The elevator dropped down to the top level of the loading docks, he thought. There are more loading levels for sure, and I bet that's where they are keeping the comatose bodies of the infected. Kozz believed that they had to be performing research on the comatose. Finding a reason or a cure for what was happening to humanity was more important than the ethics behind it. They would have a database of information down there, not only from the findings of the staff on this ship but possibly the cumulative research of the Cooperation. Kozz had to get down there and sniff out what he could.
Better to jump the gun now before everyone around here has seen my face. Kozz headed straight for the elevator, deciding that now was the time to act. He tracked back through the many corridors the guard had led him through after they had exited the elevator and found his way without taking a wrong turn. He pressed the glowing yellow button to request the elevator. It turned red as he heard the box travel through its shaft and come to a rest at his floor. Kozz stepped forward as the doors opened, but he was blocked by a tall woman with coffee-colored hair tied back into a ponytail.
“Mr. Cosmo?” asked the woman. She was nearly as tall as Kozz, but skinny as a twig. Her striking blue eyes demanded attention, standing out like stars in the night against the motor oil color of her skin.
“Maybe.”
“My apologies, but I was never given a last name.”
“Kozz is just fine.”
“Kozz. I like it. Reminds me of the old action movies I used to watch with my father when I was a child." She was holding a clipboard and flipped through the papers it held as she spoke. "There is a seating area just behind you. Let us sit and discuss your presence on our ship.” The woman stood in Kozz's way, not giving him any other option. He decided that it was too soon to be causing trouble, so he walked back to the armchairs and the woman followed. “I am Personal Compliance Officer Marissa Batoon. Apologies for the formal introduction, but I was instructed by the captain to make you well aware of my authority on this ship. I'll be your attendant for the duration of this trip.”
“So word has gotten around about my high-level security clearance card then.”
“Indeed it has. The captain fears that you will run amok on our ship without heed of our authority. I was told to inform you that in such uncertain times as we are experiencing right now, and with the nearly paralyzing lack of staff we have on hand, we will grant you no command on this ship. You are simply a welcomed guest and you are expected to abide by our rules.”
“Oh really? And what would those be?”
“The current level we are on is the topmost of three living levels. The floor directly above us is the wellness, activity, and nourishment level. These are the only levels you are permitted to roam. Everywhere else is off access.”
“This level is already big enough to get lost in,” Kozz smiled at the woman. Even with her impersonal black pantsuit and the stern look her rectangular glasses gave to her face, Kozz couldn't resist Marissa's elegant charm. “I'm sure I'll have enough elbow room.”
“Good. There is a page button located in your room next to the door. It is directly synced to my personal communicator. If you require any assistance or have any questions, feel free to contact me.”
“Wow. That's better service than I would get on a passenger ship. Your captain must really want you to keep your eyes on me.”
“He does. Your high-level security clearance, though voided, is extremely rare, as I'm sure you're well aware. He doesn't know who you are or what you're up to, but he wants you to know that this ship is his. Now, if you don't mind me asking, Mr. Kozz, where were you heading off to? You only just arrived. I would have thought that anyone would spend at least a few moments getting acquainted with their room and immediate surroundings.” She smiled at him.
“I was just looking for the pisser,” Kozz said in a whimsical tone, letting Marissa, and more so her captain, know that he knew he would keep up a charade if he needed to. “I just couldn't find it with all these hallways and doors everywhere.”
“Well then, let me show you to the restroom located only a few doors down from your room. I'll play along if I must."
Kozz chuckled as they both stood up. Marissa walked a step behind Kozz, letting him lead her back to his room while she kept an eye on him.
“There we are,” said Marissa with a boatload of sarcasm hidden behind her rigid face. “Only a few steps away from your door. So silly of you to have missed it.”
“I can be a silly man sometimes.”
“Alright, well I'll leave you alone for now.” She continued speaking as she walked away. “And don't worry about your safety. All of my guards have been told of your presence and are well aware of your clearance level, both on and off the ship. I'm sure you will have no trouble finding a guard if you need one as I have instructed them to pay close attention to your care and safety.” She winked and then turned down another hall.
Kozz stood outside his door, looking in the direction Marissa had walked away. “Breathtaking. What a doll.”
Kozz sat down in the lounge. His name had already been passed around like a bottle of liquor at a New Year's party. Quick action was not going to work. He had already noticed several guards pass by his room, all glancing inside, taking swift inspection. He was going to have to put forward a more subtle effort now. He did not know if he could get to the loading docks and inspect the database without getting caught. There were not as many staff members or guards on the ship as there should have been, but they were all keeping an eye out for him. Kozz decided that he was just going to have to do the best he could before they found him out. What's the worst they could do anyway? Throw me off the ship?
