Dead Hunt

CHAPTER 8 – Strangers

“Good evening, this is Clay Buffer with the Atlantic Television Network’s 6 o’clock evening news. Tonight’s top story: A series of bizarre murders in the tiny village of Margaree Valley has authorities baffled. Chief Brian Dunn of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to make a formal statement pending further investigation. Sources close to the Chief claim the RCMP have blocked all roads going in and out of Margaree Valley, and they are working around the clock on the tragedies that have besieged the isolated community since early this morning. Field reporter, Jess Jessup has the story.”

“Thank you, Clay. We have just received reports that members of the CDC have been flown in from Atlanta, Georgia, along with members of the American National Guard to assist the RCMP and the Canadian Armed Forces as they quarantine the area. Some startling new evidence has led officials to believe that some type of virus has infected the residents, causing them to attack their neighbors, friends and families.”

“Did you say a virus is causing people to attack their own families?”

“That’s correct, Clay, a virus.”

“Is this virus creating some form of a delusional psychosis that causes the infected victims to lash out against their family and friends?”

“At this time, the CDC is not releasing any information. No discernible motive has been established as of yet, but sources have suggested the murders are horrific and beyond anything they have seen.”

She paused as a man in a suit handed her a piece of paper. Jess read the note then continued:

“The official liaison for the CDC has just informed me that they will be holding a formal press conference tonight at 10 P.M., Atlantic Standard Time. The spokesperson has assured me that the virus is not airborne and is contained within the Margaree River Valley area. Once again, a spokesperson for the CDC has just confirmed that it is indeed a virus and that it has been contained to the Margaree Valley area. The virus is not airborne and the rest of the island is not in any danger of infection.”

Jess re-read the last piece of information on the paper, then hesitantly added, “Authorities are warning citizens that anyone attempting to leave the Margaree area will be dealt with swiftly and severely. This is Jess Jessup, ATN Evenings News.”

“Thank you, Jess. That was Jess Jessup reporting from outside Margaree on Cape Breton Island. More on that story later tonight on the Late Night News. Up next, the Maritime Weather with Meteorologist, Jimmy MacIntosh. Any chance of this heat letting up any time soon, Jimmy?”

“Father?” Robin’s voice echoed in the empty lab.

Various rooms flicked on and off her screen in rapid succession. The images on the monitors changed to those from the cameras mounted outside the cabin then stopped on a group of people walking towards the lodge. As the group stepped into the light, Robin scanned the individual faces of these uninvited guests. She searched her memory banks. This group of people was unknown to her. The locks on the door clicked shut as the strangers stepped onto the huge veranda and a hand reached for the door knob.

“It’s locked,” Lucy said as she jiggled the handle.

“Hello?” she raised her voice as she knocked on the door. “Is anyone there?”

She waited a moment, listening intently, then pounded the door harder. “Hello! We need help! Somebody open the goddamn door!”

The computer monitors flashed in rapid succession, still searching the rooms. Once again the image on the monitor focused on the strangers at the door. Unable to find Heslin, Robin’s only course of action, the most logical one, was to allow the strangers entrance to help search the places her camera eyes could not see. If Heslin was hurt, these strangers could administer medical aid, something else she was unable to do. Robin sensed something in her system she never sensed before. It was a new process, outside her primary programming. It felt like… No, Robin knew that was impossible… Computers could not feel. Robin’s artificial brain could duplicate various preprogrammed expressions to simulate feelings, but they were only simulations. Somehow Robin knew this was different. This was new. She was… scared.

The locks on the door clicked open as her monitor went black.

Lucy tried the door again, and this time the knob turned. She pushed the door open, expecting to see someone. A large, empty foyer welcomed them. The teens rushed into the lodge, locking the door behind them.

“Hello?” Lucy yelled again.

No answer.

She turned to Michael and Paul. “Check up stairs.”

She turned her attention to Lauren and Emma. “Check the kitchen, check…” she paused for a moment, “Just check everywhere. The door didn’t unlock itself, so somebody has to be here. Everyone meet back here in five minutes.”

Paul looked at her. Slightly puzzled and rather annoyed.

“Who the hell put you in charge?”

“You did!” she snapped back.

“What did I do?”

“Not a damn thing,” she answered as she turned her back to him and walked away.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he yelled after her as she disappeared around a corner.

Michael patted him on the shoulder. “It means you didn’t do a damn thing when we walked in here. So she did.”

Paul’s face still held a puzzled look as Michael headed upstairs.

Lucy walked into an all white room filled with computers and laboratory equipment.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” she said to no one as she headed for the open window.

She looked at the greenish stain above the window, then quickly pulled the window shut and locked it. The others soon found her in the lab.

“What the fuck is this place?” Paul asked as he entered the bright lab.

“I need a drink,” Lauren said as she turned and headed for the kitchen.

“I need a hot shower and get out of these wet clothes,” Emma announced.

“Something’s not right,” Michael thought out loud.

