“Interesting,” Toni called out.
Doctor Lytham nodded as Toni turned away, setting the syringe to the side before looking back again.
With pink foam pouring from her mouth, Jess contorted with her eyes sealed shut, then as if at the flick of a switch, she opened her eyes and stared at the wall across the room.
“Jess?” Toni said, furrowing her brow as we all waited for the answer.
“I told you it wouldn’t work.” Doctor Lytham’s voice was almost sing-song. “We need someone fresh.”
Toni’s hands dropped from her face and she shook her head. “That is bloody annoying,” she said, as if having already moved on from whatever relationship they’d had in the past. Toni’s mouth bunched and she glanced back to Jess and for a moment I thought she would stride over and release her from her binds, but she turned away, pointing toward Jack and Tish still laid in bed.
“What about those two?” she asked with renewed interest.
“They have natural immunity,” Doctor Lytham said and Toni nodded. Then she turned my way. “Him?”
“She made him take the drink, remember?” Toni replied, then turned to Alex with narrowed eyes. “Her then,” she said. “What’s your name?”
“Alex,” she replied, and I looked to Jess without moving my head when I thought I saw the first sign of movement since she’d been out cold.
Toni raised a smile, showing off her white teeth, beaming at Alex as if she’d spotted her across a bar and wanted to talk. As she walked in Alex’s direction, she grabbed the syringe left on the table.
“No,” I called out, but I didn’t know where to look when this time I was sure Jess moved. Her whole body had tensed against the bounds.
The soldier gripped Alex tight with her arms around her back as Cassie stared on at Ellie, shaking her head with tears rolling down her cheeks. I heard the distant continuous tap of something echoing in the background.
One of the unnamed soldiers strode across the room, overtaking Toni and took an arm from the other at Alex’s back to keep her still. Toni pulled up Alex’s sleeve to expose her pale flesh as the soldiers let go of Alex from behind to instead grip the top of her exposed arm and around her wrist.
Toni stepped closer, raising the syringe, tapping it with a finger then lowering it needle first. Just as the needle was about to puncture the skin, a darkness flashed across the view.
Shadow bounded high in the air, gripping tight with Toni’s hand in his mouth, sending the syringe shattering to the floor and spilling the scarlet liquid. With a great crack of bone as he pulled her to the floor, he shook his head as if her flesh were a toy with a primal look that was anything but playful.
Shouts filled the room and the soldiers rushed from their posts; Thompson left my back and rushed to Toni on the floor, still grappling with Shadow. His rifle swayed with the motion of the dog’s head.
I knew this was just the last flurry of rebellion before the pain of defeat came back.
But instead of gunfire, there was a great snap from somewhere in the room and looking up to Jess, she wasn’t there. The leather restraints hung loose from their mounts.
A great blur filled my view and I closed my eyes, hoping to clear the effect of so many blows. In the hurry of noise that followed, I heard the rush of boots resounding from the corridors all around us.
Opening my eyes, I looked to Jess in the centre of the room with blood dripping from her mouth and Toni at her feet, her neck ripped out. Thompson and the other soldiers were down too, slumped to the floor, their blood leaking to the concrete.
I followed her blood-soaked stare to behind where Alex stood with her mouth agape and to Sherlock, soaking wet like Thompson had been, poised with his rifle out in front and more soldiers at his back.
Turning around, I stared at the death and destruction in the room; Doctor Lytham lying face down and Shadow with a red dripping mouth, standing over a pool of blood with one front paw raised off the floor. I waited for when Jess would pounce and destroy the rest of us.
When nothing happened, I looked back to the corridor as Sherlock nodded, letting the rifle drop and raising his hand to the air.
“Stand down,” he said, and looked to me as the soldiers behind him lowered their aims. “I’m sorry, Logan. I have to hope you’re right. I have three kids and a wife.”
“We tried to kill you,” I said, regretting the words as if he might change his mind.
“You got balls and you clearly believe what you’re saying,” he replied.
Before I could say anything else, Alex jumped up, rushing towards Jess.
“No,” I called, but she took no notice. “Stay away from her,” I said. “She’s changed. What they gave her, she’s not Jess anymore,” I shouted, but as she closed the gap, Jess relaxed her bloodied glare, her clawed hands flattening and her arms opening to take the hug as her eyes closed.
Cassie bounded to Ellie, despite her hands being tied to her back, slipping and sliding in the blood in her path.
I rushed over, grabbing a knife from the table and freed her from the plastic ties, then took the syringe of her blood from the side and handed it to her open hands.
88
Standing on the roof of the fort, I peered out across the horizon as the sun peeked over the rolling land. With Jess along the way, cleaned and changed into army fatigues, the only clothes available, she told all to the camera Alex pointed her way whilst I contemplated the look on Sherlock’s
