Whimper (33 page)

“Sara Beth, you’re going to want to get the fuck out of my way,” I growled. “You’re my friend and I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m getting out of this hospital bed.”

Her face went completely white and Sara Beth backed slowly out of the room. I could hear her calling for a nurse in the hallway, but I’d already ripped the needle from my flesh and was focusing on disconnecting all of the other tubes and wires from my body. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, but the felt like they weighed 500 pounds each. I was rushing things. The sensible thing would be to stay in bed and talk to the nurses, gather information while I regained my strength.

I just wasn’t feeling up to “sensible” any more. My bare feet hit the cold linoleum floor with a slap, and I clung to the railing on my bed for support. The room spun for a second, but after a few deep breaths I managed to slow it down to a very slow roll. My hospital gown was huge and open in the back, but I wrapped it around myself and staggered for the doorway as a nurse came running in.

“You can’t be up yet, dear! We need to get you back in bed!” she exclaimed, grabbing for my arm. I jerked back, ramming my side into the metal doorjamb, but I avoided her grasp.

“Where’s Elliott? Where’s the man I was found with?” I demanded, stomping a bare foot.

“I don’t know, I just came on duty. Let’s get you back to the bed and we’ll find out, okay?” she coerced. I dodged away and dashed into the hallway. Maybe he was in one of these rooms? There couldn’t be that many occupied rooms.

“Elliott?” I yelled, pushing open the door of each patient room I came to. Two more nurses tried to corral me, but I pushed them away and kept moving. “I’m not sitting down until you tell me where Elliott Carter is!” I screamed, my voice in ribbons. “Where is he?”

A big orderly with a dark, shiny bald head came towards me, determination on his face. My legs were getting shaky and I was getting spots in my vision. I could run, but I wouldn’t get very far. There were at least a dozen more rooms to check. I spun and ran towards the lobby, my unsteadiness actually helping me avoid my pursuers. As I hit the carpeted foyer, the orderly caught up with me, grabbing me around the waist and lifting me high off my feet.

“No!” I shrieked. “I have to know! I have to know if he’s dead!” I struggled against his arms, but I was locked in his grip and too exhausted to fight my way loose.

“Child, everybody here has someone they don’t know if they alive or dead. Calm down, we ain’t trying to hurt you!” the orderly rumbled.

I broke down into sobs and he lowered me into one of the rough fabric chairs in the lobby, pausing to see if I’d keep fighting before he let go. “If he’s dead, I don’t have anyone left.” My voice squeaked in and out like a rusty gate.

The big screen TV in front of me flipped from a soda commercial to the national news station. I slumped against the chair, trying to pull myself together when something on the screen caught my eye. Excitedly, I tugged on the orderly’s scrubs. “Please, please turn up the volume!” I croaked, pointing at the television.

He shrugged and walked over to bump up the sound. The news anchor was discussing the far reaching investigation into the CDC’s role in this viral outbreak and the planned congressional hearings. Footage of several members of the task force responsible for the spread of the disease being taken into custody played in the background as the reporter spoke. I could barely contain my grin as a familiar redhead’s mascara smeared face flashed on the screen as she was shown being placed into a black SUV in handcuffs.

I scrutinized every face, looking for anyone else I recognized. I had no idea who the helmeted man was who shot my brother, but I would damn sure fight to find out. Zack deserved justice. I would find him and give Zack the funeral he deserved, as soon as I found Brianna and Elliott.

“At what point did you realize that your supervisors at the facility intended to release the virus you developed to the public?” the woman with thick black hair and tiny round glasses repeated. She blinked slowly when I didn’t respond and it finally hit me. She looked like a barn owl! It had been nagging at me for at least an hour. She looked like something but I hadn’t been able place it. I’d been answering questions for hours from a hospital bed in a windowless, empty room.

“Mr. Carter, are you prepared to answer the question or shall I repeat it?” she asked tersely.

“I’ve been cooperating from the moment I woke up. I’ve done nothing but answer questions. At what point are some of my questions going to be answered?” I asked.

I had no idea why I was alive, where I was, or more importantly, where Zoe and Brianna were. The medical staff here were drawing blood from me so often they had two IVs running to replenish my supply. I did know was that I was in the custody of the World Health Organization and the CDC and they were building their case against my former supervisor and everyone else they could find with connections to the development and release of the virus. I also knew they still considered me a suspect.

The woman interviewing me now was the fifth person to do so. I’d cooperated fully, even though I had no way of knowing if I was really dealing with the “good guys” or not. They hadn’t asked me a thing about the medications I’d developed. They did seem very interested in my serum, however. I considered that a very good sign.

“Mr. Carter, I’ve been authorized to inform you that in exchange for your testimony and continued cooperation with the development of viable treatments for the H473N virus, you will be given a complete pardon for your role in this critical outbreak. I don’t think I have to tell you that you are facing life imprisonment for the offenses you are charged with under the Bio-terrorism Act. Do you really feel you are in a position to bargain?” she asked, her diction becoming more precise as she became agitated.

“I’m not trying to bargain,” I argued. “I’m trying to find out what happened to the woman I was with in that cell. I need to know she’s okay if you want me to be able to concentrate. I’ve also seen some of the paperwork you’re working from. I can only assume it was obtained from my sister. I’d like to know if she’s alright and if she’s being charged with anything.”

Owl lady tilted her head to the side, her eyes flitting back and forth as she studied me. It was unnerving, but I had nothing to hide. “Your sister is here. She’s being questioned to see if her story corroborates yours. At this point she isn’t being charged, pending your cooperation, of course.”

