Alive (Sundown Series Book 3) Read online

  Access to the facility was on a need to know basis, and Rafe in his security position didn’t know anything about who came and went. Faces changed often. Charlie was one of the coats he recognized because she had been around a little longer than others. The high turnover didn’t really raise questions with Rafe before. Previously he had thought projects changed so the scientists needed changing. Now his mind went to a very dark place and he wondered what happened to those that disappeared from the facility.

  Morning came before Rafe was prepared, but he drug himself out of bed to start his daily chores. Toweling off his hair, Rafe walked out of the bathroom shirtless, just as Charlie came out of his room looking rumpled and sleepy. His chest was broad, and his body toned from the constant physical work he did on the compound. The skin showing was still glossy from the water of the shower. She stopped suddenly and Rafe was aware he should have put a shirt on with a literal stranger staying in his house.

  “Uh, Morning,” Charlie said.

  “Morning. Coffee is made. What time do you need to be at work?”

  “Nine. If that works for you.”

  “Sure. I just need to feed the animals and handle a few chores. Your car will be towed to the office this morning as well,” Rafe said. He had taken the time after she went to bed and called his friend at the local auto body shop. He knew he had his own tow truck and would give Charlie a discount on a tow.

  “Thanks for doing that. Uh, are you done in there?” Charlie was outwardly calm, but her voice revealed she was uncomfortable trying to get around a shirtless Rafe. It made him want to laugh, but he kept his face void of any emotions. He nodded and stepped away from the bathroom, so she could scurry in and shut the door quickly.

  Outside the sun was coming over the trees and the sky was clear. Rafe was glad they wouldn’t have more snow that day. The slush that was left would melt within the day, as spring tried to push its way into Montana. He slipped on his muddy work boots and trudged to the barn. Stepping in, he started with his list of daily chores. He was greeted by the songs of the cows that were waiting for their milking.

  He propped a stool next to the first cow and sat down as he ran his hands down her flank. She looked back at him for a moment with big dark eyes but then went back to eating the hay he had popped in front of her.

  “Disinterest, huh? Well, that’s alright. I’m still here for you,” Rafe said as his hands methodically completed the milking. He didn’t have to think much about what he was doing, as he had been milking cows since he was six. He hummed while he worked, feeling calm with the repetition of processes he knew.

  After milking the four cows he had, he filled five glass jars in preparation for freezing. He rotated frozen milk so there was always a supply. He also always had a glass jar in the fridge for his use. Whatever was left went to mix with the scraps for the pigs. Since he lived alone, there weren’t always a ton of scraps for them, so they often got feed, mixed with any food that was starting to go bad and the extra milk. They fattened up nicely every year and he always had a freezer full of pork.

  After throwing open the barn doors, allowing the cows to roam free in the pasture for the day, Rafe headed to the chicken pen. He waited outside for a moment, watching the rooster. When he was furthest from the coop, Rafe took the chance and headed inside. As he was pulling the eggs from the nests he felt the familiar sharp pain on his leg and he looked down to see the pissed off rooster. Rafe made one kick at him and the rooster dodged as if he could foresee Rafe’s movements.

  “Damn you bird. I’m going to kill you, tear out all your feathers, and eat you! You are not the boss around here!”

  Laughter from the side of the pasture caused Rafe to look up. In his distraction the rooster took the chance to attack again. He launched off the ground trying to attack Rafe with his claws. One poked through his jeans and made contact with skin. Rafe yelped in surprise and pushed the rooster away from him before fleeing the pen. Charlie’s laughter continued from her place by the fence.

  After storing the eggs in the outdoor storage area in the barn, Rafe met Charlie.

  “You have some interesting friends,” she said, a grin on her face.

  “He’s gonna to be dinner, not a friend,” Rafe said. That only caused Charlie to laugh again and clutch her stomach. Her laughter was infectious and Rafe even had to smile along with her.

  “You do have quite the set up here,” Charlie said, once her giggles had subsided. They were walking together back toward the house, but Rafe led her to the greenhouse first.

