Madman's Monster

by Michael Louis Weinberger

"True, but we only found one body, the rest of the village is empty. It's just a guess but I'm thinking that they had a warning of what was going to happen and evacuated. If we can find the rest of the villagers, then we'll probably find Zach as well."

  Silence fell over the radio for a minute before Larson responded, "Okay, it's worth a try. Hell, it's not like we have anything else to go on. Listen, that radio you're holding is also a GPS locator. Keep it on you so we can find you when you need us."

  "What's the range?" I asked.

  "Just under a mile. We'll keep a watch on the map and if it looks like you are moving out of range we'll drive the Jeep closer to keep you in range."

  "What about the hot zone?"

  I could hear Larson sigh before he answered, "You take your chances, and we’ll take ours. Over."

  I smiled, "Copy that."

  Chapter 48

  Lei rejoined us and wore a sad look on her face.

  "You take good care of her?" I asked.

  "She seems...at rest," Lei said softly.

  "Good," I said and put a satisfied sound in the word, "We owe her that much."

  Chris looked from Lei to me and back again before saying, "So what do we do now?"

  I turned and surveyed the village, "Best thing we can do now is to check the perimeter and see if there are any tracks leading away from the village."

  "Why?" Chris asked.

  "There were nearly a hundred people here and we only found one. Chances are they somehow caught wind of what was about to happen and took off. We need to find them."

  "There's a flaw with that, you know?"

  I turned to Chris, "Oh?"

  "Sure," he said sincerely, "If they were warned and everyone took off, then why didn't they take the old woman with them?"

  I shook my head. I had wondered that, but Lei spoke up, "She wouldn't leave."

  Chris and I both turned and looked at her, but Chris asked, "Why not?"

  Lei looked down at the ground as she spoke, "She lived here her whole life and, as wise as she was, it was the only home she knew. What they did here, whatever they loosed upon the area, would make it so she could never come home again. Somehow she knew that. Just as she knew she was too old to start over and call somewhere else home."

  "So she stayed behind and let the virus kill her?" Chris asked, shocked.

  "It was her choice, but it was also a sacrifice to show whoever discovered her what had happened here...assuming they could survive the virus."

  Chris protested, "But if she knew what was happening, and that she could never come home again, then she would have also known that no one would ever be able to find her. Anyone who came into the area would drop dead from the virus."

  "Unless she knew we would find her," I said softly.

  Chris turned to me, "You told her about us?"

  Again I shook my head, "No, but she just seemed to know things. She probably realized what was going to happen and made everyone leave. Stands to reason she would also know about us."

  "But how could she know any of that?" Chris' logical scientific mind was in flux.

  I turned to Chris and, without a trace of sarcasm or humor in my face I said, "She could talk to the spirits."

  Chris rolled his eyes and chuckled, then took in the seriousness on my face, "You're serious?"

  I shrugged, "That's what she told us. Who was I to argue?"

  Chris shook his head, "Jesus, Steve..."

  "Look, it doesn't matter why. What does matter is that the rest of the villagers are unaccounted for and there's a good chance that if they are alive, then so is Zach, and we need him to find the camp, right?"

  Chris and Lei both nodded.

  "So let's check the perimeter and see if there are any signs or tracks of a group of people leaving the village."

  The three of us spread out and began walking along various pathways within the village until we made our way to the outskirts of the huts. Almost immediately Lei called out, "Over here! Tracks, and a whole lot of them!"

  Chris and I jogged over to where Lei stood, but on my way over I found something as well.

  "I have tracks over here too!" I called out as I stopped to study what I was looking at before heading over to join Lei and Chris.

  When I arrived at their location I was surprised to see so many different footprints spreading out over a ten-foot span and heading into the jungle. The prints were definitely a human foot, some of which were barefoot while others were a solid flat shape indicative of the simple sandals and shoes that the villagers wore.

  "I'd say you found them," I said as I reached Lei and Chris, "Well their tracks anyway."

  "What'd you see?" Chris asked.

  I shook my head, "Much fewer tracks. Several people, but they were moving nearly in single file, practically stepping right on top of one another's footprints, and they were wearing modern shoes."

  "Modern shoes?" Chris asked.

  "Yeah, from the tread and depth of the prints I'm guessing a military style boot, and very recently too. I think we just missed them."

  "Think they were the ones who planted the bomb?"

  "Doubtful. Anyone who wanted to use such a device would want to deliver it from a missile most likely. My guess is that they were more than likely here to see if the device did its job."

  "They were ready to kill everyone in the village, just as a test to see if their damn bomb worked?" Lei's voice was angry, but she already knew the answer.

  Chris raised his eyebrows and whistled, "Wow, that’s brutal. So now we go after the villagers, see if your "boy" is among them, and hope he can take us to the camp where we can commence laying collective boot to ass?"

  I was nodding along with what Chris was saying and had to stifle a laugh as he finished. Damn, I had missed the guy.

  Lei immediately replied with an exuberant, "Goddamn right, you crazy mother-fucker!"

  I tried to interrupt the oncoming rant, "Okay, wait a minute."

  "What? What wait? We can't wait!" Chris was fairly bouncing up and down on his toes.

