The Tide (Book 3): Salvage

by Anthony J Melchiorri

  The Judge laughed. “Me? Work for Kinsey?” He took off his aviators and slipped them into his pocket then leaned close. His blue eyes bore into Shepherd’s. “I don’t work for Kinsey. He works for me.”

  ***

  Lauren couldn’t believe it. Navid had been right—all of their tests indicated the Goliaths had almost a hundred times more human growth hormones in their systems compared to a normal person. She printed off the latest results and showed them to Peter.

  “Exactly what my ELISA results show,” he said.

  Lauren shook her head in awe. “With that much HGH, it’s no wonder these things mutated and grew so quickly.”

  “Right. Now that one mystery is out of the way. The bigger mystery is why it affects some Skulls and not others.”

  Lauren drummed her gloved fingers on the lab bench. “Should we ask Miguel to pick us up the pituitary gland of a Goliath next time he’s out?” she asked with a smirk.

  “Maybe he can bring back a whole Goliath. Give us a specimen for dissection.”

  Lauren couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of trying to bring one of those monsters into their lab. “This is one step closer, but we still haven’t figured out what’s causing the pituitary gland to overproduce. I want to know why these things are turning into Goliaths and Droolers.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Peter said. “Maybe our understanding of the Oni Agent isn’t as good as we thought.”

  “You have no idea how much I hope you’re wrong.”

  Peter offered a rueful smile. “Oh, I think I have some idea. So what next?”

  “Why don’t you perform the mass spectrometry on the samples from the Droolers? I want to know what exactly is in that acid spray.” She glanced at Terrence. He was lying inert in one of the med bay’s beds. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and bandages covered his upper torso. His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sleeping, but a pained grimace still showed on his face. “Maybe we can at least come up with something the crew can use to defend themselves against that stuff.”

  “Agreed,” Peter said. “It might be possible to create some type of polymer coating for the Hunters’ fatigues.”

  “That’s the hope,” Lauren said. “I’m going to check on the vaccine simulation efforts.”

  After exiting the laboratory, she walked between the hospital beds in the patients’ ward. She caught Navid’s gaze. “I could use an extra set of eyes. You want to help?”

  “Sure, but I can’t do much pipetting or cell culture work.” He held up his splinted hand.

  “Not a problem. I’ve got a different assignment for you.”

  Lauren could almost sense the change in the young scientist’s spirits. Having some direction, having anything to give him purpose, might help him with the long journey through the grief and pain. She grabbed an extra laptop from a storage cabinet and led Navid to the mess hall. There, a hodgepodge of people sat at the tables. Each had a laptop before them. Kara worked beside Sadie. Divya and Sean stared intently at their screens. Other crew members between shifts or critical duties had stopped in for an hour or two of work. All strove for the same goal: finding a cure for the prions produced by the Oni Agent.

  Kara especially seemed to be in a trance. She was hunched over, her face mere inches from her screen.

  “Do you mind showing Navid how to use FoldIt?” Lauren placed the laptop in front of an empty seat next to Dom’s daughter.

  Kara blinked as she tore her gaze from the computer. “Oh, sure thing.” She looked up at Lauren. Dark bags hung under her eyes, speaking to her dedication. “Some of these new molecules we got from Boston seem to be much closer. We’re getting much higher scores with fewer manipulations.”

  “Yeah, I keep beating my personal best!” Sadie added.

  “Good to hear,” Lauren said. “Thanks, everyone, for your hard work.”

  A few people looked up and gave her nods or mumbles of acknowledgment before continuing their efforts. She left the mess hall, praying that the people here would be successful. After all, before the Oni pandemic, gamers had actually used FoldIt to help researchers uncover proteins related to HIV. Maybe they could actually do this.

  But identifying a molecule wouldn’t be enough. They needed a larger laboratory and production facility like the VPPL at the NIH to bring this project to fruition. If the Hunters failed today, all her teams’ efforts wouldn’t matter. They had no other way to scale up the manufacture of a vaccine to help the survivors of the outbreak.

  “Lauren!” Chao called urgently from the hatch to the electronics workshop.

  She jogged toward Chao. “What’s going on?”

