Beautiful Death (Bella Morté Trilogy Book 1) (45 page)

The moat surrounded the main building and the parking lot. It was wide and deep enough that no one could just jump over it. It wasn’t a perfect circular moat, but it was good enough that it offered the barrier protection they wanted. It stretched all the way around the building with enough PVC placed at the entrance for the sprinkler effect, yet it was big enough to drive the vans out of there should they need to go somewhere.

Justice stood at the edge of the moat. He was angry as he looked at the design as if trying to figure out how to get over it. He looked from one side, down the line, and then up at the trees that surrounded then. He grumbled and growled as he stood there, looking at the fortress they created. Amber stood beside him, nudging him, grunting while pointing to the house. He turned and slapped her and she backed down, growling lightly.

Rachel stood on the porch, looking down at the entrance. She rushed in to the break room. “Oh you guys are gonna wanna see this. They’re here, and they brought friends.”

“What?” Candice was the first one to hop off Brandon’s lap and raced outside. Everyone else followed and looked down at the entrance from the safety of the enclosed porch.

Trevor arched a brow, shaking his head. “Where the hell did he make so many friends?”

Candice stood between them. “
How
did they make friends so quickly? They couldn’t make that many friends when they were alive.”

Sophia sighed. “They’re still alive.”

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know, but we could easily shoot them in the head from here. After all, they’re now the enemy right?”

“I don’t know if I would call them our enemy as long as they leave us alone. I just need to find the cure. They’re just sick.”

“Why take the chance? We could be done with this right now.”

Brandon stood behind Candice, wrapping his arms around her. “I think we should go down an’ talk to ‘em. Let ‘em know what’s in store should they cross ‘at line.”

Mark nodded, walking to the door. “I’m down for it. The rest o’ you wait up here where it’s safe. We’ll be back soon.”

The three of them walked down to the entrance. They stopped, staring at them on the other side before rushing through the water stream like little kids in a sprinkler. Candice giggled, shaking her head, causing water to spray around her. “What’s up, gang? What brings you back to this neck of the woods? I would invite ya in, but ya kinda gotta go through the water first. Rules are rules, ya know.”

Brandon winked at Justice. “Oh an’ bra, just in case ya were sick with worry, you can stop worryin’ about me. I’m better than fine. I’m perfect. Besides, now I can share bodily fluids with Candice.” He pulled her closer, kissing her firmly on the lips.

She laughed, pushing him away. “You’re bad.”

Justice and Amber growled low in their throats. They did back up a few steps when they joined them. They continued to watch them, looking like caged animals that couldn’t get to their food.

Mark smirked. “Ya know I’ve never known Justice not to have anythin’ to say. Ya seem a little dumbfounded. Didn’t ya think we’d get it finished without your expertise tutelage?”

One of the bigger males rushed over to Candice. His mouth was open, hands outstretched as he made a grab at her. She sidestepped, grabbing him by the arm and pulled him in to rest his back against her chest. She kept him locked in place with just one arm while he squirmed against her, trying to bite at her, clawing at her arms.

“Guess what happens when ya meet stupid?” She snapped the guy’s neck, twisting it around, causing him to slink slowly to the ground. “It’s too easy to kill you. Sticking around here that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

Brandon watched impressed, but a little surprised as he laughed softly. “Wow, is it as easy as ya made it look?”

“Oh yeah, one thing this virus gave us was speed and power. I found out the speed when Zach was going for Justice. The power, I’m guessing, is just a super hero given.”

“Yeah, when Trina didn’t make it I went on a killin’ spree,” Mark said, nodding as he watched the ones behind Justice. “It’s not hard to kill ‘em. When they bite or scratch, it doesn’t bother us at all. I think it bothers ‘em more, which confused me why they would attack, knowin’ it would cause ‘eir death.”

