“21 Days”- Chapters 9-18
Disclaimer: The characters of “The Sentinel” television show do not belong to me. Just taking them out to play. I’ll return them when I’m done. Come to think of it, maybe I’ll keep Sandburg. He’s just so darn cute!!!!
Part 9
True Colors
Day
9-(20 days from initial virus contact.)
Cascade
International Airport
Cascade,
Washington
Lt.
Col. Jean Pritchard; Commander, US Special Forces, stood looking out over the
horizon, one hand shading his eyes as the
helicopters
approached from the north.
Coming
in barely above tree top level, the 2 copters shaped like tear drops: small
Hughes Defenders, sat down quickly beside the larger Hueys. Tethered near, 4
UH-60 Blackhawks, complete with twin-barreled cannons and anti-tank missiles,
sat at the ready. What had once been a busy airport, shuttling commuters to and
from their destinations, had now become a temporary military base. Guards
heavily armed with laser sites and shoot to kill orders patrolled the
perimeter.
Pritchard
knew the town of Cascade had moved into what the Delta Psych guys referred to
as Catastrophe Response Mode. Being cut off from friends and family in the
outside world, the citizens were faced with an outside threat from the virus,
and because of this, were at their most manageable. Basically, given any show
of authority, the people would easily follow like sheep. Wait too long and
panic could set in. That would be unfortunate. Congress wanted this tidied up
immediately and what the congress wanted, the congress got. After all, money
talks loudly in the United States today and money is authority.
The
one thing in their favor was the fact that a cap had been put on the media,
directly by the President before the story had broken. What the public knew of
the serious outbreak of influenza in Cascade was only what the military
advisors wanted them to know.
It
was widely reported as a tragedy but no confirmation of deaths was reported.
Since all transportation and communication had been shut down for the last 9
days, in and out of the city, the general public was affected less and less by
the news story as time passed. Relatives were contacted and assured that
everything was being done in the way of medical treatments available.
Making
an address on national television, the Governor of Washington assured the
nation that everything in their power was being done to put an end to this
tragedy as quickly as possible, reuniting families and getting the city back on
it’s feet.
Up
until now, the AMCCOM had stood at Spring Rain Alert. As of tonight, the Army
would move into the next stage of its cleanup, aptly called, Heaven’s Breath.
The
main problem was James Ellison. The detective was the number one wild card in
their game. Having shown no signs of the infection or the bacteria after ample
exposure from his partner, he could be their holy grail, yet the doctors could
find no reason for this resistance. At first they had believed it to be an
anomaly, yet Blair Sandburg, even though stricken with the disease, had somehow
managed to fight off the initial stage. Whether he survived the bacteria or not
in the days to come, would be anyone’s guess, as it had shown certain qualities
of mutation from subject to subject. If Blair Sandburg did die, he was sure
Ellison would be a major problem.
Rubbing his forehead absently, the Lt. Colonel wondered what Detective Ellison was capable of. He was after all, Special Ops and from what he’d heard, one of their best and one hell of a good combat soldier. If Ellison lost Sandburg to the virus, he feared that they might all find out just what one man could accomplish on his own.
For
a man who has nothing left to lose has nothing to fear.
Blair Sandburg sat, propped up by pillows, being
feed ice cream by his partner.
Slowly, he swallowed each mouthful, his throat still
very raw from the respirator.
“You okay?”
Blair nodded as Jim fed him another spoonful of the
cold dessert.
Ellison smiled as he wiped the small dribble of ice
cream from the corner of his friend’s mouth with his thumb.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just glad your feeling better Chief.”
Blair smiled back.
“Me too.”
Pushing the dish away, Blair lay back onto the pillows.
Setting the bowl back on the tray and moving to
scoot Blair to the opposite side of the bed, Jim got in beside him and pulled
his partner into his arms just as he’s done last night.
Leaning over, Ellison whispered quietly into his
ear.
“Feel up to talking?”
Blair nodded uneasily, seeing the strange expression
on his Sentinel’s face.
“I’m sure the room’s wired. We have to be careful. I
don’t see any cameras. We’ll just have to take the chance they didn’t have time
to place one since we were already here, but they could be anywhere.
“Just close your eyes and listen to what I have to
tell you. Don’t say anything, just listen.”
Blair nodded again, keeping silent, his head
pillowed on Jim’s shoulder.
Absently, Jim stroked Blair’s arm as he spoke,
calming him as his Guide’s heartbeat began to soar.
“Blair…the first thing I want you to know, is that
no matter what, I won’t let anyone hurt you while I’m alive. Do you
understand?” Sandburg wrapped his hand around Ellison’s larger arm that was
encircling his chest, squeezing once, acknowledging that he heard and
understood. Jim smiled, picking up
Blair’s signal.
“I overheard a conversation between the doctors
yesterday. They were talking about a smallpox virus that had been stolen from a
government testing facility and how AMMOC’s involved somehow.
That’s the US Medical Corps. It’s complicated to
explain but they’re the clean-up team for the President. They recruit out of
Black and Special Ops, mostly CIA and Rangers with overseas combat and field
experience. Most Americans don’t even know they exist. They’re the American
governments dirty little secret.”
Jim paused long enough to gather his thoughts;
letting Blair have a chance to digest the information he’d just given him.
Feeling Blair nod, he continued with his story.
“Somehow this engineered virus was let loose at your
lecture at Rainier. Once everyone started to show symptoms, it was already too
late.”
Blair looked up, fear clearly visible in his eyes.
Pushing his partners head back to lay on his shoulder, Jim continued.
“Out of the 326 persons at the lecture, 14 were
alive last I heard. Nobody has been able to fight off the disease so far except
you Blair. The government came in, locking the town down completely and
declaring Marshal Law. I’ve heard military attack copters coming in since last
night. They’re planning to use the influenza epidemic here in Cascade to cover
up what’s really going on. They have to clean up the loose ends.”
He felt Sandburg shiver in his arms and tightened
his grip around his partner.
“Me?” Blair whispered against his chest.
“Not just you Chief…us. I’m immune to it.”
Blair tensed, trying to control his breathing as his
heart rate soared.
“Relax. Just take deep breaths. That’s it…. just relax.”
Blair nodded as his breathing began to slow, leaning
into Jim’s touch, grounding himself with the feeling of Ellison’s arms around
his chest.
“Blair. We need to get out of here. Don’t ask me how
I know. I just do. You have to trust me. Understand?”
Blair squeezed his arm once more.
“I know you’re still sick kid, but we don’t have a
choice.
Leaning his head toward Ellison’s ear, he whispered,
“Tonight?”
“Tonight. Let me take care of everything. Sleep as
much as you can today. Rest up.”
Blair nodded once more, closing his eyes and
snuggling down against his Sentinel’s chest. Jim stroked the hair back from
Blair’s forehead, pulling it loosely behind his head as his friend drifted off,
exhausted.
Jim closed his eyes, offering up a silent prayer for
strength. The battle lines had been drawn and there was no Calvary waiting on
the rise. Only one tired Sentinel and a sick, exhausted guide.
As
the day progressed, Jim Ellison formulated a plan of escape from the
confinement he and partner, Blair Sandburg, had been placed in.
Across
town, Simon Banks stood looking out at the approaching darkness. Alone, he
wondered what one man could do against an army. Rubbing his eyes in an attempt
to relieve the almost constant headache throbbing behind them, Banks walked
back into the kitchen and poured himself yet another cup of coffee.
6:00
pm-Day 9
Temporary
Base-Delta 1
Cascade
International Airport
With
a shot of whiskey sitting untouched only inches away, Lt. Colonel Jean
Pritchard sat pouring over the data from the Corps Medical Center’s computer.
According to the lab work performed on James Ellison, the subject appeared to
be naturally immune to the virus variation. He had been ordered to bring
Ellison in for study, alive and kicking. Ellison was more valuable to the
military than all the other subjects ever tested because of his natural
immunity. Not only immune to smallpox, but it seemed, immune to the synthesized
bacterium attacked to the mutation as well. Even more puzzling was the fact
that his associate, Blair Sandburg, had developed some of the immunity but only
after barely surviving the virus itself.
The
true test of Sandburg’s immunity would only begin as his body succumbed to the
blood borne virus slowly invading his system. The lab had confirmed this
morning, the presence of the spores in his latest blood sample, having
developed rapidly but remaining inactive as of yet.
Part
2 of their mission, Heaven’s Breath, was scheduled to be implemented at
midnight under the cover of darkness. The city’s power would be cut, leaving
the citizens without lights or heat. Emergency generators were already set up
at the detention centers and temporary bases around Cascade but would be for
military use only.
