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complex syntax, like primates and whales.”
    “Not interesting,” Handon said. “More interesting: were they fucking undead?”
    Park hesitated, audibly exhaled, then stared offscreen at the still image of one he’d pulled from their video stream. “It would be remarkable. But this is a remarkably opportunistic virus – damnably so. And the disease was zoonotic in the first place – meaning it crossed over species borders to get to us.”
    “So you’re saying the virus could have crossed back?”
    Another pause. “I guess, thinking about it, it wouldn’t be totally surprising. Aside from Africa having always been one giant Petri dish and microbe-breeding ground… this bug in particular was already the most vicious, virulent, and communicable virus we’d ever seen. It took down all seven continents in weeks. And, like I said, it’s already crossed species barriers at least once.”
    Handon winced. “Okay. What I need to know is this: is it going to cross back again? By which I mean: if we get bitten by one of these things, are we going to be infected and turn?”
    Long pause on the other end. “It’s extremely unlikely.”
    Handon didn’t respond. Park would know that answer didn’t cut it.
    “Unless I get a sample from one of them, I can’t tell you for sure. And, actually, I couldn’t even REALLY know for sure without exposing a human to the live virus. All I can tell you right now is that very few diseases are zoonotic – that is, affect multiple species. And the odds are it mutated when it entered the hyraxes – and is now inert in humans. But the only way to know for sure…”
    “Yeah. Is to get bitten. Got it. One last question. Are we going to see more of this? Will there be others?”
    “I wouldn’t rule it out.”
    “Elaborate.”
    “Okay, the most likely candidates for other infected species would probably be animals that have the most human-like DNA, the most base pairs in common. Primates. Land vertebrates. Or intelligent animals with complex brains.”
    “Primates like…?”
    “Pygmy chimps. Gorillas. Smart ones.”
    “Got it,” Handon said, exhaling. “Any last words of wisdom?”
    “Just watch yourselves. Large wild animals in Africa were dangerous before. But they usually tended to run away from people, or at least leave you alone. Now they may be hunting you. And they’ll have no fear of death – for obvious reasons.”
    “All received. Cadaver out.”
    Handon slumped back in his seat and looked out at Somalia racing by around them. Brady’s driving had scared him shitless. But now dying in an MRAP rollover started to seem like an okay way to go. It sure beat being bitten and infected by a zombie chimp.
    Christ , he thought. This virus doesn’t just want me and everyone I love.
    It wants every creature on the planet.
    It wanted all of life.
    * * *
    Ali sat in back with her rifle between her legs. “Jesus. Zombie hyraxes.” Then she said what others were thinking. “And zombie whale sharks before that.”
    “I don’t know about the goddamned fishes,” Pred said. “But those little furry bastards were not alive.”
    Ali nodded her agreement. “I cut one cleanly in half – which just resulted in both halves coming for me.”
    Pred shook his head. “This ZA just gets better and better. Oh, well – fuck it. I’ll take a pack of those moles over three million Zulus in Chicago.”
    “Or ten million on the Virginia coast,” Juice said.
    “At least the moles you can stomp on,” Pred said.
    Juice just nodded and looked off into the distance. And he didn’t say what all the others were thinking: Not everything you can stomp. What the hell would be next?

    “Hey, is that your Toughbook?” Reyes asked Juice. He was nodding toward what looked like a ruggedized laptop strapped down to a metal workbench jutting out of the wall. Reyes had heard that Juice took a laptop into battle – and wreaked much havoc with it.
    “No,” said Juice, whose machine was safely