The Demise of Humanity

by Miller, Jayme L.

  in my mind. The girl Gabe and I found in the tub and the screamer in the field. I was drawn to them and I didn’t know why. They were in my dreams as well. They had spoken to me and had tried to warn me and help me. I felt it clearly now, they were my missing sisters.

  “All three of us look the same?” I questioned.

  “Yes, very much so, identical,” he said.

  “Julia always wore dresses,” Zola added.

  “I know where she is,” I stated.

  “You do? Where?” He asked.

  “At the warehouse. She is unwell. We also have my other sister. She is a screamer and Dr. Nickels has been doing testing on her,” I explained.

  “What did you say?” The doctor’s eyes widened and his face paled.

  “They are at the warehouse,” I repeated, confused.

  “No. Dr. Nickels? Are you certain?” He gulped.

  “Yes he is at the warehouse and working on a cure,” I replied.

  “Zola get every soldier together now. We have to get to the warehouse,” he commanded.

  Zola rushed out of the room while I stood baffled.

  “What is going on?” I asked.

  “Layla, I know you don’t like me very much but I need you to listen to me very carefully. Dr. Nickels is a very dangerous man. We have to stop him before it’s too late.”

  “Too late for what?” I asked, “The world is full of screamers, I don’t think it can get much worse.”

  “He created the virus that caused the humans to turn into screamers. He is a sick and twisted man. He believes the human population is faulty and needs to be cleansed. He made a mistake and instead of killing everyone he altered them to the screamers. He is going to alter everyone again and if he succeeds this time, he will wipe out the human population. No humans will remain,” he groaned.

  Zola reentered the room where we stood talking.

  “Sir, the sun is setting and it is not safe to venture out at this time,” Zola stated.

  The doctor sighed and ran his hands over his face.

  “Very well at dawn's light we will depart. I only hope we aren’t too late,” he said walking out of the room.

  I walked to my fathers bed and scowled at his sleeping figure.

  “I hate you,” I whispered.

  A red hot anger ran through me. A tear fell down my face and I tried to wipe it away before Zola saw my weakness.

  “He was always nice to us,” she said making her way to the foot of the bed, “He came here all the time to check on his daughter and on us. He is the one that brought us here.”

  “I’m sorry,” I sobbed.

  “Don’t be sorry. He saved our lives. We came from broken homes or were abused or in foster care. Your father took care in finding us. I know you think Dr. Mills is bad but he has taken good care of us. He has done bad things but only because he had to. He shaped us into the soldiers we are today.”

  “He has brainwashed you and you can’t see it,” I stated.

  “No,” Zola yelled.

  “Why is my father here and in this bed?” I asked, needing to change the subject.

  “Like I said, he chose to be here. The doctor and your father worked together. When the doctor found out what was going to happen he told your father but it was too late. Your father wanted to get to your mother and to you but he had to be put under right away. Until the doctor finds a cure your father has to stay asleep. It is all that is keeping him alive right now.”

  “If he woke up he would die?” I trembled.

  “Yes and no, he would become a screamer but as long as we are here to care for him, he will be safe,” she explained, hope in her voice.

  “I have to get back and warn the others of Dr. Nickels plans. He told Silas he has a trial cure ready to go. They are going to inject my sister,” I announced.

  “Why would he inject Julia? She isn’t a screamer. He wants population control and that means he will first focus on killing the screamers,” Zola said confused.

  “Not Julia, my other sister,” I explained.

  “Nickie?” Zola asked.

  “She is a screamer and Dr. Nickels has both of them,” I replied.

  “It doesn’t make sense. The injections she was given didn’t work. As far as I know your sister Nickie, spent her childhood in the hospital. Your father told Dr. Mills she had died but that was a lie. She was alive but hidden away somewhere. We searched for your sister but were unsuccessful in finding her. Dr. Mills believes her blood holds important information,” Zola said sounding confused.

