There's Blood on the Moon Tonight (94 page)

“Not exactly, Bud.”

“Is this your son, Bill?”

“Yes, this is my Buddy boy. And this pretty little girl beside him is Josie O’Hara. Bud, Josie, this is John Cutter. He was Clint Bidwell’s top assistant at the Center.”

“
Second
assistant,” John said. “Brian O’Rielly was Bidwell’s top man. We worked with Clint at the CDC.”

“Was that the douchebag I saw you speaking to, along with Bidwell, in the cemetery?” said Josie, startling everyone. “The day you were out taking potshots at Bud?”

Cutter blushed. “You were there? I didn’t see—”

“I was hiding. Answer the question, arsehole!”

Bill cleared his throat. “Better tell her, John. You didn’t tell me you took a shot at my boy. That pisses me off almost as much as it does the young lady.”

“Yeah, it was us…Bidwell, O’Reilly and me. But I was the one doing the shooting. In my defense, though, I didn’t know
Who
it was we were chasing! I assumed it was another infected agent! I was a mess that day, you see,
scared
out of my mind. I knew the chances of successfully containing this virus were slim to none.”

“Then why didn’t you do something about it?” 

Bill answered for Cutter, now withering under Josie’s glare. “He did, hon. John was the man who contacted the CDC, to tell them things had gotten out of hand here. But he wasn’t in any position to stop Bidwell.”

“Fat lot of good that did,” Bud said, ignoring the fact that he’d intended on doing the very same thing, had the radios worked. “If the Coast Guard wasn’t out there, ready to shoot any islander on sight, then maybe we could get out of here before anyone else gets hurt!”

Garfield leveled his .22 at Cutter. “Hey, that’s right! I hadn’t considered that!”

“Put that gun down, Tim,” Bill admonished the nervous man. “As jumpy as you are, it’s likely to go off. And for your information, Bud, if John hadn’t made that call, then the virus would already be on the mainland.”

“Oh, my call didn’t prevent a damn thing, Bill. RS13 has in all likelihood spread to the mainland by now.”

Bill seemed horrified at the suggestion. “I’m sure by now they’ve quarantined everyone from Moon who fled to the mainland. It…it just stands to reason.”

“That’s highly doubtful, since the warning didn’t go out until today. My guess is the virus began spreading on the mainland
two
days ago. If not sooner.”

“You don’t know that,” Bill argued. He thought of his daughter, safe and sound, he prayed, in the Blue Ridge hills of North Carolina.

“You’re right. It’s all speculation at this point,” Cutter shrugged. “Besides, that’s not our problem anymore. Our task is simply to
survive
. If we can make it through the next three weeks unscathed, then we should be home free.”

“Three weeks?” said Josie. “Why three weeks?”

“Because that’s how long I figure the virus has before it burns itself out on an island this size. There’s only so much fodder here for the disease. Anyway, I’m sure that’s what the military is thinking in its blockade.”

“John, maybe you better tell these kids what you told us earlier. They need to understand what we’re facing. So they can survive this thing.”

“Very well. Let me see if I can nail it down for you. This virus, I mean. Unlike your standard human rabies, which has an incubation period anywhere from two weeks to six months, the RS13 strain has an incubation timetable of 24 to 48
hours
before the first symptoms sets in. Except for the initial symptoms: headache, fever, irritability, and anxiety, this bug barely resembles the rabies virus of old. For instance, human-to-human rabies is extremely rare. Not so with this vicious bastard. Human-to-
human
is what it’s all about! Once the typical incubation period is over, the virus burns through its host in a matter of days. Dehydration seems to hasten the process.”

“Typical? You mean the incubation varies?”

“Most certainly, Bud. The virus is unpredictable in victims who are very young, old, or infirm. At least that’s what we learned through limited animal testing. As far as humans go…I really can’t say for certain. We didn’t have enough time for reliable research. For all intents and purposes, though, let’s keep to the standard timetable. Once the typical RS13 incubation is over—and again, that’s what I’m basing our timetable on here—the disease lasts for a period of five to eight days before the victim slips into a deep coma. Day or two after that, the victim expires, usually from a massive stroke—unlike typical rabies, mind you, where death is usually linked to respiratory failure. Again, I can’t stress this enough, RS13 is a
mutated
form of rabies. It’s a much stronger, much
deadlier
form of the Lyssavirus. So if you know anything about typical rabies, don’t make the mistake of equating it with this nasty bug! For example: rabies typically has three basic stages: the first, the Prodromal Stage, is characterized by behavioral changes. The second, the Excitative Stage, often referred to as
furious
rabies, is when the victim is hypersensitive to external stimuli. Charging and biting at anything nearby.
Extremely
agitated and aggressive! The third phase is the Paralytic Stage, when damage to the motor neurons causes all sorts of recognizable symptoms: staggering or motor incoordination, due to partial paralysis of the limbs, and, of course, the obvious foaming at the mouth—or drooling. Caused again by paralysis of the facial and throat muscles. Each stage lasts from two to four days. Not surprisingly, these three stages in RS13 are far more compressed. In fact, they all seem to appear at once. The Paralytic Stage, however, is less injurious to RS13 victims, assuring a much longer and destructive
Furious
Rabies phase. And therein lies our predicament. Because RS13 carriers are so
determined
to spread this mutated virus, they won’t rest till they’ve shared it with every living soul on this island…or killed us in the process. So, by what I’ve seen today, I figure—
conservatively
mind you—that eighty percent of the remaining population on Moon now has the illness. At the most I believe there are only twenty percent of us left on the island for the infected to hunt down. And unless those other poor souls out there are as safely holed-up as we are, I think by this time tomorrow night all of Moon will be mad dog rabid. Minus us, God willing.”

