Connected to the dashboard, her mobile started to ring.
“Accept call,” she addressed her phone with a voice command.
“Tanika, have you heard about this?” The panicked caller questioned her.
“Uh… Heard what?” She was paying more attention to the road than to the questions, however.
“I just got a call from The Director. He wants us on board the Aquarius and away from mainland in fifteen minutes? What’s going on?” He was short of breath, indicating that he was also in a rush.
“I-” She stalled, still distracted by all the beeping horns directed at her. Then, she saw a car had crashed into a book shop; the driver and the passenger both dead on the dash. “Christ…”
“Tanika? Hello? Are you still there?”
She faced frontwards again. “Yes! Yes, I’m here… Look, Gale, I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve been told what you’ve presumably been told; that a virus is breaking out, and it’s going to do considerable damage to the world.”
“Considerable?” Gale’s voice squeaked. “People are literally coughing up their own insides! Is this really what Zodiac has been about this whole time? Has this also been planned?”
“No, Gale. Don’t be ridiculous… Oh shit!” She slammed on the brakes as a civilian ran out into the road and stumbled onto the ground.
“What is it? Are you alright?”
The civilian exhibited the symptoms of the virus immediately; choking up blood, twitching uncontrollably, and then, motionlessness.
“It just happened,” Tanika shivered, “R-Right in front of me.”
“Calm down, Tanika. Just meet me on the Aquarius and we’ll be fine.” He tried to calm her. “I’ve tried calling the rest of the team but nobody else answered.”
“…Because they’re dead.” She concluded, still frightfully staring at the bloody corpse on the ground ahead.
“What? You don’t know that.” Gale rebutted.
“Gale, they’re dead!” She hit the steering wheel. “The Director really wasn’t lying to us!”
Gale’s breathing became heavy on the other end. “T-Tanika… Get to the ship, a-and… Leave, immediately…”
“Gale? Gale!” She yelled into the dashboard. “Gale! What’s happening?”
“I…” He tried to speak, but then he could be heard vomiting intensely. The mass volume of the upthrown liquid hitting the ground being audible also. Then, there was a loud thump; as if Gale had just fallen over.
“Please, Gale!” She begged. “Don’t do this to me! Gale!”
The sound became muffled, as if the liquid had seeped into the microphone of Gale’s phone. The call ended abruptly.
“Shit!” She bashed the steering wheel once again, before taking a few seconds to regulate her breathing.
She reversed slightly, and then swerved briefly onto the opposite side of the road to overtake the corpse.
At flight speed, she finally arrived at the marina. Most of the boats here were fishing boats, though some fishermen had already departed.
As she leapt out of her car, she could see that the Aquarius’ security guards were holding a desperate family back; a father and a mother, with suitcases, carrying their terrified son and daughter in their arms.
Heading towards the commotion, the security guards noticed Tanika and pointed her out to the family. Instantly, the father rushed over to her as she strolled up the wooden pier.
“Miss Bell, right? You’re the owner of this ship?” He begged her with wide eyes. “Please, please, please… Get me and my family away from here! Don’t leave us to die!”
Tanika cast her eyes to the ground and pouted politely; she wasn’t overly emotional about the man’s sob request.
“Look, we won’t be any trouble! It’s a cruise ship, for goodness sake! I promise you we will confine ourselves to whichever area you want. Just get us away from this new sickness. Please!” He cradled his son even tighter as he continued to beg.
Tanika looked back up at him and sighed, “I’m sorry, but this ‘sickness’ is everywhere and it’s not exactly new… People have tried to contain it, but we were already too late. Wherever you go on that ship, you’ll find it.” She tried to go around him, but he stepped in her way once again.
“But you’re boarding it, right? Therefore, there must be somewhere safe! Please, it’s just the four of us! Me, my wife and our kids! They’re just children… Can’t you understand that?”
