Winter's Mermaid (Mermaid Series Book 1)

by Dan Glover

  "Call me from London, Hector."

  He turned to see Karen rolling up the window. The taxi moved away as he climbed the rain-slick steps to enter the ancient aircraft slinging his luggage over a shoulder while hanging onto the handrails to keep from slipping. Panels hung loose from the ceiling as he ducked into the doorway. The plane was nearly full. The only available seat was in the back next to an enormous Russian woman who smelled of beets.

  Everyone seemed to stare at him as he stumbled down the aisle. He looked down at his jacket to see it was covered in puke and something darker, like blood. He held his valise close to his chest to attempt to cover the stain. As he stuffed his suitcase in the overhead compartment he considered disembarking. A wave of dizziness overcame him so instead he sat down hoping it would pass.

  As he settled into his seat the hiccups started. Each one felt as if someone was poking a hot skewer into the middle of his gut. As the plane took to the air he tasted something coppery in the back of his throat. He knew enough to realize he was bleeding internally and that he needed to get to a hospital immediately.

  When he attempted to rise up from his seat his muscles refused his bidding. He felt his bladder let loose as piss ran down both legs to puddle on the floor at his feet. The enormous woman who smelled of beets sniffed the air, looked down, and then back up into his face. And then she screamed something in Russian that Hector did not understand.

  He wanted to apologize to the woman, to inform her that it was merely a symptom of the concussion he received. When he opened his mouth, however, he hiccupped again, this time resulting in a geyser of blood spewing forth drenching the unfortunate soul.

  His mother was calling out to him. He found it odd that she was here in Russia and for the life of him he couldn't recall seeing her on the plane when he climbed aboard. It took another a second to remember that mother had been dead for better than a decade, and yet still she kept calling out to him.

  "Yes, mother... I' m coming..."

  Chapter 50—Penitence

  Karen was more repentant than ever now that she knew firsthand the true horror of what Lily endured locked away in that horrible plastic cage.

  She was exhilarated just to be walking in the sunshine and breathing fresh air. Nate walked in front, beside Lily, holding her hand while Maon perched upon his shoulders, the little boy still full of grins and giggles after his adventure. Karen noticed how the two lovers' steps synchronized.

  "Will we have to walk all the way back to the castle, darling Nate?"

  "I don’t think so, Lily my love. As soon as we get to the nearest village perhaps I can scare up a vehicle that still runs. Isn't it a nice day for a walk, though?"

  "Is what you hold heavy, darling Karen? If you tire I can carry it for a while."

  "No, that's okay, Lady Lily... thanks but I can manage."

  A desire came over Karen to fall to her knees and beg Lily to forgive her. She knew she would just make a fool of herself, however, so she made a silent vow to somehow, someday repay the Lady for all she had done.

  The canister she carried held what she trusted would be viable sperm samples though the thawing, refreezing, and subsequent unthawing might comprise its integrity. She was hopeful she could retrieve enough genetic material to introduce into the nucleus of the sperm she planned to create from stem cells taken from the existent embryos still frozen in the laboratory back home.

  She was haunted by concerns for what Marilyn might do once she got back to the castle. In her manic state the woman might well destroy everything they worked for over the years. Karen imagined Marilyn taking Lady Lauren prisoner at the very least, and Natalia too. It worried her that there was no reason to keep Natalia alive.

  She recalled how they drove this road many times without a thought of the kilometers passing beneath the wheels of the car. Walking was so slow and though the outline of the village on the horizon seemed close, an hour went by and it grew no bigger. She began picking out landmarks not so far ahead of them and measuring their progress in that fashion.

  The sun was going down. The area was no longer domesticated as it was seventy years ago before the Great Dying. Wild animals roamed these painted hills and slowly encroaching forests. It had been so long she was sure they had lost whatever fear humans once instilled within them.

  "Should we stop for the night somewhere, sweet Nate?"

  The words escaped Karen's lips before she thought of speaking of the danger that was on her mind.

