Omega Virus (Book 2): Revisited (9 page)

“I’m having problems getting my machete free,” he screams as the next couple of Zombies raid the room.

“Do what you can,” Fanny says cutting off one of the foul creature’s heads, “we’ve got your back.”

One by one more Zombies enter the room. They start to overpower the group as their numbers begin to close in on them, backing them each into a circle. Mika still without his blade starts instead firing off pistol shots one by one trying to buy the others as much time as possible.

“I thought you said there was only a dozen of them?!” Fanny calls out kicking a few of them back.

“That’s all we could see,” Mika replies still firing off rounds until his gun runs dry, “I’m out.”

“Here,” Amanda says tossing him a clip, “it’s my last clip so make it count.”

“We need to find a way out of here,” Hope cries.

“She’s right. Even if we can fight them off, eventually it won’t matter because we won’t be able to move,” John says cutting off a Zombie’s arm before kicking it back and slicing off its head.

“There has to be another way out of this room,” Fanny says.

“Just that door,” Amanda replies, “and right now it seems a little occupied.”

“Then I guess this is the day we die,” Mika says.

“No. Today is the day they have to fight for their supper,” Hope says slashing her sword.

She drives through the massive amount of bodies lying on the ground around her. Her boots chug and scrap along the blood soaked carpet as she shuffles along waving for the others to follow her as she makes a path. They manage to retreat out of the office as sunlight starts to peer in through the stain glass windows. The colorful light almost clears a path for them as Amanda leads them down to the basement. Karen lets out a scream as a Zombie grabs her leg and knocks her to the ground. John rushes over to help, only to make it in time to see the Zombie sink its teeth right into her neck, silencing her. Blood spills out onto the hardwood along with her larynx and the rest of her throat. John swings the machete blade with a force of rage. Tears spill out of his eyes as he drops down beside her body not caring that another creature is standing behind him. Light bounces off a blade that cuts through the monster’s neck. The Zombie falls and reveals Sarah standing behind it.

“Fight now; cry later,” She says helping him up, “now we’ve got to go.”

John wipes his face on the sleeve of his shirt before taking his hand. They follow the others down the stairs, the remaining horde struggling to follow them. Amanda rushes over to the control panel, struggling to enter the code in the low light of the basement. Fanny flicks on her flashlight and hands it to her. Fanny turns around to check on her group when she sees a pair of eyes reflecting the light, standing right behind Mika. She rushes over, knocking John and Sarah over as she does. She manages to push Mika out of the way just as the creature goes to take a bite out of him. She can feel the sting of its teeth piercing through her shoulder and down to the bone. She fights off the pain just enough to slash the beast with her good arm, making sure to send the blade all the way through. Mika pulls her away as the Zombie’s decapitated body falls to the ground. More Zombies can be seen stumbling down the stairs as they pile into the elevator. The doors creak shut as the elevator starts its descent downward.

“Her shoulder, it’s bleeding badly,” Mika says cupping his hand over it trying to slow down the blood loss.

Fanny cries out in pain as he pushes harder, the blood staining his hands and starting to pool out between his fingers.

“As soon as we get down to the base we need to rush her to medical,” Amanda says tearing off a strip of her own shirt and wrapping it tightly around her arm just near the bite. “That should help, but she is losing a lot of blood, there isn’t much time to waste.”

Fanny’s eyes roll into the back of her head before she blacks out. The elevator doors open and Mika picks up his savior and rushes her out and down the white hallway, drops of red blood falling behind like breadcrumbs in the woods. Amanda is right behind him with the others still trying to come to terms with everything that just transpired. Hope is running her fingers through her hair as she starts to gasp for air, almost to the point of hyperventilation.

“Glad to see you survived your little mission,” The Major says walking over to her.

The tears stop almost immediately when she hears his voice, her eyes bloodshot and red fill with hate and anger. She drops her sword to the ground, the clanging of the metal on the floor like music as she punches the Major right in the face, knocking him back a few steps. She continues to swing wildly.

“You could have helped us,” She screams, “you could have had the elevator waiting for us, you knew we were coming back you son of a bitch!”

