Triple Threat - James Patterson Page 0,58
at the lab. Displayed on the other half of the monitor is the latest batch of MRI scans recently conducted on Helen’s brain. And from the looks of it, her outer cerebral cortex isn’t just inactive. Some of the tissue has actually started dying.
In feral animals, nothing like this has ever been seen before. Unless it’s some kind of anomaly, it’s a troubling development for all kinds of reasons—one giant one in particular.
It might mean whatever’s happening to feral humans can’t be reversed.
We know what’s causing animals to go wild. And at least in theory, we know how to stop it. But Helen’s been in electromagnetic isolation for a week and a half now, and her behavior has only gotten worse. And now her actual brain is wasting away? With more reports of rabid human attacks trickling in by the hour, from every corner of the globe, the number of possible permanent cases out there is staggering.
“That’s why I think we need to change course,” says Sarah, “and start working to find some kind of antidote. Or vaccine. Right away.”
“Agreed,” says Freitas. “This thing is spreading faster than any of us could have imagined. Before long, we could be talking about hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of infected humans—all lacking anatomically correct human brains.”
“Don’t be absurd,” says Dr. Tanaka, who’s flying with us to the United States to help handle the rabid Japanese man I captured in the jungle. “There is still so much about this affliction we do not know. To attempt to formulate a cure so prematurely is a reckless waste of time!”
Clearly Tanaka feels very passionately about this. I notice his brow is glistening, his cheeks are ruddy, and he’s digging his nails deep into the faux-leather armrest.
But as the discussion continues, I can’t help but zone out. For one thing, I’m exhausted. Trekking miles up the foothills of Mount Fuji and fighting off a pack of prehistoric humans can really take it out of you.
But I’m also a little light-headed with anticipation, a welcome change from dread. Because in less than twelve hours, I’ll be seeing Eli and Chloe.
I got the call on my sat phone just as we were boarding in Tokyo. It came from a 202 number—a Washington, DC, area code—that I didn’t recognize: the personal cellphone of President Hardinson’s chief of staff.
“Mr. Oz, I wanted to tell you myself as soon as I heard. We found your family.”
I nearly broke down and wept right there on the tarmac.
Diplomatic security agents, working with local French police, had tracked Chloe and Eli to an abandoned warehouse about forty miles outside of Paris, where they were hostages of the bizarre animal cult. My wife and son were rescued amid a shootout and put on the next plane out of there. Knowing that they’re finally safe—it’s indescribable. They’ll be arriving at the Idaho National Laboratory just a few hours after we do.
Our video conference with the lab ends, but the debate over next steps rages on. Freitas and Tanaka are really starting to get into it. As for myself, I stifle a yawn. It’s pitch-black over the Pacific and my eyelids are getting heavy.
“You’ll all have to carry on without me,” I tell them. “I’m gonna head down below for a little shut-eye.”
I walk to the rear of our plane, toward the hatch that leads to the lower level, stuffed with our gear and equipment. I pass our captured Japanese feral human, Reiji. Tanaka had picked that name for him, explaining with a chuckle that it means “a well-mannered baby.” The man is strapped to a gurney under a hard plastic shell like a newborn in an incubator, thrashing against his restraints like crazy. Watching him, I can appreciate the irony.
I’m about to head downstairs when I notice something about Reiji from this close up.
His brow is dripping with sweat. His cheeks are splotchy red. And he’s shredding the thin mattress with his sharp-tipped fingers.
The sweat, the complexion, the nails—it’s a more extreme version of everything I just saw Tanaka doing.
No…my God…does that mean…?
“Aaaaargh!”
Chapter 28
A vicious roar comes not from Reiji but from behind me. I spin around to the front of the cabin just in time to see Tanaka leap up from his seat and lunge at Freitas. Before Freitas can react, Tanaka’s got his hands around his neck, nails digging deep into the flesh.
The other scientists, caught completely by surprise, scramble to yank the madman off, but he easily knocks them away with one