Hey guys, Mono here. Sorry, I had planned on making this transmission days ago. But something came up. More on that later. So, the story of Dr. Marcel Freeman. And my encounter with him. It was maybe a month after the infection went full blown. (At least here in New York anyway.) Weapons mainly consisted of my Busse Steel Heart II, and whatever I could make. I raided a closed down hardware store in Monroe, New York as one of the first places I raided.... ever! Very slim pickings. I did find a handful of loose shotgun shells in the backroom. No weapons though. Most of the good stuff was gone. I took a handful of tools back with me to my then shelter. This one is a helluva lot better.
There wasn't much left in Monroe. I planned on going further up the state. I ran into a couple of guys. None of us had guns. And back then, the name of the game was teaming up with whoever you could find who wasn't infected. Later on is when the whole concept of, "This is my group. I know I can rely on everyone here. You get lost, we don't trust outsiders" came to be. It's funny how that works. But I guess it makes sense. None of us used real names. There was J.T. and Biggs. In case you're wondering why I never mentioned them before, stay tuned! Because it's gonna get rather obvious. Biggs knew of a small hospital that was out of the way. Even downright obscure. He wanted to raid it for anything useful. But even after teaming up with J.T., he wasn't confident that two men could stay safe while doing it. Rabs were far more plentiful then, with more people turning into them everyday.
We went in the morning. What I didn't like was that the main doors were barricaded on the inside. Biggs said not to worry about it. I still worried. I had a large crowbar. J.T. had a wooden bat, and Biggs had a big ole length of pipe. We must've been quite a site. Three big homeless-looking dudes on the prowl for anything useful. I think J.T. was the first to hear the sound. We went along until we found it on the second floor. The newborns nursery..... There must've been about a dozen of them there. All crying.
To say that we were all shocked would be an understatement. Realistically we were hoping for a few well-stocked medical kits. Maybe a few bottles of anti-biotics. A few cans of food from the cafeteria. Maybe not the best stuff. But maybe cans of spinach or Spam. Yeah, the stuff you walk by the supermarket and wonder how the company is still in business except for in Third-World nations. Now people will kill each other for a can of it.
The nursery was supposed to be empty. It wasn't! An older nurse approached us with a dirty mop in her hands. Telling us to get the Hell out. Biggs started talking to her all nice and friendly. When she let her guard down, he bashed her in the head with his pipe. J.T. and I asked what the Hell he was doing! He said he came there for stuff, not babies. J.T. joined him, but I refused. That's the thing.... Back then you teamed up with whoever was around who wasn't infected. Even a couple of scumbags you don't know are scumbags until later on. They headed to the cafeteria while I stayed by the nursery. The crying could be heard through the glass. I then heard screams.... Yeah, turns out the cafeteria was popular with Rabs and not just people. So much for those two worthless pieces of.... But then I heard automatic weapons fire.
A soldier, I'm assuming that's what he was, came into the hallway sporting a full-on Hazmat suit, helmet, and gloves. Holding an M4 in his hands. He pointed the weapon at me, and demanded I drop the crowbar. I complied, naturally. He then ordered me to back up. He noticed the dead nurse but didn't pay her much mind. I told him it was Biggs who killed her. He told me to stay quiet. He pulled out a radio seemingly out of mid air. I guess he was contacting his commanding officer. He said that the rumors were true and that he could see about a dozen recently born babies in the nursery. He also radioed in about one survivor. And, he asked for orders about what to do about me. Whoever was on the other end asked if I appeared to be infected. The soldier replied with a "negative." That got a response of "Take him into custody."
At least it meant I wasn't going to get gunned down on the spot. More soldiers came and took custody of the babies. They just stepped over the nurse as they did so. I didn't know then what had happened to them. Your old buddy Mono was blindfolded, handcuffed, and worst of all, my Busse was confiscated. I was practically lifted into a helicopter by three men. Everyone in the entire operation had Hazmat suits. I was told to just follow orders and keep my mouth shut. And maybe, I'd come out of this better than fine if I played my cards right. Even then I was thinking of possible ways to escape.
