Point Of Transmission: A Post-Apocalyptic Epidemic Survival (The Morgan Strain Series Book 1)

by Max Lockwood

He walked back to the bunks, shaking. He needed to get out of captivity. He didn’t want to know the dark and dirty secrets behind the people who ran the country. It was too much for him to bear.

  “What was that about?” Will asked once he returned.

  “Nothing. Just some simple questions.”

  “About Elaina?” Natalia asked.

  He nodded.

  “What did they say?” Natalia sat up a little straighter and balled up her fists.

  “Not much. I told them the very little I knew about her, and that was it.”

  “She’s innocent, you know,” Will said.

  “Stay out of it,” Alec warned. “You don’t know anything about this.”

  Natalia frowned. “There’s no use, Will,” she said softly. “Just leave him alone. He will never understand.”

  Alec felt like everyone had turned against him. First, Elaina had deceived him. Then, Natalia convinced Will of her lies and was trying to act like he was the unreasonable one. He’d had enough. Alec pulled the covers over his head to block out the dim light and placed the pillow over his ears. He wanted to have some peace and quiet for once.

  In the distance, sirens blared. The others stood at attention, fearful expressions on their faces. Alec was prepared for a potential situation, so he didn’t feel concerned with the ruckus happening outside their cell.

  “What was that?” Will squeaked, grabbing Natalia’s arm.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing,” Alec replied. “We’re safe here.”

  The noises got louder. One crash from the outside of the cell even startled Alec. Gunfire rang out, and Alec could only imagine the carnage beyond their building.

  Alec listened closely to the voices outside the cell to figure out exactly what was going on out there. He held a finger to his lips, prompting the other two to fall silent.

  “—more than we were prepared for,” a voice said.

  “What do we do with the civilians under quarantine?”

  “We have strict orders to leave them,” the first voice said. “If we abandon the base, they must be left behind. It’s too risky to take them.”

  Alec’s stomach dropped. After everything they had been through, they were just going to be left in their cage like bait. He was done helping them. At the first chance he had, he was getting out.

  “Listen,” he whispered to Natalia and Will, who looked absolutely horrified. “Things could get bad here. When the time is right, we’re going to escape.”

  “How?” Natalia cried.

  He searched his brain for any rational thought, but nothing came to mind. He didn’t know exactly where they were, nor did he know what resources would be at his disposal.

  “We’ll figure it out as we go. Be prepared.”

  The three sat huddled together and waited for any sign that their situation was about to change. Without warning, a vehicle crashed into the side of their building and infected people started pouring in. Now, Alec understood the soldiers’ concern—they had become organized and were battling by the hundreds.

  “Now,” Alec yelled, and they crept through the building, waiting for the infected to stop pouring in so they could get out through the hole in the building.

  “We have to get Elaina,” Natalia cried.

  “We don’t even know where she is,” Alec said. “Absolutely not.”

  “Guilty or not, she’s still the only hope we have of stopping this virus,” Natalia reasoned. “No one here is going to protect her. We have to help her.”

  As much as Alec hated to admit it, he knew that she was right. “Fine, let’s find the lab and see if we can find Elaina,” he ordered. “If it’s too risky, we get the hell out of here.”

  They nodded, and the three of them took off toward the main building in search of their long-lost companion. The once pristine and hidden military base now looked like the heart of Seattle. Cars were on fire, rubble was scattered underneath their feet, and the smell of burning chemicals and infection filled the air.

  “There.” Will pointed at a rectangular building. “That door is open. Let’s go.”

  Dodging bullets from both sides, they ducked their way into the laboratory. The power had been cut, but the emergency lights cast a white, fluorescent glow over everything.

  “Elaina,” Natalia called, searching for her friend. “Are you in here?”

  “Hey,” Will yelled, pushing tables and chairs to the side, “I see someone over here.”

  Alec’s heart skipped a beat. Sitting on the ground with bottles and syringes surrounding her was Elaina. Her eyes were red and full of tears. For a moment, all anger dissipated and he wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and make sure everything was okay.

  “What happened, Elaina?” he said softly.

  “He injected me with something,” she blubbered. “I don’t know what it was, but he’s gone now.”

  “Who’s gone, Elaina?” Natalia asked, her voice shaking.

  “Doctor Vincent.”

  “What’s going on?” Will asked, his eyes darting back and forth. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know if it works yet,” Elaina said, a small object gripped tightly in her hand.

  “Elaina,” Alec said firmly, squatting down to her level. “You’re not making any sense. What do you have that may or may not work?”

  “LILY,” she said, her big eyes looking straight into Alec’s.

  Outside, it sounded like the world was ending. The only organization that Alec figured could keep him safe was losing their battle. There was no law, no protection. All he had was his gang of unlikely characters working together to stay alive. It was all he had left.

  “Okay,” he said softly, helping her up from the floor. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Elaina wouldn’t budge. Even Will tried lifting her up, but her body fell back to the ground like dead weight.

