Volume 3: Caged

Caged
by Steven Ormosi

"This is the audio log of Archie Jenson Cooper, assistant to Dr. Penelope Harvey.  Daily report.  Reiteration of known facts, inferences and possibilities."

"Infected humans have a window of approximately 24 to 72 hours before complete cognitive collapse.  This occurs much faster in some than others.  The cause of this time variance is, as yet, unknown.  Speculation includes immune system deficiencies, extent of injury sustained, capacity for pain tolerance, mental capacity for resistance to psychological aggravation.  Possibly a combination of all of these or some other undetected or not yet conceived consideration."

"The actual metamorphosis appears incredibly painful, although we have not been able to extract specific verbal testimony to that effect, nor have we yet been able to test the pain centers of the brain for conclusive evidence.  For up to five hours before the actual change, most infected individuals will experience violent seizures and dehydration.  The injuries at point of infection often do not appear to be infected at all, presumably unless they become infected by some other pathogen.  During the last few minutes of the change, conscious verbal and motor functions cease almost altogether, giving way to seizures and gurgling, throaty vocalizations."

"Once the change is complete, infected do not appear to recognize anyone they knew previously and become intensely aggressive, attempting to consume the flesh of any living humans in close proximity.  If humans are unavailable and the infected individual becomes hungry enough, it will eat animals as well.  At this time it does not appear animals can be infected by the virus, though it should be monitored for mutation in the future."

"The infected display physical prowess consistent with human attributes, as long as the appropriate body parts are intact, including, but not limited to: running, lifting strength, ability to climb, bite strength, and striking strength, with the exception of no observed acknowledgment of pain.  The infected human's blood becomes viscous and clots incredibly quickly, allowing them to lose limbs or sustain gashes that under normal circumstances would cause a human to bleed out and die."

"The infected do not appear to excrete their waste products as normal humans do.  In fact, it would appear as though the infection changes the biochemistry such that the host body becomes incredibly efficient at burning any food taken in.  This means that infected can live without food for two and a half to three times longer than an ordinary human.  Contrary to the myths being constructed about them, the infected can die of food deprivation.  It is assumed that in nature, they will drink at available water sources as the infected will drink some water in captivity, but when deprived, it seems that any water needs the infected may have can be sated by whatever is in their food and their tolerance for water deprivation is incredibly high."

"At this point, our best guess is that as long as the infected outside the walls are kept out, the high concentration horde surrounding the city will thin considerably over the coming months, or possibly years, depending on how much sustenance is readily available, as infected begin to die of hunger or search for other food sources when the animal populations in the surrounding areas die out.  The hope is that once this happens, we will be able to seek out other survivors."

"The infection rate is incredibly high, nearing ninety percent.  We are keeping the only three known bite survivors at our facility here for research and testing.  Upon exposure they all experienced fever and delirium for roughly three days before the symptoms broke and they returned to a normal state.  All three individuals are considered carriers and very dangerous to the population at large.  We fear there may be more among the general population, but have no way to efficiently test for infection and no list of who entered the city just before the wall was finished.  At present there is no foreseeable cure, though we remain hopeful that our research here will be the basis for one."

"Sounds good, AJ," said Dr. Harvey, "But you forgot the part where none of this makes any fucking sense."

AJ pressed the record button and spoke into the microphone, "Addendum.  None of this makes any fucking sense."

"Better.  Lunch?"

After lunch, AJ walked back through the lab with two orderlies.  He opened the door all the way at the back and continued on.  Patients rattled their cages as he walked through, horking and gurgling at him.  It was unnerving, but not nearly as bad as the next room.  He opened the next door and walked through to the permanent quarantine holding cells.  The gulag, as he thought of it.  Three cells in here.  The survivors of the virus, left to a fate perhaps worse than changing.

"Hello," he said as he walked in, "Are we ready for our tests?"

"Please let us out," said the one on the right, Avery was her name, "We're fine, can't you see?  We're not infected."

AJ ignored her as he'd been instructed.  He was to make happy small talk and that was it.  Don't listen to their pleading, distance yourself from their humanity.  It pained him, but rules were rules for a reason, these three could never see the light of day again.

