“So, when do we grab the freak? Why are we waiting so long?” Joe asked, as he opened a bag and began eating.
“We need to know more about her, what she is capable of. This is valuable information for Dr. Neff. You know this. Plus, you two royally fucked up last time. You don’t want to fuck up again or Dr. Neff will have your heads, literally,” Catherine tapped on the tablet in her hand. “What was she doing when you left her?” she looked at Kevin.
“She went to bed in the truck. I sat there a good thirty minutes and never saw her stir so she must be asleep,” Kevin replied as he opened his own bag of food from the pack and began eating. “I still can’t believe that little lady can knock a fucking Infected’s head clear off. That was some carnage. I wish we would have been close enough to see that.”
Joe mumbled, “If we had been close enough to see that, then we would have been close enough for her to see us. If that was the case, it may have been our heads knocked off. You know how they can be once they are in a rage—uncontrollable.” Joe lifted his bag of food to his lips, shaking the last crumbs into his mouth before he tossed it to the side.
“We will move in soon. But we have time to observe her more since we have her tagged. Might as well gather field evidence while we are out here. If our evidence is useful, it may be enough to make Dr. Neff forget our first fuck-up,” Catherine stated as she tapped away on her tablet.
Kevin pulled a black electronic device from his pocket with a tiny screen on the front of it. He looked down at the screen and smirked.
“She hasn’t moved, so I think she’s set for the night. I’ll head back over soon to keep an eye on her,” Kevin said, laying the device down next to him. “I’m going to get a brief cat nap first.”
“You should go now,” Catherine snarled. “You know it’s only accurate within a few blocks of her location. Without eyes on her we won’t know if she left the campground until she’s far ahead of us.”
Kevin snapped, “Look, lady, she’s not moving and she won’t be until morning. So really, I don’t need to go there at all, especially since we have her fucking tagged. If she gets more than a mile away, it will alert us. I’ve been doing all this extra shit to be nice and be a team player, but you’re really wearing on me, lady. We know how to do our jobs. We are the field experts, not you.”
“If you knew how to do your job, I wouldn’t be here!” Catherine roared. “Most specimens you’ve brought in have been damaged. Dr. Neff wanted to assure this one arrives in excellent condition. She is the cure to N87! We only have one shot at this and it cannot be fucked up by a wannabe soldier who gets his rocks off killing Infected.” She shot Kevin a look of disdain. Kevin flew to his feet in a rage.
“I’m just so sick of you! And if you believe that he’s trying to cure N87 for everyone, you are stupider than you look.” Kevin kicked his gear, sending some of it flying toward the forest before he stomped toward Catherine. The tracking device lay on the dirt at the tree line near the tailgate of the truck. Joe stood up to intervene as Catherine and Kevin threw insults at each other.
I have to get that tracker! Allison watched as Joe stood between the bickering duo. All three were fully absorbed in their conflict. Allison took a deep breath and slipped from the trees. She dropped to all fours next to the truck and crawled toward the device. Her heart raced and she had to remind herself to breathe. The shouts near the campfire grew louder and a crash followed. Allison looked under the truck in the direction of the fire. Joe and Kevin were now twisted together in a brawl while Catherine kicked at them both. Allison reached the back tires and again checked to make sure her unwelcome travel companions were distracted before she reached out and snatched the device.
Allison stood up, turned on her heels and rushed through the forest, not bothering to be silent any longer as the shouting drowned out her footsteps. Once Nurse Catherine and the Collectors’ campfire faded away, she moved out of the forest to the edge of the road and broke into a run. The fire in her gut grew hotter as she ran, and the butterflies continued their flight in her torso. She had to leave, now, while they were distracted. If she was lucky, Kevin would win the argument and no one would go check on her until the morning. She would be hundreds of miles away by then if she left now. She recalled Dr. Neff’s tense face filled with hate as he watched her leave the medical camp. I can’t end up in one of his cages like a lab rat.
Allison made it back to her truck and climbed into the driver’s side. She peeled the tape away from the light and pulled down the driver-side visor. She slid the mirror on the visor open. She tried to angle her body to see the bump behind her ear, but it was impossible. She pulled the knife from her pack and sterilized it again. Her heart pounded as she placed the tip of the blade near the edge of the bump and sliced.
“Fuck!” Blood seeped down her neck.
She pressed on the bump, shimming her finger from side to side until she felt
