by Anson Barber
“I am, but if you’re having a problem with a Haunt you’ll need to follow procedure. Contact someone at Homeland Security or the CDC to report it. Then they’ll dispatch someone to collect the person.”
He tilted his head, watching me. “Person?”
Oh great, he was one of those. “Yes! They are people. Just like you and me. It could have easily been one of us who ended up that way. They can’t help what they’ve become!” I began to get irritated, and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping my mood.
I think he cracked a smile. “No. I guess they can’t.”
I pulled out a card. “If you’ll excuse me, I really need to get to bed. Here’s the number for—”
He shook his head. “I’m not having a problem with a Haunt. That’s not why I’m here. I need you to get an infected person out of quarantine.”
“You want me to get someone out?” This wasn’t what I expected. “You don’t understand. I take people in.”
“No. I do understand. Who better to get someone back out?”
“Okay. Then it’s me who doesn’t understand.” I shook my head, weary from the long trip. “Why would you want someone out?” Given he worked for a research company, a few disturbing possibilities came to mind.
“She’s my daughter. Emery Mitchell.”
“Ah. Okay.” It made sense now. It wasn’t the first time I’d been asked this, just not by anyone in a three thousand dollar suit. “Look, I know it’s hard. I know you miss her, but honestly she’s safer in there for now. If she was out in the world and came in contact with one of those lunatics from the Sons of the Sun or another hate group, they might kill her. They are still working on a cure—”
He held out his hand emphatically. “That’s why we need to get her out.”
I looked at him, confused again. This would have gone a lot better if I could have slept first.
“She’s going to save the world. She’s a doctor—well a scientist. Both really.” He held out a picture of a pretty blonde with green eyes and a dimpled smile. She couldn’t have been much more than twenty when it was taken.
“She got her first PhD when she was twenty. She’s twenty-four now. She has her doctorate in genetic engineering and a number of other things. She’s brilliant. If anyone can fix this, she can.” He sounded convinced.
As soon as I took the photo from him, I had a sinking feeling I was trapped. I didn’t know why I would be willing to risk my job or be arrested for this rich guy and his smarty-pants daughter, but his voice was sincere when he said she would save the world and those green eyes went right through me.
I took a deep breath, trying to be objective. This was stupid. I handed him the picture back, not wanting it to sway my decision.
“Why don’t you just buy her way out?” I questioned.
“Believe me, I’ve tried. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Money only goes so far when it comes to national security. I have a guard on the inside who reports back information, but he’s unwilling to get involved beyond that. He attempted to tell her I was trying to get her out, but both times she’s attacked him. Not that she would believe him if he did get the chance to explain.”
“Why’s that?”
“She doesn’t know I’m alive. I lived in LA, but I was visiting a…friend in Palm Springs the evening of the first attack. My wife was home, however. She’s gone.”
“I see.” I didn’t need sleep to read between those lines.
“I tried to find Emery after the war. I thought she was dead as well, but by the time I found out she had survived as one of the infected it was too late. She was already detained.”
“Did she turn herself in?” Some had. They thought they would be first in line for the cure. Others got tricked, picked up when they showed up at a clinic for blood.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“How did she end up detained at the Outer Banks facility?” There was a private resort in the Keys for the rich and famous Haunts. Surely Mr. Limo here could have got her a great place.
“Her fiancé, Trevor convinced her it would be easier to find a cure working at OBX. That’s why she turned herself in. She was going to work at the cure from inside, while he was going to work at it on the outside. She had made some headway, but then the military got anxious about the infected working on something this important and she was pushed out into general population. Trevor lost contact with her and didn’t know what to do. He just gave up. He doesn’t believe she should be removed, however. He wants to do the right thing, but he doesn’t understand the right thing is different for a father.”
“I’m not a father either,” I pointed out.
“What about the right thing for the greater good? Forget that she’s my daughter. What if I told you she had the potential to save everyone if she were given the resources? Resources I can provide. Would you consider it?”
“But she is your daughter and your opinion is biased.”
“Please.” He wasn’t even close to giving up.
“Look. I know someone who works at the lab at the Outer Banks facility. I could talk to her and maybe she could find your daughter and let her help—” He was already shaking his head at my compromise.
“They won’t allow it, no matter how qualified she is. Security concerns. That’s why I haven’t had her moved to Hatteras or drawn any extra attention to her. It would only make it harder for her to get out. Emmie needs the lab I’ve set up in California.”
I walked over to the window, needing a moment if I had any hope of refusing him.
“Have you ever heard of Zentricol?” he asked.
“It’s a medicine.” I knew that much.
“Yes. It’s a medicine used for the cure of heart defects in babies.” That would explain why I didn’t know more about it. “Emmie designed it. Her work has already saved countless lives. How many people will die if she’s kept from this, Mr. McAllister? What if you could have prevented it, but you didn’t because she was related to me?”
