The doctor started at my voice and looked up at me. He was clearly surprised to see me standing there.
“I don’t believe I need to explain myself to you,” he said.
“Maybe not but I still want to know what the hell you plan on doing?” I demanded.
The doctor sighed in resignation.
“You remind me so much of your mother,” he breathed.
His words surprised me and I stood speechless.
“Your parents and I knew each other quite well. They were desperate like so many others for something they could not have. Your mother was determined to get what she wanted. She wanted to know everything too. Every injection I gave her and every note I made,” Dr. Mills added.
He removed the cap from the syringe and leaned over the glass bassinet and injected the screaming infant with the liquid. The baby continued to howl for some time before it stopped. I stepped up to the bassinet and gawked at the still baby.
“Is it dead?” I asked
“Define dead?” He replied dryly.
“Is it still a screamer?” I questioned.
“We shall soon find out,” he retorted.
The infants screams echoed loudly in the small cell. It was strange that the screams from the infants didn’t hurt and cause pain like the way the adults did. The injected baby stirred and slowly opened its little eyes. It made little jerking movements then went still. Zola, Julia, Silas and Gabe entered the cell and waited quietly. Silas glanced around uncomfortably at the bassinets. He brushed my hand gently. Our fingers lingered for a moment before they came together.
A quiet whimper brought our attention back to the still baby in the bassinet. The baby stirred and let out a human cry. It was a beautiful sound. Its skin pinkened and sunken cheeks filled to chubby pinchable cheeks. The baby’s eyes opened and they were a beautiful dark blue. Dr. Mills smiled brightly and gently picked up the infant. The baby cried out but the cries were a delightful sound.
“Zola get the team together, we need to release the infant before sunrise,” Dr. Mills ordered.
“Release the infant?” Gabe questioned.
“The infant must be released so the virus can spread,” Julia explained.
Dr. Mill’s carried the infant into the laboratory and held the infant tightly. He frantically worked one handed at his computer. He made quick entries tapping the keyboard with one finger. The baby whimpered and cried. We followed Julia into the lab. I was confused and didn’t understand what was happening.
“How are you going to release the baby? It can’t walk or take care of itself. I don’t understand,” I quaked, a sick feeling entering my stomach. I didn’t want to know but I knew I had to ask.
Zola exited the lab and returned quickly with a group of soldiers.
“You don’t mean you’re going to leave the baby out there?” I pointed towards the door with the word, “Exit” above it.
“Yes Layla, we need to feed the infant to the screamers. It is the only way we can pass the virus and save the humans,” Dr. Mills stated.
“Over my dead body are you killing that baby,” I yelled stepping towards Dr. Mills.
Julia stepped in front of Dr. Mills.
“Move,” I shouted.
“I can’t do that Layla,” Julia said, sadness edged her voice.
“I know we haven’t had a chance to get to know each other but I need you to trust me. This baby is a test subject and holds the cure,” she explained.
“Why not round up some screamers and inject them? Why send an innocent baby to slaughter?” I fumed.
“The virus will only be able to active fully if they feed from live meat. The cure is not only the medicine in the syringe. It is in the infant itself. The cells and live tissue in the baby is how it spreads,” Julia explained.
“Did you seriously refer an innocent baby as, “live meat?” I swallowed. “When do you plan on murdering the baby?” I asked.
“It is a,“Test Subject” nothing more, nothing less. As soon as Dr. Mills finishes logging his findings,” Julia stated, “We will put the baby outside of the gate.”
I couldn’t let this happen. I had to save this baby. Didn’t I? Was one sacrificed life really that important? If it meant saving millions or billions of humans? It was unfair. Anyway I looked at it. I inspected the now calm baby in Dr. Mills arms. It was so little and innocent. Could it sense its demise approaching? I looked at Silas and Gabe. Really looked at them. They stood frozen in a state of shock. I knew they were contemplating their options as well. Their faces drained of all color. I wondered if I had the same expression on my face.
“Escort Layla and her friends out of the lab,” Dr. Mills ordered.
Four soldiers approached. One of the soldiers gripped my arm tightly.
“Wait,” I said, “I want to watch what you are going to do.”
“I’m afraid that is not a good idea,” Dr. Mills replied.
The soldiers pushed Silas, Gabe and me out of the lab. Gabe shoved back, they directed us down the hallway. We were pushed into the living quarters where we found our group waiting. The group was pacing around the large makeshift living room.
“Where were you guys?” Quinn asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Gabe said, sitting on one of the sofas. He put his head in his hands.
“Dr. Mills cured an infected infant,” I explained.
“What?” The group closed in a tight circle around me. I wanted to step back but stayed planted to the spot.
“It’s not a good thing...Not really,” Silas added.
He stood next to me and I felt better knowing he was here.
Quinn asked, “If they have a cure then there is hope for the screamers and the humans.”
“They have to…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. I didn’t want the others to know the horror that these walls held and the sacrifices that had been made and were being made.
“We can’t stay here,” I said instead.
“Why not?” Hannah asked, her eyes puffy from the tears she had cried.
“We just can’t,” Gabe roared.
