The Black: Arrival

by Paul E. Cooley

  He pulled a large steel wrench off the pegboard. This is going to be tricky, he told himself. He pulled one of the lab stools beside the dispensing station. The heat from the fire made his skin prickle. He jumped atop the stool and eyed the pipe leading from the wall to the dispenser. He pulled back with both hands, and then swung the wrench into the pipe.

  His ears rang with the clang of metal on metal and his arms trembled with the shock. He heard yelling on the other side of the wall, but it didn’t matter. He pulled back and slammed down again. The pipe buckled and flakes of sheetrock fell to the floor. Someone somewhere was screaming for him to stop what he was doing and “right fucking now!” He didn’t.

  Mike took a deep breath, coughed on the acrid smoke pouring into his lungs, and then swung for the fences. The wrench head smashed into the pipe. Something cracked and the pump stuttered. He pulled back once more, ready to break the goddamned thing once and for all, and then he was falling off the stool and hitting the floor on his side.

  His chest screamed in pain. He rolled over, screamed, and looked up into a masked face holding an assault rifle. The barrel was still smoking. He turned his head to stare at the dispensing station. The M2 wasn’t pouring out of the spigot anymore. The stuff had stopped, the flame shortening and then disappearing back into its blue to yellow teardrop shape. He looked back into the gas masked face of his shooter.

  “You. Killed. Us. All.” He took in a wheezing breath. His chest felt like shrapnel and he couldn’t get enough air. The sound of more yelling and screaming was growing more and more distant. So was the pain. Mike closed his eyes. He’d failed. It was the last thought before he blacked out.

  *****

  There wasn’t much to do now but wait. Kate sat against the wall with Maeve leaning against her. Jay sat on the floor resting uncomfortably against one of the tripods.

  The med-kit was a mess. Dressing and wrapping Jay’s burned hand required most of the supplies. Burn cream, antiseptic, and then lots and lots of gauze. Kate wondered if he’d end up losing the hand. If they didn’t get access to some proper medical care, that was a real possibility.

  Jay’s eyes were closed. His foot flinched every now and then and the sound of his grinding teeth was annoying as hell. But she knew he was in a lot of pain. There wasn’t much of a chance of it getting any better either.

  He adjusted his legs and opened his weary, pain-filled eyes. “You think there’s anything left of the M2 for them to find?”

  She shook her head. After the fire subsided, and the smoke died down, Kate had walked around the perimeter checking for any remnants. Black soot and grey ash was all that remained.

  “If it had DNA, maybe. But Neil didn’t seem to think it has any at all.”

  Jay nodded, but didn’t look convinced. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment and then chuckled. “You realize this changes everything we know about chemistry and biology.”

  “And physics.” Kate stroked Maeve’s hair. “Don’t forget that. Damned thing might as well have been a black hole. Stephen Hawking wouldn’t believe it.”

  “True.” Jay took off his glasses with his uninjured hand and stared at them. “It’s amazing I can see anything through these.”

  Maeve yawned. “Uncle Jay? I don’t think I ever want to see anything like that again.”

  He smiled. “Me neither, honey.”

  Something banged in the stairwell. Kate turned her head and looked at the door.

  “Mom?” Maeve asked. “There was only one of those things, right?”

  Kate’s mouth opened and then closed. Was there only one? Did another escape from the lab? Who the hell knows what happened in the chem-lab after they left. She pulled her daughter a little closer. “Yes. Only one.” It could be a lie. Probably was. But it was the one she needed to say.

  Another bang echoed in the stairwell. Voices followed it. Radio voices. Kate raised her eyes at Jay. He shrugged. Her nerves sizzled with a brief dump of adrenaline, but she didn’t have much left. She was too exhausted to do anything about it. Jay looked the same—worried, but beyond action.

  The door opened. A long cylinder with burning blue flame at the end peered out from the door. A blocky figure stepped through and scanned the room. It turned its head toward the circle of light.

  The figure shook its head. A muffled, deep, baritone voice spoke. “Control. This is Hatherly. We have survivors.”

