A World Reborn: The First Outbreak (18 page)

“I know the truth.” Melissa shot back. “I
know she wasn’t involved, and nothing you can say can convince me she was
anything but an innocent.” Melissa responded, choosing to trust her instincts
about her friend rather than believe what the Ancillary was implying. “Besides
I’m the only one left alive, at least I thought I was, who saw what happened.
My boss was happy to have me hailed as a hero who saved lives despite tragic
losses. Everyone won.” Melissa considered smoothly.

“Except you.”

“I didn’t deserve to win.”

“There really wasn’t any more you could
have done, you know.” The Ancillary reassured her. “You did more than any other
civilian did at the time.”

“People died.”

“People always die. The Teacher has shown
us that this is how this world grows and changes. Do you think he really wants
to tear this world down in the way he has chosen? No. But he wants a better
world, and a better world has a price which must be paid.” The Ancillary
explained, clearly but gently.

“And what the hell is the method he’s
chosen? A virus that turns ordinary people into cannibals or, if they’re immune,
victims for your infected freaks?”

“It’s more than that.” The Ancillary said
with a smile that made her whole face glow with undisguised pride. “It’s so
much more.” She concluded as she sat back. Melissa looked her over, the
distortion in her eyes now much clearer, and then leant she forward.

“So, what is it?” Melissa questioned,
curiosity momentarily overtaking her.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed some of the
infected have wounds no one could survive?”

“Yeah.” Melissa replied with a shrug,
hoping her lack of enthusiasm would draw out more information than she might
otherwise divulge.

“This virus the Teacher has created, the
pathogen, the... whatever you wish to term it, is a highly specialised virus
that is infectious to about ninety five percent of people. It kills the host
but reanimates him or her with a specific rewiring of the brain function. The
infected rely on sound and scent for hunting and sight for basic navigation,
meaning if they’re blinded for any reason they can still seek out prey. They
diligently search for anyone who isn’t infected and try to infect them with the
virus via a bite. If the person is immune to the virus, then they consume them,
fuelling their bodies and retarding the decomposition and disintegration
process. And as you’re probably aware, you’re immune to the effects of the
virus. We designed it that way, if you’d like to say thank you. With a little
bit of your DNA from a bandage in Africa, we were able to secure your
immunity.”

“That’s insane!” Melissa exclaimed out of
hand, even though what the Ancillary said confirmed what Melissa had seen with
her own eyes. The Ancillary smiled at her before offering a rebuttal.

“No, it’s the right way to rebuild the
world. When we unleash the contagion worldwide, we can sit back and let the
world tear itself apart. The infrastructure will remain largely intact, and
then we can clean up.”

“How?”

“The collars emit a pheromone which
represses the instincts of the infected, making them docile and manageable.
When the time comes to clean up, we’ll be able to control them quite easily;
herd them up, and then, ultimately, dispose of them. It’s not perfect, of
course. Loud noises still enrage the infected which can counteract the effect
of the collar, but that’s more by design than by accident.” The Ancillary
explained, almost cheerfully. Then she leaned in and smiled broadly. “And on a
personal level, I find it pleasurably ironic that this world, full of greed and
corruption and dominated by those who’ll tear each other down for even a penny
more profit, will literally rip itself apart to usher in a new world free of
their oppression.”

Melissa thought about what she had said. It
was clear she wasn’t crazy, at least in a way that people might normally think.
No, she firmly believed in her cause. She believed it was justified, and in a
way, that made her even more frightening and dangerous than someone who was
afflicted with a mental illness.

“So, what is this? A test? A way to spread
your message?” Melissa quizzed.

“All of the above, amongst other things.”
The Ancillary responded, lacing her fingers together on her lap.

“So why are you telling me all this? Isn’t
it the classic movie villain mistake to explain your plan?” Melissa asked, her
dry humour making the Ancillary laugh again.

“Well, the most important reason is because
the Teacher has his eye on you. He told us that when the time to reveal
ourselves to the world came, he felt you were going to have a significant role
to play.”

“Why?”

“The Teacher keeps most of his reasons to
himself, but one thing I can share with you is that he said you represented the
kind of people we would want in the new world: strong, adaptable and
compassionate. You did what you did in Africa to protect, out of care and love
for some special people. You are to be, in his words, the Witness. You’ll see
all of our works, great and terrible in their scale, and tell the world what we
stand for. And when our work is done, you’ll have a place among us, you and the
other immune survivors who demonstrate their worth, to tell the new generations
of the world what came before and how we lifted it out of its downward spiral
by sowing the seeds of a new world.”

Melissa forced a derisive laugh. “You’ve
got to be kidding! Me? And I’m pretty sure your little broadcast showed the
world exactly what your work entails.”

“It showed the mechanism we’ll use, for
sure. But it didn’t show them why or what the new world will look like. The
Teacher feels confident that you’ll be the one to do that.”

“I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.
From what you said before, I thought your Teacher was some megalomaniac who
wanted to build a world in his image, now he just sounds like a
pseudo-religious nut job.” Melissa scoffed. Faster than Melissa could
comprehend, the Ancillary shot out of her chair and punched Melissa so hard in
the face the chair toppled sideways, knocking Melissa senseless for a moment.
The soldier with the assault rifle approached, set the chair back up and put
Melissa back on it. The Ancillary calmly sat down, her perfect face settling
back into an expression of politeness.

“I’m sorry about that. I tend to react
poorly when someone speaks ill of the Teacher.”

“That’s fine. I tend to react poorly when
people try to kill me.” Melissa retorted, pain throbbing in her jaw where she
was struck. The Ancillary laughed before speaking again.

