“Dr. Allen, please do not get any closer. Actually, you should back away,” Dr. Hollowman cautioned, standing halfway across the room.
Dr. Allan pivoted toward her direction, “What is the problem?” Holding his arm out toward the cage, waving his hand to emphasize his point. “Other than the smell and the physical changes, the Chimpanzee appears to be behaving normal.”
The speed in which the Chimpanzee moved conflicted with the state of his physical form. The creature reached its arms out through the bars, latching onto Dr. Allen's arm. Dr. Allan screamed out, falling to the ground, but the chimp didn’t let go. Dr. Hollowman raced across the room and grabbed Dr. Allen’s jacket in an attempt to pull him from the chimp’s grasp. His grip was strong and the struggle to keep Dr. Allan away from its snapping jaws was becoming harder. The chimp’s persistence was evident, its desire for flesh strong.
The Chimpanzee started to push his head through the 6” space in the bars. Through Dr. Allan’s screams, Dr. Hollowman could hear the sound of flesh tearing, a liquid rip that brought her attention back to the chimp. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the creature push its head through the bars, shearing off cheeks and ears until the shine of bone showed beneath.
Dr. Hollowman was so horrified by the sight of the chimp that she let her hold on Dr. Allan slip. The creature took that second to pull Dr. Allan’s hand to his mouth, removing several fingers. The crunch of bones and the pop of tendons echoed in the room. Dr. Hollowman was able to pull Dr. Allan away once the chimp’s mouth was full. The shock of pain rendered Dr. Allan unconscious. Dr. Hollowman dragged Dr. Allan into an observation cell and struggled to get Dr. Allan on to the steel table without smacking herself in the face with his injured hand.
Once she settled him on the table, she pulled rubber gloves on and started to extract samples of blood, saliva, and bone from the wound. She did not know how much time she had before the virus took hold. She wrapped Dr. Allan’s hand in gauze but the wound had already started to coagulate. Thinking quickly, Dr. Hollowman started to gather as much fluid as she could find, one tube after another, making sure to mark the time on each vial. Twenty minutes after the bite, Dr. Allan stopped breathing. Dr. Hollowman took her final sample, gathered her specimens, and left the room as quickly as she could. She secured the door behind her and waited to see what happened next.
Chapter 13
“Jesus, Veronica! What do we do?” Bethann puffed beside Veronica and Cody, pulling on Matt while Colby pushed him from behind.
The movie theater is situated just outside of a new housing development, a development that was surrounded by a block retaining wall.
“THERE!” Cody pointed to a spot in the wall where it was designed to create a walking path without looking like an opening.
Behind them, they could hear the screech of the police officer as he gained ground on them. They all ran as hard as they could in the hope they can reach the entrance and disappear. Dana, Lucas, Cindy, and Caleb were the first to reach the entrance. Cody and Veronica each took a side and rushed Matt and Colby through, followed by Bethann and Jake. For all of his good looks, Ian was just a few steps ahead of Charlie.
“Come on, Hurry!” Veronica implored as Charlie and Ian straggled behind. Veronica watched as Charlie and Ian raced toward them. Her heart jumped when she saw Ian stumble, falling to a knee, using a hand to stop his forward motion. As Charlie passed, Ian reached up and grabbed hold of Charlie’s pant leg, using it as a hoist to get him back on to his feet.
Charlie felt the hard tug on his pant leg, the leg with the injured ankle, and could not keep his balance. Charlie fell to the ground, cracking his head on the pavement, as Ian ran toward the safety of the wall.
“I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it,” Ian chanted as he ran passed Veronica and Cody.
“CHARLIE!” Veronica cried. She was about to dash forward when Cody grabbed her by the waist, hauling her back toward the wall.
“I’m sorry, it’s too late,” Cody pronounced sadly, watching as the man that was once sworn to serve and protect jump on Charlie’s back.
Charlie lifted his bloodied head, “GO!” He shouted as the creature tore into the soft flesh on his back.
Veronica’s moan of anguish was the only indication that she heard what Charlie requested. With one last look into Charlie’s clear blue eyes, Veronica and Cody slipped silently behind the wall.
