by M. Evans
The nurse was flailing and kicking her legs with Rogers straddling her, ripping at the thin blouse she was wearing, and gnawing into her exposed breast--ripping, chewing and clawing. He was growling. Blood dripped off of his chin back onto her shirt.
Frank stopped dead in his tracks. "Rogers! God, get off her! Did you lose it, man!?"
Rogers, who was completely unaware that anyone else was near him until now, stared up at Frank. Tilting his head to the side, he was still chewing meaty flesh with his mouth open, swallowing what he could as fast as he could and letting the rest fall from his mouth.
Watching Rogers' eyes, Frank wouldn't know he'd spent seven days a week with him many hours a day over the last few months. He noticed Rogers was blinking rapidly--his eyes were dripping with blood. He had chunks ripped from his arm. Frank looked around desperately wanting to find a way out of this.
The nurse had stopped moving and wasn't twitching. Blood was pooling on the floor spreading wider, reaching further, creating a red lake.
Frank walked slowly to the side of the wall, hoping he could get to the stairs. He tried to stay out of Rogers view, but the movement and sound of his footsteps had made him rise off of the nurse. He didn't walk, but he jumped and ran towards Frank in spurts. Frank thought possibly this was the first time Rogers had run in his adult life. He waited until Rogers got close and lunged for him. He dodged, ducking down, and quickly sprinted toward the nurse, leaping over her and landing next to a red box labeled 'Break Only in Case of an Emergency'. He didn't hesitate sending his elbow through the glass, ignoring the tiny hammer, and reached in grabbing a wood handled axe. It had a silver chopping blade with a pointed end on the opposite side. He also hit the emergency alarm to alert the guard's desk.
He held the axe with a baseball grip. He knew from war that those who exercised mercy went home in a body bag. He waited for Rogers to make his move.
Rogers came running and, as he was going too fast, he stumbled but never stopped moving. He was almost running like an animal on all fours and jumping into the air every three steps. When he was within five feet of Frank he leapt for him.
Frank swung the axe with every ounce of force he had hitting Rogers squarely in the heart. Frank stumbled backwards. Blood from Rogers' chest covered the wall and Frank as he let go of the handle. Rogers grabbed at it, lying on the ground and shaking.
Frank wiped the blood from his face with his shirt to try and clear his vision. "Good God! What the hell is wrong with you!?"
He ran to the nurse to feel her pulse. As he knelt next to her, he knew that she was gone.
A growling from behind startled him.
Frank turned slowly, staring at Rogers who was sitting up. Wondering briefly how this could happen, Frank ran towards Rogers, bringing his knee up an kicking him square in the face. It snapped his head back with the heel of his boot, laying him out flat on the ground again. Frank gripped the handle and yanked upwards. The handle snapped off leaving the blade stuck firmly in his chest. He stared at his weapon--nothing more than a short stick. He couldn't believe Rogers was still moving after he had landed the blade perfectly into his heart.
He backed slowly from Rogers and knew the questions behind this were going to be unlimited, the backlash immeasurable, and his life forever changed because of it. He knew the Adel police would not understand and he didn't have the time needed to stay and explain himself to anyone. He didn't feel right leaving Rogers to attack again, and he hoped the alarm would alert someone so they could send the police. He couldn't leave Karen at the hospital any longer without knowing for himself what was really going on.
He saw an opening for the stairwell and he sprinted for it. Feeling no pain, Rogers didn't wait on the floor. He jumped snarling in front of Frank, blood oozing from his mouth.
Frank gripped the piece of wood tight in his hand and, swinging it upward, jammed it through Rogers' chin making the tip of the wood shaft come out the top of his skull.
Rogers fell to the ground instantly. Frank could see that he wasn't getting up again--his terror put to rest.
He pushed through the emergency stairway that had been inaccessible when chasing Rogers before. He took the steps two at a time, jogging quickly down the three flights, leaving bloody hand and shoe prints the entire way.
