Nicholas Smith - Extinction Horizon

And Toxicology had made a major discovery. The tissue screenings revealed traces of the VX-99. The technicians had used detergents and a variety of chemicals to digest the tissue samples. Then they used mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance to identify the chemical compounds of VX-99 present in the structure. Electron microscopy then revealed what Kate and Ellis had missed. Tiny nanostructures of VX-99 had attached to the Ebola virus strands.

But something was still off—something that didn’t make sense. The chemicals weren’t just solubilized in the tissues and absorbed in the cells.

Ellis nodded as she read. “The VX-99 exists in a hybrid nanostructure form.”

“So we know how Doctor Medford modified the virus, but this still doesn’t explain the mutations and transformation of the victim. The violent behavior, the physiology changes,” Kate said. “Unless…”

“Keep reading,” Cindy said. She sat next to Ellis, her hand cupped over her mouth.

Kate nodded and scrolled down to the next section titled Epigenetic Changes .

The two words made her pause. What the hell did they have to do with the Hemorrhage virus?

She read on, digesting the information slowly.

“The VX-99 chemicals disrupt the normal cell to cell signaling that regulates what genes are turned on and off within cells.”

Ellis stood and pulled back a clump of hair that had flopped over his forehead and exhaled. “Holy shit,” he said enthusiastically. He broke into a rapid speech. “There are twenty to twenty-five thousand human protein coding genes. Only about ninety-eight percent of those are actually active. Some of them are remnants, dating back to the primordial ooze stage of evolution. The sucker lips are reminiscent of early multicellular organisms and some more complex parasites. The vertical pupils with the double membrane could link to a number of species. And the flexible joints could relate—”

Kate held up a hand in disbelief, cutting Ellis off. She closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. “So, Doctor Medford used VX-99 to turn on genes that harken back to the lineage of evolution.”

“It’s insane,” Cindy said.

“But it makes sense,” Kate replied, ashamed she hadn’t thought of this before. When she opened her eyes everything was crystal clear. How could she have missed the signs? The chemicals from VX-99 reactivated the protein-coded genes that separated humans from wild animals. Ellis was right. Some of them might even date back millennia. Simply put, the chemicals turned the infected host into a predatory animal. That’s what had made the weapon so deadly back in Vietnam.

Hunching over the screen, Kate read the final paragraph out loud. “Endocrine cell signaling is causing an increase in the stem cell population with dermal and bone marrow tissues.”

Cindy nodded rapidly. “Fascinating. It’s like their body is telling them they are constantly injured, which in turn produces a constant supply of hormones that tell stem cells to proliferate and circulate in the bloodstream.”

“So their glands have likely been altered as a result of VX-99 as well,” Kate stated.

Ellis nodded. “Exactly, the specimens are producing more and more stem cells, which also explains their fast metabolisms.”

“And,” Kate said, her voice softening as she spoke. “It explains why they are hungry as hell for raw meat. It’s the quickest and most digestible source for the proteins they need to keep making stem cells.”

“Maybe zombies aren’t science fiction after all,” Ellis said. There was a hint of shock in his voice. The enthusiasm from before had vanished.

“These aren’t zombies,” Kate said sternly.

She reread the three paragraphs just to reinforce what she already knew. When she finally looked away, the room was silent, and both of her colleagues sat staring at her. Their eyes pleaded for reassurance, begging her to offer a different opinion than the one they had already formed. But the facts were right in front of them. Shaking, Kate said, “Doctor Medford was never working on a cure for Ebola. He was working on a bioweapon.”

“But what about the endothelial cells?” Ellis said, his voice low like he already knew the answer. “Maybe he was really working on a cure…”

“No,” Kate said. “He was working on a weapon—a contagious, deadly, and untraceable weapon. That’s why we never saw the nanoparticles. They were already filtering out of the body. If it weren’t for the liver sample, Rod would never have even known.”

“A weapon killed Javier and Michael,” Kate whispered, almost to herself. “A weapon is killing the entire world.” Her voice grew louder. “The Hemorrhage virus is manmade!”

Cindy and Ellis stood, but neither said a single word.

An abrupt surge of anger washed through Kate. With her thoughts spinning in all directions, she directed that anger toward Gibson. The colonel was the engineer of more than Plum Island. He was the engineer of the Hemorrhage virus. The outbreak may very well have been an accident, but the creation of the virus itself wasn’t.

Kate reached for her forehead, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and lightheaded. “Cindy, do you have access to any of Doctor Medford’s research?”

The technician shook her head.

“But you work for USAMRIID,” Ellis said. “You’re telling us you don’t have access to their files?”

“There are no files,” Cindy replied firmly. “There never were.” She shot Kate a frightened look. “I’m just as shocked as you are.”

The words spoke louder than anything Kate had seen. She knew then with certainty that Medford had engineered the Hemorrhage virus under orders from above. He’d covered his tracks to make it look like it was actually a cure for the Ebola outbreak in Guinea. But the secret weapon had never left Building 8 inside a secure case—it had left Building 8 by accident in human form.

The chain of events no longer mattered. All that mattered was that the Hemorrhage virus wasn’t from some jungle in Africa. It was engineered in a lab on U.S. soil. Which meant it would be even more difficult to cure. And behind all of it was…

Gibson.

A man Michael had trusted. Taking in long, deep breaths, Kate whisked away from the monitors. Overwhelmed by anger, she walked briskly for the exit. Her mind was clear and focused now. She knew exactly what she was going to do next.

“Where are you going, Kate?” Ellis yelled after her.

“If you want to know, follow me,” she replied.

Colonel Gibson walked across the small lab to peer through a thick glass panel separating the room from a holding chamber. A bank of bright oval lights hung from the ceiling on the other side, illuminating a trio of technicians strapping the limp body of a young boy to a metal gurney. They were the same type of lights they used to study the sole survivor of Operation Burn Bright so many years ago. They brought back flashbacks of Lieutenant Brett’s frail body as he twisted in the chains that bound him in the tiny cell they had kept him in for the better part of a decade.

He reminded himself why he’d reactivated the bioweapon program, as if justifying it might somehow make things seem less horrific. VX-99 was supposed to have transformed the lieutenant into a super soldier, but instead it had wiped away his humanity. Gibson’s vision for the weapon had changed over the years. He’d abandoned the idea of creating a super soldier and instead had ordered Doctor Medford to create a bioweapon. VX-99 was supposed to replace the need for boots on the ground. His vision was for VX-99 to save the lives of thousands of American soldiers. Men like his son, who had died from the cowardly IEDs that insurgents used to turn young soldiers into ground beef. And best of all, the weapon would have been mostly untraceable.