Omega Virus (Book 1): Beta Hour (28 page)

LEVEL 35 – INJUSTICE

When Wesley
helped me back on the boat, he touched my bare wrist and nearly recoiled. “Man,
you're burning up! Maybe we should go back and find you some penicillin!”

I
sighed and wiped the sweat from my brow. “Let's just get this 'quest' over
with. I'll take some aspirin later, or whatever.”

As
I made my way to the upper deck stairs, Jessie stopped me. “Come lay down
inside. I'll take care of you.”

I
avoided her eyes. “I just want to be alone.”

“Zach,
what’s wrong? You can tell me anything.”

I
didn't have the heart to be around her. For all I knew, I'd be turning into a
Corpse at any moment. I couldn't put her at risk.

She
walked up behind me. “Is it about Kessa? I know how you felt about her.”

I
grimaced but kept climbing. “Just help Wesley or whoever sail the ship.”

She
whimpered as I walked away, but what could I do? Telling her about my bite
would only make her worry more, and if she knew, we were both infected she'd
hate me. Better not to cause her stress, I decided. It wouldn't be too long
before she seized in pain again. Negative thoughts weren't getting me anywhere.

The
boat engine roared to life, and we pulled away from the docks. For twenty
minutes I leaned on the upper railing, staring into the sea. My mind, however,
went completely blank. I couldn't think even if I wanted to.

The
sky above darkened and storm clouds seemed to come for us like a monster. The
wind picked up, and the waves crashed against the ship, making it shift up and
down, back and forth.
A storm over the final battle?
It seemed only natural, given the coming raid of the G.O.D. Mode base.

Nausea
came over me again. I leaned over the railing and vomited. This time, it felt
like my throat had caught fire. Ten times worse than heartburn, I feared the
acid would eat through my throat.

“Zach?”
Wesley called.

“Crap.”
I wiped my face clean on my dirty shirt.

He
joined me at the railing. “There's more to talk about, friend.”

I
turned my head away. “I don't think so.”

“Sure
there is!” He slapped my back. “There may not be enough time to chat later.”

My
throat clenched. “What do you mean by that?”

“This
quest could kill us all.” Wesley stared into the distance, although I could see
something serious going on behind his eyes.

“We’re
gamers,” I said. “We have so many lives we can kill any Corpse that comes at
us.”

“Unfortunately.”
Wesley sighed. “We’ve only got one life each, just like a cat out of luck.”

“You
don’t have anything wiser to say?” I muttered.

He
stayed quiet for a few seconds then said. “What do you really want to do after
all of this is over? When we take out the entire G.O.D. Mode family?”

I
stared down at the choppy waters. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“Why
not?” Wesley put his back to the railing and crossed his arms. “The world is
going to be saved you know. The good guys always win.”

“Still
sucking pretty bad at the pep talk.” I rolled my eyes.

“Let
me cut to the chase then.” Wesley glanced from the corner of his eye. “I know
you’re sick.”

All
of my mental alerts went off, and I shook my head.

“No
way!” I replied. “I haven’t been bitten!”

“Who
said you
were
bitten?” Wesley cocked an eyebrow. “Now,
I know it for sure. You are infected with the Omega Virus.”

“I’m
not—” I tried, but he cut me off.

“Just
show me your bite.” He said. “I’m not going to throw you off the boat—yet.”

With
a sigh, I lifted up my pant leg. He kneeled down and poked the wound.

“Ow!
You bastard!”

“You
still feel pain.” Wesley said, “Means you have time left.”

“Do
you know how much?” I asked. “I have to get into that base and find the
vaccines.”

“I
would say no more than an hour and a half—two hours max.” He said.

“Crap,”
I muttered.

“Jessie
is still infected too, isn’t she?” Wesley asked.

“
Shhh
!” I threw my hands over his mouth.

He
pulled back and slapped me away. “Don’t touch me with your zombie hands!”

“I’m
not one!” I replied.

“Yet.”

“Thanks
for the vote of confidence.” I sighed.

“I
don’t know that you’ll make it.” He shrugged.

“Thanks
again.”

“But
here’s what I do know.” Wesley kept going. “It’ll take us at least 30 more
minutes to get to the exact spot where that base is. Which gives you an hour to
find the vaccines.”

“Aren’t
you going to help?” I asked.

“No.”
He said, being brutally honest. “I’ll leave that to you guys. I’m going
straight for Grandson. Maybe I can make him talk.”

“I’m
so screwed,” I muttered, chin in my palm.

“So
you really aren’t going to tell her?” Wesley questioned. “Doesn’t she have the
right to know?”

His
words made me feel like scum. “I can’t—I told her she was cured when I
gave her the partial vaccine.”

“So
there was a temporary one?” Wesley asked. “How long did that last?”

“Since
early this morning.” I sighed. “I had hoped it would last longer, or maybe even
work entirely.”

“We
aren’t that lucky.” Wesley shook his head.

“Do
you have much more to say?” I asked. “I’m not feeling well.”

“I
do have one very important thing to tell you about the girl.” He said.

“What
about her?”

What
more could he tell me?

“It’s
about
Tif
—” A huge wave crashed over the bow
and drenched us. The water froze me to the core. I glanced over, and Wesley
balanced precariously on the railing.

“My
hat!” He cried and dove into the water.

“Wesley!”
I shouted and lost sight of him as he disappeared below the waves.

“Guys!”
I screamed. “Wesley went overboard!”

Thunder
rumbled in the sky above as Dave and Jessie came to my side.

“Where
is he?” Jessie cried, looking down into the choppy water.

Another
huge wave splashed the three of us.

Dave
cried out. “He’s done for! We should get inside!”