I fought the urge to growl. I was so tired of everyone assuming I was planning to shank the first person who turned his or her back and bolt from the facility. Sure, the thought had crossed my mind but mostly because it was killing me not knowing whether the girls were okay. “Can I see her?” I asked, a pleading tone seeping into my voice.

“Once you finish your statement, we’ll try to arrange that,” the woman said with a curt nod.

I’d given my statement several times over. It was a long fucking statement too. I sighed and nodded. I had no choice but to continue cooperating. “Could I see some of the results from my bloodwork?” I inquired. Even after hours of this back and forth and the stress of the situation, I was feeling surprisingly healthy. I hadn’t expected to wake up at all, let alone wake up feeling revived. What the hell had Zoe injected me with? If it was my serum then I needed access to a lab and my notes as soon as possible. The only response I received was a slow blink from behind those round glasses.

She stood, pulling her notes to her chest as she stretched. The lone metal chair she’d occupied for the last hour or so couldn’t possibly be comfortable.

“I’ll check on some things, then we’ll see what information is available for you,” she said over her shoulder as she reached the doorway. She knocked twice and the door opened, a guard holding it for her and then closing it quickly behind her.

I slammed my head against the foam mattress and groaned in frustration. “Come on! I’m cooperating! I want to help! Just let me out of this damned room and tell me
something
!” I yelled at the bare walls.

I looked over my medical equipment again, hoping there was something I’d overlooked that might be useful. A chart, a record of anything. I sat up, shifting myself off the bed cautiously. At least they hadn’t decided to tie me down this time. I left my IVs in place, pulling the stand with me as I moved around the bed. Nothing. I wasn’t in a hospital room really, just a bed they’d wheeled into this barren space.

But I was wearing a hospital gown and everything in here looked like it had been pulled into service from a working hospital. It was worn, washed, and sterilized repeatedly. I yanked the thin pillow from the mattress and bashed it against the bed in frustration. I was about to throw it across the room when I saw the faint black stamp on the pillowcase. I’d been in a hospital when Zoe injected me. I was in that hospital when the Feds came rolling in to rescue us. What were the chances they had transported me from there to another facility where they stamped their linens with the same initials?

I smiled because there was a chance I hadn’t gone anywhere at all. If I was still in the same hospital, then Zoe and Brianna might both be closer than I’d hoped.

The door opened and a guard stepped inside, eyeing me warily since I was out of bed. I wanted to dart past him, but the IVs would surely trip me up. A new official in a suit stepped through the doorway and my smile disappeared. Here we go again. Another round of answer the same questions over and over again.

The newcomer nodded to the guard, who closed the door reluctantly. He smiled at me, gesturing for the chair. “Would you care to take a seat?”

“I’ve been sitting for a while, actually. I’m kind of at a point where I’d like to be standing for this if it’s all the same to you,” I replied tiredly.

“I’m Martin Johansen, liaison to the CDC from the World Health Organization. Are you aware that the quarantine put in place here failed as of two days ago?” he asked, his voice pleasant and approachable rather than accusatory.

“I wasn’t exactly aware of anything two days ago,” I drawled, even though my mind was already racing through the repercussions of the quarantine breach.

“Well, once the media started leading with the story that the government had been implicated in the intentional release of this contagion, people became a bit restless. When they heard the information was obtained due to a quarantine breach, well that’s when things turned downright hostile. Guardsmen abandoned their posts, some were overrun by groups of evacuees. People scattered. It has been two days.” He looked at me pointedly, waiting for my response.

“How many new cases have there been?” I asked, rubbing my hand over my face.

“Four confirmed. One of those was all the way over in Illinois. Kids are running home to their families. We don’t have any way of locking this down. So, how prepared are you to step up and commit to stopping this thing?” he asked, completely serious.

“Really? After I sat here and explained everything I’ve already done, you have the audacity to question my commitment?” I asked, aghast. “I infected myself and threw away any chance I had to have a normal life in order to find a treatment for this virus. How can you even ask if I’m ready to step up?”

“Well, here’s the thing about that. We’ve been running a lot of tests on you. Your blood is certainly full of antibodies, but you aren’t carrying the virus. So, we’re left to wonder if your story is a fabrication or if you’ve actually made a breakthrough. Which is it?” he asked, striving for nonchalant but failing.

All the air rushed out of my lungs, leaving me lightheaded and unsteady. I grasped the hospital bed, leaning back against it for support. If I could believe this man, if he was telling the truth… Could I really be free? I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling my own heartbeat. I might actually have a future beyond this damn disease.

I sucked in a deep breath and looked at the guy in the suit. “In order to answer that question, I’m going to need to speak with Zoe Clark and find out what exactly she injected me with. You know where she is, and I need to see her.”

Mr. Johansen nodded. “I can arrange that, but first I’m going to need your signed agreement that you will assist in the investigation and prosecution of the parties involved in the release of the H473N virus, and that you will give your full cooperation in the development of a treatment and or vaccine for the same virus.”

“Fine, yes! I’ll sign. I’ve been agreeing to all that for hours anyway. I never had any intention of giving up. Now, let me see Zoe!” I demanded, my voice growing louder. I took the pen offered to me and signed my name to three separate forms, glancing over them briefly as I did so.

A nurse came in with a folded set of green surgical scrubs for me to dress in once she finished removing my IVs. I was practically vibrating with energy, I was so eager to see Zoe and my sister. Finally, after all this time, I had good news to share. I was led by armed guards through a maze of hallways in the bowels of the hospital, up two staircases and onto the main floor. The hospital booties I wore on my feet slid on the tile floor, but I couldn’t help increasing my pace as we got closer to the patient rooms.