The Outbreak

by Shetty, Krishan

  Lou’s eyes darkened. His face turned into a menacing scowl. “What did you say?” his distinct southern accent lacing every word now.

  “You served in the 101st airborne regiment. You garnered quite a reputation as an interrogator and a trigger happy madman. You were dishonourably discharged after the military court found you guilty for deliberately executing an innocent family during the gulf war. You executed the children first and let the parents watch before putting one between their eyes.”

  Lou grit his teeth so hard it hurt to look at him.

  “I didn’t know Harbinger recruited murders and madmen,” Mathers said looking at Sharyn.

  “We’ve gone through everyone’s history. Lou here is an asset to the company, an indispensable cog in the machine,” she said calmly.

  “Now this is how it’s going to go. There are men posted outside your precious Clarissa’s house. If I don’t report within a half hour they will bury her,” Mathers said his voice low and pointed.

  Lou walked with giant steps towards Mathers and raised his arm to strike him but stopped.

  “That’s right son. You think I came here unprepared? It’s deplorable to think you would try to twist the arms of the military. Let my men go and I will call off my men stationed outside Clarissa’s house.”

  “Alright,” Lou said nodding and stepped backwards towards the soldier whose radio crackled.

  I can’t wait any longer. Soon Hale will disappear. Gotta get out of here, Mathers thought.

  “What’s your name soldier?” Lou asked standing in front of him.

  “Carter. Lance Carter,” the soldier replied looking up at him.

  Lou circled back around him. Standing behind him he stuck out his index finger and pointed it towards Mathers. “See that man there? Take a good look at him. He will be the last thing you see.”

  “What??? N-No!!! Don’t!” Carter screamed as the sudden realization dawned on him.

  “DON’T DO IT LUKE! Don’t’ you care what happens to Clarissa?” he asked with an outstretched hand to gesture him to calm down.

  “Clarissa?” he laughed manically. “You think I give a fuck about some kid? It was an accident. Her mother, that little harlot hid the pregnancy from me,” he said scratching the back of his head with the barrel of his matte black pistol. The lights were green on both sides. “Go ahead. In fact you’d be doing me a favour. Wretched kid.”

  Bending, he cupped Carter’s jaw with his left hand all the while maintaining eye contact with Mathers. “You were right about most of it. But you got one thing wrong. I didn’t just kill those savages during the war. After I killed the kids, I made the husband watch as I took his wife in front of him,” he laughed again almost tearing up. “The husband cried all the while. What a pansy right? Hmph! After I was done with her, my men had their way with her. When we were done with her she could barely stand. Well, I couldn’t stand the husband’s whining and sent him straight to hell. The wife though, she was a real good piece of meat. She crawled over to her kid’s corpses and cried over them. She then looked at her dead husband. It was at that moment I saw something incredible. You know what I saw in her eyes? Do you know huh?”

  Mathers was aghast with silence.

  “Nothing. I felt bad for her y’know. She had just lost her kids and her husband. Too much for one day. So I did what any good man would. I gave her my pistol. She-she understood. I gave her a choice. Either shoot me or shoot herself in the head. Her brains were painted on the walls. Very disturbing if you ask me,” he said shaking his head.

  “You psycho,” Mathers muttered in absolute disgust.

  “Psycho? Me? No-no-no. You threatened to kill my daughter! I’m doing what any father would! I’m going to save her!” he said grinning ear to ear all the while violently shaking Carter’s head.

  “DON’T DO IT.”

  “Or what? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? KILL MY DAUGHTER? IS THAT THE BEST YOU GOT?” he said raising his voice to match the colonel blow for blow.

  The Colonel’s plan had backfired. He had awakened a blood lusting lunatic.

  “You know what you value the most Colonel? Your men. They are like family too you. How touching. But I think it’s about time for them to meet their maker, don’t you think? I mean you did sign up for the job ready to lay down your lives isn’t that right gentlemen?”

  “Do whatever you have to with me. I am their CO. I am the one that did the talking. Not them,” Mathers said raising his hands in submission.

