PRIME (3 page)

“Here.” Jake transferred the recording to its own monitor and started playback as Alice stepped into the room. There was silence as the hostile opened the jar.

“Have you seen this before?” Grace’s lips were tight, eyes glued to the screen where the image of the other hostiles surging forward had frozen.

“No,” Jake assured her. Grace looked back at Quigley, her eyes worried.

“Quigley, I think we need to talk to Cale again.” She looked back at the screen, as if unable to take in what she was seeing.

“Damn straight,” Quigley agreed. Grace reached over Jake and grimly restarted the clip.

3

Haven Medical Base

The rec center was crowded as usual. The huge gym had been turned into a safe zone, filled with couches, chairs, and tables from abandoned apartments. The gym was usually too warm, too bright, and filled with too much talking. It was just what they needed to feel alive, to forget the death outside for a few hours.

They had rounded up every deck of cards, board game, and piece of sporting equipment they could find. When they first set up the gym there had been a big fight about bringing in computers, TVs, and stereos. In the end it was decided they would be a waste of generator power. None of the kids knew how long the generators could last, not even Tech. Dodge and Tech had spent a long two days gathering up the equipment so it would not be a temptation. It sat in a locked room that only Dodge had the key to.

If someone happened to want to be alone, or wanted to partake in entertainment less appropriate for their age than board games and basketball, then there were offices on the floor above the gym. That was where the older kids spent their time. There if the door was shut you knew you wouldn’t be disturbed. It was to one of those offices that Dodge led Simon, Zeke and Tech.

Dodge and Zeke shared half a blunt, with Tech taking two hits as well, much to Simon’s dismay. Tech had been his ally in not smoking, and in keeping the smoke away from the younger kids. Before Dodge arrived, Simon and Tech had stood up to Matt about not smoking in the gym. Tech was fourteen and scrawny with tan skin and dark hair that was beginning to curl as it grew out. He seemed to know everything about computers and science. Simon supposed joining was how he would survive. Surviving was job A these days, as Simon knew well.

Finally, Zeke brought up their real reason for finding Dodge. “We need a plan.”

“Oh yeah?” Dodge almost smiled. He was tall, but thin and muscular. His tight, dark curls had been shaved close to his head when he arrived but were growing out. He already looked like a man, something Simon found he envied, even as it made him feel more childlike. “A plan for what?” Dodge asked casually, before taking a long swig off a can of soda.

“The kid and I have been talking.” Zeke had his feet slung up on the desk of a man who likely hadn’t been dead a month. Simon tried to imitate his casualness on the couch, with less success. He couldn’t stop wondering what Dodge would say when Zeke brought up going against Matt. He doubted Dodge had any love for Matt, but close up to Dodge he started to worry. Maybe they were wrong about Dodge; maybe he thought Matt’s plan was a good one. Zeke got straight to the heart of their fears. “Seems to us the zombies are gonna use their little peanut brains to find a way over the wall at some point.”

“Yeah.” Dodge shrugged, eyeing Zeke. “Won’t matter much though, by that time we’ll all be far from here. Unless you’re not planning on leaving with Matt?”

“Hell no.” Zeke snorted a laugh, obviously throwing caution to the wind. “I ain’t going to be some zombie scrabs dinner.” Dodge smiled a half crooked smile at that and glanced at Tech, who shrugged. Simon watched all this carefully. Dodge and Tech had obviously put thought into this, perhaps more than Zeke or he dared hoped. Dodge turned back to Zeke.

“Alright then.” Dodge shrugged and crossed his arms, muscles obvious under his dark skin. “We’re not planning on going with Matt either.”

“No crap.” Simon rolled his eyes. He felt relieved, which made his mouth loose. “You two have been against him from the start.” He regretted the words almost as soon as they dropped from his mouth.

“Yeah and it’s been just the two of us all along, so don’t go smarting like that,” Dodge answered. “Matt’s got his crew, but he’s not very smart. If we call him out in front of everyone, we can likely get some of the others on our side. If Matt and them go, who gives a crap about those scrabs, right?” Simon and Zeke nodded in agreement. In his heart, Simon knew he would hate to see even Matt walk into that kind of death. “But I’d hate to watch all you little kids follow him out of here like some pied piper of death.”

Simon bristled; he hated being lumped in with the younger kids just because he was small. Dodge’s easy dismissal of him reminded him of his dad. He’d never believed in Simon either.

“I’m not-” Simon started. Zeke laid a hand on his shoulder and interrupted.

“The kid ain’t no crying, wide-eyed scrab. He knows what’s going on. He’s been through it, same as you or me.” Zeke motioned to Tech. “Your friend can attest to that.” Dodge looked at Tech, raising an eyebrow in question.

Tech nodded. “Simon’s got balls for sure, stood up to Matt right at the beginning before anyone else thought about it. He’s smart too.” Tech pushed his glasses up his nose.

“You smart, kid?” Dodge looked genuinely interested as he sized up Simon. “‘Cause you’re a bit short to play with the big boys. We can’t have you slowing us down.”

“I’m not smart like him.” Simon’s heart was hammering, but he jutted his chin towards Tech and crossed his arms over his thin chest. If only it made him appear any bigger. “But I can figure plenty out on my own, and I know more about what’s going on out there than anyone.”

“I’ve heard that.” Dodge nodded slowly. “We’ll use your help then, just don’t get under my feet.” He finished his soda and dropped the can into an overflowing bin. “Now, when are we going to bring all this up?”

“Tonight seems good as any time. Why wait? Matt’s spent enough time filling their heads with his escape plan.” Zeke grinned widely. “Let’s mess with him.”

