Toxic (16 page)

The detail intrigued him. The emissary received a concise explanation from the Arthrosian. “We regulated the sensitivity of drones to locate groups of greater than one hundred healthy targets. That allows us to concentrate on the important objectives. Humans are spreading out, but they end up reuniting in communities. Sooner or later, it’s in their nature.”

“So, you’re waiting for them to form groups?”

“Their instincts push them to look for contact with their fellow creatures, most likely to assure the reproduction of the species.”

“These clusters are becoming rare. And with that, comes our problem,” Naakrit added.

They observed the carousel of spoiled products. The horde then moved to the north, following a boulevard which crossed the island-like terrain from one end to the other. Once the last creature had left the survivor’s side, they saw three silhouettes cross the street. Seen from closer up, Jave recognized two females and a male. The four humans were of no interest to the drone, which was turning on its wing to continue its surveillance.

Jave felt pins and needles on his skin. He declared, “I’m going there.”

Naakrit approved. “I agree. I can quickly mobilize an equipped squadron and a T-J.”

“I’ll go alone. Give me the T-J.”

The reptilian’s immediate reaction didn’t surprise him.

“I refuse to let you go out to hunt alone. Remember what happened in Siberia.”

The Lynian refuted his point of view. “You have one hundred thousand units to find and deliver to the Kuat Cartel. Up until now, you have favored urban centers. The infected are present there in great numbers and don’t let healthy humans survive. Either they get bitten or killed, or they are forced to flee and therefore become harder to find.”

Naakrit fixed his eyes on him with as much intensity as a field disruptor. Jave continued his demonstration.

“You’ll get better results by searching in rural areas, on the edge of civilization. These regions are surely home to community reservoirs which may be exploited on short notice.”

The reptilian’s green eyes, similar to polished stones, didn’t move and concentrated on the emissary. The latter was doing his job, no more, no less: he brought solutions to the table.

“The most promising areas are located in the middle of this continent,” Jave assured him, displaying a world map.

“Africa? Humans paid little attention to it.”

“The destruction of society didn’t completely destroy their organization or disrupt their way of life. You’ll surely find villages which contain several octains of units.”

The prediction sparked the Primark’s interest. Lynians had the particular ability to find ways out in the middle of murky operations. Naakrit approached the virtual projection.

“What do you estimate the potential is?”

“It’s difficult to estimate right now. I’m basing myself on the tera-server databases. The entire basin was home to almost two hundred million units before the invasion.”

“I could reach my quota in a few octo-diems.”

“Probably,” Jave confirmed.

Naakrit turned towards him. “Very well. Take the T-J and don’t be careless. The Combinate may accuse me of losing you.”

At that moment, Jave asked himself why the merchant princes had given him this responsibility. Did the relationship between the smuggler and his creditors go beyond the framework of the contract?

T
he announcement had floored them all.

By observing the dumbstruck expression on the speechless faces, Elaine understood that she had just made an impression on these people. She was gaining the upper hand on Hector, who, unsettled, had lowered his gun.

“If an antidote exists, it’s definitely worth listening to,” she heard behind her.

The biologist held his arm in the girl’s direction. Bruce had joined her side. Excellent, she congratulated herself. The trafficker didn’t seem like the type to be forced into something. However, now a minority, he could reconsider his decision and let himself be influenced.

“We’ll find a spot to stop and get supplies,” Alva argued. “Ports aren’t lacking around here.”

When Hector scowled, she knew that she had won this round. She wasn’t fooling herself: they would still oppose each other and his Latin temperament would cause him to get back at her at his first chance. She had dared to defy him. His shady eyes let loose bolts of contained rage.

“She won’t talk until we’ve set sail,” Elaine declared.

They raised the anchor in silence. While they were moving away from the coast, the nurse faced the perplexity of her new friends. Sitting on the end of the bench, she observed them one by one around the wardroom table. She looked over the closed-minded face of Hector, who was sitting in front of her. He remained strangely calm, almost relaxed. Waiting, she imagined. He had opened up the door to three cabins, keeping the last one for himself. Masters had shot him a stunned look, taken by surprise by the news that had delighted Alva. She was finally going to sleep in a bed.

For the last three days and nights, they had survived the infected and avoided attracting the attention of the aliens which they knew almost nothing about. The creatures that had come from space had sent humanity on a train to hell, the final stop of which was extinction. They were a group, she told herself once again, albeit varied, but they demonstrated that they were capable of putting their differences aside. At least for a while. Her hands moved along the surface of the lacquered wood, typical of the interior décor of the nautical world, and noted that it seemed so fragile.

“When the colonel and I found her,” she started in a clear voice, “Alison was living in a former animal shelter. Her father had been bitten. She locked him up in a cage.”

Bruce and Alva looked compassionately at the child, who all of a sudden felt even younger.

Nobody interrupted her until the end of her story. Elaine finished before the promise to free the dad, judging it to be more prudent to cut short. In turn, she asked the girl’s permission to spread the contents of her backpack on the table. Maybe she was transporting information on the location of the cure without knowing it. The girl agreed.

