that
precious pack of yours worth a person’s life…worth anything in this world now?”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jim said through
clenched teeth. His sullen eyes had become aglow and his face tightened as he
looked up at Travis. “What’s in here is all that matters, in this very moment,
and what future moment’s humanity has left. Nothing else matters, not me, not
you-- only the vaccine in here. For now, the devil owns the world and what I
hold here may be all that matters.”
Travis placed his hands on his hips. “Vaccine, what vaccine?
What the fuck are you talking about Jim?”
“Your mind is too simple to understand the
implications of what I have in my pack. Men like you are on autopilot,
programmed by a government that has shaped you into an organic asset for
removing roadblocks that obstruct their global agenda. My research in New
Mexico, along with that of my colleagues elsewhere, was meant to provide hope
for the human race, not plunge it into darkness,” Jim seethed, as he clenched
the shoulder strap of the pack.
Katy walked up to the two men and shot a puzzled
glance at Travis. “Everything alright? What’s going on?”
“I’d like to know myself,” he shrugged at Katy. “Why
don’t you start from the beginning Jim, before this organic asset gets
angry.”
Jim rolled his shoulders back and held his chin up,
gazing at the trees above. He exhaled and began twitching the fingers on his
right hand like he was trying to remove a sticky substance. “We never intended
for the pathogen to spread the way it did,” he paused looking down at the river.
“I was one of six researchers brought in to design the virus and then formulate
an antidote to mitigate any damage such a deadly bioweapon could cause in the
wrong hands.” He leaned forward and dipped his fingers in the water below,
swirling them back and forth as if painting. “They said we would be saviors and
the world would be beholden to the brilliant minds that averted extinction,” he
muttered while his lips contorted in a half-smile. “Instead it was these very
hands that cleaved the world in two, fracturing for all time the glorious
achievements of our race.”
Travis leaned forward, “You mean you’re one of the
architects of this disease that’s crippled the world? What the hell were you
doing hiding out on our river trip when you should have been combatting this?
You thought you’d just drop off the radar for a while until you could return,
with no one the smarter?”
Jim dropped his head between his knees, grinding his
palms into his temples as if trying to erase his memory. “History will show
that I wasn’t a coward, though, but a scientist of principal.”
Katy lunged forward kicking Jim in the back. “You
should die right here…you bastard…you…” Travis grabbed her arm and pulled her
back. “Easy…easy Katy.”
“Our friends are lying dead on the beach, and
Becka’s whole family is gone because of this monster. Don’t tell me to go easy
on him,” she said, jerking her arm free. “I’ve got a father back home…he’s all
I have left, and I don’t even know if he’s alive.”
“Get in line behind me if you want to kick in his
front teeth but right now, we need more information, so I’m asking you nicely
to back off,” Travis said.
Katy ruffled out a deep breath and paced from left
to right with folded arms.
“Jim, you’ve got a lot to spill tears over. Maybe
you should’ve found religion or gotten a conscience by now. Why don’t you let
us in on your little science fiction plot to end the world, and tell me what
the hell is in your pack. Because if it’s something that can turn things around,
I’d sure like to know.”
Jim stroked the top of the dusty pack repeatedly, as
if he were petting a beloved dog. He stared ahead into the cottonwood grove
with swollen eyes. “Like any virus, there are three ways to battle such a
contagion. You get inoculated before the event, you get an
precious pack of yours worth a person’s life…worth anything in this world now?”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jim said through
clenched teeth. His sullen eyes had become aglow and his face tightened as he
looked up at Travis. “What’s in here is all that matters, in this very moment,
and what future moment’s humanity has left. Nothing else matters, not me, not
you-- only the vaccine in here. For now, the devil owns the world and what I
hold here may be all that matters.”
Travis placed his hands on his hips. “Vaccine, what vaccine?
What the fuck are you talking about Jim?”
“Your mind is too simple to understand the
implications of what I have in my pack. Men like you are on autopilot,
programmed by a government that has shaped you into an organic asset for
removing roadblocks that obstruct their global agenda. My research in New
Mexico, along with that of my colleagues elsewhere, was meant to provide hope
for the human race, not plunge it into darkness,” Jim seethed, as he clenched
the shoulder strap of the pack.
Katy walked up to the two men and shot a puzzled
glance at Travis. “Everything alright? What’s going on?”
“I’d like to know myself,” he shrugged at Katy. “Why
don’t you start from the beginning Jim, before this organic asset gets
angry.”
Jim rolled his shoulders back and held his chin up,
gazing at the trees above. He exhaled and began twitching the fingers on his
right hand like he was trying to remove a sticky substance. “We never intended
for the pathogen to spread the way it did,” he paused looking down at the river.
“I was one of six researchers brought in to design the virus and then formulate
an antidote to mitigate any damage such a deadly bioweapon could cause in the
wrong hands.” He leaned forward and dipped his fingers in the water below,
swirling them back and forth as if painting. “They said we would be saviors and
the world would be beholden to the brilliant minds that averted extinction,” he
muttered while his lips contorted in a half-smile. “Instead it was these very
hands that cleaved the world in two, fracturing for all time the glorious
achievements of our race.”
Travis leaned forward, “You mean you’re one of the
architects of this disease that’s crippled the world? What the hell were you
doing hiding out on our river trip when you should have been combatting this?
You thought you’d just drop off the radar for a while until you could return,
with no one the smarter?”
Jim dropped his head between his knees, grinding his
palms into his temples as if trying to erase his memory. “History will show
that I wasn’t a coward, though, but a scientist of principal.”
Katy lunged forward kicking Jim in the back. “You
should die right here…you bastard…you…” Travis grabbed her arm and pulled her
back. “Easy…easy Katy.”
“Our friends are lying dead on the beach, and
Becka’s whole family is gone because of this monster. Don’t tell me to go easy
on him,” she said, jerking her arm free. “I’ve got a father back home…he’s all
I have left, and I don’t even know if he’s alive.”
“Get in line behind me if you want to kick in his
front teeth but right now, we need more information, so I’m asking you nicely
to back off,” Travis said.
Katy ruffled out a deep breath and paced from left
to right with folded arms.
“Jim, you’ve got a lot to spill tears over. Maybe
you should’ve found religion or gotten a conscience by now. Why don’t you let
us in on your little science fiction plot to end the world, and tell me what
the hell is in your pack. Because if it’s something that can turn things around,
I’d sure like to know.”
Jim stroked the top of the dusty pack repeatedly, as
if he were petting a beloved dog. He stared ahead into the cottonwood grove
with swollen eyes. “Like any virus, there are three ways to battle such a
contagion. You get inoculated before the event, you get an
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