“There’s something I want to show you,” she said. Her voice sounded raw as if she had been out all night at a concert. “I saw it the other day but couldn’t wrap my mind around it.”
“What’s that?” he asked, setting down his laptop. She grabbed her tablet from the side table. He moved closer to her and tried to ignore the blood on her mask. She swiped on her tablet, searching for an image.
“Look here.” She flipped her tablet around his way. Joseph studied the image for a moment. The patient’s name read Weinroth along the top.
“This is your blood work,” he mumbled. Eventually, she will be just that. A data file. He gulped down his sadness.
Her lighter brown eyes watched him. “Yes, it is. Now watch.” She clicked a sideways triangle on the screen and the video began.
A monkeypox viral cell attached to a healthy cell as he had seen before. Satellite virus tagged along and injected itself into the cell.
“It’s as we’ve seen before. The healthy cell has the satellite DNA inside it along with monkeypox.” She dragged her finger along the bottom, fast-forwarding the video.
“But what about there?” The cell moved to the bottom of the blood vessel and lay still.
“The cell is lysogenic, in its dormant phase. That’s the virus taking over,” Joseph said.
“But is it?”
Joseph stared at the video. The cell lay dormant as if it hibernated at the bottom of a blood vessel. She dragged her finger along the time bar. The video skipped hours.
“Here,” she said. “Now watch.” The still cell twitched and began to move. It caught another cell on the way by and the satellite virus injected its DNA into it.
“Wait. It has a new receptor?” he asked.
“Yes, but continue watching,” she said.
The newly infected cell floated away and seemingly went dormant until it too rose up again to propagate itself onward.
“We all know that a virus needs a live cell to propagate itself. The only possible explanation is that the cell becomes dormant while the virus changes the DNA within the cell.” His head felt like it weighed thirty pounds and his neck could only support a paltry seven.
“And people are supposed to stay dead when they die,” she finished. He stared at her.
He blinked, trying to focus on what she was saying. “What are you trying to say?”
She swiped to another video. “Look at this sample from an infected person who had already expired.”
Cells danced inside the veins. A pile of cells twitched and quivered. The cells swam inside, latching onto any cell not infected.
“This subject is dead?” He rubbed his neck now, trying to work out the knot that formed at its base.
“Yes. It was taken from a man outside Atlanta who had been dead for four days.”
“Theoretically, this is not possible. It’s not possible that his cells are still operating after four days.” His mind raced as he tried to comprehend the information. He knew the host died after infection. He knew the dead still operated physically after death. He knew the satellite virus was to blame.
“Yes, Joseph. Four days is a long time, but theoretically, it’s not possible for those cells to behave in that fashion after so long. But. Let me go out on a long limb here. What if the cell had to be dead for the virus to take over?”
Joseph squeezed his eyes shut. “No, no. Every study known to man states the same thing: a virus needs a live cell to spread.”
She coughed again and closed her eyes in pain. Her forehead squeezed and lines creased it. She laid there in obvious pain. His heart leapt for her in his chest. There has to be something I can do.
“Entertain the thought, Joseph. This is a game changer. Something that has turned the world upside down. The dead have risen. It’s unbelievable enough in itself. We have to entertain the idea that this virus operates outside the normal conventions of virology,” she whispered, her voice raspy.
Joseph stared at the video. He whispered it to himself out loud. “What if the virus required the host cell to be dead? What if it was hiding in the monkeypox infected cells, waiting for the host cells to die to activate itself?” He ran a hand through his hair. “It explains the speed at which the virus has mutated. Going from days for the patient to die, to minutes, to seconds. It initially needed the monkeypox, but now, as more and more people die, it only needs itself to propagate itself.” He glanced up at her over the tablet.
“It also explains why the dead rise up. The virus is controlling them at a cellular level but needs the infected dead to do so,” she said softly.
“Dear God,” he whispered. His hand covered his masked mouth.
She looked like she wanted to cry. “I know.”
He felt dizzy like he couldn’t get enough oxygen. “This is an extinction event. Dinosaur killer. The epoch ends here. We aren’t biologically equipped to fight this off. The body won’t recognize the dead cells as a threat. It allows the virus free reign, unhindered by the body’s defenses.”
“If we can develop a vaccine, we at least have a fighting chance,” she whispered.
“How? We are dealing with something that has turned our understanding of science on its head. How do I make a vaccine for something that doesn’t follow the rules?” Joseph said. He put his head in his hands. “We are all going to die.”
She coughed. It sounded like fluid was building up in her lungs. “You are going to stop this,” she said.
He shook his head in dismay. “Rebecca, you are dying of a disease I can’t fix. In a few days, you’ll be dead and I will be alone in this fight. I can’t possibly do this by myself.”
Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. “I know that, Joseph, but who are you if you don’t try?”
“I’m a nobody who failed the world when it needed him the most.”
Her hand reached for his and she squeezed it tight. Her hand was cool on his. “You don’t have a choice. Find it in yourself to do this. You have what it takes. Now go do it.”
He bit his lip. He stretched his neck. The knot was still in place, making the rest of his back hurt down through his shoulder blades.
“Rebecca, please don’t patronize me.”
