I heard a snicker off to the other side of the tunnel before the same man called out. “Slowly, or I blow your head off.”
As slow as a bear waking up from hibernation I let the barrel drift toward the ground first before gently laying the AR on its side and sitting back up. There was always the chance I was being stupid and hadn’t needed to show them the AR in the first place, but the last thing I wanted to do was stand up holding a gun they didn’t know about. People tended to get shot doing things like that, and I preferred to remain bullet hole free for as long as possible.
“Get your hands back up!” the man snarled, clearly feeling more confident now that the AR was lying on the ground.
What old grumpy-puss didn’t know was the most dangerous thing in the room was standing right in front of me holding her hands way up in the air. Even knowing that Holly could turn into the ultimate weapon at a moment’s notice, I hated having her in the line of fire. If these idiots killed her, our chances at surviving this outbreak plummeted drastically.
Still, maybe it was time for me to follow her example instead of trying to blaze my own path. With reluctance I lifted my hands back in the air. “So much for that bath,” I grumbled.
“Get them up higher, asshole,” he snapped again.
I was about to get us in trouble with my mouth again, I could feel it. I tried to think of something witty to say, but in the end I just settled for an oldie but a goodie. “Fuck off.” Holly let out a gasp of air in front of me. “We’re on the same side here, asshole, and I’m too tired for this shit.”
“Max,” Holly hissed.
“Do you guys really think we found this place by accident, and that we hacked the scanners? We work for the Hilltop, so let’s speed this up.”
I tuned out Holly’s breathing and focused on the noises coming from behind me. If these men weren’t Hilltop and the facility had been overrun, we were going to have to kill them. Those men had the light on their side, and it would make them overconfident. You didn’t have to be able to see to kill a man with a gun, all you had to do was know where they were. So I kept listening, hoping they’d give something away.
“It’s not worth the risk, I say we off them,” a man said from my five o’clock.
“Stow that shit and wait for my command,” the man who had been speaking previously snapped back to his companion.
I kept listening and only heard the two men moving. Now that I knew where they were, it was easier to keep track of them. There wasn’t any other movement or noise that I could discern, so while there could have been a third guy, I doubted it. If we weren’t pinned down, it would have been easy to take them, but right now the odds were still against us. It reminded me of something my Dad liked to say, nothing good comes to those who always wonder what if. The true mark of a man is taking what you have and working your ass off with it.
In short, what Dad liked to say is not everyone is going to be LeBron James, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be just as talented at something else. Finding something you love and have a talent for, is life’s ultimate struggle. Some people find it when they are young, and others don’t ever find it. I always hoped I would find the thing I loved early in life, we simply don’t have enough time on this planet to waste it wondering.
I got the feeling if they’d been given the green light to shoot, we’d be dead right now, but someone or something was holding them back. “Not to poke the bear, but I can’t keep this up for much longer.” It was true. My arms were shaking; I was just simply out of energy. If I was going to die, I wanted to do it on my own terms, not because I couldn’t hold my arms up anymore. Slowly I lowered my arms and waited to see what would happen.
A new voice spoke, and I realized that I’d been wrong. If we had tried to make a move based off the two-man theory we probably would have been dead. This new speaker was something different altogether. His voice was silky smooth. It was the kind of voice that was bred for sealing deals in the boardroom, not in underground tunnels. It was also a voice you’d have to watch out for. This was the kind of man that would try to talk your grandmother out of her Sunday panties just for a laugh. I didn’t trust him, not for a second.
Mr. Smooth continued his little spiel. “I’ve got one question and how you answer it has grave implications for the both of you. How did you use Doctor Bowmont’s scans to bypass our security?”
That sounded like the kind of question you answered, and they killed you regardless of the outcome. I didn’t like that option at all so I did what I did best, I let my big fat mouth take control. “Fellas, I know the lights are pretty bright, but I think one of you would have noticed that Doctor Bowmont is standing right next to me.”
Holly shifted from foot to foot, but then she decided to roll with it. “Just turn down the lights, and I’ll lift my head up for you.”
“You’ll do it anyway,” five o’clock growled.
“Shut up, Timmy,” Seven o’clock snapped back.
“I told you not to call me that,” five o’clock snarled back.
Seven o’clock started to retaliate when the man with the golden voice cut him off. “Turn off the lights.” A few seconds later the bright security lights shut off leaving us in what felt like total darkness.
“If you don’t mind?” the man said with a hint of arrogance. I could imagine him making a gesture with his hand that said chin up, darling. Holly must have lifted her face to him, because the next second he let out a sharp intake of breath. “Doctor Bowmont, my sincerest apologies. Director Chen informed us of your death.”
“It seems news of my demise has been greatly exaggerated.” Holly dropped her voice and angled it towards me. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”
“Jesus, put your guns down already,” the man snapped, clearly not pleased with his two subordinates. “Please follow me, Doctor Bowmont. Director Navarro will be thrilled to see you.”
“Do you mind?” I motioned toward the AR as I climbed off the monorail.
The man looked at the gun and back to me. “And you are?”
