Xavier's vocera sounded. He had an incoming call from Kevin. "What's up, Kev?"

"Derrick missed his last two thirty-minute check-ins, and he was supposed to be off duty ten minutes ago. I know he misses the odd checkin, but with all that's going on, I figured you'd want to check it out."

"Good call. Where'd he use his card last?" No one should be missing any calls right now. He drilled that into them at the beginning of the shift. They had even upped the game and made their calls every thirty minutes instead of every sixty. Sure, they could see where they've been using their card, but the check-ins kept them alert.

"He went down to stores. I wouldn't really be concerned, but he has that call with his family tonight, and there's no way he'd want to be late for that."

"I agree. I'll go check it out," Xavier said as he got up from a table in the cafeteria, where he had been sitting by himself. The last thing he wanted to do was check the Warehouse and surrounding areas. That place was huge, it was as big as a football field. Once you're inside, it's practically an open concept in terms of unlocked doors.

Only the most sensitive rooms had card readers, like the mechanical room or the communications room, along with the door that led to the floor below, which was the heart of the station. The machines that kept everything running had to be protected, and only the highest security clearance got you down there.

He hit the button to disconnect his call and then tried calling Derrick. But there was no answer. He tried contacting Joe to see if he'd seen him, but no answer from him either, and Joe always answered. A darkness descended over Xavier and spread like a blanket over him. His gut instinct told him something was wrong. And he hated that feeling because it was rarely wrong.

Contacting Director Adams, Xavier said, "I'm temporarily pulling Clint out of the lab. I have a missing crew member I'm trying to track down."

"Who is it?"

"Derrick," Xavier replied as he walked down the hall towards the elevator.

"I saw him down in Stores. I asked him to go check on Joe," Assistant Director Clemmens voice said in the background.

"When did you last see him?"

"About ninety minutes ago?" Clemmens replied. "Give or take."

That fit in with the time frame that Kevin gave him as well, but why would he still be in Stores? At most it should have taken him thirty minutes to wander through, and even then, they didn't go inside every room down there.

"I asked him to go check on Joe, who never returned to our meeting. Joe went to find Mark so we could have a chat."

Damn!

"So are you saying we have three missing crew members?" Xavier asked. Things were getting worse by the minute. An uneasiness filled him like a bowl of gross pea soup. "I better go check it out. I'll keep you updated, Director, as soon as I have any information."

"I'll be waiting."

Taking the elevator down to the Lab Level, he poked his head into the lab and saw Cheryl and Hannah working. "I have to borrow Clint," Xavier told the girls. "Sorry, bro, I know you're nearing the end of your shift." Clint had been staying a little longer than his usual 7pm shift because their next auxiliary couldn't get there until 8.

"Okay," Hannah said, not looking up from the microscope. "We have no plans on going into the isolation lab, so we're good."

He would have loved to stay and talk to her, but they had to deal with the situation at hand first. He felt bad for brushing her off earlier when she wanted to talk to him, but talking about his dad was a tough subject. His safety rug had been pulled out from under him when his dad died. He'd been his confidant, his teacher, but he wasn't enough for him.

Xavier shook his head. He couldn't go down that rabbit trail. He had a job to do. "Come on."

"What's going on?" Clint asked, struggling to keep up with him. Being a foot shorter, his legs didn't have as big a stride.

"We have three people that have disappeared."

"We're locked in a station, how can they disappear?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Xavier swiped his card in the elevator and hit the button for the Warehouse level.

"Who's missing?" Clint asked, standing beside him inside the small car.

"Mark, Joe, and Derrick."

"Ah, I was wondering why I hadn't heard Derrick. What do you think is going on?"

Xavier didn't want to even think about the possibilities, although it was kind of hard with that kid in the isolation lab. All he could envision was a bunch of people like him running around, and that wasn't a pleasant scenario. This was the first time he hadn't been able to get in touch with someone, and that didn't sit well with him.

The elevator opened directly into the Warehouse, and immediately there was a silence that felt different, something palpable floating in the air, and it made all his senses go on full alert. Above, the lights flickered, adding to the already ominous feeling flooding through him. Xavier patted his side to ensure that the flashlight hadn't fallen off his belt. Getting stuck in the dark was never his favorite thing. He hated it. Hated it with a passion. Too many shadows in the dark, too much uncertainty that could surprise you. Shadows that created all sorts of demons for you to fight.

That's why he liked his room at the station. There were no windows that could let in the light to make scary shadow fingers on the wall, Nothing that could change a pile of clothes into a monster. Man, it was so stupid. "How could a grown man be afraid of the dark?" Xavier grumbled to himself. Down here, there were emergency lights that would turn on in an emergency and had the same effect as pale moonlight shining through a window.

"Clint, you go left and I'll go right, then we'll meet at the back by the hydroponics bay. Keep your eyes open. I have a feeling we're not going to like what we find."

As they went their separate ways, Xavier had his taser in his hand and his other hand at the ready. There should be a few people working, but there was no chatter that could be heard. He looked down one aisle and then another when a clang vibrated through the large warehouse, followed by a scream.

Clint came running up to him.

"Cover my flank," Xavier said, as they quickly and quietly made their way towards the sound. Where was the rest of the staff? How come no one else had come running? They approached the next aisle.

