#prototype fanfic

My breath came in hard pants and I started coughing as the elevator rose up to my floor. There was a stitch in my side and my heart hammered a staccato beat against my ribs, trying to break free of its cage and flee this damnable nightmare. As I dug my key out of my sweat pants pocket and approached my door, I couldn’t recall if those soldiers had seen me. I don’t think they did. If they had, they likely would’ve detained me or shot me.

I pushed the door open and slammed it shut behind me, locking it firmly into place. My grocery bags lay discarded on the floor on either side of me as my hands remained placed on the door. My throat tightened up but I didn’t know if that was from anxiety, the cold, my illness or a combination of all three. I was just so damned scared and on the verge of a panic attack after what I’d just witnessed. Was I even sure I’d seen what happened back there? Am I certain he didn’t somehow have on Kevlar body armor or some other type of protection while getting shot? Those doctors sure as hell didn’t. Then again, they had been shot in the head.

My panicked brain floundered and lashed out, grasping at any sort of feasible line of logic that was available. None of it made sense. Kate and I both saw the newscast. It confirmed Mercer had been dead since Saturday.

”So then, why the fuck was he walking around A-oh-fucking-kay like that outside the fucking morgue?” I muttered. I leaned forward and braced my head against the cool wood of my apartment door, sighing explosively before pushing myself upright. I dropped my keys into the bowl on the little vintage table Kate had picked up a few months ago. Looking at it made me wish my roommate was here so I could share this chaos with her.

The sound of gunfire still echoed loudly in my ears. The corners of my eyes began to burn slightly from unshod tears as the adrenaline dump steadily worked its way through my system. I pressed both palms flat on my face, pushing the heels into my eyes, and took in a shuddering breath. I wanted nothing more than to just collapse into a wet, messy heap and cry. Maybe even dig into the crackers I bought from Rover’s which felt like an age ago. Before everything seemingly shattered around me.

God, I felt so fucking scared but I couldn’t let that overwhelm me. Not entirely. Nor could I afford the energy to do so. I still felt weak from whatever bug I caught. I didn’t have enough food or liquids in my body. If I did just hole up and cry, I’d likely pass out for a few hours and I didn’t want to do that. Not yet anyway.

I tossed my bags onto the kitchen counter and shed my soiled sweats, kicking off my sneakers in the process before hopping into a cold shower. I was still suffering from the fever and probably overextended myself running nearly all the way back here. As I stood in the stall, my mind slowly replayed the events leading up to the morgue. I remember feeling… tired. A little groggy even but relatively okay. Okay enough for a trek outdoors.

Then there was that interaction with that random male passerby.

The amount of feral anger I felt towards him. That… need to consume. To feed frightened me. It felt utterly and completely alien. Had it not caught me so off guard, flaring up so unexpectedly… I tried not to think about the ramifications.

I know I didn’t have a history of manic episodes or schizophrenia that I could remember. It was just the usual combo of anxiety and depression that plagued me. Maybe there was something actually wrong with me and it was just starting to take root. That or maybe it was just all that stress finally hitting me. Retrieving that data from Gentek’s main servers and covering any and all traces of my intrusions was the most difficult task I ever had to perform and to do so in such a tight time frame!

The lack of communication on Mr. X and Merren’s Genetics ends still concerned me. We were finally on Monday and I still hadn’t received any missive from either of them. Maybe they were already made aware of Gentek’s denying all non-essential personnel onsite access. They did all work on the same, if not similar hub. Perhaps I’d send a ping via the burner phone and ask for an update. After I checked out the security on my offshore account. It’d been a few days since I last took a peek at it.

I shut off the water and wrapped a clean towel about my body, squeezing out the excess bits that still drenched my hair. As I threw on fresh clothes, I dug out the laptop I’d been using to ferry information from Gentek to Mr. X and Merren. I keyed in the passcode and pressed the pad of my index finger on the finger scanner before I finally was allowed in. Repeated the same song and dance while accessing the offshore account server. While I waited for it to boot up, I ran my towel over my hair in an effort to dry it off faster. A soft ping alerted me.

I was in.

“Okay, let’s see how we’re doing.”

Some of the tension leaked out of my shoulders as I fell into that familiar routine. After the bullshit I’d just witnessed, code and numbers made a hell of a lot more sense. Outside, out there, it felt like reality was slowly fraying and coming apart at the seams. This? Accessing and encrypting data between servers and networks? This was my bread and butter.

I tabbed through the account with my left hand on the track pad, my right hand tapping out a random beat. At first glance, everything looked normal - data folders intact, strings of Gentek log fragments. Nothing super special, simply leftover sample reports, project memos, a few protein sequence chains with partially redacted headers. Mercer’s name had been buried in one of them, a footnote in the BLACKLIGHT section. That’d been enough for me to transfer it over at that point but now all his name did was replay the memory of the man getting shot multiple times before hauling ass.

I scanned a few other noteworthy places, sucking on my bottom lip in absent thought. Still, nothing appeared abnormal.

”Hm. Let’s check here.”

I tabbed into the metadata panel and took a glance at the timestamps logged there.

I blinked. And froze.

Maybe it was due to paranoia or instinct. Hell if I knew.

”The fuck…”

I did a double take.

”The fucking access history’s changed.”

For the second time that night, adrenaline shot through my body turning it ice cold. Nobody should have access save for me. No one.

I slowly worked my way back to earlier in the week, prior to this whole shitstorm hitting. Sure enough, there was a logged stamp early Monday morning just after two. I clearly remember logging on much later that day. How had I not seen it? Then again, everything had just been so damned hectic and I’d had a whole lot of data thrown at me all at once. And then I’d gotten sick-

I paused mid-scan. Wait. I needed to figure out the timeline on this.

When did I receive that patch? Tuesday? It was Tuesday, right, I think. And then I slapped it on my wrist Thursday before going out with Kate. I copied over Mercer’s hard drive that Monday, basically closing out my final tasks for Merren and X. That sounded about right. Then who accessed my data here? The encryption had been guaranteed nigh uncrackable and here I was staring at it, cracked. I forked over a boatload of money for this damned thing!

Pursing my lips, I clicked into the alien timestamp and glared at my screen, reading back the details. The access came from a masked IP address, the location having been scrubbed. Protocol signature didn’t match my setup. Looked to be something heavier, maybe corporate level.

Maybe saving that Gentek data set up some sort of failsafe for just such an occasion. A backdoor of sorts to let them see just who pilfered their server. Or perhaps it had been Merren. X was just a faceless proxy to be used as a middleman between us. Who knew if he even existed and was simply a more cohesive program to chat with users. Unless there was somehow a secret third party, those two companies were the only two who had some skin in this game.

If it had really been Gentek, wouldn’t they have sent over an unmarked white van to collect me like I thought they would? Perhaps they were simply biding their time figuring out what exactly to do with me.

I groaned, cradling my head against all of the unknown possibilities rattling around in there. A siren’s wail suddenly pierced the night air making me jump. My head snapped up, eyes locking on my bedroom window first then to my door. I listened as it began to fade off in the distance, going wherever it needed to go. As long as it wasn’t my complex I could care less. I sat up and pushed my laptop away from me. I needed to think.

Neither corporation has attempted to grab me, at least not yet. They were waiting for something. What that was remained to be seen. That uneasiness sat like a rock in my stomach. Speaking of, I hadn’t gotten sick again, thank god. I was maybe on the other side of this thing. I still felt… off. Almost as if I was too aware of things in my general vicinity. Like the fabric of my comforter. The wet strands of hair clinging to my shirt. The sounds of hurried footsteps on the floor above me. Colors seemed sharper too but, again, that sickness took a lot out of me. Perhaps my normal senses were finally returning to their usual selves. I didn’t care much as long as I didn’t have to stake out my claim in the bathroom once more.

Still though…

I leaned down and tugged my go bag out from its hiding place, hauling it up to sit next to me.

I needed to think rationally here. I had a few action plans set up on the off chance I ever needed to bail, assuming I got in over my head. If whoever piggybacked on my access into that account was still watching, they’d know something was up the moment I begin severing any sort of bridges. I had a kill code stowed away on a handful of USB drives. It’d keep the account active but lock it down, placing it under quarantine all the while utterly purging the data stored on that particular device or laptop. It would allow me to tap into whatever affected account or server at a later data and root out the infection at my leisure.

I’d be damned before losing access to those files. Especially so now that that man was walking around again.

Opening my go bag, I pulled out a separate laptop and entered my credentials once it powered on. I immediately dove into some of the old dark web sites I used to peruse and sent out a couple feelers, searching for any potential safe houses in the general area I could hole up for a bit. It was going to cost me but Gentek paid their interns fairly well. I also had a small stash saved for just such occasions. Called it my “Oh Shit” fund. Never thought I had to use it. I let the chat know I was looking for at least three places, as backups in case one got found out, and left it at that.

