Chapter 12
The drive back was hell. Shaun had thrown off his jacket and shirt where I ruined it, so saw in the back of the ATV while Ash drove and Audrey slept. Foxy didn't like the fact he was 'all chesty and distracting' and so kept her gaze averted the whole time. She was actually pretty calm all things considered. She was about the only one who was.
Ash was still seething. She was grinding every gear imaginable and as soon as Audrey woke up she discovered how truly soulless a redhead could be. Ash basically dragged her from the ATV and gave her a thorough yelling at. It was so loud we could hear it clearly. Then she made the mistake of saying 'You do that again and live, I'll fucking ditch you and go for Foxy instead!' upon which Foxy seemed to wake up a bit and start ranting about how she was the Monkey's girl. According to Shaun that was nothing new.
Once Ash and Audrey got back in, they were totally silent. I was guessing that they were going to have it out privately when they were back in their own room. I was just content to cuddle up with Shaun and endure the ride. I'd managed to settle down considerably since we'd left the Maze. Once again, I felt myself go out in sympathy to Ash and Audrey for all they'd endured there. For me, it was bad enough going through once and being in there for a couple of hours. For them to have lived there for about a week... Hell, I'd have totally gone savage by that point.
When we finally pulled up, it was to Dr Abbey's beaming face. She came out with her shotgun slung over one arm as usual and somehow managed to look even more pleased than when we first showed up with her package and a new zombie.
"I could basically see the explosion from here!" She snapped the shotgun shut and hefted it, gesturing towards the door. "Nothing personal, you understand. It's just with this much more serious strain we have to get you into decon as soon as possible. Hey, why all the long faces?" She'd noticed our expressions. That was when our moods dropped lower than they already were.
"Does the name Tara Strickland ring a bell?" I asked.
"Sure!" Dr Abbey grinned. "Her father works for us. He checks in with her regularly and he sometimes comes here too. He's good fun to catch up with over a beer."
"Yeah, she won't be checking in any more." Shaun said as he took my hand and we walked towards the door, leaving Dr Abbey to be properly debriefed by Audrey. We headed inside, going through decon and then letting Foxy lead us to our room. As we walked, we passed by a lab where we could see the Masons filming the equipment while taking notes and talking into recorders. Clearly they'd been recalled and were cracking on with the documentation of Dr Abbey getting a new dog.
When we reached the room, we basically collapsed onto the bunk. Shaun rolled onto his back as I crawled on top of him like he was the comfiest pillow in the world. In that instant, I could barely suppress a scream as every single ache and pain hit my body at once. The adrenaline rush was wearing off. I hadn't felt this terrible since my organs started to give out. But I knew that wasn't what was happening. That was probably the only comfort I had right then. That and the cold, death-like blanket of sleep that descended over the pair of us in that moment. I was safe. For the first time since we'd left Canada, I knew that I was safe. And I knew that there was going to be no more surprises.
Yeah, right! As if that was ever going to be the case!
When Shaun and I woke up, it was to a knock at the door. Stereotypical, I know. But that's what happened. We sat up and I double-checked my visor as it adjusted to my movement. This thing was amazing. I resolved to find whoever designed it and thank them personally. I looked up to see Dr Abbey walking in. Her expression was a solemn one and I knew Audrey had told her the news about Tara.
"I just wanted to make sure you were both okay." She walked over and pulled the chair from the desk in the corner and sat herself down. It was kind of odd to see her looking worried. Or without Joe. Then again, a lot could change while you were hiding away in Canada for years. "Ash told me you had a pretty rough time of it. You even threw up as soon as you were out of danger. Very rare to see you do that."
"I'm fine." I nodded as I hauled myself up properly. "What about Ash and Audrey? They okay?"
"Apparently Audrey's on probation." Dr Abbey grinned briefly, laughter almost escaping before it seemed to die in her throat. "She still isn't explaining why she did what she did, but this is Audrey. She's never forthcoming about anything. Even when she worked for us. Also, we sent in a sweep team to the wreckage. Tara did it. All the virus was destroyed." I sighed as I felt relief flood through me. With that, she got up to leave, kicking the chair back into place with a well-practised aim. "Listen, Shaun's been working on a surprise for you. I don't know if he's told you yet...?" She looked over at Shaun pointedly who shook his head.
