AB (The Blake Reynolds Chronicles Book 1) (9 page)

Captain Nellis
and the crew of the Mercy had an exceedingly difficult twenty-four hours after
seeing their friends and colleagues become infected. They had to kill their own
crewmates and dispose of their bodies. After a great deal of bravery and gut-wrenching
decisions, the task of discovering everything they could about the infection
continued. If there was any luck left in the world, the Mercy had a little
left. The majority of researchers and over half the doctors had been spared from
the infection.

Captain Nellis
reconvened with what was left of the medical staff. “We will have time to mourn
those we have lost later. Until we find out what has caused this calamity on
our planet, I am ordering eighteen-hour shifts. Is everyone clear?” Captain
Nellis looked at everyone, and they nodded. “We will reconvene every two hours.
Now get back to work.”

After two
hours, Captain Nellis and the senior staff led by Dr. Fuller gathered to report
their progress.

Captain Nellis
once again stood at the head of the table. “Let’s get right down to business. Dr.
Fuller, I have been informed that you might have some hope for us, or at least
something to start working towards.”

“As you know,
the infection has been spreading around the globe. Most of the world is in
turmoil, dead or infected, so we have had little help from the outside world.
It is a small miracle that some of the best and brightest from the U.S. and CDC
are onboard this ship.

“From what we
have been able to ascertain, the cause of the infection comes from bacteria that
are inside the spores. They are spreading everywhere and, once inhaled into the
lungs, the spores break down, and the bacteria spread throughout the host’s
system. From the little we know about how the bacteria work, it seems to target
the brain cells and neurons of the host. There seem to be three strains of the
bacteria in different concentrations.

“At this point,
we haven’t been able to determine the difference between the three and what
happens to the host once infected. But one thing we do know is that it seems to
change the brain, similar to the effects of LSD. All or most of their past is erased
and replaced by new memories and behaviors implanted by the bacteria. We aren’t
sure what the new memories entail yet.

“The most
disturbing part of our discovery is that the bacteria seem to be engineered in a
certain way. Inside each bacterium, there is a microscopic nanobot of some
kind. It is about half the diameter of the bacterium, spherical, and has several
dozen spikes around the surface. At this point, we are having a hard time
discovering its purpose. We just don’t have an electron microscope onboard to
study it further. At this point, that is all we know. But I have a hypothesis
that could lead to a possible solution.”

Dr. Fuller
stood and cleared her throat. “When I was in graduate school, I did my doctoral
thesis on rare blood types, one type in particular. As you know, most of the
population are in the blood groups of O, A, B, and AB. However, there are also
a few little known variations to this.

“In 1952, in
New York City, there was a sixty-six-year-old woman who was sick with colon
cancer. She had received a blood transfusion, and her body immediately started
to reject it. As the researchers investigated the rejection, they referred to
her by her last name, Vel.

“Further study
found that Mrs. Vel had developed a potent immune response against some unknown
compound found on the red blood cells she had received. However, scientists
could not identify this compound, opening the mystery of a new blood type: ‘Vel-negative.’

“So how does
Vel work? Researchers soon discovered that Mrs. Vel was not alone. More than
200,000 people in Europe and more than 100,000 in North America shared the
Vel-negative blood type. For the one in 2,500 people of European descent with
the rare blood, receiving a non-Vel transfusion can easily result in kidney
failure and death.”

Captain Nellis
stood and said, “This is very interesting, but I don’t see how this helps us.”

Dr. Fuller half-grinned
because she knew that she had his attention.

“Everyone’s red
blood cells are coated with molecules that can serve as what are called
antigens, compounds that prompt the immune system to respond. It does so by
pumping out proteins known as antibodies that latch onto and neutralize those
antigens. However, people don’t normally produce antibodies to their own red
blood cell antigens, only to foreign ones - such as when they received blood
from another person who has a different blood type and therefore, an antigen
they lack.”

Captain Nellis was
confused and glanced at the others for an answer.

“Captain, don’t
you see? People of Vel-negative will be infected, but they won’t show any of
the symptoms because of the unique properties of the antibodies their blood
produces. In theory, we should be able to extract these antibodies and inject
them into the body of an infected person and possibly change them back to their
normal state. Or, in the worst case, we would kill the red blood cells of that
person. I had the ship’s records officer pull the blood types of all the
personnel to see if we could get lucky and find someone onboard who had this
blood type to test our hypothesis. To my surprise, one of our Marines had the
blood type.”

“
Had
the blood type?” Captain Nellis
interrupted.