I figured I had one, maybe two days before I had to truly bug out. That would give me enough time to prepare. Chances were my messages, both incoming and outgoing, were also being monitored. I had to assume so. I couldn’t get Kate involved in the slightest. I didn’t want her to become a target if at all physically possible. This was my mess to clean up and, as much as I wanted someone to lean on and vent to, it couldn’t be her. As far as I remembered, our rent was put out on auto pay so the funds would be automatically deducted from our accounts until someone said otherwise.

Nervousness buzzed under my skin making me feel antsy as hell. I took in another steadying breath and forced the events from a couple hours back to the farthest reaches of my mind. Once I was inside a safe house could I then properly process what in the fuck had happened.

—

Two days passed in relative silence. Scuffling and thumps echoed all over the complex on top of anxious whispers of conversation as families started leaving. Kids cried, dogs barked and parents argued with one another over the best possible route to leave the city. The news channel displayed more of the rhetoric. Hospitals were beginning to slowly fill, asked that citizens report any sort of symptoms outside the usual flu-like ones, if you need to leave then leave now, here’s all the PPE and where to buy them.

Strangely, the one kind of commodity that sold out fairly quickly was toilet paper. Guess some people just couldn’t live without their Charmin butt wipes. I checked my server access every few hours, noting when I logged on down to the second, but so far, nothing came of it. Whoever had been poking around in my systems left it be for now. It should’ve put me somewhat at ease but it didn’t. I needed to know who was sniffing around and what their plans were. I hated not knowing things. There was too much that could go wrong and I’d come too far to fall now.

Wednesday dawned cold as fog rolled in off the East River. Clouds hung low over the city when I awoke. It was just after eight. I’d slept fitfully for the last couple nights, grabbing snippets of sleep where I could. It felt like today was the day I needed to get out of here. I’d activate my secondary bank account for just such measures, letting my rent be pulled out of my main. If I was careful enough, I might be able to get a vague, encrypted message out to Kate without endangering her. Like with anything else, I’d likely do that as soon as I was underground for a hot minute.

There was so much I needed to take care of in so small a window but no one else would be able to do it save for me. Once I was inside a secure safe house, I’d reevaluate my options, figure out who exactly I could go to with the files I currently had stored. Maybe negotiate a pardon or something because I was damned sure I’d committed more than a few felonies by this point.

Police and ambulance sirens wailed off in the distance as more of the city awoke. Seemed I wasn’t the only one filled with a nervous energy. I hauled my ass out of bed, abdomen still sore from the weekend, and made my way towards the kitchen. I let out a small hiss of pain, feeling the skin around my left ankle catch on my sweats when I walked. I pulled up the cuff to reveal a three inch long scrape just above my ankle bone and grimaced. Must’ve snagged it on something during the run back home.

Putting it out of my mind, I poured cereal into a bowl and turned on the news, watching as an aerial view of Lower East Manhattan came into view. I picked at my food as the news reporter yammered on and on about the same crap. A headache was starting to form once more behind my eyes but at least the fever seemed to have finally broken.

I busied myself about the living room, collecting any important documents pertaining to my life and stowing them away in a fireproof bag before shoving it into my go bag. I also made sure to leave a note by our landlord’s office detailing an emergency situation and that rent was paid for at least another month. I was almost certain I wouldn’t be returning to this place. Kate took most of the photos and other sentimental items with her. I didn’t have very many aside from a handful of physical photos we’d taken over the last couple months. Those were safely stowed away in my bag.

I checked and rechecked my mental list throughout most of the day before letting out a quiet sigh. That time was growing closer and closer. I needed to bite the bullet now before they could really try to mobilize some sort of force to subdue me. My burner phone, separate from the one I’d used to contact X, vibrated. I glanced at the screen and saw that it was a notification from a user about a select few safe houses in the area. I had already fronted payment after sending out the ask and was a little relieved they’d gotten back to me as quickly as they did. All it was there was an address and that it was semi furnished. It wouldn't be usable for a long stay but it’d last me a few days. Had a few canned goods stored there along with a portable burner.

That was enough for me.

I dug out the USB containing the kill code to purge my main laptop and sever any sort of connection to my offshore account. It’d also set up a verification process that would boot up every time I, or someone else, attempted to log in. Just another layer of encryption to be added.

Throwing on a pair of black joggers, shirt and old generic NYC pullover, I slotted the USB into my laptop and started the kill code. The TV was turned on low, acting as background noise and a sort of balm on my already frayed nerves. The download process ticked closer and closer to being finished as I set my bag on the kitchen counter and placed my boots nearby. I had just pulled my ponytail through the backend of a ball cap when a series of knocks echoed loudly throughout my apartment. I froze mid-pull, warily eying the door.

”Hello, Miss Gaines?” The male voice was muffled through the wood and sounded friendly and polite enough. I tiptoed towards the peephole and peered through it. Outside stood a pair of police officers from the local PD. “Sorry to bother you, ma’am. We received a call to perform a wellness check. You haven’t been answering your phone or responding to building management.”

”The fuck?” I breathed, brows furrowing together. Either this was just a coincidence they just showed up right as I activated the kill code or…

”Ma’am?” The police officer, looked to be a few years older than his counterpart, knocked on my door again. “We just need to make sure you’re alright.”

I gave their uniforms a quick once over. They were the standard black NYPD outfits, badges shining brightly under the hallway lights. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but something felt… off. Maybe it was their posture. It was too rigid for a regular wellness check. The second officer kept looking over his shoulder, seemingly conversing with an amorphous black blob to the side. The fish eye lens in the peephole was making it a little difficult to make out who exactly their buddies were. Why would they need extra backup for a quick checkup?

I stole a glance back at my laptop from where it rested on the kitchen table. It was very nearly done. Already at ninety eight percent.

”Um, I’m fine,” I called through the door, looking at the deadbolt and chain still in place. “I’ve just been under the weather the last few days.”

There was a pause then the younger man spoke up.

”Ma’am, we just need you to open the door. Company policy states we need to see you in person.”

My eyes narrowed a fraction, brain clinging to that singular word. Company.

Company policy. Not precint.

My pulse skyrocketed. Shit.

”Fuck this,” I scoffed softly and scampered back away from the door, shoving a chair under the doorknob as quietly as I could manage before turning to my computer. The kill code had finally finished. Now the laptop was rendered useless to even the most skilled techs. I pocketed the USB as I heard one of the officers say, “Miss Gaines, please step back away from the door now.”

I shoved my boots on just as something clattered in the hallway, metal on tile. Right as I reached for my go bag, my door frame split apart, giving way to the hydraulic battering ram these men employed. Shouts suddenly filled my too small living room as a swarm of soldiers flooded inside.

”BLACKWATCH! HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!”

I didn’t think. I simply reacted. I slung the wide strap over my shoulder and down my bag diagonally and lunged toward the window I’d opened previously, attempting to dive through to the fire escape just outside.

”Target confirmed! Activate containment protocols now. Incubation process should be complete!”

“Don’t let her escape!”

I got one boot on the sill and was partially outside when I was harshly yanked backwards and spilled out onto the linoleum, landing flat on my ass. Armored hands grasped at my wrists, my arms, my hair, grabbing at anything to try and subdue me.

”Hold her-!”

”I’m fucking trying!”

”Get the fuck off me!” I screamed, voice cracking with stress and fear. I felt one zip tie tighten around a wrist, digging painfully into my skin, and knew the second one was to follow soon after. I kept twisting and lashing out, slamming an elbow into the side of someone when the wall to my right simply just… erupted.

It was an explosion but it was almost as loud. Drywall, plaster and bits of glass peppered us as the soldiers surged forward to engage whoever the fuck this was, those that were still standing that is. The shockwave threw myself and the man trying to handcuff me backward, colliding with the cabinets behind us.

A single scream rang out before the chaos hit.

”FUCK. It’s him. It’s ZEUS!”

”Contact! CONTACT! Zeus is here! Fire at will!”

Suddenly, gunfire filled the air. The deafening crack of rifles in such an enclosed space wrecked havoc on my ears. I was the only one not wearing any sort of soundproofing. My hands instinctively clapped over my ears tightly as Pandora’s Box was unleashed within the confines of my living room and kitchen. A figure, I couldn’t make out much more than that, moved quickly, slashing through the otherwise bulletproof armor the Blackwatch soldiers wore. It was nothing more than a blur of black motion and knives.

The pair of “police officers” stood by the front door, firing their sidearms as fast as possible. An errant bullet embedded itself in the cabinet half a foot away from my head.

That was enough to snap me from my stupor. I moved on all fours, keeping my head down as much as possible and prayed I wouldn’t get struck by something lethal. I made my way around the attached kitchen island and scrambled up to the open window I’d originally been heading for when a man’s gloves wound tightly around my bicep.

