Meilin and the Challenger

by Masters, Cate

  Damn. Dory’s round hadn’t done its job. “What did you do to King’s daughters?”

  He wheezed a laugh. “The same thing… I did… to Robert. Made them… one of us.”

  “You injected us with the pathogen?” King asked in horror. “Why, Nevin?”

  “You’ll start… a new colony. You and your… genius daughters… will begin… a new race… of zombies.”

  “I’d rather die.”

  “Too late,” Nevin said with a laugh.

  Will pointed his rifle at Nevin’s head. “It’s never too late.” He shot.

  One final jolt, and the zombie leader lay still. Pity – if anyone had the opportunity to make a difference, Nevin had, if only he’d put his talents to better use.

  Chest heaving, Drucker jogged up. “My men are hunting down the last of them. The explosion destroyed the mines, so it took care of any left inside.”

  “Excellent. We have to get these wounded back to the city.”

  “No,” King said. “We can never go back now.”

  Dory stood over him. “Yes, you are. You’ll be quarantined until we can reverse the damage.” She never wavered.

  Will almost believed her.

  King trembled. “It’s too late, Dory.”

  She crouched and stroked his hair. “Didn’t you hear Will? It’s never too late.” She gazed up at Will.

  “Help me get them into the truck, will you?”

  Dory followed Meilin and Zoe to the ten daughters. Zoe carried Juliette, a lightweight; Meilin struggled with Dharma, and Dory lifted Lakshme.

  By the time they unloaded the girls from the truck at the King residence, the girls had begun to rouse. Not in a good way.

  Will lifted his helmet. “Why didn’t they take them to the hospital?”

  Meilin swung off her cycle. “And cause citywide riots? No. Father did the right thing.”

  “Get them inside before anyone sees them.”

  Easier said than done. Will grabbed a long rope, tied them together and dragged them to the door. Meilin, Dory and Zoe nudged them ahead.

  Dory rushed to a metal door marked Do Not Enter. “Follow me. Hurry.”

  “The basement?” Will tugged them down the wide metal stairs.

  Zoe shut the door behind them. “You’d rather take them up three flights instead of down one?”

  “Good point.” He just hoped they wouldn’t end up at the basement floor in a jumble, with him on the bottom.

  Dory rushed to a cabinet and returned with a case, and then drew out industrial-sized syringes. In quick succession, she tranquilized the ten girls.

  “What are you giving them?” Will asked.

  “Enough tranquilizer to fell a rhino,” Dory said. “Hopefully it’s enough.” She hesitated at Mr. King.

  “Go on.” King bared his teeth. “Hit me with your best shot.”

  With a sad smile, she injected him. “It will be all right.”

  “That’s what they all say.” He slumped over.

  “We have to hurry,” Meilin said.

  “No.” Dory returned the syringe to its carrying case.

  Zoe flew in her face. “What do you mean, no? The transformation takes a few days. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to turn them back.”

  “Nevin used a different strain of the pathogen. A more advanced version. The antidote developed for me won’t work on them.” Dory inclined her head toward the family.

  “She’s right.”

  Will touched the small of Meilin’s back, but withdrew it when she stiffened. “So what now?” he asked.

  Meilin stripped off her gloves. “We get to work.”

  Will rubbed his forehead. “It’s three in the morning.”

  Zoe’s nostrils flared. “Do you think the tranquilizer will hold while you rest?”

  Meilin’s jaw tightened. “I’ll sleep when my family is well again.”

  Might be a long wait. “What can I do to help?”

  Her face softened. “First, we need to find the old research. Then we’ll take blood samples and match them to the old ones.”

  “Then all we need to do,” Zoe said, “is figure out how to update the antidote for the new strain of pathogen.”

  Meilin shrugged. “Easy peasey.”

  Dory had already powered up the computer. “The documents are on this flash drive.” She inserted it into the USB port, and pulled them onto the screen. “I’ll make a printout for each of you.”

