Viral

by S. K. Gregory

  Jenna

  “This is for you,” Dad said. He held up a device that looked like an oversized watch with a digital display. He turned it over to show a hole in the back. I could see a needle tucked inside.

  “I’m almost certain that I don’t want that,” I said.

  We spent the last couple of days going over the list of Gene-Pharm employees that we might be able to exploit. It would mean following them, spying on them to find out what they were hiding and then use it against them. It didn’t seem much different to what Chaos did.

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s a device to monitor your vitals. As you know when…if you were fatally wounded, the X01 would kick in and you might turn into a….”

  “Zombie?” Funny how he had a hard time saying the word when he was the one who made me this way.

  “Yeah. Obviously, we want the X01 to heal you, but we don’t want you turning again. So, I’ve designed this. It will give the X01 time to heal you, but after a certain amount of time has elapsed, if it senses that you are turning, it will inject you with something to neutralize the X01.”

  “What if I’m not done healing?”

  “It will give you enough time. It’s better than risking you turning into a zombie for good.” Dead or undead. Great choices!

  “Well don’t sugar coat it. I take it since you are giving this to me, you believe that there is a possibility of me getting killed. Again.” I’d already died three times, how many times would be enough?

  “No, I mean I hope not. But we’re going up against dangerous people. I’d rather not risk it.”

  Not wanting to argue, I took the device and strapped it to my left wrist. I watched as it displayed my vitals, none of it meant much to me. I wasn’t the scientist.

  “Happy now?” I asked. “How did you get this anyway?”

  “When I spoke to Wesley on the radio, he told me what he had done and I was able to synthesize my own serum.”

  I stared at the device, trying not to react to the mention of Wesley. I dug my fingers into my leg, trying to control the pain. Not being able to sleep these past few days didn’t help. I was surviving on Coke and coffee.

  Dad was cleaning up the kitchen, not paying any attention to me. I wondered if it bugged him that his protégé was the one who created the neutralizer first.

  “How did you get involved in all this? In the beginning? I know some things, but not all of it.” I took a seat on the couch, hoping that a story might distract me from my thoughts.

  “What do you want to know?” Dad asked.

  “Were you the one who released the virus on the subway train?”

  Dad froze. “Who told you that?”

  “A man called Danny. He says that you injected him with the antivirus. It was the first outbreak.”

  Dad took a seat at the kitchen table. He looked shook. “I didn’t release it, but I did steal it from Gene-Pharm. What happened on the train was an accident.” He admitted it. He was responsible.

  “Why steal it in the first place?” I asked, feeling nauseous. My own father started the outbreak.

  “Because I knew what it could do. Gene-Pharm were cutting edge, always ahead of the game. It was my dream job, but once I got in there.” He sighed. “It wasn’t anything like I imagined. I thought they wanted to change the world, but they were only interested in making money. I saw them cut corners, lie, jack up prices of products. Then I was moved to this top-secret area and I found out about the virus. When I saw what it could do and how blasé they were about using it, I got scared. I didn’t even know what I was doing until I was out the door. There was only one vial as far as I knew. I thought if I could find a way to destroy it, that would be the end of it. I was stupid and naïve. Some men from Gene-Pharm chased me onto the train. When I tried to escape, I dropped the vial. I took off into the tunnel and never looked back.”

  “You don’t ever feel guilty?” I asked.

  “Of course I do!” he snapped. “I thought I was doing the right thing. Why do you think that I am trying so hard to bring Gene-Pharm down?”

  I believed him when he said it was an accident, but it didn’t change the outcome. “Where did Mom come into all this?”

  “I met her that day actually. Remember I said she hit me with her car? She offered to take me to the hospital but instead I asked her to take me to my parent’s cabin until I could figure out what to do next. She was drifting, or at least that’s what she called it. Her father had just died and she didn’t know what she was doing with her life. She stayed with me at the cabin. I ended up telling her everything.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder if that was a coincidence or if Mom had been sent in to meet up with him. Maybe they had someone in the inside, who saw him take the vial. But that would mean she was part of Chaos for over twenty years. Her being threatened I could buy, her being a card-carrying member was a little harder to swallow.

  “And then you decided to create your own X01 baby.” Gee honey, I know what’s missing in this relationship, let’s have a genetic freak for a baby.

  “It wasn’t like that Jenna. We were completely off the grid at the cabin. The first I knew about the zombies was when I went into town for supplies. They were talking about it on the radio. I thought that was it, the world was over. I threw everything I could into making more antivirus, but I had no idea where to start. It was years before I considered combining it with an embryo. Gene-Pharm were trying to regain control, but I knew how quickly it could go wrong.”

  It wasn’t a good enough excuse in my opinion. How did he think it would turn out? If he had been successful, if he knew what I could do, then what? More like me? Would he have built himself a small army? Trained us to take down Gene-Pharm? That was exactly what Gene-Pharm was trying to do! He could delude himself that he was better somehow, but he wasn’t.

  “How did you get back in with Gene-Pharm?” I asked, because even after it all, he still went back to them.

