Lost Roads (Benny Imura 7)

“In a nutshell,” Morton said. “Though I wouldn’t count on that a second time. However, this paracide was not intended as a weapon against the uninfected. It was designed to attack and destroy the active parasites comprising Lucifer 113. It was intended for use against the reanimates. It’s theoretically possible that it would work against ravagers as well, but that was one of many things we never tested.”

“What would have happened to Captain Ledger and Gutsy if they’d been infected but hadn’t died yet?” asked Chong.

Morton shrugged. “I have no idea. Our research never got that far.”

“What would happen to me?” Chong said quietly. “And Sarah Peak? And you, Doc? What would this stuff do to people like us? Half-zoms?”

“I… don’t know, son,” admitted the doctor. “Our research never got that far. We were focused on a weapon of mass destruction against the whole army of reanimates.”

“Good lord,” said Ford. “What is this paracide?”

“It’s called Wodewose 74,” explained Morton. “It was a true marvel of genetic engineering. We used transgenics and CRISPR gene-editing technology and—”

“The point, doctor,” Karen cut in. “They need you to get to the point.”

“Fine,” snapped Morton. “The reason we stopped that line o

f research is because when Wodewose 74 and Lucifer 113 interact in the system of an active reanimate, something entirely new is created. The reanimate becomes faster and much more physically coordinated. They reconnect with their motor functions and essentially take control of the body. They no longer crave human flesh, because they are no longer driven to feed the parasites.”

“That’s a good thing, though, right?” Benny asked.

“No,” said Morton, “it’s not. Because as the consciousness of the reanimate becomes fully awake, the personality of the original human host is suddenly and totally self-aware. You think each reanimate is aware? That they retain consciousness? That’s what many people believe, but it’s much more complicated than that. The parasites in Dr. Volker’s modified Lucifer 113 bioweapon do indeed keep some awareness in play, but only in a very reduced state. Oxygen deprivation, general trauma, and resulting synaptic failure have reduced most of them to near mindlessness. Perhaps even total cognitive shutdown, especially as they age. For the more recently reanimated it’s probably more like being in a bad dream. However, Wodewose 74 changes that. It means some of the inert synapses begin firing again, and that brings the consciousness back into partial focus. That realization of what it is and what it has done drives the infected into a state of absolute and uncontrollable anger. Instead of slow, shuffling zombies or deranged, militant ravagers, what we have instead is a growing army of homicidal maniacs.”

47

THE ROOM WAS AS SILENT as death. Everyone just stared at Morton.

Finally, the doctor spoke again. “These infected were designated ‘wild men.’ That’s what ‘Wodewose’ means. Seemed like an appropriate name for something that is driven not by hunger or lust or political ideology but by rage. Pure, unfiltered, unrelenting rage. The only thing these wild men won’t attack are others of their kind. When I mentioned that Wodewose 74 was intended as a weapon against the reanimates, I meant just that. Once introduced into the target, the bioweapon spreads very quickly throughout their system. They would pass Wodewose 74 very quickly to any population of living-dead reanimates, and it’s possible, even likely, that, given time, all of the zombies in the world would become wild men.”

“Which means we’d be overrun and wiped out,” said Ford. “We’ve survived this long against los muertos because they’re slow and stupid. When a few dozen ravagers came along and organized the shamblers into an army, we barely held them off. Now you’re talking about millions of these wild men—faster, smarter, much more aggressive, and even able to use weapons…” His words trailed off, and he shook his head slowly.

Gutsy felt sick. She looked into the future and imagined a world where all the billions of los muertos had become infected with the Wodewose paracide. Eight billion reanimates driven to total madness and unbearable rage by a collision of man-made diseases. Screaming. Filling the whole world with rage.

“Doctor Morton,” said Chong, breaking the terrible silence, “isn’t there anything that can stop these wild men? Other than actually fighting them all, I mean?”

Morton chewed his lip for a moment. “There’s a chance,” he said tentatively. “But it’s not a very good chance.”

“Try us,” said Urrea.

“It’s… something we began working on when the Wodewose project was active,” Morton began. “It’s a compound we called Dòmi—the Haitian word for ‘sleep’—because it is based on a chemical formula used for centuries in that country that causes a person to go into a calm, trancelike state. And, for the record, people in such a state were called zombies or zonbis. It’s where the pop culture word came from, and it isn’t really an accurate word for reanimates.”

“Who cares?” asked Benny. “Get on with it. How do we make this Dòmi stuff? And will it help us against the wild men?”

“Yes, it will stop them. If exposed to Dòmi, the wild men will simply… stop. They may fall down or just stand there, but they will remain inert until the Wodewose 74 in their system finishes destroying the Lucifer parasites.”

“Then what?”

Morton shook his head. “I don’t know. We never—”

“—got that far,” interrupted Alethea. “Right. Jeez.”

“Can you make it here?” Gutsy asked. “Or are you going to say that you don’t have the right chemicals?”

Morton just looked at her.

“Is the stuff we need at Site B?” asked Benny.

“No,” said Morton. “The entire Wodewose and Dòmi projects were conducted at the base. Samples of the active Wodewose paracide were stored in the hot room, but the Dòmi materials are in deep storage. Samples, research notes—all of it.”