“A hell of a lot better than I did before it,” Brandt said. He grabbed a second towel and started drying his hair with it, trying to decide if it would be worth the potential trouble with Derek to ask the question stirring around in his head. Derek’s bomb-drop about the four test subjects had him rattled, and he couldn’t refrain from picturing the bloodied possibilities. He slipped past Derek to the sink, grabbing his toothbrush. “How is Alicia?” he asked casually.
“Alicia?” Derek repeated. “Why do you ask about Alicia?”
Brandt gave him a one-shouldered hug and stuck his toothpaste-covered toothbrush into his mouth. “Just curious,” he said. “She was nice to me when I first got here, and I was just wondering how things were going for her.”
“Things are going fine for her,” Derek said, a note of suspicion in his voice. “Is there something going on I need to know about?”
Brandt spat into the sink and rinsed his mouth before he answered. “No, Doc. Nothing at all.”
Chapter 10
An entire week of injections, tests, and questions passed before Brandt saw someone other than Derek and Jenna. It was in the middle of the night, somewhere around two, and he was lying in bed, unable to sleep thanks to his spinning brain, when his door creaked open a crack. He sat up a little and saw a slight, feminine silhouette slide in through the door and push it shut again.
“Who’s there?” he asked, wondering if Jenna had slipped in to check on him.
“Oh good, you’re still alive,” a voice said, and it took him a second to recognize it as Alicia’s. “Nice to know you’re still breathing, handsome.”
“What are you doing here, Alicia?” Brandt asked, sitting up fully and clicking on a light. Alicia ran forward on bare feet and turned it back off, but Brandt had seen enough to know that she wasn’t doing well. Her skin, already pale before testing started, looked even paler than before, and she had dark circles under her eyes that looked like bruises. She was also a bit thinner, and her red hair was a tangled mess.
“Don’t turn the light on!” she hissed. “What are you trying to do, get us in trouble? We’re not supposed to be in the same room together.”
“So can I ask why you’re in here, then?” Brandt asked. Despite her warning, he turned the light above the bed back on, keeping it dim but just bright enough that he could see her.
“I had to make sure my favorite male test subject was okay, didn’t I?” she said, as if it were obvious. She flopped onto his bed and tucked her feet underneath herself. There was a manic gleam in her eyes that he found disturbing enough to give him chills. Something wasn’t right with her, and he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly it was.
“Favorite male test subject?” he repeated, trying to play off his discomfort. “Just how many male test subjects you got in the wings?”
“A few here and there, but you’re my favorite.”
“Yeah. Okay. If you say so.”
Alicia stared at him for a full minute, like she was assessing something about him, and then she said, “Something’s not right about all this testing.”
Brandt’s interest was immediately piqued. “What do you mean?”
“What they gave me,” Alicia said, and she looked down at her hands and flexed them, curling her fingers into fists before straightening them back out again. “I can feel it inside me. In my head.” She slapped herself on the side of the head so hard that her head jerked to the side, and Brandt jumped, startled at the suddenness of the motion. “I can feel it in my head, eating at my brain.” She crawled across the bed, closer to him. “Whispering things to me,” she said, her voice hushed.
“What kinds of things?”
“Bad things,” Alicia breathed. “Scares the ever-loving hell out of me.” She tensed and then lifted her hand as if she was going to hit herself on the head again. Brandt caught her wrist to stop her.
“Cut that out before you hurt yourself,” he said. “Now talk to me. What have you heard?”
“DARPA is behind this,” she said. “I don’t know much, but I know that. I’ve dealt with them too many times to not recognize when they’ve got their dirty hands in the pot.”
“You’re just an MP,” Brandt said, confused. “How have you had contact with DARPA as an MP?”
“Don’t worry about that,” she said. She paused, clearly thinking something over. “They’ve got armed soldiers everywhere. I heard rumor that four of us are dead, shot to death by, guess who? DARPA.” She shook her head. “Michael, I don’t think any of us are going to make it out of this medical test alive.”
