I stumbled into a small clearing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure moving my way. It was close. I turned with the shotgun ready to fire, but I was too slow. A blow struck me on the side of the head. I brought my arms up to fight off my attacker. He was quick. Another solid punch brought me down. The world spun into complete darkness.
October 31st – Morning
My head ached to such a degree that I feared opening my eyes. When I did, it wasn’t as bad as I expected but the motion still hurt. I found myself in a small room – more like a closet – lying face up on a concrete floor. The walls were painted an army green that was covered with scratches. I wasn’t the first person who had been here. A single door was the only way out. A bare bulb. hanging from a wire connected to the ceiling, was on. The light shone with a piercing light that seemed to strike into my eyes to the back of my skull like a dagger. It took me a few moments to collect my thoughts and remember what happened. With a loud grunt I managed to push myself up into a sitting position.
I found that my clothes were missing, replaced with army pants and t-shirt. There was a smell of disinfectant on my skin. The boots I had been wearing were also gone, leaving me with bare feet. Leaning against the wall I took some deep breaths. Rubbing my temples a few times and the pain began subside to the point where I could think clearly again. But there wasn’t much time for thinking because I heard the tramp of measured feet coming.
I braced myself against the back wall, ready to launch myself at whoever opened the door. However any thought toward escape was gone once I saw the four armed men through the open door. They were soldiers and they weren’t wearing breathing masks, just the normal combat gear you would expect. Behind them was a row of windows, showing a sunny sky and a view of some parked trucks. I noticed the windows had been sealed shut with a thick film of plastic.
“Move it,” one of the soldiers said, waving his gun at me.
“Where am I?” I asked, only partially feigning my confusion.
“We ask the questions here,” was the menacing reply.
I didn’t say anything in return. I was alive, and they apparently had no reason to kill me yet, so why give them one? Instead I walked meekly out of my holding cell and soon found myself in the middle of this soldierly procession. We marched down the hall, made a turn, entered singly through a sealable airlock and into a plastic tunnel that snaked outside, and then through an intersection, and then into another building. We stopped at another airlock and once again went through one at a time. I concluded this was their way of getting safely from building to building without being exposed to the outside air. Each building was also sealed off from one another in case there was a leak somewhere in the system.
A door was opened. I was marched to a conference room, led to a chair that I sat in, and then the soldiers left. Taking in my surroundings, I saw I was sitting at a long table made out of mahogany, or something close enough to fool the eye. The chairs were black leather over a stainless steel frame. A set of plastic encased windows gave me a view of a helicopter sitting on a landing pad. My eyes searched the rest of the room, looking for some kind of weapon I could use. There was nothing but a whiteboard with no markers, thin gray carpeting, and the other chairs. I momentarily froze when I saw the security camera mounted high in the corner. I was being watched.
My feet moved restlessly against the carpet. I wondered if I should make a run for it. Once I was clear of the protective plastic, it would take the soldiers time to kit up and pursue. But it was a long way to run to get to that tree line. I would be cut down by gunfire before I made it. My thoughts in that direction stopped when my foot struck something round , thin, and long on the floor. I didn’t dare look since the camera was watching. Instead I probed with my bare feet. It was a pen or pencil that had been lodged close to the table leg, apparently out of sight. I couldn’t grab it, not while I was being watched. Instead I had to create some kind of diversion.
Pushing the chair back, I stood up and slammed by hands against the table. I shouted shout, “Are you going to leave me here all day? I want to talk to someone!”
I glowered at the camera, and went to sit back down. Purposefully missing the edge of the chair, I fell on my rear. Getting on my hands and knees, I grabbed the pen and tucked it into my front pocket. And then I stood, grabbed the chair, and sat with as much dignity as I could muster. I’m sure it was a rotten performance by any acting measure but hopefully it was good enough to fool whoever was watching.
I didn’t have to wait long for someone to arrive. The door opened. In walked a tall man with black hair that was speckled heavily with gray. He was wearing a field uniform in desert camouflage which looked terribly out of place here in the swamps of Louisiana. A pistol was strapped to his waist. Without any words, he sat down across from me and began to study me like a germ under a microscope. I saw a lined face with light blue eyes, bushy gray eyebrows, a long nose, and thin lips that were set in a half-smile.
“Hello, Tom,” he finally said. “I’m Colonel Sherwood. I run this place.”
“How do you know my name?”
He gave a thin-lipped smile. “That’s easy enough to answer since I’ve already questioned your two companions. Who would have thought that a geology teacher could be so resourceful? You know that you’ve caused us a whole bunch of trouble.”
“I never asked for trouble. Why don’t you just let me go?”
The colonel let out an exasperated laugh. “That’s not going to happen, Tom. You’re trying to get your people back – that little girl Sarah and your girlfriend Allison. But you don’t have to worry since they are in safe hands. Allison, you will be happy to hear, is conscious again thanks to the medical treatment she received. Those infected creatures out there are teeming with disease. Several of my men have had to deal with bites and scratches. Lucky for you we had the expertise to heal her.”
