Running with the Horde (Book 2): Delusions of Monsters Read online

  The security personnel groaned. Many of them had already lived through Dick’s infamous inspections several times. Those days were always long and torturous. Best spent in quiet longsuffering, knowing eventually the inspection would end and Dick would leave them in peace for a while.

  One or two guards would be publically humiliated or even replaced but most would skate by unscathed. What they didn’t realize was Dick had been manipulating them for years to ignore major breaches in security while he ran the inspections. He had been doing it for so many years it was just part of the culture of Area 51. They all feared and trusted him implicitly, even the newbies. It was an ace-in-the-hole that Dick never dreamed he would ever actually need to use but he was a man who planned for all contingencies.

  And things had changed. Dick was changed. His perception of his overlords had changed. He was now a vigilante warrior of one protecting the only person in the world who mattered more than anyone and that was himself. But first things first, he needed to continue to make things appear to be running business as usual.

  As promised Dr. Penrod along with the rest of the Area 51 staff had gathered in the large conference room and were prepared for the briefing. They would have a remote audience from the Syndicate as well to view the last important milestone of Project Simon before the pilot could go live. If it all worked out the way Dick planned, he would catch the Syndicate completely off guard. He took his chair at the rear of the room and asked Penrod if he was ready. The younger man nodded glumly and hit a button on the remote. The lights in the conference room dimmed and after a moment of static a high resolution video feed began to play.

  The title of the video appeared on the screen: Project Simon Test Subject: Tina Van Horn.

  “Are you happy?” asked the man in the white hazmat suit.

  “I’m very happy,” replied the young woman with a big goofy smile.

  “Why are you happy?”

  “I don’t know, I just am,” she answered and glanced away from the camera as if she could tell something about her happy feeling wasn’t quite right but couldn’t put her finger on why.

  “But you were so sad before, when your daughter died. Do you remember?”

  “Yes, I remember how sick she was and I remember being sad but now I am just happy.” The measurements on the machine showed a steady heart rate. She wasn’t lying.

  “Okay, Tina, that’s great. If you could just be patient for a moment,” the man said as he typed into his keyboard. “Alright, now how do you feel?”

  For a moment her face was a blank slate but then it twisted into a look of such wretched despair that she almost had to be acting. She starting weeping. Deep breathless sobs so intense she couldn’t speak. The machine once again confirmed she wasn’t being deceitful.

  “Tina, I am so sorry for your loss,” the man said, making a note on his scratch pad. He typed in another command and Tina’s sobs ended immediately. “Juanita will bring you back to your room now.”

  From off camera another person in a hazmat suit appeared. She helped Tina stand and together they left the field of the camera’s vision and the video went black.

  “I believe congratulations are in order, Dr. Penrod,” Dick beamed as the lights came up in the executive conference room. “This is one hell of a breakthrough! Kudos to you and your team. Project Simon is finally ready for the pilot!” Dick proclaimed for the benefit of the ever-silent Syndicate.

  Andrew had his face buried in his hands as if he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. He cast a murderous look at Dick who was sitting across the table. “You can’t seriously be considering going live with the next phase of the project,” Andrew said. “Yes, we made a breakthrough with Tina but it’s far too unstable yet. Think of the dozens of people who died or had their brains turned to jelly in a matter of days. We’ve only just begun to understand the very basics of this technology. Dick, we need more time,” he begged.

  “You’ve had years, Andrew, and like it or not, we’ve run out of time.”

  “But it’s foolhardy!” Andrew shouted, rising out of his chair. One of the security guards took a step toward the table but Dick waved him off with an impatient look.

  Andrew continued, “I’ve told you a thousand times, even with the changes we made the virus still mutates, it changes the host irrevocably. It’s not just a computer program it’s a goddamn fucking organic life force! Every new tweak we make seems to make it smarter. I don’t even think we are really in control of it. Dr. Reynolds can you back me up here?”