“That’s a very negative view of all of this,” Brandt said.
“It’s probably true, though,” she said. “Just watch, Michael, and you’ll see that I’m right.” She tenderly pressed her hand against the side of his face. “I’d kiss you ‘til next time, but I’m worried that this shit they’ve given me is contagious, and it wouldn’t be fair to risk it.” She smiled and patted his cheek lightly. “I’ll be back,” she swore, and then she was gone, slipping out the door as if she’d never been there.
Two more weeks passed, during which Brandt saw neither hide nor hair of Alicia but saw plenty of Derek and Jenna. Days ticked by slowly, Christmas passing without comment or acknowledgment, and January was plunging past with similar speed. Brandt did his best to keep his mind occupied during the passing days. He read a lot of books borrowed from the rec room, mostly mysteries and thrillers, and did push-ups and sit-ups every morning to keep himself in shape, making a special point of getting up at six every morning so he could ensure that they would get done.
During those two weeks, security seemed to have tightened. Every time he stepped out of his quarters to go to the cafeteria or the rec room, uniformed soldiers appeared out of nowhere, rifles in hand and held at the ready, to escort him to wherever he was going. The first time the two soldiers popped out of the woodwork to escort him to breakfast, he tried to talk to them, but the two men stayed as silent as statues until he gave up. Ever since, he’d walked to meals in silence, the two men flanking him. If everyone was being guarded like he was, then it was no surprise that Alicia hadn’t been able to slip away in the middle of the night and come back to his room.
He also saw none of his fellow test subjects during those two weeks, probably because of the guards. They were a pain in the ass, and he would have just stayed in his room if he hadn’t known that he would go stir crazy in there. He tolerated the oppressiveness as best he could, annoyed as he was by the hovering from Derek, Jenna, and the soldiers, biding his time until the perfect opportunity presented itself.
Another week crept by and the end of January was almost upon them before Brandt got his chance. It was around one in the morning when he levered himself out of bed and grabbed a t-shirt, jamming it on over his head and slipping on his soft-soled shoes. He slunk to the door, cracked it open, and peered out into the darkened hallway. No one was in sight. He crept into the hallway, easing his door shut behind him to slow the chance of someone noticing that he wasn’t in his quarters, and started walking down the hall, staying silent and reflexively sticking close to the wall. He made it to the corner of the intersection of halls that led to the women’s quarters and waited there, listening carefully for footsteps or other signs that someone else was out and about in the halls. When he didn’t hear anything, he chanced a peek around the corner. Nothing there.
He slipped into the women’s hall and started forward, hurrying toward Alicia’s quarters.
Her door was closed, but there was the faint hint of a light through the narrow window set vertically into the door above the doorknob. He hesitated, glancing in either direction up and down the hall, then turned the knob and eased the door open a crack. He waited a moment, then nudged the door further open and entered the room. He eased the door shut behind him and leaned against it, his eyes scanning the room before him.
It was as simple as his own, all white furniture, padded corners, and soft fabrics. Unlike his own room
, however, which was neat, everything folded and put away, his bed made with military precision every morning, his shower and sink dried out with a towel after every use, this room was a total mess. The bed sheets had been ripped free from the bed and tossed across the tile floor, and the pillow was ripped open, tufts of stuffing scattered on the floor and bare mattress. The desk chair was overturned and jammed under the desk. The dresser drawers had been pulled out of the dresser, and clothes were spread across the floor everywhere. In the corner of the room, furthest from the door, sat Alicia Day, her knees drawn up to her chest, rocking back and forth, thumping her head against the wall with every backward pass. Her long red hair looked horrible, a tangled mess that sagged to her shoulders in so many knots and twists that it appeared to be about three inches shorter. Her skin was blotchy and flushed, her lips bloodied and swollen, like she’d been biting down on them until they’d bled. He considered turning around and heading back to his own quarters, but before he could follow through with it, she lifted her head and looked right at him with a bloodied smile. Even her teeth were stained red. He cringed at the sight.
