Part Two: SURVIVAL

Chapter Four


Earlier that morning Robert had discovered that one of his lab rats had started to show signs of improvements. He now just needed a human subject. If he could even call those monsters human anymore. His original plan had been to tell Alexis that night to bring one home, but now he was at an actual hive.

It would be quicker to get one himself.

Taking some time, Robert set up a snare trap. The trigger was placed in the dark building, just inside the door the deer and Samantha had entered from. He took a big, black tarp and lied it out on the floor, then set the trigger on the tarp. Taking the vial of blood he'd gotten minutes before, he placed it on the tarp and then broke the glass with the butt of his rifle.

Jogging a few yards from the door, he settled himself on top of a station wagon and waited, rifle at the ready.

He didn't have to wait long. Shuffling came from the dark building, and then the click of the trap being activated. On the other side of the overhanging bridge, a truck fell to the floor. Robert glanced over his shoulder, and then a feminine screech sounded as the tarp—with an Infected inside—flew along a line and stopped a few inches away from Robert.

The female Infected inside lashed around and roared and snarled until Robert slammed the butt of his gun against the Infected's back. The creature went limp, but not before she got out a shrill distress call.

For a few seconds all was silent. Robert lowered his gun, and then a roar sounded from inside. Whipping around, Robert turned in time to see a male Infected hanging half outside the door, roaring at Robert. Surprised, Robert just stared at him, wide-eyed, as the Infected's head began to burn.

Snarling, the male darted back inside, leaving a very confused Robert standing on top of the car, the upside-down Infected swaying next to him.

Cutting down the Infected subject, he kept the tarp over her to keep the sunlight from burning her. He dragged her back to his car and threw her in the trunk after making sure to keep her bound. It wouldn't take long for him to drive home, and then he could sedate her more effectively.

Driving with one hand, he kept the other on Samantha's collar. She was leaning over, her head facing the back of the large SUV, and she whined and barked every now and again. "Sam, leave it," Robert would say to her.

Once home, he dragged the Infected into his house and down to his lab, being sure to make sure Samantha is locked out. He places her on a metal table with some tools next to it and applies some ankle, wrist, and stomach restraints to keep her on the table whenever she woke.

It took a few trials, but eventually Robert got the right amount of dosage for a sedative and began to go about the experimenting.

Putting on his cam glasses, Robert walked over to the Infected and stood over her. "Subject appears female, from eighteen to twenty five years old. Subject is heavily sedated with six times the normal amount," he noted monotonously. Picking up a small light, Robert pulled back one of the Infected's eyelids and flashed the light over her eyes. "Pupils are fully dilated and non-responsive to light. Shows extreme reaction to UV light." The large, fluorescent light was held to the Infected's skin and was making it burn.

Setting down the light, Robert picked up a needle and took a breath. "Subject's heart rate is 200 BPM and its temperature is 106 degrees. Tissue samples and physical tests confirm that the subject is, in fact, infected with the KV virus. Beginning human trials now."

Hesitating for a second, Robert carefully stuck the needle in the Infected woman's arm and injected her with the serum. With a hopeful look, he watched the monitor as the woman's heart rate started to decrease. Elated, he watched the monitor more intently. "196 BPM and decreasing. We may have something here."

He knew that he should have had Alexis down with him, but he hadn't wanted to wake her, knowing that sometimes she was cranky when she woke. He would just have to tell her about it when she woke, and give her some of that spam. That would make her happy.

Suddenly, the Infected sat as far up as her wrist restraints and the strap across her stomach would allow her. She screeched a horrible, shrill sound and then began to seize, lashing around on the table. Robert was surprised at first and backed up, but then his expression turned forlorn. After a drawn-out cry of pain from the Infected, she fell limp on the table and flat lined.

"Robert! Robert what the hell do you have down there?! You unlock this door! Robert! Robert! I knew something was going on when you came home! I can smell those things, you know! Robert! Robert are you alright? Robert say something please!" Alexis' voice carried from the top of the stairs and behind the wooden door. She wiggled the handle and pounded on the door, trying to get down into the lab to protect her friend.

Picking up a different syringe—filled with the original virus this time—Robert jammed the needle into the Infected's leg and injected the liquid. "I'm fine, Alexis. Stumbled into a hive today so I brought one home to be tested on. One of the rats got better."

Alexis pulled her hand off the door and let that sink in. A hopeful smile pulled at her lips, but it slowly faded again. That cry the Infected had made. . . That was a death call. "It didn't work, did it?" she called through the door, leaning her forehead on the wooden barrier.

Robert tossed the syringe into a tray and set both hands on the edge, leaning on the try. "Serum killed the subject. No cure yet," he growled, slamming the tray a bit in his frustration.

Sliding to the floor, Alexis leaned on the door and hung her head, her short hair falling over her face. She could hear that Robert had brought the Infected back to life, and at least that meant she wouldn't have to go out and fetch another one. She listened as Robert wheeled the female into the giant Plexiglas cage and saved his files, and she slowly got to her feet.

It was apparent once Robert was out of the lab that he was upset. He had come home early, and the sun was still pretty high. Alexis was wearing an oversized pull over with the hood up, trying to keep herself from burning. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. You need this cure more than I do. I promised I would cure you, and I'm not going to go back on that," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "The rest of the world needs it, those Infected need it, and I can't let a few failures get me down."

Nodding Alexis turned and started to go back to her bedroom. "Wait," Robert said. Alexis stopped and turned to look at him. "I found some spam. Thought you might like that. It'll be in the cupboard when you get ready to go out."

Smiling, Alexis nodded. "Alright. That sounds good. Oh I almost forgot. . . How did you accidentally stumble into a hive?"

Sighing, Robert recounted the day's events. Samantha was in the other room, lying on the couch and trying to relax. When Robert was done, Alexis shook her head and rubbed her forehead with her hand. "Wow. . . Well, I'm glad you and Sam got out of there alright." She yawned a wide yawn, then started up the stairs. "I'll see you in a couple hours."

Nodding, Robert followed Alexis up the stairs. Samantha trailed behind, but he needed to be on a different floor than Alexis. He walked into a room and set up the computer to make a video diary entry, and he sat in a wheeled chair, Samantha next to him.

"Day one thousand and one," he began. "We came in close contact with a hive today. Blood tests confirm that I remain immune to both the airborne and contact strains. Canines remain immune to airborne strain only." He turned to look at his dog and pet her. "The vaccine trials continue. I'm still unable to transfer my immunity to infected hosts. The Krippen Virus is. . . elegant."

His mind began to wander and he rotated in his chair a little bit. "Just fishing in the dark, son." He paused for a few more seconds, then remembered something he was going to say. "Oh. Behavioral note—an infected male exposed himself to sunlight today. Now it's possible decreased brain function or growing scarcity of food is causing them to. . . ignore their basic survival instincts. Social de-evolution appears complete. Typical human behavior is now entirely absent."

One floor up, Alexis was lying on the floor, the side of her head pressed against the carpet. She was listening to Robert in the darkness of her room, eyes closed. As he finished, she sighed and sat up, shaking her head. Getting to her feet, she walked over to the corner of her room.

For the past few months, Alexis hadn't been using her bed to sleep.

Shaking her head as she took a standing position, facing the corner, she sighed. "You're wrong, Robert. They have human behavior. You just can't see it like I can. I can't convince you. . . But I hope you don't have to learn like I had to.


Sorry I keep taking so long. I just get lazy. But at least I post more than one chapter at a time. However, that won't last much longer.