Apocalypse (The Wasteland Chronicles, #1) (15 page)

“I left the fire, and the raiding life
forever. And here I am now, speaking to my brother.”

Makara went on to explain everything we had
gone through…how Brux had attacked us again, the attack on the
caravan, the sandstorm and the monster that had been outside, the
meeting with Ohlan, and our agreement to find the lost patrol and
recover its supplies in exchange for citizenship in Oasis –
everything up to meeting Samuel.

Next, I told my story – a little of my life
in the Bunker, and what had happened with the infection. I kept it
brief. Though it was hard, I talked about losing both my father and
Khloe. Samuel seemed especially interested when I talked of my
father’s research into the xenovirus. I told him what I knew,
however little it was. Samuel nodded, as if he had heard most of it
already.

“I have read all of your father’s research,”
he said. “He makes some interesting observations on the evolution
of the xenovirus. Tell me, did he…”

“You’ve made him talk enough, Samuel,” Makara
said. “He needs to recover from the week he’s had.”

I couldn’t argue with that. It was all I
could do not to fall asleep on the couch.

“Alright,” Samuel said. “We’ll sleep. In the
morning, I can tell you what I’ve found out since being here.”

We each went to our rooms, and to our beds. I
was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I slept fully and deeply. When I awoke, I was
sore all over – especially my legs, which felt like jelly. I
stretched them out, and headed to the kitchen to find some
breakfast.

As I was warming up a ration in the
microwave, I frowned upon seeing a trail of water leading from the
hallway into a room on the other side of the kitchen. It definitely
hadn’t been there yesterday.

I left the hum of the microwave behind, and
went to the door. It was open a crack, and dark inside. I paused a
moment before tapping it open.

The door opened slightly, revealing Makara,
toweling herself off after clearly taking a shower. She was facing
away from me, and was naked and dripping wet. I panicked and backed
out just as she started to turn.

I didn’t think she saw, but still, it was
awkward. I hadn’t realized that was where she was staying. She had
been in a different room yesterday. And from what I saw, that image
would be sticking with me for a while.

My face burned as I walked back to the
kitchen, where the microwave was beeping. I took out my food. I
looked back at the door. Makara was still in there.

She emerged, wearing new clothes – camo pants
and a black tank top. Her hair was still wet. She wore a knowing
smile.

“Showers are down the hall,” she said.

I fumbled my tray, nearly spilling my food on
the floor. “Yeah. Okay.”

She looked at me, shaking her head. “You’re
so cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“I…I didn’t know you were in there. I’m
sorry. I just saw the water…”

She rolled her eyes. “Shower up. Samuel’s
already in the break room. I think he wants to get started.”

“Am I the last one up?”

“Yes. We don’t have a lot of time, so try to
hurry.”

“You guys could have woken me up.”

“We tried. Twice. Like talking to a
rock.”

I felt my face go red. “Fine. Just…”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll meet you there.”

I practically inhaled my food and headed for
the showers. I let the cold water run over me for about two minutes
before the shock of it made me step out. I couldn’t even get suds.
Still, it was better than nothing.

In the shower, I had realized I’d forgotten
to find some new clothes. However, after getting out, I found a
clean set waiting for me on the bench. Makara had snuck in without
my realizing it.

I put on the clothes. They fit remarkably
well. I guess she had checked me out, at least a little bit, to
know what would fit me.

I went into the break room, where Makara and
Samuel were already waiting. As soon as I sat, Samuel began his
story.

“I escaped Lost Angel Headquarters using an
underground tunnel. It was hard to pull myself from the rubble, but
I managed it. Raine was dead, and you were gone, so I had nothing
there.

“I tried to find you, Makara. I went to every
settlement in Southern California, but none of them had seen you.
After a year I had to face the truth…you were gone.

“Finally, I settled in Oasis. Ohlan was
Raine’s brother, so I thought it might go well for me there. This
was far from the case. I was unhappy. Ohlan runs it like a cult.
There have been…killings. I couldn’t find a way out, but
thankfully, I was presented with the opportunity.

