***
Kara Holland pulled open the hatch to the medical bay. The familiar scent of the sterile air brought back the recent memories of her time in one of the patient beds. A furry body pushed past her legs and ran into the bay.
“Maggie!” Kara reeled for a second before she placed a hand on the bulkhead, preventing herself from falling. Lauren might’ve given her the okay to leave the medical bay, but her body was still weak. The golden retriever whined, evidently realizing Kara was in distress, and galloped back to her. She pressed her cold, wet nose against Kara’s palm.
“It’s okay, girl.”
The dog’s tail beat the air as she followed Kara, more carefully now, into the chamber. Several empty beds were secured against the bulkhead. In the neighboring isolation ward, Kara saw two hunters, Ivan and Scott, who had been infected by the Oni Agent. Biomonitoring equipment surrounded their bedsides, but they appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Kara knew the truth. It was only the medically induced coma that prevented the two men from waking up in a frantic rage.
Maggie pressed her nose against the acrylic partition, leaving a wet trail. She whined, and Kara tousled the fur between the dog’s ears. “The Oni Agent sucks, doesn’t it?”
The dog’s tail wagged more furiously, and she rubbed against Kara’s legs and licked her hands. Kara wished she could feel as happy and optimistic as her dog. She’d wanted to help her father since she’d reunited with him in Frederick. Divya, another of the Huntress’s doctors, and Lauren had devised a way, but it wasn’t what she expected. Kara had figured they would have her washing beakers or reading research papers—something that didn’t require a PhD in bioengineering. But instead, they’d asked her to do the impossible. They’d asked her to help find a cure for the prions.
“How are you doing?” A woman’s voice sounded from behind Kara.
She spun to see Divya in a white lab coat. Sweat trickled down the doctor’s brow. She carried a laptop.
“Better every day.” Kara gestured to the bandages on her face, which covered the claw marks from her own run-in with the Skulls. She’d been lucky to survive the encounter. “Still itches, though. You just get back from helping prep for the Boston mission?”
“That’s right. They’re going to need me back there, so I won’t have much time. But this should be pretty easy.”
“Finding a cure for the Oni Agent is going to be easy?” Kara asked, incredulous.
“Before you can find gold, you have to learn how to use the pickax.” Divya set the laptop up on a counter. “That’s the easy part.”
“Doesn’t sound too reassuring.”
“What? You don’t want to help anymore?” Divya gave her a sly grin as the laptop booted.
“No, I’m definitely in,” Kara said. “I just worry I won’t be much help.”
“You might surprise yourself.” Divya adjusted the laptop screen so Kara could see. She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of clattering footsteps interrupted her. She and Kara turned to the hatch of the medical bay.
“Hey!” Sadie said, panting and brushing back her long auburn hair. “I thought you were going to wait for me!”
“You were napping,” Kara said. Her sister had insisted on joining in whatever mystery task Lauren and Divya had lined up for Kara. To her surprise, Lauren and Divya had said Sadie could actually help, too.
“You could’ve woken me!”
“Fine, sorry,” Kara said. “But Divya’s in a hurry.”
Sadie seemed to ignore Kara’s urgency, her eyes locking on the laptop. “Do I get one, too?”
“Sure, we can scrounge one up for you.” Divya moused over to a desktop icon and loaded an application. “This is a program called FoldIt. Ever heard of it?”
A brief glimmer of recognition sparked a distant memory in Kara. She recalled a story her biology professor had told her in class. “Didn’t some gamers use it to identify a protein involved in HIV replication?”
“Exactly! You know your stuff,” Divya said. The program opened, and colorful, spindly shapes displayed on the screen.
“Those look like Tinkertoys,” Sadie said.
Divya clicked on one of the shapes and altered it to form a structure that looked like an octopus. “Normally, we use computer simulations to concoct and test different molecules’ effects on pathogens.”
“So we’ll be playing with molecules to destroy the prions,” Kara said.