One of the other men rushed at Brandon, trying to bite him. He mimicked Candice’s actions, watching the head spin around and the body drop to the ground in front of him. He fist pumped the air. “Oh hell yeah! You guys didn’t tell me how much fun ‘at was! I suggest the rest of you get lost before we forget ourselves an’ kill y’all now.”

Sniffing the air, looking off in the distance, Justice growled something and they backed into the woods disappearing from sight.

Shaking his head Mark chuckled. “I can’t explain it, but everythin’ within me is tellin’ me to go an’ kill ‘em all.”

“That’s normal,” Vince said from behind them. They all spun around, ready to attack him. “Whoa, hold up a minute now. Easy there. I’m one o’ you. Take a whiff an’ you’ll see.”

Smelling the air, Candice put her hand out to stop the others. “He’s right. He’s cured.”

Mark looked at him curiously, looking around the area. “Where the hell did ya come from? Are you alone?”

Vince nodded. “Yeah, I was just back there watching the showdown. When faced with the tainted, your best bet is to kill them off. They will return. They will figure out how to get through here. Your friend is a Brainiac, which is a leader to them. He will be back.”

“Brainiac?”

“One of the smart ones.”

“Who are you?” Candice asked. “How is it you know so much about Freakazoids when we’re finding out new stuff every day?”

He chuckled. “Freakazoids? Interesting name for them. I actually know a lot about them and what’s happening around here. I know how it all started.”

“Well then tell us, because we would love to know.”

He pointed up to the porch where the others stood, watching them. “How about you invite me up for some Southern hospitality and I’ll tell you and the others what’s happening. After all, they need to know as well.”

“Okay, let’s go up and get you introduced to the others.”

They all went through the water and up to the house. Because he walked through the water without harm, they all instantly trusted him. It was as if he was a long lost son returned home. They fed him some of Trevor and Rachel’s good cooking, and turned on the generators so he could take a shower. Once he finished, they sat around outside on the porch. There he told them what they were all dying to know.

“Well, it all started from a beautiful flower; The Bella Morté that oddly enough has the nickname, Beautiful Death for a reason.”

Thirty-Seven

Dr. Edward Tiberous, known for his successful research, paid top dollar to his assistants. The adventures were dangerous and took them into the heart of unknown territories. One day they could be deep in the ocean, surrounded by creatures only found in nightmares. The next they could be stuck in the middle of the jungle, trying to avoid the spiders so small you have to watch for them, and snakes so big you have to hide from them. It didn’t stop the group of hardworking researchers from joining. Rumors spread throughout the university about how much money was involved, which downplayed the danger.

He always looked the same for his missions, and oddly enough his classrooms. Most of the professors at the university would dress in a suit, tie, and appear in a business like state, but not
Dr. T
. He dressed for comfort in the same clothes he wore in the jungle. He believed experience spoke for itself without having to dress to impress. Clothes didn’t make the person, but the person made the clothes.

His cargo pants were the perfect accessory, due to the many pockets. In his line of work, it wasn’t always accessible to dig through his backpack for something needed. It was much easier to reach into one of the pockets. The white T-shirt clung to his willowy body, due to being wet, and showed off what a fine physique he still had. His abs were trimmed and sculpted from years of traveling in the roughest terrains. He tucked his pants down in his boots, securing it with duct tape.

He taught all his students the art of duct tape, which would stop a poisonous spider from making camp inside your shoes. None of this showed off his age, in fact it made him look younger. His white-as-snow hair and beard gave one the illusion of his true age.

“These are new and fresh out of the factory and you’re all going to be wearing one.” Smiling, he turned, pointing to the helmet in his hand. “They’re equipped with a video recorder, which can and
will
pick up everything you say, mutter, or whisper. It has the capabilities of recording a full three days before it needs changing. It runs on solar power batteries, which means it charges in the sun. In other words, you won’t run out power unless you’re lost in a cave with no sun for more than a week.”

