The driver’s side man laughed. He turned to his partner. “He swears a lot for a doctor.” The partner remained silent.
“Look, Hamlin. We’re moving quickly. Time is important for us. We’re going to ask you several questions. You need to provide answers. This all boils down to something very basic. Either you answer or you don’t. What’s it going to be?”
“I don’t know where you walked from to get here, but you can walk right back. Get out of my fucking Cat.”
The two men exchanged a glance.
“I’m going to tell you something you should already know. This is the end of the world. You are hundreds of miles from the nearest station and thousands of miles from civilization. Nobody else will ever know what is about to happen between us here. Nobody. Ever. So, I need a quick confirmation from you. Are you going to answer some questions, yes or no?”
“You know, I should be overjoyed to have some fresh faces appear. But whoever and whatever you are, I would like it very much if you would just piss off.”
“If we can get our hands on some samples, then that’s exactly what we’re going to do. So why don’t you help us, and facilitate the very thing you want most.”
Hamlin was suddenly flooded with the idea that he was going to die very soon. Probably before the end of the day. He wasn’t ready for that. And what about the others? Was there anything he could do now that could protect them in any way? He couldn’t think of a single thing.
“Let’s start with this. Where are the samples?”
Despite his fear, Hamlin actually laughed. “Jokes on you, assholes. We burned down the lab that was housing the samples. Everything was destroyed. There’s nothing left. All we’re working on currently is some geology and weather related stuff. So how are you feeling about the trip down here now?”
“Cut the crap. You wouldn’t do that. So for the last time, where are the samples?”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. We did that after Sokolov died, so you wouldn’t know about it.”
“Sokolov is dead? What are you talking about?”
“The precious virus that you all want to get your hands on got loose down here. We lost seven people because of it. The lab was horribly contaminated so we burned it to the ground. And quite frankly, I don’t give a flying shit whether you believe me or not.”
That led to a moment of silence.
“So he caught it?”
“No, it was genital herpes. The shame was more than he could bear.”
“God, you’re an ass. Are you sure there are no samples?”
“Yup.”
“None anywhere.”
“Nope.”
“What about the bodies? You say you lost seven. Where are they now?”
“We burned two. The rest are…scattered.”
“Where exactly?”
Hamlin shrugged. “I’m sure you could find them eventually, if you wandered around long enough.”
He didn’t see it coming until the last possible second and then it was too late. The passenger side man hit him in the face with a pistol. Hard.
He slumped over, his ears ringing and his eyes watering. The side of his face where impact occurred make a snapping sound and his right eye felt like it was going to pop right out of its socket. It was watering profusely. They were yelling something at him and he just couldn’t make it out. He wanted to respond in kind, but his injury demanded all of his attention. It hurt like a bastard. He was afraid it could be serious enough that he might lose the eyesight on the damaged side. He was no medical doctor, but it felt all wrong, even factoring out the pain.
“I said, where are they exactly? No more bullshit or we’re going to do something way worse than that to make you talk. Where are they?”
He tried to sit upright but a piercing sharp pain dropped him back down. He moaned involuntarily. He needed medical attention, no doubt.
“Talk!”
What could be worse than this anyway? Getting shot, he supposed. Couldn’t hurt a lot more, but the results would be more severe and permanent. He hoped the result of this wouldn’t be.
“They’re in the genny shed.” It hurt to talk, so his volume was subdued. The vibration of his voice felt like it was splitting his head apart.
“That’s better. You see? Cooperation is the way to go. This ugliness could have been completely avoided. So why did you put them in there?”
“Didn’t. That’s where they died.”
“And you just left them there. Why?”
“Frozen now.”
“Oh. I suppose that makes sense. That would be a good as anything down here. They all died from the virus?”
The truth would have taken too long to tell. His face was killing him. “Yes.”
“So what does it do? When you contract it, I mean.”
“High fever.”
“High fever—okay. Anything else?”
“Madness.”
Another pause.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Violence.”
“So…what? Like kicking and screaming?”
“Biting.”
“Interesting. Then unconsciousness and death, I suppose.”
Again the truth was discarded. “Yes.”
“And transmission?”
“Not certain. Direct contact.”
“That’s not good. Not airborne at all?”
“Not sure.”
“Damn. What kind of a sloppy research station is this? All you brainiacs stuck down here with nothing to do and you still couldn’t figure this one out. Did it not occur to you that the answer to that question could be important?”
“Things went to hell.”
“Okay. I might even buy that.”
Hamlin wanted the pain to start fading. Really, really wanted it. No luck so far on that front.
“Your tank looks full on this thing. That’s good. Since you’re resting at the moment, I’m going to drive it back to the barracks for you. When we get there, you’re going to walk us through the front door like we’re in-laws stopping by for Sunday dinner. We’ll handle it from there. You can get some Tylenol or something while we conduct a little business. If you can keep from making a total ass of yourself, we’ll be taking you with us. You’ll be back stateside before you know it. And we have an excellent infirmary, so we’ll get you fixed right up. It is a shame you slipped and fell like that. Landed right on your face, too. Well, accidents happen, right?”
Hamlin tried to respond and came out with a moan instead.
“Okay, I get it. Try to get your shit together. We’re going to need you when we arrive.”
The Cat started with a jerk, and then picked up momentum quickly. Francis had never tried to go this speed before. He wasn’t going to have much time before they arrived at this rate. It didn’t matter anyway. The pain seemed to take away his ability to think. The bumps weren’t helping either.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The door to the lab opened. Lena looked up to see Hamlin standing there. She was starting to think of something funny to say when she noticed the purple swelling on the side of his face. He was swaying slightly even as he stood.
“Francis, what happened to you?”
She started to get up. A strange man she had never seen before pushed Hamlin out of the way roughly and stepped into the room. He had a pistol in his hand.
“No, no. Just stay seated please.”
By now Zoya had turned. She gasped at what she saw.
“Just relax, ladies. Let’s do this the easy way. I will keep this as simple as I can. Just do what I tell you and all will be good.”