Yes! Force me to do it. Shove me in the chair and tie me down. That way, the guilt if something bad happens won’t haunt me forever.
Caleb didn’t respond out loud. In all honesty, the thought of being shoved into the chair by an RBZ was just as unappealing. The situation was terrible no matter how he looked at it. If he could make the man immune, he would be forever grateful. If he couldn’t, well, as horrible as it sounded, at least the man wouldn’t remember what happened to him. With his gaze still locked on Dr. Maudas, Caleb sat back in the seat and turned his arm so the doctor had access to his veins. His other hand had a death grip on the metal handle, and his leg bounced up and down.
Without a word, Dr. Maudas fastened a tourniquet around Caleb’s bicep, causing his veins to bulge. Caleb turned away when the doctor brought out the syringe. He felt the prick on the crook of his arm from the needle and bit his bottom lip to keep from yelling—not from pain but from the emotions surging through him. The needle slid out of his vein, and Dr. Maudas applied pressure and then a bandage. Caleb opened his eyes and slowly turned to the doctor.
His blood looked black in the syringe. Dr. Maudas held the needle up as he studied the man on the table. Time slowed to a crawl. Maybe he was having second thoughts.
Please let him be having second thoughts!
Caleb still couldn’t believe this was possibly happening. It was so irresponsible, so immoral. Every part of it felt wrong, and Caleb couldn’t do anything to change it. Everything in the room faded, and Caleb’s vision tunneled to take in the doctor’s actions. Sounds faded from the room, being replaced with the patters of Caleb’s rapidly beating heart. His breath hitched, his mouth went dry. Every muscle in his body tensed and froze. Dr. Maudas leaned forward slightly.
Caleb hadn’t noticed before, but a tube had already been inserted into the man’s arm for easy access to his veins. Caleb’s stomach cramped as Dr. Maudas lowered the needle to the port. He wanted to jump out of the chair and smack the syringe away, but he couldn’t move.
Do something! For crying out loud, don’t let him turn!
What are you going to do? You’re too weak to help anyone else, and you always have been. This man is doomed to his fate.
Caleb’s heart slammed into his ribcage, sweat slid down his spine. Dr. Maudas pushed the plunger, and his blood entered the man’s vein. A scream resounded in Caleb’s brain. Goosebumps formed on every part of his body, the scars on the insides of his wrists tingled. Caleb held his breath as he waited for something to happen.
Several moments ticked by, Caleb had to start breathing again or risk passing out. His gaze was transfixed on the man, taking in any changes happening to his body. There were subtle at first. His chest began to rise and fall more rapidly, his fingers twitched slightly. His eyes shifting under their lids and slight movements of his head. From there, the veins on his arm turned black, the blackness spread into his neck and onto his face. The slight movements turned into convulsions as the man’s body strained against the straps holding him in place.
Pain radiated through Caleb’s hands as he gripped the chair arms so tight the metal threatened to cut through his flesh. A moan escaped his lips as the man’s pallor changed from fleshy pink to sickly yellow. It wouldn’t be long before his skin faded to gray and chunks fell off. The desire to run consumed Caleb, but his muscles still wouldn’t obey his commands.
“Bite him.”
The words barely broke through Caleb’s consciousness. Dr. Maudas grabbed Caleb’s cheeks and made him focus on his face.
“Bite. Him.” Dr. Maudas said the words slowly and loudly so Caleb could understand them.
“What?” The word barely came out of Caleb’s mouth.
The notion seemed so foreign, so ridiculous, it had to be a joke. He wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t going to start chewing on the man. The thought made his stomach twist into a knot, and his throat closed.
He’s insane. He has no idea what he’s doing. He’s going to destroy you and the world.
Dr. Maudas helped Caleb to his feet and directed him to the gurney, pulling Caleb out of his stupor. He bent Caleb toward the man’s arm.
“Bite him. See if it will reverse the process.”