  John didn’t get a chance to answer before Dick snapped, “Bullshit! I just witnessed total control over the subject. You’ve got a case of cold feet, Doc. Now, I am sorry you decided to grow a conscience but we are moving forward. The stars are aligned. We are moving to immediate mass production of the Simon Virus. The Syndicate will accept nothing less, am I clear?”

  Andrew Penrod returned his hands to his face struggling not to cry but said nothing.

  “Am I clear?” Dick shouted.

  “Yes,” Andrew replied meekly.

  “Good. Andrew you will spend the rest of your day in your quarters until you get your head on straight. Everyone else, I expect progress reports daily now,” Dick said as he got up to leave. “Congratulations, team, it’s been a long road but the end is in sight.”

  Dick’s next stop was to the camera room where he promptly excused the guards and explained they should take a 30 minute break then return and attempt to fix whatever systems were down as quickly as possible. They would be timed and judged accordingly he explained seriously. They left with their tails between their legs and heads hanging low, knowing it was going to be a long day.

  When he was alone he logged onto the system and fired off an email to the control room at the Syndicate headquarters explaining the need for a final audit before Project Simon launched into pilot. As he waited for the green light he played air saxophone to the soft rock playing in the background. It was an instrumental cover of Seger’sTurn the Page. An appropriate song for a brand new day in Dick’s life.

  The approval email came in just as he thought it would, but he still uttered a festive little woot-woot into the air. Control’s approval meant the redundant monitoring processes located around the world would be expecting outages and blackouts for the duration of the inspection. He had been training them too, even though he’d never laid eyes on them. He was Dick, just worm food, always the obedient foot soldier, no reason to suspect anything else.

  Scanning the array of monitors he located the man he was looking for. Todd Coody was in his room looking at some nasty footage on his laptop. This wasn’t a surprise, the nut job spent most of his downtime exploring the seemingly endless joys of his own body. Dick checked in on a few of the other major players as well. Andrew, still recovering from his brow beating, was moping around his quarters in a listless daze. That was exactly where Dick wanted him.

  Dick crawled under the table and started disconnecting all of the cords he could see. When that was done he turned off every button and moved every switch. He really had no idea what he was doing but it was effective; the monitor feeds were all black or offline by the time he was done. He noticed an almost full cup of coffee left behind by one of the guards. For good measure he poured the liquid liberally into the large control panel. Dick listened in silent satisfaction to the hissing and pops of the electronics as the liquid did its damage.

  Ten minutes later he used his all-access pass card to open Todd’s quarters. The man turned towards him with a dull expression on his crazy face but didn’t stop his activity.

  “Pull up your fucking drawers, shit stain, I need you to do something for me.”

  Todd groaned but complied, his big jackass grin proclaiming he was ready to go.

  Dick removed the grin with a disgusted shout, “Wash your fucking hands you goddam pervert and turn that shit off. Are you off your medication again? Fuck man! What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” To
dd whined as he washed his hands, “It’s natural.”

  “The fuck it is, you’re damn lucky I happen to need your skills at the moment. How the fuck did you even get this shit down here?”

  Todd didn’t answer but looked properly mollified.

  A few minutes later Dick and Todd entered Dr. Penrod’s lab. The room was clean and organized as usual. “Has Andrew been keeping you up to speed on all this virus shit?”

  Todd looked annoyed, “I have literally worked in this lab everyday of Andrew’s stay here. I am up to speed.”

  “Good, show me the prototype for Project Simon.”

  “Why? You just watched th-“

  “Just fucking show me,” Dick shouted.

  Todd brought him to the cooler and Dick waited patiently while Todd gathered a small assembly to show him.

  “So as you are fully aware from the video,” Todd began in a beleaguered tone. “This is the Simon-Lite version of the virus. Same control properties but less punch than the original version. As you also know, it’s been fully tested and vetted. And as you already commanded it will soon be on its way to the pilot cities. If you hadn’t grounded Penrod to his room we would already be underway.”

