Dr. Curran stared at Maria for a long moment, then said, “Do you really think we’d risk our best soldiers if we were not certain of the serum?”

Before answering, Maria considered the intensive medical examination to which she had just been subjected. “No. I don’t.”

“Precisely,” Dr. Curran agreed. “It’s much safer for everyone in The Bastion if only a few take the Inferi Scourge Plague serum, clear the valley, and close the gate instead of risking our elderly, infirmed, and our children.”

The doctor’s words made perfect sense. “I understand. When will I be given the vaccine?”

“Tomorrow, but I would like to take this time to discuss the Inferi Scourge with you.”

Shifting in her seat, her sore muscles aching, Maria lifted her eyebrows. “Oh?” She’d rather return to her quarters and take a shower than discuss the Inferi Scourge, but her curiosity was sparked. “What about the Scrags?”

“What do you know about them?” Mr. Petersen asked.

Maria’s mouth quirked into a sardonic smile. “Other than that they want to destroy us?”

“Exactly,” Dr. Curran answered.

“Well, I know what I was taught in school...”

“Which is?” The doctor settled back in her chair and crossed her long legs.

“That they’re the product of the Inferi Scourge Plague Virus that was created by terrorists over a hundred years ago.” Maria took a cue from the doctor’s more relaxed posture and slumped slightly in her chair, trying to relax her sore body.

“Continue,” the doctor urged, “tell me the history.”

Mr. Petersen didn’t appear to blink as he watched Maria.

Maria switched her gaze back and forth between them. Perhaps this was some sort of test of her cognizance or psychology. She cleared her throat.

“The first incident was in India. The Inferi Scourge appeared and ravaged the country. Within days the Scrags had the upper hand. Pakistan fired their nuclear arsenal on India claiming that they had to protect themselves. What remained of India’s government fired back, and the area was decimated. The world thought that the Scrags had been destroyed, and then they appeared in Israel a few months later. Israel’s government initiated a kill order. Anyone infected was immediately destroyed. The Arab nations attempted to invade while Israel was dealing with the Scrags; Israel used their nuclear arsenal on their enemies.” Maria furrowed her brow, trying to recall the details. “I believe that is when the world started an embargo against the Middle East.”

Dr. Curran nodded. “Go on.”

“I don’t see why-”

“Please continue,” Mr. Petersen urged.

Maria folded her arms over her chest, trying to recall her lessons. “I believe they traced the virus back to the Russian mob, or maybe it was the Chinese. The ISPV became the most popular terrorist weapon in the world. Every time there was an outbreak, it was stopped until around sixty years ago when it took hold in South America and Europe. It got to the point where no one could control it, and that is when the world started building walls. Eventually, there were more of them than us. The walled cities began to fall. Forty years ago a coalition of nations created The Bastion and airlifted the last surviving people here.”

“Basically, you’re correct. The ISPV was a terrorist weapon. It had a chilling effect on the nation it was being used against. It was difficult to fight. Do you know why?” Dr. Curran tilted her head, studying Maria.

“Because the Scrags are dead humans that the virus revives,” Maria answered. “I remember reading something about it being very hard for people to kill the Scrags when they first appeared because they thought they were just ill, not the reanimated dead.”

“Exactly,” Mr. Petersen agreed. “They look basically human except for their wounds.”

“And their eyes,” Maria said quickly. The eyes of the Inferi Scourge haunted her. They were blank and cloudy like the dead.

“You’ve fought them up close,” Dr. Curran said.

“Yes.”

“Did you find it hard to kill them?” the doctor asked.

Maria pondered the question. The Scourge didn’t decompose, and therefore they looked like wounded people in need of help. But their screams, their whitish eyes, and clutching hands were a nightmare. “It was hard at first, but I saw what they can do when there are enough of them.” She could still hear the screams of Vanguard Stillson as he died. “They eat us.”

“Actually,” Dr. Curran said with a slight smile, “they don’t.”

