HIVE

by Taylor, Dan

  Once satisfied he took a look around. Soldiers were mainly stationed at the perimeters and watch towers. There were many temporary buildings and one large white tent. He knew where the Doctor would be. Just as he was about to make a run for the tent, he heard the rhythmic pulsating noise of helicopter blades. A black Chinook with yellow rotors whirred above. It swiftly landed in the middle of the camp it's the back ramp slammed to the ground. Three HIVE soldiers left the craft. One of them was pulling a gurney with a white sheet over it. As soon as they had left the Chinook took off and flew away. The three HIVE soldiers wheeled the gurney into the large, white tent. They were inside for about five minutes before they left with General Holt to one of the Barracks.

  This was his chance. Callum sprinted with light footed speed. He dodged the searchlights and passing soldiers. When he reached the white tent, he opened the doors so quickly the thought he might rip them from their hinges. The familiar laboratory setting relaxed him. He hissed though the decontamination showers and into the tent.

  The room was amazing. Full of all the tech he and Dr Leitner had ever wanted. Funny, it took the event of today to get Leitner everything he needs to complete his work. Callum grabbed a white coat from the coat rack and covered his bloodied and scarred torso. He noticed the gurney in the middle of the room. It had something moving underneath the sheet. Callum wondered who the current experiment was. He cautiously walked over to the sheet and pulled it off. Underneath was a young man who Callum recognised but could not place from where. The man had a blue polo with an insignia over the left breast which read 'The Royal Duchess Hotel'.

  The memories flooded back to him. This was the first one. The person who tried to stop him and who he bit when the cure was fresh in his veins. He was surprised to see him but knew there was a chance he would have as big a dose as himself meaning quicker cell transformation and a better chance for the virus to replicate itself entirely.

  "His name is Ronnie Campbell," said a familiar Austrian voice in the shadows. Dr Leitner emerged from the darkness like a ghost. He was in his familiar white lab coat and stood straight with one arm behind his back. "Judging by the uniform I would say he is one of your early victims. You did infect yourself at the hotel he works at after all. A rare specimen I might add. The virus has really taken to this one." He smiled briefly at his former lab assistant, "I never wanted this for you Callum. It was rash and stupid for you to run off with the samples. Our results were not fully tested and nowhere near a human trial. This was still a work in progress. I do, however, admit the result has been fascinating. I did wonder when, or if, you would get here at all. That shows intelligence and understanding of your surroundings. The fact you haven't attacked me and judging by the way you are looking at me shows you at least recognise who I am. You are standing tall, not dragging yourself shows me you have full control of your body. Tell me can you speak or are you like the previous samples who can only growl and groan?"

  Callum barred his teeth and let out a wild groan. He took a step towards Leitner with his arm out reached. His eyes were wild. He could not control the monster inside him. Leitner was going to die at his hands.

  Leitner didn't flinch. He simply called, "Now Jason", who on cue appeared from behind an MRI machine holding what looked like a dog catcher stick. He slipped the loop over Callum's head. The loop clicked in place and was released from the stick. Callum felt something digging in his neck. He reached up and could feel the metal tighten. Leitner pulled his hand from behind his back. He was holding a remote which once flicked sent sixty thousand volts of electricity running through Callum's body. Callum fell to the ground unconscious, but not for long.

  He awoke fifteen minutes later. He was restrained to a gurney with thick iron cuffs. Even with his new-found strength he could not break free. There was something on his head that was strapped to him around his chin. He could guess what it was. He had designed a devise to get the maximum amount of the virus into a human test subject to speed up the transformation of cells in all areas of the brain. It had never been used as it was deemed too medieval by Leitner. Essentially it was a helmet with hundreds of tiny holes in it. These holes were connected to hundreds of steel needles which would be able to penetrate through a skull. The needles were connected to large intravenous which would hold all the solution you wanted injected into the brain. Although he could not see them, he could hear Leitner and General Holt arguing. Probably because of the two soldiers he had killed. He then heard the general storm off.

