Chapter 2: Taking Refuge

Emmett sat on the floor with the twins playing some sort of building game which appeared to Bella to be more of just Emmett building a structure and the boys knocking it down. But everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Bella sat at the computer and pulled up the data logs for the last 12 hours. "Come on, Lydia, tell me what happened."

001200 ENTER BJD

001159 SYSTEM CHECK…SYSTEM REBOOT…SYSTEM CHECK

001156 READY

001153 BJD UPDATE DATA

001142 ALERT: BIO HAZARD BREECH

001141 ALERT: BIO HAZARD BREECH

001140 ALERT: BIO HAZARD BREECH

001139 ALERT: BIO HAZARD BREECH

001138 ALERT: BIO HAZARD BREECH

001137 AUTO SYSTEM SHUT DOWN

001134 SYSTEM CHECK…SYSTEM REBOOT…SYTEM CHECK

001131 READY

001100 READY

Bella stared at the screen waiting to see ENTER BJD. But it didn't come. After whatever happened, happened, Brian did not log back into Lydia. No one did. The system simply sat in ready for the last eleven hours, with no other incident. She scanned the full system for that 10 minute timeframe to see if she could get any information about this biohazard breech. She started with Lydia. She held no information other than the breech had occurred. She broadened her search to the floor's main frame. The same information: biohazard and then nothing. She moved now to security. The video surveillance showed exactly what Bella had seen on the plane. Emmett watched from the floor as the screen showed five different camera angles of the main entrance and the same timeframe. It was business as usual, people walking around, guards standing at their stations and then someone falls through the main door and their body hits the ground. Their lifeless body lays still and the door remains open and one by one, like a wave of toxic gas, everyone falls to the ground. Then the video seems like it is in pause- nothing happens. No one comes running in or out. Everyone is dead. The screen goes blank.

Emmett is standing behind Bella now. He says, "Play it again."

"I think I've seen enough, and it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know."

"Play it again," he said sternly. She did. She saw the same thing again. She is never going to be able to forget those people in the plane. "See? Right there. Rewind it." She did, and this time she saw it too. At the end of the video one of bodies looked like it was evaporating! She replayed it over and over. "What the fuck?!"

"Okay. We have to get out of here and get safe." Bella opened a closet in the room and started shoving things into Emmett's arms until she was satisfied with what she had taken. She opened a huge duffle bag and Emmett put it all inside. Bella strapped the duffle around her back and said, "Let's go." They all filed into a back room in the lab. Bella put a huge bag on Emmett's back and started shoving stored oxygen tanks in the bag. Bella could see the weight of the tanks on Emmett's shoulders. She then handed everyone a small oxygen tank.

"What's this?" Zane asked flipping it upside down and sideways trying to figure it out. Bella squatted down in front of both the boys and said, "This is so that we make sure we have good air, okay? Like on the plane, except this will last a lot longer. So, from now on if you hear me or your Uncle Emmett say anything about 'bad air' you two put this over your nose and mouth, okay? It will give you good air. And you hold that there until one of us says it is safe again, okay?" Both the boys nodded studiously. As she stood up she caught the last little nod from Emmett who clearly had the same question and was grateful for the lesson. On their way out of the lab, Bella grabbed three radios and shoved them in her bag. They got back to the car and while Emmett got the boys settled, Bella was at the trunk making sure she had everything. She did. She took the radios and some water in the front seat with her. As she sat down Emmett said, "So, what is the plan, lab lady?"

"Well, we need to figure out how to know when the air is good and when the air is bad."

Liam and Zane reached for their masks. Emmett smiled at their enthusiasm. "We are in good air, guys. It is okay right now."

"It seems to come in waves, where the first few minutes it demolishes any living thing and then it fades, as if once it kills, it dies. So, here." Bella handed him one of the radios. "This is more than a radio. This screen here shows you the toxicity of the air. We use them all the time in demonstrations of our quality control programs. Right now it is in the green, obviously fine. Now whatever this is acts fast, so while we drive if you see ANY movement of the meter let me know and we will put our masks on and watch. Maybe we can figure this thing out on the way."

"On the way? Where?" Emmett asked.

"You need to get the boys back home and I need to get my father. He lives close so we will stop there first, and then head back to Denver. Try calling Alice. Maybe we will be lucky and it will just be here."

Emmett called but Bella could hear the voicemail pick up. Emmett sighed and muttered, "Hey, we got here fine but something crazy is happening here. Call me when you get this. I hope you are alright."

"Alright, bad air guys, just in case," Bella whispered in a game-like tone. They all held up their mini oxygen tanks and she backed out of the garage. It was about 2pm and they still hadn't seen anyone in the plant. As she backed out she hoped maybe it had all been some sort of drill and everyone would be heading back inside the plant. No such luck; tons of cars but no one.

She exited the parking lot and headed to her father's house. Charlie was a construction worker but today was his day off. She hoped that he had been in their game room when all of this happened and maybe the cigar smoke and beer would ward off whatever it was that was killing everyone.

