Mage Marine Misfits: Book 01

by Derek Wallace

  When Jordan woke up, hours later, he was alone and the room was pitch dark. He had a pulsing pain in his leg which was almost unbearable. He was hot and sweating like he’d just run a marathon or the room’s thermostat was set to desert temperatures.

  He could hear the familiar noises of a snoring busy hospital, so he decided against switching the light on and just limped blindly to the bathroom down the hall. He was glad to reach the bathroom without crashing into anything or bumping into anyone. He was dizzy and disoriented, and for a moment hadn't been sure if he would trip in the dark.

  He closed the bathroom door behind him leaning against it tiredly.

  “Light on,” he said.

  It was unbearably bright and Jordan closed his eyes, pained by the sudden change. He splashed his face with cold water and dared to look in the mirror to see how bad he really looked. His eyes were huge, haunted and red-rimmed. They felt heavy and bulged out his face as if he was coming down with something. He stumbled to the cubicle and did his business and then froze when he heard someone else enter the room. He listened intently, for what, he didn’t know. He pushed open the door so he had a gap narrow enough to peer through.

  A man was standing at the mirror, a look of panic on his face. He rolled up the leg of his trousers, undoing some bandages around a wound in his thigh. A black, alien-looking chitin had grown over it. Even an engineer like Jordan could see this was really, really bad. The man stared as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. The man looked again in the mirror, peering hopefully as if he might see something different this time. But the truth stared back at him, unflinching. His eyes were red and black; the infection was already starting to change him. Jordan noticed with growing alarm some strange bumps under the man’s t-shirt. He lifted it up with shaking hands and revealed four small jagged spikes growing from each side of his back. Jordan stared horrified, mouth open in shock.

  What was the man turning into?

  Jordan reached for his comm., surreptitiously taking a picture of the man or thing. Was this some new disease? Or was that why everyone was in such a tizzy.

  Jordan suddenly felt the need to get out.

  The man ran out of the bathroom and Jordan was alone again. He clicked on the encryption software on his comm. and spoke into the receiver.

  “Alpha Charlie bang-bang.”

  A screen opened, and his brother’s face appeared.

  “Jordan. I thought we weren’t supposed to communicate.”

  “We are not. I am. I’m in trouble, Jay. I need help.”

  “What kind of help?”

  “I’m in a military facility and there is some sort of…virus going on.”

  Jay laughed. “You mean like what? A contagion?”

  “Not just contagion Jay, people are turning.”

  “Turning? Into what?” Jay asked, still grinning.

  “I don’t know Jay. But I need out. Please. Help me.”

  “I can’t touch you Jordan. No one can. You know that.”

  “Just send me a vessel, man. Just that. I need to get out of here.”

  Jay sighed. “I want to help you, Jordan. You know I do. But the word came from up top. No contact. And no contact means no contact.”

  “Then why did you answer my hail, Jay?”

  His brother gazed at him with wide sad eyes. “Because you’re still family.”

  The screen went black.

  Jordan winced, thinking furiously, and then clicked on another button.

  “Marine misfits, Jaime Hall speaking. How can I help you?”

  “It’s me. Something’s going on at this hospital. I want out.”

  “Would you care to be more specific?”

  “I’ve just seen a human with black and red tentacles growing out of his leg.”

  There was silence on the line.

  “I could have lived without that visual.”

  “I need to get out of here.”

  “I’ll be by in the morning. That is in two hours. Can you survive until then?”

  “Hurry,” Jordan said and hung up. He eased open the bathroom door and looked down the corridor. It was empty of any kind of activity and Jordan walked as quickly as he could to his room and shut the door. That was when he remembered Zorica. She was here too.

  He sat down on his bed, wondering what to do. He was already short of breath and severely injured. All he could do was wait for Jaime.

  ∞

  Zorica was awake and listening to a conversation taking place just outside her door. A nurse and an orderly, discussing something they were calling an infestation. They were talking about containing it, locked wards and possible contagion. She sat up, thinking furiously about what it could all mean. She struggled out of bed, looking for her bag, hoping against hope that Jaime had brought it with him. She looked in the hospital closet and was so relieved to see her bag in there. She bent down, opening it to search for specific ingredients.

  Sandalwood. Sage. Nicotiana Arabica. A pinch of black pepper.

  She lit the mixture up, eyes closed, and said the incantation, seated right there on the floor next to her bag. Her spirit left her body, searching the corridors for what the medical personnel were discussing. This was a military facility, so they might have magical wards, but maybe not.

  She went to the next floor where the heat signature was higher than anywhere else. She passed through the door, the sign saying ‘stay out, locked ward’, hospital personnel dressed in hazmat suits as they entered, drenched in a purifying stream of disinfectant when they emerged.

  Contagion.

  What was going on?

