PRIME

by Samantha Boyette

  “I can do it,” Cale assured him again, even though he didn’t feel at all sure himself. “It’s like riding a bike.”

  “Uh huh,” Zero said dubiously. “Why don’t they teach you how to do it when you’re five then?”

  “Guys,” Alice interrupted. “It’s our best option.” It was the only option as far as she could tell.

  “Yeah, I know.” Zero nodded. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be scared shitless about it.” He grinned. Alice shook her head and smiled.

  “We’ll all read up on it,” Cale offered. “That way if I forget something, maybe one of you will remember.”

  “That’s reassuring,” Zero said, just as they approached the computer room. “No really, I feel better.”

  “Stop being a smart ass.” Cale shoved Zero through the door, following close behind. He paused, a smile freezing on his face. “Do you hear that?”

  They all stopped just inside the door, listening to a series of sharp beeps coming from the direction of the desk. For a moment the only thought in Cale’s head was ‘bomb’. Almost simultaneously the truth dawned on all of them.

  “Morse code.” Cale’s heart hammered. His legs felt like lead, he was too stunned to move.

  Zero frowned. “Is that what that is?”

  “Yes.” Alice hurried into the room and began to translate, writing quickly on the closest piece of paper.

  “Do you really know what they are saying?” Cale asked excitedly.

  “Shh,” Alice hushed him, focusing on the beeps. Zero and Cale took a step back, letting her work.

  26

  Haven Medical Base

  Simon pushed himself up from the pile of blankets that served as a bed. Anyone who hadn’t snagged a bed or a couch ended up on the floor of the living room area. The room was no lighter or darker than it had been when they went to sleep. One dim light was left on in the corner, and it still burned softly.

  It dawned on him that they didn’t have any replacement bulbs for any lights. Without lights the lab would be no better than a cave. A dark, pitch black cave without a hint of natural light. Simon shook away the thought, deciding he would worry about that when the time came. He glanced at Tessa lying beside him. She looked so peaceful and beautiful when she slept. He considered kissing her, really wanted to, but something told him kissing a girl while she slept might not be polite. Instead, he climbed carefully from the mass of sleeping children and headed for the lab. He padded down the hallway into the part of the lab that served as a kitchen.

  “Morning,” Dodge greeted him softly as he walked in. A few dim lights under the cupboards lit the room. At the moment Dodge was alone, staring at a half empty bag of chips and a sandwich in front of him.

  “Hey.” Simon browsed over the shelf of non-perishable food. He grabbed a granola bar and sat down across from Dodge. “What’s up?

  “Nothing,” Dodge answered. He rolled up the bag of chips. “Didn’t sleep too well. I kept thinking I heard the door open.” Simon nodded; Dodge hadn’t even been in the front room.

  “It didn’t,” Simon assured him with a small grin.

  “Thanks, scrab.” Dodge grinned back and took a big bite of his sandwich. He chewed thoughtfully a moment and after swallowing, looked back down at the sandwich. “How many stayed behind in the end?”

  “Oh,” Simon said. The granola bar suddenly felt as dry as cardboard in his mouth and even less appetizing. “Five counting Matt,” he answered softly.

  Dodge shook his head. “And another four outside the hospital. I should have hung back and tried harder to make them come.”

  “They wouldn’t,” Simon answered, setting down half his granola bar. “I tried, almost died for it.”

  “I shouldn’t have left that up to you, you’re just a kid.” Dodge shook his head. He pushed away his sandwich and looked up at Simon. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “You’re not a man, Dodge.” Simon shook of his head. “You’re older, and you’re trying hard, but no one would expect anything like this of you if the world was still normal.”

  “Yeah.” Dodge nodded, but he didn’t look too convinced.

  “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a good job.” Simon forced himself to take another bite of the granola bar.

  “Thanks Simon,” Dodge said with a small smile. “It’s actually worth a lot. For what it’s worth, I appreciate the way you’ve helped and stood by me.”

  “No problem.” Simon flushed.