  “Todd, I have to tell you today isn’t a good day to be throwing snark in my face. I will gladly give you the same treatment I gave Andrew and anyway I did that for his own good. I had to set an example. The Syndicate is always watching.”

  Todd was staring at Dick with the wide-eyed expression of an empty-headed boob. Dick was disgusted even looking at the man but it couldn’t be helped, Todd was the only tool currently in the toolbox.

  “What do you need me for? Everything is done,” Todd said and looked at his watch.

  Dick resisted the urge to punch the taller man in the throat and said instead, “I need you to add something to the prototype and order production without Dr. Penrod.”

  “What are you talking about? There is nothing to add.” Todd remarked in tone that suggested Dick was a dumbass.

  “What I mean to say is I want you to replace this prototype with the original. You will then use that formula as the prototype for the placebo shots. The pilot cities will get fake shots. Everyone else gets the real deal,” Dick said calmly.

  Todd Coody stared at Dick with a goofy grin of disbelief but did nothing so Dick slapped him hard across the face. Todd’s head snapped back and for a moment Dick thought the man might attack him. Instead, Todd rubbed the growing red handprint on his cheek. “Why did you hit me?”

  “Because I need you to do this and I need it done right away.”

  “But that is crazy. Do you have any idea what will happen if you give that to people?”

  “Hey, it’s not my idea, these are orders from the Syndicate,” Dick said.

  Todd contemplated that for a moment until a sly grin formed on his freakish looking face, “These are not real orders, Dick, you are trying to nuke Project Simon.”

  Dick gave him his best menacing stare until Todd blinked and looked away. Dick said nothing as the other man fiddled with his lab coat. Sometimes silence was the best weapon.

  “What’s in it for me?” he eventually asked.

  “What do you want,” Dick said, thinking Todd would ask to be released from Area 51.

  “You know what I want,” Todd said with a greedy smile.

  It took him a second but then Dick did know. The man was a real sicko. “Okay, Todd, you got it. It will take me a day or two but by the end of the week I will bring you a new toy.”

  Todd was almost glowing with anticipation but then his happy expression clouded over with doubt, “Wait, how do I know you are telling me the truth?”

  “Hell, Coody, you could’ve asked for anything but what you want is simple enough. No skin off my back as long as you keep this between us. So do we have a deal?”

  “Dick,” Todd said beaming. “We have a fucking deal!”

  Dick watched him work for a while until he got bored. “Listen, Todd, I’ve got other things to take care of, be sure you do it right and don’t forget to cover your tracks from Dr. Penrod. It’s very important if you want your toy, you understand?”

  Todd nodded and Dick regarded him for another moment until deciding it would have to do. He had no way of knowing if Todd could actually do what he asked. He had to hope the moron had learned enough from watching Penrod over the years.

  With that item crossed off his agenda he moved on to his second important task of the day. He spent the next several hours visiting various places throughout the entire facility and shooing all of the personnel to the cafeteria under the continuing guise of facility-wide inspection. When he was finally alone he hid tiny C4 charges in each room, in places he knew they wouldn’t be discovered when security was back online. This was an arduous process because his contact in D.C. had filled him with a healthy dose of fear regarding the explosives. They were small but very powerful, the man had told him as he gave Dick a crash course in the handling and placement of C4.

  When he was done planting the charges he made an appearance in the cafeteria where the majority of the staff had gathered. There he gave an impassioned speech about their mission and the importance of following protocol. This was their last big push before Project Simon went live so he was testing them to their limits to be sure everyone was ready in the event there was ever an attempt to take the facility down. He gave them strict instructions about the clean-up process and how he would grade their performance. The emphasis placed on the cost of failure had everyone eager to get the facility back up and running as quickly as possible.

  Feeling kind of like a god, Dick oversaw the clean-up of his mess from the comfort of his own quarters and dutifully reported back to Control when all was well. He made a special note that they had discovered a couple of bugs in the system that could’ve caused problems down the road for Project Simon. Simple things like a security personal who had broken protocol and left a full beverage on the control board. That individual had been dealt with accordingly. Control could be assured that Area 51 was being run like a tight ship.