  Oh hell, he’d failed science in school. “Why don’t I start taking the blood samples?”

  “You know how?”

  “I know a little of everything.” Unfortunately, very little, and not enough about any one thing to make a trade of it.

  Meilin handed him vials and syringes. “Here. Make sure you label them.”

  Maybe with her encouragement, he could do more than he ever thought.

  Chapter Six

  Meilin’s eyes fluttered open. When had she fallen asleep? Last she remembered, she was studying blood samples under the microscope. A vague recollection of Will carrying her to the old leather sofa came through.

  Through bleary eyes, she peered over at the bustling figures. Dory and Will hovered over the lab table. Zoe sprawled on the other sofa.

  She rose and shuffled over. “Have you been at it all this time?”

  Will flashed a smile. “Hey, did you get some rest?”

  “A little.” Very little, if her body told her right. From the dark rings beneath his eyes, he hadn’t slept at all. “What can I do?”

  Without glancing up, Dory said, “Make some coffee?”

  “Probably the safest thing, in my condition.” She went through the motions by rote, and soon the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. She carried two mugs over, then went back for her own. “How are they?”

  As she glanced over at the eleven unconscious people strapped to gurneys, Dory couldn’t mask her concern. “I had to give them another dose a little while ago. They were starting to come out of it.”

  “You’ll have an antidote soon, though. Right?” She hadn’t meant to pressure them. They already knew how quickly time ran out.

  Dory turned back to the computer. “I’m working on it.”

  Not exactly a promise. Meilin searched Will’s face, but read only exhaustion in it. “You should rest now. I’ll take your place. Just tell me what to do.” Never had she felt so helpless, and she didn’t like the feeling at all.

  He slumped against the counter. “I’ve been assisting Dory. She’s doing the real work.”

  “Go on. Before you fall over.” She patted his cheek.

  His slow blink and drowsy smile brought back the memory of their kiss, how safe she’d felt in his arms. A false security, maybe, and she might never feel that way again, but she still wished she could kiss him. He’d revive her from this nightmare fugue state, like the kiss of a prince in a fairy tale.

  As he shoved away from the counter, he loosely grasped her arm. Feet dragging as he crossed the floor, he tumbled onto the sofa and almost immediately began snoring.

  “Meilin, log these findings in, would you?” Dory thrust a notebook at her. “I have to keep accurate records.”

  She skimmed the notes. Something had bothered her since yesterday, something that should have occurred to her before. “If we had an antidote, why didn’t anyone use it on the zombies before?”

  “I developed one years ago, yes.” Dory’s shoulders slumped. “But it only worked if we administered it before the transformation completed.”

  “How do you know?” Had they experimented on others?

  “After they successfully reversed my transformation, they captured several others.”

  “And?” She couldn’t stand the drawn-out suspense.

  When Dory shook her head and seemed to choke on her answer, Meilin said it before Dory could: “They died.”

  “They were already dead. The antidote acted as a torture on them. We had to destroy them.”

 
; Horror froze Meilin. “So if Father and my sisters turn completely before we’re ready, then…” She couldn’t finish. They’d stay that way forever.

  Dory refocused on the computer. “We’ll catch it in time. We will.” Much as she’d tried to sound confident, her voice shook. “And the new formula will work faster, and its effect will be total.”

  Meilin moved to the second keyboard and began transcribing. “I know.”

  She’d accept no other outcome.

  ***

  The soft sobs of women echoed through Will’s mind. For a moment, before he fully awakened, he reacted like a soldier, listening for gunfire, for the approach of someone who’d come to kill them, ready to grab his gun because an enemy had struck. Too many times during his military service, the same scenario had played out. It never ended well.

  He didn’t recognize the room at first. A lab. Three women holding each other, crying.

  Meilin. “What’s wrong?” He propelled himself from the sofa and rushed to them. An enemy had struck, but one he couldn’t use a gun against.

