Infection Series (Book 1): Preservation

by Nelson, S. L.

  Charlie got the group moving and into the theater quicker than he thought. That was good because he had to start preparing for the early action show that was about to get out. Charlie walked over to theater one and propped open both doors. He could see the people inside gathering their belongings and start to file out. The theater was half-full, a better turnout than the evening shows. Charlie moved down the hall and rolled out the portable garbage can. He liked that most people brought out their garbage so he made it easy for them and provided a can right outside of the door. Once Charlie got that into place, he settled behind the counter to wave goodbye and chat with a few of the regulars.

  The first couple out went straight for the exit door without saying anything to Charlie. The next group was a couple of teenage boys that come in with their Dad. The boys headed straight for the bathroom, while the Dad came over to chat.

  “How’s it going Charlie?” the Dad asked.

  “Oh, just fine. How was the movie Louis?” Charlie responded. The discussion rolled into the weather and what they thought winter was going to bring. Charlie continued to watch as people mingled about the movie theater. People were moving slowing tonight, must not be in a hurry to head home as many of them lingered in the lobby.

  The conversation started to lag as the Dad started to look around for Colby and Matt. “Maybe I missed them. I’m going to head out to the car and check. If you see them, tell them that I’m out there?” Charlie agreed and waved Louis off.

  “Oh man, what is that smell! You let one loose little brother?” Colby let out a snicker while knocking elbows with his brother. The boys walked into the bathroom and immediately pinched their noses.

  “Geez, did something die in here?” Colby looked toward the stalls, “What is all over the floor?” Colby and Matt didn’t see the man standing in the corner by the sink. The smell of the bathroom and the mess on the floor kept their attention. “Hey, little brother, don’t get too close. The stink might get you.” Colby grabbed the back of Matt’s t-shirt and pulled him back toward the open door. “I don’t need to use the bathroom that bad, do you?”

  Matt shook his head no, “Let’s get out of here.”

  The man in the corner became agitated and responded with shifting movements at the noise the boys were making as they walked into the bathroom. The only warning the boys had of impending violence was the moan that emitted from the man before he grabbed the boy closest to him.

  The smell of death intensified with the proximity of the hand that was now attached to Matt’s arm. The grip hurt and tears sprang to the boy’s eyes, “HE’S TRYING TO BITE ME!!” Matt yelled.

  Colby grabbed Matt by his other arm and kicked the man in the stomach with is foot. The man loosened his grip just enough for Matt to slip his arm out of his grip. Colby swung his left fist hard into the right side of the man’s head, causing him to release the jaw locked on Matt’s arm. Colby pulled Matt out of the bathroom and into the lobby. Matt shook off the sweater he had draped over his arm to look at the damage that the man had inflicted.

  “Colby, look at my arm. You can see the bruises where he grabbed me and tried to bite through my sweater. What is wrong with that guy? Is he on drugs?” Matt’s eyes widened and the tears started to build again as he looked toward the bathroom door. “Oh no, Colby he followed us out here. What do we do?”

  Colby turned back in time to see the man walk up behind a woman coming out of the women’s bathroom and bear hug her from behind. She yelled at the man, gaining the attention of the people that were still in the lobby. She tried to shake the man off but his hold was tight, reaching all the way around her body. Another man, maybe her date, ran toward the pair but he was too late. The man had sunk his teeth into the woman, right were the shoulder meets the neck. The sound of breaking of tendons and the sickening tear of flesh seemed to echo through the room. Her last breath sounded like bubbles full of liquid popping as she fell to the floor. The room froze at the scene before them, unsure as what was really going on. Then the man let out a high-pitched screech and then all hell broke loose.

  Chapter 5

  “Did you hear that?” Veronica stood up and tilted her head to try to hear better.

  Veronica was instantly on alert. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her Ruger and took a ready stance.

  “Geez Veronica, what are you doing running around with a gun in your purse?” Bethann breathed out in a harsh whisper. Bethann grabbed both of their purses and stood up behind Veronica.

  “What is the point of having a carry and conceal license if you don’t carry or conceal?” Veronica responded in a clear even tone while keeping an eye on the entrance to the theater.

