Outbreak

by Paul Carberry

  Jason bent over and picked up the syringe. “What’s the catch?”

  “You have a choice to make Jason. Inject yourself with the cure and I will release you. You could try to save your wife from this island.”

  “So what’s going to stop me from getting to her?” Jason knew it would not be easy to rescue Tracy. “Would someone just shoot me?”

  “No one would shoot you. However your wife is in the room directly below you, if you don’t put in the correct code to open the door, all of the cells on that floor will open!” Gordon took out a picture of a bloodied, mutilated face. “Come, look closer.” Gordon waved Jason over.

  Jason cautiously moved closer to the glass door to get a better view of the picture. The man was missing an eye, it dangled on his check attached by the optic nerve from the gaping hole that was his eye socket. The gory hole where his eye should have been nearly made Jason vomit, the blood that oozed from the wound was like a black sludge. The other eye was glossed over, Jason could not tell what colour the man’s eye had originally been, it was just grey now. The creature’s teeth were yellow with some sort of black, gooey liquid lining the gums. It’s skin was ashen grey with a pale green tint.

  “What the fuck is that!?”

  “That Mr. Cook, is in the cell across from your wife! There are another fourteen cells down there.” He took out more pictures. “Every one of those cells contain those flesh hungry monsters, ready to devour your wife!” Gordon’s laugh was diabolical.

  “Christ!” Jason stood there in disbelief. “Well… what’s my other option?” Jason was nearly paralyzed by fear.

  “You give that syringe to David when he gets back. I will take your wife with me to our headquarters where she will be safe and sound. She will be alive, and free to live her life in the new world that I create.”

  “What happens to me?” Jason awaited his death sentence.

  “There are eight cells on your floor. David will lock the exit on his way out. Then he will open all the cells. We placed the key to the exit in one of those creatures, what happens next will be in your hands.”

  “You’re a sick bastard!” Jason could not control his temper any longer.

  BANG!

  Jason slammed his fist into the glass door with all of his remaining strength. His swollen hand instantly throbbed with agony.

  “Well, I’ll leave you with your thoughts Mr. Cook.” Gordon turned and walked down the hallway out of sight.

  Jason had a big decision to make, he wished he knew what to do, he yearned for a weapon. This was some deadly game. It was rigged, and there was no way for Jason to win it. Only a small chance for a minor victory.

  Chapter 15

  Heading in the Wrong Direction

  Father Jon was disgusted, how could one of God’s children dig up a grave? It was an extremely personal violation. Even though it was not his biological family, the victim was a member of Father Jon’s church. God worked in mysterious ways, but this did not seem like his handy work. This was something much more sinister, something evil at work beyond his comprehension. This was the work of Satan.

  Calvin had acted out in a fit of rage, it was justifiable. God would not want more tragedy to befall anyone from this situation, but Satan was growing more powerful.

  Calvin had been on the phone with the police earlier, but now he had left the church and headed into town. Father Jon wished he had gone inside to talk to Calvin before he left. Maybe his anger had subsided and he was thinking with a more level head now. Calvin was a troubled teen growing up, and often acted out of rage. Living with all of that anger had gotten him into deep trouble with the law. Father Jon remembered visiting Calvin in the prison cell the night he nearly beat his girlfriend to death. She had cheated on him with his best friend, and when he found out he took it out on her in the worst way. Calvin begged for mercy that night, and Father Jon had told him to seek forgiveness with the lord. Calvin spent the next three years in prison, and when he was released, he had nowhere else to turn. His family was ashamed of him and wanted nothing to do with him. Father Jon took him into his parish as the grounds keeper.

  “Father.” Calvin entered his office and sat in the chair across from Father Jon.

  Thank God Calvin had returned.

  “Yes, my son.” Father Jon leaned forward and placed his hands on his desk.

  “Forgive my outburst earlier.” Calvin sounded shameful.

  “All will be forgiven, my son. God will guide us along the path to justice and righteousness.” Father Jon looked up towards the heavens.

