by Woosey, JP
Luke ignored the instructions and headed down the corridor to his right. There were more body bags along the whole of the corridor. What happened here? He walked past several closed doors all marked with the word 'Full'. He didn't open them with the fear of the rooms being filled with dead bodies. He could see there were some open rooms further along. He quickly glanced into a few, but most were just general practitioner offices. He heard glass being smashed further ahead. He stopped and listened, footsteps, they were faint, but he could hear them. He followed the sound down the corridor, stopping at intersections and taking the route that the sounds emanated from. There was a staircase with body bags stacked up in a pile at the bottom of the stairs. Luke headed up towards the noise of the footsteps. They were getting louder, he was catching up to whoever it was. Please be somebody sane.
Luke was led into another hallway. He felt like giving up, his legs were tired from all the steps he had climbed. A door slammed shut further ahead of him. He jogged to where he thought the door could have slammed, but there were too many to be sure. The length of the room seemed to span as far as Luke could see, with doors either side of it. “Hello?” He spoke hoping the person he followed could hear him. “I'm not here to hurt anyone.” He waited for an answer, and he thought he wasn't going to get one, but just as he began to walk away a door opened. Light shone from within and Luke shielded his eyes from it. He began to walk through the door. “Are you in here? Are you okay?” As he entered the room he noticed large glass cages filled with creatures, the demented cannibals who had chased him throughout the ship. They spotted him, banging on the glass, their mouths open, snarling and growling, but he couldn't hear them. He walked closer, the cannibals got more and more enraged and began to leap into the glass attempting to smash a way through to get to him. One of the savage beasts lay on the floor. He walked nearer and bent down to get a better look. The other cannibals were still trying to break the reinforced glass, but they didn't know how futile their efforts were. It was a woman on the floor, curled up in a ball. She turned her head. Her face was soft, but red scratch marks ruined her once beautiful face. She tried to sit up, her lip twitched as she stared at him. A glimpse of her teeth appeared, they were stained red. She struggled to raise herself from the floor, but she persisted, and then Luke noticed. She was pregnant. She could give birth any second. “I'll get you out of there.” He whispered, but as he finished his sentence she had risen to her feet and had begun to bark, snarl and bang on the glass like the rest of them. Anger is the only emotion in her blood thirsty eyes.
A screen on a monitor flashed and caught Luke's attention. He moved over towards it wary of the things in the glass cage. It had only just been logged in. He clicked on the screen and a list of logs by Dr. Matthew Holston appeared. He clicked the first one on the list.
“I am Dr. Matthew Holston and this is my first personnel log entry on the Salvation Project. We've isolated the explorers who have returned contaminated. A discussion has been circulating about the moralities of purposely infecting more people with the alien contamination. Not that it matters, we have no choice, it's been ordered. At least we'll have more test subjects in order to get a wider range of results. It's fascinating how quickly their brains are deteriorating. They have been pleading with us to let them out, but their sentences are jumbled and difficult to understand. We've asked them where they went on their expedition, but they won't answer. I'll return to these logs when there has been an advancement.”
Luke gazed at the monitor. He scrolled through the list of logs. Some were marked with a small red symbol. He clicked on the first log with the symbol and it began to play.
“Log number six. We received new patients yesterday. People diagnosed with terminal illnesses. We were told they volunteered, but I'm not so sure. They came with bruises and scratches... I don't even think they're terminally ill. We isolated the new test subjects in a cage next to the explorers and shared their airflow. The infection is airborne and should contaminate the new test subjects. On another note one of the explorers refused to eat for the first time. He wouldn't answer when we asked him why. He just sat in the corner mumbling to himself... I'm going to have to encrypt my files. If someone were to get hold of these I could be in serious trouble. They would probably say I volunteered, and then throw me in with the infected people.”
“Log number nine. One of the new test subjects went feral and killed the other subjects in her cage. I don't understand what happened to her. The explorers aren't showing any signs of aggression. Next time we'll have to split the volunteers up so they have their own cages. She changed so quickly. We've been told a new batch of volunteers will be ready tomorrow morning. I hope we don't have any more unnecessary deaths.”
“Log number seventeen. We had to split up the explorers. They were fighting. Asserting dominance. It's like an animalistic urge has taken over them and they've lost their humanity. I suggested we should destroy the alien virus based on the data we've collected, but the only response I received was more test subjects. We're going through them so quickly. I'm going to order more body bags tomorrow in preparation for the new arrivals. If I was back on Earth I would have left this job by now. One of the older test subjects has started, what I believe to be, his own religion. Or that's what it sounds like. He's been trying to convert me. Something about the wise one will forgive me if I let him out. Somehow I don't think this God of his will forgive me if I unleashed the virus. What God would? No, the only chance of redemption I have is keeping control of this contamination.”
“You knew what you were playing with and you continued?” Luke questioned the monitor expecting a reply. “Elizabeth is dead because of your experiments!” He pounded on the computer desk with both of his fists. He clicked the next marked log.
