System Of The Undead

Chapter 281: A Win For Humanity?

Sanders had returned to his base the moment he lost track of Sam a year ago but all further search for Sam was put on hold.

They no longer made him a target, Sanders realized that things were not as they seemed but Sam was a madman and he wasn’t some deranged killer who killed mindlessly.

"Colonel, we have found new citizens west of here. Should we bring them in?" A soldier asked but Sanders was unresponsive.

"Colonel?" The soldier called out and this drew Sanders back to reality.

"What is it?" Sanders questioned.

"We have found a group of civilians west of here, should we make contact?" The soldier questioned. He was dressed in standard military clothing and judging from the gear on him, it was obvious that the military were still armed to the teeth despite a year flying by.

"No, we are at full capacity. I’m afraid we can no longer take anyone in," Sanders responded before the conversation could proceed.

The dark-skinned man who had spoken to Clementine a year ago walked in and the soldier immediately dismissed himself.

"That is the right choice, Colonel," The man said and Sanders’ body tensed up momentarily the moment he heard his voice.

"Kane, what are you doing here?" Sanders questioned but Kane didn’t give an immediate response.

He instead closed their distance and Sanders regained his composure.

"I came here to inform you about our project," Kane informed him.

"You mean YOUR project," Sanders corrected him, there was no time to beat around the bush.

"You caught me," Kane said with a cheeky grin but this was the least of his worries.

It didn’t matter what Sanders thought because he knew exactly what was needed for humanity not to dwindle out.

"I have made progress..." Kane said but Sanders didn’t look pleased to hear this.

"We have managed to develop a drug that delays the spread of the infection," Kane informed him.

"At what cost?" Sanders questioned in a stern tone, he knew the cost of this experiment.

"What do you mean?" Kane questioned.

"Kane, do not make me repeat myself," Sanders warned, prompting Kane to sigh.

"You always worry about the little things, how about you just follow me?" Kane suggested and Sanders had no qualms with this as both men left the area.

-

It took a little over five minutes for them to arrive at their destination and what Sanders saw horrified him, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

"KANE!" Sanders screamed but Kane seemed annoyed by this as he took a deep breath to calm himself down because Sanders screamed right into his ear.

What Sanders saw were multitudes of people strapped to a bed with IV bags hanging on the top of their heads but these weren’t adults, they were children.

"WHEN DID YOU BEGIN HUMAN TRIALS!?" Sanders screamed but this showed that he didn’t have full control over what was going on in this facility.

"The day we couldn’t find any more animals?" Kane responded but this was rhetorical, human life had become the most insignificant currency so why was Sanders pressed about it when these children wouldn’t have lived this long in the first place?

"You have gone too far, Kane!" Sanders warned.

"Shut this place down!" Sanders proceeded to order but judging by Kane’s demeanor, it was clear that he had no plans to follow this order.

"We sacrifice the few for the continuation of humanity and I’m not the only one that feels that way... These people stay here, they feed without doing anything. We give them the perfect life before the worst," Kane responded in a stern voice.

He showed that he had some sort of authority but what that was, was unknown.

Sanders gritted his teeth, taking a look at the children as the medical practitioners there had paused, waiting for the conclusion of this conversation.

"Kane, you really are a sociopath," Sanders conceded but there was no reason why he should use kids when there were multiple adults available.

If anything, the kids should be protected at all costs as they were the future but to oppose Kane, who has the majority of the military on his side.

This wouldn’t be the first time that the military would commit atrocities for the sake of humanity so why would they suddenly sacrifice humanity to save a few lives?

A mutiny was the last thing Sanders needed but he dragged Kane to a corner to speak to him.

"I know why you would frown upon this, Colonel but good and bad as you know it is gone. Good is whatever ensures we don’t die out into extinction, we are an endangered species," Kane’s argument was logical from an objective point of view but not from a moral view.

This was a burden on one’s conscience but throughout history, mankind has had to commit atrocious acts to make sure they don’t go extinct.

"The kids are responding to treatment and I made sure we only took the sick, I assure you," Kane’s tone sounded more sympathetic.

"Do what you have to do but don’t let it get out," Sanders warned to which Kane agreed.

Sanders had to admit that Kane finding a way to delay the infection was impressive.

That wasn’t a feat just anyone could accomplish so while it weighed on his morals.

Sanders understood what this achievement represented and the true reason why they were gathering civilians was revealed.

They were being used for what Kane had in mind but Sanders didn’t know the full scope of Kane’s experiment because he reassured him that he wouldn’t start anything on humans until the chances of it halting the virus spread was at least 90%.

And it would make sense to gather people first in preparation for this as opposed to finding them only after it was done, a subtle deception as Kane just needed more subjects.

He also kept Clementine’s arrival here hidden, Sanders was not aware that Clementine ever came here.