Sam moved under the red sheets of the bed she was lying on. Her head was throbbing with each heartbeat. A killer headache. “Yay! Can’t wait to tell mom about this one….MOM! “Sam sat up, a little too fast. After a moment, her dizziness had passed and she exited the bed. Wait! This wasn’t her room. Where in the world was she? Sam saw the bed she was lying on had a net type thing cascading down over it which was also red in color. It looked like a giant veil. Sam saw a slit and escaped through it into a room. The small room looked like a dorm room in a collage. She was a narrow hallway and decided to walk through it. There was a door in the middle of it and another room on the other end. It looked like a kitchen, living room, and dining room. In the middle of the dining room, there was a card table that said ‘entertainment center’ in the middle of it. The walls were a light cream color and the carpet was a light grey. She saw the hallway she walked through was hardwood. A light color, white oak? She also realized that there was a flat screen T.V. beside a fish tank filled with brightly colored fish. Tropical if she had to guess. The T.V. was turned onto the evening news.

“…Yes, that’s right. Eve Hess was found in her home with a hole in the back of her head, “the female reporter’s picture left the screen. “ She was the suspected cause for the head Vicore plant in New York to explode. New details will be released in at a news conference at 10 P.M….” Sam went pale. The woman she was silently cursing to die last night had died. Her only family left had died. Her mother was dead.

“Sam! You’re up! “Sam whirled around to see a girl, around 15, walk, no run, up behind her. Sam was startled and went to take a step back, into the card table. The girl had long, all the way to her tailbone, brownish hair with red and blond highlights. The girl looked just like… a friend? Then it clicked for Sam. “No. April? “The girl just smiled. “ You got it Sammy! “Sam just let her jaw hang open as this girl, April, embraced her. Sam hadn’t seen her since she and her family had to run for their lives 3 years ago. “Oh, Sammy, I got us lunch. “ Sam just now noticed the brown paper bag in April’s hand. April sat the bag on the table and started pulling items out of it. The smell made Sam’s mouth water. “I got all your faves. Mac’n cheese, Meat loaf, Rhubarb stalks, and last but not least, desert. It’s called ‘Chocolate mousse, brownie delight. ‘. How did you like your new vei-” April slammed her mouth shut when she saw Sam fingering a charm on her necklace that had the shape of a winged heart laying in a dragon’s paw. She noted it was beautiful but remembered that she got that for her birthday a few years back. Eve had gotten it for her. “Sam? Are you okay? “

Sam’s gaze was glued to the T.V. where pictures were flashing across the screen. There were pictures of her house, mother, brother, father, and a body bag on a gurney being wheeled out the front door. Sam couldn’t believe it. She just shook her head and let her tears fall. “I couldn’t save her. I did it, “she sobbed. “ I told her ‘I hate you ‘before she died. I was never able to tell her how much I loved her. I never told her… “April dropped her black leather purse and food on the table and moved quickly to Sam who was about 2 feet away. April held her friend as Sam’s tears dampened her shirt. April had forgotten why her childhood friend was here and also forgot how much of a delay both her and Sam’s training would suffer because of Eve’s death.

There was just one headache after another. For Sam, physical- not being able to train for a couple of weeks-, mental- having the loss of her mother-, and other ways April probably couldn’t even imagine. All of a sudden, Sam collapsed in her arms, coughing. “Sam! Are you alright? “ April could see the change of color in Sam’s face. A large framed man with dark hair walked through the door. “April! I’m back! I hope you brought supper home; I’m star- “The man stopped dead in his tracks when he saw April sitting on the floor holding someone in her arms. April looked scared and worried. “Duain, “she said. “ Call the campus nurse. Something’s wrong with her! Now! “Duain went into the kitchen and dilled the number for the campus emergency line.

Sam heard someone talking about a sick girl. She heard April yell ‘Now’ and turned her face towards April’s voice. To April’s surprise, the irises of Sam’s eyes were a dark color. Like brown with a few drops of red mixed in. There was only one person in the room that Sam could see. April’s voice and face had disappeared and one person replaced her. He was standing above her smiling. It was… Zac.