The survivors examined the meager possessions with the same caution as detectives examining evidence. Among the trifles and candies stuck in a shapeless mass, they concentrated on the important elements. A keychain held a sticker of the girl and her parents. Nobody dared touch it. Alva grabbed one of the two worn teddy bears.

“Are you sure that he was talking about a cure?” she inquired.

“Maybe. He told me to wait until help arrived to save him with the medicine.”

The wallet ended up in the colonel’s hands. The ID, credit cards and receipts were of no interest. On the other hand, the access badge for the Atlanta Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a printed picture in bad conditions raised a slew of questions.

“You dad worked at the CDC?” Masters questioned.

“Do you know the person in the photo?”

Alison became afraid. She didn’t know the answers. Elaine decided to put an end to the session.

“She’s young,” she reminded them. “She needs to rest.”

Bruce leaned on the table’s edge. “This guy was bitten. He didn’t have his wits anymore. When you’re fucked up, you start to hope for things that don’t exist.”

“All of that is still unclear,” Elaine admitted. “If he was a CDC staff member, we can assume that he wasn’t telling stories, and even less so to his daughter in similar circumstances. Would you lie on your deathbed?”

Alison grabbed a notebook covered in colored drawings which she clutched against her chest. “It’s my diary. I don’t want anyone to read it.”

Nobody protested. Bruce leaned in to examine the old photo closer up. “This guy, I think he’s Valery Orlov.”

“Who’s Valery Orlov?” Alva asked.

With his blue eyes wide open and his forehead crinkled in disbelief, the young man made fun of the artist.

“Are you from another planet as well?”

Masters’ stifled smile backed up the student’s remark. Alva preferred to respond with a disdainful look, her fingers clenched against the bench. Elaine came to her rescue.

“He discovered Siva-B, the vaccine against HIV.”

“Oh!” Alva realized. “So the girl’s dad worked with the creator of that piece of shit.”

The Colombian’s severe look had its effect on the girl, who moved a little closer to the nurse. Elaine grabbed her hand to reassure her. As long as she was with her, she wouldn’t be at risk. The colonel, who looked at the back of the badge, furrowed his eyebrows.

“What do you think this means?”

He put the plastic card where everyone could see it. It contained a series of numbers written in pen followed the words
Site B
.

“An army trick, most likely,” Bruce proposed.

Elaine observed Dew, who remained separated. The Asian approached the table to better read the numbers. When she asked him if he knew what they meant, he nodded his head. Hector and Masters tensed up as she encouraged him.

“Show us.”

Dew shot a fearful glance towards the Colombian.

“He won’t do anything to you,” the nurse reassured him.

Hector shrugged as a sign of agreement. Without hesitating, Dew pointed to the wall behind him. He grabbed a sheet off of it and then stood up. Once the map was correctly unfolded and held still with the help of heavy objects on its four corners, Masters shot him a huge smile.

“Coordinates?”

The Asian confirmed it and put his index finger on the Bahamas. After a brief moment, a debate was suddenly sparked when Masters let his point of view be heard.

“Maybe it’s worth it to go there.”

Immediately, Hector rejected the idea.

“Out of the question. I’m setting course to the south, in the direction of Colombia.”

From the tone of his voice, he seemed determined to follow his departure plan. Once again, nobody wanted to go against his will. Masters left the wardroom. The meeting came to an end with a dejected atmosphere. The captain announced that he was planning to leave the coast and go straight towards the Gulf of Mexico.

Elaine joined the colonel on the bridge after putting Alison, in her exhausted state, to bed. The marine had taken off his gun. Strangely, the Colombian hadn’t reclaimed it. Watching him concentrated on cleaning, she was reminded of her own father, who, after fighting with her mother, underwent this ritual to release tension. Masters whispered some swearwords between his teeth. The nurse sat down at his side.

He grabbed one of the pieces spread out along the wainscoting.

“He’s taking us along for a ride.”

Elaine shrugged. “Maybe. We’re all in the same difficult situation. For the moment, we have no other choice but to survive.”

The colonel put down the barrel, after having wiped it down with the help of a rag.

“This guy has been hanging around Florida since the invasion. He’s had plenty of time to do fifty round trips to his country. For me, his story doesn’t add up.”

His brown eyes shone with annoyance.

“What do you think?”

“Something is keeping him in the area. Maybe he stole this boat to escape from the hell on earth and he isn’t really a drug trafficker. Hector is hiding something from us.”

The moment seemed ideal.

“Like all of us. You, for example. What were you doing in Key West? I also have the impression that you know a lot about the aliens. Am I wrong?”

The marine’s cheek shook, she remarked. Masters shut himself up in silence.

“You both seem to need time,” she concluded, before leaving him to his cleaning.

J
ave shot vertically down towards Cocoa Beach after jumping from the T-J, which maintained a stable altitude gliding in autopilot mode. The ship went through its circular motions as he plunged towards the ground sectioned off by streets and avenues. The emissary activated the agrav repulsors and landed gracefully like giant beetle in the middle of the road. He gave himself a moment to observe the area around him, the low buildings and the vegetation which was overflowing from the gardens. Scanners didn’t indicate movement in the immediate surroundings.