by RM Brewer
One of the salesmen, who was still sober enough to speak, leaned toward Jimbo and grabbed his arm, steadying himself, trying to keep from falling off his stool. "You can't go yet," he slurred. "We hafta have a chance to win our money back."
Jimbo stared at the man and gripped the edge of the table, just as he felt his kneecap explode. He wanted to scream, but couldn't through his locked jaws.
"What the fuck?" the man from Omaha said, tumbling off the bar stool, landing on the floor.
Jimbo watched his fingers curl into an unnatural position and felt the bile rising in his throat. Everywhere around him, people backed away, finding shelter behind the slot machines and blackjack tables. Jimbo was finally able to open his jaws slightly and a bucketload of bloody vomit exploded from his face, spraying the poker table in a reddish-green slime.
He stood, hearing the bones in his legs snap into place. Reaching down, he ran his fingers over the bloody pulp where his kneecaps used to be. As he stood, his spine cracked and splintered. He screamed, but not because of the pain, because he felt none. He screamed a predator's scream, letting his prey know he was coming to get them. He screamed to declare that there would be no escape. The terrifying noise sent a hush across the entire casino.
Jimbo leveled his eyes at the retreating salesman and crouched. The salesman pushed a woman in front of him for protection before turning and running. In the corner of his vision, Jimbo could see the security guards rushing toward him, their weapons raised. Once again, he shrieked, feeling the power coursing through his body. Then, he sprang, hitting the woman cowering in front of him with a force so strong that she flew off her feet and crashed into the top row of liquor behind the bar, twenty feet away.
Casino patrons fled in all directions, some stopping to grab handfuls of chips from the abandoned craps and poker tables. Jimbo saw the Omaha salesman knock an elderly man to the floor, scattering his cupful of slot tokens across the aisle. He dug his feet into the floor and leaped, clearing the slot machines by several feet, hitting the salesman from the poker table square in the back. As they slammed into the floor, they spun so that the salesman landed on top of him. The pop, pop, pop of gunshots rang out and bullets penetrated the thin, greasy carpeting, pinging off the concrete floor below.
Jimbo pulled the man down and swung him around, using him as a shield. A blast sounded and a bright light flashed from a muzzle near his head. Jimbo smiled as the eye of the man he was holding burst from its socket, followed by the bloody grey matter that used to be his brain. He flung the dead man at the security guard, toppling him. Feeling victorious, Jimbo stood on his haunches and howled as patrons continued to flee from the casino, shoving, pushing and piling up near the doorway in a mass of tangled arms and legs. "Someone's set out a buffet," Jimbo snarled, eyeing up the screaming mass of terrified tourists. "Time for a snack," he cackled, approaching the pile.
* * *
Claire felt a huge sense of relief, seeing the sign pointing to the exit for Reno, just ahead. A few minutes ago, she'd been able to send a text to Jodie with the emergency code. Next, she'd have to find the local police station and get them on the line with Jodie to implement quarantine procedures. Something was wrong, though. Reno was usually a bustling city, filled with life at this time of night, but parts of it looked dark. Claire felt her chest tighten as she noticed the first abandoned car, a spray of blood covering the driver's seat and a trail leading off of the roadway where the driver had likely been dragged.
In the distance, she could see the headlights of cars moving through town. Maybe the virals hadn't reached the far side of the city yet. Or, maybe they were already there, starting to infect everyone. Regardless, she had to get into town and warn the remaining occupants. She needed to talk to Jodie, now. Claire pulled out her cell phone and pressed the speed dial number for Jodie, hoping the call would go through.
"Claire?" Jodie's voice echoed through the phone. "Are you okay?"
Instead of answering, Claire found herself suddenly overtaken by emotion. She was barely able to choke out a response. "They got the team. I don't know exactly how, but I think they set us up with the phone log. And the virals are everywhere. They're headed toward Reno . . . they're in Reno already, I mean. If the city isn't already infected, it's probably close to it. The desert is covered with them, Jodie. Thousands of them."
The phone remained quiet for a second and Claire feared she'd lost the call, then Jodie spoke.