"You all look wonderful today," he said, "Please lie down."

The two men laid down on the ground, hands behind their back.  They had stopped fighting their fate weeks ago.  Avery, as usual, was resistant.

"Avery, don't make us put the collar on you."

She eventually acquiesced slowly, tears trickling from her eyes, she said, "Please, I want to see my baby.  I want to see my husband."

"That's a good girl."

Room by room he had the orderlies walk in and hold the patients down as he extracted blood samples.  When he was done, he nodded and said, "Thank you."

"You're a monster," Avery whispered.

"You're a monster factory!" AJ shouted, "You think I like doing this to people?"  He took a deep breath and regained his composure.  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.  Have a good night."  He walked out of the room with orderlies in tow.

On the other side of the door, AJ leaned back, drinking in the ugly, but almost musical, gurgling, semi barks of the infected.  It was much easier to deal with than the constant accusations that the carriers leveled at him.

"I hate this job sometimes"

Dr. Harvey looked at AJ, "Sometimes?"

"I hate this job every day.  Avery is right, we are monsters."

"Better to be a monster with a working brain than without."

"Is it?  They don't seem too concerned about the morality of their decisions."

"We didn't choose to be in this position, but we're the ones that have the best chance of finding a way to fight the infection.  Maybe even a cure.  Those people in there represent the very small portion of us who can fight the disease, but also the small portion that can wipe us out from the inside if they got free.  It's not an easy job, but you have a chance to save the world, AJ."

AJ laughed, "No, the world's already gone, all we can save now is this little slice of heaven.  Our own world."

"Better than nothing."
  
"AJ, I need to talk to you about something," Dr. Harvey motioned him over.

"Sure, what's up?”

"I was talking to some folks upstairs about the election.  If Jenkins wins, and it looks like he's going to, they're saying that he's going to send out an exploratory mission to see if there are any other survivors out there as soon as possible.  They asked me if I would go with them."

"Dr. Harvey -- Penelope, that's too dangerous, you're too important to the work being done here."

"I told them I couldn't go, I need to be here.  But what we do doesn't mean anything if there's nothing to save.  I need to see what's happening out there, in the wild."

"Let me go instead, I'll take detailed notes and samples.  That's all you'll need, right?  You can continue on without me."

Dr. Harvey smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that.  It'll be good for you to get out of here too, I think, you've been a little stir crazy lately."

"Did they say what they'd be looking for?"

"Not exactly, but they said there are some signs that there's a small settlement not too far from here.  If that's true we need to determine, on site, how many survivors there are and whether or not any of them are carriers before we bring them back here.  I'm sure the suits upstairs will also need a headcount for finding them all housing and making sure they're not so many they'll throw our food and water systems out of balance.  Our main goals will be sampling the dead out there for any anomalies, observing wild infected for any different tendencies than they exhibit in here, testing the survivors for possible immunity or partial immunity, and getting notes on what the conditions are like outside the walls.  This information could be vital, so if you get the chance to go, you'll need to be as thorough as possible."

"I won't let you down, Dr. Harvey."

"I know you won't, AJ.  You've been invaluable to me and if all goes well, and assuming Ed Jenkins doesn't screw up, this will be the most important thing you've ever done."

"Imagine finding a whole settlement full of people surviving somehow under the conditions outside the wall..."

"Just remember, you'll be there to observe.  Don't promise anyone anything you may not be able to deliver."

"I won't, I'm just getting a little excited, that's all.  I'll have everything under control when I'm out there."

"Excellent.  And remember, nothing's been set yet, so there's a decent chance this may not ever happen."

"Got it."

"Good, now, let’s transcribe those audiologs.  We don't want to lose everything we've worked for once--"

AJ finished her sentence for her, "We run out of batteries.  I know, I know.  Then it's quitting time."

"Not quitting, just resting," said Dr. Harvey.

"With beer," he said, taking out the journal.

"Yes.  Definitely resting with beer."

AJ wrote, "This is the written log of Archie Jenson Cooper, assistant to Dr. Penelope Harvey."