  “Got a message from Dom. Says he needs your help!”

  -28-

  Meredith fought to catch her breath. Sweat soaked the back of her shirt and the palms of her gloves. As she followed Sergeant Ford and the other Marines into the research facility, she took a final glance at the crumpled Skull corpses littering the lawn. Their LZ had been hot. Very hot. Judging by the persistent gunfire echoing across the NIH facilities, they weren’t the only ones that had been greeted by slashing talons and snapping fangs. It certainly hadn’t been the cakewalk Kinsey had promised. She, Andris, and the Marines had barely made it out unscathed. She hoped Dom and company had an easier time getting to the VPPL.

  “On me!” Sergeant Ford commanded. Rollins, Evans, and Grant walked beside him, with Meredith and Andris bringing up the rear. Judging by their wide-eyed expressions, Meredith guessed they hadn’t had as much experience dealing with Skulls as they’d boasted of in the Huey.

  “We’re going to start at the top and go room by room,” Ford said. “Make sure this place is clean, and round up any survivors.” He pointed at Andris and Meredith. “You two grab anything related to that proteins disease.”

  Andris raised an eyebrow. “Prions?”

  “Whatever the fuck it is, I don’t care. That’s why we’ve got you two. Now let’s go!”

  The team prowled through the hallway. Meredith stepped over a fallen filing cabinet. Its contents were spilled over the floor, and specks of dark brown marred the papers. She knew immediately it was dried blood. She’d had enough field experience in scenes like these since joining up with Dom to recognize it when she saw it.

  At a four-way intersection, Ford and Rollins covered the passageways to their left and right. They reached a door at the end of the hallway. As they neared it, Meredith noticed bloody streaks across the small glass window in the door. Ford shot a few quick hand signals to his men, and they formed a semicircle around the door. On his count, Evans burst through, with the other three quickly following. The rattle of bones clicking across the floor sent Meredith’s heart beating wildly.

  But Evans pronounced it clear a moment later. She and Andris stepped into the stairwell. A pile of vertebrae, femurs, clavicles, and hollowed-out skulls lay scattered across the floor.

  “This some kind of fucking tomb?” Grant asked.

  “Not a tomb,” Meredith said. “More like a feeding chamber.”

  Ford gave her skeptical look but said nothing. The group continued up the stairs, all the way to the top.

  “Intel says the three labs on our left are most likely to have what you’re looking for,” Ford said.

  “Understood,” Meredith said.

  They entered the hall. With each step they took, she expected the screams of the Skulls to explode around them. A quick flick of the handle, and Evans led them through the first door. The group rapidly filed in behind him and spread out, guns bristling.

  “This ain’t no lab,” Rollins said.

  It didn’t take Meredith’s expertise in biology and chemistry to know that Rollins was right. A refrigerator sat against one wall. Its door was wide open. A few moldy plastic containers sat on its shelves. Next to it was a counter with a sink. Plastic wrappers from candy, chips, and other snacks were scattered across the carpeted floor. Three vending machines were on another side of the room. One had been ti
pped over. The glass panel of the second was broken, and shards sparkled on the floor around it. In the middle of the room were two tables with chairs strewn haphazardly around them.

  “This isn’t right.” Ford’s brow furrowed, and he dug into his pocket. He pulled out a folded-up sheet of paper and started examining it. “Goddamned intel.”

  The team spread out around the apparent breakroom as Ford checked the map, exploring the small, apparently empty space.

  “The hell...” Evans said, his voice trailing off. Meredith turned to see him nudge open a door leading to a small bathroom. A figure in a hooded sweatshirt swayed, side to side. Evans lowered his rifle and reached to grab the person’s shoulder.

  But Meredith could already see the bumps and protrusions under the baggy sweatshirt. “Don’t!”

  It was too late. The figure spun to face Evans. Its lips parted in a snarl, and it pounced.

  Evans tried to raise his gun, but the monster swatted it away. It bore down on him in a flash of flying claws, snapping teeth, and flailing limbs.

  “Fuck!” Evans said, his glasses flying from his face. “Help, help!”

