Genesis (7 page)

Che waited for the small girl to get closer,
then lunged at her with a rock, bashing her skull into pieces. He then turned
to face the larger male walker who was making directly towards him. Che stepped
aside as the male dropped to his knees and began to feast on the exposed brains
of the undead child.

It was almost too easy. Che did not
understand those that had a problem hunting these things. Once you understood
the nature of the beast you were hunting, it was easy. Besides, it was not like
they were fighting back.

Che flashed back to Vietnam, then quickly
pushed it from his thoughts. He had spent enough time there. He was not going
back. Not even in his mind.

The green bedroom on the second
floor
of the farmhouse was filled with beautiful furniture from a bygone era. Ilsa
had always thought that the scalloped carvings and cabriole legs richly
appointed in gold leaf belonged in a French palace or the home of a rich
aristocrat, and not the home of a simple farmer. But with that son-of-a-bitch
handcuffed in the living room below, Ilsa understood now that Coop was not just
a rich, old farmer.

Ilsa looked at herself in the mirror and
took a deep breath. Tonight was going to be more complicated than she had
originally thought. Way more complicated. Ilsa adjusted her breasts and gave
herself a seductive look, then smiled. She still had it.

Ilsa could hear the stairs from the foyer
creak as Cooper made his way up to the bedroom. It was one of the things she
loved about the house. Advance notice. She adjusted her hair one last time as
Cooper entered the room.

“Sorry, I just wanted to make sure he
didn’t hit his head when he passed out, “ Cooper explained.

“How long do you think he’ll be unconscious?”
she asked, as gently as she could. Clearly his presence bothered Coop immensely,
and she did not want to irritate him.

“He’ll be down for about forty-five minutes.
Unless I choose to wake him earlier with the antidote.”

“Coop, what’s going on? Why do you have U.S.
Marshals protecting you? Are you somehow involved in all of this? These things?”
Ilsa began to tremble slightly and tears welled up in her eyes. “Coop, please
tell me, is the world coming to an end?”

“The world coming to an end? No, the world
will be just fine. Civilization, well, as they say in France,
c’est la vie
.
But don’t worry Ilsa, when you look at things from a bigger perspective—the
history of the human race as a whole for instance— plagues happen all the time.
Somehow, a few humans always manage to survive. Those humans go on and build a
better world.”

“I’m scared.”

Cooper embraced Ilsa, pulling her closer
and wiping away her tears.

“Don’t be afraid. You will be just fine. That
is why I brought you here tonight. I will protect you and the baby from
everything. Chaos exists outside, and will for some time, but you’re safe here.
I promise.”

Ilsa began to regain her composure as they
sat on the edge of the bed.

“Thank you,” said Ilsa.

“No, thank you,” Cooper replied softly. “The
last two years have been…well…I don’t even have words for it. They escape me. Expensive
comes to mind.”

They both laugh at the joke.

Cooper opened the bottle of champagne and poured
two glasses.

“Are you sure? I think maybe I’ve already
had too much.”

“One more glass isn’t going to hurt the
baby. Besides, if he’s going to live in this new world, he’s going to have to
be a lot tougher than that, anyway,” Cooper rubbed Ilsa’s stomach.

“You know you can’t feel anything yet? It’s
way too early for that.”

“He can feel me,” Cooper replied
reflectively. There was a long moment of silence.

“Is that man here to arrest you? Are you
involved in all of this somehow? Is that why he is here?” Ilsa reluctantly asked.

“No. He is alone. If the Agency knew I was
here, they would have sent a team to kill me.”

“A team? Are you that dangerous?” She
sounded impressed.

“Man is the most dangerous animal on the
planet. When hunting such an animal, once must always take precautions. When
hunting a man, a team would most definitely be prudent.”

“Why did he come alone then?”

“There could only be one reason an Agency
man would have to track me down solo. If he is alone, then he is here for my
treasure. He is here for that.”

“Do you really have a treasure?”

“How else do you think I could keep paying
for all our dates the last two years?” Cooper grinned.

“I don’t know. I just thought you got rich
on Social Security money.”

They both laughed out loud. Cooper finished
his glass of champagne in one large gulp before standing up and setting his
empty glass on the table.

“I have a treasure, but I can assure you,
it is not the type you are thinking. You will be safe here Ilsa, I promise. I
have to leave now, but I won’t be gone long.”

“Where are you going?” Ilsa asked, with
concern in her voice.

“I’ve got a job to do.”

“Why can’t I go with you?”

“You can’t be a part of this anymore than
you already are because of the baby. It’s too dangerous for you. You must
protect the baby. That is your only concern now. That baby will keep you safe
in the years to come. I promise you.”

Ilsa nodded in understanding and began to
tear up.

“What have you done? Please don’t lie to
me.” Isla pleaded with him to answer her directly.

“I did what needed to be done.”

