The Oasis Page 17

  His anger about the desolation of what had happened came bubbling up. Such a small thing, the Petri dish. It was almost humorous how insignificant destroying it seemed. Someone could have prevented this from happening a long time ago, but instead people like Eric held on to the misguided idea of becoming rulers of the free world. Free world indeed.

  Looking across the room, he saw Lena walking around. Half the stuff she wore he knew she had no clue how to use. This was what it had come to. Pretending to be badass because the real badasses had betrayed them. He shook his head. It didn’t matter. In the end they were only human and frankly that was all that mattered. He would do anything to get Lena the hell out of there.

  Turning back to his work, he let his mind focus on the task at hand, which was pretty difficult. Time had marred a lot of the equipment and all he could hope for was that the generator most medical facilities were equipped with would last long enough for him to get a single dose made. Replication from there was easy; it was the initial duplication that required some care.

  Lena slowly walked the perimeter of the room, checking for any movement. Weapon in hand, she was cocked and ready to go. Jasper hovered over a microscope trying to get a cure. She wasn’t even sure if this plan would work.

  The minutes passed away. She had walked the room enough times that she found herself counting her steps. Needless to say, she had expected a little more action. Finally, she decided to check the other rooms. No reason to keep circling the same area over and over. Jasper had weapons as well and he was a big boy.

  The lights in the hallways flickered on and off. There was no sound and, from the low number of bodies, it seemed that the place had been mostly evacuated prior to things getting bad. Studying the area, she tried to stay alert. On the floor outside one of the other rooms, she saw a hand sitting on the floor. The fingers seemed to still be decaying.

  Not too surprising, she thought. Before they had come along the building was locked up and dark. Not too much around to eat away at the body. She walked over to it and saw that it was only a hand; the rest of the body was nowhere to be found.

  Before she could turn to check out the rest of the building, something sprang at her from behind. It was an other.

  Thrashing her body from side to side, she tried to get out of his grip. His shirt was tattered and dirty and he was clearly missing a hand—the one on the floor was his, then, presumably.

  Lena fought him off. He seemed weakened and she managed to slip out from between his arms. If he’d had his other hand he might not have been as easy to slip away from. As she backed away, she was able to see him more clearly. His hair was dirty and he was very thin. Somehow he must have gotten stuck inside the building. God only knew how long he had been living there, and eating who knows what.

  There was no way she was going to leave him wandering the halls while they worked, but she realized she couldn’t bring herself to kill him either. He seemed so pathetic…and Jasper was at that moment working on a cure. How could she kill this man now, if they might be able to cure him soon instead?

  He slowly made his way towards her, probably trying to evaluate how he could eat her. She shuddered and moved quickly out of his grasp. He was weak from starvation. She twisted behind him, raised the butt of her rifle and slammed into the back of his head, knocking him out.

  He fell to the ground with a thud.

  “Damn it,” she said and hesitated in front of the body. She couldn’t leave him on the floor. Just then he moved a little. Shaking her head in exasperation, she grabbed his feet and pulled him into the nearest office. He was heavier than she had anticipated, especially since he seemed so emaciated. She didn’t want to kill him, not if maybe they could give him some of the cure. What mattered until then was getting him locked up so he couldn’t attack them while their backs were turned.

  She managed to get him into the room and was reaching to shut to door when another one attacked her from behind. This other seemed stronger than the one who now lay on the floor.

  “Fuck!” She struggled again. The other’s teeth were bared and, from what she could see, half of his face had been gnawed off, either by himself or maybe by the one she had knocked out. She struggled with him, trying to push away the mouth that kept trying to take a bite out of her. It was then that she saw the one she had knocked out come to life.

  “Oh!” she cried out as the bigger, more aggressive one bit at her arm. She pulled away before he could take a piece out of her. Although she was completely repulsed by him, she was happy he was focused only on one thing. With his mind, or what was left of it, set on taking a bite out of her, she was able to slip out of his grasp. The only problem was that now he stood between her and the exit. “Great,” Lena panted.

  No-hand got up off the floor and the two others stood side by side. In the dim light of the room she was able to see that they were far from gone mentally. Their eyes were hazed over and they looked completely desolate. Their bodies were wasting away and she was surprised they hadn’t attacked each other over her. But it didn’t matter now.

  There was little time for her to figure out what to do. As much as she hated it, there was only one thing she could do. They stepped towards her, in a way making her decision easier.

  She cocked the rifle, pointed it at the larger of the two and pulled the trigger. He was shot point-blank in the face. Blood splattered everywhere and Lena watched as his body fell to the floor. No-hand stood there motionless for a moment. The bigger one’s blood splattered on the wall and began to form a pool on the floor. It didn’t take long before No-hand dropped to the floor and began devouring the shattered body of his companion.

  Lena cringed but knew she had to step around him, and exit the office. Although she considered shooting No-hand, she still had hopes that Jasper’s cure could save him. She shut the door behind her, and silently hoped that the man who No-hand had once been could be brought back. Looking around quickly, she found some loose plywood and shoved it into the door handle, locking the other and the corpse inside.

