The Extinction Series | Book 4 | Spread of Extinction
Page 4
“Tyler,” Peta said sharply from close by.
Tyler jumped at the intrusion into his spiraling observations, and looked over at her. Peta was closely scrutinizing him, like she could read his dark thoughts. Swallowing down the croak that was trying to escape, he then cleared his throat and attempted to smile. “I’m good,” he lied.
She frowned, apparently seeing right through his act. Before she could comment on it, Eddy chose that moment to leave his perch behind the cockpit and join them in the back.
Watching him sit cross-legged opposite him and next to Peta, Tyler didn’t know if it was a welcome interruption or not. Eddy selected a pepperoni stick from the pile of goods left out on the floor, and methodically peeled it open before looking up to acknowledge their presence.
“Get tired of the scenery?” Devon asked, sitting down in between Eddy and Peta. He reached out and gave Marty a rub on his haunches, and the friendly dog licked his hand in response. “Do you know where we are?”
“I’m afraid there isn’t much to see at the moment,” Eddy replied, sounding bored. He took a bite of the pepperoni and then pointed the remainder at Devon. “Though we have managed to leave Central America and cross into Colombia. I suppose that’s a milestone I wasn’t certain we’d manage to reach, when we left the CDC Sunday morning.”
Peta awkwardly scooted in closer, dragging Marty with her and tightening their circle so they didn’t have to talk as loud. “How is Hernandez doing?”
Eddy raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder before answering. “Better than he should be. It’s encouraging, really. If he’d received another treatment yesterday and today, I suspect he’d survive a few more days.”
Tyler reeled away from him but was stopped by the hard metal of the helicopter’s siding. He didn’t care what kind of excuses the guy had, he couldn’t accept how…cold he was.
Eddy obviously noticed his strong reaction, and at least had the decency to appear concerned. Well, at least his brows drew together in what might have qualified as slightly troubled.
“I apologize for not taking your feelings into consideration before speaking,” Eddy said to Tyler, taking another bite of his snack. “I know you’ve all become close to Ensign Hernandez and from what he’s said, it’s clear he feels the same about you. If we were in different circumstances, it would be appropriate to avoid talking openly about his condition. However, given how he is the only person amongst us capable of piloting this aircraft, we can’t afford to sugarcoat things. He’s dying. You all know that,” he added, when Tyler balked again. “And the time has come that we have to address it. Soon.”
“Why are you here?” Peta asked, her voice almost as devoid of emotion as Eddy’s.
Tyler was glad he wasn’t sitting in between them, and felt kinda bad for Devon. He knew Peta well enough to realize how mad she was. She was the sort of person who always came off as in control and cool about things, but he’d seen enough glimpses into what was boiling just beneath the surface to have a healthy respect for her temper. Eddy didn’t have that advantage, but Tyler guessed he was about to get schooled.
“Excuse me?” Eddy replied, lowering his pepperoni stick and shifting to face her more directly. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Uh-oh
Peta’s hand came off Marty’s back and pressed into the floor as she leaned closer, causing Devon to duck back and out of the way. “Other than wanting a way out of that building, why are you still with us? I haven’t been able to figure you out.” Her voice was dangerously low as she glanced toward Jason in the cockpit. “Or him.”
“I’m a scientist, much like yourself—”
“You are nothing like me!” Peta spat, cutting him off.
Eddy hesitated, and Tyler figured he finally caught on to the underlying menace in Peta’s demeanor. He wasn’t sure what all Devon had told her about Eddy over the past couple of days, or if he’d said anything about what they’d seen and experienced while down in the CDC building. He was guessing she knew about how Eddy had killed the guard in order to get them out. And that it wasn’t necessary. At least, not according to how Jason reacted when it happened, and Tyler knew enough about military types to understand that Jason wasn’t the kind of guy to get squeamish. Not when it came to doing what you had to in the moment. But he was there. Tyler saw it all unfold, and it was the main reason why he’d never completely trust Eddy.
“I’m also a physician,” Eddy continued, choosing not to address the obvious tension. “The prions may have damaged the synapses in part of my brain, but it didn’t change who I am. At least, not the most important aspects of myself. We all need a reason to open our eyes in the morning, Peta.”
Peta sat back, and Tyler was relieved to see that she was at least temporarily calmed down by his reply. Her hand went back into Marty’s fur. The dog had been watching the exchange with as much tension in his body as Tyler felt, and he could see Marty relax under her touch. He felt a small twinge of jealousy and quickly pushed it aside. Dogs had a way of knowing who needed the most attention. It was probably a good sign that the dog wasn’t slobbering all over him.
“We’re all going to have to do things that we’ll question later, and leave people behind when they can’t keep up, or be carried.”
Tyler squirmed under the weight of the memories the comment brought up. He thought of Mikael back on Madagascar, the pilot, Roger, left out in the ocean, the people on the base under the eruption of Yellowstone, poor Doctor Schaeffer left comatose in her stinky bed, and…Tyler swallowed. His own father, buried four floors under the California desert, surrounded by strangers.
