This time, the Sergeant did grin. “And what’s your question?”
“Am I right?” Cedric asked knowing the answer.
“That’s classified,” Pearson said still grinning. “But, I do see now why you’ve got a kid on your council.”
“Okay,” Sue said. “So, if that’s true, how can we help.”
“What help can you offer? I’m being serious, not sarcastic. What can you offer?” Pearson asked.
Sue sat back and looked at the other council members.
Garcia, who normally stayed silent during these meetings, said, “We can’t commit anything yet. We need to hear what you need. You also need to declassify some of this to the people in this room. We will not share the classified bits of information with anyone except the assistant department heads. But, it sounds like you will need some assistance. Tell us what you need and declassify your mission.”
Pearson turned to the soldier on his right and said, “Sergeant Reid, what do you think?”
Reid was a larger, African-American man, one of the two men with a backpack still on. His bald head nearly glinted with the fluorescent lighting. His voice was reminiscent of a bulldog. “The lady’s right. Declassify it. We have no transport.”
Pearson inhaled and Cedric thought it looked like it pained him to break protocol. “Your boy, Cedric isn’t it?” Cedric nodded. “He’s mostly right. There is a lab in Houston that can replicate what our scientists have done. The other transports are headed to similar locations.”
Pearson then turned to Cedric, “Why did you say Atlanta earlier?”
“CDC,” Cedric said. “I remember talking about the CDC in Biology class.”
“Damn, you’re good,” Pearson said chuckling. “Air Team Bravo is headed to Atlanta. Charlie is headed to a lab in Canada. The ground teams are headed to upstate New York and Indianapolis. We only had enough air fuel for the six helicopters.”
“Sergeant Reid,” Pearson said. “You’re our biologist. Please explain.”
Reid nodded and slung his backpack off carefully. As he began opening it, he said, “Before I start, can I ask a question?”
“Sure,” Sue said.
“Cedric, can I check something on you? A small anomaly?” Reid asked.
Cedric nodded as Reid pulled a small flashlight from his backpack. He shined it directly in Cedric’s face.
“When?” He asked.
“I’m sorry?” Cedric asked. He could feel the skin on his abdomen begin to tingle and his palms sweat.
“Don’t play coy,” Reid said. “When were you infected?”
Garcia and Dr. Moore were the only two who were not present when Cedric had had an infection scare six months ago, so they both looked taken aback at the question. The others looked on edge since they didn’t know where the questions were headed.
“Don’t worry,” Reid said. “You’re not dangerous. But I can see it in your eyes.”
Cedric gasped slightly as Reid turned the flashlight and shown it in his own face for Cedric to see. His eyes were a deep shade of brown but something was off. There was a small golden starburst surrounding his pupil—the same gold starburst that all of the infected had—the same gold starburst Cedric had from the time he’d gotten blood in his wound.
“I was attacked at a library,” Cedric said. “I sliced my stomach on broken glass. I shot an infected human in the head and its blood dripped into my wound. I never got infected though.”
“Oh, you did,” Reid said. “But with only one part of the infection.”
Reid walked back toward his crew and shown the light in all of their faces. Each soldier had the same starburst pattern. Reid returned to his seat knowing he now had a captive audience.
“First, let me quickly explain the infection. Five years ago, Scientists in Sweden discovered a bacteria that could speed up the healing process. Around the same time, German scientists manufactured a prokaryotic cell that actually replicates healing in humans.”
Dr. Moore immediately questioned, “That’s a medical miracle. How does that even work?”
“Very simply put,” Reid said, “The cells create a type of slime mold that leaves behind an exoskeleton. The exoskeleton mimics human scabs, soft tissue, spongy bone, or whatever else needs healing. Then, the body accepts the implant and finishes the job.”
Dr. Moore’s jaw hung open as Reid talked.
“These two were being combined at a black site in Houston. It was an off-the-books microbiology lab that specialized in soldier enhancement and biological warfare.”
“I thought biowarfare was illegal?” Sue asked.
“Every law has loopholes,” Pearson said.
Sue scoffed, but Reid continued. “At the same time, another experiment was going on. This one was, well… a way that there was a loophole in the biological warfare ban. The parasite, toxoplasma gondii has been around for a very long time. It infects mammals. In humans, it really doesn’t do much. It can sometimes cause flu-like symptoms. But, in rats, it causes them to lose their fear of predators. Mainly cats. It causes a permanent change in behavior.”
“About ten years ago,” Reid continued, “some scientists noticed that deer across the country were losing their fear of humans. We had been chalking this up to desensitization because of park feedings. But, one scientist began taking samples from slaughtered deer in Illinois. He found a mutated form of toxoplasma gondii. He called it toxoplasma gondii cervoidea. Agriscience got in on it. They began to experiment with mutations for cattle so that farmers could easily work with their animals.”
Reid paused as he chose his next words carefully. “Then, the military began to get involved. Infect an enemy water supply. Soon, they would have no fear, hatred, or any other feelings toward other humans. We could just walk in and take prisoners without bloodshed.”
“And this went horribly wrong,” Sue asked.