  “There it is! Now was it that hard Colonel? Every man should embrace their mistakes. Isn’t that right?”

  Mathers nodded slowly.

  Bang!

  Carter crashed face first into the floor.

  Blood stained the spotless floor forming constricted streams.

  Mathers’ eyes widened in disbelief. He just shot a soldier!

  “What’s wrong Colonel? Why don’t you go ahead and call your men?” he taunted.

  Mathers grinded his teeth behind sealed lips. He suppressed his overwhelming desire to brutally decapitate Lou.

  Scoffing Lou ran his black gloved hands through his prickly hair. “You killed him Colonel. You have only yourself to blame. If you’d have kept yer darn trap shut he would have lived to see tomorrow. Or not.” He laughed again sadistically.

  Sharyn looked down to observe the corpse.

  “You’ve gone too far,” Colonel said through clenched teeth.

  “Looks like you don’t learn do ya? The next one won’t be lucky. I’ll pick him apart piece by piece while you watch. DO YOU WANT THAT HUH?” he asked menacingly.

  Stefan was unsettled on witnessing a live execution. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that working for one of the biggest corporations in the world would involve bloodthirsty creatures, live executions and treason all in the span of a few days. A dry gulp slithered it’s way down his throat.

  “That’s enough Lou,” Sharyn said firmly.

  Lou turned his gaze towards Sharyn. For a brief moment, defiance reflected off of his eyes. But Sharny’s retaliated with an icy cold stare.

  He shrugged, “Alright, alright. Good talk Colonel. Let’s do this again sometime,” he said backing up slowly towards the wall.

  Mathers looked at his comrade on the floor lifeless. He’s right. Carter’s dead because of me. If I hadn’t taken the chance he wouldn’t have had to die. These people are painfully unpredictable. Damnit! Where are you Roland?

  Mathers’ hand curled into a fist.

  ****

  “Greg’s assessment of the gonerz thus far has been nearly perfect,” Mark said itching his nose.

  “You mean the different kinds of gonerz?” Greg asked.

  “Yes. It seems that the crawler did possess the ability to think. It was a cold, calculative predator. Since we never did try it out on a human subject I cannot quite reach a definite conclusion. But I suppose the mutation applies differently to different people.”

  “How?” Joanne asked.

  “From the animal tests, we concluded the serum acts on something we term as evolution factor.”

  Everyone listened silently. Chester was starting to become agitated by the science talk.

  “To put it in simple terms, have you seen people with an extra finger or joint toes or some or the other form of anomaly?”

  “Yeah so?” Chester asked annoyed.

  “Well, we believe that the virus that constitutes the serum affects that. So a person possessing greater evolution factor is more likely to mutate...perhaps even more than the average goner,” he said reflecting on his own words.

  “When the goner brought down the door of the mechanical lab, I t-thought it said something,” Randy said.

  “Maybe you were just hearing things. It was a terrifying moment after all,” Dana said trying to throw rationality into the works.

  “No, I’m sure I heard something. It felt like it was pleading for help.”

  Chester hung his head in disbelief.

 
“Well like I said, we haven’t conducted tests on human subjects. So it’s difficult to say what’s going on inside their head.”

  “I heard it too. Now I may be wrong about it but I think-I know it sounds crazy.....it could be like a possession,” Greg said his eyes lighting up.

  “Like a demonic possession?” Sean asked.

  “Exactly. Maybe the human conscience has been pushed to a corner and the virus has taken over. But with enough willpower one could perhaps overcome the possession,” he said looking at everyone.

  “It’s not impossible. In fact you may be right. We are just firing into the dark here.”

  “Is it possible to make a cure? Like an antidote or something to reverse the effects?”

  Mark contemplated for a brief moment.

  “It’s quite probable,” he said his eyes lost in thought.

  ‘So since the virus resides in the brain, does it mean we need to go for the head?” Sean asked.

