It did not take long for Nathans call to be answered by his boss Tony.  The fear in voice as he laid out the scene for his superior lacked in nothing. "Its a blood bath down here man I can't stop it. Something crazy has happened to some of the the participants. You have to get here now.  I am out of here".


 Tony listened quietly as the voice on the other end spoke.  He felt the color drain from his face and his throat go dry as he hung on the edge of every word.  The words sliced and pierced  his flesh as though a hundred bees had stung  him.  Emergency, gun shots, casualties-several casualties, blood bath.  Words that echoed over and over in his head.  Then, he heard  the deafening silence as  he held the dead phone in his trembling hand.

The research center in Hill City was his baby.  He had watched her go from just an idea in Copeland's California Headquarters board room, to a full  operating research center in rural Minnesota, with a promising future.  "The plan" his plan, had been brilliantly executed.  From the pharmaceutical labs to the study enrol lees it had a secure well thought out  protocol. From the very beginning he saw this as a way to make a huge profit on the side.  He had been  very persuasive at convincing Copeland's executive  board and investors to see things his way.   His staff had been instructed on how to react in emergency situations.  His front men were in place at all times reporting back to him and covering up any slips.  What he had just been informed was impossible.  This simply  could not be happening.   He looked down at the report in front of him and shook his head. Everything on paper looked perfect. The profits were looking  good.  The lab results were in  good shape.  The Center had been open for 18  months and   operating at full capacity for a full 6 months now.  With all their bases covered why and how could this have blown up to such a catastrophe.

Tony pulled open his bottom desk drawer.  He reached his long fingers into the  back, where he felt for the bottle of bourbon he kept there.  He took a long swallow before he rang for his assistant, Vanessa.  A curvy 30 something brunette with attitude and nerve.  She was a  tough gal who spoke her mind  and that was  most likely the reason why he had  never had a rendezvous with her, as well the fact they worked to close together. She did her job well and he liked her looks it just  made good business sense to him to keep things at that, even though at times he could feel parts of him stiffen when she was around.

"Vanessa, I need the corporate jet to fly me to Minnesota, stat." He told her dryly.
She paused for a moment. "Are you forgetting you have meetings with the finance department this afternoon?" she asked him, rather surprised he wanted the plane.   "Why right now, and for how long?"  She asked in a tone only she dared to use with him. Impatience grew in him. " I need to check out the Center, I don't know how long -a few days-I ah-just get the God-damn  plane ready.  NOW. I don't have time for more questions, not now." He hung up the phone and took another hit of his bourbon. He felt the warm liquor slowly slide down his throat as he stared out the window. He rubbed the sides of his temples with his thumbs then drew a deep breath. Eve- he thought to himself. Oh why couldn't she had just kept her nose to running the centers administrating parts.

Tony picked up the Centers file and stuffed them into his briefcase. He  then went into his private washroom to throw water onto his face and grab the overnight bag he kept packed for last minute and spur of the moment  trips.  He heard  Vanessa enter his office as he finished drying his face. When he came back into the office she held out a  fresh cup of coffee for him, which he readily took from her.  "Thanks, Let my wife know I had to fly to the Center in MN and  I  will call her later." he told her. Vanessa stepped closer and adjusted the collar on his suit. "Sure thing and  I'll  cancel all meetings for today and  tomorrow ". She said a bit worried.    "The plane is being fueled and prepped for your flight. Should be ready in 30 minutes I have a car downstairs waiting for you."  With that he handed her back the coffee and left. Vanessa stood  there briefly watching him walk.

the Christmas heart

It's that time of year again when we gather together with family and loved ones to celebrate the Holiday Season.  That time of year when some of us are once again reminded of Christmases past and hanging on to the hope of the magic of the seasons to come.  That time of year when I find myself a bit lost in my own thoughts and sifting through  mixed emotions.

 Briefly I am reminded of the  last Christmas I spent with my mother, 24 years ago.  It was a Christmas my sisters and I spent gathered around her deathbed, saying our heartfelt goodbyes.  A Christmas, that we celebrated joy in sorrow.   We stayed at her bedside,  as she slid in and out of consciousness that Christmas. With tear stained cheeks and arms wrapped around each other, my older sister Marie, my younger sister Roxanne and I clung  tightly to each other that year.  Softly singing Christmas hymns as we watched her drift farther and farther from us.  Our embrace tightening while we watched  her chest rise, as her breathing became more labored.  It was that Christmas as I stood in between my two  sisters, expecting my second child,   that I became deeply aware of the  bond that I shared with them. It was then that  I  also began to learn  they would be the strength I would need to get through the sorrows that lay ahead for me and for  my sons.  For in the years to come I would learn that two  of my three sons (my two youngest) would be diagnosed with a fatal muscle disease, and in the years to follow it would be my sisters, holding my hand as my dreams are shattered.