“One day, a patrol from Bunker 114 came by,
led by a man named Dr. Luken. A few times a year, Bunker 114 would
make contact in order to trade supplies. Ohlan had me stay with him
as he brokered a deal between Oasis and 114.

“After the meeting, I introduced myself to
Luken, telling him about my escape from Bunker One. When he heard
of my firsthand experience with the xenovirus, he told me of Bunker
114’s research into it. I expressed interest in helping with their
efforts. Luken offered me a position, and I accepted.

“Ohlan was not happy to see me go, but it was
exactly what I needed.

“Over the next year, I learned much about the
xenovirus. While the basic structure of it is the same, there are
various strains – each strain affecting a different species, from
microbes to, now, human beings. New strains were always being
discovered in the wild. I would often go out to collect samples –
there was a Blight about ten miles north of us.

“I’ve noticed a pattern over the past year,
however: the xenovirus is increasingly affecting more complex
organisms. I knew from my experience at Bunker One that the
xenovirus affected animals. However, I had never seen it here in
California.

“There were several connections we made – the
bigger the Blight, the more complex its ecosystem. Bigger Blights
are older; the xenovirus has had more time to evolve and affect
greater amounts of life forms. The infestation to the north was
growing ever larger, until even the animals were becoming
infected.

“We saw a great threat in this. Bunker 114,
and even Oasis, would be in grave danger at current Blight
expansion rates. Our research switched focus from trying to
understand the virus to trying to eradicate it.

“As part of our research, we brought back a
live rat specimen that was infected with the disease. Collecting
one was difficult and dangerous, but ultimately successful. It was
a nasty creature: hairless, pink, sticky skin, and totally white
eyes. The turned rat was brought back to 114 and given into the
care of a woman named Kari Wilson.”

Here Samuel paused, and gave a long sigh, as
if dreading the part that came next.

“Dr. Wilson was a brilliant scientist, and my
friend. One day, while she was transferring the rat to another
cage, it escaped and bit her. We thought it was nothing at first.
But she became sick within hours. Apparently, whatever strain of
the xenovirus that affected that rat could also affect humans. She
left early that night to go to bed.

“That morning, she did not join us at
breakfast. I and someone else went to check on her in her room.”
Samuel hesitated a moment before going on. “We knocked, but there
was no answer. Finally, we opened the door. Kari was lying still,
her face completely pale, her eyes open. I knew, without even
feeling her pulse, that she was dead.

“We immediately quarantined her. We thought
long about where to put her, but we eventually decided to cordon
off an area in the labs that was not used often.

“Dr. Luken wanted to do an autopsy. I
protested, but most of the other scientists wanted to know what
happened.

“So she was there, in the operating room. I
could tell she had visibly changed, even from that morning. All her
hair had fallen out, and her face became deathly pale, revealing
black veins beneath cadaverous skin.

“It became clear that she was not truly dead
– her arms and legs began to twitch. There was hope that she might
be saved.” He sighed. “Obviously, we were wrong.”

Samuel stopped talking. I thought he might go
on, but what he had said so far had emotionally drained him. I
wouldn’t be the one to push him on under those conditions.

Just when I thought he wouldn’t speak again,
he willed himself to continue.

“What resulted was madness,” Samuel said.
“They were able to restrain her, but she had fallen under the full
influence of the virus. She was put in the holding cell, originally
designed for prisoners. Dr. Luken told us that we were going to
study the effects of the xenovirus on Dr. Wilson.”

Samuel shook his head. “Most agreed with him.
I, and a few others, did not. I was the only one to leave. That is
why I am the only one alive today. I went to Oasis, but kept
everything to myself.

“Days later, Oasis received a distress call
from 114. There were sounds of a struggle, followed by silence.

“I knew what had happened, but Ohlan insisted
on sending a team to investigate. Five other men and I were
selected for the task.