Eddy clasped his hands in his lap and continued to stare back at Peta, unflinching. “I imagine my purpose is similar to your own. I’m a scientist, and in the pursuit of science, I’m following the trail of this disease back to where it came from. In doing so, I hope to find some small filament to tug at and we’ll see what falls out.” He glanced toward the cockpit. “I won’t try to speak for Jason. You’ll have to ask him yourself.”
To Tyler’s surprise, Eddy then turned to look over at him. “How about you, Tyler? Why are you here?”
His first reaction was to become defensive and remind Eddy that he and Jason had talked him into it. But when he opened his mouth to say it, he was struck by how calm the other man was, and realized it was a legitimate question. Tyler paused, thinking about it. “Because I want to survive,” he said with sincerity. “Because I want to find a way to help my dad live.”
When the silence dragged out for an uncomfortable amount of time, Devon leaned forward to look at Marty, and attempted to lighten things up with the sort of humor that Tyler had come to appreciate about him. “Well, gee. Thanks for asking, Marty. I guess I’d have to say that for me, it’s the adventure. That, and because I got tired of being stuck in a lab where I had to play fetch for beautiful dictators. Well, I guess you’d be okay with that, wouldn’t you, bud?”
Peta actually grinned when Devon ruffled Marty’s fur, and the tension was instantly broken. Tyler was glad to have the focus shift to the dog, which was exactly why Devon had done it. He’d have to be sure and thank him later.
Eddy was the only one who didn’t smile, and as he stood to go back to his spot up front, he looked down at them with what seemed to be a permanent, serious expression. “You, Devon, are the only one who’s reason is beyond reproach.”
When Devon frowned and looked up, Eddy pointed at him much like a teacher to a student. “You’re the only one who’s here for everyone else but yourself.”
Watching the man who was considered to be a part of the up-and-coming strain of humans called The Cured, Tyler found himself thinking about how confusing and painful everything was. It might turn out that Eddy was actually the lucky one.
Chapter 6
JASON
Over Northwestern Venezuela
“I don’t know if we’re going to make it,” Hernandez said with a bluntness that Jason could appreciate.
“We knew it was coming,” Hernandez replied without any resentment. “All of it. Though, I think it’s going to come down to a toss-up between the fuel and my ability to stay conscious.”
Leaning across the space between the seats, Jason put a hand to the skin of the other man’s face. “You’re beyond burning up,” he scoffed. Twisting around in the seat, he found Eddy was already there, watching.
“He had four Tylenol two hours ago,” he said, already anticipating Jason’s question.
Nodding, Jason grimaced and rubbed at his jaw. “Let’s give him four more. I don’t think we need to be concerned about his liver at this point. And see if anything you grabbed from the vending machine has caffeine in it.”
“There was a reason I had you help me land this thing for the past two days,” Hernandez said, ignoring the conversation about his liver. “I sincerely hope you were paying attention.”
Jason took a closer look at him, and realized they were in more trouble than he thought. Turning back to the window, he studied the landscape with a growing sense of urgency. There was nothing below them but rugged mountains, dotted with jutting peaks that reached thousands of feet into the air. It was an impressive range called the Sierra Nevada National Park. According to the map, it separated Merida from Barinas in Venezuela. They had to make it over, because as far as he could see, there wasn’t currently anywhere to land.
Jason had suggested stopping near Merida a half-hour earlier, but Hernandez wouldn’t even discuss it. It would have meant driving across the mountain range, and would have added several hours onto what was already going to be a horrendously long, arduous trip on the ground.
“You’ll get to your daughter,” Hernandez said.
Jason stared at Hernandez before offering him a tense smile. They’d had a lot of time to talk while Jason was doctoring him and doing his best to keep him going. They also had a lot in common, between the military and mutually strained relationships with their fathers. Jason was several years older than Hernandez, but it didn’t make a difference when it came to deep conversation in the middle of the destruction of the Earth. He appreciated having someone he could relate to, especially since Eddy…well, wasn’t the same man anymore.
He’d had such little interaction with Peta, Devon, and Tyler, that Jason hadn’t gotten a solid feel for them yet. While Hernandez claimed they were all good people, Peta was especially standoffish with him, except that could be Jason projecting his own hang-ups. He tended to do that, and given everything that had and was still happening, he couldn’t really be blamed for not wanting to get too close to anyone.
Hernandez was the perfect example as to why, and Jason had learned that hard lesson during his time in Iraq. It was why he had so few friends since being back in the States. There was a certain amount of sick irony to be found in his situation with Eddy. That the one person Jason allowed himself to get close to other than Marty, miraculously survived The Kuru, only to be stripped of his ability to be a true friend anymore.
Jason turned to watch Eddy as he returned with the requested medication from their limited first aid kit on the helicopter, and a bottle of Pepsi. He was unexpectedly hit with an overwhelming feeling of loss. The loss of his best friend, and then the only other person left alive he could relate to was going to be torn away from him, too.
