Whimper (7 page)

Finally, I heard Zack and Brianna on the stairs and couldn’t stop myself from sighing with relief. It would be easier to control myself with an audience. As the sigh left my lips, Elliott pressed a quick kiss to my temple.

“Thanks,” he whispered.
Thanks for what?
I didn’t have time to find out before the other two were in the room. My brother flashed me another smirk when he noticed how close Elliott and I were standing, and my middle finger itched to be used as a communication device. I’m proud to say I resisted the temptation and instead started pulling out plates from the cupboard.

The four of us sat down to eat in relative silence, broken only by the clinking of dishes and silverware. We were all finishing when Elliott pushed his plate away and cleared his throat. “I’m just going to start before I lose the nerve. The problem is I’m not entirely certain where to start.”

Zack forked his last bite of eggs into his mouth and talked around it. “How about you explain what was wrong with the dude last night first, and then go from there.”

Elliott nodded, looking relieved to have a little direction. “The news and the police will probably say that he was in a state called agitated or excited delirium. It’s a term they apply to a syndrome in which patients exhibit
extreme mental agitation, elevated body temperature, aggression, incredible strength and endurance, and resistance to pain. In most instances, the patient ends up in cardiac arrest, unless they get shot first.”

Zack nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. But what is it really?”

“This time, it was a synthetic virus that closely mimics the same symptoms. It’s spread through ingestion of infected blood or blood to blood contamination. When a person is first infected, they experience fatigue and body aches similar to the flu. Then their pulse rate drops and bodily organs start to slowly shut down. When the body is sufficiently weakened, the virus begins to replicate exponentially. Initially, the infected person feels better. They start to think that whatever made them feel sick has passed. But, the virus attaches itself to the neurological tissues. The body temperature starts to climb, and as it climbs, the brain weakens. The virus takes over and you start to see all the symptoms of excited delirium, the extreme aggression, elevated temperatures, all of it. The virus systematically shuts down all of the higher brain functions until all that works is the cerebral cortex, the brain stem. The patient isn’t capable of rational thought. They don’t feel emotions. They revert to fight or flight, subconscious instinct.”

“Do they die?” I asked softly.

“No.” Brianna answered firmly. “The virus doesn’t kill them. It turns them into mobile, violent, vegetables.”

“Well, they die if they receive a traumatic injury or when the virus burns through their bodies. They aren’t immortal or anything,” Elliott corrected.

“No shit! Are we talking
zombies
here, people?” Zack exclaimed, slapping the table hard enough that he caused all the silverware to clatter.

Elliott and Brianna shot each other a look, and Brianna answered, “They aren’t decomposing corpses like in the movies, Zack. They’re people who’ve been infected with a virus.”

“A synthetic virus,” I pointed out. “So, that means that someone made it, right? This isn’t a natural thing.”

“It used to exist in nature,” Brianna mumbled, looking at Elliott. “It might still in some places.”

“I did it. I’m the one who created the virus,” Elliott declared quietly.

“What!” Zack and I both gasped simultaneously. “Why would you do that? Are you the one spreading it?” I forced myself to ask.

“No! Absolutely not! We came here to
stop
it from spreading, to try to find a way to cure the people infected.” Elliott looked back and forth between the two of us, a look of panic on his face. “I started the research two and a half years ago. I was looking into rare viral plagues for my doctorate. Brianna studied folklore and mythology, so she was helping me brainstorm some of the more obscure illnesses that have been described in folklore.”

Brianna interjected, “Almost every culture on the planet has some myth associated with the walking dead or reanimated corpses. There are references to legions of the undead found as far back as ancient Sumer. We theorized that there could be a virus or bacteria that caused these outbreaks and primitive medicine simply didn’t recognize the symptoms.”

“You study folklore? Seriously? I would have pegged you more for a pre-med student,” my brother interrupted, eyeing Brianna speculatively. God only knows what was sloshing around in that brain of his.

“Zack, concentrate on the topic,” I snapped.

“Anyway,” Elliott broke in, “Brianna was able to find records which seemed to point to the last known outbreak of whatever turned people into ‘zombies’ for lack of a better term. Supposedly, four members of the same family rose from the dead before their burial and attacked the rest of their village. It happened sometime in the summer of 1942, during the height of World War II, near the Carpathian Mountains. Brianna is awesome at tracing folklore, and we were able to find the abandoned village with the help of a local guide.”

Brianna explained, “According to the local folklore, the undead were beheaded, burned, and buried at a crossroads. Since there was really only one crossroad near the village, we had a pretty good idea where to look. Elliott took soil, water, and air samples. Then we gathered samples of anything from the village that seemed even remotely promising, and we went home.”

“I was able to isolate two inactive, or dead, samples that didn’t match any other categorized virus. From there I started analyzing it and trying to replicate its specific molecular structure. I was able to reproduce it almost exactly. It took me over a year, but the discovery earned me a research spot with the Centers for Disease Control. All I’d ever wanted was to work for the CDC, to be able to find cures for the diseases that were killing people.” Elliott paused, rubbing his face with both hands. “I never dreamed…Shit.” He got out of the chair and started pacing. “I had my own lab, and they wanted me to continue synthesizing the virus for experimentation. I was working on suppression medications and a vaccine, but I was working off theory alone. What I didn’t know was that another team was using the samples I created and experimenting with them on live test subjects. They started out with rats, then apes, then they moved up to humans. I found out by accident. I received an email I wasn’t supposed to see, believe it or not. I was baffled. I purposely made friends with one of the members of the other research team so that I could find opportunities to access their research results. I worked even harder on the meds and vaccine. The more I uncovered, the more I realized that they weren’t preparing for an eventual outbreak. They were
planning
one. I was certain they were weaponizing the virus, and I couldn’t live with it. I knew that the supervisors were watching me more closely. Security was tighter, and they were sweeping my lab and my car daily. They searched me every time I left the building. Then my friend warned me that there were rumors I was going to be relocated to another program. I needed to get a sample out of the lab so that I could keep working on the vaccine. I memorized the formulas for everything else, but I
had
to have a live virulent strain. I didn’t feel like I had a choice. So, I dragged Brianna into this disaster.”

