by Candice Lim
Mandy plunged her hand into a packet of chips, clawed out a handful and shoved it down her throat. She rocked her DIY side shaven boy cut and always wore a loose tee with baggy Capri pants. Growing up with five brothers had imbued a tomboy sensibility into Mandy’s sartorial sense.
“So, how’s stuff in general?” asked Mandy through a mouthful of chips.
The lab scene came to life again. I wanted to blot it out from my mind. At the same time, what would Mandy think if I told her what happened? I hadn’t any clue where to even start with all that had happened.
“Everything’s okay.” I tossed my bag at my room door.
“You had to stay till eight. That means you screwed up again, didn’t you? Don’t hide from me. We’ve laughed about it before.” Mandy’s eyes stay glued to the TV.
I glanced at the clock and muttered a cuss. I’d been there for the whole day. No wonder why I was drop-dead tired now.
“You had dinner? I’m feeling a late-night snack attack coming. What do you say?” Mandy switched off the TV.
Now that Mandy mentioned food, my stomach growled in response. I hadn’t eaten a single thing since morning. I glanced at my tablet and gripped it tight. I had to tell her. Who else could I trust? “Let’s hit the café now. Got something to tell ya.”
Mandy’s eyes twinkled with interest, her hunger for the latest news sparkled all over her face. “What kinda juicy gossip you’ve got―?”
“Something bad happened.” I cut Mandy off and ran into my room, where I dropped my skinny jeans and pulled on a pair of denim shorts. Cold air skimmed over my legs. It felt so good to be able to breathe through your skin again.
“What’s going on?” Mandy was now was leaning on the doorjamb, with her arms folded.
“Why don’t we go out and talk?” I grabbed Mandy by the shoulder and steered her out of my room. The TV screen was black, all the sounds were gone.
“Why so mysterious? Did you murder somebody? Or wait―you’re pregnant?” Mandy gasped and clamped her hands over her gaping mouth. “Oh, Blot my gel, is it Armani’s?”
“Mandy!” I chided, not in the mood for jokes.
“Okay, okay.” Mandy held up her hands by way of apology. “Let’s go eat. And you’re sure you wanna bring your work along?” She raised an eyebrow when I tossed my tablet into my bag.
“It’s important.”
“Yet someone told me she’s gonna drop out…blah blah blah,” Mandy mocked, flapping her hand.
I cleared my throat. “You know what I mean, Mandy” Maybe I shouldn’t tell her.
“Okay, why can’t you tell me now?” Mandy now pouted like a spoilt brat.
“Mandy, I am starving.” I turned to stare at her when Mandy let out a sigh and gave in.
We went to Bookworm, a café tucked away on the street that was a minute’s walk from the Alps. Coffee shops were a rare sight in Connor. The ubiquitous private libraries, bookstores, and academic centers each had their in-house generic cafes, but all closed before evening.
The people in this academic area frowned upon such indulgence, so students had to travel to the next town to get a good cup of coffee at night. Usually, I would grumble and protest until we went to a better place. But tonight, as long as I could fill my rumbling stomach and talk, it didn’t matter. There were few customers around and I appreciated some social distancing.
“Okay, now tell me your big secret,” said Mandy once they sat at a dinghy table.
I watched the waiter until he disappeared into the kitchen, and turned to Mandy. Her now desperate stare bore into my soul. We sat outdoors, the farthest from other tables. The night sky was sable, shot through with glitter but the view didn’t make me feel any better.
I leaned closer, looking into Mandy’s brown eyes. “Promise me. You are not gonna tell anybody about this.”
“You have my word.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
“Cross my heart.” Mandy sighed.
I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea but it was too late to back out. With a deep breath, I let it all out. Everything I saw and heard, I spilled, sparing no details. My voice was low and guarded. I glanced around, scrutinizing everyone.
“I saw Hershey trapped in a glass tank in the Underlab―” Someone walked past and I waited until he was out of sight. “She was unconscious. Then George and Edmund―”
A waitress approached our table with drinks. “Enjoy,” she said and returned to her station.
I reached for my iced lemon tea. I needed something to cool me down. “They mentioned a virus―Cranax or something. Hershey was against it. I think they are trying to unleash a plague to sell their drugs.”
Mandy stared wide-eyed and burst into a wild chuckle. Heads turned in the direction of our table.
“Listen to yourself! Did you order lemon tea or long island?”
My frown turned into a glare. “It’s not a joke.”
“You must be stressed.” Still laughing, Mandy leaned back to clutch her stomach.
I folded my arms and whispered, “Hershey is in danger.”
“With the work she’s involved in, tell me what else is new. Is that all? Jeez! I thought you were going to tell me who’s cheating on who with whom.” Disappointed, Mandy stood up, her chair legs raked the floor. “Excuse me.”