John and Sarah grab her arms and pull her away from the Major. He takes out a square of cloth from his pants pocket and wipes the blood off his lip.

“Yes I could have,” He admits, “but I told you not to go, I warned you. But no, you had to go and be the hero and save your friends. Well this is the consequence of your actions. Now one of your friends is dead and the other is in serious condition. And both of those are your fault.”

“Yeah but we’re still alive because of her,” Sarah says angrily.

“Yeah if she listened to you then we would have all been killed,” John chimes in.

“A small price to pay for security,” The Major says in a cruel tone.

“You’re a monster,” Sarah says, her voice in almost a whisper.

“No, I’m a survivor. I know what it takes. And if that means sacrificing a human life every once in a while then so be it!” His rugged voice echoes off the bare walls of the bunker catching the attention of every resident inside, but not a one says a thing. In fact most seem to ignore him, “See, even they know it. You’re just the only one stupid enough not to realize it.”

“I’d rather die a hundred death then let people I care about suffer. It might seem stupid to you, but in my opinion, you are worse than those… CREATURES out there,”

“Watch what you say to me little girl, or you’ll find yourself back out there with those things,” The Major says with a sly smirk before turning his back and slowly walking away, but not before adding one last thing that irks Hope some more. “You may want to find your friend in the infirmary and say goodbye. It’s not likely that she’ll make it through the day.”

John and Sarah struggle to hold her back as she tries to wriggle herself free.

“It’s not worth it right now,” John says in a whisper.

“Yeah, we should check on Fanny just in case,” Sarah agrees.”

“Fine,” Hope says pulling her arms away.

They follow the drops of blood to the infirmary. A giant Red Cross is painted on the sliding glass door. The trio watch closely not wanting to disturb anything. Amanda looks up and notices them at the door and waves them in, a worried look on her face.

“How is she?” Hope asks.

“The doctor was able to close the wound fairly quickly. He also gave her a shot of antibiotics and the last of the painkillers we have,” She says with a wary smile.

“Does that mean she’ll be alright?” John asks as he watches Hope stroke her friend’s hair.

“No, he’s afraid that she lost too much blood. And I’m afraid our reserve blood is dried up, or whatever we do have left is severely out of date. So unless we find her a match I don’t know what we can do,” Amanda sighs.

“Where’s Mika?” Sarah asks.

“He’s with the doctor checking the records of each of the few survivors we have left to see if we have a match,” Amanda replies.

Hope’s eyes start to water again as her eyes look up and down her friend’s body. Her shirt had been removed to give easy access to the bite mark. A gray sports bra keeps her covered but Hope slides the thin white bed sheet just past her breasts.

“Take mine,” Hope says, her eyes never leaving Fanny’s pale face as she speaks.

“But if it’s not a match it would kill her,” Amanda says.

“We are both A positive,” Hope says with an unpleasant chuckle, “I know because I remember when I was seven or eight my father was training me outback with a machete. I really didn’t want to, I was scared I was just a little girl but he insisted. He took a few light swings at me, it wasn’t much but it scared me enough to back me up without looking. I tripped and split my chin on a rock. The medical team on the island stitched me up but said I needed some blood. They did a quick check and found Fanny was a match. Now I want to repay her for that day.”

“We are going to have to take a lot of blood,” Amanda warns.

“I don’t care if you take it all,” Hope says, “just save my friend.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Mika says coming back into the room with the doctor beside him.

The doctor is an older gentleman. His head is partially bald, with dark hair grazing around the side and the back of his head. He is wearing a white doctor’s jacket with the name Belcourt embroidered on the front. A clipboard clenched within his two boney hands.

“We are only going to need a pint or two,” The doctor says flipping over a few pages on his clipboard.

“Will it save her?” Hope asks.

“It’s a start,” The doctor says, “after we give her the blood it the rest will be up to her and her will to live.”

“Then let’s get started,” Hope says roll up her sleeve and sliding a chair over to Fanny’s bed.

