Caleb took several painful breaths. Visions of their pale faces and lifeless eyes flooded his mind. The moans and snapping jaws of zombies echoed through his brain. He grabbed the edge of the couch cushion and squeezed.
“Leave the painful memories behind.” The doctor’s voice sounded far away and barely cut through the sounds of the undead. “Bring back the light, Caleb. Focus on the good.”
Caleb turned his head so he could look out the window. The sun was high in the sky and streamed through the window. Outside, the last vestiges of snow were melting off the grass and green strands poked through the crunchy brown. Knobby buds adorned the barren branches of the trees. Even though there weren’t any birds visible from the window, he imagined they were outside singing. Their song started softly, buried beneath the violence of the undead, but then it grew louder and stronger, drowning out the sounds of the zombies. Caleb closed his eyes and let it reverberate through his skull. Slowly, the chirping changed into a song, one that his mother used to sing. Caleb cleared his throat.
“She used to do this thing,” he said softly. “On our birthday.” He opened his eyes and continued to stare out the window. “She would wake us up early and sing a birthday song that she had made up.”
“That sounds amazing. Can you sing it for me?”
Caleb turned to look at the doctor. The smile was still on her lips, and she folded her hands in her lap. He swallowed hard.
“I don’t really remember the words. Something about it being our special day and getting things our way.” He hummed a few bars of the tune.
His mom’s smiling face dominated his mind’s eye, causing his breath to hitch again. The pain in his chest increased, and he doubled over on the couch to get some relief.
“I can’t do this,” he wheezed. “It hurts too much. I want to stop.”
“Okay.” The doctor’s voice was soft and soothing. “When you’re ready, I want you to think about the good times with your family. I don’t want you to focus on the bad. Remember the laughs, the love, being together. If you don’t, that’s when the darkness will seep in. They are your anchor, your ties to life. Even though they are no longer here, they should continue to be your reason to live.”
The pain pulsed through his chest again. He fought back the urge to lash out at the doctor and tell her life wasn’t worth living without them around. But he refrained. He wrapped his arms around his midsection and squeezed, hoping to push out some of the pain in his chest. It didn’t work. He didn’t think anything would.
* * * *
Since he was in a basement and the sun was having a hard time entering the windows, he couldn’t tell what time it was. Not that being in a basement was the only hindrance for the sun. The city made it difficult for the light to get through. Still, there was a soft gray light penetrating the glass, so Caleb figured it was daytime, even if it was early. Nerves tingled his stomach, his skin felt prickly. It was going to be a long day.
Coffee. He needed some coffee. Well, he probably didn’t actually need it with his stomach as upset as it was and already being on edge, but it was something for him to do, and it would help wake him up. He hesitated for a moment, then turned around and made the bed. It wasn’t something he did with regularity, but as a guest, he wanted to be a good one. After visiting the bathroom, he headed into the kitchen for coffee.
Marjorie was in there, hunched over her cane. She seemed much more withered and fragile standing than she had sitting in her chair. At her full height, she probably would have come to his shoulder. In her current stance, the top of her head reached his chest. She reached for one of the upper cupboards and barely touched the handle. She then raised up on her toes to grab the coffee. Caleb stepped forward.
“Let me help you.” He grabbed the container and set it on the counter.
“Thank you, dear. I appreciate that.” She patted his arm. “It’s always nice to have help around the house.”
“Has it been a while since someone has been here?”
She pulled the lid off the coffee and scooped it into the filter in the pot. “Only a couple of weeks, dear, but it seems much longer. This last one got a job as a teacher’s apprentice. Isn’t that nice? Seems like anymore they come for a short while, then get placed in a more permanent home. Not that I’m complaining. I’m glad the influx of orphans has slowed and that they are finding useful things to do for society.” She smiled, then sighed. “But it does get lonely.”
