A World Reborn: The First Outbreak (27 page)

Chapter Eleven

Melissa wasn’t involved in what
happened as the morning light swept over Las Vegas, but she was kept up to date
by Roy over the radio. Suspiciously, not long after the Ancillary had escaped,
and despite Melissa’s desperate pleas to Roy to get the police to pursue her,
pleas that apparently fell on deaf ears by those in authority, the Las Vegas
Police Department, backed up by the FBI, assaulted the Seraph Hotel and Casino.
Roy was able to open the security gates for them, and the police did what they
were trained to do. They tried to force the infected to stop, to cease their
forward surge towards the police, and only when there seemed to be no other
choice, they opened fire. The initial barrage was ineffective and some officers
were bitten, turning instantly. Though they were reluctant at first, they
eventually followed Roy’s suggestion to shoot them in the head; adjusting  their
tactics and executing the infected who were attacking them, including their
fallen comrades who rose up to fight against them. The gunfire attracted the
attention of the main infected horde on the ground floor, and as the thousands
strong force began to press towards the main entrance, Roy was instructed to
lower the security gate once more, which he did.

Melissa had watched what she
could from the rooftop, resting against the railing around it, hearing the
sound of gunfire rising up from below on the wind. Part of her wondered if they
would even be able to defeat the infected without levelling the building. The
National Guard arrived a little while later, bringing their heavier weapons and
vehicles. They had managed to capture a few living, if you could call it that,
infected, which satisfied the doctors from the CDC. Eventually, Melissa
retreated down to the executive suites in search of food and water. She was
starving, in pain and realized that rescue wasn’t going to magically happen as
it would have in the movies. There was going to be a real battle to secure the
survivors. She managed to find a first aid kit, and although it pained her to
do so, she used the antiseptic to clean her wounds before she bound them. The
bleeding had stopped, and although she felt weakened, Melissa felt she would be
okay.

Roy and Melissa remained in
almost constant contact. She informed him that she’d locked down the top floor
as best she could, just in case some of the infected made their way up. And
then, all either of them could do was wait. Melissa turned on one of the
televisions and watched the news. Although the reporters had been pushed back
and a much wider cordon had been established around the hotel, they were still
able to record live video. Reinforced by the National Guard, the security gates
were raised again. The infected surged out of the front doors, and were met by
an unceasing, explosive salvo of gunfire. The infected were cut down in reams
and rows, dozens dying every few seconds, and yet they kept pushing forward.
They pushed and surged, some even managing to reach the newly erected
barricades and riot shield wielding men and women on the front line, but no
more deaths were caused by them. It took some time, but eventually the infected
were defeated in what was being called by the media the Massacre at the Seraph
Hotel and Casino. Officials from the CDC reassured as often as they could that
the infection was so volatile, so violent and so absolute that containment was
impossible, but none the less, Melissa believed today would end a few political
careers. However, she knew they were doing the right thing. Having seen what
she’d seen, Melissa believed that the infected were better off being killed
than kept alive to be experimented on. They had died once and had their dignity
taken from them. Melissa saw it more as putting them out of their misery than
an execution.

A few hours later, they had
completely secured the ground floor and had rescued Roy and the other survivors
in the security room. Roy demanded he be allowed to remain in radio contact
with Melissa until she was rescued too, and perhaps due to his former position
within the police force, they allowed it. Melissa was reached by elevator
fifteen minutes later, and was escorted down and out of the hotel to the
medical check up area that had been established behind the cordon. Melissa
overheard snippets of conversation and fragments of radio communications and by
the sound of it, they were going floor by floor, ensuring all the guests and
staff were all accounted for by checking the rooms, just in case survivors had
somehow managed to remain on the guest floors, or there were infected that had
not been detected. Melissa and Roy were reunited in the medical tent that had
been set up and embraced tightly. Their bond had been forged in an unexpected
way. Although Roy insisted he’d done nothing, Melissa knew she wouldn’t have
been able to fight through and keep her sanity intact if she hadn’t had Roy
there to talk to. The darkness, the evil she’d seen there was worse than
anything else Melissa had experienced, even worse than the battle in Galgambwe.
Everything was going well and Melissa felt safe for the first time in what felt
like an eternity. Until the doctors discovered her bite wound. She’d barely
known what was happening. Men with guns appeared around her and she was whisked
away to isolation; Roy’s voice bellowing that she was immune loud and
persistent as Melissa was bound to a gurney and placed in an ambulance. She’d
tried to resist, but it was pointless. They assured her they weren’t going to
hurt her, that it was for her own protection, but Melissa knew it was more for
everyone else’s protection.

Melissa had been given something
to help her to sleep and woken up an unknown time later in a hospital room. She
had been changed into a hospital gown, her clothes presumably having been taken
for examination or possibly incineration. The door was secured by a special
keypad lock and the mirrored glass led her to believe it was some kind of
observation room. They’d removed one of the arm bindings so that she could use
one hand, but kept the ones around her ankles and her other arm. She was
provided with a few creature comforts: a television, some pretty good food on a
tray, and there was a call button for a nurse. Although inside she felt like a
trapped animal, her mind insisting she needed to get out of her current
situation, her instincts told her she was actually relatively safe. If they’d
considered her a significant threat, then the odds were good she’d never have
woken up and they’d have kept her sedated indefinitely. So, while she couldn’t
say she was happy about her situation, she also couldn’t say she didn’t
understand why they were treating her with such extreme caution.

