by Jeff Olah
Sliding into the seat behind a row of computers, Parker pounded the keyboard as Mason closed the doubled doors and peered out the rectangular cutouts into the hall beyond as five additional feeders moved rapidly toward them from the other end. The reflection of the room behind him in the glass was a welcoming sight. He hadn’t seen her in months, although sitting between the rows of solid grey tables, her face was unmistakable.
“Mason!” she said, fighting back tears as she stood and ran to him.
Arms pressed against the doors as the wave of danger reached the other side, Mason didn’t turn as he answered. “Eleanor, everything is going to be ok. We’re here to help… Parker how we doin?”
“We’re good. Just a few seconds.”
Standing to his right, staring out into the hall as Mason fought to hold his position, Eleanor looked puzzled. “Where’s April and Justin?”
. . .
The doors burst open and Randy leveled his nine millimeter at the first of two Feeders through the door. Startled, April screamed and instinctively grabbed the weapon Savannah had taken from the bag. The door closed just as the airlock engaged and the two monsters headed for Justin. Unable to take the shot with April in his line of fire and stumbling toward the chaos, Randy knew he wouldn’t make it in time.
They ignored the others in the room and went straight to Justin as April moved in behind, pulled back on the slide and fired three rounds into the first of the two. The second turned from Justin and jumped at her as she emptied the remaining rounds into its head, neck and torso. Without hesitating or regard for her own safety, she tossed the gun to the ground and moved in over her now motionless son.
“What was that?” Randy asked.
Hurrying to get around the counter to April, Savannah looked back at Randy. “Those things were different… almost normal looking.”
“No, I mean her,” Randy said, pointing at April as he winced through the pain radiating from his shoulder. “You ok?”
April didn’t respond. She tugged at the pant legs of the two bodies, moving them away from her son. Large pools of blood trailing as she fought to move them even a few feet. Exhausted, she sat next to Justin, unable to shed a tear. Her face warm with anger, she kicked at nothing in particular. “Randy, is the door locked?”
“Yep, they must have made it.”
85
Convinced that Parker had properly secured the area, Mason pulled his hands from the door and turned to Eleanor. He reached for her arm, pulled her in close and hugged her. The sweet citrus smell of her perfume still clung to the silk blouse hanging neatly from her shoulders. Her face blotchy and moist as the tears of the past day pulled mascara from her eyelids down across her cheeks. Even without a stitch of makeup, this woman would be stunning and was usually the first person noticed in a crowded room. The only attribute to surpass her physical appearance was the nature in which she carried herself. Her effortless smile and warmth of her voice typically put everyone at ease. Today was different.
Mason pulled back, rubbed his forehead and exhaled. “We made it. April and Justin are in the lobby. We’ll get them here as soon as we can.”
Eleanor didn’t speak; she ran around the row of desks and stood next to Parker at the monitors, her eyes darting between the various locations. She witnessed the few rooms housing the Feeders and silently brought her hand over her mouth. Tears began to form as she noticed the soldier alone, locked one room away from the woman in the white lab coat who had taken to sitting on the ground and running her hands through her hair in frustration.
As her eyes came to a stop on the last monitor, she looked up to Mason and back at the monitor. After a drawn out moment she spoke. “Is Justin hurt?”
“Eleanor, I don’t want you to panic,” he said. “We’ve had a rough few weeks and we are all…”
“What’s wrong with my grandson? He doesn’t appear to be moving.”
He didn’t want to lie to her, she’d find out as soon as they brought him here and he also didn’t feel right about leaving April to tell her. “Eleanor, he was bitten.”
“Oh God NO! How did this happen? When did this happen?” Eleanor said as she moved backward and sat in the nearest chair, her knees buckling from the news.
“It happened yesterday. We were separated and none of us knew about it until after it happened. It must not have been that bad. He’s been in and out of consciousness, but nothing else. He’s in bad shape, but still alive.”
Quiet while they talked, Parker finally interrupted. “How long has your son been like that…? In Stasis?”
“In what?” Mason asked.
“Stasis, he’s been bitten and hasn’t turned… how long do you think it’s been?”
“Hours, it was yesterday just before sundown. He lost consciousness shortly after we found him.”
“Found him?” Eleanor said.
“Yes, he ran off and was missing. When we found him, he seemed ok and then suddenly collapsed. When we got to a safe place, we checked him over and noticed the bite.”
Continuing to work behind the keyboard, Parker interjected. “If he’s still breathing there may be a chance. We need to get him to Tessa.”
“Tessa?” Mason said.
“Yes, the woman here in the lab coat,” Parker said, pointing to the screen. “She can get him at least stabilized.”
“How are we going to get to her?”
“I’m working on it, one step at a time. This is like a puzzle; I have to get the right doors open in the right order or…”
“Or what,” Mason said.
“Never mind, I almost have it.” Parker punched in the last of the code and moved to the seat on the right, pulled the microphone in close and opened the line. “Tessa, sit tight. We’re coming for you.”