“No.” She responded bluntly. “My work prevented me from ever having a family, and I don’t regret a second of it.” She reminisced for a slight second, before remembering her duty. “Anyway, I’ve already told you more than I should have. You really should go.”
“So, you’re really just going to leave two small children to die?” He played the guilt card.
Tanika tutted as she passed the man, “If they were going to die, they’d already be dead. The virus hit in a singular wave.”
“That isn’t true!” The mother blocked her this time, just several feet from boarding the vessel. “My neighbour died before we were even awake, and my father died before my very eyes hours later.”
“…A singular wave spread out across a morning, then. Sorry for your loss, etcetera.” She nudged the mother out of the way, but she pulled Tanika back before she could board.
“Now you listen to me! My daughter isn’t going to succumb to this disease so that some bitch can sail off into the sunset!” She lowered her daughter to the ground.
“I strongly advise you to step back, for your own sake.” Tanika warned her.
“Oh, is that a threat?” The mother produced a handgun from her jacket.
“Get her.” Tanika nodded to the security guards, who instantly tackled the woman to the ground.
“No! You bitch!” She tried to resist, as the gun bounced off of the pier and fell into the water beneath.
“Get off of my wife!” The husband came running back, his daughter quickly jumping to his company.
As the husband tried to pry the security guards off of his wife, Tanika took the opportunity to jump on board the ship and close the door.
Starting up the cruise ship entirely by herself was a chore. But she was ultimately able to do it. “There!” She exclaimed upon finally activating the engines.
Without any set course, she slowly pulled away from the pier. Then, there was banging on the side of the boat.
“What?” She queried and headed out onto the deck to see what was going on.
The mother was throwing large rocks at the Aquarius as it pulled away, whilst the father pushed the security guards into the water.
Their two children stood back, as the sister cuddled her terrified brother.
Then, the father ceased fighting. He started swaying around and coughing. The mother turned around and dropped the rocks, before diving down to catch her husband as he fell.
On some deep level, Tanika felt a sense of guilt.
Just as she had done with her daughter, the mother cradled her husband, stroking his cheeks, as his body violently twitched, and his mouth spat out blood.
From behind her, however, her two children then also dropped to the ground.
Now, Tanika’s guilt was visible on her face. Unable to watch what would happen next, she went back inside to the wheelhouse.
A day later, she found herself all curled up beneath the ship’s wheel. She had not slept; the image of the young children collapsing plagued her mind.
Her phone buzzed, startling her. Instantly, she reached up to grab it, and to answer the call.
“Hello?” She asked hesitantly. “… Director? I’m relieved that you’re alive, sir… No, it’s just me… It’s ok… Sir?... Yes sir, I’ll wait… Sorry, how long, was that?... Potentially years? Sir, how long is this going to… Ok… Yes, I understand that… You too, sir… Goodbye.”
And then, perhaps one of the last phone calls that would ever be made, was over.
Eight Years Later…
A
fter secretly knocking Naomi unconscious, Tanika exited the terminal and headed over to the rest of her group.
“Right,” she smacked her hands together. “Ireland? Who’s ready to get going?”
They all looked to and from each other cautiously.
“What’s with the sudden change of heart?” Cora asked.
“Well, like I said, I really do like your friend Naomi, and she was rather persuasive.” She lied confidently.
“It’s getting dark,” Worm pointed out. “By the time we arrive, it’ll be night. Are we waiting until the morning?”
“Uh, travelling through the night is easier.” Tanika rebutted. “For me, I mean… It’s a lot cooler for a start, and the sun won’t exactly be in my eyes, will it?”
“So, what, you’re saying we should leave now?” Mac was hesitant.
“Well, Naomi’s already on board, so… No time like the present, hey?” She put on her fake smile again; the same one which hid a big secret.
As they all boarded the cruise ship one-at-a-time, Tanika jokingly pretended to be a sailor greeting her passengers on board.
“Ahoy there, Cora!” She saluted her, but Cora seemed to be slightly sceptical of something.
