Dohi counted twenty-five freed Chimeras when the doors to the other end of the linear accelerator opened. All of them turned to a group of six collaborators who rushed in with weapons. The collaborators stopped in their tracks when they saw the freed horde.
“You want revenge?” Corrin said. “Now’s your chance!”
The group rushed toward the collaborators. None of the men even bothered to fire. They turned and ran, their terrified screams echoing throughout the facility. Dohi aimed his rifle and shot their legs one by one.
The Chimeras caught up to the collaborators writhing in agony on the ground, tearing into their flesh. Blood splashed across the floor as the beasts got their first taste of revenge.
With the other freed prisoners behind them, Fitz and Rico caught up to Dohi. The three of them picked up the collaborators’ weapons and began handing them out. Rifles. Pistols. Knives. And even a machete.
“You have your army, Master Sergeant,” Corrin said to Fitz. “Now put us to use.”
— 23 —
Sirens wailed over the constant patter of rain. But above the clamor, Kate heard the faint voices of those injured in the bat attacks screaming throughout the hospital. She was a few floors below, in the hospital’s former clinical laboratory, but their cries carried through the vents.
While most of the patients were receiving intensive medical care, including the use of respirators and ventilators to keep them stable, those who were most ill wouldn’t ever recover without the right antidote. That was something she and her team could help with. In an isolated portion of the lab, Leslie and Ron had already prepared reagents for assays to analyze samples from the gas attack.
Kate was in the main section of the lab with Sammy to monitor the remote computer stations left connected to the webbing in Houston. Although they couldn’t decrypt the signals flowing through the network, they could monitor the total volume of signal activity.
On the other side of the lab, engineers monitored reports from the seismic detection sensors installed around Houston and Galveston.
Kate supervised it all, going from station to station. She was back with Sammy when the door burst open. A combat medic entered, sweat dripping down her face. Her ACU was covered in blood and ash. She carried a tray filled with small plastic vials.
Ron emerged from the isolated section of the laboratory when he saw her.
“Dr. Lovato, we’ve got the first set of blood samples,” the medic said. “We’ve already used Mark 1 NAAKs on all the patients, but the docs want to be sure we’re doing the right thing.”
Kate handed the tray to Ron. He rushed them back into the isolated section of the lab where they had prepared the standard point-of-care blood analysis assays to detect potential toxins.
“Those nerve agent-antidote kits have 2-PAM chloride, diazepam, and atropine, right?” she asked.
“Yes, Doctor,” the medic answered.
“So long as this is just a normal nerve agent, we should be in the clear.”
“But if it isn’t…” the combat medic shifted nervously. “How long does this take?”
“Just a few minutes,” Kate said. “These tests were developed well before the Great War in response to potential nerve agent attacks in the Persian Gulf War. They’re designed to be quick.”
“Good. The doctors want answers now. At least fifty patients we brought here are in serious condition.”
“What do the symptoms look like?”
“Nausea, vomiting. A large portion of the patients reported intense pain in their muscles, and many are having trouble controlling their limbs.”
Those were all symptoms of a nerve agent. Kate wanted to scream. The evil of the Prophet and his army was unmatched by any of the creatures or men she had faced in the past.
“All we can do now is watch for new symptoms until we get definitive answers,” she said.
Ron emerged from the isolated portion of the laboratory after another few minutes. “I’ve got the results from the first blood samples.”
He handed her a printed-out page.
Kate skimmed the report. “We can confirm organophosphate poisoning in all these samples. Definitely a nerve agent.” She scrolled through the report. “We’re looking at soman.”
“Soman, got it,” the medic said. “The 2-PAM chloride and atropine will knock it out then.”
“Good,” Kate said. “We’ll continue looking at the blood samples to make sure there’s not something else in there that we missed.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” the medic said, hurrying out of the lab.
“Good luck.” Kate was glad to have helped, but she knew the death and misery had just started. Soon they would be dealing with the injuries from gunfire and claws that she had seen far too many times.
As if in answer, a thunderous boom shook the hospital. She braced herself, waiting for an explosion.
One of the computers chirped, indicating a seismic disturbance.
“Just thunder,” said the engineer monitoring the screen. “The storm is messing with our equipment, but that’s all it is.”
Kate exhaled. “Ron, I want you and Leslie to continue processing the blood samples. Just because we found soman in the first few doesn’t mean that’s the only thing the New Gods were using. Check for other biological agents or weaponized pathogens.”
“You got it,” Ron said, then returned to the isolated portion of the lab.
Kate moved to the section of the lab where the team of engineers were monitoring seismic disturbances.
“Have you picked up anything unusual?” Kate asked.
“No, Dr. Lovato,” the engineer replied. “The only seismic activity we detected was from the explosions hammering the ground around Galveston. After that, it’s been quiet except for this storm.”
So far, it seemed the New Gods hadn’t been tunneling into the ground anywhere near Houston or Galveston.
Cries sounded from the hallway, and Kate looked up just as another gurney was pushed past by two paramedics. A patient on it writhed in pain, covered in blood and blackened skin.
Kate’s thoughts rushed back to the shelter where Javier, Tasha, and