“No,” Reid said. “It actually worked. We never used it in war, but the CIA did quietly test it on a terrorist cell in Mexico. They called in a tip to the Federales. They showed up in force and kicked down the door. The entire cell just quietly got up and surrendered. Told the Federales everything.”
“So, what the heck happened?” Cedric asked.
Now, Pearson picked the story back up. “Somehow, these two serums were combined. We don’t know the details. But, we do know that combined, they are violently reactive.”
“Both of the serums have a genetic kill code,” Reid added. “The healing serum dies in the body after twelve hours. Almost any wound will heal within that timeframe. If it doesn’t, you can take a second dose.” After he finished this sentence, he pulled a metal box from his backpack. It was locked tight and about the size of an Easy Bake Oven.
Once he managed to open the locks, he pulled a smile vial from the foam lined interior.
“Looks like Windex,” Charlie said.
“This is the Asclepius Serum, named after the Greek god of healing,” Reid explained.
He carefully replaced the vial in the box and pulled out a new vial. It’s contents were clear instead of light blue.
“This,” he said, “is the Bacchus Contagion, named after the Roman god of madness. Don’t worry,” Reid added when he noticed everyone begin to back away. “The vial is entirely unbreakable. It can only be uncapped with a special tool.”
Cedric looked around. Even Charlie, the master of light-hearted ease, looked tense. “Does it have a genetic kill code, too?” Cedric asked.
“About one-hundred-sixty-eight hours,” Reid said.
“That’s… oddly specific,” Charlie commented.
“One week,” Ron said, speaking for the first time.
Thanks, Rainman, Cedric thought to himself. It was their joke because Ron always had the answers when it came to numbers.
“Exactly,” Reid said. “Once oxygen breaks the seal, it starts. It takes about six hours from ingestion to kick in.”
“So, how do the infected humans last so long?” Sue asked.
/> “Like we said,” Pearson explained, “They reacted violently together. But, we can’t figure out how or why. Somehow, they are keeping each other alive.”
“But,” Reid interjected, “They were unable to replicate it in any of our labs. We are missing some kind of catalyst. Something that sparked these to function together to create this. We can’t find a cure until we determine what that is. And even with the samples in the lab, we can’t crack the code.”
“What kind of doctors do you have working in the labs?” Dr. Moore asked.
“That’s the thing, doc,” Reid said. “We don’t have many. I’ve been working on the project. I’m one of the lead scientists. But, I only have a bachelor’s in microbiology. I was planning on being a teacher, not a lab rat. We’re stretched thin.”
“And you’ve simulated a combination with all other serums and contagions from the lab in Houston?” Dr. Moore asked.
“Yeah. And we’ve checked for biomarkers. All of our manufactured bios have small genetic markers. We can only find three: the two healing ones, and the parasite.” Reid carefully placed the Bacchus Contagion back in the case and exhaled.
“We could use you, doc,” he added.
Cedric was about to protest when he caught movement from the corner of his eye. He turned to see Ron walking very fast from the room.
“Ron!” Sue called after him. Once he’d left, she turned to the others and said, “What’s his deal?”
“When nature calls?” Charlie asked.
Before the discussion could continue much farther, Ron burst back into the room holding a small leather-bound book. He quickly flipped through the first few pages and scanned. Everyone stared at him.
Cedric immediately recognized the text as their homemade history book that recounted the events of last November. He turned to Charlie and squinted in confusion. Charlie just shrugged.
After a few moments, Ron began to read:
“I did not know at the time it was actually some form of contagion. We discussed the scenario at work throughout the day. The stomach bugs, norovirus and rotavirus, were just picking up speed with the school year. The influenza would not be far behind. We always saw a rise in illness in late September.
The next day, they locked down Harris County, Texas. It is the county that held Houston. We again discussed this new information at the hospital. Dr. Sanders postulated that it was a variant of the rabies virus. I didn’t think that this was plausible. Dr. Zhang thought it may have been a particularly nasty strain of influenza that caused hallucinations. Some strains have caused mild hallucinations before. Perhaps this strain did the same. She may have been right. We still do not know.”
Everyone sat in stunned silence while the truth sank in. Cedric noticed Dr. Moore mouthing his thoughts. When he turned, he saw Reid’s jaw hanging slightly open in shame.
“I…” Reid said. “Like I said. We aren’t doctors. We never even thought…”
“You didn’t think of an outside contagion as the catalyst?” Dr. Moore asked.
“Sterile rooms,” Reid said. “We made a grave mistake in thinking that sterile rooms meant no outside contamination.”
“Yeah,” Dr. Moore said. “But sterile rooms have their limitations. A pathogen could be carried inside of a worker. A trojan horse scenario.”
“We need to test tissue samples for signs of viral infection. We never did because none of our work used viruses. Only protists, bacteria, and fungi.” Reid said. “We ran full spectrum tests on those and came up with nothing extra.”
“Cedric,” Dr. Moore asked, “Can the offense department secure us some tissue samples tomorrow?”
“Affirmative,” Cedric said. “We have to make a run to both outposts to deliver supplies anyway. We can snag something while we’re out.”
