Melanie was worried. The government didn’t just send a team in to check things out. They worked with a purpose in mind.
For years, she heard rumors about scientist’s research being swallowed up by the Ministry of Defense. Whole sections in other universities being shut down, or relocated somewhere a little less public. However, she presumed it was all just urban legends among the academic communities – he said, she said, kind of thing. She had never known anyone personally who has been visited by MOD representatives.
If a team from the army was arriving to liaise with her, it was because they knew exactly what they wanted, and they were going to get it from her one way or another.
7
Day 2
Melanie didn’t sleep very well.
It was 5:57 AM.
When she went down for breakfast, she looked like a zombie. In her heightened stress, she had even put two odd shoes on before she caught it in the mirror.
“Problem? Did you have a good night’s sleep?” her mother asked while putting a plate down in front of her husband.
Margery gave Melanie a long stare. Her daughter had never gone into work on a Sunday before.
Melanie was so early she had actually caught her dad before he disappeared down into the cellar.
“I’m fine. Just a lot on at work at the moment.” She looked across towards her father. He had a note book open in front of his fry-up, perched up against the mayonnaise bottle, and he was using his soiled knife to turn the pages, while mumbling softly under his breath. Every few minutes he would remove the stub of a pencil from behind his ear and make a correction.
“Morning dad.” It was the first time she had seen him in three weeks. He looked thinner and paler than normal – he spent too much time underground with no natural light. He also hadn’t shaved in a while. His brown beard was streaked through with grey and white, and a little yellow around the mustache due to his habit of smoking a pipe, every once in a while. At seventy-five, he was still one of the most active people she knew.
“Hmm? What?” He looked up for the first time since Melanie walked in. His small round glasses were perched right on the end of his nose. “Hi Pumpkin. How’s it going kiddo?” He looked back down to his scribbles on the page. His notes looked like a drunk centipede had fallen into an ink pot and then tap-danced across the page.
“Super dad, just hunky-dory.”
“That’s the spirit, keep on plugging away.”
Her mother placed scrambled eggs with strips of crispy bacon in front of her.
“Thanks.”
“You got home late last night. Did you manage to find what you’re looking for?” Margery leaned over and wiped a blotch of baked beans off the table that had fallen over the side of Edward’s plate.
“Melanie?” Her mother turned to look at her.
“Sorry, a little tired, that’s all.” She took a small mouthful of eggs, and washed it down with coffee.
Her mother fussed around at the sink. Her father ate, scribbled and mumbled. Melanie slowly pushed her breakfast around the plate.
“May I have another coffee, please?”
Her mother raised her eyebrows, then lifted the glasses that were on a string around her neck up to her eyes and studied her daughter.
Two coffees was rare.
The last time she needed two coffees in the morning was when she finished a five-week stint working on a new sequencing theory for locating genetic anomalies inside the genotype of a host viruses DNA strand.
“You’re not about to appear on the cover of Science Monthly again are you? Because if you are, I would wear a different top.”
Today she wore loose-fitting black trousers, with what was called a Peter Pan collar mock layered jumper in red and black. It looked more like casual wear rather than work. However, it was Sunday, so she was rebelling a little. Also, she hadn’t straightened her hair. Today it was tied up in a ponytail and then clipped to the back of her head. Some strands had already made a run for it, and hung down her face. She pushed them behind her ears.
Melanie had given up with the eggs and was eating a strip of bacon with her fingers. She looked at her fingernails. Her red nail varnish could do with a retouch. She picked it because she liked it being described as Barn Red.
Her father was still engrossed in his notebook.
Melanie decided to change the conversation’s direction.
“Cracked it yet dad?”
Her father scooped another mouthful of eggs.
“Your daughters talking to you Edward.”
At hearing his name her father looked up from his pad.
“Hmm?”
“How’s the project going?”
“Almost got it. Another day or so, for sure.” With that he jumped up, grabbed his note pad and after giving his wife a kiss on the back of the head, and leaning over and doing the same to Melanie, without a word, he unbolted the padlock then vanished through the door, down into the cellar. They could hear a bolt sliding closed.
“Has he brought any new equipment lately?” Melanie asked.
“There is stuff turning up every week. I don’t know where he keeps it all. It must be like the Tardis down there.”
Melanie dropped the bacon back onto her plate as her mother placed another cup of coffee on the table.
“Thanks.”
Her mother started clearing away Edward’s soiled plate.
“Have you got much on today?” Melanie asked as she pushed the plate away.
“I’ve heard that the garden centre, the new one on the Sowton Industrial Estate, has a rare orchid called a Paph Venustum, of the Paphiopedilum family in stock. Thought I might check it out.”
“That’s nice,” she muttered, wondering if the people were already at the university, waiting for her.
Melanie pulled her BlackBerry out of her bag. No messages or missed calls.
