Jurassic Dead (15 page)

30.

Adranos Facility

“Door’s locked, right?” Alex kept his eyes on the door handle, hoping… but then his heart leapt as he saw it turning—the full 90 degrees.

Veronica brandished the knife and crouched, preparing for the fight of her life.

“Someone’s unlocked the door!”

“Impossible.”

“Goddamned, Xander!”

The door rattled, the handle slid back up, and more thumps hit the other side. Alex was suddenly a blur in Veronica’s vision, rushing to the large filing cabinet beside the door. He shoved, but it wouldn’t budge…

The door jammed, rattled, and then the handle turned again...

“Alex…” Veronica would never get there in time to help.

“Hang on.” He turned, pressed his back against the cabinet and shoved backwards. It tilted, and with one more surge, if fell back, toppled and landed with a huge thud just as the door started to open. A couple of inches, and bloodied, scaly fingers emerged in the crack, pushing.

Alex regained his footing and joined Veronica. “That won’t hold them long.”

“Already working on a plan.”

“Does it involve something other than us getting eaten?”

Veronica kept scanning the room, trying to keep her attention away from the door—and the increasing number of gruesome-looking hands appearing to join the others pushing, shoving. “I think I might be able to arrange that.”

She rushed to the left side of the room, leapt over a desk and bent down beside a vent grate. Brought out the Ka-Bar knife and fit it in the first screw slot. “You’ve got to buy me some time!”

Alex nodded, but said without a lot of confidence: “Yeah, I’m on it.”

He rushed the door, shoving against the cabinet just as the door buckled with a fresh surge from the other side.

This wasn’t going to be fun.

#

After minutes that seemed more like hours, and just as Alex felt his muscles giving way, Veronica shouted, “Done!”

The crack between the door and the frame had widened to an almost two-foot fissure, and snarling demonic faces in a frenzy of snapping teeth tried to push through.

“Get in there,” Alex yelled. “I’m right behind you.”

He shoved against the barrier one last time, then spun and ran. Her feet just kicked out of view as he leapt over some debris, stepped on the grate and ducked to get inside—

Just as the barrier was thrust away and the sea of zombies flooded in. Alex gave a glance to the grate and debated whether he could possibly grab it and wedge it sideways in the vent to stop their pursuit, but terror quickly dissolved that idea.

He barely had enough time to dive in and scamper forward, yanking back his legs just as he felt fingernails scraping for purchase on his boots. He kicked back, heard something squishy crack, followed by a snarl, and then he was scrambling right up to Veronica’s feet as she crawled ahead.

“Hurry!” she shouted as she disappeared around a bend.

“We’ve got a crowd following us!”

“Figured that! Here, go that way!” She pointed to the left side of the T.

Alex crawled around the bend, awkwardly twisted his body, and suddenly fought a massive bout of claustrophobia to go along with the terror of zombie pursuit. He pulled his feet back just as the first undead soldier—sporting a crew cut above the reptilian scales and ridges along the center of his forehead—wriggled into the opening. It was so focused on its prey—Alex—that the zombie didn’t notice Veronica around the other corner, ready with the knife. She brought it around in a backhanded sideways jab, directly into the forehead ridge, so the tip speared out the back of the thing’s skull.

It jittered and gasped and made a sound like a snake’s hiss, and then seemed to deflate and just sag to the ground. She pulled out the knife, squeezed herself past the body and joined Alex.

“Uh,” he said, “the others are—”

“I see ‘em.” Veronica brought up her knees and kicked the dead creature’s shoulders, shoving the body back and having it buckle upwards. The next zombie charged into its dead brother and tried to reach around it. Snarling, it thrashed, pushed, and scrambled for a few inches.

“That won’t hold them,” Alex said.

“Give me some credit,” she replied as she kicked out again, shoving both of them back, and then pulling back her legs and leaning forward, readying herself. The zombie, enraged, pushed back again expecting resistance, but now tumbled ahead over its mate. It slid and landed headfirst, its body over the other corpse, and now face down.

