It took all her willpower not to fully reveal her shock. She kept her features as neutral as possible and slightly shrugged. “I don’t have to eat or sleep,” she answered blandly.

His smile faded around the edges as he studied her face. “That is true. Since you’re dead.”

As they stepped into the elevator, Maria graced him with a broad smile and said, “Oh, not dead. Inferi Scourge.”

She enjoyed his discomfort as the elevator door slid shut.

* * *

The sun descended behind the mountain range that ringed the valley The Bastion was nestled within. Dwayne hurried down the crowded street, ducking around the vendors packing up their wares and the few pedicabs carrying government officials home. It always saddened him to see the makeshift rickshaws attached to old bikes making their way through the streets while the monorail stations remained silent.

Dressed in civilian clothing, he blended in with the rest of the people trudging home. His coat, sweater, and pants were all reconstructed and his boots had been resoled many times. The old battered hat on his head was a gift from Maria. She thought he had looked rather rakish when he had tried it on during one of their shopping trips in the bazaar. This evening he kept the brim tilted downward as he rushed toward his appointment, his chin tucked low to avoid being recognized. He was uneasy about meeting Lindsey at her small flat, but she had been insistent. The last thing he wanted to do was draw unwanted attention to her.

A government drone drifted along the street, its screen depicting the latest updates on the battle against the Inferi Scourge. Dwayne knew it was all rubbish. Usually the inhabitants of The Bastion ignored the drones carrying propaganda to the masses, but tonight several people turned to watch as it passed by. Dwayne sighed, realizing how effectively the president’s promises were lifting the hopes of the people. He wasn’t sure what to think anymore. The mission Maria had volunteered for sounded like a plausible way to resolve the issue of the Scourge in the valley, but her long silence was worrying. Now he feared she had been lied to and something altogether insidious had happened to her. Lindsey’s urgent message had only heightened his growing fears.

Ducking around a corner, he headed into a narrow alley filled with overflowing recycling cans. Halfway into the darkened area was a stairwell that led up to the second floor. It creaked as he climbed and he had to avoid toys left on the steps. A long passageway bisected the pre-fab apartment complex. The walls were grimy and the floor was heavily-patched. Reaching his destination, he rapped on a battered door and waited.

Lindsey manually slid the door open and stepped aside as he entered her small flat. She pulled the door shut and secured it with multiple locks. “Rolling blackouts are a bitch.”

The flat was lit with homemade candles and Dwayne’s eyes took a few seconds to fully adjust to the gloom. The flat was extremely small. To his right was a small sanitary station. It was an old standard issue. The shower stall had a toilet that receded into the wall when not in use. To the left was a counter space that served as a kitchen. Lindsey’s computer station was tucked under the platform that housed her bed and clothes trunk. Pictures clipped from old magazines and books decorated the walls in colorful collages, the glossy paper reflecting the candlelight.

Lindsey’s narrow face looked almost ghoulish in the light from the candles. Her blond hair was loosely braided down her back and she was dressed in a sweater over leggings and mismatched thick socks that were mended with several different colors of thread. It took him a second to realize her hand was shaking as she pulled on an electro-cig. The nicotine-flavored mist drifted over her features.

“What is it?” he asked, even more afraid than before.

Rubbing her brow, Lindsey leaned toward him. “You cannot ever tell anyone I uncovered this information for you. I hacked deeper into The Bastion network than I ever have.”

“Were you traced?”

“Of course not.” She scoffed at him. “My father designed that system. I know it inside and out. They haven’t changed any of his old codes, but I made sure there’s no sign of me being in the system before I exited.” She snagged a folding chair from against the wall and set it down for him next to her worn swiveling computer chair. Taking her seat, she turned on a generator tucked under the desk.

“I can’t thank you enough for doing this,” Dwayne said as he settled next to her.

“She’s my friend, too,” Lindsey answered a bit gruffly. “I wanted to know what the hell was going on with her. One day we’re planning to go out for the drinks and then she’s gone. Off the radar.”