The doctor nods and wipes her arm down with a cool cloth before placing the tip of the needle against her skin, “this is going to sting a bit,” he says driving the sharp point deep beneath her skin only stopping when he reaches the vein. Hope lets out a short grunt and cry as he digs around. His fingers are bony and rough against her tender skin. He holds the needle still; his thumb gripped tightly around her arm as he tapes the needle down. He clamps the end of the needle stopping the rush of blood from going anywhere. “Now don’t move that arm too much. I wouldn’t want you to blow a vein.”

Hope sits as still as possible, watching carefully as the doctor proceeds to stick Fanny’s arm. He then positions them carefully as blood starts to run from her to her friend. She can feel her head start to become lighter; the room starts to spin slowly around her. She tries to shake it off but only manages to give herself a headache.

“Are you ok?” Sarah asks.

“I…I’m beginning to feel dizzy,” Hope responds.

“She’s losing too much blood,” Amanda says, catching her before she could fall out of the chair.

The doctor rushes over and begins to check out Hope’s body. He lifts up her shirt his hand squishing as he sees the gash in her stomach, slowly leaking. Thick amounts of blood coat her pale skin. The doctor goes for the needle but is stopped by Hope’s free hand.

“No,” She says weakly.

“If I don’t take that needle out and patch you up, then you are going to die,” Doctor Bettencourt says.

“Then let me die,” Hope says trying to sit up.

“You don’t understand,” Doctor Bettencourt starts, “you are getting delirious from blood loss.”

“No I understand,” Hope says as the room grows fuzzy, “but I don’t care. I’m willing to give every last drop of blood to save her.”

“There is no saving her,” The doctor says forcibly, “there is nothing you can do.”

His words hit Hope hard. She lets out a loud gasp, her face draining of all color just before she loses consciousness.

Chapter 7

              A sharp, stabbing pain awakens Hope. The room is dark with trace amounts of light coming from the machines which she is hooked too. Hope tries to call for help but no words can escape her mouth. She begins prying weakly at the I.V. in her hand but all she can see is blurriness. Her free hand throws the covers off of her body and she can feel her bare body exposed to the cold chill in the room. She quickly pulls the sheet back over herself, her hand still caressing her body until she reaches the stiches on her stomach. Tears run down her cheeks as she starts to sob softly, thoughts of Fanny running through her mind. She manages to hold back the tears as the door to her room opens up wide, light pouring in. Between the blurriness and the light she can only make out a shadow standing in the doorway.

              “He-hello,” she manages to choke out. Her voice is shaky, her throat feels soft, dry and burning.

              “I’m glad to see you’re finally awake,” the shadowy figure calls out.

The voice sounds slightly distorted as Hope tries to pull her mind out of the dream like state.

“Who is it?” Hope asks almost in a panic. A machine to her right starts to beat softly at first but then rapidly begins to increase as she feels her heart racing.

“It’s me, Amanda,” She responds turning on an old desk light. The bulb isn’t too strong, but lights up the room just enough, for Hope to watch the blurred pieces of Amanda start to take shape. “You need to relax. Your heart rate is getting higher than it needs to be. You wouldn’t want that wound to start to seep right?”

“Wound?” Hope mumbles feeling the stitched up skin on her stomach.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Amanda asks.

“Pain,” Hope says after a slight pause, “and I remember giving my blood to… to… Fanny!” Her eyes open wide as she starts to remember her friend. The machine starts to beat rapidly as tears build up in her eyes.

“Please, relax,” Amanda begs, drying her eyes with a soft blue rag.

“How am I supposed to relax? My oldest and dearest friend is dead,” Hope mumbles between sobs.

“She’s alive,” Amanda says with a smile as she sits on the edge of Hope’s bed.

The tears stop suddenly as Hope glares in Amanda’s direction. She tries to read her body language, unsure if she is truly willing to believe her right away.

“How? I thought the blood…”

“We found another donor,” Amanda says, cutting her off. “After you passed out, Doctor Bettencourt took care of your wound. He was patching you up when the results came back revealing that another in our little community had the same blood type as you and Fanny.”

“Who?” Hope asks as the machine returns to normal.