I felt a sense of relief know that Allison and Sarah were still alive. But I also felt angry. “You mean those infected creatures that you created?” I shot back nastily.
A dark cloud passed over the colonel’s face. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Those meteorites. You knew they were coming. You knew they carried the virus. You could only know that if you had created the disease in the first place.”
Those pale blue eyes flickered momentarily signifying a brief loss of control. But the smooth voice didn’t betray any doubt. “I don’t know where you got that information, Tom, but it’s all wrong. Who could do that? It’s insane. I don’t know where this plague started, but I am trying to find a cure. I’m trying to save people’s lives. You can be part of it if only you could help me.”
“Why would I help you?” I asked in disbelief. “I saw that army of yours cutting down civilians with machine guns. That’s how you are saving lives?”
He shrugged. That low reassuring voice of his was beginning to grate on my nerves. “You’ve killed to survive, haven’t you? You’ve killed quite a few of my soldiers.”
“I had to.”
“I also have to do bad things to save the entire human race. You and I are not that different. Now I don’t want to hurt anyone but the needs of all of us outweigh the loss of a few lives. Those of you who are immune need to be tested to find out why. Maybe there is a cure, some way to make a vaccine. My soldiers need that vaccine so they can live. But we’ll never find the solution without test subjects.”
I shook my head. “Willing or not?”
“Willing or not,” he replied blandly.
“And just how many of these test subjects had to die?” I angrily spat out.
“A few, but I never wanted them to die. It’s for the greater good. If you understand that then your time here will be easier.”
My anger began to rise. “And Allison and Sarah? Are they going to be test subjects too?”
“Of course, my dear man. And so are you. You are full of questions, aren’t you?”
Since he was so obliging I re
turned to another question. “You said that you didn’t know anything about this virus.” I pointed to the plastic over the windows. “If that is true then how did this place end up being so prepared for it? I mean you have biohazard suits for all of your soldiers, the necessary equipment to do the testing, and even an oxygen filter and supply for an entire camp. That goes beyond being just well-prepared.”
Once again those blue eyes briefly flashed with anger. “You’re a little too smart for your own good.” The colonel let out a sigh. “If you want to know the truth, this facility has always been making specialized weapons. Much of what we had was already in stock before this unfortunate accident happened.”
“Accident? Don’t play me for the fool.”
Again a bland expression, the colonel said, “I will tell you the truth. It’s no secret. Maybe you will be more cooperative if you understand. It was this facility that originally designed the virus.” He waved one hand to the side as if indicating it was of no consequence.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I choked out, “The meteorites. I saw them come down with my own eyes. What kind of accident was that?”
Sherwood continued, talking slow and easy. “Many years ago this facility was tasked by Washington to design a weapon that could be delivered anywhere on the globe. This weapon was meant to destroy an entire country, but still leave the infrastructure intact. One could think of it as an improved neutron bomb without all the radioactive mess. We turned to one of the oldest methods of killing - like handing out blankets with smallpox – a biological weapon. A new microbe was constructed by modifying a flu virus using gene splicing. A method was found to encapsulate and protect the virus, allowing it live in suspended animation in outer space. Hundreds of such modules were placed, ready for use, on an orbiting satellite. If you wanted to kill a country, while keeping your own hands clean, it was a simple matter of pressing a button and dropping the payload.”
“You’re a monster,” I managed to say through the bile of hate I felt rising in my throat. “Why did you do release the payload on all of us?”
“I didn’t. There was an accident with a Russian satellite. The collision caused the modules to be released. There was nothing that could be done.”
“But surely you must have had an antidote. I mean you wouldn’t put something so deadly up there without a cure.”
Sherwood made a face. “The lab boys here made one mistake. The radiation, or maybe it was the cosmic rays, caused the virus on the satellite to mutate. The inoculation we created, the one that would have been given to our soldiers and civilians, no longer offered any protection. That’s why we need survivors like you to help us. It is the immune people like you that will give us the cure.”
“Damn your cure! You killed my wife!”
I leapt to my feet, causing the chair I had been sitting on to fall to the ground in a crash. Lunging forward I reached over the table and grabbed Sherwood by the neck and began to squeeze. My reaction must have been expected since there was a hammering of footsteps as men burst into the room. They grappled with me, trying to break my arms free from the colonel’s throat. I continued to squeeze even as a fist smashed against the side of my head. A few more blows and I collapsed to the floor, the world turning bright white and then fading away.
October 31st – Afternoon
My body felt as if it had been used as a punching bag. Someone was shaking my left shoulder and speaking some words that I couldn’t make out. Their voice seemed like a hundred miles away, as did my consciousness. Against my better judgment I tried to force myself awake. Death seemed like a better option. In a few centuries I flicked my eyes open to find that Sarah was right in my face.
“He’s awake!” she shouted with excitement. Her voice only made my headache worse.