The coffee pot gurgled, and the dark liquid dripped into the glass pot with a hiss. The smooth acidic scent of coffee hit Caleb’s nostrils. The smell took him back to his childhood and school mornings. He would eat cereal while his mom drank coffee and quizzed him on his spelling words.
“I don’t have much variety in breakfast foods.” Marjorie’s voice pulled him out of his memories. “But eat what you can find.” She patted his arm again before shuffling over to the table and taking a seat.
Caleb didn’t particularly want to go through her cupboards, he didn’t want to seem nosy, and he wasn’t particularly hungry, but he didn’t want Marjorie to fret over him. If she was anything like his grandma—and she reminded him a lot of his grandma—she would think he was too skinny and didn’t eat enough. Eventually, she would probably try to force him to eat something, so he would save her the trouble. He noticed some fruit on the counter, so he grabbed an apple and a banana. Despite the queasiness in his stomach, his mouth watered at the thought of the fruit. It was one of those things that was still around but not as readily available as it had once been. He was going to take advantage and enjoy. He took the seat across from her and peeled his banana.
“I trust you slept well?”
Caleb nodded. “Yeah. Great.”
“Were you warm enough?”
Caleb nodded and finished his banana. “Yes. Thank you.”
Marjorie smiled, then drifted into silence. The coffee pot beeped, and both of them turned to look at it. Caleb stood and grabbed two cups from the hooks on the wall behind the sink. He filled both mugs, then headed back to the table.
“Thank you, dear.” She cradled the cup in her hands. She blew on the dark liquid but didn’t take a drink.
Caleb lifted his mug and blew on the coffee before taking a small sip. The liquid burned his tongue, causing parts of it to go numb. Before they did, the acidic taste caused his lips to pucker. Not only was it hot, but it tasted like it had been scorched, which caused him to involuntarily shudder.
“Too hot? You should let it cool longer.”
Caleb scraped his tongue across his teeth in an attempt to rid it of the flavor and get some feeling back. “Yeah. Good idea.” He set the mug down and bit into his apple. He placed the fleshy part on his tongue and sucked, hoping it would draw some of the pain away.
Marjorie sipped her coffee. “Mmm. Good stuff.” She took another drink.
Caleb shuddered at the thought of the bitter burning passing over his tongue.
After taking another drink, Marjorie pushed herself up and headed down the hall. Caleb watched her for a moment, then turned back to his apple and finished it. He threw away the core and banana peel and turned back to his coffee cup. The thought of taking another drink cramped his stomach, so he poured it down the sink. He felt bad about wasting the liquid, but he reminded himself it was for his health. He sat back down at the table and waited for Marjorie to reappear, but she never did. Should he check on her? Was she all right? He stood from the chair and stepped into the hallway. He heard shuffling and running water in the bathroom, so he headed back into his room.
He laid on his bed and placed his arms behind his head. What was he going to do until 4:30? His stomach was still tingling, and his heart was beating slightly faster than normal. Maybe Marjorie had some books he could read. That might help. He thought about watching TV, he saw one in the corner of her living room, but what if there was a story about him? What if he was the city’s most wanted and his face was all over the news? He couldn’t let Marjorie find
out, so it was best to keep it turned off. Besides, he rarely had time to relax and read books. This would be a treat. And perhaps the last time. He got up and headed into the living room. There was a small shelf next to her chair with an assortment of well-worn paperbacks. Most of the spines were so cracked and faded, he couldn’t read them. He took a chance and grabbed one off the shelf. The cover was torn and tattered. He couldn’t read it. He shrugged. It didn’t really matter. No matter what, it would be a distraction. He took a seat on the floor and opened the book. Shuffling caused him to look up. Marjorie had dressed in purple pants and a flowered shirt. She toddled toward her chair and sat down heavily.
“That’s a good one. I would love to hear it again.”
Caleb smiled. “And I’m happy to read it.” He cleared his throat and turned to page one.
