Project Terminal: Devil's Virus (7 page)

She gasped, but the thing was on her before she could back away. It knocked her back onto her butt, the crowbar flying away, its teeth gnashing for her throat. She couldn’t find enough air to breath; the thing’s stench robbed her of oxygen, a combination of rotted flesh and human waste. She shoved at its chest, and its attention snapped up. It bolted down the hall and leapt through the window. It took several seconds to realize what’d scared it away.

“Christ, Max, what the hell are you doing?” Reed knelt next to her. “I told you to stay in the dining room.”

Max looked over her hands and arms. Outside of being scared out of her wits she remained unscathed. “I heard it from downstairs, and I didn’t know if you were aware of its location.”

His face was drawn in a mix of anger and concern. “There are only so many rooms up here. I would’ve found it eventually.”

Feeling both foolish and defensive, she lifted her chin, refusing his help to get to her feet. “I’m not incapable, Preacher. I can handle myself.”

“I could see that about thirty seconds ago.”

“You know what, go to hell.” She stomped toward the staircase.

“I think we’re already there, sweetheart.”

She spun on him and marched over to jab a finger into his chest. “Okay, Mr. High and Mighty. You think you’re so superior to everyone, but let me tell you a thing or two. I took care of myself after you left. Sure, I made a horrendous mistake, but I didn’t run from it. I’ve been fighting it since I left the project. If you hadn’t come along I’m sure I would’ve eventually found what I needed, with Damian’s help.”

He sneered. “Damian Gonsalves? You two looked pretty damn chummy in the barn, you have a thing going with him?”

Her mouth fell open. “W-what…were you spying on us?”

“I wanted to know what I was walking into. And stay away from Gonsalves.”

“You can’t control who I associate with, Preacher. Damian’s certainly a head above you. He’s actually in love with someone. Laura, the immune woman. I don’t believe you’ve ever been capable of love.”

“Oh yeah? You think so? Well you know a piss load about me, ’cause I was in love with you.”

The words were a blow to her gut, and she stumbled back from him. He cursed and turned away from her.

“You…you were in love with me?”

He didn’t answer.

“But you left me.”

“You were in love with your work. I couldn’t compete.”

She felt numb. “You should’ve told me. Things might’ve been different.”

He spun on her, his eyes burning. “Tell me you could’ve put me first, beyond the twisted science experiments you were conducting.”

“It wouldn’t have been fair to make me choose. I was doing something I really believed in. If things would’ve worked out it could’ve saved so many people. People like my father—if his injured arm hadn’t gotten gangrene he’d still be alive today.”

Reed deflated. “God has reasons beyond what we can comprehend, Max.”

“Don’t. Just don’t.” She stormed downstairs and back to her lab to bury herself in work.

* * * *

Adam felt like a real ass. He walked over to the broken window, staring down at the ground. Blood dripped from the broken pane, the trail would be easy to follow. He went back downstairs, avoiding the dining room, and headed out the front door. He found the trail of red drops and smears following the undead toward the woods. It wasn’t too difficult to find and he had his knife through its head in short order. With nothing left to take his attention, he made his way back to the house. He regretted telling Max he’d been in love with her, and honestly, his feelings hadn’t really changed. She’d seeped into his pores, and it would take months to work her out of his system again.

He hung around outside as long as he could. The upstairs window needed to be boarded up and he searched until he found some lumber in a shed along with a hammer and nails. He went back inside and repaired the window. When he’d cleaned up, putting the broken glass into a bucket, he carried it out. While outside, he piled up the corpses, and using a little of the generator’s fuel, lit a huge funeral pier. When the flames receded, he went back inside and walked to the dining room, leaning a hip against the doorway, watching Max work. She stared through a microscope adjusting dials.

“Interesting,” she mumbled. “I hadn’t thought of this.” She switched slides out. “Laura, you clever girl.”

“Find something useful?”

She jumped and looked over her shoulder then away. “I think so, but it’ll take another couple of days to know for sure.”

He tried to smile, but his face felt frozen. “We have time.”

“I’m not so sure of that. With the rate of infection I can’t take too much more time.”