“Yes, Captain.
I went to the brig to search for the young Marine. But because he was not of O
blood type, he was put in the brig with the rest. He was showing no symptoms of
the infection, but it was determined that it was only a matter of time before
he would change like the others, and he was killed. We did catch a break,
though! His body had not been thrown overboard yet before I got down there and
was able to draw some blood.

“I verified
that the young Marine had the infection, but the cells had not changed like the
other infected bodies we have studied. Now the bad news… because this man is
dead, we won’t be able to extract any of the antibodies from the body.”

Dr. Fuller sat
down. “Captain, it is the best thing we have.”

Captain Nellis
stood and nodded. “Thank you for your work and sacrifice. I will inform Pacific
Command of your findings.”

Just as the warm, soft glow of the sun
peeked over the eastern horizon, Blake joined Munns. He had been keeping watch
the last half of the night. “Any activity out there?”

“Nothing. The ABs must need sleep
just like we do.”

“What
have we got left to defend ourselves with?” He was afraid he knew the answer.

Together, they made a quick count of
their rounds. They realized the awful defensive state they were in. Blake had
three rounds left in his pistol, and Munns had two. A quick check of their gas
wasn’t much better; there was less than an eighth of the tank left.

“So how far do you think we are from
the clean zone?” Blake asked Munns quietly.

“Maybe fifteen miles,” Munns
replied.

“Do you know what kind of gas
mileage these things get?”

Munns shrugged. “Not good, from what
I hear. But hauling this many people, it will be even worse.”

“Well, it should be close.”

Blake walked away and softly woke up
Tara and Kaya. “Wake up. It’s time to go.”

Tara hadn’t slept most of the night
and sat up quickly.

Kaya yawned. “But Daddy, it’s still
dark outside.”

“Come on, Sweetie. We need to go.”

They packed a few meager supplies
and hopped onto the ATV. The small group was within a couple miles from the supposed
clean zone, but then the engine started to sputter. The ATV only drove another
hundred yards before it stopped altogether. Luckily, they had not run into any AB
groups.

As the sun cleared the horizon, they
could see the gates to the clean zone. Blake carried Kaya on his back, and several
soldiers came running out with their guns raised. Blake put Kaya down, and they
all raised their hands and dropped to their knees.

As the
soldiers approached, a familiar voice said, “Good to see you, Captain Reynolds.
Welcome back.”

Lord Dameon was
furious with the escape of their sacrifices for the celebration. As he watched
the small group drive away last night, he knew he needed to escalate the
timetable for their plans.

There were a
couple of doctors that had changed and still retained enough of their knowledge
to treat the Lord Dameon’s wound.

He gave orders
to search for all of their brothers and sisters and gather them to the white
church. He also ordered all the scouts to gather weapons, vehicles, and fuel.
They were going to war against the unclean.

Later he
gathered several of his brothers and sisters that he designated as his
lieutenants. Their job was to make plans to purge this part of the planet of any
remaining unclean. Lord Dameon stood at the head of the pulpit and scanned the
small band of men and women in the pews.

“Brothers and
Sisters, less than two days ago, none of us knew each other… but look at us now!
We are all united in this great cause of cleansing this unclean planet and
starting a perfect order of unity and brotherhood where there is no hate,
malice, or strife. All men will be treated equal. Now, all we need to do is
finish what has been started. I need each of you to come up with some ways to
eradicate the unclean that have gathered north of here.”

A tall man
dressed in a police officer’s uniform stood. “We need to gather some
information on what we are facing. Numbers, size of the area, and weapons.”

Everyone in the
room murmured in agreement.

“Very well,”
Lord Dameon said. “After this meeting, gather some men and start the scouting
work. Next!”

An extremely
large woman in hospital scrubs stood up. “I seem to remember that a
terrifyingly effective way to trick the enemy is to use children to lure them
into helping them and then setting off explosives hidden on their bodies. It
will be at some sacrifice to us, but the psychological impact would be enormous.
I know of several children in our group who still speak the unclean talk to
fool them, but I don’t have any explosive knowledge for the bombs.”

A large black
man in military clothing stood. “Leave that to me.”

The discussion
went on for some time as they formulated the plans to achieve victory.

Finally, Lord
Dameon stood and smiled at the group. “Brothers and Sisters, I feel that we are
being directed in our work by the givers of this great gift, the creators. If
we are all fully committed, we shall win and achieve what we are all working
towards: bringing the creators here.”

As everyone
walked out of the church, a small bald man with a suit and bow tie was left
sitting in the corner. He hadn’t spoken at all during the meeting, but Lord
Dameon approached him as if he had known him all his life.

“Brother, I
feel that you are here for the most important purpose of all.”

