LONE WOLF - CHAPTER 1

In the distance stood a pudgy but gruff man with a cigar in his hands. The man was watching as the row of pods came out, vertically aligned together like a classroom filled with desks. The pods were large in size and were technological coffins for the dead who fought the freakish war against the blood shed from the nightmarish beings.

The man gave a small smile as he analyzed the pods - inside each of them contained water and a series of chemicals to keep the corpses from rotting, and there were wires connected from the pod to the bodies that can smoothly transfer the elements within the body. It was unclear to the pudgy general weather the chemicals would resurrect the bodies or if they are just used for the purpose of experimenting who is a vampire and who is immune.

Bloody scientists, General de Bond thought to himself.

He was a hungry son of a bitch who had the most quiet intensity of impatience. He needed soldiers to help exterminate the disease that is spreading across his home. He didn't need idealists, that felt more like a suicide to any of the survivors who strive to keep humanity from extinction, although that would be useful for manipulation. He didn't need thinkers, although that would be useful for the time that he requires scientists or neurologists to search for a cure to battle the inside of the affected systems. Or strategists who can coordinate attacks and see the weaknesses in overthrowing the Kings and Queens. 

But he did need soldiers. Soldiers who were willing to obey orders without negligence or hesitation. Soldiers who are capable of bringing back the fire inside of the people who lost their loved ones. Soldiers who would get straight to the point in killing hostiles and protecting their own.

--

Miles Denver Beckett was a US general, but he was considered to be one of the bravest soldiers in the UK before the outbreak and storms on Earth. He could look at the devil straight in the eye whenever he made negotiations with someone else to get what he wanted. Miles was a tough son of a bitch; he didn't value sentiment over logic. All he needed were a few specifics, answers, and optimism that would give him the will to keep moving forward. People hated him; but some of the men with iron hearts looked up to him. His desires to move forward encouraged certain leaders with a soft heart to toughen the hell up, otherwise the world would weigh even heavier on their shoulders at the time of crises that have to be solved.

Miles enjoyed being a General; he always brought out the best of his men through manipulation and harassment, sometimes with a strange kindness. But what they didn't know about Miles was that he would push people to their extremes, regardless of any concerns, big or small. He was a man with the spirit of a demon who wanted to get shit done, and whether he goes out to accomplish his tasks or not, would never be dependent on other men who were inferior to his attitudes and beliefs of achievement. 

It wasn't until one day out in the battlefield would be an event that would turn the man's life around forever.

--

During an attack on enemy territory, Beckett and his men were ambushed by foreign invaders, the ones where would matter to them most instead of real intentions to get involved with the world. The leader of the invaders demanded that his men hand over the fame to avoid a long and painful death, but Beckett ordered his infantry to not give into their demands and to protect the gold at all costs. 

One soldier tried to run away from the scene, but one of the invaders caught him in the act and shot him dead. By the time his legs hit the ground, the cowardly soldier was still standing. A soft electromagnetic hum came from the spot where the rest of the body should have fallen forward. It got even louder when one of the soldiers realized that the man landed right on a cylindrical metal plate.

Beckett barked at his men to ground themselves from the blast, but it was too late. The cylindrical objects shot up mid-air and beeped rapidly. The man covered his head as a loud screech burst out. The shock wave was powerful enough to knock the leader down and keep him against his will to move normally. Beckett jumped for cover in another area and was knocked to another house, crashing through a wall.

It wasn't until Beckett survived the blast while the rest of the soldiers were killed instantly. 

Soon, he revealed what they were carrying - a large chest of gold in order for Beckett to open his own private laboratory or training facility for the rookies to prove themselves worthy of being enlisted into Beckett's squadron. And all that ambition ended when the mines went off, and destroyed all their gold into millions of pieces. Beckett had went beyond over-the-top at his diminished chances of starting his own army. 

That is, until he discovered a door to one of the abandoned buildings he had crashed through in the explosion. He wasn't so sure if the door would just lead to rooms with debris and shards of glass. But that was something else. The moment Beckett entered the room, the world above him disappeared, and only he was able to see that the house was a government like laboratory.

--

Capsules and pods were aligned together in one room, and a door leading to several rooms in another. He couldn't make a decision as to what he wanted to do - the room really bewildered him. It was as if a genius abandoned his own creativity and endeavored for inner peace and left his own life behind. Beckett began to wonder what kind of man would leave behind something so grand and extraordinary like this. Had the man lost his mind?

Some of the capsules and pods were shells without any living squids. Beckett walked up to them, and placed his hand on one of the artificial capsules. He left a hand print on the surface until it came to life. The blue glow outlined his print and started beeping like a telephone ring. Beckett was intrigued - he knew this would be the beginning of his new life. He wondered if any such living thing existed inside of the pods and looked back at the other door which would lead to God knows where.

He turned around, not wanting to kill his excitement, and opened the door.

Outside were halls of several other doors and Beckett began to assume there were several other rooms like the laboratory he entered. What went on in the general's head allowed him to feel like a god for the very first time in his life.

Miles Denver Beckett was no more.

Miles de Bond had walked outside the door with new found pride and glory.

----

"General de Bond?" 

The general snapped out of his daydreaming phase. Time had passed by a little quickly and he turned to the man wearing a military uniform underneath the lab coat. He looked about the general's age, if not older, more or less. He was Doctor Crowe, a man with a kind of tenderness 

He frowned and raised his left brow. "Help you?"

"The capsules are ready for the final touch, sir. The DNA and skeletal structures are already completed. Now all we need is the chip and--"

"Just get it done." de Bond responded gruffly, not caring about the list of specifics. 

"Yes, sir."

After the scientist walked away, de Bond pondered back into his daydreaming state. What else could he think of? The catastrophic images of Earth being distorted with nothing but the aftermath - all dark, outlandish, and scorching. A planet that was once blooming with green and water now turned into a global desert. Deep inside the general's thoughts, all he ever wanted was to bring Earth back to normal and bring back mankind. But de Bond never jumped to conclusions. All he had to do was go along with his plan, and know that everything will work out fine.