PRIME (28 page)

“Morse code.” Cale’s heart hammered. His legs felt like lead, he was too stunned to move.

Zero frowned. “Is that what that is?”

“Yes.” Alice hurried into the room and began to translate, writing quickly on the closest piece of paper.

“Do you really know what they are saying?” Cale asked excitedly.

“Shh,” Alice hushed him, focusing on the beeps. Zero and Cale took a step back, letting her work.

26

Haven Medical Base

Simon pushed himself up from the pile of blankets that served as a bed. Anyone who hadn’t snagged a bed or a couch ended up on the floor of the living room area. The room was no lighter or darker than it had been when they went to sleep. One dim light was left on in the corner, and it still burned softly.

It dawned on him that they didn’t have any replacement bulbs for any lights. Without lights the lab would be no better than a cave. A dark, pitch black cave without a hint of natural light. Simon shook away the thought, deciding he would worry about that when the time came. He glanced at Tessa lying beside him. She looked so peaceful and beautiful when she slept. He considered kissing her, really wanted to, but something told him kissing a girl while she slept might not be polite. Instead, he climbed carefully from the mass of sleeping children and headed for the lab. He padded down the hallway into the part of the lab that served as a kitchen.

“Morning,” Dodge greeted him softly as he walked in. A few dim lights under the cupboards lit the room. At the moment Dodge was alone, staring at a half empty bag of chips and a sandwich in front of him.

“Hey.” Simon browsed over the shelf of non-perishable food. He grabbed a granola bar and sat down across from Dodge. “What’s up?

“Nothing,” Dodge answered. He rolled up the bag of chips. “Didn’t sleep too well. I kept thinking I heard the door open.” Simon nodded; Dodge hadn’t even been in the front room.

“It didn’t,” Simon assured him with a small grin.

“Thanks, scrab.” Dodge grinned back and took a big bite of his sandwich. He chewed thoughtfully a moment and after swallowing, looked back down at the sandwich. “How many stayed behind in the end?”

“Oh,” Simon said. The granola bar suddenly felt as dry as cardboard in his mouth and even less appetizing. “Five counting Matt,” he answered softly.

Dodge shook his head. “And another four outside the hospital. I should have hung back and tried harder to make them come.”

“They wouldn’t,” Simon answered, setting down half his granola bar. “I tried, almost died for it.”

“I shouldn’t have left that up to you, you’re just a kid.” Dodge shook his head. He pushed away his sandwich and looked up at Simon. “I’m sorry about that.”

“You’re not a man, Dodge.” Simon shook of his head. “You’re older, and you’re trying hard, but no one would expect anything like this of you if the world was still normal.”

“Yeah.” Dodge nodded, but he didn’t look too convinced.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a good job.” Simon forced himself to take another bite of the granola bar.

“Thanks Simon,” Dodge said with a small smile. “It’s actually worth a lot. For what it’s worth, I appreciate the way you’ve helped and stood by me.”

“No problem.” Simon flushed.

Dodge let out a long sigh, stood and grabbed his sandwich, grinning. “All right, glad we got all that girly shit out of the way before anyone else woke up.” He leaned down, pointing at Simon. “You tell anyone this happened and I’ll toss you right out the front door.”

“Yeah sure.” Simon laughed.

“I mean it.” Dodge backed down the hall towards the computer lab. “Right out the door.”

Simon shook his head and finished the granola bar. Without Dodge the lab had an eerie feel to it. The dim lights managed to cast long shadows that played at the edge of his vision. Somewhere overhead, he could hear a strange rattling thumping noise. He tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with the zombies, but had a hard time believing it. It didn’t help that his mind kept straying to Matt and the others. He knew they’d be dead by now.

Just as Simon had decided to follow Dodge into the computer room, Tessa stepped into the kitchen. He smiled, glad for the company. His smile faltered. Would things be weird after everything that had happened the day before?

“Hey.” Tessa headed for the cupboards. Her hand drifted over his shoulder as she passed, pulling all worries away with her. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah. I was pretty exhausted.”

“Me too.” Tessa grabbed a snack cake and sat beside him. “I thought I was dreaming just now when you left, and then I woke up and you were gone.”

“Sorry.” Simon wasn’t sure what else to say. He figured an apology would be as good as anything.

“Why?” Tessa asked with a grin. Apparently he hadn’t given the right answer, and he stuttered, trying to figure out how to explain.

“I just meant, cause of leaving, you know. I should have waited for you to get up.” He scratched the back of his head. He really did need a haircut.

“No, it’s fine,” Tessa assured him with a shake of her head. She smiled. Simon was pretty sure he would never understand girls.

“Okay.” Simon smiled, hoping it was a smile and not just a stupid looking grin.

Tessa glanced up at him from her snack cake. “Are you okay with yesterday?” She looked away from him, crinkling the plastic wrapper. “I mean, are you okay that we, you know?” When she looked up again she was blushing.

“Of course,” Simon answered quickly. “And, thanks for the rest. After Zeke I sorta lost it.” Tessa flashed him a wide smile, but it faded as fast as it had appeared.