“Maximus Meridious.” I watched him for any sign that it was ok to pick up my weapon.
“Of course you are.” The man let out a sigh, like I had made the name up.
Holly stepped forward to claim the man’s attention again. “Max is with me.”
The man motioned for me to grab the gun. “Then by all means.” He turned his gaze on me and waited until our eyes locked. “You do understand that we normally don’t let just anyone walk around our facility armed to the teeth.”
“I’m sure you’ll find I have whatever clearance is needed.” I pointed at five o’clock. “You think Timmy there can grab my bag? I’m a little banged up.”
Holly placed her arm on mine. “Why don’t you let me get things squared away with Tyrell while you go to medical? I’ll come and find you there, or at whatever quarters they assign you.”
I looked at the slicked back bureaucrat and didn’t like it one bit. If it hadn’t seemed like he was deferring to Holly’s every wish I would have stayed firm, but it was clear this man would do whatever Holly asked. “Whatever you say. Come and find me later, ok?” Sure, it hurt a little to get dismissed, but for whatever reason, I felt like Holly was doing it to protect me.
Holly gave my arm a squeeze. “Just relax, we’re safe now.”
“That’s what we thought at the hospital.” I gave her a weak smile and turned to follow Timmy to medical, wherever the hell that was.
“Max,” she whispered, “I’ll see you soon.”
I put my head down and trudged through the door and into the Hilltop Initiative’s Flagstaff facility. If nothing else, maybe they had a few more of those pills Holly had given me earlier. A couple more of those and a few days of sleep and I’d be right as rain. Looking back, I saw that Holly and Tyrell were already locked in a heated debate. If the guy wasn’t such a swarmy asshole I would have felt sorry for him.
Chapter Three
Holly Bowmont
> “What do you mean you haven’t made any progress? I’ve been gone for days; someone should have been working on this!” I steamed.
Tyrell raged with all of his boardroom arrogance. “Someone has been working on this, a whole lab full of someones.” He took a deep breath to center himself. “What I’m trying to tell you is all of them have come up with nothing.”
How could that be possible? The Hilltop recruited some of the brightest minds in medicine. They’d plucked me right out of Stanford University as I was working on my grant in biosciences. Now they could probably use my life as a video to help kids stay in school. If you don’t, they’ll turn you into a superhuman indentured servant. Trust me, it’s about as glamorous as it sounds, but I’d gotten to play with science no university had the money to fund, so it wasn’t all bad.
Being in love with my work wasn’t going to help us now, not unless I could find something everyone else had missed. “Take me to the lab.”
“Don’t you want to clean up first?” Tyrell asked. One eyebrow rose in question as if he wondered why I would even consider letting myself be seen like this.
“Lab first. The shower can wait until I’ve had a chance to get the data from my people.”
Tyrell looked like he was about to argue and then shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll let Director Navarro know where you are. I take it you can find your way to the lab on your own.”
The smug little bastard. I bit back the yeah, but I can also shove my foot up your ass reply that was on the edge of my lips and went with something more subtle. “Fuck off.” Tyrell’s mouth dropped open, but if he was expecting an apology, he would be waiting until George Lucas made another Star Wars film. Instead of watching him gape at me any longer, I shrugged past Tyrell and headed toward the labs. It was about time someone stepped in to get this thing back on track.
I left Tyrell in my dust and felt better as the rough concrete of the tunnel walls was replaced by painted concrete and then eventually by drywall. Once the wide open spaces started being separated by metal and glass enclosures, I knew I was getting close. The door let out a hiss of air as I stepped into the command center. There shouldn’t be any toxins in here. In fact, this room ran on a separate ventilation system and could be sealed off from the rest of the labs around it. In short, if there was an emergency, the command center was probably the safest place in the whole damn facility. It made me wonder if that was why so many people were huddled inside the space now.
As I entered the room it felt like every eye turned in my direction, and then the entire room froze. It was like one of those nightmares where you were giving a speech, but instead of the crowd being naked it was you. The worst part of the nightmare was when you didn’t wake up right away, and everyone in the audience started looking at you like what the fuck is wrong with her. Then you wake up. This time my team was wearing the same expression from my nightmares, but at least I had my clothes on.
Whatever, I didn’t have time for this bullshit. I wanted to start getting summaries from people. They could stare all they wanted as long as we kicked this virus in the ass first. I was about to start barking orders when Bernice let out a sharp gasp and then rose from her desk and ran forward, engulfing me in a giant embrace.
Bernice was what you would call a momma bear. She nurtured and took care of all of us like it was her job. Right now her thick ebony arms were about to crush the life out of me. For a few seconds she clung to me, and I just stood there, then it clicked. They weren’t staring because I looked like shit. They were staring at me because for them I was dead until I walked back into the command center.
Wrapping my arms around Bernice, I returned the hug with relish. I felt her hot tears on my shoulder and couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to be cared about by someone. When you dedicated your life to work, you always wondered if anyone would notice if you just disappeared. Now I knew not only would Bernice notice, but she would also be pretty torn up about it. We broke apart, and I looked at her for a few seconds before stepping back to address the room.
