Him and Ripley shared it as he watched Hud finish up the hinges.
“Derek, bring that desk over.” Hud pointed to the desk that Nora was still sitting on. Sasha helped Nora down, and Derek pushed the desk in front of the door. The desk wasn’t extremely heavy, but it would be a better barricade than nothing.
Hud then began running a screwdriver along the top edge of the door, pulling down with considerable force. Sasha heard wood splinter, and then a splash of sunset orange peeked through the widened crack.
“A window.” Sasha said, genuinely impressed with his ingenuity. She was wondering how they would tell when it was day or night, not that it seemed overly important.
“Yeah, these things are out less during the day. Seems fitting I guess.” Hud muttered. “We should probably stay inside until we see daylight through here, tomorrow morning.”
The light coming through the crack was the same color as the sky right after sunset. Night was moments away, and they would be trapped between these four walls with each other for maybe eight or nine hours. Derek was uneasy, and Sasha seemed nervous as well. Hud, however was apparently just hungry. He grabbed one of the cans that Derek had pulled out, cold beef stew, and opened it, pouring it into his mouth. He sat on the nearby blanket, paying attention to nothing but his can of food. Derek handed a can of spaghetti and meatballs to Sasha, and Hud handed her the can opener, and she and Nora ate as many bites as their nerves would allow. Then, in silence, she wrapped one of the blankets around her and Nora, and leaned against the wall to try and rest.
Derek and Hud remained silent. Hud had laid down, facing the wall. Derek didn’t know if Hud was sleeping or not, but he was far from it himself.
By the time the tea light candles had started burning out, Sasha and Nora were sleeping. Derek was watching Sasha, she was sleeping fitfully. His mind was elsewhere, though. He was drifting through the surreal events of the day. It seemed like just a few moments ago, he was driving his mom and Dan to the airport. She was reminding him to be careful on his drive down to Cheryl’s, Dan was rolling his eyes jokingly. He remembered loading Ripley in the truck, the long drive to what he thought was going to be a peaceful vacation, as long as he could escape Cheryl’s plans to find him a girlfriend. Everything had happened so fast and was so unexpected, that he had no point of reference on how he should be feeling. He was numb, and that was how he wanted to be.
He wondered about the people he was sharing this space with. Sasha was hard to read, not that he was surprised at his own lack of reading a woman. She was obviously distressed, but was doing her best to hide it. She was determined to take care of the little girl that didn’t belong to her. Hud, on the other hand, was surprisingly detached from the situation, he seemed to be less affected than the rest of them. It was obvious that there was going to be some kind of competition thing between himself and Hud, and whether it was about Sasha or not, he had no idea. He wasn’t usually involved in anything like that, he avoided these kinds of situations at all costs. He decided he would do whatever he needed to in order to continue avoiding it. Sasha and Hud seemed to get along fine, anyway.
As if he could read minds, Hud rolled over and looked at Derek.
“You still awake?” He asked after a moment.
Derek nodded.
“So what’s your story?” The question threw Derek off; he hadn’t expected Hud to care about his story. He leaned his head back, trying to figure out where to begin. After a deep breath, his mouth opened.
“I just got here yesterday. I live in Maryland, spent all night Thursday after work driving down here.” He didn’t want to mention Cheryl, the last look he had gotten of her was stuck in his memory.
“What do you do up in Maryland?” Hud asked, unscrewing the top from a water bottle, taking a long sip.
“Customer service for the cable company.” Derek saw Hud’s eyebrows raise. He was half-smiling, making it obvious what he thought of Derek’s job compared to the career he had chosen for himself. Derek caught the insinuation, and for an instant, wanted to say that not every man wanted to spend their lives training for war. He quickly pushed that thought out, instead continuing to what he wanted to say.
“Me and Ripley almost got eaten by one of those…” He stopped, searching for the right word.
Hud looked away. He chose his first words carefully.
“They’re infected, I think. I mean, they’re just people. But people don’t just up and start eating each other for no reason. You should have seen how quick it spread. Everyone was complaining about having to load up these trucks so late at night, everything was normal. And then, it just went nuts.”
Derek was remembering the moments before his truck had careened off the bridge. He knew how fast it could spread, he understood Hud’s choice of wording. Hud continued and Derek got the impression he wasn’t directing his words at anyone in particular.
“Epps was standing right next to me. We were just watching, it started with some kid having a seizure or something. Everyone backed up, some officer was yelling to give him room. Next thing we know, the kids up and just going wild. He took out like three guys before they got him down. Then it was like everyone started having seizures.”
“Yeah, the seizures.” Derek was familiar with the seizures. Lawrence’s shaking body flashed through his mind.
“I was kind of frozen, I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I was just standing there next to Epps, and then someone jumped right on him. Epps couldn’t get him off, and I didn’t even have time to help him. Next thing I know, Epps is on the ground, shaking, and that kid is looking at me. He had blood all over him, Epps’ blood, and his eyes were completely black. I just took off running. I’ve seen some crazy things happen, but nothing like that.”
