The Tide: Deadrise (34 page)

“Why?”

“I can’t—”

A hand grabbed Chris’s shoulder. He dropped his comm card, and it clattered on the sidewalk.

“Christopher Morgan,” an unfamiliar man said. Blood vessels lit up his eyes in red spider webs, and mottled purple stains covered his face like an enormous bruise. “You’re Christopher Morgan.”

Chris took a step back and scooped up his comm card. The call with Veronica had been lost. “What do you want, buddy?”

Despite the unrelenting heat, the man wore a baggy hooded sweatshirt and oversized sweat pants. He appeared as large as a mountain, a brute of a man, most likely an enhancer who’d modified his DNA for increased muscle mass and strength. A mix of body odor and a metallic scent drifted from the man. He grabbed Chris’s lapel. “I want you to fix me.”

Chris swiped the man’s swollen hand off his suit jacket. Catching another whiff of the man’s scent, he stifled a gag. “I’m not sure who you are, but if you want someone to fix you, I’d suggest a hospital.”

“I can’t,” the stranger said, his eyes wide and his bloated lips quivering. He pulled the hood off his head. Scraps of dry hair sprouted in patches from his scalp. Crimson and purple splotches covered his skin.

Chris took another step back. “You need a doctor.”

The man shook his head and trembled. His body convulsed, and he fell to the ground.

For a moment, Chris froze. He stared at the shaking man until his thoughts clicked into gear and he dialed emergency services. “Yes, I’ve got a guy who looks like...he’s dying.” He knelt next to the stranger.

The man writhed and moaned on the sidewalk. He grabbed at his chest and pulled on his sweatshirt.

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked, his voice panicked now. “Did you take something? Did someone hurt you?”

The man yelled out. A woman leaving her apartment across the street sprinted toward them, her blond hair bouncing in waves. “What the hell’s going on? Did you call an ambulance?”

“Yes, of course I did,” Chris said, scowling.

The attack seemed to abate as the man opened his eyes. “This is your fault. You did this.” He panted and coughed.

“What did you do to him?” The woman leered at Chris.

He held his hands up to placate her. “Nothing. I don’t even know this guy. I have no idea what’s going on.” He tried to believe the statement, but his heart sank. Was this his fault? Was he somehow responsible? If the man was an enhancer...

The man arched up on the sidewalk and groaned in agony again. His fingers tore into his sweatshirt, and he pulled the fabric apart as if he ripped a sheet of paper.

The woman stumbled backward, her hand over her mouth.

“Oh, my God,” Chris said. The man
must
have been an enhancer. There was no other explanation for his inhuman strength.

As the sick man cried out, he shredded away the cotton remnants of his sweatshirt. His bare chest revealed muscles swollen and bulging like balloons ready to pop. The skin over his pectorals and abdominals shared the same mottled appearance as his face and scalp.

“What the hell?” The woman shot a frightened look at Chris. “What’s going on?”

He felt sick. His stomach twisted in knots as he pressed his palms into his forehead. “He’s an enhancer. Something’s gone wrong.”

“An enhancer? Good lord.”

The man bellowed. More bystanders trickled out of neighboring apartments. Chris could feel eyes watching the scene from windows all down the street. He shook his head, unable to believe what he was seeing. The wail of an ambulance screamed, and the emergency vehicle spun around the corner. An ambulatory drone flew ahead of it, loaded with medical supplies and lights flashing to help clear the way. He flagged the emergency vehicle down.

The bulbous man coughed, his head cranked to the side, and blood streamed out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes wrenched open, and he caught Chris’s gaze. The man’s nose quivered into a snarl. “You...did...this.” He pointed at Chris. His arm trembled with the effort. “Your...work...your fault.”

The ambulatory drone landed nearby, opening its shell to reveal a host of emergency equipment. Paramedics rushed past the woman and knelt by the man as another convulsion took him. His entire body shook as if electricity coursed through his bones. Blood vessels dilated and throbbed underneath his skin and over his grotesque muscles. One of the paramedics tried to roll the man to his side and secure the enhancer’s head as he seized. With a yell, the enhancer swung his arm. It collided with the paramedic’s chest and sent her flying backward. She sprawled across the black asphalt behind the ambulance.

Chris ran to her. “Are you okay?”

When she didn’t answer, the other paramedic glanced between the enhancer and his compatriot. He grabbed a medical pack from the drone, jumped to his coworker’s side, and checked her pulse.

“You’ve got to call another ambulance,” Chris said, pointing to the neighbor who had joined the scene earlier.

Her face still pale, she nodded and pulled her comm card from her purse. “We need another ambulance,” she barked into it. “Yes, I know one was sent. You need to send another! Send the police, too!”

Chris combed his fingers through his hair. He was not interested in getting involved with the police. If this enhancer accused
him
of being responsible for whatever the hell was happening, Baltimore PD would certainly have a few questions.

He knelt by the bruised, convulsing man. In the back of his mind, he’d always wondered if the gene mods he sold had ever caused any negative side effects in their users. Potential evidence of his worst fears writhed in pain before him. He reached out, his arm shaking in trepidation, and he slowly approached the enhancer. He wanted to help, but he didn’t want to end up unconscious like the first paramedic.

