The Zyne Project (15 page)

She was lucky to be alive and said a little thank you to the heavens that Dan had found her so quickly.  Closing her eyes, she tried to relax for a moment but became acutely aware of the fact that her mind was hazy and her muscles felt twitchy and strange.

Trying to ignore the effects of the smoke, she opened her eyes when she heard Dan reappear. He looked tired and worried.  And she knew why.  They wouldn’t last long with smoke pouring into the building.  She felt like crying, but couldn’t force any tears out.

As her father used to say,
Looks like we’re toast babycakes.

“Ok, here’s what we’re going to do,” Dan said breathlessly as he neared the couch. “We’ve got to get out of the building and back to where I was cutting that hole.  Hopefully we can get enough oxygen to keep us conscious until we’re able to get out.  Are you ok to walk?”

Claire nodded yes and he helped her off the couch. As she stood up, he pulled her close to him and they kissed gently and full of emotion. She felt vulnerable standing in front of him in only a bra, but Dan did not appear to notice and focused his attention on her eyes.

“You’re going to be ok. And this time, I’m not going to leave you.  You’re sticking with me. Got that?” he whispered.

Claire simply nodded again and took his hand as they raced out of the room, back to the loading dock.

***

When they reached the door to the loading dock area, they were already feeling sick from the smoke.  The air in the building had grown hazy and warm, making it impossible to tolerate for more than a few minutes.  Claire was once again pressing her shirt against her nose and mouth, trying to filter the air as best as possible.

She was feeling strange.  At times, it felt as if her muscles wouldn’t listen to her and she tripped while quickly walking.  At other times, she felt drunk and woozy.  Not saying anything to Dan, she continued to follow him out of the building but wondered if there was something wrong with her.

As they stepped out on to the landing, they both stopped for a quick breath.  The air here wasn’t as smoky, but it was definitely not clean and continued to exude the same burning smell.  Motioning to remain as quiet as possible, Dan held out his hand and led Claire down the stairs.  Much to their relief, the hole that Dan had cut open had not been discovered and the air that flowed through it was humid, but clean.

They both took turns breathing through the hole and Dan continued cutting it.  He worked hard and quickly, completely aware that every moment he delayed could cost them their lives. 

Claire watched him and tried to keep from coughing. As each minute passed, the air got tougher to tolerate. But any strange or abrupt sound could draw attention to their location, so she kept her breathing shallow and coughed into the T-shirt when she could no longer bear it.

After about 15 minutes, she heard Dan whisper, “Claire, I think we can fit through.”

Looking at his handiwork, she was impressed. The hole was indeed large enough for them to wriggle through. Feeling a bit of relief, she moved towards him and prepared to try to push herself through the hole, when suddenly they heard a growl.

They looked at each other.  Who could possibly still be alive?

In the darkness, a shape on the ground wriggled towards them.  It was hard to see at first, but then as it moved into view, Dan saw the Zyne Project’s last remaining subject…

Bryan.

But, it was no longer the Bryan he remembered.

The fall from the window had broken all of its legs and arms so it was basically wriggling on the ground like an overgrown centipede, trying to make it to oxygen.  Dan already knew that the creature would attack them and draw attention to their hiding place, so he did the only thing he could think of to make sure they’d be safe.

Grabbing the last remaining knife out of his pocket, he carefully walked up to the creature, lifted the weapon up in the air and brought it crashing down on the disintegrating skull, bursting bone and finding the atrophying brain.  Dan could feel the bones crunch and the oozing softness of the brain as the knife plowed through the creature’s head.  Ooze splattered everywhere, and shot up into Dan’s eyes.

He turned away and vomited all over the floor, stumbling backwards and away from Bryan.

When he turned to look at Claire, he was shocked to find her lying on the ground, twitching.  Walking over to her, he noticed that her head was positioned on its side.  She was frothing at the mouth and her eyes had rolled back into the sockets.

Stepping back with a sob, he realized that the smoke filling the air, was actually mixed with gas.

Nerve gas.

He couldn’t watch Claire die.  It was too much for him and every moment that he hesitated, would bring him closer to death.  Now, pulling and cutting the tarp with every ounce of strength left in his body, he was able to poke his head through.

Uncaring as to whether he lived or died, he waited for gunfire to blow his brains out.

But nothing happened.

Dan decided he couldn’t wait another moment and shoved his entire body though the hole, dropping to the ground.  He was in a darkened area of the building, shaded by trees and the dumpster.  But the guards weren’t far away and he knew it would be only moments before his escape was detected.