”Where the fuck are you goin’?” the soldier said rather harshly through gritted teeth. His black gas mask stared impassively back at me as I shrieked and tried yanking my arm away. “Come on now! Don’t make this any worse than it has to be!”

I continued to flail and fought him for every centimeter. I hooked my left leg outside the window sill for some leverage and we struggled back and forth for what seemed like forever when I felt the soldier seize up. A wet, strangled gasp escaped from his throat. My head had been turned away when I heard him. I looked back and my eyes widened in shock and fear.

Dead center of his chest protruded a bloody, metallic spike. It had to be at least six inches long if not more. Gore and a bit of Kevlar fabric dripped off its edges as the man choked on his lifeblood. Slight movement behind my attacker caught my eye, drawing my gaze upward. Standing a good ten feet away from both of us was a man dressed in dark jeans, a leather jacket, hoodie and boots. The same damned man I’d witnessed walk out of the morgue only a few days prior.

Fucking Mercer.

Blood and gore dripped off his clothes and a cold expression marred his face. My brain struggled to understand how he was standing so far away and yet, managed to stab the soldier in front of me so effectively. That’s when I noticed his upper body. His arms were different. Tendrils protruded up from where the leather jacket’s arms should’ve been. Where his arms should’ve been. It almost looked like liquid scale armor. And it moved. It moved like it was a living, breathing thing. Whatever it was extended Mercer’s arm so that it easily crossed the distance between him and us.

The soldier gasped and coughed again, drawing my attention back to him and I could hear the slushy, tearing sound of something else cutting through the man’s body. Soon enough, the tips of four more silver blades revealed themselves. It was almost as if Mercer was trying to put this man through as much pain as physically possible, practically torturing him. The soldier finally released my arm and I took that opportunity to bolt.

I nearly took a header spilling out onto the fire escape, regrettably looking back through that window to watch those claws retract and my attacker slump to the floor in a heap. There was so much blood soaking the carpet and coating the tile. I felt nausea rear its ugly head when I glanced up at Mercer who continued to watch me. Underneath the nausea, I could’ve sworn I felt a sort of tug. Right behind my heart. It felt like it was wanting to pull me towards Mercer.

”Fuck that,” I swore and hauled ass down the rusty ladder.

For once, I was grateful for having only lived on the fifth floor. Had I been on the tenth, I would’ve been fucked. Regardless, I still slipped and slid my way down to relative safety. I threw a look skyward back toward my level, unsure of why Mercer hadn’t tried to say anything. Chase after me. Nothing. Then I heard the sound of more gunfire. It was muted a little by the ringing that took up residence in my ears since the whole attack began.

I didn’t want to waste any time gawking. Chances were even more were on their way and I didn’t want to stick around and explain what in the actual shit fuck had happened. On the last ladder down to the alleyway behind my apartment complex, my fingers missed a rung and I was suddenly falling. I’d thrown my arms out to the side in an attempt to grab hold of something to slow my descent and ended up smacking into a closed dumpster. I bounced painfully off the thing and was thrown onto my side on the asphalt, gasping for air.

I needed to get up. Needed to get moving.

Groaning, I pushed myself up onto my knees then to my feet, one arm wrapped around my bruised ribs before limping off toward the main road. Every step hurt. I was pretty certain I’d gotten a few more cuts but there was nothing I could do about that right now. I heard a male shout and spun around in time to witness one of those phony officers get pelted out of my kitchen window only to fall meters towards the ground. The sound of the impact was going to be something I’d never forget.

For a moment, all was quiet. It seemed like everyone around us was hunkering down and praying for it to be over. I tore my gaze from the cop’s body, thought I heard a weak moan leave him, only to spy that familiar hooded man standing opposite me in the alleyway.

How the fuck did he get there so fast?

My breath caught in my throat and it wasn’t just from the pain. He just stood there, menacingly. Watching me. Studying me. His body language was almost predatory. I couldn’t see his eyes but knew full well we were making eye contact.

That tug underneath my ribs came back stronger this time and I took an involuntary step towards him. That seemed to get his attention, caught him off guard. Mercer, or whatever the fuck was wearing his face, tensed up as if bracing for a fight when the sound of screeching tires behind him forced the man to turn around. Another squad had finally arrived.

”Contact! Got visual on Zeus!”

”Make ready to engage! Where’s the girl?”

The girl? They meant me, didn’t they?

I lingered for far too long, trapped under Mercer’s gaze like a rabbit with a cobra. Only when he looked back to acknowledge Blackwatch’s presence did the hypnosis finally lift. I took off the way I’d been headed, hauling ass as fast as I reasonably could. I must’ve sprained my ankle since I couldn’t place too much weight on it. Adrenaline helped me push through most of the agony and I soon stumbled out into a crowd of people staring down the alley, drawn in by all the noise and chaos.

They parted a ways around me, as if whatever I had that brought those people in could rub off on them. I didn’t care. I continued to run down the sidewalk, across three different crosswalks. Doubled back then triple backed to make absolutely sure I wasn’t being followed. My throat was drier than a desert and I was soaked through with sweat. My headache came back in full force and I tugged my hat down further over my eyes to stave off the worse of the glare overhead. I slung bag around, wincing as the motion hurt my ribs, and dug around until I found my burner phone.

I pulled up the directions user Hydrafeed had provided me with, directing me to the safe house dubbed “Echo Drop 17”. Hydrafeed claimed it was neutral territory, a place that would be overlooked by most city patrols and Blackwatch sweeps. I hoped that was true. Either way, I’d only be there for a day or two at the most before moving onto the next bit of sanctuary.

The directions led me down a rougher part of Lower East Manhattan and into a forgotten, dilapidated brick building. It’d been wedged between two partially condemned warehouses. All the windows had been boarded up though more than a few pieces of wood had been tugged off. Graffiti littered the exterior in a few high up places. Electrical boxes were overgrown with debris and ivy. The scent of mildew hung heavily in the air.

I searched around the area, looking for where the user claimed the door was. From the photos, it was obviously obscured from prying eyes. Smart move but it was pissing me off more and more. I was tired, bruised, traumatized and more than a little freaked out and just wanted a place to crash and breathe. I was muttering curses under my breath before I finally located the damned thing and punched in the code.

The thick metal locked dinged open and allowed me admittance. I quickly ducked inside and secured the door behind me. The usual city noise remained muffled. Light filtered in from a semi-boarded up window egress nearby. The place was small, maybe twice the size of a broom closet, if that. A pile of blankets and a questionable looking pillow were shoved in one corner while a row of shelves sat opposite it, littered with cans of fruits, beans and other kinds of veggies. There was a faucet and bucket in another corner with a dirty mirror set just above it. I pulled a face at the bucket implications.

Dust littered the area making it obvious nobody had really been here recently. Fine by me.

I let my bag fall to the floor. My hands couldn’t stop shaking. I brought my palms up to face, watching my fingers tremble. I felt a warm, wetness begin to trickle down my cheeks and swiped at my eyes. Tears had started to drench my cheeks and weren’t about to stop any time soon. The quiet sniffles turned into sobbing gasps as shock fell over me. So much had happened in such a short time and I was kind of SOL at the moment. I knew I couldn’t afford to lose it right now but my body was telling me otherwise. It was either panic and hyperventilate here or do it outside where someone nefarious could take advantage.

I’d only really gotten away thanks unintentionally to Mercer. Had he not shown up… My mind flinched at the potential implications.

How the hell did so much go so wrong so fast?

There wasn’t anything I could do now apart from let this panic attack do its thing. When the tightness in my chest and tears subsided a little, I approached the sink with its shitty mirror, threw off my hat and splashed water on my face. I rummaged around until I located a semi-clean towel and started wiping at my eyes, studying my reflection, when I noticed something.

My eyes were red, obviously due to the tear-fest I’d just partaken in but… there was something else. It looked like there were more veins dotting my sclera, making them look even more irritated than usual. I leaned in for a closer look, bracing my waist against the cold sink, widening my eyes as much as possible. There was black mirroring the standard red but even the red coloring looked… darker. One of the veins in my left eye suddenly twitched. It moved totally unexpectedly, causing me to throw myself backward and nearly tripped over my bag in the process.

”The FUCK?” I hissed after regaining my balance. My disheveled appearance stared back at me, equally as surprised. Words began to replay in my head. What the soldiers had said back in my apartment stuck.

“…The incubation process is complete…”

What in the shit did they mean by that?

