“Colonel Mathers,” Draxler addressed turning around to face them, taking a second to analyze the men. She expected company but not fully armed.
“Sharyn, what the hell is going on?” Col. Mathers spoke, his voice booming.
“Well, long story short, an employee of ours stole the test serum and made off. What’s happening at HU is the result of the serum,” she said maintaining a poker face.
“An employee stole the serum? An EMPLOYEE? Don’t screw with me Sharyn. Who was this employee?”
“Matthew Tait, he was one of the few scientists with the highest level clearance along with Mark,” she said her fingers trailing the circumference of a crystal glass resting on her desk.
“Where’s Mark?”
“He’s at HU. He’s alive don’t worry. For now at least.”
“I’ve seen the CCTV footage Sharyn. Those...things aren’t what was supposed to happen. Operation PANGEA-”
“I know very well what Operation PANGEA is Colonel. We made a deal to create a serum that would create......the perfect soldier. But regrettably, there were miscalculations.”
“Miscalculations? Because of your ‘miscalculation’, one of the most reputed institutions in the country has been turned into a quarantine zone. There is no way we can keep this underwraps forever!” he thundered. “I will have you rot in a prison cell for the rest of your life Dr. Sharyn Draxler.”
“It was never meant to leave the facility. We were betrayed by our own men. Perhaps at the behest of....someone I know,” her tone insinuating the obvious.
“I had nothing to do with this Sharyn. Your gross negligence and betrayal has led to this mess. I have reason to believe the whole of Hale City has been affected. YOU are responsible for this and nobody else!”
“Please be respectful while addressing the Director of the Biotechnological facility of the Harbinger Group,” Stefan said raising his voice.
Col. Mathers turned his gaze towards Stefan. His gaze was lethal. He took a step forward. Invading Stefan’s personal space he muttered “You best stay out of this boy. Or I’ll have something special for you,” his voice betraying nothing.
Stefan turned his gaze away, absolutely intimidated. Turning towards Sharyn he said, “That’s it. I’m pulling the plug on this operation. I never intended for innocents to get hurt. You, Draxler will answer to the good people of this nation,” he said pointing at her, eyebrows raised. “You’ll be coming with us now. You can either come with us peacefully or we will take you....by force.”
Sharyn dropped her poker face and said, “Alright. But I’m going to be escorted by my men. I don’t want to be shot in the back,” she sneered under her unamused gaze.
Col. Mathers pondered for a moment and then nodded.
Facing Stefan she said, “Please tell Lou to come collect me. Thank you Stefan.”
Colonel Mathers and Sharyn walked in front with his men bringing up the rear. They walked towards the elevator. The elevator doors opened and a rugged man stepped out.
“Lou’s here,” Sharyn said, a smirk spreading across her face.
Col. Mathers’ eyes darkened.
Lou wasn’t alone. He bought friends. Eight of them to be precise. Fully armed to the teeth. Lou and his men packed serious heat. They not only outnumbered the soldiers, they also outgunned them. The two sides pointed their weapons at each other. It became a standoff. Lou was a Caucasian with spiky blond her and a golden stubble. He wasn’t as large as the Colonel but was definitely younger and faster.
“Drop you weapons,” he said. His voice sounded like he had a bunch of sandpapers stuck in his throat.
“Kid, we’ve the bargaining chip. We have your boss,” Mathers said his voice confident.
“Not much of a bargaining chip when you are all dead huh? You are in the lion’s den. Think about it huh old timer?” he said standing toe to toe with Colonel Mathers. The two men stared into each other. “Your men downstairs have also been detained. So I suggest you boys drop your weapons huh?”
Col. Mathers weighed the situation for a moment.
He turned his head a notch towards his men and nodded. The soldiers lowered their weapons reluctantly and the Harbinger security personnel moved in to swiftly disarm them.
“You are making a mistake,” he said looking at Sharyn.