  “The police will be here soon.” Calvin folded his burley arms across his chest.

  “Well, there isn’t much for us to do now but pray.” Father Jon reached into his desk drawer and took his bible out, placing it on the table. “Will you join me?”

  “Not now Father. I just need some alone time.” Calvin walked out of the office and closed the door behind him. Father Jon listened to his footsteps fade away as he walked towards the front of the church. The doors opened and then there was an eerie silence in the church. Father Jon began to pray both for the missing man, and for Calvin’s tortured soul.

  ***

  Eric opened his eyes, and to his surprise the sun was still up. He rolled over to look at the alarm clock. 5:00pm. He had been asleep for hours and felt much better for it, rejuvenated. Eric looked around for the dog, but she must have gotten out of bed while he slept. The bedroom door was open, Dana must be home. Eric reached over to retrieve his gun from the nightstand. As he left the bedroom he placed it in the holster that hung from the back of the door.

  The TV could be heard from the living room as Eric walked down the hall. Dana sitting on the couch watching one of her shows.

  “Hi dear.”

  “Morning,” Dana said slyly. “Long night?”

  “Yeah, you could say that again.” Eric sank into the couch next to her. Dana leaned over towards Eric and gave him a good squeeze, Eric kissed her on the top the head.

  “You okay?” Dana sounded concerned.

  “Yeah, why?” Eric petted the dog as she sat curled up next to him on the couch.

  “Your gun, you’ve never brought it home before.” Dana pulled back from Eric, waiting for a response.

  “Oh that, just tired I guess. Must have forgotten to leave it at work,” Eric lied to his wife, he didn’t want her to spend the next few hours worrying about him. It would only complicate things. She would beg him not to go to Frank’s cabin. Eric couldn’t endanger his best friend’s life.

  “That’s what I thought. Just wanted to be sure.” Dana placed the remote in Eric’s hand. “I’ll go get you something to eat.” Dana disappeared into the kitchen.

  Eric heard the fridge door open, shortly after the microwave turned on. Leftovers from the supper he had missed last night. Eric turned the TV station to the sports channel to watch the highlights from the night before, he was just in time to catch the highlights from the Monday night football game. He wished he could have been home to watch it, the highlights made it look like a real barn burner, and it came down to the wire. A field goal as time expired on the clock for the win.

  The microwave beeped and Eric could hear Dana open the door. She proudly entered the room with a sub sandwich on a plate.

  “Thanks love.” Eric held out his hand as she handed him the plate. “What kind is it?”

  “It’s a turkey and bacon sub from that deli your father likes.” Dana placed a glass of soda on the coffee table in front of Eric. “Something wrong dear?” Dana saw a puzzled look on Eric’s face.

  “The deli dad likes has that awesome fudge brownie.” Eric looked Dana over to see if she was hiding it in her pockets.

  “They sure do,” Dana laughed at Eric.

  “Well? Where’s mine?” Eric mustered the saddest voice possible.

  “I must have left it in the display case, sorry dear,” Dana giggled as she walked back into the kitchen.

  “Yeah right. Just bring it out,
” Eric yelled out.

  “You know me too well,” Dana said as she strolled back into the room, with the brownie in her hands.

  “Thank you, dear!” Eric scarffed down his sub like he had not eaten in ages. He washed it down with the soda, then devoured the brownie like it was the last one on earth.

  “Jesus! Was it good?” Dana laughed at Eric.

  “Delicious. Dad knows good food. Where are Mom and Dad?” Eric was hoping they would be gone up to the cabin. With any luck they would be, and he could get Dana to go out there with them. That would make him feel better knowing she would be occupied, and not home alone worrying about him.

  “The cabin. They invited us up. Do you want to go?” Dana asked.

  “Well, I gotta finish up something at work tonight, but you should head out. I can meet you there tomorrow afternoon.” Eric felt a sense of relief.

  “Uh… sure. Sounds good. You’re working all night again?” Dana sounded disappointed.