Before I had a chance to even ponder that sentence, the slow, methodical sound of footsteps rapped just outside. I could barely make them out but it helped this entire place was dead silent. I held my breath and froze where I stood, my eyes tracking the sound when I felt that unmistakable tug just under my ribs. That only happened when-

I groaned inwardly and dropped the damp towel, head on a swivel as I searched for a possible weapon. I spied an old but heavy looking pipe stashed in one corner near the makeshift bed. As quietly as I could muster, I edged my way over and grasped the thing. The cold bit into my palms, as did chunks of dirt, and I hefted the thing. Winced a little as the metal scraped lightly on the concrete as I swung into my arms.

Yeah, that would do the trick.

I glanced back up at the ceiling, searching for where the footsteps had wandered off. Prayed they’d gone but that tugging in my chest still lingered. I took up position near the door and braced myself a few inches away from the doorframe and waited. And waited.

And waited.

I kept my breathing shallow as I strained my ears for any sort of sound.

The building groaned softly then went utterly still. Every instinct inside me told me to run. Get away. I needed to leave but the only entrance to my hidey-hole was right here and it was potentially compromised.

Then the wood splintered.

The sudden explosiveness of it all broke through like a gunshot.

I jerked back, feeling bits of wood smacking into my face and hands. Eyes were squeezed shut before flying open as I raised the pipe and brought barreling down on the intruder.

It should’ve caught anyone else off guard and knocked them out cold. He was different.

A pale hand flashed upward, immediately halting my brazen assault. Standing halfway in shadow was Mercer, his arm outstretched and gripping tight around the pipe I’d tried to hit him.

I felt my whole being go stiff as fear dropped into my stomach. Pure, unadulterated fear. I’d seen what that man, that… thing pretending to be him, could do. I watched him walk away from the morgue parking lot after being taken down by a whole firing squad and escape successfully. And here he was in my safe house.

How the FUCK was in he in my god damned safe house?

He watched me with growing detachment but I could’ve sworn I saw a flicker of recognition, however brief, appear before vanishing entirely. His nostrils flared a few seconds as he surveyed my temporary space, as if scenting the area. Was he smelling me? Revulsion caused me to shudder and I yanked back hard on my weapon, drawing the man’s attention back to me.

”You’re infected.” His voice was low, measured, like he hadn’t just slaughtered I don’t know how many people less than an hour ago.

My brows furrowed together and I glared at him, willing the panic to temper down while I handled this.

”How- You d-“ I stammered out, all my thoughts leaping forward at once, jockeying for a voice. I sighed through gritted teeth before trying again. He merely watched me. He looked like a cat watching his captive prey before taking the final jump and ending me.

“You can… smell that?” My voice came out in a whisper.

”It’s not BLACKLIGHT,” he answered, still eying the pipe we both had a hold of. Mercer’s head tilted to the side slightly, like he was listening to something only he could hear. I felt something buzz under my skin while he did so. Was that what he was hearing?

”Different. Close… but not entirely the same,” Mercer continued before releasing his half of my pipe. The sudden motion caused me to stagger back, my right arm pinwheeling to keep me upright. He remained where he was within the mess of the doorway.

My head snapped up, lips twisting. “So. What? You can… feel that crap? Smell it?” I demanded.

“I can feel you trying to hide it and failing to do so.”

A muscle in my jaw twitched then everything felt all at once too loud. Too… much. My pulse rate spiked and so did that hum that had been buzzing under my skin since Mercer made his appearance. The air vibrated faintly, this… thing in my chest responding to Mercer like a tuning struck too hard.

I swayed on my feet, my grip loosening on the pipe, and pressed my free hand to my temple. “What is- Ugh.” I groaned. Through squinted eyes, I watched as Mercer took a step back as well, a grimace marring his expression.

”Stop,” he growled under his breath but I couldn’t tell if that was directed at himself or me.

”Believe me, I’m not trying to start shit,” I rasped as my gaze caught his.

Fear and confusion were laid out plain on my face whereas there was nothing but anger and restraint on his. Something within in him recognized… whatever the fuck was going on in me. It was like there was some sort of internal war going on and neither of us knew whether we were going to merge or devour the other.

Through our mutual turmoil, the sound of rotor blades could be heard. Either that was a news chopper or-

“Blackwatch,” Mercer said, peering outside. “They know you’re in the area.”

I shot him a silent question which he quickly answered. “They’re tracing the infection signature. Yours stands out.”

My mouth clacked shut with an audible click and I swallowed past a dry patch in my throat. “Then why did you come?”

For once, since he first arrived, Mercer hesitated. For just a fraction. Like he was choosing his words carefully.

”I was following the same signature. I wasn’t expecting you.”

I scoffed and threw my right arm wide. “Fucking amazing. Well, what happens now, Doc?”

I tried not to look away as Mercer studied me, his whole body language radiating tension. “Now? You come with me?”

”You seriously expect me to trust you?” I snarked back. “After all the bullshit that took place in my apartment? Those people you killed?”

”Listen.” His tone turned sharp as he was instantly in my personal space, face a few inches away from mine. His pale eyes flashed under the faint light. “Blackwatch and Gentek want you dead. Want us both dead. Had I not shown up when I did, you would already be in the back of an unmarked van, drugged, and would’ve woken up in a lab. Either you stay here and wait for just that or you come with me and survive long enough to figure out why Gentek wants us.”

He held up a hand, staving off whatever retort I had primed and ready to go. We both fell silent for a moment before Mercer turned his gaze back to me. “We need to leave now.”

I bit my bottom lip hard enough to nearly draw blood and let out a string of quiet profanities as I tossed the pipe onto the blankets and scooped up my bag. Mercer was already waiting outside.

Kate thrusted our door open and I staggered past her, making for the kitchen since the bathroom was too far, and vomited into the sink. My nostrils burned, my eyes ran and my throat hurt like hell as the appetizers and most of my lunch from work tumbled messily into the sink. I heaved a few more times before I was gagging by the end of it. My stomach spasmed trying to purge just a little bit left but all that remained was bile.

I sagged against the countertop, pressing my forehead into the cool ceramic as I panted for air. I squeezed my eyes shut as the hallway light flicked on and sniffled, my nose running.

“Jesus, Kenzie, are you okay?” I heard Kate ask and felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I managed a nod and heard the fridge door open then the sound of plastic crinkling. I cracked open an eye to see my roommate offering some lemon-lime Gatorade. I gratefully took it, smiling a little when I noticed she’d taken the lid off for me and chugged almost half the bottle in an effort to get rid of the puke taste in my mouth.

I grimaced and hawked back some mucus into the sink, quickly muttering an apology when I did so. My stomach was still somewhat in knots but at least I wasn’t about to get sick again. I hoped…

“I don’t know what the hell that was,” I finally said, downing the rest of my drink and set the empty bottle beside me on the counter. I wiped at my eyes, smudging my mascara. “Maybe… maybe it was the nachos? Or the drink? Or the dip? I don’t fucking know.”

“Maybe you got a low dose of something?” Kate suggested, concern plain on her face. “I’ve witnessed at least three girls getting drugged at my bar and those are the ones I'm aware of. We’ve got that Angel Shot protocol but it can only do so much. Fuck, Kenz. Maybe we should get you to urgent care or something.” Kate actually went to collect her purse from where she had tossed on the couch coming in.

Then I remembered.

“Shit. The patch,” I grumbled, pushing my hair back from my face.

“Patch?” Kate repeated, turning away from the couch to look at me. “What patch?”

She asked again as I shrugged out of my leather jacket and dropped it, too, on the counter and scratched at the corner of the mood booster adhered to the inside of my wrist.

“Uh, Gentek was doing a-a partnership thing with Merren’s Genetics recently. Another pharmaceutical place,” I quickly explained, peeling the patch back with my nails. The skin where it was applied came back red and irritated. “They-they were offering these boosters to the staff and I, uh, took one. They have great reviews online but maybe I had a weird reaction to it, or maybe this was a bout of food poisoning? Or stress? Or a combination of everything?” It wasn't a total lie but I hated fibbing to Kate but I couldn’t let her get involved or know what the hell I’ve been on about.

“They’re the depression folks, right?” Kate stood in front of me now and held my wrist, looking at the empty space the patch had occupied. She didn’t look at all happy with my answer when I glanced at her face. “I don’t know about this, Kenzie. Isn’t a lot of their stuff still experimental? And not, like, FDA approved or something? I thought I heard something about some big scandal. It was all over the internet a while back.”

“Okay, yeah. This wasn’t my smartest choice but I’ve been feeling like shit lately,” I admitted, throwing my hands up in the air after she released my wrist. “This-this-this internship has been riding my ass since I joined on and I needed a boost and- That definitely didn’t sound good.” I didn’t even realize I’d started pacing in the kitchen. I stopped and looked at my roommate, arms crossed over my chest.

“I don’t even think the thing worked. They may have given me a placebo for some fucked up reason and I had a poor reaction to it or something.”

