Chapter 42: A Proposal
"How many more of you are here?" Dominic stepped forward to initiate communication with these people.
"There are only seven of us. There were more, but the others were all killed as we escaped the city."
Dominic understood all of this, so he nodded sympathetically without making these people feel pity. Arsher opened the radio communication and said, "Zz... We'll have to evacuate them to the center; we must quarantine them there before we know it's safe to release them."
As he said this, a truck with more people approached, and some soldiers got off the truck to help the civilians board.
"All of you will be taken to a shelter; quickly, get moving." A soldier tried to reassure the people, but everyone knew that these people would be detained, and they might all be killed if they showed the slightest sign of infection.
The infamous Cobalt operation, of which Dominic had much knowledge, explicitly stated that all civilians found outside safe zones must be detained, and if they resisted, they were to be killed outright. With martial law in effect, all soldiers could do whatever they wanted to enforce orders.
"Zz... A truck of civilians is full; we'll hurry to the center for their installation."
Dominic slowly learned how the military was operating. From what he could see, they were evacuating survivors to the central provisional base with the aim of saving them, but in reality, they would be detained there with a vain hope of containing the infection.
How did things change so much in forty days? The question was on everyone's minds; they remained strong, but they knew that if they couldn't control things, the world would come to an end.
Dominic could only suppose one thing: in the original story, hope was lost in an attempt to stop the infected. The military's last resort was to contain the virus and exterminate everything that had been in direct contact with the infection; only then could they stop the terror that had spread across the country.
"It's not working..." Dominic murmured upon learning that the military had not succeeded, and now he understood why that question was being asked. The Cobalt military order was primarily to evacuate all essential personnel to protected places, but this caused a conflict with the national guard, who had their families among those being abandoned, most likely due to the same situations as the people they were arresting.
From the most human perspective, how does the high command expect them to abandon their loved ones simply because of an insensitive government order?
Dominic knew that the theories in the original story said that one of the reasons why all military power fractured was due to a dispute, and it seems he had found the reason.
"Dominic, we need to move now; it seems the place has been cleared."
"No, we must burn the bodies first. Will you allow it, sir?" Dominic didn't want to leave the corpses on the ground as if they were trash; this was his plan to start being different from the rest.
Sergeant Castro refused when he heard this request and said, "We have to move; it's not time to waste in this place."
"Sir, everyone wants to burn the bodies." This time, Dominic raised his voice so that everyone could hear him.
Everyone fell silent; they all had families out there, and if for some reason they had turned into one of those things, at least they would want their bodies cremated so they wouldn't rot.
"Sir, we'll finish quickly." Corporal Dáz looked at Sergeant Castro, who finally nodded.
Everyone started moving; first, they put on gloves and then began to gather all the bodies one on top of the other to make a pile.
"Do you have family out there, Mr. Díaz?" Dominic gave a discreet glance to this corporal when they were further away from the rest.
Corporal Diaz was a burly man who had joined the army hoping for a visa; in the end, all this happened, and opportunities were running out for him.
"A wife and two children..." Díaz didn't want to talk about it.
But Dominic had his own plans and asked, "Where are they? If you tell me, maybe I can send someone to check if they are okay; it won't take long."
Corporal Díaz looked at Dominic in the eyes and asked, "Are you going to go personally? Haha, buddy, if you're joking about my family, I'll break your face."
"I have modified drones nearby; they can travel hundreds of kilometers. Tell me where they are; if they are okay, I have the power to send someone for them." Dominic didn't hesitate in his words.
He had selected Díaz because he looked at the photos on his necklace every hour; it was common sense to know that his biggest concern was his family.
"You have no choice but to protect your family; I have the possibility to help you, so it's up to you to decide." Dominic said as they threw the bodies into the fire that had just been lit.
Díaz fell silent, took out a photograph, and handed it to Dominic, who was standing next to him, waiting. He wasn't risking anything now; he was just hoping to get benefits. If he did this with each of the soldiers, he hoped to get good results.
"Just one question: why bother helping me?" Díaz fell silent for a few seconds and finally asked, full of curiosity.
Dominic took the photograph and turned it over, finding the address of where Díaz's family lived and realizing that it was a very rural area, which would be perfect to turn into a safe house.
"Nothing special; the only thing you'll give me in return is your future loyalty, and you'll know what to do when the time comes." Dominic walked away after this, but not before jotting down the address in a small notebook and returning the photograph to Díaz, who remained watching the fire.
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