“Too easy,” Veronica said, bringing the knife around sideways, crunching through the zombie’s left temple. She twisted one direction then the next for good measure, and then withdrew the knife. She wiped it clean on the soldier’s sweater.

Alex’s head appeared next to hers and they both watched through the gaps of the dead bodies as the pursuing zombies tried to get in, squeezing into the vent single file. The next lead zombie was up against the barricade of its two fallen brethren, and couldn’t force its way through or get around the limbs and torsos lodged in the narrow ductwork.

Alex cleared his throat. “Think they’re smart enough to back up and pull out the bodies?”

“Negative,” Veronica said. “They’re going to keep bashing up against this thing till eternity comes or they run out of juice.”

Nodding, Alex looked away from the spectacle and back the only way they had left to go. “Where does this lead, do you think?”

Veronica shrugged. “Somewhere better than the way we’ve just come, and that’s all that matters.” She gripped the knife, slid around Alex—pleasantly close, until their faces were just inches apart and their eyes met for a brief second and he felt her sinewy body glide over his—and then she was past him.

“Let’s move,” she said. “Tight spaces bother me.”

Alex watched her body wriggle ahead into the darkness. He swallowed hard, and for a moment the sound of furious clawing and growling and hissing behind him vanished in the thumping of his heart echoing through the ventilation corridors.

#

Veronica almost forgot Alex was there, until the scrambling sound of his boots and the buttons on his jacket scraping the metal made her turn and hiss, “Quiet!”

As he froze, she peered down again through the slats, into a large chamber that looked like a control room. Multiple monitors, some of which Veronica could barely see from this vantage point, revealed images of the compound’s exterior and interior. Computer terminals and gauges and monitors, and there at the center, leaning forward, madly searching the screens—stood Xander Dyson.

Her heart leapt and her blood seethed.

He was studying the screens, checking one then another. On the larger monitor, cameras tracked a firefight in the courtyard—where four soldiers pinned behind a makeshift barrier were blasting away at a horde of fast-moving zombies that had once been their colleagues. Before the screen shifted, Veronica thought she caught a glimpse of something enormous moving in the foliage behind the fence at their backs, something with javelin-sized teeth and a gaping mouth.

Another monitor with split screens showed various scenes from the inside of the facility: blood soaked walls, empty corridors, a lone white-jacketed zombie furiously butting its bloody head against an unyielding door. Another screen showed a woman—one of the administrators no doubt—spread-eagled on a table, being rapidly devoured by six feasting coworkers, while it seemed she was still alive, mouthing silent screams.

Xander impassively hit a button and changed the screen again.

I bet I know what he’s looking for,
Veronica thought as she brought the knife around slowly and started to work on one of the two screws for the grate.

“Screw that,” Alex whispered, and Veronica paused at the horrible pun. She looked back and saw him turning himself just enough to curl his knees to his chest. “Get ready.”

“What, no—!”

She glanced down, even as Xander cocked his head.
He’s heard, now we’re screwed…

In the next instant, as Alex’s boots kicked at welded seams in the vent, it was like gravity had just kicked in on a shuttle mission and they both tumbled back and dropped as the duct broke apart in the middle and spilled them out into the control room.

Veronica, twisted up in her own legs, landed hard on her side, cushioned only somewhat as the duct worked like a slide to dump her out behind the main desk. Alex wasn’t so lucky, crunching hard onto a flat monitor, hitting his ribs on the edge of the desk and slamming to the floor.

He grunted and tried to get up fast and get the jump on Xander, except—Veronica beat him to it. She slid over the desk and in a flash, had a knife at the scientist’s throat…

He had a sub-M5 pressed against her gut, and a smile on his face.

“I hate when unwanted guests drop in, but in this case I’ll make an exception. Saves me the trouble of making sure the zombies finish you.”