"Xavier, help me!" a woman cried.

Xavier's head whipped to the left, and he saw two women come barreling towards him. Amanda's eyes were wide with fear. She was zigzagging as she tried to avoid the woman behind her. Clint and Xavier took a step towards them when the woman jumped on Amanda's back, taking her to the ground and tearing into her arm.

"Oh geez, it's Carlene!" Clint said, his voice high with adrenaline.

Xavier raced towards them and threw the tiny petite lady off of Amanda. Carlene skidded across the buffed flooring before hitting a large crate. But that didn't slow her down any. She was on her feet, racing towards them in no time flat.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." He took Amanda by the hand and the three of them raced towards the closest door that led downstairs to the Service floor. There was no way he wanted to chance taking the time to go back to the elevator.

Once the door closed, he turned to Amanda. "Have you seen Joe, Mark, or Derrick?"

She shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. "I was the last one here today, to my knowledge. I don't even know where she came from."

Xavier pulled her into his arms, giving her a reassuring hug. "You're okay now, Amanda." With the exception of her bite, he thought. He needed to get her to the Clinic and have Corey lock down all remaining bite patients.

Calling Kevin on his vocera, he said, "Lock down the warehouse level, and let the station know that we are on a stage 4 alert." They had four different stages of threat levels. And stage four was an uncontained biohazard. They needed the CDC, and they needed them here now.

When they reached the main level, they took Amanda to the clinic. Once inside, Xavier took Corey aside. "You need to put all the bitten patients inside the isolation rooms and lock the doors."

"Why?"

"They come back, just like the boy."

Corey dragged a hand through his hair. "Oh, hell! You can't be serious? Dr Booth is with Flynn and Judith downstairs in the morgue." That was on the lab level.

"Crap. Hannah's down there," Xavier said, fear burning in his gut. "Clint, help Corey here. I'm gonna run down to the morgue." He had to get down there before Flynn and Judith came back to life, or whatever they wanted to call it.

And then, before he even moved, an alarm sounded from down in the morgue. "Crap, it's happening already." Why couldn't they deal with one emergency at a time?

By the time he reached the hallway leading to the morgue, Hannah was racing towards him, her face in panic mode. He grabbed her by the arm to stop her from sailing by him.

"You and Cheryl need to seclude yourselves in your room until this is over for your safety."

"I need to go to the morgue. I'm trained in psychology."

"Did that work on the boy?"

"No, but—"

"Exactly. Stay in your room until I give the all clear," he ordered.

"I'm not going to let you do this alone."

Xavier took her by the arm and marched down the hall, then took her in the janitor's room, locking her inside, ordering Kevin to lock the door except for use of his own card.

"Let me out, you creep!" she screamed, pounding on the door.

She could be mad at him all she wanted. At least he knew she'd be safe from whatever these things were and bite free. It was his job to watch out for those who couldn't watch out for themselves.

"I'll come back for you," he said.

And there he left her. Alone, without a clue as to what was going on. Hannah didn't like not knowing. It scared the living daylights out of her. Hannah looked around the room, trying to figure another way out. But, aside from the air vent on the roof, there was nothing. She shook the shelf, testing to see how sturdy it was, and it wobbled dangerously.

"Shoot," she grumbled. It would have been perfect, but there was no way to climb up there. As she stood there grumbling, loud voices from out in the hallway suddenly had her head whipping towards the door. There were feet slapping the concrete floor in quick succession.

"Hurry, this way!" Xavier yelled. He sounded like he was right outside. She felt certain he'd open the door, but he never stopped. He kept right on going, his footsteps growing silent.

"Let me out!" Hannah banged on the door. "Do you hear me, Xavier? Let me out."

She pressed her ear up against the door and heard a shuffling outside, followed by moans and groans. Whatever it was hit the door hard in response to her cries. He couldn't just leave her here. He couldn't. He said he'd come back for her.

The door rattled again and Hannah backed up as far as she could go, which was only about ten feet from the door, and leaned against the back wall. The growling intensified, and she slid down to the floor. Placing her hands over her ears, she tried to focus on her breathing. She counted as she breathed in. One. Two. Three. Four. Then she exhaled shakily, following the same count. Oxygen in. Carbon dioxide out. Her blood rushed to her ears as her heart bounced like a ping pong ball.

Bang

Hannah jumped as something hit the door again, making it rattle on its hinges.

"Go away," she cried, throwing a small can at the door. That made it slam into the door harder, causing the wood to splinter near the handle. Why did this have to be the one door made of wood?

Vibrations. They were driven by vibrations and smell. She had to mask her scent. Hannah stood up and spun in a circle, glancing at everything in the small room. There was diluted bleach, and other cleaning supplies. She knew she wasn't supposed to inhale them, but what other choice did she have. It was either do that or become like Flynn. One bite finished her friend off.

Another pound on the door had her moving quickly, her breath catching in her throat as she searched for a medical mask. She knocked non-essential items off the shelf in her search. Finally, she found an unopened box near the back, and a pack of gloves were beside it. Her nerves made her fingers numb as she fumbled to open the box.

The growling intensified and Hannah screamed when the upper door hinge broke free from the wall. Securing the facemask and putting on the gloves, she doused herself with the bleach-smelling cleaner. She finished just as the door burst off the hinges.