"Do I know you?" The SWAT seemed to be watching you curiously. But you couldn't recognize him with that mask covering his face.
-… - You keep your mouth shut. As if your life depended on it, which was true.
"Steve?" John asks curiously. "Do you know this man?"
Wait
"Is that you, Steve?"
The SWAT-clad cop removes his gas mask, revealing the face of a twenty-something with green eyes and brown hair. A bandage with a red stain covered his forehead. From his expression, it seemed that he had encountered a ghost.
"My God, we thought no one at the station had survived."
"Wait…" John seemed to be starting to connect the dots. Then his gaze lights up and the gun in his right hand rises slightly.
"Was he one of the detainees?" His eyes narrowed. "Tell me it wasn't one of the escaped lowlives who killed Julie."
You have your heart in a fist. Steve and you shared a silent look. This was the moment of truth: If Steve told about the cop killed by your partner, things could get screwed up for you. After a few seconds, Steve looks back at his comrade.
"No, we arrested him along with Peter Polansky during the Wall Mart store raid."
"So it's one of the looters, right?" John seemed to pierce you with his gaze. You nod without even hesitating. John looked like he was still aware of your presence but he had lowered his gun again, which was a good sign.
"How did you get out of the cell, son?" He asks you.
You tell them a shortened version of your story. Your miraculous survivaland your escape with Pete. Of your encounter with the cerberus and the death of your partner. Finally, with some regret, you tell them about your meeting with Luisa and your visit to the bunker. Steve has an incredulous expression when you tell him about Luisa.
"You say she was one of those creatures. But was she still pretending to be human?"
You tell them about the conversation you had with her and how her personality changed when she found her husband's wedding ring. John slaps Steve on the shoulder.
"I told you this place gave me a bad feeling." John directs his eyes to the entrance of the bunker. "we lost all contact Hours ago with Dr. Serantes and her group."
"Maybe someone survived the attack ... maybe they went to the command center."
Wait a second.
"Are there still soldiers alive in this city?"
"We think so. After losing the battle on the outskirts of the city, a few policemen and soldiers managed to avoid the invading force using the sewage system. As we were traveling for the tunnels, we came across a group of soldiers heading to the subway station under Bowman Street. They said that some surviving members of the military command had set up a makeshift command center there."
"We wanted to go there but Steve and I made a detour to check that the hospital bunker was still intact. We had maintained contact with the person in charge, Gabriela Serantes, during the first hours of the attack. But when those giants began to raze the city, we lost all contact with the civilian shelters and military posts alike. Seeing Seeing the state of this place, I don't have much hope for the rest of the shelters."
After this brief but enlightening conversation, you stare uncomfortably. A couple of days ago they would have arrested you in an instant and sent you to prison. Now you were all up to your neck in that shitty tidal wave that your lives had become.
"Well ..." you murmur, "what we do now?"