The Walking Plague Trilogy Read online

  “Mike, I’m a good career cop,” Carla said. “But this is personal, too, so I’m glad you’re here to help figure out this mess.”

  Mike nodded, let out a lot of air. “We’re going to have to do the same thing to Jack that he did to me.”

  “I’m...” She looked away, tried again: “I’m almost sure...but not a hundred percent.”

  Mike knew that for the first time since he’d been infected, he felt human again. Yes, he’d fed while he was out. Up in Griffith Park. He’d gotten a hold of a couple of transients, but he couldn’t remember if he’d killed them or had just bitten them. That part was hazy. He felt horrible about it. And worried. He had spread this disease. Or killed. How many more people were infected by now? He had no way of knowing. The details were just too hazy.

  But Carla was right. Was it the gunshot wound that had cured him or the drowning? Just hours earlier, he’d experienced both. Thankfully, the zoo vet, at Jack’s request, had removed the bullet in his side.

  “I don’t think the bullet would have killed me,” Mike said. “I mean, I was strong, Carla. Extremely strong. And tough. And vicious.”

  Carla shrugged, “Easy, tiger. You would have probably been killed if you’d been shot in the head.”

  “Either way, I remember being conscious but not conscious,” he told her. “And the water filling my lungs and then just kind of fading away.” He paused, remembering it all again for the dozenth time in the last few hours. So unreal. So bizarre. He shook his head at the memory and continued speaking, “I then remember choking, gagging. My mind was awake again, somehow, in a cognizant way instead of an instinctive one. I don’t know what happened but it took all my strength to turn onto my side and get the water out of my lungs.”

  Working as a cop in the Hollywood area, Carla had seen and heard a lot of crazy things, but she’d never heard anything like this. Mike’s gaze on her never wavered during this description; she knew he was telling the truth. It was a hideous truth. Is this what it’s going to come to in order to bring Jack back? she wondered. Will he have to really be drowned to save his life?

  “It’s ugly, I know.” Mike seemed to read her mind. “But I’m also thinking about Joe. I was personally on the verge of...” he sought the right words, “...on the verge of not caring. At all. Jack is a few days behind us with this...whatever it is. He may still have a little time. And he’s safe, for now. Not happy, but safe.”

  “What about Joe, his brother?”

  “Joe’s running out of time.”

  “So what are you thinking, Mike?”

  “I’m thinking Anna’s idea of contacting Joe is the best we’ve come up with,” Mike answered. “Only, I’d bet that by now he’s probably beyond reason.”

  “I guess you know better than anyone else about Joe,” she said.

  “Right. Joe and I had a connection, an understanding, if you will, about our condition. I could try this drowning cure on Joe, if it’s not too late. But I think I will need to first fool him into thinking I’m, well, still infected.”

  She didn’t like it. Who would? “You could be killed, or, if things get out of hand, you could kill Jack’s brother.”

  Mike picked up his glass of water and gulped down half of it. Water had never tasted so sweet to him. He relished another mouthful and swallowed. He looked at her. “I’m close to Joe. We’re buddies. Seen and done everything together. But tell me if you don’t think it’s the most logical choice here. We don’t have much else. If there’s a chance to save Joe, then we need to do it.”

  Carla thought of Jack in the cellar, probably trying to tear his hand through the damn cuffs. She thought of Anna upstairs, going crazy with worry. Mike did have a point. Jack hadn’t progressed to the point Mike had—and where Joe probably was at now. It was a great risk, but, yeah, they were out of other options.

  “Okay,” she locked eyes with Mike. “Call Joe and talk him into meeting with you.”

  That is, of course, she thought, if Jack’s brother was even coherent.

  Chapter Four

  Joe Carter parked down the street from the cottage where David Stetson and the Agent in Black were staying. Joe had gotten the call from the Agent—Cole, as he now called himself—and had decided to accept the invitation to come to them instead of turning himself in to the naval base at Seal Beach.

