Wilders: The Complete Trilogy

by Cass Kim

  “I don’t even know what that Veli—whatever virus is that you’re talking about.”

  “Because she led the research team that eradicated it! You never had to worry about it.” Syd waved her hands frantically to stop Alyssa from replying again as Dr. Brittany Ann Eckles shook the hand of the man in charge of the group at the roadblock and turned back to Janeece.

  Once she was closer, Alyssa could make out the crows feet around her eyes and the tiny V between her eyebrows created by long years of deep thought. She judged the tidy woman to be in her early fifties, but she moved with the ease of someone half her age. Maybe she was immune to aging too.

  “Is that Dr. Janeece Quick?” The woman crouched in front of Janeece, who snapped her head up at the voice.

  “Britt?” Janeece’s voice was harsh from disuse.

  “Neecey!” The woman wrapped her arms around Syd’s mom in a quick hug and pulled her to her feet. “I got your message about two weeks ago. I’m sorry it took so long. I was in Africa handling a small outbreak there, and then when these outbreaks began, they called me back. Once I hit stateside, Evelyn was able to contact me.” She spread her hands at the blockade pieces around them. “I came as fast as I could but hit a snag here. I’ve got Aaron back there working on contacting our fixers.”

  Janeece shook her head a few times, as if clearing it. “You’re here. I can’t believe you’re really here!” She popped the other woman into a quick embrace and then threw her shoulders back and took a deep breath. “We have all the information you should need, fixers or not.”

  Alyssa snuck a glance at Syd, whom she’d expected to have the flash drive out and ready. The older girl was still sitting on the log, jaw slack, watching her mom hug her hero.

  Janeece snapped he fingers, “Sydney, the drive please.” She continued on, “You’re not going to believe the information on here. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t been there.” Her lips pressed into a thin line, “Although the credit truly goes to my daughter, Sydney. Let me introduce you.”

  Syd leapt to her feet and was at her mother’s side in a moment, still wordless. She held out the little red drive, big brown eyes fawning up at Dr. Eckles.

  “Thank you, Sydney. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You know, I first met your Mother when she was pregnant with you.” The woman’s light eyes crinkled easily at the corners. “But, that’s a story for another time. Let’s see what we have here.”

  “Ma’am,” The soldier with a few extra patches on his shoulder placed a hand out for the drive. “We’ll need to inspect that.”

  Dr. Eckles’ fine blond brows rose in unison as she closed her long fingers around the drive. “It will be going into my personal computer, not one of your government issued dinosaurs.” She started toward the SUV again, “Besides, I trust the source. Can we allow them into the compound for a hot shower and good meal straight away? Or should I make a few calls and run a few tests first?”

  Within hours Alyssa was clean, warm, and wearing fresh clothes while eating a hot meal sitting at a long plastic picnic table in her old high school’s cafeteria. Apparently when Dr. Eckles had said ‘compound’ she’d mean the school the Army had taken over for their base of operations in the small town. She was starting to see why Syd was such a fangirl about this Dr. Eckles lady. She walked and talked with confidence, she didn’t take crap from people, and she got shit done.

  When they’d first gotten into the compound Jeremy had spent a solid twenty minutes arguing with the military staff that he needed to call his parents and let them know he was alive since with the outbreaks in other towns and his phone being gone, he was sure they would be dying with worry. The military refused to allow that, afraid that his parents would then try to compromise the security of the compound and see him, breaking the rules. Apparently, it was important to avoid rule breakers starting any ideas.

  Alyssa’s cellphone had been confiscated on entrance to the school. If it hadn’t been, she might have loaned it to him, since she was now no longer a missing person to the government. Well. Sort of.

  She didn’t know where Syd and Janeece went off to, only that they had been gone for the better part of an hour, leaving her with only whining, then sleeping, Jeremy for company. Janeece had remained reserved but talking at appropriate moments since seeing her old friend. Her eyes had stayed soft and sad, her voice quieter than usual. Part of Alyssa was sure they had left out some of what had happened at the camp in their re-telling. Maybe she’d never know.