“Did you cause all of this?”

“Did I cause all of this? No, I did not
cause all of this! I did not create it, nor did I weaponize it. The Agency did.
Well, not created, but they learned how to contain it. How to weaponize it.”

“So this is the result of some sort of
chemical weapon?”

“No, not chemical. This is an advanced
biological weapon. A weaponized virus.”

“So this is where it ends.”

“No, this is not where it ends. This is
where it begins. It begins all over again. Like it has countless times in the
past. Trust me, the planet will be better off with humans back in the food
chain. But you should not be concerning yourself with any of this. Stress is
not good for the baby.”

“Why Coop? Why did you do this? Why now?”

“Why now? Simple. I can’t let my baby grow
up in this world. This world of half-wits and dip-shits. He deserves better than
that. The ocean already has more plastic than plankton floating in it. More than
ninety percent of the big fish are gone. The ocean is literally dying. Collapsing.
Do you understand the implications of that? The bottom of the global eco-food
system is collapsing. Man-made chemicals and pharmaceuticals are found in
almost every drop of water on the planet. Ninety-eight percent of native
forests are gone, ninety-nine percent of all native grasslands are gone, ninety-nine
percent of all native wetlands are gone. Tell me, Ilsa, how should I judge
mankind? By what standard? By
whose
standard? Whose standard should we
use? Do we use Mankind’s standards or the rest of the Animal Kingdom? At what
point is it time for someone to say enough is enough? Shall we ask the
Passenger Pigeon what his vote is? What about the Caribbean Monk Seal? Does he
get a vote? No Ilsa, I have looked all around in every direction, and I see no
sign of redeemability in mankind. No sign of hope for the future. No sign of
hope for my child. Not without something drastic. This is the last, best hope
for man on this Earth. If mankind won’t change their destructive ways on their
own, then we must act on behalf of the planet and force them to take that first
step back into the natural world. Force mankind back into the food chain, not
above it.”

“I’m not feeling so good.”

Cooper looked at his watch, wondering what
was taking the poison he put into her tea so long to take effect.

“Maybe you should lie down.”

“Cooper, what are you going to do to that
man downstairs?”

“I need to find out the truth. I need to
find out if he is Agency, or if he really is just some dip-shit Deputy-do-good
U.S. Marshal who is here to try and rescue me.”

“Coop, I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, everything is under control. You
will be safe. I promise. I love you.”

And the fog rolled in thick.

Ilsa was out, but not completely out, and
she had no sense of time, nor could she open her eyes or move a muscle, but she
could hear screams and pleading. Was this a nightmare? Or was it real?

Her entire reality was quickly turning into
a nightmare anyway, so did it really matter either way?

Screams of pain from somewhere far off in the
distance…

Ilsa’s mind was foggy, but still clear enough that she
could work through some things although the screams that kept interrupting her
thoughts were making it difficult. Still, she was able to reason out that it
had to be some sort of poison. Probably in the tea or champagne.

Those screams, were they real?

A sharp prick.

A burning sensation in her neck.

An injection. The fog was lifting.

Ilsa opened her eyes, and Cooper was
standing watch over her.

“Oh Coop, what have you done? I heard
screaming.”

Cooper sat on the edge of her bed and wiped
her mouth with a damp cloth.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t know you could
still hear what was going on around you.”

“It faded in and out. Coop, did you kill
that man?”

“No, I questioned him for hours, but he
stuck to his story. It’s possible he’s telling the truth. But I can’t take that
chance. We can’t let him go. He needs to stay locked up in the attic. He’ll be
safe there.”

Ilsa nodded in understanding then took an
offensive tone with Cooper. “I can’t believe you drugged me with the baby.”

“Well, with everything going on, I gave you
a light sedative, to help you sleep. You needed the rest. The baby needed the
rest. It was perfectly safe. Trust me. I’m a doctor,” Cooper smiled.

“Yeah, but not a medical one.” Ilsa looked
in her purse for her pills again, found one, and then took it. “I think we need
to leave.”

“We can’t. Look out the window.”

Ilsa got up from the bed and crossed to the
window, pulling back the shade and taking a look outside.

“I only see one…no wait…two of those
things.”

“It’s the ones you don’t see that get you. There’s
a lot more of them out there than you can see up close to the house, trust me.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I think we need to get what we can and
head someplace safe. Before more of those things arrive.“

“We can’t leave yet. I still have some work
to finish.”

“When can we leave?”

“Not much longer. I promise. He may not be
Agency, but now that the virus is out, it won’t take them long to figure out
who did it. In short time, they’ll be here, and when they arrive, I have no
intention of being here.”

From outside the room, another voice called
out.

“Grandpa! I’m home!”

“Excuse me!” Cooper turned and rushed out
of the bedroom.

Cooper came down the foyer stairs swiftly,
ignoring his grandson completely and instead going directly up to the young man
who accompanied him.