  It sounded like a good plan, Joe thought. The three of them had been changed. Joe and Stetson were feeling great now, and they just had to get Cole (who was no longer an Agent of the CREW, everyone was sure) through the rough stage before Cole could feel better. Then the three of them would return to the base and, with their strength and heightened senses, take over the damn place.

  Joe left the stolen car on a side street and ambled down the road to the cottage. Stetson had promised food, and Joe was hungry. He’d never been so hungry in his life and he relished the scent of the people inside the small beach homes as he passed them. Not yet, he told himself firmly. He wanted to feed, but Stetson had promised him a good meal and Joe had agreed not to do anything foolish before he got to the cottage. Not yet. Soon, though, he grinned.

  Scientist David Stetson let Joe Carter into the small beachfront cottage. Joe saw the filet mignons scattered on the kitchen counter and wolfed down three of them before he did anything else. It wasn’t quite what he was craving, but it was good enough for now.

  Stetson smiled as he watched Joe tear into the raw meat. Joe felt good knowing he wasn’t alone in this. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that normal people didn’t devour raw meat, but he was beyond those people now. He was strong, and he was smart.

  Stetson waited for Joe to finish. Joe licked his lips to get most of the juicy leftovers, then Stetson led Joe into the living room where Agent Cole lay.

  Cole was now bound hand and foot with strong cords and duct tape. His mouth was taped. He wouldn’t want to eat or drink anything through this phase of the “transformation” as Stetson now called it. It would only be about twenty-four hours more, and then Cole would be like himself and Joe.

  Joe took a seat across from Agent Cole. Joe smiled, nodded. “This son of a bitch is one of us now,” he commented heartily.

  “Yes,” Stetson answered, noticing Joe’s energy and the red streaks in his eyes. “It’s only a matter of time now.”

  Cole stopped struggling for a moment and cocked his head toward the two men seated across from him. Suddenly, a low, guttural sound came from his taped mouth and he tried to break free from his bonds. He wanted them.

  Joe just grinned at him. “I wonder which is worse, being handcuffed in a cellar or being tied up like him?”

  “Is that what happened to you?” asked Stetson.

  “Yeah. My brother did it. Until I got better. Then I escaped.” He explained how he and Mike had been locked up while they were going through what Agent Cole was currently experiencing. He also explained how, when he and Mendoza were given a chance to clean up, he’d swiped a bobby pin from the bathroom and later used it to unlock the handcuffs and escape.

  “Where’s your friend now? Mendoza?”

  Joe shrugged. “Don’t know. I was going to turn myself in. Anyhow, I’m glad you called. So, are you going to tell me your plan?”

  Stetson jerked his head toward Agent Cole. “We wait until he’s better, then he’ll bring us back.”

  Joe blinked. “Back? Back to the base?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “No. Listen to me.” Stetson leaned forward. Excitement shone in his eyes. “Our Agent in Black here is, or was, one of the most powerful men on the planet. When he gets better, he’ll want to take command again. I think he can pull it off. And then...”

  Suddenly, Joe’s cell phone rang.

  “Speak of the devil,” Joe said. “It’s Mike Mendoza.”

  “Answer it.”

  Joe did.

  Chapter Five

  When Mike hung up from his call with Joe, he caught Carla up to date on Dr. David Stet
son’s “plan.” Carla immediately said, “We can’t let this happen.”

  “No,” Mike said. “We can’t.”

  “They really want to take over the Seal Beach Base?”

  “That’s the idea.”

  “Jesus.”

  Mike was certain that Joe believed he, Mike, was still transformed into a monster. Mike had said all the right words, pretending agreement and excitement with the idea of taking over the base in Seal Beach.

  “I’m fairly certain I can handle Joe,” said Mike. “Try out the cure on him.”

  “Maybe,” replied Carla. “If you plan carefully. Remember, he will be a lot stronger than you.”

  “Yes, Joe still trusts me. I have to use that trust to my advantage.”

  Except Joe wasn’t alone, as Carla well knew. “But taking on two of these monsters, Mike?”

