerked to the left and made his way back towards the open. He could already hear more of those things bumping into cars, dragging their feet, and snarling the entire way. There was no point in waiting around and trying to be stealthy. He was beginning to understand the full gravity of the situation, even if he didn’t understand all the specific and minute details. Somebody was pulling the strings, but to what end he couldn’t be sure. Then again, it wasn’t like it mattered. The only thing that mattered was finding a safe space, a blind spot in the surveillance systems gridlocking the city.

As he came to the end of the alleyway, Jason spotted a trio of infected making their way down the street. Jason decided to forgo his hopes of getting away unnoticed. Their hollowed eyes landed on him as he raised his pistol and prepared for a fight. Three quick and succinct rounds ripped from the barrel of his gun and found a home in the skulls of the undead. They fell to the ground, but he could already see more trailing behind them. There were several more coming towards him, so Jason doubled down and picked up his pace.

Cutting out of the alleyway and into the empty city streets, Jason tried to get ahead of the horde before they could get to him. The bulk of them were behind him as he cut a hard right into the streets, but there were a handful that were scattered near him. He’d managed to get ahead of the majority of them, but he’d still entered into an ongoing march. He tried to zig and zag his way through them as he raced through the streets. One of them tried to grab him, but he sunk his dagger into her skull and dragged its lifeless corpse in front of him to use as a shield.

The body of the decaying woman worked to stop another undead monstrosity from getting their hands on him. Jason shoved the body of the woman off and into the man that was trying to grab him. He fired another shot that hit between his eyes and continued making his way down the street. There was another intersection coming up. He could either keep running straight, or take one of the turns. If he had more time, if he wasn’t being chased by an army of zombified freaks, he might have been able to stop and figure out where exactly he was. As it was, he’d lost track of where he’d started and where he’d run to.

He fired another volley of bullets and expend the last of his clip. A handful of infected dropped to the ground as a result. He was in the process of reloading when a large black van pulled up at the intersection. Its tires squealed as whoever it was slammed on their brakes. There were no windows on the sides. As it came to a stop, Jason noticed the familiar buzzing of drones making another ascent in the distance. He could see their mechanical bodies rising behind the van. Shamblers behind him, drones in front of him, and likely more of each coming from the sides. He was surrounded.

Jason was able to reload as the side door to the van slid open and a familiar, unnerving face stepped out. Blonde hair tied back and a sinister smile on her face with a rifle slung across her back. Anna Murray dropped down with a chuckle, “Mr. Graves, it is good to see you again. I confess, you’re not at all who I was expecting, but I suppose you’ll do. Drop your weapons, Mr. Graves, now.”

“Go fuck yourself doc,” Jason spat, looking around as more creatures continued surrounding them, “I’d say we’ve got bigger problems, but I can spare a bullet for a psycho like you.”

“Hmm?” Anna hummed and looked around before smiling, “Ah, I see your point. Stay where you are, all of you!”

Jason looked around and watched as every single zombified citizen stopped and obeyed. They continued to growl and snarl, but they stopped dead in their tracks. Jason frowned and raised his pistol at Anna, but the second he did, a series of red targeting lasers landed on his chest and head. He stared at her for a moment before swallowing and raising his hands and removing his finger from the trigger. “Alright, what do you want, doc?”

“What I want is fresh meat, but we’ll get to that soon enough,” Anna smiled warmly, “It’s amazing what a few key pheromones can do, isn’t it? Despite her many faults and cantankerous personality, Ms. Tellar does have her uses. There are indeed benefits to having someone like her around that go beyond a near unstoppable workforce. Get on your knees, Mr. Graves, I need to have a quick look at you.”

“That’s a little forward of you, don’t you think, doc?” Jason asked, eying the drones still hovering above the, “After all this time, I’d think someone working with the Brunswicks could at least afford to buy me dinner first.”

“Cute, but I assure you that you’ll be well-fed,” Anna scoffed, “After all, I wouldn’t want my newest test subject dying of malnutrition. I wouldn’t be able to study the effects of someone that’s been brought back in such a…unique manner after enduring such severe psychological trauma from the likes of the Goth Goddess. On your knees, Mr. Graves, I won’t tell you a third time.”

As if on cue, the drones let out a distinct hum of their machine guns engaging. Jason sighed and slowly got to his knees. “Was this all you then?” he asked as he complied.

“So there is still a hint of obedience buried in that psyche after all,” Anna chuckled, “Is it truly so surprising? My benefactors were growing tired of your rather disruptive actions against our mission. I myself have found it increasingly irritating especially after you managed to break up my supply chain with Ritters and her useless bunch of idiots. So we devised a trap to catch the rats in our midst. A few well-placed items, and anybody can become like the mouse following the grand design of their superiors.”

“Is that what I am to you, doc?” Jason asked, “A lowly rodent in the presence of some all powerful being?”

Anna’s smile fell from her face and she reached out and snatched his face with one hand. Her long red nails dug into his skin. “You are a pain in my ass, Mr. Graves, nothing more, nothing less,” she said, her tone cold and calculating, “You, and whoever else is in your little group, have earned the distinct honor of being thorns in the side of this world’s new master. You should feel lucky to have the privilege of being something as valuable as a mouse in this little game of ours.”

“Is this supposed to scare me, doc?” Jason asked, glaring at her, “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

“I think you have me confused with Ms. Tellar, Mr. Graves,” Anna remarked, pushing his face and raking her nails across his cheek, “Fear is the least of my concerns. I am well-aware of the effects that fear can have on the body and mind. No, Mr. Graves, I could care less if you’re afraid. My concern is advancing science, perfecting the human experiment, and above all else, getting results. Your friends came to understand this, and you will as well, I assure you.”

“My friends?” Jason repeated, suddenly surging to get to his feet, “What did you-”

Anna was quick to inject a syringe into his neck before he could get up. Suddenly the world around him began to spin and his body started to feel increasingly heavy. “Yes, I believe you are well acquainted with two of my favored subjects, Kaitlyn and Sally,” Anna smiled, taking a step back as Jason stumbled forward, “Don’t worry, you’ll see them soon enough. Be thankful, Mr. Graves, you have the distinct honor of being something more than a worthless labrat. You, my mummified friend, will serve as bait to flush out the rest of your little gang. With you missing, at least a handful of them will come looking. I know it’s not just you, and I will have them soon enough. It might take a few days, but they will come for you. When they do, I’ll be sure to leave a subtle trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow. In the meantime, I think you and I can have some fun together. Rest now, Mr. Graves, you’re going to need your strength when we get to your new home.”

Jason couldn’t believe what was happening. He’d seen the trap coming and had walked right into it. His gut had been right, but he’d let his judgment become clouded. Now, he was slipping into the abyss of unconsciousness. He was at the mercy of a madwoman, and his only hope was that Jake and the others would be able to find him without falling victim to whatever sick machinations Anna Murray had up her sleeve. Things didn’t look good for him, but there was nothing he could do as the weight of the world grew to be too much. Everything faded to black and he fell forward as he succumbed the the sedative Murray had injected him with.