I miss you Gabriella

Two months. Well almost.

That's how long it's been since we captured the oathbreakers. Yet we're still stuck here. Apparently ENCAGE won't lift the quarantine until they've found a cure. If they don't hurry there won't be any people left to cure. Just a whole lot of human-goo.

The locals are getting sicker by the day. None of them have had contact with the outside world. I too am getting sick, sick of boredom. Technically I'm not allowed to post on this blog either. I'd like to see them try to stop me.

Seems like ENCAGE itself is struggling as well. There's been no reinforcements. The doctor they have is working all by themselves. Obviously the oathbreakers aren't being helpful. In fact they're just taking up more resources. Plus some of the agents have been forced into quarantine too.

The only reason there aren't more sick people than there are agents is because many of the sick have died. I'm not sure how long that balance will keep up.

The upside of all this is that at least Gabriella is in no danger of being infected. She's still being held in quarantine. According to her the Sneak hasn't made a peep yet. Which suggests that her next outburst will be a doozy. The longer she holds it in, the larger the fallout.

If she does make a peep soon we'll have a problem. ENCAGE isn't gonna just let us go. I Might have resort to something drastic.

Chat log

Michael: How you holding up?

Gabriella: I'm not. You better be working on getting me out.

M: I am. Just got back from the tunnels.

G: Got the Oathbreakers?

M: Most of them. Including Dr. Slager.

G: How many are left?

M: Three of them they think.

G: Think?

M: That's what Dr. Slager said during his interrogation.

G: What's the real number?

M: More.

G: Encage know that?

M: They suspect. Aren't sure though.

G: Are you?

M: Had a chat with the doctor before we arrested him. So yes.

G: You trust him?

M: Hah, no. We can use him though.

G: Just be careful. Letting that virus get out would be bad.

M: I'm usually the one telling you to be careful.

G: Fuck you.

M: Wish you would.

G: Get me out of here first. Then we'll see about that.

M: Yes, Ma'am.

G: You have a plan right?

M: Obviously. Would be easier if they just let you out though. I could use you by my side. You seen that doctor yet?

G: Hazmat enby keeps telling me the doctor is busy. She has received my request though.

M: She'll probably be more busy now that they've got Dr. Slager. They're already dismantling his lab. Not ideal.

G: No shit.

M: Any word on the Sneak?

G: Still being sneaky. Hasn't popped yet.

M: Hopefully she stays quiet until we get out of here.

G: Unlikely.

M: Yeah, she has a tendency to show up at the worst times.

G: We should still have time. Outbursts tend to happen at least 6 months apart. Hasn't been that long yet.

M: Last one was three months ago, right?

G: Yup. We almost got her. Being stuck here would set us back by a lot.

M: I know, working on it.

Rats trapped in their tunnels

Michael here.

Even oathbreakers need to eat. More than that they need supplies. A man like Dr. Slager would not stop his project just because of a setback like this. Wherever he's hiding, I'm sure he's still working away on the virus. He can't do that without materials and test subjects. Which means they have to come out of their hidey-hole eventually.

Today was that day. The Oathbreakers knew ENCAGE had a doctor. Which means we had the supplies they needed. Add in the message I let ENCAGE make to let the people in the village know we had food rations for them. And out come the rats.

We made sure the supply tent was lightly guarded. Then we followed the oathbreakers as they came to steal what they needed. Obviously we made sure that whatever they could steal was not usable. We found the entrance to a basement they used. Thanks to the trackers we put in the food boxes we also know they move underground. Probably using some tunnels. Unfortunately for them those tunnels don't go outside the quarantine zone.

So Oathbreakers if you're reading this, we're already inside your tunnels.

Where's our welcome party? We'd love to say hello.

Can't cure a Goo

Michael here

Gabriella was right these people are seriously understaffed. No wonder they were so eager to get my help. There's only three teams out looking for the oathbreakers. The rest of them are needed to guard the fences.

Perhaps it would have been easier to escape if we waited a bit longer. Hindsight, my favorite super power.

Agent Gevaudan, Agent Alu and me have been going on patrol. Trying to find us some oathbreakers. Been doing that for a few days now. Didn't find any. The whole place is a ghost town these days. The villagers are either sick and in quarantine or dead. Not all of them though. Some are too sick for quarantine and have been left to their fate.