  The lieutenant commander shrugged. “What can I say? I have to do this.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Carla tried to be brave, but Mike shook his head.

  “You know you have to stay here. Anna’s upstairs, going crazy with worry over her dad. And then there’s Jack.”

  Carla knew he spoke the truth. God knows, it might be only a matter of time before someone comes: the police, the military, the Agents in Black. Or, even worse, more of the infected. She wasn’t much by herself, but she could sure as hell shoot a gun and keep Anna and the others safe.

  For now.

  Mike suddenly stood; the resolve in his eyes was obvious, “I have to go now. You take care.”

  “You’ll call? I have to know what’s going on.”

  “It only takes an hour to get there, but I have to think about how to do this...this thing. I’ll call you within a few hours, or when I can.”

  Mike knew Carla was Jack’s girl, but he gave her a big hug, anyway. He didn’t know who needed it more: him or her.

  Chapter Six

  I heard the front door close and looked up, listening for other movements. I was barely conscious of anything at all and I was far past caring. I was sicker than I had ever been in my life—except I didn’t even give a damn about how miserable I felt.

  Someone was in the kitchen. I could smell her. I licked my dry lips. At once, a tremendous rage filled me and an unstoppable urge to feed encompassed me. I plunged for the cellar stairs, only to be yanked back. I fell to the floor with a thump.

  What the hell? I looked stupidly at the handcuffs, as if I had forgotten about them. In fact, I had forgotten them.

  Jesus.

  I heard a sound in the kitchen. It was her. I could smell her. Enraged, I jumped up and lurched for the cellar stairs, only to be yanked back and I fell to the floor. What the fuck? I looked stupidly at the handcuffs. I had a strange sense of déjà vu, but couldn’t quite remember why.

  Maybe I could bite this off, I thought.

  Then I heard noises coming from above, and the instinct to eat flesh overcame me, followed by uncontrollable anger.

  I pitched toward the stairs, only to be yanked back.

  I looked at my handcuffs in surprise.

  I was a prisoner?

  Chapter Seven

  “I feel so hopeless!”

  Anna paced back and forth in her bedroom, tears streaming down her face. Occasionally, she blew her nose. She plopped down on her bed next to Jared. He tried to put an arm around her but before he could, she was up and pacing again.

  “Anna...” Jared started, but she interrupted him.

  “I swear to God, Jared, if you tell me to calm down one more time, I’m going to clock you!”

  “I wasn’t going to.” Jared was hurt. Or maybe just frustrated. All he knew was that for the first time since they’d met, he couldn’t calm her. He always could before this, but he was at a loss for what to do now.

  “That’s my father down there, a potentially flesh-eating maniac!” Anna burst into tears all over again. “How could I be calm?”

  “I do know—”

  “I don’t think you really do,” she said angrily, cutting him off. “If it were your dad...just try to put yourself in my shoes for once. My dad is a freakin’ cannibal, or he would be, if he got loose!”

  Jared knew Anna was much closer to Jack than he was with his own father. His own father didn’t really care that Jared had hardly been home for the last week. His own father, in fact, hadn’t even checked to see if Jared was truly staying with friends or not.

  He shook away these thoughts. It didn’t matter. What mattered right now was Anna. Jared’s job was to keep Anna calm, and stop her from doing anything rash. Above all, he was to keep her away from the cellar. Away from her father. He chided himself that he’d only accomplished two out of three goals, but he wasn’t going to give up now.

  Chapter Eight

  Carla needed something to occupy herself, get her mind off of all of this. After Mike left, she went to the kitchen to make something for the three of them to eat. She could hear Jack downstairs. Raging. Struggling to escape.

  She couldn’t help wondering how much damage he was causing to himself. She was concerned that he’d really injure himself. She also worried about him somehow getting free.

  That would be very, very bad.

  They’d barricaded the door from the outside, but Carla didn’t think that would stop Jack if he chewed through his own hand or something. Carla shuddered at the thought. Lord help us all.

