Chapter 10: The Latest Strain

Vertigo and Nessa search for the latest strain of a bacteria on the orders of Super Demon Baby.

Vertigo

                I slunk alongside the building’s wall despite the cover of night, taking care to be outside the surveillance camera’s view.  I placed my feet wherever the concrete below was clearest or on the weeds struggling through the tight cracks so as to make the least amount of sound.

                “Vertigo,” Nessa whispered from behind me. I whipped around with a finger to my lips but her expression kept me from turning back and continuing. I made the palm up gesture that means, “What?”

                “Look!” She pointed to our right and I noticed two eyes peering out at us from the bushes along the inside of the chain link fence. They came closer once we both looked at them and out emerged a huge, slavering, tooth grinding, mangy-

                Cat. I sighed in relief and grinned at Nessa, but she just looked more panicked and pointed again. I looked over to see several more cats emerging from the bushes, all of them puffed up and menacing.

                “Um, Nessa, don’t people usually have guard dogs?” I whispered, panicked. I’m allergic to cats.

                “These cats are infected with something! Apparently they attack any human on the premise. Wow, this is really complicated. I’m impressed. They keep the cats here with this-“

                “Nessa!” I interrupted. “We need to go! I’m allergic to cats!” Before I turned back around to run, cameras disregarded, I saw annoyance flash across her face. Seriously, she’s way too into herself.

                I sprinted toward the largest window near ground level about a hundred feet down the building and attempted to pull it open. The window wouldn’t budge and then didn’t even break when I threw a rock at it. The cats were stalking closer and closer, wary but aggressive, and I frantically attempted to break the window but merely succeeded in making loud banging noises. Why did every single mission I go on go completely wrong?

                “Hey Nessa, a little help here!” I whispered loudly, trying to steal her attention from the cats, who suddenly started to lash out. I flinched and covered my head, curling up in a ball, except no swipes of their tiny paws came. Peering through slitted eyes, I saw that the cats were fighting each other. Nessa wiped some sweat off her brow.

                “Idiot. I took care of their bacterial infections. They now see each other as the enemy. Let’s go.” She pulled a piece of somewhat pliable metal from somewhere in her unitard and shaped the end into a hook. Inserting it between the window panes, she twisted it, caught the lock, and pulled it to the unlocked position. She then repeated the action for the upper lock. Red-faced and embarrassed by my previous course of action, yet still extremely relieved, I slid the window open and hopped through. The hallway was lit by merely the moonlight outside, but I could see identical doors with a small viewing window at eyelevel in each extending down the hallway. They were equidistant from one another and seemed to be smaller than regular doors.

                “Vertigo! Let me go first. I need to be able to dismantle any possible airborne pathogens,” Nessa whispered, taking the lead. “Super Demon Baby only sent you because he thought you were immune, however since that was false you’re a liability to the mission and I have to protect you somehow.”

                “Hey, it’s not my fault! There were bugs in my freaking lasagna. Why would anyone eat that, ever?” I grumbled. Nessa was still mad, so I decided to return the feelings. I had a hard time being truly angry at anyone for very long, but Nessa not even apologizing for… What was it again? Either way, she needed to apologize.

                “Whatever,” she sighed and started walking down the hallway we’d broken into. “Just be quiet and let me find the latest strain of… whatever it was he fed us in that lasagna.” She peered around the corner at the end of the hall. Our quiet breaths seemed loud in the thick silence around us. It was too quiet.

                I nervously glanced over my shoulder, but saw nothing, not even a camera. This seemed really weird. If this was such a top secret base full of top secret bio warfare weapons, then shouldn’t the security be a little tighter? The cats were useful, sure, but-

                A fine mist sprayed from what I’d thought were sprinklers in the ceiling.

                “Crap, don’t breathe!” Nessa whispered and then held her own breathe, face twisted with concentration.

                I could feel my face turning red and I quickly slapped a hand over my mouth and my other gripped my nose as my lungs convulsed. Nessa did the same as her lungs fought for oxygen. Just when I was started to see spots and my grip started to slack, Nessa released her hands and gulped in air. She put a hand on the wall for support and just stood there gasping for several minutes while I followed suit.

                “We must’ve tripped some kind of motion sensor,” I noted.

                “Yeah, but don’t worry, I was spending most of my time just figuring out how to work the pathogen. Now that I know, I’ll be able to dismantle it much faster if this happens again.” She was sweating even more now, to the point where her hair was even damp and slick against her skin.

                “Are you okay, Nessa? Do you need to take a break or anything?”

                “Of course I’m okay,” she snapped and pushed off the wall. “Come on.”

                I followed her around the corner as she continued to stretch her awareness to germs and microbes and whatever illnesses are made of. After several minutes of creeping down random hallways, she perked up and walked swiftly to a door just ahead of us. She peered in the viewing window.

                “Dangit, it’s pitch black in there. But hey, I guess that means no one is there.” She turned the door handle and looked surprised when it turned easily. “Stay back, there could be more airborne pathogens safeguarding the room,” she ordered.

                “Ok,” I said, feeling compliant. Even if I’m mad, I wouldn’t want to rush headlong into this.

                “Ok, there’s nothing. Let’s go, I can sense it in the refrigerator over there.” She walked across the room, but I hovered in the doorway, keeping an eye out for any movement. “Hey Vertigo, get in here. I need you to carry one of the containers.”

                “Could you bring it? I’m keeping an eye out over here.”

                “Come on, no one’s around I’m sure. Help me out a little.” She looked at me with puppy eyes.

                “Fine,” I sighed and walked over. Just as I was about to grab a box while Nessa lectured me on safety, a cheerful voice rang out from behind us.

                “Hello, girls.”