by Max Lockwood
Elaina pursed her lips. She had heard that before.
“When our guys brought you in, they said they had Elaina Morgan. I couldn’t believe it. I would finally be able to pick your brain. Then, after I saw your bloodwork, I really couldn’t believe it.”
“I’m sorry,” she interrupted. “You said you’re at the University of Kansas? I don’t know why I don’t recognize your name. I have a pretty good memory of others in our field.”
“Oh, no, I’m not a virologist,” he corrected. “I’m a geneticist. I mainly do genetic counseling, but I dabble in research from time to time.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
He smiled. “I can tell by your reaction that you know the same thing I know. You’re immune to your strain.”
“It’s not my virus,” she said quickly, a look of horror on her face. “What you’ve heard in the news—it’s not true. One of my colleagues stole my research and created the thing that’s killing the country. I’m not responsible for that.”
Steve blinked. “I apologize. I wasn’t aware.”
“It’s not your fault,” Elaina sighed, gripping the edge of the cot. “Most people don’t believe me at first, but this has been a nightmare. My original work was supposed to do a lot of good.”
“I’m afraid that fault doesn’t mean much to me at this point,” he replied. “I don’t care who started it. I just want to be able to understand it so I can help stop it.”
“That makes two of us.”
Steve smiled again. “Then we’re very lucky our paths crossed. I don’t know much about how the virus works, but I understand a little about what makes people immune to it.”
“You mean, more than just me?”
“Oh, yes. I’ve tested a few survivors who were startled to realize that a bad bite from an infected patient hadn’t caused the reaction they feared.”
Elaina leaned back against the wall. She figured she would never be able to understand why she was safe. Now, she was speaking with someone who could give her the answers she needed to make a cure.
“I’m sorry,” she said, finding it difficult to form words. “I’m just a little shocked by all of this.”
“I understand. Do you need me to give you a moment?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I need to know everything there is to know about the biology behind this phenomenon.”
Steve grabbed a clipboard from the counter and flipped through his notes. “From what I can tell, everyone with immunity to the virus is female and has a mutation on the TLG2 gene. We don’t exactly know what causes the mutation, but it seems to be harmless otherwise. From interviews I’ve done, it seems likely that it skips several generations. It’s also sex-linked, so those with a Y chromosome don’t seem to have the immunity from that specific gene.”
Elaina’s mouth gaped open. “This is the exact information I was trying to figure out. I just didn’t have the capacity to do it myself. Do you think that gene therapy could provide immunity to those who haven’t been infected yet?”
He nodded. “I suspect it might. Have you tried making a vaccine for it?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “But the virus mutates so quickly that it’s hard to create one that’s practical.”
“That’s what I figured. I’ve been trying to perform a few tests myself, but it’s not easy to do. The problem is, the mutation in the TLG2 gene is hard to spot unless the patient has already been exposed to the virus. With the virus in one’s system, the gene lights up like a Christmas tree. I don’t understand why the virus doesn’t get along with the genetic mutation. That’s something I’m still trying to understand.”
“I think I know why,” Elaina said darkly. “Like I said, my colleague, Dr. Vincent, hijacked my work. He didn’t understand what it was, but he liked what it was capable of and wanted to put his name on it. So he inadvertently changed my virus that was crafted with my personal DNA. At the time, I didn’t know I had this mutation.”
Steve was in awe. “You basically created a weapon that could never be used against you.”
“He created the weapon,” Elaina corrected. “I just wanted to cure cancer.”
“That’s astounding. I’d like to sequence your DNA again and see if we can’t find something else of use,” he said. “This is just tremendous information.”
Elaina’s mind was racing. She couldn’t believe that fate had put her in the hands of a genetics expert. After months of doing nothing to further her research, it felt good to talk shop with someone again.
“Have you been infecting healthy people so you can test your theory?” Elaina asked.
“God, no,” he said quickly. “I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that. That’s why I’ve decided to accept a contract from our team to conduct research. They use their manpower to bring in as big of a sample as they can so I can test survivors. Like I said, I’ve been able to identify the immunity gene in several young women already.”
“That’s good,” Elaina said, trying to play it off like she, too, had been ethical in her study. Guilt flooded her stomach as she remembered the faces of the healthy inmates who were infected under her supervision. She was just as complicit as the government, even though she despised the idea of human testing.
“No, don’t worry. I’m not in the business of doing harm. I’ve heard of other organizations and their unethical projects, but I’m not a part of that.”
“That’s a relief,” she replied. At least she didn’t have to worry about Alec and Bobby Dean now, knowing that they wouldn’t undergo dangerous tests. “If you’re only searching for immune women, then why did you capture the two men in our group?”
“That’s the organization’s plan. They believe that it’s important to collect men to make sure they aren’t infected. Plus, they tend to fight on the women’s behalf, making it hard to get our samples.”
“Why don’t you explain why you need blood and collect your samples where you find the women?” Elaina asked. “If your soldiers just let us stay at the house while we submitted the samples, no one would have gotten hurt.”
