Kate raised a hand. The officer narrowed in on her and waved her forward. “Would you please explain your theory?”
Making her way through the crowd, Kate grabbed the mic.
“I’m Doctor Kate Lovato with the Centers for Disease Control,” she said in a low, apprehensive voice. “I understand that we aren’t all scientists in this room so I am going to explain this in the simplest way I can. The Hemorrhage virus was lab engineered. It’s the marriage of a chemical weapon called VX-99 and the Ebola virus. The infection sweeping the country is a result of the worst of man and the worst of Mother Nature. Those people outside,” she pointed toward the door, “they aren’t people anymore. I know this is hard to accept because I had to accept this myself when my brother turned into one of them. Those things are monsters. There is no cure. There is no bringing them back. The changes caused by VX-99 are irreversible epigenetic changes. The only way to stop this virus is…”
Kate lowered the mic and scanned the room. She found Beckham and he offered her a reassuring nod, adding a smile when he saw her lift the mic to her mouth again.
“The only way to stop this virus is to kill the infected. That’s what my staff and I are working on. A bioweapon that will destroy the host.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Jensen said. He placed a hand on her shoulder and then took the mic.
“As you can see, we are doing everything we can to stop the outbreak. We have the most capable scientists in the world on the island and the communication cloak has been lifted, so I will keep everyone updated as we receive information.”
Jensen’s words struck a chord inside Beckham. They may have shared a moment back in Gibson’s office, but his gut told him not to trust the man. Not yet. He could have been kept in the dark about Gibson’s work, or he could have been involved. If Beckham found out the latter he was going to make sure Jensen paid the same price as his CO.
Still, Beckham couldn’t help but see a decent man standing at the front of the room, a leader that the men and women of Plum Island so desperately needed. Only time would tell if Jensen lived up to his word.
Finding a cure for most diseases would take months, if not longer, but designing an experimental weapon had only taken Kate five hours. Understanding the Hemorrhage virus had allowed her to design a synthesized virus of her own that she hoped would attack the endothelial cells and cause massive vascular damage to anyone infected with the Hemorrhage virus.
Her synthesized virus would only target the cells that were expressed in the proteins they had identified in the infected. Anyone exposed to the weapon that wasn’t infected with the Hemorrhage virus would remain healthy.
Kate sucked in a breath of cold, filtered oxygen and looked toward Ellis. He stood in his space suit a few feet away, hovering over a dozen samples of infected cell cultures.
“You ready?” Ellis asked.
“When you are,” Kate replied.
“Let’s see if it works.”
Holding her breath, Kate used a transfer pipette to insert the synthesized virus she’d designed into the cultures. After allowing the virus to incubate for several minutes with the cells, she performed the fixation procedure to prevent the sample from deteriorating and to stabilize it for microscopic analysis under the intense beams of an electron microscope.
Each minute spent waiting for the samples to become fully fixed was agonizing. With her heart racing, she took one of the trays and inserted it under the microscope and joined Ellis at the main computer terminal.
Blinking rapidly, she studied the spaghetti string images of the virus on her screen. The small glycoprotein spikes that surrounded the virus strands were now attaching to the endothelial cells!
“I’ll be damned,” Ellis said.
Kate looked beyond the computer monitor, staring intensely at the robotic arm inside the center room. It was waiting for her command.
All she had to do was type in a series of codes and the bot would go to work, creating the synthesized virus and preparing it for use on the boy that Beckham and his men had brought back from Niantic. If she authorized this, they could potentially have a working weapon by morning. Of course there would be more tests, but the building blocks would be in place.
Kate’s fingers hovered over the keyboard as she reflected on the ramifications of her next move. This was humanity’s final and most desperate attempt to prevent extinction.
As her mind drifted, her heart rate increased. She could feel the pulse in her head, the sound echoing inside her helmet.
