Gnotret (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles Book 1)

by S. E. Cyborski

  yourself.”

  “Sounds good, doc,” I mumbled, fighting to keep my eyes open. My head kept drooping

  forward until I’d jerk and lift it back up. Dr. Carnesby got out his stethoscope and listened to my heart and lungs. Then he took my temperature and clucked at the figure he got. Finally, he took

  some more blood. I barely felt the needle this time and wouldn’t have believed he’d stuck me if I

  hadn’t been watching him. I wondered briefly what that meant; usually I hated needles and felt

  them quite sharply. No pun intended, of course.

  “Well, since you’re almost dropping of exhaustion as well, I’m going to send you to bed,”

  Dr. Carnesby noted, worry in his voice. “I’m going to have Jane continue monitoring you and

  she will attempt to wake you up if anything changes drastically. When you left the lounge were

  either Billy or Michael awake?”

  “No, they fell asleep over their game,” I replied, trying and failing to stifle another yawn.

  “Sandra had already fallen asleep in an armchair while we were watching a movie. You want me

  to try and wake Michael or Billy?”

  “I want you to go to sleep before you fall down,” Dr. Carnesby said firmly, one hand on

  my elbow drawing me up off the table.“Let’s get you to your room and I’ll get them myself.”

  We walked to the hallway where the bedrooms were. I leaned heavily on Dr. Carnesby,

  though I didn’t really mean to. I was barely able to stay awake as we walked, my head

  continuously nodding. We made it to my room and Dr. Carnesby let me go so I could tumble

  onto the bed. I laboriously pulled the blanket over me and was asleep before he had even left

  my room. Chapter 7

  Dr. Carnesby stood outside George’s room for several seconds after closing the door,

  thinking hard. The drug had hit each of the students quickly, making them all sick and

  exhausted. He hadn’t exactly been honest with them regarding Gnotret. This wasn’t the first trial

  but it was the first one that looked as if the drug was doing what it had been designed to do. Dr.

  Carnesby smiled to himself, hoping that he would finally have a working prototype.

  “Jane, are the others still asleep?” he asked softly.

  “They are, Adam,” Jane replied, just as quietly. “I have been monitoring them and the

  drug is taking over their bodies. The sickness is a result of their immune systems fighting back

  but I don’t think they will be able to stop the spread of Gnotret. Optimistically, if they all make it

  through the sickness, I would say that this trial is going to be a success.”

  “Optimistically, yes,” Dr. Carnesby muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. “What do you

  calculate the chances of death are?”

  “Very low,” Jane replied immediately. “However, at this point, none of the participants

  are overly sick. As the week progresses and if they get sicker, I can calculate far more accurate

  odds. They are all healthy and young. They have a very good chance of adapting to the drug

  rather than being destroyed by it.”

  “Have any of them started showing any... developing abilities?” Dr. Carnesby asked,

  hesitating over his choice of words. Even though the students were all asleep, he didn’t want to

  mention his hopes out loud.

  “Not as of yet,” Jane told him. “George, at least, trusts me so if he experiences anything,

  he will let me know. Billy trusts me as well, though to a slightly lesser extent. The others tend to

  treat me as if I don’t exist or am just an inanimate object.”

  “Have you finished analyzing their personalities and how they may react to any

  changes?” he continued. “Not completely, no. Some of them are more difficult to pin down than others,” Jane said,

  a note of regret in her voice. “Sandra and Amy are both ambitious but Amy’s ambition is

  tempered with more compassion. Sandra seems more the type to walk all over someone if she

  could get away with it. Michael is a fun-loving type but more of a follower than a leader. If

  someone else’s decisions are easier for him to follow than making his own, he will more likely

  follow them. Billy is quiet but very intelligent. He talks to himself which leads me to believe that

  he spends most of his time alone. George is open and honest and very welcoming to all the

  others. He and Billy seem to be developing a strong friendship while Sandra, Michael, and Amy

  are developing a separate one. I believe that Sandra and Michael would welcome any

  improvements or changes to themselves. Amy would be all right with them and probably be

  excited about it. Billy would be introspective, trying to understand each and every change and

  how he felt about it. I believe George would have the least reaction. He would just accept it and

  move on.”

  “Would they stay on the side of the law? Especially if they developed superhuman

  abilities?” Dr. Carnesby asked, starting to move down the hallway.

  “Insufficient data at this point,” Jane said primly. “And I believe that would depend on the

  goal of each individual. There are many things that may cause them to step outside the bounds

  of ethics and morals and laws to achieve what they wanted or needed. The only way to know for

  sure is to observe the participants carefully after they develop any abilities. If they do at all.

  There is still no guarantee this sickness is an indicator of the drug working.”

  “I know that. I just want to make sure I have every eventuality covered,” Dr. Carnesby

  replied wryly. “Though if someone develops the ability to explode walls, that may be a problem.”