Steve sighed. “Ideally, that would be great. I really like to see survivors be able to live something that resembles normal life. But what would you do if someone came to your residence, asking for your blood without further explanation? Would you freely give it, or would you fight back?”
Elaina knew he had a point. She couldn’t trust anyone these days. Given their group history, any soldiers soliciting blood would probably not make it to the front door without getting shot.
“How did they find us in the first place?” she asked.
“We have the technology to track gunshots. If our radar picks up on gunfire, we can zero in on the area. Where there are gun users, there are survivors. I believe the team assigned to your case searched several homes in the area until they found you.”
Elaina frowned. That explained how they’d found the house after the first set of soldiers shot at the Infected, but it didn’t explain how the three perverted soldiers found them in the first place.
“Is your military backing trustworthy?” she asked. “I’ve had bad experiences with different militarized organizations.”
“I have yet to have any problems with them, but I’m also an employee. In exchange for my research, I’m offered protection that I wouldn’t be able to get otherwise. It’s much easier to work, knowing that I have a bunch of armed people on my side. It’s a fairly small operation, though. The Oklahoma National Guard was basically disbanded once the virus became uncontrollable over here. A good number of our troops are from the Guard and have lots of training in this sort of thing. The others were survivors with nowhere else to go. In fact, many of them were brought in for testing and decided to stay and work for us. Maybe your friends will consider it.”
Elaina tried not to laugh. The thought of Alec or Bobby Dean working as a soldier was extremely unlikely. Bethany would probably slash her own wrists before she worked for a militarized
organization. Elaina did understand why people chose to join. As long as they weren’t being forced, it didn’t seem like a bad gig.
“It takes all kinds to keep this place running smoothly,” Steve continued. “Like in any organization, some people are better than others. Overall, I think we’re doing a lot of good and are learning how to be better. But I hope you’ll stick around for a while and work with me. I think we could really use each other.”
Elaina smiled. “I agree. It’s a shame that it’s so hard to collaborate with other scientists now. If we could have met a year ago, we might have been able to prevent this epidemic.”
“I know,” he said sadly. “But, there’s no time like the present. Do you want to look at some of my findings?” he asked, offering the clipboard to her.
She took it, poring over the information he had been working on. She would need a crash course in genetics to understand the data, but from what she could understand, she felt great promise.
“What can you tell me about genetic therapy with regard to creating immunity in others without the genetic mutation?” she asked.
“I believe it can be done,” he replied, running a hand through the back of his hair. “The problem is, I’m used to doing this kind of thing on a very limited basis. I’ve delivered gene therapy to babies in utero when their survival seemed very slim due to genetic abnormalities. I’ve even worked with embryos. With adults, we tend to use their genetic information to scope out potential issues before they become a problem. For example, we can almost always predict if someone is going to develop cancer, just from looking at their DNA over their life. But instead of changing their genetics, we tend to prescribe preventative drugs and schedule lots of checkups. That way, we can nip the issue in the bud.”
“Unfortunately, the virus can’t be cut out of a person like a tumor,” Elaina said.
“Precisely. Recently, I’ve been toying around with the idea of taking an infected patient’s blood, mutating their DNA so the TLG2 gene gives them immunity, and basically doing a complete transfusion. I’m hoping that will be enough to trick the antibodies into having the ability to deal with an ever-changing virus. Although, I still don’t know if it would work. I haven’t been able to test it.”
“How do you mutate genes?” she asked
“There’s a number of ways. Oftentimes, we shoot powerful radiation into the cells, which can cause a disruption. Other times, we inject a virus that changes the DNA for us.”
Elaina’s eyes lit up. “I think I could help you there.”
He grinned. “I’m sure you can.”
“Maybe that could be coupled with some powerful antiviral medication,” Elaina suggested. “That way, we can treat the masses and not have to go through so much work just to immunize everyone. The AIDS virus was essentially eradicated with antivirals. I wonder if something similar could work here.”
“I think we’re onto something,” the doctor said, scribbling notes onto a piece of paper. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll talk to the people in charge and see if they can find some other experts to collaborate with us. We currently have a couple of lab assistants and medical professionals on board, but we could use more help.”
Elaina’s mind was swimming with all the possibilities. Now that she was back on the right track, she figured she could come up with a working preventative for the Vincent Strain by the end of the month. If she could convince the others to stay and work security at the headquarters, then by the time they were ready to immunize, the people she cared about would be the first in line.
“Do you think it’s possible for someone to return to the house?” she asked. “I’ve left all of my notes on the virus there.”
“I don’t see why not,” Steve said cheerily. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, I’d like to get you started in our lab. It’s rather rudimentary, but it’s better than nothing.”
Elaina grinned. She felt like she was having a dream.
“I’d love to,” she said, “but do you think I could check on Alec first?”
“Ah, yes,” he said. “Of course. He should be stitched up and as good as new. Is he your husband?”
