Infection

by Jason Perry

bullet. She dropped down, into the water, creating a tidal wave. The tidal wave threw the boat on the dock.

  Jake cursed “Shit!” as the boat crashed onto the dock.

  He crawled out from underneath the wreckage. His partner crawled out from underneath the wreckage, shortly afterward.

  “Are you alright, Jade?”

  “I’m alright, Jake.”

  Medusa jumped out of the water and landed on top of the wrecked boat, crushing it to pieces.

  She laughed “There’s no escape for you two.” her eyes glowing, a piercing yellow.

  She pulled a syringe out of the belt pouch. There was a yellow substance inside of it.

  Jake yelled “DON’T YOU DO IT!!!” before he charged at the mutated human.

  Medusa slapped Jake with her mutated arm, sending him backward, into a tree. Jade hobbled over to her stunned partner.

  Concerned, she gasped “Jake. Jake, are you alright?” while shaking him, to come to.

  Medusa laughed, before injecting the yellow substance into her heart. Moments passed and she started twitching, and growling a sharp, piercing pitch. She stumbled over and fell into the ocean. Jake finally came to.

  “What happened?”

  “We need to move. Medusa injected that yellow substance into her heart.”

  The water started vibrating. Medusa burst through the dock, causing it to collapse, into the ocean, bringing Jake, and Jade along with it.

  Jade called “Jake?! Jake, where are you?!” swimming around for her missing partner.

  Jake rose to the top of the water, coughing heavily. Jade looked behind her, to seeing her partner in swimming distance. She swam to him and grabbed a hold of him. Medusa jumped in the ocean, creating a water current. It tossed Jake out of Jade’s grip. Medusa swam to him and grabbed a hold of him, holding him under the water.

  Jade lashed out “LET GO OF HIM, YOU MONSTER!!!” before swimming toward her enemy.

  The mutated human lashed out “STAY BACK!!!” pushing water at her enemy.

  The water rammed into Jade, preventing her from getting any closer to Medusa, and Jake. He struggled to break free. Medusa’s grip tightened, painfully. He pulled the Silencer out of the holster and pulled the trigger. The special bullet was fired and shot through Medusa’s arm. She growled, as her grip on her enemy, loosened. He swam away from her and swam toward Jade.

  “Jade, over here!”

  “I’ll watch your back!”

  Medusa growled, before diving under the water.

  Jake suggested “Let’s get back to land.” swimming up to her and holding on to her.

  Jade nodded her head and swam with Jake, back to land.

  “We need to wipe this place out, or Medusa will just keep coming back.”

  “Let’s hurry. There’s no time to waste.” Jake mentioned.

  They headed back inside of the old saw mill.

  “It must’ve taken that bitch years to build all of this.”

  “How do you know that, Jade?”

  “She destroyed the library, where all of the files were kept.”

  Faint rumbling sounds, in the distance, could be heard.

  “Jake--what’s that?”

  Jake replied “My guess is that it must be Medusa.” gritting his teeth, in the process.

  “Where do you suppose she could be?”

  “She might be at the Isolation Chamber I’ve come across.”

  Red lights started flashing. Alarms also sounded.

  “The lockdown mode has been initiated! This sequence cannot be aborted for forty-eight hours. I repeat, the lockdown mode has been initiated! This sequence cannot be aborted for forty-eight hours. Head to the upper levels for safety.”

  Blue lights flashed. Water started pouring in, from the air vents.

  Jade inferred “She must be turning this place into a gigantic pool.” cautiously stepping away from the air vents.

  Growling sounds were getting louder and a lot closer. The wall behind Jake and Jade vibrated. It slowly collapsed. A mutated shark poked its nose through the hole.

  Jake ordered “Let’s move!” as the wall continued collapsing.

  Jade ran to the door and turned the valve handle. The water steadily rose, filling up the floor. The valve handle clicked and the door unlocked. Jade pulled it open. Jake ran in the room, first. Jade looked back and the wall caved in. She ran in the room and Jake helped her shut the door. The mutated shark rammed the door, repeatedly. A ladder lowered from the ceiling.

  Jake muttered “Looks like up is the way to go.”

  “That shark is trying to ram the door down.”

  “Damn! The water’s seeping through the cracks in it!”

  Jade snapped, impatiently “Come on, you damn ladder!” showing her frustration.

