* I M P A S S I V I T Y

 “Because if I’m not, then that’s one less person who’s willing to be. You know?”

Sherry flipped through an orange folder, before setting it aside. Not exactly what she was looking for, but related, nonetheless. She then clarified.

 “There are some things that have to be done, if we want to learn more. Things that some people just can’t do - that they refuse to do. That’s where Umbrella comes in, right? The people who work here aren’t afraid to push the limits, and find out what we can really do. And I want to help with that.”

She had been one of those people, once. The person afraid to try new things, who believed that there was no excuse for behavior like Umbrella’s. Of course, she was only a child at the time. She couldn’t possibly have known who she’d grow to become. The thought passed through her mind, momentarily, what past-her would have thought of present-her.

The poor girl would have been horrified.

Sherry decided not to dwell on it. She knew, now, that she was doing the right thing, even if it had taken her a long time to realize that. Finally, she plucked out a blue, plastic file and set it with the orange one. She began to pile the others together - she’d sort them more properly, later.

 “Besides, I’m pretty sure if I ever left, it’d be you on my tail, correct? And with your reputation, I don’t think I’d last a second.”

Dedicated to her work and her position, he could respect that. These days, what with bioweapons becoming more prevalent, loyalties were stretched thin. An ounce of danger often had most people running at the first chance they got in an attempt at saving themselves, damning all of the people around them. It was a shame considering some of the greatest minds to hit the market might actually be able to make a difference in the never ending fight. 

Good and evil didn’t really hold weight anymore because the amount of work that went into research and testing the shit to counter someone else’s monstrosity still harmed living, breathing, emotionally sentient beings.

“  More  than  likely.  “

What would her father have said seeing her and Hunk now? He’s curious to a small degree but overall indifferent. Nothing about the past would change with the additions of What if scenarios. There were cowardly people back then and a lot more now. Should he truly want answers, he can ask someone equally as broken as William Birkin.

“  Would  you  like  a  cup  of  coffee?  “

“Fair enough,” he dryly replied and decided against pushing his luck any further. The only thing Rick wanted was to be with his family again, an overwhelming sensation of deja vu washing over him back to when he first woke up in that crumbling hospital back at the start of the pandemic. “Sounds like you’ve got a serious chain of command.” 

Keeping his head lowered as they passed a squad of more of those soldiers, completely clad in that same tactical gear as the one he was following, Rick continued to take notes of any potential exits he could opt for in case things ended up going south. In the meantime, he simply nodded his head and stayed on the heels of the soldier guiding him to wherever they were going. 

“I had a friend that was in the army before this,” he tried to make small talk with the other man after he revealed something resembling his identity. “He’d tell me some pretty messed up stories of what they had to do in the line of duty, made my job seem like a walk in the park.” Abraham was one of Rick’s biggest regrets, he deserved better than what he got. “He didn’t make it,” he added in a sad tone. 

When Hunk led them outside the large medical facility, he immediately winced from the harsh brightness of the sun after taking the first step outside. “Good lord,” he snarled while shielding his eyes as they slowly adjusted to the light. While reconditioning him to the outside the other man mentioned something about him being a target, causing a chill to run down his spine. “I’d ask why but you already said questions will just land me in trouble.” 

“  My  answer  would,  again,  be  I  don’t  know.      You  get  a  task  and  you  do  it  or  you  die.  “

He swept the area with his eyes, trailing hidden blue hues from one point of interest to another. Not many folks in this part of the hospital complex, why would there be? Taking a patient out for a stroll in the garden wasn’t cause for alarm. They needed to get further passed the oppressive cement and brick walls, away from the other soldiers who obediently marched through its tiled halls.

“  Keep  following  me,        be  a  good  little  captive,         and  we  shouldn’t  get  stopped.  “

Hunk knew he wasn’t going to get very much trust from the animal he had caught. They’ve not had a very good start and probably wouldn’t have any kind of peaceful end. That isn’t going to deter the agent from using Rick as an excuse to leave the disgustingly ignorant utopia. The people here lived with a blind eye turned away from the rest of the world. The troubles of any survivors and a shattered society didn’t mean shit to them.

It was boring, disgusting, and wrong. You’d have to be an idiot not to see the obvious warning signs. Either this was an elaborate experiment or the last bastion would meet an even worse end than the rest of the country had. Hunk wanted no part of that and was still quite sour at having been left to die a couple of times.

Judging by the brief explanation provided by the other man it sounded like these soldiers, or whatever they were exactly, were kept on a tight leash by their superiors. “You got a name I can call you or is that top secret, too?” he scoffed without trying to push his luck too much. As Rick trailed behind the masked man he couldn’t stop his eyes from lighting up in fascination when it finally set in that they were in a hospital, a real hospital. It was almost like stepping back in time before the dead overthrew the living. 

“I still don’t understand,” he says nearly without any breath left in his lungs. “How is this place so safe? It’s like this entire place wasn’t even touched by what’s out there?” Then again it wasn’t so hard to figure out just by taking one look at their uniformed soldiers packing military-grade gear and weapons, they clearly meant business. “I thought the army had been wiped out at the start trying to stop the outbreak?” 

“  If  I  had  a  proper  one  before,  it’s  long  gone  now.    They  give  us  code  names  instead  based  on  our  records  or  skills.  “

Mr. Death, the immortal soldier, cold blooded killer. Praise he didn’t want nor care for. If he’s given a job, he’ll get it done. Someone on the outside needs to die? Be captured? So be it. As long as he complied with orders, his equipment was maintained and he’d get to live better than the rest of the world did. Not that that was much better, mind you. The expendable got the bare minimum. Nothing more, nothing less.

“  Mine  is  an  acronym.  Human  Unit  Never  Killed.     I’m  not  very  fond  of  it.  Makes  me  sick,  so  I  tend  to  stay  away.  “

Ah yes, the army. They did the best they could but ultimately failed. All of the firepower in the world wouldn’t do anyone any good if the threat was on a microscopic level. Killing the risen dead was obviously the first course of action, however, they far outnumbered the living trying to stop them. It was a classic no win scenario, except Captain Kirk couldn’t hack the system this time.