The Dead War Series (Book 1): Good Intentions (5 page)

“Holy shit! It’s trying to burst through!” One of the officers belted out.

The ape lunged again and the glass cracked in a spider web pattern, splitting from the middle and branching out in crooked lines to the edges.

Several employees stepped into the hallway, curious as to the ruckus taking place.

“Please get back into your labs, for your own safety,” ordered the head security chief as he monitored the ape's attack.

Some of the people watched the scene for a bit before doing as directed. A few went so far as to lock their doors. The more curious lot continued to watch the situation unfold.

“It’s not going to hold up,” Vincent yelled as he stumbled several steps back.

“Get ready, boys,” the security chief said, preparing his men to take the animal out. They stood their ground as the animal threw itself at the glass several more times, finally bursting through. The sound of gun shots vibrated throughout the hallway as they fired at the animal. Bullets struck the ape, ripping gaping holes in his chest cavity, but the animal didn’t fall. It leaped forward, smashing into the head security officer and biting into his cheek, ripping the skin away. The man screamed as blood gushed from the wound. Other officers fired at the animal, filling its torso with as much lead as their guns could hold. The ape pounced from the security chief’s chest onto another officer, bringing him down to the floor. The man slammed the butt of his handgun into the ape’s cranium but the animal didn’t fall off. Again the animal bit into the officer, greedily chewing and tearing the flesh of his neck and shoulder.

The man released a gurgled scream as blood bubbled in his open mouth spilling down the side of his jaw. The employees who had been watching were now fleeing toward the elevators and emergency stairwells. Some went back into their own labs for protection. Two other officers ran back several paces as they frantically reloaded their guns. After loading a new clip each, they aimed and fired again and again at the ape, drawing the animal’s attention. It ran towards them, leaping into the air and landing on one of the guards. The man screamed as the ape bit into his shoulder, taking a huge chunk of flesh and muscle. The officer fell against the wall and slid to the floor as the animal began devouring him as he lay there, helpless.

Vincent watched in horror as the last security guard ran away, down the hall. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The guards had put enough bullets into the ape to kill a wild elephant, yet the ape seemed unaffected.

The sound of glass falling on the floor drew his attention towards the now shattered observatory window.

“Oh my God!” he gasped when he saw Philip's half mutilated corpse climbing through the broken glass window. One of his legs had been ripped off and the white bone was exposed surrounded by bloody tissue and cartilage. Then the once deceased security chief sat up and both sets of their lifeless, cold, black eyes stared directly at Vincent.

The chief sprung to his feet and ran toward Vincent with a wild look in his piercing gaze. Vincent had all but a half a second to gather himself enough to run like hell down the hallway towards the emergency stairwell. He flung the door open and raced down the stairs leaping four to five steps at a time. He didn’t bother to turn around to see if the dead security chief was still behind him, he didn’t need to. He could hear him coming closer.

“Run!!!” Vincent screamed as he pushed past co-workers in the stairwell who appeared to be unaware of the danger. Vincent didn't stop to see if anyone took heed to his warning. He could hear the screams of the terrified individuals as he made his decent. Once Vincent reached the bottom level, he slammed through the door, knocking down his director, Steve. The coffee the man had been carrying went one way and the man went the other.

“What the hell?” Steve looked at his breakfast as it fell out of the bag. “Vincent what’s going on?” he asked.

“Run!” Vincent yelled at the man over his shoulder. He didn’t stop running until he got to his car. Frantically, he searched for his keys only to realize he’d left them and his wallet in his jacket which was still in his locker. He turned toward his boss who was making his way over to him.

“Where’s your car?”

“What the hell is going on?” Steve asked again.

Just then another employee came bursting through the back stairwell covered in blood as it poured from her open neck and arm wounds. With the same glazed, wild look in her eyes, she focused on the two men and ran toward them.

“Fuck! Run!” Vincent yelled as he took his own advice.

His feet hit the pavement as fast as a piston putting as much distance between him and SciTech as he could. He needed a car. He needed to get to his fiancée. He needed to figure out just what the hell was going on. Several blocks away, he caught himself on a traffic light. He snatched the helmet of his bio-suit off, dropping it as he doubled over and struggled to catch his breath. His heart raced so fast, he doubted if it would ever slow down. His head throbbed and the nausea he’d been fighting for the past several minutes finally won out. His stomach lurched and everything he’d had that morning and the night before reintroduced itself before spilling out on the pavement before him. Someone walked over to him, seeing him covered in his protective gear.

“Hey, are you okay, buddy?” the stranger asked from a safe distance away. “Do you want me to call an ambulance?”

Vincent spit the last of the bile onto the puddle before him and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked up at the man and nodded. “I need you to call the police, tell them there’s been a chemical outbreak at SciTech Labs and they have to contain the facility immediately.”

“Oh shit!” the stranger said, pulling out his cell phone and fumbling to flip it open. He also made sure to put even more distance between himself and the sick man wearing the SciTech Lab bio-suit. He placed the call, telling the police everything the man told him to say. “I swear this isn’t a fucking hoax!” he added.

“We know sir, we’ve already received several calls from SciTech Labs and we’re working now to resolve the situation. Thank you for your call,” the dispatch officer said. She made sure to get the man’s location and information before ending the call.

“What did they say?” Vincent asked the man.

“She said the police already know about it and they’re taking care of it.”

Vincent shook his head. He had no idea what “it” was but he was putting what faith he had left into the Chicago police department.

“May I borrow your cell?” Vincent asked hand extended.

“Ah, look buddy, I don’t want to get involved,” the stranger said as he began retreating.