Which is far from pleasant. First their body starts to bloat making them look like human balloons. Then they pop. A hole in their flesh, guts everywhere. Somehow this doesn't kill them. They just slowly start to melt. At this point we shoot them. Can't heal a puddle of goo, I guess. I'm just glad I'm not on the crew that has to clean them up.

Gabriella mentioned hazmat suits. If she thinks they look weird to look at, she should try wearing them. Can't leave the camp without one on. It's awkward as fuck.

This is going to take too long. I wonder if there's a way to flush out the oathbreakers?

No, I know what you're thinking Gabs. I'm not using fire. Remember what happened last time? Didn't end well, did it?

Dying of boredom

Gabriella here.

I've been in here for like forever. No idea how long it has actually been. I'm sure I could easily find out. I do have internet access after all. I just don't feel like it right now.

Good to know Michael is working on getting me out as soon as possible. I swear I'll end up with a depression if I stay in this bare room for too long. Seeing only one person a day doesn't help either. I wonder how long it'll take for me to get used to seeing a Hazmat suit from up close like this everyday. Unless I already got used to it. I'm not sure.

Speaking of that one person. I'm pretty sure it's the same one everyday. They bring me food and water three times a day. Not that you can call that shit food.

Anyway, back to what I was trying to talk about. I had a chat with hazmat enby. Asked for their pronouns, turns out they're non binary. Asked for their name as well. The only reply I got was “Agent Qilin” which I doubt is their real name. Seems ENCAGE is fond of code names.

Hey Michael, should we get code names as well? Too late now I guess. Oh well, perhaps in another reality.

Sidetracked again. I'm sorry about that. Not really though.

Figured I could get some information out of Agent Qilin. So I started asking questions whenever I saw them. Including this morning. “How's things going out there?”

They shrugged and set down my plate of food. “I think they're still trying to find those oathbreakers that caused all this.”

“This village is small, can't be that many places to hide.”

“Probably not.”

“I figured they'd have searched the whole place by now.”

“If we had more people sure. Look I have other meals to deliver. If you have more questions can you keep them for later?” They gestured to their cart in front of the door.

“Sure, just one more for now. I thought I would have seen a doctor by now. You have any idea when they'll get to me?”

“Our doctor is spending most of her time on making a cure. Not much sense in trying to diagnose people when it's all the same virus anyway.”

“Good point. What if I wasn't infected with the virus though?”

“I believe you coughed up blood, correct? You're infected.” They turned to leave.

“There's other diseases with that symptom. Wouldn't hurt to check, right?” I smiled at them.

“Fair. I'll talk to the doctor.” They didn't smile back but just opened the door and left.

Learned quite a bit from that conversation. For one they still haven't found the oathbreakers. With a village this small that means they're heavily understaffed probably. From the sound of it there is also only one doctor working here and she's busy with finding a cure.

Also learned that hazmat enby never seems to smile. Still need to figure out if they're just a sour person or depressed all the time. Then again those aren't mutually exclusive.

Hopefully I'll be let out when they find out I'm not infected. Michael, babe, if that doesn't happen you're gonna have to hurry up. I'm literally dying in here.

Cracking cookies

Michael here

Gabriella was dragged off into a quarantine cell. Coughing up blood is apparently one of the symptoms of the virus going around. So now they think Gabriella is infected. Which I guess is a reasonable conclusion to reach.

At least they let her keep her electronics. So she can still talk to me. She can also still post on this blog as you've seen. This situation is far from ideal though. Something must be done about it. Preferably before they figure out what Gabriella's sickness actually is. This is gonna be a tough cookie to crack.

Don't worry Gabriella, I'm working on it.

I asked the guy who actually spoke dutch if I could talk to whoever was in charge here. He and the other guy took me to a large tent in the middle of the camp. I'm gonna guess they're reserving the actual buildings for putting patients into quarantine.

The first thing I saw were piles of books on a carpet and a single desk further back. On the desk were some files, a lamp and a name plate that said: Agent Lilith. Behind it sat a woman, probably in her early forties if I had to guess. When we entered her tent the old man told her something in french. She responded. I have no idea what was said. I assume it was about me, which honestly is a bit rude.

The woman got up from behind her desk and walked towards me. Despite being in a tent surrounded by trees she was wearing a grey business suit and high heels. At least I can admire the dedication to fashion.

She picked a file off her desk and quietly looked through it. Then she looked up at me. “You're a runner from Antwerp correct?”

“Yes, ..Ma'am” Figured she'd be pissed if I wasn't polite. She seemed like the type that demands respect..