“Even in the few days I had been away, the
infestation had grown exponentially. Xenofungus covered the entire
north face of Cold Mountain.

“The mission was a disaster. Kari ambushed us
at the entrance of the cave. There I got my first look at her. She
had grown to twice her size, probably from having fed on the
scientists who lived in 114. Whoever she had been was gone now. Her
face was twisted, grotesque, and she stank of death. Blood and
flesh stained her mouth, where long, sharp teeth protruded. She had
long claws, extending from elongated fingers. And those eyes – I
will never forget those completely white eyes staring into me.

“I was able to escape only by running into
the cave, toward the Bunker. There was another with me, but he did
not get his mask on in time when we reached the area with the
fungal spores. He was knocked out, and Kari dragged him away.

“I ran into the Bunker, directly to the
dorms. There was only one entrance and exit, so I sealed the door,
and locked it tight.

“That was two weeks ago. I’ve been here ever
since. The power still works, and there is enough food to last me
months. I thought of leaving earlier, but I wanted to take the
opportunity while I was here to learn more about what happened
after I left.

“In the research database, I found Doctor
Luken’s research notes – the first description, however brief, of
the human xenovirus.

“The notes detailed Kari’s transformation
from human to…something else. Infection, sickness, followed by a
comatose state, and then a reawakening brought about by a physical
stimulus. It was noted, even after the transformation, that Kari
would not move unless there was something alive in the
vicinity.

“Luken described pre-infection as Stage 0.
Infection was stage 1. The coma was stage 2. And the final stage –
stage 3 – was where Kari was no longer human.

“I will not go into the details of how this
virus works on all its levels. I am only concerned with telling you
its ultimate purpose. As with any virus, that purpose is to
self-replicate, and it accomplishes this by directing the host to
attack all living things in sight. Live specimens were given to
Kari, to feed upon. She ate them alive, and only grew stronger. Her
biomass increased – not just her weight, but her skeletal
structure, her muscles, her hunger.

“Eventually, it became too much. She was able
to use her strength to break free from her cell. They should have
killed her while they had the chance.”

I hadn’t said a word up to this point. It was
hard not to be sick at what I heard.

“So that…thing…” Makara shook her head. “It’s
still alive?”

Samuel nodded. “Yes, very much so. I don’t
know exactly where she is. But she is most likely by the elevators.
After all, that is probably where all the people ran.”

I tried not to focus on the picture that
popped into my mind – Kari, gnawing on human flesh and bone in the
darkness.

“But…how are we supposed to get out?” I
asked. “Surely there must be a way.”

“There are only two ways,” Samuel said. “One
is the tunnel, but the exit is surrounded by the sleeping spores.
There is only one gas mask. And it is not as if that area is safe,
either; after all, I had come in that way on my return to Bunker
114, only to be ambushed by Kari. Of the six men, I was the only
one who survived.”

“Wouldn’t the elevators be worse, though?” I
asked.

“The elevators are our only option. We will
have to climb up the shaft and take one of the vehicles out.”

“Vehicles?” Makara asked.

Samuel nodded. “There are several Recons in
the motor pool near the top of the mountain. We could use one of
those. They run on hydrogen and are all-terrain.”

Bunker 108 had a Recon, but it was hardly
ever used because of the attention it would draw to the Bunker.

“Look,” I said, “a Recon sounds fine and all,
but it will be of no use if we’re all dead. What about those gas
masks your patrol was wearing? I could go out, get them, and bring
them back for everyone to use. Wouldn’t it be safer to get into the
motor pool from the outside?”

“It is impossible to reach it from outside.
Everything is locked tight, and it’s a long way to walk. I wish it
were that easy. And I have another reason why we need to exit by
the elevator.”

“That’s obvious,” Makara said. “Free Recons.
If we could each grab one, we’d be rich.”

“I have another purpose in mind,” Samuel
said.

“Of course you do,” Makara said, sitting
back.

“While researching the xenovirus, I
discovered a curious citation in the databanks, by a certain Dr.
Cornelius Ashton.”