He wanted her talking. “How is Laura immune to something like this?”

“Viruses attach to receptors on cells to reproduce themselves, and Laura has a mutation making it difficult for the virus to really take hold. She suffered symptoms of infection, but her body was able to fight it off since it hadn’t reproduced enough. She had rabies shots a year before, but I don’t feel that had an impact on her immunity. Her natural abilities are the key.”

“So how will this help?”

“It’s a little complicated, but the novice version is I’ll single out her unique antibodies and reproduce them. Hopefully, it’ll help people recently infected to fight the virus, it’ll give their white blood cells a starting point.” She squeezed some fresh blood drops on new slides and pushed her glasses up her nose. She looked at him again, a smile on her lips that sent a warm shiver over his skin. “I’m sorry about picking a fight earlier. I’m tired and irritable.”

“Never apologize for expressing an opinion, Max. It’s your right.”

Her smile remained, a temptation he nearly fell to, before she turned her back on him.

Chapter 10

She had it! Max stared at the results, feeling nearly delirious. The virus hadn’t taken hold of the new blood sample—the antibodies had won the fight. Her hands shook and she wrung them together, trying to calm down. Of course she had to test the cure, and had only one way of doing it. She took her glasses off and set them on the counter, her heart pounding in her chest. Only one available test subject and she’d have to use what was available—herself. She picked up the last of the undead blood and filled a syringe with a small amount. Kept cold, it was still potent and deadly. She held it up to the light, her hand trembling.

“Here goes nothing.” She injected herself then set the needle aside. If the antidote worked, she would only suffer symptoms a little worse than the flu. If it didn’t… She shuddered at the thought.

Now came the hardest part. She walked into the living room where Reed sat scanning passages in the Bible he always had with him. He looked up and met her gaze. His brow furrowed. “What’s wrong? You’re white as a ghost.”

“I got it, the cure,” she said.

A broad smile flashed across his face. “That’s wonderful.”

“Just one last thing I had to do.”

“What’s that?”

She took a deep breath. “I needed to inject myself with the virus to make sure the antidote works.”

The Bible clattered to the floor and he was on her, grasping her upper arms. “You what!”

“It’s necessary to make sure the serum works.” She tried to pull free but he held her tight.

“Using yourself as a lab rat?”

“I have to know it works before widespread distribution.”

His nostrils flared and he bared his teeth, backing off. “Why you?”

Max took another longer breath, he looked ready to kill. “Who else?”

He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Me, I could’ve done it.”

“No, you couldn’t, not with your advantages. You’d be the most dangerous of any of the undead.”

His eyes shone in the lowered lighting. “I can’t believe you’d do this.” He turned from her, sounding disgusted. “Is this some lame attempt at suicide because you blame yourself for what happened?”

She flinched beneath his words. “It’s the least I could do, and it’s not suicide.” She forced her voice down an octave. “I really do believe it’ll work.”

“Then give yourself the cure now.” He paced the room, his long strides carrying him back and forth.

“I have to wait until symptoms appear.”

“This is insanity. How could you do this?” He rubbed his hands over his face.

“In case it doesn’t work…” She licked her lips. “If it doesn’t work, you know what you have to do, Reed.”

He turned on her. “I can’t kill you.” He stomped away from her.

“You’ll do what you have to do.” She caught up to him and placed her hand on his forearm. “You have so much faith, so please have some in me.”

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, a shock that sent a sizzle to her toes. “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t.” Her heart fluttered as the warmth of his gaze burrowed into her soul.

“You can’t be sure.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I’d do if you…” He released her and turned his back. “I won’t put you down like a dog.”

She hugged her arms close. “You won’t have to, Adam. If I didn’t feel confident I wouldn’t have injected myself.”

Reed spun on his heel and was on her, pulling her close, wrapping his protective arms around her. He hugged her tight. “I can’t lose you,” he repeated, his voice hoarse.

When she looked up into his eyes, they shone bright. He blinked and closed them, but she’d already seen the tears. She reached up and cupped his cheeks, the pale stubble of beard growth coarse beneath her palms. “We’ll be okay, I promise.”

