by RM Brewer
Driving along the darkening forest road, Jodie's thoughts wandered, with images of Mei racing through her mind. In the weeks that followed Mei's disappearance, Jodie had felt herself being driven crazy by thoughts of what could be happening to her friend. Although they'd only had short time together, Jodie felt a connection to Mei she hadn't ever felt with anyone before. She knew her life would never be the same if she couldn't find Mei.
Jodie's rage and frustration over Gypsum's plan and the government's involvement had been fueled to almost intolerable levels before she realized she'd need to get a grip. She knew she had to put her own feelings aside if she were ever to find Mei. She remembered her friend, Bob, telling her how he was going to leave the FBI after they stopped Gypsum. It was too late for him, but not for her. She'd find Mei, obliterate Gypsum once and for all, then spend the rest of her days with her family and friends, far away from the FBI and government conspiracies. Jodie only hoped she would live to see it happen.
Pulling the SUV into Debi's driveway, Jodie smiled at the thought of seeing Chuck. She hoped he wasn't too disfigured. Her greatest wish, though, was that he had recovered enough to be of help to her in some way. It seemed that only Chuck could survive what Gypsum was dealing out. She parked, turned the key off and got out of the SUV. Walking to the door, she remembered the large box of Three Musketeers she'd bought as a gift for Chuck. She trotted back to her vehicle and opened the tailgate.
Jodie jumped back as a blanket covering something lying next to the candy bars moved. Instantly, she knew what it was. "Fester, come out of there," she said, finding herself irritated, yet impressed that the boy had managed to hide his presence from her.
Fester pulled back the blanket, revealing his reddening face. "Uh, hi," he said.
"I thought we had a deal, Fester," Jodie said, trying not to laugh. He certainly was persistent and he'd be seeing Chuck sooner or later anyway. But, Jodie worried about what he would do as things started to ramp up again. Eventually, if she and Chuck were successful, they would come face to face with Gypsum or, possibly, some dangerous alien life form. Jodie knew Fester was out for revenge, but she wondered if he understood what the potential consequences could be. They could fail, and fail miserably. They could all die.
"I'm sorry. I ... I didn't want to wait anymore. I want to see him," Fester said, his eyes softening with tears.
Jodie sighed. "Well, let's get you out of there, then," she said, helping Fester out of the cargo area and grabbing the box of candy bars. "You shouldn't have done this. I don't even know what shape Chuck’s in."
Fester closed the tailgate and turned toward her. "I don't care. If there's something wrong, maybe I can help him."
"Hey, there," a woman's voice called out.
Jodie turned to see Debi standing on the front porch of her house.
"Come on in," Debi said. "I told our guest you were coming. I see you brought company," Debi let out a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, a surprise to me," Jodie said. "Let's get inside." Jodie linked her arm through Fester's. "We're going to have a long talk on the way home."
Fester nodded, looking like he was unable to control the smile creeping across his face.
"Hello, young man," Debi said as they approached the porch. "I have an idea that you must be Tim. Chuck's told me a lot about you."
Fester smiled broadly. "Where is he?"
Debi glanced over at Jodie with a questioning look and Jodie nodded.
"Go ahead inside," Debi said, opening the door for her guests.
Jodie followed Fester. The room they entered was dark, save for a lamp in the corner, sitting next to a chair. Jodie could see the dim silhouette of a large person in the chair.
"Chuck?" Fester said.
The person stood and Jodie immediately knew it was Chuck. He'd grown taller and broader again. "Fester, boy, is that you?"
Fester ran to Chuck, who pulled him close and hugged him. "Yeah, it's me. How did you make it out of there? Were you hurt? What was the explosion like? Did you get them all?" Questions streamed out of Fester's mouth faster than Chuck could possibly answer.
Chuck let out a hearty laugh. Jodie thought his voice sounded more human than she recalled. When his body had started changing, his voice had become raspy and mechanical. The voice she heard now sounded a lot more like the old Chuck. Jodie hoped the rest of his body had followed suit. He seemed to be in a never-ending cycle of transformation since he'd been infected with the super-soldier virus.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Fester said. "Jodie's here, too."
