Chapter 55 Call me Richard

Chapter 55 Call me Richard

Richard and Mark tilted their heads to the side upon hearing her utter. Compared to the alluring, psychopathic voice she had used earlier, it was now gentle and vulnerable.

"Uhm...who are you?! How did I–Huh? Why are my arms restrained? What's happening?"

Richard cleared his throat. "We are a Private Military Company, Blackwatch."

"Blackwatch?" Andrea repeated in a bewildered voice. "How did I get here?"

"Can you tell us your memories to the best of your ability?" Richard asked gently, trying to make sense of her situation.

Andrea furrowed her brow, her eyes darting around the sterile room. Her voice trembled as she tried to piece together her fragmented memories. "I... I remember... the airport, I think? And then... to my hotel, maybe? When I got to the hotel, everything... it's all fuzzy. My body felt so... so strange like it was on fire. I went to sleep, I think, believing I was just exhausted. And then..." She paused, struggling to find the right words. "And then, it's like I blinked, and I woke up here." Her voice trailed off, uncertainty and confusion clouding her recollection.

Richard and Mark exchanged a meaningful glance. That could be the purpose of the pill. It's like a parasite controlling her body and mind. It's the way the "Master" manipulates her.

"Eh? Why do my clothes have blood?" Andrea's expression paled as she noticed the bloodstains on her clothing. She looked down at herself with growing concern. "I don't know who you are but you have the wrong person. I am just an actress, I don't do illegal stuff, please let me go."

"You are going to have to answer our question first," Richard said as he swiped the screen of the tablet, changing the footage. "Look, this is footage of you, killing zombies and mutated ones."

Andrea scrunched her face, watching the footage with a mixture of disbelief and horror. Her previous confusion was now mingled with fear. "I... I don't understand. That can't be me. I've never seen those creatures before, and I certainly wouldn't...wait zombies?"

Richard interrupted gently. "Six days ago, there was a zombie outbreak erupting all across the world. In just days, hundreds of millions of people were infected, and it led to a catastrophic wave of destruction. The military and the governments of every nation collapsed within days."

Andrea's eyes widened further in disbelief. "That can't be...I know this is just a prank. There must be a camera here—"

Andrea's voice wavered, her hope clinging to the idea that this was all an elaborate hoax. She looked around the sterile room, expecting hidden cameras or some indication that this was all a set-up.

Richard exchanged a solemn look with Mark before he continued, his tone sincere. "I assure you, Andrea, this is not a prank."

"Please...sir...I don't have time for this. I have a fan meeting in BGC and I have to attend it or my manager will have my head on a platter," Andrea pleaded, desperation creeping into her voice.

Richard sighed confused if Andrea was just acting vulnerable and that she was still controlled by her master or if it was her original self. If he were to let her go and start attacking anyone, it would be a catastrophe.

Richard showed her another video, the latest video about her calling her master passionately.

"No...no, that may be my voice but there's no way I'll say that. It must be some sort of a voice changer using A.I."

"How about master? Can you tell us who is the master you are talking about?"

"I swear to you, I don't know who you are referring to," Andrea's voice cracked and tears welled up in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks.

Richard observed her expression and from it, he could tell that her emotions were genuine, innocent, and overwhelmed. He exchanged a glance with Mark, a silent acknowledgment of their growing suspicion that Andrea might indeed be a victim in this bewildering scenario.

Showing her video footage wouldn't convince her as she would only think of it as edited. For her to understand the situation she was in, he'd have to show her the outside world.

"Mark, get as many men as possible here," Richard ordered and Mark promptly carried out the order.

Moments later, Mark returned with ten heavily armed soldiers carrying M249 machine guns, M4 Carbine, and M32 Multiple Grenade Launcher.

"What's going on?" Andrea stammered.

"We are going to show you the state of the world, showing you the proof that the world has indeed crumbled. These men behind me are just precautions. Do something that I don't like, you will be shot down."

"Shot down?"

Richard pulled his M9 Beretta out from the holster and fired one round into the ground.

The loud gunshot echoed through the sterile room, leaving Andrea trembling in fear.

"Get her out," Richard ordered and the restraints on Andrea's arms were released by one of the soldiers. She rubbed her wrists, still visibly shaken by the gunshot.

As another soldier took her arm gently, Andrea reluctantly followed them out of the sterile room. Her steps were hesitant, and she kept glancing back at Richard and Mark, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear, confusion, and a glimmer of hope that perhaps there was some rational explanation for all of this.

