HIVE

by Taylor, Dan

  The maniacs immediately stopped and snapped their necks backwards towards the howl. Klutz could now see that three were men and two were women. The woman at the back of the pack who was closest in distance to Klutz had blood filled sockets on her face where her eyes should have been. They must have recently been torn out as their sockets as they were still oozing red foam down her grey cheeks. She shakily raised and arm and pointed a bony finger straight at Klutz while bellowing out a deafening screech. The other three men and one woman by command made their way to the stairs. Something about the way they moved was most monstrous. They staggered in jolts not to dissimilar to how a person looks on a dance floor look when the strobe light goes on.

  That was Klutz's queue to leave. He had done all he could for the woman, now it was time for plan B; the fire escape. Klutz took a step forward, his first attempt at walking since Mr Smith bit him and tripped over his feet. He twisted awkwardly and fell against the banister which gave way and sent him tumbling down towards the hard, polished marble ground floor. As he passed the first floor, he saw the woman with no eyes tracking his fall with her outstretched finger. It was possibly the most horrifying thing he had ever witnessed. Klutz did a full backwards summersault as he fell. A sense of déjà vu hit as Klutz realised that he had had fallen twice today. The last time was in that strange dream that didn't feel like a dream right before he woke up on #201's bathroom floor. Klutz felt the hard marble as he hit it back first. He felt no pain but could feel his ribs snap on the impact. They floated inside his body like dead sticks. The perpetual motion of his backwards summersault caused him to roll backwards hitting the cellar door and forcing the latch to give. It happened so quickly he did not get the chance to see the commotion on the ground floor. A hotel full of wild eyed and bloodied people trying to leave the through any opening with a tired and confused police force physically holding them back. Behind the cellar door was a set of old wooden steps. Klutz fell to the bottom as ungracefully as a crash test dummy. From his crumpled carcass, he managed to look up towards the cellar door whence he came as it gently swung closed and caught the latch leaving him locked in utter darkness.

  Chapter 14

  There was a sense of electricity in the air which buzzed through the sheet metal panels which lined the operating room walls. Dr Schaf Leitner could see the anticipation on the dimly lit faces of those secured behind the bullet proof glass. They all knew the most logical next step in the autopsy was to remove and inspect the brain. It was a gruelling prospect but impossible to take your eyes away from. Dr Leitner had by now pulled the flap of skin away from the corpses face and stitched the gaping hole in its chest back up to create a perfect Y. He carefully inspected the head and neck which rested calmly except with wild eyes which followed Leitner's hands as he prodded and probed his skin. Dr Leitner looked up towards the Prime Minister who returned his gaze with a wry smile and slight nod.

  The Braid Dead Madness had been widely reported in the newspapers to cause the brain to turn a dull green colour. This was supposedly to be because of the decomposing the brain goes through once a person dies. The doctor knew that this was of course nonsense and proved that the British tabloid press did not know, or even care to find out, any of the facts. When a brain is healthy and alive it is a pinkish hue and when it dies, the outside will turn grey. This is where the term grey matter comes from.

  Jason had steadied the corpse's head using two clamps. As if knowing that it could no longer freely move its head, the corpse wrestled with his straps. His face screwed back until his neck formed another 3 chins and then relaxed, realising the futility of their effort. Jason stood behind the head readying himself if he was needed. He stood with his right foot in front of the left, his calf tensed ready to spring forward. The corpse was not to be trusted.

  There was a rustling from the audience as the general shuffled over to the exit. He held a small black mobile phone to his ear and grunted in acknowledgement to the receiver. The door was opened by two men in black suits. They had the word 'HIVE' printed on their jacket pocket in yellow. The Prime Minister gave the doctor another slight nod.

  "I will now proceed to remove the top of the head so we may inspect the brain. I know a lot of you are particularly interested in this because of the news reports of the brain being a green colour. I would like to remind you all that this is not normal when a body is in the decomposing process." He looked towards the crowd to see if there were any challenges. Of course, there was none. Who would dare to challenge someone as esteemed and highly regarded in the scientific community as Dr Schaf Leitner.