  Her body desperately wanted to sleep. Despite her overwhelming fatigue, Alyssa couldn’t put her head down on the table and take a nap like Jeremy was. With her mind on overdrive, bounding between replaying Benjamin’s anger, the strange vial of liquid Dr. Kim had given him, and anticipating what would happen next, she had zero chance of sleeping. So, she sat and waited.

  38

  Renna

  “You know you should probably talk to Alyssa at some point.” Renna spoke over her shoulder to Benjamin as she added some dried twigs to the fire and lined a few small logs up to dry next to it.

  “When I need advice from my little sister on my love life I’ll ask.”

  “Who said anything about a love life?” She couldn’t help the small smile tugging at her lips. Caught him!

  “I didn’t mean it like that. She’s your best friend, practically my little sister. I just knew what you meant, young lady.” His voice was not yet back to its easy tenor, but some of the gravel had faded.

  “Mmhm. I saw how you were looking at her last night.”

  “I was just concerned because she was crying.”

  “You’ve seen her cry a million times before.” She reached out and poked his side gently, happiness blooming in her chest when he didn’t tense up immediately at her nearness.

  “It’s different now. I remember, Renna.” His voice lowered, keeping their conversation private in the tiny camp. “Her voice is the first thing I remember. So much of that time in the tent was a pain-filled haze. But always, her voice would come and ground me. Giving me a piece of myself to hold onto.” His eyes studied Tim Tam, sitting a few feet away. His teeth flashed in a doleful smile. “She even brought that little guy to the tent sometimes, snarling and growling. It’s funny, I could hear her talking to him, and it was like I could picture them out there, her with an armful of angry cat, trying to make him listen by sheer force of will.”

  Renna snickered. “Yep. Sounds about right.”

  “So, how can I ever say anything to her that comes even close to that? How do you thank someone for being your tether to sanity? By sticking her with a violent freak for the rest of her life?” Voice bitter, he dropped his gaze to his hands, the callouses from years of guitar picking peeled away now. “Nope. That’s not what I’m going to do.”

  Renna didn’t know what to say. There were no words to comfort him, and she certainly didn’t have any good answers to his question. Instead, she put on a falsely cheerful voice, “You’re not a freak. It’s all going to get better. We just need some Mrs. Grass soup and you’ll feel a little better.”

  “Good try, kid.” He unfolded his long legs and stood. “I need some space.” He grunted out the last words before stalking off into the woods.

  Renna watched his posture for a moment before abandoning the fire to seek out Dr. Kim. Time for another dose.

  Emerson, back from a light perimeter patrol, found her moments after she’d grabbed his dad. “Renna, the soldiers are on their way.” His breath puffed out, evidence of the speed he’d used to get back to camp.

  Heart thumping, she looked around for weapons they could use. Kina and Andre were in no shape to run from soldiers with guns. She should have made them clear the camp and keep moving toward the town! It was only a matter of time until Royce’s people searched enough of the woods to find their little group.

  Seeing her wild eyes and frantic searching, Emerson gripped her hands in his. “No, Ren. The other soldiers. The ones Syd and them went to get.” He l
eaned down and planted a quick peck on her lips, his own full lips grinning as he pulled away. “The cavalry is here. They did it. Syd gave me a quick rundown, and the soldiers know we’re ‘tame Wilders’ but I think it’d be smart to make sure we all have our sunglasses on when they arrive. We don’t wanna spook our best allies.”

  It wasn’t until he mentioned sunglasses that Renna realized she’d left the extra pair Syd brought for her over on the cooler where Benjamin had been sitting. The sun was now the golden rays of late afternoon, but she’d needed them before during this time of day. Maybe there was something to the eye drops Royce Algin had forced in her eyes.