“Stop asking so many damn questions. This place is bad news and we are leaving when the sun comes up. Everyone should get some rest,” Gabe ordered.
With that everyone parted and found a quiet corner. Some paired into small groups and some sat alone.
Gabe made his way to Silas, Quinn, Lucy and me. We spoke quietly by the door. I turned the knob to exit into the hallway but the door was locked. I raddled the knob but stopped when Quinn whispered to me.
“They locked us in here. Let’s not upset the others,” he nodded his head. We made our way to a quiet and unoccupied corned.
“What is happening out there?” Quinn asked.
“They have to feed the baby to the screamers in order to release and spread the new virus. The virus being the cure that is,” I explained quietly.
“My god!” Lucy sobbed, her hands automatically covering her mouth.
Quinn pulled her into him and the simple gesture seemed to ease the worry on Lucy’s face.
“Why can’t they inject…”
Gabe cut Quinn off, “We already asked the same thing. You really don’t want to know the answer to that.”
Quinn swallowed hard.
“What can we do?” Quinn asked puzzled.
“We leave in the morning. If they won’t let us leave, we will teleport.”
Quinn stared at the floor.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Quinn can’t teleport with us again,” Lucy stated.
She lifted his shirt and to my horror there were blackish blue bruises along his chest and stomach.
“He isn’t like us and whatever happened during the teleportation process, it damaged his body...severely,” Lucy cried.
It was only then I realized his skin was a sickly green and a thin line of sweat traced his forehead. His eyes dull and his breaths were short quick pants. I saw it wasn’t Quinn supporting Lucy but
Lucy was supporting Quinn. She helped to keep him in an upright position. How had I not noticed when I entered the room?
“It will be ok. We will get help for you,” I cried out.
Quinn smiled his cheerful smile and nodded his head.
I stood and paced the room. I felt myself shaking, the walls closing in around me. Nothing was fair and everything was out of my control. I had to breath and center myself. Silas sensing my unease approached.
“We will get out of here,” he said placing a hand on my arm.
“Should we save that baby?” I whispered.
“I don’t know. I don’t think we can. Not without the help from the group. What if that baby saves humanity? One life lost to save endless lives,” he swallowed.
“Then why does it feel wrong? I can’t sit here and do nothing. It maybe one life but it is alive and shouldn’t be ended that way,” I stated, my mind made up.
“Sara,” I called.
“I need you to break down this door,” I ordered.
She didn’t ask why. She simply smiled, swished her hand towards the door, it flew open. Ripping off the hinges and landing in the hallway with a loud thud. The group gathered and I explained what was going to happen. Stunned expressions filled the room. I quickly summed up what had already unfolded and what I was planning. The air grew thick with apprehension but no one argued. Lucy stayed behind with Quinn. The rest of us made our way to the lab. The laboratory was empty. We did a quick search but I knew Dr. Mills and his group were outside. We exited the building through the main entrance and in the distance could make out a group of bodies at the gate. We hurriedly approached the group but upon arrival I saw we were too late. The baby was whaling just outside the gate. They had placed it on the cold damp ground. The familiar sound of screams echoed in the night. I ran to the gate placing my hands through the holes. The soldiers raised their weapons in my direction.
“Open the gate!” I bellowed.
“I’m sorry Layla we can’t do that. You should have stayed inside,” Julia said sadly.
“What kind of monsters are you?” I yelled but my words were lost by the screams that closed in.
I glanced to where Gabe stood and shook my head. I knew he was going to teleport to the baby, but it was too late. We were too late.
“My god!” Hannah screamed.
I couldn’t look. I closed my eyes and covered my ears like a child. Even covering my ears couldn’t keep away the tortured cries from the baby’s plea. It was over quick but not quick enough. The baby was gone and all that remained were a few drops of blood. I slowly opened my eyes and saw tears were falling from both groups. Even the doctor’s eyes were glassed over. I wondered if I was the only one that hadn’t watched the horror unfold.
The screamers that had attacked the baby were laying on the ground jerking and moaning. They no longer screamed wildly and I thought maybe just maybe Dr. Mills had been right.
“What’s happening?” Sara cried.
“The screamers are changing,” Dr. Mills stated.
Timed lights came on around the facility and the screamers at the gate slowly came to an eerie still. We all held our breath, waiting. Time ticked by and I wasn’t sure how long it had been before one of the still screamers stirred and pushed their way to their feet. It was a female and amazingly she looked almost human again. Her eyes were the only indicator that she was different. They had a thin red line straight down the center. Shortly after she rose the other screamers awoke.
“Hello,” Dr. Mills said, approaching the gate with caution.
The female screamer turned her head slightly and her eyes narrowed in on Dr. Mills. She stepped up to the gate inches away from him.
“Hello,” she replied.
Except her voice was all wrong. It was scratchy and deep. The voice didn’t fit the petite figure.
“I. Am. Hungry,” she choked and paused after each word.
She grabbed for the gate and shook it madly. The other screamers approached and followed suit.
“Calm down. We will get food for you and your friends,” Dr. Mills said. Panic underlined his tone.