  Pressing her back against the door, she tried to steady her breath. That could have been a lot worse.

  Cocking her rifle, she turned to head back to Jasper and let him know what had just happened. Turning her head, she saw movement out the window. Outside, moving directly towards the building, she saw a swarm of others.

  “Oh shit!” Lena ran towards the lab.

  Jasper was right where she’d left him, still hunched over a microscope. Although relieved that he trusted her enough to know that a single gunshot wasn’t something to worry about, right now she wished he had come running.

  “Jasper!” she shouted as she ran for the front doors. Looking out the window, she saw the others breaking through the surrounding fences. “Jasper!” she shouted again and he was by her side quickly.

  “What’s going on?” He remained calm and collected.

  He looked out of the window then turned to one of the tables behind them. Lifting it, he threw it against the wall. Lena watched, her mouth dropping open with shock. She had no idea what was going on. Whether he was mad at her for shooting off her weapon or for the swarm of others it didn’t matter.

  She watched as Jasper bent over the destroyed table and grabbed one of the metal legs. He shoved it into the door handles of the front door of the lab. Clever, she thought and smiled at him.

  Turning he went back to the lab. “Keep an eye on the door, I’m almost done.”

  She wasn’t exactly sure what she could do with that many others, but she did as she was told. Turning back, she grabbed her rifle and pointed it out the window. Staying low, she watched as the others tried to get into the front of the building.

  “Watch the windows!” Jasper shouted just as something shattered the glass and came flying through it. Lena’s scream resonated through the building and she quickly turned, grabbing for something to cover the window.

  Behind the others Lena saw the free man and his group. They were still a ways away,
back towards the front of the base, but there was no denying that they were out there and on their way.

  Lena’s heart raced. A group of others could be outwitted and evaded, but the free man knew what he was doing and had his eyes set on them.

  “We need to move.” Lena stayed low as she looked out the window.

  She watched as the free man and his followers approached, striding with purpose through the streets.

  “They’re here, Jasper! What do we do?” she called, trying to keep her voice low.

  Lena’s eyes widened as she saw the kind of others that the free man brought with him. Some of the men were kept on leashes, their lips chewed off revealing sharpened teeth. Foam dripped out of their mouths. The men were as feral as wild dogs. Their shoulders were hunched and they limped as they walked, but Lena wasn’t fooled. She was sure she knew exactly how fast they could move.

  Behind the leashed others, she saw the other SEALs. They were dressed in tactical gear and Lena couldn’t help but compare herself to them. She barely knew how to use her rifle, let alone be as stealthy or deadly as they could be. Her heart started racing. What if Jasper was wrong? What if this cure couldn’t be duplicated? She felt the doubts swarm through her.

  The free man’s men were here for them and this time they had brought a lot more than a handful of soldiers. Not only did they have the rabid dogs again, the leashed others that resembled dogs, and many weapons, they also had the advantage of sheer numbers. There were so many of the dim other soldiers following Eric’s command.

  Among them, she saw the free man shouting out orders as he scanned the area.

  “Release them!” he shouted loud enough for her to hear. Her eyes widened again as she saw the dogs released through the streets. Next she saw the release of the others on the leashes. Her heart sank as she turned to head towards Jasper. There wasn’t much time. The dogs would notice the crowd of others outside the building and the feral others would soon follow.

  Turning, she tried to stay low, keeping away from the open views of the windows.

  Jasper finally finished preparing the cure and so far everything looked good. He knew now was not the time to test it. He needed to get Lena out of there. This time he was going to kill Eric. That was the only way he knew he could keep Lena safe. Eric would chase them to the ends of the Earth. Even if the cure worked, Eric would still try to kill him. Now it wasn’t just about keeping his title, it was about the principle. Jasper had stepped over Eric’s imaginary line of power and killing Jasper would be the only way he could get that power back. Likewise, the only way for Jasper to stop Eric now was to kill the other man first.

  Grabbing the vial, he pushed out of his chair quickly when he saw Lena running in his direction.

  “We need to… The free man is out…” Lena breathlessly tried to relay what was going on but couldn’t get a complete sentence out.

  “I know. Let’s go.” He grabbed her elbow and turned to head out back the way they came. A growl came from behind them and as they turned they saw the face of No-hand. He was covered with blood from his feeding and he now was stronger because he had fed.

  Lena instantly regretted not killing him. Although she had hoped he could be cured, their situation had changed, and now he was nothing but trouble. No-hand turned on them, advancing faster than he had before. The other grabbed at Jasper, his teeth gnawing the air, trying to take a bite out of him. Instinct took over and Lena pulled her pistol off her waist and fired once, shooting him directly in the head.

  The other dropped to the floor instantly, releasing his grip on Jasper.

  Jasper stood there, motionless. His eyes went to Lena and he saw the blood drain from her face as she realized what she had done. Then he looked from her face to the open window. Lena’s gaze followed.

  Outside, the movement of the others had paused and Lena and Jasper could see the free man’s army turn towards the back of the building. In trying to save Jasper from the other she had drawn attention to their location. Now, the free man was headed directly to the open window.