She stood and took the plate over to the bin and scraped the food off.
“I will do that.”
She ignored her mother and placed the plate into the washing-up bowl and started cleaning it.
“Are you happy mum?” she asked over her shoulder.
“What?” Her mother flustered around the table, wiping it down, while rearranging the salt and pepper.
“What a silly question dear, of course I’m happy.”
Melanie wiped her hands on a tea towel and then, as her mother stood up and turned around, she grabbed her and gave her a hug.
She hadn’t hugged her mother in years. She felt too thin, as if a strong wind would blow her away.
Her mother was all tense. But she slowly relaxed into it. She lifted a hand and started stroking Melanie’s long neck.
Without a word Melanie pulled away, kissed her mother on the cheek, then turned and picked up her bag and left the house without saying a word.
8
Melanie drove as if in a daze with Belinda Carlisle’s Runaway Horses playing on the radio.
It was still dark, and the roads had patches of black ice on them.
She drove slowly.
The roads were quiet so early on a Sunday morning. There was only an odd jogger here and there, and some early-morning delivery vans.
She had never been in on a Sunday before. No matter how busy she got, she always allowed herself one day off. She reasoned that she didn’t want to end up like her mother.
Melanie made good time getting to the university. She got a shock when she reached the main turn in – there was an army truck parked across the entrance.
She didn’t know what type of truck it was, but it was obviously military because of the colouring, and the two men dressed in combat camouflaged clothing who was stood next to it.
One man approached as she pulled up. She pressed a button to lower the window.
“I’m sorry miss, but the university is closed today.” He didn’t have a gun on show. However, he had a commanding presence, and he could have all kinds of weapons concealed beneath his clothing.
“I was told to come. I’m Doctor Lazaro.” Her voice was a little shaky.
Closed? What does he mean closed? But she said nothing.
The man straightened and waved a hand. The large trucked started to roll back, giving Melanie room to squeeze her small green car through. The man then stepped back, allowing her passage. She could see him raise his hand and talk into a device on his sleeve.
She presumed she was to drive through. The man didn’t return to her window.
As she drove onto the campus, she noticed other army vehicles. They were dotted about everywhere. Military personnel were also walking around. Every one of them was carrying something.
Melanie was confused. She was told two representatives from the Ministry of Defense were coming to chat with her, not the whole army?
When she reached her building she noticed the car park over by the large Main Hall was full of bulky military transportation sixteen wheeler lorries. Seven of them were in a row, and surrounded by dozens of army personnel who were in the process of emptying the lorries and taking large metal containers into the hall through the fire escape with forklift trucks.
In her departments car park were smaller army vehicles; they looked like Humvees, like she had seen rich celebrities driving on the TV, but these looked slightly different; they weren’t brightly coloured with large alloy wheels – these looked deadly.
She parked up and grabbed her bag.
Outside the main glass doors to her building was another soldier.
As he watched her approach he took a step forward.
“Doctor Lazaro?”
“Yes.”
“They are expecting you.” He grabbed the door and opened it for her. He said nothing else.
Melanie walked through and headed for the lift. Inside, when the door slid shut, she almost sagged.
What on earth is going on?
She had never heard of anything like this before. She tried to think through all the work she had been doing over the last year or so. Nothing jumped out. Nothing that would attract this sort of attention.
The lift stopped and the door silently glided open. Two men were stood waiting for her.
9
“ID please,” the tall man on the right asked, with an outstretch arm.
“What?” Melanie was flustered. She presumed the hand reaching out was going for a handshake. She withdrew her hand and fumbled through her bag. No one had ever asked her to show her ID on the campus before.
“Um, here.” She passed across her university identification badge.
The tall man took it from her and scrutinized it, looking back and forth.
“It’s worse than my passport photo,” she joked, trying to ease the tension.
Neither laughed.
They weren’t dressed in army fatigues. Both men wore black trousers with black polo necks under a black lab coat. They had an insignia on the chest pocket; it looked like a black egg shaped object on a red background. She had never seen the emblem before.
The tall man was in his late fifties and had a long thin, horsey face, with a high forehead and greased back black hair. His eyes were ice blue and piercing. He also looked like he had smoked sixty cigarettes a day for most of his life. His skin was waxy and pale.
The shorter man was pudgy, with a balding head and wobbly jowls. His dull brown eyes looked like two poached eggs, all watery and running. He was possibly in his late forties.
“I am Doctor Sementem,” said the tall man. “And my associate is Doctor Zeru.”
“Pleased to meet you,” the shorter man announced.
Sementem is the Latin word for seed. Zeru is also the word for seed in Sumerian. So they don’t want to give me their real names. Why?
Melanie had a gift for languages; she used to study ancient cultures as a way to relax.
“Good to meet you both.” She paused, not sure whether to ask the next question.