Elaina blushed a violent shade of scarlet. “No, he’s just a very dear friend. He’s been with me every step of the way, and I don’t know if I could complete my work without him. He’s helped me out of a lot of sticky situations.”
“I see. Well, why don’t we pay him a visit before we get back to work?”
The pair heard a loud clatter in the hallway, followed by shouts from several different people. Feet stomped down the hallway, followed by a guttural laugh.
The geneticist looked uneasy. He pressed his ear against the door as the racket continued.
“What’s going on?” Elaina asked, hoping that this was a common occurrence and nothing to be concerned about.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Stay here, and I’ll take a look, just to be safe.”
He swiftly exited the nurse’s office and shut the door behind him. But it caught on the clipboard he dropped, leaving a small sliver of space between the door and the wall. Elaina peeked through the crack and looked out into the front office.
She watched as the doctor raised his hands in front of his face, either to prove he was unarmed or to shield himself. A young woman with fiery red hair swung a machete like a baseball bat, slicing through Steve’s jugular vein. He collapsed to the floor, clutching his neck as it spewed dark blood.
Elaina covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from screaming. Her only hope of creating a cure was bleeding out in the office of an abandoned elementary school.
Chapter Fourteen
Injuries like the one Dr. Martinez sustained were almost always fatal, but Elaina still had a little hope that he could survive if he was attended to immediately. Somewhere in the building, there was someone skilled enough to deal with a gunshot wound. Surely, they could stop profuse bleeding, too.
Elaina ripped open the cupboards in the nurse’s office, looking for something that could be used to stem the flow of blood. She pushed past boxes of colorful bandages and grabbed a roll of gauze and a hand towel and carefully made her way toward the scientist.
By the time she reached him, he was lying on his side, clutching the front of his neck. His eyes bulged as he rocked back and forth, trying to get air into his lungs. Blood bubbled in his mouth as he gasped.
Trying not to make the bandage too loose or too tight, she wrapped several lengths of gauze around his neck. It didn’t seem to do any good, though, because the blood seeped through each layer within seconds.
The geneticist blinked rapidly at her, unable to speak with his severed trachea. His eyes were full of panic—he knew that a good outcome wasn’t likely.
“There’s another doctor around here somewhere,” she said as chaos unfolded down the hall. “You’ll get all fixed up and you’ll be fine. When you’re feeling better, we’ll get back to work on the cure. It’s all going to be okay.”
As he continued to lose blood, his eyelids became heavy and it was too much work for him to keep his eyes focused on Elaina. Holding the wound with one hand and checking his wrist for a pulse in the other, Elaina struggled to find a steady beat. When she did, it was so weak it was hard to tell if it was his pulse or hers as her heart pounded with fear.
Though the commotion was happening somewhere else in the building, Elaina knew they weren’t safe where they were. She needed someone to help her transport Dr. Martinez to the medical staff, but she was afraid to call attention to them in case the violent attackers were to return. She didn’t know how many of them there were, but she feared that if Dr. Martinez could be struck down so easily, then the soldiers weren’t faring so well.
Then, there was the issue of the others, locked somewhere in the building without protection. It wouldn’t be hard to take out Bobby Dean and Bethany, especially if they were still trapped in the cage. Alec was also in a vulnerable position. If he h
ad been heavily sedated during his procedure, he wouldn’t be able to get up and run. Besides, he was already so weak from blood loss before even arriving at headquarters. If someone came chasing after him, he wouldn’t make it.
Elaina was paralyzed with worry. She could only be in one place at a time but had three very important sets of people to protect. She wanted to find Alec, but she also needed to save Steve. He was the only person she knew who had the knowledge to fill in all the blanks for her cure.
The noise from down the hall quieted. Elaina held her breath, listening for clues to help her figure out what was going on. Was it possible that the army dissolved the threat? Were they safe?
“Is anyone there?” she said weakly at first before clearing her throat. “Hello? We need help over here.”
She looked down at Steve, whose eyes were closed, but his eyelashes still fluttered. He didn’t have much time left.
“Help,” she shouted. “We need help over here!”
The hallway door creaked open and Elaina breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re going to get you help,” she said, cradling Steve’s head in her lap. “You’re going to be just fine. I know it looks bad, but it’s nothing a surgeon can’t handle.”
The wild-haired woman returned, a wicked smile on her face. She pushed her long curly hair behind her ears, leaving a streak of red in her copper mane. She was absolutely covered in blood, and by the gleeful expression, Elaina knew that it wasn’t hers.
“What are you doing?” Elaina cried. “Why would you do such a thing? He’s a good guy. He’s trying to help.”
The girl twirled her machete, pacing back and forth in front of the two scientists. “You must not know him very well. You didn’t know what he was trying to do.”
“He was trying to cure the virus,” Elaina said, her voice wavering.
“Wrong,” the girl bellowed. “He was going to make everyone the same. He wanted to change the very thing that makes us special. Do you know what happens when everyone is special?”
Elaina quickly shook her head.