Viral

by S. K. Gregory

  “Got it,” someone yelled as the door started to descend.

  “Wesley!” I cried in a panic, worried he would get trapped inside, but he ducked under the door and joined us on the other side.

  A few others joined us and I watched as the door sealed shut, Mom along with it. There was no coming back from this. She really was gone this time. She’ll be eaten by the zombies. At least she didn’t get back up as one of them.

  “We need to get out of here,” Dad said. “Before we’re arrested.”

  “Gene-Pharm will have enough to deal with,” Wesley said, taking my hand.

  “Let’s give them something more.” I pulled the pin off my shirt and held it up. “Breton confessed that zombies still exist.”

  I handed it to Dad.

  He stared at it in astonishment. “This is everything, Jenna. Everything we’ve been working toward.”

  He looked proud of me, but I felt numb. Did it even matter anymore? Mom was gone. I remembered her last words to me.

  “We need to go back to Chaos.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Jessica. I have to get her.” She wasn’t staying there, she was coming home with me.

  “Who is Jessica?” Dad asked.

  “My sister.”

  “Your what?”

  “I was a twin. Mom kept her. She was raised by Chaos, but she doesn’t know about any of it. She thinks Mom kept us separate because she was sick.”

  Dad went pale. “Twins? That’s why she was acting weird, why she was at that place when I found her. How could she do this?”

  “Let’s go get her, before Chaos move her.”

  ***

  Jenna

  Hurrying through the halls of the Chaos building, I just hoped Jessica was in her room. Dad was close behind. No one stopped us at the door. They were probably scrambling after what happened.

  Dad’s going to meet his daughter for the first time, I thought as we reached the right floor.

  We reached the cells. I yanked open the door to Jessica’s room to find her huddled on the bed. She looked younger than eighteen, like a child.

  “Jenna? What’s happening?” she asked.

  When Dad stepped into the room, she froze. “You’re…”

  Dad looked just as shocked, but he forced a smile.

  “Jessica. It’s so good to finally meet you.”

  He reached out a hand to her, but she backed away, glancing fearfully at me. What lies had Mom told her?

  “It’s okay, Jessica. We need to leave here,” I said, grabbing a bag for her.

  “Where’s Angela?” she asked.

  “I’ll explain everything once we get somewhere safe.”

  “No, I don’t want to leave. Where is Angela?” Jessica cried, pushing me away.

  I looked at Dad for help.

  “I’m sorry, Jessica. Your mother…she died. We’re here to take you home.”

  Jessica’s eyes widened in shock. “No. I don’t believe you. This is my home and Angela will come back.”

  “She’s not coming back. I’m sorry. I saw her die, she’s gone,” I said as gently as possible. I didn’t want to rush her, but who knew how long we had.

  “How?” Jessica asked.

  “She was shot in the leg. She lost too much blood.” I couldn’t tell her about the zombie bite, it was too much.

  Jessica started to cry.

  I pulled Dad aside. “How do we make her listen. They’ll be back soon and now that Mom’s gone, they might want us dead.”

  “There’ll be a power struggle for sure.”

  “What if I took over?” I blurted.

  Dad looked at me as though I’d gone insane. “You can’t be here. Neither of you can.”

  “Mom wanted me to take her place one day. What if I did? I could stop all this.”

  He shook his head. “No, you have no idea if they would listen to you. Besides, Chaos is the enemy.”

  I wasn’t sure who the enemy was anymore. Was there even a right side? Or were we all just lashing out at each other.

  “Please come with us, Jessica. I know you’re scared, but I’ll take care of you,” I said. That was my job now.

  “I don’t know you,” she snapped.

  “I’m your sister. You can trust me.”

  She retreated to the corner of the cell, turning her back on us.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Dad said.

  He stepped up to Jessica, pulling something from his pocket. He plunged a syringe into her neck.

  “Dad!” I cried.

  “Argue later,” he said, scooping her up. “Let’s go.”

  25

  Jenna

  We gathered around the small TV in the rec room of the old YMCA we were currently staying in, to watch the news. They were reporting the incident at Gene-Pharm. The reporter, a woman in her thirties, looked visibly shaken.

  “Reports are still coming in, but it appears that Gene-Pharm Industries has ceased operation. Video footage was sent to news outlets late last night showing CEO Matthew Breton admitting that zombies still exist and that Gene-Pharm have been experimenting on them. A reporter was sent to Gene-Pharm Industries and he recorded this.”

  The image switched to hand-held camera footage looking in on the garage and the carnage we left behind. Shuffling around in the middle of it, was a zombified Breton. He didn’t escape after all. Good.

  “Stocks in Gene-Pharm Industries plummeted in record time as people began rioting in the streets. People are being asked to remain in their homes and are being told that they are in no immediate danger.”

  I turned away from the TV. It was over. The world knew the truth, but was it any better off? People were going to lose their minds. It would be, well, chaos. Just like Mom wanted.

  Dad was grinning and shaking hands with the others. He fulfilled his life-long dream. And it only cost him a wife.

