by Lim, Candice
A distant shout, “Hey, at least we can have a cheers first!”
Vaxine and Axon gawked at each other for a few minutes for the reality to sink in.
“Blot my gel…wait!” Vaxine raised her hands and hopped from her seat. “What were they planning to do with the Gene Blast?”
Axon shifted the laptop in front of him and typed into the search engine. “It’s a patented biolistic delivery grenade.”
Vaxine muttered a cuss. “They don’t know what they’re doing. They’re going to wreak havoc out there.”
“Good news is we don’t have to look for them one by one.”
“Well, if they haven’t killed themselves doing something idiotic.” The anger raging in her made her pace up and down. The only flipside from this was they posed a new problem to occupy Vaxine’s mind. “Wait a minute! Did they mention something about a random red dot appearing in the city after Quillon’s dead?”
Axon nodded. “I thought I heard something like that.”
Vaxine raised a finger. “What’s the new guy's name?”
“What new guy?” Axon frowned.
“The one at the Council! Remember?”
Axon’s face cleared in understanding. “Oh, that one! Damon? Darren? Oh, Dismon!”
“That’s right.” Vaxine snapped her fingers and tapped on the keyboard. “If their hypothesis is true, this new guy will have a stronger strain.” She hit Enter.
Axon and Vaxine stood side by side, arms over chest, as the laptop crunched the data.
Axon’s face wrinkled with disapproval when Dismon’s portfolio populated. He hunched over the bench. “So, he’s an industrial chemist working at the local wastewater treatment plant in the small town he’s grown up in. And we think he’s involved in Project Hive Mind?”
“You’re missing the point here. The kids are right. The Cranax virus is running the show now. They don’t care who the big shots are. Their goal is to spread and infect as many people as possible.” Vaxine couldn’t tell if the info made her feel better or worse. She stared at Dismon’s photo ID as her worry for Roxy and the rest grew. “If what they said was true, we can’t kill Peyton or Cash.” She slammed her fist on the bench. “We need to find them now before any damages are done.”
Vaxine racked her brain when an idea struck her. She smirked at her own intelligence and opened up Hershey’s lab email. “If Roxy got the Gene Blast using the lab grant, I might be able to track them down.”
She scrolled through the long list of unread emails until she found the invoice. “Alright. I found the company. I’m going to call them.” She picked up her phone, dialed the number on the email, and put it on speaker.
“In reason we trust, this is Mike—” said the male voice on the line.
“Mike! Did you sell some Gene Blast to someone called Roxy Riley?”
The voice stammered. “Uh, y—yeah. Is there a problem?”
“Do you know where is she and what she’s using the devices for?”
Another pause. “S—she didn’t tell me. Look. Who’s this? I’m not supposed to disclose sensitive information about my clients.”
Vaxine glanced at Axon and cleared her throat. “Look, Mike. We believe this is a grant fraud case and if you don’t want to—”
Mike muttered a cuss. “I knew something was sketchy when you closed an easy business deal at a co-lab.”
“What? Where did you say you closed the deal?”
“At the co-lab in the city. She came up to me, ordered 20 of these bad boys, and asked me some absurd questions like do they work on humans and shit? Like, how am I supposed to know? We’re an agricultural biotech supplier!”
Vaxine darted a warning look at Axon and hung up the phone. “They’re definitely up to something and I don’t like the sound of it.”
“We don’t know where they are. I mean, we could try to call them.” Axon whipped out his phone.
“No! We don’t know who’s tapping. If we don’t know where they are, chances are Peyton wouldn’t know either. Look, Mike said he found her at the co-lab in the city. I’m guessing they’re there to replenish the anti-Cranax gene and they’ll be back soon. We’ll have to meet them there.”
23
ROXY
I couldn't agree which smelt worse—the stuffy staleness or the toxic fumes. Either way, I guessed better than facing the Infected outside. We whipped out our tablets and phones in sync. The columns of light pierced into the long eerie hallway. Hollow footsteps echoed through the thin walls as we braved into the darkness.
One hand on my Zapper, the other holding the tablet, I took the lead. No words passed, only quiet breath and footsteps. Every door I passed was sealed off with wooden planks and the red paint scribbled over it read ‘Do Not Enter’.
I stopped at the base of the staircase barricaded by yellow tape with a sign reading ‘Laboratory Area. Do Not Enter’. I stared at the abyss ahead as the memories of Underlab came rushing back to mind.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” I ripped off the tape and inched upstairs. I turned around the corner and the light reflected on my face off the glass floor. I lowered the light source and peeked into the pitch-black lab.
Mandy caught up and worked on the door. A minute later, it clicked open and Mandy swung the door inward. The temperature dropped immediately as if we walked into the bubble of warm air brewing in there since the closure of the lab.
