Catalyst (Book 1): Decay Chains (25 page)

“That answers my question.”

Purdy arched one eyebrow at her.

“The guy who created the virus was here.” Stormy pointed to the metal door. “Locked me in there.”

“Oh. No one was here when we blasted our way in,” Purdy said.

Stormy walked past Ian to the table full of vials. “These are either the antidote or the virus. Take as many as you can.”

Ian’s eyes grew big as he digested her words. “They’re what?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

DAY ONE—HOURS INTO EPIDEMIC: 00:02:12

Ian held a vial of the antivirus to the light and swished it. Stormy picked up a crate of the vials and turned to set them on the lab table. She saw the super approach, but it was too late. He snuck up from behind and sunk his teeth into Ian’s neck.

Ian collapsed under the bite. As he dropped to the floor, he plunged his fingers into the super’s eye sockets. The super snapped at Ian as he blindly flailed about. In the process, he lost his grip on his prey and knocked all the vials to the ground.

Stormy dove out of the way, flinging her crate across the lab in the process. Purdy shot at the super and missed. He ran up and smashed the butt of his rifle against its skull. In return, the super head bunted Purdy, which knocked him to the floor. The super was on top of him when Josh and Stan ran up and got right in the way of Stormy’s shot.

“Fucking move or shoot,” she shouted.

Stan pulled Josh back and fire flew from all their weapons. Stormy got three shots off; the rest belonged to the guys. They were all too late. The bullet that pierced through the super’s skull, and ended him, hit right as his teeth sunk into Purdy.

Stormy held the vial and tried not to cry. In her hand lay the only remaining dose of what she now knew to be the antivirus. All the vials had been color-coded and there was a key taped to the side of one of the giant machines. The color codes did no fucking good now as the liquids intermingled in cloudy puddles on the lab floor.

Only one vial left. Josh found an injector on the counter. The vial slid right in and became a ready-made life saving shot. But one vial wasn’t enough to save two friends who lay on the floor in front of her suffering. Stormy turned the vial around in her hand and cursed her luck. She couldn’t choose one over the other. No way in hell.

She placed the vial in Ian’s bag and handed it to Josh.

“What are we going to do?” Josh asked.

“We’re going to go get more,” she said. “Pack some shit and let’s get the hell out of here before they change.”

Josh moved at a lightning fast pace and tossed everything he saw into bags. Purdy and Ian writhed on the floor in front of him. Stan couldn’t take the scene and volunteered to watch the far door. Stormy watched the closest exit and only looked at Ian and Purdy when she thought her heart could take it. But she was wrong every time. All she could see were tomb markers on the edge of Aranchea. One engraved Jerome Purdy, the other, Ian Teller.

“Give that shit to Ian and put a bullet in me already,” Purdy shouted through gritted teeth.

“No. We’re saving you both,” Stormy said. “Shut up and fight it.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” Purdy said. “I’ll end up killing you all. Stan . . . Stan you gotta take me out, brother. Come on.”

Stan stood rigid at the door, completely lost in his thoughts. Stormy feared the worst and aimed at him.

“Don’t you dare go near him,” Stormy said. “I swear to God, I’ll shoot you if you go near him.”

Stan turned back toward the door.

“Let him have it.” Ian rolled on his side and then back again. “Let the black guy make it through the movie.” He coughed up bright red blood. It spurted three feet in front of him.

Josh chewed his fingernails. His eyes flitted back and forth from counter to counter. “I think . . . I think I’m good.”

He hadn’t moved fast enough. Their states were rapidly deteriorating.             

Josh unzipped his bag. “We should give them each half. They won’t make it without it.”

For a split second, Stormy wondered if Josh wanted to save them both or just his best friend. She felt horrible for even thinking it. Horrible or not, Purdy was getting his half first. “I agree.” She put her hand out for the vial. “I’ll do it. Watch the door.”

Josh’s eyes didn’t leave Ian’s face as he handed the vial over and took his post. He said nothing while the shot was administered, but watched the dosage like a hawk. There was no perceivable change in either’s condition post shot, except the matching pin prick holes in their arms that wouldn’t stop oozing blood.

Stormy didn’t want to restrain them, but she knew it had to be done before they were too far gone. She tried not to make the tie straps too tight or too loose. Purdy resisted. He fought and darted back and forth. His mouth bubbled and his eyes rolled around in his head. She could hear the war inside him. He fought with everything he had, but the monster was winning. Sweat fell over his bloody bite mark and beaded down his biceps like he had just finished the Iron Man race.