Running as quickly as he could, he raced towards the trees and hid in the woods.  He watched as the army helicopter circling overhead, suddenly stopped moving and held its position.  Seconds later, he could see a ray of bright light positioned near his escape route and heard voices shouting in the distance. 

Not waiting another minute, he ran deeper into the woods, searching for a better place to hide. As the branches and trees scratched at his exposed skin, he squinted in the dark to see if there was anywhere he could rest. 

A gaping darkness underneath a large tree with exposed roots provided him with the shelter he needed.  Dropping to the ground, Dan managed to crawl underneath the tree and position himself in the tiny cave.  He curled up in a ball, covering his head with both arms.

Dan wasn’t sure if he was praying for life…or death.

Chapter 14

 “What do you mean someone escaped?”

“Well, sir…we’ve located a hole along the west side of the building.  It’s large enough for someone to pass through…”

“And why wasn’t this detected sooner?”

“Well, sir…we’re not sure. We’ve been scouring the area for hours.  It appears that the hole is in an area close to the ground that remained…well…undetected.”

“This is unacceptable.  We must find any survivors.  Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”

***

Clarence was seated at the head of the table in the conference room, when his cell phone rang. Motioning for the discussion to cease, he answered the phone, recognizing the Army Sergeant’s number immediately.

“Yes?”

Listening carefully, his brow furrowed as the Sergeant relayed the situation.  He barely spoke, with only a few “Yes’s” and “No’s” escaping from his lips.  Once the conversation was over, he hung up the phone and faced the other members of the executive committee.

“Gentlemen, it appears we have a situation.  During the quarantine, some of the subjects may have escaped.”

The others in the room began to twitch in their chairs and appeared extremely nervous.

“So, what should we do?” one of them asked.

“Do we need to give a statement?” another questioned.

Clarence sat back and gave the group a small smile.

“Gentlemen, please calm down. As I said, we had a few subjects escape, but the fact remains that the perimeter is secure and they won’t get far.  We did ensure that even escaping wouldn’t put us at risk.  Remember?”

Slowly, the members of the executive committee began to relax and as the realization set in, they each began to smile and sit back comfortably in their chairs.

Chapter 15

When Dan awoke, he wasn’t sure where he was at first.  It was dark, cramped, and every muscle ached. He was also incredibly thirsty and his mouth felt parched.  His throat was sore and it hurt to swallow. To top it off, he needed a piss.

Stepping out of the hole, he looked around. At first, he’d heard voices and lights in the distance as guards searched for him.  But several hours later, the search had been called off and everyone returned back to the building to finish the quarantine activities.

Or in this case, the termination process…

Dan wasn’t sure why everyone had disappeared, but once he tried to stand up and relieve himself, clarity washed away any questions that had clouded his mind.

He could barely stand up. 

His muscles were twitching badly and once fully upright, he felt extremely sick and weak.  And he knew why.

The nerve gas.

They’d asked him to take a look at nerve gas when he was working at the laboratory, shortly after the Zyne Project had started.  It was a special type of gas that not only caused severe neurodamage but also robbed the body of all of its oxygen within a matter of hours.  Some people called it the “Silent Suffocater”.

He remembered how one of the top guys, some suit-and-tie-type named Clarence, had come in and asked to chat for a moment.

“So, how’s the infusion going?” Clarence had asked.

Dan had responded positively.  He knew that there was a still a ways to go, but these guys paid very well and he needed them to support his efforts. Plus, he was working with baseline formulas they’d created and was just making things work better…putting the whole show together in a concise, safe formula.

Clarence had listened to his scientific babble for a while and then swiftly changed the subject.

“Dr. Johns, we’re thinking about taking this to the clinical trials stage, but we know that as with any gene therapy, there are dangers.  We’ve been investigating different types of gases that we could give our test subjects if they experience pain or muscle discomfort as a result of the therapy. As you know, we want to ensure that they are as comfortable as possible, given their celebrity status.”

Dan had nodded and believed the entire story.

“But we know that there are dangers associated with different types of gases,” Clarence had continued, “And we need to be absolutely sure we can discern and steer clear of the ones with deadly elements.  We don’t know exactly how this therapy is going to interact with chemicals, so it would be a great help to us, if you’d do some testing to see which gases work best in terms of pain management and which ones we need to avoid.”

