Tainted Cure (The Rememdium Series Book 1) (12 page)

“Fuck!”

He was trapped twenty stories in the air. The building closest to him was over thirty feet away. Even if he was on a flat surface and could get a running start, jumping such a far expanse was impossible. Benito glanced up to the sky, wincing at the bright, orange light from numerous fireballs across the city. Snatching his cell phone, he dialed Fernando’s number. On the third ring, he answered. Benito could hear the whirr of the helicopter blades and let out a sigh of relief.

“You still on the rooftop?”

“Only until you get here. ETA?”

“Three minutes, tops.”

“Make it two.”

Benito disconnected the call, ignoring the continuous notifications of new texts. He stood and searched the sky for Fernando. Straining his ears for the sound of the helicopter blades, he heard nothing except the sounds of San Salvador under siege.

Body coated in sweat and heart racing, Benito couldn’t stop his body from shaking. If something went wrong with the chopper and Fernando didn’t rescue him, he’d never survive.

The sound he’d yearned to hear pulled him out of his own dance with hysteria. Looking up, he saw the chopper hovering about fifty feet above him. A rope ladder clanked as it hit the tiles of the roof ten feet to his right, followed by white light illuminating the entire roof from the spotlight.

Afraid he might lose his footing from the downdraft of the blades, Benito sunk to all fours and crawled across the roof. When his fingers wrapped around the rope ladder, he called upon every quaking muscle in his body to pull himself up. The climb up the swaying rope was terrifying, but less so than the alternative of staying on the roof.

Once safely inside, Benito pulled up the ladder. Securing the headset, he gave the thumbs up to Fernando, who immediately banked the machine and soared through the dark skies.

“Sorry I’m late. I had to fight off some…thing…before I could refuel.”

Still shaking, Benito responded, “Get us to the estate. Fast.”

“Of course. From the sounds and sights up here, you’d think we’re under attack or something. News mentioned an outbreak of some sort, which makes sense. The thing I ran into at the airport seemed really sick.”

Benito heard the fear in Fernando’s voice and glanced over at him. A large bandage covered his forearm and blood seeped through the layers. “What happened?”

“The guy—or thing—at the airport? He bit me! Can you believe that shit? I had to shoot him right there on the runway. Once in the air, I tried to listen further then the radio went silent. It’s eerie. Not even the police channels are active. There’s nothing but static. Any idea what’s going on?”

Benito stared across the expanse of the dark city below, the only lights from emergency personnel and countless fires. A strange feeling settled over him as the gravity of the situation hit home.

His scientists did this—and judging by the communications from others—the nightmare was happening across the globe. He wondered if the sabotage was done on purpose by the scientists. Maybe it was their way of paying him back for forcing them to work, knowing if they failed, Benito would make good on his threats to kill their families. Then again, perhaps they miscalculated the correct chemical formulation.

A memory from months ago roared to the forefront of his thoughts. The results of the formula on mice worked perfectly. Benito insisted implementing his plan during the holiday season, which was the busiest time of year. Instead of listening to the scientists, he decided not to test on humans. His colossal mistake of relying on data collected from the mice in the lab had come back to haunt him.

Either way, once he found them, Benito planned on interrogating them until they couldn’t speak another word and then slaughter them like cattle.

Though he wasn’t a believer in any sort of organized religion, Benito said a silent prayer before answering Fernando. “When the end of the world happens, does it really matter why?”

COLLAPSE - Saturday - December 20
^th
– 6:00 a.m.

“Regina? You decent?”

Sensing the odd tone in Reed’s voice, worried it might have something to do with Jesse, Regina answered, “Just lacing up my boots. Come on in.”

Reed opened the bedroom door and scooted inside, shutting it behind him. His face was pale and jaw clenched tight. Regina’s gaze fell to his waist. Reed wore his Sam Brown belt and a loaded nine mil sat in the holster.