As they drove the boys were giggling and using their gas masks as pretend swords. Emmett looked concerned but Bella assured him that the tanks were safe. They were designed to be extra durable and safe. Emmett asked, "So, why were you on the plane?"

"I fly from Seattle to Phoenix a lot. Our main office is here but our Laboratory head is in Washington state. He usually has me fly out every other week to give a presentation about the current status of the show room lab and our high priority labs throughout the country. So you guys are from Seattle?"

"The boys are, but I live here. My sister, Alice is going on her second honeymoon in Alaska with the boys' dad, Jasper. God, I hope they are okay."

Emmett had barely finished speaking when a man came running up to the car and slammed into the hood. He was flailing his arms and screaming something at them. Emmett was terrified it was someone trying to take advantage of this biohazard scare. Bella started to get out and Emmett reached for her arm to say, "Are you crazy?" but she got out and hugged them. "Dad, I was so worried about you, what happened?!" Emmett looked in the back at the twins and winked, "Maybe he has something other than goldfish to eat, aye boys?" They both grinned back at him. Bella motioned for them all to come in the house.

"It all happened so quickly, Bells. I was in the living room watching the game when a bird slammed into the window. I looked outside and saw people just collapsing."

They all sat at the dinner table eating grilled cheese and milk listening to Charlie tried to explain what had been happening. "I started having a panic attack. I thought I was seeing things. So I sat down and put my oxygen on. First time I thanked God for lung cancer! I sat with the mask on until I calmed down and when I got back up and looked out the windows, the bodies were gone! So, I just assumed I was drunker than I thought!

I tried calling your mother but I got her voicemail; same with everyone else! When I turned on the television every channel was running the same message." Charlie walked over to the television and turned it on. There was a black screen flashing yellow and a high pitched beeping noise. The noise faded into a mechanical voice, "This is a message from the Center for Disease Control. There has been an incident. Please take shelter immediately. If you have any type of disease shielding apparatus, please put it on immediately. As soon as the incident has passed, this message will replay on a green screen advising you of what to do. Thank you." There was a pause and then it repeated, "This is a message from the…"

"It just keeps going," Charlie explained. "Still don't know who won the game." He smiled a weak smile and Emmett could see tears behind his eyes. "I thought I had lost you too, Bells!"

The two hugged and Bella said, "I was afraid the same about you! Dad, do you know anything about what this is?"

"No," Charlie wiped his tears with his shirt tail and tried to regain his composure. "All I know is last night there were reports on the late night news about some biochemical explosion in Huntington, West Virginia killed a few hundred in the area. But the report said it was under control and there was no need worry."

"Isn't Huntington where the CDC stores its secondary biological samples?"

Bella cocked an eyebrow at Emmett. "What? I watch the news!" Bella knew that he was right. Could one of the secondary samples gotten loose in that explosion? It must have been incredibly strong to travel all the way to Arizona in such a short amount of time. Bella's dad was pacing with his cane and she could see him strain with each step.

"Dad, sit down. You will wear yourself out."

"I'm fine, Bells. Now, listen. From what I have seen, this thing, whatever it is, has been coming in waves. I saw it happen three times. Each time a bird flies right into a window or door and then when I look out, any living thing collapses. Within minutes, the body just… vanishes. I don't get it, but I know when I hear a thud, my oxygen is on."

"Yea, we saw that in the video replay at the lab. The body just disappears. It is really that fast?

"Bells, it is faster. God, I am glad you are here. Have you heard from your mom?"

Bella looked out the window. "No, I called her before the plane took off in Seattle. Everything was fine, normal. You haven't gotten a hold of her?"

There was an awkward silence as the two of them imagined the worse. "Who wants ice cream?" Charlie asked to the twins. Whenever Bells, here got into trouble, I always brought her ice cream and they all just melted away."

"Not sure that is going to work here, dad." Bella was hunting for the hot fudge in the fridge when a bird hit the window.

"How many more tanks do you have?" Emmett asked as he pulled two out of his bag.

"This is my last one."i

"Here, only use it when you hear the thud, sir. It will last longer."

Bella pulled Emmett to the corner with a firm grip. "He is coming with us!"

"Where, Bella? Where we are going? We should just stay here and keep trying Alice."

"Bells!" Charlie gasped and coughed up blood. "Bells!" He shouted again and collapsed on the floor. Bella ran over to him and crouched by his side.

'"Dad!" Bella was leaning over his chest listening for a heartbeat. "Dad, can you hear me?!"

"B..bells" he muttered. "Honey, it hurts."

"Where, dad? Where?"

"My heart hurts, kiddo. I'm sorry."

Emmett brought a couch cushion over to Charlie. "Sir, what can we do?"

"Take the kids upstairs. I need to talk with Bella for a second."

Emmett couldn't hear what they were talking about. He just heard words, here and there, "…hurry…epidemic…not here…answers…"

Bella came upstairs with tears in her eyes. "We have to go, now!"

Emmett didn't ask. He picked up the twins and they went out the backdoor.

i