Level Six

by Dean, Jane

  "What are you doing? You can't give these people lives. Are you trying to make us all crazy?" Tod asked.

  "It makes me feel better knowing that they had a role in life. Then they're not monsters anymore."

  “They're dead okay. They fucking died and that's it. What you see over there isn't real. They're just moving corpses that haven't been buried." Tod said.

  "That’s cold. They had families." Callum said.

  "Exactly. Had families. We might be just like them if we can't stay sane and get to safety. Keep your opinions to yourself. I can't deal with them being human or having lives. I have to discount them, pretend they're dead and in our way now."

  Ursa felt a strong pinch on her hand and looked down to see that nothing had touched it. She was confused for a moment and rubbed at the spot which continued to ache. They heard high-pitched screaming in the field near the wire fence. Ursa jumped up to see Marshall running and clutching his hand to his body. Mark was the first to reach him as he fell to the ground.

  “Marshall!” Tod screamed.

  “Shit. He must have been too close,” Amy said. “Can we help him Mark?”

  “You’ve got to help him,” Ursa said and rushed to Marshall’s side. “You’re going to be okay,” she told him. Marshall didn’t respond. Ursa tried to reach out her mind to him. She stopped for a moment, confused that she was able to connect with his consciousness. The darkness of the virus felt cold and her brain seemed to tingle as if being touched by icy pin pricks as it spread into his blood. She willed the cold to stop. The darkness of the virus slowed in her mind but didn’t come to a complete stop. It was starting to take over Marshall’s healthy cells. She backed away from him as Mark ran out from the house with a large knife.

  “Hold him still,” he yelled to Callum and Tod. He raised the knife and cut Marshall’s hand off cleanly. Marshall screamed and his body writhed. Callum and Tod fought to keep him still as Mark and Amy worked to stop the bleeding with a tourniquet. Stunned by the site of so much blood, Ursa fought back shock to combat the spread of the virus with her thoughts. Suppressing the darkness spreading up his arm was easier now that the infected hand was gone.

  “The virus is still in him.” She looked at Mark covered in blood. He didn’t question her, nodded his head and wiped his hair from his eyes with a bloodied hand. He looked to the howling Walkers but the fence, crazed by the smell of blood.

  “I don’t doubt it Ursa. I think he’ll need a transfusion. We’ll need a hospital for that though. I can’t do it here, we don’t have the equipment. Can you give me a hand?” he said to Callum and Tod. “We should get him inside and clean him up. Amy, boil water and get the fire going.”

  Amy jumped to her feet and ran to the house. “Yakima Memorial,” she called back before the screen door snapped shut behind her. The rest of the group followed in behind with Marshall carried between them and placed him on the couch in front of the fire.

  “How far is it Amy?” Tod asked. She came back in the room with blankets and leaned against the wall for support. “Amy! Amy, don’t clock out on us,” Tod said.

  “It’s…It’s,” she stammered.

  “I know how to get there.” Mark said.

  “You can take the truck,” Raj said. “I’ll get supplies ready for you.”

  “Ray, we need the truck!” Amy said.

  “We have the car here too.” Raj said. “Marshall needs help.”

  “We’ll be back Amy.” Tod said. “Rene!” He yelled to the woman sitting on the porch with Melissa. “You stay here with Melissa and we’ll come back for you. I promise.” They could hear the creaking of the porch swing as Rene hummed and rocked the little girl back and forth.

  * * *

  The laboratory deep underground at Level Six was eerily quiet. Dr. Myers pointed to the sink and turned to Kat. “Okay, if you’re with us, please get Craig a large glass of water from over there and help him with his clothes. He can’t get dressed on his own. He hasn’t finished the transformation.”

  “His clothes?” Kat surveyed the man who lay in a dressing gown that was too short now that he was eight feet tall. The man looked at her and she felt her pulse increase and her breath come in gasps. The man observed her closely.