Divya nodded. “I already loaded some samples on your computer to try. You’ve got a few different molecules and other therapeutics like drugs and proteins. You can customize the molecules and then test them on the prions from the Oni Agent. You get points for designing molecules with lower activation energies or correct intermolecular bonds—all the fun stuff you learned in chemistry.”
“Got it,” Kara said. “But why are we playing a game to solve this? Can’t your team run a bunch of computer simulations instead?”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. We’re running as many simulations as we can. But computers can only perform brute calculations.” Divya tapped her temple. “They don’t have the intuition and creativity people have.”
“So if we get good at this, there’s a chance we could design a molecule or protein or something that can be used as a cure or vaccine for the Oni Agent?”
“Absolutely,” Divya said as she slid the laptop toward Kara.
“Cool!” Sadie’s face lit up. “We’re going to play video games to save the world. I can’t wait to tell Dad!”
-3-
The sound of boots on the metal deck echoed across the cargo bay. Meredith Webb watched the Hunters moving between the Zodiac and the boxes of supplies. Lauren walked toward her, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
The doctor folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against a crate. “Got some time to talk?”
“Definitely.” Meredith wouldn’t be going anywhere until the teams headed out for Boston at nightfall. “Happy to help any way I can.”
“Good. I’ll cut to the chase.” She gestured at Sean McConnelly, the resident epidemiologist, as he packed a first aid kit. “Sean mapped the spread of the Oni Agent. Between lab experiments, we’ll work with Chao to see if we can’t find more outbreak patterns.”
“Understood. So what do you need from me?”
“We’re still hoping we can find out if there were other production facilities or labs out there. I mean, places besides the International Biologics at Sea Lab on that oil rig that may have been involved with the Oni Agent’s production.”
“Right. If I knew who sent me that memo about the IBSL in the first place...” Meredith let the words trail off. The memories of those first few days after she had received the ominous message at the CIA headquarters haunted her. She wondered if she should’ve put more pressure on David Lawson, her division’s director. He’d promised he would take care of the situation, but she hadn’t trusted him. And now she figured she was right to have felt that way. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if things might’ve gone differently if she had tried to expose the cover-up sooner.
“Did you learn anything else while you were digging around at the CIA? Maybe there were other labs being surveyed? Anything you suspect may be tangentially involved with the Oni Agent.” Lauren’s brow creased in thought. “Or maybe there was some classified terrorist group you knew about that might have even a remote chance of playing a role in all this.”
“I wish I had the answers,” Meredith began, “but I told Dom everything I know. Whatever Lawson and his cronies were hiding, it was pretty well buried.”
“Figured that’d be the case,” Lauren said, “but since we haven’t really had a chance to sit down and talk, thought I’d ask.” She offered Meredith a sympathetic smile. “Thanks, though.”
Meredith watched Lauren join the medical team. The group exited through the hatch. She wished she could help. But she had no new intelligence, and now that she’d officially gone rogue, she could no longer tap in
to her CIA network. She’d volunteered to join the Hunters, and she had to get used to her new role as one of Dom’s commandos. It had been years since she’d spent time in the field, but she wasn’t about to while away the apocalypse lounging on the Huntress as the threat of humanity’s extinction loomed ever closer.
***
The first of the crazies slipped over the edge of the roof. It snarled and scrambled toward Navid. The creature sprinted with its claws outstretched, a howl escaping its mouth. Its tattered suit jacket flapped as it leapt.
Navid swung the ax in an overhead slice. The blade glanced off the beast’s horns and bit into the flesh between its shoulder and neck. The creature screeched. Blood spurted from the wound, and Navid clung to the ax handle, yanking it from the monster’s flesh. His right hand quaked with the effort, pain radiating through his mangled fingers.