Her face was replaced by Allison, who looked like an angel fallen from the heavens above. I wondered if there was something wrong with my head. Or maybe it really was love.
“Tom,” she said in a gentle whisper as she cupped my face in her warm hands. “I thought you were dead. I’m so happy to see you.” She kissed me.
I could see tears glisten in her beautiful eyes. “Good to see you,” I managed to foolishly say. That was enough effort for me. I had to blink a few times before I could speak again. “Where are we?”
“The prison barracks. Two soldiers dragged you here about an hour ago and threw you on a bed. You are a mess, all blood and bruises. I cleaned off what gore I could.”
“How did you get here? I mean bring me up to speed.”
“Sarah can answer that better than me. I woke up in their hospital connected to a bunch of tubes. After a day of that they let me in here with Sarah and the rest of the prisoners. I’m still a little woozy but feeling better than before.”
“Good. I don’t plan to stay here for very long. We’ll need you to be strong for what I have in mind. Now help me sit up.”
With their assistance I managed to sit upright, my body resting on a pillow leaning against the bunk bed frame. Now I could see the rest of the room. We were inside a long room with a dozen bunk beds lined up against the wall. Like the other buildings the windows were covered with a thick film of plastic. We weren’t alone. A handful of people – dressed like us - were sitting on cots. They were mostly old, and with a weary look of someone who had given up. I didn’t pay them much more attention since they couldn’t be counted on for the fight I had in mind. But some of them, if they were lucky, could make their escape.
“What are we going to do?” Allison asked.
“Do you have any sharp objects?” I asked in a whisper.
Sarah, who was leaning close, said, “They don’t allow such things.” She motioned toward the windows. “They’re afraid we’re going to break the seal if we try to escape. After meals we are searched before we return to the barracks.”
“That isn’t good,” I said thinking how hard it would be to break out of here with the pen in my front pocket. A knife would be much better to cut through the thick plastic that kept us enclosed.
Sarah motioned her head toward the corner of the room. “And they watch us too.”
I glanced in that direction and saw a security camera. It had a light that was blinking red, a visual reminder that this area was under surveillance.
“Are there any microphones?” I asked, feeling I had already said too much.
Sarah shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“There could be microphones,” Allison added, “but I’ve never seen any evidence of them. I think if the soldiers were recording us, they would have used that information against us already.”
“Meaning what?” I asked.
“Sarah and I have been planning to escape ourselves. We’ve been talking rather freely about it, even trying to get some of our fellow inmates to join us in the attempt. They don’t seem too interested. Maybe they feel safe here.” She shot a disgusted look at the other prisoners. “But there hasn’t been a change in the way the soldiers have been running security.”
I nodded. “I’ll go with it for now. We’re at the point where there is nothing to lose. Tell me of the regular routine here.”
Sarah took up the narrative. “They have some scientists. I counted three of them in white coats. They draw a lot of blood from us.” She rubbed her inner elbow and made a face. “That happens in the morning. After that we have breakfast. Sometimes they pull a single person out of the room, but mostly they leave us alone until lunch and dinner. Other than that we spend our time cooped up in the barracks.”
“What time is it now?” I asked.
“Just after four,” Allison said, looking over her shoulder, apparently at a clock that I couldn’t see from my position.
“And what time do they serve dinner?”
“We are moved in to the cafeteria at six. We have a half-hour to eat.”
I nodded. “And it gets dark by then. Which means the vampires are coming out just as you return back to the barracks. We’ll make our
escape attempt then since that’s when the soldiers are at their busiest.”
Allison gave me a thoughtful look, and a brief pause before speaking. “Don’t we have a duty to stay here?”
“A duty?”
She replied uncertainly, her words slow as if picking her way through a logical minefield. “Sarah and I were talking about escaping but I’ve given it some further thought. The people here are looking for a cure. If we can help them then aren’t we helping humanity? This may be our only chance to stop the virus.”
“Did you talk to that Colonel Sherwood?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“So did I,” Sarah chimed in. “He interviews all of the new prisoners.”
I rubbed the side of my head, remembering what that man had said to me. “Did he tell you where the virus came from?”
“No,” the both of them said in unison.
“Well he was in a mighty talkative mood when he debriefed me. Sherwood told me that this very facility was the place that the virus originated. It wasn’t meteorites or some alien agent that caused the vampires, it was us!” My volume of my voice was rising with every syllable, causing the other prisoners to look my way.
“Why would he tell you this?” Allison asked, looking shocked by this new information.
Shaking my head, I replied. “I don’t know. Maybe the guilt is eating him up inside. Or else he’s getting scared that a cure will never be found. This virus was meant for warfare but an accident caused the payload to crash onto earth, spreading the pathogen far and wide. The vaccination that was meant to protect our side didn’t work so they are stuck using us as test animals. Sherwood told me that radiation up in space may have mutated the virus. They may never find a cure.”
“We don’t know that,” Allison said. “And at least here we are safe from the vampires.”
“For now,” I said.
The Dead Are Sleeping Page 20