  "So, we inject him in the brain to speed up the cell replication and completely replace the brain with one made up of Brain-Dead Madness cells." This was not a voice Callum recognised but he could see from the corner of his eye it came from a ginger boy in a lab coat. Dr Leitner replied and called him Jason. It did not take long for Callum to be replaced. He wondered how long Leitner had been eyeing up Jason as his substitute.

  Being safe from Callum Leitner mused. "I have always known that reanimation of corpses was possible. Callum and I had tested on small animals and had the most astounding results. This outbreaks of Brain-Dead Madness and Robert Fisher. Testing on humans in this way is barbaric. Although in this particular outbreak I believe someone close to me was involved." Leitner put his hand on Callum's shoulder. His touch was cold but comforting. "Callum has made a grave mistake. In an attempt to cure himself of a rare disease he has stolen my serum and infected half a small town. A lot of the Bayhollow townspeople are dead including most of the police force. Others are infected without a chance of survival. That is unless we find a cure before their bodies have completely decomposed. But after we have replicated his brain then what? Will he even still be Callum? Technically he was brain dead so what of his memories his knowledge and his experiences?"

  "Doctor?" Questioned Jason, "Where exactly are we going to get more serum? Didn't Callum steal it all?"

  "Yes, he did," replied Dr Leitner stoically. And he pulled a gold lighter from his pocket. To Jason's horror he lit the flame and held it against Callum's bare chest. Callum in response gave a mighty roar as the flame licked away at his skin. The smell of burning tissue filled the tent. Callum tightened and then felt the terrible pain all over his chest again. The blisters were coming back and they soon covered his upper body and were popping rhythmically. Jason gathered any beaker and test tube he could find to collect the liquid.

  "Initially the virus's cells are blank much like stem cells. They have not had the chance to copy a brain cell or a tissue cell or a bone cell. This liquid protruding from Callum is in essence the purest form of the virus. We can use this to inject into his brain to recover his humanity. From the way he is staring at me I know he recognises me. I am sure we can bring him back. He can be a fully reanimated human. But first I want to test on that one." Leitner's arm was fully outstretched and pointing towards the other corpse in the room. "I want to test on the hotel employee."

  Chapter 29

  Abel, Lydia and Angela had made some makeshift beds out of wooden pews and prayer hassocks. The door to the church had been barricaded using the alter and from the steeple window they had seen the church wall had done it job holding back the infected. They had also seen a black helicopter land near the police station and fly off. They each shared a pang of regret for not staying at the station. Now they were relatively safe and decided that although Pete Addison was a bit of a wacko religious type, he had provided sanctuary which on the night of the living dead was more than they could ask for. The church was relatively warm which helped to raise spirits. Able laid down on one of the make shift beds and rubbed his smooth scalp.

  "You can't get used to it can you?" Asked Lydia as she was typing away on her laptop.

  "I feel like my Granddad," replied Abel. He had not seen Lydia since they broke up but he was glad she was with him now. She was a calming influence on him and filled him with hope that they were going to be okay.

  "It's good to rest but I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight. Or ever again for that m
atter," Chimed in Angela. "I hope everyone got out okay. My phone has had no signal since this outbreak. Luckily, I managed to call Terry, my husband, from the station when the evacuation started. He is out of town on business so I know he is alright. I can't wait to see him." Angela stopped talking as she started to whimper. The excitement of the day was starting to get to her. Pete could see she was struggling.

  "Angela why don't you let me show you around. The church is always a great comfort to me in times of hardship." Pete gave a friendly smile as he took Angela by the arm and gave her the grand tour talking about every tapestry and the religious stories and symbols in each art piece.

  "It's unbelievable they don't have WIFI here. I just want to let my editor know what's going on and let my family know I'm okay," said Lydia to Abel who was lying on a pew staring up at the church's roof beams.

