by G M Sherwin
“As a bell, sir.”
“I’ll be on the next chopper and will be there within the hour.”
The phone went dead. The major was a man of few words. From what Stanmore knew of the man, the major wasn’t a man to be messed with. He had met the major when this project had begun, and from the very start he respected him—from a distance.
This project was under the radar but some very influential people were in charge and wanted results for their money. Stanmore of course wasn’t privy to know who they were nor did he want to know. He was more focused on making this project work, and after two years of failed test after test, he was not going to let that idiot Edmunds ruin all he had worked for.
Stanmore picked up the phone again and began to speak.
“Collins, come in, will you? I need you to do something for me.”
Stanmore leaned back into the chair and considered the implications of what was occurring. Why is the subject awake now, and why was Edmunds keeping it from them? After all, he was just as invested in this project as himself. It didn’t make any sense. And now the major was on his way. He wouldn’t be forgiving of this transgression. Not at all.
Stanmore was interrupted from his ruminations as Collins entered the room. A tall and ominous-looking man, he commanded respect from anyone he was in the room with. Handpicked by the major to head the security team, his identity and past were a complete mystery to the rest of the team. Stanmore had heard a rumour years back that Collins was involved in a covert assassination program that targeted a few CEOs of the world’s largest organisations.
“What do you need?” Collins, straight to the point as always.
“I need you to dig into Edmunds’s background and keep an eye on him. The major is paying us a visit.”
“Got it. I’ll report back shortly. I have some contacts I can reach out to that will uncover anything out of the norm. If Edmunds does anything unexpected . . . ?”
Stanmore let the question linger.
“Then you know what to do.”
The Conversation
Edmunds continued to check the now fully awake subject’s vitals. Strong and steady, this is good, he thought. Edmunds had managed to stall the lab technicians from coming to do the daily checks with an excuse that he was carrying out vital observations on this subject. They were a little surprised but didn’t argue when he threw rank at them. With that, they promptly left.
The problem he now faced was how to keep this quiet. Stanmore would be asking questions soon if he wasn’t already. Edmunds knew the room was monitored and he was all too aware what a sneaky bastard Stanmore was at times. He’d never trusted that man.
“Where am I?”
The voice startled him. He looked back at the man lying on the hospital bed. “You’re in a military research facility. You’ve been here for nearly two years now. What’s the last thing that you remember?”
“I was in a battle of some sort. A firefight with ISIS fighters. But I can’t seem to remember what happened after that. I remember being pinned down by gunfire. We’d called in an airstrike. But then . . . it’s a blur.”
Edmunds moved closer to the bed.
“Do you know your name?” he asked.
“Daniel. Daniel Harper.”
Daniel looked back at Edmunds, a little shocked that those words had come out. The doctor in front of him was probably in his early forties, judging by the receding hairline and crow’s feet around his eyes. Grey stubble from the lack of a shave in the last few days.
“Why am I here? What do you want from me, and who are these people you are talking about?” The questions kept coming as Daniel’s interest and awareness of his surroundings grew. With it came the recognition that he was in some kind of danger.
“I know you must have lots of questions, but please trust me when I say we don’t have time to go into everything right now. The main thing is you’re awake, and I have to get you out of here before they realize it,” Edmunds replied.
“Why should I trust you?”
“You have no other choice, my friend, and besides if you don’t, you’ll find yourself on a slab very soon with your brains opened up and several people dissecting you whilst you are awake.”
There was an earnestness in Edmunds’s face, from what Daniel could tell. Daniel seemed to remember that his ability to judge a person accurately was his strength and had served him well in the past.
His memory was coming back thick and fast, but the circumstances of how he arrived here still eluded him frustratingly.
“So, what’s your plan for getting out of here?” Daniel asked.
Edmunds smiled.
Daniel felt strange but he just put that down to his prolonged sleep status. But is that it? he wondered. No, something was different; he could sense it but could not put his finger on it. For now, though, he was keeping that to himself. He didn’t entirely trust what this Edmunds was saying, even if he had the best of intentions.
Surveying his surroundings, Daniel knew this was no military hospital. There was no natural light. The staff that he had watched covertly seemed too clinical and detached for this to be a convalescence for injured personnel in the armed forces. He had also caught a glimpse of armed guards when the doors opened. Wherever he was, he was keen to leave this rancid place, and the sooner the better.
“James—that’s your name, right?” Daniel asked.
“Yes, it is,” the doctor replied.
“Are we still being observed?” Daniel asked, nodding up at the camera in the room.
“No, I looped the feed a while ago. That will only work for so long though. Just enough time for me to make plans.”
More are coming
Roaming the corridors was Stevens’s least favorite part of his job, and being in the bowels of this god-awful complex was the absolute fucking pits. So much for having teammates, he thought. He’d lost the draw for who was next down here. The stench was almost unbearable since the incinerator had gone on the fritz.