All
the men under his command were Special Ops, Rangers or graduates of the Army
Snow School in Vermont. The best of the best.
Pritchard
projected a window of no more than 8 hours to completely clean up the town as
well as corralling the wild cards. Eradicating the threat completely within the
next 48 hours, the first film would be released to the media showing the
influenza’s tragic effects on the city of Cascade as the dead bodies were
burned to stop the spread of the killer throughout the nation. A tragedy indeed
as the public would see it, but a small price to pay for saving a whole nation.
A small sacrifice to stop a major catastrophe.
Cascade General Hospital
Temporary Containment Wing
9:00 pm
Blair
rolled over on his side, moaning loudly and pulling his knees toward his chest
The
nurse in the hallway flipped the switch on the two-way monitoring system on her
console.
“Mr.
Sandburg…are you alright? What do you need?”
Receiving
no response, she swiped the card through the reader outside the airlock and
hastily suited up before passing through the next doorway.
Placing
her card back around her neck, the nurse walked over to stand beside Blair.
“Mr.
Sandburg…. are you okay?”
“My
stomach hurts.”
Jim
got up from the chair, walking toward his partner as the nurse turned around to
pick up the chart from the end of the bed.
“Let
me see if there’s something we can give you to help with the pain.”
As
she turned around, Jim grabbed her from behind, pulling the helmet off and
slammed his fist into her face.
Quickly
checking her pulse and finding it strong, he grabbed the reader card from
around the nurse’s neck before pushing her unconscious body underneath the bed
and covering it with a sheet.
Looking
paler than before, Blair scooted to the edge of the bed and swung his legs
over.
“I
don’t think I can make it Jim. I really don’t feel well.”
“I’m
not leaving you here Chief, so forget it. Just lean on me as much as you need
to. We have to get out’ta here as quickly as we can.”
Blair
nodded, holding tightly onto his partner’s arm as Jim supported him, moving
toward the first airlock. Swiping the card through the slot, the first door
slid open to reveal a small cubicle lined with moon suits. Sitting Blair down
against the wall, Jim quickly dressed in the bulky suit, hooking up tubes for
the air supply and turning on the viewer inside the helmet. Picking out a
smaller suit for Sandburg, he helped his partner to dress activating the voice
commands in the collar.
Ellison
stopped as his partner stumbled against him, slapping Blair’s face lightly.
“Come
on Chief. I need your help. Just a little while longer, then you can rest.”
Blair
swallowed convulsively but pulled himself up against Ellison, nodding.
Jim
put the helmet on Blair’s head, locking it in place and placing his arm around
his partner’s waist.
Swiping
the card again, the second airlock opened as they stepped into the hospital
corridor.
Finding
the switches on Sandburg’s helmet, he flipped them to the on position and
hooked in the air hose, turning on the filtered air from the pack attached to
the back of the suit.
“Blair…can
you hear me?”
“Yeah.
Where’s Spock?”
Grabbing
Blair around the waist once more, he propelled them both down the hallway
toward the roof.
As
they got closer, Blair stumbled as Jim caught him, leaning him against the wall
and opening the door. Hooking his arm around his partner’s waist, he pulled
Blair out onto the concrete helipad, carefully looking for any signs of
military guard. Finding none, Jim slipped easily up to the copter, tethered
against the gusting winds and opened the door, helping his partner inside.
Settling
Sandburg as comfortably as possible, he climbed in beside him, removing first
his helmet, then his partners.
Blair
wasn’t pale anymore; he was a white, dark circles deeply etched under his eyes.
Jim
touched his arm.
“You
okay kid?”
Not
able to speak over the rising nausea, he only nodded.
“Give
me two minutes and we’ll be out of here.”
Jim
went to work, first turning on the coil and pump to warm them up. Dropping
through the open door to roll under its belly, he unclipped the tethers and the
tail hitch. Jumping back in beside his guide and quickly flipping on the
turbines, Jim punched the quick-start ignition as the engine roared to life, cutting
through the night air.
“Hang
on baby, we’ll be out of here soon.”
Blair
closed his eyes, leaning his head back as Jim put a headset over his ears.
Doing
the same to himself, he tested the COM link, looking to his partner for
confirmation. Blair nodded.
“Got
ya’.” Ellison said as he took the throttle in his left hand, gripping the
column between his knees, lifting the small copter off the roof.
Pulling
back on the cyclic, he let the helicopter climb higher, getting the feel of the
pedals controlling the tail rotor.
As
they pulled away from the hospital’s pad, the medivac copter shuddered
violently, and then leveled off as they hit 30 feet.
Blair looked over at his partner, eyes wide.
“I
was a medic. I had flight training. Just not with anything this small.” Jim said, as he flew them unnoticed past the
barbwire-topped fencing and off into the night.
*****************************************************
Part 10
Day
10
Bear
Paw Wilderness Area
15
miles Northwest of Cascade
10:57
am
The
first thing Blair Sandburg became aware of was the tremendous throbbing pain in
his head. Opening his eyes slowly, he found himself staring up at open sky.
Using his hands, he felt along the rocks, wondering what he was doing on the ground.
Blair
rolled onto his stomach, using his knees to slowly push himself up. Reaching
one hand up unsteadily, he quickly found the cause of his headache.
Pulling
the bandana down that had been hastily tied around his head; he found a deep
gash, edges ragged and bleeding profusely, running from his hairline to his
upper cheekbone.
Vision
blurring, his stomach lurched as he looked down at the large pool of blood
underneath him.
Leaning
over, Blair vomited, emptying what little he had in his stomach onto the cold
rocky ground.
Back
in Cascade:
Temporary
Base-Delta One
Cascade
International Airport
Satellite
dishes mounted on the roof of the airport terminal tilted at different angles,
connecting to images from all over Cascade.
“Keep
out” signs were posted now, scattered around the airport property. The signs
reading, “Violators will be shot on sight by Executive Order” hung below.
Pouring
himself another whiskey, the Lt. Col downed it quickly, rubbing the bridge of
his nose before looking back at the primary screen.
On
the viewer, the image of a man stood fully dressed in a contamination moon
suit. From a white van behind him, several similarly dressed men jumped out,
carrying large hoses attached to tanks on their suit packs.
As
Pritchard watched, the men sprayed surrounding vehicles parked in the street
with thick, white foam and then stepping forward, a man with a flamethrower sat
them on fire. Each man stepped back from their vehicles as the gas tanks
exploded, one after the other on the deserted streets of Cascade.
As
the scene changed to another remote street corner, the Lt. Col., having seen
enough, flipped off the screen and sat back.
Soon
enough, it would be bodies they were disposing of. For the moment, the corpses
were deep in refrigeration trucks sent in by the CDC but the orders had been
given for the eradication to begin within the next 2 days. They were to tidy up
and be out in a week, no more, leaving no traces behind and no survivors. In
this business, you checked your morals at the door in the service of your
country.
His
head shot up as he looked around wildly, remembering what had happened.
Blair
screamed his partner’s name as he pushed himself to his feet, swaying as he
walked off in the direction of the crashed helicopter.
Temporary Containment Wing
Cascade General Hospital
11:15 am
The
atmosphere in the conference room was stifling as the 3-member team sat,
contemplating their next course of action.
The
team consisted of the CDC virologist; Jason Meyers,
Cascade’s
Deputy ME; Rich Willis and Asst. to Lt. Col. Pritchard; Mark Drake.
Meyers
leaned over his notes, studying carefully the new data he had been handed only
minutes before. Laying identical folders in front of the others, he turned to
face Drake.
“Lt.
Drake, I assume that you have clearance since your sitting here at this table
because what I have to tell you can go no farther the Lt. Colonel’s ears.”
“I
have Delta 4 clearance. What you have to tell my superior, you can tell me.”
Folding
his hands on the tabletop, Drake looked menacingly over at the 2 doctors
sitting in front of him, his patience obviously wearing thin.
Holding
his hands up in mock supplication, Jason Meyers began to read the printout from
the folder marked: Jim Ellison-Test Subject 7899.
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
15 miles Northwest of
Cascade
Blair stumbled over to the wrecked copter, lying on
its side, noticing the dark oily substance on the ground under the left part of
the tail section.
Bending down and picking up a small amount of the
black fluid onto the tips of his fingers, he sniffed as his brow wrinkled in
confusion.
“Shit.” He said, backing up a step.
Hearing the crunching of rock on the other side of
the copter, Blair turned quickly, losing his balance and falling into two
strong arms.
Looking up into the face of James Ellison, he took a
deep breath to still his rapidly beating heart.
