Saving Humanity Series (Book 1): Humanity's Hope

by Sinclair, Pembroke

  Samuel scooted closer to Jan. His eyes were wide, and excitement tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Oh, my God! This is amazing! I can’t believe it. We have to take this somewhere. Analyze the data. My friends can help us with that.”

  Caleb refrained from rolling his eyes. What was it with Samuel and his friends? He shook his head. “No. No one else can be involved. Even you two knowing is dangerous. We have to keep this between us until we know exactly what is going on.”

  Disappointment covered Samuel’s face. “And how do you plan on accessing it? You have a computer somewhere?” He bent down and looked under the table, then leveled his gaze at Caleb.

  Caleb knew this would be a problem and had been trying to figure out how to solve it. He had a laptop at his apartment, and he thought maybe Jan could convince Dr. Bentley Zomtech needed it back. That was going to be Phase 2, but with Samuel here, maybe there was another way.

  “No.” Caleb pointed at him. “But you can get me one. If Zomtech loaned me a laptop to work at home, surely you have one too.”

  Samuel’s face became serious. His jaw tightened slightly, and his eyes narrowed. He moved closer to Jan. His arm was on the back of the booth, and he slid it behind her.

  “Or I can tell you exactly what’s on there.”

  Caleb pushed his eyebrows together. “What?”

  “I know what’s on the drive, Caleb. I know everything there is to know about you.”

  “Did you access the info from your workstation?”

  Samuel smirked, quirking the right side of his mouth upward. “Sort of. I actually had access to it in other ways.”

  “Through your friends?”

  “You could say that. I’ve been watching you for a long time, Caleb. Since your first blood draw.”

  “What? Why?”

  Samuel tightened his jaw muscles and narrowed his eyes. “Because I want what you have, and I’ll do anything to make it mine.”

  Caleb’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. Samuel had been behind it all. That was how he knew about the murder right after it happened. It was how he was able to get Caleb out of the police department. It suddenly became clear who Samuel’s “friends” were—and they weren’t the conspiracy theorists Caleb imagined them to be; they were they conspiracy creators.

  Caleb’s eyes moved to look at the door, but he quickly pulled his gaze back to Samuel. His body tensed. He was on the edge of the booth, he could get up and be out either the front door or the back exit before Samuel could get out. But Caleb had to assume Samuel wasn’t alone. No doubt Detective Hale and the police were waiting for him. That was why Samuel wasn’t in a position to get out of the booth quickly. He didn’t have to be. The exit that led into the alley more than likely had an RBZ in the shadows. He’d escaped the police force before, he might be able to get away again. However, his chances might be better against the RBZ—as much as he hated to think about facing one of those. There were mentally slower than the humans he would have to face. He might be able to fake it out. His thoughts drifted to the chase when he ran from the city earlier. The RBZ wasn’t as intelligent, but it was fast and strong. Caleb had barely gotten away. Frick! He was trapped. He hated not having an escape route. The weight of defeat settled onto his shoulders.

  Samuel placed his arm around Jan, making sure to place his forearm close to her neck. Her eyes widened, and she pleaded silently with Caleb for him to do something. If Caleb had any intentions of leaving, Samuel was definitely making him rethink them.

  “We know a lot about the zombies,” Samuel said. “Matt was right. We know that the disease is virus based. What he neglected to tell you was that humans were the ones who created it. Not on purpose, of course. It was an unintended consequence of trying to cure cancer. They were trying to develop a way for viruses to fight cancer cells. For all intents and purposes, it worked, but there were some nasty side effects. Then the virus mutated.” He chuckled. “Science tried to find a way to combat the new viruses, but that failed. It ended up mutating the virus further and creating the BZs and RBZs. But on the plus side, at least it gave them some of their intelligence back.”

  Jan shifted and tried to move away from Samuel. That only succeeded in him tightening his grip and pulling her into him. She placed her hands on Samuel’s arm in what Caleb assumed was an attempt to relieve some of the pressure on her neck. To anyone who just happened to walk by, it would look like Jan and Samuel were a thing, cozying up in the booth. The light was dim enough to hide the fear on her face. No one was going to help them. The weight on Caleb’s shoulders increased.

