The Hallucigenia Project

by Darren Kasenkow

  Paper and fire, she discovered, didn’t waste time getting to know each other. The attraction was instant and the consummation was a raging dance of reds and oranges. By the time she reached the door it was a true bonfire worthy of historic book burnings as the flames began to lick at the ceiling. Any second now, she knew, the alarms would start wailing.

  Being a common room the door was never locked. With trepidation and flushes of guilt she sucked in a deep breath, pulled it open and stepped into the hallway. Several doors down to her left she could see two of the doctors from the neural scanning team in the middle of a discussion, and for the moment they didn’t seem to be looking in her direction. Luck was on her side though, because the emergency exit door lay at the end of the hall. With the rising heat searing her back and the sound of popping leather echoing along the walls she stepped out as casually as her nerves allowed and started walking.

  Just a few seconds later the scream of the alarm system began. It wasn’t unexpected but the sudden piercing shrill still managed to jolt her nerves and flip her stomach upside down, and with heavy legs fuelled with all her available energy she sprinted to the end of the hallway and punched the bar across the door.

  The thin staircase was barely visible beneath the red lights and the air was hot against the back of her throat as her feet clambered up each step. She knew that protocol meant the emergency exits couldn’t be locked down until any potentially threatening situation was identified and contained to ensure staff didn’t end up trapped with deadly consequences, but once they discovered the burning pile of books there’d be no way out. That meant she had a minute, maybe two at the most, to run up another four floors. With every step burning her lungs she may as well be heading to the moon.

  Suddenly she thought of John and what it would mean to never have the chance to see him again, and the muscles in her legs pushed even harder. Two floors to go now. The world was about to end, she had experienced a strange trip with the device and a girl called Talitha, her boss seemed rattled at the prospect of their research being used for the wrong reasons and she was trying to escape a secret facility with a pocket filled with the blood of one of the worst serial killers the city had ever seen. And where does her mind take her? Straight to the man who, although she barely knew, made her feel like a school girl experiencing a crush for the first time.

  Breathing had become almost impossible. Her lungs felt as though they were about to explode as she traversed the final few steps and leaned her head against the door. Now came the moment of truth. If it didn’t open things were going to become very bad indeed. Then again, if it did open things would still become very bad, but at least there’d be the chance she wouldn’t have to face the impending doom on her own.

  She wiped the sweat from her eyes and pushed down on the metal bar. Nothing happened, so she pushed down harder and slammed her shoulder against the door. A rust inspired groan cried out from the hinges and she fell forward with the fall weight of her body.

  The sky was overcast but the light still bright enough to force a hand up to shield her eyes as she staggered down the laneway towards the grinding city traffic. She dared not look back until she had crossed the street and joined the crowd of city workers bustling between offices and eateries. From the outside, the facility looked like any of the other modern buildings that lined the busy street though it was the highest by several floors. Unless you knew better, it was for all intents and purposes just another high rise filled with companies plying for a share of elusive wealth and success.

  Looking out across the traffic she could see someone running down the laneway so quickly did her best to blend in with the crowd. From the corner of her eye she spotted a cab heading her way and edged to the curb with her aching arm outstretched. Exotic Arabian music greeted her entry and the driver didn’t bother with any false niceties, which suited her just fine. She told him the name of the hotel and then leaned back into the cracked and torn seat, closed her eyes, and waited for the beating of her heart to return to a normal rhythm.

  Post adrenaline exhaustion turned her muscles to jelly, and the sweat drenched shirt was cool against her skin. She reached into her pocket and ran a finger along the glass vials, quietly wondering if she had just acquired something important or if she had just gone mad. There was the chance that both scenarios were true, but for now she just wanted to get to the hotel. Surely John wouldn’t be long considering he only had a delivery to do, and she couldn’t imagine it could come with the same level of insanity that she’d just been a part of.

  Chapter 31

  The traffic on the highway was beginning to thin but there was still enough moving metal to keep Vanessa’s attention sharp. The drive had been accompanied by an uneasy silence for the last half hour or so but from the back of the van Talitha’s soft voice brought it to an end.

  “You sure Bobbie is okay by himself?”

  “He’s a big boy,” John grinned, thankful for break in his dark thoughts.

  “I bet he’d love to ride in the chair with me.”

  “He sure will honey,” Vanessa said with a glance in the mirror. “I can tell you now he’s one cool cat.”

  “Heads up!” The urgency was strong in Klementina’s voice. “We’re picking up some strange chatter this way.”

  “All I can see is normal traffic,” John responded. “What sort of chatter is it?”

  “Can’t make out what they’re saying but it’s the frequency that’s got me worried. It’s packing a fair bit of encryption but it’s definitely beaming from a flight channel. Might be we’re picking up a long range military signal which wouldn’t be totally unexpected, or maybe it’s standard commercial noise. Then again it could be nothing, but like I said, heads up.”