The pair spent the day reading the novel, breaking at lunch for grilled cheese and canned tomato soup. That meal also brought him back to his childhood and snow days when he didn’t have to go to school. When they finished eating, they headed back to the living room and read again.
Caleb finished the book a few minutes before the phone rang. He was thankful the story had finally ended. His throat was sore, and his voice was hoarse from having to read loud enough so Marjorie could hear him. It took him half a second to realize what the sound was, but then he jumped to his feet. He searched around the living room but found nothing. The kitchen! He headed there and found the phone on the wall next to the fridge. He grabbed the receiver.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” Jan spoke quietly, but he heard the tension in her voice. “I’m ready. What do I do?”
Caleb twisted the cord between his fingers. This was it. No turning back. Unless he hung up the phone. Nothing would happen if he hung up the phone.
Nothing will happen.
“First you need to get to the dos menu. See the start button in the lower left-hand corner?”
“Yeah.”
“Click on that, and it should bring up a menu with a search bar.”
“Got it.”
“Okay, now type in C-M-D.”
Jan said the letters under her breath as she typed. There was a short moment of silence, then she said, “Okay. It brought up a black box with a bunch of white writing in it.”
“Good. That’s where you need to be.”
Caleb then explained to her that she needed to do a search for a specific file. He gave her the command prompt with backslashes and his name, then waited for her to respond. Several moments of silence passed. He tapped his foot on the kitchen floor and wrapped his free arm around his chest to relieve some nausea.
“Okay. I think it found it.”
He let out the breath he had been holding. “Great. Now, you’ll need to delete the command that requires you to enter a password. Scroll through until you see ‘password’ with a string of commands following it.”
Again, there was silence as Jan went about the task.
Visions of the security team’s computers flashing red with warnings ran through his mind. He saw them lean forward toward their computers and pull up the information. Then, they jumped from their seats and ran to Jan’s station, pulling her from her chair and dragging her away. He saw her kicking and screaming, saying that she wasn’t doing anything, but it fell on deaf ears. She was dragged onto the elevator, and the fear in her eyes as the doors closed was the last thing anyone would ever see of her.
“Done,” she whispered.
Caleb swallowed thickly and cleared his throat. “Now, you should be able to go to the file on the M drive. You won’t be able to access everyone’s files because you didn’t remove the password requirement, so don’t try. Just get into mine. Messing around too much in there could get you caught.”
Caleb heard the soft clicks of her mouse through the phone—or perhaps he imagined he did. Either way, they were past the point of no return. Jan was involved now. She couldn’t deny what she’d done. She was an accessory. While that thought was distressing and heartburn inducing, it was also comforting. Caleb felt a sense of satisfaction knowing he wasn’t alone.
“It’s downloading,” she whispered. “Just a few more minutes.”
Caleb tapped his foot faster on the ground and chewed on his thumb. He counted the seconds in his head. There wasn’t time. She was going to get caught. They were going to kill her. Nausea pushed the bile into the back of his throat. The desire to run out of the apartment and into Zomtech to stop the download flooded through him. Subconsciously, he inched toward the door of the kitchen.
“You ready, Jan?” The voice was faint through the phone.
The voice pulled him back to the present and forced him to focus on what he was doing. It was too late for him to stop the process. It was done. Running there would only get him caught and potentially endanger Jan. For now, no one knew what she was doing. She could get out and disappear, and everything would be fine.
“Yep. Just shutting down,” she said to the person. “I’ll see you soon,” she spoke into the phone. Her voice was followed by a click, then silence.
Caleb held the phone to his ear for a few seconds to make sure she was gone. He hung it up and headed for the door. He cast a glance at Marjorie. She had picked up her knitting and was focusing on the yarn and needles. He thought about thanking her for her kindness and generosity but then stopped himself. If something were to happen, if he and Jan got caught, he didn’t want Marjorie to get in trouble too. The decision didn’t sit well with him, but it was best for her if he just disappeared. Attempting to swallow the lump in his throat, he left the apartment and headed for the pizzeria.