  “I bet this was your Daddy’s idea, he would be so proud.” Bethann knew without a doubt that something was not right if Veronica was pulling out a gun. There is no one else in the world that she trusted more than Veronica and her instincts in everything non-boy related were always right.

  The other couples in the theater heard the commotion in the lobby and started to talk loudly. One of the couples even went so far as to head toward the doors that lead to the lobby.

  Veronica saw their activity and spoke just loud enough for everyone to hear, “There is something going on out in the lobby. That scream or screech that I heard was not anything that I’ve ever heard before. Do not go running out there to see what is going on.”

  The other four people headed toward the emergency exit doors that lead right outside. Veronica was not in favor of leaving the relative safety of the room before she knew what was going on. Leaving could pose just as great a risk.

  Veronica stood and watched as a flicker of light spotted the rug at the end of their aisle. Veronica turned toward Bethann, “Those doors opened and I do not know what came in. Stay behind me, if I run, you run. Got it?”

  Bethann loosened the straps on both of the purses and put them over her head to carry across her body, she then slipped her hand into the belt loop of Veronica’s pants. As kids, they practiced this many times, preparing themselves for any situation that they could possibly think of, “I’m ready, go.”

  Bethann and Veronica left their row and met up with the remaining couple on the landing that separated the upper from the lower seats. The group was at the opposite end away from the lobby doors. Before they could get to the end of the middle of the landing, a body tumbled around the wall from the main entrance. The size indicated a man but it was too hard to tell in the darkness of the theater.

  “Veronica, Veronica where are you?” A hushed voice called out into the theater. He did not receive an answer and figured that the sound system was too loud. Charlie was scared and didn’t know what to do. His leg hurt and he could feel his left ankle swelling from the fall. He still couldn’t believe that he was able to slip away without anyone seeing. Just to be sure, he looked over his shoulder to make sure that he did not lead anything into the closed movie theater.

  As the body shuffled down the landing, Veronica could make out the form of a man carrying a stick and limping. An impending love scene offered minimal lighting, making it hard to see clearly. Veronica kept her sight on the figure moving toward them, “Stop where you are or I will shoot you.”

  The figure stopped, “Veronica?”

  “Charlie, is that you?” Veronica lowered her gun to point toward the floor. She could hear Charlie’s labored breathing and the pain in his voice. Veronica walked up to Charlie and took a good look at him, “What the hell is going on out there?”

  “Some guy went crazy, started attacking people. A show just let out, the lobby was full. This guy comes out of the bathroom and starts biting people.” Charlie’s balance wavered, leaning toward Veronica. Seeing his distress, Veronica helped lower Charlie into a seat. “A couple of them were bit right on the throat; they bled out on the floor. People were running around and he went after everyone he could. He tore at them, and then moved on. He was so fast.” Charlie looked up at Veronica with tears in his eyes, “I didn’t kno
w what to do. I was behind the counter when the frenzy started. I panicked and tripped over the broom that I was using.”

  Before Charlie dropped his head into his hands, Veronica could see the fear and shame in his eyes, “I crawled in here hoping that no one would follow me and hoped to find you.” Charlie looked back at Veronica, “We need to get out of here and not by the front doors.”

  Another screech bellowed, followed by three more. Everyone froze and turned toward the noise. “What the hell is that?” the man with the group grabbed his date and held her close.

  “Charlie, are you talking about that boy that ran into the bathroom, the one with that big group of people?” Bethann moved toward Charlie and kneeled down in front of him. “Was he by himself?”

  While Charlie told his story, the other couple pulled out their cell phones and called the police. The woman touched Veronica’s arm, “We called the police and they’re on the way. Dispatch told me to stay in the movie theater until someone escorts us out.”

  Veronica looked at Bethann while Charlie’s story sunk in. “What about the other movie theaters? Did anyone else come out?”

  Before Charlie could respond, the doors to the theater crashed open followed by an explosion of gunfire.

  Chapter 6

  Cody reached over and tapped the shoulder of the person sitting next to him, yelling into her ear, “Cindy, I’m going to go check on Pete. He’s been gone for too long.” As Cody got up from his seat, Cindy grabbed his arm and motioned that she would go along with him.

