All The Beautiful People (A Dread Novel Book 1) (12 page)

CHAPTER 25

Cidney had cried herself to a level of exhaustion that was soon followed by a fitful sleep. Using her backpack as a pillow, the little girl was twitching and muttering under her breath. Standing on the rooftop next to her, Taylor wasn’t sure what to do. Was she supposed to stroke her hair? Would that make her feel better? Maybe wake her up? Rescue the child from whatever dream she found herself in?

Before Taylor made a decision, Frank rescued her from her dilemma. “Well, I guess that’s that.”

“What is?”

Frank shrugged, taking a spot next to Taylor on the empty roof. The top of the building was home only to an assortment of gray vents and air conditioning units. Captain Martin stood guard at the door that led back into the stairwell. With nothing to barricade the entrance, he resorted to using his own body. Back leaning against the steel frame, the captain stood quietly, drifting in and out of his own thoughts.

“I mean my laptop is gone. And so…” Frank took a long, sad look at Cidney who now assumed the fetal position, her arms wrapped around herself, and lowered his voice, “…so is the doctor. All we have left is what I can remember. I don’t even know what happened to his books and notes.”

They were thirty minutes early for their transport back to Lazarus, filling the empty void of time with their doubts and misgivings. Taylor was dealing with an army of her own inner demons. Frank was only voicing what they were all thinking.

“I don’t know, Frank,” Taylor said, gazing over the rooftop edge. The night was clear and crisp, like a million others had been throughout history. Still, this one would be different. This night would be remembered as the beginning of the end, if there were anyone left to remember it at all.

Power was out to most of the city, leaving only darkness. A dozen or more fires glowed in the blackness, offering smoke to be lost in the vast open sky.

“We’ll find a way,” Taylor said.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m not. But if we could make it this far against the odds stacked against us, I think we can make it a bit farther.”

“Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

Taylor followed Frank’s gaze across the rooftop to Captain Martin. It was true the man was sinking further into himself. Previously, he had stood tall with a commanding presence and air of authority. Now, with shoulders hunched and eyes down, the only thing he looked fit to lead was a funeral procession.

Taylor had seen it too many times; a leader feeling the guilt of his charge. Either failing his assigned mission or losing men in the process. In the captain’s case, both.

“Give him some time,” Taylor said. “He’ll be fine. It just happened. He has two choices now and he knows it as well as we do. He can mourn, then use his anger to come back stronger, or he can let this haunt him and fall into the depression of his own thoughts.”

“That’s brutal.”

“It’s the truth. He’s strong. He’ll be fine.”

Frank squinted with concentration. “What’s that noise?”

Taylor lifted the left corner of her lips in a lopsided grin. “It’s the best news we’ve had all day. Our ride is here.”

In a few minutes, the faint noise of blades chopping through air grew. Cidney was roused from her exhaustion-induced sleep. She wasn’t afraid of the noise, Cidney was calm as she awoke. “Are they here?”

Taylor nodded.

Soon the group could see an array of flashing lights and a small figure in the sky took shape. The transport chopper grew larger. Two fifty-caliber guns mounted on either side of the helicopter told her Lazarus was prepared long in advance for an event such as this.

The noise was deafening as the massive transport touched down yards from their position on the rooftop. Cidney grabbed onto Taylor’s leg and hunched over to prevent herself from being blown off the roof. Taylor and Frank also doubled over against the force of the rushing wind.

Taylor knew better than to look for the captain. He would hold his protective stand at the door until they all boarded. One of the men on the chopper jumped to the ground in a crouch and waved them forward. Cidney’s grabbed Taylor’s hand and they bent low, dashing into the swirling force.

Cidney, Taylor, and then Frank entered the helicopter. As soon as he saw the others were safely aboard, the captain ran from his vigil at the stairwell door.

Less than a minute from touchdown, the helicopter was in the air again. Cidney was fearless, leaning as far as her seatbelt would allow. Frank was the complete opposite, tightening and retightening his belts to ensure maximum safety. The captain was handed a headset by one of the machine gun operators and was already barking into his mouthpiece, exchanging information.

Though it was far too loud to hear what they were discussing, Taylor made an educated guess: the status on their mission, where they were headed, any news on what was becoming of mankind’s future.