Caleb sucked in short, quick breaths; black dots to dance in front of his eyes. He could barely focus on the yellowed skin in front of him. He didn’t want to bite the man. The thought of causing him more pain was unfathomable. In addition, Caleb could only imagine how terrible the man would taste. He doubted his blood would have the same delicious salty chocolate taste as the living. He was turning, which meant he was rotting. Caleb might have imagined it, but he was convinced he smelled decay rising from the man’s flesh. It caused the taste of burnt coffee and ginger to slide across his tongue. The oatmeal rose again, but this time, Caleb couldn’t swallow it back down. He turned so the half-digested food wouldn’t land on the man. He placed his hands on his knees to keep from falling over. The contents of his stomach splatted onto the floor. Drops splashed across Caleb’s feet.
Dr. Maudas turned Caleb roughly back to the man. He bent Caleb once again toward the man’s arm. The flesh continued to yellow, but it was also streaked with red. It took Caleb a moment, but he realized the marks were cuts. They were short, maybe only an inch long, but deep. Blood flowed from them slowly; it thickened as the disease took hold. Soon, the man wouldn’t bleed at all.
“Spit on him.” Dr. Maudas’s tone was harsh and demanding.
This wasn’t as distressing to Caleb. At least he wouldn’t have to taste the man or be the one who put him in more pain. Caleb did as instructed despite the fact his mouth had gone dry. Chunks of oatmeal and stomach acid landed on the man’s arm also since his mouth was coated.
Dr. Maudas used some gauze to rub the spit into the man’s wounds. Reddish black ooze smeared onto his arm. Caleb couldn’t tell if his saliva even entered the wounds. His vision blurred. Caleb took a step back and watched. He hoped the act would ease the man’s suffering. It didn’t. His body continued to convulse and writhe.
Dr. Maudas mumbled something under his breath, then moved around to the other side of the table. He grabbed a syringe full of clear liquid off the tray and pumped it into the man’s veins. His movements stopped. He lay motionless on the table. Maybe he died. No, he couldn’t. The virus would bring him back if the brain stayed intact, and Caleb highly doubted the liquid destroyed the brain. At least the convulsions stopped. The man didn’t appear to be at peace, however. His forehead wrinkled, and his eyes pressed tightly shut. Soon, he wouldn’t have any worries except finding living flesh. He wouldn’t be a man then but a thing. Caleb’s chest tightened at the thought, sorrow slumped his shoulders.
“Seventeen! Forty-nine!” Dr. Maudas’s voice was loud and echoed through the lab, causing Caleb to flinch. A few moments passed, and nothing happened, so the doctor called again. Two RBZs lumbered into the lab. Dr. Maudas waved weakly at the body on the gurney, and the creatures pushed it out of the room. Caleb watched them disappear down the tunnel, then his knees gave out, and he sank to the floor.
Dr. Maudas sighed, drawing Caleb’s attention to him. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
“Could have gone better.” He dropped his hand to his side and turned to Caleb. “I should have informed you about the second part of the experiment so you could have been ready. I apologize.”
Caleb stared at the doctor. His tone seemed almost sympathetic, but Caleb knew it wasn’t directed at the man he just turned into a zombie; it was because his plan didn’t go the way he expected. Caleb’s mind tried to comprehend what had just happened, what he had seen, but it couldn’t. The scene replayed itself in flashes, as if every second was a separate moment not connected to the previous one. It threated to split his skull apart, and Caleb wanted it to. He wanted his brain, and the images burned there, to spill onto the floor and ooze into nothingness.
Caleb had seen people turn before, but he didn’t remember it being so vi
olent. He thought back to his own experience. It was terrifying and unbelievable and filled with pain. His stomach and intestines felt like they were trying to burn their way out from the inside, sweat felt like pools of lava on his skin. Every inch of him was in agony, so he could relate to what the man went through. Still, for the others he watched turn, he didn’t remember the person being thrown into convulsions, but maybe it was because his brain blocked part of memory or maybe it was because he never let it progress that far if he could help it. The poor victim was usually put out of their misery as quickly as possible. Another thought occurred to him; what if his blood caused the reaction? No one knew what damage he could cause or how he impacted others. This might have been a glimpse of what his future held and the horrible destruction he could cause. Nausea rose again as he stared at the doctor.