Vincent watched as the man ran to get away from him. He couldn’t blame him, but he really needed a telephone right now. Shit! Where was a pay phone when you needed one? In this age of wireless devices, pay phones were all but extinct. He took a few glances behind him to see if any dead people were on the streets. So far, so good. Maybe the police were their best bet. Still, the Center for Disease Control needed to be notified just to be on the safe side. He ran down the street a few more blocks, still putting distance between himself and SciTech. People—curious and suspicious of him still fully dressed in his white, blood-splattered lab bio-suit—avoided making contact with him as he passed by. He could feel their eyes on him, but he made certain to keep moving forward. There was a part of him that wanted to yell “run for your lives” but that would either grant him even more arch-eyebrow expressions or start a mad panic, so he opted to remain silent as he searched for nearest telephone.

***

“So, how about doing a little sight-seeing after the convention?” Dr. Felicia Anderson asked her two colleges Dr. William Bale, a tall, handsome African-American male, with short cropped hair and hazel eyes, and Dr. Samantha Grey, a cute blonde with shoulder length hair and blue eyes, as they waited in line at Starbucks.  

“Hell, if we have any damn time left before we have to head back. This damn convention's going on for six more hours. I hate these fucking things sometimes,” William commented as he took another step forward getting closer to the counter.

“I don't know, I kind of like them. I haven't gone to many, but I always find them informative and it's nice to meet up with a few familiar faces in the field,” Samantha said, giving her colleagues a different perspective.

“Nerd,” Felicia teased with a coy smile.

“Don't hate,” Samantha retorted. “Damn, how long does it take to pour coffee at a coffee shop? This line is taking forever. I was hoping I could get a Cappuccino before we have to get back.”

“I think they have to wait for the guy to come back from Columbia with the beans,” William joked.

“He must be traveling by mule,” Samantha added.

“Shit, girl, I don't know.” Felicia chuckled at her two co-workers. “They need to open up another line. They know this is still the AM, people need their caffeine fix.” Felicia stepped out of the line slightly. Making sure the people behind the counter would be able to see her; she raised her voice, “Is there a manager back there that can assist with opening up another line?” She tried her best not to sound as pissed off as she felt.

“You're bad,” Samantha whispered with a mischievous flare.

“I'm tired of waiting in this damn line,” Felicia clarified.

Apparently, the management took the hint and opened up another line, to which several people, including the three of them jumped into right away.

“Squeaky wheel gets the oil.” Felicia smiled. Just then, her cell began ringing, blaring the rhythmic melody of Jasmine Sullivan's “I Bust the Windows out Your Car”. It let her know that her boss was calling. With a slight grown and roll of her eye, she rubbed her thumb over the screen, answering the call.

“Hi, Dr. Washington,” she greeted.

Her co-workers shared knowing looks. Each of them knew Dr. Bryant Washington was the last person on earth Felicia wanted to talk to today. He was the main person responsible for sidelining her promotion. As far as Felicia was concerned, it was because he wanted to keep her working under his supervision. It was suspected that the good doctor had a bit of a crush on his sexy female counterpart. In any case, he was on her shit list.

“We may have a bit of an emergency. I can't tell you how serious it is at the moment, because the reports I've been getting aren't consistent, but apparently there's been an outbreak at SciTech Labs and we've been getting calls of a similar outbreak at Mercy Hospital. How close are you to either of those locations?” Dr. Washington asked, getting right to the point.

Felicia took a look out the window, noting the street signs. “Well, I'm closer to Mercy Hospital right now.  We'll head there and try to get things under control. What kind of outbreak is it? What are we walking into?”

“Honestly, I don't know. Be prepared for a violent environment from what I'm hearing. I've got reports coming even as I speak with you about people eating people, if you can believe it.”

“Come again?” Felicia asked with one eyebrow cocked.

“Hey, I hear you. I'm not sure how much of this I'm willing to believe myself. But then again, I'm not there. So I need you to go to that hospital and report back to me what you find.”

“We’re on our way,” Felicia said as she rose from her chair, followed by her two companions.

“Be careful,” Dr. Washington cautioned.

“Don't worry, we will.” She ended her call, slipping her cell back into her pocket.

“So what's up?” Dr. William Bale inquired.

“I'm not one-hundred percent sure,” Felicia said. “We have an assignment to check out Mercy Hospital. Apparently there's been an outbreak. From what he told me, might be some kind of drug that makes people go insane and eat each other. I have no idea. I'm going to contact the police and make sure we can have a few units there to meet up with us. If this situation is as violent as I'm made to believe, we're going to need some firepower.”

“So much for trying to get in a little sight-seeing after the convention,” William commented. “Or the convention, for that matter.”

“Look around, because that's as close as we're going to get,” Felicia replied as she waved her hand at the approaching cab.

              They climbed in and gave the driver the hospital’s address. Felicia called the police department and told them who she was, her credentials, and where she was heading.

“We already have police officers at that location, ma'am,” the dispatcher informed her.

“Who's the officer in charge?” Felicia asked.

“That would be Sgt. Peter Kominsky, ma’am”

“Thank you.” Felicia ended the call.

“So this
is
really serious,” Samantha said.

“Dwayne seemed nervous enough.” Felicia looked down at her cell phone as it started ringing again. She answered. “Hello?”

“Dr. Felicia Anderson?”

“This is she, whom am I speaking with?”

“I'm glad I caught you. My name is Dr. Michael Bloomberg from the Illinois Department of Public Health. We received a call from Dr. Dwayne Washington at CDC, who gave me your number. He informed that that you're on your way to Mercy Hospital. I'd like us to meet up before you go in there. A lot of the calls we've received are very strange.”