  “Matt was also right about us being after him, but he had no idea where the threat was coming from. He didn’t recognize me because I’ve been very good at covering my tracks.” Samuel shrugged. “Until now, anyway. But that’s why I had to get you away from him. Matt’s intentions would have interfered with mine.”

  Caleb stared at Samuel. This couldn’t really be happening.

  Of course it is. You’re an idiot.

  “Our best hope is you, Caleb, and figuring out why you are immune and if we can make a vaccine because of it. Or maybe it’s your DNA. Either way, we have to run more tests.”

  “Did you know about my immunity before Matt told us?”

  Samuel pulled the right side of his mouth up. “I told you they were experimenting on your blood.”

  A wave of dizziness washed over Caleb. He gripped the edge of the table to steady himself and keep from falling out of the booth.

  “Why did you kill Rachel? She was innocent in all of this.”

  Samuel laughed. “From your perspective, I can see why you’d think that. She was actually much more deeply involved. She was supposed to collect you for us. When she came to your apartment and told you the story about her brother, she was supposed to lure you out. She failed. She put the mission in jeopardy. She was a liability.”

  “So you killed her?”

  “Makes it more intriguing, doesn’t it? Deepens the mystery.”

  Caleb’s grip on the table tightened. “So what’s the plan? You gonna use my immunity to rule the people? Sell it only to the rich and watch the rest of humanity tear themselves apart?”

  Samuel adjusted in his seat so he could lean forward. He didn’t loosen his grip on Jan’s neck, so it made her bend at an awkward angle.

  “Honestly, it all depends on what we learn. And, yes, at first, it will only be available to those with money. Research takes funds, Caleb. It doesn’t come cheap. We have to reward those who support our work.”

  Caleb scowled. “And then what?”

  Samuel shrugged. “It’s hard to say. We don’t even know what we’re going to find. I’m not the bad guy here, Caleb. I’m just the one who is doing what it takes to get the job done. The world isn’t black and white anymore. It’s not good and evil, it’s about survival.” The same serious look that had been on his face earlier returned. “You’re not really in a position to debate it. You don’t actually have a choice.” He tightened his grip on Jan’s neck.

  Caleb’s stomach knotted. Samuel was right. He didn’t have a choice. He wasn’t going to let Jan get hurt, and there was nowhere for him to go. At least he would be helping humanity in some capacity.

  You should have run when you had the chance.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Caleb, no. You can’t.” Jan tried to struggle against Samuel, but he tightened his grip further. She gagged in a breath of air.

  Samuel opened his hand. With the slightest hesitation, Caleb reached forward to put the drive in it. Before he dropped it, he narrowed his gaze at Samuel.

  “One condition. Jan doesn’t get hurt.”

  “You can’t do anything to make me enforce that condition.”

  “You’re right, I can’t. But as a decent human being, grant me that one request.”

  Samuel smirked. “Fine. I’ll give you that one thing, but only because you’re being so cooperative.”

  Caleb dropped the f
lash drive into Samuel’s hand. What difference did it make if Caleb had it or not? It wasn’t like he could access the information on it. Caleb assumed it was so it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. Or it was a power thing—Caleb wasn’t really sure. Samuel’s fingers curled around it, then he released his grip from Jan’s neck. He slid across the booth seat to stand up. Jan grabbed Caleb’s arm.

  “Don’t do this. You have no idea what they are going to do to you. I’ve read about some of the things they’ve done.” The words tumbled out of her mouth with urgency.

  Samuel stood next to the table, his hands clasped by his waist, his foot tapping impatiently.

  Fear sparked in Jan’s eyes. Her grip shook on Caleb’s arm. He appreciated the concern, and he desperately wished he could do something to take her fear away. Hell, he wished he could do something to get rid of his own fear. He placed his hand over hers.

  “I don’t have a choice.”

  He slid out from her grasp and stood from the seat. Samuel smiled and gestured toward the door. Caleb stepped forward. Several officers in uniforms stepped out from various places in the restaurant to flank him. His legs felt like they weighed a ton apiece, but he kept moving forward. His gaze fixed on the door. Outside was cloaked in darkness—and Caleb was about to step into it.