Dr. Holloway turned to see that Samuel had moved from his position next to her, he did not hear her questions. Slowly she inched back to the entrance and stared at the Chimpanzee as he became dormant again, staring at the back of the cage like nothing happened.
Samuel kept his eyes on the Chimpanzee and whispered, “He, for a lack of a better word, turned into that this morning. We moved him in here last night when he appeared to be dead. The monitors that were hooked up to him flat lined, so we unhooked him and scheduled an autopsy. When I came in this morning, this is what I saw. He behaved in the exact same way. No one will go near him now.”
“Where is the blood work that was done?” she whispered back. Samuel nodded and turned toward the hall.
Moving back down the hallway toward Dr. Holloman’s office, Samuel entered and searched through the paperwork again. Samuel now appeared calmer. He found what he was looking for and handed the report to Dr. Hollowman.
There were no outstanding remarks on the report but one. “No white blood cells?” Dr. Hollowman looked at Samuel as he slumped down in the chair. “How can that be?”
Samuel closed his eyes and started to recite immune system components, “White blood cells are formed in the lymphatic tissue. These cells react to antigens, which are released when there is a pathogen present. To fight the pathogen, white blood cells release B cells to protect the body. No white blood cells, no protection from pathogens.” Opening his eyes, he looked at Dr. Holloman. “It appears that we many have created a substance that invades the host and shuts down all basic function except hunger and movement.”
“That can’t be, we isolated the enzyme. The process we used to extract the active enzyme is the same procedure that labs have been using to make pharmaceutical medicines for decades. We used organic non-GMO food sources and did not use any antibiotics in the studies to reduce any genetic complications.” Dr. Hollowman looked at Samuel for answers.
“Yes, but the enzyme is now manmade.” Dr. Hollowman glared at Samuel, he continue, “Or a genetic variation in one of the mice could explain some of the changes in the results that we didn’t expect. Did we do blood work on all mice before we administered TH12 into the feed samples?” Samuel stared at Dr. Hollowman.
“We did, besides I am one of four doctors on this project. Dr. Hall found the plant, I just worked with him to extract the enzyme. It was Dr. Allen and Dr. Stall that were responsible for the trials.” Sitting down in the matching chair next to Samuel, Dr. Hollowman processed the events of the experiment. “There’s something missing in reports. We haven’t altered anything and have not had any indication that it would perform other than what we expected. No, the lab work you gave me suggests an outside interference.”
Samuel took the papers out of Dr. Hollowman’s hand and looked to see who the lab tech was that responsible for splicing the feed with the TH12 enzyme. “Peter Wilson is Dr. Allen’s aide. He is not very accurate, or careful, in his work. He has be reprimanded multiple times for administering unauthorized experiments.” Looking back at Dr. Hollowman, “Do you think it’s possible that Peter fudged the data or administered the wrong enzyme?”
Dr. Hollowman stood still, letting the data run through her brain, “Based on what we have, Peter is the link. We need to find his records and review his work.” She started toward her office, the stench of the Chimpanzee following her. Turning back to Samuel, she asked, “Who knows about this?”
“Well...Me, Susan, Roberto, and Lori.” Samuel responded, “Why?”
“Tell them to keep quiet.” Dr. Hollowman directed, turning again toward her office.
Samuel followed Dr. Hollowman, fighting the unease that was rising inside of him, “Shouldn’t we tell someone? Those mice came back from the dead. What if we started the zombie apocalypse?” Samuel gasped at the thought that just entered his head.
Dr. Hollowman snapped at Samuel, “Stop being so dramatic!”
Chapter 3
“Come on Pete! I know you haven’t been feeling well but you have to come out tonight, Cindy will be there!” Cody teased his roommate, tugging on Pete’s toe while he lay on the couch. “Don’t worry about the pressure of it feeling like a date, Cindy’s bringing her roommate Kathy and her boyfriend Martin.”
“I don’t know man, I just don’t feel good.” Pete was feeling cold and hot at the same time, “Maybe I have the flu?”