  “I do.”

  “All just for you?”

  “It’s my home, but also my family’s place. It belongs to my sisters too.”

  “But they don’t live here?”

  “You sure ask a lot of questions,” Rafe said. He opened the greenhouse door and motioned her to step inside before him. The room was warm, the glass ceiling doing its duty of letting in the sun and warming the air.

  “I can’t help it. You’re a stranger. But a nice one that rescued me not once, but twice yesterday. I’m naturally curious.”

  “No, my sisters do not live here. But they could if they wanted to, at any time.”

  “You’re close? I always wondered how having family would be. I don’t have siblings. And my parents died when I was young,” Charlie said. She walked the rows of plants that Rafe had started earlier in the month. It was early to plant. But in the greenhouse, he was able to get his seedlings started. The stronger plants would be moved to the garden bed once spring took full hold.

  “We’re close. Not in the, we talk every day all the time way. We grew up...interestingly. That bonds people I think.”

  “Interestingly?”

  Rafe looked at her, his eyebrow raised at the additional questions. She blushed a bit and looked away.

  “You’re a doctor?” Rafe asked, his attempt to change the subject.

  “Yes. I do more studying now then handling patients. But at one time I just wanted to have a private practice.”

  “How is that possible? You’re so young?” Rafe asked, noting that it seemed Charlie was too young to have gone through medical school and all of the official training after the fact. She didn’t answer, only shrugged her shoulders and continued to look at his plants.

  Sensing she didn’t want to talk about it, Rafe let the subject drop and turned on the water. The small irrigation system he created turned on and water began to flow into the seedling containers. He moved around, putting down fertilizer where needed and mixed plant food in the dirt for some of the bigger plants. After he was done, he circled back to the water valve and shut the system off. Charlie was staring out of a window, lost in thought.

  “Ready to get to work?” Rafe asked.

  “Not really.”

  “Maybe you could call in. You had a rough day yesterday.”

  “I can’t do that. Then they will know they are getting to me,” Charlie replied.

  “Who?”

  Charlie turned to look at him. She seemed to contemplate what to tell him. In the end her gaze seemed to shutter, the decision made to continue to keep him in the dark.

  “Are you done here? Is it time to go?”

  “Yes. We can go,” Rafe replied.

  The drive to the facility was quiet. Charlie fidgeted in her seat as they got into town and closer to the place she seemed to be afraid of. At the security gate, for the first time ever the guard took notice of Rafe. If it wasn’t such a serious situation, Rafe would have laughed. But instead he explained that Charlie’s car had broken down, so he offered her a ride. He showed both of their ID’s and they were let into the gate with no question.

  Rafe pulled his truck back to the normal spot he parked. He popped open his door, but realized Charlie wasn’t moving. She sat still in her seat looking at the door in front of them.

  “Charlie?”

  “I just don’t want to go back in there,” she said quietly.

  “You’ve said as much. I can take you hom
e if you want?”

  Charlie shook her head, her hair back to the pile on the top, with little strands escaping around her face and neck. Her decision made, she got out of the truck and marched up to the door without a look backward. The two split to go their separate ways, after Rafe promised to wait for her so he could give her a ride in case her car hadn’t made it to the facility in time.

  In the security fishbowl, Rafe went through his normal morning routine of talking to Liza and checking monitors. He found himself watching Charlie in her lab. She was changing into her lab coat and about to step into the air shower before entering the sterile room. Rafe had noticed all signs of the previous day’s issue completely wiped away from the white room. Some of the cages were now empty and he assumed the attack mouse had been taken care of. However, he wondered why there seemed to be more than ten cages empty instead of just the one.

  Watching Charlie and the other coats in the room, Rafe realized the injured woman from the day before wasn’t present in the lab. He thought back to her wound, thinking it would have been easily handled at the ER if she had gone like he instructed. A few stitches would have closed it up. But as the wound was on her hand, she may have felt it was too painful to work the day after and had called in sick. Rafe made a note to ask Charlie about that.