“Where’s Charlie?” Bethann inquired as a piercing scream racked the night air. “Is that Charlie?” Bethann made a move toward the opening but Veronica intercepted her. With tears in her eyes, she gave a curt nod. Bethann bowed her head and the girls embraced, holding on to one another.
Cody walked up next to the girls and held them both tight while those people attacked Charlie. Cody understood their need to be there until Charlie died, not out of morbidity but of respect to a man who was part of their childhood.
Behind the wall was still undeveloped field. It was full of long grass, brushy bushes, and saplings. The wall gave them a small sense of security, even if there was a break. They hoped that the illusion was enough to stop the people from following. Each member of the group stood silent as they listened to the grotesque feeding on the other side. Dana held on to Matt and Colby, each shaking with the effort to hold back sobs of sorrow. Jake, Caleb, Cindy, and Lucas took survey of their surrounding as Cody tried to provide support for Veronica and Bethann.
“What happened?” Bethann asked as she pulled away from Veronica and Cody.
Cody turned a glare at Ian but before he could say anything, Ian shouted, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt Charlie.”
Bethann turned and demanded, “What do you mean. What did you do!” she responded harshly. Her anger at Ian was almost physical, the emotion enough to cause Ian to flinch.
Veronica cleared her throat, “It doesn’t matter how it happened, it did, and now we need to move on.”
Ian was not ready to move on, “NO! I’m not going anywhere until everybody understands that it was an accident. I didn’t mean to pull Charlie down.” Ian’s voice continued to rise as he went from sorrowful to angry.
“You’re a son-of-a-bitch,” Cody responded as he advanced toward Ian. “You are nothing but trouble.” Jake stepped into Cody’s path and intercepted Cody’s advancement with a hand to his chest.
Matt asked, wrapped in the safety of Dana’s arms, tears rolling down his face, “Are they zombies? Will Charlie be a zombie now, like my dad?”
Lucas turned his head, sorrow in his eyes, “I don’t know bud.” Reaching out he gathered Dana, Matt, and Colby in a hug that was both crushing and comforting.
“Ian, calm down, lower your voice. We are not 100% protected back here.” Jake whispered harshly. Jake removed his hand from Cody when he felt Cody relax.
Veronica ran a hand through her hair then released and deeply held sigh, “We need to keep moving. They will find their way through. Especially with all of the noise we’re making.”
Veronica’s words were followed by a moan that sounded too close for comfort. The group turned toward the break in the wall and watched as a hand crept around the edge, grabbing hold of the corner.
“RUN!” Jake bellowed, “NOW!” he demanded when the group stood there frozen as an arm cleared the edge of the wall.
As one, the group took to the field, pushing through brush and jumping over rocks and broken trees. Veronica could hear Colby ushering Matt, guiding him through the tangle of debris left by the construction of the wall. She did her best to keep pace with the brothers, making sure to point out large obstacles and reaching out a steadying hand when needed. A small whimper escaped from one of the boys. She could not tell if it was from exhaustion or fear. It did not matter either way. If they wanted to survive, they had to move.
Dana ran along with Bethann and Cindy, “Where are we going?” she puffed.
Cindy pointed a finger ahead of her, “Jake and Cody are headed toward the new construction. If it is safe, we
will try to stop there for a break.”
Dana looked to where Cindy was pointing. She wasn’t sure if they should be headed toward the lights of the newly constructed, populated houses. She glanced behind her to see Veronica reach out an arm toward Matt, hauling him to her side. Dana’s inattention caused her to miss her own step, tripping over a root in the field. She swallow the shout that tried to erupted from her lips, pinching her eyes shut, not wanted to see the ground rush up to meet her.
“Whoa! I got you.” Lucas murmured as he snaked an arm around her waist, keeping Dana on her feet as they continued to move.
Dana couldn’t say anything, she just smiled and nodded her head. Dana silently chastised herself; she knew that a fall could have meant the end of her life, or the life next to her. She didn’t even know that Lucas was beside her, her focus on what was behind her. She continued to run, Lucas by her side, toward the false safety of a house still in the process of construction.