The lab looked primitive, lacked any of the avant-garde aesthetics of the other labs I’d visited. The group dispersed and went exploring on their own. The first blade of natural light pierced into the darkness when Sam peeled off the black covering that had sealed off every single window in the lab. The others jumped on the bandwagon until the light flooded the lab.
I pocketed my tablet and announced, “We’re out of the anti-Cranax gene. The Zappers won’t hold the Infected any longer. We need to get outta here.”
Mandy widened her eyes. “We have nothing left? We need to break into ANNUS again? Only Axon knew how to use the synthetic gene machine.”
“We have a backup in our freezer but right now, we’re out of luck.”
The recovered traded looks and a woman stepped forward, glancing between four of us. “You’re from the Community, aren’t you?”
My mind drew a blank. Part of me refused to be categorized with Peyton and Cash. But I didn’t want to lie and keep everybody else in the dark either. Sam was about to say something when I cut him off. “Yes, we’re from the Community.”
The recovered widened their eyes at me. A betrayed look plastered on their faces as if we were the ones who unleashed Cranax to the world.
“Look, I know you hate us.” I sucked in a breath. “I hate some of us too. You probably have been told the virus was cooked in the lab. I can confirm it’s true. In fact, it was the masterpiece of my mentor.”
The woman stepped back with her hand over her mouth. Mandy and Carlisa shared the same surprised look on their faces.
“It was a star-studded project initiated by her and a few high-profile Community members. They were very optimistic about the virus’ capability and thought it would be a silver bullet in the medical field. But they royally underestimated the virus. Instead of them manipulating the virus to do what they do, the virus infected and controlled them.”
The man cussed and shook his head. “What on earth is going on here?”
“Now, we suspect most Council members caught the virus. The only hope we’ve got is this anti-Cranax gene that can reverse the infection but it doesn’t always work. There’s nothing else we can do except to fight until our last breath. Until the last of us.” I glanced at the team, who shared a grim expression.
“There’s nothing…nothing else that you can do?”
I shook my head. “But there’s something you can do.” All heads snapped in my direction; eyes widened. “When we get out of here, I want you to go to the nearest NA-K and tell the ATP there are survivors in the black zon
e. Only you can save them now. You’ve never seen us or learned anything about the virus and the anti-Cranax gene. Do you understand?”
The recovered nodded frantically.
“Good.” I turned to the team. “Now we find a way outta here.”
Sam motioned out of the window. “There’s a truck at the back of the building. You think we can start that up?”
The rest hovered close to the window. “That’s a coroner truck,” said the recovered male. “They went around and picked up bodies to be sent to the crematorium.”
“I don’t particularly want to be in that thing.” Carlisa twisted her face in disgust.
“We don’t have many choices, do we?” Sam asked.
“I guess not.” Carlisa pouted.
“I found some keys here. Looks like car keys to me.” Mandy fished out a bunch of keys from the drawer and tossed it at me.
I pointed the immobilizer at the window and pushed the button. The truck’s headlights flashed. “It’s our lucky day.” I got out of the lab, followed by the rest. We went back downstairs, light in our hand, and ventured into the dark until we found the door at the end. I reached for the knob and the door creaked open.
The light plunged into the darkness. I walked into the light and squinted in the direction of the truck a few feet away which had ballooned close-up. The tires spanned my height. “Now, who’s driving?”
Sam was about to volunteer when the other guy pushed past him and yanked the keys off me. “I got this!”
My gaze bounced between Sam and him in shock. “You sure?” I hesitated.
“I lived here my whole life. I’m sure I know the way around here more than you all combined,” said the older man.
“Okay, I’ll ride shotgun.” Mandy clapped my shoulder and gave me an assuring nod.
Sam clapped once. “Alright, let’s check out the backseat.” The rest followed him to the back of the truck. He tugged at the latch a few times.
“Need a hand there?” I went to help Sam when he lost his grip and the door burst open. An angry growl roared through the air as the Infected sprang onto Mandy, who stood nearest to the back of the truck. The sudden intrusion knocked her to the ground, her Zapper clattered a foot from her.
My blood froze at the sight. “Father of Science!”
The rest propelled from the commotion. The Infected snapped his teeth at her face. Mandy grabbed onto his shoulders and dodged to her left and right.
I reached for my Zapper and fired. The clear ray struck the Infected on the temple. He jolted. The fidgeting movements stopped immediately.
Mandy shoved him off her and bounced back to her feet. “Blot my gel. That was close!”
Carlisa glanced at the comatose on the ground and took Mandy’s side. “You okay?”
Mandy dusted herself and scooped up her Zapper. “Yeah—” ARGGGHHH…
All heads snapped to the source of the sound. The bile rose in my throat as the horde of Infected charged in our direction.
“The cacophony must’ve stirred the nest. Hop into the truck now!” Sam cried out.
