Jackson and Sam had left the plane with the pheromone diffuser. So all the rest of us could do was wait until it was safe to start making our way on foot. But rather than hearing from the boys since we have no working radios we hear from Logan, who is serving as our eye in the sky.
"Guys, the hybrids are on the move. You got your window."
"Copy that. Heading out." Dariela looks around to the group, "Ready?"
The group nods and grabs our bags and guns, before heading out. We are on high alert as we walk to the back of the plane. When we get to the back of the cargo bay we find Jamie and Mitch. "We have the clear, let's move."
Dariela leads the group, "This area was crawling with Hybrids when I came through."
I look around with my gun raised, checking the side Dariela is not, "Good, means Jackson and Sam's plan is working."
I turn as I hear the baby coo as I look up I can see the barrier. But when I do I feel like I can't breathe again and begin to cough. I get extremely dizzy and my vision goes blurry. I can fatally hear Mitch, "Kat. Hey, Kat." I hit my knees and struggle to breathe.
"She can't breath," Dariela comments as she steps to my side.
"Its' tension pneumothorax."
"What the hell is that?"
"It's air trapped in her chest cavity from the puncture in her lungs. We're gonna have to puncture it." I continue to cough and gasp as Mitch looks around. "I need something, a pen, anything hollow."
"I may have something." I hear Clem.
"Hurry hurry hurry! Easy Easy Easy!"
I would love to tell Mitch you can't tell a woman with a baby to hurry and take it easy. But since I can't breathe the thought does allow me to claim down.
I see Mitch look over to Clem after she hands him something, "Since when do you knit?"
"Since I was having a baby."
Mitch shrugs his shoulders and looks over to Abe, who is kneeling next to me holding my hand, "Please tell me you've done this before."
"Sort of."
"On a human."
"No."
I gasp as Mitch plunges the broken knitting needle into my chest and wheeze as I am able to breathe again. I look over to Mitch, "You need to stop using animal treatments on us."
"Have any of them failed yet?"
I take a what deep breaths I can before the team helps me up, Abe makes my ride on his back the rest of the way to the barrier. Once we get to the barrier we are greeted with smiles and medical cots. Clem and the baby are loaded onto one and I am carried to another.
"Mitch!" Mitch turns and walks over to me, "The dead man's switch, it's in my bag." I point over to the bag Dariela is carrying.
Mitch nods, "I got it, don't worry."
The doctors at the barrier patch me up since Mitch had treated the tension pneumothorax out in the field, all they needed to do was sew me up. I wish I could do more, but I can't do much of anything since I am being worked on. When I can I rush into the control center, I'm not even sure that I am cleared to leave the medical area but I have more important things to do. Like, help my team.
"Ma'am, you can't go in there." A soldier calls out to me as I walk into the command center.
I am stopped by an older man, who is balding with white hair on the side of his head, "Darling, I don't know that you are allowed to be in here."
I talk a breathe to speak Logan walks up, "Garrison, this is Katherine Oz. Another member of the team."
"Oh, this is Mrs. Oz." Garrison extends a hand. "It is an honor to meet you."
I shake his head and nod, "If we don't work fast I may be the last people you meet."
"Well, it seems Mitchell Morgan, you, and that piece of mad science are our last hope."
I nod, "Where is he?"
Garrison points over to Mitch and I walk over to him, "Hey, they won't let you leave huh?"
"I didn't feel like hand to hand at the moment so I haven't tried to leave."
"You all patched up?"
"They have great doctors here and even better meds." I look over to Dariela as she walks up, "Any sign of Jackson and Sam?"
"No, not yet. No hybrids either."
"They must have drawn them away with Sam's pheromone diffuser."
"You wanna try calling them?"
I shake my head, "Their phones were affected by the EMP. I hope it will wear off, so I'll try soon."
As Mitch and I work, one of the soldiers addresses Garrison, "Sir, I'm trying to input new data, but the operating system isn't responding."
A woman nods, "same. There's no clear shut-down path."
Garrison walks over to Mitch and I, "I thought you knew how to work this dead man's switch? Or whatever you're calling it."
"It turned the beacons on. It should be able to turn them back off again." I comment, not looking away from the screen.
Mitch nods, "I see a way to cut the power."
Dariela shakes her head, "NO, you can't do that. When we cut the power to Tokyo, it triggered a massive explosion."
"Copy that. Can't cut the power, maybe I can divert it."
I look over to Mitch, "to where?"
A man in a button up and tie walks up behind us and we turn to him, "Sir, we're 30 minutes away from nest threshold."
Garrison sighs, "Get the Generals. It's time to discuss the Contingency Plan."
I look up to Garrison, "What exactly is the Contingency Plan?"
Dariela shifts, "A multinational coalition of naval warships are standing by to eliminate the beacons and nests."
I shake my head, "We can't fire missiles at those things. The loss of life will be astronomical."
"Generals are on the line." A man announces.
"Thank you." Garrison turns to head to the video screen.
I follow after him, "You can't do this."
When the Generals appear on the screen I am right by Garrison. "Garrison, have you decided on a course of action yet."
I shake my head, "No, he was not. We can not do this. If we kill that many people our species may never recover."
"Young lady, I do not know who you are or why we should care about your input on this situation."
"I am Katherine Oz and I have been working with the team that has done what your government and countless others haven't been able to do. And I'm telling you if you fire on those beacons, it's game over."
"It's game over either way."
"No, it's not."
"We don't have another choice."
"What if the missiles don't destroy the beacons? And we all know that the spores will just spread. You are killing more people then just those in those cities if you fire on the beacons and nests."
"The Austalia beacon just went dark. It's spooling down." I look over to one of the soldiers who is smiling. "Hong Kong is down. There goes Russia. Kenya too. They're all shutting off."
I look around but can't find Mitch, I look over to Dariela, "Where did he go?"
"I don't know."
"Columbia is down!" a woman shouts, those in the room begin to applause.
I look over one of the computer screens, "St. Louis is live!" The applause stops. I shake my head, Mitch diverted the power from the other beacons to the one in St. Louis. "Mitch, what did you do."
Abe rushes into the room, "Kat! Jackson is back." Abe grabs my arm and the two of us run to the medical area where Jackson and Sam are.
When we get down there we don't see Jackson and Sam but we do see Mitch fighting with three soldiers, guarding Clem. "Sir, we are under orders…"
"Good for you. I got to see my daughter."
I walk over to them, "Let him through!"
The three men separate and let Mitch through, "We got to go."
"What? Where?" Clem looks up to Mitch.
"Anywhere but here."
"No, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on."
I sigh, "The hybrids are coming. Like all of them. The St. Louis Beacon is the only live beacon and is drawing them as we speak."
"I couldn't turn 'em off, couldn't cut the power."
"So you redirected it here?!"
"The energy's got to go someplace."
Garrison walks up with Logan, "I should throw you in the brig."
"We have the barrier okay?" Mitch comments, "We're better off than anybody is. We can handle the fallout."
I roll my eyes as I hear Jackson shouting, "I need some help here!"
Abe and I turn and run toward Jackson. Some men are taking Sam away on a gurney, "What happened out there?" Abe questioned.
When I get to him I hug him tightly, he is covered in mud and blood, his clothes completely torn, "I'd hope I wouldn't see you like this again after Africa. But I'm glad you're alright."
"Where did all those hybrids come from?"
I sigh, "Mitch was able to shut down the beacons worldwide. But only by diverting the power to the one here in North America. Which means every hybrid west of the barrier is headed right for us."
We jump as we hear the hybrids crashing into the doors and growling.
"Well, then. Let's just pray the barrier holds up."