  “Your physical reaction to our situation is slowing us down,” the man said. “Give me a hand, we need to leave as the doctor says.” His voice was deep and hypnotic and propelled Kat to the sink to collect some water and the large cotton pants and t-shirt that hung in the closet. He drank quickly and pulled on the shirt and pants using the draw string to keep them up. She noticed that the pants only reached mid-calf and the thin fabric strained against the muscles.

  “He’ll be fine but probably feels like hell. You’ll be okay Craig,” the doctor said to the man. She had a sensation of empathy as she approached the man. That’s odd she thought. The feeling was like a breeze or vibration she felt when she walked near him. He looked at her as if reading her thoughts. One of his pupils was dilated and he sat on an angle propped up with an arm against the bed.

  “I’m going to be sick,” he said and fell to the floor. He threw up and reached up to climb onto the bed. Kat grabbed his upper arm and pulled up but he was too heavy for her to move. She picked up the extra sheets and water and cleaned him up as best she could.

  The third man jumped from the bed and looked angry. Kat was confused by his response when the other two were so quiet. He walked over to pick up his clothes and got dressed. He walked to Craig and helped him to his feet. “This is Scott. Men, Kat is going to join us. As I know you’ve sensed, we need to leave this facility. My daughter and son are out there and I can only ask for your help out of compassion. Ursa is changing like you but needs a booster and supplements.”

  “Understood.” Tom jumped from the bed and stood at his full height. Kat felt that the room was now too small to hold the three men.

  “We’ll find and secure cover after we find them.” Scott said. The three men remained quiet and the doctor didn’t speak.

  “When do we leave?” Kat asked.

  “Shh,” the doctor said. “They’re gathering information.” Kat looked at the men who stared at nothing.

  “They’re what?” Kat shifted from one foot to the other.

  Will entered the room with what looked at a glance to be a small man riding on his back. Kat examined closer and saw that its body was covered in thin black hair and, although monkey-like in its body structure, its head was larger than that of a monkey.

  “We’re ready. Let’s go doctor,” Scott said.

  * * *

  “Major Simmons.” A young officer ran to the Major and stopped to salute. “The three test subjects have escaped with Mayor Lynton and Dr. Myers. Should we send a unit to bring them back?” The young man stood trying not to breathe hard.

  “How long ago?” Dr. Hume stepped in and the Major motioned him back.

  “Only about twenty minutes doctor, video surveillance caught them leaving the room and moving through the hall.”

  “Dr. Hume, do you believe these mutations are a risk?” the Major asked. “There are only three of them. How much of a risk to us are these men outside this facility?”

  “The other subjects exhibited extraordinary strength and their IQs were immeasurable,” Dr. Hume said. “Dr. Myers was the lead researchers in the Level Six experiments but I’ve read most of the literature published about Thantos and its effects. There is a chance that they could return and take over the facility.”

  “You think they’ll be a threat to us?” the Major asked.

  “We don’t know the extent of their capabilities, but I wouldn’t discount them as a threat to the security of this base. We don’t know their mental state which means they could be unpredictable. More of a threat than the Walkers. I need more information about them.”

  “We’ll try to get them back doctor. I like to know my enemy,” the Major said.

  “We won’t have access to many other 0 negative test subjects. These
ones could prove invaluable.”

  “Okay doctor. We’ll try to get them back but I don’t want to send my men on a wild goose chase either.” The Major turned to the officer standing nearby. “Order a military unit with the use of helicopters and move out. Try to bring them back alive, but if you can’t collect them, you have orders to eliminate them as a threat.”

  “Sir, what about the Professor and Mayor Lynton? Should we bring them back as well?”

  The Major looked at the doctor who shook his head. “We don’t need them,” Dr. Hume said. “Dr. Myers turned over all his information.”

  “Leave the doctor and Mayor out there. We have limited resources and they had a chance to stay with us,” the Major said. “Do we have any surveillance to pinpoint their whereabouts?”

  “Yes sir. Cameras picked them up travelling North on 97. They took one of the trucks at the old entrance.”

  “Don’t waste any time then. Get a team together. You have four hours to complete your mission then return.”

