Degeneration Read Online Free PDF

and made his blood run cold.
    The ground rumbled and the tunnel wo bbled as the charges on the sub-level detonated. All evidence of the ‘PT-12’ accident was inci nerated in less than a second. A s suddenly as the rumbling began, it stopped.
    Lloyd pressed his hand against the spot where his suit was punctured as he walked but he didn’t feel a twinge of pain. It didn’t puncture my skin , he assured himself. As hard as he looked, he couldn ’t see a single drop of blood; the puncture didn’t even appear to have penetrate d through the uniform he wore undernea th his hazmat suit. Even though his skin wasn’t punctured, he knew what protocol demanded.
    Lloyd stopped in the middle of the plastic tunnel, arms at his side . The two soldier s following h im stopped as well, arms still above his head as instructed.
    Lloyd turned and looked back towards the closed elevator doors in the distance.
    He knew proper protocol called for him to be placed in quarantine and monitored . If he didn’t get sick , under ordinary circumstances , he would be released, but Lloyd knew these were not ordinary circumst ances. They were ordered to leave their c orporal behind because he wa s infected. They were ordered to execute staff and incinerate a whole flo or just to kill the bug that had been unleashed . Whatever ‘ PT-12 ’ was, it scared the shit out of Washington and it made them take extreme measures. Lloyd’s panicked thoughts race d.
    Who’s to say that they won’t kill m e?
    Llo yd bit down on his lower lip as anx iety tightened around his chest. He didn’t get infected and he knew it . After all, his skin wasn’t even punctured! And they said the germ isn’t airborne, right? Right! Lloyd swore that they said it wasn’t airborne in the briefing; at least, he’s pretty sure that they did. Lloyd had two daughters and a wife waiting for him at home in Fayetteville. If he spoke up and told somebody about his punctured suit, would he ever even get to see–
    “Hey, Lloyd, I know that was rough back there, but you can’t dwell on i t right now. Let’s get out of here, alright? We’ll have a drink and unwind tonight,” the soldier behind him said.
    Lloyd looked around and saw that all three of the other soldiers in the tunnel had stopped walking and was staring at him, probably worrying about his stability after the ordeal with the c orporal.
    “Sorry,” Ll oyd said as he started walking again.
    The other soldiers exchanged uneasy glances and continued walking.
    Lloyd kept his gaze fixated on the ground , unable to shake the feeling of guilt gnawing at him inside.
    At the end of the tunnel , they passed through a set of plastic flaps and entered a large white ten t. They were herded off by white-suits, stripped naked, and given a cold chemical shower while white-suits scrubbed them with stiff -bristled brushes.
    After getting decontaminated, the soldiers were herded onto a black helicopter en route back to Fort Bragg in North Carolina for debriefing. The helicopter sat on the helipad for twenty minu tes and still hadn’t taken off.
    Inside the helicopter, t he soldiers were slouched on the metall ic benches inside the cabin. The adrenaline had worn off and exhaustion started to kick in.
    Lloyd, however, wasn’t feeling well. H e stared out the small window and wat ched as Sgt. James engaged in a heated argum ent with one of the white-suits–
    “Look, I understand that, Sergeant, but I can’t let you take off yet! Protocol demands that they all be placed in an observational quarantine for forty-eight hours to see if they exhibit any symptoms!” the white-suit said, pointing at the helicopter. The white-sui t slid off his protective facemask and held it under his arm. He loo ked like he was running off two hours of sleep.
    “Oh, goddamnit!” Sgt. James said, throwing his arms up into the air. “If you people were so safety-conscious then we wouldn’t have to be here in the first place and I wouldn’t be short