Josh bit his lip as he forced Ian to put his hands behind his back. Ian wasn’t doing any better, but instead of tensing up, he rolled around like a squirrel that had been run over by a car. He groaned in protest to every move his friend made. Josh’s eyes gave him away. This was killing him. He would be no good if his emotions clouded his judgment and he was their only hope on the tech side at this point.

“Switch with me,” Stormy said once she got Purdy’s hands fastened behind him.

“I’m okay,” Josh said.

“Yeah, but you’re stronger and he’s putting up a helluva fight.”

Josh wiped his brow and sidestepped away from Ian.

Stormy couldn’t remember ever touching Ian before. His arms felt spongy compared to Purdy’s upper body. They fit better in her hands. Once she got hold of him, keeping him still long enough to restrain his feet was the only obstacle. That and ignoring the unnatural and overpowering acrid scent his sweat took on after the bite.

She drove her hands under his armpits and dragged his body across the floor behind Josh, who fought every inch of the tile with Purdy. They were halfway to the exit when they heard Stan open fire on the other side of the lab. Stormy lunged in his direction before she realized he wasn’t firing on them. Perhaps he could be trusted now. Possibly.

A blonde woman in head to toe navy blue buzzed past Stan. His barrel followed her to the corner where she stood. Icy was the only way to define her.

“Is Dr. Easton still here?” she asked.

“If he was, he’d be dead,” Stormy said.

“Who the hell are you?” Stan asked.

Her smile was Steford-esque. Just like everything else about her. “I’m Vector.”

Her flight attendant inflection was downright creepy.

“Get down on your hands and knees or I’m going to blow your fucking head off,” Stan said.

Vector took calculated movements. She eased her way out of the corner toward the lab counters, clearly after something. Stormy hoped whatever it was Josh had already pocketed.

“You could do that, but you may want to use this time to try and escape,” Vector said. “The agent will be going off momentarily and it will kill us all.”

With that, she darted to the chairs in the center of the room.

Josh linked eyes with Stormy. She gave the go ahead with a single nod and they started to pull Ian and Purdy to the stairwell again. 

“Shut it off,” Stan said.

“What would be the fun in that?”

“I’m going to put a bullet in your skull.”

“Please shoot her already and help us get them out of here,” Josh said.

Vector’s countdown commenced. Her inflection chilled Stormy to the core. “Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight—”

Stan took a shot at Vector as she sprinted to the lab counters. Her hands splayed across them in search of something. Stormy wanted Stan to shoot her navy business suit to pieces while she searched for whatever it was, but knew they didn’t have time to play games.

“Fuck it, Stan,” she said. “Come on.”

Stan looked over his shoulder at the stairwell and then took a healthy sidestep toward the exit. Josh worked his way downstairs while Stormy fought to get Ian through the door.

“Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen—”

Stan fired in Vector’s direction as he ran the length of the room. He caught the door for Stormy and turned back in time to see Vector open a compartment on the side of the countertop. Her hand slid inside and came back out closed around something pocket sized.

“You see that shit?” Stan shouted.

“Yeah, but I don’t fucking care.” Stormy’s biceps wanted to burst, her thighs followed suit, and she had just started the damn stairwell. “We gotta go now, Stan.”

He aimed his gun at Vector’s head. “You demented bitch.”

“This demented bitch is about to improve this real estate.” Vector smiled at the gun and talked into her earpiece.

“Check Mate, Vector. Satellite location for Target Four evacuated and shutting down. Test lab and onsite observation room have been compromised. Cleansing Number Four data storage in fifteen seconds. At approximately 1400 local, I’m dispensing Strain III Biochemical Agent, also known as the Supervirus. Also note that no operatives will be returning to headquarters.”

“Stan, come on,” Stormy called from the staircase.

Vector pressed a button on the computer keyboard. Alarms screamed bloody murder.

“Time.” Vector pulled a handgun out of the compartment. Stan shot her in the head before the weapon crept above her belly button. He caught up with Stormy halfway down the stairwell, picked up Ian’s feet, and ran down the steps.

“We have to hurry,” he said.

“You think?” Stormy said.

“Shut up. I never shot a live woman before. It was hard to do.”

They caught up to Josh at the front doors. He pushed as hard as he could, but couldn’t force the unwieldy door open with his back and hold onto Purdy. The familiar sound of gas in the ventilation system geared up to an obnoxious level.

“Hold your breath!” Stormy yelled.

Stan abandoned Ian’s feet, sprinted to the doors, and slammed against them. Josh dragged Purdy through the doors, holding his breath the whole way. Ian came next. He was alert and fighting every movement. Stormy’s eyes bulged and her cheeks poked out. She was red all over by the time Stan let the doors slam behind them.