  Jason handed the Doctor a tool which looked similar to an axel grinder.

  "From this investigation we can find, for definite the manner of death."

  The tool whirred to life as the blade span round. The meal revolved at a speed which transformed the jagged disk into a silver oyster which bounced the luminous ceiling lights onto the corpses face highlighting its appalling and vicious features. As the doctor drew closer with the whirring tool a look of panic glistened in the corpse’s eyes. It tried futilely once again to escape the inevitable blade from sinking into its skull. The blade was inches from the grey skin when the general burst back into the room. The general shoved his way past two members of the audience to get to the Prime Minister and whisper loudly into his ear.

  A flash of frustration momentarily emerged on Prime Minister Ken Lockhart’s face but it was gone just as quick. His coolness once again taking control. "Thank You Dr Leitner," he said with a smile and holding up his hand, "I think that it is clear from the evidence provided so far that this man has clearly been infected with the Brain-Dead Madness. There is no need to proceed any further. I am afraid I will have to wrap this up as here is more urgent business to attend to." The doctor turned the axel grinder tool off, "Plus I think our some of our stomachs would not be able to handle any more," he gave a soft fake chuckle which was echoed by the small audience. "Please dispose of the body and put this poor wretch out of his misery. My team will contact the family to make sure they are taken care of." The Doctor simply nodded, he did not hide his disappointment at having to cancel the autopsy at probably its most vital point. Ken was on his way out of the room when the general piped up.

  "Thank you doctor for that display. Just how exactly will you dispose of the body?" This seemed like a reasonable question but there was an eagerness to how it was asked which Dr Leitner picked up on right away. Something had happened. Did the general need to "dispose" of a body?

  "The host cells can be replicated over time so destroying the heart or lungs will not have the usual effect like on all other creatures. You see the virus cells are each separate but work together in unison. These cells are however being dependent on being controlled by the brain. Destroying the brain is the quickest way to destroy the virus. For Mr Robert Fisher we will be cremating him to destroy all his cells and thus destroying the virus.”

  The PM gave the general a cold look as if to say he had said too much before swiftly exiting the room. There were a few murmurs as the rest of the crowd followed suit and also left.

  Once the room was emptied and the Doctor knew only Jason and himself remained, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Jason pulled a plastic sheet over the corpse. It was best to make sure they weren't exposed any more than they had to be.

  "How did I do?" Jason asked the doctor.

  Dr Leitner spun around and forced a smile. "Very good Jason, very good." It was clear from his glazed over eyes that his thoughts were elsewhere.

  "So, Dr Leitner. Will you consider me as your new apprentice?" The doctor remained silent facing the glass screen, his face sullen and still. Jason continued, "I've really gone as far as I can with my pathology team. I love the work you do and I want to help you better mankind."

  Dr Leitner walked slowly to the window and pressed his hand against the glass. It was cold and left a ghostly imprint around his fingers.

  Again, Jason continued, "The work you have done on pro
tozoa's and mapping the genomes of various diseases and microorganisms has improved medicine to a level nobody thought would be possible by now. I want to be a part of that. I know I'm ready for this."

  The doctor turned towards Jason, his bottom lip lowered exposing his pink gums. His face serious and his eyes wild. "Are you willing to push the boundaries of science and progress human capabilities to levels no one has ever dreamt of?"

  "I am, Dr Leitner,” he eagerly replied.

  The doctor put his bony hands onto Jason's shoulders. "Are you willing to put everything on the line and force change for the better even if it contradicts every ethical and moral bone in your body?"

  His breath was stale and the smell mixed with his typical old man cologne. "I am, Dr Leitner,” Jason replied less swiftly and less sure.

  The doctor stared in his eyes for a full five seconds. His wild hypnotising eyes burned deeply into Jason's mind. He was concentrating and did not blink. "Then what are we waiting for. We have much work to do!"

