by Neil Leckman
was.
II
It’s interesting how a house that’s been vacant for a long time can acquire a musty closed in smell to it, walking into my uncle’s house that was the first thing that I noticed, that and the fact that the place wasn’t covered in heavy dust from being empty. Later I would learn that he paid someone to go in every couple of weeks to tidy up a bit and make sure things were OK. Next to his front door, he had a small table he used to set his keys and mail on when he got home. I noticed that there was a small stack of mail sitting on it as he walked inside. Off to the side of the stack was a small package as well, which was odd because he hadn’t been here for a couple of years. Reaching over I picked up the package and turned it over so I could see the address. There was no returned address and the package was addressed to me, care of my uncle. Now that was mysterious, because I never had mail sent to this house, even when I spent summers here as a kid. The box itself wasn’t any bigger than nine inches by six, standard shipping box you can buy almost anywhere. Shaking it didn’t reveal anything either, so I went into the kitchen and setting the box on the table, rummaged around until I found a small knife to open it with. Most of the kitchen was empty, but in one of the drawers next to the sink, I found some a few kitchen utensils, including a steak knife. I walked over and sat at the table looking at the package, then picking it up I cut through the packing tape that sealed it. Carefully opening the box I looked inside, wads of blank paper were packed tightly around a small book that looked like some kind of journal. Carefully taking it out of its paper wrappings, I sit and begin to read.
6/13 - Today was my first day here at the facility. It is a very impressive structure built high in the mountains, away from prying eyes. They told me they jokingly call it Lake Tanna, because there is a series of mines out behind the main building that flooded a long time ago, and formed a small lake. The locals think that the lake is bottomless, of course, that can’t be true, but the depth has never been recorded. It sounds like a place I’ll want to check out later, they didn’t say if there were any fish there or not.
6/14 - Today they told me what my job here would be. I’ll be trying to find a way to alter the genetics of beneficial insects to create an alternative to crop spraying, it should prove interesting. We want to use insects that are natural predators, but make them more mobile and deadly, so they can kill insects that damage crops. I was told that there are sixteen laboratories here that are all into different areas of research, I am in the entomology department, which has three of the labs. I found out that there is a wing of labs that deals with viral research today when I accidently got lost and wandered into it. I had to spend forty five minutes in their security station while they checked out my story, when they were done they apologized and escorted me back to the elevator that would take me to my labs, so much for lunch!!
6/15 - I met Rudy, he works on arachnid research. While I was in his lab, I passed a series of glass cages that contained a group of spiders that lunged at the glass as I walked by. When I asked him about it he laughed, “Those are my brown funnel recluses. Typically, brown recluses like to hide in dark places, but I’ve genetically altered that batch for higher aggression and more deadly venom. No one else in the lab will go near them when the time comes to take one out and milk some venom. Those large fellows in the next cage are Sydney Funnel spiders and are very aggressive, and very venomous. They are the other species that I’ve been working with, the problem is that they are a larger spider and I want something that is more agile and much faster.”
6/16 - It turns out that I will be spending a considerable amount of time working directly with Rudy. My research into dragonflies is the reason they hired me. They want to see if it is possible to create a species of flying spider. The idea is that a highly mobile spider will be able to clear a greater area of crops and eliminate the need for pesticides altogether. I’m very excited about the prospect of being able to create something that can be so beneficial to humanity. They have brought in all of my equipment from the lab at the university, so I’ll be able to start work immediately.
7/23 - It has been quite a while since I wrote anything here. Today Rudy and I celebrated success. We have managed to create a new breed of flying spider; it has the wings and flying skill of a dragonfly, the sting of a scorpion, and the venomous bite of a funnel spider. When it flew out of its cage all of our assistants ran from the room, but we were so excited that we forgot about the inherent danger and started laughing. It took us quite a while to catch her in a butterfly net that we kept handy, and there were a couple of close calls when she flew towards us, as if to attack, but we finally succeeded. Yes, I said her, but in fact, it has no sex and reproduces on its own. It’s truly amazing to stand here and watch how she clings to the glass staring at me like a tiger panting as it watches its prey, her fangs, and stinger dripping with venom. Following my movements, quickly with darting motions like a dragonfly, across the face of the cage.