Frank knew there was no chance he would step back into this building but one more time to destroy all of the X-74. He had so much going through his mind ... his thoughts were racing with Karen, Shaun, Ellie, Rogers, and the poor nurse who died an underserved death.
As he flew down the stairs, he contemplated what might happen if a widespread outbreak happened. He truly hoped Rogers was its only victim. This was worse than the cancer he was fighting so hard to cure. He prayed that the strain he gave Karen was one of the other test drugs by some miracle of a chance, but deep down he was confident that he'd given her exactly what had turned Rogers into a ... a monster. Into a creature of unspeakable horror. Knowing that the drug he had worked on for so long had turned him into ... this. He had never in his life seen a man take a hit like that and keep going. He knew it was directly in his heart. The blood movement throughout his body should have never allowed him to take another step. There was nothing in science to explain this.
Frank bolted out of the emergency side doors and ran to his pickup, picking up pace as he got closer, feeling an urgency to get out of there. He soaked a half full water bottle on a towel he kept in the backseat and scrubbed his face and hair until it was barely evident he'd just been bathed in blood. He threw on an extra shirt he kept in the truck and figured most people wouldn’t notice his pants which were already dark.
****
Shaun got out of the shower and dried off quickly. It was half past ten by the clock on his cell phone, and he read a text message from Ellie: "Tell your dad, I'm ready to go. I already have a bag of mom's stuff put together for her. x"
Shaun messaged back: "I just got out myself, but he isn't back, I'm not sure what's taking so long."
The phone rang and Shaun picked it up. "What's up, Ellie? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, technically speaking I'm good, minus the fact that I'm by myself, mom's in the hospital, and of course I'm trapped here, pacing around, waiting to be picked up."
Shaun was digging through his closet looking for clothes, and picked out a grey hoody and tan cargo shorts. The brisk mornings of May were still around, and there was a good chance if his dad came back that he would be in the cool hospital for the rest of the day. "I know it's not ideal, and I'm sure he'll pick us up. There's no way he'd have forgotten about us a second time. He probably just got stuck at work. I'm sure he's on his way here now."
"I hope you're right, but if he isn't here soon, maybe you could talk to Greg's dad again about another ride. I'd ask Tina's dad but he would send Lucas to take us, and that would be a scary ride. He's a horrible driver and he still kind of has mixed feelings about me ever since the incident."
Shaun jumped into his shorts recalling the day perfectly and laughing. "By incident, Ellie, do you mean when you kicked him square in the balls? No, I wouldn't expect you'd want a ride from him, either. I can call Greg's dad. I'm sure he'd give us another ride to town--he's a good guy."
Ellie laughed thinking about it, a laugh she much needed. "Yeah, what happened to Greg?"
"It's one of science's greatest mysteries, but if I had to guess, I'd start the blame with cable. I'll call you back--I'm going to give dad a call and see if he's on his way, or if we need to just go without him."
"Try to remember he's going through some stuff, too, so try not to give him too hard of a time, please."
"Yeah, poor guy. I'll do my best to handle him with kid gloves."
He immediately called his dad. Waiting patiently, the call went to voicemail yet again. Shaun was shaking his head in disgust, and he knew what was going to happen. He'd have to call Greg. He was going to have to explain that his father was forgetting about him again. He was going to have to tell Ellie tha
t his dad had let them down again. Shaun spoke after the beep, "Hey, dad! Where are you!? We're ready to go back to Des Moines. Can you call me back? Ellie really wants to get back to her mom."
He paced around for twenty minutes, waiting for his dad, watching his phone. He shook his head and moaned, "Typical! Amazing how someone so gifted in science can be so useless in everything else!"
He scrolled back through his phone again and found Greg, feeling guilty about using his dad for a lift again. He dialed and waited for Greg to answer.
"Good morning, princess!" Greg chimed.
Shaun looked at the clock on his wall--it was almost eleven. "Sleep-in-day today, buttercup? Hey, is your dad around by any chance?"