What the hell, she thought.
“That’s a coincidence, what with you both having the word seed as a last name.”
Dr. Zeru’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
Dr. Sementem showed no emotions.
Stalemate, she thought.
“We were told of your superior intellect, I think they underestimated you.”
No one moved.
They were starting to annoy her.
Who the hell do they think they are?
“Are you going to tell me why I have been brought in, and what’s with all the secrecy and mystery and silly names? And, while we’re at it, what’s the army doing all over the campus?”
“Shall we go into your office?” The tall one said.
“Lead on Seedy.”
The shorter man actually smiled.
Melanie sat down at her desk. The two men used the two seats facing her.
When they were all comfy, the taller man pointed at the computer monitor.
“You have read the news?”
Melanie didn’t notice it straight away, but her computer was on; her password had been cracked, and the story about the virus in Madagascar was up on the screen.
“Yes, Dr. Sandoval sent me a link to it yesterday. I perused through it.”
“Forget the swine and bird flu. Forget the Mayan prophecy. Forget super volcanoes and solar flares, because this one is the original doomsday scenario.”
“I’m not following you. Are you saying this one is going to become a pandemic?”
It was the short mans turn to talk. “This is the big one. The final straw. What is coming is going to be on a biblical scale.”
“How do you know this virus is that contagious? It’s only been running for two days! The World Health Organization hasn’t even got involved yet!”
“It’s been around a lot longer than that. Trust us when we say nothing is going to escape unless we can find a cure.” The little man sat back.
Before Melanie had chance to reply, the taller man continued.
“We are setting up centres all over the United Kingdom to start running samples. We have seventeen locations in the process of being organized.” He looked at the short doctor.
“Exeter University will be our facility in South Devon. There are three doctors in your department. Altogether, there are twenty-nine of you capable of understanding and helping out with our research. Another twenty-five will be brought in from outside to help in other sections of the university.”
Melanie thought of the seven lorries full of equipment that was being taken into the large gym. She leaned forward, lacing her fingers together.
The taller one continued. “You will be in charge of the scientific part of the facility.”
Melanie went to speak, to point out there were others more qualified.
“Trust us, you are the best for the job.” He repositioned himself in the seat.
“As of now, you run Exeter’s laboratories in conjunction with the other seventeen locations.”
“Do I get a choice?”
“I’m afraid we are way passed choices now. This is much bigger than you could ever comprehend. It is now do or die!”
10
Sunday 23rd December 2012
Day 8
One week on and it was complete chaos at the university.
All nonessential staff and students were made to leave. Only the scientists in the different departments were allowed on site, along with their assistants.
The army now ran the facility. One combined army’s brigade made up of infantry and armoured, as well as support staff. They started turning up on Sunday afternoon. There were now hundreds of them.
The whole three hundred and fifty-acre university was too big to surround and protect. The five-story science building, with adjoining Great Hall, which served as the main gym, as well as a collection of smaller structures next to it, including the Botanist building, was surrounded by a high wired, barricaded fence. There were soldiers stationed at points all the way around the perimeter with high-caliber weapons.<
br />
As the week progressed, the virus had spread. Now seventeen countries were infected, with more being added to the list each day.
America, China, France, and Africa were asking for international aid. Across the world hundreds of millions of people were in a comatosed state, filling every building capable of holding them, or in some cases, just left lying on the ground. However, every country was in the same boat, or was preparing for it. They didn’t have the resources to help other countries as well.
As of yet, Great Britain was virus free.
As the news got worse people changed. At first it was peaceful protests. By the end of the week there were rioting and looting going on across the country.
In England, the police were at breaking point. The government ordered the army out onto the streets of its own country.
The violence was so prolific that a curfew was implemented, that would take effect from midnight – no one would be allowed outside for any reason.
A date was arranged so people could leave their homes, so they could collect provisions. Thursday the 27th from 10 AM until 8 PM. They also had what was left of today to collect what they needed to last them five days.
So far, each night the scientists could return to their families. However, that was about to change.
Melanie was told, via a message passed on from Brigadier General William Hay, whom she had yet to meet, that tomorrow morning she would be picked up at home at 7 AM. She was to pack everything she would need to last two weeks. She, as well as all the other scientists, would now be living in the university. Instead of a normal working day, the scientists would work in shifts, so there would always be someone working on the vaccine.
They weren’t given a choice.
They were also told to leave their mobile phones at home. They would be searched when they returned.
Melanie was inundated by the other scientists when they found out they would be kept at the facility, and that they wouldn’t be allowed to contact their family for any reason. She pointed out she had no control over the situation, that she was just a figurehead and that the General really ran the show. Her job was to just gather up any important information and pass it on.
The Sixth Extinction & The First Three Weeks & The Squads First Three Weeks Omnibus [Books 1-10] Page 43