Chuck stepped into the light and for the first time, she could see that his face was fully formed. He looked similar to the old Chuck, yet considerably bigger and very fit. Jodie's vision blurred as her eyes clouded with tears.
"Hi, Jodie," he said, moving toward her.
"Hi, Chuck," she said, crossing the space between them and falling into his open arms. Jodie looked up at his square jaw. "How are you? I mean . . . are you okay?"
"Yeah," Chuck said. "It was kind of sketchy for a while there, but I'm alright now."
Jodie pushed back and looked at him. She thought he seemed well, but sad. "Will you tell us what happened?" she asked, handing him the box of Three Musketeers.
Chuck nodded. "Thank you. I could use one of these. Can we sit, though? I'm kinda tired today."
Jodie led Chuck back to his chair and sat on the couch. She patted the cushion, motioning Fester to sit next to her.
"Are you alright, Chuck?" Jodie asked. "You were right in the middle of that blast, weren't you?"
Chuck laughed. "Yeah, you could say that. I didn't really know what was happening, but the explosion kind of . . . well, it kind of came from me. I made it. Say, do you mind if I crack one of these open?" Chuck asked, holding up the box of candy bars. "I'll share."
"No, you go ahead, Chuck. We're already in trouble here, with Fester leaving without telling anyone. I'll be deeper in the doghouse if they find out I've ruined his dinner, too." Jodie was confused about Chuck's version of the explosion, but she’d seen him do similar things on a smaller scale. When she thought about it, there wasn't much about his abilities that she understood anyway, so she waited for him to tell more of his story.
"I started these barrels on fire and then the whole thing blew. Except me. It was like I was in a cocoon in the middle of the room. Everything was smashed into little pieces and flew out, away from me. When it was over, I was just standing there in this huge pile of burning rubble. You know, concrete and metal, everywhere. It drained me, though. Took all of my energy to crawl out of there and hide behind what used to be one of the guard trailers. Gypsum was there in a matter of minutes, poking all over the place. I had to bury myself."
"Huh?" Fester asked. "You buried yourself?"
Chuck smiled. "Yeah. I just burrowed down in the sand behind the trailer and waited. I'm not sure, but I think I was in there at least a couple of days."
Jodie shuddered, thinking of poor Chuck waiting underground for someone who would never come to find him. "I'm so sorry, Chuck. If we had known --"
Chuck waved at her. "No, no, don't be sorry. Besides the fact that those Gypsum people in the hazmat suits were everywhere, the explosion contaminated the whole area. You wouldn't have been safe."
"Well, you look like you now, at least," Jodie said.
"Yeah," Fester said with enthusiasm, "But bigger and badder."
"You look bigger and badder, yourself, Fester," Chuck said. "You've been growing, boy."
Fester's face flushed crimson red. "I guess," he said.
"Well, we'll all need to be as big and bad as we can be if we're gonna kill those things," Chuck said, his expression growing vacant.
Jodie wondered what he meant. "The Gypsum guards?"
Chuck shook his head. "No. The things. The things we saw in the underground tunnels. They're all over the desert yet. I saw them escape."
Jodie nodded. "You mean the ones headed toward Vegas? The military is dealing with them."
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"No, not them." Chuck leaned forward.
Jodie sat back against the couch cushion, feeling the reality of what he was saying taking hold in her mind. "You mean, there are more?"
Chuck nodded. "Gypsum's out there trying to kill them. I heard the Gypsum guards talking. They're in the tunnels, too. No one knows how many were still alive after the explosion, but the virus is moving across the country, underground. In fact, they might be all over the world by now. That's why Gypsum hasn't been able to regroup. They're too busy fighting off the virals."
"There can't be many, though," Jodie said, hoping that was really true. "They've accounted for most of the people who were stationed at Area 51."
Chuck stopped chewing his candy bar. "You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?" Jodie asked.