  I blurted, “Both of my sisters are wearing white dresses and they look just like me. We have a weird connection and I had visions or dreams. Why can’t I remember the sister that was sick? If my parents raised her why wouldn’t I remember her and why would they have kept her from me?”

  “I sorry but I don’t know. I have some work I need to do. Feel free to stay with him if you like,” Zola said backing away from me.

  I watched her leave and I knew she wasn’t telling me everything. She knew more than what she was telling me. I wanted to chase after her but knew it would be pointless. I had to get back to my group. I thought out my options carefully. I could try and teleport but I worried I would lose control and end up hurting someone. Then I thought about taking a truck. If I hurried I could make it back before the sun was gone but the road conditions would make it tough. I had no other option, I decided to teleport. I felt anxious but knew I could do it if I concentrated and focused my energy. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I focused my energy on the warehouse and on my sisters. I thought I had control until my mind started to drift from my sisters to my father and then my mother and then Silas. My thoughts finally stopped on Dr. Nickels. I shook and felt my body leave the floor. I opened my eyes and found I was standing in the makeshift lab in the warehouse. My sisters were still in the hospital beds. The screamer sister was completely still and I wondered if I was too late. I started to walk up to her when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. The room spun and then everything went dark.

  Day 109:

  My head hurt terribly and my body trembled as I regained composure. I squeezed my eyes closed and then opened a few times before the room came to life. Dr. Nickels was speaking with a frantic Silas.

  “She is a traitor Silas. She can’t be trusted. She tried to kill me,” Dr. Nickels explained dryly.

  “It doesn’t make sense. She wouldn’t hurt anyone here or betray us,” Silas replied.

  I tried to open my mouth but discovered it was covered with tape. I yelled out but it was muffled.

  Silas heard me and ran over to me. He pulled the tape off my mouth which hurt like a son of a bitch.

  “Dr. Nickels is the bad guy,” I yelled.

  Silas and I turned in time to see Dr. Nickels standing rod straight and Mabel by his side.

  “I guess you spoke with Dr. Mills?” Dr. Nickels sneered. Each word laced with venom.

  “You made the humans into screamers,” I accused.

  Dr. Nickels merely nodded his head.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I had a vision of the future and what the future humans would look like. I wasn’t going to wipe out everyone. I was going to start a new race,” he explained, “I was successful in creating the hybrid gene but it was only successful on a small percentage of the population. Unfortunately things have gotten out of hand but I am going to fix everything. I created a cure and have injected the female screamer.”

  “No,” I yelled.

  “Yes, she is in the process of healing. Wes and Addy have kindly volunteered to release the female and male screamers so they can spread the cure.”

  The two screamers lay still on the beds, I thought they were dead. Wes and Addy lifted the male and put him in a wheelchair. They did the same thing with my sister.

  “Addy. Wes. Stop. She is my sister,” I begged.

  They both stopped and stared in surprise.

  “She is lying. She doesn’t have any s
isters,” Dr. Nickels stated.

  Addy and Wes hesitated but pushed the screamers out of the room.

  I yelled after them to no avail.

  “Silas let me go. I’m not the bad one here. I haven’t betrayed anyone. It’s Dr. Nickels.”

  Quinn entered the room and approached us.

  “What in the hell is going on in here?”

  “Quinn, Dr. Nickels is bad. Please untie me.”

  Quinn looked puzzled but started to untie me.

  “You don’t want to let her go,” Dr. Nickels stated.

  “We don’t treat people this way,” Quinn said.

  Dr. Nickels stepped forward and pointed a gun at Quinn’s chest. Mabel also held a gun in her hands.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Quinn barked.

  “I need Wes and Addy to release the screamers and then I will lower my gun,” Dr. Nickels explained.

  “Why?” Quinn asked.

  “I have injected the male and female screamers and the sun is setting. Other screamers will be out anytime now and they will attack and consume the male and female. I will have fixed the small error I made. Why don’t we all go out front and watch. It will be an excellent show,” Dr. Nickels smiled.