“Men, run and get some food for these fine people,” He ordered.
The screamers at the fence continued to shake wildly ignoring Dr. Mills.
“I see my food,” one of the screamers shouted. Laughing maniacally. He was staring at Silas.
I stepped forward and stood by Dr. Mills side.
“I don’t think they are cured. They are eyeing us like we are food,” I said.
“You. Are. Food,” the female stated, chopping her jaw and lips. She poked her tongue out and ran it along the fence.
“I can taste your fear, dear doctor,” she sneered.
Screams echoed once again and screamers darted down the road toward the gate. They attacked the screamers that were trying to get to us. They were all teeth and furry but the screamers were not successful in killing the new screamers. The new screamers bit into the old ones and they battled each other. It was a brutal and gruesome sight. The new screamers tore the screamers apart. More screamers came out of the woods. Too many for the new screamers to fight.
“We need to get inside,” Dr. Mills ordered.
We ran into the facility locking the horror out. Everyone crammed into the laboratory. Soldiers removed the masks that covered their faces; revealing red headed males and females.
Dr. Mills sat at his computer. Typing away.
“What the hell just happened?” I asked.
“It appears the cure still needs some tinkering,” Dr. Mills stated not looking up from his screen.
“Are you serious? You sacrificed a baby tonight and for what? More people are dead and gone,” I shouted.
I glance around the room and notice the soldiers heads were lowered towards the floor, shoulders slouched, they appeared to be defeated. Even my group stalked around, brains on overload.
“It is all part of the process. You are too young to understand,” Dr. Mills explained.
“Maybe there is no way to cure the damage that has been done,” I stated.
He looked up from the screen and stared at me for a long moment.
“I cannot believe that,” he said.
“How many lives are you willing to sacrifice to try and find a cure?” I asked and then continued, “The way I look at it is there are not a lot of people left. You are going to run out of people sooner than later,” I added.
“I need everyone to leave. I have work to do. Zola. Julia. Please escort our guest out,” Dr. Mills yelled.
“Come on Layla, let the doctor work,” Julia said guiding my group away.
I looked over my shoulder when I exited the lab and saw Dr. Mills look away from his computer. His hands moved over his head and rested over his face. He yelled out in frustration.The doors closed behind me. I realized the man though mad did have emotions and his apparent failure had taken a toll on him as well. He was after all only human.
Day 115:
Six days have gone by since we came to the facility. We had planned on leaving the next morning after the horrible incident with the baby but Quinn took a turn for the worse. Later the same day Dr. Mills fell ill. Apparently the cure he thought he had concocked turned out to be another virus for the remaining humans. Both men were deathly ill and fighting for their lives. Julia and Silas worked endlessly on continuing Dr. Mills work.The soldiers were much like us. They had some special abilities but they were minimal. The virus’ didn’t seem to affect them or us. We were at a standstill.
I watched Julia stare into a microscope and I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world I could not have known I had not one but two sisters. She looked so much like me. The only difference was she had a nerdy edge to her. She was quiet and spoke softly but with a firmness I admired in the short time I had known her. I walked to where she was working.
“Are you making any progress?” I asked.
Julia sighed and glanced up at me.
“I would be mak
ing progress if everyone would leave me be and let me work.”
I turned and exited the lab quickly not saying anything. She was obviously under a lot of pressure. I tried not to take her outburst to heart but in my head it was hard not to. I wanted to help Silas and Julia find a cure but I didn’t know how I could help. I sulked and made my way to Quinn’s bedside. Lucy was sobbing next to him. Holding his grey hand tightly.
“Hi,” I whispered.
“Hi,” Lucy sobbed.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked, resting my hand on her shoulder.
“Can you make him better? That’s all I want. I’ve lost so much, Quinn is all I have left. I can’t lose him too,” she cried.
“Julia and Silas are working as we speak to fix this,” I replied.
“Do you really think they are going to be able to find a cure when the doctors couldn’t?”
I Sighed heavily. I didn’t want to lie to her. I wondered if there would ever be a way to fix the damage that had already been done.
“We can only hope at this point,” I said weakly.
Gabe entered the room and gestured for me to come with him. I smiled at Lucy and made my way to Gabe.
“Hey, I need you to come with me,” Gabe ordered.
“Where?” I countered.
“Come on!” He replied, taking my hand and dragging me behind him.
We moved quickly into the laboratory. He released my hand. We entered cell eight. Julia and Silas were standing over a glass bassinet and the sight brought back unpleasant memories. They both glanced up at the sight of gabe and me. The look of defeat traced every inch of Julia’s face. Her eyes glistened with tears and she quickly wiped away any that started to fall.
“It’s over. It’s really over,” Julia whimpered.
I stepped up to the bassinet and stared at the still figure before me. The infant once alive and then infected, now lay still. It was dead. The infant appeared to be sleeping but at closer inspection it was clear its little chest wasn’t moving.
“Silas and I checked all of them. They are all dead. The virus has mutated and is airborne. The screamers will be completely wiped out within days maybe weeks. Dr. Nickels succeeded and we have failed.”
The Demise of Humanity Page 14