Derek was leaning forward, listening intently. If there was any information Hud had that could help them, he didn’t want to miss it.
“I tried to get back to my apartment building, but there was no way in. Everyone was running out. Everywhere I went, the same thing was happening. I can’t remember how long I was running, it felt like a dream. Or a nightmare. I remember jumping over some guys, they were dead. I went back and got the gun. Man, I’ve had all kinds of training. My dad served his whole life, I have been ready for war since I was a little kid. But I wasn’t ready for this. I don’t think anyone was.” They sat in silence for a moment.
“What do you think it is? A terrorist attack?” Derek asked.
“I don’t know. I was thinking that before, but why would they drop some virus or something here? There ain’t nothing at this base, no special ops, all the ships are all out in the Gulf. No one important is here. It doesn’t make any sense.” He looked frustrated.
“What kind of virus would make people act like that?” Derek asked. Hud shrugged.
“I just keep thinking of those stupid horror movies, where people get some virus or something, and it turns them into these…zombies. I know they’re just movies, but man, I don’t know what else to think.” He shook his head again, his jaw clenching.
Just then the last candle went out. Derek flinched at the sudden darkness. Hud remained quiet, and Derek took the cue. He felt out the blanket he had laid down, and tried to get into a comfortable position on it. He didn’t feel tired at all, so when sleep came, it blindsided him.
Chapter 15.
Sasha didn’t move and her eyes never opened. She had awoken and heard the conversation between Derek and Hud, and it had sent her own thoughts were twisting and turning in her head. She didn’t want to sleep again, her dreams had been as bad as reality. She lay there, listening to the steady breathing of everyone around her.
Her thoughts turned from the harrowing day she still couldn’t believe had happened to the two men laying nearby. Hud was so cold and seemingly heartless, but he had saved her more than once already. She was scared of how easily he thought of ways to kill, but so far it had only been in her advantage. His attitude towards Nora was unsettling, he obviously thoug
ht she was deadweight, and Sasha was going to have to make sure that she never let Nora get in the way because she was sure Hud would eliminate that baggage without a second thought. She shivered at the thought.
Derek, on the other hand, had seemed just as concerned about the little girl as she had been herself. He was young and was extremely out of his element, but was thoughtful and intelligent. Sasha had little doubt that he would do what was necessary to stay alive, and help protect her and Nora, if she needed it. She just wondered if he would know what was necessary.
The entire world looked bleak and deadly from Sasha’s point of view. Within the span of 24 hours, it seemed that the entire population of a major city had either turned into ravenous, cannibalistic monsters, or had been killed by them. Her parents faces flashed through her mind, and she pushed the image away as nausea turned in her stomach. There had been no rescue, it had happened so fast. Not even the military had been immune to the attack, all the sailors she had hoped would provide protection and a plan had fallen prey to the deadly assault.
She had already thought about it being some type of chemical warfare, maybe a terrorist attack. But, like Derek had said, she didn’t know if there was any type of chemical or virus that would affect humans that way.
Her mind went around and around, covering the same possibilities and then discounting them again. Something didn’t fit right, there was something she was missing, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. She was so lost in thought that the noise took a second to register in her ears.
Something had moved on the roof of the cinderblock building. She bolted straight up, causing Nora to move in her sleep. Sasha listened intently, only hearing her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Again. Something was moving on the roof. She listened as something scraped lightly, then jumped at another barely perceptible thud.
“Hud!” She whispered coarsely. Even in the darkness, when she turned her head in the direction he had been laying in, she could see he was already sitting up. Derek was, too. They all stood, still as stones, waiting for the next sound.
When another scraping sound moved their attention towards the front of the house, near the door, Hud moved into action. Sasha couldn’t see him well enough to discern his movements, but he started whispering commands.
“Move back.” Sasha bent down to wake up Nora, to move her to the back of the shelter. Nora was already sitting up, Sasha silently pulled her up by her shaking shoulders and they moved to the instrument panel on the rear wall. Derek stood in front of them, giving Hud plenty of room, but still closer to the door than the girls were.
Suddenly something slammed into the door. It buckled with the impact, Sasha heard the legs of the desk barricading it scuff on the concrete floor. Hud remained still, waiting. The doorknob begin to rattle, there had been deadbolt on the door, but Hud had destroyed it to get inside the first time, it was useless now. The door began to crack open, being pushed in from the outside, and Hud was instantly on the desk, using his weight to push the door closed. After a brief struggle, the desk toppled over, and Hud was on the ground. The light from the moon poured into the building, and Sasha could see the silhouettes of Hud, and then Derek, trying to push the door shut again. She also saw the dark silhouette of the intruder, low to the ground, and not 10 feet away from her. She could hear his raspy breathing.
