A woman stood up at the next table. Rachel hadn’t noticed the hooded cloak that she wore, it covered most of her face and she stood at the end of the table.
“Mary,” Eli said. “There are others like you. Make acquaintance. Show your face.”
Mary lifted the hood, exposing her face. She was young like Kasper and her complexion was ghost white as were her hands.
Rachel quickly faced Kasper.
“Dude …” Kasper said slowly. “Whoa.”
“Mary had been bit by the beasts several times,” Eli said.
“May I ask,” Stephanie spoke up. “What did your physicians do to keep her from completely turning?”
Eli shook his head. “Nothing but care. She grew terribly ill, the fever raged, we believed she passed and then she did not. We realize she was not one of them when she failed to attack and spoke within two weeks.”
“Like Kasper,” Rachel added. “Do the … creatures see her?”
“We keep them from her,” Eli replied. “She is a gift that God has shown us, all hope is not lost when one receives a bite.”
Yates spoke up. “One of our team was bit several times. He never got sick … however … the dead do see him, and the dogs go mad, unlike with Kasper.”
“That’s because …” Rachel looked at Stephanie. “And I’m no doctor so correct me if I’m wrong, but Fred has to have a different strain. For some reason he has the asymptomatic strain that makes people turn fast and without warning. The dogs are only trained to sniff out that strain.”
Stephanie nodded. “I really can’t wait to examine Fred.”
“If Fred has the main strain,” Yates said. “Or original, whatever you call it, does that mean your cure will work on him?”
“Yes.”
Eli’s eyes widened. “You have a cure?”
Rachel answered. “Oh, she does. She has the cure to the strain that makes people sick. Not the strain Kasper and Mary and the others, you know walking around eating people, have. We’re taking her to Center City to mass produce it.”
“Right now,” Zeus said. “She has limited doses and it’s crazy to think she has the answer to all this kept neatly in a silver case.”
“So you braved this land,” Eli said. “To retrieve her.”
“Yep.” Yates nodded. “Or else we’d be in Center City sipping Starbucks and having some R and R.”
“We …” Zeus emphasized. “Would be sipping Starbucks. You were banned from Center City.”
“Why were you banned?” Eli asked.
“Their virus sniffing dogs turned. I shot them,” Yates replied.
“Fast, too,” added Kasper. “He shoots everything too fast.”
“There is no ‘too quickly’ when it comes to animals,” Eli stated. “Any animal that transforms exhibits strength and speed beyond imagination. If you have not seen an infected racoon, I pray you never do.”
Yates cringed with a “Yikes. I bet.”
“Why would they train animals to find a virus?” Eli asked.
“They sniff the humans,” Rachel explained. “To see if they are infected. It’s more efficient than a blood test.”
“But animals have zero resistance,” Eli explained. “They go from fine to bad in seconds. That was not wise thinking.”
“Exactly.” Yates held out his hand. “I said the same thing.”
“They went nuts when they sniffed Fred. But they don’t around Kasper,” Rachel explained. “The infected animals don’t even bother him. Again, different strain. Dr. Levine …” Rachel turned to her. “If Mary didn’t need anything to keep her from transitioning. Maybe Kasper doesn’t need anything either.”
“That is possible. Dr. Stevens may have been proactive. His work will be very intense for me and I look forward to reviewing it and meeting him to find out his reasons. In fact …” Stephanie peered up to Mary. “I bet Dr. Stevens would love a sample of your blood for his work.”
“I sh-shall g-give it,” Mary replied. “If you so sh-shall n-need.”
“Ha,” Yates barked out a single laugh. “Kasp, she’s your soul mate.”
“Dude, you’re rude,” Kasper replied.
Stephanie sighed out. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the means for a blood sample. Do you, Eli?”
“We do not.”
“I do,” Rachel said. “I mean, we do. In Kasper’s case. There are two venipuncture kits. Dr. Stevens wanted us to take blood if we were out longer than ten days. We’re on our way back, you can use one.”