"You need a ride back from the hospital? How's Ellie's mom doin', man? Are there any sexy nurses walking around naked?"
"Funny enough, I already got a ride back from the hospital with Ellie and my dad, but then dad went back to the office and's gone MIA. Karen's still sleeping, and we aren't sure if she'll comeback out of it.... And yes, Greg, they're all walking around naked."
Greg dropped his phone and picked it up quickly, fumbling with it. "Are you shitting me!? Are they hot!?"
"There's help for you, I'm sure of it, Greg."
"You're so immature, Shaun! Really, there's a time to joke! Nurse nudity isn't the time or the place...! Anyway, hold on and I'll go see if the captain-of-arms is around."
Shaun felt good about that comment and waited patiently. He heard Greg yelling for his dad but didn't hear a response.
He heard Greg yell loudly in the distance, "You've got to be kidding me! Really!? In town!?"
He came back on the line. "Dude ... there was a double murder."
Shaun smirked thinking he was being duped. "Yeah, whatever, man. You know and I know nothing ever happens here. Seriously, is your dad home or not?"
"I swear to God! He's just gone out the door! He's working the murder scene with the detectives. He said he's on his way to E&T.... Some guy called 'Rogers' I think...."
Shaun face went white. "Wait did you say!? Rogers!? My dad has a guy named Rogers on his team! The only guy on his team!"
"Yeah, something horrible happened. He didn't leave any other details than that. Maybe we'll make the news! That would be awesome!"
Shaun was thinking about his dad and starting to get worried. "Thanks for checking if your dad was there. I need to call Ellie back and let her know what's going on. Can you text me your dad's number, please? I'll talk to you later." He called Ellie back.
She answered right away. "Hey, did you hear back from your dad? I've been going crazy here!"
Shaun flinched, hating letting her down. "I can't get a hold of my dad, and Greg's dad is busy at work. Greg said there was a double murder at E&T I'm pretty sure it's my dad's lab partner."
"Oh, my God! I hope your dad's okay! Do you think something happened to him?"
"No, I don't think there's any cause for alarm. I just think he isn't answering his damn phone. I'm sure someone would've called if there was an issue. He's probably at the hospital already. Have you tried calling the nurses' station at the hospital?"
"Yeah, and you'd think with all the people that work there that maybe one person could answer the phone! Of course, you'd be wrong. I can't get anyone!"
Shaun sat down frustrated. "Hold tight.... I'll see if I can find anyone to give us a ride, okay?"
"What choice do I have?"
"Just hold tight. I'll try my best."
****
Pat watched the parking lot getting bored. He was looking at his cell phone and trying to remember how to look at the text messages his granddaughter had taught him about last month, but he'd be damned if he could remember how she did it so effortlessly. She said she would send him a message with the results once they got through the tournament. He never thought he could love someone so much as he did his own daughter until his baby had one of her own. A flashing light on the security console caught his attention and checked his cheat sheet to see which security camera to bring up. It was coming from outside of one of the labs on the research and development floor.
Pat typed in the list of commands to bring the security camera to view.
What he saw immediately made him sick to his stomach. He hadn't felt guilt like this since Vietnam where men were forced to do things that men weren't required to speak of again. He saw the nurse he had called and requested to come to the doctor's aid earlier lying in a pool of what he thought could only be her own blood.
He thought he was seeing the end of a horrible story right now. Dr. Fox ran into view holding an axe and looking like a wild man. A second man, who he could only assume was the assistant who was supposed to be comatose, ran for the doctor like an animal. Fox swung the axe quickly and in a circle burying it in the young man's chest. Pat gasped, "Oh, my God in heaven!" He looked around but there was no one else there to tell. The other guard kept himself down in the delivery dock most of the time. Pat hit his speaker. "Gutenberg! We got an incident, code red, going on up in the R&D wing! Two doctors going at it! One just used an axe on the other! Get out front and meet the police! I'm going to call them now!"
