by L A Taylor
Blake waited for Mike to completely blow his top, but it didn’t get that far. The scientist was definitely put in his place though. He wasn’t expecting this and it vexed him.
“I’ll sort it. See you soon,” Shane whispered back.
The large clock hanging on the wall in Mike’s office had just ticked to 7.45pm when Shane entered the building. George escorted him to the chief. “Thanks, George.”
The old officer responded with a nod of his head and returned to his desk. Mike sensed the newcomer to the room was a bit unsure of what to expect from him, so reassured the other man that he wasn’t going to bite his head off, (like the creatures that’d been around in the past couple of days). He politely asked Shane to sit down, so he did.
“This is Blake, just in case you two haven’t met already.”
Both strangers said their hellos then Shane turned to face the chief again. “Why am I here? And what’s so important that I had to come down right now?”
This was going to be tough for Mike. How could he explain the past couple of days? And also convince the scientist not to walk out of the building? “Calm down. You’ve been asked to assist us in our investigation into what’s inside the fertilizer. We’ve sent some to our lab for tests, but haven’t come up with an answer yet. We know there’s something strange in it though. This is where you come in, as you should know the answer to that one.”
Shane’s reaction to this had him almost laughing, not because this was funny, but because he was very annoyed.
“I’ve driven all the way over here just to tell you the ingredients inside the fertilizer. I could’ve done that over the phone.”
“You’re right, you could’ve, but you wouldn’t have been able to witness the damage that the stuff has caused this town.”
Shane felt guilty about something now, but what was Mike going on about? He thought fast for a few seconds before past memories printed pictures into his mind.
“Hold on a minute, has my fertilizer got anything to do with what was on the news earlier?”
“Now you get it. We think some form of chemical inside the stuff caused ultimate chaos in our town, but I don’t know how yet.”
Shane’s brain worked overtime. He was still mad at being forced to drive to this destination, but was now intrigued by this information. “I’m sorry, I really had no idea.” He composed himself before speaking again. “We tested it inside the lab on a small quantity of crops. We placed some bugs that cause infections and also ones that just eat the plants amongst the crops before sprinkling some of the new fertilizer over the top. After a few days we checked on progress. We found that all the bugs had died but the crops had grown a few more inches in height.”
His explanation on what the fertilizer was used for was the same as Blake’s, so Shane never really had a clue just how deadly his experiment could end up to be. The human race could be wiped out by what he’d made.
“I don’t want to know what you did with the stuff, I just need you to tell me what you put in it,” said Mike impatiently.
Mike didn’t want to tell Shane about the zombie breed and he definitely didn’t want anyone else telling him either, so, whatever the man heard from the news was enough for now.
“We used a new substance called Moltovenium, but that’s just a poison to get rid of those bugs.”
Mike jotted down the magic word. “Moltovenium, you say. I’ve never heard of it, but I’d best notify our guys at the lab of the name. They’ll hopefully have an answer for us soon.”
The piece of paper was passed to George for him to make the call.
Mike wasn’t finished with the scientist yet and wanted to show him the effects of the deadly fertilizer. He wasn’t thinking that the stuff might be harmless now. As each minute ticked by, the chances of it being involved grew deep inside his head. “So, Shane, do you really want to know what’s been going on around here?”
Mike hurried the scientist out of his office before the latter had chance to reply to the question. Blake felt ignored. He knew he should’ve gone home ages ago, but the opportunity was now about to arrive. Mike escorted the two men out of the building, thanked Blake for staying then escorted the scientist toward the car park. Shane’s eyes scanned the closeness of the chief as he tried guessing what Mike planned for him. “Where are we going?” he asked, feeling a little fearful.
“You’ll see soon enough. We’re going for a little drive.”
Those words definitely freaked out the new guy.
The time was 8.30pm when Mike’s car stopped outside the hospital again. He led Shane through the building and wasn’t going to stop until reaching the injured man.
“Where are we going?” Shane asked again.
“We’re nearly there, so just be quiet.”
As they entered the area, four people suddenly turned to look at them. This made no sense to Shane whatsoever and he really didn’t want to be there.
Hazel was on duty again, and with her were Jason’s parents and Wayne.
“How’s he doing?” Mike asked her.
“He’s stable at the moment, but that could change at any time. He’s become very weak and I don’t think he’ll make it through the night.”
Mike couldn’t bear to think that he was about to lose another officer. It was all too much.
The dying man’s parents wanted to be here for him during this awful and nightmarish ordeal. The poor, helpless man had already taken a turn for the worse within the past hour, so it wasn’t looking good for him. Donald and Dawn now stood with their heads down, praying. This was their way of coping.
“Let’s hope we find a cure soon. I don’t want any more of my officers dying on me this week, so I’m going to try really hard to save this one.” Mike said, hoping that Jason would recover, but knowing that he probably wouldn’t.
Everyone, except for Shane listened attentively to Mike’s words, and all ignored the stranger. Shane seemed detached from the scene as he stood, staring at a lifeless Jason in the bed, a man who was invisible to him, a man laid out inside a private glass chamber.
