The Liger Plague (Book 1) (27 page)

“What the hell are you saying, Blake?”

“Someone hacked the webcams after the FBI shut them down and sent it out to the public. The video clips went viral and have caused people around the world to riot and governments to become unstable. There’s been incredible pressure on the U.S. to…
contain
the island and make sure there’s no chance of this virus spreading.”

“I heard that on the news. They think the government released this virus on its own soil as a sort of test run.”

“Yes, in preparation to use against a perceived enemy.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but it’s what many of the leaders of these countries believe, and perception is all that matters now.”

“What are they going to do?”

“My source is telling me that they’re going to send a team of hazmat Seals onto Cooke’s and go house to house, making sure they round up every infected person on that island. Then they’ll either kill them all or put them in containment for other nations to observe and verify.”

“They’re not messing around.”

“A Navy Seal team has been ordered to capture as many of the victims as possible. They’ve got a naval cargo ship as we speak waiting a few miles off the coast to whisk victims and corpses away.”

“This island will be like a ghost town once they’re through with it.”

“They’ll destroy the island afterwards. Possibly firebomb the entire place. My point here is that you’re going to have to find a way off that island before it’s too late.”

“What are they going to do with the people once they have them in custody?”

“Figure it out, Tag. Those who are infected will be guinea pigs for the doctors and researchers. The healthy ones, who knows what will become of them? Your outfit will probably study them until they’ve isolated the virus responsible. Once that’s complete, they’ll work on a vaccine and keep it locked away in a vault somewhere. One of those terrorist nation states would pay dearly to weaponize the virus if they could get their hands on it. The infected will be quarantined until they’re no longer contagious, and after that, who knows? Although I’m fairly certain that most will need to be institutionalized long term. From the looks of the video clips, many of these people will need lifelong psychiatric care, especially if their brain injuries are chronic. Even if they do recover, the memory of what they’ve done will be too great to bear.”

“Any way you can put in a good word for me with our government?” Tag asked.

“Believe me, pal, I’ve tried, but this Agent Bishop is shutting everyone out of the investigation. This event has political and social implications far beyond what you might think. Extreme religious and political groups are protesting around the country. They’re calling it the end of times.”

“I’ll be hunted down even if I did make it off this island.”

“Or brought to justice for public consumption. I’ve been trying, on the sly, to access the files to your case, but I’m running into constant dead ends. This investigation is tighter than a drum. I know that you’ve made some major enemies in the Middle East after your team discovered those biological-grade weapons Saddam was concealing.”

“Do you think this event could stem from that?”

“I don’t really know at this point, Tag. All I know is that you need to find your family before it’s too late and hustle them off that island before they send in those Seals. Long odds, but if you do manage to beat them, you’ll have to go into hiding until somehow, someway, your name can be cleared. I’ll do all I can for you in the meanwhile.”

“Thanks for the heads-up, Blake.”

“I’m sorry about Monica and Taylor. We’re all praying for them to make it.”

“Me too.”

“I have to chuck this phone in the Potomac now. Wishing you the best of luck, my friend, and hope to hear from you soon.”

Tag collapsed on the sofa. The others stared at him, waiting for an explanation. Versa slept on the opposite end, her chin resting on her rising and falling breastbone.

“So that’s the deal?” Cooper asked.

“Sounds like they’ll be sending a team of Navy Seals here to round up every person on the island. Then they’re going to flatten Cooke’s like a pancake, probably send over a squadron of bombers to firebomb it.”

“Holy crap!” Fez said.

“I’ll fight to the death if they try to come here and take my home. Lived in this place my entire life and have no plans of leaving it now.”

“You’ll most certainly die, Cooper.”

“Then die I will, sir, if that’s the case.”

“Once day breaks, I’m going out there to try to find my family before it’s too late. It’s my last chance,” Tag said.

“I’m coming with you,” Fez said.

“I’m in too if you want me,” said Cooper. “Might as well go out swinging.”

“Thanks, but I need you guys to stay here. I’ve had special training in door-to-door combat and am better equipped to deal with this situation,” he said, squeezing Fez’s neck. He looked at Cooper. “Once I return with my family, we’ll need to find a way off this island.”

