Nicholas Smith - Extinction Edge

“Absolutely,” Smith replied. His fingers dashed across the keyboard. “This was five days ago.”

The map now showed small red dots all over Manhattan, much like the early maps of the Hemorrhage Virus. Smith punched a button and the time lapse started. The specks slowly moved to a central location until they formed one solid lump.

Kate brought a finger to her chin. “So the Variants have been on the move for days?”

“Yes, Doctor,” Smith said.

“And you’re wondering why they’re gathering in a central location?”

“I have a theory,” Jensen said. “I think they’re grouping together to hunt. It’s the typical hunter-gatherer behavior of our primitive ancestors. They’re grouping around resources.”

“Your theory isn’t much different than what I was thinking,” Kate said. “The VX-99 chemicals turned on genes that harken back long before any indigenous cultures were present in North America, though. Their behavior likely mirrors that of predatory animals like hyenas or lions. They hunt in groups and gather around natural resources.”

Jensen ran a finger across his chin and looked toward the ceiling. “But that doesn’t explain everything.”

An awkward moment of silence passed over the room, the tick of an unseen clock the only sound.

“As you can see, the clusters are showing up in multiple sections of the city. Command has put their numbers in the tens of thousands in these areas,” Jensen said.

“Tens of thousands?” Kate stared intensely at the monitor. “I don’t get it. Where are the rest of them?”

“That’s why I brought you here. To ask you that exact question.”

“There should be tens of thousands more,” Kate said before pausing. “No. There should be millions more.”

“These maps are accurate,” Smith said. “Satellite imagery and recon Marines don’t lie.”

Kate shook her head. “If approximately eighty percent of the population in New York was infected with the Hemorrhage Virus, that means there were over sixteen million cases before VariantX9H9 was launched. And if ten percent of those infected survived the virus and transformed into Variants, then that puts their numbers between one and two million. Even if this map focuses just on Manhattan, there’s simply no way there could be that kind of discrepancy.”

Smith chuckled nervously. “Maybe the Variants all ran away.”

“More like vanished,” Kate said, narrowing her eyes at the screen. “So the real question is what happened to all of them.”

Jensen crawled with anxiety. There was absolutely no rational explanation for the numbers being so far off. Either the doctor was wrong or Central Command was planning an offensive with faulty intel.

“Lieutenants,” Jensen said, craning his neck toward the communication officers at the opposite end of the room. They both took a break from listening to the endless sea of radio chatter and waited for orders. “Get someone from Central on the horn ASAP.”

Troop movements, armor, and air strikes were being planned around maps that potentially showed a fraction of the true Variant strength. They had to warn Command to delay Operation Liberty before it was too late.

Beckham couldn’t stop thinking about Kate’s message. “Evolving,” he muttered a bit too loud.

“What’s evolving?” Horn asked, packing his gear bag while Tasha and Jenny sat a few feet away.

Beckham glanced over at the girls. They were oblivious to the conversation, playing with a doll Tasha managed to bring with her.

“The Variants,” Beckham whispered. “Kate said they’re evolving but didn’t specify into what, or how.”

“What’s a Variant, Daddy?” Jenny asked. “Is that one of the monsters?”

Beckham sighed. He was going to let Horn explain this one.

“Is that what killed Mommy?” Tasha asked.

Horn’s face turned crimson. Beckham’s heart ached for him. He wanted to help his friend, but he didn’t know what to say.

The man kneeled in front of his girls. Tears welled in his eyes. “Your mom was a very sick woman. She’s with Grandma and Grandpa now.”

“But I want her to be here with us,” Tasha whimpered.

Jenny jammed her head against Horn’s flak jacket.

He reached for Tasha and pulled her close. “I know. I know; I do too. But we have to be strong. We have to be strong so we can get to Plum Island with Reed.”

Jenny peeked from under her dad’s arm. Beckham forced a smile, but the ache dug deeper when he saw the true pain in her face. He thought of his own mom and traced a finger over his vest pocket; he knew exactly how the girl felt.

Beckham took two steps forward until he was within arm’s distance from Horn and his girls. He’d suppressed memories of his mom his entire life. But seeing Tasha, Jenny and Horn dealing with Sheila’s loss brought them all surging back.

He put a hand on Horn’s shoulder simply to let him know he was there. The four of them remained in the center of the damp hallway for several minutes, letting everything out. Tears found their way down Beckham’s face. Three of the most important people in the world were right next to him. He was going to do anything to protect them.

“Gear check in fifteen,” came a voice down the hallway. Five Army Rangers advanced through the crowd, checking the wounded and splitting the survivors into groups.

Beckham wiped his eyes as Chow and Jinx approached.

“Horn, I’m guessing you want to stay with your girls, right?” Jinx asked.

An incredulous look broke across Horn’s face. Beckham had to chuckle.

“Copy that,” Jinx said. He turned to Beckham. “We better get working on our formation. I just sent a scout out to check on the smoke. Good news there; it’s changed course away from the evac zone.”

Beckham considered the route they’d used to get to the tunnels and said, “The tunnel is filled with corpses and gore. We have kids to think about.”

Jinx scratched his nose. “With all due respect, the kids have already seen that shit and worse.”

The words hit Beckham hard. He knew the horrors the kids had already seen, the same horrors he’d seen in New York and Niantic. Those images would stay with the children for the rest of their lives.

“Other way is risky, man,” Chow said, pulling out his map. “We’ve been using it for supply runs and recon, but you already know the last time we were ambushed.”

“Four Delta Operators and six Rangers to protect fifty people. Against things that move like insects,” Jinx muttered. “I don’t like our odds.”

“What’s the distance between the two routes?” Beckham asked. He helped Chow spread the map against the concrete wall.

“Way we came in is about one and half miles. Other way is three.” Chow wiped a strand of jet-black hair out of his face and focused. Beckham could see it in the man’s eyes—he wanted to take the way they’d come in. He didn’t like the idea of exiting through a tunnel full of corpses, but maybe he didn’t have any other option. Beckham looked to Horn for support.

“Probably the fastest way is the best way,” Horn said, stroking Tasha’s hair. “Especially if the smoke has cleared.”

Beckham licked the roof of his mouth. Once again he was at the helm, but this time he had a shit-ton of civilians to look after. “All right. We’ll exit the way we came in. Chow, you and I will take point. I want our best Ranger snipers on the rooftops along the route. Two’ll have to go out ahead of us and stay ahead as we move, but they fall back to join the main group if they meet any threats. Horn, you and Jinx stay with the civilians. The other two Rangers will take rear guard. Buddy up every able adult with a child. Tell the kids to cover their eyes if they can. I don’t want any of them seeing this shit if they don’t have to.”