  Chapter 15

  PC Able had lost the man by the lake. He seemed to have vanished into thin air. A cool breeze blew which created a chill that ran down his spine and made his hairs stand up. The lake was almost silent. The reeds were taller the closer to the lake you got. There was no sound of birds or insects which you would expect from a lake and the smell of pond weed wafted in the air. Something about this place didn't appear right. Call it Police intuition or his nose for trouble, but Abel instinctively went into detective mode. He scanned the immediate vicinity for any clues of where the person had gone. Five meters to his left he saw the reeds had been flattened. He was no tracker but could deduce that whatever had flattened these was large enough to be a man and the reeds were trampled so clumsily that they couldn't have been made by an animal. As he walked by the reeds, he noticed something else strange. The reeds in the trampled area had strange jelly like substances littered about them. He crouched down to inspect them more closely. The blobs were not evenly spread and were in various quantities. Some were as small as a five pence piece and others as big as a fist. It was possible it was some sort of frog spawn which had somehow washed onto the banks but it was unusual how they jelly substance was only in this flattered patch. Abel deduced that the blobs must have come from the person who trampled the reeds. He got out his pencil and pad. Abel was meticulous and always kept a good record of his findings. It had come in handy on numerous occasions and made paperwork and testifying in court a lot easier. He would tell himself this was good practice for when he would eventually be promoted to detective.

  Abel had dreams of being a detective ever since he was a child reading mystery books and detective comics. He grew up in the golden age of TV detectives: Hercule Poirot, Thomas Magnum, Theo Kojack and best of all Columbo. There was something Abel found awe inspiring about Columbo. The episodes were different to the run of the mill detective dramas. There was no 'Who done it?'; the killer or criminal was shown to the audience from the beginning. The genius of Columbo was seeing how he solved every case. Columbo was humble and unassuming but had an encyclopaedic knowledge he kept mostly hidden. This was his weapon and he used with devastating effect. This was something Abel learnt from that show. Be humble, don't let on just how smart you are and then blam! Take them down with your intelligence. Abel had used Columbo's trademark interrogation techniques on more than one occasion. He would talk to the suspect like he was their friend, "Hey, off the record, maybe you didn’t do it. You are clearly an honest and hardworking guy and not the kind of person to have broken in to that house." Then he would get more familiar with them, "Ohh I read in the report you were watching the Chelsea game. What do you think of their new striker? He has quite a powerful left foot on him." Next, he would give them a false sense of security, "Well thank you for coming into the station, we really appreciate all you help and if you think of anything else don't hesitate to give us a call." Finally, he would turn to walk away and then turn back waving his finger in the air, "There is just one thing I don't understand, In the report you said you were watching the Chelsea game last night at the Plough pub, it’s just that I've been to the Plough and they don't have a license to show sports. In fact, come to think of it, I pretty sure they don't have a TV." Then he would have them and they would have no choice but to confess. This was straight out of the Columbo text book. He only had one trick but it was a beauty.

  There was something strange about the frog spawn gunk. It had a salty smell and seemed to glisten in the light. It looked like something was swirling inside it. Able reached out his hand and pointed his index finger. Slowly he moved it towards the gloopy mixture. He hesitated and brought his hand back. There was a pair of latex gloves back in the police car he should have brought them with him. He opted instead to poke the mixture with the back of his pen. It was liquid on the outside and more jelly like in the core. It ran down and then dripped off his pen. He wiped it on the dirt and reed stalks being careful to get all the gunk off. He made a note, ‘Jelly substance near lake’, and put the pen and pad back in his pocket.

