The Dead War Series (Book 2): Desperate Times (11 page)

“My God, we've been sitting here all of this time and haven't even bothered to introduce ourselves. If we're going to be working together, I think that's important,” The Asian female said, trying to stay focused and productive. “I'm Dr. Akane Hura, hematologist.”

“Well, this makes sense,” Dr. Powers agreed and he introduced himself.

“My name is Dr. Vincent Masterson, biomedical engineer, to be specific.”

“Dr. Eric Conway, hematologist for the CDC, ” the testosterone-laden blond man said.

All eyes settled on William, Felicia and the dark-haired man sitting beside her. Felicia went first with the introductions and her field of expertise as a research specialist for the CDC.

“Dr. William Bale, research scientist for the CDC,” William said.

Next everyone's attention was on the man sitting beside Felicia. He cleared his throat and nodded. “Dr. Lawrence Greenberg, biology. I work for Chadwick Pharmaceuticals.”

“Well, now that we all know each other and what our medical backgrounds are, it's easy to see why we're sitting in this room together,” Felicia said.

“We may be humanity's last hope. It's no wonder they plan on turning us. If we get infected as humans, we're done for. But apparently, they can come back from it,” Dr. Powers pointed out.

“That doesn't make this shit an easier pill to swallow. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around vampires being real,” Vincent said. “This anticipation is killing me. All I want to do is get into a lab and start working on a cure.”

“I'm guessing that won't happen until either the lab is ready or they're ready for us to start working on it,” Felicia said.

“Do you have your research with you?” Dr. Eric Conway inquired.

Vincent shook his head. “No. They have it.”

“Shit,” Eric sighed then followed it up with an annoyed grumble as he slouched against the wall.

“So, all we have now is time to wait,” Lawrence said, looking at the others.

“Seems that way,” Vincent replied as let his gaze wander around the room.

“I'd rather be in here, than out there in any case,” Eric said. “Out there is worse than any horror movie I've ever seen. I mean, I used to love zombie movies. One bullet to the head or even a good blow to the cranium and they were done for.” He started to stare off before him, his eyebrows creasing as he frowned. “But those things, they can't die. How in the fuck are we going to survive this?” He looked up at the others.

“They can die. I saw it with my own eyes. You cut off their fucking heads, they stay dead. A bullet to the head just knocks them out, slows them down. But you decapitate them and that's one less zombie to deal with,” Vincent said.

“Shit, that's easier said than done. Chopping off heads means I have to get close enough to do that. I don't want to be anywhere near those things. Besides, it's so many of them running around together, a person could get swamped,” Lawrence pointed out.

“Look, I don't know what to tell you. I saw how they can die... at least one way they can die. I'm sure we'll discover even more ways... say like fire. They bombed the hell out of Chicago and I think they were planning on bombing St. Louis, too--”

“What in the hell did you just say?! They plan on bombing here? We have to get the fuck out of this city then!” Eric blurted out.

“Jesus H. and all of Christ! Do you ever listen to anything anyone is saying?” Vincent growled in his anger and frustration.

Eric glared at him with a sneer, but remained silent. His blue eyes bored into Vincent with contempt and annoyance.

“I said they were planning on bombing here, but the vampires stopped it. At least, it seemed as though they did. The government knows all of the important research is here. If they set this city ablaze, they'll be destroying all of the data and maybe humanities only chance for survival,” Vincent said.

“From what I gathered, the president is sending people here to monitor the progress. It was part of their agreement. They think the people who have us are terrorists. A group of people who just panicked when the shit hit the fan, but had the means to get the ball in their court. So for now, we're safe,” Felicia said.

“For now,” Eric conceded.

“As I was saying earlier, I think the federal government discovered that fire can destroy these things, which is great because you don't have to get close to use fire,” Vincent said.

“Yeah, but at the rate of the spread of this virus, you won't be able to bomb every city before the country is overtaken,” Lawrence debated.

“I wish I knew what was going on out there. Anyone have a cell on them or internet access?” Eric asked, looking for one person to the next.

They each shook their heads.

“No, my cell and tablet was confiscated the moment we met the vampire. He took all of our devices while on the helicopter,” Dr. Powers said.

“Shit, just great. We have no idea if things are looking better or worse out there.” Eric pouted.

“I don't see it getting any better, especially not if vampires can be affected. We watched what just one of them could do when infected,” Vincent said.

That got the attention of the other three doctors and each one leaned forward waiting to hear more of the story.

“It was the most horrific thing I'd seen today,” Vincent began, then he went into great detail about the vampire he'd seen scaling the skyscraper right before he took out the helicopter full of humans.

“Holy shit!” Eric blurted out. His face was frozen in shock as he leaned back against the wall, running a hand over his hair.

“An infected vampire is worst. That's probably why it's spreading so fast,” Lawrence stated.

“That's my opinion,” Vincent said.

“We need to make sure whatever cure we come up with works for humans and vampires if that's the case,” Felicia said. “If a vampire gets infected, we need to be able to cure them before they can infect others.”

“Or how about coming up with some kind of serum that can prevent an infection all together. Like a vaccine... a really fucking powerful vaccine,” Eric said.

“Looks like we have our work cut out for us when we get into that lab,” Vincent said.

“Looks like,” Eric agreed.

The room grew silent as each person thought about their predicament and their future.

~*~

Chloe landed softly beside Cassian on the rooftop. “I'm here.”

“There's six humans hidden inside a freezer in there with about ten zombies still inside feeding on their victims. We need to be swift with our attack. Do not waste anytime removing their heads from their bodies completely, do you understand?” Cassian didn't bother to turn to look at her, he kept his eyes focused on the restaurant.