  “Not necessarily. Since the body is still essentially human, it has a beating heart and functions like most human beings. They need to eat to survive. Just like us. Except we are the food-and it transmits the infection to another person through biting or maybe even scratching.”

  “So we needn’t go for the noggin’?” Chester asked interested.

  “Deal them critical damage and they should be done for. The virus requires nutrition. If it goes for prolonged periods without food it will eventually die. Or if it is wounded critically it will be rendered incapacitated. Without a body the virus will not be able to survive.”

  “Why not wait it out then? We’ve got food and shelter here. It’s perfect!” Josh spoke up for the first time.

  Everyone processed his proposed idea.

  “Well we could. In fact I think it’s the logical thing to do, isn’t it?” Dana said.

  “I’m not so sure. With that thing out there, I’m not so sure we’d be safe,” Randy countered.

  “We are underground. Whatever thing you are talking about couldn’t possibly reach us,” Kaz said. “The only way is through the elevator and the underground facilities require a special access code that only a handful of people possess.”

  “Sounds reassuring,” Chester said cracking an inclined smile.

  A crackle from a radio on one of the desks startled them. The undulating high frequency shrieks from the radio was layered by a voice. The shrieks smoothened out and a whisper of static formed the base. Is anyone there? We are trapped here in the auditorium! Please help us! We are surrounded. I-I don’t know how much longer we can hold on. If anybody’s listening. Please-somebody-anybody....came the voice over the radio. It was followed by silent sobs and the radio breathed a sigh of relief. It went silent.

  “What the hell is going on over there?” Joanne asked rubbing her palms together.

  “The auditorium has been surrounded by gonerz. It’s obvious they’d be freaked out. But how did they get their hands on a radio?” Dana pondered.

  “Why are the gonerz suddenly drawn towards the auditorium? Something’s up,” Sean said.

  Greg turned to face Dr. Kazuhira Scott. “Doctor, you were in contact with the students in the auditorium?”

  “Unfortunately no. It’s a one way radio and we happened to find their frequency by accident. We haven’t changed it ever since. It’s been a nightmare listening to their pleas for help second after second-hour after hour-day after day.”

  Greg investigated the doctor’s words to determine whether he was being truthful or not. Just because they were safe for the moment didn’t mean it would last forever.

  “Why did you let us in?” Greg asked looking at Kaz sideways.

  “Well, when we saw you trying to open the doors we were frankly terrified. Then we saw the guns and the soldiers. But what made me believe that you wouldn’t cause harm was the fact that Mark was with you,” he answered giving a pointed nod towards Mark.

  Mark avoided the gazes of his fellow survivors.

  “Professor. We have got to stop this. I know you are a good man. Who’s in charge of the-program?”

  “The Director, Dr. Sharyn Draxler,” he said glumly.

  “Sharyn...Draxler. I’ve heard of her,” Joanne said stressing her mind.

  “She was one of the most sought after scientists of our time,” Greg said coolly.

  “She is exceptionally skilled. But her ethics were always questionable. She’s a kind person but recently....” Marks voice faded.

  “But what?” Randy repeated.

  “Her position as the Director has been in jeopardy for a while now. The Biotech facilities profits have dropped considerably over the years. You see, she used to be the blue eyed girl of The Chairman. With these losses, she’s falling out of favour with the chairman, her father. Even if it’s his own daughter, he will not accept incompetence in any form. This deal between the army and the facility is exactly what she needed to gain that trust again, to turn the tide,” Mark coughed as he took one final drag.

  “So she’s the chairman’s daughter and she’s a power hungry bitch,” Chester bluntly put in.

  Mark let it sink in for a moment.

  “I suppose so. She was led on by Matthew. He knew of this and manipulated this weakness to carry on the project.”

  “What’s the project called?” Josh asked timidly.

  “Project PANGEA.”

  “PANGEA? As in the super continent?” Greg asked.

  “Yes. The army wanted to create a new breed of soldiers to fight the next war. They chose their targets carefully. We were ultimately chosen because they were well aware of the situation. Isn’t that right Roland?”

  Roland’s face housed an angry crease on his forehead.