  “I changed my identity, even had some reconstructive work done. Enough so that they wouldn’t connect me to who I was before. There was a new boss, new staff. It wasn’t that hard. They needed the best scientists. I didn’t want to do it, but your mother convinced me that it would be better to be on the inside than wondering what was going on.”

  Mom again. How long had she been pulling his strings? How many of his decisions were orchestrated by her?

  “What is their endgame?” I asked, popping a can of soda, my third of the day. I needed to find a better alternative.

  “To control everything. They’ve never stopped working on super soldiers. If they got their hands on you, they would have the perfect prototype.”

  Yet he was willing to send me into the lion’s den anyway. It wasn’t too long ago that he was trying to force me to leave the city, but now he wanted me in this fight. It was a good thing I wanted to take them down as badly as he did, or I would be gone.

  “Okay, so your plan? Where do we start?”

  “With the employees. Everyone has secrets. If we can get someone on the inside working for us, we might have a shot at bringing them down.”

  ***

  Jenna

  A month passed, Dad and I fell into our own routine. He would send me on recon missions, spying on the employees of Gene-Pharm. There were three men and one woman and so far, the worst thing any of them had done was to run a red light. They were low level, most working in the lab, but that meant they also knew what Gene-Pharm was creating next.

  When I wasn’t running around the city, I was training. Dad only knew how to box so he started teaching me some moves. Along with some weight training, I was starting to develop some serious muscle. When Chaos had me, they didn’t have someone doing one to one training with them. I had to rely on instinct, a few years at gymnastics and the orders they gave me. I was fast and I could throw a punch, sometimes that was enough. Other times I had to rely on whatever weapon they gave me. Like that ice pick.

  I preferred the recon trips to time spe
nt with Dad. I liked getting outside, to move around, even if I did have to wear a wig or a hat to hide my hair and stick to the alleyways and backroads.

  Life beyond the apartment continued as normal. Gene-Pharm products were everywhere. AS soldiers walked the streets and somewhere up in his ivory tower, Breton was lying to them all.

  I fantasized about marching in there and throwing him through a window on the top floor, but I would be shot or arrested if I came within fifty feet of the building. So, I followed random people and passed on messages from Dad’s contacts. It kept me busy, I needed that.

  Standing on a rooftop, I closed my eyes, enjoying the sun on my face. It felt good to be outside.

  “Jenna?” the voice in my ear interrupted my solitude. Dad had earpieces like he was some kind of spy or something.

  “Yeah, Dad?” I replied.

  “I just received word that there is a possible informant at McCready’s bar. He has been in the last few days, spouting off about the Alliance and Gene-Pharm. If he has information, I need you to try and get it from him.”

  “You want me to go find a drunk and try to recruit him?”

  “Essentially yes,” he said.

  “You do know that I am not twenty-one and won’t even get into the bar.”

  “You can wait outside for him. From what I’ve heard he doesn’t get a chance to stay long before they kick him out.”

  I glanced at my watch. “It’s not even noon.”

  “Better hurry then. He’s got dark hair and a scar on his neck according to my source.” He gave me the address and I made my way to the bar. If this guy was drinking before noon, I doubted he would be much use. Plenty of people griped about the AS, it didn’t mean they had enough to bring them down.

  McCready’s was a rundown place in need of a paintjob and a new sign. The M and Y were broken in it. The entrance was located in an alleyway and reeked of urine and vomit.

  Why did I agree to do this? This place is disgusting.

  I found a spot beside a dumpster, less than ten feet from the door. Settling myself on some wooden pallets, I waited. I got bored fast. Sitting still meant letting my mind wander and there were plenty of places I didn’t need it wandering to right now.

  The door crashed open, startling me. A woman with blonde hair staggered out. She glanced my way as she lit a cigarette.

  “What are you looking at?” she slurred.

  “Is there a dark-haired guy inside with a scar on his neck?” I asked.

  She took a drag of her cigarette, eyeing me up. “What’s it worth?”

  Sighing, I pulled out a ten-dollar bill and held it up.

  “The one claiming he’s going to take on the AS single handed?” she said.

  “That’s the one,” I said.

  “Yeah, he’s in there. He’s going to get himself killed talking like that.”

  “Probably.” I handed over the cash which she tucked into her bra under her tank top.

  “You know you look familiar,” the woman said.

  My cap was in place and I wore a blonde wig to hide my hair, but there was always a chance someone would recognize me. I took the baseball bat I had tucked into my backpack and rested it on my lap. I glanced at her.

  “My mistake,” she said, hurrying away.

  Once I was sure she was gone, I put the bat back. It wasn’t wise to be seen carrying anything more dangerous like a knife. I couldn’t afford to be stopped.

  Another thirty minutes passed. I was starting to get hungry and I had a cramp in my leg from sitting. I got up and walked back and forth across the alley.

  The door squeaked open behind me and I turned in time to see a man fall at my feet. A second later, he puked, hitting my sneakers with the backsplash.

  “Gross,” I groaned. I noticed a jagged scar on his neck. This was the guy.

  The man slowly raised his head to look at me. When his eyes met mine, I froze.

  It can’t be.

  “Wesley?” I whispered.

  “Jen?” he sputtered, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out, face down in his own vomit.