"What about the babies?" Well, that got me a punch to the side of my head. Rang my bell pretty good. That side turned numb for awhile. I could hear someone cursing, and knew why. I have a hard head. If his hand wasn't broken, it was definitely throbbing. I restrained myself from smiling. Couldn't figure out all the details. But these guys were obviously from a military unit. Shortly after we eventually landed, I got hit in the back of the head. Out cold. When I woke up, I was in some sort of hospital room. Tied to the bed. Not good....
That was when I met Marcel. He was a young doctor. Very skinny. A bit pale. No other way to say it but that he looked like a hairless giant rat with human features. I was surprised that he didn't have whiskers on either side of his nose. Oh he was very friendly towards me! Of course. I wasn't infected. The way he looked at me, he was almost salivating at having a more or less healthy, uninfected adult to examine. (I later learned there was more to it than that.) Oh how friendly the Rat Man was! So concerned about my well-being. So sorry if the men had been a bit rough with me. He asked if I was feeling alright. Asked if I was hungry. When I said I was, his concern seemed to grow even bigger! Rat Man ordered one of the nurses to bring me some food, after pulling out a list from his pocket containing several MRE menu options. I selected the one that sounded least disgusting.
Yeah, yeah; I know. Food was going to be likely drugged. Screw it, I was hungry! I never said I'm a hard-core survivalist able to live off the land. But it was obvious that Rat Man was faking concern. The restraints would have been the very first thing he would have addressed. Instead they were the last. He seemed very reluctant to remove or even loosen them. But I can play the game too. Soon he had one of the military guards outside my door, dressed in digital camo, come over and undo the straps. Very clever! He kept his distance. I knew the answer already, but asked anyway. Oh yes, Rat Man was not in charge of the soldiers. Just the scientists. General Collins was in charge of the men. And he was the one insisting on two armed guards outside my door at all times. "So sorry." The smile Rat Man gave me then was the creepiest I had ever seen. I swear his beady little eyes glowed red for a moment. Like a rat's eyes when moving through the darkness.
Not sure why I said it, but I asked if all this was really necessary. I told him I was a patriotic American who would do anything to protect his country. And that yes, it was as simple as asking me to help. This caught Rat Man off guard. I was being honest. But he definitely didn't expect that. I could see a bit of a frown on his face as his gears starting turning. Started processing the new bit of information that he needed to respond to. But the minor frown lasted only a moment. The smile was soon back. (I preferred the frown.) He told me that he was very happy to hear that. That he'd pass the news along to the General. Maybe now that I made it clear that I was willing to fully cooperate, the guards could be re-assigned.
But they never were. Excuses along the lines of "So sorry. I tried. The General is by-the-book and a stubborn S.O.B." At one point I was told that I was too valuable to risk having anything happen to me. The room was white, and very clean. Antiseptic type clean. I was given books to read. I guess the place had a library. Even some action-films on DVD. Books and DVDs.... every deployed soldier's best friends. I soon learned that I was very far underground in a massive military installation. As in miles deep down. Because "bunker" would not do the place justice. I asked for my watch to be returned as not knowing the time was starting to get to me. Rat Man apparently decided I wasn't suicidal. No worries if I'd break the glass on my watch and use a piece to slit my wrists open. (As if I wouldn't be tackled instantly due to the guards outside, along with the camera watching me inside twenty-four seven.) So, I got my watch back. My Busse was going to be a much harder issue....
You guys can guess what a typical day was like for me. Get up, nurse comes in to draw blood, read for awhile, get escorted to different exam. rooms with different equipment in them. Always the strong silent type guards and the prettiest, most sweetest-sounding nurses who just "knew" I'd be happy to cooperate. I think I hated those damn nurses more than I hated Rat Man. From day one, he knew well enough to leave me alone for long stretches of time before re-appearing again. When my hot and not too disgusting MRE meal arrived that day, he excused himself for two hours so I could at least eat in peace. Not sure if my food was drugged or not. But it never felt as though it was. Maybe they planned on it. But decided, "Why bother? He's cooperating." They never injected me with anything. I did find that odd though. Someone out there, in the World, uninfected. No filtered air to breath like in the "bunker." And yet, not one injection of a possible cure, or vaccine, or anything at all. Hate to admit it, but Rat Man held all the cards. There was a bathroom off to the side in my room. They even took stool samples at times. Urine too. They even had me spit into an odd-looking plastic baggie with Hazmat symbols all over it.