"Where are you? Are you safe? It sounds like you're on the road."
"I'm on an ATV, just outside of Reno, but I'm not at all sure I'm safe here. I just passed an abandoned vehicle. Looks like the virals got this far. I'm trying to get to town to the local PD."
"I'll take care of that," Jodie said. "Get somewhere safe and call me back. I'll have blackbird come and get you."
Claire felt relieved, knowing that a helicopter would be coming for her. She didn't want to be on the ground with the virals any longer than she had to. "Roger that," she said, her voice shaking.
"Claire, you're strong. Rely on your training and get to safety," Jodie said, her voice unwavering. "I know you can do this. I've been there and I made it. You can, too. We need you. I'll expect to hear from you within the hour."
"Got it, boss," Claire said, breathing deeply. "Within the hour." After she clicked the phone off, Claire held it in her hand for a moment, then slid it inside her chest pocket, next to her heart. The connection with Jodie gave her strength. She'd always admired her, but until today, she had no idea what Jodie had been through. For the first time that night, Claire felt as if she would see the light of the next day. She checked her watch, realizing that dawn would be approaching soon. She hoped she'd be up in the sky, flying to safety before the darkness no longer hid her.
Turning onto the highway exit leading into down, she approached a bridge crossing the Truckee River. A warehouse district lay on the other side. Glancing down at the gas gauge, she noticed the tank was nearing empty once more. There was no choice, other than to stop and fill it up with the remaining gas. She pulled over and turned the ATV off near the middle of the dark bridge, hearing only the sound of the river below and the whistle of a cable hanging from the side, swinging in the breeze. As quietly as she could, she removed the gas can, careful to avoid the clumps of blood and gore still clinging to the ATV from the viral she'd hit. She started to fill the tank, glancing at both ends of the bridge periodically to make sure she hadn't been followed.
As the last dregs of the gas flowed into the tank, Claire noticed movement ahead on the city side of the bridge. Then, she saw them, illuminated by the lights between the warehouses. Thousands of virals shuffled and staggered their way toward the city. Claire crouched behind the ATV, pulled out her phone and dialed Jodie.
"Are you somewhere safe?" Jodie asked.
"Well, not really," Claire answered. "But this is as far as I can go. The virals are in Reno. I'm on the Sparks Boulevard Bridge over the Truckee. The infected are on both sides of the bridge. I just drove through them to get here, so I can't go back and I can see another horde ahead, moving into town. Any chance of getting an airlift from here?" Claire could tell her voice was shaking, but there was little she could do about it.
"You got it," Jodie said. "Troops are already on their way to Reno. Hang in there, Claire. I'll send the chopper now."
Once again, Claire felt completely alone as she clicked the phone off, but was still buoyed by her connection to Jodie. She scanned the warehouse area, seeing a never-ending stream of virals teeming out of the darkness, praying that the military would be there soon. She shifted to look back across the bridge at where she'd come from. The night had grown even darker and she could make out almost nothing except the blackness of desert shadows, but she knew they were coming. She could smell them. She waited and watched. Then, she saw it. Not the movement of one being, but of one unified mass of rotting flesh, a wall of virals screaming and clawing over the landscape toward the bridge.
Sh
e was trapped. How could she have done this to herself? There was no way out now. Claire scanned the bridge, searching for something, some way to help herself, but all she could see was the dark river below. She considered getting on the ATV and trying to outrun them but dismissed that idea immediately. From what she'd seen in the canyon, they could be very fast when they were motivated. Then, she considered jumping from the bridge. But, even in the dark, she could see that the river wasn't that deep. The fall would probably kill her. That was an option she couldn’t dismiss, though. Suicide seemed like a better fate than being attacked by a viral. If it came to that, she'd have to take her chances and jump. Maybe she'd make it with only a few broken bones. Then, she could float into town and find somewhere to hide.
Her heart began to pound so violently that the sound of it roared in her ears. Besides the faint rustle of the approaching horde, all Claire heard was the wind whipping at the cable dangling off the bridge. She smiled, wondering how she'd overlooked the obvious. Maybe there was a third option, after all.