  Glad someone is happy.

  I went to leave the room, but Dad stopped me. “Hey, everything will be okay, kiddo.”

  “Really? Is this it? Do we all retire to a desert island now?” I asked sarcastically.

  “We need to make sure no one else takes over. But this is a huge win for us.”

  “Yeah, sorry I’m not in the mood to celebrate. Kinda bummed over my mother dying in my arms!”

  I stormed out of the room. Not even a day and he’s already forgotten about her. Did he even really love her?

  I headed for Jessica’s room to see if she was okay. She must be terrified, being pulled away from everything she’s ever known. Dad drugging her didn’t help.

  A guard stood outside her room which annoyed me, she wasn’t a prisoner. I pushed past her and opened the door to find her sobbing on the bed. When she saw me, she leapt up. “Stay away from me!”

  “Calm down. You’re safe here. I know this is scary…”

  “You don’t know anything about me. My family is dead and I want to go home.”

  I stared at her, seeing myself in her. I understood exactly how she felt. “Dad wants you to stay.”

  “And you?”

  “I want you to be okay.”

  “I was okay where I was.”

  “I know you don’t want to believe me, but Chaos has killed a lot of people. There’s a good chance they would kill both of us if they saw us again.”

  “You kidnapped me. I’ll tell Bishop that, he’ll listen to me.” It was a chance I wasn’t willing to take.

  “Just give it a few days. Talk to Dad and then decide what you want to do.” It wasn’t what she wanted to hear and in truth I didn’t want her to stay here with him, but I needed time to think of a better plan.

  She glared at me. “Not like I have a choice with that goon outside. Just leave me alone.”

  I turned away then stopped. “What if you didn’t have to stay here? What if we left all of this behind?”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

  Her words stung. I was trying to help her. “Think about it.
”

  Leaving the room, I went to find Wesley. He was sitting in his room, eating a bag of chips.

  “Guess you heard the news?” I asked.

  “Yep. So, I am taking a well-deserved break.”

  I grabbed the bag of chips and ate some. I hadn’t eaten in ages. “Jessica hates me.”

  “She’ll come around.”

  “No, she won’t. She’s as stubborn as I am. I don’t think she should stay here.”

  “Where would she go?”

  “I don’t know. We’d need money to go anywhere. Don’t suppose you have a secret trust fund?”

  “Ha! No, I do not. Although…”

  “What?”

  “I bet that Chaos has a lot of money. Look at that building, the lab, they weren’t cheap.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, maybe they’ll give me an allowance.”

  “Have you actually thought about your mother’s offer?” he asked, surprising me.

  “Join Chaos?”

  “Yes, well not officially. But you could have access to everything. Think what you could do with it.”

  I had thought about it. A lot. “I can’t just walk in there. Can I?”

  26

  Jenna

  Walking through the doors into Chaos, I wondered what kind of reception I would get. Dad didn’t know I was here, no point in giving him the chance to lock me up too.

  No one made it out of Gene-Pharm, as far as I knew, but they could have pieced together what happened. They knew Mom was gone at the very least. From the news reports, the building was quarantined. Any bodies found inside would have been incinerated.

  Bishop was waiting in the lobby. He did not look pleased to see me.

  “I need to speak to the people in charge,” I said, trying to appear confident, while every instinct told me to run.

  “Regarding what?”

  “Everything. Mom for a start.”

  “Of course. My condolences for your loss.” He didn’t sound sincere.

  I nodded, but the reality is Bishop probably knew her better than I did. He led me upstairs to a conference room. The people from before were sitting around the table, it looked like they had been in the middle of a meeting already.

  “Miss DeLuise wishes to speak with us.”

  Bishop took a seat, giving me the floor. Wow, I never thought I’d get this far. What the hell do I say?

  “Um, thank you. I’m here because, uh, my mother spoke to me before she died, she wanted me to take over from her.”

  “We’re aware of her plans,” one man said.

  “Well, I want to take her place.”

  Bishop glanced at the others. “No. We have no interest in working with you. You have proven what side you are on. You returned to your father, that’s all we needed to know.”

  “He showed up and got me out. Chaos is mine, I am the one Mom wanted to take over.”

  “And what would you do with it?” one man asked.

  This was where I was going to lose them. “I want peace. I want Chaos to stop what it is doing and work to help people.”

  Bishop stood up. “Another example of how little you know about this organization. We do help people. You may not agree with our methods, but they certainly won’t be changing anytime soon. I think you should leave.”

  “You can’t do this,” I said.

  “In deference to your mother I am letting you leave here alive. Don’t come back here.”

  I was ushered out of the room by Bishop. When we reached the lobby, he let go of my arm.

  “Where is Jessica?” he asked.

  “Safe. Away from you!”

  “You really are your father’s daughter, you know that? I have heard many tales of him over the years, from your mother. She should have brought you here too.”

  “I am not my father and I am not my mother. I’m my own person. I could lead, I could change things. With Gene-Pharm gone, we could help people, not lie to them.”