Regret made me feel worse. I watched my housemate mutter something to the barista. Mandy was a regular customer at Bookworm, so she knew everyone here and their family background. The two laughed. Mandy cocked an index finger in my direction before she disappeared around the corner. As if nothing had happened. I got madder by the second.
I downed my drink, wishing for a long island. What should I do now? I rubbed my finger over the droplets beading on the glass, reflecting and contemplating.
The night darkened in tandem with how I felt. I gazed up at the dark sky, hoping it would give me the answers I sought. Only the moon smiled back. The deceptive calm of the night was settling on me when something flitted behind me. I felt a prod, as a sharp object dug into the small of my back. I froze in fear.
A woman, about six feet tall, emerged from the shadows. Her black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. She was built like a mustang, her lean muscles taut under a body-hugging suit.
“Get up. Follow me if you want to live.”
I winced and glanced at my side. The woman’s hand was now on my arm, squeezing me tight. Everything that happened in the Underlab flashed before my eyes. She must be Cash. “Father of science!” I proclaimed. I’m so dead. Who else would be coming after her?
“Don’t make a sound.”
I wanted to scream but couldn’t find the strength or courage to move.
“Now!” The woman tightened her grip.
I had no choice but to follow her. I glanced around the café. No sign of Mandy. Everybody seemed to have disappeared suddenly. Another prod jabbed at my back.
“Don’t try anything funny,” the woman whispered with urgency.
She steered us behind the building and into a dark alleyway. Shadows of rats flittered around the drains. A strange eeriness hung in the air.
I couldn’t see her feet. Every step was a leap of faith. I tottered a couple of times. For a moment, I thought myself lucky to have the woman holding me tight.
The clicking of her heels resonated in the night, her every step was assured and stable. It was the only other sound I could hear other than my heartbeat, pulsing in my ears.
How could she see? Does she have night vision or some special senses that allowed her to maneuver in the dark?
“Who are you?” My voice trembled.
As expected, my abductor did not reply.
The alley led to an open car park. The woman’s face was bathed in moonlight. The dark silver sports car caught my eye, the word GENOM on the plate. Instead of G-E-N-O-M-E, it was spelled like ‘venom’.
“Get in.” The woman opened the car door and gave
me a push.
I tried to hit her but the woman blocked the blow with arms crossed in front of her chest. Not a person to mess with. I succumbed and with a heavy sigh climbed into the passenger seat before it slammed shut.
A click followed, the sound of lock activating itself and shutting off the last piece of my hope. There was no way out. That’s why the woman could take her time getting into the driver seat. Once the door shut, she busied herself with the controls. The engine roared to life and torrents of arctic wind raged out.
“Hope you got your tablet with you.” The woman winked and buckled up. “Otherwise, we’ll have to make a detour to your place.”
I gulped. She knew about the tablet. That means she knew I was there in the lab. “I don’t know anything. You want the tablet? Take it. Please don’t kill me!” Though the air inside the car was freezing my palms were sweating.
The woman smirked. “It’s so easy to get things out of you, huh?”
“I don’t know anything. Let me go!” My heart raced.
“Nope sorry, I can’t do that. There are people who want to kill you for what you took from the lab.”
Who? George and Edmund?
“Okay, buckle up, kid.” The woman grabbed the stick and shifted the gear.
“No.” I feigned courage and stared right back at her. “Let me out.”
The woman shrugged but still ignored me. Once the car started, she steered it around the street corner. I was jerked out of my seat before crushing my shoulder against the door with a loud thud. “Argh!” I fought to steady myself as the car sped into the night.
“Told you to buckle up,” the woman sneered and continued to turn the steering wheel left and right. I quickly did as I was told.
The car went at a breakneck speed. Streetlights blurred into golden flashes, everything whirred past like shadows. I held onto anything I could grab on for my dear life. My heart thumped hard.
“Who the hell are you? Why do people wanna kill me?”
“I advise you to be more respectful when talking to me,” warned the woman.
“You threaten me, kidnap me, and now you’re talking about courtesy!” my fear changed into anger. “Who do you think you are?”
The car slowed down and the night resolved itself in the car windows. The woman turned to me. “I am Vaxine, your senior.”
It was a long ride in the car. After so many turns and spins, I lost my sense of direction. I remembered this quiet road where trees, instead of buildings, shot up the sky. Of course, I could pull up my GPS and check my location. I didn’t feel like doing anything and allow my fate to take me wherever.
The car shot into a basement tunnel through a secret opening in the ground. White flashes blinded my eyes. A while later, Vaxine pulled up. We got out of the car and left it where in what looked like a basement car park.
We walked to a heavy steel vault door where Vaxine turned to me. “Turn around, kiddo.”
I did as told and heard a series of beeps. The door latches came alive, twisting and turning. The movements were mesmerizing, like a choreographed dance. The door creaked open on to a sterile white hallway.