Outside, everyone gasped like surfacing divers, except for Ian, who vomited blood. Stan picked up Ian’s feet again and helped Stormy move him away from the doors. “She had something in a secret compartment.”

“I saw,” Stormy said. “Did you get it?”

“No, and I’m not going back for it.”

Josh’s eyes never left Ian’s face. “We don’t have time.”

“What if I put on a mask and got it while you guys loaded them in the van?” Stormy asked.

“Don’t be too long,” Stan said. “We can’t waste time. It’s in her hand, unless she dropped it when I shot her.”

Josh set down Purdy’s upper body on the sidewalk. “Hurry up.”

“And if the bitch ain’t dead, make her dead,” Stan said.

Stormy was halfway to the cargo van when the noise started. She ignored it and dashed inside to grab a gas mask. When she stepped back out of the van she saw that the noise was not meant to be ignored. The familiar humming joined with a whirring sound, all coming from the lab’s rooftop. A chimney Stormy knew did not lead to a fucking fireplace expelled the biochemical agent into the open air with fervor.

Stan ran toward the van, steps ahead of a purple-faced and exasperated Josh.

“Get your masks on,” she shouted. 

Stormy pulled her mask on as she ran past them. She jumped over Ian’s body while checking her seal. The van whipped out of the parking space. The relentless acceleration let her know Stan was behind the wheel.

Inside, Stormy didn’t lose any speed. She flashed past the entryway, barely saw the boardroom, and flung the lab door open before she pulled six breaths out of her mask. Her pace was too fast and she blew straight past the corpse she sought. She doubled back, and by breath eight she hovered over Vector’s once flawless porcelain face.

In death, Vector lost all ability to eat at Stormy the way she had in life. A thin prayer crossed Stormy’s mind, though she didn’t have time to elevate it properly.
Don’t ever let me cease to have any affect at all after I die. Surely I have more of a ghost than that.

Stormy clawed at Vector’s hand and pulled a tiny object back.              
All this for a flash drive?

She hoped this wasn’t a waste of time and this drive’s contents weren’t identical to the one they had already intercepted. Seconds after claiming the drive and Vector’s handgun, she was downstairs and out the door. She didn’t like what awaited her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

DAY ONE—HOURS INTO EPIDEMIC: 00:02:32

Josh tried to heave Purdy into the back of the cargo van on his own. Stormy jumped over Ian and lugged Purdy’s feet inside the van while Josh walked backward dragging the rest of him.

Stan shot at the mob of exposed shoppers that had formed in the parking lot and encircled them. Stormy let Purdy’s feet go as they crossed the van’s threshold and then turned to collect Ian. She bore her hands into Ian’s armpits and glanced up in time to see an old lady heave a loaded down grocery cart into the windshield of a Buick. The cart lodged halfway through the windshield. The wheels spun in midair. The Buick’s passengers screamed for mercy.             

Squad cars approached from all sides. The furthest ones screeched to dead stops and blocked off the exits. Before Ian was completely inside the van, the entire strip was surrounded. Stan threw down some cover fire and then hopped into the driver’s seat and lurched the van into drive.

Before she slammed the van doors shut, Stormy screamed at the police officers, “Put your masks on!” She knew they couldn’t hear a thing she said, but she had to try. It was no use though.

One by one the cops fell from their posts. Stan jumped a curb to dodge a squad car and floored it when they hit the road. Stormy gripped the back of his seat for support. She watched the cops convulse on the ground and counted seconds. Before they had completely passed the strip mall, most of the cops stood back up and darted around.
Shit.

The van ran a red light and nearly pancaked with an ambulance headed toward the God forsaken strip mall.

Stormy set the timer on her watch to twenty minutes and then flashed it to Stan and Josh. They both nodded. She handed Josh the flash drive and then pointed to the front seat. She took over cradling Ian’s head so Josh could get up and move forward.

Now Ian sweat more then he bled. He choked on his own tongue. She wadded up a sleeve of his hoodie, tucked it inside his mouth, and rolled him on his side.

Stan had them on the interstate within ten minutes. He motioned at Josh for directions. Josh didn’t look certain when he pointed north. The van jolted onto the entry ramp with nothing but a maybe and prayers guiding it. Stormy checked her watch periodically while she babysat Ian, but Purdy worried her most. His eyes chased after visions only he saw. Sweat poured off him. His fingers clenched and unclenched, creating deadly fists. He needed to be gagged and bound to the back of the van. If he lost it, no one was going to make it to her in time. She set her gun at her side, the barrel fixed on Purdy’s fidgety body.