  "Chris..."

  "C'mon man, I'm pumped! Your uberbabe is tingling with anticipation, and she said the F-word while referring to me! We gotta go!"

  Chris' attitude was infectious and I desperately wanted to join in, which made what I was about to say even more difficult.

  "I'm not going with you two."

  That sobered them both up real quick.

  "Excuse me," Lei said angrily, "But what the hell do you mean you're not coming with us?"

  I nodded, "Yeah, I'm going to follow the tracks over there," I pointed back to the spot where I had found the extra set of tracks made by people wearing combat boots. "Who knows, they might lead right back to the camp."

  Chris protested, "Right, but that's what we’re doing following the villagers tracks, you said yourself, Zach is probably with them and he’s going to lead us where we need to go.

  "True enough," I agreed, "But I also said 'probably', and we still need another plan in case those tracks end up leading nowhere. The ones over there appear recent enough to follow clearly."

  "Then let's all follow them." Lei suggested.

  I shook my head, "It'd be better if we have two options, as opposed to only one."

  Lei crossed her arms in front of her and scowled at me, "So what you're telling me is that you are going to try to follow those tracks back to the camp solo, while I am supposed to find the people of this village with the walking hard-on over there." Lei inclined her head at Chris.

  Chris' head popped up at hearing her description of him, "Hey!"

  "It's the best approach," I said patiently, "You know that."

  Lei huffed, and her eyes drifted to the ground, "Maybe, but I don't have to like it."

  "Like it?" Chris interjected from somewhere in the distance, "C'mon, you know you love it!" then he started gyrating his pelvis at Lei, as if he were a Chippendale dancer.

  I had to stifle a laugh, but Lei, who initially went wide-eye
d with rage at the sight, ended up covering her mouth with her hand so Chris wouldn't see her smile at the spectacle.

  I put my hands on her shoulders, "If nothing else he'll definitely keep your spirits up. Besides, I can't let him go alone.

  Lei frowned, "But Alpha said he trained him personally, and he did fine at the hotel."

  I nodded, "He has the training, but none of the experience. I need you to make sure he's got the support he may need, just in case."

  I pulled her in close and kissed her hard on that pair of soft lips that I cherished to the core of my bones. In that moment my eyes closed and the whole world melted away around me leaving nothing but the sensation on my own lips and the pressure of her body against mine.

  When I broke the kiss Lei still had her eyes closed and I could see them dancing behind her eyelids. She breathed out a heavy breath and opened her eyes instantly peering into mine.

  "I love you," she said.

  "And I love you." I whispered back as I let my arms drop from her body.

  Lei turned and mumbled, "Goddamn right you do," as she began walking back to where Chris had finished his dance of love.

  I collected the gear that I had set on the ground and began walking the perimeter back to where I had found the tracks. When I reached the edge of the clearing I looked back just in time to see Lei and Chris disappear into their spot in the jungle. I waited and watched the jungle canopy where they went in for a moment, then turned and ran into the jungle following the tracks of the combat boots. Whoever had made them was an hour or two ahead of me, and there was a good chance they were already back at their camp getting ready to report their findings. I only hoped I could find them before they could move on to whatever their next step was going to be.

  Chapter 49

  Timberland closed the seal on the laboratory door, walked to where the doctor was sitting at his computer terminal, waiting while the doctor's fingers flew over the keyboard.

  Doctor Whelan didn't look up when he asked, "Is it done?"

  Timberland nodded, "It's done."

  "And were we successful?"

  Timberland shrugged his shoulders, "Sort of."

  Whelan frowned but didn't look up from his computer, "Sort of? What does sort of mean?"

  Timberland just shrugged his shoulders again, "It means that the device and the air dispersal system was effective in distributing the plague quickly and efficiently. Everyone in the village was exposed and died as a result. Also, the vaccine you gave to me and my men was efficient in protecting us as well."

  "I gathered that last part by the very fact that you are standing in front of me as opposed to having melted into an organic puddle of goo. So what's the 'sort of' in the equation?"

  "As I said it killed everyone in the village; however, it turns out there was only one person in the village when the device detonated."

  Now the doctor looked up in surprise, "Only one?"

  "I can't explain it. We watched that village for months and it was never empty like that."

  The doctor rolled his chair away from the desk and cupped one hand under his chin.

  "Could they have been warned?"

  Timberland pressed his lips together before saying, "By who? I only learned of the test a few minutes before you launched the drone. Did any other people have the prior knowledge, or time to get to the village, warn them and then initiate an evacuation that would take them out of the exposure zone?"

  The doctor shook his head, "The launch was spontaneous. I hadn't even anticipated that Pollard would want another test beyond what he saw the other day in the lab, and only Pollard and I knew the plan."

  "Could Pollard have warned them?"

  "He didn't have enough time, and even if he did, why would he when it was he who requested the test in the first place?"

  Timberland shook his head, "Well, explanations or no, it seems obvious that somehow they were warned."

  The doctor frowned, and his eyes darted around the room as if searching for the answer written on the white walls.

  "Well, that...is unnerving."