“So what’re you saying, John? Two more weeks for RS13 to run its course?”

“Best case scenario, Bill. I think we need to give it at least twenty-one days before showing ourselves, though. Just to be certain nothing of the virus remains in any life forms. Even then, we’ll need to be careful. The dead bodies might still be contagious. Disposal will be tricky. One intriguing blessing is that their dead seem to decompose at triple the normal rate! Don’t ask me why. Anyway, if we can outlast all the remaining carriers on Moon, then maybe…just
maybe
…the government will let us leave the island in peace.” Cutter gestured dismally at the meager weapons on hand. “Though I’ve got to tell you, if all you have is one small caliber rifle and a double barrel shotgun…then we’re all in big damn trouble. Good Lord, we might as well start saying our prayers right now!”

“Don’t tell me you, a
scientist
, believes in God?”

“Science
is
God, Bud. The evidence He leaves behind of
His
handiwork. Not every scientist believes that, mind you, but you’re looking at one that does.”

“What about the lights?” Garfield asked, his high-pitched voice bordering on hysteria. “They’ve kept them at bay, haven’t they? We’re safe down here, aren’t we?”

“For the time being, I think so. But once the Rabids go through the rest of the uninfected, the easier prey out there, they’ll zoom in on us like a lion to a three-legged gazelle. Then these lights,” he said, gesturing at the buzzing fluorescents overhead, “will barely slow them down.”

“You mentioned something about the wildlife,” Bill said. “Shouldn’t there be more than enough of that in the Pines to keep them satisfied for now?”

“Earlier today I saw dozens of deer, even raccoons and possums taking to the sea, like rats from a sinking ship. I believe they were swimming for the mainland.”

Josie gasped. “Nothing could swim that turbulent gap! The cross currents out there are too strong!”

“Maybe one in a hundred could. Can you imagine, though, the sort of desperation it would take to make those animals attempt such a feat? Unfortunately, that’s why I think this outbreak stayed undetected for so long. The infected were hiding out in the Pines. Limiting their attacks to the wildlife for the most part. Picking off the stray human, here and there. Till the animals fled in terror”

“And now we’re the only little Indians left standing,” Bill said, looking around the room at all the frightened faces.

“But
why
?” Tim demanded. “Why do these
Rabids
, as you all call them, bother with us at all?”

“Because we’re healthy organisms. That’s what the virus was created to do: Attack healthy cells to propagate and extend the life of the virus! Once an organism has the virus, the infected lose all interest in it. They move on, seeking new cells to infect. As I said, the infected have been primarily seeking out the wildlife in the Pines, and those individuals and stray pets living on the fringes of the forest. But now that they’ve burned through that fuel they’ve become more daring, more desperate, more—”

“More hungry,” Bill said.

John nodded.

“But why all the mayhem?” Bud asked. “I still don’t understand the level of madness and cruelty that’s so prevalent in this damn bug of yours.”

“It’s that madness and cruelty that so intrigued the military in the first place.”

“Huh?” Josie said. “What on earth would the Army want with a virus that
causes
criminal insanity? What would be the purpose of that?”

“I know why,” Bud said, hawking a loogey on the floor. “It’s a demoralization weapon, isn’t it? For fighting terrorists and those who shelter them.”

Cutter was taken aback. Clearly he’d underestimated the hulking boy. “Very astute of you, young man. That’s
exactly
why the Army was interested. So much so they were willing to circumvent international law to get it. Can you imagine a biological weapon that would cause the enemy to rape its
own
women, to defile their children in unspeakable fashion? To so terrify their own people that suicide becomes the only option left for the uninfected?” Cutter couldn’t help grinning. “By God, those ragheads would think their worst nightmares had come to life.”

Josie held Bud’s hand. It was cold and clammy.

Cutter continued; by now his lecture had them all enthralled. “Best of all this weapon was so biologically hot it would burn itself out in a matter of weeks! Ensuring any invading force that the danger had passed by the time of their ground offensive.”

“What about the International law you just mentioned? The one banning the use of biological weapons? Not to mention the immorality of such a device.” 

Cutter laughed at Bill’s naivety. “Come on, man. Ever since the Geneva Convention passed that toothless decree, nations have been blithely ignoring it—including our own Red, White and Blue.”

“Tell me,” Bud growled menacingly. “When did you guys first create this RS13 virus?”

The tension in the room became palpable. Cutter cleared his throat. He eyed Bud’s shotgun warily, as did Josie and Bill. “I, uh…I already told this to your father.”

Bud turned to his dad. The anger in his eyes fading. “That man. That red-eyed madman that killed mom…”

Bill gently took the shotgun from his son. “Yes, he was the first. His name was Luke Taylor. Like Oscar Wilson, Luke was the kennel caretaker at the Center…

Suddenly weary, Bill turned to Cutter. “John, will you please tell him the rest?” He motioned for Bud and Josie to sit down. Tears sprang to his eyes, and he wiped them away before Bud could see them fall.

Cutter leaned against the work counter. “Now I wasn’t there that day. I was on the mainland, procuring more test animals, when your mother’s death occurred.”

“Murder.”

“Excuse me?”

“My mother didn’t die. She was murdered.”

“Buddy boy,” Bill sighed.

“That’s okay, Mr. Brown. I understand. I was only trying to be tactful, son.”

Bud gritted his teeth. He didn’t like this man calling him "son", but neither did he want to antagonize him. He needed to know the truth.

“At that time Bidwell was experimenting with his different strains of rabies, hoping to integrate the worst symptoms into one Super Strain. He had varying degrees of success, yet the one quality he needed above all others continued to elude him. Most of the strains weren’t nearly hot enough, while others were
too
hot! The exact balance had yet to be attained.”

Josie raised her hand. “Hot. What does that mean in relation to a disease?”