  The ladder finally lowered to the floor. Jade climbed up it, first. Jake jumped on it. The mutated shark rammed the door down and water flowed into the room, rising quickly.

  “Keep climbing, Jade. Don’t look down.”

  Jade complied “Okay.” as she climbed the ladder.

  Jake looked down and the water was rising faster. The mutated shark jumped out of the rising water, trying to clamp down on its targets. It rammed the ladder, causing it to shake. Jade lost her grip and fell off of it. Jake reached his hand out and grabbed her arm.

  “I got you. Hang on.”

  She grabbed the Silencer from Jake’s holster.

  She let out “Eat this!” pulling the trigger and firing at the mutated shark.

  It squealed, before sinking to the bottom. Jade climbed over Jake and continued climbing up the ladder.

  “We’re almost at the top, Jade. Keep climbing.”

  “Stay close to me, Jake.”

  She continued to climb the ladder. The water continued to rise, crashing onto Jake, and Jade. He lost his footing and dangled from the ladder. She looked down and reached her hand out. Jake grabbed her hand and regained his footing, on the ladder.

  Jade said “Almost there.” climbing up the ladder, faster than before.

  She reached the top of it and climbed onto the glass platform.

  “Grab my hand!”

  As Jake was about to grab his partner’s hand, the water crashed on him, knocking him off of the ladder.

  Jade shrieked “Jake!” before jumping into the water.

  A mutated shark was dragging Jake to the bottom. Jade readied the Silencer and fired at the shark. The bullet pierced its fin and Jake was released from its grip. She grabbed on to him and swam with him, to the top. She climbed on to the glass platform. Jake climbed on to the glass platform, shortly afterward. She slammed the door shut and sealed it, securely.

  “Are you alright, Jake?”

  “Thank you for rescuing me.”

  “We’re in this together, partner.”

  “I wonder where we go from here.”

  Jade murmured “That mysterious-looking door over there.” while pointing at it. “Maybe, that’s our way out of here.”

  Jake limped to the door. Jade followed behind him, while watching their back. He put his ear to the door and growling could be heard, on the other  side of it.

  “What’s wrong, Jake?”

  “I can hear growling.”

  He removed the latch. He grabbed the ring handle and pulled the door open. Jade stepped in front of Jake and readied the Silencer. The candles that aligned the walls barely lit the hall. As they crept down the hall, the growling grew louder. The hall became brighter, as they crept further down it.

  “I see a door.”

  Jake contested “I see it, too.” jogging ahead of his partner. “Now, let’s quickly get to it.”

  He opened the door. Jade headed inside. He followed behind her, shutting the door behind them, shortly afterward.

  “It’s a communications room.”

  “There must’ve been someone else involved.”

  The man standing at the open window caught Jade’s attention.

  She called, quietly
“Um, Sir?” hoping to get his attention.

  The man slowly turned around and faced Jake.

  “So nice to see you again, Jacob Winthrop.”

  “Connor?!”

  “Thought I was dead, didn’t you?”

  “What’s going on here?!”

  “I made a deal with Medusa, for wealth, and power.”

  Jade demanded “How could you do something like that?!”

  Connor protruded, sinisterly “In just a matter of time, the entire human race will cease to exist.” bursting into laughter.

  Jade snapped “I should kill you where you stand!” aiming the Silencer at their enemy.

  “Why would you want to wipe out the entire human race?” Jake questioned.

  “A new breed will be able to live freely, without any pesky, little humans interrogating them, or trying to cause them harm.

  “Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s not going to happen.”

  “You and what army, Jacob Winthrop?!”

  Jake became silent, which made Connor laugh, loudly. He held up a remote and pressed the green button on it, activating something.

  Jade shouted “What the Hell have you done?!” still aiming the Silencer at Connor.

  Jake looked down and he could see mutated sharks swimming underneath the see-through platform. A helicopter appeared in front of the window. Bullets flailed at Jake, and Jade. Some of the bullets ricocheted off of the platform, cracking it, in the process.

  Connor laughed “So long, suckers!” before jumping out of the window and into the helicopter.

  Jake demanded “”WAIT!!!” while running to the window.

  Jade said “We have to figure out what was activated when that asshole pressed that button.” slowly walking to the communications controls.

  Jake detested “We still have Medusa to deal with.” clenching his fists.

  “Hey, look at this.”

  Jake wondered “What is it, Jade?” as he approached her.

  “It looks like a missile was launched.”

  “That’s our cue to get