  “People need to be lied to. Otherwise they lose it and could take the city down with them.”

  He pointed to the door. “Leave.”

  I did as he said, frustrated and angry. I guess I shouldn’t be insulted to be told I wasn’t good enough to run a terrorist organization, but it didn’t solve the problem. What did I do now?

  Returning to Dad, carrying on his fight wasn’t something I wanted. If I couldn’t stop all this craziness, then I wanted out of it. For good.

  27

  Jenna

  The alarm went off at dawn. Running from my room, I saw Dad moving down the corridor in the opposite direction. I raced after him, hoping that Chaos weren’t here, ready to slaughter us all.

  “Dad!” I yelled.

  He stopped in the small room that housed the cameras, allowing me to catch up to him.

  “Is it Chaos?”

  “No, it’s Jessica,” he said, staring at the camera.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s run off. Come on, we have to catch her.”

  We hurried outside to the gate, but Jessica was already out of sight. I knew she would try something like this. It’s exactly what I would do.

  “Where would she go?” I asked.

  “Back to Chaos. It’s all she’s ever known.”

  How could she return to those monsters? They probably thought she was a traitor like me. Would they take her in or kill her?

  “We have to get her back, they’ll hurt her.”

  Dad nodded, going for his van. We both got in and drove off, searching the streets for her.

  We searched for over an hour, but she had given us the slip. In the end we had no choice but to head to Chaos. They were getting bolder. No longer in hiding. They didn’t even bother to change location. Then again, Mom knew where Dad was hiding, so neither one was making a move – yet.

  I convinced Dad to stay in the van, they definitely wouldn’t let him in, but they might let me in.

  Approaching the building, a man stepped out from inside, blocking my way.

  “You’re not welcome here,” he said.

  “I want to see my sister. Is she here?”

  He just stared at me.

  “I want to speak to Bishop. I’m not leaving until I do.” Crossing my arms, I glared at him.

  After several long, drawn out minutes, he spoke into his walkie talkie. It was several more minutes before Bishop arrived.

  “I believe I gave you an answer when I spoke to you last.”

  “Is Jessica here?”

  He sighed. “It’s my job to protect this organization. What goes on inside is none of your concern.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes. I know she is scared, but she belongs with me. She belongs with her family.”

  “We are the only family she has ever known.”

  He wasn’t wrong, but things change. “I’m not going to let anyone else hurt her.”

  Bishop sneered at me. “Jessica has never been harmed. She has always been taken care of and that will continue to be the case. She is the future of Chaos. If she ran from you, then I think it is clear where her loyalties lie.”

  We would never be able to get inside. Besides they could move her somewhere else, hide her for good.

  “Fine. Then at least give her a message. Tell her if she needs me, I’m here.”

  Bishop nodded and headed back inside.

  Back in the van, I told Dad what happened. “We can’t leave her.”

  “She wanted to come back here, Dad. I don’t think they will harm her. They need her. Right now, I think we have to leave her.”

  It took some more persuading to get him to start the van, but he did and we headed back to base. He shut himself in his office for the rest of the day.

  As I passed Dad’s office later that night, I could hear him talking to someone inside. “We could get some men together, storm the place.”

  “We don’t know what kind of weapons they have. We are not equipped to take them on,” Lance replied. He was one of Dad’s me
n.

  “Well I don’t know what else to do. If I could get through to her, make her see that we are her family, maybe she would listen.”

  “She doesn’t know you, Tom. Angela made sure of that.”

  “I hate this. I hate her. Everything she did. Denying me my own daughter.”

  “Pretty diabolical.”

  “Do you think she’s like Jenna? They are twins.”

  “If she was, I imagine they would have used her in the fight.”

  “I just wish I had more time with her.”

  I closed my eyes and counted slowly to ten. Something I was trying instead of pain. It wasn’t as effective. A daughter he never knew, may never see again and he is upset that he didn’t get to use her in his war. And it was his war. I was done. He wanted me to expose Gene-Pharm and I had done my part.

  Moving further down the hall, I went into my room. Wesley was lying in bed, half asleep. I climbed in next to him. Wesley put his arm around me, pulling me close.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  “No, I’m not. I can’t believe Jessica went back to them.”

  “It’s all she’s ever known.”

  “I heard Dad talking. He thinks there is a chance she’ll be like me. The daughter he never knew existed and he’s wondering how he can use her too. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of all of them.”

  “So, what do you want to do? Run away?”

  “Honestly? Yes, I do.”

  He kissed my forehead. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

  “Really?” I asked in surprise.

  “I go where you go. If Tom wants to keep fighting, let him. We deserve a life of our own.”

  I smiled. “Thank you.”

  Resting my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes. “Maybe Jessica will come back to us.”

  ***

  Tom

  I sat in my office, seething over Jessica’s decision to return to them. She should be here with me.

  I poured myself another drink, my third. The victory of Gene-Pharm was a hollow one. It cost so much. I had to keep my game face on for the others, but inside I was tired and angry, and grieving my traitor of a wife.

  There was a knock at the door.