Derek and Hud were still having trouble pushing the door against the strength of the man trying to enter. He was making more noise, grunting and breathing hard. Sasha felt in the dark on the ground for the flashlight, she clicked it on and pointed it towards the door. Derek and Hud were straining against the door, heels digging into the concrete floor. The flashlight illuminated the widening crack in the door, until a face appeared. For an instant, the black eyes narrowed in the beam of white light, then the man covered his eyes and screamed. The split second was enough for Hud to unload several bullets into him, sending the black eyed man to the ground in a heap.
There was silence for a moment, no one moved or spoke. Derek finally let go of the door, realizing that there was no opposing force anymore. Without speaking, he moved back over the upturned desk and Hud opened the door all the way. The man was now crumpled on the ground, bare arms still outstretched. They were covered in deep lacerations; blood was drying on his skin.
“He climbed the fence.” Derek said. Hud stepped out into the night, body stiffening. Sasha and Derek both could see the movement outside the fence in the pale moon light.
“There’s more. They’re along the fence.” Hud sounded defeated. Derek looked back at Sasha, who was looking as scared as he felt.
“What do we do?” Sasha asked.
Hud came back into the shelter. He closed the door, and Derek helped him right the desk and push it back up against the door. Hud turned on a flashlight, setting it end up on the floor, lighting the room, and then began speaking.
“There’s too many of them to take on. We will have to deal with them as they make it over the fence. I don’t know how anyone could survive losing as much blood as that one did.” He gestured towards the door.
Derek interjected. “I don’t think they feel pain. If they can untangle themselves from the razor wire, they’re coming over.”
“Right, well, let’s just hope they keep getting tangled.” Hud said. “We can’t all be sleeping at night anymore, these things are more active the darker it is. I hardly saw any of them all day, until the sun was going down, and now they are everywhere.”
A silent agreement was made between them all that sleeping for the rest of the night was no longer an option. They sat against the walls, listening to the sounds of clinking chain link fence, and the guttural noises coming from the stalkers.
In the eternity before sunlight came streaming through the crack in the door, Hud had been forced to shoot a couple more that made it over the fence. Sasha was always ready with the high powered flashlight, the monsters were completely incapacitated by the light, even if only for a moment. But a moment was all Hud needed.
By the time morning came, and Hud carefully opened the door, there was a small mound of bodies at the front of the house, and the fence was clear except for quite a few of the monsters who had gotten caught in the razor wire and had apparently bled to death before they could escape. Sasha fought to keep from retching, and Hud turned to Derek.
“We have to get rid of these.” He said, solemnly.
While Derek and Hud went out to drag all of the bodies down the hill, Sasha and Nora tried to organize the little shelter. Nora changed into clothing that fit her, and Sasha emptied the big plastic bin onto the floor. She and Nora ate a box of fish shaped crackers while Sasha replaced the cans and utensils and boxes of dry food in the bin, leaving the candles out for easier access. Then she started going through the trash can, pulling out medical items and a few small washrags and storing them in the pink satchel bag, and left the hairbrush and hairspray in the trash can.
She piled all the empty cans from last night on top of them, and set the garbage can outside the shelter. She saw Derek and Hud walking back to the substation, Derek several paces behind Hud. She had already planned in her mind what she wanted to do. They needed more weapons, and there had to be other survivors, hiding like them. She wanted to find them. The monsters were repelled by lights, she wanted to find some way to use that as a defense at night, but she wasn’t sure how to do it. She waited for the guys to come through the gate, then followed them in silence as they walked into the house. Closing the door behind them, she began to ask her questions.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Babies.
First round of modifications. Not to bore anyone with specifics, but the goal seems to be what I was thinking it was. To change the effects that a parasite has on its host, to make it less harmful. The project is a little more compartmentalized than I had hoped, there supposedly won’t be much information exchanged between the team that is observing the results of the parasites on subjects and the team doing the actu
al gene modification. Since I am on the genetic engineering side, I may not know what the actual results of the modified parasites is on the test subjects, I will only know if they were labeled as successful or not.
Either way, I am still excited. There were 4 different modifications done to 2 different species. As far as I know, these were changes made that are thought to alter amino acid secretion and reproduction.
I would name my new babies, but there are a few hundred of them. However, I have decided to name the modified groups. So far the labels are basically which genes were isolated for modification on which species. The eight variations we have are all seemingly random numbers and letters that coordinate with certain spots on the genetic code of different species that were mapped out prior. Since they are confusing to even me, I’m trying to turn them into legible words.
Variation TA2DO9 looks like TAZDOG. So that’s the TAZDOG variation. Very imaginative, I know.
So far, we have:
JR39C - Junior (JR) Variation
G1GR - GEIGER Variation
V10LA - VIOLA Variation
S33DS5 - SEEDS Variation
WN7R - WINTER Variation
D0RS5 - DOORS Variation
A1R0W - ARROW Variation
Even I am aware of how lonely and pathetic it makes me sound to list out the names I created from the labels. Wow.
Oh well, I enjoy it, and I hope at the very least, this turns out to be education (or entertainment) for some people.
The Loki Variation Page 9