“I saw it,” Maria snapped.

“The virus that reanimated them prompts them to spread the virus. It’s transmitted through saliva, so they bite. And they bite hard enough to rend flesh,” Dr. Curran explained. “If there are enough of them trying to infect a victim, then yes, it would appear that way. But they do not actually eat us.”

“The ISPV created creatures that resemble some monsters from old horror vids from a very long time ago,” Mr. Petersen said with a slightly pompous expression. “People jumbled the facts with the myths of those old movies and altered the truth about the Inferi Scourge. The media was especially guilty of this.”

Shifting in her chair, Maria considered correcting them, but realized it would be fruitless. She had seen the Inferi Scourge not only attack, but start to eat Vanguard Stillson.

“The question remains: did you find it hard to kill them?” Dr. Curran persisted.

Maria shook her head. “Not after the first shot. Then it was easy.”

“Do you think it was easy because you didn’t know any of them? In the original days of the infection, many people struggled to kill loved ones that were turned,” Mr. Petersen said.

“Maybe. I don’t know,” Maria answered truthfully. Could she kill Dwayne or her family members if they were infected? Her mind told her that she could, but her heart whispered a solid no. “Why are you asking me this? The Scrags out there have existed since before I was born.”

“Yes, with the exception of the fallen soldiers from the last attempt to push back the Inferi Scourge. We never did recover their bodies,” Dr. Curran pointed out. “They’re still out there.”

She felt her jaw drop as the words punched into her gut like a sledgehammer. Ryan’s smile slashed through her mind. Forcing her mouth closed, she lowered her gaze to her hands. Could she hold her weapon and pull the trigger on Ryan?

Dr. Curran tapped the table, pulling Maria’s attention back to her. “So, from what you have told us about the past, you do understand what the Inferi Scourge are - the dead reanimated by a virus that does not let them truly die. And you understand that actions taken by the nations that existed before The Bastion failed for a variety of reasons. Israel and the Republic of Texas were two of the last countries to fall due to their strict kill orders. If the rest of the world had followed their leads, perhaps there wouldn’t have been a need for The Bastion.” Dr. Curran let her words sink in as she leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table. “Therefore, should you see some of your former friends and fellow soldiers out there among the hordes of the Inferi Scourge, the question is simple: Can you kill them?”

Maria drew in a sharp breath, then slowly exhaled. She could remember the names and faces of each fallen soldier like they were her own family. She thought of Ryan, grinning at her, and winking in the face of death. Then she thought of the Roses, Dwayne, and all the people crammed into the dying city. “Yes. Yes, I can.”

* * *

Maria woke with a start when her wristlet purred against her skin. Sitting up, she quickly tapped in her passcode. Accessing the hidden program buried within the operating system, she held her breath. She was relieved to see Dwayne’s face appear.

“Dwayne,” she breathed.

“Are you okay?” he asked immediately. His face was tiny on the screen, but she could see the concern in his expression.

“I was sleeping,” she answered, “but I’m so glad to hear from you.”

“Rough day?”

“Really rough,” she conceded. Snuggling down on her bed, she held the wristlet so she could clearly see him and he could see her. “They ran a lot of tests.”

“We can’t talk long.” Dwayne gave her a gentle smile. “I had to see you before going to sleep. It feels wrong to be going to bed alone.”

“I know how you feel. I wish you were here.”

“Are you having second thoughts?”

Maria pondered his question, then shook her head. “No. No. I need to do this. I want more for us than living in a squalid flat in the middle of this dying city, but I’m realizing this may take a lot more out of me emotionally than I thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you ever think about the people we left behind after the final assault? The ones that didn’t make the airlift?”

“The ones that died,” Dwayne said somberly.

“And came back. Because they did come back, you know. I didn’t really think about it until today when they asked me if I could kill them when I see them.” Maria swept her hair back from her face as she watched Dwayne process what she had just said.