Regina swallowed the sense of nagging worry. “What’s wrong? You look like shit. And you’re armed. If you are goin’ deer huntin’ with that, you’d do better with a rifle.”

“Obviously, you haven’t watched or listened to any news today.”

“Uh, no. I’ve been up a total of ten minutes which included my shower.”

Reed walked across the room and joined Regina on the bed. He set her cell phone in between them. Lowering his voice, he said, “No time for your twisted sense of humor, Sis. Listen, the station has called you numerous times. Figured something was up, so I called while you were in the shower. Geenie said there’s a big pileup on I-30 involving an 18-wheeler and several vehicles. Multiple casualties.”

“Damn! I hate those big rigs! God, I hope no kids are involved.”

“Hush, Regina. Listen, the accident isn’t why I came in here.”

The worry from seconds ago morphed into fear and spread across Regina’s chest. She nodded her head for Reed to continue.

“News reports are flooding in from all over the world. There’s something going on—not just here but everywhere—and no one can give a plausible answer as to what’s behind it.”

Regina couldn’t stop herself from interrupting, “Behind what, Reed?”

“Power outages, fires, explosions, riots, and people walking around who shouldn’t be.”

Regina slugged Reed in the shoulder hard enough to make her fist hurt. “You know, you’re the one with a twisted sense of humor!” She snatched the phone up and was shocked to see she’d missed seven calls and had numerous text messages. “If that little joke was your way to help me deal with all the carnage from a semi accident, I don’t find it funny.”

“Shut up, Regina!” Reed stood and grabbed her wrist with such force Regina’s initial instinct was to punch him in the face. “You need to see what I mean. Words simply won’t suffice.”

Crossing the room, Reed flicked the small TV on. He turned the volume down while glancing at the door. Regina was furious he still wanted to play the stupid game. Right as she opened her mouth to tear him a new one, what was on the screen kept her mouth shut.

The jerky image was from a cell phone video. A passenger in a car with an arm stuck out the window was filming an accident on the freeway. Mangled, twisted metal was strewn out across several lanes, glass and debris spread even further. Tendrils of smoke rose from the demolished vehicles, the blacktop coated in gas and blood.

Though disturbing, those images weren’t what caught Regina’s attention.

A man crouched over and shoveling the innards of a dead female EMT into his mouth did.

Another EMT came into view and tried to distract the man. When he looked up, his face was covered in blood and gore. A large piece of metal protruded through his neck, an even bigger one pierced the chest cavity. The video zoomed in, and Regina could see his eyes were solid black.

And his neck was broken.

Regina gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, mesmerized by what happened next.

The other EMT had a stun gun. When he got close enough to strike, the man with the mortal injuries jumped over the corpse he’d just been munching on like he was a hurdler in the Olympics. Latching his broken, bloodied fingers around the EMT’s arm holding the weapon, he jutted his head forward and sunk his teeth on to the man’s neck. Blood spurted out, coating them both and the ground in seconds.

Unwilling to look at anymore, Regina let her gaze fall to the ticker at the bottom of the screen. It read, “Phoenix motorist captures video of injured man attacking rescuers on Interstate 10…Arizona Governor deploys National Guard…All travel, including air and vehicle, has been halted in Arizona…Stay tuned for similar videos from New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Afghanistan and China…President Thompson to address the nation at…”

Shaking, Regina grabbed her belt and jacket, motioning for Reed to turn the TV off. “Stay here with Jesse. Don’t let her leave your side! She’s to stay home from work today. I’ve got to get to…”

“I know,” Reed nodded. “Go. I promise to take care of her. You just take care of the citizens—and yourself.”

“Thank you. Keep your cell charged and with you at all times. Oh, and please, don’t let Jesse…”

“I won’t let her near anything electronic. She doesn’t need to see any of this. Go.”

Adrenaline in overdrive, Regina spun on her heels and flew through the house. Once inside her cruiser, she fired it up and secured the wireless headset. She wouldn’t risk using the radio, fully aware citizens were probably already monitoring communications. Using voice commands, she called the station while backing out of the driveway.