“Do you know how long he’s got?” Mike asked.
Hazel was aware of the tension in the air. “I’ve just been in to check on him and he’s not looking good. That bite is very infectious now and spreading, so once it reaches his heart it’ll be the end for him.” Mike watched her lips and followed every word she spoke, but still hoped for a cure to arrive. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing more I can do. If we don’t find an antidote for this soon then he’s going to die.”
Shane still felt weary on the subject but somehow, his eyes filled with tears. He now realized that the chief thought the man was ill because of his mixture. He felt confused and saddened, but didn’t know how he could help. How could he prevent everyone’s hearts from being ripped out of their bodies once the poor man in the bed faded off into the blackness of no man’s land? Mike swallowed hard before turning to him. “Could you come with me please?”
Both men moved away from the scene, walking round the nearest corner. There was no need for the chief to re-structure a conversation on what happened here, Shane wasn’t stupid and knew there was a connection between himself and an officer lying half dead behind a glass cage. The fertilizer was sending him from hero status to villain, so was he still going to stand by his creation after all this?
“I’m confused. You’re saying I’m to blame for all the tragedy and then you say maybe I’m to blame. Which is it?” Shane asked.
“Let’s just say that whenever there’s a victim, your stuff ends up being top of our most wanted list,” Mike snapped back.
“Okay, I’m here to help if you need me.”
“I know you are.”
Mike smiled, but it wasn’t the smile between two friends, it was more of a ‘you aren’t going anywhere until I say so’ smile.
He left Shane to hide for a few more minutes while he spoke to Wayne. “I’m off back to the station now. I want you to keep me informed of any pr
ogress.”
“Will do...”
Mike said his farewells to the other people. He walked back to Shane, but still no one asked why he was there. They’d a more important person on their minds at this time. The two men made their way out of the building.
Mike passed Blake’s phone number to Shane. If he were so intent on helping then he would have to team up with the guy who bought the fertilizer. They spoke back at the station for another fifteen minutes then Shane received a dozen reminders of the contact details before eventually leaving for the night.
TWENTY-THREE
Wayne became solo. He remained seated outside Jason’s private quarters when the clock struck 9.00pm, but an attempt to stay awake failed him and he nodded off. While Wayne slept, Jason’s heart stopped beating. His arteries finally clogged up with the deadly virus. This was the first sign of the deadly change. Moving eyes now hid behind lifeless lids as the latest victim to the other side lay beneath the sheets.
Chris had caught up with Mike back at the station. The news on Jason’s health shocked him, so the nosey reporter re-visited the hospital. Hazel spotted him entering the building and watched him closely. He may’ve fooled her before with that stupid disguise but she was on top of the situation now. She smiled when the memories drifted back into her head.
“All right, love. Do you know where I can find Officer Strong?” “Yeah, I know where he is.” She couldn’t let their last meeting slip by without saying something. “You’re that little shit who gave me a load of crap about being related to the dead couple.”
Chris stooped down his head, but it wasn’t because he experienced a sudden surge of embarrassment about what he did. In fact, he was actually sniggering to himself.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that, but I needed some information. It’s in my job description to talk crap. I have to do what it takes to get the job done.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me who you were - And that you’re working with the police?” Hazel asked.
“That would’ve been too easy. What would I do with my many disguises if I couldn’t use them every now and then?” he replied.
“Whatever.” Hazel said.
She led him to the corridor of gloom, then left to carry on with her own work. Chris made his way to the room of the latest catastrophe. Wayne was sleeping like a baby so he browsed over to the bed, seeing for himself the proof that Jason was ill.
A man lying down and not moving wasn’t a good sign at all.
Suddenly, Wayne bolted upright, wiped his eyes and stared at the human standing in front of him. He glared at Chris and bellowed out. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Chris remained calm, taking his attention away from the sick man to focus on Wayne. “I’ve come to see how you are and to check on the patient.”
A sly smile escaped from the sergeant. He knew Chris was a snake and probably up to no good. “Fuck off. You’re up to something.”
“This is off the record. I’m not working now. I’ve just left Mike and thought I’d pop down to keep you company. He’s rushing around trying to find the answer to solving this.”
Those words left Wayne thinking suspicious thoughts.
Was he being genuine? Or did he have something up his sleeve?
“So, you want to keep me company. I’ll accept that for now.”
He made it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for any sneaky bullshit, but would let the other man prove his worth. They began to discuss Jason’s progress. Chris was dismayed to hear that there’d been no improvement.
“Have you spoken to him recently?” he asked.
“I haven’t spoken to him for a while. Hazel told me to let him sleep.”
Both men looked over at the stiff sight. After a couple of silent minutes the reporter did the right thing and changed the subject.
“So, Wayne, do you have a girlfriend?”
He took his time to answer. “Yeah, it’s early days at the moment so not many people know.”
“Have you considered getting hitched? Or having kids?”
Wayne seemed pleased that Chris was trying to distract him. He knew he needed to think about normal, everyday life. The conversation developed and Chris even managed to make him smile. The reporter had plenty of enemies through his job choice but was able to escape from awkward situations because of his ability to make them laugh. By the time people stopped laughing, they’d forgotten to hit him.