High above the world with a view reserved naturally for birds, Taylor didn’t require a conversation to know how the rest of humanity was faring. The scene she witnessed from the top of the building as they waited for their transport was only a taste of how bad things really were. The blackouts that seemed so small and contained, now encompassed entire sections of the city. Blocks upon blocks of blacked out buildings, deserted streets, and empty sidewalks spoke volumes on the world’s condition.

Distance also skewed the fires Taylor had observed. As the miles lessened between the helicopter and the flames, Taylor noticed the fires were not contained to single buildings or cars but entire complexes. In one case, a stretch of vehicles that were once lined bumper-to-bumper were now on fire. Even with the chopper maneuvering around the smoke, Taylor inhaled the acrid smell of ash in the air. She could taste the smoke as much as she could smell it, the odor painting the inside walls of her mouth until she had to spit.

The helicopter ate up the miles between their building top and Lazarus Pharmaceuticals faster than Taylor thought possible. It was apparent speed had been impressed upon the pilot previous to his departure.

She saw the group of large buildings comprising Lazarus Pharmaceuticals first. Tall structures, beacons of light in their ever-darkening world. It didn’t surprise her to see Lazarus’ building lit while the rest of the world around them was blanketed in darkness.

As they came closer, it became painfully obvious something was wrong. Cars were lining the streets in every direction, ending at the check-in gate she and Jason had used earlier that morning. An event that now seemed like days ago.

Clearly word had gotten out. Any place with power and guards patrolling the grounds seemed like a great destination for anyone fleeing the infected.

What seemed like controlled order above was not, in fact, the case below. As the pilot maneuvered the helicopter over the tallest building, the familiar sound of automatic firearms rang out. She had been foolish to think the facility had remained untouched. Despite the activities happening down there, the diseased had not breached the barriers but at what cost, and to whom?

CHAPTER 26

“Captain Martin briefed us on the way in,” Wade explained, his eyes on Cidney.

The man looked older and older each time Taylor saw him. Mentally, he was bearing the events well, still in charge, still helming the wheel as they plunged deeper into the unknown. Physically, he was a wreck. His clothes were wrinkled, bags hung under his eyes, and even now he held a steaming coffee cup in his hand. Taylor found herself wondering when was the last time the man had sat down.

“You must be Cidney Jenkins,” he said.

Cidney nodded.

“Well, Cidney, I’m sure you’re tired and hungry. I can have Melissa get you something to eat and maybe a bed to relax. Does that sound fine?”

The group was in a large room with multiple assistants and techs hurrying to and fro across the carpeted floor. Screens and monitors hung from the walls every few yards. The constant chatter in the room was barely louder than a whisper.

As Wade made the request, a tall, young female—her appearance not much better that Wade’s—separated herself from the amoeba of workers in the background. The woman dropped to a knee and did her best at a smile.

“Hey, sweetheart. Would you like to come with me for a bit?”

Cidney pressed her body against Taylor’s leg.

While asking anything from a girl who’d recently lost her father seemed nothing less than cruel, Wade needed to debrief them all and what was to come next had to be discussed. Taylor placed her right hand on the girl’s bony shoulder.

“Would it be okay if she stayed in the same room with us? Maybe we can set her up in a corner with some chairs or something?”

“Of course,” Wade replied. “Melissa?”

Taylor knelt down beside Cidney and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I won’t be long. You’ll be able to see me the entire time, okay?”

Cidney let out a quivering breath and nodded. In a quick motion, she unslung her backpack and handed a pink strap to Taylor. “Here. It has everything you need in it. My dad was such a smart man.”

She walked across the carpet and stood in front of Melissa. The two walked to the end of the room to make Cidney a place to rest. Wade motioned the rest of the group to a square table where Jason sat in front of two monitors.

Jason raised weary eyes from the screens and smiled at the group. “I’m glad to see you all. Captain, I’m so sorry for your men.”

A nod was all Jason received from Captain Martin for his remark.

“What happened to your eyebrows?” Jason asked Frank.

“What?” The boy genius raised a dirty hand to his face, rubbing his hands over the spot. “I—I don’t know.”

“If we could please stay on point,” Wade said, more of a command than a question.

“Of course,” Jason said. “I’m just glad you all made it back safe.”

Wade leaned against the table with both hands and stared at its smooth surface. “We’re in a bad spot. The doctor was our last best chance at coming up with answers and a cure for what is really going on here.”