  “If that happens, the failsafe will activate and flood the facility with a sedative. It takes

  about a minute and a half to fill the facility” Jane reassured him smoothly. “Even if one of them

  becomes destructive, we have ways to contain them. The people in the government want none

  of this to get out until they are ready to activate their own program.” Falling silent then since he had reached the lounge, Dr. Carnesby studied the three

  sleeping students. The unfinished Mancala game still rested between Billy and Michael, some of

  the counters scattered by Billy moving in his sleep. Sandra was curled up in an armchair, her

  head resting on her hand. They all shivered slightly and Sandra was even more flushed than

  when she had been in his office. Deciding that she probably shouldn’t sleep in the armchair, Dr.

  Carnesby went over and gently shook her awake.

  “Sandra, wake up,” he said firmly. When she opened her eyes and blinked owlishly at

  him, Dr. Carnesby continued, “Come on, let’s get you into bed. You’ll get stiff sleeping curled up

  here.”

  Sandra nodded and stood up, almost falling back down onto the chair when she lost her

  balance. Dr. Carnesby took her arm, much as he had taken George’s, and helped her down the

  hallway to the room she had chosen. Sandra collapsed on the bed, falling asleep again

  immediately. Heading back out to the lounge, Dr. Carnesby saw that Billy and Michael hadn’t

  even moved. He placed a hand on Billy’s shoulder and shook him gently.

  “Wha? What’s going on?” Billy asked groggily, starting a bit in his chair.

  “It’s all right, Billy,” Dr. Carnesby told him soothingly. “I just needed to wake you up to do

  some tests.Can you walk back to my office with me?”

  “Yeah, I can do that,” Billy mumbled, getting to his feet carefully. He wavered a
bit but

  caught his balance and walked determinedly through the building to Dr. Carnesby’s office. The

  doctor followed him, alert to any signs that the student was going to fall. They made it to the

  office without mishap and Billy sat down carefully on the table.

  “I’ve been really tired since the injection yesterday,” Billy said, a concerned look on his

  face. “I almost never get sick, so this is worrying me a lot.”

  “It’s all right,” Dr. Carnesby repeated himself. “I’m sure this is just your body adjusting to

  the drug. I’m just going to do these tests and take some blood.” Billy nodded and sat quietly while Dr. Carnesby went through the tests he had to do.

  Billy’s temperature was elevated exactly the same amount as the other’s. His heart was also

  racing slightly but his breathing was clear. Finally, he drew a couple vials of blood and placed a

  bandage over the injection site. Billy was yawning throughout the whole process, fighting to

  keep his eyes open.

  “You don’t have to take the stress test today,” Dr. Carnesby said, throwing away the

  needle and putting away his stethoscope. “So let’s get you to your room and you can sleep.”

  “Sounds like a good plan, doctor,” Billy answered, getting up off the table carefully. He

  made his way to his room, supporting his weight with a hand on the wall. Dr. Carnesby waited

  until Billy had curled up under the blankets on his bed before closing the door and heading back

  out to the lounge.

  “Jane, are there any signs that the others are dreaming?” he asked curiously,

  remembering the oddly similar dream all five students had shared.

  “No not yet,” Jane replied. “Though it is still early in the sleep cycle for them to be

  dreaming. Would you like me to alert you if any of them do start dreaming?”

  “Yes I would but let them sleep and dream,” Dr. Carnesby decided after a couple

  moments’ thought. “If they are sharing dreams because of the injection, I want to know. Only

  wake them if they start screaming or struggling a lot in their sleep. Or if their vitals get

  dangerously low or dangerously high.”

  “Noted,” Jane said promptly.

  He headed back out to the lounge, observing that Michael was still sound asleep. Well, it

  made sense if the drug was doing what he was hoping. A body would need a lot of sleep to deal

  with every single cell basically being rewritten. Before waking Michael, Dr. Carnesby did a little

  basic housekeeping by turning off the video game console and the television then putting away

  the Mancala board. He went through the same procedure with Michael, shaking him awake and guiding him

  through the building to his office. Dr. Carnesby went a little faster with the physical and blood

  draw, wanting to keep Michael awake for the whole thing. The younger man kept slipping

  forward on the table, his eyes closing, in danger of falling off the edge. Once he was finished,

  Dr. Carnesby walked Michael back to his room, watched him tumble on the bed, and fall asleep

  within seconds. Closing the door, he walked back to his office and took out his personal

  notebook.

  “Jane, please begin recording for my daily notes,” Dr. Carnesby instructed. “And let me

  know if any of the students wake up.”

  “Of course, Adam,” Jane replied. “Recording now.”

  He was silent for several seconds, tapping a pen on his notebook as he thought about how he

  wanted to word his notes for the day. Finally, Dr. Carnesby decided to tell everything in

  chronological order.