“Me,” The Major replies from the doorway. “I’m sorry to admit that I had been listening in on your conversation. But I heard the machine going off and I thought I should check. When I heard you talking I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Its fine,” Hope says as Amanda gets up from the bed. Feeling that she is no longer wanted, Amanda leaves the two alone. “Why did you help us?”

The Major paces back and forth, his eyes never leaving Hope’s, as his mind searches for the right words. “I guess it’s hard to explain. In a word, redemption comes to mind.”

“Redemption? For what?”

“There are a lot of things I’m not proud of,” he starts, his eyes dropping from hers to the floor as he takes in a deep breath of air and lets it out slowly, “most recently I would have to say it would be not joining you, Amanda and Mika in saving your friends. I’m sure when we first met you probably thought I was just another stubborn army leader. A cold, uncaring person who doesn’t care if others live or die.”

“I didn’t…” Hope mumbles.

“Oh but I was,” He says in a loud booming voice that drowns hers out. “I’ve been here in this bunker for the last seventeen years. I can still remember the day my platoon got news of the virus spreading. My orders were to gather down here and wait for further instructions. At first there were only a handful of us down here, all secret military. Others begged to be saved but I looked the other way, letting them die. Mika and Amanda eventually talked me into letting others down here with us. It started off innocent enough, just clergy and small families, but before too long it became too much. Food and drink rations started to diminish faster than expected. So I made a choice; I would send groups out weekly in search of rations. It seemed like a foolproof plan, if they returned then we continued to go on as normal.”

“And if they didn’t return?”

The Major turns his back on her letting out another deep sigh, “Well let’s just say their sacrifice meant longer survival for the rest of us.”

“You sent them to their deaths?” Hope says feeling sick.

“In laymen’s terms, yes,” he admits, “but it didn’t start off like that. The first couple of months the scavengers would return. But eventually the teams had to travel farther and farther. That’s when the likely hood of returning faded. So now you understand a little bit of how I’m feeling.”

“You’re a monster,” Hope says disgusted.

“You think you’re the first person who’s told me that?” He says with a dark tone, his body hovering over hers as she backs into the mattress with fear. “Everyone here knows it, including me. And I’m the one who suffers. Every night, the guilt, the nightmares it consumes me. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in years. Then you came along with your friends and I had a chance to redeem myself, but instead I am stuck with my old, stubborn ways. I had the opportunity and I missed it. So when I found out I was a match, I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity again.”

He backs away from her bed, his hands rubbing his forehead violently, as he lets out a muffled yell.

“I’m sorry,” Hope says softly. “I shouldn’t have called you a monster. You did what you thought you needed to do to survive. My father used to tell me stories about the things he had to do; it’s not pleasant but guess neither is the time we are living in.”

“No its not,” he says with a tear rolling down his cheek as he starts for the door.

“If it means anything at all, thank you,” Hope calls out. “Fanny is more than a friend to me, she is like an older sister. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

“Let’s just hope you never have to find out,” The Major says as he leaves the room in a hurry.

Hope sits in the room alone, her hand continuously stroking the stitched up scar. The monitor continues to beep, constantly reminding her that she is locked down to the bed. There is a dark silence from the hallway her mind races with anxiety. Her chest feels tight as the room starts to close in around her. She starts to scratch and paw at her I.V. the machine beeps louder causing her to panic more.

“What are you doing?” Amanda says rushing over to her.

“I have to get these off,” Hope says not looking up, “I can’t, I can’t handle this.” Amanda grabs her hand stopping her before she can remove the I.V. Hope lifts her head, her eyes are puffy and red. “I need to get out of here.”

“I know,” Amanda says with a soothing voice as possible. “But for now I think it may be best if you just remain here and rest.”

“I can’t,” Hope drones between sobs, “I, I need to get out of here.”

“Hope,” Fanny’s voice calls from the doorway. Her arm is wrapped up in white bandages and strapped around her waist for support. On the top of her shoulder a pink stain of old blood starts to show. She walks over to Hope’s bed, the top half of her body swaying slightly with each step.

“Fanny?!” Hope says with a radiant smile bursting through the tears.

“Yes, it’s me,” Fanny responds.