“Thanks, Chris,” Wayne said, shaking the other man’s hand.
“For what...?”
“For making me smile, for being here at this moment in time, for not being a complete twat. You pick one?”
Chris waited for Wayne’s words to stop flapping in the atmosphere before commencing with his own.
“Can I pick all three?” There was a slight intermission before both men smiled at each other. “So, can we bury the hatchet and become friends now?”
“I’d rather bury the hatchet in your back than become friends with you.”
Wayne tried hard to keep a straight face, but couldn’t maintain it. Chris knew he was joking and so the tension wall tumbled down.
“Would you like a cup of coffee? I need to stretch my legs,” Wayne said, lifting up from his seat.
“Yeah, that would be great. Could you put two sugars in mine please?” Chris glanced over at Jason. “I’ll keep an eye on your mate. If I notice any change, I’ll let you know.”
“Cheers,” a very tired Wayne replied.
The sergeant headed off. He took another route before fetching the drinks and walked outside the building. He’d been doing well with not smoking, but at this moment in time couldn’t stop thinking about sucking on a cigarette to feel relaxed.
Chris noticed a movement from beneath the sheets of the patient’s bed, so watched closely for more activity. It happened again and again. The covers were being manoeuvred by the figure underneath them. He scratched his head. “The poor guy probably just turned in his sleep,” he muttered, feeling slightly apprehensive now.
He didn’t want to alarm Wayne with this information so continued to watch. The covers moved more rapidly now, spooking him out, but being the daredevil type he decided to enter the forbidden chamber to check on the man. Chris stood next to the bed and stared at the figure before nervously gripping the sheet covering Jason’s face. It was pulled past the nose. The dead man’s eyelids shot open like a roller-blind, instinctively knowing someone was near. A bloodshot, white focus now formed around his eyeballs. Chris jumped back from the sudden shock but didn’t anticipate Jason to be one of the living dead. He just thought that the sick man had woken up. “Wow, man, you scared me. How you doing...?” Chris said, slapping his left hand against his chest.
There was to be no answer as the body that was now starting its next life of cannibalism hoisted up in the bed.
Chris could definitely tell now that something was wrong because as the sheets disappeared away from the body he saw Jason’s colouring had changed dramatically. However, in Chris’ mind this sight still wasn’t proof that the other person was indeed dead. He now thought this might’ve something to do with the drugs being pumped into Jason’s veins. “Jason, mate. Are you all right?”
After receiving no response, Chris started to fear for his own safety. If this was what one of the walking dead looked like then it was fucking scary, he now thought.
His mind had gone blank by this time. All he wanted to do was open the door again, get out of there, but couldn’t do it. The vision of what was in front of him seemed totally amazing, and it wasn’t in a good way.
The creature uprooted from the bed, revealing killer eyes that targeted the small man. The trance-like stance had gone. Chris stepped back a couple of feet, viewing what was in sight. This transformed zombie wasn’t impressive anymore. He regained full mobility of his feelings but now didn’t want to leave. He smiled at the monster and began to enjoy being in this life threatening state. The risk of being killed by some rampaging, bloodthirst
y freak excited him. He knew that one false move would end up with him being the first meal for the creature, but he was also one sick mother who relished living on the edge.
“Come on you piece of shit. Do you think you can kill me?” Out came Chris’ tongue, as he now pulled faces at the monster. “Well, do you?” He taunted the creature.
The nervous, but exhilarating laughing sounds squealed out of his eleven stone body frame as the zombie followed him around the room. The smell of fresh meat caused the creature to lick its lips upon closing in on him, but Chris waited until the zombie was at touching distance before ducking down and rolling underneath the bed. This reaction caused the newborn monster to sigh as its food disappeared, but a chuckling man returned out of the other side blowing a raspberry at it.
Wayne was on his way back and could hear noises coming from the intended room. It was a bit vague at first so thought nothing of it, but after turning the corner leading to his destination, noticed the sounds came from one person.
What was that prick up to? he thought.
He moved at a faster pace now and saw the other man in the noentry room. The recently bought drinks crashed to the floor as Wayne entered the fighting arena. “What the fuck are you doing?” he shouted.
“I’m just having a laugh,” said Chris.
“A laugh is you telling me a joke, not you risking your life.” Wayne’s hatred for the other man brewed up again. The stupid reporter was up to his old tricks and pissing people off. He was a fool. “Are you fucking crazy, man, this thing will kill you,” the words blasted like a fiery cannonball out of Wayne’s mouth.
Chris allowed the shouting to bypass his eardrums. He wasn’t prepared to listen. “I know, but it won’t catch me, it’s too slow.”
The zombie paid Wayne more attention than Chris did, and now stared at him.
Wayne reached for his gun, but stopped in his tracks as the creature began to cry. This was like an exorcist moment when the little girl became overtaken by an evil being. It was as if Jason tried escaping from his new body. Wayne could imagine words being written onto the dead man’s belly, just like the movie, but these words weren’t “Help me,” they were “kill the fucking reporter, not me.”