Chapter Text
115 miles out.
The pilot radioed. Ethan fidgeted with a loose strand of his uniform, trying to distract himself from the dread and nausea building up in his stomach. This is a mistake, he wanted to shout. The Colonel is crazy! But of course, Ethan bit his tongue, not wanting to risk getting thrown out of the helicopter. He was never one for confrontation, especially in an environment where he did not belong.
The way he ended up at the base was hilarious in hindsight, not so much when it was happening. Like many others, Ethan believed that by escaping to the wilderness he would have a higher chance of survival against the alien invasion. And just like many others, he ended up getting chased by an alien hellbent on murdering him. Being a doctor, he wasn't exactly up to date with the ways to kill an extraterrestrial being. Unlike many others, his luck took a turn for the greater good when one day while he was being hunted, the alien misstepped and fell into a sinkhole. After a few more days of wandering, he came across a soldier patrolling the woods and was brought to the military base. The base commander, Colonel Charles Milley, had seemed less than pleased with his arrival, saying he would only put a strain on the precious resources they had. That attitude took a complete turn when Ethan revealed he was a doctor, and suddenly the Colonel insisted he stay on the base to work with them.
Ethan thought the Colonel to be a strange man, nothing like the military commanders he was used to seeing on the big screen in dramatized Hollywood films, or the men his grandfather would talk about. No, Charles Milley was reserved, quiet, and secretive, not at all what Ethan pictured for a man of his rank. Then again, perhaps this unusual nature was only a result of the recent occurrences.
One of the first things the aliens had done was target government institutions. The entire D.C area was in ruins, one massive grave for what had once been the home of some of the most powerful men in the world. Arlington County, which had once housed the Pentagon and the Department of Defense, was one massive crater in the Earth. A few military academies managed to survive for a while, but even their best efforts were futile against the invaders. Annapolis had already fallen, with West Point following close behind. The message was clear: No help was coming.
It only made sense that a man like Charles Milley would be so affected. He had no superiors to report to, gain guidance, or even receive protocol. The structure he had spent his life learning was dismantled in the span of a week. Instead of commanding the well-organized, highly trained soldiers that once resided on base, he was stuck with a handful of young recruits, a small group of survivors from the Air Force Academy massacre, and a few talented civilians who had convinced Milley of their usefulness, Ethan included. Still, Ethan couldn't deny the suspicion he harbored against Colonel Milley. No matter how many ways he tried to explain it to himself, his brain would always whisper back a theory, each one sounding more outlandish than the last. What if he's hiding something? What was Pulniski doing that was so important? And what the hell is Specimen 038-
20 miles out.
The radio message breaks Ethan's train of thought, yanking him back into the unfairly dangerous world that was the present. His ACE vest suddenly felt very uncomfortable, his headset too heavy, the neck gaiter digging painfully into his throat. Damn military and their gear. Ethan shifted in his seat, ignoring the weighted stare of his other companion, thinking back to the Colonel sending him off on this mission.
“Remember doctor, our main priority is Pulniski. Do whatever it takes to bring him back alive.”
Ethan shook his head. “Colonel, I don't understand. Colbert is far more experienced, I'm just a civilian. I have no background in this sort of thing-”
“I'm not sending my best scientist to a place he might not return from.” Colonel Milley said sternly. “Besides, you survived on your own just fine before you were brought here. You've had encounters with aliens. So, like it or not Mr. Ward-”
“Dr. Ward.”
“Yes. Like it or not, you are the most experienced out of anyone here.”
Ethan sighed softly and looked away. Yes, he had his run in with aliens, more than he wanted to, but that didn't mean he knew anything about the damn things, except that they bled green and were disposed of by sinkholes.
“Don't worry Dr. Ward.” The Colonel shouted above the noise of the Blackhawk helicopter roaring to life a few meters away. “It's a quick flight from here to the facility.”
To Ethan, it didn't matter if the flight took three minutes or three days, he hated flying.
We’re here.
The Blackhawk touched down in a clear patch of grass, letting Ethan and another soldier disembark. Ethan noted their surroundings; forest atop a hill on his left, a lake to his right, what appeared to be boulders a couple hundred meters in front, and a winding path that led somewhere behind him.
“Let's move, we don't have all day.”
The other young soldier-Patrick was his name-jostled Ethan, earning a small glare from the doctor.