“Log number twenty six. I haven't done a log in a while. I think they could be spying on me. They're worried I might leak the information I have and cause a panic aboard the ship. The people have a right to know what's going on a few metres away from them... But then again, ignorance is bliss. I've been looking into a way to reverse the effects of the virus, but in my own time. It's not my job I've been told. That won't stop me. This virus will break loose and when it does I plan to be ready. I had to go back to one of my previous logs. I said one of the explorers stopped eating. Well I was astonished how long it survived without food, but it turns out someone had been feeding it. Not what I would call proper food though, no. Human flesh. It loves it.”
“Log number thirty one. I contaminated a pregnant woman today.” There was a long pause in the audio log, just heavy breathing. “I didn't notice until I locked the cage. The group of them banged on the glass, telling me to release them, asking where their families were. The pregnant woman just placed her hand on the glass and stared right into my soul. Her eyes were beautiful. God what have I done? Some of my colleagues seem to think it'll be good to study the mother and baby. They seem to believe the baby may become immune to the infection. I'm wary. I think we should cut our losses. Just destroy it... I'll have to look into it. It's been a long day.”
“Log number thirty four. We've been studying the alien virus for over a year and we're no closer to understanding it. We have however, picked up a lot of useful data on what happens to infected humans. It varies greatly at the start of infection. Some seem to turn into mindless husks, others go quiet and speak only to themselves, some believe an almighty being speaks to them. It also seems to affect women at an increased rate, but I can't confirm that. We haven't had enough test subjects to determine whether this theory is accurate. All we have are theories at the minute... Nothing happens to a small percentage of people, for a while at least, but it's not because they're immune. No they eventually turn into cannibalistic savages. They just don't see it coming, and neither do we. All the variations at the start of the infection don't matter in the end. They all turn. One hundred and eighty two days is the longest length of time it took for someone we thought was 'sane' to turn. I might book a f
ew days off work. Maybe go to the theatre or prepare a safe room for myself. Just in case this thing gets out.”
“Log number thirty seven. My boss came around to the lab today. Maxwell Pearce. God I hate him. He brought someone else from his group. A woman. The way they looked at each other. Something was going on. Or maybe I'm just imagining things. I need to sleep more. I visited an old friend on the way back from work. He gave me some pills to help me sleep. Off the record. I can't be on medication with the responsibilities I have, but I can't concentrate without sleep. The pregnant woman is a few weeks away 'til she's ready to pop. Maybe I'll get to name the baby. If it's a girl I'd call her... Elizabeth! That's the woman who came in with Maxwell. I'm sure they were up to something.”
“My Elizabeth?” Luke paused briefly before he whispered to himself again. “I hope she didn't have anything to do with this outbreak.”
“Log number thirty nine. It's been a few days since Maxwell and Elizabeth first visited. He seems to be onto something, but he's not revealing anything yet... On a related note Elizabeth appears to have become more distant to Maxwell. He glances at her regularly, but the atmosphere between them has become... stale? I don't know if that's the right word to use, but something has changed between them... The death toll rose again today. Sixty three people dead... And they keep giving us more. All we're doing is killing them! It's getting us nowhere. Three people died this afternoon. Two were infected, one was an assistant. He went in to separate the two infected from fighting. They tore through his containment suit in a matter of seconds. I assured him he'd be safe with it on. We threw in flesh to keep them occupied, but I guess they like the fight a living person puts up. At least we know for next time. We suffocated the two infected while they were feasting on the assistant. I didn't even know the assistant's name.”
Luke tried to scroll down the list of logs on the computer screen, but he had just listened to the last entry. He didn't know what to do. Confusion washed over his face, and in an instant he was pushed to the floor. A man grappled him down and held his arms together with one of his hands. In his other hand was a syringe, he pulled the cap off with his teeth.
“God forgive me.” The man said as he lunged towards Luke with a syringe.
Luke wriggled and loosened the man's grip on him. The syringe had missed him and shattered on the floor. He pushed himself free, took out his revolver and aimed it at the man. “Stay where you are.” He placed his back against the wall. “Don't move or I will shoot.” Luke stared at the man. He had bags under his eyes, his hair was greasy and untidy, his laboratory coat blood stained. He looked tired and shocked.
“You're not one of them?” The man queried. “No you're not. Not yet anyway.”
“Who are you?” Luke asked still cautious of the man.
“Dr. Matthew Holston a medical officer working aboard the UCSC Defiance on a classified project.” His eyes shifted to the floor as he remembered his role aboard the ship. “I was supposed to help people.” He glanced over at the computer which he had logged in to. “You listened to my logs? I was going to do another one. One last entry before we all die.”
“We don't have to die. I can take you somewhere safe. I just need some answers.” Luke lowered his weapon.
“I suppose there is no harm in delaying the inevitable. Ask your questions.”
“Why did the Ensemble Corporation collaborate on the ship?” Luke studied the doctor's face and watched for any hint of untruth.
“Ah. I've wondered that myself on numerous occasions. Unfortunately I don't have the security clearance to access that sort of information.” Matthew spoke honestly like he did in his audio logs.
“But you work for Ensemble of Man. Don't you?”
“I do. I used to. But you'd be surprised at how little I know of them.” A smirk appeared on his face. “Strange isn't it? I'd be lying if I said anything other than the pay cheque is why I'm here.”