Captain Martin took a step forward, back rigid, his head held high. “I take full responsibility for that, sir. I was in charge of the operation and I failed.”

With a wave of his hand Wade dismissed the captain’s apology. “You’re a good man, George. God knows I wouldn’t have made it half as far as you did. You don’t have to be sorry for anything. We’re in uncharted territory here. We’re all making this up as we go along now. Frank? Taylor? The next question applies to all of you.”

Taylor was listening as she held on to Cidney’s pink backpack. She wasn’t sure what it was, but something caught her attention. A zipper opened enough to let a single piece of white paper peek through.

Wade finally lifted his eyes from the table. “Did either of you see anything or did the doctor say anything that might help? Anything at all would be…” Wade’s gaze rested on Taylor.

She could feel his eyes on her. Curious, she lifted the bag and opened the satchel’s main compartment. Taylor wasn’t sure what she thought she would find inside; clothes, a stuffed animal, toiletries. Inside there was a pile of papers and a book.

Her breath caught as she pulled out the files of the doctor’s work and his personal journal. Instinct directed her eyes to where Cidney sat. Melissa had set her up with a chair and was helping the girl clean off the blood from her hands and arms.

Cidney was allowing the woman to help but she was looking at Taylor. When their eyes met, Cidney gave Taylor the slightest nod and the saddest smile Taylor had ever seen.

“Taylor?” Wade’s voice broke their moment. “Taylor, are you all right?”

She returned her gaze to the backpack and reached into the bag. “I think we’re more than okay. The doctor left us a parting gift.”

CHAPTER 27

The five of them sifted through files and documents the doctor had worked on for a lifetime. Some of the research papers dated back to a time the doctor would have been in college.

“He saw all of this coming and we didn’t listen,” Wade said.

“James Jones?” Captain Martin asked, changing the subject. “Is he alive?”

Wade nodded. “Yes, he is, as well as a few others we’ve managed to capture who fell victim to the disease. Our teams are getting nowhere with the tests. It’s as if they’ve gone mad. Their only purpose now is to kill or infect others with the sickness they have. What once started as a psychological epidemic brought on by Vanidrum is turning into a biological attack bent on spreading.”

“I think the doctor was right when he told us that whatever this is, is pure evil,” Frank said. “This madness that is spreading across the globe has always been here, it only ever needed a way to get out. The drug gave it its escape route.”

Wade nodded. “It would seem that is what all the doctor’s work is pointing to. How do we stop it?”

“He said there wasn’t a way.” Taylor rubbed her red eyes. “He said all there was left to do was fight the darkness, that there isn’t a cure for it.”

The table was silent again, drinking down the information like a bad cough syrup.

“Maybe if we can’t cure it, we could create a drug to fight it?” Jason suggested. “I think this is further up Frank’s alley. Perhaps if we can’t cure those who are already sick, could we reverse the results to bring out the light in people who aren’t sick yet? Maybe that will either make us immune to the disease or, at the very least, make us stronger to fight it.”

“You mean create super soldiers by reversing the results so instead of bringing out the darkest parts of us, it brings out the best?” Frank clarified. “What would that even look like? People running around giving hugs and words of affirmation?”

Jason shrugged. “When you put it like that, it sounds insane. But who knows? I’m not seeing a whole lot of options here. We have rolling blackouts in every major city, the government has declared martial law, and every branch of the military is being called home to try and contain the situation.”

Frank bit his lip and echoed Jason’s words, “Well, when you put it like that…”

“Could it work, Frank?” Wade asked.

“I guess. I mean, it’s a good theory. I’d have to talk to your biological and genetic teams to see if that would be possible. It would require a few doctorates I don’t have.”

“My dad said it would work.”

All eyes turned to Cidney, who stood at the edge of the table, her chin barely cresting the ledge. Melissa was nowhere to be seen, probably called off to some more important task than babysitting a little girl while the apocalypse took place on their doorstep.

“He said that’s the only way to win,” Cidney went on. “That the light would have to fight the darkness. He said God wouldn’t leave us defenseless. He’d give us a way to fight this thing, but the change has to come from the inside.”

In the early hours of the morning, Cidney was making too much sense. The table of hardened warriors and business leaders sat stunned as they each weighed Cidney’s words.

“Frank, I want you to get on this right away,” Wade said. “I’ll put you in contact with our lead geneticist here at Lazarus.”