  We made our way to the front parking lot in time to see Wes and Addy close the gate with the two screamers outside. I tried to warn them but it was too late. Screams filled the night air and the screamers came from every direction. I held my breath and watched the screamers close in on my sister and the male screamer. The two lay on the ground unmoving. I desperately prayed to a god I didn’t even believe in to save her. I begged and pleaded. I needed her to jump up and run away but it would not be. The screamers pounced and attacked the still bodies with extreme force. It was gruesome but quick. They pulled my sister apart like she was string cheese. They greedily ate her. She didn’t scream, cry or even whimper. The screamers stood up after consuming the male but moments later fell and started to convulse. One at first and then more joined in the convulsing dance. More screamers came in and attacked the convulsing screamers. This process continued for hour upon hour. Each screamer consuming screamer. We stood and watched the massacre go on until a voice broke through the screams.

  “My god, they are killing each other,” Quinn said.

  “I thought you had a cure?” Silas quivered.

  “A cure? Why would I want to cure humans when I have you? Dr. Nickels smirked, “I have created a new breed of super humans. You and the others will take over the world and fix the mess the humans made,” Dr. Nickels continued, “The screamers are spreading the death virus as we speak. It will be airborne by morning and the world will be completely wiped clean.”

  “There are humans here that are not gifted and there are more out there. You haven’t wiped the earth clean,” I snapped out.

  “That’s ok. Due time Layla. Due time. Mabel our work here is complete. We are no longer part of the future. I would like to thank you for your years of service,” Dr. Nickels announced.

  Everything happened quickly after that. Dr. Nickels turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. The gun made a loud bang sound and I watched in horror as Dr. Nickel’s fell to the ground. Blood exited from a hole in his head. Screamers went wild and pounced at the fence. The night screams intensified at the scent of blood. Another gun sounded and I saw Mabel also fall to the pavement. More screams filled the night air but these were screams from the warehouse. The gate slid open and I watched in horror as screamers ran towards us. Silas shot out his light and it momentarily sent dozens of screamers falling back. We darted into the warehouse. I glanced over my shoulder to see who had opened the gate and was shocked to see Hannah's dad standing there in the guard station. Tears fell down his face, two male screamers broke through the glass windows and attacked him. His raspy screams filled my ears as we made it into the warehouse in time to close and lock the doors. I knew we wouldn’t be able to keep them out for long. People were already in action and heading into the fallout shelter. I glanced around the warehouse and found all twelve of the gifted were there.

  “What is happening?” Hannah asked.

  “We don’t have time to explain,” I said.

  “We need to get into the shelter,” Silas ordered.

  We ran down the hallways. Screamers banged and smashed against the outside walls of the warehouse. The fallout shelter door was locked. We knocked and banged on the door.

  “Let us in!” Lucy yelled.

  Quinn ran down the stairs behind us. We need to get out of here now. The screamers are in the building. He covered his bleeding ears. Lucy placed a gentle hand on his face. Screams echoed throughout the hallways and closed in around us. We banged on the door and called out but no one opened the it.

  “We have to teleport,” I yelled.

  “Gabe I can teleport us but I will need your help.”

  Gabe took my hand and the group all locked hands. I knew we had less than a minute before the screamers closed in. I felt heated electrical pulls from the group. Something felt different; I saw Julia standing at the top of the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder and then proceeded to dash down the stairs towards us. Silas raised his hand to stop her but I warned him it was ok.

  She stopped in front of me.

  “Take me with you, please,” she begged.

  “Ok,” I replied and took her hand.

  A strong power surged through me and I knew without a doubt this was my sister. The connection was instantaneous. She focused her eyes on mine and a powerful surge of energy shot deep inside my chest. I felt myself falling back into darkness. I watched my sister disappear, my hands reached out to grab hold of her but she was gone. Darkness ever so sweetly moved in and enclosed me in a cool embrace. My eyes closed and everything went still.

