by Ellis, Tara
“Received,” Madeline replied, after double-checking her notes. “I should arrive in less than two days, before sunrise on Saturday morning.”
There was the standard delay during the transmission, before Dr. Davies signed off. “Excellent. I’ll expect to see you Monday or Tuesday. We have a lot of work to do. Sierra uniform two lima November out.”
Madeline promptly unplugged the radio and set it, along with the laptop, notepad, and papers from her wall of information into a waiting box. Carrying it to the kitchen, she shoved a plate of half-eaten chicken breast aside to set it down, before going back to her bedroom. That time, she entered without any indecision. Her path was now solidly laid out, and what was in that room had no influence over it.
Heading straight to the massive closet, Madeline made good time once she selected the bag on the floor that was already partially packed. She’d forgotten about that. How after the first symptoms of The Kuru quickly developed, she’d gone back to her bags and dumped most of the contents out to retrieve—
The bag slung over her shoulder, Madeline slowly crept to where the remaining box spring sat on the bedframe of the four-poster bed. A couple of feet away from it lay a picture and necklace. The photo of her with Lizzy. Her red-haired, spirited sister who’d been spared the final and terrifying chapter of their time on Earth. Bending to pick up the locket, Madeline noticed a second photo partially hidden under the bed. Henry. The picture from her desk.
I’m complicit.
The thought was random, and it took Madeline back to the final, agonizing day she’d spent in the room, before falling into a welcome oblivion. She’d awakened to another type of oblivion, where she’d been freed from the chains of guilt.
Or have I?
Her hand clenched around the necklace as she lunged away from the pictures, the memories, and the faint stirring of emotions tickling the back of her consciousness. They weren’t wanted, needed, and certainly wouldn’t be helpful.
Stomping down the hallway, Madeline tried and failed to ignore the ever-present stain on the floor. Another reminder of her failure to rid herself of the cloying, lingering vestiges of past self-doubt and inadequacies.
Hefting the box from the counter, she pushed through the front door and left it open, as well as all the lights on. After loading the items onto the front seat of the Hummer, she jammed the necklace into her jeans pocket and went to where she’d left the extra gasoline lined up against the wall of the garage. It was more than she could take with her.
Selecting two of them, she marched back to the house with purpose, and never slowed as she began pouring it across the porch, pooled some inside the door, and then made her way around the whole structure. After loading the rest of the gas onto the Hummer, she turned to inspect the growing forest fire before taking a lighter from her back pocket.
Much like the Earth, Dr. Madeline Schaeffer needed to purge herself of her past. To eliminate the memories, the evidence, and the stains of her meager and pathetic existence from before.
As she ignited the flame and threw it toward the representation of all Mads used to be, she thought of the final words from Dr. Davies.
We have a lot of work to do.
She could have never anticipated the rapid and complete devastation The Kuru unleashed. In two week’s time, the world’s population had been reduced to either those who were immune, the Cured, and pockets of survivors that had managed to avoid exposure either by swift and effective containment, or isolation.
Flame’s erupted and blossomed to life from the porch, the shadows it cast mixing with the opposing ones of the wildfire. It mirrored the larger battle between man and nature. Or more adequately: man versus nature, and then man versus man.
Always the scientist, Madeline’s academic thought process was to constantly examine the outcome of the calculated manipulations. It was becoming increasingly apparent that mankind was reaching a checkmate.
Turning her back on the one thing in her life that had offered her chaotic and restless mind a reprieve, Madeline got into the Hummer.
She was still the pawn. However, a pawn could be promoted to a queen once it reached the other end of the board, and the Libi Nati was where Madeline planned to make her final move.
Chapter 26
JESS
Amazon Jungle near Kumalu, Suriname
Northeast interior of South America
“Jess!” Someone was shaking her. At first, Jess wasn’t sure who was shouting her name. The cobwebs of sleep clung persistently as she remembered Amisha was sleeping in her bed, while Kamla and Pikin took the spare room. It had been a long time since Jess had a sleepover, though the current circumstances certainly didn’t qualify. When they’d been figuring out where everyone would stay, the idea of not sleeping alone had sounded pretty good.
Rolling over, Jess struggled to open her eyes and focus on the other girl. After getting to bed so late the night before, and working hard all afternoon to catch up on chores, she’d fallen into a heavy sleep around midnight. Why was Amisha—
Crack!
The unmistakable sound of a rifle shot echoed through the open window, causing both girls to freeze and stare at each other in horror. The candle must have gone out, because they were forced to rely on the whites of their eyes to confirm they weren’t alone.
“Akuba!” Jess whispered, her dread growing. Akuba was on patrol with one of the new arrivals, Tufail. They wouldn’t be shooting unless something was terribly wrong.
“It’s the second one,” Amisha moaned, pushing herself up onto her elbows. “What should we do?”
Jess didn’t stop to wonder why Amisha was asking her for direction, when the other girl was four years older. Part of the reason might have been that the Libi Nati was still Jess’s home. In spite of her age and everything that had happened, everyone treated her that way. Akuba and Kavish were the ones organizing most things, but they took the time to include Jess in the big decisions.