Daphne Gretchen was the girl most of his students hated. Not only was she the teacher’s pet, but she had all the right answers to his questions. She was also his assistant and had accompanied him on many of his adventures. With her gentle disposition, one might get the impression she was sweet and kind, but they would be wrong. She had a temper that wouldn’t quit when pushed and it wasn’t because of her red hair. Piercing blue eyes looked as if they could see through to the closet of skeletons that people had hidden in the back of their minds. As if one look was all she needed to tell every bad thing a person did in life. Dressed in the same exact clothes as the doctor, she could be his twin, except that she had the delicious body of a young woman, which gravity hadn’t bothered to peek at yet.

“Well isn’t that special? I need one of those for my cell phone.” She fastened the helmet under her chin. Tilting her head to the right and left, she tried getting a feel for the weight on her head. “It’s a little awkward, but I guess do able.”

“I’m
so
glad you approve.”

“Why do we all get one? Wouldn’t it be cheaper for just one of us to wear it?”

“It is, but this way, if something happened to that person, we’re covered. You can never have too much footage. One of you might capture something amazing that the others do not.”

“As long as these things can be turned off. That’s all I need is for you to do a seminar and have the whole auditorium seeing me wiping my hoo-ha.”

The rest of the group laughed and a few murmured,
“Can I see your hoo-ha?”

He stroked his beard, thinking over her statement. It was one of his habits - always touching his beard or mustache. “Hmm, that’s a very good point. Might I suggest you remember you’re recording and look in another direction?”

“I’ll just take it off if I have to go.”

“I never get over you young kids and your questions.”

“Careful there,
Father Time
. Remember, you’re almost eighty-one years old and those bones aren’t as young as they used to be.”

“This is my smart ass assistant who’s going to be in charge of introducing the rest of the group. Daphne has been my star pupil since she walked into my classroom five years ago. I dare say that her mother probably wishes she’d just go off and get married and have a few children, but she much prefers the lonely environment of the jungles.”

“And then some. I’m also a perfectionist. There’s a place for everything and everything has its place. Since he feels the same way, we get along perfectly. That and I’m happiest on an expedition.”

“She’s been on an African Safari being chased by wild animals. Fighting the rapids while hanging on for dear life on a white-water rafting expedition through the twisting waters. As well as canoeing down the Nile Rivers: both white and blue. Not to mention, scuba diving in the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by every shark known to man. All of this, while searching for a rare underwater plant, which we found.”

“It was all worth it. Not many people can say they live their life for the next adventure and mean it, but I can,” she said, turning the camera on him. “And this handsome, white-bearded man is Dr. Tiberous. Once a combat medic in World War Two, Korea and in ‘Nam. He has spent his lifetime looking for this one flower, which we will find today!”

Smiling, he turned to her. “All to find the Bella Morté, which indeed we’ll find today. Make sure you do a cameo of everyone on the team. Give a brief history of them as well, but before you do that, what does Bella Morté mean?”

“It’s the Italian name for Beautiful Death.”

“It must be named after you. For you’re the beauty who’s going to be the death of me,” the man said coming around the side of her, pinching her butt as he passed.

The man was quite the looker with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He had a body on him made for these adventures. Dressed in the usual researching garb, khakis, tank top, with a cover shirt, and brown hiking boots, he looked comfortable in the heat.

She jumped, laughing while turning the camera on him. “This is Ron Danner and he too has made every adventure. He’s our class clown. He just turned twenty-eight, though he’s still as much of eighteen as he was ten years ago. They claim men grow up, but some don’t and this is one of them.”

“Oh, how you flatter me.”

Another dark haired man loomed into view with brown beady eyes. He followed Dr. Tiberous closely. His clothing was the same as everyone else’s, but they hung off his rather skinny frame horribly. “Yes, the reason they call it
Beautiful Death
is because to be touched by the thorns causes five days of the worst sickness ever known to man. Those people have suffered with bouts of high fever ranging from one-hundred-two to as high as one-hundred-seven, which definitely classifies as a brain fryer,” he said all in one breath.