  5

  Jenna

  “Dad!” I yelled, as I crashed into the apartment trying to support Wesley’s semi-conscious form. It wasn’t easy getting him back here, I got plenty of strange looks.

  Dad came rushing out of his room. “What’s…is that Wesley?”

  “Yes, help me with him,” I said, beginning to lose my grip. Dad moved to support him and together we got him into my bedroom.

  “I thought you said he was dead,” Dad said, laying him out on the bed.

  “I thought he was too. I saw them blow up the barn and he was definitely inside.”

  Wesley made a gurgling sound, then leaned over the side of the bed to throw up on the floor. I backed away, feeling sick myself. How had he gotten into this state?

  “Grab a trash can and something to clean this up with,” Dad said. “Jenna!”

  “What?” I said, tearing my eyes away from Wesley.

  “Focus. Get some cloths or something.”

  I nodded, hurrying from the room. My hands were shaking as I soaked some cloths under the faucet. Images kept running through my mind of the helicopter and the barn. How did he escape? Did Mom survive too? I couldn’t hope for two miracles.

  I returned to the bedroom, handing the cloths to Dad who started cleaning up the vomit.

  “He’s on the drugs again, isn’t he?” I asked. Alcohol alone couldn’t do this.

  “Looks like it.”

  “What do we do?”

  “He just needs to get it out of his system,” Dad said, gathering the cloths up. “It will be okay, sweetheart.”

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I’ve never felt so helpless. Wesley’s clothes were a mess, he needed a shave and his hair was matted and greasy. In short, he looked like hell.

  Dad went through his pockets and tossed something onto the bed. I lifted it. It was a vial of Morphinal. Of course, old reliable. This combined with alcohol, he was lucky to be alive.

  Once Wesley was asleep and no longer vomiting, Dad ushered me from the room. I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to see if he was okay.

  “Were you followed?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Were you followed? He was running his mouth off, people were talking. Gene-Pharm could have sent someone to watch him.”

  Oh crap, I never even thought about that. “And I could have led them right here. I’m an idiot. I was too shocked over Wesley to even check.”

  “Check the hall,” Dad ordered, moving to the closet in the corner.

  I eased open the front door to check the hallway. It was empty. Moving slowly out, I headed toward the elevator. An entire team could be descending on the building right now for all I knew. A bit of weightlifting wasn’t going to be enough to take them down.

  Pressing the elevator button, I hid out of sight. It arrived on this floor and the doors open. It was empty.

  Time to check the stairs. I opened the door, covered in green peeling paint, and checked the stairwell. It was quiet. No jackboots heading my way.

  Leaning over the railing, I found nothing there. Maybe I got lucky. There was always a first time.

  Returning to the apartment, I passed apartment 3C, opposite ours. The door was open a crack and an old woman was peering out at me.

  “What was all that yelling about?” she snapped.

  “Oh, sorry. I’ll keep it down,” I said.

  “See that you do. Or I’ll call the AS.”

  “Really, lady, it won’t happen again, I swear.”

  She made a noise, which I took as agreement and closed the door. I’ll have to watch her and keep it down. The last thing we need is to be caught because the TV was too loud.

  Back in the apartment, Dad was waiting, with a gun.

  “Where the hell did you get that?” I asked.

  “From a friend.” He lowered it to his side.

  “Put it away. There�
�s no one out there.”

  I couldn’t imagine him firing a gun. Was he capable of killing someone? Yeah, if you count all the people who became zombies, he is definitely capable.

  “Maybe we should move,” Dad said. He placed the gun inside a small lock box. What else was he hiding in this apartment?

  “If Gene-Pharm were onto us they would have us in a cell by now. Can we just focus on helping Wesley?” I couldn’t face moving again. I spent years in that tiny apartment and now we were forever bouncing around from hideout to hideout. I never thought I’d miss our home.

  “He’s going to be out for a while. I’ll see if I can get a drip set up, he’ll need fluids.”

  “Well I need to speak to him. I’ll wait until he wakes up.”

  6

  Wesley

  The throbbing in my head woke me up. The worst part of my day – sobering up. Without opening my eyes, I checked my pockets for some Morphinal, but couldn’t find it. I swear I had one left. I was keeping it so I could sleep tonight.

  “Looking for this?” a voice said.

  I opened my eyes to find Jenna standing over me, holding out the Morphinal vial. She was glaring at me in that way that made me immediately regret whatever I’d done wrong. Pity she wasn’t real, just a figment of my imagination.

  Why does she keep haunting me?

  “Leave me alone, I can’t listen to you again,” I groaned. Every time I sobered up, Jenna would appear. Sometimes she would sit and silently judge me, other times I would get an entire lecture. I’m sure it was some part of my brain telling me to get my shit together, but I had no interest in listening to it. What did I have left to live for? The only good thing in my life was gone and I honestly wouldn’t care if I joined her.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jenna snapped. “How are you still alive?”

  “Well I wish I wasn’t, okay! I just want to sleep, leave me alone!” I screamed at her, turning away.

  The door slammed shut a second later. Does she come with sound effects now? Where am I anyway?