Rotter World

by Scott M. Baker

  Everyone stared at Compton in disbelief. It took Robson several seconds for the words to register. Before he could protest, Compton continued.

  “I originally intended to use morphine or another sedative, but being uncertain about their physiology, I thought this was the best way to ensure success.”

  Robson stepped up to the table across from Compton and stared directly into his eyes. “You… you’re talking about infecting Dravko and the others and executing them.”

  “Of course,” replied Compton, as if he was responding to a student who could not grasp a simple theory. “We have to infect them first, otherwise they’ll fight back. This is the most humane way I could think of to euthanize them.”

  “Euthanize?” Robson backed away from the table to rejoin Natalie and O’Bannon, all the while keeping his gaze fixed on Compton and the colonel. He suddenly wished he had brought his sidearm with him. “You’re talking genocide.”

  Compton’s expression hardened, the pleasant features showing disapproval. “I take exception with that word. I’m not talking about killing anything human. The vampires are things. Ridding the world of them is no different than putting down a family pet.”

  O’Bannon sneered. “Except we’d feel bad about putting down a pet.”

  Robson stepped a little closer to Natalie, suddenly feeling outnumbered. He glared at the doctor. “And you thought I’d just go along with this?”

  “I thought you were a reasonable man,” Compton shrugged. “Clearly I was mistaken.”

  “How can you think this is reasonable?” asked Natalie.

  “Because it is.” Compton spoke not as someone pleading his cause, but as someone attempting to get others to see the light. “The vampires have always been the enemy of mankind. They stole and released the Revenant Virus to keep us preoccupied with saving our own lives so we wouldn’t hunt them. They’re responsible for the murders of six billion people. The only reason they allied with you was to save themselves. Without you, the vampires would have become extinct months ago. I don’t see Paul as some visionary who is ushering a new era of peace with the vampires. Paul is the one who aided and abetted mass genocide, not me.”

  “We’ve had no problems with the vampires since they joined us,” argued Natalie. “They’ve changed.”

  “Have they?” Compton placed his hands on the table and leaned closer. “Once man has turned the tide on the revenants and defeated them, then what? Do you think Elena will still be willing to abide by your peace when the one thing that posed a threat to them is gone? Do you think the vampires will be content living off the blood of farm animals? Like us, they’ll want to rebuild their numbers. They’ll probably start with you and the others in your little camp. Maybe Paul and the rest of you are naïve and trusting, but not me. I have an opportunity to rid the world of two evils plaguing mankind, and I’m going to take advantage of it.”

  “I’m with you, doc.” O’Bannon spoke with a conviction and enthusiasm Robson had never seen before.

  He looked at Thompson. “Did you know about this?”

  The colonel averted his eyes. “Yes.”

  Since persuasion didn’t work, Robson tried the only tool he had left. His authority. “Sorry, doctor. I can’t allow this,”

  Compton chuckled. “It’s not your decision.”

  “I’m in charg—”

  “No,” Compton cut him off. “You’re in charge when we’re on the road. In this facility, I’m in command.”

  “But—”

  “This discussion is closed.”

  Robson noticed that O’Bannon had moved away from his group and now stood at the end of the table closer to Compton. Thompson remained behind the doctor, avoiding eye contact. Robson figured he had better get out of here now before one of them got the idea to detain him. He turned around and headed for the door, pushing Natalie along in front of him. As he opened the door leading into the hall, he glanced at the others, almost expecting to see them coming after him. Thankfully they stayed on their side of the table and watched him leave. Once in the hall, he grabbed Natalie by the hand and rushed for the building’s exit.

  “I can’t believe I was stupid enough not to see this coming.”

  “Do you think he’ll really go through with it?” asked Natalie.

  “Yes. Which means we have to work quickly if we hope to stop him.”

  “How?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” As they exited the building, Robson looked over his shoulder toward the lab. No one was following them. “Call everyone together for an emergency meeting in the mess hall. And tell everyone to bring their weapons with them.”

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Compton watched Robson and Natalie exit the lab, realizing he had severely miscalculated their reaction. Although he figured it would take some convincing, he had hoped to persuade them to his way of thinking and garner their support. What he had not counted on was their irrational loyalty to the vampires. Whether their thinking resulted from Paul’s influence or from some twisted form of the Stockholm Syndrome, whereby the humans began to identify with the vampires with whom they were held captive, the end result was the same. Not only could he not rely on Robson’s cooperation but, judging by his and Natalie’s speedy exit from the lab and the way he had kept a suspicious eye on him, Robson would most likely work to stop him.

  “That didn’t go as well as I hoped,” said Compton.

  “I didn’t expect anything different from him.” O’Bannon stepped over to the doctor. “Robson’s always been an apologist for the bloodsuckers. And as for Natalie, wherever Robson’s cock goes, she’ll follow.”

  Compton turned to Thompson. “And what happened to you? Why the sudden lack of conviction?”

  “It’s not a lack of conviction.” The colonel raised his head. “I was surprised by the change in plans.”

  “What change in plans?”

  “I thought we agreed not to kill the vampires.”

  Compton felt himself growing frustrated with the colonel. “We agreed not to keep it secret from Robson.”