He opened up the magazine with the infected on the cover. Inside was a lengthy report given by a man who had explored the streets of Erde as soon as the carnage started and recorded every bit he could with his camera. The article did not describe much more than the horrific scenes he had witnessed, and it was filled with a dozen page-length images of men and women with glowing eyes rampaging through the streets. Other sections of the magazine highlighted the many politicians and celebrities who were known to have died since the “outbreak”, as the magazine called it. To Kozz's relief, Presider Conway was not on that list. Smaller articles speculated about the cause of the crisis and placed estimates on the damage taken place and when or if the Cooperation would ever be able to suppress the “infection”. Kozz felt that it had to be something else, something more controlled and evil than a sickness. He put down the magazine and picked up the other with Presider Conway on the cover.
Inside the magazine was more of the same garbage as the first, but this one had an exclusive interview with the Presider himself. Kozz's interest flared.
Interviewer: Reports show that the current state of this infection has wiped out at least fifteen percent of humanity in less than two weeks. Presider Conway, do you believe the Cooperation will be able to find a cure before our species comes to an end?
Presider Conway: We as a people have endured many hardships throughout our existence. Hurdles have been placed in our path, and we have jumped over them. Trials have been set at our doorsteps, and we succeeded them. Unfathomable problems have been solved by our intelligent and creative minds.
This may be the most difficult of situations we have ever been placed in, but we will survive. Many of us have suffered, and many more will suffer, but we will survive. Our most brilliant minds are exploring all aspects of this unheard of crisis and will find a solution. In the past we have proven that impossible is nothing more than a word, and now we will do so again.
Interviewer: You never mention the words “infection” or “disease” in any of your statements. Is there a reason for this? What have your researchers discovered that you have not told us? If you do not believe that this is some sort of disease or virus then tell us what it is.
Presider Conway: There is reason to my choice of words. From the start I did not believe that a simple bacter
ia or virus could be the cause of such widespread death and aggressive behavior.
Our scientists have discovered connections between the abnormal aggressive behavior and a microscopic parasite living within the brains and bodies of those afflicted with the abnormalities.
The species of toxoplasma was discovered over a century ago when our forefathers were first settling the planet of Frostarc. The toxoplasma was found in the water and ice of the planet. It was studied and found to be absolutely harmless to humans and has remained so ever since, until these recent events. Since then the toxoplasma has been carried around by our interplanetary travelers and has spread to the water supplies of every inhabited planet within the Cooperation, including the Insurrectionist Moon.
Our scientists are certain that there is a link between the parasite and the affliction, but there is as of yet no solution to the problem. We are working as hard as we can to find a cure, of somehow ridding our people of the parasite, but there is not yet a way to do so safely.
Interviewer: Astonishing. Is there any word on the percentage of the population that carries this parasite? What about other species? Could our pets or wild animals succumb to this affliction?
Presider Conway: We're certain that one-hundred percent of the population carries this parasite within them. We need to find a cure now.
When introduced into the bloodstream of an animal the parasite always finds a way out. It has been found to survive just fine in the climate of another species' body, but it refuses to stay. The parasite will leave a non-human host and will either die or return to a water source where it will repeat the cycle over and over again until it transfers into a human body.
It is all utterly bizarre and baffling.
The article spiraled downward into an unimportant debate between the Presider and the interviewer about the experiments being performed on the comatose. Desperate times call for desperate measures they always say, thought Kozz, and no one's gonna convince Conway otherwise. Kozz closed the magazine and tossed it back onto the table.
“Damn.”
Kozz had found more than he thought he would in a simple magazine, but the new found knowledge did not solve any of his problems and only raised more questions in his mind. He had to find out more. The database on this medical barge would provide him some of the answers he needed, and now that he had some understanding of the problem he could pinpoint paths of information to follow, skipping right over all of the bullshit and running straight for the answers.
He needed to know what was happening. Answers would help him find a way to stop whatever was causing the chaos, and getting to Conway would give him the means he needed to take action. He had to do all of this while trying to find his wife. He needed to protect her. He needed to solve this problem for her. He needed to solve it for Caleb, Luciele, Kelly, and Richard. He needed to save everyone. That's what Caleb wanted him to do. That's what Jake would have wanted him to do.
The next step was getting to that database of information located somewhere in the belly of the ship.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Uncertainty
Voices floated through the air as the barge filled with people from all walks of life. Luciele and Caleb had taken the opportunity to explore before the living spaces filled, but when passengers started to enter their level they thought it best to stay out of the way.
Men hauled large traveling cases full of clothes and personal belongings while women carried crying children through the halls. A dozen people at a time exited the elevator and clamored for claim to a room. The guards forced entire families to use no more than a single room to themselves.
