Mark Reads ‘Deadline’: Chapter 8

In the eighth chapter of Deadline, the team heads to an illegal lab outside Portland, Oregon, where they meet a very fascinating dog. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Deadline.

Chapter Eight

You have to be fucking kidding me.

• “Could be worse.” “How?” “I have no idea. But it can always be worse.” SHAUN, WHY DID YOU SAY THIS. WHY DID YOU SAY THIS.
• Okay, Shaun, I get that you’re grieving. I do! And I understand that this has affected you greatly. But punching Alaric in the face and breaking his nose because he isn’t able to understand the fact that you are talking to a dead person in your head is uncalled for. Yes, this was months and months ago, but Alaric still flinches if you move quickly around him. Unacceptable, dude.
• It’s always weird to read about message boards and threads and such in books because I grew up on them, but they didn’t start making appearances in books until the past few years. Well, at least books I read.
• A-ha! There have been an inordinate number of deaths of CDC employees. Another clue!
• Maggie’s transformation of Kelly is almost hilarious. I’d laugh, but the situation just makes me nervous, honestly. But if Kelly’s going to pass using Buffy’s ID, then this is the only way she can do it. Well, it’s not just about using the ID. Kelly can’t get recognized, especially since the news of her death is all over the Internet. A dead person can’t be walking around Portland, Oregon.
• This turns into a real road trip when everyone comes along: Becks, Alaric, Maggie, and Kelly. I didn’t expect that, but I should have. Maggie doesn’t have a whole lot of trust for strangers, and she’s also grieving. She wasn’t going to let these people out of her site again.
• I was thankful that Grant didn’t take long to narrate the group’s journey to Portland. Well… not exactly Portland. Shaun has a tendency of being highly inconsiderate to his employees, and he does it again here. He surprises them with where they are going! Like, okay, I get that they may not have come along with you, but dude, you are going to get to a point where your whole team will turn on you for being mean. I’m sure these people have a tolerance level, and granted, you haven’t found it. They have taken everything you’ve dished out, but how long can that last?
• I got a bad feeling about the Caspell Business Park. Saying that, though, is a moot point. I have gotten a bad feeling about everything in this goddamn book. Like, a simple phone call set me off. This is what Mira Grant has done to me.
• One thing I enjoy about Grant’s writing is her characterization of Kelly. She’s showing us someone who has lived a rigid existence in the post-Rising world. Kelly has never taken any risks. She’s lived in the safest locations and worked at the safest job. She abides all rules and regulations to keep herself alive. So it’s easy to see how her entire life is falling apart through this chapter. Kelly is openly hostile to the very idea of being outside of the van in this Business Park. It’s utterly incomprehensible of her to live like this.
• Oh, I already like Dr. Abbey. She’s a good time! Plus, English mastiffs are awesome dogs, so she clearly has good taste in pets. I do like that as soon as Shaun mentioned reservoir conditions, she immediately opened the door.
• I can also appreciate that for once, Shaun’s forthright behavior works to his advantage. Urged on by Georgia, he just flat-out tells Dr. Abbey the truth about why they are there. He pretty much tells her everything in just a few sentences. Hey! It worked!
• I wondered why Dr. Abbey owned such a large animal. Isn’t that illegal? Then again, she doesn’t seem like the most legal person in the world. Her lab is totally unethical and violates a million laws and statutes, but she’s clearly not concerned that she’s breaking the law. Dr. Kelly is, however, and I worried that Dr. Abbey would throw them out because Kelly wouldn’t be quiet.
• “Besides, Joe’s no threat. He’s immune, aren’t you, sweetheart?”
• Wait. I re-read that line. Immune? But he’s over forty pounds. Perhaps he’s just an exception.
• “He’s got the canine forms of five reservoir conditions, and the initial signs of developing a sixth. He’s never going to be a daddy, since the fourth one he developed was testicular Kellis-Amberlee – I had to have him neutered after that, poor guy – but he’s never going to amplify fully, either. He’s immune.”
• Okay, I thought, was I simply forgetting a crucial detail??? Immunity hasn’t really been covered in this series aside from animals under 40 pounds. But… large creatures can’t be immune, can they??? Isn’t that the point of the virus? Like, this whole series is based on the inevitability of amplification. How is he immune? Is this a clever lie or a trick?
• “Five reservoir conditions in one dog?” Dr. Abbey nodded. “But how? I’ve never heard of anything, canine or human, developing more than one.” “Oh, that part was simple,” said Dr. Abbey, and beamed. This smile was pure professional pride. “I induced them.”
• wha
• what
• waht
• HOW CAN YOU INDUCE A RESERVOIR CONDITION? 
• How is that even remotely possible?

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