  The day seemed to pass slowly, but without incident. Rafe liked quiet. He shifted through the labs, watching the movements as he always did. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him for most of the morning. It was after lunch that he found the same suit Charlie had yelled at walking through the corridors. He wore wire-rim glasses and the security cameras couldn’t quite see his eyes as he moved. Rafe knew 'The Suit' wouldn’t know he was being watched, so he switched through cameras to follow his path straight to Charlie’s lab.

  Suit man tapped on the glass wall of the lab, pointing directly at Charlie and motioning for her to come out. Her face went pale from what Rafe could see, her mouth slightly open in shock. Was this man the one she was afraid of? Was he the one she thought had sent someone to follow her, run her off the road, ransack her house? Rafe didn’t think twice about his actions as he grabbed his portable radio and left the fishbowl. He radioed Liza to let her know he was stir crazy and was going to walk. When really, he was walking straight to Charlie to find out what was going on.

  Rafe arrived at the lab, just as Charlie was exiting the air shower. Rafe hid around the corner, waiting to see if he could hear any of their conversation. Different than yesterday, Charlie spoke quietly, professionally. She didn’t raise her voice or yell at the man. Rafe could hear 'The Suit' ask about Tammy and where she was. Charlie replied that she didn’t know, but that she hadn’t come to work today. There were more whispered words that Rafe couldn’t make out and he had to take a chance to glance around the corner to even make sure the two were still standing there. He could see the side of Charlie’s face and her eyes were round with fear.

  Again, Rafe acted without much thought. He walked calmly around the corner, as if he had just arrived. Charlie caught sight of him first. 'The Suit' had his back to Rafe, but Charlie’s eyes shifting caused him to turn and focus on what had caught her attention. Rafe smiled professionally at them both as he stopped near them.

  “Hello, Doctor. I was just coming to check on my patient from yesterday. Tammy, I believe?” Rafe said, smiling at the word patient to show he was being jovial.

  “Um, well, she’s not here,” Charlie stammered, clearly not sure where Rafe was going with the conversation.

  “You are?” 'The Suit' spoke. This close, Rafe could now see the man’s eyes. They were hazel and cold. Fixed on Rafe, the look was menacing without saying a word.

  “Security. I treated Tammy’s hand yesterday. Had suggested she go to the ER. Wanted to check on the progress,” Rafe said. He kept his stance and voice nonchalant, not phased by 'The Suit's malicious attitude toward him.

  “Right. Well security doesn’t have patients. You can move on,” 'The Suit' said.

  “Doctor? Is there anything I can help you with?” Rafe said, ignoring 'The Suit' and focusing on Charlie. His gaze willed her to say something, to give him a sign she needed his help. Her eyes met his for a moment before she shook her head no without saying anything.

  Not being able to stand in the middle of their conversation any longer, Rafe moved past the pair and turned the corner down the hall. He waited a moment, to make sure the conversation didn’t escalate. The sound of clipped heels started his way and he knew 'The Suit' was about to discover him hiding around the corner. Light on his feet, Rafe ran to the next turn in the hall and headed back toward the security office.

  He arrived back at the fishbowl just as the phone was ringing. Rushing, he grabbed the phone out of the cradle and answered with his normal brisk security greeting.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Charlie’s irritation flowed across the line. Realizing who it was, Rafe turned to the monitors and pulled up the cameras in her lab. Her face was turned up at the camera, a silent accusation of his spying.

  “I saw 'The Suit' come back. I was making my rounds. What’s the problem?”

  “You don’t make rounds. The woman guard does. I’ve never seen you do that before.”

  “Been watching me?” Rafe joked.

  “I’m observant. I notice what’s happening around me. And you have never walked near our lab during the day. You can’t get involved in this, Rafe,” Charlie said. Her voice was in a harsh whisper, but she didn’t take her eyes off of the camera, making sure he saw the exact emotion she was trying to convey.

  “You seemed uncomfortable, so I tried to help,” he said.

  “I’m not uncomfortable.”

