Hive Invasion (8 page)

Chapter Ten

“Sure you want to do this, Mildred?” J.B. asked.

She nodded. “Look, if some kind of parasite is running around here, we could all be at risk.” She glanced at the woman’s body, which was beginning to smell, lying on the counter. “If I can find out what happened to her, maybe I can get a better handle on what this thing is.”

Mildred stood in the abandoned cafeteria, along with Ryan, J.B. and Krysty. Doc was still sleeping, and Jak and Ricky were guarding their prisoner. The dust storm had abated somewhat, but was still kicking up enough dirt that it was dangerous to go outside.

“Makes sense, it’s just...” Ryan shook his head as he stared at the body they stood in front of. “I’ve spent enough time putting people in the dirt. I’m not too keen on doing much poking around in them afterward.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you have me here,” Mildred replied. “All right, you all will probably want to stand back before I make the first incision. She’s probably not going to smell any better once I open her up.”

Ryan and the others did as she suggested. Once they were at a relatively safe distance, Mildred selected her sharpest scalpel and made a Y-shaped incision, cutting down from each shoulder to the middle of the chest, then straight down from there to the waist. Then she peeled back the skin and flesh to reveal the chest cavity. True to her word, there was a release of noxious gases that made the rest of them turn away and cover their noses and mouths.

“I warned you.” Without pausing, she began examining the body’s organs.

“What are you looking for?” Krysty asked as she edged closer.

“I’m not quite sure,” Mildred replied. “But I’ll know it when I see it.” Grabbing the breastbone, she wrenched apart the rib cage with a sharp
crack!
“So far, nothing out of the ordinary.” She glanced at the others. “You guys don’t have to watch this if you don’t want to.”

“No, I’m good,” Ryan replied. “It’s not so bad once you get used to the smell.”

J.B. just nodded in agreement.

“All right, then.” Mildred picked up her scalpel again. “Krysty, if you don’t mind, I’m going to begin removing organs and handing them to you. Just set them aside on the table, if you would.”

“Should I be looking for anything in particular?” the red-haired woman asked. “Back in Harmony, Mother Sonja taught me a good deal about human anatomy.”

“If you see anything you think is odd, sing out,” Mildred replied. With that, she efficiently cut out and removed the lungs, heart, stomach, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, kidneys and large and small intestines—the last one taking the efforts of both women to remove.

“Anything yet?” Ryan asked.

“Not really, except that all of these organs are in really good shape—not what I’d expect from your typical Deathlands dweller. Even if a person lived in a redoubt for most of his or her life, there can be vitamin deficiencies, organ malfunction, things like that. But these look like they’re at the peak of health.”

“Mildred, what’s all this?” Krysty had set down the slimy loops of small intestine and was peering into the chest cavity. “That doesn’t look familiar to me at all.”

“No, it sure doesn’t....” Mildred took one of her scalpels and reached inside the body to cut something off.

Ryan and J.B. walked closer to get a look at what was on her knife blade. “Any idea what that is?” Ryan asked as he looked at the tiny strands of what looked like white filaments.

“I have no idea, but they’re everywhere on the back of her,” Mildred said. “Have a look.”

The others all gathered around and looked inside the now empty chest cavity. A fine network of the tiny white lines ran all through the woman’s back, along her spine and perhaps even farther.

“It’ll take me a while to cut into the back of the head so I can see if this goes into the brain, but I’m pretty sure it will,” Mildred said. “It looks like whatever was in her had extended some kind of nerve fibers to her organs, her spine and probably her nervous system, as well.”

“To what end?” J.B. asked.

“Hard to say,” Mildred replied. “Typically parasites are content to simply feed off their host. They don’t seek to control them, except in very specific instances. There are, however, many instances of parasitic insects laying their eggs in a host, and when the eggs hatch, they use the host for food or protection. There’s even a barnacle, genus
Sacculina,
that not only sterilizes its crab host, but forces the crab to gestate the barnacle’s young, even to the extent of altering a male’s hormones to make it more feminine, and better able to birth the young.”