Mason watched as the woman on the screen quickly got to her feet and came toward the camera, her lips moving, although it wasn’t until Parker disengaged her end that the voice came through. “… Where’s Major Daniels?”
Parker addressed her one last time. “No time, we’re coming for you now. Stay against the back wall.”
Finishing her work and starting the sequence, Parker grabbed her weapon and pulled Mason by the sleeve directing him to the door at the rear of the room. “It looks like most of those things followed us to the front. That’s a good thing. We should be able to get to your family and seal off the area with no problem. As soon as we do, we’ll move your son and your friend, I told you… like a puzzle.”
“You’re not leaving are you?” Eleanor said.
Parker leaned in. “We need you to communicate with your daughter and the others. Let them know we are coming for them. You just have to push the first button here and talk into the mic; you can see them on the monitor here. It’s all set up and ready to go. After we take care of Justin, we’ll bring…”
Interrupting, Mason leaned over his now seated mother-in-law and kissed her on the head. “Eleanor, I’ll bring April here. I promise.”
Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes once again as she held down the button and spoke to her daughter. “April, it’s Mom. I’m here.”
“Let’s go,” Mason said. “How many rounds do you have left?” He asked ejecting the clip from his own nine millimeter.
“I’m good, we need to go. The locks are about to disengage. Remember, weapons as a last option.”
“What did you say you did here?” Mason asked.
“I didn’t… You ready?”
The lock disengaged, Mason pulled the door open and followed Parker as she stayed close to the opposite wall and moved quickly, looking into each room as they passed. The first three being offices that were completely empty. Parker stopped at the fourth door and held a hand up indicating she wanted Mason to wait outside the room. She went in, closed the door behind her and addressed the soldier already in the room. Returning a few seconds later, Parker asked Mason to come inside.
Stepping through the doorway, Mason was greeted with a viciously firm
handshake. “Sir, nice to meet you, my name is Knight.” He stood just a few inches shorter than Parker and was built like a truck; heavily muscled and somewhere nearing thirty years of age. His dark colored fatigues covered chest to knees with the day’s earlier battle, he was quick to react. “What’s the plan?” He asked directing his question to Mason.
Scanning the once sanitized research room, Mason counted no less than seven bodies that apparently were trapped here with this man when the facility was locked down. It looked like he didn’t have too much trouble moving them and in fact had them nicely piled in the corner. The stench hanging about was noticeably similar to what he remembered from the stadium, although much stronger. Bile ran up the back of his throat and stopped just short of his mouth as he turned his attention back to his new friend.
“Knight, is that your first name?” knowing full well it wasn’t, as indicated by the patch sewn across his left breast.
“No Sir, first name’s Frank… Frank Junior to be exact, also my father’s name.”
“Ok, since we’re gonna be fast friends, is it ok if we stick with first names?” Mason asked.
“Yes Sir, uh sorry. Yes Mason, that’s fine… Where is everyone else?”
“Parker’s gonna get us all up to speed here shortly. For now we have a couple of people we need to get to safety. Can you help?”
“Yes, where are they?”
Already at the door leading to the next room, Parker motioned for them to join her. Pointing through the glass she said, “Frank, we have to get through here to get to Tessa, is your weapon ready?”
“Haven’t discharged it in the building yet and don’t expect to,” he said. “Open the door; I’ll take care of it.”
86
Finished with the arduous task of sliding both creatures away from her son, April turned to the door the instant the speakers came to life. She paused to listen and with the sound of her mother’s voice waning in her ears, she ran to the counter searching the monitors. The first three were of no concern and displayed the outer areas of the property, the security gate, other buildings and the beaten chopper sitting silent among the downed spruce branches. Running her index finger along the other screens, she came to a stop as she witnessed Mason with his back to the camera, readying himself to once again do battle.
The next camera blinked and a picture of her mother sitting at a desk appeared across the screen. The image quality was poor, that of a late model black and white television, although through the static April sensed the desperation on her mother’s face. She screamed, “MOTHER!” Eleanor turned her head upward and looked into the camera as April gasped. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes, sweetheart I can. I can see you here on this screen as well.”
April instinctively waved her hand in the direction of the camera and raised her voice, holding back tears. “I love you Mom! Has Mason made it to you yet?”
“Yes, he’s going for the doctor and then coming back for you and Justin. He’ll be there soon. Please be safe. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Turning from the monitors and back to the counters, April retrieved the weapon from the ground. She handed it to Randy and started toward Justin. “Randy, can you make sure that it’s ready to go?”
“Sure, but…”
“I want to be ready when they get back. I’m done waiting for help.”
Adding another clip and chambering a round, Randy handed the weapon back to April and nodded. He also slid the nine millimeter from his own waistband and prepared for the door to once again open. He’d have to conserve what little strength he had left and hope to get to help before he lost consciousness again. His blood continuing to run down his sleeve was a constant reminder that his window for doing this was rapidly closing.