Zac was staring at her, his lips moving. Sam couldn’t hear any words. He started coming close until he was close enough to embrace her, which he did. As he embraced her, he whispered into her ear, “I want you with me. You’ll see mother in a different life but you’ll see me soon. You’ll come with a thirst for blood too. “Zac backed away a couple of steps, smiling, leaving Sam on her knees. He then reached for her hand, which Sam reached up to meet. When their hands met, there was nothing but red all around them. All Sam felt was a burning pain. Zac then let go not smiling anymore. He faded into the red that had surrounded them. She called to him desperately to come back but he never did. She looked down at her right hand and she saw a mark on it. A mark she had seen on the map in the research facility that marked every location of an experiment site. It was in some type of ancient language, though she wasn’t sure which one, that meant ‘Deso Slogosing ‘, or ‘Dey Slogos ‘. The mark looked like a starburst with a jagged line though the middle. She hung her head when she became dizzy. Everything disappeared instantly after she blinked her eyes. The red was replaced with the walls and ceiling of the dorm. She then realized that there were faces looming over her, one belonging to April, who was the first to speak. “Sam! Talk to me pleas. ““Appy? “ Sam croaked. Aprils voice cascaded itself in relief. “What Sammy? “ Sam smiled a little as she tried to sit up. Sam had only one thing to say. “Appy, pleas, I have a favor to ask of you. No, tell you. For the love of God! Pleas SHUT UP! My head is killing me and the first thing I hear is your yelling. Not trying to be mean but quiet is nice. “Everyone in the room started laughing, except the man standing in the back. The other woman besides April wore a leather motorcycling jacket with leather pants. She had a stethoscope around her neck too. She started to put a flashlight and the stethoscope away in a small black bag. When she was finished, she looked at the person who was standing in the back, the one who didn’t laugh with a tiny smile. “Mr. Paddock, sir, she’ll be fine, “The woman handed April a paper that looked like a Prescription. “ Make sure she put’s this on her had twice a day. It should help with pain and keep the scarring down too. “The other man, dark haired, gave a quick nod towards the woman. “ We’ll make sure she uses it. Thanks Dr. Nappe. “The woman smiled then left the room through the door in the hallway. The other man, Mr. Paddock who was standing the entire time said, “Well, I’m glad we didn’t lose another one. “ After that, he walked out the door. Sam had a confused look on her face while April and the other person helped her stand. She had to ask. “Appy? What in the world is his problem? “April laughed and then pointed towards a lazy boy chair. Sam shook her head. “I’m fine mom, just a little bump on the head with a metal baseball bat. “ Sam was using her little kid voice, the one that nagged at April since their childhood together. She also used big eyes to emphasize her point. The guy in the room looked over at April with a bewildered look. “Hey Ape-” April looked like a striking snake when she turned around gave him a long glare.

“Stop calling me that Duain. “ Duain just rolled his eyes with a sly smile. “Whatever. Anyway, do you think the bat ruined her? “April shook her head with a smile. “ Nothing could ruin that girl except… no. Not even that could since it didn’t.“ Duain was about to ask what when Sam spoke up. “Hello? At least wait until the person is out of the room before you talk about them…“April sighed. “ Sorry. Didn’t mean to sound like that. We’re not talking bad about you. I don’t think. I could be wrong." Sam smiled again. “Is that a compliment than or insult? “ This Duain guy smiled, he had a great smile, mental note for Sam herself.
“Definitely compliment. Now get your butt either in bed or in that chair or I’ll put you under the bat of sleep myself.” Both girls laughed. April decided to see Sam’s reaction to her older brother’s appearance. “Sam, I want you to meet someone I don’t think you remember. Sam, this is my older brother-” Sam’s eyes grew in size as she finished April’s sentence. “Duain? Oh my god, Duain? What happened to the runt that was always getting hung-up by his underwear in a tree branch by his sister and her accomplice? “Duain smiled a smile that could light up a room. “ Nice to see you too Sam, even if all you bring back up are bad memories. Trust me. I’ll get you back when you least expect it. Just watch your back. “Duain’s face lost all hummer and was plastered with seriousness. “ Ape, I have some new info on Vicore.“ Sam heard the name and sucked in a breath. Duain didn’t seem to notice. “When the New York facility exploded, some type of virus was thrown into the air. It’s blowing this way. We’re putting the academy under quarantine. “April and Sam looked at each other. Sam spoke first. “Duain. I know only one virus that’s dangerous to us. The other couple just target fruit trees and cabbage patches. The one that is dangerous to us is called the ‘Papule virus’ or the ‘Crazy virus ‘. The only things that it doesn’t affect are Pueos or owls. “. Duain looked at her carefully before saying anything. “How do you know this Sam? “ “My mother, Eve, worked as the head researcher and I sort of watched the files she saved on the computer. I got into them one day and read them and saw what she was researching and in case something went wrong, I knew how to stop it. I know almost everything about it and about what kind of an epidemic we’re facing if the wind blows coastward. ““That’s what I was worried about. Ape; get a meeting with paddock and anyone else scheduled ASAP. “April nodded. “ Do you think we need Baxter? “Duain stared at the clock as if waiting for something, as if he wasn’t even there with April and Sam. “Duain! “ April’s voice seemed to wake him from his daze. “What? “ “Do we need to get Baxter involved? “ Duain looked very tired and serious, almost scared. “Yea. If something goes wrong in the meeting, and they attack Sam, we’ll need ‘em.“ The way Duain was talking and the look that showed up on April’s face chilled Sam to the bone. Something bad was going to happen, and they all knew it was inevitable. Why did Sam have to be so compassionate?

