figured this for some kind of government installation and thought I could help. Besides, there wasn’t really any other place to go,” she says, ending her long-winded story.
I chuckle at that bit about taking the files from her director’s desk. Not because it is terribly funny, just at the irony of it. This woman took the files that may have given us a clue to the existence of this place, and possibly what it was. It’s funny how seemingly random incidents can play a big part in other’s lives. If we had known about this place to begin with, we might have been able to plan for it. Or maybe not. That’s rather a moot point at this juncture. I could do the "what ifs" all day and it wouldn’t change a thing.
“What’s so funny?” Jan asks, and Lynn looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Nothing. It just might have helped us if you’d left those files where they were,” I say.
Jan stares at me, confused. “How? I mean, those files were on the direc…wait, you went into the CDC, didn’t you…afterward?”
“Yeah, we were there. But that’s neither here nor there. So, Jan, here’s the million-dollar question: What do you know about this place? I mean, what do you truly know about it? You didn’t just show up out of the blue,” I state.
“I told you. I thought it was a government installation and could help. However, your question implies that it might be more than that,” she responds.
“If you thought that, then why are you just showing up now? If you wanted to help, you would have shown up within days after the fall,” I comment.
“I had my own research to follow through with. I didn’t want to be interfered with, like I was before.”
“And where did you go to do this research?”
“When I left the CDC with my files, I also took some of the lab equipment and retired to a cabin I have in Montana. I had it set up to operate off the grid and I studied the mutation. I captured one of the infected and set to work,” she answers.
“You captured a night runner?” I ask.
“Night runner?” she asks, confused by the term.
“That’s what we call the infected,” I reply.
“Oh, okay. I guess that’s an appropriate term.”
“That’s a pretty ballsy move,” I comment.
She shrugs. “I needed one.”
“How did you capture it?” Lynn asks, intrigued.
We’ve never tried capturing one, nor had need to. Our specialization has been putting them down. Of course, our goals were a little different. We weren’t trying to understand the mutation; we were trying to stay alive.
“It was pretty easy, actually. I went to where they were, dug a deep hole, and went back in the morning. Shot it full of tranquilizer. I knew how much to use from the lab tests we conducted. You wouldn’t believe just how much it actually takes. I think you could bring down two horses with the amount,” she says.
“What happened to the night runner you captured?”
“It died,” she answers with another shrug.
“Couldn’t you have captured another in the same manner?” Lynn asks.
“I suppose I could have. However, without the proper lab equipment, I figured there wasn’t much use. I wasn’t able to glean anything further than finding out that they have a more complicated DNA makeup than we originally thought,” she replies.
“Did you find anything in your research that might indicate that there could be a cure? Can this be reversed?” I ask, excited about the prospect.
“I don’t know. If it can, I haven’t come close to finding out how,” Jan answers.
“I’d like to talk about this some other time. Do you know what happened to the director? It sounds like he was in on it,” I query.
“He was in his office last time I saw him. I have no idea, but was half-expecting him to be here,” Jan says.
“Well, he’s not, nor is he in his office anymore. Not unless he turned into a night runner. There were plenty of those running around,” I state.
“Perhaps he’s at the one north of
I chuckle at that bit about taking the files from her director’s desk. Not because it is terribly funny, just at the irony of it. This woman took the files that may have given us a clue to the existence of this place, and possibly what it was. It’s funny how seemingly random incidents can play a big part in other’s lives. If we had known about this place to begin with, we might have been able to plan for it. Or maybe not. That’s rather a moot point at this juncture. I could do the "what ifs" all day and it wouldn’t change a thing.
“What’s so funny?” Jan asks, and Lynn looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Nothing. It just might have helped us if you’d left those files where they were,” I say.
Jan stares at me, confused. “How? I mean, those files were on the direc…wait, you went into the CDC, didn’t you…afterward?”
“Yeah, we were there. But that’s neither here nor there. So, Jan, here’s the million-dollar question: What do you know about this place? I mean, what do you truly know about it? You didn’t just show up out of the blue,” I state.
“I told you. I thought it was a government installation and could help. However, your question implies that it might be more than that,” she responds.
“If you thought that, then why are you just showing up now? If you wanted to help, you would have shown up within days after the fall,” I comment.
“I had my own research to follow through with. I didn’t want to be interfered with, like I was before.”
“And where did you go to do this research?”
“When I left the CDC with my files, I also took some of the lab equipment and retired to a cabin I have in Montana. I had it set up to operate off the grid and I studied the mutation. I captured one of the infected and set to work,” she answers.
“You captured a night runner?” I ask.
“Night runner?” she asks, confused by the term.
“That’s what we call the infected,” I reply.
“Oh, okay. I guess that’s an appropriate term.”
“That’s a pretty ballsy move,” I comment.
She shrugs. “I needed one.”
“How did you capture it?” Lynn asks, intrigued.
We’ve never tried capturing one, nor had need to. Our specialization has been putting them down. Of course, our goals were a little different. We weren’t trying to understand the mutation; we were trying to stay alive.
“It was pretty easy, actually. I went to where they were, dug a deep hole, and went back in the morning. Shot it full of tranquilizer. I knew how much to use from the lab tests we conducted. You wouldn’t believe just how much it actually takes. I think you could bring down two horses with the amount,” she says.
“What happened to the night runner you captured?”
“It died,” she answers with another shrug.
“Couldn’t you have captured another in the same manner?” Lynn asks.
“I suppose I could have. However, without the proper lab equipment, I figured there wasn’t much use. I wasn’t able to glean anything further than finding out that they have a more complicated DNA makeup than we originally thought,” she replies.
“Did you find anything in your research that might indicate that there could be a cure? Can this be reversed?” I ask, excited about the prospect.
“I don’t know. If it can, I haven’t come close to finding out how,” Jan answers.
“I’d like to talk about this some other time. Do you know what happened to the director? It sounds like he was in on it,” I query.
“He was in his office last time I saw him. I have no idea, but was half-expecting him to be here,” Jan says.
“Well, he’s not, nor is he in his office anymore. Not unless he turned into a night runner. There were plenty of those running around,” I state.
“Perhaps he’s at the one north of
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