Except, she didn’t know what to do. Kavish and Slaider were gone on their trek to the ancient village, and Paul was asleep in the Van’s house with Mavi, Slaider’s cousin. Without working phones and the black, empty space between them, it felt like they were miles apart.
Jess’s head reeled. It was hard to think straight with the adrenaline coursing through her body. Swallowing, she grabbed at Amisha’s hand in the dark and then pulled. “We have to help.”
Amisha didn’t resist, and together they scurried down the murky hall in their bare feet. Candlelight flickered in the foyer and kitchen, providing just enough light to navigate the furniture.
Crack!
A third shot. A man’s muffled scream.
Her breath catching, Jess stumbled the last few steps to the back door. One of their prized weapons sat on an end table, next to the couch, positioned for easy access. Paul had shown them all how to properly handle the small gun, but Jess fumbled nervously with it when she picked it up.
“What’s happening?” Kamla whispered from the shadowy interior of the house.
Spinning around, Jess nearly dropped the gun, but at least kept it pointed at the floor. Kamla recoiled when she saw the weapon, and took a step back. Wrapping her arms protectively around Pikin, she pulled the small girl along with her. Kamla’s bandaged hand was a grim reminder of the dangers they faced.
“Gunshots,” Jess said, gesturing toward the backyard with her head. “Three of them. We don’t know why.”
“You should lock yourselves in the room!” Amisha ordered, pointing back down the hall. “We’ll get you when it’s safe.”
Jess was already heading for the patio door, and she had to stop herself as she reached automatically for the light switch. Grimacing at the obvious sign that she still wasn’t thinking clearly, she looked at Amisha. “Grab a flashlight!”
With Amisha beside her, lighting the way, they stepped into the backyard. It was a moonless night, so the blackness was complete. Jess blinked, trying to orient herself. The flashlight was gl
aring, and while it illuminated the ground at their feet, it blinded her even more to everything else.
The girls traveled halfway across the lawn, toward the Van’s house, when another scream pierced the air. The flashlight faltered as Jess and Amisha clung to each other in a paralyzing terror. She’d never heard anything like it. The gurgling, agonizing shrieks went on for longer than should have been possible, and Jess prayed for it to stop. It had to stop.
“Jess?” Paul’s voice was close, and the girls swung to their left as one, until the light fell across the two men. Paul and Mavi were less than twenty feet away, crouched down. Both of them were armed. “Turn it off!” Paul whispered, waving his free hand frantically at them.
Jess was the first to react, and snatched the flashlight from Amisha. When she switched it off, her blindness was complete. Afraid to move, she whimpered and closed her eyes, certain someone or something would grab her at any moment as she waited for her vision to adjust. To drag them all off, screaming, into the jungle.
The wailing had stopped. In its wake, the silence was almost as bad.
Jess opened her eyes, and let out her breath. Vague shapes came into focus. Paul had moved closer, while Mavi stood facing the other way, looking constantly in every direction.
“Was that Tufail?” Amisha cried, clutching and squeezing painfully at Jess’s arm.
Paul crept to within a couple of feet, and Jess saw he was holding the pistol at the ready. Leaning closer, his eyes were wide as he whispered. “The jaguars are back. Get inside.”
“But, Akuba!” Jess hissed, her throat tightening. “We can’t leave her out here!”
“How do you know?” Amisha said, sounding close to hysterical. “Maybe something else happened, and Tufail needs our help.”
“We saw them!” Paul barked, his voice rising and tinged with a raw fear. “I ran out when I heard the first shot. It came from the other side of our house. A whole…pack, or pride, or whatever they’re called. They…were in the field, taking—they…took Tufail.”
Amisha gasped, and Jess tightened her grip on the gun while looking toward the jungle. It felt as if her heart was being torn from her chest, and it was hard to form the words. “Akuba. Did they—”
“—She ran,” Paul interrupted, shaking his head. “I saw her running toward the barn. Now, go!” he demanded, pushing at her. “We have to get inside. They’ll be coming back for us.”
“How many?” Jess was moving, pulled along by Amisha. “How many are there, Paul?”
The older man was keeping pace with them, facing out and walking backwards. Mavi was staying several paces behind them, swinging his weapon around in wide arcs, looking for a target.
“A dozen, two dozen. I don’t know!” Paul said, sounding hoarse. “There were too many to count, and we didn’t stick around to find out.”
“There!” Mavi was aiming to their right, in the open area between the fields and the barn. “I saw movement. Not human.”
Amisha slid the back door open, and Paul rushed them inside. “The generator,” Paul said to Mavi. “We need to turn it on. The noise and outside lights should help keep them away.”
Jess eased slowly into the room until her back hit the kitchen island, stopping her. She was afraid to take her eyes off the space beyond the patio. She reached out blindly for Paul’s arm. “But they aren’t afraid of anything.”
Patting her hand first, he pulled away. “Stay here, and turn all the lights on once we get it running. Do you understand?”
Focusing on the older man’s voice, Jess nodded. She hadn’t known him for very long, but it was enough to know that he was kind and brave. A retired police officer, over the past week he’d proven his knowledge surpassed whatever edge he’d lost with age.
