Ask for the truth.
Think of those who have been hurt.
If you see me coming, please run away.
Mitchell’s YouTube video inevitably went viral later that night. The morning papers had already been sent to bed, but the television channels were filled with news anchors and commentators parsing every frame of the video. Public officials were flooded for requests for the mall video and the Super Center robbery.
Although people were having trouble accepting Mitchell’s claim that people were attacking him without provocation, the discussion shifted from the manhunt to the root cause of what had happened. There was the growing feeling that the government wasn’t telling people everything.
Far away from Mitchell, The Naked Man in the Forest was in his own clearing of woods. He’d come again to the Earth Mother for advice. Only he’d taken longer than he should.
He couldn’t wait much longer. He needed her guidance. He took a small piece off the blotter from the Otherself’s pants and sat down on the rotting log. Dark thunder clouds were forming overhead. He felt cold and afraid.
He placed it on his tongue and stared at the oak tree. It took a few minutes but the familiar face began to form. Only this time the lips weren’t supple and inviting, they formed a cruel sneer. The eyes looked at him accusingly.
What have you done foolish child!
The Naked Man in the Forest cowered in her presence. He felt shameful in his nakedness.
Her eyes burned with green fury. Vines writhed around her head like Medusa’s snakes.
My eggs? Are they safe?
“
Yes, Earth Mother! They’re safe. I’d die for them.”
And you just might! What is that you’ve done?
“
The Otherself, Earth Mother! He made a mistake. There’s a man, a dark man, I’m afraid he may bring harm to your eggs. To me.”
Then you must kill this man!
“
I will try. But killing him may expose the Otherself. They may know that he plots.”
Green leaves flicked from her lips like a forked tongue.
My eggs! All that matters are my eggs! If the Otherself can be spared for now, then do it. But kill this man!
He’d wanted the man dead. He just had to know that was what the Earth Mother wanted, as well.
The Naked Man in the Forest saw bees flying from an empty tree stump several yards away. Was the Earth Mother giving him a sign?
“
Should I punish myself, Earth Mother?” He walked toward the hive. His hand was outstretched.
She said nothing. He brought his hand closer to the stump. An angry bee buzzed past his head. He looked back at the oak. Bright green eyes stared back at him. He reached into the log.
Stop it, you fool! The Otherself can’t be punished like that. Over there instead.
Her forked tongue pointed to a vine of leaves on a nearby tree. He pulled his hand away and walked over to the tree.
Grab the leaves.
He did as she commanded. His right hand grabbed a cluster of the green leaves.
Rub them on yourself. Rub them where no one will see.
He rubbed the leaves on his testicles. They felt cool at first like mint. They then began to itch. His scrotum was on fire. He kept rubbing. His genitals still felt distant from himself.
Her green eyes stared right through him. The leaves began to fall apart. He could feel welts forming on his balls.
Stop it, fool. That’s enough.
“
Yes, Earth Mother.”
Now go. Go stop this man. Stop him from hurting my eggs.
Her angry face withered away and the Naked Man in the Forest was all alone again.
The Otherself whispered to him that he needed to do something about the poison ivy on his balls before the acid completely wore off.
35
Simmons and Rios were in a conference room with Brooks looking at surveillance video from the Super Center robbery. Rios removed a DVD from the player and put another one in the tray.
“
This camera is all the way at the other end of the store. Look at this woman and her little girl here.” Rios pointed to figures in the cereal section.
The mother pushed the cart down the row and then reached up to get a box. Suddenly her nostrils flared and her face changed expression. She turned her head toward the center of the store and started to run. The woman’s daughter looked confused and then followed her mother a few steps. Just like her mother, her expression changed and she started to run in the same direction.
“
Tell me, what’s happening here?” asked Rios. “That’s not somebody who heard a disturbance then decided to check it out. That’s somebody who smells something, like a dog getting a scent, then goes to chase after it, leaving her child behind.”
Brooks waved his hand. “What are you asking for Rios? When we catch him we can look for an explanation.”
Simmons spoke up. “That’s the problem, Brooks. Would you want to be caught by us if that’s what happens when we get near you?”
“
No one wants to get caught. But it’s our job to see that they are. We can handle it like professionals,” replied Brooks.
Simmons pointed to another DVD. Rios put it into the player. The screen showed the sheriff’s deputy walking through the far entrance. He took three steps in before his face took on the same contortion as everyone else and he started running toward the other exit.
Rios put in another DVD. This one showed a view looking down the aisle along the front end of the store. Mitchell was running toward the camera throwing bags of marbles onto the floor. Rios paused the video.
“
Marbles. The guy has a baseball bat and he’s throwing marbles on the ground like a kid trying to ruin a parade. This is a person who just wants to get away from people,” said Rios. “But look at them.” Rios pointed to the faces of the people chasing Mitchell and the animal-like way they held out their hands to claw at him.
Simmons spoke up. “I showed some photos to my husband last night after he got off from the pathology department at the hospital. I didn’t tell him what they were from. I just showed him some stills of people’s faces and posture, without any context. Besides making reference to zombies, his opinion was that these people were on something. Something that was giving them a bad trip.”
Brooks shook his head. “We already tested for that. Nothing.”
