CHAPTER

49

 

DK’S DATABASE HAD Dr. Ayers’s address. I doubted he was hiding at his home, but it was as good a place to start as any.

His house was a sleepy one story rambler, beige siding with a two car garage to the left. The lawn was overgrown with dandelions. The flower beds were filled with weeds as well. Close to a dozen newspapers were strewn across the front step, and mail had been jammed into the slot in the door. It certainly appeared as though Dr. Ayers hadn’t been home for the past week, but that could be a ruse.

I drove past the house three times before finally parking a block away. I sprinted into Ayers’s backyard. Like the front yard, the back was a mess of weeds and out of control grass. A small deck extended from the house, with some well-worn plastic furniture and a rusted grill. I pressed up against the large glass door and tried to peer through it into the kitchen. It looked empty enough.

There was one way to know for sure. I shaped my destructive field into a blade and slid it along the door’s lock. Hopefully that was all the security Dr. Ayers had. I gave the door a shove, and it slid open. Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. Rotten eggs or…well, something rotten, that was for sure. Sitting on a wooden dining room table was a plate of moldy food. I gagged at the sight of it. I had no idea what it was supposed to have been. Next to the plate was a newspaper. I risked a peek at the date and saw that it was the day that Ayers had unleashed the miniature zombie apocalypse at New Chayton University a week earlier.

I backed away from the table and looked around the darkened interior. Aside from the disgusting plate, the rest of the dining room and kitchen area was pristine, if a little dusty. I risked a glance at the plate again. It almost looked as if Dr. Ayers had been in the middle of a meal when he had been called away, and he’d never returned.

I swung through the living room, another dusty cavern of worn furniture grouped around a brick fireplace. A hallway led to a cluttered office and a master bedroom with a king-sized bed. I pursed my lips and looked over the pictures on Dr. Ayers’s dresser. Most of them featured the same middle-aged woman, obviously his wife, Gail.

So where could he have gone? Maybe he owned a cabin up north? Even if he did, I’m sure the cops or the VOC would have checked there already.

The house was seemingly a dead end. Maybe I should go and check the lab on campus again? By now, the VOC had probably cleaned it out. But maybe I could find something. Or if I couldn’t…

I pulled out my cell phone and hit the quick dial for Mike. It rang twice and then clicked over to voicemail. I hung up and tried again. Still no answer.

“Mike, it’s me. Can you meet me at the research center in a little bit? I need your help on something.” I hesitated, wondering what else I should say. “Hope you get this soon. Call me when you do.”

I took one more look around Dr. Ayers’s home. I sighed. Hopefully I’d have better luck on campus.

 

• • •

 

I looked at my watch. It was coming up on 11:30 p.m., and there was still no sign of Mike. He obviously wasn’t coming. I’d have to do this by myself.

The lab facility was little more than a hollowed out shell, its broken windows and doors boarded over with plywood and covered in yellow crime scene tape. I ignored the warnings and shoved open one of the makeshift doors. Maybe I could get down into the secret lab and sift through the rubble. Or see what remained of Dr. Ayers’s office. There had to be a clue there somewhere.

I almost fell into a gigantic chasm. The floor of the lab facility had been ripped out to reveal the hidden lab beneath. Only the lab was empty. Apparently the VOC had packed away all of the wrecked lab equipment, leaving nothing but smooth concrete walls and floors.

Another dead end. I sighed. Maybe Meridian would have some ideas about what to do next. I’d call him, pick his brains, and—

I stepped out of the research center and found Sarge leaning against the wall.

“Out for a midnight stroll?” He pushed off the bricks and ambled toward me, a predatory look in his eyes. “Looking for the good doctor? I can’t blame you. The man’s clearly dangerous, Failstate. A threat to everything we hold dear.”

I fell back a step and my arms started to rise into a defensive stance. It felt as though Sarge’s voice was oozing over me.

“Your instincts are good. You know that, right? Dr. Ayers is not bold, and he is a creature of habit. While he’s smart enough to not return home, he probably wouldn’t go far. He’s likely in the area…and perhaps continuing his experiments.”

What? Hadn’t Kensington said something about the lab equipment being too rare for a second lab? Sarge’s suggestion made no… Wait. Yes, it did make sense. Dr. Ayers wouldn’t give up, not now. He’d keep doing his work until he resurrected his wife, if that’s what he hoped to do.

Something felt odd. My mind seemed to be having a hard time thinking clearly.

“He’s a threat,” Sarge said. “He needs to be stopped. Why, he could even be unleashing more mayhem right now. It’s a good thing you’re here. Those zombies would need to be stopped.”

Of course they would. And I’d do it too.

“The people of New Chayton need a hero. They need you.” With that, Sarge disappeared into the shadows.

I blinked and shook my head. What had just happened? Had Sarge actually been here? It felt as though I’d been moving through molasses, as if the whole world had slowed for a moment and then rushed to catch up with itself.

Well, I clearly wouldn’t find any evidence here. Time to head out.

I started across campus.

Thirty steps along, I heard a girl’s scream off to my right. Without thinking, I broke into a sprint. The girl screamed again, so I poured on the speed. I leapt over a bank of low bushes and wove between the cars parked on the street. I crossed over to fraternity row and skidded to a halt at what I saw.

