Part 7 (1/2)
Chaz released his grip. ”What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean?”
”You really should get back to the prison to visit your wife. Your keepers have been hiding things from you. She's pretty distraught over recent events. She thinks she's been visited by an angel of sorts. She really is a pretty confused woman at the moment. I suppose if she had some family to support her, she might be able to handle it. Too bad you're too busy running around the country with your old pal here on some macho mission.”
The protesters turned and headed back to the house. Alex looked up to Chaz. ”You know they're just messing with you, right? They manipulate people to do what they want.”
Watching the protesters walk away, Chaz said, ”Yeah, I know. They're nuts. I need to make a call, let's get back in the SUV.”
Mental Anguish.
Alex and Chaz sat on chairs in the infirmary next to a sedated Abby. Her eyes were closed, but the rapid movement of her pupils underneath indicated she was in deep REM sleep. A nurse flipped switches on the electronic monitors and made notes on Abby's charts.
”When will she wake up?” Chaz asked the nurse. ”We've been here twenty minutes already and we need to talk with her.”
The middle-aged nurse with a name tag that said 'Ruth' answered, ”It's not up to me. The doctor's on his way. He'll be able to explain everything, and wake her up if he decides it's OK.” The nurse placed the chart back at the end of the bed and left the room.
”I wouldn't worry too much, Colonel,” Alex offered. ”We've seen plenty of people pull out of worse predicaments than this. I'm sure just having you here will make her feel better. They say even some people in comas can sense what's going on around them.”
”First of all, she's not in a coma. Secondly, did you know what was going on around you the days you spent in a coma?” Chaz asked sarcastically.
”No, actually, I didn't, but I'm sure that some do.”
Chaz looked nervously around the room. ”Yeah, well I'm not so sure. I was in a coma for six years, and all I remember is a lot of crazy-a.s.s dreams just before I woke up.”
”I understand why you're here, Colonel, but why me? Rabban gave us specific orders from the regent not to deviate from the case. I could have stayed out in the field and kept digging. You don't know what those people are like when you're on their bad side. I do. I was there for years. They persecuted the h.e.l.l out of me. I don't want to see you end up there, Colonel.”
”I appreciate the concern, Alex, but it's not my a.s.s I'm concerned with at the moment.” Looking at Abby, he said, ”There are enough people in my life suffering right now because of decisions I've made. I don't need any more. I'm responsible for you, and I'm keeping you close. We're too d.a.m.n close to those murdering freaks out there. I don't want to put you at risk.”
”I appreciate that, Colonel, but ...”
”No buts about it, kid. We're sticking together through this. Besides, you're about the only person alive that I trust these days. I want you here. I don't always make the best decisions when I get around family, which should be pretty obvious based on the current situation. I need someone with a level head keeping me in line.”
Alex laughed. ”I'm not sure how level my head is these days, Colonel, but I'll do my best.”
The doctor came into the room and picked up the chart from the end of Abby's bed. Examining the chart, the doctor asked, ”You the husband?”
”Yes. I am,” Chaz answered.
”She's been talking about you when she was awake. She's not very happy with you.”
”Yeah, Doc, I know. Can you bring her around? I'd really like to talk with her. I think I can help her. I can ease her concerns.”
”We're beyond that at this point, Mr. Sheperd. Right now, I can't risk bringing her out from under sedative. The last time she was semi-lucid her vitals dropped so low we nearly lost her. Whatever that girl did to her, we haven't been able to figure it out yet.”
”What girl?”
The doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his mobile. ”Here, take a look at this security video from her prison cell. It happened the other night. I can't make sense of it, but it's the event that triggered all of this.”
Chaz and Alex both watched the video, and Chaz immediately looked to Alex. ”That's her, isn't it? That's Christa; she hasn't changed all that much.”
Alex nodded in agreement. ”Yeah, it sure looks like her.”
The clip showed Christa standing in front of Abby, seated on her bed, with a prison guard outside her cell. Christa didn't seem to say anything, and the guard just stood there. Christa left after a few minutes, and Abby just went into fits almost immediately.
Chaz asked, ”How did the girl get into her cell in the middle of the night? Where's the guard? I need to talk to him.”
The doctor put his mobile back into his pocket. ”The guard won't help. He can't remember a thing. Or at least he claims he can't. What I need from you, Mr. Sheperd, is to stay close. At some point, we're going to figure out what's going on inside her head and we'll be able to bring her around. When we do I want someone here she knows. Someone to help anchor her to reality. Even if it's someone she's upset with.”