“Chief. What are you doing up?”
“I couldn’t find you and I saw the crashed
helicopter. I got scared. I thought you…”
“It’s alright…. Luckily, I was flying low when the
hydraulics went haywire. They had it rigged in case someone tried to escape. We
didn’t get very far I’m afraid. I figure we’re about 15 miles from Cascade, out
in the Bear Paw I think.”
Lowering his Guide to the ground and sliding down
beside him, Ellison gently touched the gash on Blair’s face.
“I thought I had the bleeding stopped. I only left a
few minutes ago to see if there was anything I could scavenge from the
chopper.”
Wincing as his partner pulled some stray hair out of the congealing blood
clinging to his temple, Blair closed his eyes, his body shivering slightly.
“And did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Find anything we could use in the helicopter?”
Jim smiled.
“Yeah. A few things. A duffle bag with emergency
clothing, a medical kit…”
“Any water?”
“No…no water but there’s hydrating fluid in the kit.
Think of it as unflavored Gatorade Chief. As soon as I get you patched up, we
need to figure out what we’re gon’na do. I figure they’re out looking for us by
now. I heard copters circling but I don’t think they’ve spotted us. Between the
rocks and heavy tree cover, this area seems to be pretty well protected. We’re
close to the stream too.”
“Maybe the won’t come back… maybe they’ll just
assume we’re dead.”
“Chief, these guys are mostly Special Ops…they won’t
give up till they bring in our bodies.”
“Wonderful….”
Jim patted him on the leg, getting up to retrieve
the supplies. “You just rest. I’ll be right back.”
Blair nodded tiredly, as he leaned against the cold
metal of the copter.
Raising his head slightly, he yelled after his
retreating partner; “I suppose a fires out of the question?”
Conference room
Temporary Containment Wing
Cascade General
“Are you sure of these results.”
“The tests don’t lie Lieutenant. Blair Sandburg has
the same abnormalities we found in Detective Ellison. I don’t know how to
explain it. The ratio is much lower in Sandburg’s case but it’s clearly there.”
“Are they related?”
“Not that we can find. We’ve run complete
backgrounds and haven’t come up with one single factor that would account for
this.”
“Random mutation?” Willis threw out.
“Can’t be, the odds would be astronomical. No. It
has to be something else.”
“That still leaves us with the original problem.
We’re running out of time and the higher ups are breathing down our necks.
Somehow the DOD”s involved now. Use whatever resources you need but find out
where the hell Ellison’s immunity comes from.”
“If your people could manage to hold him long
enough, maybe I could.”
Angrily, the Lieutenant got up, grabbing the copies
of the lab report laying beside him on
the edge of the table and slammed the door shut.
“What’s his problem?”
Pushing a fresh mug of coffee toward Willis, Meyers
poured himself one and then sat back, drinking deeply.
“You know what they say…shit rolls down hill. Well,
I think the Lt. Colonel got his face full this morning and left this grunt
without a shovel.”
Willis laughed loudly, flipping the medical file
closed in front of him as he picked up the steaming mug of hot liquid.
“Finish your coffee Meyers. Now that G.I. Joe’s
left, I’ve got something to show you that I think you’ll find quite
interesting. Doctor to doctor… screw the military.”
Raising his cup, he clicked it against Willis’s.
“Screw the military.” He said, smiling in agreement.
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
Cascade, Washington
Since it was a Medi-Vac copter they had stolen, Jim
had found lots of items that would definitely come in handy. Stuffing what he
could into the large emergency pack, he also grabbed the Rescue Responders kit
and 3 blankets, making his way out of the wreckage and back to his partner.
Dropping the pack and supplies, Jim knelt beside his
friend.
Blair’s eyes were closed and his pale skin glistened
with sweat. He was hunched over slightly, an arm draped around his stomach,
legs drawn up under him.
“Chief…” Speaking quietly, Jim laid his hand on
Blair’s cool forehead.
“Chief…can you hear me?”
“Jim?”
“Yeah kid…I’m right here. Just relax.”
“I really don’t feel good.”
“I know. There’s a small cave not very far from
here, think you can make it…. huh?”
“Blair?” Slapping the side of his friend’s face
gently, Jim attempted to get him to his feet. “Blair….can you hear me? Getting
no response from his partner, Jim reached down and gathered him into his arms.
Wrapping his arms around Jim’s neck instinctively,
his young guide snuggled closer to his chest as the wind began to pick up
around them.
Ellison made his way over the rocky ground where he
had seen the mouth of the small cave hidden behind a stand of pines. Ducking
down under the small outcropping of rock directly in front of the entrance, Jim
made his way a few feet back into the cave. Finding a small alcove, he lay
Blair down gently, rolling him onto his side.
“Blair…listen to me. I need to go get the supplies.
I’ll be back in a few minutes. You hear me kid? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Jim ran from the cave, making it to the wreckage in
less than 3 minutes. Quickly strapping on the larger pack, he grabbed up the
blankets and the Responder Kit and made his way back to his partner’s side.
Blair lay as he had left him, his breathing shallow
and his eyes slightly glazed.
Throwing off the gear, Jim slid down beside him.
Opening the Responders Kit, Jim pulled out the Space Blanket and laid it flat
on the cave floor. Next, he slowly moved Blair onto the silver blanket, rolling
him onto his side and covering him with one of the heavy woolen blankets from
the copter. Reaching into the backpack, he pulled out a large towel and rolled
it up, placing it under Blair’s knees to elevate them.
“Jim…”
“Right here Chief…. just take it easy…everything’s
okay now.”
Blair moaned slightly, one hand coming up to his
head as Jim caught it, laying it back by his side and patting it
affectionately.
“Just relax kid…. everything’s gon’na be okay
now…just relax. I’m here to take care of you.”
Blair seemed to calm instantly at the sound of Jim’s
voice as he became more aware of his surroundings.
Jim pulled supplies from the kit as he began to
disinfect the head wound, pouring irrigating solution directly on the wound,
attempting to remove any loose dirt sticking to the blood and hair. Ripping
open a large sterile pad, he poured iodine into the folds and gently cleaned
the edges, pulling them slightly apart. The gash itself was jagged and red,
swollen slightly and a large bruise had started to form that ran half way
across his partner’s forehead.
Pressing his hand against the still bleeding wound,
Jim laid another larger gauze dressing over top and taped it down tightly.
As he finished, Blair reached up, squeezing his arm
urgently.
“Sick…” was all he got out before he retched, as Jim
grabbed a small kidney dish out of the kit and put it under his mouth. Holding
his head, Jim supported his weak partner as Blair continued to vomit; shivering
as he brought up what little was left in his stomach.
“It’s okay Blair…just breathe…you’re gon’na be
fine.”
Shaking violently, Sandburg laid his head back on
the blanket.
As Jim sat down beside his partner, he felt the
rumble of approaching helicopters coming in low from the east.
**************************************************
Part 11
Listening
Morgue-Cascade
General Hospital
9:20
am
“What
am I supposed to be looking at Willis?” asked virologist Jason Meyers as the
Deputy ME led him through the door way into the airlock. Surprised as Willis
opened the inner door without suiting up, he hesitated.
“Come
on, it’s clean. The bodies have all been moved, cleaned up and disinfected
yesterday. Got my meat lockers back too.”
Stifling
his distaste at the mention of meat lockers, Meyers followed the older man
through the autopsy bay and further back into the small lab.
“Man,
Willis…you got some pretty decent stuff back here.
Keeping
it all to yourself?”
“Nice
little room I keep locked away.”
Nodding,
Meyers wandered around looking at the equipment that definitely wasn’t standard
county issue.
“Your
budget must have soared recently, otherwise I may be tempted to think you were
on the take.”
“Let’s
just say our county has a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous. No harm in
that is there.”
“Guess
not. So, where is this big discovery you want to let me in on?”
“In
a minute.”
Willis
moved to stand in front of the smaller doctor, a box of slides held in his
hand.
“I
couldn’t bring you down last night because of the others.
I’m
not ready to play hero. I have too much to lose. These get locked up for
safekeeping. ”
Putting
them in his bottom desk drawer, he locked it quickly and then dropped the key
back into his pocket.
“What
the hell are you talking about?”
Walking
over his desk, the ME booted up the computer. As the screen came to life, he
pulled up a folder marked ELLISON, JAMES JOSEPH.
Sitting
down also, Meyers watched as the Deputy ME displayed an obvious slide of a
blood cell, defining it more; he split the screen, now displaying an identical
cell on the other side.
“Yeah,
so?”
“Watch.
