Extinction Evolution (The Extinction Cycle Book 4) (14 page)

“The safety lever!” Stanton shouted. “Back of the slide.”

Mitchell struggled with the gun as the creature clawed into the truck. Her talons whooshed by his head, and he heard another pair slash through the broken windshield to his side. He flicked the safety up and squeezed the trigger at the shrieking female Variant. A bullet punched through her neck, hot blood splattering onto Mitchell’s face.

Before he could turn, something stung his left arm and yanked him through the windshield.

“Mr. President!” Stanton shouted.

Mitchell pointed the gun at the Variant dragging him onto the pavement. He fired twice at the creature’s withered stomach. Howling, the beast loosened its grip on his arm and reached down at the gushing holes in its belly.

Mitchell tried to push himself to his feet, but his left arm gave out in a rush of pain. Stanton was struggling upside down in his seat. The Marine raised a hand and pointed behind Mitchell.

“Behind you!”

The President turned and squeezed off two more shots at a male Variant. Both bullets hit the beast in the left side of the chest. It retreated back into the rising curtain of fog, screeching in agony.

Mitchell crawled toward the Humvee, pulling his body with his right arm, the pistol in his hand scraping across the concrete. He risked a glance behind him. Dozens of Variants watched him from the ridgeline. Some perched while others prowled. There were three more on the road, the fog shifting around their bark-like flesh.

“No!” Mitchell yelled. He continued crawling toward the truck. When he got to the windshield, he dropped the pistol and pulled himself inside.

Mitchell screamed as a Variant clamped down on his left calf. His eyes widened as needle-sharp teeth mowed through his muscles. The hot pain was so intense it took away his breath. He gripped the frame of the windshield with his right hand, hardly noticing the broken glass slicing into his fingers. Stanton watched helplessly, his eyes locked on Mitchell as another beast clamped onto his right leg.

“Help,” Mitchell whimpered, tears blurring his vision. He tried to hold on, he tried to fight, but no matter how much he wanted to live, there was nothing he could do to stop the monsters.

A third Variant clamped down on his left thigh, and together the creatures yanked his grip away. They dropped him on the ground a few feet from the truck and tore into him a second later, twisting and stretching him so hard his tendons snapped.

He let out a guttural, tormented scream, and closed his eyes. As the Variants fought over him, he didn’t think of his glory days on Capitol Hill, or even his wife, June. All he could think about was how history would remember him, or if it would remember him at all.

E
llis put his hands on his hips. “You still haven’t told Beckham yet?”

Kate sighed, shook her head. She thought of a response, but figured it would be more of an excuse. Instead, she downed the rest of her morning coffee and prepared to enter the lab.

When they’d finished suiting up, Kate joined Ellis at the entrance. They stood there for a few seconds staring at the stations beyond the BSL-4 labs, neither of them discussing the empty spaces. Specters of the men and women Kate had worked with emerged in her mind. There was geeky Rod from Toxicology, and her lab assistant Cindy with a cocky smile. Sergeant Lombardi was there in his riot gear.

All of them were dead now. Murdered by the monsters they were trying to stop.

“Another day in paradise,” Ellis said. His tone was apathetic. A far cry from the normal animated version Kate was used to hearing.

“Let’s check the status of the reactors first,” she said. “You take one to six, I’ll go over the results from seven to twelve.”

Ellis raised his keycard when the wall intercom behind them blared.

“Hold on, doctors,” came a voice over the speakers.

Behind the secure door to the changing room, Secretary Ringgold peered through the glass window. Kate strode over to the intercom and punched the button with a gloved finger.

“Madame Secretary,” Kate said. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here this morning.”

Ringgold smiled. “I wasn’t expecting to be here either, but apparently my curiosity won me over.” She took a step closer to the glass. “Where are all the other doctors?”

When Kate didn’t reply, Ringgold’s smile vanished. “So it’s just the two of you now?”

“Pretty much,” Ellis replied.

“I see,” Ringgold said, her gaze shifting to the empty labs behind Kate. “Would you mind if I join you and watch you work?”

Ellis glanced over at Kate, but she wasn’t about to turn down one of the most powerful women in the world.

“We’d love for you to join,” Kate said. “We’ll help you get suited up.”

A process that normally took ten minutes ended up taking thirty, but when they had finished, Secretary Ringgold looked just like any other scientist inside her CBRN suit.

“So, what’s on your agenda?” Ringgold asked.

“First, we’re going to check the bioreactors to see how the cultures are populating. Then we were going to focus on contacting labs in other countries,” Kate said. She paused in the center of the first lab. “Actually, we were hoping you could help with that.”

“I still haven’t spoken to President Mitchell, but I do have a call with General Johnson in a few hours. I was hoping to speak to the President first, but it sounds like I have no other choice.”

Kate frowned. “You’ll ask him about facilitating the production of Kryptonite with other labs across the world?”

Ringgold took a moment, breath fogging up her visor. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you,” Kate and Ellis said at the same time.

The trio shared a chuckle, then proceeded to the lab housing the bioreactors. Antibody production levels seemed on schedule across the board. Kate breathed a sigh of relief that the experimental gene modification strategy was actually working. All the reports indicated there were no foreign contaminants or microbes negatively affecting the cell proliferation within the massive tanks. The hybridomas were dividing and producing antibodies at a rate sufficient to coat all the chemotherapeutic drugs they’d secured. If they were lucky, the accelerated rate would continue to hold steady.

“There’s something I still don’t understand,” Ringgold said. “How did people turn into those things, the Variants, so quickly?”

“Funny you ask,” Ellis replied. “I was about to go over a new theory with Kate this morning about their evolution. Especially now that they’re breeding.”

Ringgold fidgeted in her bulky suit. “Those things can breed?”

