Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DEZ
Dr. Okoro’s lab was located in the Woodhaven basement, but few knew it existed, let alone where. If anyone who lived in Woodhaven knew what he did—and kept—there, half the residents would no longer be able to sleep at night.
I barely felt comfortable taking Larke down the narrow flight of stairs into the space, which was inadequately illuminated by flickering emergency lamps and a couple of LED strips.
The room housed three stainless steel tables, and there were filing cabinets everywhere. The tabletops overflowed with material, and a cot sat tucked in one corner, next to a small nightstand, with a pill bottle knocked over on top.
At the opposite end, a sheet hung from a track system in the ceiling. Dr. Okoro was seated at one of the steel tables, bent over a heavy textbook, his jaw covered by a dark beard with patches of white. His dark-brown skin looked sallow and slightly green underneath the LEDs.
His forehead fell to the book.
Then, we heard snoring.
Larke looked up at me. “Uh…”
Dr. Okoro’s head popped up, and he snorted, rubbing his eyes.
“Dr. Okoro,” I called.
He turned.
At first, he squinted behind his dark-framed glasses, but then his eyes lit up. He hopped up from his chair, scrubbing at his face with both hands as if holding an imaginary washcloth. “Thank you for coming,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”
He headed toward the sheet.
Larke started after him, but I gently grabbed her wrist. I knew what was behind that curtain, and I knew she’d never gotten as up close and personal to one of “them” as I had.
“The subject is restrained,” Dr. Okoro reassured us. “I tried sedating her, but it didn’t work. Not even propofol worked. Next, I tried antifungals, but there was no effect. Antipsychotics? Gas? Still nothing. So, she’s awake.”
“Who’s awake?” Larke asked.
Dr. Okoro drew back the fabric.
Solana lay on her back, strapped to an inverted hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling as if in stasis or a catatonic state. I took several steps backward, though not out of fear. It was because I could now hear Larke breathing, and she’d grabbed onto the back of my arm.
“She’s quiet,” I pointed out. “Why isn’t she, I don’t know, growling? When Cerner and I first saw her, she was more vocal.”
Larke squeezed.
I looked down.
She searched my eyes and then glanced at the bed. I nodded to confirm that she was right; it was Solana, and I didn’t know how Solana had gotten to Totten or what happened to her to make her this way.
Dr. Okoro shined a light into Solana’s eyes.
Solana didn’t flinch.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Well, I sort of know. It was an experiment. When I say nothing worked, I mean nothing worked. All of the human-based, measurable indicators of health appear to be present, but her system doesn’t react to the medications as expected.
Her nervous system no longer functions in the standard biological way of most Homo sapiens.
So, it was either this or cryostasis—sort of. ”
“And what’s ‘this’?” I asked.
“Tonic immobility. Sharks, when you flip them onto their backs, enter this sort of trancelike state called tonic immobility. It’s not just sharks it happens to, but my son loves,” he shook his head, “loved sharks. That’s where I learned it.
I gave it a try, not expecting much. It seems to have some effect. ”
“Like a possum? Like she’s playing dead in a sense?”
“No, no. Higher brain function is gone. We’re no longer looking at a treatment for this thing. We’re looking at prevention. Once turned, nothing in my research has shown that they can be turned back. There’s too much dead brain tissue.”
Larke was still quiet.
I glanced to make sure she was okay, but her gaze was riveted to Solana.
“I wish I knew her name,” Dr. Okoro continued. “I’ve been calling her ‘her’ and ‘the subject.’ I haven’t been able to bring myself to name her. Just in case she dies, you know?”
Despite his admission that there was no longer a human soul inside her, it was obvious that to him, humanity still existed somewhere.
Dr. Okoro left the bed and walked over to another stainless steel table.
“We might have located Dr. Tayler Diaz. She was one of the principal researchers on the disease outbreak, and this is more her wheelhouse than mine, which brings me to why you’re here.
I want to beg you for a favor. There’s an eighty percent chance Dr. Diaz is in South Carolina, and I don’t trust anyone else with this, Dez. ”
“What about Ronan?” I asked.
“He’s staying here. We still have work to do.”
“Do you know how far South Carolina is without a reliable means of transportation?”
“Yes. Yes, I know.”
Larke took a step forward. “What’s the favor?”
I lightly gripped her shoulder. “Larke, we’re headed—”
“What’s the favor, Dr. Okoro?” she repeated.
“My research notes,” he said. “I need you to take them to Dr. Diaz, along with biological samples. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Don’t samples have to be on ice?” Larke asked.
