Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

journalists,” at this he winked at Brent, “whom we speak to. That’s the public face of what we do. Naturally, there’s more.”
    Naturally.
    “ Black Island is also one of four New Eden stations in the world,” continued Sullivan. “A place to begin society anew, should our old society come to an end. These stations are responsible for repopulating the planet, making it hospitable again, something it is not even close to in its current state. It may surprise you that we don’t know much about these aliens despite having captured a few living ones and having dissected many dead ones. We need to know as much as we can if we are to eradicate them from earth and reclaim our planet.”
    “That’s a noble endeavor, Mr. Sullivan. But don’t skirt the question. What’s going to happen to my family as you play hero and race to save the world? Are they to be experimented on as your guinea pigs?”
    “Yes, Mr. Foster, more or less,” Sullivan said, as matter-of-fact as Keenan had been earlier. “If these subjects were not your family, you’d want us to find out everything we could, wouldn’t you? In order for science to progress, it must experiment. We’re finding fewer and fewer survivors, fewer still who are infected.”
    “Maybe that’s because your Guardsmen have itchy trigger fingers and don’t hesitate to burn them alive,” Brent said, the adrenaline building in his voice. “They even killed a good friend of mine who was willing to let them experiment on him! But they never even gave him a chance. Just shot him dead, no questions asked.”
    “Yes,” Sullivan said, as academic as ever. “That is unfortunate. I believe we can agree that our initial recruits were a bit too eager, or perhaps a bit too frightened, after everything that happened. Once we learned what the Guardsmen were doing, we stepped in and put a stop to it, ordering all infected to be captured alive.”
    “Are there other infected alive here?” Brent asked.
    “I’m not at liberty to discuss the finer details; I hope you’ll understand. In fact, I’ll also be requesting that you keep the details of your family’s capture and the existence of any infected on this island to yourself. There’s no need to start a panic.” Sullivan leaned forward. “Can I trust you to do that, or will we need to have you remanded to the facility at all times? I’m sure that could prove a bit of a problem for your relationship with the teacher and her daughter.”
    Brent flinched. If that was a threat, it was the smoothest he’d ever been given. And most effective. He wondered just how carefully they were monitoring his activities. For all he knew, they had the whole island bugged.
    “I won’t say a word,” Brent said, more than slightly defeated. “Like you said, no need to scare people. So, truly, what can you tell me about Gina and Ben? What’s going to happen to them?”
    “I’m afraid I can’t say, truly. But you can be assured that our scientists will be as merciful as the situation allows. I’m not a scientist, nor do I even pretend to understand all the things they have to deal with it. But suffice it to say, our team is one of the best in the world, if not the best that’s left, and they are working for the good of mankind.”
    “Do you think they’ll find a cure? Do you think they can cure Gina and Ben?” Brent asked, retreating into his vulnerabilities and feeling the fool for it to expose a lofty dream, only to be shot down by such a clinical man.
    “I wouldn’t insult you or dare to raise your hopes by speculating. I hope you’ll understand. I will say that if there is such a thing as a cure, these are the people who could find it. I say could , not will . Obviously, time and availability of subjects comes into play, as does the basic uncertainty of science. I believe the best thing you can do for now is try and shift the way you think of the subjects. They’re not your family, not anymore. Your wife and child are dead, their bodies are merely puppets for whatever species has infected them.”
    “No,” Brent said sharply, abandoning his emotional retreat. “You didn’t see my son.”
    “Actually, I did see the subjects.”
    “No, if you saw them, you wouldn’t be saying my son is gone. There’s some part of him in there. I see it in the way he acts, the way he clings to Gina. He’s not gone. My son is not some fucking puppet!”
    Sullivan stared at Brent for what seemed an eternity, giving Brent time