“Are you Riley Williams?” Cooper asked
directly to the young boy.

The boy was clearly scared, but nodded yes to
the question.

“Riley Williams, son of Levi and April
Williams of Loveland, Colorado?”

“Yes, is my mom still here?” *Riley asked.

“Sorry son, they were never here. This is a
trap!” Cooper shoved a Taser against Riley’s neck and activated the device. The
loud sound of electric snapping was momentarily eclipsed by the scream of
shock, surprise, and pain that Riley emitted before collapsing to the ground
unconscious. Cooper then turned to his grandson, Christopher, giving him a warm
welcoming embrace.

“Great work! You got him! Any trouble
getting back to the farm?”

“No problem at all, Grandpa. Everything
went exactly as you said it would.”

Cooper took out his pocket watch, making
note of the time and then making some mental calculations.

“How’s the old mine road, by the cemetery?”

“It’s getting crowded, I saw quite a few
clusters starting to follow the blood trail up the mountain before it started
to rain.”

“Any fast ones?”

“No, the fast ones seem to be mostly
hunting in town,” Christopher said, as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“In the dark they’re nice and slow, but in
the sun they go-go-go.”

“I know, Grandpa. You don’t have to keep
telling me. The slower ones are even slower at night, but they will speed up in
the day as their bodies warm up in the sun. Like a cold-blooded reptile.”

“What about the newly infected?”

“Come on, Grandpa. I know it,” Christopher
replied, annoyed with his Grandfather’s constant nagging that he rely on rote
memorization. It was annoying and got on his nerves, but still, he had to
admit, it did help. He might was well answer him. It was the only way to make
him stop. “The newly- infected are always enraged. They are always dangerous. They
are still living on some level, hunt in packs, and many can still use basic reasoning.
But they can only have that speed and reasoning for a short period of time
after their initial infection. Then they slow down, and well, die, but not
really.”

“Why?”

“Because once they run out of initial
energy and die, unless they are separated from their brain, they simply rise
again. Only slower this time. And then the same rules apply as before. Don’t
worry Grandpa, I studied all your notes. I am ready.”

“Well, it looks like we might have a
variable
.”

“Is everything ok?” Christopher looked
concerned.

“Yes, I have the situation under control
now.” Cooper places his hand on Christopher's shoulder. “You’ve done me proud,
boy.”

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

“I know you have. We all have. Now, drag
this piece of shit out to the barn. I’ll be right out after I take care of Ilsa
upstairs. But for Christ’s sake, suit up, will you? I don’t want you taking any
more chances than you have to now that we have him.”

Cooper turned and headed back up the stairs
as Christopher grabbed a roll of duct tape off of the foyer table and quickly
wrapped Riley’s hands securely. Christopher waited until his grandfather was
well beyond the landing on the second floor before he quietly opened the front
door and began dragging the still unconscious Riley out to the barn. Christopher
paid no attention to his grandfather’s request that he suit up, and instead
took some level of pride in the fact that he was so exposed. Christopher
idolized Che, and honestly at his core, he wished he had the courage to hunt naked
the way Che did, but quite frankly lacked the self-confidence in his physique
to do so.

Back on the landing, Cooper stood outside
the bedroom door and debated if he should knock or just walk right in. It was
his house, after all. Still, hooker or not, she was a lady. He better knock.

Cooper knocked on the door lightly and did
not have to wait long.

“I saw what you did to that boy.” Ilsa’s
voice quivered through the door. “What are you going to do with him?”

“I am not going to do anything with him,”
Cooper replied. “My grandson, on the other hand, well, I better get out to the
barn and make sure he doesn’t get carried away. We need the boy as bait. Nothing
more.”

“Bait for what?” Ilsa asked, unsure if she
really wanted to know the answer.

“It’s not like that. Trust me. I have to
run out to the barn for a bit, but don’t worry. Those things can’t smell me
through the chemical suit. Make yourself at home. There’s food in the kitchen
if you’re hungry.”

“Thank you.”

Cooper hesitated for a moment, wanting to say
more. Instead, he turned and headed down the stairs.

…

Ilsa knew she was
going to have to move quickly. She shuddered as the image of the boy’s jerking
body replayed in her mind.

She took off her shoes and snuck down the
stairs, careful to avoid the boards that creaked so reliably.

At the bottom of the stairs she carefully
peered into the kitchen. Cooper was just beginning to reassemble his plastic
armor.

She had time.

It would take him awhile to suit up, and
even longer to make his way to the barn with all those things out there. In
fact, if she kept it short, she could kill two birds with one stone…

If she hurried.

Quickly, Ilsa retreated up the stairs and
back to the landing, but she did not head into the bedroom and instead
quickened her pace as she headed to the door to the attic, slowly opening it,
and carefully and quietly heading up into the darkness.