Omega Virus (Book 1): Beta Hour (23 page)

“How
dare you speak to Grandfather like that!
”
The hooded
man said.

“He
is old and has lost sight of our mission!” Grandson shot back.

“Do
not take that tone.” The woman snarled.

“Sorry!”
Sarcasm again.

“My
apologies for interrupting.” A man said from the far side of the room.

I
looked over and saw him. He wore a long white lab coat. I recognized his face
from the ID badge and video, Dr. Belmont.

Grandson
pushed past the cloaked figures,
who
turned and walked
out after the others.

“Actually
thank you.” Grandson said. “You got me out of a boss battle.”

“I
have good news, Young Master,” Belmont said.

“The
vaccine?”

“It
is complete and in the lab. There are three vials of pure vaccine and one of
the partial one. None of which have been clinically tested.”

“Partial?”
Grandson asked. “I asked you to make four copies of the pure one, you moron! I
swear the Gaming Gods should curse you!”

“But
Young Master!” He pleaded. “The temporary one was all I could make with the
Omega Strain. If I had the Alpha strain I—”

“You
know Alpha Patient Zero was hidden away by Beauregard!” Grandson pointed a
finger in the doctor’s face. “You screwed up.”

My
head spun due to all this new information. Beauregard?
Alpha
Patient Zero?

“I’m
so sorry!” Belmont sounded terrified.

“Don’t
worry. You can redeem yourself.”

Out
of nowhere the long wail of a siren went off. Red lights flashed above the
doors in the room.

“The
Creepers!” Belmont said. “They’re here!”

“No
worries.” Grandson grinned. “We’re abandoning this base. Leave our little gamer
soldiers to fight it out and kill as many Creepers as possible. Let’s get the
vaccines then head to the Gulf Base.”

I
watched the pair leave as the sound of gunfire filled the building.

LEVEL 28 – THIEF

In the halls
beneath me, the Creepers were invading G.O.D. Mode Games. I'd risked my life
this far, I had to keep with the bad habit, and follow Grandson. If he and Dr.
Belmont got away with the vaccine, Jessie's fate would be sealed.

I
twisted in the shaft, aimed my foot at the hatch, and kicked with all my might.
The hatch dented out, the gunfire and alarms drowned out the sound. I kicked
again, and the hatch snapped off, clattering to the floor. Again I twisted and
lowered myself from the vent. I landed in a crouch and glanced around the room.

On
each end of the long table, were doors. In each corner of the room were statues
of game characters from upcoming games; an ebon-skinned girl with dual
flintlocks pointed out, a large robot with a mighty hammer over its shoulder, a
guy that looked like a roach hybrid holding a French baguette, and a girl with
angel wings. All of my favorite game companies were under the umbrella of this
evil company, and it disgusted me.

Outside,
the alarm continued to blare, but the gunfire lessened. The building shook so
hard I nearly toppled over. The Creepers weren't screwing around.

With
my gun drawn, I rushed to the exit Grandson, and Belmont used. The door slid
open, and I ran out into the hall. Looking both ways, I found a figure
shambling at one corner a dozen yards away. A Corpse, which meant there, were
more around.

I
lifted my combat rifle and fired. The gun had more of a kick than I expected,
causing me to miss terribly. It turned to look at me with lifeless eyes.
Bracing myself, I aimed again, but it burst into a sprint right for me
;
another Lv03!

My
gun went off, and I ended up spraying the walls and ceiling. Several shots hit
the Lv03 in the chest, garnishing sprays of blood, but it couldn't go down from
torso wounds. I backed up, continuing to fire, trying to keep the gun aimed at
the head. It didn't work. When the undead came within a foot, I cracked it
under its chin. It flipped off of its feet and landed hard on its back,
snapping its spine. The Lv03 gnashed its teeth at me, and I shoved the gun in
its mouth letting its teeth shatter on the steel.

“Screw
you, asshole.” I fired, and its blood splattered the floor.

Grandson
couldn’t have gone that way if there were Corpses, so I began to turn when more
groaning came from around the corner. My jaw fell slack, as a dozen or more
Lv03s ran at me, arms flailing. My legs went into overdrive, and I ran as fast
as I could, pumping each step with every ounce of strength I had.