“Okay, as fascinating as all this is, what’s it got to do with her?” Ryan nodded at the body.

“Well, from what I’m seeing, this sort of invasive system goes far beyond simple feeding or protection. It looks like the parasite is actively seeking to control the host in some way. That could explain the improved fighting ability and resistance to physical injury. If the parasite is able to control the nervous system, it can block off the nerve impulses transmitting pain from limbs or injuries, control blood flow...pretty much do whatever it wants to the host.”

“He did say something about ‘resetting adrenaline level’ when fighting Jak. Could that be part of it?” Ryan asked.

Mildred nodded. “Sure. An advanced enough organism could control any bodily system, down to a person’s smallest aspect.” She shuddered. “Don’t ever want to see one of those coming my way, thank you.”

J.B. had been taking in all of this without saying a word. “Is this anything like what went on in Heaven Falls?” The four of them exchanged glances as they recalled that encounter. Heaven Falls had been a utopian ville with a dark secret—its inhabitants had been brainwashed by irradiated honey that had transformed them into superhuman beings with a hive mentality. When Ryan and the others had encountered them—and almost fallen prey to their seductive lifestyle—they had been forced to destroy the entire place in order to prevent the “queen” from spreading her influence throughout the Deathlands.

“Yes and no,” Mildred replied. “For example, it looks like these two were escaping from wherever they came from, so they obviously had retained or regained some free will at some point.”

“Yeah...” J.B. rubbed his chin. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve got no desire to be facing anything like that again.”

Ryan chose his answer carefully; their time in Heaven Falls had nearly torn the group apart. “I hear you, except these two didn’t seem to be
that
dangerous. Also, we still need supplies if we’re going to get to another redoubt, so I think they’re our best bet. We all just have to stay on guard, and not take anything for granted this time.”

J.B. nodded. “Sound advice.”

“Wait a minute. Something’s still bothering me about this woman.” Krysty looked up from where she had been staring at the autopsied body. “Mildred, you said the organs all looked to be in good shape, right?” At Mildred’s nod, she asked, “Then what killed her?”

“I wouldn’t be able to tell without running far more detailed tests,” Mildred replied. “However, depending on the level of control this thing had over her, if there was ever a contest to maintain dominance, it’s possible the parasite might have inadvertently killed her while trying to incapacitate her as a last-ditch effort to survive. Of course, it would then have to find a different host.”

“Mebbe...” J.B. said. “All I really know is that the guy spoke a lot different when he didn’t have that thing in him than when he did.”

“Yeah, what about him?” Krysty asked. “They both obviously came from the same place, yet he didn’t seem affected by these things, but she was. Did he have one previously? What happened to it?”

Mildred held up her hands. “Hey, hey folks, I’m not Quincy.” She looked around the three blank stares she was getting. “It was a television show—never mind. Anyway, best thing to do now would be to head back down and talk to that guy, see what answers we can get out of him—”

She was interrupted by the sound of boots pounding the floor as someone ran toward them. A moment later, Ricky skidded to a stop in the doorway.

“There’s a...problem...with the...prisoner,” he panted.

Ryan and the others took off at a run back downstairs. They all entered the room to find the man slumped against the wall, his eyes wide in death, with Jak standing a few feet away, blaster drawn and pointed at the body. A trail of slime led from the man’s mouth to what looked like a smashed piece of raw, black meat on the floor.

“What happened?” Ryan asked.

“Was sleeping, then started to convulse,” Jak said. “Before we could do anything,
that—
” he pointed at the lump of whatever-it-was with the muzzle of his blaster “—came out him. Crushed it before could get anyone, and sent Ricky up get you all.”

Glancing at Tully and Latham, Ryan saw them both nod to affirm Jak’s story. Doc was still asleep, snoring softly.

“You didn’t do anything to him?” Mildred asked as she knelt by the dead man.

“Never touched,” Jak replied.

“He was twitching for about five minutes before he started trembling all over,” Ricky said.