The way she looked at me with her lips pursed like that told me she wasn’t entirely sure but had no way to prove otherwise. I had been under an immense amount of stress. The Ledger did have great food but there’s always that off chance that you’d end up with a bad batch. Maybe it was those stupid poppers.

“Look, I’m… I’m gonna go shower and get changed into something comfier in case this is food poisoning. Are you feeling okay?” I had to change the subject matter off me otherwise I feel like I could cave if she prodded enough.

“Yeah, no. I’m fine. I’ve got a bit of a headache but that’s it,” Kate replied before taking stock of what we had left in the fridge. “We’ve got another six pack of Gatorade here and I think some soup in the cabinets. Just… keep an eye on it and if we need to rush you to the ER, tell me.”

I gave her my assurance we would before heading to my room to grab some fresh sleep clothes and hop in the shower. I was still feeling woozy and tried not to scratch at where that patch had been. I cranked the water on high and turned it as hot as it would go before shutting the bathroom door behind me.

Steam began to fill the room and slowly fogged up the mirror, smudging my reflection. What I could see before the steam claimed the whole surface was a woman who looked like she’d gone to hell and back. My hair was disheveled, makeup messed up and I looked a little paler than usual. If it had been a date rape drug, even half a dose, I would’ve been really stumbling still and maybe would’ve drifted out of consciousness. Now that I’d purged my stomach, I felt a smidge better but not by much.

My head swam and I shook myself, trying to forget what I saw in my reflection of the store front window. I quickly shed my club wear and hopped into the shower. I probably shouldn’t have gotten the water as hot as I did given the headache that slowly beat behind my eyes but I wouldn’t stay in long.

I definitely didn’t.

I barely got through shaving when the nausea returned full force, bringing me to my knees. I hawked up more bile into the drain as the water slapped my skin. I pushed sopping wet hair strands out of my face before turning the shower head off and just sat there, catching my breath.

I had a sinking feeling this was going to be a repeated event tonight.

It was.

With how much I was getting sick, it definitely had to be food poisoning. I’d only had it once before all this but it’s an experience you don’t forget easily. I laid curled around the toilet seat for most of the night. When I wasn’t getting sick my stomach, it was coming out the other end, much to my dismay.

Kate checked on me off and on during the night before I finally told her I’d be fine and would call her if I needed her. I even said she could grab my white noise maker to drown out my puking noises. I wasn’t entirely joking. She needed her sleep, something that I was certainly not going to get much of.

When six a.m. came and went, I called my supervisor and told her I wasn’t going to make it. Kate replenished my supply of Gatorade and soda crackers, setting out a few soup cans within easy reach in the kitchen so I wouldn’t have to go hunting for them prior to her heading out for her shift.

I slept off and on, only really getting up to eat and drink a little.

Friday rolled into Saturday and I thought I was on the mend but I was still getting sick. Kate made a quick pit stop for Dramamine and other anti nausea meds. They were unfortunately out of the dissolvable tablets. I couldn’t keep much down halfway through day two save for some water. I forced it down when my stomach settled somewhat and hunkered down for the next bout. I laid in the tub to rinse off, feeling too drained to stand. The meds helped but only for so long.

Fuck. Maybe I actually caught something out at the club, I thought while plastering another cold wash cloth to my forehead. At least Kate didn’t. She shouldn’t stay too close to me to be safe…

My headache throbbed, pounding at my temples. A warm night light was plugged into a nearby outlet so that I wouldn’t be totally blinded when I got up to move around. Kate still wanted to take me to the ER but I did what I could to dissuade her, not wanting to be saddled with a massive bill. Thank you, American healthcare system.

At one point, the bathroom door was cracked open to allow for some air flow and noise of the local news channel drifted in.

“…officials have not confirmed whether the incident at the biotech facility is connected to the contamination spreading through lower Manhattan…”

I groaned as I hauled myself up off the tile and, gripping the sink counter for stability, slowly pushed myself out into the living room. My vision wobbled briefly before returning to normal. Every breath felt thick and metallic, like the subway air was getting directly pumped into our place. My skin felt cold and clammy with dried sweat and the inside of my mouth tasted something awful. I almost gagged again.

“Did…” I started to say but my voice cracked, drawing Kate’s attention from where she sat on the couch. She was still in her sweats with her hair pulled back in a bun.

“Hey, I was just about to check on you,” she said softly but I wasn’t looking at her. I nodded my head at the TV.

“Did they say… something about a… biotech place?” I asked. Kate’s mouth pulled into a line and nodded.

“There was a leak or something?” Kate shrugged as she looked back to the TV. The reporter was dressed in a smart blue suit, blonde hair getting tousled in the wind. Behind her, we could see a white and gray building a few streets away from the North Cove Marina.

“…the facility behind me, Helix Biotech, is co-funded by Gentek as a part of a neurochemical therapy initiative and was evacuated early this morning after a breach in a restricted lab wing. Officials are urging residents to remain indoors while federal response teams assess the situation,” she was saying. The footage then cut to someone’s shaky phone cam. The amount of jostling going on was almost enough to make me sick again.

I glanced away for a moment, listening to the recording of sirens blaring on in the background. When I was certain I didn’t need to rush for the toilet, I looked back to the screen.

Emergency vehicles could be seen clustered around a cordoned off loading dock. Bright floodlight swept over the area, bathing a cracked containment tank in brilliant white light. Workers in yellow hazmats suits rushed to cover something dark seeping across the pavement nearby.

“Shit. That has to be, what? Two blocks from the East Transit Loop?” Kate murmured. I shrugged but she wasn’t watching me as the reporter’s concerned face returned onscreen.

“Sources inside the Department of Defense confirm that the National Guard has been placed on alert following reports of a potential biohazard leak. A Blackwatch liaison declined to comment though anonymous insiders claim the area has been designated ‘Zone One’ under Operation Orion, a federal containment initiative linked to previous Gentek research incidents.”

The screen then split in two to show the news anchor back at headquarters, an older man in his fifties with greying hair and a tanned complexion in a dark gray suit.

“Health officials insist there’s no need for panic though residents in the surrounding districts have reported flu-like symptoms and unexplained fatigue,” he explained, leaning toward the camera. “The city has not issued a formal quarantine order at this time.”

There was another jump cut to a shorter clip of blurred figures on stretchers being loaded into the back of waiting ambulances. One of them convulsed suddenly under the sheet. I visibly recoiled, shuddering at the sight. Kate muted the TV as the report continued on, replaying footage from earlier in the day. She looked almost as pale as me.

“I don’t even think I’ve heard of that place,” I said, gesturing to the screen when Kate turned around. “I mean, it wouldn’t surprise me that Gentek has a… facility to do this but, fuck.” I rubbed my throat lightly. It was still sore as all hell and my voice was going in and out, cracking like a prepubescent fourteen year old boy. “Kay, we weren’t near that place, right?”

Kate frowned at me and shook her head after a moment’s thought. “No. No, I don’t think so. Pretty sure. Ledger’s on the other side of town. And this all just happened this morning. There’s no way we could’ve been exposed to any of that crap. I do feel kinda bad for those guys that had to pull weekend overtime when it all hit. Hope they got compensated.”

I opened my mouth to reply when bold text lit up the rolling breaking news banner underneath both anchors. My eyes widened in shock and my mouth dropped open in stunned silence. Kate’s head whipped around, searching for what surprised me.

She wouldn’t understand the significance. She wouldn’t know. I did.

BREAKING - BLACKWATCH CONFIRMS BIOHAZARD RESPONSE IN LOWER EAST MANHATTAN. RESIDENTS ADVISED TO SHELTER IN PLACE.

That wasn’t what I was looking at.

To the right of the headline, a photo of a man in his mid thirties wearing a sterile looking lab coat and a lanyard wrapped around his neck flashed onscreen. His dark brown hair was relatively combed down and the bags under his pale eyes stood in stark contrast against his pale complexion.

Dr. Alexander J. Mercer, Status: Deceased. Confirmed Victim of Gentek Incident This Morning.

Kate glanced back at me briefly but I said nothing as she unmuted the channel in time to hear the rest of the news segment.

“Recovered remains were transported earlier today to the Manhattan City Morgue for autopsy under Blackwatch supervision.” The news anchor said it so succinctly. So calmly. Like they were discussing the weather. I know that was meant to prevent the spread of panic but… it’s not every day you hear the name of a supposedly dead man now confirmed dead again.

“Do you know that guy or something?” Kate’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“Huh? Um, kind of? My direct supervisor, Dr. Moreau, collabed with him sometimes but she dealt mostly with genome sequencing and shit like that. He was in the virology department. He… always had a habit of ignoring her meeting invites.” My voice petered out as we continued to watch the newscast.

What the fuck is going on.