31.

Veronica still could have taken him, she was sure. Maybe suffered a reactionary gut shot in the process as she slit his throat, but she could have taken him. Still, she hesitated. Again and again, she lost. In a heartbeat, Xander spun his free hand around and disarmed her by twisting her wrist and squeezing the bones in her hand so hard she dropped the knife.

A backhand slap sent her reeling. She collided with Alex as he tried to stand.

Then the gun was trained on them both.

“Stay,” Xander commanded, like he spoke to a pair of unruly puppies.

“What the hell are you going to do?” Alex asked, his hands on Veronica’s shoulders, keeping her from falling, and helping himself up. He gingerly put weight on his left leg. “In case you hadn’t noticed, things have gone to hell pretty damn fast around here.”

“Your boss won’t be too happy,” Veronica added, pointing to the screen. “His investment here, I’d say, is pretty much fucked.”

Xander never lost his smile. Then he shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think with these cameras rolling and recording, we’ve just got ourselves some major top notch marketing material, showcasing exactly the extent of our product’s capabilities. Prospective buyers couldn’t ask for a better demonstration.”

Veronica hissed, “You’re sick.”

“No,” Xander said. “That would be your boyfriend’s Dad, and all those other poor saps out there.”

Alex winced.

Glancing at the nearest screen, Veronica now saw the previous view of the exterior, and a shattered section of the fence, where a blur of something huge moved out of sight, leaving behind several grisly pieces of what had been soldiers.

“Now,” he said, “what to do with you?”

Alex shook himself off. “Well, trying to get us eaten didn’t work out so well, and now we’re in here with you, on an island overrun with these things plus a trio of prehistoric monstrosities, so can I make a suggestion?”

Xander shrugged. “No. I’m not working with you and we’re not in this together.”

Veronica rubbed her jaw, and then clenched her hands into fists. “We’re in agreement there.”

Alex shook his head. “So we’re to be zombie bait again, is that it?”

Xander was about to reply when the main screen blinked off, fizzled, and then sparked back—with an image of DeKirk’s looming face.

“Ah,” he said, glancing around the scope of the periphery, “Xander. Figured you’d be in the control room, and you’ve brought friends! How quaint.”

“’Sup, Mel?” Alex said, trying to downplay his nervousness and possibly to get Xander to drop his guard. With him distracted now with DeKirk, it was two against one, and they could take him.
Just wait for the right opportunity…

“Mr. DeKirk,” Xander bowed to the screen, but kept his eye on the captives. “I’m sorry to report that your security here on the island has been rather…”

“Not up to the task?” Alex supplied.

DeKirk shot him a sharp look and Xander shook the gun toward him. “As I was saying, sir, there may be need for…additional forces.” Xander glanced to one of the other screens where the ridge of the
T. rex’s
head broke through a canopy of trees outside the fence to roar at the clouds. “…including air support.”

DeKirk never blinked. “Despite what I’ve seen from the feeds—and yes I have been glued to the happenings like this was the Moon Landing—none of this particularly worries me. That’s why I chose to send you to an isolated private island, after all. It’s contained.
You’re
contained
.
”

Xander tensed. “Your foresight has indeed been uncanny, as always sir, but there’s still the matter of control. Your product—this discovery of a lifetime—has some inherently chaotic flaws.”

DeKirk glanced off-screen as if reviewing some footage. “Nothing insurmountable. At least not compared with the potential.”

Veronica stepped into view. Arms at her side, heart pounding. This was it, the first time she could finally address her quarry. “And what, exactly, is that potential?”

DeKirk just smiled. “And who is this lovely vision?”

Xander was about to speak when DeKirk held up his hand. “Just a sec, running some facial recognition software. Should have our answer in a moment.”

Oh shit,
Veronica thought. Cover about to be blown, she looked down and held her hand over her face.