“Oh I’ve made mistakes. Not anymore,” she said stoically. “Thank you Lou.”
He nodded as he chewed gum and proceeded to confiscate Col. Mathers’ service weapon with a victorious grin. Lou and his men were dressed in all black, with bullet proof vests, high tech helmets, and the works. On the sleeve of their uniform bore the Harbinger Group’s stylized logo in silver, the same etched into the shiny metal door.
“Lou, seal the building. Nobody gets in or out without my permission.”
Lou nodded.
“You think you will get away with this? Killing hundreds of innocent civilians and holding army officers at gunpoint?” Col. Mathers said hoping to appeal to her conscience.
“Colonel. This was a deal between us. YOU came to us to develop a new serum to create enhanced soldiers, YOU. We were in the process of development when the serum was stolen. This was never supposed to happen.”
Col. Mathers chuckled sarcastically, “Those things look like enhanced soldiers to you? No wait, do they look anything like a human to you? What you have created are abominations! HU has become a black hole. It won’t be long before we are all sucked into oblivion.”
“It’s still localized to Hale City. It hasn’t spread outside yet. We can still contain the situation.”
“Contain what? Soon there will be nothing left to contain. The army will move in and it’s game over.”
“Do not fret Colonel, let us watch the proceedings together. See for yourself,” she said walking towards the conference hall again.
She paused in between and turned towards Stefan. “Where are we on sweeping everything under the rug?” she asked nonchalantly.
“It’s being taken care of as we speak,” Stefan said hot on her tail.
“Good.”
Meanwhile in the lower levels of the Harbinger facility, a security officer throws a frail looking man on to the ground.
“Sorry Dr. Harper, orders from above,” a security officer dressed in all black and face covered with balaclava said.
“Wait-wait! Please! I-I won’t tell anyone! Please!” he pleaded staring down the infinite blackness of the gun barrel.
“Yeah, you won’t be telling anyone, ever.”
Gunshot echoed through the room. Dr. Harper’s lifeless body slumped to the ground as the lead made a tunnel through his grey matter.
“It’s taken care of ma’am,” Stefan said, his index finger over his ear.
“What’s wrong with you Sharyn? You weren’t like this. What made you this...? What have you become?” Col. Mathers asked walking behind them.
‘Don’t bother Colonel. Your psychological angle won’t work on me,’ she said without looking back.
The white hallway leading up to the shiny door echoed with their footsteps as the Colonel was thinking his way out of this sticky situation. He never expected Sharyn to turn the tables in such a manner. It was unprecedented. The hunter became the hunted.
‘Welcome Dr.Draxler,’ the artificial voice said.
They entered the posh conference hall.
“Sit, Colonel,” Sharyn said pointing at a chair to her left.
“I think I’m fine standing,” he said, his voice betraying an edge of defiance.
She glanced at Lou meaningfully.
“Sit,” Lou said cocking his black pistol. It had a small green lights just above the grip on both sides.
Biometric, Col. Mathers thought to himself.
The Colonel despised his indignant attitude but observed that Lou was a seasoned warrior. In fact, all the Harbinger security personnel looked like they knew what they were doing. They weren’t the ordinary security that you’d find at most multinational corporation
s. They had all seen war and it was apparent in their discipline because the Colonel couldn’t find any openings he could exploit. The Colonels men were handcuffed with plastic cuffs and were made to kneel down with security personnel behind each soldier, in case they were to try anything funny. It looked more like a terrorist execution the Colonel thought. Taking it all in, the Colonel reluctantly sat in the chair.
Lou angled his pistol backwards and moved back to lean on the wall. Another silent victory for him.
Sharyn looked at Stefan and he understood her gaze. Working as her assistant made him adept in the ways of Dr. Sharyn Draxler. It also made him unforgivingly loyal.
“Oh before we begin, where is your right hand man? Was it Captain....”
“He had another duty to tend to I’m afraid,’ he said cutting her midway. ‘I’m surprised you remember my men.”