Saturday was more of the same. I had periods of stability where I wasn’t back in my usual spot wrapped around the toilet seat. I was able to keep a little more food down but not much. My skin was feeling hotter and tighter than normal and no matter how much water I drank, I was still thirsty. I slept most of the day and woke up to sweat drenched sheets come nightfall. Kate checked my temperature every couple hours; my fever hovered consistently around 101 to 102. Enough to drain me but not enough to warrant an ER visit. Yet.

The sound of sirens wailing outside my open window jolted me out of my dreamless sleep. I shot upright and immediately regretted the motion as it made my head swim sickeningly. My mouth suddenly flooded with warm saliva and that was the only cue I was given. I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom directly across from my room, grateful I’d left the seat up hours ago.

My abdomen ached fiercely. I just felt so damned tired. I hadn’t been able to get a full night’s rest since all this happened. I honestly didn’t think I’d be well enough to head into work the next day. Chances were Gentek would try quarantining me or something. Fuck that noise. I groaned as I pushed away from the toilet, flushing my sick down the drain before standing and rinsing my mouth out. I didn’t bother brushing my teeth; just swigged some Listerine and spat that out as well.

When I looked at the mirror, I almost didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. Her eyes were sunken in and the bags under them looked like bruises. Complexion was pasty and her brown hair looked stringy. Her old pullover hung rather unflatteringly on her shoulders. I pulled a face at my reflection before trudging into the kitchen.

I could hear some of the other tenants moving around our apartment complex, going about their own morning routines. A dog barked followed by the sound of glass smashing on a floor above me. I winced, glad that wasn’t me as I made for a cabinet. I selected a heavy mug and queued up some hot water, green tea and honey. I needed something other than Gatorade and water right now. I also found, over the years, that simply holding a warm glass of something was comforting.

As I waited for the tea to steep, I searched for the remote and thumbed on the TV. It was still tuned into the same new channel from the night before.

“-officials are advising residents to remain indoors as a precaution,” the morning news anchor was saying. The very early morning news anchor. Damn, it was just after 5:45. “The Department of Health continues to investigate reports of an unidentified viral agent possibly linked to the Gentek containment breach. While no formal quarantine has been officially declared, military units have been observed assisting in traffic redirection away from the affected areas.”

A segment of previously recorded footage then replaced the anchor. Unmarked vehicles, soldiers in grey-green uniforms setting up checkpoints, hazmat teams putting together temporary screening stations. It looked like a scene straight out of a dystopian movie. I swore softly as the reporter continued.

“Gentek has yet to issue a follow-up statement beyond Friday’s press release. A spokesperson for the company declined to answer any questions regarding internal staffing quarantine procedures or the current whereabouts of several department heads.”

Well, crap. Did that mean my job was on hold? Was Moreau involved? I hadn’t gotten anything regarding Monday’s shift. Then again, I hadn’t checked my inbox, or any notifications for that matter, all that much since I was locked away puking my guts up. I checked my tea and wobbled back to my room, pulling my laptop out of my work bag. I keyed in the passcode, slotted in my badge, and sure enough there was an email notification waiting for me. I plopped down on my unmade bed.

Gentek Internal Notice - Temporary On-site Restriction for all Nonessential Staff, the subject line read.

I tapped into it.

To: All Support, Intern and Auxiliary Personnel

In response to recent safety concerns following the incident at the Midtown Research Division, Gentek is enacting a temporary site access suspension. Effective immediately, only authorized security and containment staff are permitted on the premises. All other personnel are to remain offsite until formal clearance is given.

Please continue to monitor your company inbox and the Gentek emergency line for updates.

We assure all employees that there is no confirmed public health risk and that this measure is precautionary only.

Thank you for your cooperation and continued understanding.

Gentek Human Capital & Compliance Division

I scoffed loudly as I finished the last line.

“Oh, that’s bullshit,” I muttered, sniffling a little. “This definitely feels sketchy as hell especially after some of the shit I’ve seen.” Another email caught my eye. It was addressed to me. I frowned, tabbing into the new email only to see it was from Dr. Moreau.

“Well, speak of the devil…” I muttered before I began to read. “‘Gaines, you’ve likely seen the company notice by now. Don’t come in until further instruction. Access to the lower floors is restricted and anyone without Level 3 clearance and above is being kept off site. Whatever you were working on last week - archive it, encrypt it and sit tight. Please do not make any statements to the press or social media. I’ll contact you when it’s safe to return or when I need your notes. Moreau.’”

I sat back from my laptop and grabbed a pillow, squeezing it against my chest, looking for some semblance of comfort. My thoughts came to me slowly like they were covered in spider’s silk.

Here were the facts: something went down at this Helix facility. Helix was partnered with Gentek. Helix is now shut down with workers and military swarming it. Mercer was… dead. I didn’t much care for the guy but I didn’t want him dead, I guess? He still skeeved me the fuck out, what with his vague, cryptic warnings and all. And that reflection bullshit in the footage I pulled? Massive yikes.

I was getting off track.

There was that company wide email to all nonessential staff and Moreau’s note. And then me getting all pukey and gross before all this. Kate was right, we were nowhere near Helix but… My mind flashed back to that group of Gentek security. That one man who made direct eye contact with me as Kate and I left the Ledger behind.

Things felt massively off here and way too coincidental. I’d just completed my task for Merren’s Genetics earlier this week and then I don’t hear from Mr. X for a bit save for an acknowledgment ping then he has someone drop off that patch as a reward only for it be a dud and fuck me up. Something wasn’t adding up and I couldn’t place my finger on it.

Maybe my brain was too fried from the fever and the lack of nutrients and sleep. I must’ve lost five pounds since Friday. I rubbed one palm over my face and sighed explosively. All I could do now was wait and hope I got back pay for all my missed days. I check on my offshore servers I’d stored the copied files on. A short perusal of the activity logs showed zero disturbances so far.

I let out a sigh of relief. After the patch drop off, I had checked our apartment at one point for bugs and found two which I promptly dropped off into someone else’s laundry.

Shouldn’t surprise me. Hell, I’d have done the same thing.

I logged out of my laptop and checked under my bed for my go bag. I always kept one anywhere I went. There was even one hidden away at work just on the off chance I needed to bounce quickly.

Fake IDs, a small stash of cash I’d squirreled away, two burner phones and a power bank on top of USB drives, a spare laptop and a “decoy” one, card cloner, lock picks and bypass tools. I also had a medkit crammed in at the bottom amid a bunch of protein bars, water bottle and iodine tablets, flashlight and clothes.

I’d only ever had to use one once a few years ago and hunkered down at an associate’s safe house for things to blow over.

I sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be the case here.

Kate and I left the TV on most of the day. I slept while she ran a few errands and got in contact with her family. When she thought I was dead to the world, I heard Kate express her concern. Chances were she was going to leave and I hardly blamed her. I would’ve been riding her coat tails outta here if it wasn’t for the fact that I felt like crap.

The situation at Helix hadn’t changed much save for three more victims who were confirmed dead. Local residents were reporting intense fatigue, fevers and coughing. Hazmat crews set up more checkpoints in the nearby residential areas, offering aid to those who needed it.

When my roommate came home after hitting the grocery store, she had a weird look on her face. It was fear. She tried to hide it but Kate was always a poor liar, at least to me. I hauled myself up on one arm from I’d been curled on the couch and leaned over the cushions at her.

“Kay, you good?” I asked as she sorted through the bags. Kate glanced back at me and flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Yeah, um. Look.” She straightened up, a bag of oranges in one hand as she faced me. “I think things are worse than what the news is making it out to be.” I kept the “No shit, Sherlock,” comment to myself as Kate continued.

“When I was out at Rover’s today, I kept hearing people talk about hospitals being on partial lockdown. Something about Queens getting sealed off and that more military units are moving in. I think… I-“ Kate took in a breath to steady herself. “I think I’m going to leave. Tomorrow. My aunt’s got a place upstate that I’m going to crash at for a bit till I can meet my parents. Friend of mine from the bar’s worried the bridges might close here soon so if I’m gonna leave, it’s gotta be now.”

While I was semi-expecting it, my shoulders still drooped a little. Kate caught the motion and strode over to the couch, stopping a couple feet away since we both didn’t want her to catch what I had.

“Hey, Kay, you do you,” I replied. I got it. I really did but it was going to suck without having my roommate here. It’d be too quiet without her. “I’m still sick and probably wouldn’t be great company on the way over else I’d go with you. Work placed me and all other nonessential personnel on hold till this blows over.”

“At least you’ll still have a job after this. Jessie messaged me earlier saying a few other bartenders are skipping town, too. Tommy’s gonna be hella pissed but none of us wants to be caught when the barricades go up.”

“Yikes,” I grimaced. “He might have to close up shop after this. Doubt many people’ll be going out for drinks for a hot minute.”

“Who knows,” Kate shrugged. “I feel like a few will fuck the rules and still go out regardless but I won’t be serving them. I’ll still send over half my rent. I’ve already got it queued up to send in a few days.”