“
Nothing we know to look for,” replied Simmons.
Brooks finally realized that Simmons and Rios had put a lot more work into their questions and were trying to sell him on something. “Level with me.” He looked at Simmons. He knew the crafty way she would get people to reach conclusions she already had.
Simmons gave Rios a glance and then looked back at Brooks. “Something else is going on here. We don’t think our culprit is a man or these people. We think there could be some kind of chemical agent that Roberts was exposed to, something that’s causing this reaction.”
“
We had Homeland Security personnel on the scene. They haven’t said anything like that,” said Brooks.
Simmons shook her head, “Would they know? What if they only suspected? Would they tell us?”
Brooks leaned back. “I can tell you this, they’re about to release a statement. They’re going to call it ‘contagious hysteria.’”
“
It’s contagious, all right,” interjected Rios. “But this isn’t hysteria. This isn’t some kind of Pokemon thing or a Justin Bieber sighting.” Rios pointed back at the screen. “Those people weren’t reacting to anything they saw or heard.”
“
Whatever,” said Brooks. “Once we catch him, we can find out.”
“
Whoever catches him is going to kill him,” replied Simmons.
Brooks shook his head. “I think trained law enforcement professionals are going to handle this differently than average people.”
Rios stood up and pointed a finger at the image of the deputy frozen on the screen. His face was in a snarl and his hands were reaching out, trying to claw Mitchell. “Like that guy?”
Brooks checked his watch. “So what are you guys asking for? That we let him go?”
“
Of course not,” said Simmons. “We need to make sure that whoever apprehends Roberts takes the proper precautions. If there is something chemical or biological, then we can’t have people interacting with him without the right kind of protective gear. We also need to make sure that we have the proper facility to put him into. We certainly can’t put him in the county lockup.” She paused to think about the consequences of that. “That could be disastrous.”
Brooks held his hands up in surrender. “OK. I’ll speak with our Homeland Security liaison about your concerns. If they think it’s necessary, there are precautions they can take.”
There was a knock at the door. Detective Oliver entered.
“
Guess what genius forgot to turn his phone off after he made his little YouTube video?”
Brooks looked up. “You got a trace?”
The detective nodded. “Yup. I used the warrant to get into his personal account and activate the GPS. He’s in Martin County headed north near the ocean.”
“
We need to call them,” said Brooks.
“
Already did,” said Oliver. “They’re sending out their chopper and SWAT. I gave them the account info so they could track him from the air.”
Simmons looked at Brooks. “You need to tell them.”
“
Fine. Fine. I’ll let them know to be cautious,” he said reluctantly. “We can call them from the car.”
36
When the Martin County Sheriff’s Department was informed Mitchell Roberts was in their jurisdiction, they locked down the highways within minutes.
Police cars were dispatched to all of the major intersections. A fleet of marked cars came in from the south while another fleet came in from the north on the main highway, U.S. 1. Each time they passed a major artery, the last car in line would pull off to block traffic.
The sheriff’s department aviation unit dispatched an American Eurocopter AS350 with a map tracking system to zero in on the location of Mitchell. It flew down the Intracoastal waterway just above the treetops as a deputy at a console plugged in tracking information. As the system got a lock on the GPS signal, he gave the pilot and deputies on the ground minute-by-minute directions.
“
Heading northbound on U.S. 1,” said the deputy. He zoomed in on the map. “Heading toward Route 401.”
“
Going to intercept,” called the pilot. He turned the stick to the left and flew the helicopter over the highway at over 100 miles per hour.
The deputy in the back of the chopper looked at his console and then at a video screen showing the ground below. There were a handful of cars on the highway but few clusters. He clicked a button and the mapping system superimposed what the camera underneath saw and the tracking point from the phone.
“
Three miles and closing,” said the deputy. “Still heading northbound toward 401.”
Five sheriff’s cars heading southbound crossed the Route 401 intersection and created a barricade with their cars. Two deputies ran out in front of the wall their vehicles made and threw a metal track across the highway. If the car kept going, it would rip the tires to shreds, making it a very short chase.
The deputy on board the mapping console watched as the helicopter headed right over the blip. “Bingo,” he shouted over the microphone. “Looks like last night was just a test run.”
The pilot swung the helicopter in a wide arc. He turned on the bullhorn and spoke. “Driver of the tractor-trailer truck, pull over and turn off your engine.”
The truck came to a screeching halt. The helicopter pilot lowered the helicopter so that he was almost eye level with the driver. Diesel exhaust stopped spewing from the mufflers.
“
Throw your keys out the window.”
There was a pause and then a key ring flew onto the street in front of the cab.
“
Place you hands against the front windshield,” instructed the pilot.
The driver placed the palms of his hands against the window.
Three northbound police cars caught up with the rig. Two cars pulled in front of it while the third guarded the rear, boxing the truck and trailer in.
Two deputies ran over to the truck cab with their guns drawn. One pulled the door open while the other kept his gun pointed through the window at the driver.
The truck driver was pulled out of the cab and asked to lie down flat. He was quickly handcuffed and searched. Finally, he was rolled over.
The arresting deputy looked at a printout and back at the man. “What’s your name?”