“Observation is what makes a good scientist Colonel,” she said pleased with herself.
The mammoth screen turned on and they saw live proceedings of the chaos.
“Apparently those things are being called gonerz,” she frowned.
“Gonerz?” he asked surprise finding him.
“Yes. We overheard it during a conversation amongst a group of survivors. It’s rather crude but oddly befitting.”
“The same survivors that entered the engineering block?”
“The very same. They’ve done quite well to survive. It’s quite impressive.”
Her reply irked the Colonel. He couldn’t imagine what the students must’ve been going through. This is a scenario nobody could’ve possibly prepared for. There were no contingents in place for such a situation.
This bitch! She’s using those kids as lab rats for her fucked up experiment. Goddamnit, she’s losing her mind. We got two problems now:
Dr. Sharyn Draxler’s facility
The Outbreak
It’s all up to Roland now.
‘Thinking of an escape plan Colonel?’ Sharyn asked, her eyes probing.
The Colonel remained silent. Sharyn retracted her gaze and pointed at the screen. A footage outside the auditorium showed students being butchered by the creatures. Everyone watched in silence. The footage changed to the street cameras outside HU. Some of the gonerz had found their way out of the campus and on to the unsuspecting folk of Hale. The footage revealed people running helter skelter in a mad frenzy to escape the gonerz. But it was too late; the number of gonerz kept increasing as the number of regulars plummeted. Some men and women took up arms but the gonerz had grown to a number where a few bullets meant almost nothing.
“Is there no way to save them?” Col. Mathers asked, eyes glued to the screen.
“We aren’t sure. We are working on it. But saving so many of them would be difficult,” she sighed.
He was disgusted with her cavalier attitude but she was right. It would be crazy to hold down those things and administer a cure. Maybe an aerosol cure?
“If nothing is done, the army will wipe Hale City off the map,” he said with a grim baritone.
She analyzed his words trying to pick out if there was a underlying threat hidden somewhere.
“Do your higher ups know of the situation?”
She remained silent and sucked in her lips. After a deep breath she said, “This was a deal between us Colonel, between you and the Harbinger Group’s Biotech division of which I am the Director. There’s no need to inform the higher ups,” her eyes giving nothing away. Not being able to decipher her facial expression the screen once again demanded the Colonel’s attention. The camera footage of the night the mechanical lab was bought down began to play on the screen. They watched the gonerz pound against the door incessantly. Fast forward to midnight, the gonerz step back and become silent, almost as if they were being spoken to. A thundering sinister growl blared through the speakers in the room catching everyone by surprise. All the gonerz suddenly turned their gaze towards the camera. Their abysmal eyes staring off into the defenceless camera lens. It made a few people uncomfortable. After all even trained soldiers have never faced something like this before.
The camera blacks out.
Everyone waited as if the footage would come back on somehow. It didn’t.
“What was that?” Col. Mathers asked uncomfortably.
Sharyn’s face remained unrelenting.
“A goner,” she said her hands crossed over her mouth.
“I don’t think so. Those things down there were gonerz. The thing that destroyed the camera is something else.”
The old fool is more perceptive than I thought. She looked at him through the corner of her eye.
“Now I’m not sure what that was that blacked out the camera. But it obviously seems to be something more powerful. It was able to disable a camera located on a pole meaning it isn’t dumb like the rest of the gonerz. The situation grows direr every second we waste.”
She listened carefully all the while her eyes were fixated to the screen. Her torso gently rocked back and forth against the soft backrest of the big chair, her hands still crossed over her mouth.
CHAPTER 6
Josh screamed as loudly as he possibly could. Everyone looked up instinctively. Their bodies moved on it’s own to counter what they saw looming above them. They split up, now facing each other with the goner in between. It screeched, the sound piercing their ears.
“It’s the same one,” Greg said staring at it.
“The one that killed Kiara?” Randy asked eyes flashing between Greg and the new enemy.