Several hours passed as more and more people piled into the barge. Luciele was surprised at the amount of people they were allowing on the level and knew it must have meant that the large loading levels were even worse. She and Caleb organized their belongings and did as best as they could to make their small room a home for the next several weeks. She kept the door ajar to keep an ear out for what was going on out in the hall, yet shut enough to keep prying eyes from looking.
Caleb heard children's voices in the next room. He asked his mother if he could go over and meet them, but she told him to wait until everyone was settled in.
More people packed into the nearby rooms, parents yelling and children screaming. It scared Caleb. Luciele explained to her son that everyone was frightened and on edge, that they all had to abandon their homes and travel to a far off planet which most of them had probably never been to. The guards did what they could to maintain order, but there were too many refugees for the small security force to handle.
“Scuse me, but could y'all tell me if this room here is taken?” Luciele's heart sank when she heard that familiar voice outside her door. Caleb looked over to his mother's wide-eyed face, checking to see if she noticed the voice as he had.
“Yes sir,” said the guard stationed outside his office, “but the room across is still empty. I would grab it now if I were you.”
“Thank ya much,” said the voice.
Luciele stood from her seat and walked to her door.
“Mom,” said Caleb, “do you think that's...”
“I hope not.” Luciele pulled her door open a few inches to peek into the room across the hall. A man had his back turned to her as he dropped his baggage onto the floor. He put his hand on his lower back and bent backwards to stretch his muscles. His wide-brimmed hat hid his face from her, but she knew. He turned and his eyes met hers. She shut the door.
“Dammit,” said Luciele. “It's Tim.” She did not know why she felt scared. The man had never actually harmed her or her son. She had never been afraid of him before, but she certainly did not enjoy his company. He was always a little odd, and he had a strange obsession with Caleb ever since discovering that he was once infected, but he had never done them any harm. She decided to open the door again.
He stood just outside the door as she opened it.
“Well look who we have here,” said Tim. Bags rested under his eyes and he had not shaved in some time. “Looks like y'all made it just fine. Where's the big fella and those two lovebirds? They in a differnt room?”
“Hello Tim. Surprised to see you here. We've all parted ways, it's just Caleb and I now.”
“Ah, the boy. How is he? Turn back into an infected yet?”
“He's just fine. You don't need to worry yourself with him.”
“Yeah, leave me alone fuckwad,” said Caleb. He got up and stood next to his mother.
Luciele 's jaw dropped. “Caleb!”
“What?” said Caleb. “That's what Kozz would have said to him. I don't want him bothering me anymore. I thought he was gone forever.”
“Haha!” Tim laughed as Caleb stared at him with angry eyes. “That boy of yours needed some spunk. Looks like the big fella rubbed off on him some.” Luciele was relieved that Tim brushed off her son's outburst. “I reckon I'll have to make sure to inform the guards of his...history, however. Don't want him surprising me in the middle of the night with a bite to the neck or something equally as monstrous.”
“You do not have to tell them,” said Luciele. “I will. They would be likely to jump in here with guns drawn like a couple of angry cowpokes if they heard the way you would spin it.”
“Haha, you're probably correct in that regard. Alright then, I'll stand aside if you take care of your responsibility.”
“Yeah, don't worry about it.” Luciele rolled her eyes. The man enjoyed causing trouble, but she figured it would be best to be as friendly as possible in order to make their voyage more comfortable. “Anyway, where are Daryll and the others? Did all of the old folks make it? It sure was difficult crossing those glaciers.”
“Oh no, they're all dead.” Tim spoke as if it were merely a matter of fact. Luciele's eyes widened and Caleb's angered face morphed into disbelief. “Well I know Daryll is anyway, and I assume the rest are.”
“Samuel...?” Caleb whispered.
“I don't know, kid, bu
t he was with them when I left them behind. Didn't have much hope for any of them.”
“What happened?” asked Luciele.
“We got to that glacier and all hell broke loose. Daryll and I knew that we would have a heck of a time gettin' them old folks up and across the glacier, and there was no chance for the mules. Without mules to carry the supplies those old folks wouldn't have survived long anyway. Daryll wanted to turn back and find another way 'cross the sea, but I just wanted to move forward with the healthy of us.
“He wouldn't have any of it, that bastard, and he tried to force me to turn back with him and the others, sayin' that he needed my help. Damn guy pulled his gun out on me and so I blasted him square in the head in front of everyone. Shot him b'fore he shot me. Felt like shit doin' it but he wasn't goin' to let me go.
“So I told all them folks to head back to Blackwater with their supplies, but no one wanted to go back. I climbed up the rope y'all left behind and stood on top of the glacier. I said to them that any of them that could make it up with me on their own could come with me. None of them even tried, and the other healthy, young folk wanted to stay with the old ones.
Frostarc Page 23