  “Come on, Elaina,” Alec urged. “We have to go now if we want to survive.”

  “You don’t understand,” she sniffled. “It’s not safe.”

  Elaina had seen the progression of the virus in a reasonably healthy person. She knew that the incubation period was short, and symptoms progressed rapidly. Even if she did escape with the others, she would be sure to infect the others. Then, if she couldn’t separate herself quickly enough, she may even turn against them. She cared about them too much to give them a death sentence. They needed to go on without her.

  “Listen,” Alec said, holding her face so she was looking him in the eyes, “this base is being taken over by the infected. If you stay here, you will certainly be killed. I don’t care about what you did. I just need you to come with me.”

  Elaina didn’t know how to admit the fact that she may very well be a loaded weapon. She so desperately wanted to go with them and escape the military base, but she would be putting herself and others at risk if she went on the run again. She was stuck.

  “I’m sorry,” she started, getting ready to tell them about what she believed she was injected with.

  “You can save your apologies,” Alec interrupted, swooping her up into his arms. “We need to get out of here.”

  The blood from her injection sites left tiny dots on Alec’s sweatshirt, though he didn’t notice. He was too busy dodging gunfire.

  “Can you run?” he asked.

  “I think so,” Elaina replied.

  “Then I’m going to put you down. Just follow me, okay?”

  She nodded, and he gently set her on her feet. Her legs were shaky to start, then her strides fell long and even.

  Dr. Vincent, surrounded by a team of armored soldiers, ran past the four as they hid behind an overturned truck.

  “Should we follow them?” Alec asked.

  “Why?” Will hissed. “They’re not helping us.”

  “They’re headed toward the quarantine unit. If he’s taking them to save Natalia, then maybe they’ll be of some worth to the rest of
us.”

  “Not me,” Elaina spoke up. The others looked at her with pity. She was probably right about that. Not only did the military have little motivation to save her, but Bretton certainly wouldn’t want to waste his security detail on her.

  “Let’s follow them,” Elaina said. “At the very least, Natalia will be safe.”

  Alec led them in the direction of Bretton’s entourage, being careful not to follow too closely behind them. He wanted to place themselves at the right place at the right time.

  Elaina hoped that their plan would work. Having Bretton reject her would be the perfect excuse for her to stay behind. He could inform them that he had infected her. That way, she wouldn’t have to break the horrible news, and Bretton could face the fallout that would be sure to happen afterward. The others could go to safety, and she could remain at the base and do her best to stay alive.

  “Where are they going?” Alec asked as they neared the quarantine unit. Bretton and his guards showed no sign of slowing down to look for Natalia. Before anyone could answer him, Bretton was being hoisted into a tank, the door slamming shut behind them. The group watched in awe as the humongous vehicle slowly rolled away.

  They looked at Natalia, worried about how she would react to being left behind by her father for the second time. Instead of complete despair, she looked unsurprised.

  “We need a car,” Natalia said. “There’s a open garage full of military vehicles. Let’s pick one and get the hell out of here.”

  They ran toward a truck and piled inside, Alec in the driver’s seat and Natalia and Will in the back. A vehicle was coming straight for them, and it wasn’t clear if the occupants were military personnel or infected civilians. Either way, everyone was an enemy.

  Elaina knew that she couldn’t go with them. They were smart and resourceful. They would make it to safety with no problem. They were all so young still and had so much life ahead of them. She couldn’t hold them back.

  Even if her serum worked and fought off the virus as she had hoped, she was still in a lot of trouble. Everyone knew her secret, and she wasn’t sure anyone would be willing to help her.

  Alec started the truck and put it into drive. He nearly pulled away before he realized that they were short one passenger.

  “Get in,” he shouted over the roar of the engine. “Someone’s coming.”

  “I’m not going with you,” Elaina said, tears forming in her eyes.

  Alec sighed, getting fed up with Elaina’s theatrics. “Then don’t, I guess. We’re just trying to help you.”

  Natalia rolled down her window and extended her head outside.

  “Elaina,” she pleaded. “I know that you didn’t cause any of this. I’ve suspected that my dad had something to do with this for a while. We want you to be safe. Just get in the car, and we can all have the chance to get the truth out there. We can’t know unless you get in the car and tell your side of the story.”

  “It’s more complicated than that,” Elaina said, watching the vehicles come closer.

  Alec reached his hand toward her through the open passenger door. “Take my hand,” he shouted.

  She knew she should run in the other direction, but Elaina couldn’t control herself. She had longed for human contact for a while now. She was so lonely and just wanted to belong to people for once. Her family was broken, her workplace was shattered, and the closest thing she had to friends were getting ready to leave. She couldn’t go on by herself. She needed people.

  Elaina gently placed her hand in Alec’s, feeling the warmth from his body flow through hers. Then, with a firm yank, he pulled her up into the seat and Natalia shut the door behind her.

  Alec dropped her hand and gripped the steering wheel. He stomped on the gas, sending them lurching forward.