  The movie was loud with nonstop action. The sound system was top of the line. Cindy tapped Kathy on the arm to let her know that she was leaving. Kathy held up her soda cup, smiled, and shook it, letting her know that she wanted more. Cindy nodded her head and followed Cody out of the theater doors.

  The quiet of the hallway was a welcome relief. “My goodness, I didn’t realize how loud it was in there. There could be a tornado and we wouldn’t know it.” Cindy laughed while they walked toward the lobby.

  “I hope Pete’s ok. I kind of made him come out with us tonight. I’m sure he will kill me for telling you this but he has the biggest crush on you.” Cody elbowed Cindy, “What do you think of that?”

  Cindy looked toward the floor and smiled, “I figured as much. He’s a sweet guy but I am only interested in being friends. Can you let him down easy for me?”

  Cody was nodding his head with understanding when a screech echoed down the hallway. Cody and Cindy both stopped and moved to the wall opposite the entrance to the theaters. Both bent down and removed their Glock’s from their ankle holsters.

  “What was that?” Cindy whispered to Cody. Cody responded with a down shake of his hand, a signal to stay quiet. Up ahead of them, Cody watched shadows bounce of the walls, then saw a body crawl across the hallway into one of the movie theatres. Cody took a few steps toward the entrance when screams erupted throughout the lobby. Cindy followed him as she dialed 911.

  Cody kept his shoulder to the wall as he moved closer to the lobby. Cindy followed keeping an eye behind them. Cody peeked around the corner, the scene he saw before him was right out of a horror movie, and Pete was the main character. Cody pulled back and signaled for Cindy to follow him back down the hall.

  “What’s going on! What was that sound, are people hurt?” Cindy grabbed the front of Cody’s shirt and shook him a little. “Answer me!” Cody just shook his head. “The police are on their way. Should I go get the rest of our group?”

  It took Cody a moment to adjust to reality, “Jesus, Cindy. I have never seen anything like it. I don’t know what happened but Pete is out of control. He looks messed up; he doesn’t even look like himself.” Cody looked over his shoulder to see if anyone had moved into eye site.

  The screaming increased and they could hear people running. They heard the sound of glass breaking followed by a howl of pain and then everything went quiet.

  Cody turned back to Cindy, “Go back and get everyone, we need to take a look around and assess the situation.” Cindy nodded and sprinted down the hallway. It took three minutes for Cindy to round up the group. In those three minutes, Cody when through a whirlwind of emotions. The memory of what he saw in the lobby just has not filtered through. There was no way that the person in there was his best friend. That thing was a beast, a terror, and what it was doing was too much to take in. Pete didn’t tell Cody much about the work that he did at the lab other than that some of the research was related to medicine. Pete did mention that they use lab animals and he did say that he was bitten the other day, maybe he was sick with something. There was only one way to find out. They were going to have to catch Pete so he can get help.

  Cody formulated a plan while he waited for his team. All of them are trained to handle people who were out of control except Kathy and Martin. Between the 10 of them, they should be able to surround Pete and get him down and handcuffed. With a plan clear in his mind, Cody filled in the team when they all reached him.

  “Ok team, this is what I saw. Thirteen people were in the lobby when I looked. Three on the ground, four behind the snack bar, and two fighting with Pete, and four people struggling to get out of the front door. The three on the ground appear to be dead. We need to check the three on the ground and round up the people that are injured so the ambulance can care for them when they get here. We need to secure Pete and hold him until a unit gets here. Are there any question? Does anyone else have a weapon?” The team nodded their agreement at his plan and four of them raised their hands confirming that they had a weapon. Then lined up as they were trained.

  Two by two, they entered the lobby.

  Chapter 7

  “Samuel, get Dr. Allen in here. We need to see what Peter was working on.” Dr. Hollowman held out one of the pages from the reports. “Look, he had to have altered the data. There is something else going on here and it is definitely not my research that did that to the Chimpanzee. Show me where Peter was working.”