  Timberland watched him. It was the only time he could remember when the doctor didn't appear to be completely confident and in control. The "helter-skelter" rapid eye movements gave a visual picture to the insanity that Timberland had always thought resided in the man.

  Slowly, the doctor regained his composure and he calmed before saying, "It doesn't matter. We are so close to the end of this project that once the money arrives and the products are driven out of here we can finally leave this cesspool and rejoin the civilized world."

  Timberland chuckled, "Maybe you can."

  The doctor wheeled his chair around to face him, "Ah yes, you and yours will be moving on to the next assignment, correct? And what might that be exactly?"

  Timberland shrugged, "It will be wherever we're sent. Doesn't matter to me."

  "Doesn't it?" The doctor stood up from the chair and walked toward Timberland, "Aren't you tired of being a simple lackey for your master? He sends you and your...what did you call it? Ah right, your "pack" out here where you are in charge with total autonomy. Why is that exactly?"

  Timberland clenched his fists as the doctor peered into his eyes.

  "Is it because he has such absolute faith in you that he feels you need no checking or guidance?" The doctor waited for an answer, but when none came he continued, "I didn't think so. It's because you are one of the few who have any remaining sense of self control."

  Timberland's eyes shot from where he was looking to the doctor in surprise.

  "Oh yes, I know all about the 'condition' that you and yours live with. Frankly, I am surprised how well you all function as a unit, but then again, that's one of the traits that...'things' like you are supposed to be good at. That is, as long as there is a clear-cut leader within your little 'pack.' "

  A low growl emanated from deep within Timberland's core and his instincts were screaming for him to strike out at the source of his discomfort.

  The doctor could see he was agitating the mercenary and he smiled at the effect his words were having on him, "How does it feel to be a mere foot soldier? To be the one who does all the work and will never reap any of the benefits of your abilities?"

  The growl was still in his voice when Timberland answered, "We don't operate like that. What we do, we do for the benefit of our...family."

  The doctor smiled but also appeared unconvinced, "Really? And how have you benefited by putting your life on the line for your master?"

  Timberland was ready to explode and he hissed, "Not my...master!"

  "No? Then what exactly?" The doctor mockingly made a show of trying to think and then having an epiphany, "Oh! I remember now." The doctor's face screwed up in a mask of disgust as if the next words he would speak had a sour taste, "Your 'Alpha,' right?"

  Timberland could feel the emotions swirling inside him, forcing adrenaline into his limbs and readying him for the imminent kill.

  The doctor walked right up to him and patted him on top of his head a couple times before saying, "I understand your frustration. It would seem we both have a problem with our..."Alphas"."

  The inclusion statement caught Timberland so off guard that he actually let out a small yelp as his body reacted to the confusing information. He knew the doctor wasn't like him, didn't suffer from the same needs and drives as he did, but he did seem sincere as he had said those words. Timberland had an instinct that told him when someone was lying and he could tell the doctor wasn't lying now.

  "Alpha? You?" he managed to stammer as he fought to regain control of himself.

  The doctor had walked off a couple of steps, but turned at the question, "Oh yes, and a very different kind to be sure, but just as problematic in any case. You see, where your conflict stems from a superior...and I use that term as a reference only, in the case of mine, "Alpha" appears to be his title and he is a particularly mortal opponent."

  Timberland listened carefully now. his body had r
elaxed and his emotions were again under his control as he listened with interest to every word the doctor was saying. In the short time he had known the doctor he knew the man always had an agenda for whatever he was doing and Timberland knew that the man was going somewhere with this line of reasoning, but he wasn't sure what he was attempting to suggest.

  "So here we are, at the tail end of our particular mission together with no clear cut destination to follow afterward?"

  The doctor had phrased the sentence as a question and waited for Timberland to respond.

  Hesitantly Timberland said, "Right."

  "Of course I am, but I am thinking," the doctor swirled his hand in the air absently, "just wondering aloud if you will allow me the pleasure of doing so, that with you and yours having received the vaccination that keeps you immune to the little cocktail we have concocted here, it would be very easy for your particular 'Alpha' to find himself, and any others that might be ahead of you in the...'pack' exposed to a particularly nasty little virus."

  Timberland listened and when the idea was laid out before him his eyes went wide.

  The doctor continued, "Did you think your people would be in any way immune to my little creation without the vaccine?" The doctor didn't wait for an answer, "I think not and I think that this could easily clear the way for you to take your rightful place as the leader of your kind."

  Timberland's head was already spinning with the possibility when a thought occurred to him, "But all of the product was to be shipped to Pollard. It was part of your deal with him."

  "True, but I always keep a little for myself at the end of a deal. I wouldn't have been able to vaccinate you and yours if I hadn't kept some in reserve from my last endeavor."

  Timberland nodded, "But if Pollard finds out there'll be hell to pay. I don't want the kind of heat that man can bring to come down on me."

  "It won't."

  "Sure it will," Timberland said angrily, "If there is an outbreak with bodies found anywhere other than where Pollard decides to use the device, IF he decides to use the device, then he'll know we were involved."

  The doctor smiled, "Trust me my friend, I have a little surprise for Pollard and his people. They won't be an issue fifteen minutes after their money clears into my account."