Honeybee

Chapter 39

The Screamer slammed from one side of the cage to the other, trying unsuccessfully to break free. The cage was more like an animal enclosure, big enough to comfortably contain at least three elephants and strong enough to withstand the efforts of an angry Rhino. The Screamer never gave in. It continued to crash into the side, its body becoming bruised and bloody. And then it stopped and stared towards a window where a face was watching it almost beat itself unconscious.

Jason had been watching it for the past ten minutes. The fact that it never once faltered reminded Jason of why these things needed to somehow be stopped. Staring into its eyes as it stared back at him, he searched for any hint of human life inside, but found nothing. Instead, he felt that it was delving deep into his soul, looking for a sign that the virus was in his body and turning him into one of them. But it saw nothing but determined eyes and unwavering strength.

‘Ugly looking things, aren’t they?’ The Doc said as he moved in beside Jason.

‘I was looking to see if there was any human left inside.’ Jason said.

‘I don’t know. Maybe somewhere deep inside. Who knows?’ The Doc replied. ‘My monkeys never reached this stage of the virus.’

‘Well, there’s only one way to find out.’ Jason said, staring at the syringe in the Docs hand.

‘How are you going to do this?’ The Doc said.

‘I’m just going to walk in there and inject it.’ Jason replied.

‘He’ll kill you before you get close enough.’ The Doc stated.

‘No he won’t.’ Jason said, ‘He knows I’m infected.’

Jason reached for the syringe and the Doc reluctantly gave it up.

‘Here, take these as well.’ He said, handing him a bag with two bottles of liquid and spare syringes in it. ‘Tranquiliser and the cure. Just in case.’

‘Thanks Doc.’ Jason said. ‘I’ll be fine.’

In all honesty, Jason wasn’t fine. He felt weak. His legs were ready to give way at any moment, and his head was spinning. He had spent the past hour trying to supress a cough, holding it back until his eyes began to water. He knew he was sick. He knew that at any time he could turn into one of them, but he put on a brave face and waited for the Doc to unlock the door.

Locating the correct key on a bunch of about ten keys, The Doc stuck it in the lock and turned it.

‘Is there no other way of doing this?’ He asked, before allowing Jason through the door.

‘Nope.’ Jason said, not giving it another thought. ‘Let’s get it over with.’

The Doc stood for a moment and then opened the door and they both entered the room. The cage was off to the left with is own access door. In front of them was another door like the one they had just walked through which Jason assumed gave access to the next cage. The rest of the room was empty apart from a small table and a chair.

The Screamer watched them enter the room and ran at the front of the cage. The holes in the steel mesh sides were too small for it to reach through, but Jason guessed it could shoot a vine through. He watched as it became frustrated. It stared as if trying to work out what was happening, its craggy face in deep concentration.

‘There’s the entrance.’ The Doc said as he handed Jason another key. ‘Unlock it, slide the bolt, enter quickly, and… remember to lock it again once you’re inside.’

‘Yeah, I know.’

‘I’ll be watching through the window. I wish you the best of luck.’

‘Don’t worry Doc, I’ll be fine.’

The Doc left the room, locking the door after him and Jason watched as he appeared in the viewing window. Jason made his way over to the entrance and stuck the key in the lock. The Screamer was still leaning against the front of the cage but was watching every move that Jason made.

‘Well, this is going to be fun.’ Jason said.

He turned the key, double checking that he had everything to hand and then he slid the bolt. The door popped open an inch and Jason quickly shuffled in and locked the door behind him. The Screamer was on him in a matter of seconds, attempting to wrap him up in vines and crush him to death. Jason was no longer scared, he stood his ground and shoved the creature back toward the centre of the cage. It stumbled and almost fell backwards but regained its balance. It became angry and was about to attack again when it reached for its neck and felt an empty syringe sticking out. Pulling it out, it threw it to the ground, took a few laboured steps forward and then collapsed. Jason watched as the beast relaxed and its breathing slowed. Jason had given it enough tranquiliser to subdue it but not enough to knock it out cold. Reaching in the bag, he pulled out the syringe that contained the cure and stuck it into the Screamers neck, slowly expelling the liquid into its infected veins.

The Screamer didn’t react, it just lay there, numb from the tranquiliser. Jason took it as a good sign. He was half expecting it to have a bad reaction, maybe a fit, or multiple convulsions. But it seemed to have no effect. Pulling the syringe out, he stuck it into the top of the bottle that contained the cure and refilled it. He squirted a bubble of air out of it as he stared at the clear liquid inside. And then he stuck it into his own arm, looked over at the window and slowly pumped to liquid into his vein

‘Sorry Doc.’ He said, as he squirted the last few drops into his arm.

And then he fell unconscious.