If I let my emotions take hold now, I’d never get them back in so I decided to get straight to business. “I’m going to need a datapad and everything you’ve been working on sent to it. Then I’m going to take a shower and get to work.”
“Thank God,” someone mumbled from the back, and lighthearted smiles broke out around the room.
One man came forward, frown on his face. “Someone has to show her.”
“Show her what,” I asked.
Bernice took my hand. “Come with me.”
Looking around the room showed a lot of concerned faces. The kind of faces that said they knew whatever I was about to see was wrong, but they were helpless to stop it. There was only one thing I could think of that would elicit that reaction from my fellow scientists, and I hoped it wasn’t true. The Flagstaff facility, while secure, wasn’t a full containment bio lab. We didn’t have anything at the facility to properly contain a necrotic, at least not without exposing ourselves to risk. In this case, a little risk was unacceptable. No one could be that stupid, or could they?
Bernice took my hand and led me through the facility. It didn’t take me long to figure out where we were headed. There were twenty empty storage rooms on the floor below us. We kept them in reserve in case we had to prepare for a major event. With the rise of necrotics happening, those storage rooms should have been filled with food. More of the dehydrated stuff most likely, but food none the less. Bernice was giving me the feeling that they were stocked with something far less wholesome.
Bernice’s breathing came in heavy gasps as she worked her way down the stairs. It wasn’t that Bernice was ginormous, she was a large woman, but not large enough to be laboring so hard. I had the feeling the last time she saw a treadmill was in the nineties. It’s funny how people can look like they are in ok shape, but you get them moving around, and you realize they haven’t gotten off the couch in years. On the plus side, they knew how to balance their caloric intake with their sedentary lifestyle, that was full on adulting.
We reached the bottom level, and Bernice opened the door. As she led me down the hallway two armed guards started to radio something in. Bernice stopped in front of them, she hesitated for a moment before speaking. I wasn’t sure if she was worried about the guards’ reactions or if she just didn’t want to enter the room.
Letting out a deep breath, she steeled herself and managed to whisper, “Open the door.”
One of the men moved from his spot beside the door and opened it without a word. He peered inside for a moment and then stepped out of the way.
“All clear, Doctor Hubbard.”
“Thanks, Mac.” Bernice gave the guard a halfhearted smile.
The man called Mac wrinkled his nose. “You don’t need us to move any of them again do you?”
“Not this time, Mac. I’m just showing Doctor Bowmont what we have down here.”
“I’ll log your visit with the director. Have a good day, Doctor Hubbard.”
“You too, Mac.” Bernice’s half smile faltered as she turned back towards the door. Slowly her shoulders straightened and her head lifted a little bit taller, and then she strode into the room as if she owned it.
This was it, the moment of truth. In a few seconds I was going to step inside of the room and see what Bernice was so worried about. Something told me it wasn’t the idea of being attacked by four-foot tall hamsters that had Bernice on edge. As I stepped toward the open doorway the smell already confirmed my worst fears. Technically standing just inside the doorway, I hadn’t seen one of the necrotics yet, but the stench of the dead was a unique one. It was a smell I’d never forget, not after being chased by those things.
Sometimes they get that part right on TV and sometimes they don’t. When people die their body just lets go, any piss or shit can come wiggling out. Voiding one's bowels tends to make dead bodies not smell all that good to begin with, but instead of going to the morgue and getting washed off, these bodie
s were herded in a room and continued to decompose. Although these particular necrotics seemed to be rotting at a slower rate than I would have expected. In short, a room full of bodies was probably a contender for worst smell on the planet. I’d put it right up there with the smell that seeps up from a ruptured septic tank. Thought your shit smelled bad coming out, just imagine a few hundred pounds of it spread across your backyard.
Bernice handed me a mask. Slipping it over my mouth and nose, I smiled gratefully even though she couldn’t see it. Wearing the full respirator wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it did stop me from wanting to throw up every time I took a breath. With the smell filtering its way out of my nose I was finally able to start thinking again.
The storeroom had been modified into four holding cells in the corners of the room, with open space in the middle for us to stand and observe unobstructed. The necrotics were housed behind clear inch thick plexiglass panels. They sure looked secure enough. The glass was held in place by heavy steel frames, not to mention the locked door and two armed guards outside. Still, one of the guards had mentioned moving them.
Bernice turned away from the necrotics in each cell and looked at me. “This is what we’ve been calling the Dead Room.”
“Sounds like a movie title,” I quipped before thinking better of it. It might not be the best time for jokes.
“If only. In the movies they always solve the outbreak, in reality we’re clueless.” Bernice shuffled her feet looking uncomfortable. “I’m really glad you’re back, Doctor Bowmont.”
Nothing is quite like having the fate of the world resting on your shoulders. Surely there were other labs, other organizations working on the solution now. I mean, after the news coverage the CDC had to be involved. It wasn’t really only up to me. Shoving aside the doubts I felt about how successful I’d be at creating a cure, I moved up to the barrier and watched as the necrotics pawed against it in an effort to reach me.
Rise of the Necrotics (Book 8): Home Sweet Home Page 2