This was the biggest guilt trip I’d had in a while. I sighed and rubbed my hand across my forehead.
For the greater good? One small female could come out of quarantine to save the rest? Could she do it? Could I risk it? I thought it over for a long minute. Then I realized I was way too tired for thinking that long, and went with my gut.
“A few conditions,” I finally said.
“Name it.”
“I stay on site to guard her while she’s out. She gets three months. If she doesn’t come up with something, she goes back and you try to get her clearance through proper channels again.”
“Agreed,” he said immediately, making me think he didn’t even hear my demands. Or maybe he did hear them and was just that confident. I hoped he had a reason to be. “I’ll pay you fifty thousand in advance and any expenses you incur. Another hundred thousand when she’s delivered to the safe house I’ve prepared. If she is unsuccessful, you can transport her back to North Carolina. If she succeeds, I’ll pay you another fifty thousand dollar bonus. Agreed?”
He had heard me loud and clear. He held out his hand and I shook it, hoping this wasn’t a huge mistake.
“What is her physical condition?” I took out a pad and started preparing notes.
“She was healthy before the invasion. She ran every day, worked out. She should still be in fair shape now. Trevor said she seemed better than most. She’s been in general population for almost six months, and though I understand she’s been beaten up a few times, according to the guard she’s okay. They heal very quickly, you know.”
Yeah, I knew. “Why has she been beaten up?”
“When my daughter has an opinion, she doesn’t mind sharing it with you. She also doesn’t take no for an answer.” He shook his head while I resisted the urge to tell him the stubborn apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree. He hadn’t taken no for an answer eith
er. “The guard says she can stay awake almost twelve hours, so she must be strong, right?”
“That’s a good indicator. Is this the most current photo you have of her?”
He nodded and handed it back to me. “Yes.”
“You know she won’t look like this when I find her. She’s going to be different. She might be dangerous, desperate,” I informed him.
“I’m prepared for whatever we need to do. I’ll make sure she has blood readily available.”
I nodded, feeling better knowing he had a good grasp of what to expect.
“I need to get some sleep and then I’ll start working on a plan tonight.”
“How long—”
I put up my hand to halt his question. “When I’m ready. I can’t just pick her up like a prom date. I’ll let you know. Don’t try to pressure me, it won’t work.”
“Do you think you’ll be taking her during the night or day?” His brow creased.
“I’m thinking after she goes to sleep. It will be easier for both of us. Generally, I try to be ready when they wake up so I can explain things right away.”
“That’s why I chose you. I’d heard you were more humane than the others. I knew you’d treat her like a person.”
“She is a person,” I answered as I’d answered Corey.
He nodded once again. “I only wish everyone agreed with you. Thank you, Mr. McAllister.”
“Call me Dillon.”
“Dillon. Thank you.” It looked like he was going to tear up. I showed him to the door. I did not need that right now. He handed me a card. “Here’s my personal number. No one, not even my assistants will know what you’re doing, so you’ll have to contact me directly with any questions. I’ll try to answer, but if I don’t leave a suitably vague message and I’ll call you back. Whatever you need to get this underway let me know.”
“I understand, Mr. Mitchell.”
“Please, call me Adam.”
Great. We were on a first name basis now.
He left me with fifty thousand dollars in cash in a nice thick envelope. Just like that. I could have run off with it and never even tried to locate his daughter. He also gave me a credit card that already had my name printed on it. “For expenses,” he’d instructed when I looked at it suspiciously.
I’m guessing he had checked me out pretty good and figured I would take the job.
Once his limo left I went straight to bed, barely able to kick my boots off before I fell asleep.
While I slept, I dreamed of Emery Mitchell. The girl in the photo.
I don’t know what it was, but something about her had hit deep. One hour and already I couldn’t get her out of my mind.
Her long blonde hair flowed in the breeze as she stood in the sun next to the ocean. She was wearing a sundress, and I could see the shape of her body through it.
She turned to me and smiled a happy genuine smile.
I started to walk toward her and she laughed. Nothing sinister, but there was a challenge in it.
“You think you can save them? You think you can save me?” She laughed again as her eyes turned black. Her skin peeled back and thick black fluid began to cover her entire body.
I yelled out as I woke up, sweating and panting. This was different than my usual nightmare.
It took a while for my brain to release that image, but eventually I fell back into a peaceful sleep.
The next day I called Ray when I was properly rested. My brain had been working things out while I slept.
The guard had told Mr. Mitchell that his daughter was living in Nags Head. I would need to bring in another Haunt and use that as my way in, taking Emery with me when I left.
“Who do you have?” I asked when Ray answered.
“I thought you were taking a break, or maybe you were taking a side job?” he insinuated.