  “First, I believe this test may be a success where all the others failed. The subjects seem

  to be reacting to the drug as their sickness shows,” he explained. “They are all experiencing flu-

  like symptoms and are exhausted. On a related note, they all seem to have shared a dream last

  night. Elements from each person’s dream were either very similar or identical to all the others. I

  believe this was the drug interacting within them. They dreamed of a blue light and creatures

  shaped like disks with tentacles coming out the sides. In each case, the creatures entered the

  dreamer’s body. This may be the drug changing their cells and mutating them. No one has

  displayed any extra abilities or powers but this is only the second day; they got their first dose of

  Gnotret yesterday. I believe I will have to wake all of them to give them their second dose.”

  Dr. Carnesby stopped here to glance at his watch and ponder his next words carefully.

  Much of his future hinged on the results of this trial. If things went wrong... or even just not to

  specification, he might lose his place within the group running the trial. “I have four more hours until the time for their next injection. Jane has determined that,

  at this point, there is an extremely low likelihood of death,” Dr. Carnesby continued, sighing. “I

  believe that this version of the drug will work as intended but only time will tell. Superhuman

  abilities are still very much a mystery and the human brain is something we may never

  completely understand. However, if these five participants do develop superhuman abilities, I

  believe that it will be based on the person not on what we want them to have or to give them.

  Humans are extremely unique in their biochemistry so trying to give people certain abilities may

  prove impossible. The only thing I can recommend if this is the case is to study those who have

  adapted to the drug and try to understand why they received the ability or abilities they did. On a

  personal note, I’m doubting the wisdom of including Sandra Johnson and Michael Tusing in this

  trial. From what I’ve observed, Sandra is a ruthless woman who will take down anyone who gets

  in her way. Michael is an affable young man but far too easily swayed by someone willing to

  pander to him. But the only thing to do is wait and see. While the evidence is strong for the drug

  working as intended, it still may not.”

  Dr. Carnesby thought again for several moments, trying to decide if there was anything

  more to add. Jane had recorded all the results of the physicals and added that on to his notes

  every day. Deciding there was nothing more, Dr. Carnesby opened his personal notebook and

  spoke.

  “Jane, finish recording and save,” he instructed, tapping his pen on the open page.

  “Done,” Jane said simply.

  Dr. Carnesby wrote for several minutes, things he didn’t want on the recording. His own

  views on the drug, what the group he was working for was trying to do, and worries for what

  would happen to the test subjects. He also included some of his own observations from

  previous experiments and comparing them with his own. He finished with a warning to himself

  about the students and put the notebook away. Knowing the others were likely to sleep until he woke them again, Dr. Carnesby decided to avail himself of the movie collection. He didn’t really

  have anything else to do until later this evening.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------

  The last thing I remembered before finding myself in this dark building was Dr. Carnesby

  helping me walk to my room. I was so exhausted I had barely been able to stand on my own. I

  wasn’t being chased and I didn’t feel tired anymore, so I decided to explore the building a little

  bit. I was in a room with a bed but there was a door against one wall and that’s where I went

&nbs
p; first.

  Opening the door, I found myself in a hallway. I could hear sibilant whispers coming from my left

  side so I turned that way and walked. The hallway emerged into a large room with lots of chairs.

  The chairs were turned in a circle and all were occupied but one. I sank down into it and studied

  the other people in the room.

  With a start, I recognized Amy directly across from me. This wasn’t the first time I’d

  dreamed about her, and I was starting to recognize this was a dream, but it was one of the

  stranger ones. I looked around the circle, identifying Michael to Amy’s right and Sandra to Amy’s

  left. Billy was sitting next to Michael on my left and on my right there was another woman. She

  was a complete stranger to me but she looked at all of us as if she knew us. I studied her, trying

  to figure out where I’d seen her before.

  The woman was sitting with her legs crossed, hands draped elegantly over the arms of

  her chair. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, somewhere between our ages and Dr.

  Carnesby’s. She had short, curly black hair and black eyes. The bright white teeth of her smile

  contrasted sharply with her olive toned skin.

  “Now that we’re all here, why don’t we begin?” she said and her voice was very smooth

  and melodious. It reminded me of sun-warmed velvet: soft with a hint of a rasp. And it was very, very familiar. “You all know each other and me, though you don’t know me in this guise. My

  name is Jane.”

  “Jane?” Amy asked, her voice incredulous. “But you’re a computer program. How do you

  have a body? And where are we?”

  “We’re dreaming, aren’t we?” I asked, my voice heavy with fear.

  “You are, indeed,” Jane replied, nodding her head at me. “The drug has allowed you all

  to share a dream. Some cultures call it dreamwalking. This means that it is much farther along

  in adapting to your bodies than either I orDr. Carnesby thought.”

  “But what about you?” Michael interjected. “How are you here?”

  “I’m a projection the five of you have created,” Jane told us, a hint of smugness in her

  tone. “I believe that at least one of you believes quite strongly that I have the answers you’re

  looking for and now here I am.”

  “So you can give us answers, right?” Sandra asked. “About the trial, what the drug is