Cody walked into the bathroom and grabbed a bottle of liquid cold medicine, “Take a few swigs of this and get dressed. When is the last time you ate?”
Pete could not remember any feelings of hunger for the last nine hours. The idea of food made him feel queasy but thought may be the lack of food was why he was feeling so weak. Pete was a bit worried about that bite he got at the lab yesterday but kept assuring himself that the blood test came back fine. The flu would make sense. They took a sample and only found that his white blood cell count is low. Wait, should the cell count be higher with an infection? He just couldn’t think straight at the moment. Pete wasn’t a doctor and no one seemed to be alarmed by anything in his test results. Besides, now that he handed off the completed research of the successful experiment to Alwalth’s competitor, Bendall Pharmaceuticals, he’ll be able to afford any doctor he needed to get over this junk. He was instructed to delay the findings but he figured he would give Bendall a bigger jump in the race for global domination. The enzyme is part of a carnivorous species of plant; he just added the rest of the plant to one of the mice to see what would happen. He almost had a heart attack. The mouse started to poop and barf and then, all of a sudden it drops dead. Held on to the little thing, staring at it for almost ten minutes when it finally popped back up. The darn thing got fidgety and gave him a good bite. Tossing the mouse back in with the rest was all he could do after that. It was just unfortunate that another lab tech saw him cleaning the bite in the bathroom and he had to report it. “Alright, I’ll go but you have to buy me dinner.” Sitting up slowly, he grabbed his jacket and bent over to put his shoes on. The dizzy feeling almost had him back on the couch but he fought through the spell. Besides, this may be his only chance to make a good impression on Cindy.
Cody walked back into his room to gather his duffel bag. He finally finished his one-year probation period with the Wisconsin Highway Patrol and he was gathering all of his recruiting class for a celebration. Cody and Pete have been friends since middle school and he had a huge crush on Cody’s training partner Cindy. Pete has always been a bit of a slacker but an all around nice guy. His decision to become a lab technician was spur of the moment. They both went to the technical college to see what they had to offer after high school. Pete’s program was 16 months, which fit nicely into his career plan. Cody chose the law enforcement route and followed that up with the police academy. Cody wouldn’t say that he was a troublemaker but he did get into mischief in his younger years. It turned out that Cody was a natural leader and excelled in the shooting, strategic combat fighting, and tactical escape programs. He knew it was all simulation, real life isn’t that clean, but it still felt good to get high scores. He couldn’t believe at the age of 28 he was starting his dream job and was looking forward to a long career with the Highway Patrol. Strapping his Glock 43 and an extra 9mm magazine into his ankle holster, Cody grabbed his jacket and went to make sure Pete was good to go.
Stepping back into the living room, Cody found Pete leaning on a barstool. “Dude, there’s enough time for a shower.” Cody could not help covering his nose with his hand, “Use lots of soap.” Cody was surprised by the smell Pete was giving off, normally he’s pretty clean.
“Shit, I can’t smell anything. Must be sweating out this flu. Give me 10 minutes, I’ll shower and change my clothes.” Pete wasn’t really concerned by his smell, figured it was all part of getting rid of the flu. Pete staggered into the bathroom and started to pull off his damp clothing. In the effort to pull his shirt over his head, the bandage wrapped around his finger came off. Swearing, Pete slowly pulled off the rest o
f the tape and took a good look at the bite from the mouse. It wasn’t large but it hurt like hell. The cut was full of puss and looked like it was bruised. Pete decided that a good wash, along with a good dose of hydrogen peroxide, should do the trick. If it still looked bad on Monday, he would go to the emergency room.
Pete and Cody left the apartment and got into Cody’s truck.. Cody could fit another three people in the back seat and offered to pick up Cindy, her roommate Kathy, and Kathy’s boyfriend Martin. Cindy only lived three blocks from Cody and Pete, same apartment complex, just spread out over a three-block radius.
Cindy, Kathy, and Martin were waiting outside of their apartment building. Cindy waved as Cody pulled up. “Hey Cody, Hi Pete. Thanks for picking us up.” Cindy opened the back passenger door and climbed all the way in to sit behind Cody.