8/1 - Today as I was looking in on Ruby, Rudy said he named her after an evil bitch he once knew, I noticed what looked like a spider egg sac hung in the corner of the cage. If I’m right that would mean that this new species matures at a faster rate than we originally anticipated, which could pose a problem. If their numbers grow too quickly, they would become the pest instead of destroying them, and they would not be a marketable item. The second problem I noticed was that she has a nasty habit of sitting in spots inside the cage where it’s hard to see her, and then trying to fly out as soon as the cover is moved even the slightest. The troubling part is the fact that she has learned to wait to jump, because jumping too soon doesn’t work. Rudy also gave her eight sets of eyes similar to a jumping spider so she can track movement in multiple directions, so she can be facing away from you and still know the right moment to spin and jump. That makes it harder every day to predict what she’ll do, and I’ve been studying her when she does this, I may be wrong but I swear at times her eyes have a reddish glow to them, but when I look closer, the illusion, if that’s what it is, is gone. It would be just like Rudy to give her infrared vision without saying anything. He has become obsessed with enhancing his creation even further; I’m no longer sure just what she’s capable of, and that uncertainty is dangerous.
8/9 - Chaos at the labs today!!! Rudy didn’t show up for work, the eggs have hatched and Ruby is missing. I searched through Rudy’s stuff until I found some of his papers explaining what he was working on, and it wasn’t good. Somebody gave him an airborne virus from the lab intended for military purposes. It is a fast spreading form of necrotizing fasciitis that can be dispersed as an airborne agent. Rudy, that crazy bastard, found a way to incorporate it into Ruby’s venom. During my search, I found a small-unlabeled jar of a strange ochre colored liquid that Rudy was also working on, I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I know it can’t be good. In his desk drawer, I also found another unhatched egg sac. I have both items; I placed the egg sac in an airtight container, and placed them inside a wooden box. Rudy designed the creature’s eggs to be dormant without contact with air. This would help facilitate shipping them to farmers to use in their fields. I’ve mailed both items to my home. Hopefully I will be able to continue research into antivenom for Ruby’s bite that is if I’m lucky enough to make it back home, the military presence here has increased dramatically since yesterday. Earlier I heard gunshots in the direction of one of the other wings of the facility, hopefully they’re not trying to shoot Ruby, and she’s much too fast and small for that to be effective!!
13
The charging unit chimed and the light turned flashing green. I walked over and set the microwave pulse gun on the table next to the battery pack. Opening the side of the gun, I pulled out two long cables and plugged them into the battery pack. Two lights on the gun came on, one green and the other yellow, the first one indicated battery charge, the second was linked to the power setting; if it blinked red, it was strong enough to kill a person. When it turned red, it also gave off a hig
h-pitched squeal. I pulled two recessed shoulder straps out of the battery pack and put it on. Checking the gun’s setting, I turned a knob on the side to the right two clicks. The yellow light turned red and a high-pitched squeal sounded, then faded. Douglas was standing with his ear pressed against the door, trying to hear if the things were outside the door or not, or not.
“That was the last entry. There was a small note that said that all the answers were down in the basement. Turning I looked at the aged oak door that opened unto the stairs to the basement. There were two locks on the door, one for the doorknob, and above that a deadbolt. I couldn’t remember ever seeing my uncle’s basement when I came over to visit. If we make it out of here alive I’ll tell you what I found in that basement.”
“You’ve got a deal,” I replied.
“Damn, with the room built the way it is it’s almost impossible to hear anything, sounds are so muted. A couple of times I thought I heard a faint scrapping, but that could have been me pressing up against the door. I think it would be best