  ∞

  Jaime walked into the army base with a feeling of trepidation at the bottom of his spine. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong but he knew something was. He’d been here yesterday morning and then been asked to leave, and since then the hospital had been radio silent apart from Jordan’s panicked call. He’d tried to get in touch with someone in authority to give him further information on what had Jordan so spooked but no one would talk to him.

  “Excuse me, sir, where are you going?” a man in federation uniform stopped him to ask.

  “To the hospital,” he replied. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  “Access to the hospital wing is restricted today to essential personnel only.”

  “My people are in there. I am their commander and I insist on seeing them.”

  “I am sorry Mr…?”

  “Hall. Jaime Pravin Hall,” he said irritably.

  “Mr. Hall, you will not be able to see anybody today. We suggest you return tomorrow.”

  “What is going on?”

  “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to-”

  “Son, if you want me to leave, you better tell me what’s happening.” He crossed his arms, unwilling to move back.

  The soldier sighed. “There has been a security breach in one of the labs. Hospital personnel are assessing the extent of the damage.”

  Jaime frowned. “What do you mean, a security breach? Was the facility attacked?”

  “In a manner of speaking. We cannot release further information at this point. I already told you too much. Now please just leave.”

  Jordan opened his mouth to protest but then closed it again.

  ‘It’s the blink. Whatever got released is as a result of it being here.’

  ‘How it’s just a child, and unconscious at that.’

  ‘I think the Martians knew we would find a way to get it back. They were not planning to detonate. This is a counter-offensive.’

  ‘I do not believe the Martians are that strategic.’

  ‘No. You’re right. They are not. The prospect that they might be working with someone else is not one which-’

  The transmission cut off abruptly and Jaime blinked and looked around to find himself alone in the corridor leading to the hospital wing. He’d recognized one of those voices and knew tha
t there was somebody else who could tell him what was going on.

  He turned around, heading toward the administration wing.

  “Arnold, find me Alexia please.” he murmured to his AI.

  “Scanning…” Arnold said and Jaime awaited directions.

  ∞

  “Mr. Hall, what are you doing here?” Alexia asked in surprise as he walked into her office.

  “I need to see the general, Alexia, it’s urgent.”

  “Everything is urgent this morning,” she mumbled. “Have a seat,” she said a bit louder. “I’ll see if he’s available.”

  ‘This would definitely kill slower than a blink but the damage it could cause is on a higher scale.’

  ‘What do you propose then?’

  ‘Kill the infected.’

  Jaime found himself on his feet, Alexia watching him in surprise.

  “Mr. Hall, I won’t ask you again, please have a seat or leave.”

  “Oh yes, sorry. I just…I’m agitated. Can I pace?”

  Alexia shook her head irritably. “Sure. Do that.” She picked up her phone and dialed a number. Jaime hoped it was the general, and that he was getting his audience. The sense of urgency he was feeling would not let him rest until he had answers.

  It took four hours before Alexia gestured to him.

  “General Klaus will see you now.”

  Jaime knew it was a huge privilege to be able to see the general like this, with no prior appointment, but he still couldn’t help but feel irritated at the wait.

  “General Klaus, thank you for seeing me,” he said, hand outstretched as he walked into the general’s plush leather and velvet office.

  “I understood from Alexia that it was urgent?”

  “Yes, sir. As you know, two of my people were admitted to your wards yesterday. One is ready to be discharged, but as I was attempting to enter the wing and get the paperwork going I was barred. Apparently, there has been some sort of breach of security?”

  The general frowned. “Who told you that?”

  “A soldier, I do not recall getting his name.” Jaime waved his hand in dismissal. “My question is, what is going on and what do my people have to do with it?”

  The general shook his head with his lips pursed. “Your people are safe and perfectly fine. They just so happened to be in the ward when the breach occurred. As a result, they have to be quarantined with the rest.”

  “Is this an outbreak, sir?” Jaime asked, heart going cold at the remembrance of the words he’d heard, spoken in this man’s voice. Kill the infected.

  “Not at this time no. We are in the early stages of assessing the situation. If there is information you need to know, it will be conveyed to you.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Jaime said and stood up to leave. As soon as he was away from the administration wing, he opened his comm. device and connected to Jordan.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “Barricaded in my room. Something strange is going on here.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Jordan immediately took a deep breath and embarked on the tale of his encounter in the bathroom. Jaime had forgotten in his stress that it wasn’t a good idea to ask Jordan a direct question.

  “Right, right. Okay well, I’m going to try to get you out as fast as I can. Just sit tight, okay?”

  “Yes, boss.”

  ∞

  Jaime activated summons for all the rest of the team. He wasn’t sure how secure their headquarters were, so he set rendezvous for a nearby park where clones of historic earthly creatures like elephants and rhinos were grown in lab conditions. The park was open to the public although the animals they saw in the contrived cages were sims. It wasn’t known how successful the actual experiments were but the park generated enough income to keep them going.