  Dodge let out a long sigh, stood and grabbed his sandwich, grinning. “All right, glad we got all that girly shit out of the way before anyone else woke up.” He leaned down, pointing at Simon. “You tell anyone this happened and I’ll toss you right out the front door.”

  “Yeah sure.” Simon laughed.

  “I mean it.” Dodge backed down the hall towards the computer lab. “Right out the door.”

  Simon shook his head and finished the granola bar. Without Dodge the lab had an eerie feel to it. The dim lights managed to cast long shadows that played at the edge of his vision. Somewhere overhead, he could hear a strange rattling thumping noise. He tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with the zombies, but had a hard time believing it. It didn’t help that his mind kept straying to Matt and the others. He knew they’d be dead by now.

  Just as Simon had decided to follow Dodge into the computer room, Tessa stepped into the kitchen. He smiled, glad for the company. His smile faltered. Would things be weird after everything that had happened the day before?

  “Hey.” Tessa headed for the cupboards. Her hand drifted over his shoulder as she passed, pulling all worries away with her. “Sleep well?”

  “Yeah. I was pretty exhausted.”

  “Me too.” Tessa grabbed a snack cake and sat beside him. “I thought I was dreaming just now when you left, and then I woke up and you were gone.”

  “Sorry.” Simon wasn’t sure what else to say. He figured an apology would be as good as anything.

  “Why?” Tessa asked with a grin. Apparently he hadn’t given the right answer, and he stuttered, trying to figure out how to explain.

  “I just meant, cause of leaving, you know. I should have waited for you to get up.” He scratched the back of his head. He really did need a haircut.

  “No, it’s fine,” Tessa assured him with a shake of her head. She smiled. Simon was pretty sure he would never understand girls.

  “Okay.” Simon smiled, hoping it was a smile and not just a stupid looking grin.

  Tessa glanced up at him from her snack cake. “Are you okay with yesterday?” She looked away from him, crinkling the plastic wrapper. “I mean, are you okay that we, you know?” When she looked up again she was blushing.

  “Of course,” Simon answered quickly. “And, thanks for the rest. After Zeke I sorta lost it.” Tessa flashed him a wide smile, but it faded as fast as it had appeared.

  “I’m sorry we lost him.”

  “Yeah.” Simon nodded. He had almost been able to push all of the terribleness from yesterday from his mind; it seemed like the best way to cope. Simon pulled a can of soda over, not knowing what else to do with his hands.

  “I like you Simon,” Tessa said softly. Simon looked at her, but she was looking at her cake. “You’re not like everyone else.”

  “You too,” Simon said. She looked back up at him. She had that look again, like she might kiss him. His heart began to race in anticipation while his hands got clammy. He wiped them on his pants.

  “You like me too?” Tessa looked like she thought he might actually say anything but yes.

  “Of course,” Simon answered quickly. Did he like her? She was just about the most perfect girl ever. Smart, pretty, brave; what more could he ask for? Simon knew he was grinning stupidly again, but Tessa was grinning too, so he didn’t feel so bad. She started to lean in. They were going to kiss again, Simon knew it.

  “Hey, Simon,” Dodge called as he came up the hall. Simon and Tessa pulled apart. Dodge stopped at the
doorway. “Oh, hey, Tessa. You guys should come hear this.”

  Simon gave Tessa a small, embarrassed smile, and they followed Dodge back to the computer room. Aside from the computer screens the room was dark. Tech sat at the desk. Simon wondered if he had slept at all. Dodge sat at one end of the couch; Simon and Tessa sat beside him. Tech turned around and grinned at them, his hair a wild mess.

  “There’s music on here.” Tech spoke with so much excitement that Simon couldn’t help but smile back.

  “What?” Simon asked.

  “Music!” Tech repeated. “Do you remember music?”

  “Yeah,” Tessa answered slowly. “You don’t?”

  Tech’s face fell. “I wasn’t that into music I guess,” he answered sullenly, but then brightened. “But listen to it.” He started the file playing.

