Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Chapter 305: Chapter 306 - Exchange of the package

The night was dead silent except for the low, muffled thump of the helicopter blades fading into the distance. The figure landed in a crouch, knees absorbing the shock as his boots hit the cracked asphalt. His rifle was already raised, eyes scanning through the visor’s dim-blue night vision.

”Contact with the ground,” he murmured into his throat mic, voice low but firm. ”I see a lot of infected from the warded-off area crowding this side... the fences might not last very long.”

Static crackled before a voice came through. ”Got you, Alpha One. Make contact with our agent as silently as possible and leave the area immediately.”

”Roger that,” he whispered.

Keeping low, he slipped behind the rusted shell of a sedan, watching the perimeter. Beyond the fence, dozens of rank-one infected pressed and clawed, their decayed fingers curling through the chain link. The fence shook with every push, a metallic groan echoing too loud for comfort. These were the basic types—no abilities, no mutations—just raw hunger.

But that didn’t make them harmless.

He’d been briefed: this city had bordered the main infected zone, with an old metro line running directly under it. Even after the quarantine, some infected had slipped through those tunnels. The military had managed to keep it under control... or so they’d thought.

It hadn’t taken long for things to spiral. The infection tore through the population in days. Entire blocks went dark, evacuation orders blared over speakers, and then—silence. The survivors were pulled out, and the city was left as a fenced-off dead zone.

At least, that was the official story.

When Alpha One got this mission, he’d learned the truth—this wasn’t just a quarantine zone. The government had turned it into a field lab, experimenting on ”variated infected.” The kind that evolved. The kind you didn’t want running loose.

He clenched his jaw. He didn’t like it. None of this sat right. But if these experiments could lead to a cure, to stopping the virus... maybe it was worth it.

Still didn’t mean he wanted to be here.

He slid along the shadows, reaching the fence line. Just as he was about to hop over, something cold and wet latched onto his ankle.

His rifle snapped down instinctively. A rank-one had crawled under a pile of rubble, jaws snapping for his calf.

”Damn it,” he hissed, driving a boot into its face. The skull cracked with a muffled crunch, and the body went limp. He swung himself over the fence in one smooth motion.

But his landing sent a vibration through the wire. Hinges creaked, one corner of the fence shifting ever so slightly—an opening just a few inches wider than before. He didn’t notice.

The air on this side of the fence felt heavier, stale with the stink of rot. Buildings stood like corpses themselves—windows broken, doors swinging in the wind. One door hung from a single hinge, the wood scarred with deep, jagged claw marks. Blood—dark, dried, and cracked—streaked the frame.

He moved quickly, every step measured, avoiding broken glass and loose debris.

His destination was a house on the far corner. The curtains in the second-floor window twitched—a prearranged signal. He crossed the final stretch in a sprint, flattening himself against the wall and jumped behind a bush.

The man kept low, scanning the shadows for movement before stepping out from behind the bush. The night air was heavy with the faint stench of decay, and the occasional groan of the infected carried on the wind. His gloved hand tightened around the strap of his rifle as the sound of a door creaking open reached him.

From the target house, a small figure stepped into view—barefoot, dressed in an oversized white T-shirt that fell almost to her knees. Her hair was slightly mussed, her expression calm yet oddly watchful.

He blinked, taken aback. This? This was the contact? She couldn’t have been older than six or seven.

”You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he muttered under his breath, instinctively stepping back and lowering his rifle slightly. ”Where’s the agent?”

The girl tilted her head, her gaze unblinking. ”You’re late.”

That threw him off for a moment. He frowned. ”I’m looking for—”

His earpiece crackled.

”Alpha One, confirm: child matches the profile. She is the operative. Hand over the packages.”

He hesitated, still not convinced. The girl didn’t look like she could even lift a gun, much less be an embedded agent. But his orders were orders. Slowly, he swung the heavy pack off his back, unzipped it, and handed her the bundles—sealed rations, compressed ammo boxes, and a thick, metal-cased drive wrapped in cloth.

The child took them without a word, moving with an oddly practiced efficiency that made him second-guess his doubts. She turned toward the open doorway, clearly ready to disappear back inside.

He gave a small sigh of relief, preparing to retreat the way he came. But before he could take more than two steps—

A shadow streaked past behind him, so fast his eyes barely caught it. The air seemed to drop in temperature, and every instinct in his body screamed danger.

He turned, rifle half-raised—

And froze.

Standing in the dim light was a man—no, something that didn’t feel entirely human. His hair was a stark, unnatural white, catching the faint moonlight like cold metal. His eyes... they were a shade between green and blue, glowing faintly, animalistic, sharp—locked on him with the focus of a predator sizing up prey.

The man’s breath hitched. That gaze wasn’t just cold—it was the kind that stripped you down to your bones.

Before he could say a word, the figure moved.

A blur of motion. The faint shimmer of energy twisting the air, like the edges of reality itself bending.

And then—sharp, searing pain exploded at the side of his neck. His knees buckled, his grip on the rifle faltered. His vision swam with streaks of green and blue light as the cold weight of the man’s stare remained fixed on him.

His last coherent thought was that those eyes looked less like a man’s... and more like a beast in the night.

Then everything went black.