“You’re probably right.” Dodge smiled. “I like the way you think. Let’s head down to the gym.” Dodge stood and opened the door.

Simon almost expected one of Matt’s kids to be standing outside the door listening. He often caught one of the younger boys listening in on his conversations. When the door opened, the hall was empty. Simon let out a breath of relief and shook his head at his own imagination. He followed the other guys down the hall.

Tech grabbed Simon’s arm and spoke quietly into his ear. His voice was tight with barely contained fear, his breath warm. “Do you really know more about the hostiles than you’ve said?” Simon was surprised to see how intense Tech’s eyes were behind his thick glasses. The kid looked terrified. Feeling powerful, Simon jerked his arm away from Tech. He held his stare.

“I know that Zeke’s right. Those scrabs out there are zombies, doesn’t matter what propaganda the government fed us. There’s nothing human left in those corpses.” Simon watched as Tech’s face paled.

Simon was half-excited and half-chilled by the glee in his own voice. He turned away from Tech, heart pounding as he held back nervous laughter and the urge to tell Tech he’d only been kidding. But there was no use in lying. He hurried to keep up with the longer strides of Dodge and Zeke, who were already halfway down the stairs. Even the clatter of their feet on the stairs wasn’t enough to drown out the worry in Simon’s head. What if he couldn’t handle as much as the other guys? Maybe his dad had been right.

As always, his clearest memory of his dad came back to him. It always happened when he was scared, or nervous. They were in the hospital when Simon first got sick. It was the only thing he remembered from being in the hospital.

“It’s not looking good,” the nurse said, keeping her voice soft. Simon heard her anyway. He lay with his eyes shut; he didn’t want to see his dad.

“It’s not looking good anywhere,” his dad muttered. “This damn thing is out of control. I haven’t heard from my daughter in days.”

“I’ll be praying for your son,” the nurse said. She had such a kind voice. Simon almost jumped when she put her warm hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t bother,” his dad said. Simon heard a chair creak as his dad stood. “He isn’t worth it.”

The nurse let out a small gasp. “You don’t mean that.” Simon waited for his dad’s response, strained to hear it, but all he heard was the sound of the door closing.

Simon’s stomach dropped at the end of the memory. With so few memories left, it was a terrible one to remain. Not that he had any good memories of his dad. Every blurry memory was miserable. Still, he had loved his dad. That was the other thing Simon could remember clearly; loving his dad and trying like hell to make him proud. If that ever happened, he couldn’t remember it. It made him sick knowing he had loved someone who treated him so badly. Why did the bad memories seem to stick in his brain so much better than the good ones? Maybe they lived somewhere so deep in his brain that the virus couldn’t touch them.

Either way, he always worried whether his dad’s words were true.

They entered the chaos of the gym silently, slipping inside without anyone noticing. It wasn’t a hard thing to do with all the noise in the room. The gym had a jungle quality to it. Thirty kids living on their own was only one step above primitive. The gym still had a thin sheen of civilization over it, something Simon was trying desperately to hold on to, but there was little order, and less cleanliness. The place smelled like a dirty locker.

Dodge surveyed the room. He spotted an empty couch near the far wall and headed for it. The room was a mess and alive with sound as the younger boys ran wildly through the area. Perhaps that was why everything seemed so out of control. Most of the survivors here were boys.

Out of the thirty kids, there were nine girls. Simon didn’t know much about life, but he knew that if the kids in this room represented the overall ratio of men to women, it wasn’t a good for the future. That was assuming there was a future, Simon reminded himself with a dry forced smile.

He caught sight of Tessa, a pretty girl with chin length red hair and a sprinkle of freckles on her nose. She was one of the three girls over the age of ten. She sat braiding the hair of a younger girl and nodding as a tall Hispanic boy talked to her. When she glanced his way, Simon gave her a hesitant smile; she frowned in return.

“There’s your girl, dude.” Zeke elbowed him with a grin. He waved at Tessa and blew her a kiss. Tessa rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the boy next to her. “Go give her a big old kiss.” Zeke puckered up, making kissing noises in Simon’s direction.

“Shut up,” Simon hissed, willing himself not to blush as he looked away from Tessa. He did not like her. He did not like her. If he repeated the words enough, he might start to believe them. Liking Tessa was something Simon wasn’t willing to risk. Still, it felt like every time she turned away from him, he found himself wanting her attention more.

“What?” Dodge managed to look both surprised and impressed. “Are you tapping that?” Simon didn’t need to ask what he meant; even if there had been confusion, his tone said it all.

“No, she’s fourteen,” Simon said, as if that was reason enough. He knew it meant nothing to the older boys.

“Yeah, and besides Maya, who’s what, fifteen? And that bitch Lara, she’s the only one with as much as an A cup under her shirt. I’d get in there while things are still clean if I were you.” Dodge grinned widely and waved at Tessa who gave him a big smile in return, much to Simon’s annoyance. He shook his head, annoyed at himself for being annoyed. She should like Dodge, it would be better for her.

Dodge leaned conspiratorially to Simon. “Besides kid, world like this we could all be dead in days. You gotta get while there’s gettin’ to be had. Know what I mean?”

Simon didn’t answer, only shoved Dodge away. Whenever the older boys talked about the girls that way he remembered his sister. He couldn’t remember her name, or what she looked like, but he knew she wouldn’t have liked the way the boys talked. If she heard Simon talking like that, she would have smacked him over the head. Guilt burned in Simon’s chest, as it always did when he thought of his sister. It wasn’t fair that he was alive when she wasn’t. He was alive and he couldn’t even remember her name