  “No, you’re right. Not uncomfortable. You were scared. Is 'The Suit' who you’re afraid of? Is he the one that you think sent the people after your car and house?”

  “Rafe. I’m only saying this one more time. Stay out of it. Look, thank you. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. But this is something you need to stay away from. It’s for your own safety.”

  With that, Charlie hung up the phone. She glanced at the camera one last time and turned back to the counter that held her work. Rafe watched her for a few minutes more, before continuing to scan the cameras through their rotation. He watched the other images, but his mind was still with Charlie. He could take care of himself. Eventually, even Charlie would realize Rafe wasn’t someone to be challenged.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The morning sun streamed into Tammy’s bedroom. The room was simply decorated, with her bed, dresser, and armchair taking up most of the space. Her general idea was to just have items that were functional. She didn’t worry about colors or matching. She just knew in general what she liked and clean colors were what she chose. Her light blue bedspread that was typically pristine, was stained with blood now. Her work clothes from the day before hadn’t made it to the laundry basket. Instead, they were left in a bloody, crumpled pile at the foot of her bed.

  As she tried to peel her eyes open, her body began to tremble, making it impossible for her to turn off her alarm. Her hand hurt, burned almost, where the mouse had bitten her. Damn mouse, she thought to herself. She hadn’t listened to the security guard who told her to go to the emergency room. It was just a mouse bite. However now, she was thinking she should have listened. Her foggy brain still couldn’t comprehend why the mouse had attacked her. The small thing had done quite a bit of damage to her hand before she had flung it across the lab. She knew that mouse, along with the others of the testing group, would have been disposed of as soon as the attack had happened.

  It took all of her strength, but Tammy finally was able to fling back the comforter. It was then she realized that the bandage on her hand was soaked through and there was blood all over her bed. She groaned. She was never going to get the stains out of her light-colored sheets. She tried to hold up her hand, so she could examine the bandage. But she couldn’t keep her eyes open long enough to really focus. She was
sure that some places were so thick with blood, they were black. The bandage had been tight enough, putting pressure on her wound. Tammy felt more confusion as she tried to work out why she hadn’t started to clot yet.

  Tammy rolled to the side of the bed, attempting to put her feet down on her hardwood floor. The moment she put weight on her legs, she collapsed weakly. How sick am I? She thought to herself. The floor felt cool against her cheek, giving her an additional sign of some sort of illness. She tried to breathe deeply but her chest rattled, and she started to cough. It felt like her entire body was convulsing. To distract herself from how bad she was feeling, she began to categorize her symptoms. Her doctor brain tried to reason that she had some sort of flu that had come on fast and hard.

  She was so late for work. Even though she felt like death, she realized that not calling in would reflect negatively on her. Tammy had not missed a day of work since she began her time at the facility. When she was hired and moved from her position with the CDC, Tammy had been excited about the change. Once she started working in the lab, her mind focused on the work at hand. She rarely thought about the reason they were working on the projects that were given to them. With the CDC she was always investigating pathogens and the effect they had on the human body. Her work in the facility was quite similar, except the pathogens she worked with had no names. Just numbers to identify the batch being tested.

  The sun shifted, and the shadows changed in her bedroom. Tammy wasn’t sure how long she had laid on the ground. But she worked her way slowly to her bathroom, where she hoped to reach her thermometer and medications. Her body didn’t want to respond the way it should. Using her uninjured hand, she tried to pull herself. It was a long painful process, with many moments when she would begin coughing again. When she reached her bathroom floor, she was exhausted beyond belief. She fell into a deep sleep, her injured hand seeping across the white immaculate tiles.

  Darkness seeped into Tammy’s bedroom, finding her still sleeping on her bathroom floor. She hadn’t been able to reach her medications. In the short moments she was awake, she would think she had the energy to get to the pills she knew she had. Coughing woke her again and she was disoriented. At first, she was shocked, believing she had gone completely blind. After blinking her heavy eyelids a number of times, she was able to make out the clock by her bed, though it was a blur of color instead of clear numbers.