  Simon didn’t recognize the song, but there was no denying the way it filled his head. He remembered music, but nothing like this. To him, music had been something he didn’t think about, in the background of everything. Now, it seemed like he was really hearing music for the first time. It gave him a feeling like nothing ever had. His body relaxed under the swell of the music. Pleasure washed through his brain and body.

  “Wow,” Tessa said softly.

  “I thought he was nuts.” Dodge grinned, shaking his head. “But doesn’t it sound deeper now?”

  “Yeah,” Tessa answered excitedly. “Like it’s playing from inside me or something.”

  “Exactly.” Dodge smiled widely. Simon felt a small twinge of jealousy, glad he was sitting between Tessa and Dodge. Tech turned down the song, but it still seemed to be warm in Simon’s head.

  “Amazing isn’t it?” Tech asked. “I believe something in the way our ears and brains process sound must have been altered by the disease.”

  “What’s going on?” Red asked. He came into the room with Tyson right behind him. Tyson’s arm had been bandaged but he still looked pained. “What’s that music?”

  “It’s just music, man,” Dodge answered with a grin. “Enjoy.” Red and Tyson sank to the floor; both looked captivated by the music. Simon found that if he focused, he could push the feeling to the back of his mind.

  “Any luck with a way to communicate?” Simon asked, trying to bring them back to the important stuff.

  “Not really.” Tech turned down the music and spun his chair to face Simon. He shook his head. “All formal lines are down, so it’s not like we can make contact through the phone or Internet. There’s this though.” Tech pointed to a small device on the desk beside him. “I found it in the closet. It’s for Morse Code, so not much use to us.”

  “What if we knew Morse Code?” Simon asked softly, moving towards the device. It was small and strange looking, but familiar.

  “Well it has the transmitter attached,” Tech answered, spinning to examine the device with Simon. “But it works off CW frequencies, and the chances of someone picking up on it are slim. The chances of someone picking up on it and actually understanding would be even slimmer.”

  “I already asked about all that,” Dodge said from the couch. “Seems like a lot of work to learn the code, even if we can find a manual around here for it. Most likely it won’t be received or understood.”

  Simon pulled the device over, his finger hovering over the key. “But there’s a chance?”

  “Slim,” Tech answered.

  Slowly Simon began to tap out a message.

  27

  Coda Base

  The beeps ended abruptly. Alice leaned back in her chair, reading over what she had written down. A few letters were off; she wasn’t sure if it was her mistake or if the person sending the message had made the mistake. Either way, the message was clear enough and excitement boiled up inside her as she read it.

  “Well?” Cale asked, unable to wait any longer. “Come on, don’t leave us in the dark here.”

  “It’s from Haven.” Alice gripped the slip of paper in both hands. “There are survivors.”

  “What did they say?” Zero asked anxiously. He leaned over her shoulder, trying to get a look at what she had scribbled down.

  “Haven base, alive, trapped; send help. Zombies on base.” Alice grinned at Zero and Cale. It wasn’t all good news, but there were survivors.

  “Well that last bit’s not too reassuring,” Zero said. “Gonna be hard to make it through a load of zombies if these folks are trapped.”

  “We have the two planes,” Alice said. “If someone else could fly we could bring eight people.”

  “Against maybe a thousand zombies,” Cale said darkly. He sat down, looking dejected at the idea of so many enemies.

  “There is a cure there,” Alice reminded him. She rolled her eyes. “Come on! Going was your idea to begin with.”

  “Right.” Cale nodded. “But why wouldn’t this person tell us about the cure, or use it on the zombies? It doesn’t quite add up, if you know what I mean.”

  Alice stood and began to pace. “It wouldn’t be the people from the first message,” Alice answered. “They were as good as dead when they sent that message. You heard that. These people probably don’t know about the cure.”

  “Well then getting trapped with them won’t really do any good, will it?” Cale asked, anger and frustration evident in his voice. His fear had gotten the best of him, but he couldn’t help it.