“Based on all that—and it’s an incomplete diagnosis at best—he most likely died of an acute subdural hematoma,” Mildred said as she felt the back of his skull. “I think there’s some blood pooled here, but I’d have to cut him open to be sure, and I’ve done enough of that already for one day.”

“But shouldn’t we find out if that thing was trying to control him?” Krysty asked. “Cut him open to see if there’re more of those white nerve things inside?”

“I could, but I bet it’d look a lot like the woman,” Mildred said. “My guess is that the brain injury was too much to handle, so it had to eject, so to speak.” She rose and walked over to look at the crushed lump of flesh and slime on the floor. “What I wouldn’t give for an electron microscope or a CAT scanner right now.”

“Think Doc might know anything about this?” J.B. asked Ryan.

“Only one way to find out.” Ryan walked over and nudged the sleeping man curled up on the floor. “Doc? Wake up, Doc.”

The old man stirred but didn’t rouse immediately. “Hmm...are we in Sacramento already, my dear? Yes, I could go for a light repast once we’re in the city proper.”

Ryan nudged him a bit harder. “Doc!”

With a startled snort, the silver-haired old man awakened, sitting up and looking around with wide eyes. “What—where?” Blinking owlishly, he peered up at Ryan while wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his frock coat. “Oh, it is you all...and I was in the middle of the loveliest dream, too.”

“Sorry to take you away from all that, but we need that brain of yours.” Ryan filled him in on everything that had happened since they’d arrived at the old school building, ending with “Do you know if the whitecoats ever worked on something like this?”

By now Doc was up and standing over the thing that had come out of the jumpsuited man, poking at it with the end of his swordstick. “I do not recall a project of the Totality Concept experimenting with symbiotic organisms that would be implanted into a human host, but that certainly sounds like something they would do, if they could. Mind you, I am sure I was not privy to all files that focused on all projects.

“Imagine making anyone dance like a puppet on a string...” Doc’s voice turned soft and dreamy, and he suddenly turned away from Ryan and the others with his left arm held out as if curled around a lady’s waist, and his right as if he was holding his invisible partner’s other hand as he twirled and spun around the floor.

“He sure talks funny,” Tully remarked to Ryan. “He all right?”

“Yeah...he’s from the South. They have different...customs than other folk.”

“Like dancing with no one on his arm?” Latham asked.

“Look, there’s nothing wrong with him, he’s just a bit...” Ryan searched for the right word.

“Addle-pated?” Tully supplied. At Ryan’s questioning look, she added, “Not right in the head sometimes.”

“Good way put it,” Jak said.

“Jak!” Mildred scolded.

“Yeah, he’s a bit...addle-pated,” Ryan replied. “But Doc’ll be back to himself in no time.”

“So...what’s all this mean?” Tully asked, waving at the dead man and what was left of whatever had come out of him.

“It means we’re going with you to meet the rest of your people,” Ryan said. “See if there’s anything that can be done about—” he toed the stiffening lump of flesh with his combat boot “—this.”

Chapter Eleven

The scavvies stripped the bodies of their clothes, boots and personal items, then the corpses were buried. It was time to head out, and the group headed back to the school building to retrieve their packs. “Perfect day for sailin’,” Tully said as she climbed a utility staircase at the far end of a corridor and opened two heavy steel storm doors to step outside. Her comment earned her puzzled stares from everyone but Latham. As the companions joined the couple outside, they showed them what she meant.

Both land craft were interesting vehicles, and familiar to the companions. Only Ricky was curious, as they were unlike anything he had ever seen. “
Santa Maria!
Would you look at that!”

The land craft consisted of two rough seats mounted on a flat wooden cross made out of two poles that connected two small wheels in back with a single wheel in the front. But there was a third post that rose from the beam into the air a few feet ahead of the seats, with another pole making an L shape sticking out of that one. Various lines and cords ran everywhere, all leading back to the seats.