The man’s seizure passed, and he lay panting on the concrete.

“Can I help? Can I do something for you?” Chris didn’t expect a response, but he felt useless watching the man shake uncontrollably. He placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, where his shirt was torn to shreds. Heat radiated up from the enhancer’s body and into Chris’s palm.

The man’s eyes bulged. His muscles undulated like ripples of water from a stone thrown into a pond. “Fix me,” he said in a raspy voice. “Fix this.”

“I want to,” Chris said. “I really do, but I’m not a doctor. Tell me your name, something so I can find you later. I promise I’ll make this right.”

The enhancer said something, but his words fell flat and weak. Chris leaned in closer. Erupting into a coughing fit, the stranger spewed blood.

The spray hit Chris on the side of his face. He leapt back. He repressed the urge to vomit and wiped the warm liquid with the back of his hand.

“God, are you okay?” the blond-haired woman asked.

“It’s not my blood,” Chris managed to say between gags. He knelt next to the enhancer again and placed a hand on the man’s swollen shoulder. “Stay with us.”

The now-familiar sound of sirens screamed down the street. Another ambulance tailed a police car. Two officers rushed from their vehicle toward Chris and the quivering enhancer. Another three paramedics bounded behind them. A steady stream of pedestrians gaped and pointed at the scene. Several took holovideos with their comm cards.

Chris shook his head and tried to avoid showing his face to the cards. He didn’t need this kind of publicity. Not now.

He pulled his own card from his pocket. Two missed calls from Veronica showed, but that would have to wait. Scrolling through his contacts, he placed a call.

“Hello? Chris?” the smooth voice answered.

“Hey, Jordan. I don’t think I’m going to be there in time for the Caninex client.”

“Why?”

The enhancer jolted to his feet and reared back. Every vessel in his body protruded against his reddening skin. He yelled out an anguished cry as his entire body quaked. Each muscle flexed, pulling against the others in contrary movements. It appeared as if the man’s muscles were tearing from his bones. Skin peeled and tore in wide trenches. With another bellow, his head lolled back, and he fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The enhancer lay motionless, dead.

Chris let his comm card slip from his fingers, and a hush descended over the onlookers for a brief moment before screams pierced the humid morning air.

No, he wasn’t going to make the meeting.

END OF
MALIGNANT
EXCERPT

Find the rest of book here,
http://amzn.to/1xkBiyh
, or check out AnthonyJMelchiorri.com.

––––––––

Enhancement (Black Market DNA #1)

––––––––

I
n the year 2058, Baltimore’s latest crime epidemic is illegal genetic enhancements. Convicted dealer Christopher Morgan finds himself on a hit-list before he’s even released from prison. In a race for survival, he must uncover a shocking conspiracy involving organized crime and genetic engineering.

Find it here:
http://amzn.to/1rhSboa

––––––––

Malignant (Black Market DNA #2)

––––––––

A
genetically engineered and unstoppable cancer is spreading through Baltimore’s citizens. Christopher Morgan eagerly joins Doctor Robin Haynes on a quest to engineer a cure. As the cancer spreads across the country, they discover the disease may be connected to a criminal organization. With the body count rising, they find themselves embroiled in something deeper than they ever imagined—an underground world of scientific intrigue, organized crime, and medical conspiracies.

Find it here:
http://amzn.to/1xkBiyh

––––––––

Variant (Black Market DNA #3)

––––––––

W
hile treating a patient, Robin discovers a dangerous pathogen long-since thought to be eradicated. Her investigations lead to a startling and terrifying revelation. Now, Chris Morgan may be the only one that can help her uncover the truth. 

A powerful adversary from Chris’s past has returned. The lives of thousands, maybe millions, are at stake. 

Find it here:
http://amzn.to/1NgIti3

––––––––

Fatal Injection (A Black Market DNA Novella)

––––––––

B
altimore PD Officer Ana Dellaporta must unravel a sinister plot involving missing persons, murder, and genetic experimentation. And when one of her close friends goes missing, she must uncover the gruesome truth before the trail goes cold and her friend becomes the next victim.

Find it here:
http://amzn.to/1BRcAEf

––––––––

The God Organ

––––––––

B
rilliant biomedical scientist Preston Carter introduces an implantable artificial organ designed to grant its recipients near-immortality. But many of those recipients are suddenly dying. With the organ already implanted in his own body, Carter must uncover the truth before he’s killed by his own invention.

Find it here:
http://amzn.to/1yjmMGF

––––––––

The Human Forged

––––––––

F
ormer Army Specialist Nick Corrigan is abducted and unwittingly becomes embroiled in a biotechnological nightmare. He embarks on a dangerous adventure to return home. The only person that might be able to help him is a man Nick never knew existed—his clone. 

Back in Washington, CIA analyst Sara Monahan makes a startling discovery while tracking the use of biological weapons in an ongoing war in Africa. She races to uncover a global conspiracy that may shake the very essence of what it means to be human. 

Find it here:
http://bit.ly/thf14