Dead, But Not For Long (Book 2): Pestilence and Promise

by Kinney, Matthew

  “So what are we going to do?” Lee asked.

  “If this were a serious threat, I’d be evacuated to the settlement near the farms.”

  “And the rest of us?” Lee asked.

  “You’d stay and defend the colony, of course. I’m just wondering if it might be worth paying them a visit to let them know how foolish retaliation would be.”

  “You’ll send a messenger?” Lee asked.

  “I’ll go myself,” Henry said.

  Lee glanced at Loto, whose face remained expressionless.

  “Sir, that’ll be dangerous,” Lee said. “They’re armed, and they aren’t afraid to fight.”

  “Once these people understand that their friends will be killed if I don’t make it back unharmed, they won’t dare lift a finger toward me. I want to leave in fifteen minutes,” Henry said, looking at his watch. “Be ready.”

  ~*^*~

  ~52~

  St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

  “Hey, Brandi,” Dumbo said, smiling at the blonde as she approached.

  “How are you?” she asked, placing a hand on his arm.

  “Better now,” he grinned. “I was wondering if I’d see you today.”

  “Of course,” she said. “I wouldn’t ignore my favorite biker, would I?”

  Dumbo blushed, his large ears turning bright red.

  “Hey, thanks for taking kitchen duty for me again,” she told him. “I really didn’t feel good last night.”

  “I don’t mind helping out,” he said, looking concerned, “but I wish you’d talk to Dr. Sharma. It worries me that you’re sick so much. Maybe she can give you something.”

  Brandi kept the smile firmly in place. “It’s fine. I get migraines, but once I get some sleep I’m all right.”

  “But you get them almost every day,” he said. “Maybe it’s something else, like a brain tumor. You should really talk to the doctor.”

  The smile slipped on Brandi’s face, but she quickly put it back.

  “Look at you, all worried about me,” she said, placing a hand on his chest.

  Dumbo sucked in his breath. He had a hard time even thinking straight when Brandi was around. He knew that she flirted with most of the men at the hospital, but he was the one she talked to the most. He felt incredibly lucky to have gained the attention of such a beautiful woman, and a model, no less.

  “I-I was thinking maybe you’d like to watch the movie with me tonight,” he said in a rush. “Maybe you could even pick the movie. I didn’t see anything listed for tonight yet.”

  “I’d love that, Dumbo,” she said, her smile widening. “I’m going to go out and get some fresh air then take a little nap before the movie. I’ll see you tonight.”

  He opened the door to let her outside, a goofy smile on his face as his eyes tracked her across the parking lot. He didn’t close the door until she was through the gate and into the park.

  ~*~

  Eric walked slowly down the hall, casting an occasional glance behind him. Stopping at a closed door, he turned the knob then hesitated as if he were enduring some sort of inner turmoil. Closing his eyes, he began to push the door open. He jumped as he felt a hand grasp his shoulder in a Vulcan-like grip. Wincing in pain, he turned to see Wolf standing behind him.

  “You’re not planning to go in there again, are you?” the biker asked with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I thought we told you Cheri’s room is off limits. In fact, we told you several times.”

  “No. I mean yes,” Eric stuttered. “I promised the kids I’d take them to play Super Mario Brothers down in the gaming room. I wasn’t going to bug Cheri, I swear.”

  “Jessica took them down to the cafeteria,” Wolf said. “She said you were going to meet them there, so you have no business being anywhere near this room, but I’m guessing you already knew that.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Eric said. “I guess I forgot.”

  “Sure you did,” Wolf said, crossing his arms.

  Eric shot Wolf a dark look once he was out of reach, but he kept walking. A couple stepped out of the stairwell, both carrying a fresh-baked blueberry muffin. Eric paused to sniff the air in their wake then turned to hurry for the elevator.

