Hive Island - The Awakening | Open Novella Contest 2020

Chapter 8 - Headquarters

By the time Oliver pulled into the HQ rear parking lot, Claire had passed out. He was convinced it was a phase and whenever she woke up, the Claire she knew would be long gone.

He screeched to a stop outside the sliding glass doors and signaled for the waiting officers.

"I need some help here. Can someone get a gurney, ASAP. I secured Claire to the door with her cuffs and seatbelt."

"You cuffed her?" the first officer said, his eyebrows raised. "Was that really necessary?"

"She thought so. Hurry, we don't have much time, she can wake at any moment."

One officer ran back inside while the other ran around the car and helped Oliver remove the cuffs and the seatbelt. As they lifted her out of the car, her hands twitched.

"Where's that gurney?" Oliver yelled as they lifted Claire out of the car. "You, take her legs." Oliver lifted her by her armpits and walked towards the door just as the other officer appeared with a gurney and the on-duty sergeant.

"Quickly," Oliver said and laid her down on the gurney, then strapped her arms and legs in. As soon as he was done, he stepped away and took a deep breath.

"Thank you, sir, for bringing her here," the sergeant said. "I'm Becker. I'm the one she called earlier. She told me to have a secure room waiting for her and to keep her restrained no matter what."

"That's correct. Did she tell you anything else?"

Becker nodded and gestured towards the building. "Yes, in fact, she did. Some sort of biological outbreak. We can talk further in my office."

"Before we do that, Sergeant, I'm looking for Matthew," Oliver said as he followed Becker into the building.

"Claire's son? Yeah, he's waiting in my office. How do you know Matthew, if you don't mind me asking."

"He's my son."

Becker raised his eyebrows. "Your son? I didn't realize—"

"We've been separated for a while," Oliver said without going into detail. If she hadn't shared details of her past with her co-workers, he didn't want to be the one to fill in any murky details.

"I see. She said something about an outbreak. Is it true?"

Oliver nodded. "I'm afraid so. I had hoped I would never see one again, but it's here. I'd advise your men to take extra care. These beasts are smart."

"Smart?" Becker laughed. "Sir, I spent years hunting down these animals before they were finally contained. They were anything but smart."

"These are different."

"If you say so."

They arrived at Becker's office. Matthew, seated in the chair opposite Becker's desk, looked up. He furrowed his brow and stood up to greet Oliver.

"Dad? Is it really you?"

Oliver resisted an impulse to rush over and give Matthew a hug. He wiped a tear from his eye and nodded. "It is. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Matthew crossed his arms. "Yeah, like five years. What took you so long?"

"Listen, Matthew," Oliver said, "Your mom and I—"

The phone on Becker's desk interrupted them. Becker picked it up and listened intently for a few moments, then hung up. He looked up at Oliver.

"You better come with me to the ops center."

"Why, what's happening?"

"I'm not sure."

"Matthew, stay here, all right? I'll be right back, ok?"