She thought suddenly of Javier, and the monster he had become. He was out there somewhere, hunting with the rest of the infected. She couldn’t bear to think of her brother like that.
A beat passed and she saw Michael gripping his shredded arm in the Blackhawk. She could see those final moments clearly now—she could see the fear radiating from his eyes as he took Beckham’s pistol and jumped out of the Blackhawk. His last act reflected how he’d lived his life.
Courageously.
Drawing on his strength, Kate blinked and took in a long breath. Holding it in her lungs, she punched in a series of commands that authorized the robot to finish what she had started. The automated process would take hours, maybe longer, but in the morning they would know whether her weapon would work.
A blank cursor blinked on her screen. The computer was prompting her to name the weapon. Without hesitation she typed in a single word.
VariantX9H9.
-22-
April 26th, 2015
DAY 9
The loud knocking startled Kate awake.
Cracking an eye, she looked at her wristwatch.
Shit!
She’d fallen asleep inside the office at the lab facility. Rubbing her eyes, she sprang out of the leather chair and rushed over to the door.
Ellis and Cindy waited in the hallway. Even though she was groggy she could see they both wore excited looks.
“What’s going on?” Kate asked. “Did you find something?”
Ellis handed Kate a coffee. “You’re going to need this.”
“Why?” Kate replied.
“Jensen’s technicians are preparing one of the infected for testing. Let’s go,” Ellis said.
Kate paused. She hadn’t authorized that, but she should have known they wouldn’t wait for her.
“Okay, show me,” Kate said. She took the lead and hurried down the hallway.
Ellis rushed after her, speaking as he walked. “Think this is going to work?”
“I hope so,” Kate replied. She paused in the middle of the corridor, suddenly remembering her request. “Did you test VariantX9H9 on a healthy batch of Rhesus monkeys?”
Ellis nodded enthusiastically. “Yup. No side effects. Since the VX-99 radically changes the proteins expressed on the cell surface, the synthesized virus only affects the endothelial cells of animals or people who are infected with the Hemorrhage virus.”
Kate breathed a sigh of relief and continued on.
The isolation chamber looked more heavily guarded than usual. Even from a distance Kate could see several soldiers pacing outside the white domed building. Some of them stopped to salute Jensen and Smith as they guided Kate and her team across the concrete walkway.
Kate shielded her eyes against the blinding morning sunlight and scanned the base. “Can one of your men radio Master Sergeant Beckham and his team? I’d like him to be present for the tests.”
Jensen looked confused, studying her for a moment. He turned to Smith.
“Major, can you see to Doctor Lovato's request?”
Kate wasn’t sure exactly why she wanted Beckham with her when the tests were conducted, but part of her felt safer with him by her side. And if anyone deserved to see the results of her efforts, it was the man who had risked his life to make the test possible.
Inside, Jensen led them past several isolation rooms. Kate remembered them from before, but this time they weren’t dark. This time bright LEDs illuminated the white padded rooms.
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Halting, Kate moved up to one of the thick oval windows.
“I wouldn’t get too close,” Smith said.
A humanoid face suddenly smashed into the glass. Kate grabbed her chest and gasped, stumbling backward.
“Told you,” Smith said with a nervous chuckle.
Kate sucked in several large gasps in an attempt to catch her breath. Slowly, she regained her composure. With clenched teeth she turned back to the window.
The infected boy flicked the glass with a swollen tongue. Vertical, yellow pupils contracted, back and forth as the creature tried to focus.
“I told you not to get too close,” Smith said.
Kate shot the officer an angry glare and then cautiously walked up to the next steel door.
The victim, a man in his mid-thirties or forties, blinked rapidly as she approached. A beard of crusty blood surrounded his sucker lips. Fresh blood oozed from his eyes and nose. He snarled, revealing a mouthful of sharp yellow teeth.
In one swift motion he lurched forward, clamping down on the glass and then pulling away. He roared with anger, pounding the pane with hands distorted into claws.