Bodies were being left to rot until it was fixed, and even though the concerns had been raised and all freezers were full to capacity, the complaints had fallen on deaf ears. The lighting was even worse, dull and flickering intermittently. Gave him a headache when he was down here, that and the stench. Jeez, he needed a new job. Time to move on, he thought.
“Easier said than done.”
And now I’m talking to myself. Great. Peters better not be sleeping on the job when I get there, the fat, lazy bastard!
Of course he was only bitter because he was down guarding a pile of rotting corpses.
Not like they’re going anywhere, is it now?
The tramp of his boots echoed down the corridors. Coming up to the last turn, he could hear something that didn’t quite fit with his surroundings.
What the hell is that sound? Shuffling? Moaning? What’s that idiot Peters doing down here?
He pushed on towards the bend in the corridor and then froze.
On the floor was a bloody mess of what he could only guess was Peters, or what was left of him. It was what was around him that made Stevens shudder—a swarm of rotting but still moving bodies feasting on his fallen colleague. The sight turned his stomach and almost stopped him from reacting to the situation in front of him.
At least five of the feasting monsters stopped eating and turned to look at Stevens, eyes devoid of any emotion, clouded from the decaying state they were in, bloated from the gases building up from the inside, making their appearance all that more repulsive. Stevens felt like he walked onto the set of a horror film only this was no film set.
What were they working on here? These people were dead—he knew that because he recognised one of them. Stevens had brought that one down only yesterday after they had finished with him in the lab.
Hand on his shoulder mic, eyes never leaving the scene, he spoke into the mouthpiece calmly.
“I need all available units down at the morgue. We have a serious situation down here with o
ne man down.”
“Taking the piss again, are we, Stevens?” the voice mocked at the other end.
“If you could see what I’m seeing right now, you wouldn’t be asking that question right now! Now fucking get everyone down here and fast!”
Stevens slammed the panic button on the wall to his left and drew his weapon. Shots echoed as he let out his first rounds into the slow-moving crowd that had their eyes fixed on him.
“No, you don’t, you fuckers—I’m not your next meal! Back the fuck off,” he shrieked.
The first fell quickly and so did the second, but the rest took his shots without stopping.
What I wouldn’t do for a grenade right now, he thought as he backed away from the crowd moving his way. Stevens’s shots must have aroused more of them from somewhere as they started to fill the corridor. He was facing a horde of corpses walking wall to wall. He could no longer see the end of that corridor for the mass of shuffling bodies, all clambering their way to reach him.
The siren was deafening; the red light flashing in conjunction with the alarm amid the gunshots. Stevens felt the wall at his side as he dared not take his eyes off them, moving back towards the lift he exited only ten minutes before.
Come on, guys, get a move on!
As though Stevens’s thoughts had been heard, the lift opened and boots thumped as a dozen of his teammates, laughing and joking, came up behind him. They soon stopped dead in their tracks.
“What the buggery bollocks, Stevens?” Collins blurted out.
“Don’t talk, just fucking shoot the damn things. It’s getting crowded down here and I’ve run out of ammo. Throw me some,” Stevens shouted over the sirens and howls.
The Major
Major Stevens stepped out of the Lynx helicopter onto the landing platform and was quickly greeted by Stanmore, head bent as the rotors whirred at high speed. Both men moved away from the transport as the engine increased in volume to take off again.
“Any changes since we last spoke, Stanmore?” he asked without looking at him.
“Edmunds is still talking with subject one-one-five-three. They seem to have built a rapport. We already know he remembers being in Syria before the incident. No memory loss, although he does not remember the circumstances that brought him here.”
“How soon can he be made ready for the next phase? Can we do this today?”
By his tone, Stanmore surmised that it wasn’t a question.
“We can prep him for the procedure within a couple of hours. Yes, it’s possible, sir.’
“Get it done. I’ll deal with Edmunds.”
The words sent a shiver down Stanmore’s spine as he followed the major inside.
“I’ve tasked Collins with gathering some intel on Edmunds, sir,” Stanmore said.
There was no natural light in the building. Harsh fluorescent lighting was all they had for days on end. Stanmore had become accustomed to the surroundings, but for anyone else who had the unfortunate pleasure of arriving here, the experience was different. If the brooding atmosphere didn’t drive you crazy, then the unpleasant odor this place seemed to exude certainly would.
Walking with the major to the lift that would take them to the heart of the complex deep underground, Stanmore eyed up the major surreptitiously. Dressed in a pinstripe suit more suitable for Parliament than an underground research facility, the man was thickset and burly. Stanmore didn’t know much about this man except that he was senior within the government circles and had business around the country. Stanmore remembered when the major had recruited him to work on Project Lazarus. He was a no bullshit kind of man and took no prisoners when mistakes were made. The man Stanmore had apparently replaced was reportedly missing—dead, more like, he thought as the lift came to a stop.
The major exited first. His bodyguards, close behind, watched everything including Stanmore.