“Fanny you weren’t supposed to leave your room,” Amanda scolds, standing between her and Hope’s bed. “Doctor Bettencourt said you needed to rest and build up your strength.”

“Yeah I know what Doctor Bettencourt said,” Fanny says getting right up against Amanda, “but I could hear Hope and I had to come to her.”

Amanda glares into Fanny’s eyes. She looks so deep she can almost see the fire burning deep within her. Fanny never blinks, standing her ground, and backing Amanda away.

“Fine,” Amanda says taking a few steps back before heading for the door again, “but keep it short. You may not care about your life, but she needs to rest too.”

Fanny nods as Amanda fades out of view. She turns back to her bedridden friend a smile on her face as her eyes start to swell, “I’m so glad you’re safe.” She wraps her good arm around her neck and holds her tightly.

“I want to go home,” Hope chokes out.

“I know you do,” Fanny says soothing her. She sits beside her on the bed and Hope drops her head onto her shoulder. Fanny starts to run her fingers through Hope’s hair. “I know you want to go home, but we still have a job to do. So we need to do our best to get better and get it done.”

“I…I…” Hope stammers, “I don’t think I’m strong enough.”

Fanny pushes her friend away softly staring her drained and emotionless friend in the eyes. “I’ve never known anyone as strong as you. You are fire and passion.”

“No, that’s my father,” Hope sniffles.

“Your father was the reluctant hero, thrown into the fire unwillingly. You heard that people were in need and you jumped right into it. You are the heart and soul I wish I could be,” Fanny says with as much passion as she could muster.

“You think so?” Hope asks finally cracking a smile.

“I know so,” Fanny reassures, “Hell, I wish I could be like you.”

“But you seem so sure of yourself and confident. You took charge and have kept us alive.”

“No, I let us lose three people in the first few days of getting off the boat,” Fanny laments, “you on the other hand stood up and followed Amanda and Mika down here and then came back for us when we needed you.”

“I couldn’t leave you,” Hope replies, “I don’t know how I would ever live without you.”

“That’s something you might have to figure out,” Fanny says harshly, “I don’t want to bring you down, but you have to look at things realistically. There is no certainty out here, you and I could be killed at any moment.” Fanny runs her hand down to her stomach, her fingers running across the stitches. “I mean either one of us could have been killed the other night.”

“But we didn’t,” Hope argues.

“We got lucky,” Fanny snaps back, “We both had life threatening situations and could be dead right now.”

“But we’re not!” Hope reasons her voice growing louder with each word. “Maybe we did get lucky, but why argue about something good.”

“Because I need you to realize that we cannot rely on luck alone. We need to plan ahead, to be smart,” Fanny says with a sense of urgency in her voice, “That’s why I don’t think I can lead this team anymore. They need someone with the same compassion and drive for life that they have. Someone like you.”

“Me?” Hope asks confused, “But I can’t lead. I’m not… I mean you… but why?”

“Because you’re what they need, what we need,” Fanny says getting to her feet. “In the mean time you need some rest. So think it over and just know that I have faith in you.” Fanny’s eyes roll to the side of the bed, the dim light on the ceiling catching the bright scabbard of Hope’s sword resting against the wall. She reaches over and holds it in her hands. “And I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one who believes you could do it.” She lays the katana down on the bed beside her.

Hope lays speechless her eyes following Fanny as she glides across the floor, never looking back as she slides out the door.

Me in charge,
Hope thinks to herself.
Is it even possible? The lives of everyone resting on my shoulders; it makes me sick to my stomach.
Her hand inches slowly toward the sword. She pulls back after touching the cold steel. She reaches over again, this time pulling it toward her and sliding the blade out slowly. She looks closely at the blade, closer than she’s ever looked before. In her mind the blade had always been perfect, a symbol of what her parents and others had to endure. There are a few faded brownish black stains, blood that couldn’t be removed, and small nicks in the metal where the blade connected with certain items.
This sword helped my father. I remember all the stories he told me of how he found it when he needed it most, and how he always had it with him after that moment. But he entrusted it to me. I can’t let him down!

“I won’t let them down!” Hope exclaims sliding the blade back into its sheath.