The next day. Veronika didn't want to part with her bed sheets. The bed just felt like heaven after countless days spent sleeping in a sleeping bag. But alas, Veronika was forced to get up. The military base isn't going to explore itself.

  "Ugh... I feel like collapsing and going back to sleep." Veronika groaned as she stretched her arms and legs. She put on her other coats as she prepared to leave the comforting warmth of her newfound room. She took her backpack with her, not bothering to take any of the supplies with her. She only grabbed a quick snack with her, some tasteless crackers to munch on as she worked at exploring and noting down the supplies found.

  "Mmm. These are pretty good supplies. But they'll go bad soon. I should prioratize consuming these rather than my own supplies." Veronika nodded as she had a taste of a few cans of tomato soup. Something she didn't have for a while. The expiration date on them indicated they won't go bad for at least a month or two.

  "I should eat these sooner. I might stay in this base for a few days at least. I'll go explore the other buildings." Veronika spoke, not bothering to lower her tone. She had circled the entire military base, she saw no holes in the fences except for the one she had made, so she was fine with speaking loudly. It's been a white since she was allowed to speak so loudly.

  The empty surroundings of the base reminded her of her secret base before the apocalypse. "Ah... It's been just half a year since the apocalypse but it feels like everything was only a day ago." A small smile crossed her face as she recalled the underground orphan collection that tried to get her in tow with them. "I wonder if those guys are still alive." She chuckled softly as she walked.

  Back then, when Veronika was still a thieving pickpocket, she had took notice of a small little entourage of orphans that occupied a few blocks of Murmansk. They took notice of some of her activites and they wanted to recruit her. But she declined. Veronika didn't like complicating stuff, and having to share some of her hard earned money and supplies would have complicated things.

  Veronika had heard that the little entourage was taken apart by city officers who stormed their base of operations and arrested some of them. There were some escapees but she didn't know whatever happened to them. Serves them right for not changing locations after each theft. Veronika huffed as she pushed open the door to the supply depot.

  She stepped in and swiftly found herself surrounded by wooden boxes and barrels. She knocked on one of the barrels, shaking it. She heard the sound of splashing around, indicating that it was full of water. She nodded slowly before turning to the boxes. She dropped her backpack onto the ground and fetched something from within.

  Taking out a crowbar, Veronika swiftly opened the wooden boxes only to find some canned foods and even canned water. "What is this? Why put water in a can?" Veronika held a can of water in her hand and slowly read the russian text below the label. Pure drinking water. For emergencies only. She furrowed her brows before tossing the can of water back into the box. I'll check it out later.

  She wedged her crowbar in the top layer of the box and swiftly snapped it open easily, utilizing her weight to push down on the crowbar. She peaked into the wooden box and she found a few bandages and emergency supplies, packed tightly. "Useful." She made a small nick on the wooden box just as she did the previous.

  She walked to the next box and opened it the same way she did the others. This one contained... Ammunition? She furrowed her brows. The box contained ammunition. The box had an E and M separated by a dot written on it. Probably means 'emergency' in english. Veronika nodded, feeling slightly proud at knowing the meaning in english. She didn't speak english, but she knew a few words here and there.

  Veronika rubbed her nose. "Hmm... The supply depot is probably used for emergency supplies. That's what the 'E.M' is plastered on every box. So the supplies are limited but they vary. So the real ammunition is probably left in the safe area that I saw yesterday." She pinched her chin as she reached into the wooden box, unclasping a second metal box of ammunition and taking a handful of bullets that were long and sharp, meant for a large type of gun.

  She shrugged as she dropped the bullets back into the box of ammo. "Potentially useful. That is if I find a gun that won't send me flying into a wall after one shot..." Veronika sighed. While she liked to pride herself with her stealthy and sly ways. She was painfully aware of her lack of physical prowess. If she were to encounter a single zombie, she'll probably get eaten if she didn't have an escape route.

  Veronika was quite the fast little scoundrel. She grinned pride welling up in her chest as she puffed out her chest. "I wasn't known as Motyl?k for no reason. Hmph!" Her grin widened.

  Motyl?k. Meaning 'moth' she was given that nickname by the locals who knew of her because of how fast she disappeared without getting caught, just like a moth before you could swat it away.

  Veronika moved on. The following boxes that she opened were nothing but repeating paterns. More emergency supplies, ranging from medical supplies to ammunition. She exited the supply depot after a few minutes of noting down the supplies, recording them for later reference.

  She was content with her findings. She made her way over to the next area she wanted to explore now that she had gotten down and recorded the important stuff in the important buildings. She had three options.

  The garage which probably contained a lot of vehicles that she could potentially get some materials from.