“I'm going, I'm going.” Ethan muttered as he began making his way to the boulders, while Patrick headed for the hill. It was a relatively clear path to the rocks, which was surprising. Shouldn't a place that housed a dangerous facility be as unnavigable as possible? This felt too easy. Maybe this was a ploy by the aliens, separating him and Patrick from the helicopter for an easy ambush.
A twig snapped.
Immediately, Ethan whipped his head around, his hands fumbling to get his gun out of his holster. He aimed the weapon at the air around him, his heart pounding and palms sweating as he walked backwards.
I'm being paranoid, there's no way any of them found us. I'm safe. Just as Ethan finished that thought, he tripped on his own foot and face planted into the grass.
His grumbling was cut short when he lifted his head and caught a glimpse of movement among the rocks. Is that. . ?
Ethan quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing off the dust from his body as he raced to the boulders. As he made his way up the rocks to the small cave, Ethan fumbled for his radio, trying to call Patrick saying he had found the scientist.
That was not the case.
Ethan stood in the entrance of the short dead-ended cave tunnel, his gaze fixed on the man slumped on the stone floor. He appeared to be unconscious, riddled with dirt and soot like he had just survived an explosion. Judging by the faint smell of gunpowder and the singed edges of the man’s white shirt, Ethan guessed that was most likely the case. He carefully made his way over to the man, kneeling in front of him and placing a hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Sir? Sir, can you hear me?” Ethan tapped the man on the shoulder, taking care not to aggravate any possible injuries. The man’s eyes fluttered open for a second, settling on Ethan before closing again.
“Are you Dr. Pulniski?” At that name, the man jolted, his eyes snapping open. Ethan couldn't read the expression on the man’s face but knew that he had to know something to have reacted that way.
Ethan was about to ask another question, but the words died on his tongue when the man tugged something out of his pocket and held it up to Ethan in a shaky hand. Ethan took the item tentatively, turning the ID card in his hands. White bold letters at the front read ‘Epicorp Industries’, with smaller black letters under it reading ‘Dr. Rick Lambert’. On the left side was what Ethan assumed was a photo of Rick Lambert, though it was mostly scratched out.
Ethan pocketed the ID before radioing Patrick. “Kenna, I need you by the boulders, I found someone.” He then returned his attention back to the man, who seemed to be getting worse by the second. “Sir, can you tell me what happened? Were you involved in an explosion? Fire? Anything with a blast?”
The man only looked up with a blank expression.
“Right.” Ethan murmured to himself before he heard heavy steps approach the small cave. Patrick walked over to them, his gaze flitting from Ethan to the man. “This isn’t Pulniski.”
“Yes, I know. Go get the stretcher from the helicopter and tell the pilots to call in a separate search team. We’re taking this man back to the base.”
Patrick blinked. “But he isn't Pulniski. The Colonel said-”
“I know what he said, to hell with it.” Ethan looked up at Patrick with a quiet sort of exasperation. “Look, right now, this man is our best chance of even finding the scientist. He recognizes Pulniski’s name, which means he’s probably worked with him. So unless you want Colonel Milley tossing you out to the aliens for letting any leads go to waste, go do what I asked for.”
Patrick raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with the sternness radiating from the doctor, but conceded nonetheless and marched off.
The few minutes it took Patrick to come back with the stretcher felt like an eternity for Ethan, who listened to the ragged breathing of the man on the floor to make sure he was still alive. One or two times, it seemed like the man was trying to tell Ethan something, muttering small names here and there that made little sense to Ethan.
When Patrick finally came back with the stretcher and they hoisted the man in it, something caught both of their attention. Tucked into the waistband of the man’s trousers, was a gun, quite an unusual accessory for someone Patrick and Ethan assumed worked at Epicorp.
Ethan could feel Patrick watching him as he stared at the gun. Something was definitely amiss, he could sense it. Instead of dwelling on it any further, Ethan simply grabbed the gun and tucked it into his empty holster; he had dropped his own gun when he had tripped. He glared at Patrick, daring him to say something, but the young soldier simply continued adjusting the man on the stretcher.
Both men finally made it back to the helicopter, securing the stretcher before giving the pilots an okay to take off. Once they were in the air, Ethan kept his eyes on the man in front of him, lying motionless.
“What are you going to tell Milley?”
Ethan glanced up, meeting Patricks gaze, recognizing the uncertainty in the young man’s eyes.
“Not a single thing.” Ethan responded.
Patrick swallowed nervously. “Why?”
Ethan allowed his eyes to fall back on the man on the stretcher.
“I don’t know.”