The two scavvies pulled out a bundle of cloth, unrolled it and swiftly attached it to various rings and loops of fabric on the vertical and horizontal poles. When Tully pulled on a white cord, the cloth rose along the vertical pole, forming—

“A sail! Of course, a land yacht!” Doc put a hand to his forehead. “We encountered a group of people called tech-nomads who used such vehicles. Quite the ingenious construction.”

Tully beamed. “Thanks. We call ’em windriders and started puttin’ them together after we crossed the Missip and saw all those plains. We got some oxen for pulling the heavy stuff, but the wind blows all the time out here, so we started foolin’ around with it to see what we could do, and it works pretty well.”

Once they had the sail rigged, they started working on Latham’s sailer. “We’re about twenty miles due east of here,” he said as he checked the joints and tires of his ride. “We can head out ahead of you all, and send a wag back, or we could take two of the lighter folks in with us, and come back around for the others.”

“I’ll go,” Jak volunteered before the other man finished talking.

“Me, too,” Ricky said almost at the same time.

“Hold on, now. I’m sure everyone’ll get their chance,” Ryan said, “However, I’m going to suggest that Jak and J.B. take the first ride in, and the rest of us can get picked up a bit later.”

Sure about this?
J.B. signed to him.

It’s fine,
Ryan signed back.
Go on, and make sure Jak doesn’t get into any trouble.

Okay.
J.B.’s expression, however, didn’t look as if he was convinced, although he was impressed with the design of the land vehicles.

With help from the others, they wheeled the sailers away from the building onto the open hardpan. The brisk wind blowing from the west filled the sails and made them flap back and forth, already pushing the crude yachts forward.

“Hey, Ryan, do me a favor and hold it back till we’re ready to go, will ya?” Tully asked.

“Sure.” Ryan reached down and grabbed the crossbar, surprised at how strongly the wind was tugging at the vehicle. “How fast can it go?”

“Never measured it, but we keep up with the animals out here,” Tully replied. “Hey, Jak, why don’t you ride with me?”

“Sure.” He scrambled over and sat in the hard, black metal chair. “Already hot.”

“Yeah, the sun beats on it something fierce,” she replied as she wrapped a dirty, light green scarf around her head and pulled on a pair of dark green goggles. “Won’t be so bad once we get movin’. Sorry I don’t have goggles for you. Best cover your face as much as possible.”

Pulling out the bright pink T-shirt, Jak quickly wrapped it around his head, leaving only his eyes uncovered. “Ready.”

“You ready?” she called to Latham, who was getting J.B. squared away. He nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Let ’er go!” Tully said.

Ryan released the back end of her windrider, and Ricky and Doc let go of Latham’s. The wind grabbed them immediately, and the jury-rigged transports took off, rapidly gaining speed until they were only specks on the horizon in a couple of minutes.

“Mierde...”
Shading his eyes, Ricky watched them go until they vanished from sight. “How come you didn’t let me go first, Ryan?”

“Don’t take it the wrong way, Ricky, but if there’s any kind of trouble with these people, those two will be sure to come out of it alive,” Ryan replied. “Don’t worry, we got a long way to go before we reach them, and if they come back, you’ll go next.”

He checked the barren prairie all around them, then took a step forward. “Let’s get moving.”

* * *

“Y
EE
-
HAAAAW
!”

Jak couldn’t help himself. The shout of pleasure burst from his throat to be whipped away by the wind pushing them forward faster than he’d ever gone before.

They’d accelerated more quickly than he thought possible, until they were skimming along the ground, leaving the building and the rest of his companions behind in a couple of minutes. Their shadows chased them across the blurry, packed dirt, rippling and wavering in the heat. The wind, hot and oppressive a minute ago, was now cool and refreshing as it rippled over his head and arms.

“What do you think?” Tully called, her smile evident in her voice.

“Awesome!” Jak shouted back.

The short girl glanced back to check on how far Latham and J.B. were behind them. “We should be there in about ten minutes.”

“Take long as want. This great!” Jak said.

“Glad you said that—hang on!”