  The weapon safe where she could probably find a weapon to defend herself. Despite them being extremely loud, she could keep on as a last resort. But that's only if she found a model of guns that is small enough to not hurt her with the recoil.

  The admnisitration office, where she could probably find a lot of crucial and important logs and files. She could probably find some information on where her next target would be.

  Veronika was planning on staying in this area for months, since it had a lot of lasting supplies she could most likely live for a long time on those supplies alone. But it was also good to find a clue on where she should head next.

  Veronika walked to the headquarters building, boltcutters already in hand as she had left the cutting for today. She broke the locks for the other buildings as they took priority. She needed to make sure food and drink was secured. She placed the boltcutters on the chains, pressing down strongly before the chains broke.

  The metal produced a soft, dampened sound against the snow as it fell. She slowly pushed the door open. She stepped inside the building. Her eyes immediately widened as she stared down at the red stains on the ground. What is this? It's dried blood... That must mean- Veronika's carefree demeanour immediately changed, shifting back to carefuly calculated as she took out her crowbar from her backpack, holding it up warily as she walked slowly.

  Her steps barely produced a sound as she walked with practiced ease. She had broken into highly guarded areas before, she knew how to be sneaky when needed.

  she walked carefully, reaching the first door without producing a single sound. She peaked through the window of the door, her breath held as she scouted the inside. Empty. She slowly pushed the door open with her feet. Only when she was inside with the room secured did she release her breath.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  The room was some kind of study where meetings would be held. Several chairs lined up, some knocked over as they all faced a white board. Veronika took a few glances around, seeing nothing important she swiftly made her way out. Veronika tiptoed her way to the next door. She peaked inside, seeing nothing she passed the area and made her way up.

  For the next few tense minutes, Veronika checked room after room, finding nothing of note except for some papers that indicate the training regiment for the cadets and other ranks.

  She shook her head as she climbed the stairs. She had long since stopped walking silently as she had found nothing. It's dried blood... So it's old. Maybe the owner of the blood is dead elsewhere. It was a very possible thing. The blood stains lead outside the building, and mounting snow may have just covered up the rest of the tracks.

  Veronika walked through the halls of the second floor, peaking into each room as she passed it. Then she peaked into a certain door. There she found several metal drawers lined next to each other. This place she decided to explore. She opened the door slowly and walked inside. She found several desks with documents atop them.

  There were some bloodstains on some files. She walked towards the closest desk and looked over an already open file atop it. The first document that she saw had a big title at the top. It read site-27 Report... Veronika paused for a few moments, her blue eyes scanning the document slowly. Report on the biological weaponry explored. Veronika's eyes widened as she continued reading.

  Bacillus anthracis research ended in site-19 due to continued suspicion and pressure from the west.

  Yersinia pestis continued research. Leads nowhere. Terminated all subjects that contracted said disease.

  Variola virus research ended due to several containment issues at site-12.

  Mnemosyn research continued. Research results outstanding, showing several developments in both the intended purpose and unexpected side effects. Management made it a point that Mnemosyn may be used in future endeavours.

  "What the hell is this...?" Veronika couldn't help but voice outloud. Her blood ran cold and her eyes quivered. The Virus started in the united states first... Then it mysteriously appeared in Russia as well. It appeared precisely near Sverdlovsk.

  There was no way for the virus to travel so fast as the united states had closed airlines as to stop the spread. And there weren't that many leading to Russia in the first place. So how would the virus appear in Russia and not in another country? The places where the virus first appeared were... odd.

  She turned towards the cabinets with the drawers. She walked over towards them, the document in hand. She opened several drawers, skimming over unimportant files before she made notice of several files with different titles ranging from site-1 all the way to site-50.

  It was what she was looking for. But that alone revealed that this matter extended far beyond what she first thought. She flipped through the files and swiftly extracted a file from the drawer, it had the text 'Site-27' plastered on it in big red text. It was in english as well, but Veronika understood it. She swiftly opened the file and took out a smaller file from within.

  The file alone had several documents on its own, even excluding the smaller file. There were several files detailing a development to the virus called Mnemosyn. Several entries by a certain scientist, his name was Yuri Viktorovich Lazarev. He went simply by Yuri.

  The entries spoke about the development of the Mnemosyn. How it interacted with several different life forms and on the last entry. She found a single document, titled. [human trials.]. It was the last entry. That was where the smaller file came to explain.

  This smaller file was titled 'Biological hazard break. Site-27 emergency.' and her suspicions were confirmed.

  She swiftly opened the smaller file. She found a single document titled [Final Radio Transcript- Site-27.] Veronika's eyes widened even more as she started reading the file. It was a text-recorded radio call.