Hours spent testing chemicals against the infusion, led to the understanding that some gases were fine, but others, like the ones used by the army or other militia, could have debilitating effects.  And nerve gases, particularly ‘The Silent Suffocater’ would be irreversible and ultimately fatal if ingested in large quantities for an extended time period.

Dan leaned up against a tree branch, feeling weakness in his arms and legs.

No wonder they’ve stopped looking for me,
he thought.
I’m already dead.

Chapter 16

Crews filled the entire building with gas.  They continued to fill up the building until smoke emanated from every spot and they could see that the tarp was extending out from the air pressure inside.  At that time, the vents were shut off and then began to operate in reverse; sucking all of the air out of the building.  A few windows shattered from the force of the extraction, but otherwise, everything remained.

When that was complete, a new set of workers arrived and within an hour, had removed the tarp.

Once the building was bare, they created a fire line around the perimeter.  They burned everything…the bodies on the lawn, the building…everything inside was destroyed.

In essence, all available evidence was extinguished.

The flames licked and tore at Claire’s body. But she was already dead.

Tim and Bryan were destroyed and once the fire reached the building, it found every dead subject and ate away at lives that just days ago, had been vibrant and hopeful.

Families of the victims watched the government bonfire on TV.  Despite the media being pushed back, the fire was clearly visible.  Flames reached towards the sky behind reporters who remained in the darkness clutching their microphones. Some family members wept and vowed to sue, but the majority of them knew better.  They had commitments from the government and from Zyne and would be paid handsomely for their secret participation.

Representatives from the Zyne Corporation returned to the scene and gave their statements, claiming that the doctor who had organized the entire operation, Dr. Dan Johns, had gone rogue and held the subjects hostage.  He’d demanded to be remunerated…wanted $50 million dollars in order to release his famous subjects…but when his demands had not been satisfied quickly enough, he’d torched the building and killed everyone inside.

…everyone, including himself.

The local reporters quickly regurgitated the story to their captive audiences and flashed photos on the screen of those lost in the fire:

Rosa, with her beautiful raven hair and gentle smile.  A member of the CDC, on hand to make sure everything went safely.

Rick, the owner of a large thriving hair replacement business. Described as ambitious, friendly, and always willing to negotiate a good deal to help his customers get their hair back.

Jennifer, the socialite whose face had graced countless tabloid magazines. A jaded blonde, looking for a new start in life. 

Teresa, the online travel industry’s businesswoman of the year. 

Bryan, the star athlete with a glowing future in front of him.

Tim, the cool surfer who could hang with the best of them and wrangle even the highest and deadliest of waves.

And…

Dan, the mad scientist and doctor who lost his mind in pursuit of the answer to hair color manipulation and who killed many hapless victims after his financial demands were unmet.

All wanted dead.  All human guinea pigs in a secret government test that went
exactly
as planned.

Reporters barely mentioned Claire, Greg, the other members of the cleaning crew, or the handful of technicians and nurses who’d lost their lives.  There was also no mention of the strange disappearance of some Zyne laboratory employees, who had mysteriously resigned during the incident and moved away.

Their bodies, now floating at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, would never be found.

***

All of the commotion and media hoopla was lost on Dan.  He was trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to make it out of the perimeter.  Each step he took felt like bricks of lead were shoved in his shoes and it was getting more and more difficult to breathe.

Watching the building explode in the distance broke his heart.  He knew that Claire was lying in the grass, her beautiful body melting as the fire tore into her skin.  With sadness, he realized that he’d never even gotten her last name.

 Time was running out.  From the studies he’d done, he knew that he only had about one hour left at the most, before his entire body would shut down.  The chemicals were already racing through his bloodstream and wreaking havoc on his nerves while starving his cells of oxygen.

Eventually, the overload would be too much and everything would just…stop.

It was easier to crawl, so Dan got on his hands and knees and slowly made progress. He crawled for nearly 20 minutes when he saw dim light shining through the trees.

I’ve reached the road,
he thought, almost crying out with relief.

Inching forward, he finally made it to the street and fell face forward on the asphalt.  To his surprise, this part of the road was not closed off.  He figured that once the media had reported on the scene, the government had opened the lanes of traffic.

Unable to move anymore, he turned his head and saw a bright light coming towards him.  With every last ounce of strength in his body, he lifted up his arm and tried to flag down the car.  When he saw the vehicle slow down on approach,  he closed his eyes and allowed darkness to overtake him.