“It’s about damn time, Chief! Things are crazy here,” Geenie yelled.

“I understand there’s an accident on 30? Which mile marker?”

“Ninety-eight. Right at the start of the construction. State boys are already there. Roger and Clint are helpin’ with traffic control.”

Regina flicked on the lights without the siren and headed into town. “I’ll let them handle it. On my way. Should be there in less than two minutes.”

Geenie cleared her throat and Regina heard a hitch in her voice. She could tell Geenie was fighting back tears. “Good. Because you just received an email marked urgent from the Governor.”

Regina blew through a stoplight grateful no one was on the road. “What does it say?”

“I can’t open it! Oh, another just arrived. Says a code will be sent…”

Regina’s phone beeped with an incoming text. The number was blocked and the message simply contained a long string of numbers. “To my phone. Yeah, just got it.”

“What’s going on, Chief? You know, I don’t put too much stock in what I see or hear on the news. Most of it is crap. But what I saw earlier—it was like watchin’ a horror movie!”

Regina pulled into the parking lot, tires barking when she tromped on the brakes. Exiting the car, she didn’t answer Geenie until she walked inside.

The elderly woman’s face was pale, her eyes the size of saucers. “Calm down, Geenie. Let me see what the Governor sent and then we’ll sort through all this mess. If somethin’ bad is happenin’, we need to stay strong. Residents will be panicked enough. They’ll need someone with a cool head to keep things together. Okay?”

Geenie stood and moved so Regina could sit. “Okay.”

“Go get some coffee or water. Stretch your legs and take a breather.”

Without a word, Geenie turned and headed to the kitchen. Regina waited until she heard the rattle of cups before opening the email. She entered the password and waited. In seconds, another box opened and she leaned closer to read the screen.

“The National Guard has been deployed. As of 6:05 a.m., I implemented the Arkansas Emergency Operations Plan. As you know, the AR EOP is designed to reduce vulnerability and loss of life and damage to property during any form of disaster or crisis.

We are working in conjunction with federal authorities. Our goal is to rapidly respond and assess the current nationwide catastrophe. The situation is a large-scale event, requiring all levels of government take proactive measurements to respond.

As such, I have directed all members of the Highway Patrol to secure all roads coming in to and out of our state. No residents will be allowed to leave the state until all citizens are accounted for and tested. Representatives from the state health department will arrive in each county’s seat in less than an hour. All local and county law enforcement agencies are to instruct every citizen of their respective jurisdiction to report to the local high school, which will serve as the Joint Field Office until containment is reached.

Once a citizen is tested and deemed clear, they may return home, but must remain in their local area until all seventy-five counties have completed the testing. Residents who test positive must be immediately quarantined.

The National Guard will take charge of each county jail. Citizens who test positive will be moved to the jail. Biohazard suits are to be worn during the entire operation.”

Regina re-read the entire statement twice. The words on the screen sent waves of fear throughout her body. “Dear God, what the hell is goin’ on?” she whispered to the silent screen.

She heard Geenie coming down the hall. Regina hit the print button then closed the email, deleting it as instructed. Fingers shaking as she picked up the pages off the printer, she shoved them into her jacket pocket and stood.

“So what did…oh, shit. You look like a ghost just passed through you. Are we under attack from another demented group from overseas? Did someone hit us with a dirty bomb or bio attack?”

Forcing her voice to remain calm, Regina motioned for Geenie to sit. “Geenie, listen to me. You are going to be very busy in the next few minutes. Swamped, actually. AR EOP has been enacted. Get Roger and Clint on the radio. Tell them to return to the station immediately. I need their help gettin’ everyone over to the high school. EBS will activate in five minutes, instructin’ everyone to get to the school. People are goin’ to flip and start callin’ to ask why. Do not try and answer their questions, just repeat the edict to go to the school. Got it?”