“Michael,” Alicia said, her words slurred, like her mouth was as full of blood as her teeth. She gave him a crazed look, her eyes wild. “So glad you could make it to the party.”
“Are you okay?” Brandt asked, taking a step toward her and pausing, as if he were trying to approach a feral animal.
“Of course I’m okay,” Alicia said. “Why do you ask? Don’t I look okay?”
“You look like shit,” Brandt said abruptly without considering the impact his words might have on her. She flinched and looked him up and down as she pushed herself to her feet, slowly and awkwardly.
“Yeah, because you’re a real peach,” she slurred. She spat out a mouthful of blood onto the white tile floor and grimaced. “You look like you just stumbled off the set of a romantic comedy or some shit. Pretty obvious which of the two of us is in the control group, isn’t it?” She took an unsteady step toward him, and he noticed that she was worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth. Fresh blood stained her lips, and a bead of it dribbled down her chin to drip onto her dirty white t-shirt.
That was when he saw that her lips weren’t cracked; they were chewed up, like she was gnawing on them as a dog would a piece of meat. She was doing it to herself, he realized in horror. It made him wonder what she’d do if she got those teeth on another human being. He didn’t think he wanted to find out.
“Maybe I should leave,” Brandt said. “You look like you don’t feel too well, and maybe you need some rest.”
“Fuck rest,” Alicia said. She darted forward, coming at him from his right side. He reflexively moved to the left to put some distance between them and cursed himself when the move put him further away from the door. “I’m lonely and bored, and you’re here. Entertain me.”
“I’m not really one for entertainment,” Brandt said. She took another step toward him, and he sidestepped again, moving even further away from the door.
“I don’t know,” Alicia said. She spat more blood on the floor. “You were plenty entertaining a few weeks ago.”
“That was a few weeks ago,” Brandt replied. “Before testing started. We shouldn’t even think about sex, because we don’t know if it will affect their tests.”
And because you seriously could use a shower and maybe a bleaching before I’d be willing to touch you, he added mentally.
“Fuck their tests,” Alicia said. She lunged forward, and Brandt lurched sideways, trying to avoid the bloodied woman. In the process, he tripped over the overturned desk chair and fell against the edge of the desk. A sharp pain stabbed through his side and he gasped, wondering if he’d cracked a rib. She kept coming, though, and he reflexively struck out with his foot, kicking the desk chair into her path with a loud clatter.
“Get away from me, Alicia,” Brandt ordered. “I’m not in the mood to wrestle with you right now.”
Alicia’s eyes narrowed, and she kicked the desk chair aside. It slid across the floor and slammed into the door. “Don’t like me anymore, Michael?” she snarled. “Not good enough for you anymore now that you’ve already gotten into my pants?”
“It has nothing to do with that,” Brandt said, righting himself and moving further away. He clasped his hand over his ribs, massaging his side.
It has everything to do with the fact that you’re bat shit insane.
“Then what’s it got to do with, Evans?” she asked, spitting blood onto the tiles again. “You make it a habit to fuck every woman that attracts you? Let me guess, when you do, you do it only once. The king of one-night stands.”
“Hey, you volunteered to be one of those one-night stands,” Brandt snapped, his anger getting the better of him.
“Are you implying that I’m a whore?” Alicia screeched. Her hand darted out and clasped Brandt’s shirt, trying to drag him in closer. He jerked backward, ripping his shirt, and scrambled away as multiple sets of footsteps thumped against the floor out in the hall.
The door banged open as his back struck the wall at the corner of the room furthest from Alicia, and two soldiers burst in, followed by several orderlies and Dr. Rivers. When the group of men entered the room, Alicia let out an unholy shriek of anger that echoed off the floor, walls, and ceiling and darted toward Brandt. He gasped, unable to back away since he was already in a corner.