“Give
me that rope over there!” I snapped. “I’m going after the idiot!”

“Not
a chance!” Jessie cried. “I’m not letting you go!”

Dave
handed me the rope and caught Jessie’s glare. I quickly tied the rope to the
railing then around my waist.

“Hold
the rope!” I ordered them.

“Stop
being so reckless!” Jessie pleaded.

I
didn’t listen to another word she said. I climbed on the railing and looked at
the waves beneath me. I had always been afraid of what lied beneath dark
waters. Surely there were sharks, giant squids, and dangerous venomous
jellyfish ready to attack me, hell even a sea monster, but I didn’t care.
Wesley had been about to tell me something important and who better to risk
their life than the one infected with but an hour or so to live?

Breath
sucked in, I threw myself forward. I splashed down, and the shock made me go
numb. Within minutes, I’d be suffering from hypothermia.

Darkness
encroached from every direction, still, I reached around blindly trying to
grasp Wesley and bring him up. Something grabbed my leg, and I screamed, or
tried to, and water rushed into my mouth. I kicked my leg trying to get free
from the sea serpent. But then a hand reached up and grabbed my arm. Hoping I'd
found Wesley, and not a Corpse, I wrapped my arms around him. With all my
strength I tugged on the rope.

We
weren’t being lifted out of the
water,
we were
actually sinking even deeper. The roped jerked and our heads broke the surface.
Thankfully, I did indeed have Wesley. Moments later we were brought on board to
find Jeff, Dave, and Jessie all holding the other end of the rope.

Jessie
cried in joy and hugged me tight. I smiled, sitting there on the yacht’s deck,
her warmth
much-welcomed
. Next to me lay Wesley whose
eyes were closed. He'd gone unconscious, but in his hand, he had grasped that
black fedora with the now limp red feather.

“Let’s
get them inside,” Jeff said. “Everyone’s gonna get sick.”

We
carried Wesley inside to the common area and then Jeff and Dave excused
themselves to go back to try sailing the ship. We were so cold that we didn’t
even care about humility; we stripped off our soaking clothes down to our
undergarments.

“What
kind of party am I missing?” Wesley coughed.

I
replied by hurling my soaked shirt at his face.

“I
nearly died, and you’re abusing me?” He groaned.

“You
nearly got us killed, moron!” I snapped.

Wesley
sat up and stripped off his clothes revealing pale skin. “I needed to save the
hat! It
..
.
means
a lot to me.”

“Sentimental
value versus life or death?” Dave asked. “Sounds important!”

“Sure
is! Why in fact—”

I
drowned them out as Jessie crawled over to me. She wore only a blue bra and
underwear. With myself in boxers, she wrapped her arms around me and gave a
happy giggle. She felt so warm compared to my icy blood.

“You’re
so hot,” Jessie said. “Keep me cozy.”

The
fact that I still burned up didn’t bode well, but I hugged her close. I
couldn't smell her due to a stuffy nose, but my hunger still threatened to
control me. For the moment, I felt content holding her head to my chest. When
it had been Kessa, and me, such a moment would have turned into a mad make-out
session. But cuddling with our bare skin against each other felt better than
anything that ever happened to me. Guilt crept across me. Kessa had died, and
the blame landed on me.

As
if reading my mind, Jessie whispered. “It's not your fault that Kessa died. You
did everything you could. Don’t beat yourself up. The best you can do is go on
living for her.”

With
a solemn nod, I hugged Jessie even tighter.

“Be
gentle.” She giggled.

“Whoa!
What was that?” Wesley jumped into our conversation. Dave, too, stared over
wide-eyed.

“Get
your mind out of the gutter!” I tossed a wet sock at him.

“Now
throwing stinky socks is where I draw the line!” Wesley said. “I need to find
some clothes. There’s gotta be something in one of these closets.”

“Who
said it was stinky?” I whispered.

“It
wasn’t,” Jessie said. “I’m sure like the rest of you, it smells wonderful.”

Being
so close to one another turned out to be all I could ask for, but time waned.
Despite being nearly naked, she still hadn’t seen my bite. So I kept my leg
turned to the side and hidden from sight.

About
ten minutes later Wesley emerged from another room dressed in a black shirt and
black pair of jeans. He tossed a bundle of clothes at us.

“I
found everything.” He said. “Even underwear for his and hers.”

I
sorted out the pile and found socks and quickly put those on first, pulling
them over the bite once again. Jessie took her clothes, a jean skirt, tank top
and a thong.

“Really?”
she sighed.

“Sexy,”
I grinned at her.

Her
cheeks turned rosy red, and she quickly walked to the other side of the room,
my eyes trailing her.

Wesley
and Dave were already leaving the room. I watched in anticipation as Jessie
unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor. She started to lower her undies,
and I saw the beginning of her behind, but then she looked over her shoulder.

“Zach!”
She said. “Don’t peek!”

“S-sorry!”
I said, turning around.

I
changed all of my clothes and pulled on jean shorts and a blue and yellow
striped shirt—Definitely not my sense of fashion. Turning back I found
Jessie already dressed. My eyes trailed her up and down. She had a pair of
ankle converse on and above them were a pair of gorgeous legs. She caught me
staring and shook her head with a smile.

“You’re
bad.” She came over and threw her arms around me. “But you know what?”

“What?”
I embraced her, as she put her lips to my ear.

“I
peeked, so I guess I'm worse.”

Tingles
ran through me. She'd peeked at me when I was undressed.

“No
fair.” I nibbled on her earlobe. “I didn't get to see anything.”

“Later.”
she stuck her tongue in my ear, and every hair on my body stood up.