When the timer went off, Stormy fingers hesitated centimeters from her mask’s straps. Strain III scared the shit out of her. She sat on the info for a moment and stared into the cab. Josh attempted to signal directions to Stan, but failed. Stormy set Ian’s head down gently and moved behind Stan’s seat. She centered her watch in front of his nose and tapped its face. Stan’s mask came off first, followed by Josh’s. Stormy barely had her lower straps loose when the bickering started.

“Are we going the right damn way?” Stan asked.

“I think so,” Josh said. “The flash drive has two possible locations for a production center. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

“And the centers are where the antidote is?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, man.”             

“Do you have anything concrete?”

“Yeah, two locations. Some guy named Dr. Easton and a shitload of Cold World experimental stats on various strains of the virus. Oh, and by the way, that shit we just experienced is their heavy-duty version. It’s the atom bomb, the T2. Unstoppable.”

“I noticed,” Stormy said.

“They barely blinked before turning,” Stan said.

“And less burns even with direct contact,” Stormy said. “It’s Strain III.”

“AKA the Supervirus,” Josh said. “According to this log, they haven’t used Strain I since Reamer and they didn’t document using the version 3.0 at all.”

“That bitch phoned a friend and said she was dispensing Strain III for the first time,” Stan said. “Told her friend to document it.”

“So it’s possible that Ian and Purdy don’t have the Supervirus?” Stormy asked.

“They definitely don’t,” Josh said. “They would’ve eaten us while we were dragging them downstairs.”

“There’s some good news, I guess,” Stan said.

“Personally, I think the only reason they aren’t chewing on us is some kind of immunity they’ve established through limited previous exposure,” Josh said. “But I don’t think it’s going to last a whole lot longer.”

“Their will to fight will carry them through.” Stormy’s hands trembled. She hid them behind her back. “Just get us there.”

Purdy’s voice was hoarse as it rose out of the back. “Stan . . . Stan.”

Stan’s mouth opened, but he buttoned it up and refocused on the road without saying a word.

“We don’t have time to play around. Which center is closest?” Stormy asked.

“They’re both a ways off. Across state lines,” Josh said. “And I can’t be sure this shit is going to be there when we arrive.”

A noise came from the back. Stormy pawed around until she found the source: Purdy’s cell phone. She wrangled it out of his jeans in time to hear the tail end of a mushy R&B song. The missed call label flashed across the screen.

“Mina,” Purdy choked. He twisted around trying to stop shuddering. “Don’t tell her nothing.”

Stormy redialed the phone. Two rings later, a rushed voice came on the line.

“Purdy, are you okay?”

“Mina, it’s me, Stormy.”

“Oh no, no, no—”

“He’s alive, Mina, but he . . . he got bit.”

“Oh my God, Troy!” Mina screamed. “Troy, Purdy got bit!”

“It’s okay. He’s going to be fine. We got a lead on the production center. There’s a cure. Mina . . . Mina?”

“Mina,” Purdy whispered. “Baby girl.”

“You know where the center is?” Mina asked.

“We have two possibles.”

“Give me the address to one. Troy and I will get to it. We’re in front of Vallexor now.”

“Josh, are either of these places near Vallexor? Phoenix is there.”

“One is sort of closer to them, but not really.”

“Head to one. Phoenix is taking the other.”

“Awesome.”

“Stormy, I’ve got some news too,” Mina said.

“Okay, tell me while Josh gets you an address.”

“There have been more attacks. This morning they hit five major cities.”

“Where?”

“All over the country and in Europe. It’s the fucking apocalypse, Stormy. I swear, today’s the day.”

Stormy handed off the address rapid fire and hoped to God it wasn’t a dead end. Knowing this was coming didn’t make dealing any easier for either of them. Stormy had only pictured today as a victory. Judging from her reaction, Mina had made the same mistake. Unfortunately, Stormy had no solace to provide Mina in return for her confirmation that Catalyst and Phoenix had failed all of humanity.

Ian’s eyes were open again and flitting about the cabin. His whole body was rigid and his pulse was through the roof, but his tongue wasn’t the hazard it had been ten minutes ago. Ian fought with all he had. Stormy fought right along with him.

Josh sifted through the files. “This is weird.”

“What?”

“This Curtis Easton guy. He’s the only one that fits the mad scientist description on Cold World’s rosters that’s not dead.”

“And?”

“So he’s an evil genius, but there’s another experiment going on that he has nothing to do with. It’s brand new too. Why wouldn’t he be working on it?”