  Maeve started to cry. In a moment, Kate joined her.

  Epilogue

  Another quarantine started. Twenty-four hours of observation were required to ensure none of them were infected.

  Once they were fed and given a place to sleep, Kate and Maeve had absolutely crashed. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed as though people dressed in moon suits disturbed her dreams with ear thermometers and stethoscopes. She even half-remembered them taking Jay from the room. But when she awoke, he was back, his hand more expertly wrapped. He was snoring loud enough to wake the dead, two IVs plugged into his veins.

  She rose from her bed and stifled a yawn. Maeve was still sleeping in the bed next to hers. Kate adjusted the gown, making sure her ass wasn’t hanging out, and stretched her legs. Her calves were sore, her back screamed bloody murder, and half a dozen bruises ached.

  A moon-suited figure stood just outside the room’s airtight, plastic door. The figure carried a matte-black assault rifle and faced the front of the decontamination chamber rather than the room. She was thankful for that.

  The idea they were being held in some secret government facility chilled her bones. Would they ever be allowed to leave? She didn’t know. The room was covered in mirrored glass of some kind. She knew it was two-way. They were being watched. They were being studied. And somewhere else in the building, others probably were too.

  The military-looking men that marched them out of HAL refused to speak about the situation in the labs or if there were other survivors. No matter how many times she asked, they ignored her. Now she wondered how much those soldiers even knew.

  She poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher and drank it. After the never-ending night she’d had, it was the purest, most refreshing substance that had ever touched her tongue. She swallowed with greed. When the glass was empty, she poured another and drank again. At least they have this.

  A beep echoed from outside. She looked up at the guarded decon chamber. Three lab-coat wearing people were in there with the guard. They weren’t wearing moon-suits.

  Kate frowned. Now what? How long have we been here?

  The guard checked credentials offered by the group of three and then the room’s door opened.

  One woman and two men stepped inside. The woman carried a duffel bag. She set it on a table and stared at Kate. A lock of fire-red hair dropped down into her eyes and she absently pushed it away.

  “Ms. Cheevers?”

  Kate blinked and then met her gaze. She raised a finger to her lips and then walked toward the group. The lab-coated woman blushed and then nodded.

  “We’d like you to get dressed, please,” the woman said. “And join us outside.”

  Kate furrowed her brow. “Quarantine is over?” She was a little startled at the weakness in her own voice.

  The woman nodded. “I’m Dr. Shannon Moore.” She unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out a shirt, jeans, panties, a pair of socks, and sandals. “Afraid these are less than fashionable, but they’re the best we could do on short notice.”

  The clothes were certainly WAL-MART specials, but she didn’t care. Anything to get out of this gown. “I take it we’ll never see our other clothes again?”

  Dr. Moore’s smile widened a bit. “I’m afraid you don’t want them back. Not after, well, not after they were, um, studied.”

  “Right.” Kate took the bundle of clothes. She pointed to an empty bed in the corner. “I’ll change behind that curtain.”

  “Feel free,” Dr. Moore said. “We have cameras in the room, of course, but I’ll make sure your dignity is preserved.”<
br />
  Kate said nothing. She walked to the empty bed and, as silently as she could, pulled the curtain to hide herself. Despite what Moore had said, she didn’t believe the cameras were off, much less that they had any privacy in here. Hell, she might never have privacy again.

  When she was finished, she pulled back the curtain. Dr. Moore and her colleagues were still in the same place. They were whispering to one another, but stopped when she was a few feet away.

  “Better?” Dr. Moore asked.

  Kate nodded. She turned her head and looked at her daughter. “I don’t like being away from her.”

  “I understand,” Moore said. “I have a son. I’d hate to leave him like this. But this really is important. As soon as she wakes up, the guard will let us know and I’ll bring you right back, okay? We’re not going far.”

  “Okay.” Kate narrowed her eyes. “If anything happens to her—”

  Moore shook her head. “Nothing is going to happen to any of you. You have my word.”

  Kate searched the woman’s eyes. They were as opaque as they could be. Either Moore was telling the truth or was the best liar she’d ever met.