  Wolf waited, knowing that Eric often tried to sneak back to Cheri’s room after they chased him off. He was about to walk away when he heard the sound of a helicopter approaching. He ran to the fourth floor lobby area and grabbed a phone at the desk, punching in the numbers to broadcast the warning over the entire hospital.

  ~*~

  Roxanne Martin walked quickly down the hall, reminding the children not to run.

  “But basements are scary,” one of the little girls said, grabbing her teacher’s hand.

  “It’s all right, Emma,” Roxanne said, hoping her words wouldn’t prove to be a lie. “We’ll be safe down there.”

  The other teachers were bringing their own groups down, and some of the adults were joining them. Many had chosen to stay upstairs so they could fight if it became necessary.

  “Who are we missing?” Roxanne asked as Sean did a head count of the children.

  “There’s a group still in the park with Mike,” Sean said.

  “The biker at the door is trying to get them on the radio,” Marian told them as she hurried along with her niece and nephew. She was carrying the child that Keith and Helga had rescued from the city. The little boy had taken to her immediately, and she’d unofficially adopted him.

  There had been some concern that the younger children would cry and alert the intruders as to the whereabouts of the group in the basement, but Jack had made the decision that all the children needed to go to the basement.

  Kris, from the Motorcycle Mega Warehouse, carried her daughter in a sling and urged her two sons to keep up with the others.

  “I don’t see Autumn, Jon, or Marie,” Sean said, checking his list.

  “Jon and Marie were in the cafeteria with Eric,” Michael told him. “My mom went back to get them.”

  “Thank you, Michael,” Roxanne smiled at the boy. She began to get the children settled inside what had once been the morgue. Heavy-duty brackets had recently been installed so that a large beam could be placed across the door. They would wait until the last minute before barring it.

  Sean called Wolf on the radio and told him that they were missing Cheri’s two children and Autumn.

  The biker said he’d go look for Autumn, knowing that she was probably still in Doune’s lab.

  ~*~

  Autumn sat at her computer playing a game with her headphones on. She’d been at a complete loss as to what to do since Dr. Doune had been taken away. When the men had come into the lab, she’d been sure they had come for her, since Dr. Doune and Lindsey had let her know that she might be in danger. But they had pointed their weapons at Dr. Doune and had told him that he was coming with them. He’d calmly taken off his lab coat and gloves. She’d been surprised at how cool he’d been with the guns pointed in his face. The slight tremors in his hands had been the only sign that he’d been afraid.

  Autumn had thought about telling them that she was the one who was immune, in hopes that they’d let Dr. Doune go, but she’d made a promise to him and Lindsey not to tell anybody. Now she wondered if that had been the right decision. Maybe they’d never let him come back. Maybe they’d torture him and Lindsey to make them talk, and it was all because of her.

  Since Dr. Doune and Lindsey had been taken, Autumn had wandered aimlessly around the hospital, watching TV for a few minutes or visiting the cafeteria or the library. Nothing held her interest for long. She had tried not to let the dread she felt inside work its way through her skin for the world to see.

  Just a few days earlier, she had felt fairly safe. She had cheated death twice in her short life, and had been starting to feel invincible. She had also started to feel at home for the first time since her parents had died. Everybody in the hospital knew her, and some even appreciated her. Now, not only had Dr. Doune and Lindsey been t
aken away, but Autumn had started to realize just how much the world had changed. The hospital seemed to be impenetrable to the mindless creatures that hunted them, but the living had become a problem. If a handful of armed men had been able to swoop in and take Lindsey and Dr. Doune, what chance did any of them have? She had heard that Lee might have been involved, and that had surprised her since she had thought that he was one of the good guys. Maybe there wasn’t good and bad anymore. Maybe there was just lucky.

  Autumn looked up as movement at the hall window caught her eye. She shook her head as she saw Moose and Marla walk by, holding hands. They were the perfect couple, she thought, both dumb as rocks.

  A short time later, Wolf rushed into the room.

  Autumn pulled off her headphones, realizing something was wrong.

  “We’ve got to get you downstairs,” he said, looking back down the hallway. “They’re back.”

