PRIME (23 page)

“Yeah, I go off half-cocked into the unknown and I may end up dead, but like as not it will be quick, and I’ll know I tried to do something. I’ll take that over waiting here to die any day.” Cale crossed his arms, obviously feeling his point had been made.

“What do you think of this?” Quigley asked Alice, who stared at Cale, awed by how he had been afraid of losing his nerve only minutes earlier.

“He’s right.” Alice turned to Quigley. She looked back at Cale and smiled. Jake frowned. “He’s reckless and dumb, but someone has to be.”

“Thank you, sweetheart, I’ll take that as a compliment.” Cale grinned.

“I won’t stop you,” Grace told Cale. “I agree with Quigley that you’ll probably die trying, but you have a solid point too. If there is even half a chance that we could all live a real life again. . .” She didn’t finish the sentence, but the feeling was obvious. Any sacrifice would be worth a real life again.

“You’re welcome to look around the communications room,” Gabe said. “Out the door and to the left, take the stairway at the end of the hall to the third floor and I think you’ll find it. I’ll be taking everyone to the apartments later. There’s no electricity, but the rooms are clean enough and there are beds for everyone. I’ll wait in here for you if you like.”

“Thanks, Gabe,” Cale said. “We’ll try to be quick if we can.”

“Good luck,” Quigley said.

“Good luck, Alice,” Jake added. Alice gave him a fleeting smile, oblivious to the warning glare Quigley was giving Jake. Cale stood and Alice followed. As they hurried past Zero, Cale slapped him on the shoulder.

“Come on, kid.”

Zero stood and followed them out of the room without asking questions. It was Alice who took the lead after stepping into the hall. The place was set up almost identically to Haven, and it didn’t take her long to lead them upstairs to the official offices. They hurried down the hall, glancing into each room until they came to the communications room. There one computer was still on, its screen saver rolling lazily across the screen.

21

Haven Medical Base

Five minutes after he left, Dodge opened the door. Tessa and Simon walked into the entry room when they heard the sound. Dodge held up a first aid kit and tossed it to Tessa before leaving again to haul away the bodies.

Carefully, Tessa poured stinging disinfectant over Simon’s wound. It bubbled merrily, feeding on the bacteria from the zombie’s mouth and causing Simon to grit his teeth. Tessa blew on the wound, making the pain colder.

“Does that feel better?” Tessa looked up from Simon’s arm.

“Yeah,” Simon lied. He gritted his teeth while she wrapped a bandage around his forearm. “Thanks.” Simon moved his arm experimentally. It felt better wrapped and no longer bleeding.

“We should probably change the bandage every night so it doesn’t get infected.” Tessa put the supplies back into the first aid kit. “You’re lucky the bone didn’t snap in its mouth.”

“It felt like it did,” Simon said and Tessa smiled.

“You would have passed out in that case. I think you’re fine.” She set the closed kit on the counter in the lab. “You want to go back and wait with Tech?”

“Yeah.” He followed Tessa into the computer room.

Tech was in his element. He had four of the computers running, plus the large television screen in the middle. He sat on a wheeled computer chair and scooted from computer to computer without getting up. Simon and Tessa stepped up behind him, looking over his shoulder. On the screen he was going through a file marked ‘Results’. He made a tutting noise with his tongue and spoke without looking away from the screen.

“Do you guys see this?” he asked with a mixture of disgust and awe.

“See what?” Simon leaned forward. Tech’s fingers skimmed over the keys, bringing up a log file. He pointed to a line.

“Here,” he said. Simon and Tessa both leaned closer to read the text.

“It was here?” Tessa breathed out. “They found it here?” The truth hit Simon like a stone, but still he couldn’t admit it; it was far easier to deny it.

“No.” Simon shook his head. “I mean the nurse; she said it was germ warfare. That no one knew where it came from. It couldn’t have been us.”

“It makes sense.” Tech leaned back, suddenly looking very small in the computer chair; nothing more than a scrawny kid dealing with a man’s world. He lifted his glasses, rubbing his eyes. “Why would someone target a medical base if it was germ warfare?” Tech continued, turning to Tessa and Simon.

They were silent a moment, mulling it over until they heard the main door open and shut. There were footsteps in the hall and Dodge strode in. Tyson and Red followed in his wake. They looked around the room, taking in all the computers. Red looked impressed, Tyson just looked overwhelmed, his eyes wide in his pale face.

“Where are we?” Red asked.

“An underground lab of some sort.” Dodge leaned on the back of Tech’s chair. “You figure out what was going on down here, Tech?”

“These two are who you go to for help hauling bodies?” Tessa looked at the two boys who were smaller than she was. Simon felt bad. He knew what it was like to be looked at that way.

“Yeah, so?” Dodge asked, surprised that she would even question his choice. Red watched the exchange with interest, but Tyson seemed nervous.

“I figured you’d bring someone bigger is all.” Tessa shrugged, looking away from the boys. Dodge and Simon exchanged a look.

“I’m not that small,” Red said defensively. It was true, he was three years younger than Simon, but almost as tall. Tyson wasn’t so lucky.

“I’m not opening this place to everyone until we know what was happening down here. If I want to keep it a secret I need people around that I trust,” Dodge explained calmly. “These two scrabs know how to keep a secret.”

“We know how to keep our mouths shut.” Red jutted his chin up proudly.