  "It's like they don't want people on their phones and laptops during Sunday mass," replied Abel with a cheeky grin. "How is your family anyway?" Asked Abel not realising how awkward a question it was until it had come out his mouth. He had only met Lydia parents once when they were dating when they came over from Japan.

  "Ohh you know, fine I guess," she paused waiting to think of something to say. "Were lucky both our families don't live in this town. This outbreak has affected so many people. Entire families gone. Generations wiped out of existence." Lydia looked intently at Abel. She wanted desperately to apologise to him for using him as a resource for news stories when they were together. He was a genuinely nice person and they got on so well. In light of recent events she felt so stupid for risking both their happiness over the newspaper of all things. Lydia turned off her laptop and laid down on a pew. She was building up the courage to say something to Abel when she heard a yelp. A yelp that sounded like Angela. The pair got up and walked cautiously towards the far end of the church where the noise had come from. Abel had his truncheon flicked out and Lydia had her knife at the ready.

  Whilst Able and Lydia were talking to each other, Pete had been doing a good job of taking Angela mind off their desperate situation. He had gone through the tapestry made by the local church of England school depicting Moses and the ten plagues. He had shown various statues of saints going back over six hundred years. They had arrived at the grimmest and Pete's most favourite piece of art. The stained-glass window of St Bartholomew skinned alive and carrying his skin around his neck like a scarf. In the daytime, this piece was shocking but at nigh St Bartholomew's skin would shine a sickly deep ruby colour. His eyes were wild and pained as if driven mad by the torture he had received.

  "Bartholomew the apostle, who this church is named after, was a fantastic man. He spread the word of God to and converted kings in Armenia, India, Spain, Ethiopia and he was rewarded for his efforts in Turkey by being skinned alive and beheaded. It is gruesome but a nice reminder that God will test us all with pain and suffering but those who are faithful and who love God will be rewarded in the afterlife. The things that are going on around us… we are at the end of times." He took Angela by the hand and led her towards the office, "I saw the signs left by God and he has sat on his throne of glory with the holy angels around him and he has separated us from one and another, as a shepherded will separate the sheep from the goats."

  He led Angela inside the office where, sat behind a grubby desk, was a terrifying man, naked, and covered from head to toe in blood. He had no eyelids, no nose, no lips and no ears. On the desk was a bloodied knife and on the floor in a large pile was gory and hairy flaps of flesh. It was a pile of the man's skin which stunk of decay. He stood up revealing his six-foot-three frame. His skull gleamed in crimson blood. His eyes were wild like the painting Angela had just seen. Angela tried to get away but she was being held by the vicar Pete. All she could do was yelp in terror.

  Able was first into the office. Pete was on his knees praying and chanting to himself his eyes closed. Angela was pushed against a filing cabinet by the slim skeletal monster who was desperately biting her on the shoulder. Abel grabbed the blood-stained knife from the table and lunged at the beast driving the knife straight through his back. The monster turned not seeming to recognise the pain but more that someone was behind him. The knife had gone straight through it and was sticking out its chest. The beast cried out. Lydia and Abel had their first real look at the man. He had been skinned from head to toe. Whenever he breathed blood would spurt from the two holes which used to be his nose. Around his neck he had placed a white collar. Abel quickly realised this was Victor Fugar, the most senior vicar at this church. Able responded by hitting the man on the top of his head. He felt Victors skull crack open and he hit him again driven by a primal fight or flight response. Slimy shamrock green bits of brains spilt onto the floor and Victor stopped breathing and moving. His eyes made permanently open and staring at nothing.