We chatted a little more about what else she’d heard. Apparently there was a woman Kate saw coughing up blood when she left the supermarket. Surely that was completely unrelated, right?

As twilight fell outside, we could hear sirens shrieking far off. Ambulance, police, fire department, they all sounded the same after a while. Strangely, the few acquaintances I’d made in my department had been radio silent. They were likely dealing with their own chaos and craziness. Probably fleeing the city like Kate was going to do.

I thought I remembered Jonathan saying he lived in lower East Manhattan but maybe that had been someone else. He had gotten sick prior to all this then again his kids recently went into school and those things picked up bacteria like nothing else.

I spooned a little of the soup Kate heated up for me into my mouth, letting the warm broth settle on my tongue for a moment while she busied herself about the apartment. Kate was double checking our safe for any important documents stored there, going through her closet for anything she couldn’t leave behind and other such tasks as she prepared to leave tomorrow morning. I could hear her speaking with someone in her bedroom though I couldn't make out what they were saying.

The TV was tuned back into the news once more but it looked like no new developments had been made since earlier today. I watched as the city slowly turned more and more blue as the sun finally disappeared past the horizon. Lights flickered on in the nearby buildings as people returned home and got dinner ready.

I absentmindedly stirred my soup as I watched the family in the complex across from us carry about their evening routine. I vaguely remembered having that as a kid prior to my parents’ divorce when I was eight. Life just never seemed stable for me since. It was for a short with a boyfriend I had in my mid-twenties. We’d moved in with each other after I scored a coding gig six months into our relationship. Four months later, I started noticing small quirks. Weird things. Stuff that was left unsaid.

Bryan didn’t realize just how good of a snoop I could be.

It began with transactions pulled out of our joint account. We had separate finances but pooled what money we could into a joint savings account for fun stuff and emergencies. They were occurring almost monthly then bi-weekly. Then came the texts. The ones he tried hiding from me. Keyword being “tried”. Idiot couldn’t have lied his way out of a wet paper bag if he tried, he was so bad.

That he tried taking me for a fool was just an insult. Thank God we were never married. I gathered up the evidence, texts and whatever else I could find and reported him for fraud. That was a fun six months but he ended up in jail for a time and I got most of my money returned to me.

I returned my attention to my bowl that was steadily growing colder by the second, Kate’s voice echoing dully down the hall. Feeling restless for a change in scenery but not willing to, or able to, go out for a night walk right now, I resorted to hanging out on our fire escape. I dumped the remainder of my soup in the kitchen sink and set the bowl to the side before heading outside.

The cold metal of the rusty stairwell cut through my socks and the wind blew right through me. I was definitely not dressed for the cool weather but I could care less. The breeze was like a balm to my skin. My body had felt so feverish now that the vomiting ceased somewhat. I still dry heaved occasionally but nothing came up. Felt like my whole being had been put through the wringer at this point.

I was still feeling woozy and the dreams I had the last few nights since the Ledger made zero sense. I just chalked them up to whatever bug I’d caught. I leaned my elbow against the railing beside the emergency stairs and shut my eyes, listening to the hum of the city around me. Most of the usual hustle and bustle of nightlife drowned out the new chaos infecting it but only just.

If you really focused, you could hear it over the honking and tires squealing. The sounds of people arguing, babies crying, dogs barking. There was so much…

A chilly sensation washed over my back, turning my hot skin to goose flesh. I shivered hard as it crawled up to the crown of my head, forcing my eyes open. The lights suddenly seemed too bright and I swore I was seeing double.

“O-kay,” I breathed out and placed my face down against the metal, relishing in the sharp stab of cold piercing my forehead. It kept me grounded enough to stay outside a little while longer before I finally dragged my sorry ass back into the apartment.

Kate had wrapped up her phone call and dug into a box of cinnamon rolls she picked up for us a few days ago. She offered me a quarter of the sweet treat, not because she was selfish but due to the fact we didn’t know how my stomach would react to the sudden intrusion of sugar. I took it gratefully, happy to eat anything that wasn’t soft foods or soup.

Hard to believe this was going to be one of my last few calm nights before everything devolved into utter destruction.

Monday morning came at last and Kate already had her luggage lined up by the front door when I awoke. I checked my burner phone for any sort of correspondence between me and Mr. X but the man had been silent. I figured it wouldn’t have been worth it prodding the proxy. Not yet, at least. I heaved myself out of bed, resigned to tearing the sheets off to clean them later. I also needed a hot shower.

My roommate had waited long enough for me to tidy up and appear partially human in time to say goodbye.

“Andrew’s taking me most of the way,” she explained as I saw her out. I searched my memory for the name and found it wasn’t ringing any bells. Kate smiled apologetically before explaining he was her new boy toy who may be turning into less toy and more serious. “He’s got family out that way and will be dropping me off at the train station near his parents’ place. I’ll text you, keep you posted, okay? And you update me on things here, yeah?”

“Assuming the city’s still standing,” I joked while pulling her into a tight hug, sickness be damned. “I’ll let you know if anything changes.” I tried not to cry as the embrace ended but my eyes burned something fiercely. Kate swiped quickly as her own and sniffed loudly before grabbing the two rollers and readjusted the duffel sprawled across her back.

“I’ll be back once things calm down,” she said, striding to the door. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

Then, she was gone. I could faintly make out her suitcases rolling across the carpeted hallway but that was it. My roommate was out of here. I locked the door and turned partially to look about the small living room and kitchen. Everything seemed to magnify in size. It suddenly felt so much quieter now. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I rubbed at them, groaning in frustration. Breaking down wasn’t going to do me any good. That would just waste precious energy. Energy I needed to move around for the day.

I still felt like shit. My skin was tight and I shut off all internal lights in an effort against a potential migraine. Memories of the last major data pull I nabbed flashed through my mind’s eye. I still couldn’t get over the footage of Mercer or Subject-B03 or whatever the fuck that was in the video. It sent a chill down my spine when I replayed the image of that… that thing looking directly at the camera and addressing me, by name. Like, how the fuck did he-it know I was watching?

And that wasn’t counting all the crap I witnessed at Gentek itself or the BLACKLIGHT shit in Hope.

I sagged onto the couch and flipped on the TV for the umpteenth time. They were still covering the containment breach but were more focused on the mass of people fleeing the city. Those that were in the affected areas were under major scrutiny as they passed through the military checkpoints. I thumbed the power button on the remote and flopped fully down onto the couch. Another headache had taken up residence behind my eyes. Not enough to warrant painkillers but enough to be annoying.

My eyelids began to feel heavy as fatigue tugged at me once more.

Okay. Sleep… sleep is good. Maybe it’ll get rid of this throbbing in my skull.

Before I knew it, it was already five o’clock.

I must not have moved much on the couch because my muscles were sore and stiff. I still felt a little hazy and hollowed out but I wasn’t as exhausted as I was previously. The evening sun filtered in through our- no, my curtains. Right. Kate isn’t here anymore. I checked my phone and got a text from her saying she was finally at her aunt’s place and to keep her apprised of the city situation when I can. I sent her back a confirmation I wasn’t dead to the world and hauled my ass up, moaning as I did so.

I rolled my neck out and hissed as bones popped back into place, relieving some of the tension building there and wandered into the kitchen for something resembling food. Most everything else needed actual prep time and I didn’t have the mental capacity to take that on so soup it was. Again.

Five minutes later, I had a hot bowl on the table and ice cold water beside it. I dug around in the pantry for a minute, locating a baguette that hadn’t yet turned moldy. I didn’t bother baking it, opting to simply rip chunks of spongy bread off and dunk it into my meal.

I glanced at the spot where that booster patch had been on my wrist. There were a small handful of red spots clustered there. I ran my thumb back and forth over them. They didn’t itch and they didn’t hurt. They were just… there. I pressed down harder on the bumps before finally leaving my skin be. I picked at my soup for the better part of a half hour, ripping the bread into tiny pieces.

I thought things were going to start looking up for me after coming to New York. Granted, the whole blackmail angle by Merren’s Genetics and “interning” at Gentek only to infiltrate their servers and steal valuable data packets certainly wasn’t in my plan but here we are.

Here I am.

I pushed my bowl away, propped my elbows up on the table and buried my face in my hands. Ever since I sent over that final cache, everything felt off. Then that patch and the incident at the Ledger happened and now this. Even after sleeping for like seven hours straight, I still felt bone tired. Then again, I had been puking my guts up for the last forty eight or so hours. That was bound to drain a person. At least I was able to keep some food down now.

I lifted my head and scanned the dim kitchen wearily. I still hadn’t opened all the curtains since falling back asleep earlier this morning but could tell it was steadily growing darker outside. One of my legs bounced restlessly as my sluggish thoughts rolled through my mind.