The creature’s left arm hung limply by its side, but it didn’t seem fazed by the injury. It wheeled on Navid and lunged, its jagged teeth snapping the air. Navid jumped back. He lugged the ax over his shoulder again and put all his strength into another wild strike. The ax cut deep into the monster’s neck. It howled, lashing out with its one good arm. Navid tried to pull the ax out, but it was stuck. The beast swiped, its claws swishing past Navid. He held onto the end of the ax handle to maintain his distance. His limbs quaked with the effort. The beast thrashed and shook, trying to free itself.
Navid feared he couldn’t keep the crazy at bay for much longer. He was running on pure adrenaline, and once that dissipated he knew he would collapse from hunger and dehydration. He gritted his teeth, letting out a roar filled with anger, hate, and frustration. He shoved the monster with all the strength he could muster. The monster lost its footing. Navid clenched his jaw, his nose scrunching into a snarl. He pushed the crazy back until it slammed against the door to the stairwell. He used the stuck ax to smash the creature’s head against the heavy metal door over and over. Bits of broken bone chipped off the creature’s horns until he finally cracked the thing’s skull.
Gore sprayed from its wounds, but still Navid continued to attack. Pain cut through his hand again and again like aggressive, unforgiving lightning strikes. Bone scraped and splintered against the steel. Finally, with a hard yank, Navid freed the ax. Dazed and bleeding, the monster stumbled forward, striking out with its right arm. Navid took a couple of steps back. The dying creature lurched after him like a drunk.
Navid tensed his arms and then unleashed all the power he had left. The ax blade hissed through the air and buried itself into the middle of the creature’s head. The thing’s eyes rolled back. Its body slumped, crashing at Navid’s feet. He gave the crazy a final kick to make sure it was dead.
Gasping for breath, he bent over, dropping the ax, and placed his hands on his knees. Navid was a research student, a glorified lab jockey. He wasn’t meant for this world. He glanced at Abby’s still form. Beyond where her body lay sprawled, another skeletal claw caught the lip of the roof. It was joined by three others, and the demonic faces those claws belonged to soon forced themselves up.
The effects of the adrenaline were starting to fade. Exhaustion settled over his body, intermingled with the paralyzing grasp of fear. There was no way he could take them all on.
But maybe that was okay. Maybe he should just let it happen. At least then he might be reunited with Abby in the afterlife. But she had been such a good person, far better than him. She’d mentored inner-city kids and headed up the graduate student union’s food drives for the less fortunate. She was so much kinder, more compassionate, and more honest than anyone else he’d ever met. Wherever she had gone, Navid figured he probably didn’t deserve to follow. If he did die on this roof, there was no guarantee they were headed to the same place.
The first four creatures heaved themselves forward. Their plates and claws clicked and rattled as they scrambled onto the roof. They spotted Navid, and their voices rose up in an inhuman hunting cry. Others joined the call as they scaled the hospital, their shrieks building in an unholy chorus. Navid’s knees started to shake. His palms grew clammy. He glanced at the locked door to the stairwell, then back at the monsters, then Abby. Killing them—or, more likely, dying horribly as the creatures ripped him apart—wouldn’t bring Abby back. As much as he hoped he might see her again one day in the afterlife, he knew in his heart that now was not the time. Despite everything, he still wanted to survive.
He turned to the door and slammed the head of the ax against the handle. The strike resonated in his palm, shaking and threatening to break his grip. But he held tight and hit it again and again. The creatures’ claws scraped and scratched toward Navid. He stole a glance over his shoulder and saw others clamber onto the roof, joining the small pack.
Navid had chosen life, dispelling his morbid fatalism. And with that choice came panic. The thought of what those creatures would do to him was paralyzing. But he willed himself to move on, to find a purpose in his life now that Abby’s had been taken. And to find a purpose, he needed to live.