  Vanessa gripped the wheel tighter as John leaned forward for a better view of the sky. The thin layer of red hued clouds stretched far off into the horizon with small patches of sunlit blue breaking through here and there, but otherwise there was nothing to catch the eye. A quick check of the mirrors showed Joey and Eric directly behind and in full concentration mode. They were close enough that Joey, catching John’s eyes, offered a quick salute before returning his attention to the road.

  John lowered the fan speed so that his ears could tune into the surroundings a little better. Creeping into the back of his skull was an unsettled anticipation, but exactly what he was supposed to be anticipating he had no idea. They were more than half way through the journey now according to Vanessa’s estimate and, as long as Klementina was just being over paranoid, there was no reason they wouldn’t make their destination without a hitch. As soon as Talitha was tucked away safe he could sit back and fill his thoughts with Candice and the plans they would make together.

  “Do you know,” Talitha suddenly asked, “why Klementina wanted you to be with us today?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” John answered over his shoulder, “but I guess it’s because I didn’t have anything else planned.”

  “No silly,” Talitha laughed before looking up into the rear view mirror to catch his eyes. “We picked you because you know what being scared is like but can stay strong at the same time.”

  John peered back into her eyes with slight confusion. “What made you tell me that Talitha?”

  “Because I think it’s time to be scared.”

  For a brief second John didn’t see a little girl in the mirror but an old soul trapped in a small, broken body enveloped in a shadowed darkness. He wasn’t sure what to say so turned back to watch the traffic and tried to imagine what she might have meant.

  Vanessa checked their speed then flashed John a look of surprise at the odd announcement. “Poor little thing probably has her head in a spin,” she whispered.

  “Oh fuck!” Joey’s voice boomed from the speakers. “Unless my mirror’s playing tricks on me there’s a whole heap of cruisers back down the line, at least six of the fuckers. They’ve got their god damn flashers on and everything.”

  John wound down
the window and stuck his head out into the hot rushing air to look back down the highway. For a second he thought Joey might have been mistaken but then, mixed with the shimmering haze that enveloped the joining of the road with the horizon, he spotted the unmistakable spinning red and blue lights. It was quickly apparent that the ease of their journey was about to crumble away.

  “This is bad,” Joey continued. “They’ll be up in our business within the next minute or so.”

  Klementina kept her voice steady but there was a definite element of rage edged in her voice. “Okay Joey, things just got serious and I’m going to need you to pull out some magic. There’s a turn off twenty miles up ahead and if we can make it that far we’ve got a good chance of shaking them. If we miss that there’s another one a few miles further. We’ve got family at both of them on standby should anything happen, and it’s safe to say something’s happening.”

  “What level magic are we talking here?”

  Klementina paused as the engine began to whine harder. “I wish I didn’t have to say this but right now our one and only concern is Talitha, and I can promise you those cops won’t hesitate to finish your trip here on Earth, so don’t hesitate to finish theirs.”

  John felt the inside of his stomach tighten as the magnitude of what he’d just heard began to sink in. The gun seemed suddenly hot resting between his legs and was now a metallic question mark as to whether or not he would use it against a profession that he had once belonged to. Surely, he decided, it wouldn’t come to that. The cops will do what they can to pull them over, but he couldn’t imagine them blasting away for no sane reason.

  “How you doing back there Talitha?” Aaron asked far too casually for the growing situation.

  “I’m okay I think. Vanessa’s a good driver.”

  “It might be time to put on your headphones puppet. There’s probably going to be a lot of noise soon.”

  John turned and watched as Talitha unhooked a set of headphones from the side of her chair and placed them over her ears, a ritual that had obviously been done before.

  “Tell me your favourite album for today,” she called out.

  “I think this time it should be your pick.”

  “No Aaron, you need to pick. You know the best stuff.”

  “You’re right, I do know the best stuff. Did you hear that Eric?”

  “I don’t think now’s the time to gloat,” Eric replied sharply. “The cops are only a couple of car lengths behind.”

  “It’s not gloating when it’s the truth, but I guess we can leave that discussion for later. If you want me to pick Talitha then I say put on Rust In Peace, sit tight and we’ll do what we need to do to get us out of this mess.”

  “I’ll let you know what I think,” Talitha answered while swiping through her music collection.

  The urgent sound of sirens was rising in pitch and piercing through the wind. Vanessa rolled her shoulders, adjusted the seatbelt and used her fingers the make the sign of the cross against her chest. John did the opposite however, releasing his seatbelt and turning so that his body was facing the door. And instead of drawing out a cross he gripped the gun in his right hand.

  “Here we go,” Joey broadcasted.

  John stuck his head out the window to discover that he was right. The first of the patrol cars was seconds away from being level with them. Outrunning one cop car might have been possible, but as he pulled his head back into the cabin his initial estimate was that there were at least seven of them. There was nothing but straight road ahead. Options, it was quickly becoming apparent, were nonexistent.

  “I hate to say it but things are real bad,” he said.

  “Judging by what I can see in my mirrors,” Vanessa replied, “I’m inclined to agree. This rollercoaster is about to be shut down for repairs.”