“I’ve prepped the samples with stabilizers.
Yes, it would have been better to move during the winter, but I’m afraid we don’t have that long.
Cerner is missing. If he’s smart, he got out.
And Neal is proposing changes that will make it next to impossible to leave.
Cerner wasn’t the best, but he was far less problematic than Neal. ”
“About how long do we have to transport these samples?” I questioned. “Optimally?”
“About a week, maybe.”
I groaned. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. We won’t make it to South Carolina in seven days without transportation.”
“I might be able to arrange that for you. The long and short of it is, if it’s discovered what I’m about to do, it will probably wind up costing me my life.”
Larke walked over and stood on the other side of the table. “And this is the only option?”
“Yes. It’s important that Dr. Diaz gets this information.
More important than my life. These walls are strong, but if the infection gets loose inside, we’re all dead.
Imagine if we could prevent that from happening?
Plus,” tears filled his eyes, “I’m tapped dry.
My family is dead. This was my purpose, and I’ve done all I can.
I don’t care what happens to me after this, but I have to try to make a difference.
You, Dez, you’re different. You can get this done. I trust that.”
“We have to do it,” Larke said, returning to my side.
“Babe, we’re already planning to take people from Sanitation with us,” I reminded her. “And now, we have even more precious cargo.”
“But we’ve got this.” She took my hand. “You’ve got this. Dez, you’re a beast. No one can do the things you do. I believe in you, and I’ve got your back.”
I couldn’t say no to her, especially when she wielded those eyes like weapons.
And she knew that.
I nodded. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“Always, baby.”
“All right, then,” I began, feeling as though I’d grown by at least two feet. “What’s the plan, Dr. O?”
“There’s an emergency transport van,” Dr. Okoro explained.
“It’s a hybrid, but the gas is locked up tight.
I won’t be able to fill it up all the way, but I can charge it to get you far enough for a refill somewhere.
First, I’ll have to create a false request for the transport.
To charge the van, I’ll have to drain a building.
The most logical one is Woodhaven. It’ll cause a blackout, but by then, you’ll be gone. ”
“How many people can the van hold?” I asked.
“About nine, if you get creative with space.”
“What if we get Ronan to help us with the Sanitation workers?” Larke suggested. “He was already smuggling people out anyway. I’m sure he can recruit at least seven people who want to leave as soon as possible. Dr. Okoro, how long do we have?”
“Less than four hours.”
We both faced him.
“You see, I’ve already put in the transport order.”
I frowned. “Just in case we said no. To tie our hands.”
He didn’t respond.
“Larke, you’ll head for the tunnels,” I instructed. “I’ll meet up with Ronan and tell him to bring the group to the area just outside the tunnel exit. There’s a weak spot in the fence. Road’s right behind it. I can meet you guys there.”
Dr. Okoro chimed in, “It’ll take a couple of hours to drain the power.”
I removed my watch and secured it to Larke’s wrist. “Babe, if Ronan doesn’t show up, you need to keep going. Don’t go to Sanitation.”
“I didn’t plan to,” she said. “I can’t do this on my own.”
“The way you prepare in a crisis...” I kissed the back of her hand.
“Now, when you enter the tunnels, don’t take any turns.
The exit door you’re going to use is a straight shot to the far end.
Once you exit the tunnels, turn left and walk along the fence until you reach a gate.
I’ll be waiting on the other side of the gate.
If you get there early, look for a grate in the road or a piece of plywood. ”
She nodded. “Got it.”
“Dr. O,” I turned, “I’ll swing back for the samples when I pick up the transport van.”
Dr. Okoro’s head bobbed. “I’ll make sure it’s ready. I’ll start prepping once you two leave.”
“Won’t knocking down the power knock out the entire complex, not just Woodhaven?” Larke asked.
“Yes. For days, more than likely.”
I didn’t like this.
But I understood the bigger picture of what it appeared Larke and I had been called on to do. Maybe a better life awaited us in South Carolina, where this Dr. Diaz was supposedly located.
Or maybe she’s not even there, a voice in my head taunted. Maybe she’s dead, and soon, Larke will be too. You heard Dr. Okoro. If she turns, that’s it. There’s no coming back.
I shook away the doubt.
I didn’t have Gage’s gut instinct. Yet, as unsettled as all of these last-minute changes made me, it didn’t feel off. Instead, it felt like going to South Carolina was saving us from something or pointing us in a better direction.
I couldn’t explain it.