“Let’s see,” Paul said. “We are in the middle of fucking nowhere in some sort of secret laboratory with flesh-eating zombies outside. Seems about right.”

“Wait!” Michael yelled, running to the kitchen. The others followed as Michael yelled to Lauren, “Don’t drink that!”

Lauren paused just long enough for Michael to pull the glass from her open mouth. He tossed it into the sink, shattering the glass.

“It’s only water,” Lauren explained.

“Listen, what do you hear?”

Everyone froze and listened intently.

“Don’t hear a damn thing,” Paul told him.

“Exactly,” Michael said bluntly. “Other than that bear, we didn’t see or hear anything. No birds or crickets. Nothing.”

“So?” Lauren asked.

“So we are in the middle of the forest on top of a mountain and we can’t hear a damn sound?”

“Enough with the cloak and dagger bullshit,” Paul told him, “just tell us what the hell you’re talking about. What do birds and crickets have to do with Lauren having a drink of water?”

“This place is deserted, and there’s some type of high-tech lab here. I don’t know what the hell happened to the people up here or down there, but the only way for anything up here to get down there is through the water.”

They looked at him, not quite fitting all the pieces together.

“Don’t you get it? Water runs down hill. So I think whatever happened up here got into the water and caused all that shit down there.”

“Oh, that’s just fucking great!” Paul said. “It was your bright idea to come up here, and now you’re saying that this is where it all started?”

“I don’t know if it started here,” Michael admitted. “I just know we can’t take any chances until we figure it out.”

“I think he’s right,” Lucy told everyone.

“Oh, look,” Paul said sarcastically. “She agrees with him… There’s a shock.”

Lucy just rolled her eyes and tried to ignore him. “Follow me. I want to show you guys something.”

They followed Lucy into the lab. She pointed to the window.

“That window was opened when I got here. And look, there’s some sort of stain above it.”

“Yeah, so that stain could have been there for years,” Paul said.

Michael looked out the window then pushed it open again.

“Way to go, Einstein,” Paul yelled to him. “Open the window and let whatever’s out there in here.”

Michael ignored him as he leaned out the window, his eyes following a tiny, green trail down the side of the building, then off into the darkness.

“I can’t really tell,” he informed them as his eyes reached the end of the light cast from the window. “But I think a trail of that stuff leads down to a creek over there. So maybe whatever leaked out the window did get into the water.” Michael thought for a moment. “That has to be it. It’s the water.”

Paul was not convinced. “Water runs downhill, so we have nothing to worry about up here, now do we?” he looked at Michael, “Or should we all just die of thirst because you think you might be right?”

Emma nodded towards the computers.

“Maybe we can find out what they were working on.”

They moved towards the computers, but just as Emma’s hand hovered over the keyboard a voice startled them.

“I would not do that if I were you.”

“Who the fuck said that?” Paul jumped back, fists closed as his eyes searched the lab. Michael’s grip on the machete tightened. The monitors turned on revealing Robin’s face.

“What the…?” Paul looked at the monitor dumbfounded…

Robin looked at Paul. “My name is Robin. Have you seen my father?”

“Your father? Is this some kind of sick joke?” Paul asked, looking around the lab to see if someone was playing a practical joke…

Lucy raised her hand.

“Shut up, Paul.” Then turned back to the computer and asked, “Who is your father?”

“Professor Patrick Heslin,” Robin’s eyes turned towards Emma, her hand still hovering above a keyboard. “And he will be very angry with you if you touch that keyboard.”

Emma pulled her hand back.

“For Christ sake Emma, it’s just a computer program,” Paul told her.

“What happened here?” Lucy asked.

“What happened? Are you serious?” Paul asked. “It’s a computer. How in the hell is it supposed to know… Why are you even talking to it?”

Lucy waved him off in a gesture to be quiet.

“My name is Robin.”

“You said that already,” Paul said sarcastically. “Not a very smart computer either.”

Robin’s eyes seemed to focus on Paul.

“The Robin 1 Mainframe controls all the electrical and electronic components of this laboratory,” Robin’s eyes narrowed on Paul. “And you were not invited here…Paul.”

“What the…?” Paul was stunned to hear Robin speak his name.

Robin turned to Emma. “Your name is Emma.”

Robin looked at the others. “I do not know your names.”

“This is stupid,” Paul cut her off. “So it remembers names, big deal. So now we’re supposed to introduce ourselves to a stupid machine?”

“Artificial Intelligence,” Emma announced. “I’ve read about it, but never realized that it could be so complex.”

“It’s artificial, all right,” Paul smirked then headed for the main house. “Maybe there’s some booze or something to drink.” He looked at Michael, “Since we can’t drink the water.”

“Good old Paul,” Michael laughed. “Even in the face of danger, he insists on being an asshole.”

“I heard that!” Paul’s voice sounded from another room.

“I was not sure of your intentions,” Robin informed them as she looked back to Lucy. “So that is why I did not make my presence known when you first arrived. I had to be sure you meant no harm.”

“So what happened here?” Lucy asked again. “I’m Lucy, by the way. That’s Michael, and this is Lauren.”