  “You’d better put your seatbelts on,” Alec said, his face changing from warm and inviting to stony and serious.

  Alec, Elaina, Natalia, and Will rode through the gravel and mud, past the battle that was going on at the base and onto the highway. As far as they could tell, their car was the only one on the road. Usually a curious bunch, no one had even asked Alec where he was driving—everyone was just relieved to be on the move again.

  Alec, typically protective and tactical, was cold and distant, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. Natalia, usually curious and concerned, had yet to ask a single question regarding their location or plans. Will, full of optimism and eager to speak, had yet to say a word, let alone crack a joke.

  Then there was Elaina, harboring a secret that she tried to let out but just couldn’t. As hard as she’d tried to back in the lab, the words just wouldn’t come out. It was as if the second she admitted to herself that she was likely infected, she would succumb to the virus. She wasn’t ready to give up—not yet, anyway.

  As they drove through the sunset, Elaina kept her mouth shut, positive that she was already in too deep.

  It will be okay, Lily’s voice in her head reassured her.

  But what if it’s not? her conscience whispered, the temporary calm evaporating as the hum of the truck’s engine quieted her racing mind.

  About Max Lockwood

  Max Lockwood writes suspenseful, post-apocalyptic thriller and dystopian fiction while living in New York.

  Growing up with parents who were preppers and always planning for the worst, but hoping for the best, got him interested in writing in the first place. “What would happen if the world were to change?” is something he asked himself his whole life. Until one day he decided to put it down on paper.

  His stories will have you reading on the edge of your seats…you have been warned!

  Sign up for Max’s mailing list and find out about his latest releases, giveaways, and more. Click here!

  For more information, be sure to check out the links below!

  max@maxlockwood.com

  Also by Max Lockwood

  The Morgan Strain Series

  Point Of Transmission (Book 1)

  Point Of Proximity (Book 2)

  Zero Power Series

  It Began (Book 1)

  Trying To Survive (Book 2)

  They Invaded (Book 3)

  Fending Them Off (Book 4)

  Excerpt From It Began

  Chapter One

  School was annoying, even when she was the one standing at the front.

  Clara was rethinking a lot of life choices, and not for the first time. In fact, she thought of it often and wondered why she'd thought it would be a good idea to become a teacher, and a high school teacher at that.

  "Now, if you would all just pay attention…"

  She threw the words out there not expecting much and sighed because nothing changed anyway. It was a particularly trying class, one of the hardest in a long time. Usually, she could get at least one or two students to pay attention, but that wasn’t even the case.

  "Please turn to page fifteen in your textbooks," she tried again, but got nothing.

  Still, she couldn’t just stop teaching. So she went on. If anyone caught even part of the lessons, she could take it and—well, not be happy, but at the very least content. She couldn’t even blame them, she remembered what it was like, being a teenager. Few cared about school; she just happened to be among the few, and even she had been impatient for high school to be over.

  She was attempting to teach the freshmen about the importance of grammar, but they were all preoccupied with passing notes and giggling amongst one another. It was pretty common, actually, which was why she disliked sitting in first year classes, especially so close to the beginning of the school year.

  These kids were fresh from junior high and still thinking like kids, in their mind, school wasn’t so important. That, or they were thinking they could breeze through it like they did junior high. They didn’t know yet that the grades they came out with would pretty much determine their futures. It wasn’t her job to tell them, and would they care about that anyway, even if she did?

  Usually she wo
uld do something, at least discourage them from such blatant disrespect, but she was tired. She had a specific job description; go in, teach her class, then leave. She was giving them all the materials they would need for their tests. If they didn’t take advantage of it and failed, well… she couldn’t say it wasn’t entirely her problem, since as the teacher, if her students failed she would be held accountable, but she couldn’t even care about it just then.

  Clara was just that tired.

  When the bell rang, it felt like she hadn't made any progress. It was likely true, but she couldn’t help feeling partly relieved to be done with the day. But largely, she just felt dissatisfied.

  "Do you kids know the meaning of discipline? Because if you don’t, I'm going to introduce you to it," she threatened, but their laughter drowned out her voice.

  Not that any of them heard her, or if they did, they didn’t seem to care. They were too busy running for the door, about as eager as she was to get out of the room. She knew her attempts at punishment were futile. These kids didn’t take her seriously, and they likely wouldn’t any time soon. She let herself sigh when the last one was out the door and felt a heavy weight settle on her shoulders. Not that she was dying to punish them, anyway. It would be best in the long run, but then she'd have to put up with her students pretending to pay attention while secretly hating on her. She didn’t think she could survive pranks being thrown her way, not again, no matter how weak or seemingly harmless.

  Clara gathered her things so she could leave. Thankfully, it was her last class of the day, so she had no reason to stick around. She'd collected assignments and a short quiz, though, so she had too much on her hands, literally, and she could only curse herself for the miscalculation. She could have asked one of the students, she'd done it before, but she had a fear of freshmen while they were still so green. It left her anxious at the start of every school year since she taught them English.