by Lim, Candice
I shook the questions out of my head and spun around to follow Sam down the lane.
“Where are you guys from?” The man’s dubious eyes swirled between us.
Mandy and Carlisa glanced at me.
“It doesn’t matter,” I retorted before someone said the big C-word and triggered any more unwanted conflict. “We’re here to make things right and if you want to live, you follow what we say.”
The man pursed his lips, dissatisfied but remained quiet.
“How long have you been…you know, Infected?” Carlisa changed the topic.
The woman with matted gray hair draped on the side of her neck shook her head. “Don’t know. It felt like forever. When the virus broke out, there were people from the Community who had come to administer some sort of antidote for a while. People had recovered from it and we thought there is finally hope. For some reason, they left and there’s only one reason we could think of—they’ve used us like some lab rats and forsook us when they’ve got what they wanted.”
The anger I’d bottled up surged within me. I spun around at the woman, who jolted back in shock. “They didn’t forsake you. The antidote was proven useless and your people had shown you were unworthy of the risk by accusing them as government’s puppets.”
All eyes widened at me. I sucked in a breath but all effort to calm myself went in vain. “Look, you don’t have to trust us. We don’t even trust ourselves but all I can say is we’re trying our very best to do the right thing.”
The recovered traded glances. “Between you guys and the Infected, we’ll pick you.”
“Guys, we have to move quickly.” Sam cut in and tugged at my arm. “There’s a horde coming from the North. Hurry!”
The adrenaline surged in me catapulted me into action. Sam and I bolted to the backdoor of the building first. He reached for the knob and tugged. It didn’t budge. “Mandy, we need you here!”
Mandy took my side and got to work.
The group moved close together. Uneasiness and anxiety resonated from their expressions and the constant shifting of feet.
I scanned around, fingers on triggers. My heart thumped in my ears, then the distant growls punctuated the stillness. A chill trickled down my spine as the horde marched in our direction.
“Blot my gel!” Carlisa raised her gene gun and swiftly dropped it when she saw the number. No way could our weapons have held them back.
“How is it going there, Mandy?” My palms sweated profusely, the grip on the Zappers became slippery.
“It’s stuck!” Mandy tugged the knob to no avail.
The recovered stepped back. “We need to get outta here now!” They staggered back and spun around when the Infected broke out of their barricade and poured out from the alleyway. “Blot my gel. They’ve surrounded us. What do we do now?”
My gaze bounced between the horde coming from both ends, trapping us in the middle with no way out. My mind momentarily went blank. A wave of hammering pain pounded my head. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Alright, screw it!”
I shoved my Zappers into my back pockets and whipped out the Gene Blast.
The recovered male scrunched his face. “What on earth is that thing?”
With all the strength left in me, I threw the Gene Blast at the horde and snatched the tablet from Sam. ‘Target overload. Proceed with transfection? Y/N’.
I tapped Y. The screen turned back to radar view with the dots signifying the Infected.
“Roxy, they’re getting closer!” Carlisa shouted.
‘Launch biolistic delivery system now? Y/N.’
I closed my eyes and launched.
The shockwave from the blast blew out the windows in the buildings. I threw my arms over my head as the glittery shards rained over the alleyway. My ears rang. The muted voices around me became warped and sounded so distant. My head spun and the ground tilted out of its axis.
I looked at the tablet. ‘Transfection success rate 78.9%’.
I wasn’t the only one affected by the blast. Sam and Mandy sat propped against the wall, pinching their eyes and temples. Mandy muttered a cuss beneath her breath. “Was loud.”
Carlisa on the other side huddled together with the recovered. “A bit of warning would be appreciated next time,” she muttered, catching her breath.
“I didn’t know it would be so powerful.” I fought to get up. I teetered a few steps back and held onto the wall for support.
The Infected collapsed and groveled on the ground. I grabbed onto my Zappers and inched towards the immobilized horde.
“Roxy,” Sam called back between his ragged breath. “Be careful.”
“I will.” I gulped and neared the blast zone. The Infected’s face cleared. Their bodily movements were more controlled and less fidgety. “Looks like it works,” I muttered to myself. A smile peeked on my face.
“Roxy!” I spun around to Sam running towards me. “There are more of them coming from the other direction.”
I whipped out another Gene Blast and scanned the QR code with the tablet. “Fire in the hole!” I shouted and threw the device at the incoming horde.
Right on cue, Carlisa, Mandy, and the recovered dropped into a crouch with their arms over their ears and hands laced over their heads. I grabbed onto Sam, knocking us to the ground as another shockwave blasted through the alleyway.
This time, I recoiled faster. I bounced right back on my feet and helped Sam up. “We need to get outta here now!”
