by RM Brewer
Fester made a pained face. "She wouldn't understand. She . . . she just wouldn't understand," he said, pulling away.
Jodie grabbed his arm. "She understands more than you know, Fester."
Fester looked down at his feet. "My dad. He was part of Gypsum."
Jodie knew exactly how he was feeling. The overwhelming guilt about the role her own mother had played in Gypsum's plan made her capable of empathizing with Fester on a very personal level. "I know," she whispered. "I know how you feel. But, we're not them. You can't let this take your life . . . your happiness."
Fester looked up from his feet. "I'm not. I just want to do something about it . . . like you are. What if they start again? What if Gypsum rebuilds?"
"Well, you heard what Chuck had to say. The product of their own experiments is undoing what's left of Gypsum right now. We're watching them, you know. The FBI has been tracking down Gypsum officials since the explosion and piecing together their global connections. We've got people all over the world working on this. We'll know if they try to re-group."
Fester nodded. "But, you didn't even know about the infected people Chuck told us about."
Jodie felt her face flush. He was right. The FBI was woefully behind on understanding the problem with the virals. She wondered what else they were missing and needed to get the information to her team without them knowing she'd seen Chuck. As she tried to think of a way to do that, the kitchen door opened and Debi poked her head in.
"Everything okay in here?" Debi asked.
Jodie turned away from Fester. "Yeah. It looks like we need to get home for dinner."
"Can we come back tomorrow?" Fester asked.
Jodie laughed. "We'll see. If you're not grounded for life, maybe."
Jodie promised that she'd return in the morning and they said goodbye to Chuck and Debi. She felt the warmth of the moment as Fester embraced Chuck, knowing that the two meant the world to each other. There would be little that would keep them apart. At the same time, she also believed Chuck would never put Fester in danger. A time was coming, soon, when they would need to leave Fester behind. She didn't know whose heart it would break more, Chuck's or Fester's. Then again, with all of Gypsum not accounted for, was anyone safe? Maybe the best place for all of them was just to stay together, with Chuck.
As they drove toward the cabin, Jodie glanced at her watch, then checked her phone for messages. She knew her team was trying not to disturb her during her time off, but the lack of correspondence from them was disconcerting. It had been several hours since she'd received an email. She set the phone down, thinking maybe the mountains were interfering with the signal. After dinner, she would give the office a call and catch up, being sure to admonish them for not submitting their daily log on time. Then again, maybe she was being too hard on them. Her team was probably trying to give her the break she needed, but Jodie wasn't used to not being connected with moment by moment updates. She wanted to laugh at herself. More like, not being used to taking a vacation. Better enjoy it while I can, she thought.
They pulled into the driveway and Jodie shut the engine off.
Fester stared out the window. "I was going to run away. I was going to go and kill all of those Gypsum people for what they did to my mother."
Jodie held her breath, not knowing quite what to say. Fester's plans took her by surprise, but she realized she should've guessed he had something like that on his mind. After all, he'd already run away from Christy and Nick before to help Chuck bring Gypsum down. "You can't, Fester. We need you. Chuck needs you. You know, if you left, Nick and Christy wouldn't quit until they found you. You would put them in terrible danger."
"I know," Fester stammered. "I'm just so pissed . . . I mean, angry." Tears streamed down his face.
Jodie grabbed his hand. "You have every reason to be, but running off and getting yourself killed won't do anything except make Gypsum stronger."
Fester nodded, wiping his face with his sleeve.
Jodie leaned toward him. "We'll work on this together, then. You, me and Chuck."
Fester looked up at her. "Really?"
"Christy and Nick have to be agreeable to it, but yeah, really," Jodie said. "Besides that, it doesn't seem it's possible to keep you out of it anyway."
Fester finally smiled and reached over to hug her. She could feel the tension in him ease and hoped she hadn't made the wrong decision. Fester was too young to bear this sort of constant danger, but then again, he'd already faced it and survived. "Well, we do have one mission to conquer first, and that's explaining to Christy about your stowaway trick. I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with that, but I'll talk to her and Nick later tonight about everything we discussed. It has to be their decision. You understand that, right?"