  The trail of smashed reeds led straight into the lake. Able looked straight across to see if someone was swimming or trying to escape by swimming to the other side. It would be a desperate move to swim across as the lake would be bitter cold. Caught up in a trees roots which extended into the lakes waters was a white shirt. It was open and bobbed up and down with the ripples of the lake. It at first looked like a plastic supermarket carrier bag but it was too big and the buttons and collar became visible with each ripple. Beyond the shirt and behind tree was a bald head. The bald head slowly rose out the water a revealed a heavily scarred but muscular torso. Its eyes were locked onto PC Abel and its teeth were barred. The man stood still staring at the police officer and the police officer stared back. Their eyes were locked and the scarred man's face was full of scorn. The exchange lasted only a few seconds before the man darted out of the water and ran from behind the tree headfirst and arms outstretched towards Abel.

  Instinctively Abel reached down to his pocket for his trusty truncheon. Years of practice helped him to swiftly unclasp the button which kept it secure in his belt. But it was not quite quick enough. He didn't even have time to yelp before the bald and scarred man had lifted him up with one hand and slammed him down to the ground. The move would have made any wrestler envious. The air rushed out of Abel and he struggled to breathe. The bald man never broke his stride. After slamming PC Abel to the floor, he kept running in a straight line towards the woods and disappeared into the thick bushes and trees.

  Abel reached for his walkie talkie on his shoulder to try to call for backup but he was struggling to breathe let alone talk. He Instead he got out his pad and pen and made notes of the man's description.

  ‘6ft 8" - 7ft 2"

  White male

  Bald

  Black suit trousers

  Black Belt

  Scars covering torso, Possible burns.’

  Abel laid down to catch his breath. In the sky above, he saw a swarm of large black birds, possibly crows, fly off in unison. There was something unnatural about the way they flew. They were too direct as if they had all at once decided to leave Bayhollow and to do it quickly. He was mesmerised by their straight flight path and keenness of the bird’s movements.

  As soon as he had caught his breath the walkie talkie on his shoulder buzzed and Sergeant Green's voice called through. "Everyone is needed back at the Duchess. The situation has gotten worse. The Army is on their way to help but in the mean time I need every man here to secure the building.".

  Abel grabbed the walkie talkie from his shoulder and grimaced. His chest was still struggling to function. "Serge, its Abel. I've just seen one of the perps running into the woods. I need backup to..."

  The police sergeant cut him off, "Negative Abel! you are needed here now! We will search for the perp as soon as the Army gets here. I repeat. Everyone is needed back at the Duchess Now!"

  Abel rested for a few minut
es to wait for his breathing to get back to normal. He warily got to his feet and quickly unzipped his stab proof vest and unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a large purple bruise in the shape of a handprint in the centre of his chest. Jesus that guy knocked him hard. Abel didn't bother to re-clasp his truncheon. Instead with a flick of the wrist he extended it and started to make his way back to the hotel. He was about one hundred meters away when he heard a gunshot. Automatically he hid behind the nearest tree for cover. Luckily for him the nearest tree was also an old Spanish chestnut which must have been at least three hundred years old. It had a meter-thick base which gave him enough room to hide and poke his head out for cover.

  At the hotel, he could see an array of Army vehicles. ‘They got here damn quick ‘. There was five green Land Rovers and two six wheeled Vector Trucks. There had to be seventy Soldiers surrounding the place, each one armed with a carbine assault rifle. ‘At last some proper reinforcements!’ The whole situation was wildly out of control. The shot must have come from one of the soldiers. It would be easy to understand a soldier firing his weapon after seeing that crazed man trying to push his head through the revolving door and that monster who had left his meaty paw print on Abel's Chest. Abel felt relief for the extra help and knew he should join up with the rest, but his cautious nature was telling him to stay and observe. The soldiers were busy but something was not right. It looked like they had left the police to hold the door as windows shut whilst they made a neat circle behind with their guns pointed towards the building. It was strange they hadn't decided to let the weary police rest and take over securing the building themselves. There were also soldiers wondering around from behind the circle jumping in and out of various vehicles. A soldier lay on top of each Vector truck and had their gun pointed in the opposite direction of the circle scouting the grounds.