by Jamie Davis
“And no one survived, but you?“
“That is correct. For some reason, I am immune to the effects of this disease. I believe it may have something to do with my unique biracial heritage. I am the product of both human and Elven parents, as you might have already surmised.”
Kurt watched as the video played through several sequences showing the infected members of the team attacking facility staff until security forces arrived to take them down. They were at least as fast as a normal human, which Kurt found terrifying.
Some of the zombie viruses discovered through portals created zombies that were slow moving and lethargic. This was apparently not the case with these creatures and this particular plague.
“How long ago was this?”
“This was just over 10 months ago. Since that time an entire team of specialists and I from the CDC have been working tirelessly to find a cure. We’ve finally isolated an antidote necessary to formulate a medical solution. That is where you come in.”
“So you want me to deliver a vaccine to the remaining survivors on this other world. ?” Kurt shook his head. “Why don’t you just send a standard military team through. My special ops squad handled several situations similar to this when I was still on active duty.”
“It’s not that simple.” Doctor Nboto tapped her wrist computer again, canceling the video stream and brought up the image of a document. Kurt scanned the image. It was some sort of proclamation with all kinds of flourishes, a gold seal, and even a red and black ribbon hanging down from the corner.
“What is that?” Kurt asked.
“That is the charter the corporation signed with the Federal authorities granting them full and exclusive access to the world on the other side of this particular portal. Part of that charter includes a requirement that the company manages all threats on their own. They are forbidden from asking for direct Federal military aid. The charter states that if the company finds they are unable to contain any situation on their own, Federal authorities will close off the gate permanently.”
Kurt winced. It took a whole hell of a lot to shut a gate forever. Not only did it require the resources of a large group of very powerful mages, but also the use of a fusion bomb, detonated on the far side of the gateway as it’s closed. This prevents it from ever being opened again.
“So, this mysterious corporation has to take care of their own mess and they’re looking to hire me to help them out of a jam. Now I understand why they’re willing to pay whatever it takes to pay off my blood debt with the Hell’s Gaters. Even at what that will probably cost, it’s cheaper than what they would end up losing if the Feds stepped in and shut the gate.”
Dr. Nboto nodded. “Exactly. The corporation cannot risk losing the investment they’ve expended on the other side. The other world’s uninhabited except for our homesteaders and its natural resources are virtually untapped. It is the company’s hope they will eventually be able to mobilize and harvest some of those resources for use here on Earth Prime.”
“So if Federal resources are not to be tasked for this particular situation,” Kurt asked.“ What are you doing here and why was I brought here and not to the company headquarters?”
“The CDC plague clause in the charter requires us to assess the practicality of containment and advise Federal authorities on whether or not to enact the final option for this world despite the company’s report. I am the person who has to decide if the antidote will work and whether or not we cut all those people off on the other side.”
Kurt nodded. “I’m sure that’s a tough decision to make. I presume if my mission fails, the final option is the only option, correct?”
Dr. Nboto smiled. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. So, Mr. Carter, how long will it take you to gather what you need to help transport the cure for this illness to the settlers’ lab on the far side of the gateway?”
Kurt considered a question for a few seconds before answering. “It’s going to take at least three or four other people and me to make the transfer safely. All of them will need to be operators of a high caliber.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means former special ops, proven magic users, or both. It means people who I know can handle themselves in a standup fight.”
“I can help you with some of that. The corporation will be sending a representative of their own along and it is my understanding he has some military background and will be bringing a member of their in-house security team with them to accompany you on the journey.”
“That’s fine if they know what they’re doing. I’ll take it for granted that the corporate security guy can handle himself, but I won’t know what to expect from this other dude.”
“That will have to be on him. It’s a requirement that he comes along.”
“All right, then it’s me, my partner, the corporate guy and his security goon. That makes four. I want to keep the team small enough that we can slip through most areas undetected. I think in this situation, given the speed with which these infected individuals move, we will need to try to avoid contact as much as possible, since breaking contact once engaged will be difficult.” Kurt leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, running through a few additional variables in his mind as he considered what else they needed on this journey. “You said something about travel on foot. Aren’t there vehicles we can take through and use on the other side?”
Dr. Nboto shook her head. “This particular gateway is too narrow to take anything through larger than a motorcycle. Given the lack of resources to charge up or resupply a motorcycle on the far side, it was determined that travel on foot was the most reasonable solution.“
“That makes sense, though I don’t like it. All right, I’m going to need two or three days to gather what supplies are necessary for the journey. I’ll send along a list of recommended kit for the corporate guy and his security officer. That should make sure we are all equipped appropriately for this journey. Where shall we meet up and where do we get the antidote for the lab on the far side?”
