Free Antivirus (The Horde Series Book 1) by Michael Koogler

night’s sleep had given way to quality time spent holed up in his house with Jen and Dakota and a promise that he would never again do anything so stupid as to separate his conscious from his body. He had even tendered his immediate resignation as FutureTek’s test pilot, preferring to keep his feet grounded solidly in their lab, a proposal that Drew Jackson had graciously accepted.
    On the third day after his escape, he had finally consented to answering the official questions that had been waiting for him and he spent a considerable part of that day and evening speaking with Homeland Security Agent Rick Alders. He answered every question he was allowed to regarding the technology, as well as more personal questions concerning his friendship with the deceased Perry Edwards and the man’s still unbelievable betrayal of FutureTek and his country. That, in itself, was a bitter wound that would be raw with Jon for a long time to come.
    He then finished the lengthy and ongoing interrogations by once more relating his entire story, this time to the same three Systemtech employees who had witnessed the ill-fated demonstration that had begun his nightmare. He had even managed during that discourse, although unintentionally, to regain their interest. After hearing his story, Michael Monroe had immediately tendered a substantial offer to buy out FutureTek, an offer that would make them all rich beyond anything they could imagine. And although the offer was contingent on the completion of the official investigation into Perry Edwards and his untimely death, it had still finished the day on a good note.
    At least until he went to bed that night.
    It was that very night when the first nightmare came. He awoke from it the same way he had awoken from it this night and every night since the first – with a scream. Jen was always there, consoling him and doing her best to sooth his jangled nerves. But he was starting to wonder if that was enough. The nightmare was terrifying – repeated run-ins with the virus in his subconscious state that always ended up with the scream starting in his dream and finishing as he woke up. However, each time he had the dream, the virus seemed to get just a little closer to him and he found himself wondering what would happen when it finally caught him, even if it was just in his dream?
    So, he lay there shivering in his wife’s arms while Dakota nuzzled him with his own canine concern. He felt that something dark was still stalking him and he stayed that way the rest of the night.
    Morning found Jon Sherrard staring into the bathroom mirror with tired eyes, peering at a pair of lesions that had somehow found their way onto his face just below his left eye, sometime during the night.
     

Chapter 10
     
    National Security Agency Headquarters, Fort Meade, Maryland: Major Thomas Bolson stalked along the corridor toward the lab. He had been in a foul mood since the meeting the day before with General Hawthorne and the NSA gorilla. After the meeting, he had worked non-stop in the lab by himself, trying vainly to come up with a way to reign in his creation and salvage his military career, while trying to stamp down the overwhelming feelings of betrayal. Yet as before, he had come up empty, and his anger had only intensified. At around 5:00 in the morning, he had gone home, hoping to catch a couple hours of sleep and change into a fresh uniform. The uniform change he was able to manage, but sleep did not come and his feelings of anger and helplessness were as raw as before.
    Back in the military complex, he paused at the steel door leading into the lab and went through the normal palm and retina scan routine, before the door hissed open, allowing him entrance. He walked into the lab and froze as the door shut behind him.
    Lieutenant Danielle Martz looked up from her work station, all the color draining from her face. It was obvious she had not expected him. She had avoided the lab after yesterday’s meeting on