Dr. Maudas barely seemed to be affected by what had transpired. He appeared cool and collected, like turning a man into a zombie was an everyday occurrence. Well, it was, but not in this way. Dr. Maudas had no guilt, no remorse. Calmly, he straightened the instruments on his tray and put the lab back in order. He made a comment about getting a mop before disappearing from the room. Caleb continued to stare at where he had been. His mind still took in the event in flashes, making it difficult for Caleb to really grasp what had happened. He squeezed his eyes shut in the hopes of resetting his brain.
Visions of the man dominated his mind’s eye; his body jerking uncontrollably on the table, and the black snakes of infection coursing through his veins. In his vision, the man’s eyes were open, and Caleb watched as the life drained out of them, replaced with the fogginess of being undead. His restrained hand reached for Caleb, who recoiled in fear.
A wet, slapping sound caused Caleb’s eyes to fly open. Thoughts of the zombie he created coming after him for revenge ran through his mind. His body tensed as he imagined the creature right next to him, mouth open, ready to tear out Caleb’s neck. It would be justifiable, and Caleb wouldn’t fight back. He would let justice be served. Instead, it was only Dr. Maudas using the mop to clean up Caleb’s vomit. He looked down at Caleb.
“Are you all right?”
Caleb responded by jumping to his feet and running to his room.
CHAPTER 20
Caleb needed to go somewhere confined. The universe expanded beyond him at a ridiculous rate. He felt like he was being torn in 800 different directions, and it wouldn’t stop until he fell apart. He slid under his bed and pulled his knees up to his chest. He thought for sure Dr. Maudas would follow him in and ask him to talk about what happened, but he didn’t. Caleb wouldn’t tell him anyway. After what just happened, there wasn’t much to be said.
His brain seemed to have righted itself for the most part, and he didn’t see the world in flashes anymore. He had a pounding headache though, one threatening to tear his skull apart. He placed his forehead against his knees and drew in long breaths. His body shook with anger, fear, and guilt; his stomach tied itself into knots. He should have done something more to save the man.
Like what?
Anything.
He could have tackled Dr. Maudas to the ground and released the restraints before fleeing outside. He could have kicked and screamed and been more assertive in why Dr. Maudas shouldn’t conduct the experiment.
The voice in the darkness sighed.
Caleb knew exactly what it meant, and it caused him to pull himself into a tighter ball. He couldn’t have done anything. Any action he took against Dr. Maudas would have resulted in an RBZ restraining him. The experiment would have been conducted no matter what; the outcome would have been the same.
Caleb’s shaking lessened slightly, but the pain in his gut and the hollowness in his chest remained. The voice in the darkness was right. He was weak and pathetic. He couldn’t do anything right. It became apparent the voice didn’t want him to disappear to protect himself, it was to keep others safe. If he stayed, those around him would wind up getting hurt.
A debilitating sense of sadness washed over him. He had really wanted to rejoin the human race, have relationships, and create connections. Apparently, the universe didn’t have the same plans. Caleb inhaled a shaky breath and pushed the thoughts from his mind.
* * * *
Caleb stared at his parents, his mouth agape, trying to process what they had just told him. The dead have risen from the grave. The world no longer made sense. Everything Caleb had ever known and believed to be true was destroyed with one sentence. The world rushed away from him at light speed and threatened to pull him apart. He wanted to climb into his bed and close his eyes. He knew when he opened them, everything would be okay again.
His knees gave out from under him, and Caleb slowly sank to the floor. He closed his mouth so he could swallow and continued to stare at his mom and dad. They stared back, their gazes shifting from Caleb to Nina. Caleb sensed someone wanted to say something, but no one knew what.
Several long moments of silence passed. Caleb’s thoughts drifted to the code he’d been working on and how he’d never get the chance to finish debugging it. He felt empty and like a failure. Of all the things in the world he probably wouldn’t be able to do again—go to school, find a girlfriend, get a college education—not being able to fix some code should have been low on the list, but it was his entire focus, and he had no idea why.
His father cleared his throat. “I know we’re all in shock about this news, but does anyone have any ideas of what we should do?”
The family looked at one another, hoping the answer would magically appear on someone’s face.