“You three can leave if you’d like, but I ain’t going nowhere. I was born on this spit of land, and I’ll die defending it if necessary. I’m an old lobsterman, so I guess it don’t matter much at this point.”

“Thanks, Cooper. Me and the kid should rest for a few hours before the sun comes up.”

“You guys take a load off while I keep an eye on my property. I don’t sleep worth a damn anyways,” Cooper said, clicking off the TV. “And, Colonel?”

“Yeah.”

“I believe you. Don’t know why or how I do, but somehow you seem like a trustworthy type.”

“Thanks, Cooper. That means a lot to me.”

Tag closed his eyes and drifted off. He felt as if he could sleep for days. All he wanted to do was find Monica and Taylor before this island got destroyed, and then he could go about proving his innocence.

Chapter 19

Tag felt someone shaking his shoulder, and he shot up in a sitting position. The hulking lobsterman stood staring down at him. The man put his wrinkled finger up to his lips and nodded toward Fez and Versa, both asleep on the futon, then beckoned Tag to follow him. Tag walked over to the front door. Outside the gate three poxers stumbled around, covering their eyes from the sun, which was just beginning to rise, filling the sky with pink striated clouds.

“You should get going before the kid wakes up. He seems to look up to you, Colonel. You know he’ll try and follow you if you don’t leave immediately,” Cooper said.

“That’s a good idea.”

“We’ll all stay here until you get back. Hope you find your family.”

“Thanks for not shooting me, Cooper.”

“Don’t thank me, because in truth, I should have shot you right away and saved myself a whole lotta trouble.” He broke into a wistful smile. “Got me some old fatigues for when I go bow hunting for deer. Think you can use them?”

“That would be a huge help.”

He put on the fatigues that Cooper brought over. They were big on him, but using a belt, he was able to cinch the pants tight around the waist. He grabbed his Magnum and a rifle and headed out. Cooper walked him to the front gate, unlocked the padlock, and let him pass through.

The three poxers sniffed the air and turned toward him as he walked along the beach. They groaned in anticipation and staggered along the sand, unable to make out his whereabouts, their arms guided by their nose. One of them tripped and fell headfirst into the sand. The grains stuck, glistening against the bright, pus-filled sores. The other two headed toward the water, searching desperately for what their noses detected but eyes could not see. He stood momentarily over the fallen poxer and observed its movements. Strands of wispy hair sprouted from its pustule-filled scalp, and the sores were starting to scab over, resulting in a hard shell.

The poxer rose to its knees, eyes shut, and stood groaning. He realized that any attempt to identify this person was futile. The hideous pox obscured their features and made them all look the same. This worried him, as he wondered if he’d be able to identify Monica and Taylor when the time came. The poxer turned to face him and started to say something. Tag made sure not to get too close lest the man’s mood shift and he tried to attack him.

“Where are you? I know a healthy person is out there somewhere,” the man said in a garbled voice that Tag found difficult to understand.

“Don’t move, pal. I’ve got a gun pointed directly at your head.”

“I smell your weakness, and it’s driving me insane. Isn’t that crazy?” the man said in a low, raspy voice. He started toward him. “As sick as I am, I’m so goddamn hungry I could eat a horse. Or preferably a human.” He laughed.

“I told you not to move.”

“Then try to stop me. You think I want to live like this?”

Tag walked over and kicked him gently in the stomach, and the man fell back on his haunches. The kick, as harmless as it seemed, ripped the alligator skin over his stomach, oozing blood and pus out of the vertical wound.

“Who are you, and why are you attacking me?” Tag asked.

“Aha! I thought I recognized that voice,” the poxer said. “Winters, it’s David, your wealthy neighbor whose boat you utterly destroyed the other day.”

“David Goldstein?” The sight of his neighbor in such a depraved state shocked him.

“Yes, I know. I wouldn’t want me as a friend either,” he said. “I understand that you’re more than advertised.”

“I am, David, but not in the way you might think.”

“Look, Winters, I don’t know what’s going on here on this island, but it has turned me into a raging psychopath. This hunger I’ve developed for flesh is voracious and unrelenting.”

“What changed?”