“The information that Petra secured for me says that twenty of our people were signed over to the SWD by the commandant along with Maria.”

“That record was erased soon after she accessed it,” Lindsey answered. “Did she see what I saw?”

“All unattached single people?”

Lindsey nodded grimly as she watched the screens before her come to life. “And mostly veterans of the last push. If I didn’t have a gimped leg, they may have come for me, too.”

“So what did you find?”

Lindsey tapped away on her desk for a few seconds, then a vid popped onto the screen. “This.”

The vid revealed not only the top officials of the SWD seated around a long conference table, but also President Cabot and Commandant Pierce. The vid started just as Maria took a seat near the middle of the table flanked by a female scientist with blond hair and a man in a plain white suit that looked remarkably bland, yet dangerous at the same time. The camera zeroed in on Maria’s face and Dwayne inhaled sharply.

Lindsey’s eyes glittered with tears in the light emanating from the screens. “They’re fucking assholes.”

Dwayne had trouble breathing. His hands coiled into fists as he struggled to compose himself. “She looks like an Scrag.”

“Because she is. Just listen,” Lindsey said softly.

 Dwayne’s horror only grew as the female scientist, identified as Dr. Beverly Curran, explained in great detail how she had modified the ISPV and injected it into Maria after her life had been extinguished. As the scientist spoke, vids were played for those gathered of Maria’s death and resurrection. Dwayne leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he stared aghast at the screen. The vids also revealed a variety of tests. In one Maria destroyed a Scourge sent into a room to see if it identified her as one of its own. In an even more chilling vid, Maria was in a blacked out condition the scientist called the “Inferi Scourge torpor” when at least a dozen Scourge were released into the same room with her. They ignored her until they were dispatched by SWD security. The camera kept flashing to Maria’s face as the briefing continued. Though she remained calm and her expression impassive, Dwayne could see that a few times she was surprised by the information that was being revealed by the slight raising of her eyebrows.

“In closing, we are able to now create a soldier that can dispatch the Inferi Scourge with impunity. They can walk among the Inferi Scourge without fear. They do not sleep. They do not eat. Yet their personality and intellect remains. They’re our salvation. The answer to all our hopes. They’re the Inferi Boon. Vanguard Martinez is the first of the squad that will help eradicate the Inferi Scourge. With your approval, we will begin transitioning the rest of our volunteers into Inferi Boon,” Dr. Curran finished.

“Jesus Christ,” Dwayne muttered, and wasn’t sure if it was a prayer or a curse.

“Vanguard Martinez,” an all too familiar voice said. It was the president. “You have remained silent throughout this debriefing. I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.”

Maria looked as surprised as Dwayne was by the question. She hesitated then said, “I am ready to destroy the Inferi Scourge and do what I must to secure the future of The Bastion.”

“And you’re willing to sacrifice your life?” the president asked.

For the first time Maria appeared a little unnerved. “It’s my understanding that I will be brought back to life and given the antidote for the Inferi Boon Virus.”

“That is exactly correct,” the man in the white suit said with a smile.

The president appeared surprised, but then smiled as he said, “Well, then I feel a lot better about giving my final approval on this mission.”

Lindsey snorted. “He would’ve approved it even if she had to stay that way.”

Dwayne sank back in his chair as he listened to the last few minutes of the meeting. The vid ended with Maria leaving the room and the president congratulating the SWD officials. “I never dreamed that they would kill her,” he muttered.

“What?” Lindsey gave him a sharp look. “You knew about this?”

With a short nod of his head, Dwayne reluctantly admitted the truth. “I knew she had volunteered for a top secret mission.”

“The program I created was for her, wasn’t it? Not your mistress to hide from your wife, but for her?” Lindsey gaped at him.

“She used it only once then went silent. That is why I asked Petra to find out what was going on. I started to fear that they had lied to her. It appears that some of what they promised her was true.”