“I’m sorry we lost him.”

“Yeah.” Simon nodded. He had almost been able to push all of the terribleness from yesterday from his mind; it seemed like the best way to cope. Simon pulled a can of soda over, not knowing what else to do with his hands.

“I like you Simon,” Tessa said softly. Simon looked at her, but she was looking at her cake. “You’re not like everyone else.”

“You too,” Simon said. She looked back up at him. She had that look again, like she might kiss him. His heart began to race in anticipation while his hands got clammy. He wiped them on his pants.

“You like me too?” Tessa looked like she thought he might actually say anything but yes.

“Of course,” Simon answered quickly. Did he like her? She was just about the most perfect girl ever. Smart, pretty, brave; what more could he ask for? Simon knew he was grinning stupidly again, but Tessa was grinning too, so he didn’t feel so bad. She started to lean in. They were going to kiss again, Simon knew it.

“Hey, Simon,” Dodge called as he came up the hall. Simon and Tessa pulled apart. Dodge stopped at the doorway. “Oh, hey, Tessa. You guys should come hear this.”

Simon gave Tessa a small, embarrassed smile, and they followed Dodge back to the computer room. Aside from the computer screens the room was dark. Tech sat at the desk. Simon wondered if he had slept at all. Dodge sat at one end of the couch; Simon and Tessa sat beside him. Tech turned around and grinned at them, his hair a wild mess.

“There’s music on here.” Tech spoke with so much excitement that Simon couldn’t help but smile back.

“What?” Simon asked.

“Music!” Tech repeated. “Do you remember music?”

“Yeah,” Tessa answered slowly. “You don’t?”

Tech’s face fell. “I wasn’t that into music I guess,” he answered sullenly, but then brightened. “But listen to it.” He started the file playing.

Simon didn’t recognize the song, but there was no denying the way it filled his head. He remembered music, but nothing like this. To him, music had been something he didn’t think about, in the background of everything. Now, it seemed like he was really hearing music for the first time. It gave him a feeling like nothing ever had. His body relaxed under the swell of the music. Pleasure washed through his brain and body.

“Wow,” Tessa said softly.

“I thought he was nuts.” Dodge grinned, shaking his head. “But doesn’t it sound deeper now?”

“Yeah,” Tessa answered excitedly. “Like it’s playing from inside me or something.”

“Exactly.” Dodge smiled widely. Simon felt a small twinge of jealousy, glad he was sitting between Tessa and Dodge. Tech turned down the song, but it still seemed to be warm in Simon’s head.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Tech asked. “I believe something in the way our ears and brains process sound must have been altered by the disease.”

“What’s going on?” Red asked. He came into the room with Tyson right behind him. Tyson’s arm had been bandaged but he still looked pained. “What’s that music?”

“It’s just music, man,” Dodge answered with a grin. “Enjoy.” Red and Tyson sank to the floor; both looked captivated by the music. Simon found that if he focused, he could push the feeling to the back of his mind.

“Any luck with a way to communicate?” Simon asked, trying to bring them back to the important stuff.

“Not really.” Tech turned down the music and spun his chair to face Simon. He shook his head. “All formal lines are down, so it’s not like we can make contact through the phone or Internet. There’s this though.” Tech pointed to a small device on the desk beside him. “I found it in the closet. It’s for Morse Code, so not much use to us.”

“What if we knew Morse Code?” Simon asked softly, moving towards the device. It was small and strange looking, but familiar.

“Well it has the transmitter attached,” Tech answered, spinning to examine the device with Simon. “But it works off CW frequencies, and the chances of someone picking up on it are slim. The chances of someone picking up on it and actually understanding would be even slimmer.”

“I already asked about all that,” Dodge said from the couch. “Seems like a lot of work to learn the code, even if we can find a manual around here for it. Most likely it won’t be received or understood.”

Simon pulled the device over, his finger hovering over the key. “But there’s a chance?”

“Slim,” Tech answered.

Slowly Simon began to tap out a message.

27

Coda Base

The beeps ended abruptly. Alice leaned back in her chair, reading over what she had written down. A few letters were off; she wasn’t sure if it was her mistake or if the person sending the message had made the mistake. Either way, the message was clear enough and excitement boiled up inside her as she read it.

“Well?” Cale asked, unable to wait any longer. “Come on, don’t leave us in the dark here.”

“It’s from Haven.” Alice gripped the slip of paper in both hands. “There are survivors.”

“What did they say?” Zero asked anxiously. He leaned over her shoulder, trying to get a look at what she had scribbled down.

“Haven base, alive, trapped; send help. Zombies on base.” Alice grinned at Zero and Cale. It wasn’t all good news, but there were survivors.

“Well that last bit’s not too reassuring,” Zero said. “Gonna be hard to make it through a load of zombies if these folks are trapped.”

“We have the two planes,” Alice said. “If someone else could fly we could bring eight people.”

“Against maybe a thousand zombies,” Cale said darkly. He sat down, looking dejected at the idea of so many enemies.

“There is a cure there,” Alice reminded him. She rolled her eyes. “Come on! Going was your idea to begin with.”