We already know about the latent spores and what effect they have as they’re
released. Now, I want you to watch very carefully.”
“This
sample on the left is a normal red blood cell. Watch as the bacteria from this
subject is introduced onto the slide.”
The
magnified end of a syringe appeared into the left split side of the screen.
Small microscopic rod-shaped bacteria began vigorously swimming around the
cell, surrounding it like a small attacking army. As it was invaded, the outer
membrane darkened, ruptured and then literally, exploded.
“Oh
my God!”
Meyers
jumped back from the screen slightly, running a hand over his weary eyes.
“Indeed,
Mr. Meyers.”
“What’s
the elapsed time of the cellular response?”
“Incredibly,
less than 20 seconds.”
Both man sat quietly, disbelief clearly visible in the younger man’s eyes.
“I
can’t believe they’re capable of creating something like this that can kill in
20 seconds. I mean, nerve gas is horribly destructive and effective but this…is
irreversible.” he said shaking his head.
“Like
I said before…screw the military.”
“This
is the mutated form of the virus I’m looking at?”
“Actually,
it’s a form of the bacterium taken from a live culture obtained from Blair
Sandburg.”
“Sandburg?”
“Yeah.
As you know the bacterial form started showing up in him about 35 hours ago. We
watched him carefully as it grew in stages while his own body began forming
antibodies against the bacterial infection. The last sample we had from him
before his escape, showed the working antibodies to be around 37% effective but
multiplying. I still don’t know why or how he’s producing these antibodies.”
Turning
back to the keyboard, Willis punched up another slide taking the place of the
one on the right.
“This
is a RBC taken from James Ellison. Watch the screen carefully as the bacterium
from Sandburg is introduced.”
As
the two men sat watching, the same syringe introduced the bacteria into the
sample. Unlike before, the bacterium’s struggles ceased abruptly after a
moment, as the blood cell secreted a thin clear liquid enveloping itself as
well as the bacterium.
Staring
at the film before him on the screen, Meyers was speechless and a small smile
touched the corner of his mouth.
“The
army doesn’t know?”
“I’m
not sure but you’re the only one I’ve told.”
“How
could you keep them from finding this?”
“I
switched the samples. Easy enough. Pritchard’s too busy bragging about how
they’re this great military team to notice the small things. Vanity, thy name
is Pritchard.”
“We
still don’t know why Ellison’s immune.”
“No.
Only that he is and that Sandburg’s body is displaying the same capabilities
only in more unnatural terms. He’s slowly developing the immunity as the bacterium
invades. Since his system was weakened from the virus, his body is only now
starting to produce this rogue factor Ellison shows so prominently.”
“He’s
a carrier then. That’s why the army wants him dead. He could infect the whole
population.”
“Partially.
They want him dead so they can study him. They’re only interested in what his
body can tell them the same as Ellison. The population that may be infected
matters very little to them. As CDC, you’re concerned about that, the infection
and the deaths. The army’s only interested that a rogue factor has come in to
play here that might ruin they’re perfect little virus. Right now, it’s the
perfect killer by all known standards.
Looks
like Ellison and Sandburg don’t fit well into that known perimeter of Pritchard’s
little world.”
“Sandburg’s
probably dying now as the bacterium invades his system. If what you’ve shown me
is completely accurate, his body couldn’t build defenses up quickly enough as
the bacteria invades.”
“I’m
not sure what his system is capable of or what the ratio of his immunity is
currently. They escaped not long after I found the bacteria in his blood. He
was ill but still alive when they left.”
“I
don’t understand how they escaped undetected. It was too easy.”
“I’ve
been thinking about that. I have the feeling it was planned that they escape.
Just part of the overall picture. Part of the master plan.”
“I
don’t suppose you know what that plan it, by chance?”
Sitting
back, Willis popped his knuckles and stretched, throwing the man beside him a
mildly annoyed glance.
“I’m
just a simple ME, not a military strategist Meyers.”
10:35 am
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
15 miles northwest of Cascade
Jim
sat holding Blair against his chest, his arms encircling the younger man. Looking
down into the face of his sleeping guide, he thought back to the many times
he’d almost lost Blair since he’s known him. Shooting, stabbing, kidnapping and
then the drowning, not to mention the wide variety of psychos they’d come in
contact with.
As
Blair lay sound asleep, head pillowed on his partner’s shoulder, Jim absently
stroked the curls from his forehead.
He’d
been afraid to sleep last night for fear that if he did, he’d wake up to the
cold body of his friend, still cradled in his arms. Somewhere around dawn,
Blair had started to ease into a more natural sleep, relaxing in his Sentinel’s
embrace. Jim knew last night had been close. All he could do was hold on,
gently reassuring Blair that no matter what happened, he would be with him.
Last
night, hearing helicopters circling the area, he was sure they would be spotted
any minute but no men came. Finally, the copters had left and he began to
relax.
.
He
knew that he would kill anyone who attempted to take his partner from him. Not
for the first time, he wished they’d had some kind of weapon.
Now,
as the sunlight began to filter in through the mouth of the cave, he sat
wondering just what the day would bring.
Delta 4-
Mobile Command Center
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
Cascade
A
small satellite dish sat perched on a tripod, not far from the streams edge.
Lt.
Commander Roger Hale sat, mobile phone in hand, talking to Lt. Col. Jean
Pritchard.
“I’m
well aware of that, Sir. We have the targets in radar site. They’re in a small
cave 5.5 miles from here. The telemetry tracking devices worked perfectly.”
“Have
you been spotted?”
“No
Sir. We’ve flown a pattern overhead twice now. “They’re still in the cave and
the tracking device is still sending.”
“What
are their bio-readings?”
“Last
night they were off scale with Sandburg, but he’s normalized now. They’re both
very much alive.”
“Keep
up the surveillance, Commander. Let base know if they attempt movement from
their encampment.”
“Yes
Sir.”
Shutting
off the phone, the Commander looked back at the monitor where 2 ECG strips,
side by side on the small screen, were being displayed.
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
5.5 miles east of Delta 4
Command Center
11:51 am
Blair
Sandburg stirred, wrapping his arms more securely around Ellison’s neck and
curling his body tighter against the chest of his friend. Jim pulled the
blanket tighter, virtually cocooning Sandburg in its folds. Still, his young
Guide shivered.
Jim
had decided to make a small fire tonight if the wind held, providing them with enough
draft across the mouth of the cave to suck the smoke from inside. The dry wood
he had found stacked further back in the cave, left over from a former camper,
would do for a while and shouldn’t produce much smoke.
As
it was, they had little defense from the outside forces, whether natural or
man-made.
Gently
brushing his fingertips against Blair’s face brought an immediate response from
his young friend.
Blair
opened his eyes and yawned widely. Tensing as he stretched, Sandburg couldn’t
stifle the moan as his sore muscles protested.
“You
okay Chief?”
Nodding
slightly, Blair lay back as he willed himself to relax.
“How
long have I been asleep?”
“Off
and on…. since yesterday afternoon.”
Looking
around in confusion, Blair tried to sit up but was restrained by a large arm
around his chest.
“Just
lay still Blair. You’re fine where you are.”
“Where
are we?”
“We’re
in a small cave. What’s the last thing you remember?”
Blair put his hand up to the bandage covering his forehead, squinting at the
pain still radiating from the gash.
“We
crashed I think. Nothing much after that, just bits and pieces.”
“You
were pretty sick Chief…. I’m not surprised you don’t remember much.”
Blair
closed his eyes, laying his hand on the arm that was still protectively draped
across his chest.
“What
do we do now Jim….”
“You
just take it easy and let me worry about that, okay.”
Blair
nodded, his head resting against Ellison’s shoulder.
“It’s
lucky we grabbed that Medi-vac chopper. They had blankets and flashlights, not
to mention bandages and medications. How’s your stomach feel?”
“Still
upset but not as bad. My head hurts a lot though.”
“I
gave you an anti-emetic last time you were awake. We’re short on liquids and I
was afraid you’d get dehydrated with all the vomiting. We don’t have any water
yet but there’s still several bottles of hydrating fluid in the kit.”
“Puking
is so not on my list of fun things to do Jim.”
Ellison
smiled, happy just to hear the small joking tone in his partner’s voice.
“Yeah,
well. Cleaning up after you is not on my top 10 list of fun things to do
either, buddy.”
Patting
Blair’s arm, Jim lowered his partner down onto the hastily made pallet from
last night, his hand supporting his head as he did so.
Turning
his guide over gently onto his side, Ellison frowned as his hand brushed
against something hard on Sandburg’s neck.