“I believe in you.” Her eyes crinkled as she smiled.
I wish I did. He gave her a determined gaze.
“I’ll need your help because you know Byrnes won’t help me.”
“I know he won’t. He used to be such a different man, difficult but in an ingenious kind of way,” she trailed off thinking about the past, her life now only judged by days and hours.
“Where do we start?” Joseph said. A clock ticked in the back of his mind.
“I’ve got an idea.” She held up her tablet. “Take a look here.”
Joseph couldn’t hold himself back. “Rebecca,” was all he could utter. Her eyes darted from the tablet back to him. His mouth dropped open a little as he grappled with the words to say to her. “I. Never mind.”
She looked away, uncomfortable, but her sad eyes drifted back to him. Her eyes saddened.
“I know, Joseph. I felt it too. But we can’t think like this. Soon I’ll be gone.”
Joseph’s head wavered. “I know.” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. His mouth formed a sad smile. “We make a good team, you know.” He sniffled.
“Yes, Joseph. We do.” She paused a moment, her eyes blinking rapidly as they whispered a life that they would never have together. A flash of a future that would never exist in this world. An echo of unspoken love. “Back to the data,” she said, looking back down at the tablet.
He watched her as she scrolled through. If only we had more time together.
They worked for hours until Rebecca fell asleep. Rubbing his eyes, Joseph stood. Her skin was pale. The pockmarks poked out all over her face and arms, and her hair was a sweet sugarplum auburn.
He bent down close and let his covered lips graze her forehead.
“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered and sile
ntly closed the door behind him.
GWEN
Little Sable Point, Michigan
She awoke with the sun illuminating the blue nylon top of her tent. Stretching her arms above her head, she rolled over, staring at the ceiling, not remembering a recent time she had slept that well. The sunlight filtered through the nylon, softening the color to an almost baby blue. The sandy ground beneath her tent had formed a mold to her body from where she had laid all night. I’m not even feeling nauseous this morning.
Not bothering to turn his way, her hand felt for Mark, patting his side of the tent. She expected a broad hairy shoulder, but instead, a cool sleeping bag met her fingertips. She glanced over. Picking up his sleeping bag, she flung it open, revealing no Mark Steele underneath.
“Mark?” she said softly. But he wasn’t there to respond. Last thing I remember are people yelling and him leaving, but I just couldn’t stay awake. Fear stabbed her gut. What if he was hurt? Or needed my help? And my pregnant ass just fell asleep in the tent.
She grabbed her camouflage pants and slipped them over her legs. She wrapped the jacket around her torso. It was loose and baggy at best. Good for covering up her pregnancy and not the least bit flattering. She tied up her hair in a ponytail and went outside. The morning was brisk with a wind blowing off the beach. It sent a low whistle around the vehicles parked in a circle like covered wagons. She casually slung her M4 over her shoulder. The tall and slender lighthouse, built with reddish-brown bricks, loomed over them all. Its lantern room was capped with a black top.
A few people stoked campfires near their respective vehicles. She walked past a couple of kids that played in the sand under the watchful guise of their father. She gave him a smile as she walked by. His gaze was openly hostile.
“Why don’t you go play inside,” he yelled at the children.
“Ah, come on, Dad,” squeaked a little girl.
“Yeah, why, Dad?”
“Just do as you’re told,” he said. The kids ran for their camper. He patted their heads on the way by as a form of encouragement for obeying. Gwen kept walking under the father’s mistrusting gaze. He couldn’t possibly think that I would pose a threat to his kids. Impossible. I love children. Hell, I am pregnant with one. And I lost a kid which was apparently not real and now everyone thinks I’m a loon. But it was real. I saw the child. I heard him laugh.
She walked past Dr. Thatcher’s camper. He wasn’t outside, but she thought she saw his blinds move as she passed. Now the poor child is probably in some infected’s belly because I couldn’t save him. Or I’m actually crazy.
Ahead she saw them. They moved as if they were trying to move in sync but could only manage a off-beat effort. Mark was in the center calling out orders.
“Margie, quit crossing forward. Your responsibility is the left side. Don’t look back at me. Look outward left.” The small circle of people continued their haphazard progress.
Mark looked back behind him. The volunteer pointed a gun into Mark’s back. “Steve, why are you flagging me? You need to be looking backward at least a part of the time. You’re covering our six.”
The man stopped. “What do you mean? I thought I had the right,” Steve said.
Mark held up a fist. Half the group kept going; the other half ran into him. If he wasn’t so serious, she would have laughed at them.
“Everyone bring it in.” The rest of the group fell in around him. He saw her and made eye contact.
“Okay. That was rough. We’re going to keep working on tactical movement later, but in the meantime, meet with Thunder and go over some dry firing. We will get back up this afternoon to go over room stacking.”
A mishmash of wannabe warriors, they trailed off talking to one another. A mop of waist-high blond hair ran along their side. Was that the boy among them? She stood on her tiptoes trying to see into the group, looking for the little blond haired boy.
“Hey, babe,” he said, approaching her. “You see something?” he asked, turning sideways to look at his retreating volunteers.
The people moved on and she lost sight of anything resembling the marching phantom child.