  “It will if we save them,” Alice argued. She frowned at Cale, surprised by his attitude. “You really could just ignore this message? There are people alive and trapped at Haven.”

  “We’ll be alive and trapped here soon enough. If zombies made it over the wall at Haven, I have no doubt they’ll be climbing the wall here,” Cale said. “And I would bet money the rec center doors won’t keep them out.”

  “One might see that as a good reason to head to Haven.” Zero twirled a pen, not meeting Cale’s eyes.

  Cale glared at him. “Or a good reason to fly that plane to some private island.”

  Both Zero and Alice gave him stunned looks.

  “You can’t be serious.” Alice shook her head. “Five minutes ago you were all gung ho, ready to fly over to Haven. Now that you’ve been reminded there will be zombies and it might be a bit more complicated, you’re backing out?”

  “Yeah, that’s about how it is.” Cale crossed his arms over his chest, tired of playing the hero in a game there didn’t seem to be a chance of winning.

  “What kind of a soldier are you?” Alice asked, disgust plain on her face.

  “The kind who is rethinking risking his life,” Cale answered, his voice rising. “What good is any of this gonna do? There’s no point in heroics when we’re all just going to die.”

  Alice leaned over and slapped Cale hard.

  “What the hell?” Cale gripped his stinging cheek.

  “Don’t be an jerk,” Alice said coolly. Zero tried not to grin. “You’ve risked your life way too many times to stop now.” Cale sat silently a moment, a stunned look on his face as he held his cheek. Then a slow smile spread across his face.

  “Intern, you are a hell of a ride.” He shook his head and barked a laugh. “Screw it, let’s go to Haven, just forget that bit of insanity.”

  “You serious?” Zero gave them both a disbelieving look. “Just like that?”

  “She’s right.” Cale shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. “Truth is, leaving Culex was the first brave thing I ever did, and most people would argue it was more stupid than brave. I wasn’t thinking about anything but myself. I thought taking on Haven was going to be a hell of a lot easier than it’s turned out.” He turned to Alice and smiled, taking her hand. “But if I’ve somehow convinced you that I’m everything I pretend to be, then I guess I’m gonna have to live up to it.”

  “Damn right you are,” Zero said. “Running around, makin’ the rest of us guys look bad. You better keep up this hero routine.”

  “The only problem is I think just as highly of you,” Alice said to Zero. She reached out and took his ha
nd too.

  Zero squeezed her hand. “Good then. How about we send a message back to these people?” He frowned. “How do you know Morse Code anyhow?”

  “I took a class on base.” Alice dropped their hands and sat at the desk again. “Simon was interested in it, and we did it together.” Her eyes widened as she thought about what she’d said. “It could be him, couldn’t it? Simon? I mean most people don’t know Morse Code anymore. Right?”

  “Could be,” Cale admitted slowly. “But it could be an idiot with a chart too.”

  “Ask,” Zero suggested. Alice nodded and pulled both the receiver and the code device toward her.

  *

  Haven Medical Base

  When the reply came, it was the last thing any of them expected.

  Simon, Tessa, and Dodge were camped out in the computer room with Tech. Tech fiddled with the computers, while the others played cards with a deck they found in the lab. Simon had sent the message every hour since they woke up, but there had been no response. They stopped playing when the beeps started. It took Simon a moment to grab the notepad and begin to write down the message. He scribbled quickly, not wanting to miss a letter of it.

  The others watched silently, hearts hammering at this first sign of contact with the outside world. Tessa bit her lip as she watched Simon, hoping the news would be good. When the beeping stopped Simon wrote for a few more seconds, getting the last word down. He read back over what he had written.

  “Have plane, will find you. Do you have walkie? How many survivors? Do you have cure?” Simon looked up at Dodge. “Cure? How will they find us down here?”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Dodge assured him with a wide grin. “The important thing is we aren’t the only survivors!” He gave a whoop of excitement that was taken up by Tech and Tessa. The three of them began to jump around happily, exchanging hugs. Simon couldn’t take his mind off the hurdles still standing between them and help.