Amisha closed the heavy glass door behind the men, but Jess didn’t feel safe. She’d taken the opportunity after the first attack, to look up the cats in the set of encyclopedias her dad kept in his office. She’d known they were big and potentially lethal, but had no idea how much. At six feet long and up to two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, they could run fifty miles an hour, and had a more powerful bite than a lion. They were essentially the perfect killing machine. While attacks on humans didn’t happen very often, when it did it was almost always fatal.
Jess eyed the door. She was pretty sure something that big and heavy, going that fast, could break the glass. It wasn’t something a jaguar would normally do, but they already knew they weren’t acting normal. It was like they’d decided humans were a prime menu item, and everyone was invited to the dinner party.
Jess shook her head to stop her panicked thoughts, and moved toward the light switches. She wanted to be ready when she heard the reassuring rumble of the generator. She paused with her hand over the switch and turned to look at Amisha. She was sitting on a stool, staring at the floor. “They should have it on by now,” Jess whispered.
Amisha covered her face with her hands and started to cry softly. “I just want it to stop,” she gasped through her fingers. “I want my mom, Jess.” Dropping her hands, she looked much younger than her eighteen years. “I want to stop being afraid.”
Jess was trying to think of something reassuring to say that wouldn’t sound like a lie, when a burst of static made her jump. Seeking out the source of the noise, she saw one of the handheld radios on the counter. Paul must have left it. Relieved, Jess grabbed for it and keyed it up. “Paul!” she shouted. “Paul, come in. Is there something wrong with the generator?”
Bang!
The sound of Paul’s .45 caliber was slightly different than the rifle, and a lot closer. Amisha squealed and dropped to the floor, while Jess threw herself back against the wall.
Bang!
Another shot, from near the front of the house.
Pushing away from the wall, Jess ran to her father’s office. Kneeling in front of the window, she pressed her face to the glass and searched the yard.
There!
Near the cars and truck. The dome light turned on in the truck, and Jess sighed with relief when she saw two silhouettes scramble inside before the door slammed shut. Her relief was replaced with dread when several other shapes leaped at the door moments after it closed.
“Jess, are you there?”
Jess spun around and sat on the floor, cradling the radio. It was Akuba. “Akuba!” she yelled into the handset. “Akuba, where are you? Are you okay?”
There were a few torturous seconds of silence as Jess waited for a response. “...in the barn. I’m in the loft, but they’ve gotten inside.” She was whispering, and Jess could tell it was hard for her to talk.
Jess chewed at her lip. “Are you safe up there? Can you shoot them?”
“No.” The radio hissed static again, and Jess was afraid they’d lose the connection. “I dropped the rifle when I was attacked.”
“Attacked?” Jess yelled back, envisioning all sorts of horrors.
More static, and a broken transmission. “…okay. Just…leg. Bleeding...controlled. But the cats, Jess. They’re trying…climbing…loft.”
Jess flinched away from the radio, like it was responsible. She had to do something. She had too—
She jumped to her feet. Paul thought the noise and lights from the generator would scare them off. Maybe he was right. She glanced down at the gun in her other hand. She wasn’t sure how many bullets it held. Definitely not two-dozen, but it might be enough to get Akuba to safety.
She found Amisha waiting for her at the entrance to the office. “Go get in the room with Kamla,” she said, taking the girl by the shoulders and pushing her down the hall ahead of her.
“Where are you going?” Amisha demanded.
“The generator is right outside my bedroom window,” Jess explained. “I’m going to slip out that way, turn it on, and then get back inside. After I turn all the lights on, I’ll make a run for the barn.”
“Jess, you can’t!”
“I have to.” Jess stopped at her room, and didn’t back down when
Amisha turned around to stare at her. “I have to.”
Slowly nodding, Amisha twisted away and ran to the other door across from them. Jess heard her knocking as she approached the window, and waited for the other bedroom door to close before unlatching the glass. Cautiously, she stuck her head out and strained to see into the darkness on the side of the house. Nothing. Leaving the radio on the floor, she carefully balanced the gun on the ledge, where she could quickly grab it if she needed to.
Slipping first one foot and then the other over the sill of the large, low window seat, she silently dropped the few feet down onto the grass. She’d gone in and out of the house that way before, and knew she was capable of getting back inside without too much effort.
The generator was about five feet to her left, and Jess crossed the space quickly. Struggling to see the switches and gauges in the dark, she felt with her hands. Holding her breath, she turned the biggest knob in what she hoped was the right direction, and then gave the cord a sharp pull.
A couple of low chugs made Jess flinch away, certain the noise would draw the jaguars in her direction. Then, the motor roared to life, and it was the first time Jess was glad the noisy thing was so close to her room. Springing away from it, she leaped for the open window and hoisted herself up and inside, snatching the gun as she went. As she slammed the glass shut, she didn’t see any sign of the cats, and wasn’t going to wait and see if they showed up.
Jess closed her bedroom door behind her, and then ran to flip on all of the external light switches, except for the one on the back patio. There, she wiped her sweaty hands off on her pajama bottoms so she wouldn’t drop the gun, before opening the slider and stepping outside.
