The Plum Island Conspiracy — Part 4
Series — Dr. Marcus Lockwood explains the threat currently sweeping through the Island research facility, and lays out what they'll need to do to stop it.
“Who are you?” Samuel asked.
“What the hell is going on?” Jeffry demanded, almost simultaneously.
The man on the other side of the glass gave a weary smile.
“Starting with the basics then – my name is Doctor Marcus Lockwood, and I believe you have my file,” he said. “I’m operating under the assumption that you read it, and understand what we were doing here.”
“You were studying an infected deer to find a cure for some super-virus that could wipe us all out,” Samuel replied.
Marcus shook his head, “That’s an oversimplification. When we started, the virus hadn’t gone cross species. We wore the suits as a precaution, but we didn’t know we were dealing with. Once we realized how it spread, and learned we could catch it, I voiced my concerns to the director of the project.”
“I take it he didn’t share your feelings then?” Jeffry asked.
“Understatement of the year,” Marcus laughed. “Although I don’t want to downplay the accomplishments we made, there were certain unnecessary risks. The OV-92 virus is truly fascinating. It works on such a macro-scale compared to anything else I’ve seen. The fastest strain in your body forces its way into your bones, commandeers your blood production. Your own platelets are disabled, converted into viral cluster-bombs for the next victim.”
“It looked like you were close to a cure,” Samuel prodded.
“We were, but the next step was a doozy.”
“Infecting another deer?” Jeffry asked.
“Having one specimen to manage already took ‘round the clock resources. Adding a second was inconceivable. When I told Doctor Blake this, he was displeased. He said that if I couldn’t find a way to safely manage the project, he’d find someone else who would.”
“So you went along with it?”
Lockwood shrugged. “What choice did I have? You know, for a few days, I thought I’d actually been overreacting. We had a reasonably safe enclosure in the lower lab; drains to handle the blood; secure doors; plenty of PPE…”
“Seems like a delivery that big would’ve been on our manifest,” Samuel said. “I don’t remember one.”
“For the experiment to work, we had to create the new specimen. It had to be infected directly by the deer we already had in captivity, so we could compare the strains.”
“I’m sure that went well.”
“Actually, the transmission itself went fine. But afterwards, our original specimen started behaving… aggressively.” He drew out the word. “At first we just thought it was agitated from the blood draw. Poor thing’s got to be in a constant state of suffering. I wasn’t in the lab when it escaped, but I saw the aftermath on the cameras. Chaos in minutes. Poor Hemlock; torn damn near in half.” He buried his face in his hands.
“Sounds like you were lucky to make it out of there at all,” Jeffrey said.
“A deer tore someone in half?” Samuel asked, incredulous.
Marcus shook his head. “That thing isn’t a deer. Not anymore. You didn’t see what it did to the place. Good God, I can’t unsee it.”
Samuel and Jeffry remain quiet as well, letting a few contemplative moments slip by. When it became clear that Marcus wouldn’t say anything further without prompting, Jeffry broke the silence.
“So where do we go from here, Marcus?” He asked. “Do you know why the National Guard stopped answering me on the radio?”
Marcus sighed. “Probably because the military told them to.”
“You think they’ve gotten here already?”
“Oh, absolutely. And I’m sorry you’re all caught up in this too – but I doubt very much they have any intention of letting us leave. Not until Blake gets what he wants.”
“Which is?” Samuel questioned.
“That bone marrow sample,” Marcus replied. “ Before we leave, we’re going to have to test his theory.”
“That’s madness,” Samuel shook his head.
“You want to go back outside with a hurricane bearing down on us, to track down a deer, that could infect us with some horrific, incurable virus?” Jeff asked incredulously.
“Maul us, more likely,” Marcus corrected. “And no. We already have the sample from the thing that escaped. We need to compare that sample against the second specimen; the deer still in the lab.”
“Is there anyone else at the lab who can help?” Samuel asked.
“They’re more likely to fight us than help us. Anyone left in there is probably infected with OV-92, and out of their minds. They can’t be reasoned with. That’s why I need your help,” he explained. “It’ll be a fight to get to the sub-basement, but we need that sample.”
“Why not just wait it out?”
Marcus sighed. “Listen, I don’t know how many different ways I can say this. If we do nothing, we will never get off this island. Right now, whoever’s in charge is getting antsy. I’ve been in that room before. Someone’s probably pointed out that it’s safer to burn the whole damn complex than risk letting the bug out. There will be some moral hand-wringing, sure, but in the end, they’ll press the button.”
“No way. There’s too many people,” Jeffrey said. “There would be too many questions.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time. Lost a dozen people to a lab accident back in ‘75. We burned the bodies on site, and wrote it up as a ferry accident. The only difference between killing all of us, and killing some of us is a the tally they put in some pre-written cover story.”
Samuel stared at the man from the lab through the glass. He reached over and grabbed the microphone from Jeffry, switching it off. Taking his fellow guard by the shoulder, he encouraged Jeffry to turn his back to the window.
“How do we know we can trust him?” Samuel asked.
“I get the feeling he’s telling the truth – I mean you saw the file, as much as I did. What we’re dealing with on the island, it’s very real.”
I’m not worried about the files; we need a way to make sure he’s not infected before we follow him back to the lab,” Samuel said.
“Hmm. Maybe there’s something in the research notes that can help us?”
Samuel nodded. “Blood, maybe? It seems like the specimen blood is black, and can’t clot.”
“Hey, now you’re talking. Let me go grab a clean knife from upstairs.” Jeffry left the microphone with Samuel, and retreated back to the living quarters.
Samuel switched the mic back on, and turned to Marcus. “We need to make sure we’re not putting ourselves at an even bigger risk by venturing back out with you. We need a test to make sure you’re really clean.”
Marcus shrugged. “I understand your concern. What would you like me to do?”
***
Ten minutes later, after showing his self-inflicted shoulder nick had already started to scab over, we welcomed Marcus to cross through the airlock.
“Thank you,” he said. “Now, we have some planning to do.”
Next episode coming soon
Thank You for Reading!
This post is part of the Plum Island Novella, following journalist Calvin Noble’s attempts to uncover a lab leak at a controversial research facility.
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If you don’t have the money for a paid subscription, telling a friend about me is pretty cool too. Getting your words in front of eyeballs is honestly harder than doing the actual writing and editing…
Seriously loving this mini novella