Fester nodded. They both looked up as the porch light came on.
"I suppose . . . we'd better go in," Fester said.
"Yeah," Jodie said. "Time to face the music."
* * *
Claire downshifted as she turned onto the paved road. The highway was eerily quiet with no vehicles approaching in either direction. Ahead, canyon walls loomed and the ATV headlights cast strange shadows across the red rock. Claire hesitated, wondering whether driving on a road hemmed in by rock walls was the best idea. Then again, her choices were either move ahead or turn around and head back toward the horde of virals she'd encountered earlier.
Claire pulled her gun out and shifted into a higher gear, trying to balance between speed and maneuverability. The canyon walls to either side of her boxed her in. She felt confined, as if she were driving into a snare, like prey being led into a trap with no chance of escape. The night was beginning to weigh on her psyche, breaking her down, and she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Get it together, Hathaway," she said to herself. "Use your training."
Up ahead, the road curved and the canyon became deeper. Against the star-illuminated sky, she could see the silhouette of trees at the top of the cliff. Repositioning the gun in her hand, she upshifted. Looking up, the Milky Way hovered over her, its creamy center seeming almost within arm's reach.
Suddenly, groups of stars above the trees blackened and she realized the forest was alive. With the backdrop of inky darkness, the pale-faced virals were easy to discern as they leapt from branch to branch, following her as she sped down the roadway.
Something flew through the air and landed with a sickening thud behind her, so close she could hear bones breaking and the splash of fluids spraying across the pavement. Claire stifled a scream and shifted into high gear again. All around her, the things leaped and landed in piles of decayed flesh and bone, splintering and exploding as they made contact with the asphalt. She swerved as a female viral, clad in broken high heels and a bloody sequined gown, landed directly in front of the ATV. The viral sat up abruptly and snarled as Claire narrowly avoided hitting it, cranking the handlebars and sending the machine into a sideways skid.
As the ATV spun, its headlights illuminated a cloud of smoke spewing from the burning rubber of her tires combined with the exhaust from the hot engine. The smoke wafted up the canyon walls and, in this acrid smelling cloud, Claire could see the shadowy, pale-faced figures grappling with tree branches and clinging to the side of the canyon. One by one, they slipped, jumped or fell head over heels to the pavement, as others continued to move through the trees at an amazing speed. She hit the gravel shoulder and bounced into the ditch. Again, she brought the ATV under control and up onto the pavement.
Ahead, the roadway leveled out onto a plain, the canyon walls receding. Claire knew she had to make it to the flat area as fast as she could or the virals would jump down and be waiting for her as she exited the canyon. Suddenly, the viral in the lead turned back towards those following it and screamed, signaling the others. Could it have seen the escape route she sought? She lowered her body toward the ATV to reduce the draft and cranked the throttle. She looked up ahead to where she might gain her salvation and felt as if she were going to vomit. A pack of t
he things was crawling down the canyon wall ahead. Any moment, they would be directly in her path.
Holding her arm as steady as she could, she raised her weapon and took aim at the nearest viral clinging to the rock. Her bullet slammed into the side of its face and it released its grip and fell to the ground, leaving a blackened stain behind on the rock. Claire aimed again, pulling off another round, hitting a young viral boy, tearing his forearm off. He screamed and clung to the rock with his other arm, baring his teeth, snarling and spitting.
She was almost upon the climbing group, but they had only descended halfway down the canyon wall. Her heart racing, Claire felt the adrenaline fueling her. She allowed the idea of success into her mind just as the lowest viral flung himself from the wall and landed in front of her. Claire stayed low, shielded her eyes and held steady on the throttle, hitting the viral at full speed. The impact rattled the ATV, cracking its hood, and Claire's face smashed into the narrow dashboard. The viral was torn in half, its body splattered across both lanes of the road, its torso propelled into the air and landing in the ditch. Running over the remnants of the viral's legs, the ATV bounced violently, but the machine held true and careened down the highway, out of the canyon.