The rest didn’t have to be told twice. Mandy and the older male bolted to the front while the rest scrambled to climb into the back of the truck.
“Get in quick!” I shouted above the revving engine and hauled myself up the back of the truck. The smell of rotten flesh flared my nostrils, unsure if it had come from the truck or the advancing horde. “Move now!”
The truck jolted into action. The inertia hauled me back. I staggered a few steps and clung to the roll cage. The horde was closing within an arm’s reach when the truck sped up. I pulled out my Zappers and fired at them. Some sprang into fours and launched themselves at us.
The women shrieked and retreated into the truck. “Speed up! They’re gaining at us!” Carlisa yelled.
The truck roared but didn’t speed up much.
“We need to shut the doors! That should deter them for a bit.” Sam reached for the latch and pulled the door back in.
I sprang to his assistance. It looked easier than I thought. The latch was an inch away from my fingertips. So close yet so far. I tiptoed and extended my arm a bit more when the truck zoomed over a speed bump. The ground shook, knocking me out of balance.
“Roxy!” Sam’s voice drowned the sharp gasps.
My stomach lurched as I slipped off the edge. I held fast onto the latch. The ground was no longer constant beneath my feet. I was hanging off the swinging door a few feet off the ground with the Infected hot on my ass.
I muttered a cuss and tried to find footing on the door but I kept slipping off.
“Hang in there, Roxy!” Sam slid to sit on the floor and pulled the door back. “Make yourselves useful and lend me a hand here!” Carlisa sprang to his side first followed by the rest.
The Infected’s growls crescendoed and echoed in my ears, they were loud and clear like death looming close over me. My palms were getting sweaty. My fingers ached in protest. With my diminishing strength, I reached for my Zapper and fired a few shots at the verging Infected before one snatched it off me.
The Zapper slid off my grip and clattered on the ground quickly swallowed by the stampede. My heart ached. One of the Zappers Sam got me was gone, uncertain of what the universe was hinting at. I stared into the void, momentarily sucked into the sentiment until Sam’s voice broke my reverie.
“Roxy!”
I was met with sharp teeth gnashing inches from my face when I flew into panic mode. I kicked the Infected in the chest, sent it flying across the air, and struck the ones behind him like an ancient ten-pin bowling game.
The door swung inward. I lost my grip when someone tugged me. The next second, gravity flung me into the truck and I collapsed into Sam’s arms. “Gotcha!” He smiled under me.
“Thanks!” I hopped to my feet and dusted myself.
Carlisa latched the door from inside, sealing the truck in darkness except for the slit of light breaking from the corners. She flicked on her phone light when her phone vibrated. “Mandy? What’s up?” Her voice echoed through the hollow container.
“We have a problem!” Mandy’s voice blared through the speaker. “We can’t get to the front door. There’s a horde of them!”
“Run through them!” shouted Carlisa.
“The last thing you want is for them to get stuck under your tires,” said the older man.
Carlisa glanced at me. “What do we do now?”
“Through the backdoor!” All eyes turned in the woman’s direction. “That’s where they took the bodies. Through the backdoor!”
The truck made a screeching turn, sending the inmates tumbling on the ground. “What backdoor?” I shouted above the groans. “Where does it lead to?”
“I don’t know. I never actually seen anyone go in there before. They just dumped the bodies through the crypt.”
It was hot and stuffy inside the truck but a chill ran down my spine. The mental images of what awaited behind the crypt flounced in my head.
A sigh dropped Carlisa’s chest. “Okay, could this get any worse?”
The truck jolted into a complete stop. The inmates wobbled and looked at one another. “What’s going on now?” Carlisa cried.
“Get outta there now!” Mandy’s voice echoed in the container.
Sam unlatched the door. The sun poured in, light stabbing into the dark. Mandy and the other man appeared on the other side. “Hurry up! They’re coming our way!” She glanced into the distance and waved frantically at us.
I hopped off and glanced around. We were on the other side of the crematorium where we came in from. The smell of burning brake drums tainted the air. The horde was closing in, the stampede pounding the earth, reflecting the state of my heart. “Where is this crypt?” I shouted at the woman.
“Follow me.” She ran around the corner and tugged at the set of wooden doors. She looked at the weather-beaten chain and padlock and turned to Mandy expectantly.
“Uh, that’s above my paygrade,” Mandy stammered.
I spun around until my eyes fell on the ax trapped on a wooden palette. “We could use that!”
Sam sprang into action. He stepped on the palette and plucked the ax. “Step aside!” The ax swung in the air and connected to the chain with a loud clank, breaking it into halves.
The woman untangled the chain and pulled the door, exhaling the stench of a thousand rotten bodies. Someone retched. My face twisted in disgust. “Are we going in?” The horde was closing in, their growls getting louder and clearer. I sucked in a breath and ventured into the stinking abyss.