“What just happened?”
“You growled at me and your eyes was being eaten with the black around them I guess Alex want to know where we are.”
I took Max by the arm and lead him out of the forest to see if we could find Jeremy and talk to him about that injection. Like always I knew there had to be a central base here Marino and his men would find comfort while they tracked me down.
It was always the same thing, a big open tent with computers and a small lab, cars would be parked around the back ready to go after me. It always struck me as weird that Marino would use such viewable sites. I remember during one of my travels; I think it was in Chicago where the forest was way further than small towns, where I prefer to go. There I rented a room on a rusty motel, which was filled with roaches and really dirty sheets. I remember walking from the hotel to a restaurant I worked as a waitress to pay the rent of the room. It was nothing grand I had had a meal a big one after an incident with a killer that for some reason he wanted me as his prey, but I got to him first. During that walk and in a child’s park I saw the big tent, as I walk by a heard a big siren blasting its incessant scream in the air as people turned their heads around, and from where I was I could see Jeremy radio in hand screaming orders. Military personal was around him looking at a screen later did I know that the screen was a monitoring system that they had implanted me so long ago. Once they grabbed me and strapped me to a chair Jeremy would look at me with tender eyes yet he had a job to do. I never growled at him never till that day. He started speaking about how it was over that they had me again at last and how everything would change from now on. They never knew about my strength till that day. In the chair as Jeremy turned around I recall telling him that it was not over and I would be free again, he laughed as he walked away. He did show me where the tracker was and I knew I had to take it. I broke my chains that hold me to the chair, it was easy. There were made of nylon, weaker than the chains of those I broke when I was eighteen. I escaped and ran away again losing my job, the money I had saved since it was still at the motel and losing my backpack again. I ran for a long while until I finished back in the forest and with my back to a tree I sat and found the tracker injected to my left leg. I used my nails to cut an opening to put my hand inside pulling the tracker out all cover in my brownish blood. I had the idea of putting it inside and animal and let the animal wonder, but the erratic behavior of such an animal would probably tell them something was wrong. So I did just one thing I let the tracker stuck in a tree and with my blood I wrote Never again above it. After that they only got me one more time, this time.
We walked outside the forest and on to town. It was peaceful the night had just started to grow in the sky and Max was holding my hand. We looked for a long time around never seeing the command center where we could see Marino and Jeremy. It was just one of those days everything went wrong. We stopped for a while near a diner where a couple looked at us and their heads snapped to the other side as if we were a couple of hobos that reeked of bad things to come. I look up to meet Max eyes the black was slowly coming back, the only issues here is that if he ran out of control he could kill people around, the street was full of passersby, people walking inside diners, stores, bars. I had to take him back to the forest just to be safe. As we turned I saw Jeremy with a rushed walk in the distance with a radio on his hands.
“Jeremy!” I screamed he turned his head and waved his hand. I grabbed Max and rushed to Jeremy’s side.
“Any news?”
“No”
“Jeremy I need to know what the suppressant actually does.”
“While I was using it or when Marino took over?”
“What do you mean?”
“Okay I will tell you, but not here.” He said as he looked both ways “Marino may be listening, it is time you should know the whole truth.”
“What truth?”
“From where you came and why Marino took over. Meet me at the park tonight at midnight, from there I will take you to the command center and I can show you what I think he is really up to.” He said as almost a whisper and rushed away. It was still early in the night and Jeremy disappeared in the crowd. Some answers would come for sure, but at midnight tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Max and I waited in the park all night no need to walk ourselves back to the forest to then come walking back out. We were resting on a bench holding hands my head to Max shoulder and just silence. We would turn and switched sides move our body and speak a little. We would kiss embrace and kiss again. We looked like lovers just spending a nice night in the park. At eleven desperation took hold and I started pacing myself from side to side, long sturdy strides from my legs in front of Max.
“You know if you keep up you will probably get to china through a hole you are carving in the ground.”
I stopped and tilted my head with a smug looked on my face letting him know it was not funny. I waited and waited and wait for what it seemed the worst time in my life. The answer to where I came from. I paced, longer and more urgent strides. I would drive myself through the ground if Jeremy had not appeared with a worried look on his face.
“They found Alex, the real Alex.”
“Where?”
“You will not like this”
“What? Just tell us.” Max anxiously stood from the bench and walked to Jeremy side.
“First thing first, did you get injected?” he asked Max.
“Apparently, Miss Sara thinks I did, but I don’t recall it, no pain what so ever in my neck.” As he tilted his head and Jeremy saw the small red dot.
“How long?”
“About twenty hours ago I guess.”
“Okay listen, take this,” he said handing him a syringe inside it, a liquid blue in color, “it will hurt, a lot, after that we can go.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“My version of the suppressant, I made some digging and what Marino did with the mix is horrible.”
“What?”