Jim
pulled back Blair’s hair with one hand as he traced the small oblong bump under
his skin. Touching the object with his hand, he felt a mild vibration coursing
through his sensitive fingertips. Jumping as if shocked, Jim sat down heavily
beside his friend.
“Jim…Jim…what’s
the matter…. Jim, are you okay?”
Taking
Blair’s hand in both of his, he looked deeply into his guide’s eyes.
“Blair…now,
more than ever before…. you need to trust me. No matter what I tell you.”
“Can
you do that Chief?”
“I
do trust you Jim…I trust you with my life.”
Lying
down beside his guide, Jim took their still entwined hands and placed them over
the bio-tracking chip on the back of Blair’s neck.
“They
know we’re here.”
*************************************************
Part 12
Watchers
Bear
Paw Wilderness Area
Day
12
4:22
am
Blair had spent a
restless night, his sleep interrupted frequently by nightmares as he lay beside
the small fire that was now only embers.
James Ellison sat stroking the curly
head pillowed on his lap, his decision made, yet dreading what must come next.
He knew with the bio-chip in place,
they would be tracked like
animals. Removing the chip from
Blair's neck was the only real chance they had.
Looking down at his partner's pale
face, Jim went over the options for an anesthetic he'd found in the Responders
Kit. Actually, they were extremely limited. He'd found only a used bottle of
Dalcaine and a full bottle of Lidocane. With the unsanitary conditions in the
small cave, he didn't feel comfortable setting up an IV push unless it became
necessary. What he hoped to find was a 4% topical anesthetic in the kit but no
such luck so he’d settled on the idea of an injection.
Gently shaking his guide's shoulder,
Ellison spoke quietly to Blair, wanting nothing more than to let him sleep but
knowing what they had to do if they were to survive.
"Chief…wake up. We need to get
this over with."
Wearily, Blair blinked, his hand
coming up from under the blankets to rub at his eyes.
"Hey...how you doing this
morning?"
"It's morning?"
"Early morning, yeah."
Blair smiled faintly, getting a smile
in return.
"You ready kid?"
Blair nodded, closing his eyes once
more.
The supplies were spread in the lid of
the medical kit, laid out in order of usage.
Jim was exceptionally glad to have had
medical training while in Special Ops.
Not that he'd had a lot of training
but you learned fast out in the field. Doctors weren't always available. Medics
were.
Taking Blair's hand in his, he
squeezed gently, reassured when he found the gesture returned.
"Blair, you know you mean
everything to me. If there was another way..."
"Jim..it's okay. I understand. I
told you..I trust you with my life."
"I know." Jim said as he
turned away briefly, looking over at the medical supplies sitting near by.
Jim rolled him onto his side, lifting
Blair's head from his lap and gently laying it down on the folded up towel.
"Just relax. I'm gon'na give you
a shot first. The chip's not far down so I think I can remove it quickly."
Jim pulled the covers up around his
partner, placing the extra
blanket on top, tucking it around and
underneath to restrict his movements. Pulling Blair's hair back and out of the
way, Jim leaned over, getting a closer look at the small implant under the skin
of his Guide's neck.
Uncapping the alcohol, Jim poured a
liberal amount on his hands, then let them air dry. Leaning over Blair, he
whispered into his ear. "I
need to pour some alcohol onto your
neck before I do anything. Just relax."
Jim drizzled the alcohol onto Blair's
neck, and then putting on a pair of latex gloves, unwrapped and cleaned the
area with a Betadine swab.
Placing a small surgical pad over the
area and cutting a slit in the center, he pulled back the edges to reveal the
implant and surrounding tissue.
Taking a deep breath and steadying his
hand, Jim picked up the needle filled with Lidocaine.
"Blair..I'm going to give you a
shot now. It's just a local so it'll take affect in a few seconds. If you feel
sleepy, that's okay. Just relax and close your eyes. It'll be over in no
time."
"Okay Jim."
"You're gon'na feel a little
stick." Ellison said as the small needle pieced the skin, sliding
underneath the surface. Blair jumped slightly but didn't make a sound.
"It's alright Chief. Just relax.
It'll start to numb up any minute.
Just lie still."
Blair kept his eyes closed as Jim unwrapped
the scalpel, breaking the sterile field and laid the tip against the skin of
his neck.
Gently applying pressure, a thin line
of blood began to form as Ellison drew the instrument down toward the nape of
his partner's neck.
"Chief, you okay?"
"I feel weird... dizzy."
Jim stopped, bending over so he could
look into Blair's face.
"That's okay. It's just the drug.
If it hurts, you tell me.
Blair..you understand?"
"Yeah."
"You get dizzy, just close your
eyes and take a deep breath, okay?"
Blair quieted, his breathing deepening
as Jim went back to the task
at hand.
Running the knife over the previous
cut, Jim opened it up with
surgical precision. Using the probe,
he carefully pulled back on the
edges of the wound, getting his first
sight of the foreign object
imbedded in his friend's neck.
Picking up the tweezers, he grasped
the end of the small metallic rod and gently worked it loose from the
surrounding tissue, pulling it through the incision.
Holding it up, Jim examined the
implant, feeling the miniscule
vibrations as the sensors sent out
data. It measured about 2 inches long, was metallic and intertwined with tiny
electronic chips.
Lifting the pad out of the way, he
taped the bloody chip to the side of Blair's neck, opposite the position it had
been in before. Laying the drape back down over his partner's neck, Jim pulled
the edges of the incision gently together and started to suture the wound.
As
he got the fifth stitch in,
Blair moaned, trying weakly to pull
away.
"Blair..come on buddy....don't
move, we're almost finished."
"Jim."
"Relax...one more to go and I'll
be done. Then I can give you
something for the pain."
Blair lay still, calming at the sound
of Ellison's voice.
"That's it Chief...just hang
on...relax...we're almost done."
As he tied off the last stitch, Blair
began to seize.
Delta
4 Mobile Command
Bear
Paw Wilderness Area
"Sir, you
requested that you be notified the minute readings went out of the norm.
Sandburg's went dead for a total of 23 seconds, now it's all over the chart
again. We're still picking up the heartbeat but he's throwing waves all over
the place."
"What about Ellison?"
"A little higher than normal but
we're receiving fine. No real
noticeable changes."
"Have they moved locations?"
"No sir."
"Then everything's going
according as planned. Have your men hold their positions, Commander."
"Yes Sir."
Shutting down the mobile phone, the
Lt. Commander sat back, leaning against the tent wall and watching the ECG
spike on the monitor screen.
"Poor bastard." He said.
"Yeah. Hell of a way to
die."
"Like a lab rat in a cage."
the Lt. agreed.
"Well. There's always been lives
sacrificed for the good of the people but it's probably the first time the
little hippy ever did anything for his country."
Laughing, Jason Meyers raised his beer
bottle in a mock toast,
clicking it loudly against the Lt.
Commander's.
"To inter-agency
cooperation."
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
15 miles northwest of Cascade
Pushing down on his
chin while holding his forehead back, Jim opened Blair's jaw just enough to
wedge in a strip between his teeth to keep him from biting or swallowing his
tongue.
As the seizure intensified, Blair's
body arched painfully with each
spasm as he fought for breath.
Jim knelt beside his friend, only restraining
him enough so that he
didn't cause himself further injury.
After a full minute, the seizures
began to subside.
Jim moved in, lifting Blair into his
arms and gently holding his
friend's head against his chest.
Breathing heavily, his Guide looked around,
confusion and fear
showing clearly in his eyes.
"It's alright…. just relax kid….
it's over…lay back."
"No…"
"Easy Blair…you're safe…. I'm
right here."
Blair began to struggle weakly as Jim
tightened his grip.
"Easy. Easy, you're okay.
Nobody's gon'na hurt you." "You're safe.
Just relax."
Looking into Jim's eyes, Blair
stilled, and then buried his face into
Jim's shoulder as the tears began.
Wrapping his arms tighter around
his partner, Jim Ellison laid his
check protectively against the top of Blair's head, saying a little prayer as
the dawn broke over the
horizon.
**************************************************
Part
13
Trial
By Fire
Day
13
Bear
Paw Wilderness Area
15
Miles Northwest of Cascade
2:30
pm
Jim
sat only inches away from the fire, looking out as the rain fell steadily over
the mountainside.
For
the second time since they had been stranded, Jim had ventured out to get water
from the nearby stream. This morning he had heard something that disturbed him
greatly. Voices.
