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Chapter Sixteen

Even though he had only been out of work for a day since he woke from the coma, it felt as if it had been an eternity since he last worked. He was feeling agitated and a little bit claustrophobic which was making him pace. Each step hurt but he wanted to work through the pain because just sitting, emotionally, hurt him more.

Even Marms was getting tired of his company and had a mad look on his face when Joseph tried to correct him while he was yelling at the birds. The hooman he lets live with him needed to learn his place and had no right to interfere in kitty business. If Marms did not teach proper edicate to the birds then they would run amuck! Not counting his other jobs that needed his attention. The hooman that he let live with him needed to learn his place if he wanted to live happily under kitty rule. Marms just did not have the time to sit and purr in his lap all day, not with everything he had to take care of.

He decided to visit the station and see what was the current state of things regarding the parasites. The number of cases was growing exponentially each day that passed by. The news kept predicting that the CDC would soon have to close down entire cities to stop the spread. The trouble was that it was still being called Mad Cow Disease and this led to Joseph's agitation.

Dr. Ami had tried to find the fortune teller but had no luck so far. She had not been home in a few days and no one seemed to be able to find her. Joseph convinced George to put out an APB but no results so far. Most of the officers had little time to worry about the All Points Bulletin while they were running around trying to keep anyone infected from getting away before the CDC could round them up. If he had been on duty he would have tried to snatch someone so the doctor could examine them.

He was still not well enough to drive, according to the doctor he was seeing, so he would have to walk. The station was a few miles away but considering how much walking he was doing in his apartment, he figured he could easily make it. He also noticed he had lost a few pounds since he was also eating less but not enough to make his body look like that of a seventeen year old again. His stomach was still in the shape of a tire, or at least that is how it looked to him, when he glanced in the mirror.

"By Marms, I'll see you later," He said at the kitty meowing in the window. Marms immediately stopped and turned to look at him blankly. Marms hesitated the finally meowed quietly at him before turning back to instructing the birds.

Joseph chuckled as he attached his holster to his belt. He was not gonna take any chances this time in case he needed his firearm because those dogs returned. He still wanted to kick himself for not having it last time but he figured it was a short walk to get his sandwich so why bother. He now realized why officers were required to carry their firearms at all times. Especially in his weakened condition if the dogs returned there was no way he could outrun them.

He stepped outside the front door of the apartment building and tightly gripped the rail as he climbed down the front steps. Normally he could just run down the steps but he did not want to take any chances while he was still sore. The pain had lessened quite a bit since yesterday and he was not taking the ibuprofen unless he really needed to.

When he reached the last step he saw some movement in the corner of his eyes that attracted his attention. He turned and saw the fortune teller walking towards him and he blinked in surprise. So she was still alive! She smiled as she approached so he figured she must have recognized him but as she got closer the smile was not a smile.

Her mouth was twisted in a way that it appeared as if she were smiling but the smile looked like something The Joker from Batman would have. Her expression seemed vacant as if she were operating on autopilot or possibly sleepwalking with her eyes open.

"Rachael?" He asked but as he expected there was no response other than her continued approach. He removed his personal firearm, a Glock 30 and cocked a round into the chamber but he kept his eyes on her.

He cautioned her to stay back but she seemed unaware that he had spoken to her. She continued her undeviating approach even after Joseph raised his pistol and pointed it at her.

"Stop! I'm warning you!" He yelled but she continued without ceasing. She got closer and he noticed some drool was dripping from the corners of her mouth. Everything seemed to happen so fast that he had to stop after to think things through.

He fired his gun a couple of times and her body jerked as the bullets struck her chest. She fell like a rag doll that a child dropped as he looked on in amazement and had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. She lay on the ground and as he approached her saw her lifeless eyes looking up towards the sky. Her face looked the same as when she was approaching him.

He heard a scream from a neighbor but he ignored it as he continued to approach with his weapon locked upon her in case she might still be alive and might attack him as he drew near. He saw blood drip from her wounds and a puddle was forming under her; the sickening blackness of the color made him sick but not as much as the fact that he realized he had killed her.

He felt he had done the right thing because he was sure she was going to bite him but it did not make the act any easier. Even his police training could not take away the guilt he was trying to suppress. He reached for his cell phone and dialed the station to report the shooting. The gunshot detection locator would detect his shots but he still had to report it.