The sailer slewed over to pick up on a large dust trail off to their right. Jak glanced back to see the pilot of the other windrider also changing course. “What happening?”

“Might have spotted some food. Up to doing some hunting?” She nudged a bound bundle of crude spears lying on the crossbar.

Jak pulled out his .357 instead, the sunlight winking off the chrome barrel. “Just get me close enough and I’ll drop plenty!”

Distant words carried to them on the wind from the other windrider, but neither Jak nor Tully could make out what J.B. or Latham was saying. Instead, they concentrated on getting closer to whatever was running across the baked plains.

Finally, they pulled within sight to find what people would have called a herd of antelope a hundred years ago. These animals, however, bore only a passing resemblance, primarily in their tan-and-white fur. Twice as tall at the shoulder as their twenty-first-century ancestors, they now sported two extra legs to run even faster. They were also well armed for defense, having not just one, but two pairs of four-foot-long horns spiraling out of each forehead. The noise from the impact of their hooves on the ground was deafening, creating a vibration Jak could feel in his teeth.

Tully pulled up behind the antelope. She stayed in their draft for a few seconds, trying to see if she could cut one or two from the main group. For his part, Jak squinted through the blowing dust, trying to select which one he’d shoot first.

“Can’t split them up!” Tully shouted. “Shoot whenever you’re ready!”

Needing no further urging, Jak extended his arm to aim at the nearest one, a young buck as tall as him at the shoulder. He squeezed the trigger, the Colt Python boomed and the antelope faltered and went down in a cloud of dust.

“Nice shooting!” Tully shouted. The roar of a shotgun could also be heard, and Jak looked over to see that Latham and J.B. were doing the same thing, with the Armorer taking down two runners in quick succession.

“Let’s keep going!” Jak shouted.

Nodding, Tully adjusted the trim of the sail to pull even closer. Jak steadied his hand again and pulled the trigger just as the herd suddenly turned ninety degrees and charged due south.

“Why they change direct—” he began, when the answer to his question burst out of the dust cloud and dived right at him!

A huge bird, its dark blue feathered wings easily thirty feet across, and its breast and underbelly covered with tiny overlapping scales, shrieked as it passed just a few yards from the top of the windrider. It was close enough that Jak caught a glimpse of its large orange beak, which could have easily snapped his head off in one bite, and its pair of huge talons, each of which could have easily grabbed him. He wasn’t sure if the flying predator could carry him off, but he sure as hell didn’t want to find out either. He aimed his blaster at the beast, but it was already climbing out of range, possibly coming back around for another pass.

“Holy shit! What was
that?
” Tully shouted.

“No clue. Just lots feathers and claws!” Jak replied. “Let’s get meat. Birds scavenge if can.”

“Right! Keep an eye out for it!” Tully pulled on the cords and the windrider changed direction again. Instead of moving directly with the wind, she now used the sail to move diagonally to the breeze from the west. They would sail that way for a few hundred yards, then Tully would move the sail and steer across the wind at a forty-five-degree angle to their first run, and keep going. It wasn’t as fast as sailing with the wind, but they did keep moving fairly quickly, definitely much faster than a person could run.

Jak kept turning, scanning the skies for the huge bird. It took a moment, but he saw it shadowing them high overhead. “He’s following us!”

“We might have confused him!” Tully shouted. “Mebbe he doesn’t know what we are!”

“Not good!” Jak had dealt with plenty of large raptors. He knew the one thing birds of prey weren’t was timid. “If thinks we’re threat—”

As if it heard him, the bird suddenly starting to dive toward them. The bird rapidly grew larger in his vision. Gripping the seat with his legs, Jak braced the wrist of his blaster hand with his other one to steady it. “Come on... Just a little closer...”

“Shoot, Jak!” Tully screamed, as the bird was now only about a hundred yards away. But just as he was about to pull the trigger, the bird suddenly put on the brakes and flared out its wings. At the same time, it puffed out its chest, and the scales there suddenly flashed as they reflected the bright sunlight—right into Jak’s eyes!

“Shit! Fucker blinded me!”