Kathy climbed in after Cindy and strapped on her seatbelt, “So, where’re we headed?”
“Are we getting something to eat first?” asked Martin as he adjusted his seatbelt.
Cody looked over his shoulder then pulled out into traffic, “Yes, my date here is quite hungry.” Cody continued his teasing of Pete. “Anyone have any suggestions?”
“Ha, Ha, Cody. Cut it out.” Pete was really feeling sick. He didn’t know if it was the motion of the vehicle or the lack of food in his stomach.
“Oh, man. What is that smell?” Martin asked from the back seat. “Smells like something died.”
Pete quickly rolled down his window. He didn’t think that he was the problem but figured the fresh air would do everyone some good.
“Good thinking Pete.” Cody and Cindy both pushed the button to roll down their windows as well. “Wouldn’t want the smell to get stuck in the cab.” Cody knew the smell was coming from Pete but didn’t want to make a big deal about it. Besides, it was a beautiful August night just right for jeans and a short sleeve shirt.
“Hey, how ‘bout we head over to that new place. The one where they roller skate up to your window, like they did in the 50’s. I could go for an old fashioned burger and chocolate malt!” suggested Kathy.
After a short discussion about options, they all came to an agreement. The burger stand was just a few blocks from the movie theater, which made it really convenient. Cindy offered to give the rest of the group a call and see if they wanted to meet us there. Then they could all head to the movie at the same time.
“Hey Pete, you doing ok buddy?” Cody reached over to pat Pete on the shoulder. “We’ll be at the burger stand in just a few more minutes; I’ll get you a burger.”
All Pete could do was nod his head. There was a growing pain in his stomach but he did not have the strength to complain about it. Food will help. Just a plain burger with nothing on it to start. If that settled well he would see what the movie theater offered.
Cody pulled into a parking space and was quickly followed by three other vehicles. Cody rolled down his window and waved to the rest of his recruiting class, “Hey, did everyone make it out?” Someone in the crowd answered with, “John and Danny stayed in, something about a big video game tournament.”
Three girls on roller skates, pink pants, white button ups with Fast Eddy’s on it, and an old-fashioned soda jerk hat came out the front door of the Burger Joint. A blond girl came up to Cody’s window, “Hi, my name’s Stephanie and I’ll be your server tonight. Do you need time to order?” Her smile was friendly and her eyes danced with merriment.
“Do you all have to do this in the winter too?” concern was in Cindy’s voice as she looked over to stare at Stephanie’s roller skates.
“Thankfully no, roller skate service is only available June 1st through the end of August. Starting September we’re in sneakers until the first frost. Then walk in service through the winter months.” Stephanie adjusted her hat and continued to smile.
Cody turned toward the back of the truck, “Are you guys ready to order?” They responded with a yes and started to recite their requests. The food was ready within 15 minutes; the girls came back out with window trays filled with food. They were quite good on their skates and even provided a little display of skill by twirling around in a few circles. The group laughed aloud and clapped their hands, thanking the girls for their service. Cody handed Stephanie enough money to pay the bill and give her a big tip. Cody found the plain burger first, unwrapped it, and handed it to Pete.
Pete took the burger and nibbled on the bun first. When that appeared to settle in his stomach, he took a larger bite making sure to get a bit of the meat in there. The pain in his stomach eased some so he took a chance and took a sip of soda. When everyone was finished, Cody took the garbage to the trashcan and motioned to everyone to head over to the movie theater.
Pete thought the burger would help but the pain grew stronger and the desire to throw up was creeping up his throat. He should have stayed home, how was he going to make it through the next two hours? As they pulled into the parking lot, Pete let out a very loud and smelly fart. The group in the car started to laugh and begged Cody to pull over. Pete was mortified as they all rushed out of the car, slamming doors and waving their hands in front of their faces. Pete couldn’t believe that he did that in front of Cindy. She must have been so grossed out. Pete let them go before he got out of the truck. Opening the door and stepping out was a lot harder than it should be. He started making his way to the front slowly but the physical warning of diarrhea was too strong to wait. Grabbing his stomach, he rushed through the doors and headed straight for the bathrooms.