He hoisted the ax handle once more. It came down hard against the door handle. It snapped off, exposing the locking mechanism, and a brief feeling of victory surged through Navid. He disengaged the lock and then kicked open the door. Sunlight pierced the shadows of the stairwell. Navid lunged inside and slammed the door shut. He knew it wouldn’t hold the crazies for long. At least it gave him a few extra seconds. The crimson emergency lights were still flashing, bathing the stairwell in eerie light. He sprinted down the stairs, his footsteps clanging. A broken pile of bones almost tripped him, but he caught one handrail and jumped over the remains.
Geraldo, he thought. The former janitor had sacrificed himself to ensure Navid and Abby survived the onslaught of crazies. He hoped the man’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. But he didn’t have time for remorse. The door to the roof crashed open. The spiked and mutated silhouettes of the crazies cast demonic shadows on the walls.
Navid sprinted, the backpack with his two remaining water bottles slapping against his back and his fingers wrapped tight around the ax. His sole weapon wouldn’t be enough against the pursuing horde. Especially not with his broken hand, which was growing increasingly inflamed and painful. His mind raced as he tried to come up with somewhere to hide. He’d been chased out of the cafeteria, starved out of the grad student office, and fought for his life through the labs. Every place he knew in the hospital had already been overrun by the crazies.
He took the stairs two, three, four at a time, careening down. At one landing, he almost ran into a crazy with its face buried in the splayed ribs of a long-dead doctor. The creature turned and looked at him. A crimson beard stained its snarling face. Navid smashed the flat side of the ax blade against the monster’s head and used his momentum to drive it into the wall, crushing its skull. The beast fell limp over the dead doctor, and Navid carried on.
He jumped over another corpse riddled with bony growths and then paused in front of a door marked with a large letter G. This was it. The ground floor of the hospital. The creatures’ howls still filled the stairwell, assaulting Navid’s eardrums.
Those howls were muffled when Navid pushed through the stairwell door into a corridor. A bent IV pole lay across a bloodstained hospital bed, and dark-brown puddles of dried blood marred the tiled floor. Torn scrubs and shredded patient gowns littered the hallway like hellish confetti. He crept toward a four-way intersection. Behind him, the crazies would soon pour from the stairwell. Ahead, the lobby and its promise of escape waited for him. But there would also be plenty of crazies milling around the atrium. In that open space, they would quickly overwhelm him. Navid studied the signs pointing down the two perpendicular halls. One way led to Radiology, while the other led to the emergency room. But which way should he go? His heart hammered as the howls of the crazies cascaded under the stairwell door, louder each second.
He needed to make a decision. Fast. The ER connected directly to the ambulance bay, so he started to sprint that dir
ection. Then he stopped. What was he thinking? During the early stages of Boston’s fall, people who had become infected with whatever the hell had caused the outbreak would have been brought to the ER. No doubt the place would be overrun by crazies. He did a one eighty and sprinted the opposite direction, following the signs marked Radiology.
He hurdled a stretcher still filled with the picked-over bones of some poor soul. The echoes of the crazies’ voices now filled the hall, but at least the creatures hadn’t seen him yet. He hoped that their ranks would be split at the intersection, so if worst came to worst, he’d have fewer to fight off.
But fighting was a last resort. Running was the best option for now, and he continued dashing toward a T-intersection. His shoes slipped from under him as he took a right turn. He grabbed the handrail along the side of the hall, catching himself just before he fell. His heart beat faster than his whirling thoughts, and he fought to keep control over his mind.
A slow wave of relief washed through him when he spotted the glaring red Emergency Exit sign at the end of the corridor. This was definitely an emergency. He tried to picture the layout of the hospital and realized that the exit would lead into an alley, away from the ER and the fiendish tableau the main streets of Boston had become. He burst through the door and blinked to overcome the intense brightness of the outdoors. His pupils adjusted as the door swung shut behind him, locking from the inside and ensuring he wouldn’t easily be able to retreat. Not that he wanted to go back. He had to keep moving forward.
The Tide (Book 3): Salvage Page 2