The year was 2008, a year the world would never forget- a year no one wanted to remember.

My name.. My name is Alex Mercer..

That year, mankind experianced Hell on Earth.

Six months ago, someone released a lethal virus in Penn Station..

That year, mankind saw death, worse than ever before.

Today, more than 10 million people are dead, many whose lives were taken with my own two hands...

No one ever expected what would happen next, for the Manhattan incident was just the beggining...

Winter had set in with full force, refusing to end it seemed. Children were bundled up tight, little noses runny and red as the chilly evening air bit at them. Their parents hurried them along as crowds flowed unevenly in a single direction. Some cried for the times of old, others complained about the harsh tempartures, well below the normal for a dark spring night in Manhattan. Many felt the prolonged winter was the result of an unexplained and unexpected detonation of a multi-ton nuclear device out in the ocean. The luke warm celebrations of the 2009 New Year were all but forgotten in this time of recovery. The only remaining thought was how the world had changed almost overnight. Once news of a deadly viral infection hit the airwaves, there was no stopping the fear that clenched the minds of a world at large. New yorkers were hit the hardest, of course. Times Square, a once bustling and jammed busy intersection now lay in ruin. Neon signs that illuminated the night for miles were darker than ever before. Much of the excitement the city held had all but died, with it the world. This was something far worse than the Terrorist bombings of 2001-- far far worse. This was an attack New York wouldn't recover from.

Crowds continued to hurry below, pushing and shoving as military choppers hovered several feet overhead, calling out over their loud speakers. Head North they said. Stay together they said. We have the cure. Rubbish, thought one solitary being. A pair of still icy blue eyes watched the blobs of bundled flesh bags parade closer and closer to the only open bridge- closer to the only ray of light they saw with their feeble naive eyes. The military dogs barked louder, men on the ground armed with M-16's like cattle prods to hurry along the herds of terrified and cold people.

His face twisted into a mocking snide grin, inhaling two full lungs of that fridgid air before exhaling through his nose as his nostrils flared. Clouds of moisture froze within inches of the man's stiff face. The density of the crowds had dimished, the evacuation was almost complete. He was well aware of the military's latest plan, long before it went into action. It was stupid plan he thought- Sure, let these people off of the Manhattan Quarentine zone, let one infected slip by, then watch the world burn, he thought to himself aloud. Overhead, an un-manned device hovered loomingly, its fan buzzing noisily to keep it suspended weightlessly in the air. Atop its donut shaped support sat a glistening green LED. Quickly it flashed yellow, then red. The man expected the device to face him, but instead did not.A foot soldier leapt into action, plowing into the crowd as the un-manned detector pointed a red lazer at a single target- a solitary women. Three helpless children, barely old enough to form sentences, clung to her tattered coat. The man winced, gritting his teeth as he turned to prevent from watching yet another death. His ears heard every sound.. her scream of fright, children calling out to her. Then suddenly, a loud crack of a ..

There was nothing.

The crowd stood still, only to simaltaniously break into a loud ruckess as the Military quickly hurried them along. The limp body of the once mother-of-three was dragged away and tossed uncaringly into the back of a waiting dump truck. Hundreds of other bodies lay rotting and frozen, the heavy hydrualic crusher forcing the garbage deeper to allow space for more bodies. The children were hauled towards a bus by military before being stuffed inside like sardines in a can. The door shut and the bus putted along, north to the bridge.

There were only a few more blocks before he would reach the bridge. For a moment, something averted his attention- a vibration coming from the back pocket of his tattered and bloodstained denim jeans. His chilled hand slipped inside to clasp the object responsible.

"Alex, its Dana. I'm across." Said the female voice from the other side of the line. Alex was thankful to hear her voice, though his ginuine lack of show of emotion didnt say otherwise. Regardless, he was enthralled, thin lips slipping into a subtle smile.

"I'll be over there soon. Stay safe, Dana. And give Ragland my regards." Alex lowered the device, shutting its face before placing it in its respective fabric throne. Once again his cold eyes scanned the crowd. Another few blocks and he would be sealed in. He had to leave, Tonight. Otherwise, the island would be systematically scanned and remaining survivors eliminated. With the military distracted by the evacuation, he could escape safely and flee to the mainland unnoticed. Survival to him was a biological imperitive.

Stepping closer to the edge of the roof which he perched atop, he shifted his weight forward and let his body drop noisily down onto the pavement. A newspaper drifted by, carried by the bitter winter wind before disappearing around a corner. Another BlackHawk roared overhead, the pilot calling out over his loudspeaker to move along. No one seemed to notice the devastating sound his body made against the concrete which now lay beneath him in a shattered circular pattern. Turning to the east, he would spot a foot soldier trodding alongside the crowds from behind a barrier.

Closer and closer he creapt, booted feet making no sound against that icy pavement, when finally he was within inches of the soldier. Quickly he grabbed the man, hand firmly clamped over his mouth, the other thrust painfully into the man's lower back. Rapidly the life drained from the unsuspecting soldier's eyes, Alex' stout shape melding into a mass of black stringy material that soaked into and fused with the soldier's corpse. Life returned to the man's eyes, but bore a completely different personality. His escape was most certainly ensured, granted he could maintain the guise of a military footman. Block after block passed and the heavily guarded entrance to the bridge grew closer and closer. His eyes focused intently on the one thing that could sniff him out. At the gates and in the sky were more of the unmanned and stationary detection devices. A stationary model flashed red, and a young boy was pulled aside, shoved roughly behind a black curtain, just as a bright glow and a loud crack of an M-16 sent a chilling sensation down the collective spines of the remaining pedestrians.

Finally, it came time for the wayward soldier to break formation. Saluting another soldier before making haste beyond the gates, he directed his attention towards a support column for the massive suspension bridge. Once in the protective safety of the darkness beneath, the frostbitten skin rippled and reverted to its original form. Alex stood still, back to the brick stucture as a tank approached and sped past from a nearby underlying road. His presence was left unknown, and with all out of sight, Alex proceeded up. A task that would normally challenge even the world's greatest climber was effortless to him as his palms gripped the concrete with the force of the jaws of life. Silently he ascended the uneven face of the support, reaching an I-beam truss amongst hundreds more that supported the load above. Another alert raised, and another gun cracked off. Slowly but surely, the military was systematically eliminating the infected, not allowing them to leave the quarentine zone.

The military, like the virus, was uncaring as to who they eliminated.

Alex knew all too well though. No ordinary man was dumb enough to travel along the dangerous system of trusses and catwalks that sprawled beneath the distant metal giant. No Ordinary many of course. Alex was anything but ordinary. A set of powerful legs gave way to an inhuman leap, hands latching onto the metal as he pulled himself up. Out of sight and out of range of any military or detection, he was home free.

And the with agility and grace of water, Alex moved from truss to truss, leaping and vaulting from each structure like it was a playground. At halfway, he could see the other shore through the dense fog that engulfed the waterway between Manhattan and the Mainland. With the strength of a tiger, he launched himself forward onto the support closest to the shore before throwing himself violently into a most peculiar stunt. As if weightless like paper, his body came to a graceful hover above the ground behind a shipping container, booted feet slamming hard against the frozen weeds. Turning to look behind, he could see the amazing orange glow of Manhattan. Times Square, GenTek, BlackWatch, the Infection, Manhattan Island.. it was all behind him now.

And thanks to BlackWatch, the world would never know that he was the culprit. To the world at large, Alex Mercer was dead.

And so, he walked along the cold New York sidewalks, passing closed shops and stores in search of his sister, and a new lease on life.

TO BE CONTINUED.