"I was just thinking about Tara." His nonchalant shrug bounced me around where I was still basically lying on him and it renewed my sick feeling. "Just thinking about that chaingun buggy just sitting there... Unloved... Alone..." I reached up and smacked him on the arm.
"It's not unloved, you idiot." I reminded him, leaning back into him. "It has a gunner and I bet they can find a new driver." Still, my distancing wasn't helping the issue. We all knew it was on our minds. How she went in there so selflessly for people she barely knew to destroy that virus simply because it was the right thing to do.
"George, are you okay?" Dr Abbey turned to me with concern. "You've gone pale." It was true. I could feel the nausea rising and I could feel waves of dizziness washing over me. Not that I was going to show her that yet, though. I had a creeping sense of dread settling over me and I wanted to be sure before I sounded an alarm.
"Yeah, I'm just busting for a piss." I got up and headed out quickly, leaving Dr Abbey with Shaun so that she could probably nag him for another blood donation. I waved that thought away as I raced to the bathrooms. I slapped my hand against the pressure pad to enter. It was an older system so I grimaced as the needles bit into my palm. The lights turned green and I threw the door open before wrenching the lid up and throwing up again. The green light had me relieved. That was one of my two fears out of the way.
It was some time before I made my way back to Shaun. When I arrived, Dr Abbey was still there and had been joined by Foxy. All three of them were looking at me with concern. I just knew I hated it.
"George, are you okay?" Shaun asked, getting up as I walked in. He walked over and embraced me while my fried mind registered that he'd been provided with a new t-shirt. Probably by Foxy. And from the piece of cotton wool taped to his arm, I guessed Dr Abbey had got her way with the blood drive.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded.
"Well, good!" Foxy beamed as she jumped up. "Come on, then! We need to get you ready for your big surprise!"
"What surprise even is this?" I asked, my confusion plain. Now it was Shaun and Dr Abbey's turn to start beaming.
"We're getting everything prepped now." Dr Abbey told me. "Go with Foxy, get cleaned up a bit. Meet us in the meeting room in about an hour. I'm fairly certain you'll love it." My unease must have been obvious. Unfortunately, there was no time for them to ease it before Foxy dragged me from the room. What followed was an especially hellish hour of trying on clothes and adjusting my hair. Not that there was much to adjust from how short I kept it. The signs were all there. And yet for all the prep that Foxy put me through, I still failed to see the end result coming.
"The final metal piece of metal comes loose in his hands as the creature it was attached to drops to the floor, screaming an almost alien scream in agony as it clutches at the hole the missing piece had left in its face. As he watched it squirm, he picked up one of the bladed sticks it had fought with. He was almost in a trance as he drove it home, feeling the windpipe rupture and pop as the bladed edge cut into it. It spasmed one more time and then lay still. It was finally over.
As he drops the weapon and sits down, not caring about the blood that runs across the floor and pools around the ass area of his pants, he breathes deeply. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime, he's unburdened. Reality starts to fade away. It doesn't come back into focus until the piercing sirens shatters the atmosphere and the thundering of footsteps can be heard following him up the stairs. He gets up to go and meet the cops as they reached his floor. But as they come into view, the guns pointed in his face and the order not to move stopped him cold. He complies with their instructions, getting to his knees and lacing his hands behind his head, wondering what could have provoked such a reaction.
"Ethan Thomas, you're under arrest for murder!" That shocks him back to his senses. Wildly, he looks over at where the body is lying. Exactly where he left it.
"No! You don't understand! That thing's a monster!" As he speaks, he registers what he's seeing. The monster is gone. In its place is the body of someone he doesn't know by anything other than name. Leland VanHorn. A serial killer who'd been hunting other murderers. The creature he'd seen had probably been an illusion born from his own hatred and fear. With a sigh of resignation, he allows himself to be hauled from the barn, ready to face whatever future awaits him."
From Internal Madness, a story by Audrey Liqiu Wen.
February 22 2046.