CHAPTER 6
Throwing her last bag in the SUV, Jodie stood and watched her father, Nick, Christy, Noah and Fester loading Nick’s truck. Hunter ran back and forth between the house and the truck, his tail wagging, ready for a road trip. Jodie wished she had his enthusiasm, but the reality of their situation was getting in the way. The longer they lingered, the more danger they were in.
His duffle bag in one hand, Fester hesitated between her and the truck. A decisive look on his face, he changed course and walked back toward Jodie, stopping in front of her, his jaw clenched.
"But, I thought you said I could help," Fester said. "I want to go. I can take care of myself."
Jodie hesitated, not knowing quite what to say. No one was safe anywhere right now. When all was said and done, would it really matter if Fester came with her or not?
Christy passed by them, her arms filled with duffle bags. "Tim, are you ready to go?" she asked.
Fester turned toward her. "I'm not coming with you," he said.
Christy stopped in her tracks and turned toward him, her expression wistful.
"Oh, yes you are, young man," Nick called out from behind his truck.
"I can't," Fester said, looking at Christy. "I can't run anymore."
Christy set the bags down and lowered her head as Noah passed by.
"What's going on?" Noah asked. "Aren't we leaving?"
Christy reached out and pulled Fester to her. Her face looked like a storm of mixed emotions.
"You know we love you," Christy said, kissing Fester on the forehead. "You're coming back to us. Understand?"
Fester hugged Christy tight. "Yeah, I will," he said, just as Nick ran up the stairs and stood behind him.
"You're not thinking of letting him go, are you?" Nick asked Christy. "Besides the fact that he'll be in extreme danger, he'll just be in the way. Jodie has FBI business."
“It’ll be okay,” Jodie said but stopped herself from going further. She knew she really couldn’t promise that anything would be okay for anyone. This debate was between Fester and his adoptive parents. She would have to let them make their own decisions.
Christy pulled away from Fester. "Oh, Nick," she said, reaching for his hand. "You know he can't go on like this. He has to . . . he has to find his own way."
Jodie looked past Nick, seeing Noah standing near the truck. Even from a distance, she could tell Noah's eyes were filled with tears.
"You're just gonna get yourself killed," Noah said.
"No way," Fester said.
Christy pulled Fester close again and kissed him on the cheek. "You take care of Jodie. Don't you let anything happen to her," she said. "I want you back here on the spot as soon as things calm down. You'll be missing school and we'll have a lot to work on."
Fester nodded.
Christy grabbed Nick by the arm. "Let's go. We have to . . ." Then, turning toward Jodie, she said, "You take care of our son."
"And you, take care of my daughter," Jodie's dad said, clapping a hand on Fester’s shoulder.
After embracing her father, Jodie picked up her bags. They’d moved quickly after Claire's message came through, but Jodie still knew they had no time to waste.
Nick grabbed Fester, pulling him into a bear hug, then squeezed Jodie's shoulder. His head hung as he turned and walked toward his truck and he didn't look back as he steered out of the driveway.
Jodie watched them leaving as Fester waved. Hunter bounced back and forth in the back seat of the pickup truck between Noah and Jodie's father, barking at them, frantic that Fester was staying behind. Directing her focus back toward Fester, Jodie noticed his lower lip quivering. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Fester nodded, his eyes averted.
"We'd better get going. We have to find a way to get word to Chuck. I don't know if it's safe to drive to Debi's or not.” Although she didn’t want to say it out loud, Jodie wondered if the only reason she was still alive, the only reason Gypsum hadn’t come for her at the cabin, was that they wanted her to lead them to Chuck. She hoped she hadn’t done that already with her visit the night before. “We also need a different car . . . one that Gypsum won't recognize. Maybe we can catch Debi on her way to work."
"Hey, I have an idea," Fester said, suddenly seeming energized. "Can you wait about two minutes?"
"Yeah, but hurry," she said, wondering what Fester was up to.
