Zombie Patrol (Walking Plague Trilogy 1)

“We don’t know what happened—”

She spun out of Jared’s embrace and turned on him. “How could he just lock them up and leave them down there! In the dark. Without even water or blankets.”

“Anna...he’s your dad. One of the good guys. Something must have happened—”

“Don’t tell me I’m wrong. I’m not.”

“Baby,” he said softly, trying out a new nickname for her, “I don’t know what’s right or wrong. Your dad’s a good guy. One of the best.”

“Well, he’s got a hell of a way of showing it!”

“Remember what he said about keeping this a secret? Just hours ago, you were visited by some strange men. Dangerous men, I think. I think there’s more going on here than we know. You have to trust your dad. He wouldn’t do anything to purposefully hurt his own brother, or you.”

When she raised her eyes to meet his, Jared’s heart almost broke. She was crying softly. He reached out and took her hands again. They had never let the world get in the way of their closeness, or their rare and wonderful ability to be completely honest about everything. So he prayed she would listen to him now.

He said, “Anna, those men, if they find out where your uncle is, he could be worse off than he is now.”

“I can hardly believe that.”

“It could be a secret government agency. Like in the movies. They can do whatever they want, and nobody will ever find out.”

“Maybe...”

“Your dad could get arrested right now. In fact, he might have been arrested already.”

“No.” She calmed herself a little. “He’s called me a zillion times in the last half hour. If he was arrested, they would only give him one call, right?”

That seemed about right to Jared. He nodded and said, “Then call him back. If he’s calling you like that, he probably knows you were home and saw your uncle. Anna, it’s important that you talk to him and hear him out. Something really weird is going on. Just let him explain. That’s what he wants to do because he has called you so many times.”

Jared came close enough to take her into his arms. Even with the day’s incredible events, Jared couldn’t help but take in the sweet scent of her hair. It gave him strength.

“All right,” she wiped her nose on his shirt—hell, he didn’t even care. “I need to calm down.”

“You need to call your dad.”

She shook her head. “There’s no reception up here. I’ll call my dad when we get to the observatory.”

Her agreement was music to Jared’s ears. Holding hands, they headed up the hill.

Chapter Eighteen

It was early afternoon when the Agent in Black slipped into the base’s private medical facility. A doctor greeted him at the isolation room and handed him gloves and a surgical mask.

“He’s handcuffed to the bed,” the doctor stated, “but don’t get too close.”

The Agent in Black donned the mask and gloves. “I want privacy,” he said, his voice slightly muffled.

The doctor nodded uneasily, then unlocked the patient’s door.

The patient was part of the CREW, a scientist assigned to inspecting and researching the mysterious meteor. Dr. David Stetson had been briefed about the rock, but had torn his glove when handling it. He’d shown signs of infection approximately eight hours later. The Agent in Black took in the signs of illness: gray pallor, dehydration, blood-red eyes. Stetson also had bouts of confusion and rage.

He was certainly in no condition to be up and about, nor to even care for himself. The Agent in Black figured that Carter and Mendoza, whose whereabouts were still unknown, were either being cared for somewhere or, more likely, were dead.

He approached the infected man. “Dr. Stetson?”

Stetson didn’t seem to hear him. Instead, he looked off to the side, absently yanking on his restraints.

The Agent in Black tried again. “David Stetson?”

The man looked up, blinked once or twice, then swallowed hard. A hint of recognition crossed over his blood-red eyes. “I guess I’ve done it now.”

“You’re under the best of care, Dr. Stetson,” said the Agent in Black, although, admittedly, no one had any idea what to do with him. The man had refused food and water, and when base doctors had tried IV fluids, Stetson’s condition had worsened so quickly that the IVs had been stopped. Presently, he was on the strongest antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, anti-everything—but nothing seemed to help.

Stetson’s gaze wandered to his bound wrists. “Take them off,” he pleaded.

“Out of the question, doctor.”

“Take them off and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

His interest piqued, the Agent in Black leaned in a little closer. “How about you tell me what you know, David, and then I’ll see what I can do for you?”

Stetson tried to focus. Concentrating on anything seemed impossible. All kinds of thoughts wandered through his mind, including the hatred he felt for the Agent in Black, his boss. Nobody ever contradicted the Agent in Black, head of the CREW. Stetson was a true doctor and scientist. When the space rock had arrived, he wanted to take his time, study its elements, determine where it might have come from.

But, no. His orders were to find a way to destroy it. Make it disappear as quickly as possible. He’d been pressured—threatened even—if he couldn’t follow this direct order.

Under protest, he’d worked faster than he knew he should. Perhaps even recklessly.

And that’s when the accident happened. The tear in his equipment. He’d been infected instantly through the hole in the torn surgical glove. He knew it. Something very strange seemed to come over him.

No. It overwhelmed him. Overwhelmed his natural defenses. Within seconds, Stetson knew he was in a lot of trouble—and there wasn’t a damned thing anyone could do about it.

The Boss, of course, didn’t care. No one seemed to care about him. They sought only to contain him. The truth was, Stetson knew he should have been in an isolation chamber. The Boss was taking a chance being so close to him.

Unless he knows something, thought Stetson. Unless he knows exactly how the virus is transmitted.

Stetson nodded, staring at the man looming over him. The man who put him in this position. The man who knew damn well how dangerous the meteor was.

Yes, Stetson’s thoughts were jumbled at best, but he knew he wanted one thing: for his Boss to come closer. And so he gathered what comprehensive thoughts he had left, and said, “I have to show you. Take me to the lab.”