“This is your fault!” she shouted. “They’re here because of you!” She made a hocking sound and spat a glob of saliva mixed with blood at him; it splattered onto his chest, soaking into his shirt.
“Take her down, take her down!” Derek shouted. “But don’t kill her! We need her!”
Taser wires arced through the air and struck Alicia in the torso, eliciting another scream from her as the electrical current flowed into her. She dropped to the floor, convulsing, her once attractive features contorting into something animalistic. She flopped onto her back, tremors still wracking her limbs, and Derek stepped past her, grabbing Brandt by the forearm and dragging him out of the corner.
“Get in the hall,” he ordered. “Now.” He followed Brandt as he headed for the door, saying to the guards and the orderlies, “Get her secured. I’m going to be in decon with this one.”
“Decon?” Brandt repeated but was silenced when Derek slapped him on the back of the head.
“Shut up,” he said. “I don’t want to hear another word out of you unless I specifically ask for it.”
“That’s going to make it difficult to explain myself, Doc,” Brandt remarked, cringing internally, anticipating another slap on the head. It didn’t come.
“Oh, believe me, you’ll be explaining,” Derek said. “Just not here.” He stopped in front of an unmarked door and unlocked it, holding it open for Brandt. “Get in,” he said. “You’ve been exposed to a pathogen from someone in a group different from your own. You need to decon. While you do that, you’re going to tell me everything.”
Part Three: After
Chapter 11
Brandt spent the entire scrub-down in the decontamination shower telling Derek everything that had transpired between him and Alicia, both that night and the nights before it. Derek hadn’t spoken at any point during the story, not even to react to Brandt’s revelation that he’d slept with Alicia despite the doctor’s warnings. Once he was done and as clean and decontaminated as he could get, Derek had simply said, “Get back to your quarters. I don’t want you to leave them again. Your meals and any entertainment you require will be brought to you.”
That was how Brandt found himself under virtual house arrest, unable to leave his quarters, not even with an armed guard. It was a recipe for going stir crazy, and Brandt was well on his way to it. Three days passed like that, sheer boredom mixed with frustration, and Brandt was ready to throttle someone, if only to break the monotony.
On the morning of the third day, something happened that changed everything.
Brandt was torn from his sleep by the sound of
the fire alarm blaring through his room. His eyes flew open, and he looked around the room in bewilderment, trying to place where the sound was coming from. He pushed himself to a sitting position as the overhead lights turned on on their own, scrunching his eyes and covering his ears as the screeching alarm echoed in his skull and rattled his brain. His head swam with the movement, and his stomach churned with nausea.
The power surged and the fluorescent lights flickered. The pulsing light from the fire alarm system mounted above the door further aided the brightness of the lights. Brandt grimaced and slid out of bed to search for his pants. He didn’t smell smoke, but he wanted to be prepared in case something had happened that required the evacuation of the CDC. He dragged a pair of pants from his dresser and pulled them on, glancing at the door. It was likely a false alarm. If that was the case, he was going to be pissed.
The shriek of the fire alarm’s siren shut off. The silence was oddly loud to his ears, and he shook his head like he could shake the lack of sound loose. The alarm’s strobe lights flashed against the white walls, the effect dampened only by the lights that accompanied their awakening. Brandt glanced at the door once more, then stumbled to the bathroom and fumbled for the watch he’d left on the sink the night before. His fingers closed around it, and he squinted at the digital numbers. 5:58 a.m.
“Well, ain’t that some shit?” Brandt said out loud. “Two more minutes were too much to ask for, huh?”
Brandt looked at the shower stall thoughtfully before he picked up his toothbrush. He’d forego the shower he normally took in the mornings; he hadn’t done anything to work up a sweat in the past twelve hours. Perhaps he could go back to sleep until Dr. Rivers dropped in for his morning visit. Maybe, if he was lucky, the doctor was no longer angry over him violating the rules.
Origins (The Becoming Book 6) Page 6