Fester ran into the forest behind the cabin. Jodie sat in the Land Rover, checked her phone again, and thought of her team. There was no reason not to use the phone. She’d been on it for the past two days and if Gypsum was tracking her, they’d already have come for her. Plus, she couldn’t turn off her phone now. She’d lose all contact with Claire. She mulled it over in her mind, becoming more and more convinced that Gypsum’s only interest was probably Chuck. He was the prize, a combination of her DNA, his and an alien virus whipped into a concoction that turned him into an invincible super-soldier. Everyone else, including her, was expendable. They would need to be very careful.
Jodie so desperately wanted to cry, to break down and curl up into a ball, shutting out all of what was left of the world, but realized she might not come back from an emotional retreat. Her mind felt pushed to the limit, her heart broken, her body weary. If not for Fester, her friends, and father, she knew she would've given up altogether.
After a few minutes had passed, she was starting to worry about Fester and craned her neck to see into the forest. She saw him running down the path toward her, a backpack bouncing up on his back. Finally reaching the SUV, he opened the door, slid off the backpack, threw it on the passenger side floor and jumped in.
Jodie started the Land Rover and pulled out of the driveway. "What do you have there?" she asked.
Fester pulled out a plastic bag containing a black object. "I have two of these," he said, taking a two-way radio from the bag.
Jodie recognized the radios right away. They were standard FBI issue, probably the radios she and Bob had used. Likely the same she'd carried along with her when she and her father had made their escape from Gypsum months before. "Where did you find those?"
"You and your dad left them in the truck when we got out of Area 51," Fester said. "I hope it's okay . . . that I took them, and all."
Jodie smiled at him, thinking what a great kid he was. Here he was, risking his life for his friend, Chuck, coming up with a solution to their communication problem almost immediately. "Yes, Fester. It's more than okay that you have them. That's a great idea. We'll give Debi a radio for Chuck and we can arrange a safe place to meet. Good going."
Fester smiled for the second time that day.
"Now, we really have to get a move on.," Jodie said. They sped down the forest road to Debi's house, looking for a place to wait for her. Even though it was very dark yet, Jodie pulled the Land Rover under a tree to shelter them from watchful eyes. Who knew what kind of aerial reconnaissance program Gypsum had access to? After all, they wer
e aligned with another species that had colonized the outer reaches of the Milky Way galaxy. It wasn't unreasonable to think they had the capability to watch from above.
Jodie's thoughts again turned to her team. Not knowing exactly what had happened to them was making her extremely anxious. She was looking forward to learning what Claire knew. She prayed that, whatever had happened, they made it out alive. Deep in her heart, though, Jodie felt it was unlikely Gypsum had spared them. At the same time, she wondered how it was she could possibly still be alive. If she’d stayed at the field office a few hours later, like she originally planned, she might not be. Maybe her being alive was an accident crafted by good timing.
She pushed the thoughts out of her mind. There was always hope, and until she heard otherwise, she had to assume her team was okay. “Let’s see what else you’ve got in there,” she said, pointing at Fester’s backpack.
“Sure,” he said, unbuckling the pack and pulling out his supplies.
Jodie was impressed. He'd obviously been quite serious about his plans to venture out on his own. She felt relieved she'd been there to stop that from happening, yet anxious about what they might be headed for. One thing was for certain; Chuck would never let anything happen to Fester, not even if his life depended on it. Jodie just hoped Chuck had recovered enough to withstand the challenges they faced.
"I . . . I was wondering. Where do you think Mei is?" Fester asked.
Jodie felt that familiar pain in her heart and sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. I wish I did, but we haven’t had any leads on her since Area 51. I was hoping Chuck could help us out, but he doesn't know, either. I don’t think he remembers a lot."
“He didn’t have anything to eat that whole time he was hiding from Gypsum,” Fester said. “Maybe it’ll come back to him when he feels better.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Jodie said, thinking it was good that at least one of them was optimistic. She glanced up, seeing the sky lighten ever so slightly in the pre-dawn mist. On the road ahead, headlights illuminated the forest road. A quick look at her watch told her it could be Debi, on her way to work.