The Zyne Project (11 page)

***

Rosa was dying.  It was clear to him by the pallor of her waxy skin and the way her body felt. When Greg placed her on the large mahogany table, her head rolled to one side and she didn’t move a muscle.  But underneath her skin, he could see little pulsing vibrations. 

It was eerie and terrifying.

For the first time all day, Greg had one thought.

I’m not sure I should be alone with her.

Chapter 8

It was unbearably hot outside the building in the pool area. Despite the small influx of air passing through the hole cut open by Rosa, the air was humid and fetid…smelling and tasting of a strange type of plastic that was getting stronger.  The yellowish hue made it even more suffocating, giving off the feel of being stuck inside a large beach ball.

Dan wiped beads of sweat off his brow, feeling thirsty and tired.  He didn’t have good news to share, but hoped that he could convince Zyne to let them out.  He knew that his rights were being violated but wasn’t sure if that mattered anymore.  Deep down, he knew that there might be something bigger at play. 

What if Zyne knew what would happen all along?

The premise shocked him but also seemed possible.  The perimeter
had
been secured relatively quickly.  Would they have been able to do so with such abbreviated notice?   Dan realized that in the midst of all the chaos and activity, he’d not really stopped to think about what was happening.  And now, stuck in the midst of the bubble, he realized that activity was occurring outside.

Activity that was not waiting for him to administer a cure…

Finding the opening quickly, Dan stepped up on the pool chair and shouted out, “Hello?  This is Dr. Dan Johns.  Hello?”

He waited a few moments, hearing voices in the distance.  He could also hear trucks pulling up.  It sounded like the vehicles were new. Straining to hear what people were saying, he couldn’t pick up anything, but could hear the whirring sounds of the helicopter overhead. It seemed to be positioned in place and that also worried him.  They were locked in like prison inmates, so why were they being guarded so heavily?

Suddenly, a series of gunshots broke the relative calm.  Overhead he could hear a robotic voice warning an unseen perpetrator, “Please stay where you are.  Do not try to escape.” 

And then, another loud series of gunfire.

This time, the gunfire sounded mechanical and automatic.  The “rat-tat-tat-tat” sound erupted, causing Dan to cover his ears and cower in the chair, terrified that some of the gunfire might be pointed in his direction.

Another series of gunfire followed a brief period of silence.

And then…

…all was quiet.

Dan waited in his crouched position for a signal, but this time, all was silent.  The trucks weren’t moving any longer and the distant chatter he’d picked up had ceased.

Shakily standing up on the chair, he repeated, “Hello?  This is Dr. Dan Johns.  Is anyone there?”

Then, a voice on a megaphone answered.

“Dr. John, please provide an update.”

Shouting as loud as he could, he responded to the headless voice.

“We’re getting the situation under control.  I’ve identified a biochemical infusion in one of the laboratories that we set aside as a buffer.  Right now, we have one subject remaining who will be receiving the infusion shortly…”

He was cut off in mid-sentence.

“Dr. Johns, by ‘one subject remaining’, are you inferring that the rest of the subjects are dead?”

Dan wasn’t sure what to say. 

“Dr. Johns, please respond.   Are all the other subjects dead?”

“Yes,” he replied.  “They’ve all succumbed to cellular abnormalities caused by the infusion.”

“Dr. Johns, we appreciate your honesty and for keeping us up-to-date on what’s happening in there.  At this time, we’re going to discuss what next steps should be taken and we’ll get back to you. Please come back outside for an update at 10pm.”

It was 7pm.

Looking down at his watch, Dan estimated that the sun would be going down shortly and hoped it  would help cool things down a bit.

“Given the lack of air, the building is beginning to get very hot.  Is there anything you can do?”

“Yes, Dr. Johns.  We will cut more holes along the top of the enclosure to give you more oxygen.  Please return outside at 10pm and we will give you instructions on how to proceed.  We understand you’ve been stuck inside all day and apologize for the inconvenience, but hopefully we’ve contained this and can let you out once we’ve determined how to handle the remaining subject.  Do you understand?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Stepping off the chair, Dan felt uneasy.  He didn’t like the idea of being locked up in the building at night and even though they had electricity, felt somehow safer with daylight still streaming through the yellow-wrapped windows and doors.  Now, with the sun beginning to set and the darkness of evening beginning to shroud the landscape, he felt as if the darkness would sop up any ray of hope that existed. 

As he pushed the doors open and walked back inside, grief spread through his bones like a malicious cancer.  This was not how things were supposed to have turned out.  And now, walking through the empty elegant hallways, he felt the brevity of the situation pressing down on his shoulders. 

***

Underneath the darkening sky, large, strange-looking vehicles had pulled up.  They were oblong with large cylindrical centers cutting the containers in half. Crews were hooking up large tubes along the sides of each truck, twisting and torquing each one with careful, precise turns.

Unbeknownst to the people trapped inside, Zyne representatives had left the facility perimeter several hours back.  Key executives were transported to private jets with a course set for Washington, D.C. and offices were quickly stripped within a matter of hours by expert cleaners who were dispatched not long after events began unfolding.  Laboratory technicians and researchers were asked to leave the premises and not return until requested to do so. 