“Sure, ‘cause Tyson hardly says anything,” Tech said with a short laugh.

“He does so!” Red defended his friend.

“Will all of you just lay off?” Dodge turned back to Tech. “What do you know?”

“Something you’re not going to believe,” Tech answered, still staring at the screen.

“Well don’t leave me hanging,” Dodge prodded. He spun the chair around so Tech was facing him.

“The virus Prime originated at Haven. We created it.” Tech spun back to face the computer. His eyes scanned the log as he began to read aloud. “It’s all here. June sixth, we inject the virus called Prime into monkey fifty-seven. June seventh, monkey fifty-seven does not seem to be responding to virus. June eighth, monkey fifty-seven is lethargic and is experiencing restricted breathing. June ninth, after slipping into a coma monkey fifty-seven died, three minutes later primitive signs of life returned, and monkey fifty-seven attacked monkey fifty-two. June twelfth, all monkeys fifty through sixty are ill or returned from the dead. Virus Prime will be shelved.” His voiced faded into a silence that filled the room as heavily as water. Tech spun the chair to face the room.

“That doesn’t explain how it got out,” Simon said quietly, still hoping it wasn’t true. “There must be something else.”

“Well the doctors who were working with the monkeys must have caught the virus,” Dodge answered. “That could happen right?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Tech glanced back toward the screen. “They were looking for a weapon, a deadly virus they could use in the war. The people working with the virus would have been in protective clothing. Besides, an entry on June sixteenth shows that all the scientists were still healthy.”

“How the hell then?” Dodge leaned over Tech to read the screen. He backed away quickly. “That hurts my eyes.”

“What’s this?” Red leaned in beside Tech, reading over the screen. He stood up, rubbing his eyes. Tech scrolled to the file Red was pointing out and double clicked.

A video began to play on the computer as well as the TV higher up. Dodge turned the volume up. A nervous looking man stood on camera. He wore one of the white lab coats that always made Simon think of scientists. His dark hair stood up all over his head and his clothing was rumpled. Deep, dark circles sat under his eyes.

“Martin Gray here,” the man began, mopping sweat from his brow as he spoke.

“He was one of the scientists working with the virus,” Tech said. Cages and glass fronted refrigerators lined the wall behind Martin. He stood in a lab.

“David believes that virus Prime is beyond our control. He is petitioning for the remaining sample to be destroyed.” Martin shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting away from the camera. “I can’t allow that to happen. I’ve seen what it can do, and it is nothing short of miraculous. I believe that God has handed us the next step.”

“Oh crap.” Red sank onto the couch. “That’s Adam’s dad.”

Tech quickly paused the video and turned to Red. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, he has a picture of him in his Bible,” Red said. He continued in a pleading voice. “You can’t show him this. He’ll freak out.”

“We won’t show him, kid. No worries,” Dodge said. Red nodded, still staring with awe at the screen. “Tech.” Dodge motioned. Tech started the video again.

“I am injecting myself with the virus.” As he spoke, Martin carefully slid a needle into the crook of his arm, pushing the virus into his vein. “God has shown the way, and it is eternal life. He has shown us the way.” Martin let the needle drop to the counter and lifted his arms toward the heavens. “We will be as His only son, Jesus. Though we shall die, it will not be eternal, because God will bring us back.”

“This guy is totally cracked,” Dodge said quietly. The others nodded without taking their eyes from the screen.

“I’m leaving this file. I’m sure you’ll find this video, but I will be gone by then, spreading the word of God. I’ve already said goodbye to my wife and sons, though they don’t know it. In the end, I think they’ll realize I did what was best.” Martin reached out and turned off the camera. The screen froze with his arm half covering his face. For a moment, the room was quiet.

“He thought this was God’s will?” Tessa asked softly. “How could he think that?” The question hung in the air.

“Because he was crazy,” Simon said.

“Totally ape-shit bonkers.” Tech nodded. “It’s the only way.” Behind him, Red giggled. Everyone turned to look at him,

“Ape-shit?” Red asked. Tyson began to smile, but the others just stared at him like he had gone crazy. “Monkeys? They tested this on monkeys and the guy went ape-shit crazy?” Red began to laugh again, and this time Tyson joined in. Simon tried to fight the grin spreading across his face.

“One stupid scrab!” Dodge slammed his fist down on the desk, shaking the keyboard and monitor. The laughter stopped. “One stupid guy thinking he is doing God’s work and we end up like this.” Dodge stood and began to pace the room, hands on his head. “That scrab. That crazy asshole scrab.”

“Calm down, Dodge,” Simon said quietly.

“I’m calm. I am so unbelievably calm.” Dodge kicked a computer chair, sending it sailing into the wall where it crashed down to the floor on its side. This seemed to calm Dodge and he took a few deep breaths, refocusing on the issues at hand. “Okay, what else Tech? Are there any more videos?”

“No,” Tech said with a sad shake of his head. “There’s a communications log, but I can’t hack it yet.”

“Was this the lab they used for the experiments?” Dodge asked.

“It might be.” Tech shrugged helplessly. “I really gotta keep looking to tell you that.” He rubbed his eyes again. “This screen is driving my eyes bonkers.”

“I don’t think this is the lab,” Tessa ventured slowly. “Look, the wall in that lab is blue. It’s white here.”