14 Surv1v0rs

22

"We must join with Reeves and tell him that it is over now."
"Yes," said Jack, trying to sound as casual as he could. "By the way, where's Thomas?"
"He's fueling the truck."
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to continue carrying out Reeve's plan."
"Why?" said Jack.
"We're going to destroy Nerva ... and all the evidence of what went on here. It is the only way to explain all that has happened here, don't you think?"
"Yes," said Jack, after a moment's thought. "That's probably the best decision. But shouldn't we try to contact Reeves?"
"That'd be wise. But he went off comms."
"He did?" said Jack.
"Yes," said Hal. "I suspect he's afraid we'll use Michael to try to locate him using his comms link.
"Anyway, we don't need to use technology anymore, Jack. That's the human way of communicating. But we are no longer human. Our minds have joined by now."
"Our minds?"
"Telepathy," said Hal.
"Well I'm not sure I'm that far evolved yet," Jack said, trying to keep the edginess out of his voice.
"Nonsense," said Hal. "You were infected the same time we were. All you have to do is listen."
"Well I—"
"Listen!" insisted Hal, staring at him raptly. "Jack, look at me. Listen!"
Jack looked into his face, but his eyes couldn't meet Hal's. "Okay," he said at last. He listened.
"I can hear them," said Hal.
"Who?"
"Them. I can hear them in my head! Like Bob Marley said. They're in my head. Listen!" Hal paused again, and stared at Jack. "Can't you hear them?"
"I—think," said Jack, nervously stooping to one knee to examine Michael's body. He didn't like where this was leading. He shut Michael's eyes. Rest in peace, he thought, and took the knife from Michael's pocket before hiding it in his waistband.
Hal was still standing stock still, listening to nothing. At last he grinned. "Hey, I have an idea. Let's sync our minds. What are they saying, Jack? Tell me what they are saying. We're telepathic now. Read my mind."
"Er—I was wrong," said Jack, rising. "I don't think I can hear them yet. Give me another day or two."
"But you're so evolved!" said Hal, turning to him. "Surely you could communicate with me! No—you'd be able to communicate with Reeves. You're in Phase Three now!"
"Perhaps," said Jack. "But—"
"Why are they laughing?" Hal cried suddenly.
"Maybe it's just in your head."
"Yes! It's in my head! Not them—it! It's laughing—like this—" And Hal gave a wild, long wheezing laugh. "It's happening! Wow! Soon, Jack, my eyes will start to bleed, and then they'll fall out of my head! And then—strange protuberances will appear all over me!" He looked at his hands, then ran his fingers through his hair and pulled out locks with his fingers before letting them fall at his feet. "My hair's falling out! Amazing! Soon, I'll be violently sick. I won't just vomit, Jack, I'll vomit out my spleen and my liver! They'll be replaced by alien organs, of course. This is so exciting!"
Jack backed away.
"Then—the tentacles!" Hal cried, advancing on him. "Jack, I'll have tentacles! Tentacles! Who wouldn't want to have tentacles?"
"Hal, I don't think you're infected," said Jack. "I think you're just mad!"
"Mad? Like Marley? Jack, come on. That's not a nice thing to say! You're one of us! One of us! ONE OF US! Now tell me what I'm thinking. Try!"
"How about you read my mind?" said Jack.
"Read your mind?"
"Yes," said Jack.
"Let's see," said Hal. "What is Jack thinking?"
"Close your eyes—focus on what I'm thinking."
Hal shut his eyes. "You're right! It is easier to concentrate with your eyes closed."
That was when Jack pulled the knife from his waistband, and rushed Hal.
Hal opened his eyes, saw him, and raised the gun instinctively.
Jack stabbed him in the thigh before a shot went off. It struck his arm.
Hal fell backward and fired again at him.
They struggled, but Jack felt he was losing. He was injured. He freed himself and leaped to his feet.
Jack turned and burst out of the office, bleeding. Another bullet sailed through the glass. He leaped over the railing and fell in a cascade of glass to the floor ten feet below. He landed and felt his ankle twist. He cried out in pain, and rolled over in the glass. A shard stuck in his elbow. He didn't feel it.
Connor's body lay beside him, blood pooling away from his head, and Karl's was not far away. Both their heads had been bashed in.
Fighting the urge to scream in pain, he climbed to his feet and hobbled toward the stairs leading to the chemical storage units below.
Hal kicked through the office door and looked over the railing at him. "Come back, Jack!" he shouted, and fired again. "I'm not finished reading your mind!"
He's crazy, thought Jack. Really, really crazy.