“That would be fantastic.”
Kasper stood at the same time as Rachel. “I’ll get it.”
“Are you sure?” Rachel asked.
“Positive. I want to see what’s taking Rigs so long.”
“Top portion,” Rachel instructed.
Kasper gave a thumbs up and walked to the EPEV.
He could hear Rigs even before he opened the door.
“Command One, this is Flaming Saffrons. Come in …” Rigs paused. “Command St. Louis, this is The Flaming Saffrons, come in.”
Kasper walked into the EPEV. Rigs was in the communication room, he could hear him as he walked to the medical area.
“This is St. Louis.”
“Hey, any word from Center City Command?” Rigs asked. “Over.”
“That’s a negative. Maybe coms are down. Over.”
Kasper stepped into the medical area, still listening. He saw the case under the counter. And he reached for it.
“Maybe,” Rigs said. “I tried satellite coms. No reply. Over.”
“We’ll keep trying. Over.”
“Me, too. Thanks. Out.”
Kasper lifted the base and placed it flat on the counter. He listened as Rigs kept trying to call out. Rigs sounded concerned, and that worried Kasper. Just the fact that no one was replying gave him a bad feeling.
Dr. Stevens had his own satellite phone, the number was in the case. He’d get it for Rigs, maybe he could reach him.
Kasper popped the latches and lifted the lid.
The second he did, he froze when he saw inside. He stared for a second, eyes shifting and knew right away he had the wrong case. It had to be the one that belonged to Doctor Levine. Quickly, he closed it, replaced it and saw the other case. He opened it, looked for the kits along with Dr. Stevens’ number.
“Kasp?”
“Uh!” Kasper jumped and slammed the lid to the case.
Rigs laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, whew, dude.” He shook his head and lifted the kit. “Just getting this for Dr. Levine. She wants to pull blood from Mary.”
“Who is Mary?”
“Oh, she’s a … give me a second … to think of a name.” Kasper snapped his finger. “Humishbie.”
“Humishbie?” Rigs asked.
“Yeah, part human, part zombie and part Amish.”
“Whoa, there’s another you?” Rigs asked.
“Yeah, but I’m not Amish.” Kasper fiddled with the kit. “I need to get this out there. And I got this for you.” He handed Rigs a piece of paper.
“What is this?”
“It’s Dr. Stevens Sat phone number. Thought maybe you can try that.”
“Thanks,” Rigs looked down at the paper. “Kasp, you okay?”
“Um, yeah, you coming out? We had pie. You might want to get out there before Zeus eats it all.”
“Yes, I will. I want to try just once more. You know, get a hold of Command and now Dr. Stevens.”
“Rigs, if you don’t get through, something is wrong. We’ve driven five hours, right?” Kasper asked. “It’s like five hours more to get back. Maybe we should just go.”
“Yeah.” Rigs nodded. “I’m thinking the same thing.”
“Good. See you out there.” With the kit in hand, Kasper left the EPEV.
Rachel watched as Stephanie took the blood specimen from Mary with Kasper overlooking like a nervous father. She didn’t get why he watched or felt the need to be overprotective.
; “So you know what you’re doing?” Kasper asked.
Stephanie chuckled. “Of course.”
“You know …” Zeus pointed. “Mary could be very helpful to you guys in fighting the dead. I mean, she could lead them instead of having them chase you.”
“Better yet,” Yates added. “Really, you people are skilled. Ever think about joining the force and becoming Eliminators or at least have a team represent you.”
“Could we?” Eli asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Yates replied. “You get cool weapons, all the food you want, a vehicle and map of places to go. You said you want to rid the world, that’s a way to help. Plus, booze, if you like booze, I don’t think you do.”
Eli rubbed his beard. “Would you place a good word in for us.”
“Yes.” Yates nodded. “I will and I can guarantee they’ll love to have you. So start thinking of a cool name.”
