ARES Virus: Arctic Storm Read Online Free Page A

agent is, it’s highly contagious, and transmits quickly—maybe through saliva? This resembles some zombie-like nightmare come to life , he thinks, shaking his head at the ridiculous idea. But I can’t discount what I’m seeing, and it’s spreading quickly. It’ll be in town before I know it, and from what I see going on here, it will encompass the entire area within hours.
    He looks to the closed door of his office. There’s no one here. I’ll wait a few minutes longer, then call my responsibility complete and get the fuck out of here .
    Brown hears running steps in the hallway outside. He fumbles for his keys, something he should have done immediately upon entry. He realizes that he won’t have time to unlock the drawer where he keeps his sidearm. Instead, he steps to the side and grabs one of the flagpoles standing behind his desk. The stars and stripes flutter in the air as Brown brings the pole from its stand and turns toward the door. The staff is a little too long to be used effectively in the office, but it’s the only thing within reach. The door bursts open.
    Brown lunges forward as three people stumble into his office, one after another. The second one, seeing the pole thrust toward the cadet ahead of her, yells, “Sergeant, no!”
    Upon hearing the words, Brown holds back his thrust, but doesn’t ease his stance. He hasn’t survived his many combat tours by relaxing in the middle of chaos. His vision clears and he recognizes three of the detachment’s cadets, none of them displaying violent behavior. Slowly, expecting them to jump forward at any moment, he lowers the staff.
    “Get in here and close the door,” he gruffly states.
    Seeing the third cadet about to swing the door closed, he adds: “Quietly, you fool.”
    It’s not really any way to speak to an officer cadet. They’re not officers yet, but they’re not raw recruits in basic training either. However, the situation is tense and it just comes out. After all, to slam a door and draw attention to oneself in the midst of all of this is foolish, and he’ll call it the way he sees it.
    “What’s going on, Sergeant?” the female cadet asks.
    “I’m not exactly sure, but it looks like some kind of toxin has been leaked on campus,” Brown answers.
    “You mean, like, a nerve agent?” the first one questions.
    “Not exactly,” Brown replies. “But, regardless of what it is, it’s spreading quickly. It’s already across campus and will be in the city soon.”
    “But, why aren’t we affected?” the female queries.
    “Genes? Good luck? Who in the fuck knows? And maybe it only has a low persistence, meaning it disperses quickly. I don’t really know anything except that we’re alive and uncontaminated, and I mean to stay that way,” Brown states, setting the flagpole back into its stand.
    Taking his key ring out, he unlocks the bottom drawer and withdraws his handgun.
    “You keep a weapon in here?” the first cadet, Hayward, asks.
    “Rule number one: never be far from one, son,” Brown replies.
    “So, what do we do, Sergeant?” the female asks, her blonde hair tightly bound in a regulation bun.
    “Overall, Clarke, we need to get out of the city and away from any populated areas. We’ll have to take the chance that the agent isn’t persistent and that we won’t run through any particles. I would say that we stay here and wait for the authorities to get a handle on this outbreak, but judging by how quickly this is spreading, we’d more than likely be dead or worse by the time the cavalry arrives,” Brown responds.
    “Worse than dead? Is that even a thing?” the other male cadet, Mendez, asks.
    “We could become one of them,” Brown states, pointing out of the window.
    “Oh…yeah. Didn’t think of that. Are there any other weapons around?”
    “None that I know of,” Brown says.
    “So, how should we do this?” Clarke asks.
    “Anyone have a vehicle parked nearby?”
    Waking early and walking to work, Brown