  "Let's walk on a bit, darling Karen. We can stop up ahead in the village."

  Nate had taken charge of the situation the way only a man could do. As they continued walking in silence Karen recalled the years she spent working with Hector Ramirez, how he blatantly took all the credit for any of the work they did in tandem. She wondered of the world might not be a better place without men all together.

  If her plan of creating sperm cells from stem cells came to fruition men might well become a relic of a bygone era. She chided herself for harboring such thoughts. It must have been the violent feminine side of her psyche rearing its ugly head. Still, she felt like a child following Nate as they trudged along a fast-darkening road as stars began popping into view overhead.

  "Do you hear that?"

  Lily stopped walking. She cupped a webbed hand to her the side of her head.

  "I don’t hear anything, sweet Lily."

  "Shhh. Listen, darling Nate... it sounds like a car coming this way."

  Headlights appeared on the hilly road far ahead of them and then disappeared.

  "What if it's Marilyn coming back to make sure we're all dead, Lady Lily?"

  Karen couldn't shake the feeling that her erstwhile lover was bent on some warped sort of revenge. She imagined Marilyn driving back to the castle only to begin seething at the possibility of her prisoners back at CDC headquarters making an escape. She was doubtlessly compelled to return to the scene of the crime.

  "Karen is right... my lovely Lily, please take Maon and the three of you hide in the brush beside the road. If it really is Marilyn she may try and run us down. I can leap out of the way if I know you three are safe."

  "Come with us, sweet Nate."

  "It might not be Marilyn at all. Perhaps it is someone coming from the castle to rescue us. Please do as I say... quickly. The car is getting closer."

  Karen took the initiative to pull Lily by the hand leading her and Maon into the undergrowth close by the road but not so as to be too far from Nate. The night air was redolent of creek mist under the low thorn bushes that grew so thickly it was difficult to work their way through them without becoming inundated with scratches. She cleared the way taking the brunt of the thorny malice.

  Safely out of sight Karen knew what she had to do if it was Marilyn... she must be ready to kill her. Otherwise all was lost. She wondered if she had the strength to throttle the life out of someone she loved. She knew there was no choice.

  Chapter 51—Tea and Crumpets

  Nothing was going right.

  Tommy Thomas was incensed. He couldn't believe the London headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control could be run so haphazardly as to allow doctors on the staff to go off on rogue adventures sixty five hundred kilometers away while epidemics were blossoming right under their very noses.

  He visited CDC sites all over the country as part of his duties and this was the first time he had not been asked to sign into a logbook upon entering the compound. He was certain other protocols were not being followed either.

  Browsing the records provided by Marilyn Compton, the incompetent staff member left in charge, he learned that a patient was admitted to a hospital in Notting Hill suffering from an unknown parasitic infection which was promptly spread to half a dozen others, including a doctor and three nurses. They were all dead in less than two days. Finally the hospital was quarantined but not before hundreds other patients who might well have been harboring the infection fled in fear.

  The tea tasted odd for Earle G
rey, an unpleasant coppery aftertaste lingering after each sip. The crumpets were stale so he put off the taste of the tea to being old as well.

  He couldn't believe that Marilyn was actually a doctor of medicine. She was beyond a doubt the most imbecilic woman whom he had ever had the displeasure of meeting and what was more he was quite sure she had given him old tea and stale crumpets on purpose, just to spite him.

  "I say... does your tea taste a bit odd, Marilyn?"

  She took a sip and then another before wrinkling her nose.

  "Oh my yes... please forgive me, Mr. Thomas. I may have inadvertently fixed a pot using green tea leaves instead of Earle Grey. Please, let me make fresh cups."

  "Don't bother now... it's nearly gone. Actually, I think I'll take another cup."

  He felt oddly invigorated as he lifted the teapot. When he offered Marilyn a refill she put a hand over her cup.

  "Thank you, no... I've had quite my fill."

  "So tell me, Marilyn... have you been able to contact Dr. Pool about the mysterious disappearance of Maxwell Corrigan?"