“It could be…” Rachel suggested. “The Amish.”
“Yeah, um, no.” Yates shook his head. “Something like The Am Squad.”
“Or,” Kasper added. “The Amishators.”
“What about?” Zeus asked. “The Flying Amish.”
“The what?” Yates snapped. “The flying Amish? What in the world does flying have to do with killing the dead or being Amish?”
“What does Amishators have to do with anything?” Zeus asked.
“Uh it’s a ship word,” said Yates. “Amish mixed with Eliminators. Amishators.”
“Oh, yeah.” Zeus nodded.
“Ah, I have a better one,” said Eli. “The name can be They Who Slay the Minion of Hell that Walk the Earth.”
Yates was going to say something, but instead, just pressed his lips together in a closed mouth smile. He then saw Rigs. “Well, it’s a about time, Rigs. You missed desert.”
“Sorry about that,” Rigs said.
“No worries,” Eli replied. “You are a busy leader. My wife has made you a pie for your road trip when you leave and a chicken.”
“Oh, wow, cool thanks,” Rigs said. “And we’ll take it. But we have to go, guys. I can’t get ahold of Command and I have a really bad feeling.” He quickly looked at Yates when he heard him laugh. “That’s funny to you?”
“Yes, yes it is. It’s a high tech, highly guarded area,” Yates replied. “Really, how bad can it be?”
SIXTEEN – SEALED
Center City
“Okay, that’s bad,” Barry clicked the receiver on the phone. “No signal, the phones aren’t working.
“The phones never worked,” Gretchen said,
“Why did you let me come in here to call?”
“I thought you knew something I didn't”
Barry grunted. “How do you communicate?”
“With?”
“Anyone!”
“Barry,” Sandy said soothingly. “Easy. It’s a stressful situation.”
“Thank you, Sandy.” Gretchen shivered a breath and reached out to her.
Calmly, Barry tried again. “Gretchen, if you need to reach out for help, what do you do?”
“Hit the emergency button. It’s like a panic button, but I already did that.”
Barry nodded. “And if you need to speak to someone outside of here in authority?”
“Radio. Mines in my office,” she replied.
“Good. You need to get that for me. How many patients are here?” Barry asked.
“Residents,” Gretchen said. “We never call them patients. They are called residents.”
Sandy cleared her throat, her signal to Barry that she knew he was getting upset.
“Thank you, Gretchen for that clarification. Now, how many residents are here?”
“Including you?”
“Gretchen!”
“Barry.”
Barry groaned.
Then Gretchen spoke at her loudest. Her voice screeching as her hands flailed in nervousness, “Including you and Sandy, thirty-two. Wait. No. Yes. Thirty-two. Six employees on this shift.”
Barry lifted his hand. “Now, we may be able to run from the infected, but they can’t.”
“If they haven’t turned,” Sandy said. “Or worse.”
“We need to gather them,” Barry instructed. “Gretchen you get your radio, Sandy and I will start helping the patients …”
“Residents.”
“Residents out. Sandy, we’ll shut the room doors if need be while we move them.”
Gretchen asked, “Where?”
“Near a door for quick escape. I’ll check the doors to see what it looks like outside and if need be we take them out.”
“Well, that’s not gonna happen,” Gretchen said.
“Why?” Barry asked.
“We’re on lockdown.”
“I know, but we can still escape …” Barry stood talking when Gretchen shook her head. “What? What is that head shaking? Are you saying no? Do you mean we can’t escape?”
“Lockdown is controlled by Command. A safety measure. No one gets in or out. They lock and unlock the doors.”
“Well, that’s just stupid,” Barry said. “Can you unlock them?”
“We are told to wait for a rescue or to radio for immediate assistance.”
“Then get that radio. In the meantime, we will start moving all the … residents to one area and keep them safe. That would be …” Barry left the answer to Gretchen.
She didn’t answer.
“Gretchen, we need a safe place to move everyone where we can lock the doors. Preferably with a second way out.”