"There was a Gypsum facility connected to Area 51 with over eight hundred people in it," Chuck said, swallowing another piece of Three Musketeers. "The Gypsum guards were all freaked out about it."
Jodie felt terror creeping under her skin. Certainly, extraterrestrials were a danger, but the virus could wipe out the world population within a few days. "No, we didn't have that intel. Do you know how many of those people were accounted for?"
Chuck nodded. "Yeah. I do," he said, rubbing his chin. "Zero."
CHAPTER 4
Claire turned and saw the lights in the distance just as the ATV started to chug. She twisted the throttle and the machine lurched forward, stopping after traveling a few feet. She cupped her flashlight and clicked it on. Shining it toward the engine gauges, her heart dropped as she saw the gas gauge needle sitting on E. She jumped off, removed the gas cap, grabbed the fuel can strapped to the back, and poured as fast as she could. The headlights were coming closer. Possibly, it was some of the group of campers, chasing her down for stealing their ATV. More likely, the Gypsum guards had commandeered the remaining ATVs and were coming for her. Regardless, she knew she had to move quickly. She had to get word to Jodie that Gypsum had probably killed her team.
Her hands shaking almost uncontrollably, Claire tried to steady herself as some of the gas splashed onto the warm sand. She took a deep breath in an attempt to relax, knowing that she still had time. Finally, she could hear the tank filling to the top and she capped it, strapping the half-full can back on where she’d found it. She’d need all the fuel she could carry if she was going to make her way to civilization.
Ready to start the ATV, she turned to look behind her and caught a glimpse of a dark shadow passing in front of the headlights shining in the distance. She blinked and tried to focus, but couldn't make out what it was. She opened the choke, pumped the primer and yanked the engine cord. After three pulls, it roared to life. Claire jumped on the ATV and twisted the throttle, sending the back end fishtailing in the sand. Finally, the wheels gripped, just as she felt a presence behind her. Claire looked over her shoulder and screamed.
The wet, hot breath of something, some creature, spewed in her face. The thing was so close, she felt like it was almost upon her. The ATV lurched forward, just out of the creature's reach. Claire felt the wheels spinning and the machine sinking and rising out of the sand, nearly out of control. As she steadied the handlebars, the low rumble of growling drowned out the sound of the roaring ATV engine.
Pushing the throttle to the limit, the wheels finally found purchase and Claire tore across the sand at a precarious speed. Shadows flashed in front and to the sides of the ATV. She felt them moving in, heard them coming closer, the rank odor of decay permeating every molecule of air surrounding her. She rode hard, slamming into rocks and brush, barely keeping herself and the machine upright. The growling grew quieter and Claire hazarded a glimpse behind her. Even in the darkness, she could see the silhouettes of what looked like thousands of them, stumbling into each other, falling, spitting, wheezing, clawing to pull themselves to the front of the pack.
Claire gripped the handlebars tighter, her entire body shaking with fear. Her shirt was soaked and her eyes clouded with beads of sweat rolling off her forehead. She'd never seen anything like she was seeing now, feeling as if she were trapped in a garish nightmare. She'd heard talk of infected being caught near Area 51 after the explosion, but how could so many have been missed?
A piercing scream cut through the dry desert air and the things went silent. Claire turned back again to see what they were doing. In unison, they spun around and took off at a sprint, heading for the lights behind her.
Claire slammed into a rock and the ATV bucked, landing hard, jarring her to the bone. She felt the metallic taste of blood and salt mixing in her mouth and realized she'd bit down on her lip. She knew she had to ignore what was going on behind her and concentrate on getting off the sand. Driving on a paved road would be the only way she could outrun the horde if it turned back to her. She debated whether to turn on the headlights, but thought the light might draw the things to her, so she waited. Then, she heard the first shots. Even over the whine of the ATV engine and the rising voice of the collective storm of virals behind her, she could hear frantic screaming.