“Get away from it right now! It’s a crawler!” Westwood shouted. His eyes for the first time were flaring.
“A crawler?” asked Sean surprised.
“It’s the one that Greg described in the cafeteria. It’s exactly as he said. It’s opportunistic and cunning. It wouldn’t have attacked us if it saw an opportunity worth exploiting.”
“So that thing can actually think? For fucks sake,” Dana said wiping sweat off her forehead with her sleeve.
“How do you know so much, Professor?” Greg asked.
The professor remained mum.
The pale white crawler took a minute to observe them before scuttling off into the nearest shadow, assimilating itself masterfully into the darkness.
“It just vanished! Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Chester bellowed looking at the darkness on the ceiling.
It’s amazing how such a pale creature is able to blend itself so effortlessly into the darkness. Randy thought his flashlight probing the darkness. A sinister clacking sound echoed throughout the hallway.
“How can it just disappear!??” Joanne asked frantically looking about as if trying to locate the source of the sound.
They tried tracking it’s movement but it was for nought. The clacking sound echoing made it all the more difficult to locate it’s position.
The moon began to sink, it’s delicate light faintly illuminating the pitch black hall. The moonlight lit up a creature as vile and unforgiving as the crawler. It basked in the moonlight, not offering the slightest bit of resistance.
They saw it. Everyone got a good look at the crawler. Fluids dribbled down the side of it’s mouth. It was a small creature with slim limbs. It squatted with all it’s limbs on the ground. It had humane features but nothing about it was human. It looked like something straight out of Japanese horror lore. It clacked slowly and without warning it lunged forward on all fours, escaping the moonlight and once again into the darkness, towards them.
Hearts pounded as it approached them at a frightening speed. Randy’s torch caught the crawler and it protested at the intense light. He fired, not wasting a single microsecond. It managed to dodge the nails even at such close range escaping the light and climbing up the side of the hall.
“Throw some light at it!” Randy shouted his eyes peeled
Everyone took out their phones and used the flashlight feature to fire up the LED’s. Bright lights shone in the darkness causing the crawler to menacingly growl. A growl
that meant it wasn’t here to play.
“My battery’s low,” Dana gulped.
“Mine too,” Joanne said almost in whisper.
“It’s nearly sunrise. We’ve gotta wait it out till sunrise! Thirty minutes more!” Josh said checking the time on his phone.
“We won’t be able to hold it off for thirty minutes,” Chester scowled.
“It’s got the advantage. All our batteries are low. We’ll be out in the next ten minutes. And then lasting twenty minutes against that thing is ludicrous,” Sean added his face as grim as ever.
Greg didn’t utter a word. He was fixated on killing the crawler one way or another.
The crawler was clearly unimpressed with the light show. It screeched and growled in protest. It returned to the darkness.
“Think of something! Once the lights are gone, we will die!” Josh said with trembling lips.
Sean felt his body heating up. His muscles tensed at the possibility of meeting his end at the hands of the crawler. It was hard to imagine that it was also a goner.
Their flashlights began to flicker
“Fuck, we’re screwed,” Josh bit his lip.
Their phones began to turn off one after another. The shining rays of hope fizzled out. Randy sensed the growing sense of fear amongst everyone. The crawler which had retracted into the shadow growled again. But this time the growl was more nefarious. It slowly stepped out of the darkness it looked almost like it was grinning. It’s grinning visage sent shivers down their spine.
Randy freaked out and instinctively in a mix of fear and anger began firing at it. It dodged the nails all the while running towards them. It reached them. It jumped over Randy and on to Greg.
It was here to finish what it started.
Greg was prepared. The crawler ended up biting the wooden handle of the axe as Greg held it horizontally at chest level. It’s eyes stared deep into the blue sea. The blue sea began to be drawn towards the abyss again. Fear began to overwhelm him again. The darkness called out to him.
The Outbreak Page 8