  "Why yes... I wanted to mention that. Dr. Pool was completely aghast. She feared Mr. Corrigan might have inadvertently exposed himself to a virus she was working with when he clandestinely entered her laboratory last week. He might well be dead somewhere."

  "I take it the authorities have been notified and they have made well-being checks at Mr. Corrigan's place of residence."

  "Of course they have, sir. Nothing has been found, however."

  "You say Corrigan clandestinely entered the laboratory. Why would he not simply be allowed inside?"

  "Like I already said, due to the nature of her work, Dr. Pool left strict orders for no one to disturb her laboratory, for their own good, of course... she even left guards to dissuade anyone from entering her suite of rooms."

  "And how, pray tell, could Corrigan manage to get past the guards?"

  "He fired them all. I warned him personally not to enter that laboratory. He seemed to feel... well... that we were trying to hide something from both him and the government. The sad fact is, Mr. Thomas, that our work frequently involves dangerous bacterium and viruses that can kill anyone exposed to them in a matter of hours."

  "Who is this 'we' that you speak of?"

  "Pardon?"

  "You said Corrigan felt that 'we' were trying to hide something. Who is 'we'?"

  "Why, Dr. Ramirez, Dr. Pool, and myself."

  "And you three were the only three working on this top secret project?"

  "Yes... Dr. Ramirez feels—rather he felt—that until we were able to isolate the cause of the infection that it was beneficial that as few people as possible were potentially exposed to the serum we were working with."

  "And of course none of you had any dreams of a Nobel Prize in medicine?"

  "Every research doctor dreams of such recognition. There is nothing wrong with being lauded for one's efforts, Mr. Thomas, especially when the work takes years to complete."

  "Mum, yes... I say, Marilyn, might'nt you rustle up another pot of this positively delicious tea?"

  "Absolutely, Mr. Thomas... stay here and I'll be right back."

  During his college days Tommy Thomas managed to acquire a small amount of amphetamine to help him and his study partner stay awake the night before a final exam that would make or break his career. He recalled how he felt as if he could break through walls and how he couldn’t seem to stop talking.

  The tea was having the same side effects as the amphetamine. He wondered momentarily if Marilyn had spiked it with something but quickly dismissed the idea. Why on earth would such a silly woman do that to the emissary of the Prime Minister himself?

  The tea soon filled his bladder. Going to the restroom he unzipped his trousers to urinate and raising his shirt he noticed a fast-developing rash on his lower abdomen. Washing the afflicted area seemed to offer a bit of relief. Going back to the conference room he saw Marilyn was there ahead of him.

  "Oh... there you are, Mr. Thomas. I thought I might have lost you."

  "What on earth do you mean by that?"

  "When I returned with your tea you were gone. I thought you might have grown tired of waiting."

  "Not at all... I merely had to make use of the facilities. I'm afraid tea goes right through me, you see."

  "Of course, Mr. Thomas... I apologize... I should have known."

  An itch had now developed in the rash-afflicted region. He put it off to his impromptu bout of washing. Marilyn refilled his cup to the brim while setting out fresh crumpets on the table in front of him. The itching continued unabated until he had to excuse himself. He wondered if perhaps he had been a tad negligent in removing all the soap from his lower stomach.

  "Excuse me, please."

  Going back to the gentlemen's room Tommy Thomas lowered his pants and his underwear. Raising his shirt reveals an unsettling red and angry rash that seemed to be spreading right before his eyes. Going to the sink he ran the water as hot as he could stand soaping up the troubled area and washing off well.

  The rash had become larger. He was sure of it. There was also the distinct feeling of something moving beneath his skin. He pinched the folds of his abdomen between his right thumb and forefinger to massage the itchy feeling away but it only increased in intensity. He decided to dress and to seek medical advice despite a bit of embarrassment over his situation.

  "I say, Marilyn... I seem to have developed a bit of a rash."