Cedric turned back to Reid, “One last thing. What else is in the case?”
Reid turned to Pearson who nodded. “We’ve told them everything else, might as well.”
Reid reached back into the case and removed another vial. This one had a cloudy yellow-tinged liquid inside. “This is a vaccine against the infection. We do not have a cure, and we only have a limited amount of vaccine. But, this does prevent the contagion from impacting you negatively. It is a vaccine against toxoplasma gondii, specifically.”
“So,” Cedric asked thinking it through. “So, assuming you had the vaccine, and you got bit, you’d just heal up very quickly?”
“Essentially, yes,” Reid said. “The toxoplasma gondii sapien would be killed by your immune system. But, it’s not a one hundred percent sure thing.”
“Can we get more of this vaccine?” Cedric asked.
“We are making more at a lab, but it was fairly new as it is. It was never mass-produced.” Reid answered.
“So, our best bet for survival is to get you to Houston?” Cedric asked.
“And in a hurry,” Pearson commented. “Remember that quarantine I mentioned? I don’t know the timetable, but it will not last forever. Eventually, the U.N. will order a full-scale biological cleanse.”
“What exactly does that entail?” Sue asked, dreading the answer.
It was Reid who answered this time, “The rumor is that the U.N. has a special bombing tactic designed to wipe out an entire small country in case of a severe biological threat. My guess, they will modify it.”
“So,” Cedric repeated, “our best bet is to get you to Houston in a hurry?”
“I’m going to return to my original question then,” Pearson said. “What help can you give us?”
Sue caught the attention of each department head in turn to make sure they all agreed. It was entirely nonverbal, but she knew everyone was thinking the same thing—no vote needed.
“Master Gunnery Sergeant William Pearson of the United States Marine Corps,” Sue said, “you have our full support. We will get you to Houston.”
Chapter Seven:
MISSION PLANNING
After breakfast with Karli the next morning, Cedric and Steph went on their weekly outpost drop. It was an easy enough run. When the Nighthawks had begun pulling people to their headquarters, they ran into two instances where the people did not want to live at the school.
In one case, it was a middle-aged widower named Mike who had built himself a treehouse by the lake. He was living on a diet of forest foods and fish. It was a fifteen-minute drive from the school. Cedric had talked the man into keeping tabs with the group and helping each other.
The Nighthawks would deliver books and supplements to his diet, and Mike got to do what he loved: fish. When they brought supplies, he would always have frozen fish ready to go. After they’d struck their deal, Ron had installed enough solar panels for Mike to run a few lights, a small freezer, and a CD player.
The other case was a small family who refused to go. They had secure block walls built around their entire yard. The yard was large enough for a good-sized garden. The man, Virgil, knew enough about different fruits and vegetables to use the space year-round. His garden was producing more than they needed, so the Nighthawks always brought meat to trade.
Again, Ron had installed some solar panels for the family to run a small stove. The wife, Marie, liked to can some of the produce. Their son, Oscar, was 16. Cedric and Karli both knew him from school.
In addition to their trading and occasional CB communication, they had one other understanding. If someone from HQ needed a place to stay when they were outside of the walls, the outposts would take them. Cedric and Steph had, on one occasion, gotten caught in a huge storm the month before and had to crash in the treehouse.
This trip was not the usual run, though. It was more than a simple trade-route. Dr. Moore had requested tissue samples from three different infected humans. He had put all kinds of requirements on it. Cedric understood why, but it also stretched their normal one-hour route to three hours. For Cedric, the time just went by. It wasn’t necessarily hard, just tedious.
When they arrived back and delivered the samp
les, they hit the decontamination showers and went to lunch. Karli was waiting at her normal table with the kids.
“What took so long this run, Ced?” She asked as soon as Cedric sat down.
“I’m actually not allowed to say,” Cedric said. He immediately knew this was the wrong thing to say.
“What do you mean, Cedric?” Karli asked. It was always when she said his full name instead of just Ced… And always in that tone.
“I’m not allowed to talk about it, hon,” Cedric said.
“Why not? We don’t keep secrets,” she said sternly.
“Sue’s orders,” Cedric said trying to pass the blame and calm Karli down.
“Sue can’t give you orders,” Karli rebuffed. “You’re technically equals in status.”
Cedric leaned over and kissed Karli on the cheek and whispered, “later.”
Cedric had barely taken his first bite of food when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Adam and Paul standing at attention like they had important news. He turned back to Karli and she said, “Don’t know, the council has had them running messages all morning.”
“What’s up, guys?” Cedric asked when he turned back.
Adam stood up straight and said in his most official sounding voice, “There’s a council meeting right now. They’re waiting on you.”
Cedric groaned as he picked up his bowl. “I guess I’ll talk to you in a couple of hours,” he said as he turned to walk away.
Karli grabbed Cedric’s free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He squeezed back before he left.
As soon as Cedric walked into the room he’d spent forever in the night before, he knew what was going on. All of the council members, the soldiers, and the assistant department heads were present. It was time to figure out how to get to Houston.
The Living Saga (Book 2): Enduring Page 8