“Sorry, too late, Miss... Winters…Veronica.” DeKirk smiled, and then directed a glare to Xander. “You let a CIA agent into your midst? I see you have a gun, Xander. What, do you want to give her a chance to take you out or call for help? You realize she’s trained seven ways from Sunday in how to kill people a lot more dangerous than you? I’m sort of surprised she hasn’t eliminated you already. Are you going to give a long monologue and then leave the room so she can escape and kill you later?”

Xander reddened, but then tapped his gun. “I think we're covered there.”

“Don't take anything for granted,” DeKirk snapped. “I never have. Which is why I've made it this far. You’ve slipped up again.”

Xander grit his teeth. “I released her into a horde of zombies. What more do you want? She snuck aboard
your
damn boat before I even got there.”

“Regardless,” DeKirk said, “I've had a communications dampener on the island for years. For security purposes. Only I have direct access. I see everything, know everything.”

Veronica lifted her chin and stared at the image of the man—the monster—she had come to know only too well. “Great. Well, even gods can fall. And this... whatever the hell you have here, it's way beyond your control. There's no hope to contain it, or use it for anything profitable. These are no zoological attractions to line up in some park for the world's entertainment. They're voracious, unstoppable predators who—oh by the way—will turn anything they don't kill outright into reptilian zombie things until there's an unstoppable army—”

DeKirk started nodding vigorously about halfway through her speech, and when she finally noticed, she stopped. Alex took a step behind her. “Oh Jesus, I think that's what he freakin' wants.”

“An army?” Xander perked up. “Sir, if you'd wait a moment. I've been in here analyzing the biology of these things. The capabilities and characteristics of the virus.”

“Time well spent, I'm sure.” DeKirk feigned a yawn.

Xander continued unfazed. “We now know how fast the virus replicates, how there's no defense against it, especially after the host is already dead. I've analyzed how it effectively establishes control in the brain stem and not only reanimates the body's muscles and tissues, but also rearranges and splices some reptilian-saurian DNA strands into the host's to create a nastier, tough-skinned predator with superhuman senses, reflexes and...well, appetites.”

“Everything you're saying only makes me more certain that I'm on the right path,” DeKirk said.

Xander sighed, almost exasperated. “So, after I found myself essentially trapped in here against a growing horde outside, all of them wanting to devour me, and since I had no desire to be zombie food or to become one of them… I started working on a cure.”

DeKirk raised his left eyebrow. Alex and Veronica stiffened. The floor now his, Xander began again.

“Well, not a cure, per se, but more of what I’d expect is the reason you brought me here.” Xander licked his lips. “A failsafe.”

“Yes, I’m aware of your specialty and I’m happy to see you didn’t disappoint when placed in a scenario that might stimulate your talents.”

“Okay....” Xander eyed him carefully. “I’m not sure if that means you’re just happy the events transpired in such a way as they did, or if you actually had a hand in said events, but in either case, you’re right. I rose to the occasion. Tested various possibilities, ran a few thousand computer simulations to determine how the virus would interact with certain synthesized enzymes. I believe I’ve found one that will break down the virus, eliminate it completely.”

DeKirk pulled away, his expression darkening. “I already know all this. My techs shadowed your laptop, captured every keystroke and download.”

Xander swallowed, and then shrugged. “Then you should also know that we don’t have the required inputs here on this island.”

“Yes, I do know that. Because your research is now
my
research. If you’ve found the cure, or the
failsafe
—we’ll know soon enough. Congratulations will be in order. It’s all I hoped for from you. Let me worry about the details from here on out.”

“But there’s more,” Xander said, thinking fast, seeing where this road was ending. “There’s more I didn’t share, lots more up here!” He tapped his forehead, realizing that to DeKirk his brain might now represent little more than potential zombie nourishment.

“Give it up,” Alex whispered behind his back, “you’ve lost your chance.”