They
were still too distant for him to understand, but as their voices traveled on
the wind, he could tell they were military and that’s all he really needed to
know. The military now meant danger to James Ellison and danger to the life of
his Guide. Retrieving all the extra water he could carry, he quickly made his
way back to Blair’s side, unsure of what their next move should be.
Looking
at his sleeping partner, Jim allowed himself the tiniest bit of hope as Blair
stretched, rolling over on his side. Opening his eyes and yawning widely, he
smiled up at Ellison, pushing himself up on one elbow.
“Hey
Chief…how’re you feeling?”
“Not
bad I guess.”
“Need
something for the pain?”
“Maybe.
It’s not too bad right now.”
Putting
another log on the fire, Jim moved around to sit next to Blair, his hand
automatically coming to rest on his friend’s warm forehead.
“Feels
like your temperatures coming up Chief. How’s your neck?”
“Doesn’t
hurt much.”
Ellison
pulled the bandage loose from the surgical tape, peering underneath, then
replacing it quickly.
“No
sign of infection. We just need to keep those stitches clean and dry. I think
you’ll be okay.”
Bair
nodded, cocking his head to the side slightly and peering at his friend, an odd
expression on his face.
“What?”
Sitting
back, Jim let his hand fall to Blair’s shoulder and squeezed gently.
“Blair….
we need to talk.”
“Yeah?”
Laying his head back on the make shift pillow, Blair drew in a sharp breath as
the stitches pulled tightly against the dressing on his neck.
“Ow!”
“Lay
still. If you don’t quit moving around, you’re gon’na pull out the stitches
that I just put in.”
“Sorry.”
Blair said, smiling sheepishly.
Leaning
over his Guide, Ellison rearranged the blankets so that they covering Blair,
pulling them up around his chin. Filling a small cup with water, he handed it
to Blair along with two Tylenol 3’s, keeping an eye on his partner as he drank
greedily.
“Mot
too much…just sips.”
“Sorry.”
“You
need to keep it down so just drink slow. You were pretty sick a few hours ago.”
Handing
the cup back to Ellison, Sandburg closed his eyes, willing himself to relax.
“They’re
here aren’t they?”
“How’d
you…”
“I
had a dream.”
“A
dream?”
“Yeah….
I had a dream. I saw them. They’re about 5 miles east of us. Down by the
stream. They’re tracking us both Jim.”
“What?”
“They’re
tracking us both. I saw them. They’re getting readings from both of us.”
“Blair.
I checked. I don’t have a chip.”
“Jim.
I don’t know how but they’re tracking you. I saw it.
There
was a screen and 2 heartbeats.”
Jim
frowned, sitting back on his heels, his hand staying on Blair’s shoulder.
“Chief…you
were really sick.”
“Jim.
I know what I saw, man. They’re tracking us both.”
Ellison
nodded.
“Assuming
that’s true…..I can’t take the chip out if I can’t find it.”
Blair
thought for a moment.
“How
did you find mine?”
“I
felt it.”
“With
your hand? You felt it under the skin?”
“Yeah.
It was right under the surface. You could feel a lump and…..”
“What
Jim? You could feel a lump and….”
“I
felt a vibration with my fingertips. It hummed …an electronic hum. That’s what
I felt.”
Blair
smiled. “That’s great, man… a hum. Okay…okay, let me think a minute here.”
Sitting
up slowly, Blair took Jim’s hand in his and placed the other against Ellison’s
broad chest, pushing gently.
“Lay
back. I’ll help you…. we’ll find it together.”
“What?
Chief… you need to rest….”
“Jim,
you need me for this. Just relax. I’ll guide you.”
Jim
lay down by the fire as Blair sat beside him. Still holding his partner’s hand,
Sandburg pressed Ellison’s hand, palm down on his forehead with his hand
resting on top.
“Alright
Jim…just close your eyes. Remember the vibration…the vibration you felt from
the chip.”
Jim
nodded.
“Okay…now
focus your sense of touch and piggyback your hearing to that sound.”
Jim
shook his head.
“Focus
Jim. You can do it. Focus on the sound.”
With
Blair’s smaller hand guiding his own, Jim let his hearing combine with his
touch, sensing the electronic hum growing to become part of his body.
“Jim
focus, man…..you can do it.”
“I
can feel it…. it’s …I can feel the hum.”
As
their hands moved slowly down Jim’s body, the Sentinel stopped, cocking his
head to the side.
Ellison
opened his mouth slightly, letting go of Sandburg’s hand and traced the inside
of his gum line with his fingers.
With
an expression of disbelief on his face, Jim sat up beside his guide.
“It’s
in my filling. I can feel it vibrating all through my finger tips.”
Blair
nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, a small smile playing at the corners of his
mouth.
“I’m
really relieved to hear that Jim. I can deal with a filling. I just don’t think
I could…you know….”
Patting
his friend’s shoulder, Jim smiled.
“What
happened to Doctor McKay?”
“Always
the smart ass aren’t ‘ya?...”
Cuffing
him lightly on the head, Jim got up, wandering over to the Responders kit still
sitting in the alcove. Grabbing the things he would need, Jim closed the lid
and came back to sit next to Blair.
“When
it gets dark, we move. Are you gon’na be able to handle that?”
“I
have to don’t I?”
“Blair…”
“Let’s
just take care of the chip first Jim, then we’ll talk.”
Ellison
nodded as he spread the supplies out across the blanket.
Handing
Blair the penlight, Jim closed his eyes.
Cascade General Hospital
Morgue
Deputy
ME, Rich Willis leaned back in his desk chair looking at the insidious image on
his computer screen. The small bacterium clustered around the ruptured blood
cell looked harmless enough in itself, but when invoked, became as powerful a
killer as man had known so far, killing within seconds.
Thinking
back on his conversation with Lt. Col. Pritchard, Willis remembered the man’s
threats clearly.
As
promised, the army had come in late last night, herding all the infected
persons already being held in the temporary containment camps into large
military transport vehicles.
The
dead had already been whisked away 2 days ago. Since the original core deaths,
all 325, no one else had perished from the viral outbreak. However, well over
9,000 deaths had occurred from the mass bacterial infection hidden in the
original virus and spread from the core carriers. Of the persons who had direct
exposure at Rainier University only one, Blair Sandburg, was still alive to tell
about it.
The
one person who could expose their dirty secret. The one thing they hadn’t
counted on however was the unique cellular properties of the man, James
Ellison.
Finding
the homeotic gene linking the two men together had been sheer luck on Willis’s
part. He was no geneticist, not by a long shot, but hard work and dumb luck had
proved themselves once more. Once he had found and isolated the homeotic gene
in Ellison responsible for his effective immunity from the disease, tracing the
same pattern of gene linkage in Sandburg had been a piece of cake. What he
still didn’t know was why these men shared this common genetic trait when he
could find no reference to it what so ever in the population at large. What had
given these two men the genetic edge?
Whatever
advantage they’d had over the virus wouldn’t matter soon because their time was
running out.
Whoever
was pulling Pritchard’s strings would see to that.
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
15 Miles Northwest of Cascade
Blair
Sandburg sat huddled around the fire, sleeping lightly, held in the arms of his
friend.
Jim
reached up, touching the small gauze square now taped to the side of his own
neck. Until the very minute they were ready to leave, each had to keep the
chips against their skin so the transmissions would be constant, even if not
totally consistent.
Stroking
the long hair back from his partner’s face, Jim said a silent prayer for his
guide’s safety.
As
the sun began to go down in the evening sky, Ellison wiped a lone tear from his
eye, fearing what lay ahead for them both.
Because
you see, Blair wasn’t the only one to dream.
Only
for Jim, what he had seen had been a living nightmare.
*************************************************************
Part
14
15
miles Northwest of Cascade
4:00
am
At
the entrance to the cave, James Ellison sat looking out at the early morning
sky. For now the rain had stopped, giving them a temporary reprieve from
traveling in the cold, damp weather that plagued the state so often this time
of year.
From
behind him, he heard Blair stirring the fire once more, making sure the dying
embers were completely out.
Turning
to look back at his Guide, he caught sight of twin shadows out of the corner of
his eye, the panther and wolf as they disappeared into the darkness of the cave
behind them.
Feeling
comforted, Jim scanned the small cave once more, making sure that they had
packed everything they needed for their journey.
He
wasn’t sure where they were going but he knew that they had to move today. As
soon as they took off the tracking chips, he knew the men would begin their
hunt. Blair’s life was in danger as well as his own.
The
Sentinel had been given the genetic instincts to protect his tribe. He realized
as he sat holding his friend last night; Blair wasn’t just part of his tribe,
he was his tribe and he would protect him at all costs.