“Ahoy there, uh… Richard, isn’t it?” She wasn’t certain of his name, “And Valorie?”
“Yes, that’s us.” Richard nodded, and saluted her back, matching her ostensibly light-hearted nature.
“Well, ahoy there, Richard, and ahoy there, Valorie! If you’d like to take a step, we’re delighted to have you on board!” She smirked.
The last passenger to board was Aoife.
Before Tanika could greet her, Aoife grabbed her hand, and discreetly slipped a small pin into it.
Confused, she opened her hand again to see what the pin was; it was the Aries symbol.
Instantly, Tanika looked up at her with wide eyes.
“The Director sends his regards,” Aoife revealed with a stern face, “Oh,” she dropped her fake Irish accent, “And his apologies for the long wait.” She was, in truth, an American.
Chapter 22: Slaughter
Pulling his father to safety, James desperately shook J.V. and slapped him lightly, doing everything to get him to wake up.
Pistols, catapults, and javelins had been dispensed all around the enemy group at this point. As such, J.V., his remaining brother in the fight, and his father, were all pinned down behind a large natural structure on the mountainside.
The snipers were all that was keeping the townspeople back.
J.V. coughed and spat a spec of blood out onto the ground.
“Dad! You’re alright! James pulled him in for an embrace, but J.V. shoved him away again.
“What’s happening? What have I missed?” He panicked.
“Nothing!” James scrambled back to his father’s presence.
J.V. grabbed his son by the throat, “If I’ve missed nothing, then why the hell are we stuck cowering behind a fucking rock?”
“Dad!” The other son intervened. “James didn’t do anything wrong! Let him go! He saved you!”
“That’s quite enough from you, Joseph!” J.V. pushed both of his sons away. “You two are absolute failures! You disgust me!” He berated them. “When I told you to wipe these people out, that meant you massacre them! Not the other way around!”
“We’re sorry, dad.” James apologised unnecessarily. “But in all fairness, they are far better equipped than any other group we’ve encountered! They’ve got tactics, doctors, and working guns!”
“What’s your point, son? Are you trying to tell me I’m wrong?”
James went back on everything he had just said, fearfully. “No, of course not! You’re right, dad. You’re always right. I’m out of line, and I’m sorry.”
“Yes well… Wait, it’s just you two? Where’s Joshua?”
James and Joseph exchanged a brief remorseful look with each other.
“Don’t, don’t you dare…” J.V. warned them. “Where is he?”
Slowly, James shook his head.
J.V. titled his head back, and then grabbed his radio. “Fucking hurry up and kill these fuckers already, or I’ll kill every single one of you!” He screamed, resulting in the rate of sniper fire increasing.
Erica rushed Tina into the pharmacy, throwing her onto the bed.
“Petra! Get some ice!” Erica commanded her, prompting Petra to run ahead to the mini fridge besides the bed and grab an ice pack from within.
“E-Eric…” Tina tried to speak her name but was too fatigued and dazed to do so.
“Shh, don’t speak. Just relax.” Erica comforted her, placing her down on the bed. “You were extremely brave today.”
Petra applied the ice onto Tina’s bruised abdominal area, causing her to wince slightly.
“It’s ok, it’s ok!” Erica lightly held her down, “You’re gonna be fine, you just took a small blow, that’s all.”
But with Tina being a doctor as well, she knew there was a chance such an intense attack may have caused internal bleeding; a possibility which Erica was trying to downplay.
Gwen was still laying down cover fire from behind one of the houses. Still, she wasn’t certain if her bullets were getting anywhere close to the marksmen.
Then, Naiser and Jázmin, assisting an injured Alek, approached this small nook as well.
“That’s it, we’ve got you.” Naiser comforted Alek, helping him towards cover.
“Guys, watch out!” Gwen reached over to grab them.