His lips were on her, and she met the kiss in desperation. Of course she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure if the cure would work, but the risk was worth it. She couldn’t give out mass doses if it failed, it’d be pointless. And if it did fail… She turned her attention from the notion. It
would
work, it simply had to. She couldn’t believe anything else, not at this point.

They clung together, and the tight control she’d had on her feelings unraveled. Her heart swelled with the influx, until she wanted to burst. She loved him, no doubt about it. Max was still in love with Reed, when it was too late for such feelings. He would’ve gotten over her a long time ago.

He pulled away. “We need to get out of here. I have a feeling your sister will be back.”

“I think you’re right.” She stepped back, forcing strength into her weak knees. His kiss had knocked her for a loop. “And I’ll need a new place to reproduce the cure. A safe place.”

A wave of dizziness swamped her and her knees buckled. Reed grabbed her before she hit the floor. “Are you okay?”

Fever, hallucinations, confusion, seizures
, she ticked off the virus’s symptoms in her mind,
then the human parts of my brain die and I’ll be one of the undead
.

“Give yourself the cure, Max.” His voice came out strained. “Please, tell me where it is.”

“I’ll wait until the fever sets in.”

“Lord, save this woman from herself,” he muttered against her hair.

He guided her to the sofa, and she sat down. The room spun and she broke out in a cold sweat. She wanted to give it an hour…in an hour it would’ve multiplied and spread through her system.

“I know where we can go,” Reed said. “A place I paid cash for, a small cabin in the mountains of Colorado.”

He’d lost the color in his face, and she gave him a brave smile. “Sounds cozy.”

“It’s not much, definitely nothing like this home.”

She took his hand and pulled him down next to her. “If you’re there I would call it perfect.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into his side, waiting for her hour to be up. The sweat dried on her skin, and she felt cold despite the stale muggy air in the home. She shivered, and her teeth chattered—signs of the fever. When her hour ended, she felt like hell.

“It’s now or never.” She rose from the sofa, and Reed had to help her to the kitchen. She injected herself with the premade serum. Now all they could do was wait to see if it worked.

Max was scared.

* * * *

Adam was terrified. Max’s sallow complexion and blue tinged lips made her look like she was on death’s door. He laid her on the couch and covered her with the sleeping bag, placing a kiss on her forehead. When she drifted off to sleep, he dropped to his knees by her side. He clasped his hands and peered toward the ceiling. “Please, Lord, spare her life. She’s a good person and is trying to do right. I swear if you do, I’ll make an honest woman of her. Max is all I have, and I love her. I want to spend my life with her.”

“You love me?” Max’s soft whisper drew his attention down. Her tired eyes watched curiously.

Reed reached out and stroked her hair. “Yes, I do, Max.”

Her lips curved upward. “I…” She licked her lips. “I’m thirsty. The virus is making me thirsty.”

He jumped to his feet and went to retrieve a bottle of water. He helped her sit upright and she sipped the liquid. She fell back to sleep and he paced the house. He’d take her to Colorado; the cabin would be off Doc’s radar. He’d purchased it under an alias. Though he hated to admit to it, they needed backup. Max would require as much security as possible while producing more of the cure. Being a super soldier left him secluded from the world, though he did know others who’d be willing to see Project Terminal fall. He dug his cellphone out and placed a couple of calls.

Chapter 11

Max awoke, her head pounding with the worst hangover ever. She blinked against light. Too much light.

“Oh, baby, you’re okay.”

She looked toward the male voice, confused. “What?”

“Your fever broke, you made it through. The cure works.”

Adam.
His broad smile greeted her.

The virus, the cure…
“Oh, thank God,” she muttered. She tried to sit up, but the room spun.

“Take it easy, you’ve been out for thirteen hours.” Reed pressed a bottle of water to her lips. She drank deeply, feeling as if every cell had shriveled up. He pulled it away before she’d finished. “You’ll get sick.” And just as the words left his lips, her stomach convulsed. Reed shoved a trash can near her and she retched inside it. “I figured this might happen.”