“Yes, Master,” Chloe replied.

“Marco, I want you to wait here. I'll call for you when I'm ready,” Cassian said.

Marco frowned, eyebrows creasing, not fully understanding his purpose there. Still, he wasn't going to question Cassian. “Yes, Master,” was his dutiful reply.

“Good. Let's go.” Cassian rose to his full height and leaped from the rooftop to the restaurant's entrance door with Chloe following behind him. The two vampires entered quietly, sneaking up on the pack of zombies as they ravaged the remains of several human carcasses, pulling entrails dripping with blood and bits of flesh from the mangled human mess and shoving the innards into their hungry mouths.

Cassian crept closer, taking special note that the zombies seemed to be oblivious to their presence and seeing how he can continue to use that to his advantage. He turned to Chloe, motioning her to spread out to the other side so that they would be able to separate the zombies and reduce being overtaken. Once he was standing over one, he sliced his sword down, quickly removing the head from the body. The action caught the attention of the other zombies and they looked up from their meal towards him and Chloe. Quickly, they rose and rushed towards the two vampires. Six charged Cassian and the remaining three attacked Chloe. With amazing speed, Cassian sliced through bone, muscle and flesh, decapitating the six who sought to attack him. Their blood splattering his face and clothes as he beheaded them.

He watched as their heads landed in one direction as their bodies landed in another, then he looked up at Chloe seeing that she was finishing off the last zombie—a little girl—slicing her blade through her neck and sending her head tumbling off to the side and rolling on the floor.

Cassian wiped the blood from his face with several napkins. He made sure none of it got into his eyes, nose or mouth. “We need to get back there.” He nodded toward the locked steel bullet-proof door. Both vampires could hear the heartbeats of the six humans hiding on the other side.

“I guess this unfortunate lot didn't run to safety fast enough,” Chloe stated as she surveyed the grotesque mangled corpses strewn about. She stepped over several severed limbs and bloody entrails towards the employees-only door, twisting the knob. The door was secure and the numeric keypad insured that she couldn't pick it. Turning with a curse, she frowned at Cassian. “Master, it's locked and I don't want to break it. We'll need to lock it behind us once we're inside. Do you think you have enough strength to unlock it telepathically?”

Cassian didn't bother to respond as he walked through the remains of the zombies and their victims, slicing off the heads of their victims to prevent them from reanimating... save one. He tossed a wary glance at the heavy, steel door, frowning. He had barely enough energy to manipulate the human mind, having exhausted himself earlier, unlocking the door would give him one hell of a headache. Cassian closed his eyes, concentrating deeply, forcing the mechanisms inside the sturdy lock to bend to his will. There was an audible click and when Chloe tested the door, it opened.

“I'll get the humans out--”

“Wait,” Cassian said, stopping her.

“Master?” Chloe's blue eyes studied him closely as she tried to devise what his plan was.

“Don't release the humans until you've check the back, make sure it is clear of these creatures,” Cassian said.

With a quick nod, she disappeared into the other room.

Cassian stepped up to a freshly reanimated zombie, its body ripped apart at the waist. The zombie dragged itself closer to him with its one good arm as its intestines smeared the floor with red gore and bits of shredded flesh. Cassian studied the monstrosity with a keen fascination as he made sure to step backwards, just keeping out of the zombie's reach.

Chloe walked back into the room, shaking her head. “I didn't find any more back there.”

“Excellent. This is the only one we need,” Cassian reached down, grabbing the zombie by the back of its shirt collar, lifting it away from his person as he carried it into the back. He tossed the zombie against the stainless steel fryer and the zombie snarled as it tried in vain to make its way towards them. Approaching, he stabbed his sword through the torso of the mangled ex-human at his feet, pinning it in place.

“Master, may I ask why you're keeping this thing alive?” Chloe inquired.

“There is a test I would like to conduct,” Cassian replied.

“A test?” she asked.

“Time to free the humans,” he said.

Cassian ignored her perplexed expression as he began making his way towards the large freezer and banged on the door hoping to make contact with the humans inside. “Can you hear me?” he shouted, hoping they could.

“Is it safe?” one of the people inside replied.

“Yes, we've killed those infected that were out here, but we must move quickly. This location isn't ideal. We have a safer compound for you to go to where you will be protected,” Cassian informed.

“Are you the police?” the panicked human asked.

Cassian rolled his eyes, but replied. “We're the United States Military and we can't waste any more time. You're either going to open this door and leave with us, or we'll have to leave you here. I don't think you want to stay here. Those things aren't nearby now, but that will change.”

There was a pause where neither side said anything, but suddenly Cassian could hear the lock on the freezer switch gears and the door began to open. He stepped back, allowing the human inside to stick his head out.

“You don't look like the military,” the human male said, taking in Cassian's bloodied casual attire.

Cassian took a quick glance behind the man to see five other humans huddled and shivering in the freezer. His gaze dropped back down to the human. “I'm not.”

The male's eyebrows creased in his confusion, but then his gaze began to soften as his eyes glazed over, caught in the mental grip of the Master vampire's hypnotic powers. Cassian shifted his focus to the other humans still huddled in the back of the freezer, capturing their attention and taking over their wills.

“You five...” Cassian pointed to one man and four women who stood together in the back. “...Come out and stand right here,” he directed, pointing to an open space along the wall beside the freezer.

Following like puppets on his marionette strings, the five humans, four females and one male shuffled out of the gigantic icebox and repositioned themselves along the wall and remained silent. The man who opened the door stood inside the freezer, still under the vampire's spell.