“I’m sure you will use this information rightfully and do something about it.” I swept my eyes over the all-white lobby, looking for an escape. Three oversized mud vases decorated the plain hallway a la minimalism. All I saw was walls. No windows, no doors, except the one we had entered.
Vaxine smirked. “You know you can’t get out of this so easily, right?”
We reached the lobby, where there were two chrome elevators, spotless like mirrors. Vaxine hit UP and looked in my way. “There’s always a price for misbehavior.”
“Excuse me,” I said defiantly. “It’s obvious I was unlucky.”
“It’s easier to be unlucky when you’re in a forbidden zone.”
I glared at Vaxine.
“What?” Vaxine arched an eyebrow.
The elevator doors sprang open. Mirrors fenced them, a legion of our reflections staring back at us. But there wasn’t a single button on the walls.
Vaxine traced a ‘2’ on a panel set into the closed doors and the elevator shot up.
“What is this place?”
“If it wasn’t for Hershey and if they didn’t want to kill you, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”
“I wouldn’t have followed you either if you weren’t holding me at knifepoint.” Folding my arms, I looked at the walls of the elevator.
“I wasn’t using a knife.” Vaxine dangled the car keys in front of me. “You were kidnapped at ‘key-point’.”
“What is this place?” I snapped, trying not to think about how gullible I was back at the Bookworm.
“Hershey Research Facility. Top secret. Tell anyone about it and I’ll kill you on Cash’s behalf.”
“And who exactly is this Cash everyone’s talking about?”
The door opened and Vaxine showed me in. It was like stepping through a portal into a different world, or into the future.
“Welcome. Please follow all safety protocols while in the laboratory,” a familiar monotone voice announced.
I swiveled around and feasted my eyes on the magnificent ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the dark sea, moonlight dancing off its waves. Everything was white; the ceilings, the walls, the lounge sofas sprawled near the windows, and the cabinets running along the walls. The decor complemented Hershey’s scientific ideals.
“Cash is the CEO of MAD.” Vaxine snapped me back to reality.
I frowned. “What’s MAD?”
Vaxine went to the pantry to get herself a glass of water. “I didn’t kidnap the wrong kid, right? Wait, you are Hershey’s student?”
“Now I wish I wasn’t.”
Vaxine rolled her eyes. “Me too.”
My stomach growled, rumbling for attention. My hands clutched at my belly.
“Hungry now, eh?”
“Yeah!” I snapped. “Thanks for ruining my only meal.” She could at least let me finish my dinner. She wouldn’t let me go out now. Too risky. She would think I would run and that was exactly what I’d planned.
“Okay, we talk over your supper. Don’t want you starving to death here. Burger and fries okay?” Vaxine surprisingly asked.
“I’ll take what you have.” Not like I got choices. My thought went to Mandy. Poor Mandy. Left behind at Bookworm without any warning. She would be clueless.
I took out my phone when Vaxine hollered, “Don’t!” I jumped and almost dropped my phone. “Put that down, kid!”
“Chill.” I held my hands up. “I wanted to call a friend. To tell her I’m okay.”
“Why would she need to know that?”
“We left her at the café. She’s probably losing her mind now.”
“Either she loses her mind or you lose your life.”
“What if she thought I was kidnapped and she went to the cops?”
“That’s too convenient. Then, George and Edmund can forget about you for good.”
I let out a defeated sigh and pocketed my phone. Vaxine gestured for me to come over to the pantry. “Choose your condiments.”
I dragged myself over. When I got a proper look at the compact cubic machine, a gasp slipped from my open mouth. “Is that the multipurpose 3D printer, The Atom Mancer?”
“Yes.” Vaxine ran her hand over the glossy white body.
I reached out to touch it when Vaxine slapped my hand away. “Whoa, no touchie.”
“Why? Is it made of gold? Wait―is the food it makes really edible?” I didn’t even do junk food, let alone reconstituted food.
Vaxine ran her long fingers across the cube. “The chemical compositions are the same as any food you put in your mouth every day. Plus, I’ve set it to Organic Mode. It has gluten-free and vegan options too.”
She barely convinced me, but beggars can’t be choosers. “So, what do you want? This is your last chance.”
“Chili sau
ce, mustard. And extra cheese, please.”
Vaxine’s fingers danced on the touchscreen. With a push of the red tile, the machine called out, “Initiating sequence.”
“Now, wait.” Vaxine turned and leaned against the table. The progress bar inched upwards when a smoky aroma, like grilled meat, wafted out of the steam vents.
Vaxine lifted the cover, producing the perfect burger. Two fat, juicy patties slotted between lush lettuce leaves and sliced tomatoes. Thick creamy cheese oozed from its sides. Now I didn’t give much thought about the chemicals. All I wanted was to sink my teeth into it.