“Yes,” Kate said. “And the gestation period appears to be weeks, instead of months.”

Ringgold’s features crunched together behind her visor, her fifty-plus years showing in the wrinkles on her forehead. “By all means, please share your theory, Doctor.”

Ellis looked to Kate for approval and she offered a nod.

“They aren’t just breeding; they are continuing to adapt, even going through metamorphosis. A Marine reconnaissance team discovered Variants that developed gills. We’ve seen examples of other Variants in climates across the world that are morphing in order to adapt to those environments.”

“Fur in Antarctica, gills, fatty humps. We’ve also seen them camouflage,” Kate added.

“That’s where my theory comes into play,” Ellis said. “I’m not sure what you know about VX-99 or the Hemorrhage Virus, but in short, upon infection, the VX-99 nanostructures activated genes in the subject. Depending on geography, climate, and a host of other factors, I believe the Variants began adapting from day one. The gills are just one example of thousands worldwide that we don’t even know about.”

Kate watched Ringgold’s features for a reaction. She listened attentively, nodding to show them she understood the science.

Ellis continued speaking with his hands, both of them forming wide arcs. “I believe we haven’t seen all of the stages yet. My theory is the adaptations and metamorphoses take place in the first stages. Stage 1 changes are physical, like the sucker lips, talons, increased olfactory receptors, breeding etc. Stage 2 is the higher level of intelligence we see in their behavior, like their ability to set traps.”

“And stage 3?” Ringgold asked.

Ellis lowered his hands, his face draining of any excitement. “As the brain recovers from the Ebola infection, in some cases, it will lead to cognitive changes and abilities, thus bringing us to the third and final stage.”

Kate squinted. “What are you saying?”

“Stage 3 is communication,” Ellis said. “I believe that we’re going to see more examples of Alpha Variants that dominate individual lairs. Kind of like a queen bee. These creatures will be able to communicate with and control the less intelligent minions.”

“What do you mean by communicate? Like talk?” Ringgold asked.

“Yes. In short, they will be able to use basic language and commands. Depending on how severe the Ebola infection was and how much trauma there was to the brain, some may be capable of complex actions. These Variants will likely become the Alphas of their lairs. This, however, will be very rare. I estimate one in a thousand, which is why we haven’t seen many of them. These Variants were most likely infected with the Hemorrhage Virus shortly before VX9H9 was deployed. The Ebola infection wouldn’t have had enough time to cause severe damage to the brain.”

Ellis took in a breath before continuing. “We’ve also seen lots of evidence that packs are territorial and fight for resources. They will likely begin warring against one another when their resources are strained.”

Ringgold glared at Ellis like he was crazy, but deep down Kate had a feeling he was right. It explained the actions of some of the Variants in the past. They weren’t just getting smarter; they were working together and displaying traits of highly intelligent predators that hunted in groups, like wolves. And with Alpha leaders, the Variants were becoming more dangerous than ever before.

“So this Kryptonite drug is going to kill them all, right?” Ringgold asked.

Ellis and Kate exchanged another glance. This time neither of them responded right away.

“Right?” Ringgold entreated.

“We’re not sure,” Kate said. “It should work on the adults, but we have no idea if it will work on the children.”

“And why exactly would you think that?”

“Do you want the long or short answer?” Ellis asked.

“I just want to understand.”

Ellis cracked a smile. “Each infant Variant born will experience genetic mutations. As you may remember, VX-99 turned on genes and caused genetic variation during cell division. Theoretically, there could be enough mutations and errors in the division process that each generation of Variant will be slightly different from the last.”

“Which means Kryptonite might not work,” Kate interjected. “The weapon targets the Superman protein, but it’s possible that the protein will have changed in the newborn Variants. Thus, the cells might be expressing slightly different proteins on their surface that the Kryptonite antibodies can’t bind do.”

“That means the chemotherapeutics can’t get into those cells to kill them,” Ellis finished.

Ringgold rubbed at her visor. “And you think the children are growing rapidly?”

“Judging by what we have seen, rapid is an understatement,” Ellis said.

“And there are a half billion adults? How many children?”

“We’re not sure,” Kate said.

Ringgold glanced up at Kate, her fingers still on her visor. “How can we possibly win a war against these things?”

Before Kate could respond, the intercom crackled. Major Smith stood behind the observation window. “Secretary Ringgold, we have General Johnson on the line in the command center. He said it’s urgent.”

“I’ll be right there,” she replied.

Kate and Ellis hurried after Ringgold and helped her change out of her suit.

“Come with me, I want you to sit in on this call,” Ringgold said.

They met Major Smith in the war room a few minutes later. The main display was already on. When Johnson’s bald head came into view on the main display, Kate felt the same emotions as when she’d spoken to Colonel Gibson, General Kennor, and Colonel Wood—distrust and disgust. Johnson looked just like the others. He wore the same uniform, and even more importantly, he had the same hardened look in his eyes.

Kate pulled up a chair and sat between Ellis and Ringgold.

“General Johnson, it’s good to finally speak to you,” Ringgold said. “This is Dr. Kate Lovato and Dr. Pat Ellis.”

Johnston held up a hand. “I’m sorry, Madame Secretary, but we don’t have time for formalities. There’s been an incident at Cheyenne Mountain. President Mitchell and Vice President Black were killed while trying to evacuate to the
George Washington
Strike Group. I’m sure you know what this means.”

Kate slowly twisted in her seat and watched Ringgold’s stern features soften.

Johnson cleared his voice and said, “You’re President of the United States now, Ms. Ringgold.”

C
rack!

An empty bottle of Jameson shattered in front of the sandbags piled behind Building 5. Riley squinted in the afternoon sunlight, squared his shoulders, and squeezed the trigger of his Beretta M9 three more times. One of the three remaining bottles flew apart.