Thirteen Roses Book One: Before: An Apocalyptic Zombie Saga by Michael Cairns

I've got it, I've actually got it.'
    Alex blinked and looked up from his paper. There was a familiar note in Jason's voice, that of excitement and the surety that, this time, he'd cracked it. As they pored over the paper together, Alex felt his stomach twist as it hadn't done all the previous times. There was no way of knowing, not without testing, but it looked right. It felt right.
    They did test it, of course. The moment came months later, in the university labs after hours. The lights were off, save for the bench where they worked. They talked in hushed voices, though there was no need. The place was deserted after ten at night. They knew because they'd been here till then every night for the past six weeks.  
    With shaking hands, Jason put the test tube into the centrifuge and switched it on. They said nothing as they watched it turn. It slowed and Jason reached for it. Alex put a hand on his arm.  
    'Wait. Just, wait.'
    'Dad, we've been through this. God, over and over again. There's no harm in it.'
    Alex laughed, a sound he'd heard once before. 'There's every harm in it. It's harm in a test tube, pure, undiluted harm.'
    'But no one knows and no one will. Not unless we sell it.'
    With those words, Alex went cold and took a step away. He grabbed Jason's arm and swung him round. His son had that gleam in his eye, the same he'd worn most of his life that had made him so proud. It was drive, determination, all the things he and Lisa had put in him. It looked different now.  
    It looked like madness.  
    'You can't sell this.'
    'Of course not. The only people who would see this is the government, but we won't tell them either.'
    Alex took a breath and let go of Jason's arm. His words helped, but the gleam was still there and he opened his mouth. What was the worst that could happen? He blinked and saw something in his mind's eye. It was a balloon, floating low above him and rose petals dropped from it to rain upon him.  
    He blinked again and saw the test tube, rising slowly from the centrifuge. Jason carried it over to the bench and slipped the pipe into the cover. In their sealed glass tank, Jack and Jill scurried about in mousey-ignorance, blind to what was about to befall them.  
    Inside the test tube what looked like dirt-ridden smog twisted and turned. A wisp of it ran up the tube and emerged into the tank. Jill was nearest, though Alex was never sure which was which. She twitched, tiny nose wrinkling up, then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed with a soft thump to the cage floor.  
    Alex and Jason drew nearer, staring at the cage. Jack was still on the far side, away from the smoke. If the mix did what they thought it would, it was the worst place he could be. Jill twitched, nose wriggling. She rolled over and back, tiny paws scratching at her fur. She climbed slowly to her feet.  
    They saw her eyes at the same time and the loudest noise in the laboratory was their joint gasps. They were red, every blood vessel burst and filling her eye. Then she moved, steadily and surely. The next thing Alex saw was her fastening her tiny teeth around her cage-mate's head and squeezing and squeezing.  
    Jack squealed, a pathetic sound that cut off as his head caved in. Jill set to work, gnawing and chewing, pieces of undigested mouse falling from both sides of her mouth. She was greedy for something, but nothing was going down. Once he was reduced to a pile of half-masticated bits, Jill picked one at random and settled down to her dinner, chewing slowly.  
    Alex turned away, one hand pressed to his mouth. The hand shook and he saw the balloon again. He turned back to the test tube and pulled the pipe out.  
    'We destroy this. We destroy the formula and all the research.'
    'Dad, we can't. Look what we've done.'
    'I'VE SEEN WHAT WE'VE DONE! We destroy everything.' His breath came in great gasps and he put a hand to his chest. 'What have we done, god, what have we done?'
    'It's the ultimate weapon. There'll be no more