  Later that week he briefly saw Todd and the man gave him a lascivious wink. Evidently that meant he had been successful in his task. The following afternoon at the weekly briefing he was informed by the team that the first batch of vaccines had been completed in production and were shipped out that same morning.

  Thousands of shots had been sent out across the globe with more going out every day. As far as anyone knew most of those shots were fake placebos and only the four pilot cities were getting the live virus. Only Dick and Todd knew the truth.

  Dick spent the remainder of that week and the one that followed monitoring operations from his Area 51 quarters and making arrangements for his eventual disappearing act. As far as what his actions actually meant, Dick didn’t really put a lot of thought into it. He was a man of simple principles. Tom and the Syndicate screwed him over and so, in turn, he would screw them over. He didn’t put a lot of stock in Andrew’s dire predictions. He figured at worst maybe a few thousand people would get sick and, of those, maybe a few hundred might actually die. Considering what the Syndicate had intended for everyone in the first place, he was probably doing the right thing.

  Had he realized the sheer magnitude of his choice and how it would break the world he may have chosen a less genocidal approach to his revenge situation. But then again maybe not, he was a real dick.

  Chapter 17: Unexpected Power

  The Present

  It seemed like forever but it probably wasn’t all that long until the ringing in my ears started to subside and I could hear men screaming and guns firing. Then my vision came back like a million needles. My eyes were watering through the haze of gun smoke. I knew what was happening without even checking. My reinforcements had arrived and from the sound of things they were giving the soldiers everything they could handle and more. I didn’t give a shit. I was in a very dark place emotionally. In that moment I almost wished for an errant round to
find its home in my brain and end this madness.

  But there was Daisy to consider, not to mention our baby. I rolled off of my back and onto my knees, taking great care not to look up and see Marybeth’s body lying there. I couldn’t look at her again. I retched on the floor but also on my pants and went into a coughing fit as I crawled forward past her body to the back of the room toward the entrance of the service hallway. I could see much better now due to the constant muzzle flashes. It was like being at a rave from hell.

  The Creep was gone, disappeared down the hallway and likely out the back. I pulled myself up on the wainscoting and stumbled down the same path he had taken which led past two restrooms and a galley to a big metal door with a push bar. The door held a warning that an alarm would sound if opened. Good. Let it. I pushed it open and stepped outside into the blustery snow of the alley. I saw nobody, there weren’t even footprints to follow with the wind whipping the snow around like a winter rodeo.

  To my immediate right was a large green dumpster. The kind with two metal lids hinged on the back. Each lid covered half the dumpster. One side was clear of snow but the other lid was covered by about a foot of the stuff. I had no weapon since abandoning my pack back in the street. My rifle had been left in the restaurant. But I had my rage, if he was in there I was going to tear him apart with my hands. Throwing the snowless lid open I glanced inside but he wasn’t in there. On top of several decomposing trash bags lay the butcher knife now clotted with dried blood. A smiley face had been drawn in the snow on the other lid, two final fuck-you parting gifts from my friend, the Creep. I reached in and pulled out the knife and began walking south out of the alley scanning for hiding places and lost in thought.

  I hadn’t known Marybeth for very long, just an hour or so. But an hour in the zombie apocalypse was a lifetime. She had been my responsibility. My task had been simple, escort her safely from Point A to Point B while in the company of several armed adults. It should have been easy but I fucked up. I lost track of her. I let go of her hand. I mismanaged my gun. I fucked up! I didn’t know what had become of my companions but if they were still alive and we did meet again I wouldn’t be able to face Mailue. Yet I would have to. I would have to look her in the eyes and explain that a monster from a horror movie came out of nowhere and butchered her grandbaby in front of me while I stood there helpless to do anything about it. Life sucked.