  Samuel took Dr. Hollowman to Peter’s office. It was a disaster area. Piles of papers, soda cans, and bags of chips lingered all over. “What the hell is wrong with this guy?” Samuel asked as Dr. Hollowman started to rummage through his desk. Under a pile of paperwork and a shirt smelling of stale cigarettes, she found his laptop. She sat in Peter's chair and powered up the machine. The computer was password locked and the battery was dangerously low. Dr. Hollowman bent down to plug in the computer. “The plug in is behind the leg of the desk. Samuel, can you move it a bit so I can get this charged?” Dr. Hollowman was prepared to plug in the charger, when Samuel moved the desk a thumb drive fell to the floor. She picked it up and stared at it. It looked to be a personal drive, not the ones that the company allows for backing up data.

  “The computer is locked but this may not be.” She stated to Samuel. “Samuel, I want you to get a hold of Dennis, I want him to unlock this computer and take a look at what is on this flash drive.” Samuel lifted the phone receiver on Peter’s desk and dialed the IT number asking for Dennis, and then followed up with a call to Dr. Allen.

  “Dennis will be up here in 5 minutes.” Samuel responded. “I left a message with Dr. Allen’s wife to ask him to return to work as soon as possible.”

  “Ok, let’s grab this stuff and head back to my office. I doubt that he left anything important out in the open. We will have to come back and search through it if we don’t find anything on the computer or flash drive.” She turned toward her office with Samuel in tow when she heard the echo of footsteps coming down the hallway. Dennis was waiting at her at the office door. Without hesitation, she handed the laptop and flash drive to him, “I need this open now.”

  Dennis grabbed the equipment, sank down into her desk chair, and plugged in the machine. It took Dennis 10 minutes to break his password on the computer, “Birthday’s and Social Security numbers should not be used as passwords, and he used both.” He opened several files but there was nothing of importance in any of them. He slipped in the flash
drive and opened the file named ‘Journal of Activities.’ “Peter didn’t have this password protected and this is the only file on the whole drive.”

  Dr. Hollowman tapped Dennis on the shoulder and asked him to move so she could read the journal. Each entry was an exact description of the procedure that she and her team followed to develop TH12. She started to feel frustrated because she knew that something was wrong. She felt the muscles tense in her stomach as she read the last two journal entries.

  “Look at this, he injected one of the mice with a something called BOB 1. He labeled it an enzyme blocker and states that his results inactivates the enzyme, creating dead cells.” Samuel pointed to the words on the screen.

  “Oh no, that’s not an enzyme blocker.” Dr. Hollowman had no idea how Peter got a hold of the bacteria from this plant. She stood and walked away from the computer, running her hands through her hair and over her face. She had no idea what to expect or what to with what Peter has done.

  “What is BOB 1?” Samuel followed Dr. Hollowman’s movements, wondering if she was going to answer his question.

  Dr. Hollowman stopped pacing and stared at Samuel and Dennis for a moment before taking a deep breath and answering, “As you know, the research team that I was on went to South America several years ago. We were studying the indigenous populations dietary habits, trying to figure out if it was genetics or diet that attributed to their cancer free society.” She looked at the two to make sure that they were following along. “One of the technicians on the team was following one of the women as she gathered food. The technician followed her to a bog and watched as she gathered moss when a large plant sucked in a bird. The technician asked the woman about the plant and was told that the plant was not edible and was to be avoided. The technician documented the plant but didn’t push for any more details, choosing to return to the village to speak with Dr. Hall. The lab technician took Dr. Hall back to the bog and they studied the plant. The plant was huge; to be honest it scared me to be near it.” Dr. Hollowman sat in a chair in front of her desk and continued. “I have watched animals go after prey and didn’t have a reaction, it seemed normal. But watching this plant was unnatural.” Pausing to remember, she reached for her bottle of water and took a small sip. “After two days, they decided to cut the head off of the plant and see what was inside of the long stem. What they found was as fascinating as it was unimaginable. There were small animals and birds still whole in the stem of that plant. They were coated in an enzyme that prevented the breakdown of the muscle. I don’t have tell you the possibilities that such an enzyme would have.”