CDC officials were slow to the scene and while Rosa’s presence within the clinical trial was not a secret, there were other things to worry about.  They’d been briefed that an infusion to treat hair replacement had not gone well and many people had died.  In order to ensure safety, all contagious subjects had been quarantined while doctors worked to help them. 

The subjects’ immediate families were notified that something had gone wrong.  Others were notified that everything was proceeding as planned.  Some people cried fake tears, others…real.  But most of those notified were acutely aware that the death sentences they had helped plan for months were now a reality.

In the meantime, a new slew of people now arrived at the Illusions compound and didn’t look anything like scientists or guards. 

They were hazardous materials experts…specializing in gases and total sterilization.

The kind of sterilization that did not leave anything left behind. 

Total decontamination.

***

When Dan entered the medical facility, he became immediately aware of how warm everything was.  Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and traveled down to his nose, dropping off the tip every now and then.   It was quiet in the hallway, but as he took a few steps forward, Greg peered around the corner.  The man looked tired, but pleased to see him.

Dan was just as relieved to see that he was still alive and that Rosa hadn’t woken up completely changed. “How is she doing?” he asked.

“Not great, take a look at her,” Greg motioned towards the table.

Rosa looked much worse than before. Her skin had taken on a grayish pallor and her breathing sounded more like wheezing.  Her chest rose and fell sporadically as if she was unable to breathe consistently.

Dan knew he would need to get her treated with whatever infusion buffer solution he had left and prayed that she would respond better than Rick had.  As he turned to go pick up the vials, Greg grabbed his arm.

“Hey, I need to tell you something else,” he said, his eyes serious and wide. “There’s something wrong.  When I was in here with Rosa, I could hear noises outside.  It wasn’t clear what I was hearing, but it almost sounded like something sliding against the floor.  And then, I also heard some crazy woman laughing.  I know it sounds insane, but I really did hear those things.”

Dan shook his head, “I heard the gunfire outside, so I’m assuming that our friends with the cleaning crew were trying to escape, but I haven’t seen anyone…wait a minute.  Didn’t you say Jennifer was floating in the pool?”

Greg nodded.

Dan was now very scared. 

“Greg.  I was just out there. She wasn’t in the pool.”

***

The remaining members of the cleaning crew heard it all.  In fact, they were now curled up as a group on the floor, hiding behind the bed.  They were shaking and everyone was scared. 

They’d been sitting on the bed, sharing some snacks.  One person was on the floor with a blanket, taking a nap. Suddenly, they’d heard a man moving down the hallway alternatively moaning and then hitting the doors as he passed each room. 

When he had come past their room, he’d banged on the door. 

Thump

Thump

Thump

No one had answered.  It was too risky and the man on the other side of the door didn’t sound normal. He was huffing and puffing.  It also sounded like something was dripping on the carpet. 

After several more minutes, the thumping stopped and the man kept walking.  One woman sobbed in relief into the sleeve of her shirt.

Her sobs were disturbed by the sound of the man throwing open a door several rooms down.  He yelped in victory, and then growled when he realized the room was empty.  The group could hear something being thrown against the window followed by the sound of broken glass tinkling and reverberating throughout the hot air. 

Then, for the first time all day, they heard a loud voice shouting from somewhere up above, warning everyone to stay put and shooting off mechanical gunfire as reinforcement.  Then, they heard more gunfire. 

The boldest member of the group, a man named Jimmy, looked out the window and watched as a black flash tumbled to the ground at alarming speed, while gunfire created tiny holes in the yellow tarp, dotting the material as the body fell. 

Jimmy couldn’t be sure what he was looking at…it all happened so quickly.

But, he could have sworn it was Bryan Jackson.

***

Rosa could hear voices.  They sounded distant and muffled, but she recognized both of them.  She was in so much pain that coming to her senses was not a pleasant experience.  She struggled to remain in the dark where nothing hurt and all she had to do was dream within random, alternate realities. But as each extremity screamed out in pain, she was dragged back into present-day.

Opening one eye, she blinked, trying to focus. Blessed with 20/20 vision her entire life, she was unaccustomed to not being able to see.  But there was a terrible pressure building up behind each eyeball and she felt a strange pounding in her skull as she struggled to focus. As the details of the room came into the view, the world seemed hazy and surreal. 

An unusual and illogical feeling of rage swept throughout her brain.  It came on extremely quickly, filling her with the urge to destroy and gnash and scream.  Struggling against the rage, Rosa moaned and twitched on the table, then thrashed, her head whipping back and forth.

Dan ran over and saw her struggle.  They didn’t have much time.

“Let’s restrain her.  Quickly.”

Greg didn’t argue and the two quickly secured her legs by wrapping rope around each ankle.  They then strapped her body down to the table and secured each arm with individual pieces of rope.  Everything was knotted and secured as tightly as possible.

Rosa tried to not to fight them.  But the fury was mounting and she could feel her brain fighting against her.  It was as if there were two different people at work, both fighting with each other, the angrier of the two winning out.

“Please,” she gasped.  “Inject me with something to stop…to stop the rage.  I’m getting close…and I can’t stop it…”