For about a half mile, Claire shook uncontrollably, shivering in the desert heat, her mind in shock over what she’d endured. She looked at her clothing, trying to see if the viral's blood had splattered on her, but couldn't find any. She'd shielded her face, but the hood of the ATV was covered in blood and gore. Claire thought it would be a miracle if she hadn't been sprayed with it. At this point, all she could do was pray that she'd be okay long enough to get in touch with Jodie.
She didn’t look back as she headed for Reno, its location evident from an amber glow lighting up the desert horizon. After the shaking in her hands fell to an acceptable level, Claire pulled out the pieces of her phone with one hand while steering with the other at full throttle. The possibility that Gypsum could trace her phone was of no concern to her. The idea that anything could be a bigger threat than the virus that was running rampant in the desert seemed very remote. Besides that, it appeared that Gypsum probably had its hands full with the horde.
She needed to take a chance and call Jodie. If something happened to her before she could tell Jodie what was going on in the desert, too much time would pass before anyone would know to take action against the virals. Obviously, the infestation was spreading like wildfire, and, at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before Reno was overtaken.
Holding the back plate in her teeth, she palmed the phone and flipped it over, transferring it to her hand on the throttle. She fished in her pocket for the battery, pulled it out and snapped it in, covering it with the plate. “Now, let’s see if we have a signal,” she said, pressing the on button.
The home screen illuminated and Claire waited as the device powered up completely. "Dammit," she muttered, reading the screen. No signal. She switched the phone off and pocketed it again, thinking it best to concentrate on driving. She’d need to get closer to town. Claire just hoped nothing would stop her.
CHAPTER 5
Jodie sipped her coffee and sat back in the wicker chair on the porch, Hunter at her feet. The dog hadn't left her side since she'd returned home. She settled into the cushion, thinking how comforting it was to be with her family and friends. It was a beautiful evening, the sky sparkling with stars. A gentle warm breeze blew off the lake, inspiring a melancholy tune from the wind chimes overhead. Sounds of her father playing a board game with Fester and Noah carried out to the porch.
"I knew he was having problems," Christy said, setting her coffee cup down on the table. "He's been so quiet and withdrawn that I was starting to worry about him. Nick followed him the other day on one of his nature hikes."
"Yeah," Nick said. "He's got a stash out there, underneath a redwood tree. I was going to talk to him about it, but I've been putting it off. It seemed like kind of a violation of his privacy that I even know about it."
Jodie contemplated how much to tell Christy and Nick about what she knew, but in the end, decided that Fester’s plans to run away had been derailed by Chuck showing up. Now, Fester had bigger ideas. She wanted to concentrate on those.
"I'm worried about him because he doesn't even talk to Noah about his parents anymore," Christy said, standing up to fill Jodie’s coffee cup. "The boys are so different now. I thought that filing the petition to adopt him would make Tim feel like he had a family, but I'm not sure that's important to him at the moment."
"I think it is important to him," Jodie said. "It's just that he needs to have an outlet for the anger he's holding about losing his parents. And . . . and, he feels responsible in a way because of his father's involvement with Gypsum."
Christy and Nick both nodded. "You two have kind of a special bond," Christy said. "I mean, you understand how that feels. We've talked about that . . . how you and Tim can relate in a way that none of the rest of us can."
Jodie nodded. "I think it would be good for Fester to be involved with Chuck and me in taking down Gypsum. There has to be some sort of closure for him to be able to live with himself. I know there does for me, at least."
Christy glanced over at Nick and then looked out, across the lake, remaining silent.