Pat let go of the speaker button and called the police. It rang quite a few times before he received an answer. A young man came on the line and said. "This is Joe, what is your emergency?"
Pat sat up straight. "Sir, this is Pat Hamilton from E&T in Adel Iowa! We need help now!"
"Sir, could you tell me exactly what you need so we can please get the proper assistance for you?"
"A man got assaulted with an axe, sir, and we have a woman in need of medical assistance!"
"What type of assault sir? Do you know if the woman is conscious?"
"No, I don't know her condition, but the man was assaulted with an axe ... the axe is stuck in his chest! The man that did it was Dr. Fox from our science department! He left and headed out to his truck in the parking lot! I'm pretty sure I just saw him heading east on highway five out of our parking lot. I think he might have assaulted the nurse!"
"Please wait, sir, while I connect with the police department. Units are already on their way to you."
****
Ben thought he'd get ahead of the traffic, but the tournament had ended early and he was facing all the people making their way home. He hit the heaviest of traffic and was trying his hardest to remain calm under the pressure of having to have the shipment there on time. He looked around at all the mini vans and oversized SUVs passing him wildly. The morning traffic was swerving in and out of the space between his semi and the cars in front of him, making his job twice as hard. He needed that space to slow the big rig down and when someone slid their car in-between, they turned his semi into a death trap on wheels. He hated the drivers and their dirty looks as if he was a disease on the road.
He was twenty-five minutes into his drive, chain smoking and trying to stay calm by listening to the radio. As he took the exit swirling around for Chicago he jammed on his brakes attempting to stop hard as a minivan slammed on its breaks in front of him. His brake pedal hit the floor, and he was grinding gears while down shifting. The tires screeched as he lost control of his rig and he went down the sharp curved incline.
He looked into the rearview seeing the container behind him sliding sideways until it pushed at such a angle to free itself from the trailer. It slid straight towards him leaving a trail of sparks flying and coming to a rest in the middle of the lane. The container was now blocking traffic both ways. Cars slid and slammed into each other causing a huge volleyball-mom pileup.
The burst containers were polluting the air with X-74 toxin with every second that passed.
Cars became backed up for miles. The wreckage from the pileup of cars made moving in either direction impossible. The tournament traffic filled in behind Ben. His truck cab had received a giant dose of vapor, being the closest, and filled the small cabin with enough X-74 to gas a small army.
He barely crawled out from his tr
uck to the grass. The combination of drugs and the blood loss he suffered from had him looking around in a daze, and he fell onto his back, staring up at the blue skies before his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out. His driver's license slid out of his shirt pocket, lying on his chest along with some spilled cigarettes.
Charlie, a young college student who had skidded to a crashing stop into the trailer, came around after knocking himself out from the airbag. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. He forced open his door, kicking it with everything he had. Looking around at the massive amounts of wreckage, he saw cars as far as the eye could see. Just about every other car had dark smoke floating into the sky. People were standing outside their cars, unsure what they should be doing. Charlie looked in his window, examining himself. His white shirt had drops of blood on it and his blue jeans were spotless. The only damage he could see was a scrape on his face. He wiped at it with a handkerchief and saw more drivers slowly getting out of their cars and looking around in confusion.
He noticed the injured trucker lying bloody and on his back on the ground, and ran to his aid. He checked his pulse--he was alive. It didn't take a doctor to realize that he was unconscious. He removed his ball cap which identified his favorite brand of beer, and there was a large amount of blood. There was a deep cut on his head. Charlie pulled off his fleece jacket and applied pressure to the wound. He noticed the license and read it aloud. He pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance. He was advised they would send help immediately, and Charlie gave all of the man's information. Before he ended the call, he could hear the sirens.
He looked back at his wrecked car, praying it would still start. He just needed to finish the short drive to Des Moines Southside, knowing most likely he'd be cutting it close to still get to the airport. Studying abroad in Italy was a dream of his--seeing the places of his ancestors and getting to enjoy the relaxed lifestyle while studying towards his medical degree.