Jason fought against the upwelling of emotion that threatened to unbalance him. He wanted out of there. Out of the helicopter, and away from Hernandez so he wouldn’t have to watch him die. Away from Eddy, so he wouldn’t have to be constantly reminded of the friend he no longer had. Away from the persistent memories of loss, and death, and suffering. He—
A cold nose pressed into his hand, and Jason looked down to find Marty sitting in the narrow space between the two seats. He didn’t realize he’d even closed his eyes, and his thin grip on reality scared him more than anything else.
“Are you okay?” Peta asked. She had replaced Eddy at some point, and Jason briefly wondered if it had been intentional, or if she was simply following the dog. She knelt down beside Marty, next to his seat, to make talking more feasible.
Jason had learned years before that the best way to address his issues were with honesty. It was too easy to try and believe your own lies if you spoke them out loud. Ignoring it would only lead to things worsening, and would ultimately put himself and others at risk. Their situation was already risky enough. “I will be,” he said, pulling Marty in close enough to reach the favorite spot behind his left ear. “I just need a minute to clear my head and get a better grip. Unfortunately, I don’t think the universe has one to spare right now.”
Studying his face, her blue eyes narrowed and then sparkled when she smiled in understanding. “I can relate.”
Surprisingly, Jason found that he believed her. That was something else he’d learned from group therapy. Once you started opening up to people, you’d often be surprised to discover how many others suffered from similar feelings and fears as yourself.
The prominent scar over her cheek, the way she kept to herself, and especially Marty’s obsession with Peta, all pointed to a troubled soul with some buried trauma. While intrigued, Jason was also wary for the same reasons he worried about his own mental stability.
Focusing on the motley crew spread out on the floor of the helicopter behind Peta, Jason suppressed an audible sigh. Tyler was on what looked to be his fifth bag of chips, and was lying on his back with his feet propped up on the wall. Devon had cut the top off a water bottle and was shooting balls of waded paper into it, while Eddy stood stoically off the to the side, staring at his own feet.
Hernandez moaned, the helicopter dipped, and Peta’s alluring eyes widened in response, pulling Jason’s attention back to her. “We’re uh, not exactly the team I would have envisioned to be sent on a mission to save the world,” he muttered.
“Speak for yourself,” she bantered, standing. “I happen to be exactly where I’m meant to be.”
Jason wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, which only added to her mystery. “And where is that, exactly?” he asked, gesturing at the front window. “Other than on a perilous flight over some Venezuelan mountains, I mean. Why here? How did you come to be on this helicopter? Because the vague details Hernandez told me haven’t painted a very clear picture, other than you were involved in the study of the MOHO on some small island near the eruption.”
Peta’s eyes narrowed again and her nose scrunched up as she thought about how to answer him. Jason was left with the same impression Hernandez had given him, when they spoke about anything other than the scientific details regarding the prions and thermophile they believed to be at the Libi Nati. That there was more to the story, and for whatever reason, they were hesitant to share it. That could be a problem, and one he’d like to have resolved or clarified before they set off into the jungle on the last leg of their journey. “We’re going to have to trust each other,” he said, voicing his final thought.
Hesitating, Peta looked pointedly at Tyler before seeming to come to some sort of decision. Kneeling again, a flash of anger crossed her features and she breathed heavily. “Look, I don’t know what Hernandez has or hasn’t shared with you during your flight time up here, but some of it isn’t my story to tell.”
“Pretty much the basic scientific details, and a few intense stories about boats sinking, and helicopters crashing.” Jason grimaced. “Which, I might add, didn’t do a whole lot to bolster my optimism.”
Peta ignored the poor attempt at humor and leveled him with a serious expression. “To explain eve
rything is going to take more time than I think we’ve got at the moment,” she said, gesturing to Hernandez and the looming jungle outside the window. “But I’ll tell you that personally, I discovered in the days after the MOHO eruption that the people I worked for had a direct hand in causing what’s happened. All of it. It doesn’t matter much that it was unintentional. I didn’t listen closely enough to the man leading the investigation, my mentor. If I had—” she looked away, and Jason again caught a glimpse of someone who had a weak hold on her façade of strength and control.
Steeling herself, Peta’s jaw set and her lips pursed into a grim smile. “I’ve been following this trail of bread crumbs down the rabbit hole ever since. And I’m not done yet. Not until I put it all together, and I believe the last piece to the puzzle is at the Libi Nati. It has to be.”
So, she was driven by guilt that she had somehow played a part in the literal destruction of the world. Jason could see how a person might want to keep that gem to themselves. But from what Hernandez had told him, and the other details Jason had already gleaned, he was pretty sure her guilt was misplaced, or least overstated.
As an alarm began to blare, he raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, then. I guess that means our crackpot team better nail this impossible landing and cross the three-thousand miles of jungle to the Libi Nati.” When she smiled, he couldn’t help but smile back. “The Mad Hatter awaits.”
Chapter 7
PETA
Near Barinas, Venezuela
The persistent ringing of an alarm interrupted the first real conversation Peta had managed with Jason. She had to admit that the guy surprised her. She’d expected him to be more…shallow.
“What is that?” she asked, her anxiety instantly ratcheted up several notches.