“We’ve reviewed the footage taken from the platoon’s helmet cameras,” General Tex Murphy began as he paced back and forth in front of the holo-board, which showed the date, time, and location of the attack. “We’ve seen the size of the enemy force that overwhelmed your position. We’ve seen the destruction that the firefight wrought. We’ve seen the carnage. I, personally, have read your report. But what we have not had – until now, in any case – is a first-hand account of what happened.”

Tex stopped his pacing and turned his eyes towards the lone soldier sitting in a metal folding chair about ten feet away.

“So private,” Tex said. “What happened?”

The private sat up a little straighter in his seat and cleared his throat before beginning. This is the transcript of their conversation…

Well, sir, our initial mission parameters were fairly straightforward. We were to observe the disturbance and report back. We were given specific instructions to not insert ourselves into the still developing situation.

And yet that’s exactly what happened.

Yes, sir.

How?

On the first day, after we were boots on the ground, we took up a position that allowed us to monitor a decently-sized area – I don’t remember how large, exactly – of the city’s financial district. That first day saw a lot of activity in the area. There were groups of people acting irregularly. There were mobs of eight-to-ten moving in groups, while others just kinda… shuffled around. If not for the fact that they were very clearly alive and communicative with each other, you would have been forgiven for thinking it was something out of a zombie movie.

Did they exhibit violent behavior?

There was some pushing but that was the extent of it. They were not generally hostile towards each other.

So what happened next?

We maintained observation for the next sixteen hours as the… I don’t know what to call them. The “herd,” I guess? Anyways we kept an eye on the area until the herd thinned out. We expected them to come back in the morning but when the sun came up the streets were still empty. And they stayed that way until 0940.

That is when you received the transmission?

Yes sir. We received a transmission at 0940 Hours that seemed like a general distress. We were informed that there was a number of people trapped inside of a bank vault who were in need of immediate evacuation.

And you presumed this message was authentic?

They were broadcasting on an encrypted frequency. We had no reason to believe that there weren’t some of ours with them.

Understood, Private. What happened next?

We continued to follow our orders and maintained observational distance. We attempted to establish contact with whoever was sending out the transmission but they were unresponsive to our efforts. We determined that it was an automated message on repeat. We were going to leave it at that but…

But what, Private.

…you could hear children, sir. In the background. Whoever had recorded that message had children with them. That, um… that did not sit well with some of the boys. We decided to take a vote to bring our concerns to leadership. Out of fifteen of us, the final tally was 13-2 in favor of making an attempt to extract the people in the bank.

A vote.

Yes, sir.

And how did you vote, Private?

If you are ordering me to tell you, sir, I will, but otherwise I would rather not say.

[there is a pause that lingers for several moments]

That won’t be necessary, Private. Continue.

Well, once the decision was made the rest of the preparatory work was completed pretty quickly. We identified the location where the broadcast had originated. We established our route from our observational post to the bank, and we stepped off in just under two hours. The plan was to move quickly, be in and out before anyone knew we were there.

It, uh… that isn’t what happened.

No, it isn’t. According to your report, when your squad arrived at the extraction site all you found was a duffel bag. Correct?

Yes, sir. We discovered a single duffel bag, the contents of which were an old radio and… I don’t know. Some kind of homemade transmitter that was programmed to loop the message. It didn’t take us long to work out that we had been duped – lured into a trap. But before we could exfiltrate we found that our position was being assaulted on all sides.

By who?

By… well, everyone, sir.

Everyone?

Yes, sir. We first came under fire from paramilitary who had pinned us down inside the bank. We lost two of our guys in the first few seconds, before we even knew what was happening. We were able to take up defensive positions and hold them off, but it became clear pretty quickly that our position was tenuous at best.

As I outlined in my report, sir, they came in waves. At first it was… I guess…

[the private trails off for several seconds, seemingly lost in their own recollection]

It was the civilians, sir.

Civilians charged your position?

Yes, sir. Or, at the very least, people in civilian clothes. They seemed… I don’t know. The only way I can think to describe it was “enraged.” They charged at our position, wave after wave, many of them unarmed and just reaching outward. A few who made it through the hail of gunfire began tearing at our uniforms, clawing at our eyes. As I said before, sir, if it weren’t for the fact that they were very much alive and very much breathing, you would have thought you had fallen into some kind of post-apocalypse horror story.

We noticed that a few of them had small-caliber firearms. We tried to focus on them, but… but they were still civilians. Right? I mean… yes, clearly they were not of sound mind. Something had come over them. They were… the only thing I can think to call them is “crazed”. The good news for us was that this made them absolutely terrible shots. We were able to weather that storm for a few hours. Early on we tried aiming for non-lethal shots at first but there were just… so many. And they kept coming. Eventually we were indiscriminate.

Private, I need you to focus. What happened next.

We were pinned down but we were holding our own. I think whoever set us up realized that we weren’t going to be overrun so easily. So… they deployed the heavy weapons. Their more professionally-trained soldiers. We held them off as long as we could, sir, but they wore us down. One-by-one. When they made their big push there was only five of us left.

And that’s when you ran?

I did not run, sir.

[there is a tense silence]

The plan was always that if things were to go sideways that we would break for the vault and await extraction. When the enemy made their big push we started to fall back. We lost two more men – Martinez and Hawthorne, I think – as we moved back. The vault door was massive but was also slightly ajar. I was ordered to squeeze myself in, which I did. Then…

[the private goes silent]

Then, according to your report, Sergeants Maxwell and Antila closed the safe behind you.

…yes.

[a pause]

I heard weapons fire for a few more minutes after they sealed me in. From the sound of it, they put up one hell of a fight. I… I wish I could have helped them.

I know you do, son. Believe me. But you wouldn’t have done anybody any good if you’d gone and gotten yourself killed. Those men saved your life. They wanted to make sure somebody got out of there. Do you understand?

[a pause]

…yes, sir. I know, sir. But it doesn’t make it any easier.

No, Private, I guess it wouldn’t. Can you tell me how long were you in there?

Twenty-six hours, by my estimate. That’s when Delta Company arrived and extracted me. I don’t think the enemy laid the same trap twice.

Thank you for your time, Private. I know that this could not have been easy for you. I have one final question before your dismissed.

Of course, sir.

Are you aware of other attacks, perhaps of a similar style, happening across Europe? 

Sir?

It’s nothing, private. Never mind. You have been more than a little helpful. You’re dismissed.

The private, looking quite a bit more tired after sharing his ordeal for yet another time, quickly rises to his feet, salutes the General, and exits the room. Tex turned back to the holo-board, closing the file on this mission and opening the global map. On it, at several points across the globe, several red markers glow. Each red point, from Madrid to Johannesburg, Kyoto to Sao Paolo, representing a similar-style attack.

Tex stroked his chin as he examined the map, and couldn’t help but wonder if Redcell were somehow responsible…