What the hell?
My brain had turned into a whimpering mess. I was pretty sure that I was following everything Elliott was saying, but my internal monologue had pretty much turned that phrase into a mantra. It kept chanting it over and over:
What. The. Hell. What the HELL?
I wasn’t capable of anything more intelligent in that moment.

“I’m not infected,” Brianna rushed to point out to Zack, who was looking squeamish. “I met Elliott in private and he explained his plan. I bought all the supplies and waited for him at his apartment. When he got there, I knew what to expect, but…” She stopped, taking several deep breaths. “I helped him, waited for his vitals to drop, and then called for an ambulance. Then I gave him the shot he’d prepared. They pronounced him dead at the scene. I’d already paid off someone in the coroner’s office and at the funeral home. They took the call, but never came in. Once everyone was gone, I gave him another shot and used the defibrillator to bring him back. That was the first night I had to pack him in ice and pray that he made it through until dawn. It was awful, but they had to think he was dead and he had to have a sample of the virus.”

“Wait, I don’t understand.” I waved my hand to stop Brianna and looked at Elliott. “How did you get infected? Did they do this to you to keep you from developing the vaccine?”

Elliott finally stopped pacing and looked me in the eye. “No. I infected myself. It was the only way I could get the virus out of the lab. I carried it out in my own bloodstream.”

Holy shit. What the hell?

That was it. I’d confessed my darkest sin, the worst, most idiotic thing I’d ever done. There was more, of course, but the worst of it was out in the open. My stomach clenched, guts twisting and churning. My entire body ached. I was consumed with such total humiliation that it was almost tangible. My intentions were noble, but I’d bumbled my way into single handedly creating a virus capable of infecting the U.S. population to a degree that could result in an apocalyptic level disaster. I didn’t want to watch Zoe’s reaction to my story, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off her either. No one but Brianna knew everything, and even then I’d filtered a bit. Maybe it should have stayed that way. Then I wouldn’t have to experience the look of disgusted disappointment on Zoe’s face that was surely coming.

“So…did you infect someone else? If the virus is locked in a lab, how is it here?” she asked, her face pale and tight. Shit! I should have known they’d think that.

“No! I haven’t infected anyone. I swear! Brianna and I left the state and went to our grandparents’ summer house in South Carolina. I set up a lab in the basement to build up my supply of medications and study the virus. It wasn’t long before we started to see news stories pop up about suspicious deaths in Virginia. We watched, but didn’t think it was necessarily related. But then, the others started.”

“This is the fifth university town that the virus has suddenly popped up at. We’ve been to three others. We don’t think it’s mother nature spreading the virus. We think it’s being released,” Brianna added, nodding at me in support. Another twist of guilt wrenched my guts. Don’t barf, suck it up. I created this, now I have to face it.

“Why colleges? Why not shopping malls or football stadiums?” Zack asked, sounding vaguely bored. He was trying to play dumb, but I could tell that he was just as sharp as his sister. Maybe even more so.

“The virus affects patients between the ages of 15 and 35 with the most severity. It has to do with the neurological and physical chemistry of that age group. They’re the perfect victims for the virus, and college campuses are swarming with the prime age group. Add in the amount of physical contact that college students tend to engage in, and it makes it even more likely that transmission will occur.” I was trying not to let my voice crack, to keep myself calm. How the hell had I let this happen? My damn discovery was killing kids.

Zoe glanced up at me, her dark blue eyes looked huge set against her pale skin and the tangles of her dark hair. I was expecting to see anger, condemnation, and disgust there. Instead, all I saw was sadness and maybe…maybe sympathy?

“Okay. Now what? What do you need to do?” Zoe asked, looking me right in the eye. This next step would be the scariest, but I had to do it for peace of mind. I had to make sure. I should have done it yesterday, but I hadn’t been thinking clearly.

“First, we need to perform a blood test on you. You had contact with contaminated blood, and we need to make certain that none of it found its way inside. Then I have to start testing the samples from the football player. I need to know if anything about the virus has changed. If it is adapting, then I have to adapt the vaccine to match. Hopefully, it’s still stable.”

Zack stood up from the table. “Well then, I suppose we need to go get your stuff from the hotel. I’m guessing you brought your own science stuff? We don’t have a lot of that around here.” Zoe started gathering up dirty dishes, but I could see that her hands were shaking.

“I’m so very sorry, Zoe. I’d give anything to have kept you from coming into contact with my mess,” I whispered, standing closer to her than I probably should. I’d only known this girl for a matter of hours, and I’d already lost all regard for personal space. Any space at all felt like I was too far away. But this time, instead of leaning into me, she stiffened and pulled away. Maybe I had screwed things up between us. I stepped away, feeling the chill of her absence even though the room was more than warm enough.

Mechanical rumbling sounded from downstairs as Zack and Brianna dropped the stairs and gratings to leave for the hotel to fetch our clothes and equipment. I could go with them to help, but I doubted they really wanted me along.