Bear
Paw Wilderness Area
5.5
miles east of the cave
The
clean up was well under way, as the bodies had been transported out from the
city to be incinerated. All detainees that were still alive at this point had
been transferred to locations outside Cascade for further quarantine.
The
stable population, having shown no symptoms of either the virus or infection
from the bacterium, was allowed to remain as long as they agreed to stay inside
their homes. The local phone service, as well as the power, had been
re-established as of yesterday but the media ban was still in force. In short,
the town was still under siege with full perimeters being held at all airports,
bus terminals and exits. The rest of the country had quietly slipped back into
their normal routine, going about their business, the city of Cascade all but
forgotten.
Lost
in thought, the Lt.Commander jumped as the warning alarm sounded from the
monitoring unit.
Quickly,
booting up the information links system, the pattern displayed for both
Sandburg and Ellison, showed a flat line straight across the tables. No heart
beat, no respiration and no movement of any kind.
Picking
up the mobile phone, he dialed Lt. Col. Pritchard’s direct number.
“Pritchard.”
“Sir.
We have a flat line here. No movement of any kind.”
Hale
could hear the Lt. Commander speaking in hushed tones to someone in his office.
“Lt.
Commander Hale. Your orders are to move and detain the escapees as quickly as
possible. Do not kill them unless absolutely necessary. They may just have
become more valuable to us alive.”
“Sir.
I have direct orders from the Commander. Shoot to kill on site. Are you
specifically ordering me to over ride those orders?”
“Yes.
Lt. That is exactly what I’m telling you. I have authority to override any
order on this mission except Executive Precedence.”
You
will hold your fire; you will pursue and apprehend the suspects, bringing them
back to Delta 4 Command. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes
Sir.”
Disconnecting,
the Lt. Commander picked up the Mobile-Com unit lying beside the monitor
screen.
“All
tactical teams. The bogeys are to be apprehended. No use of lethal force is
authorized unless absolutely necessary. Both detainees are to be apprehended
and brought back alive. Do you understand?”
“Sir.
We have shoot to kill on site orders. Am I to under stand those orders are
being revoked?”
“Yes.
You are to take the detainees with reasonable force to apprehend them, but no
lethal force is authorized.”
“Yes,
Sir.”
“Then
move out. Let’s bring them in.”
Taking
another pull on his cigar, the Lt. shook his head, a sudden darkness spreading
over his once boyish features.
“You
better be damn good Ellison, because we’re the best.”
Laughing,
he sat back down, flipping a switch and throwing the once vibrant tracking
screen into total darkness.
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
Still near the cave
4:15 am
They
had eaten most of the meager provisions scavenged from the copter wreckage
before leaving the cave. Packing a few medical supplies, flashlights, water and
blankets into the medical backpack, Jim had strapped it on, taking the full
weight of the supplies himself. As they made their way over the rocky terrain,
Ellison kept Sandburg close, supporting most of his partner’s weight.
Even
bundled up in the spare blanket, Blair was shivering. Whether from cold or
fear, Jim wasn’t sure.
“Chief…you
okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Lean
on me all you need to. We’ll rest when we get up to the crest.”
“Jim…I
can’t see in the dark, remember? What crest?”
“Sorry
kid. Forgot. It’s about a mile south of where we’re standing now. You just hang
onto me. We’ll stop before that if you need to.”
“I’m
okay. Just get us there.”
As
the partner’s made their way across the vast wilderness laying in front of
them, a lone wolf and panther stood silently, side by side, watching their
progress.
Cascade Motor Inn
Cascade, Washington
Simon
Banks sat on the side of the hastily made bed, flipping through the channels,
disinterestedly.
The
knock on the door made him jump, although he had been expecting it since the
phone call he’d placed yesterday afternoon.
The
man he had contacted in Cascade, the Deputy ME. Mark Willis now stood at the
door, folder tucked neatly under his shirt, awaiting entrance.
Opening
the door, Banks stepped aside, motioning for Willis to make himself at home.
“Mark.
I appreciate your coming. I know that this is dangerous for you. I want to
thank you ahead of time for risking your career to talk to me.”
“Simon.
We go back a long way. I owe you more than I want to admit to.”
Smiling,
Simon walked over to the other man, taking his coat and throwing it over the
bed. Then, reaching into the top drawer of the small desk, he pulled out a half
empty bottle of whiskey and went to retrieve 2 small plastic wrapped cups from
the bathroom.
Accepting
the cup, Willis downed half the contents in one swallow before speaking.
“Haven’t
drank anything stronger than an occasional beer in the last 3 years but
tonight…”
Banks
nodded his agreement.
“Yeah.
I know what you mean Mark. This thing…. it’s beyond reason. How could this have
happened? I mean, you read about things like this happening in some obscure
foreign country, but not here, not in America.”
“I
know. You think you’re secure, safe from the threats, safe from the violence
and then the next thing we know, we’re hip deep in it.”
“Your
daughter’s in Portland isn’t she?”
“Yeah,
thank God. She’s at the University of Portland this year. Pre-med.”
“Daryl
was with his mom visiting relatives when it happened. They didn’t get back
before the town was locked down.”
Shaking
his head sadly, Willis took another drink, savoring the slightly sweet taste of
the whiskey as it burnt its way down his throat.
“Simon.
What I found…with Ellison…you’re not going to believe.”
Simon
laughed, clipping the end from his cigar and lighting it as he sat back.
“Mark…
at this point in my life, you’d be surprised what I’ve come to believe.
Especially, since I’ve known Jim Ellison.”
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
1 mile from the cave
Blair
clutched at Jim’s arm as he stumbled, his knees unable to support his weight any
longer.
Jim
went down with his Guide, lowering him slowly to the ground as Blair leaned
heavily into his chest.
“Chief…what’s
wrong?”
Touching
Blair’s forehead, he felt a cold clamminess radiating from him. Grasping his
chin and tipping his face back, Jim took in the half closed eyes, rapid but
shallow breathing and pale; almost white features, as his heart sank.
Shock.
Bundling
the blanket closer around the smaller man’s shoulders, Ellison gently picked
him up into his arms and stood looking determinedly toward the overhang only a
half mile or so away.
“Hang
on Blair. I’m here.”
Cascade Motor Inn
Cascade, Washington
Mark Willis sat back on the bed, studying the
details of the report sprawled out before him. Looking up, Willis smiled.
“Think I can talk you into some more of that whiskey, Simon?”
Leaning over to pour another shot, Simon noticed the
picture lying face up, on the top of the folder.
Picking it up, he stared sadly at the image of
Sandburg lying in the hospital bed, fully hooked to a respirator, Jim sitting
beside the bed.
“You know…Sandburg kinda grows on you, once you get
past all the bullshit.”
Willis nodded.
“Don’t really know the kid but I do know Ellison’s
changed some since he’s been around.”
“Changed some…he’s not even the same man. Whatever
the kid did, he’s managed to work his way into every part of Ellison’s life. It
didn’t surprise me to hear they ran. Jim wouldn’t leave him in the hands of the
military.”
“I thought Ellison’s life was the military.”
“Not for a while. Not since Sandburg came along.
Blair’s his life now.”
“Well, whatever the reason for the change, can’t say
I disapprove.”
“Amen to that.”
Taking a deep breath, Willis picked up the DNA
strand analysis lying next to the lab reports.
Passing a copy of the image to Banks, he sat back,
studying the impossibilities before his eyes.
“Simon. I’m no expert on genetics and what I have to
show you wouldn’t hold up in court.
It’s impossible by all the things we know about
codes as far as I know, but I swear to you, this is what I’ve found.”
Pointing to the top of the analysis, Willis said,
“We all have genes called homeotic genes. In the lab they’re referred to as
parent genes because they direct other cells development.
In Ellison, these parent genes have developed a very
unique role in the way his body functions. Where as the genes normally would
direct cells to do everyday functions; to grow, repair, shape body parts…
Ellison’s are much more specialized with functions I’ve never seen before. I
see a lot of the similarity in, for example… a salamander. A salamander can produce new limbs. This is
different from Jim’s case because the epidermal cells themselves begin sealing
the wound. The parent gene has instructed these cells to do a specific
function. That’s where the similarity comes in. The parent cells in Jim’s body
have refined their purpose closely to what we see in the salamander’s body.
More of a genetic, functional approach to survival.”
“I don’t see Jim growing any new limbs Mark.”
Smiling, Willis gave him the finger. “Hey, I’m
serious here Simon. Listen up. You’ll see where I’m going with this in a
minute.”