  He was startled to see the conference room was empty and he was talking to no one. Going down the hallway to the exit leading into the compound he found the door was locked. He felt flustered, as if he was in a dream but try as he might he couldn't seem to wake up.

  The itching had moved up his abdomen to his chest as well as down both thighs. Going back to the conference room he picked up the phone. It was dead. He remembered his father telling him that if he was ever trapped in a building to kick out the walls as they were more than likely made of plasterboard. But a kick only resulted in a sharp pain blossoming in his side. The wall remained quite intact.

  The pain wrapped around his body like a cloak, squeezing the breath out of him. He fell to the floor, gasping, and curled into a fetal position as the first convulsion wracked his body.

  Chapter 52—Together Again

  As night gathered around her she pressed the gas pedal closer to the floor.

  Since Marilyn was gutsy enough to talk Kirk into pushing Ginger down the stairs leading to the dungeon in order to trap the two of them, Natalia suspected she had also gone all out to imprison Nate, Lily, Karen, and the boy.

  Going to the Centers for Disease Control headquarters many years ago to help retrieve the equipment and other necessities needed if she was going to bear a child she shuddered as she peered into the isolation chamber where Lily was kept for so long: the sterile steel walls, the stale mechanical air, Plexiglas windows stealing away any sense of privacy.

  When they entered the compound she remembered how Karen pushed a set of buttons to start the power generator which provided not only light but ventilation as well. A horrid thought formed in the back of her mind: what if Marilyn turned off the generator when she left? Natalia feared she might arrive at the compound to find her family dead from lack of oxygen.

  She saw movement up ahead in the twilight. At first she thought an animal was meandering alongside the road... perhaps a deer or maybe a wild horse, possibly a moose. As she drew closer she made out a human form standing alone in the dusk. Her heart skipped a beat. If it was one of her party, where were the others? On the other hand, if it wasn’t someone she knew, who could it be?

  A hundred and fifty meters away she recognized her son's form against the big blue horizon. Nate was standing in an alert position as if he was ready to leap out of the way of her vehicle. She realized that he must think it was Marilyn returning, perhaps to finish them off. Natalia blinked her high beams at him three times to signal that he was safe.

  An
immense waterfall of relief washed over Natalia as she pulled up close to Nate and saw Lily and Karen emerge from the brush growing close to the road. Maon was perched upon Lily's shoulders grinning ear to ear.

  "Grandma!"

  "Oh my but I'm glad to see all of you! When Marilyn came back alone I thought you might be trapped in the CDC compound."

  "We were, mom."

  "I saved everyone, grandma."

  "Did you, Maon? You're the hero then!"

  Stepping from the Jeep Natalia hugged Nate and Lily while kissing her grandson.

  "Where is Marilyn, Lady Natalia? We thought she might be the one coming back."

  "Marilyn is dead, Karen. I'm sorry."

  "What happened?"

  "Amanda shot her when she found out Marilyn talked Kirk into pushing her friend Ginger down the stairs into the dungeon. Marilyn knew we would go to her rescue. She had Kirk lock us in. I expect she planned on keeping us as prisoners. She didn’t realize the catacombs were below the dungeon. Ginger guided us down one of the tunnels so we were able to escape."

  "Marilyn was so convinced that her god was leading her to the Promised Land. That is all she talked about for the past year. I just never dreamed she would go so far as to try and kill us. She shut off the power, Natalia. If not for Maon we would still be trapped inside the isolation chamber. We might well be dead by now."

  Karen shook her head as if attempting to comprehend the enormity of recent happenings.

  "Come and let's go home... please drive, my lovely Nate."

  Natalia climbed into the passenger seat while Nate adjusted the driver's side seat all the way back to fit his two meter frame before he climbed into the car. He shook the dark hair loose from his eyes by flicking his neck the way Natalia loved. He must have sensed her watching him as he turned and smiled.

  "Thank you for coming to our rescue, mother. It would have been a long walk home. Is everyone else at Orchardton Hall in good health?"