  They’d just gotten everyone rounded up, reflective eyes hidden, when the sounds of the soldiers tromping through the woods could be heard clearly. Renna turned to face them, hand in hand with Emerson. He was still practically vibrating with excitement. Soo was lined up next to them, with the others arrayed in a semi-circle around the embers of the fire Renna had stopped caring for. Dr. Kim, of course, was tromping out to meet them, the self-elected head of their party.

  The meeting was eased when Tim Tam trotted out between the two parties and bounded over to Alyssa, big purr rumbling loud enough that everybody could hear it. Alyssa groaned when she picked up the giant cat, holding him like a baby over her shoulder, and grimacing at his weight. She spun around to show him off, stating loudly, “This is the best bad guy detector I know, so don’t mind me if I walk around the group with him.”

  Renna shook her head in disbelief as her friend did exactly that, stopping to let some of the soldiers pet the fluffy beast, and exchanging words with a blonde woman walking with Janeece. Renna had no idea what Alyssa had been doing or saying on the journey with these soldiers, but at least half of them had a soft spot for her already.

  Renna tensed as Alyssa approached her and Emerson but her best friend just winked and shoved the giant cat into Renna’s arms, pausing to push something smooshy and fishy smelling into the cloth of Renna’s sweatshirt. Tim Tam snuggled into Renna, lapping at the spot on her shoulder. Belatedly she realized Alyssa must have gotten her hands on some canned tuna at some point. Probably in town. Crazy, goofy, brilliant Alyssa.

  39

  Renna

  The plan was starting off smoothly. Renna crouched in her spot at the perimeter edge of the map she’d been given. Her job should be easy enough. If things went well, she and the other Wilders wouldn’t even have a job to do. Squinting in the night, she made out the backs of the soldiers working swiftly and quietly through the forest, spread in a wide circle, working their way into the camp to capture it.

  Renna was part of the wider net, the speedy Wilders in charge of running down any escapees. The government had plans for each and every one of the Algin Pharmaceutical employees. In fact, at this same time, coordinated raids were being conducted across the country at the houses of the lead Algin scientists. Laboratories were being invaded, the research confiscated. She’d been too afraid to ask what would happen to any human-Wilder hybrids in the process of being experimented on.

  The coordination had happened quickly, but it was the reason this raid was happening a full two and a half days after Dr. Brittany Ann Eckles had declared the vaccine and serums usable and the first true potential cure. One fell swoop and the snake would be not just beheaded, but sectioned and quartered, with witnesses, collaborators, and Dr. Royce Algin himself to stand trial for creation of the Wilders Virus and cruel and unusual punishment of hundreds of humans within his experiments.

  Top secret government facilities, like the ones the Kim’s had worked in years ago, were already working under the care of Dr. Quick and her old friend Dr. Eckles. They’d departed the camp shortly after all the plans for the confrontations had been finalized. Afterall, the world was on a very short fuse now, and they had a lot of work to do.

  A hand tapped her shoulder, and Renna jumped, whipping around.

  Alyssa held up her hands innocently.

  “What are you doing here?” Renna kept her voice low, turning her eyes again to the forest.

  “I couldn’t sit in the camp being studiously ignored by Jammin and given the stern eye from Dr. Kim.” Her fingers drifted up to twist her short hair. “He’s super pissed he got left behind to keep eyes on Jammin.” Alyssa sat down next to Renna and wriggled a little closer to her friend.

  “You shouldn’t be out here, it’s not safe.” Renna tugged ineffectually at the tight ankle bracelet she wore. Yeah, they were using the ‘tame’ Wilders, but they weren’t chancing them escaping.

  Alyssa shrugged, careless. “Nothing we’ve done in the past two months is safe. Did you know it’s like, three days until Thanksgiving?”

  Renna snorted. “How are you even keeping track of that?”

  “I was talking to that lady that’s in charge of the National Guard they brought in. What’s her name? Tara J—something or other. She was saying how they’re going to try to make a dinner with what supplies they have. To keep morale up or something. I think that’s a really—” Alyssa’s stream of chatter was cut off abruptly by the staccato of gunfire bouncing off the trees.