  [Mayday. Maday. Maday. This is professor Yuri Lazarev speaking. We have a biological breach, request for evacuations in nearby areas immediately. One of the specimens escaped, it may spread the infection. Chances of survival for the present personnel is extremely low. I will connect on the same frequency once I reach a safe area.] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 19:39 UTC.

  [Transmission received. Do not attempt surface exit. Hazmat teams are en route. Find a safe area and hide until professionals arrive.] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 19:39 UTC.

  [No! Do not send anyone here. You don't understand. This thing is not to be messed with. It is too late for us. You need to eradicate every single trace of this disease!] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 19:41 UTC.

  [Professor Yuri Lazarev. It is not within your authority to dictate how we respond to emergency situations. The hazmat team will arrive in 40 minutes.] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 19:47 UTC.

  [You don't understand. This is a matter far beyond what you think! We thought this would be used as a weapon. But this virus is dangerous. It wouldn't only deal a blow to the United states! It'll eradicate all of it! Just as it will do to Russia now.] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 19:50 UTC.

  [Professor Yuri? Are you still there. I need you to give me an active report on what is going on at site-27. Professor Yuri?] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 19:42 UTC.

  [It's over... The virus is already in my blood stream. 5 minutes and I won't be myself anymore. Someone help us... Because god already gave up on us...] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 20:03 UTC.

  [Professor Yuri? Are you there?... Professor Yuri? The hazmat team is close. Stay on the line with me.] -Recorded date. 03/08/1999 20:04 UTC.

  That was where the document ended. There was text about how the hazmat team that arrived and saw what happened in the nearby areas to site-27. There was a village there. The hazmat team had described the scene as follows... A blood bath. It was greusome.

  -Everyone was eating each other and they didn't stop until the other person was acting just like them! It was horrible! We barely escaped with our lives.

  -It wasn't just the men and women. But the kids were doing it as well! They didn't even care when we shot them!

  -Vlad... We lost Vlad. The monsters took him. They ate him alive. I can still hear his screams...

  Veronika slowly let the file fall. The virus started developing in soviet Russia... She clutched her head as her thoughts started racing. She was about 7 years old when the Soviet Union was still around. She didn't remember much, but she remembered they were dark times... Not darker than now, but still.

  "So, the reason that the flesheaters are around is because of... of Russia? And some scheme to use bio-weaponry to best the united states?" Veronika spoke aloud as she glanced back down at the files in her hands. The crucial evidence that basically slapped the facts into her face.

  "... It all doesn't matter now." Veronika shook her head. "We're already in it deep. And the Snejnay Tén are also around. Doubt Russia is involved in that one..." She sighed as she gathered the files, placing them back into the drawers. She glanced around the office like area. Her eyes wandered around at the empty seats. Then... She spotted it. A seat that wasn't very necissarily 'Empty'...

  It had a small little teddy bear on it. A bear stuffed toy that was stained in blood. Veronika squeeled before she ran over to the toy and grabbed it, embracing it to her chest. Then, tensing slightly she threw a few glances around to make sure she was alone before clearing her throat and smiling widely at the teddy bear.

  It was one of the embarassing secrets for the 'moth'. Veronika, whenever she had spare money would almost always use it to buy certain stuffed toys that she saw on a TV commercial sometimes. She liked stuffed toys the most, especially monkey and bear ones. The bear ones were her favourite because that was her favourite animal. But if she didn't have money, she would make do with dolls and such.

  Veronika hummed to herself as she hugged the stuffed toy to her chest tightly. "I'm gonna name you... Mister Stuffy Scrubs!" She exclaimed, as soon as the words left her mouth, Veronika immediately cringed at her own voice and words. It sounded better in her mind. She thought to name it that because it was a stuffed animal and she was going to scrub it clean of the stains of blood soon...

  She shook her head before she ran over to her backpack and shoved Mr. Stuffy Scrubs inside. She turned around, scanning the whole area, making sure no one heard her. But it was a futile effort as she knew she was completely alone. She sighed before she moved towards another desk. The one she found Mr. Stuffy Scrubs at. She checked the documents on top and a certain document immediately made itself apparent to her with its title.

  [Evacuation.] She picked up the document and surveyed it. The author of the paper was lieutenant Ivan Sergeyevich Petrov, he goes by Ivan simply. Evacuation? It may be important... She nodded.

  The paper didn't seem to be like the other documents. Firstly, it wasn't printed out in that digital mistake free line of text. This one was hand written. Hand written in a manner that signified it was done in a rush. The paper was also slightly crumpled.