  She stood to leave with him, but the sounds of footsteps on the stairwell made them both pause. Autumn reached over and flipped off the lights, closing and locking the door.

  “We can hide in here. Maybe they’ll think the lab’s locked because Dr. Doune is gone.”

  “I guess we don’t have much choice,” he said. “We need to keep you safe at all costs.”

  ~*~

  Snake, Keith, and three of the bikers rushed onto the roof, positioning themselves around the landing pad, rifles raised.

  As soon as the chopper touched the roof, several armed men jumped out. A large dark-haired man stepped out and looked around as the rotors slowed to a stop. He looked vaguely familiar to Snake, but the biker didn’t have time to dwell on it as his attention was quickly drawn to the old man who followed. Henry looked nothing like what Snake had expected. He had a white, well-trimmed beard and was wearing an expensive overcoat. He could have been arriving for a business meeting, but Snake didn’t let the old man’s appearance fool him. Henry was responsible for the death of one of his friends and the kidnapping of Doune and Lindsey. He was dangerous.

  Lt. Reynolds exited last, and the pilot refused to look Snake in the eye.

  “Well that’s not very neighborly,” Henry said, looking at the weapons that were pointed his way.

  “Neither are kidnapping and murder,” Snake said. “I suggest you have your men lower their weapons. We’ve got five rounds with your name on them, ready to blow some fairly large holes in your chest.”

  “Well now,” Henry said, smiling, “an intelligent man would have a contingency plan for such a situation. If you wouldn’t mind taking a look down at your lovely park, I believe you may want to rethink your lack of courtesy.”

  The confidence in Henry’s voice told Snake that the old man was unimpressed by the firepower that was concentrated on him.

  Keeping his gun trained on Henry, Snake made his way over to the edge of the roof. He looked over the side and spied several children sitting together on the ground along with Fish, Gunner, and Mike. Four armed guards surrounded the group, one waving to Snake as he looked down.

  “Now, I suggest you have your goons throw down their weapons before I’m forced to do something that I have no desire to do.”

  Snake stood silent for a moment as if he were weighing his options.

  “Nobody wants any more bloodshed,” Henry continued. “We simply want you to understand how important it is that we gain possession of the immune person. We may have the means to create a vaccine. Even Dr. Doune has admitted that this hospital doesn’t have the facilities to properly study this plague, let alone make a vaccine. Surely you can see why we have gone to such drastic measures to find this person. The fate of mankind could rest on it.”

  “Why’d you kill Hawk and Wombat?” Snake asked, his finger still on the trigger.

  “That was a tragedy,” Henry said. “They attacked my guards and ended up dead in the ensuing struggle.”

  Nobody replied, though they all knew that the old man was lying.

  “That is precisely what I’m attempting to avoid here,” Henry continued. “Now, please have your men lower their weapons. I would hate to see one of the children get hurt.”

  Snake knew that standing his ground would most likely end in a bloodbath, whereas allowing Henry to disarm him would leave the rest of them vulnerable to whatever fate the old man had planned for them. Still, he couldn’t risk the lives of the children. Even unarmed, Snake had the upper hand since it was obvious that Henry still didn’t know who was immune, and probably wouldn’t chance killing the person by randomly shooting people without provocation.

  “Boys,” Snake said, “drop your guns.”

  One by one, the men lowered their weapons to the ground, and Henry’s guards quickly collected them.

  “Thank you,” Henry smiled. “Now if you would please use your radio to tell the others, who are undoubtedly waiting on the other side of the door, to stand down, we can get down to business.”

  Snake keyed in his radio and filled Jack in on the new developments.

  Jack agreed that they could not risk the lives of the children.

  Henry turned to a man who was wearing an earpiece. “Let the men know we’re going inside, but tell them to be ready.”

  “Yes, sir,” the man said.

  “Now,” Henry said, addressing Snake, “let’s go find a TV so I can show you some information that you may find interesting.”