“Brand new?”

“Started right after Reamer. A totally different strand called MTK. Why wouldn’t he be in on it?”

“Holy shit,” Stormy said. “That’s Matt’s initials.”

“I remember Ian mentioning something. Hold on.” Josh turned all the way around in his seat. “Ian, can you hear me?”

“Hey.” Ian coughed before he spoke again. His eyes never left the ceiling. “You remember our promise, man?”

Josh’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say a word.

“Just do it, man.”             

“We’re going save you. Just hold on, Ian.”

“No, you fucking promised me, Josh! You said you would do it. You fucking promised me.”

Ian was so clammy. Stormy had a hard time holding onto him. His flimsy skin slipped through her fingers and she was afraid to grip him any harder. Ian’s lips quaked around his words. He had to grit his teeth to make every syllable happen.

Purdy convulsed violently at her side. Stormy leveled her gun on him as she retreated into the back of the van. She considered hopping over him and lunging toward the cab, but backing up took less time. Riding on the floorboard in front of Josh looked like the only way, but getting there was going to be a challenge.

“I’m not going to—” Josh said.

“Damn it, we promised,” Ian said.

“I won’t let—”

Stormy had never seen Ian’s eyes like that before. He was proving to be aggressive after all.

“Do it now, dammit. Do it right now.”

“No.”

“You promised you’d never let me end up like this.”

“I’m telling you I won’t. But we don’t have to kill you. I’ve got your back.”

“Pussy. I can’t fucking believe you, man.”

Ian darted up and rammed his head into the back of Josh’s seat. He collapsed on his own weight and fell onto Stormy. She bear-hugged him and pulled him down to the floorboards, but he slammed her into the door and got back up. Stan jerked the van to the left hard. Ian flew across the back, hit the wall, and landed on his stomach. But he wasn’t going quietly this time. He bashed his head into the floorboards over and over again. Stormy went after him and they both crashed into Purdy, who groaned and flung them off. Josh was over the backseat before Stan had the van straightened out.

“I got him. He’s fine,” Stormy said. “Let go.”

Josh wasn’t convinced. “You sure?”

“He’s about to give up.”

Her hair caught in her mouth and snaked down her throat. She spit it out and pressed harder on Ian’s windpipe. Mindful to keep her limbs away from his gaping mouth, she wrestled with him until he went limp in her arms.             

Josh hovered over Stormy until Ian quit fighting. When his breathing returned to normal, she looked over her shoulder at Josh and spoke in as calm a manner as she could manage, while knowing she was about to utter his name. “You don’t need Ian. I know what it all means.”

“Do tell,” Josh said.

“Matthew Trey King. He’s working on a virus strain for them.”

“Oh that’s just fucking lovely.”

“Everything all right back there?” Stan shouted.

“We’re fine.” Stormy kept her voice even for Ian’s sake. “Don’t shout.”

“Nothing but more good news. I fucking hate your boyfriend,” Josh said. “He’s such a douche.”

“Dude, I need you back up here,” Stan said. “I think we’re almost to the exit.”

Josh hopped back in his seat and dug his laptop out of the floorboard.              

“Get off and head west,” Josh said.

Purdy’s phone hummed in Stormy’s pocket. She lifted her arm from under Ian to reach for it. It would’ve been nice to have some news for Mina that wasn’t grim, but Purdy was worse. So was Ian. Purdy’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and remained there. Ian jerked away from her from time to time. Each movement packed more force than the last. Stormy didn’t want to report any of that to Mina.

“Mina,” Stormy said. “Whatcha got?”

“That was a dead end, Stormy,” Troy said.

“Oh, hi, Troy.”

“How you doing, kiddo? Listen, that place may have been a center. Had the look to it. But it was cleaned out. Abandoned. We torched it.”

“Yeah, I can hear it going up behind you.”

Troy laughed. “Yeah, we do epic work. Tell your friends who to call if they ever need good arson.”

“Thanks again. Any news on the other attacks?”

“Just about to ask you that,” Troy said.

“Josh has been busy trying to make sure this second lead is the real thing. He hasn’t had a chance to look and Ian . . . Ian got bit too.”

“Sweet Jesus,” Troy said. “How are they holding up?”

“Not so good. But spare Mina that, okay?”

“No problem. No point in getting her more worked up. I know you guys will square this away and get him back up and running.”             

“I hope to God you’re right,” Stormy said.

“I usually am.”

“I’ll be in touch, Troy.”

“Me too. If I hear anything else about these other attacks, I’ll let you know. We’re headed up to the most recent site now.”

“Be careful.”