Veronica kept a hand ready at the small of Matt’s back. She waved Caleb forward, silently asking him to keep Colby by his side. Matt was keeping a good pace but exhaustion was taking a toll on his twelve-year-old body. They were just about a hundred yards from the rest point that Cody and Jake found. Veronica could hear the puff of Ian trying to keep up. She wished he would just leave. She’s trying not to blame him for Charlie’s death but it is hard when he continues to bring trouble to the group with his behavior and temper. She has no doubt that he would throw any one of them to the wolves to save his own life. Will he be the key to their destruction?
Chapter 14
Twenty-three minutes.
That is all the time it took for the infection to enter the body, infect the host, and regenerate basic body function. Dr. Hollowman watched as Dr. Allen’s body purges fluids. She watched, fear keeping her rooted against the window of the observation room, as his body jerked with the force of the discharge from his mouth. Even through the glass, Dr. Hollowman was assaulted with the awful smell that she now associates with the bacterial infection. Dr. Hollowman jumped; startled by Dr. Allen rolling off the steel slab, hitting the floor hard enough to split open his forehead. She gasped when she saw him push himself up off the floor to stand and bellowed out a piercing screech. Dr. Hollowman grabbed her ears at the answering screech of the Chimpanzee, turning to watch as the chimp held on to the cage, pushing his mangled face through the bars again. When the echo of the screech died, she lowered her hands and turned back to Dr. Allen.
She screamed, tripping over her feet as she fled backward away from the window, falling to the floor.
Dr. Allen had positioned himself right up to the glass, bobbing his chin up and down, like a dog searching for a scent. Dr. Hollowman’s reaction to his close appearance triggered an explosive response from Dr. Allen. He screeched again and rammed his body against the window.
He repeatedly bounced against the glass in an effort to reach Dr. Hollowman. The force of each blow left saliva and blood running down the window. Seeing her colleague in this state was overwhelming. Dr. Hollowman could not watch Dr. Allen continue to harm himself any longer. She gathered her samples and rushed away from Dr. Allen.
Across the hall, Dr. Hollowman could still hear Dr. Allen pounding on the window. She cringed with every wet smack of his face but she knew she had to keep moving. Reaching the research lab, she changed out of her clothing, the stink and blood from Dr. Allen making it hard to breath in clean air. She wrapped the clothing in an evidence bag, intending to collect samples from the material later. She then took a thorough inventory of her hands and body, making sure that there were no open wounds. Satisfied there was no chance of infection, she pulled on scrubs and tennis shoes. She took her box of samples and laid them out onto the table. She had five vials of blood from Dr. Allen, tissue from Dr. Allen’s wound, and possibly from the chimp’s mouth. She has three swabs that should have saliva residue and a jagged tooth end. She stared at the articles in front of her and thought of the events that took less than 30 minutes to unfold. She stood there, leaning against the cold steel table and hung her head down. Not completely believing what she witnessed but sure in the fact that it is something that can spread, fast.
After a moment, the gravity of the situation hit her. She ran to the phone to call Samuel and Dennis.
“Samuel, do not approach Peter when you see him. He is infected and it is contagious,” she disclosed the events of her interaction with Dr. Allen and his immediate reaction to being bitten by the Chimpanzee.
“Wouldn’t Peter have turned immediately like that also?” Samuel asked.
“Apparently not, there must be an incubation period that took place from the transfer of the original host DNA. Both Peter and the Chimpanzee were bitten by an original source. The Chimpanzee turned within a 12-hour period. Peter is roughly three times the size, but I don’t know if that will matter because his bite was from a mouse. Now, the transfer from the chimp to Dr. Allen took less than 30 minutes because primates and humans share so many DNA markers.” Dr. Holloway continued to work out a theory, “Again, that was a different gnome structure, primate to human. Human to human could take less than thirty minutes because the bacteria would already be attached to human DNA.”
“Would the size of the person matter?” Samuel questioned.