  “A lot of good that did,” snorted O’Bannon.

  “It’ll just make things more difficult, that’s all.”

  Thompson stepped closer to the doctor. “You’re not seriously going ahead with this?”

  “Of course,” Compton said, closing the open case of vaccines. “Only now we’ll have to deal with Robson and the others as well.”

  “‘Deal with’?” Thompson looked dumbfounded. “You intend to murder them, too?”

  “Call it whatever you want. I have an opportunity to get rid of the revenants and the undead, and I’m not going to throw it away because of some misguided affectations on the part of Paul, Robson, and the rest.”

  “But they fought alongside us. Hell, they sacrificed several of their own to make sure we got here safely. Doesn’t that count for something?”

  “The vampires teamed up with Paul’s group only because they faced extinction from a common enemy. Once that common enemy no longer exists, this alliance of convenience will fall apart.”

  Thompson became uncharacteristically belligerent. “Are you sure you’re not going to such extremes out of guilt for what you’ve done?”

  “I have nothing to feel guilty about,” responded Compton in a calm voice. Though he had every right to be furious with Thompson for challenging his authority as well as his integrity, he felt sorry for the colonel, knowing that the man was struggling to rationalize his sense of duty and loyalty with his sentimental attachment to the bloodsuckers for saving his life outside of Harrisburg. He paused long enough to make eye contact with Thompson, hoping he could reason the colonel out of his emotional turmoil. “I didn’t create the Revenant Virus as a weapon, and I wasn’t the one who released it. I now have a chance to rid the world of the two greatest evils facing it. If I don’t take advantage of this opportunity, and the vampires begin preying on humans again, then I have a lot to feel guilty about.”

  “I wish it ha
dn’t come to this, sir.” Thompson’s eyes hardened, filled with grim determination. He took three steps back from the doctor, unholstering his Colt in the process. Withdrawing the firearm, the colonel aimed it at his boss. “Dr. Compton, I’m taking command and placing you under—”

  An electronic zap cut off the colonel. That was when Compton noticed O’Bannon standing behind Thompson. He had taken the Taser from the table and shoved it into the colonel’s lower back against the spine. Thompson’s body stiffened and convulsed. O’Bannon reached around front, grabbed the Colt by its barrel, and yanked it out of the colonel’s hand. Once the colonel was disarmed, he turned off the Taser. Thompson dropped to the ground, crumpling into a moaning heap. O’Bannon stuck the Taser into his pocket and slid the Colt between his pants and the small of his back.

  “You okay, Doc?”

  “Yes, thank you. But you took a chance. What if the security cameras saw you?”

  “No chance.” O’Bannon crossed to the corner of the room where the camera was mounted onto the wall. “The red light’s on, which means nobody’s watching.”

  “Good thinking.”

  O’Bannon pulled a chair over underneath the camera, grabbed a fire extinguisher from its wall mount, and stood on the chair. Holding the extinguisher in both hands, he slammed the base against the camera several times until it eventually tore from its mountings and shattered onto the floor. “That ought to keep them out of our business for a while.”

  “We only need a little while.”

  O’Bannon climbed down from the chair and returned to Compton. “You realize that once Robson gathers the others together, he’ll be coming after you, right?”

  “I’m well aware of that. But we’ll be gone before then.”

  “We?” O’Bannon grinned. “Does that mean I’m part of the team now?”

  “You and I are the team.” Compton motioned toward Thompson lying on the floor. “Bring him along. And hurry. We don’t have much time.”

  Hoisting the colonel over his shoulder, O’Bannon followed Compton out into the hall and down to his private lab, waiting as the doctor unlocked the door. Signaling for O’Bannon to wait, the doctor stepped inside and looked up at the security camera in the corner. Seeing that the power light was red, he reached up and yanked the wires, ripping them from the wall. The red light faded out. Compton stepped inside and held open the door, directing O’Bannon to the center of the room.

  When O’Bannon stepped inside, the seventeen swarmers contained inside the reinforced cage lunged at the Plexiglas, slamming into the surface with a dull thud. O’Bannon jumped back and looked to the doctor for reassurance.

  “Don’t worry. That cage is steel and reinforced Plexiglas. They can’t get to you.”

  “You sure?”

  “Would I be here if they could?” Compton moved to a floor-mounted examination table in the center of the lab. “Bring him here.”

  O’Bannon did as he was told. As he dropped Thompson onto the table, Compton rummaged through one of the drawers on a nearby counter and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Returning to the examination table, he latched one end of the cuffs to its leg. Before he could lock the other end, Thompson swung his arm weakly and brushed away the doctor’s hand.

  “Wh-what the hell are y-you doing?” Thompson tried to roll off the table, but O’Bannon pulled the Taser from his pocket and shoved it against the colonel’s lower spine, zapping him. Thompson screamed and spasmed before falling unconscious.

  “Help me with him before he wakes up again,” said Compton.

  O’Bannon placed the Taser on the table and pushed Thompson onto his back. He held the colonel’s left arm down as Compton locked the free end of the handcuffs around his wrist. The two men stepped back and stared at the colonel.