“Uh, no. Just looking for you.”
He ran a finger over his scar and winced, rubbing the edge of it with his fingertip as though it caused him to have a headache.
“Yeah, I, uh,” he said, wafting a fiery breath of booze on her. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked more disheveled than normal.
“Oh my God, Mark. You reek like booze. What happened last night?”
He avoided her eyes, still rubbing his scar.
“We had a few drinks after we let Jack and his family go.”
“Why did he leave?”
“I’m not sure. Apparently, he thinks he’s better off somewhere else since my appearance. I wanted to commandeer his food but thought better of it.”
“Did you and the volunteers have drinks?”
“I’m pretty hungover. Can we talk about this later?” he pleaded, his eyes guilty.
Her eyes narrowed, gleaning the truth from him every moment. “Who did you drink with?” she said. It better not be that skinny little thing.
“Gwen, I had a few drinks with Tess. We were really stressed out from the altercation with Jack and needed to blow off some steam. You know?” His eyes begged to be believed.
Oh really.
“No, I don’t know. I can presume that’s where you slept last night from your generally hungover appearance.”
“I passed out in the camper. Nothing happened. She’s like one of the guys. You know, no big deal,” he said. He put a hand on his head. “My head. I would kill for some ibuprofen right now.”
She slapped his arm. “Serves you right. What do you mean nothing happened?” She made sure to not allow him any kind of response. “Nothing happened? Are you an idiot? You slept over in another woman’s house.”
“Camper.”
“Whatever! After a night of drinking, and you think it’s no big deal?” she yelled at him.
“It’s not like that,” he pleaded.
Her anger boiled inside of her. How dare he do this to me? Especially after he got me pregnant, he went out on the town with some cupcake, having drinks like it’s fucking New Year’s Eve.
“That’s no way for a father to behave. You have responsibilities,” she shouted. Her jaw dropped after she said it. She hadn’t meant to tell him this way. She hadn’t meant for any of this. It dribbled on out, and now it sat there like a twenty-ton elephant in the room.
He stopped rubbing his scar. His hand fell to his side. “Excuse me. What did you say?” he said, his eyes growing wide. Her mouth clamped closed as if she were forbidding herself to say it again.
“What did you say?” he prodded.
She looked away from him. “I. Said. You are going to be a father. So you better start acting like one.”
His hand ran over the top of his skull repeatedly then moved down to his mustache as he smoothed that down with his fingers.
“Since when? The pills didn’t work?” he asked.
She could feel the fire in her cheeks. “Excuse me?”
He gulped, the fear only a woman’s anger could bring appearing in his eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“You’re an idiot. Do I have to spell this out for you? I didn’t take the pills because I was already pregnant.”
“How do you know?” he said, a dumb expression on his face. He blinked repeatedly.
“You are dense, aren’t you?” she said. She crossed her arms over her breasts and winced. Tender ladies. “I took the test over a week ago. I took the test three or four times to be sure.” Her eyes darted up to his to see if his reaction was legitimate or if he was trying to fake some sort of emotion.
His mouth turned into a smile. “Oh my God.” His eyes grew distant. “We’re going to be parents.” He blinked rapidly. “I’m going to be a father. Oh, my God, I’m going to be a dad,” he said louder and louder. He turned away from her and called ove
r to Half-Barrel, who was sitting guard at the entrance.
“Half-Barrel, I’m gonna be a dad!” he shouted. The man made of kegs gave him a thumbs up.
“Good stuff,” his gruff voice shouted in return.
He looked back at her, grabbing her by her shoulders.
“We are going to be parents,” he shouted in her ears, as he yanked her into the air, twirling her around.
He set her down laughing. Then his laughter died in his throat. He looked past her. “Oh my God. We’re going to be parents in this mess.”
“I know,” she sniffled. She rested her arms over her stomach. “Don’t you see why I’ve been so upset? How can we bring a child into this? A ring of cars is the only thing between us and being eaten alive. We don’t have food. Most of these vehicles don’t have enough fuel to leave. We don’t even know where your mother is.” She looked at him. What do I expect for a friggin’ answer?
His features settled in worry and he gripped her by the arms. “We will make do and I will find her.”
She looked away. “I’m scared. There are no doctors. No help. And the infected are all over.”
He leaned in close, putting a finger gently underneath her chin so she could see him. His blond-bearded face loomed near hers. His ocean storm blue eyes held every word true. “I promise you; nothing will happen to you or our baby. We will make this work.”
She met his eyes and nodded her head.
He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight. That’s when her tears started to flow. Tears she didn’t think she had in her anymore. She didn’t want them to, but they did. She promised herself she wouldn’t cry for this world, but how could she not cry for her unborn baby? Damn hormones.
“Don’t squeeze too much. Today is the first day in a long time I haven’t felt sick, so let’s try and keep it that way.” She let her emotions calm.
“I don’t want to hurt the baby.” He bent down close to her stomach, his hands hovering over her non-existent belly.
His hands ran over her and he stopped them over her navel. He waited a moment, smiling. “I can’t feel anything.” He grew worried and looked at her. “Is that bad?”
The End Time Saga Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 95