Nick scowled. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. You know, he's only fourteen years old. Well, he'll be fifteen next month, but that's beside the point. You can't expect a fourteen-year-old boy to --"
"Yes, she can," Christy said. "He's no typical teenager. Tim's always acted well beyond his age. He's been Noah's protector practically since they were born. But, whatever part of him was still a boy is disappearing fast after what happened to us and his parents. You saw what he did in the elevator shaft, when Isaiah turned into that thing. He saved all of us. Jodie's right. We have to give him an opportunity to do something about Gypsum or he'll never live a happy life . . . and what better way to do it than with Jodie and Chuck? You know they will protect him from anything."
Nick looked at Christy, then down at the floor, then up at Jodie. "What can a teenage boy possibly do to help you right now?"
Jodie took a deep breath and composed her thoughts. "I know you’re scared for him, but I've been thinking about that a lot. First of all, we need to find a place for Chuck to hide. I was thinking he could stay at Mei's cabin. He'll go crazy there without someone to talk to, so Fester can help with that."
Nick cleared his throat. "Do you think it's safe for him to be around Chuck with what you told us about how valuable he is to Gypsum?"
"Yes, for now, I do. We have . . . well, for lack of a better way to describe it, an aerial reconnaissance system that will keep an eye on things." Jodie laughed to herself, thinking of how the world had changed over the past year. She would never have told her friends about a classified satellite system before. But now, sharing more information with anyone out to help take down Gypsum seemed like a good idea.
"In other words, you can spy on us," Christy said.
Jodie smiled. "Well, yeah."
"I kind of like the idea of you watching over us, but who else is?" Nick asked.
"No one," Jodie said. "The program is proprietary to my team."
Jodie looked up as Noah opened the screen door and held out her phone. "This thing just started beeping," he said, holding it out.
Jodie felt the blood drain from her face. Someone from her team had set off the system alarm. Something was terribly wrong. She jumped up from the chair and took the phone from Noah, seeing that she'd received a text. When she opened it, her heart began to race even faster. It was from Claire Hathaway. A sequence of seemingly random numbers appeared on the screen and immediately, she knew the reason she hadn’t heard from her team earlier.
"What is it, Jodie?" Christy asked.
"We have to get out of here, right now," Jodie said.
"What's happening?" Nick asked, moving next to her to read the text.
"Gypsum," Jodie said. "Gy
psum got to my team."
* * *
Blackjack wasn't Jimbo's best game, so he moved over to join a poker game in the center of the casino. He usually cleaned up at the poker table, playing off the ignorance of Midwestern tourists who understood nothing about counting cards. They thought the game was entirely based on luck, but Jimbo knew it was all in the numbers and he was set on making enough money for a night at a really nice hotel and a one-course dinner. One course, all steak. Later, maybe some female companionship, too. All this after he'd called his wife with his fabricated story about the turbine conference he was supposedly attending.
He'd gone to the Flamingo for old time's sake -- a reminder of the Vegas of his past -- then the Bellagio, even taking the time to check out the artwork. Finally, he'd ended up at Treasure Island, where the drinks were definitely the best. He'd just bought another round for a group of tractor salesmen from Omaha, who'd slapped him on the back as they drank and lost, while he told racist jokes, ogled the waitresses, and raked in the money. For a while, even Jimbo tired of the salesmen one-upping each other with inappropriate comments to the women passing by. But, Jimbo knew these idiots were a necessary component of his winning plan.
After about an hour, the stacks of chips sitting in front of him teetered on the brink of toppling. Soon, he'd have to buy them one more round, so they wouldn't care about parting with their money or remember how they'd lost it. Everything seemed like it was going perfectly for Jimbo, except for the nagging cold that seemed to be coming on. His joints had started to ache about a half hour ago, building to an intensity that was almost intolerable. Jimbo took a swig of his Johnnie Walker Blue and waved down the waiter. "Another, please."
The waiter nodded, yet shot him a concerned look and approached the table. "Are you okay, sir? You look a bit pale."
Jimbo reached up and rubbed his neck, where his collar seemed to be chafing. He was surprised to find his shirt saturated with sweat. "You know, I think I should call it a night. I must've picked up some kind of cold or something on the plane." Jimbo turned to the dealer. "I need to cash out."