• 1300hrs – May 1st – 1997 – Alaskan Mountains

    “All set sir, As soon as the chopper reaches a safe distance Project gargoyle will commence” Only a nod from the general as he and the small group of lieutenants boarded the chopper. A storm was rolling in from the distance, the test would commence regardless of the weather, the general had waited three years for this test and he wasn’t having it postponed again. On this occasion the storm would be continuing alongside the test so time was a luxury that the general could not afford. A team of scientists were reading figures and recording data, the weather monitoring system causing concern for them, the head of the team turned to the general to speak “Sir this storm will be here soon, we don’t have time to properly perform the test, with all due respect, we should…” an angry look came form the general, shooting towards the scientist “We should postpone? NO! Our government did not invest three years of research and development and over 2 billion dollars into developing a new viral weapon, just to delay the testing again! Continue as instructed”. The scientists turned, back to the monitors, silencing the words of warning that would bring safety to the situation, this storm would bring extreme consequences if ignored.

    * 30 Minutes Later *

    The general took his seat, a monitor in front of him, the large missile in the distance and a set of binoculars in his grasp as he ordered the firing sequence to begin. Cameras around the missile flickered to life, computer screens flashing, frantic scientists buzzing around the computers like flies to rotting meat. The general was handed a small button, he looked to the personnel surrounding him and clicked it, the missile arms releasing as the booster rocket blasted to life. He dropped the button, raising his binoculars to his eyes as the missile took flight, engulfed by its own flames as it rose into the clouds. There was a momentary silence as the rocket rose into the atmosphere and the general smiling, the weapon worked. The rocket was supposed to fly towards a small village, an acceptable target for such a test but the magnetic field surrounding the thunder storm drew its course to change, the computers now registering danger signals, scientists running around once more, the general watching them, waiting for a report, he didn’t get one. The missile disappeared into the looming storm clouds and then, with one loud explosion, the viral gas mixing with the storm, adapting to the chemical makeup of the storm. The general ordered the team to pack up, they needed to reach the chopper and get out of the way of this storm immediately. The storm was accelerating, reaching them as they were all aboard the chopper. They took off into the air, the storm then struck, lightning casting the large metal vehicle form the air, killing all that were inside instantly, nobody would know of this test due to the large cover-up that followed.

    *6 Months later*

    Over the past few months many stories have been told by tourists, seeing strange people out in the old testing field, now forgotten yet the stories growing more and more common as tourists discovered strange things closer and closer to Valdez, a small village only 2 miles form the test site, the target for the missile attack. Valdez was always covered in 27 feet of snow at this time of year, only a few days until this happened. John Petersen and David fontaine were the two truckers assigned a cabin in the town for the winter, they were also the two truckers given the supply delivery for the town, the last truck to enter or leave the town. They were two days early for their delivery so they figured they would be able to leave the town afterwards, neither of them enjoyed staying in Valdez due to the sheer cold of the mountain weather, and so they were trying to make double time on their journey. Daniel was eating a sandwich, his lunch and this annoyed John, he couldn’t eat until they reached Valdez “Daniel! Keep your damn eyes on that road, you got it? No wandering eyes, no food breaks and no money for either of us until we finish this delivery! Unless you want to stay in Valdez all winter I suggest you help me out!” Daniel nodded “yes boss…” he spoke in a dull tone. John adjusted his glasses and his eye patch, the latter being the result of a trucking accident 15 years previously. Daniel was looking out the window, he saw someone wandering, looking quite strange, their skin grey, their skin torn quite badly, as if it had been bitten or ripped off. The form flagged them down to the side of the road, John was reluctant to stop but did so anyway, they let the person in, he sat silent and his eyes closed his skin grey, this confused the truckers. The truckers stopped as they reached Valdez, they took three hours to unload the supplies and eat some warm food from the coffee house. When they returned to truck their stranger was gone, or so they thought. As they passed the town border the truck swerved out of control, the stranger was hiding behind them, under some old rags, he had hit john in the back of the head, causing his unconsciousness, the crash knocking out Daniel. The stranger fled.
    A full day passed before Daniel awoke and was deemed fine to leave the hospital but was also given the bad news that the crash had caused a small avalanche and the road was now inaccessible, he was stranded in Valdez for the winter. He went to find Seth, a hunting friend of his that he had met while up in Valdez a few years ago, he found him and they went to the coffee house together to catch up, recounting stories of their lives after they last saw each other. John awoke in the hospital and as he didn’t feel well he was examined carefully to find the cause. The nurses examined him all over, finding nothing except a small bruise; they noticed something strange though, a small red line crossing it, almost like a vein. The nurses took note of this and left him in his room to sleep, he was exhausted. He was examined every hour and the bruise was found to be spreading fast, soon his entire torso was covered by the grey marks, he wasn’t waking until nightfall, a nurse came in to examine him after 12 hours, she was found dead in the morning.
    Seth and Daniel were hunting when they found a strange looking john in the woods, his lips encrusted with blood, his eyes glazed over and him not breathing, he was dead. They dragged the body back to the town, a post mortem was performed and the cause of death found to be an unknown virus, although the symptoms were noted, bruise like marks covering the body and the glazing of the eyes. Daniel and Seth continued to hunt over the next few days, camping out in the woods, unaware that the town of Valdez was ravaged by this virus, losing many of its inhabitants to it. They had killed only a few deer to keep them going for the few days they would be out in the woods and they didn’t intend on killing more than that. They radioed into the town every two days to check if they were needed and they weren’t until today, there was no response so they decided to return. When they arrived at the town border what they saw was horrific, bodies laying in the streets and fire ravaging the buildings, they had no idea what had gone on but they didn’t want to find out, they ran for the radio building, calling for help on all the frequencies and not receiving any response, only static. They stayed in the radio building, still trying and keeping a lookout for the cause of the deaths in Valdez until suddenly, a loud growl sounded from below them, causing the two to pick up their rifles and c**k them, ready to fire upon anything that caused them danger, if only they knew that the bruises were spreading on their back s already, they wouldn’t last long…