”I can't stay, I have work I need to be doing. What about Shax, our daughter? Can't you have her here?”
”Shax isn't going to be much help. She hasn't said a word in over six months. I need someone that knows your wife and can talk with her. Someone who can help her to remember who she is.”
Chaz started pacing. ”There are worse things going on out there right now, Doc. Worse things than what are going on in here. If I don't stop what's going on, a lot more people are going to suffer.”
”If there's no one here for her, Mr. Sheperd, she may not come back to reality. With your son out on the loose, you're the only family she has right now.”
”Don't you think I know that? I'm already taking risks just being here.” Chaz shook his head. ”Now, on top of it all, somehow my son manages to escape from a high-security prison. First you have some girl just walk in here under everyone's noses and mess with my wife's head, then you let my son disappear. I don't what kind of s.h.i.+t show you people are running here, but ...”
”Mr. Sheperd, please.” The doctor put his hands up. ”I'm just the doctor. I don't know anything about your son's disappearance. I a.s.sure you, I'd rather have him here as well. It'd give us another option for your wife.”
Chaz looked around the room in frustration. He started to speak, then stopped. Finally, he looked to Alex. ”C'mon, we need to go.” Then, looking to the doctor, he said, ”I'm sorry, Doc, but I can't wait around here.”
Chaz and Alex left and headed down the hallway. Chaz spoke up. ”I know what you're thinking, but I can't stay and wait for her. We need to find those freaks, and we need to find Christa. I don't know what she's done to Abby, but she's going to answer for it. If she was trying to get my attention, she's succeeded. I get it, but she's gone too far now.”
”What message, Colonel? Christa didn't say anything. Neither did your wife.”
”She knows I'm out looking for her, and she wants me to stop. She's been in hiding for years, and she wants to keep it that way. She's letting me know who's in charge. That she can do whatever she wants to whomever she wants. It's a threat. She's hoping I'll drop everything and stay with Abby.”
”I don't know, Colonel. I'm not sure that's what she's trying to do. Maybe if you stayed and waited for her to wake up, you'd understand better.”
”I'm not staying. I'm not waiting. Abby's not the only one in trouble here. If it really was the Freeze that broke Caius out, then my best chance for getting him back is through the freaks and Christa. They represent everything the Freeze are fighting for. Zombies out from under the control of the drugs. We find them, and the Freeze will come to us. I'll come back for Abby then. She just needs to hold it together long enough for me to finish what I've started.”
Second Chance Rabban entered the regent's inner office. Only the closest advisers to the regent were allowed into this room. Even security guards were kept out. The regent sat in her high-backed chair surrounded by a smoked gla.s.s barrier, which completely circled her. The barrier served several purposes. It kept her advisers from seeing her face while providing a security barrier between her and her company. Additionally, it acted as a life-sized data screen and she was able to view computer data and video feeds from around the world. Most importantly, it was her link to KonG.o.d, the sophisticated computer network that provided her with a constant stream of options to make decisions on. Everything from financial to military to health and welfare issues were presented to the regent.
For some matters however, the regent still had to rely on her human advisers. These kinds of matters tended to be secretive by nature, so there wasn't much discussion of them in the various social networks. The general population had next to no knowledge of their existence.
”Rabban, tell me why you can't seem to carry out the smallest of tasks I a.s.sign you,” the regent said. ”I asked you to make sure the colonel and his partner stay on task, and now I learn that they've been sidetracked with personal matters. You do realize the importance of keeping the zombie population under control, don't you?”
”Yes, Regent, of course I understand. An anomaly has occurred that KonG.o.d didn't foresee. It appears that Christa is still alive and active. We have reason to believe that she was involved in the death of Captain Willie Molinere aboard the boat with the missing zombies. As of yet, I have no information to connect her with any of the other suspected zombie murders.”
The regent spun in her chair, reading the constant stream of data that appeared on her screens. ”Of course you don't have any information, but I do. KonG.o.d has informed me that she was present at the club where the first public murders took place. Some of the patrons were drunk enough not to panic, but instead recorded the events on their mobile devices. There is now concern beginning to spread amongst the population that the government is losing control over the zombies. Do you realize the ramifications of such a public concern?”
”Yes, Regent, I understand. I am the cultural grievances advisor and I ...”
”Don't waste my time telling me who you are and what I already know. You'll find a new directive brief concerning this matter waiting for you in your chambers. Additionally, you should be aware that a pattern has formed with the killings a.s.sociated with the zombies. KonG.o.d indicates with a ninety five percent degree of possibility that these zombies intend to kill me.”