  “Okay. Let’s go.”

  *****

  She sat in a comfortable chair at a stainless steel table. She gripped a steaming cup of coffee between her hands. Kate sipped it and relished the taste. After being asleep for— Wait. How long had she been asleep?

  “Dr. Cheevers?” Moore asked.

  “Yes?”

  “Is something wrong? You look puzzled.”

  Kate blushed. “I was just wondering how long we’ve been here.”

  Moore grinned. “I’m not surprised. I’ll answer all those questions in a moment.”

  “Okay. What are we waiting for?”

  The door opened. Kate glanced behind her and then grinned. “Neil!” The bio-chemist practically ran to her. She rose from her chair and gave him a tight hug. “I didn’t think you were alive.”

  Neil chuckled and squeezed her back. When he let go, he brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “Didn’t think you were either.” He looked around the room and then his lips tightened. “Where are the others?”

  “Dr. Cheevers? Dr. Illing?” Moore said from the other side of the table. The two parted and looked at her. “If you would take a seat, we’ll get Dr. Illing a beverage and we can discuss things.”

  Kate and Neil traded a glance. She walked back to her chair and sat down. Neil sat next to her. He sniffed her coffee, smiled, and they brought him a cup.

  Two men walked into their room carrying laptops. They wore lab-coats identical to Moore’s. Kate recognized them from earlier. They sat on either side of Dr. Moore, opened their computers, and then waited.

  Neil pointed at them. “Do they have names?”

  Moore laughed. “They do. But you don’t need to know them. Yet.”

  Kate didn’t like how she’d emphasized that last word. It sounded…wrong. Her heartbeat rose a little, but she did her best to push down a feeling of panic. Something was off here. Very off. Or maybe it was shock. Yes, possible. She was in shock. If—

  “If we’re ready to begin?” Dr. Moore asked.

  Kate sipped her coffee. Neil followed suit. Moore seemed to take that as a tacit agreement.

  She splayed her hands on the table. “First off, I want to explain some things and then I’ll answer any questions I can.”

  I can, Kate repeated in her mind. Her pulse quickened again.

  “I know you want to know about the rest of your team, so I’ll tell you that they’re safe. Dr. Field was transported to another medical facility because of heart palpitations. He’s stable and his prognosis is good.”

  Neil let out a tremendous sigh. “Man, I thought he was dead.”

  Moore grinned. “He’s not. I promise. You’ll see him in a few days.”

  “What about Mike?” he asked.

  Moore’s grin faded. “Mr. Beaudry’s prognosis is a bit more severe. He was shot—”

  “Shot?” Kate asked, her voice echoing in the room.

  Moore thrummed her fingers on the table. “Unfortunate incident, really. I’m afraid Mr. Beaudry was about to do something that could have killed everyone in the room.”

  Neil narrowed his eyes. “No, ma’am. He was trying to make sure that shit burned so it never threatened the goddamned world.”

  For a moment, Moore said nothing. The tension in the air was nearly unbearable. Finally, Moore’s grin returned. “That is debatable, Dr. Illing. Regardless, he’s in critical, but stable, condition. I hope to have more news for you later today.”

  “What happened to Hoyt?” Neil asked. “She was in our group, too.”

  “Yes. Dr. Hoyt.” Moore cleared her throat. “Dr. Hoyt is currently undergoing psychiatric treatment. Although she was not injured physically, her mind has been less than resilient in recovering from shock.”

  Kate and Neil traded a glance. “But she’s alive?” Kate asked.

  Moore nodded. “HAL buildings 1 and 2 are still under quarantine. It’s unclear when we’ll be able to release the facility back to civilian control.”

  Civilian control. The government owns it now, Kate thought. And I’ll bet HAL will cease to exist very damned soon.

  “We located Darren Strange. You’ll see him in the next few days as well. I’m afraid he cut his feet quite badly and still runs the risk of losing one of them.”

  Kate hissed through her teeth. “Jesus.”