“What about the recovered?” Carlisa gestured at the other recovered rising to their feet and spun around, confused.
“They’ll be fine for the moment.” I pointed at the recovered with us. “We’ll get them out first, then figure out the next step.”
Carlisa was about to say something when I raised my hand and breezed past her. She motioned at the recovered to follow my lead. I pulled out my Zappers and fired at the Infected gnashing in my direction. Carlisa and Mandy followed suit.
I pulled up at the alleyway entrance. “Get in there! I’ll hold them back!”
Mandy shot at the pile of Infected knocking them out completely and hopped over it, followed by Sam and the recovered.
Carlisa pulled at my arm. “They’re coming from the other side too! We have to go now!”
I turned around and slipped into the alleyway, hopping over the bodies, and joined the rest, followed by Carlisa behind me.
We exited through the other side where Sam, Mandy, and the recovered gathered close to the wall. “Roxy, settle them!” Mandy cried out.
“I have only one last Gene Blast left.” I clutched onto my backpack, debating if I should use it now or save it for later.
“Guys, we can get behind the fence!” Carlisa pointed at the barbed wire fence circumferencing another ubiquitous tenement in the slum. Why was this building fenced off from the rest?
Sam checked along the fence and found a manhole. “This way!” He dropped into the soft grass and crawled through it. He waved frantically at the rest. “Hurry!”
Mandy followed suit. Once she got to the other side, she fired at the nearing horde, holding them back. I took her side while the recovered and Carlisa crawled through.
“The fence can’t hold all of them back. We need to keep going,” I said.
“What do we do now?” Carlisa spun around and pointed at the building ahead. “Let’s try and see if we could get in there!”
The older woman’s face paled at once. “It’s a bad idea to go into the lab.”
“Lab?” I frowned at her.
“The people from the Community set up a makeshift lab here at the height of the pandemic. They detained anybody who caught the virus or suspected so and brought them to this building. No one knew about their fate,” said the older woman.
The mental pictures of the holding center at ANNUS flounced in my head. I glanced back at the fence where the Infected had congregated. Their diseased limbs stretched through the holes, filt
hy sharp fingernails scrabbling at us.
“We have to give it a shot!” I turned around and brisk-walked towards the door. I tugged at it to no avail and stepped aside for Mandy to work her magic.
The rest formed a half-circle with our backs against Mandy overlooking the coast. My eyes trained at the fence where the Infected grew in number and climbed on top of one another. It was about time the fence would give in and collapse, unleashing the flesh-eating zombies upon us.
A rivulet of sweat dripped down the side of my face. “How is it going, Mandy?”
“Almost there.”
A loud clatter echoed through the air. The fence caved and collapsed. The Infected poured in and came at us.
The blood froze in my veins as I muttered a cuss. No way we could hold back the horde. The group shifted back together. “Mandy, how long more?” I whipped out the Zappers and fired. Carlisa followed suit.
“I’m trying! I’m trying!” Mandy passed her Zapper to Sam. “Here! Do something!”
The clear beams zipped through and bent the air. The stun struck the Infected. They flipped back dramatically and jittered on the ground, dead.
Carlisa’s Genex clicked a few times as she squeezed the trigger. She checked the ammo bar and cussed. “I’m out!” She shoved her gun into her back pocket and retreated with the recovered.
“The Zappers will overheat soon! Mandy, where are we now?” Sam shouted above the constant drone of snarls and growls.
Mandy kicked the door repeatedly. “I. Don’t. Fucking. Know.”
“Screw this!” I retrieved the last Gene Blast, scanned it, and tossed it at the horde. I threw my arms over my head and dropped into a crouch. “Take cover!” I pinched my eyes shut as the blast shook the earth and building. The only thing I heard was my heart pounding punctuated by muffled groans.
I opened my eyes to the veil of dust cast over my vision. The charging horde turned into a scrambling pile on the ground. Fighting the pain in my head, I turned around and tugged at the door. With a click, I swung it open. “Let’s go!”
I took the rear and the last glance at the fawning bodies on the ground, then shut the door.
22
VAXINE
Vaxine unloaded the bags from the hardware store from Genom and pushed the metal door with the side of her arm. Her eyes traced from the lean biceps bulging in his arms to the ripped core glazed with a thin film of sweat.
Topless, Axon hunched over the bench and was absorbed into examining the machines to see if he could salvage anything from the heist. He didn’t even notice Vaxine was there.
Any other days she would appreciate some good physiques but with the troubles looming over her, her brain could hardly work. She shook her head to purge the regret trickling in her chest. She’d blamed and loathed Axon for leaving but in the end, it was him who stayed by her side.