I
ran so fast I skidded into the corner turn, bounced back, and continued my wild
escape. The Corpses smashed into the wall as well, but they too bounced and
kept coming.

“Crap!
Crap-Crap-Crap!” I cried.

Spotting
a door, I ran faster. It looked like the one in the conference room. Hoping it
would open, I kept running, and I slammed into it full-speed. Stumbling back, I
faced the army of Corpses. I fired off several rounds before regaining my
footing and continuing to run. I needed to find that lab.

At
the end of the next section sat another set of steel doors, with no other way
out. My life depended on these being unlocked. Bloody spittle hit the back of
my neck as the Lv03s closed in. The doors were only several paces away.

“Please-please-please!”
I shouted as I made my final push.

They
slid open, but I ran into a problem, literally. A militant stepped out of the
elevator. He saw me coming but didn’t have time to react as I skidded past, and
hit the close button. He futilely fired his rifle, and I saw no more of him as
the doors closed, and the wave of Corpses crashed upon him. His death scream
echoed outside. I sighed in relief and punched the top floor button; if they
were exiting from above, it had to be from a helicopter.

Leaning
against the elevator wall, I tried to catch my breath. I didn’t have much time.
When the doors to the fourth floor opened, I faced another hall, this one
empty. A directory
plaquered
on the wall listed
laboratories; Genetics, Thanatology, and finally Virology in room 404! I
glanced up at the closest room number
;
400. A quick
count of the rooms and I spotted 404 just halfway down the hall.

I
jogged down the hall and came to a stop before the Virology Lab. A large glass
window provided a vantage point to the room. I put my back to the wall and
leaned over to peek. There stood two people, the black-cloaked Grandson, and
the white-coated Dr. Belmont.

They
were scooping items off a desk and into a pair of briefcases. When they were
full, they snapped the cases shut and turned to walk to the door. My chance had
come. The door slid open, and I came face to face with them. Shock nearly
knocked me over. I ignored Dr. Belmont, but I stared at Grandson who stared
back at me with equally wide eyes.

“You!”
Grandson cried. “Who are you? How have you stolen my face?”

We
didn't just look a little alike, he was I or was I he? We were identical in
every physical aspect.

I
snapped up my rifle. “You stole my face!”

“What
kind of game are you playing Doctor?” Grandson turned on Belmont.

The
scientist shook his head fervently and held up his hands. “This isn’t my doing!”

“More
of your goddamn unauthorized experiments!” Grandson ignored me.

“Um,
hello?” I said. “I have a gun, and you don’t. So hand over the vaccines. Right.
Now.”

Grandson
waved his hand at me dismissively.

“He
even has the same scar under his left eye!” Grandson snapped, “What did you
create him for?”

He
could've been a long lost brother for all I knew, but his words were true. He
had the same scar under his right eye.

“I’m
telling you, Young Master, I have nothing to do with this one!” said Belmont. “But
we should listen to him.”

“No,”
Grandson said. “Whoever or whatever this freak is, our problem is taken care of
for us.”

“What
do you mean?” I asked.

Grandson
stared past me, and I heard the groan at the last second. Pure instinct alone
let me move to avoid the chomping jaws of a Corpse. In that brief moment,
Grandson grabbed my rifle, backed up, and aimed at me. Belmont tried to follow,
and Grandson aimed the gun at him.

The
Corpse came on again, and I dove to the side, hiding behind a table as Grandson
fired the gun. I watched the undead fall forward onto the floor, and amidst the
gunfire, Dr. Belmont screamed. I peeked under the table to see the doctor lying
on the floor, blood pouring from the bullet wounds in his leg. He lifted his
head and looked up Grandson, who now stood by the window.

“Pick
me up on the fourth floor, east side.” Grandson said.

He
smashed the glass with the butt of the rifle, and cleared the shards, without
ever turning around. The whopping of a helicopter sounded from outside.

“No!”
Dr. Belmont pleaded. “You can’t leave me! You said I could redeem myself.”