Rachael's head suddenly burst before his eyes like a ripe juicy tomato that was thrown against a wall. Three long white colored parasites slithered out and swiftly moved away from the body. They looked like little snakes but they had no faces. At first he thought they were worms but the way they seemed to slither away from the body had him second guess that. He saw them slink underground by going towards an opening on the side of the street towards the sewer. He could not see any eyes so he wondered if they moved by radar to finding it.

He quickly dialed the number and reported the shooting and his badge ID number. He waited for officers to arrive and secure the area so he could give a full report of why he was forced to discharge his weapon in public. He then called Dr. Ami to explain the situation and brainstorm what to do next, noting that he had a better idea of what the parasites look like.

"Amazing," Dr. Ami exclaimed after Joseph told the full report of the details. "This is definitely new ground because I have never heard of a parasite behaving like this.What did it look like again?"

"It looked like a long white worm that was the size of a garden snake,"

"What is a garden snake?" Dr. Ami interrupted.

"Well when I was a boy we used to find these little snakes that we called garden snakes. They are very small, maybe a little bit thicker than earthworms and they moved very quick as they slithered. Usually when startled. They are harmless and if you try to grab one it will run away from you. They look like a baby snake but I cannot remember them getting any bigger. My friends and I tried to catch a couple to make pets but they eluded our grasp." Joseph replied.

"I believe we called them garder snakes, but go on."

"The bodies were white colored like maggots are. It had no head like a snake but it moved like one and slid off towards the sewers." Joseph continued.

"Hold on I'm doing a search on earthworms... Ah it says that worms have no eyes but can detect light and darkness and also have excellent hearing. I'm presupposing that something about the sewers might smell like a human host and they are running to it. Perhaps to also get out of the light now that they are exposed to it."

"Do worms smell?" Joseph asked confused because he had never thought about any of this before.

"They have no noses but they have mouths and breath. Just like snakes they have sense organs in their mouths.

"Could these parasites be the offspring of worms and snakes?" Joseph asked skeptically. He knew that snakes were reptiles and worms were not but they did have some similar characteristics.

"I do not know hold on a second... Amazing, there is such a thing as a worm snake! I believe a worm snake is the garden snake you were referring to. They are not actually worms but behave as worms do having similar abilities and these snakes live mostly underground. They are blind like worms but can also sense light and darkness. It says they have scales that grow over their eyes." Dr. Ami said with his voice rapidly talking the more excited he was becoming.

"Could these have come into being naturally?" Joseph said as he was trying to steer the doctor to staying focussed and not let his excitement run away with him.

"I cannot fully answer that without actually dissecting one. It could have evolved from one of the worm snakes I forementioned. A genetic mutation could have caused it to evolve into a parasite of sorts. A new species never seen before.

We could also assume that it was created and somehow escaped and infected the populous. Because the media proclaimed it to be Mad Cow disease it might be hidden from the people that created it that their experiment escaped." Dr. Ami said as he was talking to himself rather than Joseph.

"Or they used Mad Cow Disease as a cover to hide what they were doing!" Joseph replied then he heard a soft click and wondered if Dr. Ami hung up on him.

"Hello? Are you still there?" Dr. Ami asked.

"Yes, still here. I thought you were the one to hang up."

"...Maybe a problem with the connection. So how do we proceed from here? Do we just go into the sewers to get a sample?" Dr. Ami asked.

"It's not as simple as that because if we just randomly start crawling around in the sewers and it becomes found out we could get in serious trouble from the city. I have a friend at the station that is good at getting access to areas like this and if I can convince her then I will get us down there with no problems." Joseph replied thinking about a particular female officer at the station. She was good at finding such loopholes so that they could get clearance from the city. The trouble was there always was a price to pay for her service and while he and her had flirted in the past, there was no telling what she might want this time.

"How long will that take? Every second counts!" Dr. Ami pleaded.

"I understand that, believe me, but these things take time and I'm not sure how long it will take her but I'll find out and let you know." Joseph saw a cruiser pull up and he ended his call then walked over to address the officers.

Tracey White was unlike the typical officers at the station or even the other female officers. Most tried to appear stern, by the book but she was openly friendly and Joseph found she had a very flirtatious laugh. She was a whizz at computers and could easily hack into systems if needed. She did cybercrimes on a local levels monitoring the sites the registered sex offenders visited. Most of the intel she collected would be passed up to agents to investigate if needed.