“No, wait,” Xander pointed the gun at them again, and then leaned toward the screen. “I know how I can synthesize it from here, and your techs will be able to, also, I’m sure. With the right procedures and some trial and error, but you really need more than an antidote. You need a reliable method of
transfer
. What are you going to do, try to shoot hypos full of the stuff into them?” He laughed. “Just try breaking through their scales with a needle.”

“True,” Veronica said. “Ka-Bar blade barely does the trick.”

“Fill some hollow-point rounds with it,” Alex offered. Xander shot him a death glare.

DeKirk cleared his throat. “I was thinking gas grenades myself. Or drop it like pesticide from a crop duster plane.”

Xander faced the screen again. “Too slow and unreliable once you factor in wind and mobile targets.”

“So then, what other options,” DeKirk continued, “might you have rattling around in your oh-so-brilliant brain? So far, I actually favor the hollow-point idea.” He shot the dreadlocked environmentalist an appraising stare. Xander also looked at Alex, his face paling as he realized his importance to DeKirk was rapidly waning.

“Microchips.” Xander stood back, rubbing a finger nervously against the gun. “That’s all I’m going to say, but there’s a transfer method we could use to outfit healthy individuals at the outset, before the introduction of the virus. Then, after they’ve turned, they do their thing, serve their purpose and before they go on to consume more than you want or turn the whole population into yellow eyed freaks, we click a button that triggers a micro-explosion in the brain stem, like an aneurism, and terminate their asses.”

DeKirk smiled. “Now
that,
Dr. Dyson, is something I might be willing to wait around for. Great minds do think alike, however, and as it turns out, I’ve had my people working on just such prototypes. But of course, I realize your product will be so much more efficient and of demonstrably higher quality, am I right?”

Xander nodded with an enthusiasm that was pathetically close to desperation.

“So I’ll make a deal with you.”

“Okay. What is it?”

DeKirk leaned in closer. “Survive the next twenty-four hours, and when my rescue-clean up team arrives this time tomorrow, they’ll pick you up and we can collaborate on your technology and build on it to continue our partnership.”

“Twenty four
hours
,” Xander mused, listening to the muffled sounds of cacophony outside the walls of the room. “That’s… going to be difficult. Can’t you fly any faster?”

“It’s all about the scenery, my friend, and the journey. Now, I forgot to mention. If you’re going to survive, you’ll have to do it… out there.”

“What do you mean?”

DeKirk looked away and his arm reached beyond the view, fingers tapping some buttons. “I’m opening up all the exterior doors and unlocking every door inside the facility.”

“What? Sir—”

Alex clenched his fists, hoping to buy some time, and to speak before DeKirk could turn off the connection. “What the hell do you hope to accomplish with all this? My Dad’s discovery—you’ve seen what it can do, the unexpected horrors it’s released in just under twelve hours…”

DeKirk’s eyes softened. “Yes, but it wasn’t unexpected. In fact, I’ve had a little theory for quite some time now. I never did buy into the whole asteroid-killed-the-dinosaurs explanation. Scientists looked at all the evidence of violence among the fossils and concluded that food supplies were vastly diminished after some cosmic event, leading to more aggression and intra-species violence—much as what might happen if our own crops failed.”

“Cannibalism,” Xander said.

“Yes. So much so that the more obvious interpretation would be that these dinosaurs literally ate each other to extinction. Screw the asteroid, it was this… and now I know exactly what drove them to it. A parasite. One glorious, devilish little bug that can bring down the mightiest of species. Including our own.”

He let out one more long sigh. “My whole life, in fact, has led to this moment.” He leaned back, folding his arms and closing his eyes. “I've been chosen, you see. I’ve always been an outsider, standing above the world, watching it slide into chaos and misery, wishing there was something I could do. With all my talents, with my resources and perspective. Knowing, hoping, that in time I’d be given the tools to bear out such change, and this…this now is validation of my mission.” He opened his eyes and leaned forward, his face filling the entire screen. “There’s one thing you missed, Xander, in your rush to find a cure.”