  “Understood Sir.” The young officer snapped to attention and ran to gather his men.

  “Doctor, you’ll excuse me. I’m expected to give an update in the conference room. Keep me posted on production of Thantos and shipments.” The Major left the lab followed by Commander Ryan. They marched down the bright white corridor filled with medical personnel rushing to fill orders of Thantos and administer the vaccinations. “What’s the status of Owl and Orchid?” the Major asked the Commander.

  “We’ve lost all contact sir,” the Commander replied. The Major took a deep breath, opened the door to the conference room. The crowd represented a mix of military and scientists. Some were yelling about the situation and other were on their computers communicating with different researchers in other countries. The commotion lessened as the Major walked through the sea of people to reach the front of the room.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the Major loosened his tie in the hot room. He moved closer to the podium and cleared his throat. “Your attention please.” The large screen, filled with the faces of dignitaries and leaders from around the world, stopped talking or looked up to listen to the Major. “I won’t waste any time. I’m here to announce that I am taking over leadership of the United States. We’ve lost all contact with Washington, D.C. All decisions will now be made from this military base regarding anything to do with US security and course of action.”

  “We are vaccinating all personnel and shipments of Thantos to global outpost and under way. You will be notified by staff of immunization procedures.”

  FIFTEEN

  From the small farmhouse, Raj brought a single mattress out through the front door and dragged it across the porch. “Help here,” he yelled. Tod ran over and picked up one end to hoist it into the bed of the pickup. “It won’t be perfect but it’ll be more comfortable than the metal floor. I’ve got some rope in the barn. I’ll be right back and we can tie the mattress down and secure him to it with some sheets.” Mark and Ursa brought Marshall out. His face was pale and hung down toward his chest as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

  “Here, I’ll climb up and help him in,” Tod said and jumped into the back. Marshall’s arm bumped the side of the truck and he let out a straggled moan. Tod eased him onto the middle of the bed and covered him with a sheet and thick blanket.

  Raj threw the rope up to the men and they worked to tie Marshall and the old mattress down. “You think he’ll be okay don’t you?” Ursa asked Mark.

  “We can try a transfusion and see what happens. You seem to be immune to the virus. Your blood could help fight the infection. It might be his only chance.”

  “Okay. We’re ready,” Tod said. “I’ll drive.”

  “I’ll ride with him in the back,” Ursa said.

  “No. I don’t think that’s a good idea Ursa,” Mark said.

  “Why not? What if he wakes up and panics back there alone.”

  “If we don’t get to the hospital in time and he changes, you could be putting yourself at risk alone with him. It’s safer if you ride up front with us,” Mark said.

  “I’ll ride with him.” Callum said and jumped up next to Marshall. “Keep an eye on us though,” he said to Ursa. She nodded and climbed into the middle seat of the cab. Amy had already drawn most of the Walkers to the other side of the farm by throwing rocks into the trees. Raj waited at the gate to let the truck drive out.

  Melissa cried softly and didn’t want to let Ursa leave. She pulled the little girl’s hands together and bent down to look at her. “We’ve been through a lot haven’t we? I’m not going to be gone long. I promise.” Ursa drew a little ‘x’ over her heart. “There’s no way I’d forget you here. I’ll be back sweetie.” Rene walked up to them and pulled the little girl away. “You’ll be okay here with Rene, but if you’re ever afraid I want you to think about me really hard. I’ll be with there with you. Okay?” Ursa couldn’t hold back her tears as she climbed up into the truck.

  Tod slowed as they passed Raj. “We’ll be back and we’ll bring supplies.” Raj only nodded and closed the gate quickly behind them as they sped away down the dirt road.

  They bounced along until merging with the highway. Ursa watched as Marshall shifted around on the bed behind them. Sweat coursed down his face.

  “How long before we reach the hospital?” she asked Mark. Before he could respond she could see a quick image in her mind of a map and knew where they were in relation to the hospital. She frowned at the image wondering how she could know something about an area she’d never visited.

