Page 52 of Zocopalypse (Death Fields 1)

“We’ve seen that since the outbreaks here—constant changes.”

“Right,” he says nodding. “Originally the virus would just cause a nasty infection and spread easily. The cannibalism took them by surprise and your father insisted that they shut down the program.”

“But…”

“But PharmaCorp had an outside buyer—and they wanted a return on their investment.” Again the worry lines are deep on his forehead.

“Holy crap.”

“As soon the first wave of infection took place in Sudan, the government knew they had to shut it down. They called your dad back in to complete his work on the antidote and vaccine. That’s when he started using you and your mom in the trials.”

I sit up so I can see him better. “Hence the weekly blood tests.”

“Right.” Cole tented his fingers between his knees. “From what I understood he was close to a breakthrough when the non-travel state of emergency happened.”

“When he came to visit me? When you came to my house?” I ask. That day feels like a lifetime ago. I try to recall my kitchen. The way my house smelled like baked goods. My mother.

“Yes, he’d requested two more weeks for trials. He was confident he could work it out by then. His plan was to return home and get you.”

“That never happened.”

“No. I came into the lab and he was gone. The entire facility was wiped clean and surrounded by armed guards. I had twelve hours to gather my things and head to my assigned evacuation center. I picked up Chloe and made my way to the high school.”

“But you didn’t stay?”

“No.” He shook his head. “The day before your dad disappeared he asked me to check on you if anything happened. I think he knew it was coming. What I don’t know is if he left on his own or if they took him somewhere.”

“They?”

He shrugs, his shoulders meeting his ears. “These guys? The military? The CDC? PharmaCorp? I don’t know.”

I study Cole—LabGuy. The man-boy I had flirted with for months. I want to trust him but his story…it’s too easy. “What did you do for my dad? Lab assistant or something?”

“Like I told you before, I am in med school, but what I didn’t tell you was I did a volunteer stint with the Peace Corps in Africa during the Ebola outbreak. Your father found out about my experience and added me to his team.”

“How much do you know about this cure?”

“Not much,” he admits. “Your father was very secretive about his work. It’s not like I had clearance.”

“That’s an understatement.”

Neither of us speaks. I try to absorb the information he’s shared and not freak out about my dad. It’s no different than what I’ve suspected. Simply confirmed. He’s either dead, in hiding or being hidden. None of it helps at all.

I ask the question I can’t get past. “What do these guys want with me?”

“I guess they think you and I both know something.”

“Well they’re SOL with that one. He never told me anything.”

Cole opens his mouth to speak but seems to think better of it. He glances around and finally silently points to me and then to his chest. The pouch. The blood and the data. No, my father never told me anything but he left information with me. Information Cole knew about. This was getting weird.

I swallow. “If we work with these guys can we help people? Can we stop the Eaters? Knowing my father it would have been his ultimate goal. He would have sacrificed everything to stop this and save people.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen any sign of the epidemic slowing, have you? Why wouldn’t Dr. Ramsey have given them the cure by now?

I think of the burning bus. The way the military divided the people and then murdered half of them. Would that be necessary if they had a cure? A vaccine of some kind?

“If they had my father they wouldn’t need me,” I say, aware that this may be the truth about him. They wouldn’t need me if he was alive.

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