  The crowds would provide adequate cover for them to be able to converse unheard, with a few enhancements. Epone and AX were the first to arrive, looking curious and concerned.

  “What is happening captain?” Epone asked.

  Jaime grimaced. “I don’t know yet. But you can astral project right?”

  Epone looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Why would you ask me that now?”

  “Because I need eyes in the hospital. I need you to go in there and ascertain what is going on.”

  “This is a military facility, sir. They have wards which would detect that kind of magic.” Epone said primly, like she’d never considered going against the establishment in her life.

  “But there are ways to conceal it no? And with me enhancing your power, surely you can-”

  “Sir? What is this about?” AX cut in.

  Jaime sighed. “This is about saving your teammates.”

  Just then Ash and Uzochi drew up to them. “Saving our teammates from what?” Uzochi asked.

  Jaime opened his mouth to say, “Death,” but then closed it again. If he said that, they would want to know how he knew. And he wasn’t ready to admit to his ability to psychically eavesdrop on other people’s conversations. Not until he was sure he could trust them.

  “I was able to speak to Jordan. He is locked into a ward that may or may not have contagion. Zorica is as well. There are rumors that they may just kill everyone in the ward rather than risk spread.”

  “And why would we want to risk spread?” AX asked.

  “We don’t. But Zorica and Jordan are not infected.”

  “How do you know? Are you a doctor? Have you examined them?” Ash asked.

  Jaime kept his stare locked on her. “Can you just trust me on this?”

  “You ask us to risk our livelihoods and maybe even our lives for this. No. We can’t,” Epone said.

  Jaime looked from one to the other of them, trying to find a breach in their armor.

  “You would leave your colleagues to die?” he demanded of them.

  Each was silent and then Ash stepped forward. “I can try to ‘see’ if you wish, sir. Maybe I can determine what is ahead of us.”

  “And I can go and visit them. If there is contagion it will not infect me. I am not made of organic matter,” AX offered.

  “Dr. Matthias is,” Jaime pointed out.

  AX shrugged. “While we are fused, I can protect him. It is fine.”

  “Alright then. We have a plan now,” Jaime said, feeling relieved.

  Chapter Nine: Search and Rescue

  It was surprisingly easy for AX to get into the ward, even with Matthias resisting him every step of the way.

  “You are fine Dr. Teke. You think I would put your body in harm’s way? I need it as much as you do.”

  “Let. Me. Go,” Matthias demanded.

  “In good time, sir. For now, we need to be the savior. Don’t you like that? We save these people, we are heroes.”

  “I never cared to be a hero,” Matthias said grumpily.

  “Oh really? Then why did you make me?”

  Matthias was silent.

  AX electronically stole the ID of a security guard and simply swiped himself in. The ward was silent but there was a tension palpable in the air. Fear swirled about like a physical thing and AX was glad he could only feel emotion as some distant secondary thing, mostly emanating from what was left of his maker. Matthias might whinge and moan about AX letting him go, but in what was left of his mind he must have known that the fusion was too complete to separate them now. If they tried, it would only result in the death of the mad scientist. Still, AX was willing to let him have his illusions. It was mostly harmless since there was nothing he could really do about it.

  He activated Jordan’s tracker. He had one for each of his teammates unbeknownst to them. It seemed a precaution someone should have thought of by now, so he took it upon himself to do it. He followed the green dot down the corridor where it stopped outside a locked door.

  “Jordan?” he called.

  “AX?” Jordan sounded uncertain.

  “Yes, it
is I,” AX said using Matthias voice. He enjoyed using Matthias’ speech patterns because they were so much more pompous than anything AX could come up with on his own.

  Jordan eased the door open, peering at him with one eye.

  “How do I know it’s really you?” he asked.

  “Does this virus give the ability to shape shift? Because if not you are being melodramatic. You can see me.”

  Jordan sighed and opened the door. “How did you get in here?”

  “Is that important? Or is the pertinent issue the state of your health and what is happening in this ward?”

  “Do you know what’s happening?” Jordan asked a bit too eagerly for AX’s taste.

  “Don’t you? You’ve been here two days. Have you no intel?”

  “I know that people are infected with something. And that it’s toxic as fuck. Is that enough ‘Intel’ for you?” Jordan was clearly irritable.

  “Are you sure you aren’t infected?”

  “I haven’t had direct contact with anyone since I saw what was happening.”

  “The virus could be airborne or in the food.”

  “I would have started showing symptoms by now.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I think we brought it back with us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The blink.”

  “The blink?” AX frowned in confusion. “You think the blink is the source of the virus?”

  “What else? Clearly there was no contagion before we got here or we would not have been brought to this ward. We must have come with it.”

  AX cleared his throat. “You might not be the only one who was here from a mission. The contagion – if it exists – could have come from anywhere. We do not have enough facts to draw conclusions.”