  “We’re only about 30 miles from the hospital,” he said. “It’s a straight drive down highway 12 to get there and I don’t think there are many towns, if any, along the way. We might see Walkers on the highway but it won’t be anything like what you came from.”

  “How did you end up with Amy and Raj at the farm Mark?” Tod asked watching the road to miss any bumps or holes.

  “I was on my way to the ocean actually. I’d been working at the hospital for about six months and wanted a weekend break. I’m a visiting resident.”

  “What kind of medicine do you practice?” Ursa asked.

  “Well I actually worked in genetics for a while as you mentioned your father did but I turned to pediatric medicine. There’ve been an increase in birth defects in Yakima and they called a few of us in to discover the cause.”

  “What was causing the defects?” Tod asked.

  “Don’t know. Never found out,” Mark said.

  “You don’t have family here then?” she asked.

  “No. I have an uncle and aunt in California. I mean I had an uncle and aunt.” His voice trailed off for a moment. “My parents both died almost ten years ago and I’ve been on my own travelling to different parts of the US studying some anomalies.”

  “What about you two?” Mark asked. “You said you came by boat from BC do you live up there?”

  “No,” Tod answered first. “Well I was staying there visiting with my friend Marshall but it wasn’t supposed to be permanent. I met him in Oxford. He decided to move to the West Coast and I decided to give up on school. My parents cut me off when they found out and I just stayed in Vancouver.”

  “I’m from Washington originally. D.C., not the state,” Ursa said. “I was supposed to be travelling out to the northern islands of BC to study kelp or rather the lack of kelp. Something’s been killing the plant life all along the coast.”

  “And now we’re here,” Mark said. “Driving through the dust trying to save your friend while it looks like most of humanity’s been wiped out.” He banged his knuckles on the window and ran his hands through his hair.

  “Thanks for helping us,” Ursa said. They sat in silence for a mile and Ursa stopped trying to find anyone broadcasting on the radio. “You’re a doctor Mark. What do you think caused this?”

  He glanced at her quickly and looked back out to the field. “From what I’ve seen, if you’re bitten, you change almost immediately. I’ve watc
hed men shot, stabbed and mutilated and they still get up and come after you. Except you.”

  “You know I was bitten?” Ursa said. She put her hand to her knee. It had healed quickly and now the skin only pulled slightly when she bent her leg to sit down.

  “I figure something must have happened. People don’t look the way you do. Your size and eye color are far from natural and I saw how Marshall and Tod tried to protect you when we started asking questions.” He pushed himself up on the seat to look at her.

  “It was when all this first started to happen. I was hiding in a dumpster and a woman who was infected grabbed my leg and bit me.”

  “You began to change physically soon after?”

  “Right after I was bitten, I began to change.” Ursa pulled out her phone and selected a photo of herself taken the day before the marathon. In it she was smiling and looking out at the mountains. Tod sat up to take a look over her shoulder.

  “You look pretty normal there,” Tod said. “Very cute.”

  Do you notice anything other than changes? Do you feel like you’re losing touch with reality?” Mark asked.

  “Do you mean, Is she going crazy, Doc?” Tod asked.

  “Thanks Tod.” Ursa rolled her eyes and looked back at the doctor.

  “You could have the answer to this crises inside you right now. Other than your outward appearance what other symptoms do you have?”

  “Headaches so bad that I thought I was going to die. At first I could feel my skull actually come apart and then it seemed to heal and fuse back together. The front of my head between my eyes still aches. Don’t worry I don’t feel a need to bite anyone. If anything, I feel calmer and more in control of my emotions. I just know I need to find my father and find out what’s going on.”

  * * *

  “Melissa, come with me,” Amy said. “There’s room upstairs that I think will be perfect for you.” Melissa looked at Rene who nodded her head and smiled a thin strained smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Melissa held on to Amy’s hand and they climbed the narrow staircase. The wood creaked as they walked down the hall to a small room. The floor was warm as she stepped in to the room. She looked down at the old rough flooring. A braided rug covered most of the floor.