“I don’t think so. This is only a theory right now. I have collected samples from Dr. Allen and I will start testing as soon as I figure out where to begin. One thing we know for certain is it a is highly contagious.” Dr. Hollowman emphasized.
“Hold on Dr. Holloway.” She could hear Samuel talking to Dennis, then returned to the phone, “There is a group of people running toward Peter’s building. It doesn’t look like Peter is with them. Dennis and I are going to find out if they know him.” Samuel assured Dr. Hollowman that they would be careful and hung up.
Chapter 15
Cody and Jake enter the bones of a house in the process of being constructed. There were walls and a roof but not much else. As the rest of the group joint them, Cody watched as one by one the people entered the space they occupied just moments ago. Ian was the last to enter the structure. Cody thought it was interesting that there was no reaction from the people at Ian’s movement. He wondered if perhaps they could not see, hear, or smell very far. From the wall to the house, he figured they’re about a quarter mile, maybe a bit more. Cody continued to watch as the number bloodied people increased from four to twelve in just a few minutes.
Jake positioned himself next to Cody to get a view of the street side of the house, “Do you smell that?” Jake asked while scanning their surroundings.
Cody turned his head to look at Jake and took a sniff of the air. What he smelled was a mixture of wood, dirt, and a putrid stench. Cody looked back at the bodies swaying in the field and noticed that police officer found his way in. The sight of him made Cody feel angry and sad. He knew the stains all over the creature’s uniform were from Charlie and he hoped that Charlie was too damaged to come back.
“Do you think it’s from them?” Cody asked
Jake shook his head, “No. The smell is getting stronger. We need to leave. Our apartment complex is on the other side of this development, about three miles. We can load up on weapons, ammunition, clothes, and food. Try to make a run to headquarters. We should be safe there as long as this mess hasn’t gotten that far yet.”
“Cody? Jake? We have a problem,” Veronica’s voice was steady and strong.
Cody admired her strength and her ability to keep her emotions under control. With one last look at the field behind them, he moved toward the part of the house that offered the biggest view of the neighborhood. He stood close to Veronica. He watched as the wind fluttered through her dark auburn hair, wishing he could run a hand through her thick locks. Veronica turned her face to him and he saw worry in her eyes.
Veronica nodded her head toward the left side of the complex, “We have about seven of those sick people headed our way.”
The
trio watched as the mangled bodies made their way down the street, slowing their footsteps every few inches, shaking their heads in the air.
Cody took a breath of the stench filled air and watched the people creep their way down the newly paved road. “What are they doing?”
“Hunting” Jake remarked, “Watch, they’ll take a few steps and lift their faces slightly, like testing the air or listening for movement.”
The three of them watched and agreed that it was a purposeful movement not aimless shambling.
“Lucky for us, we need to head in the opposite direction,” Jake smiled as he pointed toward the right.
Veronica nodded her head to agree with the avenue of escape, “What’s the plan?”
Cody motioned for Jake to continue, “We live in the apartment complex over there,” Jake motioned with his hand toward the right, “It’s about three miles. We load up on supplies then get to headquarters. It should be safe.”
Jake tried to hide his doubt but Veronica had already processed that option while they were running through the field.
“It’s worth a shot but if we aren’t lucky then I think we should start making our way out of town, North, toward the border.” Veronica countered.
“Are we headed to your Dad’s house?” Bethann slid up next to Jake, leaning gently on him for support.
“What border? Wisconsin?” Colby asked as he tried to keep up with the conversation.
Veronica shook her head and smiled at Colby, “No bud, the Canadian border. That is where my family home is now.” Turning toward Bethann again, “Did you get a hold of your Mom?”
Bethann took a deep breath, holding it a moment, “No. I’ll keep trying but my battery is already at sixty-five percent. There is no answer at work, home, or her cell. I don’t even get to leave a voice message, it just rings.”
Veronica could see the worry in her eyes and stepped forward to brush a hand along her shoulder, “Don’t worry about her just yet. You know as well as I do that she’s more than capable of taking care of herself.”
Infection Series (Book 1): Preservation Page 6