  I felt warm hands push and shake my upper arm slightly, I stretched my neck and head, then opened my eyes. I was meant with big sparkling eyes and a huge white toothed smile. I inhaled stale air and observed my surroundings. I was laying on a cold white tiled floor. My hand traced the cool straight lines in the tile pattern.

  “Are you alright?” A concerned voice asked.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” I replied getting to my feet.

  I was standing once again in the laboratory at the facility. I faced Zola and many familiar faces. I did a quick count to make sure everyone teleported with us. Our group was together including Quinn and my sister, Julia. She was eying me closely and I felt a calm come over me. Silas and Gabe also stood close by.

  “Is everyone good?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Greg said.

  He had his arms wrapped around Hannah in a warm and comforting embrace. She cried quietly into his chest. I guess she knew that her father had betrayed all of us. I was certain her pain ran deep, knowing that he had ultimately betrayed his own daughter. I knew the pain she felt. The secrets and lies that unfolded in my life and the secrets my parents kept from me.

  “Where are we?” Quinn asked a bit shakily.

  “We are at the T.4.7. facility,” Julia responded.

  “Julia!” Dr. Mills trembled.

  “You are alive. I thought you were…

  His words tapered off as Julia hugged him. I felt I ping of jealousy watching her embrace the man I thought to be a monster. I didn’t understand how she could care for a man that admitted to hurting endless numbers of children. He was as guilty as Dr. Nickels in my opinion. I stood in silence while the group conversed in thunderous chatter. No one understood what had happened and why it happened. I explained along side Dr. Mills and Zola what we knew. I watched faces fall when realization sank in. The screamers were not going to be cured and the rest of the human population was doomed.

  “Why wouldn’t they open the fallout shelter door for us?” Sara cried.

  “Maybe they couldn’t hear us,” Wes said.

  I knew they could hear us begging for help but it was their chance to get rid of the freaks. They took their chance and kept us out. I didn’t want t
o say this aloud but I was screaming it in my head. I was angry. Angry at my father and mother. Angry at Dr. Nickels for releasing death and complete chaos upon the world. I was angry at the people in the warehouse bunker for locking us out and I was angry at Dr. Mills for hurting so many innocent children. It didn’t seem fair. I had a sudden urge to scream but I gathered my wits.

  “Dr. Nickels injected my sister before releasing her. The screamers ate her,” I explained.

  “If what you have told me is true and Dr. Nickels did release a new virus there still maybe time to stop it from spreading to the humans,” Dr. Mills explained and then continued, “I have studied different strains of viruses and diseases my whole career. I have one cure that is ready to be tested. It is a nasty little cocktail of multiple viruses that have been mutated and genetically altered. Zola please escort our guest’s into the living quarters. I have to get the cure ready to administer and cannot be distracted.”

  “How do you plan on administering the cure?” I questioned.

  “Layla, it’s best if you let the doctor work. Remember he is trying to help,” Zola said kindly.

  “Help?” I stated coldly.

  “Layla,” Quinn said placing a hand on my shoulder.

  I closed my mouth and bit my tongue. I knew I wanted to fight someone. My anger was going to boil over sooner than later and I wanted to make someone feel the pain I was feeling.

  Zola escorted the group out of the lab and into the living quarters. I lingered behind and disappeared from the group, making my way back to the lab. I found the Dr. Mills mixing vials filled will colored liquids. He extracted the liquid into a syringe and then repeated the action until he had filled four syringes and caped them. He then placed three of the syringes into a briefcase and the fourth he held loosely in his hand. He walked over to the glass door where the babies screamed in the cell. He punched in a code and the door slid open after making an awful screeching sound. I stepped into the lab and walked over to the cell where the doctor was placing latex gloves on his hands. He covered his face with a white mask and lastly placed clear plastic protective glasses over his eyes.

  “What are you going to do?” I questioned.