Eventually, after several hours,
a doctor came to talk with Melissa. He explained, slowly, that after careful
examination of her blood stream, they could confirm she was completely clear of
infection, and while they didn’t fully understand what the infection was, they
were certain she was immune to its effects. He released her bindings,
apologised, then told he wanted her help. He wanted her to stay in the hospital
and allow them to run further tests using her blood to try and ascertain why
she was immune to the virus. Melissa agreed. In total, she was in the hospital
for about a month. Roy came to visit every now and then, on crutches while his leg
was healing after some surgery. It was taking time to heal and then he would
need more time for physiotherapy. When he came to visit, Melissa would ask what
news he had of the Ancillary, and he would reply each time that there was no
news. No one had seen or heard from the Ancillary, or any of the Reborn, since
the Seraph Incident, as the news agencies were now calling it. As details about
the infection were leaked and circulated amongst the press, the level of
hostility towards the police and the National Guard for the way they had dealt
with the infected was decreasing, but there was a clamouring for answers; a
demand to know how the infection could be treated. Some outlets had rightly or
wrongly labelled it as the Zombie virus. Rightly because they genuinely
believed that was what it appeared to be. Wrongly, because the motivation behind
some of the labelling was simply to sell more papers or for higher viewing
ratings with a scandalous, exciting title.

Melissa wasn’t surprised by the
way the world was reacting to the infection. It was pretty unbelievable stuff,
and when she woke up in a cold sweat, the nightmares still haunted her waking
world. Melissa wanted to believe she’d simply gone crazy and made the whole
thing up. But she wasn’t crazy. It was real. After being subjected to almost
every test imaginable, Melissa was about to be released when two FBI agents
appeared, one carrying a duffle bag containing clean clothes. They informed her
she needed to get dressed and accompany them. Where, they wouldn’t say. Why,
they wouldn’t say either, but it was clearly an order and not something she
could refuse to comply with. She was escorted to a private jet directly from
the hospital; aboard it she met up with Roy, who had also been collected by the
FBI with no explanation. They managed to learn they were going to Washington,
and that something significant had happened. What it was, Melissa had no idea,
and neither did Roy. There hadn’t been news of an attack or any Reborn
statements on the news that morning, which Melissa was sure would’ve been a
‘breaking news’ story. Once they arrived in Washington, they were whisked away
to the main FBI building, still without being told why they were there. They
were led through a series of corridors, up several floors via elevators, and
then towards some interrogation rooms. Melissa felt a faint trickle of fear run
down her spine. Did they think Roy and she had something to do with the
incident? She’d been questioned a number of times while in the hospital, and
they gave no indication they thought she was guilty of something.

Melissa and Roy were led into an
observation room. Inside, Melissa saw the Ancillary, sitting calmly in the
same, or similar, white robes as she had worn in Las Vegas. Melissa’s blood
boiled. She wanted to tear into the room and beat the Ancillary until she
begged for mercy for the pain and misery she’d helped to inflict on thousands
of families. She was stopped by a tall,, handsome looking FBI agent.

“Please, Miss Jones, calm
yourself. You’re here because we have reason to believe another attack is
imminent.” He explained in a softly spoken voice. “I’m Special Agent James
DeWitt, part of the Reborn task force.”

Melissa looked into his face and
took several deep, calming breaths.

“Why are we here, Agent DeWitt?” 
Roy quizzed.

“This woman walked in here about
six hours ago. She informed us there will be another attack sometime today and
assured us she will give us every detail we need to react in time, but she will
only give those details to both of you. She demanded you by name. We wouldn’t
normally respond to the demands of a criminal, but after seeing what their
virus can do and knowing we may not have much time...” DeWitt trailed off.

“I understand, Agent.” Roy
responded, looking at Melissa who was still fuming. She’d turned to glare at
the Ancillary through the glass.

“What do you want us to do?”
Melissa asked.

“Accompany me in there, get all
the details of the next attack that you can out of her, and then you’re free to
go. She’s been checked for weapons and she’s clean. She doesn’t have one of
those heart-rate injection devices either. Neither does she have one of the
collars the Reborn soldiers wear. She’s completely harmless.”

“Yeah, that’s what she wants you
to think.” Melissa answered harshly. “Let’s get this over with.”

DeWitt led the way out of the
room, with Melissa right behind and Roy following more slowly; moving along
with a walking stick instead of full crutches now. DeWitt opened the door and
let Melissa and Roy into the room before he entered and shut it behind him.

“Witness! I’m so glad you could
join us. I’d stand, but I’m manacled in a rather inconvenient fashion, so do
forgive me.” The Ancillary greeted pleasantly.

“Bitch.” Melissa responded,
taking a seat straight across from her and fighting back the urge to reach
across the desk and smack the Ancillary’s face.

“Roy, it’s a pleasure to finally
meet you. I’ll be honest, you weren’t supposed to survive. However, I’m so
pleased you did; you’ve proven yourself worthy of the coming world.” The
Ancillary said, smiling at Roy as she did so. Roy said nothing and took another
seat across from her.

“All right, they’re both here.
Now give us the details of coming attack.” DeWitt demanded.

“Patience.” The Ancillary replied
without looking at him. “I’m sorry I unleashed Kimberly on you on the roof,
Melissa. I was... emotional... after I learned about Sebastian’s passing. The
Teacher punished me and showed me the error of my ways. That’s one of the
reasons I’m here, instead of with him on this day of days.”

“What’s going to happen today?”
Melissa asked.

“Well, today we’re going to start
the great work to reshape society; to rebuild the world into a place where the
strong and the worthy can thrive.”

“Where? Where are you going to
unleash your virus?” Melissa demanded.

The Ancillary smiled. “What time
is it, Agent DeWitt?”

DeWitt checked his watch before
answering her. “A little after three.”

The Ancillary nodded. “Then, I am
allowed to tell you.”