CHAPTER 20
The gray city was slowly fading to black as Caleb walked rapidly down the street. As before, the pizza place beckoned to him as a bright spot in a dark world. He didn’t doubt he would be there first—he had a shorter distance to go—so he headed to the booth at the back of the restaurant where they sat before. He was the only customer in the restaurant. That caused his anxiety to spike.
They know. They’re going to find you.
He pulled his hands into his lap and hunched over in the booth as best as he could. How long should he give her? How long did it take to get from Zomtech to here? If she doesn’t show, where do I even begin looking for her? His palms were sticky with sweat, causing his thumb to hitch as he ran it over the inside of his wrist. He glued his gaze to the door. It tunneled. He wasn’t aware of anything else going on around him. Even the sound of talking voices and clinking silverware faded to a silent static. Time seemed to stop. He focused on his breathing and taking slow, steady breaths instead of quick panicked ones. Heat rose into his body, oddly causing goosebumps to form on his skin.
The door opened, and Jan stepped in. Sound returned to the room, and time became normal again. Caleb felt some of his tension ease, but there was still discomfort that hunched his shoulders. Perhaps it was the look on her face. Her lips were pressed into a line, small wrinkles of worry lined her forehead. She walked quickly to the table, her arms at her sides, her body stiff, her gaze fixed on the floor. She sat in the booth across from him and then slid around the seat to be next to him. She still wasn’t looking at him. Caleb’s heart thumped his ribs again.
“Jan, are you all right?”
She looked up at his voice, as if noticing him for the first time. Her lips turned down into a frown. “You have no idea what’s going on.”
Caleb blinked rapidly, keeping pace with his heart rate. Her tone was even and soft, making it hard for him to tell if she was angry. Her body language indicated she was, but why? What happened? What did she see? And was it directed at him? He probably wouldn’t blame her if it was, but he didn’t really want her to be upset either.
“What?” The word croaked out of his mouth.
She placed her hands on the table and licked her lips. “I opened a few other files,” she whispered. “The experiments are off the charts.”
Caleb couldn’t find his voice.
This wasn’t good. Her poking around in the other files was a sure-fire way for her to get caught. And how had she done it? They should have been password protected. Unless she took it off. He gave her the means to do that. But in all honesty, what would it really hurt? They were already breaking the rules, might as well take it all the way. Plus, his curiosity was piqued. He never believed the rumors about what Zomtech was actually doing, but he had seen a few things to know that at least some were true. The zombie roundups for one. How many others were also true, and which ones?
“Did you download the info?”
Jan’s gaze darted around the room. “Some. There wasn’t time for all of it.” She turned to Caleb. “But we’ve got to get in there again. We have to let people know what’s going on.”
Caleb felt the seat bounce beneath his butt, and his head shot to the opposite side of the table—his heart lodged in his throat. He expected to see Detective Hale across from him. Caleb’s hands balled into fists, his leg muscles tensed and prepared to run, but it was Samuel. Caleb let out the breath he’d been holding, and his body relaxed slightly. He was too tense to completely relax.
“Hey, guys.” Samuel’s tone was cheerful, the smile spread across his face. “What a coincidence seeing you here.” He turned to Caleb, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Especially you.”
Caleb placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. “It worked, Samuel. I got the information.”
Samuel’s smile faltered. “What worked? What info?”
“Remember the plan? I was going to hack Zomtech to get the info they had about me? Well, Jan helped, and I got it!”
“Wow. Really? I didn’t think you’d be able to get it. That’s insane. What does it say?”
Caleb shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it yet.” He turned to Jan. “Do you have the drive?”
She nodded and set it on the table. Caleb snatched it quickly and closed his fist around it. He glanced around the restaurant to see if anyone had noticed, but they were still pretty much the only ones in the place.
Saving Humanity Series (Book 1): Humanity's Hope Page 18