  “I didn’t mean to…” Lena said, aghast, but Jasper ignored her and grabbed her arm to pull her along.

  Jasper’s mind raced. Without the gunshot they might have had a chance of making it back to the motorcycle, but now their chances were slim. He looked down at the vial in his hand. There was enough of the cure to save maybe ten people. He could easily make more, but under the circumstances he was lucky he had made that much.

  Racing past the body that now bled all over the floor, he grabbed his pack and pulled Lena out the same door they’d come in. There was no way they could hide, not with Eric’s pack of dogs now combing the area. Lena looked scared and Jasper knew she had every reason to be so.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jasper raced through the door. Although he was pulling Lena along, she wasn’t as fast as he was. If he was annoyed that she slowed him down, he never showed it. They were in the back of the building and she knew that it wouldn’t be long before the free man would be on them.

  Stopping once they were outside, Jasper pulled open his pack and threw the syringes and the cure into it. All Lena could do was keep her body low to the ground and her eyes on the building. Her heart raced as she expected someone to come at her from around every corner. Jasper aggressively zipped up his pack and shoved it forcefully onto her back.

  “Jasper! Ow!” She stumbled as he shoved her away from him.

  He jumped to his feet and when she came back to him he shoved her away again.

  Unsure of what he wanted her to do, she remained just out of his reach.

  “Get away from me!” Jasper shouted, “Go! You can make it. I…” He stopped, unable to go on, emotions choking him. Looking past her, he knew he could draw Eric and his men away from her. He also knew that Lena would not leave him unless he forced her to.

  With their odds, the only chance they really had of completing the mission was if he fought. He had never considered himself a hero, only a man on a mission. He could hold off Eric and some of his men if it bought Lena her safety.

  “We can’t do this together. Take the cure. I will lead Eric away from you.”

  “But…”

  He stopped her before she could go on. Jasper looked at Lena with more than just physical hurt in her eyes. Then he turned away and ran to the other end of the building.

  Lena could feel the weight of the pack on her back. It felt like the responsibility of the world on her shoulders. She realized that although Jasper had pushed her away, this was the only he could save her. If she fought him, stayed with him, not only would they both die, the cure would be destroyed and his pride would be broken. She loved him enough to know that he needed her to go. This was something he needed to do alone.

  Pushing herself up from the ground, Lena bolted in the opposite direction. When she reached the other end of the building, she pressed her back against it and looked back to where Jasper had gone. The wind pushed her hair around her face and she shoved it away as she looked into Jasper’s eyes for the last time.

  There were so many things she couldn’t say, that she hoped he saw in her face. She hoped that he would know that she loved him and she would never forget him. Whether her life ended today or in fifty years, she would always remember the love that they shared.

  He saw her looking at him and he knew that she was feeling hesitant. Nodding his head, he pulled the guns off his back, turned away from her and opened fire on the approaching others. When he looked back one last time, she was gone.

  His guns blazed as he opened fire on the army of others in front of him. He could see Eric beyond the group of others that came rushing him. He blasted away and watched the bodies fall. He was lucky because the others didn’t carry any weapons—only the SEALs did. As the others slowly came at him, he only needed to aim and fire. He felt the wind of a few rounds go past him and he knew that Eric and the other SEALs had begun their assault on him.

  Dodging their fire, he jumped over
the bodies that lay before him. When his automatic weapons ran out of ammo, he threw them on his back and used his knife to expertly kill the few others that still came at him. Blood rushed from their bodies and sprayed onto him. He barely blinked as he rolled behind roadblocks in the street. He pulled his guns forward again and reached for the ammunition on his belt. As he reloaded, he peeked his head above the roadblock. He only needed to look for a second to see how close the others were to him. He was not as concerned about their numbers; his attention instead was drawn to Eric, who had just pointed some of his men in the direction that Lena had gone.

  Jasper’s mind raced. He needed to keep their attention on him.

  Standing up and revealing himself, he pulled out a vial from his pocket. “I have what you’re looking for, Eric,” he yelled across the street. His voice echoed off the buildings, but Eric heard him clearly. He turned his head towards Jasper.

  Jasper kept his eyes on the other SEALs. Their marksmanship was not something to be taken lightly. “This is between you and me. Let her go.”

  Jasper saw Eric nod his head and the others came at him again. He dodged them and opened fire again. He made a run for an adjoining building and again dodged the shots from the SEALs. Every second that they focused on him was another moment that Lena could run.

  Suddenly the guns stopped firing. Jasper propped himself up against the back of another building. Peeking around the corner, he saw some of the others attacking the weakened ones that he had shot. He could barely hear Eric’s shouts over their growling.

  Most of Eric’s army was wounded. There was no sign of his hunting dogs—either the animal or the human kind. Thinking quickly, Jasper let himself feel a little hopeful. Pulling a grenade off of his chest, he thought he might just have a chance at getting the hell out of there. Peeking around the corner again, he pulled the pin on the grenade. Eric was there, yanking one of the others off the dead. As he shouted orders, Jasper threw the grenade.