I probably should go out to Rover’s and pick up some stuff. Kay did grab me a few things yesterday before leaving but I am getting so tired of soup.

I wanted something with substance and crunchy and salt. I whined internally knowing ordering food service would take too long and cost too much versus dragging my butt outside and down the road. Plus, the fresh air might actually do me a little good.

Setting my dishes in the sink, I changed out of my pajamas and into a pair of - mostly - clean sweats, sneakers and an old school sweatshirt before shoving my keys with a pepper spray gel attachment, wallet and phone deep into the pockets. I didn’t bother doing anything with my hair as I locked up my apartment and took the rickety old elevator back down to the lobby, giving a half hearted wave to our resident security guard who was too busy watching another game to look up at me.

I scoffed softly, shaking my head, and pushed open the lobby doors. The city noise was louder now that it wasn’t so muffled by building walls. There were still quite a few people out pounding the pavement. Cars and taxis sped down the road, honking occasionally. The annoyed call of a road rager carried across the air followed by some rather colorful cursing. Did she just call somebody a soiled banana?

I snorted hard at the imagery which caused me to devolve into coughing, promptly drawing attention from other passersby. Those spasms racked my already aching body drawing out a small, “Ow,” from me. When it passed, I pushed on towards the grocery store.

As I walked by a parked sedan, my reflection caught my eye. I felt a slight tremor start to run through my hands when my gaze lingered on the dark tinted glass. My eyes looked off now. Sharper. The whites looked to be more lightly veined with red than normal.

“Get it together, Gaines,” I muttered to myself, that small bit of mirth leaving me. “You’re just exhausted. This is just the flu.”

The fluorescent lights flickered when I finally entered through the automatic doors. Surprisingly, there weren’t nearly as many people in here as I expected. I was quite grateful for that. I could get in and out in record timing. As I pursued the corner market’s stocks, I took those that were doing similarly.

There was a man coming out of the booze aisle with what looked like three bottles of vodka in his basket. A woman with two kids in tow hurrying them along as her cart rattled loudly across the linoleum. A delivery guy was unloading crates near the rows of sodas and energy drinks.

The sound of a nearby news cast drifted by. Night clerk must’ve had the radio turned on or something.

“Authorities are urging residents to stay indoors if they experience sudden fever, nausea or any sort of respiratory distress. The Department of Defense and local agencies are continuing to investigate additional reports of new contamination sources within Manhattan’s lower districts. More at nine.”

I huffed out my disbelief. This seemed to be steadily growing by the hour. Not wanting to stay much longer than was necessary, I shoved a few more items, including a big box of saltines, into my basket and hurried to the register. I handed over my card after the clerk bagged my food and I rushed outside. I still felt on edge but the cool air seemed to be perking me up; even if the smell of rancid garbage tinged it.

All that would be waiting for me back at home now was nothing but silence and darkness and I’d had enough of that for the time being. Plus, I needed to stretch my legs. I was still a bit weak and my head buzzed slightly like I consumed a few shots but I needed to be out. Keeping my head down and one hand on my spray gel, I let my feet carry me with no real direction in mind. Probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do with night fast approaching but I was starting to spiral within the four walls of my apartment.

My sneakers slapped rhythmically against the concrete, the grocery bag crinkling with every step. Occasionally it bumped into my thigh as it swung back and forth in my hand. I must’ve drifted off letting my mind wander because I was jolted, none too gently, back into reality when I collided with a man walking the opposite way

“Oi, watch it you drunk asshole,” he said gruffly, shoving me back hard enough to cause a group of women in their twenties to scatter, barely avoiding me in the process. The sudden jerky motion hurt as I stumbled backward, hardly aware of the women gasping in surprise. My head jerked up and my gaze caught the man’s. All I saw was red for a brief second. Whatever he saw caused him to recoil in shock.

“Fuck off with your freaky ass bullshit, lady. Fuck you,” he snarked off before hurrying away from me.

His sudden animosity boiled the hell out of my blood. I-

HURT.

HURT HIM.

CONSUME.

CONSUME THE MAN.

MAKE HIM PAY!

CONSUME, YOU WRETCHED THING!

This deep animalistic desire to kill… to maim. To harm. It came seemingly out of nowhere. It was so jarring that it snapped me out of the red haze I’d drifted suddenly into. It left me severely disoriented. My heart hammered a staccato beat against my ribs and the sound of blood rushing in my ears drowned nearly all the city noise around me.

What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck?!

That-that wasn’t my voice…

I blinked rapidly, fighting the double vision playing out before my eyes, and staggered down the rest of the street. Other folks quickly stepped out of my way, thinking me a drug addict or some other type of low level individual looking for their next hit. I didn’t even realize where I was until I leaned my back against an aging brick wall and gulped in another breath.

The Manhattan City Morgue loomed well above me across the alley, an old specter cutting high into the skyline of New York.

I never stepped foot inside the place. Never had a reason to. The report from the other night flashed to the forefront of my mind.

Alex J. Mercer. Deceased.

This was where they had taken him for the autopsy. After the Helix breach.

Of all the places to end up at tonight, why’d it have to be here?

Anxiety wrapped itself tightly within the confines of my heart as I tried to steady myself. I needed to leave. Get out of here and get gone before someone saw me lurking like a creeper. I raked a hand through my hair then tugged my hoodie into place and made to leave when the sound of metal smacking against metal cemented me in place.

I don’t know what made me crouch down beside an old dumpster in the alley way but I knew better than to go against my instincts.

A man came stumbling out into the open behind the morgue. He wore a dark leather jacket, a shirt underneath that and a pair of blue jeans and boots. The loading bay behind the morgue was completely devoid of everything save for a lone truck. His legs almost gave out, sending him crashing to the ground, scrambling on his hands and knees briefly before standing up once more. The sounds of him panting, in either fear or exhaustion, were loud. They kept bouncing around the bay. He continually glanced back over his shoulder at the morgue, preventing me from fully seeing his face. As if he were afraid of being dragged back inside.

I very nearly rose up from my hiding spot and bounced out of there, not wanting to get entangled in whatever crap was going down, when the rotating blades of an all black helicopter cut through the silence like a drum. It slowly, methodically touched down a couple hundred meters away from the fleeing man who began to back away, hands out.

Other men decked in black tactical gear piled out from the chopper, guns drawn. There had to be at least seven of them.

The back door to the morgue flung open, drawing everyone’s attention. The soldiers didn’t appear to spy the hooded man just yet. Someone dressed in full scrubs, mask and headgear came running outside and was abruptly cut off by one of the soldiers. I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman. I narrowed my eyes, trying to get a better look at who they were but couldn’t quite make out the logo on their patches.

Scrubs started to get into a heated debate with who seemed to be in charge of this squad armed to the teeth. Hoodie, the man who came stumbling out initially, was still carefully backing away. My gaze flicked to him and my blood turned ice cold.

Wait. That was-

A sharp crack halted that train of thought, followed by two more. A pair of doctors must’ve followed the first out without me noticing and now they were dead. Shot. Executed. Just like that. I clapped a hand over my mouth fast, cutting off my startled squeak. I thought I was going to be sick at the sheer callousness of it all.

Hoodie, seizing the opportunity, tried to make a break for it but was too late. He was spotted.

“Priority target. Priority target!” I heard someone yell as the soldiers grouped up in a half circle formation, backing the man into a wall.

“Form up! On me, now!” another yelled.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey!” Hoodie said, fear tinging his voice.

Then came the order for the kill.

Their assault rifles barked in unison, the bullets tearing into and through their target. The concrete wall behind him was riddled with bullets. I pressed my palms against my ears to muffle some of the noise but it wasn’t enough. They were already ringing.

The firing stopped.

I thought it was over. Fighting against building hyperventilation, I slowly leaned around the dumpster and watched the man fall down to all fours again. I expected him to collapse into a heap and bleed out but he didn’t. Instead, he rose up. My eyes widened in shock as he yelled in pain, grinding out five words.

“What is happening to me?!”

As he swayed upright, I saw that his entire front was soaked with brilliant red blood. There was so much. He shouldn’t be standing, much less talking! Even the soldiers were stunned.

Then he was moving. The man fled, using a set of crates and another dumpster nearby to vault himself over onto the next alleyway. Gunfire rang out as the soldiers frantically tried to stop the man to no avail.

During the chaos, I scrambled back myself and hurried the opposite way, praying to whoever was listening that I wouldn’t be spotted. I didn’t hear any yells. No one called out for me to stop. Nothing. Their radio calls soon faded into the background as I hauled ass back home, groceries gripped tightly in one hand.

As I hurried to my apartment, my mind hurried to catch up with the events that just transpired. I didn’t want to admit it but… I knew that man. He was already a dead man walking when I first met him. And here he was again.