  “What now?” asked O’Bannon.

  “Now we arrange our escape.” Compton headed for the door. “Follow me.”

  Chapter Fifty

  As he did every hour, Daytona toggled the security cameras inside the facility into cascade mode so they would give him a display of every room. He did so as much to alleviate the boredom as for security reasons. As the monitors slowly toggled through the various views, he opened the thermos and refilled his coffee mug.

  Turning his attention back to the monitors, he saw nothing unusual. Tatyana strolled through the facility, looking upset. He made a mental note to avoid her until she cooled off. Almost everyone else was gathered in the mess hall for some type of meeting. He’d have to check with Robson later to find out what they were discussing. Hopefully they were going over the plans for their return home. Other than that, things seemed pretty quiet. Though he did notice the cameras were out in the research lab and Compton’s private lab. It was probably just a malfunction. He’d mention it to Robson after shift change. Daytona locked the hall camera outside the private lab onto permanent display mode, which would allow him to warn the others in the unlikely event the swarmers broke out.

  He was taking a long drink of lukewarm coffee when O’Bannon entered the security room. Daytona swiveled his chair to face him. “What’s up? Come to see if any of the Angels are in the shower?”

  “I’m here to relieve you.”

  Daytona looked at his watch. “Shift change ain’t for another two hours.”

  “I know. But I can’t sleep, so I figured I’d come by early and give you a chance to get some rest.”

  “I thought Bethany was spotting me.”

  “She was, but Natalie changed the schedule. She wants Bethany somewhere else.”

  Something didn’t settle right with Daytona, and the one thing he had learned since the rotter outbreak began was to trust his instincts. He looked quickly over at the screen and back to O’Bannon. “How come you’re not at the meeting?”

  “What meeting?”

  “The one being held in the mess hall.”

  “I guess I wasn’t invited.” A weird expression briefly flashed in O’Bannon’s eyes, but then disappeared. Daytona thought it might have been worry. “So, am I relieving you or what?”

  “Let me check with Natalie.”

  Daytona turned to get his radio, which was on the desk by the monitors. As he reached for it, the blank screen to Compton’s lab reflected O’Bannon pulling a bayonet from the sheath strapped to his ankle and lunging. Daytona grabbed the thermos and spun around, flinging it at O’Bannon’s head. O’Bannon brought both arms up in front of his face, deflecting the thermos. Daytona used the chance to bolt out of the chair and slam his left shoulder into O’Bannon’s exposed abdomen, knocking him back against the wall.

  Clasping the chair in both hands, Daytona lifted it over his head and ran at O’Bannon, intending to slam it down on him. O’Bannon slid across the floor and kicked out with his leg, catching Daytona in the left ankle. Daytona tumbled forward. He dropped the chair to the floor and fell on top of it, knocking the wind out of him. O’Bannon scrambled to his feet and circled around behind him. Daytona tried to push himself up and regain his breath, but made it only a few inches when he felt O’Bannon clutch his shirt by the collar and yank him to his feet. A second later, a bolt of pain shot through his body as the bayonet blade sliced into his back and up into his chest, puncturing his right lung. Daytona gasped from the shock, but found it impossible to inhale. He wanted to fall forward, but couldn’t because O’Bannon held him upright by his collar.

  The pain erupted into an excruciating agony when O’Bannon twisted the bayonet, shredding his lung. It felt as though someone had set fire to Daytona’s chest, overwhelming his senses. His vision blurred and narrowed, and then his world went black.

  * * *

  O’Bannon slowly lowered Daytona to the floor and slid the bayonet out of his back. He kicked Daytona in the gut to see if he was still alive, but got no response. “All clear.”

  Compton entered the room from behind him. He barely gave the body a passing glance. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah.” O’Bannon wiped the bayonet blade on Day
tona’s shirt. He stood up and grimaced, stretching his back and rotating his shoulders from side to side. “Just a bit winded from the asshole throwing me into the wall.”

  “You’ll live.” Compton lifted the chair back onto its legs, pushed it over to the console, and slid into the seat. He checked the various consoles, pleased to find everyone gathered in the mess hall. “Good. They haven’t formed a lynching party yet.”

  “Give them time.”

  “Time is something they have precious little of.” Compton stood, input a few commands into the fuse box’s control panel, and returned to the main console.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Creating a distraction. I’ve set the main power to go out in fifteen minutes. Everything will shut down except the emergency lights and primary security features.”

  “So how does that help us?”

  “While they’re trying to figure out what happened they won’t be looking for us.” Compton looked over his shoulder. “It’ll give us a chance to escape.”

  “Sorry to bust your bubble, Doc, but there’s no way we can steal a Hummer, open the blast door, and get off the site before they catch us.”

  “True. But we won’t be going out the front door.”

  O’Bannon was totally confused. “I thought there was no other way out.”

  Compton raised his hand toward the schematic of the underground facility and pointed to the end farthest away from the buildings. “There’s a door here to the air filtration system for the facility. An access ladder leads to the intakes near the top of the mountain. It’s heavily alarmed, but once the power goes out we’ll be able to make it to the surface without anyone knowing.”

  “And how do we get back to camp?”