  Alyssa popped off her butt and matched Renna’s ready crouch, eyes darting across the woodland. “Can you see anything? It’s too dark for me to see anything.” The edge of fear made her voice too loud for Renna’s comfort.

  “Shh!” Renna absently swatted an arm at her friend, never taking her eyes off the area ahead, where the soldiers had disappeared from even her night-adjusted eyes. In a demonstrably quieter voice than Alyssa, she answered, “Yes, I can see. And that’s why they’re doing this at night. Our soldiers have night vision goggles. Theirs don’t.”

  More shots burst through the night, shouts ringing out from off to their left. Growling, Renna held her place. Emerson was set up on the left side of the camp. She had to trust he would be okay. That they would all be okay, and the night would be quick and victorious.

  They waited in tense silence, Alyssa listening intently, and Renna with her eyes peeled. Between the shouts, the occasional rapid bouts of gunfire, and the glow of lights suddenly turned out reaching through the trees, it was impossible to tell what was happening.

  It took all of her self-control to stay put when she heard shouts from deeper in the woods, off to her left. Alyssa cringed with each yell, looking equally torn between staying put and running that way to see what was happening.

  The sound of breaking branches and a muttered cuss word whipped their heads toward the patch of shaking saplings between them and the camp.

  Renna shook her head at Alyssa, who was readying to climb to her feet. Using her Wilder speed, she lightly shoved her friend back onto her butt and moved in front of her. Whoever was pushing their way through the trees seemed to be alone. Renna slithered in a half circle in front of the crowded saplings, examining the surrounding area for any other stragglers.

  When no other movements evidenced themselves, she waited, stock still, pressed against the trunk of the biggest tree at the edge of the grouping. Whoever it was in there was trying to move slowly and quietly, but every two or three steps a branch snapped, or a smaller tree shook, waving its leafless arms to announce the presence of an intruder.

  Renna almost puked in horror when Royce Algin popped out of the stand of trees, the bodiless head of the guard named Jerry held by its scalp in one hand.

  She watched as he lifted the head carefully over a short bush, mumbling under his breath. Unnoticed mere feet from him, she strained to hear what he was saying. She couldn’t make it out exactly, but she caught pieces of words that sounded a lot like ‘living legend’ and ‘research will go on’.

  It wasn’t until the head swung to face the sliver of moonlight that she realized why Royce Algin was carrying a decapitated head with him through the woods. The open eyes of the former guard caught the light of the moon and gleamed a dull copper.

  With the Wilders gone from camp and his research destroyed, Royce must have turned on his own men to con
tinue experimenting.

  She didn’t want to kill the man. At least, that’s what she kept repeating to herself as she readied to grab him and restrain him with the flexicuffs she’d been given. If he got a little damaged, she wouldn’t care. How could she effectively grab his arms without getting gore from that poor dead guy all over her? Dr. Eckles had run tests on Kina, Shelly, Andre, and Emerson and declared that the virus mutations hadn’t infected them, but she had grown up in a lifetime of avoiding blood at all costs.

  Her time to decide how to approach her quarry abruptly ended when another body crashed through the forest from the direction of the camp.

  Turning, Renna saw one of the burly guards she remembered restraining Benjamin in the clearing days ago. He was barreling full speed through the trees, heedless of the noise.

  Groaning, Renna knew she’d have to stop him hard and fast. He had at least a hundred pounds on her and who knew what weapons. He may even be Changed. Gritting her teeth, she whipped the heavy wooden baton from her hip and prepared to swing it. An immediate flash back to the Wilder in her yard, a baseball bat in her hands tore through her. Pushing down her own fear, she stepped out at the last possible moment, heaving the baton forward in a smooth arc.

  The connection sent shock waves up her arms, clacking her teeth together. Grunting at the impact, Renna watched as the large man dropped, a motionless sack of muscle and bone. Unsure if he was dead or alive, but very sure he wasn’t going to be a threat in the next few minutes, she turned to deal with the man whose voice still echoed in her head when she tried to sleep at night.