The soldiers led Andrea down a narrow corridor and into an elevator.

Two minutes later, they arrived at the top floor and climbed the stairs to the rooftop. Based on the clouds and the colors of the sky, it's late afternoon. Richard showed her around the rooftop, extending his arms towards where he wanted her to look, and there, Andrea widened her eyes.

The elevated highways were filled with cars yet not moving, and no people were walking down the streets. It was like a ghost town with the remnants of a once-thriving city. The skyline was a mix of towering skyscrapers and plumes of smoke rising from fires that raged unchecked.

Andrea's hands trembled as she took in the desolation before her.

"Now, do you still think we can do a prank on this scale?" Richard asked, looking at her firmly.

Andrea shook her head, there was no way any content creators would be able to pull off a hoax of this magnitude. The devastation spread out before her was too extensive, too real to be part of any elaborate prank or production. But then—a thought occurred to her.

"My family! I have to get to them!" Andrea said as she walked away from the railings.

"You can't leave," Richard refused as she stopped her by grabbing her arm. "It's dangerous out there."

Andrea simply pulled her arm away from Richard's grip.

"I don't care how dangerous it is," she declared. "I need to find my family. I need to know if they're okay."

Richard caught up to her and blocked her way. He grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke. "I'm telling you, you can't leave."

"Let me go!" Andrea pushed and Richard was sent flying back, crashing into a stack of crates several meters away. The soldiers nearby quickly raised their weapons, and aimed at her!

A sight where the soldiers were aiming their guns at her, and the strength she displayed right now bewildered her.

Mark rushed to Richard's side, helping him up. "Richard, are you okay?"

"Stand down!" Richard shouted as he staggered up from the crates.

"But sir..." One of the soldiers tried to protest.

"I said stand down!" Richard repeated.

The soldiers reluctantly lowered their weapons,

Andrea, still shocked by her own strength, took a step back, her gaze darting between Richard, Mark, and the soldiers. She hadn't intended to harm anyone, and the fear in her eyes was evident.

"I'm so sorry," she quavered. "I didn't mean to do that."

Richard, despite the pain from his recent tumble, approached Andrea once more, but this time he kept his distance, maintaining a non-threatening posture.

"It's okay," he said gently. "We are not going to hurt you. Look."

Richard dropped his pistol and knife on the ground to show her he wasn't a threat. Mark followed suit and lowered his weapon. The soldiers, though hesitant, began to lower their guns, following their commander's lead.

Andrea's breaths were still coming in rapid, frightened gasps, but seeing their weapons lowered seemed to calm her somewhat. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

There was one thing clear to Richard, one is that Andrea was now out of the influence of the "master". The second thing, they can use her.

"Andrea—look into my eyes," Richard said calmly.

He knew that this moment was critical in establishing trust with her, and he wanted to convey that he and his team were not her enemies.

Andrea, still shaken by the recent events, hesitated for a moment before meeting Richard's gaze.

"We are not your enemies..."

"Then why am I in your lab?" Andrea asked.

"To give you medical care of course," Richard said.

"Then why was I restrained?"

"Because of the video we showed you, you exhibit supernatural strength. You were unpredictable. The fact that you can't remember the events leading up to here means you weren't in control."

"How can I trust you?"

Richard maintained eye contact with Andrea.

"I honestly don't know how I can convince you to trust us. But one thing is certain, you are under our care now, and we will protect you just like the other survivors." n--o-)V--E.(l(.b.(I.)n

Andrea continued to study Richard's eyes, searching for sincerity and truth amidst the chaos that had become her reality. The world outside was a nightmare, a surreal landscape of destruction that defied everything she had ever known. It was hard to believe that this was her new reality, and even harder to trust the people who claimed they were here to help.

"I don't know what's happening," she whispered, her voice fragile. "I don't understand any of this. One moment, I'm living my life and the next, I'm surrounded by... by all of this." Her gaze flickered to the desolate cityscape behind them

Richard's expression softened with understanding. He knew he couldn't erase the fear and confusion Andrea felt, but he could offer her something to hold onto in this overwhelming moment.

"You don't have to understand everything right now," Richard said gently. "What matters is that we're here for you. We'll help you make sense of it all, step by step. And as for your family, we'll do everything we can to locate them and ensure their safety."

Andrea nodded. She had been thrust into a nightmarish situation, but these people, especially Richard, seemed genuine in their desire to protect her.

"Okay, I trust you, sir..?"

Richard offered a warm smile. "Call me Richard."