It is the Spirit of the Holiday Season I want to share, and rejoice in however.  The Blessings of this most Holy time of year. I want to share the magic of this season, with  the recent abilities I have seen regained in my Josiah. The happy tears I rejoice with to see  joy come back into my sons eyes for the first time in almost 2 years.   This Christmas I give special thanks that I not only have all  my sons with  me but,  I  am once again, blessed to be able to celebrate with both my sisters at my side.  As I  reflect momentarily on the  past years and the deep bond I share with my sisters I cant help but share, that my sisters and I  are the last living members of our family of 8.

  So it is very near and dear to me this year that my that sister Roxanne gifted   Marie and I special necklaces.  Each of us given a third of a heart on a chain, that when put together  create one heart.  Symbolic of the special love and connection  we have with each other.  Me being the middle sister of course I  have the hearts center.

  As we hug and give a toast to the years we have celebrated together, we also briefly reflect on the sentiments of the past. For just a moment we tighten our embrace as we remember those losses we have shared over the years,  the joys we have felt  together and the Christmases we will share to come.

 So this season we honor the  Birth of  our Lord but we also celebrate this magical gift  of the love we share between us. There simply is nothing like the love of family and the bond shared between sisters.  Happy Holidays everyone.

Copelands head office buzzed with excitement.  The quarter results were in and the numbers looked good.   Tony sat back in his office chair and stretched out his long legs. Rn his fingers through his thick wavy brown hair.  He took another sip of his Carmel latte and licked his lips.  It felt good to be back in the office. His vacation had been just what he needed.  The short  trip to Chicago with his latest interest was a break he felt he had definitely deserved.  He let his mind wander slightly and felt a warmth crawl up his thighs.  Yes the trip was well worth the risk,  a seductive smile crossed his face as a few pleasurable moments flashed through his mind.   With some R and R behind him he was  now ready to get to back to business and his family life.

Tony Everett  Copelands CEO and founder felt a deep self satisfaction  as he studied the latest stats of the marketing and sales report that had been printed and laid neatly out on his desk for him.   He could not help but feel complete confidence in his plan as he followed the graphs.  His dream team as he liked to call them did good he thought to himself.  Yes, real good.  Spending was low profits were high.  It was a number game first, to Tony.  And as long as he saw profits things were good.  After all he had a great research team running the project what could go wrong he thought to hims self.

 He was happy he had placed Eve in charge of  the Center.  She was smart with very strong management skills.  But there was a part of him that could not help but fantasize what having her work close to him  might be like.  She was a take charge kind of gal and running a lab was second nature to her. But she was also as hot as hell.  the kind of woman he found alluring.   Like all  women he had come to know, he knew inside of her was apart that wanted to be controlled and he wanted to be the man to do just that.  Well for a short while anyway. That thought made him tingle slightly  with excitement.  With the wonderful numbers he was looking at he thought to himself,  perhaps rewarding her with a trip might be in order.  

 Tony had no desire to end his 15 year marriage to his wife Roxy.  She was not only beautiful and smart but  loyal, to him, their children and their marriage.  He loved her, and the two beautiful children they had together. He truly loved the life they shared.  It did not make any sense to him why he had these urges to fulfill.  Somehow, deep inside every so often this need would awaken.  A burning desire in him would emerge and fester with in him till he satisfied his hunger.   Perhaps because he was attractive and a bit flirtatious it just was easy for him, maybe a bit to  easy. An occasional brief trip to somewhere quiet with some little cutie would put him back into his mind set.

 Yes Eve he thought to himself with her sultry curves and long blond hair was someone to consider, a definite contender for next time . It took a moment to get the  visual of being with her out of his mind as he heard his private phone ring.

Josiah Gently laid Zach down to wait for help.   The warm flow of Zach's  blood trickled down on to Josiah's hand. His eyes followed the trail of red bodily fluid from Zach's  neck.  He looked at the open wound where flesh had been ripped from his neck. He felt nausea rise from the pit of his stomach. He did not need a medical degree to know  that this was bad.   He could only imagine the pain Zach was in and wanted desperately to help him. Pieces of  jagged skin surrounded the deep  bite.  Zach's eyes closed as he breathed in deeply.  "The room is keeps fading in and out."  he whispered to Josiah. "Hang in there man." Josiah softly said to him. "Help will be here soon."  Josiah reached for his radio again.  This man needed help fast. Josiah knew time was of the essence.  He looked up and   yelled out for Doc Keller.