Pointing again to the top of the analysis, Willis
continued. “This top part of the DNA graph is the cellular work taken from
Ellison shortly after his arrival at the hospital. Now, take the next sheet I’m
about to give you and lay it over the top of the one in your hand.”
As Willis handed him the other clear sheet, Banks
laid them on top of each other, amazed as the patterns almost merged.
“They can’t be the same person. Right? But they’re
incredibly similar. At least to an untrained eye like mine. What the hell am I
looking at Mark?”
“Like I said, the first one is Ellison’s. The second
on is Blair Sandburg.”
”What?”
“You heard me Simon. I know it’s impossible but I
double-checked it against a sample taken only 1 day before they ran from the
hospital. They’re even more defined in the next set.”
“How?”
“Don’t ask me how. Like I said, I don’t specialize
in genetics and even if I did, I think I’d be hard pressed to understand this.”
Simon leaned forward, poring himself another shot of
whiskey.
“Simon. I know something inside them, something
genetically predestined influenced by these parent cells is changing.”
“Sandburg has these parent cells too?”
“We all have parent cells, Simon. Just not to the
higher functioning capabilities these two are displaying. Blair’s are far from
developed to the extent that Ellison’s are, but if you look at the second set
of tests, you’ll see a gradual increase of differential functioning in
Sandburg’s case.”
“Did Jim get the virus?”
“Yes, he did and with little more than a headache I
think. His body fought off the effects of the variola mutation and the
bacterium release from the virus. Knocked the army right on their ass,
collectively speaking.”
“And Blair?”
“Almost died. Came in with the variola running
rampant through his system just like the others. The difference is that his
body started to build up immunity, fighting off the effects of the virus. It
took a lot longer to kick in though. Last I heard they were still sure the
bacteria would show up sooner or later in Sandburg’s case. His functioning
immunity measured only 37% against the bacteria at testing and it was still in
the dormant stage.”
“What do you think his chances are?”
“Couldn’t say with any certainty, but if I were to
hazard a guess…I’d say he had about a 50/50 shot or less of surviving it. What
I can’t figure out is the genetic link between the two. They aren’t
related…there’s no contact on record of them ever having meet before Cascade…”
Smiling broadly, Simon Banks leaned forward,
clasping the shoulder of the man who sat in front of him on the opposite bed.
“Have you ever heard of Sir Richard Burton?”
“The actor?”
“No. The anthropologist and explorer.”
“Do I need another drink for this?”
“Probably wouldn’t hurt.”
Simon poured them both another final shot as he
smiled broadly.
“Mark… Have I got a story for you.”
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
One and a half miles from
the cave
Laying Blair back
against the rock’s natural outcropping, Ellison took off his backpack and sat
down beside his friend.
Blair had vomited
a few minutes ago, bringing up what little they had eaten today. He was still
pale and shaky but his skin had begun to take on a more normal feel. Less
clammy.
Unsure of what to
do now, knowing the men would be hunting them, Ellison was torn between
traveling further and finding a shelter for the night. The men behind them could
travel much faster than he and Blair, yet they were still far back.
Looking down at
his Guide solidified the decision in his mind quickly as he scanned the
countryside for appropriate shelter. Extending his vision, he saw a stand of
pines tucked neatly at the base of a larger rock overhang only a quarter mile
to his left. Listening, he detected no sounds that could be human in any
direction. Safe for the moment, he picked Blair up once again in his arms and
headed for shelter.
Cascade Motor Inn
Cascade, Washington
“Quite a tale Banks.”
“I thought you’d find it interesting.”
“Well, it goes a long way to explain the genetics,
doesn’t it?”
“Pre-destined to become Sentinel and Guide.
Genetically pre-destined?”
“One could draw that conclusion.”
“What other conclusions are there to be drawn?”
“Well, the variola virus is one of the oldest
killers known to man. If you were going to be genetically manipulated by God,
nature, whatever you believe…then yeah, I can see this in those terms. Survival
of the fittest. The parent gene ordering the cells to destroy the virus, one it
has a cell memory of having encountered before.”
“Cell memory? Like cellular memory passed down from
generation to generation?”
“Well, yeah Simon. That’s exactly what I’m saying
but then again…. what the hell do I know. I’m just a ME struggling to hack out
a living in this arm pit we so optimistically call a city. You’re the Sentinel
expert…”
“Hand me back the whiskey, Mark.”
Willis laughed as they brought their cups together
in a toast.
“To Sentinels & Guides and all that’s right with
the world.”
Shaking his head, Simon added, “May God help us
all.”
*************************************************
Part 15
Old Friends and New Enemies
Bear
Paw Wilderness Area
15
miles Northwest of Cascade
5:00
am
Just
yesterday, before they’d even gotten 2 miles, Blair had collapsed. Jim had
known his friend was too weak for the trek across the wilderness, but left with
no choice, he decided to attempt it.
If
they were caught, he was sure Sandburg would be killed.
He
wasn’t sure what they had planned for him but if Blair died, it didn’t matter.
Either
way, he would be a dead man.
Now,
Jim sat holding Blair in his arms as he shivered violently, waiting on the sun
to rise.
Several
times during the night, Blair had cried out in pain and huddled close, his
fingers knotting in the fabric of Jim’s shirt.
Blair
was sick.
Almost
as sick as he had been with the virus.
He was
deathly pale but there were large, reddish blue patches under his skin. His
fingernails and lips were tinted blue. His eyes were bloodshot and his
breathing was shallow and uneven. He was conscious but just barely, his eyes
open but unseeing.
Jim
recounted the symptoms in his mind; hemorrhaging under the skin, cyanosis,
hypopnea. It had to be the bacteria. What else could it be?
Pulling
Blair closer still and tightening his arms around his friend, James Ellison
stood watch, listening for the men he knew would come after them.
Cascade
Motor Inn
5:30am
Taking
another sip of the strong coffee, Simon Banks sat back, holding the picture of
Jim and Blair he’d been given by Mark Willis.
In
his mind, he knew there was little to nothing he could do to help them, but in
his heart…. that was another matter entirely.
He
was sure if the situation were reversed, they’d be dammed before they gave up
on him. The problem was, he had nowhere to start. The only information Willis
had been able to obtain was that they’d stolen the hospital’s rescue copter and
crashed.
That
wasn’t much to go on but he had to try.
If
not for Ellison’s sake, then for Sandburg’s, because he knew Jim would be less
concerned with his own life than Blair’s.
Taking
in a deep, steadying breath; Bank’s removed a non-descript business card from
his wallet and turned it over to read the number printed on the back in
Ellison’s hand. Just how far would Jim want him to go for help?
How
far would the Sentinel go to save his Guide?
In
his mind, he heard Ellison reply: to the ends of the earth.
He
truly hoped that the army had kept its word and the long distance service was
back up today as promised.
Picking
up the receiver, he dialed the number, an FBI contact he had been given by Jim
more than 2 years ago.
As
the phone rang, he knew this was the one and only shot he’d have to help his
friends.
Bear Paw Wilderness Area
15 miles Northwest of Cascade
12:16 pm
The
convulsions had started a little past noon.
It
took all the strength Ellison had to hold the smaller man down as his body
seized repeatedly.
Holding
the plastic mouth guard in place, Jim watched as a stream of blood began
running from Blair’s nose.
As
the seizures stopped, Blair began to choke.
A
strangled sound escaped from his Guide’s mouth as Ellison realized what was
happening.
Grabbing
at the guard, he quickly pulled it from Blair’s mouth, rolling him onto his
side and hitting him hard on the back.
Blair
coughed weakly, his eyes rolling back in his head but continued choking as
Ellison shook him, slapping him hard on the back between the shoulder blades
once more.
“Breathe
Chief…come on…please breathe…. oh God, please.”
Jim
hit him sharply once more on the back, this time producing results.
Gagging,
Blair vomited; bringing up a huge amount of blood, snot and mucus that was
clogging his airway. Gasping, struggling for breath, his friend withered weakly
in Ellison’s grasp as he fought to restrain him.
As
the second round of bloody mucus found it’s way from his stomach onto the
ground, Blair gasped, pulling in a deep lungful of air.
Shaking,
tears of relief freely running down his face, Jim offered up a silent prayer of
thanks.
Scooping
Blair up gently into his arms, he carried him further toward the back of the
small rock enclosure, vaguely aware of the two animals watching his every
movement.
As
they sat side by side, the wolf and panther cocked their heads in unison,
listening to the sounds of the approaching troops.
Cascade Motor In
Cascade, Washington
Getting
no answer, Banks was about to hang up the phone when he heard a raspy voice on
the line….
“Mulder…”
End Parts 9-15