“My men weren’t trying to kill you on the
roof. They just wanted to give you a little, shall we say, motivation? We
needed you downstairs. We needed proof that you still had the will to fight to
protect the innocent, and the only way we could do that was to guide you along
the narrative we wanted you to see. Roy is a logical first choice to rescue;
someone with skills and training that are useful to you, and with his aid you
could move on to rescue the rest of the hostages. That’s why they were kept
alive; to see what you would do.”

“Because that’s what your Teacher wants,
right?” Melissa shot back. The Ancillary smiled at her before speaking again.

“The Teacher is so much more than you
believe right now. He has a great deal of love and compassion. He wants to
build a better world for those who deserve it, those who are strong enough to
be worthy. He wants to release us from the shackles placed on us by those who
were simply born with wealth and power. You’ll learn more of us, I promise you.
But not right now. You have proven yourself worthy of this little discussion,
but you have more to do to be worthy of understanding the Teacher’s motives,
Witness.” The Ancillary explained, then stood and turned, taking a step away.

“One question.” Melissa probed, making the
Ancillary stop and look back at her.

“Yes, Witness?”

“You said he chose me. Is that why you
chose this hotel? Because it’s where I’m staying?”

The Ancillary smiled at her before
answering. “The truth is, my dear, your presence was just a happy little
coincidence. If you hadn’t been coming here we would have abducted you from
your apartment in London and brought you. If you’d been in one of the main
areas when we unleashed the virus, one of our agents would have secured you,
but you never left your hotel room. It was as the Teacher told us. You would be
in the right place at the right time.”

It seemed crazy, but then again, it seemed
very much on par with the rest of the day. It also made Melissa wonder just who
this Teacher was, as it seemed entirely possible that she might have met him
somewhere. A phone rang nearby and the soldier with the tablet computer took a
cellular phone out of his pocket and held it expectantly for the Ancillary.

“I’m sure this will be someone from the FBI
or some such organisation. It’s been nice to talk with you, Melissa. I hope we
get the opportunity to do so again before I leave.”

“If I get out of this chair, I’m sure we
will.” Melissa threatened, which made the Ancillary smile.

“I look forward to it. Come, Sebastian.”
The Ancillary declared before she took the phone and walked out of the room,
Sebastian following close behind. This left Melissa alone in the room with the
armed soldier, who was eyeing her suspiciously.

“So, you call yourself the Reborn, eh?”
Melissa asked him. He didn’t respond, instead he just continued staring at her.

“That’s a good answer. Do you have a name?”

He shifted uncomfortably. Melissa decided
to change tactic.

“I can’t be the Witness if I don’t know
what I’m witnessing, or who for that matter.”

The soldier shifted uncomfortably again,
fiddling with the safety catch on his weapon.

“Jonas.” He eventually replied; his voice
gruff and short and with a definite accent, but from where? Melissa wasn’t sure
from one word.

“Jonas. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jonas.
Apparently, I’m the Witness.”

“Yes.” Jonas responded.

“Do you know a lot about the whole Witness
thing?”

“What the Teacher has told me.”

Melissa let out a long sigh. It certainly
wasn’t easy to get him to open up. From what she could hear, he was French. The
Reborn, Melissa thought, had quite an international participation. She looked
towards the doorway as carefully as she could and saw that it was clear of any
other Reborn, at least, for the moment. Melissa calculated that the Ancillary
probably wouldn’t be back anytime soon as she had a lot to deal with. But that
didn’t preclude any of the Reborn soldiers from coming along and bolstering
their friend here. She would need to work quickly to get free.

Roy followed Jim back into the room;
closing the door over but not shutting it all the way. Before he left, Roy
wanted to find out where Jim had been this whole time and why he’d been out of
contact.

“Where the hell have you been?” Roy
demanded irately.

“Well, I’m happy to see you too.” Jim
remarked with mild frustration in his tone. Donna had risen from the desk and
rushed across to hug Jim as soon as he entered the room. She was now back at
the computer, working on re-infiltrating the computer system after being shut
out by adding Roy’s access card to the approved list.

“We thought you were dead.” Roy informed
him with a shake of his head, though he still managed to keep an eye on the
corridor. “I’m just surprised you didn’t get in touch with us all night.”

“I lost my radio when a bunch of those
things jumped out of an elevator up on the fortieth floor.”

“What where you doing up there? I sent Kyle
to do the guest rooms.” Roy probed, his brow furrowing.

“You lost contact with the kid and I
decided to go look for him. We lost a lot of friends today and I didn’t want to
lose him.”

“You found him?”

“No, I didn’t. I got stuck in a supply
closet with those things outside trying to get in. I couldn’t fight them off;
all I could do was wait. Hours later, I heard some voices and whoever they
were, they took the infected away. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I
started working my way down the stairs. It took forever, but eventually I got
down to ground level. I thought the soldiers there were maybe the police or something,
but then I saw they were rounding people up and taking them to the theatre. I
managed to sneak back to the utility corridor and figured I should come and see
you.” Jim explained logically. He looked tired, dishevelled and serious. But
something was rubbing Roy the wrong way. It was incredibly convenient that Jim
was back now. Something wasn’t right in his story, either. From what Melissa
had relayed about the Reborn, they’d been very thorough in sweeping the hotel
to find both guests and infected alike. Is it really possible they just
happened to skip over the closet where Jim was hiding; especially since it
apparently had infected right outside? It was possible, Roy thought, but it
didn’t seem likely considering they had been so cautious in every other aspect
of their plan. This made Roy a little suspicious, and when he thought back to
what Donna had found, about who could have authorised the technical support
people from Grove, he recalled that Jim had been working that night too. Roy
decided to press him with further questions.