Zombies. Dozens of them. Possibly even hundreds. They milled about between the fraternity and sorority houses, clattering and hissing at each other. They wore a variety of clothing, tattered remains of their former lives. A few broke off from the pack and chased screaming girls back into the houses. Others flowed up the steps and tried to break into the buildings themselves.

I fished my cell phone out of my pocket and tried to dial 911. The screen flickered and went black. Dead? How could my phone be dead? I needed backup. Despite my earlier bravado with Sarge, there were too many of them for me to fight on my own.

Three zombies turned and looked at me with their dead, milky eyes. They pointed at me and started shuffling toward me, picking up speed as they walked. I tossed my phone to the side and dropped into a ready stance.

More zombies had joined the slow-moving charge. If they reached me, I’d be overwhelmed. I smiled grimly. If they reached me.

I lashed out with my power and ripped open a rut in the pavement near the middle of their ranks. Several of the zombies tripped over the obstacle and fell, their limbs tangled together. The others slowed and turned toward their companions, almost as if they were confused. Good. I could use the distraction.

With a roar, I charged into the crowd, landing punches and kicks as I could. I managed to charge up my fists for a few of the blows. The zombies collapsed around me, falling onto their backs and seeming to have difficulty getting up again.

I nodded with satisfaction. True, it was only a small chunk out of the larger horde, but I was just getting warmed up.

More of the zombies had turned to face me now. They regarded me with their slack expressions, and I almost felt sorry for them. But I shouldn’t. I’d plow through them all and find Dr. Ayers. He had to be nearby. Not in the sorority houses, probably, but maybe in another lab. I should have known he’d have more than one.

Four more zombies, all of them large enough to be linebackers for NCU, charged me. The rest of the horde, oddly, started to flee. I retreated two steps and unleashed a burst of destructive energy. It ripped through two nearby parked cars and set off their alarms. Gasoline spurted from their destroyed tanks and washed across the streets. A streetlight toppled and nearly took out two of the zombies, but they jumped back in time to avoid getting hurt. I frowned. How had they become so agile? The glass of the light shattered, and a spark hit the pooled gas. A wall of flames shot across the street.

Now all of the zombies were fleeing from me. I wanted to laugh and savor their fear. They were right to run. I’d take them down too.

Something tackled me from behind, striking my knees. I crumpled to the pavement. I flipped over and found a zombie holding me down. This one actually looked a bit familiar, what with its patchy blond hair, its chiseled yet decaying jaw, and its piercing green-gold eyes. It almost looked like…like…

It felt as though the world shifted around me. My vision shimmered. The molasses in my brain drained out.

I realized that it was Ben glaring down at me. Not a zombie or even a zombie version of Ben, but my actual brother.

I gaped at him. “Wh-what’s going on?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” His voice was a bare hiss.

I shoved him away and rolled to my feet. When I looked around, the horde of zombies was gone. No, not gone. They were still there, watching me. But they’d all been transformed. They weren’t undead at all. They were…

I swallowed a moan. They were college students. Normal people. They all regarded me with open fear, and I couldn’t blame them. The street had been torn up, two cars were on fire, and a dozen people lay groaning on the street around me. I’d done that. “What’s…what is going on?” I repeated weakly.

“What does it look like? It’s a college party. You know, Saturday night, time to blow off some steam. Why did you attack us?”

No, that’s not what I did at all! “There were zombies everywhere. And my phone was dead, and so I had to…”

“Oh, really?” Ben scooped up my phone and held it out to me.

I stared at it. The screen was lit. I shook my head. “No, that’s not right!”

“That’s one way of putting it. What were you thinking?”

That was a good question and one that I was sure I’d be asked again.

 

• • •

 

Agent Sexton paced in front of me. I couldn’t even look at him. I studied my gloves, the way my fingers were laced together.

The VOC had showed up shortly after Ben had stopped me. They’d taken charge of the situation, coordinating the firefighters and EMTs who had also responded. I stayed out of their way and, given the angry looks most of them gave me, that was for the best. I even considered retreating entirely, but I knew all too well that Sexton would hunt me down personally.

Sexton glanced at me and mumbled a string of expletives. Then he rounded on me with such ferocity that I worried he would shoot me. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You injured a dozen coeds and caused who knows how much damage to the area. Do you want to explain yourself?”

How could I? I knew how ridiculous it would sound, but I honestly thought everyone had been zombies. But why? True, I had been so jumpy since I’d seen Sarge…

Sarge! He must have done something to me, tricked me somehow. That had to be it. My brain had been foggy ever since I’d seen him.

“Well, Failstate? I’m waiting.”

“It was Sarge. I ran into him by the lab building and he…did something to me.”

Sexton frowned. “What are you talking about? Sarge is still at Magnus Tower.”

My head snapped up. “That’s not possible.”

“It is. I just came from there. He and about half a dozen other licensed heroes are still poring over maps of New Chayton even as we speak.”

I worked my jaw for a moment, trying to find my voice. None of this made sense.

Sexton shook his head and started pacing. “I should have known this was going to happen. We never should have given you a license in the first place. You’re a screw-up and always have been.”

That did it. “Maybe if you had actually supported me, none of this would’ve happened. Instead, you’ve withheld information from me, second-guessed me at every turn, called meetings behind my back, and tried to turn heroes against me. If you had been a better VOC agent, none of this would have happened!”

Sexton’s lips peeled back into a snarl. His eyes blazed. “Don’t think you’re going to pin this on me! I’ve had it with you. Failstate, pending further review, your license is hereby suspended!”