The small man simply
nodded.

“Why are you
here?” Lord Dameon asked as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Before my
transformation, I was chief scientist for NASA’s deep space telemetry project.
During my transformation, I was approached by a man… no, a God… and instructed
to build a device and send a message to a planet that circles Alpha Centauri,
our nearest neighbor. In this dream, I was shown how to create the transmitter.

“Most of the
equipment that I need is at the university, and I know where to locate the rest.
I should be able to have the device ready in a week or two, with some help from
our brothers and sisters.”

Lord Dameon
leaned a little closer to the older man. “What is the message that is to be
sent?”

His eyes lit up.
“I was told that a leader in a white coat would know what the message would be.”

Lord Dameon
smiled, and his chest filled with pride. He knew what the message would be. “‘We
are here.’ Brother, anything you need – people, resources, time – you let me
know! Whatever it is, you shall have it. Everything can be sacrificed to
achieve this goal.”

After a few
minutes of searching inside the clean zone, Blake and Munns found the tent that
Munns’s family was in, and he was greeted with multiple hugs and kisses.

Blake and his family
were assigned a small tent in the back of the football field. They were resting
peacefully when they suddenly heard someone tapping on the outside. Blake unzipped
the tent and stuck his head out. He noticed a tall Marine dressed in battle
gear. “Captain Reynolds, I have orders to bring you to the command center.”

Blake didn’t
like his tone, but he knew the young private was just following orders. “OK,
just a minute.” He pulled his head back into the tent. “I have to go.”

Tara nodded, and
Kaya lunged for his neck. “No, Daddy!”

“Listen, Sweetie,
I will be back as soon as I can. I love you.” Blake kissed them both on the
forehead, stepped out of the tent, and walked away with the private.

They passed a
few of the guards outside the doors and entered a large, repurposed principal’s
office. It was strange seeing school charts and slogans mixed with military
maps and diagrams. The private was thanked and excused by Major Williams, a
familiar face. Blake had been under his command on several of his overseas
deployments. Major Williams was alongside a large monitor with other men
sitting around the desk. He stood and shook Blake’s hand and pulled him close.

“I’m glad to
hear your family is safe, but you have planted yourself in some deep shit. The Marines
don’t like it when you disobey a direct order,” he whispered.

Blake nodded.
“I would do it again,” he whispered as they sat down and faced the screen.
General Wicket was on the monitor, and two aides were behind him.

“Captain
Reynolds, I gave you a direct order to return to base. So why in the hell did you
decide that it was in the best interest of this company to leave your men and
go on a joyride through the countryside to look for your family? Do you know
what would happen if every soldier did the same and left their posts?” General
Wicket stopped to catch his breath before continuing. “And if it wasn’t bad
enough that you left your command, you also took several soldiers with you.
What do you have to say for yourself?”

Blake slowly
stood and took a step toward the screen. “General, I hold the values that the Marines
stand for at the center of my being. I would never disobey a direct order.
However, there is one value I hold higher than the Marines, and that is the
love of my family. I fully accept whatever punishment or discipline you feel is
necessary or warranted.” Blake saluted and then sat back down. For a moment he
thought he might have seen Major Williams grin.

“Captain, you
have left me in a terrible position. I want to kick your ass all the way to the
brig, lock the door, and leave you there until you have grown old and gray. However,
I have to consider something else. We can’t afford to lose any more of our good
leaders, and you have been out on the front lines so you know what we are
facing.”

Blake’s
shoulders loosened, and he let out a relieved breath.
 
“So,
Captain Reynolds… on the recommendation of Major Williams, instead of sending
you to the brig, we will be transferring you to Major Williams’ command and
putting you in charge of patrols and gathering intelligence. We need to know
what is going on out there. Things have gotten too quiet. What do you think,
Captain?”

“I think that
sounds very good, sir!” he said with a smile.

“Very well then
– don’t let it happen again. By the way, Captain, had I been in your shoes, I
might have done the same thing. But don’t let that get out.” He reached across
the table, and the screen turned black.

Blake extended
his arm across the table to the major. “Thank you, sir. I know that there was
some risk in what you did for me, but I won’t let you down!”

“I know you
won’t. I need you to gather some patrol leaders and get back with me later
today with their names and a plan on how you are going to gather the
intelligence we need.”

“Yes sir. One
other thing… while I was out there, the ABs were acting differently than what
we first noticed.”

“In what way?”

“They seem more
organized.”

“That is the
kind of intelligence we need. That’s why you are the best man for the job.”

Blake stood to
attention, saluted, and walked out of the room.