  She wiped tears from her cheek. “It’s happening too fast. We can’t—”

  “We can.” Zoe’s rigidity had a desperate quality, nothing like her usual invincible self.

  Dory stepped away. “We must keep working, girls. It’s almost ready.”

  Tears streamed down Meilin’s face.

  He drew her into his arms. “It will be all right.”

  She eased away to look at him, then took him by the hand and led him to the nearest sister. “They’re already suffering,” she whispered. “Look.”

  Dharma lay on the gurney, her face a mask of pain. And more – darker blotches appeared all over her skin, mottling its once-perfect appearance. He scanned the others, and found the same effects. All of them trembled as if with fever, jerking and groaning, though tranquilized.

  He summoned his courage. “Like Dory said, she has a formula nearly ready.”

  “It’s too late,” she whispered.

  He refused to believe they couldn’t save them. “It’s never too late.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t understand. It could kill them.”

  “No, the pathogen’s killing them. We’re saving them.”

  Pain filled her eyes. “But if the pathogen’s spread too deeply, and they’ve already transformed, the antidote will destroy them.”

  From the table across the room, Dory cried, “That’s it!” She bustled back and forth. “I need eleven vials. Hurry!”

  The fear in Meilin’s eyes wrenched Will’s gut.

  She rushed to Dory’s side. “Are you certain?”

  “Ninety-nine point nine percent. It’s the best I can do. We have to inject them now, Meilin.”

  “All right.” The vials clattered in her hands but she lined them up in the rack.

  “No, wait.” Zoe fisted her hair.

  “No waiting,” Meilin said. “We do it now, like Dory said.”

  “But…” Zoe’s eyes darted from one to the other. “How do we know it’s the right formula?”

  “We’ll know soon.” Dory concentrated on preparing each syringe.

  Zoe grabbed Dory’s arm. “Are you trying to kill them?”

  Dory jerked from her grasp. “No, I’m trying to save them.”

  When Zoe followed Dory’s movement too closely, Meilin tugged her backward. “It’s what Father would want. You know that.”

  Zoe’s gaze went to the bodies of her family. “But what if…” Her lip quivered.

  “He would never accept a fate of a zombie, Zoe. And we shouldn’t let it happen without doing whatever we can to stop it.”

  Fingers at her temple, Zoe visibly shook off the panic. “You’re right. Let’s do this.”

  Dory distributed the syringes and scissors. “Cut open their pants at the thigh so it travels directly into their skin. Send the needle as deep as you can and push down slowly. Hold it steady. They may fight you, or yell, but make sure you empty every last drop and finish the job. It’s very important.” She strode to Mr. King, snipped his pants and glanced up. “Go!”

  Meilin hurried to Dharma. “Sorry, sweetie.”

  Will went to the middle of the bunch and worked his way toward Meilin.

  Zoe began from the opposite end.

  As Dory warned, the sisters and Mr. King grimaced, ground their teeth, and roared in rage and pain.

  Once finished, they stepped back from the infected. Meilin slipped her hand into Will’s, and warmth rushed through him. He pulled her against him and kissed the top of her head. Tough enough to watch their reaction, but he couldn’t imagine having to stand by as a family member went through this hell.

  “Can’t we do anything to ease their suffering?” Meilin asked Dory.

  The woman sighed. “One last round of tranquilizer will help them relax enough so the antidote can do its work.” She asked for no help as she administered the final injections.

  “Now there’s nothing left to do but wait and see.” Dory hugged each in turn. “Thank you. Go sleep. I’ll stay here.”

  Meilin glanced uncertainly at her family. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Go on.” Dory waved them away.

  Will took Meilin’s hand. “She’s right. We can’t do anything more.” To his relief, she followed with no argument. Together, they stumbled along until they reached the hallway outside their rooms. “See you in awhile.”

  “Can’t I come in with you?”

  His chest tightened. “Yeah, I’d love that.” Love? What the hell had he said?

  She halted. “To sleep.”

