Page 30 of Wild Tempest

I shared a look with Jack.

“I’m beginning to think this was a bad idea,” he said in an understated tone.

In the airlock, nozzles overhead and on the sides were crusted with a white residue from disinfectant. The faint chemical smell still lingered in the air. Gauges on the wall had once displayed the negative pressure of the lab. The system was designed to keep pathogens from escaping.

It had been abandoned for so long, the seals on the doors had degraded, and the bio suits were dry and brittle. I figured at this point, we'd already been exposed to whatever was contained within the lab, if it was still viable.

It was an unsettling feeling.

The mechanical doors were originally interlocked. You couldn't open both at the same time, but the mechanism had broken. Both doors were open.

"Are you sure you want to go in there?" JD asked again. "I mean, I'm good. I don't need to know what's in that lab.”

"We’re already exposed now.”

"Could be dose-dependent."

I gave him a flat look.

"I'm just saying.”

I stepped forward to the second door and peered into the laboratory. It was filled with electron microscopes, centrifuges, beakers, and burners. There were multiple freezers for specimens and chemicals. Intake vents and exhaust vents with HEPA filtration had once controlled the flow of air. Several computer terminals sat dusty atop stainless steel desks.

My flashlight beam slashed the hazy darkness.

Papers and notes littered the floor. Several binders and open notebooks rested atop desks. Emergency eye-wash stations stood ready in case of disaster.

That emergency had long since happened.

I stepped into the lab and surveyed the area.

The remains of a researcher lay on the deck inside a deflated bio suit. His corpse had shriveled and withered, partially mummified inside the personal protective gear.

A bullet in the chest had compromised its effectiveness.

Shards of glass littered the floor, crunching underfoot. Glass containment cages in another room had once held test subjects. Perhaps rats, guinea pigs, or monkeys. Who knows? Maybe some of them were still roaming the ship.

I continued pushing through the darkness to another storage compartment. Inside, 55-gallon drums with biohazard stickers filled the area. At one point, they had been sealed tight. But corrosion had caused some of them to leak. The floor was moist with a thick ooze.

I didn't want to go near it or step in it.

Maybe JD was right. This was a bad idea.

The air was dank and foul.

"What do you think they were cooking up in this place?" JD asked.

A thud outside startled us. I'm not going to lie, I was a little jumpy at that point.

JD and I shared a look, then backed out of the lab. With weapons shouldered, I moved through the airlock, across the staging area, and out into the main hallway.

The barrel of my rifle swept in both directions, clearing the area. My flashlight pierced the darkness and raked across a figure.

Tempest squinted her eyes as my beam spotted her face.

Tension released as I exhaled a breath. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay behind and watch the boat."

"You're not the boss of me!”