  “Sorry honey, I will be off for a few days after tonight.” Eric tried to reassure Dana. Eric was not sure if he would be able to get away from what was going on so easy. Eric noticed that the Hockey game in Toronto had been postponed.

  “Yeah. I will head up after work tomorrow.” Dana placed her hand on Eric’s knee and gave it a squeeze.

  “Wow, looks like the game tonight in Toronto is cancelled due to a quarantine in the surrounding area. What’s going on for that to happen I wonder?” Eric was fixated on the TV. “Must be something serious for the league to cancel the game like that.”

  “Looks like a lot of games are being cancelled.” Dana pointed to the news bulletin on the bottom of the screen. “Put the news on.”

  Eric changed the channel to the national news. The TV broadcast was horrifying, images of hell on earth were coming in from across the globe. Riots all around the world in almost all the major cities were being reported. Homemade clips of random violent attacks were being sent in to local stations.

  “What the hell is going on?” Eric said it more to himself then to Dana. Most reports indicated that people were suffering from symptoms that resembled rabies.

  Eric’s cell phone rang, he looked around for it, but couldn’t remember where he had put it when he had gotten home. Dana pointed to the kitchen table. “You left it out there.”

  “Thanks.” Eric ran over to answer the phone, it must have been Gary calling to check in with him. “Excuse me dear, it’s work calling.” Eric answered the call and stepped outside. “Eric speaking.”

  “Eric! It’s Gary”

  “Yeah Gary. What did you find out?”

  “There was nothing on the tape, just a set of keys tossed to Fred from behind the camera, but the cameras upstairs show Frank leaving by himself. Then shortly after Fred walked out of the building alone. Frank must have given him the keys?”

  “Where is his squad car?” Eric was wondering if Frank could be at his cabin.

  “Burgeo. By the docks.”

  “Good work. So what are we going to do.” Eric began to wonder if Gary was going to try and talk him out of going to Frank’s cabin.

  “Well, I know I can’t stop you from going to Franks.” Gary paused a moment. “Officer White and I are going to Burgeo to find Frank’s car.”

  “You two be careful, he could be dangerous. Fred may be driving Frank’s car. Maybe it’s a trap?”

  “Yeah, maybe it is! Listen… in case you don’t find anything at Frank’s cabin we got the helicopter pilot on standby, he will be waiting for you at the Deer Lake airport to bring you out here.”

  Eric never would have thought of that. Gary had a good plan in place in case things went south. “Great work. I’ll be in touch Gary.”

  Eric walked back inside. “Honey I gotta get ready for work.”

  “Really? It’s going to be a long shift again.” Dana sounded devastated.

  “Yeah. It certainly will dear.” Eric walked into the bedroom and grabbed a clean uniform out of the closet. He put his holster on and checked the chamber of his gun, it was fully loaded. Eric had made sure he put a box of ammo in the trunk of his car before he left the station. Eric walked out to the porch where Dana was waiting for him, she handed him his jacket and gave him a kiss on the check.

  “Bye love!”

  “Bye honey. I’ll see you tomorrow at the cabin?” Dana looked at him with sadness in her eyes. It almost broke his heart to leave her, what if this was the last time he would ever see his wife?

  “I will.” Eric put on the jacket and zipped it up. He left the house in silence.

  Eric left the words he wanted to say unsaid.

  Eric headed out to the car as Dana watched him pull out of the driveway. He was headed the wrong way to go to work, he was heading out towards the highway. What kind of mess was he tangled up in now? Dana stood in the porch for a while and worried, she was positive that Eric was not telling her something. It was very unlike him to keep a secret from her, she heard the news on the radio earlier about the murder at the police station and he didn’t even mention it to her. Eric was trying to protect her from something.