  Lydia tended to Angela. She had been bitten on her shoulder but her stab proof police vest had saved her from the bite breaking her skin. Naturally she was in shock she was crying and shaking. Abel turned demanding answers from Pete who had disappeared. During the commotion, he must have slipped away. Once Lydia was satisfied Angela was okay, they left the office. Pete had unblocked the church doors and was unblocking the church yard gates. He was shouting about separating the goats from the sheep as a mass of infected bodies piled over him. As quickly as Abel, Lydia and Angela could manage they blocked the church doors again. Their hiding place had been revealed and the mass was relentlessly banging on the church. They were trapped.

  Chapter 30

  The brain injection device was taken off Callum and strapped to Klutz's head. Jason could see Callum wriggling to get free but knew the restraints would do their job. The anger and power Jason saw in Callum's eyes sent shivers down his spine. He snarled and shook but his efforts would be in vain. Klutz on the other hand reacted quite different. His eyes were wide but his pupils were constricted. They conveyed terror and confusion rather than fury and hatred. His body shook but not violently and his arms were covered in goose bumps making his hair stand on end. The nearer Jason got to Klutz the more rapid Klutz’s breathing was and the quicker his heart palpitated in his chest. The reaction was quite unexpected and this was noted by Schaf who watched on from the back of the room.

  Before injecting Klutz's brain with more of the Brain-Dead Madness Virus, they needed to collect samples from the boils on Callum's chest. They had to provoke the reaction from Callum's chest three times using a hot needle before they had collected enough liquid to inject into Klutz's brain. The virus had affected the Hailey-Hailey Syndrome in a way that Callum had not expected. The virus was supposed to copy cells from the body in a way which would remove the imperfections, but in this case in had exaggerated the infliction. Whenever Callum felt stress his Hailey-Hailey Syndrome would go on the defence and rapidly produce these boils. It was both remarkable and horrifying for Leitner and Jason to see.

  "Whoever had done this to you Callum, I will find out and I will make sure they get what is coming to them." He spoke quietly but in earshot of Jason. For the first time Jason saw a sadness in Scarf he hadn't seen before. This person was not just a lab assistant but a friend. Jason was impressed by how calm he was, given the distressing situation, and wondered if one day he would be a close to Leitner as Callum was.

  "We are ready to go ahead with the injection Schaf," Jason said as he finished loading the final needle with the liquid from Callum's boils.

  "Begin the injection sequence," commanded Schaf in response. The sadness in his eyes were instantaneously replaced with determination.

  Klutz lay in absolute terror on the gurney. He heard a click and then for the first time today was relieved he could not feel pain. He felt a hundred points over his head push through his skin then skull and then about an inch into his brain. He then felt the pressure as his head flooded with liquid. It swelled around his head and then started to dribble out his ears and nose. His head felt like a water balloon being filled to bursting point. It was not
long before he had blacked out.

  As soon as the needles were retracted, Jason unhooked the devise and wrapped klutz's head up in a bandage. Red and green dots soaked through and the bandages had to be replaced to avert the bleeding. The two scientists watched over Klutz. They checked his heat beat and breathing, which were irregular, and waited for any signs of response.

  Klutz was a million miles away for the second time today. He was back in the black timeless emptiness. The void was soothing and calm. In the distance, he saw the small twilight again. He didn't want the light to come and get him like it did before. He was happy here in the dark. He was somewhere peaceful away from the craziness he had been living. In the void, he floated effortlessly. There were no cannibals, no fires, no men with guns and no needles to pierce his skull.

  The light crept closer and he heard a voice. "Schaf I think he is coming to." It was a squeaky and annoying voice. As the light grew the voices raised their volume. "Don't get too close Jason. We do not know what the results will be," said a different voice in a foreign European accent he could not place. The light encompassed Klutz again and he was no longer floating in the void. He was falling at terminal velocity through the light. The wind was pealing his skin from his face and then his muscle until he was just a bare and dry skull. He could see the ground. This time it was a great white tarpaulin. He reached out and felt his hand deglove revealing his tendons and bones. The ground was coming fast and Klutz was screaming through his bony teeth. He hit the floor hard and was in immense pain from head to toe.