She had wanted to be a federal agent but an accidental pregnancy had both become the best thing in her life and the biggest disaster, although she would never admit to it. This forced her to drop out of the program but she was able to be recruited by the local police force.

Her husband, who served in the military, had died shortly after her youngest son was born. Both her boys were too young to know their father but she could not help seeing him as she looked at them. She has tried dating but just could not love someone like she loved her husband and his death had devastated her.

He had been sent to Iraq following the events of World Trade Center attacks and while on a mission an exploding landmine killed him when he used his body to absorb the blast to protect his combat brothers. He had died a hero but as the cost of leaving his family to fend for themselves in his absence.

She was at her desk as Joseph limped over to her and although she looked as though she had not seen him, he was convinced otherwise. Her Short blond hair was glowing as sunlight from a nearby window reflected off it. Her uniform was immaculate despite having two little ones at home. He had seen other officers that were no way near as groomed as she was because of their children. Not to say they were slobs, far from it, but she was definitely a step or two above them.

"Look who's back from the dead. Good to see you, detective." She replied and a little smirk appeared but she stayed focussed on her computer.

"Officer White,"

"Tracey" She interrupted.

"Tracey, I need a favor."

"I'm a bit busy at the moment," She said then lowered her voice and leaned in close to him. "What do you need?" She whispered. Joseph went into detail about the parasites and how he needed to get access to the sewer systems. She listened intently although she still appeared focussed on her computer.

"Well detective, I'm sorry to hear about that dangerous gas leak under your building. I can help your friend from the gas company access to go down and fix it as well as get an escort to assist you. I just hope you don't find any... strange oddities down there like snakes or parasites. That would be most unfortunate and require some more investigation."

"Tracey, you are a lifesaver!"

"Uh huh, now about payment because don't think you can smile and get this one for free." She replied and he flinched because the look in her eye told him she was up to something.

"How can I help you?" he replied quietly.

"Since you still owe me for the last two favors I did... How about a date?"

"A date?!"

"I heard you broke up with what's-her-name. The kids have been driving me crazy so I need a night out with another adult. Besides it might be fun, what do you say?" She asked and turned and looked at him with her green eyes shining.

"Yeah, why not it's the least I can do to pay you back." Joseph said but he had an unsettling feeling in his stomach. She had always flirted with him but the thought of an actual date had never crossed his mind before. He hoped this might not ruin their relationship should the date go badly, for some reason. It seemed as if she had friend zoned him into this date but the limited experience he had with women had taught him a date is never just like hanging out with the guys. A date could make or break the friendship and as much as he liked her this was a huge step he felt he was not ready for.

"OK then I'll see you friday night then, you know where I live?" She asked and he suddenly realized he had not been listening.

"Um, no I don't." he said weakly and she was already writing it down on a sticky note.

"Pick me up about 7 ok?" She asked, smiling. He was suddenly feeling like a boy in high school asking a girl out for the first time. He could not figure out what was wrong with him. He was a grown adult so why was this not any easier? He was beginning to wonder if he really did like her.

"Yes Ma'am." he replied. Taking the paper and walking away trying not to look foolish. He called Dr. Ami and explained the plan that they would get clearance by pretending there was a gas leak and the doctor roll would be that he worked for the gas company and needed to fix the problem. They set up a time to meet before they meet up with the escort and go down into the sewers. Dr. Ami wanted a hazmat suit but Joseph had to convince him that wearing one would blow his cover and he needed to act like a gas worker and look like one or the escort would never let them down there.

He briefly spoke to George and was able to get some proper attire for the event. The people he was friends with were glad to see him up and about. He was told that the suv that hit him, was found abandoned and when dusted for prints it came up negative. Mike was glad to see him and struck up a conversation like it was old times.

His mind kept wandering back to Tracey and their date no matter how much he tried to push the thoughts aside they kept returning. Even as he was trying to think of their task of going into the sewer system, the thought of if something should happen, how will she find out about it? He did not want her waiting around for him and thinking he stood her up because she did not know. He kept trying to push all this away and stay focused on finding the parasites but he was having trouble juggling the two and he felt fear that because his focus was slipping he might endanger the mission.