“I don’t know. Something inside me snapped once I came down with the virus. Of course, the people who know me might say I’ve always been a headhunter.” Goldstein laughed. “I feel like I’m losing my mind, Winters. All I want to do is kill and eat, eat and kill. What kind of a doctor does that?”

“How come you don’t attack other infected people, David?”

“The odor of their flesh repulses me. It smells almost rotten and sweet at the same time,” he said, sitting up in the sand. “They’re on the island.”

“Who’s on the island?”

“Whoever released this disease.”

“How do you know?”

“They came to my home. When I answered the door, they sprayed it inside and took off.” He rubbed his blister-covered eyes. “At first we thought it was a prank having to do with the art festival because the person was dressed in a tiger costume.”

Tag wasn’t about to tell him it was no tiger.

“Would you be a good neighbor, Winters, and kindly put a bullet in my brain? I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

“You might recover, David. Don’t you want to see your wife and kids again?”

“I ate my fucking wife, asshole.”

Tag shuddered at this revelation.

“You heard me right, Winters. And for your information, she tasted fucking delicious.” He started to stand despite the tears spilling out the corners of his eyes. “I ate a little girl too. Cute little thing with pigtails. Saw her standing on the corner of Main Street, alone and scared and looking for her mother. Trust me when I tell you I fought off the urge to consume her, but it got the best of me. Started at the kid’s stomach and worked my way up to her brain, devouring every last fucking delicious finger-licking morsel of that frontal lobe. Don’t ask me why I did it because I have no answer.” He looked up, and Tag thought he saw a look of regret over his monstrous face. “What the hell has happened to me? I’ve completely lost my humanity.”

“It’s not the real you,” Tag said, backing away as the physician stumbled toward him. “It’s the disease that did this to you.”

“I can never return to my life after this. Never! I’m damaged goods, so you might as well go ahead and get it over with.” He raised his arms up and stuck out his chest, waiting for the bullet.

Tag raised his gun and pointed it at his neighbor. He knew he needed to kill him, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Killing someone he knew, especially one of his neighbors, was far different than killing a faceless poxer. If in the same situation, he knew he’d rather die than live with such a horrific memory. Instead, he bolted up the narrow dirt path, leaving the doctor behind. A few confused poxers staggered along the road despite the proliferation of shade provided by the canopy of trees, but he easily moved past them.

Guilt washed over him. He knew he’d made a terrible mistake by allowing his neighbor to live, and he swore not to make the same mistake again.

He heard someone calling out his name. Glancing back, he saw Fez sprinting down the narrow enclosure with a rifle in hand. Lumbering behind him was the arthritic lobsterman shouting at Fez to come back. The kid tossed the rifle over the fence and then scampered up and over it, jumping from the top and landing on the soft sand. He picked up the rifle, turned to Cooper and waved goodbye in an almost mocking manner. Tag’s diseased neighbor started to trot-limp over to Fez, but the kid raised his rifle and put the surgeon out of his misery. As soon as he shot Goldstein, Fez sprinted in his direction.

“Tag, wait up.”

“What are you doing, kid? You were supposed to stay back with the others.”

“No way I could just sit there and do nothing knowing you’re out there by yourself.”

“I should march you right back to that house.”

“Won’t do any good. I’ll just bust out of there and come looking for you,” Fez said, staring up at him. “Come on, man, you know I can help. Maybe I’ll join the army someday like you and be a soldier.”

“You don’t understand, kid. In the army, if you ever left your post, you’d be discharged for disobeying a superior officer.”

Fez looked away, obviously disappointed, but Tag knew that if he walked the kid back to the house and the kid ran away again, Fez’s death would be on him.

“Okay, you can come along, but you have to do exactly as I say.”

“Have I disobeyed you yet?”

“Let’s go, then.”

They continued down the shade-covered dirt road. The deeper they travelled into the woods, the more the thick blanket of leaves blocked out the sun. Tag heard a crunching sound to his left. He stopped to see where the noise was coming from. They squatted down behind a rock. Tag looked to his left. The trees and bushes were dense and earthy. Fresh dew clung to the green vegetation, thick and lush, the moss like an alien creature. He raised his head above the boulder and saw dozens of them on either side of the road, closing in.