Chapter 20 by Leanne Price
Their beds were empty. How could they be empty? Anxiety riddled Rob as he scrambled to formulate another strategy. Did they escape? Has Ken locked them away like Nadia? The plan was falling apart already and it was up to a screw-up like him to fix it. He was never meant to be the hero. He wasn’t good enough, using anything he could to avoid the world. Until now. Rob inhaled deeply and snuck back into the hallway. There were several doors in the hallway. Certificates of achievement from a likely fake company lined the glossy walls. Even in the dark the superficial nature of the facility still managed to disturb him.
After inching his way along the corridor, he was finally met with a sliver of light from an ajar door. Ken’s voice was unmistakable. “Alright Melissa, you can go first. I’m sorry to wake you so early, but there’s been a slight change of plan”. Rob leaned into the opening of the door. Melissa was being injected with a dark purple liquid. There was a file on the desk, obstructed from Samuel’s and Melissa’s view. It read SUBJECTS M22 AND S24 TO BE TESTED WITH BATCH 6787, EXTRACTED AND REFINED FROM SUBJECT N. HYPOTHESIS- PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES TO BE ENHANCED. Panic spread over Rob’s body as he realised why Samuel and Melissa were being tested. Ken and Adi must have discovered another use for Nadia’s results. Soldiers. Nadia may have been able to create not only a weapon but the army to go with it.
Within seconds of the injection, Melissa began to convulse. “Help me!” she cried. Ken watched mercilessly as Samuel was frozen in horror. Her veins began to pop out, black stems spreading across her body like a wildfire. Was she getting bigger? “Why...won’t...you…help...me?” Melissa growled, her rage consuming her. She lunged for Ken, but he slid out of the way, leaving Samuel in her path. Melissa slammed into Samuel, then into the wall, breaking it. He slumped to the floor, motionless. Melissa began convulsing again, her eyes turned completely black. Unbeknownst to Ken, she locked eyes with Rob, her anger replaced with fear. “Help me”. She fell to the ground, her eyes returning to normal and the black stems retreating. Ken bent over, checked their pulses, and took notes on his pad. Were they even still alive?
Rob could only watch in horror as Ken injected Samuel with the same dark purple liquid. Samuel shot up, the same black stems and eyes emerging. He fixated on Ken. “What’s happening to me?” “Well Samuel, given your lack of convulsions and sudden rage, I’m guessing the serum was more successful on you. Unfortunately, poor Melissa will need to be hospitalised. It seems to be that everyone reacts differently. I hope that you will be a more successful test”. Samuel began to stagger towards Ken. “You can’t do this, I don’t feel right. This was supposed to be the vaccine. What is this?”. Samuel convulsed heavily and reached for Ken, missed and put his fist on the desk, splitting it in half. “I wouldn’t worry Samuel, it seems to me that you are about to be another unsuccessful test”. Samuel tumbled to the ground, landing in front of Rob. Ken watched Samuel fall and meet eyes with Rob. Ken smiled menacingly. He pulled another syringe out of his pocket. “Now, I wonder what this will do to you”.