  ***

  Amanda checked her phone to see if she missed Albert’s call. It was already six o’clock. Surely Felicity would have arrived by now. Amanda was surprised to see there were no missed calls. She was still a little dazed from just waking up, she had probably slept too long. Amanda was unable to get much sleep last night before getting the call to head out to the shooting early in the morning. Amanda had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Albert had stayed at the office to process the new evidence from the latest crime scene.

  Amanda decided to grab a quick shower before supper, then she would head back to work and relieve Albert. He had probably fallen asleep, but would appreciate the opportunity to head home. Amanda wondered what was taking that scientist so long, she only worked on Fox Island. She should have been there hours ago.

  Amanda called into work, but the phone just rang, no one picked up. Maybe Albert had already left for home. Either way, she was going to get ready and head into work, she was curious about what had taken place in that cabin. There was something strange going on, she just had to look at the clues again to figure it all out.

  Now that she was well rested, maybe she would find something that she had missed earlier. Amanda was almost excited to head back to work now, maybe solving this case would be a huge deal. She would write an article about how they discovered this new virus that was turning peoples blood into a thick brown sludge that resembled sewage waste.

  Amanda could not help but wonder if anyone else had seen the same thing happening. Hopefully, Doctor Felicity Strode was already there.

  Chapter 16

  An Impossible Choice

  Amanda pulled into the parking lot at work, and was surprised to find that Albert’s car was still in the same spot, maybe he hadn’t left. Everyone else must have already gone home, Albert’s white Jeep was the only other car in the lot. A black van with the Pharmakon logo was parked across the street at the local diner, they must have went over to grab a bite to eat.

  Amanda walked over to the door and took out her keys, as she entered the building the only noise she could hear was the low pitch hum of the lights. The entire building was completely empty. It was strange that Albert had left the lights on, maybe they had not planned to be too long.

  As she walked down the stairs, the coppery scent of blood lingered in the air. Albert must have been in a hurry to leave because he had forgotten to close the door behind him. The lab sat in darkness, it must have been the only switch Albert had turned off.

  “Jesus!”

  Amanda was startled when she flicked the light switch.

  “What are you doing Albert! Sitting in the dark like some creepy weirdo?”

  Albert didn’t respond. He must have fallen asleep.

  “Albert!” No response.

  Amanda walked over to Albert’s chair, and shook him by the shoulder.
Albert tumbled out of his chair and flopped to the floor like a rag doll.

  “AAHHHH!”

  Amanda screamed in horror, as Albert’s head rolled over to look at her, fear gripped her. There was a dark, red hole dead centre on Albert’s forehead, a trickle of dried blood ran down his face. His eyes were wide open, a look of terror frozen on his face.

  “Albert?” Amanda stood over her partner, dumbfounded. What the hell was going on, Amanda was unable to comprehend what was happening.

  Footsteps echoed in the hallway behind her, Amanda had no time to react before the door burst open and slammed off the wall. Two men carrying assault rifles stepped into the room first. A tall woman with blond hair walked into the room behind them.

  “We have been waiting for you, Amanda,” Doctor Felicity Strode said in a Russian accent. The two men seemed to move in tandem directly towards Amanda with their rifles raised.

  ***

  Eric looked at the time on his dash board. 9:05. He was only about a five minute walk from Frank’s cabin. Eric pulled the squad car over onto the shoulder of the dirt road and turned his car off. He checked his cell phone, no signal strength out here. God damn it. He stepped out of the car and walked around to the back to open the trunk, it popped open and Eric unzipped a large black duffle bag. Eric opened a box of ammo and poked a dozen more rounds into his coat pocket, then he grabbed a flare and his spare flashlight. He had no idea what he expected to encounter at Frank’s, and he wanted to be prepared.

  Eric lifted up the lining of his trunk where his spare tire was stored, laid on top of the dummy tire was a bullet proof vest. Eric removed his jacket and pulled the bullet proof vest on, it was awkward and uncomfortable. He had never worn the bullet proof vest before, but he needed to be ready for an ambush. The jacket barely fit over the vest, but it was too cold to leave it behind, steam from Eric’s breath danced in the frigid night air.