Vaxine straightened up and made for Axon. “Looking good.” She removed her loot—a soldering kit, some screwdrivers, a secondhand laptop, some energy bars, and drinks. All that was left after the pre-lockdown panic buying. She counted herself lucky to even get something.
Axon sucked in a deep breath and plopped onto a stool. He unwrapped an energy bar and inhaled it. “There’s not much that can be salvaged from here.”
Vaxine sat next to him and booted up her new machine. Nothing fancy like her old one but enough specs to do the work. “At least we’ve got a roof over our head for the moment.” She re-installed the programs and put Assunta’s phone chip into the slot. The progress bar crawled on the screen.
Axon’s exasperation magnified the guilt she’d bottled up in her chest and threatened to explode. She was the cause of this. She snitched on Axon and told Hershey about his hideout. Though everything that happened was beyond her control but she couldn't stop blaming herself.
Vaxine’s voice shook. She couldn't take it anymore. “I wish I hadn’t come for you, Axon. I’m sorry.”
Axon looked up at Vaxine, surprised.
“None of these would’ve happened to you if I didn’t come for you. Hershey wouldn’t have found you and you wouldn’t have to be dragged into this mess. I’m so sorry.” It frustrated her more it didn’t make her feel any better spilling it out. She felt like playing victim and vilifying Axon for feeling how he felt more than anything.
“It’s not your fault. It was the virus in your head.” Axon placed his hand on Vaxine’s shoulder. “If anything, I was glad I was there to rescue you. To help you find yourself again. Maybe after all this was meant to happen so we would eventually find a way to end this all.”
The stress pounded her head harder. She pinched her eyes shut and squeezed the bridge of her nose. She felt like at the breaking point, all these years in grad school had nothing on this. “I can’t do this anymore, Axon. I’m tired. I’m done with this. We’re standing on our last legs. How much could we do to save the rest of the world?”
The hot tears brimming her eyes broke the surface tension and trickled down her face like a broken dam. She broke down and cried for all she was worth. No room for shame or pride.
“Vaxine, please listen to me.” Axon grabbed her shoulders and shook her until she looked at him. “Look at me, Vaxine.”
She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
“If someone like me could graduate with a doctorate, you could do so much more than that. Take a breath. Let’s start with small steps. See what we can pull out from Assunta’s phone and we’ll talk about the next plan.”
Vaxine turned to her laptop. The program finished installing. She booted it up and did a full scan on the memory chip. She stared at the numbers crawling on the screen, mesmerized by the repetitive patterns, and let her overloaded mind go idle. She forgot the last time she had completely tuned out and not think about anything at all. Probably in her childhood.
Five minutes later, the list of recovered files populated. She blinked herself back to reality and filtered through the list until she stopped at ‘microphone voice data’. “What’s this?” She frowned.
“That must be the voice recording clip from the microphone collected by our phones for marketing purposes.” Axon took her side, air-quoting the last part.
“Right.” Vaxine scrunched her nose and played the clip.
“So what have you got? All we got left is Assunta’s phone. Not much we could get out of it. All her contacts are dead.” A dull clank.
“Go on. Play with it. See what else you can find.”
“What did you find at Whiteshore?”
“Quillon Riley’s brain.” Male voice, most likely Sam’s, followed by a pop.
“What?”
“It’s in a BioTomb. My money’s on Robert but I don’t know why.”
“Sick. Is it still…alive? Did your grandpa tell you about his glorious scientific past?”
“It wasn’t him anymore.”
“You mean…he’s Infected?” Female voice but didn’t sound like Roxy or Mandy.
“He got a strong one. And when I smashed the glass, something weird happened. We saw a Cranax distribution map with some bigger pulsing dots I suspect representing the stronger strains. When Quillon was dead, the dot in Whiteshore disappeared and swiftly another dot reappeared in the city.”
A pause.
“You’re suggesting when the host of a stronger Cranax strain dies, the virus in someone else will take over?”
“Does that make any sense to you?”
“I suppose if the earlier hypothesis suggests they’re telekineticizing with each other.”
“That means killing Cash or Peyton isn’t an option, not that we’re planning to do it. If we kill them, someone else will be in charge of Project Hive Mind.”
“So Project Hive Mind is supposed to be a viral revolution movement against humankind? Such an interesting time to be alive.”
“I can’t do this. I need a drink.” A clatter followed the popping of wine bottle and clinking of
glass. “Don’t worry, they were being sanitized.”
“Did you guys go shopping?”
“Yeah, Botty said you’ve got a parcel to collect from the post office so we thought we might as well grab something from the shops while we’re there. Cheers.”
“A parcel? Oh, the Gene Blast! I didn’t think they would come so soon! Where is it?”
Vaxine and Axon traded frowns. “We don’t have such thing in the lab…” muttered Vaxine.
“In the lab.”