surprised to hear nothing coming from him. No breathing. No heartbeat. Nothing to indicate he was alive.
What the hell were these guys?
There was no time to delay, though. He couldn’t keep the focus for longer than a few minutes. He’d have to hurry.
Terry leapt to his feet and took a deep breath. He placed his heel against the tree behind him. With a burst of strength, he pushed himself off the trunk and dashed as fast as his legs could carry him.
Scar looked at him, suddenly alive. He snapped to his feet, calling to the others.
With each step, Terry ran faster. He turned to see the guard readying his weapon, while the other three stirred.
A bang went off behind him. The bullet whizzed by. He dashed into the nearby woods.
Another bullet exploded from the gun, striking a nearby tree, splintering chunks of bark into the air.
Terry didn’t slow down. He ran as fast as he possibly could. He knew those men would follow immediately, and they wouldn’t stop until they had no other choice. He’d have to push himself, summon every ounce of strength he had.
It was time to put his abilities to the test.
******
The air felt cold against Mei’s scalp. It had only been a few hours since John had buzzed her hair. Did she make a mistake? Doesn’t matter , she thought as she made her way toward Bartholomew’s work tent. I made the decision, and it’s done. Time to move on.
Today, Zoe was driving to Komodo to unload a cab full of research materials. Normally this only happened once a month, but thanks to recent developments, the process had to be accelerated. They didn’t have much time to get everything out, and Mei wanted to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.
There was also the matter of Travis’s body, which had to be shipped all the way to Central so there could be a proper funeral. Mei didn’t like the idea of stuffing him inside a box and sending him away, but they didn’t give her much of a choice. The labs insisted on doing an autopsy. Tabata assured her it was necessary, saying they needed as much information about the radiation as possible, but none of it made her feel any better.
As she reached Bart’s tent, she could hear metal hitting metal as the engineer performed his work. Unzipping and opening the flap, she saw Bart standing there holding what appeared to be a section of a Fever Killer. The hulking object was nearly as tall as Mei, but in Bart’s arms it looked much smaller. He wheezed, hefting it onto the table and letting it slam down. “Oops,” he said, gasping. “Sorry, Doctor Curie.”
“No, no, it’s my fault,” she answered. “I should have called ahead.”
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his shoulder. “What can I do for you?”
“Zoe’s about to take off for Komodo. Did you want her to pick up anything?”
“Some potatoes would be nice,” he said, reaching for the toolbox at the other end of the table. He grabbed a Philips and spun it around in his hand like a fan blade. “Any reason she’s got you asking me? Seems like you should be in bed.”
Mei waved her hand at him. “I volunteered. Tabata says I need to exercise.”
“As long as you don’t overdo it.”
“So potatoes?”
He nodded. “A few dozen, if she doesn’t mind.”
“Why so many?”
“I’ve had a craving for some diced potato bits, maybe grilled and seasoned. If she gets enough, I’ll fix a plate for everyone.”
Mei smiled. “Sounds pretty good. I’m not too sure if Komodo has any, but I’ll ask her to look. We might get lucky.”
“We could do with some luck if you ask me,” he said, unscrewing a piece of the Fever Killer.
“I noticed you didn’t have any shipments to send home.”
“Still in the process,” he said, pointing to the other end of the tent with his screwdriver. Several crates were resting in the corner. “Filled half of them last night. I’ll have something ready next time.”
“Not this piece?” she asked, motioning to the machine on
What the hell were these guys?
There was no time to delay, though. He couldn’t keep the focus for longer than a few minutes. He’d have to hurry.
Terry leapt to his feet and took a deep breath. He placed his heel against the tree behind him. With a burst of strength, he pushed himself off the trunk and dashed as fast as his legs could carry him.
Scar looked at him, suddenly alive. He snapped to his feet, calling to the others.
With each step, Terry ran faster. He turned to see the guard readying his weapon, while the other three stirred.
A bang went off behind him. The bullet whizzed by. He dashed into the nearby woods.
Another bullet exploded from the gun, striking a nearby tree, splintering chunks of bark into the air.
Terry didn’t slow down. He ran as fast as he possibly could. He knew those men would follow immediately, and they wouldn’t stop until they had no other choice. He’d have to push himself, summon every ounce of strength he had.
It was time to put his abilities to the test.
******
The air felt cold against Mei’s scalp. It had only been a few hours since John had buzzed her hair. Did she make a mistake? Doesn’t matter , she thought as she made her way toward Bartholomew’s work tent. I made the decision, and it’s done. Time to move on.
Today, Zoe was driving to Komodo to unload a cab full of research materials. Normally this only happened once a month, but thanks to recent developments, the process had to be accelerated. They didn’t have much time to get everything out, and Mei wanted to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.
There was also the matter of Travis’s body, which had to be shipped all the way to Central so there could be a proper funeral. Mei didn’t like the idea of stuffing him inside a box and sending him away, but they didn’t give her much of a choice. The labs insisted on doing an autopsy. Tabata assured her it was necessary, saying they needed as much information about the radiation as possible, but none of it made her feel any better.
As she reached Bart’s tent, she could hear metal hitting metal as the engineer performed his work. Unzipping and opening the flap, she saw Bart standing there holding what appeared to be a section of a Fever Killer. The hulking object was nearly as tall as Mei, but in Bart’s arms it looked much smaller. He wheezed, hefting it onto the table and letting it slam down. “Oops,” he said, gasping. “Sorry, Doctor Curie.”
“No, no, it’s my fault,” she answered. “I should have called ahead.”
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his shoulder. “What can I do for you?”
“Zoe’s about to take off for Komodo. Did you want her to pick up anything?”
“Some potatoes would be nice,” he said, reaching for the toolbox at the other end of the table. He grabbed a Philips and spun it around in his hand like a fan blade. “Any reason she’s got you asking me? Seems like you should be in bed.”
Mei waved her hand at him. “I volunteered. Tabata says I need to exercise.”
“As long as you don’t overdo it.”
“So potatoes?”
He nodded. “A few dozen, if she doesn’t mind.”
“Why so many?”
“I’ve had a craving for some diced potato bits, maybe grilled and seasoned. If she gets enough, I’ll fix a plate for everyone.”
Mei smiled. “Sounds pretty good. I’m not too sure if Komodo has any, but I’ll ask her to look. We might get lucky.”
“We could do with some luck if you ask me,” he said, unscrewing a piece of the Fever Killer.
“I noticed you didn’t have any shipments to send home.”
“Still in the process,” he said, pointing to the other end of the tent with his screwdriver. Several crates were resting in the corner. “Filled half of them last night. I’ll have something ready next time.”
“Not this piece?” she asked, motioning to the machine on
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