“First take it Max, and then we can get inside the command center. I need to be safe that you will not go on a rampage on me.”
“With it or without I would have done so long ago for Miss Sara’s sake.”
“Max you touch one hair on Jeremy’s head and I will stop being nice. Understand.” I said as I turned around my brow arching downwards like a big old ‘V’. The serious tone in my voice scared him and he stepped back some steps.
He took the syringe from Jeremy’s hand injected himself on the thigh, “this isn’t so bad.” he said as not a second had past when he screamed putting his hands on his head and moving it rapidly from side to side. People around looked at us, but did not moved to help, not that I did not minded it was only that there was no need Jeremy was there and as of now many around had seen him with the radio talking barking orders inside. I would say most already knew he was from some agency that was looking on to something.
After several minutes of Max screaming and moving on the floor like worm trying to escape the impending doom of a foot coming down, he stopped. Jeremy got close to him and examined his eyes.
“There, we’re clear. Okay let’s go.”
“Already, can’t I rest a bit, that was really tiring.” Max said as I bent down grabbing him from the waist and putting his hand around my neck.
“Thank you Miss Sara.” He said and I had already told him more than once to stop with that Miss Sara thing and at that moment I knew he would never stop saying it.
We walked for about one hour around town, north to the dinner we sat and Marino showed up, then west towards the woods, then east on main street right to the hotel were the first attacked took place.
There had been two mistakes I have made since this entire thing started, one going to the scene of the attack after watching Alex drive by in the yellow car, smiling and blood all over him, second avoiding the place at all cost. Now I knew that their command center was erected in the lot beside the hotel where I was dropped off earlier
in the week.
“I am so stupid.” I said out loud for Jeremy and Max to here. They both looked at me but said no word.
We kept walking to the entrance of the tent, now it was closed all over. Jeremy pushed as aide the door as we all got inside. There in the screen was Alex, tied with big round chains on a metal chair screaming.
“Ok, there is Alex,” Jeremy said pointing to the screen, the real Alex.”
“What do you mean the real Alex?” Max asked
“We found him over the body of the one you crushed it head, apparently he can manipulate the dead bodies of his infected. That is all we know for now.”
What an extra, I thought that would have come handy during my travels.
“Anyway this is Marino’s suppressant.” Jeremy said as he switched the screens to pictures of cells moving around. The picture looked like blobs of nothing at first then it came clearer.
“This here are Sara’s cells, this is a human Cell. See here the suppressant is injected and Sara’s cells stays inert, but the human cell well, just look.” He said and moved to his side as I saw what he wanted us to see the human cell was being consumed by the suppressant and dividing. It was turning to one of my cells what looked like an original from mines and with the hunger driving the host mad.
“I don’t understand.”
“Remember when you said that we made him and him,” he said pointing at Max and switching the screen back to Alex still screaming and bound with the chains, “remember that I told you that there must be another original out there, and that other might had created them?”
“Yes.”
“I was wrong, Marino did this. He created them both to get back at you, to make you suffer somehow.”
I turned my head to Max “I don’t know.” He said
“So, my past tell me, I want to know.”
“Okay you better sit for this one.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“It was about thirty-four years ago, at that time I worked at the CDC after leaving the military. I worked as a scientist on viral contingency planning; I used all my knowledge in viruses to contain any potential outbreak from diseases that were out there and out of control. We received a call, from a small island at the coast of Africa were something strange was happening, many didn’t know what so they sent for us. As they explained the situation it was something that brought horror in my mind. I had never heard of the types of symptoms before. With my military history and my knowledge they sent me there to see what it was all about. It spread fast and not by air. Apparently some Chimpanzee was the first to get infected and he bit someone that after three days, well you know, coma, death, hunger. Well after three weeks almost the whole island was infected we had thousands of people walking around acting mad and the hunger really was strong in them. I went to a village trying to track patient ‘0’, that is what we called the first infected. To get a sample of the original virus instead I got an even bigger surprise. It was not a chimp, patient Zero, it was a baby born with the hunger. I found two rotting bodies both crouched and embracing something in their arms, a baby. I got closer as one growled at me and the other one hissed like a snake. Until they meet my eyes. That’s when the creepy part started. None that we encountered first had spoken, and these corpses had been turned for a long time. The humming of a soft tune could be heard in the air, I looked around to see where it was coming from and it was them, they both were humming a song I did not knew what it was. I could see their flesh was eaten away in small chunks all around their faces, their eyes were sunken inwards and the smell of putrid flesh was in the air. I got closer and one said to me.
“Please help her it wasn’t her fault, she didn’t know.”