Zach began to feel himself drift in and out of consciousness. He was sure he was loosing blood at a fast rate from the way he was beginning to feel. He fought to stay conscious and alert. Images of his life began to flash before him.  Memories of  his childhood danced in his mind. Summer days spent at his grandparents lake home.  He could see his Grandmother smiling as she watched him jump from her  dock into the calm water.  Water splashing up to where she sat watching him with pure joy.

  He missed his Grandmother deeply and felt comfort seeing her face now. He felt himself basking in the warmth that her love radiated to him. Growing up she had always been his place to turn for comfort.  Even in his later trouble teen years she was the one  he would turn to for guidance,  understanding and love. She never judged him or scolded him for his mistakes or poor judgment with some of the paths he had taken.  She was his constant light while she was alive.  It only seemed to make sense to him that hers was the face he would see now as felt life -his life slipping from him

It had been almost 5 years since he had seen a vision of her.  Her death now 6 years prior  had been hard on him.  He had watched cancer ravaged through her body.  Leaving her bed ridden the last month of her life, slipping in and out of this world daily.  Her face was so clear now almost as though he could reach out and touch her. He wanted to touch her. to feel her arms hold him.  To nestle in her bosom and forget his pain.

 He could hear her calling out to him to come back as he swam out farther before diving under the cool water again. He felt happy and safe being with her again.  He turned his head to look at her from where he floated.  Her face still warm and gentle somehow,   now,  had a look of concern and worry. He could hear- no almost feel her, calling out to him again to comeback that he had gone to far. Her voice became louder as though she was almost pleading to him to comeback.  He could see a tear now, falling down the side of her cheek as she extended her arms out to him.  "Come back" she called to him again.

Chapter 5 continued


It went against any logic.  What they were witnessing was almost impossible for their minds to comprehend or accept.  Human eating  human.  They watched frozen in shock with disbelief and fear.  Mesmerized by the insanity of this ghastly madness.  The four of  them having never seen such grotesque rabid animal like characteristics before in any human.

On the ranch Cody had seen many animals feed off each other.  His own livestock had  at times become prey to wolves and coyotes.  Wild animals that occasionally wondered onto his fields looking for food.  It just was not all that uncommon in the wild to see animals feed off of the corpse of other animals. He had even heard of different cultures where drinking animal blood was ritualistic.  But this was sick beyond anything he had ever seen.  He felt the threat of  nausea  begin to grow in him.  He swallowed hard to fight back the purging feeling.   "Doc can a a rabid human do something like this?" Cody asked quickly. " Is there some sort of disease or adverse reaction to a drug that would make a person act this way?" He continued. Doc Keller hesitated before answering.  "I have seen hydrophobic before but- never seen anything like this." Doc said,while  momentarily  taking his eyes of the demented man that had just been slayed by Josiah's bullet.   He had heard of demonic possessions, he had visited some asylums in his younger years but there was nothing in his medical career that he had treated or studied that resembled what they were seeing now.    "Its like the bullet has only temporarily stunned him." Doc said as he studied the harrowing man some more. Then looked questioningly over to Eve he asked.  " Eve what kind of research is going on here? " "Is this man a participant?'  Eve stared straight ahead. She was unable to  take her eyes off the bloody site in front of her.  "We --umm the research we are involved in-  was umm studying a drug that was potentially designed to treat a brain cancer." It was created to temporarily put the patient in a hibernation state."  She said softly.   She watched  the man and woman behind him for a moment before speaking again. "Yes I think I know them both.  But somehow they look so twisted and mangled."  

They watched unsure of what to do next. Josiah steadying his gun in his hand, let his head turn slightly, surveying the grounds around them. "Shit, what the hell is going on." he mumbled softly not sure what the next move should be.  But feeling Eve was the only one here that could offer some sort of explanation.   He did not want any unnecessary risks taken by his companions,  Softly he asked Cody. "If he starts to move again, we could tackle him and try to restrain him enough to let Doc examine him."  "I can take him down again". Cody said as he watched the figure thrash on the ground while gnashing his teeth.  Slowly behind him  the female figure continued to make  her way towards them.  

 Eve let out a gasp and felt vomit rise up her throat.  This was her center. Her research center she was responsible for. How was this even possible she wondered to herself.  "Oh God, what is happening?" She cried,  as she turned away from the three men to release the contents rise to her mouth that she could no longer hold back.   Cody put his arm around her to help hold her up.  She wanted to collapse.  Her knees shook and her head felt dazed.  