  To hide his disappointment, he tried to sound upbeat. “I know.” Damn.

  Hey, he’d take it. Any time with her now was too precious to waste.

  ***

  Meilin’s weariness went beyond physical, though she felt it deep in her bones. Her heart ached, her head hurt, her brain whirled in too many directions to follow.

  One touch from Will healed her. Energized her. Made her hungry to know more of his touch. Their bodies moved in easy tandem, whether walking or climbing in bed. Everything with him came a little too easily. When she snuggled against him, their bodies instantly attuned to one another. Hand splayed across his chest, his heart thudded into her palm. It made her want to tug up his tee shirt, and her own, and then lay atop him skin to skin.

  She stared at the ceiling. She’d have to keep up her guard, or she might lose more than sleep.

  “You’re not tired?” he asked softly.

  Dammit, she thought he’d have dropped off by now. He couldn’t have rested more than an hour. “Overtired, I think. And wired at the same time.”

  “Me, too.”

  They both stared at nothing. She sighed, happy they could share such peaceful moments, and at the same time, wishing for the courage to kiss him again. Doing so would unleash a flood of emotion she wasn’t sure she was prepared to deal with.

  “You were incredible, you know. Last night and today.”

  Her face flushed warm when she realized he stared at her. “No more than anyone else. Dory deserves all the credit.” Not her; not the one who panicked.

  “I’ve fought with the toughest of men in terrible battles, but never met anyone as brave as you.”

  The compliment cut to her core. “Don’t say that.” She tried to hide her tears by burrowing into his shirt.

  “It’s true.” His finger traced her chin. “Hey, don’t cry. It will be all right.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because you have to believe. Your father would expect it.”

  Of course Will was right. It didn’t chase away her worries. “But what if—”

  He pressed a finger gently to her lips. “Shhh.”

  A single touch – that was all it took for everything else to fall away. Clasping his head, she drew his mouth to hers. The world spiraled away, and all she knew was Will’s mouth, his tender, needy caresses stripping away her clothes, and her fears. She lost herse
lf in his soft moans, his naked body moving against hers. She’d never known such exquisite pleasure, an addiction she wanted to feed even before her first high had ended. More of Will, and more. After he’d sated her desire, she couldn’t wait to fill herself up with him again. She might never know true satisfaction, always wanting him.

  He rolled away, and they lay panting.

  “I can’t believe it,” she managed to say.

  “You’re sorry already. I knew we shouldn’t—”

  “Sorry?” She reached over and tilted his head toward her. “The only thing I’m sorry about is not jumping you the first time I saw you.”

  He shrugged. “I would have let you.”

  She lightly slapped his chest. “Yeah, I bet.”

  With a wide grin, he turned to his side and held her against him. “You’re amazing.” His grin faded. “I wish…”

  She tensed. That was not the expression of a happy man. “What?”

  He drew in a breath. Someone pounded on the door.

  Again? “Who is it?” she called over Will’s shoulder.

  “It’s Zoe. Dory needs us downstairs. Now.” One final kick, and footsteps thudded away.

  She searched Will’s face, but he gave nothing away. What does he wish?

  “Better get dressed.” With a quick kiss, he slipped out of bed and sorted the clothes tossed everywhere.

  Too late now. She’d have to find out later. “Zoe didn’t sound happy.” Not a good sign.

  “Does she ever?”

  “Not really, but the formula could have made everything exponentially worse.” Imagining the terrible pain they must be suffering, she steeled herself against the wave of fear gripping her, then fumbled on her jeans and tank top as fast as possible.

  Will hustled to catch up when she practically ran to the stairs. How long ago had they given the injections? Could it be working – either way – so soon?

  She threw open the door, and her blood turned to ice at the anguished sounds. Still strapped to the gurneys, her father and sisters thrashed against the restraints so violently, the metal rails clashed.

  They rushed to Dory, who watched with horror-glazed eyes.

  “How long have they been like this?” Meilin asked.