"I don't see how," Friez answered. "But you say there's no interference now?"
"It appears not, General. Which makes me think that Major Gant and his team are not able to respond. There is a real possibility that they were caught in the eruption. We should be in chopper range within two hours. I'm going to take my team in for recon and we should have more answers then."
Friez went silent for a moment and then asked, "How is your cooperation level? Any problems?"
Campion glanced over at the ship's captain and then replied, "The usual, sir. You may need to have SECNAV make another call."
Friez's voice grew agitated.
"I'll do that. Don't worry, Captain, you will have full authority to deploy assets as necessary. Able Fury is your private little navy, and if those squids don't understand that they will when I get through with them. Put the skipper on the phone."
16
One of the guards gave Thom a good shove and he wound up standing next to Dr. Stacy with Monroe behind and Dr. Waters in front.
The group gathered in a small, dark room, looking through a glass wall — probably a two-way mirror — at a white, rectangular chamber with no furniture, no windows, and one heavy door that was clearly locked up tight.
That white chamber was not empty. On the floor lay a woman in a jogging suit. She seemed older but in physically good shape … except for the fact that she was obviously dead. She lay on the floor with her head at an odd angle with no sign of respiration, no movement whatsoever.
Pacing the room was a man Thom Gant recognize instantly: Agent Costa of the United States Secret Service.
He had last seen Costa during the battle behind the bungalow, when the agent had run off before they had engaged the small army of reanimated cadavers. Thom had thought the man had perished, but apparently that had not been the case.
Unfortunately, Costa had ended up in the hands of Waters and Monroe. Still, Gant could not help but feel a twinge of respect for the agent; it seemed he had not revealed anything significant about the Edelweiss call or the fact that the responding team had been comprised of three members. That meant Wells might have avoided and survived Waters's mercenary force on Tioga.
"What are you doing?" Stacy asked.
Dr. Waters kept his watery eyes on the activity inside as he answered, "We're running an important test."
Monroe added, "The type of test you will be participating in if you're not more forthcoming about your presence on Tioga and your background."
Major Thom Gant had watched many persons die over the years, including ones he had personally dispatched. On the battlefield or during a mission, in the heat of the moment with bullets flying and lives on the line, it was easy to set aside the emotion, to treat killing and death as just another part of the process. Being able to emotionally detach from such horrors was part of the job.
This felt much different. He knew Costa was going to die in a few moments. The problem was, he was not going to die taking a bullet for a VIP under his protection, fighting for his country, or in battle where he stood a chance, even an illusionary one.
No, agent Costa was a lab rat in a cage. It would be a pitiful way to die; an insult to a man who had stayed alive for more than a day on an island overrun with zombies, a man who had chosen a profession that required bravery and commitment. None of which would help in his current predicament.
Thom shifted his feet and felt a surge of anger that grew into an urge to act. Yet he could not give in. The guards watched, no doubt expecting some attempt to save the doomed agent.
"The female died of her injuries thirteen minutes ago," Waters coldly relayed, primarily to Monroe but loud enough for all to hear. "The cause of death is attributable directly to blood loss and shock after being bitten by an animated unit eighteen hours ago. She received no medical attention, but a blood screen suggests she took Coumadin or possibly Plavix, probably as the result of a heart condition. The reduced viscosity of her blood may have slowed spore growth."
Stacy drifted forward a step and said, "The fungus transmits spores to the victim?"
Monroe jumped in: "Perhaps, Dr. Waters, it would be best if we kept the specifics to ourselves."
Waters replied to his boss, "Actually, in order for the next batch of tests to be successful, I feel it is important for these two to know some of the details. That is, given the goals of those tests."
Monroe nodded his head as if considering before relenting, "Okay then."
"Yes," Waters answered Stacy. "While there have been some variations, spore tubes sprout inside infected mouths, occasionally the fingernails. When the skin is broken, a spore — sometimes two or three — is released into the victim. Those spores tend to enter the bloodstream and circulate until death, at which point they become lodged inside the host and grow. The result is the creation of a central mass. The nerve center, if you will, of the parasite."
"The weak spot," Stacy said. "Kill it, and the parasite dies."
"I don't think we need to go into that," Monroe tried to protest, but Waters clearly held sway at this point.
"Oh no, Ms. Stacy is quite correct. Destroy the central mass and you kill the parasite."
"But that mass could be anywhere," Gant broke in. "The head, an elbow, a kneecap — anywhere."
"Which makes it hard to destroy," Waters said with pride. "Very different from a zombie movie, don't you think? A head shot is not necessarily going to save the day. Take, for example, Agent Costa here," Waters nodded at the man in the sealed room. "While he is not privy to the details, he does understand that the units have weak spots and that those weak spots vary."
Gant looked in again at Costa, who paced the room, first stepping close to the dead woman, then away, then circling, his eyes looking at the ceiling, at the door, at the dead woman again, at the two-way mirror, which he eyed with the knowledge that he was being watched.
"Ahhh, Miss Clemons is beginning to activate," Waters said, nodding at the dead woman and then looking again at his watch. "Fourteen minutes and forty-seven seconds. Not bad at all. That type of turnaround will increase propagation substantially, particularly in urban centers."
Gant eyed the dead woman and saw her eyes open. Milky white eyes.
Waters must have sensed Thom's interest in the colorization and answered the unspoken question: "The membranes of the parasite can actually activate the optic nerve, to a fashion. In fact, we have seen cases where the organism repaired corneal damage. The parasite can actually see, using the host's eyes."
Dr. Stacy stepped toward the glass and with the slightest hint of awe in her voice said, "You are saying the parasite is cloning and repairing body systems? So if a person has a leg shot off and that person becomes infected, the parasite will grow a new leg?"
"That example is rather extreme," Waters answered. "We have not observed anything on that scale. But muscle tissue has been mimicked and repaired, fractured bones secured, severed tendons regrown with parasitic tendrils. It is fascinating."
"And let me get this straight. This fungus can actually see?"
"Amazing, isn't it?"
Gant asked, "But what happens when they kill and devour one of their victims? Doesn't that break the chain of infection? How can a body that was eaten manage to get back up and start walking again?"
"That doesn't happen. That's not a concern," Waters replied. "At least not in the way you think."
"These things take bites out of people," Gant said. "We have seen the wounds. I had several try and tear into my neck myself. They seemed quite hungry."
Stacy answered before Waters could: "They don't eat their victims. It's not hunger that is driving them to attack." She turned and faced him. "It's reproduction."