“This planet we explored and mined?”
“Ex047, or Exoat as people call it.” Matthew interrupted.
“Yes. Why did we come here?”
“Other than to mine and explore? Again, above my pay grade.” He paused and saw the annoyed expression upon Luke's face. “I do however have a theory on it.”
“What is it?”
“Well there are one hundred and forty eight ships in circulation. All of them exploring, mining and collecting resources to bring back to the colonies. Plus two ships have been retired and are no longer in circulation and another ship, which was called the 'UCSC Natal', never returned.”
“And you think what's happening aboard this ship happened aboard that one?”
“Nearly one hundred thousand people went missing on that ship. What if a vessel of the Ensemble of Man Corporation discovered the wreckage? They find the remains of a hundred year old ship which fell into chaos in a matter of days or even hours. They'll want to know what happened to everyone, and when they find out they'll want to control it. They have more resources than the United Colonies Space Control. They've already corrupted the UCSC, just look at this ship, it's half theirs. Now they want to get rid of the United Colonies Space Control and take over. They want to be responsible for every man, woman and child in the colonies, and exploit every single one of them... I have no proof, this is just a theory I came up with.”
Could this be true? Are we just pawns for a corrupt Corporation's aspirations of colony dominance? Luke raised his head his mind full of questions about the Ensemble of Man Corporation. “What about Elizabeth? You mentioned her in your audio logs.”
“One of the scientists led by Maxwell Pearce. I don't know much about her. Why are you asking?”
“She's my...” He paused as he remembered her lying dead with a bullet through her brain. “She was my girlfriend. She's dead.”
“I'm sorry for your loss.” Matthew could tell how upset Luke was, but he saw the determination behind his tears. “Maxwell came to check up on us every other week. But about a month ago he brought Elizabeth with him. They were very close the first couple of times, almost inseparable, but something must have happened between them. Lately she would barely speak to him. The frustration in Maxwell was plain to see.”
“Did anything happen between them?” Luke asked, dreading the answer he was about to receive.
“I didn't see anything to be a hundred percent sure... But I'm almost certain something was going on between them... Romantically.”
Luke buried his head into his hands. I suppose it doesn't change anything. She's dead and I loved the time I spent with her. “I've got a couple more questions for you if that's okay?”
“Be my guest.”
“Can I trust Maxwell?”
“No!” Matthew screamed his answer. “He was the one in charge of this project. He's the one who sent us the test subjects.” He glanced over to the cages and spotted the pregnant woman. “His methods were brutal and unnecessary. He forced them upon us. We had no choice if we wanted to live.”
Do I trust you? Luke paused as he thought about what Matthew had said. “Okay. You said we were all going to die. What did you mean?”
“Well this virus has infected us all. We'll all turn, and then who we were is dead. There's no miracle cure. I was ignorant to believe there could have been.” The hope of redeeming himself seemed like it had completely vanished from Matthew.
“Could it be possible to be immune? I know of a group of people. Nearly a hundred of them. They're all still human.”
“Immunity is still a possibility. Yes. But we're talking years of decontamination before anyone immune could be released back into society.”
“So there's still hope.”
“Barely. When this ship returns back to the docking station it'll only be a matter of time until the virus breaks loose again. And what if it reaches Earth. Billions of people will die, and a worse fate lies with the infected ones. No, the best thing for everyone is to blow up the ship. Self-destruct and destroy every last shred of this infec
tion.”
If you truly believe there is no hope... What are you doing here? Luke thought again, but chose not to elaborate on his thoughts. “How would we destroy the ship?”
“You'd need the Captain's I.D. tag, take it to the engines, gain access to the emergency room, log into the computer as the Captain, and then initiate the fatal overload program. That would kill us all. We can't postpone this. If we leave it too long we'll be back at Earth, and then self-destruction won't be an option. We'll destroy half of the solar system.” Matthew exaggerated, but his point was valid.
“Okay. I'll get the Captain's I.D. tag.”
“So you're going to self-destruct the ship?”
“Maybe. I'll take it back to the resistance group I met. I'll talk it over with them.” Luke watched as the scientist paced back and forth. “What will you do?”
Matthew stopped confounded. “I... don't know.” He glanced around the room he had spent so much of his time in. “I can't leave here.” The pregnant woman slapped on the glass. “I can't leave her. I suppose I've been living off the last shred of hope. The baby growing in her, her child, could hold a cure.”
“Have you decided on a name?” Luke asked, remembering the doctor's logs.
“A name? Oh for the child. Subject zero... How can I name it before I know if it's even human?”
“You hope.” He placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder. Luke could tell he hadn't felt any human contact in a long time. “And when that child is born you call it Destiny when you find that cure.”
“Hope? Destiny? They only work as names if the child is female. What if the child is male?”
“I'll leave it up to you.”
“Thank you... I'm afraid I didn't catch your name.” Matthew didn't wait for a response. He pulled out his wrist device and typed a few keys. “Ah Luke Mason. Thank you for instilling your belief of hope onto me. Just the chance to be able to discover a cure and possibly redeem myself... Just thank you.”