  He fell with the frenzied Skull slashing madly at his neck and chest. Its claws dug into his skin, and a sudden spray of blood painted the wall. Meredith tried to train her rifle on the Skull, but she couldn’t get a clear shot in the tumbling mess of man and beast. Instead, she sprinted at the monster and leveled a kick at its head. The impact knocked the creature away from Evans momentarily, and Andris got off a couple of quick shots. The rounds tore through the Skull’s sweatshirt and clunked into the heavy armor beneath the cloth.

  “God, oh, God!” Evans rolled on the floor and clutched his face. Blood trickled between his fingers. “Help me!”

  The Skull growled and ran at Meredith. Blood seeped from the holes in its armor and started to soak the sweatshirt. Two of the Marines fired. Fragments of its armor flew off, but the creature continued full tilt. It leapt at Meredith. She dodged, but one of the Skull’s outstretched claws grabbed the back of her tac vest. She crashed into a table. Pain shot up her tailbone and into her spine.

  More gunfire barked. It was deafening in the small room. The Skull was far too nimble and shielded its face from the rounds. It crouched. Its limbs trembled. With a sudden wail, it careened toward Meredith. Blood spat from its mouth. Still on her back, she rolled to avoid its attack.

  “Hit it in the face, you sons of bitches!” she yelled at the Marines.

  The Skull jumped at her again, and the gunfire ceased altogether. It was behind her now, putting Meredith in the line of fire. Even these Marines wouldn’t shoot her to bring down the Skull. Meredith tried to fake the Skull out and dodge to the side, but it was too quick. An adept predator, it seemed to sense her moves before she made them. There would be no easy way around the creature.

  Evans continued screaming, his voice growing louder and shakier. A few distant howls answered.

  “Shut him up!” she ordered.

  The Skull let out another low growl. Its claws cut through the air, desperate to meet Meredith’s flesh. Her strength flagged as she tried to parry and dodge each blow. She tripped over a broken chair and fell again. The Skull lunged. Meredith used her rifle to bat away its claws. Her muscles were strained. Adrenaline poured through her, but even its effects couldn’t assuage the pain radiating through her back or compete with the monster’s unbearable strength.

  In her periphery, she saw Andris creep behind the Skull. Just as she thought her arms would give out, the Skull stopped its assault. She thought she could almost see a look of surprise in its eyes as Andris maneuvered a knife between the bone plates and sliced into the Skull’s carotid. Arterial blood poured over its hooded sweatshirt, and Andris shoved the monster backward. A puddle formed around its twitching, dying body.

  “Thanks,” Meredith said.

  “No problem. Got that move from you.”

  Nearby, Evans moaned. Rollins and Grant were pressing blood-soaked cloths to his wounds, but they didn’t seem to be doing much good.

  “Here.” Meredith dug into her pocket and pulled out a small packet. “Hemostatic gel. Needs to be applied directly to the wound.”

  Rollins and Grant looked at her, uncertainty painted across their faces.

  “He’s going to bleed out!” Meredith said. “Look at him, he’s going into shock.”

  Ford waved his men away. “Let her work.”

  The two Marines left the makeshift bandages and backed up. Meredith peeled the soaked cloths back and examined the wreckage of the man’s face, looking for the source of the bleeding. One eye was swollen over. The other...Meredith almost retched. The other was no longer there.

  She sprinkled some of the hemostatic gel in Evans’s eye socket. Almost immediately the gel swelled, soaking up blood and setting off a clotting cascade at the molecular level. The bleeding would be staunched so long as the gel remained undisturbed. She found two more cuts, a deep laceration along his scalp and one under his chin, and applied more of the hemostatic gel. The bleeding slowed to a trickle. The gel would keep Evans alive—for now.

  “He needs a medic,” Meredith said. “This won’t hold forever.”

  Evans’s vague murmuring devolved into agonized groans once more. The cries of the Skulls in the building seemed to be growing closer. Ford stared at his map then at Rollins and Grant. Footsteps echoed in the hall.

  “The fuck are we doing?” Rollins asked, his voice rising.

  Meredith rushed to the door. She wouldn’t wait for the squad leader to make a decision. Waiting was deadly when dealing with Skulls. The clatter of bones against tiles became louder. Meredith knew trying to wait it out behind a closed door was as good as a death sentence. More and more Skulls would continue to pile up outside the breakroom, desperate to break in.