“The gateway is located in a wooded area on a farm outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It’s about one-hour travel west from the city. I will make sure you have the coordinates. I recommend we meet at the location itself. The company purchased the farm and there are places there to safely park your vehicle. The corporation has built a small facility around at the gateway to facilitate transfer back-and-forth.”
“Very well then,” Kurt said as he stood. “I’ll get out of your hair. Hopefully, when I get back, I’ll be able to give you a positive report on what we were able to accomplish.”
Dr. Nboto shook her head. “I don’t think you understand. I am the CDC liaison on this mission and the primary researcher on the vaccine project. I’m going along.”
Kurt stood there, his mouth open in shock at what she said. It took him a moment to gather his wits enough to answer her. “I don’t think you understand Dr. Nboto —”
“Don’t tell me I don’t understand. I’ve already been through that gate and survived the journey there and back again. I know exactly what we’re facing. Let’s put it this way. It’s vital that I come with you. We’ll leave it at that. I suggest you go and do what you need to do to prepare. We will meet at the coordinates I just sent you in three days. We’ll travel through the gateway on the morning of the fourth day.”
Kurt searched his mind for his reply that would convince her this was not the place for a woman who had to be at least eight months pregnant. He couldn’t find one. Ultimately she was the boss. He decided to let it lie.
One thing was certain. This was going to add a certain level of difficulty to the job. But then, what else was new?
Chapter 5
Kurt left the Federal building and crossed the street to where his car was parked. A million questions were rolling through his brain and the first of them was why the hell Trent hadn’t given him a heads up about Shareen’s involvement? Hell, why hadn’t he given a clue
he was headed towards the Federal building?
Kurt keyed his comm chip. He’d ask Trent directly. He pulled up his contacts on his wrist comp and selected Trent from the menu and waited for the connection to go through.
“You’ve got Trent,” the voice on the other end said.
“Trent, buddy, I have a few questions for you.”
Trent chuckled on the other end of the line. “Didn’t like the little trick I played on you?”
“Why didn’t you tell me where I was going or who’d contacted you?”
“I figured you knew that address was the Federal building. I was hoping that Shareen’s presence caught you by surprise, though.”
“Oh, it was a surprise all right. Look, why didn’t you tell me what this job entailed?”
“Honestly, buddy, I didn’t know what was involved myself. I only knew it was a high-paying gig that might help you get out from under some of the trouble you’re in.”
“Well, they did offer to pay off the blood debt to the Hell’s Gaters.”
Trent gave a low whistle on the other end of the line. “Wow, that much? That’s a good thing, right?”
“It is, but did you know this job was a zombie run?”
”A zombie run? I didn’t know there were any outbreaks reported recently. I thought we’d contained all the infected gates a long time ago.”
“Nope, this particular one must have had a dormant virus or something. Several hundred thousand homesteaders traveled through and have been set up on the other side for the last 10 years only to have the infection break out a year ago.”
“Geez,” Trent said. “That’s got to be horrible. I mean you take your whole family through and set up on the world as a brand new settler. Then you find out the only reason it’s got no people already is because of a dormant zombie apocalypse? That sucks.”
“Yeah, well I took the job, but now I’m going to need some gear to make sure I can pull it off. The CDC has some sort of a cure figured out, but they need me to take it through to a settlement that’s about two weeks travel on the other side of the portal. Do you know if Jonesey has any openings in her schedule?”
“I’ll see what I can do. Hey, maybe you can leave Marci out of this one?”
“Honestly, Trent, I was hoping to have her along. Usually, I don’t like her willingness to shoot first and ask questions later, but in this particular situation her trigger-happy tendencies will probably come in handy.”
Trent was silent on the other end for a long time and Kurt knew he was weighing the risks of involving his daughter in this project. Kurt didn’t want to press the issue. He'd grown to trust having Marci at his side, however, and he genuinely thought he was likely to need her on this job.
“Look, Trent, you know I won’t let anything happen to her. You also know if she finds out you sent me on this job and didn’t let her in on it that she is going to be super pissed at you, especially if I don’t come back for some reason.”
“Fine, I’ll pass the info along to her. Hopefully, she’s already busy with something else.”
“Fair enough. I’m going to head back to my apartment and start putting some things together. Let me know when you get a hold of Jonesey and when she can make room for me in her schedule. We are leaving in three days.”
“I’ll let you know. Trent out.”
Kurt got in his car and pulled out of the parking garage, heading back uptown to his apartment. There was a lot he had to pull together for this job. First and foremost, he had a decision to make about whether or not he was going to carry a firearm on this one or not. It’d been a long time since he'd carried a gun on one of his missions. He didn’t like killing, even killing someone who was already technically dead. He’d seen too much blood, destruction, and death when he was in the service. This was something he was going to have to think on a little bit before he made up his mind.