  Dr. Moore looked at Kate. “Dr. Hollingsworth will be fine as well. His hand is being looked after by a military burn unit and they will be monitoring him every hour. He’ll probably need skin-grafts in the future, but for now, he’s stable and will have no problem continuing his work in the future.”

  “Damned good to hear,” Neil said. He glanced at Kate. “And I hope to hear how that happened.”

  Kate chuckled. “Battery bomb gone wrong. Long story.”

  “As you said, Dr. Illing, we’d like to hear how all that happened as well.” She tapped the table’s edge. “You’re probably wondering where you are.”

  “Um, yeah,” Kate said. “Considering there aren’t any windows.”

  “My apologies for that.” Moore’s grin returned. “We’ll make sure you get out into the sunshine and air soon. For now though, we have to keep you inside the facility.”

  “Facility?” Neil asked.

  Moore nodded. “We’re at Ellington Field. This building was converted quite a long time ago in case of a significant outbreak. Afraid it’s been hush hush for a long time. But after the Ebola scares, FEMA decided it was a necessary precaution. Especially for cases where transport of infected organisms or pathogens to other facilities presents a serious security threat. I think you’ll both agree this situation qualifies as such.”

  “You’re afraid to transport M2 somewhere else. In case it gets loose.”

  Moore nodded.

  “Oh, shit.” Kate looked at Neil and slapped her hands on the table. “They have it.” He blinked at her. “They have the M2!”

  Neil stared at her for a moment and then looked back at Moore, his eyes glittering with excitement. “You do, don’t you?”

  Moore said nothing.

  He leaned back in his chair. “Of course you do. You brought that shit here. And that means we’re, what, just a few dozen yards from the fucking barrel of death?”

  Moore held up a hand. Neil was about to say something else, but stopped. Goose flesh broke out on Kate’s arms. This just couldn’t be happening.

  “What you call ‘M2’ has been safely contained. You have nothing to fear.”

  “Bull. Shit.” Kate leaned forward in her chair, eyes narrowed. “You didn’t see what that stuff can do. You should burn it up and right fucking now.”

  “I disagree, Dr. Cheevers.” Moore tented her hands. “First of all, we know quite well what it can do. We have both camera footage from Ben Taub hospital as well as eyewitness accounts. Not to mention the destruction at your
buildings. And once your team has been debriefed, we’ll know even more.”

  Neither Kate nor Neil responded. Moore gave a tiny shrug and continued.

  “I understand you’re both very concerned about this new lifeform, as we all are. But I want you to consider something. We have hundreds, if not thousands, of oil rigs around the world drilling in deep water. If there’s another…encounter…we need to know how to properly deal with it. Especially if there’s a way to simply destroy it before it becomes a problem.”

  “Just nuke the shit and take your chances,” Neil growled.

  Moore ignored him. “With that in mind, it’s been decided that studying the M2 is worth the risk. We also know how to contain it. Should it show any signs of escaping its current containment, it will be immolated immediately.”

  Neil shook his head. “I wouldn’t take that chance.”

  “That’s unfortunate.” Moore leaned forward in her chair, her grin widening. “Because we’d like your team to join us in studying it.”

  Kate and Neil exchanged a glance. She looked back at Moore. “What’s the alternative?”

  “You sign certain non-disclosure agreements and you’ll be surveilled for the rest of your lives.”

  “Shit,” Neil said. “Even if we agree to your terms, we’ll probably be under surveillance until time ends.”

  Moore chuckled. “That’s probably so. The difference? We’re willing to pay you a handsome sum for a few months of work. Since HAL is currently unable to function as a business, I’m sure you could use the paycheck.”

  “What about Maeve?” Kate asked.

  “Provided she agrees to the terms of her release, she’ll be allowed back in the world. Look, you’re not prisoners. But we have to keep this as confidential as possible. If the world finds out exactly what went on, and where the organism came from, it could very well destroy our way of life.”

  Neil sighed. “You’re going to tell us to do this in the name of God and country, aren’t you?”

  Moore snickered. “If it helps. But really, I want you to think globally. Your entire team is more than capable of contributing to this project. And we’d rather not have to start all over. It’s another, well, security risk. The fewer involved, the better.”