“You requested to see me. Why?” She snapped the file in her hands closed.

“Well, Ma'am. You probably know it's not a good idea for runners to stay in one place for long. So I was wondering..”

“No.”

“With all due respect Ma'am. I don't think I was going to ask what you think I was going to.”

There was a silence while she looked me over. “Fine, I'll bite. Go ahead.”

“Thank you. I realize you can't let us go until you've got the situation resolved here. So I want to do anything I can to help speed things up.”

There was another silence. I had trouble reading her face. I bet she's a great poker player. “Have you seen combat?”

“Plenty.”

She nodded. “This virus is the work of a dangerous man. An oathbreaker. Goes by the name of Doctor Slager. He and a couple of his assistants are hiding in this village. Go with agents Gévaudan and Alû there.” She pointed to the two guys behind me. “Track down their hiding place. Then report back. I assume you can do this?” She raised her eyebrow.

“Yes Ma'am.”

“Good.” She signaled for us to leave and walked back to her desk.

Doctor Slager, have I heard that name before? Nah, probably not.

A problem

Gabriella here.

Our escape attempt turned out pretty badly. So instead of being free from this quarantine we're in handcuffs instead. Well not literally. At least not anymore. They took those off after a few hours. Wasn't my first time in handcuffs but normally they're part of something more pleasurable.

Both of us were put in a dark room. Handcuffs tied to the table in front of us. Only one door in or out. Completely empty aside from that. I'm not sure how long we were in there. Michael fell asleep eventually.

I suspect they were watching us. Because not long after he started snoring the door suddenly slammed open. They probably wanted to scare him awake and intimidate us. If that's what they were trying to do they failed on both counts.

Michael slept through an earthquake once. A little door slamming isn't gonna be enough to wake him either. Nor are we that easily intimidated.

Two men came walking into the room. One was an older guy with grey hair. The other seemed younger than the two of us. Perhaps just out of High school. They both sat down across the table from us. The older guy sat in front of Michael, the younger one sat in front of me.

When they saw Michael hadn't woken up the older man slammed his fist on the table. This managed to shake Michael awake. Awake might have been an exaggeration though. He yawned and looked like he could fall asleep again at anytime. Which the older guy didn't seem to appreciate.

He started talking to Michael. He didn't get a response. So he raised his voice. Still nothing. Michael loves messing with people. Except this time he wasn't trying to. The guy was yelling at him in French. Michael barely understands French.

It was quite funny seeing Michael sitting there with a confused face while this large dude was yelling in his face.

The following conversation was in French. But I'll just be translating it. That way Michael can actually read it.

After a few minutes the old man sighed and stopped yelling. He grabbed a glass and took a sip of water. I figured that was my cue to speak. “Sir, my partner does not speak French. He did not understand a word you just said to him.”

The man turned to me. Then looked back at Michael. Then back at me. “You're not from here then I presume?”

I nodded. “We're from Antwerp.”

“Ah, Flemish then. What are you two doing here in the middle of nowhere then?”

“Just passing through.”

The guy looked at his younger colleague and asked him to switch places. They did. Once they sat back down they both looked at me. “Where are you traveling to?”

I shrugged. “To be honest we don't really have a plan.”

“Then why did you try to escape?”

“We can't stay in one place for very long. It's not safe.”

“You're runners then? What are you running from?”

“Red cap.”

“That's unfortunate. You have gotten caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“It would seem so.”

He then turned to his colleague. “Your turn.”

The younger guy nodded and turned to Michael. He began asking him questions in Dutch. Seems like the older guy doesn't speak Dutch but the younger one does. He asked all the same questions to Michael. I assume they were trying to catch us in a lie.

After that both of them left the room again. Michael was about to go back to sleep. I shook my head. “Dude, you can't be that tired.”

“I'm not. Just bored.” He yawned.

“Stop that.” I said after I had to suppress a yawn of my own. “So how are we going to get out of this one?”

Michael just smiled at me.

That's when the two men walked back in. The younger guy spoke first in dutch. “Good news, we won't be putting you in a prison cell. We can't let you out of the barricade though. If this disease happens to get out of this village it would be disastrous. Once the quarantine ends you'll be free to leave. We can't be sure when-”

He was interrupted by a cough.

My cough.

Everyone in the room looked at me.

I looked down.

There was a bit of blood splattered on the table.

My blood.