“Anything?” The defeat was apparent in Dad’s tone.
Caleb took a shaky breath. “I think we should stay put. Board up the house and hunker down until we know exactly how serious the situation is.”
The thought of venturing into the huge world with an unknown threat left Caleb feeling anxious and vulnerable. He needed his world contained and manageable in size and staying at the house helped keep him confined. They probably couldn’t stay forever, but he—they all—needed some time to process what was happening.
His family nodded their agreement. Apparently, they weren’t ready to face what was out there either. Once again, they all stared at each other for several silent moments before Dad slowly stood from the couch and gave everyone materials to collect to board up the house.
* * * *
Caleb had no idea how long he stayed under the bed. He never drifted to sleep, and he did his best not to think. His body had stopped shaking, but the weight of unresolved emotions continued to weigh him down. A dull ache ran across his skull. If it were up to him, he would stay under the bed until he died, or the world collapsed around him. But nature had other plans, and Caleb had to go to the bathroom and get a drink.
When he finished, he trudged out into the open air. Night had fallen, and the stars lit up the sky with hazy white light. As Caleb stared at them, a sense of insignificance washed over him. He was immune to the zombie virus, but it didn’t mean squat. He couldn’t save anyone. In the end, all it meant was he would watch humanity get destroyed, and he would die the only human left in an inhuman world. He lowered his gaze from the sky to the ground and fought back the urge to cry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. He raised his head slowly and turned to the right. He barely caught a glimpse of something large moving behind a rock. He sighed. The RBZs were out doing their patrol. Not that it mattered. Caleb wasn’t going anywhere. He had no place in the world anymore. Absentmindedly, he paced around the enclosed area. His shoulder rubbed against the rocks to hold him upright. He didn’t have the energy to do it himself. As he rounded one rock, he noticed a tunnel. He turned away and continued his pacing.
What if it’s a way out? The voice in the darkness hissed.
Caleb lowered his gaze back to the ground.
It’s not. You know that.
Do you want Dr. Maudas to hurt more people using your blood?
A small tick of anger touched Caleb’s c
hest, and his gaze drifted back to the tunnel. If nothing else, he could prove to himself and the voice in his head he was right; there was no way out. With slow, cautious steps, he approached the rock. He placed his hand on the uneven surface, straining his ears for sounds. He didn’t doubt he saw an RBZ disappearing into darkness, and he wasn’t afraid of them, but if it was a way out—which he highly doubted—he didn’t want to get caught and dragged back to the lab.
A slight breeze moved his hair, and the heavy footsteps of the giant grew fainter. Caleb bit his lip and slid around the rock. Through the darkness, he saw the outlines of the rocks surrounding a trail sloped downward. Squinting, he attempted to see where it led, but it was too dark. With cautious steps, he proceeded down the path.
Darkness surrounded him the farther he went. The rocks got closer together and blocked out the feeble light from the stars. He ran his hands down the walls to stay oriented, being pulled forward by the slope of the ground, his heart pounding in his chest at the prospect of what waited for him at the end of the line.
The stench of death and decay permeated his nostrils, growing stronger the farther he proceeded down the path. A grunt echoed on the rocks around him, stopping him in his tracks. Whatever was down there certainly wasn’t freedom. The urge to turn around and go back under the bed coursed through him, but curiosity and a pinpoint of light drew him forward. With every step, the light grew larger. He knew better than to think it was a ray of hope in his dark world; the unnatural rising of the zombies told him hope was too much to wish for. Still, he wanted to know what the soft orange light illuminated.
After several more steps, Caleb stood at the edge of the light as it spilled onto the path. He waited for his eyes to adjust, then stared at the room beyond. An expansive cave twice the size of Dr. Maudas’s lab lay before him. Shop lights hung along the wall, illuminating the crowd of RBZs as they milled around the room. Caleb’s eyes widened as he took in the vast number of giant zombies. His mind drifted back to the conversation he had with Matt—he had said not many of them existed. He had lied. Caleb saw with his own eyes hundreds of the abominations.
Saving Humanity Series (Book 2): Edge of Humanity Page 16