So that was pretty much my day. I had very few cards I could play, but apparently I was playing them the right way. Honestly, not much you can do in such a situation. Say "no," and they'll take what they want by force. Cooperate, and they'll be REAL nice to you. Creepy smiles on everyone! Smiles all over the freakin' place.
Meals were brought into the room. And you better believe they counted the silverware before leaving. MREs wasn't all they had. On days when I was particularly good, I might even get a steak.... already cut up for me in bite-sized pieces. I was allowed a spreading knife, a fork, and a spoon. Sometimes a large spoon for soup. That was it. Not even a dull steak knife with a rounded tip.
I thought about faking an illness. But if I was taken to an infirmary, I'd likely be strapped down on the table. Even if I wasn't, I didn't know the layout of the place. The guards and the rest of the soldiers did. I'd be lucky to get to the other end of the hallway before getting tackled. I decided to wait and bid my time. A couple of newer guards were assigned to my door. They weren't as disciplined as the last batch. These guys loved to talk and gossip. Not that they knew much of anything that was important. I learned they were re-assigned from another wing of the complex. I also learned that I wasn't in New York anymore. I had been flown up to Vermont. (Okay, if I ever escape, just keep heading North.)
I also learned what happened to those babies. Like I said, I was never injected with anything..... But they were. Rat Man wasn't a comic book supervillan. He was just an evil bastard! Something had to be done. Especially since none of them survived. Rat Man came in one day, told me I was going to be flown back to New York. A facility in Southwest New York. Once again, he flashed me that creepy smile. I could say that I took him hostage, and made an incredible escape! But that would be a big old fib! I decided that maybe I'd have a better chance at the New York facility to make my escape. So the next day, I was back on the surface. Being escorted by two armed men. They and the pilot wore a variation of the Hazmat suits. I noticed it limited their mobility quite a bit though. Noticed something else too! One of them tossed all my original gear, including my Busse into a duffle bag and tossed it in the back of the helicopter. As I listened, it became clear that my gossiping buddies were the ones in the suits and special helmets with the face covers. Guess I played the part of the obedient little boy very well. They didn't bother this time with the blindfold or the 'cuffs.
I waited until the pilot was in New York. The damn fool announced it! Made my move with the only weapons I had, my teeth!! Through years of a bit of neglect, all of them were just a bit chipped right where they make contact with each other when I close my jaw. Slightly chipped teeth equals sharp teeth. And I put my fangs to good use!! Waited until just the right time when the pilot was concentrating very hard, and my buddies were concentrating on their gossip. They had no clue what hit them! I was more like a wild animal than a human-being. I can't even go into detail. It's all a blur. One, then the other, then back to the first. Pilot was going crazy. He pitched the chopper to the left and one of the guys, now missing a nose, fell out screaming. I kicked the other one out! Then I grabbed the pilot around the throat, and told him to land. He did.
Didn't even have a pistol on him. The M4s my buddies had, must have fallen out. At least I was able to retrieve the duffle bag. Steel Heart II back where it belongs. Wasn't sure what to do with the pilot. But he took off! Started running! Ran into two Rabs. They tore him apart. I ran in the opposite direction. Took a couple of hours, but did find my two buddies. Both dead. What I didn't find were their M4s! Plus, their extra magazines were missing. Great! Some lucky jack-ass stumbled onto the bodies and got himself some sweet weapons and loot.
It would be awhile before I'd encounter Kate and finally get my hands on a good non-bladed weapon. I guess I broke even. Back in New York, and got my Busse back. Got to keep my Life. That's good. I learned about three months had passed since I broke into that hospital with those two scumbags. That's why I never talk about them. Can you blame me?
So now you know who showed up at the fort. Getting hungry. Got to go. I'll broadcast at my usual weekly time though.
Oh yeah, would have cleared things up sooner but we found John. Stay safe, guys.
