The story begins…

For the eighth time, Kelly checked the maps. Those would be essential. If nothing else, Kelly was sure of that.

The message last night had been vague. "I miss you. Are you coming back?" It had taken Kelly a sleepless night of tossing and turning to come up with the answer.

"Yes," Kelly thought. "Yes, I'm going back. Hang on."

The old green backpack couldn't hold much more and still be manageable. It even included some water and a little food. And Kelly had the maps, of course.

"Will we even recognize each other when I get there?" thought Kelly. "It's been three years."

"Pep-talk time," Kelly whispered. "You can do this. You're ready." Kelly frowned, not believing the whisper for an instant.

Leaving a quick note next to the oven – "I can't say where I've gone and I don't know when I'll be back" – Kelly headed to the door and paused. There was one more thing. Doctor Van Holt. Kelly could make a quick visit, just to get it over with, or skip it.

"Which is scarier, I wonder," thought Kelly. "Hearing what Doctor Van Holt has to say, or worrying that I'll find out later?"

When she knocked on the door, it swung open, exposing Van Holt, sitting on the floor playing with toy army vehicles. He looked a bit surprised, pushed his toys to the side and greeted Kelly, "yes, yes, I'm glad you could keep your appointment, Kelly. Sorry about the toys, I sometimes play army to relieve stress."

Meanwhile, Perry adjusted the video camera to look at the visitor. He was curious as it was the first time he had seen anyone in Dr. Van Holt's office, other than Van Holt himself.

"As I was telling you earlier, Perry wanted to meet you before his travels. I can see he is watching us now as the video camera light is on. Knowing you are his travel agent, he wants to ask you about his journey. I think he is a bit nervous as it will be the first time he has ever left the building. Do you think you could answer a few questions for him?"

"That's fine, Perry," said Kelly. "What do you want to know?"

Perry's first question was blunt. "Why me?"

Kelly shrugged. "I have no idea. Davin asked for you by name."

"He knows I'm crazy, right?" asked Perry. Perry looked at Dr. Van Holt. "I am crazy, right, Doc?"

Van Holt straightened his tie. "Well, that is the diagnosis, Perry. We've been over that lots of times. Now if you still think there is something wrong with..."

Kelly interrupted the doctor without even a glance. "Perry," she continued. "This is going to be hard. For both of us. But I'm certain Davin knows the diagnosis. And I'm certain he thinks your fighting skill are going to be key to the revolution."

Van Holt asked "Perry, you were a soldier?"

"Well," said Perry. "Let's just say I was something between a full-fledged soldier and a guy who plays with army trucks on the floor of his office."

"What do I need to do to get Perry out of here and take him with me?" asked Kelly.

"As his ... uh ... travel agent?" asked the doctor.

Kelly smiled sweetly. "As whatever it is that will get him out of here and onto the road with me."

"You don't have to do anything," said Van Holt. "Perry can leave any time he wants."

Perry thought for a few seconds. "Then that time is now."

It was mere minutes before Perry and Kelly were in the sunlight.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Kelly.

Perry just looked at her.

"Yeah. Me neither," said Kelly.

"Kelly," Perry said. "Am I supposed to go ... you know ... armed?"

Kelly paused. "I'm not sure."

"It might come in handy. Once we get there. And on the road. It's a kilometer to a storage unit I still rent. We can get supplied there.

Kelly hesitated, seeing the rainclouds in the East. It could be a storm coming. The hesitation disappeared as she thought of the mission. She did wonder for a moment, feeling the aura of Perry's menace, if this was really such a good idea.

Perry and Kelly walked in awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. The storage facility seemed empty. Rain began. After Perry typed in his number to open the entrance gate, he went to the toilet.

It was then that a stranger came up to her. He was wearing a badge with a strange emblem, like a flag, with a wave symbol and a trident.

"Are you sure?" He said. This seemed like a strange question to ask.

"Sure of what?"

"Anything at all. It might take time to fully explain our position. It is important that you listen to me, while Perry is gone."

For reasons she did not quite understand, Kelly felt that the stranger was not to be trusted. "No, wait! You need to stay! You can't-"

The stranger suddenly started moving sporadically, and his skin appeared to almost be moving. Upon closer examination, Kelly realized that the man's blood vessels were slowly bursting. Eventually, the man fell to the ground. Kelly checked for a heartbeat. No luck.

"C'mon, Kelly! Let's go!" Perry's bag was full, and it appeared to be very heavy. Kelly realized it was like her green bag but...red? It was hard to tell. Maybe a bit brown? It didn't help that the coloring was uneven.

Perry and Kelly continued into the forest. "What happened" Kelly thought. "Maybe I should ask Perry about it."

She decided she must. She couldn't continue on a mission in this fog of incomprehension.

"Perry," she said. "Stop."

"No," replied Perry. "Not yet."

"PERRY! I'm not moving another step until you tell me what's going on!" exclaimed Kelly.

Perry shouldered his bag, sighed, and set a timer on his phone. "You have exactly two minutes, Kelly. Ask me your questions and we'll get moving again."

"Who was that man?" asked Kelly.

"Another of Van Holt's patients. Like you. Like me," replied Perry.

"Perry, what happened to him?!" shouted Kelly.

"His skin exploded, Kelly. Van Holt calls it 'molting'," explained Perry. "And please keep your voice down."

"WHY?" shouted Kelly.

Perry leveled his gaze. "Because you don't want to wake him."

"WAKE him?!" Kelly was beyond the point of incomprehension now — into an uncharted land of bewilderment. "He's dead!"

Perry pointed back towards the storage shed. A lumbering figure approached. "You sure about that, Kelly?"

Kelly spun and saw the stranger, still wearing the flag emblem, but now seemingly devoid of humanity. With no wasted motion, Perry lowered his bag, extracted a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it expertly towards the ... man? The thing? The noun didn't matter. After the explosion, the threat was in a thousand pieces.

"WHAT was THAT?" shouted Kelly.

"Our doctor calls it 'ubervanholtiphage'. It's an engineered virus." Perry smiled grimly. "I guess he got tired of playing just with toys."

"Is it contagious?" asked Kelly.

"I don't know. And I don't know how long ago he was exposed." Perry paused. "Or ... if you and I were. Only Van Holt would know."

"I don't know what this is, but I damn sure don't want to find out." Kelly had had enough of Van Holt's schemes. "Let's just go."

Perry began to smile. "Yes. Let's go."

As they ventured into the woods, Kelly heard a loud popping sound from behind her. As Kelly looked, Perry looked depressed.

"What's wrong?"

Perry's face was grim, and was turning a dark red. "Kelly...run...I cant..."

Perry reached into his bag, and pulled out a long, sharp knife. He ran towards Kelly, swinging wildly. Kelly dived out of the way, but as she did, the blade grazed her. Perry, or at least what was left of him, began to get up.

Kelly pulled out her hunting knife, ready to fight. However, as she gripped it, she wondered if she should put him out of his misery, or just run and hope it passes.