  “We can talk here,” Snake said.

  “I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands,” Henry said.

  Snake opened the door to find Jack and Moose on the other side. They held up their hands up to show that they were weaponless.

  “I suppose you would have me believe that you were waiting for me, unarmed, the entire time,” Henry scowled.

  “Sir, shall I look for their weapons?” Loto asked.

  “Don’t bother,” Henry said. “Let’s finish this. I’m beginning to lose my patience.”

  ~*^*~

  ~53~

  St. Mary’s Hospital, Lansing

  When Snake opened the door to the gaming room, he was surprised to see Jessica inside.

  “Snake,” she said, “I was looking for Jon and Marie. They should have been here by now. I left them in the cafeteria with . . .” She stopped when she saw Henry and his men following Snake.

  “You’d better leave,” Snake said, motioning for her to go.

  “On the contrary,” Henry said, “I think she should join us. The more, the merrier. Please sit.”

  Jessica sat down on a couch, watching the armed men warily.

  One of Henry’s men pulled out a small laptop and connected it with a cable to a large flat-screen TV in the room. Slipping in a DVD, the man stepped away so that everybody could see the TV. He clicked a couple of buttons on the remote, and an image came on the screen of a large research facility, where over a dozen people were busy conducting experiments and looking at monitors.

  A man who introduced himself as a doctor at a well known hospital addressed the survivors at St. Mary’s directly. He spoke at length about the urgency of finding a vaccine, and he stressed the important role that the immune person played. He assured the viewers that this person would be treated gently and humanely. As Snake listened, he wondered if the people on the video knew the extent of Henry’s treachery, or if they were just as devious. When the presentation was over, Henry surveyed the faces around him.

  “As you can see,” he said, “we aren’t the bad guys. We simply need your cooperation. Please tell us who the immune person is.”

  “It seems to me,” Jack said, “that returning the people you kidnapped, if they’re still alive, would go a long way toward gaining our trust.”

  “You know I can’t relinquish my leverage,” Henry said, “but I can prove to you that they are still very much alive.”

  He nodded to the man with the remote, who pulled out a cell phone and enabled an internet hotspot before typing on the laptop.

  “Ah, isn’t modern technology wonderful?” H
enry asked, smiling.

  A few seconds later, an image of Doune showed up on the screen. He seemed to be relaxing comfortably in an overstuffed chair.

  “Doctor,” Henry said, raising his voice a little, “your friends at the hospital are concerned about you. They need assurances that you are being treated humanely.”

  “Besides the obvious lack of freedom, I am being treated quite well,” Doune replied.

  “Thank you,” Henry said. “Satisfied?”

  “No,” Jack said. “Let me ask a question, so we know this isn’t a recording. Dr. Doune, what’s your first name?”

  “Nicholas.”

  “Now I’m satisfied,” Jack said.

  “What about Lindsey?” Snake asked.

  Henry hesitated then nodded to the man at the computer.

  A right profile of Lindsey’s face appeared on the screen, and Henry asked her if she was being treated well.

  Snake’s eyes narrowed when Lindsey didn’t reply at first. After a moment, she gave a quick nod, though her eyes stayed fixed directly in front of her.

  “See?” Henry said. “They’re both fine.”

  Lindsey suddenly turned toward the camera, revealing a black eye and a split lip. Stitches could be seen over her left eye, and there was a large bandage on her left arm. The image quickly disappeared.

  “You son of a bitch,” Moose said, rushing toward the old man.

  Loto grabbed Moose from behind as the others raised their rifles, stopping him in his tracks.

  “Another unfortunate accident,” Henry said, glaring at Moose. “She fell while trying to escape.”

  Snake glanced at Reynolds, whose fists were tightly clenched at his sides. This time, the pilot looked Snake in the eye and shook his head, no, just slightly.

  “Then let us talk to her,” Snake said. “You ain’t getting anything from us unless you bring our people safely back here.”