  More than anything, his imprisonment in the basement would only buy her time. Time to get Anna out and all of them safely away.

  Everything is going to be fine.

  This was becoming Carla’s mantra, and she repeated it every time she heard Jack grunt or pull at his cuffs. Still, a piece of her heart broke off every time she imagined that he was never again going to be the Jack she had known.

  She finished making the tuna sandwiches as quickly as she could, doing her best not to flinch each time she heard Jack grunt through the basement door, and quickly went up to Anna’s room. She tapped on the door and pushed it open.

  “You guys know this door is supposed to be left open, right?”

  “Sorry,” Anna said in a teenage sarcastic manner that meant she wasn’t really sorry. “Thanks for the food.”

  “You’re welcome.” Carla casually sat down in a chair and waited until Anna ate her sandwich, and Jared ate the two that she’d made for him—growing boy and all that.

  Carla considered. Anna deserved the truth, but her life had also been turned upside down. The girl was barely containing herself. Did she need to know that Mike would have to face two of these monsters? That he might very well die trying to save her uncle? No, she decided. Anna didn’t need to know everything, but Anna was smart, and she would want an answer.

  “Mike’s going to the base for your Uncle Joe. He’s walking into a dangerous situation,” she explained to the fourteen year old. “We decided that it would be best if you weren’t there. And besides, how could we leave your dad all alone?”

  “Good point,” Anna said. “I don’t want to leave my dad for a second.”

  “I could have gone with Mike,” Carla continued, “I could have but you have to realize that you haven’t been...well, you haven’t done exactly as your father wanted you to in the last few days. And, as much as you might not like it, I’m in charge for the moment.”

  “Fine.”

  Typical teenager.

  Carla regarded Anna with a tenderness she’d never felt before. “Honey, I care about your father. You know that, right?”

  “I know.” She rolled her eyes. Anna wanted to hear about her father’s romantic life about as much as she wanted to hear about zombies.

  Carla dismissed the eye roll. “So if I care about your father you know I care about you. And Jared, of course.”

  Jared was getting used to staying out of this family’s domestic and dramatic affairs. He’d been listening, watching Anna, but he’d held his tongue so far.

  “Thank you,” was all he said. It seemed to him
that nobody understood he was under pressure as well. It was all about Anna, Anna’s dad, Anna’s uncle, Carla and even Mike. He understood only one thing: he loved Anna with all his heart and he wasn’t going to leave her. No matter what.

  Carla continued, “Mike and I discussed this at length.” She held a hand up when Anna started to protest. “I know, I know. You love your dad. You love your uncle. This is a lot, hon, I understand. But if we’re going to help your dad, Mike has to cure your uncle.”

  “How is he going to do it? Will Uncle Joe suffer? Will it work?”

  Jared automatically handed her another tissue as the tears welled up again.

  “Mike’s one of the good guys now,” Carla replied. “He’s on your uncle’s side, and more importantly, he’s on your dad’s side. After all, your dad saved his life.”

  Anna sobbed quietly and nodded.

  “Anna, if we can get your uncle and your dad better, then maybe we can help others, too.”

  “But if you think that...that drowning is the cure, then why didn’t you just do it to...” She couldn’t finish but Carla knew Anna was referring to her father.

  “Listen to me, Anna, listen to reason.” It was the closest Carla had come to an order with the teen. “Joe has been infected longer than your dad. We have no idea how this condition will play out. But we’re sure, pretty sure, that this is what helped Mike. Joe may not have much time. And if it helps him, it’s better to help him first because your father is only in the first...stage.” Stage of what, Carla still wasn’t sure. But she knew her logic was sound.

  “So, it’s not time to...do it yet?”

  It being, of course, drowning her father. Carla shook her head and Anna’s face creased in understanding.

  It was then that Jared finally took Anna’s hand. Anna held on tight. Carla’s reaction was a mixture of joy and concern. Yes, they were both so young, but Carla could tell by their connection that this was no puppy love.