But before she could, Naiser’s head was brutally blown off by a direct sniper round. This caused both Alek and Jázmin to stumble forward, inadvertently saving their lives.
“Back, back!” Gwen assisted them as they crawled against the wall.
“Naiser…” Jázmin mumbled in disbelief, watching as his headless corpse rolled down the hillside and onto the road.
“Fucking bastards!” She screamed and ran out of cover.
“Jaz, no!” Gwen grabbed her and pulled her back. “Listen, honey, I’m really sorry about your friend, but you’ve got to stay back, ok?”
Jázmin nodded and slouched against the wall.
From the opposite side of the mountain, Nikola had secretly been leading a small attack squadron to sneak up on the marksmen; this had taken a considerable amount of time, as they had to be fully engaged in the battle in order to not suspect a surprise attack.
“There!” Nikola murmured to her allies as the four marksmen came into view. She put a finger over her lips to indicate silence to them, as they all slowly crept up.
With their knives out, they each got within the personal radius of a target.
Using her fingers, Nikola counted back from ‘three’ to her party.
“Three…Two…One…”
Reaching around with their knives, they slit the throats of the marksmen; except for one, whose neck was covered by a metal plate. He was the farthest one along to the left.
The surviving sniper spun around and stabbed his assailant in the neck; the rest of the group had not seen this. He pulled his pistol and quickly gunned several of them down.
Using a throwing knife tactic however, Nikola swiftly took him out before he could shoot her. “Yes!” She rejoiced.
“Um…” Rubin, the other survivor, felt her rejoicing may have been slightly misplaced, and nodded towards the bodies of their allies.
Instantly, Nikola sighed, and apologised for her rashness.
Then, Rubin announced into his walkie, “The snipers are down. I repeat, the snipers are down.”
The gunfire had fizzled out even more now. Annabelle was starting to feel comfortable again.
“The snipers are down.” Rubin’s voice came in over the radio, “I repeat, the snipers are down.”
“Hear that?” Elliot ceased stroking Annabelle’s hair.
“Yes… D-did we win?” She asked hesitantly.
“We won, sis’. We won.” He confirmed.
Excitably, she hugged Elliot onc
e again. “Thank you… For being h-here… Always…” She attempted to express her gratitude through her trauma.
“Well, that’s what siblings are for.” He smiled, as he hugged her back.
“What’s happening? Why have they stopped firing?” J.V. panicked. “Do you guys have a death wish or something?” He spoke into his radio.
“Fuck it!” Joseph proclaimed, as he pulled out his handgun and broke cover. He charged forwards towards the bridge, but only one gunshot echoed out; then, he could be heard dropping to the ground.
“What was that?” J.V. asked James. “Is Joseph...?” He was beginning to lose his nerve.
“No, dad, Joseph is fine.” He pretended. “Might I have a hug?” Fearing that this was the end for them, he expressed his final request to his father.
“What for, boy? You don’t deserve one.” He scolded his son once again.
“Please, dad… I just want a hug. That’s all.” James pleaded.
Sighing, J.V. conceded, and embraced his son.
“Thank you, for everything…”
Using his ‘birthday’ walking stick, Elliot navigated his way outside, locking arms with Annabelle.
“Elliot! Annabelle!” Gwen came running over to them. “Are you two alright?”
“We’re fine.” Elliot answered. “What’s happening? It’s over, right?”
Gwen caressed her stepson’s arm, “We’ve got J.V. pinned down.” She looked over at the bridge, as the very angry townspeople marched towards the large rocks on the mountainside which J.V. was hiding behind. “We’re going to kill him but capture the son who’s with him. We’re going to get him to reveal the location of their base so that we can take down his remaining sons.”
Elliot shivered slightly at the idea of torture.
“H-how many are l-left?” Annabelle frightfully asked.
“One or two, darling. That’s all.” Gwen had worked it out based off of how many they had dealt with.
Human Nature (Book 3): Human Nature III Page 15