“I took a break. I didn’t take the side job though thank you very much for giving out private information about me,” I scolded.
He laughed unashamedly. “The guy paid me a thousand dollars to tell him who my most humane, efficient hunter was. You wouldn’t have taken it?” he challenged.
“Easy money.” I laughed. Ray was all about easy money. His job as a dispatcher kept him out of the action while getting a cut of our share for his “organizational skills”. He would sell out his own mother for easy money.
“Who do you have?” I asked again.
“I have one in Ohio.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know the details really. All I know is there is a Haunt draining livestock.”
“Livestock?”
“Yeah. It drained three beef cattle and a llama.”
“A llama?” I laughed. “Are you messing with me?”
“No. An honest to God llama,” he said.
“Huh. That’s a lot of blood for one person. You’re sure it’s just one?”
“Don’t have any visuals. There is an abandoned chemical plant nearby. We think it’s living there. I actually sent Bobby Sims out on it a couple weeks ago. He reported finding a guy there, but he told me the man fell down into a pit and he couldn’t get him out for the report. When people started calling again with complaints I called him to go back, but I haven’t heard anything. He’s probably on another bender. You know Bobby.”
“Yeah.” I did. The last time I’d seen him it was apparent the job was starting to take its toll. He went on a week-long bender just about every time he got paid. “Is Ronald available if there’s more than one and I need back up?”
“I had to let him go. He was bringing in more dead ones than alive. I think he was letting his politics affect his job.”
When had that happened? I’d thought Ronald was one of the good ones. “I see.”
“Check it out during the day. If you find more than you can carry, call me back and I’ll contact someone else in the area. Maybe I can track down Bobby by then.”
“All right.”
I mapped out my trip to Ohio, thinking about Emery as I drove. I made good time and was ready to get my plan under way.
Looking back on that evening, I realized I’d become lax. I could have gotten there earlier in the afternoon so I would have had plenty of daylight to check things over before the sun set. But for months I had been pulling in at the last minute, nabbing the Haunt without any problem.
Not this time.
Chapter Five
I arrived at the deserted chemical plant at six-thirty. It was located in an old industrial park on the outskirts of town. There was a farm across the field, most likely with one less llama.
Any Haunt out there would still be sleeping, but the early March sun was only inches away from the horizon.
The entire plant was surrounded by a twelve foot high fence with three strands of barbed wire angled outward to keep trespassers from climbing over. The large gate, however, was wide open.
I parked the van inside the gate and put on my gear. Ohio was still chilly, so I put on a hoodie. Then my tactical vest, my headlamp and my flashlights.
There was a massive metal building to the side of the gate with large bay doors hanging open on broken frames. Fresh tire tracks in the dusty gravel leading to that building made it seem like a good place to start.
I turned on my headlamp. It was still light, but the cavernous building was dark inside. I could feel the drop in temperature as I entered.
Even with the light, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. A lot of broken, rusty equipment was pushed to one side. The other was fairly clear. Not that much would have been on this side of the building, what with the gigantic hole in the concrete floor.
It looked like maybe it was a sinkhole. About twelve feet across and so deep I couldn’t see the bottom. The cement had collapsed in large chunks, some of which still clung to the side of the hole from th
e rebar.
This must have been the pit Bobby had mentioned. When I turned to go back, my light caught a glimpse of something bright green. Lime green to be exact. I would have known that color anywhere because I was the one who had painted it.
I walked closer to the edge of junk pile to find Bobby’s truck parked behind a conveyor system. Bobby loved this truck, green with black flames licking up the sides. I was shocked to see it covered in so much dust.
I pulled my sleeve down over my palm and used it to wipe the grime from the driver’s window. Even at five-eleven, the suspension was so high I had to stand on my tiptoes to see in the side window.
Bobby was asleep on the seat with an empty whiskey bottle on the floor.
“Damn it, Bobby!” I muttered and pounded on the glass. Nothing. He didn’t stir, but I could see him moving up and down with his breathing.
I tried the door handle but it was locked. I could see the slider in the back window was open slightly so I climbed up in the bed of the truck, planning to reach through the window to shake him awake.
The safe box in the back of Bobby’s truck was hanging open, the hinges broken. There was a large man lying inside. I jumped back when the light from my headlamp landed on him. I wasn’t expecting that.
“Great job, Bobby,” I said, irritated. “Leave him unsecured while you’re passed out drunk. Oh, don’t get up. I’ll take care of it!” I huffed as I went back for my van, driving it up alongside the truck.
I moved the Haunt over to my van and secured him in the back, wondering what the hell had happened to the hinges on Bobby’s ride. This guy sure hadn’t done that kind of damage. With all that dust, maybe he rolled the truck? Regardless I needed a body to take back to OBX if I was going to get the good doctor out, and as the old saying went, you snooze you lose.