Blood continued to flow from Tyler's open throat.  His eyes rolled slowly back into his head as his chest  heaved heavily for a breath. The silence between them all was almost deafening. The only movement in the room now came from Dave.  He leaned over his friend distraught with grief and helplessness.  Wishing desperately that  there was something more he could do, or something someone could do, to save his friend.    He felt the sick taunting of death smothering him as he cradled is friend's head.   "Buddy  please hang on" he cried softly into   Tyler's ear.  "Where are the paramedics"?  He choked out through sobs as he half turned to where Doc stood of to his side.   Just as his words were spoken a siren could be heard off in the distance.

Eve stood up and buried her head in Cody's chest.  Her own grief of the the tragedy that surrounded them  overwhelmed her. Cody held her tight as he felt her body shutter with sobs.  Gently he stroked her tangled hair as he pulled her closer into him.  His lips gently brushed the sides of her temple.  She was safe and he felt a sense of comfort in his arms.   But the fear that all of them were still at risk for an attack clung heavily to everyone as they waited.

The sound of the approaching sirens held them all captive to the silence.  It was almost as though the sound offered them hope.  Hope that somehow this night mare would possibly end now.   So in silence they continued their wait.  Fear and the primal instincts to defend human life overcoming any emotion or reason to find logic for how this all could be happening. There was nothing more to be said between any of  them for the moment.  The situation was out of their control.  It had become out of their control even before Josiah pulled up in his squad car, with Cody, Eve and Doc Keller to witnessing the first sighting of this lethal mad hunger behavior.  They had simply only managed to protect themselves.  Danger still threatened them all, until whatever evil this was, was stopped. To many lives had been lost already to this rabid infection.

Cody moved mechanically toward the shot.  He stopped just as he reached the hallway and saw Eve fall to the floor, with bloody human head fragments clustering around her.  The lifeless and now decapitated body slumped at  her feet.  Instinctively he rushed towards her.  His heart pounded as he gently knelt down next to Eve. He could feel fear building in him as he gently looked her over for human bites. He felt himself almost overwhelmed with concern that she may have possibly been bitten.   With his left foot extended he slid the headless corps away from her.  Then  positioned himself in front of it to keep her from being exposed to the gruesome site. He could not deny it to himself as he gently reached out to help her sit upright. He was feeling  a very strong   attraction towards her. He knew it was more than just  the desire to protect her- because she had become vulnerable to an attack. All he wished for right now was for this madness to end and to take  her away from this place, to somewhere safe, like back at his ranch.   "Eve are you okay" he quietly asked her. Eve began to sit up with his assistance.  Wiping splattered blood from her face she nodded to him. "Yes I - I think so" she tried to assure him as well as herself.  She fought hard to resist the tears that were now building in her. She wanted to feel his strong arms around her like she had when he had first lifted her to his truck. How did her world turn into this nightmare. She trembled from deep within.

Quickly the two of them diverted there attention to the commotion from the officers.  Blood gushed from Tyler's  open wound. He floated in and out of consciousness now, as he laid there barely alive.  Doc tried desperately to stop the blood flowing  from his neck. But the wound was  deep, and underneath the jagged remains of flesh he could see half of the front of his neck was missing. Doc looked down at the pool of blood that had developed around him.  He  did not think he had ever seen anything like it before.  He had  many times seen animals half eaten and ripped apart.  But never had he seen any human bitten to such a degree.   He watched as Tyler gurgled, gasping to take breaths now. There just was nothing more he could do for the man, except try to keep him comfortable. He looked up at  the other two Officers.

While George another young recruit like Tyler was on a radio calling for more help and an ambulance.  He  instructed the fourth Officer Nathan, a 10 year veteran to the service,  to  hold Tyler's head and comfort him. Then he turned is attention to Dave.  Dave had calmed down alittle since the bite.   But now he could see the concern on Docs face as he examined his arm.  "The bite  is a good size. How do you feel?" he asked Dave,  trying to not show any expression. "It hurts like fu--king hell, but the look on your face is scaring me to death." "What the hell is happening here?"  he said looking around the room and then over at Tyler. "Don't worry about me.  Help Tyler, please?" Doc looked up at him.  "I am sorry there is nothing more I can do for him. He lost to much blood,  and he is missing half his throat." Doc said with  immense sorrow.  Dave pushed past the old man and bent down over Tyler.  Forgetting about his own injury he leaned over his friend and fellow officer.   Tyler had become almost like a son to him ,in the year and a half they had worked together  He did not want accept nor  believe that this was how his life was going to end.