“It is my pleasure to meet you,” Robin smiled as she looked at each of the teens, then turned back to Lucy. “I do not know what happened. We were working on the experiment and then…” Robin stopped.

“And then what? What experiment?” Lucy asked.

“I am not permitted,” Robin replied. “Have you seen my father?”

“No. Not permitted to what? We need to know what happened here.”

“If you find my father, he will be able to explain everything to you,” Robin answered.

“I already told you,” Lucy argued, getting irritated. “We don’t know where he is. What experiment?”

“I am not permitted.”

“Arrgghh!” Lucy exhaled in frustration. “Of all the computers in the world, we get the stubborn one!”

Lucy took a deep breath. “Ok, Robin, here’s the deal. We will help you search for your father, and then you explain to me what experiment you were working on.”

“My father will be able to…”

“Not your father,” Lucy cut her off. “You! You agree to explain everything and we will help you find Professor Heslin.”

Robin was quiet for a moment and then spoke. “Your proposal is acceptable.”

“Ok, guys!” Lucy said to everyone as Paul re-emerged carrying a bottle of scotch. “We need to do a complete sweep. First make sure all the doors are locked…”

“The doors are locked,” Robin informed her.

“And the windows…?” Lucy asked.

“The locks on the windows are mechanical. I do not control them.”

“So what’s the point of controlling the door locks if anyone can just break in through the window? That doesn’t make much sense.” Paul queried.

“No, it does not,” Robin agreed with him.

A second later they heard a loud rumbling sound as a massive steel shutter closed over the laboratory window. They heard another loud rumbling and a steel door slid from behind a wall and slammed closed. It locked with a metallic thud.

“The laboratory is now completely sealed,” Robin announced. “Is there anything else you wish to comment on, Paul?”

“Ummm. Nope. I’m good,” Paul replied sheepishly.

“Robin,” Lucy asked. “Are all the windows sealed with these shutters?”

“I can only secure the laboratory,” Robin explained. “My father was only concerned with the security of the laboratory due to the nature of his work.”

“Which was what?” Lucy asked.

Robin smiled.

“It was worth a shot,” Lucy said returning her smile before turning to her friends.

“Paul, you check the rest of the house and make sure every window is locked. Lauren, check the fridge and cupboards and find out how much food is here, and see if there’s any bottled water. Emma, go upstairs and start checking the rooms, and look for Professor Heslin.”

“What about me?” Michael asked as Robin opened the steel door.

“Check the cellar for wood and tools to board up the rest of the downstairs windows. I don’t think those things can climb to the top floor, so they should be ok for now. We should get the lower level secured first, then worry about the upstairs.

“I’m on it,” Michael said and quickly disappeared.

Lucy started looking around the lab for clues as to what had happened, notebooks, scraps of paper, anything. She spotted the microscope sitting on a work table and moved towards it to look when she heard Michael yelling to her from the cellar.

“Hey, Luce… I think you should come take a look at this.”

She hurried down the cellar stairs to find him standing in front of another steel door.

Paul made his way back to the laboratory still carrying the bottle of scotch. He looked at a row of small monitors and noticed each one had a numbered label that started with the word CAM. He flicked the CAM-1 switch and a room appeared on one of the monitors.

“Cool,” he mumbled under his breath.

One by one he flicked on the monitors. Some were of rooms. A couple showed the grounds surrounding the complex. He stopped at CAM-9. Michael and Lucy were standing in the basement staring at a huge door. Paul watched them on the tiny screen. Neither of them moved. He flicked CAM-10. It was one of the rooms upstairs, and he saw Emma looking inside a closet. He watched as she pulled a shirt off its hanger and tossed it on the bed. Her back was to the camera.

“Now this is more like it,” Paul muttered as Emma turned just enough so he could watch her undo the tiny buttons of her wet shirt.

Paul had no idea why someone would install a camera in a bedroom, but right now he was thankful they had. When the last of her buttons was undone, Emma paused as if she could feel someone’s eyes watching her. She turned towards the door. It was still closed. She held her shirt together and walked to the door, walking out of the camera’s line of sight.

“Damn!” Paul said, disappointed, his eyes still glued to the tiny monitor.

He glanced at CAM9. Lucy and Michael hadn’t moved. He turned his attention back to CAM10.

Emma opened the door and looked into the hallway, peering both left and right. It was empty. She closed and latched the door before returning to her previous position by the tiny bed as her shirt flowed behind her. Paul licked his lips in anticipation.

Emma pulled her arms through the sleeves and let the shirt fall to the floor. Paul watched excitedly. With a move few men can understand, Emma reached behind her with one hand and unclasped her bra. How women could do that so easily, and with only one hand, was beyond him. Emma’s wet bra fell to the floor, her breasts now in full view.

“Nice tits,” he whispered.

His gaze was so focused on Emma’s naked torso on the CAM-10 monitor that he didn’t even see the group of shadowy figures appear on CAM-6 and slowly stagger towards the lodge.