“Please save her?” said the other, as they parted ways like the opening of a gate, they handed me a child no older than a year old. I looked at them strangely when one jumped the other and started eating him the view was so grotesque that I had to leave. After I got back we had to put the baby in a safe place so we devised a plan and put it in a coma state. It had to be done. One bit of the baby could mean infection from one of us. After all was lost and that island was buried with infected hunger humans, we diced that it was something we had to contain, so like a military men I made the order to burn every inch of the town and the island. The disease was never heard of again.”
“Wow, what does that have to do with my past?”
“Sara you were that baby, you were sleeping for fourteen years before we decided to wake you up.”
“So you are saying that I am the original and that this was no accident.”
“Not by human hands.”
“So the suppressant is what a duplication of my baby cells?”
“Yes, in a way it is, it only gives them,” he said and pointed to Alex and Max again, “the same abilities you have and some other extras. I am guessing that it has to do with DNA, some boring details I will not discuss right now.”
“So what is Marino doing that is so different than yours.”
“Mine was so you could be better like be in a coma state, more like sleeping than nearly dead. After a while I guess you got immune to it that’s when we decided to wake you. Marino’s is to create stronger versions of you, double dosing them is what makes then a danger to us all.”
I stayed in a dumbfounded state as Jeremy explanation of all that had happened in my life was nothing but nature’s way of saying you are too many around and a new predator is needed. I look at Max he was still standing by my side as his eyes started closing, as if he was board or sleepy.
“Max, Max, wake up,” I said as I shook him to alertness.
“Yea Miss Sara?” he slurred his words as if he just gotten back from a nap.
“Don’t worry Sara he will be okay just drowsy from the injection.”
I sat on a metal chair looking at Max, Jeremy and to the screen where Alex was being help.
“Can we here what he is saying?”
“Yes.” He said and flipped a switched as the audio started blasting from some speakers on top of the desk.
“Marino, you bastard you promised me Sara’s head. Fuck you, fuck you, let me out, let me out Marino, you fucking insolent piece of meat I will get you for betraying me. Hear me I will fucking get you and that monster of yours.” The screams were heard all over as if I was right in the room with him.
When I heard the word Marino I knew he was behind all this maybe while looking for me he found them both. Injected Alex before he was picked up and that is why he was sick on the car.
“Where is Alex being held?”
“It’s an offsite location, I cannot tell you.”
I turned my head and looked straight in my adopted father eyes. “Now, you listen to me Jeremy, you said double dosing him made him a crazed animal, but look at him now he is not acting like an animal he is just mad, if he and Max are like me, then I have to protect them from the likes of you and Marino. You will never understand what it is to be the only one like this and never, ever will be able to feel another ones touch since you know you will have to kill them soon. I have lost everything. All my life and my freedom has all been but a lie, you should know this. I am tired of looking over my shoulder to see if you are there or not. Tired of the lone nights in the woods so you and your fucking hounds don’t find me. At least now I have someone I could actually be with, and another that is probably just scared and mad.” I almost screamed those words to him, as I pointed to Alex on the screen and Max at my side. “They are like my only family, they are part of me. I must save them at whatever cost.” My finger now at his face and feeling really angry as if a volcano had erupted the lava flowing ready to burn everyone and everything around. Marino’s plan, Jeremy’s evil past, even Max for slapping me in the forest, but now I understand it was all Marino’s fault. And he will pay.
“Sara calm down, I cannot tell you where the offsite is but I can take you there. Next time let me finish.”
We left the tent all walking in a single file a
s if we were ants fallowing the trail of the leader or scout that was sent at first to find the source of food. We walked east away from the tent and command center and on to and old abandon mill. The trail was covered with foliage, a big wheel laid broken to it side as the old rusty place had a big padlock on the front door with big heavy chains.
“This is where he is, I don’t have the key but you should know…”
I did not let him finished. I got closer to the door grabbing the padlock in my hand and yanking it off the door throwing it on the floor and looking inside the big black hole in front of me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
There was no sound inside, the old mill was rotting and the boards looked like a rain of bullets had torn the wood away, but it was age. I looked back at Max he just nudge his shoulders up, but said nothing. Jeremy stood still I guess wondering where all that strength had come from. I tilted my head right he said ‘oh’. I walked inside to nothing more than the rotten flesh of and old building, the boards where cracked and stiff. At the end stairs. We three walked towards them stepping on the first one, it creaked hard and long under my weight. I stopped and listen, but no sound came from darken hole underneath.
With each step I took and the two at my back, the boards creaked more and the sound came louder as the wooden steps wither under our weights. I thought that one of us would end on the bottom after falling through one of them and probably end with a broken ankle or neck, but we ended the trail of the downward spiral the stairs made. They ended on another room filled with old desks chairs and the place looked like it had been locked for ages dust covered every object in the room. I looked back at Jeremy he said nothing but looked worried, in his brow sweat, his eyes moving from side to side like expecting someone to appear from somewhere. I gave him a little hit with my fist hard enough to make him look at me, Max smiles.
“What is it?” I said
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