Virulent

Chapter 5: Cooperate

Ezra could barely breathe. A black cloth hooded her head, a gag muzzled her screams. Her hands were bound tightly at her back. They made her shuffle. Where to, she couldn't tell. Tehreem's lab? The specimen storage? Her own lab, where she studied various pathogens to harness the very genes that made them deadly and see if she could find a good use for them?

Why haven't they killed me? Maybe they need me for something... but what? She fought against the brawny arms gripping her biceps, but they wouldn't budge. It put a new spin on rough handling as they led her out of the building.

Dad. I have to tell him what's happening... how? Dad! Help. Someone help me! Let me go!

But her screams went unheard. Soon, the cool breeze of the night hit her skin. Rain pattered down on her hands. It was still raining. A strange sound pulsed in her ears that she couldn't place until they hoisted her onto some platform, feet stomping all around her, and the thudding of some door. A helicopter. I'm in a helicopter.

"Where are you taking me?" she mumbled through her gag, thrashing about on the cold metal floor as the thing rose into the air, its rotors rhythmically whomping. A strange sound she'd only heard of in movies and old TV shows.

No one bothered to reply. Perhaps they didn't hear. Or worse, they simply didn't care.

Is this what happened to Archer? The thought crossed her mind again, sending cold shivers down her spine. Am I going to die? Did he die? Is he dead?

She couldn't tell how long the ride was. Between trying to stay calm and freaking out, between trying to slow down her galloping heartbeat and keeping tears at bay, she had no energy left to figure out how long they'd flown. It wasn't like she had ever flown before. Those were for the rich. Flights of fancy, her mother used to say once. Anything that cost more than their salary was a flight of fancy.

She tried to rake her brain. Why would they want me? What have I done? Have I done something? Maybe it's a rival lab? But why would they waste their resources by kidnapping me? What for?

But no matter how long she pondered one thousand and one questions, she was no closer to the answer

At least tell me where you're taking me.
Ezra tried now and again to shake off the claustrophobic hood, but it seemed anchored around her neck. Dad. Shaki... what will happen to them now....? I promised I'd be home...

When the adrenaline wore off and exhaustion took over and Ezra drifted into a haunted sleep. It wasn't till the chopper made a rough landing that she jolted awake, feeling as though she had the world's worst hangover. Heavy head and heavier stomach.

As hands grabbed her again, a second bout of adrenaline surged through her. When they dragged her off the thing and made her shuffle over some hard ground, tormenting thoughts returned. She felt her body shake uncontrollably, as if she was freezing cold. Her teeth chattered—thank god for the gag. 'Don't let them see how scared you are,' Dad's age-old words, spoken to a young, bullied Ezzie, rang loud and clear in her head again.

Don't let them see how scared you are!

Thus, as they shoved her into what sounded like another building—highly fortified from the heavy sounds of the doors on hydraulic hinges—Ezra steeled herself. I will not show them how scared I am. I will not...

One of the men escorting her into the building shoved her forward then. Then hands cleared her body.

Behind her, she heard a clearing of a throat. "The package you ordered, Sir. Dr Ezra Mayur, lead scientist at GenDesign labs."