  “I don’t think they’ll be looking to offer any refunds either,” John said dryly before turning to Talitha. “Hey sweetie, now might be a good time to close your eyes and be nice and still. You think you can do that for me?”

  Talitha peered back through the shadows with pink headphones resting against her ears. She lifted a hand and slid one to the side.

  “Sure I can. I’ll close my eyes real tight because I don’t want the police to take me away.” She closed her eyes as if to prove the point and replaced the headphones, inadvertently lifting her voice to a yell. “Nobody’s born bad, but not everyone that dies is good.”

  John scrunched his face with confusion at the statement then quickly turned to look back through the door window. Blood rushed his stomach as the first of the cruisers matched their speed and the cop behind the wheel threw him an authoritative glance, the kind that left no room whatsoever for misinterpretation. Even worse, John could see that he was using one hand to steer the car while the other was already unclipping the leather casing on his belt.

  Aaron’s voice crackled through deep and on edge. “Jesus fucking Christ we knew there was a chance they might be looking for us but sending a whole damn squad? This quickly? Something ain’t right.”

  “I might have to show you real music a little later than I expected,” Eric suddenly announced.

  “Easy there big guy,” Aaron said carefully, “this still could be a chess game.”

  “Hey everyone the clouds are moving!” Vanessa called out, and as John looked to the sky up ahead he saw that she was right. Actually, they weren’t so much moving as being blown apart in violent swirls as two very angry looking choppers broke through the condensed moisture in the distance but still close enough to see that they were a step above a standard police bird.

  “It seems gentlemen,” Klementina said a little too calmly, “we may be in trouble.”

  Up ahead the choppers began to descend until they were a story or two in the air, glassed noses tilted slightly and almost certainly with weapons trained on their every movement. John clenched down on his jaw and was surprised that, considering the officially bad situation they were now, in his immediate thought was whether or not he would ever see Candice again and he didn’t know if it was a symptom of quiet panic or something more.

  “I bet you wish you stayed in bed this morning,” he said through a dry mouth.

  “I don’t like my mattress so much,” Vanessa replied, “it hurts my back.”

  “Something tells me rolled prison foam doesn’t exactly come with a medical tick of approval.”

  He saw Aaron’s brake lights shine red and then felt the drop in speed as Vanessa eased back on the pedal. The turn might have been coming up, but then with heavy steel floating before them a million miles was just as close.

  “Hey Johnny boy,” Joey called through, “we’re about to lose our transmission so do me a favour and show ‘em what thunder from down under is all about yeah?”

  John was about to offer some sort of response but just as his mouth opened the sound of high velocity rubber shredding apart screamed through the air, causing his neck to jerk as he frantically stared back to see what was happening. For a split second he could see Joey’s face followed by his car bouncing to a jagged right angle and careering in front of two cruisers.

  Metal slammed into metal and brake pads bellowed smoke. The crushing speed fuelled impact sent one of the cruisers to skid across the lanes and slam into the railing while the other skipped and shook until it was facing the other way with blown front tires and a revving engine unable to disengage and ready to explode. Meanwhile, Joey’s vehicle bounced two times before the force of the impact turned the frame onto its side so that his head was inches from the tar as waves of orange sparks shot into the air mixed with shattered glass, rubber and steel.

  He’s fucking crazy, John thought as the patrol cars behind the impact screeched and manoeuvred around the carnage to catch up to the lead vehicle. The shock of what just happened didn’t have much of a chance to sink in though because the dual metal birds of menace were now looming large straight ahead and, faced with no realistic alternatives, Aaron was forced to bring their
car to a slow rolling halt. With both hands on the wheel all Vanessa could do was follow suit.

  The deep whump of the spinning blades began to vibrate through the leather seats. In a matter of seconds the cruisers Joey hadn’t managed to take out boxed them in, with the lead vehicle edging forward and filling the gap between Aaron, Klementina and the choppers. Red and blue lights flashed all around them. Internal communications were deathly silent.

  John reached behind to pat Talitha gently on the knee. It was meant as a sign of reassurance but felt pathetically futile. Talitha, meanwhile, still had her eyes closed and hands resting against the edges of the pink headphones, almost as if, John thought, they were simply on a pleasant drive to the beach. If she couldn’t see what was happening he wasn’t about to go and ruin the music for her, not before the decision was out of his hands anyway.

  Vanessa leaned forward ever so slowly, ensuring her hands remained visible upon the wheel thanks to a lifetime understanding of how quick a Miami cop could be on the trigger.

  “Now would be a real good time to tell me what we’re supposed to do about a whole lotta pissed off cops and two big fucking helicopters looking at us like tigers ready to rip open a baby zebra,” she said with her eyes focussed straight ahead.

  John spent a few more seconds observing the strange sense of calm etched across Talitha’s face. When he pulled himself away from the spell and faced the razor tipped reality through the windscreen he could feel the sense of protection rising inside. It didn’t come without a flash of conflict though, and looking at the growing number of uniforms that were beginning to surround them he understood the sense of rush tinged pride that was probably going through their heads right about now.