By the time Kurt got back to his apartment and he’d driven around the block to made sure it was safe to go inside, Trent had texted him a message with a time the following day to meet up with Jonesey. The Elven tech mage was a literal wizard at coming up with unique solutions for these delivery missions. He was hoping she came up with something good on this one because he figured he was going to need all the help he could get.
Kurt headed upstairs to his bedroom and opened the closet door. Walking to the back, he pressed his palm against the floor-length mirror there. A chime sounded as his palm was scanned and his DNA sampled. The panel behind the mirror popped open and Kurt pulled out his go bag. His special ops training stuck and he kept this packed for those missions that came up last minute requiring him to leave on short notice.
He knew he’d probably be taking everything packed in the bag but it didn’t hurt to go through and double check to make sure there might not be something else he could bring along. This mission was going to be a major back-country trek and they were going to need to bring enough supplies for two weeks at a minimum. That kind of packing was going to be problematic.
He popped up a holo-screen on his wrist computer and typed in a message on the holographic display to Dr. Nboto.
Doc,
Will there be places to resupply along the way to the lab? Working on deciding necessary supplies.
Kurt
Closing the window and hefting his bag, Kurt carried it out and set it on his bed. He opened the backpack and sorted through the various gear. He started selecting specific items he could leave behind and placed them in one pile. He made another collection of things for which he’d possibly need backups.
While he was working on that, a chime sounded announcing someone downstairs at the door. Kurt tapped on his wrist computer and glanced over at the mirror above the dresser as the integrated screen popped up. Marci stood outside on the sidewalk staring up at the screen with a big grin on her face. “Come on up, Marci. Buzzing you in now. I’m upstairs.”
Kurt started repacking the things he needed and zipped up his bag, satisfied he’d sorted through most of what he needed and hooked it over one shoulder as he headed back downstairs. Marci was coming up the steps from the street as he reached the first floor of his apartment.
“Hey, K.C. I got the word from dad that you had a pretty interesting job coming up. He sounded a little worried which kind of has me excited. What are we going to do?”
“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. He’s probably trying to block it out of his mind. It’s going to be a zombie run.”
“Really? I haven’t had a chance to go on one of those. I thought all the zombie worlds had been sterilized or had the gates closed?”
“This is a brand new one. Apparently, the virus or whatever has been dormant for the last ten years and only infected the homestead settlers recently. I have to be honest with you, this one is going to be a little sketchy and I won’t hold it against you if you want to skip out on this particular job.”
“Bullshit on that,” Marci laughed. “You’re not leaving me behind on something like this. When am I going to get a chance to shoot somebody and have you thank me for it? You’re always pissed off when I draw down on someone.”
Kurt had to admit she was right. He was always a little worried about how trigger-happy she was. In this situation, though, he needed that, along with her marksmanship and ability to fire on the run. “Yeah, well, just because I’m not going to mind it if you shoot to cover our backs, doesn’t mean I am all that happy about putting people down.”
“Seriously, K.C., you need to lighten up. These are zombies. They’re already dead by definition. You’re just finishing the job by shooting them.”
Kurt wished it was that simple for him but even undead who still looked like people somehow didn’t deserve for him to gun them down. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I need you to meet me here tomorrow. We have a meeting over with Jonesey at ten in the morning. She’s going to put together a special kit for this job.”
“Dad said somethin
g about medical supplies. Does that mean we’re transporting a vaccine, or a cure, or something?”
“Yeah, it’s something like that. I’m not sure of all the details but we have a doctor from the Centers for Disease Control traveling with us along with another security special-ops type and a corporate representative from the company that owns the charter to the world on the other side.”
“Oh, a company job. Those pay a lot better than the usual gigs. Corporations don’t usually hire contractors like us unless they really need it. What are they paying?”
“I can get you your usual fee. As for me, they are covering my blood debt with the Hell’s Gaters.”
“Really? That’s awesome. I thought you didn’t know how much it was going to be?”
Kurt shrugged. “I’m still not sure. The company apparently is willing to pay whatever it takes, as long as we complete this mission. We’re going to be trekking cross-country on foot for about two weeks. Our goal is to reach a settlement that’s holding out against the zombies. Apparently, there’s a lab there who can use whatever we’re bringing them to put together a cure.”
“Sounds like fun. Alright, I’ll head home and gather what I need. What about food and supplies like that? Two weeks is a lot to carry at one time.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I sent a message off to my contact to see what the supply situation will be like on the far side. There have been human settlers on this world for ten years. It seems to me that there should be places we can gather at least some sort of local food to supplement what we’ll carry for ourselves along the way. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something. I expect to hear back from her soon, probably by tomorrow morning. Is that okay?”
“Sure, just let me know. Hey, I’m gonna head out and grab some lunch soon. Do you want to come along? It would be nice to have some company.”