Pushing aside the two Feeders downed by April, Savannah moved in and helped move Justin to the other side of the room nearest the door. They didn’t speak as they moved his limp body away from the entrance and only briefly made eye contact. As they walked, she watched him for any signs of movement. She couldn’t bring herself to ignore April or her son. They were the reason she was still alive, although the close proximity to this kid, who less than twenty four hours earlier had saved her life, left her uneasy.
Pulling his shirt up over his head proved to be a challenge even for his uninjured right arm. Randy slid his left thumb through a hole in the back of his shirt and tore off a section long enough to wrap just below the wound, careful not to touch the affected area. The knot he tied wasn’t perfect, although it now slowed the flow of blood from the area. His arm throbbed in tune with his heartbeat as he slid the shirt back on and repacked the bags, sliding them against the wall. “When they get back, we need to be ready… we’re almost there.”
April shook her head. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
. . .
As Mason pulled the door open, he was knocked back into the first room. Caught off guard, he was expecting to look up and see the area besieged by Feeders, although he was surprised that not one had even entered the room. He had been thrown to the floor by Frank. The little tank of a man had pushed him aside, laid his gun on the table by the door and entered the next room unarmed. Twisting to one side, Frank reached for a broken microscope with one hand and kicked the first Feeder away, giving himself a few seconds before they converged.
Turning back to Mason, now standing, Frank held up his hand not wanting him to enter the room. He swung the microscope, making contact and decimating the face of the first creature. He pushed the next one to the ground and stomped its head with his steel toed boot. The crunch of broken glass alerted him of another one coming at him from behind. Frank side-stepped it and used the momentum to drive it head first into the metal railing along the wall, with all his weight behind him, crushing its skull into four even pieces before falling to the ground in a heap. The last few heads were obliterated by the same laboratory device he used for the first Feeder he encountered. All eight creatures were destroyed in less than sixty seconds.
Parker laid her hand on Mason’s shoulder and waited for him to turn. “Enthusiastic, if not a little impressive, he lives for this.”
“It would appear so. He left his gun here. What if he…”
“Yeah, I warned him that this isn’t a video game and sooner or later it will end with a different outcome. He just laughs and calls himself The Cleaner.”
Mason watched as Frank shoved the bodies one at a time into the corner of the room and returned to the door. “Let’s get Tessa.”
The last clean lab room at the end of the corridor is where she had been for the last sixteen hours. The previous hour spent on lockdown and before that a self-imposed all-nighter working on a possible breakthrough with the antibodies from a Partial showing signs of coherence. The blood was tested against that of a staff member who’d been bitten only hours before. Not much progress had been made in the weeks leading up to it other than classifying the four strains and detaining the ones they could in the various sections of Blackmore. The time for saving her current work had ended in the last hour and the previous day’s work was scrapped. She’d sleep today if that was possible and verify what could be salvaged tomorrow.
Before they broke the seal of the doorway Tessa held out her hand and waved them back. She’d have to come to them. “There’s a reason they call it a Clean Room,” she thought. “I just wish everyone realized that.” Keeping any semblance of order was tough before the infection that arrived at their doorstep two weeks ago; now it was virtually impossible. “STAY OUT, I’LL COME TO YOU!”
Stepping aside and letting Frank make his way back in, Parker asked that he and Mason flank the group as they headed back to the others. “We can go for your family and bring the two injured into the Cage. Tessa can go to work from there. It needs to be a quick trip.” She turned to Frank as Tessa entered the room and pointed to his weapon. “Take it, no more hero stuff. These people need our help.”
Standing aside as the woman in t
he lab coat entered, Mason turned to Parker. “The Cage?”
“It’s where she’ll try to help Justin and your friend,” Parker said.
Tessa made sure to stay along the wall as she reached for a tissue, and left ample space between herself and the others. Looking at Mason and Frank, she nodded to Parker. “Who are they?”
“This is Frank, he arrived last night a few hours before we were attacked, none of his men made it off the mountain. He’s the only one left.” Gesturing to her left, she continued. “And this here is Mason, he...”
“Yeah I know Mason; I’ve seen tons of pictures since we arrived here. You look like crap. Where is April and your son… Justin?”
87
As Eleanor sat at the desk, head in her hands staring into the monitor at her daughter and grandson, the words wouldn’t come. She didn’t know what to say or how to comfort them. Overhearing conversations since she arrived at the facility two weeks ago, she learned enough to know that she may never speak to Justin again. Eleanor wanted to leave the security of the Command Center and bring them back, although she realized she’d never make it alone. She trusted Mason to bring them to her and prayed they’d all arrive in one piece.
The last time she saw April, Eleanor’s husband Richard had left early in the day to manage a problem at Blackmore and didn’t arrive home until late in the evening. Saturday mornings were usually spent together on the balcony of their home drinking coffee and watching the neighborhood children play on the beach. When Richard strode out onto the deck and handed her a large mug, he was dressed for the office. Eleanor simply kissed him on the cheek, walked him to the garage without giving him any grief and watched as he drove out of their development. He arrived home just after midnight and was so exhausted that he slept on the couch. This was seventy two hours before the infection.