  “Dad?” Randy peered beneath raised eyebrows.

  “PANGEA was something the top brass launched a few years back to start a program to create enhanced soldiers. Soldiers that could go further than what they can today.”

  “Like super soldiers?” Sean asked.

  “Sorta yeah but this supposed to be top secret. When I mean top secret I mean you guys could be executed just for hearing about this. But since shit has hit the fan, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.”

  Roland clipped his assault rifle onto his vest to dangle. Scanning all the heads, some he recognized-most not. He breathed aloud.

  “The reason the army-we wanted to create super soldiers and the choosing of the name PANGEA was because.....the government wanted to bring the world under one nation-our nation.”

  Most of the present gasped in disbelief.

  “You’re kidding right?” Randy asked shakily.

  Roland dodged his son’s softened gaze.

  “But everything fell apart. Harbinger couldn’t deliver and instead of the promised serum, we have a pandemic.”

  “That’s why Sharyn wanted to invest everything into this project. What better way to prove her worth to her old man? Gift him the whole damn world!” Mark remarked shaking his head.

  “The whole thing’s starting to make sense now,” Greg muttered, his blue eyes rumbling.

  “The army, the Harbinger Group, you twisted fucks caused this!” Chester snarled, eyes switching between Mark and Roland. “And here we put our lives in the hands of these murderers!” he shouted pointing at them.

  “Wait! You got that wrong,” Roland protested.

  “Got what wrong? The part about world domination or the part about the freaks? Man, Josh was right all along! This is all some fucked up conspiracy.”

  “Look, we could’ve chosen to blow this entire place up but we didn’t! We came here to- I came here for my son,” he said his voice dampening.

  Disgust defined itself on Randy’s face.

  “Look, before you kids go wild with your imaginations, I’ll make this crystal clear to you all. While we were on our way here, my CO and a few men accompanied him to the Habringer Biotech facility to negotiate with the Director. I’ve tried radioing them but they aren’t responding. Either that or it
isn’t working. The bottom line is, we risked our asses to save you folk from becoming gonerz while our boss is in the wolf’s lair.”

  “So, that makes everything okay?” Joanne snapped stepping forward.

  “They went there to pull the plug on the project and find a potential cure. And to arrest Sharyn for her crimes,” Roland concluded.

  “It’s a bit late to pull the plug on the project don’t you think?” Chester sarcastically remarked flailing his arms.

  Roland sensed he was losing the plot.

  “If you are a Z level scientist, wouldn’t Harbinger rescue you? I mean surely you must be an asset to the company,” Greg turned towards Mark.

  “Perhaps Sharyn has deemed that I’m not needed anymore. Taking care of loose ends I suppose,” he shrugged.

  “Does Harbinger have their own security or anything of the sort?”

  “Yes, why do you ask?”

  “That means your boss is in danger,” Greg said coolly.

  “What?” Roland asked looking up.

  “Think about it. If they ditched their top scientist, I don’t think they would think twice about taking care of your boss now that the situation has spun out of control.”

  Roland stared at the squeaky clean floor trying to come to a conclusion.

  “If that’s true then-we have to go now sir,” Karim said coming forth.

  “They wouldn’t dare do anything to the Colonel,” Hastings said gripping his weapon tight.

  “They would. Everything’s gone to hell here and they aren’t responding to our transmissions. Something’s wrong,” Roland said in a serious demeanour.

  “It could be an issue with the radio,” Karim said hopefully.

  Roland met his gaze and shook his head. The junior officer gulped.

  “If they do anything stupid, we’ll blow them to kingdom come,” Hastings gritted his teeth.

  “We have to study the gonerz thoroughly if we are to find a possible cure,” Kaz said, his voice betraying a frantic edge.

  “So we are going to have to capture a goner?” Josh asked. “That’s insane!”

  “No it isn’t. In fact this is our best chance to capture one! Most of them headed towards the auditorium meaning that a few of ‘em are stumbling about here somewhere,” Greg said emphatically.