Gretchen snapped her finger. “The main dining room. It has a door that leads to the courtyard and that is fenced in. I forgot, it’s a sliding door and the only one not controlled. We have to have a fire escape.”
“Good. Good. That’s where we’ll go,” Barry said. “That’s on the first floor near the rec room, so most of the residents are up here. Sandy, start with the residents, Gretchen, get the radio and help Sandy, I’m going down to check out the first floor to make sure it’s safe.”
“Go to it,” Sandy nodded.
“Stay safe and diligent,” Barry instructed. “Remember, Sandy, you’re an Eliminator.”
Gretchen laughed,
“That’s funny?” Barry questioned.
“Yes, the aging Eliminators,” Gretchen snickered.
“Yeah, well, these aging Eliminators are gonna save your butt. Now get to it,” Barry ordered.
Gretchen did a sloppy salute, hurried to the door, then stopped. “What am I doing again?”
<><><><>
It was like a covert operation, radio earpieces, silence and night vision. When General Morrows drove by the labs during a sweep, he saw how dark it was and decided he would lead a team in there.
“When you can,” Liz said to Morrows through his headpiece. “We’re still safe in Starbucks. We have food and water. Worry about everything else first. That lab foremost.”
“It’s not looking good ma’am.”
“Well, obviously not if I’ve been staring at the dead version of Dr. Stevens for twelve hours. General, at the very least secure and seal that lab so his research is intact … as best as you can.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And find Fred.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
General Morrows waved his hand for his team of four to follow. It wasn’t his place to go in, he had men and women for that. But knowing the importance of the lab, he felt he needed to not only be there, but to lead.
The outer doors to the lab were open and the windows busted.
“Everyone be ready for anything,” Morrows instructed as he led them down the hall.
There was a body there, a woman in a lab coat, nothing remained of her torso, blood laced the flood, thick and slippery, trails of which led out.
He pushed through the swinging door of the main lab. He knew that hallway. They were the rooms where they had kept Kasper and the other undead they experimented on and tested.
The windows weren’
t broken, it was dark in there, except the flickering emergency lights that illuminated enough for him to see.
The lab where Dr. Stevens did his work was in disarray. Chairs turned over, blood streaked the walls and computers. The doors and windows were broken and that told Morrows the dead easily entered.
He then went to check the rooms where the undead were kept on chains.
Like in the main lab, the doors weren’t busted, nor were the windows. The chains were still there, dangling from the wall, someone had set them free.
Even though most of the dead could open doors, he didn’t see how they could possibly use a key and undo the chains.
“Ma’am, come in,” General Morrows called out. “Could Dr. Stevens have let the dead out?”
“I don’t see why,” Liz replied. “What’s going on?”
“They’re all gone.” Morrows stopped at the final room. “Well not all.” He stared through the glass at the little undead girl. She hadn’t been freed, but she ran from the wall to the glass over and over trying to get out.
“General?”
“The kid remains.”
“Take it out.”
Morrows signaled one of his soldiers. “Careful with it, they’re fast.”
“The soldier nodded, weapon raised.
Just as he was about to report his stock, ‘yes, ma’am’, a screeching, loud, screaming woman’s voice blasted in his earpiece.
“Help! Help us! Anyone there!” she screamed.
Instinctively, Morrows flicked the earpiece from his ear and winced. He adjusted the volume on the radio and placed it back in. When he did, he heard Liz already engaged in conversation.
“Gretchen, calm down,” Liz told her. “You have Barry there. We’ll send a rescue team as soon as we can.”
<><><><>
Sandy thought ahead. She not only grabbed a cane from storage to use as a blunt object, she grabbed ace bandages in case she had to tie someone up. If they were in a wheelchair and turned, she needed only to tie the chair to something.
She had moved Agnes and three others in wheelchairs by the elevators. Another woman and man, who needed no walking apparatus waited with them.
The Eliminators | Volume 3 Page 14