There she was, just as beautiful as always. She was walking down the hallway, lockers on each side of her as she weaved between kids, chatting to April. Her long black hair flowing around her like dark angel wings. She had a smile that could light up an entire world and those color changing eyes could always share a spark of joy. Today they were grey. Today she was wearing that nice red, button up shirt. Today, they would go out to the lake after school with April and Duain.
Duain tapped him on the chest lightly with the back of his hand. “Man, she is hot today. You are so lucky man, I'm serious. “He smiled.” I know. Hey you ready for tonight? Did you find a date? “Duain shook his head giving his hair the wild stallion look. Samantha was right; he did look like a wild mustang in human form. “No, Emily was busy with her job, Nicole was going with Dug tonight, and finally Serena was going trapping with her folks. Looks like I'm dateless again. “Both guys smiled as Sam and April walked up to them. Sam gave him a small kiss on the lips and April stood there watching going “awwwwwww ". Sam looked at her and stuck her tongue out.
“Appy, you coming tonight?” April smiled. “You’re joking right? Of course I'm coming! You nuts girl?“ Duain elbowed April in the side. “So, who you going with? Hmmmm? “April narrowed her eyes at her brother.” No one. “Duain decided to push a little father.” Really? No one at all? Now why is the question? I knew your tomboy actions would come back to bite you. ““Shut up.” Duain felt like being a jerk today. “ Or you just didn’t have enough money on you to pay anyone. “ April narrowed her eyes even more. “Shut up. Eric was going camping this weekend, Shaun was going to a party with Nicholas and Bobby, and Dug was going out with Nicole. Plus all my girlfriends were going to a big party this weekend probably to get wasted. So no, I'm single. “ Duain just smiled smugly.
“Ok you two don't make me separate you.” Sam said. She then turned to her guy. “So, who are you taking with you tonight?” "Oh, no one in particular. Maybe someone who I've known forever. " " Oh really.” “Really. She’s beautiful, smart, and to die for partying.” Sam smiled then gave him a hug. She went to give him another kiss- THUNG! Someone tackled Duain to the ground and someone grabbed April and Sam. They had Sam and April by the neck up against the lockers. April’s attacker got a good elbow to her kidneys which made her drop for a second. “April! “ Duain yelled. “No! You bast- “ Their attackers were kind of large and exceptionally strong. They were all in academy standard issued cameo pants, for missions, with a black shirt and black ski mask. Someone hit Sam in the face with their fist. He couldn't just stand there and watch as his girl and best friends were being attacked. His attacker was trying to sweep his feet out from under him. He found a chance and took it. He grabbed his attackers face and threw it into his knee. “Hey you!” someone yelled. He turned around to find himself face to face with a gun. Standard issue. Beretta. He prayed it wasn’t 9mm. “I hope you suffer. l hope your girl suffers. I will bring a new age. I will become something you could only dream of. “ BANG! He had excruciating pain in the side of his head as he lay on the floor. There was warmth that he felt flowing over his ear. The person stood over him, gun in hand. Someone got down beside him. It was Sam. “Run," he whispered over and over. Sam slid her standard issue knife out of its sheath in under her shirt. It was the one not many people knew she had. It was in a sheath that was attached under her shirt on her back. “ Get out of the way. “ the man told Sam.” You know he’s going to die anyway. Just let me end this right now. ““No! “ Sam screamed. “You won’t touch him! You’ll have to go through me!” the man smiled. “That can be arranged but first how is your brother? “ She struck out at the gunman with a savage cry. The knife went from left collar bone to right rib cage. The gun discharged. Sam cried out as a few agents came in with their guns drawn. One stopped to help Sam and him. Three went after their attackers. He could hear Sam crying his name. “Stay down “ one of the agents told her. She refused to listen. He saw Sam’s face above his. Her tears fell on his lips and his face. He glanced at her side. There was a large flower that was still blooming. It was blood. She was losing a lot of it. “I love you. Stay with me. “She cried. She kissed him on the lips. She then raised a bloody hand to her head and fell out of his line of sight. He couldn’t see her anymore. “Sam...” He whispered in desperation. “Sam...”
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“SAM!” Baxter startled awake. He was in a cold sweat as he sat up in bed. He'd had that nightmare the past 2 years. That feeling that he could do absolutely nothing. He hated it. He hated that he didn't do something differently to protect her. It had to be seeing her again after all this time that brought those haunting memories. He got up and went into his living room and got on the treadmill and turned on the T.V. to one of the country music channels and ran. Ran away from the feelings, away from the nightmare, away from the past. He was running towards the future.
45 minutes later he was showered and dressed in a blue tee and blue jeans. It was 4:10 in the morning; at least he could get a head start on that Vicore case. The way he figured he could get to the island off the coast of Florida by 5 and get back by 3pm. That was kind of pushing it but it would have to work. It shouldn’t be as tough as that Texas incident but still. He suited up. Vest that will hold two guns and his knife. His belt with room for a map a bit of ammo, grenade, some medical supplies, and a cell phone. Finally a right thigh holster and two throwing knives, one on the back of each calf. He was ready so he headed out the door ready to face whatever challenges getting the virus experimentation maps would arise. He was in his zone, and nothing would go wrong.