Pete could hear Cody yell, “Hey Pete, maybe you shouldn’t have eaten at that burger stand!” As he ran toward the bathroom door.
The bathroom door was already propped open. Thank God for that, Pete didn’t think he had the time or the strength to push the heavy door open. Pete unbutton his pants and started to push them down before he even reached the toilet. Pete sat there as water poured out of his butt. He started to cry when his stomach cramped, pushing liquid up and out of his mouth, down the front of his clothes and onto the floor. He could not control any of it. He sat on the toilet while his body alternately spewed liquid from both ends of his body. Pete felt like he was in this position for hours, even though he knew it was only minutes. All thoughts of Cindy vanished from his mind as he looked at the mess he had made. Pete started to clean off his clothes with handfuls of toilet paper. There was no garbage can in the stall so he just dropped them on the floor, hoping that they would start to absorb the mess he had made. When it didn’t appear that he could get any more off his clothes, he wiped his butt and pulled up his pants. He felt very bad, emotionally for the mess he made, and physically because of the spasms he just went through. Pete made it over to the sink and turned on the cold water. He splashed the water on his face, washing away the stink of the vomit and cooling his skin. He reached over, grabbed a handful of paper towels from the dispenser, and dried off his face. Pete looked into the mirror and couldn’t believe what he saw. He tried to scream but his vocal cords would not move. The moment of panic he had quickly passed as his body began to shut down. The last feeling Pete had was the horror of seeing black eyes staring back at him from the mirror.
Chapter 4
“Charlie! How’s it going tonight?” Cody walked up to the snack counter followed by twelve people. “Sorry about the hustle and bustle of our group. We just finished our one year probation and thought a night out together would be fun.”
Charlie came out of the back room, walked up to the counter, and waved a hand in his direction. “Hey Cody, no problem. You know Wednesdays are light. What can I do for you?”
“Do you happen to have a theater that’s empty? We don’t want to disturb anyone; we really don’t mind what the movie is.” Cody started to chuckle, “It could even be that cartoon that just came out.”
“Well, you’re in luck tonight. No kid’s movie but a nice bloody action movie is in theater three. It isn’t a hit with the crowd tonight, a lot of couples and females in to see the romantic releases.” Char
lie tallied up the cost and collected the money for the movie. “Anyone want popcorn?”
Several hands raised and a couple called out for candy too. “How about this, for $15.00 you can get two sodas, jumbo popcorn, and a box of candy. Pair up, line up, and we’ll make it a production line, how does that sound? Just have your money ready so I can get you into the theater.”
The group did as Charlie suggested and moved quickly to get their snacks and into the theater. Cody could see several other people waiting in the lobby for their movies to begin. At one of the tables were two girls, he guessed were about his age. Cody could only see the dark haired woman clearly and from what he saw, he thought she was a knockout. Cody thought about walking over but that thought was interrupted by thoughts of Pete. Cody could not decide if he should go in to the bathroom and check on him or just let him be. He decide to let it be, he knew that if he was not feeling well and need to go, he wouldn’t want to be disturbed. Cody figured that Pete would find his way to the theater. Thinking it would be a good idea to at least introduce himself, maybe invite them to dinner after the show, he turned toward the table only to find it empty. Looking around, he saw them enter one of the shows.
“Hey Charlie, when does that movie get out?” Cody asked pointing toward the second movie theater.
“Oh, about ten minutes after yours” Charlie responded with a twinkle in his eye.
Charlie knew why Cody asked. He couldn’t help noticing how Cody looked at Veronica. He knew a little about Cody and he liked the guy. Thinking on it, he thought they would be a great match.
Hauling buckets of popcorn to the counter Charlie noted, “Veronica and Bethann usually stop by the snack counter for some chocolate candies after their movie, if you’re interested in meeting them?”
Cody couldn’t hide the blush that spread along his cheeks, “Thanks Charlie.” Cody fell in line with the rest of his group and waited his turn for popcorn.
Infection Series (Book 1): Preservation Page 2