Kate stepped back and scanned the hallway. Dozens of doors lined the corridor, all brightly lit.
“How many are there?” Kate choked.
Jensen put his hand on his hips. “Colonel Gibson requested as many as we could capture. Beckham's wasn't the only team that went out. We currently have a total of twenty infected on the island, but don’t worry, these rooms were designed to hold—”
A terrifying scream cut him off.
Inside the cell, the man was spearing his head into the glass. The noise echoed down the hall, prompting more of the prisoners to pound on their doors.
Kate cupped her ears.
“You sure it’s safe?” Ellis asked.
Jensen frowned and said, “Yeah.” He suddenly looked unsure.
By the time they reached the end of the corridor, the entire hallway was alive with the croaking and shrieks. Like the infected rhesus monkeys, the human creatures had broken into a mad frenzy.
“Why aren’t these people restrained?” Ellis asked.
“We've had problems keeping them restrained,” Smith replied. “They can easily slip and twist out of straitjackets.” He stopped outside the door to the main isolation room and waved his keycard over the security panel. It chirped and the doors slid open.
“This is Patient 14,” Jensen said as they entered in single file.
Kate walked into the observation room in shock, her eyes glued to an infected woman in the holding area behind the wall of thick glass. The girl looked no older than a teenager, maybe fifteen or sixteen. It was hard to tell. The virus aged the host considerably. She lay on the ground, curled up in a fetal position. When she sensed their presence the girl suddenly sat up, her head tilting and nose sniffing the air like a wild animal. Blinking, her eyes darted from Kate to the others.
The bright LEDs revealed fresh wounds on the girl’s arms. Bite marks and deep gouges lined her right bicep.
Kate approached the glass with her hand covering her mouth, her heart throbbing. The effects of the Hemorrhage virus were the most awful she’d ever seen. The symptoms took her breath away.
Reaching for the observation window, Kate pressed her fingers against the cold surface. Patient 14 rotated her head on her neck, pivoting her chin from left to right and scanning the men behind Kate. Then she tilted her head and snarled, bending and jerking until she was on all fours.
In the blink of an eye, the girl jumped to her feet and launched her body toward the glass. She landed with her hands and feet twisted into claws and quickly skittered across the panel like a spider moving across a wall.
“Damn,” Smith said. “Never seen one of them do that.”
“I have,” came a voice from the doorway.
Kate spun to see Beckham standing there, his eyes locked on the girl behind her.
“Saw the entire side of a building crawling with those things,” he said coldly. “They move like insects.” He jerked his chin toward the window. “Check her hands and feet. The only good thing about how they move is you can hear them coming.”
“Disgusting,” Smith said. “The sooner we get VariantX9H9 deployed the better.”
Jensen stepped up to the glass. The girl jumped away and landed a few feet away on the floor, her back hunched and teeth snarling.
The soldier flinched.
“I was told to report to the isolation chamber,” Beckham said.
Kate nodded. “I wanted you here for this.”
“For what?” Beckham replied. He walked past Cindy and Ellis, who were too focused watching the girl to acknowledge him.
“I’ve completed my work,” Kate said. “I’ve created a bioweapon of my own.”
Beckham’s eyes lit up. He looked back at Patient 14. She slowly crawled across the ground, her back still hunched like a lion waiting to pounce on prey. Blood trickled from her face onto the white tile floor.
Jensen punched a red button on a control panel. White gas hissed from vents in the ceiling. The girl screeched and clawed at the chemical cloud.
“What’s that?” Beckham asked.
“They are putting her out,” Kate replied.
Within seconds Patient 14 slumped to the ground, falling asleep peacefully. A trio of technicians moved into the room. They wore space suits modified with combat armor. They looked more like a SWAT team than scientists.
“Can’t take too many precautions,” Smith said when he saw Kate’s reaction.