  She leaned around the corner with her rifle leveled and ready for the first Skull to make its way around the corner. Andris mirrored her actions, facing the other direction.

  “Salvage Command, this is Foxtrot One, we’ve got a man down,” Ford said. “I repeat, Foxtrot One, we’ve got a man down.”

  A bloodcurdling wail hurtled through the halls. A Skull sprinted around the corner. Carried by momentum, it collided with a wall and fell. The monster’s eyes went wide when it spotted Meredith, and the spikes along its spine seemed to flex. Frenzied by its hunger, it ran at Meredith in a loping gait on all fours. She caught the monster’s head in her sights and pulled the trigger. But the Skull’s bobbing head made it a difficult target. The rounds went wide and ricocheted off the floor. She played her muzzle across the beast as it closed in and let off another volley. This time the monster tumbled headfirst and flopped. It sprawled across the floor. Its body slid, leaving a trail of blood.

  Behind her, Andris’s rifle chattered. Spent cases pinged off the walls and floors. Meredith had no time to gauge how well Andris was holding off the creatures from his side. Another two Skulls barreled at her, their bodies hunched and their claws spread. Her heart hammered while she brought the first down with a wild spray of gunfire. Rounds clattered against the second Skull’s armor, but it carried on almost unperturbed. Her shots inched up the monster’s body, forming craters in its organic plates. At a mere six yards from her position, a bullet crashed through its orbital lobe and plunged into the thing’s brain. Inertia carried the monster’s corpse past her, and the Skull came to rest near Andris’s feet.

  The Hunter glanced at the monster, then Meredith. “Too damn close.” Four Skulls were sprawled in various positions along his end of the corridor. “Mind keeping them on your side of the hall?”

  “Command, this is Foxtrot One, do you read?” Ford’s face was scrunched in concentration. Rollins and Grant stared at him as they tried to help Evans. He’d started bleeding again despite Meredith’s efforts with the hemostatic gel. Ford’s features relaxed. “Goddammit, Command. Took long enough. We’ve got a man in need of a medical evac.”

  He nodded at the incoming tra
nsmission. His jaw dropped slightly, and he looked at Meredith before quickly turning away. “Yes, confirmed.” Another beat of silence. “Yes, we can bring the target to you.”

  “Catch that?” Andris whispered.

  Meredith nodded, trying to appear inconspicuous. She didn’t like the look Ford had given her.

  “Remember when I told you about the Foreign Legion?”

  Again, Meredith nodded. She understood the underlying message behind Andris’s statement. It wasn’t the Legion he was concerned with, but rather his distrust for those outside the Huntress serving their own agendas.

  “Mission’s changed!” Ford said. “Command says we’re getting the fuck out of here. Get Evans to the med evac at the original LZ.”

  Rollins and Grant hoisted their fallen comrade. Each of them took one of his arms over their shoulder. They followed Ford’s lead into the hall.

  “Russian, you’re on point,” Ford said.

  “Latvian,” Andris said under his breath. He led the group back the way they’d come.

  Meredith followed him closely. She disliked having Ford behind her, especially with a gun. As they reached the stairwell, a Skull burst from it. Andris dispatched it with a quick burst. In response to his gunfire, a chorus of loud yells echoed through the halls.

  “Fuck! They’re behind us!” Rollins said.

  Ford turned to fire on the incoming Skulls. More and more rounded the corner, mobbing the hallway. “Go, go, go!”

  The group rushed down the stairs and spilled into the lobby of the building. The din of the pursuing Skulls chased after them as they plunged back into the daylight. They ran through the battlefield of cars and corpses in the parking lot. More roars and gunfire erupted across the NIH campus. Skulls clambered out of the NINDS building. Their mission had been a complete waste of time and resources. She and Andris would’ve been better off sticking with Dom and the Hunters. These Marines were sloppy, inexperienced, and strangely hostile. But blaming them wouldn’t stop the mob of Skulls now scrambling over the bodies of other fallen creatures and the burned-out vehicles. At least twenty of the monsters were after them.