“Let’s talk in the main office, shall we, Stanmore?”
Again, a command, not a request, thought Stanmore as he led them towards the main office that was cold and clinical like the rest of the complex.
They seated themselves at the table in the centre of the room.
“What I want, Stanmore, is the gene that will provide unlimited resources for the armed forces. Imagine an army that does not need to be replenished after a conflict. We would be able to treat our men on the ground and send them back into battle. Now that the test subject is awake, we can utilize him by extracting the DNA we need to make this happen.”
“The problem we’ve had in the past when implanting the new gene, sir,” Stanmore replied, “is that every test subject seems to reject the new DNA. It turns them into something . . . else. Let’s just say they would be difficult to control on a battlefield.”
Stanmore shifted uneasily. He knew the man hated excuses.
The major stared back at Stanmore, cold blue eyes piercing into his soul.
“Did I ask about the failed attempts, Stanmore? No, don’t answer that. We have a live subject that is now awake. We can extract the fluid from his spine, I believe. Am I correct in that assumption?” the Major asked.
“Yes, sir, now we know he’s awake and is exhibiting no signs of the usual side effects, we can do a lumbar puncture and start cultivating the gene and eliminating any impurities. Once that is done, we can mass produce and start live testing without the complications we’ve seen up until now.”
Before the major could reply, the base alarm blared, cutting short their conversation.
“Find out what that’s all about, Stanmore. I can’t afford any more delays.”
Stanmore was already on his feet and reaching for the comms on his desk.
“Report!”
“Sir, we have a situation down here . . . I’m not sure how to describe it exactly.” The voice was shaky and did not fill Stanmore with confidence.
Damn it, he thought, not now.
“Get a grip, soldier, and give me details.” Stanmore was getting impatient.
“It’s . . . it’s the bodies, sir. They’re attacking,” the soldier replied.
“You’re not making much sense, man. I need you to calm down and explain the situation or put someone on that’s less of an idiot than you are.”
Stanmore could feel the major’s eyes boring into him from across the room. Of all the days for something to go belly up, it had to be today. Well, someone was going suffer for this incompetence. He would make sure of that.
“Hello, sir?”
The voice had changed. Someone else was addressing him now. Good, thought Stanmore. I might get some actual sense and carry on with the major.
“Speak,” Stanmore replied
“There is an outbreak down here. The subjects we left down here are awake and attacking everything in their path. And I do mean attacking, sir. They’re eating fallen soldiers. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. Nothing seems to stop them for long. They just get back up.”
The phone went silent.
Stanmore glanced back at the major.
“We have a serious breach, major. May I suggest we suspend this meeting and get you out of here ASAP?” Stanmore said.
“What kind of breach? And it’s a simple question that requires a minimal answer, Stanmore. Do not bullshit me,” the major barked as he stood up.
“No bullshit, sir. My men report that the deceased subjects are up and attacking the soldiers. All I can think is the gene has somehow mutated and caused a resurrection. Sounds bizarre, but it’s not impossible considering what we’ve been experimenting with. The problem now is shutting this down quickly and with minimal loss.”
Stanmore watched the major for his response.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Escape
This was their chance. The siren was deafening inside the complex as James radioed in to find out what the confusion was all about.
“Report,” he said. It was not a question. James never had a problem asserting himself when the time called for it and this was that
time.
“There has been an incident on the lower levels, sir.”
“Explain.” Short and to the point, James wanted answers, and this could be his opportunity to get Daniel out of here among the chaos.
“I don’t know the full situation, sir. All I know is that there’s a full team of us down there fighting God-knows-what.” The voice of the corporal was a little too shaky for James’s liking. “I can hear a lot of shouting and gunfire so hell knows what’s happening, but I’ve just heard we are sending reinforcements to the guys already engaged.”
“Do you know where Dr Stanmore is? And I need you to send me two guards to room six-zero-six immediately. I need to transfer a patient.” James’s tone remained firm as not to arouse suspicion.
“Yes, sir, immediately, and I think the Dr Stanmore is still with the major in his office.”
James froze. The major was on site? Stanmore must know of Daniel’s current situation. They needed to leave now and fast before Stanmore and a team cut them off.
James moved away from the comms and looked at Daniel who was sat staring at him from the bed, his eyes searching him for answers to what was happening.
“We need to move sooner than I thought, Daniel. Things have changed somewhat.”
Daniel got himself off the bed.
“What do you need?”
“We need to get you a uniform. That’s the only way we are getting you out of here unnoticed. How are you feeling?”
“Strong enough, if that’s what you are asking.”
“It is. I can take care of one of the guards, but I need you to cover me with the other one. And remember these guards are well trained. So it’s going to have to be quick and non-lethal force.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of that. How long do we have before they arrive?” Daniel asked as he surveyed the room for vulnerable points. He watched James fill the syringe in his hands with what he could only guess was a sedative.