After restraining the girl, the technicians placed her on a metal table in the center of the room. One of them bent down and pulled a curtain of hair away from her face. Yellow slits stared up at the ceiling. The man held a syringe in the other hand and quickly pushed the needle into one of the blue veins bulging from the girls forearm.
The entire team rushed back to the exit as soon as the engineered virus was inserted. None of them looked back. They moved quickly, anxious to get out of the room.
“What happens now?” Beckham asked. He moved closer to Kate. His shoulder brushed against hers.
“We wait,” Ellis said. Running a hand through his neatly combed hair, he cautiously approached the observation glass for a better look.
Kate could hear the doomsday clock ticking again and thought of her parents in Europe. Every minute that passed was another minute the infection spread outside Plum Island.
Behind her, the ruckus from the other holding cells echoed in the hallway. The victims were suddenly active again, beating on the doors and walls. Their enraged screams were louder. They sounded desperate.
It reminded her of something she’d seen in the forest years ago when her team was searching for the western lowland gorilla in Cameroon. The journey had taken them into a very remote area, but when they had finally located the group, they weren’t able to get close due to the gorillas' violent behavior. She could still remember their panicked cries. They sounded…
Primal.
Kate couldn’t help but wonder if the same thing was happening in front of her and if the infected patients knew the girl had been given a dose of the synthesized VariantX9H9 bioweapon. She shook the thought away. That was impossible, but then again, this all seemed so impossible.
She waited there for two hours, watching Patient 14 twitch and kick. The technicians reentered the room sporadically to check on her, sweeping flashlights over her body. Another one entered vigilantly, shining his light over the girl. Then he bent down and illuminated a flow of blackish blood dripping into a puddle under the metal table. The technician stood and moved the light over the thin white blanket covering her chest. The cloth moved up and down slowly as blood gurgled from the girl’s bulging lips.
Kate’s stomach rolled at the sight. The virus was once again attacking the endothelial cells and causing massive internal bleeding, and it was doing so very fast.
A few minutes later Patient 14 took her last breaths.
One of the technicians gave a thumbs up. A wave of nausea hit Kate like a freight train. She felt lightheaded. Stumbling, she reached for the glass to brace herself. She knew exactly what she’d done. She’d created a weapon that would kill millions of people infected with the Hemorrhage virus.
No.
Billions.
-23-
1 Week Later
May 2nd, 2015
DAY 16
Jensen chomped furiously on a stick of bubble gum. He’d run out of chewing tobacco earlier that morning and without it he was starting to get the sweats. What shitty timing, he thought as he looked out the observation deck window.
Somewhere out there, hundreds of aircraft were preparing to embark on Operation Depletion—the mission that would take back the United States.
The interim U.S. President had authorized the mission after new CDC Director Jed Frank explained Dr. Lovato's weaponized virus would kill everyone infected with X9H9. Any survivors inside the cities that came into contact with the bioweapon would see no side effects. Tests on rhesus monkeys had proven she was right. The new President didn’t need convincing. He was desperate, and he was willing to sacrifice many to save a few.
In less than a week, what was left of the military had organized a massive counter strike. Plum Island coordinated the manufacturing of the weapon with two secure facilities across the country. Together they had produced enough VariantX9H9 to deploy in every major metropolitan area. The technology that had manufactured the bioweapon wasn’t supposed to exist, but neither was the secret weapons program at Building 8.
Jensen wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, but he was told that the manufacturing process was modeled after a rapid production system in place for the synthetic influenza vaccines developed in 2013 and early 2014. Plum Island had been built with a manufacturing and distribution center based on this automated process. The result was a rapid development and production of VariantX9H9 that was highly lethal over a significant area.
They were just beginning the coordination with allied nations, but the main focus was on American soil. Rid the cities of the infected and send in the troops to clean up the rest. It was going to be messy, and he doubted there were many survivors left to save.
Extinction Horizon (The Extinction Cycle Book 1) Page 26