I
watched Grandson’s wicked smile form on his
;
my face.

“You
can.” Grandson said. “By staying here and becoming fodder so that I may live.”

In
the same moment, I threw myself over the table and charged straight for
Grandson. He aimed and pulling the trigger. A shot fired off, but the gun
clicked. It was out of ammo. I grabbed the rifle and pulled it
;
smacking him across the face with the barrel. He grunted
and came back with a punch. I couldn’t block in time. The left hook hit my jaw
and sent me spiraling back. He may have looked like me, but he knew how to
fight, and I didn't.

I
crashed into a table covered in test tubes. Colored liquids went everywhere and
glass shattered to the floor. Grandson chuckled, which became a maniacal, deep
laughter. He climbed into the window frame and reached up, grabbing a rope
ladder.

“It
is too bad we won’t be meeting again, Face Stealer.” Grandson said as the
helicopter lifted off into the night sky.

“No!”
I shouted and lunged trying to grab his ankle, but my fingers grasped only this
shoelace, which came undone. Helpless, I watched him fly away to his Gulf of
Mexico Base. To make matters worse, in his other hand, he held one of the
briefcases, which undoubtedly contained the vaccines.

I
fell to my knees and pounded the floor. “Crap!”

I'd
been so very close. If I'd just been a tiny bit stronger, or faster, or even
smarter.

Dr.
Belmont's sobs broke me out of my daze.

“You!”
I stomped around to where the doctor lay bleeding out. He looked up at me,
through foggy glasses. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I knew they felt despair.

“You
created the virus!” I growled and stomped on his hand, which reached for help.

He
screamed. “No! I just created the vaccine!”
   

“Can
you do it again?” I furrowed my brows.

“If
you help me, given enough time, I can—” he started, but then he roared in
pain.

The
Lv01 corpse Grandson had shot tore away chunks of the doctor’s legs. He
wouldn't live long enough to make another vaccine.

“Kill
me!” He begged. “Kill me!”

“No.”
I circled him. “You deserve to become one of them. You injected your child with
the virus! You are scum. Did you save your daughter, or did you kill her after
she turned?”

I
stood back and watched the Corpse eat through his leg.

“I
saw your video,” I said. “I was at your house.”

“Then
you should know.” his sentence was cut off by another screaming sob. “That I
had no choice!”

That’s
when I spotted the silver case that Dr. Belmont had been holding. I popped it
open and found a single vial, cushioned in a shaped indent. The liquid inside
looked like liquid mercury. Given there no other vials were in the case, I
could only assume I'd found the partial vaccine. I snapped it closed and
grabbed the handle.

“You
should know, there’s always a choice.” I spit on him. “This partial vaccine is
for my infected friend.”

I
began to walk past the dying doctor, but he grabbed my ankle with an iron grip.
I glared at him. His glasses had fallen off. He now looked furious
;
murderous even.

“You
know nothing!” He roared.

I
opened my mouth to respond, but I hadn’t seen the Corpse move. I felt the
stabbing pain sink into my flesh. The world slowed down, as I pulled away and
stomped on the Lv01's head, over and over and over, smashing it until brains
covered my shoes. I looked down at the bite wound on my leg.

Looking
to the doctor, I whispered. “I’m infected?”

The
doctor laughed. “Oh, you most certainly are! It takes only the most minor of
bites to spread the virus! This is irony for you! Serendipity even!”

“You
bastard!” I screamed. Had he not grabbed me I would've made it past the Corpse
without being bitten. I would have made it! I would have been fine!

The
doctor lowered his head about to die. “Now, you must make a choice. Do you give
the partial vaccine to your friend, or do you take it yourself? Either way, you
both die.”

All
of the life faded from Dr. Marvel Belmont's eyes.

“I
don’t have to make that choice,” I said as I rolled my sock over the bite.

“I
don’t have to make a choice,” I said. “Because I’m giving the vaccine to my
friend, and I’m going to find that Gulf Base.”

However
strong my words, the reality of the situation sank in and tears formed in my
eyes. With both Jessie and I infected, the final countdown had begun.