In the dim light ahead, she saw the shallow ditch coming into view and realized the roadway was just beyond. She accelerated, grinding through the sandy swale, shooting up onto the gravel road, just as the report of automatic weapons sounded in the distance. She flipped the switch for the headlights and reached for her shoulder harness, unbuckling the strap, grabbing her duty weapon and switching the safety off before sliding it back in the holster. About five miles of gravel road lay between her and the nearest paved highway where she might be able to catch a ride or, at least, borrow a cell phone. Somehow, some way, she needed to get word to Jodie about what was happening in the desert. Claire gritted her teeth and shifted into high gear.
* * *
Mei woke to the feeling of something pricking her arm. Instinctively, she tried to pull away but found she couldn't move. Gradually, the room came into view and she could see a person, dressed in an anti-contamination suit, standing next to her bed. She could barely make out the person's eyes behind their facemask. They looked like kind eyes, at least. Mei picked up her head to get a look at her hands, which she couldn't move for some reason. She felt confused, finding her arms were strapped to the bed.
"Well, you're awake again," the masked person said. It sounded like a woman's voice, maybe someone of Middle Eastern descent. "Would you like to sit up?"
Mei nodded.
The woman reached down and pressed a button on an electronic panel mounted to the bed frame. Mei felt the bed folding to a more upright position. From her new vantage point, she could see that her legs were strapped down, too. A cluster of tubes ran from her forearm and, most disconcerting to her, she could feel the catheter connected to the tube that snaked out from underneath the sheets. She wondered how or if she'd been injured. But, if she had been, why was she tied to the bed? Mei could feel the swelling in her mouth and controlling her lips to form words was near impossible. She managed a grunt of sorts and nodded her head toward the bindings on her wrists.
The woman in the anti-contaminant suit met her eyes. "Oh, that. That's for your safety. You were thrashing around before, trying to pull the tubes out of your arm, so we had to sedate and restrain you." She reached down and unbuckled the ties on Mei's arms and legs. "You're receiving fluids. You were in cryostasis for quite a while and we had to restore your electrolytes. Long-term stasis has a way of changing your body's pH, you know. The swelling in your mouth should be better in a day or two."
Mei wanted to ask what she meant by long-term stasis, but couldn't mouth the words. She motioned to the woman for something to write on. The woman nodded, turned from the bed and went to a cabinet in the corner of the room. She returned with a pen and paper, handed it to Mei, and pulled a rolling chair up to the side of the bed.
"Where am I?" Mei scrawled on the pad as best she could and turned it so the woman could see.
The woman looked at her. "You don't remember anything, then?"
"No," Mei wrote. She could hear the woman sigh.
"Well, then, this is going to come as somewhat of a shock." The woman paused and lowered her head. When she looked up, Mei could see the concern in her eyes. "You were selected for cryostasis and transport to an intergalactic station. We departed the day before yesterday and you were doing fine at first. You really should've stayed in stasis for the entire trip, but you woke up because of an equipment malfunction. So, we had to run the reinitiating sequence and normalize your pH."
Mei couldn't quite understand what this woman was telling her. Did she mean she wasn't in a hospital, then? Was she saying they were on a spaceship? A fleeting memory flashed through Mei's head. She remembered a needle being thrust into her arm, a glimpse of her clothing being removed by someone and her body shoved into a container the size of a coffin, then nothing except darkness. She shuddered and pulled the covers up under her chin, feeling her eyes cloud with tears. She just wanted to go home. Home to Mountain City. Home to her daily routine, to her little cabin in the woods. Home to Jodie.
"Don't be afraid," the woman said. "I'm here to help you. All of your questions will be answered in time."
Mei pulled out her pad and pen again. "Who are you?" she wrote.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Ourani . . . but you can just call me Hana."
* * *
Jodie stood next to Fester and listened to him talking to Christy on the phone in the kitchen, trying to explain why he wasn't at home, where she'd expected to find him. She could tell by the look on his face that the conversation wasn't going too well. He said goodbye and set the phone down.
"She said that dinner is in an hour," Fester said. "She sounded kinda mad."
Jodie put her arm around his shoulders. "That's because she cares about you. She worries you know. You should talk to her and tell her how you're feeling. That might help both of you."